Peregrinating
2010

April

1 April
Castaway Inn
Reno, NV

This was another gray day that remained cold but not as bad as yesterday. Once again I did very little. A lot of lounging, reading and blog reading.

I have been reading everything that 3 blogers have written; 2 of them are RV full timers and 1 lives in Alamos, Sonora. For these 3 I have now become current and have started to catch up on 2 additional RV full timers.

I received another email from the possible Teardrop buyer wanting to know my bottom price. I sent a reply but have heard noting more - perhaps it was an April Fool Joke. Then again I did give him a bottom price that required that he give me some money, perhaps this is not the bottom that he was looking for?

2 April
Castaway Inn
Reno, NV

I got a 2nd inquiry about my Teardrop. This possible buyer wanted to know if it was 3 or 4 feet wide. I sent him a reply and the lack of any follow-up on his part leads me to believe he wanted 3' wide.

The weather remains 'normal' for Northern Nevada with sprinkles, strong winds, cold and lots of clouds. There is a forecast for more snow starting Sunday night, it may not make it down to the valley floor but the Sierra should get more.

This morning when I got up I was shocked awake with a toilet that backed up and almost overflowed when flushed. When I got back from breakfast I checked the water level and it was still at the rim.

In addition, there was about 2" of water in the floor of the shower that had backed up through the drain. I complained to the office and was told that it was being worked on - they seemed to get it fixed by noon.

I had complained yesterday about my furnace being out - it still has not been relighted. The assistant manager did give me a portable radiator type heater like what I had in Bulgaria. It has worked so I don't care if they fix the heater or not - I'm moving Mon or Tue.

I thought it was time to update the comments that I made at the end of President Obama's first 100 days to show how many of his campaign promises have been kept - I have selected 'The Complete List of Obama Statement Expiration Dates' from National Review On-line for this purpose.

HEALTH CARE MANDATES
STATEMENT: "We've got a philosophical difference, which we've debated repeatedly, and that is that Senator Clinton believes the only way to achieve universal health care is to force everybody to purchase it. And my belief is, the reason that people don't have it is not because they don't want it but because they can't afford it." Barack Obama, speaking at a Democratic presidential debate, February 21, 2008.
EXPIRATION DATE: On March 23, 2010, Obama signed the individual mandate into law.

HEALTH CARE NEGOTIATIONS ON C-SPAN
STATEMENT: "These negotiations will be on C-SPAN, and so the public will be part of the conversation and will see the decisions that are being made." January 20, 2008, and seven other times.
EXPIRATION DATE: Throughout the summer, fall, and winter of 2009 and 2010; when John McCain asked about it during the health care summit February 26, Obama dismissed the issue by declaring, "the campaign is over, John."

RAISING TAXES
STATEMENT: "No family making less than $250,000 will see any form of tax increase." (multiple times on the campaign trail)
EXPIRATION DATE: Broken multiple times, including the raised taxes on tobacco, a new tax on indoor tanning salons, but most prominently on February 11, 2010: "President Barack Obama said he is 'agnostic' about raising taxes on households making less than $250,000 as part of a broad effort to rein in the budget deficit."

RECESS APPOINTMENTS
STATEMENT: Then-Senator Obama declared that a recess appointment is 'damaged goods' and has 'less credibility' than a normal appointment. August 25, 2005.
EXPIRATION DATE: March 27, 2010: "If, in the interest of scoring political points, Republicans in the Senate refuse to exercise that responsibility, I must act in the interest of the American people and exercise my authority to fill these positions on an interim basis."

BORDER SECURITY
STATEMENT: "We need tougher border security, and a renewed focus on busting up gangs and traffickers crossing our border. . . . That begins at home, with comprehensive immigration reform. That means securing our border and passing tough employer enforcement laws." then-candidate Obama, discussing the need for border security, speaking in Miami on May 23, 2008.

EXPIRATION DATE: March 17, 2010: The Obama administration halted new work on a "virtual fence" on the U.S.-Mexican border, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced Tuesday, diverting $50 million in planned economic stimulus funds for the project to other purposes.

GUANTANAMO BAY
STATEMENT: Executive Order stating, "The detention facilities at Guantánamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than one year from the date of this order." January 22, 2009.
EXPIRATION DATE: November 19, 2009: "Guantánamo, we had a specific deadline that was missed."

