Time Warp

Yesterday marked the end of our third month on the road. We rolled out of our driveway in Shelby Township, Michigan, for the last time July 23rd. Looking back, the time is a bit warped.

What I mean is that time seemed to stretch over the first two months. We visited so many places and did so many things, it didn’t seem possible that it all happened in two months. The last month was spent in one place, Mission Bay, San Diego. We’ve settled into daily routines. For me, everyday is Saturday. The weeks are marked by NFL football games on Sunday. The time has flown by.

Last weekend, we reached our 30-day limit at the Mission Bay RV Resort and had to leave for a day. Once we hooked up the trailer, I actually enjoyed driving our motorhome to El Cajon. Among RVers, this is known as “hitch itch.” Hitch itch is a hankering to hitch up and hit the road.

We plan to stay put in San Diego until January. We’ll have to leave the park two more times as we reach the 30-day limits. That should satisfy my hitch itch until we head to Arizona in January.

We’ve had a couple of days with unseasonably cool weather, about 5 degrees below normal. In San Diego, that means the daily high along the coast is in the mid 60s. Unseasonably cool is what the weather report says, but I’m not complaining. It will warm up to the 70s tomorrow and through the weekend.

Donna is working on updating her website, unclutter.com. She’s also working on her book promotion plan and generally figuring out how to work while living the full-time RV life.

Today, I’ll study the NFL schedule and pick my teams for this weekend’s games. I doubt if I can repeat last weekend’s results when I picked 12 winners out of 14 games.

Grilling Bricks

I love my Weber Q100 gas grill. It’s portable, large enough to prepare a meal for four and it works so well. The flame is proportional to the settings on the knob, making it easy to control the temperature.

Last night I grilled the tastiest, juiciest chicken breasts ever. I used an unconventional technique that provides such great results, I have to tell you about it. Start with skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts. Sprinkle your favorite herb seasoning; Donna used a mixture of minced garlic, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and herbes de Provence.

While the grill was heating, I wrapped two bricks with aluminum foil. Reduce the flame on the grill to medium (about 350F). Place the chicken breasts skin side down over direct heat. Then place the foil wrapped bricks on top of the breasts and close the cover on the grill.

Foil wrapped bricks on chicken breasts – start with skin side down

Grill for 10 minutes, then use an oven mitt or tongs to remove the bricks and set them aside on the grill. Turn the chicken breasts over and put the bricks back on them. Grill for another 10 minutes. Remove the bricks, place the chicken on a platter and voila, you’ll have tasty, juicy chicken.

Flip the chicken and replace the bricks

Ready to serve

I’ve read that this technique comes from Italy, created by either the Tuscans or the Romans. They call it pollo al mattone, although they usually cook a whole chicken with this technique. The weight of the brick presses the meat into the grill, crisping the skin and helping it to cook evenly. The brick also covers the meat, keeping it moist. I know it sounds a little weird, but it really works. Donna found this technique in a magazine called (The Best of) Fine Cooking Grilling. Try it. I think you’ll like it.

Served with brown basmati rice and spinach sauteed with diced sundried tomatoes and sliced garlic

Yesterday, Donna went out to lunch and spent the afternoon with her friend, Paulette Ensign, who says she is one of our biggest blog fans. After they left, went for a bike ride. Later, I went to the tavern and collected my football pool winnings. I bought a round for the other guys there who participated in the pool. It’s their tradition. I’ll have to study the match-ups for this weekend and try my luck again.

This morning it’s overcast with a thick marine layer. I expect it to burn off later and we’ll have another fine day in San Diego.

24-Hour Shuffle

I haven’t posted since Friday. I anticipated this as we had a busy weekend. Mission Bay RV Resort is owned by the city of San Diego and they have strict rules. One of the strictly enforced rules limits RVs to a 30-day maximum stay in the park. After 30 days, you must be out of the park for at least 24 hours before you can return. This means your RV and all belongings must be off the property. For us this meant I would have to pack the trailer and take it with us.

I spent most of Saturday preparing to leave. I organized the trailer and loaded the scooter. I packed some of our stuff in the basement compartments. I lubed the rams on the jacks and one slideout. I hooked up the air compressor and set the tire pressures. By 4pm I had most of my chores done. I asked our neighbor if I could lock our bicycles behind his trailer and retrieve them when we return on Monday. He didn’t have a problem with it. The bicycles are a hassle to load in the trailer. I load them suspended from the ceiling. They’re one of the last things that go in. Leaving them here may have been cheating, but it made loading the trailer much simpler.

