Sunday: (01/02) Granola and banana for breakfast. Salami and cheese with hummus English muffin for lunch. Steak with rice, red peppers and green beans for dinner. A dry, cold day so little outside activity today. My major activity was catching up on my YouTube subscriptions.
Monday: (01/03) Granola and banana for breakfast. Salami, cheese and hummus sandwich for lunch. I made steak with rice, red peppers and green beans for dinner. It was too cold outside so I tinkered and relaxed inside all day.
Tuesday: (01/04) I made a salami, cheese and egg English muffin for breakfast. Off for a nice hike of 8.1 miles with some interesting views at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve with 17 other San Jose Mid-week Hikers. While we enjoyed an abundance of mud along the trails, we still made it back at 1315 before our estimated return. Almost too much green today. The rains really have helped. I picked up lunch from the China Wok in Sunnyvale. Leftovers for dinner.
Wednesday: (01/05) Granola and banana for breakfast. Lou made Brussels sprouts with bacon and baked potatoes for lunch. It was too cold outside so I tinkered and relaxed inside all day. I attended my Wednesday AlphaAnywhere webinar. Leftovers for dinner.
Thursday: (01/06) Lou made scrambled eggs with cheese sauce and bacon for breakfast. Lunch and dinner were an El Paso (corned beef hash) from the Crepevine restaurant in Mountain View. I spent some time starting the income tax preparation and working on updating my budget worksheet.
Friday: (01/07) Hot and Sour soup for breakfast. The project down the street finally started the roofing. Leftover pea soup for lunch. Homemade tamales for dinner. I tinkered inside again today. I managed to restore my troublesome websites to show up. There was a problem with a server configuration file. I also abandoned Wordpress for my blog. It is now fully on blogger.
Saturday: (01/08) Granola and banana for breakfast. I tinkered with some programming on the computer. I tried out Google AppSheet. Leftovers for lunch. Lou and I took a drive looking at things and shopping for nothing in particular. We also stopped at Smart and Final for a few things on the way home. Super Taqueria burrito and quesadillas for dinner.
Sunday: (01/09) Granola and banana for breakfast. A usual lazy Sunday morning watching TV. Lou reported she saw weeds growing on the sunroom roof when she did her morning walk around the yard. Eventually, I got busy. I scheduled a hike for Tuesday then got to work. I swept and blew off the roof of the house and sunroom. I also cleaned up the debris from the walkways and the side of the house. I managed to fill the compost bin. Lou made a stew for lunch. More tamales for dinner. We also visited Best Buy for Dawn to look at the newest iPhone 13 Pro Max. She needs a new phone.
Monday: (01/10) Sunny and cold today. Granola and banana for breakfast. Leftover pea soup and toast for dinner. Lou wasn’t feeling well so she visited the hospital for a checkup. Unfortunately, they didn’t let her come home tonight. I made three trips back to the hospital hoping to pick her up and to deliver stuff to her for her stay. PBJ toast and ham and cheese bits for dinner. Another general do nothing day.
Tuesday: (01/11) Breakfast from Happy Donut, the usual sausage egg and cheese English muffin. I met my fellow hikers for a hike at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. We hiked up Razorback Rudge to a picnic spot on Skyline Blvd then back down via Hamms Gulch. Nice 9 mile hike on a clear day with warmer than usual weather. Only a little mud on the trail. The hike started at 0930 and we finished at 1315. I had time to return home, take a shower then collect things to take to Lou at the hospital. I had to take Dawn to a doctor appointment in San Jose. We stopped to pick up lunch at Lucky Bistro Chinese restaurant on the way. After the appointment, we stopped by the hospital and delivered the puzzles, coloring books and hair curler to Lou. We couldn’t actually visit with her due to Covid but they took the delivery up to her. Dawn and I stopped at Safeway and she got some stuff for her eyes at the pharmacy and I got ice cream which we shared for “dinner.”
Wednesday: (01/12) I dashed off early to deliver some pills for Lou at the hospital that their pharmacy didn’t have. I prepared ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches for Dawn and I. Lou called about 1020 and said I could come to pick her up. I dropped off her clothes and she came out about noon. Much better now. I had granola for lunch. Panda Chinese food for dinner.
