Month: August 2017

Ever wonder how I come up with such fantastic titles for my posts? Ya, me too.

So it’s Wednesday. That’s weigh in. 158.4 lbs. I gained four pounds in a week. F***. Must be camping I guess, which makes no sense. Maybe back to normal this week and I can lose it. I am not happy.

I did something incredibly important this morning. I got up and put out the garbage. I forgot last week, I usually put the cans out Tuesday pm. But last week, not at all. Which makes this week even more important. It’s been well over 100 every day the past week and garbage starts to smell like, well, garbage. Maybe riper than that. At the very least, the cans are in the road. I also have more to go out to the can once the cans are empty too. Garbage is a somewhat onerous task. My driveway is 100 feet to the street so it can be a hassle. Especially in a windy rainstorm during winter. Right now it is just a stinky chore. I admit, though, it is a very satisfying task and gives a measure of job well done to me when I finish. Been taking out the garbage since I was 8, same year I took over lawn duties. So next year is the 50th anniversary of lawn and garbage. Send gifts to my home address. Make sure they are expensive.

All morning tasks are done, for those of you worried I forgot the dogs or cats or people that live here. I didn’t. I have just been updating my posts. A quick review shows me I should spend more time on proofing before I publish. Maybe I should turn off spellcheck. Or is that like the famous Karl Wallenda working without a net? I don’t know. I would use a net.

I am trying to contact my real estate agent, Linda. She must be busy because I am not getting any text response. I may go hunt her down.

I just made a latte for Cissie. Guess what? I steamed the milk and it looked weird. So I tasted it. Bad milk. Nasty bad. Not sure how I am going to get the flavor out of my mouth. I made her an Americano instead and used a little almond milk creamer instead. That keeps forever.

Linda still not responding, even to phone calls. I guess she may actually have work to do that does not involve me. I thought I was her only client.

I am going to go mow the lawn. It’s extra long since I was camping on my usual mow day. So, I have to empty the grass catcher more often. I have close to two acres of lawn to mow. That’s a lot of mowing and dumping. I have never really liked doing it. My son, the supposed heir apparent, has severe allergies to grass. So I never had the satisfaction of dumping the duties on him. Anyhow, I did get a text from a friend that it looked good. Whatever. After this long mowing the lawn I already know it’s gonna look good.

Finished the lawn and got a call from Linda the agent. I will need to schedule a day to see all these properties. She said Saturday. I will discuss with Emily this evening.

I went upstairs and cleared several hundred emails off the home email address. Responded to a few and also made a couple phone calls as well. Sometimes an email requires a more detailed response, more than just another email. Anyhow, got a few confirms and the like so I’m glad I finally got to it.

I am going to go to Vacaville now and run a few errands. By the time I get back I hope to have dinner ready to cook. And by errands I mean I have to go to BevMo and restock. That’s important. And Lowes for a replacement smoke alarm. That’s not as important, but necessary.

When I got home Emily was home from work. We went back to Vacaville to get Jaxons Rx dog food. I was right there earlier but did not have the scrip to get medicated dog food. So it was two trips which is somewhat wasteful.

We are headed home now to fix dinner. Grilled Romaine salad. Should be ultra fabulous.

Ok. BBQ is going, just waiting for the coals. . That’s the Weber I hate. I own a Big Green Egg, worlds best BBQ. But its in storage awaiting our move out of here. So I am stuck with the Weber. You just can’t control the temp on it. I am spoiled by my Egg because it will BBQ, smoke, bake, everything. Just better.

Coals are ready and salad stuff is chopped. I did not get meat defrosted enough and had to resort to a microwave. The hard boiled eggs aren’t yet either.

Emily went to lay down. She is all of a sudden not feeling well. Anything to get out of making dinner. Lol. But I do have to come up with a recipe for grilled romaine salad recipe and make it. I can probably handle it. I have been trained. Poorly. Hopefully a masterpiece is coming out way.

Tastes as great as it looks. I did a fantastic job on dinner and it was enjoyed by all, that would be me and Emily. All the people here who count. Cissie you are not here.

After dinner I went to the market to get milk. As you may recall from yesterday, I made a latte with spoiled milk. I did not know it was spoiled until I steamed the milk. It was gross. So for today I now have fresh milk and no complaints

Emily was already in bed when I got home. She was not feeling well this evening and neeed to lie down.

I cleaned up and went to bed as well.

That’s my pancakes and coffee. As you can see I serve them on the spatula. No dishes. No syrup. Nothing ever changes.

This morning was the usual. Feed cats. Feed dogs. Feed me. Feed emily twice, I packed her lunch. Coffee. Same same. Jaxon did one of my least favorite things, pooped all over the porch. Not really his fault. Since he almost died a few months back, and was on meds and really screwed up, his nerves on the backside don’t work so well. So he goes outside and really has no idea if he has finished his business. So it can end up anywhere. Dumb dog. But he is healthy now.

I have spent the last twenty minutes texting with my friend Cissie. She is coming to Dixon from Tacoma and arrives today. Her daughter, Trisha, lives in our garage apartment. So she is coming to visit her. But of course she will visit us too. It is only across the driveway. Unfortunately she had recent surgery and can’t eat or drink with us. She can watch but that is hardly the same. She has lost 35 lbs, Go Cissie!!! I have only lost 30 on my diet. Go me!!

The two of them will be joining us for taco Tuesday tonight. Cissie will be watching, Trisha will eat and drink. I do look forward every week to Tuesday just for the Mexican food. I don’t usually eat it any other day.

Well my lunch is packed and the dogs are kenneled. I have received 3 work texts from needy clients. Guess I ought to go to work. First fill my water bottle. It’s going to be 107 today so gonna stay hydrated. I only drink the water because my diet coach says I should for weight loss. Before the diet I did not bother. Also, gotta hit the bank on the way to work.

