A Double Header (Day 100)

Wednesday March 17th

Baseball—all day or rather all afternoon and evening! Rick and Harris caught the Kansas City Royals and the San Diego Padres game in Surprise stadium. The game seemed to be a blowout after the first couple of innings but the weather was sunny and 81 degrees and they had found a seat at one of those tables with a color umbrella which provided much appreciated shade. At the table they chatted with one of those Canadian Snowbirds that happen to be in plentiful supply in Arizona. It was pleasant, eating vegetables (on top of left over pizza), witnessing several great plays and many errors, and soaking in the ballpark ambiance. Lo and behold the 16 to 4 score changed to 16-12 and the Kansas City crowd came alive. KC never got closer but it was great to see a comeback.

Then it was off to a nearby park for Stinger drink and for Harris to try to rack up a third straight victory in Phase 10. Harris remarked that by “forcing” Rick to drink a Stinger he could ensure a victory. Rick maintained that by playing under a picnic table canopy instead of inside Howie, he could break the winning streak. Rick was right although Harris was mollified slightly by the Stinger… On to La Carumba! Restaurant for dinner. Harris had a burrito which was spicy and yummy with many tangy shrimps enclosed.

Then it was on to Peoria for the Mariner’s first night game of the season. The place was packed with 10000+ fans. They wanted regular seats but by the time they arrived, only lawn and bleacher seats were available. Rick scouted out a line that took only cash for lawn seats and had its own entry door without a line. They bypassed 10 minutes of waiting in line and didn’t miss a pitch. They watched a couple of innings from the right field berm It started off great with Ichiro walking as well as Figgons getting on via the 4 balls. Then the Mariners fizzled…right through the 9 innings eking out one run while the Rangers slammed 4 homers and ended up with 8 runs.

Rick and Harris sharing a campsite




Thursday March 18, 2010 (Day 101)
Rick and Harris got off a little later today but made it for the Mariner’s 1:05 first pitch. It was even more packed today than last night’s 10,000+ fans. The M’s have decided to play the starters for an entire game and then rest them so today we saw the replacements. If you are a person that believes that the team will play the opposite of how they play in spring training, you would have loved the past 2 games. Combining the 2 games gives the M’s a total of 3 runs and 5 hits. Last night’s game was 7-1 and today’s was 8-2. The highlight was the weather—81 degrees!

Back at camp Rick prepared veggie burgers while Harris stuck with steak. There were baked potatoes and beans along with a great salad which Harris had double servings of.



Rick cooking and enjoying a mixed drink





Friday March 19, 2010 (Day 102)

An almost double header

After the usual morning routine of a walk for Harris or a run/workout for Rick, they decided to head to a Cubs and White Sox game at a stadium neither had been to. They figured that even though the website said the seats were sold out they could get lawn seats/berm seats. They figured wrong. Harris dropped Rick off just outside the stadium so that Harris could find a place to park (for free) while Rick bought a couple of lawn tickets. Several minutes passed by, enough that Harris parked, made sandwiches, and packed the game bag before Rick called and informed Harris that after hiking for 4 miles, nothing was available. They did see a scalper selling $8 lawn seats for $35. They passed on this and went to a Chinese place to watch the NCAA tournament, play Phase 10, and eat before heading to the Mariners game at Good Year stadium. The Mariners lost 6-2. While at the game Carl Johnson from Lake Stevens called to say that they arrived at the same RV campground. Plans were made for dinner the following night.

Rick showing his expertise at bocce





Saturday March 20, 2010 (Day 103)
The Mariners Win! Finally!!
This was a day game at Peoria that saw a record breaking 13000 plus in attendance to watch Felix pitch the M’s to a 4-0 shutout. Afterwards, they went to Carl and Anita’s RV to have an expertly prepared meal including steak (veggie ribs for Rick), salad, steamed veggies, and 4 tin (sp) for dessert. After dinner Harris and Rick called it an early night and Harris decided to catch up on the blog.

Short notes:
Rick continues to trounce Harris at bocce.
Harris continues to have a slight edge over Rick in Phase 10.
Both continue to try out various mixed drinks.
Sunday will be a laundry morning before going to see the White Sox and the Brewers play.


