On The Road Again -- Palm Springs and Eastward

 

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.

Trick or Treat

 

The terrain in California can change tremendously in just one day.  We started Sunday off on the coast with the gorgeous Pacific Ocean.  As we turned and traveled east we rolled up and down a few mountains or were they just a lot of big rolling hills?  Next came the big city of Los Angeles and quite a bit of big city traffic.  As we moved on down the road the terrain even changed more.  We had sand again on the sides of the highway.  It was not the sand from the beach but the sand of the desert.  Many, many palm trees dotted the landscape.  We were south.  We were definitely in snowbird country and it was hot.  This was just a stop-off for us.  We had visited before but this time we knew we wouldn't be staying long.  We still had things to do and places to go.

We definitely still had a few things to take care of.  It wasn’t all lay around and do nothing for us.  We were on a mission.  Or, rather we had several missions to accomplish.  The first one was trying to find some side mirrors for the RZR.  If we were going to get it licensed as a street legal vehicle it had to have side mirrors.  They actually aren’t as easy to find as one would think.   We checked out an ATV shop, a bike shop and a motorcycle shop in the Pismo Beach area..  We were batting zero.  We found another shop in Banning.  It was a big ATV shop.  At least that’s what the ads said and we certainly hoped they were right.  The trip was 39 miles west.  Now if we’d known that, we would have stopped on our way east.  However, it wasn’t so bad.  They had the mirrors and we were tickled.

Then, of course, we had to stop again at the best outlet mall we had ever been to. We thought we might just do a little Christmas shopping.  Christmas is coming, you know.  We had been to this mall several times in the past.   This place has outlets we would never have imagined really had outlets.  It’s the only place we had seen Prada, Versace and Gucci outlets. Now that’s not to say we went in to all of those but we did snap a picture or two of the buildings. Last year I visited the Prada outlet. I went out of the store faster than I went in after pricing one awful looking pair of shoes. The price on the shoes didn’t look discounted to me!!

There are other stores not common in other outlet malls that were more my speed. You can find Kipling, Ecco, Merrell and even a Brighton outlet. It’s a big, big mall. So how many malls have you been to with a Prada, Gucci or Versace outlet? Are there really anymore like this?

It was back to the park and a little time with Duchess before we were going to head off again.  We had planned on stocking up with groceries at Winco.  This is Winco territory!  Then, I discovered there was just a little problem with my computer!  For some reason it was taking forever to shut down and then to load again.  Forever!!     It took several hours to fix the problem and get things back to normal again.  Having an issue with my computer is definitely not fun.

Things are good for now.  We like it here and probably if we weren’t looking for a place where ATVs or UTV riding was around, we just might pick this area as our winter home.  Maybe it’s because we’ve been here so much in the past.  It certainly is one of our favorite places. The problem with picking this place is that we have a handful of RVing friends we would miss.  One of the reasons we even head to the places we head to is because of those special people.  Everything isn’t just about the place. It’s about the people too.

 

When we started south we used our heater at nights just to take the chill off.  We’re certainly not using it now.  We’re using our air conditioner during the day to add a little chill. The need for an air conditioner isn't a good thing if you thought you might be boondocking.  Terry was pretty sick last night.  We think it's the heat since he's been spending lots of time outside trying to make some repairs.  Without an air conditioner running there is no way we'd be able to run around and leave Duchess in the RV either.  For us we're probably just a tad early to consider sitting in the desert without hookups.

That's it for now.  We're on the road again.

Last Day on the California Coast

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.

 

Just one more time … just once more …. that’s what we got to do on Saturday.  It was one more time on the beach.  We figured we’d see lots more people.  After all, it was Saturday and lots of folks had the day off.  What better way to spend it than at the beach.  We were right too.  There were lots more people but it wasn’t really packed.  We drove down along the edge of the ocean and found a perfect spot to set up again.  It was another day in paradise.

 

Down by the dunes there were temporary toilets set up and even an RV pump out truck hanging around all the RVs just in case his services were needed.  Horse trailers were there as well as riders along the waters edge.  Then, there were also the little tents that popped up selling ice cream, treats and beverages.  If there was an opportunity to make a buck, folks had probably already thought of it.  If your own ATV or UTV wasn't handy, there were plenty of opportunities to rent one.  It is legal to ride on this beach as long as your toy is equipped with the right accessories and licensed for the California dunes.

