RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY!

Our planned trip to South Padre Island got dumped on ALL DAY.  That river is in front of the motor home.

The wind blew and blew. We braved the weather and took my bike to a bike shop. It needed a tire, the brakes adjusted and new derailleurs But, the derailleurs, he told me, will be just as bad in two months carrying it like we do without a cover. A problem to chew over.

The jack rabbits did their best to stay warm by curling up as tight as possible. This one took refuge away from the wind by backing up to a tree.

This one hunkered down in the grass and made himself as round and tucked in as possible.

It was a good day for reading and listening to the weather beat around the motor home giving us some unwanted rock n’ roll. The weather report is telling us we’ll be getting more of the same. With 100 percent humidity, it becomes hard to sleep at night as the temperature warms.

Even so, I don’t think it is a good idea to deal with climate change by salting clouds to reflect sunlight and heat away. It seems to me the more we mess with nature, without a clear idea of what can go wrong, things often get worse down the line. (Cloud salting is a new idea to help mitigate warming climate change.)

Harlingen, Texas – Day 3

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical and personal business issues. She has made her airline reservations to join me here at Harlingen, Texas on January 3, 2013.

The motorhome is parked at Tropic Winds RV Resort and is scheduled to be here until January 10th. While I await Mary’s arrival on the 3rd, I’ll be seeing some local attractions, performing repairs and preventative maintenance on both the motorhome and Bronco, plus thoroughly cleaning both vehicles.

A couple of weeks ago the electric door lock on the passenger’s door of the Bronco decided to stop working. Normally when that happens it means one of the two solenoids has become defective or the electrical contacts are dirty/corroded. So that’s where I started yesterday…

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…

I cleaned the electrical contacts, the door actuator still made noise but did not function, so that meant the problem was inside of the door. So, in I went to find the problem. I could not see it behind the door’s metal partition, but by feeling by hand I found the pin had come out of the hole on the  connector. Re-inserting the pin into the connector solved the problem. Start to finish, the entire job took about two hours…

During the day I also took some photos of the local rabbits. You can read about these Black-tailed Jackrabbits by clicking this link…
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/rabbit/

Enjoying rabbits in nature is another joy of the RVing lifestyle!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Texas. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

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

Around The Campground And Down To The Beach…

After our arrival at Thousand Trails RV Resort in Pacific City, Oregon on Saturday, we wandered around the campground to acquaint Mary with the place. I’ve been here about three times previously. One of the unique features of this place is the presence of many black rabbits…

A nice-sized hot tub is here…

And a huge Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool…

Then down the hill, cross the road and the path to the beach…

The beach is wide smooth sand and very scenic. Vehicles are allowed to drive on the beach here…

Small fresh-water streams flowing to the ocean creates beautiful patterns in the sand…

Here’s an air photo of the Pacific City area…

You can read about the Pacific City area by clicking this link…
http://pacificcity.org/

This Google Earth view shows how close we are to the ocean. While the ocean may be about one-half mile from our camping site (the way the crow flies), its mighty roar can be still heard at out site…

This area is among the remotest to be found on the Oregon coast. The air is fresh and clean in addition to the peace and quiet. All in all, a delightful place to stay for a few days.

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

ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFFS ARCHIVE ASSOCIATION

Since my gypsy lifestyle developed, I have been unable to properly serve as President of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Archive Association, a project that I care deeply about. Bill Rhodes was elected to replace me and what a breath of fresh air. Enthusiasm, a no non-sense, get-the-job-done, attitude. I was amazed at the wonderful changes in the facility he has accomplished in a few short months.

Bill, right with Al Iannarelli, discussing a project with Gary Lindsay and Rich Barlow.

Gary is our Media expert. Ianarelli, the author of three books, is invaluable for organizing career books. Bud Harlow, (not pictured) has undertaken to have our Old Santa Rita Jail Doors sandblasted and refurbished.
Rich was interested in knowing if the Archive contains any copies of  The Rap Sheet, a newsletter published by the Deputy Sheriff’s Association during the 1970’s. We have none that I’m aware of. So, another plea. If anyone knows where copies of The Rap Sheet are hiding, please consider donating them to the Archive.
We had an interesting story surface. A retired deputy with a bunch of interesting old clippings and artifacts from his career stored in his garage had a fire. He immediately realized how endangered those materials were and brought them to the archive. Another danger was cited by my cousin/friend Richard Cardoza.
A neighbor of his who built the Bay Bridge had photos, and memorabilia by the box full that was tossed out by his kids when he died. And pictures his Highway Patrolman neighbor accumulated over a lifetime, huge black and white photos of his early career in Contra Costa County, were likewise tossed. DON’T DO IT. Find a museum and donate before tossing. They are history.
Over the past years, when I attended archive meetings, I  stayed overnight with my cousin, Terri Cardoza from Danville.

She and Richard kindly provided me Bed and Breakfast and made my service to the archive possible. She feeds me and the neighbors rabbit, and a half dozen feral cats she has had fixed, plus four of her own. I am grateful for HER service, and donations to the Archive.

I will still attend meetings when I’m in town, and I intend to continue to do interviews for the archive.