Richard's Travels

Quartzsite 2012

2012-01-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

1-13-12
We are on our way to Quartzsite.
Before we get there we will make two three day stops.
Today we arrived at the K.Q. Ranch Resort near Julian. We are here to check out the facilities.

The invitation mentioned $ 200.00 worth of Gasoline and a small computer for listening to their sales pitch. We will see.
The resort has a big swimming pool which has a large bubble over it . The water temperature is 86 degrees F. There are also tennis courts and a store. The club house has a big fire place.
Julian is at an elevation of 4,500 feet and it is a lot cooler than in Carlsbad. We are wearing our winter jackets.

1-14-12
Yesterday evening our neighbor called and informed me that there is mail for me at the Carlsbad Post Office and only I can sign for it. The letter is from the Internal Revenue Service and has to picked up within two weeks. After two weeks it goes back to the IRS.
It took me a year to get that letter, at least I hope it is the final communication I have with them, other than filing my yearly taxes.
We sent five letters back and forth. The IRS informed me every time that I would hear from them again in 60 days, and they were not kidding.
In 2009 I converted my IRA into a Roth IRA because the stock market was so far down. Besides tax deferred money I also had $ 24,000, of which I had already paid taxes on, in the account and thought I would not have to pay taxes again on that money.
The IRS sent me a letter last January asking for $ 6,500 more taxes. I should have paid that amount right away and then started explaining my situation. 60 days later the amount had grown to $ 8,500 with interest and penalty.
Then I paid up and tried to explain again. I went to the San Diego IRS office, but they could not figure out my problem. They tried to call the Utah office, the people I was trying to reach too by phone.
After five letters a registered letter arrives. I hope there is a check in it. I did the 2009 taxes again with their suggestions and I should get a few dollars back of the $ 8,500.

Today, in the morning, we went to the sales office for the 90 minute sales talk. It was very interesting and their parks are very beautiful but I would not spend that much money for a membership. Besides our RVing is different; I like to go boondocking with the WINs and our other camping clubs.
According to the scratch out card I won a computer, $ 200.00 worth of gasoline and $1,000 free camping at their parks.
The computer is a 7 inch notebook, which has no power at all, and is very slow. It is a toy for kids.
The gasoline rebate is with Shell. I can purchase gasoline for $ 50.00 a month and after four months send the receipts in and get the money back. I will see how that works. The purchases have to be 30 days apart and only $ 50.00 can be on the receipt.
The $ 1,000 worth of free camping is even more complicated.

The post office closed today at 12:30 PM and is closed on Monday because of the holiday. It would have been nice to go back to Carlsbad from here. Tuesday we will be in Agua Caliente County Park near Borrego Springs and a bit further.

In the afternoon we drove to Julian. It is still cool but not windy anymore. Doreen got her shopping fix while I watched the goings on, on Main Street.
One can ride in a regular buggy and one pulled by a pony. One guy had a llama and for money one could pet it. Because of the long weekend there were many people in town.

On the way home we stopped at the highway and looked down on Pinecrest, the former Convair campground. It is a membership RV Park now.
Because of the fire, which came through here several years ago, all the trailers and motorhomes can be seen. All the beautiful big trees are gone.

At 5:30 PM we went to the Clubhouse for steak and chicken dinners. The steaks and chicken were cooked outside on the BBQ.

My steak was cooked to perfection. I was happy with the whole dinner. The rest of the meal was baked potato, salad, a drink and dessert, all for $ 8.00.
We sat with our neighbors at the camping area, a man and three women. I told him that he is lucky to have three women. They were his wife, his wife’s mother, and his wife’s aunt.
During the day they went wine tasting and were in a good mood. We had a lot of fun sitting with them.

1-15-12
It rained last night. At 10:00 AM, when we went sightseeing, the sun came out.
We drove down the hill to Santa Ysabel, to Dudley’s bakery, and bought two bear claws. We ate them right there.
Dudley’s was again selected by the readers of the San Diego Union Tribune as the best bakery in the county.

Our next stop was at Wynola, a ten house town. We toured the large antiques shop.
From there we visited Julian one more time.
There the gunfighters were getting ready for a fight.

On the way home we stopped at Lake Cujamaca. The water level is very low. We need more snow and rain.

When we arrived back at the motorhome it started to rain again. Only one cloud had come to the mountain and is getting ready to go to the desert.

1-16-12
When we left the K.Q. Ranch Rresort this morning there was a light rain and fog. After disconnecting the water and electric I followed Doreen to the store to get some propane. Doreen was driving the car.
I followed Doreen and she took the wrong turn into a no outlet little street. I noticed noise on the roof.
I had gone under a low branch of a tree.
Doreen stopped the car and helped me back out the motorhome. When we finally arrived at the propane pump I noticed I had forgotten to take the TV antenna down. We were lucky that we did not lose it when making contact with the tree branch.
Normally I take the TV antenna down before I do the outside work, because of the rain the procedure had changed.
The fog cleared when we came down to 3,000 feet.
When we arrived at 11:30 AM at Agua Caliente County Park we had blue sky and we could take off the sweat shirts. By 2:00 PM all the members of the Convair Camping Club had arrived and at 4:15 PM we had Happy Hour with heavy hors d’oeuvres.
I had gone to the pool and enjoyed the hot water.
As soon as the sun disappeared the temperature changed and it cooled off. We stayed at the camp fire until 6:00 PM.

1-17-12
We left Agua Caliente County Park at 5:00 AM. It took us only a bit more than two hours, by car, to get home.
First we turned off the light in the house we had forgotten to turn off and then we loaded the car with stuff we missed to take along.
Then we went to the post office to get my letter from the Internal Revenue. The letter was a disappointment. My problem is still not solved.
We also went to Walmart and did some shopping. Lunch we had at IN and Out Burger, Doreen’s favorite burger place.
We were back at the motorhome at 2:00 PM.
I went again to the pool.
At 4:00 PM we had Happy Hour and at 5:00 PM we had dinner. Tonight we used the little building. It gets too cold in the evening to sit outside.
Frank and Rhonda are now members of the club.

1-18-12
We took Rhonda and Frank to Borrego Springs to see the statues.
There are now 129 of them. Half way through the tour we ate our lunch at the Christmas Circle. A truck came by with a new statue on it. It was a large grasshopper. The women at the Chamber of Commerce told us that it will be part of a grasshopper/scorpion statue. The scorpion will eat the grasshopper.

It was another beautiful, sunny day. In the morning I walked through the park and met George, a friend from the Shanty Shakers, one of our other camping clubs.
He and his wife are here too.

In the evening it was a bit warmer than in the last two days. We sat around the camp fire for a few hours and then went to the little building and ate dinner.
I was going to fill the fresh water tank before we go to Quartzsite. Unfortunately the inlet valve fell apart and no water will enter the motorhome. As soon as we get to Quartzsite I will have to buy a new one and replace the old one. Quartzsite is the right place for that.

1-19-12
We have arrived in Quartzsite.
During the day the weather is perfect. It should be warmer tonight than in the last few days.
We are parked with Rhonda and Frank and their friends. I did not want them to be near the WINs since they have no solar panels and run their generators. Most WINs use their generators sparingly.
Doreen and I probably move Sunday to the area where the WINs are.
First we will show our little group where the parking is for the big tent and some of the shopping areas.

1-20-12
Quartzsite has the biggest flea market in the country. Today we did a small part of it.
Rhonda, Frank, and their friends headed for the area where beads are sold and we covered the general area.
While walking the rows we met some of our Shanty Shaker Camping Club friends and some from the Convair Camping Club.

Then we stopped at The Gambler where they sell parts for RVs. I bought two city water fill check valve assemblies, one with a male and one with a female connector.
When we got back to the motorhome I found out that both were wrong. I needed a male connector, but with a flat flange. Herb’s Hardware had what I needed.
Later, Frank, Howard and I went looking for a special hinge for the restroom door of Frank’s motorhome.
The stores we went to did not have it, but I returned the two water inlet assemblies.
On the way home I filled up two five gallon containers with water at the PIT Stop.
Back at the motorhome Frank and I tried out my new portable 12 volt water pump. Since my motorhome does not have a gravity fill for city water I have to use a pump when we are camping without hook ups.
After a little bit experimenting we were able to pump the water from the containers into the fresh water tank. This also proofed that the new city water fill assembly is working.
Late afternoon we had a small Happy Hour.

1-21-12
Doreen and I went shopping at the Main Event. It was not very exciting. The big tent was open today, but we do not go on the opening day. There are too many people. We will go there on Monday.

In the evening Melanie and Howard invited us to their motorhome for a taco dinner. It was a fun evening, good food and good company.

The wind picked up and one of the solar panels came down with a loud noise. It was scary. I hope the glass did not break. It was too dark and windy to check it out. I thought the two gas filled cylinders would be strong enough to keep the panels up.
I was wrong again.

1-22-12
Today we drove 100 miles for a good breakfast. We went to Yuma to visit Lola and Bruce. They are staying in Winterhaven.
The breakfast we had at the Cracker Barrel restaurant.

We also wanted to visit Vicki Daly and her father, but they had gone to a casino. Unfortunately we had no telephone number to reach them there.

1-23-12
Doreen and I left the motorhome early in the morning and were able to get a very good parking spot near the entrance of the big tent.
For the first 45 minutes it was easy moving around in the tent, then the masses arrived.
I am looking for a kit to change the 18 inch fluorescence ceiling light to a LED light. The vendor who has the tubes I like was out of them. They will have them tomorrow.
On the way home we stopped at the library. There were so many people on the library computers and their own that the system was very slow. I sent only text, no pictures.

