Stowing......

 7:02 am - Friday - April 7th - GNHS - 53° F, humidity 28%, wind 3 mph out of the southeast.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 81° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were hiking the Honaker Trail near Goosenecks State Park down to the San Juan River.....a 1,600' descent......↴

Beginning Thursday we have just 4 days left here at Glamis North Hot Springs, and there are still many things which need doing before we roll our wheels Monday morning.  I began those tasks around 9 am, which included removing all the tire covers on the Newell and trailer, wiping off all 10 wheel rims, cleaning each tire cover before stowing them, removing the mirror and wind shield wiper covers, coiling up most of the rope lights, removing the rope lights from the pop up dining canopy, then collapsing the dining canopy, and stowing it in the trailer, removing the jack stands I use to stabilize the trailer, and finally, backing the trailer up about 8 feet to get the front out of the decline in which the tongue jack was resting......

Wheel covers off the Newell

Got the front of the trailer out of the hole it was in

Tire covers off the trailer tires

The trailer backed up about 8 feet

.....once that stuff was done it was time for me to make one last round trip drive down to El Centro to pickup up some spare drive belts for our RZRs, and some other Kawasaki parts.  In all it took me three hours, and I was back by 1 pm.

Thursday was also the beginning of this year's edition of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta, GA, so our TVs were tuned to the golf channel, and ESPN for most of the day.  Tiger Woods got off to a slow start this year shooting 2 over par, while many others were posting sub par scores. At the end of the day he was 9 strokes back of the leaders, so it may not be his year, unless he lights it up Friday, and gets himself back onto the leader board.

On Saturday we will back the trailer completely out of its cubbyhole and across the parking lot where it will sit overnight, and then Sunday morning we will dump the black tank, and then turn the Newell around, back it up to the trailer, drop the trailer on the hitch, and then reposition everything so we can reconnect the shore power.  We'll not reconnect the sewer, or water.

We have gotten permission from the owners of GNHS to store a bunch of our stuff we will not be using this summer  at LPG&RVR in the COA office for the next 6 months, so the trailer will be a little lighter on our trip north.

Thanks for stopping by!

The longest day.....

 6:37 am - Thursday - March 6th - GNHS - 52° F, humidity 35%, wind 8 mph out of the north by northwest.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 77° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were visiting the Grand Canyon......↴

It was Wednesday, and we had unfinished business in the Pomona Valley.  We drove back to GNHS on Monday in a rental car, and needed to retrieve the VW, and return the rental before we head north.  We were in the rented 2022 Toyota Camry heading west to Joel's Automotive in Montclair, CA by 8:30 am hoping we could pick up the VW by 11 am, and head back home.  Well, the best laid plans often do not come to fruition for one reason, or another.  I knew from my conversation with Joel on Tuesday that they had to replace some coolant hoses, and the right front wheel bearing.  What I did not know was the parts, which I believed were readily available, were not.  When I called Joel, before we left for our drive, he advised he had to special order those parts through VW, and that he would not get them until later in the morning.  He hoped they would have the car ready by lunch, so we left with that hope.

The drive through the Coachella Valley, over Banning Pass, and into the Pomona Valley was uneventful, and we saw mostly light traffic until we reached the I-15/I-10 interchange which is the beginning of major road construction on that section of I-10.  The traffic became 'stop and go' for the next few miles.  By the time we reached the Haven Ave. exit it was after 11 am, and we still had at least an hour before the car 'might' be ready.  TLE's travel hair dryer had ceased functioning while we were in Georgia, so we stopped at Target to buy a new one.  Next we had a bag of clothing, etc. to donate to the Goodwill, so we stopped there, made the donation and browsed through their clothing.  

We had decided to have lunch with our daughter, Kate, at noon in Claremont at 'The Back Abbey', one of our all time favorite local eateries, so we headed there next around 11:30 am in order to arrive on time, and hoping the extra hour+ would give Joel time to get the car done.  On the way over to Claremont Joel called to advise the parts had just arrived, and his guys had taken an early lunch, so it would be another 2+ hours until the car was ready. 

