April Means Tulips

Today’s pictures were taken at the Holland America Tulip Farm in Woodland, WA.  This is a field trip that I always enjoy each April.  We avoided the crowds on the weekend by visiting the tulips on a Monday morning. 

Dave and I have both been sick with colds that lasted about ten days, but we are feeling better now.

After arriving home from California, we have made a few trips to the Long Beach Peninsula to visit our “cabin”.  Our neighbors are disputing the boundary between our lots, saying that their fence was not erected on the boundary line as we had previously been told.  If they are correct, and we’re not sure that they are, our lot will shrink by 14 inches from front to back.  This means that our motorhome will barely fit.  But since we can stay in the park model, that is not a huge deal.  We had planned, though, and measured (we thought) for the motorhome, with both slides extended, to fit beside the park model.

Dave installed a satellite dish at the cabin and soon we will be all set with high definition TV.  It only took three or four trips down there to get it all working.  Maybe he will write a blog about the process.  The park’s internet administrator kindly installed a wifi antenna on our park model, so we are enjoying speedy internet. 

There are plenty of other things that still need to be fixed, like replacing the kitchen faucet and tweaking the bathtub/shower plumbing.  We are planning on having a shed built on the lot,  and we are looking into having a small addition built onto the park model which we will use as a utility room and laundry room.  And oh yes, the microwave stopped working, so we have added replacing that to our list of projects. 

My Blog’s 5 Year Anniversary

When I started my blog in April, 2009, the purpose was to inform family and friends about my upcoming open-heart surgery.  I had to be convinced by my daughter-in-law, Kiersten, that anyone would be interested in reading what I wrote. 

During my time in the hospital, Dave updated the blog for me.  It’s interesting for me to re-read all those entries made during that trying time.

But here I am five years later, feeling much stronger and better because of having that surgery to replace my aortic valve with an artificial valve.  Going through a crisis of health was eye-opening for me in many ways. 

My original blog didn’t contain any pictures until the end of December, 2009, when I included a few pictures taken at an RV park that we stayed in at Yachats, Oregon.  After I discovered how much fun it was to add pictures to my blog, I began to include pictures whenever possible.

I used to blog much more often and included many various topics in my blog, including the two big no-nos, politics and religion.  The blog gradually turned into more of an RV blog after RVers started reading and commenting on my blog. 

My first blog post was written on April 17, 2009, and on that date in 2011, our first granddaughter, Sophie, was born.  So Sophie will celebrate her 3rd birthday on my blog’s 5th birthday!

Sophie, March 17, 2014

Anya, Tim, and Kiersten—March 17, 2014

Dave and Carol at Pismo Beach, CA--February, 2014

Back Home to the Rain

Sunny skies are temporarily a thing of the past.  After reluctantly leaving Pismo Coast Village RV Park on Wednesday morning, we stopped for the night at Kit Fox RV Park, a Passport America park in Patterson, CA.  On Thursday we had a short drive to Sacramento, where we stayed at our usual place, Cal Expo RV Park.  We enjoyed a dinner at Outback in Roseville with our sister-in-law, Pam, and two of her four daughters.  Both Patterson and Sacramento treated us to sunshine.

We passed through downtown Sacramento on our way back to I-5 North.

Friday morning we left Sacramento and headed to our destination of Yreka, way up near the northern border of California.  Yreka had sunshine waiting for us, but the overnight temperature was a cold 30 degrees.

Heading north.

Mount Shasta

We had only planned to go part of the way home on Saturday, but the weather was nice, and after stopping for gas at Seven Feathers in Canyonville, OR and eating an early lunch at the rest area there, we reached our intended destination of Rice Hill RV Park by 1 pm.  We decided to drive further, and as the good weather continued to hold throughout the afternoon, we pushed on to home, arriving in Vancouver, WA at 4:15.

Today, Sunday, was spent regrouping and unloading some things from our motorhome, doing laundry, getting groceries, etc.  Tomorrow Dave is having lunch with a couple of his football friends, and on Tuesday I am meeting up with a couple of my friends.  Also tomorrow we will have a chance to see our two granddaughters!

We had a marvelous winter trip down south and were gone for a total of 98 days.  Now it’s back to rainy weather, but no problem, the rain usually disappears by the 4th of July! 

Guess Who Came to Visit?

Merikay and Craig, that’s who!  They are anxiously awaiting the close of the house sale and then they will be hitting the road as full-time RVers.  They escaped Camp Driveway for a few days and visited us in Pismo Beach.  We hadn’t met them, but now we’re in-person friends as well as blog friends.  You can read about their present and future adventures by clicking here.

Their rig was parked near ours, so going back and forth was very convenient.

This couple are quite the hikers.  They put in a total of around twelve miles during the first two days they were here.  Dave and I didn’t join them for those hikes because a three mile hike is more than enough for us! 

Today was a more relaxing day.  This morning, Merikay and Craig joined me on Dave’s and my usual walk to town (Pismo Beach) and and the beach.  After a brief stop on the pier to watch the surfers, we were home again after 1.5 hours. 

Yup, this is the obligatory picture from the pier.

This afternoon, Merikay and I went for a short drive to Shell Beach, Avila Beach, and Port San Luis.  On the way home, we stopped at the Apple Farm Produce Stand.  It’s a fun place, but we both thought that the prices were high.  We also visited the Oceano produce stand, a not-so-fancy, but more reasonably priced produce.

