Reagan Library

On Monday we drove out to the Reagan library in Simi Valley.  I had heard great things about it and we do like visiting presidential libraries.  This would be my fifth of the thirteen.  The library is on a hill and has spectacular views of the valley.  You can tell that Reagan had some very wealthy friends who donated money for this property and the building.

Here is the view from the building where Air Force One is displayed.

And here is the view from the courtyard where he is buried.

The technology used in this facility was great.  We purchased the audio guide to go along with our admission.  What they give you is a modified IPod that has a non-flash camera built into it.  You go along to the various exhibits and press the button on the screen for the exhibit and listen to the narrative (usually it is Reagan himself).  Then if you want to take any pictures along the way you use the device and at the end they email them to you.  The two pictures above were taken by Fran on the device.  This is one the coolest features I have seen in visiting many museums over the years.  It does cost and extra $7 but it was worth it to enhance the tour.

What I did find interesting at this library was the lack of any real “meat” to the exhibits.  It seems to be more of a glossy biography of Reagan.  As an example, at the Nixon library they have a detailed exhibit on Watergate even showing you the machine where the gap in the tape was made.  At the Reagan library I cannot recall an exhibit or any mention of the Iran-Contra mess. 

A really amazing exhibit is a scaled replica of the White House with one side cut away so you can see inside.  It is fully furnished and accurate.

The picture cannot capture how large this display is.  It has to be 30 feet long or more.

Hollywood and Wine

Like that!  I thought it was a good title for this post since we are in Southern California.

Come to find out Fran had never been to the observatory at Griffith Park.  Go figure as she grew up in Southern California.  So we went on Friday.  It had rained all night so it was a cool day and very clear air so you could see a long way.  While there we had someone take our picture with the Hollywood sign in the background.’

Here is the observatory.

The views of Los Angeles were spectacular.

There are miles of hiking trails throughout the park that we would have liked to explore but with all the rain lately they were a little soggy.  We will save that for another time.

That takes care of the Hollywood part.  Now for the wine part.  This is for our friends from the wine group we belonged to in Naperville.  With a mobile lifestyle and smaller living quarters we have not sacrificed drinking and storing wine.  I created a “wine cellar” in our fifth wheel.  Under the corner portion of the sofa was a very nice storage area that so happens to be the right size for wine storage (around 3 to 4 cases).  Here you can see what I created.

Being under the sofa and on the floor it stays cool and is protected when we are moving.   As a side note, on Friday we went to a local Trader Joe’s and verified that Charles Shaw wine is truly “Two Buck Chuck” in California.  It sells here for $1.99 a bottle.  In Illinois it is $2.99.

Southern California Wimps

So I am watching the local news tonight and they are reporting on the aftermath of the storm that passed through this area the last couple of days.  It dropped a significant amount of rain in Southern California but in the local mountains and over the grapevine (Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles) it dropped a fair amount of snow.  On the news they are showing homeowners shoveling what amounts to a few inches of snow and complaining how it is so horrible.  My gosh, the temperature is going to be in the teens.  LIfe is horrible, we must flee!  Wimps, I say.  What I saw was a “dusting of snow”.  I realize this is an unusual event for people in Southern California, but please, put it in perspective and GET OVER IT!

OK, moving on.  We took the trailer to the nearest Jayco dealer, which was in Riverside.  They were very helpful and immediately worked on our rig.  They found no leak (no surprise) so they replaced the propane detector and fixed a closet latch that had broken.  Very pleased with the response. We parked the rig in a Wal-Mart parking lot while we went to lunch with Fran’s brother and I noticed that the there were a couple of tears on the roof.  Very small, but bothersome.  The RV park we are staying at has numerous trees overhanging the roadway and I guess a limb must of scraped the roof.  So after lunch we went back to the dealer and got some repair patches.  IT IS ALWAYS SOMETHING!

Put the patches on the roof and figure when we leave I will have Fran walk besides the trailer as I drive down roadways to exit the park to make sure I can clear the trees.  As Fran said, it is the same as when you get a new car and you get that first ding in the door.  It pisses you off.

One Month

We are coming up on our one month date of Life on the Road.  We are still in Southern California and probably will be here for another couple of weeks.  So far it has been typical Southern California weather, sunny and pleasant.  However, as I write this post it is raining with heavier rain expected on Sunday.

