December 2023

Friday: (12/01) Granola and yogurt for breakfast. Leftover pizza for lunch. I tinkered a little on my smaller backpack setup. Dawn made some lentil peanut butter soup for dinner.

Saturday: (12/02) Pizza and apple pie for breakfast. Dim sum (Pork footballs and egg rolls) for lunch. I took the van out for a drive today. I did some grocery shopping ant Noh Hill market and Sprouts Market. I also spent some time at REI looking around. I did get a bag to contain my tent and mattress attached to the bottom of my smaller backpack. I also stopped at Walmart before returning home. I stopped at Super Taqueria to pick up dinner. A super burrito for me and quesadillas for Lou and Dawn.

Sunday: (12/03) Granola and yogurt for breakfast. I went out shopping (looking) much of the day. I visited Target, Walmart, Safeway, then I walked the Westfield Mall and Santa Row. I followed that with a look at Mitsubishi SUV’s and an army surplus store. Leftover Pizza for lunch. Back home we had baked potatoes with chili for dinner.

Monday: (12/04) Granola with a banana and yogurt for breakfast. Now that I’ve started taking B vitamins I need to eat breakfast when I take the pills, which I take at 0700, so I eat right away. My first project was to check on the Hyundai's Front left tire. Lou said a neighbor said it was flat and she confirmed it. I park it in the neighbors driveway and I probably wouldn’t have seen it for some time. It was flat, as in zero air pressure. I thought, I just get the jack out and install the spare and take it down to be repaired. That was made really difficult because the car doesn’t have a spare and because it doesn’t have a spare, it doesn’t have a jack either. The car and tires are 12 years old and have had no previous tire problems so I can't really complain. I decided to call AAA to have them fix it. Their automated phone system referred me to use their phone app so I downloaded it. It wanted me to select a garage to have them tow the car to. That seemed like too much effort, time and expense for me so I decided to try to remove the tire and haul it down to get it fixed. I have a floor jack but it wouldn’t fit under a car that now is even lower than it was originally and couldn’t pull into a parking space over a parking curb without dragging off body parts. I had to jack up the rear of the car to raise the front a little and add some blocks to hold it up and move the jack to the front. Next problem was to get the lug nuts off. I got my impact wrench out and tried to remove them but it didn’t budge them. I tried a ratchet and also had no luck. Time to rethink this. I remembered I bought a tire plug kit for the van so I looked at the tire, still mounted on the car, and found a screw embedded in the tire. I removed it and poked in a plug. It seemed to have worked. Unfortunately I managed to both poke a hole in my finger tip andbang the top of the d=same hand causing both to bleed. The fingertip bled profusely. Tire fixed time to relax a bit hoping for the bleeding to stop. Then I had a salad for lunch. After lunch I went to the T-mobile store and bought a Pixel 8 watch. I had tried to order it online but couldn’t get the order to complete. I got into a circular mode coming back to the order beginning over and over. I don’t actually have the watch yet. It will arrive in a week or so. With all that done it was time for an afternoon nap. Back home I had some leftover burrito for dinner. Lou and Dawn were out all day with errands, appointments, and thrift shopping.

Tuesday: (12/05) Banana and yogurt for breakfast. I took Lou to the emergency room to have her leg looked at. I dropped her off and went across the street to Grocery Outlet for a little shopping before relaxing in the van waiting for Lou. About 1030 Lou was out and we stopped at Nob Hill Market on the way home. Lou and Dawn have a favorite gluten free bread that only Nob Hill seems to have so we stopped and picked some up. Back home I did the RV tank duty and then prepared wieners and tater tots for lunch. Baked potatoes for dinner.

Wednesday: (12/06) I prepared ham and eggs with tater tots for breakfast. I spent the morning blowing and raking leaves in our and our neighbors front yards. With it being fall with a bit of a breeze and all the contributions of the trees on the street, the yards can’t be made fully clean but I did fill a dumpster with leaves. I attended a bit of my Wednesday Webinar then relaxed until my new Google Watch arrived via UPS. I spent the early afternoon setting up the watch. Then I went out shopping. I visited Nob Hill, Smart and Final, Safeway, and Grocery Outlet Markets. I also picked up a late lunch about 1500 at the Wok On Express Chinese Restaurant in Sunnyvale. More tinkering with the watch when I returned.

Thursday: (12/07) A banana to start the morning. Lou and Dawn were off for the day. I took the neighbors car out for a run to Happy donut to get a ham, egg and cheese English muffin for more breakfast. I then ran the car up and down El Camino Real road to get a little time on the engine. Back home, I ate my breakfast. Then I was off to Milpitas to the Super Walmart. They have a full market so I was able to get some things unavailable at our local store and the Neighborhood Walmart nearby. I also got a pair of jeans. The cold weather keeps telling me I need to be wearing long pants but I keep resisting. I got lunch at the LUU Noodle House there in Milpitas. I had a combination chow fun. We do miss having them nearby since they closed their restaurant near us. Back home I relaxed and also watched some of the house demolition at a nearby home. They are disassembling it, not crushing it. The dump wants sorted debris. Leftover lunch for dinner.

Friday: (12/08) I started with a banana and then was off to San Jose at 0630. I wanted to beat any traffic problems and get to the San Jose house to meet the termite inspector. I stopped at La Victoria Taqueria for a breakfast burrito and some of their famous orange sauce. The inspector arrived at 0805 and finished in about 10 minutes. I headed back toward home via Highway 82 (El Camino Real). I had hoped to get away for some camping after the termite inspection but I needed to wait for some items arriving from Amazon, especially the protection screen for my watch. I also learned I only have one week's worth of one of the pills I take so I ordered more from Kaiser. I got those about 1430. Then it was too late to really get away due to heavy commute traffic in our direction and only 1 hour of daylight at 1600. So another night at home. A beef pot pie for lunch and chili noodles for dinner.

Saturday: (12/09) Ham and eggs for breakfast. I was on the road about 0900. I stopped in Gilroy at the Longhouse Restaurant for lunch. I, of course, ordered the Cowboy Garlic pork chop breakfast. Lots of leftovers for later. I also stopped in Hollister for gas and a Super Taqueria Burrito for later. I arrived at the Pinnacles about 1330. I hiked from the Manzanita Parking Area out to and through the Balconies Caves then back, about a 7.5 mile hike. After the hike I drove out of the park and parked at a pullout North of the park for the night.

Sunday: (12/10) A crumb old fashion donut and bacon jerky for breakfast. I hiked up to the Bear Gulch Reservoir. I decided to explore some and ended up hiking around to the back of the reservoir. Then I continued up to the High Peaks and came down the Condor Gulch Trail about a 8.5 mile loop. Leftover garlic pork chops and tater tots for lunch. This is the first time I’ve used the air fryer feature of my microwave. It worked well and didn’t use too much power. I left the park and drove down to the Sweetwater BLM Campground 20 miles SE or the park. Nice quiet night all by myself in the CG. Salad for dinner.

Monday: (12/11) Leftover pancakes and bacon jerky for breakfast. I drove further back in the mountains exploring the other three BLM campgrounds Mt Laguna and the two in the Clear Creek area. They have a few trails that I will return to do, maybe even an overnighter. I made it to the end of the road where a gate keeps you from continuing up to the New Indira Mine area. Some day maybe I’ll get up there. Half a super burrito for lunch. I stopped in Pismo Beach at the Pismo Beach Preserve for a hike. I decided to do the Blue Spring to Spring loop hike, about 3.4 miles. I’d never hiked at this preserve before but keep seeing it as we pass by when visiting Pismo Beach. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to stay and eat tonight. I decided to stop in Santa Maria at the Cracker Barrel restaurant where I also spent the night.

Tuesday: (12/12) Leftover burrito for breakfast. I left Cracker Barrel early and drove down to Buellton and parked a while with good cell signal to plan my day. I reserved the ferry to Santa Cruz island in Channel Islands NP for Thursday. There were no sailings on Wednesday. So, I needed to have something to do until Thursday. I decided to Hike up to the top of Gaviota peak (7.4mi) and also to Hike to the Gaviota Wind Caves (2.5mi).I finished up the Wind Cave Hike at 1700 just as it was getting dark. I drove over to a nearby Rest Area for the night. I prepared a hotdog and cheese sandwich for dinner followed by some apple pie. Oddly, even though this Rest Area is very tiny with only room for 10 cars and 2 trucks, the only long time residents are one truck and myself even now at 2100. I expected competition which is why I checked in early.

Wednesday: (12/13) I was up early and ate a couple of Lou’s Frittatas for breakfast. I came down to Carpinteria. I did my laundry there. I stopped at a Smart And Final market and got some apples and bananas as well as some ripe avocados. I had guacamole and chips for lunch. I found where the ferry would leave from and checked in at the office. Fortunately they also provided a pass to park overnight in the lot. I took a nap in the afternoon then explored the shopping center next door. Mostly restaurants. While I napped, a carnival that had their trucks parked in the same lot had set up their equipment on a grassy area next to the lot. Loaded baked potato soup with toast for dinner.

Thursday: (12/14) Granola for breakfast. I took the ferry out to Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands NP at 0900. It takes most of 2 hours to get there. We did get to see dolphin, whales, and porpoises on the way. I headed right to the trail. I barely had time to do my 8.6 mile loop hike. It is the Montañon Ridge Loop hike that goes out along the bluffs then climbs up to the top of the ridge and back. I started at about 1100 and had to be back to catch the ferry at 1500. Four hours to hike 8.6 miles and 1756 feet. I wasn’t entirely sure I would be spending the night in the cold because I missed my ferry. Instead, I made good time partly by only stopping 10 minutes to eat my sandwich for lunch. I made it back at 1445. Nice hike and great views. I also got to see a couple of the foxes that are only found here on the island. Coming back to the mainland we passed through several hundreds more porpoises. We got back about 1700. I got some food from Panda Express for dinner and stopped at Winco Market for a couple of things. I decided to return to the harbor and try to stay another night.

Friday: (12/15) I prepared scrambled eggs with bacon jerky and toast for breakfast. I head off toward who knows where about 0815. I thought I might try to hike out to the Hollywood sign from Griffith Park but I also wanted to have lunch at Eat At Joe’s restaurant in Redondo Beach which closes at 1400. It could have been possible if traffic had been better so I opted to do the hike another day and enjoy lunch. I had some fun in bad traffic on the way but eventually arrived at about 1130. I ordered the John Wayne Special. I’ve had it a couple of times before, first time 40+ years ago. It’s still the same, and an outstanding meal. Also the restaurant had the atmosphere of a friendly truck stop restaurant. After lunch I continued South on the Pacific Coast Highway stopping at a Rest Stop about 44 miles North of San Diego. I prepared some ramen noodles and added a chicken breast for dinner.

Saturday: (12/16) Granola for breakfast with a banana. I stopped at a Walmart store and got a few things. I replaced the wiper blades on the van. I got more wood chip pet bedding and serviced the compost toilet. I also bought a long squeegee for the windshield. I drove through the beach towns down to Mission Bay Beach. I got a free parking space right by the beach and a lawn where I had a salad for lunch. There was a lady with three 5 gallon bubble juice buckets then she launched bubbles from and had other visitors try their hand at making bubbles. While I was having my lunch one of her 18 inch bubbles drifted inside my van that was parked about 100 feet from her. I also walked on the promenade for a while. About 1500 I decided I’d better leave so I could get to my new home before dark. I decided to leave the city and head East toward Campo. I tried taking back roads but they all seemed to return me back to I8. I stopped for the night at a rest area on I8 near Pine Valley. I had a chicken breast with loaded baked potato soup for dinner.

Sunday: (12/17) An apple for breakfast. I drove down to Campo and visited the Southern marker of the Pacific Crest Trail. I prepared brunch there with some cheese toast with fried eggs and black bean salsa. I also trove back West on Highway 94 to Tecate Mexico border crossing. I wanted to see what I missed because I got lost yesterday afternoon. The railroad I’m looking for disappeared on the way. It turns out it enters a tunnel North of the Mexico border and exits inside Tecate Mexico. Evidently the tracks do that several times on the way to San Diego. I continued East on Highway 94 then took part of the old scenic Highway 80. I found what I was looking for just North of Jacumba Hot Springs by I8. The railroad tracks heading into Carrizo Gorge and to Goat Canyon. About 1230 I started to hike out the tracks but, after talking to other hikers and bikers I learned it is 8 miles to the trestle, and of course 8 miles back. I figured I wouldn’t be back to the van until about 1900, 2 hours after dark. I turned around about 2 miles out and will return tomorrow. I moved the van a short ways from the trailhead to a wide flat area with good cell signal for the night. Also away from the dust road. Chili and ramen for dinner.

