An Early End to Summer Travels and a New Home Base

 Welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Sunday, August 23^rd when we left Oregon after a month of touring and came back into California and the Redding Elks Lodge. Monday was a stay at home day. The smoke is so bad outside that you can taste it. We did some chores, played cards, watched TV and just relaxed all day. I did go out in the late afternoon and drive to the KFC up the road to get dinner. It is also very hot and we didn't want to have to run the oven. Peggy did come over to visit for an hour or so in the late afternoon. We had cocktails, then KFC, then watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, August 25^th, we left the coach about 10:40 and went out to do some errands. The first stop was a nail salon so Jackie could get her toes done. When she was done with that we did a Costco run. We then stopped at In N Out and picked up some burgers for lunch. We took them home to eat. California is still shut down for dine in service at restaurants. Peggy, who was down in the valley staying at her son Matt's place for a couple of days, came over and we all had lunch. The girls spent the afternoon playing cards and talking while I did a few chores. We had dinner with Peggy, eating the Costco chicken we bought earlier today. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, August 26^th, another travel day. We were packed up and on the road by 10:00, continuing south 200 miles to Lodi, California. It was a pretty uneventful trip, pretty flat and not too much traffic until we got into the Sacramento area. We arrived at the Flag City RV park in Lodi about 2:00 and got parked and set up for our two night stay. We expected there to be a lot of smoke here too as there are some really big fires around San Francisco, but we actually saw blue sky and sun, with just a little smoke haze. We spent the rest of the day inside. Thursday we did laundry after lunch at the RV park's laundromat. After we got the clothes done and put away we just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Friday, August 28^th, another travel day. We were hooked up and pretty much ready to travel by 10:00, but a strange thing happened to the car. After I got it hooked up I tried to hookup the auxiliary brake box and the car was dead, no power at all. Nothing worked, locks, seats, nothing. This has never happened before. The car has a regular 12 volt battery in addition to the large, high voltage hybrid battery, and my guess was that it went dead. I plugged the high voltage charger in and the car came back to life. We went ahead and started our trip for the day. We are going about 167 miles south to Coalinga, California. We arrived at the Almond Tree Oasis RV park about 2:00. As I was checking the car I found that the car was dead again. After we got set up for our one night stay I put the 12 volt battery charger on the car and watched it for the next five hours. By about 7:00 it showed a full charge and the car was working OK again. We had cocktails and dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, August 29^th, another travel day, this time about 100 miles south to Bakersfield. When I checked the car while getting ready to travel it was still working OK, although since it was still hooked up I couldn't drive it. We got on the road about 10:30 and arrived at the Shady Haven RV park by about 12:30. We are here for two days, so I checked the car and it was still working OK. I unhooked it and before we decided to go to the store I put the battery charger on it again and it indicated that the battery was nearly dead again. I guess we have a bad battery. I left the charger on it for a while but it didn't show any change. I disconnected the charger and checked the voltage of the battery and it was 13.7 volts, about what a charged battery should be. We decided to take a chance and drove to the nearby Walmart for some supplies. The car worked fine with no issues. We spent the rest of the very hot day inside.

Sunday, August 30^th, we had a free day in Bakersfield. We went out after lunch to do some caching, getting one find and one DNF, but we quit because it was really hot. We spent the rest of the day inside. Monday was another travel day. We got an early start, around 9:30, and headed east from Bakersfield to Daggett, a small town just outside of Barstow. We arrived at the Desert Springs RV park around 1:30 after making a fuel stop, and got parked for our one night stay. We didn't unhook the car, so we didn't go anywhere. Tuesday was another travel day, the last for a few months. We left Daggett around 10:00 heading on our last leg towards home, Pahrump, Nevada. It was only 146 miles and we arrived at the Escapee's RV Park, Pair-a-dice, around 1:30. This is our first visit to our new lot, which we have seen in pictures but are now getting to see in person. The staff parked us, which is standard for the first timers, and we proceeded to get set up. We did the basics today because it was hot and we had been on the road. We are going to be here for at least three months, so there is no hurry.

We are really happy with our new personal lot. We are just two spaces down from the clubhouse, which also houses the laundry. We have a nice neighbor, whom we already know from our friend Millie Duffin's parties. The lot is very basc still, no additional concrete beyond the patio that comes with the storage room. However, the storage room is semi-finished with wallboard, numerous electric outlets, lots of built in wooden shelves, a large cedar lined closet, outside and inside lights, and a window, which is an add-on feature. The small, 10X12 patio is also semi-enclosed and covered. The water pressure and electric both seem to be good, so we are happy. After we got set up we relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, September 2^nd, the temps are still in the triple digits for the desert. I spent an hour or so outside setting up some of the decorations for our stay. About 12:30 we left and went to lunch at Mom's Diner, one of our local favorites, then picked up mail at the UPS store and did a Walmart run. We will have to go to another store tomorrow as the Walmart is so low on inventory that they almost look like they are going out of business. After we got back to the coach we relaxed and did a few inside chores. We had cocktails but no dinner as we were full from lunch. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, September 3^rd, another hot day. I spent another hour and half or so finishing up the decorations and lights around our lot. After lunch we went out to run some errands. We went to home depot to pick up a few things. We needed some stuff for around the lot, to make repairs and to get some weed killer since we have to take care of our own weeds on the lot. We then made a stop at Smith's grocery store to get some of the things we couldn't find at Walmart yesterday. Friday, an even hotter day. They are predicting 111 for over the holiday weekend. Yikes, like being back in Phoenix in my younger days. We did a pork loin for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. Friday we left the coach about noon and went to Desert View Hospital so Jackie could get her annual mammogram. After she was done we went to Johnny's Mexican restaurant for lunch. We actually both had breakfast, they make a great machaca con huevos there. After lunch we stopped at the Dollar Tree for a few things, mostly Fall/Halloween decorations, then headed back to the coach. I did a few chores outside, but mostly we relaxed inside out of the heat.

Saturday, September 5^th, the scorching Labor Day weekend continues. It is supposed to be 111 today, record setting temperatures for this time of year. We didn't go anywhere today except that in the afternoon I made a run to the UPS store to pick up a couple of Amazon packages. Nothing major, just a bunch of little stuff we needed and/or wanted. We had pork green chili for dinner from the left over pork loin, then watched TV until bedtime. Sunday I went out first thing in the morning and got a paper, and other than that we didn't leave the house. Did some corn and steaks on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. One more hot day predicted, let's hope.

Monday, September 7^th, Happy Labor Day. Still hot and now we have smoke from the California wildfires blanking out the sky as well. The sun was just an orange circle in the sky. At least the smoke kept the heat down a little, only getting to 105 instead of the 112 predicted. We didn't go anywhere or do anything outside. Did a few chores, mostly relaxed. Had chicken on the BBQ for dinner. Watched TV and went to bed. Tuesday we woke up to high winds and cooler temperatures. The wind was blowing so hard in the morning that I lowered the flag pole and windsock and put up the window awning. We stayed in for most of the day but did go out after lunch and do a Walmart run. By late afternoon the winds had at least blown most of the California smoke out and we had pretty clear skies.

Wednesday the winds died down and the temps stayed in the low 80's. We went to the dermatologist in the late morning, both of us for our annual skin checks. I had my usual half dozen places sprayed with liquid nitrogen and he also cut out three small lesions that he had some concerns about. One of them was what was left of the big thing I had on my ear up in Oregon. After the doctor we went back home and I did a little work outside and Jackie did some chores. Thursday was another doctor day for us. We left the coach about 10:00 and drove over the pass into Las Vegas so Jackie could see another neurologist about her frequent headaches, still leftovers I believe from the fall she took nearly two years ago. She was not happy with the specialist she saw here in Pahrump last fall. We got into Vegas and stopped at a place for lunch before her appointment. It was the Omelet House and it was just a few blocks from the University Hospital complex where the Neurologist's office is. The food was excellent, as was the service. We will definitely go back there if we are in the area again. After lunch we picked up a nearby geocache, then went to the doctor. Jackie got in to see the doctor and he told her that she seemed to be making progress and was happy that Jackie was reporting that the headaches were not as frequent or as strong. I repeated what all the other doctors have said, that after a bad head bang these headaches can hang around for a very long time before they clear up. After she saw the doctor she had an EEG which took almost an hour, just so it would be in her record. After the doctor we headed back to Pahrump, getting home around 4:00. We spent the rest of the day in the coach.

