Yesterday, the climate here couldn’t be finer. We had clear, blue skies all day with temperatures in the 70s. The gusty winds in the forecast never materialized here in De Anza Cove. Hard to believe it’s November – not only because of the weather, but how the time has flown by. 2013 is already coming to a close.

Donna took advantage of the beautiful weather by taking a bike ride around the bay. While she was doing that, I talked to Terri Lund at MyDakotaAddress.com. She told me what’s required to register our new trailer in South Dakota.

I drove out to Lakeside to finalize the deal on the trailer. On the way there, I stopped at the Penske Auto Collision Center in Kearny Mesa. My old friend, Bill Bandy, works there. I haven’t seen Bill in 27 years. He gave me a tour of the facility and we chatted for awhile. He’s looking forward to retirement, but has a few more years to go. I’ve heard this from so many people. I’m thankful to be blessed with an early retirement and pension.

At TrailersPlus, I finalized the deal. They weren’t able to deliver the trailer right away as planned due to being shorthanded. Terri Lund told me I need to send her the original Manufacturers Statement of Origin (MSO) and a bill of sale showing that I paid sales tax. If I didn’t pay sales tax, South Dakota would apply a 3% tax. Unfortunately, I have to pay over 8% in tax here in California. The paperwork is always a hassle. The salesman told me I needed the California application for registration and another form called Statement of Facts. The California application for registration will provide a temporary registration even though I’m not applying for registration in California.

I’ll send all of the paperwork to Terri and she will handle the registration in Madison, South Dakota and send me the registration and license plate. This is a convenient service. The registration fee in South Dakota for the trailer is $37.87. Not too bad.

After I returned, Donna took the car and did some shopping. Shauna returned from Washington, DC Tuesday night, but she told us we could keep her car for another day. We will get together with her tonight.

While Donna was out, I set up my amp stand and broke out my Gibson ES339. I haven’t been practicing guitar – it’s been a few weeks since I played. It was obvious at first. I was really rusty.  I need to work guitar time into my daily activities.

I took a break and chatted with our neighbor, Bud, for a few minutes. Bud lives about 30 miles away from here in Escondido. His motorhome is in the site next to ours. He’s staying here for a month. Yesterday he towed his boat down to the park. He invited Donna and me to join him and Mona for a cruise around the bay later this afternoon. We’ll have dinner aboard the boat and find a nice place to watch the sunset.

Last night, Donna prepared baked shrimp with feta over orzo. We’ve had this dish before, but not since going full-time. It took her longer to prepare than she liked, so she’s going to cook it a little differently next time. All I know is it was good!

Today is another beautiful day. The temperature is supposed to be warmer than yesterday – 80 degrees – and the skies are blue.

Yesterday was a busy day. I finished up the insurance claim paperwork. In California, if you report the theft of a vehicle (including a trailer), you will be investigated. You must complete an affidavit disclosing your occupation, income, debts etc. You have to allow the insurance company to check your credit report. The state wants to know if you are in financial crisis. If so, maybe the theft report is fraudulent. Seems invasive to the victim, but it’s the law of the land.

Completing all of the forms took a couple of hours. We drove up to Kearny Mesa to the Progressive insurance service center. The people there were very friendly and took care of our needs. Some of paperwork had to be notarized, which they did for us. They looked everything over and made copies of everything for us. The paperwork will be sent to our claims adjuster in Modesto. Now we have to wait and see what the next hoop to jump through is.

Flo and Donna at the Progressive Service Center

While we were out, we stopped at Walmart and picked up a few things. We needed paper products and I also bought two gallons of Glidden Porch and Floor Paint along with a cheap roller and tray. When our new trailer is delivered, I’ll paint the floor and door panels with it.

Today I need to contact Terri Lund, owner/operator of MyDakotaAddress.com. This is where we have our mail delivered and she also assists with vehicle registration. I’ll need to register our new trailer there.

