A day of rest?

In the words of the philosopher and handyman, Al: "I don't think so, Tim."

We were up and at it early.  Well, "early" is a relative term; early for us.  Still plenty to do to "break camp."  Yeah, that's camper-talk.  We've never considered our RVs to be "campers," but plenty of folks do.

The thing that concerned me the most was: 4 more tires to check/air up.  It all went fine, just takes time and working on my achy ol' kneeds.  Air bags to check and air up (easy).  Pulling up the patio mats... that is not easy; we pound metal stakes into the hard pack dirt that is under the gravel here.  With more rain than usual, I think the sand in that hard pack sets up like concrete.  It takes a pry bar, a sledge hammer, and Robogrips to pull out the 12 stakes.  And, a good deal of grunting and swearing (under my breath).  The patio looks naked without those mats down.  It also means extra foot wiping before going into the coach, so we don't track in the red sand/gravel.

While I was working on that, Joan finished packing the cargo trailer.  Wiped down all of our patio furniture and took the patio mats to an unoccupied site next to us that has a small concrete slab, so she could sweep both sides of the patio mats.

I put away our satellite (TV) cube.  Yes, we'll "rough it" for the evening with the powered TV antenna for local channels.  As Joan brought me patio chairs, I packed them in "my" aft storage compartment... yes, the one that we emptied out yesterday to get at the spare tire; huge, for the size of this coach.

Fresh water tank emptied and more fresh water (with a bit of bleach) added.  This evening, I will dump our other holding tanks and put the sewer stuff away (one less thing to deal with in the morning).  Everything that needs it gets lubed, electrical connectors get a little attention.

Don't believe those "leisurely" RV ads you see on TV.  ;-)  It takes plenty of work to have that leisurely lifestyle.  And, I still like it.

After sweating in the AZ sun, we'll clean up and head to Steph and Dan's for the afternoon.  Joan is making her family-favorite spaghetti... with plenty so we'll all have some left-overs.  Dan will get one last (in person) guitar lesson.

Rufus knows all the scurrying means we're almost ready to roll.  "You aren't going to forget to take me, right?"

"You are family, my boy - you go where we go.  And, we're heading for home, where you'll have a bit more room to run."  He got plenty of patio time this season, but we didn't do a lot of walking with him... I think he prefers all that nice grass at Hart Ranch to this desert gravel.  I get that.

A few last minute things to put away in the morning, more like daily traveling.  You tend to "spread out" a bit when you are in one place for a while.  ;-)

Time for a change...

"You mean because you're getting ready to roll again?" you ask.

Thanks for asking.  We started the putting-away process this morning; part of that process is checking and airing all our tires.  We have 12 tires, plus 3 spares.  When I got to the inside dually on the driver's side of the motorhome, it had no air in it.  That is a problem.

We have a spare tire for the coach, but even in the Winnebago manual, it says to call for road service to have the tire changed.  We have road service as part of our insurance on the coach, but I didn't know if they would come change a tire if you weren't broke down on the side of the road.  The nice man I spoke with told me they certainly do cover that and said that someone would be here within 60 minutes.

A guy showed up in about 20 minutes.  In a small Nissan car.  With no jack and no compressor.  He had never seen lug nut covers (which most motorhomes have)... and he was the owner of that road service company.  It was immediately clear that he wasn't going to be able to do anything for us - he called "one of my local guys" to come out with the right tools, and said, "He should be here in about 10 minutes."  Then, he left.

The second guy showed up about 40 minutes later... with no tools and no compressor.  He said, "The first guy has about half my tools."  We sent him packing and called the road service provider again; explained the situation, and of course, they apologized a bunch and said they'd find us another service provider.

That guy showed up with a large flat-bed tow truck.  First thing I asked, "You aren't planning on towing this anywhere, are you?  We just need a tire changed."  He assured me that he was there just to change out a tire.  He has an onboard compressor (which is good) that he said, "Isn't the greatest." (which is bad)  He went to work, getting out tools... and had no socket that fits our lug nuts.  No, I am not kidding.  He seems very competent (where the other two guys from a different company couldn't find their ass with both hands and a funnel), and was again very apologetic.  He said, "I will need to go to an auto parts store and get another socket."

