March 2015

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We celebrated Doris’s birthday today. She is now three quarter century old. Her son and wife invited us for dinner and cake.

I had taken her on her birthday for breakfast to Gill’s by the Bay. We had our second date there. The next day we went to Roy’s Club for an Italian dinner.

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The magnolia in the backyard is in full bloom. It is a messy tree but beautiful.

The amarilla plant in the sun room is very beautiful too.

Mr. Big, the cat, is wherever Doris is. He is a very spoiled animal.

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Today I went to the fairgrounds where the logging industry had their annual conference and display of hardware.

Vendors, who work with wood, displayed their art and machinery.

Several machines used for cutting boards from big logs were there.

The old timers were very interesting.

There was an old Mack truck.

I had seen the Caterpillar Cat 60 before in a logging museum in Oregon. This tractor changed the logging industry.

There were a lot of big trucks used for hauling the big logs.

Inside the hall were booths where vendors sold wares used in the logging industry.

This salesman for Cummings engines was not very busy.

People took rides on an old car pulled by an old steam powered locomotive. Both are relics from an area of the past.

In the evening we went for a gourmet dinner to the house of a member of Doris’s University Women of America Organization. It was a pot luck dinner and the theme was French. Doris made Chicken Fricassee.  Making the sauce took a long time.

Most members of the organization have big beautiful homes with old, expensive furniture. In this house was one room with a big doll collection.

The living room looked like it came from the Victorian area.

Everybody was waiting for the food.

In the kitchen were women setting up the different dishes and preparing coffee.

The waiting was worth it. All the food was tasty.

The two French dolls are from the doll collection. There was also a large Hummel figurine collection in the house.

It was a wonderful evening. I drove Doris’s car home. Doris had gotten happy on the wine and did not want to take a chance.

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I had back aches the last few weeks. Now I feel better again and today I walked the coast trail. The flowers along the trail are very beautiful.

Doris is still busy with writing grants for non-profit organizations. Now she is trying to get money for the Heritage Society. They bought one of the old houses in Eureka and are in the process to fix it up.

Doris baked a big basket full of cookies today for the rummage sale the society is having Saturday and Sunday. The cookies are for sale. They are the best chocolate chip cookies I ever tasted.

Besides chocolate chips she put in ground up Hershey’s chocolate bars. I was in charge of grinding the bars.

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This evening we went to the Adorni Center for the “Kick Off Dance” for the Redwood Coast Music Festival. It used to be called the Redwood Coast Jazz Festival, but to attract more people the name was changed. Since the music is mostly Jazz we were not on the dance floor for every dance. We have to preserve energy.

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Today we listened to music from 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the Morris Graves Art Museum. The museum is the old Carnegie Public Library. A large half round room was added and it is used for entertainment.

We enjoyed the music of the Au Brothers Jazz Band, Red Skunk with Brady McKay, Tom Hook and the Terriers, Bob Draga and Friends, and Le Hot Jazz.

The Morris Graves is a venue with good acoustics and a pleasant setting. We really enjoyed the experience.

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Today we had to move around a bit.

At 9:00 AM we were at the Adorni Center for dance lessons. At 9:30 AM Stompy Jones and his band was on the Stage. Then came Dave Bennett and Memphis Speed Kings, followed by Tom Rigney and Flambeau.

We left at 12:30 PM and took the shuttle bus to the Eureka Theater and saw The Young Bucs.

After the show we took the bus to the Municipal Auditorium and listened and danced to the music of Machiya Lake and Little Big Horns.

Dancing at the Muni was dangerous. There was a young growth and there were some wild moves on the dance floor. During band change I went upstairs and took a picture.

The venues closed at Midnight but we left at 8:00 PM.

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We went to the Morris Graves at 9:00 AM for the High Sierra Jazz Band performance.

Then we went to the Adorni Center to listen and dance to the Navy Band Northwest.

We saw again Dave Bennett and Memphis Speed Kings. Today he played also the clarinet. He is known for his wild moves on the piano.

The Adorni Center is located at the Boardwalk and from the windows one has a good view of the marina.

Dancing shoes are for sale during the event.  The price of shoes is between $100.00 and $ 200.00. I am glad I have my fifty seven year old shoes. I bought them in Winnipeg.

At 2:30 PM, after Tom Rigney and Flambeau, we went home. We did not go to the Grand Finale at the Muni. We took a well deserved rest.

We did not go to all the venues, but saw all but two bands.

  

Central Coast of California - February 2015

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We woke up at 4:00 AM and left Oceanside at 4:35 AM. We were very lucky it did not rain while I disconnected the water and electricity and hooked up the car to the motorhome. While we were driving there was a light rain.

We had some slow spots in Los Angeles. In Oxnard we stopped at Costco and got some gasoline for the motorhome and stayed at the parking lot for eating breakfast and making us beautiful. In my case it was shaving and cleaning my teeth.

We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Santa Barbara at 9:00 AM, set up the motorhome and we were off to the Mission.

We took the museum tour, which went through the inside yard and cemetery.

The chapel is very beautiful.

After the tour we drove to the pier.

