Easy Livin'

Ahhhh, vacation! That's what's happening now, I'm entering week 3 of that blissful time of year called "vacation"! While nothing of real significance has happened so far (Jacque started her vacation about 5 days ago), this vacation will be remembered for several things; #1, I "reconnected" with my bike, my V65 Magna motorcycle. Many years ago, my life centered on my motorcycle, but that's been supplanted over the years with other interests. Well, I had a few issues with my bike, fixed those issues, and have been riding it A LOT, including a ride this evening. The bike's running great, couldn't be running any better, and it's so *renewing* to ride. Even though it's old now (it's a 1985 MC), I can't find it within myself to sell it anytime soon. Besides, my brothers Tim and Rob have been talking about our bi-annual trip, due next year. Looks like the V65's gonna be around for a while.....
#2- Jacque and I do have vacation plans, an idea I hatched a couple days ago. We're gonna do a whirlwind trip of southern Utah, in my new truck. We're shooting for Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. We'll possibly also hit Capitol Reef and Bryce National Parks as well. Jacque's daughter Sabrina is here visiting, it's been a wonderful visit, today we had a big family gathering at our house. Tomorrow morning we drop off Sabrina at the airport, and come home to start packing for our trip. Woo-hoo, off we go on another adventure! Pictures to follow!

Where the Road Ends...

Here it is, the end of the road *grin*. What you're looking at here is Clover Meadow Ranger Station, 50 miles from the nearest settlement, 70 miles from Oakhurst, CA (where I'm staying), in Sierra National Forest. It's where the pavement ends! I'm amazed the asphalt ran 50 twisty miles back into the Sierra backcountry. I (obviously) have a backpacking trip in progress, my passengers disembarked at this spot, and it's where I return to pick them up tomorrow. The coordinates for this location are N37.527 W119.277 , if you want to look it up. If you want to do it the easy way, here's a direct link to the location, via Google Maps. You will see, if you back out on the zoom, just how far from nothing this place is! I determined that Mammoth Lakes, on the other side of the Sierras, was only about 15 statute miles from this spot! In fact, two of my hikers are hiking through to Mammoth, and finding their own way home to San Diego. Now that's an adventure! It takes me 2 hours to travel the 70 miles, so I actually will need to get up at midnight tonight (0000 hours, Labor Day) and leave at 0030, so I can get 8 hours off near Clover Meadow. That way I have hours to drive back to San Diego. Fortunately, this is all on holiday pay woo-hoo! It's supposed to be HOT in the San Joaquin Valley on Labor Day, well over 100, so I guess the A/C will be getting a workout. Hopefully it doesn't let me down. Anyhow, I hope your holiday weekend was super, I guess this means summer is over, although you sure can't tell it by the temperature :(

Summertime... and the living's easy

Hello again- Well, once again, time has flown by, and I've realized it's been quite a while since I posted. It's currently 2330 (11:30 PM) on a Thursday night, not normally a situation in which I'd still be typing on a computer. But, it's been SLOW this week at the bus company, and so I've had lots of time to pursue other interests. I've been busy all evening, backing up a new laptop here at the house; no, it's not mine. I helped a friend of mine acquire a good deal on a new laptop. Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary there.... until I tell you the friend is going to be 92 next month! She complained that her old computer wasn't doing the job anymore, and she felt she wanted a laptop. Can you imagine? I said, OK,let's go have a look at a few models. Well, she liked the 17" screens (portability isn't real important here), and so we landed up getting an HP dv9410us, a dual-core Turion, TL-56 processor, 1 GB of memory, 160 GB hard drive, all the other usual bells and whistles. Nice unit! Anyhow, I've been "streamlining" it for her, to make the transition to Vista as painless as I can. Now that all the modifications are done, I'm backing everything up. That's what's happening now, and it's time consuming. Which is why I'm still at it, as it approaches midnight. But the end is in sight, 98% of the mundane stuff is over.
Woo-hoo, it's finishing now, I'm outa here, good-night! She'll love this computer...

