Hooked

Internet and iPhone Addicted

8am - Did you read in yesterday's Blog, that we had already reached what was to be our Borrego Springs Nite Camp? And then we thought that iPhone had gone bad.

So, we turned right around and headed back out of Borrego Springs. And beat it out of there and headed west to buy a new iPhone [We thought at that time, that iPhone was a goner. Dead. Unfixable].

What's with this addiction? I just cannot bear to be internet-less? iPhone-less?


11:45am - Out of 24 Hour
I've just returned from working out at 24 Hour Fitness. This is the wonderful Super Sport club on Balboa in Clairmont Mesa.

It is an absolutely gorgeous T-shirt and short pants day! We are heading to the South Shore Boat Ramp where the temperature will be nice. Here on the mesa, it is 83℉ and heading to 85℉.


Borrego pic
Yesterday when Scampy and The Team were on the steep road way above Borrego Springs, iPhone took a bunch of pics of the view. Just now we stitched some of those pics together.

Scampy and Honda both agreed, this desert would be a bad one to stuck!

View above Borrego Springs

2:30pm - MsTioga memories
While I was eating lunch, a Fleet Tioga backed into the boat launch. This Tioga looked much like MsTioga looked when we first met. Same colors and length.

You may wonder if I miss MsTioga? Yes! Very much!

MsTioga and I used to talk about which one of us would die first. I always figured that the first one to go, would be me. Lord!

Little iPhone captured this pic thru Scampy's window

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Heading out

Jojoba....Bye Bye for Awhile

7am - Later this morning, Little Honda will hook-up to Scampy. And, The Team will head out and search for adventure along the roads of California.

Man-O-Man! It is the greatest thing to be an RVer. No sitting around for us. We are out there!

Guess what?
A couple of days ago when we checked into Jojoba, they told us that we moved up one place on the wait list. We are now #15! 😍

1pm - Borrego Springs incident
We were planning to Nite Camp around the Borrego Springs area. However, something happened to our iPhone when it was unplugged from power!

Our iPhone screen went black. We could NOT restart it!

I figured that our iPhone was a goner. And began to shop at a Best Buy in Santee, CA. But Best Buy did not have the one we wanted in stock anywhere in San Diego County.

So, I decided to go to a nearby Cricket store. But when I parked near the Cricket store, I found a iPhone repair shop, and on a whim, went inside.

The guy who waited on me pressed on the restart button and the home button at the same time [Soft restart]. And lo and behold, my iPhone came to life!!

Can you imagine that?


3pm - Our adventure!
We had not planned on our adventure to be an iPhone adventure. But, we will take any adventure that comes our way!

Thinking seriously about being without our iPhone, we are amazed how dependent we have become! Without our iPhone, for directions we were reduced to:

• Paper map
• Street signs
• Shadow of the Sun in lieu of a compass

It's like being pretty much blind!

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Rock

Pete Olson's Rock Band

8:30am - We are sooooo excited this morning! Because this evening we get to see and listen to Pete's newly formed Rock N Roll Band!

You may recall that we Blogged to you about traveling to Jojoba RV Park. Pete phoned and invited us here so we could attend his gig. That's why we are here.

Our good friend Pete has been performing his music for decades! Would you like to listen to Pete singing? Click [Here]

Pete Olson

10am - Solar charging Scampy
We checked the Specific Gravity [SG] of Scampy's battery. It was 1.235, indicating 75% charged.

We want to be solar charging when the battery is 75%. So, our Renogy solar panels are now "on the job." By this afternoon, we expect to be at a 1.250 SG, which is 100% charged!

It is sooooo easy to use our Renogy solar!



12 noon - Beat Generation
From the Jojoba library, I checked out, Jack Kerouac's "On the Road."

Have you heard of Jack Kerouac? For me, this is a good read. But a sad story. Because Kerouac's drug of choice seems to be alcohol, and that's what killed him. At only age 47, in 1969, Kerouac died from internal bleeding due to long-term alcohol abuse.

I do not wish to be judgmental of guys like Jack Kerouac. But I am! And I try very hard NOT to be. That's a weakness of mine that is very hard for me to overcome!

I just cannot get my mind around highly talented persons who kill themselves by the use of drugs. Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, for example [Link].

6pm - Video of Pete's Rock Band

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Tender

Best Steak for Grilling

7am - I've been buying discounted steak at Smart & Final with great success. Smart & Final discounts meat that is getting close to the "sell by" date. By 50% or more!

Last nite I grilled a discounted Top Sirloin Steak. And it came out sooooo
tough! I was very disappointed! Not one piece of this top sirloin was tender!

I am wondering what happened? Where did I go wrong?

Nordic Ware Griddle [Link]

8am - Olympian Wave3
We use the Wave3 size catalytic heater to keep us warm when it is cold. Last nite our Wave3 set at low kept us comfortable. At Jojoba last nite, the low temperature was 52℉.

When the temperature approaches 60℉, the Wave3 is not needed. At 50℉, the Wave3 at low does the job. At 40℉, the Wave3 at high keeps us comfortable.

When MsTioga was still RVing, we had a Wave6. But found that this size was too hot, even on the low setting.

