Tuesday, December 30, 2008
A Trip To Carpinteria
We got up a little early today as we wanted to use the showers about a mile down the road at Sycamore Cove campground. Thornhill Broome does not have any hookups and taking showers in the rig fills up the grey water tank too fast. The showers are great, with lots of very hot water and clean private rooms. Yesterday we drove both rigs down there and used their dump site to empty our tanks and refill the freshwater tanks. Susan and I made it from Monday to Monday without having full tanks but we knew we would have to dump before the week was over anyway so decided to get it done. It was quick and very easy.
Yesterday and today was like camping in the summer here. I will post another picture of the rig and the beach that was taken at 7:45am. Hot coffee in the morning sun! I can't put a date on when we can do that again at home...maybe April.
Pat Clark is camping at Carpinteria with her little dog Rudy, or Rudy Pattoodie as we call him, this week so we are driving up to visit with them. We have stayed there before and it is very nice. They don't have very many spaces for rigs our size but they do have both full hookups and dry camping. We stayed there for the Avocado Festival two years ago and had a great time even though the park was jammed with people for the festival. It is hard to get reservations that week of the year and we haven't been back since. Carpinteria is north of where we are staying and about 20 minutes south of Santa Barbara.
When we arrived we sat in the sun and chatted for a while then walked down to "The Spot" a very popular hamburger place just outside the park. Great burgers! After eating we walked back, chatted some more then had to leave for home since all the dogs were back in our motor homes. We stopped at a supermarket in Carpineria to re-supply the galley then made our way back home.
The last two nights the park has been completely full and in has been warm out with no real wind. Hopefully that will last through New Years Eve. Should be a fun time if the weather holds up.
Yesterday and today was like camping in the summer here. I will post another picture of the rig and the beach that was taken at 7:45am. Hot coffee in the morning sun! I can't put a date on when we can do that again at home...maybe April.
Pat Clark is camping at Carpinteria with her little dog Rudy, or Rudy Pattoodie as we call him, this week so we are driving up to visit with them. We have stayed there before and it is very nice. They don't have very many spaces for rigs our size but they do have both full hookups and dry camping. We stayed there for the Avocado Festival two years ago and had a great time even though the park was jammed with people for the festival. It is hard to get reservations that week of the year and we haven't been back since. Carpinteria is north of where we are staying and about 20 minutes south of Santa Barbara.
When we arrived we sat in the sun and chatted for a while then walked down to "The Spot" a very popular hamburger place just outside the park. Great burgers! After eating we walked back, chatted some more then had to leave for home since all the dogs were back in our motor homes. We stopped at a supermarket in Carpineria to re-supply the galley then made our way back home.
The last two nights the park has been completely full and in has been warm out with no real wind. Hopefully that will last through New Years Eve. Should be a fun time if the weather holds up.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Football Sunday For Me
Yesterday we drove up to Leo Carillo Beach and this time the store was open. We bought a couple of t-shirts for souvenirs and looked around the park a little. We also used the pay showers as we have to ration our gray water holding tanks as we don't want to have to move the RV's to dump the tanks at Sycamore Cove, about 2 miles away. We will have to dump the tanks before we leave but we hope it will be Tuesday when the park may be relatively empty again after being full this weekend. While out we stopped off at the Trancas Beach store in Malibu and grocery shopped for what we needed for the next few day. We finished off our turkey leftovers from Xmas Eve yesterday. Tonight we had a light dinner of BLT sandwiches and watched San Diego beat Denver in the final NFL regular season game. Next week the playoffs start and I know I will be watching them in Palm Springs. If the weather stay in the seventies there I will watch them on the TV in the patio side compartment,
Today was again beautiful and Mark, Susan, and Carol sat outside while I watched the Seahawks last game on DirectTV, I bought the Sunday Ticket package so I can watch any game and not just what is one the local LA CBS and Fox stations. Too bad they had such a lousy year. Larry and Rose drove down and spent the late afternoon with us outside. We got a chance to visit again and they are going to try and get over to Palm Springs for a couple of days to visit in January.
People were leaving the park today but I think it will be close to three quarters full through New Years day. We will wait until January 2nd before leaving so won't hit traffic on New Years day. You have to consider the Rose Bowl Parade and game traffic that we would have to deal will. Better to watch the game on TV than to be out driving in traffic.
Today was again beautiful and Mark, Susan, and Carol sat outside while I watched the Seahawks last game on DirectTV, I bought the Sunday Ticket package so I can watch any game and not just what is one the local LA CBS and Fox stations. Too bad they had such a lousy year. Larry and Rose drove down and spent the late afternoon with us outside. We got a chance to visit again and they are going to try and get over to Palm Springs for a couple of days to visit in January.
People were leaving the park today but I think it will be close to three quarters full through New Years day. We will wait until January 2nd before leaving so won't hit traffic on New Years day. You have to consider the Rose Bowl Parade and game traffic that we would have to deal will. Better to watch the game on TV than to be out driving in traffic.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Viewing Pictures
Place your cursor on any picture in the blog and click your left key or left mouse key and you will get a full screen version of that picture. Click the back arrow key to return to the blog. This works on my laptop and should work for you as well.
The Day After Xmas
Hooray!
The sun has returned and the next week is forecast to be sunny and clear with zero chance of rain. Christmas Day was cloudy with some wind and rain showers, which wasn't so bad as we spent time inside with Xmas stuff going on anyway. We watched "Its A Wonderful Life" before bed on Xmas Eve and in the morning had breakfast and opened presents with the three dogs in Mark and Carol's RV. That evening we were invited over to Larry and Rose Mackey's for their family Xmas party. They had about 24 people there and provided a great dinner of turkey, prime rib, dressing, mashed potatoes, rolls, green bean casserole, and a ton dessert items. Prior to that the bar was open and lots of stuff to nibble on. I will include a couple of pictures of our hosts but the photos do not indicate the number of people who were there. It was great being able to see Larry and Rose again, especially on Xmas, and to be able to enjoy such a lavish dinner. Not exactly a motor home meal. LOL
We had to be back at the campground before 10 pm because they lock the gate for the night at that time and we didn't want to get locked out. Susan and I watched the first three episodes of "Lost - Season 4" on the DVD we bought at Costco. As you may or may not know, Season 5 is starting in mid January and the show is complex and fast moving so we needed to remind ourselves what all was going on before the new shows start. I have to admit that it remains my favorite show on television with "Survivor" running a close second.
