That's a wrap...

 

We got most of the ready-to-roll work done yesterday.  What's left is stuff that, by necessity, gets done right before we pull away: patio mats, windshield cover, utility hook-up hoses.  The cargo trailer has some empty space... on the way here, there were two extra guitars, an amp, and two 12-channel mixers that rode in the trailer.  That stuff sold while we were here.

We will go through the motorhome's cabinets to make sure the contents are secure and won't rattle... and something always rattles or tinks the first day out.  (like glasses bumping together)

Some of this won't get put away until we are done with it tomorrow morning.  The plan is to get to see Steph and Dan this evening, so we can get in last hugs and say our good-byes.

Sometimes we do side-trips on the way to or from home - we plan to make some miles and head directly home... maybe 4 days instead of a week or more.  Mother Nature is giving us a pleasant day here today - cool and breezy to start, but a high of 72º.  As we roll east, it looks like we will be in the 90s at some point.  No chance to ease into the hot stuff.

Rufus knows something is up - he is on high alert.  I took him for a walk this morning, and he was nearly glued to my leg.  These furry ones are intuitive.

Looking through my Facebook Memories for the last 10 years, this is the time we were rolling.  Not a routine, but we do try to pick the best times to be in a particular place.  In the past, this has been a good time to be here in the desert.

The site is looking sparce...

Plenty of rigs rolling out of the park this morning.  Our turn tomorrow.

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Steph and Dan came to visit after work.  This will be the last time we see them for a while.  The conversation was good.  The hugs were even better.

Until next time.  

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After we said our good-byes, Joan and I pulled up the patio mats (takes some effort - they are staked down), shook them out, and put them away.  In the morning, utilities to put away, check lights, and hit the road.

Getting short...

 

You're shrinking, Jim?  Yeah, probably.  But that's beside the point.  The "getting ready for the road" is in process.  It takes a while to place everything in travel mode.  The big stuff is done: the CTX and Xmax are strapped down in the cargo trailer.  E-bikes (and that beast of a rack) are mounted on the Equinox.  Most of the stuff that was on the patio has been packed.  The sanitation process has begun on the fresh water holding tank.  "Didn't you do that right before you left Texas?"  Yes, but that means that water has been in the holding tank for about 2 months.  The tank has been pumped out and fresh water with bleach is in.  That will sit overnight, then get pumped out.  Then the tank should be good to go when we put more fresh water in.  The gray and black tanks will get filled, dumped, filled again with some "tank blaster," then dumped again.  We will leave with those tanks empty.

Tomorrow, we'll pull up patio mats and exercise the leveling jacks.  Double check everything in the cargo trailer, say our good-byes to Steph and Dan, then hit the road Saturday morning.

We have "our heads in it."  Time to go home.

 

It's official...

 

I am a part of the band - Danny gave me the T-shirt with the band name on it...

 We had a good time making music today.  This will be my last get-together with the guys until we come back to the Phoenix area.  They are all fun to be around, and we enjoy the camraderie.  It's nothing serious; we take turns picking songs.

Clockwise: back row left, me; back row center, Tom; back row right, Ron; front row right, Danny; front row center, Gil; front row left, Mark.  These guys get together to make some music every other week.  I will miss these get-togethers.

Threesome...

 
Triple play?  Whatever you want to call it, out for 3 rides today.  First, I took Joan's Xmax for a short(ish) ride.  Out to Hwy 85, onto I-10, then some local cruising.  That Xmax impresses me every time I ride it...

It is so competent at everything it does.  Feels really "flickable" compared to my CTX.  And gets 80+ miles per gallon doing it all.  Which is a good thing, since gas here in Buckeye is $4.59.

Joan hasn't been riding, so it is good to "exercise" the bike, keep oil flowing through it, and keep the battery topped up.

After putting the Xmax away, I got out on my CTX...

With no destination, but a plan to meet my Honey for lunch at 2:00 at the Garden of Olives.  I like their food, and they have $6.00 "entrees to go" after you have bought your meals.  We picked up a couple for Steph and Dan, and a couple for us to have while we're on the road heading for home.

