Vacation

Vacation IV: The Last Day

On the last day of our vacation, we headed over to the Tijuana Estuary National Wildlife Refuge. It is the slough, or wetlands, formed where the Tijuana River flows into the Pacific Ocean. The Tijuana River is the border between California and Mexico.

When FabGrandpa was a kid, he and his brothers and friends would go there hunting for bait for fishing off the pier. It wasn’t a park then. He said they learned where they could gently step their feet up and down, to make shrimp like creatures come up out of the mud. Those things, according to him, were the best bait around. They would also swim across the river to the Mexico side to body surf because the waves were better there.

Now there is a fence there, so you can’t get to the other side. At the refuge, there are trails, and picnic area. The place is run by a co-operative of the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and California State Parks department. We couldn’t go very far on the day we were there because there had been some damage to the roads and trails from a storm, but we did enjoy some fabulous views from the visitor center area.

All the flowers growing here are native to the area. The little white ones smelled sooo good!

Because of the variable wetness of the area due to the tides and scarce rain, there is quite a mix of vegetation.

After we left the estuary, we decided to drive over to Mission Valley to go to Best Buy. FabGrandpa has been wanting to buy the game Left for Dead, and they didn’t have it at the National City store. They told us there were 20 copies of it at the other store. I wish I had taken some pictures of that area! Where I-8 goes through Mission Valley, the bridges are awesome! They are so high off the ground it is amazing. But, I am not a very good passenger when we are going fast in lots of traffic. I was so busy watching the traffic that I didn’t have time to get the photos.

Since we were already on I-8, when we left the store, we kept going west on I-8 until we got to the end, and wound up driving through downtown San Diego. It is really a very lovely city. I did get a shot of one of the highway bridges there. I guess I am just weird that I like bridges.

Here is a shot of the downtown San Diego skyline as seen across the harbor. I love the contrast of all the boats against the tall buildings.

We saw Border Patrol EVERYWHERE! They seemed to be more of them than San Diego police cars. When we were on California 94, we passed one almost every mile.

Another picture of downtown San Diego. I just love this one because of the palm trees.

Every time we come to San Diego, we have to drive over the Coronado Bridge.

It is one of the longest, tallest bridges I have ever been on. This next picture is the view from the top of the bridge:

Looking back:

Looking ahead:

We drove through Coronado and past the Silver Strand State Park, and back into Imperial Beach. We ate a late lunch at El Tapatio, where I had shrimp that was stuffed with crab, wrapped with bacon, and baked. Very good!

This was the last sunset of the vacation. I hope we get to go back next year.

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Vacation III: Uncle Jr., Mexico and The Pier

Karen · 4 Comments

The first order of business on Wednesday was to drive through the streets of Imperial Beach, going past the places where FabGrandpa lived and played. This picture shows the entrance to the trailer park where he lived for several years with his parents and brothers. If you look closely, you may see The Wing sticking up there on the hill. The official name for it is the John J. Montgomery Memorial Park.

We went by Mar Vista High School, Emory Elementary School, the drive-in theater that has a flea market during the day. The water tank where there used to be a grove of eucalyptus trees, and past the place where he used to hide in a fig tree and eat until he was sticky all over. It was great to see him so happy that he could see this place again, and that so many of the places were still recognizable to him.

We also went by to visit Uncle Junior, as he is called by everyone in the family. He has lived here since 1979. His wife, Terry, died last year so he is living there alone now. He told us he is trying to get things in order so he can sell the house and move back to Georgia. He’s looking pretty good for 82 years old. We had a nice visit with him, then left on our way to Mexico, less than 10 miles away.

We parked at a lot on the U.S. side of the border, and walked across the bridge to Tijuana. It was a pretty long walk compared to other places where I have crossed into Mexico. There were lots of people walking over that day. In the picture below are cars at the border stop going into Mexico:

After we crossed the bridge, and went through that revolving gate, we stopped to take my picture with this cow statue. Just because I thought it was pretty. There was also an information booth here where we were able to find directions to the places we wanted to go.

We didn’t stay very long–we only wanted to go and get my prescription for metformin ($6.00 for 100 tablets, for my diabetes type II), some amoxicillian ($7.00 for 100 capsules, we like to keep some on hand) and a couple of Z-packs($6.00 each). I know when I get an ear infection that is the only thing that will knock it out. We also got a 5th of Herra Dura Reposado Tequila. It was $32 in Mexico, and unaffordable here. That 5th will last me 2 years.

Then we walked back over the bridge, showed our passport cards, and went home. Easy peasy, and no gunshots were heard. All the cars in the picture below are people entering the United States through Tijuana. There are armed border agents down there inspecting the cars and checking passports and other documents. It looked like a pretty long wait.

We got back to the inn just around lunch time. FabGrandpa was wanting to walk over to the pier, which was good news to me because he hadn’t wanted to do anything until that day. So we walked over there, and went to the Tin Fish Restaurant at the end of the pier for lunch.

He had a fried fish and shrimp combo, I ordered grilled shrimp. I could eat shrimp every day, and I did while I was on vacation. It was really good, and the atmosphere on the pier was excellent.

Yep, here I am in my signature orange traveling shirt. It is not the same one I usually wear, I have three, but still, it IS orange.

These guys were out there surfing every day, from morning til sunset. Mostly they just sat on their surfboards waiting for ‘the wave’, but when they did get a good wave they rode it all the way in.

This picture shows just how close to Mexico we were. If you click on the picture to make it larger, you will see that the top arrow is pointing to the bullring in Tijuana, and bottom one is pointing to the end of Seacoast Boulevard in Imperial Beach.

After lunch we walked back over to the inn, and just relaxed on the deck for the afternoon. This sea bird just sat there posing for me.

More of the beautiful flowers. These were actually growing on the sand dune below the deck of the inn, and climbed over the railing.

Another one by the pool. I don’t know the names of these but they are gorgeous.

And again, the sun sets on the Pacific Ocean, bringing us the end of another day.

The lights on the pier seen from the deck outside our room:

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Vacation II: The First and Second Days

Karen · 5 Comments

As I said before, FabGrandpa was sick for the first 24 hours of our vacation. I tried to get him to let me change our reservation because he was sick before we left home, but he was ready to go. So, for the first day there, he was in the bed, and I was on my own. I did a lot of this:

Yeah, sitting around with my feet propped up, but the scenery was gorgeous! This is the back of the inn:

This is the stair way to the beach:

There is a swimming pool and a hot tub, but it was a little too cool for me to get in the water. And there were beautiful flowers growing everywhere:

The carpet was old and stained, but that bed was soooo comfortable. That was a good thing as FabGrandpa spent so much time there. There was a clock radio, a TV with cable, a dresser, and a sofa in there. Those drapes open all the way up so you have a fabulous view of the Pacific.

The kitchen is fully furnished, with a microwave, coffe maker, pots and pans, dishes, a stove and refrigerator. The only thing this place does not have in the kitchenette suite is a bathtub. But the shower was great.

The only thing I cooked in here, though, was the chicken noodle soup for FabGrandpa, and the coffee in the mornings. The rest of the time, we ate at one of the many restaurants in the area. The day that he was sick, I was buying him a bowl of chicken noodle soup from the Wave Restaurant across the street every three hours, but I was on my own for the rest of the time. I went to the Wave Restaurant for breakfast, then to Aroma Thai for a lunch of Shrimp Fried Rice. Later, for dinner, I walked to the end of the pier to the Tin Fish, and ordered take out of grilled fish and shrimp for my dinner. It included grilled salmon, haddock, scallops, and shrimp with red and green bell peppers and onions. It was soooo good!

This is also at the back of the inn, looking up to the “penthouse suite”. It is a three bedroom unit that sleeps 12 people on the third floor. I wish they weren’t going to tear this place down, and if for any reason they don’t, we are going there again next year.

