Lots of activity

Things are happening fast right now.

Today there was lots of activity on the Casita.

It went from a cement slab to a big brown box. They may take a day off tomorrow off since it is New Years Day but it won’t be long before it has a roof.

In the mean time we moved to a different lot yesterday. It’s just across the street from the lot we were in when we first arrived last Sunday. We will be here until Friday when we move again. That should be our final move until we take off for NASCAR.

Got Wood

We got wood today. The wood showed up for our casita so they could get started framing. The wood showed up but the framers didn’t. There was only one of the three here today. He was just going to do some layout but

I pitched in and we got at least three walls up. I hear the subcontractors are hurting for work so hopefully they will get right on the job and this thing will come together fast.

We’re back

We are back in Havasu. The drive was a good one with good weather all the way. We did see a pretty bad looking accident around the Palm Springs area though. Looks as though someone with a large fifth wheel trailer lost control, spun it around and laid it over on its side, truck and all. I hope no one got hurt. Fortunately we were alerted on the CB radio about the accident and were told a way around it. The traffic was backed up for quite a way and we missed it all by taking the CBers suggestion. Probably saved us an hour at least of bumper to bumper, stop and go (mostly stop) traffic.
We got lucky and got the use of a friends lot free of charge. It is only for about 10 days but after we got here and was talking to another neighbor, they said they are pulling out in a week and we can use their lot. So it looks like we are covered until we leave in February for some NASCAR fun.

They finally got the cement poured on our lot. A friend has been kind enough to take lots of pictures while we were gone. I talked to one of the framers and he said they will hopefully be getting the lumber next week and can start framing. I am sure once they know we are here and waiting, things will go a bit faster.

Ready to move on

We are all packed up and ready to move on. Tomorrow we are heading back to the desert. Our lot in Havasu is still not ready for us to pull onto so we will be renting another lot for a while. They did finally pour the concrete but it still is a little green and I would rather give it time to cure. Besides I really don’t want my motorhome 5 feet away from construction work using saws, hammers, and nail guns.

Christmas with the grandkids was fun. They came by to open some presents that Nana and Papa got for them.

After they were done, you could hardly see the floor of the motorhome. Do we spoil them? Yes, isn’t that what grandparents are suppose to do?

Merry Christmas Everyone

Can’t use our lot

Well, it’s getting close to time to head back to Havasu for us. The problem is, they have cut a big chunk out of our cement pad to run the utilities for our new Casita and haven’t filled it in yet.

Seems that the weather and holidays have put a hold on any construction of the Casita. This means we cannot pull onto our lot. I made a few phone calls today and got us another lot to use in the resort until ours is habitable. Just an added expense on the Casita. I guess I got my wish since I wanted to be there to see the progress as our Casita is being built.

Global Warming

Tell me again about “Global Warming”? A storm dumped 3.6 inches of snow on Las Vegas Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Broke again

I knew it wouldn’t last. If you remember a while back I had to disassemble my laptop to repair a bad connection on the power jack. I wasn’t happy at all with the repair job I did and knew it would be just a matter of time before I had to go in again. Well yesterday it happened again. The computer wasn’t charging.

As you can see by these pictures, this is not an easy fix. Everything has to come out to get to the Motherboard. I got to involved in the repair to take pictures of everything removed and the motherboard out. Although this repair is a bit better, I am still not happy with it. Not that I don’t have the ability to do the job right, I just don’t have the equipment. During my carrier in electronics, I am used to repairing circuits, under a microscope, soldering surface mount components smaller than an ant. But this takes good equipment to do and the equipment would cost more than replacing the computer itself. It is frustrating because I know I could do better. My next step might be to remove the motherboard and have someone with the right equipment replace the connector or buy a motherboard off Ebay and replace the whole thing. Well as you can see by this posting, It’s working for now.

Scary drive

Today was the first time I have used my wipers and lights on the motorhome in…Well I don’t know how long. Too long ago to remember. We traveled back to the Vista Elks lodge and the weather was REAL NASTY. I stopped for fuel, stopped to dump and backed into the site and set it up. By the time all was done I was soaked. Actually I had a real good jacket on and was only wet on the surface. I stayed pretty dry inside. After getting setup and having some lunch the winds subsided and the rain stopped. Go figure! If I had waited just another hour, things would have been a lot easier.

