2022 Adler Spring San Diego Trip

Starting mileage:   82342 Starting time: 9:15 am Ending mileage: 82716  Ending time: 3:30 pm Travel mileage:  374  Travel time: 6:15 hours 31 degrees and light snow this morning! A dusting on the cars. We went to the 8:30 Easter service at Grace Lutheran Church in Clarion, just a couple miles from our house. It was their early service which doesn't have music but it was still nice to be together with their congregation - there were about 30 people in attendance. We had some more flurries along the way and then a brief snow squall after we got off the Thruway in Kingston. All seems to be well at home. Forsythia, daffodils, hyacinths are in bloom. Weeping cherry should bloom in a few days. Back home after driving 2,960 miles from San Diego and 6,178 miles since leaving home on March 26.  

Starting mileage:   81849 Starting time: 7:30 am Ending mileage: 82342  Ending time: 3:30 pm Travel mileage:  493  Travel time: 8:00 hours 46 degrees and misting this morning when we left. It rained lightly for about 4 hours this morning making driving less fun but it wasn't terrible. The sun came out for the rest of the day except for a short time just when we arrived when it was misting again.  We got gas at Speedway for $3.46 and $3.65 in Ohio. Prices are around $4.19 in PA. When we went for our usual lunch at Subway, the drink dispenser was strange. One had to scan a QR code on the front of the machine with a cell phone and then use the cell phone to select the type of beverage and tell it when to start and stop pouring. There didn't seem to be any buttons on the machine to do it manually. We are staying at a Quality Inn in Clarion, PA for only about $70/night for a king room.

Starting mileage:   81378 Starting time: 7:45 am Ending mileage: 81849  Ending time: 4:30 pm Travel mileage:  471  Travel time: 7:45 hours (lost another hour coming into Indiana) 46 degrees and very windy this morning. Rained lightly most of the day, a nuisance but not a problem with driving. It has been nice seeing green again as we get into a wetter climate. Gas was $3.69 in Kansas and Missouri. $4.19 in Illinois. We knew it would be more expensive in Illinois so we filled up just before leaving Missouri. We are staying at a Comfort Suites in Terre Haute tonight. Using our "points" so no charge.

Starting mileage:   80920   Starting time:8:00 am Ending mileage: 81375  Ending time: 4:00 pm Travel mileage:  455  Travel time: 8:00 hours Another chilly and bright morning, only 28 degrees. Lots of wind farms in Kansas near route 54. We saw considerable smoke in the distance and then a sign warning about range burning and to pull over and not drive through heavy smoke - we didn't encounter heavy smoke. There were huge swaths of the countryside that we could see were recently burned - maybe it is good for regenerating the prairie grass. There were many beef cattle grazing on the grass although most of it looked pretty brown and dry. Some of the fields which were starting to turn green were also bright purple and we wondered if it was thyme. There is some growing by our hotel - seems like it is "henbit". We are staying at a Comfort Suites in Topeka, Kansas tonight. Henbit - not my photo

Starting mileage:   80415   Starting time:7:00 am Ending mileage: 80914  Ending time: 5:00 pm Travel mileage:  499  Travel time: 8:00 hours (not counting 2 hour time change) A chilly morning with temperatures only in the 20s but bright and sunny. Breakfast at the hotel was memorable but not in a good way. At 6:30am, the coffee was only lukewarm. When one guest commented on this, the attendant suggested putting it in the microwave for 30 seconds! We bought gas shortly after getting into New Mexico at $3.92/gallon, getting cheaper as we head away from California.😀 To the north of I-40, there were many spectacular red sandstone cliffs and sharp-sided mesas off to the distance. There is a lot of scrubby rangeland with short grass, yuccas and some cholla cactus. It was interesting seeing billboards catering to women truckers, with a photo of a woman and touting well-lighted parking or clean bathrooms. We like the truck stops as they generally have nice clean bathrooms. Near Albuquerque we

Starting mileage:   79873 Starting time: 8:15 am Ending mileage: 80415  Ending time: 5:15 pm Travel mileage:  542  Travel time: 9:00 hours We got up and left fairly early, saying goodbye to Surana, Nic, Mia and Mathias. Once we got out of the urban areas, the hills were actually fairly green from the rain and before the dry season - soon - it will be all "golden brown". Once we went over the mountains, it was exceptionally dry desert  with just scattered dry brush. The ground is sandy / rocky with many lava stones / boulders. When we came over the last ridge in California, we could see the very green Colorado River valley below. We were just about out of gas when we got to Needles, CA, the last town in California. Gas was $6.69/gallon! We just got $10 worth, hoping it would be less in Arizona. We had lunch at the Subway at the truck stop. Just after the truck stop, there was a large billboard advertising gas for $4.53 / gallon 20 miles ahead. If we had known, we could have wa

