February 20, 2008
Lancaster, CA
Well, the rally is in full swing and we’re having a pretty good time, except that winter weather has descended on the Antelope Valley. We had rain overnight and the winds have picked up in inverse proportion to the temperature. In other words, it's been nippy out there! Temperatures dropped to the 40s today -- ouch!
The rally is going quite well. Each coach in attendance is entitled to two “free” repairs from the manufacturer. I had a new keypad for the entry door installed and tried to get the switch for the lights in the under-coach storage bays fixed. To be more precise, I got the switch replaced, but the bay lights still don’t work as there appears to be a short somewhere in the circuit. “Free” rally repairs means that they’ll work on something for only so long before giving up. I’ll have to trace the circuit from fixture to fixture when we get home.
We fulfilled our duties as mentors for first-time attendees, helping to welcome one of the 100+ couples who were attending their first rally. We met them at the “first-timer’s meeting” and had dinner with them last night. We lucked out a bit, since they already knew people attending and didn’t need as much guidance as true “newbies”.
We visited with the vendors in attendance and managed to buy a few things (as expected). Surprisingly (and thankfully!), there were no big ticket items. I picked up a few window “weep covers” (they fit in the channels of the windows and let any moisture drip out) and a can of dry-lube, and got all the fittings to add an outlet for the central vacuum to the basement. This will allow me to leave the small shop-vac in the bays home, and cost all of $9. My kind of investment!
The rains started around 3:51 AM today. No, make that the rains started at exactly 3:51 AM today. It started raining so hard it woke me up. I was just falling back to sleep when Merlin started making what we call “out noise”. He has this part grunt, part bark thing that he does when he needs to go out. In general, we really appreciate that. At 4:45 AM, not so much. On the other hand, it sounded like the rain had stopped, so I took that opportunity while it presented itself.
You’d think that retirees at a fun rally wouldn’t have much of a schedule to manage. You’d be wrong. Breakfast starts at 7:00 AM. Sign-up for services from the vendors starts at 8:00 AM. Seminars start at 9:00 AM and last until 3:30 PM or so. At any time during the day, a vendor could call and say “I’m here” so you can run back to the coach and make sure Merlin doesn’t bite anyone. “Happy Hour” starts at 3:45 PM. The cocktail and salad bars open at 5:00 PM with dinner around 6:30 PM. Entertainment starts around 7:30 and lasts until 9-something. Get some rest, fella; it all starts again tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, we’ll start with a visit from the folks who service the blinds we had installed last year. We have a couple that need adjustment, so they’ll be here for an hour or so. If the weather cooperates (i.e., no rain and/or wind), I’ll get out and take some photos around the grounds. If it’s like today (showers on and off and 30-40 MPH winds), you’ll just have to take my word for how nicely the Fairgrounds is set up for the rally.
We’ve toured the new “show coaches” and haven’t found a reason to trade ours in (thankfully!), although we always get some ideas about future modifications we may want to make. We have spoken to quite a few people who have an interest in a trip to Alaska in 2009, so we’re continuing to explore our options in that area. We also found a group that does 3-4 member-led caravans each year, and they’re thinking about things like California wine country (Napa/Sonoma) tours, so it seems like something that’d be right up our alley. We’re 80% of the way to making a decision to join the 50-day 2009 Alaska trip, so we’ll see what comes of those discussions. It’s not like us to plan that far in advance, but it might be worth it “just this once”…
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
On the road again!
February 18, 2008
Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, Lancaster, CA
We’ve been quite busy since my last post, and I need to catch up. We wrapped up Geri’s “Day of the Dentists” on Thursday just like clockwork. She had the root canal done and our regular dentist put in a temporary post and acrylic crown. We got home just a little before 5:00, walked the pups and fed them, changed clothes quickly and met Ana and Larry at the restaurant selected for Valentine’s Day dinner. Dinner was good, as it always is with our friends. Service was spotty but, hey, it’s always that way on a day like this. We only had to call the manager over once to chase down the waiter, Joey. Since they’re Hillary supporters, Larry suggested we call him “Joey Obama”. Ouch!
Friday, we brought the coach over to the house in the morning and finished most of the loading. In the afternoon, Jed Balser, an ex-colleague from Towers Perrin and EDS, stopped by to visit. He was in town to visit his father, and we were able to schedule a quick visit. He’s doing OK; suffice it to say I continue to not miss the rat race.
Saturday morning, we finished loading the coach (refrigerator, DVR, etc.) and hit the road around 11:00 AM. What a joy to be back on the road again! We stopped near the Arizona-California border for lunch, and rolled into Indio mid-afternoon. Wayne and Eva were there to meet us and we were parked in their driveway in no time. We did a little shopping and then had dinner at their neighbors, Will and Diane. Diane made a fabulous lasagna dinner and a wonderful chocolate dessert. We brought fixings for “Al-tinis” and some Chianti, and Wayne had Café Patron after dessert. We all had a great time.
