Baked Beans by "The Seat of My Pants"

Friday January 25th

Mostly cloudy again today, although the temperature is still in the 60s; by evening there was light rain.  I bought some Great Northern Beans yesterday, so got out the crock pot this morning and started to make "baked" beans.  I had to do it from memory since I lost my recipe when the computer crashed, but I would have gotten pretty close if I would not have forgotten the brown sugar.  Maybe that was a Freudian effort to reduce caloric intake…..   I used Dijon Mustard instead of ground mustard but whatever difference it made was not noticeable; didn't have any molasses and couldn't think of a reasonable substitute, so I ended up going to the store after breakfast.

After doing the dishes and a few other clean-up details, I headed to Starbucks for coffee and the New York Times.  i would prefer the WSJ but they are all gone by the time I get there.  I was sitting in a different place today and it seemed a lot noisier; I don't know if that was because of where I was sitting or because it seemed busier today than yesterday.

Got back to the trailer in time to finish the laundry for Cathey as she had an appointment for a pedicure at 4pm.

Beans were pretty good despite the lack of sugar; also could have used a little more molasses.

Another Box of Mail from Home

Thursday January 24th

It was sprinkling outside when I got up although whenever the sun comes out everything dries up pretty quick.  Mostly cloudy today.

Got a box of mail from home and took way more time to attend to that than I wanted to.  With such a small space, you have to take care of the stuff that requires a reply right away, otherwise it gets put somewhere where you won't see it again.  By the time I got done with that I was pretty crabby so I drove into town to spare Cathey my presence.  I went to Starbucks and had a Mocha and bought a New York Times and spent a couple of hours reading and people watching.  

Later went to Albertson's to get a few groceries.  They were running a special on shrimp so we had shrimp salads for supper.

Zero Dark Thirty

Wednesday January 23rd

I had plans to do some minor fixit projects today but the low pressure that moved in over night left me pretty achy so whatever was accomplished was indoors and didn't amount to much - minor reorganization of a couple of storage spaces.  

In the evening we went to see "Zero Dark Thirty" at the cinema in the nearby shopping center.  I don't think Cathey liked it because of the torture scenes but I'm sure we've seen worse on TV.  It was pretty loud at times and my ears were ringing by the time we got out of there.  The most amazing scene to me, was the night helicopter flight to Osama's hideout, through the mountain canyons.

Day Trip to Parker Dam

Tuesday January 22nd

Met Dave Schaeffer for breakfast at the McDonald's nearest my location (with the next meeting to be at the McDonald's nearest Dave's location).  We solved most of the world's problems and then went our separate ways.  

Cathey was wrestling with some mis-delivered pills that are now in Sacramento; she arranged for them to be forwarded here, so hopefully they will catch up before we move on.  Once she was ready, we started out on our day trip around Lake Havasu.  We went N to the I-40 junction and filled up before we entered California, where gas is at least 40 cents/gallon more than in AZ.  We went W on I-40 to Needles and had lunch and then headed S on US-95.  The CA side seems even more empty than the AZ side; flatter and perhaps a little less vegetation.  There was a lot more traffic on US-95 than I expected since there are no towns for 44 miles S of Needles.  You can't see the river at all from the CA side.  We turned E when we got to Vidal Junction, then crossed the river to the town of Parker for a bathroom break and a look at the map.  We then returned to CA and followed the road along the river to Parker Dam.  We drove across the dam but I can see why they do not allow big trucks or RVs; the road is pretty narrow and curved, like the dam.  I read that the dam was built by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and handed over to the Bureau of Reclamation to operate.  Water from the reservoir goes to the Los Angeles area as well as San Diego; another aqueduct feeds the Central Arizona Project which provides water to Phoenix.

Once we were back on AZ-95, it was only about 15 miles back to Lake Havasu City, but there was lots of good scenic views of the lake from the AZ side.  Undoubtedly the high point of the ride was viewing wild burros along the road to the dam.  We have seen lots of signs warning of wild burros on the road, but today was the first time we actually saw some, other than the ones in Oatman.   One was partially in the road eating brush along the edge of the road, the others were just off the road partaking of whatever the desert offered.  They don't seem to be concerned about traffic; I wonder if there are many burro - motor vehicle accidents.

