Homestead Museum not far from LA

Last Sunday afternoon nephew Nate and family arranged for us to see some nearby history.  Nate and Angela live in Whittier but up over the mountain lies the Workman house that was built in the 1840's.  Reid and Amy were still in town so they joined us.

Nate arranged for us to see a Christmas rendition program of  the Workman house.  Also on the property, we saw La Casa Neuva and El Campo Santo Cemetery.

First the Workman House.  William and Nicolasa Workman built the original adobe home in the 1840's.  After a lot of hard work and good fortune,  they became wealthy with their growing ranch and estate and expanded the home in the 1870's.  We toured it first.

The tour for the Christmas program included our leader and 5-6 'in character' docents who described various periods of time, situations and items in the home.  

Inside the Workman House, we saw a demonstration of how to make "Ribbon Doll" aka "Wagon Train dolls.

The upstairs of the home was not open, but the tour continued over to the La Casa Nueva which was quite impressive.

One of Workman's daughters married a Temple. Then one of his grandchildren, Walter P. Temple, became wealthy from oil and built La Casa Nueva.  Through a long and winding list of financial reversals and family interventions, another grandson took over La Casa Nueva which thrived for a time.

We were met near the front door by the milkman and the grounds keeper.

This home and estate were built in the 1920s and the grounds keeper pointed to the electric strings of lights that were on hand and in-use back then.

Inside the entry way we met another guide and took notice of the use of arches.  The wood floors, tile work and stained glass windows were beautiful.

Of note, she work stockings with seems down the back.

Remember those?

And we toured other parts of the 14,000 sq foot, Spanish Colonial building.

I loved the bear rug in front of the fire place.

And the carved wood under the beams

that was further evidence of their wealth; and the designs on their windows

in the music room.

Next, we walked through the beautiful grounds, saw the 'teepee' office Mr Temple used, and more of the stringed lights.

Then we stopped for a few minutes in the Museum reception room for some holiday cookies and cider.

Nice touch - volunteers making it happen.

Then, though it was getting dark, we made it over to the El Campo Santo Cemetery, one of the oldest private cemeteries in California.

One of the park rangers opened it up for us which was 'above and beyond' so to speak.  Very nice of him.

And even turned on his flashlight.

We learned a little bit more of the history of the greater Los Angeles area in the 1840's, 1870's and were interested to stroll through the La Casa Nueva which was decked out as it might have been in its heydey - the 1920's.

That's all for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks for joining us!  Until next time...

Amazon Delivery Options?

We paused for a few days after a pretty busy few days seeing relations and doing some fun things over the weekend.

But I wondered if you all have had some interesting deliveries with Amazon Prime.  We have.
Shopping at Christmas time this year has been really easy.  Ask the kids what they want (they know the limits and our limit wherewithal so no 60" TV's or new cars on the list), find it on Amazon, add their address and hit 'send'.  Pretty simple and straight forward.  In fact it couldn't be easier.

Unless you live in an RV.  Then sometimes it can be a little challenging.

While here at Sea Breeze RV Campground in Seal Beach, we have seen numerous FEDEX and UPS deliveries to campsites.  How great is that?  Normally, we have had to send our mail to the US Post Office (get it sent to 'General Delivery').

In our 4 1/2+ years on the road we have done that many times.

But I forgot that Amazon Prime doesn't promise to send packages via UPS.  (or if it does, I don't know how to designate it).  Seems as if they decide how they are going to get it here in the time promised.

So after seeing that it was delivered yesterday, I went over to the Post Office to try and see if I could somehow find the package.  Let's see, Christmas time, thousands of packages, small post office... the more I thought about it I realized my chances aren't too great to get it.  Or get it any time soon.

I was at the Post Office when they opened at 9:00 AM.  There were only a few people in front of me and all were waiting to mail packages.  The lady behind the counter helped me right away.  I handed her my tracking information that I had printed out thinking it might help.

After a few minutes, she indicated the delivery person thought that it was over at the mail room on the Navy base.   Hmm...

