Today we headed for Midpines, just past Mariposa, for our long anticipated trip to Yosemite. We meandered through some beautiful cattle country with really interesting rocks. I haven’t gotten an explanation about them yet. They all poke up through the dirt with flat knife edges. They look like a whole bunch of long, thin sheets of rock, all standing on edge. I couldn’t get a photo on the way in. I’ll try for one on the way out. Once they arrived at the KOA, most guests scattered in all directions. We had a semi-impromptu social and had a “guest” swing by for a look-see…a mule deer doe…broadside at less than 50 yards. Wouldn’t even need a scope on that one. Iron sights would do just fine! One guest reminded me it was not deer season. I always thought that deer season was dictated by the state of one’s freezer.
Stardate RV102309
We carpooled into Mariposa for a GREAT buffet breakfast at Miner’s Inn. Following breakfast, we headed for Yosemite and met at the Yosemite Lodge at 1:00 pm for a great two-hour guided tour of the valley floor. We saw all the major sights of the valley floor and had a nice fat coyote cross right in front of the bus. Even though it was just trotting slowly through the trees, none of my pictures came out. Here are some random shots to mull over.
Yosemite Valley
El Capitan
Climbers (right side of picture)
Bridal Veil Falls
Stardate RV102409
Today was not a good day. We left the Midpines KOA about 9:00 and headed west. Our first scheduled stop was the Casa de Fruta for fuel and shopping. We picked up fuel but passed on the shopping. We then headed west for the Mission San Juan Batista. Big mistake! BIG, BIG mistake!!!!! First of all, it’s very small town. The streets are narrow and the intersections are NOT made for big-rigs. Couple that with today being Saturday. What happens on Saturdays in towns with huge Hispanic populations? Soccer games…MANY soccer games…MANY soccer parents and their cars…and a Quinceanera party (Sort of a coming-out party for Hispanic 15-year-olds). There was NO parking anywhere. We all got through the town…barely.
When we got to the Monterey Fairgrounds, the next chapter started…parking the rigs. To say it was a difficult parking job is like saying the Spruce Goose is a big plane…a total understatement. All rigs got parked and all fenders remained intact. Then, to add insult to injury, two flocks of geese buzzed me, one right after another, about 40 feet above my head. If I had a long stick, I could have knocked them from the sky…right into the oven! We then all brought out our chairs and some very stiff drinks and had a social and a travel briefing. During the travel briefing, I had some quizzical looks. It turns out that the last three sets of driving instructions were just preliminary instructions and not the finished product. Back to the drawing board. I pulled the correct instructions from our book and printed out 18 copies of each day which will be distributed tomorrow. We have never worked so hard in all our lives to get this trip right, at least as right as we can. Both of us are beat!
Stardate RV102509
Today we took a bus ride to the Monterey Bay Aquarium…always a favorite of anyone who visits it. They had a Great White Shark on display.
Today was not a good day. We left the Midpines KOA about 9:00 and headed west. Our first scheduled stop was the Casa de Fruta for fuel and shopping. We picked up fuel but passed on the shopping. We then headed west for the Mission San Juan Batista. Big mistake! BIG, BIG mistake!!!!! First of all, it’s very small town. The streets are narrow and the intersections are NOT made for big-rigs. Couple that with today being Saturday. What happens on Saturdays in towns with huge Hispanic populations? Soccer games…MANY soccer games…MANY soccer parents and their cars…and a Quinceanera party (Sort of a coming-out party for Hispanic 15-year-olds). There was NO parking anywhere. We all got through the town…barely.
When we got to the Monterey Fairgrounds, the next chapter started…parking the rigs. To say it was a difficult parking job is like saying the Spruce Goose is a big plane…a total understatement. All rigs got parked and all fenders remained intact. Then, to add insult to injury, two flocks of geese buzzed me, one right after another, about 40 feet above my head. If I had a long stick, I could have knocked them from the sky…right into the oven! We then all brought out our chairs and some very stiff drinks and had a social and a travel briefing. During the travel briefing, I had some quizzical looks. It turns out that the last three sets of driving instructions were just preliminary instructions and not the finished product. Back to the drawing board. I pulled the correct instructions from our book and printed out 18 copies of each day which will be distributed tomorrow. We have never worked so hard in all our lives to get this trip right, at least as right as we can. Both of us are beat!
Stardate RV102509
Today we took a bus ride to the Monterey Bay Aquarium…always a favorite of anyone who visits it. They had a Great White Shark on display.
No, this isn’t it. The one they have is a 5’ female. I couldn’t get a picture. It was too dark for my camera and all the pictures came out blurry. They also had a few bluefin tuna. One was 350 pounds! I leered! We watched two feedings, one in the big fish and shark tank and one hand feeding by a diver.
