FIRST TRIP IN ALBATROSS

Well, we finally got this show on the road. Say hello to Albatross, which is looking strangely brown in the rear in this low sun. It's actually grey, silver & white, like it looks on the side. We attended our first "Caravan" of LazyDaze rigs this past week out at Lake Perris in the Moranga Valley (south of Riverside, north of Murietta, if that helps). 143 rigs attended, so it was quite a gathering. "First-timers" like us (there were two others) get the royal treatment and are made to feel instantly at home with the group. There are subgroups within the overall Caravan Club, and we were hosted by the "Past Tentsers," comprised of former tent campers like us. It was our below-freezing-gale-wind-sleeting-rain last tent excursion to Yosemite that convinced us it was time to go the RV route, so the Past-Tentsers was an appropriate host group. Four days later, after great potlucks, bawdy joke sessions, much-needed advice on the rig, and a variety of good-natured people, we decided that the P-Ters were for us. We hope to see them all again in future Caravans. Leveling is a challenge at Lake Perris, as the campground parking was laid out by someone not exactly conversant with a transit or level, or operating same under the influence.



That's our rig on the upper left, sporting nifty ramps provided by Larry Ward from his apparently endless selection. Others required more "creative" solutions. We settled in quite nicely as there were both electric and water hookups to make things easy. No satellite service yet, but we got one station (badly) from Palm Springs and got to watch UCLA beat Kansas to get into the Final Four. Now that Stanford is out of it (again), we can root for the Bruins. We really like those three picture windows that surround the rear couches. The coach next to us was owned by John and Ilene who are full-timers in their rig. Ilene teaches art and crafts and put on a class for painted silk scarves. Loni was in seventh heaven and turned out a very nifty piece. Here's the class hard at work. We spent some time attending various welcoming meetings and technical talks, including one by the Club's resident tech guru, Terry Tanner, delivered in what I thought was a dead-on impersonation of comedian (etc.) Ben Stein. On Saturday morning we got our Club rig number (which is 2928, if you happen to see that while on the road), and were intoduced (along with the other first-timers) to the entire group at the general meeting that afternoon. Loni and I tried a cross-country scaling of the local mountain behind the park, but what looked easy in the macro distance proved in the micro to be a mess of mesquite, steep and slippery slopes. We bailed at a relatively low altitude and walked to an adjacent campground where there was a rally for those tiny teardrop trailers that were popular in the 30's and 40's. Some were beautiful restorations, and some were pulled by equally beautiful classics like '56 Chevies, etc. We had a very fine potluck the last night and, as the wine loosened some tongues, a joke-telling session ensued. My goodness. I thought this RVing stuff was middle America. These folks belong on stage at the Comedy Club in West Hollywood. Sundaytmorning we made our goodbyes and collected contact info and pulled out for the next adventure: dumping tanks! We pulled in line and tried to observe what the experienced types did. Yikes. No gloves? Our turn arrived and I started with the hoses and valves while Loni read the instructions through the bathroom window. Of course, she was on the wrong page for a different procedure and I'm wrestling with a dumping python that wants to do its own thing as . . . stuff . . . rushes out. Fortunately, the end stayed in the hole and mission accomplished. Drove 80 miles back to home through Sunday traffic (everyone heading for the beach) and parked it at home for the night so we could unload food and clothes and I could wash it the next day. I'll never complain again about washing the minivan.

The ALBATROSS Has Landed!

Well, this has been an eventful month. On the 9th, we went out to the factory in Montclair and picked up our new LazyDaze motorhome. Spent about 4 hours getting the nuts&bolts tour, about 15% of which I retained. Now, is this the fresh water intake or the waste valve? Hmmm. Good thing Loni was taking some notes. After spending hundreds of dollars on "extras" in the LD store, we were on our way. I'm amazed that they can just hand anyone the keys to something as big as a bus and let you drive away without any training. Ours is the smallest they make, but it's still 8'3" wide (go measure a city bus) and 23.5' long. LD's other two models are 26.5' and 30'. It's not the length that is a pain, but rather the width. It takes up the ENTIRE lane, and the mirrors stick out even further, adding another foot of effective width. Yikes! We left at about 12:30, and went about 60 miles across the heart of L.A. on a Friday on the 60 and the 10 freeways. L.A. cognoscenti will appreciate the "Yikes." I pretty much picked a lane and stuck to it. Let the other drivers evade ME! Here we are picking it up. (Click on photos for larger views)

They give you about enough gas to get off the lot, so the first stop and first grimace were at the gas station just before the freeway. Don't know what gas is going for elsewhere, but California might as well be Hawaii! Gas is well over $3/gallon for regular. The Albatross holds over 50 gallons, so, well, Yikes again!

