Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dumping and Flushing

Yesterday, I dumped and flushed our holding tanks. I’ve written that sentence in this blog many times. It’s not the most pleasant task or subject, but I’m going to write what I know about it today.

To be self-contained, an RV must have the ability to store and pump fresh water. It also must be able to store wastewater for proper disposal. Fresh water capacity is usually the limiting factor regarding how long you can live without hook-ups. In some cases, gray water capacity may set the limit.

Most self-contained RVs have three water tanks – fresh water tank, gray water tank and black water tank.

Fresh water is potable water stored on board and is usually pumped through the plumbing with an electric pump. I always filter the water going into our motorhome. I never know if the water supply I’m hooked up to had recent work which may have left sediment or dislodged rust into the system. Our current set-up is a two-stage canister filtration system. The first stage is an inexpensive 5-micron spun-polypropylene filter that traps sediment or other solids. The second stage contains a 5-micron fiber-block activated-carbon filter. This filter removes chemicals, bacteria, lead and other heavy metals. We have another filter on a tap in the kitchen that is a one-micron carbon filter that will remove giardia and cryptosporidium cysts.

Fresh water supply pressure regulator and two stage canister filters

Fresh water supply pressure regulator and two-stage canister filters

I always use a pressure regulator on the fresh water supply. I wrote about that here. Our fresh water supply comes directly from the RV park water supply when we’re hooked up. When we don’t have a fresh water supply hooked up, we draw fresh water from our 100-gallon fresh water tank (total capacity is 110 gallons when you add the hot water heater volume).

So where does our fresh water go when we use it? The shower drain, kitchen sink and bathroom sink drain into the gray water tank (on some RVs, the bathroom sink may drain into the black water tank). Clothes washing machines and dishwashers also drain into the gray water tank. Gray water is generally considered to be harmless to the environment. Every drain has a P-trap. This is a U-shaped bend in the plumbing to trap and hold a small amount of water. This prevents the flow of gases from the tank coming out of the drain. Gray water can smell bad due to organic matter breaking down in the tank.

The tank has a vent that is piped up to the roof of the RV. It also has a drain pipe with a blade valve that exits under the RV. When we’re on full hook-ups, we aren’t concerned with how much gray water we create. We take regular showers and run the washing machine. I drain the gray water tank after two or three days – we have 100 gallons of gray water capacity in our coach. We average about 30 gallons of gray water per day for the two of us plus maybe another 8 gallons of black water. When we dry camp, we practice water conservation and use about 15 gallons of water per day. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average household uses a total of 80-100 gallons per person per day.

The toilet flushes into the black water tank. It’s important to understand how the black water tank functions. The most important thing is to have plenty of water in the black water tank. Solid waste matter and toilet paper needs to break down in the tank. If there isn’t sufficient water in the tank, solid waste can accumulate in one spot (below the toilet) and create the dreaded poo-pyramid.

Most RVers also add a chemical additive to the black water tank. There are many different additives on the market. They all have one thing in common – they claim to eliminate odor. Some mask odor by using scents. Some claim to break down solids as well as paper. Some claim to clean holding tank level sensors. Some of them claim to lubricate the blade valves.

I’ve tried several different brands. My comments on these brands are unscientific. I didn’t test or analyze. I’m just stating my observations.

Gray and black tank sewer manifold

Gray and black tank sewer manifold

The Oxy-Kem® brand controlled odors well. But I noticed paper in the black water when I drained the tank using Oxy-Kem®. By the way, it’s important to have a clear section in the sewer hook-up. It’s not a pleasant thing, but you need to be aware of the condition of your tanks by observing the discharge.

I was skeptical about brands that claimed to break down paper. I tried the Odorlos® treatment which claims to liquify all waste and tissue. To my surprise, I no longer saw any paper when I used this product. The odor control was not so good though.

The Walex Bio-Pak®was up next. it says it’s a natural enzyme deodorizer and waste digester. This product also broke down the paper, but isn’t the best odor controller. The packaging also doesn’t say it’s formaldehyde-free. Some holding tank treatments contain formaldehyde which isn’t environmentally friendly.

I’m currently using Happy Campers® treatment. So far, it seems to be the best. It breaks down the paper and seems to control odor well.

Holding tank treatments

Holding tank treatments

I drain the black water tank after five to seven days. Internet wisdom on various RV forums advises to have the black water tank at least 3/4 full before draining to ensure a forceful flow that will get everything out. This rule of thumb doesn’t make sense to me.

My old coach had a black water capacity of 40 gallons. At 3/4 full, it held 30 gallons of black water. It drained forcefully and I had no issues. My current coach has a black water capacity of about 90 gallons. The 3/4 rule means I should have more than 65 gallons before I drain the tank. Why? If thirty gallons worked on the smaller tank, why wouldn’t thirty gallons work on a large tank? They have the same size outlet and drain at the same rate.

