I’ve been trying to take it easy and let my hand heal from the trigger finger surgery. I looked back at my blog posts from October of last year and found the recovery time from the trigger finger surgery I had back then took longer than I remembered. The surgery last year released the ring finger on my right hand which is easier to work around than the middle finger I had done this time. One of the benefits of posting a blog is the ability to go back and look at past events and see what really happened.

Most of my activity has been limited to taking walks around the Mission Bay RV Resort or over to the bay. The weather has been a little on the cool side with daily highs in the mid 60s. That’s set to change today as we should see temperatures in the 70s with clear skies for the next week or so. We can’t complain about the weather!

On one of my walks, I noticed the marina across Rose Inlet past Campland to the west of the RV park was full. I don’t recall seeing this many boats there before.

Boats at the marina

While I was out walking, I also saw the smallest Airstream travel trailer ever. I don’t think I’ve seen one this small before.

Tiny Airstream

I snapped a photo as I walked past. When I walked back on the next lane behind the Airstream, I noticed the large Dometic Penguin air conditioner on top. It looked oversized on this small unit.

Big A/C on a small trailer

Having an oversized air conditioner is not necessarily a good thing. It can cause a problem known as short cycling. This can happen in a regular sticks-and-bricks home as well as an RV. A short cycling air conditioner runs for a short period, then shuts off. Then it turns back on only to shut off again.

Short cycling can create a number of issues. One is excess humidity. Usually an air conditioner will run long enough for the moisture in the air to condense on the evaporator and drain, leaving the air relatively dry. When the A/C short cycles, it doesn’t condense as much moisture and the air can feel damp and uncomfortable.

The other issues are wear and tear. Stopping and starting the compressor excessively causes wear. On start up, the compressor motor draws a large spike of current – it takes more power and causes more wear to start the motor than it normally does while running. Also, if the compressor shuts off for only a short period of time before restarting, there can be residual head pressure in the compressor making it difficult to start.

I’m sure Airstream knew what they’re doing when they installed such a large A/C unit on a small travel trailer. I’m guessing they reduced the fan speed for lower cooling output to prevent short cycling.

I rode the scooter over to Costco on Morena Boulevard yesterday. We were on our last roll of paper towels, so I wanted to buy a bulk package of paper towels and pick up more bottled water. I need to have water with me at all times due to a chronic dry throat condition caused by head and neck radiation. I also picked up a bottle of Veuve Cliquot Brut champagne for Donna to ring in the new year at the end of the month. Veuve Cliquot is her favorite and Costco had it at a good price. The bottle included a custom-fit insulated vinyl bag for it. I picked up a 22-ounce bomber bottle of Stone IPA for me. This was a special release made with fresh hops and it’s meant to be enjoyed fresh, not stored. It had an “enjoy by 12-25-15” label. So I did.

Stone fresh IPA

Last night we grilled green chile turkey burgers on the Weber Q grill for dinner. Donna walked to Vons in Pacific Beach in the afternoon – about a four mile round trip – and picked up cheese bakery rolls. I toasted the rolls on the grill and they were so good with the burgers.

Turkey burgers with avocado on cheese bakery rolls

I enjoyed the Stone IPA with my burger. To be honest, I don’t know what the fresh hop IPA is all about – it tasted like a Stone IPA that’s always available at the store. With all of the craft breweries around here, everyone is always experimenting and trying to come up with the next hit beer. Whenever someone comes up with a winner, the copycats follow. I’ve seen a few fresh hop IPAs on the shelves here – I think it’s gimmick more than anything though. I don’t taste any difference.

Donna plans to catch a ride with her sister Sheila to her house today. She left her bike there last weekend. From Point Loma, she wants to tool around Shelter Island, then ride through Ocean Beach and back here (map). I think I’ll hit the beach at some point today and take a walk.