Merry Christmas to All!

Our Thanksgiving with the work crew here at the resort was very nice.  One of our coworkers fried two turkeys, and as usual, we had more food than we could eat to go with them.  With people from California, Canada, Spain, the northeast and Texas, we had quite an interesting and delicious mix of foods, as well; it will be a memory we carry with us. 

We got our Christmas decorations up early this year.  Max bought several strings of LED Christmas lights, and it was the easiest and fastest decorating job we've ever done!   

Some people carry holiday decorations and/or buy new ones each year and then throw away when the holiday is over.  I am sure we'll hang onto these lights for later, and that will be the extent of our decorating.


I know our friends and family in Texas battled the cold weather through Thanksgiving.  We were thinking about you!  We had quite a bit of cold weather through here, as well.  Funny how we came out to winter in California, thinking it would all be warm weather and beaches.  Instead, we've burned through a lot of propane $$$'s and 17-degree nights.  They say it's been the coldest and driest winter in years and years.  Guess we brought that weather with us.  So sorry, California!

About a week ago, several of us drove out to a local winery for their holiday dinner and festivities.  

Max, Paula, Graham, Bonnie, Bob, and Alice in front.

I'm a sucker for a nice fire, and theirs was very inviting.

The local Paso Robles high school choir entertained us with traditional Christmas carols.

Turkey, ham, DEEE-licious garlic mashed potatoes, and a bread pudding
with caramel sauce that was the best ever.  YUM!

When I need a bigger dose of holiday cheer, I talk Max into taking me for a cruise to see Christmas lights, and that's what we did this past Sunday.  We drove over to the coast to the small town of Cambria and visited their Christmas Market.  It also gave us an opportunity to try out the new camera we bought ourselves for Christmas.  On the way, we got to enjoy another beautiful Pacific coast sunset.



The mini German town Christmas was just what we needed to get in the holiday mood.  It was a beautiful, mild night, and we truly enjoyed the lights, visiting with the locals, and snacking on a tasty bratwurst.  Now, the mulled wine was another matter.  I'm pretty certain we'll never be ordering that again.  :)

Later that evening when we were back at the Turtle, we walked outside, looked up, and were met with this nice surprise--a moon halo!  Our old camera would have never been able to capture this image.  I think we're going to have lots of fun with our new toy.

 

That's about it from the Turtle for now.  We will be leaving on Saturday, driving to Phoenix to spend Christmas week with Max's mom, brother and sister-in-law.  Then on our way back here, we're going to swing up through Las Vegas for a couple of days.  If anybody wants to join us, come on!

 

We will be thinking of and missing our friends and family who are far, far away this next week.  May you have a wonderful Christmas filled with family and blessings galore!

 

All our love,

 

Max and Paula





Checking Out the Fall Colors

Since we've been here, we've visited just a handful of the approximately 250-300 wineries in a 25-square-mile area locally.  It's amazing!  This area was recently voted Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine:  http://www.winemag.com/Web-2013/2013-Wine-Region-of-the-Year-Paso-Robles/

What I know for sure is that it is some truly beautiful country.

One of the wineries we visited recently was Villa San Juliette, a winery owned by Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, producers of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. 

              

We stopped by another charming little winery called Graveyard Wineries.  I liked what was outside their front door.

And this guy, too.  :)

 

Final stop that particular day was J&J Wineries. 

Enjoying the day with our park managers Bonnie (pictured here with me)
and Bob who was off with Max busy with something, like they always are.

We had another day off this past weekend and took great advantage of it. 

• Slept late.  Always a treat!
• Breakfast at the truck stop across the street.  They have THE BEST food!  Home cooking, without this home cook having to do it. Reasonably priced.  Love it!
• Movie time.  Went to see Katniss in the latest Hunger Games installment.  TERRIFIC movie.  They sure leave you hanging.  I've read all the books.  Max is threatening now to read the third one to see how all this turns out. 
• Nice drive through the countryside.  The fall colors are just so pretty.



A foot bridge for high water crossing.
Wow-does the creek ever really get that high?!
Rainy season has just started.  We may find out!

This week I've started our Thanksgiving preparations.  We'll be joining a potluck with our fellow workampers--turkey and dressing and all the trimmings.  It should be interesting considering we're from all parts of the country as well as Canada.  I know it will definitely be fun! 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from the crew of the Gypsy Turtle!  We love you and miss you.

Until next time....

