Category Archives: Grilling

Lazy Days

I’ve had a couple of lazy days. Wednesday was mostly spent watching TV and dozing on the sofa. The post-surgery pain medication, oxycodone, makes me drowsy. It also causes vivid dreams. Although I was in bed early the night before, I didn’t sleep soundly and felt tired all day.

In the evening, I grilled a New York strip steak.

New York strip steak, hot off the grill

Donna prepared a recipe called steak with hot-sauce butter and corn-and-spinach salad. The steak looks rare in the photo, but it was actually medium-rare and really tender and tasty.

Strip steak over corn-and-spinach salad

Yesterday I read a book, Big Lake, and lazed around the coach again. Big Lake was written by Nick Russell. I follow his blog, GypsyJournalRV. It was an entertaining mystery/suspense novel. I downloaded a free Kindle version from Amazon and read it with the Kindle app on my laptop. I think today is the last day of the free download promotion. You can get it here.

I quit taking the oxycodone yesterday. My last dose was at 4am. It still affected me all day though. I managed to get enough ambition to dump the gray water tank. Recuperation period notwithstanding, certain chores need to be handled.

In the late afternoon, I unwrapped the dressing on my hand and cleaned the incision. It was still swollen and tender. But it feels better without the thick layers of gauze and bandage.

My hand is swollen and a little messy

I watched the Thursday night NFL game of course. The Colts jumped to an early lead, but the Texans kept it interesting.

Today, Donna has a doctor’s appointment. Her sister, Linda, will swing by to pick her and take her since I’m not quite up to scootering her there. While they’re out, Donna will pick up a few provisions. I expect another lazy day on my part.

Beach Weather

The weather guessers had it partly right yesterday. We hit 90 degrees, but the Santa Ana winds predicted never materialized. Santa Ana is a condition that occurs when an area of high pressure forms to the east over the desert and low pressure is located off the coast. This creates an offshore flow, bringing warm, dry, gusty winds from the desert to coastal southern California. After a dry summer, Santa Ana winds also bring concern for wildfire.

I rode the scooter to La Jolla, where I stopped at Rigaberto’s and had taquitos (rolled tacos) for lunch. I rode through the La Jolla Cove area to the beach at La Jolla Shores. The hot weather brought people out in droves to the beach.

Beach at La Jolla Shores – October 3rd

I like coming to San Diego in September and October due to the nice weather and lack of tourist traffic. But there was no lack of traffic at the beaches yesterday. Finding a place to park at La Jolla Shores wasn’t easy, even though I was on the scooter. Riding was maddening as people would suddenly stop in the middle of the road if they thought they saw someone leaving and opening up a parking space. It was like driving in Yellowstone Park, where people routinely stop and gawk. I saw a road sign in La Jolla that made me smile. I wished people would heed the sign.

As I mentioned, the Santa Ana winds were absent. In fact, there was very little wind at the beach. The surf looked good at the shores but I stayed off the sand and away from the water. My big toe is healing nicely, but I don’t think the wound is ready for sand.

While I was out, Donna stayed home and worked. After I came home, Donna’s sister, Linda came over. I helped them prep the Sea Eagle kayak and they went out for a cruise on the bay.

Donna and Linda heading out of De Anza Cove

When they returned, Donna roasted carrots, beets, onions and yellow, green and purple beans (from the farmers’ market) while I grilled marinated boneless, skinless chicken thighs. We rarely cook chicken breasts anymore. The thighs are juicier and more flavorful in our opinion.

Roasted veggies

Linda stayed and visited for awhile after dinner. Later, after Linda left, a new neighbor came over. We expected the park to fill up for the weekend. There are a few open sites, but we have neighbors all around us now. The new neighbor introduced herself – her name is Christi. She invited us to join a small party at their place in the site behind our coach.

They were here with friends who have a coach in the site next to us. Christi introduced us to her husband, Jeff and their friends Shannon and Craig. The four of them are from Poway, a community north of San Diego. They’re weekend warriors, but Shannon and Craig are contemplating the full-time lifestyle.

New neoghbors - Shannon, Jeff, Christi, Craig and Donna

New neighbors – Shannon, Craig, Christi, Jeff and Donna

We sat up later than we usually do, talking and enjoying adult beverages. We broke the quiet time curfew and had fun.

Today, we have no wind at all this morning. The forecast calls for a slightly cooler day and no mention of Santa Ana wind. Donna headed out to Point Loma for an exercise class with her sister, Sheila. I have no plan at all.

