Off to the Capital

Friday marked the end of our third week here at TVC and it was time to head down to Carson City, NV (capital of Nevada) to do some shopping at Trader Joe's, Home Depot, and Costco to replenish our stocks of things we prefer to buy at those particular stores.  Of course we also have friends who live in the area, so we arranged to meet one of them, Terri, for lunch at El Charro's.

This was the warmest day, by far here in South Lake Tahoe, coming in at 82.....of course, Carson City, being at a much lower elevation, had temperatures in the low 90's, which was by far the hottest day have experienced since we were in Wittmann, AZ in March. When I get used to cooler temperatures over a long period of time it takes me a while to acclimate to the hotter temperatures....normally I would not think 80 was very hot, but when you are used to it being in the 50's, 60's and 70's that sudden 10-15 degree jump is very noticeable.

We left TVC around 11:15 am  with the intent of meeting Terri for lunch at Noon, and we arrived about 11:55 am, and she arrived shortly thereafter.  While it is only 30 miles from our location to Carson City there is a lot of traffic this time of year, and the speed limits all the way there run between 40 and 50 mph.  

TLE and I have known Terri since 1967 when we met in college.  We have stayed in touch with her over the years, and have made a point of seeing her whenever we are in the area.  A year before we became nomads Terri drove down to Southern California to join us in a two day bike ride down the coast to San Diego.  It is still one of our favorite multi day bike ride memories.  Around 1:30 we bid adieu with plans to meet up again for a bike ride up here in the Tahoe Basin in the next two weeks.

Next we were off to Trader Joe's, then Home Depot to buy a "yellow jacket" trap (actually a hornet, wasp, yellow jacket trap)......they can be a problem here in TVC once it warms up, and most of our worker/neighbors have them deployed, so we wanted to do our part.....especially after I had to kill my first one the other night.  Finally we stopped off at Costco before heading back up the "hill" to the Tahoe Basin and cooler temperatures.

We arrived back in TVC around 3:30 to much cooler temperatures in the high 70's, and that was pretty much our run of the mill Friday.....after putting away our supplies we spent the rest of the afternoon reading.  Looks like the next 5 days will be in the 80's before cooling back into the low 70's once again.

Hoping to hear soon about our work start date.....there are a lot of us waiting to start work....apparently the "HR" department at corporate is way behind.

Thanks for stopping by!

Git 'er done!

Thursday seemed like a good day to finish enclosing the old microwave enclosure I wrote about a few days ago.  You will recall that the rear of the enclosure was open, the exhaust fan over the stove would not draw air properly, and the large wire bundle in the rear was exposed.  To finish this project I needed a sheet of thin plywood, and a small piece of thicker plywood to use for "shims" to hold the new pieces in place. We drove over to the DIY Center where I found a couple of plywood scraps in the lumber section that I was able to buy for $3.00!!

How the enclosure looked before....notice the 

large exposed wire bundle in the rear

 Enclosed

It took a couple of hours to fit the large piece of plywood that closes off the exhaust vent tunnel, and the wire chase.....then it was time to close the small space left in the ceiling.  Notice I drilled holes in this piece to allow air to vent when the toaster oven is being used.

 The final piece in place with holes drilled

Once the pieces were in I rubbed on some stain we bought at the DIY store to dress it up a little, then sealed the various seams with silicone caulk, and finally re-installed the shelf I had modified a few days before.  Now that the back of the enclosure is properly closed in the exhaust fan works much better, and the space has a finished look to it.....most importantly TLE is very, very happy!

In all it took me about 6 hours of steady work to finish the job, and the great thing is it didn't take me longer than I expected.  One thing I have been learning since we became nomads, is to be more patient, and take my time on projects such as this.

Once everything was cleaned up and put away I turned on the BBQ so TLE could roast some vegetables for dinner.  In all it took just over an hour to roast the veggies, so we sat outside in the lounge chairs reading and just enjoying the early evening air.  Around 6 I got out the TV so we could watch the NBA game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat as we ate, then when we moved over to the outdoor fire place.  It was a very close game, ultimately won by the Spurs.

Of course, as it warms up we must begin to deal with mosquitoes, ants and yellow jackets, which are all starting to show themselves, and  I got my first mosquito bites of the season while swatting a few yellow jackets, and spraying a few anthills.

