Big Sur in The Beast

We haven't driven the Beast since Labor Day weekend and boy-oh-boy could we tell. Driving the Beast on Highway 1 is, in a word, taxing. For me, it didn't matter which of us was driving, I white-knuckled it almost all the way, palms sweating, gut clenched. Our granddaughter, Odessa, was with us and she simply and trustingly went with the flow saying it wasn't really any different than riding the buses in San Francisco. I guess I haven't ridden enough buses in the recent past because we need to be driving our rig a lot more often in order for my comfort level to increase. We, I, need more practice driving this thing.

Many stretches of Highway 1 are narrow and curvy, and there were two single lane areas where work was being done to repair storm damage or natural erosion. In one of the single lane areas, we had to squeeze the Beast between K-wall barriers and a rocky cliff face while workmen were busy finishing the construction of what appears to be a new tunnel-like structure. Being that it was Friday, we were led by a pilot car. On our return trip, Sunday, there was no work being done so stop lights were implemented to regulate traffic at both single-lane locations, of which the rocky-cliff-face one directed traffic through the new, roomy tunnel. I guess some people thought they had waited too long at their red light, or that it wasn't functioning properly, so decided to drive on through, but lo and behold, they came face to face with none other than THE BEAST. I saw a couple 'oh shit' looks on people's faces as they tried to figure out how they were going to get out of our way. Lucky for them there was space for them to maneuver and let us pass, otherwise they would've been practicing their back-up skills. I know how long it had been since our traffic light had turned green, so it is obvious to me that these people were selfishly impatient and lacking any forethought as to how much road ahead of them could have been under construction. They didn't wait even a full five minutes, which is about how long it took us to maneuver from our traffic light to the other.

Regardless of how nerve-wracking the drive felt for this 40-foot-motorhome-newbie, the ocean, it's blue-green-aqua waves, the craggy cliffs and serrated rock formations, like sentinels rising from the depths defending the life-abundant kelp beds swaying at their feet, were utterly glorious under the clear, blue sky. And then we drove into Big Sur proper where I embraced the momentary hushed, peaceful feeling I experienced when flanked with beautiful coastal redwoods, oaks, pines and cedars. The high-noon sun poked its rays between the thick, aged branches, leaves and needles, and made its way to the road, lighting it with stripes and dots. How I wished I could've photographed it all along the way. Unfortunately, there were just too few pull-outs large enough to accommodate our rig and provide an ideal photo opportunity.

We camped at Plaskett Creek Campground, which is part of US Forest Service land at the Los Padres National Forest. Upon arriving, we found the roads in the campground narrow and at every bend the rear wheels of the Beast climbed up and down asphalt curbs. When we reached our campsite, I grabbed a walkie-talkie and headed outside to help direct Rob into position for backing into the space. Much to my horror, I caused him to pull too far to the right and wham! crunch! scrape! right into a large rock—or small boulder… whatever!—that the campground uses at intervals to mark the roadway and campsites. We could still open and close the basement door that was damaged, but it has to be replaced. It'll cost us the $500 deductible. I need more practice directing this thing.



This Big Sur weekend was organized by Kim Galvin as a Hallowe'en Paragliding Fly-In get-together. As usual, she did a great job making sure all the pilots who'd never flown there before got their site-intros and everyone was having a good time. 

Saturday evening was the Hallowe'en Costume Pot-luck, for which I prepared Dutch-Oven Beef Stew. It turned out to be one of my most tasty beef stews to date. And that wasn't all. Kim made an amazing chicken verde dish that I believe she said was made with 5 different kinds of green chili peppers. Another fantastic dish was a butternut squash soup that had ginger, and I think basil, in it. Once it was in your bowl, you squeezed a little fresh lemon juice in it and OMG! Truly a taste treat. I want that recipe, Kathleen! And then there was the lasagne with a whole bottle of wine in the marinara sauce and the most delicious garlic bread to accompany it. Pretty darned good, Laura. Many dressed in Hallowe'en costumes, but the best belonged to the kids, of course. 