Olympian Wave3 Catalytic Heater

PS: I've used Olympians since 2003.



9am - Jojoba Hills is a cooperative
Members of Jojoba Hills RV Park must be capable and willing to contribute their talents and labor in maintaining the resort cooperative.

For me, this requirement is a fantastic plus!

When I was living in La Mesa at Guava Gardens Apartments, of course there was no such requirement. That meant that persons living at Guava did not have to "DO" anything. And often, not having to do anything resulted in withdrawal from associating with other tenants.

Very easy in such an environment to live a somewhat boring existence with TV as their main companion. Yuk!

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 1,974 feet

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Jojoba

Pete Olson's Gig

11:30am - Yesterday I got a phone call from my good friend, Pete Olson. He invited me to a gig that he has this coming Friday at Jojoba Hills.

Pete has formed a Rock-N-Roll band! Wow! I am heading north now to Jojoba Hills Resort in order to attend that Gig.

Below is a video I made of Pete singing at his wedding party.

So far this morning......
I've worked out at 24 Hour Fitness in Kearny Mesa and got my hair cut with Tina. My favorite hair person!


3pm - Ice Cream Social
We are checked in at Jojoba for the Dry Camp area. Just in time for the Ice Cream Social! Wow! Love that!!

Scampy and The Team at Jojoba!

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Surgery

Kaiser Again

7am - This afternoon I've got another appointment at Kaiser. This time with a surgeon. There is a bump on my forehead. It's benign. A hair follicle that did not grow correctly.

Over time, this bump kept growing. Don't like it. I want the bump removed for esthetics.


Scampy vs MsTioga
When looking at our archives and seeing where MsTioga went years ago, I want to go there too.

My feeling is that Honda and Scampy could not manage the wilderness dirt roads that MsTioga managed with ease. MsTioga had lots of clearance. Honda and Scampy, not so much.

It seems that Scampy would be wise to stay on paved roads.

Nevertheless, Honda and Scampy have many wonderful places to go. Soon, I'm guessing, that we will head out to seek adventure along the paved roads of America!


1:15pm - Arrived early at Kaiser
Anticipating difficult parking for Honda and Scampy, we arrived very early. Good thing too! It took 45 minutes for security to locate us and then direct us to a place where both Scampy and Honda could park.

Right now it's 2:10pm. The appointment is at 3pm. No problem waiting. Because we are in Scampy, our RV home. 😎


4:15pm - Out of surgery
The removal of the cyst went very well. No pain. It was sooooo easy for me!

Below is an after pic. Sorry, it did not occur to me to take a before pic for comparison.

Jaws of death
When I was in my 18th year in 1956, I met Clara at a BBG social [Link]. That social was hosted by my sister at our home in City Terrace [East LA].

Soon we began going with each other. I often was invited to eat over at Clara's house. I met her father, Moises. And I learned about Moises' escape from the coming Holocaust.

Moises got his family to Mexico in 1938. Mexico admitted only 1,850 Jewish refugees between 1933 and 1945. So, what Moises did was a miracle.

Why?
Why am I writing about this long ago memory? Because the same thing is happening right now. All over the world. Jews are being threatened again. Especially the Jews of Israel. But this time, the Jews have their own country. And one of the best military in the entire world to protect them.

Those that hate Jews, want to destroy them again, as the Nazis did. But are unable to do it. Try as they might. Lie as they might.

There are only 16 million Jews worldwide. So few!! But we survive and flourish!





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Parking

Scampy Needs 27 Feet to Park

7am - I have an appointment at Kaiser this morning to have my Pacemaker checked. The appointment is for 8:15am. We have arrived at Kaiser at 6:30am. Our experience has been that parking spots for Honda and Scampy are all filled at Kaiser facilities if we arrive just in time for an appointment.

It's better to arrive a couple of hours early and easily park!


10:30am - Laundry Day
When I run out of clean underwear, that means it's time to do laundry.

Using Google, a nearby coin laundry was found.

I don't carry much clothing when living in Scampy. 3-long pants. 2-short pants. 4-T shirts. Jacket. Sweatshirt. Also, bath and kitchen towels.

Our closet using shower's curtain rod

Mac making strange sound!
This morning, Mac began making a sound which appears to be coming thru the keyboard. There is a fan in there.

Could this sound be an indication of the fan going bad?


1:30pm - City Park
We just made an Afternoon Camp at the Serra Mesa Park which is located in the vicinity of the Nite Camp where we have been staying lately.

No need to travel to the beach for T-shirt and short pants weather today. This park's weather is perfect! A bit cool for short pants though!

Scampy Team in Serra Park

Pacemaker Report
The Kaiser check of my pacemaker showed that its working good.

My pacemaker is connected by cell phone to Kaiser's Pacemaker Clinic. Anytime my heart has a reportable event, Kaiser knows about it. My report showed that there were a couple of times where my heart rate in the lower chamber sped up to around 140 beats per minute for a short time [around 6-seconds]. No symptoms that I could feel.

Kaiser does not have any concerns about these two events.

Scampy Battery Report
All cells show a 1.250 specific gravity [SG]. This likely means that it will only be necessary to check Scampy's battery once a week.

