Farting around the west coast

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CathodeRayTube
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Farting around the west coast

Post by CathodeRayTube »

Well im unable to find the thread i started more than a year ago about planning a trip to the west coast and possibly moving...but iv already done it now. I drove from PA and and have been staying in Alameda CA with my cousins for around a month now. I drove my 86 Mercury Grand Marquis instead of the Tercel because I could get more crap in it, its more comfortable for a very long trip, and its geared better for highway driving...it also didnt have any serious issues...the Tercel currently needs a front main seal done cause it leaks oil badly and the A/C troubleshot because the compressor locked up last winter while using the defrost...The gas mileage with the Mercury (5.0 V8, 4speed auto) averaged 20mpg on the highway, fully loaded. My Auto T4 gets 24 or 25 on a good day...so the difference isnt that significant.

Anyway.. the whole idea behind this trip was to have a nice long vacation and possibly move out here someplace if i find work and a place i really like, but being out here for a month now, i feel like iv seen enough and i really dont want to live or work in the SF Bay area at all and i feel like im ready to just head home. I have also been very unfortunate with my health since I arrived here...first i got sunburned badly, then i got a cold, then i got a spider bite or something else that caused a huge welt on my leg and had to go to the ER for it...then they put me on antibiotics for that for 3 weeks and the side affects have been making me totally miserable...feel totally run down and tired all the time, continuous headache and fever...all side affects from the antibiotics, but we deduced that i could also have the flu or something on top of everything else...so this has been my CA vacation so far...sitting around sick being a couch potato for a month...ugh.


So the time table for the rest of my trip out here is wide open...i can stay for months yet as i have nothing really pressing back home...although i really do feel like i just want to go home and get back to my life there and working on the cars there and make getting a job truck driving my main priority back there...i put looking for work off for a long time just to go on this adventure...

Would anybody in CA or OR or WA state be interested in putting me up for a day or 3, hanging out, car talk or doing lunch etc while im out here yet? I also need to buy a rear axle for my one T4 if anybody has one...just one shaft itself.. not the entire diff/axle case.
86 T4 DX 4x4 - Diesel Swap project
85 T4 DX 4x4 Automatic
83 T4 SR5 - junker/parts
94 4Runner V6
86 Mercury Grand Marquis
88 Lincoln Town Car
90 Yugo GV+
85 F250 dually 6.9 turbo diesel
81 VW Rabbit Turbo diesel project
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Gottolovem
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by Gottolovem »

I can put you up for a couple nights in my motorhome in Reno.
I will be super busy till mid August so i will have very little time to shoot the shit.
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dlb
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by dlb »

hey CRT. i found the post you were looking for, here it is:

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9061

sorry to hear your trip has sucked so hard. i understand being bummed and feeling like you should just go home but don't do that quit yet. sunburns, colds, infections...those things are bummers but they're actually small potatoes. you made a huge trip out to the west coast so make the most of it while you have the opportunity.

in my experience, cities generally stink. it's the small towns and national parks and forests that have the coolest stuff and friendliest people. for instance, i just looked up alameda, CA and see that you aren't too far from the sierra nevada mountains and forests. that's where the giant sequoia groves are, which are pretty amazing. there's also donner pass, where an emigrant party got stuck for the winter and resorted to cannibalism. it's an incredible story, read the whole wikipedia article if you have time. my wife and i are headed to nevada for burning man soon and are going to check out both the sequoias and various donner party memorial sites while we're down that way. really pumped for that stuff. also going to see the redwoods in northern CA and various other forests, lakes, parks, etc. should be a ton of fun.

there's also the 101 and even smaller 1 that go up the coast. i would grab a tent and head out and do some camping along the coast. there are tons of beautiful spots all along it.

keep your head up and try to find some things to make you want to stick around, CRT. good luck man.

ps - if your parts terc has rear axle shaft, it will work with any other tercel. i once swapped rear axle shafts from an '84 manual trans to an '87 auto trans, they were identical.
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by CathodeRayTube »

Thank you Gotto, I will remember that if i go back that way and not head up thru oregon and WA. I marathon drove from Salt Lake to Alameda here...actually i marathon drove the entire way, made it across the country in like 4 days. Helped that everybody else who i had planned to stay with dropped off the face of the earth at the last minute and i just motel-sixed it the whole way.

I have a couple friends/acquaintances here from Oakland who are getting ready to go to burning man also. I do enjoy seeing natural beauty and hiking and parks n' stuff. I was planning to cruise around the santa cruise mountains at some point, but that was about it. I really dislike camping...i need A/C and a shower every night...i like nature but id rather keep it to day trips. Also i feel like im really indifferent about sightseeing and have little desire to go see much else at all...I feel like the drive out here was amazing enough...driving thru thunderstorms on the great planes and seeing many of the vistas all over the place...the alpine mountains and lots of neat rock formations in Utah...all without having to even stop the car. I did go to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View CA...which was interesting..but i didnt give myself enough time and rushed thru it then got to enjoy the silicon valley traffic returning from it. Iv been into San Francisco a couple times now...neat..but i feel like theres also not alot that i find interesting there and then getting in and out of the city is horrid no matter how you approach it...driving in and parking is miserable...taking the subway/BART system is miserable. I was going to go visit Yosemite...but then i discovered its $20 to get in, then all the hotels are booked solid and those that arent are in the $2-300/night range...dont want to deal with bears and camping...and then as pathetic as this sounds theres so many nice pictures of it on google..i feel like why bother...pictures are good enough for me. This was our approach to visiting NYC also when me and a friend drove up for a day back in January...walked around, ate hotdogs, drank in bars, talked to homeless people, used public bathrooms, pissed under the home-alone bridge in Central Park...didnt actually see or do much other than that and avoided anything that involved spending more than $5 and waiting in line and still managed to feel like we had a fun trip, for less than $80 per person including gas, parking and alcohol...no empire state, no WTC, no lady liberty, all that crap is on the internet...Driving in NYC was actually kinda fun (i did take the Tercel on this trip, with its 9' CB whip on top). My cousins have taken me out to a few bars and things around here also.

About the axles... The parts car i originally got missing an axle, so i borrowed one from the diesel project which is still on jacks in the barn, so that the parts car would be mobile... so i just want to get another single axle so that i can have everything movable. The parts car runs and drives to an extent at this point.
86 T4 DX 4x4 - Diesel Swap project
85 T4 DX 4x4 Automatic
83 T4 SR5 - junker/parts
94 4Runner V6
86 Mercury Grand Marquis
88 Lincoln Town Car
90 Yugo GV+
85 F250 dually 6.9 turbo diesel
81 VW Rabbit Turbo diesel project
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Gottolovem
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by Gottolovem »

There is no photo that can even come CLOSE to the experience of seeing the Yomsemite valley in person you are cheating yourself out of a once in a lifetime experience if you don't go for at least a day!
I live in the Sierra Nevada mountains that dlb describes and there are coutless exciting day trips to be had withought "camping".

DON'T CHEET YOURSELF out of the many incredible things to do while your here!
lake tahoe,big sur,highway1,yomsemite etc etc etc etc.
GET OUT OF THAT BIG CITY!!!!!
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Gottolovem
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by Gottolovem »

If your a tec kind of guy you will like the exploratorium in san fran many hands on scientific type exhibits.
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by CathodeRayTube »

Actually I was here and visited alot of those places including Yosemite and the exploratorium around the year 2000 when i was a kid...we came to CA for family vacations...twice. But this is the first time this decade, driving and completely by myself..
86 T4 DX 4x4 - Diesel Swap project
85 T4 DX 4x4 Automatic
83 T4 SR5 - junker/parts
94 4Runner V6
86 Mercury Grand Marquis
88 Lincoln Town Car
90 Yugo GV+
85 F250 dually 6.9 turbo diesel
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by Petros »

you are welcome for a night at our place, but we have a really busy summer schedule (we just returned from Cal and TX last night). So it just depends on what days you will be coming through. We are also kind of out of your way unless you plan to spend some time in the mountains here anyway. We live near where the Oso WA mud slide that killed all those people earlier this year that was in the news, so if you can find that on a map, you will know the area where we live.

Rest up and get well. Best place to find work right now is in Texas, and North Dakota, where their economies are going great right now.
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by CathodeRayTube »

well i did want to see Washington State...even just an abbreviated drive-thru seeing...so really, visiting you, and possibly my other cousins who live there, would be the only reason to go up that way. Im thinking i want to try to leave Alameda soon here, like Sunday or Monday assuming i feel up for it...only 2 more days of antibiotics left, and i slept much better last night. You sound like your shedule is busy Petros, as is my cousins...they have largely been unreceptive to me visiting...so idk how it would work or if it would at all...i really cant narrow in on a specific day when i would be arriving at this point.. only a sometime during the week of X or so.. I kinda feel like i just want to get the Fk home and resume my simple life there ASAP and prioritize getting a job as a trucker.. and that i forced myself to come out here at all for fear that i would regret it if i didnt. really i put off just getting said job and getting on with my life for a year or so now just to make this trip...when thats all i genuinely wanted to do...work and move out of my parents house.
86 T4 DX 4x4 - Diesel Swap project
85 T4 DX 4x4 Automatic
83 T4 SR5 - junker/parts
94 4Runner V6
86 Mercury Grand Marquis
88 Lincoln Town Car
90 Yugo GV+
85 F250 dually 6.9 turbo diesel
81 VW Rabbit Turbo diesel project
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by Petros »

we will out of town sat aug 9, and aug 21-23. A night or two in our guest room would be fine with me, have to clear it with my wife however, and check her plans too. it might be better if she was out of town those days anyway, that way we can talk about cars and guy stuff and not get "the look" from my wife. We live in Arlington, about an hour or so north of seattle (not far in-fact from where the mud slide that killed all those people earlier this year).
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
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'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by takza »

CathodeRayTube wrote: I have also been very unfortunate with my health since I arrived here...first i got sunburned badly, then i got a cold, then i got a spider bite or something else that caused a huge welt on my leg and had to go to the ER for it...then they put me on antibiotics for that for 3 weeks and the side affects have been making me totally miserable...feel totally run down and tired all the time, continuous headache and fever...all side affects from the antibiotics, but we deduced that i could also have the flu or something on top of everything else...so this has been my CA vacation so far...sitting around sick being a couch potato for a month...ugh.
Sounds like a spider or tick bite. That welt might be a sign of "whatever disease I can't remember"...but it is hard to get over. Side effects are not likely from the anti-biotics. You should try using vit C at a dose of 1-2 grams per hour over 2-3 days and see if it helps. If you get loose stools...back off a little on the dose. Vit C is cheap.
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.

Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...

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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by Gottolovem »

Ticks can carry lime disease and must be atatched for more than 24 hours to transfer it.
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CathodeRayTube
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by CathodeRayTube »

Im pretty sure it was a spider/tick bite like you said or likely lyme disease. But iv felt normal now for a few days and am starting to explore things more...even tho i actually had loaded all my crap in the car and was ready to hop in and go back to PA ASAP...so now i have to unload it all again since iv decided to stay for now. 2 days ago i spent the day in santa cruise and enjoyed myself, took lots of pictures, counted one FWD Tercel wagon among several other interesting vehicles.. tons of VW busses...went to the beach, a couple bars, and even officially started my LaserDisc collection..
86 T4 DX 4x4 - Diesel Swap project
85 T4 DX 4x4 Automatic
83 T4 SR5 - junker/parts
94 4Runner V6
86 Mercury Grand Marquis
88 Lincoln Town Car
90 Yugo GV+
85 F250 dually 6.9 turbo diesel
81 VW Rabbit Turbo diesel project
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Re: Farting around the west coast

Post by takza »

I tried the California thing many years ago and didn't stay...ended up retreating like you are talking about. They say it never rains in Cali...but don't count on it. People usually bring their issues and problems with them...just can get a little better perpective on things though. I'd stick with it a while...at least you'll remember your trip and so forth.

Try to do the coast road and hit the Sierras...2 places I really didn't get to much...though I did see the sequoias....

Later spent several winters in the desert...camping out in the boonies. But to stay warm you needed to stay low...and that's where the creosote bushes live...smelled good after a rare rain...but talk about dry. The desert can be very beautiful and peaceful...but you can also go sort of mad due to not much going on. On a warm day there were a few lizards and horned toads out and about. Occassional buzz by a fighter jet...they just love to come down and fly over at 50 feet or so...probably dumping their piss bottle too.
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.

Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...

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