Party at Pyramid Lake and Sunsets in Sweet Home San Diego

Pyramid Lake is, as I’ve said before, kind of our second home. We’ve been camping here for years and I love the peacefulness of it. My poor Bees has had to celebrate her birthday early or late as opening day for Lahontan cutthroat trout is October 1st every year.

This was the first year we parked Reva Mae on the beach at Lawson’s Landing. We were able to get her level and have amazing lake access right there on the beach. It felt like all the times we used to bring the pick up camper up for a long weekend. At night, and sometimes during the day, the wind can blow fiercely at Pyramid. The lake sounds like the ocean when the wind blows. For me, I’ve always loved being inside a camper during storms. I feel so close to the danger yet so safe at the same time.

Our friend Len came up and spent a night with us before heading to meet the rest of the Fresh n Salty gang at Warrior beach. We had a nice meal at Crosby’s Lodge and enjoyed some time catching up. I love it when friends come to visit!
Len spent one night with us, then Jimmy and Cassie came up for the weekend to fish. Since Warrior Beach was pretty dead, several of the members did make their way over to our beach and spent a day fishing there. Our friends, Ted and Lori from SoCal, made the trek and I was so excited that Ted caught a massive trout right away!

Everyone caught nice trout-even the little guy the hubby took on the back of his kayak. It was nice to spend time with friends! We had a posole and taco feast one night with homemade hot chocolate around the bonfire, then an awesome breakfast with the crew before they headed out. I do love our Blackstone griddle for feeding the masses! Ted manned the morning griddle while Mike took the little man fishing and I think both of them had a great time. Ted makes some good French toast!

Mike and I spent two weeks on the beach, dry camping, then moved into the RV park for a week. It was nice to have hook ups and get the laundry done. We enjoyed some long, hot showers and got Reva’s insides cleaned.

We also got to attend our friend Rick’s 65 birthday party at the RV park. Rick lives at Pyramid Lake full time in an RV. He has such beautiful permanently brown skin and a gorgeous mane of completely white hair. Rick is amazing. He would do anything for anyone and enjoys a simple, quiet life. When we first started out, we came to Pyramid and we were trying to get everything put away. We realized early on that the beloved wash tub we had used for a fire pit for many years of pick-up camping wasn’t going to fit in our RV. Not wanting it to go to waste, Mike gave it to Rick. Every time we come back to the lake; Rick delivers the old wash tub to our campsite for us to use while we’re visiting. Sometimes he even brings us wood. He’s that kind of guy. Love Rick. It was nice to attend his birthday pot luck and meet some of the regulars at the RV park.

I also spent the time putting feelers out and applying for jobs. Often times, facilities aren’t looking for interim directors. They are looking for full time, permanent staff. Who can blame them? That is the ideal situation. I do send my resume and contact information to those looking for permanent staff, letting them know I can help for a few months without involving any staffing agency. So far, I’ve been blessed to find assignments VERY quickly. That’s one of the perks of working in an industry that is not always appealing to many nurses. I love skilled nursing and couldn’t imagine doing anything else, but many cannot handle the negative stigma and the massive regulatory obligations that go along with this type of work.

I was able to secure a 3 month assignment in……La Jolla! Yes! We had made a reservation on Mission Bay before we left the area in September, hoping we’d get a gig and we did! This time we were going to be right on the water AND only 10 miles from work! I fell in love with San Diego on our last trip. I met lasting friends and just enjoy EVERYTHING about San Diego area. It has the best laid back vibe. It’s what I now call my third home!

We left Pyramid Lake on October 22nd. Our 3 week stay there cost us less than $300 in camping fees, which included the week at the park with full hook ups. They have propane available at Crosby’s Lodge so we made sure to fill up before we headed out.

We spent a few days at Red Hawk casino boon docking in their back parking lot as we have before. It’s in a nice location to see old friends from home and switch out things in our storage unit. Because we had over a week before we needed to be in SoCal yet, we divided our time between Red Hawk casino and Thunder Valley casino. Thunder Valley is very level and much more accommodating to RV’ers. Both have great buffets and we make sure to eat at the casinos several times during our stays since we don’t really gamble. Full tanks, a hot spot for WIFI and an 8K generator make boon docking anywhere very comfortable.
We left very late at night on October 31st so that we could beat any city traffic and get to Mission Bay timely. There are huge parking lots right across the street from Mission Bay RV resort that open to public parking at 0400 every day. We timed our trip so that we could get to the parking lot right at 0400. This way we got through LA before all the crazy commuter traffic. Then we slept a few hours until check in and drove across the street to our new home for a while!

