February 1 - 4, Pacifica, CA
Sunday, February 4. There hasn't been a lot going on this week, other than the usual cleaning, shopping, reading, walking, working, etc. Mike's shift ended on Thursday. We spent some time on Saturday cleaning the Suzuki and Mike put new headlights on it. Being so close to the ocean, we have been advised to hose down our motorhome and car at least every 2 weeks to get rid of the salt. Things rust real quick around here.
Yesterday, we took our chairs over to the edge of the cliff to watch the sunset. We got to talking with a guy who had his tripod and video camera set up to film some of the surfers (there is a group of them out there every morning and evening). He was telling us that there is an unusual weather condition right now that is creating good surfing waves, as there usually are none in this area. They have to go a bit farther south. We're thankful, as it is quite entertaining to watch. Its got to be cold!
Today we hoped to see the Queen Mary II as it arrived in San Francisco on its maiden world cruise, but unfortunately we missed it - it must have been too far out for us to see. It did arrive and cleared the Golden Gate Bridge by less than 3 feet. Until recently, it was the larges cruise ship in the world, having 22 stories.
We had a very enjoyable day, though. Ben and Jill came for brunch and we started with Mimosa's, then had Mike's Mexican egg casserole and I fixed a fruit salad of pineapple, mango, cayenne pepper, and queso fresco cheese. It was all very nice. We then took Ruby to the beach to play ball for a while. The day was gorgeous, about 72 degrees, so we all had to shed a layer or two. It felt so good. Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same.
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February 5 - 11, Pacifica, CA
Monday, February 5. Today was the day we had to fill our propane tank. It really has lasted a long time, since the trip back from Phoenix before Thanksgiving - and we still had 2 gallons left. The free propane is one of the perks that we get for working here, so its like $40 in the pocket - not bad.
After getting situated back at our site, we decided to drive in to the city to see the big ship. And big it is (see photos). The traffic on Embarcadero was bumper to bumper at a crawl, so we found a round about way to weave through the city streets and get up close. The parking spot wasn't bad but cost over $5 for 2 hours. It was worth it, we had a nice lunch at the Fog City Diner and walked around the wharf for a while.
We finished just about the time that Ben got off from work, and since we were only a couple of blocks from where he works, we offered him a ride home. Had a nice, but short visit, then headed back to Pacifica.
Earlier in the week, Mike replaced the headlights on the Suzuki and boy, did it make a difference. They are now as bright as most of the other cars on the road. Nice!!
Sunday, February 11. I've been terrible about writing this week, but then not much has happened either. I worked on the taxes a bit, worked at the park a bit, did some cleaning and shopping and not much more than that. I did take on a side job with Ben's former gardening partner, Vernon, helping him with some filing, creating a brochure to help him peddle some of his art. He uses old gardening shovels to create shovelface art (see photos). They really are quite interesting and I would certainly have one if I still had a garden.
By the way, I do have a garden - a small basket that I keep by the door. I started out with succulents but they happened to freeze while we were in Moss Landing - who would have thunk it? So while I wait for the succulents to recover, I have planted a few colorful primrose.
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February 12 - 18, Pacifica, CA
Monday, February 12. We spent the day playing with Ruby and going for walks when it wasn't raining.
Wednesday, February 14. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Mike and I were just talking about our 1st Valentine's Day together, back in 1967. It was an unusually warm day for Wisconsin, getting up in the 60s. We both played hooky from work and went for a nice long motorcycle ride. That was a long, long time ago.
Today we wait for news from Jill regarding Casey's surgery to remove part of a cancerous tumor from his brain. The surgery was scheduled for 6:00 this morning at MD Anderson in Houston. My heart goes out to him and his family as they wait for word of the surgery's success. Late in the afternoon we got word that the surgery went better than expected and Casey was in ICU for the night. What a relief to all.
I did some filing for Vernon this morning, then worked at the park in the afternoon. Wouldn't you know we were out of balance at the end of the day and the supervisor had to come get us straightened out. Ben came over for dinner and a we had a nice, although rather short visit.
Thursday, February 15. I worked the office this morning. In the afternoon, Ruby and I went to Rockaway Beach, an area of Pacifica that is about 5 miles south of us. I went to check out the Best Western Lighthouse Hotel for Rita and Denny who are considering a visit to the area. It is a very nice place although a bit pricey - not unusual for this area at all. There is a small beach just north of the hotel and another about a block's walk to the south, where I played fetch with Ruby for a while.
Right now, I am sitting here watching the fog roll in. The sky looks pretty ominous. Guess I might have to go take a photo.
Friday, February 16. Happy 30th Birthday, Ben!! Can't believe my youngest has reached that milestone.
It was another busy day, starting with an early morning walk, some shopping and playing ball with Ruby. Then it was on to work and barely a breather all day for both of us. It is the start of the President's Day weekend and many people are off on Monday so the park is full. It was an absolutely beautiful day probably reaching close to 70 degrees. I sure hope it continues. Right now, I'm looking at the ocean and the surface is a beautiful pink. Hope thats a good sign - Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morning, sailor take warning. Right?
We're headed to Ben's to spend a bit of time on his birthday and return Ruby to her home. I kind of think she likes hanging out with us.
Tomorrow is the last of our 4-day work shift, so we will be resting on Sunday. We're enjoying the jobs but its the typical RV Park BS - I'm not getting the hours I was promised and there are definitely staff issues. We're going to try to tough it out.
Sunday, February 18. I started the day out with a bad headache and it hasn't improved much throughout the day. It is a beautiful, sunny day but is very windy and the rig is rocking and rolling. The waves are huge and crashing against the cliff and the surface is full of white caps. At one point when Mike went outside he could hardly hold the door. Needless to say, we have spent most of the day inside.