I time how long it takes to drain the tank and I have a rough idea of how full the tank is. I usually have about 40 gallons when I drain the black water. We once went for 15 days without dumping tanks and I think the black tank was nearly full then.

Our coach is equipped with a black water tank flushing system. This consists of a hose connector and plumbing to a spray jet inside the black tank. I connect a water hose to the flush system and turn on the water before I open the black water blade valve. Do not use your fresh water supply hose on the black tank flushing system. I’ve seen people do this. Although the system has check valves, back flow is always a possibility. I let the flusher run for 10-15 seconds to agitate the wastewater, then I pull the valve open. Whoosh. After the tank drains, I leave the flushing system running for several minutes, then I close the valve. With the valve closed, I continue to run the flusher for 30-40 seconds to put a few gallons of water in the tank. Plenty of water in the black tank is a good thing. Then I go into the coach and flush the treatment down the toilet and into the tank.

I should mention the importance of having the sewer hose securely fastened to the sewer drain. If it can’t be screwed into the drain, it must be weighted down. The tank drains with enough force to lift the end of the sewer hose straight up and spew the contents. If you’ve seen the movie RV starring Robin Williams, you know what I’m talking about.

Sewer hose securely fastened to the drain pipe

Sewer hose securely fastened to the drain pipe

Once I’ve finished draining and flushing the black tank, I drain the gray water tank. Running 50 or 60 gallons of gray water through the sewer hose cleans out anything left behind after flushing the black tank. That’s how I do it.

I’m not sure if the cloud cover will burn off today. We have cloudy skies and a 90% chance of much-needed rain tonight.

Verizon Customer Service

Tuesday, Donna and I each had errands to run. Donna took Linda’s car and drove to Linda’s house to pick up mail she had delivered there. She also stopped at The Container Store to pick up supplies she’ll need this weekend. Donna is appearing on a local television program, Good Morning San Diego, on Saturday morning before she flies to Orlando, Florida to take a 2-day class.

While Donna was out, I took the scooter and rode from Mission Bay RV Resort to the Verizon store in Pacific Beach. We’re supposed to receive a $200 credit for porting Donna’s number from T-mobile to my Verizon account, but I haven’t received the promotional code to claim the credit. It’s been a real hassle. I spent an hour online in a chat session with a Verizon customer service representative. That didn’t help. A week ago, I spent an hour at the Verizon store that ended with them telling me Verizon would contact me via e-mail or text within 48 hours. They gave me a number to call If I didn’t hear from Verizon in 48 hours.

I didn’t hear from Verizon. I called the number they gave me – it was the Verizon trade-in center. They had no idea why I was calling them and said they couldn’t help me. They told me they would escalate the complaint and I would hear back from them. That was last Friday. By Tuesday, I hadn’t been contacted.

I spent 90 minutes at the Verizon store trying to get this sorted out. Once again, it ended with them telling me I would be contacted – this time within four business days. The interesting thing I learned was that the Verizon store in Pacific Beach is independently operated – it’s not a Verizon corporate store. The sign says Verizon Store and the employees all wear shirts with the Verizon logo. If I had purchased our new phones at a corporate store, I wouldn’t be dealing with customer service. The corporate stores can create promotional codes for my account to get my $200 credit. Independently owned stores cannot create these codes – they have to get them from customer service.

While I was out, I stopped at the Pacific Beach farmers’ market for a couple of items. When I returned to the RV park, I saw I had missed a call while I was scootering. My smartphone also showed that an new e-mail was received. I opened the email. It was from a Verizon account manager. Here’s the text of the e-mail:

Dear Michael,

We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your valuable feedback regarding Verizon’s products and services. Your satisfaction is very important to us as we continuously strive to improve our customers’ experiences.

We have attempted to reach you by phone to discuss the feedback you provided, as well as any questions that you may have. If you wish to discuss this further via phone, or have additional information you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reply to this email or contact me at the number below.

Thank you for choosing Verizon as your wireless service provider. We appreciate your business and we look forward to serving you again the future!

Best regards,
haydee Madera gaytan
Indirect account manager
Locals
619-823-6319

I tried to call the number listed below the signature. It goes straight to music every time. No ring tone. No message. Just music blaring. I tried e-mailing the account manager. No response so far. How’s that for customer service? End of rant.

After dinner, Donna and I watched Breaking Bad. This is our second time watching the entire series. We both agree that we see it differently the second time around. The first time, we felt sorry for Walter White and cut him a lot of slack. Yes, he did a lot of bad things, but he was very likely dying and wanted to do what he could to help his family, which is how he was able to justify his actions. He didn’t set out to be a bad guy, but one bad thing led to another. This time, we could see almost from the start that he was like a sociopath in the way that he used family and friends with little regard for their safety or well-being.

