Another New Food Discovery

In December I wrote about trying persimmons, a new food discovery for me.  One of my readers, Merikay, left a comment asking if we had tried jicama.  I had never heard of it.

Yesterday we stopped at a local produce stand, and I found jicama.  They look kind of like turnips.  I’m sure I would never have given them a second look if Merikay hadn’t recommended them.  I bought one to give it a try.   I’m going to miss the produce stand once we leave here.  They have such nice fresh produce and are reasonably priced.

You peel jicama like a potato.  To me it tasted like a cross between a radish and a kohlrabi.  It has a mild flavor with a bit of sweetness.  I cut some up in a salad and also dipped it in some ranch dressing.  I’ll definitely be buying them again.  Thanks, Merikay, for the recommendation!

Yesterday we also stopped by Dixon Lake in Escondido.  It’s a county park with hiking and biking trails.  There was no room in the parking lot, so we decided to come back during the week. 

We watched some movies this weekend.  I enjoyed both of them, Toy Story 3 and Knight and Day.  Yesterday brought some surprise football results.  Kevin is geared up for a Packer win today!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Seal Boat Tour

Yesterday we headed back to San Diego to enjoy a Seal boat tour.  The tour is operated by the same company as the Old Town Trolley tour we took with the boys.  We were lucky to be in the right place at the right time when we bought our trolley tickets.  The people in front of us had combination trolley/boat tickets, but wouldn’t be able to do the boat tour, so we got lucky and were given the tickets.

The vehicle is a combination bus and boat.  There are other cities with these types of tours commonly referred to as “Ducks”.  Those are refurbished military vehicles.  The San Diego Seal vehicles are made specifically for these tours, and are not refurbished.  They are supposedly safer, so that’s a good thing.

The first part of the tour was a drive along the harbor.  Most of what the guide told us was a repeat of what we had heard on the trolley.  We then headed to Shelter Island where we drove into the San Diego Bay and became a boat.  What a great view of downtown San Diego.

Much of the property on both sides of the bay is owned by the Navy.  This area is a repair facility for jets. 

The Navy SEALS were out on training maneuvers.

This guy found an unusual spot to take a nap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These California Sea Lions are resting on top of fishing crates.  

I always think of them as being all sleek and wet, but some of these guys had dried off.  I was surprised to see they have fur.

The Navy has a dolphin and seal training facility in this area.  They actually have trained dolphin to find underwater mines.  These dolphin were used in Iraq to identify mines before our ships entered the area.  Amazing.  We saw one Navy boat working with a dolphin, but I wasn’t able to get a picture.

As we returned to shore, these California Brown Pelicans were sitting on the wall welcoming us back.

We enjoyed the Seal boat tour, but I don’t know that it would have been worth paying extra for it.

Next we drove to the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma.  To get there, you actually drive through one of the Navy bases.  There is a military cemetery up there with thousands of headstones; so sad!

Juan Cabrillo was the first European to set foot in California.  In 1542 he discovered the San Diego area and claimed the land for Spain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1854 the US Coast Guard built the Point Loma lighthouse overlooking the bay and ocean.  It operated until 1891 when a new lighthouse was built near the bottom of the cliff.  The reason was that fog and clouds often obscured the light at the top.  The old lighthouse has been restored and is open to the public.

We drove down to the shore area and were lucky to be there at low tide.  There are many tide pools along the Monument’s shoreline so we did a little exploring.  It’s a beautiful area.

It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid 60s.  Although I’m feeling better, I was pretty wiped out by the time we got home.  I think today will be another day of rest :)

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

My New Toy

Since I still wasn’t feeling too well yesterday, Kevin decided to run some errands while I rested and did a little quilting.  He had the oil changed in the truck, picked up a new plug at Camping World to replace the melted one, and he stopped and got me a new toy. 

I’ve been researching eReaders for a few months now, debating whether I wanted to spend the money to get one.  I love to read, but rarely buy books.   I am a great fan of libraries.  Several months ago, I discovered you can rent ebooks from the library and download them to a reader.  How exciting is that!

