We Couldn't Stay Home!

We've been home from our two 1/2 month snowbird trip to California for two weeks, and that's long enough for me.  Despite the rain and wind and bad weather, we decided to head north to Port Townsend, WA for a few days.  We are staying at Fort Flagler State Park because we can use our senior off-season pass and camp here with full hookups for $6 per night.  We tried to book a site across the bay at Fort Worden, but the beach campground there was all reserved because next week is spring break.  People in Washington camp in all kinds of weather!

Site 112, Fort Flagler State Park

The ferry crosses back and forth from Port Townsend to Keystone at Whidbey Island.  We can see it from our site at Fort Flagler on this blustery day. 

The good thing about the wind is that it helps to dry up all the puddles, so our site is relatively dry. 

While we were home, we visited our granddaughter, Sophie on St. Patrick's Day, which happened to be her 11-month birthday.

Busy Sophie enjoying her interactive toy

Sophie and Tim, opening the gift we brought her from Pebble Beach.

Our plan is to stay at Fort Flagler for five nights and then head over to Bothell to see Jonathan.  While in Bothell,  Dave is going to attend a state football  meeting in Renton.  Click on Dave's blog for more details about that meeting. 

Arrival Home

The rain and wind did not hamper our trip home.  Sunday was spent in Sacramento, staying at Cal Expo.  Monday morning, bright and early, we headed north.  We drove 383 miles that day, which was a long day for us. 

There were clouds in the sky but no rain during the less-than-24-hours that we spent in Sacramento.

Monday night we stayed at Seven Feathers Casino RV Park in Canyonville, Oregon.  It was raining when we arrived and it rained all evening.  In the morning the surrounding hills had a dusting of snow on them.  That was the reason that we had pushed on that day, so that we wouldn't be stuck in the Siskiyou Pass. 

Dusting of snow above the Seventh Feathers RV Park

Tuesday morning we made up for our long day on Monday by driving only 99 miles.  We spent the night in Eugene, OR at Armitage County Park so that we could meet up with our blogger friends, Donna and Russ.  We all enjoyed a late lunch at Papa's, a very fine pizza and salad bar restaurant.  Donna and Russ volunteered to come and pick us up and we accepted so that we could leave our car attached to the motorhome.  Thanks, Russ and Donna!  It's always a pleasure to get a chance to visit with you!

Wednesday was another short drive as we only had about a 2 1/2 hour drive home.  After we left Eugene, we ran into rain and it rained pretty much the rest of the day.  When the rain subsided somewhat in the afternoon, we were able to get our motorhome unloaded after our long 2 1/2 month trip south. 

Once we were back in Vancouver, WA, we did the usual return trip chores of putting gas in the motorhome, taking the car to the car wash (even though it was still raining), picking up our held mail, and picking up a library book that had come in for me the day before.   Ah, back to all the familiar routines that are a part of each trip. 

After getting home we have experienced rain, rain, and more rain.  Perhaps we came home a little too soon?  But, alas, we had to come home when we did because Dave had to host a football officials board meeting at our house.  I see that our lilac bushes are budding, so spring weather can't be too far off.  In the meantime, we'll enjoy any short respite from the rain!

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Our trip from Monterey to Pleasanton was fine, except for all the bumps on Highway 101.  That road needs some serious attention! 

We left the Monterey Fairgrounds and checked into the Alameda County Fairgrounds.  They have upgraded this park a bit since we were last there in 2009 and now the pull-through 50-amp sites cost $48/night.  No thanks, we settled for a back-in 50 amp site for $33.  If we had settled for 30-amp, we could have camped for $28. 

I woke up on Saturday morning with an upset stomach.  Maybe it was because we ate at Lee's House of Mandarin on Friday night?  Maybe, maybe not.  We've been having a few water problems, including discovering that our water filters needed to be replaced, so it could have been from that.  Anyway, I took a 2 1/2 hour nap after we got set up at the fairgrounds.  I felt much better afterwards.  Then it was time to meet our niece Laura and her boyfriend, Will.  They are currently living with his parents in Livermore while they are fixing up a house to move into.  We had a good meal at Bruno's in downtown Livermore and caught up on all the news.  Laura made us a batch of her dad's special recipe for red velvet cupcakes.  Yummy--the frosting is a cooked powdered sugar recipe and tasted oh, so good!  Thanks, Laura!