We awoke this morning to sun streaming in the windows and a clear blue sky. I sat outside in a chaise before noon wearing shorts and t-shirt and letting the sun warm my bones. A little after noon we drove down to Leo Carillo State Beach looking to check out the little park store there for some salsa and souvenir sweatshirts or t-shirts. The were not open yet so we will try again on Saturday. Leo Carillo was a old movie actor who was active in preserving land locally and they named the beach after him. For those of you my age you may remember his as the character "Pancho" on the fifties TV series "The Cisco Kid".
I will include a quick pic of our beach here today which is starting to fill up for the weekend. The park is full for this weekend but not everyone is here yet.
Again, I will attach some pictures from the above days.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
It is now about 2pm on Christmas Eve and I am taking a little time to post to the blog while I have the generator running and the computer using house current. Susan and Carol are cooking us a turkey dinner with most all of the trimmings for supper today at around 4pm. Larry and Rose Mackey invited us all over to their condoin Ventura for Christmas Dinner tomorrow so we are having the meal we had planned to cook for the holiday today. We have Xmas music playing and it is very cozy inside. Today and tomorrow are supposed to have some rain so we are planning on going into Oxnard for a movie at 6pm. We are seeing Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon in "Four Christmases".
Yesterday was a really nice sunny day and I was in shorts and a t-shirt most of the day. After these two days of cooler weather the sun is supposed to be back with mid sixties sunshine for the next week. Looking forward to that warm sun again but kind of enjoying the cool weather as it seems more Christmasy to us NWer's. We received some pix from Pat and Ed Tatman in Olalla showing us their place covered with heavy snow. Part of me wishes I were there for a day or two and maybe a white Xmas but the other part of me is glad that I don't have to put up with all the bad weather after the novelty wears off. It's probably best to just enjoy the weather you have at the moment for what it is. We originally planned on driving south after the holidays but I'm glad I don't have to worry about the driving conditions on the trip down . Right now we are thinking of coming down around the first of November in the future and heading home in March or April.
We had some Xmas lights on last night and I filled the bottom of some brown paper bags with sand, stuck a candle in them and lit them up similar to a hurricane lamp. We put them in a semi circle around the patio area of the rig and they looked very festive and pretty. I took a few pictures but the flash took away the glow and without the flash the exposure was to long to hold still enough to get a crisp picture. I was too lazy to dig the tripod out and do it properly. I will post a picture of both so you can get the idea of how it actually looked.
Mark and Carol arrived yesterday a little before noon and we enjoyed chatting in the sun. We had a pre-Xmas martini party at the cocktail hour and then we went outside to enjoy the sunset. Nothing say Christmas like a good cigar! LOL
Hope you get the very very rare White Xmas back home!
Monday, December 22, 2008
A new location
I won't make this entry too long as my service on the Verizon card is about the same as our phone service through AT&T. The service comes and goes with no particular rhyme or reason.
This morning we checked out of Dockweiler's and drove through Santa Monica then cut over to Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. It was wet when we got up this morning with a little drizzle. I had put everything away the night before since the forecast was for some rain showers during the day. Still we had to do the chores of filling the fresh water tank, dumping both the black and grey water tanks, bringing the slide in, and hooking up the Wrangler to be towed to our next location , which is Thornehill Broom beach about 20 miles north of Malibu on the coast.
We left about 10:30am as we had a short drive of less than 2 hours which would put us there around noon. We gassed up in Santa Monica and grabbed some McDonald's burgers at the combination McDonald's/Chevron station. Gas was $1.83 a gallon, a far cry from the $4.34 per gallon we paid on our trip through Montana in August. It was almost a pleasure to fill the tank!
The actual rain had stopped before we left and it was just cool and overcast for the drive. We never did have to use the windshield wipers. The drive itself is very nice as you drive along the water the whole trip and pass though the Malibu community, including Pepperdine University, the Malibu Colony, Zuma Beach, Broad Beach, etc. It would have made a nice drive just for the scenery and made the trip seem very quick.
Thornehill Broom is one of the campsites at Point Mugu State Park. It runs along the beach north and south and you have sites that put you and your neighbors head to tail rather than side by side which is much more private. The best area is the extreme south end of the park with the sites numbered from one on up. Sites 1-4 were already taken. You can reserve a spot ahead of time but you are only guaranteed a site and first come first served is the order of the day. We signed up for a spot for Mark and Carol as well and put our Jeep in that spot. We are in #8 and they are in #9.
Shorty after we pulled in and got set up the brisk wind we arrived in blew all the clouds off and it became sunny and clear the rest of the day. We sat outside in the front of the rig, which blocked the wind almost completely, and had coffee with Baileys Irish Cream. I might mention that as with most of California state parks you are dry camping. No electric hookups, no fresh water hookups, and no sewer hookups. You have to manage your resources a little when you stay for the ten days we are here for. We have a generator, solar panels, and a 2000 watt inverter for power, propane furnace, stove, hot water heater so our main concern will be filling the grey water tank and emptying the fresh water tank. If we need to we can run down the highway about three miles to Sycamore Cove which has a dump site and water you can refill from. Still you have to put everything away, bring in the slide, pull the hydraulic jacks, etc. so you try and ration to avoid making that run too often. After our first season down here we learned that our favorite locations were the state parks so with that in mind we added two more batteries (4 total) three 100 watt solar panels, and a big inverter. It made a big difference in dry camping.
As the sun came out it brought back memories of past trips here and why we like it so much. You are right on the water and can hear the surf breaking even with the windows closed, you step out of the door right onto the sand, and will see seals, dolphins, and even whales very close to shore as they swim along the beach. Nothing beats a morning walk on the beach or an evening bonfire as the sun sets.