When we got back to the motorhome we packed up and moved to the area where the WINs are staying. Sharon, the WIN president and Dick had just arrived too.
It was cloudy today and it rained for a few minutes.

At the 4:00 PM Circle Meeting we had a Life Celebration of the WINs who died last year.
We were lucky and it did not rain. There were dark clouds in the sky.

Pete Bonine was one of the most loved members. He helped everybody.
When Randy asked the group to raise their hands if Pete helped them throughout the years, almost everybody had their hand up.

1-24-12
It rained part of the night. When I woke up we had blue skies again.
I left early for the big tent and bought the parts for the conversion of the ceiling light in the motorhome.
Unfortunately I have no electric drill and can not remove the ballast and other parts from the light fixture; these parts are held by rivets. I have to wait until I get home.
At 2:30 PM we went, with our friends, to the Grubstake Restaurant. They serve the best fish and chips.
In the evening I went for an hour to the camp fire. Randy the poet was there and it is always fun with him around.

1-25-12
Now both of us are hobbling around. Doreen is still in pain from her fall out of the motorhome and uses a cane to get around.
This morning, while putting on my blue jeans, and standing on my left leg, I twisted something in my left leg and it really hurts. From now on I have to sit down while getting my legs in the trouser legs. It sucks to get old.
To get around I have to use Doreen’s walking stick.
After Hugs and Mugs we went into town and looked for a 30 amp female plug. At home I had looked at Home Depot and hardware stores. Nobody carries them. At The Gambler RV and junk store they claim they have some in their receiving department and will stock them soon.
I bought three more cheap T shirts and some small items for the motorhome. Doreen is very good so far and holding on to her money. Last year I spent over $ 600.00 on batteries here in Quartzsite.
Frank, Rhonda, Melanie and Howard left today for a RV Park in Parker.

In the afternoon some of the group had open house. We visited nine motorhomes and checked the improvements the owners had made.
After the 4:00 PM circle meeting I borrowed an electric drill from Ron and removed the ballast from the ceiling light fixture. I installed the LED strips and the controller. I do not have the correct connectors for attaching the wires to the switch. I will get those tomorrow. I hooked up the light without the switch and the light works.

1-26-12
We have summer weather.
At 12:00 noon we met Larry and Darlene, friends from St. Louis, at Silly Al’s restaurant.
It is always nice to get together with old friends.
Early afternoon we had an Ice Cream Social. All the members of the singles clubs in the area were invited.

At the 4:00 PM circle meeting Nelda served her home baked cookies. We had plenty of sugar today.
Doreen opened her wallet today and bought a fancy shirt.
I felt better today. There is still some pain in my left leg, but I got around.
This was a truly fantastic day.

1-27-12
Doreen and I went one more time to the big tent. It was easy to get around since most people covered the area already several times, and are doing other things.

In the afternoon we took it easy. The weather was not that great today. It was cloudy all day and late afternoon the wind picked up.
We had a great sunset though.

The outing is a success. There are over 100 motorhomes and trailers at this rally.
Which is a small number compared to the 55,000 rigs which are parked around the little town of Quartzsite.

1-28-12
After doing my E mail at McDonalds we went again to the Main Event flea market. This used to be the largest flea market in town. Now it is only a few booths. People go to the other areas now where they have new stuff.

Some members of the group went to the Desert Bar. Doreen did not feel well and we stayed home and rested.

1-29-12
Doreen wanted to go home.
So we took off real early in the morning. We will miss todays pizza party, with ice cream and Nelda’s cookies.
We also will miss the Kerry Christensen concert on the 31st at the Q, the large hall in Quartzsite.
On the way home we saw the stage coach, a metal sculpture, made by the same artist who makes the sculptures in Borrego Spring.
The sculpture and two Indian sculptures are located at the entrance of Vail Lake RV Resort. We were the only people there. I started the generator and heated up our lunch. It was a nice setting.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park 2012

2012-01-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

1-3-12
We started the new year with a visit to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, California.
Doreen loves cats and this wild cat can jump up to eight feet to catch birds in flight.

We spent three and a half hour walking and riding the trolley. The temperature was about 80 degrees F.
It was a bit warm for wearing jeans. I should have worn shorts.
In Carlsbad it was not that warm. 26 miles make a lot of difference when you live on the Southern California coast.

The baby gorilla tied to imitate the big old guy. It was very funny.

New Years Party 2011 at the Camino Hills Clubhouse

2012-01-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

1-1-12
We are starting a new year. I hope it will be a little bit better than last year.
We celebrated last night at the club house.
There was a nice group of senior citizen dancing into the New Year.
We had fun getting together with our neighbors and people we know from the Encinitas Elks Lodge.

Convair Tooling Group Christmas Luncheon 2011

2011-12-29T07:36:00.000-08:00

12-29-11
Yesterday we went to the Hometown Buffet in Santee for the Convair Tooling Christmas luncheon.
The turnout was not as good as in the past years.
A lot of people were out of town for visiting relatives. We had a good time though.

Eureka Christmas 2011

2011-12-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

12-19-11
We left Carlsbad at 5:00 AM and arrived in Sunnyvale at 12:30 PM.
The drive through Los Angeles was not too bad. We encountered two spots where we could have walked faster. One of the slow areas was because of an accident.
We are going to Eureka by car this Christmas.
After moving our luggage from the car to the motel we took a nap.
Then we went to Los Altos to pick up Doreen’s sister in law and brother in law and we went to a restaurant for dinner.
George and Vera are in their nineties now and do not drive anymore. It is always nice to see them.

12-20-11
Actually we tried to sleep a little longer today, but we were awake at 4:30 AM and decided to take off.
We stopped in Petaluma and had breakfast in a family restaurant.
They had just opened their doors and it was very cold inside. Doreen tried to warm up with several cups of coffee.
From the restaurant we drove to Guerneville, a small town near Santa Rosa, and visited Betty, a former neighbor at Camino Hills.
She lives now with her daughter. Her daughter has two houses on the same lot and Betty lives in one of them with a live in caregiver.
Betty was very happy to see us.
After a short visit we headed back to highway 101 and arrived in Eureka at about 3:00PM.
So far the weather has been very good, no rain in sight, which is unusual up here.

12-21-11
When I got up I had to scrape the ice off the windshield of the car. I had not done this for a long time.
In the morning we did some babysitting. We took care of Nicolette and Jacob and had fun doing it. We also did some shopping.
In the evening we had dinner with Claudia and her family.

12-22-11
We spent again some time with Nicolette and Jacob, while Claudia and Scott went shopping.
At 11:15 AM we took the kids to the movie theatre and saw Alvin and the chipmunks; not my kind of movie but it was fun for children.
In the evening Doreen and I walked in the inside mall. We had a lot of company.

12-23-11
After some grocery shopping and going to the bank we went to Claudia. While the kids played in the neighborhood Doreen and Claudia went to Costco. I watched TV and did some computer work.
In the afternoon we went to Arcata to the Chinese Buffet. The kids love to pick their own food.
There was no ice on the car this morning. It has warmed up a bit. During the day we wear only sweat shirts, no jackets. The weather could not be better for this time of the year.
Scott is looking at jobs, but the people do not want him to start before Christmas. By then it will be raining.

12-24-11
Scott told us a story about their cat and how the kids got angry at him. They have several big pine trees on their property.
A squirrel lived in one of the trees. Every time the cat came near the tree the squirrel would throw pine cones at it.
It was very funny and one day Scott wanted to show a visitor this little show. He let the cat out and the cat ran to the tree and went up several feet and caught the squirrel and killed it while Nicolette and Jacob were watching. They got angry at the cat and Scott.
Doreen and I went to Ferndale, the Victorian town, today. Doreen likes to go through the shops and I walk around the neighborhood.

12-25-11
The weather changed. This was a wet Christmas day. Since we stayed indoors most of the day it did not matter.
We had a very good meal at Claudia’s and Scott’s house. All the grandparents were there.
The kids received a lot of presents including the iPad they wanted.

12-26-11
We are on our way home. Up to the San Francisco area we encountered fog. It did not rain though.
From highway 101 we took I-580 east to Interstate 5. The first few hours the traffic was very slow.
We had forgotten that today was a holiday for a lot of people because Christmas fell on a Sunday.
Instead of going 70 MPH, the speed limit, we crawled along at 30 MPH at some places.
When we reached Coalinga we had enough and went to a motel.
At Denny’s we had dinner. I got my Christmas turkey dinner and Doreen had a chicken salad.

12-27-11
We left Coalinga at 5:30 AM and made good time. Even through Los Angeles it was not too bad. Of course using the commuter lanes helped.
This was a wonderful Christmas, celebrating it with family and having good weather.
It rained only one day.
Tomorrow we have our last Christmas luncheon.

Dave and Cathy's Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-18T20:15:00.000-08:00

12-18-11
Another party with more food.
Dave and Cathy, who organize the breakfast at the clubhouse, invited the cooks and helpers and their spouses for dinner.
There was a lot of good food and everybody enjoyed it.

Convair Engineering Liaison Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-15T20:58:00.000-08:00

12-15-11
Doreen’s Ladies group had their Christmas Luncheon at the Cheese Cake Factory, at the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego.
I went with her and while she enjoyed lunch with her group I wandered around the shopping center and had lunch at a Japanese fast food restaurant.
When Doreen was done with her luncheon we drove to Old Town State Park for the Annual Convair Liaison Engineering Christmas Party.
Since we were early we played tourists and did some sightseeing.

