Sunday November 16, 2014 Las Vegas, NV

Since this was check out day we were up earlier than normal.  Check out was 10 AM.

Nothing happens without morning coffee being made.  We had that while catching up on computer activities and getting our things packed for travel.

We left the resort a little earlier than expected.  There wasn't the usual shortage of luggage carts, so getting things to the car went swiftly.  We were ready to go and on the road at 9:30.

A Pumpkin patch in Carlsbad

Me, Gerri, Neva, Marilyn and Bob Faircloth

We had plans to meet another cousin and her husband in Temecula for lunch.  Marilyn Faircloth and her husband Bob live in Minefee. We crossed over from the I-5 through San Marcos to the I-15 and headed north.  At Deer Creek Road we turned off onto Old US-395 and drove sort of parallel with I-15 for a ways hoping to see an avocado stand open.  We didn't see one but we went by Nessy Burgers and noticed they were now open on Sunday. Nessy's makes the best burger, bar none, in the country. http://www.nessyburgers.com/

We got to Mimi's, http://www.mimiscafe.com/, in Temecula at the same time Bob and Marilyn arrived.  We had a nice lunch and a good visit with them. Of course we took pictures before getting back on the road for Las Vegas.

Cousins 

The rest of the trip was uneventful and we got to the house and unloaded at about 5:00.  As soon as we got her things transfered from our car to hers, Neva headed for her house.  She did call us when she got there safely.

At 6 we tried to turn into the netcast from Oakey Blvd. Church of Christ but the video feed kept stopping and we gave up on that part of the evening.

We will be home for awhile.  Our next travel plans are to go to Texas for Christmas.  Brandon ask us to come to his house for Christmas, so that is our plan.  We don't know yet if we are going to drive or fly.  I would rather take the motor home and make a longer trip of it, but that doesn't seem to be an option.

Before the trip to Texas I have doctor appointments to take care of starting Tuesday with surgery on my right eye to remove the cataract.

Saturday November 15, 2014 Carlsbad, CA

We were all up by 9 AM and started drinking our coffee.  For the ladies this was an off day with nothing planned.

I got dressed and went out caching at about 1:30. There are caches nearby but some are on trails and for the one around Legoland and there is no place to park.  Instead of going into town and seeking caches, I tried some of a series on a  trail near the Carlsbad Crossings Golf Course.  The first cache took me down a step section of trail and was an easy find.  The next took me further down the trail and the trail got steeper.  I didn't find the second cache which was 1/10th of a mile from the first one which was 1/10th of a mile from where I parked.  I went further along the trail and found two more caches.  The last one was interesting.  It was an expended .50 caliber cartridge with a section of the linkbelt still attached.  A bullet held the log in it.

I walked further along the trail and decided that if it made a loop back to the parking lot it was a lot further than returning the way I had come.  On the way back I found the cache that had eluded me on the trip down.  The path was steep but I slowly worked my way back to the car.  With a tough hike and four caches found I returned to the resort.

We played a game of Mexican train, Neva won. That makes the domino score 2 for me and one each for the ladies during this week.

Later Neva and I walked out on the walk above the flower fields for sunset pictures.  We didn't see the main layer until the sun reached it and it became obscured.  There was a hole in the layers of the fog and it made for a brief but interesting reappearance of the sun before it sat in the ocean.

Back at our unit, Gerri warmed up the leftovers from Sonny's and we had a good and plentiful meal.

The rest of the evening consisting of TV, computer time and reading before calling it a night.

This morning I started the routine of eye drops in preparation for my surgery this Tuesday.  Post operative eye drops continue for my left eye until November 21st.

Friday November 14, 2014 Carlsbad, CA

We had our coffee while catching up on computer activities.  Most of the late morning and early afternoon was spent reading. And lounging in our room.

At 3 we left for San Diego.  Our plan was to meet John and Montyne at their boat, visit for awhile and then go to Lou and Mona Miloti's home for a visit before dinner at the Coronado Cays Yacht Club.

Because of heavy traffic it took over an hour and a half to make the 38 mile drive.  Our visit at the boat was cut short.  We did get there in time to see a couple of gondolas go by before dark.

At 5 we went to Lou and Mona's home about a half mile away.  We hadn't seen them since our Mediterranean  cruise, so we had quite a reunion. We talked about what we all had been doing since the cruise and some future travel plans.

