Getting Ready for Our Next Trip

Within a week of returning from our trip in January, we decided our next trip would be in April to Casa Grande, Arizona, for the National Alfa Rally. We are still in the learning phase of using and owning an RV. Do you ever stop learning? Craig has found the Alfa forum very interesting, and hopefully has learned how to fix a few things without ever having them break!  He is looking forward to meeting some of the people he has been chatting with on the forum. 

After that we are going to visit my brother in Surprise Arizona for a day, and then go on to the Grand Canyon.

To get there, we will be driving across country we have traveled before, so it will be a couple of long driving days without much stopping. Not that that is bad. I like just riding and driving along in the Alfa. We plan to do our first Walmart boondocking. 

Our daughter bought us the Rand McNally navigation system for Christmas, and one feature is that you can have it show all the Walmarts, Sam's Clubs and Rest Stops on your route with notations of which allow overnight parking. I'm not exactly sure where we will stop, but I know what the alternatives are.

We have worked very hard on house project for over two months. I had a wish list of things I hope to see finished before we went out again. Many of them have been completed. Some things were done that were not on the list, but the one big project, the bathroom downstairs, will not be finished. That makes me sad because with that rolling over into the month after we get back, it is unlikely we will get the house on the market this summer. Craig gets really mad at me when I say that. He is far more optimistic than I am. I really wanted to have it ready by early summer because I think this house will show best in the summer months. People will appreciate the wonderful decks and cool family room more on a hot day than in the winter. There are also many more accidents on the nearby highway in rainy winter weather. It's funny how people tend to forget about that during the summer months. For me a classic example comes from Craig himself. Years ago, when we lived in Wisconsin, he was offered a job in Texas in July. He said no because Texas was too hot. He took the job in October or November, and I sat alone with a country house for sale in rural Wisconsin through the winter. 

I'm at loose ends right now. I don't have a project that I can work on that will make me feel like I am contributing to the goal of getting the house done. Just about everything I need to do involves Craig, and I don't want to take him away from working on those %*@x  bathrooms. Somehow I thought two months would be enough time to do one, but we have had some set backs.  

Next week I will be shopping and packing for our trip. I'm not sure what groceries to take because the week of the Rally will include a number of dinners, lunches and even one breakfast.  No sense in carting around food we won't need for a week.  I figure on shopping in Williams before we go up to the Canyon.

We finished our taxes yesterday, and now I have the use of the dining room table back. It is my trip-packing "staging spot." I have a long printed list and will be filling the table with things for the trip.  I know that if I put something in the Alfa, I will probably need it in the house, so most loading is done on the last day. I don't leave much of anything in the Alfa for the same reason. As I pack I try to think like we are leaving for our full time life. If I'm not putting something in that I will want to take along then, I am either leaving room or really evaluating if I will actually need it. I think this time when we get home instead of rushing around putting things away, I will put most of it back on the table and evaluate what we left behind. It would be a good time to fill some large boxes with things we can get rid of.  

One nice thing about having my list on the computer is that I can reprint it and make changes or additions with each trip.  In addition to what to pack, I list where in the Alfa everything is put. If I decide there is a better place, I simply correct the list. By the time we are full time, I should have a master list!  Of course it will continue to change, but I can try. 

My next post will be about a few little innovations I have done in the Alfa. Little fixes for little problems!

Sanding, and Planning next trip

After spending a couple of weeks power washing the decks and driveways, Craig started sanding the smaller of several railings. He has decided to only sand and stain the top rails and the floors of the decks, and hold off on deciding if all the 2x2s also will need sanding and stain. 

This is the upper deck that is just outside our dining room. We took in all the furniture except for the glass table.  Sun, rain, and power washing has worn off most of the stain on the floor surface.  We re-stained the top rail, but will wait until we are back from our trip to rent the floor sander.  Craig says he has to check the screws before he sands, and tighten any that need it.  I just counted them.  There are 672 screws, and this is the smallest deck! He'd better wear his knee pads.

I, on the other hand, have been planning our next trip. 