For a few of us who came along but don't or didn't want to fly, a visit to Sand Dollar Beach was a relaxing highlight. The California coast has to be one of the most beautiful in the world. There were children, surfers, sunbathers and happy dogs making the most of the warm, sunny day. Odessa played in the Pacific with Alejandro and Alexia Laos and got pretty much covered with sand from neck to toe. At one point, a sweet, black dog decided I was the person to do stick duty. He placed his stick at my feet and vocalized his insistence with yelps and whines that I pick it up, such as it was, and throw it for him. I did as I was asked for a little while, but the stick was so light that it didn't go far. Hardly a challenge at all—for the dog that is. When I found a heftier stick, the dog wasn't the least bit interested. He wanted the one he chose… until he found another sucker person who actually had a tennis ball and one of those devices for throwing it. I was pleased to know my black beauty played well with other dogs; and that he gave me the opportunity to photograph their joy.

I am truly looking forward to getting on the road full-time so we can better practice driving, backing up and parking the Beast successfully in every situation. And, I am pleased to say that after we got home Rob smoothly backed the Beast into its parking space in one fell swoop. I also look forward to practicing more photography so I can offer up better and more exciting images to share with you. After all, practice makes perfect.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy our Big Sur Weekend. 

Emerging Pattern Nipped

Rob and I took The Beast, along with our bird, Ollie, and cats, Louis and Brandy, to Hat Creek over the Labor Day weekend from August 31st to September 4th. We gathered there with many of our paragliding friends and lots of hang gliding community.

Hat Creek is located in the north end of Lassen National Forest in northeastern California, near the town of Burney. The area is strewn with volcanic rock—the last eruption having been on May 22, 1915. I didn't find anything stating Mt. Lassen is an extinct volcano, so I must assume that it could erupt again. 

The town of Burney proudly hosts the McArthur-Burney Falls State Park and, for anyone traveling through the area, it is a must-see. Not only are the falls spectacular, there are beautiful campgrounds, hiking trails and Lake Britton to enjoy. Sadly, because we don't have a vehicle to tow (known as a toad), we didn't get to visit the falls this trip.

On Friday, we had an uneventful drive to the campground, which is a good thing. Both Rob and I are becoming more comfortable with the size and feel of The Beast, but a day on the road takes its toll. We seem fine for the rest of the day, but the following day we seem tuckered out and cranky. We bickered and argued a bit. This happened when we went down to Long Beach, too.

We stayed close to our camp and Rob worked on some projects, such as buffing one of the interior doors to the basements, and I cooked in my new Lodge camp dutch oven for the first time.

Dutch oven cooking takes some getting used to and there is a bit of a learning curve. My first meal was breakfast using a recipe from a Texas Dutch Oven cookbook. It turned out delicious, but getting there was fraught with doubt. I used the recommended number of coals, but it didn't seem like the oven was getting hot enough for a good fry. I had placed the coals and the oven in the bottom of the fire pit, but that was smothering the coals. We moved the coals to some bare ground outside the fire pit, which seemed to help and breakfast tasted like a success. After a trip to the campground store, we found a portable, tabletop barbecue that you can see in the photo. We turned it upside down on a rebar grill wedged into the fire ring and used it to support the coals and the dutch oven. That evening, I cooked a stuffed, pork tenderloin in it with a recipe from the Lodge cookbook. Believe me, that will be cooked again!

In the photo, above, the best chili in the world is cooking in the dutch oven. I prepared the chili on Sunday for the potluck we had that evening with our paragliding friends. I have a tendency to make everyone a guinea pig as I rarely try out a recipe before feeding it to others. It was no different this time, either. I found this recipe for Fusion Chili on allrecipes.com. I feel (and I can safely speak for the others who ate it that night), that it is worth cooking it yourself. It is not a recipe designed just for camp cooking, so you can prepare it in your own kitchen. You won't be sorry. Don't expect leftovers if you're having a crowd over.

