Fall colors from hither and yon~~~

Fall, a most beautiful time of the year, is perhaps my favorite season.  The temps have been ranging from the low 30s at night to mid to high 50s during the day. In other words, it is cold!  Our little WAVE propane heater is doing a great job keeping the MH toasty - day and night.  The skies are mostly a stunning clear blue though a much needed rain shower just passed through. Is this the beginning of the long awaited El Nino,  I wonder.

And the colors are popping out all over.  Leaf peeping is upon us.  Time to take the camera out for a walk and/or dig up some of my favorite fall pics, many taken on our trip East in 2013.

Petaluma has an impressive array of Fall fashion on display

Fall means pumpkins...

Fall in Half Moon Bay showcases the many pumpkin patches!

Our Loomis parking site!

We have been in Loomis for the last week, staying at our daughter Stephanie's place that offers us acreage with hookups for parking.  Hard to beat the ambiance here and the price is right!

Fall along the Blue Ridge Parkway October 2013

Fall in Bar Harbor, ME October 2013

New Hampshire Byways September 2013

Vermont foliage, September 2013 Fall colors tour!

Ahhh....Fall and the beauty is bountiful.

Happy New Year 2015

This seems like an appropriate time to reflect on another great year of travel.  7,087 miles to be exact. And once again it begins in the same exact location as last year, our happy place here in the Anza Borrego Desert.  This coming year marks the beginning of 20 years of full-time RVing.  What lies ahead, where will we go, how much longer can we do this??? So much to ponder!

Each link represents a month.  It was hard to pick just one photo out of so many beautiful places, so you'll have to click to see more!

January 2014: Anza Borrego Desert

Sunset at Fonts Point

February 2014: Anza Borrego, Lake Cahuilla, Kofa NWR, & Ajo

Kofa NWR, a new favorite boondocking site

March 2014: Tucson, Yuma, & Algodones

We love our hikes at Tucson Mt. Park

April 2014: Pismo Beach to Petaluma

Beach combing in Pismo

May 2014: Brannon Island, Bodega Bay, Petaluma

We have a nice site at Doran Beach in Bodega Bay

June 2014: Calistoga, Sacramento, San Francisco, Petaluma

Calistoga, CA for our 20th anniversary

July 2014: Half Moon Bay, Loomis, Petaluma, Humboldt County, Oregon Coast

Cape Blanco, OR

August 2014: Port Townsend, Vancouver, Anacortes

Taking the Sea Bus to Vancouver

September 2014: North Cascades, Charbonneau COE, Joseph, OR., Painted Hills

Our site at Charbonneau COE Park on the Snake River

 October 2014: Granada, Nicaragua

View of the old colonial city of Granada from the bell tower of Iglesia de la Merced

November 2014: Petaluma, Family time, Farmers markets

Our family at Thanksgiving

December 2014: Half Moon Bay to Anza Borrego

Half Moon Bay State Beach

Making the rounds, getting ready to hit the road...

That's mainly what we do around these parts; make the rounds between our 3 families, all easy day drives if you don't mind Bay Area traffic and lots of bridges.  Just another joyous reason to be mobile that allows us the occasional break for a beach, city, or wine country outing. Travel, sightseeing, and photo possibilities are abundant in these parts! But we are getting that oft-described syndrome known as hitch itch!


It has been 3 weeks (yikes) since we left Petaluma for Loomis (foothills just east of Sacramento) and a fourth of July bash at Steph and Gary's sprawling acreage and home. Neighbors, work associates, and friends were invited to get together, get to know, and share some delicious eats.  And this is the location of the primo parking site. Alas, the temps were approaching triple digits, but that did not stop the late afternoon celebration! 



The heat finally drove us off to seek the fog of Half Moon Bay, about 20 miles south of San Francisco.  Here we have parking privileges in a vacant lot next door to Terri and Clint's, with the little grands and the beautiful coastside beaches nearby.  Damien and Liliana think the motorhome is a playhouse, just their size, and were at our doorstep bright and early.  I found the Disney channel, put out the snacks...they love fruit, and let them investigate all the nooks and crannies.  Easy walks to the beach and photos galore.

Time to return to Petaluma for our special assignment, a week hanging out with Christina, The Bean, while mom Wendy goes on a business trip and dad Norm works 10 hour days.  It's just easier for us to stay at their house, albeit in a small double bed, than awake at 4 am to be there when Norm leaves. Plus we also get to hang with Annie, the sweetest dog in the world, and play in a big house and garden. Christina's busy summer schedule involves practically every camp experience in existence.  I did find one, Engineering for Kids, that somehow escaped the list.  Our week involves Brownie Camp, and softball practice.  There is also Yoga and Art week coming up!

We attended two very special memorials for friends who recently passed, Bruce and Suzanne. Bruce's was celebrated by over 200 friends and family, all decked out in shorts and Hawaiian shirts in a manner and fashion appropriate to Bruce's life, complete with a motorcycle procession.


Suzanne's was held at the family home by the banks of the Russian River in a beautiful setting of Redwoods and flowers.  It was very casual with beautiful words and memories from long-time friends.  A butterfly lit on a nearby flower, so indicative of Suzanne's presence.  I thought words by Frida Kahlo would be a fitting tribute to her artistic genius.

"I leave you my portrait so that you will have my presence all the days and nights that I am away from you".....

