Day 10 - A day for healing and reflection

Our original plan was to head to Monterey, CA today but Jenny's back is really a mess. So we plan one more night at Novato to see how things go.

We think the back is out from too much sitting, especially the 4 hr. Seahawk game on Sunday combined with the dinette which is very uncomfortable, and certainly not helped by the rough road yesterday that we didn't anticipate!

Day 10:
By mid morning I go to the Urgent Care center as I can hardly walk and can't face the idea of riding in the truck for more than few minutes. The Urgent Care doctor gives me muscle relaxers, recommends anti inflammatories, ice, stretching and don't sit too long. He also says to get an MRI when we get home, but he thinks it is arthritis in the back since I already have the history of arthritis with the two replacement surgeries this year. Then, most surprisingly, he recommends I go vegetarian!

His own story is similar, arthritis in his back, surgery to remove a bad vertebra, when he started doing his own research. His discovery is that cultures where people eat lots of animal protein and dairy products have a much higher rate of arthritis and osteoporosis than societies where protein is plant-based. He gave me some literature to read and think about. He claims that since going vegetarian he feels a lot better. Hm, I will think about this and do some research on my own.

I swim at the RV park pool and feel a little better for the exercise. The rest of today we take it easy and just wait.

A couple funny episodes happened today.

We were stopped at a stoplight with the windows down -- it is in the 80s today -- and a guy pulled next to us. Noticing our bullet holes in the truck he says "Hey you must have been to Oakland!"

Later we are at the Sportsman's Warehouse looking around and the salesman approaches Johnnie, "did you find everything you need?" Johnnie says, "we are looking for Seahawks stuff". At first the guy is really serious and says they have it but you need to order online, then when Johnnie tells him he is just giving him a hard time, the guys says "Get out of here, this is 49er country!".

Reflections at the Halfway Point
As many of you know, this is a trip for us to reflect on what our new season of life will be now that I am retired. For years we have talked about traveling in our retirement, buying the RV and joining the millions of Baby Boomers already on the road. We have talked about doing volunteer work and traveling at the same time through the SOWERS (http://www.sowerministry.org ), short term mission trips or other church groups.

So in part, this trip is to "try that on for size" and see if that is really something we want to do. So here are some midway thoughts we have about that topic.

What is working about our travels?
Since this is our first big road trip together since my retirement, we are reflecting on what we like and what we don't like so far about this journey.

• We like the Oregon State Parks. They are clean, nicely maintained and very scenic. 
• We like the Good Sams rating system; it seems to be very accurate for the places we have stayed.
• We like setting up for several days in the same location and then touring around from a home base. This is preferable to sightseeing as we travel between locations.
• We like traveling about 4 hrs. per day; this is especially good for me with replacement joints and an arthritic back that make it important to stop and move about a lot.
• We like full hookups! Lets face it, we are just loving the ease of it all.
• We love the coastline and will definitely want to come back for longer visits in some places.
• We love the local restaurants and diners. Friendly people, good food, and good prices usually.
• We prefer the setting of a campground vs. an RV park although the RV parks tend to have the better amenities such as laundry, WIFI, and pools. Some RV parks are practically mobile home parks with people that live there long term, while others are just travelers. The ones that are mostly travelers have a friendlier atmosphere and we like that better. People engage more with the other travelers sharing experiences, laughs and comparing notes on mileage, rigs, problems, favorite stops, etc.

What do we want to change for the future?

• We definitely need a bigger RV. Our little camper is as comfortable as we can make it but the biggest drawback is the bed. It is extremely difficult to make it, and getting in and out of it you need to be a seal! The dinette is also uncomfortable; we are thinking a couple recliner chairs are just the ticket!
• We don't like "one night stands" or even two nights can be frustrating if you are trying to see anything in the area. Three nights would be good as it allows two full days of sightseeing.
• We think it would be more fun to travel with friends. Not that we don't love each other's company, we just see people traveling two or three families together and they share their experiences, their meals, and sit together in the evening. That looks like a lot of fun!
• We want an RV without a lot of steps. This camper has too many steps and it is exhausting!

What we don't know yet

• Are we 2-3 week travelers, two month travelers or ?? Until we get another RV and try it again, we really won't know that. We could enjoy the longer trips if we were more comfortable but with this camper, we are ready to go home now if it wasn't for the plans we already made. Both of us know we are not cut out to be full time RV'ers though; we like our little "patch of dirt" we call home
• What does the Lord have in store for us in this next season of life? We are still seeking that. The opportunities for volunteerism abound but we don't want to get so busy doing odds and ends of things that we miss the calling for the more important ones. 

