2015 Trip - San Antonio, TX to Austin, TX

Sat. 5/16… (Austin, TX) The drive today was only 83 miles so we did some of the prep work on the motorhome and met up at 10:00am to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  Once back we had only to walk Bailey one last time, pull the power cord, and hook up the car so we were on the road pretty quickly.  The drive from San Antonio to Austin was very pretty.  I like this part of the state.  This area is known as Hill Country because it is not as flat and barren as is much of the rest of the state.   Our park, Austin Lone Star Carefree Resort is right on Highway I-35 again is an old KOA campground that was recycled into a really nice park.  We had no rain so the drive and the park were dry and we got our rigs in and parked with no issues.  Since we are in Hill Country this is our first campground with trees.  I was worried about getting a signal from my roof satellite dish but we were about to get out through the trees with no problem.

 

 

Janie’s aunt (Zelda) lives on the outskirts of town so they went to visit her as soon as they hooked up.  We had decided to eat out tonight and I had seen reviews and shows on TV that said when in Austin you must eat bbq at The Salt Lick!  So we looked it up and arranged to meet the Moores and Aunt Zel there.  This place is huge!  It reminded me of a Knowlwoods on steroids.  They have picnic tables out under the trees for the hundreds of folks waiting to be seated. They got there a few minutes before us and turned in our name.  After an hour and a half wait we finally got seated!  They only take cash and have limited beer and wine so they say BYOB and everyone did!  There were coolers and alcohol at every table outside as folks waited and waited.  Guess it made the wait seem shorter!  The food was good but since the wait was too long it took some of the fun away from the day.  We would definitely go back but we will be prepared next time! 

 

 

After dinner Janie brought Zel back to see their rig and then took her home.  We had planned on going to the LBJ Presidential Library tomorrow but thought against it and all decided to take tomorrow off and just catch up on things. We will go on Monday morning.

 

 

Sun. 5/17… (Austin, TX)  We slept in this morning.  Janie wants to go to see her aunt but will wait until the rain lets up.  The forecast is rain until around 11:00am.  Turns out they were on the mark and the rain let up.  Janie then called her aunt but she wasn’t feeling well so we decided to head over to shop for a belt for Janie.  We texted Bill and Treasa and they did not respond so just the four of us went.  We hit Sheplers and Cabela’s and then stopped for lunch and then went to Walmart before coming home.  We were eating in and it was Lydia’s turn.  She made roast and we ate the caramel cake leftovers for dessert.  Very good!  Rick and Janie went to Zel’s and the rest of us went looking for the groomer that we found in our campground brochure.  It’s only about 5 miles from us. We want to get Bailey bathed and her nails clipped plus we can leave her there when we go to LBJ’s ranch on Tuesday.  After walking the dog (yes, we try to do a lot of that – Bailey loves it!) we kicked back for the night and caught up on some TV. Oh, yeah, we are still finding moths!  

 

 

Mon. 5/18… (Austin, TX)  The plan today was to leave at 10:00am and head up to the University of Texas (go Longhorns!) campus where the LBJ Presidential Library is located.  We found it and we were glad we decided to do the tour on Monday.  It was almost empty!  The archives are on floors 5-9 and the library/exhibits areas are laid out on floors 3, 4, and 10.  Not too many people research the archives but they are there if they do.  The exhibits are very interesting and well laid out.  President Johnson had a rough 5 years in office.  Even though he didn’t get us into the Vietnam War, he felt the weight on his shoulders with all the causalities and protests.  But he did do many good things for the country in his term.  It was a positive experience for all of us but we have seen other presidential libraries that we like better.  Rick and Janie have never been to one before so now they can compare this to Bush (both), Carter, and Clinton all of which we plan to see on this trip. 

