"Keep the wheels rolling"

Chula Vista RV Park

Thursday, Sept 17th
Left for San Diego at 11 am-after getting things ready, etc. It will be much faster/convenient to prepare for an RV trip when we have a house. The drive was uneventful; made 2 stops, quick ones for gas and bathroom. I was reading the book “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana De Rosnay; one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It’s about 2 things dear to my heart….the Holocaust and Paris, specifically how the Jews were “rounded up” on July 16th, 1942 by the French police (by order of the Germans) and eventually taken to Auschwitz. The book is fiction but based on truth. It took place in the Marais neighborhood~a place Ken and I enjoyed last October while in Paris. I would recommend reading it. I can’t stop thinking about it.
At the 2nd gas stop, a guy asked us where we were headed. We told him and he gave us a “short cut” to avoid traffic. We will be driving through San Diego during rush hour. We took his advice and it dumped us out right smack in the middle of the “Gaslamp District” in downtown San Diego. How funny I’m sure we looked pulling our 29 ft RV trailer through downtown. We asked 3 different people how to get to the 5 South and we kept going in circles—through crowded downtown. Finally, I see a sign for 5 South and we are back on track. We get to Silver Strand Beach State Park around 6:30 pm. We check in, fill our water tanks (it’s ‘dry’ camping, meaning no hook ups) and go to our site….only to discover our RV and truck will not fit in the space I reserved 3 months ago…even though the site I selected on the web site said it was good for a 35 ft RV + truck. There are many empty sites all around us, but they do NO reservations or changes there---it is all online by “Reserve America” a 3rd party company, and they show every campsite is booked so we are screwed. They will refund our money if we want. The only possible way we can stay here is to fit the RV in the spot and park the truck 1 ½ miles away in an obscure parking lot and ride our bikes back. As crazy as this all sounds, it’s the truth! It is now 7:45 pm and we have no where to go. Don’t ask me why, but I printed off the phone # and directions to Chula Vista RV Park before we left home, just in case something didn’t go right. We called them and they said they had room for that night but not for the weekend unless someone cancels. We had stayed @ Chula Vista last Thanksgiving. It’s only 10 minutes away, a nice place on the bay, but not directly on the beach. By this time we are aggravated, tired, hungry and I have a sinus headache. We leave Silver Strand and arrive at Chula Vista. The Security guard directs us to our space. We do not unhook; even if space becomes available for the weekend, it won’t be in this spot. I am so exhausted I get ready for bed. Ken opens a beer and sits out for awhile. I read “Sarah’s Key” for awhile and fall asleep.
Friday, September 18th
We slept good, got up around 7:30. We decide we shouldn’t have been aggravated last night and attitude has to do with everything. It is a choice. We decide to be more positive. Ken goes to the office as soon as they open and finds out there is a group of “Airstream RV’rs’, a club, that has a number of sites reserved and one guy has cancelled; he has a rare blood disorder, not leukemia but very bad and can’t make the trip. Well, that is sad, but we now have a nice spot for the weekend. We can see the bay from our place. We get settled and make bacon, eggs, lattes. We took a long bike ride along the water; very nice. I decide to take a nap, Ken sits outside, smoking a cigar. He only does this when we travel. I don’t really sleep; I keep smelling charcoal, then chicken. There is a park behind the RV park and people are having a party, including Mexican karaoke; I believe the current song is “Achy, Breaky Heart….great! I doze a little and get up. Ken is sleeping through the karaoke, on the couch. We get up, open some wine, turn the iPod on and think about dinner. We are going to see Leann Rimes tonight at Humphrey’s on Shelter Island, so we have to watch our time. The Airstream group, officially: “A community of Airstream owners…Long Beach, California, invited us to join them for dinner; just bring meat for the grill; but they are getting started too late for us. Of course Ken has met most of them already. They are senior citizens, all from various parts of California. The lady right next to us, Lydia, has a 1982 Class A, izzuzu(sp) turbo charged diesel engine, a classic. I’d say Lydia is about 75 and very spunky and full of life. She drives this thing all by herself. Her husband is at home, too ill to RV anymore. What a trooper she is! Really, all of them are! She lets me take a tour; wow!! It is dated but you can tell the quality is there or it never would have lasted this long…27 years old. She tells us her husband actually gutted it and totally remodeled the inside. Perhaps that is why everything still is in pretty good shape. I didn’t know this but every single Airstream is numbered. Also, there are all kinds of Airstream Clubs you can join—if you own an Airstream. Kind of makes you feel left out. That’s how all these folks stay in touch, and I think stay young. We have grilled chicken, salad with the ‘good dressing’; very good. Time to leave for the concert. The Airstreamer’s ask to utilize our grill; they have about 20 people and only 1 grill. Of course, no problem.
We arrive at Shelter Island about 6:45, plenty of time. We park, walk to Humphrey’s. It’s a really cool place: hotel, restaurant and small outdoor concert area, and sits right on a bay….an absolutely perfect place for a concert!!
Ken gets a beer, me-a “Georgia on my mind”—Ketel one vodka, Peach schnapps and cranberry, so good. We take our seats which are pretty good, 18th row, seats on the aisle towards the center. I can’t remember the name of the guy for the opening act. He was just ok, nothing special. He played around 45 minutes, then Leann came on. She was great. Her voice is so wonderful. I like her old stuff. She sang some new songs that are more rock than country. She performed for about and hour and a half. Getting home was easy, only about a 20 minute drive. We were both tired, went to bed.