Kingman, Laughlin, Bullhead City

Monday January 21st

Cathey was busy watching the inauguration activities on TV, so I drove to Kingman to see the Route 66 museum.  I don't know if the Route 66 museum that I found was the only one or if there is  another one, but I was pretty disappointed with what they had on display, which was not much.  The museum is located in an old power plant building on the SE side of Kingman.  They had three gift stores but the exhibits were mostly about a photographer that worked for Arizona Highways Magazine for many years.  I did buy a book about backroad trips in Arizona from which we should get some use.  

Explored Kingman briefly and then decided to go to Laughlin, NV, it was only about 30 miles.  I drove the entire strip of Laughlin, all ten blocks of it.  I noticed some outlet stores that included a Pendleton Store so stopped to look around.  The only thing I could afford there were the coffee mugs that have their blanket designs imprinted on them; I bought one for each of us and then started back to Lake Havasu.  Bullhead City is spread out for quite aways  along US-95.  I made sure I went through Needles on my way back so I could say that it was a three state trip!

When I got back Cathey needed to go to Walgreens so we went into town and then had supper at the Black Bear Cafe - we finally found it.

Super Bowl Participants are Determined

Sunday January 20th

It was the second to the last football Sunday.  We stayed in the trailer and watched most of both games.  So the Super Bowl will be between two brothers; I am sure there will be no end of media coverage of that facet of the game.  I'm sure my cousin in CA will be thrilled that the 49ers will be in the super bowl, although she was not very happy with the quarterback changeout in mid season.

We Visit the Burros in Oatman, AZ

Saturday January 19th

There is supposed to be a hot-air balloon rally here this weekend; unfortunately I don't think the wind will lay down enough for them to do much flying.   We drove down to the London Bridge area to look for balloons but saw none.  We drove around the park near where Schaeffer's are staying and discovered a nice beach and many nice places to picnic, but no balloons.  We intended to keep searching but we decided we were hungary and began searching for the Black Bear Diner.  But before we found the BBD, we found Rusty's Restaurant and had lunch there.  Looks like a good place, very clean, newly decorated inside and the food was good.  While we were eating we decided that today would be the day we drove up to Oatman, AZ, an old mining town about 45 miles north of here.  We have been talking about going for several days but other stuff always interferes since we need a good 4 or 5 hour block of time to drive there, tour and drive back.  

We followed AZ-95 back N to I-40 and then back to Exit 1 on the AZ side of the river; from there you follow Old US-66 NE to Oatman.  It must be uphill all the way since Oatman is at 2700 feet but the slope is gentle for the most part and hardly noticeable (especially since we were not pulling the trailer.)  Oatman is an old mining town which saw its best days in the 1920's so it was already in decline by the time US-66 came through in 1926-27.  There is still some mining being done in the area, although I'm not sure what they are mining for.  

Mostly Oatman is a tourist town with burros roaming the streets; very friendly animals who get fed by the tourists since nearly every business establishment sells burro food in the shape of alfalfa pellets.  There are also staged gunfights in the streets, although we did not see one while we were there.  The stores are typical tourist traps with a lot of trinkets and local artwork as well as thousands of items made by Chinese craftsmen.  I did buy some Route 66 memorabilia in the the form of a book and a map that shows the original US-66 route and subsequent route alterations.  

Wikipedia says that one of the worst driving stretches for hills and curves was around Oatman, AZ, but that must be the section between Oatman and Kingman since the portion that we drove on was pretty tame, even by today's standards.

There were so many tourists and kids feeding the burros that I didn't get to use all of my burro food, so I left the bag next to the curb for the burros to find tomorrow.  We stopped in one of the restaurants for a snack and coffee and then headed back to our temporary home in Lake Havasu City, arriving shortly before dark.

Price of LP Gas

Friday January 18th

Had a nice quiet morning but when I should have been catching up on my blog, instead I was reading and playing games on my Kindle.  I guess I'll have to dock my pay for that!  

