Can’t move on

One good thing about being a Fulltimer is if we don’t like where we are we can move on. The weather has been crappy here on the coast of California. We have woken up to drizzle for the last 2 mornings and everything is a muddy mess. It should get better as far as the drizzle but the weather is still supposed to be overcast, damp and cold. Also other than family we have no reason or desire to visit southern California. It is too crowded with obnoxious people, too expensive, and I have probably mentioned the Hispanic population before. The problem is we can’t move right now. We have to fulfill our commitment to dog sit our daughter’s dog.

This is not something that is difficult since she is a really cool dog and she is happy to be with us.

Man am I sore

While here near the coast in California I have been shining up the motorhome. It is too hot and dry in Havasu right now to do it so I waited until we got here where it is cooler. So far I have spent 4 days and still am not done. I probably got another 4 days to go. Of course I am only spending a couple of hours a day on it. If I had all the fancy power equipment the professionals do I would probably be done by now but I’m doing it all by hand. It’s pretty hard work by hand.

Huh, Good thing I checked

Today, since I am in town, I took a drive by to see my parent’s grave. While there I checked mine, since the last time I saw it they hadn’t placed the headstone yet. Yes Susan and I do have a gravesite. We took care of all our arrangements so our kids don’t have to worry about it during their grieving. It’s a good thing I checked…they got my birth date wrong.

It should read Feb 24, 1953. I went in to let them know they messed up and they pulled out my records. Turns out I signed off on that date so it looks like I will have to pay for the new one. The guy said he will see what he can do and if not free maybe we will split the cost. He also asked me if I wanted the wrong one or have them destroy it. I gave it some thought but couldn’t come up with a good use for the wrong one. Susan said since I am so good at fixing things that maybe I can fix it myself. I don’t think duct tape and felt pen will last very long though.

Also today I finally found the Virus on my computer. For quite some time now, when I opened Internet Explore, then closed it, it was still showed as running in my task manager. And if I opened it again, there were now 2 running in task manager. Sometimes my computer would not turn off because of the running process. I tried several virus scanners and registry cleaners with no change. I combed the Internet for others that had the same problem and a possible solution with no success. Finally I heard of “Windows Live OneCare” at http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm and gave it a run. It identified a Trojan virus and removed it. Problem solved! Although it didn’t seem to cause any problems other than the ones I mentioned, I am glad to be rid of it.

Huh… Recall

Got a “Pre” Recall Notice on the motorhome today. What is a “Pre” Recall Notice, you say? It is a notice that workhorse recognizes there is a problem and will issue a recall as soon as they figure out what to do about it. Seems a lot of people have been having problem with the brakes dragging. There have been enough complaints that Workhorse is issuing a recall. The causes of the brake failure are lack of use, driving in damp conditions, and riding the brakes going down hill. Since I do neither of these and have had absolutely no problems I guess I am ok until the recall is issued. I need to get tires first.

WHAT THE…

Well since Arnie decided to just about double the vehicle registration in California and I now own property, and have an address in Arizona I decided it’s time to register our vehicles in Arizona. Along with the registration I knew I would have to insure them in Arizona also. So I called the insurance company to see how much the insurance will be in Arizona. DOUBLE! WHAT THE… Yes it is double and it turns out the increase in insurance will cost me more than the increase in registration fees. Damn, I thought I was going to be able to rid myself of California but I guess not.

I set out today to line up some tires for the motorhome. The place I called a couple of weeks ago is gone, yes gone. I called the other day and the phone has been disconnected so today I did a drive by. It looks like an old abandoned warehouse. WHAT THE… No sign of there ever being a business there. Now this is no fly-by-night business. It is one of many and even Michelin recommended them as an authorized dealer. So I headed on down the road to the next authorized dealer. Well this place is still in business but none in stock. They called Michelin and none available there either. Seems they are building them as fast as they can, and are backordered by about 500, they are not taking any new orders. Before I left Havasu I talked to a place that said they could get me some so I will have to trust the old tires to get us back to Havasu and have the new ones installed there. This is more convenient anyway because they will come right out to the resort and install them.

Dog sitting

We left the party last Sunday and made our way down to Encinitas California. We are now setup in our daughters yard for the next 3 weeks. They are heading for Italy and we are going to dog sit their dog.

We did this last year around Christmas time also.

They are still in the process of rebuilding their house

so they are also living in their Motorhome at the house.

Wine and Balloon Festival

We just spent the weekend in Riverside at a friend’s house for their 3rd annual Wine and Balloon Festival. They call this the Home Wine and Balloon Festival because it is a private affair at their home. Each year they have hosted the party at a different house.

There were 10 motorhomes and trailers here this weekend. They managed to fit them all in on their property.

