Category Archives: California

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach (OB) is a San Diego community on the coast, about seven miles northwest of downtown. The community occupies approximately one square mile north of Point Loma. It’s bordered on the north by the San Diego River estuary, separating it from Mission Beach. The Pacific Ocean borders the west. Interstate 8 starts (or ends) near the coast at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in Ocean Beach and runs to Casa Grande, Arizona where it joins Interstate 10.

The history of OB goes back to the 1880s. Plans for development were made, but they stalled due to the difficult travel from downtown San Diego. When the Point Loma Railroad was built in 1909, development of OB became viable. By 1910, there were about 100 houses there.

In 1966, OB hosted the World Surfing Championship. It’s still a favorite beach for surfers. Also in 1966, the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier was built. It’s the longest concrete pier on the west coast at 1,971 feet. The pier is open to the public 24 hours a day. There’s a bait shop and restaurant on the pier. We like the restaurant. It’s a fun place to eat with a great view. I posted photos I took from the pier here.

By the early 70s, when I first started going to OB, it was known as a hippie counter-culture hangout. The main drag was Newport Avenue which was home to many small businesses and restaurants. One of the shops there was called The Black. It was one of the first “head shops.” The Strand Theater was located there. In the late 70s, the Strand had midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Fridays and Saturdays. To this day, the community supports local small business and opposes chain stores and restaurants.

OB still hangs on to its counter-culture reputation. There are a number of festivals held there, including a jazz festival at the foot of Newport Avenue in September and a kite festival in March. On Wednesday afternoons, two blocks of Newport Avenue are closed to traffic for a farmer’s market. The north end of the OB waterfront is known as Dog Beach. It is open 24 hours a day for dogs free of leashes.

On Mondays, I scooter Donna to her piano lessons in Ocean Beach. After I drop her off, I walk along Newport Avenue and check out the shops. Last Monday, I bought a book for two dollars at a shop that sells used books, CDs, DVDs and clothing. I also stopped at Chase Bank to make a deposit.

The bank was busy and I had to wait in line for a teller. The customers in the bank were quite diverse – from the young hippie looking girl with ripped jeans at the front of the line to the businessman in a suit to the older man directly in front of me.

The guy in front of me had that hippie burn-out look. This may not be a fair characterization, but he reminded me of Tommy Chong as Leo in That 70s Show. When his turn came at the teller, he was standing about three feet in front of me. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help overhearing him.

He asked the teller to give him his account balances. She printed a ticket for him. He looked at it and said, “This only shows one account.” She told him that she wrote the other balance at the bottom. He looked at the ticket and said, “What is this? It says one-one-nine, is that a dollar nineteen?’ She told him it was one hundred nineteen. Then he asked, “What is this six oh four in front of it?” She told him it was 604 thousand. He said, “Oh…so the balance is $604,119 then.” She said, “Yes.” He said, “Okay…good…thank you.”

It was the most improbable exchange. First of all, the guy didn’t look like he had any money. Then, he seemed completely unaware of how much money he had in the bank. He shifted from a dollar nineteen to $604,119 without any reaction. He turned and walked out of the bank.

It proves the adage “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Judging someone by their appearance can be very misleading.

Later this afternoon, we’ll be going to the San Diego Brew Project at Mission Brewery with our neighbors, Bob and Sini. They’re from Edmonds, Washington and are full-time RVers. Their son, Beau, is co-owner of the Brew Project which is a pub with over 30 local brews on tap. The Mission Brewery building overlooks the airport and San Diego Bay. We plan to be there in time to view the sunset, sample a couple of beers and have dinner.

Turning Up the Heat

Organisms, both plant and animal, have the ability to adapt to changes in their environment. Changes such as adaptation to altitude or temperature are well-documented. Many mammals shed fur in warm seasons and grow thicker fur in cold seasons.

Human acclimatization is interesting. Last winter, in Michigan, I would have considered a December day with the temperature approaching 60 degrees a shirtsleeve day. No need for a jacket in that weather! One year later, after spending the last few months in a warm climate, 60 degrees feels cold.