PB Farmers’ Market

Monday was a ho-hum day. Donna had work to do and spent most of the day at her laptop. My toe injury kept me from doing much. I spent most of the day watching people pack up and leave Mission Bay RV Resort. It’s part of the weekly cycle. On Thursdays and Fridays, we see new arrivals setting up. On Sundays and Mondays, we watch them leave and go back to their workaday lives.

Empty sites around our coach – until next Friday!

A replacement solenoid for the HWH hydraulic system arrived on Monday. I opened the box and saw what appeared to be the wrong part. The cylindrical solenoid housing was much smaller than the one I was replacing. I sent an e-mail to Paul Maddox, the HWH technician. He told me it would work because the threads and working mechanism were the same. I removed the old solenoid and installed the new one. The jack works perfectly again!

Yesterday, Paul called me and asked if I wanted him to send a large replacement solenoid, so it would match the other three. I asked him if there was any technical reason to have it match the others. He said it doesn’t have any effect on the operation. The smaller solenoid is a newer design. It saves space and weight. I told him I didn’t see any reason to go to the bother and expense of shipping another solenoid.

On Monday night, I watched the Kansas City Chiefs demolish the New England Patriots. I didn’t see that coming. It looks like a tough season ahead for the Patriots.

Yesterday, Donna and I rode the scooter to Bayard Street in Pacific Beach. We wanted to check out the farmers’ market there. Every Tuesday, Bayard Street is closed between Garnet and Grand Avenue for the farmers’ market. We rode up at noon. They were just closing down the street. I asked a vendor sitting in his truck what time the market started. He told us it didn’t open until 2pm! I’m not sure if I knew that last year or not. If I knew, I didn’t remember.

Bayard Street is only two blocks from the beach. So we rode to the beach and parked on Pacific Beach Drive. We walked north on the boardwalk and onto Crystal Pier. The breeze over the ocean felt refreshing. There are rental cottages on Crystal Pier – it’s actually called the Crystal Pier Hotel. Donna looked through the windows of a vacant cottage and thought it looked like a nice place. It would really be fun to stay on the pier with so much to do within walking distance. Depending on time of year and cottage size, the rate is $175 to $525 per night to sleep over the ocean.

View of Pacific Beach to the south from Crystal Pier

View north from Crystal Pier

On our way back to the scooter, we stopped at the Baja Beach Cafe for lunch. We had the taco plates – Baja style beef tacos for Donna and Mahi-Mahi fish tacos for me. Each plate had three tacos, I ate two fish tacos and one beef, while Donna had two beef and one fish. It was very good. It’s a nice location with open-air dining, looking out at the beach. Good food, good service and great ambiance.

By the time we finished lunch and walked back to the scooter, it was 2pm. We headed back to Bayard Street and found the market open. We walked along, starting at the south end. We wanted to look over all of the vendors before we bought anything. When we reached the north end at Garnet, we backtracked and bought the things we wanted.

I bought local San Diego wildflower honey. I’m going to try to mitigate my pollen allergies by eating local raw honey. I’ve been told by a number of people that this is effective. We are staying here until the end of the year, so I think it’s worth a try. I’ll have a spoonful daily.

Mikloich Family Honey at the PB farmers' market

Mikolich Family honey at the PB farmers’ market

Donna bought an assortment of veggies and some honey-cinnamon roasted almonds. They were a bit pricey, but delicious and Donna thought they would be good for dessert.

Colorful fresh vegetables

Donna also found organic micro herbs at one of the stands. She bought an herb mix to put into salads.

Organic vegetables and micro herbs

After we returned from the market, I rode over to the Offshore Grill and Tavern. I was there to collect a free drink from the football pool winner. The winner of the weekly pool buys a round for the rest of the guys who entered the pool on Tuesday. Usually, there are half a dozen or so pool participants who show up for a free one.

Last evening, we grilled spinach and feta chicken sausages that Donna served with steamed rainbow chard from the farmers’ market. We dined al fresco at our picnic table. The cool evening air felt good. We finished a great day by watching a couple of episodes of Breaking Bad and munching on honey-cinnamon roasted almonds.

I’m posting later than usual today because we had dental appointments this morning. Donna and I were overdue for a cleaning and check-up. We found a dentist office nearby at the De Anza View Medical Center. It’s about a mile from the house I lived in when I was a kid. The dentist I had while I was growing up had an office at the center. We both had a clean bill of health from the dentist. Hooray!

I’ll be out and about this afternoon running a few errands.