At 3:30 PM we went to the Rockin Baja Lobster restaurant where the group gathered in the bar.
It was a good turnout and I had fun talking to some of my old work mates.

Convair Alumni Christmas Dinner Dance 2011

2011-12-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

12-13-11
We have rain in Southern California. Yesterday one inch came down. Today it rained only a little bit.
Today we went to the Convair Alumni Dinner Dance at the Bahia Resort on Mission Bay.
I wore one of my suits for the occasion. After getting dressed I was standing around waiting for Doreen to get ready.
I moved the car out of the garage and Doreen got in the car. The first thing she said: “You look awful”.
The trousers I wore did not match the jacket. I thought that was easy to fix and went back to the house to find the correct jacket for the pants. There was no fitting jacket. The trousers did not belong to a suit.
I had to take the shoes and pants off and put on the correct trousers. Then I had to find a narrow belt. The normal, wide belt did not go through the loops.
Doreen was waiting in the car all that time. I did not say much. It is not easy to admit stupidity.
We had a good time though at the dinner dance. We danced twice. Doreen has to be careful with her back. Chappy and Dotty had arranged for the tickets and were sitting on the same table. Helen, one of our table companion is 89 years old and is thinking about quitting down hill skiing.
She says she has a balance problem.
The food was very good, so was the dessert.
I forgot my regular camera and had to use the camera I keep under the driver seat in the car. The flash on that camera is weak and the pictures I took are not that good. It was one of those days.

Christmas at the Clubhouse 2011

2011-12-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

12-10-11
Today we had breakfast at the clubhouse. The men are the cooks. I cooked the pancakes, french toast and potatoes.
We cook eggs any style our customers prefer. There is also fruit,bacon, sausages and coffee. Today we also had cake and eggnog.
Cathy decorated the tables beautifully.
A lot of people showed up.

Shanty Shakers Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

12-6-11
There is no way that I can lose weight.
Today we went to the Shanty Shakers Camping Club Christmas celebration.
Seventy people showed up. Judy and Garth had a house and garden full of people.
Everybody had signed up for a dish with food.
Doreen and I made a shepherds pie. There was plenty of food.
The gathering started with hors d’oeuvres. There were shrimp, meatballs and a lot of other items.
It was almost a complete meal.

After the regular meal we had entertainment. Four ladies sang beautiful songs.
This was a wonderful afternoon. Thank you very much Judy and Garth.

Balboa Park December 2011

2011-12-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

12-3-11
Today we went to Balboa Park to the I Max theatre to see a movie.
We were early and before we got to the theatre we decided to go down town and see where the Balboa Theatre is located and where we will be parking tomorrow. We will attend tomorrow the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus Christmas Special, which is always a fantastic show.
It was very easy to locate the theatre and we headed for Balboa Park again.
The access over the bridge was closed and we had to go back to highway 163. All the parking lots around the museums were reserved for the special event, which was “December Nights”. Even the parking along the streets was reserved.
We finally found parking at the zoo. It was a long way to walk and Doreen has now only one speed, slow.
We made it though, with five minutes to spare. The movie was a children movie and lousy. I expected that, but had to use the voucher this month. A good new movie will be available by the end of December but we will not be in town.
When we left the theatre we overheard one kid, he said: “This is the best movie I ever saw”. We may be wrong.
After the movie we went to December Nights. Along the Prado and around the fountain are booths. Vendors sell food and a lot of other items.

There was one place where children and adults were dancing.

At the Spreckels Organ bands were playing and people were singing.

There were not only humans, a lot of dogs enjoyed the festivities too.

Near the zoo, the little train reminds me of the train we had at the Convair Missile Park.

WIN Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

11-21-11
We left Carlsbad at 9:00 AM and arrived at Peg Leg Smith’s Monument, near Borrego Springs, at 12:45 PM.
In Santa Ysabel we stopped at Dudley’s Bakery and bought some bread and some goodies.
In Borrego Springs we stopped at Gary Magee’s house and filled up the fresh water tank.
There were already a lot of WIN’s at Peg Leg Smith when we arrived.
We attended the 3:30 PM Circle Meeting and checked out the schedule for the next few days.
It was warm today in the desert, but it cools off as soon as the sun disappears.
Since we can not get any TV reception with the antenna we listened to Garrison Keilor CD’s in the evening. It is always fun to hear the new from Lake Wobegan.

11-22-11
After Hugs and Mugs Doreen and I went to buy a bag of grapefruit and look at the new statues.
I think the jeep is new.

The Loch Ness Monster is the largest statue so far. It is probably 300 feet long and starts on one side of the highway and continues on the other side.

Our next stop was at the library where I did my computer work. From there we went to the State Park Campground where I had to get some information.
On the way home we stopped at Ron Carlson’s house. He was not home. I called him and he was at the ranch. We drove there and stayed with him for a while. He made some changes.
The motorhome is now at a different place and he has now an outdoor wood fired heater and installed a television set in one of the sheds.
He is making a little paradise out of the ten acres he owns out there.

11-23-11
On my morning walk I took a picture of the Peg Leg Smith marker and some from the hill near the motorhomes.

After breakfast we went to the Christmas Circle where they had a farmers market.

The library was not open yet, but I was able to get my E mail from the outside of the building.
From there we visited the State Park Visitor Center and saw two short movies.
In the evening we drove to Ocotillo Wells for star gazing. Since the moon was only a small sliver it was a perfect night to look at the stars through a good sized telescope.
The female ranger also explained how the stars were created and showed slides. There was no cost and we were told to bring thermos cups for free coffee and hot chocolate.
We had brought also jackets which we did not use since it was not cold. This was a pleasant evening.

11-24-11
This morning I prepared a large bowl of broccoli salad for the turkey dinner.
After hugs and mugs we set up our own tables.

We are now about 55 WINs, which means about 52 motorhomes and trailers.
Linda Scott came in yesterday. It was not a good day for her. When she made the turn from San Diego County Road 22 to Henderson Canyon Road, she heard a person blowing his car horn. She looked and saw her car going to the side of the road. She was dragging the bumper from the Scion behind the motorhome.
She was lucky it happened only a few hundred feet from Peg Leg Smith.

At 1:00 PM we had our turkey dinner. We were worried that it would be too hot sitting in the sun. But the temperature was perfect.
The food was delicious and everybody had a good time.

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When we were finished eating, the wind came up . The sun shades had to be removed in a hurry.
Back at the motorhome I lowered the solar panels and brought the flags down.
Dark clouds are hanging on top of the mountains. I hope they stay there.
Some of my favorite people are not here. There are a lot of new members of the WINs at this outing.

11-25-11
In the morning we went to town where I had an ice cream and Doreen an orange juice and some sweets.
From there we drove to the area where there are some new sculptures.
At 1:00 PM we had turkey leftovers.
Today we had perfect weather, no wind and it was just a pleasant lazy day.
In the evening I deleted the pictures I took today. It was a stupid mistake.

11-26-11
Today I went all the way up the hill. The view was fantastic.

After hugs and mugs we went again to the new area and took the pictures I deleted last night.

11-27-11
The group is heading east and we are going west. We have several Christmas parties to attend.
In January we will meet them again in Quartzsite.

Convair Camping Club Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-14T16:54:00.000-08:00

11-14-11
We are at the Chula Vista Marina and RV Resort for the next three days.
After Happy Hour the group went to The Galley for dinner. Doreen and I stayed at the motorhome.

11-15-11
On my morning walk I went to the little pier at the marina. I was able to see the Coronado Bridge, through the haze, in the distance.

After breakfast we went into town, to Walmart. Doreen had to make some purchases.
When we came back I went to the swimming pool and did some laps and took a shower.
At 3:00 PM everybody brought their stuff for the auction. George had made some cute toilet paper holders.

At 4:00 PM the women started preparing for the turkey dinner.

At 4:30 PM we started lining up for some delicious food.

There was plenty to eat.

After dinner Howard auctioned off all but two items. He was very successful. Doreen’s lamp went for $ 30.00 and her ironing board for $ 6.00. The money goes in the club fund.
There were a lot of laughs and we had fun.

11-16-11
On my morning walk I saw this lady feeding the birds.

At the RV Park is this motorhome with a veranda. The rig has two large sliding doors, just like in a regular house.

We went with the group to The Gally for breakfast. They serve good food.

For dinner we had leftovers. There was plenty of turkey meat left.
We had our monthly meeting after dinner and then Bill showed pictures of their trip to Costa Rica.
After a while people played cards and we went back to the motorhome.

11-17-11
This was a wonderful outing. We had 13 rigs. I was able to swim everyday.

Bergie's Celebration of Life (2011)

2011-11-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

11-13-11
We celebrated today Bergie’s life. He died a few days ago.
The Bay Club Marina and Hotel on Shelter Island were the perfect setting.
Bergie Bergen was not only a very good engineer: he was also a good person.
The group of friends from Convair gets smaller every year.

San Diego water front.

Pacific Portal.

Museums, Museums 2011

2011-11-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

11-1-11
We left Carlsbad at 7:45 AM and arrived at Santa Ana at 9:15 AM.
After a little snack we went to the Bowers Museum.
We took the audio tour of “Warriors, Tombs, and Temples”, an exhibit of the Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties of China.
The museum has on display Terra Cotta Warriors, Intricate miniature armies and sacred relics.
The exhibit is on until March 4, 2012.

There was one live Terra Cotta Warrior.It was kind of scary when he moved.