Yesterday the weather was a chilly 63 degrees, breezy and partly cloudy. Today is much brighter and the forecast calls for temperatures in the 70s. Santa Ana winds will move in and tomorrow will be 10 degrees warmer.

Yesterday we started out as usual. I posted to the blog while Donna was at her exercise class. When she returned, she had a couple of telephone meetings. I putzed around, then walked to the RV office to see about a refund for the trailer parking. I’d paid in advance to park the trailer in their lot for 30 days. Since it disappeared after 6 days, I thought I should be entitled to a refund for the unused days. They refunded my entire payment.

We rode the scooter over to Shelter Island around 1:00pm. We went to the Kona Kai Marina to meet Mark and Emily Fagan. Donna and Emily connected online through an RV group on Facebook, but had never met in person. Mark and Emily sold their home in Phoenix in 2007 and went full-time RVing. Their RV has been in storage for the last 3 1/2 years while they lived aboard their 44′ Hunter sailboat, Groovy. They cruised the coast of Mexico all the way down to Guatemala. Emily and Mark are photojournalists. You can read about their adventures and view outstanding photography at roadslesstraveled.us. They’re actually selling their boat and returning to their RV.

We had a great time sitting in the cockpit of their boat and talking. We discovered so many similarities between us, it was wonderful. Mark and Emily are avid cyclists. Mark also is into motorcycles and has been riding since he was 16. Emily is a writer, like Donna. They met in a cycling club (just like Donna and I). They have two granddaughters – so do we. We all lived in metro Phoenix at one time. Mark used to live in Sterling Heights, Michigan not far from where we used to live. We visited for nearly 3 hours and the time flew by. We’re looking forward to another visit before we leave San Diego.

Mark and Emily Fagan aboard their Hunter 44′ sailboat

When we left Shelter Island around 4pm, we were hungry. We rode over to the Offshore Tavern and Grill on Morena Boulevard. This place serves outstanding food, not your usual tavern fare. Donna had the poke plate (say poe-key). I had seared ahi tuna.

Poke plate

Seared ahi tuna plate

When we returned to the RV park, we found we had new neighbors. We met Bud and Mona, who are parked next to us. Bud lives about 30 miles from here in Escondido. He’s taking some time off and enjoying Mission Bay. We sat and had a few drinks. Bud has an old washing machine tub that he perched on top of a cut-off 55-gallon drum. He used it as a fire pit. This worked really well. The holes in the sides of the tub allows air to circulate. With plenty of air, the fire burned hot and clean with very little smoke.

Washing machine tub firepit

Later, Mona served shrimp enchiladas that she made. They were delicious. Mona has a couple of stand up paddle boards. She offered to let us try them out. We’ll have to give it a try one of these days.

Mona’s shrimp enchiladas

This morning my youngest daughter, Shauna, picked me up in her car. We drove to the airport where I dropped her off for a flight to Washington, DC. She is a student at Cal Western School of Law. As part of her scholarship, they sent her to Washington to visit Supreme Court Justice, Anthony Kennedy. She will be in the court chambers on Monday to hear oral arguments. I look forward to hearing about it when she returns on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, we have her 2013 Jetta TDI. I think I’ll take advantage of that and look at cargo trailers today.

Yesterday morning, I went for a bike ride. I rode the Sea World Bike Path, then crossed the West Mission Bay Drive bridge. I followed the bay walk around Mission Bay through Crown Point.

Along the way, at Crown Point Shores, I came upon a large heron standing in the grass between the parking lot and beach. I haven’t seen a heron this close to people before.

Heron at Crown Point Shores

A little further along, at the Rose Creek inlet, I saw a pelican in the water. I stopped to take a photo. Before I could compose the shot, he suddenly leaped from the water, flapped his wings a couple of times and dived back into the water. He was fishing and just caught a fish! I watched him repeat this performance a couple more times.