On Sunday, we had planned to drive from Indio to the rally in Lancaster, about 3 hours. We dumped the tanks and filled up the water, left on schedule around 9:00 AM, stopped at a truck stop near Palm Springs to top off the fuel, and were on the road. Wayne had made arrangements to meet up with another Monaco couple, Jerry and Liz Brannon, along the way, and our three coaches rolled into Lancaster just before 1:00 PM. We saw our friends Paul and Dorna on the way in; they were volunteers working at the gate.
We were parked quickly and had everything deployed, then were able to relax for a bit. For dinner, Wayne and Eva had a pork tenderloin and Jerry and Liz had a Costco Chicken, so we combined everything for one meal. Jerry and Liz hosted us in their coach, and even had some banana nut cake with a candle for Geri’s birthday!
Today, we all went to a place called “Crazy Otto’s” for breakfast. They feature HUGE omelets for breakfast. Geri had corned beef hash and I had half-portion of a bacon and chicken liver omelet (never had that before) that came hanging off the plate (who could eat a whole one?). On top of that, they offered a 20% discount for Monaco Rally attendees. As retirees, how could we go wrong?
This afternoon, we took it easy. I went for a bike ride around the grounds and met up with several people we know: Rod and Jean Bahnson, Bob and Marlene Rea, and Bill and Sandy Crawford are parked on the other side of the grounds. Later in the afternoon, we visited the vendor booths (I picked up a few parts I needed, and talked to a guy running a caravan to Alaska in 2009) and then hung out for a while at the “happy hour” put on by the sponsors (Monaco and key dealers). With the large breakfast and the “finger food” offered, we didn’t even need dinner! We caught up with Lew and Dottie Anderson, Andy and Linda Clarkson, and Bob and Jane White over snacks.
Tomorrow is the official start of the rally. We signed up to be “mentors” for first-time attendees, since we had such a good experience ourselves two years ago, so we’ll head off to find out what that’s all about tomorrow morning at 8:15. After that, it’ll be seminars for the next few days and somewhere in there, Monaco will be out to the coach to replace a couple of parts “on the house”. It’s a pretty good deal, all things considered.
I’ll also try to get out for some pictures tomorrow, so I’ll have some things to post later in the week. We’ll be here until Saturday morning…
Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, Lancaster, CA
We’ve been quite busy since my last post, and I need to catch up. We wrapped up Geri’s “Day of the Dentists” on Thursday just like clockwork. She had the root canal done and our regular dentist put in a temporary post and acrylic crown. We got home just a little before 5:00, walked the pups and fed them, changed clothes quickly and met Ana and Larry at the restaurant selected for Valentine’s Day dinner. Dinner was good, as it always is with our friends. Service was spotty but, hey, it’s always that way on a day like this. We only had to call the manager over once to chase down the waiter, Joey. Since they’re Hillary supporters, Larry suggested we call him “Joey Obama”. Ouch!
Friday, we brought the coach over to the house in the morning and finished most of the loading. In the afternoon, Jed Balser, an ex-colleague from Towers Perrin and EDS, stopped by to visit. He was in town to visit his father, and we were able to schedule a quick visit. He’s doing OK; suffice it to say I continue to not miss the rat race.
Saturday morning, we finished loading the coach (refrigerator, DVR, etc.) and hit the road around 11:00 AM. What a joy to be back on the road again! We stopped near the Arizona-California border for lunch, and rolled into Indio mid-afternoon. Wayne and Eva were there to meet us and we were parked in their driveway in no time. We did a little shopping and then had dinner at their neighbors, Will and Diane. Diane made a fabulous lasagna dinner and a wonderful chocolate dessert. We brought fixings for “Al-tinis” and some Chianti, and Wayne had Café Patron after dessert. We all had a great time.
On Sunday, we had planned to drive from Indio to the rally in Lancaster, about 3 hours. We dumped the tanks and filled up the water, left on schedule around 9:00 AM, stopped at a truck stop near Palm Springs to top off the fuel, and were on the road. Wayne had made arrangements to meet up with another Monaco couple, Jerry and Liz Brannon, along the way, and our three coaches rolled into Lancaster just before 1:00 PM. We saw our friends Paul and Dorna on the way in; they were volunteers working at the gate.
We were parked quickly and had everything deployed, then were able to relax for a bit. For dinner, Wayne and Eva had a pork tenderloin and Jerry and Liz had a Costco Chicken, so we combined everything for one meal. Jerry and Liz hosted us in their coach, and even had some banana nut cake with a candle for Geri’s birthday!
Today, we all went to a place called “Crazy Otto’s” for breakfast. They feature HUGE omelets for breakfast. Geri had corned beef hash and I had half-portion of a bacon and chicken liver omelet (never had that before) that came hanging off the plate (who could eat a whole one?). On top of that, they offered a 20% discount for Monaco Rally attendees. As retirees, how could we go wrong?
This afternoon, we took it easy. I went for a bike ride around the grounds and met up with several people we know: Rod and Jean Bahnson, Bob and Marlene Rea, and Bill and Sandy Crawford are parked on the other side of the grounds. Later in the afternoon, we visited the vendor booths (I picked up a few parts I needed, and talked to a guy running a caravan to Alaska in 2009) and then hung out for a while at the “happy hour” put on by the sponsors (Monaco and key dealers). With the large breakfast and the “finger food” offered, we didn’t even need dinner! We caught up with Lew and Dottie Anderson, Andy and Linda Clarkson, and Bob and Jane White over snacks.
