On the road to Rubidoux

We woke early to find that the pollution which had been at a low level for nearly a week was back with a vengence.  Since we did not have that far to go today, we didn't want to get an early start, so we took one last long walk around the campgrounds.  Even with our best piddling, however, we were ready to leave by 11:00.  We wasted a little more time but soon were on the road.

In less than 15 minutes, we were on I-805, and from then until we were within a few miles of tonight's campsite, we were on Interstates with heavy traffic.  The most incredible stretch was going past Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on I-15 where there were 8 lanes of northbound traffic!

Our destination was Riverside where Nancy's niece, Janet, and her son are now living.  All I knew about it was that back in the 1930s when the Army built what became March AFB, Riverside was a small, dusty, desert town.  Nowadays, it is on the eastern fringe of the LA megalopolis, and a pretty good size town in its own right.  The climate is still desert, hot in the daytime, cold at night, but the pollution is strictly LA.  While Nancy and I agree that we are not big fans of the desert, we think that the location here, surrounded by hills and mountains, would probably be quite lovely if only the air was as clean as it is in Anchorage.

This morning I had spent some time studying the Google map and I understood that California 60 merged with I-215 as we approached Riverside and that 60 would take us through town to within a short distance of the campground.  What I missed was that in the middle of Riverside, I-215 and California 60 part company.

This interchange just happened to be the scene of a traffic backup that was bumper to bumper, and changing lanes was not an option, but I thought that as long as I followed the signs for I-215, I was golden.  When the highways split, I was confused, then annoyed, then resigned to my fate as the heavy traffic carried me off in the wrong direction.

We got off I-215 at the next exit but only crossed over it and got back on going in the opposite direction.  We never did find 60 again but did find downtown Riverside and a main street that took us to the suburb of Rubidoux and the Rancho Jurupa County Park.

When we arrived at the park, we found out that they honor Passport America but don't sell the memberships, so we had to park the RV, get on the internet, sign up, then get out the printer and print the receipt which we then walked back to the gate and got checked in.

Like Sweetwater Summit, they have a new campground and an old.  The old had full hookups, was on the fishing pond, and was a little cheaper, so we picked it.  Unlike Sweetwater, the old camp area is quite a ways from the entrance while the new one is right inside the gate.

When we took our afternoon walk, this big fella was waiting to greet us.  I've no idea what it is.

Day 136
Bonita, CA to Rubidoux, CA

Daily Mileage:  113.9
Total Mileage:  14,042.8

A fiery finale

We returned the Ford Focus then drove the RV to Costco and filled up with gas in preparation for our departure tomorrow.

It looked like we were in for another hot day, but about 3:00 this afternoon, the clouds started moving in from the Pacific, and by the time we finished our afternoon walk it was almost completely overcast.  The clouds were dark with ragged bottoms but produced no rain.

I looked out after sunset and the sky was amazing.  I ran out with my camera and it had already changed but I took several pictures anyway.

When we took Sadie out to pee this evening, I was surprised to see that the sky was mostly clear again.

Day 135

Bonita, CA

Daily Mileage:  18.5
Total Mileage:  13,928.9

Return to Coronado

Tomorrow morning we will have to turn in the rental car, and since we had especially enjoyed our visit to Coronado, we decided to return there for our last outing in the car.  We did not get the early start that I had hoped for, but as Nancy had agreed to go across the bridge this time, we still managed to get there by 10:00.

I drove straight to the old ferry dock where we had started our last visit, but only stayed long enough to grab a few shots of the San Diego waterfront before moving on to a large park nearby that was more dog friendly.  We had only been there briefly last time and did not realize just how big it really was.

Imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw this guy again.  It's a good thing that I'm not paranoid.  But maybe I should be.

The metal sculpture is entitled My Bike.

We walked along the bay for quite awhile and would have loved to stay even longer, but the temperature was soaring.  The heat was draining our energy, and I could feel my arms beginning to burn, so we cut the visit short.

We went back to the RV and spent the rest of the day being lazy.

Day 134
Bonita, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

The heat wave rolls on

In the morning we drove to Costco for some food, then to Fresh and Easy for a lot of food, then to PetSmart where we got a PetSmart card and saved a lot on poop bags and dog treats.

In the afternoon, we drove into San Diego and just rode around, mostly in the Historic Gaslight District but also down along the waterfront where the USS Midway is docked.  It was hot and crowded and we didn't try to find a place to park.

My first bunny picture ever.

The egret was unavailable today, so this little fellow showed up to take his place.

Day 133

Bonita, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

The more you know, . . .