I went through this last time I was here.  The mail room has instructions they are not to deliver to the Campground.  When it happened a month ago, a package was sent back to the US Post Office, where somehow, they found my package.

They did not find the package and suggested I go out to the Mail Room.  I explained it was my understanding, they do not hold packages...etc.  But it was clear they were done looking for it so, I went back over to the base and to the Mail Room.

They guy there said, he wasn't supposed to but for some reason, he held on to a package yesterday....oh yeah -- here it is!

Amazing.  Felt like we got lucky this time!  Got our package and off I went.  Like finding a needle in a haystack (or some other improbable event..) I was pretty excited.

But now I have a quandary --- I don't think Amazon Prime allows me to send things to a 'General Delivery' address.  Yet the U.S. Post Office won't deliver to the campground on base.

Any suggestions?

I figure at this point it is part of our adventure and we will find a way.

Another thing I learned this holiday season is the value of marking, 'Do Not Open Until Christmas'.  We are 1 for 2 packages in that department.  One was marked and has not been opened.  We sent another that was not marked and it was opened early.  So we'll marked them all next year.

So there's some thought/a question on Amazon shipping.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Have a great weekend!  Until next time...

Blog Reasons

Sometimes I like to spend a while reading other people's blogs and see what is going on.  I am a regular reader of Rv Travels with Karen and Al and related completely with some of the points that she was making with why she does what she does on her blog.

It got me thinking about The Roadrunner Chronicles and I thought I'd relate some motivations I have behind mine.

The header.
I have had a few photos that I like and for a while I put together a collage with a couple of scenes.  But I like to change it up a bit.  So I try to just use one photo that is fairly recent.
Don't you all get tired of seeing the same photo? 
I like to keep it updated/well maintained and that is one of the ways I do it.

Title.
I try to keep each title I chose fairly short.  I just prefer short title.  And I try to avoid stringing-together-more-than-one-thought-in-the-title.

Pictures.
Back in the day when I was a briefer in my military life, one of the things the boss drilled into us was that the staff (audience) wants to see a picture or colorful graphics...not just hear us drone on...
I have tried to remember that in my posts.  But I admire those that keep my attention with very few pictures.  So I mix it up.

Paragraphs.
I like to keep it short.  I find it very hard to read a long page of information with no paragraphs and/or long sentences.  I can run through short paragraphs much easier and quicker so I suppose my audience feels the same way.

Maps.
I like to know where people are when I am reading their post.  Sometimes it is easy to picture where they are other times it is a mystery.  I don't mind looking around a bit but if it take more than a quick glance, I may or may not read on.  So I often create a map of where we have traveled for the month, or for the last destination of the journey.

Content.
I wish I had taken 'Creative Writing' in high school (and Spanish).  When I started this blog I didn't realize it would become the hobby it is.  I hoped I could learn to write better.  I admire those that write well.  Like my kids - they write very well.  So I figured I would get better at it by 'going for it' and just writing about whatever comes to mind.

Content two.
There may be an unwritten rule regarding politics, sex and religion in the blogging world.  I can find blogs on those subjects.  In the blogging world some rant now and then on those things.  I try to limit that stuff and yet I do broach the subject from time to time.  I am who I am and make no apologies.  But I can learn a lot from those who don't see things from the same prism as I do.  I have lots of friends who don't think like I do.  I have lots of friends who are on a different page.  And thats the way I like it.  I value their friendship.  But I don't like to 'go at it' or 'get in a dig' --not my style.

Content three.
Sometimes it is a stretch coming up with something to say.  Sometimes it gets a little long (and maybe too academic with history and background) --but then I rationalize that I am writing in part for my own education and knowledge.  Sometimes I run out of ideas (as in "this is what we had for dinner") and don't have anything really profound to say.  But I want to try to figure out something that I can post...because I want to keep in touch with my audience.

