I haven’t posted for a few days due to travel. We had to leave the park on Wednesday as we hit the 30-day limit. I wrote about the 30-day regulation here. I usually get a lot of the preparation for travel done the day before we leave, but it was a little different this time.

On Tuesday, Donna and I rode the scooter to the Brigantine restaurant on Shelter Island Drive. We joined Emily and Mark Fagan for lunch there. It was Taco Tuesday, so naturally we all ordered tacos for lunch. We lingered at our table for an hour and a half, enjoying the company and conversation. Maybe I should say conversations – the last half hour was two distinct conversations. Mark and I talking about guitars and RVs while Donna and Emily we talking about the writing world and working on the road.

When you drive onto Shelter Island, you enter a world of exclusivity. There are the yacht clubs and marinas with high-dollar boats. Expensive cars are found in the parking lots there. The Brigantine at lunch time is no exception. I took a couple of quick snapshots of a Ferrari F355 and a V10 powered Audi R8.

Ferrari F355

Audi R8

When we returned to our home, it was filled with aroma of Carribean Chicken Curry cooking in the crockpot. Donna prepared it in the morning and it cooked all day. We moved our bicycles into the trailer and I prepared  few things for travel.

Carribean Chicken Curry

Donna had her exercise class Wednesday morning, so I couldn’t stow the scooter until she returned. Since she would be away for a couple of hours, I used that time to pack things away. I moved our chairs and a few other outdoor items to the trailer. I stowed the Weber barbeque grill and stand. I waited until Donna returned and showered, then I  dumped and flushed the tanks and put the hoses away. We needed to check out by noon and just made it.

We decided to return to Sycuan Casino near El Cajon. Last time, it was so easy. We rolled in and a security guard took our information and directed us to a large, empty parking lot. We ate dinner and breakfast there last time and thought the restaurant was good. Free parking, security and good food – how could we go wrong?

This time the experience was a little different. We parked in the same upper lot which was empty once again. But this time I was told to take my driver’s license and registration to the security office. They wanted to confirm who owns the RV – it seems they’ve had a few stolen vehicles end up in their lot.

At the security office, we were issued a parking pass to display in our windshield. We were also told that the expectation was for us to be “actively gaming” in the casino, not just using the place as an RV park. Fair enough. We aren’t interested in the gambling, but we spent money in the casino restaurants.

Our restaurant experience wasn’t the same as last time either. I ordered kung pao chicken while Donna ordered a beef and bean burrito, which was one of the specials of the day. When my food arrived, I took a couple of bites, then told Donna it wasn’t like any kung pao I’d had before. There weren’t any peanuts or dried chilis and the sauce was wrong. When the waiter came by, I asked him if this was kung pao. First he said yes, then upon closer inspection said, “Hmm…what did they  do in the kitchen?” He took my plate and returned a few minutes later with a plate of kung pao chicken.

The meal was mediocre at best. An hour later, I wasn’t feeling too well and my stomach was rumbling all afternoon. We had a late dinner, as I felt bloated and didn’t have much appetite until about 8pm. Donna whipped up a pantry plate. Pantry plates are meals she prepares with whatever we have on hand and doesn’t get too fancy. In this case, we had Trader Joe’s mini chicken tacos from the freezer with mashed avocado and salsa on a bed of greens.

Mini chicken tacos

It rained overnight. In the morning, we decided to give the casino restaurant another shot for breakfast. Donna ordered the same as she did last time – an egg white omelet with portobello and spinach and I had a machaca plate. Once again, it was mediocre food, but there was lots of it! I think when we reach the end of this 30-day stint, we’ll find someplace else to do our 24-hour shuffle.

After breakfast at Sycuan Casino, we had to dodge a few rain showers before we walked back to the coach. We hit a few raindrops on the way to Mission Bay. We checked in to Mission Bay RV Resort yesterday at noon. We were given site 88.

I hooked up the water, power and sewer. Then I retrieved the scooter from the trailer. Walking to the trailer, I got soaked from a sudden downpour. We had raindrops off and on all afternoon and overnight.

I needed to go to the Offshore Tavern and Grill to make sure we were set to have a gathering of about a dozen people Friday evening. I set up a reunion for my friend, Jim Birditt, with a lot of our old pals. I was preparing to ride the scooter over there and hoping I wouldn’t get rained on when Jim called me. He wanted to stop by and go out for a beer. Perfect! He picked me up in his dad’s truck and we went to Offshore. We’re all set to have our meetup there.

Last night Donna made tilapia with cilantro-walnut pesto for dinner. It was outstanding. We prefer to grill dinner, but with the rain she cooked it on the stove.

Tilapia with cilantro-walnut pesto

This morning we have more rain. I borrowed my daughter’s car for the day. I need to drive down to Otay Mesa, about an hour from here, to inspect the recovered trailer. The insurance company admitted that their inspector didn’t know anything about trailers and didn’t have a clue of what to look for, except for obvious sheet metal damage.