Ruthi’s Losing Weight - Santee, CA

When we saw our newest Family Medicine doc in June she suggested that Ruthi begin counting her calories and adding some exercise in hopes of losing a pound a week. So, Ruthi decided to give it a try. She found an APP MyFitnessPal (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/) for her smart phone. This app works on both PC and phone. Ruthi can track her calorie intake/burn, weight, waist, etc. The PC version provides reports while the phone version allows for real time data entry.

So far, in the 6 months (26 weeks) of paying attention and recording, Ruthi has loss 32 pounds. Yea!!! And, she has not felt deprived or like she was “dieting”. Ruthi did need to buy shorts in the next size smaller and they are getting loose now. She will continue for another 6 months, in hopes that she will get her weight low enough to eliminate some of her medications (pre-diabetes and high cholesterol). She could move from morbidly obese (a horrible term, by the way) to just obese! Then she can use the APP to maintain her “new” weight for a few months before working on moving from “obese” to simply “overweight” and maybe below that.

A side result is that Boots is also losing weight as she also is bike riding more and more conscious of her food intake. She is not a geek and is not keeping records on her phone or PC.

Alaskan Men - Alaska Airlines to Seattle, WA

On Ruthi’s flight from Anchorage to Seattle on an Alaskan Airlines, one of the stewardess commented to a passenger the famous quote about Alaskan men "The odds are good, but the goods are odd!". Ruthi found it a bit surprising that an Alaskan crewmember would insult the very state it represented; not that the quote isn’t true!

A "little" Collision - San Diego, CA

Boots was driving into downtown San Diego to pickup Ruthi at the airport, when she decided to get off the highways and get something to eat first. In her search for a parking place, she got too close to the vehicles parked on the right side of the street. The Ford's passenger's mirror struck the drivers mirror on a CAL TRANS truck. Boots pulled over, parked and began the search for the driver of the CAL TRANS "victim". She did locate the mirror's pieces that had been destroyed and flung under other parked vehicles. There was an In-N-Out burger place right near the site of the bump. So, she went in there seeking the driver. The manager even did a PA announcement trying to find the driver with no responses. So, Boots returned to the CAL TRANS truck and waited for the driver to appear. Eventually, the driver came and they exchanged info. Boots, sans a passenger mirror, was able to continue on and pick up Ruthi at the airport.

To replace the Ford's mirror cost over $200. Later we discovered that there was some body damage from the mirror hitting and scratching the doors. So, we don't have the final total on the cost of this "little" collision.

Snow - Anchorage, AK

When Ruthi was returning to the hotel after dinner/movie with Kassie (our grand-daughter) on the East side of Anchorage, it began snowing. It looked like this might be the start of winter’s white cover in Anchorage but by the time Ruthi got to mid-town the snow had stopped and by morning the snow was gone.

Overhead Storage in Plane - 737 Flight to Anchorage, AK

On Ruthi's flight from San Diego to Seattle on an Alaskan Airline Boeing 737, she noticed that they had made major changes to the storage space within the overhead bins. People were placing large carry-ons in the space. Finally, instead of having to gate check these humungous carry-ons, they can now stuff them in the overheads!

Karma's First Coyote - Santee, CA

Santee Lakes recreational preserve is situated between residential on the east and south and wild desert land on the north and west. Wildlife (raccoons, rabbits, many species of birds and waterfowl, coyotes, snakes, etc.) roam the park and are usually more active in the dark - especially the coyotes. They hunt around our dinner time and can get very loud when they have captured/killed their prey. Karma pretty much ignores their howls, yips and barks even if she is out on her nightly "duty" walk.

Today she got an up close look at a young coyote on the run. We were driving out of the park to do some shopping when Karma got excited like she saw a dog or something. We didn't see anything and went through the gate and up the road. At the traffic light, we were in the left turn lane and stopped, waiting for the light, when she got excited again, very excited! And, then we saw the coyote running along the sidewalk on our left lickity-split south to a more wooded area. It was about the same size as Karma, running very fast. It ran straight across the busy road and luckily was not hit. While campers have seen coyote in the early morning and evening, it is unusual to see a lone one mid-day - lucky Karma and us too.

Fall & Winter – Santee, CA

Santee is on the very East edge of San Diego. Winter brings shorter days but nothing like what we experienced in Anchorage. There isn’t any need to escape to Hawaii in January either. We have close to the same length of day light and tropical temperatures, too, here in Santee.

100ᵒ Fahrenheit – Santee, CA

Santee made the national news/weather reports because we got to 100ᵒ today. October is starting out to be just like September HOT HOT HOT! While we aren’t in a very shaded spot at least we are not broad-side to the South so that we get sun ALL day long on our utility side. The A/C doesn’t have to work as hard to keep the inside comfortable. And, the days are shorter.

Dinning Room Table/Cabinet - Santee, CA

Before starting our trip south, we realized that part of our dining area remodel was 'unmodeling' itself. It consists of a cabinet attached to the floor (of the living room slide) at inside edge with the tabletop attached to that and to the outside wall of the slide. Almost all of the screws had jiggled loose so we had ourselves an unmoored piece of furniture that would not stand alone

We inverted it and placed it on sticky mats, found somewhere to put all the dishes from the cabinet and hoped for the best. Fortunately, it behaved itself on the trip. Until we can fix it, we've put the shelves in the cabinet upside down so that the dishes can go back in. The screw holes on the wall are rather large now and one has to be concerned about the thickness of an RV wall and not simply go get longer screws.

