From Beach to Desert May 2 – 4, 2019

May 2, 2019

We had a quick departure from Pismo about 8:15 on the morning to head to Lake Cahuilla Recreation Area Campground and RV Park, in La Quinta, CA. Some 331 miles. It was a beautiful Spring morning, clear and cool again. We drove South on 101 through the rolling hills and valleys of the California Coastal Range, that were a deep green from the generous winter rains and dusted with yellow mustard grass. Approaching Santa Barbara the road drops down close to the coast, where we looked down at several California State Beaches that are on the old Highway 1, with RVs camped right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Before long, we were into the hills that lead us into the LA basin. Fortunately at that time of day the traffic was generally light, well, as light as I know it really ever is is during the day.  Even so, driving a rig that weighs about 7 tons and a total of 38 feet long is a workout.  I am constantly checking the distance and speed of the cars and trucks entering and exiting the freeway and around me.  My co-pilot and navigator, Carolyn is vigilant monitoring “maps” on her phone, lets me know if there is a slowdown up ahead and if I need to be in a specific lane at the intersections and interchanges. Including a 45 minute lunch break and a stop to refuel, we finally pulled into the park at around 4 pm. It was almost empty except for a couple of other RV’s. A week or two earlier, every spot and campsite would have been filled with guests attending the Coachella Music Festival which attracts thousands.  Before we arrived, we had been warned by the campground staff that about 200 Girl Scouts were arriving the next day for CAMPORAMA, and the place would be a zoo. Fortunately, we had other plans. We used the campsite as a place to park the RV with power, so we could run our refrigerator on AC, picked up a few things and drove away in the Honda, to spend a couple of nights in town, graciously hosted by our friends Robert and Karen.

 

Robert and Karen own a fabulous house in La Quinta, that they use primarily in the Winter and Spring months. It is located near mountains which stand starkly against the blue sky and the bright sun casts sharp edged shadows across their craggy face. The back yard is like a private resort. There is a jet-tub with a water fall that flows into the pool, and the surrounding area is landscaped with 11 palm trees, Plumeria trees and several other varieties of plants and desert flora. Okay, I guess the Girl Scouts can have the campground.

 

Robert took time to show us around the town of La Quinta and the surrounding area, Palm Springs, Desert Palms, 1000 Palms, Indio, and others. They just seem to keep going and going…  Dinner was at Nina’s Pita and Pizza restaurant, one of Robert and Karen’s favorites. It’s a small family owned and operated place with excellent authentic Greek cuisine. Nina stopped by the table and made sure that we all had enough to eat. YES, more than enough, thank you. After dinner, Robert drove us to Palm Springs, which on Thursday nights they have a giant Street Fair. It was really nice to walk around after sunset when it’s about 85 degrees enjoying the evening.

Friday was relaxed, being treated to more touring around the area, even looking at model homes in the upscale communities that were incredible. Carolyn said, “I could live here!” Totally. Lunch was at the sandwich shop that was according to Yelp, the #1 restaurant in 2018. TKB Bakery & Deli in Indio. TKB is an acronym for “The Kids Business”. We arrived there at 12 noon, and the place was hopping. The sandwiches were excellent, and neither Carolyn nor I could eat more than 1/2. After a dip in R & K’s pool, dinner was at Okura Sushi Restaurant. They feature an All-You-Can-Eat option, just check off the items you want, and they serve you at the table. I must say that the variety and quality was outstanding. And at $40 a person, a bargain IMHO. Thanks R & K. You treated us royally.

 

These first few days of our trip were what I consider a “Vacation”. We really got to live it up and it was wonderful. But, I remind myself, that for most of the rest of the Great Adventure, it isn’t going to be eating out and staying in places like a resort. We will be making a life-style change; instead of work and home life, it will be moving around and embracing the RV life.  Is the word I’m looking for “vagabond”? Google defines vagabond as “A person who wanders from place to place without a home or a job.” I guess that pretty much sums it up.

The next stop for us is to visit Joshua Tree National Park. The first of many National Parks and Monuments that are on the itinerary.

B n C

Pismo Beach, April 30 – May 1, 2019

April 30, 2019

Over the years our family has enjoyed hanging out around Pismo Beach and the “5 Cities area” in San Luis Obispo County on the California Central Coast a number of times.  There is an atmosphere and attitude here that is relaxed and laid back.  That’s what we were looking for, for our first destination.  Pismo Beach was also a very special place for Kay.  Kay was our water-girl.  She loved the ocean.  Several times in 2001-2003, Carolyn, Kay and Eddie, her dog, headed to Pismo to stay a few nights at the “Gypsy Motel”.  For her it was the best place in the world to get away from the cold reality then, which was cancer.  Even when Kay had trouble walking, Carolyn could take her and Eddie in the van and drive right down onto the beach in one area and setup a chair so she could watch the surf and dip her feet into the water.  When I imagine what heaven is for Kay, I imagine a place like this!

