Beach Theft

The weather here has continued to be unseasonably warm and dry. While I can't complain about not shoveling snow, some rain or something would be nice. The grass is begging for water and care almost 2 months sooner than I usually have to face that chore. Oh well. Pick your poison I guess. Work has been busy with the nice weather and that's been good.

For Easter this year (you remember, the holiday my family doesn't quite know what to do with) we rented a house on the beach in Oxnard California. My sister's in-laws came along so we had some veteran people celebrating Easter. We did an obligatory egg hunt for the nieces and nephews and ate ham for dinner (that's easter-y, right?). I actually hadn't had just a relaxing vacation for awhile so I took the opportunity and headed over to San Francisco the Friday before Easter to visit with friends and eat. While eating I left the car I was driving parked outside of a Costco in the SoMo neighborhood and came back to something that looked like this:

It was actually the back passenger window, and my laptop and mission bag were gone. I'm usually pretty diligent about not leaving things in the car, but it was a busy area in the middle of the afternoon and I reasoned that I wasn't going to be gone that long, but I guess the homeless in the area are a little more restless here then other places. The cop I spoke with on the phone (because they couldn't be bothered to come out) said they have windows broken out for a hooded sweatshirt in that neighborhood. Live and learn I guess. At any rate, it was about 5pm on Friday and I really didn't want to spend the rest of the week with a taped up window. That's when my friend noticed an auto glass place just half a block away so we ran over to check and they just so happened to have the piece of glass I needed in stock and even though they were getting ready to close they offered to stay and replace the glass if I had 30 minutes to wait. DID I EVER! It was a lot like getting kicked in the crotch right in front of an ice machine.

These guys were life savers. It was great not to have to worry about that window for the rest of my trip. So, the food was good in S.F. The weather was beautiful. The company was fun. The next day I set off for Oxnard by way of the Pacific Coast Highway. I had all day to make the trip and general conference was on the satellite radio so I was alright with the 50mph CA1.

It was a clear day and the views were great. Traffic wasn't bad and for a change I was awake for all 3 Saturday sessions of conference. I got to watch the moonrise on the Ventura Hwy and got to the beach house about 9pm. My mom and sister did a great job finding this place. It was right on the sand and was plenty big for everybody.

The weather was a little cooler than expected, but I still spent plenty of time in the sand and sun. I caught up on some much needed sleep and did mostly nothing. People kept referencing the crabs on the beach but I never saw one. My brother-in-law and his family did some fishing and I did go on a whale watching trip with a bunch of orthodox Jews who were very sea-sick (tip: the whales look better on the discovery channel). The boat ride was kind of interesting though as it took us out by the Channel Islands off the coast. We even got a trip to the temple in. There was WAY too much food as per usual with this crew. I think I mostly ate pie for breakfast for a week. Not a diet that I'd recommend for long.

I got back to find my work was still there and everything was fine. I picked up a new laptop on my way home and it has turned out to be just as frustrating as my old one. The week I got back I was honored as the Volunteer of the Year for the White Pine Public Museum at the community's annual volunteer appreciation dinner. It was nice and uncomfortable. My laundromat was also featured in the business highlight section of the local newspaper this past week. I've been getting razed about the picture from everybody. In the evenings when I have a little time I've been working on the yellow bug trying to rehab the oxidized paint. It is going really well. I'm not sure if this picture really captures the great results we're getting, but the paint and finish is looking really good.

Can't wait to have this out for the summer. Everything else is going well. Looking forward to more travels and adventures! (and work,......I guess)