Yesterday, when we arrived at home, I called the game warden office at Camp Pendleton and checked the recorded message, to find out whether Red Beach would be open for the Memorial Day weekend.
The beach will be open from 4:30 PM on Friday to 7:00 PM on Tuesday.
Camp Pendleton is a large US Marine Corps Base.
We restocked the refrigerator and left home today at 2:00 PM. When we arrived at Camp Pendleton there were already 40 rigs lined up on the road.
We saw Arlene and Howard near the front of the line and Linda and Jon not far behind them. They are our friends from the Convair Camping Club, and came early to get a parking space near the water.
We got in line and Doreen started knitting and I did some reading and talking to the people parked behind us.
At 4:15 PM the line started moving. When we came near the beach the road split in three directions. We took the road to the southern part of the camping area.
When we arrived at the beach we did not see our friends. We unhooked the car and drove to the middle beach area. Darlene and Howard were there. Arlene told us that she had called Linda and that they were near our motorhome. They had misunderstood each other and had gone to different places.
We put some chairs at a level area and went and got the motorhome.
Linda and Jon decided to stay since they have a spot right at the water.
Since it was high tide and tanks and armored vehicles had left deep ruts in the sand it was difficult to walk on the beach.
In the evening Howard had a camp fire and we all got together. Another couple joined us. They have a big fifth wheel trailer and tow it with a large commercial truck. Doreen ask Nancy whether her husband used to be a truck driver. She said he flew
747s.
5-23-09
I was on the beach real early. There was low tide and it was easy to walk on the hard wet sand. I went first to the Southern camping area and then headed North.
Camp Pendleton has 17 miles of beaches.
When I came back to the motorhome Doreen was up. We had raspberry pancakes.
After breakfast we walked on the beach. Doreen decided to go up the hill and then the long way back.
I told her that I would not carry her if she gets tired. I had to hold on to her because of her balance problem, but she kept on walking.
It took us a long time and we were tired when we got back to the motorhome. But after a nap we were fit again.
By 11:00 AM the sun had come out and it was a bit warmer. The cool ocean breeze feels wonderful.
At 4:00 PM we had Happy Hour at Darlene and Howard’s rig.
Doreen left about 5:00 PM for home. She will go tomorrow morning to a retirement party for an old friend.
After dinner I went over to Arlene and Howard and joined them at the camp fire.
This was a beautiful day.
5-24-09
Another fine morning. I did my Morning walk and took some pictures. Some people go through a lot to get a good view of the ocean. One motorhome had its front tires 15 inches above ground. It was parked on the little hill. Another person dug holes for the back tires to level the motorhome. The ground on the hill is not soft and it took some work. The motorhome has to be level in order not to damage the refrigerator.
I also watched a man playing with a radio controlled surfer. The little toy would ride the waves and when it tipped over it would up-right itself again. He had a lot of fun.
Doreen came back at noon. I lit a burner on the stove and noticed that the flame had no pressure. The gage on the tank shows that the tank is half full, so does the panel inside the motorhome. The gages must be off.
If I would have known earlier I could have called Doreen to bring the spare tank for the Bar B Q.
I went home and got it.
At 4:00 PM we went over to Arlene and Howard for Happy Hour. Friends from the Convair Camping Club had come by car and joined us. We were a little group.
Four young women on horses came by.
Children were digging a deep hole. They had a lot of fun.
In the evening we had another nice camp fire.
5-25-09
Some people left early. I suppose they have to go to work tomorrow. We could have moved to the waters edge, but decided to stay. We can see the water and hear the waves from our spot.
We did our walk on the beach and I finished the book I was reading. Doreen did her knitting and did some “Word Search Collection”.
We had a long Happy Hour and another camp fire.
Last week and today was very relaxing and being together with wonderful people makes it that much better.
5-26-09
We left Red Beach at about 9:30 AM. I went to fill up the propane tank in the motorhome. It took only 7.5 gallons, which means the tank was not empty. There is something else wrong.
