Buellton Again, con'd.

November 14, 2010 - 4:30 PM

Okay, so I have to start this blog with a classified advertisment. Wanted: official Boldlygo II blog photographer. Must be willing to travel. Must be willing to take pictures. Must be willing to use a camera instead of a cell phone. Salary comensurate with our budget (yep, you gotta do it for free). No takers? Well, that explains the crummy (crumby?) pictures below.

As we wrote before, Dani (our 7 year old grand daughter) went with us on this trip. This is Dani's second RV trip, which in my book makes her a veteran. Hmmm . . . I wonder if she knows how to use a digital camera? But I digress . . .

Saturday morning bright and early, we got up and fixed ourselves a nice big breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits and papi's famous gravy. Not exactly the healthiest thing that we could have eaten, but hey, we're on vacation, even if it is for only a couple of days. After breakfast, it was off to Solvang, that cute little overcrowded, overpriced, overhyped, over-everything town where simple tourists are stripped of their money faster than a locust run on a wheat field. It's a good thing that we are more sophisticated than that! So anyhow, after our money ran out, we decided to use our last 3 dollars to treat Dani to her first taste of aebleskivers. What are aebleskivers you ask? Aebleskivers are Danish pancakes that are cooked in a ball, slathered with raspberry sauce and powdered sugar. Mmmm . . . sugar, sugar, sugar! Just what an old diabetic (me) and a seven year old (Dani) need, right? And just to give you an idea of what this delectable treat looks like, here's a crummy (crumby?) cell phone picture:

Trust me . . . they taste a LOT better than that picture looks. Just take a look at Dani digging in and it will give you and idea of just how yummy they are! As an added bonus, the lady in the window in the background is where they sell these little gems.

Uh . . . I was joking about spending all of our money . . . sort of . . . but we did get a chance to eat some lunch in Solvang too. I don't remember the name of the little place, but as is the norm, it was wonderfully overpriced. On the plus side though, the food was absolutely mediocre and the service was only second rate. Trust me, it could have been worse.

While in Solvang, Gramma bought a puzzle for Dani to put together in order to keep her busy back at camp. The puzzle was completed in record time!! Of course, gramma is the one who put it together, but hey! Who's keeping score? Here's the end result:

Nice huh? That is a pretty picture of a downey chick. Speaking of chicks, on the way back to camp from Solvang, we stopped at the ostrich and emu ranch just outside of Buellton. For the trifling sum of 4 dollars (plus a buck for food), you can go in and feed the ostriches and the emu. Ostriches are very aggressive birds when it comes to food. If you are holding a bowl full of food, they will try to take the bowl away from you by pulling it out of your hands. You have to stand your ground and hang on to your bowl. Some genius at this farm had the bright idea of bolting a plastic bowl to a metal dustpan, the handle of the dustpan granting the holder a better purchase in order to prevent said big birds from yanking the bowl out of the feeder's hands. It's actually a pretty good idea, but don't tell bubba. He'll get the big head and next thing you know he'll be trying to fix the car or something really dangerous. Anyhow, Dani went through TWO bowls of ostrich food (that's 2 bucks folks, for those of you keeping score). Here's some pics:

And of course, Papi had to get into the act. If I had known gramma was gonna take my profile picture, I would have lost that extra ten pounds! Here's a couple of pics:

Okay, so then it was back to Boldlygo for a little relaxation. Sandy took a little nap on the handy couch. There is SO MUCH ROOM compared to what we are used to. We are still trying to acustom ourselves to such a cavernous feel. I actually had to GET UP and WALK across the room to get the TV remote! Hey, I though we were here to relax?!! So anyhow, Dani found that couch very comfortable too:

Then a little bit of campfire to top off the first half of the evening:
Afterwards, we barbecued a hamburger and watched The Karate Kid. Great movie, by the way. Then off to dreamland . . .


Sunday morning was getaway day. Back to the daily grind, but not before the challenge of trying to back a large trailer into a medium sized driveway. I must say that we did a lot better job this time. We got the trailer into the proper spot with minimal "back and forthing" (is that a word?) and we didn't get mad at each other even once!


Oh, here's a picture of the rig sitting outside McDonald's. McDonald's you ask? Of course. After all, we did have a seven year old with us!! Here's the rig. Mighty handsome if you ask me:

So, this is the end of our first adventure with our new trailer, heretofore referred to as Boldlygo II and hereafter as simply "Boldlygo".

Thanks for tuning in to the Adventures of Boldlygo!