When the battery SG falls to 1.240 the plan is to charge it using the Renogy solar panels. We last charged the battery with the Renogy last Saturday.

Lookin' Good!!


4pm - Sizzler!
John and Mimi invited me to go to Sizzler with them. Good time!

Of course, every time we go to John and Mimi's home, Baby Boid goes with. He loves to play with their budgies, Buddy and Ollie. John and Mimi have prepared a little playground for the birds located in the bump-out window in their kitchen!


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Archives

Where Was I?

7:30am - One of the things that I enjoy doing is using my Blog's archives to see where I was on this date years ago. On April 23, 2005 I was visiting my son David. My son Joseph came over.

We all had a great time! [Link]


Family! Joseph, George and David


8:30am - Still learning

I've been RV camping since 2003. It would be seem that by now, I would know all there is to know about street camping in cities and towns.

Just the other day, Scampy and I were cruising around the neighborhood of our Clairmont Mesa Nite Camp. We turned down a dead end street and came upon a large Class-A RV camped there.

We became curious about this Class-A's Nite Camp because it was located on an incline. I never camp on an incline because it's not comfortable to sleep on an angle. Also, it's not good for RV refrigerators.

That's when it dawned on me that this was a dead end street. Hardly any traffic on a dead end street. So it's very quiet for sleeping here. Maybe that was the reason this Class-A was camped here. For the quiet!

I've be Nite Camping on a dead end street ever since!

10:30am - South Shore
On the weekends, the parking lot adjacent to the Bahia Hotel in Mission
Beach becomes extremely crowded. So, since today is Sunday, The Scampy RV Team headed over to the South Shore Boat Ramp.

This place is huge! Very little of the lot is occupied. All of the parking area is reserved for vehicles with boat trailers attached. There are perhaps 150 such parking spaces here. I've been coming here for many years. And I've never seen more than maybe 15 boat trailers in this lot!

With all of this minimally used space, does the City of San Diego allow some of the Shore Shore lot for other vehicles? For example, RVs?

NO they do not! Because the City considers RVs to be a pariah.

However, RVs come here anyway. Oh look! There's one in the pic below!

Scampy Team at South Shore

1:30pm - Boid and George
I went out to do some cleaning maintenance on Little Honda. Boid got to tweeting very loud that he wanted to be out too!

Boid told me, "I want to see the pigeons."

Boid and George at South Shore

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 368 feet

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Solar

Charging Battery

9am - Yesterday afternoon, we tested charging Scampy's battery with the Renogy solar panel while the battery charge controller was bypassed. The reason for the bypass was because our battery charge controller tapers the charging current MUCH too fast.

The result was, after less than two hours, the battery's specific gravity went from 1.245 to 1.255! Since we began using the Renogy solar panels, when the battery charge controller was used, there was NO increase in specific gravity. Nothing!

Reader warning
We received this comment from Reader R. Wagner:
"George, Please be careful. If you have 12 V equipment in Scampy it could be damaged by 15 V. For example the fridge circuit board, led lights, phone charger, etc."

We are sooooo happy to receive this warning. Because what Reader R. Wagner warned about never occurred to us! So, we disconnected Scampy's battery before connecting to the solar panel.

While the battery is being charged, 12 DC will be provided from Honda's battery. Using Honda's battery during the day should not present any problem because we use only a tiny amount of electric power during the day. Only the Dometic fridge and charging power for our Mac computer are required.


10am - Decision to use Renogy
After using the Renogy Solar Panel in a suitcase for two days, it's become fairly easy for me to set it up and take down. So, I will continue to use the Renogy to charge Scampy's battery.

You may recall that a couple of days ago we published "Renogy Alternatives" [Link].


11am - Our Day Camp
We have returned to Mission Beach for the day. The parking lot near the Bahia Hotel is very large and has a lovely view of the Ventura Cove's water [Link].

Also, the high temperature here today is 73℉. Very nice!

There is an RV Unfriendly sign posted here. We on the Scampy RV Team pay little mind to the nonsense of this sign.

Ooooh! We are sooooo scared by this sign! 😳

12 noon - Specific Gravity UP!
We just used our hydrometer to check the specific gravity of Scampy's battery.

The specific gravity is 1.265 now! This reading is VERY good. But we are shooting for a 1.275 reading, which would be excellent!

Below is a ranking of Specific Gravity State of Charge:

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 368 feet

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Temperature

Hot Today in La Mesa

6:30am - Just checked the weather. In La Mesa the temperature is going up
to 90℉. However, in Mission Beach, at the Pacific Ocean, the high is 72℉.

The ability to move our Scampy home around is one of the wonders of RVing! We go where we want. And what we want today, is T-Shirt and short
pants weather. 😊

24 Hour
Last nite, we made our Nite Camp in the upper parking lot of 24 Hour Fitness. So, before heading out for Mission Beach, I'll go workout!


10am - Breakfast
For this morning, I prepared Matzos, Eggs and Onions right there in the 24 Hour parking lot. Also, a Jimmy Dean pork sausage patty.

Scampy's kitchen is plenty big enough for me. I only use 1-burner of the 2-burner stove.

For utensils, there is one plate. One teflon 8" skillet. One each fork, teaspoon, tablespoon, butter knife, cutting knife, spatula and turner.