Around noon I got cabin fever and headed out to do some errands.  Had a few groceries to pick up and then went to the Ace Hardware to get some caulk to seal up the sink edge around the kitchen sink.  They only had caulk in the caulking gun tubes but I didn't want to buy another caulking gun to add to my collection so I went to Home Depot and bought a squeeze tube.  The Home Depot trips always take a lot of time because there are so many wonderful things to see there.  By the time I got back to the trailer, I realized that we had one empty LP tank and I had better get it filled this afternoon or we could run out before Monday.  There is an LP truck that comes around once or twice a week and they will fill your tank but you have to sign up for it and then be here when they come - maybe next time I will do that.  The price of LP continues to rise, or at least what I am paying for it keeps going up.  In Washington 7 gallons of LP was less than $14, in Oregon it was $19, in CA it was $21 and today I paid $26 at the nearest Circle K minimart.  I think I saw it advertised for $21 at the Mobil station near Cathey's favorite laundromat; that's where I will get it next time, if I don't get signed up for the truck.

Laundry Day

Thursday January 17th

Pretty lazy morning, the sun was warm and we had the door open with the screen door in place.  The door faces S so through most of the day the sun coming trough the screen door makes it nice and warm; in a couple of days it will probably be too warm…..

In the afternoon Cathey wanted to go to her favorite laundromat near "downtown" so she could get all the laundry done at one time.  While she was doing the laundry I took the truck next door and got it washed; there was a lot of grime on it, since it hadn't been washed since we left WI.  The car wash had a hand drying service, which made the truck pretty since there were no waterspouts after the hand drying.  I suspect they do that because the water is so hard here.

Cathey met some folks from Kewaunee, WI at the laundromat.  They have been coming here for more than 5 years and stay longer each time because there is so much going on here.  I'd like to know what they have found to do; maybe they are boaters.  The businesses in Lake Havasu City seem to be heavily tilted toward recreational vehicles:  boats of all kinds from fishing to racing; ATVs; motorcycles, road and off-road; motorhomes and RV trailers; and there seem to be a lot of restored antique cars as well.  There are many storage complexes that will store your RV or boat inside or outside or even in a climate controlled environment.  The water is not very busy now, except for a few fishing boats but it must be nuts around here in the summer when all the boats that you see parked are in the water.

After the laundry was done we headed for a place called Krystal's, just off AZ-95, which turned out to be a steak house.  Reasonable prices and good food.  I think the high numbers of retired folks in the area keep the prices down, at least during the winter.

Dinner With Schaeffers

Wednesday January 16th

Cathey had a hair appointment around noon at the JC Penney salon; she came back beautiful and said she was now ready to be seen by the world.  I called the number Kay had given me for Dave Shaeffer and setup a dinner appointment for 6pm.  Later Dave called back and moved up the time because "happy hour ends at 6, and we might want to guzzle a few before we eat."  We met at the Chile's near where the Schaeffer's are staying.  Had a very good time talking about Plymouth and all the people that we know in common, especially Cathey, since she taught in Plymouth about the time when the Schaeffer kids were in school and Dave was on the school board.

More Maintenance

Tuesday January 15th

Had to finish the project that I started yesterday to clean up the storage space below the kitchen sink where water has been leaking.  There must not have been much leakage since the imitation wood is not warped or swollen.  I think most of the drips were caught in the pots and pans that were stored down there.  I took out all the pots and pans and washed them, cleaned the shelf under the sink and the floor below that.  I tightened up all of the fittings under the sink, both in and out piping, but I think that the real problem was the leak that I fixed yesterday on the faucet and the water was running down the back of the faucet and leaking into the storage compartment around the edge of the sink.  

I also did some changes to the rubber shelf liners that I use in the trailer.  Originally I just laid the liner down and placed things on top of it, but now I am stapling the liner down so it doesn't move every time that you take something out or put it back.  The rubber liner is great stuff to prevent vibration from damaging things while the trailer is in motion and also keeps things from sliding around.  There are lots of other shelves that need the same treatment but I don't want to do all my projects at once - I might need something to do another day.

