A Bit of This and That

It's supposed to rain today!  It is dry in this part of the country, just like it is in Texas, and folks are excited.  So are we!  Keep your fingers crossed!

We're still in Paso Robles, California, workamping at the same place--Vines RV Resort.  We've met some of the most interesting people.  And last night a guy gave us a yellow tail tuna to grill for supper.  You never know what kind of perks you might get with a job like this!  :)

Our biggest news--Stephanie (our niece--my sister's daughter) is coming to see us!  We're so excited.  She will be here for about a week.  We will pick her up at the San Jose airport this Friday, stay a few days in San Francisco seeing the sites, and then bring her back here to the Turtle for a couple of days.  She has a lot of stuff on her wish list of to-do's.  We'll see how much of it we can knock out.  Fun, fun times coming up!  She said the one place she definitely wants to see--the "Full House" house.  Remember the TV show?  Alrighty then.  We'll see what we can do about that!

We haven't done much sightseeing in the last couple of weeks.  We did go down to San Luis Obispo last weekend and do a bit of shopping.  We are now official Costco members--woohoo!  They don't have many Sam's in this part of the country, and even though we don't tend to buy much in bulk anymore (nowhere to store it, of course), there are some things we still like to buy at a box store.  Diesel is usually a really good buy, too, and we definitely buy lots of that.  Also, while we were in Phoenix, Max's sister-in-law took me to the ones there and really sold me on their products, particularly their produce and meat.  Needless to say, we spent a few dollars gathering up some treats.  :)

While we were in "SLO", as the locals call San Luis Obispo, we also went shopping for a footstool.  (Or an ottoman as they are now called.  Some people don't even know what a footstool is anymore.  Boy, do I feel dated.)  After looking at Kohl's, Target, JC Penney and Costco in SLO, and then coming back to Paso Robles and looking at Kohl's, Target, JC Penney, Wal-Mart and TJ Maxx, we FINALLY found what we were looking for at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Remember that Max has to drive me wherever I go.  As you might imagine, by the time we got to BB&B, he was OUT OF SNUFF.  (A looonnnnggg time actually before we got to BB&B.)  As soon as I saw that footstool and said, "This is it!", he said, "Thank goodness!  Where's a cart?"  And he mouthed...I mean, filled the salesgirl in on our adventures of the day...all the way to the front.  She was giggling at us both when I said, "Oh yeah...and shopping with you all afternoon for a footstool has been such a JOY." I miss having my own vehicle.  Times like this, he misses it, too.  :)

Here it is, though--our treasure!  It's small--just the right size for the Turtle.  AND there's room for storage inside.  Just what I wanted!  Now I don't have to sit all twisted around on the sofa while I'm watching TV.  Life is all about small pleasures, right? 


And then a few random thoughts, if you will be so kind--

• Back in the day when I still drove a vehicle, I really hated to get behind a big rig of any sort.  I just knew they would be so sloooowwww.  And I was always in a hurry and didn't have time for that.  Well, now that I ride in one of those slow-moving vehicles, I have a different perspective.  I can't tell you how many times since we started this adventure someone has zipped around us and in the process had to cut back over in our lane quickly in order to avoid a head-on collision.  As you can imagine, every time they do that, our hearts are in our throats.  It is just terrifying--for us, for them, AND for those in the vehicle coming from the opposite direction.  I just have to ask you--please, please, please think about this the next time you want to get around that big rig.  That big rig cannot stop, or even slow down, quickly.  That means somebody is liable to get hurt.  Maybe badly.  Please...  Okay.  I'll take a deep breath and get off that soapbox.  :)  (And when I'm back to driving my own car, if you see me doing this, you have my permission to whack me a good one!)

• We were reminded when we got here and went to the store for the first time that in California, they don't bag your items up in limitless supplies of plastic bags like they do in Texas.  You either take your own bags in (be they plastic, paper, or reusable), you pay $.10 a bag for a paper sack or an average of $1.00 for a reusable bag, or you just carry your items out in your hands. The first time we went to the grocery store, we paid $.10 a bag for paper.  We're both pretty tight, and that was irritating.  The next couple of times we went, if we only purchased a few items, we walked out without a bag.  (Kinda weird walking out of the store with a package of ground meat and a head of lettuce in your hands.  How do they know you paid for that stuff?)  We finally broke down and purchased a few reusable bags, and most of the time now we even remember to take them in the store with us.  But now my question is, what happens when I run out of all those Wal-Mart bags I have stashed away?  What am I going to use as a liner in our small trash cans?  I have to buy little trash bags?  When that time comes, can someone from Texas send me some Wal-Mart bags?  I would love you forever!

