Pelicans Fishing

We’ve had beautiful weather since Christmas here at Mission Bay RV Resort. It gets better every day. On Monday morning, Donna and I took a walk around the point that separates De Anza Cove from Rose Inlet and Fiesta Bay. There was a wide variety of ducks in the bay along the point.

Ducks on the bay

As we walked along, a brown pelican glided past us about 15-20 feet above the water. It pulled up suddenly then folded its wings and dove headfirst into the water. A few seconds later it surfaced and swallowed a fish it caught. We watched it repeat this performance four times.

As we rounded the point, we saw two more pelicans performing this fishing feat. It looked like they never miss – each time they dove they came up with a fish.

At the end of our loop, I came back to the coach while Donna continued on. She took an easy training run of four miles along the bay. I tracked her run with the Garmin Connect app – it sends a link to my e-mail and I can track her activity. (We’re thinking this will come in handy when she’s out hiking on her own.)

I’ve neglected my guitar for quite a while. In the afternoon, I plugged my Gibson ES-339 into my amp stand and worked on a song I haven’t played since we left Michigan. It’s a song by Weezer recorded in 2000 called Island in the Sun. I surprised myself – after about half an hour I was playing it better than ever.

I first learned this song when I joined a band called BackTrack. My friend, Gerhard Rauch is the leader of this group. When I joined, I was told it was a classic rock band. This sounded good to me – I was thinking the music would be Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Santana, etc.

The group had been practicing together for a while before I came along. Gerhard’s son, Ben, was playing lead guitar but he was leaving the band. I planned to take his place. They already had a play list going. Unfortunate for me, the play list was unfamiliar.

Some of the songs were more 60s pop than classic rock – like Time Won’t Let Me by the Outsiders or Gimme Some Lovin‘ by the Spencer Davis Group. Other songs were 90s music like Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears or the aforementioned Weezer song.

We played a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune I was familiar with – Lodi. We also played a couple of Tom Petty songs I enjoyed. The playlist included a song by Guess Who that was a real rocker, but I had never heard it before – Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon.

I was behind the eight ball trying to learn the song list while they were adding new songs every week. I was also working long hours in the office at the time. It didn’t work out – after a few months we mutually agreed to part ways. It was a fun time but also a stressful period. I was so looking forward to retirement and a life of leisure, playing whenever and whatever I wanted. Anyway, it was good to pick up my guitar again.

Donna wanted to rest on Tuesday – she’s on a training schedule for her 15k race a week from Saturday. I went to the Pacific Beach Recreation Center to play pickleball. I hadn’t played in over a week. It was a good time and I got some needed exercise over two and half hours.

I saw the most beautiful sunset on Tuesday evening as I drove along east Mission Bay. By the time I was able to stop and get out to take a picture, the sun had set. I was able to capture some of the color anyway, but I was few minutes behind the best display.

Looking across De Anza Cove toward the RV park at sundown

We have about two and a half weeks left here in San Diego before we move on to Arizona. I’ve been pretty lazy and I’ll have to get after a few things before we go.

The temperature reached 70 degrees yesterday. Today’s forecast calls for clear skies and mid-70s. We’ll go to Ocean Beach to play pickleball, then I’ll get out and enjoy the weather while Donna works on an article that’s due Friday.