Sanibal Island, FL

Monday - At 9 this morning, we headed out with Steve & Cheryl on their boat. It was very calm but wind was in the forecast for the afternoon. 

There were quite a few boats in the channel heading away from Cape Coral towards open water. A lot of slow going due to potential manatees but we did not see any all day.

This narrow canal was one of the more promising areas to spot one but we didn’t see any. 

We stopped at the beach near the lighthouse on the south eastern end of Sanibel Island for lunch. 

This is the lighthouse. It looks like an automated light. Hurricane Ian completely flooded the island destroying most homes, boats, and docks. It is still being rebuilt. 

On the way back, we stopped to watch dolphins but I didn’t get any pictures. 

Naples, FL

Friday - This morning, we went to the Bird Gardens of Naples. It is an exotic bird rescue organization with around 200 birds who could no longer survive in the wild due to injury. Or are abandoned or abused. 

It’s a pretty nice facility, all donation and volunteers. They do breed some birds and supply other sanctuaries around the country. Some of the birds can be adopted but they are not sold.

They mentioned the need for small openings in the wire cages to keep out the snakes. Cottonmouth viper and Burmese pythons. Neither is protected and one is invasive. The fencing continues into the ground and covers the floor of the cages. 

We stopped at a beach north of Naples after lunch to just walk for a bit. It was not empty but not unreasonably crowded either for a holiday weekend. It is still Spring break after all.

Made it Back

Sunday - We changed plans mid-trip yesterday and between yesterday’s 470 miles and today’s 410 miles, we are back at the SKP park in Hondo. We were fighting a headwind for most of the day and I’m sure that it’ll be reflected in our gas mileage. Today, the dash A/C actually worked for most of the day. Yesterday, it kept shutting off. Weird. 

The great news is that everything was fine with the class A. A couple of days into our trip, I could not connect to the HomeAssistant instance collecting data. There are a number of potential reasons and I just hoped it was something simple. It was. The AT&T hotspot was overheated and it remained in that fail mode. I power cycled it and it’s back in service. 

I turned on the A/C units and opened the slides. It was 105° inside. We have the class C parked in dry camping with power and it’s A/C running. A major project is to figure out why I can no longer run the A/C with the generator. There is some sort of configuration issue on the Multiplus. 

Yesterday, we stopped at the Lake Texoma Thousand Trails and they really did a lot of work since we were last there in 2020. It’s nice. Unfortunately, being a holiday weekend, it was crowded. I used the pool but didn’t stay long due to the crowd. 

Heading South

Saturday - This afternoon, I headed to Oregon with a brief stop in Anchorage. Same plane, different flight numbers. The picture is looking southeast at the Alaska Range from the airport. There are still mounds of snow around and the low temperatures are still below freezing. The good part is that the mosquitos aren’t out yet. 

I’m waiting around the airport for my first flight. It’s pretty empty today and the flight is kind of on the empty side. 

The next leg of the flight was not completely full either but it was the first time I was on a Horizon small jet instead of the normal 737. It was quiet but the seats were less comfortable. Very little padding. 

I was met by the owner of my Turo rental car in the arrival curb. Not optimal as I couldn’t familiarize myself with the car before hitting the road. It is a four-door Fiat 500. 

Sunday - I stopped at an Elmer’s in Salem for breakfast and this tree was just outside the door. 

Heading to AK

Wednesday - What a way to start a trip. A very early trip to the San Antonio airport in the middle of a thunderstorm. Heavy rain and almost continuous lightning in the clouds and water on the roads. I think the weather app said we got almost an inch of rain. 

No delays on the flight leaving due to the weather but the Seattle airport feels really crowded. Maybe it’s just the north terminal. Or, I just don’t fly very often these days. But delays in Seattle. They said the plane smelled like rotten fish. Eventually, they moved the flight to a different plane but that process took quite a while. The current projected departure is 1½ hours late.

Later - The flight ended up being a couple of hours late. Other than that, it was fine. 

