Long time, no see - but we have camped.

It seems that I've really been terrible about keeping this blog up.  Although we have not been able to "go and do" as much as we would like this last year, we did get a little bit of quality travel time in.  I'll try to update everything we've been up to in one (relatively) short blog.  Let's see . . . our last blog was about a March 2011 trip to Santa Paula, so let's start with our next trip.

Our next foray was back up to my beloved Sierras for a Memorial day trip.  Taking advantage of the 3 day weekend, we stretched it into 4 days.  Every year, I tell myself that I'm going to take more trips to this lovely area of God's green earth and every year time gets away from me and the camping season is over before we can make a return trip.  There are just so many things that we enjoy that it's difficult to attend to each of them with the amount of time that we would like to dedicate.  Between camping, motorcycle trips, fishing, hunting, etc., I'll tell you it's a wonder that we find the time to work for a living.  Anyhow, back to the subject.  On this particular trip, my oldest son and his wife headed up to Upper Sage Flat with us.  If you have followed this blog, you will know that this campground along Big Pine creek is one of my favorite places to camp.  Not only is it one of the most ruggedly beautiful spots in the southern eastern Sierra, it also holds great sentimental value to me.  The first time I laid eyes on it, I was about 10 years old.  Since then, we have shared many, many campfires with my parents, our children, and our friends.  Anyhow, Chris and Florica usually go with us on Memorial day weekend and this was no exception.  It's always wonderful to have them along!  They are tent campers - at least for the moment.  Here is a shot of their campsite from the front of our site.

I was the guy that made the reservations for this trip.  Usually, we stay at the downstream (east) end of the campground, but on this occasion I was determined to get us close enough to the creek so that we could be lulled to sleep by the natural sounds of running water.  We accomplished that goal, but it caused two things.  Number one, it made we want to . . . well . . . um . . . go number one.  But more importantly, it put us in a tight campsite, perpendicular to a very narrow road that was basically a small loop.  Why is that important?  Have I mentioned lately that BoldlygoII is 30 ft. long from bumper to hitch?  Have I mentioned that our truck is a quad cab diesel 4x4?  Have I mentioned that when the two of them are put together they are almost as long as a cross country freight train?  No?  Well, let me tell you that this combination is not particularly well suited to fighter pilot like cuts and turns.  As a matter of fact, it harks back to an old country song that I remember as a kid . . . "give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around, it's the easiest way that I've found . . . "  Thankfully, Chris was already there so that he could help guide me into our (extremely tiny) spot.  "But" you ask, "how come Sandy didn't help you back in"?  Simple.  After a long and tiring journey, neither of us is usually very relaxed upon arrival, which generally assures that I will get annoyed with Sandy's backing directions and she will begin to think of me as a jail sentence.  So, since I enjoy continued living and she didn't want to go to jail, she very tactfully suggested that Chris help me back in cuz SHE WASN'T DOING IT.  So anyhow, we got the trailer backed in and set up.  Thank you Angel.  you're the bestest!  Of course, all of this is tongue in cheek.  Here's a nice little shot of our campsite.

From there on out, it was just a nice relaxing weekend.  Here's Sandy still in her jammies:

And me getting ready to play lumberjack (sans high heels):

Somehow I ended up the weekend without getting a picture of Chris and Florica.  Sandy probably did however.  Maybe I should learn to steal her pictures for this blog too? :-)

Did I mention that it snowed?  Well it did.  My brother and sister in law, along with their beautiful chocolate lab - Bocephus - were camped with us also.  Here's a picture of our sister Carol along with Boey and a pretty good flurry of snow:

Hmmmm . . . snow at the end of May.  I'm thinking that Al Gore dude is full of poo.  We cut the trip a bit short because of the weather and headed back home.  Overall, it was a great trip.  We didn't do a lot of fishing but we had a blast anyhow, attending Mule Days in Bishop and just hanging around camp.

