I Take Mary To The Train…

The bad news is…Mary has left me once again.

It is all part of our original agreement from when we met back in 2008. That…about three times a year…she would have to go back home for various reasons. This time it’s to tend to her taxes and other miscellaneous business.

She’s grown tired of the hassle of flying…so this time she decided to take the Amtrak train. From Deming, New Mexico to Los Angeles, CA…then the Amtrak bus to Bakersfield, CA…then back on to the train to Stockton, CA…where her youngest son will meet her with her car. The entire train experience will be just under 24 hours. Then she’ll drive from Stockton up the hill about an hour to her home.

The train was scheduled to arrive at 6:11 PM. But since Amtrak doesn’t have to compete with other trains…promptness is not a key issue. The train arrived at 7:05 PM. It’s a big train and only passes west-bound through Deming once a day…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

By time others got off and she got on…it was 7:11 PM by time she departed…

Into the golden Western sunset..

And then she was gone…

It was about a 30 minute drive back to Rockhound State Park where the night lights of Deming can be seen through the windshield of our motorhome…

It’s always very noticeable when Mary first departs. It’s very quiet and there’s no laughter. I’ve mentioned many times about how much laughter we share in our relationship. it’s not all bad because absence makes the heart grow fonder….etc…..

I’m hoping to get her back within about six weeks…the end of April at the latest. In the mean while I’ll continue traveling solo until she returns.

The good news is she always returns.

In other news…

Originally I had planned to move along today. However the long-range weather forecast for the area for the next week has very strong winds slated for this coming Saturday through Tuesday…not a good time to be on the road with a high-profile motorhome. So I’ve decided…since I’m very comfortable in this very scenic location…plus I have some friends nearby…to wait out the very windy conditions. If all goes as forecasted…I’ll likely start moving on once again next Wednesday. One week from today. .

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Mary Abhors Waste…

My sweet Mary is many things. One of the things she is…is a true environmentalist and she really hates to waste anything. Essentially not wanting to discard an item until it is totally used up.

I on the other hand…being an ex-engineer which means I’m logical…believe when something is nearing the end of its life…you replace it when it’s practical and convenient. For instance…I would much rather replace a coming-to-its-end-of-life item in the convenience of Mary’s yard instead of waiting for it to die when out on the open road with the RV.

So it was the case with the matter of replacing the TV in our motorhome. Even though our motorhome is a 2006…the TV was manufactured in 2004 which makes it seven years old. It’s showing signs of giving up the ghost with about a six-inch round spot of incorrect colors. My sweet Mary was resistant to the change indicating…”But it still works.”

Since our current plans have it structured that once I leave with the motorhome shortly after Thanksgiving…it…the motorhome is not expected to return to Mary’s yard once again until October, 2013. In other words…it will be out in the world for the next two years. Confident that if not changed now…the TV would quit within the next two years…out on the open road. Because changing TV’s will require some degree of modification to the TV’s holding cabinet…and since Mary’s youngest son just happens to be a carpenter…I indicated that it makes sense to change it now rather than out on the open road.

I finally won her over with the comment…”Do you drive on your cars tires until they blow-out before replacing them?” With that behind us…she finally agreed to the change while the motorhome is here. In addition…we’ve got a delightful six-channel surround-sound audio system and the current TV has that crummy picture. True we do not watch a lot of TV…but when we do…why not have a good picture and sound?

So…in my true ex-engineer way…I got on the Internet and spent several days researching new TV’s. I finally found the right one. An LG Led-Lcd 26″ flat panel set. We bought it at Best Buy in Stockton, California….about 60 miles from Mary’s home. Since her youngest son…the carpenter…lives only a couple of miles from Best Buy…he picked it up for us and delivered it to Mary’s home yesterday. Here’s a photo of the box…

Mary’s son…the carpenter…has obligations for the next few days and will return next Monday to help us with the install.

In other news…

I continue working on the motorhome. Up on the roof for the last time yesterday…I applied a covering of Protect-All to all the plastic items on the roof. It protects these items for the sun’s UV rays which in time causes them to disintegrate. Protect-all slows the process.

Also I received this strange-looking device in the mail…

“What’s that?”…you ask. Why it’s an RV Refrigerator Cooling Fan.