Fueling

I was filling a close to empty fuel tank on the motorhome and as I usually do I stood there and watched the dollars adding up. It was close to empty so I figured I would have to feed my credit card in at least twice to get it full. I watched as the dollars went past the $75 mark where it usually shuts off and thought, huh, they must have upped it since it cost so much to fill a tank now-a-days. I thought, it will most likely shut off at $100 and I will have to feed the card in again. Then at $94 it shut off. Can’t be full..it hasn’t even reached $100 yet so I squeezed the trigger again. It immediately shut off again. $94…that’s it? Wow the price has really come down. While entering the fill in my log I noticed just 2 months ago I pumped over $200 in the tank.

Kids

I thought I was done with kids. Last night, Reese, our daughter’s dog, decided at 3:00am that she wanted to climb in bed with us. After several attempts to send her away,

I finally got up, took her out to go potty and tucked her back into her own bed where she stayed the rest of the night.
Just like my grandson, Reese can ware you out.

It’s a constant game of fetch, keep away, and tug-a-war with her. She just loves to play.

For the last 3 days I have been detailing the motorhome. I have just about finished the front cap now. That’s right, the front cap is all I have got done in 3 days. Of course I only work on it a couple of hours a day but it is quite a process. I have neglected it for too long and there is a build up if filth that needs to be cleaned away. I start with some black streak remover and clean the whole surface. This pretty much gets rid of filth and leaves a good white surface. Next I go back over it with a good cleaner wax to clean further and leave a good wax coat. After the waxing I go over it all again with a damp sponge then buff it out with a dry towel to get rid of all the wax swirls. After the big surfaces are all done, it’s time for the trim and details including bringing the bright white silicone caulking back to bright white. I even coated the windows with Rain-X. The next 3 days I might tackle the rear cap. The sides are going to be a big job, if I don’t run out of energy by then.

Dog sitting

We moved again today.

We are now just 16 miles down the road in Encinitas at our daughter’s house. They took off for a week so we are dog sitting.

This is Reese, our daughter’s 1 year old Boxer. This is going to be fun having a dog to play with all week.

Gas price

As I drove past the Chevron station down the street this morning I noted the price. Since I was going to run a few errands today and one was to fill the tank, I thought I would keep an eye out for the best price. Yesterday the price was $1.95, down from $2.05 the day before. This morning it was down further to $1.93. After running around all morning I was done with all my errands and on my way back to the motorhome. One more station to check since I was in the neighborhood and knew this station was usually lower than most in town. $1.79! Wow I thought. How can they be that much lower than the rest? Of course I filled up and even considered uprooting the motorhome and filling it up also at $1.79. On the way back to the motorhome I passed the first station where I saw $1.93 in the morning. $1.79! Amazing!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. We spent it on Mission Bay in San Diego with friends at the Mission Bay RV Park.

This is the first time we have been at this park and it is really nice. The weather was iffy the day we arrived and it rained pretty good that night. The next morning, which was Thanksgiving Day, was drizzly until about noon. Then the weather gave us a break.

I did the turkey on the grill again this year with my Hi-Tech thermometers to monitor kettle temperature and internal turkey temperature. Turns out that my internal thermometer was broken so I was going by time per pound. Luckly my daughter had a thermometer simulate to mine that I hooked up, and it was a good thing I did. The turkey had about another ½ hour to go according to time but the new thermometer said it was ready. It came out perfect!


The rest of the weekend’s weather was perfect. The rains went away and the sun came out. We just have so much fun with our friends. Can’t wait until we meet again.

Mission Bay San Diego

We made the short 45 minute trip to Mission Bay in San Diego where we will spend the Thanksgiving weekend. We made it here just before the sprinkles started. We are expecting rain tonight but it should clear tomorrow. I will be doing my usual turkey on the grill this year. Looking forward to a great weekend with friends and family.

Educated ants

I forgot how smart the ants are around here. It wasn’t long after we parked and setup that the ants were marching their way up our hoses and cables. I took care of them with a little Vaseline around the hoses and cables.

Back in Vista

We are back in Vista California for the Holidays. We will be here until just after Christmas then head back to Havasu to do the finishing touches on the Casita we are having built on our lot. The contractor has been patiently waiting for us to vacate the lot so they can get in there and start construction. The first step will be to cut the concrete pad to run utilities and pour the foundation.

