First, I must share with you our last San Diego Sunset. It was very nice.

I woke up at my normal time, about 0730-0900, or thereabouts and tried to coax Max off the bed for a walk. He chose to stay inside a little longer or a smarter choice, he didn’t want to take a chance of waking Diane too soon by jumping off the bed. I suspect he got that vibe from me. So, I left him alone and he stayed there until Diane got up. I honestly don’t remember what time it was.

After Max’s walk I started putting things away in preparation for our departure. I took my time because I was kind of dreading getting to the point where I’d have to start the RV and I wasn’t convinced that was going to happen. The other question mark in my head was the big slide out, wondering if it would slide in. All my stress was for naught because everything worked just fine.

Then, after hooking up the car, we embarked on the next challenge, driving up Orange Avenue through downtown Coronado to 4th Avenue, then across the Bay Bridge to I-5. Sounds simple, right? Well, it wasn’t all that easy. First, Orange Avenue isn’t all that wide when you cram two lanes of traffic between rows of parked cars on each side most of which actually parked close to the curb. That means those who didn’t create the need for drivers in the lane next to the parkers, to jog out once in a while. Not too tough in a car, but driving an RV makes it a challenge. You’ll be happy to know that we made it OK. We also made it down 4th Ave and across the bridge, transitioned to 3 or 4 different freeways until we finally wound up on I-8 East. Whew! Pretty exciting stuff.

We drove until Diane convinced me that we should fill the fuel tank and, maybe, eat some lunch. This finally led us to the Golden Acorn Casino in Campo where we filled the tank and bought some dead chicken. Fuel was $4.27/gal and the chicken wound up costing $27.50 after Diane added two enormous cinnamon things for breakfast. We kept one of them and ate the other one for dessert.

The remainder of the drive to Yuma was uneventful until we made it to the top of one of many higher elevations where we came across this:

We saw the smoke from miles away and wondered what it could be. A real mess. The ambulance was just ahead of us and didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry so whoever was in the car got out OK, or they didn’t get out at all.

After that, the trip turned into some extremely long stretches of straight road with a minor turn one way or another to keep it interesting.

Don and Judy welcomed us with open arms, and I didn’t take one picture of them. I’ll do that tomorrow and add it to tomorrows post.

Time to stop.

Yup, this is it. We’ll be moving along tomorrow before noon and plan to be in Yuma shortly after that. It’s only a 3-hour drive, so I’m told. We’ll see about that.

Today was pretty laid back. Diane wanted to get some more things from the commissary, and she wanted a full tank of gas in the car. So, that’s where we went and then we took Max to a Dog Beach near the back gate to NAS North Island.

He was pretty excited about that, but he has a difficult time socializing with other dogs when he’s on his leash. That makes it a little difficult for me to trust him off leash, especially after our initial visit to the dog park in Imperial Beach. Remember that one? The one where I inserted myself into a dogfight between Max and a dog much bigger than him. So, we’re a little wary about getting into a situation like that.

So, I kept him on the leash and let him run into the surf until it wasn’t fun anymore. He has just as much fun smelling everything another dog may have touched in any manner.

Max was OK with that short visit and the walk back to the car for the trip home.

The rest of this day was spent doing pretty much nothing except for Diane washing a load of sheets. We sat on our patio until it was time to get them out of the dryer.

The highlight of our sitting time was watching what I think was an AOR (an oiler for replenishment at sea) enter port then search along the piers, looking for a parking spot. It was flanked by two tugs to help them squeeze in to any spot they found where they might fit.

That’s about it for today.

See you in Yuma.

Yes, we attended a play at a small theater in downtown Coronado. It was the Lamb’s Players Theater, and we watched “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde. Instead of a stage, the performance area is on the same level as the front row seats. All the other seats are situated in a way that there isn’t a bad seat in the house. Diane picked two seats in row B, center stage (or floor, if you wish). The actors are never more than 20 feet from the front row, so it was like we were all part of the performance.

Photos were for forbidden during the performance so the only shots I got were before it started. The tiled area is the stage. The ladies standing guard are there to keep paying customers from walking on the tile. I know that’s true because I asked one of them.

It was a very fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The acting was top notch and the story they told was excellent.

It was a beautiful day, so we walked along the main street back to the car, enjoying the experience. Everyone was polite, the town is very appealing, trendy, and touristy. It was fun being part of the crowd for a while. But Max was all alone in the RV waiting for us. A good reason to return.

We ate a lite meal (granola bars) for lunch with understanding that we would eat a major meal when we got home. Diane wanted fish and she bought me a huge steak, frozen french fries, and asparagus. Diane prepped and cooked the asparagus, and I did the rest. Easy peasy. It was good, too.

