Kennedy Space Centre, Alligators & Daytona

When you are watching the Daytona 500 on Sunday you can think of us as we are about 30 miles south of there right now.  Not that we are planning on going, just that is the location.

Today we went to the Kennedy Space Centre.



Paul took a ride in the launch simulator while James and I viewed from the observation area.  They have a number of missiles in their "garden" and it was interesting to walk around (though there weren't as many exhibits as I thought there would be).

One of the neatest exhibits was the launch control centre from 1962.  It is set up exactly like it was back then, with the addition of a couple of video monitors to tell you what everything was.  Office chairs haven't changed, but the boards and screens sure have.

As we were leaving the KSC, there was a truck pulled over at the side of the road.  So we pulled over too, so we could see what was happening.  We could see a couple of alligators in the ditch beside the road.

The wind was blowing quite hard today, but they had a wind warning for the whole east third of the US so I guess it wouldn't have mattered where we were.  It was cool at the end of the day (jeans weather) but it is supposed to start warming up again tomorrow.

Moving North - No Swimming

When we got up this morning everything outside was soaked. It is so humid and warm here it looked like it had rained.

We started on our journey north today moving to Mims, Florida which is right by the Kennedy Space Centre. We stopped along the way and had the axels looked at by American Frame and Axle because the trailer was not tracking well. Some days are better than others and we had a not so good one the other day (no bad days). I was sick and we set up in the wrong campsite. We moved 3 spots over to our campsite but forgot to take out the wheel chocks. This pushed the axels apart and the trailer started pushing the back end of the truck around. The trailer now follows the truck and even in the wind it tracked well.

Today was our warmest day yet (another great day - sandals and shorts) and is just now starting to cool off. The air conditioning has been running steady during the day for the last couple of days. The place we are staying has a pool but it is closed, they also have a pond but swimming is not recommended because of the alligators.

Just after we set up we saw a rocket launch - here is the information from the Kennedy Space Centre:

February 24, 2012 • Atlas 5 • MUOS 1
Launch Time: 2246-2330 GMT (5:15-5:59 p.m. EST)


The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will launch the first Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite for the U.S. Navy. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will improve ground communications for U.S.Navy. Built by Lockheed Martin, this U.S. military spacecraft will improve ground communications for U.S. forces on the move.

http://www.spacecoastlaunches.com/#schedule

More Laz'n about

Had a lovely time with family again today.  Drove to Gulf Port (only one-half hour away) across the Skyway bridge.  We had brunch with Mary and MaryLou and took a walk around the complex and neighbourhood.  

After visiting for a while, we headed back to the campsite to just relax and enjoy the sunshine and warmth.

This part of the trip seems to have a number of bridges, the first leg we did a lot of ferries, now we are traveling across a number of long bridges such as the one today.

Laz'n About

After a terrific day yesterday we took it easy today. A trip to the outlet stores (both of us picked up Timex Heart Rate Monitors for $30) and then back to the trailer. Kathie spent the afternoon working on her thesis and I worked on pictures while I watched the laundry.

Here are some pictures from Anna Marie Island.

Here are the waves not exactly crashing on the beach.

Here is the beach looking north. The sand is white and bright.

Here is a picture of Kathie, James and MaryLou that I took as I walked with Mary at the water's edge.

Since I was working on pictures I did up some HDR's from Cedar Key. This first one is an old Chevrolet truck that had a Hot Rod licence plate.

This one is what is left of a shed that was on a pier.

So it was another great day (sandals and shorts) by the way what is 84 degrees in celsius?

Lunch At The Beach With Family

We went to one of the many beaches Anna Maria Island with my cousin MaryLou and my Aunt Mary for a picnic lunch. Maybe it was one really long beach. The beaches are right on the Gulf of Mexico.

The water was cool and there were a few people playing in the water. Kathie dipped her toe in the water and decided that was far enough. We do have the boogie boards with us but they were in the trailer. The waves weren't really big enough, maybe we will try the Atlantic coast next week - I promised Kathie the water will be warmer there.

The beach is a white sand beach and the weather was sunny and very warm.

We had a great visit and did a long walk down the beach.

Obviously another great day - sandals and shorts - 5 days in a row - I'm starting to like this.

