Traveling

[O Really]

How's that rail travel going lately?

I didn't come here to bust your chops. I was just wondering if with San Diego being one of your bases now, longer than you intended at present , whether you are on the email list of:

BORDER ANGELS

They're a great group and they're local. In fact, you directly or indirectly turned me on to them when I lost a bet to you with a charitable donation being the stakes. They have a weekly newsletter.

The trains still run on a curtailed schedule, but we're staying off them. Actually, pretty much everything is shut down. Parks, trails, yada. The last remaining is the actual beach in places, where you can walk, run, exercise, walk over to go surf, but not sit or gather. Patrolled. Today, enforcement started for violation of going into closed places, grouping, or non-distancing. Nobody's really gonna go to jail on this, but in theory such violation could be 6 month and/or up to $1,000 fine. But what we're getting for it is significant impact on the virus infestation. When the state originally shut down, there were 6 cases/100K population. It has risen to 24/100K now, but that's still lower than, e.g. Florida that was at 33 before partially closing; lower than Illinois that has 55 even with closure. Oceanside (population 180K), only had 24 "official" cases as of yesterday, although, as they say, "actual cases are likely much higher."

No, I don't do anything with Border Angels. But I'm sure their efforts are much more difficult now than last fall, and much more difficult overall since 2016. Probably ought to send them some money.

[Vrede too]

... No, I don't do anything with Border Angels. But I'm sure their efforts are much more difficult now than last fall, and much more difficult overall since 2016. Probably ought to send them some money.

You can't do anything with them at the moment, even if you wanted to. Their water drops are cancelled and they're not even accepting any goods for the shelters, despite desperate need. Just thought you might want to be plugged in to what your barrio mates are up to, whatever it may lead to down the road.

[O Really]

Just thought you might want to be plugged in to what your barrio mates are up to, whatever it may lead to down the road.

I had a Dos Equis Amber in honour of Cesar Chavez Day. Does that count?

[O Really]

Free rides and loading/exiting from the back reduces exposure of the driver, but doesn't do much to curtail usage or help rider crowding. Around here, though, buses as well as train cars are mostly empty.

[O Really]

So the Canada/US border will remain closed until "at least" June 21 - and may continue the 14-day quarantine requirement on both sides of the border even after that. Not being fond of the idea of spending a month of the summer in quarantine, it looks like we'll be hanging out in the US PNW. Original plans were to take a leisurely cruise north, spending some time in NorCal, Grant's Pass area, and then Oregon North Coast, but in an "abundance of caution" we're just going to head up to Spokane-ish and hide out around the Palouse to see what happens. Avoid crowds, take some hikes, climb some hills, visit with family from a distance, yada. If we get to Canada, fine - if not, we'll still have a good summer.

[O Really]

So we survived our night in Bakersfield - it's actually a lot nicer than it used to be. Didn't see Buck, but there were quite a few wannabebucks.
Today we find ourselves in Modesto, home of George Lucas, "American Graffiti," and Gallo Brothers.

You can still "cruise" the original streets - make it 1962.
http://www.modestocruiseroute.com/about/

[O Really]

So we survived our night in Bakersfield - it's actually a lot nicer than it used to be. Didn't see Buck, but there were quite a few wannabebucks.
Today we find ourselves in Modesto, home of George Lucas, "American Graffiti," and Gallo Brothers.

You can still "cruise" the original streets - make it 1962.
http://www.modestocruiseroute.com/about/

Do you know the story behind the city's name?

Ralston didn't want it named after him.

Funny thing is, "Ralston" ended up being a wide spot in the road in WA.

[GoCubsGo]

So we survived our night in Bakersfield - it's actually a lot nicer than it used to be. Didn't see Buck, but there were quite a few wannabebucks.
Today we find ourselves in Modesto, home of George Lucas, "American Graffiti," and Gallo Brothers.

You can still "cruise" the original streets - make it 1962.
http://www.modestocruiseroute.com/about/

Is the Urban Assault Vehicle good for cruising?

[O Really]

Those were some cool rigs. If they still made that style, I'd sure look at it. They only made them for a few years, but they're still popular among collectors/restorers. We stayed somewhere a couple of years ago where they were having a rally for owners of the beasts. The reason they're so low is that they are front engine, front wheel drive. It was basically your Olds Toronado set-up with a 455ci engine. There's some disadvantages in that there's no underfloor storage and you need to ante up to have any of the tech features on current rigs, but it was a cool machine.

[GoCubsGo]

Those were some cool rigs. If they still made that style, I'd sure look at it. They only made them for a few years, but they're still popular among collectors/restorers. We stayed somewhere a couple of years ago where they were having a rally for owners of the beasts. The reason they're so low is that they are front engine, front wheel drive. It was basically your Olds Toronado set-up with a 455ci engine. There's some disadvantages in that there's no underfloor storage and you need to ante up to have any of the tech features on current rigs, but it was a cool machine.