One of my favorite exhibits was the seahorse exhibit. This one is a Leafy Sea Dragon from Australia.
There were also several tanks with jellyfish
and, of course, otters.
We also saw some later in the wild.
After the aquarium visit, we boarded the bus and toured Monterey itself, going by Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf and Lover’s Point.
We saw the Colton House where the California Constitution was written in 1849
and the “Moon Tree” on its grounds.
The Moon Tree is a California Sequoia, a giant coastal redwood. It was taken to the moon on Apollo 14 as a seed and then returned to a Forest Service Genetics Nursery in Placerville where it was sprouted and raised into a small sapling. It was then planted on the grounds of the Colton House. Neat, huh? I thought you’d agree. We then went on the 17-Mile Drive and saw the Lone Cypress tree
and the Pebble Beach Golf Course where a round of golf is $495. I don’t know if that includes the cart or not. Tomorrow is a free day. I didn’t bring my golf clubs so I can’t go to Pebble Beach. What, oh what will we do? Probably work…again…still!
Stardate RV102609
We did!
Stardate RV102709
We took off just after 9:00 am and headed south on the infamous and dreaded Highway 1. The curves, the hills, the rockfalls, the landslides, the bicyclists. Oh worry, worry, worry! Hell, it was a beautiful drive…actually more of a dawdling crawl, but what the heck, we’re retired! What’s time to us? We “D-C’d” (see above) along and admired the scenery. Actually, Claudia and Gizmo admired. I drove. There was a bit of a storm approaching so the sea was kicking up and pounding the rocks and cliffs pretty good. It made for good watching as we D-C’d down the road. The only part of the road that was exceptionally bendy was a couple mile stretch near Ragged Point. Other than that, piece of cake! When we got to Hearst Castle, we even saw a herd of zebras. Now I must admit I didn’t sleep much last night, but the zebras were there. They were in amongst the standing beef and ground beef. (Ground beef is standing beef that’s lying down) We arrived at the Morro Dunes RV Resort exactly at our predicted arrival time of 12:30 pm, checked in, parked and set up. The park office was doing all the assignments so it was pretty easy for me today. Everyone got here by 2:00 pm and we are done for the day. Hooray and yahoo.
Claudia went around and passed out trip evaluation forms where all the guests get to tell the company what a great and spectacular job we (Larry, Linda, Claudia and me) did. The only semi-bad thing we have going is that the now-approaching storm is bringing WIND. It’s a little blowy today. We called my sister and made arrangements to meet her and Joe about 5:00 to see their new digs and go stuff ourselves with some great pizza.
We picked up MK about 5:15, saw their apartment and went to their pizza joint, the Village Host Pizza on Broad Street in San Luis Obispo. We had a ½ Combo (or Ultimate – I can’t remember the exact name) and ½ Hawaiian. It was SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brian, MK & Joe’s son, and Kealoha just returned from their honeymoon and showed up to see us, along with Andrew’s fiancée, Sara. After a great reunion, we returned to the RV park and more paperwork. Will this ever end? I romped the mutt and went to bed early. Claudia stayed up doing paperwork.
Stardate RV102809
We traveled north to Piedras Blancas for a great two-hour lighthouse tour.
This one's better!
Stardate RV102609
We did!
Stardate RV102709
We took off just after 9:00 am and headed south on the infamous and dreaded Highway 1. The curves, the hills, the rockfalls, the landslides, the bicyclists. Oh worry, worry, worry! Hell, it was a beautiful drive…actually more of a dawdling crawl, but what the heck, we’re retired! What’s time to us? We “D-C’d” (see above) along and admired the scenery. Actually, Claudia and Gizmo admired. I drove. There was a bit of a storm approaching so the sea was kicking up and pounding the rocks and cliffs pretty good. It made for good watching as we D-C’d down the road. The only part of the road that was exceptionally bendy was a couple mile stretch near Ragged Point. Other than that, piece of cake! When we got to Hearst Castle, we even saw a herd of zebras. Now I must admit I didn’t sleep much last night, but the zebras were there. They were in amongst the standing beef and ground beef. (Ground beef is standing beef that’s lying down) We arrived at the Morro Dunes RV Resort exactly at our predicted arrival time of 12:30 pm, checked in, parked and set up. The park office was doing all the assignments so it was pretty easy for me today. Everyone got here by 2:00 pm and we are done for the day. Hooray and yahoo.