While we were watching TV, I opened a beer I’d never tried before. It was from Belching Beaver Brewery in Vista (north San Diego County). The beer was peanut butter flavored milk stout. I split it with Donna. We both found it to be delicious – a dessert treat. It’s like a Reese’s® peanut butter cup in a glass!

Peanut butter and chocolate in a bottle

Peanut butter and chocolate in a bottle

Yesterday, I rode my mountain bike in San Clemente Canyon again. I tried a few different trails in the canyon. Some of the trails are challenging. One of the trails I was on had a short, steep climb up the canyon wall. I didn’t notice a tree root across the top of the climb until it was too late. I popped the front wheel past the root, but I lost too much momentum. When the rear tire hit it, I was stopped dead in my tracks. Before I could react, I fell heavily on my left side and slid partway down the hill.

This is the steep section that i crashed on

This is the steep section that I crashed on

After I picked myself up, I got on the bike and started riding back home. My left hip and elbow were sore. I wanted to get back before my hip stiffened up.

I haven’t crashed on a road bike in years. I’ve had a few spills on the mountain bike though. When I got home, I ordered a set of tires for my Orbea road bike. I think I’ll get back out on the road to work myself into better shape.

Around 5:30pm, Donna and I drove over to Sport Rx on Santa Fe Street – the same place that puts refreshments out front for bicyclists. The Cyclo-Vets bicycle club was holding a “kit fit”  meeting there and Donna wanted to try on club cycling clothing. The Sport Rx facility is a cool, friendly place. They sell sport glasses and some clothing and helmets. They had a keg of pale ale on tap – just ask for a glass and help yourself!

From there we stopped at Sushi Ota. We thought we would have sushi for dinner, but they had a 90-minute wait! We went next door to Lanna Thai instead. I’d been craving pad thai anyway. The food and service was excellent – I’d give them 4.5 on a scale of 5.

Last night, I enjoyed a fun beer from Stone Brewing called Lukcy Basartd – that’s not a typo. It’s a spin-off from their popular Arrogant Bastard ale. We watched the final episode of Breaking Bad.

Stone Lukcy Basartd

Stone Lukcy Basartd

Donna has a doctor appointment today to get her annual physical. If it’s not too windy, we might take the Sea Eagle kayak out later.

 

 

 

San Clemente Canyon

I put on my cycling shorts and headed out on my mountain bike yesterday around 11am. I didn’t head for the beach, I wanted to ride mountain bike trails. I rode up the Rose Creek paved trail to Damon Avenue. Damon Avenue took me to Santa Fe  Street, where I turned north, parallel to I-5.

Santa Fe Street is a light commercial zone with small business parks. The Santa Fe RV Park is also on this street. As I rode past one business complex, I saw an interesting sign. It invited cyclists to stop for air, water and refueling.

An invitation for cyclist

An invitation for cyclists

I didn’t stop. I continued north to the end of the road and followed the paved Rose Canyon bicycle path for a few hundred yards. At the junction with San Clemente Canyon, I carried my bike across the railroad tracks and rode east along single-track dirt paths into San Clemente Canyon.

When I was growing up in the area, we often hiked in San Clemente Canyon. I haven’t been in this place for at least 40 years. The bottom of the canyon is overgrown with vegetation now and the trails are very narrow in places.

Trail in San Clemente Canyon

Trail in San Clemente Canyon

There were several trails intersecting each other and either climbing the south side of the canyon or dropping to the bottom of the canyon. I meandered up and down as I rode east. I wanted to find a particular tree. I have an old picture of me and my brother sitting in this tree. I was 16 years old at the time and Eddie was five or six.

Me and my brother, Eddie

Me and my brother, Eddie

I didn’t know if I could find this tree 42 years later. I knew I was in the right area. Then I spotted what looked to be the same tree, but viewed from the other side.

42 years later, I'm not sure if this is the same tree

42 years later, I’m not sure if this is the same tree

Riding up and down the canyon wall had me huffing and puffing. I need to get out here more often and work myself back into cycling shape. I was in much better condition when I rode my road bike most days last year.

The trails were challenging in some areas. Even the wide open sections had rocks in the hard-packed dirt, which kept me on my toes.

Watch out for rocks

Watch out for rocks

I tried to capture a steep, rutted downhill section, but the camera perspective doesn’t really show how steep it is.

Steep, rutted downhill

Steep, rutted downhill

I rode on the trails for about 40 minutes before I re-crossed the railroad tracks and headed home. I was out of water and feeling overheated. When I rode past the Sport Rx Glasses business with the sign inviting cyclist to stop, I stopped this time. They had a table next to the sidewalk with a five-gallon jug of drinking water in a rack that allowed the water to be easily poured from the jug. There were also some chewy granola bars on the table and a sign-up sheet to receive e-mails about bicycling events they sponsor.

Free refreshments for cyclist

Free refreshments for cyclists

I filled my water bottle and helped myself to a granola bar. Thanks, Sport Rx! I felt much better after taking a break. I rode home and was feeling whipped. Donna was out for a run when I returned. She came home a few minutes later.

