Thursday: (06/01) A ham, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I met Kayoka and Amy from San Jose Midweek Hikers at the store and we drove up to the Manzanita parking area and started our Grand Loop Hike through the Balconies Caves, Up Juniper and Tunnel Trails to the High Peaks and through the rocks. Usual Trail tuna snack for lunch on the hike. Then down the High Peaks Trail to the Rom Trail and out to the reservoir. We got to see some of the recently sighted snakes in the water. We then hiked down from the dam but were disappointed to find the Bear Gulch Caves closed so we took Moses Spring Trail around to the lower Bear Gulch Trail and back to our cars. About 10.5 miles in 6 hours 40 minutes. After an Ice cream reward and leftover Chinese food, I drove on down to King City. I took care of some online details related to the hike, topped off my gas tank and headed out Jolon Road into the Hunter Legget Army Base. Saw a badger skittering along beside Jolon Road in ort Hunter Legget. I camped at the Hunter Legget Campground. Chili and ramen noodles for a late dinner.
Friday: (06/02) Granola and a banana for breakfast. I tried to head over to the coast via the road through the base but it was closed. It did have a detour sign pointing onto a road headed North. I took it about 10 miles on dirt washboard road until I came to the paved Mariposa Road. I continued up it and exited the base into the Santa Lucia National Forest. I found several dispersed camping spots checking out several wild roads leaving Mariposa Road. I continued checking until I came to the improved Santa Lucia Campground, a paid full price vendor managed campground. The road ended there due to rock slides brought on by the recent forest fires. I turned back, returning to the first dispersed campsite that I checked out. It was easy enough to get into and was close to a nice river. I had some pineapple cottage cheese and another banana for lunch. I relaxed all afternoon. I even soaked my feet in the river. Chili and ramen noodles for dinner.
Saturday: (06/03) Scrambled eggs with ham for breakfast. I took a morning walk along the river down to a place where another trail comes up to a cliff top and back to camp. I left camp and drove just a short ways to the Wagon Cone. One side of the ridge is beside my campsite, the other at a walkin campsite parking area. I explored all the walk in campsites. Originally I thought the trail may lead somewhere but it just seems to go out to a bunch of different walkin campsites by a couple of rivers. The total hike was about two miles. I then drove back through Fort Hunter Legget to Greenfield. Lunch at the Ranch Market in Greenfield. I had a chili relleno with rice and beans and fresh tortillas. I drove out the Arroyo Seco and Carmel Valley Roads ro Carmel. I stopped along the way for a nap then had some flan that I had gotten at the market. Once on Highway One I got stuck in stop an inch forward traffic all the wat to Monterey, about an hour to go 5 miles, I decided that because it was a weekend day and traffic was so bad that I’d just continue home without any more stops. I came back through Santa Cruz. I got off Highway 17 when it came to a stop as well. Lou’s lasagna for dinner.
Sunday: (06/04) Popcorn for breakfast. The usual slow Sunday morning. A little tinkering on projects for Lou then I worked on the van starting to cut out the drawers for the seat. Salad for lunch.Dinner from Super Taqueria.
Monday: (06/05) Granola for breakfast. I had an appointment at Kaiser to get a bone density scan. It took all of 15 minutes in and out. I stopped at the nearby Grocery Outlet to look for whatever. I found some nice ham steaks there. Next stop was Harbor Freight for some wood glue. Back home, I had a salad for lunch. Then I watered our neighbors yard. Finally, I got to work on the van, I finished cutting out the drawers and nailed and glued them together. Lou made cabbage with sausages for dinner.
Tuesday: (06/06) I prepared ham steak and eggs with hash browned potatoes. For breakfast. We had a threat of rain that began early this morning so I had put oll my equipment and tools away last night. At 0900 it wasn’t raining and had not rained so I was just getting ready to bring the table saw out when I got a few drops. Then the rain started and it was a pretty good drip. I retired to the RV to do inside things. Lou made tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. They headed off to an appointment after lunch. I prepared pork with sauerkraut and potatoes in the pressure cooker for dinner later. Later in the afternoon the rain appeared to be gone so I got the saw out and made some more ¾: molding for the drawer box construction for the van. I glued and nailed the molding into the drawers I had made yesterday. Then I put everything away since the forecast for rain remains the same through tomorrow. In the evening I scheduled a hike for Thursday.
Wednesday: (06/07) Granola and banana for breakfast. It’s another overcast day. Even though the forecast is only a 1% chance of rain it looks like it could rain at any moment. I watered the neighbor’s yard. Next , I washed the van. It was quite dirty from my dirt road travels and had a good coat of bugs on the front. Lou picked a bunch of olallieberries which I enjoyed for a morning snack. An artichoke with some ham and cheese for lunch. I painted the drawers and other parts with a primer and color coat. Sausage and artichoke for dinner.
Thursday: (06/08) I prepared a ham egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I then headed up the hill to Russian Ridge to meet my five fellow San Jose Midweek Hikers for a 0930 hike. We did a short 6 mile loop with a little over 1000’ of climb. Lots of nice flowers to add color. We also saw a gray snake, likely a Western Yellow-bellied Racer. We didn’t see the belly but they often are gray with a big head and less than 2 feet in length. All a match for this snake. We finished about 1220. I stopped on the drive down the hill to watch a Youtube meeting about using Google Photos with Facebook. I got two good pointers from the meeting. I went up to Harry’s Hofbrau for a soup and sandwich lunch. Nice corn chowder and a pastrami sandwich. I then stopped and Grocery Outlet and Smart and Final markets for a few things before heading on home. Leftover pork with sauerkraut and potatoes for dinner.
Friday: (06/09) Granola and banana for breakfast. I prepared the van to roll and be ready to carry some plywood sheets. I rolled up the mattress and cleared the bed platform. I also removed all the storage boxes and loose materials. I headed off in the van to get Chinese food from Wok On restaurant for lunch. Next I stopped at Sprouts Market for some of my favorite peanut butter, the “Bees Knees”. It isn’t available in most places and Sprouts has been out on recent visits. Lucky day, they had some today, Next I stopped by Home Depot. I don’t shop at HD but wanted to check their plywood prices and quality. Then on to Lowe’s. Lowe’s price was 15% less and had better condition sheets. I still had to move 10 sheets of ¾’ off the pile then 8 sheets of damaged ½” sheets to get my two reasonable quality ½” sheets. Back home I relaxed a while then opened up my wood pile and reorganized it. I then added the new sheets to the pile. I then moved most of the stuff I had moved out of the van back into the van but leaving the bed open so I can build a kitchen cabinet under the bed. Lou made salmon and tater tots and Dawn made mixed vegetables for dinner.
Saturday: (06/10) Lou made eggs and leftover sauerkraut, potatoes and pork hash for breakfast. A lazy morning. Eventually, I went outside. I started by picking berries. Not all of them made it into my basket. Then I started work on the van. Not much accomplished. Lunch was some strawberry olallieberry short cake the Lou made. I cut a few boards for a cover for the water heater, pump and accumulator. In the afternoon we went to an ice cream social of the neighborhood association at Boulware Park. Lou made a stew/soup with Dawn’s leftover mixed vegetables, noodles and beef.
Sunday: (06/11) Leftover Chinese food for breakfast. This was a typical Sunday morning watching the Sunday morning shows and a few youtube videos. When I did get outside I was busy pruning the neighbors tree of a broken limb and mowing her back yard then watering the plants. Lou made grilled cheese sandwiches and strawberry shortcake for lunch.After lunch i headed off in the neighbor’s car to exercise it and get gas. Back home it was time for a nap. I never got busy after that. Dawn made stew for dinner. After dinner I harvested the artichokes on the front plants and then cut them down to the ground so new plants can grow. Later I walked Dawn home and helped her with the cameras on her computer for a zoom meeting.
Monday: (06/12) Granola and a banana for breakfast. I did the RV tank duty to start my day. Then I weeded the front yard bark and sidewalks. Our lawn people came and did our lawn while I took a break, After they left I got started on the van. I brought out my shop from my shed and assembled the water heater cover and cut out pieces for the water piping shield. To install the shield, I needed different sized screws and I also needed a 3 inch hole saw for the shower valve access. After a nice green salad for lunch. I visited Harbor Freight for the hole saw, Walmart Neighborhood Market for more ham, Lowe’s for the screws and L brackets, Home Depot to return a defective nail gun, and finally a stop for gas in my car. Back home I cut some holes, sanded the panels and drilled and fit together all the panels. They still need to be painted before final installation. Leftover soup and cottage cheese for dinner.
Tuesday: (06/13) The usual egg, ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I met my fellow SJMW hikers at Monte Bello Ridge Open Space. The parking lot was very busy with a group of 20 or so kids preparing for bicycle outing through the preserve. 14 of the 19 hikers signed up for my hike arrived and we were off. We hiked through the Los Trancos Preserve and the Monte Bello Preserve for about 7 miles. We finished up at about 1230. I returned home and enjoyed a shower and ramen chili for lunch. Unfortunately I napped the rest of the day. We had corn on the cob, baked potatoes and meatloaf for dinner.
Wednesday: (6/14) I had to dispose of another bench and its overload of fruit in our neighbor's yard. I also watered her yard. Lou made an omelet for breakfast. We received another neighbor's dog to dogsit for while she is out of town. I got out all the shop equipment and started on the van kitchen cabinet. I got a new sheet of plywood from the pile and cut all the pieces and then put them all together with glue and brad nails. I had a green salad for lunch. After a post lunch nap, I then drew out the cut sheet for the drawers to fit the cabinet. I then put everything away, tools to the shop, cabinetry to the van. It just might rain a little, it is overcast. Dawn made an interesting chicken stew for dinner.
Thursday: (06/15) The usual egg, ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I met my fellow SJMW hikers at Picchetti Open Space. We did a 9+ mile hike through Stevens Creek Park and Fremont older Open Space preserve then back to Picchetti Open Space Preserve. Enjoyable walk with flowing streams, a full lake and pond, colorful skink, calm snake, lots of birds, great views, reasonable spring weather, great company, and interesting conversation. After the hike I stopped at Aqui’s Restaurant for some Cuban carnitas for lunch. I also visited Trader Joes, Safeway and REI before returning home. Then a nice shower and nap.
Friday: (06/16) Leftover omelet for breakfast. I did a little gardening. I dug up a couple of plans in Dawn’s garden, moved a purple succulent plant from the greenhouse to the front yard and cleaned up the greenhouse floor.I cut out the pieces for the kitchen drawers in the van build. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. After a nap, I returned to work on the drawers. I sanded the pieces and glued them together minus their from pieces. I also made a bunch of molding to be added to the drawers to reinforce the joints. Leftover chicken stew over rice for dinner.
Saturday: (06/17) Scrambled eggs and ham for breakfast. I added the corner braces to all the drawers then did a trial fit of the drawers. I had Lou and Dawn try out the bottom drawer step height to get in the bed. Lou decided she preferred the higher middle drawer as the bottom drawer to make it easier to get up into bed. I then made a run to Lowe’s for some screws and paint. I picked up our Chinese food for lunch on the way home. Back home I ordered some hardware that Lowe’s didn’t have and my remaining drawer slides from Amazon. After a nap, i got back to work about 1630 and painted all the things I had cut out and assembled recently. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.
Sunday: (06/18) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van painting the color coat on the kitchen cabinet and drawers. I managed to get a good sunburn doing it when the sun shines. Afternoons are much nicer in my shop on the lawn. Fathers day meal was BBQ steaks and sausage with broccoli salad, carrot and raisin salad, and corn on the cob. A nice nap in the afternoon. Snack for dinner.s
Monday: (06/19) Granola and yogurt for breakfast. Had to wait for parts for the van so we did some shopping today. Lou and Dawn visited Smart and Final and had an appointment as well. I visited Lowe’s to get some mat for the step lid for the kitchen cabinet. Lou wanted me to get an umbrella base as well but I didn’t like the cost of the ones they had. I stopped by Big Lots and found a nice one for a third the cost. I was really thinking of making my own. While there, I found some containers that I thought would be perfect for the van closet. I got the four gray ones they had. I had the clerk check on inventory at other stores and went to the Campbell store for four more. Lou called and wanted me to stop at another Smart And Final for my orange juice bottles that they didn’t have at the store she visited. Back home, I tried out the containers and they should work. I’ll need to cut off four and use four full height. I decided to get four more for spares to match when these break. Busy morning. Leftover broccoli salad for lunch. After a nice afternoon nap while the sun was shining its best, I got to work on the Van’s kitchen cabinet. I received the additional drawer slides I needed about 1600 and installed them. I had to cut the top off the top drawer and decided to cut a ¼” off the bottom drawer so the step lid was more free. I checked the weather and there was a 7% chance of a few drops tonight so I put all the tools away and moved the cabinet and it’s parts to the van. Leftovers for dinner.
Tuesday: (06/20) The usual egg, ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. Met my fellow SJMW hikers at Foothills Nature preserve at 0930 for a 6.6 mile loop hike on the Los Trancos Trail. We finished up at 1230. 16 hikers joined me on a really nice day. Unusual for the creeks to still have water in them, but they did. Lunch from Panda Express. I tried out their Super Veggies instead of rice. Quite good. I installed the kitchen cabinet in the van and the covers for the plumbing. Dawn made Cambodian sandwiches(bacon, pickled radishes, peaches and sauce) for dinner.
Wednesday: (06/21) Granola for breakfast. I tinkered with the van and attended my Wednesday webinar. Then we were off to San Jose to the Habitat Reuse Store looking for carpet tiles which they have had stacks of in the past. Nothing today. We stopped for lunch at La Victoria Taqueria. I had a nice super relleno burrito. Lou and Dawn had nachos. Back home it was nap time. Later, when the shadows protected the rear yard where I work, I got to work on the drawers. I cut the drawer fronts and installed them. I discovered a bad drawer slide that lost several of its ball bearings. Fortunately, I had an s=extra that will be used under the 3rd passenger seat so I can finish the kitchen cabinet. I now have a bunch of parts that need painting so tomorrow morning starts with a brush. A broccoli salad for dinner.
Thursday: (06/22) Granola for breakfast. I painted the parts of the drawers that needed touchup due to cuts and new pieces. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, After two coats, I installed the trim pieces aound the drawer slides then installed the drawers back in the cabinet. That bottom drawer caused problems that resulted in my cuting several finger tips. I then started to prepare for the Dave’s Ranch campout. I loaded the electric bike and groceries. I also made a run to Walmart, ACE Hardware, and Grocery Outlet Market for a few things. For a late dinner I made an enchilada dinner. That provided some leftovers, some of which I put in the van.
Friday: (06/23) Some leftover enchiladas for breakfast with Lou in the backyard. I headed off about 0930. I stopped at REI and bought a camp table. Also stopped at Safeway for some hard cider for the campout. I made a final stop at the Super Walmart in San Jose hoping to find some small cheap camp chairs in gray but they didn’t have anything appropriate. I then headed on up Mount Hamilton Road toward Dave’s Ranch. I stopped for some cottage cheese for lunch on the way up. I arrived about 1500 as planned. More leftover enchiladas for dinner. There were several biker friends there but none of the hiker friends arrived until about 8 PM. We enjoyed nice campfire and some stargazing with a telescope that Girard brought.
Saturday: (06/24) Up early for a walk.Granola and a banana for breakfast. I took the hikers in the group for a walk around the ranch. We hikers went to The Junction Bar and Grill for lunch. The bikers had gone while we were hiking. Not much happening but sitting, snacking and chatting. We had a pot luck BBQ for dinner. All sorts of interesting things. I shared Lou’s Iranian potato salad. I also BBQ’d some pork chops and sliced them to share as nibbles. Several of us went up on a hill to watch the sunset. Then back in camp for a campfire.
Sunday: (06/25) Granola and a banana for breakfast. I took a ride on the bike down to the end of the runway to look at the eagles. I then rode on out to the highway and removed my two direction signs for this event. Back at the ranch house, I swept the floors in the house and helped cleanup the outside of the house. Then Dave took Stephanie and myself on a tour of the homestead cabin. I got to see how well I recited my memory of Dave’s previous tours on yesterday’s hike. Not too bad. Then it was time to say goodbyes to everyone. I departed the ranch with most everyone else about 1130. I came out on Mines Road to Livermore. Per all the research I could do, I had confirmed it was closed. Dave arrived Saturday afternoon and said it was open. I stopped in Milpitas for some egg rolls to compliment my cottage cheese for lunch. Back home, time to relax from relaxing. Dawn made chili beans for dinner.
Monday: (06/26) Granola and banana for breakfast. I took Dawn to her PT appointment then took the Jeep down to Normandin Jeep in San Jose for a recall fix. Normanding said they didn’t have an appointment scheduled for me. Thus is the second time they have done this to me. That’s why I tried out using Stevens Creek and Sunnyvale Jeep dealers but those two are the same dealer with two locations and they managed to schedule an appointment for me but when I arrived they had no mechanics working so could not do the work. This seems to be a problem at all dealers here in the bay area. I’ve had good service at a dealer in San Luis Obispo and in Pennsylvania. They said I could leave it nd they would see if they could get it done today. No thanks, I left. I returned to pick up Dawn and returned home. The recall is a computer update to protect in case (when) the from axle spline fails causing the parking brake to not function in two wheel drive, the normal drive mode. I always set the electric parking brake anyway so it doesn't bother me but might bother Lou because she doesn’t. Leftover enchiladas for lunch. I modified the 3rd passenger set drawer fronts by cutting off the side ears. I also cut out some spacers fro the drawer slides then painted and touched up as needed. I also re-installed a wheel on a roller basket Lou uses with the laundry. I relaxed the rest of the day Baked potato for dinner.
Tuesday: (06/27) Banana for breakfast. I worked on installing the 3rd passenger drawers and eventually got them installed. No cut finger tips this time but some bad words were expressed in the process. I had to make a run to ACE for some more screws to finish it. I managed to end up building a boat in the basement. In order to service the heater I need to be able to get access to it. After installing the drawer runners for the top drawer, I could no longer get either the top or side of the heater cover out. I had to make some modifications to the cover. Leftover enchiladas for lunch. I had some Shepherds pie filling over torn bread pieces for dinner followed by some of Lou’s rice pudding.
Wednesday: (06/28) Granola for breakfast. I installed some sprinkler drip emitters for some new planters in the gardens. I cut out a cover door for the electrical compartment, a closet shelf, and some miscellaneous other pieces. I then sanded and painted a primer coat on all the pieces. After an afternoon nap, I rerouted one of the emitter tubes to bypass a valve. Lou had mentioned it didn’t work and it was because that section of the garden was turned off because it over waters because it gets groundwater flow from the other two garden sections. Salad for lunch. Hot coleslaw with ham for dinner.