Monday: (12/18) Granola for breakfast. I moved from my camp spot to the trailhead. I started the hike about 0730. There were two other hikers there that started shortly after I did. They had camped out there beside the rail tracks hobo style. Goat Canyon Trestle in the Carrizo Gorge area of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway North of I8 and Jacumba Hot Springs. It is the largest wooden trestle in the world.




The hike was North from near De Anza Spring Resort by Interstate 8 and headed up the Carrizo Gorge to Goat Canyon about 8 miles out then 8 more back to the start. Curtis and Peter, the other two hikers passed me at about the 3 mile mark. We met up again at the end by the trestle. We had lunch and chatted before doing some nearby exploration then returning. I had a roast beef and cheese sandwich. We all hiked back together. Back at the van I offered them ice cream bars which at first they thought was a joke but then enjoyed them. We only met one other couple on the way back. I had leftover chili and needles then wieners and tater tots for dinner.

Video of trains going through the gorge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGNejbFB1uE&list=PPSV

Tuesday: (12/19) Granola for breakfast. I head toward Julian on highway I8 then onto the Sunrise Highway 79. I stopped by a couple of PCT trailheads beside the road. Arriving in Julian just before 0800 I took a walk around town before stopping by the Julian Cafe for a great chicken fried steak breakfast. I came away with a slice of apple pie for later. I then went down the hill to Borrego Springs in Anza Borrego State park. I looked around a little, took some photos of some of the metal art figures scattered around the valley. I saw a coyote near the visitor center. I left Borrego Springs on Highway S22 and stopped on top of the mountain at the Culp Valley campground for the night. Near my camp I saw a bunny. There hasn’t been too much wildlife around.

Wednesday: (12/20) Granola with my morning pills. I took a walk up to the end of the valley to a vista point overlooking Borrego Springs on the Culp Valley Trail. I pulled out of camp about 0745. I continued West on S22 to Warner Springs. I stopped at a couple of PCT crossings for a look. I got cheap gas at an Indian casino in Anza before stopping for brunch about 1030 at the Paradise Cafe. I turned East there and headed down toward Indio. I stopped again at another PCT trail crossing and at an informative vista point with all sorts of information about Indians food sources in the desert. I did some shopping in Indio and got a date milk shake before heading East on I10 to the South entrance to Joshua Tree National park. I stayed outside the park in some BLM land there. As I was arriving to the park entrance there were a few sprinkles of rain and a big rainbow. I had a chicken breast and some ramen noodles for dinner. In the evening there was a little real rain.

Thursday: (12/21) A banana and two frittatas for breakfast. I drove up to the Cottonwood Springs trailhead in Joshua Tree National Park. I hiked out to the Lost palms Oasis. It’s 3.6 miles out then back making my hake today 7.6 miles with a little exploring at the oasis. I had half a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I returned about 1400 and drove out to a nature trail parking area. I had a good cell signal there which was a bit higher than last night’s campsite. I stayed there until just before dark then drove on down to the BLM area and picked a campsite. This time I pointed my nose down hill and that may be part of the reason I have better cell signal tonight since the windows are likely on the side of the cell tower, wherever it is. I had the rest of my ham sandwich with a salad for dinner.

Friday: (12/22) A banana and frittatas for breakfast. It rained some last night, It was foggy this morning. At 0800 I headed back into the park and drove to the Jumbo Rocks area and on through the park to Joshua Tree. I found barricades up at the entrances to campgrounds along the way saying no parking. I took that to mean no camping in the park, likely due to the rain. I continued to Yucca Valley then onto Highway 247 to Victorville. I got gas there and stopped for lunch at Raul’s Mexican restaurant for a carnitas plate. Then onto Highway 395 to Highway 58 into Bakersfield. I stopped at the Rice Bowl Chinese restaurant to pick up a shrimp dinner to go. I got gas in Buttonwillow. In Paso Robles I took Highway 101 up to Bradley and stopped at a rest area to eat some dinner. Then on to home arriving about 2130 after getting more gas.

Saturday: (12/23) I had more leftover shrimp dinner for breakfast. I moved the food from the van refrigerator to the RV. We all shared the leftover carnitas with some added chips, refried beans, salsa and cheese for lunch. I washed the van in the afternoon. Cabbage and onions with wieners for dinner. Dawn baked a pie for dessert.

Sunday: (12/24) Leftover nacho chips to go with my morning pills. I started with a shower, a hair and beard cut and another shower. Then Lou and I went shopping at Smart and Final and Nob Hill markets for a few things. Back home I prepared ham, eggs, and hash browned potatoes for breakfast. I did tank duty on the motorhome. While i was gone the Hyundai tire went flat again. I aired it up and will get new tires in a couple of days. The existing tires are original with 73K miles on them now.

Monday: (12/25) A banana to start. I prepared ham and eggs with hash browned potatoes for breakfast. I relaxed the rest of the day. We had an early Christmas dinner. Lou and Dawn made beef Wellington and Ernie made scalloped potatoes, carrot salad with pomegranate and pineapple, green beans with bacon, and deviled eggs. We had real fruit cake with peppermint ice cream for dessert later.

Tuesday: (12/26) A banana for breakfast. Brunch from Happy Donut, an egg sausage and cheese English muffin. I Was off to Jiffy Lube to get an oil change in the Hyundai. Then off to Costco to check on new tires for the Hyundai. They did have anything for the car, they evidently are odd. I did some more price checking and I decided to get them from the Hyundai dealer. I had hoped that they would have the parts for a couple of recall fixes but they are still backordered. I got an appointment for tomorrow but have to leave it all day. I also stopped at ACE to get a new light witch to replace a bad switch in a closet. Back home I installed the switch. Then I disassembled half the front of the van to replace a bad parking lamp. After determining the appropriate lamp, I went to Walmart and got the lamp. Back home I installed the lamp and reassembled the van. A really stupid design that requires removing two pieces of trim to be able to remove the entire lamp assembly to get access to twist out lamp access covers. Obviously the intent was to be able to access them from under the hood but there was no access. I picked up a late lunch from Panda Express. After lunch I raked the leaves up in our neighbors front yard then drove her car for some exercise. We had leftover steak, scalloped potatoes carrot salad and green beans.

Wednesday: (12/27) A banana for breakfast. Lou and I were off early to the Hyundai dealer in Santa Clara to get new tires. We dropped the car off a little after 0800. Then we headed to the Country Inn restaurant in Los Altos for a real breakfast. We shared a skillet which included some Swedish pancakes. Then back home. I relaxed while Lou and Dawn were out shopping and at appointments. They returned a little after 1500 and took me back to the dealer to get the Hyundai. Lou and Dawn went their way. I stopped at Kaiser in Santa Clara and got my covid booster shot. Then, on the way home I got gas and then stopped at Walmart to get new wiper blades for the Hyundai and Jeep. I got them on the Hyundai just in time for some heavy showers the rest of the way home. We had pizza for dinner.

Thursday: (12/28) A banana to start then some soft boiled eggs for breakfast. We all took a drive up to Pacifica to look at the big waves happening now due to storms and king tides. Unfortunately, it was also foggy so visibility wasn’t as good as hoped. We enjoyed our lunch in Pacifica. Then we drove down the coast stopping here and there. In Half Moon Bay we had some clam chowder for an early dinner. Dawn looked around a couple of book stores before we headed home on Highway 84. We stopped at the Container store on our way home arriving at 1830. We had some leftovers for additional dinner..

Friday: (12/29) An occasionally rainy day with some wind on the side. Granola with a side of pills to start. Only a small amount of granola because Lou promised breakfast later. She and Dawn were off to the Mexican market to get tamales for our New Year dinner. When they returned we had some tamales for breakfast as well, I installed a small dehumidifier in the van. I searched for a good location and ended up installing it under the bed in the rear left corner. Power was available there and under the bed is one of my most concerning locations. I still need to install a fan to keep the air under the bed mixed with the rest of the cabin air so the dehumidifier should handle the entire van eventually. I picked up lunch from the Lucky Chinese Bistro. After lunch I bought some PowerBall Lotto tickets. The jackpot is too high to not do it. Then I stopped by Jiffy Lube to get the cabin air filter replaced with the correct size. Their computer was indicating the wrong size but they installed it anyway. Now they have installed the correct size. Leftovers for dinner.

Saturday: (12/30) An apple to start. More rain today after lots of rain last night and yesterday. I relaxing inside all day. Lou made a real breakfast later in the morning. Tempura for a late breakfast. Crackers and cheese with guacamole for a late lunch. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.

Sunday: (12/31) New Years Eve. I had cottage cheese to start. Avocado toast for brunch. We enjoyed the usual Sunday morning shows on TV. About 1000 we all headed off to Big Basin Redwoods State Park via Highway 9 and 236. We had leftover Dawn’s soup with toast for lunch when we arrived. I took a walk while Lou and Dawn had a nap. I hiked the nature trail and then up Dool Trail and back Gazos Road and Creeping Forest Trail. Total hike was about 3.5 miles. This is my first visit to the park since the CZU fire that destroyed the park. It was nice to see how green it is again. Most of the redwood trees are coming back. Only a few trails are open so far. When I got back to the car Lou and Dawn were leaving for a walk so it was my turn to nap. When they returned it was 1630, time to get out of the park since it closes at sunset. We came out through Boulder Creek and came back home on Highway 9, 35 and Page Mill Road. We had fried rice from our neighbor Meili for dinner. Cheese dip and chips in the evening. We managed to stay up to see the new year in.

November 2023

Wednesday: (11/01) Granola for breakfast. I loaded a dumpster with leaf debris from behind our tent and cottage. I cut my hair and beard. Then I worked in the van doing some reorganization. Leftovers for lunch. I replaced some batteries in sprinkler valves. I washed the van, Hyundai, and Jeep. Shepherd's pie with baked potato for dinner.

Thursday: (11/02) Granola and applesauce for breakfast. I checked with my insurance carrier about changing the van to a motorhome. They said thy had to remove it from the existing policy and create a new policy. That new policy could not have comprehensive and wouldn’t cover the improvements. So effectively only liability to 200/year. I decided not to do anything while I checked on other carriers. I tried Progressive and they would have been around $1000/year but wouldn’t cover the improvements. I also tried Roamly insurance, a DIY van specialist but their online form didn’t give me an estimate. I went outside to work. While I was outside I got a text that I responded to later. They gave me an estimate of less than $700/year for everything I want. I also wanted to get an estimate from State Farm that also supposedly covers DIY vans. Once i get the quote for SF and confirm it actually covers the improvements, I’ll decide on who to go with. BBQ sloppy joe sandwich for lunch. When working outside I cleaned up the area where I’ll assemble a shed for the four wheel bike made from used solar panels. Lots of junk to move and/or dispose of. Macaroni and cheese for dinner.

Friday: (11/03) I prepared scrambled eggs with shredded pork, tomatoes from the garden, and cheese with some hash browned potatoes for breakfast. My project of the day was to visit a place I hate to visit because I’m boycotting it, Home Depot, to get some paving bricks to match our walkways. I’m finishing up a little patio area that I deferred until now. The patio will also contains a garage for the four wheeled bike. I had to make two runs to get 40 bricks each trip as a start for the project. When I get that initial area paved, I’ll move a bunch of retired solar panels onto that patio. Then I can dig out to add base rock to the remaining area of the patio. Before oing the first section I need to move a small pile of base rock and shave off about 2.5-3 inches of base rock. When I placed the rock I brought it to the patio top height. Now I need to make a final trip, likely to Lowe’s to get some sand. While I was napping outside the HD store before loading the second bunch of bricks, I got a call from the neighbor. Their sprinklers were not working and their yardman couldn’t fix them. From the description, the timer appeared to be working and none of the valves worked. I suspected a problem with the 24VAC possibly no 24vac or an open common. The latter was the problem. Sometime a month or so back, they had a problem with the freezer in the garage while they were traveling. The person that fixed it also unplugged the sprinkler timer but didn’t plug it back in. I plugged it in and all is well. Nice break from moving bricks. No lunch needed due to a late breakfast. Tamales for dinner. I needed to make a grocery Outlet market visit to get some salsa for the tamales.

Saturday: (11/04) Granola for breakfast. I worked on preparing a spreadsheet for the van buildout. I needed to send it and a copy of the bill of sale to the new insurance company for the van. I relaxed a while after that. Dawn made chicken celery soup for lunch. We went to her apartment to eat lunch. I then went to Lowe’s to get some sand. Then I stopped at the Grocery Outlet to resupply my ice cream bars. Chili beans for dinner.

Sunday: (11/05) Granola for breakfast. I worked in the morning assembling the miscellaneous solar panel mounting racks. Chicken pot pie without the crust for lunch. In the afternoon I removed the pigtails from the solar panels and cleaned up the panels. A nice tri-tip tomato and cheese sandwich for dinner.

