Category Archives: California

Are We on Vacation?

A few weeks ago while Donna was waiting at the finish line to see her nephew, Connor, finish a 5k run, a vendor made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. He offered her a $150 American Express gift card, valid anywhere American Express is accepted, in return for having the  two of us sit through a two-hour presentation.

The presentation was from Wyndham Vacation Ownership. We knew we would be subjected to the usual high-pressure sales tactics. We also knew we wouldn’t get sucked into anything that wasn’t right for us. We figured what the heck? Take a few hours out of the day and walk away with $150. Why not?

Our appointment was set for 11:30am, Wednesday. We rode the scooter out to the Hazard Center in Mission Valley and found the Wyndham office. We checked in at 11:25am. Then we sat and waited while other people arrived. It was more than 20 minutes later before we were introduced to our salesperson, Hernando, and escorted back to a large room with open cubicles and desks. Each couple was assigned to their own salesperson.

Before we sat in Hernando’s cubicle, we were given plastic plates and napkins and had our choice of various sandwich wraps delivered from a nearby deli. We also had a variety of chips and drinks to go with the wrap. It was interesting. For the next 20 minutes we sat and ate while we talked about our backgrounds. Hernando told us about his family and how he ended up with Wyndham. My cynical take was this was designed to put us at ease and make us feel like Hernando is our friend.

Next, we were all herded into a conference room. A sales guy named Cory took over and all of the other salespeople left the room. Cory started by introducing himself, then had each of us say where we were from, where was our best vacation and if money was no object, where would we go on our next vacation.

Then he launched into his presentation, starting out by telling us there would be no pressure. They just wanted us to understand the benefits of Wyndham Vacation Ownership. He was pretty lively through most of his presentation and everyone participated as he asked the group questions. We sat through a couple of videos that were designed to make you feel like you were really missing the boat if you didn’t join.

We learned that Wyndham Vacation Ownership isn’t your typical timeshare arrangement. You buy in and become an owner of shares. This is somewhat like the Escapees program I described when we were in Jojoba Hills. The Wyndham Worldwide Corporation has a number of resorts, hotels and other vacation properties. They also have exchange programs through RCI, that allow trades with other resort properties around the world. There are more than 900,000 owners of shares in the Wyndham Vacation Ownership program, making it by far the largest in the country.

Ownership allows you to buy credits, which is how you pay for your stay at a property. They have standard plans with various amounts of credits, beginning with 5,000 credits. It takes about 4,000 credits to stay for a week at most properties. It could be more or less, depending on the location and size of the condo you’re staying in and whether it’s a peak or off-peak stay.

We returned to Hernando’s desk. I think Hernando knew he was facing an uphill battle to get us onboard, since he knew we were full-time RVers and don’t need a condo at resort locations. We can move our home anywhere we want. He was a little offstride as he went through his workbook, which was designed to show us how affordable the program is, compared to typical vacations.

Filling in the blanks on his workbook didn’t give the normal results. When he asked us how much we spend on hotel rooms, we said “zero.” We pay for hook-ups though. We figured our costs for full hook-ups average about $35/night. This didn’t fit the formula in his workbook.

Then Cory came over to lend his support. He mentioned an affiliation with Thousand Trails. That got my attention. Thousand Trails is a campground and RV resort membership with sites all across the country. Cory said he would have someone come over to explain the Thousand Trails program. Shortly, another salesperson came over to help. Her name was Christine. It turned out the Thousand Trails affiliation only entitles Wyndham members to get a discount off the Thousand Trails non-member rates, which are typically quite high.

At this point, Hernando went through the cost of ownership at various credit levels. I could tell his heart was no longer in it though as he could see this wasn’t a fit for our lifestyle. Their whole presentation was based on getting away from it all and lowering your level of stress by having the availability of going to a resort wherever you want, whenever you want. Well, that’s what we do already.

Finally, Cory came back to take one more swing at us. He offered us a special one-time chance at a bare bones membership, available only if we signed up right now. Then he had us sign a document stating that we didn’t want to accept the offer and would not be offered it again. No pressure tactics, right?

By then, it was after 2pm. Our two-hour, no-pressure presentation had stretched to about two and a half hours. The other participants were still stuck at their salesperson’s desks as we left.

On the way out, Donna collected her $150 American Express card. We found out the reward for sitting through the presentation wasn’t the same for everyone. Some people received only a $50 card. I don’t know how they decide which amount to offer, but they obviously offered us too much. Their program wasn’t for us.

It did get us talking a bit about what a vacation might look like for us. When we made the decision to live the full-time RV lifestyle, I told Donna that it was a lifestyle, not a vacation. She said, “Oh, good. So we’ll still go on vacation?” She had me there.

Because we can travel anywhere, any time and there still so many places we’d like to visit in our motorhome, we have yet to make any “real” vacation plans. Often we find ourselves on vacation by default like the time we spent a few days in Winthrop, WA. Donna was so enamored with our location, she declared herself on vacation. We walked around town, shopped, and ate out at least once every day. We did the same when we stayed just outside Yellowstone National Park. And then there was the long weekend we spent on a friend’s property in Montana with no cell phones, Internet, or television.

