Let's Go Check Out Escondido

But I didn't mean the industrial section.  Unfortunately, that was all we found.  I'm sure there is more to the city because I've had people tell me that they really like Escondido.  I'm thinking they were somewhere I wasn't.

We headed out with the intention of finding a grocery store and a place for me to get a pedicure.  The idea was that Kim would drop me off at the nail salon and then he would go to the grocery store.  We turned left out of the Champagne Lakes RV Park, and headed south on Old Hwy 395.  We kept going and going and going.  It got more industrial and more industrial.  My bright idea was to try on the other side of I-15.  We found more industrial parks with an occasional fast food food joint.  As time passed by, having pretty toenails became less of a priority.  My stomach was growling and water alone wasn't cutting it.  Let's just go back and have lunch at "home" and then go over to the Farmer's Market at the Welk Resort.

Just as we found a sign to I-15, Kim spotted a landmark he recognized.  Apparently, we had looped around through Escondido's industrial section and wound up in San Marcos - near Camping World.  I thought "Good, we know where we are and we can be back in the trailer, having lunch, in about 15 minutes."  Then Kim turned west instead of east.  I forget that his hearing is not so good anymore, and apparently my stomach was not growling loud enough for him to hear.  We had one of those husband-wife discussions.  You know the ones that start with "Why did you do THAT?"  I get a little cranky when I'm hungry.  Just as he was getting ready to turn around and head back to the RV Park, I spotted a Denny's.  Somewhere I had a coupon for BOGOF....not with me of course, but I had one which made stopping there appealing.  Low and behold, what was next door?  A nail salon!  

Time out here for a little observation on the differences in communities.  Where we live, there is a nail salon in every strip mall for as far as our truck can drive on a tank of fuel.  Not so much here in Southern California, at least where we have been recently.  It was similar to when we moved to Mobile, Alabama in the early 1990s.  We're from the Seattle area and it didn't occur to us that there would not be a Starbucks or some drive-through espresso stand on every corner.  But I digress....

The Denny's was not real busy.  I guess 2pm is after the lunch crowd and that explains why my stomach was growling.  We had a great experience at this Denny's on San Marcos Blvd, less than a mile west of Camping World.  The waitress steered me toward the Roast Beef Cobb Salad, and it was absolutely wonderful.  I may have to find another Denny's somewhere along the way to have this dish again!

Kim had second breakfast - french toast, poached eggs, sausage and bacon.

With my tummy now happy, I went next door to the nail salon.  I didn't write down the name of the salon or the sweet young girl that did my pedicure.  I was reading some entertainment magazine and she kept saying "Excuse me" every time she wanted to ask me if I wanted this or that service.  I believe she was Vietnamese, and their voices are so soft, I could barely hear her.  One time, I swear she asked me if I wanted my heels dyed.  After I asked her to repeat herself 3 times, and I still didn't understand, I just said, "No thank you".  Do my heels look like they needed to be dyed?  Do people actually do that?  Who checks out someone else's heels?

She did a very nice job on my toenails......although I maybe didn't need such a close up shot of them and my huge bunion.

We have a long term relationship, Mr Bunion and I.  I keep thinking I'm going to have bunion surgery, but I've heard mixed reviews from people about whether they are glad they had it or not.  I'd love to hear your opinion, if you have had the surgery.  My bunion is not particularly painful, but finding shoes that don't hurt is a challenge.  My current choices are generally flip-flops, crocs, or sneakers.

Now that I had my pedicure out of the way, we headed back toward the park.  About 2 miles down the road is the Welk Resort.  I believe this is a vacation time-share type place.  It looked really nice from the outside.  I wasn't interested in a tour.  The golf course looked pleasant, but all I can judge by is how the greens look, because I don't play golf, so I wouldn't have a clue.  We stopped here for the Monday Farmer's Market.  There were only 4 or 5 fruit and veggie booths.  The rest were open air market sales.  Some cool stuff.  Kim and I each bought a hat (in preparation for our day at the Safari Park).  Here are a few shots that turned out.  It was pretty bright out and I couldn't see the screen well enough to tell what I was shooting.

I thought the little yard do-dads were cute.  It is hard to tell but they are all basically beetles,  playing.  Other than our new hats, we didn't find anything we couldn't live without.  I think I will go back next Monday for some strawberries - they looked and smelled really good.  I didn't buy any because we had some in the refrigerator.....had being the operative word.  Dessert last night?  Strawberry shortcake!

A Stroll Around The Park And A Score At The Casino

With nothing on the schedule for the day, we decided to take a stroll around the park, and snap a few pictures.

