After spending the afternoon putting the cylinder head back on the block and setting the tappets we lowered the engine back into the engine bay in Lodzi. Mike then left Kerry and I to put the whole thing back together again which we set about doing enthusiastically.

     The following day while continuing our work, James met Greg, the local distributor for Snap-On tools. An extremely friendly guy, Greg invited us back to his house in Tracy, about 30 miles away, for a BBQ and spend the night the following evening. We gladly accepted subject to commitments with Lodzi.

     That evening, Todd and the local Firemen invited us back to their base for another dinner which we gladly accepted. We had an excellent evening on the patio of the Fire Station overlooking the Livermore runway and demolishing delicious ribs and chicken. The evening was interrupted by two call outs for the 3 guys on duty which was interesting to watch and listen to on the local CB. Thanks to the Livermore and Pleasanton Fire Department. You guys were awesome.

     The following morning, James spent the morning with Earl, the machine shop next to the mechanics, helping weld plates to the aluminium roof, at the corners just above the wind screen which had split due to the stress of the weight of the roof rack and roof tent. Earl gave us a huge discount for the work he did. Thanks a million Earl!

     After completing the assembly of the engine, topping up all the oils and double checking all the fixings, James also changed the ball joint on the steering drop arm assembly we followed Greg back to Tracy for a BBQ. Upon arriving on Greg's clean drive way, one look told us there was oil pissing out all over the floor, F***k. Also, while we were driving, as we put the accelerator down for power, the engine almost died and we had total loss of power. Mmm not good.

     Lodzi aside we enjoyed a lovely evening with Greg, Sandy, their two cool kids Eric and Kylie, joined by some neighbours for dinner. It was a full immersion into American suburbia and we enjoyed sharing our travels with these folks. The following morning after catching the USA soccer team being knocked out the world cup, we left Tracy and continued back to Mike's workshop to try solving our problems - AGAIN.

     The oil leak was now out of the oil dip stick tube which was a quick rectification job which James did himself. The loss of power however was a mystery to Mike whose experience with diesels is somewhat very limited so he left us to it? To what?
We then got the manual out and started checking everything we could as we believed there was a leak in the system…..somewhere. After checking the turbo and all the fuel lines we discovered that the base of one of the four fuel injectors was leaking a little. James removed this to find the whole thing rusty and dirty. After then stripping out and cleaning all four injectors we then refitted those with new copper washers and all seemed to be well. In general, although Mike let us do quite a bit of work on the car ourselves, he did not cut us much slack in cost. While highly regarded for restoration work and petrol engine work, Mike's diesel engine experience is very limited and perhaps we would not have gone there in hindsight. Also Mike works to his own pace which is quite often not the same of many of his paying customers.

     Greg in the interim had invited us back again for the evening with the family so we followed him home after work. Old Lodzi drove there with no problems and once again had power. Finally something going right. Greg is also a bit of a Fast Car fan and as well as his BMW M3, he has a Dodge Viper sports car. After twisting his arm to take James out for a ride in the Viper, Greg took James down to a quiet farm road and managed to reach a crazy 240km/hr. Holy C***p was the expletive James used on exiting car. After another night spent chatting to the Taylor's we reluctantly parted company just after midday as we were expected in San Francisco at 3pm by Craig whom was taking us to a formal dinner with his parents in SF.

     Can you believe it, as we were just outside Livermore, we noticed no oil pressure and the oil light was on in the dash! Pulling off the motorway, James opened the bonnet to a vision of an oil explosion. Grrrr what now. On closer inspection, one of the high pressure oil pipes from the engine into the radiator had burst!!! After borrowing a cell phone from a couple changing a tyre just behind us, James phoned Mike whom sent some spare pipe, pipe clamps and oil with his son Richard. The pipe was too short so James disconnected the burst pipe, jumped into the car with Richard and drove off to sort the problem out.

     An hour later a new pipe was fitted and we were back at the work shop trying to wash some of the oil out of the engine as it looked like a nice fire hazard. We were then back on the road a further hour later. James had had enough of Landy mechanics by this stage, but everything ran OK.

     A quick shower at Craig's and we proceeded to his parents beautiful dockside million dollar home. A beautiful evening, where his parents Max and Irene put on an excellent dinner of classy wine and Ahi (yellow finned tuna) cooked to perfection. Craig had also done some very delicious tequila soaked BBQ shrimp which were to die for. This was all rounded off with coffee and carrot cake. Unfortunately Max's boat was out of action or we could have done some Salmon fishing just outside the bay. Thanks for everything else guys.

     Once again Craig was away for the weekend, so we had a not so early start the following morning and let ourselves out the house. After a short drive through downtown San Francisco we did the famous drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. As is normally the case this was done in the famous SF Bay fog. We sort of took some photos though.

     We continued north to the south of the Sonoma Valley where Greg had managed to get us tickets to the NASCAR Races, another famous American tradition. After joining thousands of fans, we spent a very hot afternoon watching some car races which included a couple of crowd pleasing accidents. What morbid humans we have turned into.