Donna spent the rest of the afternoon working while I kicked back. Donna’s sister, Sheila, dropped off leftover ziti with marinara and meatballs from the Halloween party while I was out on my bike. We reheated it for dinner. I was just as tasty the second time around! She ordered it from The Venetian in Point Loma.

Last night, I watched the Monday Night Football game. Today, I have a number of errands to run. I’ll recover from the bike ride today and head out to the canyon again tomorrow.

Pre-Halloween Fun

On our way back to the Mission Bay RV Resort on Saturday, I stopped at the Shell gas station on Grand Avenue to fill our fuel tank. It’s a large station with room to maneuver. After I pulled in, I stopped short of the pumps and tried to see which lanes had diesel fuel. The station was busy and all of the lanes had cars in them. Donna was about to exit the coach to take a look when I said, “Forget about it.”

I noticed the sign on the roof over the pumps – clearance 12′-6″. The satellite dome on the roof of our coach is 12′-6″ above the ground. No way was I pulling up to the pump under a 12′-6″ structure. We’ll fill the tank next time we move. It’s 3/4 full, but I like to keep it filled when we’re parked for an extended period of time. This minimizes the air space in the tank and reduces the amount of water condensation.

We arrived at the park around 12:30pm. We had to wait for about an hour before they checked us into site 111. I’m not sure why we had to wait. I walked into the park and saw site 111 was open. Several other rigs were also waiting to check in.

We were set up in no time. I used the auto level feature on the HWH hydraulic system. I wasn’t happy with this feature before, but after I found and corrected the loose ground on the HWH control box, the auto level is working smoothly. All I have to do is press the button twice and the auto level sequence begins. It levels and stabilizes the coach with the hydraulic jacks and shuts itself off.

The park filled with weekenders. The park put up Halloween decorations and had activities for the kids. We had our own Halloween plans.

On Saturday evening, Dr. Jeff Sandler picked us up at the park and drove us to Donna’s sister Sheila’s house for a Halloween party. The party was for her son, Connor, and his friends, but the adults enjoyed themselves as well. We had adult beverages and great food.

Kids at the party

Kids at the party

The adults enjoyed the party

The adults enjoyed the party

We had fun and were back home by 9:30pm. At this time last year, Sheila had a Halloween party which we attended. While were at the party, those Dirty, Rotten Thieves stole our cargo trailer.

Sunday morning, Donna was up early. Jeff picked her up at 8am. They drove to Point Loma to watch Connor finish a 5k race. Donna’s other sister, Linda, picked Donna up afterward on her way to the airport. She was going to Ohio on business for a couple of days, then on to her home in Vermont for the remainder of the week. So we’ll have her car this week which is nice. After dropping Linda at the airport, Donna drove to meet Jeff, Sheila and Connor for breakfast at Snooze, a popular downtown breakfast spot.

Sheila and Connor after the race

Sheila and Connor after the race

While Donna was out and about, I rode the scooter over to the Model Yacht Pond at Paradise Point. I wanted to check out the radio-controlled (RC) power boats that are on the pond on Sundays. I posted about the Model Yacht Pond here.

There were a few guys with gas-powered RC boats there. The season is over, so there wasn’t a lot of activity. The RC boats have changed since I was involved in the hobby decades ago. Most people run larger gasoline (weed wacker type) water-cooled 2-stroke engines rather than the model nitro-methanol glow engines. Back in the day, glow engines ruled. The two-stroke gasoline engines are cheaper, more reliable and burn gasoline mixed with two-stroke oil, which is much cheaper than a nitro-methanol blend.

RC boat with a 26cc two stroke engine

RC boat with a 26cc two-stroke engine

Nice finish on a mono hull race boat

Nice finish on a mono-hull race boat

A fast catamaran

A fast catamaran

I hung around for a little while and watched a guy dial in a sport hydro RC boat. This was a very fast boat and turned like it was on rails.

Sport hydro RC boat skimming past at 60mph

Sport hydro RC boat skimming past at 60mph

The hydroplane-type hulls are very fast and have unbelievable speed through the turns. The mono-hull boats require more finesse to get them turned.

Mono-hull RC boat sending up a rooster tail

Mono-hull RC boat sending up a rooster tail

I came back home around 11am and spent the rest of the day watching football. At this time last year, I won the football pool after picking 12 winners out of 14 games. I’m not doing that well this year, but I’ll have seven or eight more tries at it.

By the afternoon, the park was nearly empty. All of the weekend Halloween partyers had left.

This morning, I completed our health care elections. Open enrollment occurs in October. I almost forgot to do it. I have health care benefits through Volkswagen of America as a retiree. I’m thankful we don’t have to find health care through the Obama-care morass.

Today looks like it’ll be another beautiful day for a bike ride. I’ll unload our bikes from the trailer and go out for a ride.