 

 

Afterward we gathered and decided to go find a Whataburger’s and have lunch and then go home and walk the dogs.  Just ok – nothing special.  We then decided that we still have enough time to drive out to the LBJ Ranch, just outside of Johnson City, about an hour’s drive out.  We got there and found it was a drive and tour for 90% of the ranch.  We saw his birthplace and burial site plus the airport/runway/hanger as well.  In the store we paid the $3.00 (senior) fee and caught the last (4:30pm) tour of the house. The President and Mrs. Johnson donated a portion of the LBJ Ranch to the National Park Service in 1972, with the stipulation that it remain a working ranch. Prior to her passing in 2007, Lady Bird used the home and had it remodeled to today’s styles. But most of the furniture and other items were kept in storage, so after she passed, the Park Service restored the home to what it looked like in 1968. Also on display were cars that were used on the ranch plus one sweet 1965 Corvette that LBJ gave to Luci just before her 18^th birthday. 

 

 

After the long drive back home, we had a quick dinner and decided to head into town to see if the bats were flying.  They have an observation area under a bridge crossing Lady Bird Lake (actually a river).  We parked and took our chairs and sat and waited.  They keep track and the website says between 8:55 and 9:02 when they come out to feed.  Tonight it was after 9:15 so I guess they overslept tonight! It was really dark and the only way we could see them was when the bat boat tours on the lake shined their red lights under the bridge.  I tried and it was too dark for pictures of the bats flying.. We did take Bailey though and she entertained everyone around us and made a couple of dog buddies.  All in all, it was worth the time.  We headed back and rested from our very busy day!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

2015 Trip - Carlsbad NM to San Antonio TX

Sun. 5/10… (Carlsbad, NM)  Happy Mother’s Day to everyone!  We decided to head up to see if Roswell wanted to keep Rick as their resident alien!  No luck – they wouldn’t take him so we’re stuck!  Roswell is 50+ miles north of where we are camped and the ride was nice.  I sure had Roswell completely wrong in my head.  I thought this was a one stoplight town.  It is built up into a nice little city. They have one huge and beautiful Military Academy.  We saw some of the young cadets either out and about in town (some w/their parents) or out on the parade fields.  We decided to have a light lunch while there and found a Sonic Drive In for a quick bite.  Turns out there is only one street that has most of the curiosity alien shops as well as the UFO Museum Research Center.  We went in there and for $3.00 got to see all of the exhibits and articles about UFO sightings in and around Roswell.  Believe in them or not, there is a LOT of written info about sightings plus they have a couple of life size sets in place depicting alien landings.  It was pretty cool and worth the drive and the time. On the way home we heard from Bill and Treasa who just left their Cavern tour.  We both checked out places to eat (this part of the country we find that most places are closed on Sundays) and since it was Mother’s Day we thought most of the places would be open.  We thought wrong so we settled with Everspring Chinese Buffet in Artesia (24 miles from campground).  It was just ok. Not a place we would go to again.  We returned to the campground and started brainstorming Rick and Janie’s rig issue.  They do not have hot water.  We think it’s in the unit (it’s tankless and operates different from ours) so they will be calling Tiffin (the manufacturer) tomorrow to see if they could troubleshoot the problem. We made plans for departure tomorrow and headed off to relax and watch TV.   

 

Mon. 5/11… (Fort Stockton, TX)  Today we had 180 miles to drive and are now at Parkview RV Park in Fort Stockton TX.  Nothing fancy but this is just an overnight stop and will work just fine.  Janie reached the manufacturer of the water heater and I spoke with him to get a walk through on testing to see what is wrong.  We think we have found the problem and the part will be shipped to our upcoming campground in San Antonio in a few days. Treasa is switching dinner duty w/Janie so she fixed pork chops and corn and baked potatoes – all yummy! We talked about tomorrow and what time to leave.  We are now two hours later than home and will be for some time.  We discussed the weather as it looks like we’re now heading into the rain.  Then we went back to the rig to kill moths.  The last stop was close to the lake so we had little gnats and moths all around us!  The gnats are pretty much gone but we still have hundreds of @#$%& moths that flocked in and around the rigs. They get in through the smallest of spaces and then come out at night.  So we have to deal with them until we get them all.   