Do you know what this is?

Clue: It may be the largest bubble in history!



4pm - Bypassed battery charge controller
The Adventurer battery charge controller that comes with my Renogy solar panel does NOT bring up the State of Charge of the battery to where I want it to be.

I want a fully charged battery to read 1265 - 1275 on my hydrometer. The battery now reads 1245.

The problem is, that the Adventurer controller tapers charging down too fast. Checking the voltage at the battery with the controller shows 12 volts.

In order to get the solar panel to fully charge the battery, I have bypassed the controller. Checking the voltage at the battery with the controller bypassed shows 15 volts.

I do not believe that I will harm the battery by over charging if I keep a close eye on the state of charge.

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 368 feet

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Solar

Renogy Alternatives

9am - On April 18th we published a pic of our Renogy solar panel [Link]. In this pic, we have setup the Renogy at Shelter Island.

We were thinking that it would be better, if the solar panel were 'always' connected to Scampy's battery. This could be accomplished by mounting the panel on the roof of Honda or Scampy. A roof mounted solar panel would always be producing electrical power.

There are numerous challenges to overcome in order to mount a solar panel on a roof. Where I am now, is figuring out the alternatives.

• Keep using the Renogy
• Mount solar on Honda
• Mount solar on Scampy

Simple alternative
Keep using the Renogy as we are now doing is the simplest way. But, it is also a pain. Because in order to move Scampy, the Renogy needs to be put back in the suitcase.

2pm - Eyeglass disaster!
A couple of days ago, one hinge of my eyeglasses broke. I managed to make the glasses wearable by the use of electrical tape which although ugly, held the frame to the temple.

I thought that the 'electrical tape' repair would hold. Wrong! Today the temple came loose again.

I found a local eyeglass place which claimed online, to be quick and inexpensive. When I went there, they were neither quick OR inexpensive. $699 for two pair, delivered in two weeks!!

After a bunch of negotiation, I bought the two pair for $278.

The good thing about my visit to this eyeglass place is, that they put on a replacement temple on my existing glasses. No charge!

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 606 feet

Songs

Boid Loves Music

7am - Right after getting out of bed, I turn on music with iPhone. Boid is sooooo happy when he hears music! He begins tweeting at the sound of a song.

Of course, I feel the same about music. I've bought my favorite music from iTunes. A couple of days ago Frank Sinatra got downloaded to iPhone. 😎


8:30am - More organized
I seem to be doing things more regularly lately. Could this be because I am RVing with Little Scampy? And there is less distraction?

For example, bedtime. Without an alarm, I go to bed and get up in the morning about the same time each day. The same with the time that I go to work out at 24 Hour.

I'm eating healthier foods too. Hmmmm?


11:45am - Where to go?
My workout is done, and I just returned from 24 Hour Fitness.

My mind was thinking about where to go. Mission Beach is my favorite. Then, I looked my email. John invited me for homemade pizza!

So, first we'll go to Mission Beach. Then to John and Mimi's for pizza. 😎

2pm - Changed our mind
Instead of Mission Beach, we decided to head for La Mesa. If we had gone to Mission Beach, our trip to John and Mimi's home for supper would in commute traffic. That would NOT be good!

We made an Afternoon Camp in Aztec Park.

The Team in Aztec Park

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Repair

Fastener Came Loose

9:30am - One of Scampy's cabinets had a rivet come loose. This rivet comes thru Scampy's roof. When the rivet is installed, the shank expands and that expansion is supposed to hold the cabinet in place.

However, one rivet did not hold. And now, one section of the cabinet is hanging a bit loose. One of these special rivets could be purchased from Scamp Trailer. I felt that another solution was required.

I bought a stainless hex bolt to use in place of the rivet and will install that bolt later today.

Do you see the hole where 

the bolt will come thru?

11:15am - Shelter Island
We've just arrived at Shelter Island. That lovely place across the bay from Downtown San Diego. From Scampy's door is a lovely view of San Diego's skyline.

On the way here, we stopped off at the South Shore Boat Ramp to use the dump station.

Little Honda, Scampy on Shelter Island

3pm - Solar charging
Our Renogy solar system was hooked up for the first time today. It took a little less than 2-hours to generate 1000 watts for Scampy's battery.

A hydrometer check proved that the battery is getting charged. We want to stay here at Shelter Island using the Renogy as long as the Sun is bright!

Renogy - On The Job!

4pm - Shelf support bolt installed
With the help of a parking lot neighbor, the bolt that replaced the rivet was installed. The neighbor held a wrench to the head of the bolt. I was inside Scampy and ran a locknut up the bolt.

Thank goodness for that neighbor!


5pm - Mission Beach
Police informed that when Scampy and Honda are connected, that violates the 30 foot maximum rule. So, we moved to Mission Beach.

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Nite Camp Location Map
Elevation: 375 feet

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San Diego

Love This City!

5am - The distance from our Nite Camp to 24 Hour is a few miles. And, this 24 Hour is a Super Sport Club. Wonderful!

San Diego has everything for my RVing life. At the South Shore boat ramp, there is a dump station. Fresh water too using my home made hose adapter that allows connection to a shower head.

