Grab the marshmallows... we're having a fire!

Today right around lunch time we had a little excitement in old Murrieta... a fire broke out in the hills just behind our house!

The excitement was short-lived, as a bevy of airplanes and helicopters showed up and, within about an hour, had knocked the fire down.

This shot shows the smoke. It's difficult to see, but if you click on the photo to enlarge it, and look very closely towards the middle of the photo, you'll see a small black dot in the red circle. That's a big 4-engine airplane dumping water on the fire. Gives you a little bit of an idea how big this was!

Skinny and Bald!

We received this picture of a skinny bald guy on Robbin's cell phone today.

OH! It's Larry Cordray!

Carrie Renee really surprised him by showing up for his graduation from boot camp in South Carolina. He had no idea she was going to be there, and was THRILLED she could make it!

It was quite a challenge getting Carrie across the USA to be there in time, as her first flight was canceled at the last minute!

She will spend two days with Larry before he ships off to his schooling in Ft. Lee, Virginia. We expect Carrie Renee back home on Friday.

Becca and family visit...

On Saturday, August 22, we spent the day with Becca, her mom Nancy, and daughters Bailey and Bristol. The purpose of their visit was not a happy one however, as Nancy's dad passed away recently and they were here for the funeral in Long Beach.

Despite the sad occasion, we had a full day of fun activity. The video here is just a short clip with highlights of the movies we took.



In addition to Becca and her family, our daughter Carrie, husband Kelly and their daughter Chloe also attended.

First we had a terrific lunch at the Belmont Brewing Company in Belmont Shores (an area of Long Beach), on the outside patio, followed by some play time on the beach. Then it was off to a local park where all the kids had a chance to play, play, play! It was a very full day, to say the least, and all the kids (and Grampa Bill) needed a nap to catch up!

Bill Jr. (Becca's husband) had to work, but there was some good news about him. He was working as First Mate on his ship (this is the #2 position on the boat, under the Captain).

There are also pictures at this link: BECCA VISITS

There's A Baby In My Sink!

We had several overnight guests this past weekend.

Grandchildren Quinton, Colston and Haylie stayed with us Thursday through Sunday while their mom Carrie Renee was visiting friends and relatives in Arizona. On Saturday evening the gang had a big Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner (originally scheduled for last St. Patrick's Day!).

Granddaughter Chloe spent Sunday night with us while her parents, Kelly and Carrie Ann, visited friends in San Diego. One of Chloe's "funner" times was taking a bath in the kitchen sink. A bath is quite important, especially after eating lots of juicy watermelon!

Sorry for the quality, but this is a cell phone shot.

Central Coast, Day 3 and 4...

What, no pictures???

Sorry, but we were having so much fun, we kinda forgot to click off any photos. But, just so you know, we survived our mini-vacation to the central CA coast. We tried 3 nights in a row to get a great photo of the sunset, but the cloud/fog level was too heavy.

Here's the sunset photo I would have taken if it hadn't been so foggy!



Day 3: We left Pismo Beach and stopped in at San Luis Obisbo for a few hours. Took a short tour of the Mission, and we searched for --and found-- a restaurant Robbin likes. Later we arrived in Morro Bay where Bill had his crab cocktail on the pier. Spent most of the day visiting all the shops and restaurants.

Day 4: A little more sight-seeing, then off we went. Stopped in at Anderson's Pea Soup restaurant in Buellton and did a little shopping, and then to Santa Barbara where stopped by another Mission. We had a great lunch at Nordstrom's in the outdoor cafe, located on the top floor, with a beautiful view of the area.

Good News: The Good News is that the "check engine" light went out. We had it checked before leaving and they told us it would be an $1100 repair job! Hopefully it was just a temporary hiccup and we won't need to have it repaired. If we're lucky, the money we saved on not repairing the car will help pay for the vacation!

All in all, it was a wonderful trip that we both enjoyed -- and needed. It's pretty strange being on the coast with temperatures in the low 70's, and come home to 100+ degrees.

Central Coast, Day 1 and 2...

On Saturday we started a short vacation up the California central coast. On our first stop we visited Bob and Julia in Ventura, then off to Santa Barbara.

Day 2 started with a great breakfast at a funky little place in Santa Barabara before driving up to Los Alamos, where Robbin took this photo of Bill in a neat museum.

We continued to Pismo Beach, but it was jammed full of tourists, so we drove north a few miles and found some wonderful spots (including where photo below was taken).

Later that evening we returned to Pismo Beach and enjoyed Clam Chowder bowls at the world famous Splash Cafe (claimed to be the best chowder west of Boston!).

Tomorrow should find us roaming around in San Luis Obisbo and Morro Bay.

From there, who knows!

DXCC #330 Confirmed...

Recently received a QSL card confirming my contact with this quite rare station that was operating in the Andaman & Nicobar Island group. These islands are located in the Bay of Bengal, southeast of India.

This card bring my total confirmed country count to 330 in the DXCC program. The contact was made on the 40 meter band using cw (morse code).

I am currently listed on the CQ Honor Roll (CW - morse code), but I still have a couple more countries to work/confirm before being eligible for the ARRL DXCC Honor Roll.