It’s been a little bit since I blogged our travels.  Time to do some catching up on the last few weeks.

After we left the coast, we started our first trip to the Sierras.   Back up the Grapevine and into the San Joaquin valley, this time turning up Route 99.  We got off in Visalia, which is beautiful farm country, and started the trip to our next RV park.  We got on Route 245.  Started out very pretty – and then we noticed the road was getting windier and windier and now we were climbing.  Ed is asking me what the hell kind of road I have him on.  With a rig our size, we really had no business being on this road.  The last 4 miles were the most treacherous with no guardrail/tree cover on the ravine side.  We were hugging the mountain on the way up, but we’re going to have to come down on the ravine side.  And we climbed to nearly 3800 feet!  Yikes!

We stayed at Sequoia Resort in Badger.  I picked this park due to its close proximity to both Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.  Note to self:  Check the roads we have to drive on before you book a place!  It’s a smallish resort, with tranquil grounds.  So quiet.  We were the biggest rig there.  When we hooked up, we noticed our refrigerator was on the fritz.  Damnit, we have a weeks worth of groceries with us.  We realized we were going to have come down to get it fixed.  We made a decision to cut short our week there and just stay for 4 nights and go down the mountain to get a cooler for the 4 days.

Our first day, we chose to make the trip up to Kings Canyon.  It looked from the maps that Route 180 coming out of the park would be the safest trip back down the mountain.  But first we had to get on Route 245 again and keep climbing to get up there.  NOPE!  It was even more windier than the original climb and some of those turns we never would have made.

Anyway, on this day we drove around Kings Canyon National Park.  There was still snow on the upper reaches, so we were only able to drive a little more than 10 miles in.  But first, we got our first look at the giant Sequoias and the famous General Grant tree!

We walked around Grant Grove for a little while in awe then drove deeper into the park for some majestic views!

As I said, we couldn’t go too far in, so after we turned around, we drove down the 180 into Dinuba and picked up a cooler to keep our food in until we came down.  Of course, now we had to go back up the 245 but it was a little less stressful with no RV behind us.

Our second day up there, we drove into Sequoia National Park.  More breathtaking mountain views and then a stop at the Sequoia grove that holds the famous General Sherman tree!  Just amazing!

There was still a fair amount of snow in the park, so once again, we were limited on how much we could actually do in the park.  But we drove the main road down, from 8000+ feet down to the valley floor.  Holy twists and turns!  Lots of lookouts to get some great pictures and slower drivers in front of us to keep Ed from racing to the bottom.

When we got out of the park in Three Rivers, we stopped for a beer at a quaint little diner right next to the one of the 3 rivers.  It probably had Class 3 rapids due to the snow melt in the Sierras.   Back up the 245 and this time we barely made it before sundown – I think I would have completely freaked doing that drive in the dark.

 

Our last full day, we just enjoyed the resort and walked around the grounds and relaxed. 

So, get ready to laugh.  I psyched myself out so bad about this trip down the mountain that it was all I dreamed about for 4 nights.  I told Ed I could not watch this drive.  When we were ready to leave, I got in the back seat of the truck, faced the seat, and blindfolded myself.  I waited through 6 songs on the radio before I allowed myself to look and by then, the worst of that mountain road was behind us!

We drove into Fresno and parked for 4 nights.  Nice little RV park named Blackstone.  We got the refrigerator fixed on the first night and did some overdue maintenance.  Went and saw the Avengers and got shopping done and ate some yummy food.  Fresno was a nice place to stop for a few days.

We left on Saturday morning to head towards Port Hueneme.  We had a hiccup right at the beginning.  A package that should have been delivered earlier got delivered 30 minutes after we left, so we had to turn around to go pick it back up.

We made our way down the 101 towards Santa Barbara.  If you saw the movie “Sideways”, it was filmed in Santa Ynez wine country, thats where we driving through.  Just beautiful.  Waze had us getting off at Route 154 for a “quicker” route.  Big mistake.  Ed saw a sign as we got off that said trucks should take the 101.  That should have been the warning.  Holy mountains!  We really shouldn’t have been driving on that road with an RV – it had a 6 percent grade on the a lot of the downhills and we almost lost our bike rack on the drive.  But, the views as we came into Santa Barbara – wow!