At 5:30pm, my friend from our school days, Carole Sue Bringas, picked us up in her car. She took us out to eat at the Fish Shop on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach. This is a popular restaurant/bar/fish market. It’s very casual. You order at the counter, take a number and seat yourself. They bring the food to your table. Ordering is a three-step process. You choose your fish (I chose yellowtail), then you choose one of eight seasonings (I chose Fish Shop Seasoning) then you choose your style – taco, salad, sandwich or plate ( I chose the plate which comes with two side dishes). The food was excellent although I have to say that the Fish Shop Seasoning was very spicy. Donna had the Fish Shop Shrimp Special (say that fast three times!). Carole treated us to dinner (thank you, Carole Sue!).

From there we drove downtown to the Hyatt Hotel. We went to the bar at the top of the Hyatt. The view of San Diego Bay from there is spectacular. We had a drink, then moved on. Carole took us to a place on Morena Boulevard called the High Dive. It was a lively cafe/bar that locals from Bay Park frequent. After a drink there, Carole dropped us off at the RV park.

I paid the RV park a late checkout fee of $10. The usual check out time is noon. For $10 they allow you stay as late as 4pm. The only caveat is this; they record the time you leave and you must be out of the park for a full 24 hours or more before you can check back in.

I wanted the late check out so I could watch the Chargers play the Jacksonville Jaguars on TV. The game was played in Jacksonville, so the TV broadcast was at 10am local time and wouldn’t be over until about 1pm. The Chargers played a good game; Phillip Rivers led the team to a 24 – 6 victory. The defense hasn’t given up a touchdown in 11 quarters.

We thought about our options for our 24-hour leave. Some people park in the public parking areas in Mission Bay Park. This isn’t legal as parking is forbidden from 2am to 4am in these lots. Some people get away with it though, because the enforcement is spotty. I didn’t want to risk having a cop knock on the door after 2am. Another option was to move to another RV park in the area. I didn’t want to pay for a site when I would only be there for a day and wouldn’t hook up. There are casinos in San Diego County that allow free overnight RV parking. I thought this made the most sense.

I dumped and rinsed the holding tanks before the game. Once the game ended, Donna and I finished packing, pulled the slideouts in, raised the jacks and rolled up the awning. I disconnected the water and power. I made a few walkarounds, checking the compartment doors and generally looking things over. We haven’t moved in 30 days. I wanted to be sure we weren’t forgetting anything.

Once I was satisfied, we rolled out to the lot behind the office. While I was hooking up the trailer, Donna checked us out. I was 2pm when we left the park. Our destination was the Sycuan Indian Casino in El Cajon. It’s about 30 miles from De Anza Cove. The drive was smooth and uneventful. As we drove through El Cajon, Donna was reconnoitering gas stations. She found a couple that looked easy enough to enter and exit. We decided to stop at the Shell station on 2nd Street on our way back to Mission Bay RV Resort.

The drive to Sycuan took us through Granite Hills. This is a pretty area with high-end luxury homes. The landscape is rolling hills covered with sagebrush and manzanita. There was a short, steep (10%) descent on Dehesa Road, but it wasn’t a problem although I wondered how we would fare climbing it on our way back.

Once we entered the casino property, we were directed to an empty parking lot called Bradley 2. This lot over looks the casino and the regular car parking lot. We had the whole lot to ourselves and tried to find a fairly level spot. The lot slopes; I had a hard time leveling the coach. Once level, we put the slides out.

Our spot in the Bradley 2 lot

Parking lot view from Bradley 2 lot

We walked from the Bradley 2 lot down the stairs to the casino. I counted the steps, 49 steps from the lot to the casino level. I read complaints about these stairs on a couple of forums when I was researching places for free overnight stays. The stairs are fairly steep, but we didn’t have any problems. We went to a sports bar in the casino and ordered food. I had a couple of beers and watched three NFL games at once on the array of TVs in the bar. I picked a couple of upsets in the football pool for the weekend. My picks were looking good. I had Washington over Chicago, the Jets over the Patriots, Pittsburgh over Baltimore.

Sycuan Casino viewed from the Bradley 2 lot

We walked back up to the RV. I ran the generator and watched the Sunday night game. I picked another upset here; I had the Colts over the Broncos. I picked 12 winners out of 14 games and won the pool!

View down the stairs from Bradley 2 lot

View up the stairs from casino level

Yesterday we walked to the casino for breakfast. The Wachena restaurant in the casino is quite good. After a leisurely breakfast, we made the RV ready for travel. The drive up the steep grade on Dehesa Road wasn’t an issue, we motored right up. We gassed up at the Shell station Donna spotted on our way in. We were back at De Anza Cove by 12:30pm.