We had a great lunch with Kate, and I became so engrossed in the conversation I neglected to memorialize the occasion, or the food.  A little after 1 pm we bid our 'until next times', and headed for Joel's hoping the car would be done.  We arrived at Joel's about 20 minutes later to find them still working on the VW.  Well, okay, they are working on it, and it will be done today, so I just sat down in the lobby, leaned my head back and took a nap.

To make a long story a tad shorter, the car was finally finished, and had been test driven around 3:15 pm.  We paid the bill, and then headed for FOX Car rental down near the airport to drop off our rental, and then head home.  Unfortunately, by the time we left FOX it was 3:45 pm, and right in the middle of the dreaded Inland Empire RUSH HOUR.  We were in 'stop and go' traffic until we reached Banning Pass.  No one enjoys being stuck in rush hour traffic, and I am at the top of that list.  Having lived in it for about 30 years of my work life I had come to loath it, and no matter how long it has been since I was last in it I still hate it.  I spent most of our slog through that traffic Wednesday trying to remain sanguine about the whole thing, and was mostly successful according to TLE....lol.

We arrived back at GNHS at 6:30 pm after a 10 hour day.  We were both tired, but, amazingly, felt good.  We got our car, and now it is just a matter of loading it in the trailer Sunday.  One step at a time, and we are almost there!

Thanks for stopping by!

The final phase.....

6:24 am - Wednesday - April 5th - GNHS - 48° F, humidity 37%, wind 5 mph out of the north by northeast.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 70° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were at Wupatki National Monument about an hour north of Flagstaff, AZ......↴

There is nothing like 'home sweet home'. So good to be back at our nomadic home on wheels after 6 days of jet travel, jet lag, and family time with my son Tim, his wife Laila, and kids Crosby and Bowie.  We will continue to bask in the warm glow of those memories for a long, long time, or until our next visit, when we create new memories.

There was one advance booking for Tuesday for our #9 KRX 2 seater beginning at 11 am for 6 hours.  I had not washed or fueled #9 when she returned Monday, so that is the first thing I did.  Once that was done, and the tire pressures had been taken, air filter cleaned, and oil checked I returned to the ongoing trailer organization efforts which began about 10 days ago.  It was time to begin the final phase of trailer organization, which entailed taking down the last tool table, and stowing it in the 'through bin', then moving the tool bags to the front of the trailer in preparation for VW Beetle insertion. It took me longer than I expected, but I was in no hurry.  The end result was worth the effort.....

Tool bags near the door for easy access whilst traveling

Looking toward the rear of the trailer (picture above).....that stuff in the back of the trailer will be moved forward sometime Sunday just before we insert the VW

Yup, we have a lot of folding tables....lol!

.....once I was satisfied with my progress on the trailer I took a break.  Our customers were not due back until 5 pm, so there was not much else to do except take a nap.  We are both still catching up on our lost sleep.  I know you technically never really do 'catch up' on sleep, but after each nap I feel a little less tired.  However, just writing the blog post about our trip back to SoCal made me tired again....lol.

I called Joel at Joel's Automotive to be sure they did get the new oil pan on Monday afternoon, and they did, and it is installed, however, they found a couple of leaking coolant hoses which need replacing, and found that the right front wheel bearing is about to give up the ghost.  Fortunately those parts are readily available, and they were able to install them Tuesday, so we will be driving back into the Pomona Valley on Wednesday morning to pick up the VW, and return the rental car...that will involve another 5 hours of driving, to which I am not looking forward.

It appears Mother Nature has no more wind events planned in the next week, so we've got that going for us.  It will get into the 90's this weekend and Monday, our departure day, will be the hottest at 94° F, however, we will be long gone before the heat of the day arrives, and our destination for the day is Bishop, CA where the daily temps are in the low 70's right now....perfect!  By the time we get back to Likely, CA we will be back in the 'winter zone' where daily highs barely reach 50, and the lows are still in the teens, and 20's.

Thanks for stopping by!

They get you by the bag.....

 7:08 am - Tuesday - April 4th - GNHS - 48° F, humidity 29%, wind 8 mph out of the northwest.....crystal clear, blue, windless skies today with a forecast high of 66° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were boondocking at Goosenecks State Park, Utah.....↴

I'm not always sure afterwards what I was thinking when I make reservations to fly somewhere why I choose an early morning flight out of an airport about which I know almost nothing.  That brings me to the present, and my decision to choose a 6:50 am flight out of one of the largest airports in the world.  I guess my thinking might have been, we're going to be arriving at the airport at 5 am in the morning, so how busy can it be.....well, it be busy, don't you know!