Readers.
I love the fact that you all stop by and want to continue to engage at some level with you all.  Writing a regular blog and posting something 3-4 times a week does that.  I know there are far more readers that read this than I see at the comment line, and I appreciate that.  I am astounded that 744 individual readers stopped by last week to check in.  That makes it fun for me.  I feel some sense of obligation to post something worthwhile for you all too.

Comments.
I obviously the payoff is having the privilege of your comments.  I have seen a couple of blogger friends who routinely get 20+ comments each day!  But then I look at the commitment on their part.  They blog every single day and have done so for years.  They work hard at it.  If I get half that, it is a real bonus.  I appreciate it when you all offer a comment. Looking back, I have gotten the most during our tough times/tragedy and you have been there.  And when we get into trouble, you offer some encouragement.  It really is just that - encouragement.

Friendships.
We have made a whole host of new friends because of this blog and because of their blogs.  What a great thing!  Its part of the adventure and we look forward to more of both.

Its about time to wrap this up and get on with the day.  There's a little background on where I am coming from on my blog and why I do some of the things I do.  Some of you have had questions over the last few years and those are always welcome.

Hope you all are enjoying the week and this time of the year.  And are warm. I appreciate you and value our connection.  Thanks for stopping by today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

In Seal Beach and a Hike

Despite our adventures a week ago when we first started out from Jojoba Hills to Seal Beach, we finally got here on Wednesday.  The drive was without incident and there was no hint of any computer or electrical problems.  (Sounds like a common 'Can Not Duplicate' problem doesn't it?0

So we will be parked here for a the next month.  We can take action on some great tips a couple of folks sent us on maybe troubleshooting or researching the problem.  Right now we are able to enjoy time with friends and family and extended family for a few days.

My brother Reid and wife Amy are here for a few days.  We joined them at the fundraiser event on Thursday night then spent some time with everyone but Angela and Jacob (nephew Nate's wife and son).  Hope to see them tomorrow.

Yesterday Nate organized a hike up around the hills not far from his neighborhood.  Cass (a friend from church) and Reid and I joined him.  We drove over to the trailhead and were there a little before 9:30 AM and decided on which trails we were going to hike.

Then off we went up what apparently were service roads.

Along the way we saw some beautiful trees, berries and views.

It was a great day for a hike.

And the great thing about a couple of hours with the guys is that we could discuss a few things and get to know each other a little better.  Which is what I thoroughly enjoy.

As we neared the top of the trail we could see some nice homes across the canyon.

At the top we paused for some timed-photos.

And we looked around.

Then we took a trail down a different canyon.

This trail has us coming off the mountain into some neighborhoods.  It was about a mile over to the car from there.

After our hike, we met Lesley, Ezra, Pam and Amy for lunch at Mimo's.

Whatever calories we worked off in our 6+mile hike, we replenished with lunch!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Thanks for joining us.  Until next time...

Dinner Fundraiser for My Refuge House

We arrived at Seal Beach without incident and got set up at another great spot.  We did some projects around the house and decorated.  And got ready to go out to dinner.

Nephew Ben and wife Lesley invited us to their church a few weeks ago when we were in Seal Beach.  While there, a lady had an announcement that was short and to the point:  "You have all heard about the devastation in the Philippines.  The Refuge House was only damaged a little, but I feel like we need to do something to help those folks.  We will be sending out more on that later."

The 'More Later' was last night.  She and some other people put together a fundraiser dinner at a local restaurant. It was a big success and quite an evening.

Dinner was at Great Seafood Harbor near Little India in Artesia, CA about 12 miles from our campground.

We arrived shortly before 7:00 PM and for some reason got a table up in the front with Ben,

Lesley, grandson Ezra
and twin brother Reid and wife Amy who flew in from Albuquerque for a few days.

They started off with soup and concluded with 7 other courses!  It was way more than we could eat but we tried our best!

Before the program started,

folks walked up on stage and and took a look at items they wanted to try for with $5 raffle tickets.

In between the courses, items were raffled.  There must have been 30 items including some Androids, iPads, gift baskets and framed photographs.  