When we arrived, we discovered a bit of a major glitch. Mission Bay has some different policies regarding stays. What I had thought was a 3 month reservation, was only a 30 day reservation. At Mission Bay, you are allowed to initially book a 30 day stay. Then ALL new patrons MUST vacate for at least 24 hours. After that, you are allowed to book up to a 90 day stay. This policy helps them vet their patrons and ensures a good stay for all. I get that. BUT, when we arrived and realized we only had 30 days, it was a bit of a concern!
While Mission Bay has pretty good availability in the winter months, December is TOUGH to get a spot if not booked early. There are boats with light parades and lots of special holiday activities on the Bay during the holidays. We were unable to book for December but did get January locked in. We would have to go back to San Diego RV Resort about 10 miles away in La Mesa for December, then return to Mission Bay for January.

I was quite disappointed in the beginning, but I was hopeful I would see my little friend Ivy in La Mesa and maybe do something special for her and her brothers for Christmas. So, I quickly thought of the change as a blessing in disguise. She had been so upset the day we left. It would be good to see her again. Maybe I’d even get a chance to see my dear homeless friend at the train station by the park. Okay, we can handle this. No big deal.
Mission Bay RV park was just a basic parking lot with hook ups, but it is RIGHT on the bay. At one time there had been a mobile home park there as well-owned by the city, I think. There was some type of battle between city/county/state governments and the park had to close. The result was many abandoned trailers left to rot in the sea air.

There is a nice trail that loops around these old homes. In the beginning it was kind of creepy to walk around them. But, after a while of realizing the RV park had good security, it became interesting to look at them and imagine the people who had lived there full time or had them as vacation homes. Some of them had had some amazing landscaping and looked like they were very nice. It was a snapshot in time that had been forgotten.
There is another campground on the bay called Campland. Campland has purchased Mission Bay RV park AND has leased the land where the mobile homes sit. They will be removing all of the trailers and creating additional camping sites.

Campland is more of a family touristy camp ground with ALL of the amenities-arcades, pools, restaurants, marina, rentals, etc. It is quite the place. Whereas Mission Bay RV only has restrooms and a laundry room. I liked Mission Bay better myself. It was quieter and closer to the parks along the Bay. Campers at Mission Bay are allowed to utilize all of the Campland amenities now that they own both campgrounds.
My first day at Mission Bay-having slept very little-the dogs and I walked over 7 miles along the bay. It was so beautiful and amazing!
We had a super-size site for the month of November. We were able to see the Bay but otherwise nothing special. In the winter, these sites run $1240/month plus taxes and fees. Only one vehicle is allowed per site, even if 2 will fit. It’s an extra $125/month to park the added car in the overflow lot.
We did rent another car from Dirt Cheap Car Rentals again. A little Nissan Leaf we affectionately named The Blueberry. If you rent for 3 months, there’s an even better discount so the car was $1125 for 3 months. That’s only $375/month and includes all insurance, taxes and fees with zero deductible. Love that option in San Diego. Monthly car rentals can be so expensive! It got great mileage and was actually pretty roomy. At one point we had 5 people in it. Not too awful for room and the hatch folded down so it was easily to take dogs and haul groceries.

One negative that happened right after we arrived was the washing machine quit working. So weird. I did a load just fine and went to load the second load and nothing! We did do some trouble shooting with a tech from the company via phone but it appears the mother board may need to be replaced. In order to do this, the closet door and all the trim needs to be removed. Then the dryer that sits on top needs to be lifted out and set aside. Once that is done, the washing machine needs to be lifted directly upward about a foot then it can be removed and fixed. It’s like they built the motorhome around the machine. Ugh! Luckily there was on site laundry facilities so we decided to get settled and worry about that later. Definitely not the end of the world.