 

Tues. 5/12… (Junction, TX)  The run today was 198 miles and the weather was nasty. We had light rain most of the way. Our stop was Junction North Llano River RV Park.  This place used to be a KOA park and is very nice.  We are right by the river and there’s grass for Bailey to roll around in.  Speaking of Bailey, she has been doing really well this trip.  She doesn’t usually travel well but so far she hasn’t gotten sick.  If you look closely at the motorhome picture you can see Bailey likes to drive! We are only here for one night so we aren’t unhooking the tow car. BUT we think we had a door ajar during the trip so the inside dome light was on and ran down the battery.  A quick charge and we’re good to go. It was Lydia’s turn for dinner.  She made ham, mac & cheese, salad and carmel cake for dessert. It was all very good. We have a short run tomorrow so we aren’t leaving until around 10:00.

 

Wed. 5/13… (San Antonio, TX)   Today we drove 114 miles through almost constant rain and arrived at the Campground at Ft Sam Houston.  It did let up a bit as we were getting close to the base. Both Bill & Treasa and Rick & Janie are retired military and all have ids to get on military bases.  So we stopped on the way at a picnic area and Lydia and Janie swapped rigs. Janie used her id to get my rig on base and we made our way to the campground and checked in.  This is a huge base as we found out later that day when we set out to find the PX.  We must have driven for 45 minutes.  We did a little looking around and then headed back home.  We had decided to go find a steakhouse and Bill had spotted a sign for one on the way. It was called Texas Land & Cattle Steakhouse. So I looked it up and decided to go there.  It showed it was close to downtown where we wanted to go later anyway.  It turns out this place was right on the Riverwalk!  The food was pretty good. All of us split our meals and we had plenty.  Afterward we decided that since it wasn’t raining we would hit the River Barge Rides.  This is a narrated tour on the river. Cost us seniors $6.00 each. We had done it before but they have added tons of places and made it a longer loop.  It was fun.  We made our way back to our cars and headed home.  Another adventure getting back on base!  We figure that by the time we are ready to leave we might have some of it figured out!

 

Thurs. 5/14… (San Antonio, TX)   This morning we decided to head off to SAS (San Antonio Shoes).  Made in America, these shoes are not the cheapest but after the factory tour (which was fantastic) we understand why.  Most of the work is done by hand.  It takes many steps to get the high quality shoes. All of the girls bought at least one pair.  These are seconds but as they say, you can’t find a flaw! All morning Janie had been tracking the rv part they had ordered.  It was delivered and we decided to get it installed asap so they could have hot water again.  No problem and it seems to be working fine.  Janie fixed dinner (chicken parmigiana – yummy!) and then we headed (offbase again) to Bass Pro Shops and Walmart.  I needed to replace a fuse (why the Honda battery was down) plus I wanted to get some more WD40, jumper cables, and another rain jacket. We hit Walmart first but they didn’t have too many rain jackets.  By the time we got out of there it was a little too late for the drive out to BPS so we went home.  

 

Fri. 5/15… (San Antonio, TX)   This is our last day here in San Antonio.  Since it rained almost all last night and this morning we decided to wait a bit before heading out.  We thought we’d go to Bass Pro Shops first so we could at least get out of the rain for awhile.  That worked.  It stopped!  We headed home to walk the dogs and then Rick & Janie drove back to downtown and to the Alamo. Bill & Treasa decided to stay home and relax.  We enjoyed the visit there although it was pretty crowded. We walked around the square there and hit a few shops and then went back to rest.  We went to Treasa’s for dinner and then planned for our next day’s journey tomorrow.  We only have a short drive so we’re planning on going to the local Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then take off.

 

2015 Trip - Chula Vista CA to Carlsbad NM

Wed.. Apr. 29….  (Chula Vista, CA)   We started out our trip on Wednesday and headed to Chula Vista Marina RV Resort with our RV Club, The Camping Squares (www.campingsquares.net).  There were just four rigs in camp on Wednesday so we all headed out to dinner at Dick's Last Resort in the Lamppost District in San Diego. This place is nuts!  The girls got special hats to wear! It was fun. Then it was back to the rigs to kick back and wait for the rest of our group to show up.

 

Thurs.. Apr. 30….  (Chula Vista, CA)   We now have 9 RVs in w/2 to go tomorrow. We spent the day just lounging, and eating and swimming and walking the dog,  - not necessarily in that order. We did hit the spa for a while and then hit the hay.