We leave on Tuesday for a long haul down to Los Angles.  We are going to get the little ding that we incurred on our drive on CA Highway 1 fixed, and then take the Alfa to get her oil, transmission fluid and probably coolant replaced.  We have no records from the dealer on past service, so we think these things may be overdue.  We will also have them check all belts and anything else they recommend.

Because of our harrowing experience on Highway 1, I bought the Big Deluxe Motor Carriers' Road Atlas as a planning tool.  

I like it because it is laminated and I can mark a route or area with a dry marker and erase it when the trip is done.  All truck routes are marked in orange, and other roads are marked with two thicknesses of red for thru roads, and blue for roads that are not suitable for trucks (nor presumably RVs).

I did a lot of searching on RV forums before deciding on our route to the Yosemite campground where we have a four day reservation. From the West, there are two routes.  Hwy 120 looks like the easier, but according to the forums it is not.  Although there is a permanent one lane bridge around a slide area where we will have to unhook the toad, Hwy. 140 is the route the tour buses take and is better for a 36' Class A. I figure that since the campground accommodates 40' rigs, it has to be possible to get there!

Other than our Yosemite reservation, I have not booked any campgrounds.  I have several in mind, and they are of the "find a spot when you get there" variety.  It is unlikely that they will be full, but I will bring along my Woodall's, Good Sam book, and KOA book.  

I know we can stay at Alfateers for two nights, and possibly at the Freightliner service center as well, but again I have an alternate location in mind. I also plan on boondocking at the Camping World in Bakersfield on the way from LA to Mariposa, which is our stop outside of Yosemite. There is a garden I want to stop at in Fresno which is half way between Bakersfield and Mariposa.

I've used the internet to find thing to do and see in LA.  A Historic House and Garden, a downtown walking tour, and a hike in a park are possibilities.

I've also found a couple of things in Mariposa including a Mining Museum and a river walk.

Tonight I am going to spend some time reading about the hiking options in Yosemite.  We will not climb Half Dome, but we are up for something more than the walks around the valley floor.

I used to be wary of mentioning our travel plans on my blog.  But now I figure if anyone breaks in while we are gone, perhaps they will cart off some of our stuff for us.  Heaven knows it is all old and not worth much!  

Has anyone ever had a break-in while you were traveling?

What resources do you use to find things to do in a new area?

Exercise can hurt the Alfa too!

Since we cancelled our April trip, on Wednesday  we decided we needed to take a short "exercise" run for the good of the diesel engine.  Craig said that just pulling out and driving around for 30+ miles seemed "silly", so we located an RV park just north of San Francisco that we could drive to, stay over, and return the next day.  Just exercise.


If you followed this blog last fall, you know our home parking location is a bit of a challenge to get in and out of.  Craig drove out of the upper drive, down the road, and into the lower drive with ease.  We refilled our fresh water, loaded a few things and were good to go.


A fellow blogger, Mary, once reminded me to watch out for all eight corners of the rig! 


 As Craig was backing up out of the lower drive, I was watching the side were there is a threatening stone wall, the front corners, the  back, and the lower back corners, but forgot to watch out for the top back corners. 


He was staying further to the left to avoid the wall. 


Back, 
back, 
slowly back,


Then when he had come far enough,  I crossed my arms to signal STOP.  He says the hand gesture didn't register, and he kept coming. 


Just as I yelled STOP, the driver's side upper rear corner crunched into a large tree slanting into the road. We share the blame.  


We knew the tree was there, but neither of us really saw that it leaned over the road at the 12' height.

A big ouch! 

This is the top back corner of our poor Big White Box. 

 :(

The tree is fine.

The drive up to San Francisco was nice.  I guess we are learning to take these things in stride and not waste our time being angry about them.

The night before I had expressed some reluctance to drive the Alfa thru the streets of San Francisco. Several years ago we went thru the city in a rented 26' Cruse America and it was a harrowing experience. The main differences were that it was rush hour, we were new to the rig, the passenger-side mirror kept moving, and we took the wrong route.  

"Trust me" he says. 

So after a good nights sleep, I decide to do just that.  It turned out the drive down 19th avenue and onto the Golden Gate Bridge was smooth as can be.  The traffic was light and the Alfa is really much easier to drive than that Class C was.

