Easter Sunday

7:51 am - Monday - April 2nd - SoCal - 55º F, 79% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the south by southwest.....heavy overcast once again with a forecast high of 70º f today.  The marine layer should burn off by noon time giving way to partly cloudy, but mostly sunny skies.

Usually SoCal gets what we call 'May/June gloom' in May and June (duh!) each year which is caused by a heavy marine layer moving on and off the coast each day, but it appears we are getting that 'May/June gloom' in April this year.  Typically we will wake up to heavy overcast skies each morning which usually 'burns' off anywhere from mid morning to noon time leaving us with sunny skies the rest of the day.  It keeps the temperature from getting too high.  In some past years the 'May/June gloom' has extended well into July making for a cooler than normal summer.

Since we returned to SoCal we have had some sort of appointment, or activity scheduled every single day, and Sunday was no exception......for the 9th consecutive day we had something scheduled.....Easter dinner at my oldest son's home.  We left our coach around 11:30 am arriving at Chris' home by 11:50.  We were looking forward to visiting with Rochelle's (Chris' wife) side of the family, including her father and mother, Ed and Linda, but Ed had been admitted to the local hospital for emergency gall bladder surgery Friday night, and was still in the hospital on Sunday.  The operation was a success, however, the doctors wanted to keep him in the hospital for observation for a couple of days.  At any rate we had a lovely time with everyone, and a great dinner before heading home a little after 2 pm.

Not much else to report about Sunday.....I spent time watching the final round of the PGA Houston Open ultimately won by Ian Poulter in a one hole playoff.  Then I watched the NCAA women's basketball final between Notre Dame and Mississippi won at the final buzzer by a 3 point shot by a Notre Dame player.  I had no favorite in the game, and just wanted a close game.....well, I got that for sure!

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Back in the saddle.....finally!

7:28 am - Sunday - April 1st - SoCal - 55º F, 77% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the southwest.....heavy overcast with a forecast high for today of 74º F.....Happy Easter!

I've had my Cannondale Bad Boy put together for a few days, but hadn't taken a ride yet.  It has been a long time since I just took off on a ride with no particular distance goal in mind and just rode.  I took 10-15 mile rides early in the summer at Yellowstone, but the only riding option I had was outside the Park riding along US-89 north towards Livingston, and after a while that got boring, plus the shoulder I rode on was quite rough with lots of debris.  I suffered a couple of flats due to that debris, so I gradually stopped riding and just focused on hiking on our days off work.  I had the same problem at the Grand Canyon....there were no shoulders on any of the roads, and riding in a traffic lane on a busy highway is not an optimal experience, so my 'rides' consisted of 30 minute jaunts on my stationary bicycle.....that gets amazingly boring after a while, also.  The last month, or so at Desert View I rarely rode my stationary bicycle.

I looked forward to taking more than a few rides while here in SoCal, but until Saturday we had either an activity almost every day that conflicted with taking a ride, or it was too hot (Thursday and Friday).  I was determined to get out for a ride Saturday and escape the gravitational pull of the Newell.  Finally, about 9:30 am I was dressed in my riding togs and off for who knows how long a ride west on the Pacific Electric Bicycle Path which runs right behind the Elks Lodge here in Fontana....  

......as I merged on to the bike path I thought I might ride 5 miles west and then turn around....that would give me a good 10 mile ride, but as I hit the 5 mile mark I just kept going.  The early morning air still very cool, and I felt good.  By the time I turned around I had covered about 10.6 miles.  As I crossed back into Rialto my cyclo computer read 20.7 miles.......

.....and by the time I parked my Cannondale next to the trailer it was reading 21.3 miles total distance covered....

.....nice to know the 'old guy' still has it in him.  I was pleasantly tired after spinning those pedals for one hour and 37 minutes and burning 1,194 caloric units.  After a quick shower I was relaxing and watching the latest PGA tour event interspersed with a few naps.

Around 3 pm I turned on the 'Final Four' broadcast to see which two teams would make it to the final game to be played Monday evening.  The 'Cindarella' team (Loyola Chicago) controlled the game until about 5 to go in the game, and were still up by 6 points over Michigan, but they totally collapsed those last 5 minutes and lost to Michigan by 12 points in the end.  The second game featured two #1 seeds....Kansas vs. Villanova, and was expected to be a close game, but it was anything but that.  Villanova got out to a 17 point lead, and pretty much kept it there for the duration of the game.  So it is Michigan vs. Villanova in the final.....hope it is a close game!