Carl and Anita hosting steak night at Pleasant Harbor Rv

Baseball!

March 15, 2010 (Day 98)

A wonderful Arizona day with the temps the highest yet at 75 degrees. Harris did some geocaching in Goodyear, AZ where he went to see a game between Cincinnati and Oakland. The lines were so long that he decided to watch the first inning from outside the center field fence instead of standing in line. It was good that he did because Oakland gave up 10 runs in the first inning. By the end of the 2nd the lines dissolved and Harris entered. He left during the 7th inning and met Rick at Pleasant Harbor where they shared cooking duties, Rick cooked the main course and Harris took care of the salad. After dinner they rearranged their vans so that they could share the power and have the sliding doors open toward each other. The night was capped with a game of Phase 10. It was close and the game hinged upon the number of points accumulated over the games. Harris was ecstatic with the win even if Rick was dead tired after driving from the blizzard north. It will be interesting to see how he fares when Rick is rested tomorrow.


Tuesday, March 16, 2010 (Day 99)

The morning was a welcome calm in terms of weather. The last couple of nights had winds whipping up to 40 mph that rocked the rigs through the night. Harris asked Rick how the pop-up did in the wind and was told “no problem”. Rick was up and finished with his run as Harris exited Howie ready to begin his walk. Afterwards, Rick had coffee ready as Harris contributed raison and peanut butter bread toward the individual breakfasts. Later they went off in search of bartending materials for their evening experimentations. Then it was off to another baseball game, this time the Giants and Indians. Those of you who might be wondering about watching the Mariners, they’ve been out of town the past couple of days. They come back Wednesday for an evening game. After the game it was a veggie pizza dinner which Harris counted as vegetables for the day. On the way to camp they passed a wonderful sky and arrived just as darkness completed closing off another day. Harris doubled Rick’s Stinger beverage order as they played another round of Phase 10 which may have accounted for a second victorious card showdown. Harris intends to continue this card tradition until Rick wins…

btw, the high today was a trip high of 81 degrees!!

Evening Sky

Hangin’ out with an old friend (Days 95-97)

March 12-14
Friday- Harris woke up around 7AM and went on a geocaching walk to find 3 caches along the walk. The weather did require a long sleeve shirt for the first 20 minutes but otherwise it was shorts and a t-shirt. This RV campground is great for anyone looking to be close to SD proper including Old Town but for the same price there is another called CampLand that has 2 pools and a hot tub. Camp Club members that were here during the week (discount applies only week days ) were pulling out and heading over there en masse. After breakfast and a shower Harris headed out of camp and spent the day within 2 miles of the campground finding caches. There are a number of parks along the shoreline here and there were many caches. San Diego has done a great job of preserving public access along the shore.

Harris ran into a couple while looking for a cache that sold their house, retired from their jobs in San Diego, and moved into a 40 foot RV to answer a calling to help the homeless. The husband talked about his 20+year career designing water features for clients in the area. Apparently he is well known (but I didn’t write down his name!). They park their rig on the street to save the $50 daily campground fee and earn extra money buy making water sample kits and selling them to companies via the internet. He explained how they make200 sample kits in about 4 days and sell them for 2000.



Homeless Helpers




Pull the plunger...out pops cache!



Later that day, Harris met a guy who had the same year and model of RV. They spent almost an hour talking about improvements done on their rigs. Dick also talked about how he was retired and how he also sold his house and lived full time in his rig. He mentioned that his older brother had the same exact rig that Harris had and that he came to investigate thinking that Harris was in fact his brother. The upgrade that Dick was the most proud of was an electric valve for the waste water tanks, grey and black. With this gadget he could be driving along and push a button and have his tanks empty onto the street or highway. He took pains to explain that only liquid waste was jettisoned. He showed how he dealt with the solids (suffice it to mention that involved using plastic bags). All TP was put in a plastic jug with a flip top. With this and much more newly acquired info, Harris said good-bye and continued on his caching quest.


