#4 & Counting

Took Greycie out to Lake Casitas again last weekend.  We ended up in the same site.  Things went a bit smoother this time too.  The dogs are getting used to the ramp into and out of the 5er.  They also are getting more settled into riding in the truck.
The Countess wants to name the truck the BAT, (Big Ass Truck).  What ever.
Friday we got there around 3:30 and were set up by 4:30 ready for a drink.  Roy and Jeannie and Greyhound Justin  stopped by just as we were getting ready to sit down.  We had a nice visit and they were impressed with Greycie.  After they left we took the dogs out for a walk.  Hooked up the cable and went through a little learning exercise as we are getting acquainted with the video features.  Wish the users manual was a bit more specific to the unit.  Just too general and have to do a lot of OJT.  But I guess that is the best way to learn sometimes.
Saturday was pretty relaxed.  Started the furnace up, it was chilly.  Had breakfast; bacon, eggs and hash browns. Cleaned up, walked the dogs and it warmed up fast.  Did some maintenance outside before it got too hot.  Checked the tire pressure and a couple other little things.  We had a lite lunch and Son Justin stopped by.  He left around 2 and we went for a little ride around Ojai enjoyed the rest of the day.  Walked the dogs again and started dinner.  We forgot to pack the meat so it was baked potato and salad.  Played Farkle for a bit and went to bed.
Sunday morning was a bit warmer since I set the furnace to work all night.  Had some breakfast and walked the dogs.  About 10:30 and its time to load out.  The Countess packed and cleaned the inside and I took down the x-pen and got the outside packed away.  We were out by 11:40.  Not bad as we continue to get more comfortable with the process.  We were 3rd in line to dump so we left the park around 12:30.  Now the tanks are empty, clean (I think) and ready for storage for at least a month.
The Countess is having foot surgery this Thursday so we won't be going anywhere for a while.  Now we have to concentrate on getting the house purged and ready for sale in 5 month.  Good luck.

3rd Time Out

We took Greycie out last weekend for the third time.  This time we went to Lake Casitas Recreation Area just outside of Ojai.  The trip was only 31 miles from Camarillo Storage.  The process is a bit labor intensive because of having to load in all the supplies and clothes, pets and pet supplies.  But each time it should get easier as we leave things in Greycie.

We arrived around 5:00 pm on Friday and got set up.  The site has only power and water, no sewer hook up, so once we got backed in and the dogs out of the truck in into Greycie things went pretty easily.  Got the x-pen set up and took the hounds out for a walk and relaxed for the evening.
Saturday was a nice relaxed day.  It was much cooler in the morning than we were expecting so I was a bit chilly.  Note: Bring a jacket or sweatshirt always.
The site was quiet and comfortable even though we were close to the road.  Not too much traffic.  Chuck and Kathy Eckberg stopped by for a nice visit.  Lunch and dinner were a bit off since we forgot a lot of the main ingredients we had planned on using.  We survived.
On Sunday, Jacob and Sonia stopped by to see Greycie.  We had a nice visit as well.  Started to load out around 10:30 and left the spot at 11:45.  Drove back to storage and backed her in her spot for another couple weeks.  Of course we forgot to get everything out and loaded into the truck so I had to go back today and get that stuff.  Things are just a bit scattered when we get in a hurry.  We're learning.  But another good trip and we have reservations to go back there on the 13th.
Running total miles is up to 1550.

Second Outing

Second Outing

We took Greycie and the hounds for an outing this last weekend.  The Countess took 1/2 day off on Friday and we packed up the pack and headed up the 101 to Oceano, to the Coastal Dunes RV Park.  This is part of the SLO County Parks system.  And it was right next to the railroad tracks.  Only had a couple trains each day so it wasn't too bad.

Left the storage place in Camarillo at around 3:00 pm.  Got to the park around 6:15, 125 miles. Not a bad drive for a Friday.

Setting up Greycie and getting loaded in with the dogs for the first time was a bit of a challenge.  Had to help Vid and Doog up the ramp a couple times to get them used to getting in and out.  Molly went in and out with no problems.  She used the stairs.  She don't need no stinking ramp.  After I lowered the ramp to the first step, it was much easier for all and they were in and out with no problems.  So we set up the rest of the living space and had dinner.

Had to get up at 1:30 am to take the hounds out to pee since that is their normal routine, but we don't have a dogie door, so I had to leash them up and walk them out and about.

Saturday we had breakfast, took a walk and headed up to Costco in SLO.  Needed to get a second dog bed.  So we drove around and saw some of the sights in Pismo and Avila Beach.

Came back to Greycie and got set up for dinner.  Took another walk, the Countess is still having issues with her achilles surgery.  We set up the x-pen for the dogs and that worked out pretty well.  They are able to go out without a leash so I can let them out at night without having to get shoes on myself.  A bit more convenient, but still need to work on changing their schedule.  Still had to get up at around 2 am to let them out.

