Eureka - June/July 2017

June 28, 2017.
After ruining the motorhome TV antenna I felt really bad. I wondered when my bad luck would stop.
This morning I went to a RV repair place and looked for a new antenna.
They did not have one in stock but called another place and they had one. After lunch I went there and bought it. I asked how much the installation would cost. The owner of the store told me that he is booked for the next six weeks. I hear that a lot in Eureka.
I had installed one of those antennas before in one of my other motorhomes, but I did not want to work on top of the motorhome this time.
I swept all the little branches and leaves off the top of the motorhome and removed the broken antenna.
Then I assembled the new antenna and drilled holes for the bracket for the Wilson telephone booster antenna in one of the posts..
I left the old base in place. I was lucky Winegard had not changed the attaching points. After completing the work on the roof I went inside the motorhome and raised the antenna. It worked .
Now I got TV stations but there was interference. With the new antenna came a signal booster. I removed the old signal booster and installed the new one.
Now I had several clear stations. In the past I was thinking about replacing the signal booster because some of my WIN friends most of the time picked up more TV stations.
I feel a lot better now.
To get a new window takes five weeks. I believe the company has to make one. I called Eureka Glass and they will send somebody to look at the window and see whether they can replace the glass.
An insurance adjuster should come after the Independence Day weekend and look at the storage bay damage. I had told the insurance company that I would be gone until the long weekend.

July 2, 2017.
I fixed the storage bay. I was wondering why it had not fallen off some time ago. Since there is the waste water tank above the box it was only attached to the sidewall of the motorhome. All the other boxes are also attached to the underside of the floor.
The next step is to install metal straps under the box and attach them to the frames.
The door needs some work too. The lock was pushed in and the hole is elongated. I have to fabricate a metal plate with a three quarter inch diameter hole.
Thursday evening I went to the boardwalk for the Thursday's Summer Concert. A few women of the Moose Dance Club were there and we danced.

Friday evening I went to the Elks Lodge for cook your own steak and dancing.

Saturday and Sunday the weather was not great;  I did a little walking and writing the accident report for the state and did a lot of resting.

July 4, 2017.

I went to the Independence celebration in Old Town. Second Street was closed for vehicular traffic.

There were booths selling food and other items.

Near the gazebo a band provided the music.

Belly dancers were there too.

A Scottish band was playing at the other end of the street.

A little train was ferrying people along the bay.

The weather was beautiful with blue skies. The Madaket had a lot of passengers on board.

July 7, 2017.

We had another beautiful afternoon. The temperature went up to 60 degrees F. and no rainclouds in sight.

After lunch, at the Senior Center, I walked the Hikshari Trail. Then I fixed the door on the storage compartment of the motorhome.

Now I have to polish out some of the scratch marks and the job is completed. The window glass should be here in a few days.

I had moved the motorhome again to get better TV reception. When I stood still in one part of the living room I got good reception. When I moved the screen was all scrambled.

My neighbor bought an antenna from Walmart and he claims that it works. I bought the same antenna and put it on the dashboard and get eleven stations. The antenna works perfect. It is also a WIFI booster. I am working on that now.

Tonight I went to the Elks Lodge to dance.

Thursday evening I went dancing at the boardwalk. The band was very good for dancing. After the dancing I went to the Redwood Curtain Theater and saw the play:"The legend of Georgia McBride".

July 9, 2017.

Today was Annie and Mary Day in Blue Lake.

Blue Lake is a small town, fourteen miles from Eureka. It is inland and the weather is better there.

The parade was at 11:00 AM. I was early to take a look at the town. While I was walking Becky came by on her BMW motorcycle. She was going to the location where the parade started and to line up for the parade.

I like the mural on the wall of the Thrift Shop. In 1910 the town had a train station; it is now a museum.

On one side of the street were old cars lined up and on the other side of the street parked Corvettes.

Stephan, Becky's husband, has their BMW Isetta on display.

The parade started on time. The Boy Scouts carried the flags.

The Fire Department came next. I took a picture of only the old fire truck with children on board.