I had to pull out my cactus garden and have my lawn relocated.

The lawn looks real good in its new location. This has become some REAL expensive lawn with the initial cost and now the cost of relocation.

Great day

We just had a great day. Our friend took us out on the boat today. It couldn’t be a better day. The temperature was in the mid 80s and not a bit of wind. We headed on over to Copper Canyon.

I’m sure you have heard of Copper Canyon in Lake Havasu. This is the cove where everyone heads to party and do some rock diving. They climb up the cliffs and dive off. It gets so jammed with boats they tie off to each other and people literally walk from boat to boat. Today, being it is winter, the cove was empty and we had the place to ourselves. We anchored off and brought out the food. What a spread.

After having lunch in the cove we headed for the channel where the famous London Bridge is.

The lake was so smooth and calm. All that and I even made a little in the stock market today. Life CAN be good in these tough times.

Lots of wind

We had LOTS of wind today. I thought my slide awning was going to blow off. Our new patio furniture blew off the lot into the rocks and got all scratched up. Fortunately a little bottle of touch up paint came with the furniture and I think I can make most of the scars go away. We were going to have a little get together tonight but called it off. It has died down a bit from this afternoon and should continue to mellow out in the next couple of days.

A few minor changes

I got the updated plans today for our casita. It looks good, I just made a few notes so it looks like we are ready to go. The contractor is just waiting for us to head out of here for California so he can get started.
I was hoping they would work around our cactus garden but was told it has to go. I will just have to rebuild it when they are done. I was considering moving our lawn myself until I realized how heavy it is. When they install it, they lay the carpet of grass out, stake it down then fill it with a lot of sand. Even if I got a few guys to help out, it would still be quite a chore. The weather is finally changing to winter around here. It is getting into the 50s at night and cooler during the days.

The cloud cover make some really nice sunsets.

My position in today's economy

As I watch the stock market fall lower and lower, I sometimes wonder if I did the right thing by quitting my job, selling the house, investing my money and going fulltime. Then I remember that everything I own is paid off, I don’t have a job that I have to worry about loosing and living in an RV is as cheap as you want to make it. I also remember that my loss in the stock market is only on paper and as hard as it is to NOT pull out I am staying in for the long run. It will come back and I will not suffer any loss from today’s economy. So I sit here next to my motorhome at our resort in the warm Arizona sun feeling pretty good about my decision.

After a blustery day yesterday, today was great. The morning started out cool and calm, and warmed up real nice during the day. It is supposed to improve from here for the rest of the week.

Race Day

Susan is so nervous about Jimmy Johnson’s chance at the championship that she can’t watch the races. For the last couple weeks I have been watching the race at my neighbors. Today must have been golf day for them because at the start of the race they were not home. Since it was a dismal blustery day I decided to head over to the clubhouse and kick back in their theater style recliners and watch the race on the big screen TV. I had the whole place to myself. Great way to watch the race.

So why didn’t we just pack up the motorhome and head on over to Phoenix this weekend for the race. After all it’s only about 3 hours away. Well that is a different story. There are things we as owners have requested here in the RV Resort that aren’t in the budget so we are taking it upon our selves to raise the money. So this weekend Susan and our neighbor Sally organized a Block Party in the Resort. One of the streets was blocked off and everyone was asked to bring a dish (main, salad, or desert) and a dollar donation and join in. Susan and Sally got our resident former Las Vegas Entertainer to provide the entertainment. Close to 100 people showed up for the party and the 50/50 drawing raised over $400. Susan got real lucky because the 3 days prior to the party were cold and very windy. Yesterday the skies were clear with a gentle warm breeze. Today the winds and cold returned. Everyone had a great time and the party was a success.

No time change for us

Since the country changed to Daylight Saving time it has messed us up a bit. Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that do not change. Our Satellite programming is based on California time and since we are in Arizona all our favorite programs are now an hour late. Also I have to wait an hour later to check the closing of the stock market to see how far my stocks have gone down... We have to be aware of the time difference when we call our friends and family in California. Personally I don’t think there should be a time change. In a couple of weeks we will be heading for California to spend the holidays. We will have to get used to the time change then. At least then we will be in sync with the rest of the country for a while.

Reminds me of the time I showed up for a motorhome factory tour and was told I was an hour early. Seem during the short 10 minute drive, I crossed into a different time zone.

Camp Host?

