Day 23: From sea to shining sea

When we woke up this morning, excited and eager to get going on the final leg of our journey, we had no idea that we were about to have a bit of an adventure.  Because the forecast was for winds that would be increasing during the day, we left early.  

The wind turbines were spinning like crazy.

The mountains ahead of us looked almost spooky shrouded by clouds. Little did we suspect how menacing they could be.

hundreds of wind turbines crowd the hillsides

Within no more than ten minutes of leaving, and making our way to the highway, we were caught in gusts so strong that they ripped at the awning, attacking the cover and pulling at the canvas which was beginning to unfurl along one side.  We heard something slapping against the side of the Alpine.  It was one of the arm supports of the awning.

Houston we had a problem....

Michael pulled over to the side of the road and had to push to open the door against the wind. He tried to secure the awning arm supports as best he could, and we proceeded back towards our route. Several more gusts continued to rip at the awning which was slowly beginning to get pulled out of its cover, the same arm supports beginning to clatter more wildly.  

We pulled over to the side of the highway.  

What to do?

There was duct tape in the storage compartment (my father will remember when he was with us at Harbor Freight to buy some essential tools, and I added the duct tape, bungee cords, and rope into the shopping cart, little realizing how handy they would end up being).  While I gripped the two arms to stop them from separating any further so that the canvas awning would remain in the casing, Michael hunted for the tape and tried his best to wind sections of it around the two supports to secure them together.  It was no easy feat, as the wind blew the tape about.  The wind gusts were so strong that I could feel the Alpine shaking and swaying from side to side, and prayed it would not be toppled over.

We had to get out of the wind to see if we could do something to secure the awning parts better. We slowly made our way further along and to the truck scales, which fortunately were just ahead.  There was a truck driver strapping down the cargo on the back of his flatbed truck more securely, so I approached him and asked if he perhaps had a ladder we could use because we had a problem with our awning and needed to reach the top to try to secure it better.  He couldn't help us, but as luck would have it, an emergency response truck was there to take care of a flat tire on another truck.  I approached the two men and asked if they could help us.  They did.  They didn't have a ladder, and quite frankly it would have been too dangerous to be standing on one in this wind.  But they suggested Michael turn the Alpine away from the wind, and helped open then retract the awning.  The wind had jammed something and it was difficult to get it open and retract the awning evenly.  They did the best they could, using their truck bed to stand and reach the top of the awning, and then helped to secure all the parts as tightly as possible with duct tape and bungee cords.  

It was at this point that we noticed that the large cover for the refrigerator vent was missing as was another smaller cover over the bathroom vent.  The wind had simply sheared those off and they were probably bouncing around the desert somewhere!

In fact the winds were so strong that we had to shout to be heard.  

What an ordeal and experience that was. 

Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers who were willing to help out two gray hairs.

 We continued on, hoping and praying the duct tape and bungees would hold up to some of the vicious gusts that kept side swiping us. We began to climb towards Tehachapi Summit, and just beyond Tehachapi, the winds ceased and we drove through thick clouds and a few sprinkles.

We had traveled this way on a previous trip and I remember the smooth velvety green hills in this area, and how pretty the scenery was.  Today nothing looked pretty.  It looked gloomy and menacing.  The low gray clouds did not help the mood.  

And of course, we were thinking about the damage that was done to Alpine, in just a mere ten minutes and not even a couple of miles into today's trip.  Not to mention the time we lost just trying to get everything under control.

Once we approached Bakersfield, we entered a corridor of fields, citrus groves and nut orchards. What a completely different scene unfolded for the next several miles, compared to the barren wasteland we had just crossed on the opposite side of the Sierra Nevadas.   

palm trees and citrus groves

green fields, perfectly tilled

fruit trees 

more fruit trees

pistachio trees 

Here is also where we began seeing aqueducts that provide precious irrigation to the various fields.

We jogged over to Route 99 and then to Route 46 towards Paso Robles, stopping at a Flying J to fill up, have a bite to eat, and stretch our legs. 

Along part of the route, there were oil derricks.  It was an ugly and messy sight, reminiscent of robotic creatures in an alien land.  

We left the plains, and approached hilly country ahead.  These hills were velvety smooth, and softly rounded.

 

The gloomy canopy we had traveled under was slowly edged out by a more cheerful and sunny sky.

Paso Robles was a landscape of vineyards and wineries, looking lush, green and hilly.

 

We were inching ever closer to our destination.  Eventually we began the familiar steep descent towards San Luis Obispo, where we made a quick stop at Costco to stock up for the week.
Back on 101, also called Camino Real with its familiar bells, the Pacific popped into view a few miles later.

What a wonderful and wondrous site it was.

We made our way to Pismo Coastal Village Resort.  It felt like coming home.
We found our assigned spot, and were immediately warmly greeted by several of the Alpine group who had already arrived and set up.

where's our Alpine.....?

Within minutes they helped Michael back in to our spot.  It felt so good to be welcomed and among friendly and kind folks.
The morning's ordeal faded away as we focused on the rally and meeting the Alpine members.
We set up, had our cup of tea, and went off to see the sea.







We made it just in time to watch the sunset.  It felt so good to be back at our favorite beach.  

Twenty three days after leaving the Atlantic, we arrived at the Pacific.  From sea to shining sea, we had traveled across ten states on our first Alpine trip.