Canned Comfort

We are home . . .

The time after getting home from our outings equals clean up for storage. We have found a dump station in Scotts Valley that is clean and convenient! Wow what a find as we survived the poopscicle run. Now starts the important stuff.

I bought the H2O at Home, car cleaner kit so we thought we would try it on our silver cottage. What a difference and we saved water doing it. Since we did not use cleaners and only water we did not pollute either. So while the outside was being shinned so nicely I learned sometings about how to easily and quickly keep the inside clean and neat too. I thought i knew how to clean but did I learn alot from Monica! What I learned could be useful to all trailer and RV owners. It feels so good to know less is truely more even with cleaning.

I thought a short video from Monica will show you what I learned. It really made sense and my life a little easier. click on the video to meet Monica, you can contact her at http://www.myh2oathome.com/monica!

Homeward bound from Idaho, open vistas and cold

We wake up to a sunnyish hazy day. We hope the frozen outlets are going to thaw and we will no longer be a “poopscicle”. The temperature is 13 going up to 23. So no thaw.

We went to Home Depot and purchased a warmer thingy that was attached to a propane tank, a little one, and my hubby spent three hours trying to encourage the goo to melt. The goo won! After freezing and chattering teeth he gave up and joined me and the family for a toasty, cozy day long visit. A quiet day, away from the cold, cold weather allowed for a family time without time restraints. The dogs loved being out of the truck, in a house, all the attention and scraps from some of the most delicious barbecue in Eagle Idaho.

After a wonderful quiet, restful visit, laughs and hugs we went back to our cozy cottage on wheels. Tomorrow we start back home to warm California. It is surprising how this little silver bullet is our quiet place at the end of the day and lazy breakfast mornings.

Sunshine greats us and again we are on California time not Idaho time. It evens out eventually. Our Nesspresso gives forth the comforting aroma of coffee and a new adventure. Yes, the poopscicle lives. It has had no relief from the freezing temps. We know the further west we go the warmer it will be!

Packing up and securing for the drive home is easy. Airstream designs storage in logical ways for ease of use and travel. Fold and stow, clean and go. This smooth process puts a smile on our faces. We both have allergies an bad snuffy colds so we use the “lady bug” lint remover from H2O at Home. It has a two-fold use. We take the doggie hairs off both furniture and doggies! Helps keep potential allergens down in small spaces. We use the Handbroom for the floor. It looks little but it calls all the dirt to gather and we have clean floors. Wiping the counters clean with the chiffonetes takes minutes, even the mirrors shine. Looks great! We feel great and ready for our travel home!

We stop by our daughter’s house to say another goodbye, the sun is shinning and it is 23 degrees outside! The roads should be clear no weather insight. We have reservations set for Frontier RV in Winnamucca, Nevada, book plugged in, doggies secure, kleenex, cough drops, snacks and water.

After leaving the city limits the highway opens with very few vehicles in sight. . . Humming along! How different the landscape looks with early daylight versus setting sun and darkness. Again no wildlife. Must mean they are smart enough to stay warm and not challenge Mother Nature. After a couple of hours we stop at the same vacant gas station, let the doggies run a bit, go to the coach for a wonderful lunch of left overs.

We are making great time, we are going mostly downhill! We reach Winnamucca before nightfall and guess what it is above freezing! We finally get rid of the poopscicle. We are feeling so good we park and start to reheat our New Years Eve dinner. We are now feeling better, our taste buds are working and the lamb is sooooo good, a little champagne, homemade cookies, Martini Radio and we are good!

The morning dawns and we do our “pre-flight”, doggies running and chasing, we are good to go. This morning we try coffee at a truck stop where we gas up. Coffee is hot, not Peet’s, but the morning is chilly. My special, double layered lap blanket, hand knit by my daughter keeping my legs toasty so the coffee is a little plus. The highway is still a bit quiet, few rigs, cars or trucks. We smile and listen to our second book, Killing Patton!