The Airstreamers

Saturday, September 19th
Got up a little late, about 8:30. Enjoyed our coffee, we like to drag that out. We then had bacon, eggs, fruit. The ‘Airstreamers' were having a meeting next door. I could sit in our bedroom and hear every word…oh my gosh…this was a full fledged, serious meeting with a call to order, and then everyone said the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ which was so cool! They had motions, reports from the President, Treasurer, discussing their next rip, a Beach Bonanza in November, something in January. The President even discussed who was in charge of muffins for breakfast and “Charlie will be in charge of coffee”….a man yells—“Charlie doesn’t know how to make coffee!”….she ignores him. Then they went in to a discussion about getting their own flag made…there is a one time development fee of $75, then each flag will cost $92. Next, discussion of new potential members…a young family, husband, wife, two small daughters want to join the club. The husband grew up camping with his parents in an Airstream. Another old guy yells…”why would they want to join a geriatric group”,,,,again, the ‘Pres’ ignores him. This is serious stuff, but I so admire them for staying active, meeting people, driving their RVs (scary!). I think she must have been a teacher or manager. The meeting lasted at least an hour and a half. I only eavesdropped for a few minutes. Time to pack for the beach. We loaded up our cooler, chairs, lunch and headed to Silver Strand. On the way we see another RV park; we stop in to check it out. It’s for military only…how cool is that! They deserve more places like this. It’s called Fiddler’s Cove Marina and RV Park (on route 75, south of Coronado).
We are on the beach now…not like Florida; it’s windy, cool, flies biting me…but still pretty and better than work! The sound of the waves is so relaxing. I lean my head back and take some deep breaths. We see a family arrive; they all are carrying pitch forks, heading towards the water. Well, you know how curious Ken is; he goes to talk to them to find out what they are doing. They are digging for clams; which you need a license to do. Ken gets in the water, briefly…it is freezing he says. I pass. We are so spoiled with our many trips to Florida and the Caribbean…and Hawaii a few years ago.
We ate lunch, leftover salad and grilled chicken from last night and fresh pineapple.
Ken decides he wants to learn more about clamming. He meets Kaylee and she shows him: she takes the big pitch form, digs it down in the sand (in the water) and rocks it back and forth until she feels a rock; but actually it is a clam. Then she lifts it out with the fork. She has a whole bucket full. To prepare them: 1) cut one side of the muscle and pry it open, stick butter, garlic and worcheshire sauce in, close it back up and cook right on some hot coals. 2) cut both muscles, chop the clam up for clam chowder 3) cut in strips, bread and deep fry. They are huge!

We are ready to head back to the RV. Pati calls and we talk for awhile. She has been at a funeral all day. A friend of her son’s, from high school, died serving us in Afghanistan. She is kind of down and needs to chat. Kind of feels like someone kicked you in the stomach. She said it was horrible. She called a friend and is headed to Oktoberfest in downtown Cincinnati. She needs to get out and laugh a little. Wish I was there to give her a hug. She said it’s 55 degrees…autumn is in the air. That’s the only time of year that I miss back there. She is coming for a week in February. ..can’t wait.
We decide to go to the hot tub for awhile. Now back to camp to begin dinner: mahi on the grill, green beans, wine….while watching the sunset over the bay. Beautiful.
We sit outside for awhile, finish our wine. Time for bed.
Sunday, September 20th
We wake up to the beagle barking next door…oh well.. time to get up..it’s 7:30. We make coffee, sit outside…our last morning to enjoy the cool ocean air.
We begin to clean/pack up. Lydia comes over to say goodbye…she chats awhile…her sister who lives in a condo in the Gaslamp District is coming to visit today. She has been traveling with her knitting club. They travel all over the US. She became a widow 8 years ago and decided to join the club. It keeps her busy and young. Lydia says she needs to go get a bottle of wine; they love to sit and chat, sipping on wine. We tell her, “take one of ours”. Ken pulls out a bottle of Pinot Grigio and gives it to her…she is delighted. Later I ask him where he got it since we don’t drink white. He said he must have picked it up by mistake….maybe for Lydia? She tells us some more about her life…how after her husband retired from the military, they needed to do something else because the retirement money wasn’t enough. So they bought a farm (in California) and started growing alfalfa. She said the land was very, very good to them. They have traveled all over the country in their RV. She said to us, “Keep the wheels rolling…don’t stop”!
I think that’s a great note to end the weekend on……we hugged goodbye!