Sunday, August 2, 2009

Living on the street


Just time for a quick update here. We are parked on a cul-de-sac in an industrial neighborhood in Sunnyvale (map), just a block from the Elks lodge here.

We've stayed here before, just as we have also stayed at the lodge. We do the latter if we need power, but in this weather we do not. This spot on the street is perfect, since it is off the traffic pattern, and we have an empty lot (bulldozed years ago for environmental remediation) on one side, and a vacant building, for lease, on the other. This street is also routinely used by truckers looking for an overnight spot.

We had a nice drive up from Monterey yesterday after taking advantage of the dump station, which also allowed me to replace the last of our three sight glasses. After nearly six years, the clear vinyl tubing had become brittle, yellowed, and translucent. I was able to replace the ones on the fresh and drinking water tanks "hot" -- pulling the bottom of the tube off got me a snout full of fresh water, but it's possible to get the new tube slipped on with a minimum of spillage, perhaps a quart or two. The gray tank needed to be done empty, of course :)

Last night we caught a quick dinner with Louise's mom, who will be out of town the rest of the week. As long as we were here anyway, we thought we'd catch her while we could. Today we are getting together with friends in Woodside. We are meeting at Alice's Restaurant, one of our old motorcycle hangouts. While Odyssey could make it there OK, I'd rather not waste the diesel or put the strain on the engine (or my upper arms) climbing that hill, so we are going to look for a spot along 280 and get a lift up the hill. In any case, we will have to leave here in a few minutes to make it in time for lunch.

Photo by jpeepz

2 comments:

  1. What is "environmental remediation?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cleanup of toxic substances such as asbestos, heavy metals, radioactive elements, petroleum byproducts, and other carcinogenic or hazardous substances.

    Silicon valley is chock full of light industrial plants that have used these types of substances over the years, and sometimes when a building is vacated, it is just too contaminated to be leased to another tenant, and the hazardous materials need to be completely removed. Often this process is destructive enough that the entire building must come down.

    ReplyDelete

Share your comments on this post! We currently allow anyone to comment without registering. If you choose to use the "anonymous" option, please add your name or nickname to the bottom of your comment, within the main comment box. Getting feedback signed simply "anonymous" is kind of like having strangers shout things at us on the street: a bit disconcerting. Thanks!