MILITARY TRIBUNALS
STATEMENT: "Somebody like Khalid Sheik Mohammad is gonna get basically, a full military trial with all the bells and whistles." September 27, 2006.
EXPIRATION DATE: Ongoing. "President Obama is planning to insert himself into the debate about where to try the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, three administration officials said Thursday, signaling a recognition that the administration had mishandled the process and triggered a political backlash. Obama initially had asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to choose the site of the trial in an effort to maintain an independent Justice Department. But the White House has been taken aback by the intense criticism from political opponents and local officials of Holder's decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohamed in a civilian courtroom in New York."

RECOVERY.GOV
STATEMENT: "We will launch a sweeping effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government, and every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new website called recovery.gov." - President Obama, January 28, 2009.
EXPIRATION DATE: "More than two months after some of the funds were released, [Recovery.gov] offers little detail on where the money is going." The government [spent] $84 million on a website that doesn't have a search function, when its purpose is to "root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government." - April 2, 2009.

Then there are eighteen statements that he made during his first 100 days:

1. "As President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide."
2. "I will make sure that we renegotiate [NAFTA]."
3. Opposed a Colombian Free Trade Agreement because advocates ignore that "labor leaders have been targeted for assassination on a fairly consistent basis."
4. "Now, what I've done throughout this campaign is to propose a net spending cut."
5. "If we see money being misspent, we're going to put a stop to it, and we will call it out and we will publicize it."
6. "Yesterday, Jim, the head of Caterpillar, said that if Congress passes our plan, this company will be able to rehire some of the folks who were just laid off."
7. "I want to go line by line through every item in the Federal budget and eliminate programs that don't work, and make sure that those that do work work better and cheaper."
8. "[My plan] will not help speculators who took risky bets on a rising market and bought homes not to live in but to sell."
9. "Instead of allowing lobbyists to slip big corporate tax breaks into bills during the dead of night, we will make sure every single tax break and earmark is available to every American on line."
10. "We can no longer accept a process that doles out earmarks based on a member of Congress's seniority, rather than the merit of the project."
11. "If your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime."
12. "Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe the United States has to be frank with the Chinese about such failings and will press them to respect human rights."
13. "We must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights."
14. "Lobbyists won't work in my White House!"
15. "The real gamble in this election is playing the same Washington game with the same Washington players and expecting a different result."
16. "I'll make oil companies like Exxon pay a tax on their windfall profits, and we'll use the money to help families pay for their skyrocketing energy costs and other bills."
17. "Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."
18. A special one on the 100th day, "the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing I'd do.

3 April
Castaway Inn
Reno, NV

I didn't do much today except type up the long blog entry of 4/2/2010. Although much of it was copied I had to format it with HTML coding for it to appear correctly.

I am also not much of a Table builder and although I copied yesterdays Table from a January posting it still took time to add 2010 and then change all the values.

The temperature went up a little today; mornings are still near freezing but late afternoon is light jacket weather. The flowering trees and shrubs are just starting to open their blossoms.

That usually means that the hard freeze is about 7-10 days away. LOL

I received an email that had a number of humorous statements about aging that were all good but the following hit very close to home.---My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

4 April
Castaway Inn
Reno, NV

I got another email from the guy that wanted to know my bottom price. This email was a typical Cashier Check Fraud set up.

He says he has a $7,000 Cashier Check that his 'client' has given him that he will send to me; all I need to do is wire him $3,500.

I sent him a reply that I would not sell to him with those payment conditions. Then I filed a complaint with the FTC - I doubt that it will do any good but it does no harm.

Nothing else going on, just my normal breakfast and dinner walks plus a trip to my storage unit. I wanted to file away my completed paperwork for 2009 & 2008 Taxes.

I also wanted to check the unit for leaks since we have had some rain and snow. The unit that I had in 2008 leaked but luckily did no damage - now it seems dry.

5 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

A lot of things going on today. The weather forecast got it right with their prediction for snow. This morning was the fifth since I have been back in Reno that I found snow.

It was only about 1/2 inch on cars, roofs and ground/grass. The roads, parking lots and sidewalks were too warm to allow an accumulation. It stayed cold all day with an even colder wind chill.

I had an 8:00 am dental cleaning at my periodontist. The hygienist thought that I had kept up my home care very well. The cleaning I had in Mexico was a good decision and a big help with my care.

I went to breakfast after the dentist and then to Castaway Inn to move out. It took me two trips to move my 'stuff' but only about 5 blocks.