I opened my RV supply bin and pulled out the right size socket... unfortunately, it is a thin-wall socket that I bought for getting into the tight space of the water heater drain plug.  This guy tried it on our lug nuts, but he was concerned he would ruin my socket.  So, off he went to get another socket.

And, here we sit.  Good thing we started this process two days before we are actually leaving.

(sigh)

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Chris (the 3rd road service guy) came back with the right size socket.  I raised that side of our coach with the jacks, and he had tires changed out in no time.  He loaded the flat one in the Honda for us, and Joan took it to Discount Tire.  It had a slice in it, so wasn't repairable.  She bought another tire and had them mount it on our rim - it will be the new spare.

Chris is a good guy and offered to come back and get the new tire lifted into our aft storage in the motorhome, but I told him we could handle it.  Shook his hand, thanked him, signed for the service, and he was off.

When Joan got back, it took both of us to lift the new tire out of the back of the Honda.  I rolled it around to the back of the coach and we lifted it in.  That space is big enough that Joan climbed in (sitting height room) and got the tire onto the lugs that hold it in place.  We swapped places, and I grunted and groaned my way back to the tire and got the lug nuts tightened... and then we could re-load that compartment.  It was looking like we were having a yard sale with all the stuff we had to take out of that storage compartment to get at the tire.

Good thing we started early - this whole process wound up taking about 5 hours.  The cargo trailer is loaded; we'll need to put away our patio stuff (tables, chairs, and mats), and we'll be ready to roll on Monday morning.  We had plans to meet Steph and Dan for a late lunch before the tire situation... they were willing to wait and we finally got together just after 4:00... and we were all hungry!

Tomorrow, we'll get together one more time before we hit the road.  I will miss them, but it is time for us to get on down the road.

A raw cut...

I had a bit of time after washing the coach to pull up a music track that Mark and I recorded when we were at their house on Wednesday.  I need to have a quiet place to put down a vocal track (doesn't work great in the motorhome), but this is my first shot at recording the harmonica.

Once we get home, I'll have faster internet, and Mark and I will be able to exchange tracks, each in our own environment.

So, the first raw cut of Piano Man...

https://soundcloud.com/captainjimb/piano-man-t3-mark-jim

We may need to update the photo, too.  ;-)

Crack?

No, not that kinda crack.  Kids, don't do drugs - stay in school!

I got a ping in the windshield on the way back from Laughlin, before we settled in at this RV park.  Earlier this week, Joan picked up a windshield ping repair kit for me to try.  I used one years ago, and it was pretty much a tube of Superglue.  This kit has the suction cup apparatus for pushing the resin into the glass; it comes with curing strips and a razor blade for scraping away the excess resin.

While Joan went grocery shopping this morning, I washed the coach.  When the sun was in the "just right" position that would allow me to use part of our windshield cover for shade, I went to work on that ping.  I followed all the directions carefully... and in those directions they mention that working on the repair may cause the windshield to crack further.

Yep.  From inside, I could see that the resin was filling the chip in the windshield.  And then... a crack started... first to the left, then to the right.  Damn!  The kit can also be used on some cracks; it didn't say anything about cracks caused by trying to repair the original ping.

We have had professional chip/ping repair in the past, they are very quick to tell you that working on the chip may cause it to crack further.  I am now living proof of that warning.

On the bright side: the coach looks nice and clean.  Until we head back to Texas, smashing bugs along the way.  No doubt a windshield replacement will be in our future, since I fully expect that crack to expand, thanks to the roads along the way.  Since this motorhome is a van cab chassis, the windshield will be way less expensive than the huge windshield in a bigger motorhome.

Socio-economic systems...

Sounds like it might be something deep, huh?  More like a ride on the scoots, through the different areas between the suburbs of the west Valley and downtown Phoenix.

Another warm day here in the Valley of the Sun; we decided to take the scoots to downtown for a late lunch.  Getting ready to head out...