Kitchen Sink Leak gets Fixed - We Hope

Monday January 14th

Cathey told me, the other day that she thought the kitchen sink faucet was leaking at the base of the faucet tube and that could be the source of the occasional leaks in the storage compartment below the kitchen sink.  I had tried to just tighten the fitting but that did not make a difference.  The leak in that compartment has been intermittent but has not stopped despite the tightening that I did on the water line fittings a couple of weeks ago.  So once I had my shoes on I went out to the truck and rummaged around in my mighty tool box and came back with my channel locks.  Once apart the faucet stem looked to be in good shape, with only some lime buildup on the mating surfaces.  I soaked all the parts with lime buildup in vinegar and further cleaned them with an old toothbrush.  That seemed to be all that it needed since there was no leak once it was back together - we'll see how long that lasts……  

I started to take out everything in the storage compartment below the sink to clean up the area since Cathey reported a musty smell emanating from that area,  My get up and go got up and went before I got very far on that; tomorrow is another day.

We called Kay Piper in the afternoon.  When she heard that we were in Lake Havasu City, she said that Dave and Marlene Schaeffer were here also, renting a condo for a couple of months.  She will send me Dave's cell number so I can get in touch with them.

End of the Cold Spell?

Sunday January 13th

More football today although the games don't mean as much once the Packer Season is over.  So the Atlanta birds beat the Seattle birds and Houston fell to the ever present Patriots.  I like the timing of the games in this timezone.  That means the games end an hour earlier than on central time and it's still daylight.  

We concluded the playoff day with supper at Denny's.

Chilly but the forecast is for a low of 33 tonight; did not disconnect the water hook-up.

Packer Season Ends

Saturday January 12th

One of the first things we did when we moved into this RV Park, was to check the cable TV channels to make sure we got channels that would be carrying the NFL playoff games.  We get both a CBS and Fox channels so we were all set.  Unfortunately the Packers could not prevail against the 49ers; one of our neighbors, from Minnesota, said that the Vikings must have taken too much out of the Packers last weekend and that was the reason that they couldn't beat the 49ers!  The other game was Baltimore beating Denver in double overtime - quite a game!

Chilly again with high in the 40s low about 29.  Also disconnected water hook-up.

Scouting Lake Havasu City Environs

Friday January 11th

We did some driving around today to get our bearings and figure out where the stuff that we need, is located.  The mall near us has a Dillard's, JC Penney, Kirkland's, and Walmart among many others.  About two miles towards town there is a strip mall with an Ace Hardware, Food City, a Mexican Restaurant, Staples and many smaller places.  Then in the "downtown" area there is a large Safeway, Walgreen's, CVS Pharmacy, K-Mart and many smaller businesses and restaurants.  We also drove over the London Bridge and circled the island, which is where we were parked when we were here for a weekend last spring.

Very chilly today with low in the high 20's.  Had to disconnect the water hook-up to prevent damage.

The Die is Cast - For a Month

Thursday January 10th 

We were supposed to pay the rent yesterday after we got setup, but by the time I remembered the office was closed.  Once we were up-and-moving today we went over to the office to pay up.  We were intending to pay for a week, although I figured that we would probably be here two weeks.  As it turns out the weekly rate for two weeks is about the same as the monthly rate, so we ended up paying for a month.

Temperatures this morning were in the mid 30's and the wind is blowing so it was chilly in the trailer.  The wind blew all day and you could tell by the haze in the air that there was a lot of dust in the air.  The wind is bringing in more cold weather and the weather man says it won't warm up again until after the weekend.  That's unfortunate timing on our part but at least it won't last for long.

Arizona Arrival!

Wednesday January 9th

I cruised around Needles for awhile in the morning.  The older part of town is as "down-at-the-heels," as any place I have ever seen.  There are broken windows everywhere and lots of boarded up windows, many of the businesses are closed or are only open 3 or 4 days per week.  I need the emergency brake cable repaired on the Suburban, but decided not to do it here.  