I started my assignment on November 4th. It was a new company to me and a very unusual building. It was a 59 bed completely skilled facility. All short term rehab, no long term patients and no mediCal residents at all. It was connected to a 20 plus story luxury apartment complex for seniors that served oysters Rockefeller as appetizers for tenants-I know because our clients who lived in the apartments were able to order meals from their homes-fancy shmancy.
I was able to reconnect with the friends I made this past summer and we did a hike around Lake Miramar. Lake Miramar is a reservoir in San Diego that is open to the public for fishing, kayaking, picnicking, etc. It has a nice, level 4.9 mile trail around it that is an easy walk with great scenery. Dogs are welcome. It’s busy on weekends, but was beautiful and a nice place to reconnect with friends.

With the car rental, Mike was free to explore the area while I was at work and found a GREAT spot for our fur babies to get some much needed exercise. Fiesta Island is an amazing peninsula in Mission Bay that has quite the history.
At one point it had been a spot to dump excess dirt, sewer sludge, and a landfill. The area has been designated as a bird species refuge and has a youth aquatic center as well as one of the largest off leash dog parks I’ve ever seen. In addition to the designated dog park, there are tons of areas for the dogs to run off leash and enjoy chasing rabbits and the like. There is an area for speed boats to come in with ramps etc. for water skiers to practice their jumps and tricks. People are allowed to have huge bonfires on the beaches. It’s really a very unique place. We saw people bringing horses and riding around, rowing teams practicing, new shiny campers and old ones that had seen better days. Kite fliers, parasailing, and all sorts of things. We spent many days at Fiesta Island during our time in San Diego. Here’s a link with some great images of the area. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60750-d3531365-Reviews-Fiesta_Island-San_Diego_California.html.

Mike also spent a lot of time at Fast Lane Kayaking and Sailing shop. Buying a Hobie kayak is merely your initial investment. There is ALWAYS some type of upgrade or new piece of gear to be checked out. He was able to get a great deal on a one time used live well from these guys. They sponsor fishing trips where they rent out their Hobie kayaks decked out with equipment, then they sell these kayaks and the equipment at a reduced cost.
During one of Mike’s many window shopping/research trips to Fast Lane he found me a great deal on my own Hobie kayak. I was able to get a 2019 Hobie Compass with an upgraded drive (has forward and reverse options) for a great price! It’s the same color as Mike’s outback, just a bit smaller and MUCH lighter-if you ask me. So, that was my gift to myself-my own kayak. I had no idea how much peddling would take out of me. Since I walk so much, I assumed peddle kayaking would be a piece of cake. It is not. It’s definitely something one has to work up a tolerance and strength to manage and it’s NOT easy on the back. I’m glad I found another exercise outlet I can grow in and enjoy with the hubs. I name EVERYTHING! So….my kayak’s name is……Galileo. Galileo because it’s a Hobie Compass! I do think I’m going to enjoy spending time with Galileo!

I hiked Cowles’ mountain for the first time that November. My new friend, and co-worker, Sara Showalter also loves to hike and was happy to haul my butt up the mountain. We hiked the east side which is around 3 miles I think with an average 11% grade. There are grades of 29% and the total elevation is nearly 900 ft. The summit is 1578 feet-the highest point in San Diego. At the top it’s possible to see San Diego, Tijuana, the ocean; it’s pretty amazing! It is part of Mission Trails Regional Park and there are several challenging hikes on different mountains throughout this park. I hope to complete all 5 peaks one day. The park system has a cool challenge that is drawing to an end. The first 15000 participants who complete all 5 peaks get a certificate and a pin for climbing all of the peaks. Even if I don’t make the first 15,000, I’m hoping to be able to say I climbed them all!

We finished November at Mission Bay celebrating Thanksgiving in a new “empty nest” sort of way. We went to an upscale dine in movie theater in La Jolla, The Lot. The Lot has a hoity toity restaurant attached to the movie theater and serves meals during your cinematic experience. Mike had street tacos-which were not assembled-ever tried putting a taco together in a dark theater- and I had a burger and fries. It was pricey and not very good. However, the recliners were very comfortable and I would definitely recommend it as a movie experience. Just skip the pricey meal! They offer popcorn and “regular” movie food items as well as meals-go for the popcorn. It was odd to not be with family-we had spent last year camped outside our niece’s home in Chico and got to spend a week with Hannah. Not totally awful, but definitely odd and an adventure-not awful at all, just different.

