Noses are pointed to the barn

Sunday, July 24, 2011: Nose is pointed to the barn

Woke up early, did my powerwalk with Spouse. We readied Hannah and headed to San Jose to the Winchester House. Sarah Winchester (of Winchester Rifle fame) took an 8 room farm house and turned it into a 160 room cozy cottage! Work went on for 24 hours a day for 38 years. Doors go to nowhere, cupboard open to nothing, and windows may or may not open to a view. There are some beautiful stained glass windows, but the house is definitely odd. Our 65 minute tour inside the house took us over one mile! And although you are not supposed to photograph the inside, Spouse broke the rules... We went behind the scenes to see how the house used electricity and heat and all that stuff. Since we got there early, we got the greatest parking spot on the planet. There was a single long spot with trees on either side where we could actually open the sliders. This was good for Bart, and for us while we made lunch. I know we were the envy of every RV'er in the area! I saw their drool spots around Hannah!

We then left for the ride south on hwy 101. We actually decided to head home. We stopped in San Luis Obispo along the beach and made dinner. It was sunny and warmish cool. Lots of kelp provided a playground for the seals and we actually saw a couple of otters. It was a beautiful spot to end a long vacation.

We figured we had a 3 hour drive home, but what we didn't know was that there was road construction near Ventura. And although it really should not have interfered with traffic, it paralyzed the cars. It took us about an hour and a half to drive from Santa Barbara to Ventura, which should have taken only 30 minutes. It didn't help that we were low on fuel. The truck said it had a 45 mile fuel range, and we figured we had 30 miles to go. My thought was to put the friggin' gas that was in the gas can in the back of the truck into the fuel tank rather than risk running out going up the Conejo grade. Spouse finally did that! We then made it safely home.

It was after 10pm, so we just unloaded what we needed. Waiting for us was a mountain of mail, and some of my beautiful orchids that started blooming while I was away! I woke in the night and did not have a clue as to where I was.

As much as I love to go, I love coming home. But for today... we will tackle everything that comes with returning from a long vacation. Spouse has some fixing of things to do, the boys get to clean, we all get to unload, I get laundry and mail. Let the fun begin!

Thank you all for coming along with us. Until next time...

Good Afternoon Vietnam!

Saturday, July 23, 2011: Good Afternoon Vietnam

San Francisco makes my imagination go crazy. Too many Dirty Harry movies. And the zodiac killer, whatever happened to him? Well, today on my power walk, I am sure I saw him, as well as some of Dirty Harry's adversaries. Such sour expressions on people's faces. Hah! I had a good walk anyway!

Today our plan is to divide and conquer. Spouse would take the boys to the Golden Gate Bridge while I would go to Golden Gate Park. There is a flower conservatory which has piqued my interest, as well as the Science Museum.

Golden Gate Park is a massive expanse of parklands dotted with museums and such. There are gazillions of walking trails and biking trails. Part of it is woodsy, part of it is immaculately landscaped. But all of it is pretty crowded! Since GG park is on the way to the bridge, Spouse dropped me off, and off they went.

My first venture was to the flower conservatory, which was about a 15 minute walk from where I got deposited. Snort, snort, snort... I did not take one clipping! The displays were beautiful, but my orchids are every bit as nice or even nicer!

Back to the Science Museum... pretty pricey... but lots to see. There is a huge rainforest, with butterflies, fish and a couple of macaws. It is quite impressive to wind your way through the various layers of the forest to the top, where the warmth and humidity started to make me wilt. Then the elevator takes you down to the aquarium. Ahhh, nice and cool. Fresh water, salt water, cold water, warm water... it was all there. Some spectacular sea horse specimens drew the crowd. I particularly enjoyed walking through the aquarium tunnel where you get up close to all the critters.

There was an entire display of lizards and snakes and frogs. There were pythons, anacondas, iguanas, and a whole lot more. Everywhere I turned was another interesting critter. It was a wait to get into the planetarium, so I missed that. I did visit the living roof, which has all sorts of interesting flora to explore.

In the meantime, the boys enjoyed Fort Point, which is on the point right near the GG bridge. Then they walked part of the bridge. Crew had aspired to pee off the bridge, but apparently, it was way too crowded for that. He had to settle for spitting!

Once we reconnected, we decided to go to a Vietnamese restaurant we had seen on the way up. The entire area was Vietnamese. Crew begged for Taco Bell, and he whined, but we dragged him to Pho Phu Quoc. Ok, say that real fast! We will call it the Quoc (pronounced cock?) for short! Dallas went willingly. Both of them learned that they can find edible food in some place other than a fast food restaurant! The pho was good (Spouse and I had Dallas' leftovers!). I couldn't speak to the phu or the quoc though! Dallas did quite well with chopsticks. Crew needs some work! But we had a good time at the Quoc.

Having our ups and downs

Friday, July 22, 2011: Having our ups and downs

After an uneventful power walk, I got back and the glass guys showed up to fix the rear window in the truck. The glass guys were actually a little bit early, how odd is that! It is fixed and must spend the day resting...

We are only a couple of blocks away from a BART station (don't confuse this with our dog!) so off we went to navigate the public transportation system of the bay area. My idea was we would take BART to the Powell exit, then hop on the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf, where maybe we could get the boys on a trip to Alcatraz. Great idea... poor reality!

We caught Bart (at $7.10 round trip per person... the truck is looking better and better). We got to the Powell exit and saw the line to get on to the cable cars. In the olden days, you could just jump right on for $.50. But now you have to wait in line... a really long line... and pay $6.00 for a one way ticket! I would say that the crowd was lively, but the reality was it was darned crowded! I had the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other... The devil said just walk! It is much faster! The angel said... hey, the boys need to have the San Francisco experience. Go with it. So that is what we did. Which really is a good thing since the hills we would have needed to climb might have killed us!

When we got to the wharf area, we separated. All males went to In-N-Out and all females (oh, it is only me!) had cioppino in a restaurant called... Cioppino's! Cioppino is a seafood stew in a tomato base. Crab, clams, mussels, and other seafood are all part of the deal. It was good, but not nearly as good as my friends Jim and Mariee Mitchell. Nobody compares to them!

We walked through the wharf area, including pier 39. There were only a few sea lions there. There used to be hundreds, now there was maybe a dozen. They think the sea lions fled for the Channel islands, down by us in southern California. We checked on trips to Alcatraz... the next opening was on August 6. Needless to say, the boys will just have to miss out on that one. The wind was ripping through the bay. There were major whitecaps and choppy seas. It was sunny, but the wind made it cold. But the second you were out of the wind, it got hot! And wow, it was crowded!

We walked down the embarcadero, then headed into China Town. China Town in San Francisco is like being in another world. Once you cross the imaginary line, the entire flavor of the town changes. There are 'local' men playing a type of chinese chess game. Actually, there are several groups of the gaming guys. The shops have all sorts of odd things from dried sea cucumber to dried deer tendons (one of my personal favorites...). The knives and swords interested the boys some. It is definitely an interesting visit to another land right in our own country!

We then headed back to our Bart station. This required climbing one of those hills that have got to be at a 30% grade or better! Slowly we climbed... we huffed... we puffed... No power walking this one!

We left the boys to go see a movie. They had their return tickets, so we trusted them to find their way home. Us old folks made our way into the subway station. I kind of felt like someone was playing bumper pool with my brain. We tried to use our return tickets, and they were rejected... Oh, wrong line. We went over to the Bart side, and the tickets still wouldn't take. Oh... there is a red light at the bottom. Let's try the green turnstile... duh! Hey, we were tired... And we did make it home without sleeping through our subway stop! And the boys made it home ok too.

Pop goes the window

Thursday, July 21, 2011: A giant among us

Woke up and went for my power walk along the Avenue of the Giants. Not much of a shoulder to walk on so I had to be careful but there wasn't a lot of traffic so it wasn't an issue. Walking is a great way to see things up close and personal. There are beautiful flowers. White and yellow yarrow, deep purple flowers resembling heliotrope. Daisy like flowers in pink, blue and white. Cascading orange flowers that resemble million bells look like they are strategically placed by landscapers. And of course, the giant redwoods tower hundreds of feet above. The Eel River snakes through (or does it 'eel' through?) a river valley. Its banks are sandy in spots and pebbly in spots. There are geese lounging around.