We couldn’t check in until 2pm, so I parked in the public parking lot outside of the RV park. Donna went for a walk while I sat in the grass and read a book under the shade of a tree. At 2:10pm I pulled into the lot behind the RV park office. We checked in for another 30-day stay. I dropped the trailer and we settled in at site 111. I think I like this site better than 148, where we were before. It’s closer to the gate and has different trees that aren’t shedding nearly as many leaves.

Last night I walked over to the Offshore Tavern and Grill to watch the Monday Night Football. This NFL season is getting expensive. Oh well, my football pool winnings are offsetting the beer bill! I walked home around 9pm.

The 30-day/24-hour shuffle is a small price to pay to stay in such an ideal location. I don’t understand the rule though. The other RV parks in the area (Campland and Santa Fe) have 90-day limits. On the other hand, getting the RV on the road for some exercise every 30 days isn’t a bad thing. The 30-mile drive is enough to get everything up to operating temperature and allow the fluids to boil off any condensation. The emollients in the rubber of the tires are redistributed as you roll down the road. Sitting stationary for long periods of time is hard on vehicles.

This life of retirement is busy! I’m really enjoying it though. I don’t understand when people say retirement is boring. Donna says she can see how much more relaxed I am. I have no plan for today, other than a long bike ride at some point. Life is good!

Top Secret

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do something different. My friend, John Swingle works for the government. He works in Poway at a General Atomics facility (General Atomics Aeronautical Systems). I can’t tell you what he does there; I’m not sure I fully understand his role. I do know it requires a high level of security clearance. He arranged a tour for me.

My alarm was set for 6:30am. I haven’t had to use an alarm for months. I showered and had coffee with a cup of Greek yogurt before John picked me up at 7:45am. It took about 30 minutes to drive to Poway. When we checked in at the security desk, I realized I’d forgotten to bring my passport. My only identification was my driver’s license. Without proof of citizenship, my tour would be restricted. I had to leave my cell phone in a locker due to the camera it has. No photos are allowed.

Visitor badge

John introduced me to some of his colleagues and gave me a little background on what they do there. This facility is where Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs – sometimes called drones) are built. The support equipment, including ground control stations are also built here. They develop the software to operate and control the UAVs. It’s a huge facility occupying several large buildings.

We went to the production facility where I saw MQ-9 Reapers being assembled. These are fantastic airplanes, much larger than most people think. The Reaper has a 66-foot wingspan, a 900-horsepower turboprop powerplant and carries 4,000 lbs of fuel. Depending on the configuration, it can fly for more than 36 hours to complete a mission. It can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet above sea level at speeds up to 220 knots.

There are many sensors onboard, such as thermal imaging, radar imaging and cameras. Wikipedia claims an operator can read a license plate up to three miles away.

Flying one of these birds from a remote station must be tricky. The command is sent to a satellite and relayed to the plane. This results in a delay. The command can take more than a second to be received, then the plane responds to the command.

We saw MQ-9 Reapers in various stages of assembly. It is designed to be easily disassembled for shipping. The wings and tail surfaces are removable. They have special shipping containers to securely package the airframe for shipping.

We also saw MQ-1 Predators in the assembly area. These airframes were there for upgrades and repairs. The Predator is no longer in production. It is smaller than the MQ-9 Reaper and it’s powered by a 115hp Rotax piston engine. MQ-1 Predators can fly missions up to 14 hours. The estimated cost of a MQ-1Predator is $4 million versus the $16+ million for an MQ-9 Reaper.

The pilots flying these planes sit in a cockpit set up in a containerized work station. The controls are familiar as they are set up like most military jets. The pilot has an array of monitor screens. They can customize the view on each screen. I saw one where there were three monitors aligned to give an impression of looking out the cockpit window from aboard the plane. Below those three monitors were more monitors, one showing the status of the engine and other onboard systems. The others were set up to mimic the typical military avionics found in fighter jets.

Without proof of citizenship, John wasn’t allowed to take me to the flight simulation area. This was disappointing. He promised another tour in the future. I’ll be sure to bring my passport. Flying one of these planes in the simulator sounds like fun!

We had brunch after the tour, then John dropped me off back at Mission Bay. Donna took the scooter over to see her sister, Sheila. Sheila is a physical therapist. She helped Donna with a muscle pull that’s bothering her.

While Donna was at Sheila’s, I got the ladder out and treated the seals on the motorhome slideouts. It’s important to keep the rubber seals clean and pliable. I used a three-step treatment that does that. First a pre-soaked cleaning cloth is used, then a different cleaning formula is applied and finally a cloth soaked in a solution that nourishes the rubber. I did this before, earlier this year. It’s recommended annually. Depending on the weather, I think it may be better to apply it every six months or so.

