Just Another Day

I haven’t posted since Wednesday, mainly because I haven’t done anything special. We’ve been at the Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego for three weeks now. Our days are pretty routine. I can’t say much about the weather. Every day for the past week has begun with an overcast marine layer, with the temperature in the mid-60s. By noon at the latest, the overcast burns off as the temperature rises to the mid-70s. Very predictable. But ‘m not complaining.

When we hit the road 15 months ago, we started out like most full-timers do. That is, we hit the ground running. We acted like tourists on vacation, trying to see all of the sights and flitting from place to place. We went from Michigan to upstate New York, then across the country to the Pacific Coast in Washington. We followed the coast south and made our way to San Diego last fall after just nine weeks on the road. We covered something like 7,000 miles in that time.

When we arrived in San Diego last year, the idea of settling in one place for three months seemed strange. We still saw lots of local sights and went out and about. We learned to adjust to our new way of life and really started living the full-time RV lifestyle.

Our coach is our home. Sometimes we’re homebodies. Donna is busy working on a book revision and doesn’t have time to sightsee right now. She still enjoys getting out on her bicycle or jogging in Mission Bay Park on a daily basis. I usually get out and go for a walk at the beach or ride my bike. In the evenings, we just hang out. It’s no different from when we lived in a sticks-and-bricks home. Some days are couch potato days.

The big difference is that we can move wherever we want, whenever we want. When we left San Diego at the end of 2013, we moved at more leisurely pace. Since trading up to our new (to us) coach in January of this year, we’ve covered about 6,000 miles, less than 700 miles a month on average. We spent January through April in Arizona, mostly in one place (Mesa). Then we made a big loop of the western states over the summer. We’ve learned to break up our travel and keep our travel days under 250 miles. When we stop, we usually stop for at least two nights.

The pace we ran in the beginning was unsustainable. It was exhausting. Reading other full-timer’s blogs, I see this is a common occurrence. Most of us start out thinking life on the road means constant motion. Donna and I are better at planning our travels now. We’ve settled on having extended stays in San Diego and Arizona. These are our home bases. The fall in San Diego is hard to beat. The climate is mild and there are so many things to do. Arizona is a great place to spend the winter months.

Next year, we plan to make another cross-country trip, but we’ll do it at our own pace. We’ll have certain destinations that we want to reach by a certain date, but we’ll be able to be flexible between planned stops.

When we lived in our sticks-and-bricks home, I enjoyed grilling. I also enjoyed eating the great meals Donna prepared. That hasn’t changed since we hit the road. In fact, I grill more often than ever because we’ve got grilling weather year ’round.

On Wednesday evening, our friend Mona visited us. She and Donna took the Sea Eagle kayak out for an hour-long cruise on the bay. When they returned, I grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Donna prepared hot sauce-butter to put over the chicken and served it over corn-and-spinach salad with a baked yam on the side. The hot sauce-butter was an adaptation of the steak recipe she prepared last week.

Grilled hot sauce-butter chicken with corn-and-spinach salad and baked yam

Last night we enjoyed wild Alaskan cod poached with tomatoes, summer squash, white beans, onions and red peppers, and grilled rosemary toast.

Wild Alaskan cod poached with tomatoes and summer squash

I have an appointment for a follow-up visit at Dr. Leek’s office this morning. He’ll remove the stitches from my hand and I can start working on regaining hand strength and finger motion. My fingers are very stiff now.

Other than that, it’s just another day in the life of a full-time RVer.

50,000 Hits

Yesterday marked a milestone for this blog. We had our 50,000th hit! It’s gratifying to know people check in on us and find the blog interesting enough to come back from time to time.

Once again, the skies cleared up by noon. I was finally able to get a sock and shoe on my right foot. The toe healed and is fine. With shoes on my feet, I put on my helmet and took my mountain bike for a ride by the bay. I left De Anza Cove and rode south along the east side of the bay. Near the Hilton Hotel, I saw an interesting water toy. It looked like an oversized tricycle. It seats two and the rear wheels are paddle wheels. I saw two of them out on the water and one on the shore.

Water trikes

It looked like they moved along without too much effort. You see all kinds of things on the bay.

I rode with the heel of my right palm on the handle bar. The swelling in my hand has gone down, but the stitches still pull and I lack finger strength. The stitches will be removed on Friday when I go in for a follow-up with Dr. Leek.

