Easter morning we are now leaving Napa after a few days with Mom. We did several things around her house, along with a doctor visit, grocery shopping, hair appointment, etc. The highlight was a nice trip to Janice’s house in Folsom yesterday to enjoy an early Easter celebration.
It’s always good to be home…Time to clean up our Casita for the NEXT TRIP!
Tony and Kitty Boy rekindle their “Friendship”
We were up, packed and out of our campsite by 11:30am. There was stop and go traffic heading into Santa Cruz. Maybe because of Easter (Spring) break or is it always this way? We stopped at Seacliff State Beach where they would not allow us to drive through and look and then at New Brighton State Beach where we used the dump station (for free) and perused the campsites there. They have hookups in some of them to our surprise. Then on the far side by the cliffs there are “premium campsites” for an extra charge. These sites have an ocean view but I don’t think they would be good if you had small children. We could not see how steep the drop was after the quaint wooden fence. We headed inland on Hwy 17 and into Santa Clara County where Jeff (our oldest son) was born. It’s been years since I have been in this area. It has grown a lot but still woodsy and lovely along that portion of the narrow Hwy 17. By the time we got to the area around Pleasanton we were hungry and stopped for a Habit Burger. It was around 80 degrees in the parking lot where we stopped. It cooled down quickly after crossing the Martinez Bridge and as we headed toward Napa it was very enjoyable. There was a lot of traffic heading out of Napa Valley but not heading in so we were good. Always good to see Mom. We had a dinner of leftovers but she didn’t mind that. We will sleep well tonight, we are tired even though we didn’t do anything today.
A foggy morning here but makes us appreciate things like hot coffee in the morning, hot showers, sand free beds, and our generator! I need to type quickly before the power has to be turned off! We slept in and after hot showers we headed to Monterey. It was a nice drive and the sun is out. We saw avocados 7/$1. and artichokes 10/$1. but we didn’t stop as it was the opposite side of the road, lots of traffic, and we have too much food as it is! There are workers picking strawberries as well. We ate Mexican food and took a walk, walking about half of cannery row. So many changes since we have been here. It was nice to come on Monday because it wasn’t too crowded. Tony did pretty well walking, he didn’t bark but he pulled hard whereas he should be walking nicely. However, we saw most dogs were not walking nicely. We met another white Havanese from Orange county and they got a lot of sniffing done. Anyway it was a lovely day. We drove back and there was a lot of slow traffic on Hwy. 1 even at 4pm. We are tired but we packed a few things in preparation for tomorrows departure. The campground if full tonight, spring break I guess. We aren’t hungry tonight either, not after that big lunch! I forgot to say when Saira took a run to the beach and back she saw a skunk! We see a lot of squirrels in the campground. Looking forward to seeing Mom tomorrow.
Our view at lunchtime
Lunchtime
Cannery Row, John and Tony
John Steinbeck
Tony meets Tiffany, another Havanese
Our Campsite
Looks like we will have sun again today. Too bad all the others have to leave today but we are just glad they could come. Saira and Faby, and maybe Steven too cooked the breakfast. We also had instant oatmeal. They made something like breakfast burritos and offered us some but I don’t really care to eat breakfast and John was holding out for the cinnamon rolls. After 10am I plugged in the waffle iron to make the cinnamon rolls like I saw on Pinterest. We could not use the generator until 10am. That was fun and it worked out well. John was very happy!!! Everyone else was packing up and getting ready to go. We There was some Frisbee playing going on and such. We had a surprise visit from the neighbors dog. We commented for some time how he reminded us of Sport. He is 10 years old, very gentle and Tony was happy to meet him. Faby, Bryon, and family left, I think, around 11 or so. Steven, Saira, Julie, Daniel, and Sara left around 1:30. They all went down to the Monterey area. Faby and family went to swim at some beach and S&S group went somewhere and then to Bubba Gumps. We stayed here and will be here until Tuesday am when we will head up to Napa to see Mom for a few days. This afternoon we took a lovely walk on the beach. There are many types of birds and they are all active on the beach and in the water. I will ask a ranger just what types they are. Tony was not as active as he was the other times so I think he is tired. He is not getting in his two or three naps a day! Hahaha. We got texts that everyone is safely home now so that is always a relief to know. It is windy tonight and we are happy we have our little Casita (Castillo=castle) to be warm.
Saira cooking breakfast
Our Neighbor dog Big Boy visits
Cinnamon Roll Waffles
John and Tony
I smell bacon…wait, no, it’s sausages!
Mom, do you know what sort of flower is this?
Our group this time!
Beautiful birds on the beach
Awe!
Julie at Bubba Gumps with Steven and Saira
That’s not her beer!
