Las Vegas, NV, Sunday, July 15, 2012

Cajon pass we had had a head wind all the way from Las Vegas. I don't like moving day so I contacted the office last night about putting it off one more day. No luck the site was reserved for later today and for the next three weeks.

I had dumped tanks, hooked up the Jeep and unhooked everything but power last night after knowing we couldn't stay over until Monday. Except for stowing the inside things we were almost ready to go. I usually only have to handle the outside but with Gerri pretty much out of commission I was reminded how much has to be done. We got up at eight and pulled out 10.

The 310 mile drive wasn't too bad traffic wise. We hit a rain and hail storm in the Yermo area that lasted about four miles. The other thing I discovered was that I used more fuel than usual on the trip to Oceanside. Until we went down the hill from Cajon Pass, we had had a head wind all the way from Las Vegas. The trip computer said I had enough fuel to make it home. I was leery of trusting the computer. When the computer shows 100 miles of fuel left it goes to a low fuel reading and won't show how many miles it calculates are left. Really REALLY not wanting to run out of fuel I stopped at Primm. What a mess! The normally dry lake was running over with water with water running over the roads and in the parking lots. That combined with completely stopped traffic on I-15 South, there were long lines at the truck stop, inside the convenience store and to get back on the Interstate. I put in $50.00 worth of diesel and hoped the price at Sam's was under the $3.599 they were charging at Primm.

I topped off the tanks at Sam's, diesel was $3.449 a gallon. It cost me another $300.00 to top off the tank. Considering fuel only the trip cost about 50 cents a mile.

We got home at 5:30 PM. I hooked up the power and unloaded only the things necessary for the night.

Saturday, July 14, 2012, Oceanside, CA

The morning of our last full day here started like every morning of the last two weeks in Oceanside. May Gray and June Gloom extended into mid July. I was up, fixed coffee, caught up my e-mal and words with friends games, and washed dishes before Gerri stirred.

After finishing my coffee I decided to load up my bike on the Jeep and head out to the SLRRT to see if I could pick up some easy caches. I drove to the start of the trail at Neptune and Cleveland and was at my first cache at 12:45. I met another cacher and did caches with him up to about the 3 mile mark. Because of him I bagged a couple that I wouldn't have tried. The north slope of the trail is cemented over rocks that my knees and ankles don't work well on. The other cacher is a marine stationed here, he is originally from Kentucky. Not quite a fellow hillbilly but close.

I went to the 4 mile marker before turning around at 3:50. I passed some that were down the rocky slope. I did a couple that were off the trail. On the last cache I was so tired my heart wasn't in it. I got back to the Jeep at 5 PM. I found a total of 16 and didn't hunt 4 because of the rocky slope.

Friday, July 13, 2012, Oceanside, CA

After getting up I caught up with my e-mail and Words with friends games.

At noon I took Gerri to her hair appointment. I went from there to the pier to have another look for a cache I didn't find yesterday. This morning I read all the information on the cache page and thought I had an idea where the cache was located. Either I was wrong or the cache is missing.

After picking up Gerri we decided to go to the PCH Restaurant. They had a sign claiming to have the best biscuits and gravy in Oceanside. Gerri had a chicken sandwich and I tried the biscuits and gravy. Both were very good. The biscuits were made with cheese and jalapenos.

Later I went caching. I found seven and DNFed one. Two of the finds were caches that I had looked for in past years and didn't find.

After getting back to the coach I talked for awhile with the neighbors. We had cheese and crackers, did some more computer stuff and watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday, July 12, 2012, Oceanside, CA

Rain was forecast for today. Our only plans were to meet Tim and Beth at the Wyndham and go to lunch at Ruby's on the pier. It did start sprinkling as we left the park. The drops were far apart.

Tim got us a guest pass for parking in the Wyndham's garage. Their timeshare unit was on the 5^th floor and even though it was billed as a partial ocean view, it looked out over the beach and the pier was in sight. We met their daughter Melanie and her daughter Mya. After visiting for awhile we decided to pass on walking out on the pier to Ruby's. By now the raindrops were closer together but still not a drizzle. We decided on the Breakwater Brewery which was close by. They served a variety of sandwiches and pizzas. Gerri had a Cuban Panini and I had a toasted meatball sandwich. All very good, typically the meatball sandwich was very messy. Mya is about six and I was impressed with how well she behaved, being stuck at lunch with five adults for lunch. Like most kids she was stuck by the wheelchair and wanted to help Gerri get around.