Year's half over

Whoa, hard to believe a month slid by since my last posting. The end-of-school-year crush I spoke of in earlier posts is over, about 2 weeks ago. A sense of normalcy has returned to my life... wait a minute... there is no "normal" in my life!! Well, let's just say things have lightened up significantly. Currently, I'm in Lee Vining, CA, a small town nestled against the Eastern Sierra Nevada, north of Mammoth Lakes. This is where CA120, Tioga Pass Road, intersects with US395. Heading west out of Lee Vining, you travel from approximately 6800' to 9945', at Tioga Pass, the highest highway pass in CA. I have backpackers off on a (for them) 4.5-day hiking adventure. I dropped them off at their respective trailheads on Saturday AM, after a VERY short night in a B.L.M. campground, and will pick them up Wednesday, the 4th of July, noon-ish to return to San Diego. I suspect the bus won't smell very good with all those unwashed bodies aboard!
The motel I'm staying at is a kick. It's an "historic" motel, dates back to the 1880's, but fell into disrepair in the '60s, into the '90's. The county was about to condemn the property when a group of investors decided to sink some money into it. Well, let's just say it's an "ongoing project". Lots of repairs, but a ways to go yet. No need to go into detail, the vital necessities are here, but there's a LOT of room for improvement. Like, screens on my windows to keep out the bugs! I bought some screening material in town today (bought all the guy had, a couple square yards, for $2), and "fixed" the problem. All with the blessings of the proprietor, who's admittedly overwhelmed. No phone, no TV, WiFi that only works within 20' of the router, which is in the office, which may or may not be open at any time, you get the idea. Oh, and no A/C. Hence, the need for the windows to be open. Also, no furniture, (most of my stuff is on the floor), fixtures that either don't work or obviously haven't been installed correctly, you get the idea. I guess I did go into some detail! However, on the plus side, there's a fridge, microwave, nicely redone bathroom, and all the really critical stuff works. Oh well, another adventure! I'm typing this, in my room, via a weak cellphone signal, which I've enhanced by hanging my aftermarket cellphone antenna in the window! Works sort of half-assed, or maybe I should say "half-fast" .

Same thing, every year

It's that time of year... Grad Nights. And Days. And Nights. And Days..... get the idea? We deal with lots of different types of groups, among them schoolkids. Well, we get slammed with LOTS of school runs this time of year, every year. No problem, I don't have an "issue" with dealing with kids (some drivers do), but there is a downside here, too. Like, this time of year has lots of crazy hours, long days, and quick turnarounds. And, these runs are, shall we say, not very lucrative? Nonetheless, we all work hard to make this time of year a success, and will again this year. Oh well, check back in a few weeks from now, just don't expect to hear back from me quickly .

May Gray

Hello again... It's that time of year here now.... what we call May Gray and June Gloom. With global warming, it seems like it's happening a bit earlier in the year. Used to be the time frame was late May thru early June. Now, it starts in early May. So, what is "it"? This time of year, the desert starts warming up. That creates a thermal low, which acts like a giant vacuum cleaner, and sucks the marine layer in off the ocean. Marine layer is the typical cloudiness sitting on the Pacific Ocean when the water temperature is below the mid 60's. Right now the water temp is in the low 60's. Our prevailing breezes are from the west, off the ocean, as well. So, this time of year is actually the lousiest time of year to visit San Diego. Many days are totally overcast, occasionally drizzly, and generally yucky. Today's not too bad, the sun's out, but it's kind of chilly. Still, all in all, not a bad day.

A Positive Development

Hello again.... it's busy at work, but I've noticed that "insanely busy" doesn't seem to be the case any more. The company I drive for has had a protracted effort to hire more drivers, and I think I can honestly say that, for the first time in my almost-25 years there, that our staffing appears to be adequate. What does that mean to me, and my fellow well-established senior drivers? Uh, how about, that we can actually have a "life", even when it's busy? All those years of crazy hours are, hopefully, behind me now. There seems to be a new, better understanding with management of the importance of not "burning out" drivers, especially the most-experienced ones. This is a good thing!! Perhaps also in the mix is the new reality that drivers, good drivers, are becoming scarce, and the company can ill-afford to lose anyone, especially the experienced ones. All of this bodes well for me, as I have fought (griped, bitched, etc) for years to work LESS, not more. All dispatchers hate getting phone calls from unhappy customers, complaining about a driver who, in the customer's opinion, is not "up to the task" in some fashion. As a result, senior drivers tend to get the bulk of the runs that are the "more difficult" type; typically, single-bus moves out of the county, with the need for a working knowledge of where they're headed, and maybe some personality to boot *grin*. Well, that may not sound too complicated, but consider the responsibility involved with:
1) safely transporting 40+ passengers to their destination(s),
2) actually knowing where you're going,
3) negotiating your way through Southern California's notorious traffic,
4) being casual, easy-going, and congenial with the customer the whole time
5) exuding an air of confidence that puts the people at ease
6) have contingency plans for traffic, bus problems, change of schedule, etc.
7) do this day after day, with all sorts of different types of groups,
8) more often than not, have no clue what you're doing tomorrow!
That's just part of this job. Obviously, some of the above-mentioned items overlap, but each is unique. The job can be both exhilarating and depressing. But, for me, the biggest annoyances are LONG hours and QUICK turnarounds. So, the recent developments at my company go a LONG way towards mitigating my two biggest issues. Hurray!!! Maybe I'll stay till I retire *grin*