Heading south from the RV park, towards the Estrella Mountains, kinda in the boonies...

Crossing a bridge over a dry river-bed, no traffic...

In the foothills of the Estrella Mountains...

Road construction (one view of several we drove through)...

Plenty of new home construction, just off from this lane through the Estrella Mountain Ranch area...

Riding by what used to be called PIR (Phoenix International Raceway), and is now ISM (Ingenuity Sun Media) Raceway...

Then moving into an agricultural area...

And then: industry, warehouses, and distribution centers...

Lots of trucks!  This one had the "Call to report..." number partially blacked out...

A palm tree farm - all those palm trees around here have to come from somewhere...

Like approaching downtown from further north (last time scoot cruising into downtown), you pass through an area that feels more like Mexico than the US...

And then into downtown Phoenix...

Lunch was good, and then a different way back to the West Valley.  A warm day on the scoots; the highest time I saw on my dash thermometer was 91º.  Yes, we were dressed for riding: boots, helmets, and mesh jackets with armor.

This may be the last of the scooting we get in before heading for home.

Mark & Jim together again... again.

We got together with friends Mark and Cindy again today; Mark's sister Rita was there, as well.  I haven't seen her in decades.

While Cindy, Rita, and Joan went out to get lunch, Mark and I laid down a couple recording tracks.  Nothing finished, yet - I'll be taking them home and adding bass and percussion tracks, then sending those back to Mark so he can put another enhanced keyboard (maybe strings or horns) on there.  Look for that sometime in the future.

We had a lot of fun playing today.  Joan has been asking be to learn the song Shallow, by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper... here's a first run through with Mark and me this afternoon...

Joan shot this on an iPhone.  It may not be a movie extravaganza, but it is a nice memory for us.  When we actually get the song down, we'll exchange tracks on it and have something for public consumption.  Again, after we get home.

Our time here is getting short.  It was a nice treat to get this mid-week playing time in!

Date Day...

No, nothing to do with the fruit from a date palm tree - Joan and I got to have a "going-out date"... well, seasoned citizen style.  Joan got to shop at The Container Store and we went to a movie; her choice: Gloria Bell.  Not exactly a block-buster, but it was nice to not have a schedule.

When we picked out seats on Sunday, for today, every seat in the small theater was available.  Since we haven't heard any "buzz" about this movie, we expected to have the theater to ourselves.  Nope; the next person to come in was an individual, and his seat was right next to me.  Next couple in were in the seats on the other side of Joan.  Apparently, they all thought we knew something about the best location in this theater.  ;-)

A warm, hazy-overcast day in the desert.  It got to the upper 80s... spring has definitely sprung.

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And Practice Night...

No, I wasn't practicing for the date.  Dan has had his sisters and their families here for the last few days, and he hasn't been able to practice guitar.  We did another lesson tonight.  This is way different from lessons with the kids: I have used Dan as an example for how they should be practicing... they know about 8 chords, Dan knows about 40 to 50.  We worked on some individual note picking this evening.  He is progressing nicely - I am trying to give him exercises he can work on after we leave.

And speaking of practicing... I put an hour in on the harmonica this afternoon.  I can play a scale and working on breathing exercises.  Joan said, "I am surprised - it sounds OK."  Note: "OK," and not "fantastic"... of course, I would know she is yanking my chain if she said the latter.  ;-)

Rufus on the other hand, was more vocal than usual... and he wasn't particularly happy about it: "Seriously, Pops, we need more guitar and singing, and way less of that thing."

We'll see.

A Wrap and a Life Lesson...

The last guitar class today.  I brought a truss rod wrench and adjusted the relief on one kid's guitar (he was getting a fret buzz).  Everyone was reasonably close to in tune as we started the class.  We reviewed a few things from the last class, then I showed them how to play a song that one boy wanted to learn.  Then, to wrap things up, another go at the Taylor Swift song Shake It Off.

"Before we play this, can anyone tell me what this song is about?" I asked.  The answers ranged from "It's a fun song" to "It's 3 chords."

"Well, yeah, but what do the lyrics tell you?"  Mostly blank stares.  One girl (who is very quiet) finally said, "Heartbreak."

