How to feel insignificant! Put yourself & even RV next to the redwoods of California! They are awesome!

Wed. - Thurs - Jan 25 - Left Petaluma & stayed at Van Damme State Park just outside Mendocino, a pretty little town on the ocean where lots of movies have been made. Next to the park was a golf course & a spa, so Thurs. Gerry golfed 9 holes on Little River Golf Course & I had a facial, fair trade! Then we drove up the beautiful California coastthru the redwood trees, hugh, high, & very straight. They can live to be 2000 yrs old & are amazing. Stayed this night in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, we were almost the only campers there, the trees were high, so it got dark early & in the morning we could not tell if there was any sun up there. The roads are narrow, winding, switchbacks that switch backwards, up, down & all around. It took us 4 1/2 hours to go 100 miles! But what sights we saw! Barbecued steaks after trying to have a bonfire, but the wood that we scrounged was all damp.....

Fri. Jan 26 - Drove thru the beautiful towns of Ferndale, a beautiful Victorian town which was unharmed by previous earthquakes., & Eureka. I found a great little quilt shop in Ferndale, where I purchased some fabric & found Barbara to help me choose just the right colors. Walked around Eureka where we found a bead shop, & picked up some unique little beads. On to Clam Beach State Park for the night. Great beach that goes on forever, low tide, so we took a walk before dinner of fresh sole fillets, yum!

Sat. Jan 27 - drove up the road to Patricks Point State Park for a hike up around the cliffs & rocks out in the ocean, gorgeous views & lovely 10 degrees, just a light jacket. It was more of an obstacle course than a hike, as you'll see in the pic. Leaving California today, so sad...we are so impressed with this state, it is quite amazing! It has the 8th biggest economy in the WORLD! And it is easy to see, the industry here is mind boggling. Lots of large populated areas, but also lots of small towns, but the housing costs are out of this world in any little seaside town...
Continued up the coast to Brookins, Oregon, found a place to have the oil changed in the RV, "Oil Can Henry's", quite an experience! Four guys dressed in black suits, white shirts, bowties & berets, attack the vehicle at once & are very professional. They weren't sure if we would fit in their bay, so one went on top to watch the height, we had 2" to spare! Grease in 27 points, clean windshield, for 36., including a free newspaper for while you wait !! We drove on to Harris Beach State Park where there is wireless & cable TV, so quite a change in services from the last few nights.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures, look to your hearts content! Up until Christmas so far, more to come as time permits! The albums are listed at the top and you shouldn't have to sign in to anything...
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u228/sherrida_photo/

Mon. Jan 22 - got up, dressed & drove directly to a laundromat to do 4 loads of laundry while we had breakfast & coffee. The State parks don't have laundry rooms & most RV parks don't allow more than 2 machines in use at the same time by one group. Then we drove to Santa Cruz to see the beach & boardwalk, picture above. It has one of the oldest wooden carousels & roller coaster in the country. There was work being done on the carousel so we couldn't get close to it. As you see in the picture the entire beach is one big midway!
Then we drove thru San Francisco, to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. This was one time that GPS did not do it's job very well, elevations were not shown...for some reason it took us off the route, must have been shorter..??? Pacific HEIGHTS should have been a clue!! It took us off Lombard street, the crookedest street in the world, which I think would have been better. If you have ever been to San Fran or even in pictures you can see that some of the streets are very steep, plateau'ing at each intersection. We went on one of those, the steepest in SF, I'm sure, at the crest of the top of the hill the sign going down said "Steep Decline, Trucks not advised", but Gerry the driver calmly & coolly used low gear AND the brakes & we slowly went down. Did I take a picture, are you kidding, I was concentrating hard on keeping my pants dry!! And trying to get un-hysterical!!! Yikes, I'm still having nightmares!
Drove to Petaluma, just north of SF, arrived in mid afternoon, lovely warm day, so biked into town to the grocery store for supplies. We are at a KOA campground on a farm, very rural & quiet, quite a change from the wave action at the ocean! Now its roosters & donkeys waking us up.