Next, we headed up the California coast for Father's Day.  This has now become an official tradition for us.  On Father's Day weekend, there is a HUGE car show in Pismo Beach, CA.  Among our other loves, Sandy and I really love old cars.  I'm not sure why it is . . . maybe it takes us back to a simpler time in our lives.  Maybe it's because the lines of the older cars had real character, as opposed to the boxy new stuff wandering the streets.  But maybe it's just because they "don't build 'em like that anymore".  Whatever the draw, we love the feel, the atmosphere of a car show and this one is the best we've ever attended.   On this occasion we stayed at the Pismo Coast Village Resort.  Not much of a resort if you ask me.  We are still looking for some of the better places to camp in that area.  On this trip, we took our motorcycle for the first time.  Here we are all loaded up and ready to go with the bike in the back of the truck:

I didn't bother taking any pictures of our RV "Resort".  It was little more than a gravel field with an electric post and a hole in the ground for our sewer hose.  Guess you'll just have to use your imagination, creating a mental image that matches your thoughts on what an RV Resort should look like.  Besides the lack of any real character, the campground had a LOT of kids running around.  Now, I love kids.  I raised three of my own and anyone who really knows me knows how I feel about kids.  But these weren't just little kids having fun.  These were kids making a nuisance of themselves, running through our campground, hitting the truck and trailer with their balls . . . um . . . like basketballs and tennis balls, etc.  Anyhow, I felt like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino.  "Get off my law . . . I mean, get off my gravel"!!  But, the car show was great!  Here's Sandy's favorite part - a bumper sticker on one of the show trucks:

I can just imagine Sam Elliot saying that in his own inimitable way.  Love it . . .

While there, we motorcycled over to Arroyo Grande, a very historic little town on the east side of highway 101.  There are a lot of neat little shops and antique dealers here.  Here's a picture of some fat guy hanging out in front of a guitar shop:

When I was a kid, my maternal grandparents lived in Grover City (since re-named Grover Beach).  We visited them often and on one such trip, we went to the beach.  We took a walk along the pier and I remember being afraid.  Now, give me a break here . . . I was maybe 4 or 5 years old.  There were huge gaps between the wooden slats that made up the 'boardwalk' of the pier and I was afraid to look at the water below.  I remember my grandmother leaning down and sticking her fingers between the boards and telling me that there was no way I could fall through there.  I'm not sure that consoled me but come to find out, my fear was not terribly unusual.  Sandy got some of that same feeling while walking out on the pier.  This car show is so large that it spills out onto this pier and that's the reason we were out there.  She took a picture of the object of her discomfort:

When I was in kindergarten, my parents decided to rent out our house in Norwalk, CA and move up to Grover City.  I'm not sure what their reasoning was, but I have to assume it was mostly so that my mom could be near her folks.  Regardless, we moved right after the start of my kindergarten year.  Dad owned an auto shop up there at the time - this would have been 1961 or 1962.  I very well remember walking from my afternoon school session to my dad's shop.  From there, dad would close up shop and take my brother and I home.  Dad would occasionally put us to work cleaning parts, or sweeping - most anything to keep us busy and out of trouble.  Side note:  I really have worked on cars almost my entire life - and I still love it.  Anyhow,  mom nor dad could ever remember exactly where that old shop was.  Since losing my dad a couple of years ago, memories like this have become even more precious to me.  I always figured that if I could find my school, I could find dad's old shop location.  It was down to the first corner, turn right and down the street on the left.  49 years later and I still remember my route.  In 2010, we looked around a bit for the school but came up empty.  This year, while on our way from our campground to the freeway to head home, we took a little different route and, much to surprise, we bumped into a school that looked very familiar.  Hmmm . . . turn left here in front of the school, right at the first street and down the street on the left.  Oh my gosh!!!  There it is!!  After so many years, his old shop is not only still standing, it is still an auto repair shop!  It doesn't look like much I suppose, but it brings back precious memories.  Here it is:

Our next trip (in August) was a little different.  Instead of taking BoldlygoII, we decided to take a motorcycle trip to Big Bear.  So we packed a duffle, strapped it to the bike, made a reservation and off we went.  But first, a little fuel:

We're there dude!!

Parking so we can get some lunch:

This is where we stayed.  No, we didn't stay in the covered wagon.  I had enough of that when we immigrated on the Oregon trail :-)

Looking positively radiant!

Here we are, packed up and on our way home.  If you look closely, there is a miniature broom strapped to the top of our duffle bag.  Sandy found that little thing in an antique store and thought it would be perfect for students at school - it was just the right size.  So we strapped it to the back of the motorcycle for the trip home.  We had to wonder if people passing us on the highway though that the broom was our spare tire . . .