Tomorrow is a rest day and catch up day, Thursday we will see Mary and MaryLou again and Friday we will start heading north and east.

Palmetto, Florida

We didn't travel too far today, just a little south.  We are now in Palmetto.  We are staying a couple of days here and hope to spend some time with Paul's Aunt Mary and his cousin Mary Lou.

The drive today had lots of trees but was straight.  You could see the stop light where you needed to turn from a mile away.

Got some grocery shopping done and now we are stocked up on fruits again (as well as cookies).  Now, just relaxing for the evening.

Cedar Key

I got this picture of James when I was out today taking pictures and James was out for a walk.

We went into Cedar Key today. It is a quiet out of the way town about a mile from where we are staying. The closest shopping centre is about 30K away. The main industries are fishing and tourism. There is a small grocery store, 15 or more restaurants, boutique hotels and several gift shops. We are right on the Gulf of Mexico so some of the restaurants and hotels are built on pilings over the water.

It is very laid back here and if we could we would stay for longer.

I went out taking pictures today. My first stop was the beach in the campsite. I was told when I got there that I had missed the Ospreys. The Ospreys came back a few minutes later.

I had actually gone down to take a picture of this boat.

While Kathie and I were in town I noticed this ramshackle building so that was my main reason for going into town.

There is a new fishing pier and a number of other old wooden piers in the area. I spent some time watching the pelicans.

Heading off to see Aunt Mary and MaryLou in St. Petersburg tomorrow and the next few days, then to the Kennedy Space Centre and Daytona is next week as well and we will be just south of there.

Weather Events and Decisions

We were in Pensacola last night planning todays drive. We thought we would stick to I-10 and go to Madison, just past Tallahassee.

Last night Kathie was checking the weather and a number of Mardi Gras events in New Orleans were cancelled today (if today is Saturday - I lost track again) because of a severe weather system that is hitting Texas to Florida and north. The track of the storm included the Tallahassee area. The last time we were in this situation we stayed put and got whacked by Hurricane Irene.  So we didn't want to stay put this time.

At one of our rest stops we checked the maps and our iPad app AllStays and followed the advice from Anne and Ray (and Ken's advice to get off the interstates) and turned south to Cedar Key of the west side of Florida. The storm has a much smaller chance of hitting here. It was a longer drive than we had planned and we lost another hour to the time change but we are camped on the beach at an RV park that could be in the middle of the Okanagan (tight spaces). We got a spot for two nights - that was all they had and then we are moving south again.

When we phoned to see if they had room the owner said leave room for ribs and pulled pork. They have a restaurant here and the ribs were excellent and James really liked the pulled pork. The cost was very reasonable and the food was better than most of the meals we have this trip costing 3-4 times as much.

Most of the people here are here from the northeast US - Michigan mostly.  If you want to check out the weather here, click on the link below:

Weather here

It is warm today (great day - sandals and shorts).

Air Museum, Pictures and more

We moved from Abita Springs to Pensacola on a short drive today.

The campsite at Abita Springs was about 20K from the Interstate and was very quiet except for the crickets and frogs at night. Where we have been staying over the last few weeks we have usually been able to hear traffic from the interstate and trains - but not in Abita Springs. There were a large number of birds in the area and ponds all over the place. It is very wet in the area, here is a picture of the "tideline" in the campsite road in front of our site from the rain the other night.

In Pensacola, just down the road is where the Blue Angles are stationed at a large navy base. The base has a large navy air museum. I went down and took some pictures this afternoon, James is not feeling well and Kathie is working on her Thesis. The Blue Angles practice on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and you can go down and watch them (I think it is Friday today - I've lost track again and my watch is broken).

At the museum a lot of the planes had fold up wings and it had planes from the earliest days, including a Sopwith Camel (with Snoopy sitting in it) and flying boats, all the way up to Harriers and TomCats.

Chinook / Labrador Helicopter

Harrier Jet

Pappy Boyington's Corsair from the Black Sheep Squadron.

They also have an historic lighthouse.

For us this was a quick stop, we are moving again tomorrow, the weather is supposed to get really nasty here over the next couple of days so we want to move away from the area. It wasn't until this morning that I noticed the tornado siren mounted in the eves of the washroom building in the last campsite.