After my ride, Donna and I rode the scooter to the Bayard Street farmers’ market in Pacific Beach. It’s not that large, but they have plenty of fresh produce. Donna discovered Rickaroons there. Rickaroons are healthy and delicious energy snacks – a perfect treat after a bike ride.

Farmers’ market on Bayard Street between Hornblend and Garnet

I made the usual stop at Offshore Tavern for my Tuesday free drink. The winner of the football pool buys a round for the rest of the guys who entered the pool. Although there are more than 30 entries, only half a dozen or so show up for their free one.

Last night, I watched last weekend’s Moto GP race in Japan that I had recorded. Marc Marquez sealed his second consecutive Moto GP World Championship at the age of 21. Moto GP is the pinnacle of motorcycle road racing. This was the first time Honda captured the championship at the Twin Ring Motegi race track, which they own. Marquez is destined to break many records if he stays healthy.

We have a thick marine layer overhead this morning. The rain showers didn’t hit us in the night. The overcast should burn off by mid-day. I expect another pleasant afternoon. Donna’s friend, Mona, is coming by later in the day and the two of them plan to take the kayak out on the bay.

Paradise Point

Yesterday’s weather was predictable. The marine layer burned off by noon and we had somewhat hazy, blue skies. The weather pattern is changing as the wind shifts from the northwest. This brings moisture and the possibility of much-needed rain showers tonight.

I was feeling restless by noon yesterday. Donna is busy working on a book revision that has a deadline. I went out on the scooter and stopped at the Chase Bank on Cass Street in Pacific Beach. I still have stitches in the palm of my right hand, which made riding the scooter a little difficult. I quickly learned how to relax my grip enough to keep the palm of my hand off the handlebar. I was basically riding with my thumb and two fingers.

I tooled around Mission Bay and rode to Paradise Point. Paradise Point is a 44-acre island on Mission Bay, accessed from Ingraham Street. The island sits between west Mission Bay and east Mission Bay, with Fisherman’s Channel on the north side and Mission Bay Channel and South Cove on the south side. Roughly half of the island is part of Mission Bay Park, open to the public. The rest of the island is occupied by Paradise Point Resort and Spa – a 464-room full-service luxury resort. When I was growing up and through the ’80s, it was known as Vacation Village.

Back then, I spent many Sundays on the island at the Model Yacht Pond. This is a rectangular basin surrounded by well-kept lawns. It was built as part of the Mission Bay Park master plan. The original intent was to have public school students build model boats and have inter-scholastic competitions.

Back in the ’80s I was a member of a club called the San Diego Argonauts. The Argonauts are model boat enthusiasts and they sponsor monthly competitions at the pond. The regular schedule calls for members of the ship building guild to sail their intricately detailed electric powered boats on Saturday mornings. You’ll see everything from model fishing trawlers to luxury yachts to battleships.

On Saturday afternoon, once the wind usually picks up, the pond is taken over by the sail division. Cleverly designed radio-controlled sail boats sail gracefully across the pond. Nowadays, most of these boats are very high-tech with carbon fiber hulls and masts.

On Sundays, the power division rules the pond. Various scale models of racing type boats are on the pond. Some are larger off-shore designs powered by weed-wacker type engines. You’ll also see hydroplanes powered by nitro-burning, two-stroke-model racing engines.

I had a mono-hull racing boat back in the day, powered by an O.S. Max 7.5cc racing engine. I participated in monthly races sanctioned by the North American Model Boat Association (NAMBA). NAMBA sets the rules for various classifications of racing boats. My boat was controlled by a two-channel radio – one channel for the throttle and one for the rudder.

Model Yacht Pond

Model boat racing became an expense beyond my means as I was raising a young family and had other hobbies as well. I was racing to win, and oftentimes I would be much too liberal with the nitro-methane percentage – resulting in blown engines. I only competed for one season.

Paradise Point Resort also includes two beachfront restaurants and the Barefoot Bar. The views are spectacular.

View to the northwest from Paradise Point at Fisherman’s Channel looking across Sail Bay

View to the south across Mission Bay Channel towards the West Mission Bay Drive bridge

We’re planning to hit the farmers’ market on Bayard Street this afternoon. We have yet to make it to the farmers’ market in the Little Italy district on Saturday. I thought we might go this weekend, but then Donna reminded me that she and her sister, Linda, are going to a country western music festival in El Cajon with our friend, Mona. I think I’ll go watch the model sailboat regatta at Paradise Point.

