Jacqueline’s Jaunts

"Not westward, but eastward seek the coming of the light." (Dakota Proverb) 1 Windy and cool this morning, but off we went. We normally would not drive as long as we did but wanted four days at Grand Canyon. We all needed gas, so we stopped at a Pilot. The pump we chose was VERY slow and irritating. Of course, it would be us with the slow pump...so annoying. Last in the caravan again.    Back on the road again via Interstate 40 (parallels Route 66) and the worst road we have ever traveled. Do not take this road if you can. Uneven, giant potholes, missing sections, and ruts. Just an awful road. We rattled for miles on end. Plus, the crosswinds were blowing out of control. Tough drive with all that and the Big Rigs passing by. The vibrations broke a piece of trim off the TV cabinet above us and landed in Barry’s lap.    We stopped in Williams for gas at a Maverick station. It was so easy to get in and out of. Once we hit Highway 64, the road was somewhat better. Still potholes

"A good man does not take what belongs to someone else." (Pueblo Proverb) 1 We stopped to get gas in Tehachapi, and I left my phone in the bathroom. I went back to check, and it was gone... Damn'it!!!! Asked everyone in the place if anyone had turned it in, and of course not. So we told the rest of the group to go ahead and we will catch up. Used the MyFind app to turn it off. Called T-Mobile to suspend my account. I reset important passwords just in case. I felt devastated. We took off and talked about whether to replace it or not. I was not a happy camper.  The drive was harrowing. Over San Bernadino mountains, Bristol mountains (2700 ft.), down through Mojave National Monument, over and down the Sacramento Mountains into Needles. We experienced cross winds most of the drive, which made it hard to drive straight.    I called ahead and found a T-Mobile store in Bullhead City. Once we hooked up, we drove to Bullhead City, passing through California, Arizona, California th

"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave" (Dakota Proverb) 1 .    Departure day. Set up plants, hooked up the jeep to the RV, put bikes on the Jeep bike rack, and off we went. We left around 10:30 AM, about a half-hour behind. Hit some light rain going over Altamont.    The five-hour drive to Bakersfield was easy. We hit a detour to the RV park but made it. Great spot, all three of us together. Now that we are all together, tequila shots to kick off the trip. My proposal for our journey that we all adopted is, "Whoever gets to the next site first hosts tequila shots!"   Barry, Ken, and Roma went to check out the Camping World right around the corner. Barry bought me a little gift, a tiny collapsible bowl. I love bowls, so it was perfect.    Roma gave us our "Destination Is All" t-shirts and sweatshirts. We created a logo, and Roma arranged to have them printed. They came out beautiful.    Jan fed us all lasagna for dinner, and it was tasty. Great c

Today is break camp day & driving home. The morning went smooth, pack-up was easy & byes said to J&K before leaving. Quick Burrito for breakfast & we're off.  Barry mapped a Chevron Station in Paso Robles right next to Firestone Brewery, so we thought it would be perfect. We didn't need a pump out since we used the Bananaboys the day before! They are mobile and came to us. Talk about convenient. The cost was $50.00 for full service at the campsite. The guy was great, and Barry had a good conversation about Pismo seasonal issues due to the weather and how he is surviving. Great service.  We pulled into the Chevron-easy access, filled up the RV & were careful to not pull too close to the pumps due to the RV tail swing. Finally, ready to leave, I was outside on the walkie watching progress & all looked good.  Suddenly, Barry is 3/4 out of the driveway & the RV STOPPED DEAD! Damn it...driveshaft, transmission? No...the crown of the road is so high, the R

Diner History Our last full day. For breakfast, we went to this diner made from two trains, The Rock & Roll Diner. It was only about 5 minutes from camp. The food was just OK. My French toast had a weird taste, something other than what I liked. Everyone said their meal was just OK. I don't think we will be back. Sad because the decor is fun.                 After breakfast, K & J decided to visit Pismo State Beach, Monarch Grove. I wanted to fly my kite later, plus I had a class I needed to attend at 4:30 PM, so we decided to stay in camp. The great thing about being retired is we can change our minds. We decided to drive to the neighborhood above the freeway to see the views, and we were not disappointed. The sky was this beautiful color of marine blue, and the weather was so clear you could see all the way to the horizon. From there, we drove by a triple-wide manufactured home that looked beautiful inside, per the real estate photos. Nice 55+ park but too close to a majo

         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 some not. Finally, we took W

Today was another property search day with K & J, Santa Maria, Nipomo, and Orcutt. We drove through a few gated communities but nothing with room for RV and boat storage. We did see a few lovely older homes with large lots, but the houses need a lot of work.  We ate in Orcutt at Blast 825 Brewery, Brussels sprouts, super tater-tots, steak bites, and onion rings. Don't worry; we did order a basket of fries. We love this place. Great looking brewery. Unfortunately, there were only a few homes to see in this area after lunch.  Long-Billed Curlew We were home by 4 PM. We decided to walk the campground to stretch our legs. Then we had a last-minute decision and walked to the beach. It was cool and windy, but a great time to be on the beach. Only a few people and lots of birds. Just to hear the ocean and birds was worth dealing with the cool air.  Most of the clam shells were complete Long-Billed Curlew While we went on our walk. Jan put the lasagne in the oven and prepared a Caesar