Year 3 Week 36

February 18 to 24, 2007

Hondo to Port Aransas, Texas

Year 3 week 36

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and mild.

We had a restful day. I tightened the truck's power steering fluid reservoir which had become slightly loose. We took Bo on an obedience walk, then walked to the edge of the RV park to allow him to see the goats and horses on the farm next door. WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF ! ! ! Easy, Bo ! We went to the clubhouse, so Joanne could check out their bargain table, and I could check if the TV in the clubhouse could receive CBS, which we can't receive in the trailer. The TV in the clubhouse had no better reception than the trailer. Darn ... we're going to miss the season premiere of Amazing Race.

I read, and napped. Joanne is convinced that there is something wrong with our TV reception so I removed the TV and VCR from the entertainment cabinet and checked all the cable connections. I couldn't find anything wrong. We went to the ice cream social, a weekly Sunday afternoon event in all SKP parks. The ice cream servers were bragging about the Texas sized scoops of ice cream they serve here at Lone Star Corral. And they certainly put their money where their mouths are, so to speak. After eating a huge scoop of ice cream, and a piece of cake, we went to the small Class C motorhome of Mary Anne, our new single woman friend from Virginia and visited for a few hours.

 

Monday ; Hondo to Port Aransas, Texas

Today was sunny and mild, but became windy when we got to the Gulf Of Mexico at Port Aransas.

We departed Lone Star Corral this morning, heading east 8 miles into Hondo. While I refilled with diesel at the Wal-Mart gas bar Joanne went into Wal-Mart with our jar of Great Value peanut butter. Sure enough, we had a jar with the recalled production number, the batch that had some sort of bacterial infection that had caused widespread illness, resulting in something like 167 confirmed cases of bacterial "food poisoning". HMPH ... now I'll never know if my severe illness in San Diego was indeed a flu, or was I poisoned by Wal-Mart peanut butter ? ! ? I suspect the latter.

We turned southeast on Hwy. 173 to Jourdanton, then northeast for a very short distance on Hwy. 97 to Pleasanton. Driving through Pleasanton I saw a Mexican tire shop with a display of used hub caps. I stopped and bought a 15 inch chrome trim ring for the trailer, to replace oneI lost a long time ago. At Pleasanton we drove another very short distance on Hwy. 281 to Interstate 37 where we turned south. When we stopped for lunch at an Interstate rest area, I chatted with the couple parked next to us, in a large motorhome with Ontario license plates. They were from Prescott, a bit south of Ottawa. My memory of Prescott, from the years we lived in Ottawa, was that it seemed to be the incest capital of Canada. For years there were news stories of the large numbers of incest prosecutions and convictions in and around Prescott.

After lunch we continued southeast on I-37 to Hwy. 77, then we turned North on Hwy. 77 to Sinton where we wanted to turn east on Hwy. 181 leading to Aransas Pass and the ferry to Port Aransas. The highway interchange from Hwy. 77 onto Hwy. 181 was closed due to construction. We followed a detour until we finally got lost, in the town of Portland, stuck in a traffic jam in a school zone as school was letting out, and many children were dawdling across the road < fume >. We finally found our way back onto Hwy. 181, then onto Hwy. 361 to Aransas Pass. We got loaded onto the ferry to cross Aransas Pass, to Port Aransas. The ferry left, turned around and returned to dock. What ? ! ? Some goofball had an open container of gas in the back of his pickup truck, and was being evicted off the ferry < sigh >.

We finally got to Port Aransas and found our way to Island RV Resort. We weren't able to get into our assigned site because a motorhome was sticking out into the road, preventing us from turning into our site. We got reassigned another site, and finally got parked. I visited with the neighbours with the Manitoba license plates, from Birds Hill, the neighbours from Colorado, and the neighbours from Harlingen, Texas, down in The Valley. We were in our site for over 2 hours before I stepped inside the trailer.

As we were sitting down to dinner, our friends from Ottawa, Erbon and Lorraine, arrived to visit. We spent the evening visiting with them, planning some activities for the next week. It was great to see Erbon and Lorraine again. We're looking forward to visiting with them over the next week here, in and around Port Aransas, and then after we move south to The Valley, they're going to drive down to visit with us there.

 

Tuesday ; Today was cloudy and mild. The humidity here on the Gulf Coast is a lot higher than we've been experiencing so far this winter. We've been in desert climate for most of this winter.

I've caught a cold. Yesterday I thought I might be catching a cold, but wasn't sure. This morning there was no doubt. It made me feel rather poorly all day. This morning we chatted with the very friendly neighbours surrounding us in this park until Erbon and Lorraine arrived. We all piled into Lanoire and headed over to the mainland, to find the restaurant called The Big Fisherman. At a social hour at the SKP park in Benson, Arizona, when we mentioned we were heading to Port Aransas, we were told we must go to The Big Fisherman for their Tuesday lunch special. So today we did. Margaritas for a dollar. All you can eat chicken fried steak, and / or chicken livers, and / or chicken gizzards, with a bowl of soup, mashed potatoes with gravy, and coleslaw for ... wait for it ... a dollar seventy-five ! HA HA HA HA HA ... welcome to Texas ! Joanne had chicken fried steak. I had chicken livers and gizzards. And we had margaritas. I preferred the chicken livers over the gizzards, so I put my gizzards into my empty margarita cup and brought them home for Teddy and Bo, who thought they were great !

After lunch we found our way to Wal-Mart in Rockport where I refilled Lanoire with diesel. We drove slowly back towards Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, exploring as we drove. We stopped to walk out on a boardwalk over a marshy area and look at birds. Back on Mustang Island / Port Aransas we drove to the condominium where Erbon and Lorraine are staying, so Joanne and I would know how to get there, then we drove down onto the beach. We drove along the beach for a couple of miles. I drove Lanoire into the Gulf Of Mexico surf to "baptize" her. I thought it was evident what I was doing. I guess it wasn't. Erbon and Lorraine had their windows open, and their forearms and shoulders got splashed. Ooops ... sorry ! We parked at the breakwater on the main shipping channel of Aransas Pass, and walked out on the breakwater part way, chatting with the fishermen. We drove off the beach back into town, and stopped at Oceans Of Seafood. I bought a half a pound of fresh, large shrimp, and a "tea bag" of shrimp boil seasonings. As we drove back to our RV park, people were beginning to congregate on the side of the road for the small Mardi Gras parade that was about to take place. Oh, yeah ... today was Mardi Gras.