Our next stop was at the California Indian displays.

From there we went to the New Guinea gallery where they have many religious and for daily use objects on display.

Late afternoon we drove to Los Alamitos, our old neighborhood. We visited Elisabeth, a friend and she was our landlady.

11-2-11
Today we set up camp at the Elks Lodge in Tujunga. When we came to the parking lot at the lodge I figured that all the wood I have, plus the stroke of the hydraulic jacks on the motorhome would not be enough to level the rig.
The whole town is located on a hill and there are only a few level spots, but not at this parking lot.
The Good Sam camping guide mentioned a forest camp ground nine miles out of town.
We went by car to check it out. Unfortunately we could not find the place.
On the way home we checked out a mobile home park. They had no room for RV’s.
So we went back to the motorhome and I took another look, and parked the motorhome at the bottom of the parking lot, and was able to level it.

There is one unique house in the neighborhood. The roof of the house is wavy and has several colors. This must be an expensive roof. The balcony is built like a bridge.

In the evening I scanned the TV for stations in the area. I found thirty stations, when I clicked on them I found only one English speaking station. The rest were Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Spanish.
NBC came through loud and clear.
I started to read a new book. “ Champlain’s Dream” is very interesting reading. It tells the story of the French explorers life starting French settlements in North America.

11-3-11
It was a perfect day for visiting The Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Garden.
Some of the vegetation in the gardens was in bloom.

Part of the art gallery is the Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough, and Pinkie by Sir Thomas Lawrence.

The Huntington’s collected a lot of European art.
I like to go there about every ten years.

The Chinese Garden is new and very beautiful.

On the way home we stopped at El Molino Viejo, the old mill. It was built to grind the wheat for the mission. The water wheel is gone, but there are displays of how it looked like.

Back at the motorhome I cooked dinner while Doreen took a shower. When she was done and I was ready to serve the food the motorhome was shaking. It felt like an earth quake, but the motorhome fell off the hydraulic Jacks. I had the brake on. I think the back was too high off the ground.
The jacks were on an angle, fortunately I was able to raise them.
To avoid this to happen again I used also the wooden step blocks.
This was a lucky day for us. First, I did not get burnt when the motorhome went down. I had three pots on the stove. They went up and then settled again on the burners. The lids stayed on too.
Only the bowl with fruit fell of the table.
We also were lucky when we got to the guard house at the Huntington. Two gentlemen asked us whether we had tickets. We said no. They explained to us that this was free Thursday, but you need a ticket, and the tickets are available on line. One has to order them one month in advance.
Tickets for free Thursday can not be bought at the museum.
When asked where we came from we told them from Carlsbad. I do not know whether they thought from Carlsbad, New Mexico, but the one attendant said:”Oh, you come a long way” and handed us two tickets.
Later, when I stood at the entrance station, I noticed some people were turned away because they had no tickets.

11-4-11
It rained all night. In the morning, when I woke up, it stopped.
When we arrived at Descanso Gardens it was cloudy and it had cooled off. It was not the best time of the year for visiting the gardens, April and October are best.
The roses are almost bloomless. Some of the one thousand camellias are still in bloom. It was pleasant though to walk through the area.

Doreen wanted to eat an In and Out Burger. I checked the companies store addresses and set the GPS to an address in Pasadena.
When we got there, the man in front ordered about 45 meals. A busload of Japanese man were waiting to be fed.
The restaurant must be a very old one. There is only outside seating and there are two lines for in car service.

After eating our meals we drove to the Norton Simon Museum. The museum has a big collection of Old Masters, Impressionists, Modern Art, and masterpieces from India and Southeast Asia.
This is a large museum and certainly worth a visit.

11-5-11
Last night it was cold. When I got up it was 42 degrees F. in the motorhome. During the night Doreen was cold and I put another heavy blanket on the bed. This did the trick.
We left the Tujunga Elks Lodge at 9:00 AM and 30 minutes later we arrived at the Simi Valley Elks Lodge.
Here we have electricity, sewer hook-up and water. We have blue skies again.
At the lodge property are very large boulders.

In the afternoon we went to Moorpark, to Doreen’s niece Diane and her family. Diane’s daughter Wendy was there also, with her two month old baby. Doreen thinks the baby is cute. And Diane is crazy about her little grandson. Actually the baby is not that small. It weighed over ten pounds at birth.
Wendy went shopping three days after having the baby.

11-6-11
Another rainstorm came through last night.
By 10:00 AM it was a bit brighter and we left for the William S. Hart Park and Museum in Newhall.
William Hart was a silent movie star who starred in over 60 silent films, from 1914 to 1925.
The ranch consists of 265 acres and a herd of American Bison and other animals. The bison were a gift from Walt Disney.
The main attraction is the large Spanish style house. Hart gave the whole property to the Los Angeles County Park System.
On the walls are paintings of Charles C. Russell, Frederic Remington and other famous western artists.
There are also a lot of Native American artifacts.
His rifle collection is still there, but his handgun collection was stolen. Somebody broke into the house and took them; they did not touch the expensive paintings and other art works.
The view from the house is spectacular.

We were lucky and did not have to walk up the hill to the house. When the ranger saw Doreen with her walking stick, she told us to drive up the narrow winding road.
The two of us got a private tour of the property, since the tour guide did not want us to wait the 15 minutes for the official start of the tour.
This of course ruined the schedule and he had to apologize to the people who were waiting for the next tour.
On the way home we stopped at yardage store. I was waiting in the car while Doreen was buying wool.
She was gone for a long time. When she came back she had no wool, only an angry face.
She had found what she wanted and when she came to the cash register, there were twenty people ahead of her. She left the stuff at the counter and walked out.
It was a wonderful day though. We work around the rain. When we got back to the motorhome it started to rain again.

11-7-11
Now we have blue skies again. We went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
We had been there before, but wanted to see Air Force One.
It is a very good display of the Boeing 707.
When we were here the last time they had just finished the building, less one wall.
The airplane was disassembled at the San Bernardino International Airport, and arrived at the library in six sections.
At the library it took nine Boeing mechanics ten weeks to assemble the fuselage, tail and stabilizers, engines, main landing gear and wings. The final task of painting and polishing took five months.

In the evening we had a little bit of excitement. In the toilet we have a brush for cleaning the bowl. The outside of the bowl holder was totally covered with ants.
Doreen noticed it first and was excited, not in a good way. A few ants also show up at the kitchen sink. Those we eliminate one by one. Those in the toilet required a mayor action. I got rid of them in a hurry.
I think, because of the rain in the last few days, the ants come in the motorhome.

11-8-11
We had a cloudless night again and it was very cold in the motorhome this morning. When I woke up it was 43 degrees F.
I ran the electric and catalytic heaters at the same time for a while. When Doreen wakes up it is warm and cozy. The woman in the motorhome next to us walked her two dogs at 7:00 AM. She was all bundled up. Doreen wants a dog. I do not want one as long as we go RVing. I know who would have to walk the dog in the morning.
I always wanted to drive through Topanga Canyon. Today we did it. We drove through the Santa Monica Mountains and stopped at an overlook.

When we reached the ocean we stopped a few minutes.

We drove along the Coast Highway to Malibu and then went back North through the Malibu Canyon.

At the Malibu Creek State Park we ate our lunch.

11-9-11
It was very windy last night. Doreen woke me up to bring the TV antenna down.
The temperature is normal again for the time of the year. In the morning it was 56 degrees F. in the motorhome.
Near the ocean it is warmer.
The drive through Los Angeles was no fun. We came home about 11:30 AM.

Dos Picos County Park 2011

2011-10-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

10-17-11
We arrived at Dos Picos County Park, in Ramona, at 11:15 AM. We were early, but the ranger on duty let us go to our camp site.
After setting up the motorhome we drove to the post office in Ramona. On the way home we stopped at Subway and got one of their foot long sandwiches for $ 5.00.
When we drove on the road leading to Dos Picos, we saw Frank and Rhonda’s motorhome parked on the side. I slowed down and waved to follow me. They were early too and were waiting for the correct time to enter the park. At this time of the year most sites are empty and the rangers let people in.

The other members of the Convair Camping Club came to the park at about 1:00 PM.
This is Frank and Rhonda’s first outing with the club.
Since most of us have not seen each other for months we had a lot to talk about.
Dotty and Chappy arrived at about 4:00 PM. They came only for the 4:30 PM “Heavy hors d’oeuvres” and Happy Hour. Both of them are taking a bus tour to Sedona in the next couple of days.
As always there was a lot of good food and excellent conversations.
Since religion and politics are not discussed it is a joy to be with the group.

10-18-11
Rhonda, Frank, Doreen and I drove to Julian. No, we did not go for apple pie. We walked through some of the stores. The weather is wonderful now; the temperature is perfect.

For dinner we had: “Cook your own meat”, potato salad and green salad. Some people had steak and there was chicken and sausages on other grills.
After dinner we had the business meeting and then Jon started the campfire. This is always story time.

10-19-11
Today the group went to the Barona Ranch, at the Barona Casino, to visit their Rose Garden and other beautiful sites.

Doreen stayed at the motorhome. She had stomach pains.
Rhonda, Frank and I followed Jon and Linda. At the casino grounds they got lost and we ended up at the park house. From there we walked to the Rose Garden. We asked the rose garden attendant how to get to the place where we were to meet. He called for transportation to take us there.
The rest of the group was already there and after talking to a worker there we walked to the pond with all the beautiful vegetation around it.

