Thurs., May 3

Mike - Drive S. on 99 not bad, but Grapevine S. of Bakersfield a real grind, then down toward LA, whose drivers the opposite of "Los Angeles"! NASCAR on steroids. Lane right backed up with exiting cars, but Idiot#1 ahead of me hits brakes and tries to join the line! My several tons of truck/trailer moves left, but car beside me; only God knows how I missed him; we're both shaking, as #1 nearly ended our trip! Need to fuel. I obey GPS's command to "exit and turn right". "Recalculating" WHAT! "Turn right". Right through grade school done for day. So is my patience! Finally, "Destination on left"; oops, only houses! "Drive 1-1/4 miles"; nearly tossed it out the window! Shopping areas ahead -- everything but a gas station; must be an electric vehicle only area!!! Whatdayaknow, I'm back where I exited the fwy. 8 miles to empty (i.e. 4). Right turn signal on for approaching onramp, but Idiot#2 pulls out from right. I hit horn, brake and "roof", not necessarily in that order; fortunately she hits gas not brake or would have been wearing my grill across her face! GPS: "Fuel next exit, then turn left". In left lane at light, gas station on right!!! Change to right turn signal, light changes; will they let me in? Four cars zip by before I swing wide and into station. After fueling, cannot back out; onramp across street, no divider, only traffic from right, light turn green, so start across 4 lanes. Light turns, room to cross behind car #3, but car #4 (Idiot3) looks at me and stops in front of me. ARE YOU KIDDING? I'm now blocking 2 lanes in each direction, but car #5 (must have been out-of-state) leaves room, but can't clear until light changes. (Note to self: upon return home, put truck and trailer on Craigslist!) J's laptop hard drive giving errors!!! My blogs too long for her phone. She backs up what she can. We'll ignore errors and pray it holds out; hope John (Carolyn's husband) in Colorado Springs can help. Arrived Banning later than expected, but had nice visit with Sandee, a deaf ex-co-worker from my McDonnell-Douglas days in Long Beach (CA) before we moved to WA in late '83, so had been 28 years.