Whoops! We Did It Again - We Bought Another Camper

2004 Dodge Roadtrek Popular 190

We just spend July in London - then got home and spent a week in California. We had a week at home to rest before we went to Canada for a week. Surely - you would think we would stay home and rest. One of our best friends Dickie Davis died and he always told us to go for it - and not put anything off. Like magic - the perfect camper appeared on Craigslist. 

I called the guy - and it was 200 miles away near Pensacola. We were going to wait - but it sounded really good. The guy in his 70s - bought it new in 2004. He kept it in the garage of his home specially built for the camper with high doors. Though things get in the way of travel - he still kept it around as a toy. You never know when you need a Hurricane Escape Vehicle.

We drove over Thursday - inspected it - then spent the night on Pensacola Beach. Friday - we went back to inspect it again - and bought it. We went to the bank - transferred money - then drove the camper 200 miles home. 

It is like new - but it cost less than a 1/3 of what a new one costs. We paid more than NADA book - but we never saw one in this shape. 

We will use it to visit family - drive back to Tamaqua PA - go to the beach - and of course - stay at Disney Fort Wilderness. We can tailgate at FSU games. 

We wanted just one last camper polka. We may be spoiled with all the fancy travels that Lulu's job provides. Maybe - we are just too soft. But it is always nice having your own bathroom. 

In the driver's seat

microwave - frig- sink - stove

2 single beds or 1 king bed

Toilet and shower

Equipment - it has a Dodge V8 gas engine on a 3500 chassis. It has automatic transmission. It has - power steering - power brakes - power door locks - power windows - power mirrors - remote lock and alarm - alloy wheels - disk brakes - chrome bumpers - screened windows - AM - FM - disk player - tape player - TV - VCR - kitchen sink - gas stove - gas furnace - gas hot water - inside shower - outside shower - toilet - beds - curtains - skylights - power vent - 2 AC's - 110 volt generator - 12 volt batteries - 12 volt outlets - 110 volt outlets - insulated for winter.

Garage door too small

19 feet 6 inches long

Windows tinted for privacy and sun fade 

Side seat turns to kid's bed

All fabrics like new

Driver side 

power mirrors - locks - windows - alarm

Outside shower - storage - power cord

12,000 miles 

Dash board

All carpets were covered with mats 

Captain of the ship

View from the bed

Beds - dinette table goes in hole

Hanging closet

Refrigerator - gas - 12 volt - 110 volt

kitchen 

tank gauges - water heater - 
porch light - generator control

No dents or scratches 

Ram 3500 chassis - air conditioner

Dick Davis - My Friend

\

He died yesterday.

Los Angeles - Flying Home First Class - Mister Customs Man Did Not Touch My Bag

LAX - Meet the Jetsons

The Channel in Los Angeles

Yesterday we flew home from Los Angeles. It was Day 5 of our roller coaster trip. It started out Friday by being bumped off our flight from Atlanta. We were surprised when they gave us $3000 and put us on the next flight. No complaints because we can have a year to use the credit on other trips where I carry Lulu's bags :-)

Lulu was busy in Long Beach at the IASL Convention. She had 4 presentations on Saturday and Sunday. I was laid up those 2 days with an inner ear infection. It really affects my balance. I just lounged around the hotel - and got my strength up for one trip to see the Queen Mary. 

But Monday I was good enough to drive down the beaches with Lulu. Even though the water is 67 - we got to walk at Sunset Beach - Huntingdon Beach - Newport Beach. Newport Beach is a seaside town on a peninsula that protects a nice harbor for small boats. 

Monday morning we took the 405 north at rush hour to the LAX Airport. One nice thing - with 2 of us in the car - we could use the HOV Car Pool Lane. There were 5 lanes - 4 of them are just cars with single people in them. If you have an electric car - you are allowed in the HOV lane. Supposedly - lots of people buy Teslas for that reason. Guess what? We did not see one Tesla on our whole trip. 

After gassing up the rental car - we went to the airport. At the security - we did not even have to open our bags - etc. We kept shoes on - and belt on. We went through like VIP. When we got to our gate - Delta - put us in Row 1 - first class. 

First class - I would never buy first class - it is just not worth it. I would stand in the toilet to save $100 on a trip. But the first class was nice. It is quieter up front away from the engines. Seats are wider - much more leg room. We got tons of drinks - snacks - dinner. I could see people getting sloshed just to get their money's worth. We also got on the plane first - and got off the plane first. I had a nice window for taking pictures. I was at the window and was able to go to the bathroom without Lulu having to get up. 

It was clear all the way to the Mississippi River. Then it clouded up - I watched a movie - napped - and we were to Atlanta. A hop and a jump and we were in Tallahassee. George picked us up and we were home at 10 PM. I showered and did the laundry.

Next trip - Winnipeg Canada in a couple days. 