OK, you may have been wondering what we are still doing in Arizona instead of Southern California were we usually are this time of year. As most of you know we usually Camp Host for the California State Parks at San Elijo State Beach Campground in Cardiff By the Sea for November and December. Well, we decided not to do the camp host thing this time because this is probably the best time of the year here in Lake Havasu City Arizona. We will be hanging out here until about the middle of November then head on over to California to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with family. This also works well because we will be off the lot while construction of our Casita is going on. When we get back it should be pretty much completed and we can start setting it up the way we want. I will have tile to install, cabinets to hang, washer and dryer, and bathroom fixtures to install. Susan can’t wait to get to work on setting up her new bathroom, laundry room, and patio.

Glad it’s not a house

I am glad I am just building a 144 sq ft casita instead of a 1440 sq foot house. It is unbelievable the planning that goes into one of these things. I am on my 3rd set of plans now. Seems every time I want to do something it get shot down because of code. Also every change I make affects something else. One simple change starts to snowball. I think I am finally on my last set of plans. I didn’t intend on purchasing any of the inside fixtures until we get back here in January but the vanity we want went on clearance this week so I snatched it up. My neighbor is nice enough to store it in his casita until I need it. I got to admit I am a bit anal about this thing but I don’t want to have it built and find something I wish I had done different. I know no matter how much planning I do I will still find something, but hopefully it will me minor.

I thought I destroyed my computer the other day. I have been fighting a charging problem, which I discovered was a broken solder joint. So I decided to go in and fix it. This was not an easy task because the Mainboard is the last thing that comes out of my laptop. Lots of screws and lots of parts. Keeping track of where they all go was quite a task. Well when I got it all back together I was pleased to see I had no parts left over however when I switched it on…NOTHING! Oh CRAP! Now what? I took it all apart again looking for something I failed to plug in. Nothing was found so back together it went again in hopes this time it will come alive. No luck. I had just about thrown in the towel but didn’t want to admit defeat so it came apart again. This time I discovered I didn’t close the CPU socket. I knew right away this was the problem but couldn’t help wonder if I screwed it up by not having the CPU clamped in. After putting everything back together I hit the switch. IT’S WORKING! That was a close call.

It’s time

I have been putting off and putting off building a Casita even though Susan has been wanting one for quite a while now. The reason is because it will take up a lot of space on the lot and most of all, because it will block my views of the river and California mountains.

Well as you can see in the above photo, since my neighbors have taken care of the views, it’s time I build mine.

This is pretty much what it will look like except we are not going to do the side door and do French doors in the patio instead.

This is my tentative layout with a bath in the back and laundry in the front. The construction will start when we head for California for Thanksgiving and Christmas and should be done when we get back for New Years.

When we got back to Havasu this time I noticed our patio furniture has not survived the intense sun. Even though we cover it while gone just the time we are here and it is not covered has taken its toll. So since it is the end of the season (somewhere, not here in Havasu) Sears had all their patio furniture on sale for half off.

We snatched up a pretty nice set and hopefully since it is mostly metal it will last more than the two seasons we got out of our last set.

White knuckle ride

Susan and I finally made it back to Havasu today. I was going to drive straight through from Bakersfield to Havasu yesterday (5.5 hours, yeah…I know) but I was tired of fighting the wind. Good thing I didn’t because I guess it was pretty bad around here, like 45 mph sustained winds. We stopped at our regular stop in Yermo/Barstow and got an early start this morning. Made it almost all the way to Needles with no wind then had a good amount of wind all the way to Havasu. They say it was pretty bad around here while we were gone. Glad we missed it.

My 55 mph test came up with some interesting results. I maintained mostly 55 mph all the way to the rally. After filling up I calculated we got 8.9 mpg. Not bad but not much more than the 7.8 mpg I usually average. There is another factor here though. During this drive we didn’t tow the car. I calculated on another test drive that without the car I only picked up 0.5 mpg. So I figured running at 55 mph I only picked up 0.6 mpg. On the way back I decided to run it at 65 mph. I usually run it at around 63 mph. The results were 8.5 mpg, and this was bucking winds most of the way. So 8.5 mpg running at 65 and 8.9 mpg running at 55, not enough to slow down.

