A friend from Sequim, WA arrived last week to ride back up to Washington with me in Olivia, my Winnebago View.  We were supposed to leave last Tuesday but I needed another day to get ready so we took off on Wednesday.

Kathy, my friend traveling with me, has never been to Lake Havasu so I decided to take her there.  We stayed at the Islander Resort because I’d been there before with friends and recalled that it was pretty nice.  What I didn’t remember is that they don’t offer cable.  I must have had so much fun with my friends that I didn’t need cable because I’d forgotten that fact.  Not only that, but for off-season it was pretty expensive…$69.49 for overnight!!!  Yikes.  That’s the last time I’ll stay there.

The first night was interesting when it came to sleeping arrangements.  I slept over the cab.  Because I needed the ladder to get up and down it wasn’t possible to convert the couch to a queen size bed.  Which left poor Kathy barely fitting, length wise on the couch.  I wish I had a jackknife couch.  That would solve the issues we experienced. 

After we left Lake Havasu we headed towards California on I-40.  I think this was my second time on I-40 and I’ve decided to X it off the atlas I use so that I’ll never travel on it again.  The wind is unrelenting and exhausting.  And it never quits blowing.  Course, it was windy on I-10, too, at least from 85, which I take to avoid Phoenix.  Now that I think about it it was windy on I-8, too.  What’s with the wind???

We’re currently at the Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield, CA.  I really like it.  Two nights here is just about what I paid for one night at the Islander Resort in Lake Havasu.  This RV park is much nicer.  All the spaces are pull throughs and there are at least two orange trees per space.  While it doesn’t have the Colorado River to check out, it works.  I highly recommend it.

I decided to stay an extra day here and I’m glad I did.  I needed a Chipotle fix and found a great natural food store in town.  We stocked up on food so now we won’t have to go out for each meal.

We’re leaving tomorrow, Sunday, and heading north.  The goal being cooler weather which is eluding us.  That’s what started this whole trip to get away from the heat in Tucson. 

There’s a 40’ Phaeton parked next to us and I’m experiencing length envy.  Since I had a 40’ Alfa not too long ago I know how much more comfortable a 40’ diesel pusher is than a 24’6” Winnebago View.  In my convoluted way of thinking, now that I have a house in Tucson, it seems to make more sense to have a smaller motorhome and a bigger house.  Until a Phaeton parks next to me and I feel the envy.