Author: Easin' Along

Helen and I have been very busy since visiting you from Temecula, CA. Our home for the next two weeks would be Seabreeze RV Resort on the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach, California. Seabreeze Resort may be among the best-kept secrets in the Military campground inventory. Located about 20 miles below the South Bay area of Los Angeles, this facility features wide, paved sites, free laundry, free ice for coolers, and a wildlife refuge that runs alongside the campground. In addition, our California kids live very close by.

The first item on our activity list was to visit our niece, Olivia, my brother’s daughter, a student at the University of Southern California. Our entire family is very proud of Olivia, who enrolled at USC after graduating high school and moved to Los Angeles without knowing a soul. She is not only excelling in her studies, but she is also thriving in a completely new environment.

We only had one day to catch up with her before she left for Spring Break. Helen and I drove to USC in a driving rain that did not let up at any time while we were there. Fortunately, we had our raincoats, and Olivia led us on a tour of the campus. USC is an impressive institution. The architecture is primarily brick buildings, artfully done. Fountains are scattered throughout the courtyards, and a Who’s Who of donors from the entertainment world is inscribed on plaques throughout the campus. Raincoats notwithstanding, we got soaked but had a lovely time.

Our next big event was to attend our grandson Carter’s basketball game. Anything involving sports is a must-see for me, and I was eager to be in the stands. Things did not go well for Carter’s team, but he played great, grabbing eleven rebounds in the first quarter.

Readers know that we LOVE flea markets and consignment shops and look for them in every town we visit. By chance, the Grandaddy of all flea markets was scheduled that weekend at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena—please don’t throw me in that briar patch! Justin, our son, had planned for us to attend on Sunday. We drove to Pasadena on a glorious day.

Cars lined the roads into the Rose Bowl parking lot, and we parked far away from the entrance. Once inside the show, the family split into groups—Helen, Wendy, and Abby went one way, Justin and Carter went another, and I strolled through the booths alone. I looked for Canon camera lenses and found one, a 20 x 80, f-4.6 zoom lens in good condition, for $10. I added eight souvenir sewing thimbles to my collection, but my favorite purchase was a bulldog. I want one badly, but Helen had yet to come around, so I settled for something less, a beautiful bulldog doorstop for $30 (talked down from $45).

By the end of the afternoon, our group made a haul of someone else’s discards. Justin found a Sponge Bob Square Pants travel bag for an upcoming trip to Hawaii. Abby found some nice T-shirts and a disco ball. Carter searched far and wide for a Rubik’s Cube…found it! Helen bought a Squirrel Beanie Baby for my man cave to replace one lost in our last move. (Downsizing? Who’s downsizing?) I can’t remember when I had more fun! (Click on any image to enlarge)

Wendy’s Mom, Cheryl, opened her home to Helen and me, and we spent two nights a little closer to our kids. Cheryl is a great hostess, and it was fun being with her. While there, we strolled several of the piers of the South Bay Area, including Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo Beach piers. I enjoy them all, but my favorite is the pier at Hermosa Beach with its plaza area. Hennessey’s Tavern always draws me in.

Helen and I met Wendy at the Farmer’s Market, located at the Redondo Beach Pier, on a Thursday afternoon to shop for fresh delicacies. Helen picked up some fresh sourdough bread, honey, carrots, and cabbage to go with our corn beef on St. Patrick’s Day. In addition to the fresh offerings, the pier made for a delightful walk in a nice breeze.

On another afternoon, the kids came to Seal Beach to explore this charming small town. After some window-shopping in town, we strolled along the pier. The high winds kept things cool during the afternoon, but the kite surfers were out in big numbers. I’m guessing they were all grateful for wetsuits in that chilling surf. After leaving the pier, we loaded up at the corndog stand for the best lunch of the week.

