Halloween came early here. In the RV park, Halloween was celebrated on Saturday, October 26th. We didn’t stay in the park though. We went to a Halloween party at Donna’s sister Sheila’s house. I’m getting ahead of myself.

A little past 11am Saturday, Donna and I scootered over to Enterprise rental on Garnet Avenue and picked up a Nissan Sentra. Donna wanted to shop at a few stores and we thought having a car for the weekend would be good.

While Donna was out and about, Carole Sue Bringas picked me up and we went to the Tiki House in Pacific Beach. This iconic bar has been a popular local watering hole for almost 40 years. This will be its last week – they’re closing the doors for good at the end of the week. While we were chatting, Kevin Barry came in and joined us. Like me, Kevin is reconnecting with the old gang. When I was in junior high and high school, I hung out with Kevin’s brother, Jim  Barry.

When I was in ninth grade at Marston Junior High School, I would walk home after school. The route took me past Clairemont High School, into the canyon behind the school. In the canyon, I would usually meet up with Jim Barry, John Swingle and Terry McMahon. They were 10th graders then at Clairemont High.

We would walk through the canyon and cross Balboa Avenue, then walk up the hill on Moraga Avenue. I lived on Moraga, across from Cadman Park. Jim Barry would talk me into taking a detour over the hill on Cadden Way. This detour added distance and an extra hill to climb. Jim would talk me into it by telling we would see Debbie Taylor. She would wave to us as we walked by her house. Debbie was a year behind me in school. Jim Barry would always tell me Debbie was the girl for me.

He told me that so many times, I began to believe it. In high school, Debbie and I went out on dates a few times. She was my senior prom date. It didn’t work out for us, but we remained friends for a decade after high school. We lost contact when I moved away and Debbie eventually moved to the east coast.

While Carole Sue, Kevin and I were reminiscing, Debbie Taylor (Bednarski now) walked in. Carole had arranged the reunion as a surprise for me. Debbie and her husband live in north San Diego County now. We caught up on each other’s lives and had a few laughs as we talked about old times. I really want to see her brother and sisters while I’m in San Diego.

While I was out, the carpet guy came to the RV park and cleaned our carpet. He did a nice job; the carpet looks good. That’s something we’ll probably want to do every few months.

Saturday evening, Donna and I drove over to Sheila’s house in Point Loma for her Halloween party. We got there early and I helped her son, Connor, assemble a scary spider. It was about a foot in diameter and was sound activated. When a loud enough sound was sensed, the spider would lunge forward. Connor had several spooky novelties set up throughout the house. The party was attended by friends of both Connor and Sheila. So it was two parties in one – one for the kids and another for the adults. We had a good time.

The bag lady with me at the Halloween party

I went as a money magnet. Donna was a bag lady. Sheila was Wonder Woman.

Sunday was a lazy day for me. We started by driving to The Broken Yolk for breakfast. I had a Mexican breakfast called machaca. It’s shredded beef, onions and peppers with scrambled eggs. It was okay, but the restaurant is overpriced and noisy and I don’t think we’ll go back there.

Machaca breakfast plate

I spent the rest of the day watching football. I didn’t fare so well in the football pool. At the end of the day I was five points behind the leader. Oh well, there’s always next week! Donna utilized the rental car and did some shopping. She’s still learning her way around town. At one point she got lost and called me for directions to get home.

Donna bought a treat for me at Costco. It was a 32-ounce can of Mission Brewery Shipwrecked Double IPA. This was the smoothest, best balanced high-gravity beer I’ve ever tasted.

Shipwrecked Double IPA

This morning is overcast and cool. It rained before I woke up. The forecast calls for cool weather with occasional showers today and tomorrow. The highs will be in the low 60s. I will probably put off bicycling until the weather clears. When I lived in western Washington, where it rained about 300 days a year, we didn’t let rain interfere with our activities. Here in San Diego where it’s sunny and clear more than 300 days a year, I don’t see the need to go out in the rain. A warming trend is forecast by Wednesday. Blue skies and temperature in the upper 70s are ahead.