The new motel, Desert Rose Inn (former Travelodge), room and bathroom is a big improvement at only a 10% increase in price. The improvement is certainly worth that!

Late in the afternoon I got a call about my xB. The caller was very interested and wanted to do a test drive. I told him he could arrange that with the lot manager and also gave him my bottom price. I will see if he is interested enough. LOL

6 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The only thing that I did today that merits any comment has to do with my sales effort.

I walked to Private Party Cars once again to talk to the lot manager and look over my xB and trailer. I also reduced the price of both of them again to $11,500 and $3,750 respectively.

I have had no further contact from the person that wanted to test drive yesterday. I think price is still the issue; if I were to drop the price to $8,000 I bet I would get some action. That is about $2,000 below the low retail price and that is what the buyers are looking for. LOL

7 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

This was another day for doing nothing. When I say that what I mean is it was a day for reading, TV, and web surfing/blog reading.

The weather shifted back to Spring again. It was cool/cold in the morning but warm in the afternoon. A very clear, blue sky and brilliant sunshine.

The forecast for this weekend - rain and snow!

8 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The temps remained about the same as yesterday but the winds have picked up and some clouds have moved in. The forecast for rain and snow this weekend still holds.

I got an email question about my trailer late last evening - Is your trailer still for sale? If the author of this message wanted to buy it why not say - I'll give you $xx for your trailer. Then if it was no longer for sale I would respond - Sorry, it has been sold.

I'm getting very discouraged and depressed with this sale effort!

With the recent talk in the 'lame stream media' about 50% of the people in the USA not paying any Federal Income Tax for 2009 and the possibility of adding a VAT to balance the budget I remembered the following quote.

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.

Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.

9 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

Just another day of waiting for someone to buy my xB and/or trailer. I heard nothing more from the contact of yesterday which is not surprising. No other contacts which also does not surprise me.

I went to breakfast at my closest restaurant .1 miles away. From there I went to the market and bought 4 frozen dinners. All this walking brought me to just over 1 mile.

I then did nothing for the remainder of the day.

10 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

I did walk a little further this morning to my breakfast restaurant. That was all I did for outside activities.

The indoor efforts were mostly reading web blogs and searching for a Class C motor home. Because my xB and trailer are not selling I'm now looking at much less money than I had hoped for.

This has limited my possible Class C choices even more than I had planned on prior to putting my rig up for sale. I may now start searching only for Class Cs on dealer lots where I can finance part of the cost and possibly use my rig as a trade-in.

This is not my first choice but looks like what I'm going to be forced into.

11 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

I celebrated the anniversary of my birth by doing the same things I have been doing since back in Reno. That amounted to more reading, TV and web blog reading.

Absolutely nothing more happening with the sale of my xB or trailer. I did more web searching for dealers that might have a Class C for sale with financing and take trades.

12 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

This was another day like those that have gone before it this past week. I did nothing different and nothing different happened.

The forecast for snow did not make it over the hill but looks like it is hitting the Sierra once again. It remains cool/cold in Reno but the tulips and flowering trees and shrubs are blooming.

It is the colorful time of the year for us.

13 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The excitement today was a trip to the laundry room here in the motel. As luck would have it said laundry was about 100 feet across the parking lot.

There were a lot of clouds flowing over the Sierra that looked like snow clouds but nothing fell as they blew over. The weather should now shift back to Spring, for the next few days until the next storm.

There was nothing new with my attempt to sell my current rig except more web searching for a Class C.

14 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

I spiced up today with a trip to the market after breakfast. That was it as far as outdoor activities and exercise went.

Late in the day I did get an inquiry about my trailer. I sent the correspondent a reply but heard nothing more before going to bed.

One of the blogs that I have been catching up on visited Palo Duro, TX two days before I was there in 2008. I sent a comment to his blog pointing out this 'near miss'. He responded with a kind email and posted my web site address in his blog entry of today.

Perhaps one of these days I'll meet up with him - when and if I ever sell my current rig, buy a Class C and get back on the road.

15 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The fellow that made inquiry about my trailer yesterday sent me an email offer today. The fact that it was an offer was GOOD! However, it was too low for me at this time - that is BAD!

I received this offer after walking to breakfast and Private Party Cars this morning. I sent him a reply giving him my new price of $3,500 which continues to be more than he offered.

I also told him to keep checking my price as it comes down in the Dutch Auction that I seem to be running.

