We started Friday with Donna getting creative in the kitchen. She fried corn tortillas, then soaked them in enchilada sauce. The tortillas were stacked with cotija cheese and chopped green onion in between them. Then it was topped off with two eggs over-easy, chopped cilantro and green onion. Stacked enchilada with eggs for breakfast!

After the hearty breakfast, Donna walked to Enterprise and rented a car. We got the $9.95/day three-day weekend deal – and they upgraded us from a compact car to a 2016 Buick LaCrosse. Donna drove the rental car to Sharp Outpatient for her annual mammogram.

While she was out, I dumped our gray water tank. While I was at it, I noticed that our fresh water hose had a drip at the water inlet fitting. It was a slow drip, but it needed to be addressed. I shut off the fresh water supply and disconnected the hose from the quick-release fitting. The drip was coming from the union of the Kwik Link 105 degree connector at the water inlet to the coach.

I walked out to the overflow lot and got a new rubber hose washer from the trailer and came back to the coach. I tried to remove the Kwik Link but it was stuck. I had a locking plier at the coach, but I still couldn’t remove the Kwik Link. I walked back to the trailer and got a second locking plier. With two locking pliers, I could hold the brass fitting with one and turn the Kwik Link with the other. It finally broke free.

I found a smooth, hard, white substance on the threads of the Kwik Link. The source of this substance is a mystery. I used a file to clean the threads and cleaned the Kwik Link thoroughly. I reconnected it to the inlet with Teflon tape and connected the hose. No more drips.

After Donna returned from Sharp, she went back out to shop at Trader Joe’s. She put together a gift basket of goodies for my step-dad, Ken Keller. She also bought me a goody – a 13-year-old Speyside single malt scotch whisky. It was distilled in 2002, then aged in oak barrels until it was bottled by Alexander Murray and Company in 2015 and private labelled for Trader Joe’s. Speyside scotch is the name given to whisky distilled near the Spey River in the Scottish Highlands. Some of the best scotch comes from this region, such as Macallan and The Glenlivet. Trader Joe’s and Alexander Murray do not divulge the actual distiller of this scotch.

Alexander Murray has a reputation for facilitating the purchase of high-quality spirits (mainly scotch) and bottling them under private labels. In addition to Trader Joe’s, you’ll also find the Kirkland Signature line of scotch at Costco is bottled by Alexander Murray. They also offer spirits under their own label.

On Friday night, we drove to Donna’s sister’s house in Point Loma. Sheila was having an early Christmas dinner for a few friends and family. Her son Connor will be spending Christmas with his dad and paternal grandparents in Minnesota, so this weekend was Christmas time at home with his mother.

Sheila prepared a seafood themed dinner. We started with hors d’oeuvres including lobster sliders!

In addition to Donna and I, Sheila’s friends Carole and Bill along with her friend Salma and Salma’s son Jace were there. We had a fun evening with laughter and conversation and a few drinks.

Sheila served lobster bisque, then the main course was King crab legs. Giant King crab legs!

We called it a night a little past 10pm.

On Saturday morning, we drove up to Sun City (Menifee) to visit with my step-dad. The traffic was fairly light and we made good time, arriving a little before 11am. We sat and talked for a while and presented the goody box packed with food, snacks and a bottle of rum to Ken. Then we drove over to the Chinese restaurant for lunch. We lingered there for an hour and half before driving back to his place. My daughter Shauna phoned him to check in while we were there.

A few years ago, I set up an account with Life Station and had a device delivered to Ken. It’s an emergency contact through a phone line to a dispatch center. To use it he needs to wear a wrist band that’s a wireless connection to the phone device. If he were to fall or have a medical emergency, he could contact the dispatch center through the wrist band microphone. He doesn’t use it. He doesn’t wear the wrist band and the only thing this set-up is doing for him is giving him a one-touch emergency contact point next to his bed where the main device is. It’s right next to his landline phone which serves the same purpose.

I’ve been paying about $30/month for the subscription fee for years now and after talking it over, we decided to return the unit and cancel the subscription. When Ken is out and about, he carries a cell phone and he has the landline in his home. I felt a little bad about suggesting we cancel the Life Station, but it really didn’t make sense to keep it when he’s not using it.

After visiting for a few hours, we said our goodbyes. It made me sad to see him waving goodbye in the driveway. He cut such a lonely figure. I don’t know when I’ll see him again. With Christmas and New Year falling on a Friday, the rental car agencies here in Pacific Beach are closed for those weekends.

The hour and a half drive home was punctuated by bad drivers making crazy, dangerous maneuvers. Fortunately, we didn’t see any accidents this time – usually there’s a crash somewhere along I-15 when we make this drive.

Back at Mission Bay RV Resort it was time for their holiday Hawaiian luau. The weather wasn’t very cooperative. Rain was threatening. We had tickets for the luau dinner plate but I wasn’t feeling up to it. Donna went and visited with our friends, Kris and Tom Downey. I stayed home and watched the football game. Donna dropped off the luau plate for me. It rained heavily at times – enough to lose the satellite signal during the fourth quarter. I gave up on the game and finished reading a book.

Today we’re back to clear skies and the temperature should reach the low to mid 60s. I’ll be watching football. We have a happy hour invite for this afternoon.