I rode to the Cycle Gear where we have bought stuff in the past; didn't really need anything, just wanted to look around.  Nope - it is an empty building.  Another one bites the dust.

Ride #3 came after lunch; Joan took the extra entrees, so she could put two of them in Steph and Dan's fridge.  I rode north.  Then west.  Then south.  Then west some more.  It got to 79ª today and was just a nice day to be out on a bike.  This will probably be my last ride before we head out Saturday.

Getting close.

Still looking...

 

Not for Mr Goodbar.  Because I haven't had any chocolate with sugar in it in months.  I got out on the CTX today, still looking for some color out in the desert.

I went south today; past Palo Verde (yes, the town near the nuclear power plant), out Hwy 85, the back on roads that ran near the Estrella Mountains.  I saw plenty of cacti, but none with flowers blooming.  Some pretty ground cover, though...

 Ya take what get.  Several hours of varied riding.  It didn't suck.

Litchfield Park...

 

It's an upscale section in the Phoenix area.  Today, we went to the Litchfield Park Home Tour.  Dan did the graphic design for their brochure...

 Nicely done.  Besides a check, he got a couple wristbands (for entrance to the 6 homes featured in the tour).  The homes ranged in vintage from the 1960s to 2021.  I would describe this area as "classically elegant."  The homes that we toured are beautiful examples - sizes from 2,500 square feet to over 8,000.  It was fun to see how some of these have been beautifully updated, while keeping the classic exterior.

Some photos: an exterior...

A bedroom with the original brick...

Most of these homes were along the golf courses that are found in Litchfield Park.  Here's one view...

More exteriors...

The pool area at one house, alongside the golf course...

Back in the car, driving to the next house, this gorgeous row of palm trees...

The grande finale: the 6th home, most recently built, and huge (yes, the 8,000+ square foot one)...

Two RV garages!  That was just the start of it - a full gym, 2 sand volleyball courts, a sunken living room that opened to the pool area, with 24 linear feet of glass that completely open, a wine cellar, a custom chicken coop (air conditioned, of course) with fancy chickens (seriously, the first one I saw looked like a Maine Coon Chicken, followed by a Siberian Forest Chicken, and another that was wearing a coat of feathers that looked like something Liberace had worn.  No estate is complete without a "casita," that was bigger than our house.  Photos...

That's the living room above, open to the pool area.  And speaking of the pool area...

That bunch of horizontal things just left of center are built-in concrete pool chairs, allowing you to sit partially in the water.  That building at top center is a full bar and kitchen; yes, it is a swim-up bar.  The place went on and on.  They had people stationed around to give you directions.

It was an interesting tour.  The proceeds $25 per person for the wristbands goes to support the Litchfield Museum.  Dan has been doing their brochure for this since the inception of this fund-raising tour.

This is a beautifully elegant part of town.

Second to the last...

 

Now that we're down to one week before we hit the road again, plenty of our day-to-day stuff will be "the last time this trip."  Today, Joan and I went to Mark and Cindy's house.  After lunch (thanks, Cindy - it was tasty!), we visited for a bit, then went into "Junior High Dance mode": the boys went one way, the girls went the other.  Joan and Cindy made a trip to a fabric store... which turned out to be more recon than retail.  Mark and I went into his studio and put some finishing touches on the music video we recently completed, worked on another new song, then made some music.  It was a good afternoon.

Cindy made a beautiful bead mala for Joan.  "What's a mala?"  Thanks for asking - it is a string of 108 beads used in meditation to focus the mind (Cindy is a yoga instructor).  The tassel on a mala is a representation of a lotus flower.  The guru bead (starting and ending point for meditation/prayer) on this necklace is... a mermaid.  Cindy knows our connection to the water.  She wrote: "You mala is Jade, which is a good luck stone, bringing prosperity, deep wisdom, compassion, peace, and balance."  Lovely...

Second to last?  One more get-together next week with Mark and his friends to make some music.

Where's Rufus?

 

We hadn't seen him for a few minutes...

 

"Hi, Pops!  Wassup?"  That's the cabinet above our bed in the motorhome.

 

Warning, Will Robinson - Danger!