I'm not real comfortable going thru curved top tunnels in the Alfa!

We pulled into the Marin RV park just after noon.  It's not fancy, but it is close to a ferry if you wanted to go into San Francisco without having to pay bridge tolls and parking fees, and easy to get to from the highway.  The full hook up spaces were close, gravel-covered pads.   Off season price was $45 per night minus 10% for Good Sam discount, plus 10% tax.  In California, that's mid to low price.  

The biggest negative was the lousy WiFi connection.  It was OK in the morning, but you couldn't do anything in the evening when all of the other people were also using it.

The cable connection was good, so Craig got to watch a baseball game.  (We have only Apple TV at home.)

We took a nice walk along a level path in the salt marsh area next to the park.

We saw these large metal structures that neither of us could guess what they were.  Each was about ten feet tall, evenly spaced, and quite rusted.  Any ideas?

We also saw these birds which we think are egrets.  There were two like the taller one, and three like the shorter one.  They were "together."  Craig thought they were a family, but I'm pretty sure they were two different types.  

Help me Judy. 

What are they?

We had a nice sleep, a leisurely morning drive back, and the Alfa is once again tucked into her forest home.  I'll be looking into RV fiberglass repair places next week.

Craig said something very encouraging today ...

While I am not expecting the work on the house to get done any time soon so we can get it on the market, we are planning a few trips. 


Now that the taxes are done and paid, we are planning on going to the Sierra foothills, aka the Gold Country for a few days next week.  I am not a fan of hot weather, and I think it will be far more pleasant to hike and visit the Columbia Historic Park now rather than in summer when it will be crowded with families.


We also have plans for a three or four week trip at the end of June, thru mid-July to Northern California and Oregon.


For both trips I had planned on driving the Prius while Craig drove the Alfa.  We had talked about using a dolly for the Prius, but have decided against that for a lot of reasons.  


Today, as Craig made his list of errands he needed to do, I suggested he stop and buy new front tires for the Prius.  They are getting very worn, and although we will probably be OK next week, I think it would be best to get them before we go in June.


His response was "Or maybe we should just trade it in on something that can be towed." 


 There are a lot of good reasons to do that now instead of waiting until later.  


The Prius is a 2007, which makes the batteries five years old and possibly heading for full replacement.  It is also due for the 80K mile service, which can be very pricey.  As it is now, it looks and runs fine, and if RVing weren't in our life, we would probably just keep it and put money into it rather than trade it in.  


I know I'd love to have a towed.  It's the next logical step, but I always thought that if we weren't on the verge of getting out of here, we wouldn't get one unless my van died.  But we need the  van for trips to the lumber yard, Goodwill, the dump, and probably a storage place!


It's up to Craig to make this decision.  He has always been the car buyer.  (I did buy the little red MG Midget because it was cute, and a few $200 junkers for grocery runs in the 70's, but never a serious car.)


We shall see. 


 Craig said he would do some research on towables.  He also has to be able to drive it daily for the next year or so until the house is on the market.  He goes to town for one reason or another almost every day, and the Prius gets very good mileage!


I find this a very exciting step!


Do you tow?

Thinking about our next trip

Every day Craig has been getting something done on the house.  But there are still some very big jobs ahead, and we have not even talked about getting rid of stuff, so I don't feel hopeful about putting it on the market anytime this year. 
I on the other hand have been doing nothing.  I would like to be working on refinishing the kitchen cabinets, but see no sense in doing it until we are closer to getting out.  I'm depressed about how the painting I did is no longer "new," and will need to be retouched in places.


March - April is always a disturbing time.  The dining room table is covered with papers and receipts as I try to get things organized for taxes.  We took the first pass at them last week, and things don't look too bad.  It looks like we won't have to pay too much. 


 Next year will be so much easier with no income to speak of! 

I've ben thinking about our next three or four day Alfa trip after the taxes are done. Possibly up to the "Gold Country" in the Sierra foothills.  It would be the first time we took both the RV and the Prius.  I want to see how it will be to drive separately because that is what we will be doing for our Oregon trip in June-July.