"Seems to me that a lot of Taylor Swift songs are about heartbreak, but there is a story and a lesson in this song," I said.  "Let's go through the words..."  The song is about what people say about her, but she is smart enough to... Shake It Off.  In other words, don't let what people say about you define you - know who you are and let any insults roll off.

Who would have ever thought I'd be quoting Taylor Swift as a life philosophy?  At this age, these kids are very aware of what other people think.

When we finished with the Gravity Cruisers program, the kids all wrote out thank-you notes to the adults who helped them.  I told Steph yesterday that there was no need for thank-you notes when we were done with the guitar classes... "Too late, they have been working on them."

So, as we wrapped things up, they gave me a gift and hand-made cards from each of them.  There is no doubt in my mind that Steph was behind the gift: a wooden pick holder in the shape of an acoustic guitar body...

Very nice.  When most of the class had headed out, one girl asked if she could get a photo with me - "Hey, let's get everyone who is left in the photo," I suggested...

Good kids.  Well, they could put in a bit more practice time, but they are all nice kids.  I hope some of them stick with the lessons... I have faith in a couple of them.  In one card I received, the young man said when he gets rich and famous as a rock star, he will give me a bunch of money.  Yeah, that would be real nice.  ;-)

Daddy-Daughter Day...

We do this once in a while, and it has been a while.  Today, Steph and I had lunch together, then went for a scooter ride.  Lunch is normal, her riding on a scooter isn't.  I have a second helmet, it was a beautiful day, and it was nice to just be out and about with my girl...

For the record, she said the same thing Joan said about the passenger accommodations on the Vespa: the seat is comfortable, but the foot pegs are uncomfortable.  We weren't out for hours, just a bit of urban cruising.

Together again, again...

Mark and I got together again to make some music.  It is just a delight to play with him, because we can just look at each other, nod, and we both know where we are going.  Being able to pull chords and lyrics off the internet makes it easy for us to be working on a song individually, so when we do get together it comes together faster.

Also, Mark got a Spire Studio, so we will be able to send files back and forth and work on songs together... from a distance.  If we were closer, I'd be ready to start booking gigs again.

I need to put down a track or two and do some mixing, and I will post one of those joint-ventures from a distance.

It did get a little confusing today, with his Spire Studio sitting next to my Spire Studio, and each of us controlling them separately.  Or in one case, where I started the recording on each, one by hand, one by the app.  I think.  ;-)

That sucks...

Or blows.  Depends on how you use it.

"A vacuum cleaner?" you ask.  Well, yeah, but I'm talking about a harmonica.  I tried one once as a kid, but could never get past the awful inhale/exhale sound.  I had no one to show me how to use it.  And now a scant 55 years or so later, I decided to give one a try again... because you can learn stuff on the internet.  ;-)

A Hohner Marine Band 1896.  Same year I was born?  Close.  It is considered a standard in the harmonica world.  There's a harmonic world?  Yeah, who knew?  You can spend a lot more, but I figured this would be a good "dip my toe" entry.  It came with a month of "free lessons."  Well, stuff on the internet that they would like you to pay $16.95 per month after that first "free" month.  According to the intro video, I should be able to play along on a song... after only a couple months of practice.  The class is on how to play blues harmonica.

I followed along with the beginning videos, showing how to hold it, how to breath in and out with it, how to "tongue block," and more.  My lips are numb and my jaw aches... yeah, I think that is enough for today.  ;-)

Joan and Rufus were very patient while I practiced as quietly as I could.  Unlike the recent guitar acquisition, this is not "nearly silent."

Next to the last...

Just about done with guitar lessons at Steph's school; the second to the last before we head out was today.  All but one were there - this was the day we reviewed the songs everyone wants to learn.  I downloaded them from the internet and spent an hour or so learning some of them... no, not all of them, because there were some songs that were beyond their current abilities.

We went over some of the things from the previous lesson, then handed out song sheets that Steph had printed out.  The song that seemed to get them the most excited: yep, Shake It Off, by Taylor Swift.  Yes, a grown man... learning and playing a Taylor Swift song.  I try to keep it to their level and interesting for them.  IF they practice, we will be playing that song (and maybe another) in class next week.