Friday, September 11^th, Remembrance Day. I still remember 2001 like it was last week. Waking up to get ready to go to work just as the second plane hit in New York. Then watching TV at work when the towers fell. We left the coach about 10:30 and drove to China Wok for a free lunch put on by Medical Air Services Association (MASA). MASA is a program we joined in 2007 which pays for any kind of necessary medical transport, ground ambulance, medical helicopter or fixed wing medical transport. We paid a one time fee of around $3,700 at that time for the program. We haven't had to use it, thank God, but it is nice to know we have it. The sales representatives travel around the country, mostly to retirement areas, selling the program and almost always provide free food. They also encourage current members to come to the presentations, and they do, usually outnumbering those who don't already have the coverage. The buffet was open, a little more limited than normal, but they required masks and gloves when getting food and the plates and bowls were disposable. We had a great lunch, after which we went to pick up our mail and then do a quick Walmart run for a couple things. We then spent the rest of the afternoon at home. It is still in the low 90's, but the California smoke is back a little bit. After our cocktail time we watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, September 12^th, was a stay at home day. We did laundry after lunch here at the park. They have a small laundry room in the clubhouse building, only six washers and six dryers, but it is clean and well maintained. They are also very inexpensive with each machine being only a dollar to run a cycle. When we went in there was no one there and our lot is only a hundred yards or so from the clubhouse, so we were able to walk back and forth to the coach while the machines ran. By 2:30 we were finished with the laundry for another couple of weeks. Other than that, we were at home for the entire day. Sunday we went out after lunch to do some geocaching. There are not a lot of geocaches in the Pahrump area that we have not already gotten, at least not caches that require a four wheel drive vehicle to get to. However, over the last year there have been a handful of new caches put out, so we went to pick up a couple. We got two new finds and one DNF for our efforts. We also have about 14 of our own caches hidden in and around Pahrump and we need to check on those from time to time to be sure they are still in good shape and the logs are not full. We were able to check on six of those caches as well. A couple needed new containers and a couple needed new logs. After our caching adventures we did a Walmart run, then went back to the coach. We stayed in for the rest of the day and evening.

Monday, September 14^th, we left the coach about 11:00 and drove to the nearby Mountain Falls Country Club for lunch with the Lucky Rollers Chapter of the Escapees. The Lucky Rollers are a social chapter of Escapees made up primarily of people who have lots at the Escapees Pair A Dice Co-op here in Pahrump. We joined the chapter when we got here a couple weeks ago for the first time. There were about 20 people, mostly from the park, at the lunch and we had a nice time visiting with our new neighbors. After lunch we went back to the park and went to the clubhouse for a business meeting of the same chapter. It was mostly the same people and the meeting lasted about 45 minutes. After the meeting we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day around the coach, relaxing and doing chores.

It has now been a little over three weeks since we published, so this is a good time to close this episode and get it online. Until next time, remember that every time you find some humor in a difficult situation, you win. See ya soon.

Oregon Adventures Continue

Hi there, good to see you. Sort of. Our last episode concluded on Friday, July 31^st, when we arrived in Coberg, Oregon, a suburb of Eugene, Oregon, Home of the Ducks! Saturday, the first day of August, we left the RV park about 10:30 and drove into Springfield, another suburb of Eugene, to do some shopping and caching. We were able to get two geocaches, as well as two DNFs, before lunch. We stopped at a place called the Pump Cafe, which was a kitschy little place in the old downtown area of Springfield that used to be a gas station and garage. The food was good, as was the service, although it was also a little pricey. Peggy and Jackie both had chicken fried steak and said it was good. I had a Philly sandwich that was very good. After lunch we went to the local Fred Meyer store and got some gas for the car, then went inside to do some shopping. We stopped at the post office after shopping, then headed back to the RV park. We stayed in for the rest of the day. We had cocktails outside in the shade at 5:00, but didn't have any dinner because we were all full from lunch. We watched some TV and then went to bed.

Sunday, August 2^nd, I went out and got a local paper so we could do our paper and coffee Sunday. We

left the coach after lunch and went out to do some errands. I dropped Jackie and Peggy off at a nail salon so they could get pedi's. Jackie said the last time she had her nails done professionally was in February, unheard of for her. At least here in Oregon almost everything is at least partially open. While they were getting their toes done I did another quick run to Camping World to pick up a part for our toilet. The spring broke this morning and I had to get a new spring cartridge for the foot pedal. This is not an uncommon thing, this one being the third one I have put in in 15 years. When you are full timers the toilet gets a lot of use. I picked up the girls with their now pretty toes and we did a run to Big Lots for a couple of things. We then headed home. After I got home I fixed the toilet, a 20 minute job, then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had our 5:00 cocktails with Peggy and Belle and Jackie made a chili relleno casserole for dinner. After dinner Peggy went back to her coach and we watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, August 3^rd, another travel day. We were packed up and on the road around 9:00, heading northwest to the little coastal town of Neskowin. The trip was about 120 miles, the first half on Interstate 5, then making a right turn at Salem and heading west. The second half of the trip is on typical, two lane Oregon coastal access routes. Traffic was not too bad and we arrived at the Neskowin Creek RV Resort about 11:30. This is the same park we were in about this same time last year where they have all the feral domestic rabbits running around. We are here for two weeks, and Peggy, who is still traveling with us, for one week. We got parked and set up and then just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Today was overcast and cool, so there were no bunnies out for cocktail hour, which was a bit of a disappointment. After cocktails we did some fish on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy went back to her coach we watched TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, August 4^th, we left the coach about 10:30 with Peggy and drove into Lincoln City to do some caching, sightseeing, and to have lunch. We started out with a couple of caches, then went to the Pub

Fish and Chips for lunch. The fish and chips that Jackie and I had was good, but a bit pricey. We also had some calamari as an appetizer. Peggy had the clam chowder, which said was OK, and then some steamed clams that she had to sent back because they were too salty to eat. They got some fish tacos instead, which she also said were OK. The original server we had was not at all interested in Peggy's not being happy with the clams, but she left for the day and the server that took over made the substitution and apologized. After lunch we went out and continued caching, ending up with six new finds and one DNF. We are now only ten finds away from getting to 10,000 finds! After we finished caching and touring the town we stopped at Safeway for a few things, then went back to the coach. We relaxed for a while, then had cocktails outside at 5:00. It was cool enough that I got out the new propane fire pit that we got from Suzie Babcock when she cleaned out her RV before she sold it. It worked great and made the cocktail circle nice and toasty. We didn't have any dinner, just some of the leftovers from lunch. We watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, August 5^th, we again left the coach with Peggy aboard at 10:30 for another day of exploring, shopping and caching. Today we drove north along US 101 heading to Tillamook, Oregon, the cheese capital of Oregon. It was about 45 minutes or to get to town and our first stop was the Blue Heron French Cheese store. They are pricey, but have a lot of very nice, gourmet stuff, including really good brie cheese. We picked up a variety of cheeses and a few other items, then drove to Bay City, a smaller town just north of Tillamook, for lunch. We went to a small, local cafe which was off the main highway so probably mostly used by locals. They had excellent reviews on Yelp. It was very small and plain, but the food was really good. Both Jackie and Peggy had the shrimp omelet and Jackie loved hers, Peggy thought it was OK, but didn't like their choice of cheddar cheese for topping. I had a bowl of chili and a grilled cheese and mine was also excellent. After lunch we stopped at the smoked meat store to pick up some meat sticks that I really like as snacks. Once that was done we were free to cache, so we did some local caching, getting six new finds in about 90 minutes. We had to quit because we needed to start back towards home so Peggy could get Belle out to pee before it got too late. We are now within four of hitting our 10,000 finds milestone and we expect to get it on Friday while Peggy is still here. We went back to the RV park and relaxed for a while before having cocktails outside at 5:00. The sun was out today so we didn't need the fire pit. We went in around 7:00 and again didn't have dinner because of the big lunch. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, August 6^th, was a stay at home day. We woke up to a light drizzle which had been going on since the early morning hours. It wasn't heavy, but it went long enough that there were a few puddles around. The rain quit by late morning and I spent the day doing chores. I did some maintenance tasks on both our coach and with Peggy on hers. Checked the batteries, oil, other fluids, and lubed the slides and steps. We also changed out our water filters and I cleaned out a couple of storage bays. All and all, a pretty productive day. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then did BBQ for dinner. I had a nice T-bone and Jackie and Peggy both had rack of lamb. We had a really nice dinner and after dinner the girls played some cards. When Peggy went home we watched TV and went to bed.

