Another Rainy Week

Monday: (02/24) I didn’t head down to San Jose last night. Still here in Palo Alto. Lou and Dawn were off early to appointments. I repaired the leaky kitchen faucet. Fortunately it was only loose. I borrowed an Allen wrench and a crescent wrench from Ernie and it was all better and I was on my way by 1000. I stopped at Harbor Fright Tools for some ear plugs. I’ll need them for my hike and if I do some concrete sawing this week. It seems counter productive to be out in nature and turn off your ears but it evidently is needed to get some sleep. I then stopped at Jack In The Box for breakfast. I was settled in San Jose by 1130. I then didn’t get right to work but spent some time online locating and ordering some parts for Ernie’s trailer. My work for the day, since we expect rain and it ws late was to do some stripping by the breakfast nook. I didn’t feel like getting really dusty for just a short period of time. Dusty tomorrow is OK. Looks like we will have a really good rain Wednesday and some Thursday so may not be too much work this week. For dinner I prepared another trail meal test. Dried black bean soup with spam. Very good.

Tuesday: (02/25) Pancakes and sausage for breakfast. I started sanding the house at the peak of the porch. I haven’t done sanding in a couple of months now. It wouldn’t seem to be much but it took a while to set up. Vacuum, hoses extension cords sander, sandpaper. Everything in place and away I went. I stopped for a break which turned in to lunch. I had a license plate bridge toll invoice for going across the Golden Gate bridge last month. They mailed an invoice, I went online to their website and paid it, got a confirmation but there was never a charge to the CC. So I checked and it was still open. I tried to call them yesterday and today and the machine says ” do to a high volume of calls we cant talk to you call back some other time. That obviously wasn’t the real reason which is likely that their phone system works a well as the invoice and payment system. I finally gave up and just processed another payment to them online and got another confirmation. This time I also got the charge confirmation from the bank. So, maybe now, I wont be hauled off to jail. I grilled a pork chop and had some carrots for lunch. After lunch I finished sanding the upper area then caulked it. Then I moved my scaffolds but didn’t do any more work up front because I didn’t want to spend the clean up time for another short work period. I spent the rest of the work day stripping paint by the breakfast nook. I finished up about 1750. For dinner I prepared another trail meal. Some dehydrated potatoes, mixed vegetables, peppers, corn and cheese. Everything rehydrated for 10 minutes with very hot water. Quite good.

 Wednesday: (02/26) I enjoyed some pecan granola for breakfast. it was dry outside so I planned on doing some work before the likely rain. Plans change. About 0758 it started to rain. O-boy! No work today! Lou and Dawn will be coming by for appointments, as usual for a Wednesday. So now I’ll tinker until I go to lunch with Lou. The weather forecast as of now says 70-100% chance of rain for the next three days. There are no good holes in the forecast now. There was a hole for Thursday when I checked yesterday and last week there was a hole on Friday. Right now my planned group hike up the mountains to Alice’s Restaurant for lunch on Friday doesn’t look promising. Even so, there are now 32 hikers signed up so I’m not the only optimist. Today I’ll probably do a little shoe shopping. One thing I’ve been hearing and my Mt Diablo hike proved is that I need hiking shoes about 1-1.5 sizes bigger than my normal size. Also, almost all PCT hikers wear trail runner shoes rather than hiking boots. I like my boots. I like the extra ankle support. But they are much heavier than what amount to tennis shoes with good soles. So, i’m going to try a pair of trail runners. I’ve been reading PCT hiker blogs and several mention that they or the people they observe start out with boots or other shoes and end up in trail runners to solve their foot problems. The most recommended is Brooks Cascadia so that’s what I’ll try. Why reinvent the wheel, so to speak.


Thursday: (02/27) The ground was wet but the skies were clear as I walked to get my breakfast burrito at La Victoria. Due  to the rain there was no construction on the building I’ve been watching them build. After breakfast the clouds started returning and in the afternoon it rained some. I was working under the porch stripping the porch ceiling. Its about half done now. Lunch was a couple of ham and cheese wraps. I packed up in the evening and returned North. I stopped at the Los Altos Taqueria for dinner, a chili verde plate. After dinner i stopped in at the Mountain View REI store for a presentation of Backpacking Basics. rather interesting but, even though I haven’t back packed yet, i could have done just as good a presentation. It was free.