• And a final thought--  It amazes me how...some men...can repeatedly open cabinet and closet doors but never think to close them.  And in such a small space. How can you miss that?  There.  Probably 'nuff said about that.

And especially for Max, because he didn't think I posted enough pictures of our drive down Highway 1....these are for you, Honey.  It really was a pretty, pretty drive.

 



Notice anything missing...like that beard?  :)  He's already growing it back, though.



Love that bridge!

Thinking of you and missing you in California!  Until next time...take care!

Paula

Touring Central California

Since we talked last, we've stayed pretty busy doing one thing or another. 

Our work gig here at the RV park has been quite enjoyable.  It's such a pretty temporary home, and we share lots of laughs with our co-workers.  We also meet some pretty interesting people coming through here.  A week or so ago, I spent some time visiting with a lady from Cleveland, Ohio.  She was very curious about the workamping aspect of our stay here and what inspired us to hit the road in this house on wheels in the first place.  She shared with me that her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer not too long ago.  After going through the whole chemo and radiation thing and thinking they were finally out of the woods, she took him home and 10 days later he had a massive heart attack.  Can you imagine?  They had always wanted to travel but had not found the time.  After all that happened, they said NOW is the time.  They go it at a slower pace, but that's ok.  They go it at his pace.  They are making it happen.  And they are counting each day.  I love that.

A couple of weeks ago we attended the Warbirds Air Show here in Paso Robles.  This organization has a museum at the airport, and then once a year they have a big air show.  Max was in heaven!  He's a big airplane buff, and he said he got to see planes he's wanted to see and hear all his life but has only seen on television.  We saw four P-51 Mustangs in formation and solo; a P-38 Lightning; an F-4 Corsair; a Hellcat and a Bearcat; a B-25 Mitchell bomber; a P-40 Warhawk, and a P-47 Thunderbird.  These planes flew individually, in fly-by formation, and then at the end did a dogfight with what he thinks was a Japanese Zeke fighter.  (Yes, Max dictated these specifics to me.  If I have something here that doesn't make sense, it's because my dictation skills have gotten rusty.  They were just cool looking planes to me.  :))

The first plane we saw that morning was this one.  For those readers who don't know, "Dolly" was my mother's nickname and the name everyone knew her by, so of course this was my favorite plane of the day.

Some other cool things...

It's name: Iwo Jima Yacht Club

 

This C-130 Hercules was from Britain.  Max visited with the pilot.  They carried British SAS (Special Services) paratroopers in training.  They would drop them over the forests in Canada, and then the pilots would go on to spend the night in a nice hotel in the city while they waited for their guys to make their way out of the forest.  Nice to be a pilot!



 

Since we've been here, we've bought some of the local olive oil.  Yum!!  On just about everything.  They even tell you it's good on ice cream!  I haven't tried that yet, but it sure does top off a nice salad.

 
One day we drove over to Morro Bay, a little town on the Pacific coast about 30 minutes away.  It was a beautiful, sunny day here.  We got over there, and look what we found!  We never expected that.

We had a great time anyway.  We just pulled out our jackets and went for a nice walk along the beach. 

Looks like seaweed.  But is that thing a root?  I need a marine biologist on consult.

One of the famous landmarks in Morro Bay is Morro Rock.  Sometimes called the "Gibraltar of the Pacific", it has been used as a navigational guide for hundreds of years.  It reminded us a bit of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

We found our way to the waterfront, sat and watched the elephant seals for a while, and had a delicious meal of fresh clam chowder and fried clams.  Nice day!

One day last week we took off for a trip up scenic Highway 1 to Carmel.  I really enjoyed it.  It was a bit of a harrowing drive for my chauffeur.  Not sure how much he enjoyed it.  Maybe next time he'll let me drive so he can enjoy the scenery.  LOL 

On the way back from Carmel we took Highway 101 which to many is probably considered the less scenic route.  To us, it was very scenic--just in a different way.  There is so much agriculture in this area, and to this old country girl, it's fascinating and beautiful. 

An interesting tidbit--in the immediate Paso Robles area (a 25-square-mile area), there are over 300 wineries.  They are what are called boutique wineries--"a small operation offering specialized products and services", according to Wikipedia.  Driving down Highway 101, you see much larger operations--Kendall Jackson, J. Lohr, etc.--with fields of grapes stretching as far as the eye can see.  You also see field after field of lettuce, kale, cabbage, onions, strawberries, broccoli, bell pepper, etc., etc.  It was quite fun to play "identify the produce" as we drove along.  At one point we came up behind a truck loaded down with something red; turned out it was red bell peppers.  You just wonder how the ones on the bottom don't get crushed.  Someone told us there's a Ragu plant close by, and they were probably headed that direction.  Fascinating!

Until next time...take care!

Paula