It’s All Good until Somebody Gets Hurt

Isn’t that how life is?   

Rules and laws are made because somebody got hurt doing exactly that one thing you shouldn’t be doing.

Relationships are all good until one person does something to hurt the other and then all gloves are off.

Common sense goes right out the window and people are just stupid at times and that is why many people get hurt and then come back and want to blame and /or sue the person that was there but in all actuality had nothing to do with their stupidity. 

It feels at times that people are so far from using any common sense and for many it seems they feel that the rules are not meant for them.

Dogs off leashes because of course their masters are stupid and always claim their dog does not bite.  Okay, even if they don’t bite, what about them urinating all over our stuff.  You may like the smell of urination but we do not and we should not have to smell it because YOU will not obey the rules.

By the way…it does rain in Southern California…no matter what that song says!  It started spitting around midnight and throughout the night and into the morning it has been drizzling and pouring periodically for the past few days.  The ground is wet and even has puddles, so for you non-believers, you can believe it does rain here!

Our vacation is almost over as we head back to work the trees, but in the meantime we have just been enjoying our down time.  We haven’t done anything particularly exciting but we have been taking bike rides, eating out, shopping online and at the nearby mall and just relaxing.  We know that the lot will be busy and that 2014 is going to be an extensive traveling year so we are soaking in all the relaxation that we can for now before the whirlwind begins.

We have several job offers and we are not sure which direction we are going to take since they all offer some sort of different aspect that is exciting.  This is the time we need to just take a deep breath and allow the Universe to guide us…so hard for control freaks like us to do but we are learning.

We also have to learn to let go of the fear.  Because of the several tornadoes we were involved in, and the floods and hurricane a few years back we still fear the weather heading eastbound.  We have not had to deal with any sort of bad weather in these past few years and just the thought of heading back east again scares the heebie jeebies right out of us.  We have come to understand that that fear has made us stagnant in living our dream lifestyle and we need to buck up and begin living again.  It won’t be easy and there will be many sleepless nights but if we are to continue on this journey of ours then we need to move forward and not stay so stuck in the past and start enjoying ourselves and become adventurous once again.

Galley at the Marina

550 Marina Pkwy

Chula Vista, CA  91910

619-422-5714

11/15/2013

Even though it was a chilly and windy morning, we chose to sit in the outdoor patio area so we could enjoy the view.  They did have heaters running which took off the chill a bit and we were quite comfortable.

Since it was morning and we came for breakfast we decided to start off with one of their famous Bloody Marys.  They were spicy, fresh and served with lime, olive and a pepperoncini which was a new touch that gave it an additional spiciness and tasted excellent.

Usually when we eat out, we find two favorite dishes and we both order one of them.  This way we are able to taste two different ones.  This was different for us since we both ordered the Lobster & Crab Omelet, the only difference were our potato choice, hash browns and home fries and they both were excellent.  The eggs wrapped around huge, succulent pieces of lobster and crab and then it was topped with a delicious jalapeño cheese sauce which added to the wonderful bursts of flavor going on with each bite.

Our server gave us excellent service.  She had a great smile, a great laugh and was always there when we needed anything.  We would highly recommend this place!

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Thoughts When Our Bodies Are Exhausted & Our Minds Are Not…

Life has always been a bit challenging for us but we are so grateful that it has not been as bad as it could have been.  We do have so much to be grateful for but still there are times that we wonder if we will ever have the life we have always dreamed we would have.  We always follow our dreams but they never seem to manifest entirely for us as we have seen happen for others.  We stay focused, we believe, we go after it and still just a fraction of our dreams happen.

We have been living this lifestyle now for so many years and we still have the same dreams…to be able to travel, write our stories, take our photos and make a living out of it.  So far that has not happened and we have to take other jobs to pay our expenses and these jobs are hard and take away the time we could have to work on our dream lifestyle. 

It’s that vicious cycle again…when will it ever end!

We have learned many lessons in our lives but we now feel it should be the time where we can reap some of the rewards.  We are tired and are bodies really can’t take much more, we have beat them up so much in our years of physical labor that they are exhausted and our hearts are heavy.

We are currently on vacation in between the Pumpkin Station and Christmas Tree lot and trying to find the strength to do the things we want to do and every day it gets a little easier, our bodies are healing from overworking them. 

What started off as a morning “little” ride on our bikes ended up being a 40 mile ride that almost had us stranded.  We left the Chula Vista RV Resort

and followed the Bayshore Bikeway.  All the research we did told us it was 24 mile round trip but ended up being a little over 40 which took a strain on our Go-Bikes and we limped back the last mile.

Jerry got a new pair of sunglasses that have peace signs on them so he is now into "Peace Out"!

We made it to our site without pushing the bikes or having to peddle all the way.  Peddling on these bikes are much more strenuous then on a regular bike so pushing would have been easier and they are much heavier than a regular bike so either of those options would have been hard.