I also dropped the price on the Scion by another $500 but nothing has happened by the end of the day. So, I have some hope for the trailer being sold but remain depressed about selling the xB.

16 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The excitement today was the lack of hot water. The motel lost all hot water sometime last night after I went to bed and it was still missing when I went to bed today.

Other than that, the day was another one of reading, TV and web blog reading.

There was nothing happening regarding my sale. I did send an inquiry with questions about a Class C that I have found on-line - no reply yet.

17 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

I got hot water back sometime around noon. That was the most exciting thing to happen this day.

I have no reply to my inquiry and questions regarding a Class C that I found yesterday. I must be doing something wrong! I can't get any response from buyers or sellers.

18 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

I went grocery shopping again today after breakfast. That was about it for the day and will give me dinner and snacks for the next 3-4 days.

I also sent my questions regarding the Class C to RV Trader On-line today. Maybe I can get an answer through them from the dealer/seller.

The Spring weather has held for a few days now. Temperatures are still very cool in the mornings but the afternoons are up to into the low 70s.

19 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The only positive thing to happen today was with my sale and purchase of a travel/home rig. I got an email reply from RV Trader On-line that said my message had been sent to the dealer/seller - no reply from them.

My activities today were the same as my routine has been for weeks now.

The news for the past week has been very interesting once again now that the Financial Reform Bill has got 'legs' once more.

Why has Goldman Sachs only now become an issue, is this just a coincidence? It also just happens that Lehman is being grilled by Congress, why didn't this happen a year ago?

The President and Vice President have lunched a new attach against Wall Street as a part of their effort to get the Bill passed, is this not an incitement to violence that former President Clinton has warned of?

I quote myself from my posting dated 31 December, 2008 - 15 May 2009:

"Fourth, the financial sector of the US economy has now been socialized. Only a small portion has been nationalized but the sector is now controlled by the Federal Government and the executives have become "Obama kulaks". If they do not heed his directions they will be subject to the same treatment as the AIG executives and perhaps worse if fanatic Obama supporters move against these "kulaks" as they did in the Soviet Union. Governmental control will be strengthened as those executives that resign or commit suicide are replaced with people more in tune with the governmental policy."

20 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

There was nothing new today, no more comments on the breaking news. I don't consider it breaking news until the 'lame stream media' starts to cover it.

Therefore, that excludes the heckling of President Obama at a fund raiser in CA. Perhaps that is the news - the 'lame stream media' NOT covering it.

Or perhaps the breaking news, that they are not covering, is how thin skinned President Obama is to criticism/heckling!

The Sierra is getting more snow and the clouds are spilling over to the east. There is no storm here yet but it is clouding up and remaining cool. Most of the flowering trees and shrubs have leafed out and blossoms are falling - Spring continues.

21 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

This morning when I was walking to and fro to have breakfast I got snowed on. It was only a light snow shower that melted upon contact with the ground but counts as the sixth time that it has snowed since I have been back in Reno.

I stayed indoors most of the day to stay warm and dry. There was more TV, reading (both books and blogs) and RV searching on the web.

22 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The storm that brought snow yesterday has stalled over the Reno area. The low pressure system fronts usually move through from the west.

This one has taken residence here for a few days and brought rain to us from this morning. The storm is swirling around giving us this unusual storm from the east. It was a light rain that lasted for most of the day.

After returning from breakfast I sent an email to the possible trailer buyer of 4/15. He wanted me to tell him when I was going to drop my price to $3,250.

I plan on doing so tomorrow and told him so. He sent a reply that I was too late, he had bought another trailer.

My web searches continue but I have expanded my search to Class A as well as Class C. I was not interested in a Class A because I was thinking they were too big and too expensive.

I have found that there are 24' Class A that can now be bought for the same price as a 24' Class C. I would prefer something in the 22' or 23' length but there are not many available and they cost as much as the 24' to 27' models.

23 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

This morning was unusual for Reno, we had VERY heavy fog. It looked more like Northern California or the Oregon coast.

The viability was about a block when I walked to breakfast then was starting to clear on my way back home. It had mostly burned off by 10 am and we had a clear blue sky once again.

I exchanged a couple of email messages with a RV dealer in OR concerning a 24' Class C. It is priced a little over what I want to spend but it looks very nice in the pictures and it has only 18,000 miles.

This is virtual NEW at about 1/3 the new cost. I'm interested but the sale of my Scion and Teardrop continues to be a problem.