October found us back in the Gold Country of northern California.  This time, we stayed in a very nice RV park in Coloma, CA., site of John Marshall's gold discovery back in the mid 1800's.  What a great place.  We spent quite a bit of time in the surrounding hills and towns and even made a day trip to Sacramento to see the state Capitol and Sacto's "old town".  Unfortunately, I don't have any of our photos on my computer at this time.  I may come back later and update this particular set with some pics.

Well, there you have it.  Now you're all up to speed on the adventures of D&S along with their trusty traveling home BoldlygoII.  Until next time, so long!

Santa Paula, March 2011

I'm late in updating this blog, partly out of laziness and partly out of lack of time.  This will be a quickie, but I felt that I needed to get up to date on our most recent trip - at least before we take another one!  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to share.  Sandy took quite a few, but I seem to have not kept them on my computer.  So, please use your imagination to see the beautiful peacocks as they stood on the hood and in the bed of our truck, pooping all over the place and squawking.

The first weekend in March found us at the Ventura Ranch KOA.  The name implies that it is in Ventura, CA, but it is actually north of Santa Paula on the road to Ojai.  It is nestled down on the east side of Santa Paula creek, opposite the highway in an absolutely beautiful setting.  This is an old, well established park that was recently turned into a KOA.  We were really looking for an alternative for a quick weekend getaway.  Our 'normal' place to go for a quickie is Buellton, but this place cuts 85 miles off of the drive.  Very nice for a short 2 day weekend.  I must mention though - something that is NOT evident when making online reservations - this KOA does NOT have cable television.  Now having lived in that part of the world at one time, I can tell you that you don't get ANY tv unless you have cable.  Although there are ports for cable at the sites, they are inactive.  After returning home, I emailed the staff at the park and asked if this was going to be fixed at some point.  They responded that it was not going to change, that installing cable or satellite would be too expensive.  Oh well.  We would still recommend this park, but make sure that you take plenty of DVDs with you!

The Santa Clara valley has changed a lot since I lived there in the mid to late '70's.  The demographic has changed from middle class working folks to what seems to be a majority of migrant farm workers.  The effect on the neighborhoods is unmistakable, an effect that is definitely NOT good.  Fortunately, the KOA is several miles north of town and seems to be unaffected by the deteriorating town.

Now before I go any further, I must give some of the circumstances of the previous few weeks.  On Thursday evening, February 17th, Sandy was suffering severe abdominal pains.  She is usually pretty stoic about pain, so when she started complaining about the pain, I knew it was time to take her to the emergency room.  To make a long story a bit shorter, she had an emergency appendectomy early Friday morning, the 18th.  That evening, my son and his fiance had their wedding rehearsal.  The following day, the 19th, they were married.  Sandy had to miss all of it because of this untimely illness.  On the other hand, is there ever a good time to have appendicitis?  :-)  So this weekend getaway was during Sandy's recovery.  We did our best to make it a very nice relaxing weekend.

On Saturday, we headed up to Ojai for a little antiquing.  Now if you've been following these blogs, you'll know that we are avid antiquers.  Yeah, that's probably not a real word - antiquers.  But at least I spelled it rite. :-)  We found a couple of places that were interesting, but let me tell you that the antique dealers in Ojai are REALLY, REALLY PROUD of their stuff.  So we settled for a nice lunch at a Mexican food place.  By the way, why is it so hard to find a Mexican food restaurant in Ojai?  Sheesh!

Then off to Fillmore, the town that I actually lived in back in the 70's.  It's still a sleepy little burg and a lot of fun to wander around in.  We spent quite a bit of time in the various shops along Central avenue, what used to be the main drag in town.  Some of the shops are historic, for instance the hardware store that has been open and run by the same family since 1919.  I used to know some of the Patterson clan, having done business with them way back when.  Fillmore also now has an historic train station and even offers rides on their old steam driven trains.  Although we did not avail ourselves of that particular service, it is something that we have put on our list of fun things to do.

Other than that, our weekend was pretty much standard faire.  Steaks on the barbecue for supper and a lot of relaxing around the fire.  Next, we're off to do some fishing in the eastern Sierra and then off to Pismo beach for a long weekend.  Stay tuned!!

Buellton, January 2011

Okay, so one of the reasons that we purchased a larger travel trailer is because we like to take Buck along with us. In case you have lazily decided not to read this blog from the beginning, Buck is a 2 year old Black Labrador Retriever. He weighs in at around 105 lbs. and is ALL puppy. His first camping trip was when he was about 4 months old and although he hasn't taken a lot of trips with us, he's taken enough for us to realize that he took up TOO MUCH ROOM in our old trailer. So, although we really wanted a rear lounge trailer to kick back in, Buck was at least a part of the motivating factor for us making the trade.

So, Buck went with us this weekend to Buellton. It was his first trip there and he had a ball!!! At Flying Flags RV park, they have a large fenced area where dogs are able to run around off leash. Although Buck did not make any lasting friendships, he did get a chance to run around with a few other dogs. Here's Buck with a couple of his temporary buddies.
Those two little mutts were mother and son. The son was named 'Buckie'. I don't recall the mother's name, but she was a feisty little so and so! She kept nipping at Buck. Personally, I think they had "little people syndrome". You know, the attitude that sawed off runts tend to have, the chip on the shoulder short people thing, a "Napoleon Complex". Buck got his revenge however. He ran right over the top of either muffy or fufu and sent them head over tea cup, spinning wildly across the field. The picture below shows Buck with one of the midgets along with Reggie the yellow lab. I think Reggie was gay, cuz he kept trying to . . . um . . . well, let's just say that Buck had to forcefully refuse his advances.

Although we did some running around this weekend, we really spent most of our time just relaxing. This picture shows our terrible housekeeping. At home, we're neat as a pin. But get us out on the road and all bets are off!

Here's another of our home away from home.

I told Sandy that everyone is going to think that she never leaves that couch. Seems like every picture I have of her recently is while she is relaxing on that couch. But trust me folks, she DOES move once in a while. After all, you can't reach the refrigerator from there . . . so she HAS to get up once in a while! Just kidding . . . Oh, and there is Buck doing his share of relaxing too!

Site #328 is on the south end of the RV park. I don't think I want to get stuck down there again. Too many 'party people' on that side of the tracks.

We had a campfire a couple of nights. The first night there was really cold! The rest of the weekend was pretty mild though, so sitting outside with the stars, a nice fire burning at our feet while we solve all of the world's problems is one of the finer things in life.

Here's a nice little shot of our little piece of real estate for the weekend.

And of course, just like at home, we proudly fly the American flag as a symbol, not only of our love for this country, but as our thankfulness to our God who has granted us the freedom to enjoy weekends like this. Viva Libertad!! NOBAMA!

I love to cook. The galley in the trailer is wonderful, but cooking things like bacon or fish inside is a real no-no with me. Too much stinky that lasty forevery. So, here is our outdoor kitchen setup. Before this trip, we purchased a weber bbq, you know - the old school one that takes charcoal. It was my idea to do it this way, but I am re-thinking the whole idea. It seems to me that our old gas grill was maybe tastier, at least for steaks. Hmmm . . .

So, that was our January trip to Buellton. See you next time!!

To Texas - and Beyond!! (shades of Buzz Lightyear)

November 29 - December 7, 2010
Before beginning, I will apologize for a very long post.

The end of the month of November found us with our camping time accounted for. Of course, we started the festivities with the Thanksgiving holiday, one of our very favorite times of year. On most occasions we are camping for the Thanksgiving weekend, the last few years being spent at our perennial favorite campground, Flying Flags in Buellton, CA. This year however, we decided to stay home for the holiday. My daughter Katie lives in Memphis, TN. and wanted to come out to spend Thanksgiving with us. We don't get to see Katie as much as we would like and very much looked forward to being able to spend this wonderful family time with her. Here's some pics of Katie and some of the rest of us:

We had turkey and ham, green beans, stuffing, etc. All the traditional fixings for a big thanksgiving meal. Four of our eight kids were present for this huge feast. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of our meal and everyone that was crowded into our somewhat small house. However, we all had a great time!

On the following Monday, Sandy and I loaded up Boldlygo and headed for San Antonio, TX. Seems like a strange time to take a vacation, doesn't it? Well, we had a purpose for going at this time. Sandy's youngest daughter, Becky, had spent the last 8 weeks in Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. It was time for her to graduate and we were traveling to Texas for this purpose.

Now, let me say that Sandy and I love to travel. We often spend hours together, rolling along America's highways and byways, enjoying the scenery and savoring each other's company. We talk a lot, the bible often being our choice of subject. We listen to music (a LOT of George Strait :-), stop whenever we'd like and keep rolling when we want. So, although some of our friends think we're crazy, we headed out with Boldlygo for the beautiful state of Texas.

