Heading home

Just wanted to give you an update. We've been hanging around and enjoying the down time and the cooler weather here in LA.  We will be leaving tomorrow and stopping at Quartzsite, AZ and will be home Wednesday. We're not excited about heading back to the heat but are looking forward to being with family, Sophie and friends.

We’ll start right in with unloading the rig.  We did a great job of not over packing, we're getting better the more we travel. Thursday will be cleaning day.

It was an amazing journey. We really enjoyed all the beautiful places we’ve visited and making new friends and the cooler weather the coast offered, it was a pleasant change from the hot Tucson summer.

We're already talking about next year trip!

 

We left Pismo Beach yesterday morning (Thursday) and arrived in Los Angeles late afternoon.  The traffic was terrible, it took us 1 1/2 hours to go 20 miles, I can't believe the amount of cars I could never live in a big city.  The view was obstructed partly because of the smoke from the fires.




Today (Friday) We took a tour that took us to see the Movie Star's homes, amazing what money can buy!! Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theatre, so many people it was hard to look at the stars without walking into people!, Mulholland Drive & The Hollywood sign, Sunset Blvd. & Melrose Ave., Downtown LA, Rodeo Drive where we saw Bentleys and Lamborghinis.  For lunch we stopped at the Farmers' Market, we only had a hour so not much time to shop however we did manage to find two bakeries!! :)


The market was established in 1934, when a dozen local farmers packed their trucks on an open field (once a dairy farm) to sell fresh produce to local residents.  They picked us up at the campground and we drove 30 minutes to pickup another couple, the drive back tonight took us an hour and 45 minutes!! 

Back yard visitors at Pismo Beach

LA Traffic

Pismo Beach

Pismo Beach

We arrived at Pismo Beach Tuesday afternoon.  After getting everything hooked up we went for a long walk on the beach, it was so much fun taking off our shoes and walking in the water, and feeling the refreshing ocean breeze on our face feeling so lucky to be here.

Today (Wednesday) we ate lunch at the Splash Cafe known for their award winning chowder, the food was really good.  We managed to waddle out of the restaurant and went to the candy store and bought some fudge.

We walked on the beach listening to the sound of the waves as they raced to reach they're finally destination on shore.  The seagulls sang their victory song when a person dropped a piece of food and they swooped down snatching their prize. The pier gave us a wonderful view of the open ocean, the beach and the area hillside. It's also a great way to meet up with some pretty interesting individuals who fish off the pier. We watched the whales in the distanced and were amazed and excited when several flapped their tail and made a gigantic splash with their tail.

The Chumash Indians settled in Pismo Beach at least 9,000 years ago. They referred to the area as a place to find pismu, or tar. During the Great Depression, the Governor of California froze the currency supply in California leaving merchants moneyless, forcing them to find other ways to transact business. Scrip, or promissory notes, written on clamshells became an alternate form of money in Pismo Beach. The clamshell currency was used only while the banks were closed, and was only circulated locally, being redeemed in full when the banks were re-opened.  Movies filmed in the area: Ten Commandments 1956, My Blue Heaven 1990, Poetic Justice 1993, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 2007.

Tomorrow we travel to Los Angeles!

So much fun !!

You can see the camp ground where we are staying

San Juan Bautista, CA

Downtown San Francisco

We changed our plans!  We were going to stay in Eureka for a week and rent a car.  When we got there it was foggy and gloomy.  We're pretty much use to the cooler weather but the lack of sunshine was getting to us.  We stayed in Eureka back in 2009, and toured all the little towns so we decide to keep driving and stopped in Ukiah for the night.  Today we drove through downtown San Francisco.  The cement roads are in bad shape making everything in the motorhome shake, rattle and roll, it felt like we were on a carnival ride gone bad! We are now in San Juan Bautista, CA. for the night.  Tomorrow are destination is Pismo Beach, CA.

Everything is so dry.

 







Update

We returned the car today.  Leaving tomorrow morning for Eureka, CA. it'll be a short drive there.  We'll rent a car for the week.  The weather will be in the low 60's. I'm actually getting use to the cooler weather, it's going to be a big adjustment getting back into the heat!!

Battery Point Lighthouse

Battery Point Lighthouse was built in 1856 at the cost of $15,000.  It was the 10^th lighthouse built on the West coast and is one of the 16 Cape Cod style Lighthouses that was built in the 1860’s.  At that time it was known as The Crescent City Lighthouse.  The first keeper started Christmas Day 1856.  The last keeper who served at the time of automation was transferred in 1953. The Beacon continued under automation, with the Coast Guard, until it was decommissioned in 1965.  The beacon was dark until Dec, 1982 when it was reactivated as a private aid to navigation.  It is charted and must be live each night.  To this day they still have a keeper in residence. You can get to the lighthouse only during low tide, and the keeper boots everyone out before it comes in again!! 

The lighthouse is haunted at Battery Point, but no one seems to know exactly by whom and why. There is believed to be at least one resident ghost who is playful. A paranormal research group that investigated the Battery Point Lighthouse believes it is haunted not by one playful ghost, but by three: a child and two adult specters!

Some of the haunting activity being reported occurs when visitors are given a tour. Some guests have experienced being touched on their shoulders, and sensing a presence. Caretakers report having their slippers moved at night while asleep, a rocking chair moving back and forth on its own, and sea boots trudging up the haunted lighthouse stairway, as if still on duty; especially during times of storms! Even cats at this lighthouse have acted strangely during times of ghostly activity.

 

still foggy


This is from yesterday the red really shows up.

After visiting the lighthouse we walked the beach and found a couple of small pieces of driftwood and a cool rock!