Later in the day, on a walk around the RV park with Donna just before dinner, I spotted a kingfisher that looked like he was looking for dinner. Lots of bird watching here in San Diego!

A few people have asked us why we chose to live full-time in our RV and how we chose our motorhome. I think our transition to full-timing was a little different than most. I’ve shared bits and pieces of the story in previous posts. I’ll try to condense the story here.

Last fall, Donna and I made a trip to California. We visited my daughters and grandchildren in San Diego. When we returned to Michigan, we talked about the idea of getting an RV to enable us to visit and spend time with family across the country when I retired. At that point in time, my plan was to retire in May 2014.

We thought about keeping our home in Michigan and becoming snowbirds in the winter. I started researching types of RVs. Neither of us had any RV experience. In the evenings I would go online and read various RV forums such as RV.net and iRV2.com. I also read blogs for more information. Some of the blogs I follow are; Wheeling It, Technomadia, Our Odyssey and Our Newell Adventure.

I didn’t want to spend too much money on an RV as we didn’t even know if we would like it. I decided to buy a class A motorhome with a gasoline engine. These tend to cost less than the diesel pusher models. Our intention was to buy the motorhome, take a few trips and see how we liked RVing.

I started looking at RVs for sale and took a few for a test drive. We all think we’re great drivers, so what’s the big deal about driving an RV, right? Well, it isn’t like driving a car. There are many aspects that you need to consider. I searched online and found articles and video tutorials for RV driving before I got behind the wheel.

A few months later, we found a used motorhome we both liked. Donna liked the floorplan (and so did I). I liked the way it handled. So we bought it. Our home is a Gulfstream Sun Voyager. It’s 37′ long, built on a Workhorse chassis and powered by a GM Vortec 8.1 liter engine. The transmission is an Allison MH1000. Although the sofa folds out for additional sleeping, the floorplan is really ideal for two people.

We brought it home in December and parked it in the driveway in front of our second garage. In late winter, we started sleeping out there most weekend nights, playing house and learning how everything works. It was winterized, so we couldn’t use the toilet or sinks, but we could eat dinner out there and watch TV. One of my first projects was to install a new flat screen TV up front, replacing the outdated TV that was there.

The pressure and level of stress at work was high. I was at a point where I dreaded getting up and going to work. After discussion with Donna, I decided to move up my retirement date. I was eligible for unreduced early retirement in May of 2013. I filed the paperwork for retirement, commencing on August 1, 2013. This changed everything.

With the decision to retire earlier came discussion about full-timing. We did a little more research and decided we wanted to do it. Once I retired, there wasn’t anything tying us to Michigan. We had been there for four years. We relocated there from Arizona when I took a job promotion. So we decided to sell our home.

With the house sold, we hit the road on July 23, 2013. I took the last week of July as vacation time before my official retirement date. Donna posted about downsizing our belongings here. I’ve posted about selecting and establishing a domicile here.

In hindsight, I wish we had begun planning to go full time earlier. Most people spend a year or two planning before they decide to go full time. The layout of our coach is not ideal for Donna to do her work. She’s used to having an office and large desk. We thought working at the dinette booth would be fine. As I said, it’s not ideal. If you are going to work in your coach, make sure you have adequate office space and a comfortable arrangement.

That, in a nutshell is how we got here. Now, we are considering upgrading to a diesel pusher with dedicated office space. I’ll take my time finding the right coach. Maybe we’ll find something by next spring.

Meanwhile I can dream about some of the coaches we see in the RV parks. Last week a 45′ Marathon Coach built on a Prevost (say pre-vo) chassis arrived here. It’s a double slideout model. I found a used 2008 double slide Marathon advertised online for $785,000. These coaches are usually made to order, however I found a new one for sale on Marathon’s web site for $2.1 million. I’ll need to win something bigger than the football pool before I can do anything but dream about one of these.

