Malibu Beach

We left Long Beach in beautiful weather and headed up to Malibu. We made plans to stop for lunch  at a beach side restaurant called the Reel Inn. It was recommended by our friend Chris's son, he lives in the area and he promised us we would love it! He also joined us for lunch. This place was about 9 miles short of our destination and it had a large parking lot that would accommodate parking the coach. Yes, in fact we loved it! The fish was fresh and delicious we sat outside and Savannah was allowed on the patio too.

The Reel Inn

What a great find, good food, good friends and pristine weather. We continued on up the Pacific Coast highway and found our next home in short order!

Now I understand why people live here, wow, this was the most gorgeous scenery I've seen so far on this entire trip, or at least in California.... anyway, we came up this big hill and pulled into a space with breathtaking views, we were all speechless. The spaces were very tight, but, this was pricey real estate!

This was our view

Can you imagine backing into these spaces?

An amazing sunset

So we were completely "wowed" by this place! I kept thinking about our fate if there was an earthquake but I didn't dwell on it.We were told by somebody that Matthew McConaughy stayed here while making a movie recently and that actors with motor coaches stay here when they are in town!
We did see a very nice Prevost up the hill with a Porsche parked in front of it, but Jay wouldn't let me knock on their door! Prevost's are the Mac Daddy of motor homes, custom built and cost 1 million to start, Willie Nelson has one and actually they are customized in Palm City Florida. Don't see one of those in our future! We stayed 4 days and it was a memorable visit, day trips up the coast, over to Thousand Oaks and I was just mesmerized by the views, the homes nestled in the mountains and right smack on the beach!

We went to a small market one day and let me tell you it was the most expensive food I've ever seen, honey we are not in the neighborhood Walmart ! I think at that point we realized it was time to head south to San Diego!

Next adventure begins in Mission Bay, 138 miles south!



Long Beach California

Our journey to the coast of California included gridlock traffic on the 10 freeway, thankfully it was the Martin Luther King holiday. Being on any super highway towing a car behind a 40 foot motorhome is a nerve wracking challenge, although Captain Jay makes it look easy !

Our Long Beach California park was apparently the only RV park in the area and it was "nestled" in a large parking lot! It was adjacent to a lovely scenic city park with walking trails so we'll take it. I was anxious to be in Long Beach because I was so interested in seeing the Queen Mary which was just across the bay from us. We settled in the first day went out for dinner and planned to see the QM day two.
We made our way over to the bay and paid for a self directed tour of the retired ocean liner. She has called Long Beach her home since 1967 and in my opinion, time has not been kind to her.

 

I had such high expectations of the tour and I have to admit I was disappointed. From the time we arrived there was a strange vibe in the air.  The staff had no energy, they weren't helpful and I didn't feel they were engaged in being part of this amazing bit of history. The ship is very aged and it hasn't been maintained, during our walk around the ship we didn't see anyone around, including other visitors, I was very disappointed to see a Starbucks on board, really? That saddened me, I wanted to see a tea room with cucumber sandwiches...something regal and elegant, a staffer with white gloves or someone in a starched uniform. We considered having lunch at the restaurant but decided it just looked tired and old and was virtually empty at lunch time. A highlight, which I missed, was when Jay and Sandy visited the engine room, the two captains loved it, so, overall it was worth the trip!

 This attraction could be so much better,  I hope in the future that the City of Long Beach with restore this attraction to its former glory.
We stayed in Long beach for 5 days and we enjoyed other sights and had some amazing lunches on the water, the weather was so..so but that didn't dampen our enthusiasm for the area. We also visited Laguna Beach and it was a wonderful day trip with extraordinary views of the beaches and some very fancy stores and finally some ice cream for the trip back up to Long Beach to pack up for our trip to Malibu.

A gorgeous beach!

Next stop Malibu Beach!

 

 

California Here We Come!

We departed Las Vegas after a three and a half month stay...where did time go? We were lucky enough to share our journey with our friends Sandy and Chris. The trip seems shorter with good friends aboard the coach!

First stop, Parker Arizona, The Pirates Den RV resort. Any time you end up at a park with a water view you feel like you've landed some place special!
This park is a favorite of the snowbird crowd and if you want to stay longer, like for the winter, book a year in advance!

How about this sunset?

 Our view of the Colorado River

 

Next overnight stop, Indio California this spot is just outside Palm Springs and it was special for a different reason... Grass, no not that kind! An RV park with grassy grounds, we haven't seen a blade of grass since the summer!