In the evening the hosts provided bratwurst and everybody else brought a dish. For dessert we had root beer floats.
This was a wonderful outing. We parked under giant live oak trees. The weather could not have been any better.

10-20-11
This was not a good day. Doreen woke up at 5:30 AM and wanted to go home. She still had pain.
Rhonda and Frank had left already. They were on their way to Laughlin.
Doreen thought she had an appendix problem.
I went outside and took the flags down. It was still dark and I had a problem with the German flag. I had to leave it in the holder.
We moved away from the camping area and hooked up the car. I came too close to some trees and broke the flag. It was still hanging there, but I could not reach it.
When we came to the highway we could not make a left turn. The traffic would not stop. After a while I made a right turn and we went through Ramona and took highway 78.
By then the flag had come lower and I was able to break it away from the holder.
When we came home Doreen called Kaiser and they told her to go to the emergency room at Palomar Hospital. We drove to Escondido and spent a few hours at the hospital.
I read half of my Will Rogers book.
After the tests came back Doreen was told that she has no appendix problem and she was sent home.
They thought she has a strained muscle .

Ride for Kids 2011

2011-10-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

10-16-11
This day did not start right. I have the motorhome in the driveway and my car was parked on an angle, partly in front of the motorhome.
When I got in the car it would not start. The Diehard battery is only two years old.
I used two sets of jumper cables and joined the car battery and the battery from the motorhome.
The car started and I was able to move the car to the front of the house.
I used Doreen's car for going shopping.
When I came back I started my car again and drove down to Mira Costa College where Gary Magee is participating in the "Ride for Kids".
I gave him my check and we were able to talk for a few minutes. The organization raises money for children with brain tumors, and gives some of the children rides on motorcycles with sidecars.
There were a lot of motorcycles.
On the way home I stopped at Sears where they put a new battery in the car, for free.
Tomorrow we will be leaving for Ramona. It will be only a three day outing.
I am tired of following my WIN friends on their blog. I want to go too.
Several groups are in different parts of the country.

Camino Hills Oktoberfest 2011

2011-10-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

10-13-11
Yesterday we had our first Oktoberfest at the Camino Hills Club House.
It worked out fine. A lot of people made some effort to make it a success.
We had sausages, potato salad, sauerkraut and red cabbage. I cooked the red cabbage.
I also got stuck grilling the sausages. They thought, because I am German, I am the right person for the job.
We also had visitors, people I know from the Encinitas Elks Lodge. It was a fun evening.
Doreen could not come. She has a bad cold.

San Diego Botanic Garden 2011

2011-10-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

10-4-11
Winter has arrived. We had our first rain storm today. It did not rain much, just enough to make a mess.
We went to the San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas anyway.
The first Tuesday of the month admission is free. Of course, there were a lot of people. We are not the only cheap skates.
While we walked around the weather was holding up.
The Botanic Garden has a lot new sculptures. They are for sale and have a hefty price tag. The one with vegetation on them are permanent and not for sale.
When we left it started to rain. I gave Doreen the umbrella and ran to open the car. I had the key for my car, and we had Doreen’s car. The Saturns are almost the same color. I got wet.
We went to the Chin’s Chinese restaurant for lunch. They had sent out coupons for two lunches and we had to pay only for one.
The lunch was very good and I dried out.

Kate Session's Park 2011

2011-10-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

10-1-11
Today we went to Kate Session’s Park, in San Diego, to celebrate the life and times of Jerry Davis.
Jerry was a manufacturing engineer at Convair. He was ten years younger than I.
Jeanne and Jerry got married at the park and I can see why she wanted to have the celebration here.
It is a beautiful park. On a clear day one can see all of San Diego and the bay and Mission Beach Park.
Today we had again a marine layer and it was a bit foggy.
At the end of the celebration doves were released.

Harbor Days 2011 and Carlsbad Art Splash

2011-09-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

9-25-11
In the morning we went to Oceanside where they had Harbor Days.
There were many booths where vendors sold everything from popcorn to insurance.
Oceanside is a military town and the marines had a display of some of their vehicles.
It was fun for the kids climbing on the Humvees.

Those three strange guys walked around.

On the way home we stopped at the Carlsbad Art Splash. Artists use chalk for painting pictures on the street. There were more booths selling stuff.
The sun had come out by now and it was warm.

The weatherman from one of our TV stations was there with his band.

Mission San Juan Capistrano

2011-09-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

9-18-11
This was a wonderful day. When we left Carlsbad there was still a marine layer over the town.
Upon arrival in San Juan Capistrano we had sunshine.
We were early at the mission and it was not crowded. They have now an award winning audio tour.
The tour entitled”Voices of the Mission” features music, history, and storytelling about California history and the story of the Jewel of the missions.
At marked points of interest one presses a button on the device and listens to the narrator.
San Juan Capistrano is famous for the return of the swallows. Unfortunately not many swallows nest at the mission anymore. They prefer now highway bridges.

Winemaking in California started at the mission. There is an inside vat and an outside vat for fermenting.

The ruin of the Great Stone Church is being stabilized. The church was built in 1797 and an earthquake in 1812 demolished it.

The Serra Chapel was completed in 1788 and is very beautiful.

The gardens and fountains are magnificent.

Spaghetti Factory 2011

2011-09-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

9-17-11
Today was our annual outing, with the Shanty Shakers, at the Spaghetti Factory.
Doreen had to go to a memorial service so I went alone.
Campers who attended the Escapade in Gillette, Wyoming, did not talk about their experiences. They want to do it next Saturday at the breakfast meeting in El Cajon.
The food was good as always and we had good conversations.

Greek Festival 2011

2011-09-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

9-10-11
Today we attended the Greek Festival, in Cardiff, at the Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church.

There was plenty of Greek food and Greek wine and other beverages. The tent was filled to capacity.
People were eating and watching the dancers.

There was also an area for the children.

We took the church tour. The pictures inside the church are made with mosaics. It is regarded as one of the finest works of Byzantine art in the world.

The architect, who designed the the church, explained how he designed the 30 foot diameter dome. The dome is a golden dome and highly visible.

Labor Day 2011

2011-09-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

9-5-11
This was an unusual Labor Day weekend.
Red Beach at Camp Pendleton was closed because the Marines, which will be deployed next month, are in training. We heard all week heavy artillery.
I had turned on the refrigerator in the motorhome since I was sure we would be able to camp this long weekend. I was wrong. So we stayed at home.
Today we had a picnic in our patio.
I tried to make baby back pork ribs like I helped Rob cook at The Trail of the Ancients outing in Moab.
Since I had no Coca Cola I could not use Rob’s secret recipe. I used water for cooking the ribs. They did not taste the same.
We had invited Dottie and Chappy and I picked up Jean from the nursing home. We had a good time.
It rained for a short time which is very strange for this time of the year.

Leo Carrillo Film Festival 2011

2011-08-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

8-26-11
Today was the first night of the Leo Carrillo Film Festival.
The last Friday of August and every Friday in September the Carlsbad Parks and Recreation Department presents a Leo Carrillo film.
The city of Carlsbad bought part of the movie star’s ranch. It was a large working cattle ranch.
All what is left of the beautiful Hacienda is the living quarters, stables, barns and gardens.
The rest became housing developments.
While we were waiting to get dark a little girl got up and started dancing.
Everybody brings food and wine and the atmosphere is like a large picnic
The entertainment started with a short “The Cisco Kid” movie and the main feature was “What’s Cookin?”
It was a musical with Leo Carrillo and the Andrew Sisters.

Beta Sigma Phi Picnic 2011

2011-08-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

8-25-11
Today we took the motorhome down to San Diego, to the Mission Bay Park, for our second annual get together with Doreen’s women’s group.
Doreen and I hosted the affair. We had bought bratwurst from Tip Top European Delicatessen. Big John’s sausages are always a hit.
I also had hamburgers on the grill and we served Doreen’s potato salad and my broccoli salad. The rest of the group brought dessert and munchies. I heated up the beans on the Coleman stove.
The group gets smaller every year. We had a good time. The weather was perfect. Twenty miles inland the temperature is in the high nineties while on the coast it is in the seventies.
Doreen and I had arrived at 10:00 AM to make sure we get two tables in the gazebo. Everybody else came at 2:00 PM.
We set up the tables, two small BBQ grills and the Coleman stove. We had brought six chairs which came in handy.
A small bus from a senior home came and the driver asked us whether they could share the gazebo with us. We told them to go ahead and Doreen offered the chairs. Most of the people used walkers.
The drivers and the nurse came back to the motorhome and asked us whether they could get food from the In and Out Burger for us. They were getting lunch for their group. We told them that we were cooking lunch pretty soon.
Until our group arrived we did some reading and I did spent time on my computer. Doreen also did some knitting.
After the picnic Doreen and I stayed until the traffic got lighter. Going on I-5 during rush hour is no fun.
We watched young boys play soccer and people exercise.

Convair Camping Club August Luncheon

2011-08-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

8-16-11
This was another fine day for gaining weight, but I do not want to get any heavier.
The Convair Camping Club had their August outing today at the Marie Callender restaurant in La Mesa.
In August we do not go anywhere because of the heat.
We had a good group and the food and company was very good.

