Farting Around

I tell you, we are here on earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different.
-- Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country (2005)

After a late start to Santa Barbara to avoid commute traffic, I pulled off Highway 101 at Laurel Drive (Exit 330) in Salinas for lunch. Turning right and continuing straight ahead for half a mile on Calle del Adobe, I drove unexpectedly into a park containing the Boronda Adobe, an adobe building built between 1844 and 1848 and maintained by the Monterey County Historical Society. I had never heard of the Boronda Adobe. I had simply pulled off the highway and was taking a quick look around for any city park where I could eat my lunch and perhaps strike up a conversation with a local. I was delighted to discover quite by accident a piece of California history I hadn't known about. This is for me one of the great joys of being able to fart around, stopping as inclination, rather than plan, dictates. For most of my life I have had to fart around within the context of a job. This is much better. It's so much fun for me to drift from one thing to another while traveling in the Class B. This is not to suggest that I don't plan for my trips; I do, but that I can change direction within the plan on a whim.

Also located at the park were recently dedicated memorials to the 105 men of Company C 194th Tank Battalion from the Salinas and Pajaro Valleys. Of the 105 men, six were lost in combat and 52 died during the infamous Bataan Death March, in the holds of ships while being transported to Japan and China, and in prison and labor camps. Only 47 of the original 105 men returned to the United States. I liked reading about these events on the Internet as a result of my visit to Boronda Adobe History Center and thinking about the changes that have taken place in the Salinas and and Pajaro Valleys over the nearly 100 years between the building of the Boronda Adobe and the Bataan Death March. I also note that I was alive during World War II (having been born just six days after the men of Company C 194th Tank Battalion "On the morning of February 18, 1941...marched four abrest down Main Street...toward the train station" and that my sense of history changes as my life span seems to include more of it.

Best laid plans...

My original plan was to post to The Class B & Me while on the road. This plan hasn’t worked out very well for a couple of reasons. First, while traveling in the Class B for the last couple of weeks, except for the library in Borrego Springs, I’ve had no WiFi access to the Internet. Second, there were usually more interesting things to do than type a blog entry. (I suspect the reader will often have more interesting things to do than to read blog entries.) Among the pleasures of being on the road are seeing and photographing new sights, hiking, seeing cultural and natural history exhibits and geography, visiting with family and friends (fortunately, in all cases, family are also friends), and making new acquaintances along the way. This leaves little time for blogging. So, at least for now, The Class B & Me will be a look back rather than a contemporary report. I would prefer that entries were more current and will think about ways of moving in that direction.

Rick, Brad and Byron, from the looks of Rick's clean T-shirt, at the beginning of one of our backpacking trips into Los Padres National Forest in May 1971.

As planned, the trip began on Monday, November 26 with a drive down Highway 101 to Santa Barbara to hook up for dinner with a couple of my grad school buddies from UC Santa Barbara, Rick and Byron.

It would seem that most unintended consequences of a chosen course of action are adverse. You do your best to anticipate the principal consequences of a decision and too often there are unanticipated costs you wish you had thought of prior to taking the action. Other times you realize there is just no way you could have anticipated the consequences of an action, yours or someone else’s. The trip down Highway 101 to Santa Barbara revealed an unintended consequence that was positive. The handling characteristics of the Class B had improved dramatically since the last trip to Chaco Canyon. This is likely the result of a repair to a loose metal shield next to the propane tank (there to take the hit rather than the propane tank). Previously I had determined (incorrectly) that a rattle was being caused by the front bumper rubbing against the van body. I had it fixed at a local body shop, but the rattle persisted. While eating lunch somewhere along Highway 395 during the Chaco Canyon trip, I heard the wind cause the rattle and was able to determine that it was the loose propane tank shield that was making the noise. My guess is that the shield, moving back and forth with the wind, was acted like a rudder. Changes in its position were requiring corresponding adjustments in the steering wheel. The steering of the Class B is now much, much easier than it was before. And, the annoying rattle is also gone.

More about the Anza-Borrego trip in the next entry.

What is a Class B?

A Class B RV (Recreational Vehicle) is a customized 16 to 21 foot commercial van. It is smaller than either a Class A or Class C RV. Class A RVs are the largest (21 to 40 feet) built on custom frames and usually the most luxurious. Class C RVs, built on truck frames, are midway between the Class B and Class A in size (20 to 28 feet).

Our Class B is a 19’ 1991 Coachmen on a Ford 250 Econoline van chassis. We purchased it two years ago for $9,500, a year and a half before I retired working as a Legislative Aide for Berkeley City Councilperson, Linda Maio. I was hesitant to purchase the Class B in advance of my ability to use it with any frequency, but Dianne argued we should go for it because it was just the model we wanted and it would give us a chance to get acquainted with its operation before taking longer trips. (With tax and license, a new Class B would cost between $60,000 and $100,000.) Coachmen still makes RVs, but discontinued making the Class B model after 1999.

We began by camping several times at nearby Anthony Chabot Campground. The Class B met all of our expectations and what a jewel Anthony Chabot Campground is. Located in the Oakland hills, there are lots of wonderful hiking trails and some of the camp sites overlook Lake Chabot (see photo above). On one of our camping trips at Anthony Chabot Campground overlooking Lake Chabot, friends (Bruce & Ina, Bruce & Basha, and Dan and Rich) brought a wonderful meal we all enjoyed before they returned to their homes and we spent the rest of the weekend camping.

