Getting Ready to Go

Tuesday - Still getting ready for our trip. Packing with suitcases is such a hassle compared to RV travel. Especially if the goal is carry-on only. 

Since it was cooler this morning, I changed the tube in the sidecar tire with a new one. I also changed the rim strip. The spare also lost some air but it had gotten too hot and muggy to change another tube. 

Wednesday - It was a very nice, 64°F this morning, but heated up to 90°F by late afternoon. I did send out my Winlink Wednesday email this morning but propagation was horrible. I ended up using a local San Antonio server on 40m.  Yesterday, I was able to retrieve my email using a Las Vegas server when propagation was better. 

Thursday - Thank you to Gary & Lynne for taking us to the airport. It’s about an hour away and we didn’t want to leave the Jeep in long term parking. I turned off the water to the RV, pulled in three of the slides, and set the A/C to 85°F.

The first leg is to JFK (New York). I had never been to that airport. Previous trips to the area went through Newark, NJ, so this will be a first. I think we have a couple of hours before the next flight. Delta offers free WiFi as long as you have a Delta mileage number. Back in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, I flew in Delta often since it was an Alaska mileage partner and they had regular flights out of Alaska. Not the case anymore. I think my last flight was Delta and KLM to Ethiopia. 

Later - We are still ~45 minutes out and the seat feels really hard. I hate flying now. Back 30 or 40 years ago, it was an adventure. Not anymore. I don’t like packing suitcases or all the security and crowds. RV travel is preferable for me. I watched ~2/3 of the first Harry Potter movie and part of Toy Story 5 but starting to feel tired. It’s going to be a long day…

Still near Hondo

Friday - A little cooler today, but still very muggy. I walked two miles around the park (twice), and I'm soaked. But I need to get some more walking in, as we will be doing a lot of walking about a week from today. Yesterday, I put the Class C back in storage after Bridget lent it out to another member while they were waiting for a repair. They had to replace their entire mini-split system after it stopped working. I think it was only five years old, but A/C units get worked pretty hard around here. Today's high is only forecast to be 82°F. Much better than the mid-to-upper 90s that it has been ever since we arrived back.

I need to order a couple of tubes for the Ural. The tube I found is already flat, and the spare mounted on the sidecar is down 6 psi after only 4 days. It’s hard to find small leaks without a large tub of water. 

Saturday - I just happened to get up in time for the early test session, and while I was making coffee, I ended up getting signed up to lead the session. The candidate was on PDT, and I thought that maybe he had signed up for this time slot by accident. But he did call me back in time for the test, and it wasn't an accident. He passed easily. Time to get on with my day…

I started out with a two-mile walk around the park. I figured I needed to take advantage of the 72°F morning. Though it is still humid. 

I was the lead for the midday test session as well.

I have been spending some time getting ready for our trib, which begins next week. We are trying to do only carry-on luggage, and that really limits what I'm willing to bring. Just a small-ish roller bag and a backpack. Plus, Bridget picked up some cross-body bags for essentials. 

SpaceX & Starlink

Monday - The two batteries in the Jeep had to be replaced yesterday. The secondary battery is installed under the fuse box and the primary battery. I had to watch a YouTube video to find out how to replace it. After removing the batteries, I put them in the Ural so I could run into town, and discovered that the sidecar tire was flat. Fortunately, a friend here at the park drove me to an auto parts store in Hondo, and they had replacement batteries. They even had the weird secondary battery in stock. That project took all afternoon.

This morning, SpaceX successfully launched Starship for the first time into an actual orbit. It carried 26 Starlink V3 satellites and deployed them once orbit was achieved. They opted to end the mission early for technical reasons. 

On another note, I received the Starlink Mini this week. I had changed the service plan of our other Starlink to “Residential 100Mb” for substantial savings. Shortly thereafter, I received an email asking if I wanted a Starlink Mini for a no-cost rental for traveling. It just needed a service attached to it. The current service is the $10/month “Standby” since we are not traveling. I set it up and did the software updates before switching it to “Standby”. 

We did not have to purchase this dish, and ownership is retained by Starlink. And note that the pole mount is included. 

Tuesday - This morning was a few degrees cooler than it has been, so I fixed the Ural sidecar flat tire. I must’ve driven with the tire flat, as the valve stem was pulled out of the tube. I put on the spare tire and worked with the flat wheel/tire on the back of the rig. I replaced the tube with a patched tube from a previous flat. I hope it holds air… The picture is just the broken valve stem sitting on the Blackstone lid.

By the time this task was done, it was up to 88°F already. 

The last recurring task was setting up the JPC-12 antenna for 40m to retrieve my winlink email and get ready to send my check-in message tomorrow.

Uneventful Week

Wednesday - Another hot, muggy day. After early morning coffee, I started to regenerate the water softener. The last time was in Mount Hood, so it's been a while. Even though it's a simple process, it still takes about 45 minutes, and it seems like it uses a lot of water. I just let the salt water run onto the ground, as running all of that salt into the septic system can't be a good thing.

This afternoon, I made grilled vegetables, and I’ll finish them off with a balsamic glaze. I’ve made this numerous times, and the result varies with the vegetables used. This time: sweet potato, carrots, potatoes, onions, beets, asparagus, yellow squash, green beans, mushrooms, and peppers. Should be good…

Thursday - Big surprise: another hot, muggy day. I filled up the fresh water tank on the Class C, as Bridget lent it out to someone in the park who had a dead A/C.

This afternoon, Bridget needed a ride to the airport as she is escaping from hot, muggy Texas to almost freezing Alaska for the weekend. There was a lot of traffic returning from the airport but it wasn’t as bad as I was dreading.

Friday - I rode the Ural into Hondo this morning. It’s been a while as it is still almost too hot and muggy. The mirrors are nicer as they don’t “auto adjust” like the original ones. But the size of the mirror is smaller. 

I picked up the ahi tuna poké bowl at HEB. I’ve had it before and it is delicious. A nice, simple treat. I arrived back in time for the mid-day test session but no candidates.