Jacqueline’s Jaunts

Saturday, July 1, 2023

June 26 through June 30, 2023 Pismo Beach

Pacific Coast Village

Site #382

JEEPS - 5 (Tuesday), 22 (Thursday)

We left home on Monday, June 26th, for Pismo Beach. We are staying at Pismo Coast Village RV Resort for the first time. They have 400 sites. We made the reservations six months ago. We normally stay at Oceano State Beach RV Park, but we wanted to try this place. We are here with Jan & Ken Reynolds. This place does not let you choose a site; they will only tell you your site number the morning you check-in. This is also a place you can join for $50,000, and you get the first pick of sites...ridiculous. You can store your RV at the resort storage across the street. If you are a member, they will bring your RV to your site for you, one perk for the fifty grand. We checked in around 4:30 PM on Monday. The Reynolds are two sites from us and checked in about thirty minutes before us. Check-in time is 4:00 PM. We hooked up and headed to Old Juan's Cantina in Oceanside. We love this place, especially its huge margaritas. The Reynolds joined us later.

Tuesday, the 27th, was an uneventful day. We walked half of the RV park, walked the beach, watched the sunset, BBQ'd chicken for dinner, and made s'mores by the fire with Ken, Jan, and Chance. Nice relaxing day. I like these kind of days.

Wednesday, the 28th, we had Little Debbie's chocolate donuts, bananas, coffee for breakfast, breakfast of champions. Visited the park next door to check out the RV sites. This park was a state park and boon-docking only. From there, we went to the RV sales lot down the street. We looked at the Newmar class A motorhomes and a few of the trailers they had on the lot. We discovered they also have a great parts store. We've been here before but didn't know about the parts store. Went back to the RV, made sammies for lunch, and spent the afternoon on the beach. Watched Ken, Chance, and Jason fly kites. We walked the beach collecting a few shells. Headed back to the RV around 4:30 PM and made pizzas for dinner. A great day.

Thursday, the 29th, I slept in until 10:00 AM. My hip hurt last night, and I was having a hard time. Didn't want anything for breakfast because, by the time I got up and going, it was almost lunchtime. We decided to walk over to the cafe for lunch, and we each had a clam chowder bowl. Talk about yummy. Barry agreed that it was some of the best chowders I have had. We sat outside in the back, just the two of us. It was nice because we had a great conversation about who knows what. After lunch, we walked back to our RV, put our kite and drinks into our beach chair on wheels, and went off to the beach. We found the Reynolds easy and broke out my kite. The weather was still foggy, with a slight breeze that barely kept my kite flying. After a while, I let Penny (Ken & Jan's four-year-old granddaughter) fly my kite...with my help. She loved it, but after a bit, she was bored, and off she went to gather more shells. There was a lagoon behind us, and I saw this guy wakeboarding. It was the weirdest thing. After a while, Barry figured out a group of people had a wench hooked to a tree stump that was on some kind of thing that pulled a rope in as the wakeboarder got close to it. I've posted a video below and on Facebook. By the time we remembered to take a video, he could only go a little way because the pulley battery ran out; one of the guys running the pulley yelled at the wakeboarder to let him know. It was entertaining to watch. After that, we packed up and walked back to the RV. We were getting hungry. Today is Chance's (Ken & Jan's grandson) 18th birthday, and the Reynolds family had dinner plans. We returned, and Barry heated up the leftover Pizza and made a Caesar salad. I think the Pizza was better today. After dinner and dishes, we drove the campground and counted 22 jeeps tonight. Back at the RV, I worked on this blog, and Barry journaled about the last few days. The Reynolds returned at 9:00 PM, and we went over for birthday cake. Jason, Amanda, and Penny left for their hotel. Ken and Jan came over for a nightcap. Finished this blog, and I'm off to bed. Wonderful day.

Friday, the 30th, Today is a true hangout day. I slept in, which felt really good. We did not go to the beach. It is foggy and cool today. I watched a video on how to use Airtable. Check-in time is 4:00 in this place, and it was entertaining around this time. So many RVs moving in and out, kids everywhere, and watching people park their trailers was entertaining. We had leftover pizza and Caesar Salad for dinner. Barry built a fire, and the Reynolds came over after their dinner, for s'mores. After, we went to the Reynold's RV and watched the new episode of Outlander. OMG...what a great one. Cannot wait for next week.

Sea Sponge

The Best Clam Chowder

Pelican Stink Eye

From Costco-Beach Lounger Combo Cart-Great Invention

Beach Sunsets Never Get Old

Sunday, June 4, 2023

05-05-23 Grand Canyon South Rim (Day 2) 27°/62° Windy

Beginning of Kaibab Trail

Jeeps-7

“There are many paths to a meaningful sense of the natural world.” (Blackfoot Proverb)

We left for the visitor center around 10:00 AM. The main goal was to get our Passport cancellation stamps and stickers. We also bought sammies for our hike down Kaibab Trail. It is a steep downward hike with three levels .9 miles to Ooh Aah Point, .6 miles to Cedar Ridge, and 1.5 miles to Skeleton Point...then another four miles to the Colorado River. We only went to Ooh Aah Point., well...almost. The rest of the group went to Cedar Ridge. This was a challenging hike, serious stuff at 7,000 feet.