I did some research and found the Sony Pocket Reader had very good reviews and was reasonably priced.  I wanted to buy from a store rather than online in case I didn’t like it or it didn’t work out.  Office Depot had them on sale so Kevin picked one up for me with money my mom gave me for Christmas.  Thanks, Mom!

I love it.  It was easy to set up; I downloaded a library book and have been reading all over including outside and in bed.  The screen is easy on the eyes, and it is small and lightweight.  It came with a little case, so I’ll be able to take it with me wherever I go. 

I did have some books I brought with us, and I found book exchanges at a couple of the campgrounds we’ve stayed at.  The problem with that is you can’t choose the exact books you want.  It’s hit or miss.  The library has an amazing number of books available to download.  The lending period is 14 days which should be fine for most books.  If not, I’ll just check it out again.

Kevin was surprised to find an extra $6 charge when he bought it.  He asked what the charge was for.  The clerk told him California charges an “electronic disposal fee” on all electronics.  You’ve got to be kidding me, $6 for this little reader.  This state charges for everything.  Cans are 5 cents and bottles are 10 cents for recycling fees.  The sales tax is 8.75%.  Gas is $3.35 a gallon.  I can’t understand how they can be broke with all these extra fees.

The new governor is claiming there is plenty of money, but it has just been mishandled.  I guess only time will tell.  I wouldn’t want to live here all the time.  It’s too expensive.

The weather is certainly getting better.  Today was sunny and in the 60s.  We took a walk, and it was beautiful.  I’m also feeling a bit better.  Tomorrow, we’re planning to take a boat ride.  We got lucky the day we took the boys on the trolley ride.  The ticket lady was saying how someone had tickets for the boat tour, but wasn’t going to use them and didn’t take them.  I asked if we could have them, and she said sure.  So, tomorrow we get to go on a free boat ride.  Can’t beat that!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Mysterious Sign

You’d expect while traveling through different parts of the country to see unusual signs.  We’ve seen our share, but there is a crosswalk sign in Valley Center that really has us baffled.  Here’s a picture.  Has anyone else ever seen a horse crossing sign?

As you can see, there is a separate button to push for horse riders to cross at this intersection.  We’ve been here for over two weeks and have not seen a single horse on the roads.  There are a few ranches in the area, but we can’t figure out why this crosswalk has a special horse rider button.  Strange!

It rained again all day yesterday.  I thought we were supposed to be in sunny California.  The forecast is for sun the next 7 to 10 days.  Yippee!!

Our electrical box has a new plug in it and is working okay again.  Some of you asked if we have a surge protector.  We do, and it has shut our power down a few times when there were storms or low voltage.  It would have eventually shut us down with this problem as well, but Kevin got to it quickly and shut things down himself.  We agree with many of you that a surge protector is a very important item to have, and we wouldn’t be without it.

I’m still feeling under the weather.  I think it’s just a cold that has to run it’s course.  My throat hurts, I’m somewhat congested, and have zero energy.  Luckily, I can rest and take it easy.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Why Are The Lights Flickering

Yesterday afternoon we noticed our power was “flickering”.  While I was making popcorn, the microwave seemed to by cycling up and down, kind of like a power surge in reverse.  The lights were dimming on and off as well.

Kevin went outside to check things out at the electrical box.  Our 50 to 30 amp plug was partially melted to the plug in the campground’s box.  That’s not good!

We shut everything down and Kevin let things outside cool down.  Being a holiday weekend, the office is closed until Monday. Kevin had a spare plug, so we’re using that.  The box still works, but it’s certainly not working as well as it should.

Ideally, 50 amp service works best for us.  However, we’ve been at a number of campgrounds with 30 amp service and have had no problems.  We just have to be more mindful of turning one thing off before we turn another on.  For example, if I want to use the blow dryer, I have to turn off the electric heater first.  

I’m not very happy with this campground.  Twice we’ve been unable to get out due to the entry road being flooded.  Now this poor electrical box.  The voltage appears to be lower than it should.

