A fifteen foot box truck was picked up at 2pm on Sunday afternoon. With a quick stop behind Royce Hall to pick up...

...Hans Barnard (a Research Associate with the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology), a blue hand cart (useful for moving heavy objects)...

...and his racoon (Procyon lotor) who was asked not drive and consented to sit on the dash for the duration, we set off.

Driving over the Grapevine pass was sunny...

...but rain fell in the Central Valley. We reached the Holiday Inn of El Dorado Hills after an accidental detour to Livermore (too much talking and not enough sign reading!), the purchase of a map, and a hearty dinner at the Outback Steakhouse.

The next morning we had no trouble finding our truck in the hotel parking lot.

After a short drive we reached Alta Labs, the kind donor of Sciex V, and its imposing backdoor!

We were horrified to discover our Sciex V stored amongst many containers marked "biohazard" waste!!

After a quick dust off, the instrument was wheeled out and onto the lift gate. Ken and Bob from Alta Labs help out.

Securely tied in place for the 400 mile drive back to UCLA.

It took more than 45 gallons, and several swipes of the credit card, to fill the tank. At 2.50 a gallon we spent 368 dollars on gas!

Missing the winter rain by an hour, the ride back over the Grapevine pass was stunning.