Joanne cooked the shrimp for me for dinner tonight, but I didn't have enough of an appetite to appreciate them. I put them in the fridge to eat tomorrow. Maybe I'll make myself a shrimp po'boy.

Despite feeling ill and weak, and with great reluctance, at Joanne's strong urging, I spent the evening trying to determine why we seem unable to get decent TV reception using the roof top antenna. I fiddled with the big TV, the little TV, the VCR, all the cables, and all the connections. I can't find anything wrong. That doesn't mean there isn't something wrong. I just don't have the electronic skills to find it.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and warm. Until we arrived here, the weather here had been awful for about 3 months. We've been telling everyone that we talk to here that we're responsible for bringing the great weather, and it will probably leave with us next Monday. HA HA HA !

This morning Joanne prepared a picnic lunch, and we drove over to the Aransas Princess condominiums to pick up Erbon and Lorraine. We drove south on Hwy. 361 along the length of Mustang Island, until it crossed a bridge over to Padre Island. We entered Padre Island National Seashore ( National Park ) and spent the day exploring. First stop was to do some bird watching on the Laguna Madre side of the island. Laguna Madre is the Intracoastal Waterway between Padre Island and the mainland. I took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my pant legs, and waded in the warm waters of Laguna Madre. Then we drove down to the entrance onto South Beach. I shifted Lanoire into 4 X 4 mode, and off we went driving down the beach. A couple of times I swerved Lanoire over to drive briefly through the surf. Just because she's a big 4 X 4 ( or 6 X 6 ) truck, and it makes me feel like I'm 20 years old to do that ! HA HA HA ! Although ... I now have to contend with the dried out salt spray on her. Joanne ... wash the truck ! HA HA HA HA HA !

At the 5 mile mark was a sign advising only 4 wheel drive vehicles to proceed beyond that point. The sand became a bit softer and deeper after the 5 mile mark. We had a nice pleasant picnic lunch on the beach. I was feeling kind of miserable with this cold, and the sunshine and warmth helped me to feel better. We walked along the beach for awhile, Erbon and Lorraine doing some bird watching, me chatting with fishermen, finding jellyfish, watching little crabs scuttle down into their holes in the sand, etc.. I found a dollar bill washed up on the beach. Maybe I'll keep it as my version of a lucky sand dollar. HA HA HA ! We continued driving slowly along the beach, just exploring. We tracked our mileage on the way back. We had driven 9 miles along the beach.

We drove over to the Visitor Centre at Malaquite Beach and looked around. We drove back to Mustang Island. I saw an entrance to the beach along Mustang Island, so once again shifted Lanoire into 4 X 4, and off we went. WOW ... deep, soft sand. WOO-HOO ... felt just like a redneck bouncing along the beach, destroying the environment. HA HA HA HA HA !

We dropped Erbon and Lorraine off at their condominium, then went to the pharmacy to buy me more cold medications. I napped briefly before we went to the RV park's potluck dinner. Nice dinner, and pleasant company chatting with 2 couples from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but ... like many American communal meals ... chomp, swallow, goodbye ! Merkins sure do like to eat and run. I found out that the park's malfunctioning Wi-Fi system was repaired today, so after dinner I got online to send and retrieve e-mail, and retrieve our 2 MasterCard statements. I also took a quick look at our investments "bottom line". WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO !

 

Thursday ; Today was overcast, hot and humid.

I had a slow start to the day, due to having a cold. Today is day 3 of my cold, usually the worst day of a cold for me. Hopefully tomorrow I will begin to improve.

This morning I trimmed my beard, then printed the MasterCard statements. After lunch we went grocery shopping to the only grocery store here on Mustang Island, Port Aransas IGA. I had difficulty selecting a jar of peanut butter. I'm a little paranoid about peanut butter right now. Back at Island RV Resort I reconciled the MasterCard statements.

At 5:30 Erbon and Lorraine picked us up. We went with them to a Mexican restaurant called La Playa ( The Beach ) where we met their friends from New Brunswick, Glen and Marion. We had a lovely dinner. I had the daily special, a blackened Redfish with small grilled shrimp and Pico Gallo on top, served with Mexican Rice, grilled zucchini, grilled squash, and grilled Portobello Mushrooms. Very nice ! Although a bit expensive. When the waitress explained the daily specials, I thought she said the Redfish was $8.50. When the bill arrived I realized it was $18.50.

After dinner we drove to PACT, the Port Aransas Community Theatre, to see tonight's performance called We Love To See You Smile. When we arrived at the theatre, I realized I had left my sweater at the restaurant. We dropped off Joanne and Lorraine at the theatre, and Erbon drove me back to the restaurant to get my sweater.

The theatre production was an agonizing 2½ hour hodge podge tribute to Broadway musicals, written, produced, directed, and performed by a no talent, off key group of local, amateur thespians. It was horrible !

 

Friday ; I was too sick to get out of bed today !

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and very warm.

I woke up still feeling quite ill, but as the day progressed, I improved. I wonder if my cold is something more than a cold ? I phoned Erbon this morning to discuss our plans for tomorrow, and whether or not we were going to get together today to do something. He told me that now Lorraine is sick with this same cold, or flu, or whatever it is.

We drove over to Port A Pharmacy to buy me more cold medications. We drove down to the beach, to allow Bo to romp in the sand for awhile. And I thought some sunshine and fresh air might make me feel better. We stopped at Port Aransas IGA, and Joanne went in to buy a few groceries while Bo and I waited in the truck. Back at Island RV Resort I went to the clubhouse to get online with Wi-Fi and send and retrieve e-mail. We took Bo for an obedience training session. I read the newspaper. I coughed a lot !

DSK

Year 3 Week 35

February 11 to 17, 2007

Casa Grande, Arizona to Hondo, Texas

Year 3 week 35

 

Sunday ; Casa Grande to Benson, Arizona

Today was partially cloudy and warm.

We left RoVers Roost this morning continuing east on Interstate 8. A bit east of Casa Grande, Interstate 8 merges with Interstate 10, and I-8 ends. It began in San Diego. We have now driven I-8 literally from one end to the other. We continued on I-10 into Tucson ( Too sawn ) where we stopped at Camping World to see if they carried a product for the trailer called Slide Out Slickers. They didn't.