We then plugged them in for a short time so we could go and have some lunch at the nearby South Bay Fish & Grill.  Check out our separate review for our experience.

We are once again living our lives to the fullest and stop reflecting on all the things we don’t have and focusing more on all the great things we do have in our lives.  Perfect time of the year for that since Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  We have sort of reflected back on this past year and realize it was almost the same as the last so we decided to throw caution to the wind and begin once again checking off items on our Life List beginning the first of January where we just made reservations to see the Mystere, a Cirque du Soleil production at Treasure Island in Las Vegas.  

Then we plan to head East this summer and finally check off the New England states from our list as well.  We are looking for physically easier work so we do not beat our bodies up as much and will be able to enjoy this new adventure and know that we will find it just as long as we stay focused on where we want to be and not where we do not want to be.  Life is funny that way, it will give you exactly what you stay focused on even if that is exactly what you do not want.  Our focus is now on all the great things we have in our lives and just accepting more of it.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Wine Tastings

2011 Blue Moon Riesling produced by BridgeviewVineyards in Cave Junction, Oregon has 12% alcohol with apple and honey flavoring is not the sweetest Riesling we've tasted but not the driest either. An inviting aroma and a taste that lingers but does not overwhelm. We would purchase again for $6 per bottle.

We rated the Lucky Duck Moscato with an 8.1 because of its sweetness and strong taste of honeydew melon and peaches that would be perfect with any spicy food.  We paid $4 for this 11% alcohol from Chile that we would purchase again.

2011 Family Vineyards Riesling produced by Sutter Home located in Napa Valley has a 12.5% alcohol that we gave an 8.6 rating.  Fresh, Spring like taste with just a touch of sweetness that stays on your palate that would be great with any food, especially spicy.  We paid $5 per bottle and would be likely to purchase again. 

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

South Bay Fish & Grill

Soon to be known as Dolphins Restaurant, Bar & Banquet

570 Marina Pkwy, Chula Vista, CA  91910

619-420-7234

11/9/2013

Located just a short distance from Chula Vista RV Resort we stopped in for lunch.

We began with the Louisiana BBQ Shrimp & Scallops Appetizer

The scallops were huge and the shrimp was tasty but could have been bigger.  The BBQ sauce had a great spicy taste that we agreed probably included a few dashes of Tapatio.

Jerry had the Captains Platter

Fried Calamari rings, Icelandic cod filet, shrimp and French fries.  The Calamari as we both decided is just too rubbery a taste for us to really like but the cod and shrimp had the perfect coating on them and were fried to perfection.

I had the Stuffed Salmon

Now Salmon is not my favorite fish but stuffed with shrimp and crab with a sun dried tomato cream sauce made it a fabulous tasting meal.  The Salmon was done exactly the way it should be, not too much but not raw either and the cream sauce had the right amounts of flavors to accent the Salmon to it best.  The vegetables were al dente which is exactly how I love my vegetables.

The restaurant is on the Marina and has a great view especially on the outside patio where we were seated.  It is under new management and will soon be known as Dolphins which seemed to be a pleasant idea to most of the staff.

We enjoyed our lunch and would highly recommend it to anyone in the area and if you stay at the Resort, bring your key for your discount.

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Our Time at the Pumpkin Station

We returned to work with the Osborne’s again this year but at a different Pumpkin Station.  This year we worked at the Chula Vista one that we worked the trees last year. 

 

 What a huge difference in so many ways!

The location was so much nicer.  Being out in the middle of a Mall parking lot had its many annoyances which being in an open area by the college had its perks.  It was quiet for the most part, the only noise we heard were sirens since we were located by a hospital and fire department but we would take that over the shopping carts being picked up and parking lot being cleaned at the wee hours in the morning.

It was busier, but then again this year’s numbers were way up across all of the stations but it did more business than last at either location so it was nice.

The clientele was so much better to get along with, not that everyone was but at least there weren’t as many grumps as there were last year.

The employee pool was far better than we could have ever imagined.  Yes, we had a few where we had to let go and a few we had to continuously tweak but it was so much easier managing a big percentage of well-adjusted workers compared to the opposite percentage of incompetence we dealt with last year.

There was one time where there were no customers on the lot so we decided that Jerry and I would make it down the big slide…Jerry did once...

As for me...well…I hurt my toe instead… 

Then we just let young ones have some fun until customers pulled up and it was back to work.

Having bosses that get it and who care about us is just so much better than what we dealt with the other Pumpkin/Christmas lots we worked and we are so grateful for finding these guys. 

The physical part is next to nothing, especially in comparison.  We get our deliveries and they unload the pumpkins, set them up and price them.  If they were behind schedule and our workers were available we would have them assist them.  Yes, there were several times I still needed to remind Jerry about that since he still has it in his head that we need to work physically hard if we are to have our dreams come true.

Of course that is not entirely true and we are learning to adjust our stinking thinking ways to be more aligned with how it really should be in the work place.  We had fun, we worked and we made some money…what more could we ask for?

For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.