Day 1 - San Juan Batista, CA
Hi, all my friends! Your faithful travel reporter is back at work, keeping you up to date on the meanderings of me and my resident humans, Geri and Don! As you might suspect, we’ve hit the road again, this time for our annual trek northward to take part in the Yokum Family Reunion in Canyonville, Oregon, a visit with my early mentor, Gary, and excursions to who knows where else. We’re planning a month-and-a-half, more or less.
I sat in on the planning for this excursion, and must say that I found it amusing. The one thing that Don was adamant about was that we would not be leaving two days before the reunion, like we did last year. Geri wanted to be sure that we would pick a route that would avoid any really hot weather. So Don says that he wants to spend some time in Sacramento on the way up (temp. 100 degrees plus). Minor altercation ensuing. Don retreats, temporarily. So, comes day before departure; Geri says, “Where will we be tomorrow night?” Don comes back, “Figured on Patterson, where we went last year.” Patterson is in the Great Central Valley, on Highway 5, south of Sacramento. Geri responds with an edict: find the lowest temperature spot on a route north to spend the first night. Don dutifully researches the weather forecasts, determines San Benito county to be cooler than Patterson. So, this morning we headed north on Highway 101 to wind up at one of our favorite RV parks, the Betabel, next door to San Juan Batista.

As we were leaving Ventura this morning, after saying goodbyes to Maggie, who is taking care of my Aussie friends Alice and Cooper, and Debby the Temptress across the street, we fell in behind a newer Monaco Windsor motorhome that Don admired. They were travelling at about the same speed that Don likes, so we continued behind them until they turned off the 101 at Atascadero. As we pulled up the Cuesta Grade just beyond San Luis Obispo, it became obvious what Don was really up to; he wanted to see just how good our older Diplomat was at climbing grades in comparison to a newer, more powerful motorhome. We kept pace with the Windsor all the way up, and Don’s chortling was insufferable. Geri and I were both glad when the Windsor pulled off; next thing would be a top speed contest.

As a point of personal pride, I want to let you know that the photo that heads this page is obsolete; Don intends to replace it with a new one of me in my new fur configuration, popularly known as a “puppy-cut”. I like it a lot, as it keeps me a lot cooler in hot weather, and I think it makes me look a lot younger. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it, and I’m sure you’ll want to see it modeled properly. We’ll get a new picture posted as soon as possible.



I want to thank all of you for joining us on this excursion; I’ll try really hard to keep you fully informed, and occasionally entertained. That’s my job as Travelblogdog!