You can tell who’s a local Californian and who’s a tourist at this time of year by how they’re dressed. To the locals, this is winter and they dress the part. We see people wearing winter coats and boots, hats and scarves and know immediately that they’re warm weather people. We see other people wearing shorts when the temperature is in the low 60s and we know immediately that they’re visiting from a colder climate. I’ll let you guess which camp we fall into these days.

The weather here over the past week has been five to ten degrees colder than average. Yesterday the thermometer struggled to reach 60. The overnight lows have dipped into the 40s a few times. We’ve been running a ceramic space heater in the coach. This keeps the overnight temperature in the coach in the low 60s. We sleep comfortably at that temperature under a down comforter. Yesterday, Donna fired up the furnace for a short time to bring the coach temperature up before she showered.

The long range forecast is favorable. We will have daytime highs in the upper 60s and 70s over the next eight days. It will still cool quickly after sundown, but I’m not going to complain. This acclimatization phenomenon would make it difficult for me to spend a day in the north now, unless I could grow a fur coat.

Lying Low

I haven’t posted for a few days. Sitting in the same RV park for three months makes it difficult to come up with new posts sometimes. I had another issue over the weekend that kept me from sitting at my computer.

Friday we had another visit from the UPS driver. Donna asked for Uggs for Christmas. Her feet have been cold. Santa came early as I ordered the Uggs from Zappos and had them shipped overnight. Two other packages were delivered as well. I was surprised to see the creeper and mechanics stool I ordered from Sears. They offered free shipping and the order arrived in one day!

I stacked the boxes from Sears on the scooter and took them to the trailer. It wasn’t piled as high as the last time I did this, but Donna took a picture this time.

Transporting goods on the scooter

Saturday was a rainy, blustery day. We had showers off and on all day. I spent most of the day inside our coach. At one point, after I’d been sitting at my computer for awhile, I stood up and had a back spasm. This resulted in severe pain in my lower back. I could hardly move about. I made myself as comfortable as I could.

Donna cooked spiced pork tenderloin with maple chipotle sauce for dinner. She served it with acorn squash and roasted cauliflower. I was never a big fan of squash or cauliflower, but now I really like both. It must have something to do with the way Donna prepares it.

Spiced pork tenderloin with maple chipotle sauce

After dinner, we watched an old movie that we like – Captain Ron. It’s a comedy starring Kurt Russell and Martin Short.

Since we arrived in San Diego, I’ve had a few people tell me that I look like Walter White, the lead character in the series Breaking Bad. Neither of us had ever seen the program. Donna ordered the first season (2008) from NetFlix. We are hooked and have already ordered more episodes.

Yesterday my back problems continued. I tried to stretch a little and walk it off. It wasn’t any better. I decided to lie low and rest my back. If I laid on my back and bent my knees, I had some relief. I spent the day watching football. Some interesting games yesterday. Detroit played in a snow bowl in Philadelphia! The New York Giants came to San Diego where the skies were clear. San Diego played really well and won 37-14. Seven of nine San Diego possessions resulted in scoring drives.

Today, my back is much better. I might go for a bike ride later. We’re making plans for our exit from San Diego. We’ve booked a week at the Hidden Shores RV Resort. This is a true RV resort with a large clubhouse, restaurant, heated swimming pool and Jacuzzi on site. It’s located near the Imperial Dam on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, just north of Yuma. It was recommended by my old friend, Debbie Taylor-Bednarski. She and her husband, Bruce, have an RV parked there. We’ll arrive on Friday the 27th and stay there until Thursday, January 2nd. Debbie, Bruce and possibly her sister, Kim and her husband Pat, will be there. From there, we are undecided at this point.

Price Club

Every town has colorful stories to tell. San Diego has more than it’s share. It was a great place to grow up in the 60s and 70s.