When I went back to the trailer I decided to tackle the repair of the valve handle for the kitchen waste water.  The valve didn't close all the way when we left Laguna Seca but since then we have just avoided using the kitchen sink so water would not leak out.  The valve handle is attached to the valve assembly with a small cotter key which goes through a tubular receptacle and the valve handle rod.  The receptacle was made of plastic and had cracked;  my fix was a couple of plastic wire ties to hold the receptacle tube tight around the valve handle rod.  Then I added a larger cable tie around the valve handle rod and a pipe to support it and eliminate the flex that had cracked the piece of plastic in the first place.  I checked the other valve handles (there are three) and made some preventative fixes to them so the same thing doesn't happen to them.

By that time Cathey had found a campground in Lake Havasu City which will be our next stop.  We got hooked up and got on the road, but it was only about 40 miles.  The campground is about 5 miles N of Lake Havasu City, but there is a pretty good sized mall less than a mile away.  Unfortunately our wifi won't work here (must be a weak Verizon signal) so we will have to pay extra for the wifi service provided by the rv park.

Gas in AZ is between $2.99 (at the truck stop at AZ-95 and I-40) and $3.40 in Lake Havasu.

Bakersfield to Needles

Tuesday January 8th

We never unhooked the trailer from the truck last night so it wasn't difficult to get rolling today.  Cathey needed to make a stop at a drug store but we took the trailer and easily found parking while we were shopping.  We continued E on CA-58 toward Barstow and then got on I-40 E to Needles, CA.   We setup for the night and de-coupled the trailer so we could go out to eat, since we were just about out of left-overs.  The further E we go the more expensive gasoline gets.  Gas was $3.29 in Sacramento, a little higher in Salinas but today I had to pay $3.99 in Barstow and the price in Needles is $4.40.

Salinas to Bakersfield

Monday January 7th

I was up early and took the Suburban to Salinas to get a few groceries and get the gas tank filled.  It didn't take too long to get everything stowed and get hooked up.  I noticed on our way here from Sacramento that my driver's side blinker on the trailer was not working. I looked up some RV places along our route today and wrote their phone numbers down so we could stop and get that fixed as soon as possible.  Our route took us back to Salinas and from there S on US-101.  Salinas is a very agriculture centered town.  According to the internet, 70% of the world's lettuce is grown in the Salinas valley.  (Apparently the Chinese and the Indians don't eat lettuce.)  Artichokes are also a major crop for this area.  The valley narrowed as we headed S and there were fewer row crops and more grapes and olives and other fruit trees.

Mid afternoon we came into Paso Robles and Cathey called one of the RV places that I had listed earlier and we got an appointment to get the directional light fixed.  While he was working on it, we went next door to Vic's Cafe and had a good "Monday" Meatloaf special.  

The problem with the directional light turned out to be a pinched wire in the cable that plugs into the Suburban trailer light receptacle.  It had probably been pinched some time ago but finally parted due to flexing of the cable.  It wasn't cheap because he replaced the whole cable from the truck to wherever the wires split up and go their individual ways.  10 feet @ $5/ft plus labor - but it probably would have cost more to get picked up by the police for not having directional lights.  In talking to the mechanic I learned that he did not recommend the highway (CA-58) that I was planning on taking to Bakersfield.  So we travelled E on CA-46 from Paso Robles to I-5 and then S on I-5 to the Stockdale Highway that runs E & W through the South side of Bakersfield.  We called ahead to an RV Park on the SE side of Bakersfield and got there just before dark.  Bakersfield is California's petroleum center.  Lots of oil wells around Bakersfield as well as refineries and other petro-industries.  Cathey says it smells like Texas.

Monterrey Aquarium

Sunday January 6th

We had rain overnight and the temperature was pretty chilly this morning - low 30's.  Cathey is less than impressed with my bargain campsite.  We decided that we would go and see the aquarium today and hit the road tomorrow for Arizona.  Enough of this damp cold and overcast sky!

The Aquarium was built in the 1980's with money from the Packard family (of Hewlett-Packard) and was built on the site of one of the old sardine canneries made famous by John Steinbeck in his book "Cannery Row."  There were a number of sardine canneries in Monterrey from 1912 through the 1960's when the sardines were fished out.  They have preserved the boilers from the cannery and various pieces of plant equipment that exhibit the process of canning sardines.  

