Travel Log, September '04 
(Part II)

Travel Log Sept 16/04, Day 50
 

We got up and had our tea and coffee and then made breakfast.  Barry went to make a few calls and get the outside of the coach ready to go.  I got the inside ready to go and took the dog for a short walk.

 

 

We headed out and realized we needed gas.  We stopped at an independent gas station in Morro Bay called Gas USA, and met Jim.  What a great guy.  He was in his 70’s, owned this gas station and lived next door to it.  He took a liking to Tiki and wanted us to come up to his house to meet his wife and “Pepper” who was a tiny adorable 8 year old cross between a Yorkie and a Poodle.  She was so cute and her and Tiki played while we chatted with Jim.  It turns out he made a number of really great real estate buys over the years that have increased in value tremendously.  At one time he owned the entire block that his home and gas station are on…he also owns property all over the country…he has done VERY well for himself.  He told us if we are ever back in the area to look him up and we can stay on his property for free.  He was a real hoot and we enjoyed talking with him.

 

We then went to pick up our mail, went down the spit, to a huge 'sea stack' to sort our mail.  We sorted all of the mail, had lunch while watching the surfers…then we went to the post office to buy stamps and mail a few letters.

 

We traveled to San Luis Obispo, affectionately known as SLO (pronounced slow) by the locals.  We parked near town and walked down to a number of surf shops, still did not find what we are looking for yet.  We think we need to go further south to get the short style, they usually only sell the long style up here at this time of the year.

 

We then walked in and through the Mission.  It was built in 1772 by Sn. Luis Obispo.  It was the 5^th one built of 21.  There were missions built to teach the local Indians about Catholicism.  It was a wonderful place, with fountains, gardens, benches, and statues.  The church was in an 'L' shape and very, very old and beautiful inside.  The walls looked to be about 6 ft thick at the base and about 3 ft thick at the windows.  It looked to be made of stone covered in plaster.  There were huge hand hewn wood beams on the ceilings and doorways.  It really was something else.  There was this large grape arbour in the courtyard, and we could smell the grapes even before we saw them.

 

 

We followed some stairs and a path down to a little creek, and walked along it back to the main part of the city. 

 

When we were walking along the main street, we noticed tables being set up just off the sidewalks, and then more tables and food.  Great huge BBQ’s with racks of ribs, shishkabobs and huge drumsticks of chicken…buns, and bread and sweets and... oh gosh when did we last eat out? Can we afford it? Can we afford not to? J… it was all just too tempting for us.  We got some cash from a bank machine and watched as they blocked off the street for this wonderful Thursday night festival.  We saw all kinds of food, as I mentioned above, plus a whole section of fresh fruit and vegetables.  We each bought a large carrot and sat down to enjoy our evening. NOT!!  We each bought a calzone filled with turkey & chorezo sausage, chicken, cheese, onions and tomatoes…it was delicious.  We sat on the curb and ate and drank our pop while we people watched…it was so unexpected and spontaneous, we had a great time.  We got up to go and noticed this small cart beside us with fresh chocolate and cookies…well you can guess what we did there…we each bought a chocolate chip cookie dipped in chocolate…it was…well you know…

 

We headed back to the coach and sat and read for a bit, found a place to park for the night, read in bed and went to bed early.

 

Overnight – RESIDENTIAL STREET IN SAN LUIS OBISPO – FREE

ODOMETER – 55918

TRAVELED – 21 MILES

 

 

Travel Log Sept 17/04, Day 51
 

We woke up this morning and went looking for a Laundromat.  We found one, put three good size loads on.  Had our tea and coffee.  Had a delicious omelette for breakfast.  Then spent some time, updating the travel log, doing dishes, filing, organizing, and doing odd jobs around the coach.

 

We then traveled all afternoon.  We started getting hungry for lunch around 4:00 pm but did not want to stop.  So I slipped to the back of the coach and made us some Orville Redenbacher popcorn.  We had that and a pop and kept traveling.

 

We drove all the way to Ventura.  We could see these great spots to park by the ocean just down and off the highway, we made our way there and parked, read, watched the sun set, called our friends Greg & Karen.  We are hoping to meet up with Greg & Karen in Northern Baja, before we head down to the Conception Bay area…

 

Once the sun set we drove to a residential street, had dinner, a small glass of Port (which is not something we usually have, it was from our wine making days in Victoria, and we only made one bottle).  We read and chatted and went to bed. 

