Henry Coe State Park Hike

Wednesday: (12/01) I made a ham cheese and egg sandwich for breakfast. I was up early to get ready to head for Henry Coe State Park for a hike led by Tara. We hike out to Flat Frog Lake and back, an 8 mile hike. After the hike I drove down the mountain and stopped at a Jack In The Box for a nap then lunch of a burger and fries. I haven’t had a burger in a while. Back home, it was time for a shower then more relaxing. Lou made macaroni with tuna for dinner.

Thursday: (12/02) Granola and a banana for breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Brussel’s sprouts with sausage for dinner. I worked on Ernie’s new bathroom sink installation much of the day. I cut the hole in the counter top and set the new sink in it. I then spent way too much time trying to get the water lines connected. The cold water lie would not stop leaking. Before installing the sink I told myself I should cut out a little false cabinet back that could be in the way connecting the water lines. I didn’t listen so had to do it with the sink in place. I also knew I needed a special wrench to tighten the water line onto the faucet. I finally had to go to the store and get one. If I had one I couldn’t find it. While it didn’t eliminate the leak either I had also picked up a short hose and coupler to extend the cold water line . That seemed to get it connected. Way more work than I had planned. Tomorrow I still need to install the tailstock and hook up the drain.

Friday: (12/03) Granola and banana for breakfast. I finished the installation of Ernie’s new bathroom sink by installing the drain line. A little leak fighting but all turned out well in the end. Later I spent some time inspecting the construction project down the street. They received the final load of wall panels for the fourth floor. They may get it dried in before our next rain? Lou made potato soup for lunch. Leftovers for dinner. Mine was tuna pasta.

Saturday: (12/04) I popped some popcorn for breakfast. Leftover potato soup for lunch, baked pork chops with rice and corn for dinner. My only task today was to fill the water tank and drain the holding tanks. The black tank gave me more trouble than normal by not draining due to a clog.

Sunday: (12/05) Lou made latkes with bacon for breakfast. I took a morning bike ride after breakfast. I rode over to see the Barron Park Donkeys but they were hiding somewhere in the back of the field. I then rode over to the Stanford Arizona Cactus Garden. I was welcomed by some really nice flowering cacti. I like this route, just long enough to get a little workout, even on my electric bike. Grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. I repaired a leaking sprinkler system. A drip tube main line fitting ame apart. I cut the holes off of the countertop plug that I ended up with when installing Ernie’s new sink. I then installed that on an old butter churn to use as an end table in the backyard. I also put away all the tools and materials that collected on my workbench from recent projects. A little weeding and I planted a new succulent in my succulent garden. We picked up dinner from Lucky Chinese Bistro after a visit to Michael’s craft store.

Monday: (12/06) Waffles with peanut butter and peach preserves for breakfast. We all headed up to Redwood City to Redwood Trading Company to get some nylon webbing. We also visited Tuesday Mornings and Grocery outlet. Lunch at Applebee's restaurant in Redwood City. Leftover Chinese for dinner

Tuesday: (12/07) My usual hiking day breakfast of a ham, egg and cheese sandwich. I headed up to Foothills Preserve for a 0930 hike with the San Jose Mid-week Hikers group. This is a newer hike I had planned a couple of months ago and this is the second time I’ve led it. It makes a big loop around the park with easy shortcuts for those that want a shorter hike. I had 23 hikers and just 2 chose shorter routes. Back home, the construction project was busy so I had to check on them after a shower. They brought in a taller forklift crane and were working on the roof structure of the top, fourth floor. I picked up lunch of a super veggie burrito from Tacos El Grullense across the street. Back home, after lunch it was time for a nap.

Wednesday: (12/08) Lou made scrambled eggs with some peppers from the garden for breakfast. I checked out the Wilton Ct construction project to start. I then attended my usual Wednesday Alpha Software webinar. I made a shopping run to the Walmart Neighborhood Market for some groceries. On the way home I picked up lunch at the China Wok restaurant on Mary Ave in Sunnyvale. I relaxed the rest of the day. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.

Thursday: (12/09) Granola and banana for breakfast. Trip to Grocery outlet for look. I was inspired to cook some beans so I got some ham and onions. I put a pot of ham and beans in the slow cooker for dinner. Cottage cheese and fruit for lunch. Bean soup for dinner.

Friday: (12/10) Granola and banana for breakfast. Leftover bean soup and toast for lunch and dinner. I helped Lou by drilling holes in a puppet rack she and Dawn are making. It took a while to get the drill press set up to be able to do the holes. Not much else today. Lou and I did make an ice cream run in the evening.

Saturday: (12/11) Leftover beans with toast for breakfast. Lunch from Harry’s Hofbrau. Lou made pineapple rice with chicken for dinner. I did a little work in the shop, actually on the work table outside my shop. No room inside to do anything. I set up the drill press and made some jigs to align the tubing to cut with the hole saw. I’m starting to build Ernie’s smoking roof, or porch cover. I cut the lateral tubes so I should be able to weld up the outside frame then add some more within the frame. The tubes have curved end cuts so they snap over the edge of the main tubes. The main beam is a different diameter so the cut on those has to be offset to maintain all tubes to be even with the top.

Sunday: (12/12) The rain returned last night and will be around most of the coming week. Could make my Tuesday hike interesting. I made corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast after our usual Sunday morning TV binge. Beef noodles and asparagus for lunch. I cleaned the leaves and limbs off the cottage roof. It is temporarily covered with a tarp over leaky rusted out tin. Lou demanded I check its condition. I filled the dumpsters with that debris as well as the other debris around the cottage. More beef noodles for dinner.

Monday: (12/13) Nice rainy cold morning. We’ve received about an inch of rain on this recent shower yesterday and today. Lou had baked a cranberry pear pie and it was the start of breakfast. It was filled later in the morning with the usual banana and granola. Lou made her chicken pineapple rice for dinner.

Tuesday: (12/14) Breakfast from Happy Donut, my usual Sausage egg and cheese English muffin and a donut. I met my fellow hikers up at the Pescadero County Park Tarwater Trailhead for a short hike doing the Tarwater/Shingle Creek loop. I only had four remaining hikers of the 18 and a waitlist that were signed up yesterday. Our heavy rains scared them off. We five enjoyed a very nice hike with no rain and trails that were wet but not too slippery. I picked up my lunch from Los Altos Taqueria, a chili relleno and enchilada combo. Lou made roast beef with mashed potatoes and cheesy broccoli for dinner.

Wednesday: (12/15) Leftover corned beef hash with fried eggs for breakfast. I attended my AlphaAnywhere webinar this morning. I also worked in the office and on the computer. A ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Lou’s beef stew for dinner. Lou and I made a run to Smart and Final Market in the evening.

Thursday: (12/16) Granola for breakfast. I had an appointment to have my teeth cleaned this morning. My cleaning alternates between the Periodontal Implant office (today) and my regular dentist. I now have to have cleanings every 3 months. All’s well with the gums. On the way home I stopped by a different Smart and Final market to see if they had my granola and OJ, two items we couldn’t get the other night on our shopping run. They didn’t have it. I also stopped at our neighborhood Grocery outlet for some cheese and milk. And, I got gas at our closest cheap station. This station is priced at $3.45/gallon while the lowest anywhere else nearby is $3.59 and most in the low $4 area. I also picked up lunch at the China Wok. I love their coconut shrimp. At home, I climbed onto my shop roof and pruned and removed half the tree that grew over it. I still need to make all the debris fit in the compost bins but I’ll take the rest of the week to do that. I feel like a San Francisco walk tomorrow. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.

Friday: (12/17) A nice no rain day. Lou prepared bacon and scrambled eggs with toast for breakfast. After breakfast, I drove up to San Francisco for a walk. I parked near the arboretum in Golden Gate Park and walked up toward Mt Sutro through the Mt Sutro Open Space. I was exploring trails. I always have a hard time finding my way in. I walked through the neighborhood looking for a path and found one at the end of Stanyan Street. It was a path, not a train, that wandered steeply up though the overgrown hillside. I found my way up almost to the top and found a real trail and a preserve map. It showed that the Historic Trail had a trailhead down on Stanyan Street and I, evidently, missed it. So to make it easier next time I took the trail back down to the bottom. Down there it looked just like a stairway up to one of the houses but it did have a nice sign like above. I tried to make the best of my detour so I walked back on Stanyan Street to Parnassus Street and found the path where it leaves from above UC Medical Center. The map on the sign helps. Now I have two ways to get up Mt Sutro. I hiked the North Ridge trail around to the South Ridge Trail. I looked around at the Rotary Meadow but decided not to continue on to the Mt Sutro Tower because it involved going down through a ravine and I had a limited time remaining for where I parked. I returned via the West Ridge Trail and down to 7th Avenue. The Garden For The Environment is there and I always like to look around their garden for ideas. Then I stopped by the Peasant Pies Cafe and bought some hand pies for dinner. I drove across to the Mission District to the La Torta Gorda restaurant for dinner. I had a torta milanesa for a late lunch then headed home in the 1530 beginning of rush hour traffic. I had a Beef and potato hand pie with a pear crumble pie for dinner. Dawn’s friend from Spokane came over for a visit today and Lou and Dawn were busy entertaining her today. They drove up to San Mateo for lunch at Jack’s Restaurant.

Saturday: (12/18) I had a sausage and egg hand pie for breakfast. Today, I diced all the branches and twigs into tiny pieces so they fit in the compost bins more easily. If I don’t do that, I can’t fit much in the bins. I managed to get it done before my hand demanded I stop. Lou made tuna salad stuffed kale leaves for lunch. Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. My hand got worse in the evening. Too much repetitive work. I did post a hike for Monday.

Sunday: (12/19) A cold but clear day. I relaxed inside all day. In the morning we watched the Sunday morning shows. I prepared leftover corned beef hash with eggs for breakfast. Ramen noodles and sausage for lunch. I worked on a problem on my website server. Lou’s pizza for dinner.

Monday: (12/20) Nice day. I made a nice sausage, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. Lou and Dawn were off early to Fresno to pick up some free stuff. I led a hike at Long Ridge Open Space preserve. I had 9 other hikers join me. It was a 7.4 mile trek with about 1300 feet of climb. We started at 0930 and finished at 1245. Back home, I took a shower then checked on the construction activity down the street. I stopped by Wok’s On Chinese Food Express to get my lunch. Then I went to the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Stevens Creek Blvd in San Jose to get some groceries per a shopping list Lou left me. I relaxed the rest of the day. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.

Tuesday: (12/21) Nice day until the sprinkles started about 1530. I could have enjoyed a hike today after all. Granola for breakfast. I tinkered on the computer much of the day. Alex brought over some stuff for Dawn, a 3d printer and some bike wheels. Leftover stew and toast for lunch. Baked potatoes covered with chili and cheese for dinner.