In the meantime...

Proof that I am willing to go the extra mile to keep them fired up for learning guitar!

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The "ooouuh-ooouuh"s in that recording are apparently coming from the person doing the video.  I won't mention anyone by name, but it is Stephanie.  Apparently she was into it, too.  ;-)

Recording, after the fact...

Mark and I had a great time making music last Saturday.  I put my Spire Studio on the table to record a couple songs... without vocal mics plugged in, I knew the tracks would need some "mixing" after the fact.  Today, I took the time to drop in a couple tracks on top of what we recorded...

https://soundcloud.com/captainjimb/the-letter-markjim

I don't think we've changed a bit...

Day 2, silently...

I played the new guitar this morning, for nearly an hour.  It wasn't such a shock to my hand and fingers, but I could still feel I was using different muscles in the hand and forearm.  Rufus knows that when I get the guitar out in the morning, he gets brushed... he was a bit confused that very little sound came out... "Can you turn up the music, please!"  He likes his routine.

Steph and Dan came by this afternoon, after school - nice to visit with them.  Rufus came out to let everyone adore him...

No, that isn't a "painting effect" on the image above; Joan's phone camera has a bit less resolution than mine.  You can still tell he's a handsome boy.  :-)

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You may want to take a look towards the sky tonight: the Vernal Equinox and the March Full Moon will happen within hours of each other.  Expect the full moon to seem larger and brighter than typical once again.  This one will be known as: a Super Worm Equinox Moon.  It should appear full tonight and tomorrow night.

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On edit: here's the Super Worm Equinox Moon...

NSGD...

New Silent Guitar Day!

The tracking had those three lovely words this morning: Out For Delivery!  Of course, there is no knowing exactly when it will be delivered.  We went on with our routine until it was time for me to head to Steph's school to do the guitar lesson today... I checked the tracking as I left, because their house is right on the way.  Nope.

The guitar lessons went as expected: if anyone practiced during spring break, it didn't show.  I gave them a fun little riff to learn individual string picking, the opening to the song Secret Agent Man... it was met with open mouths and "How do you do that?" questions.  It is easy to learn, and within a few minutes (OK, closer to a half hour), most of them had it.  I had hoped to teach them a real song today, but we were pretty much starting over with learning the chords they already knew.  I had given them one assignment over break: come in with a song you want to learn, and make sure it is chords you already know.  Most of them had a song in mind, none of them had any idea about the chords.  So, being the swell guy I am, I will work up those songs and have chords and lyrics ready for them at the next lesson.

No, it does not seem right that I am the only one putting time into this outside of class.  But, I am doing my part.  I was surprised that most of them showed up today!  ;-)

When class was over, I checked the tracking again... yep: Delivered!

I left school and headed to Steph and Dan's house, hoping the box would still be there.  Fortunatly, it was.  And, a couple other packages for them.  I put their packages inside the house and headed for the motorhome.

The unveiling...

I didn't have to be concerned about letting the box and guitar acclimate (above) - it had been siting in a hot UPS truck, then out on their front landing in the 81º heat.  Life in the desert.

Inside the first box, another box...

 

The case looks like it should be holding a fly fishing rod...

 

There is some "assembly required" - well, you have to put that top curvy part that gives it a guitar shape on the main body...

That piece is designed to go on and off to fit in the case.  The thumb screws that hold it on are also the strap buttons; I didn't bother with a strap today.  I got a chance to try it out a bit, and then Steph and Dan showed up.  We did some "show & tell," but mostly visited.

When they headed for home, I got the guitar out and played for a while...

First impressions: it is WAY different from my steel string guitars - that neck is wide and the strings are spaced further apart.  This isn't going to be a "few minutes" to get comfortable with this guitar - I am guessing I'll need a few days to really get a feel for it.  The nylon strings, likewise, feel much different: I think I am over-gripping and over-strumming them.  It sounds good.  Oh, I still prefer the sound of steel strings, but I think this guitar will add another tonal pallet to some recording.  The electronics that are built into this guitar give a nice range of tones.