We got in the VW around 4:55 pm to drive a few blocks over to Mariscos del Pacifico to meet my son Tim, and his wife Laila for some great Mexican seafood. TLE and I discovered this little treasure two years ago when we stayed at the Elks Lodge here in Fontana for the first time, and have been back over and over again.  Yelp has them at 4.5 stars on 224 reviews, and we would have to agree.  All four of us ordered their Picositos Tacos (shrimp) which include homemade tortillas......we all cherished every bite!  We sat and talked until almost 6:30 before we finally surrendered out table and headed for home.  A great way to end a great Saturday!

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A tale of two meals....

7:29 am - Saturday - March 31st - SoCal - 56º F, 64% humidity, wind - CALM.....ahhhh....CALM.  Forecast high for today is 81º F with partly cloudy skies.

Once again, we did not have much planned for Friday except a hair appointment for TLE at Forte Salon in Claremont where Amanda, long time family friend, has worked for several years.  Whenever we are in town TLE has Amanda tune up her coiffure.  The appointment was for 11 am so we left the Elks Lodge around 10:15.....Google maps thinks it should take 40-45 minutes to make the drive, but we arrived there at 10:45 in spite of 'slow and go' traffic on I-10.

While TLE got her 'do' done I sat outside on a bench enjoying the late morning air.....why be inside when it is so nice outside?  Within 30 minutes Amanda had TLE's coif looking great again, and we were on our way over a few blocks to one of our favorite local gastro pubs in the area.....The Back Abbey (also in Claremont)....Yelp gives them 4 stars on over 1,700 reviews, and we would agree.....maybe even a 4.5 for us......

.....we quickly ordered two glasses of their Kasteel Winter Porter, which we have had before.....it has this obvious chocolate aftertaste with a hint of smokiness.....very, very unique.  For my entree I ordered the Back Abbey Burger (aged gouda, mustard aioli, and caramelized onions).....OMG.....what tasty burger!  TLE ordered their Bistro Frisee Salad (frisee lettuce tossed with apples, toasted pecans, grapes, bacon lardons, fourme d'ambert cheese, a soft poached egg and dressed with apple cider vinaigrette.....I don't usually list the ingredients of our entrees, but come on....don't these descriptions just make you want to order them?)

Once again, because we can, we ate and drank al fresco......such a lovely day to be outside!  By 1 pm we were on our way home......no stops in between.....just home.  Now, normally, if we eat one meal out that is pretty much it for the day....we may snack late in the day, but usually we are still full when dinner rolls around.  However, we forgot we had promised to meet our fellow Elks, and good friends, Steve and Candy for dinner at our Elks Lodge at 5 pm.  Hmmmmm, maybe I should have ordered a Bistro Frisee Salad, too.

Nonetheless, there we were at 5 pm walking into the Elks Lodge for our second meal out of the day....Tempura Shrimp, rice, green beans, and a few more beers, of course.  We had a lovely time with Steve and Candy, but oh were we ever full when we walked back to the Newell around 8 pm! (I am still full as I write this morning's missive).

So, that was our Friday, and so comes to an end our first week back in lovely, balmy SoCal.  Thanks for stopping by!

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Breakfast and stuff......

8:01 am - Friday - March 30th - SoCal - 58º F, 55% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the north by northeast.....clear blue skies with a forecast high today of 88º F!

Thursday we only had one appointment.....a 9 am breakfast appointment with two of our daughter's, Sharon and Katie at Nancy's 50's Cafe in Rancho Cucamonga which gets 4 stars on 251 reviews on Yelp.  It's about a 25 minute drive from the Fontana Elks Lodge so we left around 8:30 and actually arrived there at 8:55....life is good when you hit all the green lights!

The girls arrived within minutes, and for the next 90 minutes we talked non-stop as we always do.  The coffee and food were exceptional, and the conversation was superb.  It seems just like yesterday that Sharon and Kate were in grade school and now they have families.  Where has the time gone?

By 10:30 we were back in the VW headed for the local COSTCO to pick up a few things.  As is almost always the case when we shop at COSTCO we come away with a few things not on our shopping list.  I needed some new shorts, and a new 100' hose to replace the one I use when we must use our macerator pump to dump the black tank such as we do whenever we are here at the Fontana Elks Lodge where we only have water and electric and the dump station is almost exactly 150's away from the coach.  In order to reach it with the macerator pump I need a 50' hose and a 100' hose.....the 50' foot contractor grade hose we have had for close to 10 years is still going strong, but the old 100' one has developed a lot of kinks over the last 5 years, and needed replacement.....we bought it originally when we were at the INDY 500 back in 2012 for the same purpose, but it was very cheap, and I have regretted buying it from the very beginning.  I wasn't expecting to find the hose I wanted at COSTCO (had planned to stop by Home Depot on the way home), but fortunately they were selling a contractor grade 100' non-kink hose for $24, so I snatched it up......killer deal!  