Tomorrow is the official start of the rally. We signed up to be “mentors” for first-time attendees, since we had such a good experience ourselves two years ago, so we’ll head off to find out what that’s all about tomorrow morning at 8:15. After that, it’ll be seminars for the next few days and somewhere in there, Monaco will be out to the coach to replace a couple of parts “on the house”. It’s a pretty good deal, all things considered.
I’ll also try to get out for some pictures tomorrow, so I’ll have some things to post later in the week. We’ll be here until Saturday morning…
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Another productive day – with holiday treats!
February 14, 2008
Peoria, AZ
Yesterday was a good day, and we crossed several things off the collective to-do lists. Geri was able to get Merlin’s meds from the vet, which we need to have on hand before we head out on the road. She’s also got her dental prescriptions filled (antibiotic, pain, “relaxation”) so she’ll be all set for the implant surgery scheduled for March 11th, when we get back from our trip.
I spent a good chunk of the day working on the coach. I developed a spreadsheet last year that lists all the maintenance items and recommended intervals, tracks “last done”, and projects “next due”. With the drive train, generator (essentially a second “engine” system), and all the house systems, the maintenance list is almost a hundred items long. This time, I focused on many of the inside tasks, cleaning the air conditioning filters (they’re permanent and cleanable, not throwaway inserts like we have in the house), lubricating the pocket doors, etc. Overall, we’re almost caught up on things that are due, and we’ll tackle the remainder when we get back in March. The next major service is in June, and we’ll do that while we’re in Connecticut.
Yesterday, Geri made a new batch of holiday treats, leveraging a recipe that she’d found around Christmas into new chocolate goodies with a Valentine’s Day theme. They’re great (it’s hard to go wrong with Oreo Cookies and chocolate), and we had some last night after “the Last Supper”. We had steak frittes, recognizing that Geri needed to go to the dentist at 8:00 AM today. I pulled a nice wine (2000 Chateau Puyegard) from the wine box and we had a nice dinner.
Most of my typing today has been done in waiting rooms. I started this blog entry at the dentist’s office. As planned, they took out her loose bridge. It turns out that the “anchor teeth” aren’t sufficient to support a new bridge, as the periodontist had recommended. Accordingly, we’ll have to schedule two more implants for the upper right to be done in late March (they need 2 weeks between insertions and she’s scheduled to have the lower left done on March 11th). This will mean that we’ll be scheduling our summer departure for about 4 weeks from the end of March, allowing time to make sure that everything is OK before we go (they recommend 3 weeks but we’ll plan 4 to be safe). The whole thing should work out fine for our schedule, since the lower implants need 3-4 months to heal before being capped but the uppers need longer (4-6 months). We’ll try to get all this work scheduled (and budgeted!) before we leave, since that will help define our schedule. Right now, we know we’re scheduled to attend the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in mid-October and, like the last time we attended, we’ll take our time getting back to the Phoenix area, since October temperatures are still pretty intense.
While all that advance planning is nice, we’re still in the middle of today’s “stuff”. Since the bridge was removed and can’t be re-inserted, we have an emergency root canal scheduled for 1:00 PM and then a temporary post and crown to be installed immediately after. The dentist’s office was able to find an endodontist to do the root canal (everything’s a specialty these days) on short notice, so we’ll have to find that office (we know the general area) with enough time to do all the paperwork before the scheduled time, then race back to the dentist’s office where they’re squeeze us back in to do the temporary crown.
In the middle of all this, she had a Physical Therapy appointment scheduled. This is an ongoing series for the bursitis in her hip, and we want to make sure she has her “exercises” down so she can keep them up while we’re away. I’m hanging out there as I type, and she should be done soon. Then we’ll head for the other dental appointments mentioned above. We’ll have dinner with Ana and Larry tonight as well, so today’s a busy day…
Whew! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Peoria, AZ
Yesterday was a good day, and we crossed several things off the collective to-do lists. Geri was able to get Merlin’s meds from the vet, which we need to have on hand before we head out on the road. She’s also got her dental prescriptions filled (antibiotic, pain, “relaxation”) so she’ll be all set for the implant surgery scheduled for March 11th, when we get back from our trip.
I spent a good chunk of the day working on the coach. I developed a spreadsheet last year that lists all the maintenance items and recommended intervals, tracks “last done”, and projects “next due”. With the drive train, generator (essentially a second “engine” system), and all the house systems, the maintenance list is almost a hundred items long. This time, I focused on many of the inside tasks, cleaning the air conditioning filters (they’re permanent and cleanable, not throwaway inserts like we have in the house), lubricating the pocket doors, etc. Overall, we’re almost caught up on things that are due, and we’ll tackle the remainder when we get back in March. The next major service is in June, and we’ll do that while we’re in Connecticut.
