A great night’s sleep after a long day at the beach. We need to be up and out of the hotel by 8 AM if we are going to make it to Oakhurst (just south of Yosemite) in time to pick up the car.
I am up and showered and ready to go by 6:15 and start waking everyone else up. An hour later and Jackson is the only one showered and ready to go. 8:30 and we are finally up and I am sending the kids down to get some breakfast. 9:00 and we are still showering and packing. 9:30 and we are finally ready to call the bellman to come pick up the bags. 10 AM and we are in the car on the way to the RV Park to pick up the RV. We throw all the luggage in the RV, but no, wait, Georgia was doing cartwheels in the room and put down her phone. A call to the hotel and they found it. I run the trip on the GPS and it puts us in Oakhurst at 4:40, just in time to pick up the car before they close at 5. No other rental agencies there and they are not open on Saturday or Sunday.
Wendy has been asking to wash the bugs off the front of the RV for the past couple weeks, so we pull over to the boat wash where she will wash while I return to the hotel 20 minutes away to pick up the phone. I make it back in 15, spot the security guy a $20 for having it outside (against policy – I am supposed to find my way to the security office) and head back on the PCH one more time. I take a picture of the Pacific Coach Highway sign while at a red light (the picture Wendy wanted to get but I wouldn’t stop before because we are already running hours late) and make it back to the RV in less than 15 minutes.
Wendy follows me to John Wayne Airport to drop off the car. The GPS is now showing 5:15 and we have to stop to get gas (not a quick endeavor with the RV), drop off the car and make up 15 minutes plus any minutes we lose along the way.
By the time we pull out of John Wayne Airport at 11:45 the GPS is now saying 5:45. I don’t think we have a chance. I have to make up 45 minutes on a 6 hour drive through LA and the mountains. I decide to push on as we really don’t have any other options. If we don’t get the car, we will be driving the RV everywhere. Not what I want in Yosemite which has worse traffic than LA. As we head north on 410, I hit stop and go traffic. More time to make up. We then hit I-10 and things free up, but it is up hill into the mountains. I have the pedal to the floor, but I’m still stuck in the second lane with the slow trucks as the RV screams. Further north, we finally hit a stretch of highway where I can make up some time. Each time the radar detector screams, I slow down just in time to spot California’s Highway Patrol sitting behind a clump of bushes. But I am making up some time. After 3 hours of pushing it at every opportunity, the GPS is now saying 5:15. By 3:00, it is now saying 5:10 and I call Enterprise to see if they can keep the door open for me. She lets me know that she is very willing to help, but has to get a car back to Fresno (45 minutes away) before they close at 6. She can stay 10 minutes or so. I’ll keep on pushing, but now realize that I am supposed to also check in with our guide for fly fishing by 5. A quick call to them, while white knuckling the wheel and all is well there. He can have someone at the shop until 6. As I���m screaming through central California, I don’t have any time to take in the sights or stop for a brief rest. At 4:40, I call the agent to say that barring any traffic, we will be there. Now the low fuel light comes on. I hope we have enough gas to make it to pick up the car.
We pull in at 5:10 and I run in. She is complaining to someone working there that she is so going to be in trouble for being late getting to Fresno, but really wanted to help me out. Car in hand, we head over to the fly fishing outfitter. The guide there looks over our equipment, suggests some adjustments to leaders and tippets and lets us know that Jimmy the shop’s owner will meet us at the campsite at 9AM. Wendy still wants to wash the RV and needs to pick up some food. I really would like to just sit back and relax for a bit. I find a gas station and fill up, we wash the front of the RV (the whole thing will not fit in the wash), head to McDonald’s to pick up some dinner, and head to the grocery store. It is 105 here in Oakhurst, so while Wendy shops; I sit with the air on and eat a salad. I get to rest for 45 minutes. I’m exhausted. When Wendy returns, she asks how we are going to deal with no electricity with this heat. I convince her that it will be much cooler at the campsite. It is 3000 feet higher in elevation, and I remember the old adage that you lose 3 – 4 degrees for each 1000 feet. I hope this still hold true or it will be a long night.
We head out of town for the 15 mile, 30 minute drive. The campsite is just outside the park at a National Forest campground. No water, no electric. Just us and Mother Nature again. Oh, and what power we have in the battery and fresh water we have in the tank.
We pull in and find out our spot is right next to a nice stream. The host lets us know that they are expecting a low of 52 degrees. Plenty cool. We settle in and head to bed. A long hard day’s drive, but it should all be worth it if we can get out and do some hiking and fishing tomorrow.