Marathon Coach

Marathon Coach with slides out

A couple of days ago, a 47′ Newell arrived in the RV park. It’s an older model, 1991. This one had a golf cart mounted on the rear and a Fiat 500 towed behind that. Unlike most coaches, Newells are built from the ground up at their factory in Oklahoma. They design and build their own chassis, then complete the coach. These are generally made to order and have a long standing reputation for high quality. This particular coach is a giant with a gross vehicle weight rating of 75,000 lbs!

47′ 1991 Newell

Golf cart mounted on rear of Newell coach

We’ll be looking for an affordable, used coach in the 40′ range.

First of all, I want to acknowledge and thank all of you for the comments here on the blog and on Facebook about the theft we suffered. The support is welcome and very much appreciated. Yesterday was a low-key day. We remembered a few more items that were in the trailer. The loss  really started to sink in.

I spoke with a claims adjuster at Progressive Insurance. She will call me this afternoon for additional details. I don’t have a warm and fuzzy feeling about it. We have the trailer insured as part of our full-timer’s RV policy. However, the fine print says that the policy covers loss of unscheduled personal effects when:

1) they are in the covered vehicle; or
2) on the parcel of real property that is :
a) owned by you or reserved for your exclusive use; and
b) occupied by the covered vehicle.

I guess I’ll find out how that’s interpreted this afternoon. The trailer and motorhome were not on the same site. However, both were on the park property. If they claim the trailer was in storage, that is clearly not covered.

This episode is a bit of a downer. However, it doesn’t reduce my enthusiasm for the lifestyle we’re living. We’ve had a great ride across this country and stayed in amazing places. We’ve met many good people along the way and enjoyed new friendships. And we love being right where we are. I may not be able to replace all of the stuff that was in our trailer, but whatever happens, we’ll get along fine.

Today the weather is looking better, blue skies at sunrise. The five-day forecast is more of the same – abundant sunshine. Donna is heading out to her exercise class on the scooter. Later this morning I’ll head out for a bike ride. Life is good.

Yesterday, the morning was cool and damp. I wrote my blog post while Donna was at her exercise class. Donna returned the rental car and then made breakfast. I spent the morning indoors reading a book. By noon, it warmed up and the was sun was breaking through intermittently.

Around 1:30pm I went for a walk to stretch out and get a little exercise. I was walking toward the park entrance. When I walked around the curve in the road and looked at the office, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The parking lot behind the office was empty.

Empty? My cargo trailer was supposed to be there. I walked to the office and told the girl at the counter I had a problem. My cargo trailer was missing from the lot. She looked up my information and saw that I paid to store the trailer through November 20th. She walked to the back door and looked out at the empty lot. She came back to her computer and looked for records of towing activity. She didn’t find any tow records.

She contacted the RV park security.  They weren’t aware of the theft. The last time I saw our trailer was Saturday evening when we went to Halloween party. I called the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) non-emergency number and reported the theft. The person on the line checked towing records and didn’t find anything. She dispatched an officer to the park to make a report in person.

I walked back to our motorhome and told Donna about the theft. While we waited for the SDPD officer to arrive, we made a list of items in the trailer. We had a lot of stuff in there. All of my tools. Motorcycle jackets, pants and boots. Bicycle gear, parts and clothing. Hiking boots and backpacks. Two expensive double barrel shotguns and a hunting rifle. A 2×12 speaker cabinet for electric guitar. The carrying case for Donna’s electronic keyboard. And much more.

We kept coming up with more items as we thought about what was in there. It’s only stuff, but what makes it hard to take is that it’s the stuff we wanted keep when we downsized everything. The SDPD officer arrived a little past 3pm. He was a nice guy; his parents were full time RVers. They were domiciled in South Dakota, just like us.

I had a lock on the tongue of the trailer, but a determined thief can defeat any lock. I doubt if we will ever see the trailer or its contents again. I’m glad our scooter and bicycles weren’t in the trailer. It took about 45 minutes to complete the police report. Today I’ll open a claim with our insurance company. I’ll have to shop for a new trailer.