The Chicken participated in the Kinetic Championships on Memorial Day weekend.

This women group was a lot of fun. They danced to the music of a band which marched behind them.

The Humboldt Highlander Pipe Band participates in a lot of parades and festivities.

A lot of people own horses in this part of the county. The Blue Lake Saddle Club had a lot of members in the parade.

After the parade I went to the park where the entertainment was. The band was playing while people lined up for Barbequed beef. The aroma was very inviting but standing in line for a meal is not for me.

There were also a few booths selling kettle corn and other items.

From Blue Lake I drove to Woodley Island to do a little walking. I believe this lighthouse is not in use anymore.

July 16, 2017.

This was a very good week.

This afternoon I went downtown and walked for an hour and then danced at the Morris Graves Museum from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

The museum has every third Sunday “Wine and Jazz”. The Yokels were providing the music. They are one of our favorite bands at the Moose Lodge.

Yesterday I went with the Nooners for lunch to the Oriental Buffet in Arcata. Most of the members eat lunch at the Senior Center and on Saturdays they go at noon to different restaurants. Since I like the Oriental Buffet I joined them.

My next stop was the Sand Sculpture Festival in Manila. After attending the event on Mustang Island in Texas I was disappointed. Ten entries built basic sculptures. The turtle was the best one.

Friday, we had Rodeo Day at the Senior Center. I wore my cowboy boots and my white hat. Joanne wore her square dance outfit. For lunch, we had John Wayne Casserole.

Thursday evening I went to the Summer Evening Concert at the water front. The band played music of the Eagles and I have never seen so many people at the concert.

Wednesday Eureka Glass installed the new glass in the window. All I need now reflective film to attach to the inside of the window. I could not find any in Eureka. Somebody told me it is outlawed in California. I have to wait until I go to Arizona.

Tuesday, I saw artists start on a new, large mural in Old town.

Children got sailing lessons at the Aquatic Center.

Monday I danced at the Moose Lodge.

July 23, 2017.

We had fantastic weather this week. The thermometer went up to 67 degrees F. today and yesterday.

Yesterday I went to Fortuna to the Fortuna Redwood Auto Xpo. On Mainstreet were 300 Oldtimers lined up on both sides of the street. On the High School parking lot they had 100 more.

Some of the old cars have different colors than when the cars were new.

The 1957 Chevy became a classic. My 1957 Pontiac-Starchief is forgotten. I saw one some years ago in Grants Pass, Oregon.

This replica of a 1934 Mercedes Benz is a beauty. It has a V-8 Chevrolet engine.

Thursday, I went dancing at the waterfront. The Funky Dozen were providing the music.

Yesterday, I went dancing at the Grange in Bayside. It was no fun. We were more men than women, and some of the women did not dance. I did not stay very long.

Friday, I danced at the Elks Lodge; the band was very good and I was able to dance a lot.
 
July 30, 2017.

This week I did a lot of dancing. Monday, I danced at the Moose Lodge, and Thursday at the waterfront.

Friday, three members of the Humboldt Accordionairs came to the Senior Center and provided the music.

Saturday, I danced again at the Moose Lodge. Sunday, I went dancing at the Swiss Club in Loleta.

On my walk I admired the completed, new mural. I looks like Tokyo at night.  

Saturday, was “Get out and play Day” in Eureka. At the Clark Museum they had woodworking demonstrations. Only human powered tools were used.

At Sequoia Park was a picnic. There were booths from the fire department and other organizations.

The line for the free hamburgers was very long. I just looked around and then went to Safeway to buy some bread.

Mother Lode Country with Nicolette and Jacob.

June 18, 2017.

We left Eureka at 8:00 AM and arrived at the Konocti Vista Casino in Lakeport at noon. It is really hot here; I connected the electricity and started the motorhome air conditioner right away.

I was worried that I would not get a camping site at the casino, but there are only seven RVs here. The casino RV Park has more than fifty spaces for RVs.

I  picked the casino because they have a swimming pool.

I took two facing sites and made it a pull though site. If security does not complain I will not have to unhook my car.