I hate Wind

We made it back to Barstow around 11:00a this morning. I was thinking of pushing on to Havasu but I had enough. I was fighting wind the whole trip. We will sit here for tonight and get an early start before the wind gets too bad again. I hate wind! This KOA here at Yermo/Barstow is sheltered by trees and is not too bad.

Back in Orange Grove

We had a great time at San Antonio Lake and are now on our way back to Lake Havasu. We are doing the reverse of the trip we did to get there which means we are back in Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield. The last time here (last Wednesday) we were disappointed that the oranges were still green. While talking to a friend at the rally, he told us that even though they are green they are ripe and sweet inside. So after we got setup I plucked a green orange and sliced it in half.

Huh, not green inside. I then took a taste. It was sweet! Susan and I were surprised. So after eating the orange I went out and picked a bowl full. Susan had one too and it was also sweet. If they are this good while still green I can imagine they are REAL good after they turn orange.

At the rally

We have arrived here at San Antonio Lake near Paso Robles California yesterday. The weather has been in the cool 60s during the day and 40s at night, a far cry from the deserts and Lake Havasu City. Our air conditioners are finally getting a few days off. There are about 16 RVs at the SAL rally here. Twenty were expected but the price of gas and the state of the economy has most played a roll in keeping them away. We are having a great time hanging with some friends that we only see twice a year here at the SAL Rallies.

Still traveling

We made the 2.5 hour driver over the Tehachapi today to Bakersfield where we will stay put for the night.

We stay at the Orange Grove RV park. This used to be an orange grove and there are still at least 3 orange trees per site. They let you pick all you want but it is too early for oranges.

The trees are loaded but they are all still green. We have about a 3.5 hour drive tomorrow up to San Antonio Lake where we will stay until Monday.

I can’t drive 55

Yermo/Barstow KOA

We traveled today on our way to a rally at San Antonio Lake near Paso Robles California and I thought I would travel at 55 MPH to see what the mileage results would be. I haven’t checked my mileage yet but what I did observe is that my 2002 workhorse W22 chassis with Allison Transmission does not like running at 55 MPH. The transmission normally upshifts to overdrive at 55 so it stands to reason that you can lug the engine very easy on an incline at 55. The transmission wants to downshift into 4th on any moderate incline so it appears to be shifting more often. At 63 MPH where I usually travel, the engine and transmission love it. I am going to continue to drive 55 until the next fill up. At that point I will calculate my mileage. If the results are not significant I am going to continue driving in my 63 MPH comfort zone.

Not much happening so far

Not much going on here. I guess that’s what we come here for.

I just sit and watch the Geckos hunt for food


and watch the weather roll through. There is usually more to do around here but all the Snowbirds haven’t shown up yet. I have been doing some much needed cleaning of the motorhome and car. In a couple of weeks we are heading back to California for an RV rally. It will be a week trip and then we will come back here to Havasu. There should be more people here by the time we get back.

I just read that the Rexhall Homecoming Rally (not the one we are going to) has been canceled due to lack of interest. I doubt it is lack of interest because the ones we attended were really fun. It is most likely the economy. Usually these rallies draw around 300 motorhomes from around the country. They have only had 12 signup this year.

Relaxing

Not much going on lately. We are just relaxing and enjoying the warm weather here in Lake Havasu City. I somehow injured my knee so I have been taking it easy, waiting for it to heal. Healing takes longer as we grow older. We are waiting for the new Workampers to arrive here at the resort so the owners that are here have taken on some of the tasks until they arrive. I go out every morning and uncover the pool then cover it back up in the evening. Not too hard of a task.

Still hot

It’s been pretty warm around here. When it does drop below 100 it’s because of a pending thunderstorm, which raises the humidity. So in other words, it’s heat or humidity. We have been really enjoying ourselves though. It is so relaxing here and the thunderstorms make for some nice sunsets. There are still very few people here but they are most likely on their way or getting ready. It’s kind of nice and quiet with no one here.

Time to relax

I thought when we got back the Havasu it was time to relax. I have been busy cleaning everything up. I have not had time to relax yet and there is still more to do. After the cleaning it will be time to start fixing things that need attention. By the time I get it all done it will be time to hit the road again. Hopefully the next time we come back all will be done and I can finally relax.