Right now the sun is setting and we have gone inside. I know that those of you in the NW are really getting a lot of snow right now and although a white Christmas would be really nice I don't think I want to swap locations with you at this moment.
I'm not sure how much I will be able to use the laptop, Internet, and have access to my blog so I will post a couple of pix of the new location since I have the opportunity right now.
Happy Holidays!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Snowing in Seattle
We are watching the Seahawks-Jets game in Seattle this afternoon and see that it is really snowing hard and there was a big snowfall overnight according to the announcers. A far cry from the beach down here where we are wearing shorts, t-shirts, and barefeet.
We have just been kicking back and enjoying the weather. This afternoon we will put some of the outside things away as we are leaving for Thornehill Broome beach tomorrow. We are supposed to get some rain then but down here the rain on Monday may be for about ten minutes followed by sunshine. Some rain is also forecast for Xmas and Xmas Eve but only 30% chance and that does not mean all day. We have plenty of DVD's to watch, including half a dozen Xmas movies we will enjoy and use to get into a Xmas mood. During the evening this last week, I have been "ripping" CD's of Xmas music and then building "playlists" for my computer and iphone. This will allow me to select just Xmas music on my ipod and have it shuffle through the songs anonymously. Basically, it allows you to listen to different people singing Xmas music rather than listen to one persons whole collection before hearing someone else. Last year the music really helped us feel like it was Christmas day despite the sunshine.
Mark and Carol will join us at Thornehill Broom tomorrow or the next day. They have some problems with their pharmacy insurance coverage that they need to clear up before leaving for ten days. I don't know why that kind of problem is so prevalent but we have had problems getting enough pills to last us six months before leaving town both this year and last. It takes dozens of phone calls to get this taken care of so we can sympathize with others who have medical insurance problems.
The park down here is filling up a little this week but will close down for maintenance for the month of January as usual. We now have rigs on both sides of us. I am looking forward to Thornehill Broom and its location and privacy but will miss the full hookups of Dockweiler's.
We do plan on coming back for another three weeks in March as we have other things we want to do down here. We want to get back up to Mailibu, drive the Stone Canyon, walk around downtown Santa Monica and Main Street, and walk out the Santa Monica pier.
I will enclose some pix from our walks north up the beach toward Marine Del Rey.
We have just been kicking back and enjoying the weather. This afternoon we will put some of the outside things away as we are leaving for Thornehill Broome beach tomorrow. We are supposed to get some rain then but down here the rain on Monday may be for about ten minutes followed by sunshine. Some rain is also forecast for Xmas and Xmas Eve but only 30% chance and that does not mean all day. We have plenty of DVD's to watch, including half a dozen Xmas movies we will enjoy and use to get into a Xmas mood. During the evening this last week, I have been "ripping" CD's of Xmas music and then building "playlists" for my computer and iphone. This will allow me to select just Xmas music on my ipod and have it shuffle through the songs anonymously. Basically, it allows you to listen to different people singing Xmas music rather than listen to one persons whole collection before hearing someone else. Last year the music really helped us feel like it was Christmas day despite the sunshine.
Mark and Carol will join us at Thornehill Broom tomorrow or the next day. They have some problems with their pharmacy insurance coverage that they need to clear up before leaving for ten days. I don't know why that kind of problem is so prevalent but we have had problems getting enough pills to last us six months before leaving town both this year and last. It takes dozens of phone calls to get this taken care of so we can sympathize with others who have medical insurance problems.
The park down here is filling up a little this week but will close down for maintenance for the month of January as usual. We now have rigs on both sides of us. I am looking forward to Thornehill Broom and its location and privacy but will miss the full hookups of Dockweiler's.
We do plan on coming back for another three weeks in March as we have other things we want to do down here. We want to get back up to Mailibu, drive the Stone Canyon, walk around downtown Santa Monica and Main Street, and walk out the Santa Monica pier.
I will enclose some pix from our walks north up the beach toward Marine Del Rey.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
What a difference a day makes.
We woke up today to a clear and sunny day that was a dramatic change from yesterday. We used the morning to clean up the motor home and the furniture and mats we keep outside. The mats were soaking wet and coated with wet sand. We put those over the bulkhead and let the sun and slight breeze dry them out. Mark stopped by on his scooter and dropped off some tamales that he gets from a little place in east LA. We have been getting these for quite a few years when we travel down here. We had him pick up a dozen, four each of the pork, chicken, and beef tamales. They make a great breakfast with scrambled eggs and salsa. We sat in the sun in front of the rig drinking cold beer and Mark and I smoking cigars, chatting, and enjoying the day.
Late in the afternoon we gassed up the Wrangler and drove into Marina Del Rey to have dinner with Pat Clark at a restaurant called "Island". Mark and Carol joined us there and we spend a nice evening catching up with each other and talking about the holiday season. Pat will join us at Joshua Tree National Park in April with her rig. She will also be camping at Carpinteria, close by us at Thornehill Broom, during Xmas week so we hope to see her again over the holidays.
It's now about ten pm and we are watching the DVD, "Miracle on 34th Street" before taking Ollie out for his bedtime walk.
On a sadder note we did find out today that the other nights shooting was a suicide but no real details on who or why.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Driving around in the rain...sound familiar?
Los Angeles is getting its winter today. The Grapevine on I-5 is closed because of snow as we speak and Southern California is getting hit by rain storms and cold weather. By our NW standards the rain is not all that bad but it is very rainy compared to their normal temperate climate. This morning we took our time getting up and around as we knew we would spend most of the time indoors other than running some errands we needed to get done. And it was after 1pm when we finally started our errands.