Wednesday: (12/22) Good rain all night and some sprinkles during the day. PBJ toast for breakfast. Chips and hummus for lunch. Lou’s pumpkin pecan pie for a snack. Chicken nuggets with fries and green beans for dinner. I tinkered on the computer most of the day, also pre-shopping for the materials and tools for my van build. Learning about 8020 aluminum tubing.

Thursday: (12/23) Granola and banana for breakfast. Lou made corn pudding for a late lunch. Cottage cheese with fruit for dinner. Another relaxing day tinkering inside while we had occasional rain showers.

Friday: (12/24) Nice day, very few showers. Granola and banana for breakfast. Orderves for lunch. Ernie made his deviled eggs and some beef log, cheese, and crackers. Lou made stuffed celery, cheese, crackers, artichoke dip, and carrot sticks. Funny how the orderves fill you up. Usually that would mean dinner would be a problem. We didn’t have dinner but I had some cottage cheese and a piece of salami for dinner. My afternoon was a long nap.

Saturday: (12/25) A rainy Christmas day. I made salami hash with scrambled eggs for breakfast. We had our usual late lunch/early dinner about 1400. The team effort by Lou, Dawn and Ernie came up with a moderate feast. Green pea salad, julianne green beans with bacon, carrot raisin salad, scalloped potatoes, fresh cranberry pineapple relish, and orange glazed ham. All followed by homemade apple pie about 1700. Another relaxing do nothing day.

Sunday: (12/26) More occasional rain. Leftover salami hash with scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. The usual lunch from Lucky Bistro Chinese fast food. But, it wasn’t too fast today. I had to wait 20 minutes for them to prepare our desired chow fun noodles. I was busy studying van building by watching youtube videos. So much to decide on and learn.

Monday: (12/27) Heavy rain day. Granola for breakfast. Ernie’s trailer roof sprung a leak so I installed a tarp over the roof and tied it down. I went up to Kaiser in Redwood City to get my Covid booster shot today. On the way home I picked up a veggie burrito at Tacos El Grullense, and shopped at Grocery Outlet and Smart And Final. Back home I relaxed the rest of the day while we had a few showers. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.

Tuesday: (12/28) Occasional showers. Leftover salami hash with scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast, again. About 1130 we headed off toward Redwood City. We dropped Dawn off at Best Buy in San Carlos, then Lou and I headed back toward Kaiser. We were early so we looked around the Grocery Outlet market for a while. We returned to the Kaiser Clinic for Lou to get her Covid Booster shot. I relaxed in the waiting room and climbed the stairs for a stretch. After she was finished, we picked up Dawn and drove up to San Mateo to Jack’s for lunch. Then we came back to a thrift store in San Carlos and another in Redwood City before heading back toward home. Another diversion to drive by some Christmas decorated homes then home. Lou had started some pea soup before we left. That was dinner with toast. I smelled a burning plastic smell and found the connectors for our heater had melted. Something to do tomorrow with less rain.

Wednesday: (12/29) Granola for breakfast. I cooked up three big steaks and we had some of it for lunch with baked potatoes and broccoli. We only ate less than half of a big thick steak amongst the three of us and I had also cooked two thinner steaks. So a leftover dinner and another breakfast as leftovers. I prepared a new hike route and posted a hike for the San Jose Mid-week Hikers for this Friday. It’s a big 12 mile loop through five Open Space Preserves. I also replaced the two connectors for the heater that had melted. Leftovers for dinner.

Thursday: (12/30) Clear day. I prepared steak and fried eggs with toast for breakfast. Lunch from Panda Express. Leftover pea soup for dinner. A little grocery shopping. A false start to San Jose to Dawn’s pharmacy. A lot of relaxing at home.

Friday: (12/31) Up 0630. Prepared to go for a hike. I got breakfast from Happy Donut, a sausage egg and cheese English muffin. I led a hike at 0930 at Skyline OSP that traversed four other OSPs (Skyline, Russian Ridge, Coal Creek, Monte Bello, and Los Trancos.) It was a 12 mile hike with about a 2000’ climb. A wonderful day for the hike to end the new year. The mud was reasonable with the worst stretch on Meadow Trail. The views were excellent. We enjoyed a nice, but cold lunch at the Backpackers Camp. Fortunately, It was only cold for lunch and up on top of the mountain. I'll need to tip the weatherman more next time. I forgot to start my tracker but we finished on time so the estimate was likely close. Back home, after a nice shower, I had a hummus, salami, cheese , and red pepper sandwich for a late lunch at about 1600. Some ramen noodles and steak for dinner.

Russian Ridge, Mindego Hill Hike

Thursday: (10/28) Up early. I prepared one of my ham, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches for breakfast. I headed off to Russian Ridge OSP for a hike. I only had two other hikers on the list to join me but one mixed up the date so only two of us hiked. We hiked out to Council Circle and Mindego Hill. There was an option to do a short hike and a long hike. My fellow hiker opted for the short and I did the longer, only 8 miles for me, 5.6 for him. I was through by 1300 and headed home. After a shower, I headed off to return my white hiking shoes. They were not described as white nor described as white. I went to our local REI to return my online ordered shoes but found their store closed and relocated from Mountain View to Sunnyvale. They took them back, no problem, and I picked up some electrolyte tablets for my hikes. I also picked up lunch at the China Wok restaurant. I nibbled it and saved most of it for this weekend. I also got some chicken at Safeway and a super burrito for Super Taqueria on my way home. I’ll be off this weekend, by myself to Dave’s Ranch. Dawn does feel well and Lou will be staying home with her. Lou made un-breaded chili rellenos with rice for dinner. I managed to toss my plate. I saved the chilis, 5 second rule, but the rice went everywhere. I spent over an hour cleaning it up.

Friday: (10/29) Lou made an omelet for breakfast. I check the construction project down the street. They are finishing the third floor framing and grading to pour the basement ramp. I made the final preparations to leave with the RV today. Lou was visiting Costco. I departed just before noon heading across the Dumbarton Bridge and through Pleasanton then up Mines Road to the ranch. It was an eventful drive. The pantry door flew open a couple of times. Even without going to fast on the second time it emptied the pantry contents onto the floor and broke a bottle of vinegar and spilled brown sugar around. A proper mess. I put things back in place and cleaned up a little then tied the door shut. At the ranch, I washed off the carpet sections and mopped the floor. All became well, again, at least until the drive home. Evidently the road is worse and the RV not having the extra weight of the toad changed the drive. I had picked up Chinese food in Fremont on my way for a bit of lunch and it also served as my dinner. Nice campfire in the evening.

Saturday: (10/30) I took a morning walk out the road alongside the runway. I noticed a motorhome parked by the road before the second gate into the ranch. I guessed it might be someone looking for us so I walked out and found Silvia and Peter outside the gate. They were having breakfast. I gave them directions and continued my walk around the ranch stopping by the Homesteaders Cabin. I prepared corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. Later in the morning Dave gave his history tour of the ranch including a stop at the cabin. Tessa and Allen arrived while we were on the tour. I met other visiting friends of Dave and Collier. Frank and Darlene, motorcycle friends. Marilyn and Tim, and Ilene and Frank, Collier’s friends. Judy and Gerard (SJMWH) were here when I arrived. Gerard let us see Jupiter, Saturn and Venus with his telescope. We enjoyed a nice campfire in the evening and had a nice pot like dinner. Nice sausage and tri-tip samples and potato salads and all sorts of delicious things. We were at the campfire until 10 PM. My lunch burrito was still working at dinnertime so I moderated my sampling dinner.

Sunday: (10/31) I woke at 7 o'clock and got out fairly early in the morning fog and hiked up the ridge trail and observed the mountain top islands in the fog. It was a nice walk. Unfortunately most of the ridge area is burnt but it was still a beautiful walk and I made it back about 9 o'clock and enjoyed my leftover corned beef hash breakfast while I waited for the hot water to heat up and then took a nice shower. Sunday morning is time to pack to leave. I secured the RV to roll and helped pack up Collier, who hurt his back yesterday, and tidy the ranch house. I departed about 12 o'clock and drove down the road. I discovered a good way to keep my doors from popping open was to tie them shut so I got some cord out and tied those shut before I departed. I was able to keep my belt that way. I took no freeway's home just the back roads all the way but I didn't find a convenient place to stop for lunch until Mountain View. I pulled over and ate my chicken tenders and a slice of Apple pie for my lunch. Back home around 2:30. I walked down and checked the building construction. They got by without me and did pretty good. I enjoyed the remainder of the car beef hash for dinner. I posted photos online on both Meetup and Facebook for my visit at the ranch.

Monday: (11/01) Granola and banana for breakfast. I checked the construction first thing until it started to rain. Dawn’s dragon fruit plant in the front yard was vandalized. Someone cut off the top, likely for a start for themselves. We all went to lunch and a walk at IKEA. Good rainy day thing. Tomato soup with toast for dinner.

Tuesday: (11/02) Dawn’s tomato pie for breakfast. I worked in my shop cleaning and putting things away. I also made some shelf pieces for Lou’s trash sorter stand for the RV. Lou and Dawn were out to an appointment and shopping in the morning. Ham and cheese for lunch. Lou needed a driver in the afternoon to take her and Dawn to an appointment and shopping. Pork with sauerkraut potatoes for dinner.

Wednesday: (11/03) I made a ham egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I did a little project inspection down the street to start. I attended my usual Wednesday webinar. My major project today was removing the leaves and debris from behind the cottage. That filled our two dumpsters. We all went to the Corner Bakery Cafe for lunch. Lou made spare ribs in a veggie stew over rice for dinner.

Thursday: (11/04) Granola for breakfast. Lou and Dawn were off to the dentist. They did some grocery shopping on the way home. Then I made a run to Lowe’s in the morning to get the roofing panels for Ernie’s patio cover. On the way home, I picked up lunch at Lucky Chinese Bistro. I got an extra hot and sour soup. I've been feeling a cold come on and the soup is the best preventative. Leftover Chinese for dinner.

Friday: (11/05) Granola and banana or breakfast. Lou and Dawn were off to get the windshield replaced in the Jeep. They checked out the nearby thrift store, library and a yard sale while they waited. Conveniently, El Gruellense was also nearby. Lou picked up lunch from El Grullense in Redwood City. In the afternoon I made a run to the City Hazardous Waste Disposal site to get rid of our bucket of stuff. Dawn made a vegetable stew with a couple of zucchini squash we picked from the arbor. It was served over rice. Pretty good. Not the usual squash-like texture, more like potatoes.