Thursday: (06/29) Ham egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I met 13 fellow SJMW hikers at Monte Bello Open Space preserve for a hike through four open space preserves. It was an 8.2 mile loop through Monte Bello, Skyline, Russian Ridge, and Coal Creek preserves. Nice weather and still lots of flowers. I got lunch at Panda Express. I recently discovered their super greens option instead of chow mein or rice. I had the super greens with honey walnut shrimp and sweet fire chicken. Yum! After eating lunch in the backyard, I painted the color coat on the pieces I prepared yesterday. Then I showered and washed my hiking clothes from today and last weekend. I had some black bean soup with toast for dinner.
Friday: (06/30) 19 years retired today. Breakfast with Lou at A Good Morning Cafe/ Lou made soup for lunch and dinner. I managed to install all the pieces I prepared yesterday. The closet shelf required trimming and touch up of the painted edges. I also replaced the battery in the Flume water flow monitor and cut a piece of plastic for Lou.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Monday, May 1, 2023
May 2023
Monday: (05/01) I was up early and drove into the park and stopped at the Peaks View Parking Area. I had some pizza and a banana for breakfast. My neck and back were botering me so I then took a nap. About 1000, I hiked out the South Wilderness Trail to its end. There was some path finding and a few extra stream crossing on this outing. Tree falls and flooding made for some new routes. It’s a good thing I’m not doing the Pig fence Hike because the river now obstructs the trail at the bottom for about a half mile. This hike was about 7 miles total. Back at the Van I had some Chinese food for lunch. It was rather cold and windy. I drove out the Old Pinnacles TH for a look then back to the Visitor Center Store. I checked in to my campsite and tried to get on the Internet. It didn’t work well but i did learn that I’m the only hiker now signed up for my hike tomorrow. Everyone canceled due to concerns about the storm with its expected rain and wind. So, I figured, why don’t I just do the hike today with a little better weather. I started at the Old Pinnacles trailhead at 1500. It's about a 9.5 mile loop hike so I had to hustle. I exited the Balconies Caves at 2000 and it was dark. I did the last 2.5 miles with my headlamp on arriving back at the van at 2050. I tried to check the Internet and close the signup for my hike but couldn’t get a connection. So I’ll have to hang around and may have to do the hike a second time tomorrow morning. If no one hows up I can leave before the storm hits. I enjoyed my burrito for dinner.
Tuesday: (05/02) Up at 0700. I had a couple of pieces of pizza and a banana for breakfast. I drove over to the store to see if I could get an Internet connection. No luck so I waited until 0900 to see if anyone showed up for the hike. No one did. It was raining all morning. I did drive up to Bear Gulch and considered taking a hike up to the reservoir and possibly through the High Peaks but I came to my senses and didn't. I left the park and headed toward home. I stopped in Holister at the Historical Village but nothing was open. I took a walk around looking at what I could see. I did have good cell Internet here so I caught up. I confirmed that there had been no one signed up for the hike. I enjoyed looking at all the old farm equipment then headed home. At home I made the van tidy again. I finished my leftover Chinese food for dinner. Later in the evening I found a tick on my stomach. He must have been hitch hiking because he had been attached too long judging by his size.
Wednesday: (05/03) Granola for breakfast. I studied the van considering how to install the 3rd set and tables. I also called Kaiser’s advice nurse and ask about my tick bite. They confirmed it is likely not a problem unless things get worse in a few days. I also called Kaiser and scheduled my annual checkup for this afternoon. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Lou came with me for my doctor’s checkup. No problems but she did burn off some skin and schedule a bone density test and lab work. I also got my 2nd covid booster shot. Super nacho chips for dinner. In the evening We went to Dawn;s apartment and relocated her TV to be clear of the escape window.
Thursday: (05/04) I prepared ham and eggs with toast for breakfast. Later in the morning i took a walk down to San Antonio Shopping Center. I looked at a couple of construction projects on the way. I also walked through Fayette Greenway Park. It was built over part of the Hetch-Hetchy Water pipe as part of an apartment building complex. It is basically a dog walk so i sat and read my newspaper and watched the dods play. I continued on to walk around the somewhat recently built office/shopping building complex. I then stopped at Safeway Market and bought some parsley for Dawn. I caught a bus back home. Lou had prepared hamburger salads for lunch. I relaxed in the van tinkering wit the computer and doing some van planning.
Friday: (05/05) Granola for breakfast. I cleaned up the blossom debris from the oak tree. It bothers Lou’s nose. Lou and Dawn were off to thrift and for an appointment. They were gone all day. I relaxed inside the rest of the day and spent a little time working on the van plan. Chili and an artichoke for lunch. The artichoke was one of ours and over six inches in diameter. Chicken and ramen noodles for dinner. When I walked Dawn home I noticed some red light activity at the end of our street. We’d heard several sirens previously and more were coming. Turns out there were 6 Palo Alto police cars, three Palo Alto fire trucks, a fire chief truck and an ambulance. Then two Mountain View Fire trucks and one of their chiefs as well. They were all at our Shell service station. There was one car by the pumps and all the pumps were taped off. Then there was a whole lot of waiting. Evidently it was some kind of hazardous material problem in the car. That’s better than a problem with the hydrogen fueling system.
Saturday: (05/06) Granola for breakfast. I drew up some plans for Dawn’s seat construction. Not much else accomplished today. Leftover celery chicken over rice for lunch. Strawberries and yogurt for dinner.
Sunday: (05/07) I made a Denver omelet for breakfast. I started with helping Lou erect a tent in the rear yard. She will be cleaning out the cottage and needs some covered space. I worked on the van rear door lock problem. The electric lock chattered and didn’t lock the lock. The key didn't work either. Today, the lock solenoid didn’t even chatter. I may have waited too long to fix it and it burnt out. I removed the panels and checked for a jam and it worked fine. That should have been a clue. I decided to just disconnect the lock connector so it would do anything, which was better than only unlocking. While the panels were off I installed some insulation in the lower half of the doors. I hadn’t removed the factory lower door panels when I insulated the rest of the van. After reinstalling the panels, I tested the lock and it didn’t work again. I removed the panels again and discovered the cause of all the problems. One of the screws I used to attach the upper door panel was the culprit. It interfered with one of the levers connecting the latch and the key cylinder. I installed a shorter screw to fix the problem. I don’t intend to repair the electric lock because with it being manual only, it will remain locked whenever the other doors ore unlocked. The rear doors are seldom used so it should be no problem. Salad for lunch. I relaxed all afternoon. Meatloaf and one of our artichokes for dinner. This artichoke was slightly smaller than Friday’s artichoke, only six inches in diameter.
Monday: (05/08) Leftover Denver omelet for breakfast. I met my fellow hikers in Saratoga village for a hike led by Libby. We walked through the streets up to Villa Montalvo and up a trail from there to a viewpoint up the mountain behind it. It was only about a five mile hike but the company was great. I picked up a super burrito for lunch from Super Taqueria on the way home. I also stopped at Grocery Outlet for a few things. After a bit of relaxing I joined Lou cleaning out her garden spot. I removed a bean trellis, a bunch of concrete pavers and the drip sprinkler pipes. That was enough. Lou and Dawn made vegetable soup for dinner.
Tuesday: (05/09) Leftover Denver omelet for breakfast. We worked on Lou’s garden today. We pulled all the weeds and grass up. With that done. I rototilled the garden. Next, a trip to Lowe’s to get some steer manure. Back home, I tilled the manure in then leveled the garden. And finally I replaced the step stone bricks. Dawn made some baked peppers, onions, and unmeltable cheese for lunch. After lunch Dawn and I went to get a load of mulch from the city pile and then a load of compost. Both are for Dawn’s garden. Dinner was tater tots, cabbage, and sausages.
Wednesday: (05/10) Lou made a mushroom and sausage omelet for breakfast. I installed a bean trellis for Lou’s garden. I also worked on plucking some weeds from the patio cracks by the arbor. I tried to attend my Wednesday webinar but the Internet disagreed with that plan. Bad connection. We went to Aqui’s Restaurant for Lou’s Mother’s Day dinner. A few days and hours early, since it was Wednesday’s late lunch. Back home I went to Dawn’s apartment and reinstalled her computer monitor. Salad for dinner followed with strawberries and yogurt.
Thursday: (05/11) Leftover mushroom omelet for breakfast. I reinstalled the drip tubes in Lou’s garden that had to be removed to rototill the garden. Broccoli salad and some yogurt for lunch. I went with Lou for a doctor’ appointment in the afternoon. After my afternoon nap, I made a run to get more mulch from the City’s pile for our gardens. Leftover vegetable soup with carrot salad for dinner. I posted a hike for Tuesday.
Friday: (05/12) Granola for breakfast. I prepared the van to roll again. I tried to install the dropdown table on the sink cabinet but the screws kept breaking off so I canceled that project until I get better screws. I also drained the gray water tank and filled the fresh water tanks. Then I was off to do a little shopping. I stopped at Walmart and bought some more kitchen towels. I use them for both the kitchen and my bath towel. After checking out while walking to the car, Lou discovered I was gone and learned I was at Walmart so I had to go back in and gt more stuff. I then stopped by Super Taqueria for a burrito. I put it in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch. I hate over-priced event food. And I topped off the gas tank at the cheapest station. Salmon stuffed tomato for lunch. Baked squash with beef and peppers for dinner.
Saturday: (05/13) I was up earlier than recently and had some granola and a banana for breakfast. I said my goodbyes and jumped in the van and headed off up Highway 280 toward Santa Rosa to the Adventure Van Expo. I Stopped for a short visit to Freidman Brothers then headed off to the Fairgrounds. I walked in when they opened and 1000. Weather was nice then but it got warmer during the day. Lots of interesting vans and components for van builds. I made the rounds several times and finally called it quits at 1620. My lunch was the super burrito I picked up yesterday afternoon. I picked up some Chinese food for dinner then headed off toward Bodega Bay and camoed beside the road beside the bay.
Sunday: (05/14) Up at 0500 to drive in the fog down to Olema to the PaloMarin Trailhead. I understand parking is limited, the hike is popular and it’s a weekend day. The foggy drive was interesting. I had to stop for an owl standing in the road and also saw a bobcat. I arrived at the parking area about 0650. I prepared my breakfast of some ramen noodles and chili. I hit the trail about 0800. It’s about 4 ¼ miles out to a primitive trail down to the falls. That trail involves going down the cliff using a rope. It’s also possible to hike another 3 miles looping back on the beach from Wildcat Beach. The trail wasn’t at all difficult and Alamere Falls are beautiful. There are also a lot of flowers on the hills above the falls. I returned to the van about noon. After a little cleanup, a change of clothes and a salad for lunch, I was back on the road home. I was home about 1500. I had some chili for dinner.
Monday: (05/15) Lou and Dawn were off to an appointment. We met for brunch about 1000 at A Good Morning cafe. On the way there I stopped and got gas in the Van and did some shopping at Walmart. Then I went to REI and got an egg carton and a California road atlas. Lou made tator tots with chicken wings for dinner about 1400. I stopped by ACE hardware and bought some steel angle iron to make the third passenger seat. It’s going to be bolted through the floor and the seatbelt bolted to the steel. I had some cheese toast for a snack later.
Tuesday: (05/16) After a shower I made an egg, ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I drove the van up Pagemill Road to the Skyline Ope Space preserve to meet my fellow hikers for a hike through five openspaces including going to the top of Black Mountain. The weather wasn’t as hot as forecast and we had nice clear views, wild flowers and a nice occasional breeze. We started at 0930 and finished at 1500. Six hikers opted for a slightly shorter hike of only 9 miles while eight of us proceeded to the top of Black Mountain for a 12.5 mile hike. I was worn out as we finished. Back home after a nice shower i prepared ramen noodles and chili for late lunch and then took a nap. More chili for dinner later.
Wednesday: (05/17) I had scrambled eggs with ham for breakfast. Out neighbor is away so I used her car to give it some exercise and went to Smart and Final Market for a few things. Back home, I moved some flagstone pavers I had stacked between the legs of my cement mixer in the tent. Dawn needs the mixer for her garden soil preparation. I also checked and corrected some sprinklers. Ramen noodles with chili for lunch. Dawn made vegetable soup “Wish Soup'' for dinner. After dinner I removed a couple of artichoke plants that had completed their choke harvest.
Thursday: (05/18) Scrambled eggs and ham for breakfast. I had a dental appointment in the morning. I gave myself a hair and beard cut before I headed off to the appointment. I stopped at Sprout’s Market nearby in Sunnyvale after the appointment for my favorite green tea. The shelf was bare. I then picked up my lunch. After that I tried a second Sprout’s location in Cupertino. It is now closed for good, just like our Mountain View location. I hope the rest remain open. Another stop at Panera Bread Cafe for some soup for Lou and Dawn’s lunch. Chinese food from Wok On Restaurant for lunch. BBQ ribs with baked potato and artichoke for dinner.
Friday: (05/19) Scrambled eggs with ham and hash browned potatoes. I worked in the yard in the morning. I weeded and cleaned out my succulent bed. I moved my two big jade plants into buckets and placed them out front for someone else to enjoy. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. After lunch, I started preparing to do some welding and wood work for the van. I rearranged my shop, which is over crowded and moved the saw and welder to the yard. In the late afternoon, we attended an open house at Dawn’s apartment building. Lots of city council members, state legislators and even our congressional representative attended. Soup and roast chicken for dinner. I posted a hike for next Tuesday.
Saturday: (05/20) Granola for breakfast. I tinkered with the van seat installation. I did some more cleanup outside my shop then got busy cutting plywood for Dawn’s chair foot stool. She needs a platform for the stool she uses at the sink. That needs to dry so I placed it in the van. It happens to be about the same height as the dais in the van will be so I used it to confirm the height of the 3rd seat. I cut a couple of pieces of plywood for the seat but because there won’t be a complete set of walls I only have two I can connect. After the glue dries where I connected those two pieces I’ll trim the rear panel to fit and attach a ledger boars and the top. A ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. After lunch I took a package to Kohl’s to return an incorrect Amazon shipment. I got birthday cake flags instead of garden hose caps. I stopped at Walmart for a couple of things for Lou while I was out. Back home, I tried to get the welder going for the seat belt anchorage which could also be the rear support ledger but my wire feed motor isn’t working. So now I’m not sure how to proceed. Lou made chicken salad for dinner,
Sunday: (05/21) Granola for breakfast. I made a shopping run in the morning. I stopped at Rosses and Marshall’s looking for a plastic organizer like the one I bought a while back for the van. I didn’t locate what I wanted. I also stopped at Harbor Freight, the purpose of my trip, for some stick welding rods. At the register I asked about the status of my welders warranty. It was good for another 30 days. How fortunate. My welder's wire feed motor quit working. I had them hold a replacement and returned home to get my welder. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch.I returned after lunch to Harbor Freight and swapped the old welder for a new one. Lou and Dawn came along for the ride and looked around a Bed Bath And Beyond next door. Potato salad for dinner. I moved the old washer over to the arbor where it can be used as a backup to our failed new washer.
Monday: (05/22) Granola for breakfast. I took a bike ride over to Stanford’s Arizona Cactus Garden. Lots of flowers to see. After a Tiger Chai Latte, I returned home. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I spent the afternoon cleaning out the greenhouse. Way too much stuff in there Lots of pots pot hangers, sprinkler tubing, wire, etc. Plus scads of fertilizers and chemicals. I filled two recycle bins and our garbage bin. I now have a clear area inside. I washed the pots and saucers I might keep and left them to dry overnight. Tomorrow I’ll put some of it back in, an amount that fits, and recycle or give away the rest. Salmon with rice and carrots for dinner.
Tuesday: (05/23) Ham, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I moved all the pots I washed yesterday evening off of the lawn. I met my fellow hikers for a hike at Foothills Nature Preserve. It was a shorter version of my Other Trails Hike. The twelve of us enjoyed good weather, nice flowers and a friendly snake. Back home I had some leftover BBQ ribs with ramen noodles and chili for lunch. I made a run to ACE hardware for a barbed pipe tee to add the old washing machine to our gray water discharge system. Sauerbraten over baked potatoes for dinner.
Wednesday: (05/24) Granola and a banana for breakfast. I started by moving some furniture out to the street for pickup day tomorrow. They had been removed from the cottage and had been advertised for free for the past few days. I then got out my torch and brazed some tubing to be used as shelf support legs over the potting table. I needed to get a few things to complete the greenhouse cleanup. I headed off to shop and get lunch from Wok On Chinese Restaurant. Then I visited Harbor Freight to get a cheap tarp to be a curtain to protect the storage area from the overhead sprinkler. I also stopped by Lowe’s for some storage tubs and eyelets. Back home I completed the work in the greenhouse. Now Lou just needs to organize her fertilizers and chemicals. Salad for dinner.
Thursday: (05/25) Granola and banana for breakfast. The morning was exciting because today was one of our free pick up days so all sorts of interesting items were placed out for pickup. We had all sorts of stuff from the greenhouse and the cottage in our pile. Watching the man add it all to the rear of the truck and get crushed. After all the excitement I got to work on the van. That began by more thinking. I then got the saw out and cut some pieces for the 3rd seat. I received my new cordless nail gun and used it to pin the main pieces together with some glue. When that had dried enough I added some corner reinforcing pieces that I had cut out while waiting. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. I finished cutting most of the pieces for the seat to be able to assemble it tomorrow. Leftover salad for dinner.
Friday: (05/26) I had scrambled eggs and ham for breakfast. I worked on the can seat cutting and test fitting additional pieces. Cauliflower sausage and onion soup for lunch. I finished for the day after painting the pieces. Tomorrow I can assemble the seat and add some more structure pieces. Chicken with rice and artichokes for dinner,
Saturday: (05/27) Granola and banana for breakfast. I tinkered with the van a little, then worked on rearranging all the stuff that needed to be in the shed. I managed to fit it all in. My table saw and my bike have been left outside for the past week. The clouds have returned and I wanted to be sure nothing gets caught outside in a sprinkle. Late lunch at Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City. Lou and Dawn had their prime rib and I had my veggie lasagna. Nibbles for dinner.
