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

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

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 rink by the beach behind Hotel Del

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

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.

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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.

Brittany on the left, Shauna on the right

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)

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

Shauna, Brittany and Donna at the front table

Connor, Donna, Sheila and Jeff

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

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

A4 Skyhawk

Flightdeck

Flight deck

The island on the 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

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

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 farmers market

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

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

Boats moored along Shelter Island

Emily secures Groovy in the boat slip

Emily secures Groovy in the boat slip

Donna poses next to Groovy

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

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

Ocean Beach lifeguard statue

Lifeguard plaque

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.

 

 

Fall in San Diego

It’s definitely fall in San Diego. The mornings are a bit chilly and the sun sets around 4:30pm. I can’t complain though. We had beautiful weather all weekend and today looks to be just as fine. It’s 60 degrees out at 9am and I expect to see highs in the mid to upper 60s all week.

Growing up here, I took the climate for granted. Each day was much like the last, or the next. I see myself falling into that attitude again. When I moved to Michigan in 1986, I learned to take advantage of the seasons. Grilling on the barbeque was real treat that I would look forward to in the spring. I know some guys there grill in the winter, but for most of us, it’s just too cold.

On Saturday, I used Shauna’s car and went to the Walmart in Murphy Canyon. I needed a few things and I wanted to check out the possibility of overnighting there when we have to do the 24-hour shuffle again after 30 days here. It’s a supercenter, but they have “No Overnight Parking” signs posted.

I spent an hour or so processing and adding text to the photographs I took of our stolen trailer. I documented exterior and interior damage.

Later, I drove downtown and picked up Shauna at Cal Western School of Law on Cedar Street. She dropped me off at the RV Park and took her car home. When I returned, I fired up the Weber and grilled Jamaican jerk chicken that Donna had prepared. She served it with mango salsa, basmati brown rice and green beans.

Jamaican jerk chicken with mango salsa

Jamaican jerk chicken with mango salsa

Over the weekend, the RV park filled up. Many people are here with their families for the Thanksgiving holiday. I wouldn’t have guessed so many people would do this. There are more families with kids here than ever. The kids must have the week off school.

Yesterday was another beautiful day, but I sat indoors and watched football all day. I didn’t do too well in the football pool. The Lions, Bears, Texans and Colts all let me down. It was still a great football day however. The Chargers won a shootout against Kansas City with the game-winning touchdown pass coming from Philip Rivers with 24 seconds left in the game!

Last night, Donna made a beef and bean chili from scratch. It was so good! I’m looking forward to leftovers!

Donna making another nutritious, delicious meal

Donna making another nutritious, delicious meal

Beef and bean chili served with red wine

Beef and bean chili served with red wine

This morning I e-mailed the photos of the damage on the stolen trailer to Progressive. I hope to hear from them soon.

 

 

 

On the Border

Yesterday we had a few more rain showers in the morning. Donna drove to her exercise class in Shauna’s car. When Donna returned, I drove to the salvage yard (Copart) in Otay Mesa. Copart is located on Airway Road, about half a mile from the Mexican border.

In the Copart office, I presented my driver’s license and trailer registration. I told them my insurance adjuster told me to inspect the trailer, document damage and retrieve any contents that may be in the trailer. They looked up my information, then issued me an orange safety vest and told me to wait for an  escort.

About 10 minutes later, a woman walked me out of the office into the yard. It was a large facility with hundreds of motorcycles and cars – mostly wrecks that had been declared total losses. A few of the vehicles impounded were recovered thefts, like my trailer. Insurance companies contract with Copart to store and eventually dispose of the vehicles. Many of the totaled cars and motorcycles go to Mexico.

While I was there, I saw a few people come to retrieve personal belongings from vehicles. They didn’t allow the people to walk through the storage yard to the car. What they did was interesting. The person wanting something from their totaled car would wait outside behind the office. A huge forklift would go to the vehicle, pick it up and drop it behind the office. Once the items were taken from the car, the forklift would take the vehicle back to the yard. They didn’t do this with me – I was escorted through the yard to my trailer.

As we walked through the large yard, I saw a commercial jet landing to the south. I asked the girl if that was the Tijuana Airport. She said it was. On the mesa south of the airport, I could see the Tijuana neighborhoods, Insurgentes and Lomas Taurinas. The Tijuana-Tecate Highway runs along the Mexican side of the border beside the airport. It’s a different world just half a mile from where I was standing.