Everyone left camp the following day to get home and prepare to go to work on Tuesday… everyone but us. We stayed another day and enjoyed a nearly empty campground. Although we liked talking with people and seeing kids around camp walking dogs, riding bikes, having a good time, we relished the peace of having the campground to ourselves. Our only near neighbor was never there during the day. He was out fishing. All other campers were at the other side of the campground.

We kept our meals simple on our last day. I've decided that dutch-oven cooking is a twice, maybe three, times a week proposition. It takes a lot of monitoring, which is really part of the fun, but it takes a bit out of you if you have to spend much time bending over the pot. I've since ordered the Lodge camp table which will make cooking easier.

On our way home on Tuesday, we stopped at a place in Redding that sells satellite dishes. Turns out they are also a dealer for Dish Network, which had already been looking like our satellite service of choice. Rob had spoken with a camper over the weekend who had his satellite dish set up and said he'd bought his from these folks in Redding. He spoke highly of them and their prices. Rob liked the man's set-up and decided we'd explore our options. By the time we got done at B&T Satellite, we had Dish service pending and the satellite dish and other components riding home on the bed. I think we were in Redding at least three hours! 

We didn't get home until around 9:00 or 9:30pm. We got the bird and cats into the house, leveled The Beast so we could keep the fridge running, and chilled in front of the TV before crashing into bed. The next day, we were beat and cranky, starting to argue, and getting on each others nerves. We are unfamiliar with being this way with each other. So, in the future, I think the day after travel, we need to lay low, recognize our exhaustion, not take on too much, keep it simple… and to ourselves. After nearly 26 years of marriage, I sure don't want to start a pattern of arguing now. Especially when the remedy is simply a good night's sleep.

First Time Out

Here at Golden Shore RV Resort, I definitely would not call this 'camping.' Also, the word 'resort' is used rather loosely, in my opinion, regardless of how nice it seems here. In the future, I can only hope that most of the places we go to that can handle a rig the size of ours will be more camp-like. After all, one does not usually see high-rise buildings from their campground.

We drove to Long Beach yesterday towing our tent trailer and delivered it to Rob's brother, Chip. We traveled with one pet, our bird Ollie. He did really well with all the bumps, bounces, sways and jiggles, but that poor, little bird was so pooped by the end of the trip (which was eight hours and a couple rest stops), he could barely keep his eyes open. Hopefully Ollie will develop his travel legs or we might have to plan on driving fewer hours in a day. I just don't know for sure.

At one stop along the way, there was a drainage gutter that ran through the parking lot. I was driving the Beast at the time and even though I slowed to drive across it, the jack on the tent trailer bottomed out and, as we found out later, it bent the pipe for the wheel mount used to raise and lower the hitch on the tent trailer itself. It wasn't even a very deep gutter! Of course it just figures that I'd be the one driving at the time. My brother-in-law had to fix it today. Thank goodness it was a pretty easy fix, but just the fact that he had to deal with it at all was bothersome. The good that came from it was that Rob and Chip figured out they had to switch how the ball fitted on the metal bracket used in the hitch housing so that the trailer's hitch would ride higher. Otherwise, Chip might have suffered the same result in the future from having the ball mount too low, but I just don't know for sure. Live and learn - that's what I always say. I also say: All's well that ends well. Both apply in this case.

We entertained on our first night out RVing. My brother-in-law and his wife, Chris, our niece, Heather, and a dear friend of theirs from Phoenix, Jackie, graced us with their company. We served up margaritas and barbequed a tasty pork tenderloin with a jerk seasoning rub. With it I served a variety of steamed squashes from my sister's garden along with some brussel sprouts, all seasoned with butter, pepper, garlic salt and basil. I'd never seasoned my steamed veggies that way before but everyone remarked that they were delicious, and I agree. I also served a green salad and Chris brought a Claim Jumper Chocolate Silk Pie for dessert. A good time was had by all... in fact, we may have been a bit too noisy, but I just don't know for sure.