Paula

San Francisco with the Niece

Stephanie, our niece (my sister's daughter), came to see us the first of the month for about a week.  Yes, I know.  November is almost over and I'm just now talking about this, you're saying.  (Especially you, Ricky Mason.  This one is for you!  :))  It's been so busy!  So much to do.  So many naps to take.  :)  Actually, it has been pretty busy.  One of our co-workamper couples has been out of commission for the past couple of  weeks so we've been picking up their shifts.  In addition, I've been sitting through a number of webinars, catching up on continuing education hours for my PMP certification.  (Fellow PMPs out there, if you need some free hours, visit the IIL website at http://engage.vevent.com/index.jsp?eid=1022&seid=984 for their archived International Project Management Day webinars.  They will be available until December 7.)

Now back to the fun stuff---



Arrival picture - for her mom!  Goes to show
Baby Girl will always be baby girl.  :)

We had such a lovely time while Stephanie was here.  We picked her up at the San Jose airport.  It was her first time to fly alone, so we decided that that airport, with a layover in Las Vegas, was a better route than going through LAX.  Thank goodness for that, as the day she flew in was the day the TSA agent was shot and killed at LAX.  What a horrible thing to happen.  What a scary mess that would have been for her.

We left the truck at the airport and rented a car.  Max didn't want to drive the truck through the downtown streets of San Francisco, and I sure didn't blame him.  That city was not designed to accommodate dually pickups.  We spent four days and nights in San Francisco and then drove here to the Turtle for another couple of nights before sending her back home.  So much to see...so many experiences...so many memories.  Here's a photographic tour down our memory lane.





Open top bus tour around the City

 



Union Square

Found at Williams and Sonoma on Union Square -
Pecan Pie in a Jar from San Saba Pecan Company!

Sourdough bread characters at the
Boudin Café.  We ate there about three times.  Breakfast...
late night snack....all good!

We stayed at the Sheraton on the Wharf.
They have these wonderful sitting places outside
complete with fire pits. 

Max and Stephanie in front of the
Exploratorium, a hands-on science museum.  So much fun!



At the Exploratorium.  This special little treat was supposed to show you
how the right- and left-hand sides of your face are different.
No kidding!

Transamerica Pyramid Center

Making fortune cookies in China Town

An apartment building window.  If you can't find
all the dried fish you need at the market, make your own!

They have the best farmer's market at the Wharf

Ripley's Believe it or Not



Love this billboard!

Doug, our tour guide on the Big B Tour Bus. 
He was awesome!



I have wondered before if I look silly when I use Bluetooth phone.
The answer is yes.

In the movie "The Pursuit of Happiness",
this is the church outside of which Will Smith stood in
line for their soup kitchen and a place to sleep.

And this is the line in real life.  The homeless situation
in San Francisco is so very sad.

I wanted to get off the bus and walk around the
Haight-Ashbury "hippie" region of San Fran.
Max and Stephanie would have nothing of it.

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in the open-top bus was a
cold and windy affair.  Doug, the guide, said,
"Hang on to your caps, your wigs,
and your false teeth.  We've had people lose all
of the above!"

In the "Pursuit of Happiness", this is the building
where Will Smith interned as a stockbroker.
"Every office is a corner office."

Steph's first cable car ride.

All bundled up for the nighttime
bus tour.  Man, it was COLD.

Inside all those layers is our Steph!

Stephanie said the one place she wanted to make sure
she visited - the house from the TV show Full House.  We found it!

The mosaic Moraga Stairs in Japan Town.
A little man we met there said he thought they
told the story of creation.

 

Muir Woods - redwoods about 10 miles outside of San Fran.

We've been here before, but this was the one place Max definitely
wanted to visit again.  It's so beautiful and so peaceful.  Who
would dream it was just outside such a huge city.

Stephanie and Coit Tower. 
See those cute boots?
One evening when she took them off,
she found a needle stuck in the sole of one.
A syringe needle.  Gives one food for thought.

Our time ran out in San Francisco and we headed back to the Turtle for a couple of days.  We took Highway 1 from Carmel south to Cambria, through Big Sur.  It makes for a really long drive going that way (one averages probably 35-40 m.p.h. for that 145-mile section of highway), but it's so beautiful....



Stephanie saw a picture similar to this on Pinterest and
wanted to recreate it.  We came pretty darn close!

Sunset over the Pacific.

 

The next day we visited Hearst Castle, home to
William Randolph Hearst, the gazillionaire newspaper, etc., tycoon
in the early 1900's.

 

 

Afterward, we stopped for a stroll along Moonstone Beach.

 

And caught another beautiful sunset.

 

 

We sure hated to take her back to the airport. 

Thanks so much for coming to see us, Sweetie!