as promised...pics of a grand nature

Pismo Beach to San Francisco

Pismo Beach to Santa Cruz

Toured Hearst Castle and added four hours to our travel day.

San Simeon to Santa Cruz a day to remember:

-very windy, hilly road

-no fuel on route (sweating bullets)

-found fuel (low fuel light on, quite awhile; had to back around to get in and back around to get out)

-Santa Cruz RV park not at address advertised (in the dark)

-alternate RV park full and too small to turn around (very tight -in the dark)

-finally proper directions to original RV park ( an expensive parking lot no amenities, set up in the dark, raining hard)

-drive around and around, we are tired, hungry where to eat?

-happy ending -found Santa Cruz diner with a good environment and meal.

Near San Simeon on coast

Hearst Castle-Impresive

Jack and Robin walking on gold!!

Santa Cruz to Rohnert Park

Drove thru San Jose and Oakland and past San Francisco with lots of traffic but not to bad.

Toured Napa Valley wine country, toured Beringer Winery and had lunch in Calistoga

Wine country Napa Valley

cloudy and rainy but a good tour

Stone bridge over Napa river (1913)

Drove into San Francisco and did the touristy things, had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf

Golden Gate Bridge

Trolley Car ride through San Fran

Pismo Beach

Mission Bay park in San Diego

Relaxing in the Hallway

We were planning on driving along the coast from San Diego to Pismo Beach but our Tom Tom (GPS) took us on highway 405 right through Los Angeles...

By the time we figured it out we were driving in west Holly wood and passing Wiltshire boulevard etc. A whole bunch of traffic!

Next we took a neat detour over the Santa Ynez mountain (highway 154) and ended up driving through some beautiful area... very mountainous and horsey country. Made it to Pismo Beach and stayed for one nite.

bye for now

Heading westerly

Flowers on the hillside in San Diego

Old town San Diego

Sand dunes for miles and miles

Yuma weather was fantastic! 82 degrees . Went to our first casino on this trip and contributed to the economy. Drove around Yuma and visited different resorts- checked out what's available for the retired set.

Yuma is on the border with California. so we are into our next state. In California autos pulling trailers have to drive 55 miles and hour while the rest drive 65.

On to San Diego. Neat landscape (hilly and huge rounded rocks) through the desert hills (looks like Sahara) and then out to the coastal green. Flowers are blooming on the hillsides and the grass is very green. Looks very californiaish. While in San Diego we stayed in Mission Hills Rv Park right near the water. Very beautiful area. Visited Old town which they consider the birthplace of California and did a "Diner drivein and dives lunch at the Blue Water fish market. Tried fish tacos with tuna, large shrimp, red snapper and swordfish. The fish soup was the best.

We were planning to leave San Diego on Friday March 11 and drive to the Santa Barbara area along the coast, however we changed our plans and stayed an extra day in San Diego due to the tsunami warnings. They evacuated the Rv park (along with other coastal communities) that we were planning to stay at. There was only minor damage and wave swell but best to be safe. We went down to the beach in San Diego but couldn't see very much as the day was foggy. This is definitely a surfer paradise.

The outskirts of Phoenix

Firstly... Internet access has been sporadic at best. soo my poor excuse for the lack of blogging.

We spent a month (28 days to be exact) in one spot! Surprise is an up and coming community near Sun city west and other small Sun retirement cities on the outskirts of Phoenix. We hung out with friends (thanks Bev and Lorne) and soaked up what retired life might be like in an Arizona "active adult" community. Some highlights of our "holiday" in Phoenix include:

• NHL hockey - Watched Vancouver, Chicago, Washington and Columbus play the Coyotes. We learned to yip like true coyote fans.

• Golf- enjoyed an 18 hole round of golf.

• Grand Canyon - WOW! a definite must see. Neat drive through Prescott and back through Flagstaff.

• John Michael Montgomery concert and visit to a cowboy museum in Wickenburg.

• Lined up for brunch at the Over Easy, a Diners, Drivein and Dives place . Best thing was sausage wrapped in waffle batter and deep fried served with a side of maple syrup and hot sauce mixed together.

Other Impressions: Phoenix and surrounding area seem busy.. Lots of traffic, Lots of new buildings. lots of shopping, lots of older folks (at least where we were. ) Visited a sad fallen down eco-architectual experimental place called arcicento (sp) The weather ranged from cold (freezing) to nice and warm. Hung out at the pool a couple of times. A definite break from our "travelling" routine.

Pictures to follow.

Mesa

We've been enjoying an age 55 plus resort in Mesa Arizona near Apache Junction. The weather has been great. The resort has way too many activities available to mention them all. When they say "active" adults they mean it. Anything a person might enjoy is available from photography to May Jung. I wanted to try the Yoga but never got up in time. Some of the activities we have enjoyed include walking, swimming, ball games, luncheons on the patio and hanging out with the seniors.

Our next stop is another resort on the other side of Phoenix in Surprise. We are going to stay put for the whole month of February... Hmm taking a holiday from our vacation.

Bye for now

Silver City and Gila national park

Our trip to Siilver city included a visit to the Gila cave dwellings. A special spiritual place that archeologists believe was used for special ceremonies circa 1270. The drive up to the caves was interesting in its own way... very winding, narrow and a few times I felt the need for spiritual intervention. The mountain was 7900 ft. high. up...up...up! down...down..down.

Pinos Altos- Old mining town museum

Saloon and restaurant (circa 1880), live local talent and very good meals- a fun place.

Walk into Cliff dwellings- yes that's snow

Cave dwellings in canyon off the Gila River

Dwellings constructed 1270 A.D.

Majestic!!