By Reno, it is still cool, 27 degrees, but not 7! We find an In-N-Out burger in Sparks, Nevada and we are in heaven. Never knew it was there, just near the Nugget. We again set the table in the coach, doggies have water and a stretch, onward we go. After getting gas near Cabella’s west of Reno we chug up to thru the Sierra’s and find a view we have probably driven past a zillion times in our travels. I don’t even know the name of the rest stop but it is gorgeous. When we get out of the truck and doggies are out we notice that at the edge of the fence has an even more breathtaking view of a little valley and different hills and mountains. This is where we realize that stopping just because has many special surprises.

All alone with beauty and a valley down below!

We are almost home. It is always bittersweet. No longer as cold nor windy as our road out, just traffic. Home is now only 3 hours away. We have finished two audio books and feel quite accomplished. I am writing notes about our trip, putting down our thoughts and memories. Of course of places we may want to revisit again or explore are written in large bold letters.

We arrive home, unload a few things, park our silver castle in the drive way and then lock the door. Doggies are happy to be out of the truck, we kinda are too. It is almost the enjoyment of less that makes the trip more, and home is our base camp to prepare for the next adventure. Oh the fun of picking and planning another untraveled road.

Day 2 – Oh the beauty of morning . . .

We awaken and know we are so toasty warm and now we need COFFEE! But not to worry we have our Pixie and Frother, english muffins and butter! We look out the window and see sunshine and snow on the mountains. Nice way to open our eyeballs. What we see is so clear and beautiful but only 13 degrees! We are now officially a poopscicle! Our outlets are frozen but we have room and fresh water. Thank God! The Frontier RV Park is fairly new and has very clean, WARM, showers and bathrooms. So we can shower in comfort before we hit the road. It truly is the little things that make us smile. The doggies loved all the room to run around in before hoping back into the truck AGAIN!

They are so cute and patient. They get their food, water and running around about every two hours. We are uphill again! Hwy 95 up to Boise. It is about a short 5 hour jog for us.

The air is fresh and it really is a beautiful view. We are feeling better and hoping we get to our destination before nightfall. The clean up for travel is so easy. Everything has a place, easy stowing and access even better. My orange chiffonete from H2O at Home just swiped the dirt away.

We know that we can still use our bathroom but we thought the heat of the road and sunshine would melt our poopscicle plug. So, merrily we rolled along. Our first stop was in Oregon just before an Indian Reservation. The dogs are getting used to the snow but our plug did not thaw. We had cheese sandwiches, more water, more cold medicine and nose spray, replenished our kleenex stash. Onward we went listening to our audio book Killing Lincoln!

Poor little truck pulled and pulled and I could hear it saying, “I think I can, I think I can” as we went north nearing the 200,000 mile mark on our 6 cylinder Ford Sportrac! Boy she has worked so gallantly through all our adventures!

We are enjoying our audio book, we keep hoping no more upward hills and hope the plug will thaw! Ok, Boise is north, we are 4500 ft and no thaw. We pass through Jordan Valley and see a sleepy snow-covered town and wonder where the inhabitants are. I know, they are smarter than us, they are in their homes warm and toasty. It gets higher and colder the farther north we go….brrrr

We then realize how lucky we are to see all these wonders of our great country. We live our lives in our own local beauty but then we need to take the road less traveled to experience unexpected wonders. The snow-covered country side appears as a never-ending vastness of color, land morphs, animals venture out and we see a great big sky. We are also free to travel as we want. We are comfy in our truck, the doggies are sleeping and we just enjoy with smiles and kleenex.

we arrive in Eagle, Idaho as the sun is setting and it is a balmy 22 degrees, still freezing! We get a great pull through spot at the High Valley RV park. There is snow on the ground without wind. There are full hookups but the hoses will freeze if left outside and the poopscicle is frozen. Thank God Airstream has generous holding tanks with warming blankets to keep the fresh water flowing.

We get settled and have dinner with my daughter and grandchildren. What a great night except for the cold, cough and sneezes. But family makes everything so much better.

Back to the RV park we settle again for a cozy night in our coach! Hot tea, cookies, cough medicine and kleenex! Oh we can sleep in and not worry about being on the road just yet. Achoo!

Brrrrrr Happy New Year. . . . Or every road is a different adventure

Such excitement! We are winter (snow) traveling for the first time on purpose! We received a new Nesspresso Pixie and Nesspresso frother as Christmas presents and of course just right for our trip. We planned our New Years Eve dinner and began to prepare for the road. My spirits lifted and a happy calm prevailed. Hmmm that is until the sniffles crept upon us. Oh how we fought our symptoms and denied the same. I worked my regular two days before we left, all the while happy for the opportunity to hit the road again and see my little girl.