 

If you said, "The robot from the 60s TV series Lost In Space," you get 15 bonus points.  I still say that, when I sense a dicey situation.  It is beautiful sunshine this morning, still cooler than normal; the lady that does weather on the local NBC station (weaselette?) said, "Another day with temperatures about 15º below normal."

But, the big situation now: flood warnings.  After the heavy rain on Tuesday night and into Wednesday, there are 7 flood warnings when I pull up local info on the Weather Channel...

This will continue for the near term as the water runs downstream.  Some of the dams on streams in the Valley are having to let water out, only adding to the local problems.  Nothing in our immediate area.

I put on a jacket and a stocking cap to go out to make us breakfast on the griddle.  Get the food into the motorhome immediately, before it gets cold.

I think I will put on a lined riding jacket and get in a short ride.  Joan wants to go out for an early supper... I'm in!

Squalls out on the Gulfstream...

 

... big storm's comin' soon.

If you said, "Jimmy Buffett, 1974, Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season," you get 25 bonus points.  We are nowhere near the Gulfstream, but the rain squalls and wind blew through last night again here in the desert.  It adds to the already active flooding in much of Arizona. 

None of us slept well last night.  The rain continued until about 9:00 am today.  And then... sunshine.  Don't be fooled by the sunshine, though - it won't get out of the 60s again here today.

Our patio mats are staked down.  Joan had laid down the chairs last night.  All that was necessary this morning out on the patio was emptying water out of anything that would hold it.

Yesterday, we decided our "Arizona time" would happen in late November and all of December next winter.  Yes, later this year.  We will leave the bikes home and be content to wear warmer clothes for a month, and not be disappointed with the crap weather.

Since we plan to be here in December, we got tickets to the Billy Joel/Stevie Nicks that will be happening in Phoenix at that time.  Steph was able to get them a day ahead of them opening to the public (a Verizon perk), and we got 4 seats together.

 

Now all we have to do is find a place to stay... we assumed it would be easy to get an RV site in November and December (since the busy time in this area is January through March)... we assumed incorrectly.  The two RV parks that are closest to their house ('cause we aren't planning to stay in Buckeye again) don't even take reservations until June 15th and July 15th.  Yes, one of those is the park that has management that is of the asshole persuasion, but it has been a real pain having to drive the extra distance to get to Steph and Dan's house.  At both parks, their "regulars" get first shot at booking a site.

Coming back to Phoenix earlier than usual means we'll likely be shifting other travel plans... we're in negotiations (with each other) about how much time to schedule at Hart Ranch this summer.  It is my favorite place to be, due to the excellent motorcycle riding.  Thanks to Mother Nature, we didn't get near as much riding here in Arizona this trip.  Prices at all the RV parks we frequent have increased significantly.  I'm sensing changes in our future.

Slow Going...

 

An old guy on a motorcycle?  Funny, but no.  It is motorcycle related, though: the video that has been days in the process is now uploading to YouTube.  Slowly.  As in: the time for it to finish uploaded is one hour and 56 minutes.  Yep, that is slow.

In one hour and 49 minutes, I should be heading out to go to Mark's house to make some music.  It's going to be close... if the wifi signal hangs in there.

Tick, tick, tick...

 

Road Trip!

 

You're leaving the Phoenix area?  No, but thanks for asking.  More struggling with the Insta360 app - getting the wifi in the camera to connect with my iPad so I can edit and download all the video I shot on Saturday.  Joan wanted to make a run to Sam's Club and Wally World... I went along to see if the camera wifi would work, once away from this RV park.

Yep.  And by "went along," I mean: passenger seat with the camera and iPad on my lap.  My goal: get through about 25 video clips to edit and get saved on the iPad... and then download that to my MacBook Pro once home ('cause that part takes even more time, working with the 5mg cap on my phone hotspot).

As it played out, the camera did stall out once Joan fired up Apple Car Play to use the Maps app.  Then it started again.  I sat in the car while Joan went into Walmart, and got the rest of the videos onto the iPad.  The iPad is the best device to use to edit the 360 clips out of the camera; then push those edited clips to the laptop for the final cuts and edits.  With the camera wifi not working at the RV park, I lost a couple days on that project.

It will probably be a couple days to wade through this, but here's a couple still "snapshots" from the videos...