New Phones and Data Plan

One challenging aspect of life on the road is Internet connectivity. I’ve mentioned this before, but It’s something you take for granted when you live in a sticks-and-bricks home with unlimited, high-speed Internet service.

Internet connectivity is a must-have for people on the road. Donna relies on it to do her work and earn income. In my case, it’s more of a convenience to stay in touch and keep up with events.

Many RV parks offer free wifi. We take advantage of that whenever possible, but what they don’t tell you is that “free” really means “free when it’s working.” When the RV park fills up and numerous people are trying to connect, it bogs down. Sometimes it gets so slow that it’s unusable. Or you can’t get connected at all.

When the free wifi is too slow or unreliable, we use our Verizon Jetpack. This device allows us to access the Internet via the Verizon network. It’s on the same account as my Verizon smartphone. Here’s the catch – data usage can get expensive. We try to limit the amount of data we use on our Verizon account. For example, we avoid streaming video content. By carefully monitoring our usage and taking advantage of free wifi whenever possible, we’ve been able to get by with 10GB or less of Verizon data usage per month.

That changed for us on Saturday. Donna and I went to the Verizon store in Pacific Beach. I stopped there last week and went over the October promotional data plans with the guy there. We upgraded our data plan to 30GB for $130/month. This is a great deal – it’s half the price of a 30GB plan last month. We also upgraded our phones to Samsung Galaxy S5s. It took about two hours to get through the paperwork and account changes. When we came home, we spent several hours getting our phones set up and personalized.

My set-up was easy since I was migrating from a Samsung S4 to the S5. Donna had to back up all of the apps and data on her Samsung Galaxy SII to her laptop and then transfer what she wanted to her new phone. I used an app called Smart Switch Mobile that seamlessly moved my apps from the old phone to the new one. The Verizon guy told me about it last week. He said all of my data would migrate without a hitch.

He was mostly right. All of the apps were moved. One of the ways I amuse myself is by playing a game on my phone called Subway Surfers. I have amassed a huge war chest on this game. I’m at the highest level and had more than a million coins, over 900 hoverboards and hundreds of other bonuses. These riches have allowed me to compete in a weekly challenge where I routinely finish in the top five against other participants worldwide.

Subway Surfers – the app – transferred to my new phone. But none of my data came with it. I’m back at the lowest level with no coins or tools. I have to earn them back all over again. It frustrated me, but at the end of the day, it’s just a game. I have the time to work my way back to the top.

In my last post, I mentioned our neighbors with the under-inflated front tire. On Saturday morning, I checked their tire pressure and found 30psi in the left front tire. The right front tire was at 98psi. I set up my portable compressor and tried to fill the left front tire for them. The valve stems on their wheels are short and hard to reach. After 20 minutes of futzing around, I had the left front tire up to 90psi. I put a metal cap on the valve stem. Later, I talked to them and told them what I found. I was hoping it was a leaking valve core and the cap would stop the leak.

On Sunday morning, Donna and I drove Shauna’s car to the airport to pick her up. On the way back, we stopped at the Broken Yolk on Midway Drive for breakfast. This is a popular breakfast restaurant – they have at least three locations in San Diego. Although the food is good, I find them to be overpriced and service is on the slow side.

When we came home, I talked to our neighbor and he told me that their tire was down to 40psi. The guy (I never learned his name) called for roadside assistance. They sent a tow truck! I don’t know why they didn’t send a mobile tire service. The tow truck driver had a large compressor and managed to inflate the tire to 95psi. He sprayed Windex around the rim where the tire bead seats. Bubbles quickly formed along a section of the bead. The tire bead wasn’t sealing. This is usually due to foreign matter caught between the bead and rim. It could be dirt or a piece of paper label from the tire. The only way to fix it is to remove the tire from the wheel and clean the area, then remount and inflate the tire. The tow truck driver wasn’t equipped to do this.

I went back to our coach and turned on the NFL morning game pitting the Green Bay Packers against the Miami Dolphins. Then I saw our neighbors pulling out of the park! He was going to Phoenix, Arizona. I guess he was going to take his chances of driving with a slow leak. I hope it worked out for him. Driving a 30,000+ pound vehicle with his wife and kids on board for 300 miles with a front tire losing air doesn’t seem prudent to me.