Cheeseburger in Paradise

It was a fun-filled weekend. Saturday morning kicked off with a delivery from FedEx while I was posting to the blog. The Sea Eagle 370 Pro inflatable kayak that Donna ordered arrived! After breakfast, I opened the package, read the manual and assembled the kayak.

Sea Eagle 370 Pro inflatable kayak

It was fairly easy to assemble although the instruction manual wasn’t very clear. It’s much heavier than I expected. The package showed a shipping weight of 60 pounds.

Donna and I each took an end and hauled it down to the beach. We set out for a maiden voyage across De Anza Cove. We started out a little shaky. I think I was digging too deep with the paddles to start. It’s better to start with shallow strokes. Once we got our speed up, the kayak was stabilized and we paddled easily in unison. We made a short run, maybe half an hour, because my back was still sore.

We loaded the kayak in the trailer, which is parked in the security lot, close to the beach. We left it inflated so we can continue to use it with having to pump it up. The foot pump that came with it is efficient – it’s not that hard to inflate – but it does take a some time and effort.

Around 3pm, I walked over to Campland while Donna stayed back in the coach. She was preparing appetizers and waiting for her sister, Linda, to arrive. Linda was delayed as she had to wait for a package to be delivered at her place. On Friday, Linda’s Chevy Equinox broke down. It has some kind of drivetrain fault and had to be towed to the dealer. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious (expensive) and she can get it back today. Linda got a ride to Mission Bay with Über taxi.

The walk to Campland took about 20 minutes. To get there, you have to make a loop to get over the Rose Creek pedestrian bridge. Due to the Parrot Head event, Campland was charging $20 per car to enter. Foot traffic was charged $5 per person.

Mission Bay RV Resort seen from Campland beach across Rose inlet

I found Bud and Mona’s site and they were there in their RV. Bud was loading his truck with chairs and coolers. They had set up a canopy on the grass near the bandstand. I followed Bud to the stage area on his bicycle. When I pulled up at the grass park, I saw Erin Kerfoot standing by the curb. Erin is a friend from my high school days. Her site was next to the band area, a stone’s throw from the beach. She is a member of the San Diego Parrot Heads and was involved in organizing this event. It was great to see her again.

Donna sent me a text telling me she and Linda were on their way. I sent her directions to our location. Once they arrived, the party quickly ramped up. We had a table full of snacks under the canopy and the margaritas were flowing. Various bands played all afternoon and into the night. Bud grilled a pile of burgers and we enjoyed our cheeseburgers in paradise.

We always enjoy live music

The event was a fund raiser for the Wounded Warrior House organization. They had silent auctions, clothing sales and a beer garden. Everyone was having a good time.

Parrot Head tiki bar

We had all the fun we could stand and headed home around 8pm. It was a long afternoon of music, food and libation with friends. Before we left, Bud adjusted my back by lifting me and giving it a good crack. It really helped.

Linda was staying the night with us. I thought I should put the cover over the entry stair well. I didn’t want Linda to stumble down the steps if she got up in the unfamiliar coach in the night. The stairwell cover is a two-piece hinged wooden slab. It locks into place next to the stair well when it’s not used to cover the steps. As I was extending it, it slipped from my grip and slammed down on my big toe. The flesh on the left side of my toe was torn away from my toe nail. Ouch!

You don’t want see what’s under the band-aid

On Sunday morning we hauled the kayak down to the boat launch. Donna and Linda went out to cruise the bay. They paddled across the cove and around the point all the way to the beach at Campland. Mona has a stand-up paddle board and she and Donna talked the night before about enjoying time on the water together. Mona was moving a little slow on Sunday morning and didn’t make it though.

Donna and Linda paddling out the cove

I kicked back and watched NFL football. Just before halftime of the first game, Donna sent a text telling me they were back at the boat launch. I rode the scooter to the trailer, instead of hobbling on my wounded toe. We loaded the boat in the trailer, then I scootered back.

When I arrived at our site, my daughter, Shauna was there. She joined me inside the coach and we talked while we watched the Chicago Bears collapse in the second half and lose to the Green Bay Packers.

Shauna gave her car keys to Donna so Donna could drive Linda home and pick up a few groceries while she was out. By the time Donna returned, I was into the Chargers game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars started this year’s third pick in the draft, Blake Bortles, at quarterback. I think this guy is the real deal. Jacksonville started strong, but faded as the Chargers put up 23 unanswered points to win, 33-14.