Last night, Donna made pan-seared tilapia with smoked paprika and portobella mushrooms stuffed with creamy spinach – artichoke filling for dinner. Another delicious, nutritious gourmet meal. She’s a great cook!

Tilapia with stuffed portobella mushroom

Today I’ll organize things in the trailer. I’ll get the compressor out and set the tire pressures. I’ll lube the jacks and slideout rams with silicone spray and lube the Kwickee step pivot points. The steps have been out for a month and having the pivots freeze up is a common complaint on internet forums.

Tomorrow will be our 30th day here. We’re required to leave the park for 24 hours after 30 days, then we can return. I’ll have things packed away tonight. Tomorrow morning I’ll pull the slides in, raise the jacks and hitch up the trailer. I want to move out early so I can park somewhere and watch the Chargers game. They’re playing in Jacksonville, so the game starts at 10am.

After the game, we’ll head out to the Sycuan Indian Casino in El Cajon. The Sycuan Casino has a large RV parking lot and security. I won’t put the slides out. I’ll watch football for the remainder of the day, then crash out.

Monday morning we’ll return to Mission Bay RV Resort to begin another 30-day stay. I probably won’t post to the blog until Tuesday, when we are all set up again.

Glass Magic

Yesterday, a couple of lingering chores were erased from the list. After posting my blog, Pedro from San Diego Auto Glass arrived. He repaired the ding in the windshield that happened when an oncoming truck with an uncovered load of gravel threw a storm of stones at us.

Pedro didn’t mind me watching him work. It was interesting to see the process. The resin he used to repair the windshield has a very low viscosity. It slowly flows into the cracks surrounding the chip in the glass. As it fills the cracks, they magically disappear. He used a device to force the resin into the chip and cracks. He covered it with a shade to prevent UV rays from hardening the resin. After 15 or 20 minutes, the cracks were filled. He then used a UV light to harden the resin. After the chip was filled, he scraped it flat with a razor blade, then he polished the surface. Job done!

While Pedro was working on the windshield, our neighbors in site 149 drove away in their truck. Once Pedro was done I took advantage of our neighbors absence to work on the sewer connection. It wouldn’t be nice to disassemble sewer hoses while the neighbors are sitting outside next to us. I built the new extension from the dump valves to the outside of the wet bay. I trashed the old one. Then came the moment of truth…I opened the black water valve. Whoosh…no leaks!

New hose extension from dump valves to wet bay opening

With that job behind me, I was feeling pretty good. There was one fly in the ointment yesterday though. On Tuesday night, I downloaded the European coverage of the Moto GP race. I used a file sharing torrent program to capture the file. I went to bed with the torrent program running. The torrent program was simultaneously uploading my race files to other users while downloading the latest race to my computer. Left open all night, a large amount of data was transferred – several gigabytes.

I was connected through the Mission Bay RV Resort wifi. Apparently the administrator didn’t take my data usage too kindly. As of yesterday, I’m blocked from using their wifi. It was a dumb move on my part. I’ll have to use my Verizon Jetpack and watch my data usage.

In different regions of the country, you’ll hear things phrased in different ways. California is no exception, there are idiomatic figures of speech. I grew up here and understand them. Some of them are new to Donna.

For example, the beaches are often referred to by their initials. Imperial Beach is IB, Ocean Beach is OB and Pacific Beach is PB. I thought Donna was really getting it when she called Pacific Beach Drive “PB Drive.”

The other day she made me smile though. One of her friends sent her a text saying he was in RB. She asked, “What beach is RB?” I told her I thought he meant Rancho Bernardo in north county. Later, when Brett and Cheri were coming down to visit from Dana Point, Cheri texted, “We’re leaving OC.” Donna read it aloud and said, “OC…Ocean…umm?” I told her Cheri meant Orange County.

Another difference to a non-California speaker is the way interstates and highways are referred to. Californians don’t say I-5. It’s just “the 5.” When my daughter came to drive me up to visit my step-dad in Sun City, she asked me what the best route would be. I replied, “Take the 5 to the 52 east then get on the 15.” This is California speak.

Last night, Donna wrapped scallops in prosciutto which I grilled. She served them over spinach with a lemon vinaigrette and a minestrone side dish. She made this scallop dish before; these were a little smaller than the last time. The minestrone side dish was new to me. It basically has all of the ingredients of minestrone soup, but it’s not made as a soup.

Prosciutto wrapped scallops over spinach with minestrone

This morning she made a parfait for breakfast. It had grapefruit and orange sections layered with non-fat Greek yogurt, slivered toasted almonds and pure honey from our home state of South Dakota. A great start to another beautiful day in San Diego.

Breakfast parfait

Compatibility

I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I just heard the seven-day weather forecast; sunny, highs in the 70s under blue skies for the coming week! So happy to be here.

