RIP

Steve Landesberg

City time

It's been very quiet here at the Maus Haus. Of course, Deb and H both have their regular things to do. Xmas day we went over to a friend's house for dinner. Yesterday Deb and I did a foray to Costco -- yowie, crowds of people and carts, sample foods everywhere. We were ferried there in a neighbor's Cadillac because he wanted to go along.

Kim (something) and Lena live around the corner in a very nice house. He's a well-off businessman and something of an artist. She's Finnish, and that's all I know about her. He owns a 1929 Flageol (I think) House Car, which is tucked in his garage, and he gave me a tour. Fun. You know, that's what it calls RVs on N.C. titles.

Kim and Lena came over for dinner last night, and we'll be going to their house for dinner this evening. Tomorrow, Tinnee is coming to dinner here; it'll be nice to see her.

The product recall company has started to come through with jobs. One I'm going to accept will take me about 50 miles out into the countryside towards Sacramento -- it's a consumer complaint pickup. I like those. I'll be leaving the city on Thurs. morning to go do this -- that's assuming the customer can make an appnt for that day (it may be Fri). So I won't come back into the city; I'll go to the fairgrounds I was at before (which is out that way) and spend New Year's there. I was going to move from the city on Sun or Mon anyhow, and I don't want the hassle for just two days.

The 2nd job (just got notice about 10 mins. ago) is a mystery shop at SF tobacco-selling locations. However, there are 92 locations on their list and they're only allowing 7 days to do them all. That's 13 sites a day, with city driving and parking on top of it. I don't think it can be done, and certainly not in my RV. I have to email the project manager and find out whether they're all actually in the city itself or scattered around the Bay area. And I need to point out that the city's going to be a hindrance to doing that many per day. So even though the money would be good, I'm not sure I'll take that project.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Yarbro visit

Moved to Quinn's street on Saturday. Her driveway isn't long enough to handle the rig, so that also meant no power to the rig, so no TV or heat or fridge. The weather has been really wet so there's lots of mud on the first step into the rig and on the rug at the kitchen. Even though Quinn has DSL, she didn't know how to connect my computer or have the phone cable to do it. So I haven't had any access since then.

Went through her back yard into her landlords' backyard and into their house on Sat. eve for a party. Half the party put on a truncated version of "Macbeth" to please one of the group, a tall, nice-looking man who has just discovered "drama!!" and has begun taking classes etc. Too bad he has absolutely no talent. After the play, we ate chili, beans, and salad, and schmoozed. Had a good time.

Sun. Quinn and I drove down to San Jose to visit Maureen, who's coping with cancer and is scheduled for tumor surgery next week. We also took her husband David out for lunch, which gives both of them a break from each other. Their marriage ceremony was the one I had to miss out on last May, so I finally got to meet him.

Mon. eve there was a gathering at Quinn's. I got to see the Lucke's, and Megan, and Christine, and meet in person a few people I know from online. I had helped Quinn with the grocery shopping and was pleased to help consume some of the wine and the hollowed-out bread with brie baked in and the pork tenderloin cooked with a port and chocolate sauce.

Tue was quiet. I expected my brother and Deb to be back on Wed but the weather turned so bad in SoCal that they stayed there until today. So I loitered around Quinn's for an extra day. Peggy Lucke came by last night just to chat, which was nice.

Fought my way into the city today, missed the proper exit, let the gps "recalculate," and wound up going over an exceedingly steep hill after having wound my way down a very steep and serpentine two blocks. Made it, however, about 15 min. after they'd gotten home. Found a pretty level place to park, though I think I'll be sleeping in the Maus Haus.

We'll be going out Xmas day to a friend's house for midday dinner. Hope all of y'all have a splendiferous weekend!

Guilty Pleasure

Just been enjoying "Dead Ringer for Love" video on youtube -- with . . . wait for it . . . Meat Loaf and Cher!

Long before he got skinny and she had work done.

Loved it.

Heading North

Fought my way through LA, I-10 west to the 405 N to the 101 N. Left the apartment at 10am and it was after noon before I saw any open land and the freeway narrowed down to two lanes. About 3pm I was in Santa Maria, just south of San Luis Obispo, and saw a "campers" sign. Followed it and found the only public RV park in town. Turns out there is parking at the Elks Lodge but didn't find that out till too late.