 

Home on the Hill

Our first month at Mission Bay RV Resort at De Anza Cove in San Diego ended yesterday. One month is the maximum length of time you can stay in the park. After one month, you must leave for a period of at least 24 hours before you can check in again. I wrote about it last year in this post.

The City of San Diego has been fighting the residents of the mobile home park at De Anza which surrounds the RV park. This land was originally owned by the state. When the city worked out a lease with the state to add this land to their Mission Bay holdings in the 1950s, it was supposed to be a park for “travel trailers.”

In the 1970s, the city and state governments agreed to “phase out” permanent residents. At the same time, the state of California passed a law ensuring that residents could stay until the lease expired in 2003.

At the time the lease expired in 2003, residents filed a class action lawsuit against the city. They won an injunction in court allowing them to remain in their mobile homes – which may have once been mobile, but were made permanent long ago. The battle has been ongoing in the courts since then.

The “phasing out” continues. As residents pass away, their dwellings are demolished and the empty lot belongs to the city. Last month, the city council passed a bill to allocate $22 million to relocate the remaining residents. If they can reach an agreement, the mobile homes will disappear.

There has been much speculation over what will become of the area when that happens. The state still insists that the land was always intended for recreational use. There have been rumors of a resort hotel or enhanced RV resort. You know which rumor we want to believe.

I believe this lawsuit is the reason for the one-month maximum stay in the RV park. The city doesn’t want any chance of RV dwellers claiming residence in the park. Making us leave after a month is their insurance policy.

We opted to spend our 24-hour exile at the Sycuan Casino like we did last year. It’s about 30 miles from De Anza. It’s an easy drive and the distance is long enough to exercise the coach and get the running gear up to operating temperature. I think this is a good thing to do. We also run the generator while we’re parked at the casino. Monthly exercise for the generator is also good.

After we arrived and set up in the upper lot, I took my driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance to the casino’s security area. They require these documents to issue a free overnight pass – they actually gave us a two-night pass and encouraged us to stay and enjoy the casino. They didn’t require this documentation the first time we stayed here, just a driver’s license. Now they want to make sure we are the registered owners of a licensed and insured vehicle on their property.

Our house on the hill at Sycuan Casino

Our home on the hill at Sycuan Casino

We enjoyed a cold one at the casino sports bar, then walked back up to the upper lot called Bradley 2. Bradley 2 is the designated RV parking lot. It’s large and we are the only occupants at this time. Later, we returned to the casino and had dinner in one of the restaurants there. I had the kung pao chicken. Donna had a baja chicken bowl. Both dishes were mediocre at best, but there was lots of it. We both brought home leftovers that we’ll have for lunch today.

Donna made banana pancakes with walnuts, chocolate chips and dried cherries for breakfast this morning. We plan to shove off soon and head back to Mission Bay RV Resort to begin another month long stay.

Time Keeps on Slippin’

I mentioned wasting time playing a computer game called 2048 in my last post. It’s a matching game. The game has a board with 16 squares. It opens with two numbered tiles, numbered two or four. Every time you move a tile, another number two or four tile appears. Put two twos together and you get a four tile. Put two fours together, you get an eight tile and so on. The idea is to reach the number 2048 before the 16 squares are gridlocked with tiles. It’s challenging. I worked on a system and kept getting close – I would usually reach 1024 before I got locked out. Yesterday, I finally hit the magic number.

Bingo!

Bingo!

After I hit the winning number, I went out for a bicycle ride. I rode through Crown Point to Pacific Beach, where I stopped at Seňor Pancho for a plate of five rolled tacos with guacamole. Seňor Pancho is on Mission Boulevard on the northwest corner at Hornblend. It used to be a Der Weinerschnitzel when I was growing up in the area.

On the way back to the Mission Bay RV Resort, I stopped to watch sailboats on the bay.

Identical sailboats racing each other across the bay

Identical sailboats racing each other across the bay

I’ve joked many times about how every day is Saturday. The fact is, I lose track of the days many times. The time just slips away. While I was standing there, I realized it was Wednesday and our first month at Mission Bay RV Resort was coming to an end.

Mission Bay RV Resort is owned by the city of San Diego. The city only allows RVers to stay in the park for a maximum of one month. After a month, you’re required to leave the property for a minimum of 24 hours. I’ll go into what I think is the reasoning behind this in another post. Our time is up on Friday. That means I need to pack and prepare to leave today, so we can pull out tomorrow. We’ll go the Sycuan Casino near El Cajon and spend the night, then return on Saturday after serving our 24-hour exile.

When I mention staying in a parking lot overnight – such as a casino or Walmart lot when were on the road – I think some people get the impression that we’re living as homeless vagabonds. Nothing could be further from the truth. When we overnight in a parking lot, it’s a matter of convenience. We’re fully self-contained and live in a comfortable, albeit small home. Our home just happens to have wheels.

