Most of you know that Bill is starting his own business from home. He is buying government, school, and overstock items from auctions, and either repairing, refurbishing, or simply reselling equipment that is in demand. Right now he is focusing on commercial kitchen equipment, but he will expand once he gets a feel for things.
Between Christmas & New Years, Bill, Ryan & a friend went to Seattle, found a pizzeria that was going out of business and bought out a good portion of their equipment. A walk in refrigerator, several prep tables, a refrigerated pizza prep table, tables, shelving, pan racks, the list goes on. That purchase filled a 20 ft trailer....and currently is filling our garage and part of the barn!! The plan is to clean it all up, and get it out of here!!
Last week, Bill bid on some commercial ovens in Los Angeles. He won 3 out of 8...and the plan was to head to LA to pick them up last week...however, he didn't have the funds at the beginning of the week when his friend could go with him, and the latter part of the week, I couldn't get away. With the holiday on Monday (MLK), I told him I could take two vacation days (TUE & WED) and go with him. We got things ready, and on Monday morning at 5am we took off. We left Sweet Home with minor flurries, and when we hit outside of town, wow...there was SNOW & SLUSH!! We traveled about 40mph down Hwy 228, and got on to I-5, which was a sheet of ice. The farther South we got, the worse it was. We stopped in Cottage Grove for coffee...and it was a beautiful scene with the sun just coming up, the lights on the snow, and the blue skies behind.
An hour from home, and I was already kicking myself for not bringing my camera. Good thing i have one on my phone that does an OK job. Better than nothing! When we got to Roseburg, it was clear!!
We had a few slushy spots through Canyon Creek Pass...but the Siskiyou pass that we expected to be icy, was beautiful....We stopped at a roadside rest just over the CA border,
and the sunshine felt SO wonderful. It was cold, but wonderful. Felt like those sunny winter days in MI, where it was sunny, but zero!! We knew it was cold when we stopped for fuel, and the windshield washer bucket was frozen!!
We drove all day, and arrived in LA around 11. We tried priceline bidding for the first time, and ended up at the Hilton for 70.00. Pretty nice! What we didn't know was they charge for parking...23.00 a spot..and of course our trailer took a second spot. However, for the price we would have paid for a room without priceline (Hilton was 230.00 per night, Red Lion Inn 149.00, and the Holiday Inn 159.00 per night), I felt we did pretty good, and we were parked right on front of the hotel...so we didn't need to worry.
We woke early, and were at the docks to pick up our treasures at 7am, and headed back out of LA by 8----the opposite direction of most of the traffic!
We missed the I-5 exit and ended up going through Hollywood...kind of a treat for me, since I'd never seen it. Don't know that I ever need to again, but it was cool to see the big Hollywood sign on the hill, (which I couldn't get a picture of!) and see Capitol Records,
and Hollywood & Sunset Blvds.The rest of the day was uneventful, sharing in the driving, enjoying the sunshine, even though it didn't get warm. It was neat to see all the fields of oranges, getting watered, and the water was freezing on the ground.....again, wish I'd had my camera...as my phone could not get the picture! We had put some ads on Craigslist, stating we would be in certain cities/towns on the way back. We also did some surfing, and found a guy that was going out of business...so we stopped and looked at his stuff...as he would not give us prices on the phone. It was awesome stuff, but he also wanted an awesome price for everything. We finished up there, and stopped in Redding for the night. It was past 6, and we were worried about ice in the passes...so got a room, and settled in for the night.
The next morning, we got up, and hit the road by 7....with only 5 1/2 hours to go, we figured we'd be home by 1-2 with stops, get unpacked, have a nap and/or relax. We hadn't traveled more than 5 miles when we saw the sign that I-5 was closed due to a bad accident...and it was indefinite when it would reopen. We pulled off, and talked with some truckers, who gave us an alternate route, but it required chains, and I was very uneasy about it. Further investigation showed the road did no recommend people with trailers....enough for me to say "Nope"!! We looked into the coastal range, but one of the legs was closed altogether, and another branch stated that the wind advisory at this time prohibited people towing, and chains were required as well. It got to the point where we looked at each other and said "We're not supposed to go home today"! We went back to Red Lion, checked into our room, and headed off to pick up a tarp to cover the ovens. The trip home was going to be messy, and the rains had started. Town was buzzing with the idea that it might snow. Thankfully, it never did...but we enjoyed a relaxing day bumming around Redding, and enjoying a nice dinner together.
We woke at 7:30 this morning, and checked the roads. All the passes were either rainy or just a bit slushy...so we got packed up and hit the road by 8:30. Needless to say....10 miles out of Redding we saw signs that stated they were doing chain checks....no worries, until we stopped, and they stated that we had to chain prior to the regular staging area....not good news for us!! In all the years we've lived here, we've never had to chain. Thankfully, the side of the road becomes a happy place, as it's almost like Christmas, when people are happy to help other people. We learned quickly how to chain, and chain the trailer as well. WE thought we wouldn't have to...but the 3rd chain check made us pull over and chain the trailer. Not sure if it was 30 or 40 miles we traveled with chains...stopping frequently, once in snow and slush to our knees (on the side of the road) to fix a loosened chain. Waterproof boots do no good when you stop on the side of the road, and the water and slush go over the top of your boots!
Sadly, we kept hearing a noise, and we thought it was just the chain hitting the mudflaps...but unfortunately, we couldnt stop because of where we were in the pass, so let it go until we pulled over, and found a chain had broken and we had beat up the wheel well and side of our truck...as well as the mudflaps on both sides. However, we got down off that pass safely, and other than being miserable, wet, and inexperienced, we did OK! 30 more miles after chain removal, and we are on the side of the road again to chain up to go over the siskiyous. A truck driver showed us how to use the broken chain, and the one on the trailer was too bad to use, so we only chained up the side that they inspect..and they flagged us through...phew!! We got to the summit, and heard a horrible noise...the mud flap that had gotten damaged, got flipped up and made a horrible noise as it flipped up on the tire, and rubbed against the chains. I knew when Bill asked for the tinsnips and a hammer we were in big trouble!! He cut the mudflap off....we finished down the other side of the mountain, pulled the chains off,and were thankful that was the last time for the day. We pulled into Medford 6 hours and 20 minutes after leaving Redding. The sad part is, other than stopping to chain, unchain, and chain again, check the chains, fix the chains, and take the chains off again, we didn't stop anywhere else!! Six hours for a 2 hour trip??!! We were mentally drained as we finally stopped for breakfast that we skipped trying to get on the road!!
The rest of the trip home was uneventful...and the road that had been closed due to flooding on this end had one lane open with flaggers, so we saved a 30-45 minute detour around...
I know that we were mighty happy to pull in the driveway 11 hours after we left this morning!! Imagine our surprise to come in and find a baby in our livingroom. It cries, eats, and is changed by our 16 year old...who when we left, had no children to our knowledge!! Thankfully, it is just a class project for his Child Development class. We've gotten a good laugh out of him tonight..especially when he went to bed early, because he knows it will be up hungry, and crying later!!
Thankful for all the prayers said for us, you have no idea how much that means to us. Also very thankful for God keeping us safe!! AMEN!