Life is good, and the "beat goes on".....thanks for stopping by!

Driving Miss TLE

I started my Wednesday by doing the ride up to Emerald Bay, and surprised myself by besting my previous time to the top by 23 seconds (42 minutes, 50 seconds), and my round trip time by 2 minutes (72 minutes).  My weight is back down to the lowest I have been for a few weeks at 190.6.....now to get that next 10 pounds!

One of our favorite things to do when at Lake Tahoe is to take a day and drive around the 72 mile shoreline.  There are a thousand magnificent views.......here are just a few of those from the past few weeks........

When we drive around the lake, as we did back in November when we were briefly in the area on our way home for the winter, we almost always stop in at "The Bridgetender Tavern & Grill" on the banks of the Truckee River and right across the street from the iconic "Fanny Bridge" in Tahoe City at the north end of Lake Tahoe.

Why do they call it "Fanny Bridge"......hmmmm?

Waiting for an outdoor table

We arrived in Tahoe City after a delightful drive around 12:45, found parking and went in to order a couple of brews (Moose Drool) and wait for an outdoor table.  It just felt like a day where time was not an issue.  Within 20 minutes we were sitting outside in the warm sun enjoying the ambiance of one of our favorite Tahoe institutions.

Around 2 pm we took off walking in search of a couple of thrift shops, and found one about a half mile away......the great thing about walking is the temptation to walk away with too much stuff is moderated by the fact you would have to carry that stuff quite a ways back to the car.....we left the store with one more paperback for TLE.

By 3 pm we were back in the car continuing our circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe driving through the familiar hamlets of Tahoe Vista, Dollar Point, Crystal Bay, Brockway, Kings Beach, Carnelian Bay,  Incline Village, and Zephyr Cove back to SLT.

We were home by 4:30 (we stopped at one more thrift store in SLT, but did not find anything we could not live without) and ready to watch the L.A. Kings play the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals against the N.Y. Rangers at 5 pm.  The Kings, true to their playoff style, quickly got behind 2-0, but came back to win in overtime 3-2 in a very exciting game.

Thanks for stopping by!

2nd Saturday

Seems hard to wrap my mind around it being June already......5 months of 2014 are now history, and the summer season here in SLT* is ramping up.  While it is not nearly as congested as it was over Memorial Day weekend there is a noticeable increase in the local population since then.

What better way to spend 2nd Saturday than taking a bike ride up to Meyers again, but this time on the Cannondale road bikes.  Once you hit the bike path the views get pretty spectacular as we pass by Lake Tahoe Golf Course.....

Our "written in Jello" plan was to bike up to this cool restaurant called "Divided Sky" for lunch.......if only we had checked to see when they open for business each day......we arrived just about Noon to find that they don't open for business until 2 pm.  Okay, plan "B"......eat lunch at the little cafe downstairs in the same building called "Meyers Downtown Cafe"......and what do you know? They also have fish tacos on the menu, which was the reason we wanted to eat at "Divided Sky".....2nd Saturday, is Fish Taco Tuesday at "Divided Sky".  Due to my goof we still have not eaten at Divided Sky, but sometimes Miss Serendipity steps in to make it all right.  As it turns out MDC (Meyers Downtown Cafe) also has amazing fish tacos on their menu every day they are open!  Yelp, Urbanspoon, and Trip Adviser all give 4.5 to 5 stars to MDC, and that rating is more than deserved.

We sat just enjoying the al fresco atmosphere and the delightfully balmy air until after 1 before continuing on our ride back toward the "Y"**, and then up Emerald Bay Road ( CA 89) to revisit a couple of thrift stores we hadn't been to for a couple of weeks.  TLE found a nice stainless steel frying pan for use outside when we use our Coleman Stove.....price....$4.....we may keep it permanently, or re-donate it at the end of the summer....either way I am confident we will get more than $4 worth of use out of it.

We arrived back "home" around 2:30 with just the frying pan, which will spend its life with us outside, so no more "stuff" added to the interior of our small abode.  We spent the afternoon reading outside listening to 60's music (my choice), and then around 5:30 decided to cook our dinner outside.  I grilled bleu cheese burgers and corn on the BBQ, whilst TLE used the Coleman to cook spinach, and make caramelized onions and bacon chips to top the burger patties.  I also started a fire in the outdoor fireplace to accompany our dinner, and then continued to enjoy its warmth after a great dinner as we sat and watched the evening shadows descend upon TVC once again.

