Author: tsmith

Well that was a little alarming start to the morning. The Alfa was leaking vital fluids at a steady pace. Looked like transmission fluid. Nope, got under it, just washer fluid. I think we’re good to go!

I realize we stopped here to get that authentic roadside motel experience. I think we did good. But tell me, does this experience traditionally involve tremendously shitty in-room coffee?

Today was a long haul in three segments. We emerged after last night’s shenanigans, packed up, and (after a brief struggle with my starter, which is beginning to develop a lethargy) headed down the 5 from Santa Clarita to Highway 27, Topanga Canyon Boulevard, which took us through some spectacular rural scenery inside LA. In the twists, turns and hills, I learned two things: engine braking and that my truck’s suspension was definitely adjusted for Jaime’s kids to use the truckbed as a moonbounce in its previous life.

We emerged onto Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, and followed it north through Malibu to Neptune’s Net, a famous emporium of beer-battered almost-anything, recommended to us by Eric (who also joined us last night). Get the shrimp for sure, the calamari and fish were also good. After lunch, we jaywalked across the highway to walk along the cliffs and watch the surfers, a sight which made all of us question or nutritional choices at lunch…

After that, we took a detour to Oxnard for a locksmith. Trouble with Evan’s door was damaging the key, which caused it to stick in the ignition and sometimes prevented him from starting his car. Once he realized what the problem was, he got pretty good at flattening his key out with a tire iron, but the more permanent fix was to get his key duplicated.

While we were there, I tried to get them to re-core the toolbox on my truck. We’ve been using it for tools and cleaning supplies, but the lock is broken. The locksmith was unable to fix it and said I’d need to go back to Craftsman. But for his troubles, I felt compelled to make a token purchase, and happened upon this vintage keyring that is the same age as the truck.

From Oxnard, we set out to Prismo Beach. On the way, we stopped at a roadside vista that looked out over a valley of endless vinyards and fields. It was stunning.

Unfortunately, George spent a lot of that stop trying to figure out why his car died on the highway. It seems the jostling shook his negative battery connector loose. Easily reattached, but still unexpected. Evan and I continued to apply as much elbow grease as we could muster to clean our windows, again. It is steadily improving with each pass, but in late afternoon sun, the remaining permagrime on all the glass gets rather difficult to see through.

After the vista turnoff, we continued on to Dinosaur Cave Park in Prismo Beach. Apparently it got its name for a cave along the waterline that has since collapsed inward, but not before the original owners tried to build a giant concrete dinosaur to attract more tourists. Now it just makes a great place for a killer sunset.

The final segment sent us back up the 101 into Paso Robles, to the Melody Ranch Motel, which is exactly the kind of old-timey accommodations a roadtrip like ours definitely required.

We had a great dinner at the Villa Creek and turned in for the night. Tomorrow is going to be another long day.

Hey guys, we just hit five hundred miles!

Beer battered shrimp and fish at Neptune’s Net in Malibu on the beach. I am a happy man today.

That’s IT!! I am not listening to Mexican pop radio ANYMORE!

From a fan. He thinks it sums up our adventure concisely. He’s right.

Taylor: Hey I really could use a speedometer and compass for today. What app are you using for that?

Evan: It’s called “Ulysse.”

George: Oh, I just use the one that came in my car.

There’s some beautiful morning dew drops on the pot plant, you should go get your flower lens!

Taking after my father, I usually take every day of vacation as a challenge to find a way to expend energy and accomplish sightseeing feats at alarming rates. However, it occurred to me today that, if my adventures are to last a solid month, there will need to be slower days to retain sanity. Today was a “beach days.” We slept in, spent the day in Valencia working on cars, running local errands, and spending quality time with great friends.

George replaced his starter in an attempt to fix his hot-restart issue. With friend Eric Robi’s assistance, the starter is replaced. It seems to work, although we have yet to test a restart after significant highway miles.

He also replaced a lot of his fuses because they were in somewhat alarming shape.

Evan worked to diagnose his alternator and battery issue. There’s some significant weirdness happening somewhere in his electrical system, not the least of which is how the battery is stashed underneath the carpet in the trunk while his motor and alternator are under the hood. His verdict was that it actually is not the alternator, although I’m not sure what that leaves.

My noble pickup spent the day lounging in the sun because it is, in fact, not currently broken. At least not in unexpected ways. My noble steed served me well ferrying runs to and from the grocery and hardware stores, collecting supplies from each to nurse the other vehicles and us three drivers back to health and acceptable caffeination levels.

Aunt Heidi and her boyfriend John cooked burgers on the grill for us at her house while we ate, drank, and filmed more video interviews for Evan. We all told stories about our own experiences with the trip preparations.

George actually bought the Bumblebee sight-unseen after that Craigslist search, but Heidi was the one to actually met the seller at Nyseco Motors in Santa Ana, so her insight was deeply entertaining.

So today was a pretty great rest day, with good times and good friends at a restful pace. Tomorrow, we will head out via the 27 and the 1 through Ventura to Paso Robles. A bit out of the way, but I’m told it’s gonna be worth it.

Trixi, Aunt Heidi’s dog.

Yep, this is definitely in California.