In the afternoon, I watched the Chargers play in Oakland. The San Diego-Oakland rivalry dates back to the inception of the American Football League. It’s a bitter rivalry – we don’t like them and they don’t like us. Even though the Chargers had won four straight games and the Raiders were 0-4 (going back to last year, the Raiders have lost 10 straight games), I knew it would be a tough match-up in Oakland.

The Raider fans threw eggs at the Chargers bus as it entered Oakland County Stadium. The game was a gritty see-saw affair. The Chargers took a three-point lead with two minutes left in regulation. Jason Verrett, the Chargers number one in pick in this year’s draft, sealed the game when he intercepted Derek Carr’s pass. The Chargers headed home with a divisional win and their record is now 5-1.

This morning, it’s overcast with a marine layer. I expect it to burn off by noon. We’ll have clear skies and temperatures in the mid-70s this afternoon.

Dings and Scratches

I took it easy and hung around the RV park again yesterday. The usual Friday influx was evident. It’s a long weekend for some people, Monday is Columbus Day. It seems like there are more kids in the park than usual.

In the afternoon, a Newmar Dutch Star diesel pusher backed into the site next to the driver’s side of our coach. Three youngsters ranging from about seven to 12 years old piled out – two boys and a girl. They pulled bicycles and skateboards from the basement of the coach. They were riding and skateboarding in between the two coaches. I saw one of the kids run his bike into their coach. I was thinking of the dings and scratches I would find on our coach later.

Their mom packed beach towels and whatnot and they headed down to the beach. After they left, I went outside and looked our coach over. No worries, they didn’t hit it. I looked at their coach and saw several dings and scratches. I noticed the front tire was low on air pressure. This is not good. Low air pressure is the leading cause of tire failure. Having a blowout on a front (steer) tire could be a hair-raising experience.

Under-inflated front tire on our neighbor’s coach

Later, I saw the mom outside. I mentioned the low tire. She looked at it and told me the tires were just put on before they left Utah. They’re planning to drive back to Utah on Sunday. I looked closer and I saw the cap was missing on the valve stem. The valve might not be seated well and it could be leaking. Today, I’ll break out my Porter-Cable compressor and fill the tire. I also found a spare metal valve stem cap that I’ll put on. I would hate to think of them driving down the freeway on an under-inflated tire.

Donna spent the afternoon shopping with her sister, Linda. When they returned, they told me a motorhome had a mishap at the other end of the park. While backing into their site, they hit a tree! I took a stroll around the park and surveyed the damage. It was minor, just cosmetic scratches.

While I was out, I took a walk along the path by the bay. The tides have been unusually high. The tide was going out and shore birds were feeding along the waterline. I snapped a photo of egrets and rails feeding together.

Egrets and rails feeding

We have Shauna’s car again today. Donna dropped Shauna off at the airport last night. Shauna flew to Portland, Oregon to join her sisters for their maternal grandmother’s funeral service. RIP Delaurice Grams.

We plan to head over to the Verizon store today. Our friends at Technomadia and Nina at WheelingIt wrote about the great October offers from Verizon and AT&T. I think we’ll upgrade our phones to Samsung Galaxy S5s and contract a 30GB/month data plan. Our current data plan has us scrimping on our data usage. My only fear is that data usage seems to expand with data availability. How long will it be before we find 30GB is too low?

We’ve had mild weather and the trend continues. Highs in the mid 70s, overnight lows in the mid 60s. I can’t complain about that!

Lazy Days

I’ve had a couple of lazy days. Wednesday was mostly spent watching TV and dozing on the sofa. The post-surgery pain medication, oxycodone, makes me drowsy. It also causes vivid dreams. Although I was in bed early the night before, I didn’t sleep soundly and felt tired all day.

In the evening, I grilled a New York strip steak.

New York strip steak, hot off the grill

Donna prepared a recipe called steak with hot-sauce butter and corn-and-spinach salad. The steak looks rare in the photo, but it was actually medium-rare and really tender and tasty.

Strip steak over corn-and-spinach salad

Yesterday I read a book, Big Lake, and lazed around the coach again. Big Lake was written by Nick Russell. I follow his blog, GypsyJournalRV. It was an entertaining mystery/suspense novel. I downloaded a free Kindle version from Amazon and read it with the Kindle app on my laptop. I think today is the last day of the free download promotion. You can get it here.