 

 We settled in and went out in search for lunch, our friends hadn't tried a California legend.

The In and Out Burger! We enjoyed a "Double Double" and Chocolate Shakes!  It's truly a sensation in these parts, take a lesson MacDonald's, they do it right, under 10 items on the menu and everything is fresh except the employees who are dressed in clean white uniforms with a strong emphasis on politely serving the customer, how refreshing is that?!

The next day we were back on the road headed west early with a planned stop for breakfast in Palm Springs. We parked the coach in a Casino parking lot and headed around the corner to Ruby's diner for Eggs Benedict. Palm Springs reminds me of Palm Beach back in the 60's. A vintage kind of glamour with way too many gift shops, but cute.

 I'd like to come back here sometime for a few days... maybe some basking in the sun by a spa pool, just enough glamour for my taste. It's on our list!  Before we left town We took a stroll down the street and I had my picture taken next to a statue of a past Mayor of Palm Springs, the late and honorable Sonny Bono. I can see why he liked this place, jus sayin!

Savannah taking in the sights

 

Heading for the coast of California,  I haven't seen an ocean for months and I can't wait!

Leaving Las Vegas...

I couldn't help myself, I had to use that title, it's so fitting! We've been here in Las Vegas since October 1st and we are packing up the coach and setting out on a new adventure this Saturday. This place has been a lot of fun, we started out swimming everyday and then it all changed after Thanksgiving, the cold weather came and I was totally unprepared for the down right freezing weather here. I had no winter clothes to speak of, but, being the resourceful person I am... I found out that the consignment stores here are amazing! I now have a fabulous winter wardrobe that will carry me for a long time! Not that I plan on spending much time in the colder climates in the future as I am a Florida gal thru and thru!

 The nice thing is that the temperature swings here are fairly significant, 60's during the day and high 30's at night. It actually snowed here New Years Eve, it didn't last but it was kind of a novelty for the folks here because it only snows here every few years.

In one sense I am sad to leave because we met so many nice friends here on Agave Street, it was a pleasure to see them around the neighborhood everyday, have dinners together and hearing their many fascinating stories. I am fairly sure we will pass by here again later in the year. I never, ever thought I would spend 14 weeks living in Las Vegas!!

Las Vegas was a fun while it lasted but really, we HAVE to move to warmer climates. We have some tentative plans for 2015 that include Arizona, New Mexico, Seattle,Vancouver Island and New Hampshire and now it's time to "get going" so we can see it all! We will also be back in Florida for at least a month in March, leaving the coach behind for service in New Mexico.

Our next stop is the Pirates Den in Parker Arizona for one night and this little gem of a place is right on the Colorado River about 175 miles due south of here.

It's a scenic trip and our friends Sandy and Chris are joining us as we head from there to Palm Springs for a night and then to Long Beach California for a week of sightseeing in the warmer weather!
I already have a list of sights to see starting with the Queen Mary, I'm crazy about cruise ships and a close family friend wrote an amazing book recently about the last voyage of this ship so I am anxious to check it out. I read her book and I highly recommend it so pick it up on Amazon! The title is
Dogs in the Sun by Janice Convery. The history of the QM is fascinating, it was a colossal ship that was bigger and faster and more powerful at 1000 feet than the Titanic. It was in service for decades as both a World War II transport ship and a luxury liner, during the war it was called the Gray Ghost because of the color it was painted to make her stealthy in the war-time waters. She saw her share of deaths somewhere around 50 and  is now considered one of the most haunted places to visit in America!

 

Our next stop will be San Diego, Mission Bay, we have spot right on the water for a few days. I really miss our water views at home in Florida so we will be right at home!


Jay is busy getting the coach ready for travel, check the tires, fill her up with diesel, secure the bikes, lawn chairs and ladders.  The price of diesel fuel is considerably less than it was 3 months ago, when we filled her up this week, it was "hundreds" less in fact! I plan to spend the money we saved on some great California cuisine!

We will be ready to roll bright and early Saturday!

                                   I can't wait to share all our future big adventures!

Making Holiday Memories "RV" style

Our Thanksgiving came and went without the normal fanfare of an enormous meal. Jay went to Florida and I stayed in the coach in Las Vegas with Savannah. Prior to his departure I was "schooled" on anything that could possibly go wrong in his absence. I enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal with Jay's sister and sister in law who treated me dinner at a casino while we watched football! No cooking or dishes, I could get used to this routine!