The first leg of the trip started on the Monday morning after Thanksgiving. While Chris drove Katie to the airport for her trip home, we hitched up Boldlygo and headed out interstate 10. I-10 is the same freeway that goes right through San Antonio, so there wasn't much chance of us getting lost along the way. We had planned the first leg of our trip so that we would stay in Benson, Arizona. At 520 miles distance, we felt this was a good first leg. We arrived somewhat after supper time and pulled into the Super Walmart in Benson. Walmarts are well known for their hospitality to travelers. This is, no doubt, a leftover from when Sam Walton was still around. Good old southern hospitality - except where prohibited by law. We pulled into the parking lot, popped out the slide and prepared our abode for the night. Then, as an exspression of our gratitude, we went into the Walmart and purchased a few items, including something to pop into the oven for supper.

Bright and early the next morning (well, it was early, but it wasn't bright yet), we headed out on the road again. This time our destination for the evening would be well into the state of Texas. First however, we needed to stop by the greatest little breakfast diner in all of Arizona. We discovered Reb's cafe on our very first trip to Tombstone. It so happens that Reb's is situated kitty corner from the Walmart where we spent the night. Never ones to pass up a good breakfast, we moved our rig over to Reb's for some bacon and eggs, biscuits and gravy. We were certainly not disappointed! Our planned travel distance for the day was 515 miles, to the town of Fort Stockton. Another Walmart awaited us at the end of this leg. Of note along the way was the town of El Paso. El Paso is a border town and joins up with the Mexican town of Juarez. Although I have not looked at the vital statistics, I have been told that Juarez is actually a larger town than El Paso. Be that as it may, we didn't have time to stop in either town on our journey through Texas, although we did stop briefly in El Paso on the way home. I wasn't particularly impressed. Sorry to all you folks that just LOVE Texas. I didn't think it was all THAT great . . . Arizona is better, not to mention Wyoming :-) The close of Tuesday found us 1050 miles or so from home and safely tucked away, cozy in moveable home, eagerly anticipating our arrival in San Antonio on the morrow.

Up early again on Wednesday and on the road again, on to our final destination 313 miles distant. Honestly, there is nothing much to write about concerning the trip itself. It was truly uneventful for which we are grateful. The truck ran perfectly, the tires held air and there were no mishaps along the way. We did get flipped off by an old guy in a little dinky car somewhere in Texas though. I thought maybe I upset him somehow or another, but my brother assured us via Facebook that it was just the Texan's way of saying 'hello'. I though about trying it out, you know, return the greeting, try to fit in. After all, "when in Rome" . . . Nah, I think I'll just stick to the California greeting which is basically ignoring everybody around you.

We arrived at the Admiralty RV park in San Antonio Wednesday afternoon, about 1:30. We had read mixed reviews of this RV park and, although it was pretty much just a parking lot, it was never-the-less charming and the staff was friendly. Above and beyond their friendliness, they left us alone, not bothering even once. In my book, that goes a long ways towards engendering good will. Once we set up camp, don't bother us :-)

That afternoon, it was off to Lackland Air Force Base in order to pick up our passes. Festivities started first thing Thursday morning with what is called the 'Airmen's Run'. This is the final PT for the trainees before they become airmen. They start at their dorms, run across a foot bridge, down the street behind the BMT Reception Center, past a thousand or so cheering parents and family, then back around and across the bridge to their dorm - a 2 1/2 mile circuit. This is very much a 'show and tell' for the parents, the airmen showing the stamina that they have gained during their 8 1/2 weeks of Basic Military Training.
Following the Airmen's Run, the spectators assemble in stands around a courtyard and await the Airmen. The Airmen then march in, each to their own group or 'Flight' and stand at attention for what is known as the coin ceremony. The coin ceremony is where the TI (technical instructor, the Air Force's version of a DI) hands an Airmen's Coin to the trainees. It is during this ceremony that these young men and women leave behind the name of 'trainee' and take on the status of Airmen. About 600 young men and women became Airmen on this particular day.At the end of this ceremony, retreat is sounded, the flag is lowered and the parents are allowed to go greet their airmen for the first time in almost 3 months. The airmen must remain at attention until addressed by their family members, at which point they are on base leave for the rest of the day, until 20:30 hours (8:30 pm). This was an incredibly emotional time for parents and airmen alike. There was a mixture of pride, elation, relief . . . many emotions during this very special time.