Busy, busy, busy

Hello again! Well, it's *that* time of year.... it's busy as H*** at the bus company I drive for. It actually was very placid, almost slow there for a while. And, during a timeframe that historically has been busy. So, while I'm not happy it's extremely busy right now, I'm not bummed either. Gotta have bursts of business, when my life revolves around driving, to cover for the lulls. Don't get me wrong, here; I'm looking forward to things not being so hectic. But, I guess what I'm saying is that I recognize these times as a "necessary evil". Oh well, it'll (hopefully) be over soon..........

Change of Plans

Hi, from Pismo Beach, CA! You never know where I'm gonna land up (and usually, neither do I...). I was *supposed* to be on my way to Yosemite tomorrow morning, but had a conflict with another trip that returned from last year. It's a "worker", a 4 day trip up the coast of California, with distributors of nursery plants (working for a VERY well-known National company), visiting a number of nurseries. Everywhere we go, the nurseries lay out the 'ol red carpet, it's BIG business. Anyhow, it a lot of work, but very, shall we say, lucrative? I have 2 drivers "in tow" with me, one from last year, and another well-established driver from the company we work for. I'm watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean right now, crystal-clear skies off to the west. A good omen for tomorrow......

OK, now this is different....

Hi, got something kind of unusual going on today... in fact, this is the first time it's happened in 30 years of driving buses. I'm picking up a group here at the mobile home park, taking them to a nearby Native American casino. A lot of people here, of course, are aware that a tour bus driver lives among them, pretty hard to miss the highway coach parked outside the gates when I'm able to stop home in the middle of some days. So, of course, they booked thru the company I drive for, and requested me! So, in about an hour, I'll be picking up everyone at the front gate (can't easily get the bus into the park itself) and off we go (Jacqueline's coming along too) to the casino! Just a short day, little 5-hour deal. Should be lots of fun....

Nice weekend in Mammoth Lakes

Hi again, we just returned from a weekend in Mammoth Lakes. I say "we" because Jacqueline was able to join me, and ride on the bus. Made it seem more like a vacation than working. The weather was pleasant, but turning as we left on Sunday afternoon. Perfect timing! We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, even though it was a short one. I just checked, the mountain has received 8-12" of new snow, and more is falling, so I guess we really did leave at the right time. It was in the 50's during the couple days we were there, and we exploited the nice weather by going for a long walk on Saturday, followed by dinner at a local pizza place, where Jacqueline and I had our first "dinner date" about 12 years ago.

Sittin' at the library

One week into the new truck, and all is going well. I just installed a box on back yesterday, black plastic, like the one I had on the Ranger. It looks really sharp, the black offsets to "Desert Mica" paint really nicely.
I'm in Anaheim, have a bus group at Disneyland. The nearby Anaheim City Library has wi-fi, so here I am! Besides, it's 90 degrees outside. March 12th, can you believe it? It's because we have a Santa Ana blowing, a wind reversal. Usually our breezes are out of the west, off the ocean. Typically in the fall and early winter, we'll get a reversal of that pattern, and our winds will come in from the desert, hot and dry. Kind of unusual to have this pattern at this time of year, however. It's supposed to "break" later today, tomorrow's supposed to be about 10-15 degrees cooler. But, for today, the Anaheim Library feels pretty good! Fellow driver Theresa is along, she's busy reading a book, or using one of the library's computers. I'm using my laptop, of course.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