Tues. - another beautiful morning, good for a run around this very large park & farmyard. Then onto our bikes to go into Historic Downtown Petaluma. Very pretty victorian city, unharmed by former earthquakes, beautiful architecture. Lunch outside at a little deli, then on to the Factory Outlet Mall for some looking around, great prices on sneakers. I stayed longer, Gerry went back to hit some balls at the Golf Centre near the park. Such a nice late afternoon, we had a bonfire before dinner of fahitas. Great wireless here, so are catching up on some emails, internet searching.

Wed. Jan 24 - time to clean inside, doesn't take long though, bathroom, floors, dishes, 40 minutes max. - love it! Then we'll head back to the coast & start north. Don't know where we are staying tonight, no plans for the future! Just aiming for Vancouver around the end of the month. Could take some time to cross, with the import/export of this vehicle. Also monitoring the weather, watching out for storms up ahead.

Sat. Jan 20, 2007 - Today is our 3 month anniversary of being on the road, together, in a small space, & we made it with our friendship/relationship/marriage intact! We'll celebrate this event with a dinner out tonight. Have found a little place on the beach within walking distance of our RV, called Cafe Rio, lots of seafood. We are still at Seacliffe State Beach/Park, pictures above, it is too nice to leave, so we just keep saying "one more day". The locals said it would be warmer today, many have come down to camp for the weekend, so we had to move to the no hookup area. Gerry got to play with the generator a few times to make sure we still had battery power.

We did 2 bike rides yesterday & a walk, outside most of the day. Came to the coffee shop we are at again this am, to go online, & then biked to the little community of Capitola, a wonderful beachside town. If you ever want to see a quaint little downtown, buildings all colorful like the Magdalen Islands, but Venetian style, with many great little shops, boutiques & restaurants. It was only 10 kms round trip, but hilly, so good workout. We shop abit & then have some appetizers & margaritas at the Bay Bar & Grille, before going back to the park to barbecue cornish hens ...much later, burp!

Lots of reading time now, we have both read a half dozen books so far, which may not sound like much, but traveling, getting food & lots of sleeping & exercising also take time. I can hear you all saying boo, hoo....We're still working our way thru all the books that were given to us & most parks have an exchange pile, so don't expect to run out.

Pictures of 2 Mama Sea Lions, the Fat Tuesday Band & the streets of San Fran.

Sat. Jan 13 - moved up the road a ways to Stockton Lodi RV Park for a few days, to do some serious wine tasting. Arnold declared California in a state of emergency due to freezing temps at night, very damaging to the oranges being harvested now. Also the artichokes are going to be ready to harvest soon, not good for them either....:-(
Desperate times call for desperate measures, so we tasted wine & went to a chocolate factory! MMMMmmmmm. Drove into Lodi to go to the Lodi Wine & Visitor Centre where you can taste wines from several wineries. Excellent selections, but nothing we loved enough to buy. Next out to Vino Piazza Wineries, another complex with several wineries with tasting rooms. Now we had some fun here, but the wines are closer to 20., above our tastes! Good olive oil & cheese, though!

Sun. Jan 14 - went for a long bike ride into Lodi, 25 km or so, beautiful sunny day, found lunch in the very quaint downtown at Feed & Fuel, what a great name for a restaurant! All movie memorabilia from a previous owner, apparently. We like this small town feel, so glad we stayed an extra day in the area. Central Cal, cool at night, still some freezing water, so we don't hook up at all, just stay cozy inside.

Mon - make the drive to San Francisco, only 140 kms away. Before going to our park we drove around the shoreline, beautiful beaches at the state park, awesome views from up on the cliffs. Park downtown & go to Fishermans Wharf for lunch, it is Martin Luther King day, so is busy on the streets. Walk thru Pier 39, look in shops & go to Vistor Info to find out what we should do here. We were here 20 some years ago, don't remember much. Stay at Candlestick RV Park, directly across the street from the park which is now called Monster Park. All locked up, can't get in to see anything, & the 49ers are out, so no more games (so I am told).