Bank line took 15 mins. Why? One person in front of me. No other tellers. Customer service not in sight either.

At work now, nothing happening. Will need to finish more tax returns and send some docs for peer review. An exciting day will be happening. I do have two appointments to break up the day.

I found out something last night from Emily. When I left Santa Rosa on Sunday I thought Marika needed me gone. Seemed like she was in a hurry. I told Emily when I got home. She spoke to Marika yesterday and she told Em I was in a hurry and wanted to leave. Go figure. We both were thinking Shari’s for pie shakes but neither of us said anything. Oh well. Next trip to Rohnert Park I guess.

Speaking of Marika, I got an email from a famous retailer, and I cruised their sale goods and found something perfect for her. Their website was a total crap hole. I could not get it to operate for 45 minutes. I almost got the order done on my third try but did not think it worked. So I called them. They made one hundred excuses for why it was so bad. I complained rather bitterly. So he sent me a $20 gift card. I do feel better. And it is $20.

Client John came in. Needs two tax returns prepared. We were discussing that when he blurted out “you hear about Bob?” I had not. Turns out another client and mutual friend had 4 way bypass and an aortic valve replaced. No one told me. Including his wife who is also a friend. Anyway I finished up Johns stuff and got him on his way.

Next appointment came in at ten to five. He needed two tax returns prepared as well. We got that done and he was on his way.

Spent another 45 mins cruising zillow to look for houses. Found three to look at if I want to go up to Auburn tomorrow. Maybe. Tough to find something we really want.

Quick trip home only 30 mins. I called Bob and he told me about his heart surgery and what happened and everything else going on. He reminds me of my dog, Jaxon. Goes through hell and comes out the other side in great shape. Bob has always looked good and much younger than his real age of 71. So, in Dixon, I picked up taco Tuesday for four. Cissie, a friend, is in town visiting her daughter Trisha. Trisha lives in our garage apartment. Since her mom is in town we all had dinner together. Since Cissie had surgery, and has a very restricted diet. So only beans for her and no cocktails. Emily and Trisha had cocktails. Taco Tuesday is always a feast. And they had chile verde con nopales which is more than incredible. I love it.

We are fed and just sitting here yakking. Again we are solving the local worlds problems. Trisha is a school teacher and she and Emily have been dissecting local school issues. Which means I can sit here and blog. I don’t add much to that discussion. But it’s fun seeing friends who have been missing for awhile. Not the same texting them as it is talking in person.

Emily wants me to go look at the properties tomorrow. The ones I picked out off zillow. I will try to contact our agent Linda and see what she can do for me. I hear these houses are locked when no one is around. Go figure. Anyway, I have all day available to see them.

It has reached the bewitching hour, today that is 915 pm and the ladies are going home. That would be a walk across the driveway to the apartment over the garage. No DD required.

Off to bed for us. The older I get the more glad I am when bedtime arrives. It’s a big reset for my next day which right now sounds busy.

The title is really sarcastic as you could imagine. No Monday ever was adventurous as far as I know.

This Monday was about the same as always. About. Fed dogs. Fed cats. Fed emily. Fed me. Coffee made. The difference? My car is still in the shop. Left it last week for wheel polishing and TPMS. So I drove Em to work and took her car to my shop. On the way I airednup her to tires, the warning light was on and she was unable to figure out how to do it. My car is not here yet from wheel shop. Bad news, they could not recondition the wheels. I am now trying to convince the body shop to do it manually. They don’t want to. I will keep pushing. Cause that’s the way I am.

No matter how hard I try, they will not try to fix the wheels. I may actually have to put up with it.

Drove home afterward picked up a few things and dropped off some stuff. Off to work.

I had an appointment at 11am with client Virginia. She had a notice from a prior year and most of what is necessary to prepare 2016. She is not very organized with her paperwork. The prior year notice was due to items she never gave me. The same items that were not in her 2016 paperwork she brought. At least she is consistent. Halfway through the appointment her husband arrived. He was on a break from work. He wanted to be sure I had no questions. I didn’t and be left. I finished up with her by giving her a list of what I still needed.

I had a few other things to take care of then at 105 my next appointment showed up. Client Cameron needed to finish up his and his wife’s seperate tax returns. He was ready with what we needed and I was able to get them done quickly. Then I printed them and my staff processed the paper. About this time client Virginia came in with dim sum from a local eatery which is a very nice gesture. And very much appreciated. Thank you! We got Cameron’s all processed and he left happy.

My next appointment was a no show. We have missed each other a couple times already so I guess we gotta try again. My three o’clock is 20 minutes late right now. I guess 2 for 4 is not so bad.

So no show for the 3 o’clock. I prepared four tax returns instead. At least I made money. Left work around 545. Heading for the barn. Emily was home when I got here. We shared some of the dim sum as a snack.

I got a call from my Dad. He is going to get wifi and phone and directv. OMG! I have been begging for this for years. He needs to talk about it for fifteen minutes. He also fell last week and had to get a couple neighbors to help pick him up. He is quite decrepit at 87 and can not really walk well. But he is doing well as expected.

After the call we watched Jeopardy and Wheel. We are going to have leftover Thai and pizza for dinner. Sounds awesome. Soon. Ok, best part of dinner is dessert. Emily made her famous rhubarb cake last night as readers know. And we had that for dessert tonight. Rhubarb is a fantastic fruit and the cake is really great. We have enough for an army so we get to have it all week.