This morning it was on to our final fairgounds stay this trip.  We are now at Cal Expo in Sacramento.  The wifi FINALLY reaches the gravel area of the park where the sites are more suited for big rigs.  Yay!  We love free wifi.  The sites here cost $35/night, so we have experienced $36 at Monterey, $33 at Pleasanton, and $35 at Sacramento.  Tonight we are meeting our sister-in-law, Pam (Laura's mom), and two of the other nieces (Laura's sisters), Cheryl, and Keri.

Tomorrow we head for home and we hope that the wind and rain storm won't turn out to be as severe as predicted.

While in Monterey, I visited the lovely village of Carmel-by-the-Sea, usually called by the short version, Carmel.  The stores there are way too upscale for me, so I window-shopped and got a nice walk out while enjoying the sights and sounds of downtown Carmel.

Then it was on to one of the highlights (for me) of Carmel, the Mission Carmel, or The Basilica of Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo.  This was another of the California missions founded by Padre Junipero Serra, a Franciscan friar.  Father Serra was born in 1713 and died at the Carmel Mission in 1784.  The Mission is still used today and has been rebuilt several times since its historic beginnings. 

Part of the gardens

Some of the graves of priests who served the Mission

The main altar of the Mission

More of the architecture of the Mission

One of the Mission bells.  I happened to arrive right at noon and was treated to the ringing of the bells.

Holly at the Mission--still blooming in March

I have a few more pictures of our stay in Monterey and I want to post some final thoughts about Pebble Beach and the 17-mile drive.  Stay tuned!

Our Last Full Day in Monterey, CA

Dave was off playing golf at Spyglass today.  His tee time was a little later this morning, so we had a much-needed leisurely morning before starting our day. 

After dropping Dave off at the Spyglass golf course and exiting the 17-mile drive at Pacific Grove, I drove around the very scenic Asilomar State Beach.  I was surprised that this beach was a no-fee area with lots of places to stop along the way.  Asilomar (a-SIL-o-mar) means "asylum" or "refuge by the sea".  There is a trail suitable for wheelchairs and bike lanes with fantastic views of the sandy beaches and rocky coves.  The ocean off shore is protected as the Asilomar State Marine Reserve, part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. 

Asilomar State Beach

Also visible from the scenic drive was Point Pinos Lighthouse.  This is the view of the front of the lighthouse, which is set back inland a bit.

Back view of the lighthouse, looking out to the ocean:

I found the entrance to the lighthouse around back but its hours were 1-4 and I was there two hours early for the tour.  I meant to go back in the afternoon, but I forgot all about it.

Cute mailboxes at the lighthouse.

I then drove north along Lighthouse Drive and found my way to the Old Fisherman's Wharf.  I drove out on the wharf and parked long enough to take some pictures of the boats (ten cents for 4 minutes on the meter). 

Fisherman's Wharf has a shopping and entertainment area which I decided to skip this trip in favor of spending some time along Cannery Row.  I lucked out and was able to parallel park for free along the north end of Cannery Row. 

It was easy to imagine the sights and sounds and smells that would have been part of this area during 1920-1940 when sardines were being canned. 

Now this area contains tourist shops, hotels, and lots of restaurants.  I walked up to the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium which was being inundated with groups of school children.  The museum admission is $33/per person, so I passed it up this trip since my parking spot was only good for 2 hours.  We had visited this aquarium many years ago when our boys were young and we all really enjoyed it.

The weather today was so perfect that I was not sorry to spend the time outside instead of inside the aquarium.

The following two pictures are things along the street that caught my eye.  First, a tall coke bottle recycle can--do you see the hole to insert your can?

And secondly, a sardine can waiting for people to pose behind it for pictures:

And finally, if anyone forgot to buy their expensive Pebble Beach Golf Links souvenirs, here was another store at Cannery Row.

I am posting this blog before I write about yesterday's excursions which were to Carmel-by-the-Sea just south of Monterey and some pictures from Pebble Beach's 17-mile-drive which used to be free but now costs a $9.50 toll unless you are a resort guest.  Stay tuned for more about that the next time I get around to posting my blog!

National Steinbeck Center, Salinas, CA

Dave and I reluctantly left Pismo Beach on Tuesday, March 6.  We thoroughly enjoyed our two-month stay.  Now it's on to Monterey and Dave's once-in-a-lifetime chance to play three of the best golf courses in the world at Pebble Beach.  While he is golfing with his friends who drove down from home, I am free to explore the Monterey area. 

Our home base for four nights is the Monterey Fairgrounds, a centrally-located RV park.  The $36/night  price is a bargain in this high-priced area.  Our site is not very spacious, but it meets our needs.  Friendly Canadians are parked on either side of us and a golf course is behind us.