Still Getting Ready

Thursday - Today was just a few miscellaneous tasks getting ready for our trip. The Blackstone was disconnected from the RV and moved to the shed. The awning was put away as windy days are likely. Tomorrow, I’ll shut off the water and we’ll just use the water in our fresh water tank. Since the tree is now leaf-free, I’m cleaning up our yard and will make one more leaf-dumping trip for the season. 

I’m kind of tired today as I stayed up late last night to watch the first launch of New Glenn, Blue Origin’s first orbital rocket. There have been numerous delays including one last night due to a boat in the exclusion zone but it finally launched at ~1am CST. The landing of the first stage wasn’t successful and communications was lost during the engine restart. No word from Blue Origin as to what happened as the company is very private. The second stage made it to orbit and I’m assuming that its payload was launched.

Friday - More packing and re-packing. As the cruise has a dress code for certain times, more clothes are needed. Plus, with the winter weather headed for the Texas coast, cold weather items are needed. The first couple of days may be cold and raining. Hopefully, the seas will be relatively calm. 

Getting Ready for a Trip

Wednesday - I picked up a 95Wh battery to charge my phone when power isn’t available. I had a small battery that I’ve been using for almost 8 years. I had picked it up on one of my university trips before planes had USB ports at every seat. This one will charge my iPhone 13 mini almost ten times. Bridget decided that she needed one as well so I just ordered another. The first one was delivered in under 24 hours. Amazon Prime works well most of the time. 

I picked up a couple of electronic rodent repellers. Ultrasonic sounds, strobe lights, and flashing leds. All tied to a motion detector. We’ll see how well it works. 

I needed a couple of grocery items and it seemed like a good enough reason for a Ural ride. It had warmed up to mid-50s so it was warm enough. I still need exhaust manifold gaskets. Raceway in Salem, OR, sent me inline fuel filters by mistake. They sent the gaskets and I believe that they should arrive today. And, they told me to keep the filters. I’ll install the gaskets tomorrow. 

My task of the day was defrosting the refrigerator. I emptied the freezer and only partially emptied the refrigerator. Mostly meat and dairy. It’s taking the freezer a while to cool back down but the contents are in the portable freezer so no rush. The refrigerator is at 40°F and it is filled back up. 

On Saturday, we head out on a non-RV trip. A Western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston. Hopefully no weather issues as the forecast is for winter weather next week. 

Centralia, WA - British Columbia

Thursday - Friday - We are back at the RV switching things out again. We are headed back to AK tomorrow. We don’t need the dressier clothes and, since I’m driving the Jeep, I’m bringing some non-refrigerated food and minimal cooking stuff. Since the drive up wasn’t planned, my camping gear is still in TX. But the Jeep is minimally loaded so I can probably sleep in the back. 

It’s about 2,300 miles so about 4-5 days. It should be a nice trip. Four 10 hr days or five 8 hr days. I’ll probably do a couple of longer days for the first half of the trip followed by a couple of shorter days. I’ll probably head a bit to the east initially to avoid the possible crowds at the Seattle-Vancouver border crossing.

Saturday - A long-ish drive day. I am ~50 miles past Williams Lake, BC, or about 750 miles today. I crossed into Canada at Osoyoos, BC, as it’s usually a very short wait. It was about ten minutes. While approaching Hwy 97 at Cache Creek, the skies were looking pretty smoky. And the temperature was still in the upper 90s so I kept driving. I finally stopped at a rest area around 10:30 or so. 

Port Angeles, WA

Sunday - We caught the ferry to Port Townsend and saved a lot of miles. And, we didn’t have to deal with Seattle traffic. 

It was a quick 35 minute trip. After disembarking, we headed to the Olympic National Park visitors center to get a recommendation on what to see if pressed for time. They gave us several suggestions and some maps. 

This is Port Townsend. The area looks vaguely familiar as I had been here several times but I would have difficulty finding my way around. 

We are now at a motel in Port Angeles recovering from the very hectic past few days. 