Monday: (11/06) Granola for breakfast. It rained pretty good last night and continued with some showers in the morning. All good enough to not do any work today. We all went to lunch at Aqui’s restaurant in Cupertino. In the afternoon I did more nothing. Lou made spaghetti squash with mizithra cheese and corn on the cob.

Tuesday: (11/07) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the patio extension in the morning. I removed, cleaned and stacked the paver bricks that were there. They are cheap weak 12x12 concrete pavers that once were the floor in Lous pottery shop then later a floor for a storage tent. They have been relocated twice. Now they are fragile and at the wrong elevation for proper drainage. As part of building the storage shed for the 4 wheeled bike, I’m finishing the patio. Not really a patio, more of a garbage recycling and junk area. When I completed the removal, I went for a hike. I drove up to Foothills Park and hiked up and over the hill on Fern, Constoan, Los Trancos, Trappers Fire Road, and Steep Hollow trails. About a 4.5 mile loop hike. Lunch from Panda Express. Relaxing in the afternoon. Lou made fried eggs with smoked pork chops and home fried potatoes for dinner. Dawn finally got a buyer for the washing machine and it was picked up this evening.

Wednesday: (11/08) Granola for breakfast. I made a shopping run. I visited Home Depot. That is where I got the trench drain I used for all the rest of the driveway and walkway. Unfortunately, they no longer have it. I then stopped by Harbor Freight to get some red buckets. I used to get the orange Home Depot buckets but since I won't buy anything I don’t absolutely have to from Home Depot any more, red will have to do. Next stop was Lowe’s to see if they had the trench drain but thy didn’t either. I did get a similar drain to use. Panda Express for lunch. Some king of leftover for dinner.

Thursday: (11/09) Granola for breakfast. I Did some leaf cleanup in the backyard and relocated a plant to where the old washer had been by the arbor. Later, I scraped the sand off the top of where the patio will be. I also did a test dig and found that under the sand seems to be about an inch of clay and then good soil. Hopefully that is like that all over the dig. I also cleared some garden space and tested the bike approach into the shed. It looks like I’ll need a new plan and possibly a modification to the bike. I went to lunch at Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City. I had some stuffed bell peppers. Dawn’s Toscana Zuppa for dinner.

Friday: (11/10) Happy birthday Dawn. When Lou went outside for here early morning walk at 0600 she found a flooding garden spot next to where I’m working on the patio. I had removed a branch of the drip tubing and it started watering at 0500 so the 640 gallons that flowed out made a mess. No more work there until it dries out some. Granola for breakfast. Later in the morning we all went to breakfast, # 2 for me, at A Good Morning restaurant. Back home, Lou and Dawn headed out for a thrifting trip around the East bay and Dublin. I tinkered on the van a little. I installed a cup holder by Lous side of the bed on one of the back doors. I also installed the new 90# magnet on the passenger table. That took way too long to get it in place and holding. I also installed a 40# magnet latch on the outside table. I didn’t need lunch. For dinner I had leftover mac and cheese and a couple of wieners. In the evening I watched a very interesting interview with Chuck Peddle, a prolific engineer and business executive responsible for much of the existence of the personal computer. Then developed the 6502 chip that led to the Apple 2, hard drives on PC’s cheap computers like the PET, Vic20, C64, and Victor computers. Also involved in the development of 2 sided floppy and hard drives.

Saturday: (11/11) Granola for breakfast. I worked outside cleaning up things. Mostly, I cleaned out the tent and made room for the four wheeled bike. I ended up filling the two compost bins and the recycle bin. Dawn’s celery soup for lunch. After lunch and a rest, I got to work on the van. I installed the ultrasonic pest device under the van's hood. I also cleaned the bedding by tossing in the dryer. Dawn and Lou made chicken pot pies for dinner.

Sunday: (11/12) The usual slow Sunday morning. Lou prepared fried eggs with leftover chicken pie filling and leftover French fries. Leftover soup for lunch. I did a little work on the van. I finally wired up the fan over the refrigerator, no simple task because I have to remove the refrigerator any time I want to access the fuse panel. Who designed this van? Chile with ramen for dinner.

Monday: (11/13) I grabbed breakfast from Happy donut on my way to Portola Valley for a hike at Windy Hill Preserve. Patty, a new leader with SJMWH lead her first hike up Hamm's Gulch trail to the top and back. Perfect weather with a rare windless picnic at the top. On the way home I stopped at Ray’s Grill on the Stanford campus for some asada fries. Excellent. Back home I took a short nap. Then I hurried down to San Jose to Russ Equipment to see them about the motorhome shock absorbers. They don't seem to provide any damping. I got there just before 1600 and found them closed for the day. I did get to speak to the boss for a moment and he asked me to call back in 2-3 days because they were extremely busy now. So, I should have called but actually that was only one reason for the drive. I stopped by House Of Pizza for a Confusion Pizza. I enjoyed some of it in their parking lot then put the rest away for a couple more mels in the future. This Extremely Small Pizza feeds me for three meals. I relaxed in the parking lot because i hate driving in commute traffic so I was waiting for traffic to die down.

Tuesday: (11/14) Leftover asada fries for breakfast. I loaded a bunch of buckets with dirt from where I’m expanding the patio. 14 buckets turns out to be 700 pounds of dirt per the scale at the dump. My little car carries a pretty good load.. Back home I loaded the buckets again and started to head back to the dump about 1230. But then I thought I should check to see what their hours are. They are 6am-2pm so I returned home with my laid and have something to do tomorrow morning. I took a nap instead. Lou and Dawn were out at a doctor's appointment and thrifting. They had lunch at the New York Cheesecake Factory. In the evening, after traffic died down, I went to Harbor Freight to get some tools for another tool bag for the van. I like each vehicle to have their own tool kit. Then I stopped by Walmart neighborhood Market nearby, for some things. Leftover pizza for lunch and dinner.

Wednesday: (11/15) I headed off about 0730 to take my download of dirt to the dump in Santa Clara. When I got back Ernie called to say his refrigerator in the trailer had failed. I checked it and it had power and was hot. It is also 20 years old. He found one in San Jose at Best Buy. I started feeling bad when I got home from the dump. I think I had food poisoning. I threw up several times. So, when we got home, Lou made me relax. She and Dawn put out all the garbage and the stuff for cleanup day. I started feeling a little better about 1800. Still no eating today.

Thursday: (11/16) More relaxing today with no eating, until a late salad in the afternoon. I evidently had a quick passing food poisoning. In the afternoon i did work on removing Ernie’s old refrigerator which required figuring out how it was attached. Then I cut off the coils in the rear to make it narrow enough to get out through the door. That caused some excitement when it started spewing the ammonia gas. All was well after a lot of ventilation by running the cooler. We unboxed the new refrigerator and placed it into its space. More fitting to be done tomorrow.

Friday: (11/17) Tamales for breakfast. I finished the installation of Ernie’s refrigerator. I got the table saw out, since we had a break in the rain this morning. I cut a 2x2 to extend the bottom platform that supports the refrigerator and installed it. Now the door can swing fully open. I also cut some trim since the new refrigerator is 3 inches shorter and narrower. I installed some brackets to keep the refrigerator from moving back in the space. I oil finished all the wood pieces. Salad for lunch. After lunch I went to ACE to get a cap for the old gas line to the refrigerator. With it installed the job is done. I headed off in the van to Felton to attend a show by Jenny And The Mexicats. I left Palo Alto at 1400 to avoid traffic and find a parking space. Nice rain starting at 1600. The show is at 2000. I took a walk along the street. I picked up my dinner at a Chinese Bistro, some pork egg foo yung. Very good. I also visited a thrift store across the street, exploring for Lou. At 1900 I went into the Music Hall. I found one of the few chairs and claimed it. The room holds about 270 people so there won't be a huge crowd for the show. The warmup band was more like a disc spinner but did play an accordion, the guitar and a synthesizer. Later a drummer joined him. I really didn’t enjoy them. The Mexicats were totally different. They play all the favorites. This show was much better than the show I attended in San Francisco. They seemed to be having a lot of fun and the audience was too. Great show. Their show was over 1.5 hours. I left Felton about 2300. In Mountain View I stopped by the back to get cash and then the gas station for gas. I also warmed up my leftovers from dinner.

Saturday: (11/18) I had granola and one of Lou’s breakfast biscuits to start. A little rain today.I never got going relaxing all day. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Spaghetti and meatballs with baked squash for dinner.

Sunday: (11/19) A nice day. The usual slow Sunday morning. Granola for breakfast. Lou and i took a walk before lunch. We walked over to the Bol Park Donkeys to say hi. Lou picked up a little girl for a ride on her scooter on the path to the donkeys. We then walked over to the Stanford campus to pick up lunch at Ray's Grill, two nice tri-tip burritos. We brought them back home and had lunch with Dawn. I’ll get to enjoy the other half of my burrito tomorrow morning. A nice nap in the afternoon. A little reorganizing in the van. We had chicken hamburgers for dinner. In the evening we went to Dawn’s to attend the Tellabration via Zoom where Dawn told one of the stories.

Monday: (11/20) I picked up breakfast at Happy Donut on my way up the hill to the Los Trancos OSP. I relaxed there and enjoyed my tea and breakfast as I waited for my fellow hikers to arrive. I led a 7.5 mile hike on the trails in Los Trancos preserve and down into Foothills park, then back. Our hike in the preserve shows some signs of earthquake activity in the past including a fence that was offset six feet by the fault movement below. Seven people joined me for this hike. On the way home, I stopped at Ray’s Grill again and got some chow mein for lunch. Back Home I relaxed the rest of the day. I had the leftover half a burrito for dinner.

Tuesday: (11/21) I prepared a ham, egg and cheese sandwich this morning. With this cold weather, I really am not inspired to get outside and do anything. Possibly in a day or two after more drying out, I will get back to the patio. Lou made tri-tip with baked potatoes and peas for lunch. In the evening, I drove Meili’s car to Harbor Freight and Walmart neighborhood Market to give it some exercise and get a few things I needed. Salad for dinner.

Wednesday: (11/22) Lou made an omelet for breakfast. I had a doctor's video visit in the morning. We went up to Redwood City for lunch at Harry’ Hofbrau. However, being the day before Thanksgiving, there was a line out the door for people picking up their dinner for tomorrow. We decided to go to Appelbee’s restaurant instead. That was followed by a visit to the thrift store, the library and Grocery outlet. Lou and Dawn had stuffing for their dinner. My dinner is unknown.

Thursday: (11/23) Leftover omelet for breakfast. I tinkered on the computer all morning. We had our Thanksgiving meal after 1400.

Friday: (11/24) Granola for breakfast. I cleaned the leaves up in ours and our neighbors front yards. The leaves kept falling and we had room in the dumpster so I filled them. Also, when I cleaned up leaves last week, I couldn’t clean under a parked car in front of the neighbors house that was not there this morning. Chili beans for lunch. I filled my 14 5 gallon buckets and loaded them in the car with the intent to do a dump run and fill them again today. I mentioned to Lou that Kaiser had gotten back to me about my podiatry referral and they wanted me to get some x-rays of my feet. She wanted me to do them right away so off we went. It took no time to get them done today, no line no wait. However, that made me too late to make a dump run before they closed at 1400 so I got to relax the rest of the day. Asparagus soup with toast for dinner.

Saturday: (11/25) I made scrambled eggs with ham for breakfast. I got the rototiller out and broke up some dirt to refill the buckets on Monday for a second trip after I dump the current load. Lou made fried eggs with bacon and home fried potatoes for lunch. For dinner, we went to Harry's Hofbrau where Lou and Dawn got their birthday dinner of prime rib.

Sunday: (11/26) Granola for breakfast. The usual slow Sunday morning. I started cutting up the old refrigerator from Ernie’s trailer to add it to the garbage bin. It will take a week or two to get rid of it. Leftover lasagna for lunch. I took an outing in the afternoon. I went to Stanford mall and walked around. It’s been a while since I visited it and I wanted to see what was there. I also went over the the Stanford Arizona Garden . It is always a nice place to visit. From there i headed down to the Westgate shopping area. I looked around REI and other stores there. Then I stopped by the Walmart Neighborhood Market and Harbor Freight on the way home. HF actually closed five minutes after i got there but I got what I came for, I just didn’t get to look around and get all the things I didn’t come for. I ate my dinner in their parking lot, a salad, before continuing on home. Salad for dinner.