Due to the heavy rain we’ve had and the fact that tomorrow is forecast to be the same as Wednesday when we had so much rain, I tried to cancel my hike for tomorrow. Of course nothing went right. The Meetup.com website was down. Went out about 0730 and is still down du to a denial of service attack. So I couldn’t cancel it online. I received an email from the site though so something must be working. So I checked the Meetup app on my phone and it was working. I was able to cancel the hike via the app. i figured it would email everyone that was signed up. My co-host said he and his wife received the email but I never received one so I’m not sure everyone did get the email. So tomorrow I’ll go to the site and meet anyone who didn’t get the word. If, by chance, the weather is good, we may do a hike. I did reschedule the hike for next Friday.

Friday: (02/28) Lou fixed bacon, eggs and potatoes for breakfast. I had to cancel my hike this morning but due to problems on the Meetup.com website some hikers may not have been informed so I went out to the trailhead. None showed up so they must have gotten the word or maybe they just didn’t feel like hiking in the rain. I then did some shopping at Redwood Supply an REI picking up a few thinks for my hike. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I then spent my time tinkering with my hiking stuff. Lou and Dawn were busy all day with appointments. We had pizza for dinner. We have decided to head out and will visit Pismo Beach for a few days starting Monday.

Saturday: (03/01) We started our day with the usual grocery shopping trip. I had leftover pizza for breakfast. Lou and Dawn had yogurt. In anticipation of dinner, I started a pork roast with sauerkraut and potatoes in the slow cooker. Lou and Dawn went to some rummage sales.


I helped Ernie replace the shower faucet in his trailer and setup his trailer to use hot water from our tank.



After that we washed his trailer. Lou was busy planting more strawberry plants. Dinner was very good.

Sunday: (03/02) We were busy preparing to leave most of the day. Lots to be done. Chorizo scrambled eggs for breakfast. Lou’s homemade chicken soup four lunch. Dawn seemed to be coming down with a cold so Lou made soup. Dinner at LUU Noodle House.

Another Rainy Week

Monday: (02/24) I didn’t head down to San Jose last night. Still here in Palo Alto. Lou and Dawn were off early to appointments. I repaired the leaky kitchen faucet. Fortunately it was only loose. I borrowed an Allen wrench and a crescent wrench from Ernie and it was all better and I was on my way by 1000. I stopped at Harbor Fright Tools for some ear plugs. I’ll need them for my hike and if I do some concrete sawing this week. It seems counter productive to be out in nature and turn off your ears but it evidently is needed to get some sleep. I then stopped at Jack In The Box for breakfast. I was settled in San Jose by 1130. I then didn’t get right to work but spent some time online locating and ordering some parts for Ernie’s trailer. My work for the day, since we expect rain and it ws late was to do some stripping by the breakfast nook. I didn’t feel like getting really dusty for just a short period of time. Dusty tomorrow is OK. Looks like we will have a really good rain Wednesday and some Thursday so may not be too much work this week. For dinner I prepared another trail meal test. Dried black bean soup with spam. Very good.

Tuesday: (02/25) Pancakes and sausage for breakfast. I started sanding the house at the peak of the porch. I haven’t done sanding in a couple of months now. It wouldn’t seem to be much but it took a while to set up. Vacuum, hoses extension cords sander, sandpaper. Everything in place and away I went. I stopped for a break which turned in to lunch. I had a license plate bridge toll invoice for going across the Golden Gate bridge last month. They mailed an invoice, I went online to their website and paid it, got a confirmation but there was never a charge to the CC. So I checked and it was still open. I tried to call them yesterday and today and the machine says ” do to a high volume of calls we cant talk to you call back some other time. That obviously wasn’t the real reason which is likely that their phone system works a well as the invoice and payment system. I finally gave up and just processed another payment to them online and got another confirmation. This time I also got the charge confirmation from the bank. So, maybe now, I wont be hauled off to jail. I grilled a pork chop and had some carrots for lunch. After lunch I finished sanding the upper area then caulked it. Then I moved my scaffolds but didn’t do any more work up front because I didn’t want to spend the clean up time for another short work period. I spent the rest of the work day stripping paint by the breakfast nook. I finished up about 1750. For dinner I prepared another trail meal. Some dehydrated potatoes, mixed vegetables, peppers, corn and cheese. Everything rehydrated for 10 minutes with very hot water. Quite good.