Equinox...

 

Your car?  Well, yeah.  It's a crossover SUV, but that's not the Equinox I'm talking about today... this is the Vernal Equinox; the start of spring in the northern hemisphere.  It has been cooler than normal the 7 weeks (so far) we have been in Arizona.  We had to run heat again this morning; only 3 days we haven't had the heat on at some point during the day.

There will be almost equal amounts of daylight and darkness today, and gradually increasing daylight until the Summer Solstice.  The Equinox isn't "a day," but rather a time.  Here in Phoenix, the actual time of the Equinox will be at 2:24 this afternoon.  Of course, Mother Nature is not swayed by the timing of all this; she will run hot and cold when she darn well feels like it.

Superbloom...

 

That's what the news and weather people here in the Phoenix area are calling it - with all the rain and cool weather, they are saying, "The desert will be full of colorful blooms."  I got out on the CTX to see it for myself.

Spoiler alert: I didn't see anything resembling a Superbloom.  Oh, there were some yellow flowers (weeds?) in places, but I didn't see hardly any blooms on the cacti.

But, the riding was good - sunny, temps in the low 70s, a light breeze out of the east (after a windy morning), and I took the back, curvy road to Wickenburg.  It took some time to get to the good riding; not because of the distance, but the traffic was working against me.  I checked the Maps app before pulling away, and there was a LOT of red around the Interstate Exit closest to us.  I took side roads to the next exit to the west... and found myself stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to get onto the Interstate.  Road construction had it down to one lane, so all that weekend traffic getting out of Phoenix made for a mass of vehicles.

My fuel level was down to 2 bars; with about 65 miles or so to get to Wickenburg, and not sure when I'd get out of the Interstate traffic (only 14 miles to go on the Interstate), I figured I better stop at the TA Travel Center at that exit.  With all the traffic, I wasn't the only one thinking it would be good to top off.  As luck would have it, the pump I found free (the only one) wouldn't take the credit card... I had to go inside to pre-pay... or wait for who knows how long to get a space at another pump.  Of course, there is the conversation: "How much are you going to pump?"  I said, "Two gallons."  His response: "Two gallons?"  Me: "It's a motorcycle - notice the helmet I am wearing?"  Him: "I'll put $10 on your card and it will refund back whatever you don't use."  Me: "So I don't have to come back in when I'm done fueling?"  Him: "Nope.  It will automatically refund what you don't use."  Me: "Fine."  This bullshit negates the pay-at-the-pump premise.

Finally able to get off the Interstate and onto the 2-lane road, I was immediately in the middle of the desert.  And no "Superbloom" to be seen.  I did mount a 360 camera to the bike, and brought my new gimbal to use with my iPhone... not a lot of "flora and fauna" but I did get some riding video and clips of the desert.  Alas, it is still the issue with "wifi interference" to get the video clips downloaded from my 360 camera, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.  I am in the process of downloading what I shot with my iPhone... that, too, will take a while, but at least it is happening.

So, there won't be any "Video at 11:00" (that's newscaster talk), but here's a "grab" from the video I took before heading out...

That thing coming up from the left handlebar is the 360 camera - it is mounted on an extendable "selfie stick" (the best way to use a 360 camera).  No way to mount the gimbal on the bike.

Looking through the phone video, I did get a couple stills of some flowers and cacti...

More video when I can get it downloaded.

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling...

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day.  If you said, "Bing Crosby, 1939," you get 40 bonus points.  No, I didn't wear green today - not any kind of statement, I just don't have any green clothes.  It's not my color.  ;-)  Yes, my heritage is half Irish.

Did you hear that there are protests to remove the leprechaun from Lucky Charms breakfast cereal, due to the misappropriation of the culture of Irish people?  Of course, you didn't...

Joan and Steph made the traditional corned beef and cabbage supper tonight...

Well, it wasn't too traditional: the cabbage was cooked in with potatoes, with cheese, bacon, and butter.  I may lose my Irish card, because I am not a fan of corned beef or cabbage.  But, I sucked it up and had some of each.  Because the ladies went through the effort to make it.  Everyone else seemed to enjoy it, and that's what family is all about: treat each other with kindness and respect.  And eat your corned beef and be happy about it, because people starved during the Great Potato Famine.