Donna manned the grill last evening and cooked shrimp which she served over steamed bok choy with fresh ginger. It was delicious.

Grilled shrimp over bok choy with ginger

My activities will be limited for a few days. Smashing your toe is no fun.

Margaritaville

After sitting at the table and writing Thursday morning’s post, my back felt stiff when I stood up. It loosened up as I prepared for a bike ride. I pulled my mountain bike from the trailer, put the front wheel back on and pumped up the tires.

I rode past Campland through Crown Point. I made this ride several times when we were here last year. At that time, I didn’t have the mountain bike – I always rode my road bike. The mountain bike is more comfortable for me, but it’s a lot slower. As I got closer to Mission Boulevard, going slow was fine. I had to share the path with skaters, runners and walkers.

View south across Mission Bay from Crown Point Shores – downtown skyline in the center, Sea World needle on the right

Going slow was also good on the boardwalk in Pacific Beach. I rode to Crystal Pier. I wanted to ride out on the pier, but bicycles are prohibited on this pier. Last year I rode out on the Ocean Beach Pier and I thought I could do the same on Crystal Pier. Oh, well. I turned around and rode south to Belmont Park at Mission Beach.

I made a stop there for rolled tacos with guacamole. I love being in a place where there are good taco stands just about everywhere. I felt my back tightening up again as I resumed my ride home. After I dropped my bike off at the trailer, my lower back was sore. I was out on the bike for nearly two hours.

The humidity has been unusually high in San Diego. The hurricane and tropical storms off Baja, California have affected the climate here. I was sweating profusely and looked forward to a long shower. After I showered and sat for a few minutes, my lower back was so tight, I could barely stand up straight.

Donna spent the afternoon out and about with her sister, Linda. Linda took a job in San Diego and moved here from Vermont in August. They went to lunch, then Linda took Donna to T’s Hair of San Diego to have her hair cut. Donna got the tour of Linda’s place on Shelter Island before they returned to Mission Bay RV Resort.

Donna fixed her favorite burger recipe – green chile turkey burgers with extra-sharp cheddar cheese. She served them with French-cut jicama on the side with guacamole and fresh baby greens. I think it was a little out of the ordinary for Linda, but it was delicious.

Green chile turkey burger with jicama

I tried to make myself comfortable in the Euro recliner and watched the NFL Thursday night game.

Yesterday, my back was still sore and very stiff. The day was humid again. Donna and I went for a walk along Mission Bay. Walking seems to loosen up my back, but it remains sore. Later, we rode the scooter up Clairemont Drive to Keil’s grocery store to pick up a few things. After I dropped Donna off at our coach, I went to Pacific Beach to gas up the scooter.

I also stopped at Campland, an RV park across Rose Creek next to Mission Bay RV Resort. We have friends staying there this weekend. Bud and Mona, our friends we met here last year are there. Erin Kerfoot, a friend from my high school days is also there. They’re all there for a Parrot Head of San Diego event this weekend.

Parrot Heads are fans of Jimmy Buffet. The first club formed in 1989 and today there are more than 200 chapters. The organization provides a social network for fans of Jimmy Buffet and also contributes to charitable organizations. The Saturday event at Campland will benefit the Wounded Warrior Homes organization.

I couldn’t find Bud and Mona’s site or Erin’s. Campland is packed and it’s a zoo over there. When I returned to our park, I saw a large group on the west end of the park. Parrot Heads had overflowed into the Mission Bay RV Resort. Later, I took a walk near the Parrot Head gathering and shot a fiery sunset photo. A few clouds and the high humidity made quite a display.

Fiery sunset Friday evening

The weather is cooler with less humidity today. The high should top out in the low 70s. Donna and I will walk to Margaritaville, I mean Campland this afternoon to meet up with our Parrot Head friends. Maybe an afternoon of Jimmy Buffet and margaritas will loosen up my back.

All Jacked Up

Wednesday turned out to be a tough afternoon for me. My back was still jacked up, but I needed to get some things done. The right rear HWH leveling jack started acting up again while we were at Row River. It slowly retracts itself after I extend it. This shouldn’t happen. While we were at the FMCA convention in Redmond, Oregon, I had the solenoid replaced (twice) to correct the problem. All was good until we set up at Row River.

I made a big mistake when we set up there. Our site wasn’t level – the front of the coach was low. Since we were parked on dirt, I put down 12″ x 12″ wooden pads under the jacks to increase the area supporting the coach. This helps to keep the round metal foot on the bottom of the jack from sinking into the dirt. Since the front was quite low, I stacked two wooden pads under each front jack to reduce the amount of extension of the jack.