 Wednesday: (02/26) I enjoyed some pecan granola for breakfast. it was dry outside so I planned on doing some work before the likely rain. Plans change. About 0758 it started to rain. O-boy! No work today! Lou and Dawn will be coming by for appointments, as usual for a Wednesday. So now I’ll tinker until I go to lunch with Lou. The weather forecast as of now says 70-100% chance of rain for the next three days. There are no good holes in the forecast now. There was a hole for Thursday when I checked yesterday and last week there was a hole on Friday. Right now my planned group hike up the mountains to Alice’s Restaurant for lunch on Friday doesn’t look promising. Even so, there are now 32 hikers signed up so I’m not the only optimist. Today I’ll probably do a little shoe shopping. One thing I’ve been hearing and my Mt Diablo hike proved is that I need hiking shoes about 1-1.5 sizes bigger than my normal size. Also, almost all PCT hikers wear trail runner shoes rather than hiking boots. I like my boots. I like the extra ankle support. But they are much heavier than what amount to tennis shoes with good soles. So, i’m going to try a pair of trail runners. I’ve been reading PCT hiker blogs and several mention that they or the people they observe start out with boots or other shoes and end up in trail runners to solve their foot problems. The most recommended is Brooks Cascadia so that’s what I’ll try. Why reinvent the wheel, so to speak.


Thursday: (02/27) The ground was wet but the skies were clear as I walked to get my breakfast burrito at La Victoria. Due  to the rain there was no construction on the building I’ve been watching them build. After breakfast the clouds started returning and in the afternoon it rained some. I was working under the porch stripping the porch ceiling. Its about half done now. Lunch was a couple of ham and cheese wraps. I packed up in the evening and returned North. I stopped at the Los Altos Taqueria for dinner, a chili verde plate. After dinner i stopped in at the Mountain View REI store for a presentation of Backpacking Basics. rather interesting but, even though I haven’t back packed yet, I could have done just as good a presentation. It was free.

Due to the heavy rain we’ve had and the fact that tomorrow is forecast to be the same as Wednesday when we had so much rain, I tried to cancel my hike for tomorrow. Of course nothing went right. The Meetup.com website was down. Went out about 0730 and is still down du to a denial of service attack. So I couldn’t cancel it online. I received an email from the site though so something must be working. So I checked the Meetup app on my phone and it was working. I was able to cancel the hike via the app. i figured it would email everyone that was signed up. My co-host said he and his wife received the email but I never received one so I’m not sure everyone did get the email. So tomorrow I’ll go to the site and meet anyone who didn’t get the word. If, by chance, the weather is good, we may do a hike. I did reschedule the hike for next Friday.

Friday: (02/28) Lou fixed bacon, eggs and potatoes for breakfast. I had to cancel my hike this morning but due to problems on the Meetup.com website some hikers may not have been informed so I went out to the trailhead. None showed up so they must have gotten the word or maybe they just didn’t feel like hiking in the rain. I then did some shopping at Redwood Supply an REI picking up a few thinks for my hike. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I then spent my time tinkering with my hiking stuff. Lou and Dawn were busy all day with appointments. We had pizza for dinner. We have decided to head out and will visit Pismo Beach for a few days starting Monday.

Saturday: (03/01) We started our day with the usual grocery shopping trip. I had leftover pizza for breakfast. Lou and Dawn had yogurt. In anticipation of dinner, I started a pork roast with sauerkraut and potatoes in the slow cooker. Lou and Dawn went to some rummage sales.


I helped Ernie replace the shower faucet in his trailer and setup his trailer to use hot water from our tank.



After that we washed his trailer. Lou was busy planting more strawberry plants. Dinner was very good.