We have spent the last 45 mins looking at houses online. It’s a pastime. We are in contract on a 5 acre parcel right now but would prefer ready made to build your own. So we look. And look. Not too much fun looking through the ads but we need to keep watch for the perfect place. We missed a really nice house while on vacation and would not want to have that happen again.

Off to bed. It’s 930 and us heavy partyers have to be in bed early so we can get up and do this all over again. I am sure most of you understand.

We have woken up in a tent in Benbow, CA. The paper delivery service here is awful. There isn’t any. Not as if I expected it. It is 815 and I just woke Marika, time to move. Coffee on the road I think. We could be gone in ten minutes. But, since I am in the same car with her, she has to brush her teeth. Yikes.

Ok. We are packing. Under 10 minutes and buckled into the car. We are gooood!!

First stop, Garberville, 2 miles away. Needed coffee and food from the local drive thru coffee hut. Long line, the gal inside came out the back door to take orders. On our way in under 10 mins. Off to Ukiah. As we drove Marika was playing “Spot the Weed Farm” which can get old. We should play spot the not a weed farm instead. More challenge. Made Ukiah in about an hour and went to the local coffee place first for coffee, of course, and some food. All local stuff, food made on premises.

Then to Honda dealer. Nice people there but they could not find our paperwork to save their lives. They gave us the keys though. We swapped out all our crap from the rental Jeep to Marika’s Honda and some into trailer. Then we drove both cars, no trailer, back into town to drop off the Jeep. Then back to Honda to hook up the trailer. And off on 101 south. We are now 14 miles north of Santa Rosa which is our destination. I have to drive truck and trailer to Dixon. And truck has no AC. And it’s sposed to be 107 today. Yikes. I may have to sweat a little. When I get home I get to unpack and clean everything. And mow the lawn. Sadly there is enough time in the day for it.

The drive through Santa Rosa was uneventful. We just tried to discuss what’s wrong with everyone and how to solve the worlds problems. Marika is now old enough to discuss what’s wrong with today’s youth. Which is funny.

We got to Marika’s house and moved all the crap from her car to my truck and the trailer. Uneventful. Her street is very narrow. I had to move my truck and the trailer so it was parallel to the street though not in the street. I did turn on my two way flashers. Anyhow, almost immediately a black Civic Si comes barreling down the street. Does not slow down from the 40 he is driving and does not move over one inch. Ahole. 20 seconds later a 20′ panel truck comes down the street at about 45 also did not move over was driving somewhat erratically and managed to miss my truck and trailer by an inch. Asshole driver. Sorry, but it was scary. Next driver again high speed and did not move over. I went to my truck and checked he flashers. On. Next truck slowed down, waved and moved over. I want to kiss him. No more cars and got the trailer hooked up. Kissed the girl goodbye and headed for home. It’s over 100 degrees today from Santa Rosa to home and the truck has broken AC. And it’s Sunday so heavy traffic and slow going. So I baked two hours to get home. Oh well. My shirt got so soaked it was dripping. Yuck.

Got home round 4, unloaded the truck and pulled all linens from the trailer. Put all away and washed the rest. Laundry to the washer. Took a shower. Made the wife a drink that’s a prickly pear margarita. I pick and juice the fruit. Not to tough to do and what else do you do with prickly pears?

Emily is making my favorite rhubarb cake. A specialty of hers. She is perfecting her from scratch recipe. It gets better every time. . As you can see, she is making two large and some small ones as well. I love rhubarb. My favorite “fruit” except it’s a vegetable. Like pumpkin. A “fruit” I also love. The rhubarb cake will be dessert tonight. Unless I find something better. She made two large cakes one for us and one for her friend Barb and family. They are sposed to be here soon to pick up their cake.

So I lied to y’all this morning. I got my big paper this evening, just read it. Old news but still nice. Early am with coffee is better but it was ok. News did not change but it does need to be fresh like veggies or eggs.

Instead of making dinner tonight I ordered Thai take out. I used Yelp to place the order. When I got there it was ready to go already. The Thai place, Proud Thai, in Dixon, has the word delivery on their menus and the front door. But they don’t. Annoying because I would have preferred delivery. Food was really good in spite of my whining. Although I did suck some spice into my nose which led to ten minutes of violent sneezing. That was not fun. At all.

So after dinner and the few dishes, I did some laundry. Camping is a dirty business. Emily had made two cakes tonight and Barb and Kirk Garlick came over to get one. They brought daughter Gina with them. She used to be little. Now she is about 15 and taller than me. Crazy. We chatted awhile about whatever and they went home with heir cake. We went to bed. I was exhausted.

Just woke up, it’s 8am, Saturday. At home I am usually up by 730 so I am sleeping in. Marika just woke up and fell back sound asleep while I was talking to her. Must be nice. We are in a camp near Weott, CA. That’s a few miles down from Redcrest and 10 from Scotia. Yes I am too giving you directions. Anyhow, we are going to Kings Peak once we get our buts up, fed and packed. I am off to start that process, Marika may be a few behind. I am sure when the tent collapses on her she will get up.

Ahhhh. The Remains of the Day. . We had mochas, sliced fruit and grape nuts for breakfast. Very satisfying. We have been having hot cooked meals so a cold breakfast was a nice break fast. Lol. I am off to “wash” the dishes. Camp clean. That’s a water rinse and wipe clean, if towel is available. The words “camp clean” serve me well at home. It’s like the 5 second rule. Clean enough for government work. And, when I worked for the forest service, I heard the terms often.

It’s almost ten and we are packed, fed and ready. Not sure where the trailhead is but Marika does. I hope. Back through the big trees and a left Honeydew intersection and a few miles on Wilder Rd. That will do.

