I wish I could offer you some exotic story about the glamour of Airstreaming today, but it’s not much fun when you’re sick. It seems like part of the package of taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip should be guaranteed immunity from illness, but the truth is that anything can happen, and does. Including the common cold.

So I’m sitting at home in my pajamas breathing through my mouth (the nose has closed shop for a few days) and working on Operation “Kill Paper”, while Eleanor and Emma are taking the opportunity to do the laundry, pick up our forwarded mail, and buy cold-related supplies for me (extra tissues, various medications for the symptoms). If they could find a full-body condom to wrap me in so they don’t get the virus I think they’d buy that too.

But we’re all making lemonade out of it as best we can. Eleanor met a women with five kids at the laundromat, and discovered through that connection that some museums at Balboa Park are free on Tuesdays. The specific museums offered for free change every week. So she dropped off a few things here and then whisked off to have fun at all the places I’d like to go: the Automotive Museum, the Aerospace Museum, etc.

Meanwhile, back at camp I was pleased to receive a blog reader by the name of Byron, who turned out to be a charming fellow who is currently doing a motorhome restoration. He didn’t mind that I am a dripping, coughing mess today — and he invited us over to his canyon home in San Diego. If I am more pleasant to be around by Thursday we will definitely drop in for a visit. That’s the best way to get to know an area, in my opinion. Thanks for cheering me up, Byron!