Even though our Class B is self-contained and we can easily go for a weekend without hooking up to electricity, sewage and water, we decided to test the systems (and our ability to use them) by staying at one of the sites at Anthony Chabot Campground that include these amenities. The tests eventually led to replacing some of the water and drainage pipes that were leaking and causing an unpleasant musty smell, something that might be expected after 15 years of torque and bending on the road. Son Jason, his partner Jolene, and dog Monroe joined us for the weekend. We all had a great time.

Thanksgiving

Preparations for the next trip in the Class B were put aside yesterday. As we have for the last several years, Dianne and I spent Thanksgiving at my ex-wife Karen’s home in Santa Rosa, California. This may seem a little odd to some reading this blog, but Karen and I have remained friends over the years; Karen and Dianne enjoy each other’s company; and it makes Thanksgiving so much less complicated for our children and grandchildren to enjoy the holiday together. And enjoy it we did. What a wonderful cast of characters: daughter Jennifer and her husband Jon and their two children Madeline, six, and Lucas, three; son Jason and his partner Jolene; Elizabeth (thought of as a sister by Jennifer and Jason) and her husband Mark; Jon’s mother Jeannette, who lives with Karen; Jeannette’s good friend Bronwyn; and Jeannette’s sister Sue and her husband Ramon; Jon’s father, Peter; and Dianne's and my good friend, Amanda. Jolene’s parents, Dane and Peggy, visiting from Montana, and Jolene’s sister Anassa spend several hours with us in the afternoon, but didn’t stay for dinner. They and Jolene were headed to their own family get together in a rented cabin. Jason was to join them today. Elizabeth and Mark had flown in from Virginia and Sue and Ramon had come from Atlanta. After dinner, Karen’s former roommate and good friend Pete came by to join the fun and have a piece of one of the four pies baked by Jennifer, with assistance from Madeline. Everyone contributed something to the terrific meal we shared together. Jeannette also wrote and read a wonderful poem that described each of us in the most positive terms.

Maps and business cards

I spent a couple of enjoyable hours yesterday poring over maps of Southern California thinking about the route I would take after leaving Brother Bob and Stephanie’s house in Anaheim. My plan is to end up in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I’ve travelled through the Park before, but have never camped there. I plan to camp in the Cleveland National Forest on my way there and I am particularly looking forward to visiting Palomar Observatory, which I haven’t seen in a long time. There are many larger telescopes now, but when I was growing up and until 1993 the 200-inch Hale telescope was the largest in the world. I love looking at maps and remembering or imagining what is to be found along the various routes as well as areas not even close to roads identified as “Other Roads”. It is noted for “Other Roads” on the AAA map that, “Many of the roads in remote areas of this map are suitable for only high-clearance and/or four-wheel drive vehicles. Road conditions vary, and many are impassable except in summer months. Inquire locally before travelling.” That sounds so inviting to me. It reminds of the places I’ve seen backpacking where there was no road at all. Whether on a highway or at a campground I’ve reached after a long backpacking trip, I have always been curious about what lies around the bend or just over the hill. My left knee bothers me enough now to keep me from any more backpacking.

Dianne was kind enough to design and run off “business cards” for me. As I travel, I sometimes get well enough acquainted with people I meet along the way that we exchange contact information. Up until now, I’ve written down my name and whatever contact information I wanted to disclose (usually my e-mail address) on a scrap of paper. Now that I’m retired, I am no longer associated with an organization, nor do I have the identity that comes with such an association. I wasn’t sure what identity beyond my name and how to get in touch with me should be included on the card, so I eventually decided my name alone would identify me. People who found themselves in possession of one of my “business cards” would have to fill in the details of who I am for themselves. I smile thinking of people finding the card after a couple of years and asking themselves, “Who in the hell is Brad Smith?”

Getting ready for the next trip

Over the last year, several people have suggested that I begin a blog to document my (and sometimes Dianne's) travels in the Class B. I plan to leave next Monday for Southern California and figured now was as good as time as any to begin.

As lots of what's needed for a trip is already on board the Class B (nautical terms are often used by the RV traveler), the fantasy is to load up a few items and take off as the fancy strikes you. In practice, I have developed a list of items that requires several hours to locate and load. The list is divided into sectons: Clothing, Tools/Equipment, Safety, Provisions, Sleeping, Personal, Entertainment and Food/Beverages. Yesterday I had the propane tank filled ($17.50 for 5 gallons; it only took 4.5 gallons, but there's a 5 gallon minimum at the Hertz Equipment Rental where I purchased the propane) and filled the two gas tanks ($75.00 for 22.4 gallons). This is kind of boring, but with rising gas prices in the news of late I thought it was worth noting. It's exactly $75.00 (which filled both tanks) because that's apparently the limit on my American Express card for gas pumps. Both tanks had about a quarter of a tank of gas when I began filling them, which is usually when I fill them on the road. I'll drive on one tank until it gets to the 1/4 mark and then throw the switch to the other tank. If you don't think about the cost of gas, it's kind of fun watching the fuel gauge move from 1/4 filled to filled while you're driving. When the second tank gets to the 1/4 mark I keep my eyes open for a gas station.

This first blog entry is a test and I see a button for photographs, which I imagine being of more interest than than anything I might write (a picture is worth...) so I'm going to give it a try with a photograph taken last month of Dianne, me (in the middle), and our good friend Allen Whitt next to the Class B at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Pretty straightforward getting the photo into the blog, but not easy getting it next to this paragraph. The software wanted to place it in the upper left hand corner of this post. Fortunately, there's an "Edit Html" tab and I know enough about HTML to move the code where I wanted it next to this paragraph. There's probably an easier way to do this, but I couldn't find it in the instructions. This is a learning experience for me. You can double click on the photo for a larger image. I will provide a few more photographs of the "Chaco Canyon Trip" in a future blog entry.