Back to reality

We are parked on the street in from of E & C Spring, in Escondido, California (map). This is the shop which, we hope, will be able to replace our bent tag-axle A-frame.

Not a moment too soon, actually, because the steer tires are now so badly cupped that they sound like hexagons thumping down the road, rather than circles. As I've written here before, we don't want to invest another grand in a pair of new tires until we've done a proper alignment and serviced the bearings, and we wanted to get the axle fixed before the alignment is done.

I'm not sure when they'll be able to get us in, or whether any parts may need to be ordered before they can start, so we are prepared to spend several days right here, if need be. All things considered, there are worse places to be stuck, though. There's an Olive Garden just a few blocks away, and we pulled the scooters out and went to dinner there tonight. And the weather is just perfect.

Speaking of which, we woke this morning to a perfect day, sunny and warm. From our lovely vantage over the harbor, we watched several of the TrawlerFest boats making their way home along a bay brimming with weekend pleasure traffic. The breezes were perfect for sailing, and we saw many sailboats whizz by, including a gorgeous two-masted schooner. We even walked across the street and had lunch on the patio at the Island Palms, with a view over the harbor on the other side of the island.

With such a beautiful day in the park, it was hard to pull ourselves away, but the siren call of bus maintenance can not be ignored... On the way here, we stopped at a shopping plaza to catch up on laundry and re-stock the fridge.

With any luck, we will be wrapped up here within the week, and on our way to Los Angeles Freightliner to have the bearings done.