Yesterday I spent three hours at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Ca.  That's John Steinbeck, of course, the prolific author of such books as The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, The Pearl, Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony, and many others, including one of his later books, Travels With Charlie. 

National Steinbeck Center

Looking from the Steinbeck Center down a street of Oldtown in Salinas.

If you are interested in John Steinbeck and his books, the museum is worth the entrance fee of $9.50.  I had the place pretty much to myself.  Many of Steinbeck's books were made into movies, and the museum played clips from most of them.  Each of his books was featured in a display that depicted scenes and quotes from the book. 

In addition, other Steinbeck memorabilia caught my eye.  Here's a life-sized Steinbeck crossword puzzle.

John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962.  Other American authors are listed in this plaque.  The museum opened in 1998, so if others won after 1993, they are not listed here.

Many RVers have read Steinbeck's Travels With Charley.  His travels are depicted on this map.

Can you relate to Steinbeck's reasons for this journey?

Steinbeck was born in 1902.   During his lifetime, he wrote 27 books.  He died in 1968.

Now I've given myself the task to re-read some of those Steinbeck books that I read many years ago!

A Visit to the Elfin Forest

Dave is up on the roof of our motorhome installing a part for the satellite to keep it from moving around in the wind.  I have to stay put in one spot while he's up there in order to not shake the RV.  So I'll take this time to catch up on my blog.

The other night was a clear, warm evening, so Dave and I drove out to the beach to look at the night sky away from the city lights.  The city lights along the beach are pretty, too, but there's nothing like looking at the stars and planets on a clear evening.  We had a great view of the Milky Way as well as some of the constellations and planets.  As we were looking up, we both happened to see a meteor.  I usually am looking in a different spot and miss such sights, but I was glad to see this one.  There's no replay button for something like that!

We are leaving Pismo Beach a week from today and will travel home by way of Monterey (Pebble Beach!), Pleasanton (Livermore), and Sacramento.  We will be staying at the fairgrounds in all three cities. 

We will have been here for two months--twice as long as we stayed last year.  We've seen many RVs come and go, and some  that plan to stay a lot longer than we were here.

One of my favorite walks we took was the Elfin Forest in Baywood, a small town located near Morro Bay.  This was the first time we went on this walk, but it will be an annual event for us from now on.

The Elfin Forest was built with the donations from a family who lost both parents and a school-aged daughter in a car accident.  The trail is boardwalk most of the way and is marked with signs identifying plants and birds along the way.  Every so often is a larger marker, like this one at the beginning of the trail, telling a story about a Chumash Indian girl who lived here many years ago. 

The Pygmy Oak Forest was one of my favorite stops along the boardwalk path.

The Fuchia Flowering Gooseberry was one of the more colorful plants blooming in February. 

One of the most common plants we saw was the Coast Silver Lupine.

Halfway through the loop walk, we had a good view of the mud flats of Morro Bay...

and iconic Morro Rock looming behind Morro Bay State Campground.

Even in the Elfin Forest, Dave was able to take the time to read an email on his smartphone.

After our walk through the Elfin Forest we drove into Morro Bay and had lunch at one of our favorite casual outdoor food stands, Lil' Hut.  As usual, I had clam chowder and Dave had a hamburger and fries.

While eating our lunch, Dave and I saw what looked to us like the world's smallest boat!

A Drive on the Beach

The following pictures are from our drive on the beach on Super Bowl morning, Sunday, February 5, 2012.

I had never seen jet skis being used in the surf.

The majority of people on the beach were interested in riding ATVs on the sand dunes. 

You could go on a group tour of the dunes.

If you didn't bring your own ATV, you could rent one on the beach.

If you forgot anything, you could buy it on the beach.  They were also selling air to put back in your tires in case you had to let some air out so you wouldn't get stuck.

Maybe you would prefer to camp on the beach?  Only $10 per night--pick your own spot as long as it doesn't say "No Camping Here".

We saw lots of different activities taking place on the beach.

Fishing

Bicycling

Horseback riding

Surfing

Boogie boarding

Dog walking

 

Jogging

A little football throwing before the big game

Hunting for treasure in the ocean

Wading in the ocean with an umbrella for protection

Fording the stream across the beach--we made it!

As we got closer to the big dunes, the sand on the beach got thicker, so we reluctantly turned our Honda CRV around and headed back.

All this fun on the beach was ours for free thanks to our handy California State Park vehicular day pass, as long as we were there between  the hours of 6 am and 11 pm.