Saturday: (11/06) Lou made eggs and bacon with sauerkraut potatoes for breakfast. Salads from our nearby Corner Bakery Cafe for lunch. Shepherd’s Pie for dinner. I world in the shop cleaning up, salvaging, and putting things away.

Sunday: (11/07) Cranberry pear pie for breakfast. I spent the day tinkering with and learning how to tinker with our washer. It doesn't spin dry but is working well otherwise. I finally found some information on our 30 year old washer. I also finally found a good YouTube video on our specific model to repair not spinning. I now suspect the clutch is bad. I ordered a parts kit for it to arrive Tuesday. It was worth taking it apart just to clean out the leaves and spider webs. For sitting outside for much of its life it still looks good. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Pork with sauerkraut and potatoes for dinner.

Monday: (11/08) Lou made eggs and bacon with sauerkraut potatoes for breakfast again. I supervised the construction project down the street much of the morning. After lunch, I decided to head out for a hike. A nice afternoon hike up from the Rhus Ridge Trailhead to the top of Black Mountain. Rain and winds were forecast but, fortunately, were not a problem. Just a few sprinkles as I finished the hike. Starting at 1245 I returned after dark, about 1720. Back home, I enjoyed a shower. It was my turn to cook so I went to Lucky Chinese Bistro and picked up our dinner.

Tuesday: (11/09) Some rain last night and drizzle this morning. Granola and banana for breakfast. I made a run to the Grocery Outlet for a few things before making lunch. I made spaghetti for lunch. Leftover Chinese food for dinner. My washer parts arrived about 1930, too late to do anything today.

Wednesday: (11/10) I made a breakfast sandwich for myself. Lou and Dawn were off early to Costco. I met my fellow SJMWH hikers at Skyline Preserve for nice hike led by Tara. It was a 9.3 mile loop hike through Monte Bello, Long Ridge and Skyline Preserves. The highlight of the hike was a Ladybug filled meadow with thousands of ladybugs which paper there each year. On the way home I did some shopping at Walmart Neighborhood Market and Smart and Final market before picking up lunch at the China Wok which has wonderful coconut shrimp. Back home, I got to work installing the new clutch band in the washer and reassembling it. It works great now. Then it was shower time. Today, they poured the concrete in the basement ramp of the building down the street. It is truly magic that I can cause the major events to finally happen by simply scheduling one of my hikes. Dinner as leftover Chinese food.

Thursday: (11/11) Granola for breakfast. I went out to the container store to get a replacement plastic bin for our pantry. With all that carnage going to Dave’s Ranch, luckily only one needed replacement. I also went to the locksmith to get a compartment key for the RV. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. When I recovered later in the afternoon, I swapped out the tool drawer chest in my shop for the replacement Lou found. I also plucked some of the growth in the cracks on the patio and blew the debris from the new garden and the succulent garden. Later I programmed the two new cameras I received today, one for the doorbell and another that uses AI to classify objects which may help false notifications on the front yard. Leftovers for dinner.

Friday: (11/12) Granola for breakfast. Leftover spaghetti for lunch. Lou and Dawn were out doing errands and had a late lunch at Dave’s BBQ. I had a super nacho for dinner. I raked and blew out the leaf debris from the swing garden. I also installed a new doorbell camera and another camera with a front yard view.

Saturday: (11/13) I made fried eggs with vegetable Italian sausage and sauerkraut potatoes. No lunch. Dinner from Lucky Chinese Bistro. We were all busy packing and preparing to leave in the RV. I did the pleasurable tank duty. I also made a run to REI for some underwear.

Sunday: (11/14) We had breakfast at the Longhouse Restaurant in Gilroy. It was so crowded, we got it to go. Cowboy pork chops with eggs and potatoes for all. We had the leftovers for dinner after settling in at our campsite then relaxed.

Monday: (11/15) I cooked breakfast sandwiches for all and prepared for the hike. I met my fellow hikers at the Visitor Center and we carpooled to the Manzanita parking area. Me and 16 fellow hikers headed out through the Balconies Caves then up Juniper trail. I managed to locate the Juniper cave on the way up. We took the Tunnel Trail up to the High Peaks Trail, then through the rocks. We had lunch on top. Then we headed down to the Rim Trail and a photo session at the reservoir. Then down through Bear Gulch Cave. I brought my knee pads for this cave. Much nicer. Finally on down Bear Gulch Trail to our cars. Lou made stuffed peppers over rice for dinner. Yum!

Tuesday: (11/16) Lou cooked some bacon and I made our breakfast sandwiches with it. I met my fellow hikers at 0900. Only 6 of 11 signed up had arrived, all mentioned long traffic delays in Hollister so we waited for the late comers. No shows. We headed off at 0930. I really preferred if we hiked the opposite direction than the posted direction for this hike so we could go the opposite direction through the High Peaks rocks. The hikers agreed so off we went. Nice day for the hike and we saw two condors. Ham and cheese sandwich on the trail for lunch at the High Peaks Cafe, a flat area up in the rocks. Just past the rocks we met two of the missing hikers who had misread the meeting location. We finished our hike about 1330. Lou made chicken with peas and mashed potatoes for dinner.

Wednesday: (11/17) I cooked a breakfast sandwich. I met my fellow 11 fellow hikers at 0830 for our 0900 hike of the North Wilderness Trail. Another passage through the Balconies Caves then on round the North Wilderness Trail. We finished up by 1430. Lou and Dawn returned about 1745 and brought dinner from Super Taqueria in Hollister where they had been shopping all day.

Thursday: (11/18) Lou made bacon, eggs, and hash browns for breakfast. No lunch. Tomato soup and toast for dinner. Dawn recorded her Telebration story for this Saturday and uploaded it to YouTube. I made a run to the dump to get rid of our gray water then filled the water tank. Ready for our next showers. Otherwise a relaxing day.

Friday: (11/19) I made my usual ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich to start. At 0800, I headed over to the store to meet my fellow hikers. 12 hikers joined me on the South Wilderness Pig Fence Hike. It is a strenuous hike both because of the 13+ mile distance and mostly because of a two mile 45 degree descent on a non-existent trail. We had good weather and a good group and made it down the hill early and back to our cars just as it was getting dark. Fastest and largest group I’ve led on this hike. We enjoyed our lunch on top of North Chalone peak at the old fire lookout tower. I ate too much lunch what with my unusually full sized ham and cheese sandwich as well as lots of shared goodies from the hikers. Lou and Dawn had eaten a late lunch so she gave me some steak and baked potato with sliced peppers.

Saturday: (11/20) I took a walk around the campground looking at turkeys, deer, and campers. It was foggy. Lou made waffles with sausage for breakfast. We prepared to roll and left the campground about 0930. We stopped in Hollister for a look around the hardware store and to get some Thrifty ice cream. Back home around noon. We got re-established in the driveway. I dumped the tanks. Lou and Dawn headed off to Redwood City to get our dinner from Harry’s Hofbrau. At 4pm we attended the Telebration that included Dawn’s video story.

Sunday: (11/21) I had granola and a banana for breakfast. We had lunch from our local Corner Bakery cafe. Lou was busy doing the laundry all day. I did a little settling into the Man Cave (RV). Otherwise I relaxed all day. Dawn's sweet potato beef stew over curry rice for dinner.

Monday: (11/22) I made breakfast egg, ham and cheese sandwiches. Later in the morning, I made a run to Smart and Final Market for some things. I picked up lunch from the China Wok restaurant on Mary Ave in Sunnyvale. I had to spend some time inspecting the construction of the building that occurred while I was gone. Leftover hot and sour soup with toast for dinner.

Tuesday: (11/23) Lou’s birthday. Leftover Chinese food for breakfast. Lunch at Bajis Cafe. More leftovers for dinner. Leftover nachos and Chinese noodles. I pulled weeds from the garden spot getting the three gardens in the backyard done.

Wednesday: (11/24) Up at 0530, fixed a couple of ham and cheese rolls for breakfast. I wiped the windshield and windows on the car in preparation to drive Ernie to his doctor appointment this morning at 0630. I dropped Ernie off at the VA hospital and returned home. I moved some plants into the greenhouse because I found ice on the windshield this morning. At 0930 I returned to the hospital but did get Ernie back until noon. Back home, Lou Dawn and I headed off to lunch at the Lucky Chinese Bistro, then it was time for a nap. Lou and Dawn headed off about 1600 to get Lou’s replacement hearing aids and for Dawn to see a doctor. Leftover Chinese for dinner.

Thursday: (11/25) Granola and banana for breakfast. About 1400 was Thanksgiving diner time. We had roast chicken with mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, fruit salad, fresh cranberry orange sauce, and deviled eggs. There was supposed to be green peas as well, but they missed the boat. I tinkered al the rest of the day resetting my computer and reinstalling some needed programs. I also setup Google Drive on my laptop and desktop. My laptop kept freezing and using too much power. The reset seems to have corrected it.

Friday: (11/26) Granola and banana for breakfast. I charged a couple of camera batteries that don’t have solar or wall warts. I also pulled weeds from the artichoke garden and front beds. A chicken and cheese sandwich for lunch with a cranberry pie chaser. Lou made a Thai dish with rice, chicken, and pineapple for dinner.

Saturday: (11/27) I made a breakfast ham, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I decided to get out of the house today. I took a drive to look at used car lots for used vans. Not greet pickings. I found a few and confirmed most are asking new van prices for used up vehicles. I explored along San Carlos Street to San Jose. Along the way, I stopped at the Walmart store for a couple of things. I also stopped by the San Jose house and dropped off a few things that have been riding around in the car for too long. I picked up lunch of a breakfast burrito at La Victoria Taqueria. I then drove South on Monterey Highway all the way to Gilroy. In Gilroy I stopped at the Best Buy and, while I was only looking, I ended up with a new ChromeBook laptop. It was only $149. I’ve been thinking it might be nice to have a laptop that isn’t ruined by Windows, susceptible to viruses, and could just get quick access to the internet and the browser. Back home we had Dawn’s stew for dinner. In the evening I setup the new Chromebook. Couldn’t be simpler.

Sunday: (11/28) I made corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. After the Sunday morning TV shows and some tea in the front yard, I got to work on Ernie’s projects. I needed to replace his kitchen sink drain tailstocks. To do that I had to go to ACE hardware to get a tool that allows you to unscrew the drains. The new ones went in easily and all went well. Next project was removing and replacing his bathroom sink. He bought a porcelain sink to replace the damaged plastic one that came with the trailer. The old one came out without too much trouble but, before the new one can be installed the counter top needs to be capped. The old sink was a different shape and a bit larger than the new sink. I located a piece of used plastic counter top and spent some time cleaning the old adhesive off of it. I still need to use some goo gone to remove the sticky and clean the top surface but it is otherwise ready to install.