So we’ve had to pay for a rental car to pick up the boys when the road was flooded, and now we have to replace a melted plug.

It appears the owners (a corporation) put as little money as possible into the place.  It’s kept clean, but everything is looking rather “tired”.  We will definitely not be coming back to Woods Valley Kampground in Valley Center, California!

Our Wisconsin Badgers played their hearts out yesterday, but came up short in the Rose Bowl :(  Hopefully, the Packers will win today.

I’m trying to fight off this cold, but it’s winning.  I really didn’t feel well yesterday and my throat was pretty sore last night.  Thank goodness for Nyquil.  At least I was able to sleep well.

I’d like to welcome some new followers Beth, Dear Miss Mermaid and Coast to Coast.  Sometimes I lose track of who new followers are, but I welcome everyone.  I’ve been writing this blog for almost a year, and I’m honored that people spend time reading it.  I have learned a great deal from other bloggers.  I hope sharing our experiences can help/inspire others.

Keep those comments coming :) 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Happy New Year

2010 was certainly a year of changes and dreams coming true.  When I think back to a year ago, we were dealing with so much uncertainty.

Tops on that list was whether the house would sell.  It wasn’t an easy process by any means, but the house did sell and on May 1st we started our fulltime journey!

We are so grateful that our prayers were answered.  Every day is a blessing.  The 8 months on the road have definitely exceeded our expectations.  We look forward to a fantastic 2011.

I put together a collage of some 2010 highlights.  If you click on it, you can see a larger version in a new window.

I couldn’t convince Kevin to go to the Rose Bowl.  He’s happy to watch it on TV.  I’m watching the parade right now with the sun shining in the window.  Go Badgers!

Highs have been in the 50s and lows in the 30s the last few days.  Words like frigid, bone chilling, arctic and hypothermia have been spoken by the weathermen.  It’s funny how people perceive weather.  I guess it’s all relative.  To us this is great weather compared to what winter has been in years gone by. 

There is a creek that runs through the campground.  Every night I hear frogs croaking outside.  That’s not something we’re used to hearing in winter.  A group of California Quail were in our front yard the other day.

 

We plan on staying home and watching football this weekend.  We’ll venture out again next week once everyone has gone back to work.  I think we’ve become allergic to crowds :)

Korey wasn’t feeling well while he was here, and I think I may have caught a bug from him.  My throat has been sore for two days.  I’m taking Zicam and zinc lozenges to try to stave off a full blown cold.  We’ll see what happens.  We’ve both been very lucky to have stayed healthy since May.   

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

A New Food Discovery

We have stopped a few times at a produce stand on the outskirts of town.  They have a nice selection of reasonably priced produce.  The other day I asked what a persimmon tastes like.  The guy had a hard time describing it and told me to take one and try it.  So I did.

It looks kind of like a tomato, but it’s not as soft.  It is definitely not like anything I’ve eaten before with a mild flavor.  I would compare it to a pear for texture and taste, but not exactly.  I found out they are high in Vitamin A and C and fiber and are good for you.  I’ll be going back and buying some.  I love new discoveries!

On Wednesday I had planned to run a few errands.  It had been raining most of the day, and when I got down to the campground entrance road, there was water flowing over it again.  It wasn’t closed this time, but I wasn’t taking any chances so I came back home.  Yesterday the rain stopped, and the road was fine so I did some grocery shopping and picked up some fabric for a quilt project.

We took a little walk yesterday and it was a bit chilly but the sun was shining.  The weather people are going on and on about the arctic temperatures.  It got into the 30s last night.  It makes us laugh :)

I updated my Campground Review page and organized the digital pictures I took while the boys were here.   We’ve rented a few movies at Redbox including Salt, Charlie St. Cloud and Going the Distance.  They were all OK, nothing earth shattering. 

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve.  We have no big plans.  We’ll enjoy the wine we bought in Pahrump and watch the festivities on TV.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!