Yesterday, Geri made a new batch of holiday treats, leveraging a recipe that she’d found around Christmas into new chocolate goodies with a Valentine’s Day theme. They’re great (it’s hard to go wrong with Oreo Cookies and chocolate), and we had some last night after “the Last Supper”. We had steak frittes, recognizing that Geri needed to go to the dentist at 8:00 AM today. I pulled a nice wine (2000 Chateau Puyegard) from the wine box and we had a nice dinner.
Most of my typing today has been done in waiting rooms. I started this blog entry at the dentist’s office. As planned, they took out her loose bridge. It turns out that the “anchor teeth” aren’t sufficient to support a new bridge, as the periodontist had recommended. Accordingly, we’ll have to schedule two more implants for the upper right to be done in late March (they need 2 weeks between insertions and she’s scheduled to have the lower left done on March 11th). This will mean that we’ll be scheduling our summer departure for about 4 weeks from the end of March, allowing time to make sure that everything is OK before we go (they recommend 3 weeks but we’ll plan 4 to be safe). The whole thing should work out fine for our schedule, since the lower implants need 3-4 months to heal before being capped but the uppers need longer (4-6 months). We’ll try to get all this work scheduled (and budgeted!) before we leave, since that will help define our schedule. Right now, we know we’re scheduled to attend the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in mid-October and, like the last time we attended, we’ll take our time getting back to the Phoenix area, since October temperatures are still pretty intense.
While all that advance planning is nice, we’re still in the middle of today’s “stuff”. Since the bridge was removed and can’t be re-inserted, we have an emergency root canal scheduled for 1:00 PM and then a temporary post and crown to be installed immediately after. The dentist’s office was able to find an endodontist to do the root canal (everything’s a specialty these days) on short notice, so we’ll have to find that office (we know the general area) with enough time to do all the paperwork before the scheduled time, then race back to the dentist’s office where they’re squeeze us back in to do the temporary crown.
In the middle of all this, she had a Physical Therapy appointment scheduled. This is an ongoing series for the bursitis in her hip, and we want to make sure she has her “exercises” down so she can keep them up while we’re away. I’m hanging out there as I type, and she should be done soon. Then we’ll head for the other dental appointments mentioned above. We’ll have dinner with Ana and Larry tonight as well, so today’s a busy day…
Whew! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Keeping the local economy alive…
February 12, 2008
Peoria, AZ
We’ve continued to keep busy, with the focus being on resolving what we’ll do about Geri’s pending dental work.
Sunday was a relaxing day. We actually went to the movies. This is quite an accomplishment, since I’m really not a “movie person” per se. On the other hand, it was a lot cheaper to go than to spend $18-22 on DVDs! Kidding aside, we enjoyed seeing “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” and actually did use some free passes we had hanging around.
Yesterday, it was back to reality. We started out early, with an 8:00 AM appointment at our primary dentist to figure out what to do about a loose bridge that Geri has on the upper right. The regular dentist was alerted to the issue by the periodontist who is doing the implants on the lower left. Long story short, the bridge anchor tooth is decaying, and may require a root canal and pin to fix it. Of course, that means that the whole bridge needs to be replaced! Way expensive. We're definitely doing our part to keep the local dental community occupied.
Today, we had our first appointment back at the implant guy and – surprise, surprise – he thinks that she needs more implants. It’s interesting to watch them compete over who will get the $$$! Of course, that’s easy for me to say, since I’m not the one getting more dental work done. We’ll be back at the primary dentist on Thursday, when he’ll remove the existing bridge and we’ll make a decision on bridge vs. implant. We just need to get it done soon so we can avoid having to stay here when it gets hot. Again, easy for me to say!
In other news, we’re making progress on the utility simplification project. I was able to cancel the cable service on Monday, as we’ve got the TV and Internet service working via satellite and wireless, respectively, and we’ve got an alternative in place for a local phone number. I set up a Skype Internet phone (VoIP) that’ll have voice mail when we’re offline, or that can be routed to one of our cell phones as needed.
Since I had to drop off the digital cable box at the local office, I had an opportunity to check out two new wine shops in the area. Of course, I had to buy a few bottles just to make sure things were OK! I picked up a few value wines from each place to sample. Prices seem to vary, so it’s not possible to get the best deals in any one specific store. Now we just have two more places to shop!
I also finished up work to re-wire that towing lights on the Range Rover. When the tow package was installed, the technician didn’t set things up exactly right, so I’ve needed to use external, temporary, magnet-mount towing lights. I finally had time to figure out what was wrong (they didn’t wire the brake, tail and signal lights separately) and to add some diodes to allow everything to work. I tested it out today with a 12 volt source, and will check it again tomorrow using the coach wiring, since we’re planning to bring it over from storage and put in a couple of hours on inside maintenance (e.g, cleaning the A/C filters). This should be our last maintenance sweep before we load up on Friday for our Saturday departure.
Peoria, AZ
We’ve continued to keep busy, with the focus being on resolving what we’ll do about Geri’s pending dental work.