Sunday: (05/28) Up early and drove up to Milbrea to the Bart Station. I caught a train to the 24th Street station where the Carnaval Parade will be. I walked up 24th Street to Tacos Del Barrio where I got torts for breakfast. I finished up about 15 minutes before the parade was to start. Nice parade but it never got warm. The parade finished at about 1300. I caught Bart back to my car and drove El Camino Real down to Redwood City where I stopped at Grocery Outlet for a couple of things and then stopped at Harry’s Hofbrau for soup and sandwich for lunch. My back was bothering me so I relaxed the rest of the day.Leftover lasagna for dinner.
Monday: (05/29) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van dinette wall panel. I had to strip off the upholstery on the panel. Lots of staples and a mess of glue that held the foam in place. Eventually I got it cleaned up. I cut it to fit the new need that the set caused. Then I painted the panel. I had a snack about 1130, chili beans and cottage cheese. Our holiday feast about 1400 was corn on the cob, potato salad, deviled eggs, with hamburgers and BBQ ribs.
Tuesday: (05/30) A ham, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I went up the hill to the Long Ridge Open Space preserve for a hike with my fellow San Jose Mid-week Hikers. Seven of us hiked a loop out to Ranch Spring trail and back, about 7.2 miles. We stopped for a snack on the ridge overlooking the mountains with the ocean just beyond. After the hike I drove back home via Saratoga stopping to get lunch at Wok On Chinese restaurant and stopped at Sprout’s Market to see if they finally have my favorite green tea. They did so I got four boxes. Back home I took a shower and relaxed. When Lou and Dawn got back from their errands, Lou surprised me with the four boxes of tea she had bought at the same market, evidently after I had gotten mine. I should have enough tea for a few days now. Ramen noodles with leftover sauerbraten beef. About 1700 I finally got outside to work on the van. I fitted the dinette wall panel and cut the reinforcing panels for it. I glued and nailed the panels together. Now the wall will be one inch thick for better ability to hold screws. The lip needed to remain only ½”.
Wednesday: (05/31) Banana and granola for breakfast.I tinkered installing the dinette wall panel and assembling the seat box. Lou provided a couple of cushions to use temporarily. I loaded up the van for my outing. Potato salad for lunch. I left home about 1500. I shopped my way down to Morgan Hill where I picked up some Chinese food for a later dinner. I spent some some time in Holister doing some final online needs. No phone or Internet in Pinnacles NP. I timed my arrival to a turnout near the park entrance just as it was getting dark. I enjoyed my Chinese food for dinner.
Tuesday: (05/02) Up at 0700. I had a couple of pieces of pizza and a banana for breakfast. I drove over to the store to see if I could get an Internet connection. No luck so I waited until 0900 to see if anyone showed up for the hike. No one did. It was raining all morning. I did drive up to Bear Gulch and considered taking a hike up to the reservoir and possibly through the High Peaks but I came to my senses and didn't. I left the park and headed toward home. I stopped in Holister at the Historical Village but nothing was open. I took a walk around looking at what I could see. I did have good cell Internet here so I caught up. I confirmed that there had been no one signed up for the hike. I enjoyed looking at all the old farm equipment then headed home. At home I made the van tidy again. I finished my leftover Chinese food for dinner. Later in the evening I found a tick on my stomach. He must have been hitch hiking because he had been attached too long judging by his size.
Wednesday: (05/03) Granola for breakfast. I studied the van considering how to install the 3rd set and tables. I also called Kaiser’s advice nurse and ask about my tick bite. They confirmed it is likely not a problem unless things get worse in a few days. I also called Kaiser and scheduled my annual checkup for this afternoon. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Lou came with me for my doctor’s checkup. No problems but she did burn off some skin and schedule a bone density test and lab work. I also got my 2nd covid booster shot. Super nacho chips for dinner. In the evening We went to Dawn;s apartment and relocated her TV to be clear of the escape window.
Thursday: (05/04) I prepared ham and eggs with toast for breakfast. Later in the morning i took a walk down to San Antonio Shopping Center. I looked at a couple of construction projects on the way. I also walked through Fayette Greenway Park. It was built over part of the Hetch-Hetchy Water pipe as part of an apartment building complex. It is basically a dog walk so i sat and read my newspaper and watched the dods play. I continued on to walk around the somewhat recently built office/shopping building complex. I then stopped at Safeway Market and bought some parsley for Dawn. I caught a bus back home. Lou had prepared hamburger salads for lunch. I relaxed in the van tinkering wit the computer and doing some van planning.
Friday: (05/05) Granola for breakfast. I cleaned up the blossom debris from the oak tree. It bothers Lou’s nose. Lou and Dawn were off to thrift and for an appointment. They were gone all day. I relaxed inside the rest of the day and spent a little time working on the van plan. Chili and an artichoke for lunch. The artichoke was one of ours and over six inches in diameter. Chicken and ramen noodles for dinner. When I walked Dawn home I noticed some red light activity at the end of our street. We’d heard several sirens previously and more were coming. Turns out there were 6 Palo Alto police cars, three Palo Alto fire trucks, a fire chief truck and an ambulance. Then two Mountain View Fire trucks and one of their chiefs as well. They were all at our Shell service station. There was one car by the pumps and all the pumps were taped off. Then there was a whole lot of waiting. Evidently it was some kind of hazardous material problem in the car. That’s better than a problem with the hydrogen fueling system.
Saturday: (05/06) Granola for breakfast. I drew up some plans for Dawn’s seat construction. Not much else accomplished today. Leftover celery chicken over rice for lunch. Strawberries and yogurt for dinner.
Sunday: (05/07) I made a Denver omelet for breakfast. I started with helping Lou erect a tent in the rear yard. She will be cleaning out the cottage and needs some covered space. I worked on the van rear door lock problem. The electric lock chattered and didn’t lock the lock. The key didn't work either. Today, the lock solenoid didn’t even chatter. I may have waited too long to fix it and it burnt out. I removed the panels and checked for a jam and it worked fine. That should have been a clue. I decided to just disconnect the lock connector so it would do anything, which was better than only unlocking. While the panels were off I installed some insulation in the lower half of the doors. I hadn’t removed the factory lower door panels when I insulated the rest of the van. After reinstalling the panels, I tested the lock and it didn’t work again. I removed the panels again and discovered the cause of all the problems. One of the screws I used to attach the upper door panel was the culprit. It interfered with one of the levers connecting the latch and the key cylinder. I installed a shorter screw to fix the problem. I don’t intend to repair the electric lock because with it being manual only, it will remain locked whenever the other doors ore unlocked. The rear doors are seldom used so it should be no problem. Salad for lunch. I relaxed all afternoon. Meatloaf and one of our artichokes for dinner. This artichoke was slightly smaller than Friday’s artichoke, only six inches in diameter.
Monday: (05/08) Leftover Denver omelet for breakfast. I met my fellow hikers in Saratoga village for a hike led by Libby. We walked through the streets up to Villa Montalvo and up a trail from there to a viewpoint up the mountain behind it. It was only about a five mile hike but the company was great. I picked up a super burrito for lunch from Super Taqueria on the way home. I also stopped at Grocery Outlet for a few things. After a bit of relaxing I joined Lou cleaning out her garden spot. I removed a bean trellis, a bunch of concrete pavers and the drip sprinkler pipes. That was enough. Lou and Dawn made vegetable soup for dinner.
Tuesday: (05/09) Leftover Denver omelet for breakfast. We worked on Lou’s garden today. We pulled all the weeds and grass up. With that done. I rototilled the garden. Next, a trip to Lowe’s to get some steer manure. Back home, I tilled the manure in then leveled the garden. And finally I replaced the step stone bricks. Dawn made some baked peppers, onions, and unmeltable cheese for lunch. After lunch Dawn and I went to get a load of mulch from the city pile and then a load of compost. Both are for Dawn’s garden. Dinner was tater tots, cabbage, and sausages.
Wednesday: (05/10) Lou made a mushroom and sausage omelet for breakfast. I installed a bean trellis for Lou’s garden. I also worked on plucking some weeds from the patio cracks by the arbor. I tried to attend my Wednesday webinar but the Internet disagreed with that plan. Bad connection. We went to Aqui’s Restaurant for Lou’s Mother’s Day dinner. A few days and hours early, since it was Wednesday’s late lunch. Back home I went to Dawn’s apartment and reinstalled her computer monitor. Salad for dinner followed with strawberries and yogurt.
Thursday: (05/11) Leftover mushroom omelet for breakfast. I reinstalled the drip tubes in Lou’s garden that had to be removed to rototill the garden. Broccoli salad and some yogurt for lunch. I went with Lou for a doctor’ appointment in the afternoon. After my afternoon nap, I made a run to get more mulch from the City’s pile for our gardens. Leftover vegetable soup with carrot salad for dinner. I posted a hike for Tuesday.
Friday: (05/12) Granola for breakfast. I prepared the van to roll again. I tried to install the dropdown table on the sink cabinet but the screws kept breaking off so I canceled that project until I get better screws. I also drained the gray water tank and filled the fresh water tanks. Then I was off to do a little shopping. I stopped at Walmart and bought some more kitchen towels. I use them for both the kitchen and my bath towel. After checking out while walking to the car, Lou discovered I was gone and learned I was at Walmart so I had to go back in and gt more stuff. I then stopped by Super Taqueria for a burrito. I put it in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch. I hate over-priced event food. And I topped off the gas tank at the cheapest station. Salmon stuffed tomato for lunch. Baked squash with beef and peppers for dinner.
Saturday: (05/13) I was up earlier than recently and had some granola and a banana for breakfast. I said my goodbyes and jumped in the van and headed off up Highway 280 toward Santa Rosa to the Adventure Van Expo. I Stopped for a short visit to Freidman Brothers then headed off to the Fairgrounds. I walked in when they opened and 1000. Weather was nice then but it got warmer during the day. Lots of interesting vans and components for van builds. I made the rounds several times and finally called it quits at 1620. My lunch was the super burrito I picked up yesterday afternoon. I picked up some Chinese food for dinner then headed off toward Bodega Bay and camoed beside the road beside the bay.
Sunday: (05/14) Up at 0500 to drive in the fog down to Olema to the PaloMarin Trailhead. I understand parking is limited, the hike is popular and it’s a weekend day. The foggy drive was interesting. I had to stop for an owl standing in the road and also saw a bobcat. I arrived at the parking area about 0650. I prepared my breakfast of some ramen noodles and chili. I hit the trail about 0800. It’s about 4 ¼ miles out to a primitive trail down to the falls. That trail involves going down the cliff using a rope. It’s also possible to hike another 3 miles looping back on the beach from Wildcat Beach. The trail wasn’t at all difficult and Alamere Falls are beautiful. There are also a lot of flowers on the hills above the falls. I returned to the van about noon. After a little cleanup, a change of clothes and a salad for lunch, I was back on the road home. I was home about 1500. I had some chili for dinner.
Monday: (05/15) Lou and Dawn were off to an appointment. We met for brunch about 1000 at A Good Morning cafe. On the way there I stopped and got gas in the Van and did some shopping at Walmart. Then I went to REI and got an egg carton and a California road atlas. Lou made tator tots with chicken wings for dinner about 1400. I stopped by ACE hardware and bought some steel angle iron to make the third passenger seat. It’s going to be bolted through the floor and the seatbelt bolted to the steel. I had some cheese toast for a snack later.
Tuesday: (05/16) After a shower I made an egg, ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I drove the van up Pagemill Road to the Skyline Ope Space preserve to meet my fellow hikers for a hike through five openspaces including going to the top of Black Mountain. The weather wasn’t as hot as forecast and we had nice clear views, wild flowers and a nice occasional breeze. We started at 0930 and finished at 1500. Six hikers opted for a slightly shorter hike of only 9 miles while eight of us proceeded to the top of Black Mountain for a 12.5 mile hike. I was worn out as we finished. Back home after a nice shower i prepared ramen noodles and chili for late lunch and then took a nap. More chili for dinner later.
Wednesday: (05/17) I had scrambled eggs with ham for breakfast. Out neighbor is away so I used her car to give it some exercise and went to Smart and Final Market for a few things. Back home, I moved some flagstone pavers I had stacked between the legs of my cement mixer in the tent. Dawn needs the mixer for her garden soil preparation. I also checked and corrected some sprinklers. Ramen noodles with chili for lunch. Dawn made vegetable soup “Wish Soup'' for dinner. After dinner I removed a couple of artichoke plants that had completed their choke harvest.
Thursday: (05/18) Scrambled eggs and ham for breakfast. I had a dental appointment in the morning. I gave myself a hair and beard cut before I headed off to the appointment. I stopped at Sprout’s Market nearby in Sunnyvale after the appointment for my favorite green tea. The shelf was bare. I then picked up my lunch. After that I tried a second Sprout’s location in Cupertino. It is now closed for good, just like our Mountain View location. I hope the rest remain open. Another stop at Panera Bread Cafe for some soup for Lou and Dawn’s lunch. Chinese food from Wok On Restaurant for lunch. BBQ ribs with baked potato and artichoke for dinner.
Friday: (05/19) Scrambled eggs with ham and hash browned potatoes. I worked in the yard in the morning. I weeded and cleaned out my succulent bed. I moved my two big jade plants into buckets and placed them out front for someone else to enjoy. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. After lunch, I started preparing to do some welding and wood work for the van. I rearranged my shop, which is over crowded and moved the saw and welder to the yard. In the late afternoon, we attended an open house at Dawn’s apartment building. Lots of city council members, state legislators and even our congressional representative attended. Soup and roast chicken for dinner. I posted a hike for next Tuesday.
Saturday: (05/20) Granola for breakfast. I tinkered with the van seat installation. I did some more cleanup outside my shop then got busy cutting plywood for Dawn’s chair foot stool. She needs a platform for the stool she uses at the sink. That needs to dry so I placed it in the van. It happens to be about the same height as the dais in the van will be so I used it to confirm the height of the 3rd seat. I cut a couple of pieces of plywood for the seat but because there won’t be a complete set of walls I only have two I can connect. After the glue dries where I connected those two pieces I’ll trim the rear panel to fit and attach a ledger boars and the top. A ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. After lunch I took a package to Kohl’s to return an incorrect Amazon shipment. I got birthday cake flags instead of garden hose caps. I stopped at Walmart for a couple of things for Lou while I was out. Back home, I tried to get the welder going for the seat belt anchorage which could also be the rear support ledger but my wire feed motor isn’t working. So now I’m not sure how to proceed. Lou made chicken salad for dinner,
Sunday: (05/21) Granola for breakfast. I made a shopping run in the morning. I stopped at Rosses and Marshall’s looking for a plastic organizer like the one I bought a while back for the van. I didn’t locate what I wanted. I also stopped at Harbor Freight, the purpose of my trip, for some stick welding rods. At the register I asked about the status of my welders warranty. It was good for another 30 days. How fortunate. My welder's wire feed motor quit working. I had them hold a replacement and returned home to get my welder. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch.I returned after lunch to Harbor Freight and swapped the old welder for a new one. Lou and Dawn came along for the ride and looked around a Bed Bath And Beyond next door. Potato salad for dinner. I moved the old washer over to the arbor where it can be used as a backup to our failed new washer.
Monday: (05/22) Granola for breakfast. I took a bike ride over to Stanford’s Arizona Cactus Garden. Lots of flowers to see. After a Tiger Chai Latte, I returned home. Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. I spent the afternoon cleaning out the greenhouse. Way too much stuff in there Lots of pots pot hangers, sprinkler tubing, wire, etc. Plus scads of fertilizers and chemicals. I filled two recycle bins and our garbage bin. I now have a clear area inside. I washed the pots and saucers I might keep and left them to dry overnight. Tomorrow I’ll put some of it back in, an amount that fits, and recycle or give away the rest. Salmon with rice and carrots for dinner.
Tuesday: (05/23) Ham, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I moved all the pots I washed yesterday evening off of the lawn. I met my fellow hikers for a hike at Foothills Nature Preserve. It was a shorter version of my Other Trails Hike. The twelve of us enjoyed good weather, nice flowers and a friendly snake. Back home I had some leftover BBQ ribs with ramen noodles and chili for lunch. I made a run to ACE hardware for a barbed pipe tee to add the old washing machine to our gray water discharge system. Sauerbraten over baked potatoes for dinner.
Wednesday: (05/24) Granola and a banana for breakfast. I started by moving some furniture out to the street for pickup day tomorrow. They had been removed from the cottage and had been advertised for free for the past few days. I then got out my torch and brazed some tubing to be used as shelf support legs over the potting table. I needed to get a few things to complete the greenhouse cleanup. I headed off to shop and get lunch from Wok On Chinese Restaurant. Then I visited Harbor Freight to get a cheap tarp to be a curtain to protect the storage area from the overhead sprinkler. I also stopped by Lowe’s for some storage tubs and eyelets. Back home I completed the work in the greenhouse. Now Lou just needs to organize her fertilizers and chemicals. Salad for dinner.
Thursday: (05/25) Granola and banana for breakfast. The morning was exciting because today was one of our free pick up days so all sorts of interesting items were placed out for pickup. We had all sorts of stuff from the greenhouse and the cottage in our pile. Watching the man add it all to the rear of the truck and get crushed. After all the excitement I got to work on the van. That began by more thinking. I then got the saw out and cut some pieces for the 3rd seat. I received my new cordless nail gun and used it to pin the main pieces together with some glue. When that had dried enough I added some corner reinforcing pieces that I had cut out while waiting. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. I finished cutting most of the pieces for the seat to be able to assemble it tomorrow. Leftover salad for dinner.
Friday: (05/26) I had scrambled eggs and ham for breakfast. I worked on the can seat cutting and test fitting additional pieces. Cauliflower sausage and onion soup for lunch. I finished for the day after painting the pieces. Tomorrow I can assemble the seat and add some more structure pieces. Chicken with rice and artichokes for dinner,
Saturday: (05/27) Granola and banana for breakfast. I tinkered with the van a little, then worked on rearranging all the stuff that needed to be in the shed. I managed to fit it all in. My table saw and my bike have been left outside for the past week. The clouds have returned and I wanted to be sure nothing gets caught outside in a sprinkle. Late lunch at Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City. Lou and Dawn had their prime rib and I had my veggie lasagna. Nibbles for dinner.
Sunday: (05/28) Up early and drove up to Milbrea to the Bart Station. I caught a train to the 24th Street station where the Carnaval Parade will be. I walked up 24th Street to Tacos Del Barrio where I got torts for breakfast. I finished up about 15 minutes before the parade was to start. Nice parade but it never got warm. The parade finished at about 1300. I caught Bart back to my car and drove El Camino Real down to Redwood City where I stopped at Grocery Outlet for a couple of things and then stopped at Harry’s Hofbrau for soup and sandwich for lunch. My back was bothering me so I relaxed the rest of the day.Leftover lasagna for dinner.
