Dystopian Fiction

A bunch of dystopian/prepper/zombie/apocalyptic fiction series I have been reading over the past few years:

• Going Home (aka Survivalist) by Angery American - first few books were great but then it got a bit repetitive
• Charlie's Requiem by Walt Browning and Angery American - gritty parallel series to Going Home
• 299 Days by Glen Tate - my favorite series and the most realistic since some of it has already started
• Extinction Survival by Walt Browning - fun zombie series based in the San Diego area
• Survivalist Series by Arthur Bradley - another zombie series that started great but ended up being repetitive
• Off Gride Survivor by Connor McCoy - a decent EMP series
• Patriot Dawn by Max Velocity - great two book tactically-focused series
• 2050 by Phil M. Williams - fun, futuristic series on the conflict between authoritarianism and liberty
• Apocalypse Revealed by Michael Zargona - good collapse story

Mount Laguna Offroading

I headed out to explore some trails in the Mount Laguna area.  Early morning, I drove out I8 to the Buckhead Springs rest stop.  From there, I headed on an out-and-back on Sheepshead Canyon Rd.  It was pretty rough in spots but had some great views to the south.  There were a couple folks camped at some nice spots.

Next, I took Old 80 to La Posta Rd and headed north.  This road was gravel and easy the first few miles as it passed National Forest and tribal lands.  The road was gated a few miles short of Sunrise Hwy and I took Fred Canyon Rd to the southeast.  This road has great views and camping spots as it descended to Kitchen Creek Rd.

From there, it was back along Old 80 to Pine Valley where I gassed up.  Then I took Pine Creek Rd north.  There was a side trip up Miners Road which was pretty rocky in spots but very nice as the creek was flowing.  Back on Pine Creek, it was easy going on the broken asphalt.  I stopped for lunch and coffee refill at a great viewpoint that overlooked Deer Park and east to Cuyamaca Rancho SP.  The remained drive up was uneventful.  Once at Sunrise Hwy, I took it south through the village and back home.

Reason #500 to Leave California

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-02/san-diego-police-pitching-plan-to-use-streetlight-cameras-and-license-plate-readers

Big Bear Jeep Trip

On a hot weekend, Jyoti and I head up to Big Bear for some jeep trails.  We started the long slog up to Morongo Valley and made a short stop in Pioneer Town.  We then headed up Burns Canyon which winded its way up from the desert up to the pines of Big Bear.  The views and terrain were awesome.  We made several stops at various mines or other points of interest.  Luckily, I think the heat kept folks away as we saw very little traffic.  Once up at Big Bear, we stopped at the Discovery Center to cool off a bit and pick up a brochure for our next trail, the Gold Fever Trail.  We had a great time following the trail to historic points from the gold rush period.  Along the way, we found a nice campsite so set up our tent to hold it while we finished the trail.  After the Gold Fever Trail, we went into town for a nice lunch at the 5-paw rated Nottingham's restaurant.  We finished up in town by walking the village which was pretty crowded.  Heading back up to camp, we stopped at Holcomb Valley Ranch which took over the old Boy Scout camp.  It was a nice camp and a good option if you have a large group.  Back in camp, we finished setting up and had a nice somewhat cool night.

Next morning, we woke up early, packed up and headed down Van Dusen Canyon.  The canyon was very pleasant the trail very easy.  After a stop at Moonridge Coffee, we took the short but nice Sand Canyon Road to meet up with Wildhorse Meadow.  This trail headed south and we eventually got back on pavement and headed home.

It was a great trip with awesome off road trails and good camping.  It was also Lily's first time camping and she did great, but I don't think she likes the car ride very much.

Lily in the tent

Looking north from Wildhorse Meadow trail

Exploring Pioneertown

Entering a mine

Our campsite

Anti Field Day 2023

As part of The Tech Prepper Anti Field Day 2023, I packed up my gear for a simulated backcountry trek and headed to neighborhood park.  Since this was the first time I had this loadout, I didn't want to get too far from home in case I needed support.  My manpack was a surplus 3 day assault pack.  I had my Yaesu FT-817 in the outer pouch.  It fit nicely with a Panasonic Toughpad, Digirig, a bunch of cables and a 6Ah battery.  My antenna was a newly crafted WARC band linked dipole (12, 17 and 30 meters).    To raise the antenna, I had a carbon fiber fishing pole with the appropriate guy lines.

The comms plan was for JS8Call on 30m.  VOACAP predication was for good propagation for most of the other group in the evening.  I started operating a bit earlier but was able to contact 6 of the group.  I seemed to have a skip zone for a few hundred miles since I couldn't get the NV and AZ stations but was able to reach all the way to ME.

It was a very successful field day.  My gear performed well and I feel confident having to take it into the backcountry.

Testing in the shack

Linked dipole deployed

Field station

Weekend Activities

• Great hike at Carmel Mountain Preserve
• Met Jaya's boyfriend for the first time
• Gun Show in San Diego!

