We packed up and left Sommerville Almond Tree RV Park in Coalinga, Ca. at around 9am. The words 'Almond Tree' aren't in the title for no reason...
There are acres and acres of almond trees in this part of the Central Valley. There are also acres and acres of dead almond trees. You can read an interesting article on why that happened HERE.
Napa is only 215 miles from Coalinga so it wasn't a terribly long day of travel. With clear skies and relatively light traffic the trip was pleasant and uneventful. We stopped once to fill up the DEF tank on the coach. For the uninitiated, as of 2010 (as per an EPA mandate) large highway vehicles must be equipped with a DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) system. Here's a Youtube video explaining how it works.
Anyway, I pulled off the freeway to fill up the DEF tank. Many truck stops have DEF pumps beside the diesel pumps - a convenient way to fill the tank. The alternative is to buy it in 2.5 gallon jugs, available at most auto parts stores and Walmart. I usually get it at Walmart as they carry an off brand called SuperTech that is substantially less expensive than the Blue Def brand sold at most locations.
This isn't much of a story... and it's turning into a much longer one than I had anticipated. Hey, I said it was an uneventful day. I gotta write about something!
Long story short... as I pulled forward into one of the truck pump aisles I mistakenly identified the free-standing payment kiosk as the DEF dispenser. I set the air brake, Suzanne went in to prepay and I started making my way back to the pump (the DEF tank is all the way at the rear of the coach). When I arrived there I realized I had pulled too far forward. I pulled the DEF hose out of it's housing as far as it would go but it was still about 12" short of reaching my tank. By now, if you've been reading my blogs you know I can't back up. I went inside the station. Suzanne had already prepaid $50 so I asked the attendant for a refund. She told me I hadn't properly hung up the DEF pump and that I would have to do so before she could close the pump and issue my refund. I did so, she did so... and all was well. I had bought a jug of DEF when I purchased the windshield crack repair kit at O'Reilly Auto Parts the previous afternoon. I dumped that in the tank instead.
Pheww... good story, right?
Keeping the DEF tank full became a priority earlier last year after paying a diesel shop over $250 to diagnose a check engine message that turned out to be... you guessed it.... a low DEF level.
I def won't let that happen again. 😏
Suzanne is a big fan of the Manning boys (Peyton & Eli). I'm sure they have nothing to do with exit 365 on I-5.
As we neared our destination I had to stop once more to pay the $25 toll before being allowed to pass over the Carquinez Straight on the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. The passenger car toll is $5.00, but with a rig of this size (with a car in tow) tolls tend to be substantially more than your basic car toll. When the toll collector hangs out the window of his booth, calculator in hand, and begins counting axles... I feel like I always experience a slight rise in blood pressure and anxiety level.
We arrived at the Napa Valley Exposition RV Park sometime around 1:30pm and were escorted to site #13 where we set up, had a snack and relaxed for a few minutes before heading over to Suzanne's sister Barb's place. This is the Napa County Fairgrounds. We've been here before, when we lived in Napa, for livestock/agricultural events etc. but I don't remember there being an RV park here at that time. It's a very nice facility with paved roads, concrete parking pads and full 50 amp hookups. There are no events going on here currently and there's a big open-sided building nearby that looks like it's used for cattle auctions etc, and that I think Travis and I are going to have fun playing in over the next couple of days.
We spent the evening at Barb & Vince's place visiting with them, their daughter Barrett and Suzanne's cousin Janis and her husband Ken. Janis and Ken are beer connoisseurs and brought along a couple of interesting and tasty brews - and pineapple sangria! By the time they arrived the rest of us were already two margaritas in. So needless to say, a good time was had by all and the conversation flowed - as did the libations.
It's supposed to rain all day today and into tomorrow afternoon. I don't mind the rain, as long as we're parked ... and especially when we're parked on concrete. Driving in the rain gets the coach dirty ...and you know how I feel about that.
Thanks for reading the blog!
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