I’ve done this many times before. I’ve always leveled the coach manually when I stack the pads. Without thinking about it, this time I started the auto-level sequence. The HWH computerized auto-level system has a sensor that detects the pitch-and-roll degree of the coach. Then it commands the jack extension to correct the attitude and level the coach. It works fairly quickly. The front jacks extended automatically. When they hit the doubled-up pads, the front of the coach was lifted too high. The HWH system didn’t retract the front jacks, it extended the rear jacks to correct the pitch of the coach. When the weight was taken off the rear wheels, there wasn’t any braking effect. Due to the slope, the coach moved forward – the jacks slid off the pads and dug into the ground. Not a good thing.

HWH leveling jacks on wooden pads in normal use

After rectifying that situation, I lowered the coach and leveled it manually. Everything seemed fine. A few days later, the right rear jack started its slow retract again. I don’t know if it’s related to the sliding-off-the-pads incident. I don’t see how it could be. The only way for the hydraulic jack to retract is to bleed off the fluid pressure. When I want to retract the jacks, a solenoid is activated to allow the fluid to return to the reservoir as the springs pull the ram up. I don’t have any external leaks and all of the other jacks and room slides (which are hydraulically activated by the same system) work fine. Something is allowing the fluid from the right rear jack assembly to slowly flow back into the reservoir. The first suspect is the solenoid.

I phoned Paul Maddox, the HWH technician who replaced the solenoid in Redmond. Since he replaced the solenoid twice, he didn’t think replacing it again was the way to go. He thought I should look at the check valves. The fluid for each jack passes through two check valves. These valves allow fluid to flow in one direction, but block the fluid from reverse flow. The check valves are opened by differential pressure. If the pressure is lower on the downstream side of the valve than on the upstream side, the valve opens and fluid will flow. If the pressure is higher on the downstream side, the check valve is forced against its seat and blocks reverse flow.

Paul suggested removing the upper (sometimes referred to as outer) check valve and replacing the O-ring that seals the valve. I removed the check valve and went to Ace hardware and found the right size replacement O-ring. I reinstalled the check valve and the jack still retracted itself.

HWH hydraulic assembly

Upper check valve and O-ring

I talked to Paul again. He said there was another check valve, the inner check valve. This one is harder to access, but he said he would send me parts and instructions.

The parts arrived Wednesday afternoon. Since we would leave the following day, I thought I should try to fix the jack right away. In order to access the inner check valve, I needed to remove the solenoid. I rode the scooter to Pep Boys and bought a small-diameter strap wrench. It was a cheap Chinese-made tool, but I thought, “How can you screw up a strap wrench?” Well, the Chinese have found a way. This wrench is so poorly manufactured, it takes three hands to operate it. I futzed around for 20 minutes before I could make it turn the solenoid.

After I had the upper check valve and solenoid out, getting to the inner check valve was tricky. It sits in a machined passage directly under the upper check valve, below the solenoid. I tried to see it with a mirror, but couldn’t tell what I was looking at. I tried reaching through the upper passage with hemostats, but I couldn’t grasp it. I fished a magnet through the solenoid opening and a strange, tightly wound spring with a straight tail came out. I hadn’t seen this spring in any of the diagrams I studied and there was no mention of this spring in the manual. I fished around with the magnet again and the check valve came out.

Check valves, solenoid and strange spring

I called Paul again. I told him about the strange looking spring. He had no idea what it was doing in there. He thought it may be the cause of the problem, as it didn’t belong in there. He thought I should reassemble everything with original parts, but without the spring. I reassembled everything. I lowered the jack and then watched it slowly retract again. Grrr.

While I was watching the jack retract, I noticed the tab that the retraction spring mounts to, was bent from the Row River incident. I decided to grab a large channel lock plier and straighten the tab. That’s when the real trouble started. As I cranked on the tab, the foot of the jack pivoted on the end of the ram and one of the springs came flying off! I’m lucky I didn’t lose a finger from the powerful spring. With no springs, the ram stopped retracting. I was in trouble now. I had to find a way to reinstall the foot and spring on the ram or we wouldn’t be going anywhere.

I used a piece of wood and a little ingenuity to force the ram into the fully retracted position. In this position, I would only have to stretch the springs a few inches to connect them to the foot. While I had the foot off, I used a hammer to ‘smith the tab straight before I attached the springs. Lying on my aching back under the coach, I pulled on the end of the spring with pliers. I used all my might and only managed to extend the spring about half an inch. Oh dear! These are powerful springs.