We each setup a booth with a theme and offered wine and appetizers to go along with the wine. We first did one round of white wine and later a round of red with a break in between.

Later in the evening we had a band to entertain us.

And a fine band it was. As usual we had a great time and look forward to next year. You can see more photos by clicking the thumbnail in the left hand column.

Getting ready to hit the road

We are preparing to get back on the road. This Friday morning we are heading on over to California for a weekend of Wine Tasting. Some of you may know I don’t drink and think this may be a bit unusual for me. We have been invited by some good friends to participate in a fun weekend. A friend is having a private wine tasting festival at their house. We will be setting up booths with a theme and provide wines to match the theme along with munchies. Our theme? A Surf Shack.
After the weekend we will be heading toward our daughter’s house for 2 weeks of dog sitting.

They are heading for Italy and we get to take care of their dog while they are gone.

Computer repair again

Yesterday morning I pulled the laptop apart again to repair the power jack. This was about the 3rd time I have repaired the computer for the same thing.

This is not an easy job since EVERYTHING has to come out before the motherboard.

If I were still working my electronics job I would take into work and repair it right the first time. I needed to take it apart anyway to clean the dust out of the CPU cooling unit because it has been running a little hotter lately. It’s up and running again. I’m thinking I need to find a donor computer or at least pickup another motherboard. If anyone has a Dell Inspiron 1100 they would like to donate let me know.

Nice boat ride

It sure is nice to know some that has connections with a boat shop. Yesterday a friend called and asked if we wanted to go for a boat ride. The weather was perfect and the lake was glass so he hooked onto a boat in the showroom and away we went.

It was evening and no one was on the lake but us. As I said, the lake was glass so he opened it up and reached about 60 mph before backing down.

The boat ran so smooth and quiet you wouldn’t even know we were going that fast. He said next week we will take out a faster boat.

Today the temperature pushed over 105°. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same then it will cool a bit for the weekend.

The century mark

Today we went over the century mark. Temperature wise that is (104°). The casita has come in handy since I have a covered patio to sit under for shade now. If there is a breeze blowing it is very tolerable.

If there is no breeze I turn on the ceiling fans in the patio and it is also tolerable. We can still get by with running only one roof air in the motorhome. It stays pretty cool inside. We will see what happens when the temps reach 120° as they have been known to do here.

Nice Place

Just thought I would share this photo of the London Bridge here in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Can you tell why we like it here so much.

Getting lonely around here

It’s that time of year again. Most owners have left the resort and gone home.

We are just about the only ones left at our end of the park. Susan and I took a walk this evening and noticed even the rabbits have come back. We noticed an absence of them and figured it was due to the amount of dogs in the resort. Seems most RVers have dogs these days.

We will be heading back over to California in a couple of weeks. We have a wine party to go to and then we are going to dog sit our daughters dog again for a couple of weeks. After that we plan to pick up our grandson and come back here. He wants to see our place here in Havasu. We have no real plans for the summer. We are just going to wing it.

My Aircard Internet has been giving me fits here the last couple of days. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the heat since it’s been pushing 100 lately or if Verizon is doing something with the towers around here. It has slowed considerably and sometimes it just cuts in and out. I sure hope it gets better soon.

A wild week

What a wild week. It all started out with the NASCAR race in Phoenix. We traveled 3 hours over to Phoenix for NASCAR weekend PHOTOS HERE. We had a great time and a great site for viewing all the action.

The day after we got back Susan’s parents came into town. They stayed for a week and enjoyed Havasu enough to look at a couple of houses. Her father said he plans to list his house for sale when he gets back home.

On Thursday some good friends from Tennessee came by for a few days to visit. They also liked Havasu enough to pick up a brochure and price list of lots here in the resort. They are originally from California and are heading back to visit friends and family. While here he got the trailer a little to close to the truck while backing and blew out the back window. Good thing I know a good glass guy in town. He had it fixed the next day for a very reasonable price.

On Friday everyone left so I took a ride down to the channel where they were getting ready for the big off shore boat race on the weekend.

Saturday Susan and I took a 1 hour drive over to Laughlin Nevada to check out the Laughlin River Bike Run PHOTOS HERE. This is somewhat of a mini Sturgis Bike Run. Lots of motorcycles, mostly Harley Davidson’s, Bikers, and vendors selling every kind of bike accessory you can imagine.

Today I headed back down to the channel to see some of the boat races PHOTOS HERE. Lots of big boats and big trucks to tow them.

Busy Week

We returned to Lake Havasu on Sunday after a weekend of racing. The weather here in Havasu has pushed over the century mark the last couple of days and the wind has stopped. Last night however the wind returned and it is in the 80s today. We have visitors that we met at a rally a couple of years ago. They moved to Tennessee and are on their way back to California on a vacation. I told them if they come down I-40 and don’t stop by I would be upset since we are only about 15 miles off I-40. Also Susan’s parents are here from California visiting for the week. It has been a busy week so far.