We temporarily parked it across from us on a small deadend street, but it can't stay there permanently as it would be a nuisance for our neighbors. Our driveway can't handle it either, so it'll be in storage about ten miles away (as the crow flies). Storage, even outside and without any services like we have, is not cheap in L.A., especially on the West Side. The "Albatross" name is only partially tongue-in-cheek. :)

Loni's spent the last week or so shopping for things to put in the thing, so we're now loaded up with cookware (better than we have had all these years at home), dishes, cutlery, silverware, linens, towels, containers, etc. etc. Not to be outdone, I've been out "investing" in hoses, power inverter, tools-for-the-road (love those sales at Sears), leveling blocks, etc., etc. Amazing how many things you just can't do without. Of course, since we sprang for the satellite dish on the roof, you have to get a new LCD t.v., right? That one's on hold for a while, since we want a small one (about 17" or so), and the current small ones for the most part don't have digital tuners, which will be de rigeur come January 2009 (I think that's the latest demise date for analog broadcasts). We don't yet have Direct TV anyway, so its not a priority item.

We chose the layout of this model because of the wrap-around picture windows in the rear. If we have to be inside because of weather, at least the view will be great (assuming I've parked it in the right direction). The windows are heavily tinted and from the outside it just looks black-- can't see anything inside during the daytime. There are two 6'+ couches along each side, that convert into either twin beds or pull together to make a king-size (the back-rest cushions form the balance of the bed). There's also a queen bed over the cab. The kitchen has a 3-burner stove, a microwave, and a small oven for road-cookies. The bathroom has a real porcelain toilet, and there is a nice stall shower with an integrated sink. Ahhh. No more freezing our buns off in a tent in the rain and wind and hoofing it in the dark to the public facilities! (See our post re Yosemite!)

We haven't spent a night in it yet, but will take our maiden voyage this week for five days to Lake Perris, which is out in the boonies near Murietta Hot Springs. It's a state campground adjacent to a manmade lake (which, I understand, is shrinking considerably in our current low-rain cycle, the worst in recorded history for these parts). We'll be joining a LD "caravan" of other LD owners, probably a hundred or so. I'm sure we'll be the newest of the new, and we'll take advantage of the experienced owners to figure out how to operate everything. No laptop yet (the previous one died after only two years), so we'll have to post about the trip when we get back. After that we're scheduled for a long (6 weeks or so) outing to the Utah parks, which I've never seen.

JANUARY 2007: RV and HAWAII

This is a long-overdue update to this blog. Sort of fell off the track as I was winding down my practice and getting ready for retirement. Mission accomplished, sort of. Finally moved everything out of the office and into an extra bedroom where, of course, I've been . . . . working! I'm designating any fees earned in 2007 as "gas money" for the RV. I'd better do some business at 10MPG. Ouch. Our new LazyDaze is still being built as I type this, with a projected delivery date of the first week of March. We visited the factory on January 3, and they hadn't started it yet, but promised we were the next on the line. They had the identical model in the "showroom" (garage), even down to the grey & charcoal striping, so Mom got to see what it would look like. She clamored in and immediately claimed one of the couch-beds as her own. Here she is, on the left (Loni on the right) trying it out for size. That white panel is the underside of the table that folds down between the couches. It's latched up in the "travel" position, blocking the center of the rear window. There are picture windows on all three sides in the back, so all we need to do is back into a great view and sit and enjoy it. Mom declared the rig suitable, and immediately proposed a trip to Alaska! Whoa, Nellie! Let's figure out how this thing works, first. Here's a view forward of the galley. There's a big refrigerator on my left that's out of view. Has a microwave and a small stove in addition to the cooktop. Tons of storage. In addition to the sofa -beds in the rear, there is a queen sized bed in the cabover. The bathroom with shower are behind me and on the left, behind the galley wall. We should be plenty comfortable with this setup. Has a generator, solar panel, dual "house" batteries, and even a satellite dish on the roof. We can watch "House" in the woods! Don't groan-- we'll get plenty of stargazing done as well. First big trip will be to the Utah parks in May-June, and we hope to do the Albuqurque balloon festival in October, along with Carlsbad Caverns, etc.