The parts of the aquarium that I found most fascinating were the jelly fish and the deep kelp tanks that exhibit how sea creatures hide among the kelp at different levels.  Its a pretty impressive place but the really interesting stuff is the research that is done on sea creatures at their research center.  The research center is a joint venture with the U of C and is located in Moss Landing, where we stayed Friday night.

Packer Game Watched from Salinas

Saturday January 5th

As soon as I was fit to be seen by the world I ventured next door to the laundromat and started the laundry.  By the time the laundry was done Cathey was ready to travel and we took off in search of the illusive Laguna Seca Recreation Area.  It was not difficult to find; as soon as we entered Monterrey, we saw signs for CA-68 which was the road to Salinas, and the county park.  We checked out the park and selected a spot and then hurried back to Moss Landing and picked up the trailer before we got charged for another night there.  Getting there was a snap except for getting up the road to the campground; the main hill is labeled as a 16% grade.  The Suburban had to use low gear to make it up that one.  We were almost setup when I noticed that the wheels of the trailer were not on level ground.  We decided to move the trailer to the next campsite so we didn't have to worry about rolling away in the night!  The campsites here have water and electricity but no sewer hookups.  Not a problem since our sewer tank will last a week if we don't use it anymore than we have to.  

Once we were setup and sure that we did not have a TV channel that would have the Packer game on, we headed for Salinas to find a sports bar where we could watch the game.  The first one that caught our eye was a British Pub themed place called the Penney Farthing.  We ordered lunch and it turned out to be pretty good so we decided to stay there for the game.  It was a friendly place, the waitress was a Packer fan with ties to the Baraboo, WI area.  Even better we got to watch the game with a couple from Bremerton, WA 50% of which was a Viking supporter.  It doesn't get much better than that - watching the Packers beat the Vikings while sitting next to a Viking fan!

The Viking fan left after the 3rd quarter but Cathey refused to leave until the game was completed.  Then it took awhile to get back to the trailer because I made a wrong turn somewhere, but my friend, the GPS got us straightened out and headed in the right direction.

From Roseville to Moss Landing

Friday January 4th

Got checked out of the hotel and got all our stuff loaded into the Suburban, then called Rose and met her for breakfast at Mimi's.  (Having done some internet research, I know that Mimi's is a chain owned by the Company that operates the Bob Evans Restaurants in the Midwest.)  After breakfast we said our goodbyes and Rose headed to work and we headed back to the hotel to pick up the trailer.  The next stop is supposed to be a county park near Monterrey, CA called Luguna Seca Recreation Area.  Once we left Roseville we traveled on I-80 until the junction withI-5, when we got on I-5 and headed South.  We headed W once we reached CA-152, which connects the big valley with the coast.  I could not get the GPS to recognize the address for the Luguna Seca Recreation Area so I told it that the destination was Monterrey.  Unfortunately I didn't check the turn by turn directions and it guided us to the coast without going through Salinas.  By the time I recognized the error it was nearly dark and we were tired.  We headed to the nearest KOA which wasn't far but was mighty expensive.  The KOA was owned by the same company that owned a marina next door, so for weekend boaters it was a highly desirable spot.  Most interesting to me was that less than a half mile away was a 500 megawatt natural gas power plant.  

After getting setup we went to the local overpriced Mexican Restaurant and had dinner.

A Rest/Fixit Day

Thursday  January 3rd

I had some errands to do before 10am, when we were planning on leaving for our day trip.  About 9:30 I got a text from Rose saying that her sniffles had turned into a full cold and she would not be going anywhere today.  After finishing my errands I headed back to the hotel; Cathey was feeling feverish too and declared a rest day.  I spent some time reading and also straightened up the inside of the Suburban.  The outside is getting pretty gritty but we can't wash it because we have our portable sewage tank tied to the top and as such won't go through a car wash.  I have looked for the old fashioned car wash that just has a pressure wand and a brush but have not seen any.  

I ventured out again in the afternoon to find a Target store for a few items and a hardware store.  One of the nuts that hold the toilet seat on the new toilet fell off and went inside a cavity in the toilet base where I couldn't reach it, so I bought a new set of toilet seat bolts and nuts.  Fortunately the plastic bolts are standard size which meant I only had to replace the nut and it was fixed.