We've had a busy week so we haven't gotten to it yet.

No ANTS, so far - Santee, CA

As soon as we parked the rig and connected the electric (for inside A/C), we started our attack on the ANTS. Ruthi dribbled BORAX around the entire RV. Then she did an inch by inch inspection of the grounds looking for the telltale tracks the ANTS make going to and from their colony.

While the BORAX is suppose to keep the ANTS from invading your space, it really just provides a nicely paved/clean highway for them to traverse the neighborhood. But, the good news to that is it is much easier to find the marching columns of ANTS on the white surface. Which means they then get drenched in the poison liquid.

Everyday after Ruthi walks Karma and rides her bike (if temperatures are below 90s), she replenishes the BORAX trail and seeks out errant ANTS. there have been isolated ANTS, scouts probably, that she has dispensed with. One morning, Ruthi saw that the ANTS had gotten onto the rig via one of our bikes - they were climbing up the kick-stand which was outside the BORAX "moat" and following the bike's structure to the chain locked to a hitch connected to the RV and from there all over the side of RV. Out came the deadly spray and they were eliminated!!!

Then Ruthi went inside to verify that they had not yet gotten into the interior spaces. Phew, no ants there!!!

Tiny Toilets – All Over California

The first time Ruthi noticed the small size of toilets, was when we were at Boots’ son’s house. The toilet there is the size of the toilets Ruthi’s sister has in her pre-school – built for 4 or 5 year olds. As we traveled across America, there didn’t seem to be small toilets anywhere else but California.

Now, we notice these small toilets in restaurants, RV parks, gas stations, mall stores, etc. There is something about California that seems to attract toilets of a smaller statue. While we do occasionally find regular sized toilets, the vast majority are “small”.

Heat Wave - Santee, CA

We woke up to pee early this am (6ish) and decided it would be smart to finish hooking up to the utilities. When we get into a new site, we quickly connect electric and turn on propane, leaving water and sewer for another time. Yesterday we had appointments and grocery shopping that kept us out in the heat most of the day.

We started filling the fresh water tank (for emergencies since we can – and do – just hook up to their water directly for our stay here), got the bikes down from the carrier and locked up front; put the rug out to minimize dirt into the rig (really does very little to that end but we keep fooling ourselves), and finally pull down the awning to help shade the door side of the RV. Well, things were going well when we broke the pull mechanism on the awning and couldn’t pull it down. With the heat wave coming we were a bit panicked.

There’s a work truck in the RV park that we see a lot that says something about “RV Awnings” sold, installed, fixed, etc. Off we go to find it. It wasn’t where it usually parks so we circled that particular section and were about to return home when he pulled in. We whined/explained about our “problem” and he followed us home. We parked on one side of the space and he on the other. We had barely gotten out of the truck when we noticed that he had the awning down. He showed us how it can get a bit skewed and needs a little brute force to square it up and pull it down using the side supports. He gave us a new pull strap, showed us how to use our “de-flapper” thingee (keeps the awning from ripping off the rig and leaving the earth’s gravitational pull to enter the universe during heavy winds), and went on his way – no cost??? What a guy – sweating sweating sweating and doing a good deed!

Winter can't some soon enough!!!!

SB Castaic to Santee, CA

Again pulling out at 9am, for the same reasons stated in the “SB Oceano . . .” blog entry. This time we knew the route through LA was bound to be slower and maybe as bad as our NB pass. Today the NB traffic was thick and slow like we had experienced 2 weeks ago. Our South heading was easy, less traffic and few delays. The biggest problem we had was 2 navigational errors that put us into LA’s light industrial district. We ended up off Interstate 5 because of confusing signage – novice drivers. Both times we were lucky that our smart phone GPS got us back on track (I-5) quickly with no problems.

When we are towing our rig and get onto surface streets, we are always cautious that we might get into a “tight” spot with no option but to turn around or backup. Neither of which are simple (see blog above about our length and tight spacing). We made very good time through LA and beyond.

Valencia Travel Village – Castaic, CA

This is the same RV park we stayed at on our trip north. The front desk clerk offered us another site and Ruthi convinced her that we liked #17 (the one we had maneuvered into before). Ruthi was driving and attempted to get us into #17 again but the tree on the left seemed to have moved a little bit more towards the site gravel pad. So, we got as close as we could without hitting it and realized Ruthi would need to back up and go around for another try. This is not unusual for us or other RVers.

We have often made a number of shots at a particular space before we could safely position the RV. We have watched others have similar challenges. If you think about it – we have a 24 foot truck and a 34 foot trailer. With the 4-5 foot overhang, this makes the entire length about 54 feet. It’s not our old Subaru Legacies (maybe 8 feet at most) anymore. Short of a career in the hauling business, driving semis for years and years, it is usually a challenge to get into some of the smaller, tighter spaces in the older parks.

Ruthi backed up and was positioned to “go around the block” so to speak and try again when Boots suggested she try going down another row and cut through a sight that would provide a straight shot into #17. It look like a better approach and she tried it. Success!!! We plugged in the electric and got inside to the A/C!