The weather today was great, (a good day - boots and jeans, a better day - sandals (no socks) and jeans, a great day - sandals and shorts).

New Orleans Pictures

Here are a few images I got today as we wandered around in the French Quarter and down St Charles Street in New Orleans.

Here are some DixieLand Jazz Musicians playing some Street Jazz on Royal Street.

Here are some Jazz Heros - Pete Fountain, Fats Domino, Al Hirt among others.

Here is a shot of Bourbon Street. This is the crowded, noisy, adult oriented end of town. Open carry here (liquor) had a whole different meaning in Arizona (handguns).

Here is an HDR of one of the many mansions on St Charles Street,

New Orleans

We went into New Orleans via the Causeway bridge over Lake Ponchartrain. This bridge is the longest bridge in the world at 38.45 km. that is more than three times as long as the Confederation bridge that connects PEI to the mainland (and the toll is only $3 compared to $45 - but it does have more than 42,000 cars per day travel over it. 

We walked around the French Quarter of New Orleans. Down Bourbon St with all the bars. New Orleans has an open container policy - you can walk around outside with your beer or drinks - and some of the people were already showing the effects. I don't think they will make it to the parades tonight.  Tuesday is Mardi Gras and the parades and parties start more than a week before. We saw seats on step ladders for people to watch the parade and some were already sitting in their spot by 2pm with chairs, ice chests and even a BBQ. 

We also walked down Royal St and watched a number of street musicians. James got to listen to a dixieland jazz band and we picked up their CD.  We had a Louisiana lunch - Gumbo, Jambalaya and blackened chicken. 

On the way out of the city we stopped for a minute to hear part of the marching band competition. Then it was back on the causeway to the campsite.   We did see our friends blue truck but did not meet up with them. I hope they got some great pics. 

Recycling

Where we live we have a comprehensive recycling program. We recycle and return a large amount of material that used to go to the garbage dump. In different places the recycling programs have ranged from comprehensive to non-existent.

When we were in North Sydney, Nova Scotia the the waste had to be separated into 7 different bags. There was garbage garbage, compost, paper, corrugated cardboard, returnables, hard plastic and soft plastic.

Traveling through the US is completely different. There is no recycling that we have been able to find. At one campsite in October the owner had tried to talk the local into doing something with the returnables and she got turned down. We did the shopping today and I carried an armful of stuff to the garbage that at home I would have put in the recycle box.

I also got out today and got some barn and homestead pictures from an area to the north of us, including a run into Mississippi.

Changes in weather

We woke up to fog this morning. The campsite was still in water and we were surrounded by fog. Our drive started out where we could see the highway but not much else.

The fog started lifting around Lake Charles where we filled up with gas. Lots of state police along the highway for traffic control. We passed four in the space of about three miles.

Saw lots of houses built on pilings.  We crossed the Atchafalaya Swamp. The swamp is the largest swamp in the United States. It is a combination of wetlands and river delta area where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge. I think the bridge was 18 miles long because that was the requirement for the trucks to stay in the right lane.

We stopped at the Bass Pro Shop at Denham Springs and bought Paul some new jeans while we there.  We have now arrived at Abita Springs RV (across the lake from New Orleans). And the weather is sunny and warm - back into shorts and the AC is on.

Snow, Rain and Pictures

We said good-bye to Ken and Nancy last night, we will keep track of Nancy's progress on their web site http://thebeazleyclan.com/kn/?page_id=431 We are looking forward to seeing them again.

We have been using the interstates for most of our driving since we left the Pacific coast. They get you there faster but there is a lot of semi-truck traffic and the scenery gets monotonous. While we were visiting Ken and Nancy last night Ken suggested a route for today that would take us off the interstate and down some Texas state highways.

As we were leaving Ken and Nancy's place last night there was fresh snow on the ground. This morning it was raining and had warmed up to about 2 degrees. We followed Ken's suggestion and had a nice drive down some very good highways. It rained all day, heavily at times but we were not having to deal with the spray of 100's of trucks passing us. I was even able to find a couple of barns that I took pictures of.

