Let me start off by wishing a Merry Christmas to all on Boxing Day. I hope you had a wonderful holiday and were able to connect with family and friends.

I need to catch up on the happenings this week as I haven’t posted since Tuesday. After publishing Tuesday’s post, I headed to the beach on my mountain bike. I wanted to check out the surf, which was supposed to be big during the King Tide.

I rode into a light wind along Mission Bay. The bay seemed unusually calm. The sun was shining, the skies were blue and people were enjoying time on and around the water. I saw a strange looking boat. It had a low, flat deck and a small outboard motor. From my viewpoint, I couldn’t tell if it was a pontoon boat. In any case, it wasn’t what I’m accustomed to seeing on the bay. I snapped a quick photo.

Unusual boat on the bay

I made my way to Pacific Beach. By the time I got there, it was after 1pm and the tide was receding. The biggest swells came earlier in the day on the rising tide. City workers made huge berms in the sand around the main Pacific Beach lifeguard station to prevent it from being flooded by the high tide and big surf.

Sand piled high in front of the lifeguard station

I took a photo of the big waves crashing into Crystal Pier, but I accidentally deleted the file this morning. Doh!

Later, I took a photo of De Anza Cove at low tide. The King Tide creates very high tides and extreme low tides. The dock in the photo is usually floating with very little angle on the walkway. At this time, the dock is grounded and the walkway drops steeply.

Extreme low tide at De Anza

On Christmas Eve last year, we joined my daughter, Shauna, for a sushi dinner downtown at Ra Sushi. We continued the tradition this year, but instead of going to Ra, we made a reservation at Sushi Ota on Mission Bay Drive. Donna and I enjoy Japanese lager with our sushi. She always orders Asahi beer while I prefer Kirin Ichiban. The sushi at Sushi Ota is superior – they serve some of the best I’ve ever had. If you’re a sushi lover, you must try Sushi Ota next time you’re in San Diego. The yellowtail (hamachi) was the freshest, best-tasting nigiri ever!

Sushi platter at Sushi Ota

A toast with Japanese lager

After dinner, Donna went to work in our kitchen preparing the side dishes for Christmas dinner. On Thursday morning, she was up early and had the spiral cut ham in the oven. Shauna picked us up at 10:30am and we drove up to my step-dad’s house in Menifee. Donna and Shauna finished the meal preparations there and we were seated at the table at 1:30pm with our first course. It was curry-butternut squash soup that Donna made from scratch. We had homemade corn muffins with it.

First course – curry-butternut squash soup

The main course was the glazed spiral cut ham served with mashed sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts with marjoram and walnuts. Yummy!

Donna, Ken and Shauna ready for Christmas dinner

We sat in the living room and talked for a while after dinner, then it was pie time. We had apple pie from the Julian Bakery, a local San Diego favorite. We lingered at the table after dessert and told stories. Well, I think I was the main story teller.

Eventually the time came to head back home. We really enjoyed the day together and look forward to spending time with Ken and Shauna again in the spring.

Our drive up to Menifee and back had a couple of moments of craziness on the road. On the way up, once we were north of Temecula, the wind picked up. It was blowing out of the north, I would guess at 20-25mph with higher gusts. On I-215, the traffic was moving along at 75mph when all of sudden everyone ahead of us was braking hard. We were almost stopped when I saw what caused the panic stops. The driver of a Chevy Silverado pick-up truck in the left lane slammed on his brakes and came to a stop on the interstate because a tumbleweed blew into his lane! This was one of the dumbest moves I’ve ever seen. Tumbleweeds are dry and light – that’s why they’re tumbling along. Hitting one with a car at speed blows it into a million pieces. There’s no reason to stop and endanger everyone else on the interstate.

After we left Ken’s place and were driving south on I-215, once again traffic went from a smooth 75mph to a screeching halt. This time it was really necessary to stop. A car was driving northbound in the left southbound lane of the interstate! Luckily, everyone was able to stop without a head-on collision. Like all interstate highways, the lanes for each direction of travel on I-215 are divided and completely separate from each other. I have no idea how this guy was driving north in the southbound lanes. Shauna immediately dialed 911 and I reported the location of the wrong way driver.