Monday: (05/29) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van dinette wall panel. I had to strip off the upholstery on the panel. Lots of staples and a mess of glue that held the foam in place. Eventually I got it cleaned up. I cut it to fit the new need that the set caused. Then I painted the panel. I had a snack about 1130, chili beans and cottage cheese. Our holiday feast about 1400 was corn on the cob, potato salad, deviled eggs, with hamburgers and BBQ ribs.
Tuesday: (05/30) A ham, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I went up the hill to the Long Ridge Open Space preserve for a hike with my fellow San Jose Mid-week Hikers. Seven of us hiked a loop out to Ranch Spring trail and back, about 7.2 miles. We stopped for a snack on the ridge overlooking the mountains with the ocean just beyond. After the hike I drove back home via Saratoga stopping to get lunch at Wok On Chinese restaurant and stopped at Sprout’s Market to see if they finally have my favorite green tea. They did so I got four boxes. Back home I took a shower and relaxed. When Lou and Dawn got back from their errands, Lou surprised me with the four boxes of tea she had bought at the same market, evidently after I had gotten mine. I should have enough tea for a few days now. Ramen noodles with leftover sauerbraten beef. About 1700 I finally got outside to work on the van. I fitted the dinette wall panel and cut the reinforcing panels for it. I glued and nailed the panels together. Now the wall will be one inch thick for better ability to hold screws. The lip needed to remain only ½”.
Wednesday: (05/31) Banana and granola for breakfast.I tinkered installing the dinette wall panel and assembling the seat box. Lou provided a couple of cushions to use temporarily. I loaded up the van for my outing. Potato salad for lunch. I left home about 1500. I shopped my way down to Morgan Hill where I picked up some Chinese food for a later dinner. I spent some some time in Holister doing some final online needs. No phone or Internet in Pinnacles NP. I timed my arrival to a turnout near the park entrance just as it was getting dark. I enjoyed my Chinese food for dinner.
Saturday, April 1, 2023
April 2023
Saturday: (04/01) Granola and a banana for breakfast. I took a walk around the rocks near camp and found lots of flowers. Types, not quantity. Finding them is more like finding nuggets. I took my first shower with the van. An outside shower at the rear of the van with the doors open and a tarp across the opening. Easy enough but my pump motor relay would not stay on so I had to wait for it to pulse enough water into the accumulator to get any flow. It’s an easy enough fix for my next shower by just jumping the pump on before I start my shower. I was in no hurry to leave and in fact was considering spending another night here but I decided to move on. I returned down the hill to Baker and stopped for lunch at The Mad Greek for a pork gyro. I then continued North on Highway 127 toward Death Valley. Traffic was terrible due to a very poorly managed runners event of all the police agencies from Southern California do a relay run from Baker to Las Vegas. We have to hope that no emergencies occur in Southern California like an earthquake or the like because all there command post vehicles, ambulances, and personnel are out in the desert. 25 miles at <10 mph average. I turned off to go over to Tecopa to explore. I went out to China Ranch Date Farm for a date shake. I also found the type of southwest blanket I want for the van but didn’t get one because I’ll wait for Lou to come out and smell it to see if she can live with it. I also stopped to check a hot spring for a possible visit in the future. Since I just had a shower I didn’t want to pollute my body nor take another shower today. I continued on the Shoshone encountering more runners. Fortunately they finished at Shoshone for today. Unfortunately, it isn’t that much of a benefit since I turned onto Highway 178 at the far end of town and headed into Death Valley NP. I stopped for the night about 50 miles South of Badwater by taking a side road up about a ¼ mile from the main road. It was nice to be settled in before dark as I should do but haven’t been doing. I had a pulled pork and cheese sandwich for dinner.
Sunday: (04/02) Banana and granola for breakfast. Green salad for lunch. Shepherd’s pie for dinner. After a nice banana I took a walk across the wash I was camped next to. It was a wide wash with many riverlet courses. After reaching the far side I hiked up stream and then came back on the road to the van. I discovered I had a neighbor just around a bend in the road. I then left my campsite and continued on into the park. I took hikes at Sidewinder Wash and Natural Arch as well as stopping for everything else along the way. I got to Furnace Creek about 1430 and checked into a site at Sunset campground. Later I made contact with some fellow SJMW hikers. We’ll be doing some hikes here for the next three days.
Monday: (04/03) Granola and bacon jerky for breakfast. I move over the the Visitor Center to meet my fellow hikers at 0830. We traveled down to Badwater and walked out in the salt flat. From there we headed back North stopping at Natural Bridge for a short walk to see it. Then we continued up to Artists Drive to see the colored hills. And our final stop was at Golden Canyon where we took our real hike, a 7 mile loop up to Zabriskie Point through Golden Canyon going up and back through Gower Gulch. We had gusty wind all afternoon and an effective dust storm late afternoon and evening. I had a pulled pork sandwich before the hike at the trailhead and chili and chips for dinner.
Tuesday: (04/04) Granola and bacon jerky for breakfast. We visited the dunes and hiked Mosaic Canyon before lunch. Ham and cheese with hummus sandwich for lunch. We then made our way to Darwin Falls Trailhead for the hike out to the falls. I couldn’t drive out the gravel ross to the trailhead because of some washout damage near the beginning of the road. I caught a ride with Dana, Mina and Rani the rest of the way. Definitely worth the drive and hike. Beautiful falls. From there I left the others and the park and continued on to Lone Pine. I got gas and more water and some orange juice at the market. I camped at Tuttle Creek BLM campground just below Mt Whitney. Ramen noodles with chili and a green salad for dinner.
Wednesday: (04/05) Rolled out of the campground around 0700. I drove out to the Alabama Hills Movie Road to see about camping there. Yes there is some camping but only in designated campsites and very soon will require a permit available online. I didn’t go past the entrance area on Movie Road because of all the re-construction happening there. I returned to downtown for breakfast at the Mt Whitney Restaurant. I enjoyed a green chili omelet. Then I was back on the road. I stopped at the Coso Rest Area and attended my Wednesday webinar there. After that I continued down to Highway 178 and headed into Kernville to look at what the recent flooding did. Not much damage to housing or businesses. The park was ravaged by the water though. I then came down Kern Canyon into Bakersfield. I stopped for an early dinner at the Rice Bowl Chinese Restaurant. I enjoyed a nice shrimp dinner. I picked up some taffy chews from Dewar's candy shop. I had difficulty deciding where to go or stay next. I finally decided it would be Walmart on Rosedale highway and if kicked out from there the TA Truck Stop at Buttonwillow. If I get to stay in town I may get breakfast at Milt’s, if not on to the Carizon Plans again. People still say the flowers are good there?
Thursday: (04/06) Granola for breakfast. I departed Walmart at 0530 with the idea to go by Milt’s for breakfast. Of course they were not open and in fact there are now gates enclosing their parking lot that were locked. I had enough doubt of their opening at all because they looked very closed. So, I headed off toward the Carrizo Plains out Highway 58 to Highway 33. I drove West of Highway 33 on Highway 58 about 5 miles before coming to a closure of the highway. You would have thought a sign might have been down at Highway 33. I returned and continued on Highway 33 through Taft to Maricopa and turned on Elkhorn Road. I’d heard reports of lots of flowers there so I took it into the Carrizo Plains Preserve. There were lots of flowers covering the hills. I stopped at a nice view point and enjoyed the view while I repaired the water pump which needed a new circuit breaker which I finally found. Then I took a nice shower. I continued the rest of the way through the preserve on the dirt road. I was fortunate to find that the van, with its front drive, was able to make it all the way. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Near the end I stopped at Wallace Creek Interpretive Trail. Wallace creek has been offset a couple hundred feet by the underlying San Andreas Fault. It increases by 1.3 inches per year. Also a nice romp through the flowers there. I made my way to Paso Robles for dinner at Panda Express. In my wisdom, I thought I’d go up Highway One home. I considered checking the road status online but didn’t. Big mistake. I did pass two signs on my way up to the closure that said “No Detour” so considered the road open. I’m not sure whether they meant there wasn’t any way around the closure or that there was a detour for Northbound which they didn’t bother advising of just how to detour. Seems like the sign might have said “Road Closed Ahead”.Caltrans rarely does things properly. So, about 90 miles of wasted driving. I changed plans again and headed toward the Pinnacles for a hike tomorrow stopping at the Lockwood off ramp for the night.
Friday: (04/07) I was up at 0500 and headed on into Pinnacles NP. I parked at the Peaks View Trailhead and prepared my breakfast of ham and eggs with toast. It was sprinkling rain when I started my hike. I hiked out the Bench Trail then the old Pinnacles trail and finally the Balconies trail to the Chaparral Picnic Area on the other side of the park. The six stream crossing on the way to the Balconies cave were easy even with the high water but I needn’t have tried to keep my feet dry because the water in the cave was almost up to my knees when I passed through it. I returned via the bypass trail making this hike about 9.5 miles. I saw about 10 condors flying by Machete Ridge over the caves. I then traveled home. I stopped for lunch at Super Taqueria in Holister. Back home I cleaned the dirt and dust out of the van. Lou made onion soup with flat bread for dinner.
Saturday: (04/08) Granola for breakfast. I finished leaning the van, washing the bedding and remaking it. I washed the van and motorhome. I also moved all the stuff I removed from the van for the trip back into the van. I had chili ramen noodles for lunch. Dinner was who knows what.
Sunday: (04/09) I prepared scrambled eggs with chili and cheese for breakfast. I took advantage of a slow morning and relaxed in bed watching TV. Later, I organized my clothes in the motorhome and moved what I didn’t need to the van for temporary storage. Basically I did all the preparation I needed to be ready to roll tomorrow. I also did the RV tank duty. I also re-programmed all the yard sprinklers to start watering again. I’m assuming the rain is over. If not, at least nothing will dry out and die while we’re gone. I also repaired a drip pipe that I had damaged when we planted a tree in the front orchard. We picked up dinner from Harry’s Houfrau in Redwood City. I had the usual veggie lasagna and they shared leg of lamb.
Monday: (04/10) Granola for breakfast. We spent all morning getting ready to leave. Still, we didn’t get away until nearly 1100. We headed up Highway 280 through San Francisco then on Highway 101. We stopped in Santa Rosa for Lou and Dawn to explore a thrift store, thoroughly, then went to lunch at Art’s Place. I had soup and a pizza, Lou had potato skins and Dawn had pesto polenta. Next we stopped at Friedman Building Supply. I found everything I’d been looking for all over home and on my drive to Death Valley. I found an oversized double Futura switch plate, some gray plastic plumbers tape and some metal plumbers tape. We then continued on through Cloverdale onto Highway 128 to our campsite at Hendy Redwoods State Park. We had an interesting time sewing the RV into the tight campsite between two trees from a narrow road. We had leftovers for dinner. I have to relearn the tricks of the RV each trip. I kept wondering why we were consuming so much power (35 amps) with nothing on it that should use it. Eventually I remembered the refrigerator needed to be set to gas ao it didn’t use the electric heating element. Leftovers for dinner.
Tuesday: (04/11) Lou made a Denver omelet for breakfast. We relaxed inside most of the day. We did have a visit from a ranger that brought our registration tag. She wanted to have us pave for the Jeep but it is included since it was towed in. Obviously a new host. I walked up to the entrance kiosk to get a tag for the Jeep as the signs advise but it isn’t manned. So, we’ll be scofflaws until we find it open. Lou made broccoli soup and toast for lunch. More relaxing. Later in the afternoon I took a walk out the Big Hendy Loop. I got lost several times. The signs were nonspecific. Eventually I made it out the the grove. I returned via the Hermit;s Hut trail to camp. About a 4 mile jaunt. We had baked potatoes, asparagus and stuffed bell peppers for dinner.
Wednesday: (04/12) I made a Lou’s Denver omelet for our breakfast. We drove out Highway 128 to Highway 1 and up to Van Damme State Park. We looked over the campground considering a future visit. We then continued up to Mendicino and looked around town. We enjoyed visiting a great nursery. Interesting pottery, succulents and garden tools. They have things we’ve never seen before. We continued up the highway to Fort Bragg where we stopped for lunch at the Noyo Fish Company. I had fish and chips and Lou and Dawn had clam chowder. All good. In town we looked around at a farmers market then visited some shops. We also stopped at several thrift stores before doing some grocery shopping at Harvest Market. We got gas at the Red Rhino station then headed home. We arrived home about 1830 and only had a little time to run the generator to charge our batteries before curfew. We had salads for dinner.
Thursday: (04/13) Granola and a banana for breakfast. Lou attended a webinar and Dawn and I relaxed all morning. PBJ bread for brunch. We drove out to the picnic area and Lou took her wheelchair and Dawn and I walked the Big Hendy Grove Upper Loop / Meadow trail. When we returned, Lou and Dawn took off and toured Boonville. I walked more trails including the Back Loop and looked at the Navarro River. Then I relaxed a while in the forest before walking back toward camp via the Eagle Trail and the Little Hendy Grove, the Azalea Trail and some unnamed trails back to camp. We all returned about the same time. They had lunch in Boonville so I had a snack of melted cheese on bread. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon while the generator caught up to our battery charge needs. Spaghetti for dinner.
Friday: (04/14) Granola and banana for breakfast. I worked all morning on our taxes. I needed to apply for an extension due to my procrastination. To do that, I needed to halfway prepare the taxes. To do that I needed to update Windows on my Windows laptop then install tax software, then update the software and then actually do some work on the taxes. I finished up about noon and we had roasted pepper and ham sandwiches and fruit salad. We then took a drive into Boonville stopping at a nursery and a bake shop before driving on via Mountain View Road to Point Arena. We explored hops and visited a library. We then drove up Highway One through Manchester where we found an outstanding Market/Hardware store. Then on to camp. We had Shepherd’s pie with tater tot topping for dinner.
Saturday: (04/15) Lou made ham and eggs with hash browned potatoes for breakfast. Today was a shower day. We finally departed about 11am and considered some cider tasting but neither Lou or Dawn wanted any alcohol and I didn't want to pay 20 to get 8 ounces of samples of cider. We continued on to the Booneville Fairground and visited the library there. We ended up getting a bag of bools there. Heading onward, we drove Highway 253 to Ukiah. We stopped at several thrift stores. I visited a couple of outdoor stores. We finally had lunch about 1630 at Taqueria Michoacan North of town. Very good. After lunch we visited a couple of farm stores and Friedman's Building Supply before filling some water bottles and getting some milk and driving home. We were back at camp about 1900. No dinner needed. Black tank full, not good timing.
Sunday: (04/16) After a couple of night walks to the campground bathroom we fired up the motorhome at 0700 and went to the dump. We had to beat the departing weekend crowd of RVs. We settled back into our site. Leftovers for breakfast. I had leftover ham and eggs with hashbrowns. There was also spaghetti and Mexican food. Later, Lou dropped me off at the picnic area and I took a hike up an old logging road to its end at the top of the mountain and also along the fire road to its end. I came back on a connector trail beside the river and on the meadow trail back to the picnic area. I hiked back home on the fire road. All together about 7-7.5 miles. Lou made beef stroganoff for dinner.
Monday: (04/17) Granola for breakfast. After showers we were on the road at 0915. We heard out to Highway one and down the coast to Highway 116 and on to Petaluma. We stopped for propane and gas in Sebastopol. Dawn looked around and bought a bunch of seeds at the Seed Bank in Petaluma then looked around Copperfield's Bookstore before we continued home. A long day driving two lane roads, but a pretty drive. We had lunch overlooking the ocean on a cliff along the way. We arrived home about 1900 and had leftovers for dinner. I didn’t settle the RV fully into its spot because I want to fill the gas tank and see about getting the shock absorbers replaced tomorrow.
Tuesday: (04/18) Granola for breakfast. I tinkered in the van. First thing, I made an appointment for the motorhome to get new shocks tomorrow morning. I installed the drinking water filter. And prepared the compost toilet with a new, drier batch of coco coir. Ramen noodles with ham for lunch. Mashed potatoes with wieners for dinner. Grapes for dessert.
Wednesday: (04/19) I headed off in the motorhome at 0650 toward San Jose. I had an appointment to get the shock absorbers on the MH replaced at Ross Equipment. The MH has a dangerous wobble over 55 mph when towing and anything over 45 without the toad. Bridges present a real problem due to the bump on each side. I had put off getting anything done for just procrastination reasons but had to do something after this trip reminded me of the need. I stopped for gas at Costco on the way. I was surprised it took over 40 gallons even though i had partially filled it on the way home. I checked in at the garage about 0740. I took a walk looking for breakfast while I waited. All the restaurants nearby didn’t open until after 0900 so I continued my walk to Downtown from North 10the Street. I got my favorite bacon breakfast burrito at La Victoria Taqueria on Santa Clara Street. I enjoyed eating it at an apartment complex's dog run park about a block from the garage. I returned to the shop a little before 1000 and watched my Wednesday Webinar. About 1120 the service advisor started to move the RV from where it was parked next to the waiting room trailer. I thought they were still waiting to get the parts but, no, it had been ready since 0950. The service advisor had called and left a message. My phone never rang and didn’t even show a missed call. The transcribed message was in my text messages though. The advisor started to move the FV but evidently noticed me standing in the doorway of the waiting trailer. I took care of the bill and headed home. I stopped by REI to look around and check their library. I also stopped at Sprouts Market for some of my favorite Bee’s Knees peanut butter. And, I picked up lunch from Wok On Express Chinese restaurant. I also got some carpet cleaner at Safeway to clean up the grease marks left by the mechanics shoes on the carpet. It always happens. I should have learned by now to install my own paper sheeting to protect the floor. Back home I got the MH parked and setup then transferred the stuff I had put in the van back into the MH. I tinkered a little in the Van installing some plumbers tape to anchor the water filter in place. Meili, our neighbor made a nice black eyed pea soup for our dinner.
Thursday: (04/20) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. I read the heater installation manual and watched a video on the heater installation. Then I studied how best to install the heater. Eventually I came up with a plan that should work. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. I took an extended nap in the afternoon. In the late afternoon, I got back to work on the Van. I completed securing the water filter with some plumbers tape. Split pea soup for dinner.