 

A Preview...

 

Here's an advance look at the music video Mark and I have been working on...

Mark did the music production, I did the video production.  Videography by Cindy (Mark's wife), Mark, and me.  The "garage band" you see in the video is the group that gets together every other week or so; mostly friends of Mark's who also volunteer at MIM (the outstanding Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix).  They call themselves: the Brothers MIM.

Mark played lead guitar, keyboard, bass, horn section, background vocal, and programmed the drums.  I sang lead vocal, played guitar, and hand percussion (congas and lead triangle).  We did the music tracks in separate locations (Mark in Arizona, me in Texas), then worked on the video once we were together in Phoenix.  Most of the other videos we've done have had us in separate locations, so it was fun to be able to be together in this one.  And have the guys who get together in the video.

 

The Calm...

 

A new easy listening band?  Maybe... I don't keep up.  This is the calm after the storm.   "Isn't that supposed to be 'the calm before the storm'?" you ask.  Usually, I suppose.  But, this morning, we woke up to chilly temperatures and nearly still wind conditions.  Last night, thunderstorms rolled through the area.  We kept an eye on radar, since there was strong winds and hail in the northwestern part of the state.  But, the worst of it missed us.  Just rain, with thunder and lightning.  With the shade pulled back on the skylight at the front of our living quarters, we could see the flash, then count the seconds before we heard the thunder... it never got closer than a few miles from us.

It's that "light travels faster than sound" thing... kinda like: some people appear bright until they open their mouth and speak.  But, I digress.

The weather where we are didn't get severe.  Rufus did sit a little closer when the thunder rumbled, but he didn't seem too bothered by it.

This morning: bright sunshine!  Winds less than 5 mph.  Cold enough that I put on a jacket while making pancakes, bacon, and sausage on the griddle outside.  Then took Rufus for a walk.

We are ready to take on our day.

The Ides of March...

 

If you said, "The band that did the song Vehicle, 1970," you get 25 bonus points.  If you said, "The song you finally got worked out to be your ringtone," you get 30 bonus points.  If you said, "From the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar: 'Beware the ides of March,' as a soothsayer's warning to Caesar," you get 35 bonus points.  If you said all three of those, you get an additional 10 bonus points, making it a nice round 100 points.

For more information that you don't care to know: the word “Ides” is derived from the Latin word “idus,” which refers to the middle day of any month in the ancient Roman calendar. The Ides are specifically the fifteenth day of the months of March, May, July, or October, and the thirteenth day of the remaining months.

Whew - I feel like Cliff Clavin.  If you said, "Cliff Clavin is the character on the TV series Cheers who knew all kinds of trivia... well, maybe he didn't know it, but he always shared it," you get another 30 bonus points.

I need to get a life.

An image for "Beware the Ides of March"...

(That photo was from my Facebook Memory from 7 years ago... it's been around a while.)

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I got together today with Mark and two of his friends, Ron and Tom, to make some music; at Ron's house, which is near downtown Phoenix.  That meant I-10 all the way there, and the traffic is a big ol' ball of suck.  And Rain.  So, I took the car, not the motorcycle.  I would have needed the car anyway, since most of my gear is at Mark's house, I needed to bring a guitar today.  And Mark had to bring two guitars, a bass, two amps, his pedalboard and a bunch of ancillary gear to support all that.  He and I have it relatively easy when everyone gets together at his house, since we don't have to cart a bunch of gear around.

While helping Mark get gear out to his car, he said to me, "This is almost like the old band days, having to carry all this stuff around."  It's a bit easier, since the amps can be carried with one hand, opposed to the "good ol' days" when it took two young, strong guys to carry just one amp... and there were multiple amps... and a PA... and a drum set... and - well, you get the idea.

Ron had put out some guitars, so the rest of us could try some variety.  One of those guitars is a rarity: a mid-60s Rickenbacker - here's a photo of Mark giving it a try...

A fun afternoon!

A gimbaling situation...