After we returned home, Donna took Shauna’s car to visit her sister, Sheila. Shauna and I hung out and had a cocktail while we collaborated on a couple of crossword puzzles from the San Diego Reader. We completed two puzzles. All in all, it a very enjoyable holiday.

Now, for today’s holiday trivia question – do you know where the title Tumbleweed Connection comes from?

There’s a thread on the IRV2 Forum titled “Liberties People Take.” People post their RV Park pet peeves and give examples of clueless or inconsiderate acts they’ve witnessed.

For the most part, RVers are a friendly bunch. We tend to look out for each other and we often connect with our neighbors. Every once in a while, a bad apple turns up. Here’s an example.

On Thursday night, Donna picked up Shauna at the airport and Shauna dropped her off back at the RV park around 11pm. I was already in bed by then. When Donna walked to our coach from the entrance, the site directly behind us was empty.

I thought I was dreaming. I kept hearing voices, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. The voices got progressively louder. I woke up and realized I wasn’t dreaming. A loud conversation was taking place outside near our bedroom window, but it wasn’t in English. It sounded like Chinese.

I tried to go back to sleep, but the people talking would get very loud at times. After a while, I looked at the clock – it was 1:08am. I got out of bed, pulled on my pants and went outside. A Class C rental RV had been allowed to pull in after hours into the site behind us. Three people were sitting at the picnic table with a bright lantern yukking it up – a man, a woman and a third person who was hard to identify in the glare of the lantern. I think it was a girl. I said, “It’s after 1am, you should take your conversation inside – people are trying to sleep.”

They went inside and I went back to bed. It took me about half an hour to get back to sleep. Then I heard it again. This time I was jolted awake by someone shouting unintelligibly. It was the people behind us again. I heard the man shouting, but couldn’t understand what he was saying. The woman responded without shouting, but he would cut her off and shout over her words. They weren’t speaking English. I listened for a couple of minutes and it seemed to be an argument that was escalating.

I looked at the clock – it was a little before 7am. I got up and dressed quickly. I went outside to see what was going on. It sounded like a case of domestic violence was erupting. I saw the woman standing outside their coach with two suitcases and what appeared to be several bags of trash. The man was a few feet away berating her. I told them I was going to get security.

I went to the security guard shack and told the guard on duty what was happening. He radioed the security guard patrolling in a car. When I came back to our site, the man was no longer in sight and the woman was still standing by the suitcases. I went inside our coach and left it up to security to figure out what the issue was.

Shortly after breakfast, Donna saw the rental RV pull out. I had to go to the office to pick up a package that had arrived there for us. As I walked past the site where the rental RV was parked, I couldn’t believe the amount of trash they left behind. I saw the park clean-up crew empty the nearby trash barrel earlier, but now it was overflowing. Plus there was a large plastic garbage bag that was full and a few smaller bags on the ground and there was some trash under the picnic table. I wondered how three people traveling in a small class C RV could have that much trash!

It was a very unusual encounter, not the norm for RV parks. The story is too long for to post in the “Liberties People Take” thread, so I thought I would tell it here.

I’m really looking forward to spending a couple of quiet nights boondocking in the desert!

Three people, nine hours and a pile of trash.

I should mention another strange incident. On Thursday evening, I met the group of guys from Bay Park at Dan Diego’s. I hooked up with this group last year at Offshore Tavern and Grill. On Thursdays, they are at Dan Diego’s. They have a regular rotation of watering holes where they stop for a beer or two and talk sports and enter the weekly football pool.

We had a few beers together. When someone buys a round, Courtney, the bartender, puts a poker chip in front of the people who have a free one coming. She’s really good at making sure you get the same drinks you had in front of you when the round was bought, so the person buying the round knows what they are paying for. I had a few chips in front of me, but I didn’t want to stay and drink. I gave the chips to one of the guys, then I went to the restroom. When I came out, I said my goodbyes – it was my last Thursday night beer at Dan Diego’s for the year –  and then I left.

When I got out of the car back at our coach, it hit me. I left without paying my bill! How embarrassing! I phoned Courtney. She told me not to worry – one of the guys (Dan) had paid my tab.

I needed to find the guys and pay up on Friday. We were car-less for about half a day, then Donna took her sister, Sheila, to the airport and brought Sheila’s car here. Sheila is away for the weekend, so we have a car again.

