John loved living in southern CA. He always lived right on the ocean. About 6 months before he died, he bought a new condo in San Marcos with an ocean view. It hadn't yet been built, but he loved to visit the site. The saleslady would stay late and let him in so he could see the
progress during construction. She thought he was the greatest, and
so did the construction manager who said he was the nicest person in the entire complex moving
in. He finally was able to move in about 6 weeks before he died. It was great that he got the opportunity to live there at least for a little while. How he loved that condo.
He did a lot of running on the beach, boardwalk, and roads, and had a bulletin-board full of entry numbers from marathons and road races he completed. Also did a lot of riding on his mountain bike and road bike. Great way to exercise as the sun is setting in the Pacific – fresh breeze coming in - beautiful. And yes, the Beach Boys were right about CA women. He told his father shortly before he was killed that if anything ever happened to him, he was way ahead on his love life.
He never met the girl of his dreams, but he met a whole bunch of them. He learned to surf – great fun. Even went snow skiing in CA – rock climbing, climbed Mt. St. Helens, played golf, kayaked, lots of stuff. He bought an old 1978 International Scout to take into the hills. He rode on horseback with the Portola Riders on 3 day jaunts in the hills of CA. When you are single and have a few dollars in your pocket, you have time to do many things. He continued to build model planes – had done it since age 8 – and even won a contest in San Diego for one.