Monday: (11/27) I was fasting this morning. I headed off early to the dump, Mission Trails Garbage in Santa Clara, the self disposal site for Palo Alto. Not a short drive. I dumped my 14 buckets, 700 pounds of dirt. It was a slow process even though I was the sixth person in line. With that complete, I stopped by the Kaiser Clinic in Mountain View to drop off some blood. Back home I prepared some ham and eggs for my breakfast. I then loaded up another load of dirt and headed off to the dump again. Back home again, Lou had prepared sausage, potatoes, and corn on the cob for lunch. I relaxed for a while then loaded up 15 more buckets of dirt into the car for tomorrow. For dinner I had salad and yogurt. In the evening we visited our nearby ACE store to get a replacement duplex outlet to replace a bad outlet in our living room.

Tuesday: (11/28) Fried eggs and ham for Lou and my breakfast. After breakfast i headed off to the dump. I arrived and there was one truck in front of me. I checked for my wallet and it was at home. So no ID to prove where the load was coming from and no credit card to pay to dump, so a quick U-turn and back homer to get my wallet. Only 15 miles between the dump and home. I returned and had to wait for the now 10 trucks ahead of me, about 40 minutes. With that task done I headed down to San Jose and visited the canopy shop to get a new roof and wall tarps for the tent in our backyard. I stopped by House Of Pizza in San Jose for a Very Small Confusion pizza for lunch about 1300. It is good for 3-4 of my lunches. I ate it in the lot and relaxed a while there before heading home. On the way i stopped at REI and bought a small bear vault (BV425) to use for overnight backpack trips. My BV500 is much too big for a night or two. Back home I put everything away and settled in to relax. Lou made vegetable soup for dinner.

Wednesday: (11/29) A good rain last night. Pizza for breakfast. I went to Kaiser for a podiatry appointment. I wanted to get my feet checked out due to some spreading numbness on the soles of my feet that started when I started the PCT hike 10 years ago. It seems to be expanding recently. Evidently nothing to worry about. The doctor recommended taking some vitamin B complex pills to help the nerves. Pretty much what I learned from Youtube. Good to know the facts though. I did some shopping after my appointment. I stopped at a new Savers Thrift store across the street from Kaiser. I found some glass mugs like i use for my tea. We all have out own versions. Clear for Lou, green for Dawn and thin clear for me. The cups are like mason jars with handles and my thin ones originally came with jelly. I was down to only three and I needed a couple in the van, a couple in the Rv and a couple in the house. I need two because I brew up a second cup of tea while drinking the first cup of tea. Green tea takes some time to brew and I don’t like hot tea so the tea is perfect after brewing and cooling for a while. I also visited the Grocery outlet next door for a couple of things, I stopped on my way home for lunch from Panda Express. Then I stopped at EVL Motor, an electric bicycle shop to look at electric scooters. Nothing just right. I may change from hauling my electric bicycle to hauling an electric scooter to save room in the van. Lou made Shepherd’s Pie for dinner with Brussels sprouts for dinner.

Thursday: (11/30) Threat of rain today. Dawn made corn buns with ham and cheese for breakfast. I work in the van this morning fitting my medium sized marmot backpack, a 37L pack, with all the stuff from my larger 65L pack I used on the PCT hike. My intent is a nice overnighter backpack. The new BV425 bear canister fits nicely. I had leftover pizza for lunch.

October 2023

Sunday: (10/01) Bean soup for breakfast. Lou made ham and eggs with home fried sauerkraut potatoes for lunch. I had some leftover from the freezer BBQ ribs for dinner. I finally did a follow up Covid test today and I am negative. I tinkered a little doing some final packing and purging items from the van. In the evening I made another shopping run to Smart and Final to get more oranges for Lou and some potatoes and onions. I also stopped at Marshal’s to get the potato peeler I was supposed to get before.

Monday: (10/02) Granola and applesauce for breakfast. I got to work with dirty job. Also a dangerous job for an old man. I cleaned the leave debris off the house roof and the sunroom roof. The sun room is directly under the live oak tree and has a basically flat roof so it collects a good load. I tend to let it go longer than I should. Lou wants it cleaned too often for my likes. Since I’m taking off for a week or so and she has been threatening to clean it off herself, I had to get it done before I leave. Definitely not a job for an old lady. It took all morning but it’s done now. Leftover moussaka and roast chicken for lunch. In the afternoon I drained the gray water tank and filled the fresh water tanks. I also disconnected the charged battery and charged the trouble maker battery. Hopefully, once they are balanced they will track better. Cheesy chicken tater tots for dinner.

Tuesday: (10/03) A nice slow morning. I relaxed in bed much of the morning watching morning TV (CBS Mornings, Live with Kelly, and The View) while also catching up on some Youtube videos like the late night comedy shows return. I did some additional packing, fixed a garden hose. I finally prepared a big ham, cheese and egg breakfast sandwich about 1030.I headed off in the Hyundai toward Redwood City but had to turn around. The power steering wouldn’t stay on. I took the van up to Grocery outlet there as well as stopping at West Marine for a folding wall cup holder. Theirs are better built than anywhere else as well as cheaper. Another stop was the bank for some cash. Cash gas prices are worth the trouble. When I got home an Amazon package that i order late Friday and showed no progress until 2:35am this morning when it shipped, had arrived before 1430. I expected it to be the usual 10 pm delivery. It was some cable and connectors I need to recircuit the batteries to a new battery switch that will allow me to isolate the batteries. I may do that in camp somewhere. Anyway, since it was only 1430, I called Lou and told her i was on my way early. I had thought I wouldn’t get away until tomorrow morning. Traffic wasn’t bad until I got on the 580 freeway leaving Livermore. I stopped In Tracy for a break and to eat dinner. I had picked up some fried rice and Honey walnut shrimp when I passed through Freemont at the Asia Express restaurant. By the time I was back on the road traffic had gotten worse It didn’t get better until i was on the East side of Manteca. I stopped in Oakdale for a couple of more things at Grocery Outlet and I got gas there. I headed out of Oakdale as it got dark at 1850. I finally stopped for the night above Groveland at the Pines Forest Service Campground.

Wednesday: (10/04) I awoke at 0500 and prepared a nice bacon, eggs and cheese with hash browned potatoes for my breakfast. I was on the road about 0615 and entered Yosemite park before the entrance kiosk opened. I parked at Curry Village and hiked up to Vernal and Nevada Falls. It was my post Covid test hike which i intended to be a 5-6 mile hike but this hike was 10.2 miles. I was ready to quit before I walked a mile but I pushed through and it wasn’t a bad hike. I had my usual trail lunch of some tuna and crackers and added a Cliff Bar. Back at the Van I had an ice cream bar reward. I left Curry Village and headed up Tioga Road.I stopped about 1600 for some leftover chicken tater tots by a lake. I had intended to camp by Saddlebag Lake just outside the park but, for multiple reasons that whole area is closed to camping. I came down Tioga Pass and stopped at Aspen Campground for the night. At camp I had my leftover fried rice and shrimp for more dinner. I relaxed and had a shower then watched some downloaded videos.

Thursday: (10/05) Two Eggo waffles for breakfast with some bacon jerky. Drove the June Lake Loop road. Stopped in Mammoth Lakes for gas and at the visitor center. Decided to take the road to Benton where I connected with Highway 120 the Highway 6 into Bishop. I had a salad for lunch. I picked up some clam chowder at Von’s Market for dinner. I continued down to Big Pine and took Highway 168 out to the Ancient Bristle Cone Pines Forest. I camped at the Grandview forest service CG about 2,5 miles down from the Visitor center.

Friday: (10/06) I left camp and drove up to the Visitor Center, which is closed for the season. I had a slice of apple pie for breakfast. I hiked the 4.5 mile Methuselah Trail through the Bristle Cone Forest. Nice hike. A little frosty to start and some snow still on the trail. I drove back down to Big Pine and had a slice of pizza for lunch. I headed up toward Onion Valley and stopped early at Upper Grey’s Meadow CG. Before I left town I picked up some TriTip BBQ which I had for dinner with ramen noodles. While I was in town I caught up on some computing. Nice relaxing in camp all the rest of the afternoon.

Saturday: (10/07) I prepared ham and eggs with hash browned potatoes for breakfast. Then, I drove up the road to the Onion Valley Trailhead. I hiked up to the top of Kearsarge Pass and back. Lots of other hikers both day hikers like me and PCT hikers. Also a lot of the day hikers brought their dogs and most were leashed. The hike was about 10 miles RT. Beautiful views on a clear day. Nice to get a peak over the pass into the interior of the sierras. I drove on down to Lone Pine. They had an Art In The Park event. I looked around several campgrounds and at Alabama Hills but nothing was available. I decided to not continue South and started heading back up North. I ended up spending the night at a rest area North of Independence.

Sunday: (10/08) I drove up to Bishop and got my breakfast at the Pupfish Cafe, a nice avocado and clamata olives on toast. I drove up to Sabrina lake looking for fall color on the trees but it is still too early. Some yellow but no good variety of color. I stopped at Von’s market and got some soup and picked up some soup for dinner and a chicken breast for lunch. I continued up to Mammoth and drove down to Devil’s Pos tPile and hiked out to see it and on to Rainbow Falls and Lower Rainbow Falls. About a 6.5 mile hike. I was supposed to rest today but Devils Post Pile Road is only open on Saturday and Sunday and I was arriving at 1500. I finished the hike about 1715. I topped off my gas and picked up some bottled water that I had forgotten earlier. Then I continued North stopping at another Rest Area for the night.

Monday: (10/09) I had some leftover hot and sour soup for breakfast. I then drove down to look at Hot Creek Geologic Site. It is boiling hot so people are not allowed anywhere hear the creek. I then looked around nearby at possible dispersed camping sites. In fact, there are some right next to the Hot Creek parking area. After the look around, I drove North and stopped at Bodie State Park. it is a well preserved old mining town but isn’t really informative. I munched an apple for lunch. The museum was closed and i missed being able to see the stamp mill. On the way in I stopped to watch a huge flock of sheep. There was a shepherd with two collies and two sheep dogs. When I returned back it on the same road the sheep were gone and even the temporary electric fence they had by the road was gone. All in a little over two hours. I continued North and stopped at the Burger Barn in Bridgeport. Wonderhussy claims they make the best Asada Fries and I will admit they are great. I added a blackberry milkshake as well. A nice late lunch and early dinner about 1530. I then drove more North stopping for the night beside the Walker River. I had a bowl of soup later.

Tuesday: (10/10) I was up about 0600 before the sun. I knew of another car that was parked very nearby that had evidently come in while I was relaxing in the late afternoon or evening. I really didn’t hear them but saw the glow of their inside lights when I walked down to the river before going to bed. My campsite required some rock avoiding navigation to get into. Well, I only had to roll 50 feet forward and discover another neighbor. He was parked in the road and I thought was completely blocking my exit. After studying the route with my headlights blasting into his camper and after getting very close I determined that I could squeeze through and roll over what looked like troublesome rocks with their menacing shadows. Not an inch to spare. I headed North through Topaz, Gardnerville, and into Carson. I stopped in Gardnerville at a Meeks building materials and also an ACE store to look around. Lou had reported that the evaporative cooler motor had failed so I was looking for a replacement which out local stores do not carry. The online ACE website said they had one at that ACE but they didn’t. They did have one at the Dayton Nv ACE store. It was only 10 miles out of the way East. They actually had about 10 motors. Must get hot there. I stopped in Carson at a Basque cafe for breakfast about 1100. I had a homemade chorizo stuffed chili relleno with rice, beans and a fried egg. Really tasty. I bought gas at the nearby Costco store before heading on toward home. I drove through South Lake Tahoe on High 50 then turned onto highway 89 then 88. I stopped for a nap on the way down the mountain when it started to rain. I then continued on highway 12, and then 26 taking me to Stockton where I caught highway 99 to Manteca. I stopped to look around the Bass Pro Store. I had hoped to spend the night there but Manteca doesn’t allow it. I drove a little South on highway 99 and parked for the night at the Flying J truck stop. I got a slice of pizza to supplement my broccoli salad for dinner.

Wednesday: (10/11) Up at 0500 due a door banging into the side of the van and loud talking and cursing. I prepared to leave. I drove over to Tracy to the Winco Market and parked. I napped more until 0900. I then explored the Winco Market, Ross's and Marshal’s and then a Walmart before going to the nearby Golden Corral buffet for breakfast at 1100. Not much I could really eat there due to my starting a no fiber and other limitations for my upcoming colonoscopy. I then headed on toward home. I filled the gas tank before getting home. I relaxed some more before starting the cleanup. I drained the gray water tank, drained the fresh water tanks and refill them. Some of that water has been in the tanks for eight months. Even though I had taken three very generous showers, washed all my dishes and gotten all my drinking water, the tanks were still very full and took a long time to drain. I washed off the van with some then gravity drain the rest and it took over 30 minutes more to drain. Then I washed the van. Lou made a baked potato with ham, cheese and salsa for dinner.