The main landmark at Los Angeles is the Jetson Restaurant

See the ferries going to Catalina Island

This is Newport Beach. We were on the pier in the middle

San Clemente - where Nixon lived and died

Lake Elsinore in California over the mountains

Diamond Lake

The Salton Sea - below sea level - very salty

This is a Solar Farm 

The Colorado River is used to irrigate the desert

Note how each cloud has a corresponding shadow

South of Albuquerque - the Rio Grande River

Queen Mary Wears Falsies

After years of rust and erosion - the smoke stacks on the Queen Mary in Long Beach have been replaced with fiberglass fake funnels.

Almost as good as a bump - sitting up next to the pilot

First class. LA to Atlanta. This is a reward from Delta for taking the $3000 bump in Atlanta and the $1800 bump in Tallahassee on the way to London. 

We're in the front row!

Long Beach - the Queen Mary and the Harbor

The Queen Mary and the Soviet sub

The ship is a hotel

Everything needs paint

While Lulu was at the convention - I drove down to the harbor to see the Queen Mary. The ship was one time the fastest ocean liner - taking about 4 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean at a speed of 30 miles per hour. When it was retired during the 60s - Long Beach bought it from Great Britain for $3,500,000. It was turned into a tourist attraction and hotel. It has gone through a series of owners including the Walt Disney Studios. None of them turned a profit. 

Today - it is still a hotel and tourist attraction. They charge $30 to tour the boat. It appears to be in poor condition. The paint is faded and peeling. 

Parked next to the Queen is an old Soviet submarine. It was offered for tours - but that was closed to

the public today. 

I visited the Queen Mary twice before - first in 1977 - and then later in 1992. In 1977 - we had Lulu's birthday party there.

The second time I visited the Queen Mary was mainly to see the Spruce Goose - a plane build my Howard Hughes. The plane was kept in a dome next to the ship. 

The plane was officially called the Hercules H-4. It was a wooden plane built during WWII to carry troops across the Atlantic. It was made of wood to save on valuable war materials. It had a 320-foot wingspan - also 8 propeller engines. The crew could walk in the wings and repair the engines while flying. The plane flew only once when Howard Hughes took the controls in 1947. He flew is right in Long Beach Harbor. The plane was moved to Oregon 25 years ago. Today - it is in the Evergreen Aviation Museum. The war ended before the plane could be used. 

The Queen Mary site is in bad shape. The British Village around it is boarded up. Admission to the ship is $30.

It looks like the rats left a long time ago

You can stay in the hotel yet

$30 to tour the ship

The Spruce Goose plane was here 25 years ago

ATM machine in old phone booth

Rusted and peeling paint

This English Village was boarded up

The castle looks ready to fall over

They broke the plane in 4 pieces and brought it out this door

Today the dome is the cruise port and also a roller derby home

You could ride the helicopter to Catalina Island in 14 minutes

Carnival Cruise Imagination was getting ready to leave

They tried making the ship a horror story scene

IASL Convention in Long Beach CA

Lulu presenting her three month Germany project

We are at the convention of the International Association School Librarians. The members are from all over the world. Every other year they have the convention somewhere in the USA - and the alternating year the convention is in another country. Lulu is doing several presentations this year.

Thanks to this organization - we have visited Sweden - Hong Kong - and Australia. Next year - the convention is in Turkey.

Above - Lulu is doing a presentation about her 3 months project in Berlin - that was funded by the German DAAD Fellowship.

The convention is being held on the campus of California State Long Beach - the third largest university in California.

We are staying at the Hotel Current on the Pacific Coast Highway. Funny - when greeting fellow convention folks - the big topic was our getting a $3000 bump from Delta. To paraphrase Patton - Rommel I read your book.

We will be here 5 days - we come home Tuesday. I hope we get bumped.

Delta Gave Us $3000 For Our Seats

We are sitting in Atlanta Airport in shock. We volunteered to give up our seats to LA. They offered us $600 each. Then they needed more seats and the price went up to $1500. When the smoke cleared we had $3000 of vouchers to fly wherever and whenever we want. They are good for a year. 

We are sitting here waiting for our two hour later flight. 

Guess what? It is fully booked and we volunteered again. 

My son Keith said that I would walk to LA for $3000. 

Next Trip - Current Hotel - Long Beach CA

This Friday we are flying to California. Lulu has a library convention in Long Beach - California. We will be staying at the Current Hotel on the Pacific Coast Highway.

While Lulu is busy at the convention - I will have a car to tour around. I am taking ideas on things to do and what to see.



Long Beach is a separate city of 450,000 people that is about 20 miles of downtown Los Angeles. It is the home of the Queen Mary Ship that has been turned into a hotel. In 1977 - on our cross country trip - we had Lulu's birthday dinner on the Queen Mary.

A few years later - we toured the Spruce Goose - Howard Hughes famous large wooden airplane. He flew it once in the Long Beach harbor. It is not there anymore.

It is going to be a quick 5-day trip.

The Shore