Friday: (04/21) I prepared a ham, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I then worked on the van. The first part of the “work” was to watch another video on the heater installation. In looking at the installation I decided to remove the previously installed wall panel and modify it. I wanted to make it possible to route the heater duct to the garage through part of the wall behind the . That allows more adjustment, if needed to position the hole in the floor to clear the beams and have room to work on connections below. I had a fight removing one of the screws from the panel without having to remove the batteries. I managed to lose two screwdriver bits in the wall. I’ll have to locate my magnetic extractor, if possible, to recover them. I removed the refrigerator to get access to the electrical panel and I energized the sink/water heater circuit. I got the saw out and cut some plywood to cover the portion of the wall behind the refrigerator cabinet. I also reworked the framing for where the monitor panels, thermostat and kitchen outlet will be. I prime painted the wood pieces for installation tomorrow. As part of all this work, I needed to go to Lowe’s to get some saber saw blades. That allowed me to stop by to pick up Chinese food for lunch. I also stopped at Smart and Final for some hummus and granola, which are low. I had been having difficulty locating the 5” hole saw that I needed to install the heater. Lou put me to work fixing a leak in Dawn’s garden drip water lines. I needed to get my heat gun out and found the saw blade with it. Lou made BBQ ribs with baked potatoes and a waldorf salad for dinner.
Saturday: (04/22) I prepared ham and egg with cheese sandwiches for breakfast. We ate them in the back yard. I got distracted and rescued a couple of flowers that were growing through the cracks between the bricks on the patio. I had fun getting the key brick out but then removing about six bricks to get two plants out was easy. And once carried away, I continued and plucked the weeds out of the rest of the rear half of the walkway and patio. That occupied me until lunch. I had my leftover Chinese food for lunch and then needed a nap. I didn’t recover until 1630 when I started work on the van. I installed the replacement switches for the pump and lights by the sink. Lou had prepared sauerbraten and I added a baked potato for my dinner. Lou and Dawn were gone all day at a Vision expo and then thrifting in the San Mateo area. They had dinner at Jacks in San Mateo.
Sunday: (04/23) Granola and banana for breakfast. We had the usual slow Sunday morning watching CBS Sunday Morning and Face The Nation. Then I had several Youtube subscriptions to watch. And that all took all morning. After lunch of a nice salad I finally got to a little work on the van. I installed the wood pieces in the van and removed the window frame ring to be able to screw in some wood framing pieces. After a fight to get the metal window frame ring back on I was diverted to Dawn’s place to get her Google One backup working. That took a while due to some missing requirement info from Google. Namely, for Dawn to use our family Google One account, she has to be in the same house. So, she now has her own 2TB account because her existing 200GB was full. After returning home I needed a nap to eliminate the frustration of computer fighting. About 1800 i got back to the van and installed some power and heater cables. We had more sauerbraten and baked potatoes for dinner.
Monday: (04/24) Granola for breakfast. I checked all the sprinklers to see if they are working. Then I got busy working on the van. Or at least I tried. Seemed like everything I wanted to do required a tool or part I couldn’t find. After a couple of trips to ACE Hardware for parts I got the wiring in for the electrical control panel and dinette outlets. I also got the wall panel pieces cut out for around the window. I also cut out all the holes to mount the control devices in a panel. One of the tools I looked for but didn;t find was an arbor for my 1 ⅛” hole saw blade. Eventually I gave up and headed off to Harbor Freight to get it. On one of my trips to ACE I picked up lunch at Los Altos Taqueria. I managed to get the panels varnished with a couple of coats before dinner. We had sausage and cabbage for dinner.
Tuesday: (04/25) Granola for breakfast. I installed the wood panels that I varnished yesterday evening. I fitted all the control devices in the panel and hooked them up. Nice to see them in their final home. Lou and Dawn were heading off to look at the super bloom at Carrizo Plain NM. I prepared hamburgers for our lunch before they left. I had a nap until they left at 1500. Then I got busy on the Van again. I laid out and measured and measured again, then drilled an exploratory hole. After a final adjustment I cut the 5” hole in the floor for the heater. I then cleaned up before going to get dinner from Wok’s On Chinese restaurant.
Wednesday: (04/26) Happy birthday to me. Another day younger. Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van heater installation all day. That included a couple of runs to ACE Hardware for some parts. I mounted the heater itself. I installed the fuel line and fuel pump and I installed the air intake. I got about half of the exhaust done. Tomorrow I need to complete the hookup of the instied wire harness and the exhaust muffler and tie down cables and tubes of the installation. I had leftover Chinese food for lunch. Dinner at Aqui’s Restaurant in Cupertino. Lou and dawn enjoyed a drive through the Carrizo Plains NM looking for the super bloom flowers on their way to Bakersfield.
Thursday: (04/27) Granola for breakfast. I was out earlier than recently because it was cooler. In the afternoon it was going to be in the 90’s, much higher inside the van. I finished installing the exhaust and securing everything. I had to make a run to ACE for some bolts. Then I finished the inside by removing the refrigerator and hooking up the power to the heater. These heaters have a history of locking out the controls due to failure of the flame to start because the fuel line needs to be primed. I was locked out as well and I couldn’t release the lockout. I ended up contacting customer service and Webasto got right back to me but I was busy with an after lunch nap. A hamburger for lunch. When I checked the email at 1500 it had some info that might help but by then it was over 107 inside the van and, of course, the heater didn’t want to start because of that as well. I’ll try early tomorrow when it should be cool enough to allow the heater to be needed. I ended up relaxing in the heat the rest of the day. Eventually I fired up the air conditioner in the motorhome to cool off. So, I did manage to change the weather by getting the heater installed. We now finally have daytime temperatures over 60 degrees. Chili and bread for dinner.
Friday: (04/28) I got up early and went out to try to get the heater to work. I couldn’t so I phoned Webasto. It turns out it was only a lack of patience. The red lights I thought indicated a failure were just indicating heat mode. When I waited longer while talking to the representative, the heater started to work. Huevos Rancheros for breakfast from Tacos El Grullense. It was hot so I relaxed the rest of the day. In the early evening after the sun went behind some trees, I caulked the underside of the heater mounting flange under the van. Loaded baked potato soup from Safeway for dinner.
Saturday: (04/29) Granola for breakfast. I work much of the day organizing the van for my coming trip to Pinnacles. I removed most of the remaining materials. When I return, I work on the 3rd passenger seat and cabinet and the dais. Salad for lunch. Before dinner I rode the bike to ACE to get a battery for the compost toilet liquid full warning light. I also hooked up the power to the compost toilet vent fan. Spaghetti squash with chicken and corn on the cob for dinner.
Sunday: (04/02) Banana and granola for breakfast. Green salad for lunch. Shepherd’s pie for dinner. After a nice banana I took a walk across the wash I was camped next to. It was a wide wash with many riverlet courses. After reaching the far side I hiked up stream and then came back on the road to the van. I discovered I had a neighbor just around a bend in the road. I then left my campsite and continued on into the park. I took hikes at Sidewinder Wash and Natural Arch as well as stopping for everything else along the way. I got to Furnace Creek about 1430 and checked into a site at Sunset campground. Later I made contact with some fellow SJMW hikers. We’ll be doing some hikes here for the next three days.
Monday: (04/03) Granola and bacon jerky for breakfast. I move over the the Visitor Center to meet my fellow hikers at 0830. We traveled down to Badwater and walked out in the salt flat. From there we headed back North stopping at Natural Bridge for a short walk to see it. Then we continued up to Artists Drive to see the colored hills. And our final stop was at Golden Canyon where we took our real hike, a 7 mile loop up to Zabriskie Point through Golden Canyon going up and back through Gower Gulch. We had gusty wind all afternoon and an effective dust storm late afternoon and evening. I had a pulled pork sandwich before the hike at the trailhead and chili and chips for dinner.
Tuesday: (04/04) Granola and bacon jerky for breakfast. We visited the dunes and hiked Mosaic Canyon before lunch. Ham and cheese with hummus sandwich for lunch. We then made our way to Darwin Falls Trailhead for the hike out to the falls. I couldn’t drive out the gravel ross to the trailhead because of some washout damage near the beginning of the road. I caught a ride with Dana, Mina and Rani the rest of the way. Definitely worth the drive and hike. Beautiful falls. From there I left the others and the park and continued on to Lone Pine. I got gas and more water and some orange juice at the market. I camped at Tuttle Creek BLM campground just below Mt Whitney. Ramen noodles with chili and a green salad for dinner.
Wednesday: (04/05) Rolled out of the campground around 0700. I drove out to the Alabama Hills Movie Road to see about camping there. Yes there is some camping but only in designated campsites and very soon will require a permit available online. I didn’t go past the entrance area on Movie Road because of all the re-construction happening there. I returned to downtown for breakfast at the Mt Whitney Restaurant. I enjoyed a green chili omelet. Then I was back on the road. I stopped at the Coso Rest Area and attended my Wednesday webinar there. After that I continued down to Highway 178 and headed into Kernville to look at what the recent flooding did. Not much damage to housing or businesses. The park was ravaged by the water though. I then came down Kern Canyon into Bakersfield. I stopped for an early dinner at the Rice Bowl Chinese Restaurant. I enjoyed a nice shrimp dinner. I picked up some taffy chews from Dewar's candy shop. I had difficulty deciding where to go or stay next. I finally decided it would be Walmart on Rosedale highway and if kicked out from there the TA Truck Stop at Buttonwillow. If I get to stay in town I may get breakfast at Milt’s, if not on to the Carizon Plans again. People still say the flowers are good there?
Thursday: (04/06) Granola for breakfast. I departed Walmart at 0530 with the idea to go by Milt’s for breakfast. Of course they were not open and in fact there are now gates enclosing their parking lot that were locked. I had enough doubt of their opening at all because they looked very closed. So, I headed off toward the Carrizo Plains out Highway 58 to Highway 33. I drove West of Highway 33 on Highway 58 about 5 miles before coming to a closure of the highway. You would have thought a sign might have been down at Highway 33. I returned and continued on Highway 33 through Taft to Maricopa and turned on Elkhorn Road. I’d heard reports of lots of flowers there so I took it into the Carrizo Plains Preserve. There were lots of flowers covering the hills. I stopped at a nice view point and enjoyed the view while I repaired the water pump which needed a new circuit breaker which I finally found. Then I took a nice shower. I continued the rest of the way through the preserve on the dirt road. I was fortunate to find that the van, with its front drive, was able to make it all the way. I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. Near the end I stopped at Wallace Creek Interpretive Trail. Wallace creek has been offset a couple hundred feet by the underlying San Andreas Fault. It increases by 1.3 inches per year. Also a nice romp through the flowers there. I made my way to Paso Robles for dinner at Panda Express. In my wisdom, I thought I’d go up Highway One home. I considered checking the road status online but didn’t. Big mistake. I did pass two signs on my way up to the closure that said “No Detour” so considered the road open. I’m not sure whether they meant there wasn’t any way around the closure or that there was a detour for Northbound which they didn’t bother advising of just how to detour. Seems like the sign might have said “Road Closed Ahead”.Caltrans rarely does things properly. So, about 90 miles of wasted driving. I changed plans again and headed toward the Pinnacles for a hike tomorrow stopping at the Lockwood off ramp for the night.
Friday: (04/07) I was up at 0500 and headed on into Pinnacles NP. I parked at the Peaks View Trailhead and prepared my breakfast of ham and eggs with toast. It was sprinkling rain when I started my hike. I hiked out the Bench Trail then the old Pinnacles trail and finally the Balconies trail to the Chaparral Picnic Area on the other side of the park. The six stream crossing on the way to the Balconies cave were easy even with the high water but I needn’t have tried to keep my feet dry because the water in the cave was almost up to my knees when I passed through it. I returned via the bypass trail making this hike about 9.5 miles. I saw about 10 condors flying by Machete Ridge over the caves. I then traveled home. I stopped for lunch at Super Taqueria in Holister. Back home I cleaned the dirt and dust out of the van. Lou made onion soup with flat bread for dinner.
Saturday: (04/08) Granola for breakfast. I finished leaning the van, washing the bedding and remaking it. I washed the van and motorhome. I also moved all the stuff I removed from the van for the trip back into the van. I had chili ramen noodles for lunch. Dinner was who knows what.
Sunday: (04/09) I prepared scrambled eggs with chili and cheese for breakfast. I took advantage of a slow morning and relaxed in bed watching TV. Later, I organized my clothes in the motorhome and moved what I didn’t need to the van for temporary storage. Basically I did all the preparation I needed to be ready to roll tomorrow. I also did the RV tank duty. I also re-programmed all the yard sprinklers to start watering again. I’m assuming the rain is over. If not, at least nothing will dry out and die while we’re gone. I also repaired a drip pipe that I had damaged when we planted a tree in the front orchard. We picked up dinner from Harry’s Houfrau in Redwood City. I had the usual veggie lasagna and they shared leg of lamb.
Monday: (04/10) Granola for breakfast. We spent all morning getting ready to leave. Still, we didn’t get away until nearly 1100. We headed up Highway 280 through San Francisco then on Highway 101. We stopped in Santa Rosa for Lou and Dawn to explore a thrift store, thoroughly, then went to lunch at Art’s Place. I had soup and a pizza, Lou had potato skins and Dawn had pesto polenta. Next we stopped at Friedman Building Supply. I found everything I’d been looking for all over home and on my drive to Death Valley. I found an oversized double Futura switch plate, some gray plastic plumbers tape and some metal plumbers tape. We then continued on through Cloverdale onto Highway 128 to our campsite at Hendy Redwoods State Park. We had an interesting time sewing the RV into the tight campsite between two trees from a narrow road. We had leftovers for dinner. I have to relearn the tricks of the RV each trip. I kept wondering why we were consuming so much power (35 amps) with nothing on it that should use it. Eventually I remembered the refrigerator needed to be set to gas ao it didn’t use the electric heating element. Leftovers for dinner.
Tuesday: (04/11) Lou made a Denver omelet for breakfast. We relaxed inside most of the day. We did have a visit from a ranger that brought our registration tag. She wanted to have us pave for the Jeep but it is included since it was towed in. Obviously a new host. I walked up to the entrance kiosk to get a tag for the Jeep as the signs advise but it isn’t manned. So, we’ll be scofflaws until we find it open. Lou made broccoli soup and toast for lunch. More relaxing. Later in the afternoon I took a walk out the Big Hendy Loop. I got lost several times. The signs were nonspecific. Eventually I made it out the the grove. I returned via the Hermit;s Hut trail to camp. About a 4 mile jaunt. We had baked potatoes, asparagus and stuffed bell peppers for dinner.
Wednesday: (04/12) I made a Lou’s Denver omelet for our breakfast. We drove out Highway 128 to Highway 1 and up to Van Damme State Park. We looked over the campground considering a future visit. We then continued up to Mendicino and looked around town. We enjoyed visiting a great nursery. Interesting pottery, succulents and garden tools. They have things we’ve never seen before. We continued up the highway to Fort Bragg where we stopped for lunch at the Noyo Fish Company. I had fish and chips and Lou and Dawn had clam chowder. All good. In town we looked around at a farmers market then visited some shops. We also stopped at several thrift stores before doing some grocery shopping at Harvest Market. We got gas at the Red Rhino station then headed home. We arrived home about 1830 and only had a little time to run the generator to charge our batteries before curfew. We had salads for dinner.
Thursday: (04/13) Granola and a banana for breakfast. Lou attended a webinar and Dawn and I relaxed all morning. PBJ bread for brunch. We drove out to the picnic area and Lou took her wheelchair and Dawn and I walked the Big Hendy Grove Upper Loop / Meadow trail. When we returned, Lou and Dawn took off and toured Boonville. I walked more trails including the Back Loop and looked at the Navarro River. Then I relaxed a while in the forest before walking back toward camp via the Eagle Trail and the Little Hendy Grove, the Azalea Trail and some unnamed trails back to camp. We all returned about the same time. They had lunch in Boonville so I had a snack of melted cheese on bread. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon while the generator caught up to our battery charge needs. Spaghetti for dinner.
Friday: (04/14) Granola and banana for breakfast. I worked all morning on our taxes. I needed to apply for an extension due to my procrastination. To do that, I needed to halfway prepare the taxes. To do that I needed to update Windows on my Windows laptop then install tax software, then update the software and then actually do some work on the taxes. I finished up about noon and we had roasted pepper and ham sandwiches and fruit salad. We then took a drive into Boonville stopping at a nursery and a bake shop before driving on via Mountain View Road to Point Arena. We explored hops and visited a library. We then drove up Highway One through Manchester where we found an outstanding Market/Hardware store. Then on to camp. We had Shepherd’s pie with tater tot topping for dinner.
Saturday: (04/15) Lou made ham and eggs with hash browned potatoes for breakfast. Today was a shower day. We finally departed about 11am and considered some cider tasting but neither Lou or Dawn wanted any alcohol and I didn't want to pay 20 to get 8 ounces of samples of cider. We continued on to the Booneville Fairground and visited the library there. We ended up getting a bag of bools there. Heading onward, we drove Highway 253 to Ukiah. We stopped at several thrift stores. I visited a couple of outdoor stores. We finally had lunch about 1630 at Taqueria Michoacan North of town. Very good. After lunch we visited a couple of farm stores and Friedman's Building Supply before filling some water bottles and getting some milk and driving home. We were back at camp about 1900. No dinner needed. Black tank full, not good timing.
Sunday: (04/16) After a couple of night walks to the campground bathroom we fired up the motorhome at 0700 and went to the dump. We had to beat the departing weekend crowd of RVs. We settled back into our site. Leftovers for breakfast. I had leftover ham and eggs with hashbrowns. There was also spaghetti and Mexican food. Later, Lou dropped me off at the picnic area and I took a hike up an old logging road to its end at the top of the mountain and also along the fire road to its end. I came back on a connector trail beside the river and on the meadow trail back to the picnic area. I hiked back home on the fire road. All together about 7-7.5 miles. Lou made beef stroganoff for dinner.
Monday: (04/17) Granola for breakfast. After showers we were on the road at 0915. We heard out to Highway one and down the coast to Highway 116 and on to Petaluma. We stopped for propane and gas in Sebastopol. Dawn looked around and bought a bunch of seeds at the Seed Bank in Petaluma then looked around Copperfield's Bookstore before we continued home. A long day driving two lane roads, but a pretty drive. We had lunch overlooking the ocean on a cliff along the way. We arrived home about 1900 and had leftovers for dinner. I didn’t settle the RV fully into its spot because I want to fill the gas tank and see about getting the shock absorbers replaced tomorrow.