You never know what COSTCO will have clothing wise on any given visit, but on this day they had exactly the type of shorts for which I was looking, so I grabbed a couple of pairs for $12 per pair....score!

Our route home from COSTCO took us directly by the local Fontana Salvation Army and Goodwill stores, so we stopped off to do a little junking.  TLE found a nice dress, but I came away with nothing once again.....that's fine.....I need to get rid of a few articles of clothing anyway.

We were home by 12 pm, and settled in for the afternoon.  I had a few small projects out in the trailer which I worked at for a couple of hours including getting my Cannondale Bad Boy bicycle put together to do some rides on the local Pacific Electric bike path which stretches from Rialto to Claremont...about 25 miles with no street riding.

That about wraps us our Thursday.....thanks for stopping by!

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Truckin'............

7:38 am - Thursday - March 29th - SoCal - 54º F, 60% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the north by northwest.....clear blue skies with a forecast high of 83º F!  I love sitting by the open window first thing with bare feet in the morning typing the blog instead of having all the windows closed, rocking 4 electric heaters, wearing slippers and wishing I could type with gloves on my hands.......quite a reversal of fortunes from 13 days ago.  It feels like we have been gone from Desert View longer than 13 days.

Wednesday was my scheduled doctor appointment with my primary care physician in Rancho Cucamonga.  I had signed releases on Monday to have my medical records transferred from my doctors in Arizona and he had received them by the time I arrived for my appointment at 11:30 am.  Usually when I get my blood pressure checked at a doctor's office my readings are higher.....maybe because I hate going to the doctor.....on this day my reading came in at 127/72.....just like my readings at home!

At any rate my doctor was pleased with my progress, and extended my blood pressure medication prescription for 15 months.....yay, no more doctor's appointments for over a year!

I stopped by my son's office to pick up some more mail, and was on my way home by 1 pm with no more obligations for the day.  I spent some time setting up my new Garmin Trucker GPS.  You might ask.....'Why the Trucker, and not the RV version?'....well, the Trucker was $100 less, plus it already has maps for Canada included......

.....it is really quite intuitive to use, and within 5 minutes I felt ready to 'Navigate'.  This will replace a small HP mini netbook which used to sit on our center console taking up most of the space on said console.  Now that I have the Garmin and can attach it to my driver's window using a suction cup, we have the use of our center console while underway once again.  It, the Garmin, has a 7 inch screen, which is only slightly smaller than the screen on the HP, and with the suction cup I can place it virtually at eye level enabling me to keep my eyes more on the road.  With the HP I had to look to the right, and down.....I'm sure TLE will like me keeping my eyes on the road.....😊

That was pretty much our Wednesday.....I puttered around the trailer putting away recent purchases, and then spent the afternoon reading, and then watching 'Fixer Upper'.  TLE had me grill a filet mignon for dinner to which she added sides of artichokes and cauliflower rice.....all very, very yummy.....

.....thanks for stopping by!

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Installation day.....

7:41 am - Wednesday - March 28th - SoCal - 51º F, 45% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the north with a forecast high of 79º F......just another loverly SoCal day!

Tuesday was the dedicated installation day for the 'new' Splendide 2000 'S'.  Knowing how relatively simple things like installing a new washer/dryer can consume enormous, unexpected amounts of time I dedicated the entire day to that enterprise.  I did not want any time constraints pressuring me to rush the process.

My plan was to drive the VW over to my son's office in Rancho Cucamonga about 9 am to join him in loading the 'new' Splendide into the back of his Chevy truck and then drive with him back to the Elks Lodge to load it into the Newell, and then put the 36 year old Splendide into the back of his truck for the ride back to Rancho Cucamonga where we will store it temporarily.

Everything went smoothly and according to plan.  By 10:25 am the 'new' Splendide was sitting on the floor at the top of the entry steps.  To make it easy Chris backed his truck right up to the door.  I then brought out a 2.5' x 5' piece of 3/4" plywood to bridge the gap (TLE's idea) between the tailgate and the steps into the Newell.  Then it was just a matter of Chris and I carrying it into the Newell....."easy peasy"!