At 6:30 we headed back toward John and Montyne's place to have dinner at the Coronado Cays Yacht Club.  We had a great dinner and of course a lot more conversation.  Because John and Montyne are members of the yacht club and live in the marina, they were greeted by several people before and after we ate.  Lou and Mona knew some couples from their neighborhood that are also yacht club members.  They also talked to one of the long term waitresses that had worked at the yacht club when their son was the manager.

We said our goodbyes in front of the yacht club and went our separate ways after making promises of future get togethers.

The drive back to the resort in Carlsbad took only about 45 minutes with light traffic.

It didn't take much reading and the TV news to finish off the day.  . We did share one of the large cookies from my birthday bouquet before retiring.

Thursday November 13, 2014 Carlsbad, CA

Not as much excitement and anticipation around here today.  No special occasions except lunch.

We had our coffee and caught up on computer stuff.  We spent most of the morning lounging around and reading.

In the afternoon we got ready and drove to Carlsbad Village.  We were to meet one of Gerri's high school classmates, Diane Bowen, for lunch at Norte Mexican Restaurant for lunch at two.  Gerri found a parking spot right in front of the restaurant.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Norte-Mexican-Food-Cocktail/144672778909485

Gerri and Neva went in and I went to find a nearby cache.  The container was hidden in an old English style iron phone booth.  It has a functioning pay phone inside.  I found the container quickly but had trouble getting the log out to sign.  A previous cacher had noted that tweezers were needed.  In preparation for that I had borrowed a small Swiss Army Knife with tweezers from Neva.   The log was damp and tightly wrapped to fit the container and it took me awhile to extract it.  I had done a cache in this same phone booth a few years ago.  Often caches are archived for some reason and later a new one springs up in the same location

The funny thing was that while I was in the phone booth my phone rang.  Thinking it was Gerri, and without looking, I answered with, "I'll be right there."  The thing was it wasn't Gerri.  It was my eye surgeon's office. The caller said it was Dr. Wellish's office.  She was calling to collect the fee for my operation on Tuesday and wondered why I was coming to the office today.  We finally got on the same page and I gave her the payment information.  I probably looked curious standing in a phone booth talking on my cell phone. 

Diane, Neva and Gerri

By the time I got to the restaurant Diane had arrived and the ladies were already seated.  We had chips and dip along with conversation before our meal.  Gerri and I had met with Diane a year or so ago, but Neva hadn't seen her since the families lived in Mississippi where Gerri went to high school.  We had a good meal and good conversation and then took a few pictures with the Carlsbad Inn and Norte's as the backdrop. 

High school friends

Yesterday Gerri got an email message asking her to call Sheriff Lamb.  She called him after we got back to the resort.  We both spoke to him for awhile.  We talked a little about old times and friends. Ralph lamented on the fact so many old friends are gone and he doesn't know many people around town any more.  Just what I needed after my 73rd birthday, a reminder that we are aging and that old friends have passed on.  On the other hand it was a good reminder to stay connected to old friends. Occasionally there is an "Old Timers" luncheon for retired cops.  Often we are out of town and I miss them.  Danny Rivers usually announces the dates and times.  I plan to remind him to invite the Sheriff.  It seems sad to me that the once most powerful man in Nevada is now without his old cronies that used to meet at Rosie's or Papa Gar's.

Neva had walked out to see the sunset.  After the phone call I went out to join her on the walk overlooking the flower fields to see the sunset.  The flower fields slope away from the resort and there is a walk way along the top which normally give a good view of the ocean.  The fields are being prepared for planting.  The fields are part of  nursery that raises flowers for bulbs and seed. When planted and in bloom they are quite artistic. We are seldom here when the flowers are in bloom, but it is a beautiful sight.  http://www.theflowerfields.com/

There were murky clouds and the marine layer was heavy.  We couldn't see the sun go down beyond the horizon because of the marine layer.


We played a game of Mexican Train.  Neva and I struggled and Gerri trounced us soundly.

After dominos we read. I made microwave popcorn, which Neva and I shared.  Gerri can't eat popcorn or nuts.  I made coffee for Neva and we shared two of the cookies that Curtis and Dana had sent for my birthday. 

Reading and a little TV news finished the evening.

Wednesday November 12, 2014 Carlsbad, CA

I had set up the coffee last night so all I had to do was turn it on.  While I waited for the coffee, I opened my birthday cards.  This is the 73rd anniversary of my birth and it even falls on the day of the week on which I was born.

I can not help but think of my mother today.  I am thankful for hard decisions she made at that time when war was raging in Europe and approaching in the Pacific.  I am also thankful for the long time she was with us.