The dolphin fountain is dry. Throughout California many fountains have no water because of the water conservation efforts. 

On the pier are businesses.

Our next stop was Paseo Nuevo, a fancy shopping mall on State Street. We did not buy anything. We enjoyed walking though this beautiful, clean shopping area.

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We are slowly moving north. On the coming Monday we should be home.

Doris’s children wondered whether Doris would murder me during this trip. The living in a small motorhome did not affect our relationship. We had a great time.

We are now in San Luis Obispo.

Today I had to show Doris the famous men’s restroom at the Madonna Inn. Like in so many places in California, water is being conserved and the waterfall at the urinal was not working, which took some of the beauty away.

The ladies restroom is actually very pretty.

The restaurant is very colorful.

From the Madonna Inn we went to the San Luis Pier. Very loud seals were greeting us.

We also went on the pier in Avila Beach.

The town is a small touristy place.

Our next stop was the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. The Butterflies hang on the leaves of Eucalyptus trees.

Some of them came on the ground to mate.

We also went into town to walk on the pier and have some ice cream. Doris really surprises me. While we are traveling she does suggest to have chocolate and other sweets. When we come home it will be tough to get used to healthy living again.

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Doris is intrigued by the Madonna Inn. We went back this morning and had their gigantic breakfast.

While waiting for our food we had a view of the flowers outside the window.

Doris asked for a box and took half of her breakfast home.It was too much food for her.

After breakfast we drove to Morro Bay and tried to spend some of the calories we absorbed.

First we went to the rock and watched a pair of Peregrine Falcons mating. They can do it in the open without having to be afraid of breaking a law.

Then we walked the whole length of the Embarcadero, absorbing the goings on. Fishing boats were leaving the harbor and people were shopping in the stores.

The Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle Avalon was parked on the side of the street and we checked it out. It is part of the museum now. It was built after the Tresher went to the bottom of the ocean and there was no way to rescue the crew.

Morro Bay is a beautiful little beach town. We also drove to the State Park and I showed Doris the sites I have stayed in over the years.

When we came back to San Luis Obispo Doris wanted to go back to the Madonna Inn and buy two pieces of Chocolate Black Forest Cake. We did and ate them at the motorhome.

When we are back home Doris has to spend one hour on the treadmill instead of the thirty minutes.

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We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Salinas at 10:30 AM. After lunch we drove to Carmel by the Sea. Doris wanted to see “The Church of the Wayfarer”.  It is a little neighborhood church.

The church has some beautiful stained glass windows.

We walked along Ocean Avenue. Besides fancy stores there are also quaint little cottages.

I saw a beautiful jacket displayed in front of a store. It is reversible, the hood and both arms can be removed. The price was $ 20.00. I bought it. I also bought a regular embroidered shirt for $ 10.00.

Bargains like that I did not expect in Carmel by the Sea.

On the bottom of the street is a beach park. From there one can see Pebble Beach Golf Course.

On the way home we stopped at Carmel Mission.

It is one of the most beautiful missions in the California’s.

Pope John Paul II visited the mission in 1987.

Father Serra is buried in the mission.

He lived a simple life. His room was just like a prison cell.

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Today we drove to Monterey. Our first stop was the Old Fisherman’s Wharf. On the wharf are stores and fish restaurants.

There are many sail boats in the harbor.

We walked to Cannery Row where we went to an antique store. We saw the sugar bowl for Doris’s china. I broke the lid and now we are looking for the lid or the bowl and lid. The price was $ 150.00. We have to look a little bit longer. Doris bought some wine glasses and a bowl.

In Pacific Grove we went to the Monarch Butterfly Preserve and saw a lot of Monarchs but since the sun had disappeared they were not showing their colors. They were huddling together to keep warm.

On the way home we visited the Point Pinos Lighthouse.

Doris had signed up, before she met me, to take care of a lighthouse for a month. I have a feeling we will be living in a lighthouse for a month in the near future.

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The month of February is over and so is our six week vacation.

Today was a driving day. We left Salinas at 4:30 AM and arrived at the view point overlooking San Francisco, and the Golden Gate Bridge, at 7:00 AM.

We ate our breakfast and enjoyed the view of the bay.

At 10:00 AM we were at the Elks Lodge in Ukiah. We took a short nap and then went to the Buddhist  Monastery  for a vegetarian lunch.

The prayer hall was filled with people chanting, so I did not take pictures.

Our next stop was Walmart and from there we went to the Solar Living Center. They did not have a guided tour today so we walked the grounds on our own.

Since we started early and it is a Saturday we had no problem going through San Francisco. This was the easiest I experienced.

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We had good weather all the way to Eureka. There were no clouds in the sky.
A big pile of mail was waiting for Doris. I had only a few pieces of mail. Income tax time is here. After we clean the inside of the motorhome and get it to the storage place I have to work on my taxes.
This was a wonderful six weeks. Doris and I are very compatible and had no problems living in the motorhome. Doris enjoyed Quartzsite and is talking about going again there next year.
She also wants to go to the dance rally in Wickenburg, Arizona, in November.