As it has been one month I thought I would give you a map showing our route to date.

Total mileage driven since starting is around 3700 miles.  Average price of gas, around $3.80 per gallon.  How much gas (diesel) used – A LOT!

An update from a previous post.  I had discussed what to do when we have to have a repair done to our rig and that I was not able to get into a shop while in Texas.  Well, there has been another nagging issue since we started and it involves the propane/carbon monoxide detector.  The propane alarm goes off once in awhile and it makes no sense why it is going off.  When the alarm goes off I vent the trailer, check the propane, and reset the detector.  The alarm will not go off for a week.  It will go off with the door open and the ceiling fan going.  If there was a propane leak I would think the alarm would go off when the trailer is closed up and would keep going off.  After buying the trailer the first alarm was left in the unit while they applied fabric protector and this caused the alarm to become defective, so they gave us a new one.  I am thinking that the fumes from that protector may still be causing an issue with this new alarm, but you have to play it safe and have the trailer checked for a propane leak.  This time I called my selling dealer and asked them about the issue and to help me get it resolved.  As we are in California and they are in Joliet, IL they said they would call the local Jayco dealer in Riverside, California to arrange something.  Thirty minutes later the owner of the local dealer calls me and I have an appointment to bring the rig in next week.

California!!!!

Due to a family medical issue (my mother) we decided to drive all day to get to Southern California.  This meant driving over 700 miles in one day.  Probably not a bad idea anyway as there is really not much going through New Mexico and Arizona (sorry to those who like those states).  We made it into Pomona, CA around 7pm.  We plan on staying here a couple of weeks or more.

On the way we used up a lot gas. Most of the stops we were able to get diesel for just under $4.00 per gallon but we did get HOSED at one station and paid $4.50 per gallon. 

I did want to mention two food spots while in California that are a must.  The first is actually for a drink, Hadley’s Orchard Stand in Cabazon, CA.  It is on the same exit off of Interstate 10 where the Indian Casino is.  Here is there website http://www.hadleyfruitorchards.com/.  YOU HAVE TO TRY THEIR DATE SHAKE!  You will thank me.  I found this place many, many, many years ago and remembered it but did not find it again until a couple of years ago when we were driving through.  It is worth the stop to get the date shake or the banana-date shake.  In addition their store is pretty neat.

The other place is In and Out Burgers.  They are in California and Arizona.  Order a double double with grilled onions, fries and a drink (their shakes are great) and you will thank me, but your arteries will not!

Oh yes, we did!

This post is for all those people, and you know who you are (Mark, Marty, Bob, Gregg and Kim) who kidded us about camping at Wal-Mart.  We drove from Texas until it got around dinnertime which put us in Las Cruces, NM.  As we needed to do some grocery shopping we thought we would just shop at Wal-Mart and then camp in their parking lot.  We did our shopping and asked the manager if we could camp and were told no problem, just park off to the side of the garden center.  We drove over to that side of the parking lot and there were already 4 other RV’s there and a formal greeter!  The Wal-Mart security patrol greeted us telling us where to park, where the good restaurants were and how to get into the store as it is open 24 hours.  Great service for no fee.  We cooked a pizza, drank some beer and went to bed and slept well.  We will probably use this option when doing a long drive.  Here was our view at night.

And here is our rig in the parking lot.

The big news of the day was that Fran took the wheel for a few hours of driving.  The lady can drive the big rig!

Although lets be honest she does look small in the drivers seat.

Texas BBQ

So while we have been in Texas we have tried two BBQ restaurants.  The first was in the Houston area, Rudy’s.  It was recommended by my niece.  The meat was good but I was not impressed with the sides.  I had the beef brisket and sausage and it was very good BBQ.

On our way out of Houston we stopped for lunch in Elgin, TX at a place called Myer’s.  It is a family owned restaurant that is supposed to be known for their pork sausage.  So, I had the pork sausage plate and it was great.  Fran had the pulled pork sandwich and said it was very good.  After leaving we discovered that there were three listings in our Road Food book for the town and Myer’s was not one of them.  It is our plan to try these road food places and are disappointed we missed out on the listings for this town.  Oh well, there is always another town and another diner!

