Tour of Duty 24th January 2017 to 25th January 2017

I got word of an intra-California trip. A truck needed to be moved from northern California to southern California. I booked a flight on Southwest from LGB to OAK. I reorganised my gear so I only took that which I needed for a quick trip with me and only had one bag instead of the usual two to check. Tuesday morning I got transport to LGB and checked in and checked one bag that weighed 34lbs. I cleared security after a queue and opted out and was patted down. My boot bag was flagged for extra scrutiny and an agent swabbed some of the contents and an alarm resulted so the contents were dumped and sent thru the x-ray and then I was clear. It took about 25 minutes from beginning of check in to clear of security. I've flown into and out of LGB numerous times but this was the first time I took Southwest out of Long Beach.

Southwest #1058 LGB-OAK B-737-700 Boarding Pass A51
Seat 23A Cruising altitude 30,000 feet Estimated flying time 1:00, actual 0:57
Depart: Gate 1 Scheduled 10h45, actual 10h39 Taxi: 10 minutes
Arrive: Gate 22 Scheduled 12h05, actual 11h51 Taxi: 5 minutes
Reclaim checked bag 13 minutes after arrival

We walked outside and boarded via a ramp. Only the front door was used. The load was 56/143 and I had a whole row to myself. It was announced it was a little cloudier at OAK. Pushback was 6 minutes early followed by takeoff to the northwest. I saw Long Beach Grace Brethren Church, downtown Long Beach to the distance and Interstates 405, 710 and 110. I saw San Pedro, Torrance and the Palos Verdes Peninsula and then Redondo Beach as we went overwater at 3min55sec. We turned more north at 0:06 and made landfall at 0:08 over the Malibu area.

We crossed US101 at 0:09 near Thousand Oaks. At 0:11 we crossed California 118 over Simi Valley. Then we went over mountains and I saw some snowcapped peaks. I got pretzels at 0:18 and seatbelt sign went off at the same time upon reaching cruise. Also at the same time I got the first look at the San Joaquin Valley. Throughout much of the flight I saw the California coast to the distance. It was announced we were about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I saw Maricopa at 0:19 and at 0:25 I got cup of soda. I saw what may have been Coalinga, CA at 0:31 then I went to the washroom.

While in the washroom I felt descent begin at 0:36. At 0:37 descent was announced and it was 50F with winds out of the north at OAK. At 0:40 I saw the Monterey Bay and Peninsula. I saw the south San Francisco Bay at 0:51. I saw Interstates 680 and 880 at 0:52. I saw the Dumbarton Bridge at 0:53 and the San Mateo Bridge at 0:54. We went over the Bay at 0:55 and landed south to north. During taxi I saw downtown San Francisco and the new Salesforce Tower to the distance. We arrived at gate 14 minutes early and deplaned via jetway. I got my bag at baggage reclaim and went outside and got transport to Antioch where I loaded my gear, did safety inspection and was good to go.

Trip: Antioch, CA to Chino, CA 386 miles
Make: 2010 Chevy Diesel Van
Model: Straight Box Truck
Transmission: Automatic
Route: California 4 to J4 to Mountain House Parkway to Interstate 580 to Interstate 5 to Interstate 210 to California 57 to California 71
Maximum elevation: 4,144 feet Tejon Pass Interstate 5 one mile south of Los Angeles/Kern County Line and 2 miles north of Gorman, CA.
Highest diesel price USA: 2.959$ per gallon at Pilot Castaic, CA
Lowest diesel price USA: 2.839$ per gallon at Shell Antioch, CA

The weather was fair the whole trip but a little on the cool side for California with daytime temperatures (except for higher elevations) mainly in the 50'sF. I took on fuel before I really got going. It was slow going at first until I got on Interstate 580 which ran into the southbound 5. I stopped in Westley to get late midday rations at Dickey's Barbecue Pit. Then I took a nap before heading south. I stopped in Firebaugh for light evening rations which consisted of a Nathan's Hot Dog. Afterward I continued south and made a pit stop in Kettleman City where I booked a room and then I continued south to Buttonwillow, CA where I spent the night.

Wednesday I contacted the receiver and found out they would receive until 20h00. I headed south and the weigh scale was open on the north side of the Grapevine so I had to enter but I used the "empty" lane and was not pulled in so I proceeded and climbed the Grapevine. I stopped in Gorman and had midday rations at Ranch House restaurant. Then I descended and stopped in Castaic to take on fuel to ensure the fuel level was right for delivery. Traffic moved well until I got into Pasadena then traffic was bad for almost all of the rest of the trip. I made one last pit stop in Azusa then continued east on the 210 and south on the 57 and 71 into Chino Hills and Chino and made a twilight delivery. Afterward I got transport home to end this quick tour of duty.