Donna and I played pickleball at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center on Monday. They only play for two hours at OBRC. We were home by 2:30pm. I had one task to take care of as we prepare to hit the road after nine weeks in San Diego.

I replaced the windshield wiper blade assemblies. The last time I replaced the wipers, I put new rubber inserts in. The blade assembly wears over time and the pivot points loosen. The blade clamps around thin metal strips reinforcing the rubber blade material. This area also loosens its grip after the inserts are replaced a couple of times. I found 28″ replacement blade assemblies to fit our wiper arms at a school bus supply company in Clinton Township, Michigan called Unity School Bus Parts. I don’t have any affiliation with this company, but I included a link in case a reader needs parts.

The blades are attached to the wiper arm with shoulder bolts. The replacement blades were a perfect fit. The shoulder bolt has an 8mm hex head and is fastened with a 6mm hex nut.

Shoulder bolt for wiper blade

Old and new wiper blades

This was a simple task. I think I spent more time walking to the trailer and back to get the proper wrenches than I spent actually installing the blades

Around 5pm, we went to Kris and Tom Downey’s (Open Road 365) coach. We were invited to join them and their friends, Ray and Kathy, for dinner. Kris is recovering from surgery on her broken ankle and is mostly confined to hobbling around in her coach. Ray made kafta – a middle eastern dish of ground beef and lamb on skewers or rolled into oblong meatballs. Donna made orzo with roasted cherry tomatoes and parsley.

Donna working her magic in Kris’ kitchen

We enjoyed the meal inside and sat and talked. Some of us enjoyed adult beverages as well. As always, the time flies by while the conversation is flowing.

Donna, me, Kris and Tom

Tuesday we had nice weather. It was sunny and clear out and slightly warmer with the temperature in the upper 60s. I went to the Pacific Beach Recreation Center to play pickleball while Donna stayed home to do some early spring cleaning in the coach with the products she is reviewing for Family Circle magazine. I intended to get started on packing things in the trailer after pickleball but I showered and went to Offshore Tavern and Grill instead. I had a farewell toast with the guys there.

I came home before 5pm because we had an early dinner reservation. Donna’s sister Sheila and our 11-year-old nephew Connor were picking us up to go to Sushi Ota. This popular restaurant has some of the best sushi in San Diego – make that the best sushi we’ve found anywhere. We ordered a large selection and I stuffed myself. Connor wanted to try uni – sea urchin – and I talked him into ordering it with a quail egg. He was venturesome and went for it. And he liked it!

Sushi platter – uni with quail egg in the lower left

Today we have partly cloudy skies. I’ll remove the windshield cover and tire covers and set the tire pressures. Then I’ll pack the trailer. We have cloudy skies, but the forecast calls for zero percent chance of rain until this evening. I should have ample time to pack everything this afternoon while it’s dry. Donna’s out for a bike ride with our friend Johanna this morning, then she has a lunch date in Old Town with a former colleague. I’ll scooter her over there and she’ll take the bus back while I’m packing up.

Tomorrow we’ll pull out and head up to Temecula about an hour away from here. We plan to spend two nights at Jojoba Hills SKP Resort – an RV park for Escapees members. Then we’ll move to Golden Palms RV Resort in Hemet. We plan to stay there for one week. This should be enough time to assist my step-dad. I’ll drive him to the hospital at 5am Monday morning and drive him home once he’s released after surgery. We’ll hang out and help him while he recovers. Hopefully we’ll have dry weather up in Riverside County.