Tues - there is a downtown shuttle from the RV park, but we are the only passengers at 11, so driver takes us in his car. He drops us at the end of the Cable car line, we walk around this area for awhile & then go to Chinatown, have lunch there at the Floating Boat Sushi Restaurant, but we don't have sushi. Then take the cable car down/up/down to the waterfront, wahoo! Walk to Pier 33, but the last boat to Alcatraz has left, so can't do that. Have a drink on the waterfront, then walk back to the Cable car, back uptown. Shop around Macy's & Westfield Mall abit, nice & quiet today. Then off to Biscuits & Blues, a destination Lisa & Bob were at in the fall & recommended. We order their Yam Fries & Catfish for appetizers & sip our drinks, we are the first patrons at 6:30, Blues act starts at 8. Our waitress Marie Claire's Father is from Montreal, though she was raised in Minnesota, but she knows where PEI is! She is finishing her Masters in Human Sexuality, unfortunately she gets busy & we can't chat anymore, I am so curious, :c) !
Our shared dinner of Southern Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes & Caesar Salad (uncut romaine hearts) arrives, very yummy. The band starts to set up, Fat Tuesday Band with Edna Love (singing), 7 piece band! The leader plays the bass guitar & tuba, there are 2 sax's, a guitar picker, drummer, piano & trumpet player, plus Edna, who is just as you imagine! The band starts out playing several instumental pieces, showcasing each musician in turn with a solo, awesome! Then Edna (who is at the next table to us) comes up & belts out many familiar tunes with her fantastic, large voice! It is a small venue & is not full, but the audience is into the music. Some people get up & dance, everyone is moving! At the end of the set, the band (those that are portable) play & march thru the crowd "New Orleans style" & the audience turns & waves their white napkins as they pass, such FUN!! They continue around the room & up the stairs, the whole brass section & the drummer on tamborine, what a sound! I am giving you this detail, as I was instructed by Lisa to TAKE NOTES, so you got it all, except the names of the songs, which I don't have with me, as I had to bike to a coffee shop to use the wireless! She'll get those, but let me know if anyone else wants them too!! It was a great night & we are so glad we went there!
We took a cab back to the RV & apparently it had poured rain while we were in there, a good sign of warmer weather we hope!

Wed Jan 17th - we sleep in, I have a few "skull cramps", hmmm. Clean things up & head back south, as we want to spend some time along the shore before we head north & well there is no rush to get anywhere.... The route south has some amazing sights. We stop for lunch & look up in a great book we picked up at home "Road Trip USA", it has 12 detailed road trips & we are on one from south to north along the shore. Has great info & this is where we read about the sea lions birthing at Ano Neuvo State Reserve, only about 15 miles from where we are. You have to do a guided tour with a Docent Ranger (volunteer) for 5. each, so that is what we did. It was such a fantastic sight, just a 3 mile hike round trip to see the hundreds of males, females & pup Elephant Sea Lions. The males are 20+ feet long & can weigh 5000 pounds, or the same as a whole defensive team of football players! They can move surprisingly fast, so we had to learn the safety lessons/rules first, as we could be walking among them. As it turned out our viewing was from up on a sand dune, but that was good as we could see the whole herd & many harems! We even witnessed 3 births, which of course resulted in another 100 or so pictures!! This event was really a highlight, so glad the timing was right.
We then drove a little further south just past Santa Cruz to New Brighton State Park, overlooking a long sandy beach.

Thurs. Jan 18 - awesome sunny morning, just right for my first run on a California Beach. Even found some sea glass & a really nice oyster shell intact. OK, so I didn't run the whole time, but it was certainly a good workout in the sand...
There is another park almost next to this one down the beach, which we investigated this am, no spaces with hookups, but we check back after lunch & there is an opening, so that is where we are now. There is no wireless in any of the state parks & that is where we plan to camp on our way up the coast, as they are usually in very nice places. This one is called Seacliffe, & we are right on the beach with the cliff behind us. It's a long, long beach, so there will be a few walks & we might stay a few days, it is a small park, and people are friendly. The weather is warm enough to sit on the beach & read, did that today. Have to get back on my bike & to the park before dark. If the weather is warming up in Vancouver, we'll be there very early in Feb.

