RACIN ON THE RIVER

Patty, Diana, & Bob soaking up the sunshine in front of the Bluewater Resort/Casino, on the Colorado River, near Parker, AZ.

Watching any kind of competitive motor sports, is always near the top of my entertainment to do list, and when that action happens to be on the water, so much the better. The American Power Boat Ass'n (APBA) sanctions a couple of big races on the river every year, and we took in some of the spills and thrills yesterday.

There were only 4 boats in the Grand National Class, and this picture shows them getting lined up for a "LeMans" start. Two of the four boats didn't fire right away, and they were left in the dust, oops, water.

This boat is from Lake Havasu, and has been at every race we've attended. The boat is fast, but not quite fast enough, coming in 2nd.

For the first time, I noticed that some of the boats now have a capsule for the driver. Drag boats went to capsules for the faster classes many years ago, and have been responsible for lessening the number of injuries and deaths in that sport. These capsules are part of the boat, and don't separate from the hull like they do on the drag boats.

There's nothing quite like the sound of a big blown motor when it's first fired up.

During the comp. jet class, this boat flipped over in the first turn, and sank within seconds. The driver was immediately thrown out, and was OK. When the divers hooked cables onto the boat, it was pulled back to the beach, and these pictures show it being put on the trailer.

We watched the racing action for several hours, which included everything from the blown flatbottoms, to the jets, to the little hydros with 15 horse motors. When the Grand National boats were finished, we were all hungry, so we went into Parker, and had lunch at the crossroads cafe. From there, we headed back home along the CA side of the river, and saw a bunch of critters which I'll probably show some pictures of tomorrow.


It's starting to get much warmer here in the desert, as summer is fast approaching. However, yesterday, the temps were in the mid 70's, and it was a perfect weather day for an outside activity.

ALASKA 2014

Canadian Customs, 20 miles north of Skagway, April, 2004. If you could read Patty's mind, she's thinking "Dan, what in the world have you gotten me into"?

I know it's a long way off but, it doesn't hurt to plan ahead, and a little day dreaming is good for the soul. Once you've been to Alaska, it's unmistakable attraction is with you forever. There's more than just the beauty, and majesty of the last frontier state. It's influence on your very being is just something that you have to experience, in order to better understand it's almost addictive power.

When we responded to a 1994 Work Camper job advertisement for seasonal jobs in Skagway, Alaska, our only exposure to the far north had been on a cruise ship. That cruise was enough however, to instill a desire in both of us, to see more of this magnificent state. So, in April of 2004, we set off on an adventure that lasted for 4 summers in the 1898 Gold Rush town of Skagway. Our subsequent summers of living in this small Alaskan town, only served to enrich our love for the area. So, the plans have been fermenting for several years now, and even though it's way down the road, and a lot could change, we're at least thinking seriously about another trip north to the "Great Land".

One of Patty's favorite places, Long Bay near Skagway, at the head of the Lynn Canal.

The small boat harbor in Skagway, Alaska.

Yesterday, we invited Bob & Diana over for dinner, to celebrate Diana's birthday tomorrow. The time is fast approaching for us to be going our separate ways, as the summer is right around the corner. They will soon be heading north to their beautiful home in Enterprise, OR, and we'll be at the Grand Canyon until Labor Day.

CHINESE FOOD

No, not the take out variety, but the stuff you buy in the grocery store. A couple of days ago, I posted a story about chicken dog treats that originate in China, and the link of that product to F.D.A. warnings. I also mentioned a type of fish sold at Costco, that also came from China.

Yesterday morning, we decided to make a Sam's Club run up to Bullhead City, and that's where we discovered that they also sell this particular fish product that comes from China. If it appears that I'm overly focusing on Chinese products, well, perhaps I am. We've all read the stories about bad stuff coming from that country, ranging from lead in children's toys, to hazardous ingredients in dog food. When you combine the lack of quality control on food and manufactured products, with the political & economic factors, the picture from China is not a pretty one. Just the fact that really cheap labor in China has caused millions of jobs to be relocated there, is enough reason alone, to maybe rethink any purchases where the product originates in that country.

So, as our cart is getting fuller and fuller, we're cruisin through the frozen food section, and I notice that the same tilapia fish from China is now available at Sam's. I didn't get a picture of the bag, but of the three types of tilapia fish on the shelf, it was the only one from China. Patty is the fish eater, and after looking at the other two types of tilapia from the U.S., she picked the one pictured. While she was deciding which one to buy, a watched a fellow pick a bag of the Chinese Tilapia, and start to put it in his cart. I'm usually pretty quiet about my verbal opinions, but I just couldn't help myself. I pointed out to this individual that the tilapia he chose was a product of China, and the other two originated in the U.S. He quickly put the bag back, and thanked us for pointing that out. As I said before, up until just a short while ago, I never looked at food product labels, and I suspect that most of the general public doesn't either. Well, I do now!