I've heard that nylon strings are easier on the fingers than steel strings... my fingers are not convinced of that, just yet.  The muscles in my hand and forearm feel like that got quite a workout.

As you can see, there isn't much "guitar" to it, other than the outline.  That said, that curvy piece on top has a cut-away in it, making it fit nice against the body.  And, it sits nicely on my lap.

Another path on this guitar journey.  :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

I have embraced my Irish heritage after many years of identifying more with the English side.  Let's just say, that I better understand the phrase "don't get my Irish up."

There was probably something listed in the events here in the RV resort where we are staying, but we were pleasantly surprised by a St. Patrick's Day Golf Cart Parade...

Not exactly the Tournament of Roses Parade, but the participants looked like they were having fun!  :-)

Quiet on the set!

The RV resort where we are staying isn't far off the new 303 Loop in the Phoenix area.  The southern most part of that Loop is closed today while Nissan is filming a commercial.  So, any traffic that would be using that Loop off Interstate 10 is being detoured.

It makes me wonder how much it must cost to rent out a section of highway for filming?  Besides the cost of the road (and who rents that out??), there is payroll for workers to put out the barricades, and police cars at any possible road entrance, in case someone should try to go around the barricades.  And then the cost of all the filming stuff.

We can see several motorhomes and semi-trucks, along with several large white tents and other cars on that section of road from our RV park.  On the bright side, it is a beautiful day for it: sunny and warm.

On another front, it was "grooming day" around our place.  Joan gave me a haircut.  Rufus also got some parts trimmed.  One of us is a hairy boy... and isn't particularly fond of having his private areas uncovered.  Yes, I'm talking about Rufus.  Since I was already "caped" for my haircut, Joan had me hold him while she did the trimming.  There was some struggling and hissing, and a bit of crying.  And Rufus wasn't too happy, either.  In the end (literally on his part), we both are looking less hairy.

:-)

Getting the band back together...

Sorta.

We got to see friends Mark and Cindy a couple weeks ago, for lunch.  Today, it was the opportunity for Mark and me to make some music.

We met over at their house, visited for a while (talked about kids, plans, etc), then set up some music gear.  Mark is a talented player who can play guitar, bass, and keyboards (his main instrument).  We talked about different guitars, and Mark got a chance to try out my Emerald X10...

Judging by the smile, I think he approved.  Then, time to make some music...

Using the OnSong app on each of our iPads, we could pull up the same song and go for it.  Technology has changed the way musicians learn songs these days.

I also pulled out the Spire Studio, and recorded a couple tunes.  I may need some time to download and mix, but I'll try to get something posted here.

Lots of fun to play together once again.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame...

The four of us went to a spring training game today, the Milwaukee Brewers vs the San Diego Padres.  For those who don't know, Dan is a Wisconsin native... yes, we were cheering for the Brewers.

A beautiful day today, high in the mid-70s, sunny sky.  Dan drove; dropped Joan and me near the stadium and then went to park.  Joan and I have not been in this stadium before; it has been completely renovated and is quite nice.  Located in an older part of town.

The first views of the stadium...

Joan and I walked around the entire stadium, to get a feel for who had the best ballpark food.  Dan had mentioned that he read they had fried cheesecurds here, so we were on the hunt.  Steph had her doubts, but... yep.

On with the game...

We had good seats, along the 3rd base line, behind the Padres' dugout.  The obligatory selfie...

A mildly cruel moment, when the announcer mentioned the temperature here and the temperature in Milwaukee...

These spring training games are always fun: the attendance here was pretty close to a full house, at 9,991, so anywhere you sit, you are reasonably close to the action.

It was a good game, especially if you were a Brewer's fan: the final score was Milwaukee 6, San Diego 2.  Not close, but the Padres did have the makings of a comeback in the 6th inning, when they had bases loaded and only one out.  It didn't pan out for them.  Dan was happy.  We all enjoyed being out at "the old ball game."

On the way back to the car...

A fun time.  :-)