TLE and I were up at 3:15 am in order to be ready to drive to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the south side of Atlanta.....we're old....it takes us an hour to get moving in the morning.  By 4:15 am we were in my son's Kia Telluride SUV making our way to the airport.  Traffic was light, and we arrived right at 5 am....so far, so good.

After exchanging 'until next times' one more time with Tim, TLE and I passed through the automatic doors entering the crazy world of Hartsfield-Jackson Int'l Airport.  We soon discovered we should probably have arrived there at 4 am, not 5 am....why are so many people up at this ungodly hour?  The line just to get to the baggage check window at Frontier Airlines was literally, I am not exaggerating, 250 yards long....it stretched almost the entire length of the baggage claim area where we had been retrieving our baggage just days before. 

To say TLE and I felt a little panicked at that point would be an understatement.  There was no  way on God's green earth that we would arrive at the Frontier desk before our flight departed at 6:50 am, and Gate E-4 was on the other side of the airport.  Then, over the din of thousands of milling travelers we could hear one of the Frontier folks yelling for those going to Denver to skip to the front of the line.  We went from 'panic city' to complete elation in a split second.  We quickly made our way forward to the Frontier desk to check our two rolling suitcases, for which we had already paid, in advance, to be checked.  The very polite lady asked us if we had printed off our baggage tags at the kiosk, to which we replied 'no'....we were 250 yards away.  She then advised us we had to do that ourselves, or could pay her an ADDITIONAL $25/bag for her to do that....wait, what?

I walked over to the automated baggage tag kiosk and found half of them not working, and the other half occupied.  Finally one became available.  Just as I began to input our info I barely heard TLE calling my name over the noise....she said 'Come back, we'll just pay the $50....'.  Once again they got us for another upcharge....what a racket!  We really had no choice as TLE was about to lose her place in line, so I walked back over as TLE whipped out her credit card to pay the Frontier extortion.  

Okay, one obstacle overcome....we quickly began the long walk to the TSA Pre-heck® line.  As we passed the regular TSA line we both observed a sea of bobbing heads stretching off into the distance, with no ability to even see where the ID checkpoint was, let alone the area where you partially disrobe, and put your watch, chapstick, jacket, computer, phone, etc. in the gray plastic buckets, plus the line was not even moving.  We both said, out loud, "Thank God we are not in that line!!!".  Within another minute we arrived at the TSA Pre-check® line, which was long, but moving continuously.  Within 10 minutes we had passed through the initial ID checkpoint, then placed our bags on the conveyor belt...no shoes, jackets, watches, jewelry were removed, and no computers were opened......then walked through the metal detector, and we were through and into the airport.  

TSA Pre-check®

Next we walked a 100 yards to the beginning of the train line (The Plane Train) which transports you from one end of this crazy big airport to the other.  Within another few minutes we emerged from the train at Concourse E, and after short walk arrived at Gate E-4....the time was just 6:05 am.....they had just begun the boarding process.  We were on the plane by 6:20 am thanking our lucky stars we had gotten our TSA Pre-check® approval in time for the return flight. 

We made it....on TIME! Whew!

As we sat in our seats awaiting takeoff we observed the cabin was only about half full.  At first we thought maybe this would be a less crowded fight than we have been used to, but gradually, all those folks we saw at the Frontier desk checking their bags began to slowly drift in....they had gone through the regular TSA line, which took them over 60 minutes.....normally they would have closed the plane door around 6:35 am for a 6:50 am takeoff, but they delayed that knowing about 40 people had not yet arrived at the gate.  The door was finally closed at exactly 6:50 am, and they began to push the jet back from the jetway.  All we could hear were the folks who had just arrived saying how they did not think they were going to make it, and how overwrought they were, while we sat there relaxed and smiling.

On the first plane of the day....relaxing, and thankful for TSA Pre-check®

The flight to Denver was uneventful......I took a 30 minute nap....that's about as long I can sleep on a plane, and then read my book.  Heading back west to Denver we passed through two time zones, and when we landed it was only 8:18 am Denver time.  The next flight for ONT (Ontario, CA) would depart at 10:08 am, so we got a cup of coffee, and a pastry to eat while we waited to board Flight #977.