When my family moved to San Diego in 1969, I remember shopping at a large department store called Fedmart. Fedmart was a membership discount store. Members were government employees that paid two dollars annually for a family membership.

If I remember correctly, at that time there was a Fedmart store on Balboa Avenue east of Genessee. There was another store off Rosecrans Street. The founder of this membership operation was a local San Diego attorney and businessman, Sol Price. He started the business in the 1950s and grew it to a $350 million, 40-store business 21 years later.

In 1975, German retailer Hugo Mann, bought two-thirds of the company. Less than a year later, they fired Sol Price. I have vague recollections of this happening. I remember the news (or maybe it was a newspaper) stating that Sol Price had a new plan and would bring Fedmart to its knees. He was 60 years old and starting over.

His plan wasn’t really all that different from the Fedmart business model. He bought a large warehouse in a low-rent location. He stocked it with thousands of items, not the tens of thousands found in large department stores. It was the original big box store. He negotiated quantity discounts from wholesalers on the items he stocked. He didn’t advertise and he kept his expenses low.

His new operation was a membership discount store. Members paid a small annual fee to join and benefited from Price’s ability to buy in bulk at low cost. The new store was called Price Club. The first store to open was at 4605 Morena Boulevard, only a couple of miles away from my home. It was converted from a corrugated steel manufacturing plant once owned by Howard Hughes.

This concept worked and Price Club grew quickly. Sol Price paid his employees well and demanded excellent service from them. The stores were always crowded, but the lines at checkout moved quickly. Within seven years, Fedmart was out of business.

By 1992, Price Club had 94 locations and revenue over $6.5 billion.

Sam Walton, founder of Walmart and Sam’s Club said, “I guess I’ve stolen – I actually prefer the word ‘borrowed’ – as many ideas from Sol Price as from anybody else in the business.”

In 1993 Price Club, merged with rival Costco. For a short time, it was known as PriceCostco, and then, in 1997, it became Costco Wholesale Corporation. The store is still there on Morena Boulevard, near Jutland Drive. Now it’s known as Costco Warehouse #401.

Sol Price died December 14, 2009 in his La Jolla home. He was 93 years old and a well-regarded philanthropist.

Today, I think I’ll go to Costco #401 and replenish our coffee supply with a couple of boxes of K-cups for our Keurig brewing system.

Tool Time

The past week here at Mission Bay RV Resort was interesting. Last week, the park began to fill up. By Thanksgiving Day, the park was nearly full. There were more RVs and kids in the park than we’ve seen since we first arrived here September 20th.

I had no idea so many people would spend Thanksgiving with their families in an RV park. On one side of our site, a family of four moved in with a travel trailer. The two kids were elementary school age. They bicycled every day together around the area. They smoked a turkey over charcoal in a Weber grill on Thanksgiving Day.

On the other side of our site was another trailer. It was occupied by an older couple with their dogs. They erected a wire enclosure around their site so they could let the dogs out without worry of them running off. The park was mostly occupied by families and it seems like they all brought dogs. The mornings were noisier than usual.

Last Saturday, people began packing up and pulling out. By Sunday evening, the park was nearly empty. We have four open sites on either side of our coach now. The sites behind us and directly in front of us are empty. There are more people leaving the park than arriving. Those who arrive seem to be using the park as a stopping point in their travels and only stay one night.

We’re beginning to plan our exit. Nothing is cast in stone, but we may move out of here on the 21st and stay somewhere else in the area until the 26th. Then we’ll head east and spend some time on the Arizona side of the Colorado River.

Yesterday I cut the drawer liners for my tool box to size and installed them. Once that task was completed, I started organizing my tools. I took a few pictures showing my handy work from the day before.

The wheel chock for the scooter front wheel

Tie down fixture for the scooter

Toolbox and tie downs

Plastic chair sliders screwed to the floor to hold the tool box in place

Drawer lined and tools in place

I have about 10% of the tools that I had prior to the theft. I have the basics covered. If I need special tools down the road, I’ll buy them as needed. My insurance claim is settled. The insurance reimbursed approximately 64% of the dollar value of our loss.