CHP MEMORIES

Yes, I really was a member of the California Highway Patrol, and here's the proof. Each office had a picture board of all the Officers and Sergeants, and I suspect this one was taken about 30 years ago.

In the pre radar days, one of the most misunderstood aspects of a CHP Officers job was how we determined the speed of vehicles, particularly on open stretches of freeway like Interstate 5. There were about 3 different ways, and I'll explain the easier ones first.

Estimating - Most of the judges in the Municipal and Justice Courts acknowledged that we were experts in estimating the speed of vehicles. Under most circumstances, we were allowed to give testimony regarding our estimate of what a vehicles speed was. I didn't do this very often, but there were times when for example, I would see a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction at a high rate of speed. Often, before we could turn around and get behind the vehicle, to determine it's speed, the driver would also see us, and immediately slow down to the speed limit. In those cases where the speed was in the outrageous category, usually over 90 mph, I would still stop them, and often write them a speeding ticket. This method almost always created an argument, because most folks didn't think we could do that, but we could, and we did.

Pacing - This was the most common way of determining how fast a vehicle was going. The simplest form of pacing was to drive the patrol car right up behind the suspected speeder, and match their speed. When you were going the same speed, you simply looked at your calibrated speedometer in the patrol car, and you knew how fast the other vehicle was going. It was amazing how often you could do this, especially at night when it was a lot more difficult for the drivers to tell what kind of vehicle was pulling up behind them.

During daylight hours, this method had a slight variation. When a suspected speed violator was identified, usually going in the opposite direction, I would often continue for a 1/2 mile or so, then make a u-turn, and start following the vehicle from about a mile back. If I initially thought that the speeder was going say 80 mph, I would set my speed at exactly 80. When the speeder would pass an identifiable landmark, like start into a curve, or go under the shadow of an overpass, I would make a note of what my odometer read. When I got to that landmark, I would take another reading of my odometer, and I would then know the approximate distance between our two vehicles. Continuing at the same speed, I would then go through the same process one more time. If the distance between the two vehicles during the second odometer check was the same, or greater, then I knew the speed of the violator was at least as fast as I was traveling.

Time/Distance - This was a little more complicated, and sometimes controversial, so bear with me. The California Vehicle Code prohibited "speed traps", where a vehicle is timed through a predetermined distance, and it's speed is calculated based on the time it took to travel that specific distance. So, we couldn't just park the patrol car in a hidden area, and stopwatch vehicles, as they passed by a known, measured distance.

A few of us in the Los Banos Office came up with a combination of pacing, and time/distance, that was much more accurate, and it allowed us to remain almost invisible until we pulled up behind the speeder with the red light on. Here's how it worked. When a speeder was identified, usually going in the opposite direction, when the vehicle passed, we would identify it passing a landmark, such as a milepost, a big bush, an overpass, etc. When it passed that landmark, the stop watch would start. I would continue in the opposite direction until either there was a long distance between the two vehicles (a mile or more), or I was out of sight, and could make a u-turn without being seen. When I was now going in the same direction as the speeder, and often 1-2 miles behind, when passing that same landmark, I would check my odometer. I now had the beginning point of a time/distance calculation. Often, many miles down the Interstate, when the speeder passed another identifiable landmark, (shadows of overpasses were the best), I would click the watch to a stop. When I got to that landmark, a second check of the odometer gave me the total distance that the vehicle had traveled, and I knew exactly how long it took for that vehicle to travel that space. With those two known quantities, it was a simple matter of calculating the speed on what we called the "whiz wheel", which was an aviation air/speed calculator. When that calculation was made, we knew the average speed of our violator over that total distance, from the first landmark to the second. Then the fun part began. We had to close the gap, which meant running at top speed for several miles before we could catch up to our speeder.