The more we thought about our “vacations” over the past 15 months, the more we realized that while we are not on vacation 365 days a year, doing all the touristy things, we can be on vacation whenever we choose. So yeah. Thanks but no thanks, Wyndham.

We have overcast skies this morning. The temperature is in the lower 60s and will top out at 68 degrees. I want to go out on my mountain bike today.

What Do You Want to Know?

The temperature reached 69 degrees yesterday. The predicted high over the next three days is 68 degrees, then we’ll see the 70s again over the weekend. Although this is cooler than usual weather around here, it’s nothing compared to the arctic blast hitting the Rockies, the midwest and southern portion of the country. We’re so happy to be able to spend the fall months in a place where the sun shines with clear skies and warm temperatures most days.

There’s truth to the adage: “If you don’t have much to say, you can always talk about the weather.” When I started this blog, the intention was to chronicle our preparations for a lifestyle change and adventures on the road. I thought family and friends might find it interesting. I also wanted to honestly portray the full-time RV lifestyle as we live it.

I’ve written more than 350 posts since then and our site has been visited nearly 53,000 times. At first, it was pretty easy to come up material to write about. We were constantly on the move and exploring new places. We made stops in places that were interesting for us and most likely interesting for others to read about.

Now that we’re back in San Diego for another three-month stint, I’m having a harder time coming up with new material to post. Last fall, I found many interesting sights in the area and posted a little history. I don’t want to rehash that, although I’m sure I could find other interesting places here.

What do you want to know? If you have any suggestions for topics I should write about, please post a comment.

San Diego Mercato

On Saturday morning, Donna and I rode the scooter over to Movin’ Shoes on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, to pick up her race packet. The packet contained her race number with timing chip, a T-shirt and some other goodies. Donna registered a few weeks ago for the San Diego Duathlon, which would take place on Sunday morning.

San Diego has a long history of triathlon and duathlon racing. The first triathlon was held at Mission Bay on September 25, 1974 – four years before the first Ironman triathlon. You can read about it here.

After we returned, Donna’s sister, Linda, picked us up and we drove to Little Italy. Little Italy is a gentrified district north of downtown San Diego. Originally it was populated by Italian fishermen. Nowadays, it’s home to many restaurants, sidewalk cafes, pubs, boutique hotels and residences. Donna and I stayed here at La Pensione hotel back in 2006.

Little Italy sign on India street

Little Italy sign on India street

On Saturday mornings, they have a farmers’ market, known as the Mercato. The market covers three blocks of Cedar Street between Kettner Boulevard and State Street. This is one of the largest farmers’ markets in San Diego. It’s a favorite shopping place for tourists and locals as well.

Farmers' market on Cedar Street

Farmers’ market on Cedar Street

We browsed through the market for about an hour and a half. They had all of the usual local produce plus a few unique items – like live sea urchins.

Sea urchins

Sea urchins

I like sushi and eat seafood, but sea urchins aren’t my cup of tea.

Donna wanted to buy marinara sauce. We didn’t find any at the market so we walked up India Street to find a store. As we started up India Street, I heard someone call out “Kuper!” I turned around and saw my old friend and former colleague, Skip Redmond, on the corner. Skip and his friend, Steve, are street musicians. They were playing on the corner at the farmers’ market.

Skip and Steve

Skip and Steve

I first met Skip in 1980, when I was the service manager at Herman Cook VW in Encinitas, California. Skip was working for Volkswagen of America. I went to work for Volkswagen of America in 1984 and our paths crossed many times during our careers. We’re both Volkswagen of America retirees now. We chatted for a few minutes, then continued our quest for marinara sauce.

We walked to Filippi’s Pizza Grotto and market. Donna was about to buy a jar of sauce when we decided to eat in the restaurant. It was nearly 1pm and we were hungry. We ordered a pizza and Donna asked our server if we could buy some of the restaurant’s sauce. She sold us a pint of their meat sauce to go.

That night, we had spaghetti with chicken meatballs and Filippi’s meat sauce. I opened a bottle of Stone Smoked Porter brewed with chocolate and orange peel. I’ve acquired a taste for flavored stouts and porters when they’re subtly spiced. The Stone doesn’t hit you with any over-the-top flavors. It’s a complex blend that tastes great.

Stone Smoked Perter with chocolate and orange peel

Stone Smoked Porter with chocolate and orange peel

Donna was up early Sunday morning. She rode out of the RV park on her bicycle at 6am. It was a three-mile ride to the race transition area where she stowed her bike, helmet, gloves and cycling shoes. The race started with a 1.5-mile run at 7:30am. The run ended at the transition area, where Donna put on her gear and rode three laps (about 12.5 miles) around Fiesta Island. After the third lap, she returned to the transition area and put on her running shoes to finish the race with a 2.5-mile run.