 

Fri. May 1….  (Chula Vista, CA)  We had decided to go back to a restaurant we had been to earlier in the year – La Bella Pizza Gardens – and all 22 folks in our group went.  Good turnout and really good food!  We held our Club meeting and went in the spa again before heading home to watch TV.  This is our third trip out with full HD TV.  We are now spoiled!  

 

Sat.. May 2….  (Chula Vista, CA)   Saturday was a food fest.  We held our annual Guys-Cook–Mothers-Day-Breakfast-For-The-Ladies, which I think went over well.  We had plenty of food.  We had heard that the Cinco de Mayo party by the pool on Saturday was held on Friday (the night we went for Italian) so we decided to have our own party.  We went out and got margaritas and chips and salsa and guacamole and ate again.  This was at 2:00pm.  At 4:30 we had our potluck.  Do you see what I mean about a food fest!.  We were hardly able to waddle over to the clubhouse for the dance!  But we did it and played four games of bingo before calling it a night.  After that we went home and started to button things up and get ready to head out in the morning. 

Sun. 5/3 …..  (Wellton, AZ)  We left camp about 9:00am on Sunday and drove 212 miles to our first stop, Tier Drop RV Park in Willton, AZ.  Not a special place but we did use their indoor spa after Lydia fixed dinner for all six of the travelers.

Mon. 5/4….. (Tucson, AZ)  We headed out about 8:45 this morning and drove 202 miles and hit our third stop - one night at the Cactus Country RV Resort/Adventure Bound Camping Resorts just outside of Tucson AZ. Again, no big deal in the way of anything here but it works for an overnighter! Even though it was way across town we had arranged to meet up at Cracker Barrel in town to have dinner with Mike and Karen (Sandie's sister) who live in Tucson.  It was Janie's first time at Cracker Barrel!  All of us had gift cards because we knew we’d use them on the trip.  The meal was very good and the company was better!

 

Tues. 5/5…. (Deming, NM)  This morning’s drive was 214 miles.  Again, we left around 8:45 or so.  We pulled in to Stagecoach RV Ranch.  This place was a $15-20 donation per night.  But we support these places so all of us gave them $20.  It was another no frills park and also a PA park.  PA, or Passport America is a membership group that RV parks join up and agree to charge 50% of their normal rates (w/restrictions).  There are almost 1900 parks in the US and Canada.  These parks are not 5 star resorts and usually rate 4-5 (out of 10) in amenities.  But it helps them fill up their sites and they work for us for overnights so we support them.  In this park, we didn’t even bother to unhook the tow cars. we just stayed in camp and Treasa fixed tacos for all of us (Happy Cinco de Mayo!). We headed back home and hung out outside for a bit and watched some TV before going to bed.

    

                                                 

Wed. 5/6…. (Alamogordo, NM)  Today we only had 127 miles to go so we slept in and ate breakfast and got on the road about 10:30.  The drive was uneventful but really pretty when we headed down into the White Sands Valley.  We passed the Missile Range and National Monument on the way to Edgington RV Park. We are here for two nights. This park is really maintained nicely by a friendly couple, John & Barbara.  They gave us a nice packet of things to do while here.  One of those we knew about already – the local crop here is pistachios so we chose to visit McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch, just down the road.  Manager James gave us a tour around the ranch and a little history - Thomas McGinn, of Thomas English Muffins, opened up the ranch and decided to invest the time (eight years from planting to first harvest). He liked the roadside attractions he had seen in his travels (giant shoe, giant ball of string, etc.) and wanted the giant pistachio which was really big!  We learned that the trees have it backwards – the females have the nuts and the males do not!  The males work for a couple of weeks a year to pollinate the trees and then they’re done for the year!  I want to be re-incarnated as a male pistachio tree!  After that we stopped at another pistachio farm and visited the wine section and tasted Pistachio Rose’, which tasted ok but not good enough to buy so we passed. We then headed back home and pooled the leftovers from each of our fridges. After dinner we went to Caliche’s Frozen Custard, which the girls had spotted earlier. It was pretty good   

 