If you look close you'll see the light on

Trees Of Mystery

Trees of Mystery is a roadside attraction in Klamath, California founded in 1931. The "Cathedral Tree", nine trees growing in a semicircle out of one root structure, is sometimes used for outdoor weddings and Easter service.  The Brotherhood Tree is enormous, and is the largest tree on the property, its 297 feet tall and the diameter is 19 feet.  Trees of Mystery are best known for the 49-foot-tall statue of Paul Bunyan and the 35-foot-tall Babe the Blue Ox.  The End of the Trail Museum is a large private collection of Native American art, crafts and tools. In 2001 an aerial tramway was installed called the Sky trail. It takes you to an observation deck where on a good day with no fog (it was foggy) you can enjoy a view of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding forest. I can’t believe I went on it since I’m scared of heights.  Our necks are a little sore from looking up at the trees 2 days in a row, well worth it we didn’t want to miss a thing!  So thankful we’re able to make this trip.

Brotherhood tree

Candelabra Tree

Candelabra Tree

Cathedral Tree

Sky Trail

Simpson-Reed Redwood Grove

We drove to Simpson-Reed Redwood Grove, it's an area that has walking trails through the giant trees. Walking amongst the majestic giants was serene. I love nature and the feeling it gives me to be able to experience the beauty God has created for us. We have never seen such large patches of clover some the size of a baby's hand, the ferns remind me of fine delicate lace lining the forest floor giving it a magical look with the rays of sun giving it a fairytale setting. It's hard to believe that the giant redwoods were in danger of becoming extinct because of over logging in some areas, with the help of State and Federal government intervening the large majestic trees are being protected so future generations will be able to experience their grandeur. The Coast Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world.  They can grow to a height of 379 feet or more, and be as old as 2,000 years old. Look how tiny we look next to the trees.


Twisted roots

That's the roots of a fallen tree!

Felt so tiny next to this big boy!

 

Crescent City, CA

Crescent City is a short drive from Langlois, OR. so we took our time getting here, stopping along the way at scenic view points to enjoy the ocean.  The water looked so cold but there were people walking in it and along the beach, there also were people horseback riding. We met a group of Bikers who were traveling and pretty much covered the areas we've been. They were a hoot! Great guys, Pete was off taking pictures so he's not included in the one I'm posting. Loved looking at their Harleys.


As you can see in the picture we have large Redwoods in the campground. We'll be renting a car for the week and get some sightseeing in.  Temps this week are going to be perfect, high 60's low 70's.

Winding roads!

Biker Friends!!  :)

Langlois, OR

It was pretty foggy when we left yesterday morning ( Thursday).  It seemed like we were traveling in a dream and in the silence we could hear the soft splashing of the ocean waves, the fog horn in the distance sounds sad like it’s mourning the loss of a love one. 


By noon the fog lifted and by 3 pm we were at our destination of Langlois, OR.
The sites are spacious and we love being in the woods listening to the different birds announce the start of our day.



Langlois Oregon, was established in 1881. As of the 2016 census it had a population of 179 Langlois was once famous for its blue cheese, until the cheese factory burned down in the 1950s. It was never rebuilt. Langlois was named for William Langlois, an early Oregon pioneer.

Pretty Foggy!

We're in the woods!

 

Newport, OR Bridge

The wind felt like hands pushing us as we walked across the bridge this afternoon into the small town called Waldport, population 2050. We were hoping to find a café to have a cup of tea and a piece of pie but this town is so small it didn't have one!!  So to warm up we went into an antique shop and ventured across the street to a candy/souvenir store and bought a bag of salt water taffy.  Walking back was a little challenging with the wind in our face and walking up the incline.  It was a beautiful view, we took pictures of the seals but we were so high you can just barely see them. 


We'll be leaving tomorrow morning and arriving in Langlois, OR in the afternoon and staying for 3 days as we make our way to CA.  Enjoying the coast.

View from the bridge

You can just see the seals

Newport, Or

The air was cold last night and the wind strong creating a gentle rocking of the motor home, We grasped our teacups and I wrapped the throw around me to relax for the evening.

We started our day cleaning and catching up on our laundry, not our favorite part but it needs to be done.  After lunch we walked on the beach.  The beach is a place where you can relax, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks are soothing and the smell of the air refreshing.  Walking on the beach gave us a great workout.  This brought back wonderful memories of the times we spent in Maine. We chuckled when we got home both of us with rosy cheeks and feeling so lucky to be on this adventure.

We took the picture of the bridge from the beach. The original 1936 bridge, which was designed by renowned engineer Conde McCullough, and was one of 10 Oregon coast bridges he designed. It had to be demolished due to years of irreversible corrosion brought on by the Pacific coastal environment of rain, wind and salt. The bridge now serving Oregon Coast Highway 101 traffic replaced the original span in August 1991. Only the pylons, spires and some railing incorporated into the Alsea Bay Bridge north wayside remain from the old one.

 

Newport, OR

We enjoyed our stay in Astoria visiting with fellow campers. Our neighbors bought and cooked a bunch of fresh dungeness crabs and brought us some!! yum.  They both like target shooting and Doug and Charlie enjoyed talking about different types and caliber of handguns. We had fun talking with the guys as they were cleaning their catch of the day, another one caught a 22 lb salmon and said that was average he's caught one that weight 45 lb, truth or fish story??  his wife said it was true!!  :)  Last night was karaoke and we were able to hear them from our site, there was one that was pretty good the others well my question is what were they thinking!! LOL


We left today (Monday)and are now in Newport.  The drive along the coast is breath taking,  we were surprised to see it was still foggy in the afternoon.  The temperature is going to be only in the high 50's!!  I know we wanted cooler weather but I didn't want to freeze my butt off!  Right now the wind is blowing 21 mph.


We'll be leaving here Thursday and heading to Langlois, OR. still driving highway 101.

Manzanita coast line

Manzanita