Yesterday we got off to a slow start. Around 11am, Donna and I finally dressed for a bike ride. We rode the Sea World bike path. There’s a radio controlled (RC) airplane field off of Sea World Drive. We stopped for a few minutes to watch the model airplanes. In the ’90s, I was heavily involved in RC airplanes.

I worked my way past the RC airplane trainer stage and eventually competed in International Model Airplane Club (IMAC) events. These competitions require the pilot to fly specific maneuvers in sequence. Judges score the pilot on the geometric precision and placement of each maneuver. I put a lot of time and effort into it. After a few years I was competing with giant scale airplanes – like an Edge 540 with a 10′ wingspan powered by a Desert Aircraft 150cc twin cylinder horizontally opposed two stroke engine. This power plant could accelerate the 32-pound airplane straight up.

In 1997, I competed in the national championship in Morgan Hill, California. I won my class and my first national championship. In 1998, I competed in the nationals again, this time in Toledo, Ohio. I won my second national championship there. Then I hit a wall. Trying to maintain proficiency at that level requires constant practice. Expectations from sponsors and spectators can be very high. The pressure took the fun out of it and I walked away. I sold all of my equipment after the 1999 season and quit flying RC airplanes.

After we returned from our ride around Mission Bay, I worked on the leaking sewer hose fitting. I tried everything I could think of to stop the fitting from leaking to no avail. Finally, I gave up and decided to replace the hose extension and install new fittings. I suspected that my couplers weren’t compatible with the hose I used. When I built the extension to hook up the sewer hose outside of the compartment, I used Rhino Flex hose. I chose this hose for its durability. The Rhino Flex couplers are oversized and hung too far below the compartment. So, I used Valterra couplers.

I rode to Walmart to source the new parts. Unfortunately, Walmart didn’t have the parts I needed to build a new extension. There was a guy there looking at RV accessories. I asked him if there was an RV store nearby.

He began telling about the stores I already knew about – one in San Marcos, another in El Cajon. These were quite a distance away, I wouldn’t have time to go to either place. Then he said, “Oh yeah, there’s a La Mesa RV Center on Ruffner Road.” This was about four blocks away from the Walmart we were in.

I went to La Mesa RV and talked to one of the guys there. He confirmed my suspicion of a compatibility issue. Even though the Rhino Flex is supposed to fit Valterra hook-ups, he told me the hose only seals well with the Rhino Flex couplers. I decided to rebuild the entire extension with Valterra hose and couplers.

By the time I returned, it was after 4pm. We were expecting guests sometime between 4:30 and 5pm. I didn’t have time to build the new extension, so that’s on the things-to-do list for today.

Brett and Cheri Alguire drove down from their home in Dana Point to join us for dinner. Donna met them at a SendOutCards convention. They are planning to escape to the full time RV lifestyle next July. We talked about the ups and downs of life on the road. Donna went over her experience of going paperless and how she handled important documents. I went over some of the routines of set up and things to consider before buying an RV with Brett. If I knew what I know now before we jumped in, I might have made a few different choices. It’s a good move on their part to research now and plan their transition. We also gave them advice on where to find more information from people with far more experience than us, such as the Technomadia blog.

They’re obviously excited about the prospect of full-time RVing. We look forward to meeting up with them again down the road.

We continued our conversation over dinner. I grilled boneless chicken thighs with Moroccan spice rub. Donna served it with lentils and green beans. For dessert Donna made fresh mango ice cream in her Vitamix.

Moroccan spice chicken thigh with red lentil and green beans

Homemade mango ice cream

Today, a mobile glass repairman will come out to fix the ding in our windshield. This happened when an oncoming truck carrying an uncovered load of gravel passed by in Montana. Then I’ll get to work on the plumbing.

Connections

Yesterday was another beautiful day in San Diego. The weather was a little more fall-like in the morning – it was 56 degrees out at 8am. It quickly warmed up and the high was around 70 degrees.

Donna went for a bicycle ride while I wrote my blog post. In the afternoon we went in separate directions as Donna went shopping with Sheila’s car and I took the scooter to find some parts I need to repair our plumbing.

Our sewer hose drips at the connector underneath the coach when I open the valve. This is not good; it needs to be an airtight connection. For some inexplicable reason, Gulfstream made the opening to route the hose into the water service compartment too small for a standard hose connector to fit through. I built a short extension that places a connector outside of the opening. That allows me to hook up easily, otherwise I would have to keep the compartment open with the hose hanging of the door or remove the hose connector, feed the hose through the opening and put the connector back on every time I hooked up.

Recently, the short extension I added developed a leak. I replaced the seals, but it didn’t help. Today I’ll disassemble the extension and rebuild it. This is not fun stuff.