Then as the food started coming out the entertainment began.  Early on, we were entertained by a dancer troupe from Biola University.

Then a group who sang a few songs.

Meanwhile the food keep coming.  It was served family style and worked out great.

There was soup, plates of beef, asparagus, fried rice, crab, shrimp, pork and orange slices for dessert.
In between, we had a raffle winner at our table.

Ezra had two bowls a soup and was a goner.  First mom,

then dad's turn.

Isn't he about the cutest little fella you ever saw?

There was more entertainment

Including some audience participation dancing

and more food - including the plate of fish

oh man - it was good!  But it was a lot...
Then more dancers, accompanied by

our favorite singer (Lesley) who did a duet with the MC.

Then some information about the relief efforts in the Philippines.  The person on the right of the stage  just got through sharing about his time there a few weeks ago.

He is an MD and went to help.  He took a lot of pictures of the devastation which is hard to comprehend.  An update this morning on USA Today indicates the total dead has risen to 6,009 people.  Can not relate to this.  I was not in NYC when 9/11 happened.  We went to New Orleans a couple of years ago but the rebuilding is well underway after Katrina hit.  Unless you see first hand something like this, "what looked like a war zone", are words that are hard to get a grasp of.

Next, he the Executive Director (at the microphone on stage) had a few words about My Refuge House.  Simply stated, My Refuge House is a non-profit ministry in the Philippines that provides a safe home to empower and restore survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and abuse.

Part of the funds raised are going to My Refuge House which sustained some damage.  The rest of the funds will go to survivor kits/baskets and  the girls in My Refuge House are providing to people farther north that were more severely affected by the disaster.

It was a great evening and a great cause to support.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

Roadrunner Reflections: Back on the Road

The Shorty Story.
They couldn't find the problem.  All systems appear to be working correctly despite two different test drives and an Electrical mechanic taking a look at things.  So we left the repair facility late Tuesday afternoon and spent $519.96.

The Long Story.
After more hanging around the Freightliner repair shop on Tuesday, they had two drivers take the Roadrunner for a test drive.  They tried to duplicate the error or get the 'stop engine light' to come back on (how do they do that when they are driving?) but it drove fine.

No errors, no issues.  Hmm...Must have healed itself?  (I don't think so...we have an issue and it will no doubt pop up again some time some where...)

We figured we didn't want to pay these guys for any more of their time so we hooked up and drove down the road ($520 lighter) to the RV Campground at March ARB in Moreno Valley.

Can't say that we were satisfied with the results.  I thought diagnostic equipment was supposed to pinpoint any issue so they could trouble shoot.  I guess I have unrealistic expectations or too much faith in technology or? --- but what can you do?