SB Oceano to Castaic, CA

We were more prepared for our trip south. We used our smart phones to watch the traffic patterns on Monday and Tuesday; we decided that leaving at 9am again would be the best. Any earlier would put us into commuter traffic and any later was only worse. So, off we go expecting a little slow down south of Santa Barbara before we left CA 101 to CA 126 heading east. Surprise! surprise! we had no delays to speak of and could see that NB was as slow as it had been for us 2 weeks prior.

We made good progress to our usual pit stop for diesel before parking for the night. This particular station has regular pumps for cars and non-towing trucks and 3 large lanes for the semis and RVs. While we could get into the smaller lanes, we try to always pick those with enough space for easy maneuvering. The only open spot was in the middle of 3. The left one was occupied by a Coke delivery truck off-loading pallet after pallet of goods for the associated store. And, the right one had a semi waiting for its owner to return. The middle one it is - our tank is on the driver’s side. The pump on that side did not have a number, hmmm. Ruthi went in to make a questimate deposit on how much fuel we’d get. The clerk said that we were at pump “14”. When Ruthi returned she could see that the pump on the other side of the truck’s tank was labeled “14”.

She removed the handle from the pump and raised the switch and tried to start pumping. Nothing happened – after 2 more tries, Ruthi returned to the clerk to find a solution. The clerk explained that she would need to remove the handle from the pump labeled “14”, lay it on the ground, and flip the switch. Then she should return to the pump on the tank side of the truck, pickup its handle and flip the switch. Tada – diesel flowed into our tank and did not flow out of the handle sitting on the ground on the other side. Seems a little weird, don’t ya think?

The Perfect Place – Somewhere???

Here’s what we want in the place we finally put down roots (before we pass away, hopefully): diversity - ethnic, age, restaurant, movie theaters, etc. We like being near a major airport hub and would prefer good, plentiful public transportation. The weather needs to be warm(not hot) – between 60 and 80 is ideal!

So, where is that place??? We are still looking and will let you know when we find it.

Wash/Wax Rig – Oceano, CA

One of the advantages to being in this particular park (Pacific Dunes RV Park), is that there is a guy (JJ) here who details RVs. This is the 3rd year he has worked on our rig. While JJ was beginning the process to make our ’98 AlpenLite rig look about 10 years younger, the neighbors (on our door/awning side) came in. JJ was washing the roof when the neighbor was working on his utility connections next door. The neighbor got drenched from water running off the awning. The other neighbor arrived just as he finished for the day. Good thing too, as JJ had his work truck parked in their site. The sites here are a bit narrow so it helps if the neighbors are the easy-going types while this process is going on.

JJ puts 3-4 days into the job. He keeps us informed of all of the steps he takes. But what we really know for sure is that when he’s done all the surfaces are shining and impressive. In the past we have experienced parks that say they won't accept RVs older than 10 years. They will allow a challenge, if we send pictures.

Since JJs been doing his “magic” we have never been denied a space. He and Ruthi were talking today about the fact that if the decals could be replaced, no one would be able to tell how old we were (the rig, not us personally.

NB Traffic - Castaic to Oceano, CA

We thought great! This is a short hop (less than 200 miles) should be easy and relatively stress free. California 126 West to California 101 along the coast heading north – cooler temperatures for the last 2/3rds of the trip. For some reason (again no construction or accidents), the traffic funneled from 3 lanes north of Ventura to 2 lanes all the way to Santa Barbara where we went back to 3 lanes. While there was a lot of traffic, we thought that after the merging we should have been able to get to an acceptable speed 40-50 but no; we went from 25-30 to 40-50 and then back to 25-30. Weird!! This Southern California traffic.

Once we hit Santa Barbara and returned to 3 lanes it was easy sailing North!!!
This is a busy park especially for the Labor Day week-end. I don’t think there is an open space in the entire park. Lucky for us we got here first (with respect to each of our neighbors). We got comfortably situated, arranged and unhooked before dinner. So nice to be back where it's sunny, breezy and 70 degrees - heaven!!!! Especially for Boots, for whom this years above normal temps in Santee have been extremely - - - uncomfortable, shall we say.

NB Traffic - Santee to Castiac, CA

We knew we’d be slowed down through the center of LA on Interstate 5 North but decided it was worth it to have a short day. Getting onto Interstate 805 in San Diego was a bit “crawly” but we made good time up to the center of LA. Being relative novices to the millions of LA cars/drivers, we really were surprised to slow down to a 30mph crawl for miles and miles. Though there has been a lot of road construction indications (signs, cones, retaining walls, equipment), no one seemed to be at work today. So, we thought there must have been an accident in our lanes going North. We did see one in the South bound lanes earlier. We saw no troopers/cops or debris from an accident.
We were sure there had to be a better reason than “just LA”. But NO it was “just LA” and we slowed and slowed and slowed to a bare crawl.

We stopped at the La Mirada Camping World for a pee break. Because most of our route is through the city has no Rest Areas. We knew the Camping World layout would allow for us to temporarily stop and use the bathroom before we headed back on I-5.

The new Google Mapping app showed I-5 as a very dark red. That means there was a negative impact to the traffic heading North (accident, construction, or something) from the Camping World stop. So, it advised us to take some interior La Mirada roads to I 605 and eventually back to I 5 North. We figured it couldn’t be worse than what we had already experienced. The app was right. We made good time back to I-5 and went North to Castaic.

