The second day of driving, we went much farther. But then we got an early start. The biggest issue we had was the wind that kicked up outside of Flagstaff. It was really strong and I spent all day holding onto the wheel with both hands, and fighting the wind. Made me feel bad for the firefighters that were fighting forest fires to the south, around Sedona, I think. The wind had whipped the smoke all the way to Flagstaff. Not only could you see it, but the smell was pretty strong, too! That wind stayed with us for most of the rest of the trip. At one point, I got Jeff to drive for about 30 minutes so that I could rest my hands and shoulders. Later, we remembered that there were some air bags under the coach that they said might make it handle better on the road. So, we put some air in them. It did seem to help a bit.
There is absolutely nothing to look at on the highway in California we chose. In fact, it is pretty ugly country. Nothing but sand.... really. Even the towns were depressing. And I LOVE California! Just not that part. Once we got north of Sacramento it was much better. The second night, we managed to find another Flying J Truck Stop on the highway just outside of Bakersfield. I just love free!
I think our longest drive was the third day, and it was through the mountains. Northern California and into Oregon. Sadly, it got dark shortly after we got into Oregon, but I know the scenery had to be amazing. There were lots of truckers on that highway, too. We finally rolled into Coos Bay and got to our campsite on the beach around 1:30 am. I was dog tired. We didn't do much but plug in and get to bed. It was great, too. Cracked the window next to the bed and we could hear the surf on the beach! Slept like a baby for both nights we were there. On Friday, Jeff made a short run from the beach at the RV park, into town to the Coos Bay Firefighter Memorial, which is the "official" starting place. However, he felt that we should truly do a "coast to coast" run, and in order to do that, he needed to run in from the water. It was a sort of "unofficial" piece of the journey.
After that, we went in to meet the Chief of the Coos Bay Fire Department, Mark Anderson. He was great! He basically asked us what we needed from him. We asked for the apparatus to meet us in the morning at the memorial, and maybe even escort us up the road. He also managed to get the news reporter out there to interview Jeff Saturday morning at the start. It was great!
After meeting him, we went on over to the hotel where Jeff's dad, Cal, sister, Sharon and her husband Jerry, and Lisa's husband Steve, were staying. We went on to dinner, meeting also a running friend, Don Pemberton. It was a nice meal at a local Italian restaurant. Then we were back to the campsite for an early bedtime.
This morning, Saturday, was the big kick off, at 9 am. Everyone showed up on time at the Coos Bay Firefighter Memorial. We all chatted a bit, as the firefighters had a lot of questions.
They were all really terrific! They actually escorted us, with Jeff running between 2 vehicles with red lights going, all the way to the town limits. Then they handed us off to the next town fire department, which was North Bend. They then escorted us to the big bridge out of town.
All told, Day 1 was a big success! Jeff was smiling at the end, and that is a good thing.
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