Lessons learned (in no particular order):
- Don't panic when the 'Red Stop Engine Light' comes on.
First thing to do is make sure nothing is smoking, burning or handling badly.  Look at your gauges to see quickly what is working and what is going on.  The mechanics will want to know what you are seeing.
- Take time to park in a wide space off the road.
Pull over in a wide space if possible, as soon as possible.  For safety and for the tow truck.  Look for a place within a few hundred yards, but if it takes 1/2 mile or more to get over,  do so.  Flashers are a must.  Find them and use them.  Also, the farther you pull off the better.  The tow truck driver will appreciate it.
- Know the distance from the middle of your front wheel to the front bumper.
Coach-Net asked this.  I did a quick walk off since I did not have a tape measure handy while I was on the phone.  I guessed 5-6 feet.  It was really 7 feet.  Good to know so the right size tow truck shows up.
- Make sure you have towing service.
We use Coach-Net.  At $99 a year hard to beat.  We have used them twice.  First bill was over $800 when we were towed in 2010.  This one was $750.  But is was all covered by our 'AAA for motor-homes' aka Coach-Net.  I think Good Sam has coverage too.  Who do you have? Might want to double check and research this today so you know for sure.  I thought I did, thought I paid the yearly fee in May and did a quick search in my email.  Sure enough there it was.
- Know where your VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is.
It is written on the driver side wall near the driver's seat.  Also it is on your RV insurance information, RV registration and in your motor home technical books.  Coach-Net, the towing service and the Freightliner facility service writer all wanted it.
- Determine if the Motorhome really needs to be tied into the tow truck braking system while being towed.  The tow driver disengaged the drive shaft and hooked up his own air hose into the braking system.
             Is that really necessary for a 40 mile tow?  Help me out here - have you ever heard of that?
He even said most drivers don't do this.
- Be prepared for some nickel and dime stuff.
When the tow driver took off his air hose the adapter he had broke on our air line.  He was not qualified to replace it nor did he have the part.  The Freightliner mechanics charged us $79 to reconnect the driveshaft and $79 to replace the plug for the air line (a $1.61 item)
- Don't be surprised if you feel pretty helpless.  
We felt like we eventually got seen, but we were not a priority.  Lots and lots of tracker trailers that came in after we did got seen first.  When we did get seen (at $130/hr), not sure we got the best service.  No matter who we talked to, we still could not find THE PERSON who was really taking time to figure it out or offer any real suggestions.  We never really felt like we had an advocate that wanted to solve this thing.
- Talk to the repair facility personally, before getting towed there and see if they really work on RVs or just say they do.
We did eliminate one facility after we talked to them, but when Coach-Net suggested these folks and indicated they would "see us within two hours" --that sounded great on a Friday afternoon.  We should have called them ourselves.
- Not all all Freightliner 'Oasis Network' facilities are the same. 
Freightliner advertises 'Oasis Network' as a place that will work on RVs. But unlike the one we stayed at in Dallas in 2010, this facility had no hookups, no water etc --- we were just parked out there in the middle of all of the tracker trailers.  Since we have a residential refrigerator working off two batteries we drove 60 miles twice daily to run the generator to keep the batteries charged.
Also, it was a large facility with 40 bays but I never saw a motor home in the shop.  And only one other one on the lot.  I'm not sure ours ever made it into a service bay - the night shift Electrical Guy checked it out but we weren't there.  I assume he brought it into a service bay and hooked up more diagnostic equipment, but I don't know.  
- Recognize the fact that most Freightliner mechanics usually hate working on RVs.  Its a fact, unless the Freightliner facility is co-located or has some strong association with an RV dealer, chances are they will handle your unit as a strange confusing irritation.
- Be hopeful but realistic.
The advertised '2 Hour Assessment and Estimate' did not really happen.  They plugged the motor home  into the diagnostic laptop, took some readings and sent them to a printer somewhere, but we never got an estimate of a part or charge estimate.  We were told it would be $79 for the driveshaft.  But since they had no idea what the problem was, when the final invoice said, "Initial estimate of $260... and Initial estimate of $240" on the invoice,  it didn't jive with what happened initially.
There must be a Freightliner Customer Service line or place to contact? Anyone know of one?
- Best time to break down is not on a Friday.  We need to plan them better because not much gets done on the weekend and the first half of Monday everyone is overwhelmed by all the new customers and rigs that show up first thing that we move down on the priority.
- Break down near great friends who will let you stay with them.
That obviously was the best part of the whole experience.  Staying with Bob and Sue could not have been better.
- Can't let this ruin your day.
As long as there are no life and death situations going on, no physical or medical safety issues -- embrace it and learn what you can.  We could be consumed by 'what if this?' and 'what if that?' The motor home appears safe, although this is not resolved yet, not much we can do.  Really -- we could take it into another Freightliner dealer and pay the more big bucks and maybe get the same result.  Who wants to do that?
- Try to get into the right frame of mind.
Find some humor? Think clearly-- but try to be pleasant even though you may be fearful.  Its normal.
No matter what the deal is, the Golden Rule still is relevant.  Treat other people like you want to be treated.  It is not there fault at the repair facility
- Make a plan, but be vigilant.
So we are thinking we will take it back to Red Bay (Alabama) at some point and have the Chris at Bay Diesel take a look at it when we get there.
- Might want to keep a log.
Don't know why we didn't think of this back at Year ! before we started on our Roadrunner Adventure.  Much easier to keep up with what happened when it occurs versus trying to remember when and what and why's down the road.  I have gotten a red 'Stop Engine' light 3 or 4 times maybe over the last few months but can't be definitive so it was not much help to the mechanics.