Donna went to Staples to buy an external hard drive and a couple of small paper organizers for each of us. She also bought a new door mat and a runner rug for the coach. When she was finished shopping, she drove to Sheila’s house. Sheila will return later in the evening, so Donna returned her car. I rode over there on the scooter and picked Donna up. Once again, the items Donna purchased meant we were at maximum load on the scooter.

Sheila’s house is in Point Loma. When I rode over to pick Donna up, the traffic volumes were building on Midway Drive and Rosecrans Boulevard. I took an alternate route back to De Anza. From Point Loma, we rode through Ocean Beach to Sea World Drive. The traffic was light. It’s nice to have alternate routes.

The Chargers were playing against the Colts on Monday Night Football. I think I mentioned how lame the cable service is here at Mission Bay RV Resort. No ESPN! It could’ve been a moot point since there was a threat of the game being blacked out in San Diego! It seems odd to me that a nationally televised Monday night game didn’t sell out. I think there are a couple of reasons contributing to this. A large number of the people in San Diego are transplants; that is, they moved here from somewhere else. Their NFL allegiance remains with the team they originally followed “back home.” Another factor is the number of activities that are available around here on a daily basis. You can’t do everything.

I planned to watch the game at Offshore Tavern and Grill, a sports bar/restaurant on Morena Boulevard about two miles from here. It was 4pm when we returned home. I wanted to be at Offshore by 5pm at the latest to be sure I could get a good seat. Donna was going to a professional organizer’s meeting in La Jolla with a friend who was willing to drop me off at the tavern, but I wanted to get going.

I quickly donned my vintage 1984 number 14 Dan Fouts Chargers jersey and walked to Offshore. It took me about 30 minutes to walk there. I found a good seat in front of one of the many TVs. I ordered Poke, which is a plate of sushi grade tuna cubes over cabbage and green onions with avocado and a sesame oil/soy sauce dressing. I washed it down with a pint of Fat Tire ale. It was delicious.

Poke plate

The Chargers played a good game. The defense really stepped up. They won, 19 – 9. While I was there, I posted on Facebook. An old friend I’ve been wanting to connect with, Carole Bringas, replied. She joined me for the fourth quarter.

Carole lived in Prescott, Arizona when I was living in Mesa, but we never connected. She left Arizona on her own in an RV. She trekked cross-country to the east coast and traveled up to Maine. We talked about the RV lifestyle and places we’ve visited. I’ve known Carole since I was in 8th grade. We lived in the same neighborhood and were part of a tight-knit group of friends that hung out at Cadman Park.

There’s a photo and an article about those days published in the San Diego Reader here. I should have included the link in the reunion post.

Carole dropped me off at the RV park around 9pm. Donna arrived home about 9:30pm.

Mike Kuper

October 14, 2013

We’ve settled into daily routines over the past few weeks. I don’t want to post repetitive accounts of our days, so I took a couple of days off. This weekend was anything but routine, so I need to catch up.

On Friday, I decided to ride a more challenging bike route. Instead of making my usual loop of Mission Bay and the beaches, I went inland. I started with the Rose Creek Trail which begins just outside the De Anza Park, next to Mission Bay Golf Course. I don’t like this trail. It’s bumpy and narrow in places. But it’s safer than the busy streets in that area.

At the end of the trail, I crossed over Damon Street to Santa Fe Street. Santa Fe runs parallel to I-5, on the east side. It has a few businesses and an RV park. The traffic is light because it is a dead end after a couple of miles. At the end of the road, the Rose Canyon Bike Path starts.

This bike path is paved. It follows Rose Canyon along I-5 and passes under Highway 52. This is the junction of Rose Canyon and San Clemente Canyon. When I was young, we would ride dirt bikes and explore around San Clemente Canyon. Other than the bike path, the area hasn’t changed much. However, the surrounding areas where we used to ride dirt bikes are mostly filled with houses now.

The bike path ends at the junction of Gilman Drive and La Jolla Colony Drive. On the left is Gilman Drive. If you follow that up the hill, you enter UCSD. On the right is La Jolla Colony Drive which takes you through neighborhoods to University Town Center. Both roads are wide with marked bike lanes.

North end of Rose Canyon Trail at Gilman/La Jolla Colony

I went right and followed the bike route to Genesee Avenue. So far the ride was fairly flat with a gradual climb to University Town Center. Genesee Avenue isn’t flat or gradual. Heading back south, I immediately descended a steep downgrade back into the canyon. This was followed by a climb up the other side to Governor Drive.

