North from San Diego

From San Diego I headed north to Santa Barbara to visit Marsha, Ben and Danielle, where I camped in Montecito on the driveway of a daughter-in-law's parents. It's such a beautiful spot in Sycamore Canyon.

How pretty is the garden!

After three days in Santa Barbara I headed north along Hwy 1 - destination Lafayette. Taking Hwy 1 is time consuming but a very pretty drive.

I stopped at the elephant seal rookery about four miles north of Hearst Castle. During October and November the juvenile and yearling elephant seals return to the rookery after spending five or six months at sea. Many of the young have been victims of predators so fewer return to the beach. This is a quiet time for the seals, when they fast and the juveniles practice jousting. There are hundreds lying about the beach and playing in the surf. Some are small and some are enormous! Only the males grow the proboscis, which is the elongated nose.

Further down the road...beautiful scenery.

It was a foggy day with a bit of a drizzle, but still beautiful. I love this part of the California coast.

Look at the color of the water!

I spent the night in an RV park at Moss Landing. The harbor is a busy place.

Kayakers taking a class. Oars up!

The kayaks are colorful on the water.

Mission Bay

I stayed at Campland in mission Bay while visiting my son Joe. While I cannot recommend this place, the view of the wildlife refuge from my campsite was pretty cool, and it was great to see Joe! We had brunch in La Jolla with Tessa and Paul, Joe's friend Allison, and baby Louie. The weather was beautiful!

More photos coming soon!


"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."

Steve Jobs

Bishop, California - an under-appreciated town

So many years of driving through Bishop on the way to Mammoth, and the only part of the town we paid heed to was the famous Schat's Bakery. We loaded up on cheese bread, squaw bread, and apple fritters - all good skiing fuel. But there is a lot more to this little town.

The bakery

The pretty city park - it has a stream and ducks!

City Hall - in the old elementary school building

Paiute Shoshone Cultural Center

Typical residential street - the leaves are just starting to change color

How cute is this truck!

Scenery

Nevada City, California - Henderson, Nevada - Bishop, California

After a week in Portland I traveled south to visit my mother in Grass Valley/Nevada City, California. Nevada City is an old historic gold mining town and is very picturesque.

The historic Victorian National Hotel

Old iron posts along the sidewalk

From Nevada City I headed east, through the Tahoe area, and then drove south from Reno - destination Henderson Nevada to visit son John and family. I spent the night in Tonopah, Nevada. I have stayed in some beautiful camps and RV parks, but the camp behind the casino in Tonopah is the ugliest I have ever experienced. Next time, I will dry camp at Walker Lake.

If you look closely you can see my neighbor's frying pan sitting on a concrete block, next to my hookups.

View from my campsite. Uuuuuugly!

The next day I continued the drive to Henderson. The highway through the desert was boring at times, but I'm learning to better appreciate the topography with each visit.

After five days in Henderson, attending a festival, enjoying Kim's cooking, donating blood, and attending grandson Michael's club soccer game, I headed across the mountains to Bishop, California, where I stayed for four nights. The scenery along the way was beautiful, despite the winding roads.

Heading into the mountains

An ancient bristlecone pine tree

The remains of an old settlement

I love these sprinklers. They are everywhere in farm country. When they are not turned on, they look like large creatures with long bodies.

The RV park in Bishop - the sites are narrow, but there are lots of big trees. There is something about this park that feels good, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Everyone is very friendly, and there is a lot of visiting back and forth between rigs. The staff is friendly and helpful, and the park is clean and neat. I still prefer more rustic state parks, but this was a nice place to stop and rest.

Next stop Westlake Village!

Port Townsend, Washington

I spent a week in Port Townsend, a little town on the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula, in the Puget Sound. The town's historic district is a US National Historic Landmark District, and the Victorian period buildings have been well restored. When I was there the film festival was in full swing, and the town was busy. The Farmers' Market was especially colorful, with barrels of sunflowers and piles of local produce. There are three state parks in the area, and a busy harbor.

The ferries come and go all day long, connecting the town with other communities. School children on field trips arrive by ferry to visit the marine science center. In the mornings many people line up for their commute to work.

A view of the harbor.

The front entry of a historic mansion, which is a B and B. It's for sale, and I got to have a tour because the owner was in the garden and I told her how much I liked the house.

Downtown

The beach near my campsite

Early morning view from my campsite

Farmers' market - I bought fresh corn, green beans, peppers, and beautiful tomatoes.

I had been thinking how dirty and dusty my RV was, and on the way out of Port Townsend I spotted a student carwash. The local high school drama club was raising money for a trip to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. My big vehicle was a challenge, and even the teacher got into the act. The kids were hilarious, and having a lot of fun. They did a good job! They didn't have a ladder so they improvised.......

After leaving the fun community of Port Townsend I headed south and spent the night in this camp near Olympia. What a wonderful site - with majestic trees.