Then all of a sudden there were signs saying the right 2 lanes were closed ahead. So, we moved our 44’ rig over to the left and crawled with everyone else northward mile after mile. Boots was navigating and we finally were in territory we were familiar with after so many trips North and South. So, it looked like we could get off I-5 and use a surface road (Old Road) to get to the campground with more speed and less traffic.

So, Ruthi slowly moved the rig (44’ remember) to the right positioning us for the next exit. As soon as we were comfortably in the far right lane, we saw the signs “Exit Ahead Closed” and again “Right Lanes Closed Ahead”. So, back we go to the left and crawl up I-5 to Castaic.

ANTS EVERYWHERE – Santee, CA

After wintering here in Santee, the Spring brought a few ants to our rig. We seemed able to manage them with our eco-/dog-safe spray inside. As they seemed to continue to invade and multiply, we looked forward to our 2 weeks out of Santee. Sure enough the 2 weeks at the end of May in Temecula were ANT-FREE. That’s a good thing, too, as the ants we saw there were 3 times the size of our Santee visitors.

The California drought is really impacting the ants and they are looking for moisture anywhere they can find it (i.e., RVs, houses, offices, malls, etc etc etc). So, returning to a different site but still in Santee Lakes, we were quickly mobbed by the ants. Our Borax completely around the rig, indoor pet-safe chemical, and an official campground extermination effort (twice) did not make much of a dent in the infestation. They didn’t seem to be particularly interested in anything but they were just mobbing everywhere – floor, dog bowls, kitchen counters, Boots’ IKEA chair, bathroom counter/cabinets, kitchen table, computer desk, and finally our BED!

Well, only one side of the bed – Ruthi’s. She has always been a bug magnet – mosquitoes, spiders, flies, and now our ants. The final straw was ants on her pillow and therefore in her hair, ears, face, arms, legs, body, etc). Changing the linens and wiping the bug spray around the beds hard surfaces lessen the barrage but did not stop it entirely. Every night we inspected around the bed and ensured the pillow and bedding did not touch the headboard or back wall and that all visible ants were exterminated!

Finally, we broke down and bought the strongest bug poison we could get and began daily inspections outside and proceeded to annihilate every possible ant trail and home/nest within 50 feet of our rig. Directions said that it was safe for pets after the trail dried. (about 10-20 minutes) We waited a little longer than that and weren’t keeping Karma outside alone anyway. Even with turning our site into a “toxic dump” site, the ants continued the invasion.

Eight (8) weeks of constant vigil (and multiple bottles of bug spray) around the rig and associated vegetation (trees and rose planting) finally stopped the invasion. We kept up the daily inspections and sprayed indoors and outdoors as needed. Killing an occasional ant on the counter is bearable but seeing a “gang” of them running willy nilly everywhere is not. Just when we thought we had “won” the war, they showed up again. A trail of about 50 going from one point on the counter to another point at the other end OR circling the front door – some going up and over and others coming across and down. Weird pattern and nothing of interest (no water, Pepsi, sugar, or other food stuffs) in their pathways. The numbers were low but our response was “nuclear”! We have loss any possibility of being ZEN with the ants. We applied the bug sprays inside and out with speed and vigor - stopping the invasion at 50.

Therapy Dog Training - Mira Mesa San Diego, CA

The practice visits went well last week even though it was necessary for Karma to ride an elevator up to and down from the “meet and greet” sessions with some of the residents. She was gentle meeting the women (as it happens we only met one man and he just happened to be in the living room where we ended our visit with a debriefing). Karma positioned herself so that they could easily pet her. But after a few minutes Karma realized that there weren’t going to be any treats while we were in the resident’s rooms. So, she was ready to leave – no pulling or trying to leave but she was no longer interested in the residents. Since there were 2 of us human/dog trainees, sometimes just having the other team at the door distracted Karma. Ruthi on the other hand really enjoyed meeting and talking with the residents. Two of the women were very interesting and she is trying to see if these particular women don’t have friends or family nearby, she may arrange to visit without Karma.

Well, Ruthi and Karma finished the class. They learned a lot but are still unsure of whether or not this is an opportunity for them. One) there is the commitment, two) additional training and three) organizational certification.

The Perfect Place – Somewhere???

Here’s what we want in the place we finally put down roots (before we pass away, hopefully): diversity - ethnic, age, restaurant, movie theaters, etc. We like being near a major airport hub and would prefer good plentiful public transportation. The weather needs to be warm – between 60 and 80 is ideal!

So, where is that place??? Only in our dreams???

Therapy Dog Training - Mira Mesa San Diego, CA

Ruthi and Karma are thinking about doing “Therapy Dog” work. They are attending a 6-week course for the basics of the training and to identify the possibilities for Karma’s energetic demeanor. The 3rd class will cover many of the options for Therapy Dogs and the 5th class will be an actual facility visit with one of the instructors. So, we will see how it works out for both of them.

Recliner - Santee, CA

Boots’ chair, an IKEA light cushion lounger, has fulfilled its purpose and is in need of replacement. So, we have had our eyes out for a bargain. Wouldn’t you know it, a local wholesale outlet had a couple of choices and we bought a small leather recliner for a very low price. Now, the trick was getting it up into/out of the truck and into the RV. In case you don’t already know – the backs of recliners are easily removed (really the process is more awkward than complex). The store showed us how to remove and re-attach the back and they put the base in the back of the truck.

