Santee, CA

A customer of Ruthi’s asks about how we Bedouin Nomads are doing. Here’s a recent update we sent him - Camels are doing better now that we replaced their front feet (tires). Overall this diesel engine should take us farther than even we are imagining (300+ thousand miles). We are at 35,000 currently and slowing down our tour. Wintering in San Diego is nice; a few rains but every desert needs moisture. In the Spring we’ll go see Boots’ son and family for 4-6 weeks in Reno area; then slowly enjoy the NW (Northern coastal California, Oregon, Washington) and if we’re up to it Idaho and maybe Montana. Then Fall with the kids again and Winter in a warm place. This sounds like a great way to spend time! Even the dog is getting into the late rising. Some days she’s slept in as late as 9:30 – which is perfect for Ruthi – the longer she can put off their morning 30 minute walk the better.

Santee, CA

Ruthi took the Trolley (part of San Diego’s MTS - Metro Transit System) down to the pier to tour the USS Midway Aircraft carrier with her older brother Bill and his youngest daughter (Tonya) and his grandson (almost 3YO SAM). Wow, it is huge! We think Ruthi’s younger brother (Paul) served his last tour on an aircraft carrier.

SAM was able to get into about a dozen planes and helicopter cut-aways. There were all sorts of buttons to push and toggles to flip. They provide headsets and tapes that provide details on each exhibit. You should have seen SAM’s eyes when he was listening. Such focus!! Anyway, Ruthi had a great time and while the MTS isn’t quite as easy as LA’s metro system, it does save stress of driving down, finding parking, etc. etc. etc.

Santee, CA

Ruthi’s technical karma has seemed to fail her. First, her small small small (not much bigger than a pack of 3 by 5 cards) died a slow painful death. She did get a replacement here before the final death but not in time to rescue all of her “stuff”. The company (OQO) which made her miniature machine went out of business in April 2009. So, she was searching for assistance and finally found someone she is working with to rescue her content off the old machine.

Then Ruthi accidently dropped her cell phone into water. It died fairly quickly and the only pain was with Ruthi and un-accessible her phone contacts (300+). She went to Verizon and they suggested that the phone be stored overnight in a bag of rice to get the moisture absorbed from within the phone. RICE was the answer at least for contact access. But alas Ruthi needed to get a new phone and new battery.

Santee, CA

Today was our 25th anniversary of being together. Since neither of us is interested in marriage or civil union or whatever, this is just a marking of how long we have enjoyed each other’s company. We went to a movie (Invictus –great by the way) and dinner (Olive Garden) – 2 of our favorite past times! Speaking of movies – Blind Side and Precious (bring a lot of tissues) are also worth the fortune it costs to go to the cinema.

Santee, CA

Well the sun came back out but it is COOL in the low 50’s. What about global warming? Like summer in Alaska, you don’t want to be in the shade.

Santee, CA

Today we awoke to rain, rain, and more rain. It didn’t look like it was going to slow down anytime soon and Karma was insisting that she needed to have her outdoor time. So, Ruthi had to put on long pants (her indication that it is winter), a sweatshirt and rain-proof overcoat. Off they went in search of the perfect spot for Karma to stain. The parts of the road and pathways were flooded a couple inches. Good thing Ruthi had on flip flops! As long as they were soaked anyway they did the full 30 minute walk.

If you live in a stick-built house and aren’t working, you might think “great” we can sit around the fireplace/tv/good book. Well, rain interferes with satellite receivers (raindrops disturb the content). A fireplace, while an option in some RVs, isn’t the best use of space or weight (in our opinion). Now, a good book option we have. Under the bed are 2 long deep storage spaces. We have a lot books stored there. Anytime we are near a thrift shop or used book store, we search for books.

Since Karma can’t read and rain brings all sorts of interesting new smells and sounds, cuddling up with a good book isn’t exactly serene. About 3-5 lines into the book, Karma decides that even though she just came back from a very productive walk she might need to do “duty” again. Trying to convince her that we’ll go out during the next pause in rainfall is a challenge!

Santee, CA

Our red tailed hawk is back looking for a meal. We are trying to get pictures but he’s bit out of range from the rig and we are too noisy to get close enough outside. Of course Karma is little help.

Woke up yesterday to puddles around us. While Karma and Ruthi were on their morning walk, she asked the camp hosts if it’s rained last night. They didn’t think so. When she got back, we found out that our site’s water pipe had broken and the whole section was turned off while they replaced it. Luckly, we had some water in our tanks and could use the water pump internally. They were as fast as they had promised: 3-4 hours and it was fixed.

Weather is great! Temperatures run between mid-60's and low 80's. People around here are wearing jackets and long pants. Guess one could aclimate to this and consider it winter. Even the nights are rarely cold enough for our furnace to come on at 55 degrees. Karma got to go to a local dog park and run her heart out! Remember a tired dig is a good dog!