November, 2006 - Bridge Coast to Coast Saga

November 1 - 5, Ramona, CA to Yuma, AZ
Wednesday, November 1. Another beautiful, sunny day here in California. Its been getting down in the 40s during the night, but warms right up during the day. I drove to Ramona today to poke around a couple of thrift stores and the big department store, Big K. Mike took care of the maintenance on the motor home batteries.

When I got back, we went to the club house to browse the exchange library and ended up talking with another full-timer for quite a while. Its real interesting to hear about other's experiences and places that they like to visit.

We fixed BBQ chicken for dinner, Mike fixed us a couple of Old-Fashioneds and we watched a Jack Nicholson movie, "The Pledge".

Thursday, November 2. After doing laundry this morning, we decided to take a drive to San Diego and see some of the sights. We drove to San Diego Bay and walked out to see the USS Midway. Then we walked to the Maritime Museum where we were able to board 5 historic ships; an 1863 merchant sailing ship, the Star of India, an 1898 Steam Ferry, an 18th Century Royal Navy Frigate, a 1904 Steam Yaght, and a Soviet Submarine. It was very enjoyable and I especially liked the frigate as it was the pirate ship used in the movie �??Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World�?�. Mike�??s favorite was the Soviet sub. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring a camera with us, so won�??t have any photos for the website.

Friday, November 3. Moving day again. After packing up, we were on the road by about 11:15 and drove 181 miles to the Pilot Knob RV Resort just west of Yuma, AZ. The drive was beautiful, mountainous near the coast at about 4,000 feet above sea level and then as we got to the desert it was sea level. We also passed through some of the Imperial Sand Dunes just west of where we are staying.

The park is nice, has trees on most lots, faces Pilot Knob Mountain and is another of our membership parks where it is free for us to stay. It was in the low 80s when we arrived and cooled down to the 60s during the night, so we slept with the windows open. All night long, we could hear the roaring of traffic on the Interstate and trains.

Sunday, November 5. Today we drove to Yuma to see what that was like and its just another city with the usual Walmart, McDonalds, Holiday Inn, banks, city halls, etc. We took Lucy with us because she usually enjoys a ride, but because of that we were unable to see the Territorial Prison Museum or the Yuma Crossing museum. Instead we drove to the Imperial Sand Dunes and watched some of the desert buggies and ATV's playing on the dunes. People sure do spend a lot of money on fancy play toys and all of the equipment needed for them.

We stopped to talk to a couple who are camp hosting on the BLM land right behind our RV park. They told us that you can camp for 7 months (dry camping with no hookups) on any BLM campground for $140. It is their preferred method of camping - they don't like having door to door neighbors and have been doing it for 7 years. It was real interesting and we left thinking that we would just have to try it some time.

After dinner, we stood outside and talked with our neighbors while watching a spectacular sunset and a beautiful sunrise. What a life! The conversation led to their recommendation for a good dentist in the small border town of Los Algodones, about 3 miles south of here. So maybe tomorrow we will check that out - since we both need to have our teeth cleaned and have had trouble getting appointments in the US.

November 6 - 12, Yuma, AZ to Tempe, AZ
Monday, November 6. After talking about the dentist referral and looking them up on the internet, we decided to give it a shot. We drove to the border, parked the car, and walked in. Both of us really felt the need to get our teeth cleaned since it had been 6 months since we left Florida. The office was clean, the staff friendly, and we were both happy with the outcome - at a cost of only $30 each.

We also stopped to get haircuts while we were there and visited some of the shops and pharmacies. The town is made up of dental offices, pharmacies, vision clinics, and the usual Mexican pottery, flowers, purses, etc. The worst part of the whole trip was getting back across the border, where we stood in line for 45 minutes for the border guards to give a quick look at our ID and purchases and be on our way - a rather inefficient system.

Tuesday, November 7. By 11:00 am, we were one the road once more, heading for Tempe, AZ where we will locate a place to park for the winter and find jobs. The trip took about 3 1/2 hours and was pretty uneventful.