When the top brass in Sacramento caught wind of what we were doing, they thought the method was too close to the definition of a "speed trap", and sent out a memo that didn't entirely prohibit the practice, but the recommendation was not to do it, because the cases might be thrown out of court. My graveyard partner of many years, Bob Emmert and I came up with a possible solution to the potential roadblock. We invited the local judge, who presided over most of the speeding cases, to come ride with us, and we would let him determine if this method met the definition of a "speed trap". When the day came for our judicial ride-a-long, the Judge rode with me, and my partner played the role of the speeder. When we showed the Judge exactly how we determined the speed of a vehicle, his judgement was that it was NOT a predetermined distance, therefore, did not meet the definition of a "speed trap". He was OK with the practice, and I remember him being impressed with the accuracy of this method. Needless to say, Emmert and I didn't lose any speeding cases in front of this judge.

Today, with radar being used on most California highways, some of these methods might seem a bit archaic , but, back in the day, these were the methods we used to write speeding tickets.

A CHINESE MYSTERY

Last year, and on a couple of occasions before that, our little Beagle Dog went through periods of sickness, that we never could determine the cause. The symptoms were always gastrointestinal, which included loss of appetite, and a general lack of energy. She even had difficulty getting up the steps of the motor home. Two or three episodes ago, we took her to the Vet, trying to determine what was going on. Blood tests, and a general examine did not reveal what was making her sick.

When Nancy was here a few weeks ago, right after she picked up her new motor home, she saw me giving Sami one of these Chicken Tender Treats. Her immediate comment was that this particular brand of dog treat is made in China, and that it had been rumored to be linked to dog illness and death. She had stopped giving this treat to her dogs months ago. When I examined the package closely for the first time, sure enough, the dreaded "Made in China" is right there on the back.

When buying almost anything these days, part of my routine is to look at the packaging to see where it's made. If given a choice, even if the alternative is more expensive, I absolutely will not buy anything that is made in China. Unfortunately, there often isn't a choice, so you either do without, or make the purchase. Looking at labels on food products has NOT been something that I have routinely done in the past, although we did discover awhile back, that some fish products sold at Costco were a product of China.

When I did some checking, I found on Snopes.com, that the F.D.A. has issued 3 warnings related to chicken products from China that are processed into dog treats. There has been no direct evidence, but the warnings were a result of multiple complaints by dog owners and Veterinarians. The symptoms in those complaints were exactly what our dog experienced, and I'm now convinced that this product was the cause of my dog getting sick.

This is just one more possible example of a bad product coming from a country that has become the poster child for poor manufacturing and potentially dangerous products. The fact that Chinese ingredients in dog food resulted in recalls not too long ago, is more reason to be extremely suspicious of any food product (pet or human), originating in this country. Yes, I will be reading even more labels now, and I just wish I would have connected the dots a long time ago.

I'M FINISHED

One of the things I didn't get done before we left for the Easter vacation with our Granddaughter Laila, was to clean and wax the roof of the motor home. Before we left, while it was parked under the shade cover, I cleaned and waxed everything but the roof. There isn't much space between the metal building, and the top of the motor home, so, this task waited until yesterday, when the RV was still parked next to the garage. Working on my hands and knees for a couple of hours, isn't quite as easy as it used to be, but at least it's done, and that's the main thing.

One other thing that I did before we left, was to order a new piece of material that hangs from the front of the shade cover. The old piece was about 6 or 7 years old, and literally falling apart. When I went to pick up the 10' by 17' piece of sunscreen fabric from a local business, it wasn't ready. In fact, it hadn't been cut, and the loops at the top and bottom hadn't been sewn. They couldn't even find my order sheet where I had already paid them $100, and ended up making a copy of my receipt. Maybe I was the one customer in a thousand where the ball got dropped, but I kind of doubt it. It really wasn't a big deal, but had I needed the product right away, it could have been. I just have a hard time understanding how some of these businesses with poor customer service, manage to survive in a competitive climate.

Yesterday, Patty picked up 500 Euros from Wells Fargo ($690.75), in preparation for her trip to France in a few weeks. We're both scurrying around, getting things ready for her trip, and for our summer at the Grand Canyon. Lots to do..........

BACK HOME

The distance from Lazy Days RV Park in Tucson to our home in Lake Havasu City is 316 miles. This is a drive that I can almost put on auto pilot, since we've done it so many times. About the only variable is whether to stay on I10 through Phoenix, or take the I8/Hwy 85 bypass route via Gila Bend. According to my GPS, the bypass route is 4 minutes longer, but there's a whole lot less traffic to deal with. The last time I decided to go through Phoenix, I got caught in a construction zone on the west side of the city, and lost 30 minutes of the 4 minutes I would have gained. Needless to say, we took the bypass route yesterday, as we usually do.

