Well folks we are officially back out on the road. We have been in Bakersfield, CA for the last month. What an experience that was. During our time in Bakersfield we had some crazy things to take in. I will tell ya'll a few stories. One that stands out, is my need to get my thyroid medication. I had about one week of meds left so I called in my prescription to the pharmacy like I always do. It is usually ready that day if I call it in early enough. When I went to pick it up I was told that it was denied. They asked if I wanted to resubmit it, I said sure. Second day, same result. I called my Dr. the morning of the third day and was told that it was "all good" and it would be ready the next day. Went back in the next day (day 4), same result. Denied! Now I call the Dr. office with a bit more, we'll say, "enthuiasm". The nurse on the line says,"I will call the pharmacy and call you right back". No call back from the office at all. Day 6, I call the Dr. office and get the famous answering machine. I left a nasty message about the length of time it was taking to get this done, where I am in the country and the need for my medication, as I am now on my last day of meds. No call back. Now my lovely wife gets on the phone with the Drs. office. I am completely out of meds. They inform her that since it has been so long since I have been in, that I need to be seen before they will fill my prescription. SWEET!!!! I am in Southern California with no meds and the need to see a Dr. No way I can get in to an Endocrynologist in any less than 2-3 weeks. Only other option is to go to the County Health Clinic. If you have not experienced an "Inner-City" clinic, you ae truely missing out on one of the craziest places you can visit. I had to go in as a walk-in and wait,and wait, and wait. In my two days I am waiting I am one of maybe 5 people there that speeks english and one of 3 that is white. Was everyone staring at me or was it just my emagionation? Two days later I see an old school Dr. that after asking how I feel, how the meds are doing and any health problems associated with the meds, fills my meds at the same dose. I needed to get my blood work done so he sends me down to the "real" ghetto clinic. Now we are in it. Roll up the windows and don't stare at anyone. In my travels I have found that most places I visit if there is a "Martin Luther King" Dr., Ave., Blvd. whatever, it is usually on "that side of town. Yep, the clinic is off MLK, big fences, bars on windows and doors. Two young black men helping another black youth get over one of the big fences into someones yard. Sagging pants and bad intentions written all over them. When we get done, we find out that this is the area where most of the murders in Bakersfield happen. Super fun. Blood work comes back good and I am now set.
We also made a trip up to the State Capitol, Sacramento. I have some great memories of Old Sacramento from my youth, so we took the kids to see what it was like. First stop was to get some of the saltwater taffy that I love. $15 later, we had a big bag. Tres and the kids had never been on train so we hit the old train that takes you along the Sacramento river. It was a beautiful day and the train ride was wonderful. On the way back to Bakersfield we stopped and had lunch with my Sister Pam and my nieces, Kaitlyn and Amber. We hadn't seen each other in years so it was a great visit.
We started to get the itch to get back on the road. The visit with the Jerrolls was fantastic, but we are meant to travel.
Back on the 58 at 0630 the morning of the first. Up and over Tehatchape pass and straight into the Mojave. What a landscape. We live in the high desert, but nothing like this. Miles and miles of some of the driest country I have ever seen. Still beautiful but no place to plant roots. I find it amazing that people could eek out any kind of existance in these kinds of places. We motored right into AZ., past Kingman and headed to the 89. After turning south on the 89, I hit the worlds largest bump in the road. I didn't even see it comming. The trailer actually got airborne. I should have stopped to check everything out, but didn't think anything felt wrong. Soooo not the case. We hit the Chino valley and a man pulled up next to me and said that I had lost my sewer line. I thought that the hose had come out of the bumber. That is where the sewer hose is stored. I pulled over to check and it was still there. I peaked under the trailer and noticed that the sewage holding tank was not where it was supposed to be. It is a 40ish gal black tank, its pretty hard to miss. I bungied the line to the tank in place and drove the last 8 miles to our campground. We dropped the trailer and headed back down the highway to find what was left of our crapper tank. About 15 miles from Prescott we saw our tank. Laying right beside the southbound lane. Other than a few holes in the tank it seemed fine. Most of the "goodies" were out of the tank so Tres and I threw it in the bed of the truck and headed home. I am now patching the holes and will hopefully get it fixed and get it reinstalled here in Prescott. Oh the life of the traveler. Yes folks it IS as glamerous as you think.
We are enjoying the Prescott area. It is a neat little city, centrally located to so many things. We will spend a month here and venture out to the sites.
No comments:
Post a Comment