We spent the afternoon banging around the mini mall (a small market, shops and food court), over to the BX (base exchange) which is really just a department store or larger version of the mini mall and then went to see a movie. I don't remember the name of the movie, but it was a chick flick. Although I usually put the brakes on chick flicks, I acquiesced in this case and actually found that I rather enjoyed it. Don't tell anyone though, okay? After all . . . I have a reputation to uphold. Here are the Airmen in front of the movie theater, looking nice in their dress blues.

Friday morning was to be the graduation parade and it did not start until 10:00, so we were able to sleep in and relax a little finally. After a nice breakfast, we moseyed on over to the base and boarding a bus at the reception center, headed over to the parade grounds. The parade grounds are about 20-30 acres or so and are completely surrounded by historical aircraft. As a matter of fact, the entire base is dotted with old aircraft, some dating back to WWII. They even have an SR 71 Blackbird on static display. The parade was quite impressive, with each flight of airmen presenting themselves to a couple of colonels and one general officer. This was their chance to 'strut their stuff' for the brass.

This B-29 Super Fortress is a sister ship to the planes that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the close of the PTO in WWII. Can anyone name them for me? Yep, the Anola Gay and Bockscar.At all times while on base, civilian visitors are watched. Trainees are used for this boring duty. This trainee knew that we were taking her picture. Basically, we were watching her watching us. Or she was watching us watching her watching us.Another shot of the parade grounds:

On Saturday, all of the graduates had town leave for the day. We picked up our airman at about 10:00 and headed to Starbucks. Yep, after 3 months sequestered from the rest of society, Becky was ready for a donut and some Starbucks coffee. Although there is a Starbucks on base, trainees are NOT allowed to partake of such things. After Starbucks, we headed over to PetSmart, where the airman proceeded to get cat hair all over her blues! Fortunately, we had stopped by Target for a lint roller. After assuring herself that there were no "unauthorized items" on her uniform, we loaded up our airman and headed to the Alamo.

Now, I have to say that the Alamo is no real big deal. I LOVE historic places and things, but there is only one original wall of the Alamo left and it has been repaired so many times that I doubt when one peers at it that they are seeing actual building materials from the mid 1800's. I actually found River Walk to be quite a bit more fascinating. River walk is a subterranean walkway along the San Antonio river. We stopped in for some Mexican food, against the advice of one of our dear friends. I'm here to tell you that we should have listened. For Mexican food, don't bother with River Walk. But do take the walk if you get the chance!

Sunday was off to chapel with the airmen. The chaplain was all wet and not worth listening to, but it was still quite a time. The building was full to capacity (and then some) with trainees and airmen, the trainees being at all different periods of BMT. Some were what are called "sneaker weekers", the first week or two of BMT. They call them this because for the first week or so, they do not wear boots, but rather they wear sneakers. To tell the truth, it looks a bit funny to see these guys in ABUs (Air Force Battle Uniforms) and white sneakers. What's even more strange is that these big strapping men, clean cut and so handsome even in their ABUs are - almost every one of them - sobbing as they link arms, swaying back and forth while they sing along with 'Letters from Home' by John Michael Montgomery. The first few weeks of BMT is terribly difficult on a new enlistee. It does get better though . . . at least that's what I'm told.

After chapel it was off again, back to the RV park to break down camp and get ready to leave. Our first night back on the road, we stayed at a Love's Travel Stop, about 100 miles east of El Paso. The next night, we stayed at Cabela's in Douglas, Arizona. This Cabela's is in the suburbs of Phoenix. Cabela's is another of those places that welcome overnighters while traveling through. I have stayed with my brother and some hunting buddies at the Cabela's in Lehigh, Utah. Of course, we always do our best to patronize the store, showing our thanks and trying to in a small way, pay back their kindness towards us.

Here we are stopped for a potty break on the way home.
We were able to add another state to our 'visited' map.
We saw a lot of wildlife driving through Texas, including Collared Peccary and a LOT of deer. Here's a shot of our deer whistle. I don't know for sure whether it works, but we have been to Wyoming and back and Texas and back and we haven't hit a deer . . . so I'm thinking it was pretty affective!
Before leaving, Sandy purchased a couple of flags, Old Glory and an "We Support Our Troops" flag. I bought a couple of flag holders and installed them on the front of our trailer. Here's a shot of the trailer with the flags.

We made it back home on Tuesday, December 7th - Pearl Harbor day. That somehow to me seems an appropriate day to return from this particular trip, doesn't it to you?

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.