Friday, August 7^th, we were on the road again at 10:30 with Peggy, headed south to Newport, a coastal town about 40 miles south of Neskowin. We got into town around 11:30, drove around and explored a

bit, then went to lunch. We went to Georgie's Beach Cafe, which is right on the coast, overlooking the beach and Pacific Ocean. Jackie and I were here in 2016 and gave it good ratings, and Peggy said she and Vernon had eaten here at some time in the past. We all had clam chowder to start and it was excellent. Jackie had a seafood Cobb salad that was full of shrimp, fish and chicken, I had a fish sandwich that was probably the best ever. Peggy ordered fish tacos, but sent them back when she learned that the salsa might have avocado in it. She is VERY allergic to avocado. After lunch I walked down the boardwalk stairs to the beach and got a geocache. That was the only cache we got, but put us now to within three of the 10K finds milestone. We explored town a little, then went to Walmart, the only one on the coast as far as I know. We got our supplies and headed back north towards home, getting back a little before three. We relaxed for a bit, then had our cocktails outside at 5:00. We just had snacks for dinner, some of the brie we bought the other day in Tillamook, and some deviled eggs Peggy made. The girls played cards and about 8:00 Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, August 8^th, my late mother's birthday. We were up early, on the road with Peggy around 9:30 heading to the Neskowin Farmer's Market, which is every Saturday and is still going on, with lots of

masks, signs and distancing. It was not real big, only about six or seven booths and they were all food as they were not allowing non-food vendors, like arts and crafts, to come. They said the reason is that food is an essential business, arts and crafts isn't. We bought a couple things, some cherries, cabbage and broccoli. After the farmer's market we went to get some geocaches nearby. We only got three finds, but the last one was number 10,000! We hit the milestone. We had Peggy take a picture with the sign I made just for the event. We then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. I got some chores done. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then did some meat on the BBQ for dinner. Peggy had a small steak and Jackie and I had pork chops. After dinner Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, August 9^th, was Peggy's last full day here with us. She was able to only book one week here at the RV park while we had two. We went out after lunch with Peggy to do a little geocaching and do a Safeway run for some things Peggy needed. We got three new finds and then went to Safeway. After shopping we went back to the RV park and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails at 5:00 and then did some hamburgers on the BBQ for dinner. After dinner Peggy went home and we relaxed with the TV the rest of the night. Peggy was packed up and on the road around 9:30, headed for Coberg and the REV service center to get some work done on her coach. She has an electrical problem that I have diagnosed as her Energy Management System. We had a stay at home day, did some chores and mostly relaxed. We had cocktails with just the two of us, then dinner and TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, August 11^th, we left the park a little after noon and went to lunch. We went to the Wildflower Grill in Lincoln City, a restaurant that we had gone to last year when we were here. Our reviews indicated that we really liked the food, so we thought we would go back. I think they must have changed cooks or something because today the food was OK at best. We both had the Philly steak sandwich, which was I had last year and said in the review was “one of the best I have had.” Today it wasn't even close. The meat was dry, there wasn't enough cheese, too many onions, and plated in such a way as to make it impossible to eat as a sandwich, which is what a Philly steak is supposed to be. The clam chowder was creamy tasting, but thin and served in a tall, coffee mug which made it difficult to get the crackers in and mixed and also put all the clams and potatoes at the bottom of the cup, also difficult to get up. There were lots of clams, but you only got them towards the end of the cup rather than throughout the process. I suspect we will not go back to this place in the future. After lunch we did a few geocaches in the south part of town, getting two new finds. We then stopped at the outlet mall because we both needed to get some new underwear and we like the outlet stores like Jockey and Hanes. You could tell that the pandemic is having an impact because a number of stores are closed down and those that are open are having some really great sales. I picked up a couple new shirts at bargain prices and we both got a couple packages of new undies. After shopping we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails at 5:00, but only snacks for dinner because we were still full from lunch. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, August 12^th, we went out after lunch and did our laundry. We were finished about 3:00 and went back to the coach and put everything away. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon. After cocktails Jackie made a nice meatloaf for dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed. Thursday we left after lunch, around 12:30, and headed out to do some exploring and caching. We drove north on Hwy 101 about 12 miles or so, then took some of the smaller, back roads back south. We were able to get three new finds along the way. After our touring we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day relaxing. We had cocktails and leftover meatloaf for dinner. After dinner we relaxed with the TV the rest of the evening.

Friday, August 14^th, we left the coach about 11:30 and drove into Lincoln City for lunch, some geocaching and a quick grocery run. We had lunch at a Mexican place called Puerto Vallarta, which had

excellent Yelp ratings. We have been coming to Oregon for summer travels off and on for 15 years and have never found a good Mexican restaurant. Being South-westerners we know Sonoran Mexican food and it seems that Oregonians don't. This place however, gave us hope. The food was outstanding, as good as anything we get in Arizona or California. Nothing special mind you, just good tasting with authentic flavors. The service was pretty good too. We were happy to finally find a decent Mexican place in Oregon. After lunch we did some caching, getting three new finds and one DNF in about 90 minutes or so. After caching we stopped at Safeway for a couple things, then went back to the coach for the rest of the day. We didn't have any dinner because of the big lunch.

Saturday, August 15^th, we left the coach about 1:00 for an afternoon of exploring and caching. We

drove north and turned off of Hwy 101 for Pacific City about five miles north of the park. Pacific City is a small unincorporated town of about 1,000 population which is located on the coast at the mouth of the Nestucca River. Part of the town fronts on Nestucca Bay and the north part of town fronts on the Pacific. Being the weekend the town was extremely busy and it took us 20 minutes to go a couple of miles through town. We continued north on the coastal road out of town, just exploring. We were able to get four geocaches that we came across on our route. We also found several areas with large blackberry bushes and were able to get three baggies of fresh blackberries. Yum! Ice cream and blackberries for the rest of the year. After our exploring we went back to the park and relaxed for rest of the afternoon and evening.

Sunday, August 16^th, our last full day here in Neskowin was a chores and relaxation day. I packed up

the outside stuff so we could leave in the morning and got a couple other little chores taken care of. Monday was a travel day. We were packed up and on the road by about 9:30, heading southeast back to Coberg, Oregon. It was a fairly uneventful trip except that I missed a turn, which took us a little bit out of our way, but on a very nice, scenic road, so it was no big deal. We arrived in Coberg at the Eugene Kamping World RV park about 2:00, got settled in and hooked up. We did minimal set up because hopefully tomorrow we will be moving a few blocks down the road into the RV park at the REV Service Center so we will be there for our appointment early Wednesday. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Tuesday, August 18^th, I went over to the REV service center in the car about 10:00, checked in for tomorrow and found out that they had a spot in the RV park for us. I went back to the coach and we packed it up and drove the half mile, reparked in the REV lot. We again did minimal set up because we have to have the coach all buttoned up and ready for them to take it into the garage by 7:30 a.m. After we got parked and set up we headed out in the car to run some errands. We first drove down to Eugene, about six miles south, then stopped at a Chinese restaurant called Legend of Szechuan, which had really good Yelp ratings. It was a very big, nicely decorated place in a trendy area not too far from the campus of the University of Oregon. It was a lot of bars and restaurants called Market Square. The restaurant did not have a normal Chinese menu, but did have a lot of interesting sounding dishes. I had sesame beef and Jackie had kung pao beef. The portions were large and it tasted OK, but not spectacular. Not a lot of flavors and mine was nothing but beef, no veggies, just the rice on the side. We did end up taking leftovers out. After lunch we did a Walmart run, then we went back to the REV center and spent the rest of the evening in the coach.

Wednesday, August 19^th, we were up at 6:00 and had the coach ready to go at 7:30. After they took the coach in we got in the car and left for a day of driving around, sightseeing and caching. We cached on and off all morning and most of the afternoon, getting nine new finds and no DNFs. In between we stopped at a store called Bi Mart, which is a membership store we joined a couple years ago. They are only in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. They seem to be a liquidator type of store, buying overstocks and the like, but they do have good savings. We later stopped for lunch, again in Eugene, at a brew pub called North Fork. We were able to eat outside in the shade and it was very nice. The food was excellent. I had a steak sandwich and Jackie had a big burger. We both were really full, but satisfied with the food and service. We stopped at Costco, but just to get some gas in the car, then headed back to the REV center. They had told us they closed at 3:30, so we needed to be back before 3:00. We got back a little early and the coach was still in the garage, so we relaxed in the waiting room. About 3:00 the service guy came out and surprised us by telling us that they were not going to be able to get the coach out of the shop tonight, so we would have to go to a hotel. Yikes, surprise. The work we were having done was replacement of all the radiator and cooling hoses as well as the fan belts. He said the company that provides the parts was late getting them to the shop and the coach was not movable because it still didn't have all the cooling system put back together. He did say he was hopeful that it would only take a few hours in the morning to finish, so we might be able to travel south to Medford tomorrow as planned. Fingers crossed. They let us into the coach to gather a few things for the night and we set off to a Comfort Inn Suites in Springfield, about four miles south of Coberg. REV had a corporate account with them, so we got a discount rate and ended up paying $115 for the night. I will say it was a nice room, much bigger and nicer than the one we had in Flagstaff a couple months ago. We spent the evening in the room, watching TV and relaxing.

