Saturday, February 28, 2009

No cooking day

We went to breakfast at the campground café this morning and met a nice couple from the Seattle area. We had a good chat with them and then headed back to the trailer. We Wii’d a few games of tennis, Dave won, then we went to bowling and I won. I played a few holes of golf and then decided I should get busy. I worked on paperwork stuff today, check book, Quicken and sorting through a shoebox full of old mail and papers…very boring stuff but it needed to be done. Dave read, computed and took Cheye for a long walk.

After lunch Laura stopped by and wondered if we wanted to go to the dinner at the campground café tonight which sounded fun to us. So this evening we went to dinner and had a nice time. Two meals today and no cooking or dishes to do, my kind of day!

Photos:
Deer in the park here at Thousand Trails San Benito in Paicines, CA
Video:
Winchester Mystery House video taken yesterday

Friday, February 27, 2009

Winchester Mystery House

We decided to go in to San Jose and see the Winchester Mystery House today. It’s a bizarre house, staircases that go no where, doors that open into a wall or an outside door on the second floor with no stairs down. Here is a link to their website, it tells some of the story behind the house. It was a fun outing.


I should back up a bit…this morning when Dave took Cheye out he saw a bobcat in the park. We had heard there had been sightings here and hoped we would see one. Well, Dave didn’t have the camera with him, but as we took off for our trip to San Jose we saw the bobcat laying by the campground’s store eating breakfast, probably a squirrel. We stopped and Dave took some photos. Then as we rounded the next corner there was another one! We stopped again and took more photos…so cool to see these wild cats.


After our visit to Winchester House we took Cheye out for a walk and found Ted and Laura had arrived from Soledad Canyon. We stopped and chatted for a while and then took Cheye out to finish our walk…and we saw another bobcat! Probably one of the cats we saw in the morning but it was still amazing.

Photos
Top: Bobcat eating something (probably a squirrel) at Thousand Trails San Benito
Bottom: Another bobcat at Thousand Trails San Benito
Video: Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA


Thursday, February 26, 2009

Lots of Walks

It was a little drizzly this morning here in Paicines, CA, we sat outside under the awning with our little campfire going. Once the drizzle stopped we went for a walk around the park. It’s a nice park, a fair amount of big trees, greenery and open grassy areas.

We both did some reading after we got back to the trailer and after lunch I took Cheye for another short walk. Then after more reading and some computing we all went for yet another long walk around the park. I think all the walking we did today was due to all the sitting we did in the pickup yesterday. Our evening is going to be quiet, a little TV and computing. Pretty much a typical day…

Photos: Birds we saw out on our walks


Wednesday, February 25, 2009

San Benito Preserve

We made a fairly long move today, from Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon in Acton, CA to Thousand Trails San Benito in Paicines, CA for about a 300 mile/7 hour drive north. Not a lot of exciting scenery along I-5 but there were some orchards covered with blossoms that were pretty.

It was about 2:00 p.m. when we arrived. After setting up camp and relaxing a bit we went for a walk around the park. We saw some deer wandering through the park and, much to Cheyenne’s happiness, a bunch of squirrels.

Photos: Taken on our trip today on I-5 in California



Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Moving in the morning

We started off our day by going out to breakfast with Lonnie and Melba at a place called “Crazy Otto’s”. It is here in Acton,CA just on the other side of Hwy 14. Good breakfast… and huge portions! We had to get a to-go box for about half the food.

After we were back at the park it was time to start packing up as we head out tomorrow morning. I did laundry and some cleaning, Dave gathered up and packed up stuff. About 4:00 we sat down outside to relax a bit and Lonnie & Melba came over. Melba brought over bbq pork with hot mustard and sesame seeds for dipping to go with our wine. It was another fun evening of stories and laughs.

Photos: Taken at Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon yesterday

Monday, February 23, 2009

Pleasant Day

This morning, after we got back from our walk, we sat outside with our coffee (or cocoa in my case) . It was very peaceful and pleasant with our campfire going and a light drizzle hitting the awning. A nice way to start the day.

Since we are heading out Wednesday I thought it would be a good day to go stock up on groceries. We went in to the Walmart Superstore in Palmdale, CA and picked up enough to get us through a week of meals. We also stopped at Trader Joe’s (yes Marilyn we picked up a bottle of that wine you recommended) and got some goodies….Dave really likes the honey sesame covered almonds and I like the cinnamon almonds.