When we’re in a nice RV resort – or even boondocking in the desert, on a beach or along a river – we live what we consider to be an excellent lifestyle. We stay in places that generally have agreeable weather. We meet up with family and friends and make new friends. We take advantage of outdoor activities. We grill and dine outdoors often. We’re not roughing it. This is a lifestyle choice for us, not a road trip or vacation.

Some people have the means to take this lifestyle to an even greater level of luxury. Right now, there are at least four coaches in the park that cost well over one million dollars. The owners of these coaches may or may not be full-timers, but they spend months out of the year in their motorhomes. They could be living anywhere, but they choose to be here with us.

Donna read a Facebook post yesterday by one of her full-time RVing friends about her husband having surgery. Someone posted a reply suggesting that maybe they should get a hotel room for a few days to recuperate. What? Why would anyone leave their home to recover in a germ-filled hotel? Donna’s friend isn’t on a road trip. Like us, they’ve made a commitment to this lifestyle and their coach is their home.

I have much to do today before we head out. The temperature this afternoon will reach 80 degrees. We’ll have back-to-back travel days, so I probably won’t post for a couple of days.

50,000 Hits

Yesterday marked a milestone for this blog. We had our 50,000th hit! It’s gratifying to know people check in on us and find the blog interesting enough to come back from time to time.

Once again, the skies cleared up by noon. I was finally able to get a sock and shoe on my right foot. The toe healed and is fine. With shoes on my feet, I put on my helmet and took my mountain bike for a ride by the bay. I left De Anza Cove and rode south along the east side of the bay. Near the Hilton Hotel, I saw an interesting water toy. It looked like an oversized tricycle. It seats two and the rear wheels are paddle wheels. I saw two of them out on the water and one on the shore.

Water trikes

Water trikes

It looked like they moved along without too much effort. You see all kinds of things on the bay.

I rode with the heel of my right palm on the handle bar. The swelling in my hand has gone down, but the stitches still pull and I lack finger strength. The stitches will be removed on Friday when I go in for a follow-up with Dr. Leek.

After my ride, Donna and I rode the scooter to the Bayard Street farmers’ market in Pacific Beach. It’s not that large, but they have plenty of fresh produce. Donna discovered Rickaroons there. Rickaroons are healthy and delicious energy snacks – a perfect treat after a bike ride.

Farmers' market on Bayard Street between Hornblend and Garnet

Farmers’ market on Bayard Street between Hornblend and Garnet

I made the usual stop at Offshore Tavern for my Tuesday free drink. The winner of the football pool buys a round for the rest of the guys who entered the pool. Although there are more than 30 entries, only half a dozen or so show up for their free one.

Last night, I watched last weekend’s Moto GP race in Japan that I had recorded. Marc Marquez sealed his second consecutive Moto GP World Championship at the age of 21. Moto GP is the pinnacle of motorcycle road racing. This was the first time Honda captured the championship at the Twin Ring Motegi race track, which they own. Marquez is destined to break many records if he stays healthy.

We have a thick marine layer overhead this morning. The rain showers didn’t hit us in the night. The overcast should burn off by mid-day. I expect another pleasant afternoon. Donna’s friend, Mona, is coming by later in the day and the two of them plan to take the kayak out on the bay.

Paradise Point

Yesterday’s weather was predictable. The marine layer burned off by noon and we had somewhat hazy, blue skies. The weather pattern is changing as the wind shifts from the northwest. This brings moisture and the possibility of much-needed rain showers tonight.

I was feeling restless by noon yesterday. Donna is busy working on a book revision that has a deadline. I went out on the scooter and stopped at the Chase Bank on Cass Street in Pacific Beach. I still have stitches in the palm of my right hand, which made riding the scooter a little difficult. I quickly learned how to relax my grip enough to keep the palm of my hand off the handlebar. I was basically riding with my thumb and two fingers.

I tooled around Mission Bay and rode to Paradise Point. Paradise Point is a 44-acre island on Mission Bay, accessed from Ingraham Street. The island sits between west Mission Bay and east Mission Bay, with Fisherman’s Channel on the north side and Mission Bay Channel and South Cove on the south side. Roughly half of the island is part of Mission Bay Park, open to the public. The rest of the island is occupied by Paradise Point Resort and Spa – a 464-room full-service luxury resort. When I was growing up and through the ’80s, it was known as Vacation Village.

Back then, I spent many Sundays on the island at the Model Yacht Pond. This is a rectangular basin surrounded by well-kept lawns. It was built as part of the Mission Bay Park master plan. The original intent was to have public school students build model boats and have inter-scholastic competitions.

Back in the ’80s I was a member of a club called the San Diego Argonauts. The Argonauts are model boat enthusiasts and they sponsor monthly competitions at the pond. The regular schedule calls for members of the ship building guild to sail their intricately detailed electric powered boats on Saturday mornings. You’ll see everything from model fishing trawlers to luxury yachts to battleships.

