Temecula Bluegrass Festival 2010

3-19-10
We left at 11:45 AM for Temecula, California. There we have our Bluegrass Festival outing with the Shanty Shakers, the Southern California chapter of the Escapees.
Chappy and Dottie are here too.
At 5:00 PM we had Happy Hour. There are 14 rigs in attendance. We are parked on an empty lot of the former Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant. The restaurant building is still there, but not being used.














3-20-10
Early in the morning I walked to Temecula Old Town. I wanted to check how far the theater is from where we are parked. I am used to walking so it was no problem.
I also checked the schedule of the free trolley.
Later, the four of us took the trolley to the farmers market, and from there it was a short walk.
We stopped at the outdoor stage and listened to Sligo Rags, an Irish band. They are always good.













It was warm though, sitting in the sun. After this band we went to Rosa’s Mexican Restaurant for lunch.
Dottie and Chappy walked to the theater after we ate and Doreen and I went back to the motorhome, where we met Frank and Rhonda, Muzzy. They are in the process of buying a motorhome. So we had a lot to talk about.












We skipped Happy Hour, did shower, and just took it easy the rest of the day.

3-21-10
Early in the morning I walked again to Old Town. I took some pictures since there were not many cars on the street.















At 10:00 AM we went to the theater to listen to the “Lonesome Otis” band.












At 11:00 AM the “Alan Munde Gazette” band started performing.












At 12:00 noon we went to “The Bank”, a Mexican restaurant. It used to be a bank, and the vault is still there.
After lunch we walked along Front Street where some bands were playing on street corners. We stayed a while where the “Older than Dirt” band was playing.












Then we watched an artist hammering metal art.












At 1:00 PM we went back to the theater and enjoyed the “Bluegrass ETC.” band. They are very popular and the theater was filled with fans.












At 2:00 PM the “Highway 76” band had their turn. They were very good too.












The next band was Sligo Rags. Since we saw them yesterday, we went back on the street. We all had an ice cream and listened to a street corner band.
The rest of the afternoon we spent outside the motorhome. About an hour with the group, and some time with Dottie and Chappy.
At 7:00 PM Dottie and Chappy came to our motorhome to watch “60 Minutes”
This was another wonderful day. It was a little cooler than yesterday and perfect for walking on the street.
The Shanty Shakers are a nice group and we really enjoyed this outing.
The couple behind us, live in the little Casita trailer full time. They are now one year on the road. When Doreen found out that they live in that tiny trailer, she asked them whether they are still friends. They told her that they are married for 42 years and it is getting better. They looked very happy. Their house is rented out and they want to spend a lot of time outdoors while they travel.











3-22-10
We are home again. The flowers in the desert, near Borrego Springs, are in full bloom. I hope we can go by the end of the week.

St. Patrick's Day Outing 2010

3-15-10
We are at Guajome County Park for our annual Saint Patrick outing with the Convair Camping Club.
The park is located at the east end of Oceanside, California.
Dottie, Chappy, Doreen and I are the wagonmasters.
Eleven families signed up. I pre cooked 16 pounds of corned beef for tomorrow’s dinner.
Last week I was worried about the weather. I called the county for getting the gazebo for the meals. Since we did not make the reservation as a group, they wanted $ 40.00 for four hours. I had worried for nothing, we have fantastic weather. The temperatures are in the upper 70s during the day, and we have blue skies.
Today we had heavy hors d’oeuvres. Everybody brought some food. It actually ended up as a regular dinner.
There were chicken legs, stuffed potatoes, deviled eggs, shrimp with tartar sauce, salads, and ice cream and other desserts. Nobody walked away hungry.
After dinner we sat around the camp fire, which Jon kept going.

3-16-10
Last night, Jon had put a lot of wood in the washing machine drum and he melted the top aluminum plate. He and Howard spent some time today adding steel angles to support the chimney, which had slowly moved sideways. .












This was the day for corned beef and cabbage. Denise brought the potatoes, onions and carrots to our motorhome.
Doreen and Dottie helped her peeling them.
I started cooking the potatoes, onion and carrots at 4:30 PM. They were done at 5:30 PM and I used the same pot for cooking the cabbage. The meat was already warming up in a broiler. The vegetables we put in the second broiler. By 6;00 PM dinner was ready.
There was again plenty of food and desserts.



















There was also a birthday cake for the people who had their birthday in March.













In the evening we enjoyed again the campfire.