7:30am - Back with Scampy
There is no doubt that I'm now addicted to working out at 24 Hour. There was a time, when I struggled with completing 30 minutes on the treadmill. Not anymore.

After posting this Blog, we head out to Mission Beach. My friend John is planning to drop by there! 😎

John in his Chevy Bolt

9am - Daily cleaning
We are now Day Camped at Mission Beach close to the Bahia Hotel.

We keep a daily cleaning routine for Scampy. A hand held brush is used to sweep Scampy's floor and a small dust pan is used for picking up. Then, the linoleum floor is "mopped" using wet paper towels.

We have tried cleaning every other day. But that does not cut it! Every day cleaning does the job!

Baby Boid and George

2pm - Invited for supper
My friend John invited me for supper. 😎

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Nite Camped at John's Home

[No Map]

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Ocean

Pacific Coast Highway

10:30am - We have stopped in the parking lot of an office building in order to publish this Blog post to you.  Because it is Sunday, there are tons of people visiting PCH. We may have to be inventive to find a Day Camp with an ocean view!

12:20pm - No ocean view
We have made a Day Camp [Here]. We would have to pay to park in order to view the ocean. We do not like paying money for what should be free!

3:15pm - San Diego
Scampy and The Team have made an Afternoon Camp at the South Shores Boat Ramp, next to Sea World.

We had planned to remain near Evie's home until she received the Dometic fridge vent cover. But, I am guessing that we changed our mind.

South Shore Boat Ramp

San Diego

7pm - On the mesa
To the best of my recollection, we first made a Nite Camp up on Clairmont Mesa in 2005. That was when Reader Phil treated me to supper at Outback Steak House.

After Outback, we stayed up here for the nite. And were not bothered by neighbors or police. This place is a commercial area which is good for RV Nite Camping. Not one other RV here back in 2005

This evening, I see several RVs camped around here. Do you think that people found out about camping here because of us?

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Nite Camp Location Map

Elevation: 411 feet

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Helping

Doing Stuff For Evie

7am - I'm at Evie's home for breakfast. Matzah and eggs and sausage. Yummm!

Evie has a very adorable poodle dog that I call "puppy." I brought Baby Boid here. Two very cute creatures!

I hate to leave Boid alone, because Boid loves to visit and he has such a good time listening to people talk. Boid makes sounds that I believe is mimicking our voices.

Helping Evie
After breakfast, we went online with Evie's PC and we worked together in order to login to Kaiser Medical's website. That went well.

Evie recently joined Kaiser.

Then Evie had a decorative blanket that she wished to have hung on the wall above her bed's headboard. Between the two of us, I have the best balance. So, I went up on a step-stool in order to attach the blanket to the wall with nails.

Evie's decorative blanket

Cousin Jacky's party
This afternoon, Evie and I will drive together to Jacky's latke party. Jacky and Evie both live in Laguna Woods senior community.


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Jojoba

Bye Bye Jojoba

8:30am - Later this morning, The Scampy Team will be heading out. First thing to do, is go to the 24 Hour Fitness in nearby Temecula. Gotta keep those old muscles toned!

We do not have to hurry to arrive at Cousin Jacky's home. The latke party begins tomorrow around 2pm.

The replacement vent cover is on the way to my friend Evie's home. Hopefully the vent cover will arrive tomorrow.


1pm - 24 Hour Super Sport

This afternoon when searching for a 24 Hour Fitness Club,  the search term that I used was:

"24 Hour Fitness Super Sport"

The "Super Sport" Clubs are 24 Hour's best! They have all the amenities. The best and often the latest equipment. And lots of equipment too. Hot tub spa. Sauna. Steam room. Free towels.

Cardio Stats
Here are my statistics for today's treadmill exercise:

• 2.4 MPH average speed
• 4.0 elevation
• Maximum heart rate: 114 beats per minute
• Resting hear rate: 74 BPM [When I am in bed after waking up]
• 30 minutes: Time on treadmill

Weight today: 152 lbs

5pm - Visiting Evie
Evie recently moved to the Laguna Woods Senior Community. She has been living in her home there for about a month. When I was last here, she had just moved in. Since then, Evie has gotten her home in order. Very nice!

She showed me all the pictures hanging on the wall. Of course, all of that looked very familiar to me. Many were the same pictures on the wall when Evie and I were still married. Our marriage ended in 1985. Thirty two years ago!

We went out to supper together at King's Fish Restaurant. Great food!

7:30pm - Nite Camp
Scampy is staying in the parking area behind Evie's home.

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Nite Camp Location Map

Elevation: 307 feet

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Purging

A Lesson In Propane

8:30am - When outfitting Little Scampy, a gage was put on the propane tank's incoming line in order to know when the gas in the tank was getting low. However, the gage was not accurate. When the gage was warm, the gage showed more gas in the tank. When cold, the gage showed less gas.

Often, when going to refill propane because the gage indicated low, the tank would only take 1/2 of the tank's capacity.

So, the decision was made to remove the gage and let the tank go empty. We carry two backup propane tanks which are those tiny one pound tanks used on BBQs. So, we never run out of propane.

Yesterday evening, our 20 pound tank went empty. When we connected a one pound propane tank, it appeared that this tank was empty! I was surprised! Astounded!

