This was all I could fit in one frame.

And she says, I did not bring much, just this.

This is a top view of the long (7 ft) pile of items including utensils
and 5 types of home made pickle.

Yum!

Yay!

Vipin from our bullet Bangalore group was here. So joy/priti, me/pooja
and vipin are out to this ethiopian place Zeni in San Jose.

HF propagation is so unpredictable. Just yesterday night we were
talking to radio stations from Hawaii to Idaho to Texas and North
Carolina and tonight, 20 meter band is totally dead. Not even a single
contact.

Surprisingly, there were still a few morse code stations audible. More
reason to finish those last three morse code training sessions.

BTW, this pic is our current radio setup at home. A table right next
to the balcony where the antenna is hoisted 10 ft in the air using my
camera tripod and conveniently hidden behind a pillar to avoid
complaints from neighbors. Also a copper wire running to the water
pipe for better electrical grounding. The rig sucks 23 amps on full
100 watt transmit power.

If nothing else, we can probably write a chapter on stealth ham radio
operation from a balcony.

Thanks guys.

–
Bumpy roads and grumpy driver tells us we are almost there.

Start of day 2 and some moron takes up all the parking space clearance
needed to swing the trailer out.

Ah, welcome to California myself.

12 hours, 430 miles (including getting lost while looking for our
hotel), 53 gallons burnt already.

Lots of tricks learned about driving a truck *with* a trailer.
Steering a trailer while in reverse gear can be particularly
entertaining for whoever is not driving. Braking to reduce speed makes
you realize how much mass are you actually pulling through that
steering wheel.

All of this with a vehicle that does 0-60mph in 20 seconds.

Lots of fun.

*yawn* rest tomorrow.

Ooooooh yeah!!!

Looking forward to a new start and all the good yummy stuffy food.