Tuesday: (04/18) Granola for breakfast. I tinkered in the van. First thing, I made an appointment for the motorhome to get new shocks tomorrow morning. I installed the drinking water filter. And prepared the compost toilet with a new, drier batch of coco coir. Ramen noodles with ham for lunch. Mashed potatoes with wieners for dinner. Grapes for dessert.
Wednesday: (04/19) I headed off in the motorhome at 0650 toward San Jose. I had an appointment to get the shock absorbers on the MH replaced at Ross Equipment. The MH has a dangerous wobble over 55 mph when towing and anything over 45 without the toad. Bridges present a real problem due to the bump on each side. I had put off getting anything done for just procrastination reasons but had to do something after this trip reminded me of the need. I stopped for gas at Costco on the way. I was surprised it took over 40 gallons even though i had partially filled it on the way home. I checked in at the garage about 0740. I took a walk looking for breakfast while I waited. All the restaurants nearby didn’t open until after 0900 so I continued my walk to Downtown from North 10the Street. I got my favorite bacon breakfast burrito at La Victoria Taqueria on Santa Clara Street. I enjoyed eating it at an apartment complex's dog run park about a block from the garage. I returned to the shop a little before 1000 and watched my Wednesday Webinar. About 1120 the service advisor started to move the RV from where it was parked next to the waiting room trailer. I thought they were still waiting to get the parts but, no, it had been ready since 0950. The service advisor had called and left a message. My phone never rang and didn’t even show a missed call. The transcribed message was in my text messages though. The advisor started to move the FV but evidently noticed me standing in the doorway of the waiting trailer. I took care of the bill and headed home. I stopped by REI to look around and check their library. I also stopped at Sprouts Market for some of my favorite Bee’s Knees peanut butter. And, I picked up lunch from Wok On Express Chinese restaurant. I also got some carpet cleaner at Safeway to clean up the grease marks left by the mechanics shoes on the carpet. It always happens. I should have learned by now to install my own paper sheeting to protect the floor. Back home I got the MH parked and setup then transferred the stuff I had put in the van back into the MH. I tinkered a little in the Van installing some plumbers tape to anchor the water filter in place. Meili, our neighbor made a nice black eyed pea soup for our dinner.
Thursday: (04/20) Granola and diced apple for breakfast. I read the heater installation manual and watched a video on the heater installation. Then I studied how best to install the heater. Eventually I came up with a plan that should work. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. I took an extended nap in the afternoon. In the late afternoon, I got back to work on the Van. I completed securing the water filter with some plumbers tape. Split pea soup for dinner.
Friday: (04/21) I prepared a ham, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I then worked on the van. The first part of the “work” was to watch another video on the heater installation. In looking at the installation I decided to remove the previously installed wall panel and modify it. I wanted to make it possible to route the heater duct to the garage through part of the wall behind the . That allows more adjustment, if needed to position the hole in the floor to clear the beams and have room to work on connections below. I had a fight removing one of the screws from the panel without having to remove the batteries. I managed to lose two screwdriver bits in the wall. I’ll have to locate my magnetic extractor, if possible, to recover them. I removed the refrigerator to get access to the electrical panel and I energized the sink/water heater circuit. I got the saw out and cut some plywood to cover the portion of the wall behind the refrigerator cabinet. I also reworked the framing for where the monitor panels, thermostat and kitchen outlet will be. I prime painted the wood pieces for installation tomorrow. As part of all this work, I needed to go to Lowe’s to get some saber saw blades. That allowed me to stop by to pick up Chinese food for lunch. I also stopped at Smart and Final for some hummus and granola, which are low. I had been having difficulty locating the 5” hole saw that I needed to install the heater. Lou put me to work fixing a leak in Dawn’s garden drip water lines. I needed to get my heat gun out and found the saw blade with it. Lou made BBQ ribs with baked potatoes and a waldorf salad for dinner.
Saturday: (04/22) I prepared ham and egg with cheese sandwiches for breakfast. We ate them in the back yard. I got distracted and rescued a couple of flowers that were growing through the cracks between the bricks on the patio. I had fun getting the key brick out but then removing about six bricks to get two plants out was easy. And once carried away, I continued and plucked the weeds out of the rest of the rear half of the walkway and patio. That occupied me until lunch. I had my leftover Chinese food for lunch and then needed a nap. I didn’t recover until 1630 when I started work on the van. I installed the replacement switches for the pump and lights by the sink. Lou had prepared sauerbraten and I added a baked potato for my dinner. Lou and Dawn were gone all day at a Vision expo and then thrifting in the San Mateo area. They had dinner at Jacks in San Mateo.
Sunday: (04/23) Granola and banana for breakfast. We had the usual slow Sunday morning watching CBS Sunday Morning and Face The Nation. Then I had several Youtube subscriptions to watch. And that all took all morning. After lunch of a nice salad I finally got to a little work on the van. I installed the wood pieces in the van and removed the window frame ring to be able to screw in some wood framing pieces. After a fight to get the metal window frame ring back on I was diverted to Dawn’s place to get her Google One backup working. That took a while due to some missing requirement info from Google. Namely, for Dawn to use our family Google One account, she has to be in the same house. So, she now has her own 2TB account because her existing 200GB was full. After returning home I needed a nap to eliminate the frustration of computer fighting. About 1800 i got back to the van and installed some power and heater cables. We had more sauerbraten and baked potatoes for dinner.
Monday: (04/24) Granola for breakfast. I checked all the sprinklers to see if they are working. Then I got busy working on the van. Or at least I tried. Seemed like everything I wanted to do required a tool or part I couldn’t find. After a couple of trips to ACE Hardware for parts I got the wiring in for the electrical control panel and dinette outlets. I also got the wall panel pieces cut out for around the window. I also cut out all the holes to mount the control devices in a panel. One of the tools I looked for but didn;t find was an arbor for my 1 ⅛” hole saw blade. Eventually I gave up and headed off to Harbor Freight to get it. On one of my trips to ACE I picked up lunch at Los Altos Taqueria. I managed to get the panels varnished with a couple of coats before dinner. We had sausage and cabbage for dinner.
Tuesday: (04/25) Granola for breakfast. I installed the wood panels that I varnished yesterday evening. I fitted all the control devices in the panel and hooked them up. Nice to see them in their final home. Lou and Dawn were heading off to look at the super bloom at Carrizo Plain NM. I prepared hamburgers for our lunch before they left. I had a nap until they left at 1500. Then I got busy on the Van again. I laid out and measured and measured again, then drilled an exploratory hole. After a final adjustment I cut the 5” hole in the floor for the heater. I then cleaned up before going to get dinner from Wok’s On Chinese restaurant.
Wednesday: (04/26) Happy birthday to me. Another day younger. Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van heater installation all day. That included a couple of runs to ACE Hardware for some parts. I mounted the heater itself. I installed the fuel line and fuel pump and I installed the air intake. I got about half of the exhaust done. Tomorrow I need to complete the hookup of the instied wire harness and the exhaust muffler and tie down cables and tubes of the installation. I had leftover Chinese food for lunch. Dinner at Aqui’s Restaurant in Cupertino. Lou and dawn enjoyed a drive through the Carrizo Plains NM looking for the super bloom flowers on their way to Bakersfield.
Thursday: (04/27) Granola for breakfast. I was out earlier than recently because it was cooler. In the afternoon it was going to be in the 90’s, much higher inside the van. I finished installing the exhaust and securing everything. I had to make a run to ACE for some bolts. Then I finished the inside by removing the refrigerator and hooking up the power to the heater. These heaters have a history of locking out the controls due to failure of the flame to start because the fuel line needs to be primed. I was locked out as well and I couldn’t release the lockout. I ended up contacting customer service and Webasto got right back to me but I was busy with an after lunch nap. A hamburger for lunch. When I checked the email at 1500 it had some info that might help but by then it was over 107 inside the van and, of course, the heater didn’t want to start because of that as well. I’ll try early tomorrow when it should be cool enough to allow the heater to be needed. I ended up relaxing in the heat the rest of the day. Eventually I fired up the air conditioner in the motorhome to cool off. So, I did manage to change the weather by getting the heater installed. We now finally have daytime temperatures over 60 degrees. Chili and bread for dinner.
Friday: (04/28) I got up early and went out to try to get the heater to work. I couldn’t so I phoned Webasto. It turns out it was only a lack of patience. The red lights I thought indicated a failure were just indicating heat mode. When I waited longer while talking to the representative, the heater started to work. Huevos Rancheros for breakfast from Tacos El Grullense. It was hot so I relaxed the rest of the day. In the early evening after the sun went behind some trees, I caulked the underside of the heater mounting flange under the van. Loaded baked potato soup from Safeway for dinner.
Saturday: (04/29) Granola for breakfast. I work much of the day organizing the van for my coming trip to Pinnacles. I removed most of the remaining materials. When I return, I work on the 3rd passenger seat and cabinet and the dais. Salad for lunch. Before dinner I rode the bike to ACE to get a battery for the compost toilet liquid full warning light. I also hooked up the power to the compost toilet vent fan. Spaghetti squash with chicken and corn on the cob for dinner.
Sunday: (04/30) Lou prepared French toast for breakfast. I like to add peanut butter and jelly to mine. I finished up loading the van and left about 1100. I stocked up with food on my way. I god a super burrito, some Chinese food from Wok On, and I picked up a pizza from House of Pizza in San Jose. I then drove down and looked at the Henry Coe State Park, Dowdy Entreance to see about a possible future hike there. Next stop was at Casa De Fruita for a look around. And then on through some back roads to Holister. I filled the gas tank there then continued on toward Pinnacles NP. I didn’t enter the park but stopped about 12 miles beyond the entrance for the night.Pizza for my late lunch/dinner.
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
March 2023
Wednesday: (03/01) Today was one of a group of three reasonably nice days before the rain returns. I worked on the van building the closet over the bed. Tomorrow I’ll remove both the microwave and closet cabinet to paint them. I also need to campher the bottom edges. I banged my head into the closet moments after starting the frame for it. I had a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. Salad for lunch. Lou made wet tater tots with white sauce, peppers, onions, hamburger, olives and ? So good.
Thursday: (03/02) I removed the cabinets from the van with the intention of routing a curved edge on the cabinets to reduce injuries to my head. I only got the cabinets removed when Lou preempted my day with a request to plant the two trees she bought: a lemmon and an apple tree. I had to dig two 2’ diameter 2’ deep holes and transport the clay dirt to the back yard where I needed some fill. I added some mulch to the dirt and tilled it to pulverize the clay and mix the mulch in. I then brought some of the mix back and planted the trees with it. This endeavor to a good part of my day. After lunch, since I was already dirty, I got to work on finishing the leaf and limb debris cleanup from behind the tent and cottage. I filled two more 60 gallon bins with the debris. After that, I finally returned to the planned project, the cabinets. I Added a needed 2x2 brace and trimmed another board. And then started looking for my router and router bit. I found a router and then found a bit but they don’t fit each other. The router is my ½” collet router and the bit is a ¼” shaft bit. I couldn’t find the correct router in my disorganized shop. Tomorrow I’ll either locate the router or visit Harbor Freight to solve my problem. Granola and diced pears for breakfast. Leftover Spanish rice for lunch with Lou’s homemade brownies. I had a BBQ pulled pork sandwich for dinner.
Friday: (03/03) Our third no rain day. I started my work day by cleaning out a path down the aisle in my shop. It was cluttered with cardboard cheers I saved from various purchases with the intent to use them for templates on the van build. I no longer need them. I also tied up a bunch of used lumber I’d collected. Before moving the materials back, I was able to locate my objective, my router. After putting the stuff back in a better organized manner I had more room to access stuff in the aisle. I brought out the cabinets and added deeper countersink holes where needed to get the screw heads below the surface. I then routed the edges and sanded the cabinets. I then painted a prime coat on the cabinets. After that it was getting cold and I took the rest of the day off since I didn’t know when the rain would start. Granola for breakfast. Roast chicken for lunch. Eggplant casserole for dinner.
Saturday: (03/04) Granola for breakfast. I reinstalled the cabinets and sanded them. I had intended to mask the walls and floor and paint the color coat but the rain started. I decided to wait out the rain but never got back to it. We went to lunch at Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City. It was the usual prime rib for Lou and Dawn and lasagna for me. Of course there was the required thrift store visit and other shopping on the way home. We enjoyed the three artichokes from our garden and corn on the cob for dinner.
Sunday: (03/05) A partially overcast day with occasional showers and a heavy rain last night. A nice ham egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I made a quick run to Trader Joe’s and ACE. I needed fresh masking tape. The older rolls I have keep tearing rather than unreeling. I also picked up my ciabatta rolls and eggs at TJ. I worked on the van today, masking around the cabinets and painting two coats of color paint. After the last coat I stripped the masking. Only a couple of spots where the paint got on the adjacent varnished wall panels. Roast chicken for lunch. More chicken with honey coated Brussels sprouts and rice for dinner.
Monday: (03/06) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van reinstalling the ceiling and wall panels that I had removed to install the cabinets. Lots of trimming to make them fit around and in the cabinets. I had to dodge the occasional sprinkles. I go all but the ceiling pieces the go inside the two cabinets. A chili relleno with rice for lunch from Tacos El Grullense for lunch. Dawn and I went to Aqui’s in Cupertino for dinner. Always interesting things on the menu.
Tuesday: (03/07) Granola for breakfast. I took a walk this morning. I walked over to the Arizona Garden at Stanford. I noticed a drone flying overhead. Nothing wrong with that as far as I was concerned but I was interested because it was circling around the garden. I guess my interest provided some concern for the operator so he came over to mention that it was his and he was with Stanford University. They were using the video to make a 3D model of the garden. They also used a lidar device on the ground and merged the data for the model creation. This time is the before model. They will do it again later when the garden is in bloom. I guess I may be able to check out my garden in the comfort of my man cave sometime in the future. I continued my walk into downtown Palo Alto and got a slice of pizza for lunch before heading back home via Emerson Street. My walk was about 7.3 miles. Back home I relaxed the rest of the afternoon. Lou made her zucchini and onions with sausage for dinner.
Wednesday: (03/08) I prepared corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. While in the cooking mood, I also started pork chops with sauerkraut and potatoes for tonight's dinner. While I got carried away cooking I missed my Wednesday webinar. I’ll have to get it on Youtube later. Later I got to work on the van. I did some wet testing of the water system. I had two leaks and a gusher while testing. One leak at the output of the pump required replacing the crimp clamp. Another required more tightening of the inlet hose to the water heater. However, the third was a gusher when a connection popped apart for the feed to the pump. It turns out it hadn’t been crimped. This even after a half dozen specific checks for that potential problem. All seems to work except I’ve decided to replace the outdoor shower valve because it doesn’t allow full flow. It’s a thermostatically controlled valve. I’m replacing it with simple inline valves. I want full flow to be able to hose off things like the feet, kayak, bicycle and van. I can manage even temperature by using a timer on the hot water tank or setting the tank temperature lower. It shouldn’t take long to learn how long it takes to heat up to a nice temperature. It has a crank timer on it anyway. After a few mods, I will try again this Friday. Lou and Dawn were out all day thrifting and shopping.
Thursday: (03/09) Rainy. Leftover corned beef hash for breakfast. Lou and I went to check our safe deposit box trying to locate our birth certificates. No luck. The pookas must have moved them.
Friday: (03/10) Rainy in the morning. I prepared some hash from the leftover sauerkraut potatoes and pork for breakfast. I installed the new outdoor shower valves and fittings and reworked the piping to accommodate them. Then I tested the water heater and checked everything for leaks. All seemed good. Chinese food from Wok On and Lucky Bistro for lunch. Dawn made dinner.
Saturday: (03/11) Rainy all day. Granola for breakfast. We were off early to Newark to go to a sale at Airport Appliance which Lou wanted to go to to get a new washer. She doesn’t think the old one is working well enough. We got there as they opened and found the one cheap (which I like) and low feature top loading washer (which Lou likes ). We were in the Jeep which is always fully loaded with three people, a scooter and miscellaneous junk so I returned later in the van to pick up the washer. After the purchase we stopped at several thrift stores before stopping for lunch at the Asian Cafe. I like the place and stop by when I pass by for the occasional hike. We returned home about 1530. I then had to unload all the loose stuff from the van and secure some items before I departed to pick up the washer. There was about a 25 minute wait for them to load the washer since the loading dock was busy with lots of pick ups. Salad for lunch. Chicken for dinner.
Sunday: (03/12) Rainy all day so I left the washer in the van. Granola for breakfast. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. Tinkered inside all day.
Monday: (03/13) Some rain in the morning and light sprinkles much of the rest of the day. Granola for breakfast. Leftovers for lunch. I also rechecked the water lines for leaks and found a slow drip on one of the vent lines which I tightened. I may have to replace the screw clamp and try to get a crimp clamp crimped in the tight access. The next project was to unload the new washer from the van and swap out the old washer. Since the old one still worksI’m planning on installing it by the greenhouse of utility use. I installed the two side walls into the shower compartment. Later, I got the table saw out and cut some pieces for the mounting of the microwave and refrigerator and ripped more 2x2 boards to finish the shower framing and Dawn’s seat. I picked up a chili relleno with rice, beans and fresh tortillas for lunch. Dawn made rice with corn, peas and chicken for dinner.
Tuesday: (03/14) Scrambled eggs with ham and cheese for breakfast. Heavy rain this morning followed by high winds. I couldn’t do anything outside. Later in the afternoon I attempted to go to get my license renewed but just got stuck in stopped traffic on the freeway and on other roads. I’m not sure what the stoppage was. Some of the no freeway roads traffic signals were dark which didn’t help but should have caused full stoppages on Highway 280 and Foothill Expressway. Salad for lunch. Lou and Dawn left early for a couple of appointments. Leftover rice with corn, peas and chicken for dinner.
Wednesday: (03/15) Lou made eggs, bacon and leftover sauerkraut potatoes for breakfast. I started to do a little cleanup of the limbs in the backyard deposited from our high winds. Our yard man arrived and pointed out I was doing his job so I found a nice chair for some tea. I usually have a webinar on Wednesdays but there wasn’t one today. So Lou and I headed off to the back to deposit a check that had been returned. You can’t do that with their app, unfortunately. That project took more time because our bank branch moved from a location 2 blocks from the house to a location in Los Altos. And, all the power was out in the village of Los Altos including our bank. So, off we went to the Sunnyvale Branch. Mission accomplished. We picked up lunch from Super Taqueria on the way home. Back home I got to work on the van, I installed a cable for the pump switch and indicator by the sink and in the rear of the van. I can wire it up on a foul weather day but the cable had to go in before the back wall of the shower goes in. I also laid out the sink valve locations and installed (temporarily) the shower valve. I also sanded and prime painted a bunch of 2x2’s and some other pieces to be used in securing the microwave and refrigerator. Dawn made spinach, chicken and rice for dinner.