I took Governor Drive to Regents Road. This drops down into San Clemente Canyon, then climbs up to Clairemont Mesa. Although I’ve become stronger on the bicycle these past few weeks, these climbs were a challenge for me. From there the ride was fairly easy. I went down through Bay Ho to Morena Boulevard and followed it to Clairemont Drive and back to East Mission Bay. The total distance was about 18 miles.

The Clairemont High School class of ’73 and ’74 reunion was held last weekend. On Friday night, a no-host Happy Hour was arranged at Offshore Tavern and Grill about two miles from our place at De Anza. The happy hour began at 5pm in a reserved section of the tavern. Eventually more than 100 people were there.

Name tags were provided and in many cases were needed to jog memories. There were many people I didn’t recognize and a few that I vaguely remembered. Then there were others I couldn’t mistake. Back in the early ’70s, our school was large. The school was comprised of 10th, 11th, and 12th grades and had more than 2,500 students. My class alone had more than 800 kids. I couldn’t possibly know or recognize everyone.

I had a great time visiting with old friends. I talked with Jim Barry and Terry McMahon. These were guys I spent a lot of time with when I was teenager, but lost contact with them. I heard the happy hour extended to closing time for some of the people there. Donna and I said our good byes around 10pm.

On Saturday, I rode the same route that I did on Friday. Gearing down and spinning my way up the hills wasn’t any easier. This time I stopped to visit an old friend along the way. Mark and Judy Fredin live on the route above Morena Boulevard. We talked for about an hour, catching up on each other’s lives. We last saw each other in 1992, when Mark and Judy visited me in Washington.

Saturday night was the formal class reunion at the Wyndham Hotel at the San Diego Embarcadero. Donna’s sister, Sheila, left her car with us for the weekend while she was away. This was convenient for us to have our own wheels to get to the reunion and back. We had a fun night. This time the name tags included our senior photograph from the high school annual. This made it much easier to recognize each other.

We shared a dinner table with John and Bonnie Swingle and shared stories of days gone by. We also learned the whereabouts of a few other friends that we lost contact with. It was a fun time. We had all the fun we could stand by about 10pm and headed home.

Bonnie and John Swingle at the reunion

Yesterday was a lazy day. I kicked back and watched NFL football. I entered a football pool this week that added some interest. This pool has a twist I’ve never seen before. It doesn’t include the Thursday night game, so there are 14 games in the pool. If you add the numbers from 1 to 14 together, it totals 105.

When you pick your teams, you have to assign a number from 1 to 14 to each team (using each number one time only). Everyone starts with 105 points for the weekend. Each time one of your teams loses, the number you assign to them is subtracted from your total. So you want to assign the higher numbers to the games you think are a sure thing, the lower numbers to the games that could go either way.

I picked New Orleans over the Patriots, but used number one on that game. I picked the Broncos over the Jaguars and put 14 on that game. I didn’t win. With 87 points at the end of the day, I was tied for fourth.

Tonight, Donna will drop me off at the Offshore Tavern while she attends a professional organizer’s meeting. I’ll watch the Chargers play on Monday Night Football there (since I can’t get ESPN in the RV park). I’ll walk home after the game.

Everyday Life

Donna here. Mike’s watching Sunday football, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some some insights into our everyday life and specifically how we manage chores and other everyday activities.

When we first hit the road, I was struck by how much longer it took to do things like preparing meals and washing dishes. It still takes longer, but I don’t think about it much anymore. It just is what it is.

There’s one chore that’s a lot easier and that’s cleaning. I can clean our new home in under 20 minutes. It used to take me a full two hours to clean our last home.

Almost daily in the beginning, I would bang a leg or elbow making the bed or blow-drying my hair. It still happens from time to time. In fact, I have a sizeable bruise on my thigh right now from bumping into the corner of the bed a few days ago. Come to think of it, though, I’ve always been a bit klutzy.

I do laundry almost every day. As I started a load of laundry this morning, I was grateful for the fact that we have a washer/dryer on board. I would not be a happy camper if I had to schedule time to do laundry, lug it to and from the park laundry facility, and hope that I didn’t have to wait for a washer and/or dryer to free up. Then again, if we had to do that, it would probably be Mike doing the laundry (since he’s retired) and I’d get out of that chore.

We have a Splendide 2000 washer/dryer that washes and dries clothes in the same machine. Apparently, this type of washer/dryer is popular in Europe because of its space-saving design. I like that I can set the load to dry as soon as it finishes washing. Or I can just wash or just dry. The only downside to this set-up is that I can’t start a new load of wash until the previous load is dry, which is why I usually only do one load a day.

Some people complain that the clothes come out wrinkled in this type of combo machine, but I have no complaints. Then again, I’ve noticed that the clothes dry faster and come out better in dry versus humid climates and it’s quite dry here in San Diego. I did mix up some wrinkle releaser that I use as needed on heavier clothes like jeans. (You can make your own by filling a 16-ounce spray bottle with 2 cups of hot water, add one tablespoon of fabric softener, and shake to mix.)

