After writing my post on Sunday, I tuned in the Patriots vs Vikings NFL game. At the half, I went outside and replaced the check valves in the HWH hydraulic pump. Meanwhile, Donna went for a walk and said she felt remarkably well after Saturday’s grueling bike race.

The new check valves didn’t make any difference. The right rear jack still won’t stay in the extended position. It slowly retracts itself. By the time I finished cleaning up, it was 11:45am. Donna and I drove to town and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Donna ordered seafood fajitas minus the tortillas (in keeping with her 21-Day Sugar Detox program) while I had enchiladas suiza. I would give the restaurant, Don Perico’s, a three on a scale of five. There wasn’t anything about the food or service that stood out, but it wasn’t bad either.

We made it back in time for the Chargers home opener against the Seattle Seahawks. It’s unseasonably warm in San Diego. The temperature on the field at Qualcomm Stadium was well over 100 degrees! The Chargers wisely chose to wear their white uniforms. It was an entertaining game. The Chargers beat the reigning Superbowl champs 30-21. It shouldn’t have been that close – the Seahawks were given a touchdown when their player clearly stepped out of bounds at the 21-yard line. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter though. A win is a win. While I was enjoying the game, Donna went to town and did some shopping like a good tourist.

On Monday morning, we prepared to hit the road. Things were a little out of sequence as I had to get the coach ready to roll, then hit the dump station to dump and flush the tanks on the way out of Mountain View RV Park. While I was doing that, Donna drove the rental car back to Enterprise in town. The Enterprise guy gave Donna a ride to the Tractor Supply store where we planned to meet. We checked out the parking lot there when we picked up the rental car. It would be an easy entry and exit in the motorhome and it’s right next to highway CA58, which was our route away from Tehachapi. From Tehachapi, CA58 east is mostly a downhill run.

We drove east and made a stop at a rest area near Boron. It felt good to get out and stretch our legs. I didn’t know when we would see another rest area. Our route would take us south on US395 then on to I-15 and I-215. I didn’t recall any rest areas along that stretch.

We stopped at the Pilot/Flying J truck stop at the junction of US395. I have a Pilot/Flying J – Good Sam RV fuel card. With this credit card, I get a discount of six cents per gallon off the cash price. This saves 11 to 15 cents per gallon off the normal credit price. I also can pump all the fuel I need in one go. At most stations, a Visa card will only allow you to pump $100 of fuel. Then you have to go inside and pre-pay at the counter if you want more fuel. Another benefit at the Pilot/Flying J stations is that the truck pumps have high-flow nozzles. And they have two pumps – a master pump on the driver’s side and a slave pump on the right side. Our Alpine Coach has two filler necks, one on each side. With two high-flow nozzles, I can top up our 100-gallon tank in a few minutes.

US395 south took us through Adelanto and Victorville with many stoplights. I-15 south climbed to the Cajon Summit at an elevation of 4,190 feet above sea level. It was very hot – the outside temperature was in the high 90s. I’m happy to report that our coolant temperature and automatic transmission fluid temperature never exceeded 205 degrees on the climb. Coming down into the San Bernadino Valley, we rode the Jake brake as we traversed miles of 6% downgrade.

Clarke Hockwald (whatsnewell) wrote a post about driving in metro areas that I totally agree with. As we travel around in our RV, we tend to spend much of the time driving through rural or semi-rural areas with no worry of having to avoid rush hours. Driving through scenic countryside is enjoyable. When we know we’ll be driving through a high-density metro area, there’s a certain tension that builds. Parts of I-15 are five lanes wide. Trucks coming down the hill into San Bernadino stay in the right two lanes and keep their speed down. Cars use what ever lane they feel like, some of them zooming downhill at 80+ miles per hour. The speed differential creates some hairy moments as car drivers don’t obey the rules of the road. They pass on the right, some of them weaving their way back and forth through the lanes. We saw a couple of cars panic braking as they came upon slower traffic.

We made our way through the worst of it without incident. I wanted to get to Temecula by 2pm, as I knew the traffic volume increases dramatically by 3pm. Our destination was Jojoba Hills SKP Resort, about 18 miles east of downtown Temecula. SKP parks are operated by the Escapees RV Club. We’re Escapees members. Jojoba Hills is a private park for members only. The official address shows us in Aguanga, California. Aguanga comprises a post office and a small general store.

We arrived a little past 2pm. The woman in the office drove us around in a golf cart and showed us four different sites we could choose from. We chose site 646. It has a nice view to the south and was long enough for us to pull through without dropping the trailer. We have full hook-ups with 50-amp electric service. The park is located on a hillside with the sites terraced along paved interior roads. Our site is fairly level. The sites are gravel with a concrete pad for chairs and tables. We booked nine nights here at a discounted rate of $126 – that’s $14 per night! Nice!

Last evening’s view from our doorstep

Last evening, while I tuned in the Monday Night Football game, Donna went to the pool. The swimming pool is 65′ long. Donna said it was great for swimming laps. She swam a quarter mile last night and set a goal to swim a full mile before we leave here.

Today, the heat wave in southern California will continue. The forecast high for today is over 100 degrees! We should have relief in a few days when the forecast calls for highs around 80 degrees. Meanwhile, we can make good use of the pool.