 

"Too much time at the casino, Jim?" you ask.  That isn't a typo.  Over the weekend, I was looking at the gimbal Dan uses - it's a DJI and works great with his iPhone.  I've been considering one for a while, but his was the first I've ever held

"All those videos and you've never used a gimbal?" you ask.  Thanks for asking.  And, no.  Most of the videos I've done with the scoots and motorcycle were done with an action camera early on, and a 360 camera the last several years.  I really enjoy the 360 cameras because they are like "having a camera crew in your pocket."  Literally, I can have the view in front of the bike, looking back... or looking forward... or off to the side... panning from front to back... an overhead view... or on the back of one bike, getting a front view of the following bike.  There is so much you can do with these cameras.

But, they do tend to distort the view due to the extreme wide angle lenses.  And even the most narrow view is still pretty wide angle.  But, you can't beat what they can do on the bikes.  Shooting video this past week for the music video Mark and I are putting together (getting close to the finished product), I did shots of the "garage band" with a 360 camera.  When Mark and I got together last Friday, we used my iPhone 14 Pro for some half-length clips.  Some on a tripod, a few hand-held.

A gimbal would have been nice - especially the DJI, as it has tracking (follows your movements) and horizon lock.  Cindy was out of town, and Joan didn't come with me to Mark's place, so we were limited to what we could do with the two of us together to the phone/camera on a tripod.

I can also see where it would expand my options when shooting stills or video with the bikes... not while we're riding (which is where the 360 cameras shine), but once we're stopped somewhere...like being able to have up to an 8x zoom feature, which the iPhone with the DJI app can do.

The DJI Osmo 6 looks like this...

It folds small enough to be able to cart it along.  It unfolds fast and gives you more "control" over the phone functions: essentially allowing more stabilization that the already good iPhone has built in.  A wheel to handle the zoom functions, which also allows you to make focusing choices.  A joystick to control movement.  A level horizon line.  The ability to switch from stills to video, rear camera to front,  horizontal to vertical, all with convenient controls that fit your hand.  And, as you can see in the above right: it comes with a mini tripod that attaches to the handle, allowing you to put the camera down and walk away from it (to get in the photo or video) while still maintaining control... or use it as a handle extension, allow you to brace with both hands.

I put it through some paces this evening, testing the different functions; looking forward to giving it a try with some good outdoor lighting soon.

Joan asked me, "What are you going to use it for?"  I don't have any particular imaging use in mind; much like I didn't know how I'd use the 360 cameras... until you get them.  So, we'll see.

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Yes, I missed the opportunity to title this one, "Gimbaling Man," and could have been The Allman Brothers.

Take me out to the ballgame...

 

If you said, "The song they sing during the 7th inning stretch," you get 5 bonus points.  If you said, "Hmmm... that makes me hungry for peanuts and Crackerjacks," you are my people.

The 4 of us went to the Milwaukee Brewers vs the Cincinnati Reds today, at the Spring Training Cactus League '23, at Goodyear Baseball Stadium.  I like this facility - it is smaller than some of the other spring training stadiums around the Valley, the parking is free (and close), and you are up close to the baseball action, no matter where you are seated.  But, kudos to Joan for getting us good seats.

 

Dan is a Brewers fan (naturally), so Joan got us seats behind and 8 rows up from the Brewers dugout.  Good view of all the action at home plate, as well as the rest of the field.

Of course, we had to sample some of the ballpark food.  I can't speak for the others, but my refined palate was delighted to get a hotdog with Cincinnati Chili and a Cheesesteak sandwich.

By the second inning, I donned my "neck guard" to keep from getting my ears and neck fried...

It's a look.  I didn't say a good look, but I came away unfried.  Joan was only moderately embarrassed by my style choice... truth be told, I did it partly for her, so she wouldn't have to shoo away all those ladies of a certain age who are attracted by my animal astigmatism.  But, I digress.

It was a lovely day and a good day for the Brewers and their fans: the final score was 8 to 0, Brewers over the Reds.  I was surprised that the stadium wasn't packed... in fact, the 4,300 (+/-) in attendance was about half what that ballpark will seat.  That all works to the advantage of those who were there: when the game was over and we were heading for home (well, motorhome), there was no line of traffic waiting to get out of the parking lots.  Easy.

Oxymoron?