We're from Seattle.  We don't go anywhere without our coffee.

This is the park owner's site.  Pick of the park, no doubt!

Some more sites

Our rig from across the creek

More park scenery

And our site, #42

The sites really are good sized.  Here is a photo of an empty site, and then one with a back hoe so you can get an idea by comparison.

I decided to check out the "older" laundry and bathrooms.  Not bad.

Oh, and they have a nice place to wash your truck or car.  No RVs, boats or ATVs though.

Back to the rig for some breakfast, and then Kim announces he needs some anti-freeze for the truck.  He plans to go up to Temecula to get it, along with some paper for the printer.  Temecula?  How about lunch at the Pechenga Casino?  Well, as long as we are going we might as well stop at Best Buy and Walmart.

So with errands out of the way, off to Pechenga we went.  I was very impressed.  Nice casino.  Not at all smokey inside.  We headed off to the Kelsey's Bar and Grill.

Kim ordered the Club Sandwich with stead fries.

I had the Rueben with sweet potato fries.

Both were yum, yum, yummy!

With lunch out of the way, it was time for a little fun.  We thought about a little 3 card poker, but we used most of our "fun" money getting a new awning and fixing the coolant system of the truck.  It was agreed that $20 each seemed reasonable.  I sat down at a keno machine.  Kim wandered off.  Kim wandered back.  He had made his contribution.  "How are you doing," he asked.  Drum roll please!...........Up $400.  All six of my keno numbers hit on a quarter machine!  I played my winnings down to $400 even, cashed out and walked away.  Kim instituted a new rule....Who ever wins, pays the valet.  I can live with that!

BTW, although we didn't actually see it, it appears that this casino has a beautiful RV Park as well.

Pechanga Resort and Casino RV Park

Ford 6.0L Oil Cooler Replacement/Repair

As Betsy reported, I spent all day Saturday getting our truck repaired. We knew we were starting our trip with cooling problems. The Ford 6.0L diesel has a long history of cooling system problems, some resulting in very expensive repairs (think $10K to $15K at the upper end). Through a Ford users forum, FTE - Ford Truck Enthusiasts, I have learned a lot about this truck and engine.  When it was apparent our problem was escalating, I was able to find a mechanic in the area we were staying. He is a Ford Master Tech and, as many do, he does side jobs at home. He has a roll around tool chest about the size of a small pick up truck. I had been in contact with him and set up a day to get the work done. He agreed to let me hang around and watch the process and we got along very well, sharing war stories with his educating me on the ins and outs of the 6.0L diesel. The problem is the oil cooler starts to plug due to a gel like substance that forms due to the antifreeze aging and temperature. The coolant goes from the oil cooler to the EGR cooler. The EGR cooler has very hot exhaust gases (800*F to upwards of 1500*F). The reduced coolant flow can't cool the exhaust gases and the heat turns the coolant to steam which, in turn, ruptures the EGR cooler allowing coolant to enter the intake manifold that can cause major damage to the engine. Fortunately I learned to monitor the engines vital statistics with aftermarket gauges (the ones on the dash are just fancy idiot light type gauges and often don't register a problem until after the fact). A new oil cooler and aftermarket EGR cooler, along with a few extras the mechanic did, and we are back in business. I'm looking forward to towing the 5er again to see what reading I get then. To initially test for a plugged oil cooler you have to be able to monitor your ECT (engine coolant temp) and EOT (engine oil temp). First you have to be fully up to operating temperatures and then drive for about 20 to 30 minutes at freeway speed on relatively level ground (not always easy). The difference (called the delta) between your ECT and EOT shouldn't exceed 15*F. Also, it is important that your thermostat is working properly. You should be seeing at least 188*F to 192*F ECT. This is the only way to determine your delta. Any other driving conditions have no relevance. Our delta was only 12*F but when towing a heavy load (our 5er is right at 14K lbs) we were seeing ECTs up to 230*F and EOTs 240*F and peaking on mountain passes at 258*F. That is the upper limit. Not good for the engine. At 300*F EOT there are some plastic parts in the oil filter housing that can literally melt. I've rambled on long enough. Time for some R&R.

Saturday At Champagne Lakes RV Park

Kim was up and at 'em and out the door at 5am.  He has and appointment in Hemet to have a Ford Master Mechanic work on our truck's cooling system.  We are about an hour from Hemet, and then the truck has to sit for two hours to cool down before they can start work on it.  They figured it was about an 8 hour job, not including travel and cool down time.