I rode the scooter over to the transition area and arrived at 8:30am. I looked for Donna’s bike, but couldn’t spot it in the mass of bicycles there. I wasn’t sure if she was still riding or if she was already running the last leg of the race. I walked down to the finish area to wait. They had a band performing near the finish line. I can’t imagine rockin’ out at that hour.

Blue Rockit band

Blue Rockit band

As I stood there, a guy next to me tapped me on the shoulder and pointed up the hill behind me. Donna was running past waving at me. I didn’t hear her call my name, but it got the attention of the guy next to me.

Donna approaching the finish line

Donna approaching the finish line

Donna finished the race with a time of 1:33. She was pleased with her result, considering she hasn’t done much running since February. I scootered home and became a couch potato watching NFL football while Donna stayed back for the race ceremonies. She rode her bike home later.

While I was watching football, Jeff Sandler picked Donna up and they drove to her sister Sheila’s house for brunch. Later they looked at a few homes on the market in the Point Loma area.

Today, we expect cooler weather with highs in the mid 70s. I need to pick up a couple things at Costco, then I’ll go for a bicycle ride.

 

Road Ride

I haven’t been riding my road bike since I bought a mountain bike last March. Yesterday I got on my Orbea road bike and headed out. I followed  another bicyclist – he looked to be a triathlete – for a few miles. Riding in his draft was a good way to warm up.

I rode to the Sea World bike path near the entrance to Fiesta Island. It felt good to be on a road bike again. I’d forgotten how fast this bike is. A mountain bike can do things that cannot be done on a road bike. However, a mountain bike will never match the speed of a road bike on the pavement.

I stopped at the crest of the West Mission Bay Drive bridge and shot a photo of boats on the bay.

View of paradise Point from the West Mission Bay bridge

View of Paradise Point from the West Mission Bay bridge

From there, I continued on to Mission Beach, then rode north to Pacific Beach. It was going to be a warm day and there were already lots of people at the beach.

I was out for little over an hour and put about 17 miles in. I need to take more rides like this and get back into shape. Then maybe Donna and I can start riding together again.

In the afternoon, Donna and I scootered over to Von’s grocery in Pacific Beach and stocked up on groceries. We had a full load coming back!

While we were at Von’s, I picked up a bottle of coffee stout from Coronado Brewing Company. It was indescribably good. Refreshing beer that tasted like a cup of good coffee is all I can say. They brew it with locally roasted coffee beans.

Coronado Brewing Company Blue Ridge Coffee Stout

Coronado Brewing Company Blue Bridge Coffee Stout

We sat outside for cocktail hour and enjoyed the weather with fresh veggies and a sun-dried tomato and fresh basil hummus that Donna made. I grilled a rib-eye steak for dinner that we enjoyed with sauteed mushrooms and onions and a baked potato.

It was a great day – life is good.

This morning, we’ll go to a shop in Pacific Beach and pick up Donna’s race packet. She’s competing in a duathlon tomorrow morning. It’s a sprint race, starting with a 1.5-mile run, then 12.5 miles on the bike followed by another run of 2.5 miles.

After we pick up her race packet, we’ll go to the farmers’ market in the Little Italy district downtown with Donna’s sister, Linda.

Ruckus by the Bay

After I posted to the blog yesterday, Donna and I went out in the Sea Eagle kayak. We paddled south along the east side of Mission Bay. As we cruised south, we had a tendency to veer to the right. We tried various paddling techniques, but couldn’t really understand the root cause. After awhile, I told Donna to paddle normally (she was up front) and I would make adjustments to keep us on course.

Old Mission Bay Visitor Center

Old Mission Bay Visitor Center

We paddled past the old Mission Bay Visitor Center, which sadly is no longer open. Budget cuts strike again.

We continued paddling south for more than 30 minutes and reached the Hilton Hotel. We saw a couple of other kayaks out on the bay and a few jet skis and power boats, but all in all, it was a relatively quiet day.

Hilton Hotel viewed from the bay

Hilton Hotel viewed from the bay

We turned around at the Hilton and headed north, back to De Anza Cove. The paddle back was much easier. Our difficulty in holding our course on the way out was a combination of the current (the tide was going out) and wind effect. On the way back, the current helped us and the wind was quartering at our backs from the southwest.

Looking north as we paddled back

Looking north as we paddled back

It was a pleasant cruise on the bay. We spent a little over an hour paddling. I wondered if I would have sore shoulders, but I’m not sore at all this morning.

After we rinsed the kayak off and loaded it in the trailer, we returned to our coach just in time to see the FedEx guy make a delivery to us. I thought it would be my new road bike tires, but it turned out to be three large boxes sent from the Brillo people to Donna. One box contained a new wet/dry mop she wanted to test out and the other two boxes contain 100 packages of Brillo’s eraser sponge that she requested to fill goodie bags for an upcoming speaking engagement.

Anyway, I went online to track my tire package and found that it was sent via USPS. It showed “delivery attempted, notice left.” What? I didn’t have any notice. I clicked on the link for more information. The mail carrier indicated that he attempted delivery on Wednesday at 4:43pm. I was in the coach at that time, no delivery attempted here. I went to the park office to see if a notice was left there. They told me no package or notice was left there.