Sunday: (03/02) We were busy preparing to leave most of the day. Lots to be done. Chorizo scrambled eggs for breakfast. Lou’s homemade chicken soup four lunch. Dawn seemed to be coming down with a cold so Lou made soup. Dinner at LUU Noodle House.

Mt. Diablo

Saturday: (02/22) Lou and I headed off to do our weekly grocery shopping. When we visited Walmart I get a McGriddle sandwich and Lou and Dawn had coffee. Lou made waffles with black berries for breakfast. Our kitchen sink faucet hot water valve won’t shut off. I was supposed to repair it as well as Ernie’s shower faucet.

But I decided to go to a BBQ with a bunch of through hikers up in Benicia. It started at 1300. It was interesting learning form all their experience. I hurried away bringing just my day hiking pack for a hike tomorrow with the group. I should have brought a sleeping bag as many of the attendees were spending the night at the host’s house. I stayed at a nearby motel myself.
Sunday: (02/23) I had breakfast at Jack In The Box then went out to the Mt. Diablo trailhead at Regency Ave. About 16 or 17 hikers started the hike at 0900.


We hiked up to Olympia Peak then to Mt Diablo Peak. The hike was 12.7 miles. It had an elevation change: 3,369 feet with a total climb of climb 5,322 feet.


The first peak was Mt Olympia. I was the last there and people actually waited for me? Our group photo.


The view of the South bay from the top of Mt Diablo, foggy haze in the distance. The mountains I usually hike in are just beyond the fog. There is a “Castle” at the top of Mt Diablo with a beacon and an observatory. The view was pretty good but I’ll have to return on a really clear day to see the entire state from there.


We had lunch at the top. All these hikers were fit through (long distance) hikers so guess who was the slowest.


I was the last to the top and the last to get back to the bottom. Our host, Scott (trail name Schroomer) told me when I made it to the top that there is nothing on the Pacific Crest Trail that is as bad as the hike up Mt Diablo. That’s encouraging. When I got back to the bottom at 1610 he again encouraged me and said I should have no problems on the hike. I said I thought so too but I’d be days late. He said, so that’s your trail name.  Good enough, My trail name will be “Days Late.”

I called Lou and said I was on the way home and she prepared corned beef hash and eggs for dinner. Dawn followed that with chocolate ice cream on berries.

Razerback Ridge Hike

Friday: (02/21) Granola for breakfast. Today was Friday hike day. I led my group on a hike up the Razerback Ridge Trail along the Bay Area Ridge trail and hack on the Hamm’s Gulch Trail. 14 hikers joined me on a perfect weather day. Nice views of the bay. We had lunch at the top of the mountain. Leftover lentil soup for dinner.


A bridge along the Eagle Trail near the start of the hike.


A couple of nice views along the trail.


These flowers were all along the trail. I’ve never seen them before.


Having lunch at the top by Skyline Road and our group photo.

My How Time Is Flying

Saturday: (02/15) We made a quick run to Sprout’s Market for a few things. Normally this is our chopping day but today we abbreviated it. Lou and Dawn went out to a rummage sale after breakfast with our neighbor Meili. I tinkered with my new hiking toys. Grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. Soup for dinner.

In the evening we all went to a Bluegrass concert in Mountain View and saw the Dry Branch Fire Squad. Another great Redwood Bluegrass Associates concert. Excellent music and humor. Having watched Ron Thomason singing, plucking and providing simple humor in the show you could see he was someone with clear thinking, possibly like Will Rogers. I went to their website and found a link to Ron’s Rants. I was blown away by his thinking. His thinking certainly puts my my thought process to shame. I’ve only read the first entry, so far, but will have to take the time, which will be considerable, to read the rest. he sounds like a hick in his show but clearly isn’t.

Sunday: (02/16) Lou and I started the day with a shopping run to Walmart and Trader Joe’s. Yesterday we didn’t do all our shopping stops. We went to breakfast with Ernie and Courtney at A Good Morning Restaurant. My bacon avocado omelet was excellent. After breakfast, Ernie and I went up to Redwood City looking for parts for his trailer. Not much luck finding what we needed. Probably need to go online. We also stopped by REI for me to look around before returning home. I spent the afternoon weighing stuff for my backpack. The base pack is now at over 16 pounds so I want to get rid of three more pounds but I still have some things to add. Dawn made some lentil chili for dinner. In the evening I returned to San Jose.


