A Train Ride into L.A.

                                                                                                                                       

We got the train from Acton which   is about 10min from the camp ground, it got us into L.A. around 11.30am.  We decided to do the walking tour of Los Angeles, but you know what we are like, we went off route many a time. So the 2 1/2 miles turned in to about 5 miles.

Chinatown, Little Tokyo and Little Italy.

We found a great market, ( Jim did his Christmas shopping) the historic Old Jewelry Quarter, and an area full of streets selling nothing but cloth and fabric. Then we jumped on to a bus and went to Macys Plaza.     

Jim’s checking  if they do the nice yellow dress in his size……..

We did have a funny thing happen to us as we were holding hands and talking to each other walking back to the station. We heard someone shouting, but took no notice. Then the man that was shouting crossed the road towards us. Still, we did not think anything,  ‘till we realised people were looking at us … then we heard what the man was shouting, and realised it was being directed  AT US.  “The white man is evil, he will put you in to slavery, the white man is the Devil” now we looked round and realised we were the ONLY white people in sight. But the looks on the faces of the  people around us was one of total embarrassment.       

Inside Union Station

We got home around 8pm, feet up for the rest of the night.

A Little Place Called Wrightwood

Monday we went for a drive up into the San Gabriel Mountains North of Los Angeles. The air went very cold as we got to 8000 feet .

The views were out of this world.

So COLD…………..

Thanksgiving.

We don’t have Thanksgiving in England, so Thursday was going to be like any other day for us this year. The last few years we have been at Peace River, FL, with friends, where we had  great Turkey dinners and all the trimmings  with then. But today (Wednesday) with all the talk on  TV on how to cook your Turkey and what to eat with it, we went out and got a 10.1/2 lb Turkey for the two of us.  SO for the next week it will be Turkey Curry,  Turkey sandwiches, Turkey pie and  Turkey beans and fries………. 

A wounderful visit with family.

Today we drove about 55 miles to visit my cousin Sue and her husband Mike. They have a lovely home in Agoura Hills, north of Malibu. We got there about 11.30am, and I don't think Sue and I came up for air till we left around 6pm. By the way Sue, I remembered the name of the first child Nanny Farmer had, "Lilly" (I think)..........LOL.

Me and Sue.

Me, Sue and Mike

A Day at the Campground-Rancho Oso.

 

After hearing on TV last night that today's weather forecast was to be very similar to yesterdays, and that yesterdays weather was so superb, we decided to spend the day at this wonderful  campground.

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After a slow start, so typical of us, we headed over to the adult lodge to use the phone and call Georgina.  We took our lap top with us so as to check our e mail at the same time. Genette works Mondays and and Tuesday, so when we can, we chat with her on line while she’s working. So we got to speak to both daughters, sort of. It was then back home,  pack some water,  camera and a map of the campground, and head for the horse corals, where there is the start of a trail leading to a waterfall. It started off gently enough, but soon became a little more arduous, though by no means difficult, as it went on.

Its about one half mile each way, and was worth the effort when we got to the 30ft cliff  with water cascading down towards us.

We returned to our RV,  collected the pickle ball paddles and balls, and headed down to the pickle ball court, via the campground store. We have been trying to buy new ball since before we left BC, but to no avail. However we struck lucky at   Rancho Oso’s store, they had two, so we grabbed them. Then it was to the courts. Jane and I played until dark last night, and were in the middle of a best of three contest when we had to stop, so we began where we left off.  I managed to win that one, just.

We played a couple more close games, during which we were approached by a guy who loves the game, but cant get anyone to join him. We offered to let him join us and play a “round robin” game. Jane Mark and I played like this a number of times while Chris was away, but he declined our offer. However he said if he could find a partner, he would come and find us. So we may get a game before we leave Thursday.

Rancho Oso.

Some of the Vineyards on the way to Rancho Oso.

 

This is the view from the RV, the only thing wrong here is the sun disappears a lot faster  because of the  mountains'. And we have to stop playing Pickle Ball around 5.pm.

The Acorn Woodpecker

This is a section of a utility pole that was in front of the Adult Lodge  at Rancho Oso. The Acorn Woodpecker had made a home in the pole and drilled acorns into it. There could be up to 50,000 acorns stored in one tree.

 

This is a view of the camp ground, as you come down the driveway. One of the things I love about this camp ground is all the horses.

 

Walking around Santa Barbara.

I was just going for a walk !!!!!!!

I have never seen such a big SPIDER in my life, I know I should have put something at the side of it so you could judge the size. But he/she was looking a bit defensive.