Read your policy carefully and pay attention to the definitions. In our case, replacement cost didn’t mean what it costs to buy a new trailer. It’s a hypothetical replacement cost. What the adjuster did was call a few trailer dealers and describe our trailer. Then he asked them how much they would sell it for. Of course, the trailer dealers say they would have to sell it for less than the new trailers they sell. They establish a hypothetical price and that’s the replacement value. It doesn’t matter that the hypothetical trailer doesn’t exist. They pay that amount, even though I couldn’t find a six- month old trailer in excellent condition for that price if I tried. I’m just glad the insurance hassle is over. It was a real learning experience.

I heard a few rain drops overnight. This morning is partly cloudy and cool. I don’t expect the temperature to be much over 60 today. Low pressure to the northeast of us has the jet stream dipping down to southern California, bringing cool air from Alaska. This is likely to continue through the weekend before we warm up again next week.

Today I’ll run a few errands. Donna has a lunch meeting with her sister, Sheila, to discuss a brochure for her business. I plan to set up my amp and practice guitar this afternoon. Donna likes that idea because she’s planning to do some hoopdancing.

Missing Out

Yesterday was overcast and dreary. After I posted to the blog, I scootered Donna over to Great News in Pacific Beach. She had a cooking class there – Restaurant Style Made Dishes Made Easy. That title is a mouthful. This is the second cooking class she’s taken there – the first one was a Vitamix demo class. She really enjoys the cooking classes. Of course, the classes aren’t free, but I think they make the real money when the students shop for kitchen supplies and utensils. Donna bought ceramic knives and other goodies there yesterday.

Speaking of classes, I forgot to mention Donna’s piano lesson on Monday. She has three more weekly lessons scheduled with her teacher in Ocean Beach. This keeps her motivated and working on new songs on the piano. She’s keeping herself busy with work too. She has a number of projects coming due and worked well into the evening last night.

While Donna was in class, I rode up to Home Depot in Clairemont. I bought drawer liners for my tool box and self-drilling screws to install the wheel chock and more tie-downs in the trailer. I came home and dropped the supplies in the trailer. I went to our site and used bungee cords to strap the shipping box full of hand tools on the back seat of the scooter. I rode back to the trailer and unloaded the box. This worked well, so I grabbed a few more bungee cords and went back to our site. This time I strapped the large cardboard box containing my new tool chest on the back of the scooter. As I was starting the scooter, a guy walking past said “Wait a minute, I need to get my camera!”

It must have been quite a sight. I wish I had taken a picture now. I’m imagining the pictures you sometimes see of people in third world countries with goods piled high on a scooter. It worked fine. I got the 80-pound box to the trailer without any problems.

I took a break and picked up Donna from her class at 1:30pm. I had a quick bite to eat and then went back to work on the trailer.

I spent the next couple of hours laying out the floor plan for the trailer. With the heavy tool box situated near the front/center, I will place the scooter with the engine centered over the trailer axle. This will allow me to pack other items like storage bins and bicycles around the sides and rear of the scooter. The load should balance nicely. I took some measurements and located the wheel chock so it positions the scooter just right. I was able to place it in a way that I could use self-drilling screws to fasten the chock into a steel cross-member.

I used 3/4″ plastic feet meant to screw into the bottom of chair legs to secure the tool box. I placed the box where I wanted it, then screwed the plastic feet to the floor around all four sides of the tool box – two per side. This should keep the box from moving about while we’re underway.

While I was engrossed in my work, I didn’t notice that rain was falling. At one point, I looked out the door and saw it was wet. The scooter was soaked. I locked up the trailer and rode back to our site in the rain.

Not only was I oblivious to the weather, I’d lost track of time. It was nearly 4pm and I still needed to dump the holding tanks. I had them dumped and rinsed just before dark. With the rain and the work, I completely forgot about my usual Tuesday night beer with guys at Offshore Tavern and Grill. On Tuesdays ,the football pool winner buys a round for all of the other pool participants. That’s two weeks in a row I missed my free beer!