Thursday: (01/13) Granola and banana for breakfast. Dawn’s squash soup with toast for lunch. I took Dawn out to make some Buy Nothing deliveries. We also got gas and did some grocery shopping at Safeway and Sprout’s. I worked on collecting tax preparation info. Baked potato with chili and cheese for dinner.
Friday: (01/14) Granola for breakfast. Tinkered away in the morning. I headed out about 1130 stopping at the Chavez Market in Sunnyvale on Fair Oaks Ave to get some Electrolit coconut drink for Lou. They are evidently the only local source for it and Lou needs something because she can only eat soft and bland foods for a while. I then headed down to the San Jose house to check it out. All OK. Next stop was the House Of Pizza for lunch of a nice Very Small Confusion Pizza. I ate half the pizza in the car watching a construction site next door. Then off to the Walmart neighborhood Market for a few things. I wasn’t able to find cream of rice for Lou there so I stopped at a Safeway on the way home. Across the street I spotted an RV, a 2019 Hymer Aktiv with >3K miles for $92K. Pretty good deal so now checking. On my morning walk to inspect the construction of Wilton Court we met the construction manager that has been absent for the past 15 weeks for hip replacement. Leftover pizza for dinner.
Saturday: (01/15) PBJ English muffin for breakfast. We all went over to look through the Hymer Aktiv motorhome I saw yesterday at the Land Rover dealer. I looked at some reviews and for sale listings so I knew it was a good price but it had too many cons which overcame all the pros. Not a good fit for my needs. My evening working on a spreadsheet was still worthwhile because it confirms it would be affordable and which method is best. Roast chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch. I did the RV tank duty in preparation to leave tomorrow. Leftover beef log and cheese for dinner.
Sunday: (01/16) Lou made scrambled eggs with tuna for breakfast. We finished preparations to leave in the RV and hit the road about 1000. First stop was to get LPG in sunnyvale. Second stop in Gilroy at Costco for gas. Third stop in Greenfield for lunch and a nap. Back on the road about 1500 and arrived in Oceana at our campsite at Oceana County Park. All set up by 1700. We had flan for dessert. Leftover chicken with rice for a later dinner.
Monday: (01/17) We had some of Dawn’s king cake bread with cream cheese and jam for breakfast. We enjoyed a nice walk over and through Oceana State Park campground. Lunch was some leftover pork chops with rice. In the afternoon we had some rain showers. Later we took a drive South toward Guadalupe. We drove out to the Oso Flaco Lake Trailhead of Oceano Dunes State Park. I’ll have to return later for a hike. We also drove out to Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve. We talked with a ranger there and looked over a sand wheelchair. Then back home. Ham with baked potato and green peas for dinner.
Tuesday: (01/18) Lou made pancakes with sausage for breakfast. I made a couple of reservations for Pismo State Parks in April and May. We drove up to San Luis Obispo. Lo dropped me off for a hike at the top of Cuesta Ridge Road. I hiked down the mountain into Cal Poly University property back to town. Lou and Dawn were busy at the Thrift stores and having lunch at a Greek deli. I called them to come pick me up and we stopped at a couple of more thrift stores where I found a shirt at each. On the way back to camp we picked up dinner at Pismo Fish And Chips.
Wednesday: (01/19) Lou made a pita bread tufted with carnitas and cheese for breakfast. Lou and Dawn went out to Nan’s books in the morning. I tinkered on the computer and attended my Wednesday AlphaAnywhere webinar. About noon, Lou and Dawn returned and I took off in the Jeep. I went to Oso Flaco Lake State Preserve for a short walk out to the beach by way of a boardwalk that passed by and through the lake. Nice views of the dunes out toward the beach and lots of birds around the lake. I stopped in Nipomo for lunch, a piece of chicken from the Von’s Market. I stopped in Arroyo Grande for gas and to wash off the Jeep. When I returned again, lou and Dawn took off to visit some thrift stores while I napped. Lou prepared leftover hash for dinner, everything from the refrigerator with some hash browned potatoes added in.