Steak and bleu cheese salad. Delicious. Followed up with an ice cream cone for dessert.  (No ice cream photo)

Monday - Today, we headed to the coast towards Rialto Beach. This is just within Olympic National Park. The rocky beach was nice and as long as we were near the water, the temperature was cool. (Mid-60s)

We also visited the largest cedar and the largest Sitka Spruce (pictured). These were a little inland and the temperature jumped into the low 90s. It went up and down all day. 

We ended up in Ocean Shores at a hotel that just changed ownership. The sign did not reflect the new name. But it was a great deal for a really nice room.

Tomorrow, we head to Corvallis. 

An Adventure

Wednesday - Up before 7am today. I’m packing the Jeep for the next several weeks which include a wedding, a reunion, and some travel around the Olympic Peninsula. In addition to the normal stuff, the Blackstone, propane cylinders, butane burner and fuel, some cooking utensils, electrical repair tools, hand tools, ?. I’m sure I’m forgetting something.

The key thing for me, is that it nothing to do with the house in Fairbanks. A contractor is working on repairs while we are gone. 

We drove north through Seattle to Anacortes. We arrived in town several hours before the check-in time so we had lunch at a bar and grill right next to Anthony’s seafood restaurant. I had the oyster po’ boy. It was delicious. 

While driving through Everett, WA, we spotted some friends from New York that we had met in Tucson. What are the chances of that! This is the photo they took of us while passing in the highway.

We spent yesterday evening at a pot luck barbecue hosted by the bride’s parents. A beautiful home on a lake. 

RV Travel Review

Sunday - The days will continue to get longer for a couple more days then the rapid decent towards winter begins. I had a nice walk to church this morning but got a ride back up the hill. My back is still sore from moving things around. 

And just because it's hard to keep track of our travel, I thought about a summary post.

May 2017 - Drive truck to Washington. Set up the 5th wheel with batteries, solar, transfer switch, RV Lock, LED lights, camera, etc. Northern California, truck repair in Redding, Yosemite, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Moab, Capital Reef, Pikes Peak, Glacier, Helena, Salt Lake City, and Sun River. Drive back to Fairbanks w/RV in July. This was our “practice retirement” trip to see if we like traveling in an RV. About 2.5 months.

June 2018 - Drive RV to PNW with Talon. Store RV at TT Sun River. Drive back to Fairbanks through Vancouver, BC, where we attended a family reunion. About 1.5 months.

September 2018 - Drive truck from Fairbanks to Sun River to pick up the RV. Head to the Oregon coast, Northern California, Yosemite, Needles, and Benson. Store RV in Benson, truck in Tucson. Fly to Fairbanks in November. About 3 months.

January 2019 - Fly back and pick up the truck and RV. Head west to Quartzsite and Quartzfest, Needles Marina (short stay), Joshua Tree, Disneyland, Menifee, Oregon coast, family reunion, Helena, and tow RV to Fairbanks in May. About 5 months.

August 2019 - Drive Prius to Oregon, fly to GA to pick up the motorhome and drive it back to Oregon. Head east through Utah to Zion, Las Vegas, Page, Grand Canyon, Benson, Tucson, Quartzsite, Needles (month stay), now 2020, El Paso, Big Bend, southern TX, northern TX, (Covid), Casa Grande, Pendleton, Oregon coast, southern WA, eastern Oregon, Pahrump, northern Texas, Houston, Harlingen, Carlsbad, Benson, Acton (CA),  Centralia. Store RV. Prius to AK on the ferry in May, 2021. About 21 months.

September 2021 - Fly to Washington to pick up the RV. Head east and south to Albuquerque for the balloon festival. Then east through Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Carolina, to Florida. Pick up the Jeeps in December. Five months in Florida. Left FL in June 2022. North to GA, SC, NC, Tennessee, towards San Antonio. RV was in the shop for a month with a major oil leak. Head for Tucson in August, 2022. Stay in Tucson for four months. In January 2023, head for Yuma and Quartzsite. We went back to Tucson for two months. Then north through Nevada to Centralia. Drive Jeep to Fairbanks. About 20 months.

