Preparations

It’s been an odd couple of days hanging out at the beach. I’m not really connected with all of the festivity going on around me. I keep to myself going out to walk the recalcitrant dogs every so often. Worrying about PJ and how she is coping as they set up hospice for her father. The weather has been beautiful, warm days and chilly nights. I left the dogs behind and took a long walk down the beach to clear my head and look for guidance.

Yesterday I got down to business and drove out to San Marcos to deposit some checks at the credit union and shop at Marshall’s for a new bed for Koda. I also picked up a little coat for Cali to help keep her warm on our night time walks and for sleeping in the RV. As she gets so skinny from eating so little, she seems to get cold really easily. I stopped by at Dad’s to pick up my camera and we set up the new phone we’d gotten then for Christmas so he could have caller ID. Turns out it wasn’t the phone lacking caller ID, it was his phone service with Cox cable. I spent some time on the phone with them and we finally got it set up and functional.

New coat….

And a new bed

Raced back to camp and let the dogs out and straightened things up around our campsite. Spoke with PJ and things aren’t going well in Rhode Island. It doesn’t feel right not being there to give her support and comfort. I went to the men’s AA meeting over in Oceanside and saw my good friends and support group. As much as I hadn’t wanted to leave the RV, it was the best thing I could have done to find some peace and get some perspective. When I got back to the motorhome, I booked a flight on Delta that will arrive in Warwick at midnight on Saturday. The flight was full and only had a couple of middle seats left. I’m not too comfortable not being on the outside. I called a rep and told her I get claustrophobic on the plane. She said Delta then deems me as “special needs” and she quickly found a couple of aisle seats. Never thought I’d be stoked to be proclaimed a special needs kid.

Today, I started getting the RV ready to move over to Dad’s house. He is going to clear out his older problem RV from the side of the house and make a spot to park Wilson while we figure out what our next move is going to be. I went over to Ace and bought some rat repellent and other items to try to keep Wilson rodent free. Dad’s RV had gotten a family of varmints setting up housekeeping so I know they are in the neighborhood. I figure I’ll set up a multi prong attack using a number of different tactics to discourage unwanted guests.

At lunch time, my friend Jerry came by to have a look at Wilson and to take me out for a burrito over at Pollos Maria. First he joined me for a dog walk so the dogs would be empty when we left them in the RV. Cali seemed to take a liking to him and didn’t give him too much grief trying to yank him back to the RV. We were able to talk about a lot of things we have been both been going through that are similar. Pollos Maria used to be a weekly tradition on Sundays before the Harding Street meeting and it is a place of comfort for me. Best chicken burritos this side of the border at casual outside seating. Thanks for the treat and the break from all the thinking going on in my head.

Back at the park, I jumped in the car and went over to storage to grab a suitcase and a warmer pair of shoes. Talked to the manager, Scott, about the unit we had intended to be out of by the end of January and he said if we were unable to do it, just call him and we could extend it month to month. That takes some pressure off and leaves us with more options. Back at camp, I put away all the Xmas decorations outside and folded up mats and put away chairs. Inside, I packed my bag and got things ready for an early exit tomorrow.