I'm in the Santa Maria Pines Camp. Seems there are new owners who are trying to upgrade the park and, I think, get rid of the long-term campers. Their rate is high ($35), which is full hookups but there's no cable TV and I can only pick up two English-language channels, both CBS; all the rest are Spanish. When I asked if they had wifi, she said yes, we have Tengo, and gave me the password. However, that just took me to the sign up site, so this 24-hr period is $5 (also high; most places Tengo only charges $2). So it's a $40 park (the Elks is $25 w/60 cable channels). I'm going to join the Elks when I get back to Asheville (I have a sponsor).

Anyhow, I got to do a dump/flush and I'll take a shower in the morning. And at least with CBS, I should get Letterman's show and then Craig Ferguson (yay).

I heard from my brother this morning and he and Deb are headed to Tustin tomorrow. We were going to try to meet somewhere on the road. But when I talked to him this evening and told him where I am, he said they were leaving early enough to be in LA by noon, so they'll be past Santa Maria before I'm out of bed. I'll see them when they get back.

TTFN

Ken & Caroline & Me

What a nice visit I've just had with Ken and Caroline Robinson, who have a great apartment in a co-op in the Baldwin Village/Inglewood area of LA. It's a two bedroom, 2 bath, hardwood floors, built-in oven, great balcony. It was built in the 1960s and it looks it. The master bath is pale green tiles with black tile accents; the fixtures are black, the cabinet and drawer fronts are tiled, the shower door is etched -- all very dramatic. The other bathroom has a jacuzzi tub -- it and all the tile is dusty pink. I loved it.

Anyhow, Sat. matinee at the Disney Center (designed by Gehry) was the LA Masterworks Chorale (of which Caroline is a member) offered an xmasy concert and C had a solo! Then on Sunday I went sailing with Ken and his buddy Jack, who was his best man. Jack owns a J35 racing boat, named Privateer (which has an illustrious history) and which he is converting to a cruising sailer. It's always nice being on the water. Here's some pix.
This is Ken, the 1st mate of the Privateer.
And here we are out to sea.
Adult female sea lions hogging the buoy off Santa Monica pier, while young females collect in a little fins up pod, waiting their turn.
End of the day furling, folding, and packing of the sails.
Caroline out on the balcony, amusing us both.
And this is the view north from their balcony. Way off in the center distance you can see the white blob of the Hollywood sign.

Odd Pix

This is an odd structure I saw and have no idea what it is

This is called the Wages of Greed. The pigeon pecked into and through the wrapper and is now wearing it as a necklace. Birds are coming from far and wide to marvel.

Tue 12/7

12/7 Tues 10pm

So I put the antenna down as it wasn't even picking up the wierd ethnic stations. Gave it another programming try and derned if it didn't pick up NBC. So I watched Minute to Win It and now I'm watching (sort of) Biggest Loser. Sigh.

Went to the sales spiel at 9.30 this morning. The woman was surprised that I've been full-timing so long without having a membership of some kind. I did try Passport America, which is basically just a discount at lots of parks, but there's lots of restrictions, such as the discount isn't good on weekends or in particular months,so I never actually used it.

Anyhow, membership costs about $5000 plus $350 annual dues, and does include lots of other parks. I told the lady I'd think about it.

I've done a dump/flush and put the hose away. I'll be out of here around 9am and plan to go down the road a bit and get my hair cut at Walmart. Will arrive at Ken and Caroline's around 3pm when Ken gets home from work. He says his apartment is in a cul-de-sac so I won't have to contend with traffic there. It's just getting there that's going to be the hassle.

I'll be taking I-10 all the way in and exit on Crenshaw Blvd. This is west LA where I used to live back in the early 70s, so the street names are familiar, except the one they live on, of course. I'm only about 120 miles out so it's not going to be a hard day, except for fighting my way into the maelstrom.