Thursday: (01/20) Lou made French toast for breakfast. About 1000 We headed up to SLO for me to hike and Lou and Dawn to shop. They dropped me off at the Patricia Trailhead. I hiked up to the top of Bishop Peak and enjoyed the top rock for a while as I nibbled some snacks.
On the way back down I met two ladies with three big dogs. One lady said only two dogs were theirs. The third joined them and had a dog tag that said “Likes to hike. Return to <address>”. I had planned to hike back up an adjacent peak but my planned route had me trying to go through posted Private Property. I abated the second half of the hike and stopped for a late small lunch at Panda Express. Lou and Dawn picked me up and we visited a couple of stores before returning home. We picked up dinner from the Old Juan Cantina near our campground.
Friday: (01/21) Leftover French toast with bacon for breakfast. Lunch at Francisco's Restaurant. I had a pork chop. We visited a couple of thrift stores and the hardware store. I did some laundry so I have some clean clothes for my extended camping stop in the Pinnacles NP. Lou made fresh corn on the cob with chicken and baked potatoes for dinner.
Saturday: (01/22) Leftovers for breakfast. I headed up to San Luis Obispo to hike the Reservoir Valley Loop Trail, a 5.4 mile hike in the hills North of downtown SLO. Nice trails and nice views. I saw a couple of big birds on top of a high tension tower. Likely just to really big vultures but possibly untagged condors. I finished up about 1230. On the way back down to Ocean I stopped to pick up a few things I’ll need when I’m at Pinnacles including a Taco Temple burrito. We picked up fish and chips for dinner.
Sunday: (01/23) Leftover French fries for breakfast. Lou and Dawn were off toward home in the Jeep about 0900. I finished preparation to depart and me and the RV headed off at about 1030. I stopped for gas in Grover Beach and for lunch in Paso Robles. I had lunch at the Golden Dragon King Chinese Buffet in Paso Robles. Lunch made a nap necessary before continuing. I also stopped for another nap on Bitterwater Road at the top of the hill. Also a good viewpoint to see the South, and North Chalone peaks and the Pinnacles from afar. I was settled into my campsite at the Pinnacles Campground about 1645.
Monday: (01/24) Waffles with peach preserves and ham for breakfast. A relaxing morning inside. I went outside to meander after 1100. I thought I was just going to walk through the campground but walked out the bench trail to the campground exit then headed into the wilderness via deer trails and riverbed. I came upon a service road near the South Wilderness trail and walked to where it is closed by a gate and a do not enter sign. I continued on to Peaks View Trailhead to see how the construction was going. It looks like they may finish it in a few weeks. Back home after my 4.8 mile wander, I ate lunch of a BBQ pork chop and shrimp veggies from the Chinese Buffet. After a shower, I relaxed the rest of the day inside. More burrito bowl for dinner.
Tuesday: (01/25) I made my usual ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich to start. I met my fellow San Jose Midweek Hikers at the store. Only two for this hike, Elizabeth and Kazuko. Great day. I wanted to do the hike because there was supposed to be water in the park. We were not disappointed. Waterfalls in both caves, and water in the streams. Unfortunately, no condors. And, as usual, we met fellow SJMWH’s Susan and Nancy at the High Peaks/Juniper Trail Junction. We finished the hike at 1530. I enjoyed the last third of my burrito and a Chinese pepper pork chop for dinner. After my shower, I settled in to relax all evening.
Wednesday: (01/26) I made my usual ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich for breakfast. I prepared the RV to roll and moved over to the day use parking area. I wanted to walk some of the ranch roads so I walked out to a private ranch gate. I turned back there because I needed to be back to the RV for my Wednesday webinar. After the webinar I walked back and continued on out past the Butterfield ranch to Highway 25 then returned. All told and with the repeated road walk I walked about 6 miles this morning. I left the park about 1330. I stopped at the Longhouse Restaurant for lunch. I enjoyed their wonderful garlic pork chop breakfast. I arrived home before dark and got the RV setup. Ramen noodles and ham for dinner.