Buellton Again

November 12, 2010


Okay, so we can't get enough of this place, okay? Actually, although it has gotten a bit expensive over the last few years, they have done a lot of upgrades to the place. Plus, there is so much to do here, so much to see, so many places to go - or to stay away from as may be one's preference. Regardless, it is one of our most favorite destinations. 3 1/2 hours from home, it offers easy access for a three day weekend. So we saddled up our trusty steed and headed to Buellton, home of Pea Soup Anderson's.


Since replacing Boldlygo with Boldlygo II, this is the first place we thought to head to. We packed up first thing this morning and headed out. On this trip, Dani decided to accompany us. I'll write more about that later, as tomorrow will be our really fun day. Today is a day for relaxation, sitting around watching tv, fixing a nice supper, maybe bake some brownies.


Set up was no more complicated that it was for Boldlygo, but it seems that it took me forever to complete the task. I do sort of realize that I was not nearly as organized as I had come to be in our old trailer. I'll get there with this one, it will just take some time. I think Sandy actually had more to do than I did, what with setting out the do-dads and the trinkets, you know the stuff that makes a house a home. Anyhow, she was finished long before I was.

And now, it's time to relax. I can hear a steak and baked potatoe calling me. Please enjoy these few pictures. We'll write some more soon!

Meet Boldlygo II

On Saturday, October 30, 2010, we got up early and went to breakfast at IHOP. Why the special treatment? Why, we were going to go get our new trailer, that's what! I had previously mentioned that we had purchased a new RV and had traded off Boldlygo. Now, that whole thing is a little bit bitter sweet. I remember the thrill that we had when we purchased Boldlygo, how we had named him, how we proudly brought him home to his spot on the driveway. I remember the first trip that we took with Boldlygo. It was to a KOA in Pomona, kind of a close by "shake down" trip to try everything out and get used to our new toy. I recall our trips to Arizona, a couple of trips to Tombstone and another to Prescott. I remember fondly our arrival in Fort Sumner, New Mexico where we encountered thunder storms on the night of our arrival. I was outside of Boldlygo trying to barbecue a couple of chicken breasts for supper while the wind blew and the huge drops of rain bombarded my bare pate. I recall our frequent trips to Buellton, one of our very favorite places to go. And then, there is the first time that Dani went camping with us, to a KOA in Chula Vista (San Diego). Aw, the sentimentality . . . when I saw the guys at the RV lot hauling Boldlygo away, leaving him sitting all by himself and knowing that we were going to drive away and leave him there, I nearly got a lump in my throat. I almost thought that I might shed a tear or two . . . almost . . . nearly . . . close, but no cigar. My sentimental thoughts were rudely interrupted by . . . . Boldlygo II!! Twenty seven feet of shear comfort. The swivel chairs from which to watch our flat screen tv. The queen size island bed, so that we don't have to crawl all over each other to get up. The oven, where I can bake the cakes and cookies that I am restricted by health from eating. The THREE burner stove!! The huge fresh water tank, so that when we're dry camping, I don't have to stink on the way home! Ah, the life! Sorry Boldlygo . . . meet Boldlygo II!

We have been talking (and talking and talking) about getting a larger trailer for quite a while. We had grown a little weary of the lack of space that we had, especially on some of our longer trips. So, we set off to the RV show at the LA County Fairgrounds to check out this year's offerings. In previous shows, we had pretty much narrowed down what we really wanted in a camping trailer. Of the various floor plan offerings, we always seemed to come back to a rear lounge design. Of course, that floor plan was in a length that was a little longer than we really wanted. In the end however, comfort won out over maneuverability and we purchased the rear lounge model. Now in going to the show, we really weren't decided that we would definitely make a deal while there, but we both harbored some hopes that we might walk away with a new trailer. I have to say that if anyone is thinking about purchasing a new RV, now is a great time! The dealers are willing to cut some real deals. So anyhow, back to the story.

Our pickup date was this last Saturday, the 30th of October. I won't bore you with the PDI (Pre Delievery Inspection) as it was pretty much uneventful and went smoothly. The drive home was pretty routine also. Backing this 1/3 larger trailer into our driveway was a bit of an adventure, but I'm sure that will get better, especially as Sandy and I learn to work better as a team. The old Boldlygo was short enough that I really didn't need much help most of the time. Now however, we'll have to work a bit harder. Thank goodness Sandy has patience with me!

So, here's some more pictures:

Although I don't have any pictures of it, Buck has been introduced to the new Boldlygo. From the way he was wagging his tail and then fell asleep, we're thinking that he approves of all the extra room that he will have while camping. That's good because, after all, we bought it for him (wink, wink. Don't say anything to him, he thinks it was all about him).

First trip? Where else? Buellton for a three day weekend!! Whoo hoo! We'll blog at 'cha later about that trip.