Our bed in the Beast is either very comfortable or we were so tired that it wouldn't have mattered if we'd slept on the ground. We awoke with no aches and pains, so it had to have been the bed, but I just don't know for sure. To the extent that we felt good, Ollie, on the other hand, was certainly bleary-eyed for a good, long while after we took the cover off his cage. He was not his usual talkative self this morning and he probably would have appreciated a couple hours more sleep.

Rob left to help teach Chip how to set up and break down the tent trailer, so I was left to my own devices here at the Beast for the better part of the day. I read magazines and talked with my neighbors, read the news on the internet, where I learned that Phyllis Diller and William Windon both had died, and let Ollie out of his cage for awhile. He commenced flying two or three laps around the lounge and kitchen area, then on through the bathroom into the bedroom where he landed on the floor in front of the closet door. The door is mirrored so he figured he had another bird to talk to. I left him there for just a couple of minutes, but he seemed grateful when I got him back into his cage. The neighbors I spoke with are really nice. They're from Hemet and they came to Long Beach simply for the cooler air. They are both elderly and she, Cleo, said this is probably their last trip. Her husband has COPD and he just can't do the things he used to. Cleo says she knows how, or is able, to do a lot of the things required for their travel trailer, but not everything. That time will come eventually for us, too. I think Cleo and her husband are in their late 70s, maybe early 80s. Rob is 8 years older than I, so I hope he can keep at this until his late 70s... if that's what we want. It's a lot more fun and exciting than sitting around our house trying to figure out what to do with ourselves. That much I know for sure.

Pre-Sticker removal

I have finally posted a photograph of the Beast. Took long enough, eh? Rob took this photo on the day we (he) decided to buy it. I think it was pretty darned good-looking... from a distance. The truth is, even though the motorhome was hardly used, barely broken-in, it was kept in the elements over the years. The stickers were peeling and worn looking.

Looking at the photo you see stripes and the model, Horizon, on the front and sides. That's all gone now. Rob used adhesive remover and peeled and scraped with putty knives. Only the actual painted parts remain—silver-gray, white and blue. It looks less busy, which we like. We'll probably have 'The Beast' pinstriped on the front panel, but the final decision on that has yet to be made; however, a photograph I took of Rob paragliding will get made into a vinyl transfer and placed on the rear wall and another vinyl transfer of this blog address will be made to fit the panel under the rear slide. I hope people are curious enough to look up my blog and follow our travels.

Since we are leaving next Monday, August 20th, for a short jaunt to southern California, I will have the opportunity to photograph the Beast in an open space. Right now, it is parked in a narrow, fenced area and photographing it properly is nearly impossible. I'll post the new photo as soon as I can so you can see the difference.

In the meantime, I've been making lists to make sure we don't forget any necessities, and of little things to buy that will keep other little things from shifting inside cupboards and cabinets. When it is all in order, I will also photograph the interior. It is surprisingly comfortable.

Until next time...

Driving the Beast

We have been a little confused. What should we call that huge thing we'll be traveling in? We've been calling it the 'trailer.' But it's not a trailer. We won't be towing the danged thing. It's a motorhome. Motorhome sounds like too many syllables, even if it is just three. It also feels, well, pretentious. But that's what it is. A motorhome. We've thought about calling it a bus, but it isn't a bus. Buses have two rear axles. I've referred to it in this blog as an RV. Short and sweet in the syllable department, but it seems too generic, a little cold. My brother-in-law referred to it as the 'Motor-monster.' Cool but, again, too many syllables. Now, a motorhome has two major parts: The coach is the space in which you live; the basement is all the compartments underneath for storage. We could call it the Coach, but it just doesn't have the right ring to it. When asking each other where something might be located, we could refer to either the coach or the basement. But, what do we call it when referring to the whole thing? Rob initially started calling it 'The Beast.' I nixed that as it seemed negative. I don't want to live in a 'Beast.' But then again, I hadn't driven it yet.