The sun came out this afternoon and it was beautiful. Laura stopped by and we chatted for a while. Later Dave & I were sitting outside having a glass of wine, enjoying the late afternoon, when Melba and Lonnie came over to join us. We had cheese & crackers with our wine and lots of fun conversation.

Photos:
Taken in Soledad Canyon Park today

Sunday, February 22, 2009

A long walk and out to dinner

I worked on the video I’m making of our travels this morning. After lunch Dave, Cheye and I went for a long walk to the other end of the park. We found the fishing pond and picnic area which we hadn’t seen before.

Once we got back to the trailer we turned on the TV to watch the pre-race shows and the Nascar race. We had just started watching the race when Ted & Laura stopped by and invited us to join them for Mexican food at a local restaurant so off we went. (we taped the race) We had a fun time.

On our way back to the campground we came across a Class C parked perpendicular across the right hand lane of the road. There was a motorcycle laying in the bar pit and we though maybe the RV had hit a motorcycle…ended up the RV had a front motorcycle carrier and the carrier bent. We stopped and helped out doing out good deed for the day.

Photos:
Taken on today's walk at Soledad Canyon Preserve down by the fishing pond
Video:
Also views
taken on today's walk at Soledad Canyon Preserve down by the fishing pond

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Bicycle Race

We forgot a few items when grocery shopping the other day so after lunch we decided to drive into the Acton market. On the way we noticed a helicopter that was circling around at a low altitude. When we got to the Ranger Station they told us the bicycle race - Amgen Tour of California - passed by here on the road just above the campground. Lance Armstrong is in that race! While driving towards Acton we got to an intersection where there was a blockade for the race. We thought all the racers had already gone by but I did catch a quick 4 seconds of some racers with the Flip Video….since the video is sooooo small and the action sooooo quick I thought I’d add this photo to point out where you should look…





Bummer we didn’t know about it, we would have taken the good camera and gone a little earlier!

Friday, February 20, 2009

An Afternoon Outing


Most of today we hung out at the trailer. Both Dave & I took Cheye for walks, we watched some of the NASCAR practice runs on TV and computed.

This afternoon we went back in to Palmdale, CA for a little shopping and dinner. Dave needed to find a new heavy coat as his got ruined a while back when he was changing a in-line fuel filter. We ran across a Burlington Coat Factory and found one there. We had dinner at an unremarkable restaurant, but we left full. Can’t always discover great restaurants I guess!

Photos: Taken on our walk yesterday near Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Nothing particular

Not a lot going on the last couple days here near Acton, CA. The weather has cleared up, it got up in the 60’s today with a breezy wind. We’ve been hanging out at the park not doing anything particular.

Yesterday was laundry day and I met a nice couple that live near Placerville, CA which is where we went to do laundry while camping at Thousand Trails Ponderosa… how apropos that I met them in the laundry room! Nice people and full of info on different Thousand Trails parks.

This afternoon Dave, Cheye and I took a long walk around most of the park including a dry riverbed area that runs along the side of the park. We found a little creek hidden among the sagebrush, rocks and juniper. Cheye was quite happy with the find and waded down the stream for a fair distance. On our way back we saw our neighbors (that are also from the Yakima Valley in Washington) and they invited us over for a glass of wine. We had a great visit and found out about some good wines to pickup when we are back in the Yakima Valley!

Photos and Video:
All taken around Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Clearing up

Today was a much nicer day weather-wise. A little cloudy and a few sprinkles but nothing to complain about.

We were expecting mail so we drove into Acton to the Post Office and from there we went over to Palmdale, CA to pick up some groceries. Well…in Palmdale there is a Best Buy and Barnes & Noble so after browsing through those stores we have a few new DVD’s too.

This afternoon we took a nice long walk around part of the park which felt good after being cooped up in the trailer all day yesterday. It’s a good sized park, kind of long and skinny in shape. We have seen lots of bunnies, squirrels and hawks and have heard coyotes. We hear there is even a bobcat that sometimes wanders through, hopefully we will catch a glimpse of it sometime while we are here.