Thurs. 5/7….  (Alamogordo, NM)   Today we decided to visit the White Sands National Monument, about 20 minutes from camp.  After time spent watching a video in the visitor’s center, we headed off to the sand area.  This place is the largest gypsum dune field in the world, ranging over 275 square miles.  We got out a couple of times and walked around.  A few of us adventurous ones walked a bit up and down the sand dunes.  The sand here is finer than sugar, almost a talcum, but it had a crust on it so you didn’t sink in.  Weird but very interesting. After about an hour of exploring, we decided to head back to town and over to the New Mexico Museum of Space History ($5. seniors). This is a four-story building with interactive exhibits.  All who tried found out they couldn’t master how to land the shuttle simulator but it was still fun.  But later I did mange to be an astronaut for a bit, complete with the suit! Pretty cool. We were hungry after our outings so we decided to have linner (late lunch/early dinner) at a local Mexican Restaurant. The food was really good but a bit too spicy for most of us.  We went back to the rigs and let the dogs walk for a bit and then headed up the local mountain road (to about 6,500 ft) to have dessert at an apple place.  After heading home, again to walk the dogs, Bill and Treasa hit the laundry and the rest of us went over to Walmart (note – you will see this written again – Walmart is a usual stop for all of us!).  I broke my fly swatter and needed a reason to go.       

 

Fri.. 5/8…  (Carlsbad, NM)  The run today was the prettiest so far! But more on that in a minute… We left camp with one huge hiccup!  As I was powering down the satellite dish (it stows in a stored position laying down on the roof) I set it to stow and then went out and worked outside disconnecting the water and electric. Not thinking about checking to be sure the dish was down we eventually drove away, Rick leading and us following and Bill in behind.  Bill hit the horn and called on the cb to tell me the dish was still partially up!  Thank God for friends!  Turns out I pulled the power cord and thus stopped the stowing process.  I now have a reminder card on the steering wheel to double check the dish!  Anyway we headed out and up into the Lincoln National Forest and climbed about 6300 feet in 16 miles.  No issues and the 148 mile drive was very pretty.  We are now in Lake Brantley State Park, pretty close to the water.  Nice place. We rested from the day and it was Lydia’s turn to fix dinner.  Her casserole was well received.  We are here for three nights.

 

Sat. 5/9… (Carlsbad, NM)  Our plan today was to visit Carlsbad Caverns, which is about 57 miles away. First stop was Carlsbad (City) for breakfast at Happy’s which was pretty good.  Treasa still isn’t 100% and this morning really wasn’t  feeling well so at breakfast they made the decision to go find the ER and see what they could do for them.  Janie and I drove today so I gave Bill my car to use and we decided to continue on to the Cavern.  Our day was fun and a bit strenuous.  We got in with Lydia’s National Park Pass (Rick, Janie and I also bought ours – it’s $10 for lifetime pass). We decided to take the Natural Cave entrance instead of going down the elevator to the Big Room section.  It was a tiring walk for those not used to walking much especially holding back on the steep downhill incline!  When we finally got to the Big Room (about 1 ½ hours) we decided to continue on and complete the Big Room as well.  So it was a long day.  Once out and back in cell phone range, we heard from Treasa that they were doing a CT scan. They were supposed to be cooking tonight so we decided stop by Walmart to get things for dinner for the four of us. By the time we got back to town they were on their way home.  She is on another batch of meds and is feeling much better so we’ll keep an eye on her.  As I said, they skipped dinner with us so she could rest.  Janie fixed spaghetti and made bread and we brought over salad which was all good.  We talked later with Treasa – and they have decided to head to Carlsbad tomorrow (if she feels up to it then) while we are heading to Roswell for a few hours. Lydia and I then each retired to our motorhome and our respective TVs to catch up on some of our taped shows.   

2015 Trip - Getting Ready

We are finished with the planning stages, our trip is now complete!  We leave on April 29th and will be on the road until July 15th.  Planned stops include Chula Vista CA, Welton AZ, Tucson AZ, Deming NM, Alamogordo NM, Carlsbad NM, Fort Stockton TX, Junction TX, San Antonio TX, Austin TX, College Station TX, League City TX, New Iberia LA, New Orleans LA, Mobile AL, Montgomery AL, Stone Mountain/Atlanta GA, Chatanooga/Hixon TN, Decatur AL, Tupelo MS, Memphis TN, Little Rock AR, Texarkana TX, Tyler TX, Carrollton/Dallas TX, Goodlett TX, Amarillo TX, Tucumcari NM, Albuquerque NM, Holbrook AZ, Williams AZ, Needles CA, and then home.  As you can see the route takes us out the southern route on I10 and returns via I40.  Although some stops are just pass throughs for overnights we do have family to visit in some stops and sites to see in others. We are traveling with Rick and Janie Moore and also with Bill and Treasa Betz (although they leave us after New Orleans and keep heading East).  I will try and post at each of the stops with more details so stay tuned if you want......  