Thursday, August 20^th, We got up around 7:30, had coffee and watched the news on TV. About 9:00 the service guy called and said the work we had asked for was finished, but told us that the radiator coolant tank had a crack and was leaking. He had one in stock and said they could have it in by the time we got checked out and back to the service center. We got there about 10:00 and by a little after 11:00 we had paid the bill ($2,400) and were hooking up the car for travel. We stopped for fuel at the truck stop across the street, and were on the road before noon. We were really only about 2 hours late and it is only a three hour drive south 167 miles to Medford. We arrived at the Southern Oregon RV Park, which is run by the Jackson County Parks and Rec Department, just before 3:00. We got parked, hooked up and set up before cocktail hour. We are going to be here for three nights. While we were setting up we got a call from some friends of ours, Geoff and Johanna Matthews, who had noticed on Facebook that we were headed for Medford. When Jackie told them where we were it turns out they are in the same park, just a couple rows over. Small world. We had an early dinner because we hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday, then about 6:00 we walked over and spent about 90 minutes visiting with Geoff and Johanna, as well as some friends of theirs that I know from the Military Veteran's Chapter of FMCA, Jim Fitzpatrick and his partner Kara. I am the vice president of the chapter and Fitz, as he goes by, is the National Director. We had a nice visit, then went back to our coach and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Friday, August 21^st, we had a free day. We left the coach about 1:00 and drove 23 miles back to Grants Pass so Jackie could get a haircut. She got her hair cut here a month ago and liked the way the girl did it and wanted to have her do it again before we left Oregon. The girl didn't start work until 2:00 so we stopped at Fred Meyers just to window shop for a while. We ended up buying some steaks they had on sale. We got to the Great Clips about 2:30 and Jackie got her haircut. After the haircut we went to an Abbey's Pizza shop to pick up a pizza. We have had Abbey's pizzas before during trips to Oregon and they are really good. They are no inexpensive, but neither is our biggest favorite, Round Table, which is a California pizza chain. Once we had the pizza in hand we headed back to Medford. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach doing little chores. We were going to have cocktails with the Matthews' but they were going out to dinner, so we had happy hour on our own, ate our pizza for dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, August 22^nd, we went out after lunch to do some geocaching. We didn't stay out too long as it

was hot and very smokey from all the wildfires in Northern California and Southern Oregon. We did stop at a Hobby Lobby just to do some shopping. After we got home we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Sunday was another travel day. We were packed up and on the road a little after 9:30, headed south back into California to Redding, about 150 miles. The smoke was worse today and only got heavier the further into California we went. At least traffic was pretty light today. We arrived at the Redding Elks Lodge about 1:00, got into a space and set up for our three night stay here. We hope to see Peggy, who lives in nearby Mineral, while we are here. Since the smoke was so thick you could taste it, we didn't go anywhere after we got set up.

This brings us to a little over three weeks since we published. Our arrival back in California, on our way back home to Pahrump, marks a good place to close out this chapter. Until next time, remember that we can kill time, we can save time, we can rob and get robbed of time. We can lose time, and we can have all the time in the world. But no one of us is powerful enough to stop the march of time or slow it down. Enjoy your time. See ya soon.

Northern California/Southern Oregon Adventures

Hello again, welcome back. Our last chapter concluded on Wednesday, July 8^th, when we departed Santa Maria, California after two weeks visiting family, and headed north to meet with dear friends we regard as family in Mineral, California. We are making three short, two day stops before heading to Mineral to be with Peggy Bullock and her family. The first stop, on Wednesday, was near Coalinga, California, just off I-5 a hundred miles north of Bakersfield. After getting set up at the Almond Tree Oasis RV Park we just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Thursday, July 9^th, we went out after lunch to do some exploring and geocaching. We drove to the little town of Coalinga, about six miles west of the RV park for our first search. We ended up doing a DNF for that one. The town has a population of around 17,000 and was incorporated in 1906. It is the site of both the Pleasant Valley State Prison and the Coalinga State Hospital, a maximum security mental hospital. The town's name has an interesting history. In 1888 the Southern Pacific Railroad established a coaling station at the site of the current town. These existed to provide coal and water for the steam locomotives of the time. The railroad named the station “Coaling Station A” and several signs were posted along the track approaching the station which read “CoalingA” as an abbreviation. The next year a post office was established and the postmaster submitted the name “Coalinga” for the town. We had to DNF the one cache which was actually located in town, but we spent the next 90 minutes driving north and then east out of town searching for caches. The current big economic drivers in the area are agriculture and oil. There are miles and miles of oil fields surrounding the town. There are also a number of VERY large feed lot operations. We have never seen that many cows in one place. Altogether we got five new finds with the one DNF and never saw another soul except those in vehicles passing by. Great hobby for social distancing. After caching we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Friday, July 10^th, we were on the road again by 9:30, heading north 162 miles on I-5 to an RV park near Lodi, California. We got in the park around 12:30 and were parked and set up by 2:00. We decided to go out for a late lunch/early dinner and ended up going to the Denny's across the street. Although the park has a Lodi address it is about 12 miles west of town in an area dominated by truck stops and motels. Of course, Denny's was only doing take out, so we got our dinners to go and went back to the coach and ate. We spent the rest of the day in the coach relaxing and doing some administrative chores.

Saturday, July 11^th, we did laundry at the RV park in the morning. We wanted to do laundry before we went up to Mineral because we wouldn't be able to do it during the week we are up there. Not too many laundromats in a town of 123. After lunch we went out to do some shopping, stopping at Walmart and Sally's Beauty for supplies. We also got a couple of geocaches just because we could. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed inside and out of the heat for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Sunday I got the Sunday paper and we relaxed in the morning. After lunch we went out to do some geocaching despite the 100 degree plus temps. We were able to get a dozen caches with no DNFs in a couple of hours. After caching we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Monday, July 13^th, we had another travel day. Today was another 164 mile trip north on I-5 to Red Bluff California. Normally when we pass through Red Bluff we stay at the Elks Lodge, but because it was so hot we wanted to have a 50 amp site so we could run both air conditioners. The lodge only has 30 amp sites. We got into the Durango RV Resort, which is very nice and got parked and set up for our one night stay. After we got parked we went out and had a late lunch at a nice deli in town, then did a Walmart run for a couple of things. After we got back to the coach we just relaxed for the rest of the day and evening. Tuesday was our final travel day. Today's tri

p was only 42 miles from Red Bluff to Mineral where Peggy lives. Jackie drove the car because the trip to Mineral goes from near sea level to 5,000 feet elevation pretty quickly and we have had problems with overheating on the coach trying to tow up here in the past. Today the coach got hot, but not into the caution zone, so it was OK. We got an early start and beat the worst of the heat. We got checked into the Mineral Lodge RV park, parked the coach and did our set up. After we got set up we had a quick lunch and drove over to Peggy's house, which is only a mile down the road. We spent the entire day with Peggy, whom we had not seen since she left Yuma in early April. Jackie and Peggy made a chili relleno casserole for dinner and we had a very nice relaxing visit. We left around 8:30 and went back to our coach. We watched a little TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, July 15^th, I spent a couple of hours in the morning trying to find a spot between the trees where I could get a signal for the satellite TV. However, just like last year, there are just too many trees in this park and they are too big. So, like last year, we will get by with watching recorded shows. One good thing is that with the Covid thing going on none of the normal replacement weekly network comedies or dramas are on. It is all game shows and repeats, so we won't miss much. We went over to Peggy's about noon and had left overs for lunch. We spent the rest of the day at her house. The girls played cards and I did some travel planning and meditating. We did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner and about 8:00 we headed back to the coach and spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Thursday, July 16^th, we left the coach about 10:30, picked up Peggy and drove to the Chester/Lake Almanor area, about 30 miles southeast. Chester is a small town of about2,100 located on the south shore of Lake Almanor. The lake is a 1.3 million acre foot reservoir which was created in 1914 by the construction of the Canyon Dam by theGreat Western Power company. The dam has a hydroelectric generating station and is now owned by Pacific Gas and Electric. We had lunch at a nice place we have been beforecalled Plumas Pines Resort. They have a big deck overlooking the west shore of the lake. We had a very nice lunch. After lunch we did a little bit of caching, getting one new find and two DNFs. We decided it was too hot to cache in the woods, which requires a lot more time and energy than urban caching. We stopped at a hardware store and then the grocery store, which was the actual reason for coming to Chester today. Mineral has only a small general store without much merchandise. After shopping we went back to Mineral. We dropped Peggy off and went back to the coach for a couple hours of rest. About 5:00 we went back to Peggy's and had cocktails on the deck. We didn't have any dinner as we were all still full from lunch. We stayed until about 7:00 when we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.