Like normal, when I opened the door, Max took his sweet time making an appearance. He’s usually laying in the driver’s seat and just lays there until I scratch his neck. Then we take a walk. This time he was laying on the floor by Diane’s side of the bed. Totally out of character for him. I took him for a walk anyway. I think he’s getting tired of walking around the same loop all the time. I try to change it up by going the opposite way once in a while. He knows what I’m doing and isn’t impressed, but he goes along with my efforts, and I know he’s grateful.

It’s almost 2100 and Diane is watching a Hallmark movie. I’m kind of keeping up with it but I’m progressively getting more interested in getting to bed. We just changed the sheets. I always sleep good on newly laundered sheets.

Tomorrow is our last full day here at Fiddler’s Cove, so I’ll be busy putting stuff away that needs to be put away. I might even polish up the other mirror. I only did one the other day because it was a lot like work.

Now I’m quitting.

Yippeee!

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear Gilligan,

Happy birthday to you.

Today Diane went shopping at the North Island commissary to, once again, replenish our food. She knows exactly what to get by checking what shelves are empty. Glad she can do that. I always have to ask her where things are. Perhaps I could pay attention when things are put away, but it’s easier (for me) to just ask when I need something. The things I eat most are laying on the counter – apples, bananas, avocados, tomatoes, and coffee. OK, that’s not totally true. The coffee doesn’t remain on the counter, and I know exactly where it lives.

While Diane was gone, I took Max for a long walk then I got out the cleaning gear and began the process of making the RV shine again. I’ve actually never done it before so it’s about time, right? Jeff used a buffer and got rid of a lot of mars caused by trees that got too close to us over the years, but it still needs to be cleaned. Not an easy task. I’m limiting my task to everything below the 5-foot level because my arms don’t work well above that height. I have a ladder, which would help, but that adds another element of danger besides ruining my arms. So, I’m keeping it low for now. Perhaps I’ll get brave before we leave here and give it a go. My decision about that will depend totally on what Diane thinks I should do.

Oh look! There’s a helicopter!

Did I mention there are lots of those around here?

After Diane returned, I brought everything she got into the RV, and she put it away so I wouldn’t know where it is. Then she did some laundry, and I helped a bit with that. When we got the clean stuff back to the RV, we had a wonderful dinner of one 4-minute microwave TV dinner each then she locked herself in the bedroom to watch TV. I had to stay in the living room area and watch the Oregon Ducks beat up on Michigan State 31-7. It could have been worse because the 1st two TD attempts by Oregon were intercepted in the end zone.

All afternoon we were serenaded by a really loud base guitar what sounded like it was right next door. I checked outside and think it was coming from one of the boats in the harbor. Outside it’s not nearly as loud as it is inside. Very irritating.

Today is my shower day. Diane said so. So, I need to stop, go brush my teeth, and make good use of our facilities.

Hope everyone is safe and happy. We only have 3 days and 1 nitenite remaining at this location then I’ll have to see if this thing still runs. Cross your fingers for us.

Diane did laundry. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a major accomplishment. And she does it a lot. I appreciate it.

We sat outside enjoying the cool breeze from the bay while everything got washed then I carried the laundry back to the RV. We had to walk all the way across the street to get it and fold it, so it fit in the basket she uses.

We walked Max and struck up a conversation with a young Navy Wife whose husband is a Submariner. They are staying in a large Dodge van they converted for use off the grid. Nice job. She’s from somewhere in Mid-West but I have no idea where specifically. I do know that they are here at Fiddler’s Cove because they had to leave a park on Point Loma that cost $35/night. Their 30 days were up but the husband’s scheduled deployment was moved out, so they came to Fiddler’s Cove and have to spend $70/night. Doesn’t make sense because they are parked on a pad and not connected to anything. Seems unfair.

Diane’s happy with her waterfront view.

The USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) left port today which made Diane very happy. She thinks all those ships should have left port more than once while we’ve been here, but the departures have been few and far between.

This is one of our neighbors, a very serious 5th Wheeler Camper from Minnesota.

Max begging for a snack. We had lasagna and he wanted some. I explained to him that he’s Mexican (Chihuahua), not Italian, but he doesn’t listen.

Diane had to do a little brain surgery on Max’s newest toys. He shook it hard once and emptied the head all over the floor.

That’s about it for now.

No, I’m not going to recap the debate. I admit I watched it, with my lovely bride and her dog, Max, but we’re not going to talk about it. Instead, let’s talk about helicopters.