Thursday – Gilroy/San Jose area…. and Friday/Saturday – Solvang area

 

Thursday morning we got an early start and headed first to Gilroy and found the Black Bear Diner for breakfast and then drove north to San Jose.  We were headed to Winchester House.  We had been there before but wanted to go again with Rick and Janie.  It is one of the most unusual houses I have ever seen. Sarah Winchester was the widow of William Wirth Winchester, second President of Winchester Repeating Arms, maker of “The Gun That Won the West”.  After losing her only child to a rare disease only a month after birth, and also after losing her husband at an early age to tuberculosis, she was told by a Boston medium that she must move west where she must continuously build a home for herself and the spirits of people who had fallen victim to Winchester rifles.  It is thought she needed to continuously build to appease these spirits.  We took the Mansion Tour and Garden Tour, both of which were interesting. The tour is pricey ($30.00 per senior ticket) but worth it.  Next time we will take the Behind the Scenes Tour to see the basement, stables and other things not seen on the mansion tour. 

Next stop was Stanford University in Palo Alto.  It had been many years since we had been on this campus and I remember it being a grand place.  Although the grounds were dried up a bit, it was still worth the drive.  We headed back home to walk the dogs and then decided to head to Solis Winery to stock up.  We like their Vino Roseo di Sangiovese and bought Ed a bottle as well. We also got a Cabernet for our neighbor. On the way there, Janie decided to buy a new phone so we drove to Monterrey, where her niece works.  After that we found a small Mexican Restaurant, Papa Chano’s, which turned out just ok.  We drove back home and took the dogs for another long walk.  Poor babies…. 

 

Friday morning we left about 8:30am for the 210 mile drive to Solvang.  We are at the Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton.  This is the most expensive park on our route ($70. per night) and we are here for two nights.  But this is also one of the nicer parks in all of our travels.  They have tons of activities and the place is practically full for the summer season.   We are in a nice 70’ pull next to the grassy tent area and the weather is perfect.  After walking the dogs and meeting some neighbors, we left for dinner.  We always have enjoyed A J Spurs, a local steakhouse.  We had the second best meal (next to Scoma’s) of ribeye which we split. We did another round of puppy walking and then went in for the night

 

Saturday morning we walked down the street to Ellen’s Pancake House.  They are somewhat famous for their Belgian pancakes, which are similar to German pancakes but none of us tried themL. Everything else was good though.  (note for next time – good gravy!).  We walked back and got the dogs out and hung around the park for a while.  Then we took off for Solvang.  We parked and walked the streets (!). I had to have my fix of Ebelskivers! 

These are Danish usually round type pancakes.  I like mine topped with raspberry jelly and powdered sugar.  I bought some and shared them and everyone liked them.  We bought some souvenirs and then headed up to the local market to pick up some things for dinner.  We got back to the park and rested a while then broke out the cheese and crackers and wine and had a light lunch.  Dinner later would be a chicken, cheese and pasta casserole from Lydia’s kitchen.  It was perfect for the last night of our trip.  We took the dogs out for another walk and then went in to relax and watch tv.

 

Sunday morning we were up early but didn’t have a specific time to leave.  So we completed our chores and I took Bailey out for one last walk and then we watched a bit of tv before unhooking and getting on the road.  The trip was uneventful and we got home about 1:30.  It took some time to unload the rig and go through the mail.  Yuck!... Didn’t miss that!  