On the food front, everything is going very well.  I have more interesting foods I'd like to share, but not today.


Although I am trying to limit my intake of meat and dairy, I don't think I will ever be  100% vegan.


 Limit has got to be the operative word. 


 At first I fussed about portion sizes of 2 or 3 ounces of chicken or fish as being way to small. 

 Now it is feeling like quite enough. 


I have been making daily use of my food scale and measuring cups.


I am not eating any "diet" meals, shakes or special foods. 


Sometimes the best I can do is make small adjustments or omit part of a  past menu.  
Yesterday's breakfast was an example. We have always enjoyed our "American" breakfast at least once a week.  Fried or scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon or ham, hash brown potatoes, and white toast with lots of butter or "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter." 


Yesterday I made scrambled eggs using two less egg yolks, used only the whites, onions and peppers, and 4 ounces dice ham. (for two of us) The onions and peppers gave it a little extra fiber.  We skipped the hash browns, and I had only one thin slice of my high fiber bread for toast. I've switched to Benecol for the toast, but actually like a bit of All Fruit better.


 Dinner was very light, and I did not make my fiber goal for the day. Small changes.  Not every day is perfect.


Most days I just have a high fiber cereal, blueberries and Almond Smooth instead of milk for breakfast. It is a good, simple filling start and I'm usually more satisfied for longer than I was with the eggs and ham.

A Weekend at Pinnacles National Monument

This weekend was our third time hiking at Pinnacles National Monument, and we finally made it to the top!


Last fall we started our hike at the RV camping area which is a good three miles from the trails that link with the High Peak Trail.  Knowing we would have to walk back three miles, I was not enthusiastic about trying for the peak.

This time we were able to take a shuttle bus from the campground to the Condor Gulch trailhead.  (See I'm still smiling!)


1.7 miles doesn't seem like far, but miles seem longer when they are rocky and are about 6 to 10 percent grade.


As I looked thru the pictures Craig took, I don't seem to see any that show how steep the trail was!

This was taken part way up the first leg of the climb.

I'm in better shape now than I was last fall. And I have lost ten pounds since January. It really made a difference. 


But I still had to rest frequently.


Every seat size rock or 
patch of shade was appreciated.

And then it was time to push on.


I carried the water and snacks, Craig carried his big camera!

What can I say,
the views were breathtaking.

These pictures can only hint at what we saw. If you ever get to this area, there is more than beautiful coast and San Francisco to explore. 


Pinnacles feels like another planet.

A pile of old rocks, is a pile of old rocks, until you start to see them as something else.  We may have been getting punchy, but we were both sure we saw a large lion.


We did make it to the top, and hiked about three or so miles along the High Peaks Trail before working our way back down.

Most of the trail surface was very uneven and covered with rocks of many sizes.  We had to be very careful   to keep from turning an ankle. A walking stick and high top shoes are on my shopping list for the future.


Going downhill was almost harder than going uphill.  It seemed to put a lot of stress on already tired legs and knees!


But we did it.  Craig says that if I lose another ten pounds hiking will be even easier!  He's right and it is something to aim for. 


When we got to the bottom of the High Peaks Trail, we still had another half mile or so to the nearest shuttle stop, but it was a soft sandy trail along a creek bed.   So nice.  So level!

We were very happy to get onto the shuttle. 


Ah to be so young!


We had hiked less than five miles, but  it seemed much farther.


It was so nice to get back to the Alfa and take showers. We sat outside and had cheese, salami and crackers.


I had a pot of Cuban Black Bean soup simmering in the slow cooker and I baked cornbread muffins to go with.   This was the first time I used the convection feature, it worked fine.


We were in bed by eight, and watched the movie "Hugo" on the new TV in the bedroom.  Blue Ray sure is sharp! 


My legs hurt, but it was a good hurt.  Much like after the first day of the ski season.   I knew I had used them! A couple of Alieve were quite helpful.


To be continued ...