I might mention here that last night when we were walking Ollie at 11pm we noticed a fire truck entering the other end of the park along with an ambulance. We figured that someone probably had a heart attack or some other health problemand called 911. As we walked the loop and got closer to the blinking lights we saw that there were quite a few police cars along with the fire truck and ambulance and that there was police crime scene tape blocking off a couple of fifth wheels and the exit to the park in front of these vehicles. The police would not actually say what happened but did say that a gun was discharged. Evidently someone shot them self last night at about 11pm. Today the fifth wheel that looked to be most involved was missing. We were out running around and haven't had a chance to ask anyone for the details. Probably somebody watching the stock market.....just kidding. On our errands we drove the jeep out to Manhattan Beach to shop at a Ralph's Supermarket, shopping for a weeks worth of groceries. I mailed our Xmas cards while Susan started shopping. I also went next door to the drug store a bought a couple of blank video tapes for our camera, then ended up getting a haircut while Susan finished shopping. We stuffed two carts full of groceries into the little Wrangler while trying to stay as dry as possible. When we drove back to our rig, I parked in an open site right next to ours so we could transfers groceries as quickly and easily as possible. Still we both got a little wet before we were done. The thermometer in the window said it was 40 degrees but with the steady breeze off the water it was cooler than that. If I didn't know better I would say that we were back in Tacoma although you all seem to be getting snow instead of rain.
We are watching the nightly news as I type this and I suspect we will be watching TV most of the night including all our Xmas DVD's. We are getting all the premium stations via Direct TV and we brought a lot of DVDs with us. In addition, we bought "Season 4 of LOST" so we have plenty of stuff to watch and enjoy the cozy environment of our motor home. We have our tower style ceramic heater running and with the double pane windows and good insulation we have not yet needed to run our furnace. Last year we were in San Diego this time of the month and getting sunny warm weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warmer but long range forcasts are not as rosy. Time will tell and we may end up heading for Palm Springs early if the next two weeks are dreary.
I might mention here that last night when we were walking Ollie at 11pm we noticed a fire truck entering the other end of the park along with an ambulance. We figured that someone probably had a heart attack or some other health problemand called 911. As we walked the loop and got closer to the blinking lights we saw that there were quite a few police cars along with the fire truck and ambulance and that there was police crime scene tape blocking off a couple of fifth wheels and the exit to the park in front of these vehicles. The police would not actually say what happened but did say that a gun was discharged. Evidently someone shot them self last night at about 11pm. Today the fifth wheel that looked to be most involved was missing. We were out running around and haven't had a chance to ask anyone for the details. Probably somebody watching the stock market.....just kidding. On our errands we drove the jeep out to Manhattan Beach to shop at a Ralph's Supermarket, shopping for a weeks worth of groceries. I mailed our Xmas cards while Susan started shopping. I also went next door to the drug store a bought a couple of blank video tapes for our camera, then ended up getting a haircut while Susan finished shopping. We stuffed two carts full of groceries into the little Wrangler while trying to stay as dry as possible. When we drove back to our rig, I parked in an open site right next to ours so we could transfers groceries as quickly and easily as possible. Still we both got a little wet before we were done. The thermometer in the window said it was 40 degrees but with the steady breeze off the water it was cooler than that. If I didn't know better I would say that we were back in Tacoma although you all seem to be getting snow instead of rain.
We are watching the nightly news as I type this and I suspect we will be watching TV most of the night including all our Xmas DVD's. We are getting all the premium stations via Direct TV and we brought a lot of DVDs with us. In addition, we bought "Season 4 of LOST" so we have plenty of stuff to watch and enjoy the cozy environment of our motor home. We have our tower style ceramic heater running and with the double pane windows and good insulation we have not yet needed to run our furnace. Last year we were in San Diego this time of the month and getting sunny warm weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warmer but long range forcasts are not as rosy. Time will tell and we may end up heading for Palm Springs early if the next two weeks are dreary.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Little Jeep
I'm not sure how many people have seen the little jeep that we tow behind our motor home. I am enclosing a picture for those of you who have not yet seen the Wrangler we bought last year just before we headed home. I took this picture just after I had zipped the side and back windows back in. We had a good time driving it around although it is not really a wet weather car. Up until the last couple of days we have had a real good time cruising around in it with just the top on. Even driving it in the dark of night was fun...and in the sun it was a perfect beach type car. We bought a small Garmin GPS to use in it while down here (and in our other cars when we get back) and that has really helped up motor around. We will be back in town in March and will probably stay here for another three weeks and do some of the things we did not do this trip. The Jeep tows well and with the four cylinder engine gets very good gas mileage. As small as it appears it does ride higher that you would expect. Visibility is very good. A little loud on the freeways with the windows out but drives well with very quick steering.
First Rain
Late Sunday night, after we watch the final episode of "Survivor" and had just taken Ollie for his late night walk, it started to rain and then rain hard. We could hear it drum on the roof when we were awake that night. It felt nice and cozy inside with the rig all closed up and all our outdoor stuff either put away or covered. It drizzled a couple of times Monday afternoon, then this morning it was sunny for several hours before clouding over late this afternoon. This morning I put the windows back in the jeep so we could use it in the rain, although we are supposed to have seen the worst of this "storm" as they call it down here. Their idea of rain down here is far removed from ours.
Susan is working on the Xmas cards while I write this and we hope to mail them tomorrow when we go grocery shopping at Costco and Albertsons. Last year we skipped sending cards out since we were traveling etc. When we got home in March we had about fifty cards in our mail backlog.
This year we are a little more organized and are sending our "picture cards" of our rig from last years trip. We hope to find a nice location for this years picture somewhere on the beach prior to or on Xmas. I have an idea of what I am looking for in the way of a setting but not sure I can make it work. We'll see.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Weather changes and a kicked back weekend
It's Sunday night after a day of NFL football on the tube. Again this year I bought the Sunday Ticket package from Direct TV so I can get all the Seattle Seahawks games while one the road and unable to get the local Seattle broadcast. Naturally they are playing terrible this year so for the last couple of weeks I have been wanting them to lose to improve their position for the draft this spring so they beat the St. Louis Rams today who had the same record going in 2 wins, 11 loses and they had to score two touchdowns with less than five minutes in the games. Tonight we are watching "60 Minutes" and the finale of "Survivor".
