'Pack it up!"

7:18 am - Tuesday - April 17th - SoCal - 45º F, 68% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the east.....clear blue skies with a forecast high of 73º F.  A great day for liftoff! 

Monday was 'pack it up day' here at the Fontana/Rialto Elks Lodge #2013.  It is time to pull anchor and begin our meandering journey to Maine for the summer.  There is always a sense of excitement and anticipation permeating everything on 'pack it up' day.  There is a little extra bounce in our steps......random giggles interspersed throughout our conversations.  Changing our view is what we do well....after all....we are nomads at heart.

I began my day by checking the air pressure of all 10 tires on the Newell and trailer, then airing up the Newell air system prior to turning over the big Detroit Diesel 6V92 later in the day.  We also stowed the patio awning as the wind was freshening, plus it needed to be done anyway.  Final thing on the morning list was to dump our black tank for the final time here at the Elks Lodge using our handy, dandy Shurflo macerator pump.  

Once that final morning chore was complete we both got dressed to go take a hike up our favorite local mountain by the name of Rubidoux.  When we were living in Riverside at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park we walked and biked to the top of Mt. Rubidoux many times, and return to hike it at least once every time we are back in the area......

 About 1.25 miles into the climb.....starting to see downtown Riverside in the distance as we gain elevation

......of course we picked a perfect day for the hike as the skies were crystal clear for a change.  We reached the summit two miles later and began the downhill run back to our VW....

 At the top!  You can see the large iconic cross in the backgroun

 That is Rancho Jurupa Regional Park in the center of the picture where we lived from February 1, 2011 to February 1, 2012 prior to launching our nomadic journey

.....of course no trip to Riverside is complete without our annual visit to the Salted Pig for a couple of brews and lunch......

.....we arrived at the Salted Pig shortly after 1 pm to find the lunch crowd had largely dissipated, finding a quiet table in the corner.  This little gastropub has great rotating draft beer selections and wonderful pub food to match.  We have never been disappointed.  This day we ordered two Stone Strawberry Chocolate Imperial Stouts in 10 oz glasses (pretty high ABV).  We ordered their Flat Griddle Burger to share which comes with either a salad, or fries.....TLE got the salad with her half of the burger, and I got the fries with my half.  Just the perfect amount of food for our lunch.

Before we headed for home we had two more stops to make.  The first was the local USPS to mail our tax returns (a day early I might add), and then the Goodwill to make some final donations before we weigh anchor Tuesday.

We were home by 4 pm at which time we both quickly changed to finish our departure chores.  First I fired up the 6V92 so we could back the Newell up and drop the trailer on its hitch.  That accomplished I busied myself in the trailer stowing everything away in preparation for Beetle insertion Tuesday morning.  That took me right up to 5 pm......I was tired, and my ribs hurt a little, but overall I felt just fine!  TLE poured me a Margarita for my happy hour cocktail and I settled into my recliner to rest for about an hour.

So, 'pack it up' day is now complete, and all that remains is to drag our turf into the trailer, insert the VW, then begin our one month journey to Maine!

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