This means a day by myself.  Score!  God forbid it could go smoothly.  Our relatively new Toastmaster Hot Water Pot quit working.  And shortly after that, the brand new heater wouldn't work.  Crap!  Then I noticed the refer had switched to propane.  What the heck was going on?  As I have mentioned before, the mechanic gene is missing from my family.  The only mechanic gene I knew was up in Hemet.  We have poor cell phone service at this park and I was afraid I wouldn't get through.  I had already figured out a breaker had tripped, but for the life of me, I couldn't get the panel open.  I got through to Kim who gave me instructions.  Hanging up, I had a "you are such a dork, Betsy" moment - saw the latch which was right in front of me all the time, opened it up, flipped the breaker, and voila - electricity in the galley and heat to my tootsies.

So much on my to-do list today.....and so little accomplished.  I should be used to it by now.  I am easily distracted.  I did spend time catching up on some RV blogs I've been following, and then explored some more.  I caught up on Facebook.  Yesterday we finally got the DirecTV Satellite to pick up the signal, so I had programs I had recorded before we left that I wanted to watch.  Checked those things off my list.  I was looking for an envelope to mail a check, and I stumbled on my sketch pad and colored pencils.  There went a couple of hours.

Next up, downloading a Nikon Coolpix S3300 manual, and trying to navigate it on screen.  Silly us, we remembered to bring the printer, but we forgot to bring paper.  Reading a manual on-line, sucks!  But the good news is that I did figure out how to move pictures from the camera into iPhoto.  Now I can share a few pictures from the park that I have taken.

Champagne Lakes RV Park is a 50 acre privately owned park.  It is about 10 miles north of Escondido, CA, just off old Hwy 395.  There are 139 large sites with 3 small catch and release lakes, a pool, laundry facilities, showers and restrooms.  Lots of trees and shade.

This is the new laundry facility.  Three washers ($1.50) and four dryers ($1.25 for 45 minutes).  I think there is another laundry somewhere on site, but I have not visited it as I was told that the one in this pictures was the one with newer and nice machines.

This is the new restroom facility (the women's side anyway) attached to the laundry.  Nice big shower with two toliets and a baby changing station.  These facilities are kept very clean.

The view out my back window, down to the creek.  Not much water running right now, but there is a little babble here and there, and not just from the birds.

And yesterday on a trip to Camping World for the replacement plug for the water heater, some how this made its way into the cart.  Most of the chaise lounges don't fit my short frame, but I do like to put my feet up.  This fits perfectly!

We are here for two weeks.  This allows us time to do a few things, see a few friends, and just veg out.  The weather this weekend and Monday is to be in the 80s.  That's a little warm for a Seattle girl, but we are down in a canyon with lots of trees, and so far, so good.

Roundabout Rhonda, You've Been Replaced!

Roundabout Rhonda, our Garmin GPS, has been demoted.  She will be banished to my Subaru Forester when we return home.  It was bad enough that she indeed took us on some very strange journeys.  Even stranger was that we let her, even when we knew better.  But the bottom line was that she ditched us in San Juan Bautista.  Hiding out in the glove box of our friends' car, she did not make a peep to let us know that she was there.  We were on our way to Santa Maria before we realized it.  Our friends were kind enough to mail her to my brother-in-law's home in Phoenix as we will be stopping there eventually.  I was pretty sure we could find our way to the other campgrounds, where we had reservations, without her.  It's not like we don't have GPS/Google maps on our smart phones either.  They are all just so annoying and not geared for RVs.

I'm sure you can figure out where this is going.  On one of many trips to Camping World....it's always something, isn't it....we found ourselves looking at the Rand McNally RVND 7725LM with the 7" screen.  I'm not sure how, but it found its way into our cart.  My only complaint is that it as a very tinny sounding speaker.  We've been using it on the female voice option but may switch to the male voice to see if it is any clearer.  We will have to find a good place for mounting it.  The screen is large and if it were to sit where Rhonda sat on the dashboard, the driver would not have a good view of the road.....or rather the front of the hood.   This new GPS, as yet unnamed, has an RV/truck option.  Hopefully we will avoid some of the oopsies that Rhonda had us make, like the time she put us on a left hand exit into an HOV/Express Lane in Phoenix. Oh the memories........

My First Visit To SmashBurger

One of the fun things about visiting new areas is getting to sample different fast food.  Now don't get me wrong; I enjoy a wonderful meal where one has a salad and a serving of vegetables with the entree.  But honestly, sometimes we just get so busy that we forget to eat and then fast food is the answer.  It's always good to expand your experience with the different fast food chains so you can order quickly and get down to eating, and if you are anything like me, dripping grease or ketchup all over your clothes.  It's a fair trade off for me.