When connecting the 2nd backup one pound tank, it also appeared to be empty! Now I was mystified and phoned my friend Pete Olson for help [Pete lives here in Jojoba Park]. Pete came over and brought with him three one pound tanks.

All three of Pete's 1-Lb propane tanks appeared to be empty as well. Wow! Both Pete and I realized that something was wrong, but we did not know what. Pete suggested an electric heater, and he brought one over.

Researching the problem
I went online and searched for what could cause this problem. I came up with a possible answer.

When a propane tank goes empty, air may enter the incoming line. When a full propane tank is then connected, the propane mixes with that air. The result is when attempting to lite up a stove's burner, the flame either will not lite up or it will lite, then go out.

The incoming propane line needs to be purged of air. If the stove's burner is lit up repeatedly, eventually the incoming line gets purged of air.

Nice to know!

2pm - Propane Tank Gauge
After going over the hassle of using backup one pound propane tanks, I decided to return to using a propane tank gauge!



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Camping

New Way to Nite Camp

7:30am - We are using a more adaptable way to make Nite Camps. This new way uses time of day as the main feature.

Before, we used to cruise around searching for a Nite Camp where we would not be spotted by local residents who might report us.

Now, we locate our Nite Camp site inside a residential neighborhood. We do this locating during the day. When it is 11pm, we return to that previously picked Nite Camp site. Our iPhone alarm is set to 6am. Then we go to sleep.

This method works because local residents are unlikely to see Scampy between 11pm and 6am.

Explanation
In the past, we have been criticized for violating government regulations concerning sleeping in a vehicle.

When we first began RVing in 2003, good Nite Camps were numerous. As the years rolled on, government issued regulations to prevent RVers from Nite Camping on the street.

We on the Scampy Team, do not like being put in a position of being law breakers. However, government in our opinion, is in many cases, arbitrary. Unrestrained and autocratic in the use of their authority.

10am - Jojoba Hills
The Scampy RV Team has just arrived at our future home. Jojoba Hills SKP Resort. We are staying here for two days. Leaving on Friday, April 14th.

During the trip here, while driving thru Temecula Valley, we were sooooo happy to see how the rain has changed the flowers. There are so many flowers now!

Flowers of Temecula Valley

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Nite Camp Location Map

Elevation: 1,987 feet

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Old Road

Route 66

7am - Heading out of Palmdale
We are going in a southerly direction. Lots of desert. We came to a sign which announced: "Historic Route 66 next right." So, we went right!

We came to a place where a bunch of oak trees created a shady place for Morning Camp. A stone marker described this area.

2pm - Arrived City of Temecula
We did not realize until we just checked that our trip beginning in Palmdale today was 115 miles distance.

Honda & Scampy get 22 miles per gallon. So the fuel for this trip cost $15. The late MsTioga got 7 MPG and this trip for her would have cost $47!

I don't get sleepy driving anymore. That's probably due to sleeping 7-8 hours each day 😎. It seems to me that my overall health has improved since my sleeping habits got sooooo much better!

The Scampy Team in Temecula

6pm - Fridge vent cover destroyed!
I'm supposed to do a "walk-around" before driving Honda when towing Scampy. I must have forgotten! And the pic below shows the result. 😫

Our Dometic fridge's flame goes out whenever Scampy is moving. This is a defect which appears to have no good resolution. So, I have to remove the vent cover and restart the flame every time Scampy parks.

I am guessing that when I restarted the flame this time, I forgot to reinstall the vent, and just drove away. Somebody drove over the vent when it was left lying in the parking lot.

Oh no!

PS: A replacement vent for our Dometic was just ordered from Amazon. Until it arrives, we will be ventless! [Just a bit of humor. 😄 ]

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Nite Camp Location Map

Elevation: 1,094 feet

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LED

Replacement LED Tail Light Bulbs

8am - This morning, Reader Andrew in a comment, suggested that the tail light that we replaced yesterday could be LED. Wow! This is such a good idea. It never crossed my mind that Scampy's tail lights could be LED!

The nearby AutoZone has replacement LED for Scampy's #2057 tail lights. We are going over there to buy!

Yesterday's Nite Camp
Our Nite Camp last nite was a good one. It was located in an office building parking lot near the AutoZone.

Pretty quiet.

9:30 am - 24 Hour Fitness
We are at the 24 Hour in Palmdale. Have not gone inside yet. But it looks from the outside like a good size club.

There are various size 24 Hour clubs. The smaller ones do not have the amenities that I like. Like a shower room. No towels. No hot spa.

In this 24 Hour, even the lockers are smaller than the 24 in Apple Valley.

12 noon - Palmdale Library
We came here to download some files from iTunes. Also, to download an Apple Software Update to our iPhone.

Also, of course, to view some movies! 😎 I watched "The Manchurian Candidate" starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep. Bizarre plot, if you ask me!


Blockchain
Have you ever heard of "Blockchain?" I first found out about Blockchain today. Please click [Here] to read about it.

Then, maybe explain it to me?!?

I sure wish that I was very smart! You need to be really smart to comprehend all this stuff!