Monday: (02/17) A breakfast burrito from La Victoria to start. I erected my scaffolds into a tower and stripped the paint from the peak of the porch. Ramen noodles with freeze dried vegetables and chicken for lunch. The freeze dried stuff is some samples I got to try out for the hiking trip. Leale’s RV called and said my replacement windshield wiper arm was in so I arranged to have it installed tomorrow. For dinner I had a pork chop with baked beans and fried potatoes. I relaxed as traffic died down watching more Veronica Mars. About 1930 I drove back up to Palo Alto.


Tuesday: (02/18) I got up early and cleaned out and readied the RV to roll. I was on the way to San Jose about 0830. There was a lot to organize, a product of sitting still so long. I went to Leale’s RV epair in San jose and got the new windshield wiper arm installed. The new arm was a little different and it took a while to locate so I didn’t mind paying them to install it. The replacement arm was even cheaper than I had found it online and i just wasn’t sure what I had found was actually the right one. I was on my way back to Palo Alto by 1000 with the new arm, both blades replaced and the arms adjusted. Now, if only the vandals will stay away! I picked up breakfast at Jack In The Box on the way home. I left the Jeep there and caught a bus to San Jose. Courtney needs the jeep tomorrow. I got off the bus at the Grocery Outlet and picked up a couple of things before walking to the apartment.


I finished stripping the high peak of the porch. Really not much was done. I could have done some more work on the porch roof but convinced myself that I was through for the day, at 1500. Could have been my sore back, could have been that at that fairly late time of day I would have spent as much time on cleaning up as on working which just didn’t seem right. An afternoon off!

Wednesday: (02/19) I stripped the right column and ceiling area. Pancakes for breakfast. Wiener and cheese wraps for lunch. Rice roast beef and corn for dinner.

Thursday: (02/20) A breakfast burrito from La Victoria Restaurant. Busy stripping the left column and nearby ceiling area. PBJ tortilla for lunch. Chinese for dinner.

4 Open Spaces Hike

Friday: (02/14) I met my boldest fellow hikers at 0930 for a loop hike through four Open Space Preserves. We started at Monte Bello Ridge  OSP, hike through the Coal Creek OSP, then the Russian Ridge OSP, then through the Skyline Ridge OSP, and then back to our start point. Around an 8.2 mile hike. We never saw the sun so the views weren’t to far but the trails were nice and the area interesting. We finished up about 1310 and I headed back down the hike to home. I had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Then it was nap time. Lou made BBQ ribs, baked potatoes and a salad for dinner.

Finally Some Good Rain

Saturday: (02/08) Our morning was spent doing our weekly shopping route before we stopped for breakfast at A Good Morning Restaurant. Nice bacon avocado omelet for me, pork chop and eggs for Lou. Lou made asparagus soup for lunch. Most of the rest of the day was spent tinkering on the computer. Baked potatoes, artichokes and beef ribs for dinner.

Sunday: (02/09) Usual slow start to the day Sunday. I did assemble my new tent in the living room. Wouldn’t want the rain outside to get it wet? Maybe next time when I have my new sleeping bag I’ll try all the stuff out in the back yard and possibly it will still be raining. In the afternoon I went out shopping for hiking tidbits. In the evening i headed down to San Jose. Lou switched back to the wee car from the Jeep. Corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. Lou made some cheese cake for lunch. Dawn made baked potato, bacon and cheese soup for dinner.