On Saturday afternoon, once the wind usually picks up, the pond is taken over by the sail division. Cleverly designed radio-controlled sail boats sail gracefully across the pond. Nowadays, most of these boats are very high-tech with carbon fiber hulls and masts.

On Sundays, the power division rules the pond. Various scale models of racing type boats are on the pond. Some are larger off-shore designs powered by weed-wacker type engines. You’ll also see hydroplanes powered by nitro-burning, two-stroke-model racing engines.

I had a mono-hull racing boat back in the day, powered by an O.S. Max 7.5cc racing engine. I participated in monthly races sanctioned by the North American Model Boat Association (NAMBA). NAMBA sets the rules for various classifications of racing boats. My boat was controlled by a two-channel radio – one channel for the throttle and one for the rudder.

Model Yacht Pond

Model Yacht Pond

Model boat racing became an expense beyond my means as I was raising a young family and had other hobbies as well. I was racing to win, and oftentimes I would be much too liberal with the nitro-methane percentage – resulting in blown engines. I only competed for one season.

Paradise Point Resort also includes two beachfront restaurants and the Barefoot Bar. The views are spectacular.

View to the northwest from Paradise Point at Fisherman's Channel looking across Sail Bay

View to the northwest from Paradise Point at Fisherman’s Channel looking across Sail Bay

View to the south across Mission Bay Channel towards the West Mission Bay Drive bridge

View to the south across Mission Bay Channel towards the West Mission Bay Drive bridge

We’re planning to hit the farmers’ market on Bayard Street this afternoon. We have yet to make it to the farmers’ market in the Little Italy district on Saturday. I thought we might go this weekend, but then Donna reminded me that she and her sister, Linda, are going to a country western music festival in El Cajon with our friend, Mona. I think I’ll go watch the model sailboat regatta at Paradise Point.

 

 

 

 

New Phones and Data Plan

One challenging aspect of life on the road is Internet connectivity. I’ve mentioned this before, but It’s something you take for granted when you live in a sticks-and-bricks home with unlimited, high-speed Internet service.

Internet connectivity is a must-have for people on the road. Donna relies on it to do her work and earn income. In my case, it’s more of a convenience to stay in touch and keep up with events.

Many RV parks offer free wifi. We take advantage of that whenever possible, but what they don’t tell you is that “free” really means “free when it’s working.” When the RV park fills up and numerous people are trying to connect, it bogs down. Sometimes it gets so slow that it’s unusable. Or you can’t get connected at all.

When the free wifi is too slow or unreliable, we use our Verizon Jetpack. This device allows us to access the Internet via the Verizon network. It’s on the same account as my Verizon smartphone. Here’s the catch – data usage can get expensive. We try to limit the amount of data we use on our Verizon account. For example, we avoid streaming video content. By carefully monitoring our usage and taking advantage of free wifi whenever possible, we’ve been able to get by with 10GB or less of Verizon data usage per month.

That changed for us on Saturday. Donna and I went to the Verizon store in Pacific Beach. I  stopped there last week and went over the October promotional data plans with the guy there. We upgraded our data plan to 30GB for $130/month. This is a great deal – it’s half the price of a 30GB plan last month. We also upgraded our phones to Samsung Galaxy S5s. It took about two hours to get through the paperwork and account changes. When we came home, we spent several hours getting our phones set up and personalized.

My set-up was easy since I was migrating from a Samsung S4 to the S5. Donna had to back up all of the apps and data on her Samsung Galaxy SII to her laptop and then transfer what she wanted to her new phone. I used an app called Smart Switch Mobile that seamlessly moved my apps from the old phone to the new one. The Verizon guy told me about it last week. He said all of my data would migrate without a hitch.

He was mostly right. All of the apps were moved. One of the ways I amuse myself is by playing a game on my phone called Subway Surfers. I have amassed a huge war chest on this game. I’m at the highest level and had more than a million coins, over 900 hoverboards and hundreds of other bonuses. These riches have allowed me to compete in a weekly challenge where I routinely finish in the top five against other participants worldwide.

Subway Surfers

Subway Surfers – the app – transferred to my new phone. But none of my data came with it. I’m back at the lowest level with no coins or tools. I have to earn them back all over again. It frustrated me, but at the end of the day, it’s just a game. I have the time to work my way back to the top.

In my last post, I mentioned our neighbors with the under-inflated front tire. On Saturday morning, I checked their tire pressure and found 30psi in the left front tire. The right front tire was at 98psi. I set up my portable compressor and tried to fill the left front tire for them. The valve stems on their wheels are short and hard to reach. After 20 minutes of futzing around, I had the left front tire up to 90psi. I put a metal cap on the valve stem. Later, I talked to them and told them what I found. I was hoping it was a leaking valve core and the cap would stop the leak.