We stayed at the Navy Base at Port Hueneme.  It’s a nice park with lots of room.  My only complaint was they only had one working washer, so laundry day was a hassle.

The next day, we drove down the coast to go to Getty Villa.  The artwork was gorgeous and the Villa itself was a wonder.  I especially loved the drive through Malibu – I’ve never been through there before.  We had dinner at a place recommended by a Chief I know.  Blue Elephant Thai – really good!

On that Monday, I had a very long lunch with my dear friend Sharon, who had moved to the area two years before.  It was great to catch up with my girl!  It gave Ed the day to work on reinforcing the bumper and installing a better bike rack.

On Tuesday afternoon, we took a drive up to Santa Barbara along Ventura Highway!  What a gorgeous drive.  We seem to be on a mission kick – our first stop was Mission Santa Barbara.  Drove down to Stearns Wharf and walked along the pier and had some yummy abilone!  Another day my knee was acting up so we headed back.

Wednesday, we drove out to the President Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley – we both starting serving under this President.  It was good to back in time and see history we have lived through. 

We should have stayed in this area a little longer – there was much we didn’t see.  But it was time to get out civilization and head for the mountains!

After we left Monterey, we started heading back down the coast.   Our next stop was in the San Luis Obispo area.  We stayed at Pacific Dunes park in Oceano, which was about 15 miles south of SLO.   The park itself was just ok, but the location was pretty great.  Right next to the giant sand dunes, which we trekked over the first night, and fairly quiet as it was off the main drag of beachfront RV parks.

We were expecting cooler temps on our first full day, so we picked that day to head to San Simeon and see Hearst Castle.  What an amazing place.  The views were absolutely incredible from the top of the hill where it was located.  William Randolph Hearst spared no expense on his luxurious home.  I thought it a bit ostentatious and much prefer The Biltmore in Asheville.   But we enjoyed ourselves on the tour.

After coming down from the hill, we drove a little further north to see one of the biggest colonies of elephant seals on the coast!  How amazing!

The countryside around SLO is just beautiful.  Rolling hills and lovely ranches and ocean views that were spectacular.  We stopped on the way back at Central Coast Brewing in downtown SLO and left with some pretty great growlers of their IPA and one called Mexican Salad that was indeed spicy.

We drove the next day up to Morro Bay.  I mentioned before that my knee has been really bothering me.  My daughter took a look at it and she thinks I may have tore my meniscus.  I haven’t been to a doctor yet, but will go soon.  My plans to get myself back in running shape are not going to happen any time soon.  Finding gyms in some places has been hard.  Cardio is where I drop my weight and the pounds are ticking up with me being unable to do the cardio I’m used to.

So, our time in Morro Bay was limited to how little walking I could do.  We walked around Morro Rock before my knee was done for the day, so we cut our time short.  We had the most amazing food at Taco Temple in Morro – I had a halibut taco that was full of tons of veggies and grilled halibut.

That evening for dinner we met up with one of my Divers, David, who has got out of the Navy and returned home.  We went to this beach place called Fin’s in Pismo Beach and he introduced us to a refreshing beer called Cali Squeeze – has blood oranges in it.  A great beer to drink on a warm day!  It was so nice to see him and meet his friend.

On that Thursday, we rented ATV’s and got to drive all over the dunes!  It was so much fun! In the afternoon, we drove over to Avila Beach and enjoyed the sunshine and had a few more of those Cali Squeezes.

On Friday, we went into San Luis Obispo to go exploring.  Our first stop was the Mission, but we only got to see the church, not the museum, as it was closed for Good Friday.  Walked around the downtown area for a little bit, but my knee was giving me lots of problems that day, so we cut the day short again.

I’d like to come back here and see more of the area.  I think staying down at the beach, while nice, did not afford me the chance to really explore San Luis Obispo, which is why I wanted to come here to begin with.