I tried different tactics for the next hour or so to try and lever the springs into place. I was beginning to think I needed a mobile RV tech. I saw one of our neighbors outside of his trailer. I borrowed a hydraulic bottle jack and a pry bar from him. The next half hour was spent trying to use hydraulic pressure from the bottle jack to lever the foot, with springs attached, over the end of the ram. Total frustration!

Then I just grabbed the pry bar, found a hard point to pry against and pulled the foot down, extending the springs as far as I could. The foot slipped off the pry bar, right onto the end of the ram! After two and a half hours of sweating and swearing, it was job done! By then it was beer-thirty and I was done in. You couldn’t pay me to do this type of work, but I’ll do it to avoid paying someone else.

On Thursday morning, I loaded the trailer and we made ready to travel. I usually load up the day before we leave, so it took extra time and work before we could hit the road. We still managed to depart by 10:30am. The drive to Tehachapi was a little over 40 miles. Highway CA58 has some steep climbs. We reached Tehachapi summit, a little over 4,000 feet above sea level, and exited the highway.

Currently we’re set up at the Mountain View RV Park. This is a small park with electric and water hook-ups, no sewer. There is a dump station we’ll hit when we leave. Originally we planned to dry camp in Tehachapi. The forecast calls for warm weather with highs near 90 degrees. We would have to run our generator all day for air conditioning if we dry camped, so we opted to pay for a site with 50-amp electric service. This RV park is unusual. It’s part of a private airport. The runway is in an open field 100 yards behind our coach.

View across the end of the runway from our door step

We’re only a few miles from town. Donna and I rode the scooter to town yesterday and had a look around. It’s a quaint little town. The downtown area is clean and well-kept. Later, we grilled bacon-wrapped filets that Donna served with quinoa salad and green beans.

Grilled bacon-wrapped filet

Today, I plan to replace the rear tire on Donna’s bike. Her race is tomorrow, with a 7am start time. Then I’ll pull the check valves for the right rear jack again and replace them with new ones that Paul sent me.

At noon, Donna is picking up a rental car for the weekend so we have a way to get her bike to the race start and back. We plan to take advantage of the extra set of wheels and do a little sight-seeing this afternoon.

Our site at Mountain View RV Park

Hot Week Ahead

Why are we in Bakersfield? We can be almost anywhere, so why are we here?

Donna set a goal to compete in the bicycle road race at the Senior Olympics in Minneapolis next summer. To compete, she has to qualify. Our first shot at qualifying came at the Montana State Championship race in Great Falls. Due to a mechanical issue, she didn’t finish the race – details are in this post. She needed to find another race that would qualify her entry in Minneapolis.

She found a race in Tehachapi, California that takes place on September 13th. She contacted the race director, who is also a city official, and was told we could dry camp at the high school on the race weekend.

I searched for a campground in the area, hoping we could go there and Donna could do training rides in the area before the race. I couldn’t find anything suitable for us.

We kicked around a few ideas and decided we should start heading south from Oregon and get close to Tehachapi. We thought about taking US395 along the Sierra Nevada range, but that would require us to be on the move most days to arrive in time for the race. A more direct route seemed like a better option.

Staying in northern California for a few days of training, then making a dash south was an option. But, northern California has wildfires and smoke until you get south of Mount Shasta. The climate south of Mount Shasta isn’t much different than in the central valley. So I thought we should keep moving south.

Coming to Bakersfield and having eight days to prepare for the race seemed to make sense. We’re only 30 miles from Tehachapi. We’ll move over there at the end of the week and Donna can compete in the race.

Yesterday, we studied maps, then we rode the scooter to reconnoiter a bicycling route. We found a reasonably safe route to the Kern River Parkway Trail. It requires about eight miles of riding through town to get to the paved trail. We came back home by backtracking the same route. Donna called out the turns as we rode the scooter back. This helped her memorize the route.

We spent the afternoon indoors as the thermometer hit 99 degrees. Our air conditioners are running non-stop. Later in the evening, I fired up the grill. I grilled lemon garlic chicken thighs.

Chicken thighs and lemon slices on a smoky grill

Donna served the chicken over brown rice pilaf with sauteed zucchini, peppers, onions and tomatoes on the side.

Delicious dinner plate

The temperature overnight was in the 60s, but it didn’t cool down until well after midnight. We went to bed with the air conditioners running. It’s too warm to sleep with the windows open.

