Mmmmmm, bacon
If you’re an omnivore/carnivore, there are few things that can improve just about any food more than bacon. I caved and tried the new-fangled “bake in the oven” method because it’s claimed to be easier to make and clean up after. I’m not convinced. I had an unnoticed corner of a strip hanging off the back of the pan, and although I appreciated that the house smelled like bacon for two days because of the enormous gout of steam and smoke that rushed out on checking progress; I’m not sure it was an easier process. I like my bacon super crispy, and it just never got there although I kept shutting it back in the oven.
In other news around the world, I finally got off my butt and filled the water tank on the trailer. I still need to run a bleach solution through it, but at least the system functions and the water pump works. I’ve made two trips to Home Depot to pick up stuff, and still don’t have the right mix of hose and funnel to pour several gallons of the mixture into a fill spout similar to a gasoline tank. Still working on it. I’ll be using the trailer in a few weeks, so I should get it solved.
I’ve been up to the archery range several times, combining the “get Cardiff used to being alone at the house” with practice for an upcoming shoot. I’ve not done competitions before, but this one is a less serious golf-like shoot that I’m hoping is as fun as it sounds.
For those who aren’t aware, I’m a long-time video gamer. Diablo 4 was a big deal earlier this year, and I pre-ordered like all good little consumers do. I have to say I was not as impressed with the game as I would have hoped. I actually stopped playing and have been playing Baldur’s Gate 3 (another long-awaited release). It’s pretty fun, I’m just not used to doing turn-based stuff and it’s an adjustment.
Lastly, to provide the obligatory doggy content, this is what happens when your canine is neither afraid of the sound or the rushing air of a leaf blower. It makes me think of an imaginary wine label I invented a few years ago named “Laughing Dog”.
And here is the video of the hooligan that prompted it.
I’ll be in Reno in a week or so, anyone that needs a sealed bag of cigarette smoke from a casino should let me know.
Still splootin’
This week has been pretty active. The neighborhood walks have continued - typically twice a day - and we’ve met everyone in a 100 mile radius that isn’t inside while we’re out and about. Cardiff keeps meeting her best friend around every corner. Also, now that they’re both fully vaccinated, she was able to get a play date with my niece’s puppy that is two weeks older, and they had a blast. Add that to the ontgoing wrestling matches with my mom and dad’s dog, and it’s starting to look like ongoing doggo-friends.
I had kind of the opposite effect on my neighbors because I’m getting rid of my old lawnmower, and it must have no gas in it for the city to pick it up. I jury-rigged the safety to allow the thing to run until the gas was gone without me holding it, and had people looking out of windows and walking by frowning at my bad form for wasting fossil fuels. It wasn’t like I was just pouring gas in the street, but I did have the thing running in my driveway for over 10 minutes. I swear there was only a slight liquid sheen down at the bottom of the the tank when I started it, but that sucker just kept going.
This week I found myself in the backyard trying to deal with the very small nettles which constitute the joke of a lawn, and have resorted to vacuuming them up. Seriously. Vacuum. I borrowed my dad’s shop vac and am sucking up all the burrs that are constantly invading the house via Cardiff’s fur. It feels really silly. Kind of like rinsing stuff to be recycled, or as Jim Gaffigan calls it: “washing the garbage”.
I’ve looked at several different spots to travel to next. Still in the state, and not more than a few hours away. It’s a lot harder to determine the right place as I learn more about the process and the type of campground people and environment we’ll be enjoying. Does it look like a parking lot with no grass? Is the majority of the clientele looking to “git drunk and nekkid” on their boat or next to the lake? Is the place decorated in a theme like ‘western’ or ‘surfer’? Do they allow dogs?
ON a totally different topic, I was finally able to install some AI software for art generation on my computer, and boy is it fun. It runs so much faster than the last version I played with. I created images of everything from super villains to statues to D&D characters. Check out some samples if you’re interested.
Lastly, my mom supplied Cardiff with a kerchief to help her be my chick-magnet, but she wasn’t having any of it. You see her below exclaming “I can’t breathe!” and re-enacting the death scene from Over the Hedge. What’s a little air compared to my future happiness? She’s so selfish.
We be rollin’
Cardiff and I took our first trip, spending the night in Morro Bay as a shakedown run. Close enough that forgotten items weren’t critical, but far enough that we had to drive and deal with the trailer. It went well, but I can’t really recommend the RV park we stayed it. It was beautifully located, literally across the street from the beach, but just a different group of people looking for something different than how I would like to enjoy the trailer. My vision is something more remote, with fewer amenities and people, with more access to nature. This was basically a parking lot filled with people and vehicles of all kinds looking to get their drunk on.
We made do, and had a good trip. First visit to the beach for Cardiff. Unfortunately our film crew didn’t show up so I was the only one able to hold the leash, which meant I couldn’t really get any pictures of the frolicking. The rules in the park were very clear: I couldn’t have her off leash (no more than 6’ long) and couldn’t leave her alone at the site. So she came along everywhere, including the bathroom which had a sign on the door saying “no animals”. Hmmm, someone didn’t think that through. We both went in, and no fights ensued.