Friday, July 17^th, we went over to Peggy's house about 2:00 to spend the afternoon. Peggy's oldest son Larry and his girlfriend Karen were there, having driven up from their place near Sacramento. They are up for the weekend. We sat around and talked for a couple of hours. About 5:00 Larry's daughter Tara arrived, also here for the weekend. We had cocktails and then about 6:30 we all had a nice dinner with ham, a Chinese chicken salad that Jackie made, and scalloped potatoes. We stayed until a little after 7:00 when we went back to our coach. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV. Saturday we went over to Peggy's house around 1:30 or so. We would have gone a little earlier, but we were having problems at the RV park with the electric. Because the park is full this weekend, and the 30 amp power is iffy at best, the voltage kept dropping below the 104 volt threshold at which our protective device cuts the power to the RV. It does this because low voltage can damage motors and electrical devices. I had to run the generator for a while to charge the batteries up enough that the charger would not kick off the power. This park has really crappy power. Peggy's other son, Matt and his wife Roxanne, had come up for the day and we had a great time visiting with the family. Another long time friend of Peggy's had also come up for the day. For dinner Larry cooked up three racks of baby backs and we had those with beans and some more of Jackie's chicken salad. We had a very nice dinner, visited until about 7:00 and then went back to our coach. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Sunday, July 19^th, we went over to Peggy's around 2:00 and spent the afternoon with her. Today was pretty quiet as we were the only one's there besides Peggy. We did some burgers on the grill for dinner. We left around 8:00 or so, went back to our coach and watched some TV until bedtime. Monday, our last full day here in Mineral. Today, around noon, the phones went dead. No cell service and no internet. This added to no satellite makes us feel pretty cut off. We went over to Peggy's around 11:30 and had lunch with her, mostly leftovers. We spent the day with her, visiting and helping her with some minor chores to close down the house. She is going with us when we leave tomorrow and will be with us for a month as we go up into Oregon. We did get her satellite TV at the house working and I found that a fire about 40 miles east of Mineral was the cause of the phone outage. For dinner we had some chili Colorado that I had been cooking in the crockpot all day. We left about 7:00 and went back to our coach where we watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, July 21^st, a travel day. When we woke up we still had no phone service, so also no internet or TV. We packed up the coach and by 10:00 we were on our way down the mountain. About a third of the way down the hill we came into range of the cell towers in the Sacramento River Valley and we got cell service back. Yea! It was only about a 75 mile trip from Mineral to the Elks Lodge in Redding, California and we arrived about 12:30. We were shocked when we pulled into the Lodge parking lot and saw there were NO RVs in the lot. We have never had a problem getting a spot at the Redding Lodge (they don't take reservations), but we have also never come in and found it completely empty. Before we unhooked the car and parked we even called the lodge to confirm the RV park was available. The phone message said the lodge was closed, but the RV was open and gave info on how to register and pay. We picked a spot and got the coach parked and set up. After we got set up, including satellite TV again, we just relaxed for the rest of the day. We did do some cleaning after spending a week in the dirt. Although Peggy came down the hill today also, she stayed on the other side of town where she keeps her coach parked. No sense in moving for three days.

Wednesday, July 22^nd, we had a day of shopping. We left the coach about 10:00 and drove to Costco. We wanted to get started before it got too hot. We did our Costco shopping and also met Peggy there. Our primary purpose was to stock up on vodka because when we leave here on Friday we are going into Oregon for a month and the liquor laws up there are such that spirits like vodka are twice the price as they can only be sold in state sanctioned liquor stores and have heavy taxes. After Costco we stopped at Bath and Beauty Works so Jackie could get a couple things. After that we stopped at In N Out for lunch, then went to Walmart for some supplies. In the course of our shopping something very exciting happened; we got a phone call from the Escapee's Park in Pahrump advising us that we had come to the top of the list and they had a lot for us to consider. They gave us the lot number and price, but we told them we would have to wait until we got home to look at our map and videos of the park to see if it was a lot we wanted to be in. You can turn down lots that come available twice without losing your spot on top of the list, but if you turn down a third you go back to the bottom of the list.

We got our shopping done and hurried home to put everything away. We then sat and looked at the videos we had of the site, which some friends of our provided to us a year and half ago when we got on the waiting list. We also checked the map to see where the site was located. It is in the middle of the park, just three spaces down from the clubhouse and laundry. There are no trees around it, so no satellite issues. Our “shed mate” is someone we know, though not well, but enough to know she is a nice person. She also has her lot decorated very nicely. By way of explanation, there are large wood framed storage sheds between every two lots. Each lot has half the shed, hence the term shed mate. In addition to being a clean lot in a good location it was pretty inexpensive at just under $11,000 for the initial lease price. The base price is $10K plus the cost of any improvements previous owners had put in. In this case the only improvements were to the shed with the addition of a window, full electric connections, and insulation. The expensive improvements are when they add concrete slabs around the property and extensive landscaping of the small yard. This lot is a clean slate, which after we talked for a while decided was a good thing as it meant we could make it our own as opposed to getting and paying for someone else's idea of a nice lot. After significant discussion we agreed that we should accept the lot, called the park and told them we were in. I immediately put a check in the mail for the lease and we should get a call in a few days that we are now members. Yea!! It is really surprising that only two days ago Jackie called and learned we were number three on the list. I think what that means is that two people declined to accept the lot putting us up next. That doesn't mean they didn't like the lot necessarily, we have learned that people often are not quite ready to commit when they get to the top of the list, or they really want a lot with more improvements. Regardless, we now have a place to call our own, or will soon. We still plan to be in Pahrump on September 9^th, about six weeks from now, but now instead of our usual RV park we will have our own spot in the Escapees.

The day was still not over, however. About 5:00 we left the coach and drove a few miles north and west to Peggy's youngest son Matt's house for dinner. Matt, his wife Roxanne and Matt's daughter Trinity were there, as well as Peggy and Belle the dog. Matt and Roxanne have a Siamese cat named Bitters who is very playful and bugs the hell out of Belle, just like our late Benji used to do. Peggy made chicken enchiladas and Jackie made some rice and beans and we had a very nice dinner with the family. We visited for a while and about 7:30 we left and drove back to the Elks Lodge. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Thursday, July 23^rd, we left the coach after lunch and went out to do a couple of errands. We had to go to two different grocery stores to find arborio rice, which Jackie needs to make a risotto for tonight. Walmart didn't have any yesterday. We also were able to pick up three quick geocaches just to keep our numbers up. We then went home and relaxed for a while. Peggy and Belle came over around 5:00 and we had cocktails. Jackie was also working to make her risotto, which has shrimp, mushrooms and asparagus in it. Yum! Around 6:30 the three of us had the risotto for dinner and it was great. Peggy stayed and visited until around 7:30 when she went back to her coach. We cleaned up and watched TV until bedtime.

Friday, July 24^th, travel day again. We got up early and were packed up and on the road just before 9:00 a.m. We wanted to get an early start because it is supposed to get hot today and we are going 165 miles North, into Oregon, and there are the Siskiyou Mountains to cross at the California/Oregon border. It turned out to be a pretty uneventful trip, with the coach getting hot by the top of the hill, but not quite to overheating. Once over the hump it was downhill all the way to the Valley of the Rogue State Park between Medford and Grants Pass. We stopped near Medford to get fuel, which is a full dollar a gallon cheaper than California. We had made these reservations back in February, well before there was a full Covid 19 panic and fortunately they kept the reservations active even though they closed down all reservations in April. The park never closed, but they switched to first come, first served. They only opened reservations again less than a month ago. We got settled into our spot and got set up for our week here. Peggy, who is traveling with us for about a month, had arrived before us and was setting up in the site just behind ours. We didn't go anywhere today as we were tired, but did have cocktails at 5:00 and then did some fish on the BBQ for dinner, along with leftover risotto. Peggy left around 7:00 and we just relaxed and watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, July 25^th, Jackie's brother Dennis' birthday. We left the park along with Peggy and drove into Grants Pass to run some errands and do some geocaching. We stopped at Great Clips first and Jackie and I both got haircuts. After that we went to Home Depot so Peggy could get some things, then did some geocaching. It was pretty hot, so we didn't do it for too long. We were able to get three new finds, along with one DNF. After our errands we started back to the park, but on the back roads. We drove through the town of Rogue River and checked out a laundromat and then drove to Gold Hill on the other side of the park north of the freeway and checked out another laundromat. We have to do laundry in a few days and were working on options. We then went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. We had cocktails outside under the trees then Peggy did penne pasta for dinner. We had a great dinner, visited for a bit and then we went back to our coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, July 26^th, we mostly had a stay at home day. I did drive into Grants Pass and go to the urgent care at the hospital there just to get someone to look at a growth I have on my right ear. It started out as what appeared to be a pimple a few months ago and has gradually gotten bigger and uglier. As I guess I expected, the nurse practitioner who saw me was very non-committal about the growth and just suggested I have a dermatologist look at it. They wrote a referral for a local dermatologist, but since we are leaving in four days I don't see much chance of getting in. After the visit I went back home. Jackie made some BBQ chicken legs for dinner. It was very hot today, so we didn't do much of anything outside. After dinner Peggy went home and we watched TV until bedtime. Monday we left the coach, with Peggy along, about 11:30 and drove into nearby Gold Hill for lunch at a local cafe, Patty's Kitchen. The food was good, if ordinary, and there was lots of it. After lunch we drove into Grants Pass and did some grocery shopping at Winco. After shopping we did two geocaches nearby and then drove back to the park. We stayed in for the rest of the afternoon. Peggy made Salisbury steak for dinner and we had a nice meal. After dinner we went back to our place and watched TV until time for bed.