We spent several hours watching the waves, the people and walking the beach. It was just another fantastic day. The sun was out , it was another warm beautiful day but it didn’t last forever. Before we knew it, it was time to head back. We were hungry and so was Duchess.

Many times we’ve been in RV parks right along the freeway.  Terry always says when you close your eyes at night pretend that all that noise is really just the surf from the ocean.  However, I can tell you not once did we close our eyes at the beach and think that the sound from the surf was really a freeway!

Saturday night meant the Elks in Oceano would really be full.  I mean REALLY be full.  They were hosting a Blues Festival and their Halloween party.  Not only local members piled into the RV park but folks came from just about everywhere to enjoy the festivities.  The Elks is a great organization.  They do a lot for the communities and they also provide traveling Elks RV parks to spend a few nights on their way to and from other places.

When the RV parks are as full as this one was we don’t like it.  Every spot was full and not everyone fit in a spot.  The accompanying vehicles blocked entry and exit to the park.  We were really, really glad we were leaving.  Sunday morning we had our neighbor move his vehicle and pull in his slides so we could pull out.  That still took a little maneuvering job around the other vehicles.  It’s not quite as easy to fit through openings when you’re in a motorhome and pulling a trailer. 

Finally out of the RV park we could breathe a sigh of relief.  We were on the road again.  Well, first we wanted to top off the tank.   I picked the wrong station.  Going into the pumps the trailer scraped bottom and severed the wires on the back of the lights.  Egad!  Before we could depart Terry needed to splice them back together.  We certainly didn’t want to be on the Los Angeles freeways without turn signals.

With that fixed it was down the road we went.  After several days of the Santa Ana winds blowing up a storm in this area, we figured they would finally have died out.  It was a nice drive.  The road hugged the ocean until we turned eastward.  Some of it was flat and some of it seemed to be up and down and up and down.   Even though it was a Sunday the freeways were pretty packed in the center of the big city but as we moved on through it all was good.  It’s not always the traffic we’re concerned with.  It’s knowing what lanes to be in when the freeways turn off to the left and then to the right.  It certainly wasn’t a problem this day.

We had 300 miles to go.  We were happy when those 300 miles were behind us and we pulled into our park a little east of Palm Springs.  This would be the first time since we left Washington that we would have full hookups.  The Elks parks we had stayed at all had dumps but not at our sites. We had intended to dump at Oceano but there was no way we could get to the one there with all the RV congestion.

We knew our journey for the day was about over when these came into view.  We also knew they had probably been really turning over the last few days with the Santa Ana winds.

We have stayed in this area many times in the past.  We like the area.  There is a lot to see and a lot to do around here.  Our original plan was just to spend a couple nights here.  However, now that we’re hooked up to the electricity, water and even the sewer our original plan just might change.  It sure is nice.  The weather is beautiful and the hot tub and pool are just a short walk from our site.   It certainly feels good to be here … or did I already say that?     We still have to license and register the RZR we bought ….. that might push us on a little sooner than we’d like.  No sense in making plans because we know it’ll change no matter what we decide right now.  Even though we’d like to stay  … we also know we’ll probably head on east in a few days.

‘Tis life on the road.

Another Amazing Day at the Beach

 

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.

Friday was an amazing day .. just an amazing day. 

It started off being busy.  After all we did have chores to do.  First on the list was laundry.  Our laundry had been accumulating for the week we had been on the road.  Wow … have we only been on the road a week.  I could have sworn it had been longer than that.  So much has happened in that week.  There have been so many problems and stresses.  However, we know those are behind us and only the fun times ahead.  That is right … isn’t it?

Anyway, first things first as we were on our way to the laundry.  We did find the laundromat fairly cheap.  That was a nice surprise.  For $3.00 we could have a load of laundry washed and dried.  That’s not so bad.  We’ve certainly paid more.

Our next stop was the locksmith.  We had been to Home Depot, to Ace Hardware, to an ATV shop and now to a locksmith trying to get spare keys made for the RZR.  No one seemed to be able to duplicate the key and only having one key for anything isn’t real smart.  The locksmith wasn’t sure he’d be able to help but he did and it even worked!!

Next. stop …. lunch at Fin’s.  Fin’s is a little restaurant that almost sits on the beach.  It’s about as close as one could get without actually being in the sand.  I had read a review about the clam chowder.  One indicated it was buttery and super.  Well, after having it I would certainly disagree as there was no buttery taste or clam flavor whatsoever.  It tasted more like a thick flour base with lots of salt ... awful! .  I guess that goes to show you good clam chowder isn't necessarily at the beach.  The part we like best though is trying out new restaurants.  Sometimes we’re really pleased and other times not so much.  This time it was not so much.

