Oceanside Harbor Days 2012

9-29-12
Instead of walking this morning I went to the Oceanside harbor and got my exercise there.
This weekend is Harbor Days.

Because of the Marine Corps Base there is a strong military presence in Oceanside.
The Navy has one of their large hovercrafts on display. I would have liked to see it running in the ocean.

The Marines have some of their vehicles parked on the beach.

And of course there are booth selling a lot of stuff.

The Oceanside fire department is flying a giant flag.

Pirates are also present.

Torrey Pines State Reserve 2012

9-25-12
I went today to one of my favorite places in San Diego. It is the first time I visited the Torrey Pines State Reserve alone.
The Torrey pine is the rarest native pine tree in the Americas, growing naturally only at the State Reserve and on Santa Rosa Island.

I walked on one of the trails to the overlook.

Pelicans came flying by.

The coast is very beautiful here.

The lodge is now a museum where I saw a movie about the reserve.

Since the lodge is located on a high bluff one has a good view of the valley below

Art Splash 2012

9-22-12
The city of Carlsbad had their annual Art Splash on the street above the Flower Fields.
The fields are bare now. But workers were preparing the soil.

I was a bit early, the artists were still working on their pictures.

There was also an area for children art work.

It is a shame those beautiful pictures will be ruined by cars.

9-23-12
I am getting ready for the trip to Utah. One more week and I will be here at the Elks Lodge four weeks.
I used this time to install a new radio with a CD player in the motorhome. Now I do not need the cassettes anymore. So I changed them to CDs. This is a lengthy process. I had to play the cassettes while the computer changed the files for burning the CD.
During that time I read three books written by Bill Bryson. He is one of my favorite authors.
I started out with: Neither here Nor There. Travels in Europe. The book is typical Bryson, very funny.
The second book was: At Home. A short History of Private Life. This was a surprise. I expected a funny book, but it was not. It was very educational and I learned a lot about early England. Bryson had bought an old house which belonged to a parsonage.
The first room he writes about is the hall, which was the only room in earlier houses. Then he explains why some stately homes in England have Hall as the second part of their name. He goes back to the Romans, Normans and Saxons. I loved the book.
The third book is rather heavy. It is: A Short History of nearly Everything.
The book explains how our earth started and how we progressed. It tells about genes, bacteria, cells and X rays and the whole stuff.
The book is not easy to read but very educational.

I am looking forward to the trip, but I am a little bit scared to drive alone in the motorhome. This is the first time I feel that way.
I realize I am getting older and there will come a day when I have to hang up the motorhome keys.
Some of the WIN people are in their 80ties and are still going strong.

In the morning I went back to the Art Splash and listened to some of the music. From there I drove to Encinitas where they have their annual Oktoberfest.
The line for the bratwurst dinner was too long. I skipped the meal.
The band came from Germany. John Haedrich, the owner of Tip Top Meat and Delicatessen, and Restaurant, brings the band over from his home town.

Oceanside Pier September 2012

9-15-12
I am now two weeks at the Oceanside Elks. The place is crowded because it is a favorite place of the Elks Camping Clubs from California and Arizona.
The Senior Center is next door and when they have food I like I go there.
Doreen came up several times and joined me for lunch.
I had to move once to a different site; clubs get preferential treatment.
People come here because it is cooler than inland. This weekend it is different. Yesterday a heat wave started and it got hot. I had to turn on the air conditioner and ran it until 6:00 PM. This is unusual for being that close to the Pacific Ocean.
This morning I drove to the pier. First I wanted to walk there but did not fancy walking back in the heat.

The beach was still empty, people had not arrived yet.

The surfers were out though.

A pelican enjoyed the pier and the people.

A lot of anglers were on the pier.

This guy caught three little mackerel on the same line.

I like to visit the pier.

Those people were exercising.

Camino Hills Monthly Breakfast and Annual Block Party 2012

9-8-12
We had our first breakfast, for the season, at the Camino Hills Club House. I think it is my last one.
I was cooking the pancakes, French toast, and potatoes.

We had a good turnout.

From Red Beach I had moved with the motorhome to one of the local Elks Lodges. Friday I had lunch at the Senior Center. Doreen came and joined me.

At 5:00 PM I came back to Camino Hills for the annual Block Party in the Street where Doreen’s house is located.
We had a good time and good food.

I am keeping busy by taking a long walk in the morning and working around the motorhome.
My boom boom box did not work anymore. I need one to convert music cassette tapes to CD’s.
Wal-Mart had the right size.
The dash radio in the motorhome had a cassette player. I bought a new radio with a CD player. The old radio was attached with two posts, which also controlled the sound and looking for new stations.
The new radios have a cage which requires a bigger rectangular hole. I have to be precise when I do this because there is not much room.
The wires are all different colors too. Fortunately I had taken the radio to the radio installation bay at Best Buy. The mechanic there saw the tiny inscription near the pins for the harness and I made a chart of what color wires do what.