Tag Archives: travel

Seaside and a Broken Truck

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Yup. I’m still sucking air, as my friend Junior used to say. That may surprise some of you since I have a history of harming myself in various ways. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened lately.

Except for my left shoulder. It’s kind of wonky and I’m scheduled for physical therapy to address that malady. That starts on May 8th. If I can still use my keyboard then, I’ll tell you all about it.

Before I go too far into this, I’ll admit that there may be some repetition about previous posts. You have permission to skip the repeated info.

Let’s talk about our truck. As you know, it sat idle in our driveway while we were off sampling the weather in Arizona for the last part of 2024 and a bit of 2025. I may have mentioned the issues we encountered previously, but things have progressed. For the last few weeks it’s been unreliable about starting. The first episode was during a trip to Portland for something I don’t remember, maybe a Costco visit, then lunch at Chang’s Mongolian BBQ. After lunch it wouldn’t start.

It would lock and unlock with the FOBs but the big START button did not function. Therefore, the engine didn’t start. I decided to try the remote start feature which worked fine, but I could not get it out of that mode. That means I couldn’t put it in gear. It’s supposed to shift modes when you press the unlock button after the remote start, but that didn’t work. That meant the truck wouldn’t let me put it in gear no matter how hard I tried.

So, I called AAA for a tow back to St. Helens so they could figure it out. While waiting for the tow truck I kept trying stuff and finally wound up slapping and pounding on the dash in the vicinity of the START button. That apparently caused something to wake up because it actually started the next time I tried.

Feeling lucky, I called the tow truck driver and cancelled the tow and away we went, directly to Emmert where I handed them all the keys and walked home. I was losing faith in that rig.

A couple days later, they reported that there didn’t seem to be a problem because it started every time they tried. Feeling brave, I drove Max to Wiggle Buttz, a dog store, to have his nails trimmed. He was. begging for a trim. When the toe nails were trimmed we jumped in the truck to go home but it wouldn’t start. I only tried once. Then we walked back to Emmert and I gave them the keys again and told them where the truck was parked and we went home.

It was during this period of being truckless that we went to Seaside for the weekend. Diane wanted to see the super low tide in person. So, we went and had a good time. Max got to spend time on the beach running just as hard as he could and, though it rained a bunch, we enjoyed the stay like we always do.

Diane took her Mom’s fancy walker to the beach and discovred that it glides suprisingly easy over the sand.

So, while Max and I played, she sat peacefully watching the surf up close.

Max was perfectly content laying on the table watching the surf from a distancd.

Can’t say I blame him because the beach was very busy with folks carrying clam guns that apparently are very popular during low tide. I’ve never seen Seaside Beach like this before.

Looking north there were a few TeePees people had built and we chose this one for our next home.

We took one long walk, about 2 miles to Norma’s and back just to get this required photo of us at the Seaside Turnaround.

Emmert called and told me they had analyzed about 40 error codes that all pointed to low voltage and deemed that we needed to replace the battery. I said sure, so they did. That was Friday, a week ago but we were at the beach in Seaside so couldn’t get it until Monday.

I went back to the dealer, paid the $580.00 that wanted for the new battery, and they gave me the keys. I happily went to the truck planning for a leisurely drive home, but it wouldn’t unlock with the remote.

I didn’t try anything else before taking the keys back to the service desk to report this failure. We went back to the truck and the service writer couldn’t get it opened with the remote, either. He pulled the manual key out and opened the door but there was a disturbing absence of dome and dash light when the door opened. This was an indication that the $580 was not well spent even though their specific testing of the old battery revealed it was bad.

After scratching our heads in unison for a bit, they said they would like to keep it for another few days to see what more they could find. I said, “sure, if you can give me something else to drive because Diane and I both have places to be at the same time. They wound up giving me one of their rentals, a 2024 Blazer EV which is pretty nice. I drove it home and tried to get the truck out of my head for a bit.

Today is Saturday and the truck will be there until Monday at least. I checked yesterday and it was in the shop, which is good, but they still had no clue what the problem is. That wasn’t encouraging.

So, I think we’ll just go out and burn up all that electricity stored in the EV’s batteries. It tells me we can go 216 miles before it requires a charge. Perhaps we’ll find out if that’s true.

In the mean time, Max is glad to be home and that the crick has dropped low enough to go wading like normal. One of his favorite things to do after a walks is to take a dip in the crick.

