07-03-2025 Walk-Run

Woke up early with the intention of getting most of my steps in early. I went for a walk-run down by the park and across the pedestrian bridge to the freeway before turning around and coming back the same way. Had breakfast when I got back, then I went into the back yard in the morning and worked on the sumac stumps. With a fair amount of effort, I was able to take one of the stumps down to its base, but I think it significantly dulled the chainsaw chain. Will try to sharpen it again and see if that helps. Otherwise, I'll buy more chains to keep this effort going. Had leftover pizza for lunch, then I rode to Walmart to get some stuff, including motor oil for the Sportage and tissue paper for the birthday gift bag for Paula. Had a quiet rest of the afternoon, then in the early evening we drove down to meet Paula and her family while they were camping at San Elijo State Beach. On the way, she texted me that they were running late, so we stopped at Las Olas and had drinks, guacamole, and chips to kill some time. We showed up at the campsite around 6:40, and they were just starting to unpack the food. Paula's older daughter and her friends had camped the night before, so the campsite was already somewhat set up. We met her husband Catalin as well as her daughters Maria, Andrea, and Ivana. Catalin grilled burgers and some veggies, and I ended up having a zucchini burger with lots of fixings to kill the taste. It was fine, and the conversation was pretty good. We stayed until about 9:30, then I drove home. It was tough driving on the streets where there were no streetlights, especially when cars with halogen lights were coming from the other direction. I took it easy, and we made it back okay.