Morro Bay 2011

7-15-11
We arrived at Morro Bay State Park at 10:30 AM and were greeted by the “Campground full” sign.
This is a very popular park.
The staff told us that there would be open sites at Morro Strand State Beach. We drove there and at the gate house I asked the lady in the booth whether they had a site for us. When she answered I understood: “You have to take two nights”. I told her I would take it. When I got out of the motorhome to pay, the lady told me $ 134.00. I ask her “That much for two nights?” Then I was informed that I needed two sites for the motorhome, because of the length.
We left and stopped in the neighborhood to call the State Park Reservation System and made reservations for Sunday and Monday.
We will be meeting our friends, Rhonda and Frank Muzzy, there.
Then we drove to San Luis Obispo to the Elks Lodge.
They have two swimming pools and I enjoyed the refreshing water.











The view from the motorhome is very relaxing.











7-16-11
Doreen does not feel too good.
Since we have not been for some time to the Madonna Inn, we thought it was an easy outing.
The visit to Madonna Inn is a must when coming to San Luis Obispo.












I think the men’s toilet at the Inn is the most visited in the US. Women stand outside and when no man is inside they take a look. The sinks are made of large shells.











The urinal is equipped with an electronic beam turned on waterfall. When a man steps forward the waterfall is running down the wall.











The whole place is colorful.























From the Madonna Inn we drove to San Luis Rey Pier. After some maneuvering we found a parking spot.
Doreen could not walk and I did not feel like going by myself, we gave the parking spot up and drove to Pismo beach to get some gasoline for the car.
This was a mistake. Today is Saturday and the town was full with cars and people. At the first chance we turned around and went back to San Luis Obispo and filled up the tank there.
We were able though to eat lunch at Marie Callendar.
The rest of the day was easy time. I went to the swimming pool, did my laps and had a shower.
Doreen of course is not a swimmer.

7-17-11
We arrived at Morro Bay State Park at 12:30 PM. Rhonda and Frank arrived a bit later.
After a little rest we visited with them and took a look at their motorhome.











From there we drove to the Morro Bay Embarcadero. We did some walking and checking out stores, and having dinner at a restaurant next to the water.



















7-18-11
Om my morning walk I went to the marina and the Museum of Natural History. The view from there was spectacular.
















We did some walking on the Embarcadero with Rhonda and Frank. The women visited a couple of stores.
After a while we stopped for some goodies. I had an ice cream cone and everybody else their favorite dessert.
In the evening we went with Rhonda and Frank to their friends campsite and enjoyed peach pie Rhonda had baked, and the camp fire.











While we were sitting there we heard, what sounded like a cannon shot. A branch from a large tree had broken off. Fortunately the branch fell into an empty area.
We are parked under large trees,and this gives us something to think about.











7-19-11
Today we moved to the Santa Barbara Elks Lodge. They had a site for us, but only for today. Tomorrow we have to move on.
We went to down town Santa Barbara for a short while. The weather is a lot better than on the coast.














7-20-11
When Doreen was not thrilled to go shopping in down town Santa Barbara I knew it was time to go home.
I had called the Elks Lodge in Oxnard and they had room for us, but I told Doreen we were heading for home.
I tried to go through Los Angeles at about 11:00 AM and it did not work. Traffic was heavy and we crawled sometimes at 15 to 20 MPH. It was no fun. Next time we get up early again and avoid this hassle.
When we finally got through this mess, we stopped at a shopping center in Los Alamitos, in our old neighborhood, and had lunch and took a rest. Sometimes we visit friends, but this time we just wanted to get home.
We arrived there about 3:00 PM and besides fixing the back up camera, the magnetic switch on the door step, and a couple of other things, a lot of garden work has to be done. I have to do a lot of trimming and weeding.

Back to Eureka 2011

7-8-11
Last night we said good by to Donna and Bob. By 9:30 PM we were in Bed. There was some noise outside and Doreen was questioning why anybody would cut the lawn at this hour. The noise got worse and what at the beginning sounded like a lawnmower was heavy equipment resurfacing the parking lot at Fred Meyer.
I fell asleep but Doreen was listening to the noise.
At 2:00 PM she had enough and I we decided to leave. By 2:30 AM we were on the road.
At 4:00 AM we were at a Rest Area and in bed. At 6:00 AM we got up, had breakfast and continued heading south on I-5.
Going up and down the mountains brought water from the grey water tank in the shower. The laundry in the basket, which was located in the shower, absorbed some of the water. Now we had bad smelling laundry and the whole motorhome was not smelling like roses.
Near Roseburg, Oregon I saw that the Pilot gas station charged $ 3.59 for a gallon of gas. I had the tank filled up, but they had no dump station. We stopped at Love,s, south of Roseburg, and were able to empty the tanks.
It will never happen again. Instead of adding Pinesol to the grey water and making the bad odor worse, I will take a bucket and transfer some of the grey water to the toilet. I always get smart after things happen.
From the next rest area I called our friends Emmi and Bert, who live in Grants Pass. They were home and we drove to their house. We always have a good time with them. We went to dinner with them to Applebees, and then did some grocery shopping.
Now I wonder how I get the motorhome back on the street. I cannot turn it around in their driveway, and the little street leading to their driveway is very narrow. I will get a chance to learn driving backwards tomorrow. It is quite a long distance to the next side street.