This morning, I prepped Donna’s bike and she went out a little after 8am. She’s planning to ride about 40 miles today. The temperature is rising, but it’s only in the mid 70s now. The forecast calls for a high of 91 degrees in the late afternoon with abundant sunshine. I think we’ll hit the swimming pool later.

Endless Summer

Happy Labor Day first of all. I saw a post on Facebook commenting on the fact that many people don’t know what Labor Day is all about. Apparently people confuse it with Memorial Day. Here’s the explanation from the U.S. Department of Labor:

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

So, it’s a tribute to all American workers. We celebrate it by taking the day off! Traditionally, Memorial Day and Labor Day are the bookends of summer. One marks the beginning and the other the end. One of the great things about the nomadic way of life is, summer doesn’t have to end. We’ll chase the summer-like weather as we move south.

Yesterday’s weather here was much nicer. The high temperature reached 78 degrees, but it felt cooler than that to me. Today we should be in the 80s again. I worked on the coach yesterday. I drained and sanitized our fresh water tank. Then I refilled it with naturally soft, fresh water from Scott and Marcia’s well.

Donna went out to run on the bike trail while I was puttering around.

I also poked around in the engine compartment. The Engine Maint light on the dash (equivalent to a Check Engine Light in an OBD-II equipped car) lights up intermittently. I checked for fault codes and found a fault for low input from a sensor. I can’t find the part identifier in the code. I’ve searched online and this part identifier code (73) doesn’t appear in any of the documents I could find. I’m thinking that I have a loose or corroded wiring connector somewhere that’s causing the intermittent fault, but I don’t know which sensor it’s associated with.

Later, I rode the scooter to town. I took Row River Road around the east and north shore of Dorena Lake instead of the usual route down Shoreview Road. It was a nice ride and it was about the same travel time and distance either way. From this side of the lake, I found a couple of stopping points to take photos.

Dorena Lake view from the east on Row River Road

Dorena Lake is actually a reservoir created when the Army Corps of Engineers built a dam on the Row River in 1949. Prior to the dam, the valley was often flooded when spring snow melt was accompanied by heavy rains.

Dam at the west end of the reservoir

The campgrounds and parks around the lake were full of people and tent campers.

While I was out, I stopped at a roadside stand and bought half a dozen ears of fresh sweet corn. Cooking on the grill is a Labor Day weekend tradition. There’s nothing better than cooking on the grill by the riverside!

Grilling next to the river

Today I’ll begin to prepare for travel. We’ll head out of here tomorrow. I think our next stop will be in Yreka, California.

Riverside Relaxation

We got off to a slow start yesterday. Donna and I sat at our laptops in the morning. I worked on my post, which took longer than usual due to the number of photos. Before we knew it, it was noon.

Donna was planning to go out for a bike ride, but we were hungry, so she made a salad for lunch. I unloaded her bike from the trailer and found the rear tire was flat. I pulled the tube from the tire and inspected the tire to see what had poked through. I couldn’t find anything in the tire, but I saw a small cut in the casing. The tube held air. I pumped it up and dunked it in pail of water to see if I could find a tell-tale stream of air bubbles. I didn’t find a leak. Maybe the Presta vale leaked?

I replaced the tube anyway. When I pumped the tire up, I looked it over closely again. The small cut opened up. The tube was showing through. I took the tire off. The cut had enlarged, the tire was shot. Donna blames it on all the broken glass she encountered on the bike routes in Portland. Every day she rode, she ended up riding through glass.

I pulled my Orbea road bike down – I had it suspended from the trailer roof beam – and removed the rear wheel. I took the tire from my bike and mounted it on Donna’s wheel. I could have just exchanged the wheels, but I run different gear ratios than Donna. With that done, she was ready to roll.

While Donna headed out on the bike path, I rode the scooter to Cottage Grove. I found a bike shop online in the downtown area. Main Street constitutes downtown and includes five or six blocks of businesses. Some of the scenes in the movie Animal House were filmed in downtown Cottage Grove. With a population of about 10,000 people, the town supports only one bicycle shop. I wanted to replace Donna’s tire with another Continental. The bike shop didn’t have any higher end tires. I’ll leave my tire on Donna’s bike until we can get to a bigger bike shop. I intended to replace my tires when we get to San Diego.

On the way back, I stopped and took a photo of a covered bridge at Dorena. It’s a good thing we didn’t have to cross that bridge in our motorhome. I don’t think it has enough vertical clearance and the weight limit is only three tons. The 18-mile ride to town on Row River Road is scenic, with a view of Dorena Lake. There wasn’t a good place for me to stop and take a photo of the lake. Donna’s bike route took her along the shoreline, but she had left her camera at home.