Moving on

Our plan was to stay in Houston until today, Monday, March 14th, but my niece and her family came up with another plan.  They have a trailer of their own and suggested us going out of town for Sunday night with both of our trailers.  The plan was to go to a state park about 60 miles of where they live in Houston, however the campgrounds were full as it is spring break here in Houston for the schools.  My niece quickly regrouped and called a ranch where she had stayed for a retreat she attended.  She remembered that they had some RV sites and they agreed to allow us  to come for the night.  What a great place!  It is the Eberly Ranch in Chapell, TX.   They had a total of 5 sites for RV’s of which they have placed two trailers they rent out.  Nobody else was there so we had it all to ourselves.  The owner of the ranch was a great host.  He gave us full access to everything then took us on a hay ride tour of the property which includes a wide variety of animals.  We had a great time.  Here are some pictures from our stay.

Two really scary animals!

We had a great time on the ranch and spending time with family.  Today we left around lunch time and have begun the drive to Southern California.  We have decided to drive directly to Southern California over the next 3 to 4 days.  Tonight we have stopped in a very nice campground in Boerne, TX.  It is about an hour outside San Antonio.  We stopped because of a sign we saw on the interstate and were very pleased with what we got.  The campground is called Top of the Hill RV Resort.  It is on the top of a hill.  The views are great and the campground is immaculate.  Beautiful, long, level sites with plenty of room and the entire park is well maintained.  This is a place we will definitely stop at again if we are in the area.

Houston Culture

This week, while still in Houston, we decided to get some local culture.  On Monday we went with my niece and her family to the Houston Rodeo and Livestock show.  I think it is supposed to be the largest such event in the US.  It takes over the whole astrodome, reliant center complex.  It is like a huge state fair that includes a rodeo.  We will be seeing the rodeo on Saturday when we go back for a concert.  Monday we just walked around looking at everything and eating all the food.

On Wednesday Fran and I went to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.  It is nice to go to large city, downtown, and find free parking on the street.  Our truck was not going to fit in any parking garage.  What a nice museum.  Two exhibits really stood out, Carlos Cruz-Diez exhibit and a piece by Cai Guo-Qiang.  Cruz-Diez does interesting things with color, light and shapes that are fascinating.  My only complaint was that I think the exhibit was to large.  Personally I was overwhelmed looking at that many pieces.  Cai Guo-Qiang produced a piece using gunpowder.  It is amazing to watch how it was done then to walk into the room and view the piece which covers all four walls.  Google both of their names or go to the museum’s website and look up their names to view the work.

I fixed both plumbing issues.  In the kitchen I took out the water filter under the sink an put the patch line back in and no drips.  I put a new filter outside the trailer on the water line.  In the bathroom I replaced the faucet with a new single lever model and no leaks. 

I previously mentioned the park we are staying in is nothing special but it is close to my niece and yet still kind of rural.  We found the downside to this park during the week.  Most of the people staying here live in their trailers and so they go to work during the day.  This means they start leaving around 6 am in their big pickup trucks.  We had such a person move into the spot next to ours and the spaces are close. 

It’s always something…..

I remember this being a constant saying of home ownership.  I was always fixing something so I would just say, “you know, it’s always something when owning a house”.  Well, living in a trailer has not changed this.  Since being out now for a couple of weeks we have some minor issues that needed to be resolved or are still nagging us.  Fortunately (I think) we have a 2 year warranty, plus an extended warranty, on the trailer so it all should be fixed for free, however since it is our permanent residence there are some logistics involved if you have to bring it in for repair. 

I fixed the satellite issue by getting a new dish and professional meter to locate the satellite.  They both worked great and I found the satellite within a couple of minutes and had everything working fine.  The main nagging problem we have had is a slow drip from the bathroom faucet under the sink.  I have tried various things to try and fix it but to no avail.  It is very slow but still an issue.  I finally decided I would have the dealer look at it as we left Houston.  I called the dealer and was told they were booked up until mid-April.  So what to do.  I figured we would just find another dealer on the way and stop in and see if they can take a quick look, but first I am going to try one more resolution (this one costs money).  We went to the local Camping World to buy a few items so I was thinking I would just buy a replacement faucet and see if that solved the problem.  Well, if we are going to replace the faucet why not upgrade!  So we bought the single lever model.  Hopefully it will not be to difficult to install and it will solve the problem.  I will let you know after I install it.