Let’s get in the car. I had not mentioned the car. We are driving a new Jewp Compass 4×4 courtesy of Hertz. As you know, Marika’s Fit broke down outside Ukiah. The Jeep is a nice ride, agile, sporty and good gas mileage. Bigger than the Fit but you still can’t stretch out in the back and sleep. Marika and I at the same time can sleep in back of the Fit and stretch out completely. Good things, small packages.

We left camp and headed back up the Mattole Rd. The road we had just come in on from the beach yesterday. We inadvertently passed our turnoff at Honeydew yesterday and drove into Weott. So we are backtracking a bit today. My 3rd trip through the big trees. Oh well. We took the correct turnoff today. More really lousy, twisty, turns road. Washed out here and there. While driving, we came across a bear. With her cub. I have never seen that in the wild so first time in 56 years.

I can’t believe our luck.

We made it to Wilder Rd at Honeydew and turned off toward the Lightning trail. Well, I certainly am glad we had high clearance and 4WD in this rental Jeep Compass. The road was crap. Huge, deep ruts, washouts, steep as hell in parts. If Marika’s car had not broken down, we don’t go here. But this Jeep is a nice little vehicle for this kind of thing. The really bad part was only 5 or 6 miles, about an hour drive. Just past there we found the King Range Rd and turned there. The road improved immediately and 2 miles down we found the King Peak Trailhead.

The trip up is only 2.5 miles. Of course there is a slight rise of 1900′ in this two miles. That would be a trail that is uphill all the way. Somewhat innocuous hike, except for the heavy breathing and burning muscles. We made the peak in about 2 hours. The view from the top is spectacular.

We sat for about half an hour, took pictures, drank water and relaxed. We headed back down, which would be downhill all the way. It always seems that would be better than uphill but really it’s just different pain. It was faster, about 1.5 hours down. We sat in the car with AC running, it’s hot, and ate snacks. We are going to go south through Garberville and see what we find. Maybe a cocktail.

I have got to say one thing. The King Range area has incredibly bad signage. I brought a map with me but you do need signs at ground level or you really can’t be sure where you are or where you are going. His brings me to our trip out of the trailhead to Garberville. There were zero signs. I had a map but at every road juncture out here in the forest I found no markers. At one point, it was about 4 pm, I used the sun to determine path of travel. Thank god it sets in the west. We did find the occasional campground with a sign which together with the map was a big help. We finally made Garberville after miles of crap roads and bad signage(even after I got to pavement). Maybe all the dope growers up here take the signs. Don’t know.

Here in Garberville now. We are going to a restaurant and bar called Cecil’s. They have cocktails. That’s the only part we care about. We are not drunks. But we like booze. Don’t judge us, you are next.

Cecil’s is way better than I expect of a town like Garberville which is weed central and looks it. This is a nice dining establishment which really, if you had ever been here, does not for Garberville at all. They do have booze. Margarita for each of us, and these were their proprietary recipe Margaritas, are awesome. Love them. Cecil’s is trying to kick it up a notch as well. Our waiter, Walter, knows the menu well and actually helps with your selections.

That’s a wedge salad, we both got one, crawfish pasta very yummy and spicy which Marika ordered, and a Cajun game hen for me. The game hen not spicy enough but still good. The wedge salad is functional but does not stand out. We will share the pecan pie with bananas foster with rum and brown sugar sauce and vanilla ice cream. You can see why we share. And why we got it. Has not arrived yet. But I am looking forward to its arrival on my table.

So the dessert was a big hit. Marika and I went bite for bite straight through. I can go ahead and recommend it on your next trip to Garberville. But remember this place is a little pricey especially for where we are.

We found a campsite about two miles down the road in Benbow. Another smaller than hell town which seems to be all they have up here. This camp had shower facilities. So we each enjoyed a shower for the first time in three days. Marika said she noticed how sour the car smelled. I did not notice anything. But I can say, without a doubt, I now smell good. Fantastic even. If I must say so myself. And I must.

We are in the tent ready for bed. We have internet. Marika is watching The Wite on HBO. I am updating the blog. Soon to start reading. Then goodnight.

We figured on getting up at 6am in order to miss high tide at Punta Gorda. Well, I got up at 740 and Marika 20 mins later. So much for plans.

Breakfast was a latte for each and corn beef hash. The finest canned hash available. It is actually very good if you spice it correctly and hit it with hot sauce. We didn’t have any of that. I forgot to pack it.

We cleaned up camp and dishes. Then got water and snacks for the hike to the abandoned lighthouse a mile past Punta Gorda.

We left about 9am for the hike, about an 8 mile round trip. Now you have a choice hiking, follow the beach and walk in sand the whole way or walk as high up the beach as you can to get secure footing and easier walking and half as much sand. Well, I am not like a romantic woman and do not enjoy long walks on the beach. We hiked higher up for easier terrain. For those of you that think walking on the beach is easy, you obviously have not done it. It’s a 3 step forward 2 step slide back thing. It’s like cross country skiing uphill.

The day is cold and foggy. We saw a few backpackers head out. The Mattole campground is the trailhead for the Mattole River Lost Coast Trail which is about 20 miles long. Most folks get dropped off here and picked up at the other end. We are doing the round trip 4 out and 4 back.

The walk out was nice but hard slogging in the occasional sand we run across. The wind is mostly gone, nothing like yesterday. A positive change in the weather.

About halfway there we saw what appeared to be a sea lion shaped rock on a high rock by the beach. We thought rock, because it wasn’t moving. Turns out it was a sea lion. Take a look:

The rest of the walk to the lighthouse was nice and uneventful. Low tide at Punta Gorda was calm. We arrived at the lighthouse. It is situated a little up the hill from the ocean, of course. It is abandoned. But there are no doors and windows so we had full access to go in and up to the former light. When we got up we had a full view of ocean and beach.