Might as well put in a Christmas picture to remind everyone what we all look like: Back: Me, John, sister Susy, Mike; Center: Loni, Mom, niece Rachel; Front: niece Katy. Our retirement was to start off with a trip to Honolulu, courtesy of a test-machine manufacturer who asked Loni to give two seminars to the local blood bank community. Sounded good to me! Unfortunately Loni got quite sick on the plane ride over, and spent the first night in the (ahem) porcelain room. Gave her first seminar the next afternoon sitting down as she was too weak to stand. The second night she had a relapse just as bad as the first night. About 1:00 a.m., I came down with it too. Like good spouses, we took turns in "the room" with minimal bloodshed. Trooper that she is, Loni did her second seminar the next evening, again sitting down. We both spent lousy nights and didn't start to recover until the third day. Spent most of that in the room, with a brief excursion across the street to the beach for a quick burn. Thursday we spent at the Bishop museum, very good and kept us entertained all day. Friday we went to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling, then climbed Diamond Head for a spectacular view of Honolulu and environs. We were alive again! Home on Saturday to the PO'd cat who had survived the week better than us. Here we are atop Diamond Head, looking towards the crater that forms Hanauma Bay. UPDATE: It's now Feb 10 and we visited the factory to check on the progress of the RV. It's actually being built! The body is on the frame, the skin is on the outside (but not painted) and various wires are sprouting all over the interior and exterior. They estimate delivery, and the depletion of our bank account, on March 8. Here's Loni at the back of the coach-in-progress. Look out world (or, at least, the Western US & Canada).

CATCHING UP: CHRISTMAS '05

If for nothing else, Christmas was memorable for Mom's arrival at LAX sporting a Santa Claus headpiece that had flashing lights. She apparently was the hit of the plane. At 84, she's still chugging along just great. Christmas is also one of the few times a year we get to see the boys for more than a couple of hours at a time. Being 400 miles apart puts a crimp in the family gatherings. Does anyone know the half-life of popcorn strings? That one that you see on the tree has been used for at least a decade, and still hasn't yellowed or crumbled. If you've ever strung popcorn, you know why we keep re-using the old one. New Year's found Mike in Las Vegas with his friends from high school and college, staying eight to the room. We stayed home and played with the new plasma tv! It worked fine, but Adelphia's hi-def cable "service" required four home visits before they got it right. Many more than four oaths were uttered when the signal crapped out during the bowl games. Here's Mom getting ready to board for the flight back to Indy.

CATCHING UP: YUM 11/05

Not much happening in November except good eats. I hit the big 6-0, kicking and screaming all the way. Still trying to catch the moving target of "senior" status for getting into the movies. It appears that the industry is trying to stay one step ahead of the boomers as they keep moving the cutoff back to stay just out of reach. Bah. Anyway, this post is about food and Loni's great cooking. Birthday dinner was lamb shank over cous-cous, with mint from the garden. Oh, yeah. A nice Guiness filled that glass.

Thanksgiving was the usual overstuffed plate (and belly. That's Bob at the end of the table, Loni's mom's widower, with the boyos on either side.