After lunch it was time for the best part of the day.  It was beach time and that’s where we went.  We really went the whole block and a half to the beach …. except we didn’t walk.  We drove the Jeep.  We drove south on the beach all the way to the dunes and then we drove north on the beach.  Eventually, we found a perfect spot.  It was perfect.  The chairs came out and there we stayed for just about three hours.  Well, we didn’t actually stay in one spot the whole time.  We walked one way in the sand and waves and then walked the other way.  It was amazing.  Even Duchess had a fantastic time.

By the time we got back to the Elks RV park we discovered even more RVs had squeezed into those spots.  There just isn't room for all the RVs and the vehicles that are with them.  Several trucks are parked right across the road and getting out of some of the sites would not be possible.  We'd love to come back to this area again but I doubt we would ever stay here again.  The location is fantastic but being this crammed in is not fun.  We're thinking it's pretty dangerous too.

There are definitely pros and cons with places in California.  The cost of just about everything around here is expensive .... but you know what?  We'll still come back.  The beach alone and the view makes it all worth it.  I think we've definitely found our favorite route south.  This is it. Sometimes we just have to make choices.   We loved Monterey .... loved, loved, loved it.  We love Pismo Beach .... love, love, love it.  We also loved San Diego when we stayed there for several weeks a couple years ago.  I'm guessing the California beaches we like the best.  Well .... we also liked the Florida beaches when we were there too.

The Elks had a steak feed in the evening.  Having a steak dinner for $10 is one heck of a bargain around here.  I must admit the routine was a little confusing but we got through it by following others.  First off we started by selecting the raw steak, seasoning it and taking it to the chefs.  Next we helped ourselves to a fantastic salad.  When the steak arrived we loaded our plates with the rest of the fixings.

That’s it.  It was a great day and we’re expecting more of the same tomorrow.  The Santa Ana winds are forecast to die down Saturday afternoon and we plan to be on the road again Sunday.

‘Tis life on the road.

Burned Wires and California’s Extras Fees

Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.

 

With a new inverter in place we feel pretty comfortable that we can move on and even spend the night at Wal-Mart or a casino if we need to and actually be able to have some juice from our batteries.  I mentioned the other day that Terry had discovered there were two issues because once the new inverter was installed  we were still having a problem with charging the batteries.  He had to disconnect the remote switch to get the batteries to charge off of AC.  Well, now he discovered the bigger issue and the reason the batteries weren't charging.  It seems when the tire blew in Oregon it took more than the tire with it.  It took the cables that had been run and secured from the converter to the batteries with it.  We felt we were lucky that just the wires were cut.  It could have been more.  Once he spliced the wires back together, the issue was resolved.  Thank goodness!

While Terry worked on the wiring Duchess and I took a long walk along the beach.  This is a beach where cars are allowed.  Of course, there is a fee.  I’m thinking not much is free in California.  Well, they didn’t charge us to walk on the sand so I guess that’s free.  It was a beautiful day.  Duchess loves the sand and barking at the waves.  However, she’s not as young as she used to be.  It was a long walk back for her.  Walking on the sand is fun but the walk back just about did her in. 

The Elks we are at is a very busy Lodge.  The parking lot is packed every night with members participating in one activity or another.  Friday night is steak night and for $10 we think that’s quite a deal.  Thursday night we visited a great Mexican / Seafood place.  It was right down the road.  Food was great and service fantastic.  Speaking of the Elks and speaking of food … the RV park is becoming more and more like sardines. (Sardines are food for some … not me … but for some).    The host has even moved into the emergency exit to allow more space.  It is packed and there’s only one way in and one way out. We don’t like it like this.  If we had a place to go, we would but with the Santa Ana winds still howling south of us, we are staying put for a couple more days.