I rode the scooter over to the local post office on Cass Street. I explained my situation to the guy at the counter and he went into the back to look for the package. After awhile, he came back empty-handed and told me to talk to the office manager. I gave her the tracking number and told her what was shown on the web site. She pulled up the tracking information, then went into the back.

She came back and told me that my address, site 111, isn’t valid. I told her that I received mail the week before that was left at the office, not delivered to the site. This time, nothing was left – no notice, no package. She told me the mail carrier on Wednesday wasn’t the usual guy on that route. Russ, the usual guy had my package and would deliver it today. I thanked her, but I was thinking, is it okay for the guy to say he attempted delivery and left a notice when no such thing happened? She seemed to think it was okay. No accountability. No wonder the US Postal Service is in such dire straits.

On the way back, I saw a USPS delivery truck on East Mission Bay Drive. He turned at the golf course parking lot. I followed him. When he came out of the golf course office, I asked him if he was Russ. He was. I told him what happened. He had my package. He asked me for ID, then he handed it over to me. Whew, problem solved.

It was lunchtime by then. Donna made street tacos from leftover pork tenderloin – they were delicious! I had a few more things on my agenda for the day.

My first project was replacement of the air filter on the scooter. I had received the new air filter I ordered on Wednesday. The air filter is in an airbox on the left side of the scooter. Most modern engines utilize an airbox which not only houses the air filter, it’s a Helmholtz chamber. Helmholtz chambers are resonators. Engineers calculate the mass and velocity of the air and design the air box to resonate at a frequency that coincides with the engine rpm at maximum torque output. This resonance force feeds air into the intake and increases power.

Intake airbox

Intake airbox

Some guys think they’re hot rodding their engine by removing the airbox and clamping a filter directly to the intake to maximize airflow. Not a good idea. This old school, shade-tree thinking actually robs power.

The old air filter was dirty and in need of replacement. It did its job, dirty on the outside but clean on the downstream side. It had 6,000+ miles on it. I think next time I’ll replace it after 5,000 miles.

Old, dirty air filter

Old, dirty air filter

Prisitine, new filter

Pristine, new filter

With that job done, I took my new bicycle tires over to our trailer and set up my bicycle work stand. The work stand made it easy to remove the wheels from my bike and install the new tires.

Bike work stand outside the Busted Knuckle Garage (our cargo trailer)

Bike work stand outside the Busted Knuckle Garage (our cargo trailer)

My bike is road ready again!

The last item on my agenda was picking my teams for this weekend’s football pool and turning my sheet in. I rode out of the RV park on Mission Bay Drive. I rounded the curve near the intersection at the entrance to I-5 where there was a concrete island separating the lanes. Just then, I saw a car on my side of the road heading straight at me! I swerved quickly to the right curb as he sped past me, inches away.

When I reached the intersection, I saw traffic backed up as far as I could see in the opposite (southbound) lane of Mission Bay Drive. I wondered what that was all about as I continued north. When I reached the parking lot for the boat ramp, south of the visitor center, I saw police activity. There were at least 20 patrol cars in the lot with lights flashing. The lot was cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape and the road was closed. The police were turning cars back, thus the big traffic tie-up.

I turned around and rode the scooter down the center line and took an alternate route. When I reached the tavern, I pulled up the local news on my smartphone and saw what the ruckus was all about.

A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer had stopped a woman in the parking lot. He was investigating a hit-and run accident and had taken her into custody. Details are sketchy, but the report said shots were fired and then the handcuffed woman drove off in the CHP car. More shots were fired by the officer as the car sped away.

The woman drove the stolen CHP car to Friars Road, hitting several cars along the way before she was finally stopped. More shots were fired on Friars Road. I don’t think anyone was killed, but I’m not sure of the extent of injuries at this point.

Today, I want to go out on my road bike in the morning. The temperature will reach the mid 80s this afternoon. I don’t have any other plans.

Riding with the Wind

We had rain over the weekend. It rained on Friday night and Saturday night. I love it when it rains overnight and we have clear days. The rain makes the air seem so fresh.

On Sunday, my daughter Shauna came over to visit and watch the Chargers game with me. The game was a blowout. It was worst Chargers performance I’ve ever witnessed. In the third quarter, Shauna decided she’d seen enough. She went out for a run. She’s training for a half marathon coming up in a couple of weeks. Her training schedule called for a 10-mile run on Sunday. She ran from Mission Bay RV Resort through Crown Point Shores to Mission Beach and back.

I watched the Denver Broncos get taken down by the Patriots in the afternoon. The Chargers have a bye next weekend. Hopefully they can gather it up and come back playing like they did in the first quarter of the season.

The cooler temperatures lingered on Monday. The temperature dropped into the 50s overnight and the high for the day only reached 72 degrees. It was windy in the afternoon. We had 18mph wind from the northwest with gusts of 24mph. I rode my bike to Pacific Beach. The wind made the ride out difficult. The wind pushed me along on the way back though.

