Day 5 | Today's the day...

Well, today's the day I take delivery of the trailer. Its been a very long trip, but I know once I'm pulling it off the lot I'll feel a great sense of accomplishment. Right now its just something I want to get over with. Show me around, teach me about the systems and let me get this over with already :) I'm ready to start making my own schedules.

Last night was great for my ankles. I still can't believe that they got so big, but resting in a horizontal position for a full night of sleep brought them down to normal finally (well, almost). I'm hopefule that sleeping horizontal the rest of the trip will get the job done.

To do last night's blog:

Truck: So the thing has power. I'm finding that no matter what it can still pull, and that if it didn't have the limiter on it, it'd really move. We'll see how it acts under the trailer, but I have no doubts I'll find that hills won't be any problem for it, nor will slowing on those hills. I'll find out right away of course because Poway is in the middle of mountain central, so trial by fire it is!

One thing I have found interesting and annoying is the freeways in California and how they are made. Its very strange - not as bad as that run in MO, and NM had its moments, but all the freeways in CA have that grooved, poured structure. The truck runs fine on it slow, not bad at 55/60, ok at 80 - but at 72-77 its the worst ride of the world. I can't describe it as anything other than bone-jarring, teeth-clapping bounds, and unless you've been in it, you can't understand. I'm glad that trailering will limit me to 55, thought with the weight of the trailer than all might be moot at 72 anyhow. I hope to never deal with that again!

PINK - so theme of the trip right? Guess what was the first song on the station this morning. Crazy!

Economic Stimulus Package - It is working. There is no doubt as I've seen the proof. On my journey I must have passed 10 different brand new busses for difference municipalities. Shows that the money given to communities is going to help people - in other communities. Why a city would get ES money and then spend it to build a bis in another state rather than give it to their own people is beyond me, but clearly government at its finest. I'm sure that some bus building union has friends inside the circle of people that wrote the stimulus package and that they made sure that you got money for new busses, knowing that there are only 5 places in the US to build/buy/paint those busses. I mean, I guess its jobs no matter how you look at it, but giving Springfield, Missouri money so they can buy busses built in Downey, California (all locations, etc. made up with no fact behind them) shows that you're not out to help your own people, just to spend free money. Get 20 local, out-of-work people to work on the busses you already have in service and pay them that money...

Cost of Living - This is something that's become a very interesting focus of mine of late. K & A had been talking about CO for awhile until A came back from CA. One thing he specifically said was that the cost of living wasn't that much different. I can't say I agree. In looking at all the things I've had to deal with in CA I'm not planning on ever moving back, unless money no longer means anything to me. I was buying diesel on the trip out here pretty consistently at 2.70ish a gallon, even as close as kingman (@2.73), but when I came over the border it jumped to 3.69. Granted, Needles is a 'resort' town, but still. That's a pretty hefty jump. Then I went to the local fast food restaurant when drinks now run me 2.19. State tax is higher, vehicle registrations are higher (don't I know it), the cost of living in general is probably 30% higher (not taking into account, health factors in smog/pollution, traffic & time, lifestyle of people (I hadn't seen one bum until CA), or general overcrowdedness of the world out here. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to say, no matter how much more you make in CA, the true cost of living is higher. Period.

and Finally... Yesterday I signed the final papers and did the preliminary walkthrough. I'm hopeful that they'll catch all the things that need to be caught and not be sloppy, but I'm trying to keep good notes about what I see and what they say. So far things have made sense, and all seems on the up and up, but I'm afraid a little about how much I have to learn and how expensive it can be if I don't get something right. I'm confident in my abilities, but there are sure a lot of systems to screw up :)