Another thing some have done after break downs and incidents is to re-evaluate whether or not this is something they want to put up with.  Our situation is fairly minor.  To us it is an inconvenience, but as long as big trouble goes this is not bad.  We can handle the stress? (not really stress but for some it might be) and for us this is all part of the adventure of living on the road.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

Update from Freightliner Facility in Fontana

We got in to the facility and nothing happened over the weekend.  We came out to the Roadrunner twice a day to fire up the generator and charge the batteries for the refrigerator.

On Monday morning we were there about 7:30 AM and got the "give me some time while I plan out the work for the day" response.

About an hour later we came back to the service counter to check where we were in the queue and was told, "I will check with the foreman".

30 minutes later we went back and were told, "I will go check right now".  He came back and the foreman said he would get in, "As soon as possible".

Our theory at this point was that we want to be visible but not irritating.  And we wanted them to know we were staying with the coach, not waiting in some hotel room.

But who knows if that is the way to handle it?  Sometimes you just have to go with your gut and be as patient and understanding as you know how....

So after another hour, we went back and he said someone was on their way out now to look at it.
About twenty minutes after that, a mechanic showed up and reattached the drive shaft.

He also put a plug in the air system that the wrecker driver tapped into while he towed us in.

Right about 2:00 PM a foreman came out with our computer readout.  I started up the engine for him.  Hmm.  All the gauges were now working.  What...?

The foreman instructed the mechanic to take a look for some loose connections, hose issues...

After another 30 minutes I went back and found out from the foreman he was assigning the issue to 'the electrical guy'.  He come in about 10 PM.  So we charged up the batteries some more and left for our very comfortable quarters at Bob and Sue's.  (They are probably thinking, "When are these people going to leave...)

We had a great dinner of Chinese carry-out and watched some TV before hitting the hay.  Then this morning we were up early, showered and left before 6:30 AM.

We grabbed a biscuit and coffee at Carl's Jr. and went over to the Freightliner facility.  It had moved from our parking space so that was good...Whomever drove it carefully put down paper floor mats and plastic.

But then I saw this:

Even though my printer slide off onto the floor and the table was turned, I don't think there was any damage.  But I hate the notion that more care wasn't taken in driving this.  The guy took it for a test drive and obviously is not used to driving motor homes.

When a company hangs the sign:

I'd expect them to be a little more careful handling motor homes.  Hmm....
The jury is still out on this episode, and I am still trying to be objective.

We checked in and found that the 'electrical guy' indeed looked at it last night but could not find the problem.  Even with the test drive, no error codes or abnormalities were present.  So the next step is to take it for an another test drive, not just around the block.

But that will take a driver.  And they have drivers bringing in fleet vehicles during the morning and one of those guys will be taking the Roadrunner for a longer test drive.  'Check back about 12:00 PM or 1:00 PM.  Hmmm...

If they don't have a driver they don't have a driver.  What are you going to do?  I will finish this blog, we'll charge up the batteries, get some online work done and then we'll probably go over to the mall.  We'll need to update our friends later on and check on the possibility there of another night's stay and let the RV Park know we probably won't be in today and see if we can change our reservation yet again.

So more to come on getting back on the road.  (My guess is that after the test drive, he will not be able to recreate the fault error codes and declare us OK. But that is just me.  I hope they find something, otherwise we will be waiting for this to occur next time.  Or until we can take it to another  repair facility?)

All in all, its OK -- we are just a little inconvenienced.  Its not like we have an due date or deadline hanging over our heads, or some compelling urgent situation we need to attend to.  It is part of the deal and we'll see what happens in the next few days.

Thanks for checking in on us and seeing this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...