Today the sky is partly cloudy and the temperature is forecast to remain cool. Yesterday’s cold front will stall over the area for a couple of days. After it moves out and we have a nice day or two, another front may come through on the weekend. Our tentative plan at this point is to stay here until December 26th. Then we’ll head east. I’m starting to get the hitch itch. Three more weeks and it will be time to move on.

Today, I’ll cut and install the drawer liners in my toolbox. Then I can start organizing my tools.

What a Weekend

I haven’t posted since Saturday, so I have some catching up to do. Late Friday night, Donna’s brother, Mark and his wife Miriam arrived. They were traveling home to Philadelphia from a vacation in Maui and spent the weekend here.

On Saturday morning, Donna went for a bicycle ride while I posted to the blog. When Donna returned and showered, we drove the rental car to the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island. Like many of the islands around San Diego, Coronado is not a true island. It’s an isthmus joined to the mainland by a strip called the Silver Strand. The Hotel Del Coronado is usually referred to as the “Hotel Del” by the locals and I’ll use that shortened name.

The Hotel Del is an iconic San Diego landmark. It opened in 1888 and was the playground of the rich and famous. In the 1920s, many of Hollywood’s stars would relax there. People like Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn and Mae West were regulars. The hotel is designated as a California Landmark and was designated a US Historical Landmark in 1977. The wooden Victorian resort is the second largest wooden structure in the United States.

On the last day of November, we had fantastic weather. The temperature was 70 degrees on Coronado Island. The traffic was fairly heavy and parking on the street at the Hotel Del wasn’t going to happen. I parked in a public parking garage across the street for $20. Miriam texted Donna and said they had snagged a cabana at the back of the Sun Deck Grill. We walked over there and found them.

Hotel Del Coronado entrance

Shortly after we arrived, Sheila, Connor, Tom and Linda joined us. We sat on the deck and had a cocktail. Mark treated all of us to lunch. We lingered over a second cocktail and talked for nearly three hours. The time flies while catching up with family. One topic of discussion was the weight Mark has taken off. He has lost 26 pounds since August and is making a real effort to continue his weight loss. Congrats to Mark, keep it up!

Sheila, Linda, Mark and Donna

While we were visiting, I asked Donna if she remembered to lock her bike after her morning ride. The look on her face told me all I needed to know. The bike was sitting in front of our site unlocked. She tried to phone our neighbor, Mona, to see if she could secure the bike, but wasn’t able to reach her. The group was planning to ice skate on the outdoor rink behind the Hotel Del, but we decided to go back to the RV park and lock up Donna’s bike. Replacing her carbon fiber framed Trek is not in the budget.

Ice skating outdoors in 70 degree weather with the beach and Pacific Ocean as a backdrop – how cool is that

Miriam rode with us back to the RV park. We secured Donna’s bike and relaxed for awhile. We timed our departure from the park to meet the rest of the group back at Sheila’s house in Point Loma. Sheila grilled local caught tuna for dinner. It was grilled to perfection and so good!

On Sunday morning, we said our goodbyes to Bud and Mona. Their stay at Mission Bay RV Resort has come to an end. They’re going back to their real life and sticks and bricks houses. For us, this is real life and we hope they’ll come back and spend some time with us on the weekends. We couldn’t stay and visit much, we had a time schedule to keep.

Donna and I took the rental car to Coronado Island where we picked up Mark and Miriam. From there we went to Sheila’s house where Tom and Linda had already arrived from their hotel on Shelter Island. The boys (Tom, Mark and I) were heading out to the Chargers game! Tom bought the tickets a couple of months ago and treated Mark and me to the game. Hmm…Mark bought lunch at the Hotel Del, Tom bought Charger tickets and me, I’m beginning to feel like a freeloader.

