Landing in Livermore

A few years ago I started outfitting myself for a trek across the lower forty-eight states. My trip home to Oregon was important for two reasons: I was getting older and wanted to see family one last time, most of the last of my relatives are scattered across the U.S.A. Also, getting older is getting harder on my body and cold winters are intolerable with early-stage RA. So...after a long, long drive I crossed into CA via Interstate 10. Then veered up I-5. After days of driving I steered my vehicle onto 580 West and determined to stop for the night. Looking for a safe place, I pulled off the freeway and got tangled up in a little series of streets and roads with names like "Bluebell." Then I saw a sign: Springtown Library. Ah. I've never had less than a perfect time at the library. Maybe I could boondock overnight in a lot close to the library? Not so fast, a local warned me. Try Livermore, you'll see all kinds of RVs in shopping malls around there. So that's where I went; the parking lots in Livermore mini-malls are actually landscaped. I mean, there are flowers blooming as early as March! And lovely trees to provide shade. And clean streets--that's a big one folks--I've boondocked in mud pits referred to as truck stops, and languished at truck stops that charged $12.00 for a shower. Looking around and finding myself in a lovely bedroom community was a big relief. Three days passed while I took an opportunity to rest up and re-provision for the next 800 miles to Portland. That was a year-and-a-half ago. I've learned to fly under the radar and stay out of trouble with the businesses on those lots where I dwell. One night in one place; pull out in the early A.M. and move to another spot to spend the day. The takeaway is this: Rent in this safe, lovely East Bay area is outrageous even when we're talking about a campground that resembles a parking lot and has the same kinds of issues with traffic and noise. Even crazier, the campgrounds will not allow campers to stay more than twenty-seven days per month, there are one-time only "entry fees" and campers are not allowed to use the campgrounds address to have mail or packages delivered. All that hassle for more than the amount of my scrawny Social Security disability check. Meanwhile, I love this place. I don't want to leave. The sun, the rolling hills, the red-tailed hawks and even deer roaming the 'burbs. And of course, as Christian says, nobody goes hungry in Livermore. Absolutely.