I then helped Chris load the old Splendide into the truck bed, and we were off back to Rancho to drop it off, and retrieve the VW.  I was back home about 11:30 am and then off to Home Depot to buy new stainless steel braided fill hoses to replace the 36 year old fill hoses, as well as a new dryer vent hose.  Once this thing is in its cubbyhole I do not want to have to pull it back out for any reason the rest of my life!

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By 12:30 I was installing the new fill and vent hoses and then inching the 'new' Splendide into its cubbyhole, hopefully for the last time.....wishful thinking, huh?  Moving the 'new' Splendide that last 5 feet into its final resting place took about 2 hours, but by 2:30 pm the deed was done.........

Is that tight, or what?

.......there she is......everything works, and there are no leaks.....order is restored in our Newell world........suweet!  Before I put the pantry back together we ran the Splendide through one cycle still looking for leaks, but all was well.  By the time I put the pantry shelving and doors back in place it was after 3 pm, and I was tired......pleasantly tired.  

I took some time to relax and take a short nap before heading outside to set up the Sea-B-Que in order to grill some pollo asado for the street tacos TLE had promised earlier in the afternoon......and that was our Tuesday.....thanks for stopping by!

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R.I.P splendid Splendide......

7:31 am - Tuesday - March 27th - Fontana, CA - 57º F, 24% humidity, wind 14 mph out of the north by northeast......feels totally calm at this time....sunny skies with a forecast high of 74º F.

Monday was errand day.   We needed to pick up several packages at my son Chris' office (new Garmin GPS, an air purifier and a replacement filter for that purifier), as well as our mail, have lunch at Rubio's, drop off some donations at Goodwill, shop at Goodwill, stop by my primary care physician's office to make an appointment, get my medical records transferred from the Grand Canyon Clinic to my primary care physician, be at TLE's optometrist appointment by 2 pm, and then head home to remove the old Splendide washer/dryer from the Newell to make way for the installation of the 'new' Splendide washer/dryer (also at my son's office) on Tuesday.

We were on our way into Rancho Cucamonga by 11:10 am and at my son's office by 11:30 am.  Our oldest grand daughter, Cynthia works for Chris in the family insurance business and is now pregnant with our second great grand child......can you believe that?  She is due in September and looks great!  We spent about 30 minutes visiting with Cynthia and Chris before gathering up our mail and packages and heading to lunch at Rubio's Coastal Grill.....this is a southwestern U.S. franchise, so whenever we are back in SoCal a lunch there is a must.

From there we headed over to Goodwill where we donated a few things, but found nothing without which we could not live.  Next it was over to TLE's appointment where we were in and out within 20 minutes, then it was over to my primary care physician's office to make an appointment for Wednesday, and sign a release so they can get my medical records.  We were headed home by 3 pm, and within minutes were getting ready to remove the aforementioned old Splendide.

I have to say, I was a little concerned about removing the old Splendide as it has not been outside the Newell since it was installed over 36 years ago.  It is quite heavy, plus that compartment where it has spent its life is very tight, and then getting it down the entry stairs would surely be 'fun', right?  I knew it would be difficult inching 150 lbs. of metal out of its cubbyhole, but I had it to do.

It took me about an hour in all to remove the shelving, the pantry doors and then the Splendide itself.    It took a while to 'inch' it out, and then there were the stairs with which to contend, however, with TLE's help we muscled it down the stairs and on to the artificial turf without mishap.....

R.I.P. splendid 'Splendide'

.....by the time we had the Splendide compartment cleaned up for the new Splendide,  and reinstalled the pantry doors and shelving it was after 5 pm and I was exhausted!  Time for a nap and an adult beverage.....not necessarily in that order.  

We got a lot of use out of our old Splendide over the 10 years we have had the Newell, and when the dryer stopped working we never even gave replacing it immediately a second thought.  Some people don't like these small washer/dryer combos, but we have learned how to use it, and it makes our life on the road more pleasant......we rarely, if ever, spend time sitting in a laundromat, which is one of my least favorite things to do!

We watched some recorded TV programs ('Timeless', 'Designated Surviror', 'Chopped' and 'Beat Bobby Flay') and were in bed by 11 pm.....what a day!

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Settling into SoCal.......

7:42 am - Monday - March 26th - Fontana, CA - 43º F, 66% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the north......clear blue skies.  Forecast high for today is 68º F.

I haven't remarked much lately about the NCAA March Madness tournament, but I have been watching almost every game!  Sunday saw the final two games of the 'Elite Eight' being played between Texas Tech and Villanova, and between Duke and Kansas.  Villanova won their game over Texas Tech pretty handily, but the Duke vs. Kansas game was a nail biter right down to the last seconds of the 5 minute overtime with Kansas prevailing at the end.  So, the Final Four is set.......Loyola Chicago vs. Michigan and Villanova vs. Kansas.....Loyola is this year's Cinderella team, and they are good!

