Menudo! Menudo! Menudo! I hadn't had a batch of menudo in a long time so this was the chance! They have the best menudo! Folks come from all around to suck that stuff up! It's in Corning, CA for all you menudo fans. Tell'em "Menudo Ran" sent you!
On the road again! We'll be in Longview, WA by early evening.
In the
previous update, it was obvious that the old folks from Rancho Relaxo were
tired when they got home. However, they were quite exhausted when they
departed. That meant that the original plan to drive to Redding, CA (387 mi.) on
the first day just wasn’t feasible.
Redding has
been my personal traditional northbound stopping point for a number of reasons.
Not the least of those is the fact that you can find a place to stay without
much effort at all. I have forsaken the God-forsaken Motel 6’s having learned
long ago that there are much better deals for the same or less money (good
deals are our friends). Sure; I’ll still unpack at one if they are the only motel
available within a reasonable distance. But, they are pretty much at the bottom
of my list.
Another
reason is that Redding is a fair distance to travel in one day (almost 400
miles…and I'm giving thanks that I am not in a “prairie schooner” making ten miles
per day on average). It’s a good first step toward making it to our first stop
in Longview, Washington by late in the afternoon or early evening the next day (a total of about 830 miles or so or 15-16 hours depending). Starting at Willows makes for a long ten hour drive (not pushing) for the second day. But, we
started fresh and full.
Another is
not so much applicable these days as say 25 years ago when I traveled between
CA and WA a couple of times per year; there are more good places in Redding to feed
the crew.
Moving along
with the moving along: the tired trippers tried to hang tough but ended up
calling it a day in Willows, CA. I’ve actually spent the night there at least
once that I recall. That was back before I became adverse to the idea of
staying in a "Motel 6" whose only perk or plus was a hot cup of coffee in the
morning after spending a night in a cramped room (even their “two queens” rooms
are claustrophobic).
Willows is a
surprisingly nice place to stop. Our choice for the night was a generic “wake
up and smell the curry” motel (amazingly cheap because we are too) that was a pleasure to stay in. Clean….large room….restaurant around the corner or up the
pike a short way (more about that in a moment)…excellent, friendly, positive, helpful
staff….not much to complain about at all.
The next
morning, knowing that we had to put some kilometers behind us, we got a fairly
early start. A quick pass at the continental breakfast and we’re BOI (back on
the Interstate).
It was a
beautiful CAVU day! In fact, the weather was incredibly accommodating the entire
trip (both ways!). This trip was one of only two that I can remember in 25
years where it didn’t rain either most or part of the way coming and going.
Not that I don’t like rain. Au contraire;
I love the rain and don’t mind driving in it (what? You didn’t already know
that the Ol’ Rancher is a dyed-in-the-wool goofball?).
As we
boogied up the pike on our next leg (can you really boogie in an SUV? You can but it does lack a certain panache), I had
not at all forgotten about the “Petro” truck stop in Corning a mere 30 minutes
north of Willows. That is where they parked an “Iron Skillet” buffet which just
happens to be my favorite in the chain (although the one in Amarillo, TX runs a
close second. It’s right across from the airport, too)! It was amazing that I
had completely worn out my continental breakfast by the time we made it to
Corning!
All
seriousness aside, the main reason and target of my hunger was that they have
the absolute best menudo I’ve ever eaten! I tell them that every time I go in
there and they just smile and say “Thank you!”. They also say that people come
from all over to get their menudo! I shouldn’t wonder.
So, after
adding a few…well…OK...a lot…of other items to my tray, it is easy to say that
I had a “real” breakfast that morning. Menudo is our friend. After all, there
is a reason that so many Mexicans eat it. Sure, it takes a bit of getting used
to (not so much the taste but the texture) but it’s worth it. I've even had the "white menudo" down in Baja (somewhere south of Ensenada, as I recall). It isn't bad at all but I prefer the red stuff.
After all
the menudo, tacos, burritos, chili verde, chiIi Colorado, chile rellenos, carne
asada, carne de res, carnitas, chili con carne, and chicharones I’ve eaten (think
“tons”), it’s easy to think that I’m at least a pseudo-Mexican by now (sure
glad that doesn’t require a DNA test).
It was a good
thing that we were driving an SUV because I’m not sure that a Nissan Altima
(our first option for a rental car) would have hauled us out of the parking
lot. Boy….were we stuffed!
The next leg
of the trip was the most scenic. Crossing the Siskyou Mountains is always
interesting but it’s even more so in the fall when the leaves are all
expressing their demise in the most glorious and splendorous way.
Most of the
rest of the trip to Longview, WA was uneventful. We hadn’t had too many
assaults on our lives and had no car problems. And, the terrain hadn’t changed
much. I had travelled that route many times so not much was new and exciting.
The big
black SUV finally rolled into Longview right on time and with a couple of tired
and hungry travelers on board. It was about 8PM and the beds at the “Econolodge”
were beckoning us like Sirens to unlashed sailers.
We’ve found “Econolodge”
to be a pretty good deal overall. They have really reasonable rates (I think
the most we paid was 67 dollars) and have a hot breakfast in most places. Their
rooms are as large as any we’ve stayed at and the service at this particular
place was super. In fact, the only motel at all that had a larger room was the "Seaside Inn" on Beech Street in Morro Bay (and I think the "Harbor House" on Main St. may have had a similar sized room). Later, at an “Econolodge” in Chehalis, WA, we were even more
pleased (more later on that).
Plan A was
to call son, Michael, and have him and his new wife, Mary, come over from Rainier, OR
(about 15 minutes or so). However, given the status of our aged airframes and
bent landing gear, we opted for Plan B which was to call and advise them “Let’s
do this tomorrow morning”. That was fine with them. So, we unloaded the barge
and berthed for the night.
There you
have it. Part 2 of the Rancho Relaxo Report. Stay tuned; we’ve a ways to go.
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