Off we go to the RV, putting the recliner back in the rig was easy and really a one person task. Then we back up the truck as close as possible to the RV door, moved the steps up out of the way. Then the two of us eased the base out of the truck and walked it over to the open door of the RV and put it onto the rug so that it could be easily pushed into position. Now we both have strained and sore backs but the recliner is in place and Boots is enjoying the new comfort of her recliner.(For a while anyway.)

After a week, it became clear that the recliner was not working for Boots’ body. The seat was a little long so that her legs did not bend down to the floor comfortably. The whole chair surface was a rigid and it did not look like time would change that. This particular recliner had a rocking feature – which we turned off. That did not seem to help either.

Once again, we needed to go back to the drawing board for a better solution; but first we needed to get the chair back off and both the back/base back into the truck. Do you have any idea how many retired men (or women, for that matter)) have bad backs? Everyone, it seems, that we asked for help. So, we again backed up the truck to as close as possible to the door, slid the chair over to the doorway, moved the stairs out of the way, and eased the chair out and into the truck bed. This was a little less stressful to our backs because we were a bit smarter this time. So, off goes the recliner to the wholesale store for a refund.

So, watch this blog for the follow-up solution, when we get one.

"No Poop or Pee" - Aguanga, CA

More “No” signs. On Ruthi and Karma’s walk to/from the off-leash dog park, they pass an RV site with a tiny little “fence” or “barrier” at the road edge. There is a sign on the “fence” that says “No Poop or Pee Here”. It has pictures of dogs doing their business inside the RED universal “no” circle. The challenge is that some dog has already pee’d on the sign and every dog going by needs to claim the space by adding their own pee.

“No” Café – County Line between San Diego/Riverside Counties

Do you remember the State/County Line bar/liquor stores from your teen years – the ready place for underage teens to buy their liquor??? Well, this place looked like it hadn’t done well over the last 50 years and had a junk yard attached, too. Even the sign had fallen down and we missed it going East but caught it on our way back West.

The BBQ Café had more “no” signs than we thought possible in one locations. Multiples of each “No Walking your Dog on This Property”, “No Walking your Dog in This Area”, “No Dogs Allowed”, “No Alcohol Pass This Point”, “Restrooms $5 or Order > $5”, “No Mayo”, “No Ketchup”, etc, etc, etc. Really seemed to have it in for dogs! Poor Karma had to stay in the truck. They meant each and every sign. When we got there a little late for lunch (2ish), we were limited to where we might sit, not because it was crowded (it wasn’t- only other person was at the bar) but because “there might be a birthday party” and they would need that space. Birthday Party???-We are in the middle of nowhere and that’s not even an exaggeration – 20 miles East of Temecula and nothing within 50 miles North, East or South of this location.

Luckily, the food was great (Black Angus burger (Boots) and BBQ Brisket (Ruthi)). Even the side Caesar salads, with crisp croutons, were very good. So, like our mothers’ (or someone) said, you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover.

TV Dies – Aguanga, CA

We have known that our ancient TV was on its last legs. It is huge and heavy, like an anchor! The video would go out occasionally. We would turn it off/on and then video would return. But not today, video would not come back. We kept the TV connected to the DirecTV DVR. With a little work, we could play the recorded news programs and listen to the audio without video.

Boots started researching and went looking for a new TV / flat panel. This provided an opportunity for us to see a lot of Temecula as we sought out Target, BestBuy, CostCo, etc. We narrowed it down by options and price to a Samsung or LG at Costco. After much thought, we decided on the simpler LG mostly because it was $70-80 cheaper. We elected to wait until we were back in Santee to simplify traveling with a loose TV.

At the Costco in Santee, the smart TV Samsung was $70-80 cheaper here than it had been in Temecula. So, we ended up with a “smart” TV – hoping it wasn’t going to be as complex as our “smart” phones turned out to be. We took the box home and began the install process. Moving the old heavy “anchor” to the floor out of the way was the biggest part of the job. Basically, we attached the TV stand, plugged the TV into power and the DirecTV DVR; and we were in business. Checking into our recording list we discovered that we had indeed recorded all of our favorites and were 4% from full!

Now all we need was for our local RV repair guy, Bill, to mount the TV. Simple, right - no! We wanted to install the TV in the cabinet space in such a way as to allow for more storage space behind the TV. We would put the DVR, and eventually the DVD/BluRay and Receiver below the TV mounting. The first mounting mechanism we had bought at Costco with the TV wasn’t going to work with the current cabinet structure.

Bill went away and Boots began the researching and shopping again. Once we found the mechanism that would work for our circumstances, off we went to our standard options: Target, BestBuy, Costco, etc. BestBuy had exactly what we wanted but the price was twice what Target’s option was, Costco didn’t have what we needed at any price. So, now what??? We went back to check online for other options and surprise surprise – BestBuy’s model was $70 cheaper if ordered on line and could be picked up at the local store so there was no shipping charge. How do these companies make any money???

So, overall the savings on the TV and mounting mechanism paid for Bill to come back and install it all, Whew! Now, we need to figure out how to secure the TV for when we travel. If it ain't one thing it's another!