Sherwood, Oregon and Seaside, OR

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Before I start this one, please forgive me if the dates are wrong but I have no sense of time anymore. Every day’s Saturday, or Sunday, but never Monday. Anyway, Diane and I took our trailer to the Sherwood Elks Lodge for a few days. We did a lot of visiting, watched the crews behind us put a bridge together, visited the local thrift stores, and gave Max a lot of walks around the parking lot. It rained pretty good during this visit.

Before the trip started, I took the trailer around the block and did my best to scrape the passenger side of the trailer off as I left first stop sign I encountered. It wasn’t pretty, but there was mainly a transfer of creosote from the pole to various parts of the trailer. I did manage to scrape the handy dandy assist handle into oblivion and had to buy a new one. Thankfully, I was able to remove most of the creosote. All that remains to make everything OK is to figure out how to bend the door back into shape so it’s easier to close. There is a solution. I just haven’t had time to deal with it.

This is the crew we mingle with. A great bunch of humans.

After spending many days at home after that trip, Diane wanted to visit Seaside to see the King Low Tide. Diane said that isn’t a proper description of the tide tables but I’m going to “King” anyway. Even though it’s just a really low tide. This morning was the first day and it’s supposed to do the same tomorrow morning. That would be Monday, not something I usually talk about. The only problem is it happens before 0900 in the morning. That’s early for me. The deal breaker for tomorrow is the rain. I will walk Max in the rain but I won’t walk a mile to see a low tide in it. Maybe when I was younger.

Diane has decided to use her Mom’s walker since it was still brand new. It was about 10 years old but her Mom refused to use it, so it was still new. We brought it to the beach with us to help Diane with her “failing get around bones” and it did. We took some long walks. It was a good time and will something we can continue through the summer at home. I’m looking forward to that. Here’s proof of low tide.

Tomorrow we go back home for a while. Maybe we’ll be able to clean up the garage a little. Also, maybe someone will drop by and make an offer on our RV. We no longer need it. Any takers?

What’s Next?

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If I was still counting days, this would be 175. Yes, it’s been a week since my last post and I have to admit that I feel like I’m falling down on my job. But, the journey is over for a while so I can relax a little, right? The problem with that is that I need something to write about. To do that requires me to contribute a little brain power to these efforts. Let’s see what happens.

First, there’s Max, who doesn’t have a problem with moving around a lot. Any time he gets outside, he plants himself close to his next possible ride. Close enough that he’s hard to ignore. It works, and he gets in his trips around town in addition to his walks around the block, so he knows we see him.

As you can see, there’s a travel trailer parked under the car port and, as far as I know, it hasn’t leaked. I haven’t had the courage to unlock the door and stick my head inside to find out. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.

While taking stuff out of the RV Max assumed one of his favorite positions. I think he was channeling Laurie and Pat, hoping they would show up. We explained to him that they aren’t here, but they think about him a lot. He sat on the back of that couch for an hour or so until we closed it up. Funny guy.

Monday I used my air compressor to blow off 6 months of dust that collected on the air cleaner filters on the furnace. It was pretty fuzzy so I did it when Diane was not here. Actually, it was part of the instructions that I do the cleaning after Diane exited the premises and wouldn’t be back for a while. Max doesn’t care about stuff like that so he was allowed to stay with me and watch the fun.

Also on Monday, Max had a bath. A shower, really. He’s not fond of getting clean, but he loves the part about buffing him off with a towel. He must have heard about the need for a bath because he escaped for a little while and came back partially covered in mud. My first impression was that he found some deer poop and had a good time smearing it all over himself. But, it ws just dirt and it came off easily with the shower wand. That made Jerrie happy.

On Tuesday, I think, Diane drove herself to town (Portland) for her CT Scan to see how things are looking with her lungs. I thought she had an appointment scheduled with her doctor but can’t find it on the calendar so will have to find out when that is. We both want to know if we’re going to be visiting Arizona again this year, or if we’re going to get a sauna instead. Might just do both. You will hear about it as soon as I know..

Diane got her hair cut a little bit on Wednesday. The last trim she got was in Coronado, I think, and I did a pretty good job. Made me proud. I offered to do it again, but she nixed that very quickly. That’s OK because Tracey is her friend and they get to talk which is good. Sometimes I go there and just sit in the waiting area and listen to them. They know I’m there because there’s no way to sneak into the shop. Most of the time they just let me stay as long as I want and sometimes I even get a haicut, too.