Gerri's foot is still swelling after a few hours hanging down, so we went back to the coach after lunch. By now the rain had worked its way up to a fine misty drizzle. I chatted with our neighbor in space two for awhile and then decided to try for a cache on the Oceanside Pier. I still had the guest pass for parking at the Wyndham, but decided to try to get closer to the pier even if it meant putting money in a meter. I found a pay lot on North Strand and was pleasantly surprised that with the handicapped tag I could park for free. I parked by a ramp that goes up the pier. The cache wasn't all the way to the end of the pier. I looked around for it until I got too cold and damp and gave up.

I hunted and found three other caches and by then it was getting pretty late so I headed back. Gerri wasn't hungry after the big lunch. I heated up the leftovers from our dinner at Sonny's and finished off the evening watching a few old Gunsmoke episodes.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012, Oceanside, CA

The nice thing about the gray overcast days is that it's not 110° like home. The AC is set on 80° and came on early in the afternoon.

Tim and Beth came over at 11am, so before that we spent some time sprucing up the coach. We went to Norte in Carlsbad for lunch. What a great meal, especially enjoyed with such good friends. We sat outside and enjoyed the cool air.

Gerri's foot is still swelling after a couple of hours without elevating it. Back at the coach she kept her foot up.

I did six geocaches. They are getting further away and I have to use the Jeep instead of riding my bike.

At six there was a "block party" at space 1, sponsored by the park. It was potluck and there was a good crowd. I talked to a few of the neighbors. Most of the people I have talked to have been coming here for many years. Our neighbor in space 4 is a fireman from Las Vegas. Others I have talked with are from closer cities in southern California, such as Hemet and Temecula.

 

Tuesday, July 10, 2012, Oceanside, CA

The sun tried to come out at 8:30 and didn't make it long. It was mostly an overcast day.
Gerri asked me not to go caching on my bike. So, I went out in the Jeep and found six, including three on the San Luis Rey River Trail.
Gerri made plans to have supper at Sonny's in San Clemente with her cousin, Arlene and her husband Bill. Bill is from Bluefield, WV, who is a fellow hillbilly. Also included in the party were Tim and Beth Burton, our friends from Scottsdale. We met Tim and Beth on our South Seas cruise last year.

Sonny's is our favorite Italian Restaurant in the area. We try to go there whenever we spend time in northern San Diego or southern Orange Counties. We had a great meal and caught up on news from all the friends and family present.
After supper it was back to the park for computer and TV time. We got new neighbors in space 2 on our east. We will probably meet them tomorrow. When we got back to the coach there was a flyer on the door about a block party on Wednesday evening at space 1. We plan to go to Norte's with Tim and Beth for lunch.

Monday, July 9, 2012, Oceanside, CA

The sun was out by 9:30. I caught up with my Words with Friends games and created a new query for Oceanside on geocaching.com. Yesterday when we went caching along the San Lois Rey River Trail, many of the caches didn't show on my GPSR. I found out I had checked caches available to all users and many of the caches (the ones that didn't show) were for premium members only. I went out on my bike to find a few caches. The closest one to the park was one I hadn't found on two occasions. Armed with gloves and determination I headed out. I found the cache after some time hunting. It was about 20' from where I thought the hint and GPSR indicated. It was in the ivy that I love to search, but I spotted it. There is now one less cache on my DNF list. I did find two others before heading back to the park. One was a micro very cleverly concealed in a coax cable, the piece that connected the two ends was hollowed out and the log inserted. The cable looked like it belonged there and it took me a few minutes to figure it out.

Gerri got dressed and out of the coach for awhile. We sat by the pool for a couple of hours. I napped a little.

Later back at the coach I fried up some sausages and made a casserole with the sausage, eggs, cheese and tortillas.

We watched some old westerns and episodes of Pawn Stars before turning in.