Dorena covered bridge built in 1949

When I returned, Donna was still out riding. I walked some of the trails on the property and had a look around. Downstream, I found a swimming hole. The water is quite cool. I wouldn’t swim in it unless the day was very hot.

Swimming hole on the west side of the property

I walked past our coach and followed another trail upstream. I found a bench with a nice view of the river.

Sitting area upstream

By the time Donna returned, the temperature was around 80 degrees. I put off riding my mountain bike. We deployed the awning and sat outside reading in the shade. I was feeling lazy and sitting and reading suited me fine. I’m still reading Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Some of the philosophical arguments are a bit of a struggle to follow. It felt like Saturday to me, but then everyday is Saturday for me.

I fired up the Weber Q and grilled bacon-wrapped filet mignons for dinner.

Bacon wrapped filets on the grill

Donna served the filets smothered in sauteed mushrooms and onions with a baked potato and steamed asparagus.

Filet smothered in mushrooms and onions

We sat out on the deck behind the trailer and dined by the river side.

Red wine with dinner by the river

Donna has a project or two in mind for today. Later she’ll go out for a hike. I think I’ll explore upriver on my mountain bike.

Turn, Turn, Turn

Donna took the wheel of Big Al (our Alpine Coach) for the first time ever yesterday. Our coach is 40 feet long, eight and a half feet wide and 12 and a half feet high. I rode in the passenger seat and coached her through some turns and maneuvers. The first few turns had me on the edge of my seat and my voice raised a few decibels.

Donna maneuvering around a tree – Dave Hobden photo

When you sit in front of the front axle and have a wheelbase that’s 278 inches long, turning requires a different technique than you use in a car. You have to drive deep into the corner before initiating the turn. Once you reach the turn-in point, you have to crank the steering wheel quickly. The mistake most rookie motorhome drivers make is turning in too soon and cutting the corner with the rear wheels.

The Deschutes County Fairground and Expo parking lot was a great place to practice. Some of the roads around the parking area are narrow and made Donna really work to get around the corner cleanly. The nice thing was the lack of curbs. If she misjudged and cut the corner, the rear wheel rolled over the grass harmlessly. Donna caught on quickly. We drove to a large parking lot where she practiced backing up and making three-point turns. Then she did a few U-turns to get a feel for how much real estate is needed to make such a maneuver.

Donna rolling down the road – Dave Hobden photo

She practiced for a little over half an hour, then parked the coach next to our cargo trailer. Rolling over the grass next to the trailer, she encountered a large dip. The new Koni shocks make a huge difference. The dip didn’t present any difficulty at all. Donna said driving the coach was fun.

I hooked up the trailer and we rolled to the Deshutes County RV Park. It was a short ride from the parking lot to the RV park on 19th street. The RV park is paved and the sites have very level concrete pads. We were set up in no time. I dumped and rinsed the holding tanks and fired up the air conditioners. We have a 50-amp hook-up, so I can run both air conditioners simultaneously.

We had a late lunch, then I rode the scooter to Fred Meyer to pick up a few groceries and bottled water. Dave and Stilla Hobden also moved to the RV park. They stopped by and told us we were invited to have dinner with them at Marlena and John Schierholtz’s site. Marlena and John are also Alpine Coach Association members that we met in Fairview and again here in Redmond.

Dave grilled Nurnberger bratwurst. These pork sausages are a traditional German entree and they are excellent! I cut my brats to size and had them on a German bakery bun with spicy German mustard. Marlena served green salad and Stilla brought a cucumber- tomato salad. Donna brought veggies and spinach dip for an appetizer and an almond torte for dessert.

Nurnberger bratwurst on the grill

The temperature was comfortable in the evening. The day had been hot once again, the temperature was near 90 degrees in the afternoon.

Dave, Stilla, Donna, Marlena and John at the dinner table

We sat and talked well into the evening. Donna and I returned to our coach a little past 9pm. We’re working through the Breaking Bad series again and we watched an episode last night.

Sunset from the RV park last night

We’ll stay here for another night before we start heading back to Portland.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Grilling

Lazy Days

Beach Weather

PB Farmers’ Market

Cheeseburger in Paradise

Margaritaville

All Jacked Up

Hot Week Ahead

Endless Summer

Riverside Relaxation

Turn, Turn, Turn

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