bikeslut 1 Posted July 30, 2011 so- some of you have already heard a little bit of my adventure, but here it goes: I will post the camera pics later, so all you get is blackberry pictures for now My daughter was getting married in Tahoe, and she wanted the whole family there, as well as her youngest brother as a ringbearer... so; to save some money, we decided on a road trip- make some arrangements, and see some of California So we loaded up the van- each kid had his own seat, with space to stretch out... back seat had a lounge with the igloo. Video games, and DVD players... plenty of snacks and drinks So we head up at 4 a.m. Plan is to get to Sequoia by noon, and see some sights. Breakfast in the shadow of Magic Mountain so far so good Stop by the Kawhea River for lunch... a popular launch spot for Kayakers We are now at the gateway to Sequoia- we unloaded the van, and headed in to the park...we took plenty of quality pics with a good camera, but we saw THIS I like zoos, but there is something totally different about seeing an animal in nature... on the way back from Sequoia, the slow twisty roads and hot temps had me frying the brakes a little... I downshifted into a lower gear, and let the transmission take the brunt of the load to save the brakes So - we spent the night along the Kawhea River, in a "cabin"... the plumbed water came directly from the tiver, which sounds charming, if you didn't see the skinny dipper a mile upstream, and the 5 rednecks having a belly flop competition right outside out window... no a/c upstairs, so the boys sweltered... miserable. I woke them up at 4 a.m., and was shocked to see how hot it actually got up there... next stop- Tahoe... we plan on taking some awesome roads, OFF the Interstate since we have a fair amount of time before check in, and rehearsal dinner then transmission in the van takes a dump... MILES from civilization; glad I had some cell coverage... called 411, and asked for the nearest car rental place... "we don't have any rental places in this county"... "are you flipping kidding me?"... "well, then I need a tow to the nearest dealer" while waiting for the tow truck, I took a little walk... deer and mountain bike parks! that was our view for the next 45 minutes on twisty mountain roads... including the stop for the driver to give his wife some cash! Bright side of the tow was, we got to see a bald eagle... so we get to the dealer... sure... we can fix that... $6000 and one week! F that! Here is her new car now- cram one mini-van into one mid size sedan... igloo... gone! Money Tree... GONE!... assorted food and crap, left in the van Now we drive to Tahoe... beautiful room; view out of one window the view out the other windows was beautiful the view from the parking lot we are at 8000 feet... with 10 bags to carry... up 5 flights... with no elevator Make it over in time to see my daughter, but missed the rehearsal, and shower... she was very understanding Next day- get everybody dressed for the wedding... The ringbearer all ready to go except... where are his shoes? anybody? take a guess... IN THE VAN! dammit... oh well, get on the phone... nearest dress shoes? 56 minutes away!!! wedding starts in TWO HOURS!!! RUN FORREST RUN!!!! made the LAST tram ride up the mountain GOOD... they hadn't started yet the wedding went off as planned... mostly; the OTHER ringbearer started getting sick and blowing bubbles out of his mouth, right before he started teetering back and forth... Cody maintained his composure The next day, we headed to Safari West... it is owned by Peter Lang... a family friend, and Baja Racer... used to ride bikes, now rides buggies our tent... was NICE! hot water, shower, sinks, fully screened, maid service.... you can call it a tent, but it was awesome! the view from the room: there were actually Giraffe in the area, but had bedded down for the night The meal room- everybody sits on huge tables with everybody else- most of the stuff was brought in from Africa, and at least made to resemble accommodations there we had our meals with the owner, and everything was comp'd... room, admission, etc. the tour was cool... Cape Buffalo and Cheetah were my favorite, but they had lots of cool animals This is his buggy getting ready for San Felipe Two days at Safari West, then off to Monterey- we had already planned on staying there, when I asked my daughter where she was honeymooning... of course... there... But we paid for her accommodations ahead of time, and told her we would avoid her while in Monterey The boys near Fisherman's Wharf Stopped by Bubba Gumps to have dinner... LOOKIE THERE! Lunch the next day @ El Torito... yeah, yeah... I know... you go to Monterey and eat at El Torito? well... sea otters, seals, murres, sea lions all right outside the window was pretty cool On the drive to Sanata Barabara, we stopped by to see some Elephant Seals molting, getting ready for the arctic journey and... we made it... one more day our room in Santa Barabara lunch on the wharf then... headed home quite an adventure, but we saw some great things. Nice to be home, in my bed, and San Diego measures up to pretty much any place on earth as far as I am concerned Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted July 30, 2011 I know, I just said this on another thread, but it seems to fit: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkug 147 Posted July 30, 2011 What a adventure !!! Glad the Van problem got sorted out. You know that any vehicle will take a crap some day but you never know when. I am always intrigued when I see newer vehicles on tow trucks. I wounder WTF. At lot of good things to see in CA. Thanks for sharing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mistress of the dual 1 Posted July 30, 2011 Oi, what a trip! Sounds like you need a vacation to recuperate from your vacation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Crusty Posted July 30, 2011 Nice pics, glad you had a safe trip, did you like it there. We traded our timeshare week in Kauai for two weeks there,. Going September 11. I now think we should drive the new car. I plan to take mountain bikes, maybe I should take the 680L if the car breaks down. Looks like a great place to ride? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted July 30, 2011 Tahoe had so many Dual Sports riding around, it was odd... like being at the Desert Dash... every once in a while you would see a cruiser or touring bike, but dual sports every 10th vehicle and not your fancy smancy new bikes... old XRs, DRs, and Yamahas... and tons of snowmobiles in driveways I gotta believe that the same trails work for both vehicles, depending on the season- they had a real rough winter, and some of the most popular mountain bike trails JUST opened up that weekend (Rim Trail being one of them) Next time I go, I am renting a cabin (same price per night as my condo, with a lot more room) and bringing the kayaks and mountain bikes, for sure! I couldn't get any leads on trails for motorcycles, but would be SHOCKED if there weren't trails every which way... and the views were incredible... the Lake was awesome, dark green trees with light moss on one side... pines everywhere... Big foot territory... My mom really did NOT like South Lake Tahoe- too touristy for her, and the Nevada state line is RIGHT THERE, so the smoking and casinos didn't work for her either... I thought it looked like a great place to vacation! Next time I'm spending a week with all my toys, and a place to stay that doesn't tire me out. The other parents from the wedding rented houses/cabins for $300 a night, and they were pretty nice... game rooms, easy parking, jacuzzis... my condo had the same, but did I mention? It was 5 sotries UP... at 8000 feet? you'll have a great time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 0 Posted July 31, 2011 Funny....I had dinner at that table two nights ago!! Yeah, people laugh at eating at El Torito, but it has one of the best views of any restaurant in Monterey! And the price ain't that bad either, considering where you get to sit. Lunch the next day @ El Torito... yeah, yeah... I know... you go to Monterey and eat at El Torito?well... sea otters, seals, murres, sea lions all right outside the window was pretty cool Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xr650lnoob 0 Posted August 1, 2011 Your van breaks down and you go ahead and buy a car on the spot ... like a boss Nice report and congrats! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted August 3, 2011 Your van breaks down and you go ahead and buy a car on the spot ... like a boss Nice report and congrats! "like a boss" as my brother said "you are a starving car salesmans dream customer" 600 miles from home AND destination... my required attendance tomorrow at my destination... TWO car dealers in the whole freaking county... ZERO car rental places in the county... NO airport... No train station it was either buy a car, or set the whole family up with a cardboard sign "TaHoe or bUst" that being said; my dad is a retired executive from Ford, and therefore gets actual dealer price on new cars... Ford Edge would've set us back $--<----, and the Taurus was actually $3000 CHEAPER than the Edge, because it had 205 miles on it Rancher bought it, and decided he felt like a cockroach under a shoe with all the F350s running around that part of the state... he only kept it two days, and they took $12,000 off the list price I have NEVER felt more vulnerable buying a vehicle actually... I ALWAYS buy a vehicle with the mindset- If I don't like the deal, I'll just walk away I had no place to walk to Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PastaPilot 17 Posted August 3, 2011 that being said; my dad is a retired executive from Ford, and therefore gets actual dealer price on new cars... Ford Edge would've set us back $--<----, and the Taurus was actually $3000 CHEAPER than the Edge, because it had 205 miles on it I have NEVER felt more vulnerable buying a vehicle actually... I ALWAYS buy a vehicle with the mindset- If I don't like the deal, I'll just walk away I had no place to walk to That's gotta be a tough place to stand when buying, but it sounds like you got a nice car out of it. On one of my cars I spent some time chatting with the salesman and he showed me the dealer price, the distributor price, his price and the Ford Family price and the A and Z plan pricing was the lowest of all of them. Although my parents have bought cars at year end clearances off the family plan because they got a better price. So are you up for a moto trip in Sept? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bikeslut 1 Posted August 3, 2011 IF the moto trip is not during my business trip (6-10) or during Laurie's class reunion (15-18) or HER busniness trip (26-28), I will try to make it between the wedding, the trip and the new car, I may be on the ramen and water menu, but that's ok... I need to start doing some riding... haven't ridden dirt for way too long... took the DRZ in street trim out for two hours yesterday and had a blast. Cleaned the carb on the WR; still need to get the forks done on the WR... will replace the springs and hopefully revalve the WR for my type of riding (smash in to crap at high rate of speed) I have all of the parts except the springs, just need to do it, or pay somebody to do it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xr650lnoob 0 Posted August 3, 2011 Wife and kids are going to be visiting her moms place so i have 2 weeks to play. I'm going to be posting a ride to corral or somewhere in the vicinity soon. 13th, 14th and 20th, 21st (weekends). I may ride on weekdays in the evening after work to pancake rock (i actually ride there pretty often since that is the closest technical trail to downtown). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PastaPilot 17 Posted August 3, 2011 There is always October. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