I looked out and saw tons of drift logs all over the beach. One white turned out to be a sea lion. Then I began to notice that more of the logs were sea lions and there were elephant seals as well. Most of what I thought driftwood was animals. Much to your benefit, I did run right down and take a ton of pictures.

We started the return trip to the campground right after we saw the sea lions. We wanted to make the Point before the tide really started coming in. The walk back did seem much longer. And more sand. It was murderous. And we had already seen it all on the walk out. Took about an hour and a half on the 4 mile walk back. Once we got back we had lunch. PBJ and applesauce. We were so tired it was all haute cuisine. We packed up camp and decided we wanted to hike up kings peak. So we packed up camp and headed down the same road we came in on. All twisty, turny, crappy bit of it all the way back to 101. We had to get directions so we stopped. Turned out we missed the turn off on the road out. By the time we found that out it was 4 o’clock. And I needed to get gas. So we pitched a tent at a local camp ground then drove north on 101 to get gas. We stopped in Scotia and got gas and groceries. We went looking for cocktails and found nothing. We stopped at a Mexican place and had beer and wine. Not quite booze but best we can do.

We returned back to camp and sat in the car. I was blogging and Marika watched TV. We finally had a cell signal!! Now time to make dinner. Burgers and beenie weenies. As is obvious to most, we eat very well out here when camping.

We are all cleaned up. Dinner is over and we are lying in the tent. Again with me blogging Anh Marika watching TV. There was no signal out at Mattole so we are behind on things.

Time for bed. Goodnight.

Continuing from last night, we are camped out in the parking lot of Thurston Honda in Ukiah. As described, car has an “electrical” problem. More like a Ghost in the Machine. I just hope they can repair it easily. And I expensively too. We are praying. It’s about 630 and we will be up soon. Gonna move all our gear from the Fit into the trailer and go pick up a rental car at Hertz. And I hope the reservation clerk is correct and it has a tow hitch. All these things happen and it’s a big improvement. Huge. We will see.

Biggest problem with camping in a parking lot: no restrooms. Last night I pointed that out to the cop who helped us. She says, the bathroom is right there and points at three large bushes. Slight smile, no laughing. I said looks good for me, tough on the girl. She says that’s problematic. I’ve never had a cop suggest public urination. Though still most helpful CHP ever. And no ticket. Time to get up.

Got all the gear moved. Took five minutes. After we were done we decided to sit in the broken car in the service lane. People have started to arrive, it’s close to seven. A very nice guy just came by, told us we were a bit early. I said that ok, been here all night and he said “is that your trailer?”. Did not know it was obvious. Told him we had spent the night. He said someone would arrive soon. A couple minutes later he came back and offered up the restroom inside the building. Nice people here. He said he noticed that Marika’s eyes were bulging out of her head. Probably true.

The service manager, Chris, opened early to get my car in the shop. He thinks it’s the alternator. I said fix it. He says, you need an air bag. Thats recall, I said fix it. He says I’m due for 100k service. I said fix it. I gotta stop saying that.

Fred, the shuttle guy, drove us to Hertz. Turns out they lied. No vehicles with tow hitch at all. We got a small Jeep SUV. Drive back to Honda, stopping for coffee at a very busy local coffee shop (no Starbucks here) and transferred all the gear to the Jeep. Then I put the wheel locks and hitch lock on the trailer. Now we are gonna buy a tent.

Yes, I went to Wally World. Nothing else was open. A $25 tent. I may leave it at our last campsite. Then we are off!! Finally. No. Gas first. Hertz gave me only 1/4 tank. Now we are off!! Bright and early at 930. Crap.

Btw, Arco sells more than gas. Breakfast!!

We headed for the coast. North on 101 about 120 miles to the Honeydew turnoff. The country up here off 101 is very scenic and beautiful. The drive is never boring like it is in Nebraska and Ohio.

Stopped for gas at some random place near the sign says ” world famous log house (in a log)”. There were about 3 other “world famous” attractions right around one was a Bigfoot place. I guess everyone needs to make money. I did not stop at any.

So I am driving a rental car. As u know. I was on 101 cruising downhill, not paying attention and a CHP stopped me. Officer J Williams. You know the drill, sir do u know why I stopped u? No. Sir do you know how fast you were driving? Not reallly paying attention, this is a rental. Always different than your own. Sir I clocked you at 80 mph. Then it happened. He asked, “what are you doing up here” and fifteen minutes later of explanation of our vacay including car trouble etc the officer says, should I give you a warning or a citation? Winner. Winner. I said, with the car repair I think I have been punished enough. He said, warning it is. He issued a warning. That’s the bomb. I always drive slow. Even god knew I did not deserve it. Off to Mattole. We pulled off at the Honeydew exit.

The first six miles of driving is through an old growth redwood forest.

After that six miles is 25 more to the coast about an hour and a half of the shittiest road in America. Just sayin. Up. Down. Halt. Go. Washed out! Watch out! Nice.

Some beauty.

Then we are suddenly there.
The campsites here at Mattole campground are rustic. Rustic is a code word for primitive. They have latrines also called pit toilets. No potable water. No services of any kind. Each site does have a picnic table. That’s handy. We secured a nice site, probably the least windy of all. That’s important since our trailer is in Ukiah parked at the Honda dealer. And we have to tent it.

We set up camp, roughly, so as to establish ownership of the site. So we put up the tent to scare off late comers.l Then we headed up the hill in search of cell signal. After sometime we gave that up. There is none. Whenever we came near a house, not many out here, we looked for unlocked wifi. No luck. Got to the hamlet of Petrolia. Guess what? There was a pay phone.