We have moved south and it is getting warmer ( about 10 degrees) but the campsite we are in is very wet. The trailer is sitting on a concrete pad in about an inch of water and grass around us has 2-4 inches of water. My boots have not been this wet since Barry took me out in the Argo to look for wildlife in Kitwanga. Fortunately I have a new pair of boots and they kept my feet dry.

It was interesting going out with Ken when he had his camera. He would often take pictures when I wouldn't normally (for example - when we were out at lunch he was taking pictures of the signs in the restaurant - something I wouldn't normally do). I am meeting up with another photographer, Anne McKinnell (http://annemckinnell.com/) and I am looking forward to spending time watching her approach to photography.

This is a long exposure (about 15 seconds) taken in the restaurant, people were moving in and out of the shot while it was taken.

The other day we were in Dallas at the JFK museum. They have the point marked on the road where JFK was shot. Here is a picture of me standing at that spot from the grassy knoll.

Here is a picture from the spot of the corner window where they say the fatal shots was taken.

We also drove by Texas Rangers Stadium.

Nolan's House

And the Dallas Cowboy's Stadium.

Jerry's House

Was it a conspiracy?

Our first plan for today was to take James to Legoland. Did you know that adults are not allowed in Legoland unless accompanied by children. Since we didn't have a spare child we could use for that purpose, we changed our plans for the day. 

Instead we dropped James off at a Games Workshop (the Dallas/Fort Worth area has three). Then Paul and I went to the Sixth Floor Museum.   This is a museum dedicated to JFK. At the book exchange where you can see the place of the shooting, the grassy knoll and the place LHO is claimed to have been and fired the "pristine bullet". 

Back to pick up James, a quick trip back to the trailer to walk Kody and now we are off to Ken and Nancy's again for hamburgers. Whew, that was a busy day. 

Fort Worth, Texas

Had a wonderful day yesterday in Fort Worth. Visited with our friends Ken and Nancy. They took us to Riscky's BBQ and to the Fort Worth Stockyards. Lots of interesting history. Is it a bad thing when you still use things that you find in a museum?  Paul and Ken both had their cameras and were having fun getting pictures. Including some of longhorn cattle.   

We drove past Jerry's house - Cowboys Stadium. The stadium is 3 million square feet and is 900 feet from one end zone retractable wall to the opposite end zone retractable wall.  Of course, being baseball fans we also drove past the Texas Ranger Stadium which is just across the way (both are actually in Arlington).

We spent the latter part of the day visiting and getting some laundry done. It is always nice to be able to use a good washer and dryer.  Some campgrounds do their best but most laundry rooms in campgrounds are sadly lacking in good quality machines. 

Driving and driving

We arrived in Burleson Texas this afternoon. We chose Berleson because Ken and Nancy live here. We met them in Newfoundland last year and when we were looking for places to stop as we cut across Texas we decided to stop here and see them.

We have been driving across Texas for two days (~550k each day) and we still have about 360 k (225 miles) to go. So Texas is big - how big - well Texas is 268,580 square miles, in comparison BC is 364,764 square miles, so Texas is about 2/3 the size of BC. Texas is wide where BC is long.

Texas is also flat. Driving is easy if the wind is not up - we spent all day in 5th with the cruise control set at 100kph - the only times I had to shift were when we pulled over for coffee and lunch. The driving has been easy enough the Kathie even offered to drive yesterday.

The place we stayed at last night was a campsite for the oil field workers. The fellow beside us was looking for work as a commercial truck driver. He has just lost the lease on his ranch in Montana and is living in the trailer park with his dog. The 8 year old dog (Jill) was a ranch dog so had never had a collar on. It is having a hard time adjusting to life off the ranch.

The area we stayed in last night was very busy and noisy. It was in the middle of the oil fields and the plants around it run 24 hours a day. Our trailer is quiet because it has double pane windows and good insulation. The insulation will be a good thing tonight as the temperature is supposed to get down to -2 and -4 over the next couple of days.

The scenery changed during the day. Early in the day we had the fields of oil pumps and miles of wind mills. Everything else was sand and sagebrush. Later in the day we started to get green fields, farms and some trees - not tall ones but a welcome break from the sand and sagebrush.

We will stay here for a couple of days to rest before we head down to the coast and New Orleans.