On Thursday Diane had a meeting with the church ladies, and Friday she had an eye appointment.

On Friday I also got to do something for Jennifer using the truck. I drove way the heck and gone into the woods above our house, but not far enough to encounter snow. We loaded up a free freezer and took it back to her house and got it installed in her garage. Jeran came along to do the heavy lifting while Diane stayed at Jen’s to watch cartoons with the Little’s. We all had a good time and I only got in trouble a couple of times for trying to help move that thing. To facilitate the transfer, we got a trailer from Don’s Rental. There was no way we were going to get an upright freezer high enough to get it safely into the truck. The trailer worked nicely. It turns out that when someone else does the heavy lifting, it’s pretty easy to get stuff like this done.

This morning Pastor Ingrid cooked pancakes at the church for whoever wanted to walk through the church door, so I went about 9-ish and had breakfast with a few people we haven’t seen in a while. It was a good visit, the pancakes were awesome. Thanks, Pastor.

When I got back Diane convinced me to take Max around the block once more, then I drove her and the truck to Scappoose so we could fill the truck’s gas tank, and she could get her Spring Rolls at Simms Restaurant. She’s been craving those things for many months and couldn’t wait for tomorrow. Sunday, after church is when we usually make that trip. It’s a ‘thing’ with us. I usually get Lomein with shrimp but having just eaten a late breakfast, I settled on tempura shrimp. They were really good.

Oh, and we also had egg flower soup. And tea.

That’s pretty much up-to-date as I can get so I’m going to quit.

See you next time.

Days 168 – Saturday – Still Home

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Saturday was spent fiddling with the truck, trying to make it run. I failed, but I did manage to get all the dash gauges lit up a couple of times, and made the system ring some bells. I don’t know what they signified, but I made it happen. That little bit of success gave me something to think about because all that happened when I connected my fancy battery charger and put it in “Car Start” mode. All that means is the system is jolted with 50 amps that should work to start the engine, kinda like jumping the battery from another vehicle, like we used to do when we were kids. Everyone had a set of jumper cables. I still do, but I’ve also got AAA. They’ve got longer cables.

That old charger didn’t work, but I wasn’t surprised. It has resided in the battery compartment of the RV for a few years and has been subjected to all kinds of toxic chemicals during that time. I’m sure that wasn’t good for the little buttons that makes it tick. Sometimes they would work, sometimes they wouldn’t, so I figured it was beyond my ability to fathom any other reasons for its to malfunctioning nature.

With this knowledge I took a trip to O’Reilly Auto Parts and got a new battery charger. One that has a 250 Amp kick instead of the measly 50 Amp I had. It also has wheels so I can drag it around and keep it off the ground. Also, it’s too big to fit in the battery compartment so it won’t be breathing all that bad air. It’s staying in the garage.

To make a long story short, it worked. I was able to get enough juice in the battery to the point where the system determined that it was still alive and responded to the button that starts everything. It cranked up and purred like a kitten. I was so happy.

I believe the problem about the battery going dead was caused by the automatic levelling system that lives on the back axle of the truck. There are air bags back there connected to a small compressor that only knows two things; 1) The air bags are low on air, and 2) The air bags have too much air. Actually, the compressor doesn’t know anything. It simply responds to the external stimulus supplied by a magnet, a proximity switch, and gravity. It’s that simple.

The compressor is connected to a switch that is connected to the frame in such a manner that when the air bags deflate, a magnate moves up, or down, in relation to a stable sensor that triggers the electricity to the compressor. When weight is added to the truck bed, or a trailer is attached, the compressor pumps up the bags until the rig is level. When the weight is removed, air is released to make it level. Simple system. The problem is that there’s no way to turn it off. It’s on all the time. So, when it sits idle for 5 months that bag inflation/deflation status is controlled by the weather. In this case it was mainly cold so it was constantly pumping the bags up and did so until the battery was totally drained. That’s my theory.

If I’d had a brain before we left, I should have disconnected the battery, but I didn’t. I suspect I could have installed an on/off switch on the compressor, but that would have been too easy.

The good news is that I can still install the switch, and the truck is back in action. I’ll put that on my TODO list. All I have to do is find it. I think it’s in the garage somewhere..