Does anyone remember those? I did a double take and I drove by it and had to turn around and go back. Never thought I would ever see one or use one again. But I did. It worked. Had to call the operator because it would not take my credit card. The operator says “did you try dialing direct?” which means no charge. It worked. Weird. Anyhow, had to call the Honda dealer and find out what’s wrong. As predicted by service manager Chris at Thurston Honda, the alternator was toast. No problem, just pay them $912 and we are good. Ouch. F***. He did do the recall replacement of the air bag. I told him to skip the major service he suggested. Another pound of flesh I don’t have to give.

Stopped at the Petrolia market and got some burger and sausage. For dinner. Back to the beach. Finish set up of camp. Gonna head out on a long walk. It’s actually quite cold here, wear a jacket cold. And it’s 100 back home.

Long walk but not far enough to see around the end of Punta Gorda (big point). The abandoned lighthouse is a mile beyond the point. We never got far enough to see it in the distance. IMG_3019

We are taking the same trail all the way to the lighthouse tomorrow. About 8 miles round trip. At high tide the trail around the point is underwater. I hope to not be trapped on the far side. No fun to wait that out.

We are just sitting here at camp soaking up the last bit of sunshine. Not helped by the never ending cooling of the wind. I may have to go lie down in the tent. But once I lie down I may fall asleep. I only got four hours of sleep last night. Sleeping in a trailer in a parking lot of the car repair place is not conducive to sleep.

We made dinner. Chili dogs a la Lost Coast.

. We managed to skip lunch today by accident. Busy getting moving, finally, and going down the road. We were behind on time. So we ate snacks instead of stopping for lunch. This made our dinner extra good and I noticed we were both quite hungry. It was tasty and Marika agrees. Our visitor

agreed as well. Very old dog showed up at dinner time so we fed her. She is obviously quite old but very sweet and she hung out for quite some time. At least until Marika helped her leave to find her people.

Cleaned up dinner dishes and all put away. We are gonna be pioneer people and go to bed with the sun. That’s 8 pm to you non pioneers.

Before retiring, just as our pioneer forebears did, we ate little chocolate donuts for dessert. And we are gonna go watch the sun go down from the beach.

I believe I have never acurately, in detail, described the diet I have been on for quite awhile. I thought of this because every Wednesday morning, since early this year, has been my weigh in day. First thing this am, I get up and get on the scale, naked of course, and check my weight. Only once a week. This last week I lost 2.8 lbs. and surprised even myself.

Anyhow, somewhere near Feb 1st of this year I started the diet. I had a recommendation from client Dan, he lost over 100 lbs. He explained, and I jumped in. Emily went with me though maybe not as whole heartedly I believe. Though she follows the diet and has found some great recipes and substitutions.

The diet works like this. I get a coach. I called the one recommended by client Dan, which makes sense. She has been vetted by someone I know. She explained how it worked. During he weight loss period you eat the food they sell you. With one real meal a day in addition. The cost was about $250 a month per person. There are many and various foods. Over the first few weeks I tried a lot of items till I found the ones I liked and stuck with those.

So all uou do is eat one of the purchased foods every 2 to 3 hours all day plus a regular meal. Easy. Drink 8 cups of water a day, the hardest part for me. That’s it. Diet Coach Kelly calls me every week and we discuss how it’s going. That easy. I lost 7 lbs first week. In 8 weeks I lost 30 lbs. then I got to switch to more meals and less their food. I recommend it. It works. It’s easy. You are never hungry. Kelly.Dinitz@tsfl.com or leave a comment and I will give you her cell phone contact.

You may be asking, if you lost all this weight why are you back on the diet? Good question. Did you read the trip blog? I went way off reservation in terms of food and beverage and gained back 10+ lbs in the 35 days I was gone. Good news, I jumped right back on the diet and am down 5 lbs since I got back. That’s why. I did not consume in moderation.

This morning I have one appointment here in Dixon at 10. Stop at auto repair for some trailer stuff I left in the car, and off to work.

As I said yesterday, why does this cat follow me around. Yes, she moved off this spot since yesterday. I sat down, cat is back. I guess I should be flattered. Of course, I do feed her. That couldn’t be it.

So I stopped at Beckys and she was finally there. Got the whole situation worked out.

Next to Rachel’s, ten minutes and done.

Then to auto shop, paid bill to current and still waiting on wheels to be finished. Probably Thursday, while I’m gone. Emily is going to return the loaner for me today or tomorrow.

Off to Sacramento. I have a tax appointment at 11 with an old client. By old I mean 87 years old. Same age as my Dad. We went through his tax info to be sure it was all I needed. His wife passed last year and its a little confusing for him. All straight. Met with Walker about usual matters and who he needs to follow up with. Gotta keep the tribute flowing my way. That’s all straight. Phone call with client Jason about his audit reconsideration. And his girlfriends amended taxes. I think we are in a good place.

Now I leave. To REI for a Yeti ice chest. I think it’s about time I got a good ice chest. Spend some of my royalty check.

Got home and did the last minute run around packing. Hooked the trailer up to the big truck and was ready to go. Emily got home about then and suggested we return the loaner car from the shop since I would be gone. So we took the truck back to Superior. Back to home. Then kisses goodbye. Off to Santa Rosa. Got there about 630. Loaded up Marika’s car by unloading the truck. Then unhooked and parked the truck. Then hooked up Marika’s Fit to the trailer. And off again.

We decided to eat somewhere on the road instead of in Santa Rosa. We made it ten miles to Geyserville. We are now sitting in Catelli’s in the back patio having salad. And cocktails.

That’s my house salad with blue cheese chunks. The cocktail is called a Nick Tai. Sort of a mai tai. If u are ever here, whatever you do, do NOT order one. It’s lousy. I sent it back. I have not sent back a drink in 20 years. Horrible. I got a replacement called Tru Lemonade. Very good.