Monday: (11/29) Granola with a banana for breakfast. The contractors were back to work today. The concrete contractor was busy doing all sorts of little pours like curbs and one narrow wall. Busy until 1400. I had a late lunch of ham and cheese with a slice of pie a la mode. I was much in need of a nap after a busy morning inspecting. About 1600, I headed outside and brought my table saw out, after moving all the other stuff in front of it in my shop. I cut the Corian plastic sheet that will be used to cap the sink counter. Lou and Dawn had been out running errands most of the day. We had chili for dinner.

Tuesday: (11/30) Leftover corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. More inspection of the project down the street. This morning was an early delivery of the wall panels for the fourth floor and the beginning of some masonry work. I made a quick shopping run for some caulk. While going through the return items in the car, I found the other item I needed, construction adhesive. I also stopped by Smart and Final Market for a couple of things. Back home I sanded the new counter surface and glued it down onto Ernie’s bathroom counter. Lou made a pineapple chicken and rice dinner.

Golden Gate Park Arboretum

Wednesday: (10/06) I was off to San Francisco early to Golden Gate Park for a walk. I parked on the West Side of the park a mile or so away from the Arboretum. I made it to the Arboretum at 0850 so I could enter for free. I checked many of the trails and when my stomach started to growl, I left to go get breakfast about 1030. I wanted something interesting and cheap and happened upon the Peasant Pie Shop. I got a sausage, egg and cheese pie which was excellent. I then continued my walk around the park. On my walk I explored Stow Lake. Upon my return to the car about 1430, I had hiked 10 miles. I needed to get gas and then I returned to the pie shop for lunch, a nice beef and potato pie. I took the slow way home via Junipero Serra and El Camino Real. We picked up dinner from my usual Lucky Chinese Bistro.

Thursday: (10/07) Granola and a banana for breakfast. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. Dinner at Appleby’s. Other than a little project supervision today, I only drove Dawn to an afternoon appointment in San Jose. Lou was busy with own appointment to pick up her hearing aids. We met for dinner at Appleby's..

Friday: (10/08) Granola and banana for breakfast. After a little watching of the construction down the street we headed off to San Jose. Dawn had a prescription to pick up. It took a while but we finally headed on to our destination, Gilroy. We stopped on the way at camping world to use a credit I had that would expire in a couple of weeks. We then stopped at the Longhorn Restaurant for lunch. Cowboy garlic pork chops with eggs. Outstanding!. Then we dropped Dawn off at the bookstore and Lou and I explored other places. I want a Promaster van, preferably low mileage and cheap. For some reason, that is hard to find, especially in our current times. No luck. Then a couple of stops at thrift stores before heading home. Back home ham, crackers and cheese for dinner.

Saturday: (10/09) Lou made pancakes for breakfast. Mashed potatoes with cheese and diced ham for lunch. Chinese food from Lucky Chinese Bistro for dinner as Ernie’s treat. I tinkered today. I dug out a little more trying to find my leaky pipe. I exposed the two places I thought it might be and neither leaked when I turned on the water. I also replaced the shower nozzle and the kitchen water filter cartridge.

Sunday: (10/10) Leftover Chinese food for breakfast. I turned on the water in the garden again and watched for a leak. Nothing showed up all day. Must have fixed itself? I also started the energy monitor installation. I took a bike ride to Ace Hardware and bought some parts for the energy monitor installation. I finished most of the Energy Monitor installation. Only 8 of 16 probes installed but may not be room for more. Tuna and crackers for lunch while I rode back via the Baylands trails. Stuffed squash for dinner.

Monday: (10/11) Granola and banana for breakfast. I delivered the Hyundai to Say Ray Garage to have the air conditioning fixed. Also an oil change. At home, I tinkered with the power monitor. It really works well. Nice to monitor the wattage consumption of each circuit. Bacon and cheese sandwich for lunch. Macaroni and cheese for dinner.

Tuesday: (10/12) Soft boiled eggs for breakfast. The Wilton Court project was very busy today. Two trucks delivering wall panels and lumber and a concrete pumper truck. They poured concrete footings in the basement ramp area, the steps for the courtyard emergency exit, a ramp connecting the second level parking and the street entrance, and some footings in a mechanical room. I also went to Kaiser to get my flu shot. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Tuna cheese toast for dinner.

Wednesday: (10/13) Granola and banana for breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Soup for dinner from Panera Bread. I gave myself a hair and beard cut this afternoon. I also supervised the construction project down the street.

Thursday: (10/14) Lou made squash with sausage for breakfast. Trail snacks for lunch. Chili for dinner. A little construction inspection to start the day. We all went to Hidden Villa around noon. Lou and Dawn visited the animals and garden. I took a 4 mile hike around the farm. It would have been 6 miles but one of the trails into San Antonio Preserve was closed.

Friday: (10/15) Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Pot roast for dinner. A little construction inspection. I installed a new GFCI device for the outside washer and gray water pump. I had to replace one extension cord and modify the cords so they were just the right length, no excess coils. This completes the separation of Ernie’s trailer loads from the house loads like the washer. No energy monitoring will be better.

Saturday: (10/16) I made it outside about 0840 and walked down to see what was going on with the Wilton Court project. Nothing happening except I noticed one guy opening up the construction yard across the street. Back home, I prepared one of my ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches for my breakfast. Then I got outside and started backfilling the holes I dug to expose the water pipe under the new garden. I had dug it up trying to find a leak that was saturating the garden soil. I never found anything and everything dried out so possibly it was just being way over watered by the drip system. I was interrupted shortly after i got started by Lou who said they was activity down the street. A crew was at Wilton Court loading a truck with some of the form bracing from the second floor pour. After they filled the 40 foot trailer with a huge load of 4x4, they got busy removing the last of the form materials and stacking it up for another load. Since they worked on Saturday, I suspect they will be pouring some more concrete Monday. The ramp walls, the second level courtyard walls, and other concrete and shotcrete are still to be done. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I finished backfilling the garden but need to get some more soil to bring it to the proper level. This may be the first hole I ever dug that didn’t generate more dirt than I could stuff back in the hole. Later, I welded up a bunch of EMT tubing to make a support for Dawn’s Dragon Fruit plant. Later Leftover pot roast for dinner.

Sunday: (10/17) I made corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. A little tinkering in the yard this morning. I set the large pot with the welded support in the front yard and added back the rock and soil and then Dawn and Lou planted the plant. I was busy on the computer much of the day determining our calendar, making reservations for a pinnacle visit next month and setting up hike descriptions for my hiking group for when we are at Pinnacles. About 1400, I went to Lowe’s and bought some garden soil. I stopped at the Wok On Chinese Restaurant in Sunnyvale to get lunch. I finished up the hiking plans. In the evening we had some rain showers. Lou made green three bean salads for dinner.

Monday: (10/18) Leftover corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. Lou’s green salad for lunch. In the late afternoon I worked on Lou’s walking scooter modifications. I got the new front wheels replaced temporarily to check for size. Looks good. Leftover Chinese food for dinner

Tuesday: (10/19) We tried out Lou’s walker scooter for size and to see what I need to modify for it to work for her. The end result is I need to widen the front axle by 2 inches on each side and move the rear wheels back a foot. After checking my project down the street, we all headed off to the Westfield Valley Fair for a look. They finished remodeling and expanding the mall recently so we looked around. We needed to see it before all malls disappear. In the evening I responded to a request to lead a hike on Thursday. The hike leader was unable to do it so I accepted it. Granola and banana for breakfast. Lunch from Panda Express. Chili for dinner.

Wednesday: (10/20) I made a breakfast ham egg and cheese sandwich to start the day. I attended my usual Wednesday webinar about AlphaAnywhere. After some office tinkering, I was off to Ace hardware to get some nuts and bolts for Lou's scooter. I also went to Lowe’s to get tubing for Ernie’s smokers shelter. That took some time determining how best to build it. My original thoughts went away upon seeing the cost of EMT and fence tubing. The cost has increased 2.5 times in the past year. Covid price gouging. I bought the tubing for the revised design. Next, I needed brazing rods and acetylene gas. Since Harbor Freight usually has good prices on many supplies, I stopped by there to see their price. They don’t even stock brazing rods, just TIG rods. After a stop for lunch at Panda Express about 1530, i headed off to welding supply.

Thursday: (10/21) I got my usual hikers breakfast from Happy Donut, a sausage, egg, and cheese English muffin. I headed up the mountain at 0830 to Monte Bello OSP to lead a hike for the San Jose Mid-week Hikers. The original hike leader, Fred, had to bow out so I took over the hike. It was only 5.6 miles through Los Trancos and Monte Bello OSPs. The weather forecast said to expect a 70% chance of rain at 0900 but only 30% thereafter. It proved correct. There was heavy rain starting about 0900 on the last of the drive up and it lasted until about 0925. It was sprinkling as we did the check-in and introductions. But shortly after we started out on the trail, it was perfect hiking but with a little extra mud. The rain settled the dust and brightened the colors of the fall leaves and trees. Of the 19 hikers signed up for the hike, only 7 of us started out and an 8th caught up with us later. A half dozen decided not to continue due to the rain but did arrive, the rest just didn't show up. I decided to be lenient because of the rain but normally not canceling or contacting the leader would earn a no-show and other hike leaders put hikers like that lower on the list. We finished about 1200 and I headed down the mountain.

After a shower, I picked up a super veggie burrito from Tacos El Grullense. I ate half for lunch and later, the other half for dinner.

Friday: (10/22) We had heavy rain earlier this morning and until about 0830. Lou even saw our sump pump discharge to the street. Granola and a banana for breakfast. About 1030 I headed off to Welder’s Heaven in Santa Clara to get a full acetylene tank. My local supplier didn't have any small tanks. My how the Covid shortage has affected prices. The cost for the gas was probably about 4x what my last tank was. The shortage is why my local supplier had none. I stopped by a Walmart Neighborhood market for a couple of things then picked up lunch at Lucky Chinese Bistro. Back home I put things away but then relaxed the rest of the day. I received my new trail runner shoes from REI so I put them on for a test walk. Perfect. Lou made split pea soup with toast for dinner.

Saturday: (10/23) I made ham and eggs with pan toast for breakfast. Later, I made a run to Harbor Freight for a few things. I needed more gloves for my fellow hikers on the Pinnacles Pig Fence Hike, knee pads for the caves, and, of course, a few other tools. Otherwise a relaxing day. I had leftover Chinese food for lunch. Ham and cheese sandwich for dinner.

Sunday: (10/24) I made ham and eggs with some home fried potatoes for breakfast. Another good rainy day. With our long lasting drought, it’s nice to have gotten 1 inch of rain in the past week or so. Lou made chili beans and cornbread for dinner.