As you will recall, we left our 2001 VW Beetle at Joel's Automotive last Wednesday before we flew to Atlanta.  I had talked with Joel on Friday about the progress in the repairs and service, and he advised the oil pan was cracked, and that was why I was finding oil on the ground under the car.  He still had to 'source' a new oil pan, so I was pretty sure the car would not be ready on Monday, but I called him anyway around 8 am PST.  He told me what I had expected, that the car would not be ready, so I got on my phone and rented a car for 3 three days so we could get back to GNHS.  The car will be ready on Tuesday, or Wednesday, so we'll drive back to Joel's then to retrieve the car.

We landed at just after 11:30 am, had barely arrived at the baggage claim area to find our bags just emerging onto the conveyor belt.  Within two minutes we were on the shuttle over to the car rental area, and within half an hour had our car....a 2022 Toyota Camry for $140 for three days.

We stopped by my son Chris' home to pick up mail, and chat with them for a few minutes before jumping on the Interstate fore the 2+ hour drive home, arriving at GNHS at exactly 4 pm.  At 5 pm one of our rentals returned (Kyle had sent them out earlier in the afternoon), and we checked them in, and put away the #9 KRX. While we were gone Casey (our boss who was filing in for us while we were gone) had driven down to El Centro to pick it up at COYNE a few days ago, so now we have 2 red KRXs to rent during our last week here.

In spite of our disappointment in our airlines choice (Frontier) all the flights were on time, and we arrived back home alive, so we have that going for us, but our bank account is a little thinner for the 'wear'.  In all it took 15 hours to get home, which is kind of a miracle of sorts.....We woke up in Woodstock, GA, and went to bed at GNHS.

Thanks for stopping by!

Last hurrah.....

5:34 pm - Monday - April 3rd - GNHS - 71° F, humidity 28%, wind 18 mph out of the west by northwest......crystal clear, blue, sunny, windy skies today with a forecast high (it got warmer) of 70° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were touring Monument Valley......↴

Before I get into Sunday, TLE and I were up at 3:15 am this morning (Monday) in order to be at ATL (Atlanta International) by 5 am for our 6:50 am flight.  Needless to say, but I will anyway, there was no time to write my daily missive until now, and we are home after a 15 hour travel day.

Unlike our first 3 days in Woodstock, GA Sunday was a laid back day.  We just hung around the homestead all day.  The one thing we did do was help Crosby and Bowie plant two trees.  For Crosby it was an apple tree, and for Bowie it was a peach tree......

.....and, for the first time, Bowie let Grandpa pick her up, and she smiled.....took me a long time to melt her heart, but in the end she could not resist Grandpa's entreaties......

.....to close out our stay Tim and Laila took TLE and I out to dinner at a local restaurant called SALT.....

.....after 3 days of eating out every day I still felt 'full', so I just had a Caesar Salad, and TLE their Poached Pear Salad, and they were very good.  Most importantly we enjoyed the conversation immenseley!

We were home a tad after 6 pm, spent time packing, and saying our until next times, and in bed before 9 pm as we had to be up by 3:15 am Monday morning to be at the airport by 5 am for out 6:50 am flight.  The story of Monday is a hoot, so stand by!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sightseers....

 8:31 am - Sunday - April 2nd - Woodstock, CA - 47 degrees F, 58% humidity, wind 6 mph out of the northwest......clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 71 degrees F.  On this date in 2012 we were canoeing along the intercoastal water way (ICW) near Stuart, FL with good friend Ernie Prociw.....↴

We're kind of settling into a routine here in northern Georgia....up around 8 am (Tim and Laila's kids sleep in....we had 5 and none of them ever slept in until they were almost adults....lol), have couple of cups of coffee whilst talking with everyone (I type my blog), then head out to see another part of northern Georgia.  Saturday we drove southeast to Marietta to attend a local Farmers Market.  Marietta has a beautiful downtown area like most of the towns in this area.

We arrived in downtown Marietta around 10:30 am, and walked around the Farmer's Market for about 45 minutes.  TLE actually bought some Duck Jerky, and some pickled jalapeñ0s.  Eventually we walked over to the town square so Crosby could play on the train in the playground.....