Dancing Ripoff

Ripoff Dancing (12/6)

As I mentioned, the only TV stations I'm picking up at Desert Pool RV Park are ethnic ones. Tonight I stumbled on a ripoff of So You Think You Can Dance, which is actually using a bit of the theme music. Now, the ethnic group is not Russian but some eastern Europe language, maybe Armenian or Ossetian or Ukrainian. The names on commercials are like Roman Budaghyan, Yeznik Kazandjian, Dr. Vartanian (all in Los Angeles area).

Anyhow, the dancing is pretty bad. All the girls are short and stocky in build. The guys are fairly stocky, too. They're all in good shape, though. Some of the dances are jazzy modern; some are russian-style folk; some are jive-like. The choreography is bad; the lifts are carefully set up and not smooth. At the moment, there's a girl in a red leotard on toe shoes doing ballet with her partner in red & black with a paunch does hip-hop floor work. Yowie.

The host has a half-beard (you know, the one that looks like he forgot to shave for 4-5 days) and he wears an ascot. The judges give a critiques and there are phone numbers to call to vote, but I haven't seen any scores from the judges.

Highly amusing, even if I can't understand a word.

Mon 12/6

12/6 Mon 6pm

Nice quiet day. Took a shower -- low pressure, no mirror, no plug for hairdryer -- just a shower. But got clean, including hair.

Constance Wray (partner Doris) stopped by and invited me over for a chat. She's on the RVW board this term. Sat around for a couple of hours and discussed many things, including membership in park such as this one. Got lots of info in readiness for hearing the park spiel tomorrow (90 min. sales pitch).

They're both ex-teachers from Kansas. We all agreed that Kansas is terrible in the winter. And they said it's pretty bad in the summer, too.

Then I came back around 1pm, had some lunch, and took a 2-hour nap.

The few TV stations that I was picking up seem to have lost the NBC feed that i watched football on yesterday, so now there's really nothing to watch.

Will get ready to leave tomorrow evening so I don't have anything to do Wed. morning except unplug the elec. Will be out of here by 10am, I'm sure, heading for LA.

Sat-Sun 12/4-5

Sat-Sun 12/4-5 8pm

So now, it's Sat about 12 or 1. I set off for Quartzsite. About 50 miles out, I called the RVW woman who'd said she was there for the winter. She lives in a deeded lot sort of place, not a regular park, but she called a few and the prices were high. So I said thanks anyhow and kept driving to the Flying J at Ehrenberg AZ / Blythe CA. They have a WEndy's inside, not a restaurant, so I would up with a half-Baja salad and a baked potato. Not too terrible. Once again, went to bed about 8pm and slept till about 7am (6am Calif. time).

I'm still traveling I-10 because there's not a lot of choice out here for crossing the desert. Route 66, for example, was subsumed by I-40 for the most part. Anyhow, I went inside to get some coffee and they had this wall of different coffees, like Sumatra and Ethiopia and French Roast, and cute little creamers with flavors like caramel and macchiato but also half & half. It was great.

So I started off for Thousand Palms CA (not too far from Palm Springs) for the Flying J there (about 120 miles). While I was gassing up, this older woman accosted me in a very genteel way and wanted to know if I was interested in a free weekend at one of the Western Horizon Resorts in return for considering buying a membership. I decided to do it, knowing full well I'm not buying anything.

Anyhow, she led me about 5 miles out of town into the desert, into an area which is pretty much all RV parks of one kind or another -- Desert Hot Springs, it's called. So I'm now cozily ensconced in a full hookup site until Wed. morning. And right off, I saw Flo Hurlburt and Cindy Williams of RVW, and they said there are several other RVW women here, nearly all of whom have done their free stays and are moving to other parks tomorrow.

It's an okay park, though it's a glorified parking lot like most of them are in snowbird and tourist areas. Fair amount of vegetation, though. There's a rec building with a pool, billiards room, card room, e-mail room (no wifi in the park so you have to haul your computer up to this room to get access), hot-tubs at three diff. temps that have water from the natural springs in the area (Cindy says the jets are pretty useless). And there's no cable tv, so if you don't have your own satellite, you don't get much. I'm watching football -- why, you ask? because all the other channels I'm pulling are in Vietnamese, Chinese, Spanish, or Italian.

But it's a deal for free.