We retreated inside around 8:30 as the last ember of our fire died, and read the rest of the evening until close to 11 pm......another day lived well in SLT.

Thanks for stopping by!

* SLT = South Lake Tahoe
** "Y" = the intersection of CA 89 with US 50 at the southwest corner of Lake Tahoe

Top Shelf....

We have been hauling around a shelf we removed from one of the overhead cabinets in the salon area of the coach for about 18 months now.  TLE had a vision for that shelf that took me a while to buy in to, but after considerable thought I decided to utilize the shelf as she wished.  

We have had this vacant space above the stove created when we inadvertently "fried" our microwave/convection oven back in late August of 2012 by plugging into a bad electrical outlet.  We fully intended to replace the microwave, but TLE decided after 2 months of not having a microwave that she really didn't need it.  She decided, instead, to replace it with a high end toaster oven, which she believed would be more useful.  So, once the new toaster oven was acquired she began to lobby me to take that shelf we have been transporting all over the country, cut it down to fit the narrower space, so she could store her induction burner above the toaster oven, and not in our gas oven when not in use.  I also needed to close up the space in back where you can see wires in the back.....this space in the rear of the compartment is where air from the vent over the stove moves upward to be expelled through a roof top vent.  For this to work well the space needs to be closed.  Additionally, the electrical outlet in the rear needed to be turned to face forward before I close off that rear space.

The empty space

So, my first task was to measure the space and then to modify the shelf which necessitated shorting the shelf by about 6 inches.  Once the shelf was cut down to size I had to re-glue the laminate on the front of the shelf, which came loose.

Next up was to flip the electrical outlet around, and then install some LED strip lighting so there would be a good source of light above and below the newly modified and installed shelf.

The outlet is rotated, and the LED lighting installed

The installation....still need to install the new false wall in the rear of the compartment, and refinish the left side of the compartment

I started to work on this project around 10 am, and finished around 3 pm.  There was no "Hockwald Way" this day.....I just took my time.....measured everything 3 times and it came out looking pretty good I think.  There is still some finish work to complete, but the space is now more functional, and most importantly, TLE loves it!

While I worked on the shelf project TLE continued to ramp up her walking regimen by walking close to 5 miles.  We are gradually settling into exercise routines with our extended stay in one place, and it feels good.....now if I could just see a couple of pounds disappear!

The weather continues to excel......nice clear blue skies, balmy mid day temps, and no rain, or snow.  Our temps will actually creep into the low 80's later this week.....bring on the summer!

We watched "Master Chef", an "24" to cap off the evening......

Thanks for stopping by!

28

Still thinking about the epic ride Saturday.....

Sunday it was time to kick back and recover from the epic 20 mile mountain bike ride Saturday.....the morning temperatures  are still quite cool, but usually by 9:30 it is comfortable to be outside in shorts and a t-shirt.  We're kind of getting spoiled with this great weather.....according to locals this is the nicest weather they have had in a few years in late May/early June, and the forecast for the next 10 days is for more of the same.

Of course, Sunday was also June 1st which means we have now been living the nomadic life for 28 months, and living in the Newell full time for the past 40 months.  We can't imagine living in a stix and brix house again, and the longer we live this life the more difficult it is to imagine that we ever did.

It's been a while, maybe 3 years, since I took my mountain bike apart for a "deep" cleaning of the drivetrain, and after riding it three times in the last week for close to 40 miles of off road riding it was time.  Not much gives me more pleasure than taking a bike apart and putting it back together again.  TLE left to do grocery shopping shortly after I started the deep cleaning.....it seemed to me she was only gone for half an hour when suddenly she was standing in the doorway of the trailer announcing her return.......actually almost 3 hours had passed.

Cleaning the drivetrain of the Intense 5.5

While working on the bike I had the PGA Memorial Golf Tournament playing on the trailer TV in the background, which turned out to have another exciting overtime ending.  In fact, it was another great sports weekend......The San Antonio Spurs won an exciting overtime game 6 Saturday night in Oklahoma City to advance to the NBA finals again.....Beat the Heat!  Sunday evening my L.A. Kings (NHL) won a third game seven in overtime in this year's playoffs to advance to the NHL finals against the New York Rangers.