Last evening we performed our first departure routine. We walked around the outside of 'The Beast.' All basement doors securely closed - check. Electrical cable unplugged and neatly tucked away - check. Engine compartment secure - check. Generator compartment secure - check. Inside, both slides retracted - check. All loose items on countertops put away or secured - check. Water pump off - check. Windows closed - check. Levelers retracted - check. Chock levelers removed and stowed - check.

Off we went to Costco. In the motorhome. We arrived 15 minutes before closing time, went in for a fast-food kind of dinner, took our food back out to the motorhome and ate it. We watched as customers wheeled their carts heavily laden with toilet paper, laundry detergent, packages of meat and veggies, TVs, garden supplies and trees out to their cars and drive away. We watched employees gather together and push unwieldy wagon-trains of carts to their nightly resting places, all lined up nice and neat. We watched them watch us watching them. I wondered if anyone would approach us to ask why we were sitting there, not leaving, but nobody did. Once the parking lot was empty except for a few cars, probably those of the employees, I slid into the drivers seat, adjusted it to my liking — which isn't saying much because the seat doesn't go low enough for me to rest my heel on the floor while pressing on the accelerator or brake pedals. I moved the steering wheel around until it felt right, too, and adjusted the side mirrors.

After starting the engine, Rob counseled me on checking the air pressure levels in the brakes and turning on the rear camera so I can see behind us. Rob walked around the back so I could determine, spatially, how far away everything was and how far of a view the camera encompassed. Once Rob was back aboard, I put it in drive and gingerly tested the accelerator, then the brakes. Rob wanted me to drive it in circles to calibrate the compass. What? I've never driven this thing before and he wants me pushing buttons and paying attention to a device while I'm driving it? Good dang thing the parking lot was pretty empty! Once the compass was calibrated, off I went going up and down aisles, turning right, turning left, wiping out about six imaginary cars, drove a rear tire over a curb, got the hang of it. I drove it all the way home. The thing is big, huge! It's a BEAST! But easier to drive than I thought it'd be.

Maybe we will refer to it as The Beast in general. But, once we're on the road, maybe we'll just call it Home.

Making progress

We've had our cats out in the RV a few times. They are a little nervous, but getting better. We spent our first night out in the RV the night before last to test out the cat's reactions. They behaved normally throughout the night, except that Louis spent an inordinate amount of time walking around our heads. Needless to say we didn't get as much sleep as usual. They are fairly active in the middle of the night and it wasn't any different in the RV. We heard them tearing up and down the length just as they do throughout the house. I found them a kitty condo that fits perfectly in front of the window in the bedroom. It has a toy on a spring on the bottom platform, which Brandy played with for quite awhile. We knew this because it has a bell and it jingled and jingled and jingled. Good thing it's a small bell!

After speaking with someone at Winnebago, Rob was able to remove the TV at the front of the RV. That was quite a chore trying not to damage the maple wood framing. Those old TVs weigh a ton as evidence by Rob's strain while I detached the cables and cords. There was no way he'd be able to get it down the steps of the RV by himself. Thank goodness our neighbor, Charles, was able to come right over and get the job done for us (he's also only 37 or 38 years old). We headed over to Costco after that and picked up the new flat screen TV to take its place. Rob is an excellent woodworker, and its going to look really good when its finished.

We leave in two weeks in the RV with our bird, Ollie. We'll be towing the tent-trailer down to LA to Rob's brother, Chip, who snapped it up the moment Rob mentioned it was for sale. We reserved a couple of nights at a nice RV resort in Long Beach that is right by the water. I have a feeling we'll have our share of freeway noise and, possibly, sound emanating from the Port of Long Beach. I think they work throughout the night off-loading the container ships.