Sheila drove the three of us to the trolley station at Fashion Valley Mall. The San Diego trolley is a public transportation system. It links Old Town and Mission Valley with east county and points south through downtown all the way to the Mexican border. The trolleys are clean and well-run.

I bought tickets for us to go to the stadium and back. The Chargers home field is located in the eastern portion of Mission Valley. When I was growing up, it was called San Diego Stadium. Then, after local sportswriter, Jack Murphy passed away, it became Jack Murphy stadium. Now it’s called Qualcomm Stadium. I can’t stand the corporate names on stadiums and arenas, but I guess it’s just the economic reality of the times.

View from our seats at the Chargers game

We had excellent seats near the field and sat in the sun. The micro-climate weather in eastern Mission Valley is usually warmer than the coast. Sunday was no exception – the temperature had to be 80 degrees there. The Chargers offense moved the ball down the field, but fumbled and turned it over at inopportune times. It’s hard to win when you turn the ball over three times, and they didn’t. Oh well, it was a fine day anyway.

We rode the trolley to Old Town after the game and met everyone at Guadalajara Cafe. We had an excellent dinner and a couple margaritas. Then we drove out to Garrison Street in Ocean Beach. A couple of blocks on this street go all out on Christmas lights and decorations. I think it’s a little over the top, but it was fun to walk around and look at the houses. The pictures are posted at the bottom of this post. From there we drove Mark and Miriam back to Coronado Island and called it a day.

Yesterday was mostly a rest and recovery day from all of the weekend’s activities for me. I’m not used to the fast pace and keeping schedules! I returned the rental car to Enterprise on Garnet Avenue and walked a couple of miles home. Last night, UPS delivered my new tool box and tools. Today I’ll have to figure out how to take 100-plus pounds of tools from our site over to the trailer.

Family and Friends

Being able to spend time with family and friends over the holidays is such a treat. One of the great benefits of a nomadic way of life is the ability to live where we want, when we want.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving at Donna’s sister, Sheila’s house. The plan was for me to take my daughter, Shauna’s car up to Sun City to pick up my step-dad, Ken. Plans always have a way of changing. Ken called me first thing Thursday morning and told me he picked up some kind of bug and was sick. He didn’t want to come to a house full of people and possibly infect others. He assured us that he would be fine.

When I told Shauna she didn’t need to drop her car off, she told me she realized her roommate, Brittany didn’t have family in the area and had nowhere to go. I told her to bring Brittany along. We would go to Sheila’s around 1pm. Shauna and Brittany are attending law school at Cal Western. They have finals coming up, so they used the extra time Thursday morning to study.

Two beautiful law students, Brittany on the left, Shauna on the right

We arrived at Sheila’s house a little after 1pm. Donna’s other sister, Linda and her husband Tom where there. They flew in from Vermont the night before. Tom and I watched football while the girls sat outside. Sheila’s son, Connor provided entertainment for the girls. He’s nine years old and into James Bond. He was dressed for the part.

Connor practicing archery in his California James Bond outfit (check the footwear)

We snacked, talked and watched the game. The smoked trout pate Donna made was outstanding. Sheila’s friend, Dr. Jeff Sandler joined us. Dinner was planned for some time after 4pm. Again, plans have a way of changing. The turkey wasn’t cooperating – it took much longer than anticipated to cook.

Later, Sheila’s friend Ann joined us. She brought the potatoes. We had two tables set up to seat 10 people. Dinner was served around 7:30pm. We took turns stating what we are thankful for and enjoyed the meal. As usual, we all stuffed ourselves.

Shauna, Brittany and Donna at the front table

Connor, Donna, Sheila and Jeff

Yesterday, as predicted, we had a change in the weather. I knew it was coming by the ache in my right shoulder. I had surgery for a fractured glenoid and torn labrum in my right shoulder years ago after an accident. The orthopedic surgeon told me I would be a weather man – an ache in my shoulder means a front is approaching. The day was overcast and dreary with occasional showers. It didn’t rain hard though. The thermometer was stuck at 64 degrees.

