November 16, 2001
Well, as I recall, last time I sat down to share a bit of our lives, I was fussing about the dang microwave/convection oven among other things. So, just to keep the flow going (no pun intended) I'll share the troubles and travails of a less favorable sort. The toilet quit. Actually, the toilet would work, it's just that there was a clog of major proportions -- somewhere deep in the bowels (oh.....pun intended) of the Road Abode. Story goes like this.
Every once in a while of late, we'd noticed that when flushing the toilet, air bubbles would come back up and then we'd hear an ominous gurgling sound. But everything would disappear, and we'd go on our way. Only this time, while I was waiting to see how the bubbles were doing, they quit. And the water level in the toilet was on the rise. I got off the foot pedal (that's how we flush the toilet ) in a hurry, and just as quickly my humor went for a walk without me. Now what. We didn't even have the microwave back yet and I hadn't yet found my leatherman tool that got lost in the fiasco with the neighbor's fly-away awning, and here's another potentially expensive problem. Now, we'd asked around and the consensus of opinion was that the bubbling was caused by a blocked vent pipe. One time I went up on the roof, removed the little tin cap from the top of the vent and shot a goodly amount of water down the pipe. And that solved the problem. For a little while. This time it didn't work. So, on the way to get the microwave (with new transformer), we stopped by Home Depot and bought a little 15' snake for $7, and then went to the local RV supply place and spent another $10 on one of those sprayer things you can shove down the toilet to spray the tank clean. In spite of the fact that we ordered the in-tank sprayer as an option when we bought the trailer and use it on a regular basis. Also got a venturi top for the vent pipe....just in case.
After unloading the microwave, I played man-of-the-house and shoved the snake down the toilet. And did it again. And again. And again. Screwed the little handles merrily to twist the snake, and just kept doing that because I couldn't think of anything else to do. And eventually, WHOOPEE! The water level in the toilet went away. And then it was time to put the sprayer to use, and that brought near panic as the water level started to rise again, but in the end all's well, and there's no gurgling and no bubbles and my humor came back from its walk; Barby also retrieved my lost leatherman under the neighbor's trailer which was a great relief to me (a much-used tool).
Some lessons or tips: We've never left the black water valve open, even when we have full hookups. We'll leave the gray water valve open, but only open the black water valve when we have 3/4 of a tank full or more. That way, the liquid will flush out the solids. We charge the toilet after each emptying with the enzyme of choice and plenty of water so there will be minimum opportunity of solids building up at the end of the pipe from the toilet on the bottom of the tank. We use the built in sprayer after every 2nd or 3rd dump and just rinse with fresh water (holding the pedal down) in between. And the lesson learned is that for whatever reason, after better than 3 1/2 years of steady use, our black water tank needed "cleaning" the old fashioned way. Less than $20 spent, and no real disaster.
The microwave/convection oven got re-installed and is working great. And we've moved again, and are now in the outskirts of Yucaipa, CA, at about 4800' elevation. Warm days, cool nights with coyote sounds in the distance.
The day before all the excitement with the toilet we decided it was time to go see the falls. It had been raining pretty hard for the past day and a half so we figured (wrongly, as it turned out) there would be lots of water. The falls were still pretty (aren't they all?), and the trail was just challenging enough for us. As we were heading back home, I mentioned that I thought I saw a slug on a rock in the stream. Barb laughed and told me there weren't any because it was too hot, unlike the Pacific Northwest. Then behind me she started making those noises all husbands recognize as something he should pay attention to. And lo and behold, I'd stepped right over a nice sized banana slug (that's a long, fat yellow snail without its shell for those who haven't lived in the Great Northwest) I didn't see, and she couldn't miss because of our just completed discussion.
Since it was mail day and we had to drive the 23 miles into Santa Ynez anyway, we might as well drive another 3 miles and see Solvang, a unique Danish community. I wanted to see it because it was at a party here in the early 50's that some Life Magazine photographer had a buddy pose for a picture as a drunken biker. That was sort of a defining moment in the "Biker Bad Boy" image thing. Hollywood took it from there with the movie "The Wild Ones," and consequently the 10% (or less) of the bikers gave rise to the entire genre. I was interested in photojournalism at the time and was impressed with the impact of that single story, but that's another story in itself. Barb wanted to see it for obvious reasons. We came home with some fresh baked Cinnamon Raisin Bread; only there weren't any raisins in it--not a single one! Dang tourist traps anyway.
