Here’s a picture taken this morning … fog today, but the weather report says it will clear up soon. Still, you can see how little space there is between the RVs and the Pacific Coast Highway.

For the past week I have been noticing that we need to get a wash. (Not us, the truck and trailer!) After a couple of weeks of traveling by highway, and near the coast, the entire rig gets coated with a brownish oily film. It doesn’t look dirty, but the sticky mixture comes off on our clothes, hands, and makes the Airstream looks less shiny. Can’t have that! 😉

We can wash the truck by unhitching and removing the bikes from the roof — then it fits in most car washes — but the trailer is a another story. We had a few “interesting” experiences trying to fit it into manual car washes. They don’t usually have enough entry/departure area for a 30-foot trailer.

Washing by hand would be an option except that all campgrounds prohibit this. I was hoping we’d end up at someone’s house (courtesy parking) and they’d let me wash it, but this hasn’t happened since we visited Lou & Larry in Ohio.

So a truck wash is the most practical option. Blue Beacon runs a chain of them across the country, co-located with truck stops such as Petro and Flying J. There are usually local truck washes in major cities as well. It’s expensive (about $40) but worth it. They do a nice job and everything gets clean, including the bikes. A whole crew of guys comes out with high-pressure wands, spray everything about six times, and voila! shiny again.

Our last wash was in Nevada, a couple hundred miles after we boondocked in central Nevada (see November archives for details). We’re due. I did a little research online last night and found a truck wash that is approximately along our route out today, so we’ll try to stop there this morning.