Down by the Bay

 

Driving to Fremont, we started talking about last year. The year 2020 was crazy for many reasons, the pandemic obviously tops the list. What we realized during our drive was that we had not crossed a bridge over to the San Francisco Peninsula a single time during the entire year. 

No Fisherman's Wharf. No San Francisco Zoo. No Half Moon Bay. Or Golden Gate Bridge. NOTHING!

Yes, the lockdowns began relatively early in the year, starting the 9th of March. But still, being less than 30 miles from San Francisco, it shows how homebound we were. 

Even with multiple lockdowns of differing levels, we did do bit of adventuring around our side of the Bay. The place we visited most often last year is the first place we went this year, San Leandro Marina, right on San Francisco Bay. Less than two weeks into this new year, we have made our first visit to this waterfront park.

Last year we visited this San Leandro Marina five times, along with Coyote Hill Regional Park and Alameda Island, all of which are located right on the Bay.  I love visiting the water. This trip, we started out with the intention of visiting  Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge which is located right near the Dumbarton Bridge.

Having driven all the way to Fremont for Krispy Kreme and wings, we headed back long the waterfront, Once we got close to the Refuge, it was obvious that visiting it on a weekend, in the middle of a pandemic was a really bad idea. With stores and restaurants and movie theater and practically every other activity off limits, EVERYONE was at the wildlife refuge.

So after another half hour plus drive in the sunshine north, we made to my favorite spot on the Bay just in time to watch the sunset. With temperatures in the lower 50s by this time, my winter coat would have been better than the lightweight jacket I grabbed. Natalie stayed in the car while Greg and I walked around on the Pier.

We were approached by a stranger who asked if we would like our photo taken. Without thinking, we said, "Yes." Afterwards, we realized that handing a stranger our phone in the middle of COVID WORLD was really stupid. Thankfully, we still had hand wipes in the car left over from the chicken wings we bought for dinner. We wiped down the phone and our hands and are hoping we didn't give ourselves the plague because even after ten months we can't remember to social distance.

After our mini photo shoot, we drove over to the opposite side of the Marina to get a wide open view of the water. From this spot we had a better view watching the planes fly in to land at Oakland International Airport.

Natalie and I went down to get a closer view of the water and to listen to the seagulls singing as the sunset around us. 

In the photo below, you can see the hazy skyline of San Francisco in the background. In front of San Francisco is the edge of Oakland International Airport. Thought you can't see it in  the photo, we could just barely see the outline of the Bay Bridge right above the dark metal beams in the upper right corner.

Just as the sun was setting we decided to head back home. It was much easier to try and get as much driving in as possible before darkness turned to black. We headed away from the Bay, our first trip to the Bay in 2021 with the sun hanging just above the horizon. 

Hope for a good year already a bit shaky with the 'rona' still hanging on and protests turning violent in the Capital. A few hours watching water just rolling peacefully up against the shoreline is just what we needed. 

On the way back into town, we stopped at the local Dairy Queen to pick up an ice cream cake. It is time to celebrate Natalie's birthday. "Happy birthday to you..."

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presents on the tree

Through the years we all will be together if the fates allow

So hang a shining star upon the highest bough

And have yourself a merry little Christmas now

We reach for you and we stand tall
And in our prayers and dreams we ask you
Bless us all

Please have snow and mistletoe and

 presents on the tree

 

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2021 at last

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And days of auld lang syne

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Scenes from the Holidays

So hard to believe that we are already celebrating the our second Christmas as fulltime RVers. Still living in Alameda County Fairgrounds Campgrounds, it easy to see the difference between this year and last. Even though there are not quite as many trailers in the trailer park, most likely due to more people being at brick and mortar homes due to covid, but many more here are lit up with holiday lights than last year.

Decorating  the outside of our RV with Christmas lights may seem a bit strange, but it reminds me of hanging lights on our homes back in Minnesota. Days slipping and sliding to hang them up on the snow covered eaves. Frozen fingers and toes just to add some festive sparkle. In SoCal, we hung lights off of our deck overlooking the community pool. There was no frosted fingers. Just rose thorns and spiders scampering away. Multi colored lights in each location shimmering in darkness, bringing Christmas cheer.

A year ago, as camping newbees, we spent much of the month of December baking. Pan after pan after pan of sticky sweet caramel rolls came out of time RV oven. This year, with Natalie working as an essential worker. we just didn't get any baking done. What we did do was make cocoa bombs. Dozens of sweet chocolatey deliciousness to give out as gifts.

Even though we started this project early, we could not find any cocoa bomb molds, so we used these cute gingerbread people (see above). Coating the outside of the mold with wilton colored candy melts, we used Ghirardelli milk and white melting chocolate for the rest of the shaping. Inside each molded chocolate form we put powdered cocoa mix.

After making several of these over a few weeks, we came across a silicone mold for 'egg bites' to be cooked in an instant pot. This ended up being the perfect size mold. Natalie used this mold for the cocoa bombs she made for all of her friends and work buddies.

We spent an evening out with friends for an intimate Holiday gathering. The only truly social thing we did all season long, and we all kept our masks on the entire time. Ho Ho Holidays!

Because we just didn't have time to bake, we picked up a box of cute Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve from Primrose Bakery, a local bakery. It just isn't Christmas with a few cookies, after all. It also just isn't Christmas without SUSHI! Thank goodness our favorite Sushi place, Little Mad Fish, was open for a couple of hours. Just even time to stop in and pick some 49er rolls for our Christmas Eve dinner at home. I have to say, I seriously miss being able to go out to eat in a restaurant.

Another quiet Christmas morning with just the three of us. I miss the chaos of the whole family being together for gifts and games and socializing. We had a pleasant time opening gifts and playing Nintendo games. Mario Kart, mostly.  And then we mad a nice roast beast in the instant pot for Christmas dinner.

A few more photos of this and that, mostly the shining lights on the daughter and trailer. All the looks and feels of life inside the world of full time RV living!

A few days after Christmas, Luci is hanging out in our still gowing trailer as we get ready to celebrate the coming new year.

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Frozen

Sticking to our early Christmas gift pattern this year, Greg received his gift from Natalie this week, a 3 cubic feet Midea WHS-109W1 Upright Freezer. Of course, he wasn't actually supposed to get this present so early. He just cut the box open after picking it up from the P.O. box, much to Natalie's and my dismay. So, surprise! It's early December and you have already opened your big Christmas present DAD!

But, alas, now that it has been opened, there is no reason not to put it into use, right? After almost 16 months of living in this beast fulltime, we have realized that while it is nice to have an outdoor kitchen, two refrigerators is not necessary. Many, many packages of meat have gone bad waiting to be barbequed in the small outdoor refrigerator. The tiny indoor freezer has also been pretty worthless once it becomes more than half full. Ice cream, popsicles, anything sweet stays a sad state of soft serve mush. Not good for an ice cream loving family.

A new freezer mini freezer seemed to be a simple solution. We would just order on the same size as the mini fridge that was already sitting in the outdoor kitchen space. Jus swap them out, right? Ha! Ha! Ha! Nothing is ever that easy. What should have been so obvious is...the motor for a freezer is bigger than a refrigerator. Thus, a 3 cubic foot (the inside measurement) freezer is bigger than a 3 cubic foot refrigerator.

After removing the mini fridge on the first day, Greg and Natalie tried to push the freezer min at an angle. That was a complete and utter failure. We were sure were would have to send the freezer back. Which would be tough considering the box was thrown away on day one and this was now day four of the big thing sitting in the center on the only open space in our living room.

Back into the RV this albatross of potential frozen ice cream sundaes and pot roasts  was pushed. After a couple of days walking around it, we decided to measure it and see how close to fitting it really was. Side to side, we were just tine. Front to back it appeared to one half inch too wide. One half inch! In the end, it was a bit more than that because, to make this freezer, that is hidden away behind an outside door on our RV slide, PRETTY, they curved the door outward! Sigh.

We had to gain about an inch of space in a set space! The first thing we did, after, of course, dinging up the brand new freezer door, was to remove one of the two spring hinges that holds up the fold up door. It still, as you can see by the photo below, holds itself up just fine with only one spring hinge. 

Then, we created some magic. By removing the eight screws that were holding the door frame in the slide unit, we were able to pull it out about an inch. Replacing those 2" screws with 3" screws and using washers as spacers, we reattached the door unit to the slide. We never actually removed it rom the trailer, just slide it out far enough for the door to close.

Once the screws and washers were in place, we used large amounts of goop to seal the edges of the door to waterproof it again. Finally, we had to slide the latch plate on the bottom of the doorframe out just a 1/4 of an inch to allow for the curve of the freezer door. 

We long ago pushed the cup holder rings in the shelf unit all the way to the back to allow us to use an basically useless shelf into a small pantry shelf. We use it to store our extra pastas and brownie mixes. The space directly below that shelf unit is just exactly the right size to store our instant pot cooker. 

With a freezer filling up with ice cream and hamburger, Greg had time to work on setting up an amazing Christmas gift from our Bay Area friends, Ryan and Amanda. A new BBQ grill. We are totally set for a new year. One without quarantines and pandemics. Time for some happiness, joy and togetherness.

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Looking at lights

Driving around around looking at lights. One of the few things we are still allowed to do now that the Bay Area has ben thrown back into full lockdown. With hospitals dropping below 15% capacity, we  have ben put not into just the purple level of lockdown, but the deep purple level. 

COVID-19 just won't let go. After weeks of being better than the rest of the Country, we are now heading towards the worst. Lock down with restaurants closed, Movie theaters closed. Masks mandatory everywhere, even outside. But, with a vaccine now on the horizon, hopefully normal is near. But, unfortunately, not before, at least, the first week of January.  

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