Along our way, we entered a driveway where a small square/courtyard of shops, offices, and hotel rooms were located, and observed some of the most beautiful cascading geraniums we'd ever seen, both as to vibrant color and size. We had a chance to talk to the fellow responsible for them, and while he was a bit shy about them, his buddy was effusive with his praise. Seems the plants get a weekly dose of Miracle Grow. We know from experience what that stuff will do for plants as Barb used to grow tomatoes in Federal Way, WA, with vines over 6' tall. For whatever reason, the tomatoes didn't do so well after the first couple of years (when they did really well). Must have been the Pacific Northwest weather, but the vines sure did well. In any event, the neat thing about those fabulous geraniums was that they grow year-round because they are protected by the surrounding buildings and the weather is perpetually warm in southern California (which is why we're here too).
Other than being a typical tourist trap kind of place with all its cutesy little shops, and a bakery on every corner and sometimes mid-block as well (bakeries must have outnumbered restaurants 10 to 1!), there was some real traditional Danish stuff as well. We enjoyed the Hans Christian Anderson museum and I learned more about one of my favorite childhood authors. The place actually reminded us a lot of Leavenworth, WA (a Bavarian community), the way the whole town has banded together in a concerted effort to portray a cultural theme.
Expensive jewelry shops seemed to be doing a thriving business, which sort of surprised me. Perhaps the media has this "slow economy" thing all wrong. Naaaa, the press wouldn't mis-lead us, would they . . . . . .
All of a sudden I took an interest in just how authentic some of these buildings were. On the left are shingles that have all been cut so they have what looks like a swallow tail and are only about 4" wide. On the right is a roof that looks like it was made entirely of reeds.
Closer examination showed that yes, the whole thing is made of reeds or some kind of grass. Looks just like the business end of a broom, doesn't it. Except that most the reeds were hollow. Made me wonder out loud how they got fire insurance. And Barb told me that they used a fire retardant on it. Darn. Took the mystery right out of it. On the right (can you tell that today is our "play tourist" day?) is part of the Cold Springs Tavern and Stagecoach Stop. It's authentic besides. The road follows the actual stagecoach road, and this place was actually a place where they'd stop overnight. Several springs very close together meant that they had water year round in an otherwise dry area. We are parked about 5 miles from here at Rancho Oso in the Los Padres National Forest, and the terrain is the same.
While a tad pricey, the food was excellent. I had one of the best New York steaks I'd had in a long time, and Barb's short-ribs (what other kind could she have?) were good too. Been a while since we'd dined next to a fireplace in a building so old that all the electrical wiring is exposed. Place was built in the late 1800's, and called Cold Spring Relay Station. Stagecoach would change horses and passengers would take a break. We arrived about 1/2 hour before they opened for business, but they were kind enough to seat us anyway and bring us fresh, hot, delicious bread while we waited. Very informal and very popular place.
These were taken as we were heading in to town (Santa Barbara) to pick up the mic and the "toilet tools." San Marcos pass, Hwy. 154, is a fun road, and even more fun was the 5 MPH curves and 175-degree switchbacks of the old original San Marcos pass road we found. Never saw a road caution sign with an almost full circle arrow with "5 MPH" on it before. For obvious reasons there's no pictures. Barb was holding on and praying and I was pretty busy myself. Moby Dick didn't care a bit, and exercised his engine brake the whole way down. The guard rails were those really low ones that give the tourist a full view of the cliff they're about to fall off of. We were amazed at the extensive/ expensive driveways of the few "view" homes that were on this road. The photo on the right was taken at a small turnout on the way down--lots of these cacti with "pears" on them; guess that makes them "pear cactus" :-), but we really don't know that.
Today (Saturday the 17th) the Oak Glen Retreat where we're parked on the outskirts of Yucaipa, which is just outside San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles (AOR affiliate - $6 per night, full hookups, two swimming pools and a hot-tub, mini-golf kind of place) is having their annual Thanksgiving dinner. Barb made a new taste treat (apple cinnamon salad) for our contribution, and when the fog lifts I'll take some pictures of the place for the next update.
As an aside, the trip from Santa Barbara to our current location near San Bernardino, which took us through Los Angeles & lots of traffic, was a blessing. The trip was just over 200 miles, but southern California's lush greenery, acre upon acre of agriculture, flowers everywhere (this is November for the northern readers), and varieties of trees including some flowering and some mighty magnificent palms, was a visual delight. God has certainly blessed this part of the country with much beauty and glorious wonders, and we praise Him for this pleasure. We also wonder at all the goofy liberal politicians making it nearly impossible to live and work here, much less run a business. No wonder Wal-Mart doesn't have any Super stores in CA.