 

Totals for the trip  >>>>>    26 days…1,168 miles…6 campgrounds ($794.00)…. Other than leaving the parking brake on in the car - no issues…… No issues with the campgrounds either. We didn’t know that the Vallejo area was pretty much crime ridden with gang ties, but we really didn’t have any issues nor did we ever feel uncomfortable while there.  I fueled up the rv at home and only once more at Sparks, NV (@$3.85 gal.) so fuel and fuel prices were not a problem.           We enjoyed the group at Acton and at June Lake as well as traveling with our friends Rick & Janie on the rest of the trip.  We saw and did many things – some we had enjoyed before – others we did for the first time.  Highlights for me were: fishing the Sierras (of course!), taking Bailey swimming!,   

Devil’s Postpile, tour of Winchester Mystery House again, walking around the San Francisco wharf area, eating at Scoma’s, riding the cable cars, showing Bailey off wherever we went!, going out to eat at new places, and being with our friends. Lydia enjoyed the quilt stores, Schat’s Bakery, shopping in SF, Ghirardelli’s, Winchester House, and going to see ‘Jersey Boys’.

 

We will now get back to life as we know it – paying bills, cleaning house, and seeing the kids again.  Next year, who knows………   

Monday thru Wednesday – SF area and Gilroy area

 

Monday we decided to head back in to San Francisco.  We still wanted to ride the cable car, go to Chinatown, and eat at Scoma’s. Rick and Janie drove and this time they took their FastTrack so we sailed over the bridge and got into the city very easily – until we got downtown!  But we made our way to the Hyde St. Station (near Ghirardelli Sq.) and found a very convenient handicapped parking spot and paid ($15. per person) for a day pass which allowed us to get off and on whenever we wanted. We saw Lombardi St. and made our way to Chinatown, where we jumped off and, after asking several locals, headed for the Fortune Cookie Factory, where we watched them use these really old machines to make round shapes which then were handed loaded with the fortunes and formed into the cookie.  Of course we bought some as well as almond cookies before climbing back up the steep St. to re-board the cable car.  We rode it to Powell where we had to get off and get back in a (long) line to head back.  That done, we went over to Scoma’s for lunch.  This place is our favorite stop for a nice (but rather expensive) meal.  They didn’t disappoint!  All of us had the lunch special catch of the day which was scallops in a saffron sauce.  The BEST! Rick insisted on treating us as an anniversary gift.  Thank you Sir!  We bought some more sweatshirts and t-shirts on the way back to the car and headed home. The dogs were glad to see us (and get out to go pee!).  We skipped dinner and snacked and then watched some taped shows before going to bed. 

 

It’s Tuesday and our last day here…..  We are done with SF so we headed out to breakfast and then back to Sepay Groves, the Olive Oil store.  For breakfast, we chose Huckleberry’s in Fairfield.  This is a place similar to Orange County Mining Co. in appearance but less pricey.  The breakfast was really good and a place we will come back to again.  Then we drove over to have the girls get some more EVOO and asked more questions about the health benefits.  That done, we headed back home but on the way, since it was still early, we decided to pick up the dogs and head up to Sonoma to check out that area. The drive was easy enough and we had the air on but I guess that wasn’t enough to help Bailey.  She got carsick a few times.  But Sonoma has a town square with a park so we were able to get her out for a walk which helped on the way home.  Once we got back, Lydia and Janie went to the laundry to wash the unlucky jackets from the car, and then went off to the store to buy a few things they needed for our steak dinners tonight.  Tomorrow we have a short 102 mile trip down to San Juan Bautista (Gilroy area). 

 

Wednesday we slept in and then got the rig ready for travel.  We left about 10:00am and made the trip down to San Juan Bautista and the Betabel RV Park. We got stuck for about 20 minutes behind street sweepers on I-680 but otherwise had no issues.  We got set up in camp and rested for a bit.  Janie’s niece lives in Salinas and they came down to visit for a while.  We decided earlier that we wanted to go to the Giant Artichoke in Castroville for dinner.  We had been there before and remembered we liked it.  Jeremy and Stacy came with us.  The meal was ok.  The artichoke soup was terrific!  After the meal we drove back through McAlpine Lake RV Park on the way home.  We had stayed there before but Janie didn’t remember it. Once w e returned we settled in and watched TV before going to bed early.  Tomorrow we are going up to San Jose to tour the city and go to the Winchester Mystery House.