Yesterday we had about 20 minutes of rain around 9am and it was dry again a little after 10am with the sun out. The wind did come up and we had to take the awnings in, which means taking some of our Xmas lights down, and move some chairs, wood boxes, etc. around to keep the mats from blowing around. We have a lot of sand on our mats and on the cement pad of our site. One thing that was pretty was that the wind did blow all the footprints and tracks off the sand making it smooth and flat. The weather should heat up again by Wednesday even though it has been sunny out each day so I guess this is winter in LA.
We did laundry today and will probably put the windows back in the Jeep tomorrow as it is cold after the sun goes down. Also of tomorrow we will have just one more week here before we head out to Thornehill Broom beach north of Malibu for Xmas and New Years. Mark and Carol are going there too so it should be fun. We will be dry camping so electricity will be rationed to a degree limiting how much Xmas lighting we can have going continuously. We brought some paper bags with us that we plan on filling with some sand, and placing candles in them lighting the candles and setting them around the outside for some non-electric Xmas decoration. I'm not sure how good it will work but I have be meaning to try this out for several seasons. I had hoped to do it along our front walk when we have some snowfall but haven't had a chance yet.
We will have to visit Costco and a supermarket tomorrow and shop for this next week.
We are planning to meet Pat Clark while down here and we are trying to get together with her and Mark & Carol for dinner some night this week.
Yesterday we had about 20 minutes of rain around 9am and it was dry again a little after 10am with the sun out. The wind did come up and we had to take the awnings in, which means taking some of our Xmas lights down, and move some chairs, wood boxes, etc. around to keep the mats from blowing around. We have a lot of sand on our mats and on the cement pad of our site. One thing that was pretty was that the wind did blow all the footprints and tracks off the sand making it smooth and flat. The weather should heat up again by Wednesday even though it has been sunny out each day so I guess this is winter in LA.
We did laundry today and will probably put the windows back in the Jeep tomorrow as it is cold after the sun goes down. Also of tomorrow we will have just one more week here before we head out to Thornehill Broom beach north of Malibu for Xmas and New Years. Mark and Carol are going there too so it should be fun. We will be dry camping so electricity will be rationed to a degree limiting how much Xmas lighting we can have going continuously. We brought some paper bags with us that we plan on filling with some sand, and placing candles in them lighting the candles and setting them around the outside for some non-electric Xmas decoration. I'm not sure how good it will work but I have be meaning to try this out for several seasons. I had hoped to do it along our front walk when we have some snowfall but haven't had a chance yet.
We will have to visit Costco and a supermarket tomorrow and shop for this next week.
We are planning to meet Pat Clark while down here and we are trying to get together with her and Mark & Carol for dinner some night this week.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Recap of the trip down here from the previously mentioned journal
Friday, November 28, 2008
Canyonville, OR
We were slow getting out of the house and finally left a little before 10am. The weather was overcast and it was a little misty out as we drove down I-5. I had to click the wipers on about once a minute so it really could not be called rain. We motored through fairly light traffic as we moved down I-5 then bypassed Portland Oregon on I-205. It stopped misting but got a little foggy as we passed by Eugene and Roseburg. For lunch we had some sandwiches from some of the turkey that Mark and Desiree had sent home with us. Nothing like sandwiches made from an actual roast turkey. It starts to get dark around 5pm so we did not want to push it too far south and decided to stay at an RV park in Canyonville, OR by the Seven Feathers Casino called by the same name. The place is new and turned out very nice. We received a 10 percent discount for being members of the FMCA and another 10% off for joining the Players Club at the casino (which is free). They have a very speedy free shuttle over to the Casino, as the RV park is across the freeway and several block west, and we took that over, joined the club for the discount, played a few slot machines, then had dinner at the restaurant. Susan had a French dip sandwich and I did the buffet. They had peeled shrimp, and steamed clams, plus prime rib, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and pumpkin pie and coffee…all for $15. We caught a fast shuttle back to the park and relaxed in the rig. We both read and then Susan went to be at about 9pm. I finished my book then turned in at 11pm as we were both tired from the long drive and the rushing to get ready.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Willows, CA
We left Canyonville at 9am heading south again on I-5. It was about an hour to Medford and then we gassed up in Ashland then started over the pass into California. As we left Ashland the fog and haze cleared and we drove into bright blue skies and sunny weather. We had some apples and oranges we brought with us without thinking about the produce check entering California but they waved us through without asking us anything. We still had a little climbing to do as we drove by Lake Shasta but we motored along well despite pulling the Wrangler behind us. We stopped at a rest spot just after Redding and had sandwiches for lunch and walked Ollie. I took off my zip up sweatshirt and finished the trip in a t-shirt. The temperature was 78 when we were in Redding. Since we were towing a car and started our first day slower than usual we were trying to decide where to spend the night. As were about a half an hour from Sacramento we saw a Wal-Mart and since we needed to shop for a couple of things we decided to try the Wal-Mart parking lot for the night. We ended up buying a 3 foot tree with attached lights, reindeer antlers for Ollie, presents for Jackie and Christie, some donuts, a red candle for our hurricane lamp, and a couple of other small items. As far as the overnight is concerned, the price is right, and we really needed to get an early start Sunday so we could stop before noon and still cover some miles. A few years ago we found out the hard way that Sunday after Thanksgiving Day has terrible traffic on I-5, either direction, especially after noon when everyone is rushing home. Since you are not allowed to put slides out at Wal-Mart and it is dry camping we expect to get on the freeway by 7:30am and cover the three hour drive to Santa Nella by 11am. Then we can watch football and relax the rest of the day and only have a four and a half hour drive into Playa Del Rey on Monday where we will be for the next three weeks. And last but not least, it is 9pm and we still have all the windows open in the rig as it is so nice out. I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt tomorrow….what a nice treat the day before December 1st.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Santa Nella, CA
We had planned to leave the Wal-Mart parking lot here in Willows, CA. early and just drive a short let to Santa Nella as traffic usually is crazy on the last day of the Thanksgiving Day weekend. We woke up to fairly heavy fog and decided to delay leaving for an hour or so and see if the fog would burn off. It didn’t appear to be lifting so we finally left Willows around 9am and drove south on I-5. Our GPS has been losing satellite reception and we think might be because we have not updated the maps which would include the software. We have come to rely on the unit to view the highway ahead, the upcoming towns, time of arrival at our destinations, and of course retail locations, such as gas stations, Costco’s, etc. and with it not working on a regular basis it makes it more difficult. We drove out of fog then back into more fog pretty much the whole trip. Traffic did get crazy and we had to stop on I-5 twice due to accidents, etc. The last time was a little after noon and about 15 miles north of our RV park destination. We found a detour we could make that would take us into Santa Nella and off the traffic jam on I-5 and it worked out fine. By 1pm we were sitting in our site with NFL football on TV and noting the traffic on I-5 that we could see from our site in the park. The battery on the Wrangler need to be charged so we had AAA come out and get that started then let it run to charge it up. There is always something to be worked on when you own and RV.