Sunday, July 8, 2012, Oceanside, CA

Last night when we came home we could see stars in the sky, this morning we are back to the grey skies. The sun did come out a little before noon. Todd and Jeannette and the kids came over at about the same time the sun came out. They ate some and we headed out on bikes for the San Lois Rey River Trail for a bike ride and geocaching. A search showed caches about every 1/10 mile along the trail. My fist indication that something was wrong with my cache down load was when I couldn't find the first cache along the trail on my GPSR. The GPSR showed the first cache about a mile and a half up the trail. We went there and it turned out that one was on the other side of the river. Heading east the next cache was over a mile away. For some reason the caches in between were filtered out of my query. As it worked out it was just as well. Two of the caches we found were about 40' feet down a cemented rock embankment that my ankles and knee wouldn't have stood for. It would have been unsafe for me to go there. I do intend to find out why the caches in between weren't downloaded. We rode about five miles up the trail and found four caches. Emma and Wyatt were excited about the finds. We stopped twice going out for snacks and twice on the way back. We got back to the RV Park at about 4:30, a round trip of 14 miles. The kids had two sandwiches each and Todd and Jeannette ate also. They left for home at about 5:30.

I think our visit with the boys and their families was a success, too bad Curtis and Dana couldn't have stayed all week. Of course after Bill and Elaine came we also had good visits with them. Next year is a question mark for the use of the timeshares. Curt and Dana are moving to Austin, TX so it won't be the sons. We will wait and see.

This week we will visit with cousins Bill and Arlene and our friends Tim and Beth from Arizona. Tim and Beth are staying at the Wyndham by the pier in Oceanside.

We have new neighbors on our west side; he is a fireman from Las Vegas. I also talked to the couple on our east side, turns out he is policeman from Denver, and they are headed to the Oasis RV Park in Las Vegas before heading home.

I fixed chicken salad using the leftovers chicken from our last supper with Bill and Elaine and used some red onions and red cabbage that I brought from home. I made sandwiches and found out our toaster is on the small side for the bread we brought. Any meals in the coach will now depend on shopping at least for side or salads. We do have a variety of sausage and a frozen pot roast. I guess we could fix a breakfast for supper using pancakes, eggs and some of the sausages. We will see.

Gerri watched America Has Talent and did her computer work while I watched recorded TV shows and caught up on my computer games.

That ended another great day at Paradise by the Sea.

 

 

 

 

 

Las Veg for few days an

Gerri had a lazy PJ day and rested her foot. I made chicken salad from the leftovers from or last meal with Bill and Elaine.

Saturday, July 7, 2012, Oceanside, CA

This was another lazy morning in Paradise. Paradise By The Sea RV Resort, that is. Todd called at about 10 AM; they were riding the San Luis Rey River Trail. About noon they stopped by on the way back to the Carlsbad Inn. Yesterday there was a "fecal incident" and the pool at the Carlsbad Inn was closed, we called and the problem had been resolved. They headed back there to use the pool. We got to the Carlsbad inn at about 2:00. Todd and family were headed for the beach.

Gerri and Elaine shopped for a while at the jewelry store by the Inn. Parking was at a premium, I had to pull in the Jeep's mirrors and could barely squeeze out of the door.

We visited with Bill and Elaine during the time the kids were at the beach. Gerri and Elaine played cards. We decided on supper with Todd and Jeannette and the kids. We ordered Chinese food.

After supper Gerri went back to the card game with Elaine and the rest of us took a short walk. On the way back we stopped and watched a street performance by a juggler. The kids really enjoyed the show.

Gerri called near the end of the performance saying she was ready to go home. It was easier to get the Jeep out of the parking space than it had been getting it in.

Some computer and TV time and we called it a night.

Oceanside, CA July 6, 2012

We slept in again. It is so easy to do when the sun doesn't come out. I walked around the park and talked to a couple of neighbors.

At noon Gerri went to get her hair done at a salon close to the park. She took a shower in the coach last night, not an easy task when you can't put weight on either foot. If the doctor lets her start putting weight on at least one foot when she sees him, things will get easier.

Will wonders never cease? The sun came out a little before noon and stayed out the rest of the day.

