In 'N Out......

6:31 am - RCT - Saturday - 39º F, humidity 62%, wind 3 mph out of the north......(RCT = Rancho Cucamonga Time)......projected high here is only 57º F!  Very cold here this morning.......we'll be getting in the VW in a couple of hours to head back to Anza Borrego State Park.  Had a wonderful whirlwind time picking up our mail, packages, getting haircuts, having dinner with all our kids and honorary kids.

Friday I was up just before 7 am to find that our batteries were all the way down to 71% overnight!  Wait, what????  I was thinking initially that I had another battery sulfating, but my mind just would not accept that premise.  So, here we are getting ready to leave for 24 hours and I have a battery emergency.......I immediately turn on the big 7.5 kw Kohler generator and then begin going through the possibilities in my mind......there is nothing on that should not be on and yet I lost 29% of my battery capacity in just 7 hours.  

Suddenly it occurred to me to check the refrigerator......if TLE had inadvertently pressed the button putting it on 'AUTO', meaning if there is an AC electrical source it will switch from propane to electric, then that would account for the battery draw down over night......well, the 'AUTO' button was on, and that is exactly what had happened.  The entire time we had been watching TV Thursday night (5 hours) off the inverter the fridge was running off our batteries and not propane, and that was the culprit.  Of course, we still had low house batteries, so I had to get them back to at least 85% before we left so the solar panels could take over and get them back to somewhere near 100%......by 9 am we had reached 85%, and I turned off the Kohler.  At least we could leave home and not worry about coming back to discharged batteries!

We were in the Beetle just after 9:30 am heading east on S-22 to Salton City and our first stop to fuel up for the 250 mile round trip drive......we were leaving the ARCO with a full tank by 10:00 am and on our way to Rancho Cucamonga.

It was a perfect windless day for driving, and we made good time arriving in Ontario, CA around 11:45 am at the Ontario Mills Mall.....I needed to get a new battery in my Casio diver's watch, and I have a  'guy' there (Tic Time) who is fast and inexpensive......I also needed to have a new watch band installed.  We were back in the car and on our way over to my son's office in Rancho Cucamonga by 12:15 and there a few minutes later picking up a lot of mail, and 6 packages.....I forgot how many things I had ordered......:-)

By the time we finished at my son's office it was a little after 1 pm, and our next appointment (haircuts) was at 2 pm in Claremont, so we drove a couple of blocks over to Rubio's for some of their vaunted fish tacos.....as always, their service was quite fast, and we were on our way over to the Forte Salon in Claremont by 1:35, and arrived there just a few mintues after 2......

TAA***, moi and TLE

......I think our do's came out pretty nice.....thank you Amanda (TAA***)!  Amanda has been an honorary Hockwald since she was just a wee thing.

We ran by my son, Chris' home to drop off our stuff, and then headed down to my daughter Kate's home for dinner with our kids, and grandkids......we celebrated my grandson Elijah's 14th birthday.......how is that possible?  He was just 8 years old a couple of years ago.....

 Singing 'Happy Birthday' to Elijah

 All of the cupboard doors are painted and reinstalled in the kitchen now!

.....eventually my niece (brother's daughter) Danielle brought over her 6 month old Adrian for Kate and Nick to watch while she and Miguel had a date night.......so many babies in our family now!

Baby Adrian giving me the 'stink eye'

........Kate's baby, Jolene Rose, is teething big time right now and she was a little under the weather so I was getting the 'stink eye' from her, too......

.....Nick (Kate's husband), TAR* and Chris (my son) posing by the bar........

......all Hockwald gatherings are slightly chaotic, loud and boisterous and this one was no different......6 conversations in progress at all times....lots of laughing and love being exchanged......I wouldn't have it any other way........I love my family!

Present, but not all in the few pix I took (why do I always forget to take enough pictures?) were Sharon, Rod, Brayden James, AIDB**, TAA***, Meredith, Danielle, Nick, Kate, Charlie, Elijah, Jolene Rose, Adrian, Tim, and TBL****.

By 10 pm TLE and I were on fumes, and ready to head to Chris' home for the evening......we were long asleep when Chris and TAR* got home at midnight.....time to get ready for the drive home......In 'N Out of town in less than 24 hours!

Thanks for stopping by!

*TAR = The Amazing Rochelle!
**AIDB = Aly Is 'da Bomb!
***TAA = The Awesome Amanda
****TBL = The Beautiful Laila