Thursday: (01/27) Granola for breakfast. I dashed off early to an 0800 Dental checkup appointment. I returned home then dashed off again to the Alameda RV Show. It was a sparse show but did have lots of class B motorhomes. Not too many models but lots of them and many at reasonable prices. The problem is that only one RV was well made, the Coachman Crosstrek. All the others, even some over $200K were poor build quality and/or workmanship. Also he well made one was also the only one with adequate aisle space. Surprisingly, there were several Revels for sale and even an EKKO in attendance. I didn’t bother looking at the Class A and C RV’s. I did look at some Lance pickup campers. A couple looked like nice roomy RV’s with almost no storage. I had stopped before going into the show for a bowl of very good broccoli cheese soup at Jim’s Country Cafe. On the way home I stopped in Union City at the Asia Eats Chinese restaurant for some chow mein and honey walnut shrimp. I then went down to Santa Clara to look at a van Lou saw at the Porsche dealer. Too long. Then home. Leftover pork chop and rice for dinner.
Friday: (01/28) Lou made bacn, eggs and toast for breakfast. A ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I spent some time trying, and eventually fixing Dan’s laptop. It had no sound devices available. Also her email stopped working because her Google account was full. She is supposed to be linked to my Family Google One account but evidently not. To get her going I upgraded her capacity for now. Baked potato with roast chicken and carrot raisin salad for dinner. We also tested Lou’s cranberry pear pie.
Saturday: (01/29) I got up early and headed down to San Jose. I stopped for a breakfast burrito at La Victoria Taqueria. I love their bacon breakfast burrito. Then I went over to the San Jose house. Our tenants had called last night and said they had a leak under the kitchen sink. They said it was secure so I told them I'd come down at 0900 this morning so here I am. I found that the tubing to the dishwasher had failed and it flooded the kitchen a little bit. They secured it fairly quickly and had already dried it out with a fan. It probably failed because the repiping people had extended the copper tubing with a small section of cold water tubing that you normally use for a refrigerator. It had popped off from the fitting. Rather than fix something that was going to cause problems again, I replaced the entire tubing. I was also told that the smoke detector in the master bedroom was sounding. It was another 10 year detector that lasted maybe 2 years. I'm not really happy with it but bought two more smoke detectors and installed them. I also installed the one in Dawn’s apartment that I'd bought earlier which had failed a few months ago. So now all the smoke detectors are working. I was also told about the tub stopper in the bathroom bathtub. They couldn't clean it out so I removed it but in doing so I broke it so I cleaned it all out and then returned and got a replacement for the push stopper for the tub and installed it. She had also complained about the exhaust fan not drying out the bathroom. No failure. That's just a problem that has always existed and they will just have to open the doors. I stopped at the House Of Pizza to get my lunch. Back home I put all my tools away. I also aired up the left rear inside tire of the RV. It’s been 4 lbs low for a while. Lou and Dawn were out to get Dawn her new phone. I ordered dinner from Harry’s in Redwood City and they picked it up on their way back home.
Sunday: (01/30) I had the leftover lasagna for breakfast. Went with Lou and Dawn to Westfield Valley Faire Shopping Center's Apple store. Dawn needed a new phone and she wanted the 1TB iPhone 13 and the only nearby place that had them in stock was there in San Jose. Getting the new phone was quick but we spent the rest of the day in the store getting her old phone data (Photos and Videos) backed up to iCloud so she could bring them over to the new phone and not lose anything. I hung around with the phone while they went out looking around the shopping center. They picked up our usual shared lunch from the Cheesecake Factory, a shepherds pie and a slice of cheesecake. When they finished their portions, I was relieved at the store and got my share of lunch. We arrived at the store just after 1100 without an appointment and left a little after 1600 with a new working phone. We stopped at Costco to shop on the way home. Back home I relaxed. I prepared a new hike route and posted a hike for Tuesday. Leftover pizza for dinner. I did online shopping for my new van in the evening.
Monday: (01/31) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. Dawn and I went to Best Buy to get an OtterBox Defender case and protective screen for Dawn’s new phone. We picked up lunch on the way home from Lucky Chinese Bistro. Back home I installed the protection screen and case on Dawn’s phone. I tried to tinker on the computer but eventually needed a nap. Dawn made a raisin cream cheese pie for an afternoon snack. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.