Though I lived in California for 10 years, including the Bay area for 15 months, there are parts of the state that I’ve never been to.  The above picture is our entrance into the San Joaquin Valley on the Grapevine.  I loved all the farms we saw as we headed north.

We left I-5 and headed west on Route 46.  More lush rolling hills and vineyards.  Saw signs for James Dean – he was killed along this route.  Made our way into the lovely town of Paso Robles – and noted it for a future visit.  As we headed north along the 101, we passed many vineyards – so of course, we stopped at one for a tasting! 

We also bought 4 bottles to take with us.  Finishing our drive to Monterey, we stayed at Monterey Pines RV Park – it is a Navy park next to the Naval Postgraduate School.  After a light dinner, we made our way over to the Trident Room to catch our University of Virginia Cavaliers become NCAA basketball champions!!

Our first day in Monterey, we headed to Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It is a really well done place.  Lunch on Cannery Row followed, then a trip down the 17 Mile Drive to look at the ocean views, palatial homes, and of course, Pebble Beach Golf Course!

The next day we headed out for a drive along Route 1 heading to Big Sur!  This was a bucket list place for me and it did not disappoint.  It is heaven on earth and one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  My only sadness was that a lot of the trails were closed because of earlier mudslides, so there was no hiking to be done, but there were pullouts every so often that you could catch the breathtaking views.  We stopped at a little inn halfway through for a bottle of wine and some appetizers.  This was the best day we’ve had yet so far on this journey and I was happy to share it with our daughter.

We visited Carmel Mission Basilica, the crown jewel of the California Mission system.  What a beautiful place – and Father Junipero Serra, now Saint, is buried under the altar.

We followed our pilgrimage to the Mission with lunch in Carmel-By-The-Sea and browsing through the many shops along Ocean Ave and some fine brews at Yeast of Eden.

The next day, we had a plan to go to Pinnacles National Park.  But it was an hour and a half away and they only had one shorter trail open (my knee is still acting up and can’t handle a long hike right now).  So we made a drive up to Santa Cruz, about 40 miles north.  Hit the Mystery Spot, ate some great food at Cafe Brasil, walked along the Santa Cruz shoreline watching the surfers, and drank some great brews at Humble Seas Brewery.  It was a great last day with the girls!

We got the girls off Saturday morning and spent a quiet Saturday doing laundry, maintenance, and cleaning.  Spent our Sunday morning walking along the piers and beach in Monterey and caught an afternoon movie.

I look forward to coming back to this wonderful area again!

A beautiful drive through the dunes of Southern California and seeing lots of boondocking campers out there.  Once we purchase a better battery for our camper, we’ll be able to do that.  Then we started the climb.  I forgot how hairy the mountains going into San Diego can be as you drive through the passes.  It was pretty windy on top of them.

We made it into San Diego!  We stayed at Admiral Baker Field – scene of many a command picnic.  It was a pretty tight spot to back into and Ed needed some help from one of his good friends, but at the end of it, it was worth the relaxation and beer!

Because this was going to be a week of seeing several of my friends, I got a rental car.  Spent the first full day making a trip to the Navy Exchange with my West Coast bestie, Linda and then dinner with my CAPE COD shipmate Jann at a wonderful ramen place in Kearny Mesa called Tajima.

Spent the next day with Linda and a good day we had.  Lunch at Gordon Biersch, some shopping in Mission Valley, then a trip up to Cabrillo National Monument and enjoying the views of the entire San Diego area.

But the best part of that day was happening on one of our old drinking haunts from our misspent youth:

Dinner with my good friend Tabbie and her lovely minions followed this.

I forgot to take a lot of pictures this week, mostly with people I got to see.  That just shows I was having too good a time to bother with pictures (or I forgot).  Wednesday was lunch with our JAMES E. WILLIAMS family, Emma and Kevin.  Great catching up at Miguel’s Cocina, one of our faves.

Thursday, I met up with another CAPE COD shipmate, my El Jefe Jesse.  He always takes me to the most obscure taco stands for the most outstanding food.  Then our Sunshine girl, our daughter Meghan, flew in with one of her roommates to join us for a week!