6pm - Pics
Here are a couple of pics iPhone captured today:

Lockheed SR71 Blackbird

At Air Force base in Palmdale

Baby Boid loves to travel

8:30pm - Nite Camped at the Knights of Columbus in Palmdale

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Nite Camp Location Link

Elevation: 2,681 feet

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Prepping

Get Scampy Ready To Roll

1pm - We just returned from 24 Hour Fitness and got Scampy out of the Lone Wolf storage yard.

Scampy's battery was checked with a hydrometer. A really good reading. About 1275 on all cells!

There is very little to do in order for Scampy to be ready. We have duplicate things in both Twayler and Scampy. For example, there is an electric razor, toothbrush, clothing in both RVs.

Scampy, Honda and George

4pm - Headed out from Lone Wolf
We are going to travel west toward the Town of Pearblossom.

6pm - City of Palmdale
When we arrived at Pearblossom, we learned that this is a very tiny town. We decided not to make a Nite Camp in Pearblossom.

Using our paper California map, we spotted the City of Palmdale not too far away, and continued on.

The first thing to do when we arrive at a place that we are going to stay the nite, is locate our Nite Camp site. Then we made an Evening Camp in a large and nice shopping center located [Here].

Baby Boid seems very happy in his place on Scampy's dining table. The window screen is raised so that Boid may look outside. He likes looking around, and tweets at things that he sees.

7pm - Scampy's tail light
The right tail light for stopping and turning burned out. This has to be attended to immediately! We cannot drive around with a burned out tail light!

We went to a nearby AutoZone. It was sheer luck that we found exactly the bulb needed. There was only one left, and it was hanging in another bulb's slot!


11pm - Nite Camp
We made our Nite Camp near the AutoZone, in a parking lot.

Nite Camp Location Link

Elevation: 2,621 feet

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Trip

Get Scampy and Honda Ready

Next Saturday, we will take off on an RV trip. First destination is to Cousin Jacky's home in Laguna Woods [Senior community]. Jacky is making a Latke Party [Link] for the family

My friend Evie [former wife] moved to Laguna Woods recently, so I'll be visiting with her too.

Honda's storage area has to be made tidy. You may recall that I built two cabinets for Honda that have drawers which hold supplies and tools for Scampy trips. Everything in the storage area needs to be straightened out.

Scampy needs preparation too. When we are traveling, Scampy's fridge pilot goes out because of wind coming thru the vent. We are going to insert something in the inside of that vent which will prevent wind entering.

How is George?
You may remember that I went thru a blue phase in recent months. Wow! That was a bad time for me! I am glad to write that I began to come out of that blue phase a few weeks ago.


12 noon - I'm able to squat!
Just a few minutes ago, I had to pick up something from the floor. And instead of bracing myself using a counter or table and bending over from my waist, I just squatted. Not just a partial squat. An all the way down squat!

This was astounding to me. It has been several years since I was able to do this!

Exercising at 24 Hour Fitness is responsible!




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Idaho

Salmon River Camp

On May 15th, 2004, MsTioga and I made a Camp on the Salmon River in the State of Idaho. We were kind of newbies back then. However, I believe that we were courageous!

We just traveled, not worrying much about where our Nite Camp would be. We found after almost a year of RVing, that we always found a Nite Camp. So, why spoil a day's journey by worrying?

Please click [Here] to read about that long-ago day.

12 noon - We just got back from 24 Hour Fitness and grocery shopping at the Food For Less market.

This morning we arrived at 24 Hour around 8 am. Pretty early for us. Some days arriving early at 24 Hour will find the club very busy because of aerobic classes. There is no aerobic class on Friday. So, it is relatively quiet here at 24 this morning.

Snow view from Bear Valley Road

8pm - "Se7en"
I just finished viewing the movie "Se7en." This movie is #22 on the Top 250 list of the Internet Movie Data Base [Link].

Everything is terrific about this movie. Actors: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow. Directing, first rate.

But the plot is sooooo sick. Terrible beyond belief. Torture. Murder. Madness. I am beside myself wondering what kind of person would write such a screen play?

As the movie came to its end, I was not left with enjoyment. I was left wishing that I had not viewed it!






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Since Guatemala

One year to good health!

10am - This morning while doing dishes, Guatemala popped into my brain. Early in 2016, I spent several weeks in a town on the shore of
Lake Atitlan [Link].

Do you recall when my right arm and leg began to twitch? I was in Guatemala when that twitching began. At that time, I was taking a bunch of prescription meds for blood pressure, blood thinners, etc. My weight was 185 lbs.

Since that time, I went off ALL prescriptions meds. My weight is now 150 lbs. My Body Mass Index is 21.5, normal. My right and leg no longer twitch.

11am - Library
Right after this Blog post is online, I'm heading up to Apple Valley's library. One of my favorite places around here. They have a fast WiFi there. Love that!


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Kaiser

Pacemaker Clinic Appointment

9am - I just made an appointment for my Pacemaker to be checked. Kaiser's Pacemaker clinic is located in San Diego. This means that Scampy and I will be traveling together in order to arrive before April 24th, the appointment date.

Also, my Cousin Jacky is having a dinner party on April 15th. So, I was thinking about going to Jacky's home with Scampy. Afterwards, we will just continue going south and stay in the San Diego area for the Pacemaker appointment.