Colder nights, longer days (of driving)

We woke up to chilly 3 C this morning. Packed up quickly to stay warm and were on our way again.  

We saw lots of cows and hay bales this morning.  But no barns. They seems to build covers but not walls for the hay, cows and horses (due to the milder weather I guess). 

Driving through El Paso it was interesting to see many bright colored buildings. Yellow, pink, orange, purple. Shopping centers large and small were all brightly coloured.   The pollution smell wasn't nearly as interesting. 

Paul saw the posted speed limit on the GPS read 130KPH. Can't drive that fast and still have trailer tires. 

We drove by mountains of dirt and rock today, we stopped at a rest area . . . somewhere for lunch, the exit was called Wild Horse Road, there didn't appear to be any town close by. 

After taking the turnoff to Hwy 20, it was very flat and dry. In all four directions we could see nothing but desert.   Except for oil pumps - those things that look  like ether birds pulling up the oil. 

We have stopped the night at Midessa RV (halfway between Midland and Odessa). 

First post, Second loop

I am sorry that it has been so long since I posted but by the end of the first loop posting had become an object of vast tedium for me. The reason I am posting now is because my conscience finally guilted me into posting, ok that is my post, later bye.

…

What? You want more of a post? Something explaining what the trip has been like so far?

Well I guess I could tell you how I was ecstatic in San Francisco when we finally had enough time in the states to get a cheap(er than Canada's prices) 3DS and The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. Or I could tell you about how when I ran out of books we went to a book store and mom paid for the books and then ended up owing me money for my allowance. And then when on the subject of book I could explain that I like werewolves better than vampires in modern books because I find them generally more realistic even if shapeshifting is physically impossible, I find that this is counteracted by the fact that in most werewolf stories there is magic in which case while the shifting bone structure is still hard to physically explain the mass change is done by shifting magical energy (and some of your own (as in calories not life force)) into mass and back again.

But I'm not going to

Tombstone Pictures

Here are some of the pictures I took at Tombstone (the town that survives because of a 30 second gang fight).

Here is Kathie Oakley at the shooting gallery taking aim - she didn't miss.

They replay the "gunfight at the OK corral" 3 times a day to a packed house. The 30 seconds is stretched out into a 45 minute play.

Here are the Earp Brothers after the play - the Clanton brothers had to "stay dead" until everyone had left the bleachers. Everyone else had a good time.

There are other gunfight plays, silver mine tours, a historama, robotic gunfighters, a newspaper still publishing the event and tourist shops to visit. They even renamed their cemetery "Boothill". It is somewhat reminiscent of Barkerville with the actors dressed in period costumes. Some of the visitors can be confused with the actors (including guns). The restaurants, bars and shops all had signs - "No Guns Allowed" or "No Weapons Allowed" (guns or knives).

New Mexico

The other day the rocks looked like they were stacked by a giant. The rocks we saw leaving Benson today and heading east on Hwy 10  made those the other day look like pebbles. Large boulders piled in stacks. Paul noted that the rocks grew higher than the trees. 

Shortly, however, we were in flat desert again.  Although we could see the mountains in the distance, we could see desert for miles and miles. 

We saw quite a few orchards. Are they called orchards when they grow nuts - walnuts and pecans,for sure, and I'm not sure what else. 

The signs say "dust storm possible", "zero visibility possible".  So I guess the wind we are driving in would be considered a light wind here. 

As we travel along in New Mexico, you see billboards advertising for all sorts of things at the next exit - more than a dozen signs. When you get to the exit you see one tiny store.  This happened fairly often in the drive today. 

We are spending the night in Las Cruces at a very nice RV site at Hacienda RV. 

Tombstone AZ

When we got up this morning it was 6 C outside.  But once the sunshine was out, it has been a very nice day.

Yes, we went into Tombstone AZ today.  We even watched the stage show for the gun fight at the OK corral.  It was all great fun, and I found a badge for my great-nephew Wyatt (I couldn't help myself I had to do it).  One of the actors on the street called us "chicken, kickin' hayseed tourists (that was pretty funny).

One of my favourite writers is J.A. Jance.  Some of her stories are set around Bisbee and Cochise county so it is neat to see all the names of places I have seen in her novels.

