Well, here we are in southern California & slightly beyond the middle point of our trip. One month ago, we were still in northern California, camping below Fort Bragg near Mendocino. We were getting ready to move further south along the rugged northern CA coast to Gualala. Small towns, redwood forests sometimes, but almost always a lush forest of some kind. Cliffs over crashing waves along empty beaches. Rivers meeting the Ocean & spectacular scenery. Oh yeah, wine country & fabulous bakeries, we mustn’t forget that! During the month, we enjoyed more of the same, visited with a cousin in Bodega Bay and another one & her husband in San Jose, we lost a beloved uncle, and we each celebrated birthdays, Christmas, and the New Year. We eventually travelled back inland to avoid the winding roads at cliff’s edge and discovered, much to our surprise, that the Central Valley below Sacramento was really pretty in a different way, and that birds of a feather, flock together. We’ve encountered forest fires and their aftermath, the mudslides, torrential rainstorms & long periods of dryness, scenery going from mostly green to mostly brown, and warmer, but still comfortable, temperatures. Most noticable as we travelled south was the increase in traffic, smog, & the amount of people due to the size of cities & their sprawl outwards. It does take you twice or three times as long to travel from one place to another. Rolling hills change from green to brown to covered-with-houses. Ocean views change from cliffs and wildness to busy beaches and fancy homes. The air is not as clean. Noise is an issue. But we lived here for many years and we must say in all fairness, that anything you need is available to you. You want a health food store? A fish restaurant? A museum or an aquarium or a botanical garden? There’s plenty to do in the cities. You just have to fight the crowds to do what you need to do. We will adjust. The temperatures are ideal for us. This is winter? At home there’s many inches of snow & ice-cold temperatures. Anyway, we’ve seen orchards that make us want to stop and pick an orange off a tree. We are going whale watching on Saturday! We have favorite restaurants to visit and friends & family to see. The month upcoming will be different for the first half here in Long Beach, but we’re open to new experiences. We’ve travelled 843 miles in the RV last month, lots more miles if we add what we travelled in the car, too. Went much farther this month in order to reach So. CA by January 9. We stayed 12 different campgrounds. We enjoyed seeing the relatives & enjoyed our time at wildlife refuges photographing and stalking the birds. Want to clear your head and worry less? Spend some time following Sandhill Cranes…..
Month: January 2018
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
GOOD LUCK, CAROL! THINKING OF YOU……
Day 122 – Bright sunny day today, 58 degrees when we got up. We were shocked to find out about the continuing devastation in Montecito. We’d just driven by there. As of this afternoon, 13 people had died, 100 homes had been destroyed or badly damaged, and many people were missing. Montecito is south of Santa Barbara & had been near the Thomas fire but not directly in the hills below it & not directly affected by it, until now. It’s really a shame……
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
THE RAVAGES OF FIRE, Part 2.
Day 121 – We awoke this morning to the news that Highway 101 had just been closed from Santa Barbara to just north of us, 30 miles total. Mudslides. We’re lucky we came down here yesterday! Still raining on & off, and windy. We are worried the roads will be closed here or south & east of here when we attempt to get to the 405 Freeway on the 101. The Thomas fire was massive & we’ll probably pass more burned areas from it. Also, there was the fire in L.A. near the Getty Museum at around the same time, the Skirball Fire. We hear there have been mudslides in that area along the 405. It’s also pretty windy this morning. Mudslides? We hope not. Huge traffic jams on the 405 heading south thru the valley? Yes, according to the latest travel map. Another interesting drive for us today.
The 101 was closed for 30 miles from mud slides a little more than 12 hours after we passed through!
Monday, January 8, 2018
THE RAVAGES OF FIRE.
Day 120 – Beginning of Week 18. This morning it was 59 and raining lightly at 8 a.m. We’re above Santa Barbara, but today we’ll be travelling south along the coast, taking Highway 101 through Ventura. I imagine we’ll be passing burned out areas from the recent terrible Thomas fire. In fact, inland it’s still burning & will be for about another 2 weeks – at least that’s what we got from the latest local fire report online. It’s under control though, about 92% contained. It’s supposed to rain hard later today, but we’ll see if that really happens. Heavy rain would be excellent for putting out the fires, but it’d be bad for mudslides. Should be an interesting trip to the next campground.
52 miles
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Day 119 – Foggy this morning, 56 degrees. We’d thought about spending the day in Santa Barbara; there’s botanical gardens, a zoo, bird sanctuary, whale watching, missions, etc., plus Santa Barbara is supposed to be a beautiful city. But this morning it was quiet out with a nice ocean breeze, and we just felt like staying here and relaxing. I guess we are just tired, and maybe there’s a little burnout going on. The girls are loving all the birds in the bushes & trees bordering our site.
Saturday, January 6, 2018
WE FELT THE EARTH MOVE!
Day 118 – After a restless night with trains & traffic running right by the Park, lights flashing & horns honking in the bedroom windows, we got up to dense fog again, 58 degrees. We decided to move to an independent campground close to this one. We’re 20 miles above Santa Barbara, and surprisingly there are very few campgrounds in the area until around Ventura. The state beaches & state parks are either closed for the season, don’t take RV’s, or like this one, right by Highway 101.
6 miles
Friday, January 5, 2018
Day 117 – Warm last night, the heat didn’t even come on; must be in (or near) southern CA! 56 degrees this morning, cloudy, a little humid. We need to move on and make some longer drives now. We have reservations in Long Beach, CA (southern CA below Los Angeles) beginning January 9. Rob’s family is located north of Long Beach; the campground we reserved for two weeks is the closest one we could find to them.
245 miles
Thursday, January 4, 2018
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAREN!! DID YOU GET A SNOW DAY FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY??
Day 116 – It was 47 degrees, partly cloudy, & breezy at 8:30 a.m. this morning. It rained during the night. Not so dry out now. The Park is surprisingly quiet considering its size & proximity to Highway 152. It’s only less than half full & most of those campers are full-timers & seasonals. They are in a different section of the Park. I imagine they are jammed full in the summer. The kitties were enjoying the sunlight on the dashboard once they ventured off their heating pads.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAEDI!! WE HOPE IT’S PURRFECT. SEE YOU SOON.
Day 115 – Completely clouded over this morning, breezy & 44 degrees. We hear a major storm is sweeping up the east coast. Good luck to our friends and relatives!
31 miles
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
BIRDS OF A FEATHER……..
Day 114 – 7:30 a.m. & 46 degrees, cloudy & overcast. The birds outside were loud & busy this morning; the girls were plastered to the windows excitedly watching them from the inside. We left at 9:35 for another day of Wildlife Refuges. The pictures & viewing won’t be quite as good with the lack of sunlight but enjoyable anyway.