Last Few Days of our Trip

Friday afternoon, we made it home, safe and sound, and got the Alfa parked without problems. 

Sigh.

I'm a bit sad that this wonderful month has ended, and determined to take the next on with a good positive attitude.  That's a big step for me.  I'm naturally a "Negative Nelly."

So here is a short recap of our last four days...

We had abandoned our plan to drive down to Quartzsite because of the weather.  After making it to Santa Barbara for the weekend, we decided to turn back south and go to Alfateers so they could take a look at and hopefully fix a leak we had discovered.

It was quite cold and windy in the LA area as well.  Not as cold as Arizona, but we heard there were wind gusts up to 50 mph.

We were glad we weren't driving.

We spent two nights there.  When I looked at these four Alfas parked together it made me think of a herd of beasties huddled together for protection from the wind.  We were all quite cozy with the big building at our backs.

We hope the new caulking will fix the leak.  They showed Craig how to do an even better job on rinsing the black tank, so now the sensor is reading more accurately, and although they couldn't fix the front-door whistle completely, it is less annoying and I know a few places that are not causing the problem.

Oh, and the new Koni shocks we had installed before Christmas, seem to have broken in and are giving us a much nicer ride.

We left Fontana Wednesday just after noon and had an easy drive thru the LA area.  It was a rare day because we didn't have any really bad traffic.  It can take hours to get thru there!

  
We stopped at the El Captain CA State Beach. Arriving just in time for a nice sunset walk along the water. 

The RV site was  near the beach, and although it had no hook-ups  it was easy to get to from the highway.  Maybe too easy!  The biggest draw back was the traffic noise.  I'm not really bothered by it, but I know some people are, so I thought I'd mention it.  

Thursday we drove up to Morro Bay and were settled into our site before noon.  We choose a full hook up over the State Park because we knew our next stop was at home and we didn't want to have to stop to empty the tanks before parking the Alfa.

I wore my pedometer for this walk.  By the time we got back to the rig it was reading 7.85 miles!  The beaches are such beautiful places and so easy to walk on if you stay on the wet sand near the water.

This was the first time I have seen a starfish in the sand.  I picked him up and verified he was alive.  I have seen them on the pier pilings. We also saw otters, and of course lots of birds. 

One of these things is not like the others.  Can you see him?






I have many thoughts about this trip that I may write about soon.  

For now all I can say is: we enjoyed it.

A Day On My Own

I'm a little sad we didn't head south to Quartzsite, because I will miss meeting some of the other bloggers.  But I don't regret spending a couple of beautiful days on the coast of California.

Today, while Craig enjoyed his football games on TV, I spent a few hours on my own.  I visited the Santa Barbara Mission and a few other historic places around the area.

The mission garden had a few blooming roses.

I liked this collection of cactus plants sitting on some steps.

Three burners and an oven.  Just like our RV!

I also enjoyed wandering around the shopping district in Santa Barbara.  I rarely buy anything, but like to "people watch."  I did stop at the Sur La Table and bought a good oven thermometer for the Alfa.  We use the oven almost every day, but find the temperature control a bit primitive.

Tomorrow we are heading north, and plan on stopping at Morro Bay for a couple of nights before going home and getting back to work on the house.  (GROAN)

We're Not in Arizona Anymore

After leaving Las Vegas Thursday afternoon, we intended to work our way south and go to Quartzsite for the big tent show.  

After filling up the propane, fresh water and diesel fuel we drove about 100 miles to a Golden Valley RV park that accepted Passport America. After two great PA experiences, this was a bit different.  The book said they would accept PA for three nights and the rate would be $12.50. Reality was they would only take it for one night, and charged $21. My PA book is recent. The other two places we stayed with the PA were quite nice. This one was a gravel parking lot. None of that is important. It was just a stopping place because the weather was getting ugly.

Poor Craig. By the time we got parked and he was out hooking things up, a storm arrived with icy sleet. I stayed inside and warmed up some clam chowder for lunch.

When we woke up Friday morning the water hose was frozen. 

I had said that we were going to be flexible and our destinations beyond the Death Valley were dependent on the weather. It looked to us like Western Arizona is going to be cold for the next week. 

So we did what having a house on wheels makes possible. We packed up and drove 400 miles to where it was a lot warmer!

We started the day with fresh baked, Trader Joe's croissants. They start out frozen, and all you have to do is put them out to thaw and rise overnight and bake them in the oven. They are a special breakfast treat that we have every so often. (I probably should have pulled the blind for a better picture, but this is one happy, warm man.)

We burned some of the calories with a four mile walk along two of the beaches in the area. Yes, in just the right light the waves look violet in color.

Looking down the beach in the other direction, the sun's reflection  dazzles the eye. 

This is a life style we could really love!  

Where are we? Santa Barbara, California.
High 59 degrees this afternoon.  

We are at a dinky RV park, but it has great cable and Craig is watching the playoff game.
  
More beach walking, or other exploration for me tomorrow!
More football games for Craig.