Losing Socks in the Wash – Solved – Aguanga, CA

At the laundry facilities here at Jojoba RV Park (SKP), the washers have clear windows. Ruthi sat and watched the wash go round and round one way and then round and round the other way until something different/strange happened. One of our small small wash rags got caught between the rubber seal around the tub and the rubber seal around the door. She could see it slowly drawn into that space while the rest of the wash tumbled this way and that grabbing at the little towel but unsuccessfully pulling it back into the fold, so to speak. Little by little the towel got sucked away from everything else and surely looked like it was bound to disappear completely.

When the wash cycle completed there was just enough of the towel showing that Ruthi was able to grab it and pull it free. But, of course it wasn't clean having spent the entire time lounging against the glass of the door.

This must be what happens to all those lost socks. The machine does “eat” them and eventually they go to the drain clogging it and causing floods all over the laundry room never to be seen again. It doesn’t take much just the correct positioning of small wash items and continuous grabbing at the edge of the item until the rubber seals have devoured it all, never to be seen again.

Heat Wave – Aguanga, CA

Temperatures predicted to be in triple digits, caused us to leave Santee a couple of days early and hurry up to Aguanga so that we could unhook and set-up in less than heat stroke temperatures. To add to the heat, there were high wind advisories for the same days. With a high profile rig wind makes a big difference when driving.

So, now we are here with temperatures reaching lower 100s around 1pm. The nights are down in the lower 70s high 60s. But the time just before sunrise and long after sunset, the temperatures are hard to even comprehend. Our AC is holding its own and we are able to keep the RV/tin can in the high 70s.
Going to the truck, taking Karma for her walks/runs, emptying the waste tanks, shopping for food, etc. are tasks that take all of our energy and dehydrate us fast. We are drinking lots of water, juices and eating fruits/vegetables.

Then add the Santa Ana winds, that moves the humidity into single digits. Can you believe that “single digits”? Hence the Southern California fires in the news. The fires are West of Interstate 15 about half way between here and where we came up from on Tuesday (Santee). We are hoping that the fires, wind and temperatures won’t be problems when we head back to Santee at the end of May.

Branches Falling on Our Heads – Santee, CA

Wind broke off part of the tree we are parked under. We were outside putting our awning in, when we heard a soft thud. At first, Ruthi thought a branch had hit the truck and bounced off. Then she looked up and saw a very large branch still partially attached to the tree but definitely laying on the roof of our rig. We called it in to the office and a group of camphosts and staff came to the rescue. The youngest, a small woman, climbed up and with some directions was able to push the tree debris off the RV while missing the sewer connectors, electric glass meter and my bike. Then she even swept the roof off. More wind and more branches falling but nothing more hit us.

The Container Store – San Diego, CA

Wow, The Container Store is as much fun to visit as IKEA. Boots was seeking a simple, read cheap or inexpensive, shelving solution to turn our bedroom TV cabinet into an auxiliary pantry space. So, Boots thought maybe The Container Store would have some ideas, if not outright fixes. This store has paper, cardboard, various thickness/sturdiness of plastics, wood, metal, etc. etc. etc. (if there are any other possible materials from which to create a “container”, they probably have that too).

Had this store been available in Anchorage long before we sold everything and moved into our RV, we would not have been able to retire: 1) because we would still be getting rid of “containers” and 2) we wouldn’t have the funds to retire. There are little (child–size) scoops for your candy bowl (which comes in stackable small to large sizes in glass, clear plexi-glass, carved wood, etc. etc. etc.). Really you can’t go 2 feet into this store without seeing something “cute” or having “what if” ideas of how to use an item.

We went up and down the aisles to ensure that we had seen each and every possible option for containers. Oh, I mean a shelving solution for our “new” pantry space. We did end up with only 1 purchase that indeed meet our pantry space needs and one of those little scoops.

Aging gracefully – Santee, CA

No, this isn’t about us! Back in the winter of ’09-’10, we were camped next to a Canadian couple from Calgary, Alberta. They had a small Yorkie mix named Jake. When we took Karma for walks, she could see directly into the part of their site that Jake liked to pace. Karma wanted to meet Jake and maybe play even though she out-sized / out-weighed him about 5 times.
Eventually, we introduced ourselves to the couple and let the dogs meet. While Jake was nervous at first, he did like Karma and want to play with her. Jake got used to her enthusiasm and didn’t panic as much when Karma came by to say ”hi”.

The couple, Jim/Merle, were “snow birds” enjoying the sun for 5 months; 1 month to get to San Diego, 3 months at this park, and then 1 month to return to their home. They had been campers for years, starting with tents and then a small pull trailer when their kids were small. They worked up to larger trailers and then the kids left to go out on their own. Jim/Merle started down-sizing the rigs to their current 25’ Zinger. When we met them, ty are in their late 70’s and had traveled all over Canada and the US in their trailers. Up until ’05, they had flown and taken various cruises all around the world.

For the winter of ’10-’11, they returned but were a couple of sites away. Both of us had made reservations for different sites now that we’d had time last year to check them out. We spent more time with them that year, doing dinner out at a local buffet at least once every 2 weeks. Again the dogs got along and “played” sort of. We talked about going to Texas for the winter of ’11-’12 to check it out. Even though they had been there a number of times, they decided to go there too.