Our drive to Pismo was 225 miles, and took 4 1/2 hours, with a 30 minute lunch stop in Soledad.   The RV performed perfectly; I’m very glad we opted for the Mercedes Benz diesel chassis, which can tow the Honda CR-V that I loaded up with camp chairs and a lot of other gear with ease.  We are staying two nights at the Pismo Coast Village RV Resort which has direct access to the beach, and our back door is right on Pismo Creek.  This place is HUGE with 400 sites, most of which can handle long trailers and have full hookup.  (That’s RV talk for electric power, city water, sewer and TV cable service.)  There is a good sized pool, mini playgrounds dotted around, a little restaurant, laundry, you name it, they got it.  I am actually surprised to tell you that we managed to get the rig leveled in the site and hooked up in about 20 minutes.  We had plenty of time before dinner for a walk on the beach.  The weather was near perfect.  Clear, sunny, with a high temperature about 67 degrees.  After the previous week of crazy busy work and finishing the preparations, we were exhausted and fell into bed early shortly after dinner, but we were very satisfied for this wonderful Day 1.

May 1, 2019

The next morning was sunny again and a typical Central Coast cool 49 degrees.  We walked about 1/2 mile up the road to the Old West Cinnamon Roll company for, you guessed it, Cinnamon rolls.  We’d been there a few times on weekend mornings and there were people lined up out the door waiting for service.  But since we are retired, we could be there at 8:30 on a weekday, we walked right up to the counter.  I recommend the Pecan Roll.  Care chose the plain.   Most of the rest of the day, except for a quick trip to Trader Joe’s, (I sure hope we can find Trader Joe’s in other places we visit) we spent the day just relaxing.  No agenda.  The afternoon activity was to fix a little lunch, take a nap, and another walk on the beach.  When we were out we bought tickets to see The Avenger’s Endgame at the theater in Arroyo Grande at 6:15.  After the movie, it was time to turn in, because we have an early departure on May 2nd, to drive over 330 miles to Lake Cahuilla Regional Park near La Quinta, CA. Oh, how we will miss this weather!  I see that the daytime temperatures in the desert where we are going is a toasty 98 degrees.  Breaking out the shorts.

Thanks for everything, Pismo Beach.  We love you.

The picture you see above is quite amazing.  I don’t know if Carolyn is a great photographer to get that effect for the sunset, or we are just blessed by God.  Maybe both.

Day 1.

I felt strange the morning of April 30th, as we locked up “The Judson Street House”, no longer entirely “Our House”, because it is now in the care of William and Will “T”.   Around 11 am we finished hooking the Honda to the RV, double checked the coach, making sure we had secured items so things wouldn’t come crashing down (which we learned about the first time we took it out in October last year) and we sat down in the cab, looking out the windshield at the road in front of us, realizing we were actually starting this audacious trip.  It’s hard to explain.  My heart was beating faster.  There was almost a tear in my eye, thinking we’d not be back here for a while, and about all the friends and family we were leaving behind.  And yet after many months and even years of planning and preparations, there was great excitement and anticipation of the start of our Great RV Adventure!

As is our custom at the start of a long trip, before we drive off, we prayed.  Then, I looked at a little slip of paper, with lyrics of a song we sang the night of the “Blessing” last week, pinned in the note holder on the dashboard of the RV in front of me.

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be ever at your back
And may the sun shine warm upon your face
May the rains fall soft upon you field
Until we meet again, until we meet again
May God bless you, may God bless you
Until we meet again

Pismo Beach, HERE WE COME!

We Are Blessed.

This past week we have enjoyed precious time with friends and family as we approach our long anticipated departure.  We celebrated my 66th birthday Saturday, April 20th, in the City, with dinner at the House Of Prime Rib.  We were joined by William, Will Tam, Patrick and Debby Brown, Christian and Mindy Halden, and Carolyn’s sister Carla, who flew in from Los Angeles just for this occasion.  The House of Prime Rib has been our go to place for special events since my first time, when Carolyn’s father and mother, Dave and Irene Cook, took us there to celebrate our engagement in 1972.  This night, as in every other time, it did not disappoint.  We had a fabulous dinner and the service and the experience was exemplary.  This was the happiest of birthdays.  The really cool thing about turning 66 is that starting in May, I’ll get a monthly Social Security deposit into my checking account every month!  Whooohu!