CATCHING UP: SEATTLE/VICTORIA 10/05

Thank goodness at least one of us is employed in a 'real' job that has perks like conventions and stuff. The AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) was in Seattle, a city I'd never visited before. So, with Loni practicing her presentation, and me as 'spousal baggage,' we took off for the Northwest. Checked into our budget hotel (don't ask), which had large rooms, ancient furniture, the loudest clanking and groaning elevator in this hemisphere, but a decent 'free' breakfast and a view of the Space Needle. The walking route to the convention center took us past (1) the local precinct station, (2) the local erotica emporium, and (3) seven Starbucks. We first had to go hang the posters of the 'papers' that Loni and colleagues were submitting. We had hauled them up in rollup tubes that barely fit in the overhead on the plane. Having spent all day traveling, we headed for the marketplace and what was billed as Seattle's 'favorite' restaurant. Of course we should have known better than to eat in a tourist trap, but . . . Suffice to say that I sent my meal back with instructions not to replace it, helped Loni push a few bites around on her plate, and left no tip. The next few days (while Loni attended the convention) I watched perhaps the best weekend of football ever, including the infamous USC-Notre Dame game with the not-so-phantom push of the QB into the endzone. Found a terrific watering hole over by the Space Needle with several dozen t.v.'s, arterio-death food, and a bonanza of draft beers, so all was good for the baggage. I did take one day to walk and bus all around to see what there was to see in Seattle, which is quite a lot. Great city for a convention. Our food quality went way up with a seafood place down on the wharf and an italian bistro uptown. Major wallet hit, but that's why the cheapo lodgings. Got a free meal off the Red Cross at a very upscale pan-Asian place that I was very glad not to be springing for. Except for that first night, great eats in Seattle. After the convention ended, we took off on the ferry for Victoria, which we hadn't seen since 1977, when we were touring Canada in our VW bus-camper, and Loni 6 months pregnant. Much more style this time. Stayed in the best B&B we've visited -- Abigail's Hotel. That's Loni in front of it. The inside does justice to the outside. Timbers everywhere, nice 'library' where they serve wine and eats in the afternoon, and where guests gather in the evening before heading out to dinner. Walking distance to the main part of town, but out of the traffic. No qualifiers for this one, it was perfect! Had a great pub dinner one night with plenty of suds, and an elegant ($$$$) one in an Italian place with lots of ambiance and no attitude. Surprisingly for October, Buchart Gardens was spectacular, as you can see. That's Loni in the black coat and white hat on the path. Back in Victoria, we wandered around the parliament building and got an impromptu briefing at the entrance to one of the chambers by a distinguished-looking gent who turned out to be one of the legislators. Somehow I can't see that happening in the U.S. When we were in Victoria back in '77, we splurged on a dinner at the Empress Hotel. They don't serve dinners anymore, but they do still have the High Tea every afternoon (which costs double what our dinner did back then). What the heck, we need to act like swells every once in a while. We did manage to finish the entire tray and enough tea to float a boat. After Victoria we went back to Seattle for one night, as our return flight didn't leave until late the next afternoon. I had booked what was billed as Seattle's most charming B&B, with the improbable name of the Chambered Nautilus Inn. I did a review of the place which pretty much sums up our experience there. You can read it, with pics, by clicking on the link, which takes you to a TripAdvisor page. The result of all the lugging that I describe there is that I now have a disc problem in my neck. Lawsuit! Not.

CATCHING UP: YOSEMITE 5/05

Well, as Lee-Pi has pointed out in a recent email, it's been a long time since the last post. Not that anyone has noticed, apparently, until Lee got free internet access and ran out of porn to view. So, what's happened in the last year or so?

Back in May (of '05!) we took several days (over Mother's Day weekend: see the flowers on the table) and went tent camping at Yosemite. We've had that tent for over 30 years, but haven't used it in at least ten. Of course, the instructions have long since disappeared, so it was a nice puzzle figuring out how to rig it. That time of year, and after a big snow year, the falls were spectacular, and running in places that you don't normally see any water at all. Snow was on the top of the rim and surrounding mountains, while we alternated between rain and bright sun on the valley floor. Unfortunately, some of the rain came at night, with wind, and with the temps dropping below freezing. Much fun had at 3:00 a.m. tripping around the tent with a monsoon blowing, trying to refasten the plastic tarp we had spread over the tent. Ice was on the car the next morning, and the socks I had spread out the night before retained a remarkably sound L-shape when picked up. If we ever needed any final incentive to go the RV route, that night was it. We made some longing gazes over to the RV's across the way: lights, dry inside, heat. The bright side was that we almost had the park to ourselves. The road to Mirror Lake was virtually deserted when we walked it. We could go quite a ways without seeing another soul. In Yosemite Valley?? That's Nevada Falls in the pic with me in the red poncho. It was really roaring. On the way up to the park, we stayed one night in Oakhurst at a very nice B&B, the Oak Cottage. Great breakfast, resident cat, and garden gnomes. Who could ask for more?