My birthday cupcake

We had lunch of leftovers from last night's meal at the Harbor Fish Company.  After lunch Gerri gave me a haircut and we prepared for the afternoon visit to cousin Arlene and He Who Wants to Remain Unnamed on Facebook's home.

Sunset at Dana Pount

Arlene and Gerri at Sonny's

Neva, HWWTRUONF and me at Sonny's

At about 3 we went to Arlene and HWWTRUOF's and visited until about 5.  We then headed to our favorite Italian restaurant in the area, Sonny's Pizza in San Clemente.  Our meal was as good as we expected and of course the company was the best.  We spent about two more hours eating and visiting.  We all had leftovers to take back to the resort.  After goodbyes we left the restaurant separately.

When we got back to the resort I had a cookie bouquet from Curt and Dana and family.

Back at the resort we played a rousing game of Mexican Train.  I won, this was two in a row.

What a great day!  Another enjoyable birthday with a call from Todd, Emma,Wyatt and Jeannette in Long Beach.   The  surprise was that both Emma and Wyatt spoke on the phone and then sang happy birthday to me.  I also got calls from the kids in Texas; Curtis, Dana, Brandon and Vanessa.  A surprise call came from grandson Sean in Reno.  Then there was the 100+ well wishers on Facebook.

Some computer time and reading finished off the day. Tomorrow I start my 74th year. I am so thankful to God for all his blessings.  That are too numerous to list, but at the top are my family, friends and health.

Tuesday November 11, 2014 Carlsbad, CA

We made this a lazy day, we had nothing planned.  We lingered over our coffee and a food bar each.

Later we had lunch of left overs.  Gerri and Neva had their left over fajitas from El Torito and I had the pizza.

The sun was out for the most of the day but there was a heavy marine layer.



Just before sunset we drove to Carlsbad Village. On the way we stopped at a small park at the corner of Cannon and Carlsbad Blvd. to look for a geocache.  I had found two in this park over the years that have been archived.  I didn't find the new one, maybe later.









We parked in an area overlooking the beach near the Carlsbad Inn. We got some pretty good pictures.  We never saw the sun set into the ocean because of the marine layer.  The reddest clouds were to the east.

 For dinner we decided on the nearby Harbor Fish Company.  They have excellent fish tacos and fish and chips.  http://www.yelp.com/biz/harbor-fish-cafe-carlsbad










Gerri and I both had a cup of clam chowder.  We ate early but we all ordered the two piece plate of fish and chips.  Of course we had a piece of fish each and plenty of fries left over for another meal.

Back at the resort we played a game of dominoes, Mexican Train.  JoNell will be glad to hear that I squeaked out a victory.  It isn't often that I can beat two Barnharts at any table games.

I didn't make it much past 9:30.  I suppose that was because of my late night reading yesterday. I have no idea when the ladies called it a night.

Monday November 10, 2014 Carlsbad, CA

Even though I napped on the drive from Las Vegas yesterday, I slept until nearly 9:30am.  Neva slept in later than I did and Gerri had been up for awhile waiting for us to stir around.

Brother-in-law John called at about 10.  He got to the house earlier than planned.  He had checked out the problem with the garage door that trapped Judy yesterday.  The problem was where I had parked Neva's van.  I had pulled it into the garage and walked around to make sure it was far enough in for the door to close.  What I didn't do was look up.  The Toyota van is taller than Gerri's Lincoln and the emergency release drags on the roof.  It is no problem when the door closed.  When Judy opened the door the handle of the release caught on the rear spoiler at the back of the van and released the door causing it to slam shut.  Fortunately Judy wasn't in the way when the door closed as it comes down with considerable force.  I watched it several times on the recordings on the security camera.  I e-mailed Judy a picture of her looking perplexed on how to get out of the garage.

John shortened the cord so it would clear the spoiler by putting a knot in the cord. Nothing was broken so there should not be any further problems.

The sun was out most of the day but we pretty much stayed in during the afternoon.

Emma, Todd and Wyatt

We left the resort at 5 to drive to Dana Point to meet Todd and family at the El Torrito Mexican Restaurant.  Traffic was heavy in both directions.  We got to the restaurant before Todd and were already seated when they arrived.  Jeannette wasn't feeling well and didn't come  So it was just Todd, Emma and Wyatt,  We hadn't seen the kids since January. They seemed to have grown a lot.  Before hugging me Wyatt gave me a folded note.  It was a 3x5 card and he had written "I love You Grandpa" on it.

