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
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.
HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
Day 113 – It’s a new year & the beginning of Week 17, Trip #3, for us. It looks more clear today; the water in the reservoir looks more blue & there seems to be less brown in the air today. This is good! We lived in the smog for many years & I guess you just get used to it. But having been away from it for so long, it’s really amazing when we encountered it again. 43 degrees this morning at 8 a.m., sunny & mostly clear.
HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE EVERYONE! LET’S ALL BE CAREFUL OUT THERE, IF DRIVING TONIGHT!
Day 112 – Rob put the bubbly in the fridge this morning. Grin. It was 42 degrees and partly cloudy. So far, not totally clear out, but not that brownish haze either. As I write this, Rob is already out taking bird pictures. There’s a lot of beautiful magpies in the bushes near the RV eating red berries. They are large and noisy (like a jay), black & white with brilliant blue/green tails (if the sun catches them in the right light). We’ve already seen hawks overhead. It’s gonna be a good day. Rob hasn’t gotten a picture of the magpies yet, but he did come back with other pictures this morning.
A CHANGE OF PLANS.
Day 111 – 36 degrees and partly sunny this morning. The Sopranos family group set up their chairs overlooking the river right by our “back yard”. The dog squealed & barked & got yelled at. And Simon Cowell joined them with his fishing rod. No, really, some guy who we swear was the spitting image of Simon Cowell walked through our back yard with his fishing rod towards James Gandolfini & crew. By 10 a.m. it was noisy enough that we’d decided to pack up & leave town. We’d booked this site for 3 nights with the intention of staying another three if the birding was good. We’d only stayed two nights so far, but Rob had done some research and found a promising area south and east of here: A large reservoir with several campgrounds near the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge which has three Refuge drives and numerous hiking paths. The reservoir itself has hiking & biking trails & kayaking opportunities. We decided to go ahead & move on. The prospects for peace & quiet at the current campground did not look good.
128 miles
PARTAY IN THE HOOD.
Day 110 – 34 degrees this morning, very foggy. At 10 a.m. a large travel trailer arrived and with all the empty sites in this campground, guess which one they chose to camp in? Yep, right next to us. The man who was driving the truck parked nearby, got out & walked all around the sites in the area, scoping them out (including ours), and booked the site next to us. He closely resembled the late James Gandolfini during his role in “The Sopranos”. He did not just talk to his wife, he yelled. Every conversation was at full pitch. Uh-oh, This did not bode well. Then we saw his wife filling out the payment envelopes reserving other sites around us. They were holding campsites for other people who’d be arriving later. Oh, goody.
Day 109 – We were up before 8 a.m. & got that final load of laundry done. 33 degrees and clear out. The chores are just about done, so we’re checking out today and going a short distance to Brannan Island State Recreation Area/State Park near Rio Vista. Before we leave, we’re getting the RV (and car) washed at a drive-thru truck wash – both are pretty dirty from being on the road. (One of the rules at all the Parks we’ve been to is that you cannot use Park water to wash your vehicles. Understandable.)
22 miles
STUCK IN LODI AGAIN.
Day 108 – Remember that song? Hey, the Lodi area isn’t so bad. And I bet the people who’ve lived here all their lives must hate hearing that song. Anyway….it was 34 degrees this morning and kinda hazy but it cleared up and became mostly sunny. We got our laundry almost done; just have one more load to do tomorrow. I guess lots of people use this “rest stop” as a one-night stopover place because starting about 9 a.m., the RVs were packing up and departing.
Day 107 – We were up before 8:00, 37 degrees and cloudy. The campground was nearly full. We’re curious how busy it will be below Sacramento (in Lodi, CA). We’re driving to a new campground today, one with full hook-ups. The kitties can have their heated pads back, and we’ll have dumping capability at our site. Independent campgrounds are almost always more expensive, but with the Passport America discount, we’ll only pay $29 per night (half price). We’ll be able to do laundry, too. Once we’ve caught up with the chores, we can move back to a state or county park. We’ll pay even less & hopefully it won’t be as crowded.
96 miles
MERRY CHRISTMAS! MAY THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH & GOOD WILL TO ALL!!
Day 106 – Beginning of Week 16. We’re celebrating Christmas with Espresso! A great way to start the day. We’re grateful for friends & family and the beauty that surrounds us. Enjoy your holidays everyone!