Starting mileage:   79756 Starting time: 1:30 pm Ending mileage: 79873 Ending time: 3:30 pm Travel mileage:  117  Travel time: 2:00 hours Looks like it will be a beautiful day. A very busy morning.  Around 8:30 I went over to Amy's to connect the GFI outlet by her crawlspace entrance and the junction box inside before turning off the power. Then I went to Costco and used Amy's card to get gas at only $5.29/gallon but even so, paid $75 for gas, the most ever for us. Then to Home Depot to return the PVC cement I didn't use and buy a storage container to move gravel into Amy's crawlspace. I picked Carmen up at Anna's on the way back. We put down landscaping fabric over Amy's "lake" in the crawlspace and put down several inches of gravel. Carmen would put about 10lbs into the storage container, push it through the crawlspace opening, I dragged it over and dumped it. T

A cool and overcast morning and it stayed overcast all day.  We watched our church Palm Sunday service at 7:30am. I went over to Amy's when the service was over and installed a support for her temporary kitchen drain so that it pitched towards the storm sewer drain. Then it was time to start working on the new outlets by the crawlspace opening. By the time Carmen and Anna came over and it was time for brunch, I got the inside non-GFI outlet installed with wires to connect to the external GFI outlet and to connect to the existing power - hopefully the line is actually live. Amy made a delicious brunch for all of us. After lunch, we went to Balboa park for the organ concert. Anna dropped us off and while she parked the car some distance away, we walked down the canyon trail. There is a huge tree with roots extending out - not sure what kind of tree it is. At the opening of the concert, a woman came out to sing the Ukrainian national anthem accompanied by the organ. Almost everyone st

"Jerry" is supposed to show up to take away the dirt we've dug up behind Amy's house. He has my number but doesn't know the address.  A little before 9am, Jerry texted me "Hi Boss". I asked him if he knew where to go and he said "yes". I then reminded him that we had agreed on $400 and he said that he had to bring someone else and the price was now $500. I told him the deal was off and that was the end of it. I went to Home Depot to get a Fernco fitting for Amy's kitchen drain repair. When Amy's house was inspected, there was a problem with a leak in the ABS kitchen drain which was fixed before she bought it. I was finally able to get close to it and could see that it was fixed by smearing black plastic-like stuff over one of the fittings - maybe the previous plumber forgot to glue it originally and it would have been a big job to fix. I cut the ABS kitchen line with the sawzall

Forecast to be another heatwave day. I started digging up more of the sewer lines and discovered that the top steel pipe appears to be an old cast iron pipe that was actually abandoned and broken on the righthand side. I should be able to cut it off on the left to provide access to the ABS pipe below. Carmen came over and helped with the digging to get all the way below the bottom pipe. The first gutter guy arrived around 9 and his supervisor arrived around 10. There was some confusion about changes to the workorder but I had a copy of the e-mail approving it. For lunch I had my leftover tostada which was still tasty - lots of shredded chicken. Beastly hot - over 90 degrees again! We dug a little more after lunch and Carmen went back to Anna's house. I took a nap until I got a call from our neighbor Maha Anand saying that the recent heavy rain had washed out part of our road at home. I called Jack and asked him to fix whatever was needed. The gutters were finished around 3 and we m

 First thing this morning I went to Home Depot to get someone to help dig down to the sewer line outside Amy's bathroom. About a dozen Black guys came running over wanting to work. I offered one guy, "Jerry",  $50 to work for two hours. I should have checked first how well he spoke English as he was from Haiti and it was a challenge to communicate. When he started digging we encountered a white irrigation pipe and made a small hole in it, causing water to spray all over. I called the San Diego water dept to come over and shut off the water as it is connected before the house water shutoff. It became very difficult to dig and Jerry wanted more even though he had only worked for a little more than half an hour. We encountered a 4" steel pipe about 18" down - no idea what it is for. About 2' down we encountered a 4" black plastic pipe which I assume is the sewer line. When we had gotten down far enough and were basically done, I asked Jerry to carry the 50

First thing in the morning I went over to Amy's house for various odds 'n ends. Put the wheel back on her push mower which fell off when Carmen was mowing the lawn. Used the sawzall to cut out a dead rose bush that had encircled her water shut-off for the house. Chiseled more of the concrete from the south crawlspace access to let the water out. Anna had an 11:30 doctor appointment near Home Depot so I dropped her off and did some shopping at Home Depot. Just as I was finishing loading up the car, I got a text that she was done and went back to pick her up - perfect timing! After lunch, I went back to Amy's to meet the plumber coming over to "scope" the waste lines to see where they ran. The good news is that the main house sewer connection is just a few feet from the house near her bathroom. The old cast iron waste lines running inside the house go to the back of the house which is inaccessible. It should be very simple to redo the bathroom waste plumbing with AB