Dick, a RV expert




At 3:30 he called it a day and went to find John V. house. John is a friend he has known since 8th grade. The last name is being abbreviated because he wants to keep a low profile on the net. John’s wife Mariann is simply a terrific cook. Not only did Harris have healthy and nutritious food, he enjoyed and devoured all offerings. The evening was spent catching up after looking at the wonderful sunset. Their cat, Little Bear, has the personality of a blended Garfield and Odie. His 12 years of people experience was on display as he made his wants and desires known. Of course he knew that Harris is allergic to cats and proceeded to rub and bump him numerous times when Mom and Dad were out of eyesight. The ongoing game was a version of the TV series Prison Break where Little Bear looked for and took advantage of any weakness in the system. Harris was a weakness in the system and accounted for one prison escape.
What San Diego is known for...



Another cache seeker...



A typical breakfast at John's place...



Saturday was a day for Harris and John to eat more great food that Mariann prepared. They also went on a San Diego nostalgia trip after taking Howie to a car wash to make him more presentable in public. John describe a product called RainX and applied it to Howie’s windshield to help with bugs and rain. Harris also tried to fix a scanner computer problem but couldn’t figure it out. Oh well.

Sunday morning Harris forgot about the time change and instead of going for a walk at 7, it was at 8 and resulted in a late start. But the walk along the Rim Trail just around the corner of their house was worth it with sweeping views encompassing several communities along the coast. John mentioned that on the 4th of July, they can see 7 different fireworks programs from their perch on the hill top. Mariann packed a care package for Harris and more than half of it was consumed on the way to Pleasant Harbor, where this blog is being written.


John and Mariann...



His partner in Baseball mania was held up some 500 miles away by a snow storm that blocked one of the passes from Montana. So tomorrow Harris will have to find something to keep him busy while he waits for Rick. Any bets on what Harris will do to pass the time?

The scenary leaving San Diego on I-8 Eastbound...

The Green Hills of…Southern Cal.? (Day 94)

What a pleasure to wake up to clear skies albeit rather cool temps in Patterson. Harris made an executive decision (very easy to do since he’s by himself) and decided to go all the way to San Diego. He has been longing for shorts weather and to do some geocaching so arriving in SD a day ahead of schedule will provide a day of caching around Mission Bay. On the way down Harris marveled at how green the hills were. Not quite Ireland but the greenest he can ever remember thanks to all the rain S. California has been receiving. Several locals he’s spoken with have also commented on it. Harris loved passing some place names with interesting sounding names…Temecula, Laguna Hills, Escondido, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, and El Camino Real.
Harris found an RV park right next to the bay and upon arrival spoke awhile to a long term resident in an Airstream who leaves the park every 30 days for a period of 2 weeks per the rvpark regulations and was registering at the same time. Airstream Guy (H. can’t remember his name) has been looking for a place to settle down at but hasn’t found it yet. And for what it’s worth, he says not to buy property yet because the real estate bottom arrived (hence his living in the Airstream)
Harris also spent some time talking to a couple from Quebec that has been full timing since last October in Rialta class B van. I found out some interesting info such as:
His 6 cylinder gas gets 20mpg when he’s going 75mph on the freeways
It only goes 45 mph going up steep grades!
He’s added Nanostation2 so he can pick up wifi from almost 3 miles away!
He’s added solar power, satellite dish, an extra battery under the floor…Wow
PS. The Rialta and everyone else’s rigs looked clean and shiny… Howie is dirty…very dirty…and needs a bath!!
PPS –As I write this at almost 10PM, it’s 62 degrees outside!!

The Rialta Couple from Quebec



Looking back inside...



And looking forward...



Mission Bay RV knows how to pack them in!



A shot across the bay from the edge of the park

Out of the moisture…hopefully for good (Day 93)

Harris was able to start early (7:30) today because he found it difficult to sleep in Howie without Judy. The snow level dropped to 1500 feet last night and was visible on the hillsides when leaving camp at Tri-City RV in Myrtle Creek. The upside was that the sun came out about 50 miles into California and continued to chase away the clouds. Harris needed to break out the sunglasses for the first time this trip and the temps SOARED into the mid 50’s. Instead of listening to his XM radio Harris plugged in a Michael Connelly called Nine Dragons and the 430 miles zipped by. He pulled into Kit RV which he stayed at on his last trip to spring training. And for those that are keeping track, Harris has sampled all the food groups except one. Veggies are on the menu for tomorrow.

