The Navigator – part 2

March 1 (the day we got Fred and Max in 1980)
A storm was forecast for March 2 and 3, so we decided we’d better get out of the LA area before it started. We especially wanted to clear the area called the Grapevine, a 4,000 foot pass between San Fernando and Bakersfield, that expected snow.

I poured over the maps trying to devise the perfect route to avoid the chaos of Los Angeles in our more than 40 feet of transportation. I ruled out the picturesque but treacherous highway 74 over to 215 after the torturous day we spent transiting the Anza-Borrega desert. So I asked D&D for their advice and we decided on I5 to 605 to 210 and back to I5. This route circled the worst of LA’s freeways but didn’t add too many miles.

However, it was so stressful – sometimes 16 lanes of speeding traffic and huge wildly handled trucks each side of our wide-berthed Maggie, leaving only inches of space each side. If Fernie had sneezed, we’d be toast. And the highway was so rough; Maggie rattled and groaned, our teeth hurt from clenching them and Fernie’s shoulders were numb from clinging on to the steering wheel in a death grip. It took two hours to clear Los Angeles and reach the northern mountains.

The Walmart in Bakersfield was our home for the night and we settled in comfortably and went to bed early.

March 2, 2006
A ninety mile drive through magnificent orchards of blooming apple and cherry trees took us to the Palace Indian Gaming Centre and Casino in Lemoore, CA, south of Fresno. It’s a monstrous sprawling structure in the middle of flat farmlands and they are in the process of enlarging it by building a huge hotel. It can be seen from miles away. There’s obviously money to be made by running a casino. So how do all those people I know ‘always come out ahead’ when playing the slots, which are the largest income generator for the house.

We parked Maggie in a beautifully landscaped corner of the parking lot, with not another soul around us, double-checked with security that it was ok and were told “stay as long as you like”. A battered silver catering truck pulled up at the side of the road with the insignia ‘El Toro Tacos’. A pretty young Mexican woman jumped out and leaned up to the window to kiss her husband goodbye. She was in uniform and ready to put in a shift at the casino as a waitress or cleaner. He pulled around the corner into a widening of the road and opened up the side of the truck forming a countertop, set up a couple of tables surrounded by chairs and within a few minutes cars were pulling in to dine on his tacos. I think he stayed open as long as his wife was working. It was a very touching to witness that hard-working young couple making their way in their new country. I commend them.

It was laundry day and the casino had to wait for Fernie’s money. We found a Laundromat after trying to understand the directions received from a little Mexican woman who didn’t really speak English even though she obviously understood it. While Fernie washed and dried, I drove around the corner until I found WIFI – and got a connection almost right away, did our banking, cleaned up email and did a little surfing.

It started to rain later on – not much and not long. I was happy to snuggle in with my books, some TV and a bit of blogging while Fernie braved the casino. They had a great poker room segregated from the rest of the casino and non-smoking, so he played a few hours of Texas Hold-Em. A cheerful face appeared at the door about three hours later – he was up $80 and was ‘ecstatic’ - in his words.