You can see where I stopped to pick up lunch on the way in (good burrito!), a tired puppy trying to nap after running in the sand and surf, going out to the harbor and seeing boats and birds, and driftwood structures on the misty beach early in the morning of our second day.
Progress?
Cardiff is learning so quickly, you can see prime examples of “sit” and “leave it” below
She is really enjoying getting out on walks, and we’re working hard to get better and safer at it. She likes playing on people’s lawns, and checking out the different grasses. I’ve chosen to not water my front yard, so it’s dirt and weeds for the most part. But no foxtails. not all yards are created equal, however. We were just 3 houses away when she stuffed her snozz into a bunch of dry weeds faster than I could react. Looking up at me, I could literally see the foxtail hanging from her nostril. Everything went into slow motion and I jump toward her saying “Noooooooooooo” only to have her shaker her head and sneeze mightily.
And what happens after a sneeze? Big inhale.
Zoop, up it went, as I tried to grab the little trailers on the back. See the detailed diagram below for the complex calculus resulting in an Emergency room visit and $525 to remove said foxtail.
I can’t say the experience was an enjoyable one for either of us. After getting home after midnight and a lousy few hours of restless sleep for both of us, she was raring to go, but I’m dragging a bit. The big bonus was her scheduled vet visit to complete her vaccinations this morning. Yay!
This dog is going to bankrupt me.
In other news, the lifting of the in-house restrictions is going well. I’ve removed the stairs’ barriers and started to put some rugs back in place. I’m hoping the trend continues and things don’t suddenly get chewed or peed on.
On a completely different topic, I received a text letting me know my NT#FL!X:053356 Subscript!ons need to be renewed. Yeah, I’ll get right on that.
The Casita is mostly packed in anticipation of the upcoming overnight trip this week. I’m trying to figure out the bedding situation, which is crazy-making. The bed is full-sized, but there are cushions that take up needed space to tuck the fitted sheet in. Am I expected to just let the fitted sheet flop around like an animal? Do I just use flat sheets? Seems like it’s harder than it should be.
Ate days a week
This last week feels like we’ve turned a corner on maturity (with Cardiff). She’s consistently going outside for bio breaks, and listening better about not chewing on stuff - albeit begrudgingly. She barks back at me if something is of particular interest and she’s not supposed to mess with it. Great, dog with a ‘tude.
The daily walks have become very important, and Ambassador Cardiff takes greeting each and every person as a personal mission. She will never be a guard dog, but that’s fine since I don’t want one. I need to get a kerchief to put around her neck. Chicks dig that.
The lemon tree is filled with lemons - currently not ripe enough to be picked - but still loaded. The peach tree has been providing amazingly good fruit as well, especially after I trimmed it back.
You can see below Cardiff NOT helping as I tried a new oatmeal cookie recipe, which turned out better than could be reasonably expected. The rocks were just in a yard on one of our walks and felt like a serene screensaver.
As for the Casita, I’ve been hooking it up and driving around getting used to it, learning about the different systems: engineering, life support, bio-science. Truly, the details are pretty staggering. I’ve kept the Amazon drivers busy with the number of one-off orders for electrical converters, hitch locks, and bits and bobs to flesh out the inventory in the trailer.
Next week we’ll be taking our maiden voyage to do an over-night and try out a trailer park on the coast. I’m hoping to get some good pictures of the scenic stuff nearby.
The Beagle has landed
Dad left a trail of fire from Texas and arrived after lunchtime today. My Casita is now in the driveway, and Cardiff and I are celebrating. We may even finish the bottle.
I have to really congratulate the guy that backed it into the driveway. First attempt with minor corrections in the path. Outstanding. Best driver ever.
OK, it was me. You have no idea how much I worried over being able to back that thing up. I’m going to need shoulder surgery to fix the damage I did slapping myself on the back. Were anyone around, they would have heard “Who the man?!” “You the man!”. There may even have been dancing.
Now I’ll start assembling all the stuff to go inside, and figure out what should be stocked all the time, and what should be packed each trip.
Pending arrival
My dad picked up the travel trailer yesterday in Texas, and is midway through Arizona as of this writing. I thought he’d be three+ days on the road, but he may be home tomorrow at this rate. Pretty amazing guy to make that drive!
Once it arrives, Cardiff and I will start assembling the parts and pieces to be able to make forays and test things out. She, by the way, is growing leaps and bounds; almost doubling her weight since she first arrived four weeks ago. She’s super smart and loves to snuggle. She also loves to bite skin and anything moving, but we’re working on that.
Good news is I started to re-pave my side yard and did about half just before Cardiff’s arrival. Progress has been extremely slow since then (see biting moving stuff). But today we used the last brick, and I dubbed it The Walk of Shame because it’s so uneven and janky looking. I’m not convinced it’s any safer than the flagstones I removed to replace with these bricks.
The Supervisor was highly involved with every placement, not caring if it helped or not.
