Santa Rosa, CA

Why Santa Rosa, you might ask?  What, do you not know about the Charles Schultz Museum and Research Center?  Remembering Snoopy and Charlie Brown and the rest of the cast of the beloved Peanuts cartoon series?

Schultz lived in Santa Rosa for many years.  Wandering around this city of 160,000, you come upon statues of characters from the series.

Still, why?  Jenna grew up in a Snoopy household.  Her mother collected Snoopies in all forms.  Jenna and her sister carry on the tradition.

Thus

For this, we worked 30 years.

Bruce

Monterey and Carmel-By-the-Sea

After five days drycamping at San Simeon, we drove to Monterey, CA.  Stayed at Laguna Seca, a race track that hosts the American Le Mans race, among others.  With nice RV spaces around the perimeter of the racetrack.  Quiet place to stay outside the scheduled events.  And just ten miles from Monterey and the ocean.

John Steinbeck wrote about Monterey in his classic novel, Cannery Row.  We toured that area, now mostly surrounded by boutique shops.

 

 Plus a stroll on Fisherman's Wharf, tho nary a fisherman in sight.  Instead you find seafood restaurants, one after the other along the pier.

The next day, we drove further south to Carmel-by-the-Sea, on the southern end of famous Pebble Beach Golf Course.  A very upscale community.  I counted five Ferraris during the few hours we spent there.  The town sits in the center of the shoreline of Monterey Bay.  Blue green water, greenery all around, flocks of pelicans and seagulls diving for fish, yellow-white crunchy sand.  Nice.

You may know that Clint Eastwood served as mayor of the city in 1986  We ate lunch at The Hog's Breath Inn, once owned by Eastwood.  Decided not to try the Dirty Harry burger.

Bruce looking notorious

Then on northward.

Bruce

San Simeon State Park and Hearst Castle

We moved north 30 miles to San Simeon State Park, along the ocean again, and just a few miles from Hearst Castle.

160 sites in this park, and only a dozen occupied.  Dry camping - no problem for us with large holding tanks and solar panels.  So nice we don't know when we will leave.

Today we toured the Hearst Castle, a joint venture of the Hearst Foundation and the California State Parks.  Whadda place!  William Randolph Hearst, one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time, this before the Arabs got smart and raised the price of oil, spent 15 years and spared no expense building this huge estate [90,080 Square Feet in all, with 56 bedrooms] and filling it with art and antiques from around the world.  And accumulated a vast holding of 250,000 acres of ranch and coastal land.  Orson Welles classic film Citizen Kane was a fictionalization of William Randolph Hearst's career.

The tour guide said, "It's hard to take a bad picture here."  But take a quick tour with a large group, and you won't get a chance for a good one.  Here are just a few, almost all outdoors.

Bruce

San Luis Obispo - Too Hot!

Upon our departure from Park Sierra, we drove southwest to San Luis Obispo.  [They call the city and county SLO.  I guess they live too fast to say it slow.]  Nice little California town.  The downtown area reminded us of Eugene Oregon.  And the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

Jenna at the gardens near the mission church.

But each of two days there, the "unusual" 90 degree heat drove us out to the coast. 

First day we relocated to Pismo Beach, a prosperous beach town with a small boardwalk and a fishing pier.  And great fish and chips at the Pismo Beach Fish and Chips, natch.

Second day we fled in the opposite direction to Morro Bay, a smaller community with a nice state beach next to Morro Rock, a 581-foot "volcanic plug ."  This is a great time of year to travel the California coast, just before the tourist season begins.  We spent hours on the beach with few sharing it.  Listening to the foghorns [on a bright sunlit day?!], the waves crashing, the smell of salt air, seagulls screaming overhead.  The best.

Bruce

On the Road Again

We've worked the last few days preparing to spend five months on the road.  Worked ourselves so hard that we have delayed our departure one day. 

No need to hurry.  And this is the nicest time of the year at Park Sierra.  Fragrant lilacs, blooming flowers.  Called the Yellow Season, because of all the pollen in the air.  Aaachoo!

Black tank repair worked out well.  Two 6 hour days crawling around on our backs with drills and screwdrivers and staple guns.  Appears successful.  We will test the work shortly.

In honor of our trip, a song [of course]. 

To the tune of "Born to be Wild."

Get that big rig runnin',
Head out to the campground,
Looking for a good spot,
Better get out of my way.

[Chorus],
I want me that 50 amp service,
Sure need me some wifi near,
A pool and a sauna for sure,
Plus good food and beer.

I like all the birdies,
See my cat ahunting,
Let my dog out on the beach,
Pooping where he wants to go.

[Chorus]
I want me that water and sewer,
And always cell service see,
A long pull thru that's for real sure,
And I want it for free.

I like smoking turkeys,
Build a great big fire,
Leave it burning when I go,
Do what I desire.

[Chorus]
Run my truck up and down the whole beach,
Like a big NASCAR race,
Fire all of my guns in the woods,
Get in everyone's face.

I'm a true nature's child,
I was born, born to be wild,
I sure live so high,
Never want to cry.

Not Bruce

Stage Coach Daze 2011 at Park of the Sierras

Last weekend, the park held our big fund raiser of the year.  Stage Coach Daze.  Almost 300 people, including about 50 guests, attended four days of fun, food, and general geezer fun.  Many hands worked for months to plan and implement this event.

Bruce acted in the traditional melodrama, as John Trueheart, a dumb kid aspiring to earn a scholarship to Harvard.  While the landlady conspired to evict the family from their home, trying to force John to compromise his [dumb] principles.  You had to be there.

 

 

Jenna and friends spontaneously created the John Trueheart Fan Club, waving signs and trying to tempt John into sin.  Unfortunately sin was not in the script.


Bruce also played a part as sheriff during the festival, arresting anyone seen without a name tag, or for any other reason he chose.


And played the part of a horse in a horse race.


Jenna sold tickets to one of several raffles.

She also sold her beadwork and held a workshop on making jewelry.

And you wonder if we are having fun.

We plan to depart on May 1.  Head up the California coast a ways, then inland.  THen somethin' somethin'.  Eventually land in Ashland, Oregon to see some live theatre before arriving to volunteer at the first of two Oregon state park for the summer.

Bruce

PS Thanks to Lorna for these pictures.

Speedy Alka-Seltzer Anew

Readers of a certain age (old) will recall Speedy Alka-Seltzer singing this jingle.
Youtube video

Plop, plop,
Fizz, Fizz,
Oh what a relief it is.

Now change just one letter
Plop, plop,
Wizz, wizz,
Oh what a relief it is.

Different ending.