Monday Night Football and nearly time to go…

We arrived at Mission Bay RV resort on September 15th and on October 15th we had planned to leave the park… but only for 24 hours. The policy here is that you can only stay for 30 days and after that you must leave the park for 24 hours before returning. We decided we were not quite ready to leave beautiful San Diego so we pulled out of the RV park and simply went across the street in the parking lot to spend the night boondocking with a great water view of the Mission Bay Park. Hard to beat that for convenience!

Now there are plenty of signs posted warning  that there is no overnight parking however we have been here for a month and have everyday seen people overnighting in all the Mission Bay parking lots. To be safe we did not pull out the slides nor run the generator much.  This was easy to accomplish with 77 degree weather and the Bay breezes flowing through our open windows. The park is heavily used by fitness enthusiasts and families but other than one guy who parked beside us to listen to his hard rock music full tilt a couple of hours, it really wasn't bad.

Actually the boondocking timing was perfect as our friends and neighbors here gave us tickets to the Monday Night Football game between Denver and San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium… How cool is that?!  Thanks to Blake and Dawnderee for the tickets! It happened because Blake had to unexpectedly fly back home to take care of some time-sensitive business concerns.  He is a rabid Chargers fan and although he wasn't happy about missing the game, he really wanted Dawnderee to go and to have us accompany her. Therefore he generously gave his tickets to us.

Since the traffic is absolutely crazy on game day we decided to drive over to the Hazard Center to catch the tram to Qualcomm Stadium ($5 per person, round trip). The tram was stuffed with people as we squeezed in and become like one of many sardines preparing for game night at Qualcomm Stadium. The energy and excitement of the fans clad in their Charger gear was infectious so even in crowded conditions there were many smiles and laughter all around us.

After several stops where others tried to cram into the tram car we finally go to  Qualcomm Stadium! We followed the masses to the stadium entrance. We picked up a couple of cold beverages and made our way over to our seats on row 10 section 50, so close to the players we felt like we knew them. The game itself was only a part of the whole experience. A great deal of entertainment was simply people watching as there were numerous dedicated fans sporting elaborate game day costumes all around the stadium.  Not to mention the festive fireworks and hoopla surrounding starting lineup introductions and scoring celebrations.

The first half was all San Diego as their quarterback Rivers picked apart the Denver defense with precision. The Chargers defense and special teams contributed greatly to the 24 to 0 half time score. The blowout looked to be a certainty by halftime. Another cold beverage and the second half started…

One highlight of the game was getting to watch defensive player Von Miller in action. When I was a statistician for Texas A&M University I got to see him a lot while he played college ball for the Aggies. Also, another special treat happened at half time when golfer legend Phil Mickelson made a 100 yard chip that landed  on target thus winning $50,000 for charity.

The second half was all Payton Manning and the Denver defense as the score rapidly changed and before we knew it the outcome swung completely the other way changing the score to Denver 35 Chargers 24… needless to say disappointing lots of San Diego fans.  As we realized we still had to get home amidst the throngs we raced to the tram to be one of the first ones on.  Just like that the sardine tram arrived and we nabbed seats for the ride back to Hazard Station. We found the car and made our way back home slowly but surely…

What an absolutely fantastic experience to see a Monday Night Football with future hall of famer Payton Manning forcing a comeback win for his team. We are truly blessed and living right to encounter such special people as Blake and Dawnderee . Without their friendship and generosity we might otherwise never have seen a Monday Football Game… Our lifestyle really rocks…

Cowles Mountain Hike…

Well it looks like the main water leak was repaired and we only have a small intermittent drip when flushing the toilet.  We plan to have La Mesa check it out before we leave the San Diego area if it doesn’t stop. It looks like we are going to leave this Thursday as we plan to extend our stay using Passport America,

The other day while our motorhome was getting repaired we had a whole day to kill so we decided to return back to the Mission Hills Regional Park. The trail that we most wanted to do was the Cowles Mountain trail. There are apparently several different trails that will take you to the top of Cowles Mountain . We took the one at the entrance at Golf Crest and Navajo. This particular trail is 1.5 miles up to the top of Cowles Mountain for a total 3 miles round-.trip.

Cowles Mountain’s summit is 1,593 feet tall and is the highest point in the city of San Diego. The trail is a very popular trail for hiking, trail running, and power walking. Dogs are also allowed on the trail and we saw many people walking with their dogs. In fact we must have passed at least 50be people on the trail so if you are looking for privacy or a wilderness experience this will not be the hike for you.

The trail itself is a fairly worn rock and dirt path. For the most part the trail is well kept. However it can be a little misleading at times as it looks like lots of people have made their own shortcuts because the trail often splits into several traveled paths. I really wish people would stay on the central trail and reduce the amount of trail erosion that occurs. Paths such as this one will eventually have to be shut down and re-vegetated only because some lazy or careless people want to make their own trail.

The round trip hike was 3 miles long with an elevation change of nearly 1000 feet over the first 1.5 miles. Thus, we began to climb from the very beginning with a very steadily climb the entire time it took us to get to the summit. The hike itself is not difficult as long as you pace yourself and simply take your time but it will definitely get your heart pumping. The trail is a bit dusty and the there is little relief from the sun so bring plenty of water.

What makes this particular hike worth doing are the breathtaking 360-degree panoramas of the San Diego metroplex below. All throughout the climb we were treated to one scenic vista after another and there were some fabulous views of downtown San Diego. You can even peer into Mexico’s city of Tijuana or look out over the blue Pacific waters. At the summit there is also a summit plaque which of course we took the requisite photo of. We also watched as the climbers took turns touching the plaque saying the hike is not complete until the plaque is touched! To totally enjoy the view we had packed a lunch and found a spot on the summit where we sat on a few boulders to relax, eat and just enjoy the panorama below.

A great hike in a great city with a great view… hard to beat with such great weather…