When we arrived at Nan and Dale's house, we setup in their driveway and headed for the Shangri-la where our favorite waiter, Frank, welcomed us back and gave us extra sizzle with the Sizzling Rice Soup. Monica joined us and we had a great dinner and caught up on the last year's activities.

Wednesday, November 8. Today we drove around the Queen Creek, Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe area and looked at several RV parks. We have settled on the Desert Vista RV Resort in Mesa, a small brand new park that seems very comfortable and is in our price range.

This evening, we got a real special treat and were able to go to see the Rolling Stones at the brand new University of Phoenix Stadium for the 1st ever concert to be held there. Needless to say, the show was spectacular! I will describe the concert with a little help from a local review.

Mick burst on the stage and for two hours — he never let up. He jumped, gyrated, two-stepped and dashed all around the stage and then he made that stage move. Literally. Two-thirds into the concert, the band was just getting into the opening licks of "Under My Thumb" when the stage they were standing on rose up from its foundation and began to move. It moved along on a trolley-like contraption down a runway that cut through the floor seats to the other end of the stadium. All along the way Jagger and the boys sang -- "Under my thumb / The girl who once pushed me around" -- and the crowd went delirious.

We got to Ron Woods crunch his lips in a snarl that accentuated his nose and made him look like every minute of his 59 years and could almost feel the pain in your knees as 62-year-old Richards slide to his knees. Then there was the unassuming Watts, the band's old man at 65, who banged away in solitude. But the biggest attraction was Jagger. For a man of 63, he shows no signs of slowing and was in his prime at this concert. His voice was robust and clear and he took the crowd on a stroll through the band's 42-year history, starting with the 1968 smash "Jumping Jack Flash," and ending with the encore song, 1971's "Brown Sugar." In between, he dished up new favorites like the ballad "Streets of Love" alongside classics like "It's Only Rock ‘N Roll (But I Like It)," "Midnight Gambler," and the country song "Faraway Eyes." That was the only song where Jagger came close to standing still.

He sputtered "you, you, you" and the audience answered back "make a grown man cry" during "Start Me Up." Blasts of hot fire shot out from the top of the stage when he bellowed "Pleased to meet you / Hope you guess my name" and again at the end of that song, "Sympathy For the Devil." And just when you thought he might be spent as the clock approached 11:30 p.m., Jagger got his second wind with his signature rocker "Satisfaction."

We spent most of the night standing and dancing along to the high energy performance and are so grateful to Nan and Dale for treating us to this event. The last time Mike and I saw the band was at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City in 1971.

Thursday, November 9. It was a pretty uneventful day, and we were especially tired after the concert last night - we're not used to late nights any more. Mike and I fixed dinner tonight because Nan and Dale had to work after our late night at the concert.

Friday, November 10. Today we drove around the Mesa area near the RV park that we are considering, to see how far away retail centers are (possible jobs) and what the neighborhood is like. We still feel good about the location and will probably commit on Monday.

In the afternoon we all drove to the Scottsdale mall where Monica works at Sephora. Our plans were to meet her while she was on her break but that didn't work out. We then went to the Half Moon sports pub for a bite to eat.

Saturday, November 11. Today we took a drive north of Phoenix to the historic town of Prescott. On the way there, we stopped at the Big Ass BBQ Steakhouse in Black Canyon City and had lunch. The place was kind of a quaint place with western cowboy decor. In Prescott, we drove around to see some of the Victorian homes that are pretty rare in this area and then we went to historic Whiskey Row, where during the 1870's the Earp brothers and Doc Holiday were patrons at the Palace Bar. Many of the buildings along this street were destroyed by fire in 1900 but were rebuilt shortly after that.

When we got home, we had a message from the Moss Landing RV Park near Monterey, and we may still have a chance at that job. We had kind of given up on that idea, but it now looks like they may want us there. We shall see tomorrow when we talk to the Manager again.

Sunday, November 12. I spoke with the Manager at the Moss Landing RV Park first thing this morning and WE HAVE THE JOB!! There are still a few formalities to be worked out, so we don't have a start date yet, but all looks good.