Tuesday, July 28^th, we went out after lunch and did our laundry in the town of Rogue River. We came back to the coach and put everything away, then relaxed for a while. We had cocktails inside since it is still very hot, then did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy went back to her coach we watched some TV and went to bed. Wednesday we left the RV park about 11:30 with Peggy and drove to Medford for lunch. We wanted Asian food and we picked out a Chinese place with high Yelp ratings, but when we got there they had a sign up that there was no dine in service. We then found a nearby Thai place with good ratings, Vim Thai, and we went there. The food was very good, as was the service. After lunch we did a few caches, getting two new finds and one DNF. It was too hot to do anything else. We then did a Walmart run for some supplies and then headed back to the coach. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach. We did some burgers on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed.

Thursday, July 29^th, our last full day here in Valley of the Rogue. We had a stay at home day. I did a few chores, including spending a half hour outside in the heat putting things away so we can leave tomorrow. For dinner I did some Reuben sandwiches and Peggy made some mac salad. We had a nice dinner, then when Peggy went home we watched some TV and went to bed. Friday was another travel day. We packed up and got out early, just a little after 9:00. We are headed 155 miles north to Coburg, Oregon, for a three day stay before heading to the Oregon Coast for two weeks. The drive was uneventful and we arrived at the Eugene Kamping World right about noon. We got into our spot, parked right next to Peggy who is still traveling with us but left the State Park before us. We are going to do some shopping here and maybe some geocaching the next couple days. It is a little cooler here than it was down south. Coburg is the town where Monaco Coach Corporation, the company that made our coach, used to have it's headquarters. When they went bankrupt the building was sold. The service center that Monaco had here is still in use, but is now run by REV, the Fleetwood RV company that bought the Monaco name, along with all the other RV names. We will be coming to the service center for some work in a couple weeks on our way back home. We got parked and set up and then relaxed for the rest of the day.

It has now been three weeks since we published, so it is time to get this episode closed out and online. Until next time, remember that the grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. Stay safe, see ya soon.

Time With Family on the Central Coast

Hi there, welcome back to our story. Our last episode concluded on Wednesday, June 24^th, when we arrived at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge on the Central Coast of California. We have been coming to this area at least once or twice or year since we started our full timing adventure. The reason was that Jackie has family living in Pismo Beach, a coastal town about 20 miles north of Santa Maria. We stay in Santa Maria because the Elks Lodge here has a very nice RV park with full hookup 50 amp sites for which you can make advance reservations. They are $30 a night, which is high for an Elks Lodge, but very moderate compared to RV park rates in this very touristy area.

This is the first time back here since about this time last summer. That last visit was the last time that we were able to see Jackie's Aunt Donna, who passed away at 94 late last year. Her grandson Corey, who has been her full time care giver for the last dozen years, still lives in their house on the hill overlooking the Pismo Beach pier. He inherited the house upon her death and intends to keep it and continue to live there. After we got settled into the Elks and got set up for our two week stay we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing after our three day journey to get here. We contacted Corey and let him know we would come by tomorrow to see him. It is really nice to be back in a cool place again after the heat of the desert.

Thursday, June 25^th, we awoke to an overcast and cool morning. It was nice to be able to do my daily walk again without sweating my face off. We left the coach about 1:30 and went out to do a couple of geocaches and then drive up to Pismo Beach to visit with Corey. We got two caches and one DNF and arrived at what is now officially Corey's house on the hill. We had a very nice visit, although it was odd and sad to be in the house and not have Aunt Donna around to talk to. We had brought a frozen lasagna and some garlic bread with us which we cooked in the oven after cocktail hour. We had a very nice dinner with the three of us and we left around 7:30 or so and headed back to Santa Maria. After we got back to the coach we watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, June 26^th, we left the coach about 12:30 and drove to a local truck stop cafe called Pappy's, located in the south part of Santa Maria. It was recommended to us by Ron Kopf, the husband of Jackie's cousin Stephanie who lives in Fresno. Ron travels a lot for work and told Jackie that Pappy's had the best chicken fried steak anywhere. It is an old place, founded in 1959, with a distinctly cowboy flavor. The menu is pure truck stop comfort food. Jackie had the chicken fried steak and eggs, which was huge and she said it was, in fact, very good. I had the Santa Maria BBQ tri tip melt, which was on sourdough bread with onions, mushrooms and swiss cheese and served with an au jus. It was, by far, the best tasting beef sandwich I have had. We will definitely be coming back to Pappy's. After lunch we did some geocaching in Santa Maria, getting five new finds and three DNFs. We then did some shopping, Walmart and Lowes. After we were done we went back to the coach, had cocktails but no real dinner because we were still pretty full from lunch. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, June 27^th, we had mostly a stay at home day. I did go out after lunch to get our very dirty car washed and stop at a Von's to get a couple of things that Walmart didn't have yesterday. About 4:00 Corey came over to visit and have dinner. We sat and talked for a while and then did hamburgers on the BBQ. He stayed until about 7:30 or so and then left to go home. We watched TV until bedtime. Sunday was a stay at home day. Did the Sunday paper with coffee in the morning and then spent the day doing chores. Jackie made a nice chili relleno for dinner. Monday was laundry day. We went out after lunch to the local laundromat and did our clothes. After the washing was done we drove up to Pismo Beach and met Corey at his favorite neighborhood bar, Scotty's. We had a couple of drinks, talked to Corey and some of his friends. By 4:30 we were on our way back to the coach. We had cocktails and chili relleno leftovers for dinner.

Tuesday, June 30^th, the middle of the year already. Today was a stay at home day. Did a few chores but mostly relaxed for the day. Did some pork chops on the grill for dinner. Wednesday, July 1^st, we left the coach around 12:30 and went to a local restaurant called The Pantry on Park. We had been there about four years ago and really liked it, we just never got around to going back. Jackie had an omelet and I had liver and onions. Both dishes were very good, prepared nicely and were generous portions. The only down side was the service, which was not so good. Friendly, but they payed more attention to chatting among themselves and watching their phones than checking on us. After lunch we drove up to Arroyo Grande to do some geocaching. Jackie also got her haircut in between caches. We were able to get seven new finds, with no DNFs. After caching we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Thursday, July 2^nd, we left the coach about 1:30 and went out to run some errands and do a little geocaching. We got two new finds and a pair of DNFs too. We also had four caches that we went to try and get only to find that they were in State parks that have been closed because of the virus thing. We stopped at an RV supply store but were unable to find what I need. Suzie Babcock gave us their propane fire pit, which had hardly been used, but I need to get the right fitting to make it work on our coach. So far I am not having much luck with that. We then stopped at a Von's store in Arroyo Grande for a few things. It was a disappointing stop as they were out of a lot of stuff because, I presume, the holiday weekend. After Von's we headed home just in time for cocktails. We had dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Friday we went out after lunch to run some errands and do a little geocaching. We stopped at Costco to gas the car up, ten gallons after a month and a half. We stopped at Home Depot and then Walmart for a few things. After errands we got three new cache finds along with one DNF. We then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Saturday, July 4^th, Happy Independence Day! We relaxed at home until about 3:00 when we left the coach and drove to the KFC in Santa Maria to pick up dinner for a 4^th of July party at Corey's. We got the chicken and sides and then drove to Pismo Beach for the party. We have spent several 4^th of July holidays over the years in both the current house which is now Corey's and the larger house next door which is where Jackie's Aunt Donna and Uncle “Barkey” used to live. They lived in the area for some 50 years and built four houses on the hill, all right in the same area. Corey's brother and sister inherited the smaller house below Corey's which still belonged to Donna as a rental. It is up for sale now. The other smaller house they sold not long after they built it. We used to love coming here for the 4^th because Pismo Beach shot their fireworks off of the end of the City pier, which is directly below the house. However, this year there is no formal fireworks show because of the lockdown. We still had a fun little get together with Corey, and a couple of friends of his Gloria and Shaffer. Gloria and her husband have a summer house in Pismo and Shaffer is the bartender at Scotty's, Corey's favorite bar. Jackie's cousin Pia and her boyfriend were supposed to come over, but they canceled at the last minute afraid that there might be a lot of people they didn't know. The five of us sat and talked, drank and had chicken dinner and had a great time. We left around 9:30 and drove home after dark for the first time in a while. There was no public fireworks, but there was no shortage of private shows going on for the entire 20 mile drive south to Santa Maria. When we got back to the coach the neighborhood around the Elks RV lot looked and sounded like a war zone. It kept up until well after we went to bed at 10:30. Fortunately, we never heard any sirens, so everyone must have survived the night.

Sunday, July 5^th, we did the usual Sunday morning paper and coffee. We left the coach about noon and drove to the In N Out burger place for lunch. Had to eat in the car, but it was still good. After lunch we did some caching, getting a half dozen new finds and a couple of DNFs. We are now just 50 finds from hitting our 10,000 milestone. Yea! One of the caches was at the Santa Maria Airport and I saw this old A-4 Skyhawk near a small museum.  After caching we headed back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Monday we left the RV park after lunch and drove to the Costco to get a few things before we left the Central Coast area. We went back to the coach and put everything away and did a few chores. Around 3:30 we left again and drove to Corey's in Pismo Beach for one last visit. It was just the three of us and we sat and talked, had some cocktails and snacks, and for dinner Corey made some locally made burritos with a side of rice. We had a nice meal and visited some more. We left around 8:00 and drove back to the Elks. We stayed in with the TV the rest of the night. Tuesday was a stay at home day. After lunch I spent a couple hours outside putting away all our trinkets. We spent the entire day and evening in the coach relaxing with the computers and the TV.

Wednesday, July 8^th, another travel day. We had the coach buttoned up and ready to go by 10:00, heading North. Ultimately, we are on our way to Peggy's house in Mineral, California, near Redding, for what was to be the 5^th annual 50^th wedding anniversary. However, a couple days ago Peggy called and said that she was canceling the party because 33 people, many of whom are younger people and people Peggy doesn't see very often, was way too many with the Covid virus still running rampant around the country. She still wants us to come and spend time with her and her kids, but the party is off. That works out for us because we are going North into Oregon anyway and we have to be somewhere, so we just kept our reservations at the RV park in Mineral. Last year the party was nearly canceled when Vernon Died a couple days before, but they turned that into a celebration of life. This year's will be a celebration of family. Today's journey was only 130 miles north and east to the town of Coalinga off of the I-5. The trip was pretty uneventful and we arrived at the Almond Tree Oasis RV park at 12:30. We got parked and set up for our two night stay here. Relax today, some caching tomorrow, and then on to the next two night stay. We have three of these short stops before we head into the mountains and Mineral. After we got set up we just relaxed the rest of the day.

The end of our two week stay here in Santa Maria marks a good point to get this episode published and online. Until next time, remember that you can’t always control who walks into your life but, you CAN control which window you throw them out of… See ya soon.

Three Plus Weeks in the San Jacinto Mountains

Hello again. Our last episode concluded on Friday, May 29th when we left Indio, California and arrived at the Silent Valley RV Resort in the San Jacinto Mountains south of Banning, California. This is a private resort operated on a time share model. Since it is located on leased Forest Service land, you buy” an undivided portion of the lease and improvements and then pay a yearly fee. You get to use the resort up to 120 days per year at no additional cost and most of the sites are full hookup and 50 amp. Since it is at 3,500 feet elevation it is also 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the Coachella Valley. We first bought in when we still had the house in Indio and a much smaller RV and we got quite a bit of use out of it, although we rarely stayed for more than a week or two. After we went full time we started using it 30 days at a time, the most you can stay without having to leave for at least 10 days. The first few years we were getting at least 60, sometimes 90 days in a year. However, as time has gone by we are spending less and less time in Southern California and have been spending less and less time here despite we fact we like it when we are here. We are considering selling our interest just because we no longer get our monies worth from it. Our first day here we just got the basic set up completed and then relaxed.

Saturday, May 30th, we stayed up on the mountain. Our general pattern here is that we will stay on the hill for three or four days, then go down the hill to shop, eat, go to movies and geocache. Of course, a lot of that activity is still somewhat limited due to the COVID lock down orders. I did spend a couple of hours outside getting decorations put out, the BBQ set up and making the place look like home. We did hamburgers on the BBQ for dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Just for information, the peak temperature today up here was 79 degrees and it was 102 in Indio. Yea! Sunday was another stay at home day. Unfortunately, there are no newspapers available up here, so when we are here we have to forgo our usual Sunday Paper ritual. We took a walk, relaxed and just enjoyed the day. We had country ribs in the crock pot all day which we had for dinner. Watched TV and went to bed.

Monday, June 1st, wow, already? We decided to go down the hill today so we left the RV park about noon and drove down to Beaumont for lunch. One of our favorite Mexican places, La Casita, has reopened for dine-in service. Yea! We both had the chicken taco salad, which is the best restaurant taco salad anywhere. I even got to have a beer with lunch. After lunch we did a few geocaches in the area, getting three new finds. We then drove back up the hill and relaxed for the rest of the day. Tuesday was a stay at home day. We went for a walk, did some chores and generally relaxed for the entire day. Wednesday was another stay at home and relax day. It was a little warmer today so we stayed inside for most of the day. Did some fish on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, June 4th, our coaches 15th anniversary. We closed on the house on June 4th, 2005, took the check to the bank, got a cashiers check for the coach and made the deal. We picked up the coach the next day. Today we decided to get out of the house for a little bit. Around 11:30 we left the RV park and headed to the mountain community of Idyllwild, about 16 miles south and 2,500 feet higher. We found that none of the restaurants up there were doing dine in service yet, but the Lumber Mill Bar and Grill had an outside, covered patio which they were allowing people to sit in. You had to order the food “to go” but when they would deliver the take out food to you if you were sitting on the patio. We had a nice lunch, then walked around the small main village area of town. I was surprised that most of the small gift shops were open, so we actually got to do some browsing. While we were in town we also got one geocache. After a couple hours we headed back to Silent Valley and spent the rest of the day and evening in the coach.

Friday, June 5th, we had a stay at home day. There was a cold front moving into Southern California and it brought cool temperatures, fog and light rain to Silent Valley. We stayed inside for the entire day. I made a nice pot of chili for dinner, we ate, watched some TV and went to bed. Saturday we woke up to light rain and even cooler temps. We actually turned on the furnaces for a while. Although it cleared up a little in the late afternoon we still had a stay at home day. Got a few chores done, relaxed and played games and watched TV. We did a pork roast in the oven for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, June 7th, we left Silent Valley after lunch and drove down the hill to do some geocaching and to do a Walmart run. We were able to get four new finds, and one DNF, in a fairly short time, then went to Walmart to shop. The store was really crowded, but by 3:30 we were done and back on our way up the hill. After we got the groceries put away we just spent the rest of the day and evening relaxing. Monday was a stay at home day. Although it warmed up a little, the wind picked up and it was pretty breezy. We just relaxed at home for entire day and evening. Jackie made a nice meatloaf for dinner. Tuesday was another stay at home day. Did a few chores and relaxed. Had leftovers for dinner.

Wednesday, June 10th, we left the coach about 11:00 and went down the mountain, headed west to Menifee, California to meet some friends for lunch. We arrived at the Applebees and met with Suzie Babcock. Suzie and her husband Ray were some of our best friends and over the years we spent a lot of time traveling together. Ray died this last January and Suzie is still dealing with the fallout. Shortly after Bev King arrived. Bev and her husband Jerry were also Rvers, although Jerry died about five years ago. Jerry and Ray were both retired fireman and knew each other. We were supposed to have been joined by Gary and Ramona Wilson, also old RV friends that have sold their rig and gone off the road. However, they sent word through Suzie that they would not be able to make it. Gary is also a retired fireman, but for a different department. The four of us had a very nice lunch and did a lot of catching up. We haven't seen Bev in a couple of years, Suzie we saw just a few months ago. After lunch we went to Suzie's house nearby and sat and talked for another couple hours. The Babcock's daughter Wendy was there as she is staying with Suzie for a while to help out. We left their house about 4:00 and headed home. On the way home we stopped at the UPS Service Center in Romoland, not too far from Menifee, to pick up our mail that we had delivered there by our mail box service in Pahrump. We arrived home about 5:30 and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. It was nice seeing old friends today.

