Jacqueline’s Jaunts

         We decided to visit the Pismo State Beach Monarch Grove, and the Reynolds went to Morro Bay. The grove is only about 5 minutes from our campsite. Monarch Butterflies hang (no pun intended) in this area from October to February. We saw a few small ones at the tops of trees, but they were too far away for a photo.  Our walk from Monarch Grove to the dunes and back We followed a fast-flowing creek from the grove to the dunes and the ocean. We are still amazed at how much the storms have damaged the beach. Nevertheless, it was a nice, quiet walk while listening to the ocean. Pismo is still a beautiful beach; hopefully, we will visit again.  Next, we decided to drive through some of the neighborhoods around Pismo. We went on the other side of the freeway and drove up into the hills—huge expensive homes with fantastic views. On the way back, we drove through older neighborhoods on the other side of Amtrak's train tracks: some nicely redone homes and...

Steps Today - 4,508 Not many steps today. We mainly drove. We drove to the fish market in the town of Grover Beach. Only about a mile from here, if that. We purchased huge Prawns for dinner tonight and a piece of halibut for me. Later in the week, the other three are doing steaks. I'm not a beef eater, so we bought a halibut steak for me and frozen scallops. Then, we returned to camp to put the fish in the fridge. Then we decided to head to The Barn in Avila Beach. It's by the Avila KOA we stayed at last year. It's a huge fruit and veggie stand with fresh corn you can buy and eat, a stand that cooks fried chicken, lots of goats and chickens, and a separate building you can buy ice cream, salt water, taffy, and other candy. You can purchase Romaine lettuce from The Barn and feed the goats. They only want you to provide the goats Romaine, for some reason.  There are other animals too.  The whole reason for going was because Jan wanted a cobbler. When we arrived, the cobblers ...

My Man! Steps today - 14,442 Saturday, and so much for sleeping in. The Reynolds daughter Brook, son-in-law Aaron, granddaughter Kensley, and grandson Arik arrived this morning. Soon we heard Kensley and Arik at our door to say hello. They seemed excited to see us, and they gave big hugs to both of us. Then, they told us about school, and everything they have been doing, as much as an 8 and 10-year-old can say to you. Then back over to abuela and papa's RV.  Soon after, we were off to Pismo Beach. We drove to the left, went as far as we could, then turned around and headed toward the far-end gate. The part of the beach you can drive on was so short compared to before, but it was due to the recent storms. The Reynolds were ahead of us, and as we passed the first gate, a guy flagged us down. His truck was stuck, and he needed a tow to get out of the hole he was in. Barry said sure, and I texted the others to let them know what was happening. They pulled off of the beach highway and w...

05-31-22 Tuesday Pismo State Beach, Oceano Campground Jeeps in Parking Lot: 5 Drive Time: 0 Miles: 0 Arrived: 0 We had cereal for breakfast this morning. Jan brought over watermelon after so I’m going to have some as a snack later. I love really cold watermelon. Barry is not a melon person so I get to eat it all myself....YUMMY!.  Barry had to install the AC cover on top of the coach this morning. Last week when he was bringing it home from the service place in San Jose it blew off. Thank goodness it didn’t hit anyone. While he did the installation, I drove down to the beach to get our day pass. It’s like driving from our house to Safeway. If I didn’t have to show our vehicle and license plate, I would have walked. It was a quick trip. I could see some of the flags on the beach and it was crazy windy.  Barry had the installation almost done when I returned. We decided to walk around the pond and do a little exploring. There is a concrete path and some wooden walkways. Nice tra...

05-30-22 Monday Memorial Day Pismo State Beach, Oceano Campground Jeeps in Parking Lot: 3 Drive Time: 4 hours Miles: 232 miles Arrived: 3:00pm We headed out this morning about 9:30am to Pismo Beach. Hooking up with our friends Jan and Ken. We've had this trip planned for a year. Traffic was light. We stopped at this place in Gilroy, The Garlic Farm, to top off our propane tank. We couldn’t find it so drove around a bit and finely did. It was so crowded we just decided to get back on the freeway. Nice drive the rest of the way.  We pulled into our spot, talked to Jan and Ken, then finished setting up camp. Ken and Barry drove next door to buy firewood. The next thing we see is Barry pushing a wheelbarrow of wood to our campsite. Not something Jan and I expected to see. The guy at the store just told them to bring it on over and return the wheelbarrow. Ken came driving up in the jeep, and he took the wheelbarrow back. I was so shocked by the him pushing a wheelbarrow I didn't get...