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