We continued east on I-10 to Benson, to the SKP park called Saguaro Co-op. Once again, the park was full, and we ended up in the boondock area. After supper we went to the park's regular Sunday evening ice cream social. We chatted with 2 couples from Florida. And we reacquainted with a couple from Idaho that we have met twice before. We first met them about 2 years ago at a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, and we spent a very enjoyable New Year's Eve 2005 sharing a table with them in this park.

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and warm.

Today was a day with a lot of wasted time, due to inefficiencies / personal inconsiderateness here at Saguaro Co-op. When we checked in yesterday, we were no. 5 on the list waiting for a serviced site, with 6 rigs expected to leave today, so getting a serviced site today was probable. This morning I went to the office to check on our site availability status at 10:15 A.M.. Check out time is 11:00 A.M.. We were no. 2 at 10:15 A.M., with 3 more rigs expected to depart. Looking good ! We prepared for departure / to move to another site. Then, mostly to kill off time, we drove to the dump station to refill the fresh water tank, and drain the waste holding tanks. We returned to the office at 11:00 A.M., to either get a serviced site, or depart. Well ... a site was not yet available for us, but was going to be soon, due to a late check out. Okay ! A little miffed, we drove to "downtown" Benson, towing the trailer, to go to the Post Office. We did our business at the Post Office, bought some groceries at Safeway, and refilled some water jugs. I phoned the park office. Our site was expected to be available to us at 1:00 P.M.. Getting a bit more pissed off, we drove over to Benson's new Wal-Mart Supercentre, and did some Wal-Mart'n. How does a town of 5000 people justify a 24 hr. a day Wal-Mart Supercentre ? !

We drove back to the park about 1:00 P.M.. Our site wasn't vacant yet < fume >. We went back to boondock, and had lunch. Our site wasn't vacant yet. I took a short nap. Finally, we were able to move onto our serviced site at 2:30 P.M.. The chores that I wanted to accomplish today were not yet started. And we were still here in Benson. The plan was ... either get some chores done, or travel a couple of hundred miles down the road towards meeting our friends at Port Aransas on the Gulf Of Mexico in Texas. We accomplished neither !

We got set up in our site, then went to the regular weekday afternoon social hour. This park is the most sociable of all the SKP parks. Everybody brings snacks and hors d'oeuvres to each day's social hour, and everybody actually sits around and socializes for a couple of hours. And, we know from 2 previous visits to this park, for a bunch of old folks, they sure know how to party here !

I guess the chores will have to wait until tomorrow.

 

Tuesday ; Today was mostly sunny, a few clouds, windy and cool. It rained a little bit overnight.

This morning I unhitched Lanoire from Harvey, and drove into town to run errands. I mailed the malfunctioned fluorescent light fixture back to the manufacturer for warranty repairs. I refilled Lanoire with diesel, then refilled an empty propane tank.

This afternoon I worked on a project that has been on my to do list for a long time. When we had the trailer carpet removed and replaced with vinyl sheet flooring a year and a half ago, I cosmetically finished the job by installing two six foot pieces of moulding along the lower front edge of the living room / dinette slide. Almost since then, I've wanted to replace the 2 sections of moulding with one, to eliminate the seam. Just before we left Palm Springs I bought a 12 foot section of the same moulding. This 12 foot section of moulding has been in our way for the past 2 weeks, every time we retract the slides to travel. I finally installed it today. We were too busy in San Diego sightseeing, too busy in Yuma buying Joanne's glasses in Mexico, and then had a few nights on the road without being hooked up to power, to recharge my drill battery.

Joanne worked on sanding and refinishing the sofa table made for us by my brother-in-law Bud. It fell over recently while we were driving, and got a bit of a scratch and dent on it. Joanne sanded off the damage, then re-varnished it. She went into town to do some shopping. I went to the afternoon social hour. I'm amused by the irony exhibited by wealthy old folks. Earlier today, this park had a fundraising auction of home baked goods and home cooked meals. The topic of discussion around the social hour table was the prices paid for some of the items. Sixty dollars for a home baked lemon pie, which was then brought to social hour by the purchaser, to be shared with everyone. And $350 for a home cooked meal of barbecued ribs with all the fixings, plus a bottle of wine. Then ... the topic of discussion turned to today's grocery store flyers in the newspaper. People were all a-twitter over the sale price of 10 lemons for a dollar. HA HA HA ... these people pay $60 for a lemon pie, then get all excited about lemons on sale, ten for a dollar ! Remember, these are the same people that will pay a quarter of a million dollars for huge motorhomes, then "dry camp" in the desert to avoid paying campground fees of $20 a night. HA HA HA HA HA !

After social hour there was enough daylight left for me to do a couple more maintenance jobs. I lubricated the bedroom slide weatherstripping, then mixed up a small batch of fiberglass epoxy and hardener, to repair a small crack on Harvey's fiberglass gel coat. I've become quite proficient at fiberglass repairs over the last couple of years.

 

Wednesday ; Benson, Arizona to Deming, New Mexico

Happy Valentine's Day

Today was mostly sunny, with a few minutes of rain. Benson was cool. Deming was cold and windy.

We departed a bit late this morning, because I decided to do one more project before leaving. Saguaro Co-op has a well equipped workshop available for use by the park's residents, and I used the opportunity of having tools and equipment at my disposal to fabricate a spare roof ladder stand off stanchion. I bought the parts and hardware needed while we were in Palm Springs, but I didn't have the right tools to do the job until now. We were delayed a bit more when I checked the tire air pressures and realized that all the tire pressures were low because we were now 5000 feet higher than when I last adjusted tire pressures a week or so ago at sea level. Saguaro Co-op has an air compressor station right beside the trailer dump station. Some parks are so well equipped.

We continued heading east on I-10, slowly ascending most of the day, it seemed. New Mexico is generally at a higher elevation than Arizona. We stopped for lunch at the Arizona / New Mexico border. Driving an Interstate across the desert is easy, so Joanne drove after lunch while Bo and I snoozed. We woke up when Joanne started singing some obscure old cowboy song about tumbleweeds tumbling along, because that's exactly what she was seeing out the windshield. At Deming we stopped for the night at Dream Catcher SKP Park. We just had time to get set up in our site before the special Valentine's Day social hour. Over home baked cookies and fruit punch we chatted with a single man from Denver, Colorado who had just arrived today, leaving Benson, Arizona this morning 2 hours before us. He encountered snow while driving. We didn't. Just a bit of rain. After social hour, as we were returning to our rig, we recognized the man that had just pulled into the site beside us. It was Terry Ellis, a member of Escapees Ontario Chapter 18 that we've met a few times before at Chapter 18 events. We chatted briefly. Jim, our new friend from Denver, Colorado, invited us to join him for dinner. We drove with him in his car into town, and drove up and down the main street of Deming looking for a restaurant to choose. We chose Si Señor, a Mexican restaurant. We had an enjoyable evening of dining and chatting with Jim, who is relatively new to the world of full time RV'ing, having started about 6 months ago.

 

Thursday ; Deming, New Mexico to I-10 mile marker 233, west of Fort Stockton, Texas

Today was sunny and cold. Our outside water supply hose froze overnight. I already miss the warm temperatures of California and Arizona. I hope The Valley will be warmer then New Mexico and West Texas.

We chatted briefly with our new friend Jim from Denver, Colorado, before departing Dream Catcher SKP Park in Deming. We continued east on Interstate 10. As we crossed the border into Texas, we stopped at the El Paso suburb of Anthony to buy an item at Camping World and refill with diesel at Flying J. I-10 passes through El Paso for about 35 miles. Tough driving in urban traffic. And we were delayed by a fatal accident. It didn't appear to be a traffic accident. It appeared to be an industrial accident in a construction zone. It's unnerving to pass a body laid out on the road covered with a sheet.

We passed a bill board for a medical clinic advertising vasectomies ... with a money back guarantee ! HA HA HA ! Welcome to Texas, Pilgrim ! HA HA HA HA HA < SNORT > ! Just a minute ... I'm laughing too hard to be able to type.

We stopped for lunch after passing through El Paso. Joanne drove for a couple of hours after lunch. We drove a long distance today. West Texas is mile after mile of endless scruffy desert. We saw a herd of 8 deer, and then a large group ( don't know what else to call them ) of javelinas ( "j" sounds like "h" ) grazing on the side of the road at dusk. We were going to push through all the way to Fort Stockton, and spend the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. But about half an hour before Fort Stockton there was a road side rest area with free Wi-Fi. Thank you very much, Texas. We spent the night at the rest area, enabling me to retrieve my mid-month investment updates. At the rest area, I chatted with the occupants of a large motorhome with the name THORNBIRD emblazoned all over it, and the equipment trailer it was towing. They were a rock band from Los Angeles, heading to San Antonio for a gig. < whispering > Never heard of them !

 

Friday ; I-10 mm 233 to Hondo, Texas

Today was sunny and cool.

We had another long hard day of driving. About 350 miles / 550 kilometres each of the last 2 days. We continued east on I-10 this morning. We stopped in Fort Stockton to buy diesel. Two years ago we ran out of fuel ( twice, Joanne reminded me ) just outside of Fort Stockton. Once about 25 miles out of town, and again about 3 miles out of town when my 2 gallons of emergency fuel ran out. We stopped for lunch near Sonora. We saw lots of deer today, both dead and alive. The deer population in Texas seems high this year. The topography slowly changed from the Sonoran Desert to "Texas Hill Country", rolling hills with trees and ranches. We stopped in Kerrville to refill with diesel again. We don't often have to fill up twice in one day. At Kerrville we headed south through town on Hwy. 16, then south on Hwy. 173 to Hwy. 90 at Hondo. We turned west on Hwy. 90, through town, then found our way to Lone Star Corral SKP Park about 8 miles west of Hondo, almost at the town of D'Hanis.

We arrived at the park at 5:15 P.M., fifteen minutes after their scheduled closing time, and we expected to spend the night in their boondock area. But the office was open a bit late tonight, they accommodated our arrival, and we got a serviced site. How nice.

I spent the evening updating my investment files. WOO-HOO !

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and mild, but windy.

This morning our friend from Ottawa, Erbon Dickinson, phoned from Port Aransas to find out when we would be arriving in Port Aransas. The cell phone signal was so poor we were unable to communicate. I unhitched the truck from the trailer and we headed into town.

Once in Hondo, with a stronger cell phone signal, I returned the call to Erbon, and we made some preliminary plans for our visit with him and Lorraine in Port Aransas next week. We had lunch at Whataburger. The verdict is divided. Joanne thinks that the Texas chain Whataburger is better than the California chain In N Out. I disagree, preferring In N Out's hamburgers, but conceding that the Whataburger chicken strips burger is outstanding. We went to Wal-Mart after lunch. We have once again entered the area of the United States where the Wal-Marts have gas bars, with the cheapest prices in the area. I will definitely refill with diesel as we depart Hondo on Monday. We did our Wal-Mart'n, then went to McBee's Bar B Que to buy take-out barbecued brisket and barbecued fajita ( pronounced "faheeta" ) beef for supper tonight. We had take-out barbecue ( a noun in the Southern U.S ) from McBee's 2 years ago. It's GREAT ! McBee's reinforced my long held conviction that it's universally hard to find good help. The lady serving us screwed up our credit card transaction ... twice before getting it right the third time. Neither she nor her boss knew how to reverse a credit card transaction on their credit card terminal. I refused to accept a cheque for the correcting refund. I'm a "foreigner" in the United States and cannot readily cash a cheque. They had to fork over $125.65 cash for the errors on the credit card.

Back at Lone Star Corral I installed the spare tire valve extender I bought at Camping World in El Paso a couple of days ago. Now I can check and adjust the spare tire's air pressure without having to crawl underneath the back of the truck. I bolted the extended valve on the back bumper beside the license plate. We went to social hour. We learned that there has been a recall of peanut butter made by Peter Pan, also sold by Wal-Mart under their private label, Great Value. There have many instances, all over the United States, of severe flu like illness caused by a bacterial infection in the peanut butter. We have a fairly new jar of Great Value peanut butter. Could that have been the cause of my severe "flu" while in San Diego ? ! ?

After social hour we sat in the clubhouse and chatted with a single woman from Virginia for about 3 hours. She made a very interesting comment. She said that in her experience, Canadian "couples" are much more sociable to "singles" than American "couples". I wonder if that partially explains our friendship with Julie Hazlett whom we met on a WorkCamping job over 2 years ago in Missouri, our friendship with our paraplegic RV'er friend, Jim Shelton, whom we met here in Hondo 2 years ago, and our new friendship the other day at Deming, New Mexico with Jim from Colorado ?