One of the reasons we chose Santa Nella is that it leaves about five hours left before getting into LA and we needed to check into Dockweiler’s RV Park after noon on Monday which we had already paid for. It was sunny that afternoon at the Santa Nella RV Park and we enjoyed the bright sun and blue skies. As we walked Ollie that evening we noted that it was chilly out, not as bad as home, but a little nippy. We use a ceramic heater when we have electricity to heat the rig and we used that in the evening which kept the rig nice and toasty. We watch Amazing Race, and a little of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters before bed.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Playa Del Rey, CA
The weather forecast was fog for most of California on Monday and we drove in and out of it most of the day. In the sun it was definitely warmer now that we are further south and even in the fog it was not really cool. The fog today was higher and did not affect driving as the visibility was very good. It did disguise the scenery along the way and made noting landmarks as we passed difficult. The GPS worked through most of the drive and I received an answer from my email to Garmin saying that I needed to update the map software and also reset the unit. This is what I had thought was the problem but it was nice to know that the unit was not in need of repair. We did fine up The Grapevine, towing the Wrangler at between 50-60 mph up the long reach going toward the LA basin. It was sunny at that altitude and stayed clear and sunny as we took I-5 south, turned onto I-405 toward Santa Monica and the beach. As we got into congestion the GPS again lost satellite reception just as we needed it most be we managed to work out way out to the beach, through Marina Del Rey and past LAX until we crossed the road we need and followed that to the beach, then a little bit south to Dockweiler’s. We got checked in, set up out rig, awnings, mats, chairs, etc. and we in business before 3pm.
We kicked back and enjoyed the fact that we would not have to pack up or drive anywhere for the next three weeks. Not a bad drive down but being able to sleep in, not worry about fog, etc. made the afternoon a little sweeter. LA and especially the beaches have become like a second home to us of the years. Now we truly can “live” in LA rather than just spend a couple of weeks here. I’m sure we will return back to Dockweiler’s after we come back from Palm Springs in March when the temperature again starts to pick up.
Canyonville, OR
We were slow getting out of the house and finally left a little before 10am. The weather was overcast and it was a little misty out as we drove down I-5. I had to click the wipers on about once a minute so it really could not be called rain. We motored through fairly light traffic as we moved down I-5 then bypassed Portland Oregon on I-205. It stopped misting but got a little foggy as we passed by Eugene and Roseburg. For lunch we had some sandwiches from some of the turkey that Mark and Desiree had sent home with us. Nothing like sandwiches made from an actual roast turkey. It starts to get dark around 5pm so we did not want to push it too far south and decided to stay at an RV park in Canyonville, OR by the Seven Feathers Casino called by the same name. The place is new and turned out very nice. We received a 10 percent discount for being members of the FMCA and another 10% off for joining the Players Club at the casino (which is free). They have a very speedy free shuttle over to the Casino, as the RV park is across the freeway and several block west, and we took that over, joined the club for the discount, played a few slot machines, then had dinner at the restaurant. Susan had a French dip sandwich and I did the buffet. They had peeled shrimp, and steamed clams, plus prime rib, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and pumpkin pie and coffee…all for $15. We caught a fast shuttle back to the park and relaxed in the rig. We both read and then Susan went to be at about 9pm. I finished my book then turned in at 11pm as we were both tired from the long drive and the rushing to get ready.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Willows, CA
We left Canyonville at 9am heading south again on I-5. It was about an hour to Medford and then we gassed up in Ashland then started over the pass into California. As we left Ashland the fog and haze cleared and we drove into bright blue skies and sunny weather. We had some apples and oranges we brought with us without thinking about the produce check entering California but they waved us through without asking us anything. We still had a little climbing to do as we drove by Lake Shasta but we motored along well despite pulling the Wrangler behind us. We stopped at a rest spot just after Redding and had sandwiches for lunch and walked Ollie. I took off my zip up sweatshirt and finished the trip in a t-shirt. The temperature was 78 when we were in Redding. Since we were towing a car and started our first day slower than usual we were trying to decide where to spend the night. As were about a half an hour from Sacramento we saw a Wal-Mart and since we needed to shop for a couple of things we decided to try the Wal-Mart parking lot for the night. We ended up buying a 3 foot tree with attached lights, reindeer antlers for Ollie, presents for Jackie and Christie, some donuts, a red candle for our hurricane lamp, and a couple of other small items. As far as the overnight is concerned, the price is right, and we really needed to get an early start Sunday so we could stop before noon and still cover some miles. A few years ago we found out the hard way that Sunday after Thanksgiving Day has terrible traffic on I-5, either direction, especially after noon when everyone is rushing home. Since you are not allowed to put slides out at Wal-Mart and it is dry camping we expect to get on the freeway by 7:30am and cover the three hour drive to Santa Nella by 11am. Then we can watch football and relax the rest of the day and only have a four and a half hour drive into Playa Del Rey on Monday where we will be for the next three weeks. And last but not least, it is 9pm and we still have all the windows open in the rig as it is so nice out. I am wearing shorts and a t-shirt tomorrow….what a nice treat the day before December 1st.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Santa Nella, CA
We had planned to leave the Wal-Mart parking lot here in Willows, CA. early and just drive a short let to Santa Nella as traffic usually is crazy on the last day of the Thanksgiving Day weekend. We woke up to fairly heavy fog and decided to delay leaving for an hour or so and see if the fog would burn off. It didn’t appear to be lifting so we finally left Willows around 9am and drove south on I-5. Our GPS has been losing satellite reception and we think might be because we have not updated the maps which would include the software. We have come to rely on the unit to view the highway ahead, the upcoming towns, time of arrival at our destinations, and of course retail locations, such as gas stations, Costco’s, etc. and with it not working on a regular basis it makes it more difficult. We drove out of fog then back into more fog pretty much the whole trip. Traffic did get crazy and we had to stop on I-5 twice due to accidents, etc. The last time was a little after noon and about 15 miles north of our RV park destination. We found a detour we could make that would take us into Santa Nella and off the traffic jam on I-5 and it worked out fine. By 1pm we were sitting in our site with NFL football on TV and noting the traffic on I-5 that we could see from our site in the park. The battery on the Wrangler need to be charged so we had AAA come out and get that started then let it run to charge it up. There is always something to be worked on when you own and RV.