Thursday: (10/12) Today is a fasting day getting ready for my colonoscopy tomorrow. So no breakfast, lunch or dinner. Just relaxing all day.

Friday: (10/13) Up really early to do the final lensing. Lou drove me to Kaiser and I was checked in around 0800. My appointment was for 0900 but I was out in recovery about 0905. Lou picked me up and we were off before 1000. We stopped for breakfast in Los Altos at the Country Inn. We shared a bacon avocado omelet soufflé which came with my favorite Swedish pancakes. Back home and time to rest until the meds wear off. Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.

Saturday: (10/14) Bacon jerky with fried eggs and hash browned potatoes for breakfast. So nie to be able to eat again. Just one day not being allowed to eat makes me appreciate it even more. I tried to do some things on the van but all I got done was measuring its height which is 8’10”. I also did some laundry from my trip. Later, I prepared some paperwork in preparation for re-registering the van as a motorhome. They want some photos and cost information both for DMV and my insurance company.

Sunday: (10/15) Granola for breakfast. Lou and I made a Grocery outlet run this morning. A nice Super Taqueria lunch. Relaxed all day. Lou and Dawn prepared stuffed squash with asparagus and rice for dinner.

Monday: (10/16) Banana with granola for breakfast. I called Cole Jeep in SLO and got an appointment for Wednesday. Then I reserved a site in Oceana SP for Tuesday through Thursday nights. Weight away in the Jeep and van about 1400. We stopped at the Longhouse in Gilroy for a garlic lunch. I then took the van to the Cat Scale at a truck stop. It weighed 8360 lbs. Lou and Dawn checked the thrift stores nearby. We met at Walmart then headed on South. We stopped in Greenfield to pickup some flan for latter. We then went onto the Rest Stop South of Bradley for the night.

Tuesday: (10/17) Avocado toast with leftover garlic porkchops for breakfast. We separated ways. Lou and Dawn thrift shopping me looking around. They had lunch at a Huckleberries restaurant . I had a Costco chicken bake for lunch. We checked in to our campsite at Pismo SB Oceana CG about 2500. Dinner at Old Juan's Cantina.

Wednesday: (10/18) Leftover pancakes and bacon jerky for breakfast. We prepared the van to roll. I headed off to the Dealer for an appointment for a recall fix and an oil change. I waited un the area. I attended my Wednesday webinar in front of Vons market. I had a piece of chicken from for lunch. I walked over to a park for a nap. I got the van back at 1300 and headed home. Lou and Dawn has been out at Grover Beach thrift stores but we're back at camp relaxing. We went to A clam chowder dinner at Pismo Gish and chips.

Thursday: (20/19) Strawberry and banana waffles for breakfast. It was foggy and soggy today. Lou and Dawn were off to SLO to thrift. They had lunch from Von’s market. I took a drive South to Guadalupe and Santa Maria looking for a hike. Nothing found. I had lunch at about 1400 at Francisco's Country Inn. I was back at camp about 1630. Lou and Dawn returned about 1730. Salad for dinner.

Friday: (10/20) We prepared to leave. Lou and Dawn took showers. We took a walk around the campground. About 1100 we went to Francisco's Country Inn for brunch. Lou and I shared a corned beef hash with some bacon. Dawn had loaded oatmeal. We then went our separate ways toward our new campsite at Morro Bay State Park. Lou wanted to join me in Bakersfield for lunch at the Rice Bowl but today it was to be 96 degrees. Tomorrow is supposed to be 85 degrees. So we reserved another night here on the coast and Morro Bay had the only sites. We were still foggy and soggy this morning in Oceana but once over the hill into SLO it was sunny and remained sunny in Morro Bay. Maybe we’ll get the batteries recharged today. We’ve had to conserve yesterday and today. I stopped at Costco for gas and REI for a look around. I found my 6 egg case that I’ve been looking for. Only 12 egg cases were to be found until now. Lou and Dawn visited a thrift store for more stuff. We met at Morro Bay SP a little after 1400 and checked in. Lou prepared an omelet for lunch. We looked around Morro Bay a little. Beans for dinner.

Saturday: (10/21) Granola for breakfast. Lou and Dawn took showers and we prepared to roll. We headed toward Bakersfield on Highway 166. We met in Bakersfield at the Rice Bowl and had lunch with my cousin Judy and her husband Don and Lou’s old room mate Anita. Lou and Dawn continued North to Tulare to do more thrifting on their way home. I drove out through Glenville to Wofford Heights then North along the Kern River to Johnsondale. I considered taking Sherman Pass Road over to Kennedy Meadows and Highway 395 but decided I wanted to stay on the West side of the mountains. I stopped for the night on a forest service road between Johnsondale and California Hot Springs. (35.9425000, 118.6380000). When I stopped i started my water heater with the intent to take a shower. The, in my wisdom, I decided I could have my dinner while I waited for the hot water. Big mistake. It very quickly trimmed my main battery fuse, a 300 amp fuse. I checked my fuse stash and luckily found I had planned ahead and I did have a spare. To install it i had to move the refrigerator out of the way and open the top of the electrical compartment to get access to the fuse. Nice to see the lights back on. No second attempt to take a shower until I replace the spare fuse stock. I got to enjoy a shrimp dinner (shrimp with chow mein) for my lunch and leftover lunch for dinner. Also, the driving today and sunny skies managed to fully charge my batteries.

Sunday: (10/22) A foggy morning. I prepared bacon and eggs with hash browned potatoes for breakfast. After breakfast I took a shower. I left in the fog. I drove down to Porterville. I Found a Vallarta Market where I picked up some chili rellenos. I also stopped at another Mexican restaurant and got a carnitas torta. Then I continued up Highway 65 to Exeter and took Highway 180 into Sequoia National Park. I stopped at a view point after entering the park to eat half of my torta for lunch about 1400. It was foggy everywhere in the park. After a look at the Sherman tree I headed further up in the park. No, instead of fog there was also smoke due to active burns being done. It was near 1700 when I got to the junction of Highway 190. I hadn’t seen any open campgrounds so I decided to head out of the park to find a place to spend the night. I had planned on returning into the park and continuing into Kings Canyon NP in the morning. But, there were no places to stop. Mostly private property instead of National Forest. I then decided to just head toward home. I continued down to Fresno then got on Highway 99 which soon came to a full stop. After a little creeping I took the first exit. There was a TA Truck Stop there where I thought I might spend the night but there were no other people doing the same si I decided to just take the back rod over to Firebaugh and Highway 5. I planned on spending the night there but no places to stop including the rest area which was closed. In the end I just drove home after a short stop for my chili relleno dinner in Gilroy at 1000. I was home at 1130. .

Monday: (10/23) I spent some time in the office in the morning. I had homed to get an Amazon delivery of some spare fuses but they wont be arriving until possibly 2200 so I decided to hit the road. I had the other half of my carnitas torta for lunch. I got away a little after noon. I did some exploration near San Luis Reservoir. I tried to go up to Henry Coe’s South entrance but evidently it is closed and only rarely open. I still want to get up there and hike. I also stopped at Pacheco State Park. It also is on the list for some hikes. I also went out to Dinosaur Point which is a boat launch area on the South side of the lake. And finally, I stopped at Cottonwood Wildlife refuge. I found out I can camp there in the parking area so a possible site to go with the other hiking sites. I then continued out Highway 152 to Madera where I got gas and then spent the night at Walmart. Chili relleno for dinner.

Tuesday: (10/24) Up at 0600. I had some pie for breakfast. Since I was parked at Walmart and I remembered I could use a pair of reading glasses, I went inside and got a pair. My real glasses won’t stay in place. I’ve been looking for a strap to keep them in place. Haven’t been able to find any yet. The reading glasses work fine. I headed out of town on Highway 145 driving through the foothills and through North Fork then on into Yosemite. I drove out to Glacier Point and had lunch, some broccoli cheddar soup, with a fabulous view. Then I came back to Sentinel Dome and hike to the top for more views. It was nearing 1600 and I’ve decided i need to get settled in to cam earlier so I decided to head out 120 and look for a spot. I did stop in the valley to take some photos and watch the El Capitan climbers. As I approached the exit booth on Highway 120 i noticed Hodgdon Meadows campground and decided to see if they had a site. They did so I settled in about 1730, before it got dark. I had BBQ baby back ribs and Spanish rice for dinner.

Wednesday: (10/25) Apple pie for breakfast. I drove out of Yosemite NP and went down to Hetch Hetchy area of Yosemite reentering the park. I hiked out to see some waterfalls. I went by Wamata Falls and on to Rancheria Falls. A nice 13 mile hike on a nice day. The mosquitos and flies were a little bothersome but a storm trying to come in provided a nice breeze occasionally and provided some relief. It also provided the threat of rain that did start as I drove away from the parking area. Lunch was the usual trail lunch of tuna salad and crackers. After a nice shower at a pullout on the highway I drove further down the mountain to another pullout for dinner and to spend the night, It had some cell signal which their first location did not. I had BBQ baby back ribs and Spanish rice again for dinner.

Thursday: (10/26) Apple pie for breakfast. Did I mention that I ended up with two apple pies in my refrigerator for this trip. I left my campsite in the dark of morning departing at 0630. I drove down Highway 120 to Highway 49 and stopped in Sonora for a walk. Then on to Highway 4 through Stockton and Clayton then caught Highway 680 to Highway 84 and on home. I stopped for a walk along the way East of Clayton at the Round Valley Regional Preserve. I picked up Lunch about 1400 in Union City at my favorite Honey Walnut Shrimp Chinese restaurant. Leftover Chinese food for dinner. I prepared the Van to leave tomorrow morning to Dave’ Ranch. Lou and Dawn were going to go but decided not to at the last minute. I have to go because I’m the host.

Friday: (10/27) I prepared pork roast with fried eggs for breakfast. About 0930 I headed off in the van to Dave’s Ranch. I did stop at Super Taqueria for a super burrito and at King egg roll for some egg rolls before heading over Mt Hamilton on Highway 130. There was some bad signage that implied the road may be closed. Coming down the back side the County was doing some repaving and I was passing through during their lunch break, otherwise it would have been closed. I arrived at the ranch gate about 1220 but it was locked. I decided to prepare some paper plate signs while I waited. A rancher came out the gate and left his lock unlocked for me but I was hesitant to go inside and not be sure of a way out. Dave and his wife Lou showed up shortly and we went in. Markus was right behind us. I settled in. I did some weeding around the van and picked up the cow pies near the van and around the ranch house. I also cleaned off the picnic tables. We were surprised when one of the other owners fly his plane in. When he was taking off to leave, Pavel and Ludemilla arrived. Pavel. Ludemilla, Dave, Lou and I took a walk out by the old homestead cabin. When we were returning, Henry met us on the trail. I had some cottage cheese and cold cuts for lunch. Dinner was half of the burrito I picked up. In the evening we had a campfire and Tom drove in. We enjoyed the campfire until about 2200.

Saturday: (10/28) I took a morning walk before breakfast at 0700. Then I fried some eggs and pork roast slabs for breakfast. At about 0930 Pavel. Ludamilla, Tom, Henry, and I walked the Ridge Trail. Back at the Van, Lou came bay to say Dave needed some help with a water leak in his trailer. Just where the leak was, wasn’t easy to find. Eventually some blue towels determined it was the pump leaking. When I got back to the van I found out that Anna and Chinse had arrived and had actually tried to catch up to us on the ridge trail. I had my remaining burrito half for lunch. Later I took Chinse and Anna on a narrated hike to the homestead cabin. The hikers BBQ’d lots of stuff for dinner and also had some taco makings. I brought some egg rolls as appetizers. Then a nice campfire in the evening with Scott, Tim, Clint, Frank, Darlene, Tom, Brad, Dave, Lou

Sunday: (10/29) Granola for breakfast. I helped cleanup the house and outside. I left the ranch about 1000. Just some of the biker group remaining. I thanked Dave for having us for the weekend. I returned via Mt Hamilton Road. Back down in San Jose, I called to order a pizza at House Of Pizza. I picked it up and relaxed in the parking lot while eating some pizza and catching up on email. Then I took a nap before heading on home. A little van clean up and more napping before BBQ ribs with corn and tater tots for dinner.

Attendees:  Bikers =Clint, Brad, Scott, Tim, Frank, Markus, Darlene. Hikers= Dave, Don, Chinse, Ludmilla, Pavel, Tom, Anna, Henry

Monday: (10/30) A leftover half burrito for breakfast. I worked in the office all day cleaning off my desk and paying bills. Later in the morning Lou and I went to Costco and Dawn visited a bookstore. When we returned home we enjoyed tamales for lunch. I was back to work in the office at home. Chili beans ala Lou for dinner.