.....from the town square we walked across the street to a large antique store where we lost ourselves in our their treasure troves for about an hour.  Tim and I lingered over their vast used vinyl record collection for quite a while.

The morning began rainy, but by the time we walked back to the car the sun was out, and the weather was delightful.  We were back home around 2 pm with plans to drive up to Canton for dinner at Laila's grandmother's (Kathy) home around 4 pm.

We arrived at Kathy's around 4:30 pm, and by 5:30 pm we were sitting down to a magnificent dinner of filet mignons, creamy mashed potatoes, flaky biscuits, and a wonderful salad dressed with bleu cheese dressing.....

One of my best 'usies' ever.....left to right: Moi, Crosby, Art (Kathy's brother), Jennifer, Bowie, Jessica (Art's daughter), Kathy, Laila, TLE and Tim

.....the filets where enormous, and none of us was able to eat the whole cut, so there will be sliced filet sandwiches on Sunday, for sure.

We were home by 6:30 pm, where I turned on the TV to watch the NCAA final four games.  Florida Atlantic University (FAU) led San Diego State U for most of the game, but lost on the final shot of the game by 1 point to SDSU, so SDSU is in the final on Monday.  Next up was UCONN vs. University of Miami.  It was obvious from tip off to the end of the game that UCONN was in a different league from Miami, and led by double figures for most of the game winning 72-59 as the clock expired....it didn't really seem that close.

Thanks for stopping by!

Smoke Jack.....

8:42 am - Saturday - April 1st - Woodstock, GA - 68°° F, humidity 96% (raining), wind 10 mph out of the west southwest......heavy cloud cover, and raining today with a forecast high of 78° F.  On this date in 2012 we were courtesy parked in Stuart, FL at the home of good friend Ernie Prociw for a few days......↴

I left off yesterday's post as I woke up Friday morning....that was a long 48 hour day!  We began our day drinking copious amounts of coffee courtesy Tim and Laila's Keurig coffee maker.  Friday was a beautiful Woodstock, GA day with very low humidity....something one does not normally associate with Georgia, or any southern state, but to me it felt like SoCal.

Laila went with her mom, Jennifer, to keep a doctor's appointment so Tim, TLE, Crosby, Bowie and I set out to see more of the local area by driving to Alpharetta.  The street grid in this part of Georgia (and it may be the same everywhere in Georgia) is not laid out on a north/south east/west type of grid like most of SoCal is.  Sometimes the roads you are travelling are going north, sometime west, sometimes south, so I have no idea what direction Alpharetta is from Woodstock unless I look it up on a map.  I was glad I was just a passenger, and didn't have to worry about dropping bread crumbs to find my way home.

We had intended to have lunch at local Alpharetta Mexican restaurant, which had alfresco seating, however, it was chilly, breezy and threatening to rain, so the interior of the restaurant was already packed with patrons when we arrived at 12:15 pm.  We spied a BBQ place across the street called Smoke Jack.....

....so we made a decision to have lunch there, and what a great decision it was!  It has been a while since we enjoyed really good southern BBQ, so I was looking forward to seeing their menu.  My eye immediately landed up 'Burnt Ends', and that was it for me....

....OMG....so delicious.  You get two sides with your dish so I got fries, and potato salad....the best potato salad ever, bar none!  We lingered over our food for over an hour.....

.....we took a longish walk after lunch, and ended up at the park across the street from the restaurant.....

.....where the kids ran around burning off excess energy before we made the drive back to Woodstock.  We were back home by 3 pm, and by 5:15 pm we were on our way again to the annual HOA Easter Egg hunt, just a block from Tim and Laila's home where Crosby and Bowie took the obligatory Easter Bunny photo.....

....and then headed out to await the beginning of the hunt for the 5 year olds and under crowd....

Crosby's finds

.....just as they finished it began to sprinkle, and by the time we got back to the car it was raining.....talk about good timing....lol!

And thus ended our second full day in Georgia.  We are loving to be able to spend so much quality time with Tim and his family.  Oh by the way, it rained on and off most of the night, and I was awakened around 5 am by thunder....haven't heard that in a long time!

Thanks for stopping by!