The beach is beautiful today
Today the sun is out and it feels great. It is still in the 60’s but if feels much warmer with the sun shining. Steven’s friend from the Navy Daniel Melendez and his girlfriend Sara arrived at 4am. I thought I heard voices when I got up to go to the bathroom but I didn’t know it was them as I could not hear what they were saying. They drove from Arizona to meet up with Steven this weekend. He if from New Jersey but lives in Delaware now. I think they are just on a long road trip across the country. Anyway, they slept through our breakfast but we saved them two plates of food. It was a big breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, juice, cantaloupe, banana, etc. After that we headed off to Santa Cruz. Julie went with us as the others weren’t ready yet. We had a good time. I have never been to the boardwalk and it was interesting. We went on a few rides and Julie had a great time. Julie and I went on the log ride and got wet but we dried quickly. We planned to check out Brighton State Beach but we were too tired after the boardwalk so we came straight back. Saira, Faby and I warmed up the food and cooked what needed to be cooked. This is a lot of work. I honestly don’t see how Deb and Sam do this for twice as many people! Of course they do have a larger kitchen set up to work with. Additionally we broke the knob on one of the trailer burners so we are reduced to one burner in there. Fine for John and I but not so great when cooking for 12! Dinner was consumed and cleaned up, and we are more than ready to be horizontal. Looks like everyone is dragging tonight. It feels darn good to put my feet up tonight. After we collapsed in bed we hear a program going on at the campfire. We might have gone to that if we realized it sooner. They are playing a guitar and singing songs… Next time!
Breakfast
Go Navy! Four Veterans, of course Steven is still reserves.
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk John
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Julie
No sooner did we go into the trailer we got a knock a the door. It was a ranger telling us to turn off our generator. It was only around 9pm so we were surprised. Generator times are 10am-8pm, it is usually the opposite 8am-10pm. Since there was no one to check us in and no instructions given, we had no way of knowing. No worries, except Julie’s laptop lost power before she finished her DVD. LOL. Surprisingly it was not that cold in the night. When there is no breeze it doesn’t really seem cold. Julie had to use the bathroom in the night and I was too groggy to figure out she could just come in and use ours! She asked Dad to walk her to the bathroom (very close) so he did. Tonight we will know better! Anyway, they said it wasn’t cold and she was warm in her tent all night just with a sleeping bag. No gourmet breakfast for them, instant oats, banana, juice, and coffee for John, cappuccino for Julie. After J&J (John and Julie) had their breakfast they took Tony and drove up to the ranger station to check in. J&J found out right near the ranger station there is a gate to drive through, parking lot, path to the beach, and just walk north on the beach were dogs are allowed! Yay! By the time they were back I was dressed and had some set up still to do so they took Tony for a walk. It is foggy but not too cold right now. Finished with chores and Julie wanted to see the rest of her movie so she is doing that and we are doing other things before having our lunch. We then drove to the doggie beach spot and Tony had his first walk on the beach. He loved it. I was hysterical watching him sneak up on the water and run when it got closer. There was a California Sea Lion dying on the beach, which was disturbing. However, a ranger came along and said it has happened to a few of them. They think they are eating the red tide algae and it is making them sick. He said he would call the marine patrol to come an take care of it, but they already took a look. We talked to another couple with a well-behaved dog and they said it has been there 4 days and the rangers wanted nature to take it's course. We understand that but hate to see it suffer. Well, we are not in charge. We had a great time and Julie had LOTS of shells. We were exhausted after the walk, came back to camp, and rested for a bit before S&S (Steven and Saira arrived. They showed up before 5pm and her sister and family showed up at nearly dark. We had some wine, appetizers, and our chili dogs before they came but we heated up things for them and they did it all after that. Very simple. I only have ONE pot to wash! Yay! I think that makes the evening successful! It is definitely NOT warm here but to be honest, I LOVE IT. I am sure everyone else would love more sun but I am happy it is not hot! When there is no wind, at night, it feels a lot warmer. Steven just came to check if we have more fire wood....Nope. They can get more tomorrow. I am glad they are having fun but we are going to bed.
John, Julie, and Tony
Tony Loves The Beach
Sickly California Sea Lion
California Poppies
Yes The Water Is Still Cold!
Steven and Saira
Today we took our trailer out of hibernation to head to Sunset State Beach. It was 84 degrees when we left Clovis about 10:30am. We hope it will be a nice break from this early onset of heat in the valley. We made a few stops before leaving town (library, store, pick up Julianne) and then off we went. We stopped for gas and a quick burger for lunch and then headed out. Just past San Luis reservoir the van temperature gauge shot up quickly. We always have water so John filled the overflow, temp went down and off we went. However, in about 1/2 hour it did the same thing. This time when I attempted to lift the hood I noticed water was all over and John discovered the radiator cap was very loose. Neither of us had touched it but we refilled it again and off we went. We decided to stop at Bella Fruita and John got some anti-freeze while Julianne and I looked around and got a few little things to snack on. The rest of the trip was uneventful. Even with all the stops we got here just around 4pm. The ranger station was closed and there was a sign stating find your site and come back at 9am to receive your vehicle pass and check in. We got camp set up quickly, had a bite to eat and drove down to the beach. It has changed a lot here. Sadly dogs are not allowed on the beach so Tony sat in the car while we took a short walk on the beach. The ocean is always beautiful, even with no sun. The fog is rolling in. Julie found quite a few shells. There are lovely wild flowers everywhere. Back to camp and we made a little fire but we are all cold and thinking it is time for bed, even though it is only 8:45!!!
Mom, do you know what this blue bush is?
Lots of birds around tonight