The funny thing is, when you’re riding into the wind, the wind resistance makes it hard work. However, the wind also aids evaporative cooling, so you don’t notice how much you’re sweating. When you ride with the wind at your back, there’s very little resistance and you can speed along. But with very little air passing over your body, evaporative cooling doesn’t work so well and you feel hotter as the sweat starts dripping from your body.

I made a few stops on the way back to take photos. People were out on the bay taking advantage of the windy conditions. I saw sailboats, wind surfers and kite surfers. The kite surfer had a board that was a hydrofoil. As he gained speed, the board rose up out of the water and rode along on a small winglet on the keel. It looked fun, but I couldn’t capture a picture of him at speed. The only photo I got was just after he hopped off of the board.

Kite surfer at Sail Bay

Kite surfer at Sail Bay

The wind surfer struggled as he sped along. I saw him capsize a couple of times from powerful wind gusts. You can see the wind blowing the flag in the background of this picture.

Wind surfer near Paradise Point

Wind surfer near Paradise Point

Sailboat tacking into the wind

Sailboat tacking into the wind

I saw something I’d never seen at Mission Bay before – a peregrine falcon perched on a pole. I shot a picture but I couldn’t hold my camera phone steady enough to zoom in.

Peregrine falcon perched on a pole

Peregrine falcon perched on a pole

As always, clicking on the images will enlarge them.

I have to run some errands this morning, then I’ll tackle defrosting the refrigerator this afternoon. Donna will return this evening, I can hardly wait until she returns!

Good Beer with Great Friends

Donna worked all day Friday, trying to get things done before she left for Orlando. I spent the morning writing a post that probably told you more than you wanted to know about holding tanks. Other than that, I didn’t accomplish much all day.

A neighbor had pulled in two sites down from us the day before. They spent much of Thursday afternoon putting up Halloween decorations. They hung lanterns from their awning and an EZ-Up canopy. Friday’s Halloween forecast called for rain and gusty overnight wind. We saw them take all of the decorations down and pack them into their car on Friday. They rolled the awning in on their coach, removed the cover from the EZ-Up canopy and drove away. We thought they must have originally planned to have visitors here at the park, but changed their plans and went to the home of friends or relatives.

It was cloudy, but warm all day Friday. In the afternoon I went to the Cycle Gear store in Kearny Mesa and bought a cover for the scooter. It’s something I should have done long ago to protect the scooter from the elements. Cycle Gear had a sale on the cover, I bought it for less than half of retail.

Before the rain came, I grilled a pork tenderloin for dinner. Donna made a different marinade this time. It was good, but I think I prefer the sesame-chili oil, olive oil, ginger and soy sauce marinade.

Grilled pork tenderloin with baked yam and steamed green beans

Grilled pork tenderloin with baked yam and steamed green beans

I covered the scooter and rolled the awning in. I made sure all of the windows on the right side of the coach, which is facing west, were closed. We’ve been sleeping with the windows open. The wind and rain would come from the west and I didn’t want rain to blow into the coach.

The rain came overnight as predicted. In the early morning hours the wind picked up. Donna was up early. She left around 6:30am to go to the TV studio. She appeared in a local program called Good Morning San Diego and presented decluttering tips for the holidays. I recorded the show while I slept in.

After she returned, I bought a sausage and egg breakfast burrito from the Snack Shack and we split it for breakfast. Then I drove Donna to the airport for her flight to Orlando, Florida. She’s attending a course there and will return on Tuesday night.

After lunch, I drove up to Carlsbad to the home of our friends, Bruce and Debbie Bednarski. Like me, Bruce likes a martini. I brought a jar of tomolives and a jar of blue cheese stuffed olives as a gift for them. I posted about these martini garnishes here.

Bruce and Debbie had invited me to join them and sample beers at the Belching Beaver Brewery. Belching Beaver is fairly new on the craft beer scene. They started in 2012 and have established a loyal following. Their beer can be found in Costco here in San Diego. There are more than 40 breweries in San Diego County now and the list is sure to expand.

At the brewery, Debbie’s brother Jim Taylor and his wife, Rosellen and our friends Rick and Kathy Siordia joined us. It’s been more than 25 years since I last visited with them. We sat and talked and sampled some of the brews for a couple of hours. It was great to catch up with them. It felt completely natural, like we had been in touch all along.

Me, Debbie, Rosellen, Kathy Rick and Jim. Bruce took the picture.

Me, Debbie, Rosellen, Kathy, Rick and Jim. Bruce took the picture.

Last night we turned the clocks back to standard time. This had me up early this morning. It always takes a few days for our body clocks to adjust to the artificial clocks our lives revolve around.

We had more rain in the night. There are a few clouds over head, but I think it will clear. I plan to be indoors watching football in any case. The Chargers are in Miami, so their game will be the early broadcast. There are lots of interesting match-ups today.