Tuesday: (10/31) Leftover pizza for breakfast and lunch. I headed off to the DMV office in Lps Gatos to re-register the van as a motorhome rather than a commercial van. I waited through the line and got the van inspected to confirm it was converted. Then I waited through the line to turn in the paper work but I forgot to bring the title sheet so I had to return home to find it. Then back to the line to complete the change. I got new plates and tags and turned in the old plates. Mission accomplished. Back home for a nap. Leftovers for dinner. Cottage cheese, yogurt, pork roast and a spring roll.

September 2023

Friday: (09/01) Granola for breakfast. I started work on the Van. I drilled all the holes that might be needed in the seat belt frame for the belt attachment and the cabinetry attachments. Then I painted the frame and let it dry in the sun. Back inside I worked on the tax return and managed to finish it and send it off. With that tax accomplished, I needed a reward. So we went to Bajis Restaurant in Mountain View where I had a nice salad for lunch. I drilled a piolet hole through the floor and it came out inside a box cross connect beam and was not accessible. I was afraid of that and thought I might just drill at an angle to avoid it but the floor is only 1.5 inches thick so that would not have moved me far enough. I considered some alternatives all of which seemed to involve a lot of work like removing the refrigerator again and also removing the batteries. The brilliance struck and I cut a hole in the side of the electrical cabinet to allow me to move the bolt hole 1.5 inches and provide enough clearance. In doing so I also improved the air intake flow to the heater which can now find its way directly from the electrical cabinet. It did require a longer bolt than I had purchased yesterday so I then made a run to Outdoor Supply Hardware for more bolts and stuff. Lots more that I need but a variety of sizes. I installed the frame and belts and reinstalled the heater cover and cabinet boards. All of them required a little trim here and there but it all fit back together with all the original storage spaces. I did have to cut the top of one side of the top drawer to allow it to clear the seat belt bolts. We had Dawn try it out and all is well not. Now we can head out for a little trip and I can maybe also make a fall run out to the zEastern Sierras. Chili beans with ramen noodles for dinner. The van is now functionally complete. Everything that is needed for three people to travel and camp for extended periods is ready. There are only little finishing touches left.

Saturday: (09/02) Some of Dawn’s rice donuts with honey for breakfast. I moved a lot of stuff out of the van to make room for Lou and Dawn to move in for a little trip. All went well with my plans until lou mentioned that she needs her electric scooter. That takes up half the storage in the garage and leaves some irregular other space. We all took a little shopping drie in the van. Dawn’s first time in the 3rd passenger seat. We stopped for lunch at Aqui’s Restaurant in Cupertino. We were looking for appropriately sized containers to utilize the remaining storage space. We finally decided some duffel bags will likely be best. Back home a nice nap helped. Dawn made some chicken celery soup with rice for dinner.

Sunday: (09/03) Granola and banana for breakfast. A typical slow Sunday morning. About 1100 I headed off in the van. I went to West Marine and bought a fan for the van with a credit that Lou had. I also stopped at REI to look around. I found some sun shirts like I have that were on sale and bought three of them. I then picked up a veggie burrito for lunch. I visited the Outdoor Supply Hardware store in Redwood City. They are even better stocked than the one in Sunnyvale which was unbelievably well supplied. Then I needed a nap for a while. Finally I visited Costco for a look around. I picked up a chicken bake there for dinner.

Monday: (09/04) I picked up a sausage, egg, and cheese English muffin at Happy Donuts as I walked over to Bol park to see the donkeys. I walked out Los Robles Avenue, came by the donkeys andwa;ked through Bol Park onto Hanover Street and onto the Stanford University Campus. After a quick visit to the restroom at the bookstore I enjoyed an Elephant Chia latte at Cupa Cafe. Then I walked over to the Cactus Garden. Still some flowers as well as lots of seed pods from previous flowering. Then on through the Stanford Shopping Mall to the Caltrain station to catch as bus home. 6.6 miles walked. Back home I had some of Dawn fresh baked pinto bean pecan pie as well as my leftover veggie burrito for lunch. Later, I went to the Sunnyvale Target Store, then the Cupertino Target Store looking for more stacking yard chairs. We picked up two yesterday and I found three more today. Most of our yard chairs have been in the sun too long and or had too many seatings of heavy people (me). Lou prepared chili topped baked potatoes for dinner.

Tuesday: (09/05) Granola for breakfast. I headed over to pete’s Palo Alto house to help him remove a fence. We removed the rear and side fences, posts and concrete post bases. We finished up much earlier than I expected at 1140. Pete brought our lunch of a roast beef sandwich and pear. After lunch I headed home. After a shower I relaxed for a while.I did cut a hole in the refrigerator cabinet to allow tying in the seat cushion and cut and beveled the toilet anchor knobs. Leftover chicken celery soup for dinner.

Wednesday: (09/06) We went to A Good Morning restaurant for breakfast. We were all bust packing and preparing to leave on out first three person outing in the van. Lots to fit in and lots tht would be going in the motorhome has to stay home when traveling in the van. We had thought we might be leaving later today but decided to just get ready and leave tomorrow morning. No lunch and leftovers for dinner.

Thursday: (09/07) We finalized our preparation to leave but didn’t get away until after 1000. We stopped at the cheapest gas station in the county on our way in Sunnyvale on our way to Gilroy. We stopped for breakfast at the Longhouse Restaurant there. Then on to Greenfield where I needed a nap while Lou and Dawn had some flan and did some shopping. We turned off Hwy 101 onto Jolon Road and past Lake San Antonio and Lake Nacimiento. Bothe lakes are county parks so we didn’t go in to look around since we wouldn’t have been staying there because it was over 80 degrees. We returned to Hwy 101 in Paso Robles then went down to a Von’s market in Atascadero where we picked up soup for Lou and Dawn dinner and I picked up some food at Panda Express. Then we headed West on Hwy 41 stopping about halfway to Morro Bay at the Cerro Alto Campground For the night.We enjoyed our neighbor’s campfire in the evening. This was our first night with three of us in the van.

Friday: (09/08) BLT sandwiches for breakfast by the neighbor’s campfire. We decided the current campground would be nice for a future visit but our neighbor is too chatty and we were headed to SLO anyway so we left camp about 1040. Note: the best campsites seem to be 18 and 19 that were currently closed due to tree maintenance being done. We head West on Hwy 41 to Morro Bay then up Hwy 1 to El Churro campground. We secured a campsite, #20, for three nights. After throwing our chairs out and installing a tablecloth, we head on down to Grover Beach. We stopped at Francisco's Country Kitchen for lunch. Lou and I shared a corned beef hash lunch and Dawn had a peanut butter cream pie. Then we visited several thrift stores as well as an RV supply store and a hardware store. I picked up a bullseye bubble level and a longer gray water hose. My gray water discharge is on the right side rather than the normal left side so I have to pass the hose under the van at a normal hookup campsite. We returned to camp about 1615 after being stuck in a traffic jam on Hwy 101 which carried on on all the side streets we tried. Ramen noodles with chicken for dinner. Interesting discovery while preparing dinner. I don’t have a can opener in the van, yet. On one of my nightly risings to pee I discovered the light on the toilet indicating it was full was on so we had to take a stroll to the restroom instead.

Saturday: (09/09) Granola for breakfast. In the morning I discovered the wood chips had possibly plugged the urine drain. Not sure if that is the only problem though. After Lou and Dawn took a shower with all our quarters, we headed off to Francisco's again for a BBQ lunch. Excellent. Then a little shopping visiting Walmart and the Dollar Store. We went by the last thrift store we visited yesterday and found our step stool still there in the gutter, not damaged and not taken. Then on the way home we stopped at a couple more thrift stores. Back at camp, we had leftover BBQ and some additions for dinner.

Sunday: (09/10) Lou prepared ham, eggs and leftover rice for breakfast. We relaxed at home in camp all day. Lou and Dawn relaxed in camp. I relaxed by taking a 6 mile hike up to Eagle Rock and a loop through the park and past a youth ranch and the community college and back to camp. After some real relaxation and cool down, I prepared grilled cheese sandwiches for our lunch. I took a shower in the afternoon. Lou and Dawn prepared tostados for dinner.

Monday: (09/11) Loou and I took a walk around the camp and up to the golf Course. Dawn relaxed in camp. Then we broke camp and left at about 1030. We stopped at the cafe at the golf course next door to the campground for breakfast. We then headed down to Oceana to the Oceana County Park and got a campsite for a couple of nights. We had an early dinner at Old Juan’s Cantina nearby.

Tuesday: (09/12) Lou and I took a walk to the beach. Leftovers for breakfast. Off to SLO to look at Tractor Supply and the Farm Store before another thrift store. Then we returned to Pismo Beach for a visit to Pismo Fish and Chips for a late lunch. relaxed the rest of the afternoon in camp. Dawn doesn’t feel well.

Wednesday: (09/13) Lou made tacos for breakfast. We slowly prepared to roll departing about 1030. We stopped for gas in SLO and at thrift stores in Atascadero and Paso Robles. Next we stopped in Greenfield for some flan for a snack. Then dinner at the Longhouse in Gilroy, their great garlic pork chops. Back home about 1800. I unpacked some things from the van. Lou and Dawn gave Dawn a covid test and it was positive. Second test was the same so likely we will all have it soon.

The three people in a van inaugural camping trip worked well. We only camoed one night without hookups in a Forest Service campground midway between Atascadero and Morro Bay. From there we moved to El Churro County Park for three nights with full hookups where we only used the electric except for dumping our gray water tank before we left. Then down to Oceana County Park for two nights, again full hookups using only the electric. On our first night in Oceana the battery on the inflator pump was dead. It hadn’t charged because the wall charger was off. So I slept in the front instead of Dawn by placing lots of stuff between the seats as a bridge to make the bed. We ate out about half of the time. All in all, we survived nicely. We did not use the inside shower though so that remains to be tested.

Thursday: (09/14) Granola for breakfast. I had a dental appointment at 1000. I picked up my lunch at Panda Express. On the way back home I stopped at Marshalls, Ross’s, Walmart Neighborhood Market, and picked up Lou’s lunch at Bajis Cafe. Relaxed all afternoon. Lou prepared chili baked potatoes for dinner.

Friday: (09/15) Granola for breakfast. Hot and sour soup for lunch. Chinese food for dinner. Lou and I tested positive for Covid this morning. I had tro make two trips to the Kaiser Pharmacy for some Paxlovid. Unfortunately Lou’s prescription took hours, mine 30 minutes. While out I got ga and some Chinese food.

Saturday: (09/16) Some hot and sour soup for breakfast. I did a couple of tasks on the van. I swapped two more USB wall chargers with USBc-PD. Chinese food for lunch. Chili ramen noodles for dinner. Otherwise relaxed all day.

Sunday: (09/17) Hot and sour soup for breakfast. Tostadas with carnitas and pico de gallo for lunch. Dinner from Pizza Chicao. Relaxing and recovering were the rule of the day.

Monday: (09/18) Lou made an omelet for breakfast. I took the first inside van shower this morning. I had finished dressing and bent over to throw something in the trash and a nose bleed started. After two hours trying to stop it, Lou drove me to the emergency room at Kaiser in Santa Clara. She dropped me off and skedaddled. I was checked in and was in the waiting room for two hours before being seen. On check in then did provide a welcome nose clothespin so i didn’t have to keep my nose pinched. They were extremely busy and the triage set where you were in line. I guess bleeding comes right after heart attacks and breathing problems. The guard said the longest wait would be 4.5 hours. After 5.5 hours of bleeding their 5th attempt at stopping the bleed finally worked. They installed a balloon up my nose and inflated it. With a little medication they sent me home. I had to wait for Lou to come from home to pick me up. I get to enjoy this balloon for three days then they see what they need to do to make a real fix.

I have never had nose bleeds and this started after starting the Paxlovid pills to treat my Covid. So now I get to relax for a few days and do nothing. No lunch. Leftover pizza for dinner.

Tuesday: (09/19) Leftover omelet for breakfast. Mostly relaxed in or on the bed except for some tea in the backyard arbor. Carnitas, tomato and cheese sandwich for lunch. Cream of tomato soup for dinner. Today I had two nose bleeds in my previously well behaved left nostril. It took an hour to stop the first one so I didn’t end up back at the emergency room. Fortunately I finished the Paxlovid pills this evening. Hopefully they were the cause of these bleeds.