What's new? Lots, here. My vehicle "companion" of 1/2 of my adult life, my Ford Ranger pickup truck, bit the dust a few days ago. With me through thick and thin, this truck has seen 'ol Scotty through 2 decades of change. Approaching 300,000 miles, I knew it wasn't going to be around much longer, and little telltale signs were there that it was rapidly approaching its demise. Still, I'd hoped to have it last long enough to cash in on a California program designed to get older, less-efficient vehicles off the roads. Jacqueline and I took a long drive this past weekend, in the truck (She suggested we take her car, I insisted we take the truck), and it started acting up before the drive was finished. However, in the fashion that is its trademark, it got us home. Then, crapped out. The clutch went, and not in the typical way. Usually, the clutch will start slipping. Never happened with this truck. Rather, something let loose, internally. So, tomorrow morning, I and a Mexican guy here at the mobile home complex will go to DMV, and transfer title. Mexican guys are amazing, they can fix anything! I have neither the time nor inclination to fix the truck. In fact, I already have a new truck, my first new vehicle in 20 years! I'm now the proud owner of a 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickup! Still getting used to it, but that new vehicle smell sure is nice! Anyhow, the transfer of the old truck is tomorrow morning, and the clock is telling me it's "tomorrow" already, so I'm outa here. More on the new truck to follow............

Happy Birthday to me!

Good morning! As of this morning, I am eligible for the senior citizen's menu at Denny's *grin*. I'm grinning because the alternative is to cry.... just kidding. I realized years ago there's no sense in worrying about the things you can do nothing about, like thinning hair or advancing years. More importantly, I am able to do just about anything I want, have no aches or pains, and am happy. In other words, not too different than when I was 30. Except, my life is so much richer and more fulfilling than when I was 30. That actually was a bad year for me, my first marriage was on the rocks. See? 55 is much better!
I got a special "birthday greetings" from Microsoft yesterday; a check (or, a "chit") worth $138.01 towards computer software or hardware, part of an antitrust class action lawsuit I jumped in on years ago. I'll use it to defray part of the cost of my new computer. The 2nd item, at first blush, was even more interesting; my order of Vista Home Premium arrived! It was part of a package when I bought my new computer. However, it's the 32-bit version. I wanted the 64-bit version. No joy apparently. After attempting to exchange online, and failing with the usual cryptic message from Microsoft, I called them today, and was told that the 64-bit exchange was only possible if the OEM had included that in their package. Mine didn't. Waa waa, I don't wanna spend my $138.01 check on a 64-bit version of Vista (plus more out of my pocket). Now I'm contemplating my choices. I had been considering running Vista on my laptop, and the 32-bit version would be a good choice for that. However, there are some unanswered questions I have about certain software I consider indispensable, and whether that software will continue to operate under Vista. The Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor simply says "No data available", which makes me concerned. Running the 64-bit version on the laptop would definitely not work, since I already know there are no 64-bit hardware drivers for this particular device. Soooo, maybe I could use this copy I have in my greasy little hands to upgrade the laptop, and go buy the 64-bit version for the desktop. Hmmm, I'll ponder that one....
The other possibility is to do with the "main" desktop what I've done with this (#2) desktop; dual-boot Windows XP and Kubuntu Linux. It's available in 64-bit, and it's free! Pretty hard to argue with that. After a whole lot of time and configuring, I've gotten most everything to work correctly, and it handles all multimedia formats. But, it doesn't have that capability by default. And configuring can be a real pain. Microsoft eliminates a lot of that, but at a cost. Oh well, no need to do anything today, after all, it's my birthday! Why would I want to induce a headache today? *grin*

Change in the Weather

The weatherman says we're supposed to get some precipitation tomorrow.... maybe. It's currently showing a 40% probability. Not so certain is whether it'll be rain or snow. I suspect it'll be rain here in Yosemite Valley, but snow up at Badger Pass, where my passengers go every day (I take them there). I normally chain up a lot on this trip, but haven't had to yet. I got a sneakin' suspicion that's about to end. What's a pain is the following morning, Monday. There's always a few people who want to take the YTS bus up on Monday morning, then I pick them up at noon, on our way out of Yosemite. Fine, except it's usually that last 1000 feet of elevation gain that requires the chains. Highway 41 tops off at 6000 feet, Badger Pass is 7000'. Oh well, if it happens, it happens. I'm not going to worry about it.