July 2023 - Head south with the Ural on a trailer. Stop in Helena to store the Ural for a couple of months. Then on to Centralia to pick up the RV. Seaside, Corvallis, Leavenworth, Aspen Crossing, Yellowstone, Helena, Nebraska. The motorhome was towed to Cheyenne for engine replacement. In November, 2023, I picked up the motorhome and drove it to Hondo, TX.

December 2023 - Jeep road trip to Minnesota. 

January 2024 - Jeep road trip to Oklahoma

February 2024 - Jeep road trip to Florida

May 2024 - Fly to Outer Banks. Then drive to Centralia, WA. Fly to Fairbanks. About 10 months.

We lived and traveled ~62 months in an RV over the past 7 years. Thats ~72% of the time. If you don’t count the first “practice retirement” trip in 2017, then it’s around 82%. 

Duck, NC

Monday - This is the view from the upper deck (this suggests the existence of a lower deck) of the Atlantic. There is a walkway out to the beach and I think I’ll be venturing out there later. I may have to do a Zoom session out here…

This is looking north. Nothing negative I can say about it. Thank you to Bridget’s brothers family for the opportunity and invite! We are here for a wedding at the end of the week. 

And, I guess, streaming shouldn’t be an issue…

After picking up some groceries, we went to Duck Donuts. No pre-made donuts here! They are made-to-order. 

I couldn’t resist a maple-salted caramel with bacon topping. It was delicious! Probably way too much sugar.

I'm out of the lower deck getting ready for a test. The WiFi signal is decent here though not quite as good as in the living room. On this deck level is the unheated pool and the hot tub. I just turned up the temperature from 95°F to 102°F. It should be ready in a couple of hours.

Nice place for a Zoom call test session! It was too sunny and warm on the upper deck at least for the morning session.

Irving, TX

Saturday - Today we drove to Dallas as we fly out tomorrow morning to Virginia. We are actually headed to North Carolina but the closest airport was Norfolk, VA. The destination meant that the “best” flights were out of Dallas which was a six hour drive from Hondo. By “best” I mean direct, only one flight. If we left from San Antonio, we would’ve flown west then change planes before heading east. This was simpler. The picture is one of the really nice rest areas. This one is between Waco and Dallas. 

We will be trying out a new car rental option on this trip called Turo. Car rentals have gotten very expensive. We are renting a car from an individual rather than a company. When we were in Florida, Dave and Ginny rented their car through Turo and they have used the service multiple times. And they reported good experiences every time. 

The handy restaurant to the hotel was the Red Lobster. The standout dish, for me, was the crispy brussel sprouts. Fantastic dish. I need to figure out the recipe. 

Sunday - We are sitting in the airport with multiple weather delays. Almost two hours so far…

Thunderstorms came through in the early morning hours. At least it cooled off. Only 64°F this morning. 

Here is why the flight is delayed. This is our plane route from Austin to DFW. It needed to wait for an opening in Austin as well as the weather to clear in Dallas. This is cool website. It gives me something to do while cooling my heels in an airport.

If nothing else, the WiFi at the airport was really fast. But I still don’t care for flying…

We met some friends for dinner in Norfolk then drove to Duck, NC. This is crossing Currituck Sound on a bridge on our way to the beach house.

A Short Hike

Monday - Around 8:30am, before it got too hot, we went to the Broadway Rd trailhead. We walked a nice 2 mile loop. It’s been 3 1/2 weeks since Bridget’s surgery and she wanted to try out a short hike. It’s not the same as walking around the RV park as there are some up and downs. I believe all went well. 

When we returned, I noticed that the door to the wood shop was open. I went in and ran my piece of birch through the table saw and a couple passes on the router table to round the corners. Then a little trimming on the band saw and I was done. At least what I couldn’t do without the shop tools. I think I’ll wait for cooler temperatures before finishing up. 

Tuesday - A bit of excitement across the street. A broken water line from being run over by a motor home. 

It's 97°F this afternoon. I am putting off the slide work until we get some cooler weather. That side of the RV is in full sun during the morning so I would like a cooler afternoon.

I reversed the direction of the fan on my battery box. It was set up to blow air into the box but since the fan is mounted to the lid, I reversed the fan to pull hot air out of the box. It seems to be working better.

