Sweatshirts Again

December 18, 2010

The weather has taken a turn for the worse. They are expecting more rain here than they have had in several years. Just our luck.  I  have gone from sweatshirts to tank tops and sandals back to sweatshirts. Starting yesterday, it is suppose to rain everyday until we leave. In fact, all the way thru Christmas. Our high was 72 degrees, now we are at 55, with a steady rain. Last year, I didn't bring enough warm weather clothes. This year I didn't bring many cold weather clothes. Sure wish I had some warm boots.  Of course, it is nowhere near the temperatures  in Seattle. It is kind of funny to see the reporters in warm hats and gloves and it is 55 degrees.  They act like is freezing. 

Christmas finally came to the Monster. I don't bring very many decorations because I don't want to take up a lot of room for something that is only out a few weeks. 

We were quite surprised to find a very good  grocery store here in a town of 400. It has everything I wanted. It  has a meat counter with a butcher. No meat in plastic trays here. The bacon is the best I've ever had. They even had fresh salsa made right in the store. I will really miss it when we leave next week. Most of the time, the small town stores have much to be desired. At our last campground, the closest store was 18 miles. 

When we came home yesterday afternoon, we saw some canopies going up in an area that is empty. We wondered what was going on. This morning there were a lot  more canopies,  trucks, RV's and a lot of people milling around.  If you want to know anything you go to the country store. Off I went.  It is a film crew.  They even bought $200  worth of props at the country store the night before. Can't imagine what they bought for props. The country store has some very basic food, drinks and a few tourist things like sunglasses, hats, swimwear, DVD's and such.  The man next to us said that there is alot of filming in the area at various times.  Curious minds want to know more.

In and Out

December 9, 2010

We went to Fullerton, Ca. to get a part for the truck that Denny wanted. We took I-5, but you still go thru downtown LA. Lots of traffic, but not as bad as last year when we went thru pulling our RV. Yikes!   Last year we were there  during morning traffic.  Denny bought a transmission oil pan that cools it better and holds more fluid.  Also bought a differential cover for the rear axle to help with cooling. This is truck speak for all the guys out there reading this.  It is very bad for the truck to have the fluids heat up too much.  I just sat in the truck and read a book.

I have always heard about  In and Out burgers. I had told Denny that if we ever saw one, we had to eat there.  There was one very close to the place we went for the parts.  In all the surveys I've seen, In and Out is always rated the best, with Five Guys 2nd.  There aren't any In and Out's in Washington, so I had to try one here.  I've had Five Guys and they are the best  ever. We just got  one in Washington at the Renton Landing.   Well, I have to tell you, Five Guys is still the best in my book. In and Out was good, but not better. 

On our way back, I found a super secret way to get thru LA without going downtown. It was a breeze. I wish I'd know about it on the way down, but not being from around here, I wasn't sure where we were going.

At our last campground, because of the way we parked, we had sunrises.  Now, the way we are parked, we see the sunsets. Beautiful.

We've never seen such a tiny stop sign.  Saw this on one of our daily walks

We've never seen such a tiny 5th wheel. We had a 25' and this is much smaller.



Flip Flops--Finally

December 7, 2010



We got to Soledad Canyon Tues. It was only 294 miles but it took us 7  1/2 hours because the first 100 miles were very curvy with lots of ups and downs.  We have finally  gotten to some hot weather. It was 75 degrees yesterday.  I finally got to put on my flip flops. I know I will really age myself, but back in my younger days (way back), we called them zorrie's or thongs. You say that now and the younger generation doesn't know what you are talking about.

This is our site. We think it is the best site of all in the area.

  We had our first barbecue yesterday.  It is only 10:30 am today   and it is already 70 degrees.  This is what going south for  the winter  is all about.  We have been hearing about all the rain, wind and lightening you are all having up there.  Don't be too jealous.  Ha!  I put shorts on today.YEA!

We are getting back into our usual groove. After we get set up, we usually walk around the park to check things out.  We hadn't been doing that because of Denny's cold. He is better so our routine is setting in. Every afternoon we walk to get some exercise and explore.

View from outside our trailer.

Goodbye to the Central Coast

December, 6, 2010

The area we are in is called the Central Coast. It's because it's between Northern and Southern California. We have certainly seen a lot of varied landscapes from the Redwoods to Oceans to Forests of the Big Sur to the bare rolling hills.

We are leaving tomorrow for Soledad Canyon. It is just a little north of Los Angeles. Since Denny wasn't feeling very good, we didn't do very much exploring. There is quite a bit to see and do in the area. We like to go to different campgrounds, but we might go back next year to see what we didn't see. That is what's nice about retirement. No set schedule to get back to.

In our wanderings around the area we saw alot of different wildlife. We saw wild turkeys, buffalo, deer and peacocks.  This park is full of birds. I sat and looked out our window in the morning and saw the birds going wild, flying between the trees. I wish I knew what they were. Dark blue, black and white ones, light blue and white ones and some so  tiny you could barely see them. 

