Ugh. Damage to the Dolphin.
Oh my god. It feels awfully good to be sitting down in a fat, overstuffed chair with a long iced coffee at my side. What a couple of days it has been. It is now Sunday, May 20, it's Sacto Hot outside, and I've been sweating bullets. But let's back up a few days.
First, some fun stuff. Lately I'd been noticing quite a number of bicyclists (and even a horse!) riding past my parking spot and heading down a road that appeared to be a dead end. Then, late one night, I saw a man come back from that direction with a bunch of fish on a line. Curious, I decided to see where the road led. As it turns out, just past the towering power lines:
there is a really nice hiking and biking path that winds along The American River:
Right in my backyard. Who knew? Well apparently, everyone but me. Now I know where to head when I want a nice stroll...
So anyway... On Saturday (yesterday) I had a rehearsal with "The Agency" scheduled in "The City" (SF) and then later that night, a birthday party at Scher House West for Melina (of Parlor Tricks). So... I thought "hmm, why not take the camper down, stay overnight and do a little urban camping?" - especially since I had recently seen a CHP officer who appeared to be running the plates on the camper. Seemed like a good time to leave Sacto for a few days. And then... it was one fiasco after another.
Well... I decided to get a head-start on my little adventure, head out on Friday night and bivouac on the southwest side of Sac. I needed to empty my holding tanks and there were a couple of options down that way. I decided to park on a street that I had previously scoped-out as a possible permanent spot before I moved up here. Good thing I did not choose this as the permanent spot! Lots of noise all night, cars speeding down the street, etc. I got just about NO sleep at all.
In the morning, I made my way to a new dump site that was actually FREE! The Chevron station off of I-80 at Mace Rd. The downside is there is no fresh water. But here I noticed a possible problem with the camper (Fiasco #1): the holding tank release valves were leaking. Gross! When I got into the city and parked, I noticed the problem seemed to be getting worse. I envisioned needing to replace the valves, etc. Oy what a headache. Where to get the parts? How much would it cost? What tools would I need? Well, after fiddling with it a bit, I found that the valve just needed a bit of a twist and a wiggle to seal it off properly. I also remembered that I had some silicone gasket stuff in my tool box, so I pulled that out and made a custom gasket to seal off the cap, and all was water-tight. Once again dry. Phew!!! Fiasco #1 averted.
Then the rehearsal, which was fine. We ended around 4 and the party did not start until 8 so I called Audrey to see if we could meet for a cup of coffee or whatever.... She was in Berkeley but said she was coming into The Mission, so we planned to meet over there. I moved to that neighborhood to park and, BOOM, Fiasco #2 occurred. I had parked in a commercial spot temporarily (one block south of Mission, on Capp between 16th and 17th), but when a regular spot on the other side of the street opened up, I made a U turn to get it. As I made the turn, the rear end of the camper caught the parking meter and I heard a terrible crunching noise. Ugh. After I pulled into the spot, I viewed the damage. It had pulled the molding from the rear corner (see above). All-in-all, not terrible, i.e. no major structural damage, but it is annoying and ugly. And... it made me crazy because I had no idea how to repair this.
The block I was parked on seemed to be a magnet for homeless people and they all were pretty fascinated with the camper. One asked how much it cost, because "he was gonna get himself one of those." One guy chimed in that he had owned a camper and all he did was work on repairing it. Another, kind of odd, youngish (20s-30s), woman showed interest as I futzed with fixing the molding and she offered to help if I needed it. She seemed almost normal, but just a bit "off." A bit white rabbitish. Skittish.
Audrey called to say that her train was near, so I went to go meet her at the 16th Street BART station. As I was leaving, the young woman reappeared. She approached and started walking alongside me, eager to make conversation, asking where I going, what I was doing, etc. She introduced herself as Jasmine and stuck out her hand, which I shook. She told me that "I had a nice house" and said she would be around the neighborhood if I wanted to see her later... hmmm. She actually seemed to be sweet - if a bit odd. Not a terrible person, just not quite all there in the usual sense. I can't help but wonder, what was her story?