Yes. Helicopters. Specifically, SH-60 Seahawk helicopters.

Fiddler’s Cove is surrounded by five naval stations: NAS North Island, Naval Station Coronado, and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado to the north, Imperial Beach Outlying Landing Field to the south, and Naval Base San Diego to the west. Off hand, I’d say we’re in a pretty safe place. With that safety comes lots and lots of air traffic, late into the night sometimes. Today was one of 2 late into the night days since we’ve been here.

I’ve probably mentioned all those bases before but not at the same time. This was so you can get a little more perspective about the Navy influence down here. So, please forgive me if I’m repeating myself. I do that once in a while because I’m old and it’s OK. People understand.

The helicopter noise I mentioned earlier isn’t really all that bad. It’s just one of those things that don’t really bother you until you concentrate on it. That’s a lot like tinnitus. You know it’s there all the time but normally it’s unnoticeable. I know this is true because I have tinnitus. I’ve had it for a long time but didn’t think about it because I didn’t know it had a name. When I discovered the name, it because a problem but I’ve learned to live with it, most of the time.

Now, about those helicopters. One of them spent all afternoon today going in circles over the bay between Naval Station San Diego and Fiddler’s Cove. All day it circled the bay. Once in a while it changed direction and shifted from a predominately counterclockwise direction and went clockwise with an occasional figure eight thrown in just for fun. It wasn’t entertaining all the time, mainly when it buzzed our side of the bay. All day that went on. You know, it probably would be OK if they would just drop leaflets letting us know what’s going on, but they don’t. They just go in circles. Then, all the sudden, they fly inland on the Naval Station side and disappear for a bit, but you could still hear the noise slightly, then it would dash out over the bay about 6 feet off the water and stop and hover, facing us, like a puppy wanting to play.

Having shared all that, it really wasn’t that bad. Yes, there is a lot of helicopter traffic flying over us on a regular basis, and an addition 3-5 F/A 18 Hornet fighter jets coming in for landings at North Island.

Sounds bad, right? It’s not, really. What I said is actually true, but it’s more interesting than annoying. One of the things I think about when I see all the helos fly over is, I wonder how much it costs to fill their gas tanks. Can’t be cheap.

Today the San Diego Padre’s beat the Atlanta Braves in their first game of the major league playoffs. When we lived here, we would go to a game once in a while. That was when Steve Garvey was playing first base after being traded by the LA Dodgers. Steve was fun to watch. Both Jeff and Jennie got autographed baseballs from Steve after one of those games. He signed their hats, too.

OK, it’s time to quit. My mind is jumping around like a ball, and I can’t focus on an interesting topic. Perhaps you’ve already figured that out.

I’ll end with this – I made some popcorn the other night and asked Diane if she would like some. She said, “sure, I’ll take a little bowl.” So, I found the smallest bowl I could and gave her some.

She didn’t even flinch. Just took that tiny little bowl and ate the popcorn. I was expecting a little more of a rise from her. Instead, she just asked for a refill.

So, g’night.

When I got up the first time this morning, at 0200 or so, I was still miserable and sore. I tried to stay up so I wouldn’t wake Diane, but I went back to bed anyway. Woke up again at 0500 and decided to stay up and keep Max company. We slept on the couch until 0830 or so. I was still really rummy, but I took Max for his morning walk anyway and that helped my disposition. After shoveling a breakfast dinner down my throat, I was sure I’d survive the day. I was pleased.

By the time I got almost semi-normal, Diane declared that she was hungry and needed a hamburger. She does that once in a while. After searching for a likely spot, she found a place called Eat Crispy Burger in National City. It’s a lot like Shake Shack but newer. Becca, the girl behind the counter, told me it had only been open for two weeks. The hamburgers were really good, so it was a great choice.

One of the positives about the eatery location was that it was close to the Super Wally Mart that we’ve visited before. We had things to get, like normal.

So, we ate, gave Max a ride around the store in a cart, then went home. As soon as we got back to the RV, however, Diane discovered that she failed to get one of the critical items that was on her list. So, she left us alone and went shopping on her own.

Max and I didn’t do much while she was gone, but I didn’t lay down and sleep, which may have been good for me. I figured if she could go out and shop in the shape I was in, the least I could do was to stay semi-alert in her absence.

When she got home, she gave me handed me a really nice long-sleeved shirt. Here’s what it looks like.

It’s very nice and I love it.

Nothing else is going to happen today so I’m wrapping this up.

Oh, OK. One more photo of Max for his fan club. He’s either watching sail boats, birds or anything else that moves. I suppose he could be deep in thought, too.

Now, g’night.