RV Refrigerators are not the normal refrigerators with which you might be familiar. They sometime struggle to maintain the recommended 33-40 degree temperature. Usually two things cause this struggle. First is when the outside temperature gets over 80 degrees and secondly when too full. Unfortunately…my Sweet Mary has a tendency to put ten pounds of stuff into a five-pound package. Remember thou shall not waste? Wouldn’t want to waste any of that storage space! 

When an RV refrigerator is too full…the air cannot circulate and here comes the struggle. This silent fan rests directly upon the cooling fins in our refrigerator which is supposed to help circulate the air in the RV refrigerator and hence help maintain the recommended temperatures. At least that’s the theory. For a measly $15…it’s worth the effort to install it to see if it will work. Here’s a photo of it in the refrigerator…

Hooked to the hot wire of the refrigerator light…it draws very little power and runs even when the door is closed. Will it help? Only time will tell.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Rest Stop…Hmmm…Maybe Not

As you can most likely tell…I had a little problem coming up with a title for today’s Blog entry.

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 65 miles from Stockton to Mary’s home in Murphys, California. Mary met up with her youngest son who lives in Stockton and retrieved her Prius from him to drive home.  He uses the vehicle rather than let it sit while Mary is on the road with me.

I’ll be here at Mary’s home until just after Thanksgiving. By then it starts to turn cold and the snow cannot be far behind…so it’s time for me to get out of Dodge. Mary will remain home for the holidays and fly to meet me once again in early January…most likely somewhere in Arizona.

So while stopping here for the next several weeks seems like a rest stop from being continuously on the road…it will not be. I always manage to stay plenty busy while here. My primary role will be to do a thorough cleaning job…both inside and out of both the motorhome and Bronco. The motorhome has not been washed since last April…and it’s ready! The Bronco is just as ready.

The road of life is a dusty and dirty one!

In other news…

Back on September 15th I wrote a Blog Entry about Palmyra Island aka Palmyra Atoll…a tiny speck of land in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean. An unlikely Blog entry for a full-time RVer. In case you missed it…here’s the link…otrwjam.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/the-curse-of-palmyra-island/

Waiting for me was the 895, 6×9, page book written by Wesley Walker…the man convicted of the murders.

I got 62 pages into it yesterday and it makes for interesting reading…that is his side of the story. I’ll write another Blog entry about this subject once I complete the reading of the book. Meanwhile…I’ve got to get busy…cleaning. Later!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

California Wine Country…

Yesterday we traveled the about 135 miles from Cloverdale to Stockton, California. Along the way…we wandered through the heart of California Wine Country…transiting Calistoga and Napa. We saw miles and miles of grape vines.

Here are some photos…which if you click on you will get to see in an enlarged view…

Usually every day we work to bring you neat photos to enjoy. Sometimes they require a real effort to obtain. For instance…here’s Mary getting one for her Blog…

We arrived at American Legion Post #16 in Stockton where we were to spend the night.

Upon arrival we were met by Rick Caccam…Second Vice-Commander. Rick proved to be a very friendly and amiable fellow. He opened the bar just for us and we enjoyed a very pleasant 1.5 hours chatting with him. All the cars in the parking lot were for a family gathering in a rented hall.

In addition to once being in the U.S. Air Force…he’s a retired law enforcement officer.  He has also been involved in his local Drum and Bugle Corps for 32 years and travels all over the United States participating in Drum and Bugle competitions. He also serves as the Honor Guard Bugler for American Legion Post #16 in Stockton. With a little encouragement…just like Charles Kurault used to do…we got him to give us a little demonstration with his small emergency “Pocket Trumpet” which he keeps in his truck for emergencies such as this.

Here’s a short video of Rick doing his thing…

If the video does not work…click this link…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R59Bgjm_Gw

Here’s a link to Rick’s musical enrichment group…

http://someinc.com/

Finally…here is a never-before-seen happening. I seldom drink beer anymore…but when I do it’s usually Miller Lite…which Mary affectionately calls horse-piss. Mary really enjoys crafts beers…the darker the better. Well…yesterday…in the bar with Rick…the darkest beer that they had in the house was regular draft  Budweiser…which in my three years of knowing Mary…I have never seen her drink. Well…I caught the event on camera and here it is…Mary drinking horse-piss! A memorable moment…

So yesterday was our last full day on the road for the summer season. Today we’ll retreat to Mary’s home about 65 miles from here and for the next few weeks the motorhome and Bronco will get a thorough cleaning in preparation more travels on the road again!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust