Richard's Travels

6-21-2016

We left Eureka at 7:30 AM. In Ukiah we stopped at the Coyote Indian Casino to get gasoline for the motorhome and went to the parking lot and prepared lunch.

It was hot in Ukiah and it got worse. We arrived at the San Jose Elks Lodge at 2:45 PM. My first act was to hook up the electricity and start the air conditioner. Nothing happened. I went to the office and an electrician came and told me that there is nothing wrong with their part. The surge protector in the motorhome does not work anymore. I had to bypass it.

As soon I had the air conditioner going we went to the swimming pool. The lodge has a giant pool and a tiny one for small children.

6-22-2016.

Today we got on the road at 7:00 AM and arrived at the Gaviota State Park at 12:15 PM.

I had given the kids a choice between the swimming pool at the Elks Lodge in San Luis Obispo or the beach. The beach won.

When I arrived at the State Park the volunteer ranger told me that he has no site for the size of my motorhome. Then he told me to check it out. I found a site with low back markers. The back of my motorhome was higher and the overhang went on the grass and it was just enough to fit.

Nicolette and Jacob spent several hours in the water.

This campground has some good memories for us. Jacob and Nicolette do not remember anymore. When Jacob was about three years old, Claudia, Doreen, the children and I stayed here for a night.

Jacob’s favorite TV program was Thomas the Train, but he had never seen a real train. While I was setting up the motorhome a freight train came over the trestle. Jacob started jumping and screaming. He was very happy.

6-23-2016.

We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Garden Grove at 11:45 AM. After lunch and a rest we drove to Disneyland to check out the parking. It was a little bit complicated to get to the parking facility near the park.

On the way back to the motorhome we found another Disneyland parking facility. A shuttle brings visitors to the park.

6-24-2016.

This was a long day. All my worries were for nothing. Everything worked out fine. We had a lot of fun.

I was awake at 4:00 AM. At 5:30 AM I got up and got ready. At 6:00 AM I woke up the children and they did not linger as usual. They got dressed, had breakfast, made their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, packed some fruit and water, and by 7:00 AM we were leaving for Disneyland.

Yesterday we scouted the parking facilities and on the way home we noticed a sign for a Disney Parking lot off Harbor Boulevard. On the way north we could not see it.

This morning Jacob guided me with his smart phone. We found the parking lot and jumped on the shuttle bus. Parking fee was $ 18.00.

We arrived at Disneyland at 7:35 AM and went though security. At 8:00 AM the park opened and everybody did spread out.

We went to Hyperspace Mountain and took the ride. I would never do it again. It is loud, mostly dark, and a rough ride. People with back problems should not go on it.

It is one of the popular rides. Since we were early we had no lines to stand in.

For other rides we got a Fastpass. This works fantastic. At some of the popular rides are terminals where one enters the admission ticket and a Fastpass comes out with a specified time. One has an hour to come back. For a 2:00 PM time the ticket will say between 2:00 PM 3:00 PM. On some rides one has three hours to do other things. This works perfect. When we came back we did not have to stand in long lines. There is a separate line for Fastpass ticket holders.

Since Disney bought George Lucas’s company there are a lot of Star Wars related rides.

We took the submarine ride which looks for Nemo. Along the wall were star fish and other sea creatures. Nemo was there too but it was difficult to get a picture.

The castle is visible from most places of the park.

In Frontierland Jacob rode the Thunder Mountain Railroad. Nicolette and I passed this one up.

Jacob also rode on the Splash Mountain ride.

Besides the monorail there are other modes of transportation.

The carousel was always loaded with people.

There are some beautiful buildings in the park.

A band marched through the park.

We also rode though the mouth of a whale. Whales have no teeth, but this one does have them. This was a wonderful ride. Along the shore were miniature towns and castles.

We did almost all the major rides and many of the small ones. By 4:00 PM I was almost done. Nicolette wanted to stay for the fireworks at 9:30 PM. That would have been too much.

We stayed for the parade on Main Street and then left. Unfortunately we stood at the wrong place and found out that the parade made a turn and the street was roped off. We looked for a better place but could only find a spot between a tree and an ice cream kiosk. I could only take pictures of high floats.

This was only a minor problem. We had a good time. On the way out Nicolette bought a Micky Mouse hat for a fiend and herself.

6-4-2016

Today was the first Saturday of the month and Arts Alive was held in Old Town and Down Town. All the Art Galleries were open until 10:00 PM.

Bands were playing in the galleries, shops and on the street.

The Kenny Ray and the Mighty Rovers band was playing at a coffee shop. They perform sometimes at our Monday night dance.

The Pan Dulce Steel Orchestra was entertaining at the gazebo. They are very popular and the music is great.

This little boy made a lot of money, being cute pays well. People put a lot of dollars in his guitar case.

He had a speaker system and it sounded great.

Souls can be also be saved at such an event.

Uncle Sam was there to get donations for the 4^th of July fireworks.

Doing this alone was not much fun. I met people I know from the Senior Center, the Monday dance and other places. Eureka is a small town and Arts Alive is one of the big events in this community.

6-5-2016.

Early afternoon I drove to the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

They have wonderful hiking trails. There was not much wildlife but the scenery was beautiful.

While coming to the refuge I saw hundreds of Great Igres in shallow water. I could not stop because the road was very narrow. I thought I will see them later. All I saw was one.

I talked to a couple who were also visiting the refuge. I told them that I saw many Igres from the road and now I see only one. They made me aware of the birds roosting in trees across the valley. I would have never noticed those white spots in the large trees. It was foggy there and my camera has only 10 X magnification. I got a picture but it is not the greatest. I am surprised that those long legged birds are sitting in large trees.

At the museum they have displays of birds and other wildlife.

Near the refuge is the town of Loleta. The town is well known for its cheese. The milk producers are in the green meadows.

When I came back to the Moose Lodge I was greeted with music. A local elementary school had a fund raiser and tri tip steak was served. It must have been successful because there were a lot of cars in the parking lot and on the grass.

6-11-2016.

This past week I worked on the car and motorhome. I have not used the Brake Buddy on the new car because I had a difficult time to install a 12 volt outlet in the car, connected directly to the battery. . The two outlets which are already in the car do not work. The Brake Buddy pushes the brake pedal one time and then the compressor stops working.

I could not find an entrance from the motor compartment to the inside of the car. I finally gave up and took the car to an auto electric shop.

I had the electric system checked out and they installed the harness I gave them for the 12 volt outlet and also installed the break away line for the Brake Buddy. I had removed both of them from the last Saturn.

When I tow the car a fuse in the motorhome blows. The running lights on the car stop working but all the lights on the motorhome are not affected. They could not find anything wrong with the car electrical system. It has to be the car though. I never had a problem towing the other two Saturns.

The Brake Buddy works fine now and I will use it, especially in mountainous regions. This car is bigger and heavier than the other Saturns I owned.

To solve the draining of the car battery while the car is being towed I installed a connection between the motorhome batteries and the car battery. I used 10 gage wires and two prong connectors. I installed a fuse near both batteries.

On the two other Saturns I never drained the battery. On this car I have to remove a fuse when towing the car. It was supposed to take care of draining the battery. Now I should not have that problem again.

This morning I walked in Sequoia Park. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

Ducks were sleeping at the side of the pond. Little turtles were enjoying the sun.

In the afternoon I drove to Rhoner Park in Fortuna. They had a Flea Market there. Most of the vendors owned small old trailers, like this tear drop trailer.

There were more vendors inside the Firemens Pavilion.

6-12-2016.

This was another magnificent, sunny day.

I walked two and a half miles of the Hammond Coastal Trail in McKinleyville this morning.

Walking five miles is just about right for me. I will walk more of the trail another time.

Near the trail are some big, expensive homes. They are built like castles.

From their homes the owners look over the Mad River, over the narrow sand dunes, and they see the ocean. The houses are located higher then where I am standing. The view from the houses must be fantastic.

On the side of the trail are blooming bushes and the trees have moos hanging from the branches.

There is also the Widow White Creek Trail, a short, narrow trail which goes back to the Hammond Trail.

On this trail there are a lot of flowers in bloom.

On the way back I admired those houses.

This beautiful home has two motorhome garages.

At a big meadow were four benches. At one bench sat an old man, his walking stick was leaning against the bench. When I was sitting down on one of the benches the man made me aware of a Grey Heron walking in the meadow looking for food.

I ate my lunch and then asked him whether he walked very far from here. He had his car around the corner. He told me that he cannot walk anymore. He is seventy six years old, one year younger than I am.

I am very lucky.

6-16-2016.

Today was the first Summer Concert on the Bay. A Rock Band from Los Angeles provided the music. They were pretty good.

The audience enjoyed the music and some people were dancing.

Kayakers were in the water and listening too.

The concert started at 6:00 PM and unfortunately at 7:00 PM it stated to rain. That was the end of the concert.

6-18-2016.

In Arcata they had the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival today. Oysters are raised in the bay and shipped all over the United States.

There was entertainment for the children.

But the main event was eating oysters. There were several booths which sold oysters. The lines were very long.

The line at the SUSHI booth was the longest.

There were other foods available.

Throughout the day several bands were entertaining the crowd.

A red lobster, an owl and an old man were wandering around the plaza.

The affair was like a picnic. People were spread out on the grass in the plaza.

6-19-2016.

I did a lot of walking today. First, I drove to McKinleyville and walked the Northern part of the trail, to Clam Beach County Park.

This part of the trail is mostly in the sun, there is very little shade. And it was sunny today.

I walked to the beach. Before reaching the beach I had to cross the dunes.

From the beach I could see Trinidad Head in the distance.

At this spot the Eel River joins the ocean. I enjoyed the view and ate my lunch while sitting on a large log.

The Western Snowy Plover does not build nests. The female lays the eggs in the sand. This bird is protected and part of the beach is off limits.

The walk was 1.6 miles one way. I thought I did not walk enough today.

My next stop was Trinidad where they celebrated Fish Festival. To get a parking spot I had to park outside of town, which meant more walking. There was no shuttle bus.

The Main Street was closed for motorized traffic. Booths lined both sides of the street and all kind of stuff was sold.

Across from the Town Hall salmon was grilled on BBQs. For $ 15.00 one got a little piece of salmon, coleslaw, fries and a salad. There were two lines, half a block long, waiting to be served. I do not like to wait very long and just enjoyed the goings on.