I went back a few hours ago to the mechanic and he said he had adjusted the idling. The idle adjuster on the dash was "out of whack" as he put it and now it's actually adjustable but it still didn't fix the problem.
How do I check for the valve clearances? I'm taking the car back in tomorrow so I have all day today to play around with it.
I wish I could say I lived in an area where the water condensation could occur. Out here in "Happy Sunny Southern California"

especially in Palm Springs it's Extremely hot and dry. It's mid november and it was 90oF today with 10% humidity

I love snow, rain and severe weather and that is the opposite of where I live. Can't wait to move to San Antonio, Texas

But back to the problem, Is there a way to check for the condensation? You never know and I might as well check for it.