Monday: (02/10) I have been missing maple syrup on my pancakes for a long time. Since I didn’t have any here at the apartment I’ve always used peanut butter and jelly. This morning i made some wonderful pancakes and enjoyed some maple syrup on them. I added some sausage as well for a really yummy breakfast. It isn’t raining today, just overcast and a little misty this morning. I could have gotten some work done outside but I’d be dodging the mud so i tinkered in side. I prepared my applications for permits to do the PCT hike and for entry into Canada on the trail. Likely neither will be needed but if all goes well on my test hike i could just continue North.  I also rearranged the apartment and did my house cleaning. I’m still trying to find the most efficient arrangement. I also repaired my heat gun which needed a new switch. So, it was a rather nice day inside. For lunch I tried some trail cooking. Well, not really cooked. I wrapped some tuna and cheese in a couple of tortillas. It was really quite good. Continuing in that effort, I had an afternoon snack of ramen noodles. Not too unusual but I cooked them as I would on the trail adding very hot water to a bowl and letting it soak for 10 minutes. Turned out the same as if cooked on the stove. I’ll have to do another test with some dried vegetables and meat when I’m home. I don’t have such things here at the apartment. In the evening I stopped by the Grocery outlet for a couple of things then picked up dinner at Kentucky fried Chicken on the way home.

Tuesday: (02/11) Granola for breakfast. The day started overcast but in the afternoon the sun came out through broken clouds. I sent the day stripping the paint from the South side of the front of the porch. A couple of more days might get the high stuff finished then only the porch ceiling will remain for the front of the house. Then if we can get a couple of weeks of dry warm weather maybe I can add some paint. For lunch I had a ciabatta hot dog and cheese sandwich. Dinner was more impressive. I ordered a pizza for the House Of Pizza. Of course there are leftovers. My phone decided to crash today. When I thought is was time for lunch my phone said it was 0840. It was actually 1158. I spent some time after eating restoring the phone to operation. It’s always a pain to restore the applications but it does clear out unwanted stuff when its reset like that.


Wednesday: (02/12) More granola for breakfast. I got out fairly early a did a little stripping before I had to quit at 0945 to get ready for a 1000 webinar on Mobile Applications Cyber Security.  Pretty interesting. Lou and Dawn stopped by to take showers after swimming. They both went to a therapy pool here in San Jose. Dawn followed that with an appointment downtown and Lou had a doctors appointment. For lunch I had ham and cheese wraps. I continued with more stripping in the afternoon finishing the right side eves. Now for the center tomorrow. Dinner was some of the leftover pizza. In the evening I was back TV binging with more Veronika Mars.


Thursday: (02/13) I started with a breakfast burrito from La Victoria while watching the construction project at SJSU. Then I got to work and stripped the paint from part of the center of the porch. Stripping the vent grill was the most fun. Next week I’ll add the second section to my scaffold to reach the high part of the center. Lunch was some salmon soup and a ham and cheese wrap. I worked until 1730. It’s nice that it’s staying light longer. Then I cleaned up and relaxed watching a couple of Veronica Mars episodes while the traffic died down. For dinner I had the last of my leftover pizza. I was back in Palo Alto a little after 2000.

In The Gutter

Saturday: (02/01) We started the day with our weekly grocery run. We often stop at the McDonald’s in Walmart, our first stop, where I get a McGriddle sandwich and Lou gets coffee. Dawn was with us today as well. After stops at Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Sprout’s and Whole Foods we finally got home. Fortunately those stores are all at one corner. At home I fixed corned beef hash and eggs for a real breakfast or brunch. After scheduling the next two Friday hikes for my hiking group I finally got to work. I removed the leaves from our sun rooms flat roof as well as from the storage shed, the greenhouse and the shop. Two 60 gallon compost barrels worth. That was the only task o my home todo list, I hope, so now maybe I can play? Lou made a couple of quality neck pillows today. Lou made some wonderful asparagus soup withe garlic cheese toast for lunch. For dinner she made spinach zucchini lasagna.

Sunday: (02/02) Dawn made savory cake with ham and cheese for breakfast. We went for a walk at the IKEA store and had lunch there as well. Meatballs for me, BBQ ribs for Lou and salmon for Dawn. Nice <$20 meal tab. I finally move in to my new hiking boots by wearing them outside. Can’t return them now but should need to since they fit fine. Corned beef and cabbage for dinner. I packed up an headed to San Jose after dinner. On the way I stopped at Walmart and bought some arch support pads that are small silicon gel pads with elastic bands on. They are supposed to lift my plantar fascia and eliminate my foot pain due to Plantar Fasciitis. I put them on and they seem to work. I’ll have to try them on a hike now.