Jan 10 - 12 -

Dean, in his volunteer role, is playing the banjo & marching (at the same time!) on Sat. in a DixieLand Band, leading a parade to honor Helen Hill, a humanitarian film maker that once lived in Halifax & was fatally shot in her home in New Orleans recently. See,

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Atlantic/070105/t010506A.html for more info, such a sad happening.

We drove out of LA on Wed., inland thru the valley, all agricultural, fields of grapevines as far as the eye can see. The land is as flat as the prairies once out of the rolling hills of LA. We chose the slowest traffic time 11:00 to leave town & it was fine, but still busy for us. Stopped in Bakersfield for the night, cause we came to a Campers World store that we had been looking for. Thought it was time to experience a night at a Walmart! Parked near a few other motorhomes & went in to Walmart to pick up a few things, just to get rid of the guilt, ha! All was fine, a little noisier traffic than normal, but we were OK.

Thurs we drove to Madera & visited the Fricklin Vineyard & tasting room. They specialize in port. Had a lovely tasting hour & loved their Chocolate Port, blueberry flavored raisins & sage cheddar cheese, yum.............. Stopped for the night at French Camp RV Park near Stockton, the park is surrounded by a golf course. Nice large lots, well spaced.

Gerry golfed today, just 9 holes as it was rather a cool wind & it will be close to freezing tonight. Visited another Vineyard today, walking distance away. Delicato Winery, they have a burgundy for 2.99!! Guess what we had for dinner, not bad either, we are so classy, ha! The picture above is the view along the drive here, another drive by "shoot".

Jan 6 - 7/07 - Windy all last night, we thought the motorhome was going to blow over! Noriko & Stephen arrived late morning, great to see her & meet Stephen! We visited, had lunch & then they took us to Santa Monica to the waterfront pier & walkway. Had a great walk around, lovely warm afternoon, the pier has a ferris wheel, restaurants, entertainment, people strolling. Very deep beach, lots of cyclists, ball hockey, muscle people, rollerbladers, families out walking.... Back to the motorhome for happy hour & then to "Thai Dishes" for sushi & dinner. Awesome restaurant in Malibu Beach.
Sunday Gerry, Stephen & Noriko's friend John went golfing at Malibu Beach Country Club. Great course, wind blew all afternoon, but sunny & warm. Noriko, her friend Carol & I took a drive thru the mountains to the J Paul Getty Centre. Amazing museum, gardens, photography & art exhibits in a very appealing architectural building & grounds. All free courtesy of the Getty Foundation, except for parking in the 7 floor underground garage. So, sis-in-laws Faye & Anne, you should be pleased I finally graced the doors of a museum & got some culture, ha!!! After that & some more happy hours & snacks at the RV park, the 6 of us drove up into the hills to Saddle Peak Lodge & dined on wild game while being watched by moose, elk, deer & other large heads mounted on the walls! All the meals were very tasty, & scrumptious, followed by dessert & lots of wine. Awesome to see Noriko near her home for the last few years & meet her friends!

Jan 8 - drove back thru Los Angeles to Redondo Beach to "The Mandrel Glass Shop", so that I could take a 5 hr glass bead making private class, that I researched & planned online. Gerry was going to take the class also, but opted to do some "work" - emailing, phone calls, & pick up supplies for the next few days - how sweet! My teacher, Donna, heard him say "cleaning" when he picked me up & she said, you did cleaning too??!! No, he thought about the outside windows, but ran out of time. My class was awesome, I made 10 glass beads & have all the equipment to make many more, another summer project!! Check it out at www.themandrel.com
After the class, we drove south to the Anaheim RV Park.

Watched on the US news at Malibu Beach about the fire that started up the hill near Pepperdine University & spread to some of the stars' mansions down at the beach, just 4 kms from the RB park that we stayed in. It was very windy the entire time we were there & very dry, with a red flag warning about fires, sparks, etc. Glad we got out of there when we did, the smoke would not have been pleasant, as well as the highway in & out being closed.