On the way back from Tombstone to Benson, we had to go through the border patrol - at the road that comes up from Nogales - even though we didn't go into Mexico.  That was a little different.

Farewell To Our Travelling Companion

We said good-bye to our traveling companion, Don, today. He has stayed behind in the Phoenix area to play golf, visit with friends and stay warm. We may hook up with him later in our journey as we head home after spring training.

We have moved south and east to higher ground where it is noticeably cooler. The vegetation has also changed, we still see cactus but different ones.

When we were in Phoenix we were close to a very busy airport where there was a private plane landing every 20 - 30 seconds. To the north of us there were balloons flying. This picture I got from between Don's motorhome and our trailer.

There was a group of planes the flew in-formation and flew over quite often.

The airport did cause some problems for us, the alarm system in the truck had problems disengaging. We thought it was a problem with the battery in the remote. Once I got the truck started today we did not stop it until the trailer was parked. We then went out and bought new batteries. Before I put the new ones in I checked the remotes and they worked just fine. We have put new batteries away for now.

Here is one of the cacti from before we started to climb (we are now about 3,500 feet now).

Here is a picture of our campsite tonight.

Tomorrow we are headed to Tombstone where the Gunfight at the OK Corral took place and then we will head east and south across New Mexico and Texas.

Phoenix AZ

Leaving Palm Desert we passed a spot on the highway that was sea level. Then we climbed into mountains that were desert. Over 1,000 feet but still desert. There were some fascinating rock formations where it looked like a giant kid stacked up a bunch of rocks.  

The road is very straight. Every now and then they throw in a corner and say slow to 70. Since the speed limit for trucks with trailers is 55, it made no difference to us. 

Saw lots of cacti. And driving through Quartsite we saw lots of RVs dry camping all around. Pick you piece of desert. 

We arrived at Desert's Edge RV here in Phoenix.  Just a short stay this time (we'll be back late in March for a couple of ball games). 

A Day To Relax In The Sunshine

Today was an easy day. For the most part we spent the day around the campsite. I gave Don a ride to the golf course, Kathie and I went for a bike ride and we did the shopping for the next couple of days and then we went for a swim.

Driving around Palm Desert (the city we are staying in) is a new experience. The roads are really wide and the speed limit is 50 or 55 MPH depending on the road. Very few people drive at the speed limit. Most people are driving at 40 MPH. The city seems to be laid out in 1 mile blocks with gated communities inside each square mile. I did not see any buildings that were more than 2 stories and most of the houses are ranchers.

The RV park is a popular destination and is filling up. The people across the way could only get 2 nights and I think it is booked now until the end of the month.

The licence plates around here are mainly California but BC is a strong 2nd with Washington well represented. Some have a multitude of plates - for example - a BC plated motorhome with a California plated car (not uncommon).

When we registered we were given a package of information for the area. One of the magazines lists a number of events that are going on in February and March. Concerts by Peter Frampton, Willie Nelson, Paul Anka, Frankie Valli, Pam Tillis and Lori Morgan (to name a few) and fashion shows, art shows and car auctions. We could stay here for quite a while and not see everything and we have to get moving so we moving on tomorrow.

Windy Driving

We have been cruising along at an easy pace for the most part because we are not in a hurry and the speed limit when you are towing a trailer is 55 mph or 90 kph. This also helps the fuel milage. We were able to drive all day yesterday (540 kilometres) on about 3/4 of a tank (17 ImpMPG or 14 USMPG). Highway 101 is mostly flat and for the most part we were not driving against the wind. The off shore wind kicked up late in the day and we had to slow down for a cross wind the last few miles.

Today was down the coast and turn left at LA and head east. We followed Highway 101 to I-210 to I-10. The cross wind was a constant companion today and at points we slowed down so the trailer was easier to control. We were watching the 100's of windmills when the traffic slowed to a halt and two police cars raced by us. We inched along for about 1/2 an hour and then all of the traffic funnelled to the furthest right lane to go by an SUV and trailer that were on their side across 3 of the lanes, sort of facing the wrong way. There was a motor home pulled over at the side of the road with damage to his driver side. There was a TV crew there as well - they must have been driving by because we were stopped before the cops got there and the TV crew was already there.