 

Overnight – RESIDENTIAL STREET IN VENTURA - FREE

ODOMETER – 56060

TRAVELED – 142 MILES

 

 

Travel Log Sept 18/04, Day 52
 

We woke up and drove to Santa Paula.  In the parking lot of a Rite-Aid Pharmacy we had our tea and coffee and read, then we had our breakfast.  We went into the pharmacy for some vitamins and then headed out of town.

 

We are now heading inland to go to the El Mirage dry lake for kite buggying.  Barry heard about it from a guy at the kite festival in Washington State.  He said that we can boon dock there for free, and Barry will be able to ride his kite buggy all around with a number of others that buggy also.  We can also get out our scooters and tool around, maybe fly some other kites, maybe catch a few rays, and relax.

 

We have been really looking forward to this, Barry has not had the time to go buggying for years now and he wants to play and play.  This is supposed to be a really good place to do it.

 

We drove along and saw this huge fruit stand by this orange grove.  We stopped and bought some fresh fruits and vegetables at great prices.

 

We saw a sign that said they grew for Sunkist Oranges.  Cool.

 

We continued our drive east, we are now pulled over on the side of the highway for lunch, we are near Palmdale, and will be travelling on Highway 138 to El Mirage.  We need to find a grocery store to do the rest of our shopping and then we will be on our way.

 

We found a grocery store, and a shopping mall, we wanted this CD we heard in a surf shop so we decided to take a stroll through the “Shopping Mall”…what a hoot, we walked in the double doors under the words “Shopping Mall”, expecting stores on either side of  hallways, you know with doors and walls and such.  From the outside it looked like any other mall.  Well…we went in and we couldn’t believe it, there was this huge space, with all these dividers, no doors, where everyone sold their wares.  We knew we would not find the CD we were looking for, however, it was so charming we walked all around anyway.

 

We then went shopping, and headed out to El Mirage.  Ok, now I fully understand what it means to be out in the desert.  It was so barren, with only a few trees that looked more like cactuses than trees, no houses for miles and miles, the road as straight as an arrow, and when we left Palmdale we were at 40^th Street and had to travel east to 240^th Street, long straight drive…

 

Finally we got to the right turn off and then traveled down this long sandy lane for miles and miles until we came to the lake bed.  Well it was worth the drive, it is just incredible here, the lake is 3 miles by 7 miles, hard as rock, smooth for the most part, flat for the most part, and perfect for kite buggying.  We see people all around the edges of the lake camping, in all forms of transportation, we see kites with kite buggies, we see kites with mountain boards, land sailors, ATV’s and dirt bikes.  It looks like so much fun, and boy do they go fast.

 

We headed across the lake to the most populated area, got set up and went off to chat with this man who is sitting in the door of his Westfalia (we used to have a Westfalia, so we are sure he is a great guy).  It turns out he is there with two other men.  They are all probably in their 60’s, they all have kites and buggies J  Anyway, we get chatting with them and realize that one of them is the guy from the kite festival that told us about El Mirage in the first place.  The kite festival was in Washington State!  What are the chances of meeting up with him here, this weekend, with so many people around.  Well it gets better, we find out that they are all here for a “Buggy Blast”, and they only have them 5 times a year, and they are all over the place, not just here.  We were told if we came out any other time it is like being on Mars.

 

We cannot believe our good fortune, they all had a big fire, food and cheer and invited us over for the evening to sit out under the stars, we had a great time.

 

Barry even got to go out on his buggy for a ½ hour or so before the sun went down and it got too dark.

 

What a great day, it is good to be here.

 

Overnight – EL MIRAGE DRY LAKE BED, EAST OF PALMDALE, CA – FREE

ODOMETER – 56182

TRAVELED – 122 MILES

 

 

Travel Log Sept 19/04, Day 53 
 

Woke up this morning, another beautiful sunny day.  Took Tiki for a walk, some buggies out already J  We are going to have our tea and coffee and ease into our morning …

 

I read while Barry went out in his buggy for awhile.  Then I went for a ride on the scooter with Tiki around the perimeter of the lake bed, Barry said I was gone for 45 minutes, I did not stop once.  I could hardly believe how big it was.

 

Then Barry went with a guy on a tandem buggy and had a great time.  He came in and got me and I went out for awhile, man do they go fast, we were going about 50 mile per hour!  It was a lot of fun.

