Nomad Life - Day 77

Today turned out to be one of the slowest, most relaxing days of the trip.  Tied to that, though, was a more serious "prep mode" feeling - I've only got a day or so left before my big trip!  My morning started rather abruptly, with an unexpected wakeup (no alarm) at 0345.  Actually, I'd had trouble sleeping all night, with very definite memories of disturbances at midnight and 0200 before the final wakeup occurred.  My first thought on these disruptions was that there had been a lot of night operations of helicopters or other aircraft but I'm not certain.  Regardless, I started teleworking immediately and tried to make the best of the situation.  At 0730, I took a break to get some breakfast in the lobby of the NAS North Island Navy Lodge. There were a lot of other people there but the food options were wonderful.  Returning to my room, I spent the next several hours working hard - I ended up skipping lunch.  It was still hard to wrap my head around the three hour time-zone difference and felt very odd when 1600 East Coast time came before it really seemed late in California.  I took another break to get REALLY organized for my trip, making lists and narrowing down my list of items.  Resuming my telework day, I kept going until almost 1530.  Once finished with that, I enjoyed a good book, did some puzzles and wrapped up my packing.  Hoping to avoid a drive for food, I picked up some sandwiches and chips at the Navy Lodge store in the lobby (1640) and then ended up eating an early dinner in my room. Somehow, I'd made a mistake in my beer purchase and ended up with another (Modelo) Chelada beer (ugh...).  Both Mollie and Erin called during this time and it was great to catch up with them.  At 1715, I departed my room and began trying to get my 10K steps before the sun went down.  Unlike yesterday, I spent all of my walking time near the ocean, first on the sand itself and then on a nearby golf course.  This decision allowed me to get some good views of the sunset behind Point Loma, watch pelicans diving in the surf, watch the Hotel del Coronado lighting up as darkness approached and complete my step goal in the wonderful ambiance of San Diego.  At one point, I was startled by the playing of "Retreat", from somewhere across the bay.  I also got to listen to some target practice that was taking place nearby on the base. When I was finally finished with my walk, it was very dark but my watch said it was only 1900.  I spent the next hour working on the Class Notes for the Notre Dame Magazine and getting a bit more organized.  It's hard to believe that I'm on the home stretch for leaving on my trip - I had so much time before the Nomad Life began.  Then again, that was 75+ days ago...  To cap off the night, I watched movies on my tablet and tried to make it as close to 2200 as I could (so I'd fall right to sleep).  I was successful in this effort and turned out the light just as an Osprey aircraft completed it's approach on Runway 29.  Hopefully, it will be a quieter evening than last night!