We returned to Kohl's armed with a 15% off coupon, but drove a few extra miles to check out the selection at the store in El Cajon.  It was a good choice.  In addition to the pair of jeans I had found the day before in Chula Vista, I also picked up two more pairs of pants and three shirts.  Between the coupon and the sales prices, the total savings came to over 50%; and the god of bargain hunting was appeased.

The same egret as yesterday in just about the same spot.

Day 132
Bonita, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

Is this January or July?

Yesterday, it was in the 80s and despite being cautious, I got a little sunburned.  Today, it hit 83.  After more than a decade in Alaska where 65 degrees is a warm summer day and 75 is a scorcher, this kind of heat makes my wish I was three again and could just strip naked and stand under a lawn sprinkler.

We tried to do our laundry this morning but the first place we went to used a system where you put money on a card then used the card to operate the washers and driers.  If we were regular customers, we would have found this a great idea, but since we will never be back, it present some problems, like not knowing how much we would need to put on the card to do just one load of wash, so we went back to the Laundromat we used last week and did it the old fashion way, by dropping quarters into a slot.

This afternoon we went to Kohl's.  I have a pair of jeans that are really comfortable and I have worn them everyday we have been on the road.  After 14,000 miles, I have literally worn out the seat.  Since they came from Kohl's, we located the nearest one and went in search of a replacement.  I found a reasonable facsimile of my old pair, but could not buy them because they weren't on sale--the 11th Commandment clearly states:  Thou shalt not pay full price for anything at Kohl's, ever!

This egret uses the grassy slopes of the park as its hunting grounds and we see him almost all day, everyday, but today was the first time he had ever been close enough to get a picture.  This was taken on our late afternoon walk with Sadie shortly before sunset.

Coming back from Point Loma yesterday, we stopped at a Fresh and Easy grocery store in Ocean Beach.  We had never seen one before and wanted to check it out.  Their name pretty much sums up what they are.  The store is small by today's standards because most of the packaged items they carry are their own brand and made fresh.  The packages are mostly sized for one or two people, they don't use any preservatives, artificial flavors or artificial colors, and are very reasonably priced.  We bought a number of items.

Tonight we had three of them for dinner.  Their teriyaki chicken was just okay; the mac and cheese was good; but the tiramisu was to die for!

Day 131

Bonita, CA

Daily Mileage:  0

Point Loma

In 1542, Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, a Portuguese sailing for the King of Spain, led the first European expedition to explore the west coast of the United States.  In 1913, Woodrow Wilson set aside a half acre of Fort Rosecrans for a monument to him, but there was no statue provided for it until the Portuguese government gave this one to the United States in 1939.  It overlooks San Diego from an elevation of 380 feet at the southern tip of Point Loma.  In this picture, the closest land in the background is NAS North Island and the City of Coronado.

We started our exploration of Point Loma in Ocean Beach where Interstate-8 ends at a traffic light.  Ocean Beach is bounded on the north by the mouth of the San Diego River.  When Mother Nature designed the river, she made the mouth a large marsh that the Spanish called False Bay.  Shortly after WWII, man cleaned up this messiness by straightening the river and dredging the marsh which is now a big playground called Mission Bay.

The land behind the river's south jetty became a large sandy beach.  In 1972, it became the very first Dog Beach.  We did not know it was there and stumbled upon it quite by chance.  It is a great place for dogs that need lots of space to run and that love the water, but for Sadie, it is a very strange environment; the sand looks like snow but doesn't melt in your mouth and the water tastes bad and lunges at you unexpectedly.  Nancy and I both were concerned about being out too long in the midday sun and so our visit to the beach was brief which seemed to suit Sadie just fine.

Traveling south from Dog Beach, the ocean front quickly becomes steep cliffs and the whole peninsula becomes a giant rocky spine.  In Ocean Beach, Catalina Boulevard takes you up to the top of the ridge and ends at the edge of town at a gate that is only unlocked from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day.  Beyond this point you are on the Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation and the street becomes Cabrillo Memorial Drive.

A large portion of the Reservation is now taken up by the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.  Established in 1882 as the post cemetery and designated a national cemetery in 1934, it stretches for a mile on both sides of the road and contains 101, 079 graves.  Beautifully maintained, it slopes away towards the Pacific on one side and San Diego Bay on the other and is an impressive sight.

The tip of Point Loma lies just past the cemetery.  While the Cabrillo National Monument is the main draw, visitors can also tour the nearby Point Loma Lighthouse which was in operation from 1855 until 1891.

Since dogs must be kept in the car at all times, Nancy stayed with Sadie while I got out and took some pictures.  While the view was great, everything was so far away that the haze in the air made most shots look slightly out of focus.

Day 130
Bonita, CA

Daily Mileage:  0