Conflict

A few weeks ago Craig brought up the idea of taking a two day, 12 hours, private RV driving course.  He had read an article about it and thought it would be a good idea for us.
Some of the things covered are:

Pre-trip Inspection

Proper adjustment of mirrors

Effective use of mirrors

How to test your air brakes

Safe braking

Backing straight

Backing on a curve

Backing into campsites

How to allow for tail swing out

Turning radius

How to make sharp turns

Campground maneuvering

How to drive in a city

How to drive on freeways

Freeway on and off ramps

Proper lane changing

Staying in your lane

How to properly go up hills
   Safe braking down hills

When to use engine/exhaust brakes

Defensive driving

And more...


All done, hands on in our rig on two days, six hours each day.


There is an excellent article about the course on RVers online that gives a lot of detail.  Actually it was this article that Craig read on day at work, and sent the URL to me to consider.

We have both watched the videos from Lazy Days several times, and do not find it difficult to drive the Alfa, but also feel there is a lot we can learn.

We have booked the lessons in Auburn, December 3rd and 4th. 


 Auburn is the last town before you start going up into the Sierra's.  We know we are pushing our luck on the weather.  But we have driven thru there many times on our way to Tahoe to go skiing and we have not seen any snow on the ground.  


What we might run into is cold, rainy or windy weather.  We hope not, but if we do we will just have to learn under not so nice conditions.  It will make driving in good conditions even easier.


The timing couldn't be better for us.  Actually if it had been the first week of November it would have been better, but as it is it is just weeks before we take our big trip down to San Diego and to Pasadena for the Rose Parade.


We expect some real driving challenges then.  One of the things I don't look forward to is the long pull up over the Grapevine, a rise over a mountain summit, and then coming back down.  I think I remember it as having a 6% grade for several miles!  The lessons should help prepare one of us for that!  One of us will be driving the Alfa, and one of us will be driving the Prius.


We will also be challenged with driving on city streets to the parade in Pasadena, and parking the Alfa in a parking lot with other rigs.  Since no slides will be allowed, I have a feeling the spots will be a bit tight.


So what is the conflict? 


The drive from here to Auburn is 160 miles.  Four hours, five if you count the time to get out of our road.  Maybe more if we run into rush hour or weekend traffic.  


We had planned on having Craig check in at work for a few hours on that Friday, and then come home so we can take off a little after noon. That gives me time to get all the necessary stuff carted up to The Big White Box.
Thats what we've done the first two trips and it has worked quite well.


 But today one of the bosses talked to Craig about being sure he comes to the company Christmas party. Since he is retiring just a few weeks later, Craig figures they might be planning a little going away toast or something.


The party is on the afternoon of the Friday Dec 2nd.
Just when we want to be driving.


We've been talking about it this evening, trying to decide what to do.  Change our dates?  A week later and we would really be risking winter weather.  


Skip the party?  I think Craig really wants to go.  You only retire once.


The party is going to be held at a winery in the hills above Los Gatos.  We have looked at Google Earth to see road to the place and the parking.  It looks like we could drive The Big White Thing to the party.  Only about a mile and a half of residential and mountain road.  Nothing can be worse that our road.


I am going to go drive it tomorrow.  If it looks like a "go" we will take the Alfa to the party, I will not imbibe, and can drive up to Auburn.  We can stay for the lunch, and then take off.


If it doesn't look like it will work, we will come up with another plan.


Actually, as we talked about it tonight, it seems like  fun.  We could show off the Alfa to all his soon to be former co-workers. He's been telling them he wants to fix up the house and "drive off into the sunrise."  Since the sunset is just down the hill.

Pinnacles National Monument (a three day post)

Pinnacles Trip

Friday:

Getting The Big White Thing out of the driveway and turned around went very well.  Perhaps we are beginning to communicate.  Having the stump removed helped a lot too!

We were mystified by a loud noise that we thought was coming from the refrigerator, but were relieved to discover it was coming from the radio via the speaker just above the refrigerator!

I drove about 50 miles, including some curvy, hilly, two-lane highway.  I got the hang of frequently checking the bottom of the convex mirrors to see the white lines on the road.  It felt like I was driving half in the oncoming lane, but I really wasn’t!