Monday: (10/25) Granola and a banana for breakfast. Lunch from a new place, the China Wok on Mary Ave in Sunnyvale. Not the most inspiring chow mein but they have coconut shrimp, one of my favorites. I watched the chaos at the construction project down the street. Our weekend rains amounted to over 3 inches with super high gusty winds. The construction site was saturated and the security fence blown away, However, the project must go on and it was as if nothing was different. Delivery trucks arrived, Erection of the third floor wall panel began, even the concrete contractor was setting up for some shotcrete. It was all slowed a bit with a transit bus broke down blocking access to their storage yard, trapping the forklift when it was needed for all those deliveries. They continued as if nothing had happened. I headed off to the San Jose house to see how it had weathered the storm. No problems, the pumps worked. Salton gave me a succulent plant start that I had been admiring as well as some pomegranates. I stopped at Walmart and Nob Hill Markets on the way home for a few things. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.
 
Tuesday: (10/26) No rain. The project down the street looks like it will be busy with welders doing the stairways, shotcrete being sprayed and poured, and framing the third floor. Too bad I’ll be gone this morning. I picked up my hiker's breakfast at Happy Donut. I headed off at 0840 and picked up a passenger at the Page Mill P&R on the way up to Monte bello OSP. I had 17 hikers join me on today’s hike up to the top of Black Mountain. It was a fairly quick hike finishing about 1230. Hack home I picked up a super nachos at Tacos El Grullense for lunch. Then a nice shower. Later, I went to Lowe’s to get some chicken wire for an anti-slip surface for Ernie’s ramp. Leftover chili for dinner.

Wednesday: (10/27) Granola and banana for breakfast. I, of course, spent some time watching the construction down the street. They did get the upper courtyard wells poured (Sprayed) so they were removing the forms today. Also cleaning up the ramp area so they can backfill it to be ready to pour the ramp. I also attended my Wednesday webinar. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. In the afternoon, I installed the chicken wire anti slip protection on Ernie’s ramp. Seems like it might work well and better than the sandpaper like strips often used. Leftover BBQ ribs with baked potatoes and a carrot raisin salad for dinner.

Baby Sitting

Tuesday: (09/28) Up at 0530 to drive Ernie to the VA Hospital for an appointment. I returned home and had a PBJ English muffin for breakfast. I checked the work on the Wilton Court project down the street. They were busy installing wall framing panels. They installed most of the panels that were delivered the other day. Lou and Dawn were off to an appointment. I returned to the VA hospital about the time Ernie could have been finished. I waited in the car outside for a while and I picked a chicken wrap up from their canteen for lunch. I picked Ernie up about 1215. Lou made a tortilla chip casserole for dinner.

Wednesday: (09/29) Leftover corn chip casserole for breakfast. I’m hanging around with Ernie while he recovers. Chicken and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Chicken soup for dinner.

Thursday: (09/30) I made Ernie and I ham egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches. Lunch was a super veggie burrito from Tacos El Grullense. Leftovers for dinner. More “supervision” of the Wilton Court project down the street. More framing and some drainage work today.

Friday: (10/01) Lou made bacon and eggs with tator tots for breakfast. Lou made chicken salad for lunch. Dawn made Brussels sprout with leftovers for dinner. I did a little work outside today. I removed the drip water piping that I reinstalled the other day and moved all the bricks I replaced then as well. I decided that changing the garden sections to EW rather than NS and installing valves for each section will allow better water management. The lower part of the garden floods while the upper section is dry. Now, if needed I can separate or turn off sections individually.

Saturday: (10/02) Leftover corn chip casserole for breakfast. I picked up lunch from Harry’s Hofbrau, lasagna for me and Ernie, prime rib for Lou and Dawn. Leftover lasagna for dinner. I tinkered a little trying to wring the water out of the garden so I can dig some more to try to locate the leak that is somewhere under the geotextile fabric under the garden. Lou had to move a few of her plants so I can dig some more.

Sunday: (10/03) Lou made corned beef hash and eggs for a late breakfast. Tomato soup with pan fried toast for lunch. I tinkered in my garden. I dug another test hole near the far end so I can see which end is leaking. I occasionally vacuumed out the water in the holes because I want dry holes to be able to see which hole gets water first. Leftover clam chowder and stew for dinner.

Monday: (10/04) Leftover hash and eggs for breakfast. I headed out for a shopping run today. I took my electric chainsaw back to Harbor Freight to swap it for a new one. The old one was recalled. I then stopped by Walmart Neighborhood market and Smart And Final Market for some things on the way home. After stowing those things away I headed over to a nearby garage and scheduled a visit to get the AC looked at on the Hyundai. And a final stop at Palo alto Hardware to get a couple of metric bolts to use as extended legs for the new freezer. That floor is really unlevel. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Roast chicken with ramen noodles and green beans for dinner.

Tuesday: (10/05) Soft boiled eggs for breakfast. Ham and cheese with crackers for lunch. I took Ernie out shopping for groceries today. After a nap I installed the replacement battery in my laptop. This is the second, the first replacement didn’t last too long. I had to buy a tool kit that included the Torq 5 bit to get into the laptop case. Well, of course, I misplaced the kit. After looking around for it for a couple of weeks I bit the bullet and bought another toolkit. They are only $17. Now I can have the other kit suddenly appear, as usual. Chicken pot pie stew for dinner. And, to top off my day I did tank duty on the RV filling the water and draining the black and gray water tanks. Then, time for a shower, for a good reason.

Rototilling The Garden

Tuesday: (09/21) PBJ toast for breakfast. Lou and Dawn were off to an appointment early. I was busy much of the day watching the concrete pour for Wilton Ct Housing for the second level floor. Roast chicken with a Waldorf Asian pear salad for lunch. In the late afternoon I went to Lowe’s for some steer manure and garden soil to add to Dawn’s garden as I till it. I also stopped by Grocery outlet and Lucky Market for a few things. BBQ ribs with baked potato for dinner.

Wednesday: (09/22) Granola and a banana for breakfast. The framing crew started today on the Wilton Court project. I prepared the second half of the garden #2 for tilling but need to wait for Lou to remove her broccoli plants first. Lunch of chopped salads from our nearby Corner Bakery Restaurant. Spaghetti with mizithra cheese for dinner.

Thursday: (09/23) I made a ham, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. I rototilled the rest of the garden spot #2 then mixed in more garden soil and some steer manure. Grilled cheese sandwiches with sweet peppers for lunch. Chinese food for dinner from Chinese Bistro.

Friday: (09/24) Lou made an omelet for breakfast. A little tinkering on odd jobs around the house in the morning. Lou and Dawn took a scooter ride in the afternoon. I took a bike ride later. I had leftover Chinese for lunch. For dinner, I served refried beans and rice with sausage.

Saturday: (09/25) Granola and banana for breakfast. Fried fish with baked zucchini and rice for lunch. Waffles and BBQ ribs for dinner. A relaxing day at home.

Sunday: (09/26) Lou made latkes with bacon for breakfast. A little greenhouse organization this morning. Used pots were emptied into the stock potting soil barrel and pots put away. That cleared lots of room on the patio. I also moved an umbrella to the front yard table. I took a couple of bead spreads to the laundromat to wash them. In the evening I trimmed my beard. I could do my hair because my house trimmer had a dead battery and the RV trimmer hasn’t been used in 2 years so I couldn’t be sure of how long the battery would work. It did a nice job on the beard.

Three bean salads for lunch. Beef stew for dinner.

Monday: (09/27) Breakfast at A Good Morning restaurant. Chilli for lunch. The Wilton Court project had some framing modules delivered and placed up on the second floor deck. Now the fun begins, also now we won’t be able to see much. Clam chowder for dinner.

Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park Hike

Monday: (09/20) Granola with a diced Asian pear for breakfast. I did tank duty on the RV this morning. I cleared half of Dawn’s garden spot where she removed her corn and rototilled it. It was too muddy to do too much with today. I’ll be adding steer manure and more garden soil before they plant more winter garden. Lunch from a Chinese restaurant in Union City. I enjoyed eating it along the side of Highway 84 in Niles Canyon. I explored some of the roads around Sunol then stopped at the Foothill Staging Area of Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. I hiked up the mountain and around some of the upper trails for about a 4.5 mile hike. It was in the 90’s today but there was a nice breeze. I didn’t feel great so I didn't attempt to hike more trail than I was sure I could handle. I started the hike a little after noon. Back home I relaxed the rest of the afternoon after a nice shower. Lou made chili fries for dinner.

Tinker here, Tinker There

Saturday: (09/18) Lou made eggs with steak for breakfast. I helped Dawn with her computer installing a couple of programs. I also tinkered on my computer. Baked beans and sausage for lunch. We all went to Lowe’s after lunch. Lou bought some freezer baskets for the new freezer. Lou and Dawn picked up dinner at Harry’s, the usual prime rib and lasagna.

Sunday: (09/19) A little gardening. Dawn removed some plants from her garden. They also started to set up a pot for her dragon fruit plant. Granola with diced Asian pear for breakfast. Leftover lasagna for lunch. Shepherd’s pie for dinner.

Golden Gate Park Arboretum Walk

Friday: (09/17) Up early and off to San Francisco this morning. I needed a walk and haven't been able to plan ahead and an opportunity was available this morning so off I went. I decided to start my walk in Golden Gate Park partly because there is free parking there and partly because of a photo that Judy Zhu posted. She took a walk in GG Park recently and included a photo of an entrance sign to the arboretum that showed that there was free entry before 0900. I have Scottish heritage and it often shows. Free parking and entrance to my favorite arboretum. I used to walk the gardens often until they limited free entry to residents a few years ago. Now that I know how to enter for free, I'll probably return more often. The gardens were beautiful and there was a special bonus today. I noticed there were maybe a dozen baby grand pianos scattered around the gardens. It turned out that today and until the 21st most of the pianos are being used during much of the day. I noticed my first in use sometime around 1000. then saw maybe half a dozen in use. Various types of music. One was even being played by a 3-4 year old and, frankly, was a pretty good version of jazz, though likely just luck. I walked 4.3 miles around most of the trails and paths in the gardens and had to leave for breakfast/lunch about 1130. An after lunch siesta and I was off for another walk in the West end of the park. A total of around an 8 mile walk and never had to leave the park, except for lunch from the Rain Tree Cafe on Irving Street. Nice day!

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2c42L3eZiUN5FWpm8

Video:https://youtu.be/01lY2qA1zNk

Lou made steak with baked potatoes and zucchini for dinner.

Another Scooter For Lou

Wednesday: (09/08) Leftover corned beef hash for breakfast Yogurt with bologna and cheese slices for lunch. A nice green salad with pears and peppers for dinner. I attended my usual Wednesday webinar and worked on the computer the rest of the day.

Thursday: (09/09) Granola and yogurt for breakfast. Some dim sum from Dim Sum King (DSK) for lunch. I had an appointment at Kaiser for a CT-Scan at noon. On my return I took Dawn to the Sunnyvale dump for her appointment to return bottles and cans for CRV refund. We’ve built up quite a stock pile since they closed all the rebate centers. They only take so much and the car only holds so much so we have another appointment to return more tomorrow. Ramen and ham for dinner.

Friday: (09/10) Lou was busy planting some new plants in the garden by the swing. I did some repotting and other garden work. Waffles with sausage for breakfast. I had yogurt with bologna and cheese for lunch. Dawn made some cracked rice chicken for dinner.

Saturday: (09/11) Lou and Dawn were off early to a sale at Stanford and to the Palo Alto High School Flea market. I checked the construction site for Wilton Ct and picked up a breakfast burrito from Tacos El Grullense for breakfast. Lou left Dawn at the flea market and came home for a break. Dawn found a Tzoro scooter like Lou has. We went to look at it and bought it for $700 with two extra batteries. I also bought a nice angel wing begonia plant. I did a little work in the backyard but, otherwise relaxed. Lou and Dawn had sandwiches and I had yogurt with bologna and cheese for lunch. In the evening I dashed off to Grocery Outlet in Sunnyvale and picked up some replacement color plants for the front planters. My 3-4 year old begonias died, or mostly died and needed replacement. I also tried to get my chai latte drink there but they didn’t have any. Neither did two other markets that I stopped at on the way home. Leftover chicken rice for dinner.

Sunday: (09/12) I made breakfast sandwiches for breakfast. I took a bike ride over to Sanford Arizona Garden and a look around campus. I was on the final leg home when Lou called. She said Cecelia had a flat and was having trouble getting a service to come out to fix it for multiple reasons. Back home, I collected my air compressor, impact wrench and sockets as well as a floor jack. She said she had a spare. I grabbed a quick lunch and headed off. I got to Lowe’s San Jose about 1230. Yep, a flat tire, but only on the bottom. My impact sockets were not metric and this was a Datsun pickup. Fortunately she had a nice t-bar lug wrench. I dropped the spare and it was flat as well but it did hold air, just empty after years of sitting around. I aired up the tire after installing it. I then followed her home in San Jose. I stopped by the San Jose house and dropped off the new smoke detector but didn’t activate it. It’s for Dawn’s apartment and I’ll enable it when I can be around for any infant failure. The previous 10 year alarm only lasted a couple of years. I also checked the new power drop to our house. It had to be relocated due to the construction of a two story apartment over the neighbors new garage. I checked the basement piping as well. No leaks and everything seems to have dried out. On the way I was trying to find my chai Latte drink without luck when Lou called and said the new scooter had died at the produce market. She left Dawn there and started home herself but only made it a few blocks before her battery went dead. I finally made it home and swapped to the Jeep after checking for a new battery. None there. It turns out Ernie delivered a battery to Lou as I picked up Dawn and her scooter. My suspicion is that they just had dead batteries. They left home without fully charged batteries, even though they each had extra batteries and they are all lithium. Dawn’s scooter motor just stopped dead, then would go a bit and stop dead. That may be normal operation for a dead lithium. Lou thinks the motor overheated. I’ll have to check them out after charging all the batteries. It was a pretty long run over to Stanford but they should be able to make an 8 mile trip on a good battery. With two, no reason for any problem.

A quick bologna and cheese sandwich for lunch. I picked up dinner from Los Altos Taqueria, super nachos for Lou and Dawn, chili relleno for me.

Monday: (09/13) Granola and banana for breakfast after morning tea in the backyard. I inspected my construction project down the street. Busy with a crane placing rebar on the second floor deck and a concrete pumper place a small amount of concrete. Unfortunately for them, their form on a 20 high by 2 foot wide wall failed so they had to remove the form and concrete. I had crackers and cheese for lunch. Lou made macaroni and cheese for dinner.

Tuesday: (09/14) Granola and banana with yogurt for breakfast. I had a Kaiser appointment this morning. More kidney stones. I picked up lunch at the China Bistro. Lou had dropped me off for my appointment and she and Dawn were out shopping then Dawn had an appointment. When we got home I took a shower and relaxed in the afternoon. Lou made sausage with squash and onions for dinner.

Wednesday: (09/15) I made fried eggs, ham and cheese on toast for breakfast. I also attended my Wednesday webinar as well. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. Dawn made a Mediterranean dish with sauteed onions and tomatoes with eggs, something like poached added as the final touch. The AQI for our air was not good today so there was little outside activity. I spent the afternoon tinkering on the computer. I did make a couple of visits to the construction site during the day.

Thursday: (09/16) Granola and banana with yogurt for breakfast. More observation of the construction down the street. Otherwise relaxed much of the day. I did go out grocery shopping and van looking in the afternoon. No van found. Chili fries for dinner.

Foothills Nature Preserve Hike, New Route

Tuesday: (09/07) Breakfast from Happy Donut. I headed up the hill to Foothills Nature Preserve to lead my hike. 18 fellow hikers joined me on an exploratory 7.4 mile hike. Nice weather and this new route made a good hike. I took a nice shower when I got home and had some yogurt and bologna for lunch. Chili fries for dinner.

Back Home, Watching Wilton Court

Monday: (08/30) I unloaded some items from the car, things we bought on our trip. My best treasures were a 4’ reach pruning nipper. I even tried it out on the wisteria and it works nicely. I also got a 3” trench shovel. I have a 4” shovel but having the 3” saves removing 25% of the dirt for a trench and I have some trench needed for the rear lawn sprinklers. Then I had to go down the street and check out what they accomplished in my absence. Quite a lot. They completed the first floor concrete walls and had most of the deck place to pour the second level floor. Today they were removing the last of the wall forms and pouring the front, ground level floor. I got my breakfast from Tacos El Grullense, some nice steak rancheros. Back home I repotted all the fuchsias we bought on our trip. I also did some trimming and cleanup in the yard. It was a late breakfast so no lunch. I also made a run to the market. Lou and Dawn were out this morning for appointments. Lou made steak soup for dinner.

Tuesday: (08/31) Leftover steak rancheros over a tortilla for breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I spent a lot of time watching the Largo Concrete crew installing the rest of the second floor deck. They got it all in so I expect they will be installing the rebar tomorrow. The floor is 15,000 sf. After lunch I made a couple of trips to the city mulch pile and laid mulch over the top of my newest garden around the artichoke plants. Stuffed squash for dinner.

Wednesday: (09/01) Yogurt with granola for breakfast. Chinese food from China Bistro for lunch and leftovers for dinner. I had a dental appointment in the morning and also had to “supervise” the construction going on down the street.

Thursday: (09/02) Granola and yogurt for breakfast. Tomato, ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Hamburger for dinner. More project “supervision” today. I also dug and installed the last rear lawn sprinkler pipe near the oak tree.

Friday: (09/03) Granola and yogurt for breakfast. I worked in the yard pulling weeds and trimming plants. I also harvested my corn and removed the plants. Tomato, ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I picked all my corn today. All cobs were undersized and most incomplete kernels. We did have enough for dinner tonight as well as a single serving for later. We each had three little cobs. We also had roast chicken and baked potatoes. Lou and Dawn were out for an appointment and did some grocery shopping as well.

Saturday: (09/04) Lou made breakfast burritos for breakfast. I designed a new hike and scheduled it for next Tuesday. I also scheduled a doctor's appointment for Thursday. We developed a water leak in my newest garden plot. I dug out the water line before it went under the new garden and installed a shutoff valve so the rest of the yard can still have water. When it dries out I’ll find and repair the leak. Lou cleared a space in the garage and I moved the new small chest freezer to where our washer used to be located. Lou and Dawn picked up lunch from Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City. I took Lou to Kaiser for a visit in the evening. Leftover lasagna for dinner.

Sunday: (09/05) Granola and yogurt for breakfast. Dawn found a Teeter exercise machine in Clovis, about 180 miles away. Price and value made the trip worthwhile. We arrived about 1245 and loaded it onto the Jeep's hitch rack. After that we got gas at Costco then visited Lou’s niece Rene nearby. Lunch at Togo’s sandwich shop in Fresno. Then we headed off toward home. Home about 1900. Bologna and cheese sandwich for dinner.

Monday: (09/06) Morning tea in the yard. I made corned beef hash and scrambled eggs for breakfast. I tinkered a little in the yard trimming and weeding. It was a warm day so I retired into the RV early. Lou made a Waldorf pear salad for lunch. She used the Asia pears from our tree. Roast chicken with rice and artichokes for dinner.

Eureka For The Humboldt Fair

Sunday: (08/22) We delayed breakfast and prepared to roll. We departed about 0825 heading North toward Eureka via Highway 280. Traffic was light and he headed through San Francisco on 19th Ave to the GG bridge. We stopped in Petaluma at the Friedman Brothers Hardware store. After leftover corned beef hash and cottage cheese for breakfast, we explored the store. Of course we found lots of interesting stuff we’ll need to get as we pass through on our return. We continued on after a stop for gas and lunch from the snack bar at Costco in Ukiah. We pulled into the Redwood Acres Fairgrounds and settled into our site. After a quick walk around the fairgrounds we had leftovers for dinner.

Monday: (08/23) We explored the area today. I walked around including the North end of the waterfront trail. Lou and Dawn were busy exploring the thrift stores. They picked me up for a late lunch just before 1400. We had lunch then returned to the RV. Our visit turned into afternoon naps. In the evening we took a walk with the RV Park manager and visited many of the cats around the stables learning each of their names and particulars like age and habits. We also learned about several of the horses including one that had sleep apnea. It rested it’ head on the stable door, fell asleep and woke with a start when it’s head pressed too hard on the door. We also met a couple of the deer that live around the stables. Lou made scrambled eggs with red peppers and mushrooms for breakfast. We had lunch at the Soup Company restaurant. Leftover chicken artichokes for dinner.

Tuesday: (08/24) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. I took a short exploratory hiker in the Community Forest next to the Fairgrounds RV Park where we’re staying. Looks like a really nice place for a longer hike. The forest goes for miles either way from the Fairgrounds. We headed out after noon and stopped for lunch at the Golden Harvest Cafe. Then we were off to Ferndale to see the Humboldt County Fair. It was, unexpectedly, free admission day. Due to to covid times, there weren’t too many people there. Also not too much to see. Usually this is a great country fair so it was rather disappointing. We finished looking around a little after 1500. We returned to Eureka and looked around one of our favorite hardware stores, Pierson Building Center. They have a great tool shop as well as an excellent nursery. Back home it was leftovers for dinner.