I drove over to the Silver Spigot – that’s their Friday night spot – I don’t go there usually. Anyway, I found the guys there and paid up.

My old high school friend, Carole Sue Bringas, picked us up at 6pm. We went to our favorite Thai food restaurant – Lanna Thai. We started with an appetizer plate that included shrimp summer rolls, spring rolls, chicken sa-tay, curry cups, and triangular pastry filled with minced chicken and potato – I don’t remember what it’s called – and a trio of sauces.

Thai appetizers for three

Honestly, it was enough food to call it dinner. But, we didn’t let that stop us from ordering entrees. Carole ordered shrimp pad thai, I had chicken pad thai and Donna was adventurous and ordered a dish called spicilicious sea food. It was a sea food medley bowl with a garlic chili sauce. I managed to finish my entree while the girls brought home leftovers.

Shrimp pad thai

Spicilicious sea food

The weather guessers are calling for clear skies and temperatures reaching the mid 60s to 70 degrees over the next few days. Christmas in paradise.

We survived Friday’s downpour. By late afternoon, it turned into occasional showers. Around 4pm, my daughter, Shauna came by. I drove with her to her house and dropped her off. She’s leaving her car with us until Wednesday, while she’s back in Washington, DC. When I came back, Donna’s sister, Sheila had picked her up and they went out to have their nails done.

We had plans to meet up with Chris and Sherry Nirschl for dinner in Ocean Beach. I sent Donna a text asking if I should pick her up in Point Loma at the nail salon so we could make it to the 6:30pm dinner reservation. She texted back telling me Sheila would drop her off. I read this and thought Sheila was driving her back to the RV park and we would drive together.

I was beginning to think we would be tardy for dinner when Donna hadn’t returned by 6:15pm. Then I saw a text from her saying she was arriving at the restaurant early and wanted to know where I was. Oops! Sheila dropped Donna off in Ocean Beach while I was waiting for her to return to the RV park.

I drove to the Ocean Beach Warehouse restaurant and would’ve been only a few minutes late if I could’ve found a parking spot. I circled around Newport Avenue a couple of times before I found an open parking space two blocks west of the restaurant. Of course, when I walked up Newport Avenue, three parking spaces had been vacated right in front of the restaurant.

The Ocean Beach Warehouse restaurant website boasts “Eclectic global cuisine and vintage decor create the perfect casual hangout in the heart of downtown Ocean Beach.” They aren’t just bragging. They back it up with a variety of entrees and 24 local beers on tap. Donna ordered the short rib pappardelle and I had grilled mahi-mahi over garlic smashed potatoes. The food was cooked to perfection. I paired my dish with Belching Beaver IPA. This small brewery is becoming one of my favorites. Their IPA is brewed to style without over-the-top, in-your-face hoppiness.

The best part of the dinner was the company. We hadn’t seen Chris or Sherry since our last visit to San Diego a year ago. We had fun catching up and I really enjoyed the conversations.

Chris, Sherry, me and Donna

In the photo you can see the vintage decor includes the siding from an old Airstream travel trailer on the wall behind us. My hand on Donna’s shoulder looks like it came from the land of the giants!

The skies cleared up on Saturday, but it wasn’t very warm. I don’t think the thermometer climbed much past 60 degrees all weekend. We had another meetup scheduled on Saturday afternoon.

Carole Sue Bringas arranged to meet with us at the Offshore Tavern and Grill and she invited some friends. Carole came down with the flu on Friday and had to cancel. Donna and I went to the Offshore anyway and were pleased when another old friend walked in.

Colette Denning, her daughters Kirsten and Ally and Kirsten’s son Tristan stopped in. I think it’s been about 15 years since I last saw Colette or Kirsten and at least 20 years since I’ve seen Ally. I’ve known Colette since I was in the ninth grade. We’ve stayed in touch over the years and at one time, in the early ’90s, we both lived in western Washington. Our daughters played together when they were kids.

We sat around a table and talked for a while, then Kirsten had a phone call from work. They needed her to come in ASAP. Kirsten lives with Colette in San Clemente. That’s also where she works, about 60 miles away from where we were. Our visit was cut short and I didn’t have a chance for a group photo.