Dumping and Flushing

Yesterday, I dumped and flushed our holding tanks. I’ve written that sentence in this blog many times. It’s not the most pleasant task or subject, but I’m going to write what I know about it today.

To be self-contained, an RV must have the ability to store and pump fresh water. It also must be able to store wastewater for proper disposal. Fresh water capacity is usually the limiting factor regarding how long you can live without hook-ups. In some cases, gray water capacity may set the limit.

Most self-contained RVs have three water tanks – fresh water tank, gray water tank and black water tank.

Fresh water is potable water stored on board and is usually pumped through the plumbing with an electric pump. I always filter the water going into our motorhome. I never know if the water supply I’m hooked up to had recent work which may have left sediment or dislodged rust into the system. Our current set-up is a two-stage canister filtration system. The first stage is an inexpensive 5-micron spun-polypropylene filter that traps sediment or other solids. The second stage contains a 5-micron fiber-block activated-carbon filter. This filter removes chemicals, bacteria, lead and other heavy metals. We have another filter on a tap in the kitchen that is a one-micron carbon filter that will remove giardia and cryptosporidium cysts.

Fresh water supply pressure regulator and two stage canister filters

Fresh water supply pressure regulator and two-stage canister filters

I always use a pressure regulator on the fresh water supply. I wrote about that here. Our fresh water supply comes directly from the RV park water supply when we’re hooked up. When we don’t have a fresh water supply hooked up, we draw fresh water from our 100-gallon fresh water tank (total capacity is 110 gallons when you add the hot water heater volume).

So where does our fresh water go when we use it? The shower drain, kitchen sink and bathroom sink drain into the gray water tank (on some RVs, the bathroom sink may drain into the black water tank). Clothes washing machines and dishwashers also drain into the gray water tank. Gray water is generally considered to be harmless to the environment. Every drain has a P-trap. This is a U-shaped bend in the plumbing to trap and hold a small amount of water. This prevents the flow of gases from the tank coming out of the drain. Gray water can smell bad due to organic matter breaking down in the tank.

The tank has a vent that is piped up to the roof of the RV. It also has a drain pipe with a blade valve that exits under the RV. When we’re on full hook-ups, we aren’t concerned with how much gray water we create. We take regular showers and run the washing machine. I drain the gray water tank after two or three days – we have 100 gallons of gray water capacity in our coach. We average about 30 gallons of gray water per day for the two of us plus maybe another 8 gallons of black water. When we dry camp, we practice water conservation and use about 15 gallons of water per day. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average household uses a total of 80-100 gallons per person per day.

The toilet flushes into the black water tank. It’s important to understand how the black water tank functions. The most important thing is to have plenty of water in the black water tank. Solid waste matter and toilet paper needs to break down in the tank. If there isn’t sufficient water in the tank, solid waste can accumulate in one spot (below the toilet) and create the dreaded poo-pyramid.

Most RVers also add a chemical additive to the black water tank. There are many different additives on the market. They all have one thing in common – they claim to eliminate odor. Some mask odor by using scents. Some claim to break down solids as well as paper. Some claim to clean holding tank level sensors. Some of them claim to lubricate the blade valves.

I’ve tried several different brands. My comments on these brands are unscientific. I didn’t test or analyze. I’m just stating my observations.

Gray and black tank sewer manifold

Gray and black tank sewer manifold

The Oxy-Kem® brand controlled odors well. But I noticed paper in the black water when I drained the tank using Oxy-Kem®. By the way, it’s important to have a clear section in the sewer hook-up. It’s not a pleasant thing, but you need to be aware of the condition of your tanks by observing the discharge.

I was skeptical about brands that claimed to break down paper. I tried the Odorlos® treatment which claims to liquify all waste and tissue. To my surprise, I no longer saw any paper when I used this product. The odor control was not so good though.

The Walex Bio-Pak®was up next. it says it’s a natural enzyme deodorizer and waste digester. This product also broke down the paper, but isn’t the best odor controller. The packaging also doesn’t say it’s formaldehyde-free. Some holding tank treatments contain formaldehyde which isn’t environmentally friendly.

I’m currently using Happy Campers® treatment. So far, it seems to be the best. It breaks down the paper and seems to control odor well.

Holding tank treatments

Holding tank treatments

I drain the black water tank after five to seven days. Internet wisdom on various RV forums advises to have the black water tank at least 3/4 full before draining to ensure a forceful flow that will get everything out. This rule of thumb doesn’t make sense to me.

My old coach had a black water capacity of 40 gallons. At 3/4 full, it held 30 gallons of black water. It drained forcefully and I had no issues. My current coach has a black water capacity of about 90 gallons. The 3/4 rule means I should have more than 65 gallons before I drain the tank. Why? If thirty gallons worked on the smaller tank, why wouldn’t thirty gallons work on a large tank? They have the same size outlet and drain at the same rate.

I time how long it takes to drain the tank and I have a rough idea of how full the tank is. I usually have about 40 gallons when I drain the black water. We once went for 15 days without dumping tanks and I think the black tank was nearly full then.