Another task was grinding down a small spot on the Blackstone griddle. I've been meaning to do it for almost a year and finally got around to it. After grinding down the high spot, I turned on the burner and re-seasoned the area by heating it to smoking-hot after adding oil. This was repeated several times. 

Wednesday - Another warm day today so I probably won't be doing much work on the slide this afternoon. Tomorrow, it's forecast to only be in the mid-80s. That sounds much better to me. Right now, I'm sitting outside enjoying my coffee and waiting for the morning test session to start. It's 76°F and feeling pretty nice.

At 1pm, they showed a movie in the activity center. An action movie that I had never heard of before. A Fast and Furious movie called Hobbs and Shaw. Not too bad, lots of chase scenes with cars, trucks, motorcycles, drones, and helicopters. 

Returning to the RV

Monday - We left West L.A. around 9am with very little traffic until we were ready to leave the basin. A lot of people escaped the crowds towards the desert and AZ. We stopped just west of Yuma and visited with friends, Tom and Lori, at their boondocking spot. It was a short visit but we haven't seen them in over 3 years. The last time was in Bakersfield. We arrived back at our RV around 8pm. Not too long of a trip but I was really tired so Bridget did most of the driving. I drove out of L.A. as that was really familiar. 

Tuesday - Time to unpack a bunch of stuff for the next few days. We will be leaving here on Sunday. When I first arrived on September 1st, four months in one place seemed like a really long time. But, with all of the projects and old/new friends, time has passed quickly. 

Wednesday - The nice weather didn't last long as it is raining and only 51°F right now. I just finished a test session this morning. 

Later - I had played around with the Magnum charging parameters again. Lowered the absorption voltage to 14.2V from 14.3V and the rebulk to 13.0V from 12.9V. So now it cycles between ~90% and 98% SOC and there are no longer long periods of 90amp charging. This is not suitable while being plugged in. It may work better if I had the Magnum battery monitor but not for an additional $170 or so. This would be another shunt installed on the negative cable with a run to the battery bank positive and negative posts for more accurate battery voltage. Right now, the voltage is measured within the inverter/charger so it is influenced by load. 

The good news for today is that the hot tub is working again. I guess it’s been broken for about a week. Fortunately, for me, it was the week we were gone.

Road Trip - Part 2

Thursday - The view from the hotel this morning. Not too bad. I expected a bit more snow on Mt San Jacinto as it’s about that time of the year. And the wind turbines are mostly still. A few of them are slowly turning so I guess that means not much wind right now. 

We went to a place called Tender Greens in Culver City that my cousin recommended. It was delicious. Arugula salad, garlic toast, grilled veggies, and a small grilled steak. Just the right amount for dinner. I picked up some groceries for Christmas dinner at David and Alexa’s home near here. Kind of my standard holiday meal. Sous vide turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce. Plus, I brought the stuff for Spam musubi. 

BTW, I just noticed that the iPhone lock screen shows my current location. Interesting to what it shows when I’m in Alaska…

Friday - A quiet, non-traveling day. We visited a bit with my cousin yesterday here in Culver City. Right now, we are at a dog park with Bridget’s son, David. We had lunch at a plant-based restaurant called Monty’s in Culver City. 

Later - We picked up my middle son, Kenji, in downtown L.A. i.e. right in the middle of the city. Why he chooses to live here is a mystery. We are taking him shopping to pick up essentials such as socks, shoes, etc. plus some kitchen items. Stuff that he probably wouldn’t purchase himself. We went to a Target and Ross for Less (clothing store) kind of near USC. We then went to a mall to look for shoes but he couldn’t find what he was looking for. 

Saturday - Today is being spent at Bridget’s sons home in Culver City. I’m cooking for tomorrow and they are playing board games… I’d rather be cooking. Turkey in the sous vide (24 hours cooking time), cranberry sauce made, and making jook (congee) from the turkey bones. Before vacuum sealing the turkey, I cut the meat from the bones. I’ve never made jook before. 

The jook turned out fantastic even without the ginger and spring onion garnish. I just used furikake and a little soy sauce.