We’re now in Oceanside, California, at Paradise By The Sea RV Resort… the tail end of our 2017 Road Trip. The RV will stay here for nine weeks.
Oceanside is a big surf town, just south of the USMC base at Camp Pendleton. It’s only a 40-minute drive from the Inland Empire, so a lot of guys surf in the morning and then head off to work. What a life! There is a nice pier, lots of tattoo shops, a laid-back vibe.
Our beach respite couldn’t have come at a better time, because it is insanely HOT at our home in Murrieta right now. We drove up there (only 30 miles as the crow flies) yesterday to run some errands, etc. The high temp was a scorching 112 degrees…
… while it was a cool 76 degrees at our beachside RV park in Oceanside! (Maybe that’s why it’s called “Paradise”?) The joint will be hoppin’ here this Labor Day Weekend for that very reason. I think we will work on our tan “base” with Jeff and Carol.
Our day up in Murrieta (Thursday) started out shitty. When we arrived, we found that our main computer/server was out of commission due to some power outages and electrical surges. We were in panic mode for about an hour until our computer guru, Chris Bradshaw, came to the rescue. He (and we) thought that the hard drive had been fried, but Chris found a way to re-boot the computer and restore service. We almost escaped unscathed, until we noticed that Baby had crapped in Charlie’s office.
We’re going to have to put up a sign.
While in Murrieta, I had to check-in at the bowling alley re: the upcoming league season, which starts next week. I hadn’t touched a bowling ball since mid-May, so I decided to see how much rust had developed. Not much, it appears, as I rolled a 168-245-197 = 600 series.
I was surprised and pleased, because it was a bit better than I was averaging in May. This coming season I will be teamed with some guys that I’ve known for a long time; I’m looking forward to it.
I also had the chance to visit my Mom at her board and care in Murrieta. She wasn’t very lucid, but was able to tell me that she’s “just trying to stay alive”, or something to that effect. It’s so sad to see her like this, where there is no quality of life, and the prospects are worse down the road. She seems to know who I am, but didn’t mention my name. I talked to my sister Claudia later in the day. She’d visited after me, and said that Mom mentioned something about “Craig was here”. The problem with my visit was that Mom had just been dosed with some pain meds and was a bit spaced out. So, the normal “word salad” that passes for conversation with her was worse than usual. I’m hoping that she’ll be more lucid next Thursday.
The dogs love it here in Oceanside. There’s a nice park next door (Buccaneer Beach Park), with lots of grass and squirrels. The beach is across the street from the sandy beach, and it’s a “No Dogs Allowed” beach. (However, you can sneak a dog in before or after the State lifeguards are on duty.)
The dogs get lots of walks to/from the beach, and Booger and Baby get to play Frisbee in the park until they get pooped. And, we have a little containment area for them at our site, complete with umbrellas, fake grass, and a swimming pool.
Today was supposed to be a “beach day” for Charlie and I. But, alas, she got swamped with some bookkeeping work. We’ll have to settle for some afternoon drinks in the patio area, watching the dogs frolic on the grass. Maybe tomorrow?