When we finally returned to the trailer there was a huge stain of bile vomit on the love seat, with a Live Oak acorn in the middle of it. BO ! ! ! Why would you swallow an acorn ? ! ? What a stupid ****ing dog ! ! !

MMMMM ... we have just finished our barbecued brisket and barbecued fajita supper, accompanied by baked beans and potato salad, which are the traditional barbecue side dishes in Texas.

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 34

February 4 to 10, 2007

San Diego, California to Casa Grande, Arizona

Year 3 week 34

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and hot. Good thing ... the weather helped me to feel better.

I woke up this morning still feeling very ill with the flu. After spending a day and a half in bed I was determined to push though it, although I was skeptical whether I could play tourist today. As it turned out, I did okay, as long as I moved in slow motion all day.

I did some preventive maintenance, then worked on sucking some excess power steering fluid out of the power steering pump, using a piece of plastic tubing. Yuck ... power steering fluid tastes terrible ! We left Viejas ( Vee yay hass ) Casino, heading west on Interstate 8 into San Diego. We passed through the suburbs of El Cajon and La Mesa, and found our way to San Diego RV Resort. Boy, they jam those RV's in pretty tight when the park is in a big city, with expensive real estate. We got settled into our site, and I managed to eat a bowl of soup. First food in 2 days.

It was our plan to do a bit of exploring of San Diego by truck today, because I was feeling too ill to walk around much. We unhitched and headed for Pacific Beach. It was great ! We walked out onto historic Crystal Pier. We walked onto the beach, and walked under the pier. Neat ... I've never been under a large pier before. We walked slowly along the beach for awhile. The bright sunlight and warm temperature made me feel better. We decided to go see Mission Bay. As we drove to Mission Bay Park we realized how much of San Diego's waterfront is public park land. Great ! We've been to places where all waterfront property is privately owned and developed, and visitors can't get near the water.

We parked at Mission Bay Park, then walked around some more. It was a really lovely, beach front park with beautiful landscaping, and lots of picnic tables. We drove to nearby Campland On The Bay, an RV park that we might move to if we decide to stay in San Diego longer then 3 days. The park that we're in only allows the Passport America rate for 3 days. We decided to head for Ocean Beach, and watch the sunset. We drove to Ocean Beach, in a somewhat circuitous, occasionally lost fashion. We arrived at Ocean Beach just as the sun was setting. We parked, and walked out onto the beach, taking a picture of the sun setting behind Ocean Beach Pier. Pacific Beach was filled with a youngercrowd of surfer dudes and beach babes. Ocean Beach was an older crowd of throw back hippies. We started to walk out onto Ocean Beach Pier, the longest pier on the West Coast. I didn't make it very far before I ran out of steam. The sun was down, the temperature was falling rapidly, and I was feeling quite ill again. I rested while Joanne walked to the far end of Ocean Beach Pier. When she returned we walked very slowly to where the truck was parked, and began to drive back to our RV park.

We stopped at the transit station close to our RV park to get some information. We decided that for the next 2 days, we will get around San Diego using their public transit "trolley" ( elevated train ) system.

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and hot again, temperature in the upper 80's.

This morning I phoned MasterCard to pay my 2 monthly bills. The woman who served me had a Jamaican accent and, obviously, a cold. She complained that the weather there in Toronto was making her illness harder to tolerate. It was 29 degrees below zero there today. HA HA HA ! Betcha leaving the islands to come to Canada doesn't look like such a good idea now, does it, mon ? HA HA HA HA HA !

We walked over to the 70th St. Transit Station and caught the Green Line heading to Old Town San Diego. We spent the entire day wandering around Old Town San Diego, which is a living history museum / restoration / reconstruction of the original village that became San Diego, in the early to mid 1800's. I felt a little weak from my 2 day bout with the flu, but we explored at a slow pace.

When I finally ran out of steam about 4 P.M. we decided to take a long circuitous route home on a variety of the trolley lines, just to rest and see a bit more of the city. From Old Town we caught the Blue Line and rode to and through downtown. We transferred to the Orange Line, and saw some of the "real" San Diego. Slums, lots of graffiti, filthy industrial wastelands ... just like any other big city. We transferred once more, back to the Green Line, and rode back to the 70th St. Station.

Back at San Diego RV Resort, I tried to get online using a dial up connection in the clubhouse, but was unsuccessful. I need to phone AOL Canada to get some help. I have been having trouble accessing AOL Canada by dial up ever since we entered the U.S. on November 1. I've ignored the problem because I almost always find a way to get online with Wi-Fi. This park has Tengo Internet Wireless available for a fee, but I'm boycotting Tengo as a result of the problems I had with them in Desert Hot Springs. I drove slowly around the park, with the laptop on the centre console, stealthily seeking an unsecured wireless internet signal. Found one ! I'm getting pretty good at this process of finding and "stealing" Wi-Fi signals in RV parks < snicker >. I did e-mail and updated my blog, then went back to the trailer and surprised Joanne by telling here that I actually wanted to eat some supper.

Darn ! The fluorescent light fixture over the dinette table died tonight. And it's not just a burned out bulb problem.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and warm.

We decided we would take the truck, instead of using the trolley system again, to go to Balboa Park and the world famous San Diego Zoo today. San Diego Zoo is in Balboa Park, along with many different museums and miles of park land. As we arrived at San Diego Zoo, I received a phone call from Crystal Chrysler in Palm Springs. Chrysler denied their claim for warranty reimbursement for the cost of replacing the steering gear box on Lanoire, because they did not submit the necessary documentation Chrysler requires from dealers making warranty claims on "foreign" vehicles. Crystal Chrysler was phoning to ask me to fax to them a copy of my driver's license and vehicle registration. No problem. That's a hell of a lot less "hoop jumping" than GM used to require !

We were very impressed with San Diego Zoo. Not just with the amazing assortment of animals, but the astounding design and engineering challenges of creating and maintaining this zoo. Men like Disney, Spielberg, and Lucas were / are part of a fraternity / environment in Southern California of believing that if you can dream it, you can create it. Bravo !

We started our day at the zoo by taking a guided bus tour around the entire zoo, to get an overview of what to see, and where. Then we rode on the aerial tram, to see the zoo from above. We spent a long, fascinating day walking around. The highlight for us was watching a Polar Bear romp with a toy, under water, from a glass enclosed viewing area.