Back in Havasu again

We just spent 4 great days at a friend’s house in Riverside for a 50th birthday party. We have been there before. You might remember this is the place where we pull right up next to their pool. There were 8 RVs there this weekend. I think they have had as many as 11 in the past and all on concrete on their property. Somehow when we go there we always get the choice spot next to the pool.
We left this morning and are now back in Lake Havasu City Arizona. We will be here for a few weeks, and then head back to California for an RV rally. We plan to get the motorhome detailed and carpets shampooed while here and give everything a good cleaning. It is really due.

We’ve left the track

We pulled out of the California Speedway infield about 10:00a this morning. After about an hour we are now in Temecula at the Pechange Casino RV Resort. We will be doing absolutely nothing here for a few days except getting things cleaned up and relaxing.
We had a great time at the track, visiting old friends and watching the race. I just got a kick out of watching the circus in the infield. It is an experience.
I will be posting my photos soon.

Susan's a happy race fan

Need I say more?

Oh No

Susan is not a very happy race fan right now. The spot we are parked at is right by where the emergency vehicles enter the track. They usually park a little forward or back but not right in front of the motorhome. This guy decided to park right in front. I even went over and asked if he could move forward or back a little and he refused. Hopefully they will move a bit for the race.

Fan Fest

This photo gives you an idea of just how close we are to the track. Last night we attended the Fan Fest here at the track. There were a bunch of drivers signing autographs and I think Susan got them all.

Our friend won a contest to play in a Guitar Hero band with Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 car. That’s Rodney at the microphone. We even saw him on TV today.

After the Guitar Hero band, Jeff Gordon gave him a signed Guitar Hero Guitar. It is in the mid 90s today and lots of humidity. We are hanging out inside the motorhome with the airs going. Not much going on on the track today except practice and qualifying.

We get a good view out the front window so there is not much need to go outside right now.

We have arrived

We are now at the Auto Club Speedway (formally California Speedway) for the NASCAR race. It was an easy 1.5 hour drive from the Vista Elks Lodge. Although we left temps in the 70s and are now in the 90s we will still have a great time. I will post some pictures later to show you how close we are from the track. Let’s just say we couldn’t get any closer.

Ready to go

You know you have stayed too long when your campground registration tag has faded. Ours has and we are ready to go. Tomorrow morning we will be pulling out and heading for the track in Fontana Ca. When we arrived the first part of June, I thought I should fill the gas tank because with the price of gas going up it will probably cost over $5 a gallon by the time we leave. Well it turns out it’s a good thing we didn’t. I think gas is lower now than when we arrived.

Sad story, happy ending

Last Thursday a woman pulled in with her new Class C. First trip out. She was in her 60 to 70s and traveled only with her companion cat that she has had since it was a kitten. Upon arrival as she was setting up her cat escaped out the driver’s window and was nowhere to be found. She spent the weekend walking the neighborhoods asking anyone in sight if they had seen her cat. Each night we could hear the coyotes yelping and barking and each morning the woman would walk around the campground hoping not to find her cat in a bad way. We all feared her cat had fell prey to the coyotes. Interesting enough, she was fine with this. She stated that she would rather a coyote abruptly ended her cats life rather than a slow starvation death. The woman was planning to stay an extra day until Monday to see if her cat would return after everyone had gone home and the campground was quiet even though she only brought enough medication to get her to Sunday night. Well, now the good part of the story. Sunday morning about 4:00a her cat found her way back to the motorhome after being missing for 3 days in a strange location. She and her cat happily returned home on Sunday as planned.

Quiet again

For the last couple of weeks this place has been busy. There have been big groups here, one right after another. Today everyone left, with the exception of us 5 regulars. It sure is nice to have the peace and quiet back. I am not sure how long it will last but we are only here until Thursday anyway. I spent the day cleaning up the motorhome. It sure is a mess with all the dirt around here. Hopefully it will stay relatively clean for a few days. I need to take the car to the car wash tomorrow. It needs a bath REAL bad too. When we get back to Lake Havasu, I plan to get the motorhome buffed out and detailed and the carpets shampooed. Susan was a bit unhappy about the big spider sitting in it’s web in the corner of the bedroom the other morning so the inside will get a real good cleaning too.