You’re a prepper, I’m a prepper
At 16 seconds, they start the whole bit…
Today was very productive, as I continue to prep (there’s the tie-in for the title) for the Texas trip I’m not taking. I finished getting the extra key for my truck, I’ve got the premade list for what to bring, I’ve reached out to my contact at the trailer company for any additional details, and I’ll hand it all off to my dad to do the actual drive and retrieval.
Also, Cardiff and I did yard work today. She really wanted to help, meaning she cried and yowled whenever I wasn’t in eyesight. Be aware I have full-on conversations with an animal that is non-speaking and only 10 weeks old. While I was pulling wire down from the outside of the house she refused to help, mumbling something about OSHA and holding the bottom of the ladder. Again when I was trimming the top of a high bush in the back I asked her to work on clearing the branches that were falling, but she said she had “Important Duties” and proceeded to crap on the lawn. (Doodies?)
And she didn’t even pick it up.
You can see in the images below she pretends to investigate my work, then laughs when I ask for real help.
Kaiju Rampage Continues
Cardiff recharging
Fun side note, Kaiju was actually one of the names on the list for my new dog, but I quickly dismissed it as tempting fate.
Here’s what she turns into when fully topped off
Don’t let my sarcasm paint her in a negative light, she’s doing great and seems to be having fun in the process. She’s super sweet and very smart. It’s definitely challenging keeping up and challenging her to be interested and not just chew something out of boredom. I’ve relied heavily on family to help me manage her and allow me time to do simple stuff like go to the store since Cardiff can’t be in a crate for very long at this point.
In other news, my trip to Texas to pick up my travel trailer is being reshuffled. With Cardiff unable to even interact with many other dogs or be on the ground safely due to the risk of Parvo before she’s fully vaccinated, I’ve had to re-think the trip. I was very much looking forward to driving out, and even more so driving back with Princess A, dragging the trailer behind. The reality is the trip would be difficult at best given Cardiff would need to be carried everywhere and none of us would be having the best trip we could.
My dad to the rescue, he’s going to drive my truck out and retrieve the trailer for me. I had alternate schemes for possibly getting other people to do the trip or dog-sit while I did it. His solution is the best all around, and will even give him some time to visit family while out in Texas. But it’s still a huge relief for me to have it solved.
Thanks again, Dad, you’re the best!
What’s your first big trip?
04/21/2023
This common question kind of begs one in return: Can you define “big”? I’m going to be making relatively short trips in California and Reno before I pick up my travel trailer. Is an over-night a big trip? Is 250 miles?
I suspect most people will consider
the trip to Texas a big one.
I haven’t decided on the specifics of the route yet, and it won’t be the same coming back as it will be on the trip out. I’ll be driving relatively slowly with the new puppy, taking our time to get there.
Then, we’ll pick up Princess A in Texas and pick up the travel trailer. The timing to get back will be wandering, as we’ll stay in ‘the neighborhood’ of the pickup location in case anything needs adjustment or fixing before we head home in earnest. It’s a lot harder to just “bring it by” if you’re 1500 miles away.
Does anyone have any must-see places like the biggest ball or yarn or most realistic T-Rex statue between the Bay Area and northern Texas? Best ribs? Beautiful sunsets? Friendly campgrounds? Send your ideas or suggestions to markieseemarkiedo@gmail.com.
So, what are you driving?
04/14/2023
Those who know me best are aware I’m a clothes horse, and I take just as much care with my ride. I purchased a 2011 Toyota Tundra (big truck, big engine, big gas bill). It had 48K on it, lots of extras like the big ‘ol winch in the front, tow package with brake controller, bed liner, and had been taken care of extremely well. Of course, it’s indistinguishable from all the other silver trucks in any given parking lot, but I’m not worried about driving it hundreds of miles towing a trailer.
Which brings me to the trailer. I also ordered a Casita trailer a year ago, and I will be dragging it around starting in July. Trailers are expensive! The type I ended up selecting holds it’s value super well. There are 20 year old trailers selling for almost as much as new ones. That’s nuts! The Casita has several styles and floor-plans, and I decided on one that comfortably sleeps three and has a bathroom and shower. I honestly feel this is luxurious compared to the camping I’ve done in the past, but if I find someone to enjoy retirement with, I’d rather have more accommodations than less. “What do you mean I’m supposed to pee in the bushes?” is not how I want to travel.
People have asked me why I didn’t get a larger RV, a smaller trailer, or do a van conversion. The answer is “I made a decision and I’ll see how it goes.”. I started looking at very small trailers like the Timberleaf Kestrel, Flagstaff E-Pro, and Backpacker 2. These are all great, and more maneuverable than what I ended up with. But I decided if I was sitting somewhere enjoying myself and it got a little windy, or maybe started to rain I’d have to climb into my bed. Something that small doesn’t have space for staying upright or even sitting comfortably when inside. If the outside is the least bit inhospitable you’re on your mattress. For me, that wasn’t going to work. I want to be able to wait out some wind or inclement weather without sleeping or leaving.
So if you have input on vehicles or trailers, be gentle with me. It’s too late to change what I have. I may change it in the future, but this is what I’ve got.