Checking out Delta Marinas

As Chuck was not going to be available until the following morning, we decided to take a drive down I-5 and check out a few marinas that I'd short-listed for either storage or work space.
The first was Tower Park, where I've stayed several times in the past, but haven't been there for at least 15 years. Tower Park is located on Hwy 12 about 5 miles west of I-5. It's easy to get to and has a full service marina, with launch ramp, dry storage, docks, a restaurant and bar, and all the usual amenities.

We had lunch at Rosa's and I checked rates and availability with Sheila at the office. I tentatively reserved a space in the dry storage yard but told them it may be a month or so before I can get the boat moved down there. I showed her photos so she could see exactly what the boat looked like as I didn't want any misunderstandings later on. She seemed fine and gave me space #211.
  Tower Park at one time used a small stationary sling lift and could only launch small boats. That has since been replaced with a ramp and a launch tractor. Valet service is included in the price of the monthly storage. For me, this system is a real no-brainer as there's no way I could handle the launching myself without a tow vehicle and that's precisely what I'm trying to avoid. They only require a very short notice to get you in the water, so it's a very convenient method indeed.

Norstar Automotive

At Norstar Automotive I introduced myself to Jim,the owner and explained my situation as best as I could. He confirmed that Chuck had brought the boat down to have the fuel system checked out and while Chuck insisted it was "all done", Jim hadn't actually worked on it himself. He checked with a couple of his mechanics and we found that they had indeed looked at but had not actually run the engine, so we couldn't be sure. The batteries needed charging first so we saw to hooking it up to shore power overnight. We agreed to return the following day.

Road trip recap

The road trip was short on time, long on driving. We got away about 10 AM on July 31, so a bit of a late start. In Seattle, the Express Lanes were closed and I've found that when things begin to go downhill during the first hours of a journey, they often continue that decline!

Stupidly I chose to disregard this omen so we drove on to Portland, where we encountered the first of the evening rush hour traffic. After crawling across the various bridges and snaking our way south, we at last got a clear stretch and began to make some time. With very few stops other than the obligatory "P" breaks, we managed to get to Grants Pass, Oregon by about 7:30. I'd checked prices at the Motel 6 but I thought I'd give the Sunset Motel a chance to compete. He didn't want to play this round so we checked in at the 6 and headed off for dinner at the little Chinese Restaurant and Bar next to the Sunset.

A combo platter each and a beer to wash it down was all I needed to put and end to day one.

Wednesday morning; our second day, we made a quick stop at Pat's favorite store; the Walmart Super Store at Grants Pass. I bought a couple of shirts and a 30 pack of Bud. Wilburne had a look around but didn't find anything he needed.

   By about 10 AM we crossed the Siskiyou Pass into California. There was plenty of road work going on through the mountains and on down I-5 so making good time wasn't really going to happen. It looked like we weren't going to make Sacramento in time to get checked in and still make "Happy Hour" so I thought we may as well drive out and get a room in Rancho Cordova, where the boat was in storage. I thought we could at least drive over and assess the situation while there was still daylight.

I'd booked our room at the Red Roof Inn on-line, but when we got there, they had no record of the reservation. It took a few phone calls to get it straightened out but we did eventually get our room and it was nice enough. 

After we settled in, and gulped down a cold one, we headed over to have a look at the boat. The access code I'd been given had remained unchanged and the gate swung open first try, but that relief faded rapidly as the boat was nowhere to be found.
  The main storage office is only a block away so we drove there and after a few frantic calls discovered the boat's whereabouts. Chuck had sent it over to an automotive shop to have the fuel issue re-checked and he assured me it was now fixed!