On Sunday morning, Donna and I drove Shauna’s car to the airport to pick her up. On the way back, we stopped at the Broken Yolk on Midway Drive for breakfast. This is a popular breakfast restaurant – they have at least three locations in San Diego. Although the food is good, I find them to be overpriced and service is on the slow side.

When we came home, I talked to our neighbor and he told me that their tire was down to 40psi. The guy (I never learned his name) called for roadside assistance. They sent a tow truck! I don’t know why they didn’t send a mobile tire service. The tow truck driver had a large compressor and managed to inflate the tire to 95psi. He sprayed Windex around the rim where the tire bead seats. Bubbles quickly formed along a section of the bead. The tire bead wasn’t sealing. This is usually due to foreign matter caught between the bead and rim. It could be dirt or a piece of paper label from the tire. The only way to fix it is to remove the tire from the wheel and clean the area, then remount and inflate the tire. The tow truck driver wasn’t equipped to do this.

I went back to our coach and turned on the NFL morning game pitting the Green Bay Packers against the Miami Dolphins. Then I saw our neighbors pulling out of the park! He was going to Phoenix, Arizona. I guess he was going to take his chances of driving with a slow leak. I hope it worked out for him. Driving a 30,000+ pound vehicle with his wife and kids on board for 300 miles with a front tire losing air doesn’t seem prudent to me.

In the afternoon, I watched the Chargers play in Oakland. The San Diego-Oakland rivalry dates back to the inception of the American Football League. It’s a bitter rivalry – we don’t like them and they don’t like us. Even though the Chargers had won four straight games and the Raiders were 0-4 (going back to last year, the Raiders have lost 10 straight games), I knew it would be a tough match-up in Oakland.

The Raider fans threw eggs at the Chargers bus as it entered Oakland County Stadium. The game was a gritty see-saw affair. The Chargers took a three-point lead with two minutes left in regulation. Jason Verrett, the Chargers number one in pick in this year’s draft, sealed the game when he intercepted Derek Carr’s pass. The Chargers headed home with a divisional win and their record is now 5-1.

This morning, it’s overcast with a marine layer. I expect it to burn off by noon. We’ll have clear skies and temperatures in the mid-70s this afternoon.

 

Dings and Scratches

I took it easy and hung around the RV park again yesterday. The usual Friday influx was evident. It’s a long weekend for some people, Monday is Columbus Day. It seems like there are more kids in the park than usual.

In the afternoon, a Newmar Dutch Star diesel pusher backed into the site next to the driver’s side of our coach. Three youngsters ranging from about seven to 12 years old piled out – two boys and a girl. They pulled bicycles and skateboards from the basement of the coach. They were riding and skateboarding in between the two coaches. I saw one of  the kids run his bike into their coach. I was thinking of the dings and scratches I would find on our coach later.

Their mom packed beach towels and whatnot and they headed down to the beach. After they left, I went outside and looked our coach over. No worries, they didn’t hit it. I looked at their coach and saw several dings and scratches. I noticed the front tire was low on air pressure. This is not good. Low air pressure is the leading cause of tire failure. Having a blowout on a front (steer) tire could be a hair-raising experience.

Under-inflated front tire on our neighbor's coach

Under-inflated front tire on our neighbor’s coach

Later, I saw the mom outside. I mentioned the low tire. She looked at it and told me the tires were just put on before they left Utah. They’re planning to drive back to Utah on Sunday. I looked closer and I saw the cap was missing on the valve stem. The valve might not be seated well and it could be leaking. Today, I’ll break out my Porter-Cable compressor and fill the tire. I also found a spare metal valve stem cap that I’ll put on. I would hate to think of them driving down the freeway on an under-inflated tire.

Donna spent the afternoon shopping with her sister, Linda. When they returned, they told me a motorhome had a mishap at the other end of the park. While backing into their site, they hit a tree! I took a stroll around the park and surveyed the damage. It was minor, just cosmetic scratches.

While I was out, I took a walk along the path by the bay. The tides have been unusually high. The tide was going out and shore birds were feeding along the waterline. I snapped a photo of egrets and rails feeding together.

Egrets and rails feeding

Egrets and rails feeding

We have Shauna’s car again today. Donna dropped Shauna off at the airport last night. Shauna flew to Portland, Oregon to join her sisters for their maternal grandmother’s funeral service. RIP Delaurice Grams.

We plan to head over to the Verizon store today. Our friends at Technomadia and Nina at WheelingIt wrote about the great October offers from Verizon and AT&T. I think we’ll upgrade our phones to Samsung Galaxy S5s and contract a 30GB/month data plan. Our current data plan has us scrimping on our data usage. My only fear is that data usage seems to expand with data availability. How long will it be before we find 30GB is too low?

We’ve had mild weather and the trend continues. Highs in the mid 70s, overnight lows in the mid 60s. I can’t complain about that!