When the zoo closed at 5:00 P.M. we drove over to the El Prada Blvd. area of Balboa Park. We parked, and walked slowly around the El Prada pedestrian mall area for about an hour until it became dark, admiring the old Spanish architecture of the grounds and buildings.

 

Wednesday ; San Diego, California to Yuma, Arizona

Today was sunny and very warm.

We departed San Diego heading east on Interstate 8, through and over the Vallecito Mountains. We pulled off the Interstate at Pine Valley to buy diesel. Uh-oh ... no diesel in Pine Valley. I poured in my emergency 2 gallons of diesel, and we made it to the next town that had diesel, Live Oak Springs. We refilled with diesel and adjusted tire pressures at Golden Acorn Casino, another rich Indian band casino. There's a lot of Indian bands in So. Cal. getting rich off casino operations. I guess there are a lot of Indian bands everywhere getting rich off casino operations.

Halfway across California we came down out of the mountains and back into the desert. We stopped at El Centro to buy some groceries and supplies at Vons and at Wal-Mart. Back on I-8 Joanne phoned the SKP park in Yuma, Kofa Ko-op, to check on site availability. Darn ... they were full. We turned off the Interstate near Winterhaven and drove 10 miles across the desert, including a mile of dirt road, to an RV park that was full ! GRRRRR ! It turned dark just before we got there. We drove back to the Interstate, and drove the rest of the way to Yuma. We went to Del Pueblo Golf & RV Resort, near Kofa Ko-op. It was full. GRRRRR !

It was late, we were tired, we were fighting, I was sick ... we went to Wal-Mart for the night.

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and hot.

This morning Joanne phoned RV parks until she found one with a vacancy for 2 nights. Southern Mesa RV Park was near Kofa Ko-op so we found it easily. Yuma's RV parks seem to be filled to capacity for January and February. After we got settled in, I removed the non-functioning fluorescent light fixture over the dinette table, and we headed for Arizona Flea Market, where I knew there was a vendor who sells Thin-Lite ( brand name ) light fixtures. I wanted to get information on warranties and repairs / ballast replacement, and was intending to buy another light fixture, but the vendor gave me testing recommendations and instructions, so I didn't buy a new one yet. I returned to the trailer, did the testing recommended, and determined that the light fixture was indeed deader than a door knob. Joanne did a lot of laundry.

I went to the clubhouse and got online with Wi-Fi. My, my ... the stock market has been very friendly lately, hasn't it.

We've just returned from a late night ( 8:45 P.M. ) dip in this park's excellent hot tub. It's a small hot tub, for about 6 people, about the same size as the hot tub we had in our home in Ottawa, it's covered, it's clean, and it's hot !

 

Friday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, México

Happy ( calculated / estimated ) 3rd Birthday, Bo !

Today was partially cloudy and very warm.

Astounding ! A complete eye exam by an optometrist, including computerized glaucoma test, 2 new pair of eyeglass frames, one pair with bi-focal SunSensor lenses, one pair with bi-focal sunglass tint lenses, all for ... wait for it ... eighty-nine dollars ! ! !

This morning I phoned Thin-Lite to get instructions on returning the light fixture for repair under warranty. Then we drove back to Arizona Flea Market to see the Thin-Lite vendor. I wanted to get a price on buying a new light fixture or perhaps buying a replacement ballast for the broken one, as an alternative to living with no light fixture and wires hanging out of the ceiling for the next month. After pricing new light fixtures and replacement ballasts, I decided to just send the old one in for warranty repair.

From Arizona Flea Market we headed for the Mexican border, to buy new glasses for Joanne in Los Algodones, our principal reason for this trip to Yuma. Ever since I got 2 new pairs of glasses in November, Joanne has had eyeglass envy. HA HA HA ! We thought that my 2 pairs of glasses, and eye exam, for U.S.$119 was pretty spectacular, but, with some coupons we found in a local Bargain Hunter type of publication, Joanne's exam and 2 pairs of glasses were an astounding U.S.$89 !

We parked, crossed the border, and headed for Best Optical. Joanne selected 2 pairs of frames, and had her eye examination. We were to return to pick up her glasses in 2½ hours. We wandered around Los Algodones, buying a lace tablecloth, $15 haggled down to $10, and a t-shirt for me, $10 haggled down to $5. HA ... I still got it ! We went to Paraiso, our favourite restaurant in Los Algodones, for lunch. Whew ... big Margaritas ! After lunch we continued shopping, buying a tub of Creminos, Joanne's favourite Mexican chocolates, and a box each of Nugs and Coconugs ( my favourite Mexican chocolate bars ). Finally, we went to Super Pan Bakery and bought 8 assorted Mexican pastries. We returnedto Best Optical and picked up Joanne's new glasses, then lined up for the border crossing back into the United States. Gee ... today's line-up was 75 minutes long. We chatted with the people in line in front of us, Canadians from Vancouver Island, and Camrose, Alberta.

Our passports just recently expired. We used them to cross the border back into the U.S. without incident. It didn't appear as if the border guard noticed that they had expired. We drove back to Yuma, stopping at PetsMart to buy some cat food.

For his birthday, Bo got a big dog Kong, just like the ones he really enjoyed playing with at Guide Dogs Of The Desert.

 

Saturday ; Yuma to Casa Grande, Arizona

Happy Birthday to my sister, Sharon.

Today was sunny and hot. We drove across the western half of Arizona, entering into the relatively small region of the United States where Saguaro ( pronounced "Sah wharrow" ) cacti grow ... the quintessential desert look.

We left Yuma heading east on Interstate 8. An hour or so down the road we stopped at Dateland, Arizona, the third area where dates are grown in the United States, along with Indio, California just outside Palm Springs, and Bard, California, just outside Yuma, Arizona. We think the date shakes at Dateland are the best of the 3 areas. We bought 2 large date shakes, and asked for an empty Sundae cup, for date shake for Bo. Bo is absolutely crazy about date shakes. We filled his little Sundae cup with date shake four times. He was pleading for more, but 4 Sundae cups full of date shake seemed quite enough for a little dog, we thought. While sipping on our date shakes, sitting on grass, in the shade of a large Date Palm, I phoned my sister Sharon to wish her a Happy Birthday. She wasn't home.