Street Camping
When we will be camping with Scampy, electric power will come from our Renogy Solar Panel. This will be the first time that we will use Renogy to charge Scampy's battery.

The solar panel is 100 watt. I am thinking that this will be enough electric power to keep Scampy's battery charged. We only use electric power for LED lights inside Scampy. Also, to keep our Mac computer charged.

1pm - "Logan"
I just returned from the movie theater. Saw, "Logan."

The thing that got me to go see this movie, was that it was rated #62 on the Internet Movie Data Base [link]. Above "To Kill A Mockingbird" #87!!

It has come to me that the present crop of humans, is not educated to appreciate good screen writing, character development and a plot. They like violence!

After all, "Logan" is a comic book character! In my opinion, this was NOT a terrible movie. But it is not even in the same league as "To Kill A Mockingbird."


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Malware

Fake Adobe Flash Player Update

During browsing in recent weeks, I've been hit several times with a request to update my Adobe Flash Player. I never updated, because I suspected the request was not legitimate.

However, this evening a "Fake" Adobe Flash Player update link arrived in front of a movie that I wanted to view online. Very Clever!!

Foolishly, I clicked on the update link. As soon as I clicked, a tiny window opened that could not be closed, requiring me to click on that window to proceed.

If this happens to you, force quit your computer. Don't click on anything!

I had to do research in order to remove the malware. I finally got rid of this thing by removing Adobe Flash Player from my mac and resetting my Chrome browser to default. Also, I had to remove several malware applications that got installed. Took over an hour to do all of this.

Very ugly! But Chrome is running very well now.

PS: I am not using anything from Adobe anymore! I deleted Adobe Flashplayer and replaced it with SupremePlayerLite from the App Store.


9am - Working out at the gym
During the 70s I worked out at a gym with two exercise partners. We used dumbbells and barbells. And we used the heaviest weights that we could handle in order to build muscles.

Now I am in 80th year. My exercise routine has adapted to my age. My goals now are to keep my body in shape. Not build muscles. Treadmill for cardio. Machines for muscles.

At my 24 Hour Fitness Club, there are maybe 100 cardio machines. On the treadmill, I walk at about 2.2 miles per hour for 30 minutes. At a 4 degree rise.

In the weight machine area, my routine is to use a resistance that I can handle easily. For as many repetitions as I am able. When the muscles that I am using get tired, I move on to another machine.

I'm going to 24 Hour Fitness every other day. I'll be there today. Working out is addictive.


11:30pm - Returned from 24 Hour
I've just returned from working out. Decided to go in the evening. Arrived there about 9:30pm.

The club is much quieter and relaxed after 9pm. Also, traffic returning home is very light. I like that!

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Library

Using library WiFi

This morning I'm going over to the Apple Valley library and use their WiFi to access iTunes.

After many months of trying to download past iTunes purchases, yesterday I finally figured it out. Is it just me? Or is the routine for downloading past purchases of movie videos arcane?

Also, I purchased a bundle of five Martin Scorsese movie videos and only received three. iTunes has not responded to my request for help.

Digital vs DVD
I used to buy DVDs. But now prefer the digital movies that iTunes sells. DVDs have a way of going bad.

I store my iTunes digital video movies on a 2TB Seagate drive. And they seem to last forever.

Movies in theaters
I used to go often to see a movie in theaters. Not anymore. More and more, these movies have no plot. Just shoot 'em up action. High speed chase scenes. Killings. Actors doing impossible physical things.

There is a huge amount of movies available online which are high quality. Those past movies online are what I am into,

I just purchased the 1957 movie, "12 Angry Men" which has great acting and a fantastic plot.



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Money

Gold Backed Currency

While doing some research about Lewis and Clark this morning, I came upon an image of a very large denomination gold backed bill. This bill fascinates me. Because it is not what we have now as money.

Our present bills are Federal Reserve notes, which are not backed by anything. It is Fiat Currency whose value is solely based on faith of people of its worth.

Click on image to enlarge

Note: President Woodrow Wilson is the face on this bill.



Blogger has changed over the years
My Blog began in May, 2003. That was only a few months after Google purchased Blogger from its creators. At that time, a blog was a list of posts in reverse chronological order. Newest post at the top.

There was no easy way for you to look at one of my Blog posts from years ago without scrolling down a huge list of Blog posts searching for the one you wanted. That's when I created my "Calendar Archives" which allowed readers to go to any particular date directly.

Have used my Blog's archives [Link] to look at past posts? You may have noticed some strange buttons that read "Yesterday" and "Tomorrow."

I wanted my readers to be able to go from post to post, day by day [like it is now]. In order to do that, I created my own layout by writing the HTML code Blog template myself.

Every day, I manually inserted "Yesterday" and "Tomorrow" links in the HTML code of my post.

Years later, Blogger made it impossible to use my HTML code for a template. So, I converted my Blog to what came to be known as a "Layout." But since my old "Yesterday" and "Tomorrow" links were part of each Blog post, those links remained. These links are not in the proper location now, because of the conversion to Blogger's layout.

PS: This explanation may be hard to comprehend. But it's on my mind, so I made this Post/Explanation.


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