World United States California Newport Beach

NG2

On the Beach Dec 11, 2010

Our drive in from our dry camping spot near Joshua Tree National Park was fairly smooth. However, we hit such a bad section on the 10 that the canoe carrier up top separated from its track. Bummer, we have carried the Nancy Gail up top for thousands of miles and through some terrible winds and storms without an incident. Then we come to California and onto some of the worst roads we have encountered. Certainly they are the worse for any large metro area we have passed through. The weather was perfect for the trip to Newport. The temps were in the 80’s. However the weather forecast is looking very serious, so we made sure to do some of our favorite outdoor activities right away in case we get shut in for a while. So, after years of looking at all the RV’rs as we rode our bikes through the park, we are now residents. Cool. Nancy went over to her sister Robin’s house and picked up a box of Christmas decorations that we had left stashed there. She came back and in short order had ‘the Neighborhood’ all decked out inside for Christmas - our very first one in our new lifestyle and home. Many of the semi perms here at the resort have gone all out on their decorating. It looks very festive. The next day Nancy went to Linda’s annual Christmas lunch in Laguna. She was so excited to see friends that we arranged to arrive in time for her to go. Thank you Linda for the Coleman lantern you gave us last year. We use it a lot and always think of you when we use it. While Nancy was gone, I headed for a Home Depot and found us a nice little tree and also a portable fire ring for our life on the beach. I strung the tree with our solar powered LED’s. We used the fire ring that night when Ron, Suzanne, and Ben and Karen came to visit. Ron and Suzanne brought Mexican food for twenty, so we ate much and drank multiple margaritas. The next day we launched the Nancy Gail and paddled around Balboa Island amongst all the enormous pleasure craft while enjoying the 80 degree weather. Then we hopped on our bikes and rode over to Balboa Island, crossed over to Balboa Peninsula on the ferry and rode to Blackies for their famous ‘special sandwich’ and a brewskie. Speaking of festive, our plans are to attend the Festival of Lights, once known as the Christmas Boat Parade. This is a five day event that goes on in Newport Bay every year, come rain or come shine. We might even paddle the Nancy Gail out to a viewing spot.

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