I quit taking the oxycodone yesterday. My last dose was at 4am. It still affected me all day though. I managed to get enough ambition to dump the gray water tank. Recuperation period notwithstanding, certain chores need to be handled.

In the late afternoon, I unwrapped the dressing on my hand and cleaned the incision. It was still swollen and tender. But it feels better without the thick layers of gauze and bandage.

My hand is swollen and a little messy

I watched the Thursday night NFL game of course. The Colts jumped to an early lead, but the Texans kept it interesting.

Today, Donna has a doctor’s appointment. Her sister, Linda, will swing by to pick her and take her since I’m not quite up to scootering her there. While they’re out, Donna will pick up a few provisions. I expect another lazy day on my part.

A Few Stitches Later

I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. Monday, October 6th, was my 58th birthday. Donna cooked up a nice breakfast with scrambled eggs and Black Forest bacon and presented me with a four-pack of Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale from Stone Brewing (for consumption later).

We kept it low key for most of the day. Around 4pm, we drove to the Offshore Tavern and Grill. A few friends stopped by, including my longtime friend, Carole Sue Bringas, and our friends, Bud and Mona, plus Donna’s sister, Linda. Donna ordered a table full of appetizer plates. We enjoyed good food, beer and great company. We watched the first quarter of the Monday Night Football game, then called it a day.

I watched the rest of the game at home. I drank plenty of water, about 1.5 liters to hydrate myself in preparation for the minor surgery on my hand scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Last week, when I was examined by Dr. Leek, he checked my right ring finger and we agreed it would require surgery to release the trigger finger condition. At that time, he asked me if I was having trouble with any other fingers. I told him, “No.”

Over the weekend, my right middle (long) finger started sticking, though not as severely as my ring finger. I could get it to extend with some effort. When my ring finger sticks, I have to pull it straight with my left hand.

The surgery was scheduled for 10:15am Tuesday morning. We needed to be at the surgery center by 9am. I wasn’t allowed to have food or drink past midnight. Donna was up early and took a phone call at 7am. It was the surgery center. They had a cancellation and wanted to know if I could come in early.

I got up, showered and dressed and we were on our way by 7:30am. I had to complete the usual paperwork at the Mission Valley Heights Surgery Center and then they prepped me for the procedure. I talked to Dr, Leek and told him about my middle finger. He said he would give it a cortisone injection while I was sedated.

The people at the center were very friendly and efficient. Donna sat and visited with me while I was waiting to go the operating room (OR). I had an IV hydrating my body with Ringer’s solution. They added an antibiotic before I went to the OR. They had me draw an “X” on the finger that was slated for surgery, put a dot on the finger that would get the cortisone injection and off we went.

The anesthesiologist gave me a choice of deep sedation or light sedation. The light sedation is a combination of a valium-type drug and propofol. The propofol puts you into a trance-like state with no memory (amnesia) of what’s taking place. I opted for the light sedation. There’s less risk of complications and the recovery time is much quicker.

All went well. I’m having difficulty typing this today. I have stitches in the palm of my hand which will stay for about 10 days. I’ll take it easy today. I’m kicking back with my hand elevated and letting the oxycodone do it’s thing.

Recovery time

Pacific Beach Fest

Donna drove Shauna’s Volkswagen Beetle to Point Loma on Saturday to participate in her sister, Sheila’s exercise class. I put my blog post together and hung out at the Mission Bay RV Resort.

Later, Donna wanted to go shopping for a new bedspread and throw pillows for our living room. She drove north to Cost Plus World Market. I don’t enjoy shopping for household items nearly as much as Donna so I didn’t go with her. I thought she would enjoy shopping at her own pace without me. I usually go to the store, find the item I’m looking for, pay and leave. Donna likes to wander the aisles and look things over.

I opted to take the scooter and go to the self-serve car wash to clean it up. After that, I headed to the Pacific Beach Fest to check out some of the activities. The weather was hot with clear skies. Donna and I went to the Pacific Beach Fest last year – I wrote about it in this post.

The Pacific Beach Fest is a one-day annual event. They have numerous beach activities, such as sand castle contests, a Pro-Am surf contest, beach volleyball tournament, a 5k run, live music, beer gardens and many vendors. It happens along the beach walk between Thomas Street to the south and Diamond Street to the north. The roads are closed to vehicle traffic west of Mission Boulevard.