We were pretty lucky in our timing. The day we were leaving was bright and sunny. The heat accelerated the snowmelt and, with the heavy rains the night before, there was a pretty good flood that came through the valley, trapping a lot of folks, including some who had the misfortune of having to bivouac at the Ahwanee. Rough life.

He Who Hesitates

We finally finished surveying our driveway to see where the Sprinter RV would bottom out in trying to negotiate the hill. Used a Sears laser level device to project a horizontal beam at the bottom of the garage door (which is at the top of the incline), then took vertical measurements every one foot down the drive, out to 46 feet, which is the middle of the crown of the road in front of the house. Plotted that on graph paper, then did a same-scale drawing of the profile of the Sprinter using the clearance measurements we made at the dealer. Sure enough, it bottoms out and would not be able to climb the hill. However, it would only take a few strategically placed 2 x 12's in the gutter and where the drive meets the sidewalk to create an adequate clearance (ok, just 2-3 inches, but it should work, right?). I guess before we shell out beaucoup d'bucks we'd better test it out somehow. No hurry, the Airstream Interstate we were interested in at the Oregon dealer just sold. Somebody got a good deal (all things being relative). Now that we've seen the new green(s) paintscheme, we don't want to settle for anything else. At least it'll soften the blow on the neighbors. Here's a pic:

RV Update

Well, we spent last weekend crawling in and out of Sprinter and van-based RV's, finally ending up at the Airstream spot where we found what seems to work best for us -- the Interstate model. Unfortunately, it is priced out of our reach unless we can find a huge discount or a used one. The floorplan is what sold us over the rest of the Sprinter conversions. It's a new "dinette" plan that really makes for a spacious feel, or at least as spacious as you can get in a six-foot wide vehicle. Here's are views of the exterior and interior (looking rearward towards the rear kitchen/bath).--- As you can see, I'm still having trouble figuring out Blogger's orientation of pictures with the text. These were supposed to appear at the right of the text, but they plopped down above everything. Dragging them seems to work, but they keep jumping around. Blogger needs to do some work. Anyway, the dinette on the left converts to a bed, as does the couch on the right. This grey is a dreadful color scheme. We saw much better decor in the model we toured. This photo came off a dealer's web site. We'll see what kind of deals are being offered at the big RV show next month at Pomona, but will likely wait until next year to buy. Meanwhile, I'm using my new toy --- a laser level device -- to create a profile contour map of our sloped driveway to see whether we can get one of these up it without bottoming out the tail.

SIERRA CAMP 2005

It's been a while since the last post, and almost a month since we came back from camp. The boyos being busy with their lives, we took the opportunity to do something different. Started by changing cabins for the first time in umpteen years, down from a 3-bedroom to a 2-bedroom. Switched with another family that needed more space and ended up in the perfect -- for us -- Ponderosa B. No more cardiac hill for Mom, which she greatly appreciated, and the space worked out great. That's our cabin (top floor, right) withMom and our other change this year --- her old Navy Waves bunkroom mate from 1943-1944, Lettie Spies from Orlando, Fla. Having the two of them together for a couple of weeks was a gas. Found out many things about Mom in her pre-me days, including how a friend "arranged" for her to meet that good-looking Marine -- Dad. The girls had a good time inhabiting the crafts porch, taking walks, relaxing under the pines and stuffing themselves at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We had a blast listening to them. Lettie celebrated her 82nd during our stay, so we arranged for a cake and had them arrange the numbers to read 28. She got the usual camp treatment of the bump-and-grind happy birthday song by the staffers. We had terriffic weather throughout, and the lake was way warmer than it has been any summer for the last 23 years. No wet suits needed! The cell phone on Loni's waist was mercifully useless the whole time at Camp. It's only there in this pic because it was departure day and we were headed down the hill to the ratrace. Actually, to SF to see the boyos.

ADIOS RED, HELLO GRAY

Here's the detail of the back end of Mike's ex-car. AAA came through in sterling fashion, and Red now has been replaced with a new 5-door grey Focus. R.I.P. Red. Wonder if Mike was able to salvage the LSUJMB decal?

