We left the hostel this morning with a minor case of fear and
trepidation. We needed a sim card, a coffee, and a shuttle to Dublin.
We got the coffee, some fruit (finally) and delicious pastry (queue
for waffles was too long), got the sim card, and checked out of the
hostel.
Spent a nervous hour in the foyer of another hotel, waiting for the
shuttle, chewing our nails, watching traffic, and wondering just how
big our RV was going to be and how we would ever manage to drive it!
The shuttle arrived and we left for Dublin, via the Bay Bridge and a
beautiful view of San Fran's industrial areas.
Dublin is a small(er) city on the outskirts of San Francisco, where we
were to meet our travelling companion - now known as Winston. Winston
is a mammoth piece of machinery, far more equipped than we ever
imagined. He's 25ft long, 11ft high, and about a lane wide. Yet to
open the hood, so not sure of the engine, but it's plenty powerful. He
has cable TV (where available), DVD player, outdoor and indoor
showers, outdoor and indoor tables, "patio" light, two double beds,
two kitchen sinks, fridge/freezer, oven, stove, microwave, toilet, did
we mention the kitchen sinks?!
But the piece de resistance is the magic button which (when Winston is
stationary) can be pushed to move the left side wall outwards about
2ft. This provides us with even more space, quite ridiculous really.
The hotel in Vegas will probably feel small! Pictures to follow.
The first few minutes (okay, hours) were very stressful, especially
given that we headed almost straight onto the I580 and the CA120. Both
are massive motorways, about 6 lanes wide (each way), and absolutely
choc full of cars, trucks, vans, cop cars, etc. Once we got off the
interstate, we were amongst the beautiful Californian countryside.
Rolling hills, green crops, brown grasses, fruit trees, 10kms of
windmills on the crest of a range, and some tiny farming communities.
In the aptly named Farmington (near Copperopolis) we were delighted to
see that the local Fire Station offered a side service as a depot for
abandoning babies.
Having lightened the load, we continued on to Angel Camp, home to the
delightful Angel Camp RV Resort. Complete with emu, this has been a
good first stop, despite 3 U-turns to get here. When you see the
portraits of Winston you will soon see that such a manoeuvre is one
likely to raise blood pressures.
So we're now settling down to sleep. Heading to Yosemite early tomorrow.
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