Yeah, mid 70's GMC, I think.

And that one came with P.J. Soles!

[O Really]

I've never since been able to regard that town's name as much more than a sarcastic joke.

Funny "rest of the story." I don't know much about Ralston, but the story rings true for the wealthy, high-ego people of the time. Still does, unfortunately.

[Vrede too]

I looked to see if Modesto's Ralston had anything to do with the Ralston Purina Company. He didn't, but I came across this very strange slice of Americana:

Ralstonism

[O Really]

I looked to see if Modesto's Ralston had anything to do with the Ralston Purina Company. He didn't, but I came across this very strange slice of Americana:

Ralstonism

Oh, different Ralston for Purina? Didn't know that. Scratch the comment (above) about Washington's Ralston - that one was named for Ralston-Purina.

[Vrede too]

Oh, different Ralston for Purina? Didn't know that. Scratch the comment (above) about Washington's Ralston - that one was named for Ralston-Purina.

Yeah, Purina's Ralston and the philosophy/religion weren't even from a real person, it was a pen name. That's funny about Ralston, Washington. "The community took its name from the food."

A guess: Because the cereals were an important market for the local grain, or they wanted it to be.

[GoCubsGo]

Found a nice spot for O Really and the Mrs. to park themselves.

https://news.yahoo.com/look-inside-top- ... 00336.html

[O Really]

Found a nice spot for O Really and the Mrs. to park themselves.

https://news.yahoo.com/look-inside-top- ... 00336.html

Ha! Yeah we actually saw that place when we were in Palm Springs last fall. It is very nice, but if I was going to ante up that much, I'd want to be somewhere else - like closer to the ocean.

[Vrede too]

Found a nice spot for O Really and the Mrs. to park themselves.

https://news.yahoo.com/look-inside-top- ... 00336.html

I was wondering what an infinity pool is, then before I could even Wiki I told myself, "If you have to ask, you can't afford it."

[Vrede too]

Ha! Yeah we actually saw that place when we were in Palm Springs last fall. It is very nice, but if I was going to ante up that much, I'd want to be somewhere else - like closer to the ocean.

Look at what you're missing:

Giant stuffed animals are riding this famous (San Diego) California roller coaster during the coronavirus shutdown



Bummer.

[O Really]

I like the old wooden coasters. Maybe the sound, maybe the feel of the ride, but when you can find one still running, they're better than the metal behemoths.

CLASSIC WOODEN ROLLER COASTER
SPEEDS UP TO 48 MPH WITH SHARP DIPS AND TURNS, PLUS AN OCEAN FRONT VIEW
The Giant Dipper was built by the Prior and Church Company (a pioneer in the coaster field) in 1925, during the Golden Age of wooden roller coasters. The amusement park’s popularity peaked in the early 30’s. In the years that followed, the park and coaster had their shares of financial ups and downs, and the entire facility closed in 1976.

After the park’s closing, a group of concerned citizens formed the Save the Coaster Committee to prevent the demolition of the coaster and attempt to restore it instead. The committee obtained a state historic preservation grant to help start restoration.

In 1990, the San Diego Coaster Company was formed and a lease was signed with the city of San Diego to restore and operate the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster at Belmont Park. It was restored at a cost of $2 million and, in all, took three years of planning and building. The renovation of this vintage wooden roller coaster included such improvements as an all-new track and track bed, 11,000 new bolts, thousands of board feet of lumber and two new trains with modern restraint systems.

Today, the Giant Dipper stands as an icon of the San Diego beachfront.

[O Really]

So the summer hasn't been anything at all what we originally had planned, but overall we've done pretty well with the conditions we had. Staying mainly along a line north of I-90, we've managed to have some good walks/hikes, fun road trips, and see some interesting places. We spent a little time in Montana, considering another trip to Glacier until we found out it was so crowded this year that to even get on the Going-to-the-Sun road to spend the day bumper to bumper you had to be on line up at the gate by, like, 6:00a.m. So our Montana time was spent in Polson, hanging around Flathead Lake. We did an easy version hike on Mt. Ranier, and a somewhat miserable vertical hike on Mt. Spokane. Had some good local handmade brats in Leavenworth, and salmon fresh off the boat in Seattle. Got closer to Justin Beiber than I would have ever wanted to be (same town, Coeur' D'Alene), and lived through several 100+ degree days. Next month we'll start heading back south, at first by way of the Oregon coast. Hopefully the fires will be diminished by then. In a lot of ways, our life may not be too different from what it would have been without the pandemic, but we're reminded every day that pretty much everything is affected in some way. And then there's a sense of waiting - waiting for the pandemic to pass, waiting for the election, and it's still complicated to make anything other than short-term plans. But it's still a good life - one for which we remain grateful