One of the reasons we chose Santa Nella is that it leaves about five hours left before getting into LA and we needed to check into Dockweiler’s RV Park after noon on Monday which we had already paid for. It was sunny that afternoon at the Santa Nella RV Park and we enjoyed the bright sun and blue skies. As we walked Ollie that evening we noted that it was chilly out, not as bad as home, but a little nippy. We use a ceramic heater when we have electricity to heat the rig and we used that in the evening which kept the rig nice and toasty. We watch Amazing Race, and a little of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters before bed.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Playa Del Rey, CA
The weather forecast was fog for most of California on Monday and we drove in and out of it most of the day. In the sun it was definitely warmer now that we are further south and even in the fog it was not really cool. The fog today was higher and did not affect driving as the visibility was very good. It did disguise the scenery along the way and made noting landmarks as we passed difficult. The GPS worked through most of the drive and I received an answer from my email to Garmin saying that I needed to update the map software and also reset the unit. This is what I had thought was the problem but it was nice to know that the unit was not in need of repair. We did fine up The Grapevine, towing the Wrangler at between 50-60 mph up the long reach going toward the LA basin. It was sunny at that altitude and stayed clear and sunny as we took I-5 south, turned onto I-405 toward Santa Monica and the beach. As we got into congestion the GPS again lost satellite reception just as we needed it most be we managed to work out way out to the beach, through Marina Del Rey and past LAX until we crossed the road we need and followed that to the beach, then a little bit south to Dockweiler’s. We got checked in, set up out rig, awnings, mats, chairs, etc. and we in business before 3pm.
We kicked back and enjoyed the fact that we would not have to pack up or drive anywhere for the next three weeks. Not a bad drive down but being able to sleep in, not worry about fog, etc. made the afternoon a little sweeter. LA and especially the beaches have become like a second home to us of the years. Now we truly can “live” in LA rather than just spend a couple of weeks here. I’m sure we will return back to Dockweiler’s after we come back from Palm Springs in March when the temperature again starts to pick up.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Later that night....
Susan and Ollie are in bed and I'm downloading a software update for my iPhone and thought I would post one more small entry for the day. We had a dinner of hot dogs and beans early tonight then drove over to Mark and Carols to visit and watch the second to the last episode of "Survivor" as all four of us are fans of the show. For those who watch, glad to see Chrystal voted out...did not expect it but on that show you never know.
I will mention that our little Jeep Wrangler is fun to drive around down here. We have the top on but the windows out all the way around including the back. It handles much like the M.G. we used to have as the steering is very tight. Five speed manual transmission and 4 cylinder engine works pretty well down here. A little noisy on the freeway with the sides open and a lot of shifting when the traffic is heavy but we use mostly use surface streets and avoid the commute hours so no big deal. We cover it each night to keep dew off of it since we are at the beach.
Tonight I "ripped" a copy of Mark's "Best of Ricky Nelson" CD for my iPhone and forgot how much I liked his music. But those of your my age grew up with him and his family on TV, the people under 50 probably have no clue as to who the heck he was and the name Ozzie only registers as Osborne with them. Generation gap indeed.
We are still watching the Seattle Seahawks games, as dismal as they are. Seattle sports teams are so bad this year. The Oklahoma Thunder, who were the Seattle Sonics last year, have a record of 2 wins and 12 loses so far...thank God they left town.
Well my download is complete so I will post this to flesh out the site a little more then post every day or every other day from now on. We have not taken may pictures so far but I am planning on putting them in the blog too. Actually, I have figured out how to put a slide show on the blog but will have to wait until we take some more pictures.
I will mention that our little Jeep Wrangler is fun to drive around down here. We have the top on but the windows out all the way around including the back. It handles much like the M.G. we used to have as the steering is very tight. Five speed manual transmission and 4 cylinder engine works pretty well down here. A little noisy on the freeway with the sides open and a lot of shifting when the traffic is heavy but we use mostly use surface streets and avoid the commute hours so no big deal. We cover it each night to keep dew off of it since we are at the beach.
Tonight I "ripped" a copy of Mark's "Best of Ricky Nelson" CD for my iPhone and forgot how much I liked his music. But those of your my age grew up with him and his family on TV, the people under 50 probably have no clue as to who the heck he was and the name Ozzie only registers as Osborne with them. Generation gap indeed.
We are still watching the Seattle Seahawks games, as dismal as they are. Seattle sports teams are so bad this year. The Oklahoma Thunder, who were the Seattle Sonics last year, have a record of 2 wins and 12 loses so far...thank God they left town.
Well my download is complete so I will post this to flesh out the site a little more then post every day or every other day from now on. We have not taken may pictures so far but I am planning on putting them in the blog too. Actually, I have figured out how to put a slide show on the blog but will have to wait until we take some more pictures.