Our children are happy about the resurrection because they have things they want to move, and the truck is what they need. I’m happy to oblige.

Here’s proof of life for the truck:

I’m happy to report that the snow we outran to get home, has come and gone. Max thought it was fun for a while, as did we, then it went away and we’re OK with that. Here’s the new look around the house.

The creek is a little higher right now because of the melting snow in yonder hills. You can see Max getting reacquainted with the boulders that protect the stream bank. He remembers them all.

Now I’m done.

Day 162 – Sunday – Elks RV Park Florence, OR

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We drove to Florence with no mishaps the, following the GPS, we drove a few miles beyond the city to the RV Park located in the country somewhere. It was one of those moments where you feel like you’ve accomplished your goal, then you pass it by, looking over your shoulder as it fades away into the distance. You want to reach back and grab it so it won’t get away. But it does, and you must move on down the road.

Eventually, we made it to Mercer Lake Road, and were rewarded with a sign leading to the elks park. It’s like a surprise because just when you think it’s never going to reveal itself, there it is. We pulled into the area, stopped to check in, and Hayden came to meet us and get it done so we could park.

The park has nearly 50 sites and there were very few in use so getting a spot wasn’t a problem. That’s good because it’s first come first served. As it turned out, #19 was open and it was about 50 feet across the parking lot from the office. An added benefit was it has sewer. Not many of them do. That was a good thing because we needed to dump.

Hayden is a character, and we got along great. He’s a retired Army Sgt Major. He said the job of managing the park was his first trip off the mountain in the last 20 years where he lived on a farm with his wife. He said he didn’t have to leave the ranch because his wife did all the shopping. With his new job for the elks, he said dealing with people is a newly acquired skill since he sold the ranch and moved down to sea level. He’s a great guy and reminds me a lot of our friend Larry, right down to the mustache.

Another added benefit it space #19 is that it has a southern exposure which means we have access to the Dish satellites. That’s very good because it was out intention to watch the super bowl this afternoon. So, the first thing I did, after getting the bus hooked up, was dial up the satellite and get it connected. It did all that and the reception was excellent.

Diane chose to cook since I’ve been driving a lot lately and she figured it would be a nice break for me. It was indeed. She made us ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, and cherry turnovers. It was pretty awesome.

Just before we sat down to eat, Diane paused the Dish just as the pre-game festivities started. That way we could sit and watch it together. It was paused for about 30 minutes and was working really well through the festivities, and through most of the 1st quarter of the game before it just froze. It was very perplexing. None of the remote buttons worked and I eventually had to restart the Dish receiver. That was the only way to get it going again. Start over.

Thankfully, the picture came back and we had missed about one quarter. When it froze the Eagles were up 7-0. When it came back it was 17-0. All we missed was another TD and a FG by the Eagles. We were surprised that KC hadn’t scored yet. Then, after watching their offense get pushed around by the Eagles it was evident why they hadn’t.

In the end, we were happy the Eagles won. It was more fun to watch than many of the previous SB games because there was a lot of scoring. Most of the old games were all about defense and kinda got boring when no one scored. Since we were rooting for the Eagles, this game was right up our ally.

After the game I took Max for a long walk in the woods. He was very appreciative. We walked all over the place until my feet got cold enough that I couldn’t feel them. I suspect Max’s feet were numb, too, so we went back to the bus.

That was the day. It was a good one. We will be here for two nights to recover from all the arduous driving we’ve been doing. Jennifer, our daughter, has been following us and sent a text that “… we’re only 2 hours away so why is it taking so long to get home?” She added that”…we could have driven down and had dinner with you.” Funny girl.

Everybody back home has been concerned about the knock I took on my noggin and questioned my ability to drive safely since the accident. But I’m doing just fine. Diane has confidence in me to get us home safely, so that’s what I plan to do,

That’s the spot!

Day 160 – Friday – Harris Beach State Park Brookings

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I took Max for a long walk this morning and didn’t get a drop of rain on me. Now that we’re almost ready to wrap things up here in Eureka, it’s raining again but it’s OK. I’m almost immune to getting wet and worrying about it. The key word here is “almost”. I’m not a fan of having rain pouring off a roof, down my neck. Makes me very cold just thinking about it.