This week is filled with departure preparation, to-do list items that were put off until now when time is running out.  There was the pesky gas strut that needed to be replaced on our heavy entry door.  A loose wire in the MH's ignition that "talks" to the Remco transmission pump, ensuring that our car can be towed safely.  Fluid levels and tire pressure, of course.  And must we really fill the diesel tank at $4.05 a gallon?  Since our travel route will be Highway 101 north, there probably won't be many cheaper options until we exit California.  We'll see you up the road..... 

 

Getting back to normal...

Our life is beginning to assume some degree of normalcy after two weeks of whirlwind events.  Hey we even did loads and loads of laundry today!  And after a couple of days of drippy rain and fog, the sun is once again shining here in Petaluma.  Read....a couple of days of drippy rain after we had cleaned and polished the RV! 

We even had a wedding anniversary, our 19th plus 6 prior years, the day after Mary's memorial service in Half Moon Bay.  We were driving back in the rain, dodging and weaving through the miles of construction and detours in San Francisco...yes, we were in the motorhome, and decided neither of us felt much like celebrating once we got parked at the Elk's. 


But serendipity intervened with a knock at our door and there stood traveling friends we hadn't seen for years, en route to their lot at the Timber Valley SKP Park in Sutherlin, OR.  They had been out wine tasting and brought over a delicious red blend from Quivira Vineyards with a side of cheeses and nuts. Let the celebration begin...

Normal for this time of year is making the rounds of the various doctors who try to whip us into shape here at our local Kaiser medical center, thus hopefully ensuring we're able to continue on this journey.  I seem to have more and frequent follow-ups since the endometrial cancer and surgery last November, so may need to find facilities in other parts of the country should our grand fall, winter, spring trip materialize.


A month ago we decided to get serious about losing the weight we'd put on during our trips to Roatan and San Carlos.  Our daughter Stephanie, who's now on a trip to Romania and Europe (check out her blog) told us about My Fitness Pal, a handy app to track food and exercise, plus set a calorie limit depending of how much weight you want to lose.  Also important for us is knowing how many carbs we consume, as well as calories.  So, for me, my calorie limit is 1200 and I have set my own carb limit at under 50.  Fiber carbs are free and of course, you back off any exercise or cardio you do each day.


Three miles of walking at 3 mph generates 220 minus calories (for my 5'2" frame).  I try to add on another 1.5 miles during the day, if I can, depending on what we plan to eat.  So we now plan ahead, weigh our portions, and record our food and exercise intake.  Keep in mind, we have had two weeks of celebrations where we did not meet our daily goals, but we quickly got back on track soon after.  Net results, a 3 lb. loss in 30 days.  I'll take that!

A detour from travels....

I started blogging in 2006, after keeping a written journal (hit and miss) since 1995.  Chronicling our travels took on more meaning as we were leaving the Bay Area mid July heading for one of the greatest road trips to the northwest US and Canada.  We were celebrating Howard's successful operation to remove a cancerous tumor in his colon and the fact this journey could continue; for how long we never know.

On many occasions I digress from travel-related topics to those more personal and dear to me; friends, family, even unsolicited opinions.

June 2013 is unfolding as a time of celebration and reflection with sadness and joy pulling at the heart strings.  So many milestones, birthdays, graduation, and the passing of my very best friend. 

Mary had been slowly sinking into the depths of dementia, recently complicated by lymphoma, but well-managed by a great care facility before moving to a loving hospice home in SF. She was happy and though her memory was gone we had agreed if she forgot who I was we'd just lie and tell stories.  This cracked her up.

She was always known as Mary Marvelous, or the Marv.  As single working moms, both in real estate on the Coastside, we mingled with other couples and friends, and had the best extended family base,  always sharing holidays, weekends, vacations, and SF 49er football!  

When Howard and I first got together in '89, I set out to embrace his passion for sailing, not always successfully.  On more than one occasion, Marv was called to rescue me in fits of panic when storms blew in on the Bay or boat repairs forced us to run for the nearest marina.  The lovely waterfront town of Benicia became our safe harbor.  She never minded the long drives...and we always had a good laugh!

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The first milestone celebration was grandson Daniel's surprise 18th birthday party last weekend at Mavericks Lodge and Event Center in Princeton-By-The-Sea.  

This was a beautiful venue with early evening light fading into the fog as we waited for the guest of honor to arrive...

Though he was mortified upon arrival, seeing all his friends and family...how embarrassing for this somewhat shy teenager, the smile broke out courtesy of a grab bag from which he pulled a hundred dollar bill!

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The fun continued with an afternoon at the Lemos Pony Farm in Half Moon Bay.  Damien who recently turned two had not had a proper birthday party and sis Liliana and lots of other friends and kids gathered to experience this crazy, crowded fun-filled zoo!  It was sensory overload.....

Damien wanted nothing to do with riding the ponies or playing in the jumpy thing.  As long as daddy Clint was holding him, all was OK.

Liliana, who is a fearless 3 1/2 year old, had enough enthusiasm for both of them!

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A fitting finale to our week was Daniel's Half Moon Bay High School graduation.  He heads to San Diego State University in the fall.  

Daniel was among more than 50% of total graduates that had attended HMB schools from K through 12th grade.  His mom, dad, step-dad and uncle did as well.  Impressively, 66% of his class of 200 carried a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

The travel journal will resume once I catch my breath....