The first day there were no clouds in the sky all day, so when it was time for sunset, it was just blue sky and big red sun. But the second day, there were enough clouds to give the sunset some awesome color:

I love this little bird on the beach, all by himself:

And just because I like this picture, I am sharing it with you. I took so many, I can’t share them all but sometimes I just have to put in just one more:

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Vacation I: Signs Of Imperial Beach, California

Karen · 6 Comments

While Imperial Beach, California is a great vacation destination, the main reason we go there is because it is where FabGrandpa grew up. His Dad was in the Navy and was stationed in the San Diego area for many years. One of the things I love about going there is that while we are driving down I-5 to Palm Avenue, there is a subtle transformation going on over there on FabGrandpa’s face. The closer we get, the happier he seems to become. By the time we see this sign, he is grinning from ear to ear. I can almost see his brain whirling with memories.

He is always shocked at first to see how much the area has grown and changed since he was a kid here.

He has a running narrative about how that place used to be a Piggly Wiggly store, and that place over there was where they went to the movies, and how it is hard to remember exactly where such and such was. But, it is still Palm Avenue, and Lydia’s Mexican Restaurant is still there.

The biggest grin of all is when we see this sign. It is the one where the road forks, and if you go to the right, you wind up in Coronado, and if you go to the left, you wind up on Seacoast Boulevard, at the beach. He loves this sign, because to him it means he is home.

I love to see this sign, because it means we are at our destination. We found this little motel the first time he brought me here in 1994. I do not know when it was built, but it was not there when FabGrandpa was growing up here. It was built on the beach where he used to play with his brothers and friends, about a hundred yards from the pier where they spent many days and nights fishing. It is the only motel in Imperial Beach that is right on the beach. We love it, and hope the new they build will be a place we love as much as we love this one.

This is the park at the entrance to the Imperial Beach Pier. I don’t know who designed it, but it always looks sort of like McDonald’s arches to me. There are several arches in different colors that light up at night. On warm nights we usually walk over to the pier and go all the way to the end. There are always a lot of people on the pier, fishing, strolling, walking, hanging out. It is the place to be in Imperial Beach.

Welcome home, FabGrandpa.

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A Preview: Sunset at Imperial Beach

Karen · Leave a Comment

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I Had A totally Fabulous Post Planned But Then Things Went To Shit…

Karen · 11 Comments

So I was planning to write all about our vacation every night but then… We got to the inn, which I still love so much, but they do not have wireless internet, AND my Verizon Wireless card does not get a signal in the room here. AND my cellphone says I am roaming–In MEXICO!!! Which I am not because I am still in California.

Then, on top of that, FabGrandpa is sick–he has been making good use of the bathroom here at the inn. Throwing up, and, yeah, that other end stuff, too. I know if he doesn’t make it there the motel maid is sooooo going to be doing the clean-up. He is hoping that it is only a 24 hour virus bug and that he will be better tomorrow. And I am hoping like crazy that is something he ate so I won’t get sick next.

So, since I have to walk two blocks down to the internet cafe to get online, and they are charging a heft $3.00 PER HOUR, I won’t be posting vacation blogs until we get home. For now, though, since I already paid the $3.00 to get online, here are some pictures from the trip yesterday, and the beach:

Harvesting Broccoki in Yuma, Arizona

The Sand Dunes in California along I-8

Highway 94 in Southern California Mountains

Part of that fence along the border
Imperial Beach last night. Ahhhhhh…..

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Book Em’, Dano!

Karen · 4 Comments

After sitting here in the desert with not much to do since the end of December, things are starting to hop here at the Fab household. This week, I received my paperwork from the dream job to fill out for going back to work. I also had to go to Parker, a 100 mile round trip, to get fingerprinted. I had to do this last year, too, and I think it is too funny that I, a gray haired old grandma, has to go to the sheriff’s office to get fingerprinted for this job. But off we went to take care of business. While we were there, I also stopped in at the DMV to get the date of birth corrected on my drivers license. So, now after only 40 years, I have a correct drivers license. Yay!

We have booked a room in Imperial Beach for our long awaited vacation at the beach. Yeah, we live in a travel trailer, and camp all the time, so when we do take an “official” vacation, we stay at a motel. This particular place, The Seacoast Inn, is a special place for us. It is where we stayed for our first vacation together in 1994.

We still lived in a house in Georgia at that time, and I was still working at a “real” job. I took 17 days off, and we drove from Atlanta to San Diego and back, spending 5 days at the beach. Our reservation was for a swanky hotel in La Jolla, that said in their brochure that they had a “beach view”. Well, they did, IF you stood on your tip toes and leaned over as far to the left as you could, you could see a little bit of sand from the room. I was so disappointed with that.