We found my trailer. I started with a walkaround inspection. I found several signs of abuse. Both  tires had sidewall scrapes indicating that they had rubbed against curbs. The jack near the coupler was bent from scraping the pavement. The bottom of the right rear corner of the trailer had also scraped against the pavement. My guess is the thieves hooked up the trailer and made a hasty exit. In their haste, they didn’t raise the jack all the way. They probably went through a dip or down a driveway too fast and scraped both the jack and the rear of the trailer. I took photos of the damage.

I unlocked the side door and entered the trailer. When the trailer was parked, I didn’t have everything in it tied down. I was using the trailer as a garage. As I accessed tools and whatnot, I wasn’t worried about securing the load. Before we hit the road, I would organize and tie down or strap everything. When the thieves pulled out with the trailer, loose items inside bashed around. There was damage to the interior walls. A few items were left behind by the thieves, but nothing of great value – a few books and papers, rags, a couple of tie down straps. The best thing left behind was the wheel chock for the scooter.

The people at Copart told me I couldn’t take the wheel chock because it was bolted to the floor. I argued that it wasn’t part of the trailer, it was an accessory that I added. We went back to the office and they called the insurance adjuster. She told them I could take the wheel chock since I hadn’t claimed it as contents and it didn’t come with the trailer.

Removing the wheel chock was a real chore. I didn’t have the proper tools (I’m missing my tool cabinet already). I made do with a screwdriver and pliers. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to remove it.

I took photos of all of the damage. I will e-mail them to the insurance adjuster, then we’ll discuss next steps.

After I returned, Donna took the car to go shopping at Trader Joe’s and Buffalo Exchange, a consignment shop that she wrote about in her book, How to De-clutter and Make Money Now, but had never visited in person. I showered and got ready for the evening’s festivities. I had reserved a table for 10 people at the Offshore Tavern and Grill. Jim Birditt was in town and hadn’t seen many of our old friends for years. We got together and had drinks, appetizers and lots of laughs. Gary Stemple, his sister Holly Strand, Mark and Judy Fredin, Carole Bringas and of course, Donna and I showed up. It was great fun. We missed a couple of people who we hoped to see there, but were unable to attend. Donna was our designated driver.

Donna, Mark Fredin, Gary Stemple, Jim Birditt, Holly, Judy Fredin at Offshore Tavern and Grill

Carole, Donna, Mark, Gary, Jim, Holly and Judy at Offshore Tavern and Grill

Mark, Gary, me and Jim

Mark, me, Gary and Jim

Carole, me and Jim

Carole, me and Jim

Today the weather looks better – partly cloudy and the temperature should reach the mid to upper 60s. I’ll return Shauna’s car. Other than that, I have nothing planned.

 

 

 

Same Casino, Different Day

I haven’t posted for a few days due to travel. We had to leave the park on Wednesday as we hit the 30-day limit. I wrote about the 30-day regulation here. I usually get a lot of the preparation for travel done the day before we leave, but it was a little different this time.

On Tuesday, Donna and I rode the scooter to the Brigantine restaurant on Shelter Island Drive. We joined Emily and Mark Fagan for lunch there. It was Taco Tuesday, so naturally we all ordered tacos for lunch. We lingered at our table for an hour and a half, enjoying the company and conversation. Maybe I should say conversations – the last half hour was two distinct conversations. Mark and I talking about guitars and RVs while Donna and Emily we talking about the writing world and working on the road.

When you drive onto Shelter Island, you enter a world of exclusivity. There are the yacht clubs and marinas with high-dollar boats. Expensive cars are found in the parking lots there. The Brigantine at lunch time is no exception. I took a couple of quick snapshots of a Ferrari F355 and a V10 powered Audi R8.

Ferrari F355

Ferrari F355

Audi R8

Audi R8

When we returned to our home, it was filled with aroma of Carribean Chicken Curry cooking in the crockpot. Donna prepared it in the morning and it cooked all day. We moved our bicycles into the trailer and I prepared  few things for travel.

Carribean Chicken Curry

Carribean Chicken Curry

Donna had her exercise class Wednesday morning, so I couldn’t stow the scooter until she returned. Since she would be away for a couple of hours, I used that time to pack things away. I moved our chairs and a few other outdoor items to the trailer. I stowed the Weber barbeque grill and stand. I waited until Donna returned and showered, then I  dumped and flushed the tanks and put the hoses away. We needed to check out by noon and just made it.

We decided to return to Sycuan Casino near El Cajon. Last time, it was so easy. We rolled in and a security guard took our information and directed us to a large, empty parking lot. We ate dinner and breakfast there last time and thought the restaurant was good. Free parking, security and good food – how could we go wrong?