Our enthusiasm was dampened for the rest of the day. Last night we watched a NetFlix movie called Billy Elliott. I told Donna it sounded like it would be a chick flick. It was a chick flick.

We have a few rain showers again this morning. The weather should clear and the forecast for the rest of the week is beautiful.

Our trailer

Halloween came early here. In the RV park, Halloween was celebrated on Saturday, October 26th. We didn’t stay in the park though. We went to a Halloween party at Donna’s sister Sheila’s house. I’m getting ahead of myself.

A little past 11am Saturday, Donna and I scootered over to Enterprise rental on Garnet Avenue and picked up a Nissan Sentra. Donna wanted to shop at a few stores and we thought having a car for the weekend would be good.

While Donna was out and about, Carole Sue Bringas picked me up and we went to the Tiki House in Pacific Beach. This iconic bar has been a popular local watering hole for almost 40 years. This will be its last week – they’re closing the doors for good at the end of the week. While we were chatting, Kevin Barry came in and joined us. Like me, Kevin is reconnecting with the old gang. When I was in junior high and high school, I hung out with Kevin’s brother, Jim  Barry.

When I was in ninth grade at Marston Junior High School, I would walk home after school. The route took me past Clairemont High School, into the canyon behind the school. In the canyon, I would usually meet up with Jim Barry, John Swingle and Terry McMahon. They were 10th graders then at Clairemont High.

We would walk through the canyon and cross Balboa Avenue, then walk up the hill on Moraga Avenue. I lived on Moraga, across from Cadman Park. Jim Barry would talk me into taking a detour over the hill on Cadden Way. This detour added distance and an extra hill to climb. Jim would talk me into it by telling we would see Debbie Taylor. She would wave to us as we walked by her house. Debbie was a year behind me in school. Jim Barry would always tell me Debbie was the girl for me.

He told me that so many times, I began to believe it. In high school, Debbie and I went out on dates a few times. She was my senior prom date. It didn’t work out for us, but we remained friends for a decade after high school. We lost contact when I moved away and Debbie eventually moved to the east coast.

While Carole Sue, Kevin and I were reminiscing, Debbie Taylor (Bednarski now) walked in. Carole had arranged the reunion as a surprise for me. Debbie and her husband live in north San Diego County now. We caught up on each other’s lives and had a few laughs as we talked about old times. I really want to see her brother and sisters while I’m in San Diego.

While I was out, the carpet guy came to the RV park and cleaned our carpet. He did a nice job; the carpet looks good. That’s something we’ll probably want to do every few months.

Saturday evening, Donna and I drove over to Sheila’s house in Point Loma for her Halloween party. We got there early and I helped her son, Connor, assemble a scary spider. It was about a foot in diameter and was sound activated. When a loud enough sound was sensed, the spider would lunge forward. Connor had several spooky novelties set up throughout the house. The party was attended by friends of both Connor and Sheila. So it was two parties in one – one for the kids and another for the adults. We had a good time.

The bag lady with me at the Halloween party

I went as a money magnet. Donna was a bag lady. Sheila was Wonder Woman.

Sunday was a lazy day for me. We started by driving to The Broken Yolk for breakfast. I had a Mexican breakfast called machaca. It’s shredded beef, onions and peppers with scrambled eggs. It was okay, but the restaurant is overpriced and noisy and I don’t think we’ll go back there.

Machaca breakfast plate

I spent the rest of the day watching football. I didn’t fare so well in the football pool. At the end of the day I was five points behind the leader. Oh well, there’s always next week! Donna utilized the rental car and did some shopping. She’s still learning her way around town. At one point she got lost and called me for directions to get home.

Donna bought a treat for me at Costco. It was a 32-ounce can of Mission Brewery Shipwrecked Double IPA. This was the smoothest, best balanced high-gravity beer I’ve ever tasted.

