A Tacoma Morn in the Park

We woke to the gloom of home.  Gray skies hung like a blanket and a light mist fell until mid morning.  By the time we arrived at Balboa Park, it had stopped raining and warmed to the mid 60's, allowing us to board our bikes to tour the 1200 acre cultural park.  The site was set aside by civic leaders for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.  It now houses 14 museums.  Barb and I toured the Museum of Man, an anthropological study of the evolution of human kind over the last 4 million years.  We also toured the Museum of Modern Art.  Both were good but not spectacular.  The most impressive aspect of the park to me was the architecture.  Most were of Spanish-Moorish style, somewhat gaudy but stunningly beautiful.

Botanical Gardens

Bird of Paradise

We left in time to avoid rush hour traffic and stopped on the way home to visit the Chula Vista RV park in which we had intended to stay.  Very nice.  Located near the beach,  the marina is next door.  A 24.5 mi bike path that extends all the way around San Diego Bay (one stretch includes boarding a ferry) borders the RV park.  It would have been fun.  Opportunity lost. 

Unpack and Head for a Hotel after Semper Fi

We went to the pier in Oceanside for a Valentine's dinner.  I wasn't at my best.  There was the lingering news of the engine replacement which will take a week plus, the cost of such, the interruption of the lifestyle that we enjoy so much, and the Marines.  Oceanside is at the southern boundary of Camp Pendleton.  Over our two day stay here, helicopters are frequent,  giant hovercraft landing craft were sighted as they stormed a beach, and the everpresence of America's finest.  As we sat at the oceanfront restaurant last night we were surrounded by young men (like 19 year olds) and their wives, sometimes their children, as they celebrated the holiday.  So young they are, making huge sacrifices for all of us, it put our set back in obtuse perspective.  The soldiers have little, their families less.  A couple set their infant, 9 mos old, at my elbow as they ate.  They longed for the private moment, a meal, looking into the sunset on the water, hoping to enjoy the ambiance.  The grandparent I am, I noticed that the infant dropped her bottle.  The parents didn't notice.  I reached over and reinserted the nipple into the baby's mouth and held it there.  The parents thanked me but it is me who should give thanks.  I travel the world safe and relatively unencumbered.  Safe because some are the "proud and the few".  I pay few taxes so I can afford the big rig.  Our troops are off protecting the oil fields that provide a situation that I can afford 8 MPG.  Somehow it doesn't appear fair, my comfort and their sacrifice.  Imbalance.

On Tuesday morning we checked out of our Oceanside hotel and headed to the RV.  We spent 3 hours packing out.  We couldn't throw away the 3/4 empty mayonaise jar or the last slice of cheddar cheese.  Everything was loaded into the Jeep.  As we left the Ford dealership, we may have resembled those vehicles depicted in the Grapes of Wrath.  We motored into the Chula Vista area to a Comfort Inn that is "animal friendly."   So now we are settled.  And unlike the Grapes of Wrath immigrants, we are blessed with the resources of survival, but still trying to figure out this "life with a dog in a hotel, thing."

Saints and set backs

courtyard

1700's church

ruins of old church destroyed by earthquake

Mid morning we drove the few miles north to the mission of San Juan Capistrano.  The structures, dating back to the 1700's are historical examples of the Hispanic roots of this area.  Some stone walls have fallen due to earthquakes but the beautiful courtyard and surviving wooden church speak volumes of the sacrifices of many who worked to provide education and salvation to residents of this area.  A beautiful spot, rich in history, but no swallows until midMarch. 









By mid afternoon we received the phone call of which I had feared.  Apparently a RV radiator hose had blown, I did not catch the warnings in time, and the engine had seized from the high heat.  It will take over a week to replace the engine at considerable cost. Barb and I, now homeless, have the challenge to find housing over the next 10 or so days until the RV is repaired.  Another challenge has come our way but we are thankful to have the resources to deal with it.  Freedom on the road can be costly and we have now had our first experience with that. 