After the drive, Merikay and I went for a swim.  The sun was still out and the (outdoor) pool was heated to a comfortable 84 degrees.   Since we kept our heads out of the water and did water aerobics instead of swimming laps, we didn’t have to stop talking while we were at the pool!

Merikay and Craig return to Camp Driveway tomorrow for a couple more weeks, then they will (hopefully!) be off on their new adventure.

The news from back home is that our daughter-in-law, Kiersten, was suddenly admitted to the hospital on Sunday, and on Monday (her birthday!), she had an unexpected operation to remove her gallbladder.  She’s home from the hospital now and doing well, but with two small girls (1 and almost 3), the no-lifting restriction has been stressful for her.  With the help of church friends and other friends, she and Tim are managing.  That unexpected incident was a scare for all of us, but especially Tim and Kiersten.

 

Anya’s 1st Birthday

We were able to celebrate our younger granddaughter, Anya’s, birthday vicariously through pictures. 

Her cake was decorated with chocolate sunflower seeds.  I think she enjoyed it!

Kiersten and Anya

We miss Anya and Sophie but we will see them in a few short weeks!

Catching Up

Our younger granddaughter, Anya, celebrated her 1st birthday on Saturday.  A week earlier, Sophie, her almost 3-year-old sister, had fun playing in the snow.  Anya didn’t look too sure about it.

Anya is on the inside looking out.

We missed all the excitement but we will catch up with them when we return home next month.

We had a quiet Valentine’s Day, but celebrated the day before with spectacular weather and a drive to nearby Port San Luis for lunch on the patio at Fat Cat’s Café.

Port San Luis is one of the few places near Pismo Beach where we can see boats in the water.

Thursday was also the day that Dave was finally able to rent a Segway.  We weren’t allowed to share the Segway, so I tried it first to see if I wanted to rent one, too.  I decided that I didn’t since I had trouble balancing on it.  That freed me to take pictures of Dave.

Getting instructions from Kenny at Wheel Fun Rentals in Pismo Beach.

Dave is a quick learner, so he was soon riding on the beach.  These rental Segways have big tires that are made for riding on the beach.

After taking a few pictures of Dave, I went for a walk on the beach.  The sun felt good and there was no wind, which is unusual at the beach.

The Pismo Creek lagoon next to Pismo Coast Village RV Resort was scenic and calm.

Dave enjoyed learning to ride the Segway and I enjoyed my walk on the beach.  After Dave returned the Segway, we headed for Port San Luis.

Another day we went for a 3.5 mile hike at nearby Johnson Ranch.  This hike was fun but a stretch for us and we were both tired with various body parts sore when we returned.  The trail is also used by mountain bikers and we were amazed when the bikers whizzed through the steep and rocky sections of the trail.  No, thanks!

Our park was very busy over the long weekend, and today we are watching many of them leave.  The park changes on weekends when all the families arrive, and quiets down again during the week—just the way we like it!

Meeting New Friends, Rain, and Oso Flaco Lake

Dave and I have been avidly watching the winter Olympics, and blog posting has taken a back seat.  To give me an excuse for vegetating in front of the TV set, I began crocheting an afghan.  We’ll see how much I get done between now and the end of the Olympic games.!

While our home area of Vancouver, WA, endured   snow and freezing rain last weekend, here in Pismo Beach, CA, we had rain on Super Bowl Sunday, and then again on Thursday and Saturday, and a bit of rain yesterday.  California is still in drought conditions, but hopefully this rainfall will help a bit to build the snowpack in the mountains.

Last Monday, we enjoyed a visit from new friends, Joe and Betty Graffis from Milwaukie, Oregon.  I’ve been reading Betty’s blog and when Betty mentioned that they would be traveling along the coastal route on their way to Desert Hot Springs, I suggested that maybe we could meet up with them.

Joe and Betty Graffis on a windy afternoon at the Pismo Beach Pier

Betty agreed, and we had a wonderful visit with both of them after they got into town.  They were just here for one night, but we had enough time to get to know each other a bit and to agree to future visits when we are all back home again. 

Enjoying a late lunch with Betty and Joe at Cool Cat Café in Pismo Beach

Betty and Joe are a very interesting couple.  He actively participates in horseshoe tournaments, plays pickleball, and when at home, enjoys using the computer to do flight simulation.  Betty is a whiz on the computer and the internet, including social media, and as she puts it, “likes electronic gadgets”. 

This fine couple found each other late in life.  They are almost still newlyweds and will celebrate their 10th anniversary in June.  

Betty meets up with an old friend at the Pismo Pier.

Joe took this picture of Dave and me during our walk with them at Pismo Pier.

A week or so before meeting Joe and Betty, Dave and I went for annual walk at Oso Flaco Lake in Guadalupe.  A boardwalk goes over the lake and usually we can see several types of birds.

As the walk progresses, the trail heads on to an overlook of the ocean.  I never get tired of seeing the dunes along the way.

As we retraced our steps back across the lake, this is what we saw:

There is no more rain in the ten-day forecast.  The high temperatures are predicted to be in the high-60s and low-70s, with lows in the mid-40s to low-50s.  Life is grand!

Sunset at Pismo Beach