We are looking forward to a second visit to Vegas 23/27 Nov. I hope to beat my last win there of $145-00.

San Benito

Can you see the tree the woodpecker has been pecking? and look at the size of the acorns. (click the photo to enlarge)

We had a day in today, a late start (well it was for me). I did some washing, Jim did lunch, then we went for a long walk on the nature trail here. So much wild life. I was hopeing to see the bobcats again, but had to be content with the woodpeckers, rabbits and deer we saw. The nature trail has all sorts of exercise equipment along the way, with instructions on how to use them.
We also met the park manager here today. When we saw the his name on the welcome sheet, Dave Fonceca, we both thought it must be the same guy who was manager at Peace River for a short while, immediatly following Debbie. Well, we were walking to the store here at the park, when we saw him driving his car. So we stopped and said "Hi". He said he remembered us, but maybe he was just being polite. Anyway it was nice for us to see someone we knew.

A day at Pinnacles National Monument

This is what we saw outside the RV this morning, one big cat........

We were getting ready to go to Pinnacles National Monument, about 20 miles away.



The Park is well known for its Condors, it is one of the few release sites in the US.

We were very lucky to see four Condors.

There were many Deer, but there are also many at the camp ground. We were all "Deer'ed" out.

But "Bambi" is my favourite Disney film.

How do these rock stay up ?????? and we had to walk under them to get to the Caves. If you ever go there take a flash light!!!!!!!! we forgot, that was fun.. You really do need one.

The cones were so big.

But you can't take them out of the park.

You go first Jane, and I will make sure it doesn't move.

Little Joe update

We have spoken with Georgina today, and she gave us the results on Joes operation, and the removal of a lump on his knee last week. She was told it was a "rheumatoid nodule", not all that common, but more tests are needed to see if its likely to reoccur, and if so, what, if any, treatment is needed. As the name implies, it is related to rheumatoid arthritis (R A). Further tests will decide whether or not he has that. I get the feeling it may be a long process of tests before we know for sure what the prognosis is. R A is not the surgeon who operated's field, and so he has contacted an R A specialist at Birmingham Childrens Hospital. We will have to wait and see what he wants to do, after Joe has been seen by him.
I will keep the blog posted on any news, as I know he has been in many of your thoughts and prayers, for which we all thankyou.

A Trip to Santa Cruz

Today we were up not too early, around 8.30 or so, and the 4 of us were on the pickle ball courts just after 9. Jane and I took on Trudy and Alan first, who managed to just narrowly beat us. Then it was the boys verses the girls for a few games, the boys coming out on top. The final game was Jane and I v Alan and Trudy, which we managed to sneak a win, so all's square there.

Trudy Alan & Jim on the beach at Santa Cruz.

Following pickle ball, it was home for breakfast, get changed and the four of us piled into our car for a drive out to Santa Cruz. It was a pretty drive over the mountain range and down on to the coast. The weather was warm and sunny, with the traffic light. We found the boardwalk without much of a problem, and spent a pleasant hour or so taking in the sights and sounds of the fun fair, followed by a walk on the beach. We then took a drive into Down Town, parked the car and had another pleasant hour or so, wondering the shopping streets, and then into an open air antique street market. Back to the car, for the drive home, stopping off at Safeway's for some provisions on the way.

Young Californian's doing what they do best

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Morgan Hill

Yesterday was moving day again. This time, for the first time in a long time, without either following or leading PP and Mark. Mark will be leaving Russian River TT today and heading towards a campground near Sacramento, in order to meet Chris off the plane from Nova Scotia when she arrives on the 10th. We were not to be on our own however, not just yet. Alan and Trudy decided to come with us to Morgan Hill, and stay a couple of nights there, before heading back to Redding. So following our sad goodbyes to Mark, we left Russian River campground, heading south along hwy 101, for San Fransisco, and on in to Morgan Hill. Alan did not fancy the idea of driving through Downtown SF with his truck and 5th wheel.