I would have taken some pictures but it was kind of busy with 5 lanes of traffic funnelling into 1. Everyone was courteous and all of the lines were moving.

When we got to the RV Park it was warm. Kathie was already in her summer capri's and I got changed into shorts as soon as the trailer was set up.

This is a different experience for us. We normally travel in the summer - shorts and sandals in the winter when camping is quite enjoyable.

This is an RV Resort or destination. They have 2 pools at different parts of the park. The tennis courts and putting green are lit so you can play at night. They have an event schedule that is very lengthy (BBQ lunch by the pool, sock-hops, photography classes, to name a few). A local dealer of fancy motorhomes has 3 on show here for the weekend. The least expensive one was $211,000.

Long day of driving

The drive today was long, but fairly easy down 101. After we got past all the traffic from San Francisco to San Jose. It was a bit windy on the last part, but most of the day it was sunny and warm. The views once we reached the San Louis Obispo area are absolutely gorgeous. The Pacific is its usual pretty self.

We are stopping in Goleta for the night (north of Santa Barbara). It is still windy here, but we can feel it is much warmer than SF. Looking forward to getting to Palm Springs tomorrow.

Transportation

Whew, we spent a lot of time traveling around today.

We drove to the Bart station and parked.  Took the Bart (train/subway) into San Francisco.  While there we rode the cable cars, a street car and the bus.  So, we did almost all the types of transportation available in SF today.

We had lunch at Fisherman's wharf at Boudin Bakery which has great food.  While we were there I bought some Chardonnay brittle (which takes just like regular peanut brittle) and some chocolate tea (that I can't wait to taste).

We went to the Apple Store (of course) but didn't buy anything (surprise - I think it's because we already own almost everything in the store).

FedEx delayed my package for a day because they had a full pallet and they "rolled it over to the next flight".  They won't re-route, even though I am the recipient, without the permission of the drop off location - so I am not impressed with them.

San Francisco and Pacifica have been awesome.  Moving on towards warmer climates tomorrow.

More Pictures

Here are some pictures I took while we toured San Francisco with Mandell.

The first couple I took with the iPad because I did not want to lug the camera around Pier 39.

Here are the SeaLions on the docks at Pier 39.

Here is the Golden Gate Bridge from the beach nearby.

Last night I got some more sunset pictures.

We walked down to the Pacifica pier and watched the fishermen fishing for crab. This pelican was waiting for any tidbits.

For some reason Kathie did not want me to go swimming even though my life insurance is paid up.

Dog Show

Today we went over to Daly City to walk around the dog show. We looked at the Bernese Mountain Dogs, of course, as well as the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers. We saw some gorgeous Newfies and talked to one of the breeders of Irish Water Spaniels.

Mandell met us there and came back to the campsite for dinner. Now we are looking forward to a couple of days of relaxing before we move on.

Busy day in San Francisco

Woke up to another sunny day in Pacifica. Mandell came out with the zip car and drove us around.

Our first stop was Pier 39 and we split up to various interests. I went to my favourite earring place. I saved a lot of money there today (my new earrings are beautiful). We had lunch at the Pier with some very large portions.

After lunch we went to the Palace of Fine Arts and walked around admiring the architecture. It was built on the premise of buildings and landscaping working together and is really quite impressive. We drove around quite a bit to find parking as it was a sunny day in SF; and they are infrequent enough that, when combined with a weekend ensured that maximum crowds were out.

Mandell also showed us his office and home. After that, we came back here to the campsite for dinner and a rest.

Some Pictures

Here are the first pictures of the trip.

Sealion caves;

These are pictures from the RV park we are staying in:

I got this shot this morning;

I got this shot just after the sun went down;

Sunny days

Woke up this morning to the sun shining. Had coffee watching the surf pounding slong the cliff. What s great way to wake up.

We took the Bart into San Francisco and spent most of the day at Macworld 2012 expo. This is a Mac trade now. What a lot of fun. I got to talk to developers and programmers of some of my favourite apps. Like any trade shows, the specials were many. So we didn't leave empty handed.

Mandell was tied up at work but we are hoping to spend time with him tomorrow.