Claudia went around and passed out trip evaluation forms where all the guests get to tell the company what a great and spectacular job we (Larry, Linda, Claudia and me) did. The only semi-bad thing we have going is that the now-approaching storm is bringing WIND. It’s a little blowy today. We called my sister and made arrangements to meet her and Joe about 5:00 to see their new digs and go stuff ourselves with some great pizza.
We picked up MK about 5:15, saw their apartment and went to their pizza joint, the Village Host Pizza on Broad Street in San Luis Obispo. We had a ½ Combo (or Ultimate – I can’t remember the exact name) and ½ Hawaiian. It was SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brian, MK & Joe’s son, and Kealoha just returned from their honeymoon and showed up to see us, along with Andrew’s fiancée, Sara. After a great reunion, we returned to the RV park and more paperwork. Will this ever end? I romped the mutt and went to bed early. Claudia stayed up doing paperwork.
Stardate RV102809
We traveled north to Piedras Blancas for a great two-hour lighthouse tour.
The volunteers have done a great job in restoring and preserving the old light. There were a few elephant seals in a “seal sauna”, a small protected area in the rocks.
Some were sparring and practicing their fighting skills in preparation for the day they have to take on the big boys in order to mate.
The seas were a little rough at the point and some of the offshore rocks were getting pounded pretty good.
This one's better!
After the tour, we headed south to the elephant seal scenic overlook.
There were heaps and gobs of sleeping blubber lying on the beach that occasionally moved slightly to flip sand over their non-svelte torsos for sun protection. I had to borrow four batteries to take this picture. Mine died, so there will be no pics from Hearst Castle unless I can bum some from one of the guests. We saw three more zebras on the way home in amongst the standing beef, none among the ground beef. The evening meal was taken at the Taco Temple, Mexican style food with an Asian twist. Interesting! I had a carnitas burrito that was probably 4” in diameter and 6” long. It was huge!...and, NO, I didn’t finish it. When I felt full, there was no amount of power-eating that would complete the job, so I just stopped and brought half home.
Stardate RV102909
Today was a slow, scenic drive to the Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton. The park is one of the nicer ones with all the amenities know to mankind. Unfortunately, our cable TV was not very good and the only tree around was right in our satellite window. I wiggled and jiggled and wriggled the rig to no avail. Hell, we’re always too busy to watch TV anyway. I finished setting up while Claudia put in a load of laundry. I printed up some pictures and the girls went out somewhere to do what girls do when they go out. I heard something about visiting the restaurant where we are having the Farewell Dinner tomorrow night and the Mexican restaurant to order the breakfast burritos for the Hitch-up Breakfast on Saturday morning. I ordered chorizo! Claudia said she would order one. ONE? Only one? Who doesn’t love chorizo? According to her, not many! OK, OK…the rest of you don’t know what you’re missing. Tough!
Tonight is the Adventure Caravans World Series of Beanbag Baseball. Both teams are tied at one win each. The ACWSBB will decide who is the better (or luckier) team.
We all met on the grassy area in front of our motorhome. Tensions were high. This was the real thing…the final game. Everything was on the line…honor, bragging rights, catcalls and snide comments…the whole enchilada. The ladies won the coin toss and led off…with a home run. Crap! They got on a hot streak and were soon ahead by a score of 8 to 1 in the third inning. Things were lookin’ bad! Then the guys got hot and closed the score to 11 to 9. The girls ripped off two more for a big 13! Not to be outdone, the guys scored four big ones and it was 13 to 13 in the bottom of the seventh, the final inning. The first batter threw a single. The second struck out. The third batter ripped a double. The tension was at a fever pitch. One out, bottom of the seventh and two on. “Big Bill” Wethington stepped to the plate. The first pitch…strike one. He took his stance, eyed the board and threw the bag. TRIPLE!!! Two runs in and the men won! What a game! What a series!
After the game, Claudia passed out Halloween gliders and we had a soaring contest for the longest flight. Ed “Water bottle” Davis won with a circuitous flight of about 20 feet. Connie “Single lady” Buckley came in second and Bob “Tall boy” Reagan squeaked by in third place. Fabulous Adventure Caravan prizes were passed out to the winners. The winning pilots were ecstatic over their winnings!
Since it was late, Larry and I treated Claudia and Linda to dinner at Pea Soup Anderson’s. Claudia had soup and salad, Linda had a quesadilla and a milk shake, Larry had split pea soup and a milk shake and I had three Danish sausages in brown onion gravy, red cabbage and buttered red potatoes. OK, OK…and a dish of ice cream for dessert! Beat me!
Tomorrow will be spent exploring and eating our way through Solvang, the Danish town a few miles east of us. Their main claim to fame is the plethora of bakeries and other eateries within their city limits. I have eaten in a few over the years but I must limit my indulgence tomorrow due to the Farewell Dinner later that night. Both Claudia and I ordered calamari.