Day 11 - San Jose, Monterey and Paso Robles, CA

Day 11:
Heading to Morro Bay today; specifically we are staying at Paso Robles at the Wine Country RV Park. It is about 8 miles or so inland from the coast because I could not find any available places to stay in Morro Bay itself.

But first we need to get through San Francisco traffic. Our GPS was faithful and true and we made it without any glitches. Johnnie drove and I navigated and that seems to work pretty good.

First stop is at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. We fuel up at Bill's cafe before heading over to tour the house.

A good place to stop for local food

Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester fortune (gun makers), was obsessed with building and kept carpenters busy 24 hrs. a day for 38 years adding onto the mansion. She was thought to be a bit daffy or possibly senile because of the unexplainable features: doors and windows that open to blank walls, a door that opens to an 8 ft. drop, and a staircase that goes from floor to ceiling. Supposedly there were several deaths in the house including workmen and a child, and that may contribute to the rumors of it being haunted. She was definitely into symbolism with various religious or spiritual motifs.

I remembered the house as sitting off by itself from the days when we traveled by it when I was a child. Well, San Jose has grown up around the estate and now surrounds it entirely! The mansion is huge with 130 rooms and originally had an estate of 160 acres filled with farm land and orchards. It was as close to self sufficient as could be in those days.

I was so disappointed to find that the main mansion tour includes 13 flights of stairs (no functional elevator). I simply could not do that, so we had to resign ourselves to touring just the gardens and outbuildings. Next time!

This supplied the house with electricity from a gasoline engine

Anyone know what this is?

All the fountains were just a trickle because of the drought

Grain separator

How would you like to push mow this huge estate?

Fine example of Victorian architecture

From San Jose we drive to Monterey and stop for a walk along the old Fisherman's Wharf. It is a fine day and the Sea Lions and Otters are putting on a show for us.

Sea lions at play

View of the harbor

From Monterey to Paso Robles we travel through the agricultural belt with fields as far as the eye can see: all kinds of vegetables and fruits.

Arriving at the Wine Country RV Resort in Paso Robles about 5:30pm. My back is ready to get out of the truck and stretch, although I am a little better today than yesterday.

Day 9 - Mendocino County and the Pacific Coast Highway

Today we intended to catch the ferry from Larkspur to San Francisco and spend the day touring the city. But my back is out and I can hardly walk so we decided to have an easy day and just do a little sight seeing in the area.

I put an ice pack on my back and did some gentle stretches and tried to walk it out. Not working that much. Oh well, no point in sitting around being miserable.

So we set out to travel Hwy 128 the Mendocino County wine road north to Hwy 1 and return that way for a nice scenic drive. A couple hours, right? Not!!

I did get to tour an antique/junk store on the way out. Nothing there of note but behind the antique store was a lumber mill with piles of redwood timber waiting to be cut. Amazing! I didn't know they could still harvest Redwood.

Redwood logs at the lumber mill

Hwy 128 was gorgeous and quite a surprise. Johnnie said he never dreamed California had this kind of terrain. There a lots of little towns you will miss if you blink.

The vineyards there are family owned for the most part so it was particularly enjoyable visiting with the people who do all the work!

Grapes almost ready to harvest; generally harvest starts the first week of Oct.

First stop on our tour is Yorkville Cellars. This is a small winery and with a nice selection. After that we stop at Philo Ridge Winery which has nice white wines and grows all their own grapes "off the grid" -via solar or wind power. (It is also owned and operated by a woman). We ate our picnic lunch there on their patio.

Next stop is Scharffenberger Cellars, known for their sparkling wines. We keep looking for a sparkling wine like the Prosecco we had in Italy. This one is close.

Last stop is Navarro Winery. They have beautiful tasting room and a nice outdoor area for picnics and such. They also sell handcrafted cheeses from goat and sheep's milk. We tasted those and bought some, another reminiscence of Italy!

Patio area for picnics

Once Hwy 128 meets Hwy 1 at Navarro Point, the entire scenery changes. Hwy 1, or Pacific Coast Highway, winds along the rugged coastline with breath-taking views and hairpin turns. The first few miles from Navarro Point to Gualala were enjoyable; from Gualala to Bodega Bay were downright treacherous!

 At one point we were stopped behind a line of traffic and the California Highway Patrol was blocking the road. The patrolman came down the line of traffic talking to each car. We wondered what is going on?? When he gets to our car he explains that there is a car company  shooting a commercial on this road. It is all very secret and even he doesn't know what company or what new car it is. Later when we get to pass by we can see where the film crew is set up and there is a car sitting there covered with a tarp. We will be on the lookout for a new car commercial with California coast scenery in the background!