 

The wind has really picked up and most people in our group have now left.  It is Sunday so they must have to go to work tomorrow and I guess with the wind blowing so hard they decided to call it a day and head home.

 

We are going to stay over for another night.  We are really hoping that the wind will die down so that Barry can get some more buggying in.  We are going to head out for a scooter ride now.

 

We scooted all around the lake bed again, it is so much fun.  Traveling one way, with the wind, it is so relaxing and calm, traveling the other way, into the wind, is so exhilarating and fun.  We did a mock race back to the coach.

 

It continued to be windy the rest of the day, winds too high to fly any of Barry’s kites…we had dinner and played 007.  At one point Barry looked outside and it was getting cloudy and some of the clouds were really dark.  We decided to get off the lake bed.  Someone told us a story about a time the rain started coming down and everyone worked frantically to get off the lake bed, one guy was packed up and heading in and it was so slick he touched his brakes and his motor home and trailer did a 360!!  We definitely do not want that to happen.  We are out of here.

 

We went off the lake bed, parked in a lot for the night and played some more 007, went to bed, read and fell asleep.

 

We are really hoping it does not rain and the wind dies down by morning.

 

Overnight – EL MIRAGE DRY LAKE BED, EAST OF PALMDALE, CA – FREE

ODOMETER – 56187

TRAVELED – 5 MILES

 

 

Travel Log Sept 20/04, Day 54
 

We woke up after a good sleep and we were freezing, we snuggled in bed trying to stay warm.  Then my manly man jumped out of bed, bravely fighting the elements and put on the furnace, then jumped back into bed with one flying leap J  He’s my hero…  Here we are in Southern California, in the middle of the desert and we are freezing, what is wrong with this picture.

 

We finally got warm and got up.  I took Tiki out and it is sunny and bright, not a cloud in the sky and the wind is just right, low enough for Barry’s biggest kite, his YoYo which is a 3.5 sq meter traction kite.  We can hardly wait to have breakfast and get back out on the lake bed and get him out there.

 

After breakfast Barry and I headed on to the lake bed, Barry set up his kite and buggy, I sat and read.

 

After awhile Tiki and I went for a nice long walk.  When we got back, Barry said that he had gone over to speak to these guys across the way, this is what he learned:

 

This man and his assistant were working on a prototype of a Solar Powered Airplane.  It had a wing span of approximately 12 feet, with the wings covered with ultra high efficiency solar cells, which charge the onboard battery bank.  The power was then used by an electric motor for propulsion, in addition to all of the onboard electronics.  These included radio control equipment to fly the airplane, GPS, airspeed, altitude, video transmitter from a camera in the nose of the aircraft, as well as a host of other data sensors.  A most amazing machine.

 

 

He has been doing all of this research for years, funded privately.  He is very adamant not to accept any military funding and wishes that his cutting edge technology be only used for peaceful purposes.  He was a very nice fellow and Barry enjoyed their conversations greatly.

 

After lunch Barry went back out on his buggy, I sat and read some more.  Then worked on the travel log, then returned some emails…it is so peaceful here, and the weather is just gorgeous , it is over 80 degrees, but there is a nice wind, and the heat is dry, so it is incredible.  We are really enjoying it here, way more than we thought we would, and we are not sure when we will be heading back to the coast…

 

The afternoon was spent, buggying, reading, doing odd jobs around the coach and playing with Tiki.

 

Barry put all of his kites and his buggy away, we have decided to head in first thing tomorrow morning.  We need a place to dump our tanks right away and Tiki will need some more food soon.

 

We had dinner while this huge ball of fire set over the lake bed, then we decided to download a movie from 'movie flix' to watch this evening.  It took too long to down load, so we played 007 instead.

 

Then just before bed we went out for a walk, it was pitch black outside, with thousands of stars and a half moon…it was warm and there was a warm breeze…very nice, very romantic J

 

We are both relaxed and happy, both got a bit of sun during our stay…we will be heading out in the morning.

 

Overnight – EL MIRAGE DRY LAKE BED, EAST OF PALMDALE, CA – FREE

ODOMETER – 56188

TRAVELED – 1 MILE           

 

 

Travel Log Sept 21/04, Day 55
 

We woke up this morning, and we were freezing again, wow, the temperature sure drops at night.  The sky is blue and clear and the sun is shinning…and it is sooo quiet.

