Half as much now.....

8:12 am - Thursday - October 28th - Fontana, CA - 66° F, 39% humidity, wind 10 mph out of the north by northwest.....crystal, clear, blue skies today as far as the eye can see and a forecast high of 88° F.  We're in the middle of a very mild Santa Ana condition where winds blow out of the high desert through Cajon Pass into the Inland Empire.  Slept on top of the covers last night until 2 am......first time in over a year!  The overnight low was only 66°.  So far no A/C has had to be employed.

On this date in 2017 TLE and I were enjoying our 4th sunset fire at Lone Rock on the shores of Lake Powell....the pictures are looking to the east.....when the sun sets behind (west) us it lights up everything to the east......↴

The forecast high for Wednesday was 84° F, and it definitely got there, but the air was so dry we did not need to run the A/C.  Instead we turned on our Fantastic Fan and opened all the windows keeping the interior quite comfortable.  I don't remember the last time we had ALL the windows open at the same time.

After posting my latest blog offering I headed out to the trailer to pull all the backpack/camping gear out and group everything by type on two of our folding tables.  Frankly, I was a little shocked at how much we had, and how many duplicates.  There are four mummy bags (only one has been used, and that for 3 nights), 6 canteens, 5 GAZ backpack stoves, 2 Coleman backpack stoves, 3 ponchos, 6 backpack air mattresses, 4 separate cook sets, 7, or 8 compression bags, 2 Kelty internal frame backpacks (one with the store tags still attached, and the other used on just one backpack trip), 7 sets of silverware (fork/spoon/knife).....the list goes on and on.....

The GAZ backpack stoves

Four cook sets, and two coffee pots

The trailer interior before the removal of the backpack stuff

The trailer interior after the backpack stuff was removed....a slight improvement but much better, nonetheless.

.....I was able to make contact with the local Boy Scout Troop leader, and he agreed to come by Thursday to pick it all up. I am very happy all of this stuff will get a second life, if not a first life, and by that I mean be actually used for its intended purpose for the first time......lol.  Amazingly, the backpack/camping stuff accounted for about 1/2 of what was in the 'BEFORE' picture above, and 1/2 of what is left in the 'AFTER' picture is stuff through which TLE will have to sort....she thinks she can get it down to about 1 box.  The other remaining half, I am embarrassed to admit, consists of a lot of bike parts I have accumulated over the years, most of which I forgot I even had.....lol.  All of that will be disposed of one way, or another (sold/donated/trashed).

Wednesday was also coif day for TLE and I.  I haven't had a haircut since early September, and for TLE the first since May when we flew to Spokane for the wedding.  When in town we always go to Amanda at MAXX Salon in Claremont, CA.  Not only is she our honorary daughter, but she is an amazing hair stylist.......

.....that's the shortest TLE' hair has been in a long time, and it suits her well!  Our appointment was at 2 pm, so we left the Newell around 1:15 pm to make the almost 40 minute, one way drive, and arrive on time.....parking in downtown Claremont can be difficult at best, but on this day we snagged a spot just around the corner from the salon.  We were home just before 4 pm.

By the way, Claremont is in L.A. County which has some the strictest COVID rules in the nation, whereas Fontana is in the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties), which is the total opposite.....I'm glad we are in the Inland Empire.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

Eye of the storm......

6:21 am - Thursday - April 25th - Fontana, CA - 57° F, 73% humidity, wind - CALM......clear blue skies today with a forecast high of 88° F.  This is the last day you will see Fontana, CA as our location this year.  We roll our wheels in less than 3 hours for Ramona Oaks RV Resort!

Wednesday was the day of my appointment at Pacific Eye Institute where I would receive the results of my three glaucoma screening tests.  To be fair, I was pretty sure I did not have glaucoma, but there is always that little niggling doubt in the back of your mind until you know for sure.  Ever since Dr. Dovich raised the possibility of glaucoma back on April 3rd I have been awaiting this appointment to find out for sure, and to finally be able to schedule my cataract surgery.