The trip up Hwy 101 was very nice and actually beautiful. The sky was clear, it didn’t rain and traffic was sparse. Pretty much a perfect travel day. We got to our evening stop between 2-3 pm and Max was excited to be parked. While I worked on setting things up, Diane tethered him to the picnic table and when I gave him an option to get in the bus he just laid down. That’s “no” in Max’s language. I understand. It was very pretty out and he’s been couped up for a few hours.

About halfway here we stopped at a Rest Area and made PB&J sandwiches. I also ate two carrots. It was a good lunch. Eating lite like that made it easy to plan for a big supper in town.

After a brief search we settled on Catalyst Seafood. I dished up Max’s dinner then we headed down to the restaurant. It was a good choice. Diane had fish and chips and I had a crab salad with a bowl of chowder.

After we got back, I took Max for an extra-long walk because he deserved it. We made a circuit of the A loop stopped about a hundred times to analyze the bouquet of odors assaulting his nostrils. He’s very serious about things his nose tells him.

Here’s the view from Harris Beach State Park Space #20. It’s very stunning. There’s even a southern exposure so Dish works perfectly.

Here’s something fun. Did I mention that the light fixture in the bedroom leaks? Yup, when it rains, it drips. One more thing to fix one of these days. It’s a 12VDC light so I’m not too concerned about it. I think I know how the water’s getting in but I’m not going to investigate it until we get home.

Another interesting bit of info is that I’m pretty sure I cracked a rib this morning when I sneezed. For some reason I tried to suppress it and I was bent a little in the wrong direction. Consequently, when the sneeze happened anyway, I was subjected to an extremely painful stab in my back, left side. The pain actually went all the way around, under my left arm and across my chest. It was explosive. Since then, I cannot take a deep breath without recreating the pain. Neither can I blow my nose, or cough without severe pain. If I’m not careful about how I move my arm, like reach for something quickly, it feels like something is not connected properly and I get the pain again. In between those bouts of pain there is no pain, and I forget that it will happen again if I’m not careful. And, I always forget that it’s going to hurt again. I need a chiropractor. Until then, I’m just going to do a lot of sucking in my breath from the pain when I forget. I don’t know, yet, if I can lay down without moaning a little.

Time to stop so I will leave you with our first Oregon sunset since last summer.

Day 158 – Wednesday – Mendocino Redwood RV

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It appears that I’m going to survive my fall. For a while there I’m sure Diane wondered if the damage was permanent. The damage to my glasses is certainly permanent. I do have a spare set of spectacles thanks to Jennifer. The only drawback to using the spares is they were calibrated for computer use. Therefore, distance vision, though a little fuzzy, is better than having the glasses fall off my face at a critical moment. So, we’re going with them. Besides, Diane said she like them better than the bent glasses because they don’t make my face look mean.

We’re heading north, finally, up Highway 101, west of the snow. The snow was a concern because neither of us wants to be driving in that stuff. I do have chains for the bus, which I purchased years ago in the event the road rules dictated that travelers must carry traction devices. Well, I’ve got them, but I have no intention of ever installing them. My plan, if I’m ever in a situation where chains are required, I’d simply turn everything off, hand my keys to some lucky devil, and catch a ride home. I know, that’s a tad radical, and I probably wouldn’t do that, but it’s an option.

Thankfully, though it’s a little chilly outside, it’s a cloudless sky. The sun is shining all over the place. Quite different from the typhoon welcome we got yesterday. That was miserable. My fuzzy shirt is still dripping from that episode.

Thinking back on that fall, both of us are a little bewildered because when I’ve fallen in the past, my knees always took a hit. Like lots of skid marks and sometimes bloody spots. This time, I had on new jeans and there wasn’t a mark on them from the fall. I studied the area where I fell for a long time. The spot where I hit the ground was evident by the dried blood.

At the time, I had Max with me, and he was attached to the long cable tether we use when he is out alone. That’s not ideal for walking him because it doesn’t retract. I figure that had something to do with the mishap, too. So, bear with me and see if this makes sense.

I lifted the dumpster lid with my left hand and deposited two bags of trash with my right. I remember that part. Then I turned to my right and took a step with my right foot. At this point Max found something interesting to my right and lunged that direction. I took another step with my left foot that ended close to the blue bumper. When I tried to keep up with my right foot the bumper was in the way and caused me to go down on my left side but somehow my knees didn’t hit the ground. They must have encountered the white bumper, and the remainder of the impact was absorbed by my right arm which should have caused me to roll left. But, considering the size of the blood spot, I must have laid there a while before getting up. Diane said I was gone about 1/2 hour, and the dumpster was only a couple of minutes away. I obviously did not tuck and roll like I’ve been trained to do.

It’s still very confusing and the mystery remains about why my pants didn’t get dirty. Not even one littler speck to commemorate the event.

Therefore, I proclaim that for some reason I was saved from catastrophic damage at the last second and time stopped for a bit.

Simple as that. Then I got up and went back to the RV, but I have no memory of that trip. My first semi-sentient moment was in the bathroom when Diane was cleaning me up and I suggested she take a photo to document this event. These memories were fleeting as was the trip to the hospital. I recall part of the trip and by the time we got to the first doctor I feel that I was aware of my surroundings just fine. It was weird but it didn’t bother me at all. Also, the pouring rain washed away all the evidence I left in the parking lot as if nothing happened at all.

The doctor wanted to keep me for observation in case something else happened, but we had places to be, so we talked him out of it

Now, about Mendocino County. That’s where Willits is located, our next destination.

The trip very nice, rolling through hundreds of acres of vineyards. It’s very peaceful and easy on the eyes after all the high desert sand. It was nice to be surrounded by fields of green grass interspersed by all those grapevines so perfectly lined up and so well-tended.

It rained a bit toward the end of the 2-hour trip which we drove non-stop. We found the RV Park easily and we were the first people to show up this day. Others arrived later, but the park is practically empty. It’s a very nice park and it’s a little sad we’ll be here for only one night.

After getting everything set up, we left Max in charge of the TV remote and headed into town for something to eat. The chosen destination was Lumberjacks Restaurant. It’s apparently a chain restaurant and it was really good. Diane had a hamburger, and I had a chicken-fried steak. Here’s the only photo taken inside the restaurant.

Diane took this to show everyone how well my eye is looking. I’m mending quite well, and it should be invisible by the time we get back home in Oregon.

The weather looks pretty good so it’s on to Eureka tomorrow.

Day 155 – Sunday – On to Lodi

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Actually, we exited Highway 99 at Lodi and drove over to Woodbridge where we checked in to the Lodi Elks Lodge RV Park. Yes, the Lodi Elks Lodge is located in Woodbridge. I was a little confused, too, but got over it.

We planned to stay two nights, but the weather north of us is getting pretty bad so we are changing plans. Chico was in our sites for day after tomorrow, but the weather report for tomorrow will dictate our path.

Other than getting to the Lodi Elks safely, stopping in Turlock for fuel, and getting our holding tanks dumped, nothing has happened. So, let me share some photos I took at the Merced Elks RV Park.

First, the park is situated on somewhere between 20 and 75 acres. That’s as close as I can get by just eyeballing it. It’s a huge piece of property. Max and I walked to the fence line where I took a picture toward the left …

Straight across to the RV’s …

and to the right down the fence line.

Just ahead of us in the last photo are a few olive trees loaded with olives. Sorry I didn’t get a closeup photo for you.

While standing there, just looking around, a little brown chihuahua came running for Max from across the field.

We don’t know what his name is but he and Max acted like they were long lost friends. Since they were both off leash, they took advantage and ran all over the place. I did my best to keep up and wound up over by the orange trees by the laundry room.

The orange trees, 5 of them, are on the other side of those buildings. You’ll just have to use your imagination.

Another photo I got a kick out of was this one …

He likes to spend time outside, so we tether him to the RV. Since we spent so much time in Tucson where he had to walk on similar color-coded rocks, he chose to lay on the cement pad for the power connection. I suspect the pad was nice and warm and much better than laying on the rocks.

I’m struggling for things to add to this, so I just better quit and call it a day.

I’m done. Time to watch another Hallmark movie.

See you tomorrow.

Day 154 – Saturday – It’s February!

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The Elk’s RV Park is about 4 miles from Merced and it’s very quiet out here in the country. I don’t know what used to reside on this property, but it’s surrounded by orchards of some sort and there are orange trees that are loaded and available to us to take what we want. I’ve tried a couple, and the oranges are very good. I’m saving a couple of them for Larry and Sue who led us to this park. Thanks.