Our coach is equipped with a black water tank flushing system. This consists of a hose connector and plumbing to a spray jet inside the black tank. I connect a water hose to the flush system and turn on the water before I open the black water blade valve. Do not use your fresh water supply hose on the black tank flushing system. I’ve seen people do this. Although the system has check valves, back flow is always a possibility. I let the flusher run for 10-15 seconds to agitate the wastewater, then I pull the valve open. Whoosh. After the tank drains, I leave the flushing system running for several minutes, then I close the valve. With the valve closed, I continue to run the flusher for 30-40 seconds to put a few gallons of water in the tank. Plenty of water in the black tank is a good thing. Then I go into the coach and flush the treatment down the toilet and into the tank.

I should mention the importance of having the sewer hose securely fastened to the sewer drain. If it can’t be screwed into the drain, it must be weighted down. The tank drains with enough force to lift the end of the sewer hose straight up and spew the contents. If you’ve seen the movie RV starring Robin Williams, you know what I’m talking about.

Sewer hose securely fastened to the drain pipe

Sewer hose securely fastened to the drain pipe

Once I’ve finished draining and flushing the black tank, I drain the gray water tank. Running 50 or 60 gallons of gray water through the sewer hose cleans out anything left behind after flushing the black tank. That’s how I do it.

I’m not sure if the cloud cover will burn off today. We have cloudy skies and a 90% chance of much-needed rain tonight.

Verizon Customer Service

Tuesday, Donna and I each had errands to run. Donna took Linda’s car and drove to Linda’s house to pick up mail she had delivered there. She also stopped at The Container Store to pick up supplies she’ll need this weekend. Donna is appearing on a local television program, Good Morning San Diego, on Saturday morning before she flies to Orlando, Florida to take a 2-day class.

While Donna was out, I took the scooter and rode from Mission Bay RV Resort to the Verizon store in Pacific Beach. We’re supposed to receive a $200 credit for porting Donna’s number from T-mobile to my Verizon account, but I haven’t received the promotional code to claim the credit. It’s been a real hassle. I spent an hour online in a chat session with a Verizon customer service representative. That didn’t help. A week ago, I spent an hour at the Verizon store that ended with them telling me Verizon would contact me via e-mail or text within 48 hours. They gave me a number to call If I didn’t hear from Verizon in 48 hours.

I didn’t hear from Verizon. I called the number they gave me – it was the Verizon trade-in center. They had no idea why I was calling them and said they couldn’t help me. They told me they would escalate the complaint and I would hear back from them. That was last Friday. By Tuesday, I hadn’t been contacted.

I spent 90 minutes at the Verizon store trying to get this sorted out. Once again, it ended with them telling me I would be contacted – this time within four business days. The interesting thing I learned was that the Verizon store in Pacific Beach is independently operated – it’s not a Verizon corporate store. The sign says Verizon Store and the employees all wear shirts with the Verizon logo. If I had purchased our new phones at a corporate store, I wouldn’t be dealing with customer service. The corporate stores can create promotional codes for my account to get my $200 credit. Independently owned stores cannot create these codes – they have to get them from customer service.

While I was out, I stopped at the Pacific Beach farmers’ market for a couple of items. When I returned to the RV park, I saw I had missed a call while I was scootering. My smartphone also showed that an new e-mail was received. I opened the email. It was from a Verizon account manager. Here’s the text of the e-mail:

Dear Michael,

We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your valuable feedback regarding Verizon’s products and services. Your satisfaction is very important to us as we continuously strive to improve our customers’ experiences.

We have attempted to reach you by phone to discuss the feedback you provided, as well as any questions that you may have. If you wish to discuss this further via phone, or have additional information you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reply to this email or contact me at the number below.

Thank you for choosing Verizon as your wireless service provider. We appreciate your business and we look forward to serving you again the future!

Best regards,
haydee Madera gaytan
Indirect account manager
Locals
619-823-6319

I tried to call the number listed below the signature. It goes straight to music every time. No ring tone. No message. Just music blaring. I tried e-mailing the account manager. No response so far. How’s that for customer service? End of rant.

After dinner, Donna and I watched Breaking Bad. This is our second time watching the entire series. We both agree that we see it differently the second time around. The first time, we felt sorry for Walter White and cut him a lot of slack. Yes, he did a lot of bad things, but he was very likely dying and wanted to do what he could to help his family, which is how he was able to justify his actions. He didn’t set out to be a bad guy, but one bad thing led to another. This time, we could see almost from the start that he was like a sociopath in the way that he used family and friends with little regard for their safety or well-being.

While we were watching TV, I opened a beer I’d never tried before. It was from Belching Beaver Brewery in Vista (north San Diego County). The beer was peanut butter flavored milk stout. I split it with Donna. We both found it to be delicious – a dessert treat. It’s like a Reese’s® peanut butter cup in a glass!