We did indeed go to the coast of Texas for that winter. We met Jim/Merle at a Golden Corral Buffet half way between our campground in Galveston and theirs North of Houston. The dogs had to do without much contact that year.

Last year ’12-’13, we could see each other from our respective sites during the week. But as the week-enders filled up the campground our view was blocked. Again, Jake and Karma played together and the humans enjoyed dinner out at the buffet or sometimes at the Sizzler over in El Cajon. About mid-way into their stay, Merle had a heart attack and was hospitalized. She woke Jim up in the middle of the night and he had an ambulance come into the park to take her. The first hospital she went to was less than helpful in explaining the situation to them. While Boots stayed home with Karma and Jake, Ruthi went to the hospital with Jim and helped them both to understand what was being told to them and ask more questions about the prognosis and treatment plan. As Canadians, they are covered by their national health care system. But when they were here in the states, all costs were their responsibility. Merle recovered and came back to the trailer but she was never back up to her previous self. She was weaker and sometimes a bit fuzzy. But her sense of humor and joy at being in the sun for the winter stayed full force!

This year ’13-’14, they returned to the same site as the year before. Merle seemed to have a bit more energy but still tired easily. The day they were starting their trek to Borrego Springs to see all of the spring desert blooms, she fell. No one is sure if she was weak and fell or had a heart attack and fell. Either way, she broke her left knee cap and a bone in her right ankle. Off to the hospital again.

While they addressed the breaks, the discomfort and effort for simple movement in/out of the bed caused her to have heart episodes. So, she remained hospitalized. Adding to all of this trauma, Merle is a type 1 insulin-based diabetic and has been for almost 60 years. She had managed her insulin through 2 pregnancies, still had her sight (weaken with age but not from diabetes), and all of her toes and fingers. The American insulin/sugar charts are different from the Canadians. So each time she is hospitalized here, there are discussions about what the differences are and what are “normal” numbers for her. This year, unlike last year, the medical staff had a conversion chart printed out and taped to her bedside table so both the medical team and Merle could talk to each other on the same wave length.

It was decided that she needed to be medi-vaced back home to Calgary. Luckily, They had insurance through SkyMed that provided: a flight for the patient, partner and dog and a driver to take their truck/RV back. So, that’s what they decided to do. We helped Jim get his rig ready and agreed to meet the driver and turn over the keys. Jim, Jake and Merle took a prop jet non-stop back to cold snowy Calgary. A couple of days later a driver picked up the truck/RV and drove it to Canada.

We’d like to say there is a happy ending to this saga but no – Merle died a couple of week later quietly in her sleep. She never left the hospital. She lived a full life and didn’t let her diabetes, previous heart attacks, open heart surgery, etc. etc. etc. stop her from spending the Canadian winters somewhere warm like the southern states in the US or on cruises in warm waters. They had even done a 100-day cruise around the world. They lived their last 20 years of retirement to the fullest!!! They brought their son and daughter down from the cold for a week of sunshine while Jim/Merle were on their trips. We loved her and Jim and hope that he will be able to return next winter year.

Ruthi Gets a Job – Santee, CA

Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve has Camphosts that complete various activities: provide information, clean restrooms, maintain individual camp sites, collect trash, clean up day use areas, collect fees, coordinate activities at Club House, prepare/serve BBQ foods, etc. Ruthi has often wondered exactly what it paid and how hard would it be. Most of the RV parks we have been to require a fairly long term commitment (4 to 6 months).

Well, Santee Lakes Recreational Park had a short-term (6-8 weeks) need here for the Laundry and Clubhouse Camphost position for 5 days a week (20 hours). Ruthi decided to try it. Well, it is very physical and tiring! The set-ups for events in the Clubhouse are interesting. She finally learned how to make coffee, a skill she had successfully avoided for a lifetime.
The reward for camphosting is that we got our rent free and didn’t have to move to a “labeled” site – so no one would be knocking on our door (and setting Karma to protection mode) in the middle of our sleep. Boots did not think it was a good idea and is now pointing that out on a regular basis.

Ruthi did the cleaning at night for the 1st week and then moved to mornings the second week. A routine settled in with Laundry cleaning at night (with a little help from Boots). Then opening the Laundry in the morning worked well with Karma’s usual morning walk to get the paper. The Clubhouse required hosting a evening potluck and a mid-morning coffee for the campers. Cleaning the Clubhouse was a chore involving the restrooms and hot mopping the floors (once a week). For private parties renting the Clubhouse, Ruthi needed to open, review the cleanliness requirements. Then at the end of the event inspect cleanliness, clean restrooms, dry mop the floor and lock up the facility.

The physical effort mellowed out and the pain in the lower back and fingers seemed to abate some by the end of week 3. But it was tiring and upsetting to our “retired” routine. That is, we had none and now Ruthi needed to be places at a certain time day after day, week after week. Working is really for the YOUNG!

The cleanup was dust/wipe, sweep, mop – again and again! Reminded Ruthi of her childhood on her knees cleaning stuff for her working mother. There are only 2 toilets in the women’s room and 1 toilet/1 urinal in the men’s. Anyway, it’s a short stint. Ruthi thinks she’ll look for an office opportunity in the future!

The plus about Camphosting is the free rent and the negative is the requirement of having to be somewhere at some particular time.

