With a couple months to prepare, I decided that I was going to install a temporary kitchen counter. I was given a slightly damaged, laminated counter top. I made a frame out of some 2"x2"s and some 1"x4"s. I mounted the whole the counter and frame on the driver's side, behind the couch (see my floorplan). The week before I left, I picked up an electric blanket for my bed.
Thursday morning I was frantically doing laundry and packing. My mother promised to do all the cooking, so I only brought some snacks and drinks. I had to make couple stops before I met my mother and Don. First I stopped at the gas station to fuel up. I took about five gallons of diesel, at $1.91 per gallon, to top off the tank. The generator tank (gasoline) was almost full. Next, was a stop at Home Depot for an extension cord. Finally, I went buy the grocery store for snacks, drinks and ice.
I as at my mother and Don's house by noon (which was something of a miricale). Since Don was on his way back from the tire shop, I decided to take add some air to two of my rear tires. I connected my air hose and flipped on the fast idle. I inflated on tire and was almost done with the other, when the fast idle kicked off on its own. No matter what I did, it wouldn't go back on. Oh well, what's one more thing to fix???
We left at about 12:15 PM, and headed east on CA Highway 91. Since Don was towing a trailer, he kept the speed around 60. I was running at about 15-1600 RPM, oil pressure was 45 PSI, and the water temperature was right at 180 degrees. We made it to Lake Elsinore at about 1:15 PM. A completely uneventful trip.
There was only one direction into the row where our spots were, which meant backing to the right to park. I sure was glad that I had a bus and not a trailer. I slipped it right into the 35 foot spot, with the front bumper right on the pavement. I plugged in the electrical, put the microwave and appartment fridge on my new kitchen counter, and I was ready to camp.
It sprinkled Thursday afternoon, and rained most of the night. Friday, Saturday and Sunday the weather alternated between nice and sunny, and cold and cloudy. At night the lights around the lake were beautiful. In the morning the clouds hung on the tops of the mountains. The Knights are a great bunch of people. We ate and laughed together. At night Don built raging campfires.
Sunday morning came much too quickly. I got up and had a cup of hot chocolate. After that, I made some eggs and hash for breakfast. It didn't take long to stow everything for the trip home. I was packed and ready to go at 10:00 AM. Don and my mother wanted to hang out with their friends for a while, but I had to be at church later that nigh, so I left at 10:00 AM.
The ride home was just as uneventful as the ride out there. Traffic was light and the bus ran great. I was home by 11:00. It took me about half an hour to unpack and park the bus. I still need to look at the fast idle on my bus, but all in all I was happy with the trip.