Shipwrecked Double IPA

This morning is overcast and cool. It rained before I woke up. The forecast calls for cool weather with occasional showers today and tomorrow. The highs will be in the low 60s. I will probably put off bicycling until the weather clears. When I lived in western Washington, where it rained about 300 days a year, we didn’t let rain interfere with our activities. Here in San Diego where it’s sunny and clear more than 300 days a year, I don’t see the need to go out in the rain. A warming trend is forecast by Wednesday. Blue skies and temperature in the upper 70s are ahead.

Yesterday, Donna rode the scooter to her exercise class while I  posted to the blog. I walked over to the Snack Shack and bought a breakfast burrito. When Donna returned, I felt like I needed to burn some calories, so I went for a bike ride.

Yours truly with my carbon fiber frame Orbea Onix road bike

As I rode south on East Mission Bay Drive, I was thinking about trying a new route. I crossed Sea World Drive and followed Pacific Highway. The bike lane disappears at the overpass above I-5. There’s a sign indicating that bikes share the lane. We all know how well motorists obey signs. I had a car blow by me at ~50mph, less than a foot away from my elbow.

I rode past the California Highway Patrol station. About a quarter of a mile down the road from  there, I saw a motorhome parked on the street with the shade drawn across the windshield. It looked to me like someone was sleeping in there. There were numerous signs prohibiting this, but this person was doing it right by the CHP station!

I continued through Old Town, then made the climb up to Presidio Park. This is a very steep grade. Before I reached the top, I was in my lowest gear, standing on the pedals. I could’ve walked at the speed I was going. A few minutes of this had me huffing and puffing.

A fort at the top of Presidio Hill was built in 1769 by Spanish explorers. It was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific coast of what is now the USA. It was also the first mission and the base of Spanish colonization of California. The fort no longer exists here. Eventually the settlers moved off the hill into what is now called Old Town.

View from Presidio Hill (click to enlarge)

The first padre at Presidio was Junipero Serra. He established the Mission de Alcala there. There is a Junipero Serra museum at the park. I learned that Presidio Hill was purchased in 1907 by a wealthy local business man, George Marston. Now I know who my junior high school was named after. He bought it to preserve the area. In 1929 he donated the land and museum building to the city of San Diego. The city still owns the park.

Picnic area in Presidio Park

At the top of the hill, hidden by a stand of eucalyptus trees, is a statue commemorating the Mormon soldiers who marched here. Rather than repeat the  story, I took pictures of the placards. Click on the photos below to enlarge and read the story.

Mormon soldier statue

Click on photos to enlarge

After I returned home and showered, I rode the scooter out to Kearny Mesa. I wandered around a couple of RV lots and looked at used motorhomes. I was just kicking tires and getting ideas. We might trade-in next year. We’ll see. I would like to have a diesel-powered unit. Turbo-charged diesels perform better at altitude. They go up hills better and they come down hills better. Going down hill with a diesel you can use the exhaust brake to reduce your speed without worry of overheating the service brakes.

While I was in Kearny Mesa, I stopped at Performance Bicycle and bought a set of SPD cleats for Donna’s new bicycle shoes. She wants to convert back to SPD type pedals and cleats. They’re easier to walk in than the Shimano cleats she has now. I also bought postage stamps while I was out.

Last evening, Donna made kabobs with boneless chicken thighs, scallions and mushrooms with a sweet ginger-garlic glaze. While I grilled the kabobs, Donna steamed bok choy which she served sprinkled with sesame seeds. Delicious!

Hot off the grill

Chicken kabobs served with bok choy

Today, Donna is renting a car from Enterprise that she will have through Monday morning. She wants to go to Joann Fabric and a few other places over the weekend. It will easier to shop with a car. We’ll also use the car tonight to go to a Halloween party at her sister, Sheila’s house.