Wednesday 8 October 2008
No one could tell us when our vehicle would be available for us to pick up, so we spent the morning visiting a few stores. We purchased a cheap electric heater similar to the one we bought and used in Russia when our Earthroamer heater stopped working. We needed one we could plug into the American system in an RV Park if it got cold, as our heater had stopped working again. Eventually we were told that our vehicle would be ready for us at 2pm at the truck company’s yard. We arrived just as two fork lift machines were lifting it off the container pallet.
We then noticed that all the tyres had been let down and found the vehicle unlocked. It turned out that someone (probably on the wharves of Sydney) had broken in and stolen our TV, DVD player and speakers in the camper and removed one of the DVD player screens fitted to the back of the passenger seat. We also discovered that the hatches on the roof, roof rack and aerials had been broken while the vehicle was being shipped.
We searched high and low for the set of keys and eventually discovered that the Sydney shipping agent had kept them in his desk drawer and they were still in Sydney. Fortunately Dick had hid a spare set inside the vehicle, otherwise we would have been stuck. It was a very hot sunny day 95° F and we got hotter as we waited for over an hour and a half for a tyre expert to arrive and re-inflate the tyres, costing US$40. We gave the vehicle a hose down to remove the surface dirt and grime, filled the water tanks and charged the engine batteries. Eventually we left at 4.08pm and travelled in heavy traffic onto Highway 15 towards Las Vegas.
We stopped at Oak Hill’s Shell station and filled both front and rear diesel tanks at US$3.899 per gallon with 74 gallons costing US$287.69. We had climbed over the Cajon Summit at 4,190ft and it was getting dark at 6.45pm. We noticed the railway line weaving its way up the hills beside us so we drove back a little way we had come and stopped near the railway track and watched a train go by. We then went to a nearby McDonalds for a quick dinner. We drove back up to the Summit and continued on to Victorville where we found a Wal Mart car park. For old time’s sake we parked there overnight with a couple of other RV vehicles. We went for our customary walk around the store and bought a few groceries before settling in our Earthroamer for the night. It was a very warm night and we certainly didn’t need our doona for sleeping.
Total today 112 miles (180 kilometres)
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