November 2023

Hi there everyone,

We are approaching my favorite time of year, the holidays... I love the holidays because it means family get togethers, sending Christmas cards, and decorations. I truly love this time of year, because the holidays have always been a time of the year that brings some happiness. November started out a little rocky this year... the Motorhome ended up in the shop, and I got in a small accident with it, however the two incidents were not related. I've been driving the Allegro bus for 14 years now and I've put a lot of miles on it, so I guess I was due. As we arrived at the Ponderosa Thousand Trails park in Lotus California, I was backing it up into is spot, going up a hill and doing a blind side back, in other words, I was turning towards a direction on my blind side. Well, I hit a concrete pilon in the process, but it was only slightly more than a tap. About all I did was scratch the paint.

One of the weird things we have had, virtually since the day we bought this motorhome, is it would occasionally get a check engine light in the weirdest times. I talked to the Freightliner dealer about it and they said it was probably an injector going bad, but they said that we would have to have a constant Check engine light to really diagnose the problem. Well, fast forward... 14 years, though the Check engine light was not on any more than normal, I was leaking diesel like a sieve. So, I figured it would be better to take the motorhome into the shop before it completely died in the middle lane of I-80 someday. So, I made an appointment and took it in. The Frieghtliner dealer found the leak and it was the fuel pump. So, while they awaited parts and Remi and I found a hotel that we could stay at while the motorhome was repaired.

They told me that it would cost about $2,800 to get it repaired and they were pretty much true to their word. I found out that mechanic Labor rates have gone up more than my salary. Over the last 10 years my salary has only gone up about 20%, Labor rates have almost doubled over that same time frame.

As you know, the main reason I returned to the Sacramento area is because I have to report to the office one day a week, and the commute from Yreka was insane. Though there is nothing wrong with the office that I have to report to, because we are hotelling (sharing our cubical with others), we can't personalize them. Plus, I've become more productive teleworking and most of the people I deal with don't work for CDT, so, at least for me, I don't see a benefit to reporting to the office. Some of the draw backs are is I spend way more on gas, I'm eating more fast food, and as a result my diet is going to heck. About the only thing good about reporting to the office, is I get free parking as well as there are charging stations at the office. Oh, and I LOVE the Jeep Wrangler 4XE... I'm 28,000 miles in and it is my favorite car ever.

Traditionally the month of November is when I start to decorate the motorhome and send out Christmas cards. And while this year, the decorations are the same, the decorations and the emotions related to the holidays, never get old. This year, sadly, I didn't get to go to Oregon for Thanksgiving because Karen and Mike went back to Connecticut. So, I bought myself a hungry man TV dinner, and it actually was pretty good.

As lives go, I know I've got a pretty good one. Remi and I are very comfortable in the motorhome and we get to stay at some really very pretty RV parks. Just about every Thousand Trails park has some sort of water feature near it. Lake Minden and Lake of the Springs both have lakes. Ponderosa has the South Fork of the American River and Snowflower has Snowflower lake. Some of the sunsets that we experience just can't be beat. Remi and I have really hit a rhythm with our stays at Thousand Trails parks and we are getting to live a pretty good life and enjoying the scenery along the way. And, as a bonus, I am permitted by the good people at the City of Stokton Animal shelter to work with some amazing dogs, every single week!