Menifee, CA

      Buddy and Benny weren't making any sounds of discomfort. Tom, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. The wind speeds through the pass, between San Gorgonio Mountain and San Jacinto Peak, on Interstate 10 westbound made it difficult for me to handle. And it would've been more difficult if the sway bar wasn't installed on our Traveling Talisman. We were rocking side to side as if we had no shocks. Our maximum speed reached was 50 mph. There was no doubt in my mind Tom and I were being held back from getting up to 55 mph. The smog in the pass looked like we were headed for a major storm. Some trucks in the far right lane were moving much slower than we were. Luckily there were 4 lanes available and I was able to move into the second one from the right. Finally Tom and I made it to the top of the pass, but not yet clear of the wind. We had another 18 mile stretch to go with more wind expected. It was a good thing our total drive wasn't far and we were in no hurry. Still in all, taking the interstate 90.00 mile drive was better than over the mountain route. Tom would have been more nervous had we taken it.

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      Getting to our destination really wasn't that difficult. We found the Wilderness Lakes / NACO Resort only using our GPS ( SID ) once. And we made it before noon. The ranger greeted us with great welcome. Tom and I were staying here as a Thousand Trails (TT) resort member and there was no cost for our stay. Just like most TT stays, we were given an opportunity to pick our own campsite. In order to search for one, we disconnected the van from our Traveling Talisman. Buddy and Benny got to roam freely inside while we were searching. Using a campground map the ranger gave us we began to choose one out of 565 campsites. Many visitors looked permanent. Not many of the sites were shaded. Our reservation was for 3 weeks and we wanted to make sure it was a great one to stay in. It needed to be facing west so our main awning was north. This would help keep our refrigerator from working hard. With the awning over the patio it gave me shade while working at the picnic table. Within half an hour we found one and parked the van in as possible site. To be sure we didn't miss a better one we continued our search on the way back to our Traveling Talisman. There weren't any other sites that suit our needs, so we drove to our new home location at campsite # 32.

      It was a full hook-up site with tall thin trees surrounding us. The view had a few mountains to the northwest and north. We were distant from any highway and byway. To our immediate north was a dairy farm. As long as the wind didn't come from that direction we wouldn't smell it. After getting our Traveling Talisman in position we lowered the hydraulics onto leveling blocks. We got Benny's Kittywalk penthouse out of the van. It was left assembled so he could go in it right away. Shortly after finding a place for it Benny went in. Tom put out the slides and set up the inside, back to our cozy home. I hooked up the exterior power cord, water hoses, and sewer hose. Until a new sewer elbow connector was purchase, the sewer hose was left on its support with a cap at the end. I put a table cloth matching our Traveling Talisman on our picnic table. Tom made mystic turkey breast, provolone, and lettuce sandwiches for lunch. We took a break from our set up to eat. Then we went back to setting up. I cleaned the Traveling Talisman tires and put on the TireSavers. By the time I was done, Tom had the inside done and started setting up the HughesNet satellite. Finding a location for it wasn't difficult for him. Most of the campground had clearing for connection. It didn't' take him long to get us connected by himself. I washed the windshield and the side cockpit windows. As soon as they were clean the Sunshades went on.

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      The bikes were next to come off their rack. Benny was brought in the house so Tom and I could go for a ride around the campground. After riding around awhile we decided to walk to the campground country store and check out a few things. One item we were looking for was the sewer hose elbow connector. They had one, but it wasn't the same style as the one broken. We don't buy beer very often and thought to pick up a six pack since they were available. It wasn't something Tom and I made a habit of purchasing, but thought it would go well with tonight's pizza dinner. As usual we also picked up a Twix ice cream bar and ate it on the way home. Benny greeted us at the door and was acting like he wanted to go for a walk. While Tom prepared dinner I took Benny for his walk. It was getting chilly so we didn't' stay out long. The convection oven was ready for the pizza when Benny and I returned. I added hot peppers and cheese before putting it in the oven. Tom and I started watching our movie while waiting for it to cook. Tonight we're watching a Netflix DVD received in the mail called "Ghost Rider" with Nicolas Cage. Our pizza was done in 20 minutes and we really enjoyed both our movie and meal. To wash it down we drank a few bottles of beer, leaving one each for later. For desert we had popcorn. It had been a long day. Buddy and Benny were already in bed. Now it was our turn.

      A nearby rooster called the morning sunrise much earlier than on time. The sun was an hour or two yet to be seen. In the middle of the night I had a dream that woke me with wonder, which was real? Then or now? I looked out the bedroom window of our Traveling Talisman, to focus on my surroundings. It was truly peaceful and a place to appreciate. Benny joined me by the window and we both fell back to sleep. The sun was up for maybe 1/2 an hour when I woke again. Benny was by my legs nestled against me, as if for support and comfort. Tom got up to make coffee and Buddy followed him as she usually does. I could hear Tom say "Buddy's hungry". That was my queue to get up to feed Buddy and Benny. Tom and I hardly finished a cup of coffee when he decided to transform the bedroom into his office. He had a lot of work to get caught up since we've off work the last few days.

