I closed my last post saying we had eight nights to fill before we could check in at Mission Bay RV Park in San Diego and needed a plan. What we came up with may not have been the most exciting plan, but it was practical. We left Bishop and headed south on US395 for about 140 miles to Ridgecrest, California.

The Elks Lodge in Ridgecrest has about a dozen sites with full hook-ups – five are 50amp service. Ridgecrest isn’t the most glamorous destination, but at $20/night it would work for the first four nights we needed to fill.

Ridgecrest has been in the news recently due to earthquakes centered near the town. In July, quakes with magnitudes of 6.4, 5.4 and 7.1 happened. In the last week, several smaller quakes occurred including a a magnitude 3.2 on Saturday morning, which was recorded by geologists, but we didn’t even notice it.

Ridgecrest’s other claim to fame is the China Lake Naval Station nearby. China Lake is mainly a research and evaluation facility for the US Navy – and it’s also the largest landholding in the navy’s inventory.

When we arrived, there were a few other RVs there, but after two days, we had the place to ourselves. We didn’t do anything exciting while we were there. Donna caught up on a couple of assignments while we took advantage of the 50-amp service to keep the air conditioners running during the day. The high temperature hovered around 90 each day, but quickly cooled off after sundown to overnight lows in the upper 50s. We also had excellent satellite reception and I recorded Formula One and Moto-GP races.

The Ridgecrest Elks Lodge has an RV club and they’ve done a great job with the RV sites, but the lodge doesn’t seem to be very active. They do have Bingo on Thursday nights and Donna went over to play. On Friday evening I went in for a cold one around 5pm and found only two people there. The bartender told me Fridays are usually quiet as so many people get out of town for the weekend. The lodge is closed Saturday and Sunday!

By the time I had the Midget secured in the trailer and hooked up, it was 10:30am when we pulled out of Ridgecrest on Monday morning. We followed US395 south to I-15 and went over Cajon Summit. Cajon Summit is followed by six miles of steep downgrade dropping into San Bernadino. The traffic was harrowing on this stretch as expected. Cars dart from lane to lane trying to take advantage of any opening without much regard for tractor-trailer and big-rig RVs.

We took I-215 down through Riverside and continued our trek southward. We made a stop at Ethanac Road in Menifee where I knew there was a travel center. Finding truck stops in southern California isn’t as easy as some places. I filled our tank with diesel #2 at $3.75/gallon. Not bad considering California fuel prices – we’ve seen much higher prices.

My step-dad, Ken, lives nearby but we didn’t see him. There isn’t anyplace nearby to legally park an RV. We would have to go several miles, then unload the Midget for a visit and load back up to get on the road. I really wanted to get past the afternoon rush through Temecula and get off the road. Our destination was another four-night stay at an Elks Lodge – in Oceanside this time. We’ve wanted to stay there for a while but weren’t able to get a reservation in the past. This time we got lucky and snagged a site for four nights – only a 30-amp service this time. The 30-amp service isn’t a big deal since we have cooler breezes here coming off the Pacific Ocean and don’t need to run air conditioners.

Tuesday morning Donna and I took a ride down the Coast Highway to Saint Michaels By-The-Sea just after crossing into Carlsbad. We met Debbie Bednarski – a friend from my high school days – there and played pickleball. They have two outdoor courts and 12-15 people showed up to play. It was great to see Debbie again and also get back on the pickleball courts.

While we were there, I received a phone call from the my step-dad, Ken’s neighbor, Helen. She told me Ken had just been taken away in an ambulance for transport to Loma Linda Hospital in Murrieta. I knew he was complaining about shortness of breath and it seems like it’s gotten bad enough that he needed attention.

This created a little tension for me – I had to figure out how to handle the situation. Donna’s dad had taken a fall a few weeks ago and broke his hip. He had successful surgery but now needs rehabilitation. He spent two weeks in a facility before Donna’s sisters decided to take over. Linda is a nurse and Sheila is a physical therapist. Sheila flew from San Diego to Vermont to get him going on rehab.

Meanwhile, Sheila’s 15 year-old son, Connor, was invited to play with a band made up of local middle and high schoolers opening up the Padres MLB game with the national anthem at Petco Park on Tuesday night. I needed to drop Donna off at Sheila’s place in La Jolla so she could use Sheila’s car to drive Connor to the ballgame and back.

I called the hospital and talked to an ER nurse. She told me they were taking Ken to X-ray, he was coherent, his vitals were good and I should wait and check back later. So I carried on and drove Donna to La Jolla. I called the hospital again and the nurse told me nothing had really changed and she advised me to sit tight and wait until the doctor came up with something. She didn’t seem overly concerned at this point. I notified my sister and brother and also my daughters of the situation. They admitted Ken to the hospital for more tests and observation.

Yesterday I drove the Midget up to Murrieta. It’s a blast up the interstate most of the way – not a fun drive in a small British sports car. At the hospital, I found Ken’s room and he seemed much better. They had discovered a large amount of fluid in one lung and drained 1.5 liters from it! With the liquid removed, he could breathe much better.

I’m concerned though. The thing is, his heart rate, blood pressure and temperature were all fine. He just couldn’t breathe. To me, I’m thinking this isn’t pneumonia or some kind of infection – he would’ve been ill. So why was there fluid in his lung? The only thing I can come up with is congestive heart failure or cancer. He’s 88 years old, so I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

Meanwhile, Donna has plans to fly to Varmont next week. She’ll spend a day with Sheila learning what needs to be done to assist with her dad’s physical therapy. Sheila will return home while Donna stays there for a week or more. Family matters matter. I’ll be at Mission Bay RV Resort – we check in tomorrow.

A rain shower passed through here this morning. We skipped pickleball, but drove down to the Oceanside Farmers’ Market near the pier. There were some unique vendors and we bought more than usual.

It’s cloudy and cool – the high might reach 70 degrees. We expect pleasant weather at Mission Bay – daytime highs in the low 70s and overnight lows in the 60s. Hard to beat that.