Linda and Tom

Donna rented a car from Enterprise for the weekend. She took me to the Embarcadero where I met Tom, Linda and Connor at the Midway Museum. I wrote about the Midway before. It’s a a navy aircraft carrier built in 1945. It was used in Vietnam. Pilots from the Midway shot down the first Russian MIG fighter plane there in 1965. They also shot down the last MIG of that conflict in 1973. It was operational through 1992 and served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. In 1992, it was decommissioned in San Diego.

Today, it serves as a naval museum. The carrier is 1,001 feet long and 258 feet wide. It carried a crew of 4,500 sailors. We spent three hours walking through the hangar deck and down through the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th decks which are referred to as a city at sea. The logistics of caring for 4,500 people working at sea are staggering. I gained respect for the work the sailors perform.

We finished up our tour on the flight deck. We dodged a shower or two and walked the length of the deck. They had various airplanes from different eras on display. I had to take a picture of an A4 Skyhawk. I worked on an A4 squadron in the Marines in 1975.

A4 Skyhawk

Flight deck

The island on the deck

The area called the island on the flight deck houses the bridge, ready room, captain and admirals quarters.

From the flight deck, I saw an active aircraft carrier across San Diego Bay at the North Island Navy base. It was the Nimitz class nuclear powered CVN 76, Ronald Reagan.

Aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan

Three hours of walking up and down steps and ladders was enough for us, although we only saw about half of the museum. As large as the Midway was, it was dwarfed by a cruise ship docked at the pier to the north. This cruise ship was called Golden Princess.

Cruise ship Golden Princess

Late last night, Donna’s brother, Mark and his wife, Miriam, flew into San Diego. They are returning to Philadelphia from a vacation in Hawaii and will spend a few days here. Today, we’ll all get together on Coronado Island for lunch. Tomorrow, Mark, Tom and I will go to the San Diego Chargers versus Cincinnati Bengals game.

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving! Donna and I have so much to be thankful for. We appreciate our good health, family and friends. Our lifestyle on the road has allowed us to visit our families and make new friends along the way.

The weather continues to be fantastic here. The days are clear and warm to about 70 degrees in the afternoon. After sunset, it quickly cools to the lower 60s. Mornings are high 50s and lower 60s. It’s 61 degrees as I type at 9am.

Tuesday I rode the scooter up to University Town Center. This is a large shopping mall east of La Jolla near UC San Diego. I went to Sears and looked at tool sets and tool boxes. After I returned home, I went online to Sears.com and ordered some tools and a tool chest. This way I don’t have to find a way to haul the heavy tools – they ship for free via UPS right to our site.

I took the scenic route home, along the coast. I stopped in Pacific Beach at the farmer’s market on Bayard Street. Every Tuesday, they close Bayard between Garnet and Grand Avenue and set up the market on the street. They had lots of fresh produce and locally made jams, jellies, salsas and other sauces. There was also fresh seafood.

Pacific Beach farmer’s market

I sent a text to Donna asking if I should buy anything. She didn’t get my message – she was working at her laptop outside while her phone was on the table inside. So I looked, but didn’t buy anything. It was a good thing – our refrigerator is full.

Yesterday we were up early…well, early for me. Donna set her alarm for 7am. We needed to be out at 8:10am to scooter over to Shelter Island. We joined Emily and Mark Fagan at their sailboat, Groovy, at the Kona Kai marina. They were moving their boat to a marina at Harbor Island where their yacht broker is located. They have their Hunter 44 sailboat up for sale. We came along to enjoy the ride and lend a helping hand. The slip at the Harbor Island marina was narrow. Mark and I manned opposite sides of the boat and kept the hull from hitting the pier. Actually, Emily didn’t need much help as she expertly reversed the 44-foot sailboat into place.