Unfortunately, when walking, you can also see the ugly side of things. Beer cans, a trashy vacuum cleaner, a car battery and other garbage has been strewn in a river bed and along the side of the road.

Back to camp, we readied Hannah for her tour through the Humboldt Redwood forest. It is very difficult to find the words to describe the redwood forest. The forest is masterful and mysterious. We took a hike on the Founders Grove loop trail. Here there are trees that are hundreds, and some are thousands of years old. Carrying our booklet about the trail, we learned a lot about the trees. We learned their age. We learned that they have three different microclimates for each tree. One tree can expel 400 gallons of water a day! It can take 400 years for a single tree to decompose. Their biggest enemy is humans and fire. However, they are darned good at withstanding fires. I could go on and on but let's just say they are incredible specimens. Laden with lichen, ferns, mosses and ivies, mother nature as a landscape architect does a better job than any human can do!

After being totally overwhelmed by our hike, we got back in the truck and continued our drive through the forest. Then back on to hwy. 101 going south. It took a couple hours to navigate through the hills and down into the lowlands where the wine country meets the high country. It was finally warm! I could put on shorts and not freeze! That was until... we approached San Francisco. As we approached the Golden Gate bridge, the fog rushed in and it got windy and cold. Of course, it is rush hour, and the RV park requires that we navigate tiny streets in bumper to bumper traffic. Ugh.

We finally found the RV park, and the proprietor showed us our space. Tight squeeze, but Spouse was up to the challenge. He backed, he pulled forward. He backed, he pulled forward. He turned, he backed. Crew, make sure I don't hit the window. Ok. POP! Crew, not fast enough... as the window shatters into a gazillion tiny pieces. Oh well... It is freezing! Gotta get out of my shorts!

Tomorrow, the auto glass people will be here at 9am.

Back to California

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

I loved going to sleep with the sound of the surf pounding in the background. But then... snore, snore, snore! I pushed, I nudged, I kicked... my earplugs drowned the pounding surf sounds, but did not drown the snores! I could either smother my spouse, or I needed to move. The boys are now in my snore refuge, so I grabbed a sleeping bag, climbed over the boys and went outside. I have a banana chair specifically for this purpose, so I made my bed and crawled in. The night was cloudless and the stars sang to me. And the surf pounded. And it was cold but I was cozy and I drifted off. When I woke, it was daylight and there did not appear to be any clouds! It was still cold so I went inside and Spouse started whining about how cold he was. What nerve!

We got up, and got the boys up for a walk on the beach. My fingers are still sore from our agate hunt, but today, maybe some driftwood will find its way home. We left the RV park, crossed hwy 101 (Frogger anyone?) and found our way to the beach. I went into my own gait which essentially left the guys behind. The sand was soft without the rocks in Agate-land. Except occasionally a rocky area would crop up... and I gave an eye, picking up an agate or two as well as some pretty pebbles. After about a mile and a half, I started back higher on the beach in the driftwood zone. Sure enough, right off the bat, I see a rather large stump that I just have to have! Great, I have a long way to go and I have this huge piece of wood I need to lug all the way back! Why couldn't I find this towards the end of my walk? Oh well, I perch 'little stumpy' on my hip like a human toddler and started back. But human toddlers kind of hold on. Stumpy just hung there so I had to reposition him every now and again. The extra weight had me sinking in the sand. This, of course, made it so easy to walk... NOT!