Sunday was a relaxing day. We actually went to the movies. This is quite an accomplishment, since I’m really not a “movie person” per se. On the other hand, it was a lot cheaper to go than to spend $18-22 on DVDs! Kidding aside, we enjoyed seeing “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” and actually did use some free passes we had hanging around.
Yesterday, it was back to reality. We started out early, with an 8:00 AM appointment at our primary dentist to figure out what to do about a loose bridge that Geri has on the upper right. The regular dentist was alerted to the issue by the periodontist who is doing the implants on the lower left. Long story short, the bridge anchor tooth is decaying, and may require a root canal and pin to fix it. Of course, that means that the whole bridge needs to be replaced! Way expensive. We're definitely doing our part to keep the local dental community occupied.
Today, we had our first appointment back at the implant guy and – surprise, surprise – he thinks that she needs more implants. It’s interesting to watch them compete over who will get the $$$! Of course, that’s easy for me to say, since I’m not the one getting more dental work done. We’ll be back at the primary dentist on Thursday, when he’ll remove the existing bridge and we’ll make a decision on bridge vs. implant. We just need to get it done soon so we can avoid having to stay here when it gets hot. Again, easy for me to say!
In other news, we’re making progress on the utility simplification project. I was able to cancel the cable service on Monday, as we’ve got the TV and Internet service working via satellite and wireless, respectively, and we’ve got an alternative in place for a local phone number. I set up a Skype Internet phone (VoIP) that’ll have voice mail when we’re offline, or that can be routed to one of our cell phones as needed.
Since I had to drop off the digital cable box at the local office, I had an opportunity to check out two new wine shops in the area. Of course, I had to buy a few bottles just to make sure things were OK! I picked up a few value wines from each place to sample. Prices seem to vary, so it’s not possible to get the best deals in any one specific store. Now we just have two more places to shop!
I also finished up work to re-wire that towing lights on the Range Rover. When the tow package was installed, the technician didn’t set things up exactly right, so I’ve needed to use external, temporary, magnet-mount towing lights. I finally had time to figure out what was wrong (they didn’t wire the brake, tail and signal lights separately) and to add some diodes to allow everything to work. I tested it out today with a 12 volt source, and will check it again tomorrow using the coach wiring, since we’re planning to bring it over from storage and put in a couple of hours on inside maintenance (e.g, cleaning the A/C filters). This should be our last maintenance sweep before we load up on Friday for our Saturday departure.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Can’t use the cool weather as an excuse
February 10, 2008
Peoria, AZ
We’ve had a productive streak for the last few days, and have knocked quite a few things off the collective to-do lists.
Tuesday, Geri had the stitches removed from her tooth extraction. Things went very well and she’s definitely on the mend. On the other hand, the periodontist seems to want to find other places where he can suggest more implants. Down, boy!
Geri had physical therapy on Wednesday, so I used the time to get organized in the study. I need to catch up on some filing, etc. to make room for the next batch on incoming mail. I purposely waited until after the beginning of February to have our mail service ship accumulated items, so I could catch all the tax forms. I’m planning to get the taxes done before we head out to California on the 16th.
Thursday was the beginning of a warm up in the weather department, so I got to some of the other things around the house. It was mostly mundane stuff like spraying the weeds; it’s weed season here and things are sprouting all over the place. Next year, I’ll make sure that the pre-emergent weed killer is deployed in the fall.
I also reworked the propane lines for the outside grill/stove we use when we travel. I’d made the attachment to the low-pressure side of the coach system while we were with Wayne in Indio (I wanted the expert help on hand). Once it was set up, it worked fine but I realized that a) I needed to be able to disconnect the long hose from the coach to the primary grill for storage and b) I needed to add another port for the small propane-fueled fire ring we bought from Canadian Tire last year. I had ordered the quick disconnects from Northern Tool, and I had picked up the fittings at the local Ace Hardware, so I was able to reconfigure the fittings without too much difficulty. I probably still need a piece or two, but things should be in working order and I can make changes as we go along.
Friday was “coach day”. We got it out of storage in the morning, and I spend most of the day knocking maintenance items off the list. The biggest was a lube job, which should be done semi-annually. It sounds simple, but is actually quite time-consuming. There are 33 +/- specific fittings that need to be lubricated, and each one needs to be tracked down and checked off. Several of the ones in the front require the wheels to be turned to a specific point to be able to get at the fittings. The kingpins (part of the front end) require that the axle be raised to take the weight off the assembly. It all went well, so we should be OK until the “annual service” during the summer.
Yesterday was another project day, this time with the car. I’ve wanted to rework the wiring from the coach to the car for towing for a long time. I’ve been using magnetically mounted temporary lights for some time because the people who installed the towing package didn’t quite get it done right. I replaced the connection box on the front and adjusted how the wiring interface from the coach connects into the car, so I’ll test that out the next time we have the coach at the house. If I have the time before we leave, I may try to test it out by hooking up a 12 volt source in the garage; we’ll see.
The food and wine front has been relatively tame. We had a chance to get together with Paul and Dorna, friends who have a coach very similar to ours, for pizza and beer at Nino’s (a local place) on Thursday. On Friday, Geri picked up some Mahi-Mahi and we made it with a macadamia nut crust, accompanied by curried couscous. We had an Australian Shiraz, the 2003 “Bad Impersonator” Barossa Valley from Two Hands – exceptional!