Monday: (02/03) It was a nice clear day today but did develop some wind in the afternoon. I left last Wednesday because rain had been forecast for Thursday and the ground was still wet from rain Wednesday morning. Our weather in Palo Alto Thursday was clear so I probably could have gotten some work done. We got a half inch of rain in Palo Alto Sunday but San Jose just got .1 inch so it was nice and dry today. It looks like the only way to be here when it’s nice to work is to be here when it isn’t nice as well.

I stripped more paint from the eves today finishing the North porch eves. A breakfast burrito from La Victoria eaten watching the construction at San Jose State University. A ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Leftover lasagna with grapes for dinner.

I work my new foot arch supports and they seem to work well all day. Nice! Now i need to find out how many miles they are good for for my long hike needs.


**


Tuesday: (02/04) After breakfast I took a walk downtown to the Post office to get some stamps. The university station didn’t have any stamps. Interesting. I thought that was their thing. So I walked to the main Post office to get the stamps. On the way to the Post office I passed an interesting taqueria so I noted the location.I continued stripping paint on the North West corner of the porch. Still a lot to be done but now I’m moving toward the porch peak. Tomorrow afternoon the powers that be expect rain. I’ll work until it looks eminent tomorrow. After cleaning up from my dusty duties I walked down to the taqueria for dinner. I continued walking out San Carlos Street stopping in at Mel Cottons Sporting Goods store. That wasn’t the purpose of my walk but it made a good destination. My purpose was to take a long walk so I walked 5.8 miles total. Now to see if my feet are OK tonight and tomorrow. Lou mentioned that a package arrived today. I checked with Fedex and it should be my new ultralight backpack. This morning i talked with the folks at cascade Designs makers of Thermarest products. I wanted to know if the xLite mattress I have was compatible with their sleeping quilt and lounge chair products. They say it is so i ordered them from Moosejaw.com because they have the quilt $50 cheaper than anyone else. Now I have ordered the big three backpack, tent and sleeping bag though in this case the bag is a quilt which basically is a zipper-less bag. I went with the quilt because it is much lighter since it only tries to cover my top and the mattress takes care of keeping the bottom warm. I got the lounge chair sleeve to protect the mattress and to allow me to comfortably sit up in the tent. I never was good at crossing my legs and sitting on the ground. Now to schedule a multi-day hike as a test flight.

I fixed leftover corned beef hash with eggs and a pancake for breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. For dinner I walked downtown to the Taqueria I spotted this morning.

Wednesday: (02/05) I started earlier than i have been recently. We were supposed to have rain this afternoon and i wanted to get some work done before it arrived. I finished stripping the paint off about 1/3 of the front of the porch. The sky was perfectly clear much of the day until about 1pm then a haze started to appear and by 3pm it was cloudy, even more so by 5pm when I quit work. No rain yet. If it does come tonight then I may get some time off tomorrow? Granola for breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch BBQ ribs with home fried potatoes for dinner. I spent the evening watching Veronika Mars episodes. TV binging is so much better that watching and waiting on the networks.

Thursday: (02/06) The rain did come. I awoke to the wonderful sound of the dripping gutters and puddles in the lawn. Looks like my scheduled hike for tomorrow might be rather wet though. Still have a full group signed up for the hike. My fellow hikers are daring. Sausage, eggs and potatoes for breakfast .

Since it was wet out I spent the morning posting the long un-posted photos to the blog. I hadn’t posted any photos since before November 29th. The posts are a bit more interesting with photos and when I do add the photos I usually adjust the text and add some additional comments. It’s now 1330 and I still haven’t had lunch nor done any work.

I finally went out a little after 1400 and stopped at Super Taqueria for a super burrito. Yum!. Then I stopped by Leale’s RV repair to check on getting a new wiper arm for the motorhome. Tammy, the service rep, is checking on a source. It can be a problem for an old RV, especially an orphan RV. I then headed home. Hamburgers for dinner. In the evening we went to a musical  production at Gunn High School called Alice in Healthcareland. They do wonderful productions each year with a cast of about 300 student and teachers. Students from both the high school and two junior high schools are involved. The production level matches any professional production. Great show.