Sunday was fairly relaxed in the morning, until about 9.  Then it was time to get Greycie ready and get on the road by 11.  The Countess did a wonderful job getting the inside ready for travel, and I worked on the outside.  Folded up and loaded up the x-pen and chairs.  Then did the black/gray tank dumps, cleaned up the lines and put everything away.  When we got Greycie lowered down on to the wheels, the left front tire was down to 28 psi.  Luckily for us there was another camper with a compressor and we were able to fill up with about 80 psi and be on our way.  The tire held up fine for the trip home but I will have to get it fixed before our next adventure.  Don't want to fool around with tires.  Ordered a compressor to keep with us from now on.  Will need to get tools to change a tire as well.

Second trip - 250 miles on Greycie for a running total of about 1470 miles.  The truck averaged 11.5 mpg and handled the hills and road just fine.

We have Greycie!

We now are the proud owners of the 5th wheel known as Greycie the Greyt.

I picked her up on August 29th.  My first experience pulling something that big was to jump on the 405 in Fountain Valley, head north to the 101, then west to Camarillo where I had to back in to a 12' wide spot next to a $150,000 motorhome. That was not as harrowing as expected. 88 miles, 2 hours.  

Next adventure began 2 days later. On Thursday August 31st we picked Greycie up and brought her to the house.  After some ingenious maneuvering we were able to park her in front of the house.  I had to trim the neighbors tree in order to get it close to the curb.  That was quite a sight.  So we loaded her up and went to bed. Getting up at 3 am, we set out for Tucson. We made our first gas stop at a Chevron on Tom Wells road about 3 miles inside the Arizona/California border.  I had about 20 miles range left in the tank.  We arrived in Tucson to stay at the Far Horizons RV Park with Don and Melanie.  I impressed everyone with my ability to back Greycie into the spot.  566 Miles, 10 hours 40 minutes. 

Now we began to open things up and get her plugged in for the first time.  After some insecure moments on our part, she came to life.  All the lights, ac units, water and slide outs worked. Tucson temperature - 104.  Nice to have 3 working ac units now. Visited with all the usual suspects + Bob and Mary in Tombstone.  After 4 days of 100+ temps it is time to get back to 75 deg Oxnard.

Left Tucson around 8 am on Sept 5th and got back to the storage facility at 8:30 pm.  Had a 1/2 hour side trip into Simi Valley for gas since it seemed to take a bit more on the trip back.  Note to self - Don't let the gas get below 3/4 for any reason.  Stories about pulling a rig through a gas station are all true.  Not a fun thing to do unless you are into reality horror.  But we did it and got Greycie backed in to her spot and out the gate at 9:10 heading for home.Total trip was 1367 miles, 28 hours 34 minutes, 11.2 MPG and 48 MPH average.  On to bigger and better adventures!!

No more catching up. Look out ahead.

So much for catching up and moving along slowly towards the future.
Last Sunday we purchased our retirement home on wheels.  This is a 2016 Vilano 365RL by Vanleigh, a division of Tiffen.  We decided to go to a RV show to pass the time.  We told each other before we left that we were just going to look at the unit we planned on buying.  Well, that didn't work out, as soon as we saw this model.  The Countess fell in love.  So today is Tuesday and I have installed a hitch in the truck, found a storage spot and ordered a lot of stuff from Amazon for our trip to Arizona in 10 days.  We are waiting on the dealer to get the unit prepared for our inspection and the turnover.  Soon I hope. The path ahead is pretty set now so everything we do will be to achieve that goal. The future looks pretty bright. Better get some shades.

Had the big solar eclipse yesterday.  The media makes such a big deal over nothing.  Sure it's a once in 99 year event but you would think it was a life changing happening.  The moon passed in front of the sun so the US could see it.  Big whoop.  It always passes in front of the sun and casts its' shadow somewhere every day.  We just don't see it.  The event cost people thousands of dollars as they traveled to the perfect spot to see the total eclipse.  So much money spent for 2 minutes of dim light.  People are such idiots sometimes when the media revs them up.  Oh well, not my problem.  I got to see it from the back yard using a welding helmet.  Didn't cost me a thing.  It was cool to see and worth every penny I spent.

Time to catch up and start rolling again

Well, it's been a while since the last entry, about 6 years.  Just like everyone else, there have been some changes in our life.  Yesterday was our 42nd anniversary.  We celebrated by using a gift card to go out to the Olive Garden for dinner.  A disappointing meal, but we really didn't have any great expectations.
A big change in our daily life is that I have retired.  The Countess is still working full time.  I watch her leave each day and wait patiently for the day when she too can say "I am retired".  We are constantly talking and planning the future as we slowly move toward that day.
My new passion is home brewing.  Started about 3 years ago and have over 60 batches brewed.  The last two weeks have been busy getting brews ready for several events next month.  Right now I have 15 gallons in different stages of fermentation and three kegs in the fridge in different stages of empty.  It has been a lot of fun and very interesting.  The science, chemistry, math and end results are all appealing to me.  The Countess has even liked some of the beers.
We lost our little Murphy a few years ago but we have two greyhounds now that you can't help but love.  Molly is still the boss.  They pretty much look to her for everything, how to act, when to bark, pretty much everything.  This makes it a bit difficult to keep them in line sometimes because she has taught them some bad habits.
The boys are pretty much all on their own.  JM and JD are married, JF is doing his own thing up in WA.  JP is here, having trouble getting on his own after graduating with a physics degree from Chico last year.
It's late and I am tired so that's enough for today.  Will continue the update later.  Hopefully it won't be another 6 years till the next post.