Other than all this, it’s been nice and quiet. I’m about 20% done in converting to the new email address scheme I set up, so I’ll continue with that after I get the taxes done. We’ll continue to stage stuff for our California trip, and look forward to hitting the road next Saturday.
Peoria, AZ
We’ve had a productive streak for the last few days, and have knocked quite a few things off the collective to-do lists.
Tuesday, Geri had the stitches removed from her tooth extraction. Things went very well and she’s definitely on the mend. On the other hand, the periodontist seems to want to find other places where he can suggest more implants. Down, boy!
Geri had physical therapy on Wednesday, so I used the time to get organized in the study. I need to catch up on some filing, etc. to make room for the next batch on incoming mail. I purposely waited until after the beginning of February to have our mail service ship accumulated items, so I could catch all the tax forms. I’m planning to get the taxes done before we head out to California on the 16th.
Thursday was the beginning of a warm up in the weather department, so I got to some of the other things around the house. It was mostly mundane stuff like spraying the weeds; it’s weed season here and things are sprouting all over the place. Next year, I’ll make sure that the pre-emergent weed killer is deployed in the fall.
I also reworked the propane lines for the outside grill/stove we use when we travel. I’d made the attachment to the low-pressure side of the coach system while we were with Wayne in Indio (I wanted the expert help on hand). Once it was set up, it worked fine but I realized that a) I needed to be able to disconnect the long hose from the coach to the primary grill for storage and b) I needed to add another port for the small propane-fueled fire ring we bought from Canadian Tire last year. I had ordered the quick disconnects from Northern Tool, and I had picked up the fittings at the local Ace Hardware, so I was able to reconfigure the fittings without too much difficulty. I probably still need a piece or two, but things should be in working order and I can make changes as we go along.
Friday was “coach day”. We got it out of storage in the morning, and I spend most of the day knocking maintenance items off the list. The biggest was a lube job, which should be done semi-annually. It sounds simple, but is actually quite time-consuming. There are 33 +/- specific fittings that need to be lubricated, and each one needs to be tracked down and checked off. Several of the ones in the front require the wheels to be turned to a specific point to be able to get at the fittings. The kingpins (part of the front end) require that the axle be raised to take the weight off the assembly. It all went well, so we should be OK until the “annual service” during the summer.
Yesterday was another project day, this time with the car. I’ve wanted to rework the wiring from the coach to the car for towing for a long time. I’ve been using magnetically mounted temporary lights for some time because the people who installed the towing package didn’t quite get it done right. I replaced the connection box on the front and adjusted how the wiring interface from the coach connects into the car, so I’ll test that out the next time we have the coach at the house. If I have the time before we leave, I may try to test it out by hooking up a 12 volt source in the garage; we’ll see.
The food and wine front has been relatively tame. We had a chance to get together with Paul and Dorna, friends who have a coach very similar to ours, for pizza and beer at Nino’s (a local place) on Thursday. On Friday, Geri picked up some Mahi-Mahi and we made it with a macadamia nut crust, accompanied by curried couscous. We had an Australian Shiraz, the 2003 “Bad Impersonator” Barossa Valley from Two Hands – exceptional!
Other than all this, it’s been nice and quiet. I’m about 20% done in converting to the new email address scheme I set up, so I’ll continue with that after I get the taxes done. We’ll continue to stage stuff for our California trip, and look forward to hitting the road next Saturday.
Monday, February 4, 2008
What the hail was that?
February 4, 2008
Peoria, AZ
We’ve had a couple of good days, even though it’s continued to be on the cool side, sometimes with a good dose o clouds thrown in. On Saturday, we had lunch with Ana and Larry at a restaurant about halfway between us (they live in northeast Phoenix). We ended up back at their house after lunch for wine, cheese, and conversation – all good.
Yesterday was Super Bowl Day, of course. The media hype has been excessive, but at least we didn’t have too much disruption to our daily routine. We decided to make it a quiet day at home. Geri made noshes: a white pizza with olives and a good dose of garlic that was absolutely fabulous. We had some lamb shanks in the freezer, so I got that in the oven around noon. With some roasted potatoes and haricots verts, it came out nicely (we can’t say the same for the Dutch oven, which needed a good scrubbing after getting a bit crusty during the braising process). We opened the wine box and out came a 2001 Stag’s Leap Fay Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – fabulous!
And, how about them Giants? Even though we’re originally from Connecticut, and I’ve always been partial to the Yankees, I’ve never really been a huge Giants fan. And, even though I grew to have a soft spot for the Red Sox, I’ve never really cared about the Patriots. Over the last few years, they’ve just become a team that’s really hard to warm up to. I suppose that I was lucky, since I could have been happy either way, with a perfect season or a big upset. It was a great game and we’re glad it was here - -and that it's over.
Today was an “inside day”. Geri had Physical Therapy in the morning, but other than that and a quick walk for the pups, it was a good day to stay inside and out of the wind and rain showers.
I continued our project of simplifying our utilities and reducing monthly costs, this time focusing on email and telephone services. Geri and I both have email accounts that charge an annual fee (Hotmail for each of us, plus Yahoo for me), and we’re converting to Google’s free Gmail service. This makes sense, since it’ll tie together our blog and picture web services, both by Google. I’m also working to extricate us from the high cable bill, which involves Internet, TV, and digital phone. By moving to DirecTV (which we already have for the coach) and using the Verizon Wireless Broadband service (which we also have for the coach) at the house, we’re almost there. I’ve added Skype, a cheap Internet-based phone service, which will allow us to maintain a local number here in Arizona for neighbors and local businesses. I’ll start sending out emails with the changes over the next week or so. We could have changed our cell phone numbers to be local here, and we may do so at some point in the future, but the work associated with changing every place that uses the cell phone numbers was just more effort than we wanted to tackle right now.
In looking out the windows to the back of the house around 3:30 PM, we could see a good deal of sun, so we decided to walk the dogs early. Imagine our surprise when we went out through the garage and saw a huge line of clouds that were almost black. We quickly saw lightning and heard thunder, so we made it a short walk. We weren’t home for very long when we could hear it start to rain. Very quickly, it turned to pea-sized hail! It didn’t last too long, but the temperature dropped over 10 degrees inside 15 minutes. Snow levels dropped to around 3,000’ (we’re at 1,200’) which is very low for this area. We’ll have to check out the mountains to the north and east tomorrow. According to the forecast, we may finally be coming to the end of the month-long spell of cool temperatures. Woo-hoo!
Peoria, AZ
We’ve had a couple of good days, even though it’s continued to be on the cool side, sometimes with a good dose o clouds thrown in. On Saturday, we had lunch with Ana and Larry at a restaurant about halfway between us (they live in northeast Phoenix). We ended up back at their house after lunch for wine, cheese, and conversation – all good.
Yesterday was Super Bowl Day, of course. The media hype has been excessive, but at least we didn’t have too much disruption to our daily routine. We decided to make it a quiet day at home. Geri made noshes: a white pizza with olives and a good dose of garlic that was absolutely fabulous. We had some lamb shanks in the freezer, so I got that in the oven around noon. With some roasted potatoes and haricots verts, it came out nicely (we can’t say the same for the Dutch oven, which needed a good scrubbing after getting a bit crusty during the braising process). We opened the wine box and out came a 2001 Stag’s Leap Fay Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – fabulous!
And, how about them Giants? Even though we’re originally from Connecticut, and I’ve always been partial to the Yankees, I’ve never really been a huge Giants fan. And, even though I grew to have a soft spot for the Red Sox, I’ve never really cared about the Patriots. Over the last few years, they’ve just become a team that’s really hard to warm up to. I suppose that I was lucky, since I could have been happy either way, with a perfect season or a big upset. It was a great game and we’re glad it was here - -and that it's over.
Today was an “inside day”. Geri had Physical Therapy in the morning, but other than that and a quick walk for the pups, it was a good day to stay inside and out of the wind and rain showers.
I continued our project of simplifying our utilities and reducing monthly costs, this time focusing on email and telephone services. Geri and I both have email accounts that charge an annual fee (Hotmail for each of us, plus Yahoo for me), and we’re converting to Google’s free Gmail service. This makes sense, since it’ll tie together our blog and picture web services, both by Google. I’m also working to extricate us from the high cable bill, which involves Internet, TV, and digital phone. By moving to DirecTV (which we already have for the coach) and using the Verizon Wireless Broadband service (which we also have for the coach) at the house, we’re almost there. I’ve added Skype, a cheap Internet-based phone service, which will allow us to maintain a local number here in Arizona for neighbors and local businesses. I’ll start sending out emails with the changes over the next week or so. We could have changed our cell phone numbers to be local here, and we may do so at some point in the future, but the work associated with changing every place that uses the cell phone numbers was just more effort than we wanted to tackle right now.
In looking out the windows to the back of the house around 3:30 PM, we could see a good deal of sun, so we decided to walk the dogs early. Imagine our surprise when we went out through the garage and saw a huge line of clouds that were almost black. We quickly saw lightning and heard thunder, so we made it a short walk. We weren’t home for very long when we could hear it start to rain. Very quickly, it turned to pea-sized hail! It didn’t last too long, but the temperature dropped over 10 degrees inside 15 minutes. Snow levels dropped to around 3,000’ (we’re at 1,200’) which is very low for this area. We’ll have to check out the mountains to the north and east tomorrow. According to the forecast, we may finally be coming to the end of the month-long spell of cool temperatures. Woo-hoo!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Getting ready for our next trip
February 1, 2008
Peoria, AZ
Geri’s doing great and healing well after her dental surgery earlier in the week. She still has some discomfort and has to go for removal of the stitches next Tuesday, but overall she’s been quite a trouper.
Wednesday it was back to the Land Rover dealer to have the coolant leak repaired. I’d gotten a card in the mail that the part was in. I ended up spending most of the day there. They wrapped up the repair around 1:00 PM and I took off for home. I was about 3 blocks away when I got a “low coolant” alarm, so I turned around and headed back. After another hour, they had bled the air bubble in the cooling system or whatever was causing the alarm, and I was on the way home for real.
Thursday, I started preparing the coach for our next trip. Geri took me over to the storage place and I got it started to warm up, only to find a “low coolant” alarm! This was probably related to the repairs I’d made before our last trip. I added a gallon of water to the system (we didn’t have any coolant on board) and the alarm stopped. Geri headed home and I headed for the local truck stop. I had the propane tank filled (19.5 gallons; not bad since we hadn’t put any in since last year about this time) and topped off the fuel tank so we’ll be ready to leave later this month. I’ll need to monitor the propane more closely in the future, since we’ll now be running the outside grill and stove from that tank.
Once fueled up, I headed home and did a few maintenance tasks. I also installed the automated fire suppression system that I’d bought at the Indio Rally. It’s comprised of a 1-liter extinguisher in the generator compartment and a 3-liter tank by the engine. They’re temperature controlled and “fire” (no pun intended) when the compartment temperatures reach ~300°F. I still have a lot to do before we leave on February 16th, but we’re in pretty good shape.
Today was a quiet day at home for the most part, with a few frustrations tossed in for good measure. I got a call from our mail service in South Dakota that they had our vehicle registration renewals. Like last year, our timing is a little complicated, since we need to have the new tags before we leave for California. I don’t have time to mail a check, have them issue the tags and get them back in the mail before we leave, so I had to renew by credit card and incur the 4% add-on fee. It’s about $16, but I’d have spent that if I sent the check overnight anyway. Maybe next year, I can figure out a way to start the process earlier.
Then, the frustration increased as Geri had to call her mail order pharmacy to find out where her last order went. We mailed it on January 7th and got a confirmation of shipping on the 22nd. It’s February 1st, and no package and no credit card charge. She spent at least ½ an hour on the phone to find out that they a) sent the package to the wrong address (SD, not AZ) and b) didn’t update their records with her new card expiration. What a pain. I had her get the address so we can write a letter of complaint and get a refund on shipping costs (we shouldn’t have to pay to ship things twice).
We’ll stay close to home over the next few days, as the Super Bowl frenzy is rising to its peak. Next week, we’ll probably spend another day getting ready for our trip, but should be able to relax most of the week.
Peoria, AZ
Geri’s doing great and healing well after her dental surgery earlier in the week. She still has some discomfort and has to go for removal of the stitches next Tuesday, but overall she’s been quite a trouper.
Wednesday it was back to the Land Rover dealer to have the coolant leak repaired. I’d gotten a card in the mail that the part was in. I ended up spending most of the day there. They wrapped up the repair around 1:00 PM and I took off for home. I was about 3 blocks away when I got a “low coolant” alarm, so I turned around and headed back. After another hour, they had bled the air bubble in the cooling system or whatever was causing the alarm, and I was on the way home for real.
Thursday, I started preparing the coach for our next trip. Geri took me over to the storage place and I got it started to warm up, only to find a “low coolant” alarm! This was probably related to the repairs I’d made before our last trip. I added a gallon of water to the system (we didn’t have any coolant on board) and the alarm stopped. Geri headed home and I headed for the local truck stop. I had the propane tank filled (19.5 gallons; not bad since we hadn’t put any in since last year about this time) and topped off the fuel tank so we’ll be ready to leave later this month. I’ll need to monitor the propane more closely in the future, since we’ll now be running the outside grill and stove from that tank.
Once fueled up, I headed home and did a few maintenance tasks. I also installed the automated fire suppression system that I’d bought at the Indio Rally. It’s comprised of a 1-liter extinguisher in the generator compartment and a 3-liter tank by the engine. They’re temperature controlled and “fire” (no pun intended) when the compartment temperatures reach ~300°F. I still have a lot to do before we leave on February 16th, but we’re in pretty good shape.
Today was a quiet day at home for the most part, with a few frustrations tossed in for good measure. I got a call from our mail service in South Dakota that they had our vehicle registration renewals. Like last year, our timing is a little complicated, since we need to have the new tags before we leave for California. I don’t have time to mail a check, have them issue the tags and get them back in the mail before we leave, so I had to renew by credit card and incur the 4% add-on fee. It’s about $16, but I’d have spent that if I sent the check overnight anyway. Maybe next year, I can figure out a way to start the process earlier.
Then, the frustration increased as Geri had to call her mail order pharmacy to find out where her last order went. We mailed it on January 7th and got a confirmation of shipping on the 22nd. It’s February 1st, and no package and no credit card charge. She spent at least ½ an hour on the phone to find out that they a) sent the package to the wrong address (SD, not AZ) and b) didn’t update their records with her new card expiration. What a pain. I had her get the address so we can write a letter of complaint and get a refund on shipping costs (we shouldn’t have to pay to ship things twice).
We’ll stay close to home over the next few days, as the Super Bowl frenzy is rising to its peak. Next week, we’ll probably spend another day getting ready for our trip, but should be able to relax most of the week.
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