Money, good health, close friends, and time. Can you ever have enough of some things? To this list I would also add horsepower, Wallys, and space. It just seems that lately there isn’t enough room for everything. Perhaps it was naivety, but when we bought our motorhome from Robert Hight I had no concern about storage. We kept it out at the Fairplex in Pomona, next to the racing school, and the only drawback was that it was 50 miles from home. However, with some proper planning before each trip the hour commute to “pack up” before hitting the road never was much of an issue. We just need a bigger PT Cruiser to lug the three of us, groceries, and clothing back and forth. More room!

Reality set in when we closed our Pomona operations earlier this month. Last blog I spoke of “perspective” many times, and apparently mine was slightly flawed when it came to judging size, space, and maneuverability. Though it required some concise turning, a few pieces of wood, and hosing down the street to reduce trailer tire sidewall scuffing, my old motorhome AND trailer fit neatly (though snugly) in the driveway on the side of the house. Okay, I did trim the eaves back nearly two feet when I first moved in, but that’s just semantics. Anyway, this RV must have grown several feet in height and length while trying to park it. I did a number on the neighbor’s lawn (similar to what the green looked like last time I golfed), and I managed to tweak the generator exhaust pipe, wrestling 39 feet of Beaver (that would be a Monaco/Beaver brand name, not a large water-loving creature) into 37 feet of driveway. It was fun blocking the entire street while shuttling wood back and forth to keep from tearing more pipe and lawn apart, and I won’t be doing that again anytime soon.

Anyway, once the unit was parked I could get on with the maintenance. I have done my own oil changes and service since before I was old enough to drive, but diesels are something else. The filters (and there are plenty of them) look like they’re on steroids, and oil is measured in gallons, not quarts. I did manage to get all of the Valvoline drained, new stuff installed, and all of the Fram filters in place without making any mess. If ever you have worked with diesel fuel and used oil, it can be nasty. I try to be a good boy and recycle all my used oil, and I’ve now got enough to start my own Mideast country. My biggest complaint while doing all of the work was that there just wasn’t enough room! Trying to wedge myself inside the access door was tough. I just didn’t think it would be appropriate to tear out the neighbor’s bushes to have more room. I’m already on probation for ripping up the lawn!

So, either a bigger house, or we sell the motorhome and buy a station wagon. Jenna wants choice “A”, I was leaning towards “B”. Luckily our buddy Andy Montgomery saved the day. Andy is going to let us keep the motorhome in his storage building in Monrovia. I can’t thank him enough for keeping our house payment down, and avoiding being stuffed into a station wagon (not enough room).

I flew up to Sacramento last Thursday for a reaction time clinic for the school. Chassis builder Dennis Sarmento put the whole deal together, and wound up turning people away, as it booked up quickly. 23 racers represented a good cross section of the categories, and fortunately my voice held out through most of the 3 ½ hours. I have to thank Dennis for his first class preparation, and all of the racers for attending.

Sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter Sunday was nice surf Saturday, and Rich and I had a blast in Redondo. Despite what he may tell anyone, he got worked ... bad. My board and I were giving lessons, and Rich was the student. Let’s just say that I was Michelangelo, and the Pacific was my canvas. (I may be exaggerating slightly, but Rich doesn’t have the internet.)

Easter rocked. My Grandma and Uncle John came out, as did Cousin Jason and his future Mrs., Stephanie. Those two spoil Jason rotten, and this day was no exception. The basket they brought him was filled with stuff, and now I’m afraid more of my high school wardrobe will have to go to make room! Mom-in-law Cindy and Jenna did ham, and my brother Ted was only two hours late this time, a big improvement for him. Though Jason has no clue what an Easter egg hunt is, I think he started to grasp the concept of putting those odd-tasting, oblong plastic things into the basket. (This is MY Jason I’m talking about......Cousin Jason mastered this feat over 20 years ago) It was a great day with family and good food. The only thing missing was about 24 square feet, but once I put the elliptical machine on the back porch and moved the couch and loveseat, we were in business. Maybe we should have had dinner in the motorhome. I think it’s bigger inside than the living room!

I’m not sure why, but my sciatic has been bothering me for over a month. Sometimes I feel like I’m falling apart from the inside, but I think that 8,000-horsepower MTS/Valvoline Dodge occasionally kicks harder than expected, and tire-shake runs aren’t exactly therapeutic. We visited our favorite chiropractor, Dr. Bellwood, today for my monthly alignment. He also checked toe-in, caster and camber. Get it ... alignment? Funny stuff. I need to be sharp for Houston next weekend, and I can’t wait to get back in the car. I only wish I had more headroom.

Stay tuned.

P.S. I am now having Jason check all of my visor’s anti-fog coatings before installing them on my helmet. This should help tremendously on race day.