Day 92

September 8, 2017                                                                                                Day 92

When I woke up the sun was just beginning to rise and since I knew I needed to get an early start in looking for somewhere to stay I got up.  The first thing I did was boil some water for my coffee and then I made the last of my oatmeal.  I should mention that before I boiled some water I took my wash basin full of dishes into the shower to wash them all without having to worry about conserving water and boy did it feel nice. With the oatmeal and coffee done I went and sat in the back of my vehicle with my feet propped on the trailer tongue for the ants were so bad.  It was there that I sat and ate my oatmeal out of the pot and drank my coffee.

After I washed those dishes and packed up my camper and vehicle I went and took a shower.  This time I while I showered I shaved my legs and then blow-dried and straightened my hair for I had planned to be going to dinner with a friend later in the evening.  Once I was ready to go I proceeded down the hill and out of the park where my cell service came back on and that is when all hell broke lose.  I had text messages from my little brother and four voicemail's from my mom wondering if I had made it to the park for she had not heard from me.  The last message I listened to I knew things were not good back home and I pulled over to the side of the road to call her back.  Before I could finish saying hi she broke down.  Apparently, because she did not hear whether I made it to the campground or not (for I had no service to call) she panicked and called the park rangers to have them look for me and try and figure out where I was.  Needless to say it was a huge ordeal and though I was only radio silent for maybe ten hours she was a wreck.  Hearing her so upset made tears well up in my eyes and I hated that I unintentionally made her feel that way.  I know that there was nothing I could do for I did not have service but I still felt really horrible about it and hate that she went through all that stress all night long while I was just sleeping peacefully in my camper.

Once she calmed down I found out that she had spent the night looking for places for me to stay so I wrote down the information that she gave me and started calling those places.   I had a choice to make.  I would either bay $65.00/night to stay at an RV park in Los Angeles that had showers, internet, laundry and where I knew for sure my camper would be safe or I would pay $12.00/night to stay in the national forest if they even had anything available when I got there, there were no showers, no internet and  I could not guarantee the safety of my camper.  Though the money logical part of me said to go with the $12.00 site I knew the other one was a better option and that was also the one my mom wanted to stay at and one she felt was safe for me.  So I called the Balboa RV Park and made my reservation for the following two nights for a total of $148.00.

Now with a place to stay I felt a lot better but that short lived for as soon as I started driving towards the park which was a little over an hour away.  I really had to use the restroom and get fuel so I was going to stop at a gas station but apparently in California they have gas stations that do not contain pumps.  When I finally found one the price that was listed on the sign was not was at the pump but I was already there and not about to go attempt to find another one.  After I fueled up I ran inside to use the restroom only to find that it did not have one! UGH!  Now I was frustrated once again for I really had to use the restroom and nothing seemed to be going right for me.

Pulling back on the interstate, I tried to find a Walmart that would actually have a cold section so that I could buy some food but everyone was behind me according to my phone.  Then I passed a sign for the arbetorium which I had wanted to see and so when I tried to get my phone to give me directions to it my phone could not understand what I was saying!  Finally, I just said screw it and when I regained cell phone service I headed to the RV park.  When I was just a few minutes away I figured I would attempt to find a Walmart nearby one last time and there was one 15 minutes away so I said what the hell and headed in that direction.

Walking into Walmart, I went to the restroom first and then headed to the deli section where the woman behind the counter asked what I wanted and when I began telling her she walked away to talk to a coworker!  Then all the makeup and cleansing wipes were locked up behind a glass wall so I had to find someone to let me in.  During all of this I was not frustrated I just observed how even Walmart's are different here.  When I finally arrived at the RV park the two women inside were extremely kind and we spoke for a solid thirty minutes about my trip and why I am doing this.  I gave one of them my blog address and she asked if it was okay they put it on their website to which I replied it was.  When the one woman's father came in he repeated some of the same questions but I did not mind repeating my answers in the slightest.  Then I stepped outside with him for he had me unhook my camper from my vehicle and was going to use a forklift to park my camper in its spot which was absolutely amazing!  Before doing that though he showed me their recreation room where there was someone inside playing and singing so we sat in there for a song and I was blown away.  This is only my second RV park and I know without a doubt it will forever me my favorite!

Once I was situated in my spot I was yet again on the phone with my mom, then Josh and then my dad in Florida.  I am so tired of being on the phone the last couple days and cannot wait to not have cell phone service again!  I contemplated for some time going out and doing something since I was no longer going to dinner but it was rush hour and there wasn't anything open for what I was interested in except the Comedy Club.  So instead I made a list of everything I wanted and could possibly see tomorrow.  Then I finally decided to open the bottle of wine "Hess" that I had been saving for a special occasion for I have been way too stressed the last couple days and just need a breather!  I had two glasses of that while I wrote two blogs in the glow of my kitchen light until I decided to call it a night so I could wake up at 04:00 tomorrow.

P.S. I did not re-read this post like I do all of mine to edit it.  I apologize but I am just too exhausted from trying to catch up with everything and being on the computer all day long.