San Diego again

No doubt you’ve been sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what the next adventure is going to be?

Me too!

After 4 months in Casa Grande we headed west on the beginning of our trip east. Yes that does seem to be in the wrong direction but there is rhyme to the reason. We left San Diego 8 months ago and we probably won’t be back for a couple of years, so we decided to see all our friends one more time and catch up on some personal business at the same time.

We stayed at our old stomping ground the Thousand Trails Resort Pio Pico in Jamul CA. We’re members and so we get 30 free days a year then $3 a day after that. There are more TT parks on the east coast that the west do we’re planning on getting our money’s worth this year.

The Aero Club was my “Local” hangout and Wednesday night was the boy’s night out when I worked in the shipyard. A few phone calls and texts soon had that organized.

The happy Aero Club crowd during a previous get together.

Ken and Gloria are delightful people whose doors are always open to their friends. We count ourselves lucky to be included. Friday evenings are usually spent out on their patio eating them out of house and home, sipping a pleasant beverage, petting their dogs and enjoying everyone’s company.

The “Shanty Shakers” have a rally planned in Oceanside this month too so more excuses to socialize. Our neighbors were quite willing to get together for lunch and my BMW motorcycle friends can’t be left out.

Most especially our friends Dick and Bonita have their annual St Patrick’s Day bash scheduled and you just can’t miss that one.

So a busy month was expected. And busy it was.

I broke out my painting stuff and worked on a couple of paintings in the spare time, we had appointments with our accountant, the bank and needed to do the usual shopping, laundry etc. 

When we checked into Pio Pico we got on RVillage.com to let anyone else in the park know we were there and a couple identified as “UK Travelers” came up.

Stewart and Jackie lived in Ashville NC before they became full timers and they introduced us the Paul and Sue who were almost full timers and lived in a Rexhall motorhome like ours. Paul was Scottish and was in the ATC in UK, flew gliders with them, and loves airplanes just like me. He even worked for Boeing so we got on like a house on fire.

At Ken’s we disassembled the front of the Fiesta, replaced the front brake pads and installed the wiring and brackets for the auxiliary braking system that slows the car down when it’s being towed behind the RV. Then the usual food fest/party broke out and filled up the rest of the day! Thanks Ken and Gloria.

We squeezed in 2 nights at the Aero Club with Barbara Combes behind the bar trying to bring law and order to a host of our dear friends. Unfortunately we might not see these great people for a couple of years so we tried our best to enjoy their company while we had the chance.

Bank things, tax things, a nice lunch with our old neighbors Jason, Ruby, Mollie and Gus had the days spinning past and then we were driving up to Oceanside CA Elks Lodge for the Shanty Shakers Rally.

The Oceanside Elks Lodge has around 40 camping spaces.

Getting back together with our Shanty Shaker friends was like winning the lottery! They are such a great group with no pretenses and a wide open welcome for everyone. They excel at “Happy Hours” where everyone brings a chair and a snack. We catch up with everyone’s news and meet new and old friends. Dinner at a local brewery in Oceanside (There are lots to choose from) and sightseeing fill in the days.

Then suddenly it’s Friday and time to move on!

Happy Hour

Grab a plate the food is excellent

Oceanside harbor is very picturesque

Heritage Park and the Chapel

A famous Landmark

Thursday night street market for even more great food

Mission San Luis Rey

The Retreat

Now there are only pictures left to remind us of a great week. But there are also plans for another week and a half in San Diego and did I hear Maryland, Canada and Europe calling too?

This “Full Timers” lifestyle is definitely our dreams come true.