I parked the scooter by the Surfer Hotel at the end of Pacific Beach Drive and walked north on the boardwalk. The boardwalk, shops, bars and restaurants were packed with people. Although there were lots of people on the sandy beach, it still wasn’t as crowded as it gets in July or August.

Standing room only on the deck at the Lahaina Beach House

Standing room only on the deck at Lahaina Beach House

As I got closer to Crystal Pier, I could hear a blend of sounds. There was a band playing on a stage near the pier. An announcer was describing the surf contest action over a PA system.

Vendors on the beach walk

After I passed the vendor tents, I saw the beach volleyball area. In the photo below, you can see the cottages on Crystal Pier I described in this post.

Beach volleyball area

I walked down on the beach for a closer look at the volleyball game. The sand was hot, so I kept my flip-flops on. Once I was down on the beach, I could hear the announcer for the game.

Beach volleyball tournament

The volleyball tournament was nearly finished. I hung around and watched a few points, but it was hot standing in the sun and sand.

The band I heard playing was set up near the volleyball area.

I went down by the ocean and looped south along the hard-packed sand. It was a little cooler along the water. I made a detour and stopped at the Baja Cafe for a cold one. I went into the bar. It was packed. I ordered a Stone IPA, but soon regretted it. It was standing room only and so crowded, the heat was stifling. I didn’t linger. I finished my beer quickly and headed back to the scooter.

We took it easy Saturday night. We kicked back and watched a movie called Mud, starring Matthew McConaughey. It was an entertaining story.

On Sunday morning, Donna met her friend, Jana Hartwell, at Shelter Island. They went for a walk and talked. After their walk, they went to the Sunday farmers’ market on Shelter Island. In the San Diego area, you can find a farmers’ market in one community or another almost every day of the week. Anyway, Donna came home with a 10-lb. bag of oranges that were just picked the day before plus some tinga (spicy) chicken tamales that she steamed for lunch.

I stayed home and enjoyed NFL football. I flipped back and forth between two morning games. I mostly watched the Cowboys versus Texans game which the Cowboys won in overtime, giving them bragging rights in the state of Texas.

In the afternoon, I watched the San Diego Chargers whip the New York Jets in every phase of the game. The final score was 31-0. The Chargers are playing great football and their record is now 4-1.

Today is my birthday. It’s hard for me to believe I’m 58 years old. Except for a few aches and pains, I feel like a kid most of the time. Donna and I will celebrate at the Offshore Tavern and Grill this evening. We’ll catch the Monday night game there, but I’ll have to take it easy. I have to get up early tomorrow for the surgery on my right hand.

Beach Weather

The weather guessers had it partly right yesterday. We hit 90 degrees, but the Santa Ana winds predicted never materialized. Santa Ana is a condition that occurs when an area of high pressure forms to the east over the desert and low pressure is located off the coast. This creates an offshore flow, bringing warm, dry, gusty winds from the desert to coastal southern California. After a dry summer, Santa Ana winds also bring concern for wildfire.

I rode the scooter to La Jolla, where I stopped at Rigaberto’s and had taquitos (rolled tacos) for lunch. I rode through the La Jolla Cove area to the beach at La Jolla Shores. The hot weather brought people out in droves to the beach.

Beach at La Jolla Shores – October 3rd

I like coming to San Diego in September and October due to the nice weather and lack of tourist traffic. But there was no lack of traffic at the beaches yesterday. Finding a place to park at La Jolla Shores wasn’t easy, even though I was on the scooter. Riding was maddening as people would suddenly stop in the middle of the road if they thought they saw someone leaving and opening up a parking space. It was like driving in Yellowstone Park, where people routinely stop and gawk. I saw a road sign in La Jolla that made me smile. I wished people would heed the sign.

As I mentioned, the Santa Ana winds were absent. In fact, there was very little wind at the beach. The surf looked good at the shores but I stayed off the sand and away from the water. My big toe is healing nicely, but I don’t think the wound is ready for sand.

While I was out, Donna stayed home and worked. After I came home, Donna’s sister, Linda came over. I helped them prep the Sea Eagle kayak and they went out for a cruise on the bay.