Pampas Grass grows wild all throughout California

Along this coast are some very beautiful homes. Many are original architecture like geodesic or some with irregular angles and glass walls. We asked the Highway patrolman that stopped us, "what do people here do for a living? besides vineyards and cattle, we can see nothing for miles". His reply, "they grow marijuana". Wow, that surprised us! I guess this remote area is probably the right climate for it and certainly away from prying eyes. According to him, the California Medical Marijuana laws are such that just about anyone can get the medical card so it is already a thriving business.

We didn't really know what we were getting into here! My easy day on my bad back ended up being 4 hrs. of driving over 50 miles of rugged coast. At three different places, the west lane was washed out and traffic was down to one lane; that lane was so narrow that our truck tires hung off the asphalt about 6 inches away from the sheer 1000 ft. cliff to the ocean! RVs and trucks over 30ft. are not recommended on this road. 

We finally got back to the RV park after 8pm. Johnnie was exhausted from white knuckle driving and my back was in major pain. But it was an incredible day with views that were magnificent. We will have stories to tell for years to come from this adventure. Lord, we thank you for the surprise blessings that come with each day.

Day 8 - A Pause at Novato, CA

Today we are pausing for three nights at Novato. We catch up on some restocking our supplies, laundry and straightening up the camper.

We watch the Seahawks game vs. Denver Broncos; they win in overtime. Yahoo! Go Hawks!

Work on my blogs and downloading photos.

Most notably we found the In-N-Out Burger joint and have to eat there. I have heard from so many people (my sister and brother in law especially) that this is their favorite burger place. We agree, it is a good burger.

$5.50 #2 cheeseburger, fries and a medium drink

Do you see what I see?

Revelation 3:20King James Version (KJV)

20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

On the bottom of the french fry tray

Proverbs 24:16New International Version (NIV)

16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
    but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

Another divine appointment I would say! Love it!

Only my husband takes a broom and rag to wash the back of the camper!

Day 7 - An awesome day reminiscent of Italy!

Saturday, September 20, 2014:

We stayed at Willits, CA last night in a lovely little RV park off Hwy. 101, the Golden Rule RV Park. We loved the wildlife here and the quiet in spite of being close to the highway.

In the campsite at Golden Rule RV park

Wildlife abounds here; the Jays were not a bit afraid of us

Johnnie is living large at the campsite

Knowing that we have a short drive to Novato where we are staying the next three nights, we decided to take our time leaving this morning and then to stop along the way at a couple vineyards.

The first vineyard is Barra Vineyards in Redwood Valley, CA. They boast all organic, estate grown grapes. It has a nice tasting room with a beautiful fountain. Their wines are nice and we met some people from South Carolina, and a man from San Jose, originally from Germany. It was fun visiting with them. Barra also has some good jellys and mustards so I bought a jar of Tequila Jalapeño Mustard which will be great on a braut.

Barra Winery tasting room

From there we went to Testa Vineyards just down the road. As it turns out, Testa is a small winery run by a woman who is the 4th generation of the Testa family to farm this land. Maria Martinson's great grandparents immigrated from Italy bringing with them cuttings of the stems of their favorite Zinfandel grapes. Her grandparents ran the winery but by the time of her father's generation, their land was farmed for other things. Maria made her first experimental wine several years ago. At the urging of her family she began to revive the growing of grapes, and gradually bought back all the family land. Many other families in the area immigrated from Italy at the same time as her great grandparents, which was a common occurrence in that era. Sometimes neighbors or entire villages immigrated together. What a great story!

Maria's great grandparents

We were tasting her wine and visiting when the couple that is renting their guesthouse for the season, Carolyn and Walter came by. Walter has the fish he caught from their pond and Carolyn has a salad. Next thing you know, we are invited to lunch with them and another visitor, Hardy, the German man from San Jose (I didn't get his last name) we first met at Barra. Maria made pasta and fixed the fish, and we all sat around for several hours having an Italian-style meal and visiting. It was wonderful!

Testa vineyards

Pond where the fish were caught: bass and crappie

The couple that we met, Walter and Carolyn Jensen are from San Diego area (Chargers fans!) but staying in Redwood Valley until October for the filming of the book Walter wrote called "Their Unbridled Rivalry". I bought a copy of his book which he signed for me. It will be interesting reading. Walter wrote from his experiences as a medical doctor at Scripps in LaJolla, CA.

Hardy works for a company called Nvidia that builds high powered 3D computer video cards. He is an interesting fellow and really smart. We also met a couple who stopped by while we were eating that is from Federal Way. They were traveling in a convertible -- now that's the way to go!

We arrived in Novato about 4pm. The place we are staying, Novato RV Park, is right off the highway and very urban. Mostly there are mobile homes here, and some RVs that appear to be long term residents, but there are a few spots for travelers. We wedged our little camper in between the gigantic rigs on either side.

Full services here including decent WIFI and DirecTV!

Our cozy little corner at Novato RV park