Our Old Haunts

 

Friday

Jack and I drive over to Bud’s house this morning and get there about 8:45 am. They’ve decided to take Bud’s SUV on their trip instead of the RoadTrek, since they want to fish in some areas with roads too rough for the van, so I’ll have wheels while they’re gone. It’s been awhile since we’ve been to Bud’s house; Bud and Justine have done a lot of landscaping work in their backyard, so Bud gives us the tour. It looks completely different from last time, with fruit trees, garden areas and even a trail around the property for the kids to ride their bikes. They also have bird feeders, and we see a beautiful western bluebird while there, to add to our trip bird list.

Bud's house.

Bud and Jack packing for fishing trip.

 

Bud also shows us his “man cave” with his electronic bench for building and experimenting, and his ham radio equipment. Wow, ham radio has changed since we last paid attention to it. It’s computerized to a large extent, with some of the communications being digital text rather than voice; Bud does both. Bud is a true Renaissance man--lots of interests and wide-ranging knowledge.

We have coffee and chat for a bit, and then I leave them to finish their packing. Back at the house, Cindy and Tom both stayed home from work today. When I get back, we have a snack and then decide to walk down to the condos at the north end of Oceanside where Jack and I lived for several years. It’s a beautiful day, cool and sunny with a gentle ocean breeze. We stop to look at some of the new houses and public buildings, and go into the city library to see their remodeling.

Cindy and Tom in front of Oceanside civic center and library complex.

 

Much of the town looks quite different from when we lived here, but when we get in the vicinity of the condo we owned, things start to look familiar. The buildings in our old condo complex have a new paint job, but otherwise look much the same, and Cindy and I are able to locate our condo, which looked out on the beach and pier. It’s satisfying to see the old place being well maintained.

Cindy and Carol in front of Carol and Jack's former beach condo (second floor on left, balcony over Cindy's shoulder).

It's also satisfying to see that the cute little pink Robert's beach cottages are still here (from the 1930s or 40s.)

Robert's cottages (our former condo way in back at end of street)

 

We continue our walk down the beach, stopping for fish tacos and chocolate malts near the pier, before heading for home. A good walk, maybe 4 or 5 miles. We resolve to continue our daily walks while I’m here.

Oceanside beach and fishing pier.

 

The rest of the day is filled with napping, reading, a little editing work, and then Cindy and I watch the movie Shirley Valentine, one of Cindy’s favorites, an entertaining chick flick from 1989 that I had missed.

Bird species count: Vermilion flycatcher, turkey vulture, Bell’s vireo, *golden-fronted woodpecker, Say’s phoebe, northern cardinal, greater roadrunner, house finch, common raven, *northern rough-winged swallow, *summer tanager, *prothonotary warbler, *yellow-breasted chat, *yellow-rumped warbler, northern mockingbird, mourning dove, cliff swallow, Mexican jay, black-headed grosbeak, black-chinned  hummingbird, Wilson’s warbler, *Scott’s oriole, chipping sparrow, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, black-crested titmouse, acorn woodpecker, scrub jay, *western kingbird, white-winged dove, *canyon towhee, *Grace’s warbler, *zone-tailed hawk, *curve-billed thrasher, Bullock’s oriole, Gambel’s quail, great horned owl, black-throated sparrow, *cactus wren, ladder-backed woodpecker, white-crowned sparrow, brownheaded cowbird, Brewer’s blackbird, *pyrrhuloxia, hooded oriole, verdin, crow, Anna’s hummingbird, dark-eyed junco, white-throated swift, Steller’s jay, mallard, common egret, brown pelican, western bluebird