We took a walk along the nature trail here today. Every so often they had a station to do exercises. We looked at each one but that is about as far as we got about doing them. We said we'd do them tomorrow, but we are leaving in the morning. Oh well, so much for excerize.  I mentioned before  that the the trees here are very old and huge. Some parts of the trail were a bit spooky. Reminded me of the area of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  Glad I wasn't there at night. Some of the branches are so large and heavy that they are on the ground. Can't see how they bend over without breaking and they are still growing.. 

We are in the middle of wine country. There are a lots of wineries around here. We never got to them, but maybe another time.  There are miles and miles of grape vines, as far as you can see.

These wild turkeys were at Pinnacles National Monument. Denny said it was the largest group of wild turkeys he has ever seen. He saw some at our park, but I never did.

This is a huge tree that is actually 3 trees growing together

Lots of deer in the park. Certainly not afraid of people

Nature Trail around the perimeter of the Park

Today was a beautiful day. It got up to 65 degrees with beautiful blue sky. Hoping to get even warmer further south.  It's not warm enough until I can  put sandals on.



Ocean Views--Absolutly Beautiful

December 3, 2010

Denny finally felt good enough to go for a drive, so off we went.  We drove Highway 1 to Monterey Bay, 17 Mile Drive,  Pebble Beach,  Carmel by the Sea,  and down to Big Sur.   The views, even before you get to Monterey, are beautiful. Highway 1  follows the coastline.  After passing thru  Monterey, we went on 17 Mile Drive. It costs $9.50 per vehicle, but well worth it.  You pass by several golf courses right on the ocean.  There are many mega mansions along the drive.  WOW!  Seeing how the other half  live is amazing. I took a ton of pictures, but I'll only post a few. You will thank me when I tell you I took 50. Pebble Beach is where they hold the U.S Open.  After getting back on Highway 1 after Carmel on the Sea, the coastline changes even more. Very tall jagged hills, straight down to the ocean. Roads are very curvy with lots of ups and downs.

 I picked this guy up along the way. Seems to know a lot about RV's. Think I'll keep him around.



This  is bird/seal rock.  It is so far away that you can't see the seals with your naked eye. You could only hear them and they were quite LOUD. I was quite shocked that I was able to see them with my zoom. Love my camera!

The green/brownish plant is a ground cover that has been planted all over the coastline to protect it from erosion.  The leaves are thick and spiky. Seems like a cactus, but is probably in the sedum family. Makes the coastline very colorful

This is a cedar that is 250 years old. Most of the time they grow in clumps, but this one is all by itself.  Hard to see in the picture but they have put rock and bricks around it to save it for another 50-100 years.

I finally did it

Dec. 1, 2010

I know most people will laugh at me, but, I  did something I have been a little afraid of.  I finally drove our truck. We have had it for 5 years, but I have never driven it. It is a little intimidating to me. It is 22' long. I am used to my van or the caddy.  I never drove it last year on our trip.  I drove it to the laundry building yesterday. There is a lot of wide open spaces and figured I wouldn't hit anything.  I  have lived to tell you about it. Okay, now stop laughing!

Since Denny is still under the weather, I went for a walk today. I was looking for bobcats or deers. The man across from us saw a bobcat yesterday while walking his dogs.  We had already seen alot of deer but not a bobcat.  I had just read that there were bobcats in the park. YIKES! I heard some loud noises coming from a big clump of trees, but I wasn't about to go into them to investigate further.  If I see one out in the open, that's fine, but I'm not going to go into some trees. They are wild animals.

This is a nice park with some huge trees. It is 200 acres on what used to be an old ranch. Some of the trees are over 100 years old. I can certainly tell by how huge they are and how gnarly the bark is.

 There are alot of birds in the tree next to us. Every time I try to take a picture, off they fly. They are a pretty shade of light blue and white.

 You can see how gnarly the bark is on some of the trees

 There are alot of trees even bigger than these

 I take a lot of pictures of sunsets and sunrises.  This is a sunrise, taken right outside of our RV

On my walk I didn't get any pics of a bobcat, but found this girl  peacock. The boys are a lot prettier. I have also seen a lot of deer.

We had a heat wave today. Actually got up to 60 degrees. FINALLY!  It gets very cold at night but warms up during the day. I don't really feel like I have gotten to the warm winters until I get to wear sandals.  Not there yet, but getting close. For 2 days in a row, I have worn slip on shoes without socks. That is a huge leap for me.

Another Oops, Our first Flat tire

November 28,2010

Last Sunday I went outside and Oh No, we had a flat tire.  First one we have had with this truck.  Luckily we weren't driving, especially with the RV.  We had been out Saturday doing errands and somehow picked up a nail.  Denny didn't change it until Monday because he is so sick.  He had a hard time finding the hole because it was so deep in the groove.  Depending on how he feels, we might go into town to get it fixed.  Hopefully it is fixable so we don't have to buy a new tire.

The day before we got here, Denny felt a cold coming on. It was minor for the first couple of days but last Friday, it came on full bore.  Yesterday he woke up with no voice. We haven't really done any sightseeing because he feels so bad. It's no fun sightseeing when you don't feel good.  There is a lot to see around here. The good thing about traveling like we do is that there is always next year.  It is lucky that for the couple of days we had of hard rain and very curvy roads he was feeling good.  For that kind of driving you need to be on your toes.