The motor home was next to the garage by 3 pm, and unloaded shortly thereafter. Just as we entered the city from the south on Hwy 95, I noticed that my coolant temperature dropped about 20 degrees, and stayed in the mid 170 range all the way home. Normal operating temps are in the mid 190 range, and the last time this happened, I had to replace a fan control module. When the electronic module malfunctions, it either never turns on the hydraulic fan, or in my case both times, the fan runs all the time. It's time for a full service, so, with any luck, I'll get two birds with one stone.

SWIMMING ON EASTER

I helped Marc take their new solar cover off the pool, and it wasn't much longer before Laila, and her friend Hana were in the 76 degree water. The outside temperature reached 92 degrees yesterday afternoon. Without the heater on, it's usually around May 1st before the water has warmed enough for comfortable swimming in their pool.

We spent yesterday morning in a sort of relaxed state of being, after a non-stop week with our Granddaughter Laila. Yes, it was nice being back in our normal routine, but we already missed the energy of our 6 1/2 year old. It was around 2 pm before we headed over to Marc & Chandra's for an early Easter Dinner. We were joined by Stacey and her daughter Hana, who we hadn't seen in about a year.

Being with family, especially on holidays is always very special, and we enjoyed a really nice dinner prepared by Chandra. Stacey brought a delicious carrot cake, which topped off the meal.

This morning, we're back on the road, headed westbound toward Lake Havasu. With only about 3 more weeks at home, before I have to be back at the Grand Canyon, there's lots of stuff to get done before I leave. On May 16, Patty, her brother Michael, and Donald, who's like family, all leave for 3 weeks in Europe. Most of their time will be spent in, and around Paris, and Patty will rejoin me at the Grand Canyon in early June.

It was hard to say goodbye to our kids, and Laila last night, as we won't see them for probably several months. Now the focus is on getting everything ready for our summer of work at the Grand Canyon.

BACK TO TUCSON

Miss Laila, before being awakened yesterday morning.

With about 400 miles to cover, none of the girls got to sleep in. The sleepyhead pictured above, was the last one I woke up, and then, it was a flurry of activity before we pulled out of the Pio Pico Thousand Trails near San Diego.

We started out with Laila as the co-pilot, but it wasn't long before she was tired of her electronic games, and the dreaded "are we there yet" began to dominate the conversation. When a movie on her portable DVD player seemed like a temporary solution, that ended when the battery went dead after only about 25 minutes. OK, now what? It was only a few more miles to Yuma, and a fuel stop, where Laila requested to have her car seat switched to the couch with Grandma. After leaving Yuma, I heard lots of conversation behind me, which continued almost all the way to Tucson. No more "are we there yet", and not even a cat nap. The two of them stayed engaged in a bunch of different activities for the next 3 hours, and the only interruption was an occasional potty break.

The return trip to Tucson from San Diego, only had one Border Patrol Checkpoint, where I took the two pictures. I have always had a great affection for German Shepherds, and when the kids were little, we had a shepherd. If we didn't live in the motor home so much, and a bigger dog was in the cards, another German Shepherd would probably be my choice.

Not sure what this dog was sniffing for, but it's mere presence should be a deterrent for the smuggling of anything.

We arrived at the Lazy Days RV Park (old Beaudry facility), around 4:30 pm, and we had Laila back home a little after 5 pm. Chandra fixed hamburgers, and we were joined by her friend Sam, who had an Easter Surprise for Laila. It was nice to be reunited with our family, even though we were only gone a week.

Even though we already miss our little girl, Grandma & Grandpa are enjoying a quiet, leisurely morning, with no Sponge Bob, or Mickey Mouse Cartoons on the TV. Later, we'll join the kids and some friends for an Easter Dinner, then tomorrow, it's back home to Lake Havasu.

SEAPORT VILLAGE

Yesterday morning was a really lazy start to the day, as everyone, including Gracie, chilled out. I decided that Seaport Village was our destination for the day, and it wasn't until 11:30 am, that we arrived at this seaside shopping mecca, near the convention center.

In 1994, we attended our very first Harley-Davidson Dealer convention, right here in San Diego. That was the last time we were in the convention center area, and I remember Seaport Village as being this very unique collection of small shops, with mostly unusual merchandise for sale. The village hadn't changed much since our last visit, and there were quite a few street vendors, offering everything from fortune telling, to these handmade bracelets that we had made for Laila.

Laila's new personalized, handmade bracelet.

Laila picked out this shirt at Mission Beach.

Grandma & Laila on the Seaport Village wall, with the Coronado Bridge in the background.