We watched the movies, "Betty Page"; the story about the life of a young woman who posed for girlie magazines in the 50's and "The History of Violence"; about a man's "new" life falling to pieces after protecting his business. They were both pretty good movies.
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February 19 - 25, Pacifica, CABold Text
Monday, February 19. The wind still hasn't died down and the rig is covered with a layer of salt dust that looks awful. The flowers in my little garden are all beat up.
We couldn't stand another day inside or staying in the park, so we started off with breakfast at the Chit Chat Cafe, a couple of blocks down the road from here. We then went exploring, heading east toward El Camino Real which we followed for about 10 miles south through Milbrae and Burlingame, to San Mateo. It was mostly city driving but did take us through a beautiful older neighborhood in Burlingame. We stopped at the Shoe Pavilion where we both found a pair.
After that we headed west on California 92 that took us through a mountain pass on the way to Half Moon Bay. The drive was beautiful but the traffic was heavy. We then realized that it was President's Day and many of the working folks were off and the schools were closed too. That explained it. We stopped off at some roadside shops that sold various kinds of art, trinkets, sculptures, and fountains. They had some of those life-size metal sculptures of dinosaurs, horses, and elephants. Once again, we were camera-less so didn't get any photos. Kind of interesting, though.
We watched the movie, "Dreamland", kind of an off-beat story about 2 young girls living in a trailer park in the desert. It was kind of slow-moving, a bit sad, but a good story.
Tuesday, February 20. Today was the day to do laundry and clean the salt off of our rig. We've been warned by the locals and the guy that washed it right after we got here, that you need to rinse it off at least every 2 weeks. After the last 2 days it really needs it, you could hardly see out the windows. Its not a bad job because I have an extendable, adjustable nozzle that has a "sort of" high pressure setting and a squeegee to do the windows. It only takes about an hour.
We've been wanting to find the Trader Joe's grocery store and today was the day to do that. I was surprised but very pleased that the bill for my full cart came to only $80. Everything seems to cost so much more around here.
Ben came over this evening for a little while. That is a very nice thing about being here.
Thursday, February 22. What a night! Neither of us got much sleep as I had trouble getting to sleep last night, Mike was reading until midnight, and a storm came through at 2:30 am. The rain was pouring, coming in bursts and the wind was howling like a freight train. I think the wind was pushing between the awning that covers our slide-out and the top of the slide-out, causing a loud humming noise.
Today starts another 4-week on work cycle, although they only have me on the schedule for two 4-hour shifts. What will I do with my time? I will probably defrost the refrigerator and maybe make a trip to the library. We shall see.
Sunday, February 25 There hasn't been much to write about other than the weather. Its been mixed sunshine and rain, but most of the time having high winds. The folks up north are getting dumped on. Pat said yesterday that they had about 7 inches, then about that much more during the night last night, more coming today, with an expected 19" total. I'm sure glad that I'm not there for that.
Just as I was making the bed this morning, I looked out the window and saw a poor, little red dachshund shivering in the grass. When I finished, it was still there. While waiting for a call back from the office I just had to go out and pick her up. She was thankful to have warm arms around her and didn't mind while I carried her around. We found that 2 of them were registered in the park, but neither were home. So off to our house where she proceeded to make herself comfortable, seems like a sweet little dog.
We found out that both folks from the park had their dogs so she didn't belong to them. I proceeded to make up some posters, took her to the vet to see if she had a chip - no such luck. So the posters went up at the grocery and pet stores. The pet store gave me some food to tide us over until tomorrow when the Humane Society is open.
She's really tired, so I kind of think that she might have wandered through the night. She's also in heat, so that could be why she wandered through the night. Anyhow she likes it here and we really like her but have to stick to our plan to live "petless" for a while.
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February 26-28, Pacifica, CA
Monday, February 26. There still have been no calls on the little dog. She spent the night in between us on the bed and was very comfy. I called the police department and they had gotten no calls, they called the SPCA and Humane Society and they hadn't gotten any calls either. Its too bad - she's so sweet and probably a pretty hefty investment. We dropped her at the police station, they were going to have the SPCA pick her up. That is, unless the dispatcher who fell in love with her decides to keep her. I'm glad that we were able to stick to the plan.
In the afternoon we shopped for materials to create a way to display some of our photos on the one wall in the motor home that has any space. We agreed to arrange 3 magnetic strips that measure 2 1/2 inches by 28 inches vertically. The photos will be put in frames with magnetic backing and can be changed whenever we want. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished project and hoping that it doesn't look tacky.
In the evening, we went to Vernon's house so I could catch up on some filing for him and to get paid for the time I've spent working on his brochure that is real close to being finished. On the way home, it started raining real hard and the wind was nearly blew us off the road. At the same time I was on the phone Ben, he was walking Ruby and had a brief hailstorm. Guess we're getting more of a taste of the area's wintry weather.
Wednesday, February 28. This morning we dropped the Suzuki off at the neighborhood garage to have the brakes and wheels checked. Got to thinking that should be done, considering that we have a wobble between 40 and 45 mph and there are lots of hills in this area. Just driving to our favorite shopping area is a 1.5 mile uphill climb, then the same on the way back down. It sure is pretty though.
After dropping the car off, we stopped at the local bakery for coffee and pastry and had a nice visit with an older woman and her grandson. She was born and raised in San Francisco and had some interesting stories to tell.
The sun was out all day today. YEAH!!! But it was only in the low 50s and very windy. We've been watching a neighbor's flagpole whipping in the wind - kind of amazing that it still stands.
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Created on 02/01/2007 02:01 PM by bridge
Updated on 03/01/2007 09:37 AM by bridge
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