Donna and Linda heading out of De Anza Cove

When they returned, Donna roasted carrots, beets, onions and yellow, green and purple beans (from the farmers’ market) while I grilled marinated boneless, skinless chicken thighs. We rarely cook chicken breasts anymore. The thighs are juicier and more flavorful in our opinion.

Roasted veggies

Linda stayed and visited for awhile after dinner. Later, after Linda left, a new neighbor came over. We expected the park to fill up for the weekend. There are a few open sites, but we have neighbors all around us now. The new neighbor introduced herself – her name is Christi. She invited us to join a small party at their place in the site behind our coach.

They were here with friends who have a coach in the site next to us. Christi introduced us to her husband, Jeff and their friends Shannon and Craig. The four of them are from Poway, a community north of San Diego. They’re weekend warriors, but Shannon and Craig are contemplating the full-time lifestyle.

New neoghbors - Shannon, Jeff, Christi, Craig and Donna

New neighbors – Shannon, Craig, Christi, Jeff and Donna

We sat up later than we usually do, talking and enjoying adult beverages. We broke the quiet time curfew and had fun.

Today, we have no wind at all this morning. The forecast calls for a slightly cooler day and no mention of Santa Ana wind. Donna headed out to Point Loma for an exercise class with her sister, Sheila. I have no plan at all.

Settling in at Mission Bay

On Wednesday morning, Donna and I realized we’d been here for a full week already and could hardly believe it. The time gets away from me sometimes. I don’t know where the days go.

The usual RV park rhythm is taking shape here. The park was mostly empty mid-week and new arrivals started showing up on Thursday. I expect to see many more today. We’re experiencing another southern California heat wave. It will be a great weekend to be by the bay.

While we’re here in San Diego, we’re catching up on health care. We both went to the dentist for cleanings on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, I went to see Dr. Leek, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Leek treated my trigger finger condition last December (I posted about it here). At that time, we opted for a cortisone injection. He told me the injection could be effective for a year, in which case, the injection would be worthwhile. On the other hand (no pun intended), if it lasted three months or less, we would probably have to release the tendon through surgery.

By the end of March, my finger started to stick again. If I made a fist, or gripped something small – like a pen for example – my ring finger wouldn’t straighten out. I had to pull it straight with a painful pop. We were leaving Mesa, Arizona at that time. We haven’t been in one place long enough for me to seek treatment since then. I was certain that a minor surgery would be required. Now, I have the time to get it done.

Dr. Leek examined my hand and we agreed to schedule the surgery. I’ll have the surgery done next Tuesday morning. My hand will have an incision with stitches and bandages for about 10 days.

After I left Dr. Leek’s office I stopped at a scooter shop on the frontage road by Pacific Highway. They carry Vespa and Kymco scooters. I was looking for an air filter element for our Kymco Downtown 300i. It’s overdue to be changed. They didn’t have it in stock. The parts counter guy told me he could order it and have in 10 days or so. Then he told me that I would be better off to order it myself, as I could get it cheaper online. I did an online search for it before and didn’t come up with anything. He told me to search “Kymco parts” instead of searching for “Kymco air filter.” I tried it and found a couple of sources that list the filter.

Our Kymco Downtown 300i grocery – getter

Donna’s sister, Linda, came to our site in the late afternoon yesterday. She and Donna went to Solana Beach to attend a grand opening for Spark Health where their sister, Sheila, just opened her second location for Fitness Without Walls and her physical therapy services. She also provides services at her original location in Point Loma.

When they returned to the park a little past 6pm, I grilled a mojo marinated pork tenderloin for dinner. Donna served it with a sesame oil – lime vinaigrette cole slaw. My daughter, Shauna joined us. Donna, Linda and Shauna dined outdoors at the picnic table while I watched the Green Bay Packers destroy the Minnesota Vikings. I was preoccupied with the game and neglected to take a photo of the dinner plate.

Shauna is flying to Washington D.C. for the weekend. She left her car with us. We’ll have the car until Tuesday afternoon, so Donna can drive me to the surgery center Tuesday morning.

I mentioned the heat wave. Yesterday the temperature was near 90 degrees. Today and tomorrow will be the same before we cool off to the lower 80s on Sunday. I think I’ll head to the beach today where it will be cooler.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Just Another Day

50,000 Hits

Paradise Point

New Phones and Data Plan

Dings and Scratches

Lazy Days

A Few Stitches Later

Pacific Beach Fest

Beach Weather

Settling in at Mission Bay

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