Peanut butter and chocolate in a bottle

Peanut butter and chocolate in a bottle

Yesterday, I rode my mountain bike in San Clemente Canyon again. I tried a few different trails in the canyon. Some of the trails are challenging. One of the trails I was on had a short, steep climb up the canyon wall. I didn’t notice a tree root across the top of the climb until it was too late. I popped the front wheel past the root, but I lost too much momentum. When the rear tire hit it, I was stopped dead in my tracks. Before I could react, I fell heavily on my left side and slid partway down the hill.

This is the steep section that i crashed on

This is the steep section that I crashed on

After I picked myself up, I got on the bike and started riding back home. My left hip and elbow were sore. I wanted to get back before my hip stiffened up.

I haven’t crashed on a road bike in years. I’ve had a few spills on the mountain bike though. When I got home, I ordered a set of tires for my Orbea road bike. I think I’ll get back out on the road to work myself into better shape.

Around 5:30pm, Donna and I drove over to Sport Rx on Santa Fe Street – the same place that puts refreshments out front for bicyclists. The Cyclo-Vets bicycle club was holding a “kit fit”  meeting there and Donna wanted to try on club cycling clothing. The Sport Rx facility is a cool, friendly place. They sell sport glasses and some clothing and helmets. They had a keg of pale ale on tap – just ask for a glass and help yourself!

From there we stopped at Sushi Ota. We thought we would have sushi for dinner, but they had a 90-minute wait! We went next door to Lanna Thai instead. I’d been craving pad thai anyway. The food and service was excellent – I’d give them 4.5 on a scale of 5.

Last night, I enjoyed a fun beer from Stone Brewing called Lukcy Basartd – that’s not a typo. It’s a spin-off from their popular Arrogant Bastard ale. We watched the final episode of Breaking Bad.

Stone Lukcy Basartd

Stone Lukcy Basartd

Donna has a doctor appointment today to get her annual physical. If it’s not too windy, we might take the Sea Eagle kayak out later.

 

 

 

San Clemente Canyon

I put on my cycling shorts and headed out on my mountain bike yesterday around 11am. I didn’t head for the beach, I wanted to ride mountain bike trails. I rode up the Rose Creek paved trail to Damon Avenue. Damon Avenue took me to Santa Fe  Street, where I turned north, parallel to I-5.

Santa Fe Street is a light commercial zone with small business parks. The Santa Fe RV Park is also on this street. As I rode past one business complex, I saw an interesting sign. It invited cyclists to stop for air, water and refueling.

An invitation for cyclist

An invitation for cyclists

I didn’t stop. I continued north to the end of the road and followed the paved Rose Canyon bicycle path for a few hundred yards. At the junction with San Clemente Canyon, I carried my bike across the railroad tracks and rode east along single-track dirt paths into San Clemente Canyon.

When I was growing up in the area, we often hiked in San Clemente Canyon. I haven’t been in this place for at least 40 years. The bottom of the canyon is overgrown with vegetation now and the trails are very narrow in places.

Trail in San Clemente Canyon

Trail in San Clemente Canyon

There were several trails intersecting each other and either climbing the south side of the canyon or dropping to the bottom of the canyon. I meandered up and down as I rode east. I wanted to find a particular tree. I have an old picture of me and my brother sitting in this tree. I was 16 years old at the time and Eddie was five or six.

Me and my brother, Eddie

Me and my brother, Eddie

I didn’t know if I could find this tree 42 years later. I knew I was in the right area. Then I spotted what looked to be the same tree, but viewed from the other side.

42 years later, I'm not sure if this is the same tree

42 years later, I’m not sure if this is the same tree

Riding up and down the canyon wall had me huffing and puffing. I need to get out here more often and work myself back into cycling shape. I was in much better condition when I rode my road bike most days last year.

The trails were challenging in some areas. Even the wide open sections had rocks in the hard-packed dirt, which kept me on my toes.

Watch out for rocks

Watch out for rocks

I tried to capture a steep, rutted downhill section, but the camera perspective doesn’t really show how steep it is.

Steep, rutted downhill

Steep, rutted downhill

I rode on the trails for about 40 minutes before I re-crossed the railroad tracks and headed home. I was out of water and feeling overheated. When I rode past the Sport Rx Glasses business with the sign inviting cyclist to stop, I stopped this time. They had a table next to the sidewalk with a five-gallon jug of drinking water in a rack that allowed the water to be easily poured from the jug. There were also some chewy granola bars on the table and a sign-up sheet to receive e-mails about bicycling events they sponsor.

Free refreshments for cyclist

Free refreshments for cyclists

I filled my water bottle and helped myself to a granola bar. Thanks, Sport Rx! I felt much better after taking a break. I rode home and was feeling whipped. Donna was out for a run when I returned. She came home a few minutes later.

Donna spent the rest of the afternoon working while I kicked back. Donna’s sister, Sheila, dropped off leftover ziti with marinara and meatballs from the Halloween party while I was out on my bike. We reheated it for dinner. I was just as tasty the second time around! She ordered it from The Venetian in Point Loma.

Last night, I watched the Monday Night Football game. Today, I have a number of errands to run. I’ll recover from the bike ride today and head out to the canyon again tomorrow.