The kids went to sleep after lunch, Nicolette on the couch and Jacob on my bed. After their rest we went to the swimming pool. It was refreshing.

June 19, 2017.

This was a lousy day. It started fine. I let the children sleep while I was driving.

We left Lakeport at 6:30 AM and arrived in Grass Valley at about 9:00 AM. I could not get to the Moose Lodge because of the sharp angle of the street. If I would have come from the other direction it would have been easier.

I continued on and tried to get to the Elks Lodge I came down a very narrow one way street. I had to make a right hand turn. To make the turn I needed both lanes of the street. Because of the traffic I turned too soon and heard the noise on the passenger side of the motorhome.

I stopped right away and got out of the motorhome. I had hit a stop and direction sign. The post of the sign was under the outer, back tire.

A police captain was there in five minutes and later a policeman. The policeman directed traffic while I unhooked the car and backed it up. The captain and I could not back up the motorhome without ruining the tire. I moved the post several times till it broke. Now I moved across the street and parked there, while the nice policeman gave me a ticket, my first one in fifty five years. This is my second ticket.

I got the car too and hooked it up again. Then I noticed one side of the window over the table was all shattered, held only by the plastic inside. The direction sign had hit it.

I called the insurance company and they told me it takes a week to get a window. I am going to use Gorilla Tape to hold it all together.

After that mess I decided to go to the Nevada County Fairgrounds, I will never again

take a motorhome in those old mining towns.

Besides the window one of the storage boxes on the side of the motorhome was separated from under the motorhome.

I had to put the contents of the compartment into the trunk of the car and the box has to go in the motorhome while we are traveling. Right now it is under the motorhome.

In the afternoon we went to the Empire Mine State Historic Park and took a tour. It was hot and not that much fun for the kids. I had taken the tour before.

The stamp is one of eight which the mine used to smash the ore to powder. The eight stamps made a tremendous amount of noise.

We got to look down the shaft. The mine was the deepest in California. They went down 1,400 feet.

The manager’s office was the fanciest building on the premise.

June 20, 2017.

This was another disappointing day. I drove ninety minutes, up the winding highway 49, to Sierra City to take the Gold Mine Tour.

When we arrived there the facility was closed. They are open from Wednesday to Sunday. I knew this when I laid out the trip. But with yesterday’s accident I am not up to it right now. Temperatures of 100 degrees F. do not help.

We drove back and stopped at a wonderful Mexican restaurant and had lunch.

I had made already reservations for South Lake Tahoe for tomorrow so I cannot take the kids down the Kentucky Mine.

My insurance company farmed out the window repair. I am working with a lady from a company in Elkhart , Indiana. It will take more than a week for her to find a window.

The repair of the storage bay is post phoned until we get home. An insurance adjuster will take a look at it then. The door for the bay is damaged too.

I try to hold the window together with Gorilla Tape. The glass is broken in little pieces, only the plastic between the sheets of glass keeps it together.

June 21, 2017.

I cannot get it right. For today and tomorrow I had made reservations with a Thousand Trails Park in South Tahoe. They have a swimming pool.

I had to set up the reservation with the main office of Thousand Trails and had no local telephone number. My problem was that my GPS did not accept the street name of the RV Park. On the Internet I found the coordinates for the park. I had the wrong coordinates though.

We passed South Tahoe and went down the hill. The road was narrow and 10 MPH curves. There was no way to turn around, and when I finally found a place I did not feel like going back.

Instead of having a wonderful afternoon in the swimming pool we sat at the Elks Lodge in Jackson.

To make it worse the bar tender gave us a password for the WIFI which does not work.

Nicolette and Jacob take it all in stride. They are really great.

It was cool at Lake Tahoe and down here it is 104 degrees F.

June 22, 2017.
This vacation is a bummer.
I made some mistakes but the weather is the biggest problem. It was 104 degrees F. today and there is no change in sight.
I tried to find a RV Park near Yosemite National Park and had no luck. Without reservations it is impossible to get a campsite.
If I would have been smart I would have left the motorhome in Sonora and climbed the hills in the car.
We did it with the motorhome which was stupid.
We are now In Sonora at the Fairgrounds running the air conditioner full blast.
Going outside is no fun.We only went grocery shopping. The kids are playing with their electronic devices and I have to write my notes on paper because Microsoft shut off my Word. They claim I loaded it down to many times. It is still working on my old computer, but I did not bring it.
Tomorrow we will be going to Yosemite.