Bikes and the bike path
Lots of really nice bikes on the bike path down here. Fat tired beach cruiser, uber chic big bucks titanium rockets, rusty old retro one speeds, mountain bikes, 21 speed racers, bikes encased in a plastic wedge shape to avoid wind resistance, bikes you practically lay on your back to ride with your feet facing forward (I'd like to try on of these) every kind of bike by one kind....Larry and Susans bikes. We ran out of time trying to find and fit a rack on the back of the Wrangler and rather than leave a day late we decided to go without them. Bad mistake. The bike path is right out front and runs south through Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and ends a mile past Redondo Beach. Going north from here you pass through Playa Del Rey, Marina Del Rey, by LAX, Venice, the Santa Monica pier and it finally stops before you head north to Malibu. I think it is about a 12 or 13 mile ride in total. But it is very flat and almost all of it is on a concrete path over the sand. Riding into the wind, if there is any, is about the only difficulty you may face other than you tend to gawk at things along the way and have to be careful to watch out that you don't run off into the sand or crash into someone cutting across the path. During the summer months there is the danger of bikini watching while you ride....not so much during the winter months.
You also see some roller bladers, and skateboards rolling along. We used to see some little electric and gas scooters crusing along but not this year...maybe they have been banned. My favorite sight so far was a girl pedaling her bike briskly along with a rope tied to her bike seat towing her boyfriend on his skateboard. He was slaloming along, back and forth, behind her.
You also see some roller bladers, and skateboards rolling along. We used to see some little electric and gas scooters crusing along but not this year...maybe they have been banned. My favorite sight so far was a girl pedaling her bike briskly along with a rope tied to her bike seat towing her boyfriend on his skateboard. He was slaloming along, back and forth, behind her.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
It appears that I have mastered the very basics of blogging so I will try and send along a little more information.
We left Tacoma the Friday after Thanksgiving and a checking into Playa Del Rey (LA) on the following Monday. The trip down was uneventful and we have yet to get any rain in California however we may get some this weekend...a 30% chance they say.
Today was beautiful and we drove our little Jeep, with all the windows out, over to Venice for breakfast with Mark & Carol at the Sidewalk Cafe, a favorite spot of ours over the years. You never know who or what you'll see while sitting outside along the walkway beside Venice beach. After breakfast we drove back to our "Winter Cottage" as we refer to it and spent the afternoon sitting in the sun, watching the bikers and skaters glide by on the bike path that runs a few feet away while we listened to music and toasted ourselves. Yesterday we had lunch at Gladstones at the foot of Sunset. The restaurant sits right on the sand just before you drive north into Malibu and we try to have lunch there each trip down south. We both had seafood Cobb salads that were loaded with crab, shrimp, avocado, and all other normal Cobb fixings plus a large piece of lox and served with two oysters on the half shell. Susan didn't finish her salad so the waiter wrapped it foil and then wrapped that package in gold foil in the shape of a penguin. If your ever in town do try them for lunch and let me warn you that their deserts are humongous....one could literally feed four people with one desert. We passed on dessert.
Last year we really missed the experience of Xmas what with the warm sunny weather and the lack of decorations so this year we have outdoor lights, a lit wreath on the grill, Santa hats on the rear view mirrors, a 3' lit tree, Xmas stockings hung, green throws on the couch and chair along with Xmas pillows. We may have overdone it a little. But it does feel a lot more festive.
Thanks to Mark, Desiree, and Sammy who hosted a great Thanksgiving day dinner this year and even sent us home with some leftover turkey that became sandwiches we ate on the first day of travel. Last year we were on the road and missed out on the big feast so this was a special treat for us.
Hopefully, I will improve my blogging skills as I try and update this on a daily basis and add pictures to help describes the day.
We left Tacoma the Friday after Thanksgiving and a checking into Playa Del Rey (LA) on the following Monday. The trip down was uneventful and we have yet to get any rain in California however we may get some this weekend...a 30% chance they say.
Today was beautiful and we drove our little Jeep, with all the windows out, over to Venice for breakfast with Mark & Carol at the Sidewalk Cafe, a favorite spot of ours over the years. You never know who or what you'll see while sitting outside along the walkway beside Venice beach. After breakfast we drove back to our "Winter Cottage" as we refer to it and spent the afternoon sitting in the sun, watching the bikers and skaters glide by on the bike path that runs a few feet away while we listened to music and toasted ourselves. Yesterday we had lunch at Gladstones at the foot of Sunset. The restaurant sits right on the sand just before you drive north into Malibu and we try to have lunch there each trip down south. We both had seafood Cobb salads that were loaded with crab, shrimp, avocado, and all other normal Cobb fixings plus a large piece of lox and served with two oysters on the half shell. Susan didn't finish her salad so the waiter wrapped it foil and then wrapped that package in gold foil in the shape of a penguin. If your ever in town do try them for lunch and let me warn you that their deserts are humongous....one could literally feed four people with one desert. We passed on dessert.
Last year we really missed the experience of Xmas what with the warm sunny weather and the lack of decorations so this year we have outdoor lights, a lit wreath on the grill, Santa hats on the rear view mirrors, a 3' lit tree, Xmas stockings hung, green throws on the couch and chair along with Xmas pillows. We may have overdone it a little. But it does feel a lot more festive.
Thanks to Mark, Desiree, and Sammy who hosted a great Thanksgiving day dinner this year and even sent us home with some leftover turkey that became sandwiches we ate on the first day of travel. Last year we were on the road and missed out on the big feast so this was a special treat for us.
Hopefully, I will improve my blogging skills as I try and update this on a daily basis and add pictures to help describes the day.
Okay, we will try this again!
I am trying to set up a blog site so that anyone who is interested can log on and catch up with what we have been up to, including pictures. My first post only sent a picture of the RV with the Xmas lights and not any entry. So this entry will be much shorter so I can see if it is work well before typing too much into it.
I am trying to set up a blog site so that anyone who is interested can log on and catch up with what we have been up to, including pictures. My first post only sent a picture of the RV with the Xmas lights and not any entry. So this entry will be much shorter so I can see if it is work well before typing too much into it.
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