Wednesday: (08/25) Granola and banana for breakfast. Our morning endeavor was to visit the Winco market where we over bought groceries. Back home, we had tamales for lunch. Lou and Dawn then went out thrifting including all the way up to Arcata. They stopped for gas at Costco on their return where they spotted a 2007 short tall Sprinter van for sale. Basically what I’m looking for but I’d actually prefer a lower mileage, not diesel van. Perfect otherwise. Only $8500. I had remained at home relaxing. Leftovers for dinner.

Thursday: (08/26) French toast and sausage for breakfast. I headed off about 1000 for a walk in the McKay Community Forest, also known as the Eureka Community forest. It’s an 18000 acre preserve adjacent to Eureka. There is a trailhead for it next to the Redwood Acres Fairground where we’re staying. I hiked out one side and back the other. Most of the trail is primitive or logging road. There are lots of trails but no trail markings and finding the proper route is a challenge. There is a lot of beautiful forest, quite amazing considering it is surrounded by a lot of residential areas. I could hear nothing except the forest on my hike. There is logging underway in the preserve, not today but as recent as the day before yesterday. My return route passed through several patches that were being logged. I was back about 1330. After a shower and a sandwich for lunch I relaxed the rest of the afternoon. Lou and Dawn were out shopping and thrifting. Tamales for dinner.

Friday: (08/27) I made ham and eggs with pan toast for breakfast. We headed off to Arcata today. While Dawn explored the book stores, Lou and I explored the hardware and Coop market. We all had lunch at the Slice Of Humboldt Pie shop. Started with desert and then meat pies. After lunch I headed out to the Arcata Marsh for a walk around the ponds and slough. Lots of nice blackberries by the trail. The march is part of the sewer treatment facility for the city. Really a nice nature sanctuary though. Back home we had macaroni and cheese for dinner.

Saturday: (08/28) Leftovers macaroni and cheese for breakfast. Pizza and a donut for lunch at Don’s Pizza and Donut Shop in Arcata. I checked out the Arcata farmers Market. Later I took a short walk in the Arcata Community Forest. I stopped by the Slice Of Humboldt Pie shop and bought some day old hand pies for Lou and Dawn. I had chili for dinner.


Sunday: (08/29) Leftover French toast and sausage for breakfast. We were on the road by 0900 to return home. We stopped in Ukiah for gas and lunch. Another stop in Santa Rosa for Dawn to see the Schultz Gift Shop and Lou and I to take a nap. Another stop in Redwood City for gas, then home. Lou made Shepherd’s pie for dinner.

Prep To Get Out in The RV

Thursday: (08/19) I made corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. Another slightly bad air quality day so we stayed inside mostly. Chopped salads for lunch from the Corner Bakery Cafe nearby. Lou made polenta with shrimp for dinner.

Friday: (08/20) Lou made waffles with home grown blueberries and blackberries and bacon. I received the test results for my ultrasound and had a phone appointment with my urologist. They scheduled a procedure in a couple of weeks and an x-ray. We all went out , visited Walgreens to return and buy some stuff. We stopped for lunch at A Good Morning. Dawn was dropped off at a bookstore while I got my x-ray. The construction project down the street was busy today. Doing shot-crete and painting the vapor seal sheeting. Also a crew removed a telephone pole that was holding up the project. And another crew nearby removing a tall tree. They only got the tree half down. Lou grilled some squash with baked potato and burger patties. For dinner. Only a little work done restocking clothes in the RV and putting some things away. I also finally removed the drill press I had bolted to my workbench outside the shop. Someday it might rain.

Saturday: (08/21) Final preparations to leave in the RV tomorrow. Time to purge the RV of a lot of stuff that migrated in during our occupation. I installed the drip lines for the other half of the Swing garden where Lou planted some broccoli and another tomato plant. I also installed the drip line for the artichokes in the front yard. Granola and banana for breakfast. Dawn’s squash chicken soup for lunch. Dinner from Harry’s Hofbrau.

Tinkering In Shop

Wednesday: (08/18) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. I removed the one piece of form that was used on the concrete a couple of days ago. I also moved the two planters back into position on either side of the porch. I also cleaned off my shop work bench putting things away and throwing things away. Also a little interior shop reorganization. I also attended my usual Wednesday webinar. I managed to get out for a short spin on my ebike to Grocery Outlet. A sausage sandwich for lunch. Leftover bean noodles and steamed red peppers for dinner.

Windy Hill OSP, Razorback Hamm's Gulch Loop Hike

Tuesday: (08/17) The usual hike breakfast from Happy Donut. I led a hike at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. We hiked up Razorback and back on Hamm's Gulch trails stopping for lunch at the top. It was a nice cooler day, compared to recent days, with a nice breeze. In fact, our lunch break at the top was cut short because the breeze was too much and it was cold and a little foggy. 9 other hikers joined me. My hikes 

Water Line To New Front Garden

 Wednesday: (08/11) Lou made ham steak and eggs with avocado for breakfast. I attended my usual Wednesday webinar. I did a little work outside digging out to expose the pipe I need to connect for the new garden faucet. Lou and I headed off to Lowe’s for some pipe fittings I’ll be needing. We also visited a new gas station in Sunnyvale where the gas is a dollar cheaper than our nearby stations and 30 cents less than any others near it. The GasBuddy app is handy sometimes. Then more relaxing. Leftovers for lunch and dinner.

Thursday: (08/12) Granola and banana for breakfast. I hooked up and tested the water line to the new front garden. Then backfilled base rock by the porch where I removed brick tiles and connected the water line to the garden. I’ll be pouring concrete over that. Then I loaded the car with 13 buckets of dirt and headed off to the dump. On the way home I picked up concrete at Lowe’s to pour tomorrow. Back home, I put away all my tools and supplies from the project. Super Taqueria burrito for lunch. Tuna green salad for dinner.

Friday: (08/13) Granola and a banana for breakfast. A nice family drive up El Camino Real. We stopped for lunch in Millbrae and Neal’s Cafe. We then continued North then West to Pacifica and Down to Half Moon Bay. We stopped at several nurseries and bought plants for the garden. Chili beans and sausage for dinner.

Saturday: (08/14) Bacon (Jerky) with fried eggs and toast for breakfast. I heard pork prices were going to skyrocket so I bought several bacon jerky packages. Actually cheaper than bacon itself and ready to eat. A nice morning tinkering in the garden and rear yard. I cleaned off my shop outside workbench that has collected junk from several recent projects. In the afternoon I went to Kaiser for an appointment. I spent some time on Amazon ordering material for the drip system. In the evening I scheduled my Tuesday hike for next week. Leftovers for lunch. Lou made artichoke chicken over mashed potatoes for dinner.

Sunday: (08/15) A relaxing Sunday morning watching the morning TV shows. Then outside for some tinkering in the yard. I intended to pour my concrete but instead digging out the opposite side of the front steps and drilling and setting pins in the edge of the concrete to connect the new and old took up enough of the day to think it was too hot to be out. Lou made ham and eggs for breakfast. Lou made a green tuna salad for lunch. Leftover chicken over rice for dinner.

Monday: (08/16) Granola and banana for breakfast. I mixed and poured the concrete for the former flower beds adjacent to the front porch. I completed the final finishing and cleanup about 1400. Then I gave myself a beard trim and a shower, then relaxed the rest of the day. A hot dog sandwich for lunch. Lou made bean noodles with mushrooms and a guacamole and pico de gallo sauce for dinner.

Los Trancos Open Space Preserve Hike

Tuesday: (08/10) The usual hikers breakfast from Happy Donut. I headed up to Los Trancos Open Space preserve to led my hike exploring this earthquake geological site. Evidence of the 1906 earthquake and movement on the San Andreas fault just below is all around. We hike on down to Foothills Preserve, almost. A tree had fallen across the trail and it was basically impossible to go around or through due to a lot of poison oak in the area. We were stopped just 1000’ or so from our turn around point anyway. A 6 mile hike instead of 6.6 miles. It was a warm day and one hiker was having trouble getting back. Back home I had cottage cheese and fruit for lunch. Dawn made spaghetti squash with meatballs for dinner.

Got A Look At The Ekko

Wednesday: (08/04) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. I attended my usual Alphasoftware webinar this morning. After a quick sandwich I went to Kaiser for my annual checkup. Nice quick in and out. Back home I opted to continue my relaxing day. Lou and Dawn made Shepherd’s pie for dinner.

Thursday: (08/05) We went grocery shopping first thing stopping at Smart and Final and Nob hill markets. Back home I prepared a ham egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. I worked all day on rototilling and mixing compost with the screened dirt. I made three trips to pickup 18ea 5 gallon buckets of compost from the city compost pile. I need to make one more compost run to complete the treatment then add some steer manure and cap with wood chips. No lunch. I put pork chops , potatoes and sauerkraut into the slow cooker for our nice dinner.

Friday: (08/06) Granola and banana for breakfast. I made a run to get a load of compost from the city pile. I mixed it into the new front garden spot. I was about half a load short of having a good soil mix so I made another trip for a half load and added it and mixed it in. Then off to lunch at Los Altos Taqueria for lunch on my way to Lowe’s. I got 10 bags of steer manure and back home, added that to the soil. After a good final mixing then some cleanup I called it garden spot. I put away all my tools and enjoyed a good shower. Time to relax. Leftover Shepherd’s pie for dinner.

Saturday: (08/07) I made corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast this morning. I drilled a path under this sidewalk by the garden and installed a couple of pipes, one for a faucet and another for a drip circuit. I finished the pipe but not the end connections, It required two trips to the hardware store. I also picked up two artichoke plants from Summerwinds nursery. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Leftover pork and sauerkraut with potatoes for dinner.

Sunday: (08/08) Lou fried some eggs and added leftover corned beef hash for breakfast. I almost completed the pipes for the faucet for the new garden, It turns out the water pipe is dry so I need to hook up the pipe near the main valve for the house and be sure it is capped at the side of the house where it should have been hooked to the back yard. I put it in before I put in the sidewalks and intended to take the water to the backyard directly and not through the house piping. Evidently i never got to completing that project. I also picked up four more artichoke plants and planted them in addition to the two from yesterday. I still need to add some wood chips and complete those pipes for the faucet. A nice tuna salad for lunch and leftover pork and sauerkraut with potatoes for dinner. I got a call from the Rec Van salesman after lunch. He said they had a Winnebago Ekko camper in so we all went to see it and their other campers in the late afternoon. The Ekko has been delayed for nearly a year so It’s nice to see one. Unfortunately it is too big for our (my) needs. Looking over all their other models just confirms that I need to build what I want to be satisfied.