Will arrive at Ken and Caroline Robinson's midday Wednesday 12/8.

Sun 12/5

Sun 12/5 8pm pst

Started out from Eagar last Thursday at 9.30am. Good driving weather, about 58 and partly cloudy. Got to Phoenix intending to go to the Flying J at I-10 and 67th ave (on the west side). However, went the wrong way on the 202 loop and realized it when I saw I was almost to Apache Junction on the SE side.

So, got off and called Richard and Sandy to see if they were up for a visitor. Got their voicemail. Left message. Consulted map. Fought way back onto I-10 and out to the Flying J. Arrived about 5.30pm. Tired, Hungry.

Called Don Young and left message that I was on west side; got voicemail; left message. Found a message to me from Richard saying they'd love to see me. Called back and said I'd come out about 10 or 11 am tomorrow (Friday). Ate dinner in the restaurant and went to bed about 9pm; slept till 7am.

Had a little breakfast (coffee and toast) and set out back to the SE side of town. Got plugged in at Richard's, turned fridge on -- had stopped at walmart on the way and got a few staples (salad, juice, bread). Spent the day hanging with Richard as Sandy still works. I met Richard's mother, age 86 and profoundly deaf, who was an avid RV-er and envied my rig. Went inside to check it all out.

Somewhere that day, Don called and we decided to have lunch on Sat. I said I'll call you in the morning and we'll decided when and where.

That night went off with R&S to a birthday potluck for a friend. He's in some kind of motorcycle color guard outfit and the b'day group was from that outfit. Nice folk. Nearly all veterans (Richard was a career Marine Major). Pleasant evening.

Sat I called Don at 9.30am and got his voicemail. Left message that I'd be heading out at 10am for the Flying J as R&S had some biker stuff to do that morning and had to leave by 11. Didn't hear from Don. Left at 10 and headed for Flying J as I would definitely need gas by that point. Arrived at station and (1) peed and (2) called Don again and got voicemail. Sat in cab and age candy bar and drank coke for about half hour. Decided to go ahead and gas up. Had just finished and was pulling out of the lane when Don called.

Why hadn't he heard from me? He'd been home all morning. Didn't I get his message? I told him about calling and messages I'd left him, none of which he'd gotten. And now he had to, just had to, go buy dogfood and bring it home and feed his four dachshunds. And the Flying J is way west of his house, it would take 40 minutes for him to drive there. [which means, of course, that it would take me 40 min there and 40 min back to where I was].

So we agreed that the telephone gods had conspired against us. I said I'd see him next spring on my way back to NC. He said, let's all meet at Chuck's. I said, okay.

So now, it's Sat about 12 or 1. I set off for Quartzsite. About 50 miles out, I called the RVW woman who'd said she was there for the winter. She lives in a deeded lot sort of place, not a regular park, but she called a few and the prices were high. So I said thanks anyhow and kept driving to the Flying J at Ehrenberg AZ / Blythe CA. They have a WEndy's inside, not a restaurant, so I would up with a half-Baja salad and a baked potato. Not too terrible. Once again, went to bed about 8pm and slept till about 7am (6am Calif. time).

TTFN

Heading out tomorrow about 9.30 am. First, going to Don Young's in NW Phoenix. On Friday, may go to Richard & Sandy's in SE Phoenix for overnight. Then off to Quartzsite, where at least one RVW woman is staying for the winter. Will spend the weekend there.

On Monday, will begin a 2-day dawdle to Los Angeles, where I'll visit Ken and Caroline Robinson until Sunday. I wouldn't stay so long but she's giving a concert on Sat. and I'd like to go to it.

Sunday, I'll wander up towards the Bay Area, and will visit another RVW woman staying at a park in San Leandro (east Bay). If their monthly price isn't terrible, I may pay it and stay there. I need an address to put in the recall company site so I can start getting jobs in the area. At some point, maybe before, maybe after, I'll go stay in Quinn Yarbro's driveway for a few days. Probably before settling in for a month.

That'll bring me to mid-January, and where I'll go then is undecided.

Meantime, I have to idea when or if I'll have wifi, so want to wish everyone a great holiday; I'm thinking about you.