This time the experience was a little different. We parked in the same upper lot which was empty once again. But this time I was told to take my driver’s license and registration to the security office. They wanted to confirm who owns the RV – it seems they’ve had a few stolen vehicles end up in their lot.

At the security office, we were issued a parking pass to display in our windshield. We were also told that the expectation was for us to be “actively gaming” in the casino, not just using the place as an RV park. Fair enough. We aren’t interested in the gambling, but we spent money in the casino restaurants.

Sycuanpass

Our restaurant experience wasn’t the same as last time either. I ordered kung pao chicken while Donna ordered a beef and bean burrito, which was one of the specials of the day. When my food arrived, I took a couple of bites, then told Donna it wasn’t like any kung pao I’d had before. There weren’t any peanuts or dried chilis and the sauce was wrong. When the waiter came by, I asked him if this was kung pao. First he said yes, then upon closer inspection said, “Hmm…what did they  do in the kitchen?” He took my plate and returned a few minutes later with a plate of kung pao chicken.

The meal was mediocre at best. An hour later, I wasn’t feeling too well and my stomach was rumbling all afternoon. We had a late dinner, as I felt bloated and didn’t have much appetite until about 8pm. Donna whipped up a pantry plate. Pantry plates are meals she prepares with whatever we have on hand and doesn’t get too fancy. In this case, we had Trader Joe’s mini chicken tacos from the freezer with mashed avocado and salsa on a bed of greens.

Mini Tacos

Mini chicken tacos

It rained overnight. In the morning, we decided to give the casino restaurant another shot for breakfast. Donna ordered the same as she did last time – an egg white omelet with portobello and spinach and I had a machaca plate. Once again, it was mediocre food, but there was lots of it! I think when we reach the end of this 30-day stint, we’ll find someplace else to do our 24-hour shuffle.

After breakfast at Sycuan Casino, we had to dodge a few rain showers before we walked back to the coach. We hit a few raindrops on the way to Mission Bay. We checked in to Mission Bay RV Resort yesterday at noon. We were given site 88.

I hooked up the water, power and sewer. Then I retrieved the scooter from the trailer. Walking to the trailer, I got soaked from a sudden downpour. We had raindrops off and on all afternoon and overnight.

I needed to go to the Offshore Tavern and Grill to make sure we were set to have a gathering of about a dozen people Friday evening. I set up a reunion for my friend, Jim Birditt, with a lot of our old pals. I was preparing to ride the scooter over there and hoping I wouldn’t get rained on when Jim called me. He wanted to stop by and go out for a beer. Perfect! He picked me up in his dad’s truck and we went to Offshore. We’re all set to have our meetup there.

Last night Donna made tilapia with cilantro-walnut pesto for dinner. It was outstanding. We prefer to grill dinner, but with the rain she cooked it on the stove.

Tilapia with cilantro-walnut pesto

Tilapia with cilantro-walnut pesto

This morning we have more rain. I borrowed my daughter’s car for the day. I need to drive down to Otay Mesa, about an hour from here, to inspect the recovered trailer. The insurance company admitted that their inspector didn’t know anything about trailers and didn’t have a clue of what to look for, except for obvious sheet metal damage.

 

 

Insurance Claim Issues

The stolen trailer insurance saga continues. When I was surprised by a phone call from a San Diego Police officer on Saturday, November 8th informing me that my trailer was found, I wondered what would happen.

I’d purchased a new trailer the week before. Why did I shop for a new trailer one week after the theft? Well, I had a couple of reasons to do this. My main motivation was to be sure I had a way to transport our scooter and bicycles. We can only stay here in Mission Bay RV Resort for 30 days at a time, then we have to leave for at least 24 hours. I had three weeks to find, purchase and prepare a new trailer before we had to leave.

The other reason was availability. If I didn’t find the trailer I wanted, it would take a few weeks to order and receive one from the factory. I also didn’t believe the stolen trailer would ever be recovered – I thought it was probably in Mexico. The officer who took the theft report thought that was likely. So when I found a trailer that I liked, I purchased it. Otherwise, it might or might not be be available a week or two later.

The police towed my stolen trailer to an impound yard in Kearny Mesa, about 8 miles from here. When I spoke with the insurance adjuster, she told me not to do anything as she would deal with the impound yard. It turns out that she had the trailer moved to another salvage yard called Copart in Otay Mesa. This is about an hour away from here, ironically near the Mexican border.