We are so excited to be able to spend the winter a little closer to Ben and also to get some experience as work-campers. We will be working as Assistant Managers on Mondays and Tuesday. Other days, we will be enjoying beautiful Monterey Bay - and possibly landing another job for a couple of days a week. We'll see. Now we have to come up with a plan to head back in that direction, it will probably be a 15 hour drive for us and we will do it in 2-3 days.

Today we went to the local swap meet and found that it was the same as any other swap meet - same stuff, same food, same prices, etc. We did enjoy a piece of Indian fry bread that we hadn't had for many years. After that we went to the Pueblo Grande Museum to see the ruins of the Hohokam tribe, a platform mound the size of a football field with several rooms. A trail winds around the ruin with interpretive signs along the pathway.

November 12 - 19, Tempe, AZ
Monday, November 13 - Friday, November 17. Not much went on this week so I didn't have much to write about. We spent one day looking at new models of motor homes and thankfully we left without making a purchase. Sometimes it is tempting to want the latest and greatest new technologies; multiple slide-outs, back-up cameras, diesel (to get rid of the large doghouse between the driver and passenger seats, washer & dryer combinations - you know about all those modern household conveniences. But we're comfortable in our little 30 footer and will keep it that way for now.

On Wednesday, I called Moss Landing to see if the Manager had any updates for me, but the apparent holdup is the credit check and since we are not California residents it takes even longer. She assured me once again that we have the job if we pass the credit check (we see that as no problem). We have decided to travel to San Francisco to spend Thanksgiving with Ben and Jill, so will leave here on Sunday.

Thursday afternoon was spent with our niece, Monica. She treated us to lunch at Wildflower Bread Company then we went to Mill Avenue to see Tempe Town Lake, a park new the ASU campus. We walked the streets of Mill Avenue, stopped for a beverage, and did some shopping. It was great hanging out with her for the afternoon.

Friday was not a good day for Monica as she spent a good part of it at the veterinarian with 2 of their twelve 7-week old puppies. One was diagnosed with Parvo virus and had to be put down, but Harley (the puppy that she and Anthony planned to keep) was ok for the time being. Since they had found homes for all of the puppies, they called to try to get the new parents to pick them up and get them out of the environment so they wouldn't be exposed any longer. The house and all bedding had to be completely sanitized with bleach. Five of the puppies were picked up in the evening but as the night went on several others started to get sick.

Saturday, November 18. Today was the same for Monica and Harley had to go. As the day went on, it was decided that the remaining puppies would have to be put down. Monica was so stressed, so their room-mate took care of that in the evening. It was probably also be the case with the mother, but the father, Anthony's 4-year old dog will be ok.

We didn't realize that Parvo is such a problem in this warm climate and there's not much chance of the puppy's survival. A series of shots can be given to older dogs at a cost of about $500 for the treatment - no guarantees. If the vet treated the puppies, it would cost nearly $3,000 per puppy and there are no guarantees. I sure did feel sorry for Monica, she's such a loving and caring girl and this was a hard lesson for her.

Nan's mother, Karen, arrived from Madison today and it was nice to see her once again. We spent the evening chatting and had burgers on the grill. Monica and Anthony joined us for dinner.

Sunday, November 19. Dale fixed us all a wonderful breakfast of french toast and bacon. By the time we pulled away from their house, it was 11:30. Before leaving Phoenix, we stopped at a Flying J to fill up on fuel and propane (we are going to cooler northern California) and to empty our holding tanks. So it was really closer to 12:30 by the time we left Phoenix.

The trip was uneventful but it seemed like there was a lot of traffic. Also, since we were headed west in the middle of the day, the sun was glaring in our faces all day long. We arrived at the Indian Waters RV Resort (another membership resort) in Indio, CA where we spent the night. I spent the evening sorting some of Dad's coins.

The park is very nice and I think I would like to come back here some day when we can stay longer. The temperature was in the high 80s when we arrived and dropped to 51 during the night. It was nice for sleeping although there was a lot of city and freeway noise all around us.