Here is the lasagne I ordered. quite the excellent lasagne. I love it. Marika is busy finishing her clams in spaghetti. Clams are very fresh, served in the shell. I tried it and hers is great. Obviously they do a fine job here. But my tummy really hurts now. Time for coffee I think. Marika too, she is driving.

We are back on the road again. Driving toward 101. Then 170 miles to Honeydew CA. About 3 hours. Yikes.

Outside Ukiah driving north. Marika’s battery light came on. So not charging most likely. We pulled off in Ukiah, had to get ground coffee anyway, and the warning light went out. Hurray!!

Now in line buying espresso grind coffee for tomorrow I always bring my backpacker size espresso makers when I go camping. Always tastes better at 10000 ft. Luxury while camping.

Problem. Big problem. The little warning light that came on was just a precursor. Soon other lights started coming on. At least five. Then he radio was going on and off. Then the engine started losing power and coming back rapidly. Then the engine died a couple times. This was continuous. We made it about 14 miles north of Ukiah on 101. We made a U turn to head to the Honda dealer in Ukiah. We turned around at about ten. All the same problems kept going on. We drove with the flashers on but when the electrical quit as we drove, everything quit. All in side lights and gauges, all outside lights as well. We were going about 10mph driving on the shoulder and stopping every time the electrical went out. About 3.5 miles from Ukiah a CHP pulled up behind us when we were stopped. She drove behind us with lights on all the way to the Honda dealer. Nice gal. Very helpful.

So we drove into honda service at 1130 pm. Unhitched the trailer and parked it in the Honda lot. I called Hertz and rented an SUV with a tow hitch for tomorrow morning. I guess we continue without Marika’s car. But we can still go camping. As a matter of fact, we are sleeping in the trailer in the parking lot. Adventure starts here! It’s 130 and I gotta be up by 645. No rest for the weary.

Today Emily was lamenting, as she got in her car, it’s not Friday. We must be back, summer over, fall doldrums kicked in. Next stop Labor Day.

For me this is pre Friday. I am leaving tomorrow for the lost coast of California. Camping with my daughter. So either today is Friday and I skip work tomorrow or it’s pre Friday and I work tomorrow. Either way, pack the trailer tonight and get it out of the barn. I will probably have to head to Vacaville for supplies, after work.

Emily got off to work ok. It was a little easier morning. Only two coffees to make. Only 3 dogs to feed. Slightly less time required for noting tasks. We can now get back to our old habits throughout the day. It is strange, you never really notice how your days tasks and habits are changed by the addition of one or two people or an extra car or dog. Which was our summer. You will notice the change back to your normal but not the change away from it. Well, you would notice, if you were more like me. Lucky for you, you aren’t.

I need to take my car into Superior Auto, here in town, this morning. I first had her in the shop for the week prior to going cross country. We ran out of time to get all work done. Today we finish. I can hardly wait. Of course, I have to pay them as well. The flip side of the repairs. Most of what I was doing was body work. Superior is a body shop. As I have mentioned, when my car rolled 200k I decided to spiff her up for the next 200k. She’s at 215 now. All that’s left is repair some curb trash on the wheels and reset the TPMS which I lost when I redid the wheels. And maybe fix the cabin fan. Those rats that got in there created havoc. Fan still runs a little rough.

Moving forward, why is this cat always here?

She just follows us around and goes to sleep. Cats life, second only to a dogs life.

Shower shave and dressed. Out the door! No. Got a call from client Jim. He is making a large business purchase. Life changer. What does he need? He needs me to call his wife and help her through it. She is very worried and he wants me to calm her down. So I do. No, I have no psych degree. Though I was a bartender for many years.

Went to work after the call. First stop at Beckys. She wasn’t there. Next stop at auto shop to finish up repairs. The wheels have some damage, TPMS and fan. After discussing the fan with Alaex, no repair. It’s noisy but not $400 parts and remove the dash labor worth it. If you know what I mean. I should have he car back by Thursday. Of course, I will be camping by then. But Marika’s car has a hitch so we are in like Flynn.

Off to work. Not much I can get done in the half hour before my appointment in midtown. Opened the mail. There was a huge royalty check in the mail. Huge. I sent the office out to lunch huge. I went to my appointment. I met client Rob. He is opening two new restaurants and he wanted to show off the spaces and brag on what he will be doing. Very impressive stuff and I can hardly wait to see the finished product. We ended up at the Shady Lady for lunch.

After that I had to go downtown and deliver a package of info to an attorney. It took forever. Seemed like half of downtown had parking blocked off and whatever was left was taken. 45 minutes and I parked illegally. It worked. Got it dropped off and headed for the office.

Back to office, almost, had to cash the royalty check first. Have a few bills to pay, starting with lunch for staff.

In office started work, internet shuts down. Great. Cycled the router and like magic its back. Now I can do payroll for the office since I wont be here on payday.

Managed to make a few calls and do a little work before I left.

Headed home about 6. It’s Tuesday so I stopped at the Carneceria to pick up Mexican food for dinner. Never made it out of the car, got a call from client Jason. He has a lien problem for a lot of money. So we discussed that and several amended returns he needs processed. Took a good 15 minutes. Finally got the adobada and carnitas and went home.

Look what arrived in the mail.

That is a tire “club”. Like the steering wheel club for cars. I am putting one on each trailer tire when we leave the trailer alone in camp. Sometimes we head out for a hike and need to drive. We don’t want to drag along the trailer. I am hoping these are enough to deter the amateur thief. I hope never to find out. I have hitch locks as well but again they are only so good.

