This year, The Gumbos got off to a rather late start. Darla Jean had to make a couple trips to Pennsylvania in November to help with her brother, who was in hospice care, and then Darla Jean and Duwayne had to travel back again in early December to attend his memorial service. Then, of course, there were the Christmas holidays to deal with — meaning The Gumbos didn’t leave home until December 29.
Because there was a good weather window for getting down I-5 and over the Siskiyou Pass, The Gumbos made a bee-line South, making only three overnight stops. The first was at the Polk County Fairgrounds, just west of Salem, OR. Duwayne and Darla Jean had stayed there last year during their trip home, so they knew it was easy access with cheap parking in a big lot. This year, the entire staff was on holiday vacation so there was no one to accept payment. A freebie!
The next stop was at a yearly favorite — Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, OR. The Gumbos always enjoy the quiet, scenic and free camping alongside the Umpqua River.
The final stop before Sacramento was at Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, CA. While it’s a convenient geographic stop, it’s just a big parking lot with lots of other RVs and semi trucks. Not a very romantic place to spend New Year’s Eve!
Back in Central California, The Gumbos once again “mooch-docked” (free camping in someone’s driveway) at Bob (Darla Jean’s brother) & Linal’s house in Sacramento.
While there, Duwayne took advantage of Bob’s amazing workshop (https://lazyibuilds.com/) to do some much-needed RV repair. When that was done, he and Darla Jean helped with Bob’s pantry remodel project. For the past few years, Bob has been building new shelving to replace the outdated metal racks in their PACKED pantry. Now that the shelving was ready to install, the first step was to empty the pantry.
After all the pantry items were removed, Bob and Duwayne were free to move the new cabinets in.
Also, while in Sacramento, The Gumbos were invited to attend the unveiling of an installation of the Stan Lunetta Music Circus drum kit at the Wayne Thiebaud Foundation. The late Stan Lunetta was once Duwayne’s drum teacher and, later, a fellow band mate. For many years, Stan performed in the orchestra at Sacramento’s Music Circus (a popular musical theater production enclosed in a permanent tent). During his tenure, Stan developed a unique drum set-up that included every instrument needed to play any musical in the modern repertoire. Stan’s widow, Sharon, recently donated the drum set to the Thiebaud Foundation so that it will be preserved for future viewing.
The next day, Duwayne and Darla Jean traveled to Elk Grove to spend a couple days with their good friends Ken and Susan Horton. They must have had too much fun eating and drinking to take any photos as this is the only one that shows up:
And, finally, a day before they continued their journey South, Duwayne and Darla Jean crossed an item off the “bucket list”. For about 60 years, Duwayne has been driving by a neighborhood bar, located about 3 blocks from where he used to live with his parents. He’s always wondered what the place was like inside but, not being a “bar person”, he never got around to stopping in. But this year he decided he needed to check it out. So, The Gumbos and Bob and Linal dropped in for a drink. Turns out, The Interlude is a great neighborhood dive bar with cheap drinks and friendly people!
The Gumbos thank Bob, Linal and Winky for being wonderful hosts for almost 2 weeks. Now it’s time to head South!
The Gumbos Go! 