When not spending time with the family, we enjoyed watching the birds that gathered in the Wildlife Refuge back in the RV Resort. There were several species of waterbirds (I can’t name them) and some very large Great Blue Herons. One Heron, in particular, kept me enthralled as it built a nest in a tree just beyond our fifth wheel. I managed to snap some pictures of this massive creature at work. She never let up on this project day after day.

I’ve been around a long time, but I can’t remember two weeks that passed so quickly as these have. But the older I get, the weeks pass by at warp speed anyway, so it’s best to make the most of them…while I still can. Thanks for joining us. We’re Easin’ Along. Las Vegas, here we come!

P.S. Please check out the Picture Gallery of our time in Seal Beach and LA here.

Helen and I left San Diego after almost two weeks of “glamping” at Fiddler’s Cove RV Park on beautiful Coronado Island.  Although it was tough to say goodbye, we were not sad because our next stop included a weekend camping with Justin, our son, and his family in the wine country around Temecula, California.  Our home for a long weekend was Vail Lake KOA.

We made good time because of the light traffic on the freeway. The California Poppies covered the hillsides and made the one-and-a-half-hour drive delightful. In the distance, heavy snow blanketed the mountaintops to the east (above). More was predicted in the days ahead.

The drive to Temecula included one stop—a repeat from last year’s trip to the area. While in San Diego, we caught a local news program that included a piece on Peterson’s Doughnut Corner in Escondido. A second visit was a must. We stopped and shopped. Helen stood in line and filled three boxes with Bear Claws, Cinnamon Twists, Doughnut Holes, Glazed Doughnuts, French Crullers, and two varieties of filled doughnuts. Every item was as good as we remembered. We were glad to help out the local economy.

We checked into the KOA and followed a young man in a golf cart to our campsite.  Vail Lake KOA is enormous, with over four hundred campsites. Our site was in the rear, about as far from the office as possible. There were few campers in that part of the campground when we pulled in, but before dark, the entire area filled up with families and large groups, and music filled the air. Justin, Wendy, our grandchildren, and granddogs arrived soon after us.

As campgrounds go, this one is not a “glampers paradise.” There are no concrete pads for camping equipment, only sand…a lot of it. There are some excellent features, including a pickleball court and a restaurant and bar area featuring live music, but the roads are in bad repair, and the recent heavy rains washed out some of the curbs and drainage troughs.

However, the two dogs loved the place and were a delight.  Honey, a beautiful Golden Retriever, stayed close to the campsite but preferred to sit in the car when waiting for her next walk. Todd, the young, very light-colored daschund, didn’t venture far either—he was always in someone’s lap.

Carter, our grandson, loves to play games of any kind–board games, video games, card games, and sports. In the picture below, he explains a game on his phone to a befuddled grandfather. Helen pulled out her pickleball equipment, and Carter immediately challenged her to a match. Wendy and Abby, our granddaughter, joined in.

Abby is a dancer and practices four days a week in four-hour sessions with a dance group.  She is passionate about the art and hates to miss a session. Thankfully, no practices were scheduled for the weekend, and she joined us willingly. Abby often listens to music and lets me share an earphone occasionally.  I can’t remember the song names, but all have a catchy beat (I’m such an old fogie).

At one point during the weekend, we had a visitor. Bo, an English Bulldog puppy, strolled by our campsite on a walk with the owner. I almost dog-napped the adorable fellow but thought better of it. I LOVE English Bulldogs and vow to have one as soon as we give up the RV lifestyle. Helen is still thinking it over.

I wish I had more to report, but this was a casual family weekend, and relaxation was the rule of the trip.  We only get a few days a year with our California kids and wanted to make the most of our time. We enjoyed time around the campfire, cooked some great meals, and watched Helen complete her latest puzzle (Picture above). Everything went by quickly, but we still had two more weekends to spend with them before returning to Knoxville.  They pulled out on Sunday afternoon—dogs and all—it was sad to see them leave.

To console ourselves, Helen and I jumped in the truck later that afternoon for a trip into Temecula.  Somehow, we ended up at Pechanga Casino. Life is grand, and we’re still Easin’ Along.