We have once again been at the Palo Alto Elks lodge for the past two nights. Coach Specialties did an excellent job repairing our minor boo-boo, but we did not clear out of Alameda until nearly 2:30 Wednesday. We barely had time for a cup of coffee with an old friend before Louise had to be at the eye doctor's for a routine check-up.

Yesterday was dedicated to shopping, errands, and sanitizing the fresh water system. This latter item involves filling the tanks to the brim with a mild bleach solution, running some of the solution out of all the fixtures, and letting the whole system sit for an hour or two before emptying it completlely and re-filling with fresh water. We did this at Louise's mom's house, because they are on the Hetch-Hetchy water system, perhaps the best water in the country.

We will leave here shortly for Livermore, where we will have our new tires and wheels fitted (hooray!). Other than "passing through" on our way south from Livermore, our visit here in the bay area is at an end.

In spite of the fact that we have been here for nearly a week longer than we anticipated, we still did not get a chance to see everyone we wanted to. This was due, in large part, to the number of outstanding issues with Odyssey that we needed to resolve (wheels, body damage, curtains, etc.). So if you are one of the many folks with whom we did not connect on this visit, please accept our sincere apologies, and we will make every effort to do so when next we return. (Of course, we're also always happy to connect elsewhere in the country, should you be someplace where we are headed -- keeping up with this blog is the best way to track us.)