That evening, we met up with our friends Margaret and Tom for great steaks at their lovely house in Chula Vista.

Friday morning, we took a drive over to Sunset Cliffs with Linda and the girls.  We spent the rest of the day taking a leisurely drive along the Pacific Coast Highway and enjoying a beautiful Southern California day!

The rest of the weekend was spent at the campground, eating BBQ, drinking lots of beer, hanging out with dear friends, and watching our beloved UVA Cavaliers make it to the National Championship game!

After a lovely brunch at the Admiral Baker Golf Club, we packed up and started our journey to Northern California.  Good thing we left Sunday, as the traffic getting around Los Angeles was a nightmare.  We stopped just north of Santa Clarita at Castaic Lake RV park.  Very small spaces, but good amenities and we got our In and Out Burger fix that night.

After Ed got back from picking up a nitrogen tank so we can fill the tires on the road, we went out to dinner at La Posta is Old Town Mesilla, NM.  Wow is all I can say!  New Mexico sure is serious about their chiles!

We made an early morning drive over to see White Sands National Monument.  So worth it!  The drive over the mountains was beautiful that early and then we pretty much had the monument to ourselves.  The sands were blinding in their whiteness!  And you can sled down them!

We had our first major hiccup.  We’re getting ready to leave Las Cruces and we find out the bolts on the tow hitch are loose.  We were delayed an hour leaving because now we have to fix it.  We’re learning that we should do a weekly PMS (Preventative Maintenance) check on our all our systems to make sure we don’t have problems later down the road.

Underway to Tucson!  We stayed at LazyDays KOA.  We paid a little more for a site that had an outdoor seating area and fireplace.   The campground was in a great location.  But we have found now, we don’t like these big campgrounds with all the entertainment and amenities.  We’re paying a lot of extra money for services we don’t even use.  As long as it’s clean, quiet, and in a decent section of town, we’re fine.

On our first full day, we took a drive up to Mount Lemmon – the highest point in the area.  Stunning views and going through 5 ecosystems on one drive as we climbed to over 8000 feet.  The best part of the trip was a couple we met at one of the stops for views.  A random hello turned into a 30 minute conversation and how much we all had in common.  Apparently, getting business cards made to hand out to people you meet is a thing.  He gave us one of theirs and told me where to order ours.

After the morning spent on Mount Lemmon, we drove over to Saguaro National Park.  Place is absolutely littered with Saguaro cactus.  Did you know they can live to be 200 years old?

The next day, we drove out to Tombstone.  Of course you have to go if you’re in this part of Arizona.  Everything is kind of kitschy there, but it was a lot of fun!  Kudos for the Buffalo burgers at OK Diner!  Drove back to Tucson through Huachuca City.

Friday, we had a quiet morning of rest and then had the best meal of this leg, at Cafe Poca Cosa is downtown Tucson.  Higher end Mexican and if you find yourself in Tucson, you must go!  And then we made a pilgrimage to see Mission San Xavier de Bac – the oldest mission in the US.

Our friends we met on Mount Lemmon?  We met up with them for the evening at their campground, Desert Trails.  A little further out of town than we would have wanted, but the place itself was more our cup of tea.  A few beers, some great snacks, and then some live music from Ronstadt Generations!  Yes, they are related to native daughter Linda Ronstadt!

We just crossed the Colorado River and into California!  A quiet night of laundry and UVA basketball (FINAL FOUR!!!) before we head into our former home of San Diego and a week sure to be very busy as we see lots of friends!

When I last wrote, we were staying in Katy TX as a place to sleep before heading to our first longer stay.  But I forgot to mention that when we were driving into Houston, we were witnesses to the major Deer Park fire that is still ongoing.  We saw this huge cloud that looked like a mountain in the distance, as we got closer to Houston, we realized it was a fire!