I still had the ability to carry some smaller pieces. I guess I wanted to make my walk as awkward as possible. I did find a few attractive small pieces and I had them join the crew. Then I got the 'opportunity' to lug my bounty up a sand dune, then run across hwy 101 (don't drop anything!) and schlep it back to Hannah. Spouse and the boys found some pieces too, but left them off the highway... going the wrong way... but we fetched them later.
I showered while the boys washed the truck. We readied Hannah for her southward journey. The coastline continued to offer total eye candy. But alas, it must come to an end and we cross back into California. We come in to Crescent City, and we are back to strip malls. Oh goody... We pulled in to the marina so we could make lunch. This marina really took a hit with the Japanese earthquake in March. The ensuing tsunami essentially sucked the water out of the marina, then put it back with such force that the water trashed so many of the boats and docks causing millions of dollars of damage. But for us, it just looked like a pretty harbor.
Since Spouse has done almost all of the driving, I offered to drive the next leg. I really haven't towed too much with the new truck and wouldn't you know, I picked one helluva highway to learn. Narrow roads bordering on towering cliffs, ups and downs, people riding my behind... I am not sure Spouse got much of a rest! But I sure did learn how to use the jake brake! We switched in Eureka, then continued south into the Humboldt Redwoods.
Redwood forests are phenomenal. Not only are the thousand year old trees magnificent, but all of the undergrowth offers the ultimate complement. Ferns, redwood sorrel (like a clover) and ivies line the redwood mulched floor. If we only had more time... we ended up in a campground in Redcrest, right in the midst of the redwood forest. Here is where the 'immortal tree' lives. It is about 1600 years old and has weathered fires, lightening and loggers.

We just might have to get a wee hike in tomorrow before we head down to San Francisco.

Agate a kick out of you

Tuesday, July 19, 2011: Agate a kick out of you

Another gray morning. I woke to the distant roar of the surf and a seagull choir serenade. I imagined being back on Playcation bobbing in the water with the water gently slapping the chimes. Ok, so we are on ground... I can still imagine can't I?

We decided to get the boys up for a walk on the beach. I talked to some of our neighbors and they told us about finding agates on the beach. I wondered what a raw agate looked like until I saw a man pick one up. He showed me and I walked one step and found one that was larger than a quarter. Well, that was easy, this ought to be fun. AGATE FEVER HAS STRUCK! I got my gait going, keeping my eyes on the ground. Hey, where are they? We kept walking and I showed Spouse and the boys the object of my quest. The sand is not really sand in many places. It is little rocks. We watched a few people combing through the surface. One lady showed me her bag of dozens of small agates. I showed her my big one and she was totally impressed. It was then that I realized my big one was an oddity. Okay, I will get over that. Crew began to dig and he found some. Spouse went back while Dallas and I started to dig. We found some here, we found some there. Crew left and Dallas and I continued. The tide was low, we dug some more. We finally decided to head back. A few times we stopped and dug some more. My fingers were now hurting as was Dallas' knees, so we picked up our pace towards home. Then it started to rain. None of that drizzly stuff, this was real rain! Needless to say, we got wet! Water was dripping off of my visor, but I got some prizes! And Spouse found a great fossilized rock. Pull me out of here... we need to head home!

We cleaned up and readied Hannah for her journey south. As we left, the sun started to shine!

It took us quite a while to make any kind of distance. We stopped at this view, marveled at that view. A spouting whale there, and roosting bald eagle there. I could easily spend weeks just cruising the coast here in Oregon. We stopped for lunch at the Driftwood Beach turnout. False advertising! There was no driftwood! They tricked me!

The one thing I love about the towns is that there are not a lot of strip malls. There are tons of mom and pop stores. There are quite a few glass art studios to which I could easily attach myself! Art galleries pop up in the middle of nowhere. Lots of character and personality complement the raw beauty of the rugged coast, woods, and rivers. Even Coos Bay, which is a moderately sized port town had character. You can smell the raw lumber as you near Coos Bay. Logs are being loaded on ships. Logs are being milled. Logging definitely supports the area.

We passed through an area of large dunes. It seemed odd that the forest trees were growing out of the dunes, but that is what we saw!

We settled for the night in the town of Ophir, which is about 40 miles north of the California border. They have a fire ring. Spouse better not burn the few pieces of driftwood I got out of the lakes earlier on the trip...