On the way home

4-22-09
We left Petaluma at 5:30 AM and were on the Golden Gate Bridge at 6:15. Going through San Francisco at this time was no problem.
At 12:30 PM we arrived in San Luis Obispo. After lunch we drove over to Pismo Beach.
There we were surprised by fog and chilly air. After walking a few minutes around town we went back to sunny San Luis Obispo. 18 Miles made the difference.

4-23-09
We arrived in Santa Barbara at about 11:00 AM and an hour later we were on our way to Los Olivos.
Highway 154 goes over the Ynez Mountains.
In Santa Barbara it was cloudy and the temperatures were low. When we came across the mountains there was blue sky and we had to remove our sweat shirts.
We stopped at Lake Cachuma and inspected the camp ground. They have nice facilities.












Our next stop was in Los Olivos, a beautiful town with Victorian homes and a lot of little stores for tourists.
It is Doreen’s kind of place.











On our way home we drove through Santa Ynez and Solvang. We did not stop at either place because we have been there many times.

4-24-09
We left Santa Barbara at 9:00 AM and it was still foggy and misty. When we arrived at the Moose Lodge in Ventura we noticed that they do not have camping facilities anymore. The camping sites are used for storing trailers and motorhomes.
The lodge administrator told me that the city shut them down. Campground owners in the area are usually putting pressure on city officials.
He let us stay though. I found an electric outlet box on a wall. This helps, the solar panels do not get much sun right now.
After setting up the motorhome we drove to Santa Paula. We went to Old Town and were really surprised. Almost all stores have Mexican names and there was very little writing in English on the signs. It looked like a Mexican town, even though Santa Paula is not near the border.
The lady in the Mexican bakery did not speak English. But the bakery goods were tasty.
On our way home we stopped at the Harbor Village in Ventura. It is similar to Seaport Village in San Diego. There are a lot of restaurants and small shops.













4-25-09
Today we checked out the camping facilities at the Elks and Moose Lodges in Oxnard. The Elks still have places for RVs, the Moose Lodge does not.
Our next stop was the Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard. It was kind of disappointing. A lot of the stores and restaurants are closed.
So we went to the harbor in Ventura and had lunch, at a restaurant, on the boardwalk.












Today we had blue skies and sun.
We also stopped at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center and picked up information about Oxnard and Ventura and the islands. When we got back to the motorhome I studied the brochures and found out what we missed while being here.
Next time, when we come through this area,I am certainly better prepared.

3-26-09
Now we are at the Elks Lodge in Garden Grove. We arrived here at 9:00 AM.
When we came by the Long Beach airport old memories popped up. The buildings were I worked are gone.
Frank Muzzy is still working in one of the buildings which survived the shut down.
Since it is Sunday and we were early, going through Los Angeles was easy.
The weather is back to normal for Southern California, blue sky and in the low seventies.
We drove to Los Alamitos and visited Elisabeth, our landlady when we lived here. It is always nice to see her. We loved the neighborhood and had a good time.
After our visit with Elisabeth we went down to Seal Beach and followed the Pacific Coast Highway to Huntington Beach. We used to ride our bicycles on the trail along the ocean.