I then discovered that the inline water filter under the kitchen sink had begun a slow drip again.  I had this issue when I first put it in put thought I had solved it.  Guess not.  Now this filter was put in the most absurd place for something that needs to be gotten to every so often.  It is under the sink, in the back and you can barely fit your arms into the cabinet opening.  I decided to solve this issue by removing the filter and put the patch hose that is provided in its place and then install a filter on the hose coming into the trailer.  That way it is easily replaced and if it drips it is outside on the ground.

Hopefully I resolve these two nagging issues and do not have to bring the trailer into the dealer.

When in Texas --- Shoot a gun!

Of course, if in Texas what should do to get the local flavor, go shoot a gun.  We were visiting with my niece and her family and her husband, Kevin, mentioned, for something to do, that there was a gun range nearby and they had a skeet range.  He had the shotgun and the shells so it sounded good to me.  It has been many years since I shot skeet and a shotgun. This was quite different than what I had done in the past as you shoot at six different positions relative to the “birds” flying across.  I am used to just having the “birds” being shot downfield.  You have to react very quickly on this course.  My best was 10 out of 25, but at least I did hit some!  It was a blast and our truck fit right in with the others in the parking lot!!!

We had a great time visiting with them and finally getting to see their 1 year old twins.  What a handful!

Here is a picture of them from Kevin’s Facebook photos

Houston

First let me say the weather is great.  Since leaving Memphis the weather has been sunny blue skies every day, temperatures close to 70 during the day.  We have finally got rid of the snow, ice and cold.  Sorry to our friends in Naperville, this is heaven!

Our house closed today so we are officially without a permanent residence.  Our house is now where we are, right now, right here!  Today that happens to be Houston, TX (actually, Tomball, TX).  We left Texarkana this morning and drove for about 6 hours to Tomball which is just outside Houston.  The campground is nothing special but it is near the people we are visiting and it is inexpensive.  It will do for the time we are here.

While in Texarkana we did drive around the town one day to see what it was all about.  Interesting tidbit - the city is built on the state line so there is a Texarkana, TX and a Texarkana, AR.  The main north-south street is State Line Blvd.  On one side is Arkansas and Texas on the other.  Texarkana, TX is dry while Texarkana, AR is not, so all the liquor stores are on the east side of the street.  The U.S. Post Office is the center point of the street and straddles both states.

We checked our Road Food book and they listed Bryce’s Cafeteria as the place to go, so we went.  It was a nice place, cafeteria style but overall we were not overwhelmed by the food, but I have to admit  the chocolate pecan pie was mighty good!

While setting up our rig in Tomball a couple from across the way came over as they noticed our South Dakota license plates.  Small world, they originally came from Joliet, IL (near Naperville) and they have been full timers for 6 years using South Dakota as their mailing address.  This is probably one of the nicest parts of traveling around is the people you meet in the places you stop.  Over the years we have met so many nice people and it is so interesting to hear their stories or where they have been and where they are going.

We are here in Houston for the next 10 days or so then will work our way up to El Paso. 

Texarkana, TX

We have moved from West Memphis to Texarkana, TX for a couple of days before going on to Houston.  Texarkana is about halfway between the two cities, so it was a logical stop.  We found a great little campground outside of town, Shady Pines RV park. The park is very nice.  Each site has a level concrete pad with grass all around.  There are only about 40 spaces in the place so it is not crowed.  All for only $27 a night.  The only issue was I was not able to get a satellite signal on set up.  I usually get the satellite set up in about 15 minutes but not this time.  I will have to further work the problem to see what is wrong.  I have ordered a professional meter to aid in set up and should have that next week when we get to Houston.

We did have one RV issue while in West Memphis.  At 2:30am one morning Fran wakes me up to say she hears a clicking sound and the TV keeps going on and off.  I get up and see that we do not have AC power.  I go outside to check the connection and the surge protector I have put on our AC hookup is cycling on and off signaling some kind of problem.  As it is 2:30 in the morning I do not want to deal with it then.  I unplug the surge protector and plug the RV directly into the outlet box and everything works fine.  In the morning I check everything and all our working fine including the surge protector.  Not sure what the issue was but of course it does have to happen at 2:30 in the morning!

On our last night in West Memphis we did have a pretty powerful storm move through.  It was very windy all afternoon and night with drenching rain all night.  I was concerned about the awnings over the slides as they were flapping pretty good.  In the morning I checked and everything made it through great.  I did learn that after a rain you must check the slide awnings for water before retracting the slides!  Lesson learned.