I am going to attempt to pack up the trailer tonight. And my clothes. I want to save the food for tomorrow’s packing.

Also, since we leave tomorrow, that makes tomorrow Friday. And today is pre Friday. I don’t know about you, but I feel better.

I just finished packing the trailer. It is now sittingbin the driveway.

Usually it fits in the garage with the riding mower. A blessing of the small trailer, no storage to pay for. Not only does it fit in there, I can walk around it too. Also got my bag packed with clothes and toiletries. All set.

I am going up to bed and if lucky get a good nights sleep.

Ok. I hope the title did not alarm anyone. It’s 8/21/17, solar eclipse day. If we were a few hundred years back in time we may think the sky was falling. Or Armageddon or some other such catastrophe. But it’s just lights out for an hour. So, relax people. It won’t stick like that face you used to make that your mom said would stick. Too bad it didn’t, you might look better.

Michael is getting ready to leave, its back to school for him. I don’t know if he realizes it might be his last one. I didn’t in my time. Now I miss it and I miss the children, mostly, when they go. Next fall he will probably have a job and be in the first year of the forty year slog to retirement. Doesn’t that sound fun? I think it’s fun once you get there. I have noticed retired folks are quite relaxed all the time.

Anyway, I am not much for the eclipse mania. There is a good chance the sun will blot out right after 9 am today. If I am outside I am sure I will look up. Even though I do not have proper eyewear. I am smart enough not to stare at the sun. One of the few of my parents warnings I took heed of. They would be so proud. Knowing me I will forget till it’s over and have to wait another 40 years to see one in person. Not a problem. You can see one at the planetarium every day. In a comfy seat. No special glasses required. Full solar eclipse on the wide screen with a better view than all the idiots who reserved hotels five years in advance to get the best seats. What if it’s overcast. That would be a bummer, don’t ya think? Enough of Astronomy 101, I am not much of a professor. I know more about Astrology which is also more fun. I wonder what it means to be born during an eclipse? To an Astrologer I mean.

This is a weird eclipse shadow.

Looks like kid is ready to go. He doesn’t talk much but I can see trips to the car are finished and so is breakfast and he gets real antsy to get moving when he has a destination. I’d say right now. Off by five minutes. He is doing a final walk through to be sure he did not forget anything. And down the stairs. And out the door.

No taearful goodbyes. That’s his sister. At least I can tell she misses her mom and me. And he is down the driveway. On the road to Irvine. Time for shower, shave, and eclipse. Lots to do, very little time. About 30 mins to eclipse start and an hour 30 to full.  Already the sky is changing color. Of course, it’s overcast like crazy right now. That is not going to be good for viewing.

I was noticing this am how everything I do every morning is in the exact same order and same method as every day before. Even showering, I grab the soap and start cleaning the same spot first every time. I have forced off that but the habit is strong. My dentist told me people start brushing theirbteeth in the same place every time they brush. It actually wears a spot in ur teeth. He said he can always tell. Since that time, I have tried very hard, with success, to move the start point around. That is my new habit. Not sure why I was thinking about it. Someone once told me you will do the same things all the way through the last day of your life. Never changing. Now it’s Philosophy 101. Maybe I am a frustrated college professor.

The house is really quiet now.  Like the grave quiet.  I make very little noise when I am home alone.  Unless I am talking to the dogs. And they are asleep which is where they are 90% of the day. We should all have a dogs life.

I am going to pack my lunch and get on the road. Time to go to work. Sadly. In case no one has noticed in their own lives, work can really get in the way of enjoying a nice day.

Got to work at a reasonable hour. I have no appointments or phone calls planned. Client Kim came in, she needed a calculation of her SEP amount for 2016. She told us if she wins the Powerball tomorrow night she is going to give each of us $1M. I hope she wins. I guess if I win I will need to give her $1M. After her, client Arlene stopped in. She had a tale of woe, her computer crashed and she lost most of 2017. The guy she asked to repair it, also screwed it up. She was in a state. I am going to recreate the first 8 months of the year for her.

Lunch was about as exciting as usual. Chicken noodle soup. I hope you weren’t thinking I was joking. That’s the item.

Spent a half hour on the phone with the IRS. At least I got to talk to them. That’s amazing. I was trying to reset my IRS e services login. Yes, that takes a half hour. Nice lady who knew what she was doing. So that is a win.

I got a call from client Nouman about 4 o’clock. He wanted to come in and see me. I told him to move quick. He arrived close to 5. He had about ten different notices to go through. Most from IRS and a couple from FTB. Almost all did not require any action by me. Just a couple I needed to respond to. Not very exciting.

Emily usually calls about 430 every afternoon. Today she did not call till 520. Very strange. I thought something was wrong. But it turned out no problem. But she was not able to go to her yoga class today. That’s a very bad thing cuz it really puts her off her kibble if you know what I mean. Anyhow, I had had dinner all planned out. I could leave office at 6 and have dinner on the table by 715. When I did get home Emily had not made dinner so I had to throw a meal together. Not what I wanted to do. But no complaints from her except for a mean comment about the alfredo sauce.

So it’s 8pm and the kids are back at school. You know what that means? That’s right, bedtime!! We go to bed early when no one is around. I have to finish this post first of course.

So Emily just told me she got a SF Giants email. Special ticket for 9/3. Brunch two hours before the game in triples alley, unlimited booze (no shit) and lower box seats at field level. So now I have two tickets to the game. Should be fun. I have parking too. It ain’t a baseball game without overpriced parking.

So now I can go to bed. I have done enough damage for one day.

Wait. Just received a phone message from a client. He got hot wire a $50k lien by the IRS. Wonderful. Guess we will have work tomorrow.

Now it’s bedtime.