 

We’ve had to make several trips to Ace Hardware for wires, cables, lights and a few other things.  It seems when one thing goes out you start looking for other things.  We noticed a sign on the counter indicating if a bag is needed, there would be an additional 10cent charge per bag.  We’ve not seen this before.   With a handful of little items a bag would certainly be nice but there is absolutely no way we’re going to pay a dime for it.   Many counties in California have new laws on the books banning plastic bags and requiring a fee for paper bags.  Other counties require a 10 cent fee for any bag.  It’s a BYOB (bring your own bag) state.  Most of us have recyclable bags we carry but also know other bags are available just in case we buy more than we can fit in it.  I guess it’s just training yourselves to always have bags with you.  We’re used to it at Costco and Sam’s.  They use boxes.  I wonder if the boxes are banned too.  

Last year we were surprised when we purchased a couple small 8” TV sets in California and were required to pay in advance an extra $8 for disposal of the product when we were finished with it.  California is also one of the states that require a deposit on all bottles or cans.  In other words when you get to a checkout counter in California you never know what’s going to be tacked onto the price.   I wonder if they sell doggie doo bags with an extra dime added for each bag.   Glad we bought ours in Washington.

Access to the beach is monitored by California’s park system.  They have  rangers at the  entrances.   The rangers are there to make sure everyone pays a fee prior to driving on the beach.  If you don’t pay the fee, they aren’t going to let you through.  California has not missed many things that they could receive a few extra cents on.  Of course, they certainly need it.

‘Tis life on the road.

Pismo Beach Bound

If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.

The weather forecast is something we normally look at just before we head for someplace else down the road.  Wednesday morning was no exception.  The weather had also been checked the night before.  Then, it looked great with no warnings or questionable conditions.  However, overnight there was a change.  Santa Ana winds were predicted in the direction we were heading.  There was a possibility of gusts as high as 60 mph.  With a new weather report we thought it best to get on the road before the winds hit.  Instead of going all the way to the coast it might even be better to hope to arrive in Atascadero before early afternoon.  That was the plan.

As we pulled out of the Salinas Elks the winds were blowing but they were something we could handle.  It was the extra strong gusts we wanted no part of.  We figured we’d just be prepared to stop if we needed too.   These winds didn’t last long and before long it was smooth sailing. 

There are many sections to California’s 101.  Some folks think of it as the area north from San Francisco through the Redwoods.  Others may look at the area from Santa Barbara to San Diego.  Our trip down the 101 was from Salinas south towards Santa Barbara.  Much of the drive as you leave from Salinas is inland with very little view of the Pacific but eventually the ocean peaks into view and the drive is gorgeous.  To begin with it looked as though we were driving through a salad bowl.  There were lots of farms, lots of greenery and even more fields of grapes and wineries.  It was definitely a nice trip and an uneventful drive.  Remember …. we like uneventful best. 

I have no pictures thanks to a road construction crew digging.  With a lot of mud and a good wind gust, we ended up covered in the gunk.  My windshield was obviously not picture proof.  Thus, my little mounted GoPro camera was not put in use.

Winds still had not arrived as we got closer to Atascadero so on we went towards Oceano and the Pismo Beach area.  Isn’t it great to be able to be flexible?  Anyway, that was where our new inverter had been shipped and according to the delivery information I received, it should have been sitting there, waiting for us and easy to find.  It wasn’t.

As we pulled into the Elks Lodge we noticed a sign in front of the RV park.  The sign said “FULL” due to a weekend jazz festival.  Oh, oh …….  without a working inverter we knew we couldn’t go across the road and stay at the state park as there are no hookups in that park.  Regardless of the sign, the super friendly camp host found us a site.  This park is packed!!  It’s like being in a can of sardines!  However, we’re still happy to be here.

Setting up for market

The RV park is about one long block from the ocean.  It’s in the most perfect location ever.    Once we had arrived and got into our site, we took Duchess for a stroll on the beach.  The winds were blowing.  The winds were really blowing then but we still loved just being in the sand and listening to the waves.  To say this place is gorgeous would be an under-statement.

We would not be without our TriMetic Battery System Monitor. It is what clued us in that our house batteries were not charging and the inverter was not working.  Please **NOTE**  our batteries are now back up to 100%. 

It was a challenge to find where our new inverter had been delivered.  No one seemed to know where it was.  Eventually, it was found but that was several hours later and only after the driver made a return trip to help locate it.  It seems he dropped the package at the bar door and had a construction worker sign for it …. oops!  Once found Terry had it installed in about five minutes.  Then ….. it was time for the test …… nothing.  You can tell the inverter is working just by plugging something into an outlet.  It’s not so easy to tell if the batteries are charging if you don’t have a battery monitor.  In this case the inverter was working fine but the batteries were still not charging.  It seems we had two problems.  One was the inverter and the other was wiring to the remote switch.  A quick bypass was created and our batteries are now being charged.   Hallelujah!