Bizarre for February

I'm sitting in the lobby of the Yosemite Lodge.... why? Because this is where the wifi is! The only alternative here is a VERY slow (26.4) dialup connection in my room. Sooooo, here I am. It's amazingly warm out, I actually wore a tank top up to Badger Pass this afternoon, it was that warm. Like, mid-60's warm. Really bizarre for this time of year. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Only problem with sitting here in the lobby.... too many passengers pass through. I've already been "hit on" twice by ladies wanting (no, not that.........) to have me open up the bus for them because they forgot something *CRITICALLY IMPORTANT* on the bus. You know, like a jacket (lady #1) or snowshoes (lady #2). Never mind that either one could have easily retrieved the items in the morning. Oh well, I guess that means I'm still on duty...... Anyhow, enough ranting, I'm so happy about the weather, I'm gonna stop bitching :)

Off on another adventure

Hi! I'm just now getting ready to depart on a 5-day winter trip to Yosemite National Park. It's an annual event, in fact the picture on my home webpage is from one of these February trips. I'm all packed up, and ready to go. The forecast looks good, but I'm not taking any chances. It can get nasty there quickly, as I've discovered in the past. So, all the gear comes along. Gotta run, it's getting close to depart time. Bye..........

25 Years, and Running...

I'm in Mammoth Lakes, nothing too unusual about that, at this time of year. However, a couple items *are* significant; one, there are precious few ski trips this year, due to the lack of snow (that'll do it every time...), and this marks my 25th year of driving Mammoth ski trips! Hard to believe, a quarter-century of running US395, braving the elements and incompetent drivers. How things have changed; many of our trips in the 1980's involved alcohol, LOTS of alcohol. Not the drivers (grin), the passengers. Often, we would arrive at midnight or later, with a bus that was absolutely trashed. Bags and bags of trash off the floor, empty beer containers everywhere, the bus smelling like a brewery, and, occasionally, the "remnants" of someone's dinner, that they had been unable to keep down, due to too much alcohol. Those were the "bad old days", IMHO. Nowadays, a rowdy crowd is an aberration, downright rare. GOOD! At last count, I'm somewhere near 250 trips total, more if you include other "snow" trips I do to other locations, like Yosemite and Bear Valley. Oh, and BTW, I got a wife out of this deal! In the winter of 1985-86, I met Jacqueline, who was a housekeeper at the Sierra Nevada Inn, in Mammoth. We were friends for a number of years, but after her husband passed away in 1993, we started dating in 1994. She moved down to San Diego later that year, and we were married in 1995. Pretty amazing how things work out.
Anyhow, I'm kickin' it here at the Shilo Hotel, utilizing their Wi-Fi, but thinking about going for a ling walk. The weather's beautiful for January, too nice, in fact. The town needs snow, badly. But, at least for me, it makes my job much easier. The group this time requires very little service, another bonus. Oh, and it's crazy back in San Diego right now, tons of work, drivers putting in long hours. This is *MUCH* better (grin).

San Diego weather

Dang, this has been one cold January! Yeah, I know, friends and relatives "back east" are saying "oh, we feel so sorry for you guys", but I'm telling you, we're on a track to having the coldest January since 1950 or 1951, I heard on the news the other day. The related item is, no precipitation. San Diego is at less than 40% of normal,and it's worse in other parts of the state. Pretty weird. I'm headed to Mammoth Lakes today, my first trip of the winter. It may be my last! The bus company has almost no bookings for Mammoth because of marginal snow cover. Of course, the price keeps going up, as well. Kind of a sad state of affairs, this trip marks the beginning of my 25th season of doing Mammoth runs. There's always hope that the snow will start coming, like 1991 with the "Miracle March". But that won't help the ski season. I guess the good news is that the weather's supposed to be nice for the trip I'm heading out on, I might actually get thru the weekend without chaining up. I'll have lots of down-time there, so I'm sure I'll be posting from up there too, maybe with a picture or two included.

Melissa

Hey, Melissa... if you're reading this: GET BACK TO WORK! *grin*