I spent the afternoon watching the last 7 holes of the PGA tournament outside, and taking a short nap here and there, but retreated inside around 4 pm as the temperature began to drop.  Around 4:30 we got a message from Debby inviting us to bring whatever dinner we were having over to their site around 6:30 to eat with them, and sit by the fire, and we accepted.  We had another nice evening sitting around the fire talking with Bill, Debby, and Billy (our boss), who joined us after dinner, before walking "home".....thank you all for the great conversation, and thank you Bill and Debby for the invite!

A nice weekend to be sure, and the wonderful weather continues unabated......thanks for stopping by!

An "ooogly" day.....

I started mountain biking back in 1989 when a good friend invited me to go riding with him at Chino Hills State Park.  After just one ride I fell in love with this relatively new sport, and continued on riding every Saturday, and sometimes during the week for years.  This was back in the days before mountain bikes had any suspension....front, or rear.  All the bikes were ridged frames with ridged forks.  It was very hard on the body, especially the elbows, wrists and shoulders.....all that vibration being transferred via the ridged frame as you rode downhill hour after hour took a toll.....each Sunday morning I woke up feeling like I had "tennis elbow" in both elbows.  With the advent of full suspension bikes in the early 90's everything changed.  I bought my first full suspension mountain bike in 1994....a used 1992 Proflex 752.....overnight I could ride for hours and hours and just be tired at the end.

Me and the Proflex circa 1996

I remember reading an article about the "Flume Trail" at Lake Tahoe in the early 90's and wanting to ride that trail......that dream finally came true Saturday.  My new friends, Mark and Michelle, invited me to ride part of the "Flume Trail"......why part?  Well, part is still under snow......we rode the part not presently under snow.

The bikes are unloaded and we are ready to ride

To get to the portion of the Flume Trail we were going to ride you have to do a 4 mile climb up to Marlette Lake.......once again the grades ranged from 6% to over 15%......one 1/2 mile stretch was 13-15%....I had to stop 3 times to get my breath.....Michelle on the other hand "cleaned" this section without any breaks.  Mark and I did not.

Marlette Lake

Once at Marlette Lake we took a break and ate a snack, then continued following the trail around the lake to the beginning of the Flume Trail.......before you get there though you must traverse this section of trail that is under water most of the time......

Water crossing at Marlette Lake

Then we hit the Flume Trail........as TLE and I often remark when something is way beyond beautiful we call it "ooogly" (ugly) in a joking way.....like saying something that is cool is "bad".  The views this day were beyond "ooogly"!

This trail is not for the faint of heart, and many less experienced riders will walk sections like this, because the fall offs have very high consequences.....at this point the trail is around 1300-1500 feet above the surface of Lake Tahoe and a lot of it seems to be straight down.

Yes, I did ride that!

We took numerous breaks in the ride to "oooh and ahhh" at the views.....Michelle rode behind me and Mark in front most of the way.

Moi and Michelle

This trail is not for the faint of heart

Mark

The famous Thunderbird Lodge

My favorite picture of the day.....Sand Harbor

We stopped often along the trail to take in the view and for me to take pictures.  While you are riding along this trail your focus 99.9% of the time is on the trail in front of you for obvious reasons.  Until we were almost back to the parking lot at Spooner Lake I had no idea how far we had ridden.....my Garmin Edge 205 tells the tale.....20.17 miles ridden in 3 hours and 30 minutes of total riding time....all together we were out for over 5 hours for this epic ride....2,324 calories incinerated.

Back home I examine the stats

Of course, an epic ride like this deserves an epic stop at Sam's Place Bar & Grill to share a pitcher, or two of Lagunitas IPA chased with a plate of 10 mini tacos, and finished off with bacon cheeseburgers.....yeah, we were all hungry!

For those who may be wondering, TLE is not into mountain biking, but as you know from reading this blog, she loves to hike and ride road bikes.  Since I was gone until after 5 pm she had the place all to herself.  As you know we pretty much spend 24/7 together in this nomadic lifestyle, and that is a good thing, because we really like each other a lot, but everyone, even friends and lovers, needs a break once in a while, right?

In keeping with Clarke and TLE parlance it was truly an "ooogly" day......

Thanks for stopping by!