Newport, Rhode Island, that is – that’s what the marina at San Diego’s Shelter Island is. More boats – lots, actually, more money, more scenery, better weather all year round. The Best Western Island Palms is definitely the place to be if you Phoenix-area folks want to park your heat-weary bones during Arizona summer.

And money? Hooo – there’s lots of it here. We shared a couple of cocktails last night with Brian, a home builder in the Phoenix area. He’s got a boat – actually, a very large one – and he comes here once a month to work on it and just veg out. Does he drive? No. Does he take commercial flights? Ix-nay on that. He has his own Gulfstream that he shares ownership with along with a few other guys.

You want to talk upper 1%? That’s him, baby. And a very nice at that, a real “renaissance man” and a true gentleman. Although his politics – he’s Dick Cheney / Halliburton conspiracy theorist of the first order, sitting on our perch overlooking a marina with a gazillion thousand boats wasn’t hard to enjoy.

This is a great place to stay – lots of photo opportunities – and Brian snapped a nreally nice one of Tracey and me that’s bound to find its way to my parents’ place in a few weeks time. They’ll really like it.

Woke up at 3 AM with a start last night and realized a fix in my swing set-up and downswing that will fix my recent driving woes. Practiced it for twenty minutes with a rolled-up towel in the bathroom before going back to bed and sleeping like a baby.

Being this far out west, it’s amazing how light it stays – didnt get truly dark until after 8:30 PM. Very cool.

One thing that makes one focus when typing a blog post is that the hotel’s computer gives you only 15 minutes of free Internet time. I’m typing my butt off and putting whatever comes into my mind.

This part of San Diego is a real paradise setting. More updates to come. Ciao!