Emma, Wyatt, Todd and me

Emma is 9 and Wyatt is seven, they are both very articulate and even Emma has become quite conversant.  We had antimated conversations before during and after the meal. We enjoyed their company, I'm not sure what our fellow dinners thought. But, I don't think we disturbed them very much.

When we left the restaurant I checked the geocaching app on my iPhone, there was a cache 475' away.  The kids were enthusiastic about the hunt.  Gerri and Neva followed us in the car.  I never have done well finding caches at night, but with four of us looking I was confident of success.  Emma spotted the container but couldn't reach it.  Todd retrieved the container and I signed the log.

Night caching

Wyatt and Emma

We said our goodbyes and headed back to Carlsbad.  Todd and family went the other direction to their home in Long Beach.  We were back at the resort by 9.

Me, Wyatt, Emma, Gerri and Todd

Wyatt Todd, Emma and Neva

Emma and the Ruby slippers

We rounded out the evening with reading and computer activities.  I was reading and true to form stayed up to finish my book at 2 AM. Gerri and Neva were smarter and were asleep much earlier.

Sunday November 9, 2014 Carlsbad, CA

It has been three and a half weeks since our last blog.  In that time I have visited doctors, had tests and had the cataract removed from my left eye.

The saga of the wood floor in the kitchen continues.  Between the installers, the flooring company rep and Chad from Copper Creek Construction (who did the remodeling) the responsibility for repair has fallen on Copper Creek.  As soon as the wood is available they will replace the damaged area.  That may take awhile, the wood comes from a factory somewhere in eastern or northern Europe.

But, I regress. This trip is a short one to Carlsbad in southern California.  Since we are driving Gerri's Lincoln we don't have to pack the same as if we were flying.  We didn't plan to leave until 10:30, since check in at the resort didn't start until 4 PM.  We did some preparation on Saturday night and Gerri finished the packing this morning.  Gerri's mother, Neva will be with us for the week.  She arrived as planned at 10.  We put every thing in the car and pulled out at 10:30.

The first part of our route was south on I-15.  Every thing was fine until we started up the hill just past state line.  From there on the trip was mostly stop and go and very slow moving.  We normally stop at the Costco in Victorville for fuel.  Since traffic had been so slow we decided to have hot dogs at Costco and make a pit stop there.  I don't know if you have ever been to this Costco on a Sunday afternoon, but I can tell you it is busy.  If this isn't the busiest Costco in the chain, I would not like to see the busiest. Between our hot dogs and the line for fuel we must have been there for more than an hour.  We also got a pizza for dinner at the resort.  While I was in line for the food, Gerri found a Christmas decoration she had to have, and does now have.

Back on the road it was on into the construction zone going down from Cajon Pass and the construction again at the intersection with the 91 Freeway.  Occasionally we reached highway speed until we turned on CA-241.  The toll booths are no longer manned and you have to go online and pay by credit card.  There was little traffic on the toll roads, CA-241 or CA-133.  The traffic slowed once we were o I-5.

Before we left I had made arrangements with Dana's mother to pick up some documents that I left in the garage for her.  I had given her the garage door code.  Our son Curtis called me from Texas and told me that after Judy went into the garage the door slammed shut.  She had been on the phone with Curtis at the time.  Curtis guided her through escaping from the garage by opening the other door with the control from the Jeep.  She took the control with her and shut the door from the outside.

Our brother-in-law, John, will be at the house tomorrow.  I called him and explained the situation. He will check it out and call me.

We arrived at the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort at 5:35.  We were checked in and were in our room in time to tune into the webcast from Oakey blvd Church of Christ at 6 PM.

After worship service we finished bringing things from the car.  We ate our Pizza at about 7:30.

When we got unpacked, Gerri's computer wouldn't come on.  It wouldn't work plugged in or on the battery.  Gerri tried several outlets to no avail. I tried it with the battery out, no luck.  Before I went to bed I took the battery out and left the computer unplugged.  She has her iPad and we watched the Church Webcast on Neva's computer.

This will be a busy week.  We plan to meet Todd and his family at El Torito in Dana Point tonight. On Wednesday evening we will have dinner at Sonny's in San Clemente with cousins Arlene and Bill.  We will meet a high school classmate of Gerri's on Thursday for lunch at Norte in Carlsbad. Friday we plan to go to Coronado and visit with a couple we met on our Mediterranean cruise last October and have dinner with them, and Tyne and John at the Coronado Cays Yacht Club.

Reading and computer time brought us to bedtime.

I have no pictures for the blog.  Gerri took one of the traffic jam going up to Mountain Springs, but it was poor quality.