 An overcast morning and about 60 degrees. It is supposed to go up to almost 70 today but it seems that the actual temperatures are about 10 degrees warmer than forecast for the afternoon. First think this morning, I called John Padilla plumbing and arranged for someone to come out tomorrow afternoon to give an estimate on replacing the cast iron pipe and to also "scope" out the sewer lines to make sure we know where they go. I took the car over to Pep Boys to get the brakes replaced. Very luckily, just before they called to say the car was finished, I received an e-mail from Pep Boys with a survey about my experience the day before and offering a 15% discount on a subsequent service. When I picked the car up, I was able to get $75 off which was a pleasant surprise. Amy went to work at her office today and took Penny to daycare so it was pretty quiet at the house. We dug a few more loads out of the crawlspace under Amy's bathroom and it was disconcerting to see that not o

Overcast but sunshine is starting to come out - it should be a nice day. We thought Amy was going to work this morning and were surprised to see her car in the driveway - she was surprised when we came in without warning that we were coming over. I took our Forester to Pep Boys at the end of the block to have the oil changed. When they inspected the car, they said the front brakes were dangerously low and needed to be fixed immediately of which I was skeptical. I called our Subaru dealer in Kingston and they gave me the information about the last brake thickness and it may be necessary. We spent much of the day digging out the crawlspace to access the plumbing. It is incredibly strenuous, using a trowel in the crawlspace to loosen and dig up the wet, heavy, sticky clay. Then use a hoe to pull it to the opening and then use the hoe to pull it onto a shovel to throw onto the pile. The clay is exceptionally sticky and immediately sticks to any tool that touches it. Each scoop with the tro

Another cool and misty morning that continued until around noon. It was too unpleasant to work outside. Carmen and I watched our home church service via Facebook this morning. It was nice to see people in our church family. A little before noon we went to Amy's house and had Chinese leftovers for lunch. After lunch we went to the zoo. Even though it was overcast and cool, it was still very busy at the zoo. We went to a new section of the zoo that had just opened which was oriented towards young people. It had buildings with cool and creepy things like insects, amphibians and reptiles. The outside exhibits had animals that would always be visible - in the main part of the zoo, animals may be "hiding" and not always visible. There was a prairie dog exhibit with burrowing owls that was fun to watch. There were also fountains that kids could play in the water. Amy made shrimp fra diavolo for dinner that was delicious. She was going to make it with scallops which were hard to

The forecast is for 4% chance of rain this morning but it has been sprinkling off and on all morning. Around 9am I went to Lowes to get 4 more bags of concrete mix to finish Anna's project. 3 bags were just enough to finish - the remaining bag can probably be used at Amy's house. It sprinkled lightly while we were working but it wasn't enough to be a problem. It is probably good for the concrete. Carmen is "camera shy" but worked just as hard hauling and mixing the concrete. The rest of the day was pretty miserable with light sprinkles most of the day and the temperature never going above 65. Anna, Mason, Bella, Farrah and I walked to the ice cream shop on Adams Ave about a mile away to get milkshakes but it was closed until April 6!😞Anna bought milk, ice cream and bananas at the 7-11 to make milkshakes back at her house. We all went to Amy's house for dinner with take-out Chinese food. We watched the movie "King Richard" which was very good.

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY Mason is off to get his wisdom teeth removed at 7:30 this morning. He was back a little before 10 and taking it easy all day. Carmen and I decided to clean the exhaust / heater / light fixture in Anna's bathroom ceiling which turned out to be much more of a project than we had expected. After taking off the exhaust grill and light, we discovered that the exhaust and heater blowers were completely clogged with accumulated dust which was resistant to removal. Each of the hundreds of blower blades had to be cleaned with a small wire. While putting the exhaust blower back in, I dropped it and broke part of the plastic blade unit - I got super glue from Lowes and hope that this fixes it as otherwise I may need to replace the entire unit. I needed cement blocks for Amy's crawlspace entry and found a masonry supply company not very far away. They are 4x8x16 blocks so only way about 20lbs but still 12 of them were heavy to move. Lowes and Home Depot didn't car

Anna has the day off for Cesar Chavez day, a California holiday. I went over to Amy's to keep Penny company and do some odd 'n ends like emptying the rain barrel so it can be moved - half full of water it weighs about 200lbs. Anna and Carmen picked me up to go up to the Carlsbad Flower beds  https://www.theflowerfields.com/  which are open March 1 to early May. They have amazingly beautiful flower gardens, the highlight of which is the 50 acre Ranunculus fields which are brilliant colors of red, yellow, orange and white. We took a tractor wagon ride around the fields, viewing the flowers and the Pacific Ocean off in the distance. We had lunch at a seafood restaurant just off the beach in Carlsbad and then took the scenic drive back down route 101 right along the coast. We all had dinner at the Sunset Beach Bar and Grill in Ocean Beach, one of our favorite places. I got the delicious grilled Ahi salad with walnuts, craisins, and blue cheese which I get every time we go there.