Happy 4th of July! Gosh, can it really be a year since our last Independence Day? We were in the Yasawa Group of Fiji for that one! What a difference a year makes!!! Today finds us back at our old marina, Harbor Island West, right across the street from the airport. We were invited to a party on our old dock (the 900 dock where we had our going away party!) and when we found out that our new home marina, Pier 32, has reciprocal privileges with HIW and they had an empty slip, it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. It took about an hour and a half to get from one marina to the other, but it was a pretty putt under the Coronado Bridge, past the festively decorated aircraft carrier Midway, and across the bay to Harbor Island. It always amazes us at how pretty the SD skyline is and we kept questioning ourselves if some of the buildings had always been there or were new in the last couple of years! It truly felt like old home week meeting up with our old dock neighbors, almost like we hadn't ever been gone! We helped celebrate Judy's birthday Saturday night and are gearing up for the big bash on the dock today. There have been fireworks every night from Sea World and last night a second round from the Pops Symphony on the bay. Tonight there will be Sea World, the Pops, and 4 barges spaced throughout the bay - we're practicing our ooohs and aaaaahs!!!

Since our last entry, we have been staying pretty busy. We finally tackled the storage room by renting a second one close by to unload all my teaching stuff. I am still hoping I end up with a primary grade where all my treasures can be used, but as of yet, I haven't been assigned. We're trying to make decisions about furniture, but we had done a pretty good job getting rid of stuff when we moved out of the house, so everything that is left will be hard to let go. Boxes haven't been opened yet, so there is still plenty to do - ugh!!!

On board, we are trying to get some projects knocked out, but one thing seems to lead to another. While trying to replace a broken drain on the galley sink, we decided that the whole sink really needed to be removed and reseated (actually, we thought replaced until we went on-line and saw a new one would cost $700.!!!). Once the sink was out, we realized it was the perfect opportunity to replace the faucet and a few other plumbing parts that were looking less than nice. What we thought would be a morning project (thanks Ron and Mary for your help that afternoon!), turned into a four day project! The whole galley does look so much better now and we're hoping it will stay that way for a long, long time!!! The next plumbing project will be replacing both head (bathroom) faucets - hopefully that will go a little smoother! Glen has been scrubbing down the stainless steel on the outside of the boat as I tackle cleaning and purging projects on the inside.

Wednesday, we went to the Del Mar Fair. Andy and Arlene met us there and we had fun shopping and eating our way through the exhibits. It was a bit shocking to see our beloved BBQ corn was now $4. an ear! Didn't stop us from buying it, but it WAS shocking! We did pretty well at resisting all the new gadgets being demonstrated and sold, but thinking about where we might store it if we were to buy it sure helped. I did succumb to the thrill of a new vegetable peeler that will even julienne carrots and radishes, and Glen bought me a new magnifying mirror (those pesky eye brows again!!!), but no new miracle mop, broom, or any plants - amazing!!!

We are beginning to feel more at home at our new marina (even though we did run away for the weekend!) and are especially enjoying having a jacuzzi for an evening soak. It's still feeling very far away from everything and everyone, but we think we will learn to love it. We're beginning to meet the neighbors and make some friends, so we think we will probably stay (unless someone can get us in to Oceanside Harbor!!!).

Celebrating our country's independence sure means a lot more to us now that we have seen so many other countries that are so less fortunate. We hope all of you have a wonderful time celebrating - stay safe and don't forget to oooh and aaah!!! :)