Continuing westward on our travels, our first major stop was in San Antonio TX.  We stayed at Travelers World RV Resort on the southeastern side of the city, right down the street from Mission San Jose.  Lovely park to stay at.  We stayed in the first night and worked on some organization projects around the RV.  We hung pictures, consolidated bins, and did a little shopping for some additional amenities.  It’s starting to truly look like our home now.

Our first full day in San Antonio, we had a wonderful lunch at a little gordita stand up the street from the park.  Solid food and one of my native Texan friends said it looked like the real deal.  We then headed into the Alamo.  A little underwhelming, but of course you have to go here if you’re in town.  We then took a boat ride along the Riverwalk – beautiful – no wonder so many love it!  We had dinner at a steakhouse named Boudro’s right there on the walk.

So, whatever was wrong with my knee in January has become worse.  After a month long sabbatical from running, I ventured out on a 3 miler.  My knee immediately became sore and now I’m even having trouble walking.  I’ve been icing it, resting it, and I bought a knee brace that is helping somewhat.  I have no idea what I did to it.  When we get to San Diego, I’ll make an appointment to find out what’s wrong.  I have so many hikes, etc planned on our adventure and I hate that I’m feeling this way.

We had planned to visit the two missions, Mission San Jose and Mission Concepcion, on this day, but elected to let me rest up.  We took a drive to Lackland AFB and Ed got a haircut and a beard trim and we got our Whataburger craving taken care of.

On Friday, we ventured out of San Antonio and headed up to Texas Hill Country.  I’m in love.  Lots of wineries and breweries and fine cuisine to be had.  We had lunch at a great place named Emma and Ollies where everything was homemade and delicious.  Found that the National Museum of the Pacific War is right there in Fredericksburg TX – why, you ask?  Because it is the hometown of Admiral Chester Nimitz!!

This part of Texas is also home to LBJ’s Western White House!  What a treat to see where he was born and to remember that he did so much good for the country on social programs.  Unfortunately, he is also mostly remembered for Vietnam.  What a beautiful ranch he owned, though, along the banks of the Perganales River.

We stopped for a flight at Real Ale Brewing in Blanco.  Fine brews to be had.   We ended our San Antonio foray with a dinner at Nicha’s Mexican.  The carnitas were to die for!

We left on Saturday and headed west.  The beautiful hill country turned into desert scrub.  We stopped for the night at Fort Stockton RV park.  Had a quiet night of doing laundry and working on future travel plans.

On Sunday, we headed to El Paso.  We could feel ourselves climbing into higher elevations and landscape getting more sparse.  Our layover for the night was at Mission RV park.  Ed said it looked like Bahrain.  Dusty, windy, not a lot of vegetation.  But the highlight of this leg was seeing my dear friend Laura, who I have known for over 25 years.  She’s a Navy friend and our kids were in daycare together.  We had the most fabulous evening with her and her husband Ruben.  Great beer, fabulous steaks, and most important, lots and lots of laughs!

Just crossed the state line into New Mexico and a stop in Las Cruces for a night.  And Ed immediately had to go back to El Paso.  Our RV tires are filled with nitrogen and one of them is running low.  Go figure, the place he found to get them filled was 18 miles back into town.  Anyway, it gave me time to write this post!

 

We’ve been on the road for a week today.  To say it’s been a learning curve is an understatement.

After the two days in Florida getting residency set up, we started heading north.  Our first destination was due west of Tallahassee.  We needed a few things at Camping World, so we elected to stop at one in Ocala.  It ended up being 35 miles of frustration on back roads trying to get there and then they didn’t even have what he wanted.  Back on I-75.

I thought I booked in Tallahassee proper, but it was actually 30 miles west.  We learned one good lesson:  If we have a pull-through site and it is level, we don’t even have to unhook the truck.  This was a stopover for the night.  We stayed at Chattahoochie RV Park.  It was really nice.  Clean and quiet.

Back on the road in the morning heading to Mobile.  One thing we realized is on travel days we will be driving during lunch.  We had decided that we would pack a lunch to bring with us and we would only have to stop at a rest area.  But we forgot to do it that day.  We ended up eating chicken strips from a gas station in Loxley AL.