While Gerri was at the hair salon, I found two caches and DNF'ed another. The DNF was one I couldn't find a few years ago, sometimes I hate ivy!

We met Bill and Elaine for lunch at the Harbor Fish House. The ladies had fish tacos and we guys had fish and chips. Todd and Jeannette's and their friends went to the beach. The friends are staying tonight. We plan to see Todd and family tomorrow, after the friends leave. And, of course, after their bike ride.

We went to the Carlsbad Outlets for Gerri's shopping fix. While the ladies shopped, Bill and I went caching and bagged two around Legoland. Bill had a problem with one of the doors on their new to them Mercedes and had to take the loaner car back and pick up theirs.

For supper Elaine brought over salad and left over chicken from last night and heated up some chibata bread. It made a good light meal. We were all still feeling the effects of the fish tacos and fish and chips we had for lunch. We visited for awhile after dinner and the dish cleanup was finished and Bill and Elaine went back to the Carlsbad Inn.

Some computer and TV time rounded out the evening.

Oceanside, CA July 5, 2012

Oceanside, CA


Our plan for today was to rest up and specifically for Gerri to keep her foot elevated. No solid plans until supper with the folks at the Carlsbad Inn. Soo, we slept in late, like 9 AM.

Gerri pretty much stayed in bed during the morning. I did check out the trail that goes to the beach from the RV Park. It isn’t very far at the end is a park and a restaurant and across the street is a nice large beach. Pretty busy, but nice.

In the early afternoon I loaded up a few nearby caches. I rode down to the beach and then north to a cache which was an easy find. I rode about a half a mile further north but the GSP showed the cache in some rocks in front of two occupied benches. I headed south but realized it was getting close to time to go to the Carlsbad Inn for supper with the folks there.

Our plan for supper was to grill some chicken and hamburgers and have supper with Bill and Elaine and Todd ‘s family. Earlier in the day Emma had helped Elaine fix a frozen yogurt pie with crumbled chocolate cookie crust.

Between Chicken breasts, thighs and hamburgers and salads prepared by Jeannette and Emma, we had a fine feast.

After supper and visiting for awhile we went back to the RV Park.

After some TV and computer time, we called it a night.

What a great day!

Oceanside, CA July 4, 2012

Oceanside, CA  July 4, 2012


The sky was gray again this morning.

At about 9 AM Todd, Jeannette and the kids stopped by returning from a long bike ride. Todd helped me put the bike trailer in the Jeep that Curtis had used on his trip from Seattle to San Diego but isn’t taking it to Texas. That trip was in 1999. Todd also pumped up Gerri’s wheelchair tires.

We all met at the Daily News Café for a late breakfast. Curtis, Dana and their kids left for Las Vegas after the meal. Those that were left attended some of the events on the Green. Wyatt and Emma must have Hula Hooped for an hour. Gerri’s foot has been aching and swelling after long hours not keeping it elevated, so we went back to the RV Park.

While Gerri was resting I watched the 4th of July parade of kids and bikes through the park and visited with some neighbors.

At about 4pm we went back to the Carlsbad Inn and visited with our friends Bill and Elaine. They are using the unit Curtis was in. They will leave Sunday.

Jeannette had invited us to supper so we went to their unit. A little before 6pm Walter, Jeannette’s father arrived for a visit and supper. We thought he was staying the night but he has an appointment in the AM back in San Diego. Walter is getting everything squared away to move back to Chile in a month or so. He is planning to marry a lady he has known since childhood.

Later back at the RV Park we watched the Macy’s Fireworks on TV and called it a night.

Oceanside, CA July 3, 2012

Oceanside, CA


Another gray morning here in Paradise by the Sea.

We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch with the kids at the Carlsbad Inn. We had to have a maintenance man come and light the grill. Later Curt and I went to Albertsons to buy a cake for Dana’s birthday. We thought we got an ice cream cake and put it in the freezer at Todd’s unit.

We spent most of the afternoon in the pool with the kids after the sun came out.