 

We had breakfast, then Barry was looking through the binoculars and said that he was pretty sure someone was building a house down the lake bed.  We drove down and asked what was going on and it was a set for an episode of ER…now isn’t that cool.  They said that this is often done out here and 'Herby the Love Bug' will be out here next week…it would be cool to stay, but since Barry and I don’t watch a lot of TV and never have in our relationship, a famous person could come up and shake our hand and we may not have a clue who they were. 

 

We drove to Saddle Back Butte State Park to get water and dump.  We learned that the trees we have been seeing that look like a cactus are actually called the Joshua Tree, largest of the Yuccas, classified as a member of the lily family, and it grows only in the Mojave Desert.  Cool, we are in the Mojave Desert (pronounced Mohavee), the trees are hundreds of years old.  The Mormon pioneers have been credited with the naming of the Joshua Tree, likening the outstretched limbs to Joshua leading the Children of Israel into the promised land.

 

Also found in this area are the Desert Tortoise, Rattle Snake, Sidewinder Snake, as well as lizards, squirrels and birds…

 

We parked in the day use area and showered, did dishes, wrote some emails, read, cooked up a whole bunch of meat (to make suppers easier on the road), and relaxed.

 

We then headed into Palmdale, went to the Walmart, Home Depot and the 99 Cent Store (looking for lamp oil).

 

We had dinner, played 007 and went to bed.

 

Overnight – WALMART PARKING LOT IN PALMDALE – FREE

ODOMETER –  56248

TRAVELED -  60 MILES

 

 

Travel Log Sept 22/04, Day 56 
 

Woke this morning, had breakfast and tea, made ready to go, and headed to a grocery store,  car wash & a place to get propane…

 

Traveled back to the coast through the Chiquita Valley to Ventura, Oxnard and south to a great State Beach Campsite right on the water.  We arrived, picked a site and made dinner.  Then, we went for a sunset walk on the beach back to the park entrance to pay our fee.  Beautiful!

After our walk, we chatted, played some 007on the PlayStation and went to bed to the sound of the crashing waves on the beach just 50 feet away…  Are we happy campers or what?

 

Overnight – STATE BEACH CAMPSITE, JUST NORTH OF MALIBU, CA - US$16

ODOMETER –   56,367

TRAVELED -  119 MILES

 

 

Travel Log Sept 23/04, Day 57
 

-         drove south through Malibu to Santa Monica

-         packed a lunch and went for stroll on Santa Monica Pier.  We had been there on the first leg of our honeymoon, some four and a half years ago

 

 

-         then, we decided to drive further south along the coast as much as possible

-         narrow roads and traffic prompted us to seek Hwy. #1 to a wonderful drive along the beaches, right past the western side of Los Angeles Airport, big planes taking off over the beach and the Pacific!

-         We came to the realization that to follow the coastline through all the little beach communities like Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Huntington Beach & Newport Beach  was not going to work.  The coach is too big, there’s too much traffic and most of the time you can’t see the ocean anyway.  Oh, well…

-         So, we plotted a course to get us on the 405 Freeway to I-5 and south to our destination of the day, San Clemente

-         The freeways were astounding!  So many cars and trucks, speeding up and slowing down, sometimes seven or eight lanes going in each direction… amazing!  But for the most part it went smoothly and we arrived in San Clemente safely

-         Cindy had not been feeling well all through the day…

 

 

Update #1:
 

I got progressively sicker that evening, Barry took me into emergency at the San Clemente Hospital.  They did every test and could not find anything wrong.  We were there most of the night.

 

We went home at 4:30 am to get some sleep, I just got sicker and sicker and in more and more pain.  Barry took me back to the Hospital in the evening.  They did more tests and found out that I needed to have my appendix out…what a drag.

 

I was healing really well and it looked like I was going to get out on the 3^rd or 4^th day…when I got chest pains, and they found a blood clot.  It is now October 2^nd and I am still in the hospital, they are working to thin my blood so that I don't get any clotting.  Once they have the levels right I will be able to leave.  I will have to be on medication for a number of months to keep my blood thin.  I should be getting out any day now.  After being in here for 8 days I am so bored and ready to go home.  The staff have been wonderful and let Barry sleep here when he wants to and turn an affectionate blind eye to Tiki’s daily visit.  Barry has been camping in the staff parking lot for over a week now….

 

Oh well we thought it was time for another update and wanted to get the month of September posted to the website.

 

Hope all of you are well, thank you so much for all of the emails.  We love to receive them. J

 

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