Drought / Rains – Santee, CA

While the Polar Vortex beats the Mid-West and East Coast, here in California a drought is devastating the crops across the central valley. California needs rain, rain, rain, or snow, snow, snow (Spring melt). Southern California is trying to do its part with the current 4 days of projected rains. There will be flooding and mud slides but still they need more moisture.

Due to high winds we had to put up the awning in the rain yesterday. Below are some pictures of our contribution to the effort. We awoke to the newly formed Lake OM (for OBrien and Muffler) right outside our door. We even have a couple of duck visitors; though we are pretty sure there aren’t any fish in this lake (depth is 3-4 inches). Luckily, the rig is a good 14-16 inches off the ground so only the rugs, mats and chairs got wet. We have our bikes under the 5th wheel overhang so only the tires got wet.

Our Camp Host came by and we discussed how to move the water. We are surrounded by higher ground (repeated use has packed down the general area that is available for our RV) and short of drilling holes or digging trenches we are stuck. The good news is that we only wear flip flops anyway so a little water on our feet is no big deal. Karma is part lab/poodle and loves water. When she comes back she has a routine on the towel to dry off her feet. When she gets rained on, toweling off is one of her favorite activities – really. She gets excited and digs her head/body into the hanging towel to get wiped dry. If we forget to get the bedroom door shut, that’s her next stop to ensure she is completely drive and we have more laundry to do.

The water did soak in by 3ish in the afternoon Just in time for more down pours scheduled for tonight.

Cities - Across America

Differences in cities can be felt not just by the weather temperature – Polar Vortex in NYC and wonderful warm sea breezes in LA. NYC has the iconic yellow cabs, continuous streams of buses North/South on the avenues or East West on the streets, sidewalks crowded with people people people everywhere, and food carts on every street corner. Ruthi's memories of NYC are always based in the Fall. That’s not the season she first saw the city but it is the one that always comes to mind.

LA has cars, cars, cars all hours of the day, massive parking lots outside the sprawling malls, people rarely walking anywhere and lots of outdoor seating at eateries. Ruthi's first visit to LA was a summer trip from Alaska but LA feels like summer, to her, all the time anyway.

Baby Boomer Motorcycle “Gangs” – EVERYWHERE

In our travels, we have seen multiple groups (gangs) of Harley-riding grey/white haired men (ok, and some women) in the camp grounds and on the roads. It’s like they finally have enough money or nerve to live out their high school imaginations. This is especially true, in the camping areas with great roads for cycles. Like Between Quincy, CA and Reno, NV or Quincy, CA and Chico, CA; from San Diego up to Julian, CA and then down through Ramona, CA back to San Diego. As soon as they stop for a break and take off their helmets, you can see the business man beneath the helmet, leathers, boots, and beautiful “stock” bike – not a “Hell’s Angel” among them.

But they are living their teenage dream, now in their late 50’s and early 60’s. Any later and their wives put their foot down or they lose their balance and have to stop on their own.

Mary Roach - Non-Fiction Author

Ruthi has a good book for you to read. Whether you are a space junkie or not; look at Mary Roach’s Packing for Mars, The Curious Science of Life in the Void. Ruthi loved it!! Besides the great science background on space travel, Mary Roach has a great sense of humor and a different way of looking at science.

Stiff, another of Mary Roach's books is also great. It tells about what happens to cadavers left to science for research. Really not as macabre as you might think.

Both Boots and Ruthi are beginning to read through all of her books. Spook is next on the list. Check her out.

Land Line Phones - Santee, CA

Ruthi needed to have some documents faxed. So, she went to the Park office and had them fax them to our own fax number (on the computer). She had forgotten her phone (on which she gets a text when the faxed is successfully received) so she needed to call Boots back at the RV (where Ruthi’s phone was charging).. Ruthi asked if she could use the Park landline to make the call. She remembered to ask if she needed to dial “9” for an outside line. After a couple of unsuccessful tries, Ruthi checked with the clerk and was reminded that she needed to put “1” in front of the long distance cell number. How quickly we forget. We haven’t had/used a land line since we left Alaska in 2008. The cell phone is so so so much easier – just select your contact and push call. If a “1” is needed it is automatically inserted and the call goes through, no minute calculations, no long distance charge, etc. etc. etc.

Library - Santee, CA

We have finally gotten library cards at the local Santee library. The cards allows us to access all of the libraries within the San Diego County, California and some of Nevada. It was so much fun and brought back so many memories when we were at the library. Ruthi commented that she didn’t think she had been in a library since college. Of course, there isn’t a card catalog anymore everything is on the computer but the numbering scheme and locating books in the few stack that they had worked the same way. The big difference is that if the book you are looking for is at one of the other libraries, it will be delivered to the Santee Library and you can pick-up/return it there.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Ruthi just finished this book. It was so amazing on multiple levels – Ms Lacks' life and times before the cell culture, her children’s’ lives, cell culture business, the impact her cells had on science, time/intensity the reporter put in and finally the relationship between Rebecca and Deborah. Ruthi cried at the end.

What an amazing and horrific story!

Car Colors - San Diego, CA area

We have noticed that different towns or metropolitan areas seem to have a concentration of cars that are the same color. Here in San Diego WHITE vehicles by far outnumber the other color choices. Except on week-end, when the RED ones come out in force. Reno, NV seemed to have more GREY cars than any other color. Interesting what retired people notice, isn’t it?