"Doing things Differently"

07-23-04

Got up this morning to another 55 degree day.  Cloudy.  That really degrades the solar power system. 
Was time to start the generator, since the solar wasn't making much electric.  Actually, the electric system shut down during the night due to low voltage.  So, first thing this morning, George started the generator to jump start the system, and because it was cloudy.  We were sitting in the motor home eating breakfast, and decided to start our generator also, for a cup of coffee.  You know, you gotta get good start in the morning.  Well, we decided to take a day trip.  Thought we might go to Santa Rosa, which is a city with a population of about 150,000.  We thought we would take a scenic route to get there.  Big mistake.  Turns out that the scenic route was full of twists and turns, uphill and down while twisting and turning.  There were a couple of places where the road was one lane traffic.  There are plenty of places out here where the road is wide enough for 2 vehicles plus about 1/2 shoulder, and no, I repeat, no guard rails.  Then there is a 150 ft. drop at about a 75 degree angle.  In other words, you don't want to miss the road there.  Well by the time we got to a decent road (route 101), Sherry was about to throw up.  We stopped at a gas station and got a couple of sodas with ice, and decided to abort the trip.  The way back was a different route that was considerably better - not nearly as twisty and hilly.  Not to be deterred however, Sherry did the honorable thing and decided to throw up anyway.  Not once, not twice, but thrice.  Turned every shade of green that exists.  Anyhow, we finally got back to the O's, about 6 hours or so after we left.  Sherry laid down and took a nap.  Finally got her stomach back ( well, mostly).  As you can tell, going to the store around here is a real trip (literally).  Most of the towns are small - 250 to 750 in population.  To get to any reasonably sized town like Annville or Lebanon, will require a several hour round trip.  Sounds more like the hills of a few southern states, instead of California, doesn't it?  Anyhow, we are going to hang around here on Saturday for Sherry to regain her composure.  Who knows, maybe we'll hang around another day or two.  Later....