     Late afternoon we drove through Sonoma Valley, the baby sister to world famous wine growing region - Napa Valley. Here we passed some very large stately mansions and wine estates and vineyards. It was all so beautiful, warmed up by the late afternoon sun; we could not wait to start wine tasting. The following day Sunday, we entered Napa Valley, the fourth largest wine producing area in the world after France, Spain and Italy. Unlike our very memorable Argentinean wine tour last year, in the Napa Valley you have to pay for each tasting. Generally $5 - $15 for a "flight" of 3 wines to taste depending on quality.

     Our first stop was Beringer, the oldest vineyard in the Napa, and very posh! Here we had a taste of 3 wines and as usual liked all 3. Continuing through the valley, every twist and turn was a new vineyard, huge mansion or quaint "expensive" little village or town.

     As lunch approached, we stopped at a local market store and purchased the makings of a very tasty picnic lunch. As is popular and traditional in the Napa, people are encouraged to bring picnics to some of the beautiful vineyards, buy a bottle of wine and enjoy the scenery over your meal. We chose Clos du Val as our destination for lunch as recommended in our wine country guide. However instead of buying their local wine (luckily as the cheapest bottle was $20), we had found a Beringer wine we had tasted at the store for half the price the vineyard was selling it at! Go figure!! We did however have an exceedingly delicious picnic in the grand grounds of a one of Napa's famous wine houses. Priceless!

     Our next destination was Woodlands, a small city just outside Sacramento. CA, where we visited the factory and show room for Four Wheel Pop-up Campers. A business idea we think would go down very well in Australia. Here a compact, sturdy camper is placed on the tray of most pick ups. We have seen many on our travels and believe this to be the best alternative to Camper Vans. Time will tell. We also managed a side trip into Sacramento where we visited historic downtown and indulged in a movie.

     From there we turned west again to the north Californian coast for our trip up to Redwood National Park where we hoped to see the Giant Redwoods, a close cousin of the Sequoias but much higher. Hitting our first bit of California coast at Fort Bragg , we jumped on highway 1 for a spell before turning off to the "Lost Coast" a recommended spot that is not sign posted or advertised but just a dirt track off the main road into the mountains of Sinkyone Wilderness area. It was a stunning drive along a dirt track through the mountains overlooking the rugged coastline of the Pacific Ocean. We found the lost coast beach where there was a paying campsite so the cheapskates we are; we headed into the mountains and found an awesome free camp spot.

     After driving through the mountains for a few hours the following day along a narrow dirt road, (we had passed a "No Through Road" sign already) we came across a forestry worker whom informed us the road was officially closed, but luckily for us, they had just cleared a landslide the day before and the road was unofficially open. Bonus!! But were we aware this is the largest Marijuana growing area in the US and that the locals are therefore extremely unfriendly and rude to visitors. Interesting, no we weren't aware and we probably don't look like DEA. Thanks for the advice; we are leaving as quickly as possible.

     Up the coast we passed through Eureka before we finally entered Redwood National Park. We spent the day meandering through the maze of "Avenue of the Giants" in complete awe. The trees are timeless, many over 2000 years old and towering over all whom rest in their shadows. We picnicked beside a crystal clear stream, cooled off after lunch and then washed Lodzi off, the first time in about a month.

     While on our jaunt, a local tourist advised us that whales were currently present off this part of the coast. Kerry's eyes almost popped out so we located a view point overlooking the silvery grey sea and set about attempting to spot our whales. After 10 minutes we spotted our first puff way out to sea, then another and another. Wow, there were 3 Grey Whales cruising about 3km off the coast. Kerry was ecstatic. A little further north we pulled into a big bay and then we really saw whales, 3 pods with about 15 whales in all. There was no breaching but they were flicking their tails in the air for all to view. Very cool. After missing the whales every where we went in the last 18 months, we had finally caught up with them.

     We then telephoned a lovely hippie couple we had met in Mexico whom had invited us to stay if we were in the area. Lyman and Susan lived just inside the Oregon state border in a tiny little house overlooking a quaint valley. They still lived a hippie existence and what a ….different experience that was. The coolest folk you could come across, smoking pot like we drink tea and so chilled out. A pun I know.

     After making us feel very welcome we spent the whole weekend with Lyman and Sue, James being very spoilt by experiencing fresh Oregon Crab. Ah, utterly gorgeous with Lyman and James devouring 4 between them. Shame Kerry does not eat crab!! But James made up for the shortfall. James had craftily timed the visit for the World Cup Soccer quarter finals, England -v- Portugal. What a complete and expected disappointment. The thug Wayne Rooney showing all his class and then the grand finale of million pound footballers whose only job is to put a little white ball in the goal, missing penalty kicks!!! There is always 4 years time AGAIN!

     Bidding a fond farewell, we turned due East leaving the coast behind, the next time we will see it is if we make it up to Alaska........next page