Millerton Lake

We are just home from Millerton Lake. It was a quick Family Camping Trip with a 3 night stay. It was enjoyable despite the strong winds the first 2 days. By day 3 it heated up quite a bit so it was good we were heading home by then.  There were 9 of us (minus Julie and Miranda) and a variety of people visited Frank & Vira over the course of the weekend. The lake was not as high as I thought it might be but much better than the pond it was last year at this time. Good times, good food, and maybe a new favorite for some...S'mores made with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!

Morro Strand Planned

Deb came over and we planned a Family Camping Trip for June at Morro Strand State Beach. They now take reservations so of course it is filling up fast. I tried looking at Pismo North Beach around 6 weeks ago and it is already full for the summer. I think they should leave some as first come - first served but then they don't ask my opinion. Anyway, we have the reservation for June 16-21. John and I will probably do something else after that but with the limited availability on the coast in the summer, who knows. 

In addition, Deb made some tentative plans for other Family Camping Trips. Hopefully, we can go to each of these planned trips. 

A New Reality

My Mom passed away on Feb. 8, 2016. We laid her to rest on the 20th. We had already shelved our NOLA trip because of her health. Right now I just don't have the desire or the wherewithal to plan a trip. We'll see what the future brings. 

Thinking Ahead

After some thought we have decide AK is not for us this year. Sharon's Mom is a fragile situation and we would not want to be out of contact or have to drive a few days to secure a flight home if there was an urgent situation. That said, we think we will try to do NOLA and the Florida Keys in March-April. Still a lot of planning involved but Sharon can probably fly home fairly easily if need be. 

We also want to stop in TX and get a few upgrades done at Little House Customs along the way. (special valves we have heard about and a double step)

We want to spend time in NOLA for a few reasons: 1) Genealogy research for both my French family and paternal line. Then there  is the WWII Museum that wants to  accept some artifacts from Mom's WWII service. Yes, those could be mailed but it would be such an honor to present these things in person. The Florida Keys - always wanted to go there. The drive should be interesting! Lot's of planning ahead!

The Refrigerator Issues

I wanted to post  an update about  this.  It took about a month at Paul Evert's RV to get our fridge fixed. We were not in a hurry as we would just put our  Casita back in storage so it took time. After the repair Paul Evert's told us the damage from installing the battery backwards was $450. Ouch! John too the receipt to Interstate Battery and talked to the manager. He asked what would make John happy. He said $450. (I'm not sure I would have had the nerve to say that!). The manager opened the till  and gave him $450. WOW! We will certainly frequent Interstate Battery in the future and highly recommend them. It was a  mistake, but they made it right and we really appreciate it. That said, we  will not  hold our tongue next time things don't seem just right!!!

Heading Home

We got an early start because we wanted to get home, unload everything, and get the Casita to Paul Evert's RV before they stop accepting units to the service area at 5p. The fridge issues have not been resolved and in addition the freezer door came off in my hand a few days ago. Using duct tape it is held in place ... my laptop also stopped working! Despite the challenges we have had a nice time. We are thankful to be home safe and sound.

-Humor-

Our Last Day

We had a very enjoyable last full day. We drove up the coast just a little ways to see the amazing Elephant Seals. Such incredible creatures. The ones we saw were females and youngsters, weighing approximately 1500 lbs! They seemed huge! I can't imagine how large the males would look at 5000 lbs. I would like to come back when the males are here and for the birthing. We stopped at several locations along our drive. We weren't looking for them but surprisingly saw the much talked about Zebras still left from the Hearst private zoo. We had some decent Mexican food for lunch and came back to pack up some things. Thankfully things have pretty much dried out from the rain. We walked on the beach near our camp in the evening.

Elephant Seals

Lunch Time

Zebras! 

Tony

Sunset