24 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

I walked to Private Party Cars again after breakfast and arrived about 9:00 am. I thought they opened at 9:30 but today is Saturday and they don't open until 10:00.

The wait was very pleasant now that Spring has returned. I was able to remove my jacket, sit in the sun and read for the hour.

I reduced the price of my Scion by another $500 and the trailer by $250. I posted these changes on the Scion and Teardrop Forums that I read. There was another reader say that she had posted my sale links on the Honda Element Forum - this is good, more exposure.

I also traded email with the RV dealer in OR and they said that they would take my rig in trade. I know they will not give me what I am asking now but I can get rid of them and buy the Class C if I also borrow some money.

25 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

Today I found another Class C that is closer to me than the one at the OR dealer. This one is slightly more expensive, in CA and one year newer.

It has a higher owner review rating and a significant advantage over the one in OR in that the builder is still in business. There have been many RV manufactures go out of business during the past decade.

The OR unit is a double 'orphan'; its builder failed and then the company that took over its business was bought out by a third company. That last company continues to make RVs but the possibility of manufacture support is iffy at best.

The biggest negative, other than price, of the new CA find is that it is being sold by an owner rather than a dealer - no financing or trade in possible. I exchanged a few email messages with him today and he seems like someone that I can do business with, that is good.

He said in his original for sale posting that he wanted to sell within the next 30 days. However, when I tried to set up an appointment to see it on May 1st he said that he would be out of town until the 10th.

I had some questions for the OR dealer last Friday that have not yet been answered - maybe I'll hear from them again tomorrow?

26 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

My days are not chock full of activity but today was another one of reading, TV and web surfing.

I did walk back and forth to breakfast in 'downtown' Reno. On the return I came upon one of our resident Canada Geese. They are all over our city parks, schools, Truckee River and not infrenquently can be seen in the downtown area.

Seeing one during my walk would not usually merit comment because they are so common. What made today special was the 6 goslings that this dame had with her.

They were very unstable on their feet so probably not over a day old - very cute.

I heard nothing from either seller, nor did I have any contact from any possible buyers. I have reached the point in this whole selling/buying effort that neither of these failures surprise me. However, I am at a loss what I can do about it.

27 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The Sierra was getting more snow this morning as well as very strong winds. One of the reporting stations on a ridge in the Sierra reported winds of 131 mph.

When I left home for breakfast it was blowing hard here in Reno also. It was not as hard as in the Sierra but we did get gusts of over 60 mph.

That was enough for me so I walked to one of my closest restaurants.

It then started to rain at about noon and was still doing so when I went to bed. I stayed inside where it was dry and warm for the day.

This is just another regression to Winter in what we call Spring here in Northern Nevada.

28 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

It was still cold this morning when I walked part of the way, took a bus part of the way, to my UPS Store mail box. The new Store to which my box was transferred is about 2 miles further away or about 6 miles from 'home'.

There I picked up about one month of mail and threw it all away before leaving the Store.

I then stopped for breakfast on my return home with the wind picking up as the day proceeded. By mid-afternoon there was another snow shower here in Reno - the 7th time it has snowed since I have been back.

The only progress on my buying/selling was the receipt of an email from the CA owner. His Class C has been sold.

I still have not heard anything more from the dealer in OR - it may also have been sold or they are not very hard sell.

29 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The weather continued its winter pattern again today. We got another mid-afternoon snow shower making it 8 times now since I have been back.

I was indoors again to stay warm and dry so devoted some time to web searching and finding two more Class C Rvs. Both of them are being sold by owners; one of them in TX and one in OR.

Both of them are also more expensive than the OR dealer unit. However that dealer has still not sent me a reply.

The bad side of buying any one of the three is that I need to sell my current rig and that is not happening. I did get another email concerning my trailer but it was from the same guy that asked me if it was a 3' or 4' on April 2 - he asked the same question today.

Perhaps he has a short term memory issue but I am not holding my breath that he is a buyer.

30 April
Desert Rose Inn
Reno, NV

The private owner Class C in OR has been sold. It was a very popular and hard to find model; they do not stay on the market for long.

There was nothing much happening today. The latest snow storm in the Sierra seems to have passed on. We continue to have some clouds but it has warmed up.

I finished my last book that I had picked up fro the Friends of the Library when I left Reno for my Mexico trip. I also picked up something else to read at the library; have not been reading as much, or as fast, becausr of web surfing, blog reading and TV.