We pulled off the Interstate to buy diesel at Gila ( pronounced "Heela" ) Bend. As we pulled into the Love's service station, the truck computer's "distance to empty" read ... wait for it ... zero miles ! ! ! HA HA HA ... timing is everything. Broke my old record of "2 miles to empty" set in Steinbach, Manitoba last summer. Shortly after buying diesel in Gila Bend, we stopped for a late lunch at a roadside rest area. While Joanne prepared lunch, I phoned the SKP park in Casa Grande. Full ! I phoned the SKP park in Benson. Full ! I phoned every Passport America park between Casa Grande and Benson. Full ! We decided we would just go to the SKP park in Casa Grande and stay in their unserviced "boondock" area. Gee whiz ... Arizona is full in February !

Just before reaching Casa Grande, the trailer from Oregon in front of us blew a tire. I stopped and helped them change their trailer tire. When trailer tires explode like that, they always cause some cosmetic, and often some structural damage. This was no exception. When we arrived at RoVers Roost, the SKP park at Casa Grande, we got the last available site in the boondock area. After getting set up I went to the office to send a fax to Crystal Chrysler in Palm Springs. While walking to the office, a lady noticed my UFO .... Ukrainian From Ontario ... t-shirt, and struck up a conversation. What a small world ! She used to live in Ottawa / Cumberland, Ontario, one street over from us. And she was a customer of ours at our Orleans PET VALU store.

Our friend from Ottawa, Erbon Dickinson, whom we are heading to meet in Port Aransas, Texas phoned. He and Lorraine have arrived in Texas. We'll see them in a week or 10 days or so. I phoned my sister again. I wished her a Happy Birthday, and we chatted briefly.

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 33

January 28 to February 3, 2007

Desert Hot Springs to San Diego, California

Year 3 week 33

 

Sunday ; Happy 53rd Birthday to Joanne

Today was sunny and very warm.

This morning I phoned my brother-in-law Bud to find out how my sister Sharon is doing. She had hip replacement surgery 2 days ago. Bud said the surgery went as well as could be expected, with no complications.

We drove to Flying J in Thousand Palms to fill up with diesel and refill a propane tank. I wanted to treat Joanne to a birthday lunch at the In & Out Burger across the street from Flying J, as she's been wanting to try an In & Out Burger. The line-up inside In & Out Burger was so long, we decided not to stay because we had to be in downtown Palm Springs in an hour. We got back on the I-10 freeway, drove back to Palm Springs, and found our way downtown. My "Plan B" was to take her to a locally famous burger restaurant called "Tyler's", owned and operated by a late 1960's Playboy Playmate. We found a parking spot and walked to Tyler's. It was closed on Sundays. Darn ! And we only had 20 minutes left until the beginning of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies performance. No lunch today !

We walked to the beautiful, old Plaza Theatre on Palm Canyon Drive, picked up our tickets, and found our seats. The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies is a 3 hour presentation of Vaudeville style song and dance. What is unique about "The Follies" is that the youngest performer is 58 years old. And the oldest is 83 ! The guest "headliner" was Gloria Loring, an actress whose heyday was in the 80's. There were a couple of specialty acts designed, no doubt, to give the senior citizen singers and dancers a rest. The best was a husband and wife team, performing "quick change" / magic transformation. They were neat !

After the show, we walked around downtown looking for somewhere to have an early supper. Joanne selected Ruby Diner. A few weeks ago we had lunch at Ruby Diner in Rancho Mirage, and Joanne liked it so much she chose the downtown location for her birthday dinner today. Wow ... from dinner in the Eiffel Tower with a show at the Moulin Rouge afterwards, in Paris 3 years ago, to The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies and Ruby Diner today. What a fall from grace. HA HA HA !

As we drove back to Desert Hot Springs, Joanne's sister phoned to wish her Happy Birthday. Joanne chatted with her sister Lorraine, and nieces Madeleine and Amelia.

Happy Birthday, mi Amor !

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and very warm.

This morning my sister Sharon phoned from the Grace Hospital in Winnipeg, to let us know how her recovery is progressing after hip replacement surgery a few days ago. I applied a second and final coat of rubber roof compound around the new vent cap I installed on Harvey's roof Saturday. After lunch we drove to the Post Office in Desert Hot Springs and picked up some mail at General Delivery. Then we drove to Cathedral City to shop at Yes I Can, a store that sells mobility aids, all kinds of health related products for the elderly, and post surgical specialty products. Joanne shopped in their mastectomy room for a new bra and swimsuit. She bought a new bra, but not a swim suit. Too bad. We don't often come across specialty stores offering mastectomy products. Back at Sam's Family Spa Resort we washed the truck.

After supper we went to Desert Hot Springs to buy some groceries, then spent the rest of the evening sitting in the mineral water hot spas visiting with people from Edmonton, Seattle, and Colorado.

 

Tuesday ; Today was mostly cloudy and mild. While I was driving to Crystal Chrysler in Cathedral City it rained for about 10 seconds ... literally.

This morning we finished buffing the truck. Looks very nice. I removed all the valve extenders, hub caps, and wheel liners. I'm too fussy to trust the dealership's technicians to remove and replace them to my satisfaction. I phoned the Canadian federal government, and the Ontario provincial government, and ordered corporate tax return forms. I made a mistake in my order with the Ontario government, and will either have to phone again, or order the form online, now that I've obtained the Ontario government's online forms order web site. I did a couple of minor maintenance chores, then drove to Crystal Chrysler in Cathedral City for Lanoire's 48,000 km. service. Gee ... the bill is going to be about U.S.$750 ! Change oil and filter, change rear differential fluid, change front differential fluid, change transmission fluid and filter, replace fuel filter, rotate 6 tires, inspect brakes and everything else. And ... HA HA HA ... as a courtesy, they're going to wash the truck. Too bad I didn't know that yesterday !

For supper we went to the park's pot luck dinner, the last communal social activity in this park before we leave on Friday. Good dinner ! Pleasant company. Chatted with an interesting 80 year old woman. Her daughter, our age, died last month !

 

Wednesday ; Today was partially cloudy and mild.

This morning I prepared some postcards to send, did obedience training with Bo, read, and snoozed. This afternoon Crystal Chrysler's shuttle picked me up to drive me over to Cathedral City to pick up Lanoire. Recently I had noticed what I thought might be evidence of a leak at the power steering pump. Crystal Chrysler checked it out and found that the steering gear box was leaking. They replaced it under warranty. No muss, no fuss. I'm impressed.