Good Spot

Our daughter is in a different infield spot than the previous years. At first we thought it might not be a better spot than the last but were opened minded about it. Turns out it is a great spot. It is right at the exit of Pit Road and in the middle of turns 1 and 2. We get to watch some of the action in the pits and the race off Pit Road.

Seems this part of the track has some tricky turns because there were about 8 or so crashes into the wall right in front of us. This part of the wall is hammered from all the cars crashing into it.

This guy was trying to put his car back together so he can get back out there.

Turns out it was not possible.

Even though last nights race was just a Camping World West Series race, which is mostly western US locals, it was a pretty fun race.

The weather was a mix of sun and clouds with little wind. It stayed cool and was for the most part comfortable. Today is supposed to be warmer and it will only get better from here.

The wind at our backs

We made our way over to Goodyear Arizona this morning. We are about 13 miles from the track. This is the closest full hookup park to the track. As expected it was a windy drive however most of the drive was with the wind at our back so we didn’t even notice it. The weather is supposed to get better. The wind should die down and the temps should get higher. Today we are just chilling and tomorrow morning we are heading over to the track. As usual our daughter has an infield site and we have a car pass that gets us right up to their motorhome.

Ready to go

Were off tomorrow for Susan’s NASCAR fix. We are heading for Phoenix International Raceway or better known as PIR. Wouldn’t you know it, the wind has come up again. It is supposed to blow all night and into the morning. I am not happy about driving in the wind. Hopefully it will be mostly at my back. Anywho, I will just slow down and take my time. It is a 3 hour drive and we have all day.

Short list

The to do list for the Casita is getting short. I finally got the baseboards painted, installed, and touched up. Did I ever tell you how much I hate painting? I put it off long enough and decided it needed to get done. Today I sealed all the tile grout so about the only thing I got left to do now is hang shades in the patio.
The wind around here just won’t let up. We usually get 3 days of wind then quite a few days of nice weather. Lately we have been getting a bunch of days of wind with maybe 1 day of calm between. The temperature is all over the place too. We can’t rely on the weather reports, seems no one knows what it’s going to be like in Havasu. We will be heading over to Phoenix in a week. The exact day depends on the weather. I really don’t want to drive in the winds we have been having.
The population around here is getting slim with all the “Snowbirds” heading home. Soon will be time for a major age change here. The older head home and the younger show up for their summer fun.

Number 4

The Saturn now has windshield number 4 in it, the original one, one about a month after we bought it, the distorted one, and this new one. At least it’s 4 since I have owned it. I don’t know about the 3 previous years before I bought it.

The glass guy came out today and installed the windshield right here at our spot in the resort. He did an excellent job being very neat and meticulous. This guy is not the Havasu norm. He did the job when he said he would and was prompt and on time. We both inspected the windshield for distortions before he installed it. After he installed it he called me over to check it out. We both sat inside the car with our heads bobbing up and down looking from top to bottom for any distortion. He says he sees some but I had a hard time finding it. He says if I don’t like it he will order one right from Saturn and try that. I think he was being too critical, all windshields seem to have some distortion. I will be able to tell more when I drive it.

I got a chance to look at the cowling when he removed the plastic grill to install the windshield. If I hadn’t seen it before they fixed it, I wouldn’t believe how damaged it was. Even the glass guy (who saw the before and after) said they did a really good job.

I body shop didn’t seem to want to do anything about the over spray on the car so I spent the last 3 days rubbing it out myself. Fortunately I was given a good car finish restorer from one of the mobile detailers here that did the trick very well. Then I gave it a good coat of wax, except for the freshly painted surfaces, which I will wait for at least 60 days until the paint cures. I got to admit the car looks real good. Even my neighbor came over and asked what kind of wax I use because it looks so good. I even had to go over the windows with a wet razor blade to clean them up.

You can sure tell spring is in the desert. The flowers are in bloom, the quail are squawking for mates and I found a snake sunning on our lot yesterday. I don’t know what kind it was but it didn’t have rattles. It was brown, about 3 feet long, thin, and fast. I tried to pick it up to relocate it but as soon as I touched it, off it went as fast as it could, which was pretty fast.

I have been neglecting the casita the last few days. I still need to paint and install the baseboards and paint the door trim. I did get some shelves installed in the bathroom for Susan to put her knick-knacks. I still also have a shelf to install in the laundry, cover the water heater cabinet and seal the grout. After that it’s pretty much done. Then it’s time to turn my attention to the motorhome. That should keep me busy for another month or so.