As the Willie Nelson song goes, “We’re on the road again.”
This week, we are staying in the Ocean Mesa RV Park at El Capitan Beach, just north of Santa Barbara. Pretty pricey: $115 per night! It’s a pretty place: lots of trees, an ocean view (from a mesa overlooking Hwy 101), and there’s a very nice beach that’s about one minute’s drive downhill.
The dogs love it here. Lots of things to smell, a nice dog run, and a very large, grassy park where they can run around, chase balls, investigate gopher holes, etc.
We’re back to living in our tiny house. It will be this way for the next five or six months. Everything seems to be working, for now…even the satellite TV!
Charlie is supposed to be doing limited bookkeeping now, because Jonathan has taken that over. I say supposed to be because things never work out as planned. Wouldn’t you know it…as soon as we settled in Santa Barbara, there was the ANNUAL client brush fire that only Charlie can put out. This time, as in the past two years, the issue is a capital improvement loan that is co-signed by a bunch of doctors. Some of the circumstances are changing relative to the guarantees re: the SBA loan, so Charlie is having to herd all of the cats back into their proper space and make the banking people happy.
So, for a couple of days, my wife and her assistant (see below) will be stuck at the computer.
As she told me, “Well, this will buy another piece of furniture!”
Speaking of the Mesquite deal, we have discussions daily about our plans for the backyard landscaping, the customization of our walk-in closets, and the configuration of the BBQ that we will have built. Never a dull moment, and subject matter that is ripe for arguments. Not something that you want to get into while drinking in the afternoon.
While we are gone on our road trip, Karin Pace, Charlie’s BFF back in Bear Creek, is handling all of our mail, banking, and courier duties for us. She’s a nice gal and can use the extra spending money, so it’s a win-win deal. She will also keep an eye on the house and do some watering where the drip irrigation isn’t set up.
Charlie will miss Karin, for sure. But, with this arrangement, they will talk on the phone most days, so the separation will be tolerable.
We are thinking of heading into Santa Barbara tomorrow for some “us time”, and, then, probably back there to do the flea market down by the pier (with the dogs!) on Saturday.
Speaking of the pooches, Baby has been great thus far. She and her buddies seem to like the RV life, and the little girl has kept her bladder under control quite nicely (knock on wood!).
The three of them are on separate couches right now, sleeping, and making dog noises. Very cute.