The Blessing

Above, are a few of our most precious friends.

This past Monday evening, April 22nd was another special event of a different kind.  A group of friends and Pastor Mary Graves from Trinity Presbyterian Church stopped by to ask for God’s Blessing on us, the RV, on William, the business and the house on Judson Street.  We also asked for God to lay out a clear purpose and lead us in the Great Adventure.  Our journey is not just to see the sights of God’s amazing world,  but to be present to the people we meet along our path.  We prayed that we will be mindful that God is sending us into the world, and to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to that purpose.

To explain how very special these people are to us would require me to tell you the journey of our lives over the past 38 years.   Our Church and these people have been there with us in times of joy, and times of mourning.   Mary Graves read to us from the book of Ecclesiastes 3:  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak

We’ve experienced many of these “Seasons” in the past 38 years.   We  are certainly going to miss these and many other friends, and the times that we gather for meals and to enjoy each other’s company.  But we are lifted up by their love and prayers.

 

 

Two weeks and counting!

April 14, 2019  Belmont, CA

Since my past post, we’ve made good progress in our preparations, but every once in a while my stomach does a flip-flop when I realize how soon we are set to leave.  Looking at our schedule for the next couple weeks, I have only 9 more working days until retirement, and then just a few more days later the Great RV Adventure begins!

Dot, our Welsh Corgi, about 2 years ago with a friend, and this past week.

This past week we took care of a very difficult thing that we knew was coming.   About a year ago our beloved dog Dorothy was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease.   For her it wasn’t treatable, and we were told she might make it 4 to 6 months.   She managed pretty well for a very long time, but this past month she was not able to make our daily walk to the park to play ball, which had been the highlight of her day.  We knew long ago that we just couldn’t take her with us on the RV trip.  Although William said he would take care of her when we left, he was going to be away long hours, and we knew she would be miserable.   So on Tuesday, April 9th, we spent some time with her, laying on the grass in the sun in the front yard, and then took a ride to the Vet, where we made sure that Dorothy would quietly and peacefully leave us here on this earth, to be free to run again with her Uncle Eddie and finally meet Kay, the ultimate Corgi lover.

It’s also given me pause to reflect on our lives here in this little house in Belmont for the past 38 years.  It is time for us to make a change.  In fact, we have made a habit of making MAJOR changes in our lives, as difficult as it sometimes is.   The past 23 years has been the longest stretch of staying in the same career for me, so I’m really ready to retire and move on.  I also know that for a great portion of our married lives, we’ve worked in our jobs together.  Hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but I have great trust that we will have the most wonderful time on the Great RV Adventure.

 

 

It’s really happening!

March 26, 2019   Belmont, CA

It’s hard to believe, but after years of pondering, planning and preparations, we’re almost there.   After 45 years of working,  I officially retire on April 26th, 2019, and we start our Great RV Adventure on April 29th.   We will be traveling in a fabulous 2016 Winnebago Navion, a Mercedes Benz diesel powered 25 foot RV and towing a 1998 Honda CR-V behind!  Phase 1 is all set and sites reserved at a number of parks in the South-West, including The Grand Canyon, South and North Rims, Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley and Mesa Verde.  In June, we come back home for a month, during which time we’ll attend the 29th annual “Memorial Park” camping trip.   Phase 2 starts about July 21st, going North through Oregon, Washington, and into Canada.  We plan on traversing the continent on the Trans Canada Highway, all the way to Nova Scotia.  About October, we’ll head South down the East Coast and some inland destinations, until we finally reach Florida in late November.

Just about a month away, we’re madly cleaning up matters with the house, packing up some of our belongings for storage and loading up the RV for the trip.  The rig has been well checked out and ready to roll.   Our son William, is going to move back into the house on Judson Street late in April and continue to work the termite business, without whom, this trip would not be possible!

I hope you will enjoy following and hearing about our travels and keep in touch with us.  We are certainly going to miss home and all the friends and family that are behind.  However, we have arranged to visit a number of family and friends that are on our path.  And, we look forward to meeting many new folks in our travels and seeing the many places we’ve dreamed about for years.  It’s really more about the journey than it is about the destination.  And this will be a great journey.   WISH US LUCK and GOD’S SPEED!  (Even if I only travel about 55 mph while towing.)

BB & CB