Hello, everybody!
As I mentioned on the blog last month, once both
Chris and I became full-time telecommuters and acquired Zelda, our second travel trailer, we started developing a plan to hit the road and work remotely
for the summer, in a bid to escape the excessive loveliness that is Phoenix in
July and August. We learned quite a lot
from working from the rig in Southern California in April, and in late June, we
headed back – albeit a bit further north – to start our adventure.
Ciao, Phoenix! See you in a few months!
We timed our departure to align with the week that my dad Steve would start his third Transpac race, a sailing adventure running from SoCal all the way to Honolulu, Hawaii. The first event we’d attend with he and Risa, as well as my Aunt Denise and cousin Rich (also visiting, from Houston), would be the Aloha Send Off party on Saturday night; to ensure we’d make it there in time, we worked the early shift on Friday, waved goodbye to the house for the next two months (we have some amazing friends who are taking care of it while we're gone), and spent the night in Quartzsite, Arizona at a local spot, the Holiday Palms RV Park. It had all the amenities we needed for the night and was conveniently located – what more could we ask for?
Zoe says she's not 100% sure about this adventure
Watching the final episodes of "Tour de France: Unleashed" on Netflix.
As you can see, we have full power at this point -
we had a panicky moment earlier in the afternoon when we
tripped the fuse by running both the AC and the microwave.
Thankfully, full power was quickly restored.
That would have been an uncomfortable night, if not.
After doing our normal early wake-up on Saturday morning, we walked the doggos, ate some breakfast (Chris made a run to a nearby eatery, the Mountain Quail Café, where he got called “honey” a lot by someone more than a bit older than him), then packed up and hit the road.
This is Bob the bonsai tree.
He came into our family a few months ago,
and he needs enough maintenance that we couldn't leave him behind.
So, he's also going on the summer work trip.
Huzzah.
Getting ready for an early morning stroll.
Like I said earlier, easy freeway access
All set up in pull-through spot 12
Easy access, nice and level, and at the right price
We stopped at the Whitewater rest area, a favorite of ours, to eat lunch, and then it was back on the road and into the mess that is the greater LA/Orange County/Riverside/Inland Empire area.
Sleepy babies
"Hi, Mom!"
Ah yes, we remember this!
Although the traffic slowed us down just a bit, before too long, we found ourselves at
Canyon RV Park, our home for the next week. Even though it was crazy packed, due to the park hosting a classic car show the day we arrived, check-in was quick and easy, and we promptly found our spot, site number 101. Like the night before, setup went well (we didn't try the microwave with the AC, just in case), and before too long, all four of us were heading to Dad and Risa's house to greet everyone and carpool to the party (Zoe and Bea stayed at the house - they weren't invited to the party - sad for them).
In site 101 - there's a huge green area behind the site,
which has been great for playing fetch with the monkeys
Chris and I with my cousin Rich
Check out our cool red team shirts -
the boat's name is Night's Watch, and the logo is
the direwolf from Game of Thrones.
"The North Remembers!"
While past years of Transpac parties have been in Long Beach,
in 2023, it moved to the city of San Pedro aboard the USS Iowa. I'm here with Vicky, or Victory, the ship's mascot.
Dad doing his Master of Ceremonies thing
San Pedro - the port of LA - is the number one port by volume in the country,
and next door, Long Beach is number two.
It was cool to see all the cranes and trucks moving cargo around,
even on a Saturday night.
The party had all sorts of cool entertainment,
including a steel drum band, a LAFD fire boat demonstration,
and a mock rescue from the Coast Guard.
The Iowa crew even shot the big guns off for us to close out the evening.
So neat!
On Sunday morning, Dad and Rich picked me up for a work day; we headed back to San Pedro, first to the Iowa again to collect some banners and other things left behind after the party the night before. Afterward, it was off to the LA Yacht Club, where we joined Tom, one of Dad's landside Transpac cohorts, to pack swag bags for each skipper and special guests.
Bea helping me with my daily journal
Uncrowded Iowa selfie
My view from the backseat -
those cases on the right are on my lap
Dad presenting Tom with his swag bag
Our bags are packed!
That's around 70 team bags,
and around 15-20 for special guests and other VIPs.
The bag packing crew outside the LA Yacht Club
For his part, Chris stayed at the rig with the girls, giving them some chill out time and getting us all set up to start working remotely on Monday. After dropping Rich at the airport for his flight home, Dad deposited me at the RV park, and Chris and I chilled there for a few hours before heading back to Dad and Risa's to have a delicious family dinner at their local Thai restaurant, Lanta Thai.
The ladies are relaxing in the sunshine!
On future blogs, we, well, we eventually drive to Washington state and back on this grand adventure! Coming up sooner than that, though, we wish fair winds to Dad and the crew of Night's Watch as they set sail across the big blue, and we finish out our time in SoCal.
Later!
Amy
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