Bye Bye San Diego

Pio Pico from our window

Well, our time at Pio Pico is over. It was one of our favorite camping sites so far - far enough from civilization to feel like we're camping, yet close enough to the places we want to visit in the area. The jacuzzi was a nice plus. We used it several times. It didn't hurt that we were right across the road from it.

We didn't complete our entire San Diego wish list, but we put a big dent in it. One of the main reasons for making a stop there was to welcome our grandson, Arick Mayo, back from his Navy cruise to South Korea on the Nimitz aircraft carrier. He arrived in port on the 6th. His mom and dad flew in to greet him as well, and we met up with them on Monday for lunch. On Tuesday, Mark joined his kids for the event and spent the day visiting with Arick and getting a personal tour of the ship. Unfortunately, one day was all they got, because the sailor had to report back to duty the next day.

Brian and Maegan Mayo with Mark

Mark and I made one last excursion to San Diego later in the week to the Cabrillo National Monument and tide pools. The day was gorgeous--  warm and sunny, typical for San Diego. It was high tide when we got to the tide pools and so didn't get to see the little sea creatures trapped in the pools, but the ocean is always beautiful and worth visiting.

We didn't get to Balboa Park this time around, but that will give us something new to do next year.

Smoke from the Tecate fire (behind the Coronado bridge)

For a while we were somewhat concerned about the area fires, particularly one that started up east of us on the Mexico border near Tecate on Friday. But the fire service had it put out by Saturday morning, and our only inconvenience was being out of power for the day due to managed power shut-offs by the electric company. This was done for two reasons:  First, to prevent any live wires going down in the wind; and second, to allow them to make inspections to make sure no lines had gone down in the wind. Anyway, we were back on the road Sunday, headed for Fontana.

Fontana is the home of Alfateers, one of the few very knowledgeable firms for repairing Alfa motorhomes. The owners and most of the repair technicians are former employees of the original Alfa manufacturing company that went out of business some years ago. They know what they're doing! We are here to get some needed repairs done on our slides and a few other issues that need addressed -- a subject for the next blog post.

For now, here are some parting shots of San Diego for your viewing enjoyment...

The Nimitz

Arick Mayo with his mom & dad

Only in California

San Diego from Harbor Island

Mark and the Senior Cabrillo

San Diego from the hill

The hidden tide pools