In 2013 I traveled to San Clemente, California for training for work. I found the oceanside city to be quite charming and I vividly remember eating alone at the Fisherman’s Restaurant and Bar. On the linked blog entry I mentioned that I would enjoy bringing Earl to San Clemente.
I did that today. We had a lovely lunch on the pier in San Clemente, at the same table I sat at for dinner in 2013 (this was just a coincidence).
My husband and I are on our first non-moving related road trip of the summer. After work today we headed west across the desert. Tomorrow we will have a nice day and dinner together.
I like little adventures like this. We need to do this sort of thing before COVID-19’s latest folly slams the country too hard.
I was very pleased with this shot. I snapped it after last night’s storm had moved to the southwest.
I’m getting better at capturing lightning shots with my trusty iPhone X. I’m tempted to put a “weather camera” up on the roof specifically for Monsoon Season so I can share the excitement with the world. Do people still do that sort of thing?
We’ll probably get another round of thunderstorms in the overnight. The National Weather Service has predicted a good chance of storms for the next 24 hours, and then it tapers off over the weekend. Monsoon Season likes to take a break and then ramp up again; we’ll probably see more storms next week.
As long as the house cooperates and holds itself together, I don’t mind the thunderstorms. They’re still quite thrilling to me. The thunder and lightning here reminds me of some of the storms we’d get on the Eastern shore of Lake Ontario where I grew up, though the storms here move much slower. My sister and I would camp out in the pop up camper set up in the driveway and together we rode through a couple of impressive thunderstorms. One time we brought the menagerie of cats in with us so they wouldn’t get wet. We had six or seven cats at the time. They appreciated the extra pets they would get.
I think they liked the attention more than the thunderstorms.
Truman doesn’t seem too upset by the storms. During the first one or two storms at the beginning of the season he’d station himself under the buffet in the dining room, but now he just hangs out with us during the frivolity.
Like his ancestors, he likes the extra pets more than the storms.
We tried out a new (to us) Mexican restaurant this evening. It was near the downtown area and the five of us had a great experience. I appreciate being able to eat outside, in the fresh air, where mask use and such is less worrisome.
Up until a couple of years ago, whenever I jumped on a flight to a faraway destination, I would take delight in perusing through the Skymall catalog found in the seat pocket of every airline seat. It would usually be situated next to a barf bag and the safety instructions card. Occasionally the Skymall catalog was front and center.
The Skymall catalog contained all sorts of oddities, such as a bicycle helmet with laser lights to regrow hair on balding men or blow up neck pillows for those contortionists who felt they could get a good night’s sleep on their flight from Peoria to Lubbock or mirrors that let you try on a mustache like the one pictured above.
Quality, solid offerings for the discerning capitalistic society.
Last week I came to the realization that ads on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter are basically electronic versions of SkyMall. With just a few quick clicks of my mouse and solid records of my last bowel movement, and any other personal information the platform can glean out of my interaction, for a low $599 I can have an Android tablet that lets me take notes and nothing else.
I then further realized that “Shark Tank”, the once popular television show where innovators grovel for funding for their latest get-rich-quick scheme, is really just the king of SkyMall with some extra drama to give the whole experience an edge. For those struggling with the aforementioned bowel movements, the inventors of Squatty Potty groveled for millions of dollars of funding from the queen of QVC, so you can raise your legs to Jesus while taking a dump for only $69.95.
I bet you didn’t see that on your last airline flight.
It rained for much of the weekend. Folks that have lived here longer than us have told us this amount of rain is not normal. The ground is saturated and several of our saguaros (cacti) behind the house have become water logged and lost an “arm” or two. We have a few leaks that need to be tended to; a call to the roofing company again tomorrow is in order.
Monsoon season!
My husband and I went for a ride and then met the rest of the family at a local restaurant called Serial Grillers. We don’t get out very much, what with pandemics and the like, but it was nice to be able to sit at a bar, have a drink, and just chat with others out in public for a few moments. We miss doing this, but we’re balancing a responsible approach to our health and the health of others with the need for some social interaction.
I have a feeling there may be some attempted lockdowns later this year. COVID infections are starting to spike amongst the unvaccinated population and this is concern for everyone, not just those that are not vaccinated for whatever reason.
Thank god polio didn’t come around in the 21st century.
The blue dot/cross hairs shows our location. We had a very impressive thunderstorm come through last night. The lightning show was wild, the rain was driving, and the wind was rattling all sorts of things. Surprisingly, we never lost power.
However, the house did display its vulnerabilities in this type of storm.
Today we have the roofing company out. They did work for the previous owners of the house and assured us the roof is still under warranty. We had a couple of leaks in the hallway, a leak in Chris’ office, and a leak behind the piano on the upstairs landing. The roofers went through and patched things up and hopefully this will help with the leak situation.
We still love the house very much and we knew it needed some work. So no surprises there. When the roofers were here they pointed out a few things they had recommended to the previous owners, but the owners declined the expense. We’ll probably have these things done soon. While everyone has their own reasons for the decisions they make in life, I’m wired to do what needs to be done to make the investment of a home last a long, long time.
I feel like we’re ready for the next round of storms coming in this weekend.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!
