By two o'clock we were back on the road and heading for Atascasdero.  We hit the rolling hills preceding the Coastal Range about 3 pm and the car began to run hot again.  About ten miles out of Atascadero we started to bog down, and the car began to backfire on the downgrades.  I pulled over, thinking that the timing needed adjustment.  To my dismay I saw that the gasket between the exhaust manifold and the downpipe had burned out and was spitting exhaust.  I didn't dare tighten the bolts-- I've broken bolts off in the exhaust manifold THREE times before.  We'd have to wait until the engine was totally cool before I would touch them. The hills turned into mountains and we stunk our way through them. 

The brakes all but disappeared on the downgrades and I downshifted like my life depended on it (which it did).  We limped into Atascadero and made straight for the Napa Auto Parts store.  More grease for the grease gun, plus gasket material, an exacto knife and four new bolts and we were on our way.  A day-and-a-half and 342 miles after we left Sacramento, we pulled into Morro Bay.