Greek Island Vacation

Jyoti and I along with my brother and his wife took a 3 week Greek island cruise vacation.  We added days in the beginning at Venice and at the end in Athens.

Day 1: Travel Day 

Long flight from San Diego to Venice.

Day 2 - 4: Venice

After arriving at the airport, we took a boat right to our hotel canal near the Rialto Bridge.  Weather was drizzly and a bit cold but we walked around to see the sights.  Dinner was cichetti and great spritzes.

Our first full day in Venice started with St. Mark's Square where we had reservations for the basilica and the "secret" tour of Doge's Palace.  Both were great.  We then took the Vaporetta up the canal and walked back to our hotel.

Last full day in Venice started at the Accademia and then more checking out the sights.  We really like Venice and it was much better than expected.

Drizzly day on the Rialto Bridge

Rainy St. Marks Square

Campanile from St. Mark's Basilica

St. Mark's clock tower

Somewhat empty St. Mark's Square

Grand Canal

Sunny and crowded St. Mark's Square

Day 5 - 6: Sea Days

We had some time before our water taxi so we checked out St. Mark's Square again.  Since there was no rain, it was very crowded.  We then took a bus to Chiaggio where the cruise ship was docked.  The boarding process was very smooth since the Azamara boat was smaller than many others.  It headed south for our first port visit.  There was a visiting professor who gave talks about the Mediterranean culture and other topics. 

Welcome aboard!

Day 7: Corfu

Our first island was Corfu where we drove around to see a monastery and the north side of the island.  We then went into old town Corfu and checked out the old fort.  This would be first of many Venetian forts we would see.

Overlooking town from the old fort

Manning the towers in the old fort

Day 8: Kefalonia

Next up was Kefalonia where we went to another monastery (there are lots of them in Greece) and a really nice winery.  We then went to Dhrogarati cave and Melissani lake and a nice lunch right on Sami bay.  We really liked Kefalonia.

Dhrogarati cave

Lunch on Sami Bay

Melissani lake 

Ready to leave Kefalonia

Day 9: Zakynthos

On Zakynthos, we drove to the north side of the island to check out a olive oil factory/press, the small but wonderful Goumas winery and a small beach.

Olive factory

Goumas Winery

Day 10: Gytheion

For this mainland site, we got a car and drove to Mystras which was very cool.  We also walked around the small harbor area.

Gytheion harbor

Mystras hillside

Cats of Mystras monastery

Gytheion lighthouse

Day 11: Crete

Crete is large but we stayed near town and hit the great Archeological Museum and or course Knossos.  Also visited the Venetian fortress in the harbor.

Crete Archeological Museum

Knossos Palace

Day 12: Santorini

After tendering, we took the cable car up to Feri and then caught the public bus to Akrotiri.  The ruins were pretty neat. Then did the hike to Ia which was very nice but hot.  We had a great dinner in Ia and walked the cliff path down the port.

Ruins at Akrotiri

Santorini sky

Along the trail to Ia

Santorini panorama

Day 13: Rhodes

After renting the car, we headed to Lindhos but couldn't find a parking spot so headed back with a stop at the Seven Springs.  Back in town we walked through the old town and another Venetian fort.

Hike to Seven Springs

Seven Springs selfie

Old town Rhodes

Rhodes museum

Day 14: Kusadasi

Leaving Greece for a day in Turkey, we hired a guide and driver.  We spent most of the time in nearby Ephesus which was incredible.  We also made stops a carpet making school and a pottery store.

View from St. John Basilica

Ephesus street

A view of Ephesus

Ephesus selfie

Ephesus museum

Day 15: Mykonos

Last island on the itinerary was Mykonos.  We got a cruise shore excursion which guided us through town then over to Delos to see the ruins, then lunch and lastly a very nice monastery.  Our guide was ok with information but was terrible at keeping the group together and almost stranded us on Delos.

Mykonos town

Little Venice

Crowded Delos

Mykonos monastery

Day 16 - 18: Athens

Our cruise ended at Athens where we spent 3 days hitting the major and minor sights:

• Acropolis Museum
• Hadrian's Library
• Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
• National Garden
• Olympian Zeus
• Hadrian's Arch
• Roman Agora
• Ancient Agora
• Eureka Technological Museum
• Cathedral
• Mars Hill
• Acropolis
• Aristotle's Lyceum
• Byzantium and Christian Museum
• Greek War Museum

The trip was capped up with an awesome dinner at A for Athens with great views of the city and the Acropolis.

Acropolis Museum

Hadrian's Library

Cave of the Acropolis restaurant

Tower of Winds

Stoa at Ancient Agora

View from Mars Hill

Entering the Acropolis

At the Parthenon

Greek Flag selfie

Byzantine and Christian Museum

Nighttime Acropolis