We got all set up and were just getting ready to eat when the power failed.  It was dark by then.  We went over and asked another camper if they had power.  Three guys came to consult on our problem and it was decided the power post had gone bad. One of the guys told us the same had happened last year.

They helped us move to the next spot over.  In the dark.

After they left, Craig had to re-level and put the slides back out.  Just as we were finishing, we notice another class A pulling in and we wondered if we were in their space.  We weren’t.  We helped them find their spot and guided them into it with our flashlight, passing the helpfulness on.

Our Brie, fruit and wine was a bit late, but ever so wonderful! If you’re in Trader Joe country, try their French Brie.

***************************************************************** 

Saturday:

When I opened the front screen, I was greeted by the sight of a flock of turkeys!  Driving in we saw a coyote and later a bunny hopped past the side window. Of course there were seveal deer that wandered thru the campground as well.

After breakfast we went on a five-hour, eight-mile hike.  Craig has reminded me of my goal to hike in National Parks.  A National Monument is good too.

The weather has held.  Cool, but not really cold.  No rain.

We were ready for bed before eight o’clock. Craig made tea early, and we were tucked in by nine.

 *****************************************************************

Sunday:

It rained very hard during the night. We learned the propane furnace does a very good job of warming the coach.  The alternative electric heat pump is very loud and not as effective.  There are lots of words about closing some of the vents to make the heating more effective.

 The morning was dry.  We decided to wait until later in the day to take a walk, so I went to a Ranger talk about condors and Craig found the 49er game on the radio.

By 11:00 it started raining again, and we watched the other campers packing up and pulling out. We sat at the table, I writing this, and Craig listening to the game.

I saw a condor flying high above the peak, circling as it caught a thermal draft.  Thanks to the ranger, I knew it was a condor and not a vulture because of the way it glided in flight.

Being in the almost empty campground, in the rain, playing with iMovie felt odd.  We planned on going home Monday morning, and didn’t want to drive and park in the rain.

******************************************************************

Monday:

Pack up and departure went very smoothly.  The only fuss was by the Toms of the turkey flock.  When we started the engine, all four of them fanned their big tails and rounded up the hens!

The 92 mile return trip was a good drive.  Getting The Big White Thing back into her place was much easier than the last time.  The gloves and headphones helped, although Craig said he couldn’t hear me half of the time.  But at least we didn’t get angry with each other this time.

Unfortunately there are a couple of large scratches from a tree branch on the back of the Alfa.  The only damage we have done to her has been on home ground!

Craig went to work in the afternoon while packed all of our stuff back down to the house.  I also vacuumed and washed the Alfa's floor, and gave everything else a quick dust and polish.  My goal is to keep her as nice as when we bought her.

RV Experience

I find it very interesting to read about all the RV experience many of the full timers, or wannabes have had.
Some going back to childhood with their parents.  One thing this does tell me is that for some, this life is what they have wanted for a long time, and that they understand the constraints of living in a small space.

We on the other-hand have almost no RV experience.  About seven years ago we toodeled around New Zealand for 10 days in a very small vehicle.

The story goes like this.  Craig had proposed the idea of full time RV living as a retirement option.  We had never RVed and I didn't think he would like it very much.  When the plan to visit friends in New Zealand came up, I thought renting an RV after a short visit with them would "cure" him of this idea. We both loved it!  Even in a small diesel, driving on the wrong side of the road, and sleeping on a rock hard platform we had to make up from the dinette every day.

Our second experience was last spring.  We rented a 25' Cruise America and drove up to the Seattle area and back to our home just south of San Francisco.  Again we enjoyed ourselves and started to note what we might want in our own rig someday.

I had planned on another "rental" vacation this spring, but have now decided the money and time would be better spent on the house so that we could actually GO someday.

I figure, if the life isn't for us, we can always settle down again.  We won't know until we are there.

Todays log:

586  days, or 1 year, 7 months, 6 days to go.  

Exercise Goal:  1000 miles on the treadmill

       to get into shape for long hikes in the National parks!

            3 miles today  977 to go

To Flea Market Table: Pastry cutter, place mats, napkins, birthday sign, oil bottle

To Trash:  Medium bag of stuff from dinning room drawer.