November 20 - 27, Larkspur, CA
Monday, November 20. Today we traveled west from Indio then headed north on I-5, then north on CA 99 that took us through Bakersfield and on up to Kingsburg where we spent the night at the Club Royal Oak RV Park ($27). The park was located on the Kings River and was a bit on the run down side but an ok place to spend the night. It was truly quiet.

After getting through the mountains in the Angeles National Forest we entered into a valley where you could see nothing but fog and smog for the next 100 miles or so. We found out that this for is called a "tule" fog and was rather common in the area. We both thought it was ugly and it made our eyes burn and our throats scratchy. When we watched the news we were warned of the unhealthy air conditions and were both glad that we would be leaving the area soon.

It was real quiet so we both got an excellent night sleep.

Tuesday, November 21. We were on the road by 9:15 this morning and headed north on CA-99 once again and drove through the cloudy valley until we got through the mountain range near Livermore. From that point on the sky was blue and the air was clean once again.

By 3:00 we were at our destination, the Marin Park located about 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge ($40/night) where we will be spending the next week. This place is in Marina County, heavily populated but the RV park is close to the bay and we have a direct view of San Quentin and beyond that the Berkeley and Oakland skyline.

We are hoping to get a formal job offer from Moss Landing while we are here, we are ready to settle in for the winter and keep putting it off based on this possibility. In the meantime, we will be spending as much time with Ben and Jill as possible and enjoying northern California once again.

Wednesday, November 22. After going for a long walk through the Corte Madera Environmental Preserve (walkways behind the RV park), we went to San Rafael to get a few groceries for Thanksgiving and dog food to keep Lucy going for a few more days. It was kind of intense trying to find our way around the city, with only a glance at a map on the computer before taking off. We did find our way to the Petco store and there just happened to be a Trader Joe's right next door, so were able to get all that we needed in one stop.

We thought about going to see "Flags of Our Fathers", but it is not playing at the theater near here - maybe next week. The Suzuki got a much needed bath this afternoon and I made a pot of chili for dinner tonight.

Thursday, November 23. Thanksgiving Day. It was nice to talk to some of my family this morning. After I prepared the yams for the dinner, we drove to Ben and Jill's house, a 20 minute drive from our RV park, not bad at all. The weather was absolutely beautiful, a bright sunshiny day. Jill and I took the dogs for a walk around the Lincoln Park golf course shortly after we arrived. Then we all proceeded to begin getting the dinner ready.

Around 6:00, we all sat down to enjoy a free-range turkey cooked on the grill, mashed potatoes, yams with apples, raisins and walnuts, cranberries with dried cherries and cloves, brussel sprouts, dressing, and of course pumpkin pie. Everything was delicious and it was a wonderfully enjoyable day. We played a game of Farkel and then tried to watch a movie but everyone was either falling asleep on the couch or heading off to bed.

Friday, November 24. After having a cup of coffee, Jill went to work out at the "Y" and Mike, Ben, and I took the dogs to Baker beach to run around and play for a while. Lucy really does like being off the leash and we sure like letting her wander around on her own. She even sprinted a couple of times today - the old lady still looks pretty good at times. On our return, we feasted on leftover Thanksgiving dinner.

Mike and I came back to our motorhome later in the afternoon because we were feeling pretty lazy and felt like laying around and thats exactly what we did. At about 9:00 I sensed another motorhome moving into the spot next to us. Now these are narrow spots and we barely have a 4-food walkway outside our door and the slide-out is right on the border to the next site. We looked out the window and here was a "huge" 5th-wheel trailer squeezing into the site next to us. From inside it looked like they were 2-3 inches from our slide-out, but the guy kept pulling forward and backing up and managed to get it in there.

Saturday, November 25. Happy Birthday, Tracey! When I took Lucy out this morning, I couldn't believe how cramped and how much stuff our neighbors have in their campsite. Not only is their door about an arms length from our dinette but there are 3 bikes, a rack system, a satellite dish in the back and 2 motorcycles between the 2 motorhomes. Now poor Lucy has lost her potty space and thats the only place we have been able to get her to do her duty (not sure what's up with that new behavior).