Carlsbad Village Arts Fair

2011-08-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

8-14-11
We went this morning to down town Carlsbad for the Village Arts Fair. Several streets were closed for this affair.
We still do not have summer weather at the coast. The high for the day was 68 degrees F.
Ten miles inland they have blue skies and sun. We have the marine layer with dark skies.
The weather is perfect though for walking at the fair.
We met our neighbors Sue and Ken Pace. They were also enjoying the displays. A lot of the vendors had beautiful items made of glass and wood.
I was busy last week working on the motorhome. The new backup camera works very well. The seven inch monitor is a lot better than the little one on the old system.
I had to drill a ¾ inch diameter hole in the back wall of the motorhome to get the connector from the harness through.
The same size hole was required through the cabinets in the bedroom, and twice in the floor, one hole out in the back and one hole in, in the front of the motorhome.

Morgan Road Block Party

2011-08-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

8-6-11
Today we had our annual block party.
It is always nice to meet our neighbors. Of course there are some which never show up.
But this is their problem; we have fun.

Back home again.

2011-08-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

8-3-11
I did already some of the work on the motorhome. The light for the step is working again and the broken blind in the living room is fixed.
Cleaning the motorhome was a big task this time. We parked under some trees and I had a difficult time to remove the mess.
Now I am waiting for the backup camera, which I ordered from Costco.
I also caught up with the yard work.
Unfortunately my back is hurting again. I felt good while we were traveling.
I also finished my autobiography. This was time consuming, especially getting the pictures lined up.
Every time I added a picture I remembered something else. I have to stop now or I will be doing this for another few years.

Today I went to the Convair tooling luncheon in Santee. It is summer and most of the people are traveling or doing other things. We were a very small group.

Morro Bay 2011

2011-07-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

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.

Columbia River Gorge 2011

2011-07-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

7-4-11
We are at the Gateway Elks Lodge in Portland, Oregon. It was a short trip from Centralia.
The motorhome was not acting up today. Everything was normal.
Before we left Centralia we went to a truck cleaning bay and gave the motorhome a fast cleaning.
Since it is the 4th of July, and a lot of people are on the road, we did not go sightseeing. A Winco store is just around the corner. It is a good place to restock our refrigerator and cupboards.
We did just that. Across from Winco is a Fred Meyer store. Doreen had never been to Fred Meyer, so we paid them a visit.
Doreen noticed that they have free WIFI throughout the store. Later, I came back with my computer and did my E mail.
The rest of the day we relaxed.

7-5-11
In the morning we went to Kaiser Permanente to have Doreen’s blood drawn. This is a monthly ritual.
From Kaiser we drove up the Columbia River Gorge. This is a spectacular drive. On one side is the wide river and on the other side are high bluffs and several waterfalls.
At Mosier we left Interstate 84 and drove the old highway 30. This highway is at a higher elevation and one has a fantastic view along the river valley.
Just before The Dallas we returned to I-84.

At Maryhill we visited the Stonehenge Memorial. Sam Hill, a Pacific Northwest entrepreneur, had it built after he visited Britain. It is the same size as the original, but built like some people envision as it was before it fell apart.
We ate our lunch here. Lunch with a million dollar view. It can not get any better.
Mt. Hood is in the back.

Our next stop was the Maryhill Museum of Art.
It was built as a house for Sam Hill and his family. He had bought 5000 acres of land along the Columbia River to establish an agricultural community. When this failed the house became a museum.

On the way home we stopped at the Bonneville Dam and watched the fish jump up the ladders, through windows and outside.

They have an old turbine on display.

The lavender at the power station was beautiful.

When we came back to the motorhome we were pretty tired. Donna Huffer and Bob Parker are now also at the Gateway Elks. We visited with them for a short time. Curt was there too.
They are friends from the WIN's and it is always nice to see them.

7-6-11
We had a super day today. Donna and Bob came with us on our little ”Historic Columbia River Highway” tour.
We started in Troutdale driving on highway 30. At the Chanticlear lookout we could see the Vista House.
In the distance it was slightly foggy.

The Vista House is a jewel. It is a beautiful building and has a lot of marble for wall coverings. The view from the Vista House is also fantastic.

Our next stop was the Latourell Water Falls. We visited several of the water falls along the river.

The most visited natural site in Oregon is the Multnomah Falls and for good reason. It is a 620 feet double waterfall. A picture can’t show how impressive this natural wonder is.

A lot of beautiful structures were destroyed when Interstate 84 took over sections of highway 30.
This tunnel survived but is not used anymore.

At Cascade Locks we had lunch at a small café. We were sitting outside, next to the river. Life could not be better.

On the way home we drove over The Bridge of the Gods, to the Washington side of the river.

7-7-11
The sun was hiding today. It was ten degrees F. cooler than yesterday.
I took the MAX train to downtown Portland. Doreen still has problems walking.

At the Pioneer Courthouse Square I went to the Visitor Center and got information about the city.

I had bought a daily pass for $ 4.75 and was able to take all the public transportation in Portland.
I took the train to Washington Park. It is similar to Balboa Park in San Diego, but smaller.
At the park I took the Park Shuttle.
My first stop was the Japanese Garden .It is one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan.

From there I walked to the International Rose Test Garden. The garden has more than 9000 plantings of 560 varieties.

I jumped on the shuttle again and went to the Portland Holocaust Memorial. The memorial is very plain, but still gets the message across. A violin, a broken suitcase, and a child’s toy are laying on the road leading to the monument.

From this memorial I walked to the Lewis and Clark Memorial.

The bus took me then to the World Forestry Center- Discovery Center. Here they have a lot of displays and videos of forest uses. I was impressed with the giant machine for cutting trees and lifting them, and putting them on a truck.

I learned that the cacao tree has its fruit on the trunk, not on the little branches.

Olympic National Park Washington 2011

2011-06-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

6-26-11
The last two nights it was cold. I had to get another blanket for Doreen.
This morning it was 45 degrees F in the motorhome. During the day the weather is perfect.
We left Astoria, Oregon at 9:00 AM and arrived at Cape Disappointment an hour later.
After parking the motorhome at the State Park parking lot we drove to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. This is a perfect center for anybody who wants to learn about the Corps of Discovery. There are displays of most of the stops and difficulties the explorers encountered.
There are two lighthouses on Cape Disappointment.

At the parking lot was a small building where a vendor had a wood fired oven and made pizzas and sold oysters and clams.
We bought a small pizza and used the WIFI the vendor supplied.
After lunch we headed north on highway 101. In Long beach we took the wrong turn and went up highway 103. We noticed our mistake too late and ended up in Ocean Park, the last town on this slender peninsula.
We asked people for directions and were told that we are not the only ones who made that mistake.
I did not feel like more driving and we went to the Moose Lodge in Ocean Park.
Since it was still early we did some house cleaning.

6-27-11
It started to rain in the night. When we left Ocean Park it was still raining lightly.
In Raymond we stopped for a while and I took some pictures of the statues, which are located all over town. They are cute, but not as sophisticated as the statues in Borrego Springs, California.

Our next stop was Quinault, where we tried to go to the Rain Forest. First we could not find a parking space for the motorhome and car, and when we finally found a parking space, it started to rain really heavy.
So we continued heading north.
At the Quinault National Fish hatchery we learned a lot about the process of raising salmon for releasing back into the river, and how they are tagged.
Native American women, from the Quinault tribe, work at the hatchery to remove a back fin. Those salmon can be harvested when they reach a certain size. Wild salmon, with the fin still in place have to be released again.
Before the women remove the fin the salmon are calmed down. There is something added to the water to accomplish this.
All the fish are identified with a very small pin. The pin has a lot of data on it and is injected in the head of the fish. This is done with a machine.
Less than 1 per cent of the salmon return back to the hatchery for spawning.

In Forks we stopped at the Elks Lodge.
Before we got to the lodge we went into a private driveway. I had set the GPS with the address of the lodge. When it told me that I had reached my destination I saw the big flag in front of the building and a sign on the lawn which said:”Elks care, Elks share”. I missed the first driveway of the property and went into the second one. I had a feeling then that something was wrong. When I rang the doorbell the lady of the house informed me that the lodge is located around the corner, and that they are Elks, which explained the sign on the lawn.
She offered to go on the street and help me back out. When I told her that I have to unhook the car first, she told me to just go forward and exit the other driveway. She also told me not to worry about the rhododendron bush. Those beautiful bushes are all over Washington State and are in bloom now.
I proceeded and could hear the bush scrapping on the side of the motorhome. Because the motorhome is very dirty I do not know whether it actually hurt the paint, and I do not want to know right now.
After setting up the motorhome we left for the Hoh Rain Forest.
It rained off and on while we were there.
It was a proper setting for visiting a rain forest.
We walked one of the loops and enjoyed the moss covered trees and bushes. This area receives about twelve feet of rain a year. In San Diego we get about eleven inches of rain a year.
No wonder they call Washington State the Evergreen State.

Forks is a logging town and they have a fine museum.

6-28-11
Today we went to the Makah Museum in Neah Bay.
The museum houses all the archaeological discoveries from the Makah Indian coastal village of Ozette.
The village was covered by a mudslide about 500 years ago and discovered in 1970 when tidal erosion exposed a group of Ozette homes that had been perfectly preserved.

The last three miles we had to follow a wide load convoy. Besides the wide load truck, there was a pilot truck, a tail gunner truck and a mechanic truck. We moved about ten miles an hour on that curvy road.

On the way home we stopped at Rialto Beach, near the Indian village of La Push.
The coast is very rough and beautiful. We experienced only a few drops of rain today. The sun came out for a few minutes.

The roa.d was lined on both sides with Scotch Broom.

6-29-11
We left Forks at 6:45 AM. It rained the first 30 minutes. The rest of the drive was fine.
The drive along Lake Crescent was just beautiful.

