March Madness

Day 1

The day of departure is finally here and as we headed out the rain came down in Penticton.  Maybe we shouldn’t have washed the bus the night before at the Husky station.  This was an adventure in itself.  I must say that was a first, finding a bus wash after 9pm in Penticton.  Thanks to Safeway being open and allowing us to empty them of their change the bus was clean before we left.  We headed to Abbotsford via Crow's Nest pass ran into some snow once we hit hope the snow was gone and the rain was minimal. 

We stopped just before the Sumas border to have lunch and pick up four more youth from Vancouver.   Saturday afternoon on the beginning of Spring Break may not be the best time to cross the border but after the border guards asked all 36 of us the same questions and scanned our passports we were away around 2 pm.  Now 4:30 and we are in stop and go traffic nearing Seattle.  The sun is out and the weather is continuing to get warmer as we head south.  Boats have been spotted on the water and one man was mowing his lawn. 

Driving all night will put us in Northern California very early in the morning.  We should hit San Diego sometime late afternoon Sunday. 

Day 2

We did come into California early Sunday morning we came back into snow as we crossed the border from Oregon.  The snow was coming down wet and heavy we made to just outside Weed, Calf. and had to be turned around due to road closure over Mt. Shasta.  After a good stop on the off ramp to assess the situation we turned around and headed back to Yreka.  By this time it was 6:30 am we found a Walmart and parked for the next 6 -7 hours until stores opened and the snow let up.  Apparently, having bus chains is not common in N Cal. However, after calling around we did manage to find a pair that would work if needed. 

11 am we again assessed the situation as the snow is melting and the sun begins to shine.  According the Ralph, the Wal-Mart greeter, the once- a- year big dump of snow just so happened the same night we were passing through Northern California.  The roundabout trip we would need to take to bypass the snow would mean another 24 hours of driving to make San Diego, rather than the usual 12.  With chains on board we turned the bus south and headed for???  A big thanks to the owner/operator of the Napa Auto Parts store in Yreka, your generosity getting us back on the road was a true blessing. 

Mt. Shasta did have about a foot of snow at the summit but none on the road with a long line of trucks and cars we head to Redding.  According to the weather report there could be snow in Northern Cal for the next couple of days, but now we are looking at green grass and a beautiful Lake Shasta, just after 1 pm.  We will make San Diego late, late, tonight but we will make it.  A big thanks to Andrew and Dan, our bus drivers for handling the situation like the Pros they are.  And I must say a big thanks to all the youth for “hanging out” for hours at Wal-Mart and McD’s without a complaint.  According to Butch, a local rancher new Yreka, “Every day is a good day” today is a great day just rather long. 

Day 3

I would like to say I am in the BW in San Diego and it’s early.  We did not make SD due to the closure of the Grapevine.  We are in the BW in Bakersfield, we arrived about 10 pm.  Snow has shut down the Grapevine; we will assess the weather in the morning after a good night’s sleep.  It is just after midnight and the rooms are quiet.  Tomorrow, Monday we will make Mexico though a bit later than planned we have having a great time.  Weather in Cal is a bit wet; water standing on the side of the roads, rivers running just at the peaks and it is still raining.