I  prepared a modified version of Thanksgiving before Jay headed for Florida because I wanted to see if it was possible to do so in this small  kitchen! The Turkey breast was perfect and the meal was a huge success and I also had the benefit of  all the leftovers!

I was excited to pick up Jay from the airport because it was now time get ready for Christmas, let's get this coach decorated! we started with a tree...

We placed it in the windshield, it's 36 inches of pure joy! I was feeling bad enough about not spending Christmas with my family and not having my ornaments that I have collected over the years to decorate the tree so, this tree was going to have to do the trick! It started out as a small tree in the window and it has become a competition with all the neighbors to have the most spectacular decorations! Especially when we found out there is a contest for the best display in the park, we hope to get first prize since we made 5 more trips to Target! Stay tuned....

You be the judge...

The most recent addition was the wreath & Florida Santa

I was also ready to see some Christmas lights, every city has holiday light displays and Las Vegas does it well.  Ethel M. Chocolates has a Cactus Garden and I was excited to check it out!

This was a nice place for families and it was free, sort of...I say that because at the end of the tour

we went to the store and purchased a box of chocolate to share for $30. bucks. It was absolutely delicious and I went home in a sugar coma!

I see a theme here...

every cactus is lit up

The weather has become "wintry" by our standards, we didn't see a drop of rain for months and in the past week we are getting rain from the Pineapple Express and it's very chilly, 40's at night and mid 50's during the day.

 It's definitely sweat pant weather! It would be so easy to sit on the couch all day in my sweat pants and watch it rain so I decided to get a part time job for the holidays, not about the money, ALL about the discount! I am having so much fun working a few hours a week at my favorite retailer Bath and Body Works, not since high school have I had such fun working! It's great when you have no management responsibility and you don't need the money. Jay says I smell like candles and lotion when I come home. As of today, the shopping is done, the packages are wrapped and shipped and I even made holiday cookies. Its been a wonderful year of travel adventures and we are planning some new travel adventures in January to California so I will updating this blog more often when we get back on the road!

Happy Holidays and lots of love to all our friends and family!

 Captain Jay and Barbara and Savannah

The Fascination of Las Vegas

I'm finding it difficult to top my observations of Halloween here in Las Vegas. I've had at least two weeks to gather my thoughts, so here goes...
I will attempt to assimilate  my perception of the Las Vegas culture!

I was surprised when I heard that 500 planes land at McCarren Airport every day, I knew it was a lot because we are in the flight path and every time I look up I see a plane coming in and it goes on all night! After 6 weeks I am more in awe than annoyed!

Where are all these people coming from? All you have to do is go anywhere, anytime and you will see all these people! There is a casino on every corner and that doesn't even include the "strip"!
They are always brimming with people, the parking lots are full of cars, am I the only one who finds this fascinating? That's a lot of money changing hands, it boggles my mind! The point I am trying to make here is, this place is humming 24 hours a day!

The city that never sleeps!

Where I come from they roll up the sidewalks at 9pm, dinner is served in restaurants from 4pm

to 9pm, end of story!  The entire population of South Florida is tucked in and asleep before the

11pm news!

 The 24 hour society that exists here in Las Vegas is a phenomenon I am completely unfamiliar with! Grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, they are all jamming 24-7! I guess it makes sense when you consider the service industry that exists here, if you work all night you gotta shop for groceries after work. My internal clock shuts down at 10pm so extended hours at the neighborhood grocer would be lost on me!

A wonderful benefit of living in this locale is that you can take some amazing day trips! Last week Jay said, "lets go for a ride". In my world that means, down to the beach or over to the mall. Here it's possible to see Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley, Lake Mead, even the Hoover Dam.

We hopped in the Jeep with Savannah and headed south towards Boulder City, when we entered the  Lake Mead National Recreation Area and paid our fee Jay asked the Ranger how far to the Valley of Fire? 63 miles around the lake! What?! I said to myself, or maybe I said it out loud, 63 miles?
Jay's response to me was, "It will be worth it, trust me!" I had my doubts... I've seen a lot of rocks around here lately, not sure I wanted to spend the next two hours in the car looking at more rocks!
I decided to grin and bear it and I'm glad I did!

Lake Mead

The Valley of Fire was dedicated in 1935 and is the oldest and largest state park in Nevada.

Petrified wood and red sandstone are two of the natural features formed  from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs, 150 million years ago.

The weather was pristine and it was an amazing trip! I am so glad I was patient and that we didn't end up at the mall because the view were indescribable!

I will be looking forward to the next time Jay says, "Let's take a ride"!