Today's discovery was Smashburger in San Marcos, CA.  I thought maybe they were just a local chain, but I checked their website and it appears they are all over the country.  Well, not ALL over.  We do not have one in Washington State yet.  I hope we will soon.  Of course, I'm still wishing for an In and Out Burger in the Seattle area too.

Kim ordered the Bacon Cheese Burger

And a chocolate shake

 My friend Leila and I split a chicken avocado burger

with Smash Fries - which are tossed with olive oil, rosemary and garlic

Deep Fried Pickles

We all came away very satisfied.  This was my first experience with deep fried pickles.  My daughter has been singing their praises for years.  I think she has them at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, WA every August.  For some reason, I thought they would be huge deli type pickles that had been deep fried.  What a pleasant surprise to find they were more pickle chips with a very tasty dippin' sauce!

Santa Maria to Escondido, CA

I'm pleased to say I set a record for myself for on time departure on Tuesday.  We usually try to be ready to hit the road by 9am.  We pulled out of the Santa Maria Pines RV Park at 9:02pm.  Most of our drive down Hwy 101 was very nice and relaxing......Most of it, that is.  Somewhere about 20 miles north of Santa Barbara, as we were cresting a hill, we hear a loud noise, somewhere between a pop and a boom.  I thought we had blown a tire.  And of course, we were on a section of highway with a sign that said "No Stopping".  Well, sorry, we had to pull over.  It turns out it was just the turbo hose that had popped off.  Kim was able to reattach the clamp .... or whatever the problem was.  I stayed in the comfort of the truck while he did something under the hood.  Ten minutes later, we were on our way.  Now, it is interesting to note that I come from a family with little mechanical knowledge, but we are excellent worriers, and always jump to the worst case scenarios.   To combat this (the worrying part, not the mechanical part which is a lost cause for me), I've studied New Thought metaphysics and the power of positive thinking for years.  I spent most of the rest of the trip down to Escondido muttering, "I strive for serenity in all situations" and surprisingly to Kim, I did manage to stay relatively calm throughout the worst driving day yet.  It rivaled my driving down I-5, towing a small U-Haul trailer and having to change lanes during rush hour in the middle of Los Angeles, but I digress as that was years ago.

Luckily we had no more problem with the hose, but the cooling system in the truck continues to be acting up.  We did have to pull off at the weigh station just south of Camarillo to let the engine cool.  Then it was on to more stressful traffic.  Now let me preface this with the fact that if we were driving a car, it would have been intense, but not particularly stressful.  I find that when you are pulling a 5th wheel that the average driver has no clue about what it takes to maneuver it, including that you can't stop on a dime when they cut you off trying to get on to or off the highway.  The route we ended up taking was from the 101 (which really was the worst of it) to the 134 to the 210 to the 57 to the 71 to the 91 and finally to the 15.  Yikes.  Now that we've driven it, it wouldn't be that bad to do it again.  Not sure that we will, but my stress level as the navigator would be significantly lower.

We arrived at Champagne Lakes RV Park about 2:45pm.   A nice park, about a mile off I-15, and about 10 miles north of Escondido, off old Hwy 395.  It's a nice park, with plenty of green.  Fairly large sites. Large cement pads.  There are what I would call big ponds (they call them lakes) with creeks running between them.   They do have catch and release fishing in the lakes.  It's pretty quiet, with very faint highway noises if you listen for them. Lots of birds chirping, along with a  fair number of ducks and geese.   I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I will today or tomorrow.

A few things came up.  First and most devastating to me, the TV addict, is that we have been unable to get our DirecTV dish to pick up a signal.  I pay for DNS (distant network services) so that I can receive both the East and West Coast feeds.  That way I can watch and record multiple programs and get them early enough to enjoy them before I fall asleep in my chair at 9pm.  I'm glad the park has at least minimal cable channels, so I was able to watch Criminal Minds and CSI Wednesday night, but I did miss American Idol.  If we can't find a signal today, I will resort to watching what I can on-line, and we may have to consider that the dish itself needs replacing.  It was working when we were up in San Juan Bautista, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will find the signal today.

The other things that came up were the water heater drain plug was leaking (Kim wasn't sure he would be able to get a tight fit with the replacement plug as he didn't have the right sized socket).  It appears that problem has been resolved.  Then even with our extra sewer hose extension, we were short.  I am very blessed to have a friend in the area who chauffeured us around to Camping World, US Bank, the grocery store, and Fry's Electronics to pick up various and sundry items, the most important of which was more sewer hose so we could dump our now full gray water tanks.

We are here for two weeks.  I hope to finally kick back and relax.  One of these days, we will finally put out our new awning, get out the chairs, and go "Ahhhhhh."