We arrived at the 7 Cedars Casino in Sequim at 8:30 AM. When I went to the casino to get a parking pass I noticed they were closed. The casino is open from 9:00 to midnight. This is unusual. Most casinos are open 24 hours.
When I came back to the motorhome I noticed the check light on the refrigerator was on. I checked all the fuses and made sure there was no debris on the burner.
I went back to the casino and checked the yellow pages for a RV repair place. I found one a few miles from the casino.
The mechanic did the same checks and figured the igniter module was broke. They had non in stock and will have one tomorrow at 10:00 AM.
We went to the Rainbow's End RV Park were we have electricity to run the refrigerator.
It is a small but very beautiful park.

After setting up the motorhome we went shopping to Walmart, Safeway and looked where the gas station at Costco is located. We also found our banks and got some money.
When we came back we did laundry.
I am not happy about the refrigeration situation but we used the day wisely.

6-30-11
At 10:00 AM the Fed Ex truck came to the RV Park. I asked the driver whether he had a package for Peninsula RV. He told me that he had nothing for them.
I drove to Peninsula RV and asked them whether the part had arrived. There I was told that the part would come with another shipping company.
I went back to the motorhome, knowing that there was something wrong. At 11:00 AM I went back and the parts manager was not there. His helper told me that he was gone into town to get something.
Together we went through the boxes which had just arrived.
The owner of the company came and got angry and told me to bring the motorhome and they would take care of it.
When I arrived at the motorhome my cell phone rang. It was the parts manager, he told me that the part had arrived.
I know that he had gone and picked up the part at another dealer. I had planned to do that if they had told me to wait another day.
It took them 10 minutes to install the new ignition module and we were on our way.
We went to the 7 Cedars Casino, got a parking pass, and set up the motorhome. Then we drove to Port Angeles and from there to Hurricane Ridge. Up the mountain we encountered fog. When we arrived at the top the sun was shining. Unfortunately we could not see the ocean and the surrounding area.
A deer greeted us. It was surrounded by people who took pictures.
Doreen bought two hot chocolates and we sat in the cafeteria enjoying the snow capped mountains.

Tonight we had dinner at the casino. For $ 12.00 they served prime rib or salmon. The waitress brought a good sized piece of salmon. Salad, fruit and side dishes was self service. It was a very good dinner.

Our neighbor called and told us that I received a letter from the court. I told her to open the letter. I have jury duty beginning July 25.
Now I have to decide whether to try to have the date changed or go home in time to serve.

7-1-11
This morning, when I did my walk around the casino parking lot, a large truck came in.
He delivered a 1969 Mercury sports car. The owner met the truck here. I suppose there are not many places which have room for that big truck.
The truck had two floors. On top were a Ferrari, Audi and other expensive cars.

The weather is perfect now, just like the weather people predicted. There are no clouds in the sky. I wish we would have gone to Hurricane Ridge today.
At 10:00 AM we went to the Olympic Game Farm, where they have animals from all over the world. It is a drive through facility.
One can buy a two pound loaf of bread and feed the animals. The kids in front of us had a ball. They did not throw the bread, the held it until the animal took it.
Of course they had to throw the bread to the bears.

From the game farm we drove to the spit. Here were people digging for crabs. An old man walked around without one shoe. He had lost it in the mud.
One family had a big pot and they were boiling crabs.

7-2-11
We had another sunny day. In the morning we went to Port Townsend. This is one of the few Victorian towns in the State of Washington.
Just like Sequim. Port Townsend is in the rain shadow of the mountains, it does not rain that much in this area.
We drove to Fort Worden State Park. The buildings from the fort are still used. It is a beautiful park.

People in town love flowers.

In the afternoon we visited Tom Smith and his wife. Tom worked 34 years at Convair and now raises beef cattle. We had a nice visit. When Chappy found out that we were in Sequim, he made me aware that Tom lives here.

7-3-11
We left Sequim at 5:30 AM and had rain only for 30 minutes. Since we were early we had no traffic problems. The road winds around the water and goes up and down. It is very scenic.
Highway 101 is an unusual road. Along the Pacific Coast we went north on 101, and today we went south on 101 along the Hood Canal.
In Olympia we went on Interstate 5. Doreen had fallen asleep on the couch. I set the cruise control on 55 MPH. Suddenly the RPMs went to 3300. I turned off the cruise control and nothing changed.
This reminded me of the problem we had with my first motorhome. In Albquerque, New Mexico I had to have a tune up performed because the motorhome had no power. The tune up did not help and Doreen had to follow me, driving the car all the way home to San Diego.
When Midas installed a new Catalytic Converter the motorhome ran like a race car.
The first thing which came to my mind was that I had the same problem with this motorhome.
I limped into a rest area and walked around a bit. Doreen woke up and I told her about the problem.
Since it was a Sunday and tomorrow a holiday I thought we would be stuck for a few days.
When I started driving again the problem was gone.
We stopped at the Moose Lodge in Centralia at about 8:45 AM. When I went into the lodge they were setting up breakfast tables.
At 9:00 AM we had breakfast at the lodge. For $5.00 we had a full breakfast with three sausages. We sat with a nice local couple and had a good conversation.
After breakfast we left for the Mount St. Helens National Monument. It looks different now than in 1982 when I was there. At that time we saw only destruction.
Vegetation has come back and the National Park Service built the beautiful Johnston Ridge Observatory across from Mount St. Helens..
It is partly built in a mountain and the front side is all windows, facing the blown out north side of the crater.
We saw a movie about what happened on May 18, 1980.

Rangers give talks at the outside of the building.

Unfortunately the top of Mount St. Helens was covered by a cloud, but it was still spectacular.

Even 1931 Model A’s made it to the top.

The flowers along the road are just beautiful.

7-4-11
We are now at the Gateway Elks in Portland, Oregon.

Oregon Coast 2011

2011-06-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

6-21-11
We left Eureka at 7:15 AM and went up the coast on highway 101. The first hour we had fog.

When the sun came out it was a pleasure to drive. The flowers on the side of the road are so beautiful.
Doreen likes the Scotch Broom bushes with their yellow blossoms.
We stopped at an overlook, near Bandon, Oregon and had lunch.
At the Mill Casino in Coos Bay we parked for the night. They do not charge for dry camping.
After setting up the motorhome, and taking a nap, we drove to Charleston. The town is located on a peninsula and was totally fogged in.

6-22-11
We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Florence at about 9:30 AM. Half an hour later we were on our way to the Heceta Head Lighthouse. This is the most photographed lighthouse in the US.

Our next stop was the Sea Lions Caves.

On the way back to town we visited friends of Doreen. John and Betty used to live in San Diego.
We also stopped for a short time in Old Town.

6-23-11
Today we are staying at the Elks Lodge in Tillamook.
When we arrived it was raining for about an hour. In the afternoon we had sunny weather again.
After lunch we went to the Tillamook Air Museum. It is housed in a giant hangar which was built for blimps. The hangar is one of the largest all wood buildings. Six football fields would fit inside.

Eight blimps were stationed inside the hangar.

Now it is a museum and Navy airplanes and some other planes are on display.
There is also a Consolidated PBY, which was probably built in San Diego.

Outside the building they have a Guppy which was used for transporting missile sections to NASA.

Our next stop was the lighthouse on Cape Meares. It is the shortest lighthouse in Oregon.
The road to Cape Meares was very scenic.

On the way home we went to a thrift store. Doreen needed a shopping fix.

6-24-11
We had an interesting day. At 8:30 AM we were on the road.
When we came to a higher elevation it was foggy. Since we were almost alone on the highway it worked out fine.
Suddenly we saw flashing lights in front of us. I stopped and noticed a long line of vehicles in front of us.
There were flares on the side of the road.
We just happen to be at an outlook. I drove to it and set up the motorhome for a lengthy stay.

Then I walked towards the front of the line. The fire department had just finished extinguishing the fire in the motor area of a pickup truck. The cabin was burned out too.
The pickup was pulling a trailer. The trailer did not get damaged but the pickup had to be pulled on a flat bed truck.

>

This was a short camping trip for the owners. They had just started out.
We waited until all the traffic both ways was better and then continued our journey.
When we arrived at the Camp Clatsop County Fairgrounds we found out that there are no camp sites available.
We had passed the fairgrounds and found no gate open. In order to turn around we had to find a spot where we could unhook the car and then turn around. It had started to rain and I was not very happy.
I always check where the WINs stay on their trips. They stay at this fairgrounds. When I asked I was told that they only let groups to stay at their facilities.
We were told that there was a RV Park down the road. We attached the car again to the motorhome and looked for this place.
We ended up in the middle of nowhere. The place is in Olney, on highway 202.
There were three rigs in sites. A lady called across a meadow and asked what I wanted. I told her that I would like a site for the day. She told me it would cost $ 25.00. I asked for a dry site and she told me
$ 15.00. Everybody asks me why I want a dry site, this lady did too.
We took the site without hookups, had lunch and then went for a ride.
At Fort Clatsop Lewis and Clark National Historical Park is a replica of the fort the Corps of Discovery used for their stay from December 1805 to march 1806.
Guides in period dress answer question visitors have.

There is also a Visitor Center with a movie theatre. We saw a very interesting film about the area, the Indian tribes and the journals of Lewis and Clark.
The weather had changed and it was a pleasure to go sightseeing.
Our next stop was the Astoria Column. It is 125 feet high and it takes 164 steps to get to the top.

The exterior of the column is done in bas-relief technique called sgraffito.
It combines paint and plaster carvings to decorate the column exterior with a frieze of 22 significant events that occurred in the region. It is a work of art.