Thats Alan & Trudy in front, going over the Golden Gate Bridge

I had done so before, the last time we were here, and was also open to finding another way through. So, we decided that we would travel along the US 101 to the Golden Gate Bridge, cross the bridge then immediately turn right onto the US 1, which takes a more westerly route through the city, and may not be so busy. It looked good on the map, so it was agreed, that was the plan. All went well, the weather was superb, and we had an uneventful drive until we reached the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we had the usual pointing of fingers, the snapping of the camera lens, until we got to the toll booth. We paid our 12 bucks, and drove through, waiting for Alan and Trudy on the other side, as they appeared to be taking a little longer than us to get through. They drove passed us, and we pulled in behind them. Then.....He missed the turning for Hwy 1, and we found ourselves doing what we had said the night before we were not going to do, driving into Down Town San Fransisco, along hwy 101. Oh well....It transpired that Alan had enquired with the toll booth operator about taking hwy 1, and she had told him that it was unsuitable for large trucks and RVs, and that she thought that anything our size was prohibited from entering the Golden Gate Park, through which hwy 1 runs. Well, apart from being very busy, and a large number of traffic signals to go through, we made it unscathed.
We did have one little hick-up. Just after passing San Jose, Alan suddenly indicated right, and pulled up on the hard shoulder..... We then saw him running back to his 5th wheel, open the door and dash in. Trudy informed us he had an urgent bathroom visit to make that just wouldn't wait any longer.

Can he make it in time ??????

The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful, and we arrived at TT Morgan Hill around 2pm. Its a nice campground, but unfortunately all the sites are power and water only. However the site we are on, 80, does gives us Wi-Fi in the motor home, and as we are only here 4 nights, the lack of sewer won't be a problem for us.

Russian River CA.

We got to Russian River on Thursday after a rainy drive from Trinidad. We found Mark a good site that we hoped he would get his dish working. Jim had a drive around to see if he could find Alan & Trudy, friends we met in Texas early this year. We set up home  next to them,  then the 5 of us  got into Alan’s big truck  and set of to the Sho-Ka-Wah Casino.  We all signed up to the players club, which is free, and gave us a voucher for the prime rib dinner which would cost us $4.95  each, and a $10.00 free money voucher, to play the machines each.  Jim won $10.00 and Mark won $16-00, of  which he played $6 and cashed in $10 . Trudy Alan and I LOST our free $10. But it meant that Mark had a great prime rib dinner, half hour or so entertainment on the slot machines, and left with 5 bucks more than he came in with. Not a bad deal……

Today after a long chat with the girls back home, and seeing how little Joe was doing, he is doing great by the way, Alan Trudy Jim & I went in to  Cloverdale. After a visit to the Chamber of  Commerce,  where we were given  tickets for the River Rock Casino, yes, more free money,  plus a voucher for a 2 for 1 in the all you can eat buffet. So we set off,  got our spending money, $10 each, a meal voucher, and 5 chances each to win a car. This time Jim and Trudy lost, and Alan won $6 and I won $16.75 so after I paid for mine and Jims buffet, $11.50 I walked out up $5.25 and very very full.   I Love these casinos.

Highway 101.

Pacific Coast Highway.

We did this drive 5 years ago, and it still took our breath away, it is one of the best drives we have been lucky to do.

We are now in "Sunny California "

Little Joe update

He had his operation on Monday and came home the same day, so full of pain killers, he was in no pain and wanted to walk around on his bad leg. To day after a bit of a restless night he is fine. We should get the results back for the biopsy next week. Oh how the young heal fast..... LOL

Thank you for all you prayers.

On the road to Port Orford.

Devils Churn State Park Oregon. 101 Mile by Mile Guide to Devil's Churn on the Oregon Coast






Today was the best journey we have had for weeks, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and we got to stop a few times to take photos.




After we hooked up, we went down to Port Orford Docks to see the fishing boats come in. This is the only "dry dock" like this in the world, we were told. Because of the extremely high winds, and rough seas at certain times of the year, it is impossible to have the fishing boats moored in the usual fashion. So they are lifted out of the water using one of 2 huge hoists. It takes just a few minutes to get the boats out of the water, onto a trailer, and moved out of harms way. This is done with all the fishing boats, regardless of the weather, as there is no traditional mooring facilities.

Whalers Rest Oregon.

Construction of the Yaquina Bay Bridge took place between 1934 to 1936.
When completed the bridge provided a final link in the Oregon's highway system. Washington and California added their own highway projects to provide a continuous roadway from Canada to Mexico which is known as US Highway 101.


Not sure what the story is about this, but a lot of work went into it.


Whales bones

I have never seen a live one, only road kill Porcupine's
and they are normally "Flat", not all bushy like this one .

To day was a nice day. THE SUN CAME OUT. So we went down to the Old Harbour, where the Seals also thought it would be nice to lie in the sun.

These guys were particularly noisy. All these seals are males, and hail from California. Only the males migrate north in the summer months, the females stay behind with their young on the Californian coast.