We got a huge rain storm that weekend-unusual amounts of rain for SoCal. While we were fine at Mission Bay RV, the San Diego RV resort we were heading to on December 1st didn’t fare as well.
There’s a little drainage creek that flows behind the RV park. We had enjoyed being backed up to it the previous summer. Well, with the debris in this ditch/creek and the heavy rains, the water came up and overflowed the banks. All of the RV’s that had been parked along this area were destroyed with only moments warning.
We drove through the weekend before we had to move to check out the damage. There were several people there we had met over the summer that lost the only home they had. One gentleman said he had to wade through waist high water to pry open his door to save his 2 dogs. Another lady, Tammy, had been so proud to have her new trailer this past summer. She had lived in a much smaller rig and had upgraded to a large park model. I spoke with her often as I had to pass by her place to walk the dogs. Her trailer was ruined. As were so many more. Our former neighbor, Michelle, had water damage, but not a complete loss. It was so sad. I didn’t see little Ivy’s motorhome anywhere. I learned, after asking around, that her family had just left days before the storm. They had moved in with her grandmother to save money. I was relieved for them, but sad, knowing that day last fall when she cried as I left might very well be the last time I ever saw her. We never know do we?

We were fortunate not ALL of the park was flooded and we still had a spot for the month of December-NOT near the creek. We did keep an eye on that creek during our month there. We were in a row we could quickly drive out if needed. Luckily, there weren’t any more flash flood rainfalls during our time there.
While it was a bit more of a commute, Ivy and her family were gone, and a lot of the park was torn up due to the floods, it was kind of nice to be back in La Mesa. It’s really got a small town feel for me. We knew the area so well. Our favorite doughnut shop-Yum Yum Donuts and our favorite Mexican dive restaurant, Cilantro’s were right around the corner. The small, but clean Safeway store was nearby. It was good to be back for a minute. We vowed to have Cilantro’s every Taco Tuesday while we were in La Mesa. Their $1 adobado tacos are DELISH! The carne asada fries are great too!

While Hannah used the holidays to make some extra money, working that holiday pay, we did get a nice surprise when my niece Nicci came down to stay with us a couple of days. Her oldest was helping transport a horse from Tennessee to California and Nicci needed to pick her up in LA for Christmas. So, she and her other 2 girls came down and spent a couple of days with us. It’s always fun to have people over. We had Cilantro tacos and caught up on life. What a nice surprise!
Mike and I took a field trip one weekend while in La Mesa. We drove to Desert View Tower in Jacumba, CA. It was less than an hour from La Mesa and one of those oddities that are awesome to find but not the usual tourist trap. It’s not a destination. Not something one would drive across country to see, yet so interesting that I’m glad we found it.

Desert View Tower is a 70 ft stone tower with a spiraling staircase to the top. Inside the tower is a vast collection of artifacts, antiques, and “junk” to peruse and/or purchase as you round to the top. It was reportedly built between 1920-1928 by the owner of the town, Bert Vaughn and has had many owners over the years. It was used in WWII as a watch tower to ensure Nazi’s didn’t enter the US via Mexico. The border wall can be seen from the tower, as can Palm Springs and the vast desert floor.

The other cool attraction at Desert View Tower is the Boulder Park. For your $6.50 entrance fee, one gets to climb the tower and gets unlimited access to Boulder Park.

During the depression, an out- of -work engineer, W.T.Ratcliffe, sculpted the boulders into faces, and animals, and creatures of lore for reportedly a dollar a day and a jug of wine. The result is a cool, cool area where you can climb and wander through tunnels and trails and find the neatest rock creatures. The Boulder Park really brings out the kid in everyone. Mike and I had a fun time climbing all over the boulders and finding so many different things. What a great day!

We stopped at the Golden Acorn Casino on the way back to La Mesa-you can’t miss it or all of their billboards advertising their current player’s club dinner special. While we were there, the special was a half rack rib dinner for $7.77. That’s a hard deal to beat, so we stopped.
As usual, we had to sign up for a player’s card to get the deal. Bonus was we got $10 in free play for signing up. We played the nickel poker slots for a bit then cashed out-still up about $5.00 each so our meals cost us under $5.00! Food was fast and bountiful-the ribs were smoked which was a nice surprise. Left the waitress a nice tip and headed home.
We moved back to Mission Bay RV park on January 1st. It was nice to be back and so close to work. While we do like La Mesa, the 45 minute commute does get old quickly and the views and the convenience of Mission Bay just can’t be beat. I was able to spend my commutes listening to my nephew, Michael, on his morning radio show. Michael is the cohost of the morning show on 91X. I really enjoyed listening to him while I commuted to work each day. While I did listen every day, those longer 45 minute commutes did go faster with him giving me all the latest news! Not everyone can say that! Thanks Michael Marty Whitney! It was fun to listen to you work! So proud of you!

Our friend Tim Bayus came down to spend a couple of nights with us and go fishing with Mike. As always, Tim loves to try new places so I spent a lot of time finding just the right restaurant. I was so excited; we were going to try the Red Fox Steakhouse and Piano Bar. It looks like quite the funky place and has quite a history. Just what I love to learn more about. Well, we drove all the way over to the location and discovered that it was closed that night. We’ll have to try that another evening when we’re in the area definitely. Here is the website for the restaurant which has history going back to 1642 in England- https://www.redfoxsd.com/. I will be going there this fall if the new location opens as planned. How cool.
Well, we drove around a bit and ended up at Anny’s Fine Burgers. Who doesn’t love a burger? Well, Anny’s has some GIANT specialty burgers and some pretty good wings. I love locally owned restaurants and this appears to be one. We had a huge meal and enjoyed it a lot. Here’s a link to Anny’s website-http://annysfineburger.com/menu/burgers/. Great night.

Mission Bay has a very neat vibe. The park areas that run all along the shoreline are always bustling with interesting people. Lots of families celebrating birthdays, volleyball games, walkers and joggers, young couples lying on the lawns, reading and listening to music. It’s fun to walk around and people watch. We often wandered around on the weekends, just taking it all in. One weekend we came upon this mini van that was completely covered in Christmas themed items and drawings. The owner, walked us around his creation with his parrot on his shoulder. This was his hobby. He said he had gotten it up to 55 mph before but did lose some things off the vehicle. He spends all of his spare time updating and adding to his creation. People do definitely march to the beat of different drums. Who am I to judge? I just enjoyed seeing something not everyone can say they’ve seen. He is quite the artist. Some of the drawings are so intricate, hard to capture in a photo.

Len flew down for the weekend! They had plans to fish La Jolla but the swells and waves were not ideal so the guys spent the weekend fishing the bay. Not what they were hoping for, but at least everyone was safe. I cooked a nice bacon wrapped pork loin on the new smoker our kids got us for Christmas. Great little smoker called Country Smoker, made by Pit Boss. What I like about this smoker as opposed to the Traeger we had at home is that the temp can go higher and you can actually grill on it. Nice little smoker! Thanks kids!

Len took us out for some Asian cuisine and pho during our long weekend together. I tried duck gizzards for the first time. I thought they were pretty good. The waiters did tease Mike and I about our lack of chop stick abilities! I just cannot master those! I recall it was off Balboa avenue but can’t for the life of me recall the name. There are a lot of Asian cuisine restaurants in that area of Balboa avenue. Since Len treated, I don’t have any receipts to go through for the name! Darn it. Another reason to take more pictures and stay caught up on my writing! Well, as long as I’m still learning, I’m still alive right? 😊

Ted and Lori drove all the way from Anaheim just to have dinner with us. It was Ted’s birthday weekend so we pigged out on a Chinese buffet in La Mesa. China Super Buffet was average, not worth a link but worth a mention. It’s a busy place and we were able to put a decent meal together but I wouldn’t go back. It was great to see Ted and Lori and celebrate Ted’s birthday!

My friends and I got together again once I got back to Mission Bay and hiked around Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and Beach. Some of you may have heard of Torrey Pines golf course. It is across the street from the reserve and one can get glimpses of it while hiking around the reserve. It’s a PGA course that has hosted many televised tournaments over the years. Its around $250 to golf a round at the course. Not horrific for a once in a lifetime opportunity

While a lot of people do park at the base of the climb up to Torrey Pines Reserve, it’s one hell of a climb! I highly recommend spending the $20 entrance fee per car-get there EARLY! Parking is limited. The reserve is beautiful and hosts over 300 species of plants, among them the rare Torrey Pine trees that are only found at the reserve and at Santa Rosa island. While most hikes are spent climbing a mountain, for me anyway, then enjoying the downhill stroll after achieving the summit, you walk DOWN first at TP, then UP to get back to your starting point. Almost seems criminal! LOL! It was a beautiful day and the views of the coastline are really so breathtaking. Love spending my days with friends like this.

Here is more information on Torrey Pines State Reserve.://torreypine.org/wp-content/uploads/maps/TorreyPinessSNR-2015.pdf

For my last hike before heading out from our time in San Diego, Sara took me to Iron Mountain which is in San Diego county near a town called Poway. Poway has a rather legendary wrestling program.

Iron Mountain is a 5.8 mile hike that summits at 1500+ feet. While not as steep as Cowles Mountain, it is a longer hike. I LOVED hiking here. There was a really cool tree tunnel to start and end the hike.

It was very foggy the day we went and while we could not see any of the usual landmarks at the summit, we were above the clouds and it was like standing above a sea of white. It was so cool. After I got home that day, I learned that Kobie Bryant had died in a helicopter crash earlier that day, possibly due to weather conditions. It was definitely a unique day weather wise.

Nephew Michael came by with his little boy Quinn after I got home. We had a nice walk around the parks on the Bay and the fellas rode skate boards. Hubby used to be quite the skateboarder. I was relieved no one was injured and loved spending time with little Q. 4 year imaginations delight me. We had a great time at the playground.

Our final excursion was a trip to SeaWorld. While we had friends that were supposed to join us, it didn’t work out so Mike and I went by ourselves. We had gotten a great black Friday deal for all day tickets including a food ticket for $150.00 for both of us. The food ticket allowed us to eat every hour at many of the restaurants around the park. Holy Moses did we take advantage of that, lol! We had burgers, ribs, pasta, pizza, goodies. The park was nearly empty! While there were a few of the larger rides down for winter maintenance, there were plenty of coasters to go on and zero lines. We saw all the shows and had a good time people watching. And definitely filled our bellies-I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten that much in my life!

We had talked about taking a few months off when this contract ended. (I finished work on January 15, 2020) It was nice to have a couple of weeks in Mission Bay without work. However, if we took off a few months now, I’d most likely be working the summer months.

This last assignment was difficult for me. It was an interesting building, all short term rehab. Staffing was extremely difficult. I met many people I will always consider friends! I love that part of the job! But it took a lot out of me. There were several “political” issues that I found myself involved in where I don’t usually have to involve myself during these interim assignments. And while I like to think that I’ve helped each facility become even just a little bit better, this one definitely challenged me.

We did manage to hire staff and get a wound MD and a psych group rounding routinely, so I know in my head the facility was better when I left. My heart was just a bit bruised. I wouldn’t trade the experience though. The staff were so amazing and I have no doubt the nurses I worked with will go on to do some pretty amazing things!

We celebrated my last day of work for my third assignment by going out to eat. Bayside Landing is just around the corner from Mission Bay RV park-a short drive really. I was looking for a good burger near us and boy did we find it! We got wings, a burger with fries and one of the flatbread pizzas to share. While the pizza was just eh, the burger had to be one of the best I’ve ever had.

Everything from the beef, the bacon, and the bun was perfect. Mike agreed. We cannot wait to get back to SD for one of these burgers. However, we STILL haven’t been to the infamous Hodad’s my daughter in law loves so much. Guess we’ll just have to make sure we get back to SD-we’ve already booked November-January 2021! Like I said, SD is now one of our homes.
Anyway, after getting home from our celebration dinner and of course, adding our meal to a FB post, my dear friend Lisa messaged me and asked if I needed another job! The company was needing some help training a DON in the Bay area. Well, they were willing to wait a month so Mike and I decided to take a few weeks traveling up north and begin another assignment in NorCal mid- February. I was able to secure an RV park in Redwood City just about 12 miles from the facility. $2000/month plus electricity-yikes! But we would be able to take the summer off this way and it wasn’t interim DON, it was training. I love training. What could possibly go wrong?
We filled up our tanks, made a few plans to have some service work done in the AZ desert and reserved a camping spot at Willow Beach in AZ on the Colorado river so Mike could do some fishing. We stocked up on our favorite Mexican meats, tortillas, cheeses, and hibiscus flowers for homemade Jamaica and left San Diego on February 1st, knowing for certain we would be back again!