On to Mobile and my brother Pat’s house.  We just pulled up out front and we had a night to spread out.  We thoroughly enjoyed Taco Mama’s and Cammie’s Old Dutch Ice Cream in downtown Mobile.  Loved spending time with my brother and his family for the short time.

The next morning, we got a late start on our drive to Baton Rouge.  Once again, we forgot to make lunch and we pulled over in Mandeville LA for what we thought would be an on and off.  NOPE.  We’re driving down narrow roads for 4 miles to find this place, we overshoot it, and we have to turn around on some side streets.  Ed had to make a 90 degree turn on a 12 foot road with 4 foot ditches on each side!  He did it!  But it was hairy!

We arrived at my friend Kat’s house in Port Allen, LA mid-afternoon.  She lives on her inlaws beautiful horse farm right on the Mississippi River.  She recently had a baby, so that was extra special.  She and her husband took us out for a fabulous dinner at Monsur’s in downtown Baton Rouge.  Lots of laughs to be had.  We stayed in a little cottage on their property, so another night to spread out.  In the morning, she made us a fabulous breakfast and loaded us up with lunch treats.  In the two days I was with friends and family, we were having such a good time, we forgot to take pictures.  I shall remedy that on a longer visit to both late next Fall.

We’re currently in Katy, TX.  We stopped here for a night on the way to San Antonio.  It’s a very nice park, Katy Lake RV resort, but it’s in a downtown area and the background noise outside the park is kind of annoying.  But we’re only here for one night, so we’ll be ok.

Finally started the trip of our dreams!

We had a major hiccup on our last day.  Ed’s retirement pay from the Navy hasn’t shown up yet, even though he retired 1 February.  He had to go in and take care of everything and it delayed us getting on the road until almost 4 pm.

So, the plan to stop at Lake Marion SC for the night changed up a bit.  Ed didn’t want to be “that guy” that shows up at a campground late at night to set up, so we found a cheap hotel that had room in the parking lot for our rig and spend the night there.

Our second day of travel took us to our first destination.  Bushnell, Florida.  They have clubs out there that you can join that set you up with residency.  Ed was still a FL resident, but I had to change to Virginia when I retired from the Navy.  I have to get a new license and we need to register all our cars.

We’re staying at Sumter Oaks RV Park.  It’s a smaller place, but very nice.  It’s in the middle of nowhere, about 40 miles south of Ocala.  I’m pretty sure we are the youngest people here.  All the snowbirds this time of year.

We ate at restaurants on the trip down, but last night I cooked dinner.  Something super easy, just stir-fry chicken.

I did a good job stowing the rig for sea, not too much was out of place.  But we had one bit of damage.  The shelf behind the TV I was using as a library.  All our books and DVD’s were back there.  The shelf collapsed on the drive down.  We have to figure out how to fix it.

Day 1 and 2 down!

 

We’re a little under two weeks out until we hit the road.   This is the current view of my living room.  My entire house is turned upside down to prepare for the move.  Selling furniture, purging unneeded or wanted items, deciding what we will take with us.

The hardest thing for me is going to be clothes.  I’m not a huge clothes horse, but I also don’t want to wear the same thing every single week.  And prepping for all seasons – it’s still winter and though we are taking the southern route, it’s going to be cold/colder when we hit the Sierras in May.  Regular clothes, hiking clothes, gym clothes, a few nice outfits for fancy days.   Now add the shoes to go with them.  I bought some packing cubes and that will help compress some things I don’t need right away.

There’s very little to eat in the house right now.  My freezer is completely empty and I’m just buying things as we need them.  Since we haven’t packed the RV yet, I don’t know how much room I am going to have for kitchen stuff.

The RV has been up for maintenance for a week.  It comes home today, where it will remain until we drive away.  I hope we can get it well organized this weekend, but if not, just put everything in there we plan on bringing and we can make adjustments on the road.

The next 5 days are going to be very busy with movers and clearing this place out and then we can relax for the remaining 5 days here in town.

Swing by and have a beer with us!  We’ll keep the fridge stocked!