June 23, 2017.
This was a fantastic day.I kicked the kids out of bed at 5:30 AM. Nicolette told me that she can not function this early. She did survive though.
We left the motorhome at 6:30 AM and arrived at Yosemite Valley at 8:00 AM.
We stopped at the first waterfall. The meadows are covered with water and so was a bridge.

Since the Visitor Center was still closed we jumped on a shuttle bus and went to Yosemite Falls.
 Jacob looks like a ranger with his hat.

The river has a lot of water. I have never seen the waterfalls with such amount of water and noise.
There is still a lot of snow on the top of the mountains and there will be more water coming down.

After visiting the Visitor Center and Ansel Adams Gallery we drove up to Glacier Point. We had to park at the Badger Pass Ski Area and then take the shuttle to the top. The lines for the shuttle was long and it was hot, even at this elevation. Nothing is normal anymore.

The wait was worth it though. I am always excited when I come up here. It is a view which pictures can not completely show. Half Dome and two large waterfalls seen at the same time, it can not get any better. The valley below is so small.

It was again above one hundred degrees F.

June 24, 2017.
We arrived at the Elks Lodge in San Jose at about 9:00 AM. I noticed two motorhomes in the dry camping area. Dry camping is only allowed when the hook up camping area is full.
I needed a site with at least electricity.
I walked over to the hook up area and noticed on empty site. I ran back to the motorhome and moved it in front of the site, unhooked the car and moved the motorhome into the site.
After leveling the motorhome and connecting the water hose and the electrical cord I took a rest.
A few minutes later the camp host came and told me that I am very lucky. He had gone to get a coffee when the previous occupant of my camp site left and I took it.
He was going to give the site to one of those dry campers.
Later we went to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.

It is a large  museum with many copies of Egyptian artifacts, including mummies, ancient ritual objects, textiles, musical instruments and other objects.

There is also a copy of the bust of Nefertiti.The original is in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin.

After the visit to the museum we went swimming in the swimming pool of the lodge.

June 25, 2017.
We drove by car to the Santa Cruz Beach Board Walk.

When we arrived there at 9:45 AM it was cloudy and cool. We put our beach towels and my chair down to claim our spot, and then walked to the rides and vendor booths.

By 11:00 AM the sun was shining and it got warm.
Nicolette and Jacob decided not to go to the rides like two years ago. They wanted to enjoy the waves, and they did.
They were in the water for three and a half hours.

On the beach were not many bare spots. Thousand's of people were enjoying the fresh air and the noise from the roller coaster and other wild rides. There was a lot of screaming.

June 26, 2017.
We left San Jose at 7:30 AM. I like to get up at 4:30 AM and get trough San Fransisco early in the morning. But the children are not happy then.
We encountered heavy commuter traffic the first ten miles and then it got easier.
We stopped at the Ukiah Elks Lodge for the night.
After setting up the motorhome we went to the Buddhist Monastery and had lunch at their small vegetarian restaurant. Nicolette was happy and Jacob was not. I knew that beforehand but we do not always get what we want. I ordered one dish which tasted like meat balls. Even those Jacob would not eat.
I wanted to go shopping with the children but they did not want to leave the motorhome. They were texting and playing games. I caught up on my blog.

June 27, 2017.
We arrived at the Moose Lodge in Eureka about 12:00 noon. Claudia picked up the children and I moved into a camping site.
I could not get any TV reception, so I moved to the site I had last year. There the surge protector had the warning light on and would not give me any electricity.
I moved to another site and heard a noise on top of the motorhome. A branch had sheared off the TV antenna. There is no problem with redwood trees, they have no low branches. This was the only tree at the camping area which is not a redwood, and I had to come close to it.
Now I get no television for a while.