Ben came over in the afternoon and we took the dogs for a walk through the preserve. We kept looking for the hiking/biking trail and finally found it but by then had enough of a walk. After geeking out on the computers for a while, we went to Greenbrae for a bite to eat and ended up at the Cafe Z for sandwiches. Lucky Ben got to drive the Suzuki so Mike could experience a ride in the back seat. The ride is ok but getting in and out is a bit of a challenge.

Sunday, November 26. Its 12:30 pm and I'm sitting here listening to the heavy rain falling outside. I'm bored and was going to make some banana bread, but we're out of milk. I've been reading, surfing, cleaning, talking on the phone, just about anything to keep from going bonkers. In the afternoon, Lucy was begging to go out, so I opened the door, stepped off the step into ankle deep water. It turns out that the drain next to our motorhome was partly blocked by my outdoor rug and also was just draining very slowly. What a mess - and the water was cold! The flood finally drained after the rain let up and about 3 hours had passed.

We ended up going to Ben's house, then out for pizza.

November 27 - 29, Greenbrae, CA & Moss Landing, CA
Monday, November 27. Today was errand running day. I shopped for groceries, then Mike and I went to San Rafael to pick up prescriptions. The weather was kind of nice and we took a drive along Sir Francis Drake Blvd to the west and saw the small town of San Anselmo, kind of a quaint little coastal town.

We finally got the call from Moss Landing and we have a start date of Saturday, to begin our training. We're excited and will be leaving here on Wednesday to go check out the Moss Landing area a little closer.

In the evening, we went to meet Ben and Jill and went to the Be My Guest Thai Bistro. The food was excellent and we had a nice time. Jill suggested a Lychee martini and it was ssoooooo goooood!

Tuesday, November 28. Not much happening today except laundry and boy was that expensive - $1.75 per wash and $.25 per 5 minutes of drying. That is one inconvenience I don't especially care for, but I've gotten used to it again - reminds me of our early days of marriage. Sometimes you meet the strangest people in laundromats but with this lifestyle its usually a social occasion. Not today.

We cleaned up the house to get ready to move on tomorrow. I fixed BBQ beef in the slow cooker and we took dinner to Ben and Jill tonight. Had a really nice visit and said goodbye - at least for a few weeks. That is a pleasant thought - not having to say goodbye for months.

On our way back to Greenbrae, we stopped at an overlook just north of the Golden Gate bridge to take pictures at nighttime. It is a gorgeous view.

Wednesday, November 29. After filling up with propane (its been cold and we need the assurance of being able to run the furnace), we headed south to Moss Landing, about 2-hours of driving. Just north of there, we stopped at a produce market at bought local grown garlic, tomatoes, artichoke, and oranges - I really like the thought of having fresh fish, seafood, and produce.

We got setup in our site, cleaned our filthy windows, and talked with the managers for a while. Already, I have a really good feeling about the area. After getting settled, we took a walk across the bridge that goes into the harbor and to the Salinas River State Beach where we watched the sun going down and stopped to watch some seals playing in the harbor. I love it!! We will become more familiar in the next couple of days.

Thursday, November 30. The day started with a walk through Moss Landing and stops at the post office and a couple of the antique shops where we met some of the friendly business owners who welcomed us to the area. We then stopped across the street at the "Haught Enchilada" for espresso and a lemon bar (this could be dangerous).

Later in the afternoon, we drove to Watsonville (reminded us of being south of the border) where there are convenient grocery stores and then to Capitola, a cute little wharf town where we sat on a bench overlooking the beach and ate a piece of pizza. A rather strange sight that we have seen at both Moss Landing and at Capitola is men wearing skirts - we have seen 3 in as many days and it kind of throws us for a loop. We wonder what gives.

Greenbrae, CA to Moss Landing, CA, 114 miles

Created on 11/02/2006 08:57 AM by bridge
Updated on 12/01/2006 09:14 PM by bridge