Audrey and I had coffee and then around 8pm, we parted. She, heading back to Berkeley, me to the party. While getting dressed for the party, I went to put on my favorite bollo tie and it broke! Let's call that Fiasco # 3. Man-o-man.
The party was nice. Eddie and Melina were both gracious, and it was good to see Jason, the drummer. They played a set without bass because their new bass player seemed to be missing in action. I thought about getting my bass but I had parked too far away. The new guy finally did show up about the time the band took a break. I was curious to hear him play, and would have stayed for the second set, but was just too bushed - so I headed out.
Getting back to the camper, I considered staying right where I was parked on 18th Street. I crawled into the loft bunk, and a few cars zoomed by. And then a few more. Ugh... it was just too reminiscent of the night before in West Sac when I got NO sleep. So... I decided to head down to my usual spot in Dogpatch. I exited the camper to come around to the driver's door, but... as I opened the side door, it just kind of "exploded." The frame came apart at the seams. Arrgh! Fiasco #4.
At this point (now about midnight) I was so pissed that I decided to just pack it up and drive back to Sacto so I could get an early start on the repairs - not that I had any idea how to actually FIX anything. Of course this totally negated the whole reason for taking the camper in the first place. If before I had left I had made the decision to not stay over and drive back after the party, I wouldn't have taken camper - and saved on gas. Duh! But then, if I had actually driven the car, none of these "Fiascos" would have happened and I wouldn't be needing to make the repairs so then I would've wanted the camper to stay overnight... Oy. That's Fiasco Catch 22: Boomhauer's Postulate.
The drive back to Sacto was predictably hellish. Although there was no traffic, I was fighting to stay awake the whole way. I considered pulling off to the side of the road at some random point, but I just wanted to be back in my familiar environment so I could get started ASAP in the morning.
On the way back to the Hallmark spot, the street makes a fork to the right and it split off just before a Sobriety Checkpoint. Not that it would have been a problem in any way: I am still alcohol free since Jan 2011. But part of me really wanted to mess with the cops. I imagined being pulled over, and they would of course ask, "Where are you was coming from?" I 'd love to see their face when I said I was "coming from a party in San Francisco." Ooh, they would be salivating for a wet one! Then I'd love to mess with them some more, like refuse to answer when they would predictably ask how much alcohol I'd had. I'd love to say "I don't need to answer that question," being stone cold sober! They'd make me do the roadside tests, etc. and then when I blew into the breath-a-lizer, it would be ZERO. Hah!
I actually thought about going back to go through the check point, but then I realized it would open up a whole can of worms about where I was going, where I was currently living, etc. Best not to antagonize the cops. Yes, best not to. Especially when living on the street. Some fantasies are best left unfulfilled.
I cruised by where the Subaru was parked on the street and - oops - mini Fiasco #5. I had parked the car next to a grass strip with a sprinkler system and it was a spotted mess. I hate that! Really hate it.
After a good night's sleep, I decided to attack the repairs.
With a trip to the local Home Depot, I was able to pick up some supplies and few necessary tools at the cost of about $35.00. I was able to do decent repair job on the rear molding. It would be nice to eventually replace all the molding and do the job right, but in the meantime I am at least "back together." As it turned out, the side door was not as bad as I thought. It just needed to be snapped together. I added a couple of screws to secure the corners and it is fine.
But try as I might, the spots just won't come out of the Subaru. I've tried a couple of detailing spays, but no luck and I can't for the life of me find a DIY coin-op car wash anywhere in Sacto. What is with this place? Must be the State's powerful Car Wash Lobby, keeping the coin-ops from encroaching on the regular car washes, insuring all those high paying jobs with cushy benefits.
Almost good as new.
Yes, it feels good to be in the Air Conditioned Starbucks. It's 95 on the streets of Sacto, but luckily All the King's Horses and All the King's Men actually DID put the Dolphin back together again.
Phew. What a couple of days!
The Whole Darned Dolphin, parked on Hallmark, between Ethan and Howe, Sacto.
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