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      I also had work, but Benny came first. He was done eating and wanted outside. I also wanted to be outside because it was a beautiful morning for a walk. In the beginning he wasn't sure of all the movement. There were many fishermen up early to get their morning catch. The campground also had their employees working diligently with go-carts and tractors. Benny went back inside our Traveling Talisman, long enough for me to eat breakfast. Tom was already finished with his and was hard at work designing a website for a client. I was happy to see Benny wanting back outside because I was anxious to work outside myself. First, I needed to get caught up on three eventful days of adventure. One day of event was totally logged by lunch time, only two more to go. Benny and Tom had lunch. Although I wasn't hungry he still shared his left-over pizza from last night's dinner with me. For desert we had frozen yogurt. Another day of events was recorded on my travel logs just after lunch.

      A break was needed and I took Benny for another walk. It was a short walk. Instead of him going back into his Kittywalk he went inside, directly to his loft. Still in need of a break, I rode my bike to the ranger station to let them know which campsite Tom and I selected. It was back to the final eventful day to record. The weather outside was still nice so I continued to work at the picnic table on the patio. On occasion I would go inside to get something and found thousands of flies around the doorway. They're hanging around the campground because of the dairy farm near by. The sun was just setting when I finishing. I met my goal to be caught up.

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      Although I had a flannel jacket on for warmth, it was chilly out and time to go inside our Traveling Talisman. It was time to start dinner anyway. Tonight we're having grilled chicken on a very large garden salad. I must not have been in any hurry to eat. It took me almost two hours to prepare dinner with romaine lettuce, cucumber, olives, tomatoes, four shredded cheeses, mushrooms, onions and marinated chicken. Cooking the chicken took the longest. After everything was sliced and added to separate bowls we topped it with red wine vinaigrette and watched a Netflix DVD received in the mail. The name of our movie was called "Perfect Stranger" with Bruce Willis. By the time our movie was over our evening was shy of being tomorrow. I couldn't believe we were up so late.

      The mostly cloudy skies made getting up a challenge. Tom reminded me several times that the rooster called and I was supposed to get up. I was ignoring it. It wasn't until the trash truck came into the park and made a tremendous amount of noise during quite hour (11:00 pm to 8:00 am). That's when I decided not to remain in bed thinking about how chilly it was. Under the covers was so warm and cozy I didn't want to get up. Finally I was "Up and Adam". Sometime in the middle of the night we lost power and our Clairion electric heater turned off. It didn't turn back on when the power did because of Surge Guard (RV Power Protection, model 34730). Our Traveling Talisman was 52° inside. I turned it back on and made some coffee. Benny and Buddy waited patiently for me to prepare their dishes. Tom got out of bed to join me, for what was a half a cup of coffee.

      Before I knew it we were making the bed and he was transforming our bedroom into his office. He had to get my monthly report ready for me to work today. Our internet was slow, giving him some problems generating the information I needed. Benny went outside in his Kittywalk, but didn't stay out long. There was a lot of people and machine activity going on in the campground. Tom still wasn't ready so I attempted to take Benny for a walk. That didn't interest him and he went back inside to nap in his loft. The hot water tank had been warming up while we were out. Tom was having breakfast at his work station and busy when we returned. The hot water was ready for my shower. When I finished Tom wasn't ready so I used the remaining hot water to do the dishes. By the time I was done putting them away and sweeping the floors, he had put his work aside to take his shower.

      By noon, we both we diligently back to work. My monthly report still wasn't ready for me to work so I spent some time updating last night and this mornings events on my travel logs. Shortly afterward I started working on my website until Tom was ready for me to work on the report. Benny woke from his nap. Buddy and Benny got their lunch before Benny went outside in his Kittywalk, only to come back in 10 minutes later. I finished making updates to my "Travel Logs" website page when Tom had my report ready for me to work. Just as I was about to start the wind speed picked up and we had problems with our internet speed again. My work was on hold until Tom cleared things up with HughesNet. A lot of debris was falling on our Traveling Talisman and I was concerned with our awnings being out. Without connection we didn't know if the weather was going to get worse or clear up. I wasn't going to take any chances and rolled all the awnings in. Tom was still on the phone when I returned inside to work on the part of my report that didn't require on-line connection. We stopped to move the HughesNet satellite in hopes it would get a better connection. After spending an hour we received better connection and went back to work. This time I was able to work on-line. It was still a little slow, but at least I could move forward on my report.

      Our work took longer than usual. I attempted to simmer some pasta sauce while working, but things got frustrating as my report was near end and hunger was setting in. Tom took over the making of a ravioli dinner so I could finish. He watched the features on the last DVD while waiting for the pasta to cook. Our meal was done before my work and so I save what was done. Tomorrow I will finish it. Tom and I already finished watching the three DVD's we received in the mail. Now they can go back to Netflix. For tonight's entertainment Tom set up his desk in the living room so we could watch an on-line Netflix movie. There were only two more episodes of the first "SeaQuest DSV" season left. We only watched one, saving the season finally for another day. It was an hour before midnight when we went to bed. I couldn't believe it was so late. Buddy and Benny got their evening snack before I climbed under the covers.

Remember to visit travelingtalisman.com by Tom Reider.