For supper we had pizza and played bingo at the room above the library of the Carlsbad Inn. Dana won the first game; we had no other winners at our table. One of the games only used the B and O lines, to claim a win we had to stand up with your arms raised and yell, “I’ve got B O!” For another game every one had to stand and then sit down when a number was called on their card. Last one standing won. After the five Bingo games we went to Curt’s unit and all had cake and sang happy birthday to Dana. When we cut the cake we found out it wasn’t ice cream cake, just yellow cake.

After supper and cake we called it a night and went back to the RV Park.

Oceanside, CA July 2, 2012

Oceanside, CA


Our first morning in Oceanside, June Gloom has extended into July. It was easy to sleep in with it not being sunny outside.

I spent a little time getting things squared away outside, flags up and a few other things.

Jeannette and the kids came by the RV Park as part of their daily bike ride. Emma and Wyatt rode their bikes and Jeannette jogged along with them. They rode a total of eight miles, it is almost two miles from the RV park to the Carlsbad Inn.

After a rest they headed back and Gerri and I got ready to go to the Carlsbad Inn too. Jeannette and Dana went to the grocery store with the two girls to get the things needed for a spaghetti dinner, so we went to Walgreens for a size band aide I forgot to bring. I hit the back of my hand on something and needed larger bandages than we were shopping for.

We hung around with Curtis and the boys until Dana and Jeannette got back from the store. Todd had left early in the morning to be at two meetings in the Lakewood area. With traffic and going by a shop to pick up Jeannette’s bike he didn’t get back to Carlsbad until about seven PM.

The grand kids seem to get along well. Well very noisily. I think I will take out my hearing aids when they are all together. That should cut the shrill screams down a little.

We got back to the coach at about 9:45. Gerri watched TV for awhile and caught up on her computer tasks. I tried to play Words with Friends on Facebook, but the connection was way too slow to play.

I don’t know when Gerri went to sleep but I went to bed just after Jay’s monolog.

It was a good day with family. By the way the sun did shine for awhile during midday and early afternoon.

Oceanside, CA July 1, 2012

July 1, 2012

Oceanside, CA.

I brought home the coach on Thursday after getting it washed at the Bus Depot. A bus pulled in ahead of me so it took several hours to get the job done. Now the coach looks great and they didn’t charge me $70 like last time. I tipped the washer $35, obviously cheap at twice the price, and the temp outside was was over 100°.

Since Gerri is still in a wheelchair and can’t put weight on either foot, I had to do all the loading myself. It took all day Friday and Saturday. I don’t move very fast and rest a lot.

One of the last things I did was to check the tire inflation, fortunately only a couple of tires needed air and I got it done before my tank went empty. I can’t believe the 10 lb. bottle of CO2 was empty. I just filled it in July when we were in West Virginia and hadn’t used it very much.

After putting in a few more items we left the house at about 10:50 AM. There was a pretty stiff wind quartering from the right front or front until we went down off the high desert from Cajon Pass. After that it was more relaxing to drive and a lot quieter. With the wind and traffic I got boxed in on the grade from Primm to Mt. Pass and only got my speed back up to 35 mph headed for the pass.

Traffic was intermittently heavy and a lot of time I wasn’t able to maintain the 55 mph speed limit.

Our route was I-15 to CA-241 in the Riverside area, then to CA-133 over to I-5 south. Then on to Oceanside. Ca-241 and 133 are toll roads which we have used to make the drive a little shorter and a whole lot less congested. It had been several years since we came this way and we were shocked at the price increase. $23 buys more than enough diesel, even in California, to make the slightly longer route more attractive in the future.

We got to the Paradise By The Sea Resort at about 5:30 and got set up. We drove about 310 miles.

At about 7 we met Todd and Curtis and their families at Norte’s in Carlsbad. They are both staying at the Carlsbad Inn.

After a great meal we lounged around the green at the Carlsbad Inn for awhile before heading back to the RV Park.

Gerri did very well getting into the coach and getting around inside after we were parked. There is very little room for her wheelchair, but is using her knee walker by sitting on it and riding around in the m/h. We also found that the chair barely fits into the Jeep. The slide on the transfer board is much steeper into the Jeep than in the Lincoln. A hard pull up to get in and a quick thrill ride back down into the wheelchair.