 

I have mentioned that is RV park is loud...  loud trucks, loud motorcycles, often blaring loud music as they go by.  Not sure why you can't wait to get out of the RV park before you start blasting your tunes?

This morning, one of those loud passers cracked me up: going by in their loud truck with loud easy-listening music blaring.  Is "blaringly loud easy listening music" an oxymoron... or just a moron?

Did you take a day off?

 

I didn't realize until this morning (Monday) that I didn't post yesterday... and it was a big deal kinda day: Stephanie's birthday.  She is now officially older than her Mother and Father.  No, I don't know how that happened.  But, there is no way that we have a kid that old.

We had a fun afternoon, where she was suitably adored.  Cards and presents...

 We went out to a steakhouse that is a favorite for Steph and Dan.  The food and service were good.  As was the conversation.  A late night out?  Well, I don't want to brag, but we drove home in the dark.  Yeah, we know how to party.  ;-)

And the party will continue today: we're going to a spring training baseball game.

In my home there's color, now...

 

If you said, "A TV commercial from the early 60s," you get 30 bonus points.  If you said, "The rest of the commercial is: "Wow - I got color TV!  RCA Victor color TV!  In my home there's color, now!  Wow - I got color TV!"  If you got that little ditty before you read it, you get an additional 50 bonus points.

When we got back from Steph and Dan's this afternoon, there was a new TV (to replace the dead one from the bedroom) waiting for us outside the coach.  Under a table set up by our door.  So, I guess we are in an honest neighborhood, since the box didn't disappear.  It was in a plain Amazon box, so there is that.

We opened the box and attached the TV to 12-volt to make sure it was working.  Yep.  We removed the temporary replacement from the wall mount, then attached the mount to the TV - it fit.  Mostly.  The new TV sits a bit higher; it's lighter.  Brighter image.  (newer technology)  But, it works, fits the space.  And we got it installed by working together.

Ordered on Thursday, got here Saturday, installed before 6:00.  Nice!

 Yeah, that's the commercial.  Because back in the day, TV was black and white.  I remember going to the neighbor's house in 1964 to watch the Beatles on Ed Sullivan... in color!  It was a big deal.  And now you can get a flat screen color TV for "about the price of a pair of shoes."  (quote from Joan)

Take 2...

 

Not talking about cookies... but, that does sound good.  Mark and I got together today - Mark made us lunch.  Tasty.  With bellies full, we went to work on more video clips; this will be "the studio work," to be blended with the videos of the 6 of us being "a garage band."  It has been a fun project.  Now, the real work starts for me.

I showed Mark the beginnings of the editing, and he approves... it is important that we both like what we are doing here.

With more video to be downloaded and edited, we were still able to make some music.  Which is kinda the point when we get together.

What you think you're gonna do...

 

It's a good thing we're retired - 'cause you never know what's going to come up.  I once heard that boat cruising is: fixing your boat in new and exotic locations.  You always have something to do when you own a boat.  Pretty much applies to RVs, too.

No, we're not broke down.  We haven't moved in over a month, unless you consider pulling the slides in and out due to nasty weather as "moving."  Last night, the bedroom TV decided it wasn't going to turn on anymore.  No, I don't know why.  Yes, we tried pushing the button and using the remote.  Nuthin'.

This morning, we removed that TV from the mount to see what it will take to replace it.  It's a 12-volt TV, so it can be used when you aren't plugged in.  Of course, that same model of Jensen is no longer being made.  So, it isn't just a matter of replacing the TV, you also have to consider how it will be mounted on the existing mounting fixture... because it is an RV, and there is additional structure where it is mounted... so you don't really want to have to change the mount (like you would at home).  Finding an appropriate RV TV isn't as easy as running down to Walmart and putting one in your shopping cart.  Research took another hour, with both of us looking.  I narrowed it down to a slightly larger model from Jensen, figuring it would have the same mounting set-up.  Joan found one she liked better from a different manufacturer (we have that model as our outside TV).  So, we compromised and got the one Joan wants.  It will be up to me to fashion some kind of mount that works with what we have on the wall.  The TV will be here on Saturday.

