-- Back In the Saddle Again...

With the summer coming to an end, my dad suggested we hit the road again and experience another Supervan adventure.  As soon as my mom opened the side door of the Supervan, I took full advantage and cut in front of her to claim my shotgun seat.  No mercy when it comes to sitting up front with my dad.  

With my dad confidently at the helm, I went right to sleep.  

Something woke me up, and I looked to my left to catch my mom sneaking a Kodak-moment out the front windshield… Okay Mom, you need to get back to your seat and buckle up for safety.

This photo was highly unnecessary since there was nothing of importance to see here, not to mention that she interrupted my dream just when I was about to catch the squirrel.  It downright annoyed me, so I thought it was prudent to have a little one-on-one talk with my mom.  Okay, since I can’t actually talk, I gave her 'the look,' which means, “You need to take it easy on the picture-taking this trip--comprende?”  I hope she gets the message, because last trip’s blog posts were so tedious when it came to uploading all of those photos…

We met my bro and Grama Jo (hey, that rhymes!) for lunch.  Then we made a stop in Thousand Oaks for my mom’s doctor appointment. 

Our first destination was Fresno, California.  My dad said the Supervan needed some work done and we needed to go to Sportsmobile.  You may remember a problem with our air compressor on our last adventure, so we are getting it replaced.  We arrived there late, and Sportsmobile was already closed.  Without a nearby RV park or campground, we ended up staying at a truck stop.  Hah!  Our Supervan looked dwarfed next to those big rigs.  Staying here for the night wasn't quite what my mom had in mind, but she took full advantage of the opportunity to take a photo.  Ugh, here we go again…

We woke up early and drove to Sportmobile.  What a bore.  We sat there for hours while they worked on the Supervan.  At least I was allowed inside, so I just slept all morning the air-conditioned waiting room.  My mom and dad ditched me for lunch (I hope this doesn’t become a habit on this trip).  They went to a Mexican restaurant.  I knew this because they had Mexican food on their breath when they got back.  And they didn't bring me any leftovers!  Pfft.  The place looked like a dive anyway, but it was highly recommended.  My mom took a photo of the restaurant...

I looked closer at their logo.  Pretty funny.  My dad should try this after he eats a big meal:

I know, that's a mean thing to say, but I am still ticked off that he didn't bring me any food, so excuse me for venting right now.

Finally, the Supervan was ready to roll and we were back on the road, destination:  Voyager Rock in Fresno County, California.  

It took longer than we thought to drive through the winding mountain roads and when we finally entered the off-road trail, it was pretty dark.  My dad said, according to the trail book, that this trail would be easy for any 4WD SUV, so I wasn't worried about the darkness.  Besides, the Supevan has these cool Hella lights, so he said we will be fine. 

We entered the trail and there were so many ruts in the road--we were bouncing all over the place.  We hadn't gone far before my mom started in with her whining.  She pleaded with my dad to wait until morning, but that would mean that we would have to back out of the trail because there was no place to turn around.  The thing that concerned my dad was how narrow the trail was since the trees were so close together.  So he got out of the Supervan to scope it out: 

After more whining by my mom, my dad figured if he pulled to the side of the trail for the night, at least my mom would stop her yapping and he could get some peace and quiet--so he parked.  Good move, Dad.  Now let's watch some Fox News and relax.