This evening I got online, using the Wi-Fi signal I can "steal" from the motorhome around the corner from us. I retrieved updated investment data, bank account statements, and the Ontario corporate tax return forms I need. Our investment portfolios' value is at a new all time high. WOO-HOO !

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and mild.

This morning I tightened all the lug nuts on the truck, then reinstalled the valve extenders, wheel liners, and hub caps. In the process I smashed my thumb with a mallet. Ouch ! ! ! Then we left for a day of errands and shopping, to prepare for our departure tomorrow. First stop was the Post Office in Desert Hot Springs, to post some mail and check for the last piece of mail I was expecting at General Delivery. It wasn't there. Oh, well, it was just an RV caravan tour company's catalogue. When it finally does arrive here in Desert Hot Springs, it will sit here for 30 days in General Delivery, then get sent back to sender. We refilled water jugs at Stater Bros., then went to a women's fashion shop called Glossy. A woman we were chatting with in the mineral water hot spas the other night told Joanne that Glossy had a good selection of mastectomy swim suits. She was right. Joanne bought a new swim suit. I tried to convince her to buy two, but she wouldn't. That means more shopping for swim suits in the future < big sigh >.

We drove from Desert Hot Springs to Interstate 10, then east on I-10 to Thousand Palms to finally have lunch at an In-N-Out Burger outlet. Great burgers ! But In-N-Out Burgers seem to be so popular here in California there was a line-up even on a Friday at 1:30 P.M.. I think In-N-Out Burger's burgers were better than the Texas chain Whattaburger's burgers. Joanne disagrees, and thinks weshould drive to Texas to have lunch at a Whattaburger for comparison. Okay ! HA HA HA !

We drove a bit further east to Rancho Mirage. First stop was Home Depot where they finally had in stock the 12 foot piece of moulding I need. But obviously I don't have time to install it before we head to San Diego, so we'll be struggling with temporary storage of a cumbersome 12 foot piece of moulding for awhile until I get around to installing it. Next was < another big sigh > Wal-Mart for a major replenishment of supplies and groceries before leaving tomorrow for San Diego. I think we spend way too much of our lives in Wal-Marts. Finally, on our way back to Desert Hot Springs we stopped at Flying J in Thousand Palms to refill Lanoire with diesel.

Back at the trailer I reconciled last month's bank statements, then worked on updating my investment files and spreadsheets. Late in the evening we went to sit in the mineral water hot spas for about an hour, our last chance to "take the healing waters" as they used to say.

 

Friday ; Desert Hot Springs to San Diego, California

Today was sunny and warm.

This morning as we prepared for departure I discovered that the automatic transmission fluid and power steering fluid in Lanoire were a bit low, as a result of work done by Crystal Chrysler the other day. That caused a bit of a delay in our departure. Topping up fluids in Lanoire is not as easy as it sounds, due to how high the truck is, and how large the Cummins diesel engine is. I have to stand on a step ladder to be able to reach into the engine compartment.

We departed Desert Hot Springs heading west on Interstate 10. We turned southwest on Hwy. 60, then south on Interstate 215, then south on Interstate 15. We stopped for lunch just south of Temecula. As we got to the northern edge of San Diego, we turned east on Hwy. 52, then south on Hwy. 125 to stay on the outskirts of the city and avoid the worse of the afternoon rush hour.

Joanne had read about a casino on the east side of San Diego on Interstate 8 that welcomed RV’ers and allowed overnight parking. She wanted to visit the casino and stay overnight. We turned east on Interstate 8, drove through the San Diego suburb of El Cajon ( Ka hone ), and found the Viejas Casino operated by the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. After we parked I discovered that I had overfilled the power steering fluid, and it was oozing out through the top fill plug on the power steering pump, making a greasy mess all over the power steering pump, the steering gear box, and the underside of the front of the truck. DARN ! We jumped into the shuttle that drives through the parking lot every 10 or 15 minutes or so, and rode to the casino.

What an odd building. Large, multi level, built in 3 “wings”, east, south, and west. We entered through the east door, then wandered around trying to find our way to the south door. Once we found the south door, we walked out to the adjacent “outlet” shopping mall. WOW ... another Indian Band with too much money ! The outdoor “mall” was a series of pave stone walkways, winding around through manufactured high desert “canyons”, remarkably life like. Periodically, there were “caves” in the canyon walls. These were the store entrances. All through and around the “canyons” was lush oasis landscaping. There was a dancing water fountain, laid out in a Dream Catcher design.

At the far end of the mall was a San Diego Information Centre. We went in and collected some maps and information. As we came out of the Information centre, I began to feel weak, and my muscles began to ache. We walked around a bit more, then headed back to the casino. By the time we got back into the casino, I was feeling horribly ill and needed to rest. We sat down at some slot machines so that I could rest a bit while Joanne played a dollar in a penny slot machine. It didn’t take her long to lose the dollar, so we decided to head back to the trailer. We got slightly lost a few times trying to find the east door. By the time we got back to the trailer, I felt so chilled that my body was shivering and my teeth were chattering, and I ached everywhere. My head hurt, my face hurt, my eyes hurt, my arms ached from shoulders to fingertips, my legs ached from hips to toes, and I was nauseous.

I was wearing a long sleeved denim shirt and cardigan sweater. I added a hooded sweater, and a knit wool, long jacket, wrapped myself like a cocoon in 2 down filled duvets, and crawled into bed for 18 hours.

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and warm.

Holy Mackerel ! I don’t think I’ve ever had a flu grab me that hard, that suddenly. I couldn’t get out of bed until noon today. It was our plan to move to an RV park this morning, after seeing the casino last night, but I was too ill to even get out of bed, let alone drive the rig. And Joanne is not capable of driving the rig in congested urban traffic.

I got up at noon and had a small lunch. Joanne and I did some planning of what we wanted to see and do in San Diego, then she made a reservation at an RV park for arrival tomorrow. Right after lunch I went back to bed, where I stayed for another 18 hours, getting up only to deal with my ongoing episodes of exploding colon, made much worse by the flu.

Joanne went to the casino to renew our free overnight parking permit, then she went to browse in the outlet mall. She returned disgusted. Fifty-seven stores, and nothing of any interest to anyone over the age of twenty-five !

 

DSK