Saturday morning will be the Hitch-up Breakfast with Hugs & Goodbyes. As I said earlier, we are having breakfast burritos, several juices and coffee. That is the final event. The caravan is over at that point and we can get back to work…again…still…and finish up the paperwork to close out the tour. I doubt it will get done here. For the first time ever, we will probably have to take it all home for a final review before shipping everything off to Texas.
Our plan is to be home on Monday but we have to finish up the trip paperwork, clear out the motorhome, wash it and park it away in the storage yard. Then we get to straighten out the condo. While we were away, it got tented for termites and everything had to be double-bagged and stored away. Now we get to un-bag it and put everything back where it belongs. We should be ready for visitors by next week…LATE next week…VERY late next week!
That’s it! Y’all are caught up, and I’m putting this blog to bed. See y’all whenever!
Stardate RV102909
Today was a slow, scenic drive to the Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton. The park is one of the nicer ones with all the amenities know to mankind. Unfortunately, our cable TV was not very good and the only tree around was right in our satellite window. I wiggled and jiggled and wriggled the rig to no avail. Hell, we’re always too busy to watch TV anyway. I finished setting up while Claudia put in a load of laundry. I printed up some pictures and the girls went out somewhere to do what girls do when they go out. I heard something about visiting the restaurant where we are having the Farewell Dinner tomorrow night and the Mexican restaurant to order the breakfast burritos for the Hitch-up Breakfast on Saturday morning. I ordered chorizo! Claudia said she would order one. ONE? Only one? Who doesn’t love chorizo? According to her, not many! OK, OK…the rest of you don’t know what you’re missing. Tough!
Tonight is the Adventure Caravans World Series of Beanbag Baseball. Both teams are tied at one win each. The ACWSBB will decide who is the better (or luckier) team.
We all met on the grassy area in front of our motorhome. Tensions were high. This was the real thing…the final game. Everything was on the line…honor, bragging rights, catcalls and snide comments…the whole enchilada. The ladies won the coin toss and led off…with a home run. Crap! They got on a hot streak and were soon ahead by a score of 8 to 1 in the third inning. Things were lookin’ bad! Then the guys got hot and closed the score to 11 to 9. The girls ripped off two more for a big 13! Not to be outdone, the guys scored four big ones and it was 13 to 13 in the bottom of the seventh, the final inning. The first batter threw a single. The second struck out. The third batter ripped a double. The tension was at a fever pitch. One out, bottom of the seventh and two on. “Big Bill” Wethington stepped to the plate. The first pitch…strike one. He took his stance, eyed the board and threw the bag. TRIPLE!!! Two runs in and the men won! What a game! What a series!
After the game, Claudia passed out Halloween gliders and we had a soaring contest for the longest flight. Ed “Water bottle” Davis won with a circuitous flight of about 20 feet. Connie “Single lady” Buckley came in second and Bob “Tall boy” Reagan squeaked by in third place. Fabulous Adventure Caravan prizes were passed out to the winners. The winning pilots were ecstatic over their winnings!
Since it was late, Larry and I treated Claudia and Linda to dinner at Pea Soup Anderson’s. Claudia had soup and salad, Linda had a quesadilla and a milk shake, Larry had split pea soup and a milk shake and I had three Danish sausages in brown onion gravy, red cabbage and buttered red potatoes. OK, OK…and a dish of ice cream for dessert! Beat me!
Tomorrow will be spent exploring and eating our way through Solvang, the Danish town a few miles east of us. Their main claim to fame is the plethora of bakeries and other eateries within their city limits. I have eaten in a few over the years but I must limit my indulgence tomorrow due to the Farewell Dinner later that night. Both Claudia and I ordered calamari.
Saturday morning will be the Hitch-up Breakfast with Hugs & Goodbyes. As I said earlier, we are having breakfast burritos, several juices and coffee. That is the final event. The caravan is over at that point and we can get back to work…again…still…and finish up the paperwork to close out the tour. I doubt it will get done here. For the first time ever, we will probably have to take it all home for a final review before shipping everything off to Texas.
Our plan is to be home on Monday but we have to finish up the trip paperwork, clear out the motorhome, wash it and park it away in the storage yard. Then we get to straighten out the condo. While we were away, it got tented for termites and everything had to be double-bagged and stored away. Now we get to un-bag it and put everything back where it belongs. We should be ready for visitors by next week…LATE next week…VERY late next week!
That’s it! Y’all are caught up, and I’m putting this blog to bed. See y’all whenever!
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