Ready to Roll

• Having sampled so many Southern California adventures and lazed my way through a winter where the worst weather was strong wind and occasional rainfall, I’ve come to the usual conclusion: people are what make a place special.
  

• Saturday night, after a leisurely farewell dinner at a family-run, yummy home-made pasta restaurant, the “usual gang” sojourned to Sandy’s candle-lit patio for a late-evening happy hour. Sandy, a “six and sixer” snowbird with homes on both ends, had already jammed her car three-quarters full with the “stuff” she needs for the summer months in West Vancouver.
  

• Sunday morning, Donna and Tom invited me to the Elks Club for a farewell buffet breakfast, no doubt the finest in Hemet. Being an Elk is all about helping your neighbours and Tom lives that credo in spades. Sunday afternoon when I started road-prepping, he initially offered to install my new windshield wipers – heading for BC, I need the finest money can buy. By the time Tom was done, my oil, brake and other fluids were all checked and topped up and he had hauled his compressor down the street to top up my tires. On a daily basis, Tom has cruised by on his rickety red bicycle and recycled his newspaper by delivering it to my door. (Thank you, Tom!)

• When it came time to load my scooter onto the hitch behind MineRVa’s back bumper, Gary was quick to offer his help – which really means he did it with minimal help from me. (Thanks, Gary!)

• Yesterday, it was a farewell pancake breakfast with Carol and a farewell Texas barbeque dinner at Donna and Tom’s. In between, farewell hugs and last-minute waves abounded as 55 snowbird rigs jockeyed for position at the departure gate.

• While every moment of my 97 days in residence at Golden Village has been thoroughly enjoyable, I am eagerly anticipating racking up the northbound miles (ooops, time to shift back to kilometers) zooming along the I-5, heading home to Victoria.

• This morning I am up early, have showered, dressed, brushed my teeth, and fixed some coffee and snacks for the road. Momentarily, I will dump my black and grey water tanks, disconnect the water supply, cablevision, the shoreline power and do all the last minute checks to ensure MineRVA is road-ready.

• Signing off from the Golden Village in Hemet, California!