On our way back toward home in northern California, we'll be stopping to see my daughter, Kristie, son-in-law, Matt, and grandson, Cayman, in Ventura. Kristie says she's seen people with big RVs parked in the neighborhood so we ought to be able to park right by her house for a couple of nights with no problem. It will be great fun to see Cayman at this time because he starts kindergarten the day before we arrive. I'm looking forward to hearing about his first couple of days.

Off of Highway 101 heading north from Ventura is an RV park called Rincon Parkway. It's basically giant parking spaces along old Highway 1 situated above the beach along the Pacific ocean. If there is space available (first come, first served), we might pull in just to spend one night listening to the ocean lull us to sleep. I've wanted to do that for such a long time, so I'm hoping there is a space for us. I just don't want to have to suddenly learn how to parallel park a 40 foot motorhome. Yikes!

No matter what, we are looking forward to our first adventure in the RV.

Getting ready

Rob and I have been working diligently on readying the motorhome for travel. We've filled the galley (ship speak for kitchen), with the dishes, silverware and pots and pans from our tent-trailer, added a memory foam topper to the sleep-number mattress and put on the new sheets, built a space for the cat's litter box under one of the booth seats at the dinette and with a kitty door, too.

Last night was not a good night, however. I starting thinking "What have we done? Are we nuts for spending so much money on this thing? What if we can't afford to travel in this thing?" Then I had to remind myself about growing really old and regretting that we didn't take the chance, to make a dream come true. I had to remember what I've been saying since we made the decision to motorhome our way around the country, and I quote from 'The Shawshank Redemption:' "get busy living or get busy dying." We want to be busy living. I also want to release myself from the stuff in my life. I want my daily living to have less stuff.. I don't want to be attached to stuff anymore. I want to 'do'. I want my life to feel less complicated. I'm sure RVing will create its own set of complications, but I believe it will offer more choices than complications. The complications are likely to be mechanical, but the choices are endless. And if you don't like where you are? Check the fluid levels, stock the fridge, pull up the levelers, top off the diesel and drive out of town to the next new place.

I'm just glad there are cell phones and computers. Now that's the stuff I'm willing to keep to stay in contact with family and friends.

Our first post

Today is our grandson Jaydon's 9th birthday, which marks our first blog post. I have a lot to learn about using all the features on this blog site. As I get to know how to use them, I will post photos. I'm hoping to create something of interest that attracts others who share, or not, the same interests as us. My husband, Rob, and I are embarking on a new way of life in our retired years. Many others have done it before us, but it is new to us. We will be RVers. The name of our blog describes us as baby boomers and our choice of home as Class A, which is the type of RV Motorhome we bought. Whether you own a Class A, B, C or camp with tent and/or only backpack, all are welcome here.

I've often wondered about people in the USA who feel no interest in seeing their own country; who desire to go to far-away islands for vacation, or to see Europe or Asia or Africa or Indonesia or wherever, but never their own country. I would love to see the whole world but, before I see everyone else's world, I want to see my own. I want to see the land that my ancestors fought for in the American Revolution, the land they crossed in covered wagons, the land some immigrated to from the Azores, and the diverse beauty this North American continent offers. I want to gaze across cornfields covered with huge, blue sky; smell the Atlantic from the Maine coast; be dazzled by the October leaves of Vermont; be humbled by the monuments in Washington DC; be tanned on the beaches of Florida; feel my lungs fill from the gasp of breath I take at viewing the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Mt. Rushmore, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Sedona, the Mississippi, the Florida Keys, Alaska. I want to spend my mornings and evenings in campgrounds living outdoors with campfires burning, children playing, talking with strangers who become strangers no more, sharing stories, taking our time, making memories, living in the moment, now.

Join us on our journey. We just might meet you out there on the road.