Wednesday: (09/20) Soft boiled eggs for breakfast. I made a doctor's appointment for this morning because of blood in my stool. Like just swallowing too much blood for the past few days but possibly another bleed somewhere other than my nose. My doctor checked me and ordered some blood tests and off I went. Lou got her flu shot while I was at the lab. My nose has been better since yesterday. Leftover pizza for lunch. I’m still trying to control myself and rest. More pizza for dinner.

Thursday: (09/21) Granola for breakfast. I had an appointment at Kaiser Santa Clara to get the balloon removed from my nose. I got my flu shot then as well. Leftover tuna noodles for lunch. My nose bleed returned in the afternoon. Tamale pie for dinner.

Friday: (09/22) Granola for breakfast. I was awake much of the night because my nose bleed returned in earnest. When the ENT clinic opened at 0900 I called for an appointment to have it looked at again. Leftover chili beans for lunch. I had a 1530 appoint at Kaiser and they cauterized my nose. Seems like it’s finally fixed.So nice to finally be able to b;ow my nose again. Now, hopefully, the headache and toothache caused by the procedure go away soon. Chinese food from Lucky Bistro for dinner.

Saturday: (09/23) I walked over to Happy Donut this morning. I got a sausage, egg, and cheese English muffin and a donut for my breakfast. Feeling good. That didn’t last. I had a nose bleed later in the morning. Fortunately, it stopped with the addition of an Afrin soaked cotton ball. I removed that after a while and that cork lasted the rest of the day with my limited movements. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. Lou made French toast and bacon for dinner.

Sunday: (09/24) Leftover French toast with peanut butter and jam for breakfast. Leftover hot and sour soup for lunch. We took the van out for a drive up to Foothills Park. Ham and cheese sandwich for dinner.

Monday: (09/25) A ham, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I had a nice day with no nose bleeds. I worked on preparing a slide show that presents the history of the van construction. I posted it to Facebook. Broccoli salad for lunch. Dawn’s soup for dinner. Lou was very busy today doing a couple of tasks I'd normally be doing. The kitchen sink is clogged and she tried to clear it without success yet. She also drained the tanks on the motorhome.

Tuesday: (09/26) Granola for breakfast. It rained a little this morning. We visited ACE Hardware for a pipe cap and Grocery Outlet for some drinking water. Lou was busy. Since I’m not allowed (by her) to lift or bend over, she climbed the ladder on the roof and inserted the hose into the kitchen sink vent pipe. We got to try out my new telescoping ladder in which she had no confidence. It all worked. A minute or so applying pressure into the pipe and water started flowing again. We picked up super nachos for lunch from Tacos El Gruellense. That pretty much did her in for the day. She did start sauerkraut, potatoes and sausages in the crock pot for later dinner. I was busy blowing my nose all day. Nice to not have any more nose bleeds.

Wednesday: (09/27) Leftover nachos and some strawberries for breakfast. I attended my usual Wednesday webinar. Leftover Dawn bean soup for lunch. I had grand plans of doing a shopping run after lunch but decided I wouldn’t enjoy it due to already being fatigued. Some baked salmon and ramen noodles for dinner.

Thursday: (09/28) I felt pretty good today. I had granola for breakfast. Dawn was having a problem with a driver for her use of Adobe Premiere Pro. i spent much of the morning cleaning up her computer, updating windows, Premiere pro, Audition. And make sure her antivirus was up to date. The cleanup and updates fixed the driver problem. Then I was off. I picked up lunch at Panda Express. Then I was off to Milpitas Super Walmart to pickup some things. My shopping run was about 70% successful. I hurried back toward home about 1430 to avoid getting stuck in traffic. I stopped at a Grocery Outlet in Sunnyvale on my way home. Leftover sauerkraut potatoes and sausage for dinner.

Friday: (09/29) I had a slice of apple pie and bacon jerky for breakfast. I was acting chauffeur today. I drove Dawn to her PT appointment. I then did some shopping at Nob Hill and Smart and Final markets while I waited for Dawn. I also visited Marshalls Home Goods store and found a small saucepan for the van. I also found a can opener with big handles for Lou but she actually didn’t need the opener but wanted some big handled potato peelers. Another day. On the way home we picked up lunch from Lucky Chinese Bistro. Leftover bean soup for dinner.

Saturday: (09/30) I had a slice of apple pie for breakfast. Broccoli salad for lunch. Mostly relaxed all day. Leftover Chinese food for dinner. Later in the evening, Dave Smith emailed me and said he’d like to reschedule the Ranch Weekend this weekend due to expected extra high temperatures. I changed the event on Meetup and sent out emails.

August 2023

Tuesday: (08/01) I made an omelet with ham, onions and cheese for breakfast. I met my fellow hikers for a hike at Foothills Nature Preserve. This hike tours most of the trails in the park except the Loas Trancos Trail. About 7.4 miles with a 1400’ climb. A very enjoyable day for this hike with great views, and interesting hikers. Lunch in the shade with a great view and a seat for everyone at the vista point, another plus. After the hike I had Panda Express for lunch. BBQ ribs with green beans from the garden and finger smashed potatoes fried in butter.

Wednesday: (08/02) Leftover omelet for breakfast. I cut and installed the shower side walls in the van. I also wired up the air conditioner but I had ordered the wrong connectors so I wasn't able to upgrade the main buss feed cables. I was able to test run the AC but need to upgrade the cables to be able to run other things. It ran for about three hours in the afternoon and used less than 10% of the battery capacity. BLT sandwiches for lunch with some tomatoes from Lou’s garden. Lou made chili rellenos for dinner.

Thursday: (08/03) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. Chinese food from Wok on restaurant in Sunnyvale for lunch and dinner. Last night i left the air conditioner on the van running set at 78 degrees. This morning the battery was only down to 88%. Probably only ran the fan all night. At 0930 the AC compressor kicked on. The AC ran all day and still recharged the battery to 99%+. In the afternoon I kicked it down to 72 degrees and it was at that temperature in 30 minutes. I then set it to 75 degrees. 72 is too cold, 78 is too warm. I also added the caulk tape to the rear seams of the shower. Unfortunately, one ended up with a ripped corner in two places. I dashed off to Lowe’s and got more tape and replaced it. I also cut a piece of rain gutter and installed it as the threshold. And, finally I cut a bunch of pieces from the scrape of the shower walls and extended the side walls out ¼ to ¾” to the front edge of the walls. The panels were just 24” and the walls 24.5 inch with the rear wall of the shower slanting in a half inch in the first 4 feet and then 4 more inches from there to the top. Now, with the fillers, the shower door can be installed over the patches and still be nice and level and securely glued to the walls. So, tomorrow, maybe I can get the shower door installed and any final caulking done and have a complete shower except for reinstalling the valve and installing a vent.

Friday: (08/04) Granola for breakfast. I upgraded the cables to the main busbar in the van. Then I cleaned up the van and put lots of tools and leftovers away. Lou, Dawn and I headed off to Milpitas and had lunch at the Black Bear Diner. Then there was the customary visit to a nearby thrift store before finally heading over to the Super Walmart there. The purpose of our trip was to return the microwave we bought a couple of weeks ago. Lou doesn’t like the fact it doesn’t have any number keys on the control keyboard. We also did some other grocery shopping there before heading home. I had left the air conditioner running in the van. It basically doesn’t use any power from the batteries most of the day when it is sunny. In fact, it actually charges the battery some. I reinstalled the refrigerator after having tested for hot terminals and connections. None found. Snacks and leftovers for dinner.

Saturday: (08/05) I made French toast and sausage for breakfast. Today, I installed the shower door. Works nice. I also reinstalled the shower valve. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to stop a leak in the cold water valve connection so a little redesign is needed to take the strain off the piping. I made a run to Lowe’s to return some excess materials and look for a solution to the leak. I came up with using flexible hoses instead of piping to the valves. Unfortunately Lowe’s didn’t have the type needed both in threads and length so Amazon will be coming to the rescue. I stopped for lunch at Super Taqueria. We picked up dinner at Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City. Lou and Dawn’s prime rib and my lasagna.

Sunday: (08/06) I cut out some trim pieces of plywood to trim the front of the shower and for the shower ceiling. And I sanded and started varnishing them. I received the flex hoses for the shower valve but when I located the drop ear ells I thought I had, they were for ¾” pex to ½” pipe thread. No good for my needs. Another Amazon order and day of delay. Mostly relaxed the rest of this hot day. Leftover French toast and sausage for breakfast. Leftover lasagna for lunch. Lou made BLT sandwiches for dinner. I removed the sink in preparation to fix the piping.

Monday: (08/07) I was out early and applied another coat of varnish to the shower trim pieces. Then I made fried eggs and bacon for breakfast. Later another coat of varnish applied. Lou made salads for lunch. Late in the afternoon I received the parts I needed to fix the shower piping and then reinstalled the sink. While it was out, I took measurements for the permanent counter top and swing up table. Just before dinner I applied a final coat of varnish. Lou made BBQ shredded pork over tater tots for dinner. Desert at Dawn’s some kind of carrot pudding, something like pumpkin custard.

Tuesday: (08/08) Chili beans for breakfast. I installed the trim on the front of the shower and prepared the shower ceiling to be installed when it’s dry. I had to make a trip to ACE for some screws. I had lunch at the new location of the Country Inn Restaurant in Los Altos. After lunch I made a board to mount the compost toilet on when it is in the shower space. It should keep the toilet in place bouncing down the road. Its paint is also drying. Leftover lasagna for dinner.

Wednesday: (08/09) Leftover omelet and hash browns from yesterday shared with Lou for breakfast. I painted a final coat of paint on the toilet mounting board and fitted the anchor brackets on it. I needed some sort of padding between the board and the shower base. I tried a towel but was looking for something better. I went out shopping and started with lunch from Panda Express. I was looking for a new bigger swimming noodle as a bump edge for the frame on the storage shelf over the front seats. I was also looking for the shower floor padding. I found the padding at Big Lots but never found a swimming noodle. They must be out of season. I also stopped at Trader Joes for bread and Walmart for some things. I also tried Bruce Bauer Lumber looking for cabinet door slide extrusions. None found. My gray caulk arrived from Amazon as I returned home. But, I rested the rest of the day. Lou made dinner of finger potatoes, tomatoes from the garden, onions, and ground roast beef for dinner. After dinner I prepared the van for use for tomorrow's hike and restocked my pack with water and snacks.

Thursday: (08/10) I enjoyed my pre-hike ham, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I drove the van to my hike today. We hike many of the trails at Russian Ridge Open Space preserve, about 6 miles and 876 feet of climb. Nice hike with a light breeze and clear sky and views. 14 fellow hikers joined me. After the hike, I prepared ramen noodles and chili for lunch. This could be a new post hike tradition. After the hike and a nice shower at home, I relaxed the rest of the day. Lou and Dawn made peach blintzes for dinner.

Friday: (08/11) Granola for breakfast. I caulked the van shower, white on the inside and gray to match the door on the outside. While it dried I didn’t want to get saw dust on the fresh caulk nor drive the van and shake it loose so I did nothing else the rest of the day. Any excuse. In the afternoon, I took a drive. I looked for the cabinet door slides at a couple of places then got lunch at Super Taqueria about 1530. I made a Grocery Outlet Market run on my bike in the evening. No dinner needed.

Saturday: (08/12) Leftover blintzes and sausage for breakfast. Typical slow Saturday morning watching TV and some Youtube. Later I got outside and removed the sink in the van and cut out the new countertop and the counter extension. I routed the edges and sanded them then added a couple of coats of teak oil. I’m not sure how the finish will turn out but I'm hoping it works well. Lou made a salad for lunch. Spaghetti for dinner. Later I helped Lou assemble her new yard swing bed/couch.

Sunday: (08/13) The usual slow Sunday morning. I gave my countertop boards a light sanding and a light coat of teak oil. They dried in the sun all day. I also cleaned all the VHB tape residue off the bottom of the sink lip. Still waiting for the ½” VHB tape to arrive to reinstall the sink and install the flip up countertop extension. I weeded Lou’s garden for her. Ham, cheese, and tomato sandwich for breakfast. Lou’s tomatoes from her garden are excellent. A late lunch at Aqui’s restaurant in Cupertino. Lou made potato salad for dinner.

Monday: (08/14) Granola for breakfast. I took my bike out for a ride. I stopped at Whole Foods downtown for some compost bags then on to the Arizona Garden at Stanford. I was surprised to find a lot of cacti in bloom this late in the summer. I stopped for a chai latte at the Coupa Cafe there. Lou and Dawn were off to Half Moon Bay to look around and be cool. Waiting for my VHB tape to reinstall the sink. I worked in the office updating my laptop and some programs in anticipation of getting back to work on my tax return that needs to be completed in the next couple of weeks. Chili size for lunch. After a nap when I finally got to work in the afternoon, I washed the van, my car, and Lou’s Jeep when she returned. Potato salad, cottage cheese and ham for dinner.