Anxious

I am real anxious to get out of here. We have been in the same location since June 26th. This place is very dirty and dusty and I can’t wait to get everything cleaned up again. We are leaving this Thursday Aug 28. It is going to be sad to say goodbye to everyone but we will be back in November. Susan is really looking forward to Thursday because we are heading for the NASCAR track in Fontana. We have an infield spot for the weekend’s race. The spot is front row in turn 2. So close we could sit in the motorhome and watch the race out our windshield. I however will be on the roof to gain a better view. I will be spending the next few days cleaning everything up and putting things away for travel. I need to make sure the batteries are up to snuff and the generators are in good order and water tank filled since we will be dry camping, something we don’t do often.

Totaled

Well the trailer is totaled. The guy with the peeled back air conditioner said his insurance company totaled his trailer. I guess the insurance company decided it is more cost effective to pay him off rather than repair the trailer. I looked at it and it doesn’t look like much to repair. The trailer is only a couple of years old and is otherwise in good shape. The guy next to me is going to see if he can buy it from the salvage company and repair it. The guy is REAL bummed. He is an elderly gent and says he figures his RV days are over. He told us to go through it and take anything we wanted, and then he said he needed to get out of here before they take his trailer away. Kind of sad.

What is that

That’s what I was wondering when this guy pulled in. What does he have on his roof? After a closer look I realized it was his air conditioner…or at least what was left of it. He claims a tree fell in the wind. I’m not believing that for a second. This thing obviously was peeled back by a low hanging object while he was driving. It not only peeled back but punched a good hole in his roof also. That’s going to take a lot to fix.

Boy am I getting antsy. It’s only 3 more weeks before we head out of here but I am READY NOW. As you can tell I haven’t been writing about much lately. That’s because there has been nothing to write about. Susan has been busy however, running back and forth between her Mother’s house and here and tending to our Grandson. He has spent most of his summer with us. It’s going to be tough for him and us when we have to leave. The good thing is he will be back in school before we leave so he will have something to take his mind off of us being gone. We were hoping school didn’t start until after the NASCAR race in Fontana so we could take him with us. He would have had a ball.

The Elks Lodge RV Park has been the busiest I have ever seen it. I think more Elks are taking advantage of the Elks Lodge lower cost for RV Parking and meals to offset the fuel cost of traveling. So far this year we haven’t been displaced to the overflow to make room for a large group as we did last year.

Re-reading our past

I just went back and read some of the earlier times in our blog. Man, if it wasn’t me that enjoyed these ventures, I would be jealous. I am just so glad we had…have the opportunity to do this. It makes me want to get out there and see more of this big beautiful country. If you check our site and there are no new updates, venture back into the archives (Scroll down the left column to Archives) and re-read some past posts. Just be forewarned, you may be reading for hours. Just remember, the latest posts will be at the top of the page so you have to read from bottom to top.

Older Rvers

I have to admire the older people that are not just sitting home feeling sorry for themselves. I see a lot of older folks enjoying the good life of Rving. Some amaze me that they can hardly get out of their motorhome, some with canes, even some with walkers. Today I even saw one with not one but two artificial legs from the knees down, however they are out enjoying life. But the ones I saw today were real scary. I watched as a gentleman and his wife pulled in today and stopped at the entrance to the park. We were all wondering why he chose the entrance to park, blocking the road for everyone else. After a few minutes he drove over to the narrow road that goes behind the lodge and took his passengers mirror off on a post. After realizing he couldn’t fit down the road he attempted to back out and backed into a parked car. After leaving the parked car he drover over to the exit to the park and parked there for a while blocking the exit. Finally he left. Then in came another that, while attempting to back into his site, backed into his neighbor’s awning while his wife stood outside screaming at him to stop. He totally ignored his wife that apparently was supposed to be his spotter. Where do you draw the line?

Veranda

OK, I’m saving my money. This is for real! The new Country Coach with a veranda. What will they think of next? I think they need to give me one to demo. Check it out at http://veranda.countrycoach.com/. Don't miss the video on there site.

Trailer Trash?

No, not really. It’s just our neighbor reading the instructions before installing his new toilet. Just grabbed a convenient place to sit.

The park has thinned out a bit but we are supposed to have a big group coming in next week that will take up every space. There is room for us however so we don’t have to vacate.

What’s happening

The RV Park here at the Elks lodge is full. This is unusual unless there is a big group here. I think the biggest group here now in 4 RVs. The rest are just passer throughs. It has been this way since the 4th weekend. It seems as when one pulls out there is another coming in to take their place. It doesn’t look like the price of fuel has stopped these people. They are out in their RVs having fun.