After they left, Donna and I decided to stay and have something to eat. Donna ordered the bruschetta sliders plate and I ordered my favorite dish at Offshore, the poke (PO-key) plate.

Bruschetta sliders

Poke plate

Donna’s sliders were excellent. As soon as I tasted the sushi grade ahi tuna poke, I knew something wasn’t right. After a few bites, my mouth was on  fire! I neutralized it somewhat with the fried won-ton chips and avocado, but I couldn’t understand why the tuna was so spicy. Closer examination revealed a copious amount of dried red chili flakes in the sauce. I’ve never had this on the poke plate before. My face was flush and I was starting to sweat. I asked Donna to try a bite. She said it was awful – the chili flakes totally overpowered the ahi.

We called our server, Stefan, over. I showed him the chili flakes on the poke. I told him I’ve had this dish many times before and it wasn’t like this. Something happened in the kitchen or the chef decided to kick things up a notch. Stefan went back to the kitchen to inquire. He came back  to our table and said it was the new recipe. I had him take the plate away – I couldn’t eat it.

They didn’t charge me for the poke, but they’ve taken what was an excellent dish and changed it for the worse. When I go to get my free football pool drink on Tuesday, I’ll let the owner know what I think of the new poke plate.

In 2008, Donna and I vacationed in Maui. We snorkeled the reefs daily. Our usual routine was to be up early, have coffee and biscotti, then head out to a secluded cove to snorkel before the crowds arrived.

We stayed in Kaanapali at the Westin Hotel. There were places to snorkel right by the hotel. Black Rock is a popular snorkeling spot there. We usually ventured out though. We would drive up to Honolua on Highway 30. There were a couple of spots that locals told us about, like Makulei’a Bay at mile marker 32.

We would spend an hour or so in the ocean, snorkeling among the reefs, checking out tropical fish and sea turtles. By the time were ready to head back to Kaanapali, we had worked up a mighty appetite.

Our favorite thing to do was to stop at a little cafe where we would order loco moco and sit outside and eat our breakfast. Loco moco is a ubiquitous Hawaiian breakfast. It consists of a hamburger patty on white rice with two fried eggs over medium on top. Brown gravy covers everything. It is delicious and very filling.

I mention this because on Friday evening, I stopped in at the Offshore Grill and Tavern and somehow, loco moco found its way into our conversation at the bar. Lauren, the bartender, told me about a cafe on Cass Street in north Pacific Beach that serves loco moco. I’d never seen loco moco on a menu outside of Hawaii.

So on Saturday morning, Donna and I drove over to Leilani’s Cafe for loco moco. You order at the counter, then seat yourself. The girl at the counter asked if we wanted the Hilo-style loco moco. This was a new twist I hadn’t heard of before. Hilo-style comes with spicy fried rice with Portuguese sausage instead of plain white rice. We went for the Hilo-style and found a table outside on the deck. They bring the food to your table on paper plates. It was outstanding. The coffee was excellent as well.

Loco moco Hilo-style

After the hearty breakfast, we drove up to Del Mar to check out the RV park by the fairgrounds and race track. We were thinking that we might head up there next Tuesday when we have to leave Mission Bay RV Park for the night. If we liked it, we might consider a month-long stay there in the future. The park is just minutes from shops and restaurants on Pacific Coast Highway with easy access to some terrific bicycling routes. It turned out not to be a suitable place for us – all gravel, tight sites and no sewer hook-up. We decided there’s no point in paying $50 for the night if we aren’t interested in coming back for a longer stay.

We will be returning to San Diego in April. My youngest daughter, Shauna, will be graduating from Cal Western School of Law on May 1st. We might come back to Mission Bay and stay for the graduation, but we want to look at a couple of other places.

Jim Birditt, my best friend from my high school days, is in town for the weekend. Donna and I met up with him at the Offshore Grill and Tavern in the afternoon. We had a couple of beers and chatted. After about an hour, Carole Bringas, another friend going back to our school days, joined us. We ended up ordering a table full of appetizers and hanging out for a few hours there.

Carole, Jim and Donna at the Offshore Grill and Tavern

Today is NFL football day. I’ll don my number 14 Dan Fouts Chargers throwback jersey for the game against St. Louis. Jim is planning to come over for the game.