Photos:
Top: some pretty yellow birds here at Soledad Canyon park, Dave took that photo a couple days ago when we had a beautiful sunny day
Bottom: A bunny here in the park
Video:
A little bit of Acton, CA and some views of the park.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Stormy

Well, the weather forecasters were partly right with their winter storm warning here in Acton, CA. All day it has been rainy with gusty winds, some hail but no snow or thunderstorms. The sun did break out a couple times for about 5 minutes only to be covered by big black clouds spewing rain.

Consequently it has been an inside day doing cross stitching, reading, watching DVD’s and listening to the wind and rain. Not a bad day, but I’ll be happy when this storm passes and we have some sunshine again!

Photo: The few minutes the sun was out today

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Hoping the weatherman is wrong...

They are threatening us with another winter storm here in Acton, CA; rain, thunderstorms, wind and possibly snow…. :o( Hopefully this forecast will be a weather forecasters mistake.

Besides walks and watching the Daytona 500 today, Ted & Laura invited us over. We had a nice time visiting and snacking.

We noticed that our neighbors had Washington plates on their truck and trailer. After talking to them we found out they also are from the Yakima Valley, about 45 miles west of where we used to live. Sometimes it can be such a small world.

Photos: Views of Soledad Canyon Preserve

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine’s Day


The weather was much nicer on this Valentine’s Day, sunny and it got up in the low 50’s, definite improvement over yesterday! We were able to get out on some walks and see a little more of the park.

Laura stopped by with some fresh banana bread for us…very nice and yummy. She stayed to chat a while, we talked about RV’ing, RV’s and RV parks, pretty normal conversation for a couple of RV’ers! They have been having some trouble with their coach, the main slide is stuck so they are making their way up to Bend, OR to get it repaired.

Even though it is a bit chilly this evening Dave & I sat out by our campfire. It is a nice way to end the day, watching the sun slip behind the mountains and see the stars come out…very pleasant indeed.

Photos
Top: Chilly view this morning from Soledad Canyon Preserve near Acton, CA
Bottom: Our site here at Soledad Canyon
Video
Views from around the park taken Thursday 2/12/09





Friday, February 13, 2009

It just ain't right....

One of the main reasons to head south for the winter is to avoid cold inclement weather ….well this is what we had today:



Guess we get to have some winter after all.

If it wasn’t snowing it was raining today so our day was spent indoors, tv, computers, catching up the checkbook and bank statements, all those fun things you do when stuck inside. Tonight we went to the all you can eat pasta feed at the family lodge with Ted and Laura. It was fun…and it finally quit raining!

Photos
Top: hills around Soledad Canyon preserve yesterday
Bottom: hills around Soledad
Canyon preserve today


Thursday, February 12, 2009

Soledad Canyon

We are at the Soledad Canyon preserve just out of Acton, CA. After the drive through the southern California traffic Dave & I were happy to get here and relax a bit! Once we were set up and had some lunch we set out on a walk. We had gone just a few steps from our trailer when someone said; Hi Dave and Lori. It was Ted & Laura, a couple we met back in June at the Silver Spur RV Park in Silverton, OR. At the time we had been looking at Thousand Trails memberships and Ted & Laura were already members. It was talking to them that convinced us to finally join. Good to see them again!!

So far the park looks like another nice one. It is a bit cooler here, there is even snow on the hills around us. The temperatures are supposed to be in the high 40’s or low 50’s, a bit different than the warm weather we had in San Diego. Oh well, it is only February!

Photos - taken Feb 10 at the San Diego Zoo.
Top: Meerkat
Bottom: Koala Bear
Slide Show: also taken at the San Diego Zoo


Wednesday, February 11, 2009

San Diego Zoo



Yesterday we made a trip to the San Diego Zoo. It’s a beautiful zoo, clean and well maintained. A great place to visit but it isn’t cheap…$35.00 for adults, but that includes the bus tour and air tram. We took the bus tour first, walked a bit and then took the air-tram and walked back through the zoo. We had a fun time.

Our visit to Pio Pico is over, we leave tomorrow. Today was spent getting things packed up, cleaned up and organized for our trip. Peter & Nancy left this morning for Palm Springs so we chatted a bit with them before they took off.

We have had a great time, between running into Peter and Nancy and having our friends Ron & Marilyn and Rodney & Dennis coming over from Phoenix we have had lots of visiting and fun. The weather started out fabulous, got really wet towards the end but we still had a terrific time. Yet another park we would not hesitate staying at again.

Photos & Video: Taken at the San Diego Zoo yesterday



Sunday, February 8, 2009

Fun visit, fun weekend

Well, our Phoenix visitors have gone home. Those 3 days went awfully fast! Our visit with Ron & Marilyn and Rodney & Dennis was terrific. Each evening Peter and Nancy stopped by and joined in the fun, the more the merrier!

On Saturday Ron & Marilyn and Dave & I drove into Old Town San Diego. There is a mix of historic buildings, fun shops and restaurants. We wandered around and stopped at the Temecula Olive Oil Company to taste a few of their different olive oils. After going through a few more shops we stopped at Fred’s Mexican Restaurant and had a margarita and nachos…very tasty.

It was really great that our friends took the time to drive all the way from Phoenix to Pio Pico. We had a fabulous time visiting with them and hope we can all get together again sometime soon!

Photos:
Both taken at Old Town San Diego
Video:
Our visit with friends and to Old Town San Diego

Friday, February 6, 2009

The gang’s all here

We met Ron & Marilyn and Rodney & Dennis back at Verde Valley in Cottonwood, AZ. Yesterday they traveled from Phoenix to spend a long weekend with us here at Pio Pico! They arrived about noon and after they got their sites all set up we went out for a late lunch in Jamul, pizza at Filippi’s Pizza. Really good pizza. From there it was back to the park for visiting and laughing. Peter and Nancy even stopped by and joined us for a while.

Doesn’t it figure…we have had such great weather since we arrived here and yesterday, after the Phoenix group drove in, it decided to cloud up and rain! The temperature is still in the 60’s so at least it isn't cold.

Today Marilyn, Rodney, Dennis and I went into Chula Vista and stopped at Walmart and Trader Joe’s for a few things. Once we got back to the park Marilyn and Rodney fixed some snacks. We have been stuck inside with all the rain so we are eating, chatting and having some wine. So far it has been a great visit!

Photos:
Top: Palm tree on the south side of the park
Bottom: Cheye out on a walk
a couple days ago...when the sun was still shining!



Tuesday, February 3, 2009

New Neighbors

I actually got a sunburn on my arms yesterday… the weather is still great here in Jamul, CA. It is supposed to cloud up this weekend, maybe even a little rain but I can’t complain with all the wonderful weather we have been having.

We got new neighbors the other day, Greg and Marilyn. Very nice people, they have a blog also: Gundyville on Wheels. It ends up Greg and Marilyn are good friends with some people whose blog I have followed for quite a while; Geeks on Tour. The “geeks” Jim & Chris are full time RV’ers and besides having a great blog they have computer how-to tutorials, some are free and they are very well done.

The last few days have been pretty quiet, reading and dog walking. We are going to drive into town tonight for Chinese food and to pick up a few things. The main thing I want to buy is aloe vera lotion for my arms…I swear I packed some when we moved into the trailer but I can’t find it. I’m sure it will show up once I buy some new stuff! :o)

Photos
Top: Cheye while we are out on a walk
Bottom: One of many squirrels that keep Cheye entertained
Video: A slideshow of Pio Pico


Sunday, February 1, 2009

Macaroni Grill

Yesterday we went to the campground café for breakfast and met some fun people while we were in line; Jay & Charlotte and Lyle & Laura, so we sat and had breakfast with them. It ends up the Lyle & Laura are from Camino Island, WA and are good friends with a man I knew from work…small world sometimes. On our way home from breakfast Nancy and Peter (a couple we met a while ago at another 1000 Trails park) were out and we got to talking, they have known Jay & Charlotte for years! It ended up that Nancy & Peter, Jay & Charlotte and Dave & I all went into town and to dinner. (Lyle & Laura were leaving just after breakfast). We drove to Chula Vista and went to Trader Joe’s, a first for Dave & I. We bought a couple bottles of two-buck-Chuck and some snacks. From there we all went to dinner at the Macaroni Grill, another first for Dave & I. Good food!! We had a great time and a lot of laughs.

So far the weather has continued to be fabulous here at Thousand Trails Pio Pico. We are truly enjoying ourselves here, with fabulous weather , fun people and a beautiful park how can we miss?

Photos
Top: Cheyenne at Pio Pico
Bottom: taken while on a walk in the park
Video:
After dinner at Macaroni Grill