For dinner we went to a cute little diner built in converted train cars.  It’s called Rock’n Roll Diner.  We loved it.  Food was excellent and so was the service.  It was fun, fun, fun.  The picture makes it look like no else goes there but we arrived early.  By the time we left this place was hoping.

‘Tis life on the road.

Monterey, Carmel and New Weather Alert !!

 

What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.

 

Monterey and Carmel were on our list of places we had planned to visit.  Then, when we found a RZR we wanted to check out those places came off the list.  Then they went back on and then they came back off.  How’s that for sticking to a plan?

A golf course right behind us ---

When we pulled out of the Modesto Elks Monday morning we were heading to Atascadero.  Where we ended up was 120 miles north of that at Salinas.  It had just taken so long to get everything fixed back up again and didn’t want to drive the extra hundred miles that day.  We were already beat before we started.  Now with the change Monterey and Carmel were back on our list of things to see.  Go figure.  I told you our plans were usually changed.

The Salinas Elks is in a great location and backs up to a golf course. It’s right off the 101 and about a mile from the turnoff to the coastal area of Monterey and Carmel. That’s where we were heading on Tuesday. It was a slow start. We didn’t move fast and neither did Duchess. Sometimes days like this are very much needed. The skies were partly cloudy and it looked like it might be clearing more. We just figured if we waited for a while it would be mostly sunny. That’s what we were hoping and that’s why we drug our feet. 

Speaking of weather …. we’re certainly glad we got through Northern California before the big storm came. We always check the weather this time of year. You never know what might be ahead. Evidently a couple feet of snow was dropped as well as some mighty nasty weather along with it. There was strong winds and even a tornado that came through the area just north of where we were. Whee!! 

The drive to Monterey wasn’t very long. It was about 20 miles. We had visited this coastal town many, many years ago. I think we liked it then but we certainly fell in love with it this time. We love, love, love Monterey. I had about 120 pictures to sort through for the blog. There were so many things to see. It was a quick trip but I can guarantee that we will be back one day.

Fisherman’s Wharf was our first stop and then on to Cannery Row.  Those were the hotspots for us.  The town has an amazing Aquarium but we just drove by that one.  It’s a “next time” thing.  We can’t do it all in a few hours and we want to get down the road because we have an inverter waiting for us. 

-- $5.99 a gallon and that was the cheap gas!

The most popular route is the 17-mile Road. It circles shore for some very breathtaking view. It also winds through the Pebble Beach Community and by the famous golf course. The charge to drive through the popular and very expensive Pebble Beach area is $9.75. My suggestion would be to make sure you have a full tank of fuel. There is one gas station on the route. We added a few gallons because we didn’t have foresight enough to do that before. The price we paid was a staggering $5.99 a gallon. No …. we did not fill’er up. We just added a few safety gallons.

We left the area and headed on into Carmel.  I remember visiting this area before too.  It’s another very expensive seashore community.  There are lots of unique shops.  With so many beautiful areas around artists seem to congregate in this little town.  For some reason I seemed to really like it last time but not so much this time.  Maybe it was because we had been so in awe of the Monterey area.   

The weather had been perfect.  The clouds had mostly cleared.  It was a beautiful day but we had to head back to the Salinas Elks, our motorhome and Duchess.  When we left there were many, many spaces available at the RV park … MANY.  I was going to put out our chairs and sit outside but that wasn’t to be.  With so many vacant spots why did  this Safari pull in so close to us?     There’s hardly room to sneeze.  Had we not planned on moving the following morning, we would have moved to one of those other wide open spaces.   I can certainly understand if the RV park is packed but it wasn’t.  There were many, many empty sites and some with six empties together.  Oh well ….. movin’ on.

So, just as I'm posting this guess what I read   .....  DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 60 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE. AS WE DRAW CLOSER TO THE EVENT... WIND ADVISORIES WILL LIKELY BE POSTED FOR MUCH OF THE COASTAL AND VALLEY AREA.

Okay that WAS the direction we were heading but now?  Who knows.  You certainly can't drive an RV with winds like that without a good possibility of ending up on your side.    Remember our post yesterday?    We had to buy all new tires and then about had a heart attack when we got stopped by two cops!!  I certainly wish the problems would stop.

‘Tis life on the road.