Monday: (08/09) I had a morning dental cleaning appointment. Before heading home I stopped by Lowe’s for some pipe fittings, then Kaiser to have a urine test done, then lunch from China Wok eaten at a Sunnyvale park under a huge shade tree, then home. At home I added a pipe fitting to re-hookup the drip sprinklers that I extended to the garden. I also did some digging and filling in preparation to install concrete where we had brick tile that grew nothing but weeds. I also located the source end of the water line I need to hookup. Granola and banana for breakfast. Lunch from the China Wok. Lou’s BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob from our garden for dinner.

Portola SP, Peter's Creek Loop

Tuesday: (08/03) The usual hikers breakfast from Happy Donut. I headed up to Portola Redwoods State Park for a hike. I led a San Jose Mid-week Hikers Group hike to the Peters Creek Grove. It was a 13.5 mile hike with a 2112' ascent that included a look at the old Page Mill site and the Old Tree. It was a warm day but the shade of the trees made it quite nice. It is another favorite hike of mine, and so close. This was a champion group. Everyone who was signed up last night, arrived in plenty of time to start our hike on-time. Group stayed together, mostly, and even braved some poison oak. While I promised a leisurely pace, we actually ended up with an average moving speed of 2.7 mph. About 13.5 miles, 2112' ascent. When I made it back to town I got gas in the car. It was nearing empty when I started out to the hike. I picked up lunch from Los Altos Taqueria before going home. I ate lunch after my shower about 1600. No dinner needed.

Front Yard Garden prep

Wednesday: (07/28) Morning tea in the yard and some gardening before breakfast. Soft boiled eggs with bologna for breakfast. It was a little hot today so I didn't work on the front yard garden, I relaxed inside in the morning. Squash and sausage for lunch. Tomato soup and toast for dinner. I installed the new battery monitor in Dawn’s trike. Now I need to calibrate it. When I test drove it it worked fine for a while then went blank for SOC, voltage and current OK. Probably the low battery value I set. For it to be accurate I need to discharge it and charge it a set low and full charge values. I also spent some time inspecting the construction project down the street.

Thursday: (07/29) Granola with banana for breakfast. I got out early to beat some heat. It was forecast to be 86 degrees today. I turned the remainder of the new front yard garden and removed a lot of clay clods and took a load to the dump. I stopped for lunch from Super Taqueria on the way home. Back home it was time for a shower the time to relax. I picked up dinner from Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City for dinner.

Friday: (07/30) Granola with banana for breakfast. I hauled a load of dirt clods to the dump then returned home and filled the buckets again and made a second trip to the dump. Bologna and cheese sliders for lunch. Lou’s green ham and tomato salad for dinner.

Saturday: (07/31) I prepared ham and eggs with home fried potatoes for breakfast. After morning tea in the garden and breakfast, I got to work in the from garden. I screened 18 buckets of clay clods and hauled them to the dump. Cottage cheese and fruit for lunch. Dawn’s soup for dinner.

Sunday: (08/01) Ham and eggs with leftover home fried potatoes. I took Dawn’s trike out for a spine to kill the battery. I cruised the old Fry’s Electronics parking lot until I knew it like family. I relaxed the rest of the day. A chili size for dinner.

Monday: (08/02) Lou made a Denver omelet for breakfast. We all headed out for the day. I drove and Lou and Dawn looked around a bunch of thrift stores. Later Lou had an appointment and Dan explored a bookstore. We had lunch at Marie Calender's. Dan made zucchini soup for dinner. I took Dawn’s trike on a long ride downtown and to the Stanford Cactus Garden then around the neighborhood until the battery was depleted. The State Of Charge Meter worked well.

Shingle/Tarwater Creek Loop Hike

Tuesday: (07/27) Breakfast from Happy Donut in the backyard. I headed off for my hike at about 0800. I led a hike at Pescadero County Park doing the Tarwater Trail Loop. 11 of the 16 people that signed up joined me and we enjoyed one of my favorite hikes, only 5.9 miles and 700’ elevation change. After the hike Stephanie, her husband Les, Jim and Jay joined me in Redwood City at the Freewheel Brew Pub for lunch and a brew. While I was relaxing after my shower, I got a call from our tenant in San Jose that there was no hot water. We all drove down. The pilot light was out on the new water heater. I relit it and waited to be sure it heated up the water and remained lit. It did and we headed off toward home with a stop at Grocery Outlet in Sunnyvale where we bought too much stuff before heading home. Leftovers for dinner.

Dawn's New Trike Battery Test

Wednesday: (07/21) Today was the big pour. I spent several long periods watching the concrete placement and finishing for the first floor floor. PBJ Waffles and sausage for breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Super nachos from Tacos El Grullense for dinner.

Thursday: (07/22) Leftover nachos for breakfast. I had to do some inspection of the project down the street. They stripped the forms from the first floor pour today and worked on installing forms for the front floor and first floor walls. We had kabobs with McDonald’s fries for lunch. After lunch I decided to take Dawn’s trike out to try to run down the new battery. It’s a LiFePo4 battery so the charge indicator in the trike won’t work correctly. I had predicted that it would show a full charge until just before it was dead. I wanted to find out how long it lasted. I took off like a dog chasing a rabbit. I continued away from the house all the way to Highway 85 then out to the baylands. When I crossed highway 101 it changed from 100% to 75% indicated. According to my prediction it was about at it’s limit. I had become confident with the 100% showing so I stayed too far from home. I turned toward home and it was dead within a ¼ mile as I crossed one of the Google parking lots. I started pushing it toward home and then decided to attach the cable lock as a leash to pull it home. Much easier but still I had over 6 miles to walk home. I made it home at dinner time. After a shower, we had dinner. Lou made tacos for dinner.

Friday: (07/23) Granola and a banana for breakfast. I checked out the construction site several times during the day. I worked all day, intermittently, rototilling the front garden and removing 16 buckets of hard clay clods. The car is full for a trip tomorrow. Lou made a ham, pineapple green salad for lunch. For dinner, Dawn made rice with a chicken stew topping.

Saturday: (07/24) I made fried bologna with toast and scrambled eggs for breakfast. I took the load of dirt clods to the dump in Sunnyvale. I then filled the buckets with compost for the return trip. I did the grocery shopping on the way home. I visited Walmart, Smart and Final and Nob Hill markets. I also did some construction inspection down the street. They were installing the shot-crete forms for the first floor. I picked up lunch from the Lucky Chinese Bistro. Leftovers for dinner.

Sunday: (07/25) I prepared fried toast with ham and eggs for breakfast. After a lazy morning I finally got outside to work. I rototilled and screened a small section of the new front garden. I was able to empty the compost and refill all the buckets with the screening debris and now ready for another dump trip Monday. Dawn’s squash and chicken soup for lunch. BBQ ribs with baked potato and carrot salad for dinner.

Monday: (07/26) Dawn’s raisin bread toast for breakfast. I made a run to the dump to get rid of my 16 buckets of dirt clods. Back home, I screened more dirt filling 15 buckets. A nice steak and Wensleydale cheese green salad for lunch. I headed off to the dump again at 1530. I had to get rid of the dirt so had to sacrifice the 16th bucket due to the time it would have taken to collect the dirt clods. The dump closes at 1700 and I need the car empty due to driving up the mountain for a hike tomorrow. Back home I took a shower and gave myself a haircut and beard trim. Leftover BBQ ribs with baked potato and squash for dinner.

San Francisco Walk-About

Tuesday: (07/20) Granola for breakfast. Lou saw activity down the street on the construction project. A pumper truck was setting up and they poured the front foundation. I had planned to go take a walk in San Francisco so Lou dropped me off at the train station about 1015. I walked up to Coit Tower then down to Columbus Street. I picked up lunch at Golden Boy Pizza, the best pizza around. I then walked over to AA Bakery in Chinatown for a piece of cheesecake. I continued on up Columbus to the Maritime Museum and along the Fort Mason bluff. I continued up Chestnut Street to the Palace Of Fine Arts and through Crissy Field to the Golden Gate Bridge. Then along the Batteries To Bluffs Trail through the Presidio to 15 Avenue, up Clement Street then I caught a bus on Geary Street and a transfer to a bus on Divisadero/Castro Street. When I got off at 24th Street at 1755 I decided to check on the hours of La Torta Gorda where I had intended to have dinner. They closed 17 1800 so I didn't bother getting another bus but just walked the street looking for a new place for dinner. I didn’t find anything along the way. As I passed La Torta Gora I confirmed they were actually closed so I had dinner at their neighbor Rosevelt Tamale. Trying to eat at Roosevelt Tamale was how I found La Torta Gorda. Both are outstanding destination dining, for me anyway. I then walked on to the 22nd Street Caltrain Station and on to home.

RV Windshield Repair And Smog Test

Friday: (07/16) I tried to clean the windshield around noon and the glue wasn’t dry yet. When I tried to clean it in the evening it was so hard it was impossible to get off. In fact, I think it actually etched the glass so it may be a permanent scar but hopefully, at least, the crack should be stopped. I also worked in the office. Lou made steak and eggs with home fried potatoes for breakfast. Chopped salads from our Corner Bakery Cafe for lunch. Baked potatoes for dinner.

Saturday: (07/17) Granola and banana for breakfast. I was off at 0830 with the RV to get the smog test completed. The RV has the cleanest engine of any vehicle I’ve ever had tested. It barely meets the minimum emission both this test and the last test. After the test I stopped and filled the LPG since I was out. It only took 2.7 gallons. Impressive since it’s been months since we last filled it. We received a package from Fedex. It was an early delivery of the new lithium battery for Dawn's scooter. I started the conversion but lunchtime interrupted the job. We all went to lunch at the Country Inn restaurant in Cupertino then Lou and Dawn visited a couple of thrift stores as I caught up on a couple of YouTube videos. Back home I needed a nap and that was it for the day. Ramen noodles with sausage for dinner.

Sunday: (07/18) Dawn made some kind of steamed cheese cake for breakfast. I installed the new LiFePo4 battery and charger in Dawn’s Zappy scooter. The old batteries were charged by an external charger. There was plenty of room for the charger to be onboard now and bringing the AC plug pigtail outside the battery compartment was easier than mounting the DC connector on the housing. It was too big to fit easily. I left it on charge so we can take the first ride this afternoon. For lunch I had a ham and cheese sandwich with avocado dip spread. I worked on the new front yard garden spot. I removed the roots and turned the dirt with the shovel. Then I added some water. I should be able to use the rototiller in a couple of days, then start the removal of bad dirt and debris and add the compost. Dawn made some squash soup for dinner.

Monday: (07/19) I managed to relax all day. I did take a run around the neighborhood on Dawn’s trike to add more use of the battery. Fried toast with PBJ and soft boiled eggs for breakfast. Dawn made some squash soup for lunch. Lou made pasta with peppers and squash and some sausage for dinner.