I also awoke with a headache, congestion, and generalized body aches...
Yet I pressed through it, and got to El Centro around noon, my appointment was at 1pm. However, my application/paperwork was no longer in my saddle bag! Seems that when one does not latch said saddlebag, anything stored in it is at the mercy of the road! So a one hour, 70+ mph road trip, the occasional head/crosswind... well, somewhere between Yuma and El Centro, there is a piece of paper with my name on it!
Now, being as resourceful as I am... I quickly rode back to the El Centro Library I had passed. I figured I could get online and reprint the paperwork. Yet the main library was closed... relocated to an address a few miles away from where I was. Seeing as El Centro utilizes the "grid" system, I quickly found and subsequently arrived!
Next problem...
I had a $100.00 bill in my wallet, to cover the cost of the fingerprinting, fuel, lunch, etc. Seems the library allowed me free access to the Internet, yet anything I printed, was $0.15 per page. So I was in need of a mere $0.45 for my three page application. And they don't accept debit/credit cards...
I went next door to the El Centro Community Center, upon suggestion of the librarian, to see if they could change my bill. I didn't get her name, yet as I was explaining my predicament, this person grabbed her purse, opened her wallet, and removed a $1 bill. She then opened a drawer, removed a cash-box, and provided me with the $0.45 of change I needed.
I was able to return to the library, get online, and print what I needed.
I arrived to my appointment 5 minutes late.
When I arrived, there was yet another problem! Seems a random audit/recall of a computer by the CA DOJ, removed said computer from the premises, so they were unable to complete my transaction. However, this business was able to re-direct me to another location, less than a block away, and literally just a crosswalk away, that was able to provide me the service that I needed.
So an hour later, I had accomplished my primary purpose, fingerprinting done! However, I had taken on a new quest!
So with my change in hand, I returned to the El Centro Community Center, entered and identified the woman who gave me the $0.45, and placed a $1 bill on the counter. Her kindness and generosity to a complete stranger was inspirational! I knew I had to repay this, and from her reaction, it was quite unexpected!
$0.45 is almost nothing in today's age... to be quite honest, I was surprised that the librarian hearing the same explanation, still required the payment... So, instead of me returning to the library to make a $0.55 donation... I returned to give back to the general community of El Centro!
There were three things I saw the day before and wanted to stop and take pics of. Yet I awoke feeling "under-the-weather," and with the added problems and extra running around, I didn't.
So it is left to an oral presentation of the experience!
One of the first things, are the 'Dunes.' That stretch of landscape in California, that literally looks like the Sahara Desert. And what is this "left" exit thing to get to a rest area?! I have seen them before, however always on the East Coast, and they almost always include a gas station! I digress, one has to wonder and truly has to imagine the physical forces that were in play at some time in history, that was able to produce so much sand!
Is this area the result of an ancient alluvial plain? Did the Colorado River actually reach this far in flood stage, and not only for how long at a time, how many times? This is a lot of sand! Not a geology student, yet I tend to lean towards this being part of the sea-bed. The Salton Sea to the North, fault-lines and earthquakes...
It was interesting to see the "RV camps" out in the middle of nothing. The quads and buggies... all with those 12 foot high fiberglass whips with the orange flag... And this is a protected area! The barriers that are placed to prevent someone from just stopping and crossing into the area... would probably stop a tank!
I had to once again come to a stop at a checkpoint, and declare my citizenship. I know some would prefer I not to talk about this. Yet I live in the United States of America. I suppose I should be thankful that I did not have to show/produce proof of identity. And that's where it gets a little grey. However, I truly have no problem or issue with someone asking me, and if in an "official" Governmental Capacity, requiring me to provide proof. Apparently, these checkpoints are "random" and in no way are they meant to imply that there is a problem...
A little know fact regarding El Cento, CA...
It is actually below sea level! By about 50 feet! This was another pic I wanted to take. There is a huge water tank to the South of I-8, that welcomes one to El Centro. And about 50 feet up... is a line and the words, "Sea Level." Makes me think this is not the place to be when a 10.0 magnitude hits the San Andreas... takes the idea/thought of "beachfront property" to a whole different level!
Otherwise, El Centro is a city. It has most of the "modern" expectations as far as businesses and amenities go. It is also fairing slightly better than my current location of Yuma. I was amazed however, in my short time there, that I witnessed two (2) separate gas stations, bringing out the long poles with suction cups! I watched as one changed their prices, adding an additional $0.40 per gallon, compared to the far sign! And yes, I had to top off in El Centro... luckily under 3 gallons, so the $15 pinch was more like a mosquito bite...
Here's the one pic I did manage to take, as I just had to...
This used to be a Baskin-Robbins... not sure it still is though... as they lost about 10 flavors! Not easily apparent, there is the B-R name and the number "31" underneath the "21..."
Not exactly sure why I was compelled to take this pic, as cruddy as I was now feeling. Yet anyone who has been to El Centro, can now verify that I was there and rode up 4th Ave! Or was it 4th St...
I have been up, asleep, up again, more sleep, and up for awhile again. I am hoping this is an early Fall cold.
I am saddened today, however. I learned that one of my high-school teachers, Sra. Figuerola passed. My thoughts and prayers go out to her, her family, and all of those that knew her. It is interesting that a once feared teacher, met later as an adult, not truly known, evokes so much reminiscence and thought.
It shouldn't though. As distant as most individuals are to one another, we are all connected! A shared ancestor, a memory, an experience... perhaps just a brief meeting. Yet, after all, we are all citizens of this little rock...
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