6-25-11
In the morning we went to Seaside. This is a beautiful tourist town, south of Astoria.
We walked along Broadway Street, where a lot of restaurants and stores are located. This town is very clean.
Broadway ends at the beach. This is the point where Lewis and Clark had sent some members of the expedition to make salt from sea water. They were boiling water for two weeks
A statue of the captains is at the roundabout near the ocean.

In the afternoon we rode the trolley, in Astoria, along the Columbia River. Some of the museums are on the river front.
We had fish and chips in a small fish restaurant.

Eureka 2011

2011-06-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

6-12-11
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.

Bates Nut Farm 2011

2011-06-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

6-3-11
Now we are at Bates Nut Farm, in Valley Center, with the Shanty Shakers. The Shanty Shakers are the Southern California chapter of the Escapees Camping Club.
We arrived at the farm at noon and after setting up the motorhome joined the group for some discussions.

At 3:00 PM we left for Cruising Grant in Escondido. The first Friday of the month only old cars can park on several blocks of Grant Avenue.
We walked down one side of the street and came back on the other side. There were some beautiful cars.

Most of the group stayed in town and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant. We came back to the motorhome and ate the stew Doreen had prepared yesterday.

6-4-11
There was a giant, once a year, yard sale at the farm today. A lot of people from Valley Center must have emptied their garages. There was even a coffin for sale.
Doreen bought a teddy bear for two dollars.

After the yard sale Doreen and I went to see Ron Ross and his wife Mary. They have a five acre avocado ranch in Valley Center. Ron worked with me at Convair and after the company shut down, they bought the ranch.
For lunch we went to the Valley View Casino were we got a free pass for the buffet.
We signed up for the player’s card, but did not gamble. The buffet was fantastic and the food was very good.
In the afternoon we sat with the group at the camping area, and watched a gopher come out of his hole and eat grass.

The weather could not be better. I had expected hot weather; the temperature it is in the high seventies.

6-5-11
This morning was supposed to be a Buick car show. A few cars arrived; some of them were not Buicks.

We took off for home at 10:00 AM. Our neighbors at Camino Hills left today for a vacation and Doreen takes care of their cats.
The Convair Camping Club has an outing, beginning tomorrow, at a county park near Julian. This is one of our favorite places but our neighbors take care of our mail when we are on the road and now it is our turn.

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

5-27-11
Yesterday we returned from Oak Creek RV Resort and restocked the refrigerator.
This morning we left for Red Beach at Camp Pendleton. They have no military exercises this long Memorial Day weekend and we will be able to enjoy the beach.
We left home at 8:45 AM and arrived at the staging area 45 minutes later.
Normally we leave home at 2:00 PM. This time we decided to try to get a spot facing the water and left earlier. Our friends Arlene and Howard, and Linda and Jon were there already. They are friends from the Convair Camping Club.
The staging area was changed from Las Pulgas Road to the Las Flores Ranch House. This was a mess. On the road everybody knew their position, because it was single file. At the Ranch House we parked on a large meadow. A lady came around later and gave everybody a piece of paper with a number.
I knew that would not work.
Chappy and Dottie came later.
We had all day to visit with friends and other people. After lunch we had a nap.
At 3:45 PM we got the signal to leave for the beach. The piece of paper with the number meant nothing.
Position was important.
It felt like the Oklahoma Land Rush. Everybody took off at the same time.
Our four motorhomes made it to the site facing the beach. So did Jim and Jerriann. I had not seen them while wandering around at the Ranch. They had arrived at 2:00 PM and had a high number but made it to the front.
After setting up the motorhome I turned on the oven and we heated up the shepherds pie Doreen had prepared. Dottie and Chappy joined us for dinner.
After dinner Chappy and I went to the camp fire for a while. Jon always has a good fire going.

5-28-11
Part of the day was beautiful and part was windy and cool. It was a partly cloudy day.
In the morning I walked up to the bluff and looked for the Shanty Shakers, members of my other camping club.
I found their motorhomes but nobody was there.
Later, Doreen and I walked along the beach to the south camping area.
Arlene, Howard, Jon and Linda tried fishing. All they caught was kelp and sea weed.
In the afternoon we sat with the group, watching the waves and telling stories.
In the evening I walked one more time to the bluff and all the Shanty Shakers were sitting around the camp fire. They had gone, in the morning, to the monthly club breakfast meeting in El Cajon.

5-29-11
It rained last night, very unusual for Southern California. It stops raining in April. We also had a lot of wind.
It was cloudy when I took a long walk.
When Doreen woke up I walked with her along the beach.
Two of my small flags flew out of the flag holder. I found the California flag but not the WIN flag. I looked in the bushes around the motorhome. Any other flag I could easily replace. Doreen and I made the WIN flag. Later I looked on top of the motorhome and it was there.
I did not get a call from Jean’s caregiver today. Yesterday Rose, the caregiver on duty, called and told me about the problems she has with Jean. An hour later Lida, the other caregiver, called me from home. They both feel abused and ready to quit.
I talked to Jean and tried to calm her down. She was almost normal last week when she was at our house, where we celebrated her birthday.
In the evening we had dinner at Dottie’s and Chappy’s motorhome. They had prepared a pot roast.
It was too windy for a camp fire.

5-30-11
When I woke up there was blue sky and very little wind. I walked along the beach and there were a lot of people fishing, and they actually caught fish today.
Howard, Chappy and Jon started to fish too, but they still were only catching sea weed.

This was a relaxing outing. I needed the rest.
Now I have to see what is happening with Jean. It reminds me of the time when my sister called me from Germany. She was crying because my mother did not recognize her when she went to my mother’s house to pick up the laundry. Mother accused her of stealing her clothing and linens.
Alzheimer does do strange things to people.
Jean had a light stroke and behaves now as my mother did.
We have dental appointments coming and Doreen has to take care of our neighbors cats next weekend.
Then we are ready to head north, to Eureka.

Oak Creek Resort 2011

2011-05-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

5-23-11
We are at the Oak Creek RV Resort in El Cajon, California with the Convair camping Club.
It is a small group, only eight rigs. Chappy lives across the street, and he and Dotty came by for the evening meal.
Normally it would be hot out here, but the weather is beautiful.
Eating of course is important. We have pot luck every evening.

5-24-11
Doreen and most of the women went to Viejas Casino and shops to go shopping.
Chappy and I met Jim Clifton and his wife at a Mexican restaurant and had lunch there.After lunch we followed Jim to his house where we admired his work on his garden and retining walll he built.
In the afternoon I went swimming in the pool.

5-25-11
We took it easy today. I went swimming and worked on my biography.
Before lunch we sat with the group and enjoyed the company and the beautiful weather.

Jean's 88th Birthday

2011-05-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

5-22-11
Today we had the house full of neighbors and friends. There were about forty people.The occasion was the birthday of my friend Jean.
Three months ago we thought she would never celebrate another birthday.
She had a lot of fun today.I picked up Jean and her caregiver Rose, from Brookdale, where Jean lives now.
I was happy to see her in such good spirit. Most people in the room did not realize what she had gone through in the last few months.

Brianne's Bridal Shower

2011-05-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

5-21-11
The motorhome is in the driveway, ready to go.
First we have to do a couple of fun things.
Today we went to a bridal shower. Alma's daughter is getting married.
I remember when Brianne was born and Alma brought her to work.
That was 25 years ago.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

5-8-11
We went today to Doreen’s son Reggie and his wife Leslie for Mother’s Day lunch. Her daughter Sandra was there too.

Doreen’s back is better now and we hope we can go on the road in the middle of June.
Right now I am involved with my friend Jean. She will be 88 years old next week.
The last two months she has been in and out of the hospital, and I saw her every day.
We thought she would not make it, but in the last week she has improved.
She is now again in the nursing home with a 24 hour care giver at her side.
She has nobody in California. Her only son lives in Chicago and comes every month for a few days to see her.
It is not easy to get old.

Craig's Railroad 2011

2011-04-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

4-16-11
This afternoon we went to Craig's and Janice's house to see his miniature railroad in action. They had an open house. Some of the members of the Convair Camping Club were there.
Since I had lived in this area some years ago we stopped at friends houses after we left Janice and Craig.

Camino Hills Easter Pot Luck 2011

2011-04-13T20:29:00.001-07:00

4-13-11
Today we had our annual Easter Pot Luck at the clubhouse.
It looks like we are eating all the time.
Some of the women in the park are very good cooks and we had a variety of delicious food.
This is an occasion to meet our neighbors.

Oak Creek Resort 2011

2011-04-12T21:04:00.001-07:00

4-12-11
The Convair Camping Club has their April outing at the Oak Creek Resort.
Doreen and I joined the group for dinner today, at the resort’s clubhouse.
Elaine and George, the wagon masters, had prepared a delicious ham and the rest of the group brought side dishes and appetizers.
We had a good time.
There was also a 89 year old guest. She and her late husband were part of the group who started the club.
Her daughter had brought her, to celebrate with the group her mother’s 89th birthday.
There is always some excitement at those outings. Yesterday it was Robin’s turn. While backing his fifth wheel into the camping site he smashed the back window of the truck with the corner of the trailer.
Doreen was fine until the pain killer pill was wearing down.

Convair Tooling Luncheon

2011-04-06T20:11:00.001-07:00

4-6-11
I went today to Santee for the Convair tooling luncheon.
Frank Muzzy and Rhonda had come all the way from Murrieta. Frank is now retired.