Holidays and a New Phase

It's been slow for us. We've been in the same spot for nearly two months, which is quite a change from moving every few days at least. The RV park had a potluck dinner a few days before Thanksgiving, with around 200 people packed into a room. I missed all my family, but the noise and festivity of the potluck helped. A few days after Thanksgiving, Abe treated us to a ride in a little four man helicopter, a first for both of us. It was an odd feeling, different from being on a plane. It felt wobbly, like we were dangling from a string. We took a short flight over the ocean, along the beach. I was hoping to see some dolphins or whales, but didn't get that lucky. Still, it was an awesome experience. Abe had bought the tickets for Thanksgiving morning and it was supposed to be a surprise, but when we showed up they were closed for the day. I did get to do a different first on Thanksgiving day. I ate dinner in a restaurant. It was nice having someone else do all the cooking, and especially the cleaning, and the food was delicious, but I'm looking forward to having a real kitchen again, and whipping up huge holiday meals.

I did fly back to Idaho for 12 days, leaving Abe behind to take care of the dogs. I needed to see family and friends, especially my kids. Sadly, I didn't get pictures of everyone. As wonderful as it was to be back, I was ready to get back to my husband and my small, portable home. While I was filling my days with making sure I didn't miss anyone that I needed to visit, and making trips to the DMV to register Ol' Bessie and our Sequoia, Abe filled his with getting things sorted out with the house. There were a few delays, but we were finally able to sign Wednesday, the day after I got back. It's good the timing worked out that way, because it was easier than me signing over Power of Attorney to Abe so he could sign for me, or finding a way for me to sign from Idaho. Now that we own a house, I guess we are officially real estate investors.

Abe also spent his time fishing on the pier here. He's been able to make several friends out there. The pier is a social club, where fishing seems to be an excuse to see the guys more than anything. He picked up some useful tips on hook size, bait, and jig set up, and those tips have been a game changer for both of us. He went from fishing morning to night and only getting a few nibbles, not catching anything most days, to having spells where he can't keep up with both poles. He'll be in the middle of reeling a fish in, and the other pole gets a bite. Now that I'm back, I get to reap the rewards of his education, too. It gets extra lively when Abe leaves for a few minutes, leaving me to watch his poles along with mine. On more than one occasion, I've had three poles going at once, leaving me frantically trying to grab poles, set hooks, reel fish in, remove hooks, replace bait, and recast all at the same time. That's my kind of fishing! Most have been tiny, but we've caught a few whiting that are big enough to keep. We've also caught croakers (so named because they croak when they're out of the water), puffers, black drum, spots, and some others. Ocean fishing has the extra element of excitement that comes from never knowing what you're going to get.

The other morning, I had the treat of a lifetime. I got to witness a huge school of dolphins swim past the end of the pier. I must have seen at least 50 or 60 of the graceful creatures, and who knows how many I missed. It took a good half hour for all of them to pass by, and several small groups of dolphins swam by throughout the day. I've seen a few here and there, and they're always mesmerizing, but I never dreamed I'd see so many!

I also got to pet a seagull. There's been one hanging around with a wing drooping. He was able to fly a bit, but seemed pretty bad off. I wanted to catch him to see if maybe he had some fishing line around his wing, rather than a broken wing. One of the times he was hanging around, Abe grabbed a fishing net meant for pulling fish up to the pier if they're too big to reel in, and threw it on top of the bird. I got it out and checked his wings while he desperately bit my fingers as hard as he could. Seagulls have fairly strong jaws, but they don't hurt. I think it may have torn the skin pretty good if I'd pulled my finger out, though. Anyway, after checking him over I released him. A few seconds later, he realized he was free and let go of my finger so he could fly away. After all that, I think we got the wrong bird. He flew straight and graceful, and Abe had seen the other one fly lopsided. Oops. At least I got the chance to pet a seagull! They're way softer and fluffier than I expected. Last night we heard sirens and saw flashing lights in the park. We ran outside, worried that a neighbor was having an emergency, or an RV was on fire, which would be really bad here where we're all pretty close together. There were two fire trucks, but our fears were soon relieved when we saw Christmas lights on the bucket and Santa driving the front truck, with the passengers handing out candy canes and yelling "Merry Christmas" to everyone.

We'll be here at Apache Pier RV Park through Christmas and the New Year. We move to Andrews, SC, former home to Chubby Checker, January 1st.