We left Carlsbad at 5:00 AM and arrived at the Elks Lodge in Lompoc at about 10:00 AM.
From darkness we went to June Gloom. It also rained for a while when we cruised along the coast.
This is not typical Southern California weather.
In the afternoon the sun came out and it was beautiful.
At the lodge they had Sunday breakfast for $ 6.00. While I was paying for the camping site I checked out the menu. I got Doreen and we enjoyed a big breakfast..
Lompoc is called the Flower Capitol of the World. This was probably correct in the past, but now they grow more vegetables than flowers in Lompoc.
We went for a ride and saw some flower fields. The picture with Doreen is from 1996. At that time there were colorful flower fields for miles and miles.
From the flower fields we went to La Purisimo Mission State Historic Park.
Since we were here a few years ago a new visitor center was built. It has very interesting displays, and tells about the local Chumash Indians.
6-13-11
This morning we left Lompoc and traveled west on highway 1. This is a beautiful drive.
In Santa Maria we joined highway 101.
In San Miguel we visited the Mission San Miguel Arcangel. The pictures inside the church are original and survived earthquakes, fires and change of ownership.
The road was very rough and I had trouble with the 12 Volt double receptacle for the GPS and the wireless receiver for the Brake Buddy in the car.
We stopped in King City and I bought a new one. This was a $ 8.00 fix. The backup camera on the motorhome does not work now. This will take $ 200.00 to fix it.
We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Sunnyvale at 3:00 PM..
6-14-11
In the morning we picked up Vera and George, Doreen’s sister in law and brother in law. We went tp a restaurant and had breakfast with them.
Everybody is getting older and it is important to see each other whenever possible.
In the afternoon we drove to Stanford University, where I did a fast tour of the campus. Doreen sat in the car. She is not ready yet for walking a lot.
I read in the travel magazines that Stanford has one of the prettiest campuses. The magazines were right.
The buildings were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of New York City Central Park.
The Memorial Church is very beautiful. It has glittering mosaic walls like in Eastern Orthodox churches.
Unfortunately I could not get up the Hoover Tower. It was closed today.
6-15-11
We left Sunnyvale at 5:50 AM and arrived at the Vista Point, north of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, at about 7:00 AM.
We had our breakfast there. The city was still in fog, but the bridge was visible.
When we arrived at the Elks Lodge in Ukiah we took a quick nap, ate lunch and then took off by car to the Mendocino coast.
The drive from Ukiah to Boonville, and from there to Manchester was very slow. Highway 253 is a narrow road and winds around hills and mountains.
We visited the lighthouse at Point Arena.
We had discussed whether we should take along sweat shirts: we did and were happy. The wind was blowing at the point and it was cold.
That stretch of highway along the coast is very beautiful. Besides the ocean there are flowers along the road.
Mendocino is an artist town and very picturesque. One of those days we will bring the motorhome and stay for a few days.
From Fort Bragg we headed north on highway 20 to highway 101, and from there south to Ukiah.
I am still cleaning bees off the windshield of the motorhome. Sunday we drove into a swarm of bees. It sounded like a machine gun was going off. First I thought they were regular hard shell bugs. At 57 miles an hour bees make a loud noise when they hit the windshield. They also leave a mess.
6-16-11
So far the weather has been fine: today we will run into colder weather.
We left Ukiah at about 9:00 AM. There was a lot of road repairing going on, and it is needed.
When we came close to Eureka we had more clouds. The first thing we did, when we arrived there, we changed from shorts and T shirts to jeans and sweat shirts.
After lunch Claudia and the kids came by for a visit. Nicolette and Jacob had only a half day of school today. Claudia was picking them up from there.
After they left Doreen and I checked out other places to stay.
Here at the Elks Lodge they charge $ 20.00 per day. This includes full hookup plus cable television and WIFI.
The Moose Lodge charges $ 12.00. They have water and electricity at the site and a dump station.
Doreen does not like camping there, because of the large trees.
At the Fairgrounds the sites cost $ 20.00 with full hookup.
We decided to stay at the Elks Lodge.
6-17-11
In the morning we took Nicolette and Jacob to the Mall where I bought them a” Club Penguin Game Day” DVD for their WII.
In the afternoon we took them to the movie theater to see a film for children.
It was a sunny day. The kids wear shorts and think it is warm.
6-18-11
Doreen likes thrift shops, so we went to the big one in town. She bought two books and a cup, total cost: 96 cents.
From there we drove to Ferndale, the Victorian Town. There was a group with antique cars.
I found two pennies on the street and Doreen found a dollar bill. This covered her thrift shop expenses.
Today we learned what Cow Pie Bingo is.
A piece of lawn is fenced in and a grid is formed with lines made with a white powder. Three young cows are put in this area and do their business.
While the band is playing and a local group is selling bingo tickets and food and drinks.
On the way back to Eureka we stopped at the Cheese Factory in Loleta and bought some caraway cheese.
In the afternoon I took Nicolette and Jacob to the State Park where they rode the little train.
6-19-11
This was another fine day in Eureka. We are lucky with the weather.
The whole family went to the Square in Arcata. Doreen and Claudia went looking in the stores while Scott and I watched the children. They had fun climbing the trees and playing with the water fountain.
From the Square we went to the Chinese restaurant where we ate too much.
6-20-11
This was a relaxing day. We took it easy in the morning and after lunch went to Claudia. Doreen and Claudia went to the mall and I took the kids to the playground.
We had dinner with Claudia and her family.
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