JULY 4th

It was a great day for the Palisades 5k/10k. About 59 degrees and heavy low clouds, no wind. We walked over to the staging area and all the runners walking to the start from wherever they parked their cars looked like lemmings converging on a cliff. The highest bib numbers we saw were in the 3200's, so I guess they had about that number of (registered) runners. Ran into Karen and Jason and took their photo. Some people just naturally take good pictures. Jase hasn't been doing any training, but had a decent run in the low 20's. He was beaten, however, by Noah, by a minute or so. Didn't catch up to Noah to get a photo as he disappeared into the crowd. Louis Lebhertz did the national anthem. You just can't beat an opera-trained bass. He "took charge" of the song and everyone there stood up a little straighter. Too bad he's moving to Monterey and won't be back to do the honors again next year. I've had much trouble trying to post his picture here. I'll try again. Nope. Blogger stalled again and wouldn't load the photo. I think I'll have to close this post and start another since I've tried multiple times.

TOTALED!

Well, the adjustor finally came. Mike opened the garage door and the guy didn't move a step before blurting: "That's a total!" He then did his documentation and photos and said we'd hear back from AAA next week regarding settlement. Anticipating (perhaps unfairly, but hey-- it's an insurance company) a lowball proposal, we're gathering ads for 2003 Foci to establish our bottom line, which looks like $10k, less our deductible. This was a nice-running, good-looking car that will be missed. Adios, ZX2+1/2.

CAR WOES

Friday night/Saturday morning the phone rang at 2:45 a.m. That's every parent's nightmare. Nothing good ever comes from a middle-of-the-night call. Thank goodness in this case it was only mangled metal, not flesh. Mike was on the line, adrenaline obviously pumping, speaking about twice as fast as normal, reporting that his car, parked on the street, had been the victim of a high-speed rear-ending by a truck, whose owner apparently was fleeing a domestic violence incident (according to the officers on scene who were taking statements). From Mike's description at the time, we envisioned a car accordioned to half its size, which would be a short Focus indeed. Actually, although pretty severe, I doubt that AAA will treat it as totaled, but will opt to repair it. Bummer. It's less than a year and a half old, with only 13k miles. They never can restore it to "like new," and the accident will haunt it at resale time. I guess this is the balancing karma for everything that has been going so well for Mike.

MIKE'S MASTER'S GRADUATION

Well, here we go again. As you can see from previous posts, I was trying to get pictures to be placed within the text of my posts, instead of having to publish them as individual posts. After much frustration and inquiry, I found you need to be publishing with FTP (file transfer protocol) in order to do that. FTP, however, was and remains a mystery as to how to use it. While avoiding work and perusing some of my favorite rv traveler websites and blogs, one of them mentioned that Blogger had changed the way you post pictures. Ah HAH! It seems now that you can actually do what I wanted. Let's see. Hit the "photo" icon and see what happens . . . GLORIOSKY!! At last! Here's Mike in his somewhat modified regalia at his Master's Degree ceremony at Stanford on June 12, 2005. The pirate hat is courtesy of his terrifically energetic and whimsical advisor and mentor, Professor Adina Paytan , who supplied her three charges with different hats during the "hooding" ceremony. Here's a shot from the "official" photographer of Mike getting hooded by Adina. Hmmm. Tried twice to get it from the Geo department website url, but it's not appearing. Let's see if I can get a second pic from the computer to post here.. .. well, that seemed to work. Here's John (or JC as he seems to be known these days) and I showing off Mike's hood (which had to be returned along with the gown). I'll play with one more picture in a larger size before going back (get started) to work . . . I think Blogger has some fine tuning to do, as the pictures pop up in odd places, then you have to drag them around. Below is Mike and Adina in her crab hat. By way of (some) explanation for these haberdashery touches, Adina is a professor, among other things, of paleoceanography and chemical oceanography. Mike's master's is in the former.
I guess that's all for now. Obviously I need to work on getting some kinks out of these photos, but this is much better than before. Kudos to Blogger.

BY THE WAY, YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO OPEN IT UP TO FULL SIZE.