Thursday, June 11th, we had a stay at home day. Got a few chores done but mostly just relaxed. Our friends Bob and Gloria Baron brought their motorhome up to Silent Valley and are parked right across the street from us. They have been members here even longer than us. We did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner as well as some grilled corn on the cob and scallops. We watched some TV and went to bed. Friday we left the coach about 11:30 and drove down to Banning and the Sun Lakes Country Club. We came down to visit an old friend, Marianne Connor who lives there. We met Marianne and her husband David back in 1999 when we joined the Indio Elks and their RV travel club, the Desert Drifters. We went on many outings with the Drifters from 1999 to 2005 when we sold the house and went full time.

Dave and Marianne were actually our first real “travel partners” in 2006. They also had a diesel pusher, a 40 foot Beaver that was also made by Monaco and was very similar to ours. We met up with them, as well as several other Desert Drifters, on the way to Minot, North Dakota, for our very first FMCA Convention in August 2005. We traveled with this group for about a month and a half, including the before, during and after the rally. We left the group in September in California and we headed east along I-10. We spent our first winter full timing in Florida and in March 2006 we went to Branson, Missouri for a rally. Dave and Marianne were also at the same rally, as well as one other couple from the Elks group. After the Branson rally we traveled with the Connors for about three months, up through the Mississippi Valley and into the Northeast. We finally split up in late June when they went into upstate New York and we went to Massachusetts. They full timed for about two years before David's health got too bad. He died in 2008 and Marianne continued to use the motor home with the Elks group for another couple years before she sold it. She has been living in the Banning/Beaumont area ever since. We see here once in a while, although it has been two and and half years since the last time we saw here. We visited with her at her house for a while, then drove into Beaumont to a Mexican place called Marla's for lunch. We were joined by Bob and Gloria Baron, who had also been in our Elks travel club. We had a very nice lunch, although the food and service could have been better. Nonetheless, it was still great to be able to visit with old friends. We left Marianne's around 3:30 and went to Walmart for some supplies. We then drove back up the hill and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach watching TV and relaxing.

Saturday, June 13th, we had a stay at home day. I got some chores done, including fixing the front steps again. Every three or four years I have to fix something with the automatic steps. Twice before I had to replace the motor, this time it was a broken bolt on the linkage, which required I order a whole new tie rod because the bolts were part of the tie rod. We had cocktails at 5:00 with the Baron's and another couple from the Indio Elks travel club that we haven't seen in years, Tom and Joan Bolaris. They are also members of Silent Valley and are camped not too far from us. We did some fish on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. Sunday was another stay at home day. We just relaxed for the entire day. Monday we went down the hill for lunch and to do some shopping. We went to Patsy's Country Kitchen for lunch. This is a breakfast and lunch cafe that we really like and it has now reopened for dine in service. We had a great breakfast, omelet for Jackie, machaca for me. After lunch we ran some errands, stopping at a beauty supply store, Walgreens and then an RV supply store. After our shopping errands we stopped at a Great Clips so Jackie could get a haircut. After the haircut we headed back up the mountain. We didn't do any caching because we have pretty much cached this area clean. After we got back to the coach we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Tuesday, June 16th, my eldest daughter Tye's birthday. Happy Birthday Tye! We had a stay at home day. Did a few chores and some office work, but mostly just relaxed. We did some Cajun chicken on the BBQ for dinner. Wednesday was also a stay at home day. Thursday we left the coach around 11:00 and went down the hill again, heading back to Menifee and the Babcock house. We arrived there around noon and picked up Suzie to go to lunch. This time it was just the three of us. We went to BJ's Brewhouse for lunch and had a very nice meal. After lunch we drove out to where their motorhome was stored. The Babcock's had a 2006 Monaco Diplomat, which was very similar to ours with basically the same chassis. We traveled with them many times and spent a lot of time in the coach. The coach was always Ray's baby, so Suzie doesn't know anything beyond the basics about the coach. She never drove it and doesn't want to learn. She has it up for sale at the moment. She took us out there to go through the storage bays and take any accessories that we wanted. They really don't add anything to the value of the coach and she doesn't need them around the house. We got a voltage regulator for use in campgrounds with wonky electric power, a couple of lawn chairs, and a few other small service items. After we got back to the house we went through some stuff she had in the garage from the coach and got a couple of other little things. We then left and drove north to Moreno Valley to go to Costco. After the Costco run we headed back to Silent Valley, getting home just after 5:00. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing. One thing I did have to do was reprogram most of our satellite television programs. Because of action, or actually inaction, on the part of Congress, satellite TV providers are no longer able to allow customers to get network programming, IE., ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CW, that does not originate from their local market, which in our case would have been Las Vegas. For 15 years we had a special package that gave us both New York and Los Angeles network feeds. Yesterday they cut off those feeds. I was able to get Direct TV on the line and we got our local programming turned back on. I also changed our “service address”, which is where we actually are, to the address of Silent Valley, so we at least got the Los Angeles network stations turned back on. However, we were recording most of our network shows on the New York feed because they came on earlier in the day, so I had to change almost everything to the Los Angeles stations. I got it done and we now have network coverage again, at least from the west coast. Hopefully they won't do anything more to screw things up for us.

Friday, June 19th, Juneteenth, another new holiday, although it did show up on my Google calendar as part of the “U.S. Holidays” download. However, Flag Day didn't, which I found distressing. Oh well. Today was another stay at home day. Got a few chores done, some office work and some relaxing. Had the chicken we bought at Costco yesterday for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. Saturday was another stay at home day. I spent a couple of hours cleaning up all of our outside decorations, getting ready for our departure from Silent Valley on Monday morning. Sunday was our last day here in Silent Valley. I finished up getting ready for travel tomorrow and checked all the fluids in the coach as well as the batteries and the tire pressure. We are now ready for travel.   While I was outside checking various things on the coach I noticed the Shade Pro service truck pull up to one of the RV's parked behind us.  When the guys got out I recognized Ryan, our service guy from Yuma who installed our new shades a couple months ago.  I had to go over and say hi.  We also had to take a photo with Jackie so she could send it to Peggy, who also had a bunch of work done in Yuma by Ryan.  We had cocktails with the Baron's who came back up today after being gone most of the week.

Monday, June 22nd, our first travel day in nearly a month. We were packed up and pulling out of Silent Valley about 9:30 heading north on a fairly short 80 mile trip to Adelanto, a small town on the west edge of Victorville. The toughest part of the trip was climbing the Cajon pass out of San Bernardino. Because we left early we beat the worst of the heat and got to the summit without any overheating. We arrived at the Adelanto RV park about 11:30, got checked in and parked for a one night stand. Since we got in early we did unhook the car and drove into town to have lunch and do a Walmart run. We ate at a little taquaria near the Walmart, then went shopping. After we got back to the coach we put everything away and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Tuesday, June 23rd, another travel day, this time about 120 miles to Bakersfield. We again had a grade to climb, this time the Tehachape Summit. We were out about 9:30 and got to the Shady Haven RV park in Bakersfield about 12:30. We got checked in and parked, then relaxed the rest of the day. We didn't even unhook the car. Wednesday we were again on the road after a very hot night in Bakersfield. Yesterday afternoon, after we were parked, the temperature hit 102 and the A/Cs were working to keep up. We were out by 9:30 headed west on the final leg of this trip, going about 130 miles to Santa Maria, California. Since it was really hot in the valley even in the morning we did have to make one stop on the way up the grade over the coastal range outside of Maricopa. The coach got very warm and I to pull over in a wide spot and let it cool down. Strangely coincidentally, just as I stopped the coach and put the parking brake on the coach started a little wiggling motion. It was not real strong, but definitely there. I told Jackie, “ooh, earthquake.” At first she said no, it was movement from the coach idling, but I said no, I know it was an earthquake, probably big, but far away. Since we were parked anyway I got on my phone to the recent earthquakes site and sure enough there was a 5.8 that just occurred in Lone Pine, California, about 135 miles northeast as the crow flies. A few minutes later the “quake alarm” on the phone went off. Had we still been driving we probably wouldn't have felt it. After a ten minute stop we were on the way and made it over the top without further problems. We arrived at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge about 1:00, got checked in and parked and spent the next couple hours setting up for our two week stay here.

Our arrival here in Santa Maria marks a good point to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time ponder the words of author Gayle Forman, “Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.” See ya soon.