Leaving Myrtle Creek



The sun poking out in N. California


Kit's RV just across the water canal in Patterson, CA



PS. Harris is very sorry for misspelling Lubansky in the prior post...

Off to Spring Training V2010

Leaving Seattle (Day 92) Tuesday March 9, 2010

The day finally arrived! The departure date was determined by a Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert that Judy gave Harris as a Christmas present that took place on March 8th at Benaroya Hall. The group’s voices were awesome but they sang the same type of song over and over. They really needed Paul Simon to compliment them! Judy and Harris were able to complete an early morning walk with temps in the upper 20’s.

The difference with this trip is that Harris is going solo…Judy is staying behind for 15 days while Harris heads to Phoenix to meet up with his Spring training mate, Rick Lubanski for a week long baseball extravaganza. Harris left at 9:45 (not too bad for a Thomas get-a-way). Ten minutes later he was back home; he’d forgotten his just made mocha in his special coffee travel mug. He then proceeded to stop at the dollar store to pick up some new dice for Farkle because he felt that he might fare better than using the Lubanski dice. He also picked up a new broom, went next door to the Ace hardware store to ask them to cut the handle down.

10:33 finds Harris leaving Lake Stevens under cloudy skies and temps in the lower 40’s. Judy made Harris promise that he would not drive all day w/o eating every so often so he stopped every couple of hours at a rest stop and ate one of her Raisin bran muffins that she so kindly made that morning. After passing through Eugene, Harris decide to eat something Judy would approve (at least the first night) so he stopped at Costco and picked up a pre-cooked chicken for dinner. Talk about nutritious! He also had another bran muffin for dessert. The rain began to pound Howie and Harris thought about all the work he put in the past week washing, cleaning, and waxing it. Harris finally pulled in after asking for directions since the GPS put him in the middle of Myrtle Creek with no RV park in sight. He saw a sign that stated RV park to the right. He followed it and found a city RV park but it was the wrong one. That’s when he decided to ask for directions. On arrival, priority One was to call Judy and check in. Hopefully tomorrow will bring warmer weather. A side story is two friends of Harris and Judy, Carl and Anita of Lake Stevens, left one day earlier on their way to Palm Springs and Tucson and have been reporting to Harris a preview of what to expect on the way down. How nice!

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

A 4 day trip to Sol Duc

A short trip to a favorite spot (Howie days 88-91)


September 10-13

Judy has been having back trouble the last month so when her sister suggested going to the Sol Duc hot springs we jumped at the chance. Harris had been having withdrawal spasms from not being in Howie for almost a couple of months so this was a good reason (probably any reason would have been a good reason) to get out on the road. We headed out around our usual time (10 AM) and instead of taking the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston, we drove around through Seattle, Tacoma, and up the other side of the peninsula. Traffic was light and it felt good to be in Howie again. Harris drove with a big smile, he just couldn’t help it, he was happy to be on the go again! We arrived in the afternoon just about “Happy Hour” time. Marilynn and Gene had already been in the hot springs so we arranged the chairs and caught up. Gene figured out the electrical problem with his trailer was a bad battery and we all shared what’s been going on with our kids’ lives. The ground was still very wet from the heavy rainfall the previous week. Lucky for us the weather was clear and warm (shorts weather for the most part) so we wouldn’t have a need for the raingear. Since Sol Duc is in a valley between two large mountains, we lose the sunlight early and have a later sunrise than in Lake Stevens. (It was hot in Lake Stevens when we left, and we didn’t pack all the warm clothes we should have….it’s easy to forget that in the rain forest, even the nicest days can be chilly.)

Our campsites in the trees

Harris did some hiking with Marilyn and Gene. Judy rested her back and took short walks around the campsites. We lazed around in the hot pools. We played cards. (Marilyn won.) We read our books and sat by the campfire. Because we camped with Marilyn, the dinners were sublime. Sunday and heading home came all too soon.

Catching up




Gene walking the dogs



On the way back, Harris did a little geocaching in Port Angeles. The first two were easily found, and the last two stumped us, so we have to go back and search some more. (any excuse, right?) Short trips are good…and probably all that are left to us this fall. Harris is already looking forward to March and spring training in Arizona!


Finding a geocache in Port Angeles