Mystery of the Verizon Package - Solved

Wednesday January 2nd

I decided to go out for breakfast and chose a place called "Mel's Diner."  I am not sure of the history of the place but apparently it has been there for many years and is done up in a 50's style.  Prices were reasonable (for California) and the breakfast was pretty good.

We didn't contact Rose until afternoon because she had to take Echo to the airport in Sacramento during the morning.  I did a little maintenance on the trailer during the morning.  Investigated a failed tail-light, bulb looks okay but there was a lot of corrosion on the bulb base.  Cleaned off the bulb base and the bulb receptacle and it worked!  Looked under the kitchen sink for leaking plumbing and tightened two fittings that seemed loose, although we won't really know if the leak is fixed or not until water is hooked up to the trailer again.  

Went to the Camping World Store in the next town NE of Roseville, which is Rocklin.  Bought extra tail-light bulb and and additional bulbs for the overhead lights in the trailer.  They are 12v and probably unique to RVs so they charge as much as they can for them.  Since I was in Rocklin, I stopped at the local Harbor Freight Store.  It was the biggest and busiest Harbor Freight that I have seen.  Bought a couple of small items that I needed and a couple that I might need….. and then back to the hotel.

Late in the afternoon we got a call from Fedex in Appleton, WI about a package from Verizon that they had not been able to deliver to us.  We told them to ship it back because we could not sign for the receipt.  So now we figured out what went wrong with the package we were expecting.  They shipped it to the wrong address, so we are 0 for 3 in dealing with Verizon on the road.

Cathey was feeling headachy in the afternoon so we didn't hook up with Rose until evening when we met her at the California Pizza Restaurant near the Galleria Mall.  We made plans to go to Napa Valley tomorrow and visit a winery, since Rose will be off of work for the day.

Setting Up at the Marriott

Tuesday January 1st

Did the usual routine of clearing surfaces and stowing things, but also had to pack a suitcase with clothes and another bag with electronic chargers and cords for all the electronics.  Drove to Roseville about noon and parked the truck and trailer kind of near the front door but out of the way.  I thought we would have to just sit there until everyone checked out, but then I walked around the building and discovered another parking lot directly behind the building - completely empty.  The lot wasn't very big but just right for stashing the trailer and with enough room to get turned around.  It was too early to check-in, so we parked and then went to Mimi's for lunch.  We contacted Rose but she wasn't ready for lunch yet.  Rose and her friend Echo, visiting from Port Angeles, WA, met us at Mimi's just as we were leaving.  We went back to the hotel and the young ladles helped us move in.  We sat around in the hotel room and visited with the the ladies; this was the first time I had met Echo, although Cathey had met her before.  She is attending the local college in Port Angeles and living with her dad - and looking forward to having her own place and a little more money to spend.

We snacked for supper and went to bed early.

A Quiet New Year's Eve

Monday December 31st

Checked with the office and we got the package with our mail but no package from Verizon.  Cathey wanted to go to the Verizon store so I took her to the one that I have been dealing with.  She talked to a sales person for Verizon on the phone and renewed her contract and she intends to get a new phone but they will not issue it through a store; it has to be shipped so we will have to wait on that, we won't be here long enough to receive it here.    This will be our last night in Sacramento.  Tomorrow we will go to Roseville and spend a couple days at the Marriott there; Cathey had bonus points saved up for that.  Drove to Roseville and inspected the parking lot at the Marriott but didn't see anything especially promising as to a place for the trailer while we are there.

We did laundry late in the afternoon; we also did laundry on Christmas eve.  I wonder when we will do it next week since there is no "eve" day.

Watched the New Year's celebration on TV but went to bed before midnight (pacific time).  There was supposed to be a big fireworks display not far from us in Sacramento but there was a shooting about 9pm and the show was cancelled.

Near as I can figure the Ray Piper New Year jingle is "We'll make the scene, in 2013!"

Un-Remembered

Sunday December 30th

A completely un-memorable day!