"The water heater is leaking."  Fun.  One of the pleasures of being in the desert where the temperature changes a bunch from day to night - the plug to drain the water heater is plastic; it goes into metal threads.  Thermodynamics tells us that plastic and metal absorb and release heat at different rates.  So, at some point, the plastic is going to "shrink" more than the metal, and you will get a drip from the water heater.  Not "a leak," a drip.  The cure: tighten the plug... if it drips more, loosen it.  This morning, it needed to be loosened a bit.  Tomorrow, it will probably have to be tightened a bit. 

I had hoped to get some of those video clips downloaded to my MacBook Pro... but, the camera needs to be "talking to" the iPad to get that done.  Of course, it wouldn't.  Yes, I know the solution: go do it somewhere else.  A nuisance.  I guess I should be happy that our regular internet (using our phones as hotspots) works.

Don't count on "free time" on any particular day.  "But, you're retired - don't you have free time all the time?"  Thanks for asking, you little ray of sunshine.  The answer to that is: no.  What you think you're going to do and what you actually do depends on what comes up.  Just like in real life.

I did get some routine things done today: making breakfast for us out on the griddle and taking Rufus for a walk.  He looked around for his tortoise friend... it was in its "hutch"... or whatever you call a tortoise "house"

And the beat goes on.

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I have mentioned the 5th wheel that pulled in next to us at the 1st of the month...

You can see it behind our rig.  The antenna I'm talking about is mounted just above the ladder towards the back of their 5th wheel.  Of course, the interference could be coming from this...

There is a lot going on in that image, and it is the view right out the front door of our coach.  Look to the right and below that big thing - that is a wifi antenna for the park's wifi.  We rarely use public wifi, preferring to stay on our own hotspots.  Even with that big stuff, we didn't have any connection issues until the 5th wheel moved in next to us.  The people that were there before (with Morgan the screaming and stomping child) didn't have any kind of external antenna.

To be fair, I didn't use my 360 cameras until this week.  But, this afternoon, I went to the activity room by the office here in the park and had no issue connecting the camera, the iPad and my laptop.  It took a while to go through all those files again, but the new iPad with an M1 chip is much faster than my previous iPad Pro.  I have all the files downloaded and have started putting together the video.  There is more to shoot with Mark and me, but it was fun showing the old guys in their "garage band."  ;-)

Stumped...

 

You cut down a tree?  No, but thanks for asking.  Still working on the issue with the X2 camera.  I have followed "tips" from Insta and also from people on that forum on Facebook - nothing seems to restart the camera's wifi (the camera has a built-in wifi transmitter to connect to my phone or iPad).  It just doesn't show up in the available wifi signals.  I messed with it for a couple hours last night, and a few more again this orning.

Frustrating, because it worked fine when testing it while at Steph and Dan's house.  So, I am thinking: it may be a situational problem.  The 5th wheel that pulled in next to us has a large antenna on the back, which is close to the front of our rig.  Interference, perhaps?  I haven't tried using the camera (and its wifi connection) in the motorhome since that 5th wheel showed up on the first of the month.

And then, a signal from the camera (it's beginning to feel like a satellite launched into deep space that occasionally sends a signal back to Earth) - it said, "There is an interference with the wifi signal."  So, when we go to Steph and Dan's later this afternoon, I'll try it again there.

In the words of the philosopher Rosanna Rosannadanna: "It just goes to show you, it's always something."

 ————

Cut to this afternoon: Joan and I did some running around, then to Steph and Dan’s house… just as I suspected: away from the neighbor’s Wi-Fi antenna, the camera connects fine.  77 video clips downloaded, viewed, and edited.  Only took about an hour, which is impressive speed for this new iPad.  If I had thought to bring my MacBook Pro, I would have had everything loaded and ready to start placing clips into the music video.  Another day; right now, I’m just relieved the camera is working and I have the video clips in a workable format.

Big thanks to Cindy, who shot most of the video yesterday, so I could make some music with the guys!  It was her first time ever holding a 360 camera - they are very different from a typical stills or video camera… you just have to trust that the view is in there… somewhere.  All the labor-intensive stuff comes afterwards, when you move the view around to get “your vision.”

Here are a few “snapshots” from the video clips…