Surprise Stopover
Castle Air Base, California: Forget most of
what I said last night about posting photos of the Durango RV Park. The fog was
so thick this morning - it was impossible to see the Durango RV Park.
After jogging around the resort in the fog for a few miles, we continued south
on I-5, stopping for fuel near Corning, California.
This was not fun
How convenient that just as it was getting dark, we were
just a few miles from DT's home town. Even better, his brother was cooking.
Even better, our daughter, The Lovely Lisa, was in town visiting family.
And her little dog too!
Must be some sort of solstice planet-aligning karma thing.
So here we are back at Castle Air Base (now closed, by the way), where they
still operate a very small 8-site RV campground for visitors to the Castle
Air Museum. The campground is actually converted from an old parking lot and
the spaces are not very long and even a 30-foot RV must hang their rear end
over the grass. We always have trouble here as our mud flap likes to imbed
itself into the grass. Usually, I physically lift the flap while DT backs
the bus onto the grass. I am no weakling, but it is nearly impossible for me
to heft the weight of the spring-loaded mud flap. (This could also be a good
time to mention that maybe it isn't too safe to be kneeling behind a 54,000
pound bus while it is reversing???) No more! Our tech gave us the coolest
little tool that hangs behind the heavy mud flap and hooks over the hitch,
thus holding the mud flap at a 45-degree angle! Genius!
The small red circle (right) shows how the bent strip of metal hooks on the
back side of the mud flap and the larger red "shape" shows how it hooks over
the hitch. Simple and very clever.
After "setting up camp", we drove into town for dinner at
the home of DT's brother. Billy is an excellent chef. Tonight he grilled
chicken breasts and thighs, and served a massive Caesar Salad. Lisa
contributed Spinach Gratin and DT's Mom brought a platter of freshly
baked sweets. We contributed wines.
Billy's Grilled Chicken
Lisa's Gratin
Our niece, Meghan (left) and Lisa make the salad
Our niece, Kira, 6
Lisa & her cousin, Meghan
There are four brothers in DT's family; no sisters. The
brothers have produced only daughters. All or nothing in this family - but
we certainly do a spectacular job at delivering gorgeous girls.
The three cousins enjoyed spending time together and we watched the
25-year-old Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Special. Trivia:
this program (and those crazy California Raisin commercials) were produced
in little old Portland, Oregon.
Tomorrow, as thousands of mallards before us, we
head south. Until my update, I remain, your Rose Bowl or Bust correspondent.
RV Park: Castle Air Family Camp - Atwater, California. Basic
facilities. 8 sites, 30 & 50 amp, water, sewer. $30 includes admission to
the Air Museum. Self-contained RV's only - no bathhouse or showers.