The first day we were there, we drove down to Imperial Beach, which is where FabGrandpa grew up. And right there on the beach where he spent his childhood, was this incredible little inn, very intimate looking, and quaint. They had been closed for renovations and had just re-opened that day when we showed up. We booked a room there for the remainder of our stay, went back to that crap hole in La Jolla, and moved down there. It was so nice. All I had to do was open my patio door and put my feet into the Pacific sand. This is one of the highlights of our first trip there. I took this picture from our patio:

Then, in 2004, ten years later, we went back for our summer vacation. We emailed all the kids, and gave them a link to the inn’s website, and told them, “If you want to come and meet us there, here is the website and the dates we’ll be there.” Three out of the four of them showed up, and we had so much fun! We went to Old Towne, the San Diego Zoo, downtown San Diego, Tijuana, and just relaxed on the beach. The grunion were running while we were there, and our grandson, Michael, who was 7 at the time, had a blast staying up til 3 in the morning, chasing little fish on the beach with a flashlight. This is my favorite picture from that vacation. It’s Michael holding a lobster he and his Dad caught on the pier:

The sad part is, this will probably be the last time we get to stay there. They are tearing it down after this summer, and building a new hotel. I don’t know if they are going to rebuild in the same style of little suites with kitchenettes, or not, but I hope so.

Then, as soon as we get back from San Diego, we will be moving. I have made a reservation for a month at a campground on the other side of Wickenburg from where we are now, about umm, maybe 85 miles east of here. The rent is a little cheaper than it is here, and the electricity rate is 11 cents per khw, as opposed to being 18 cents per kwh here. And it is beginning to be hot here: today was 90 degrees. We’ll need to run the air conditioner more, so that difference in the electric rate will make a big difference.

We’ll also be closer to town. We have enjoyed being in a remote area, but I am ready to be closer in. Being 85 miles from Wal-Mart and 55 miles from a decent grocery store saves you when you need to stay on a budget, but it can get pretty old. Yeah, I said it! I am tired of this place!

Another “booking” I have made is an appointment for FabGrandpa to get his annual physical at the VA Medical Center in Prescott. And to answer the question I know must be on The Original FabGrandpa’s, my father-in-law’s, mind at this point is “No, there is nothing wrong, he just needs to get his bloodwork done for his thyroid medication.” We usually do this at the doctor in Atlanta, but since we didn’t go to Atlanta this year, he is going to the VA to take care of that. And because he has never been to this particular VA facility, they are going to do the in depth “intake” physical. Everything from looking down his throat to a finger in the Whooo Hoooo! He should have a lot of fun that day.

So, Prescott is about a two hour drive from where we will be at the time of his appointment. We’ll go up and spend the night with Gaelyn of Geogypsy, then go for the day in Prescott. There is a health food store there where I can find some of the things I can eat, as well as my dishwashing liquid.

This last month before starting back to work is going to be busy. I’ll probably also do my annual cleaning out of things we don’t need. I hate to do it, but it has got to be done. Everything that comes in weighs us down, and we sure don’t need too much weight when we go back over those mountains towards Flagstaff!

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Out For A Sunday Drive

Karen · 6 Comments

FabGrandpa and I were feeling cabin feverish today, so we decided to drive over to 29 Palms, California. It is about 160 miles from us. We crossed over the Colorado River in Parker, Arizona. We wound up in Joshua Tree National Park, which was a fabulous treat!

Hwy 62 is mostly straight, after this big curve. We drove all the way over to the other side of those mountains.

Was this a lake or a mirage? We couldn’t tell, but there was a lake shown on the map.

We drove through Joshua Tree National Park. We had not been here before today, and were amazed at the huge rock formations.

The Joshua Tree is really a yucca plant. They get amazingly tall for yuccas. They are taller than Jim.

If you want to see the rest of the pictures, go on over to Facebook and look me up. You can find me by using my email address: fabgrandma at gmail dot com. Or, you can send me an email and I will add you as a friend.

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