We enjoyed a nice ride across San Diego Bay. Along the way we saw an amazing sight. Two women in a Zodiac boat were training a dolphin in the open water. We think this was a US Navy Marine Mammal exercise. The dolphin would dive, then leap into the air. After repeating this performance a couple of times, it swam next to the Zodiac. The women would stroke and pet the dolphin and give it a fish treat. Then the performance would start over again. Google “US Navy Marine Mammal” for more information.

I managed to catch the dolphin in mid-air with my phone camera

We had a great time enjoying the boat ride and visiting with Emily and Mark. We plan to have them for dinner one night before they leave and look forward to meeting up again down the road after they return to the full-time RV lifestyle. They have a blog with excellent photography and well written posts at roadslesstraveled.us. They’ve spent the last three and a half years cruising the coast of Mexico in Groovy.

As we cruised along Shelter Island, Emily pointed out boats moored near the shore. People live aboard these boats. Living aboard a boat full-time is a challenging feat.

Boats moored along Shelter Island

Emily secures Groovy in the boat slip

Donna poses next to Groovy

After we returned, I rode the scooter to Trader Joe’s for some last-minute items Donna needed to prepare appetizers for our Thanksgiving meal. She’s making roasted garlic white bean dip and smoked trout pate. We’ll take them to her sister, Sheila’s house where we’ll celebrate Thanksgiving today.

Cloudless sunset over Mission Bay last night

Insurance Claim Settled

An historic event took place last Sunday. I didn’t post it yesterday in case some readers may have recorded the event and hadn’t viewed it yet. I’m talking about the Formula 1 race in Brazil. Twenty-six-year-old German driver, Sebastian Vettel won the driver’s world championship for the fourth time in a row. He absolutely dominated the season, winning 13 of 19 races, tying Michael Schumacher’s record. He won the last nine races in a row. His team, Red Bull Racing, consistently provided the best car. I see more records falling in the future for this bright, young star.

Yesterday, after Donna and I returned from a bicycle ride to Mission Beach, the guy with the black coach (I posted about him here ) pulled out of the park. I was glad to see him go since upon our last return to the park, we were given the site next to his. I wonder if he’s coming back. I shouldn’t care, but I was reluctant to set up and play guitar outside when he was around.

Yesterday, I scootered Donna to Ocean Beach for her piano lesson. She found a piano teacher there and will take weekly lessons over the next month. She has an 88-key digital piano set up in our bedroom and plays often. This teacher will give her some new things to work on.

While Donna was having her lesson, I walked along the beachfront shops. There’s a lifeguard station at Ocean Beach Park. A statue of a lifeguard and a memorial plaque for 13 lives lost on May 5, 1918 stands next to the lifeguard station. The tragedy was the result of rip currents caused by unusual tidal action. This led to the development of the San Diego Lifeguard Service. Please click on the photos below to read the story on the plaque.

Ocean Beach lifeguard statue

Lifeguard plaque

On the way home from Ocean Beach, Donna dropped me off at the base of Clairemont Drive. I walked across the overpass to Dan Diego’s European Bistro to watch Monday Night Football. Just as I arrived, my phone rang. It was Miki, the Progressive insurance claims adjuster who has been handling my stolen trailer case. She told me that she had reviewed the photos I sent of the trailer. She agreed that her inspector missed many key damages and they will pay me for the trailer and sell it as salvage. This was good news for me. Now I won’t have to deal with it any more.

Today, the San Diego Chargers are having a blood drive in Mission Valley. It’s an opportunity to meet some of the team’s players that will be onsite. I doubt if I will go. I haven’t given blood since I completed cancer treatment 11 years ago. I volunteered to give blood a couple of years after treatment, but they refused to take it. I haven’t volunteered since.

Today, I think I’ll go to Sears at University Town Center to look at tool boxes. I may end up ordering from Sears.com, but I want to examine the real thing first.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: California

Ocean Beach

Turning Up the Heat

Lying Low

Price Club

Tool Time

Missing Out

What a Weekend

Family and Friends

Happy Thanksgiving

Insurance Claim Settled

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