Today we took a trip to the nearest Best Buy so I could get a couple of devices to solve a problem created by not closing the door on our Dish receiver. It’s pretty exciting when we do that because it falls out of the cabinet after the first bump in the road and dangles in front of my face. Driving down the highway with a Wally hanging in front of my face is tricky. You’d think seeing that open cabinet would be so easy to do, right? But, it’s escaped our view more than once. I’ll add that it hasn’t happened in a long while, but when it did, the external hard drive we use as the DVR reached the end of it’s short USB cord and broke the USB connecter on the receiver. There’s another port that still works fine, but we need two of them now. So, I purchased a USB hub to solve the problem. It’s plugged into the good port and the DVR and a Dish Wi-Fi fob is plugged into the HUB and there are two empty spots. Guess I’ll have to figure out what else I can attach, now.

Boring stuff, right? Sorry about that. I just have to report things. This one was serious because Diane had things recorded on the DVR that she wanted to watch. The Wi-Fi device is necessary for us to get NETFLIX on the Dish receiver. That’s what we’ve been using to binge watch the “White Collar” series. We’re on the last season right now. It’s been a fun trip and we’ll be sad to see it end because then we’ll have to find a new show.

The other device I got was another fob-like thing that plugs into my iPhone and iPad so I can capture all the photos on those devices. I don’t know how many photos are on my iPad, but there are over 62,000 on my phone. Ridiculous, I know, but that’s OK. I take lots of photos. Sometimes I even go back and look at some of them.

After I was done at Best Buy Diane drove us right back to the RV park without using the GPS. It was a test, and she passed it with flying colors. She’s very good at remembering routes and doesn’t get turned around like I do. That makes her the best navigator ever.

Gotta get to sleep now. Tomorrow is another grueling drive. We’re going to the Lodi Elks Lodge. It’s about 83 miles away so it’s going to take about 2 hours to get there. But we need to get fuel for the bus before we go. Should have filled up before leaving NAS Lemoore but we both forgot. With the fuel detour we should make it in 3-4 hours easy.

Just for fun, here’s an antique RV in the park.

See you tomorrow.

Day 152 – Thursday – Down Day

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No plans for today except to rest and get ready for the next leg of this journey. Even so, we did stuff. That consisted mainly of walking Max whenever he asked to go out, and we took a trip to the NEX and Commissary mainly just because we could. They are handy and we needed stuff, just like normal people.

Max got to walk on grass every time he went out which delights him. I know that’s true but he just acts like he always does when he goes outside. He knows he’s on the clock and will have to return inside in a while, so it’s imperative that he smell everything in sight as quickly as possible.

It was about midafternoon when we went to the NEX for some reason. I think the main objective was to visit the food court and get some lunch. They have only two choices which is the least we’ve encountered on other bases. Choices here on NAS Lemoore are Subway and Panda Express. We normally would have chosen Subway but for some reason we both took Panda Express for their orange chicken and noodles. It was really good. I also had shrimp, a thing I do whenever shrimp of any kind are available. Doesn’t matter how they’re cooked, I’ll eat them. Just ask Diane.

I just remembered that I had an agenda for visiting the NEX. I wanted to see if they had one of those gizmos that you can plug into an iPhone and capture all the photos so they can be transferred to another device. They didn’t have one, so I joined Diane as she shopped for size 6 clothes for an upcoming birthday. She loves it when I help in this manner because she values my input and likes me close by when she has a question. So, I stay near and help her in any way I can. I have to admit that sometimes she can get a little testy when I offer help she didn’t request. Yes, it may be hard for you to believe that she’d get upset with me for any reason, but she does.

It wasn’t long before Max texted me to come get him or he was going to crap in my shoe. He’s never done that, but the threat was enough to get us going. It was a surprise to get the text because neither of us knew he had a phone. I decided right then that i needed to grind his little toenails down more than normal to make it a little more difficult for him to text.

We got home, Max got his walk, and it was all good.

Now we rest and prepare for our trip tomorrow.

Be safe.

Oh, Wait! I forgot about Diane’s plant. She bought these things while we were in Tucson. I know there’s a post about our trip there. The tall skinny plane in the middle did not have that stalk with flowery things on top before we left. That was just around January 8. It must love living on the road because it’s grown about a foot. It’s done that almost on its own too. It gets soaked in water once a month. Amazing, right?

OK. That’s it.