Jan 9 - took the RV park shuttle bus to Disneyland & spent a wonderful 7 hrs with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, etc. It was 85 degrees today, our warmest day yet, hot in the afternoon, but just nice the rest of the time. Had lunch at a New Orleans restaurant in the park, the closest we've gotten so far to NO. It's a beautiful park, very clean, not too crowded today, lots to see & do & restaurants & shops EVERYWHERE!! Our favorite part was the 3-D show "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" where it felt like the mice were running up our legs...! Gerry also enjoyed the Indiana Jones wilderness ride, I went to Tarzan's Treehouse instead, thought my vertigo wouldn't like the ride too much. Got Mickey's autograph, he used 3 pages of my daytimer, so I can't do anything those 3 days, I am ga-ga!! ha, ha!

Relaxing tonight, planning our next few days, starting to head north.

Jan 5 - High surf today cancelled our kayaking trip to the 7 sea caves of La Jolla. However, it was on our route to Malibu, so we stopped in & were able to see one cave & the pelicans that people come from all over to photograph because of their colors, & the group of pupping seals. About 50 seals, all pregnant, laying on the beach just stretching & yawning, waiting to birth in early Feb. - they have it figured out!! Both were amazing sights, not to mention the surf along the Pacific..... see pictures. Lunch in La Jolla at Hard Rock Cafe, & checking out the shops, got some great glass design ideas.

We are now settled in Malibu Beach RV Park, just above the site where BayWatch was filmed. So I expect Gerry will be pretending to be Borat, searching for Pamela along the beach tomorrow, ha! We have an ocean view site, up high on a mountainside, not much extra room on the site, view picture to follow, when we see it ourselves (arrived in the dark). We look forward to spending the weekend visiting with Noriko (our Japanese exchange student from 1992) & her friend Stephen!

Dec 31 - Happy New Year 2007!
Today we biked around Chula Vista, the city south of San Diego that we are in, got groceries & checked out the local restaurants. We went for a late dinner to South Bay Grill on the marina, next door to our park, had wonderful margarita's & crab cakes, then G had mahi mahi & I had steak, it was very good. There was a band playing in the bar, so we went to watch them & then were entertained by a dancing couple who were likely stoned on something, she in a dress several sizes too small, covering only the "bare" minimum, he acting like her little puppy! Oh, it was quite a show, they left, stiffing the waitress, found her shoes outside, should have taken them in for collateral! a night to remember! :c)

Jan 1 - took the San Diego Trolley (train) to Tijuana, Mexico (about 8 miles). Well you actually get off in California & walk across the border. Quiet day, but lots of vendors open & they sell their wares for "prices so good, it's almost free!" We had the best margaritas & fresh soft tacos. Alot of really nice things, but, ahhh, we're in a motorhome, so no room! No problems at the border, G even snuck some Cuban's cigars out!

Tuesday we went to the San Diego Zoo, a truly amazing place & I have 176 pictures of rhinos & baboons to prove it! Had a great day there, too tired to go to any of the museums in Balboa Park, that will have to be another trip.

Wednesday we split up & went shopping in opposite directions by bike, G looking for a few little things for the motorhome. He has obsessed with getting all the little rattles silenced, so has been wiggling & jiggling everything moveable inside & out & has everything tightened up. I actually went to a nearby mall & just leisurely shopped alone for several hours, wonderful afternoon, with no hurry. You would think that having 6 mths away nothing would be hurried, but there is alot to do everyday!

Today we unhooked the motorhome & drove to Legoland for the afternoon, we had a great time, but wished we had two 5 year olds with us, so maybe we'll be back, oh, sometime in the next 10 years, hopefully!!!! but I'm not hinting at all, kids!! :c) It is really an amazing place, with major recreations of parts of New York, New Orleans & San Francisco, to name a few, as well as lots of animals & people throughout the park. There are many rides & tons of activities, you could spend several days. On our way home we took a walk thru San Diego's Old Town & ate at a mexican restaurant in the Plaza, more margaritas & tacos & a tostado salad that I am definitely going to make at home. Delicious!!! Old Town is a neat place with a whole village set up as in years past, with many shops & restaurants in each of the old storefronts. The lights at night were also very pretty.

Pictures here are Tijuana, the Giant Pandas at the Zoo, & New Orleans Mardi Gras at Legoland. It is hard to choose just 3 pics from over 200. The rest to be published soon on Snapfish, a NY's resolution! Stay tuned for info.