This is what the trail looks like
from the top

I was worried about how far I would make it, but I would do my best. Unfortunately, my damn hips were giving me problems again. We almost made it to Ooh Aah, but it was starting to get warm, and I do not hike well when it is warm. I also had to use my inhaler, and it helped. The walk back up was uphill with switchbacks, and lots of people, so we took it slow and steady. Finally, we made it back up, and my hips were on fire, and Barry’s knee hurt a bit, BUT we did it.

We ate lunch outside the gift shop and were entertained by the marmots. I have never seen one, and they look like a giant squirrel. One would circle me and try to steal lettuce from my sandwich—bold little guys. One almost got on Barry’s lap. We did not feed them, but they sure are cute when begging.

Sculpture outside the Gift Shop

Close up

On the trail

Once we finished our lunch, we walked to the gift shop, bought T-shirts, stickers, and got my Passport cancellation stamps. We then walked to Mather Point. It is about a quarter of a mile from the visitor center and FLAT! This point has some beautiful views, and we took lots of photos. We had a great time at our own pace. Finally, around 2:30 PM, we made it back to the RV. It gave us time to relax, shower and get ready for dinner. We had dinner reservations at the El Tovar Hotel with Roma and Dennis. The Reynolds decided to have dinner at their RV.

Dennis and Roma piled into our Jeep, and off we went. All four of us looked forward to dinner. We could not find parking, so we drove to the train station and parked. We had to walk up a bunch of stairs...AGAIN, and over to the hotel. The décor was so cool. The inside of the restaurant looked like an old log cabin. Our reservation was at 5:30 PM, and the place was already packed. Roma and I ordered Prickly Pear Margaritas. Neither of us had one before. I can see that this will become a favorite in the future. We all loved our meals and tasted each other’s. I had shrimp and scallops, Barry ate Lamp Shanks, Roma ordered Duck, and Dennis had the special ground veal with pasta. We also ordered dessert; Roma and Dennis had Crème Brule, Barry had an Apple Crisp, and I had the Flourless Chocolate Cake with a raspberry sauce. YUMMY!

All cleaned up for dinner.

Prawns and Scallops

Lamb Shank

Part of the dining room decor

After dinner, we went into the gift shop, took care of our Passport cancellations, and bought stickers for our passport books. Then, we walked behind the Kachina and Thunderbird Lodges to view the Grand Canyon again. It was cloudy, so unfortunately, we couldn’t see the sunset. Once back to our RV, I changed into PJs and relaxed for the night. Early rising again tomorrow.

View from the El Tovar Hotel

One of the Kaibab Trail switchbacks

Look for the "You are here" on the right side.
Beginning of Kaibab trail.

Mather Point

Unbelievable

After dinner view

Dennis enjoyed the sunset after dinner.

More sunset

Always enjoy sunset photos

1. Zona, Guy A, The Soul Would Have No Rainbow If The Eyes Had No Tears (New York: Touchstone, 1994), p.116.

Thursday, June 1, 2023

05-04-23 Grand Canyon South Rim (Day 1) 28°/60° Windy

When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. (Arapaho Proverb)1

Jeeps 5

Today was biking day to Hermits Rest, seven plus miles. This was a significant challenge for Barry and me. The rest of the group have electric bikes, and we have standard bikes, so staying together was doomed from the start. Barry and I took the shuttle to the first stop so we did not have to ride up a steep hill. The rest of the group waited for us there. Each stop along the way had magnificent views of the canyon. I found myself standing at the edge in awe of the views. I can see how this is one of the world's seven wonders. Can you name all seven?

The original plan was to stop at each site, but that did not last long as the rest of the group blew up the hill. I had a difficult time and needed to walk some of it.

We did make it to the top of Hermits Rest behind the electric bike group. I could not believe we made it. Most people passing us had electric bikes. We checked out the gift shop and got our passport stamps. I have never worked so hard for a passport stamp before. We ate lunch, and what a magnificent place to do so.

We started back, but it was uphill, leaving Hermits Rest, and I had to walk. Once it began to go uphill again, there was no way I could make it. We turned around and waited for the bus at the first stop...good decision. I was exhausted and happy we at least made it to the top.

Once down at the bottom, we peddled to the Jeep, loaded the bikes, and headed to the grocery store for a few items. Bought a Christmas ornament, a T-shirt, and a few groceries. Back to the RV, and everyone was on their own for dinner. Our bed felt especially inviting tonight.

1Zona, Guy A, The Soul Would Have No Rainbow If The Eyes Had No Tears (New York: Touchstone, 1994), p.22