Yesterday she phoned and told me the trailer had been inspected and she just received the inspection report. She said the report described the condition of the trailer as excellent. I asked for more details, such as whether any contents were in the trailer. She said she didn’t think the inspector entered the trailer.

Really?  The inspector writes a report claiming excellent condition but he didn’t look inside? What is the condition of the interior walls? Was the wheel chock I bolted to the floor for the scooter still there or was it ripped from the floor? What about the coupler where they cut off the lock, was there any damage there? How about the jack, was it scraped through a dip or over a curb? I doubt if the thieves drove away gently with the trailer.

She told me the report she received only had pictures of the outside walls and rear ramp. She would get more information and get back to me today. Here’s the problem. If Progressive says the trailer is in excellent shape, they will tell me to come and get my trailer. No damage, no claim. Having two trailers is a problem I didn’t anticipate. I’ll let you know what happens from here.

I went for a bike ride yesterday. I decided to do something different. I rode across Clairemont Drive from Mission Bay and got on Morena Boulevard. I rode north past Costco and turned up the hill at Jutland Drive. What was I thinking? This hill is very steep, much steeper than I wanted to climb. Half way up I caved in. I had to stop and catch my breath while my heart rate dropped to a more reasonable level. After a few minutes, I resumed the climb and made it. I won’t be riding up that road again.

I cruised through the old neighborhood. I made a stop at Cadman Park. The trees are bigger and there’s a new ball field, otherwise it was still familiar. I rode down the hill through Bay Ho back to Morena Boulevard where I enjoyed a tailwind back to Mission Bay.

Today, Donna and I are going to the Brigantine restaurant in Point Loma to have lunch with Emily and Mark Fagan. It’s Taco Tuesday there.

Black Bean Brownies

Mission Bay RV Resort was busy last weekend. There’s an RV club called Sun Diego Allegros (a Tiffin RV owners club) here and also many people here for the Susan G. Komen three-day walk. Crown Point Shores was closed to traffic and parking – it was the center for the walk. They had large tents set up on the grass there. The participants walk 60 miles over three days. The news reported that 2,300 people completed the walk.

Saturday was another cloudy day. Two overcast days in a row! It wasn’t as windy as Friday though. Donna and I rode the scooter to Vons in Pacific Beach and bought a few groceries. We invited Carole Sue Bringas to join us for dinner.

She prepared shrimp scampi and served itover whole wheat spaghetti. It was so good, delicately spiced, not overpowering. We started with a mixed baby greens salad Italian style with garbanzo beans, olives and shaved parmesan cheese. For dessert, Donna baked black bean brownies. I didn’t try the brownies, but everyone else liked them.

Shrimp with garlic and cilantro

Shrimp scampi

After dinner we sat around the fire pit next door with Bud and Mona. Carole and I reminisced and had a lot of laughs. Donna commented on how Carole and I are like a couple of kids together. We know each other’s history and can just be ourselves. We had a fun time.

Yesterday morning, Carole came back over with my old friend and neighbor, Sonny Sanchez. Sonny’s family lived next door to us when I was in ninth and tenth grades. We always disagree over who lived on Moraga Street first. He says he lived there before we moved in – I remember it differently. I  moved there in the eighth grade and I don’t remember meeting Sonny until ninth grade.

We chatted for about half an hour. He’s recently married and just bought a house. He’s excited about closing the deal this week and moving in. It was great to see him again. It was almost time for the early football game to kick off, so we said goodbye. Sonny is a big NFL (Chargers) fan. I watched football most of the day.

Donna went shopping with Bud and Mona. She took advantage of riding in their Suburban and stocked up. They went to Target, Sprouts and Costco. Donna surprised me with a case of Stone IPA.

I didn’t fare too well in the football pool. The Chargers, Lions and Texans all let me down. Around 4pm, we went with Bud and Mona to Mona’s house. She lives above the intersection of Redwood and India Street. Her balcony overlooks the airport and San Diego Bay.

Sunset over Point Loma from Mona's balcony

Sunset over Point Loma from Mona’s balcony

We watched the Denver Broncos play the Kansas City Chiefs on her big screen TV. Donna made guacamole dip. She used a recipe she got from Dos Caminos, a restaurant in New York City. Bud grilled steelhead trout and vegetables for dinner. It was really tasty. I should have taken a picture of my plate, but I was too busy watching football.

As I’m typing this, I’m listening to the news on TV. The weather forecast for today is typical San Diego fall weather. They’re calling for a crisp 67 degrees today. I’ll go for a bike ride later.