My kitchen is way smaller than I’m used to, but I still cook pretty much the same way I’ve always done. The biggest challenge is keeping up with dirty dishes as I am preparing food. Sometimes I’ll have something like a dirty mixing bowl in my hand and realize that I have nowhere to set it down. I’m planning to write some RV recipe books that will take the challenge of cooking in a small space into consideration.

I just finished writing a book that will be published next year in October 2014. The working title, which could change, is The One-Minute Organizer’s Guide to a Cleaner, Happier Home. It was originally due to my publisher in late July, but I asked for an extension in June when I realized that there was no way I could write that book AND clean out our home in Michigan in preparation for leaving. That was a full-time job in itself!

I thought I might be able to write on the road as we made our way to Seattle and then down to San Diego. That was wishful thinking. For one thing, I couldn’t bear to miss out on the beautiful scenery along the way. But the real problem was that I just couldn’t get myself organized. Yes, me. Anyway, once we got to San Diego and could settle in, I was able to be more productive. Sort of.

When you’re a writer who has always had a nice desk with a desktop computer, ergonomic keyboard, comfortable chair and room to spread out, it’s a challenge to be productive at the kitchen table. The bench seat just isn’t that comfortable after awhile and the table is too high for typing on the keyboard. I tried working outdoors with my laptop on a TV tray and me sitting on a camp chair. I tried sitting on the sofa with the TV tray in front of me. But the kitchen table seems to be the best choice for now. Should we decide to upgrade our coach at some point, a work area with desk and chair is definitely at the top of my wish list.

While RV living does it have its challenges (there’s that word again), it’s not like they’re insurmountable or even that big a deal really. I share them with you because we promised to share the good, the bad, and the ugly realities of our lifestyle.

During the 8 weeks we traveled across country, I would tell myself, “This is your home.” But it felt like we were on vacation. Then, just a few days after we arrived in San Diego, I was washing dishes and I thought, “This is my home.” And I realized how happy I am that we chose this lifestyle. Remind me to tell you someday how that all came about.

Wintry Blast

Tuesday we started our day with a bicycle ride. I showed Donna the bike route from Pacific Beach to La Jolla. The route has a number of turns, a lot of hills (up and down) and some choppy road surfaces. Donna didn’t like it too much, but I thought it was safer than riding on Mission Boulevard and La Jolla Boulevard.

We rode to the La Jolla Cove where I showed Donna the seals I posted about last week. We’d been out for nearly an hour and Donna was anxious to get home and get back to work on her book. We decided to take the direct route back along La Jolla Boulevard and Mission Boulevard which includes about a half-dozen roundabouts. We hammered along at a good pace and the ride wasn’t too bad. Now I’m not so sure of the bike route through neighborhoods being safer.

Tuesday evening I grilled sliced eggplant while Donna made baked shrimp with fennel and feta. The weather forecast called for rain overnight and in the morning. I find the weather forecast in San Diego to be fairly accurate most of the time.

Baked shrimp with fennel and grilled eggplant

After dinner, I moved the grill and our bicycles under the canopy. It was a good thing since I woke yesterday to the sound of rain drops drumming on the roof. By the time we were ready to ride the scooter to Donna’s exercise class, the rain had stopped.

The forecast called for more rain later in the day. They were also predicting 15mph wind with gusts up to 20mph out of the west. Our canopy faces east. I kept an eye on it, but thought it would handle the wind.

The temperature only reached a high of 67 yesterday. The television news casters were calling this a “wintry blast!” After spending years in northern climates, I had to laugh at this. It rained on and off during the afternoon, really pouring down at times.

In the late morning, while it was still dry out, Donna and I scootered to Vons supermarket in Pacific Beach. Donna had an extensive grocery list. We were on the limit of our capacity to carry groceries on the scooter. The underseat storage bin was full. Donna’s backpack was full. The canvas bag between my knees was full. Now we know the limit.

With Donna continuing work on her book and the rain outside, I had a very lazy day. I took a nap for 40 minutes around 3pm. It felt good. I might want to make a habit of this!

Last evening Donna cooked inside due to the weather. We had a low-fat version of chicken parmesan served over spaghetti squash.

Chicken parmesan with spaghetti squash

Today, we are back to more typical weather. Blue skies and 70 degrees forecasted.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Time Warp

Grilling Bricks

24-Hour Shuffle

Top Secret

Glass Magic

Compatibility

Connections

Mike Kuper

October 14, 2013

Everyday Life

Wintry Blast

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