Thursday: (03/16) A nice day. I made a pork chop, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I made a run to ACE Hardware, Lowe’s and Home Depot and Walmart. I needed a few plumbing parts for the van and some shelf paper.I made an exception to my never shop at the MAGA Home Depot store because all my power tools at Ryobi and I needed a couple of more batteries for them. Back home, I fought the contact shelf paper trying to get it installed on the microwave and clothes compartments. I also pulled in a wire for the light under the microwave cabinet. I also made a mounting flange fore the light installation out of some plywood and then painted it. I also cut the ceiling panels for the two cabinets then varnished them. And finally, I made up some of the plumbing feeding the kitchen sink valves and the shower valve. I’m still waiting for a valve to control the hot water recycle. Salad for lunch. BBQ ribs with corn on the cob and a baked potato for dinner.
Friday: (03/17) Another pork chop and egg with cheese sandwich for breakfast. I worked on the van again today. I installed the ceilings in the two cabinets. I installed the light under the microwave cabinet and energized it. I mounted the microwave in its cabinet by installing the two anchors under the feet and tied it down with plumbers tape. I also installed the trim that anchors the refrigerator in its cabinet. I replaced one of the 2x2 structural members that had cutouts where they are not needed and needs more cutouts in the correct place. All in all, a productive day. I also made a parts fun to ACE for some screws. Salad for lunch Corned beef and cabbage for dinner.
Saturday: (03/18) Granola for breakfast. I started to wire up the pump control switches . I installed some wire molding for the wire as it passes through the storage cabinet to the rear of the van. I also trimmed the wires to length by the shower. Then, I decided my best use of this clear day with rainy days coming soon, was to work on the sink cabinet. I have been trying to figure a way to install the wiring for the sink counter outlet nd the water heater timer to fit in the 1.5 inch wall depth of the shower wall. It is just too tight so i gave up and decided to make the lower portion of the wall 3” deep by adding a second 1.5” stud. It just goes up about 8 inches above the counter top of the sink.Above that will be a spice rack. After widening the wall I started the sink cabinet, or at least made a good start. I built the 2x2 (1.5”x1.5”) frame and added a couple of the sides. The side behind the sliding van door will include a drop down table top. The side adjacent to that will have a drop down counter extension. The inside front will have a cabinet door. I sill need to do the cabinet door which will be later when I do all the cabinet doors. I have the counter extension support on orf=der and need to get a hinge for the outside drop down table top. I now need to disassemble the sides and paint them and do some other painting the the installed cabinet framework. It’s nice to see another cabinet taking shape. I did measure and measure again and again and sill cut the side of the cabinet ⅜” too narrow. I was going to use the router to round the edge of the panel but now need to get some ¼ round molding to make that radius. Everything is fixable. A BBQ pulled pork and cheese sandwich for lunch. Leftover corned beef and cabbage for dinner.
Sunday: (03/19) Granola for breakfast. We had a good rain in the early morning and a forecast of possible showers all day. So, rather than bring my saw outside and dodge showers all day, I decided to do another task. Our neighbor wants to install a fence beside his garage that borders out backyard. There would only be 9 inches of space between a fence and his garage wall. We’ve tried to convince him it is a very bad idea and will end us as a rat refuge when it gets filled with leaf debris for the redwood and oak trees above it. We’ve put it off for several years but he still wants it. I have a stack of flagstone rocks that would be in part of the path so today, I moved the pile and cleared the ara so he can install his fence. It was a pile about 3’x3’x8’. I only moved it about 10’ into the tent next to it. I also cleared up the leaf debris that our recent storm left back there as well. I just cleared it three weeks ago and still filled two 60 gallon compost bins with just the new debris. Once I started I just continued to work at it not taking lunch and I finished up about 1600. After a nice shower, I had a BBQ pulled pork and cheese sandwich for lunch. Then it was nap time. I just had some ramen noodles later that night for dinner.
Monday: (03/20) Nice day even though it was a little cool. I finally got bold enough to cut a hole in the floor of the van for the ink. I also drilled a pilot hole for the shower to determine if it has clearance below. Fortunately it does. I still need to determine what size hole is best for the shower to allow access to tighten the drain tailstock. I also painted the sink cabinet pieces. To do that, I had to make a run to Lowe’s for more paint, varnish and a couple of other things. Granola for breakfast. Leftover corned beef and cabbage for lunch. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.
Tuesday: (03/21) Another extremely rainy day with high wind gusts. I relaxed in the man cafe all morning. I did some planning and material searching for the van. I found a possible counter top. Lou had another dental appointment then visited Lowe’s to make a return. When she returnee about 1300, we all went to IKEA. I needed to get the mattress for the van. Dawn is having trouble sleeping on her sofa bed at her apartment. We dropped off my new mattress there, even though my mattress is a full and her bed is a queen. We were able to determine it does seem to eliminate feeling a cross brace and does fold and collapse into the closed sofa. A nice pork chop, cheese and egg sandwich for breakfast. A late lunch at IKEA.
Wednesday: (03/22) I spent the day working on getting my driver’s license renewed and upgraded to a “Real ID”. My opinion of the DMV’s website is not a good one. Following the information on the website never led to either a new license, or simplification of an office visit. It wasn’t even possible to make an appointment. The only benefit of the use of the website was to take the drivers test but, even though that was accomplished, there was no indication that it had been on the website. In addition when I lagged in and confirmed it was me with a confirmation text code, I still had to enter my username and password again to get in. It even allowed me to pay my fees twice because there was no indication I had previously paid last month. Definitely an opportunity for improvement by a competent web developer. After two trips to Los Gatos, the mission is accomplished. I didn’t think the Real ID program was an effective means of identifying people and I still don’t. In fact I now have even more doubt. I now have a valid Real ID that could get me on a flight or into a Federal building but I could just as easily just printed my own. What I have until I get my new license arrives in the mail is my old license and a plain piece of paper that says I have a real ID now. Not really worth a day's effort. Granola for breakfast. Leftover corned beef and cabbage for lunch. Shepherd’s pie for dinner.
Thursday: (03/23) Avocado toast for breakfast. KReinstalled the sink cabinet in the van. I modified it a bit more by adding reinforcements for the counter extension braces. I also installed the outlet for the water heater and the Water heater time switch and outlet by the sink. Lunch from Los Altos Taqueria. Dawn’s vegetable soup for dinner. Overcast with only a couple of short showers today.
Friday: (03/24) Granola for breakfast. I headed off on bus #22 to the Palo Alto Caltrain station to go up to San Francisco. I didn’t go to our closest Caltrain station because the next train that stopped there was a local and would have picked me up 30 minutes later and then taken longer to get to SF because it stopped at all stations. Once there I walked South by the bay. I stopped and looked at the bridge by the ballpark that had been attacked by two barges that came loose from their moorings during a recent heavy storm. I continued on through San Francisco State University and into the Mission District. I stopped for lunch at La Torta Gorda at 1130 after only a three mile walk. Then I caught a bur out to Golden Gate Park and walked some lesser trails out to the ocean, another three mile walk. I stopped along the way for a nap in one of the yellow Adirondack chairs. Then I caught bus 3R to Market Street and walked a little more then finally caught the N line train to the Caltrain station and back home. Leftover Shepherd’s pie for dinner.
Saturday: (03/25) Granola for breakfast. Lou and I rented a trailer and moved Dawn’s bed from San Jose to her new apartment in Palo Alto and also moved the convertible bed from Palo Alto to San Jose. Dawn has had problems with convertible beds like the wall bed and the sofa. It took all day to make the moves. Lou and Dawn still need to reassemble the bed frame in her apartment. No work on the van on this sunny day.Leftover corned beef and cabbage for lunch. Chinese food for dinner.
Sunday: (03/26) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van all day. Mostly I cleaned it up and emptied out the stuff that will be installed later. I also installed the new dimer button switch and all the pump control buttons and control board. I can’t test the pump yet because I need to cap off the shower valve since it wont be finished before this trip. I also cut out a piece of plywood for the sink cabinet top and painted it. It’s all just temporary for this trip. Leftover Chinese food and an artichoke from our garden for lunch. Dawn made savory pancakes with ham for dinner.
Monday: (03/27) Granola for breakfast. I started by getting the painted countertop and installing it in the van. I then secured everything in the van to get ready to roll. I then headed off in the van to our local ACE Hardware store. I parked in their lot and made numerous trips inside to get materials needed to complete the installation of the sink in the van. It wasn’t easy to fit the drain into the space available but I eventually figured a way that worked. Then I installed the sink. Since this is just temporary in that I’ll install a butcher block countertop later, I used VHB tape to secure it in place then hooked up the water lines. I couldn;t test it right away because I needed to complete the upper part of the drain line. I couldn;t find the parts needed to complete the installation at the ACE store. So, about 1300, I headed off toward Lowe’s. I stopped to get Chinese food for lunch on the way. At Lowe’s I eventually found the parts needed to complete the installation. I even did a little reworking from the morning’s try to regain more clear storage space under the sink. I made a stop on the way home for a final return of unneeded items at ACE then visited Walmart to get a smoke detector and a couple of other things. I also visited Target. I was looking for an electric blanket but didn’t find any at either store. Eggplant casserole for dinner.
Tuesday: (03/28) Only light sprinkles in the morning so I worked of preparing the vn to roll. I made the bed, vacuumed and dusted the van, especially the driver and passenger areas in front. And I stowed what was going with me under the bed and moved what doesn’t need to go out of the van. When the rain got worse, I headed off shopping. I visited ACE and returned as coupole of more items and bought some 15 gallon containers for under the bed. I also visited Sprouts for tea, ciabatta bread, and peanut butter. Next I visited a Walmart neighborhood market for other stocking things for the kitchen of the van. I stopped at Marshalls and bought a frying pan. And, of course, I stopped at Grocery Outlet Market for more things. Back home and more stowing things away in the van. Mostly ready but need more things from the list I keep adding to. Granola for breakfast, Leftover Chinese food for lunch. Beef stroganoff for dinner.
Wednesday: (03/29) Granola for breakfast. I was busy making the final preparations to leave. I emptied the holding tanks in the motorhome and filled the water. That way Lou can enjoy a get-aways spot while I’m away from the man-cave. Later, I went to Dawns apartment and we discussed some programs she’s using. Next, I was back home to attend my AlphaSoftware webinar. Then, Lou invited me to lunch at the Crepevine. A little more packing of things that were forgotten. Likely I have three times what I need for the trip. I finally got away a little after 1500. After finding the cheapest gas station and filling up, I was on the road on this inagural trip in my new adventure van. Not even an overnight trial sleep out has been done previously. Traffic was terrible on Highway 85 I’d call it screech and slow. Lots of sudden stops. I decided to just take the side roads all the way down to Gilroy where I stopped to pickup my dinner at the Longhouse restaurant. I got it to go since it was still early. Another stop at Walmart for a couple of things. One thing I wanted was an electric heater but it’s too late in the season for even a super Walmart to have any. Back on the road I creeped along on Highway 25 into Holister and then had the road to myself the rest of the ay to the Pinnacles NP. I arrived about 1830 and took a drive up to the High Peaks Trailhead for a nice post sunset silhouette photo of the High Peaks. I checked at the campground planning to camp there but they didn’t have any pay envelopes nor a posted price. Plus, there was no hone or data service. Usually we have both on our Tmobile there. That prompted me to try out along the road but I never found any service. I camped beside the road about 10 miles South of the park.
Thursday: (03/30) Leftover pancakes for breakfast. I was off on the trail in some sprinkle rain at 0715. Lots of water flowing through Lower Bear Gulch Cave wasn’t bad. The fall and stream in the cave was flowing well. There was a nice waterfall where the water exits the reservoir by the staircase to the top of the dam. Weather was nice all the way but the very beginning of the hike. Great views, even some condors in the air. I finished up about 1100 and left my parking spot and drove down to the High Peaks viewing area to let others get to park at Condor Gulch parking. I was the only car there when I arrived and even when I started my hike. It was full with people looking when I finished the hike. After lunch of leftover corned beef hash and eggs at the viewing area I headed back to civilization. I did some shopping in Paso Robles and Atascadero before heading off to Carrizo Plains. National Monument. I arrived about 1930 as it was getting dark. I spent a lot of time on the way out stopping to get photos of the flowers. I didn’t see too much in the way of flowers at the monument. I planned on stopping beside the road to dispersed camp but didn’t see any good spots so I ended up getting all the way down to the Southern entrance to the preserve where I parked for the night. I had picked up dinner at Panda Express Chinese fast food joint but didn't eat it until I stopped for the night at 2100. Lucky to have a really good cell signal here.
Friday: (03/31) I was up early with a knock on the door. A ranger advised me I couldn’t camp where I did and where I could. I pulled away quickly and tried one of the dirt roads up into the hills. I quickly decided it wasn’t a good idea to continue due to the mud and ruts and the fact the early morning sun was shining directly into my face. Another thing I didn't pack was sunglasses. I came back out and continued on through Maricopa on Highway 166 to Interstate 5 and stopped for breakfast at a rest stop in Gorman. From there I continued on Highway 138 into Antelope Valley to the California Poppy Preserve. I hiked some of the trails there looking at the flowers. More poppies than other recent visits but not as many as I have seen there. There were lots of flowers in the preserve but not as many poppies as there were on nearby hills outside the preserve. I stopped in Lancaster to find some more things on my missing list. I also picked up my lunch and dinner from Panda Express again. I continued on to Barstow and stopped for gas at a TA truck center. Cheaper gas than expected in Baker where I stop for today. I checked at TA, Pilot, Love’s, and Terrible’s truck stop stores looking for a 12 volt electric blanket. None found but I did find a deal on throw blankets that were not plush, velvet, or the like. More like army or Afghan blankets. I pulled into a campsite in the Mojave Preserve after dark. There was a sign up at the entrance on Highway 127 that said the road was closed but the gates were open so I checked online and the road recently reopened.
Thursday: (03/02) I removed the cabinets from the van with the intention of routing a curved edge on the cabinets to reduce injuries to my head. I only got the cabinets removed when Lou preempted my day with a request to plant the two trees she bought: a lemmon and an apple tree. I had to dig two 2’ diameter 2’ deep holes and transport the clay dirt to the back yard where I needed some fill. I added some mulch to the dirt and tilled it to pulverize the clay and mix the mulch in. I then brought some of the mix back and planted the trees with it. This endeavor to a good part of my day. After lunch, since I was already dirty, I got to work on finishing the leaf and limb debris cleanup from behind the tent and cottage. I filled two more 60 gallon bins with the debris. After that, I finally returned to the planned project, the cabinets. I Added a needed 2x2 brace and trimmed another board. And then started looking for my router and router bit. I found a router and then found a bit but they don’t fit each other. The router is my ½” collet router and the bit is a ¼” shaft bit. I couldn’t find the correct router in my disorganized shop. Tomorrow I’ll either locate the router or visit Harbor Freight to solve my problem. Granola and diced pears for breakfast. Leftover Spanish rice for lunch with Lou’s homemade brownies. I had a BBQ pulled pork sandwich for dinner.
Friday: (03/03) Our third no rain day. I started my work day by cleaning out a path down the aisle in my shop. It was cluttered with cardboard cheers I saved from various purchases with the intent to use them for templates on the van build. I no longer need them. I also tied up a bunch of used lumber I’d collected. Before moving the materials back, I was able to locate my objective, my router. After putting the stuff back in a better organized manner I had more room to access stuff in the aisle. I brought out the cabinets and added deeper countersink holes where needed to get the screw heads below the surface. I then routed the edges and sanded the cabinets. I then painted a prime coat on the cabinets. After that it was getting cold and I took the rest of the day off since I didn’t know when the rain would start. Granola for breakfast. Roast chicken for lunch. Eggplant casserole for dinner.
Saturday: (03/04) Granola for breakfast. I reinstalled the cabinets and sanded them. I had intended to mask the walls and floor and paint the color coat but the rain started. I decided to wait out the rain but never got back to it. We went to lunch at Harry’s Hofbrau in Redwood City. It was the usual prime rib for Lou and Dawn and lasagna for me. Of course there was the required thrift store visit and other shopping on the way home. We enjoyed the three artichokes from our garden and corn on the cob for dinner.
Sunday: (03/05) A partially overcast day with occasional showers and a heavy rain last night. A nice ham egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I made a quick run to Trader Joe’s and ACE. I needed fresh masking tape. The older rolls I have keep tearing rather than unreeling. I also picked up my ciabatta rolls and eggs at TJ. I worked on the van today, masking around the cabinets and painting two coats of color paint. After the last coat I stripped the masking. Only a couple of spots where the paint got on the adjacent varnished wall panels. Roast chicken for lunch. More chicken with honey coated Brussels sprouts and rice for dinner.
Monday: (03/06) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van reinstalling the ceiling and wall panels that I had removed to install the cabinets. Lots of trimming to make them fit around and in the cabinets. I had to dodge the occasional sprinkles. I go all but the ceiling pieces the go inside the two cabinets. A chili relleno with rice for lunch from Tacos El Grullense for lunch. Dawn and I went to Aqui’s in Cupertino for dinner. Always interesting things on the menu.
Tuesday: (03/07) Granola for breakfast. I took a walk this morning. I walked over to the Arizona Garden at Stanford. I noticed a drone flying overhead. Nothing wrong with that as far as I was concerned but I was interested because it was circling around the garden. I guess my interest provided some concern for the operator so he came over to mention that it was his and he was with Stanford University. They were using the video to make a 3D model of the garden. They also used a lidar device on the ground and merged the data for the model creation. This time is the before model. They will do it again later when the garden is in bloom. I guess I may be able to check out my garden in the comfort of my man cave sometime in the future. I continued my walk into downtown Palo Alto and got a slice of pizza for lunch before heading back home via Emerson Street. My walk was about 7.3 miles. Back home I relaxed the rest of the afternoon. Lou made her zucchini and onions with sausage for dinner.