We were out of the 'house' by 10 am, and on our way to Pacific Eye Institute for my 11 am appointment.  Driving out Arrow Route it takes almost exactly 30 minutes, and this day was no different.  We arrived just after 10:30 am at which time I signed the patient roster, and took my seat in the 'waiting room'.  As I have opined previously, there is no way you are not going to wait past your appointment time in a room entitled 'The Waiting Room', right?  However, at 10 minutes to 11 am my named was called.....hmmmm....I'm thinking I might be in an out before 11:30 am.....seems reasonable, does it not?  The technician numbed my eyes and did that funny glaucoma test where they blow little puffs of air into each eye to record the pressure, and had me look at some eye charts.  Once that was done I was thinking Dr. Dovich would walk through the door and give me my results.....NOT!

After those eye tests I was returned to the waiting room around 11 am where I waited for my name to be called again......I was not called until 12:20 pm.  By this time TLE is getting a little fidgety as she has a hair appointment in Claremont at 1:15 pm.....we both thought this was a good, safe time as my appointment was at 11 am after all, right?  Of course, we are directed to the little, tiny room where you wait some more.  By 12:45 pm TLE is texting with Amanda, her hair stylist, that we might be late, and she replies to TLE that if she can make it by 1:30 pm she can still squeeze her in.  At last Dr. Dovich arrives just before 1 pm.  Within minutes I find that I do NOT have glaucoma, and that other than the worsening cataract in my right eye, my eyes are totally normal....whew!

We are sent back to the waiting room where we were to wait for my name to be called again, this time by the surgery scheduler.  Within minutes we are called into another small room where within 5 minutes we have my eye measurement appointment scheduled (May 9th), and my surgery scheduled (May 10th) and are sent on our way with a surgical folder of things I need to do before the surgery.  We will drive up to Upland from Ramona the morning of the 9th the the first appointment, then spend the night at my oldest son's home, and then drive back to Upland for my early morning surgery on the 10th.

It is now 1:15 pm, and I am pretty sure we can make it to Maxx Salon in the remaining 15 minutes, and we make it with a couple of minutes to spare.  I drop TLE off and then begin my search for a parking spot.....finding a parking spot between Noon and 2 pm in Claremont is pretty daunting, but within 10 minutes I am successfully parked, and walking over to the salon.

While TLE is getting her hair done I get on the phone to call my primary care physician, Dr. Azzawi, to make an appointment to renew my blood pressure meds, and have him complete the paperwork Pacific Eye Institute needs to confirm I am healthy enough for cataract surgery.  Again I must wait.....a total of almost 20 minutes on hold to get an appointment for Monday, April 29th.

Shortly after hanging up the phone TLE comes walking out and we are ready to go.  We walk down the stairs and right into a local bistro named Bardot Cafe (4 stars on 890 reviews) where we decide to have a late lunch.  It is after 2 pm now and I am just ready to relax, have a good brew, and a Caesar salad.......

Caesar salad with grilled salmon....OMG! 

......we sit enjoying the balmy breezes in Bardot's alfresco dining area, of course, right?  We talk about the relief we both feel that I do not have glaucoma, and that we finally know when my cataract surgery will be.  We talk about rolling our wheels Thursday morning, and what needs to be done.  We decide we will stow the sun screen, patio awning and window awnings just after sunset as it will be cooler.  I'll roll up the gray water hose, and disconnect from the city water so we'll only have the electric to disconnect Thursday morning.  We'll pull forward out of our spot Thursday morning about 50 feet, drag the artificial turf into the trailer, then insert the VW and be on our way to our next adventure.

We paid our bill around 3:15 pm and began our 'rush hour' drive home arriving just after 4 pm.....by 7 pm we were disconnected from city water, with all of the hoses and awnings stowed.  Our sojourn here at the Fontana/Rialto Elks Lodge is now at an end.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel.