About Me

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I am retired and like to travel by motor home across the United States and Canada. In the winter I hope to spend more time with my WIN (Wandering Individual Network) friends in the California and Arizona desert. I know my trip reports are having too many details, but I am writing them for myself, if anybody else enjoys them, that is fine too.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Red Beach

5-22-09
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.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Santee Lakes 2009

5-18-09
We left Carlsbad at 12:00 Noon and headed for Santee Lakes. The Convair Camping Club has their monthly outing here.
It is hot here. We are running the air conditioner in the motorhome.
Going 40 miles inland makes a lot of difference temperature wise. It was OK though in the shade, with a little breeze.
At 5:15 PM we went to Mimi’s restaurant for dinner. Some members of the club, who do not participate at this outing, joined us. We had our own room.














5-19-09
This morning Doreen and I drove to the Mission Trails Regional Park. First we went to the Visitor Center and looked at the displays.Several school classes were also there.














Then we drove to the Old Mission Dam. The dam was build by the Kumeyaay Indians under supervision of the Padres. The dam made it possible to have the San Diego Mission and farm land to support the mission.













After lunch I went to the swimming pool. Arlene and Howard were also there. We had a nice conversation.
At 5:00 PM we had Happy Hour and at 6:00 PM dinner. George grilled Bratwurst and members of the club brought different side dishes and dessert. It was a very good meal.















At the camp fire everybody told an embarrassing story. We had a lot of laughs.
The campground has free wireless Internet access. I finally got the password.

5-20-09
This morning we went to Kaiser Permanente, our Health Maintenance Organization.
Doreen got her boobs squeezed. She claims, if men would have to go through this with one of their private parts, there would be a less hurtful machine.
When we came back we took a nap. Then I went to the swimming pool.











For dinner we had crazy tacos.
At the camp fire we enjoyed root beer floats. The evenings out here are just wonderful. It cools off about 5:00 PM.














5-21-09
At 6:30 AM I went for a walk around the lakes. It was still a bit foggy.
There are several small man made lakes. Some of the lakes have islands with picnic areas. Other islands have no bridges and are places for the birds to have their nests.
















At 9:00 AM we headed for home.A few minute before 10:00 AM we arrived at the Costco in Carlsbad and got gasoline for the motorhome.
This was a wonderful outing

Thursday, May 14, 2009

San Diego Embarcadero

5-14-09
We are still at home. Important medical appointments for Doreen keep us from traveling.
Our WIN friends are right now in the Mid West and New Mexico.
The Mid West group did the Natchez Trace and the New Mexico group does New Mexico’s State Parks.
We did today again San Diego. Our first stop was the Spruce Street Bridge, a wood suspension bridge.
The bridge was build in 1912 and spans a woodsy canyon of pepper and eucalyptus trees. Beautiful, large homes are on the rim of the canyon.













After lunch at El Indio Mexican Restaurant we went to the Embarcadero.
Three large Cruise Ships were there, next to the Midway, the aircraft carrier. It is a museum now.















Nearby are the Aircraft Carrier Memorial and “Homecoming” a national salute to Bob Hope and the military.















There is also a super large statue of a sailor kissing a nurse. The picture is well known and was taken at the end of World War 2.











While we were at the Embarcadero, Vice president Biden was visiting the aircraft carrier Ronald Regan, across the bay, in Coronado.