Nevertheless, I did not spend all day in front of the television....I had a few tasks to accomplish, the main one being installing and activating our new XM Radio receiver in the Newell.  I've had the receiver for several months, but decided to wait to make the switch from our long time Panasonic XM Radio receiver until we were where there was a strong cell phone signal in case I was not able to complete the transfer online.  When I installed our new radio in the VW a couple of years ago I had issues and had to be on the phone for about 30 minutes to get it done.  The new receiver is about half the size of the old receiver enabling me to install it in a different location freeing up room on our center console, which is always jammed with too much stuff when we are under way.

As it turned out the online transfer went off without a hitch and I didn't need to be on the phone one second to get it done, but you know, if I had tried to do it while we were at the Grand Canyon I just know I would have had to be on the phone!  At any rate the install went smoothly, and we both love the new location of the receiver.

The only other thing we had going on Sunday was dinner at Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ in Chino Hills around 5 pm to celebrate the birthday of our son-in-law, Nick (married to Katie, and father of Jolene Rose) who just turned 32.  We arrived about 5:10 pm just in time to be seated at our long table.....

 Brayden James and Jolene Rose

 The birthday boy, Nick (on the right, of course)

 Rod, Brayden James, Meredith (oldest daughter) and Sharon (youngest daughter)

.....we had a lovely dinner garnering many hugs from our grand kiddies, and kids.  TLE and I split the 'Back Porch' entree which had BBQ'd chicken, St. Louis Ribs and Tri-tip with sides of french fried sweet potatoes and coleslaw....I'm glad we split it as I would never have been able to finish the plate by myself!

TLE and I with three of our grand kiddies......Brayden, Charlie and Jolene

We were on our way back to Fontana by 6:40 looking forward to more hugs and kisses to come.  The nice thing about this time home is the babies remember us now, and they have most of their teeth......lol.  Not much teething going on right now which makes them much more pleasant to be around!

So, day two in SoCal is now in the books.  We've got much to do over the next 3 weeks including the installation of our 'new' Spendide 2000 washer/dryer sometime this week, as well as doctor and dentist appointments.

Thanks for stopping by!

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SoCal sojourn........

8:04 am - Sunday - March 25th - Fontana, CA - 48º F, 76% humidity, wind is 2 mph out of the east.....partly cloudy with a forecast high of 61º F.....wait, what?  Where did the warm weather go?

I was up by 6:30 am in anticipation of our 79 mile drive 'home'.....there was not much for me to do other than disconnect the water and electric, then roll our wheels, but I am what I am, and on any departure morning I am up early thinking about what could go wrong.  Nothing ever goes wrong, and maybe nothing goes wrong because I spend so much time thinking about what could go wrong.....I'm not sure, but I will still keep getting up early, nonetheless.

We were out of our site by 8:30, and over at the other end of the parking lot dropping the trailer on the Newell hitch.  Once the trailer was secured we walked over to Steven and Linda's Travel Supreme to exchange 'until next times' with them as well as Bill and Kelly, and then we were off in a cloud of dust.  Our desired departure time was 9 am, and by 9:07 am we were heading north on Madison Street, and eventually I-10 westbound, which would take us all the way to Cedar Ave., and the Fontana/Rialto Elks Lodge......

......we arrived at the lodge around 10:50 am to find our favorite site #7 available.  Within minutes we had backed into our site and were setting things up for a 3 weeks stay....

......our concrete piers we bought 18 months ago when we were last here were still there for us to use to anchor our patio awning against the periodic Santa Ana winds which can be a problem.  The Fontana/Rialto Elks Lodge is our home lodge, and we are so glad we chose this lodge.  Everybody knows us and treats us like family whenever we are in town.

By 5:30 pm we were on our way over to our son's home in Ontario for an engagement party for good friends Tony and Amy.  A bonus was four of our five children where able to be there to welcome us home once again......

.....whenever these guys get together there is always a 'jam' session in progress.....

 Left to right: Mike, Tim (our son) and Tony....Laila, Tim's wife, is in the right background taking a picture

.......I am surrounded by so many gorgeous women in my family......moi, Laila (daughter-in-law), and daughter Katie.....I'm a lucky guy!

We lingered at the engagement party until almost 9 pm when we headed for home.  There will be many more hugs over the next three weeks!

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