There's an area near the water, where this guy takes rocks from the jetty, and balances them on top of each other. 18 years ago, there was an individual doing the same thing, in the same area, and it's truly amazing to watch someone do what looks like impossible. I don't know if this is the same guy that was here almost two decades ago, but if not, he had the same talent. With a pretty good breeze blowing, it seems that there would be no way to do this, but, some of his stacks remained aloft despite the wind.

When we walked by the face painter, someone became very focused on having her pretty face transformed into a bunch of colors. Grandpa resisted for awhile, but come on, it's a known fact that my job is to spoil the Granddaughter rotten, before returning her to Mom & Dad. On our way to finding some lunch, Laila got her wish, and a peacock magically appeared over, and around her right eye.

Laila became the "bird girl", with a colorful peacock on her face.

We had lunch at Seaport Village, before walking a couple of blocks to the New Children's Museum. We only spent about an hour at this activity center for kids, as it just wasn't nearly as much fun as the Children's Museum in Tucson. Laila has been taken to several kids museums, and she agreed, the one in Tucson is by far the best.

There were a few activity areas that seemed to keep Laila's attention for short periods of time, but, after checking out all 3 floors, we were walking back to the jeep by mid afternoon.

She enjoyed taking all of the puzzle pieces out, and putting it back together.

Wall climbing is always lots of fun.

Laila and Grandpa each built their own skyscrapers, then, at the same time, became demolition experts.

This was our 6th day of almost non-stop activity, and it's probably safe to say that we're all just a little bit worn out. Having Laila with us for the past week, has been a very special time, one that we will always treasure. At 6 1/2, she's at an age where she can communicate like an adult, but the playful child is always lurking just below the surface. We've had a lot of fun, explored new adventures, and most importantly, spent some wonderful time with our precious little girl, who's growing up way too fast!

It's a little past 6 am, and time to wake all of the girls, including the four legged ones. We've got about 400 miles to cover, and I can almost bet that we'll hear "are we there yet" more than once!

MISSION BEACH

Not too far from Sea World, Belmont Park is a seaside amusement destination, complete with rides, carnival games, shopping, and a wooden roller coaster built in 1925. This complex adjacent to the beach, is very similar to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on the Central CA Coast.

It was another perfect weather day, with a few scattered clouds, and the temps in the low 70's. By the time we made the 30 minute drive into San Diego, it was getting close to noon, and we spent several hours at Belmont Park. Armed with all access wristbands, Laila and Grandpa rode a bunch of rides together, then Laila set her sights on the vertical lift ride. She must have gone through the short line by herself a half dozen times.

Belmont Park at Mission Beach is a seaside amusement park.

When we took a break from the rides, Laila focused on her favorite arcade game of skee ball. Between hers and Grandpas ticket count ($10 worth of tokens, and 158 tickets), Laila picked out prizes that must have been worth at least 27 cents. The important thing was that we both had fun, and she got a couple of balls into the hardest cup, something that I couldn't do.

The Crazy Submarine was kind of like a ferris wheel.

Once was enough on the boat ride. Not quite the thrill level of some of the other rides.

The Vertical Plunge was Laila's favorite.

When we discovered the Vertical Plunge ride, Laila couldn't get enough of the tummy tickler. I rode it once with her, then she kept going back through the line. I think we heard "just one more time" probably about 5 times. This ride was actually pretty timid, but it did drop you a few feet, enough to put a butterfly in your stomach.

"OK, I'm ready, lets get this show on the road".

The merry-go-round was a smaller version of the one we rode at Balboa Park, but still fun enough for Miss Laila to ride several times. When we took a break from the rides, we found a couple of t-shirts, and a kind of dress for Laila, before we took a stroll along the beach.

Around 3 pm, after "just one more time" on the vertical plunge ride, we headed back to the motor home. Once back at the Thousand Trails, we gave Laila an early Easter Basket, with a few toys, and the required chocolate Easter Bunny.

It was another fun day, and the energy of a 6 year old is almost limitless. That almost perpetual motion is sometimes a challenge for this set of Grand Parents, but, at the end of the day, it's really easy to say that it was well worth the effort.

Today is our last full day here in the San Diego area, and tomorrow morning, we'll start the eastbound trek back to Tucson. Where has this week gone?

On the drive back to the motor home yesterday afternoon, Patty called Marc to tell him we would be back late Saturday afternoon. We have no cell coverage here at the Thousand Trails outside Jamul, and have been accessing the Internet via the park's wireless network.