We finally left the San Diego area today after malingering for way longer than we initially intended. When we arrived in San Diego back in October ’18, we knew we would be staying until around the 1^st of March. We failed on that scheduling.

We were considering staying until the 25^th of April but through neglect and poor anticipation on my part we were timed out in our current digs at Pio Pico because 15 days ago I stupidly only scheduled us in the park through today. I foolishly was not aware that Easter or the second Sunday in Septuigisma (?) was this weekend and parks typically fill up. When I tried to extend my stay for six more days, park management merely grinned and said “No chance!”

So yesterday Peggy and I started storing loose items and picking up all our chairs, lights, bird feeders, ladders, outdoor rugs and other sundry items and prepared for departure. Today we were up early and we finished our preparations and sodded off. We headed north through usual miserable Southern California traffic up into Riverside County where we pulled off at another Thousand Trails facility called Wilderness Lakes. Wilderness Lakes is remarkable in that there is absolutely no wilderness and the only bodies of water around are some long, serpentine ditches filled with green water that are periodically stocked with channel catfish for those tempted to fish for the ugly creatures.

The campsite does have good Wifi and TV reception and the spaces are ample. There are lots of birds which is nice because there is almost nothing else to see around here. Idyllwild is about 75 minutes and 6000 feet up from here but we can’t see it.

When we arrived, we headed right through the gate, found one of the few available RV spaces and pulled in. The trailer brakes acted a bit funny when we pulled into our space but I have smacked the brake controller before and maybe all we need is to re-adjust it. If not, we will be calling a mechanic Monday to come to the park to exorcise the demons from our braking system.

It is strange that the controller would go out. This is the second controller we have had. We had the brakes done on the trailer and the truck in San Diego. While we were in San Diego we also had the trailer springs replaced, the truck serviced including new ball joints and batteries. The Ford dealer was probably happy I stopped in because I left behind $1800. The trailer guys also got about $1300 so I figured we were good to go. We have done a bunch of repair on the trailer during our stay at Pio Pico because our 2018 trip was pretty tough on the trailer due to two tread separations the whirled the tread sections around in a frenzied and particularly destructive fashion.

We think our initial, pretty destinations will be up around Sequoia National Park. From there we intend to go a bit further up the road to Yosemite National Park. After that, it is probably going to be mundane through California’s Central Valley’s farms and massive orchards until we approach Northern California where there are gorgeous conifer forests and spectacular fires each autumn.

We have just returned from a leisurely week in Mexico and have re-established a temporary residence in our home RV park, Thousand Trails Pio Pico, east of San Diego. Our lodgings during our week in Mexico were generously provided by my sister, Julie, who attended a boring but ultimately terrific owners meeting for our timeshare in Cabo where she won a free week at the resort. We happily took her up on her offer to share the unit at Club Cascadas de Baja.

We scheduled on Alaska Airlines and the flight down was nice but I noted that either I have grown substantially more voluminous or the airline has figured out how to put in virtual seating since they now seem to have installed more passenger seats than can actually fit in the flying tube. My feet were not visible when seated and my abdomen was not the thing blocking the view. It was the back of the seat in front of me. The were mysterious devices bolted in the nether space under the seat ahead that precluded any extending of lower extremities. The seat itself was padded sufficiently to make your important regions go to sleep only minutes after takeoff. It looked like they removed one row of first class and replaced it with 10 rows of steerage seating. However, each seat back had a TV-like doodad on which miserably uncomfortable scum class passengers can watch a variety of movies, TV shows or play games to take their minds off their discomfort. The goodies were inconsequential; I got a two-pack of wafers about half the size of an ordinary saltine. Back in Row 30, the flight attendants indicated there were no good food selections available since there are so many passengers on the plane who have ravaged the prime stuff, leaving the unwanted and neglected. The water served was warm.

Luckily, we were in Cabo San Lucas when not riding on the torture craft and the weather, food and lodgings were spiffy except the first night where we stayed at a downtown hotel called the Estancia Real or “King’s Estate.” The hotel had a passable pool and concrete box springs for the mattresses but a good free breakfast and even better pay breakfasts at a fixed 60 pesos or 3 bucks. The downtown location was great for dining and shopping but a bit noisy at night. However, it is a minimum frills kind of place and the King must be a cheapskate to stay here.

Club Cascadas was great. Great architecture, good food, a good library and puzzle closet, superb staff and poolside bars make for good fun. The view of the azure bay and gigantic cliffs and rock formations at end of the Baja peninsula make for stunning viewing from the resort’s private beach and mostly outdoor restaurant. Shady palapas shield lily-white gringos from fierce sunlight.

Now we have returned to San Diego and set up in our home park in order to make preparations to leave the San Diego area and head north. We have been here for a much longer duration that we envisioned and it is time to head north before summer comes and we shrivel up in the ferocious sun like spiders on a skillet. The truck needs to be serviced, considerable shopping needs to be done, some minor trailer chores and maybe a new set of truck tires are on the agenda. We need to get back on the road.