San Francisco

Driving along in northern California was sunny and warm . . . Until we turned the corner just before San Francisco. And the we hit very heavy fog. You couldn't see the edge of the Golden Gate bridge as you were driving on it. All through SF it was the same - very foggy.

Mandell was here for dinner, as well as our friend Don. After Dinner we had a great visit with both of them and Theo and Flinn Deen - both from the Netherlands. We had an delightful and interesting evening visiting with everyone.

Fog, fog, more fog

The Oregon coast is beautiful and our friend Don hadn't seen it before. He still hasn't. He hasn't seen the redwoods either slthough we drove right by them

There was so much fog today that at times you weren't sure where the road was going. We stopped for lunch near Brookings and it was like it was raining the fog was so heavy.

Picked up phone messages and heard from Uncle Truman and Aunt Gwen - hi guys.

Stopped tonight in Fortuna CA. Heading for San Francisco tomorrow.

Interesting Day

We started the day at the Sea Lion Caves.  Usually we are here during the summer and see the Sea Lions outside - maybe one or two in the cave.  Today we saw approximately 200 in the cave.  Wow, that was neat (boy are they noisy).

It was so windy up there that we had to anchor James so that he wouldn't get blown away on the way to the elevator (the caves are 200 ft down the elevator).  They just got back to full power today, so I kinda held my breath in the elevator hoping for power the whole time....but no issues.

In the afternoon we relaxed around the trailer in the wind and rain storm.  The power in the RV park went out for a short time, but no big deal.

Then we went to our favourite restaurant here in Florence.  Paul and James love the Fisherman's Net seafood platter.  We were the only customers the whole time we were there.  But the food was great as usual at the ICM International C Food Market.

Getting ready for an early start tomorrow.

Florence Oregon

Stopping tonight in Florence. We drove highway 126 to the coast. Although the signs were still up for possible flooding on the road, the roads were clear and dry for us. Good thing we didn't get here earlier - the campsite "ranger" said that 14 trees blew down in the wind. There was some damage to vehicle and motor homes and they were out of power all week until this morning.

Woodburn Oregon

We stopped just south of Portland for the night.  Washington State still has a lot of snow on the side of the road but we spent the day driving through the rain.  We are travelling with our friend Don from Smithers - he has a 34' motor home.  At least for the first bit - he has a reservation for a month in Surprise, AZ.  It might be warm and dry there.

Just north of Centralia we pulled over for gas.  The first gas station was "for lease", so we drove across the road to the Arco, no diesel.  There was a Chevron with diesel four miles down the road.  So we drove down there.  They had no power and no gas.  So back to the I-5 and the next thing we see is a sign for a Love's truck stop in another 15 miles.  There, we got diesel.

There is an outlet mall next door to the RV site, so we plan of spending a bit of time over there in the morning before we take off.

On the ferry

Well, the Coho was fully booked for tomorrow morning. So we drove to the terminal to get in the line up for the morning . . . And they said stand-by only. Eeeeekkk. Drove down to the BC ferry and caught the 5. We're hoping to drive to Ferndzle WA tonight.

But it's okay. 'Cause we're on the road.

Hurry up and wait

It's snowing in Victoria and in Washington state - both on the 101 and I5.  So, we sit in Victoria and wait for a bit.  The weather forecast changes hourly it seems going between simply a weather watch to an alert to a warning - they don't know exactly what the system will do.  Mother nature at her finest.

So . . . .

we didn't leave yesterday as originally planned.  Now it might be Thursday or even Friday.  Our friend Don, who is planning on traveling part of the way with us, will come over this morning for a strategy meeting.

Getting Ready For Our Next Loop

The trailer has been checked out and the wheel bearings have been done. The new spare tire is mounted on the bumper beside the other spare. The propane tanks are full. The new mattress is on the bed.

The truck is ready to go. The oil and antifreeze have been changed, and the bushings and tie rod ends in the front that were worn out have been replaced.

We just have to de-winterize the fresh water system and pack the trailer and we will be ready to go. Now we just have to figure out where everything will go. This trip we will have to take some winter clothes as well and they take up more room. Kathie won't be teaching this trip (as far as we know) so we don't need to bring along all the text books that we had last time.