Tuesday: (08/15) I prepared toasted tomato and cheese sandwiches for breakfast. I then installed the new sink countertop and the flip up counter extension. It is also the table top for the reversed front passenger seat. Lou and Dawn were off to an appointment and lunch. I took the van off for an outing. I picked up lunch at China Wok restaurant in Sunnyvale. I then stopped by Lowe's to see about getting some paint to match the stained plywood color. They can’t get a color to match a single spot but just get an average of about a 1” spot. Not a good enough way to match so I didn't get any paint. I then went out to Vasona park and updated my Senior pass vehicles registered to use my pass. I then spent the rest of the day there and worked on the computer. I also ordered some more materials for the van. I do need to replace the breaker from the Solar charger to the battery. While it is rated at 80 amps and is supposed to be a 75 amp fuse, it still trips when it is sunny and I’m driving. It obviously can’t take the full 50 amos continuously. I’// be trying an MANL fuse like it is supposed to be to see it that doesn’t trip. I had leftover Chinese food for dinner there before heading home.

Wednesday: (08/16)Granola for breakfast. I drove all the way over to Bol Park, about ¼ mile to visit the Barron Park Donkeys. I parked there and worked on the computer then had leftover Chinese food for lunch. After lunch I supplemented it with a visit to Harry’s Hofbrau for some soup. Then on up the hill in San Carlos to the Eaton Park Trailhead. I ended up only taking a nap there.Back home we had leftover chicken artichokes over rice for dinner.

Thursday: (08/17) Granola for breakfast. I headed out to Sunnyvale in the van stopping at their city park. I started on the tax preparation but soon found out I wasn't nearly as far done as I thought and I needed some information from home. I returned home and collected information. Shortly, my 5G Home router from T-mobile arrived and I set it up, easy peasy and we were connected. I fired up two tv’s streaming and then did a speed test with 165 down and 35 up which is many times faster than our Sonic fiber connection. We’ll see how steady the connection is and whether the speed is high enough during congested periods. The speed actually went to 205 down and 90 up about 8 pm. No momentary connection losses. I made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. I did some more work on the computer in the afternoon before a nice nap. Dawn made tuna stuffed tomatoes for dinner.

Friday: (08/18) Granola for breakfast. I drove the van up to Foothills Preserve and parked at the vista point all day. I had chicken and cheese toast for lunch. It was a cheap frozen item from a Grocery outlet and pretty good for $2. Leftovers for dinner. I had chicken salad for dinner.

Saturday: (08/19) I prepared ham and eggs for breakfast. Then I headed off in the van to a nearby park and worked on the computer. The morning ended up being a wash because I ended up scrambling my data. I had to start the importation after lunch. I left the park and picked up lunch at Panda Express. I do like their super greens as a substitute for my rice or noodles. After lunch I parked on the Stanford campus and continued work on the computer. Because I was parked in the shade I didn't need the air conditioner today even though my thermometer in the van said it was 81 degrees up near the ceiling. I returned home at about 1730. I prepared some chili on ramen noodles for dinner.

Sunday: (08/20) The usual slow Sunday morning. I got oyt to work on the van after 1000. I removed the refrigerator and got into the electrical compartment to replace the circuit breaker that feeds the solar output to the batteries with a fuse. The CB keeps tripping. Hopefully the fuse responds more slowly and doesn’t trip. Lou prepared BBQ ribs, baked potatoes and asparagus for lunch about 1300. I had managed to skip breakfast this morning so I really enjoyed her lunch. I installed two USBc-PD outlets in the van, one by the sink and one by the dinette. They should be good enough to power my laptop computers. Tomato and cheese sandwiches for dinner.

Monday: (08/21) Granola for breakfast. I did some cleanup of the back yard. I also collected some tools for a project tomorrow. Then I was off in the van. I stopped at Harbor Freight for a few things. I also stopped at Marshall’s and found a nice big frying pan to replace my aged non-stick big pan. 12.5 inch pans have not been available for a while. I also stopped at Safeway while I waited for Cost Plus World Market to open at 1100. I wanted to check out World Market for a birthday card. As it turns out I found the perfect BD card at Safeway for a fellow hiker's 80th birthday Wednesday. I also picked up some ciabatta buns. The rain from the effects of hurricane Hillary started. Lunch from the China Wok On restaurant. My hang later was Rengstorff Park in Mountain View. My slab of wood for the dinette table arrived today. We had Dawn’s lentil soup for dinner.

Tuesday: (08/22) P prepared a ham egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I then headed off to Meet pete Anderson at his Mountain View house. He needed some help removing a wooden deck, an ell shaped deck about 15x20 and 15x30. We finished removing it and piling the debris in the driveway about 1300. Hus wife Debbie made tuna sandwiches for lunch. Back home I took a nice shower and relaxed for a while. Later I opened up my new telescoping A ladder. It is much heavier than I thought it would be. After some rest I took the van out to get a drink (gas). I stopped at Walmart on the way home and picked up a few things. Back home I had leftover Chinese food for dinner’

Wednesday: (08/23) Granola for breakfast. I headed off early to Santa Cruz for a hike at Wilder Ranch State Park. I met many of my fellow hikers and leaders at a special hike to celebrate the 80th birthday of one of our hikers. It was only a 5.5 mile out and back hike along the bluff above the beach. After the hike there were lots of goodies and birthday cupcakes to enjoy.After the hike I stopped at Safeway and got some clam chowder then drove home. While I was gone my Tuktek kayak arrived. More clam chowder for dinner.

Thursday: (08/24) Tea in the backyard to start the day. Then I brought out my new folding kayak and assembled it for the first time. It is a Tucktek kayak, bright yellow. Fortunately, it was easy to assemble, just a few latches here and there. I don’t have a lake at home so I just sat in the kayak on the lawn for the inaugural photo. The life vest that came with it can be adjusted to fit me but looks more like a bra on me. I’ll be needing to get an appropriate vest when I can. Also tha paddle that came with it won’t lock together so I’ll need to make some adjustments to it or get it replaced. For now it is just tucked away in the van garage. I hope to try it on the water soon. Next I had some granola and a banana for a late breakfast. After breakfast, I got out the table saw and cut the new ash wood panel into the appropriate table top size for the van dinette and the outside tables. Then I routed the edges, sanded them and then added two coats of teak oil. With those tasks done, I then took the van away from the house and parked near stanfords dish hill to work on the computer undisturbed. Upon arrival there I sliced up a tomato from the garden and topped with cheese for lunch. I made some progress on data collection for our tax return. Just as I was about to return home, the radio clicked off. Evidently the starter battery was having one of it’s spells. I had been running the radio for a while but the solar charger should have been trickle charging the starter battery. I thought maybe a fuse had blown and checked the fuse at the battery but it was still good. The battery voltage was about 10.1 volts hut the solar charger still wasn’t charging it. Luckily eventually the battery came up to 11 volts and I was able to start the van. I have to believe I have a bad cell in the battery so I will be replacing it tomorrow. I had been putting off replacing it until I started driving it which I now am but it had been nice and caused no problems since the solar charger was connected to it, until now. Dawn made some nice vegetable soup for dinner.

Friday: (08/25) Lou made soft boiled eggs for breakfast. She wasn’t feeling right so after breakfast I dropped her off at Kaiser Santa Clara to get checked out. I was in the van so, just like most recent days, I found a nice place to park and worked on the taxes. I’m still in the “data collection mode”. When she called a couple of hours later, we returned home. Along the way, we stopped at Togo’s sandwich shop to pick up lunch. I then drove out to a Super Walmart in Milpitas. They had a replacement battery for the van which I bought to install tomorrow. I then stopped at a park near home and did more data collection and took a nap. Leftover vegetable soup for dinner.

Saturday: (08/26) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van installing the new starter battery. While the project looked formidable, it was actually fairly easy. The van seemed to have more zip when starting the engine now. I then installed the dinette table top. That involved removing the wall panel to prepare for a good anchoring of the panel so it can hold the cantilever table. I had to make wa run to ACE to get some appropriate sized metric bolts and some tee-nuts.I ended up using the bolts but not the tee-nuts because the table seemed to be sturdy enough without them. If the table comes loose then I’ll add the tee-nuts later. We all went to the Country Inn Restaurant in Los Altos for lunch. A nap was needed after lunch. After nap time, I installed the outside flip up table on the sink counter. Leftover lunch, some bacon and avocado omelet with Swedish pancakes, for dinner. I add a green salad to the leftovers.

Sunday: (08/27) Relaxed with the two regular morning TV shows, CBS Sunday Morning and Face The Nation. Then I hopped in the van and headed South. I needed some gas so headed to Sunnyvale to the cheapest gas station anywhere nearby, on Evelyn and Bernardo. Then on South to San Jose. I hadn’t had any breakfast yet.I have been obsessed for a few days wanting a House of Pizza “Confusion pizza. I arrived there at 1030. I was more than pleasantly surprised to check the hours and they opened at 1030. How much is the Lotto? I ordered my pizza and waited in the van. It only took 30 minutes and I picked it up and enjoyed half of the “Very Small” pizza. Very Small is about a 15” pizza. How efficient, breakfast and lunch together. I hung around a while then headed back toward home. I stopped at Washington Park in Sunnyvale to work on the computer. Soup for dinner.

Monday: (08/28) I installed the magnetic latch on the sink tilt up table. Works well. I then escaped to the Vista Hill of Foothills Preserve where I had some leftover pizza for lunch. I then worked on our tax return. I completed the first draft and then returned home after lunch. I collected a little more information and then completed the second draft which may be the final version after a thorough review. We had dinner at Dawn’s place. She made some lentil black bean chili for dinner.

Tuesday: (08/29) Scrambled eggs and cheese with bacon for breakfast. I, finally, got to work on the third passenger seat belt anchors. I started by disassembling much of the third set and cut some of the pieces to allow the metal frame to fit within the constraints of the installed heater and drawers. I then cut the major metal pieces and fit them in place. Lou prepared tuna stuffed tomatoes for lunch. Then, I opened up the replacement welder, which I hope works better than its predecessor. I found that the spool of flux core wire that I left in the old welder ws not something that came with the welder so I headed off to Harbor Freight to get the wire and also came away with some additional deep throat “c” clamps. I picked up dinner on the way home from Lucky Chinese Bistro. After lunch I relaxed for a while. About 1800 I went out and loaded the wire and came to the point of reinstalling the contact tip and found the tips that came with the welder were for 0.030 wire but HF only had 0.035 wire. So I intended to dash out to get the tips but checked the store hours first and only had 15 minutes to go 12 miles so that became a job for tomorrow morning.

Wednesday: (08/30) I was off early toward Harbor Freight. Lou was off to Walmart. I stopped at A Good Morning Cafe to pick up a breakfast burrito. I needed to visit HF to get some contact times, of the correct size, for my welder. I also picked up some replacement wheels for Dawn’s cart. On the return home I stopped at Outdoor Supply Hardware to get some “E” clips. Back home I installed the new wheels on the cart and installed the “E” clip where I had erroneously ground off a crimp-on cap. Then I installed the tips on the welder and did some practice welds. I found that my helmet wasn’t dimming like it should when the arc strikes. I wasn’t ab;e to get it to work so I returned the HF and bought a new helmet. Back home I finally figured out how to get the helmet to dim. It was in grind mode. So, I hope I can return the newer helmet. I did a little more practicing then I welded the seat belt anchor frame. Today the air quality was terrible and Lou wanted me inside so I quit early. I had leftover Chinese food for lunch. Lou made a cold tomato soup for dinner.

Thursday: (08/31) I started the day filling the 10 filtered water bottles that are used in the motorhome. We have a carbon filter on the kitchen sink cold water faucet which is where I fill the bottles. Unfortunately the filter was getting clogged and the flow was extremely slow so I decided to replace the filter. I had purchased spare filters some time back on Amazon. After emptying under the sink and removing the filter I then found the filters were the wrong size. So, I heeded off first to Walmart then to ACE to get the proper filter. I was disappointed when Walmart didn’t have the filter they usually do have. Morning traffic is such a bother. Back home I installed the filter and filled the bottles. Then it was time for breakfast. I prepared a Denver omelet. I worked on making the 3rd seat seatbelt anchor welding a framework for it. I ended up making a run to Harbor Freight and Outdoor supply Hardware for a few things like grinding disks and bolts. Leftover lentil chili for lunch and leftover gazpacho for dinner. I finished welding the frame then put most stuff away. There are clouds in the sky so since I’m through welding, I put all that stuff away. Now I need to drill a bunch of holes in the frame and clean it up and paint it. I’ll hopefully get that done tomorrow.