3-17-10
In the morning Dottie, Chappy, Doreen and I went to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base to get our annual passes for Red Beach.
In the afternoon Doreen and some of the women went shopping. I took it easy.
For dinner we had corned beef sandwiches, different salads and desserts.
After dinner Jon prepared the campfire for takeoff. Red flames came out of the chimney. He is going to melt the rest of the aluminum plate.











We had another wonderful campfire.
We were lucky with the weather. We have summer weather now, during the day the temperatures are in the low 80ties.

3-18-10
We went home to check our mail and prepare for tomorrow’s trip to the Bluegrass Festival, in Temecula. .

Pilotless Airplanes

3-4-10
Today I had the pleasure to visit General Atomics-Aeronautical, the designers and builders of the Predator and Sky Warrior pilot less airplanes.
Jim, my former boss at General Dynamics-Convair Division, gave me the tour.
Several years ago I visited General Atomics at their old plant in Rancho Bernardo. The new plant in Poway is much larger. They have big, modern machining centers and fabricate many parts on the premises.
The body of the plane is made from composite material, and also made in house.
Besides the US Forces, foreign countries and the Border Patrol use these pilot less airplanes.
They are equipped with cameras and also can carry Hellfire missiles and small bombs.
Some of them are stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The pilot and the person who controls the weapons are based on a military base in the United States.
The Sky Warrior flies at an altitude of about 25,000 feet and can stay 40 hours in the air.
San Diego is the center for pilot less airplanes. Northrop Grumman builds the Global Hawk in Ranch Bernardo.
I was also happy to see some of my former work mates, who work now for General Atomics.
Of course taking pictures is not allowed in the plant, the poster has to suffice.

Working around the house and motorhome.

2-26-10
We are at home for a couple of weeks and doing work around the house, on the motorhome, and having dinners with friends.
I replaced the water faucet and sink in one of the bathrooms. Our little garden needed some attention.
Every week I give the garbage people three garbage cans with weeds and plants I removed.
For fun I had a root canal on two teeth, and had three teeth ground down for crowns.
Presently I have three temporary crowns. It took almost four hours and cost $3,130.00
Without dental insurance it would have cost more.
My WIN friends pay a lot less in Algodones, Mexico.
Doreen made new curtains for the three bedroom windows in the in the motorhome. They look nice but the valances did not match the curtains.
I had to remove the old material from the valances and attach the new ship themed material. Buying material with pictures was not smart. It took me a long time to make it look decent.
While we were at it, I also bought a new comforter. One site is with stripes and the other side is a light blue color. At the moment we are trying out the stripes.














I also installed the television set on a hinged door. Now I can use the space behind the TV. I bought a rotating switch for changing from using the VCR to DVD. There is one more connection, for another electronic appliance.
I also installed two 110 volt power strips, one from the shore line and one from the inverter. When we are dry camping I use the 1000 watt inverter for the TV and other entertainment appliances. For the microwave oven and the rest of the motorhome I use the 2500 watt inverter.

Newport Beach and Old World Village

2-15-10
This was another fine, warm, sunny day. We went to Newport Beach and Balboa Island. Because of the holiday the island was crowded. We were lucky and found a parking spot.












We did some walking along the main tourist street.
The last five days Doreen has been feeling better than in the last five years. She has no vertigo and balance problems. She had a MRI on her head not so long ago and they could not find the problem. Now she stopped taking one of her medications and she feels fine.
When we get back her doctor has to give her a different medication for her high blood pressure.
At least we know now what the problem is.

From Balboa Island we went to the "Old World Village" in Huntington Beach. This is a little German shopping center. We used to buy our bread and sausages there. The stores are closed on Mondays, we had forgotten that. It was nice though to walk around.

Olvera Street, Union Station and visiting friends.

2-14-10
Olvera Street is the oldest street in Los Angeles and Avila Adobe is the oldest house.













In front of the church were ladies selling flowers and candles for the church service. People were standing outside the door because there was no more room inside the church. Some people were praying outside along the wall of the church.












I took Doreen for Valentine Day to Olvera Street for a Mexican lunch. One gets the feeling to be in Mexico.













We took a short walk to the Union Station. This is a large railroad station. Trains are still leaving and arriving there. The ceiling of the waiting room is very beautiful.














In the afternoon we visited our former landlady in Los Alamitos. We loved it there. We became friends with Elisabeth and stayed in touch.
From there we visited Bobbie, a lady Doreen befriended while we lived in Los Alamitos.
The display in our front window gets bigger.