Barb has never been to San Diego so we will stay in this area.  We will enjoy this part of creation, Loki in tow, and we may move from one hotel room to another.  There is room and we will make it work.  It has been a unique Valentines Day but love still fills the air.

Tow Truck Driver Philosopher

In Coelho's book, The Alchemist, the main character goes on a long journey only to find that his illusive goal is found back home where he started.  Along the way though, he meets several characters that enlighten and inform.  Today, unfortunately, we found one such resourceful being in the form of a tow truck driver.

The drive was going to be a short 200 miles and we timed it for a Sunday as typically the traffic in densely populated areas is lighter on that day.  We dropped out of the high desert into the urban valleys east and south of LA.  We were only 60 miles from our destination when the motor began to run rough and the heat gauge gave no reading.  Several lights came on and I quickly guided the rig toward a, thankfully, wide shoulder.  The four lanes of traffic sped by as we got out to examine the vehicle.  I found nothing wrong, no steam, no leaks, no oil.  I tried to restart the vehicle but it failed to respond.  After checking the manual and further examination, I called the insurance company.  Given that it is a Sunday, no mobile service was available.  They called a tow truck.

The "super heavy" tow truck arrived within the hour.  Barb and I had unhooked the Jeep and we followed the rig into a Ford Dealership just 11 miles down the road at Escondido.   Given that it was Sunday, the service center was closed.  We had hoped to spend the night in the rig on the dealership site but the dealership would not allow to do so.  I sought the advice of the tow truck driver regarding a hotel near by.  Ramiro, a kind and attentive man, responded, "There are several hotels near by. The mechanics won't get to your vehicle until late tomorrow (Monday) or maybe even Tuesday.  Take your wife and head just 15 miles to the ocean.  Find a hotel there, near the beach.  Enjoy the beauty of the area."  Wise advice.  Tonight we are two blocks from the ocean at Oceanside.  There is the beach, plenty of bike paths, and the sun shines brightly.  Hopefully, just a minor pit stop.

Sunny Sacramento to Boron

On Friday we did spend the midday with Marie (niece) in beautiful downtown Sacramento.  It was just a short drive to a restaurant and the sunny weather allowed us to dine outside.   We then walked one of the beautiful
downtown parks where Loki enjoyed the variety of distractions.  The evening found us at Gary and Diane's home.  Plans were discussed for a future RV rendezvous at a lake or park.

We left early Saturday morning driving the easy roads south to the high Mohave desert.  We stayed the night at a rest stop near Boron.  Barb calls this "one of my favorite places to camp."  It is a large rest stop in the middle of nowhere.  The site allows RV's and trucks to pull to the side of the parking area to spend the night.  This was our third visit there, sleeping under the bright stars with the distant din of interstate traffic and a few trains.  At dawn we found that there were only six other rigs parked with us on the desert.

Sunny Sacramento

Our three nights here have been brisk with a coating of frost greeting us in the mornings.  The days are glorious with blue skies, bright sunshine, and temps in the 60's.  On Wednesday we spent most of the day with my cousin Kathy.  It has been less than a year since her 20 year old Erin died from a long battle with cancer.  It was a day of heartfelt conversation, memories, tears, and laughter.  Thursday found us with Jeff and June.  Jeff was my freshman college roommate.  Today we meet niece Marie and another former roommate Gary and his wife Diane. The retired lifestyle and the RV have enabled us to rekindle so many important relationships. Fun.

Tomorrow we head south, traveling about half way to San Diego.  Sunday should find us driving through the LA area to finally arriving at an RV park on the water in Chula Vista.

On the Road Again

We reluctantly said goodbye to the grand-kids (and kids) and left in the RV Monday morning.  The primary goals of this trip are to visit friends and relatives, see the San Diego area, visit spring training in Phoenix, AZ, and enjoy the warm weather.   The first night stop was in Medford where we had dinner with Dennis and Diane (cousin).  Tues morn found the road over the pass clear and dry and we arrived near Sacramento by mid afternoon.  We will be here 4 nights visiting college friends and relatives.  We again feel so blessed to have this opportunity.