This and That.................

Our time in San Diego has come to a close, as we move only 20 miles away to a new campsite in Santee Lakes for a few days. Our last great sunset was a beauty! We weren't paying attention, and all of a sudden, we noticed everything had a special glow. Looking down our "street" one way, we could see the houses on the hill over I-5 (or as the locals say... the five) with the sunset reflected in the windows. We race-walked over to the bay to catch the sunset show! A beauty for sure!

the sunset lighting up the hillside

sunset over Mission Bay

a beauty

Check out those colors! It really did look like this!

We had a lovely time in Mission Bay, San Diego....enjoying the simple life of biking, walking along the bay, beach days, sunsets, and a few sightseeing days. After our one month stay, we headed out only 20 miles to Santee Lakes, right outside the city limits of San Diego. Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve has 7 lakes (all from recycled water), with several playgrounds and picnic areas as well. There are over 300 campsites here. This park came highly recommended from fellow campers, and we have to agree.  We have a really nice site too....the biggest we've had in months! For more information about this park, click here.

another new backyard

Covered picnic table...perfect! Its supposed to rain for the next few days

view out the front window of my "office"

view out Tom's "office" window

Though San Diego is known for its excellent weather, we hit a rainy spell. The forecast for the next several days calls for rain. We planned on being cooped up in the motorhome for a few days, so when we woke to a sunny morning today, we took advantage and put on our hiking shoes to walk around the lakes. Its a total of about 4 miles....perfect! We are doing the Fitbit Challenge with our family-and we like to be competitive! As you know by now, we love nature...all the little things...so we had a great time exploring the wildlife here. Lots of birds and ducks. I know....but we love this stuff! I have to just interject here for a minute....I  think there are a few less ducks today. We heard the coyotes last night-loud and clear! There are warnings here at this campground not to leave your pet outside unattended for that reason. Yikes!

Come take a walk with us.....

very nice park!

oh hello

going fishing

fishing, boat rentals, playgrounds...lots to do here

oh check out the bridge to the island

looking for the egret that flew over here

there it is

there it goes

this is the 7th lake (well, the 1st actually....we just started from the campground)

lots of blooming flowers, with great fragrances too

do you see that black cloud?

cool ducks here

love this one!!!

its called a Bufflehead

heading back now

Wood Ducks (a couple!)

the male Wood Duck-gorgeous!

yes you-gorgeous!

one white pelican here....haven't seen any others here

not sure what this is...but there are lots of them here

such a pretty area

ducks and birds everywhere

The campground is towards the end of the park, and some of the sites are right on the lake. There are also cabins for rent here, as well as "floating cabins". A paved walk goes the length of  the park, from the campground to the main entrance, and there is a path along the backside of the lakes as well, so we are able to go completely around the park without backtracking. Makes for a great 4 mile walk!

these are really nice campsites....the premium scenic campsites!

the backside of the lake has this nice dirt path, that allows us to go completely around the lakes

Wood Ducks

aahhh...don't be scared

heading into the campground section...which is huge

aren't these cool?

The rain is holding off

there are cabins for rent on this lake

and three "floating" cabins

we are in this section

Note...the hat is off! Its warm and humid today

We were happy to get our walk in, and though the skies were threatening all day, it never really rained. We still hunkered down and did some cooking (and freezing) for later, busier days. Takes away the temptation of going out to eat, or ordering a pizza. Hahah.

busy working in the kitchen! (we are both busy.....Tom works on one side, I work from the other side to stir up my chili!!)

 So we have a lot of things that keep us busy that we usually don't blog about. Tom has a lot of fun projects that he works on in his spare time. One of the coolest is the "color organ"-  different colored lights that dance to the music. Blasting Bruce Springsteen's Rosalita was really fun! A sound and light show in the camper...hahahha.

The other day, I thought he was putting up an antennae for his weather station, that is located on the roof of the camper. However, come to find out it is for the ham radio. He has an Amateur Radio Technicians' License. Right now he is just listening. He is a man of few words, you know. Haha.

"color organ" that Tom has been working on

setting it up for a demo

oh so cool....well, I guess you have to hear the music to go with it!

"Rosalita"...lots of colors went off during that song!

where should we put this?

the lights dance according to the song

As Tom is keeping busy with his projects, I am crazed with my craft projects. I just grabbed what I am currently working (to show my knitting friends) for this blog post. I work on different things, depending on how much time I have or how much concentration is needed.

oh boy....too many projects at a time

Yeah...needed just one more button for the top and I was able to get it today!! Yeah!!

ready for colder days

I'll be working on this for a long long time

just bought the special needle today so I can close up the bracelets (successful shopping trip today!)

I have also been writing a little, and summoned up the nerve to send in a story to the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise. Guess what? They liked it! Only a small percentage of stories were accepted- about 100 out of thousands for the Chicken Soup for the Soul-The Joy of Less. I'm so proud of myself! The book hits the bookstores April 19th. On April 20th, the editor/publisher is being interviewed on Good Morning America to publicize the book release. The company sent me 10 free books (family-guess what you are getting soon?), but because of our living circumstances, I had the books sent to Jess and Andrew's for safe keeping. I haven't seen the book yet, but they told me my story is the third one in. I'm so excited! That's my big news for today...hahah.

Book Cover! The Joy of Less