I really didn’t want to leave San Diego this morning. I have fallen in love. It’s no surprise, because I knew I would love it. I’m just surprised at how fast it happened. It’s growing on Eric, too. He really enjoyed our time there. He liked the restaurants, the stores, the views, the neighborhoods, and visiting various bicycle shops. He just hasn’t taken that big step of riding yet. I guess he wants to wait until we get back in a few weeks.
We ate breakfast in and checked out of the RV park at noon. I had a project I wanted to do, and Eric was game. The whole time we’ve been in San Diego, I had noticed these big metal boxes on street corners that were hand-painted with different themes. Eric told me they were transformer boxes, which contain the electrical circuits and wiring for houses and apartments.
Here's an unpainted transformer box. Pretty ugly, eh?
I eventually found out they were all in Pacific Beach (or “PB” as it’s called by the locals). This beautification of something inherently ugly really appealed to me. So, I decided to drive around and photograph as many as I could, before we headed out of town. As you can see, the art is not necessarily museum-worthy, but makes the corners more interesting, more beautiful, and definitely more whimsical!
The first one I ever saw was just around the corner from our campground. It's also my favorite -- the mermaid with the heart!
After photographing a lot of the boxes, we parked on Garnet Avenue, one of our favorite streets in PB, and had lunch at a place called CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, which is a chain serving fresh, delicious Mexican fast food. You get on line and choose a burrito, fajita burrito, burrito bowl (no tortilla) tacos or salad. Then you choose chicken, steak, carnitas (pork), barbacoa (shredded beef), or vegetarian (they had no seafood). Then they add one of four salsas (mild to hot), sour cream, cheese, peppers, shredded lettuce, onions, and you can add extras (chips and salsa, guacamole) and a drink.
I got the Burrito Bowl with everything but meat. It starts with cilantro-lime rice, choice of pinto or vegetarian black beans, and then I added on all the goodies. Eric got three crispy corn tortillas with chicken and all the extras. It was all yummy and I can definitely see myself having a bowl once a week when I get back to San Diego
We headed to our next stop – Hesperia, California! Eric and I both said it sounds like something out of a Greek myth, and we were right! HESPERIA is defined as “one of the Hesperides” (really explains it all doesn’t it?). Actually, they’re “nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in Libya, or on a distant blessed island at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean.” Who knew? Anyway, HESPERIA is a small town in California, which is not far from San Bernardino. We are on our way to Vegas to meet our friends, Geri and Larry, and see my cousin, Audrey. We can’t wait!
We got the last site at DESERT WILLOW RV RESORT, so we were feeling really lucky! We checked out our site, relaxed for a while and then left to go get dinner. The manager of the office told us there were a bunch of restaurants on one strip a few miles away.
We passed by CHILIS and APPLEBEES (as we try to avoid the chains we had in New York at all costs) and decided to go to THE ROADHOUSE GRILL STEAKHOUSE & SALOON. They have locations all over California, but I had never seen one before. They have big barrels of peanuts in the waiting area (and we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table), and buckets of peanuts on each table. Everyone throws the peanut shells on the floor, so it’s a big, fun, mess.
We started with the Jalapeno Artichoke Dip. I got the Garlic Citrus Trout and Eric got the Grilled Chicken Sandwich. We were so full we didn’t get dessert. I know it’s a shock, but we’ve both been eating SO much and VERY rarely pass on dessert.
By the way, in case you haven’t noticed from the pictures I’ve posted on the blog, I am officially fat. I know you may not believe it. You think I’m exaggerating, because I’ve gained and lost weight before, but I’m not kidding – I’m fat. Even Eric says so. He has no qualms about saying so. It doesn't hurt my feelings, because I know it’s true. It almost doesn't seem real, because no one I know has seen me (until we get to VEGAS). The people who I meet every day don't know I used to be thinner. So, it doesn't really make me feel as fat as I would if I was this heavy back in New York. I know I've gained weight, even though I haven't stepped on a scale, because I don’t fit into some of my clothes, and I just feel different.
I don’t know how different I look, because the only mirror in the RV lets me see myself from the chest up, so it's hard to get an overall view. There are very rarely full length mirrors in the campground bathrooms and, even when there are, it’s not like I can examine my naked fatness without fearing that someone will walk in. I had floor to ceiling mirrors in the bathroom in my house, and also on the closet doors in my bedroom, so I know what I USED to look like. I can only imagine what I look like now. I don’t really want to see.
I’m sure I’ve gained at least 10 pounds since we left on vacation. Ten pounds on a 5 foot frame is a LOT of weight. You do the math. I don’t think it happened slowly or gradually, either. I think I gained 5 pounds the first 2 weeks we were on the road and 5 pounds the second 2 weeks and I have just been gaining minimally since then. I’m not the only one. Eric gained weight, too, but he’s so thin that it’s hardly noticeable. But it’s VERY noticeable on me. I don’t like it. Believe me. I hate the way I feel, but it’s just too hard to do anything about it right now. I’m not the type to start jogging around the campground every morning, or riding my bicycle up a mountain. Eric’s not even riding his bicycle.
We could start skipping meals, or eating just salads, but we both feel like we're still on vacation, albeit the longest vacation EVER, and we're still enjoying discovering new restaurants. Let’s face it – we LOVE to eat out! We’ve both resigned ourselves to being fat and out of shape until we get settled in San Diego. We’re hoping (very optimistically) that being back in a normal environment will help us to get back in shape by working out, eliminating desserts, making better food choices, and getting back into a routine. I’m looking forward to taking yoga classes again, and want to ride my bicycle more, too. I’m hoping all the unpacking, cleaning and organizing will help, too! I think I will lose weight as soon as I stop sitting in the passenger seat of an RV for hours a day, and do more than walk around a zoo! I just have to be fat for a few more weeks. Bear with me!
Anyway, enough about me! We will be leaving here tomorrow and should hit Las Vegas. Even though I have no interest in gambling, I’ve always wanted to go to Vegas. It’s just another colorful, fun place to visit!