7-9-11
It took us some time to get the motorhome out of Emmi’s and Burt,s driveway. Burt removed part of a wooden walkway and it gave me enough room to turn the motorhome around.










We left at 7:00 AM and an hour later we stopped at a small restaurant, in Gasquet, California for breakfast.
We had planned to stop along the river and prepare our own food, but the setting was so beautiful, with the giant trees, the quaint restaurant and there was plenty of parking.
When we reached the coast we encountered a little fog. At the little Red School House we saw a herd of Elks taking a rest.












In Eureka we set up the motorhome, had a nap and then went to a Laundromat and did our laundry. Claudia and her family are gone camping. We went by the house and the tent trailer is gone.
After dinner we went to the mall and did some walking and I bought a book named “Windows 7 for Dummies” which fits in this case.

7-10-11
Today we did a 90 mile round trip through the “King Range National Conservation Area” and along “The Lost Coast”
We started in Ferndale and when we came to the first wooded area a mother deer and her spotted baby stood on the side of the road. This made Doreen’s day.
As soon as we came to the beach another deer and two babies came in sight.
The coastal drive was very beautiful.The hills were covered with flowers.











We stopped and ate our lunch while watching the waves hitting the large rocks which are located in the ocean.












On the way back we came to a grove of large redwood trees.











7-11-11
I should have called Claudia several days ago and told her that we were coming back to Eureka.
I called Scott’s mother and she did not know where Claudia and her family were camping. Doreen called Hanna, my ex wife, and she did not know either. We could have camped with the kids. I goofed on that one.
So we decided to leave today, since they will be coming back on Wednesday.
This was a driving day. We went south on highway 101. Sometimes the road follows small rivers. It is very scenic.












In Willits we stopped for gasoline for the motorhome. The price per gallon was $ 3.49, the cheapest price on this trip. When I said:”$ 170.00 on pump 7” everybody in the store stopped what they were doing.
We set up the motorhome at the Moose Lodge in Petaluma. This is the first time we are staying there. We usually park at the Elks Lodge. The Moose charge $ 15.00 per night, five dollars cheaper than the Elks.
After lunch and a nap we visited Pam, a friend of Doreen, who lives in Santa Rosa.
Doreen had not seen her for a long time and was happy we could arrange it on this trip.
We had a nice visit and Doreen caught up on a lot of news.

7-12-11
Today we drove the Petaluma, Tiburon, Sausalito, Stinson Beach, Bodega Bay, Petaluma loop.
Tiburon is a classy, rich looking town. On a clear day one can see the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco.
We saw the bridge, but the city was in fog.













Sausalito is a fun town too. They have a lot expensive stores.
On the way back we took highway 1 along the Pacific coast. This is a spectacular drive. The coastal hills are covered with flowers.












In Bodega Bay we saw three deer. They only looked at us and kept on feeding.











7-13-11
On my morning walk I took some pictures of vegetable gardens at homes, the city hall and the library.
People grow vegetables all over. Some gardens are mixed with flowers and vegetables.













Petaluma was not destroyed during the 1906 earth quake and there are a lot of mid 19th century homes in this city.













Today we went grocery shopping and in the afternoon we walked on Kentucky Street and Petaluma Boulevard, the main shopping areas. The weather is perfect, the temperature is in the seventies.
We almost left yesterday. Across the street from the Moose Lodge is a creamery and the fans from the cooling units make a steady noise, not very loud but irritating for Doreen.











7-14-11
We left Petaluma at 4:30 AM and were crossing the Golden Gate Bridge at 5:30 AM. There was traffic but not as much as it would have been later.
Doreen was sleeping well last night; she was a good trooper though and got up early.
We arrived at the San Lorenzo Regional Park, in King City, at about 9:00 AM.
After a second breakfast and some rest we took off for Pinnacles National Monument.
To see the pinnacles fully one has to take one of the many trails.
I walked the Bear Gulch Trail. It is only .7 miles long. It is a steep trail and I was puffing. The view from the top is spectacular, unfortunately the pictures do not do it any justice.











When we came back to the campground Doreen wanted to walk a little bit. The park also houses the Monterey County Agricultural and Rural Life Museum.
Outside are a lot of rusted machines and farm implement. Diana from the WINs would feel better than at her wedding night when she would see all that rusted stuff.She really gets excited about it.
We were surprised when we walked inside. There are some cars, and of course wagons and a lot of displays about farming in the valley. It shows the changes from raising sheep, to milk cows and now wine and vegetables.
The weather could not be better. It is about ten degrees F below normal, just fine for us.