Wednesday: (03/08) I prepared corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast. While in the cooking mood, I also started pork chops with sauerkraut and potatoes for tonight's dinner. While I got carried away cooking I missed my Wednesday webinar. I’ll have to get it on Youtube later. Later I got to work on the van. I did some wet testing of the water system. I had two leaks and a gusher while testing. One leak at the output of the pump required replacing the crimp clamp. Another required more tightening of the inlet hose to the water heater. However, the third was a gusher when a connection popped apart for the feed to the pump. It turns out it hadn’t been crimped. This even after a half dozen specific checks for that potential problem. All seems to work except I’ve decided to replace the outdoor shower valve because it doesn’t allow full flow. It’s a thermostatically controlled valve. I’m replacing it with simple inline valves. I want full flow to be able to hose off things like the feet, kayak, bicycle and van. I can manage even temperature by using a timer on the hot water tank or setting the tank temperature lower. It shouldn’t take long to learn how long it takes to heat up to a nice temperature. It has a crank timer on it anyway. After a few mods, I will try again this Friday. Lou and Dawn were out all day thrifting and shopping.
Thursday: (03/09) Rainy. Leftover corned beef hash for breakfast. Lou and I went to check our safe deposit box trying to locate our birth certificates. No luck. The pookas must have moved them.
Friday: (03/10) Rainy in the morning. I prepared some hash from the leftover sauerkraut potatoes and pork for breakfast. I installed the new outdoor shower valves and fittings and reworked the piping to accommodate them. Then I tested the water heater and checked everything for leaks. All seemed good. Chinese food from Wok On and Lucky Bistro for lunch. Dawn made dinner.
Saturday: (03/11) Rainy all day. Granola for breakfast. We were off early to Newark to go to a sale at Airport Appliance which Lou wanted to go to to get a new washer. She doesn’t think the old one is working well enough. We got there as they opened and found the one cheap (which I like) and low feature top loading washer (which Lou likes ). We were in the Jeep which is always fully loaded with three people, a scooter and miscellaneous junk so I returned later in the van to pick up the washer. After the purchase we stopped at several thrift stores before stopping for lunch at the Asian Cafe. I like the place and stop by when I pass by for the occasional hike. We returned home about 1530. I then had to unload all the loose stuff from the van and secure some items before I departed to pick up the washer. There was about a 25 minute wait for them to load the washer since the loading dock was busy with lots of pick ups. Salad for lunch. Chicken for dinner.
Sunday: (03/12) Rainy all day so I left the washer in the van. Granola for breakfast. Leftover Chinese food for lunch. Tinkered inside all day.
Monday: (03/13) Some rain in the morning and light sprinkles much of the rest of the day. Granola for breakfast. Leftovers for lunch. I also rechecked the water lines for leaks and found a slow drip on one of the vent lines which I tightened. I may have to replace the screw clamp and try to get a crimp clamp crimped in the tight access. The next project was to unload the new washer from the van and swap out the old washer. Since the old one still worksI’m planning on installing it by the greenhouse of utility use. I installed the two side walls into the shower compartment. Later, I got the table saw out and cut some pieces for the mounting of the microwave and refrigerator and ripped more 2x2 boards to finish the shower framing and Dawn’s seat. I picked up a chili relleno with rice, beans and fresh tortillas for lunch. Dawn made rice with corn, peas and chicken for dinner.
Tuesday: (03/14) Scrambled eggs with ham and cheese for breakfast. Heavy rain this morning followed by high winds. I couldn’t do anything outside. Later in the afternoon I attempted to go to get my license renewed but just got stuck in stopped traffic on the freeway and on other roads. I’m not sure what the stoppage was. Some of the no freeway roads traffic signals were dark which didn’t help but should have caused full stoppages on Highway 280 and Foothill Expressway. Salad for lunch. Lou and Dawn left early for a couple of appointments. Leftover rice with corn, peas and chicken for dinner.
Wednesday: (03/15) Lou made eggs, bacon and leftover sauerkraut potatoes for breakfast. I started to do a little cleanup of the limbs in the backyard deposited from our high winds. Our yard man arrived and pointed out I was doing his job so I found a nice chair for some tea. I usually have a webinar on Wednesdays but there wasn’t one today. So Lou and I headed off to the back to deposit a check that had been returned. You can’t do that with their app, unfortunately. That project took more time because our bank branch moved from a location 2 blocks from the house to a location in Los Altos. And, all the power was out in the village of Los Altos including our bank. So, off we went to the Sunnyvale Branch. Mission accomplished. We picked up lunch from Super Taqueria on the way home. Back home I got to work on the van, I installed a cable for the pump switch and indicator by the sink and in the rear of the van. I can wire it up on a foul weather day but the cable had to go in before the back wall of the shower goes in. I also laid out the sink valve locations and installed (temporarily) the shower valve. I also sanded and prime painted a bunch of 2x2’s and some other pieces to be used in securing the microwave and refrigerator. Dawn made spinach, chicken and rice for dinner.
Thursday: (03/16) A nice day. I made a pork chop, egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I made a run to ACE Hardware, Lowe’s and Home Depot and Walmart. I needed a few plumbing parts for the van and some shelf paper.I made an exception to my never shop at the MAGA Home Depot store because all my power tools at Ryobi and I needed a couple of more batteries for them. Back home, I fought the contact shelf paper trying to get it installed on the microwave and clothes compartments. I also pulled in a wire for the light under the microwave cabinet. I also made a mounting flange fore the light installation out of some plywood and then painted it. I also cut the ceiling panels for the two cabinets then varnished them. And finally, I made up some of the plumbing feeding the kitchen sink valves and the shower valve. I’m still waiting for a valve to control the hot water recycle. Salad for lunch. BBQ ribs with corn on the cob and a baked potato for dinner.
Friday: (03/17) Another pork chop and egg with cheese sandwich for breakfast. I worked on the van again today. I installed the ceilings in the two cabinets. I installed the light under the microwave cabinet and energized it. I mounted the microwave in its cabinet by installing the two anchors under the feet and tied it down with plumbers tape. I also installed the trim that anchors the refrigerator in its cabinet. I replaced one of the 2x2 structural members that had cutouts where they are not needed and needs more cutouts in the correct place. All in all, a productive day. I also made a parts fun to ACE for some screws. Salad for lunch Corned beef and cabbage for dinner.
Saturday: (03/18) Granola for breakfast. I started to wire up the pump control switches . I installed some wire molding for the wire as it passes through the storage cabinet to the rear of the van. I also trimmed the wires to length by the shower. Then, I decided my best use of this clear day with rainy days coming soon, was to work on the sink cabinet. I have been trying to figure a way to install the wiring for the sink counter outlet nd the water heater timer to fit in the 1.5 inch wall depth of the shower wall. It is just too tight so i gave up and decided to make the lower portion of the wall 3” deep by adding a second 1.5” stud. It just goes up about 8 inches above the counter top of the sink.Above that will be a spice rack. After widening the wall I started the sink cabinet, or at least made a good start. I built the 2x2 (1.5”x1.5”) frame and added a couple of the sides. The side behind the sliding van door will include a drop down table top. The side adjacent to that will have a drop down counter extension. The inside front will have a cabinet door. I sill need to do the cabinet door which will be later when I do all the cabinet doors. I have the counter extension support on orf=der and need to get a hinge for the outside drop down table top. I now need to disassemble the sides and paint them and do some other painting the the installed cabinet framework. It’s nice to see another cabinet taking shape. I did measure and measure again and again and sill cut the side of the cabinet ⅜” too narrow. I was going to use the router to round the edge of the panel but now need to get some ¼ round molding to make that radius. Everything is fixable. A BBQ pulled pork and cheese sandwich for lunch. Leftover corned beef and cabbage for dinner.
Sunday: (03/19) Granola for breakfast. We had a good rain in the early morning and a forecast of possible showers all day. So, rather than bring my saw outside and dodge showers all day, I decided to do another task. Our neighbor wants to install a fence beside his garage that borders out backyard. There would only be 9 inches of space between a fence and his garage wall. We’ve tried to convince him it is a very bad idea and will end us as a rat refuge when it gets filled with leaf debris for the redwood and oak trees above it. We’ve put it off for several years but he still wants it. I have a stack of flagstone rocks that would be in part of the path so today, I moved the pile and cleared the ara so he can install his fence. It was a pile about 3’x3’x8’. I only moved it about 10’ into the tent next to it. I also cleared up the leaf debris that our recent storm left back there as well. I just cleared it three weeks ago and still filled two 60 gallon compost bins with just the new debris. Once I started I just continued to work at it not taking lunch and I finished up about 1600. After a nice shower, I had a BBQ pulled pork and cheese sandwich for lunch. Then it was nap time. I just had some ramen noodles later that night for dinner.
Monday: (03/20) Nice day even though it was a little cool. I finally got bold enough to cut a hole in the floor of the van for the ink. I also drilled a pilot hole for the shower to determine if it has clearance below. Fortunately it does. I still need to determine what size hole is best for the shower to allow access to tighten the drain tailstock. I also painted the sink cabinet pieces. To do that, I had to make a run to Lowe’s for more paint, varnish and a couple of other things. Granola for breakfast. Leftover corned beef and cabbage for lunch. Leftover Chinese food for dinner.
Tuesday: (03/21) Another extremely rainy day with high wind gusts. I relaxed in the man cafe all morning. I did some planning and material searching for the van. I found a possible counter top. Lou had another dental appointment then visited Lowe’s to make a return. When she returnee about 1300, we all went to IKEA. I needed to get the mattress for the van. Dawn is having trouble sleeping on her sofa bed at her apartment. We dropped off my new mattress there, even though my mattress is a full and her bed is a queen. We were able to determine it does seem to eliminate feeling a cross brace and does fold and collapse into the closed sofa. A nice pork chop, cheese and egg sandwich for breakfast. A late lunch at IKEA.
Wednesday: (03/22) I spent the day working on getting my driver’s license renewed and upgraded to a “Real ID”. My opinion of the DMV’s website is not a good one. Following the information on the website never led to either a new license, or simplification of an office visit. It wasn’t even possible to make an appointment. The only benefit of the use of the website was to take the drivers test but, even though that was accomplished, there was no indication that it had been on the website. In addition when I lagged in and confirmed it was me with a confirmation text code, I still had to enter my username and password again to get in. It even allowed me to pay my fees twice because there was no indication I had previously paid last month. Definitely an opportunity for improvement by a competent web developer. After two trips to Los Gatos, the mission is accomplished. I didn’t think the Real ID program was an effective means of identifying people and I still don’t. In fact I now have even more doubt. I now have a valid Real ID that could get me on a flight or into a Federal building but I could just as easily just printed my own. What I have until I get my new license arrives in the mail is my old license and a plain piece of paper that says I have a real ID now. Not really worth a day's effort. Granola for breakfast. Leftover corned beef and cabbage for lunch. Shepherd’s pie for dinner.
Thursday: (03/23) Avocado toast for breakfast. KReinstalled the sink cabinet in the van. I modified it a bit more by adding reinforcements for the counter extension braces. I also installed the outlet for the water heater and the Water heater time switch and outlet by the sink. Lunch from Los Altos Taqueria. Dawn’s vegetable soup for dinner. Overcast with only a couple of short showers today.
Friday: (03/24) Granola for breakfast. I headed off on bus #22 to the Palo Alto Caltrain station to go up to San Francisco. I didn’t go to our closest Caltrain station because the next train that stopped there was a local and would have picked me up 30 minutes later and then taken longer to get to SF because it stopped at all stations. Once there I walked South by the bay. I stopped and looked at the bridge by the ballpark that had been attacked by two barges that came loose from their moorings during a recent heavy storm. I continued on through San Francisco State University and into the Mission District. I stopped for lunch at La Torta Gorda at 1130 after only a three mile walk. Then I caught a bur out to Golden Gate Park and walked some lesser trails out to the ocean, another three mile walk. I stopped along the way for a nap in one of the yellow Adirondack chairs. Then I caught bus 3R to Market Street and walked a little more then finally caught the N line train to the Caltrain station and back home. Leftover Shepherd’s pie for dinner.
Saturday: (03/25) Granola for breakfast. Lou and I rented a trailer and moved Dawn’s bed from San Jose to her new apartment in Palo Alto and also moved the convertible bed from Palo Alto to San Jose. Dawn has had problems with convertible beds like the wall bed and the sofa. It took all day to make the moves. Lou and Dawn still need to reassemble the bed frame in her apartment. No work on the van on this sunny day.Leftover corned beef and cabbage for lunch. Chinese food for dinner.
Sunday: (03/26) Granola for breakfast. I worked on the van all day. Mostly I cleaned it up and emptied out the stuff that will be installed later. I also installed the new dimer button switch and all the pump control buttons and control board. I can’t test the pump yet because I need to cap off the shower valve since it wont be finished before this trip. I also cut out a piece of plywood for the sink cabinet top and painted it. It’s all just temporary for this trip. Leftover Chinese food and an artichoke from our garden for lunch. Dawn made savory pancakes with ham for dinner.
Monday: (03/27) Granola for breakfast. I started by getting the painted countertop and installing it in the van. I then secured everything in the van to get ready to roll. I then headed off in the van to our local ACE Hardware store. I parked in their lot and made numerous trips inside to get materials needed to complete the installation of the sink in the van. It wasn’t easy to fit the drain into the space available but I eventually figured a way that worked. Then I installed the sink. Since this is just temporary in that I’ll install a butcher block countertop later, I used VHB tape to secure it in place then hooked up the water lines. I couldn;t test it right away because I needed to complete the upper part of the drain line. I couldn;t find the parts needed to complete the installation at the ACE store. So, about 1300, I headed off toward Lowe’s. I stopped to get Chinese food for lunch on the way. At Lowe’s I eventually found the parts needed to complete the installation. I even did a little reworking from the morning’s try to regain more clear storage space under the sink. I made a stop on the way home for a final return of unneeded items at ACE then visited Walmart to get a smoke detector and a couple of other things. I also visited Target. I was looking for an electric blanket but didn’t find any at either store. Eggplant casserole for dinner.
Tuesday: (03/28) Only light sprinkles in the morning so I worked of preparing the vn to roll. I made the bed, vacuumed and dusted the van, especially the driver and passenger areas in front. And I stowed what was going with me under the bed and moved what doesn’t need to go out of the van. When the rain got worse, I headed off shopping. I visited ACE and returned as coupole of more items and bought some 15 gallon containers for under the bed. I also visited Sprouts for tea, ciabatta bread, and peanut butter. Next I visited a Walmart neighborhood market for other stocking things for the kitchen of the van. I stopped at Marshalls and bought a frying pan. And, of course, I stopped at Grocery Outlet Market for more things. Back home and more stowing things away in the van. Mostly ready but need more things from the list I keep adding to. Granola for breakfast, Leftover Chinese food for lunch. Beef stroganoff for dinner.
Wednesday: (03/29) Granola for breakfast. I was busy making the final preparations to leave. I emptied the holding tanks in the motorhome and filled the water. That way Lou can enjoy a get-aways spot while I’m away from the man-cave. Later, I went to Dawns apartment and we discussed some programs she’s using. Next, I was back home to attend my AlphaSoftware webinar. Then, Lou invited me to lunch at the Crepevine. A little more packing of things that were forgotten. Likely I have three times what I need for the trip. I finally got away a little after 1500. After finding the cheapest gas station and filling up, I was on the road on this inagural trip in my new adventure van. Not even an overnight trial sleep out has been done previously. Traffic was terrible on Highway 85 I’d call it screech and slow. Lots of sudden stops. I decided to just take the side roads all the way down to Gilroy where I stopped to pickup my dinner at the Longhouse restaurant. I got it to go since it was still early. Another stop at Walmart for a couple of things. One thing I wanted was an electric heater but it’s too late in the season for even a super Walmart to have any. Back on the road I creeped along on Highway 25 into Holister and then had the road to myself the rest of the ay to the Pinnacles NP. I arrived about 1830 and took a drive up to the High Peaks Trailhead for a nice post sunset silhouette photo of the High Peaks. I checked at the campground planning to camp there but they didn’t have any pay envelopes nor a posted price. Plus, there was no hone or data service. Usually we have both on our Tmobile there. That prompted me to try out along the road but I never found any service. I camped beside the road about 10 miles South of the park.
Thursday: (03/30) Leftover pancakes for breakfast. I was off on the trail in some sprinkle rain at 0715. Lots of water flowing through Lower Bear Gulch Cave wasn’t bad. The fall and stream in the cave was flowing well. There was a nice waterfall where the water exits the reservoir by the staircase to the top of the dam. Weather was nice all the way but the very beginning of the hike. Great views, even some condors in the air. I finished up about 1100 and left my parking spot and drove down to the High Peaks viewing area to let others get to park at Condor Gulch parking. I was the only car there when I arrived and even when I started my hike. It was full with people looking when I finished the hike. After lunch of leftover corned beef hash and eggs at the viewing area I headed back to civilization. I did some shopping in Paso Robles and Atascadero before heading off to Carrizo Plains. National Monument. I arrived about 1930 as it was getting dark. I spent a lot of time on the way out stopping to get photos of the flowers. I didn’t see too much in the way of flowers at the monument. I planned on stopping beside the road to dispersed camp but didn’t see any good spots so I ended up getting all the way down to the Southern entrance to the preserve where I parked for the night. I had picked up dinner at Panda Express Chinese fast food joint but didn't eat it until I stopped for the night at 2100. Lucky to have a really good cell signal here.
Friday: (03/31) I was up early with a knock on the door. A ranger advised me I couldn’t camp where I did and where I could. I pulled away quickly and tried one of the dirt roads up into the hills. I quickly decided it wasn’t a good idea to continue due to the mud and ruts and the fact the early morning sun was shining directly into my face. Another thing I didn't pack was sunglasses. I came back out and continued on through Maricopa on Highway 166 to Interstate 5 and stopped for breakfast at a rest stop in Gorman. From there I continued on Highway 138 into Antelope Valley to the California Poppy Preserve. I hiked some of the trails there looking at the flowers. More poppies than other recent visits but not as many as I have seen there. There were lots of flowers in the preserve but not as many poppies as there were on nearby hills outside the preserve. I stopped in Lancaster to find some more things on my missing list. I also picked up my lunch and dinner from Panda Express again. I continued on to Barstow and stopped for gas at a TA truck center. Cheaper gas than expected in Baker where I stop for today. I checked at TA, Pilot, Love’s, and Terrible’s truck stop stores looking for a 12 volt electric blanket. None found but I did find a deal on throw blankets that were not plush, velvet, or the like. More like army or Afghan blankets. I pulled into a campsite in the Mojave Preserve after dark. There was a sign up at the entrance on Highway 127 that said the road was closed but the gates were open so I checked online and the road recently reopened.
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