The coach is winterized per the owner’s manual and I cleaned every nook and cranny, cleared away any dust that may have accumulated, washed all the linens, pillow shams and bed linens. I was using cleaning tools and products from H2O, that are green and Eco friendly just like our Airstream. These chiffonettes, as they are called, do not use cleansers or soaps. Water is the vehicle, the towels are the dust and dirt cleanser picker uppers. I really enjoyed the ease of use, gleaming results and no annoying fragrances. Makes the aluminum walls shine brightly without a lot of work either. I felt like a queen in fresh, bright like new, Flying Cloud. Then I started with a little cough. But that was nothing just annoying. I mean, I emptied the cabinets, wiped them clean inside and out, throughout items that in five years we have NEVER used and restocked and planned for our new ways of movement and traveling. Ahh start the New Year clear of the old, in with the new and open for joy.

Wednesday morning dawned, we both had snuffles, dogs and truck cleaned, packed with travel necessities, ie., cough drops, audio books, water, maps and stuffy heads. We left one hour later than we had planned but we knew no snow on Donner Summit! All seemed well, weather nice, just a little cool but comfy. Stopped for gas, sure enjoy the lower prices, dogs pooped and piddled and on we go.

As we approached Donner Summit we noticed the wind picked up and the temperature drooped way cold! We stopped at a rest stop and the wind picked up enough to grab doors to open or slam them. The doggies did not even want to do their business but did a abbreviated relief. The chill went right thru us all and made our snuffles worse. All of a sudden the feeling of the trip seemed to get just plain COLD. It was early afternoon as we drove through Reno and thought in no time we will be at the new Frontier RV park in Winnanucca, Nevada, then we turn on our heater, oven, pop in our dinner and get cozy in the freezing cold.

Freezing then became the operative word for our adventure! It got darker and darker, we forgot time change and shorter days too. It seemed as though we were blowing our noses at more frequent intervels and the trash bag was getting full of kleenex, cough drop wrappers, and empty water bottles. The day really really seemed to not end and the lanscape was the same brown grass and sand with an occasional antelope and then darkness! Cold still got colder and we got sicker. My sis kindly informed me the whole family was sick with colds all acquired during our Christmas Day celebrations! Oh boy what a New Year’s Eve. We just wanted to get to Winnamucca and rest!

We arrived at our destintion and found we were the only overnight guest in this brand spanking new, clean, modern, RV Park. We were so happy we hurridly set up to find the temp was 25 degress F. Below freezing. No fresh water hook up through the night as it would freeze. We trid to empty the waste water but it was frozen already! Well not the actual grey/black tank or water tanks, only the outlets! We happily just wanted to get to bed and get warm. We did roast the herb crusted lamb chops from Six Sigma Ranch and prepped the mashed potates and green beans for our celebratory evening. Well ok we were very much frozen from settling the Airstream for the night, exercising the doggies and getting our trailer warm and cozy. We also had colds and stuffiness and really could not taste our dinner, just a hint. We finally got warmer, preppared for bed and called it a night it was 9:30 pm! Happy New Year!

Winter wonderland and travel

OMG! Here I am making gifts of herb butters and planning a New Years trip. How do we plan our destinations and missions due for completion. Ohhhh that does not sound like fun.

Our cozy Airstream awaits its new mattress pad especially made for our 20 foot Flying Cloud . We are planing a quick 5 day jaunt to Idaho. The aroma of the herbal butters and cookie dough makes me think . . . . Oh what we could do to use these to enhance our travels.

We just did a pick up of our favorite wines in Lake County California, Six Sigma! It made us remember that friends, associates and the journey mean so much more and enhance our gentle luxuries. Great wine, great friends, and the feelings of the moment.

Our special wine connection! Six Sigma Winery and friends!

As I prepare luscious herbal butters for gifts I think, oh what a wonderful treat as we traverse the winter highways to our special destination . . . Eagle, Idaho and our daughter and grandchildren. We had not ever thought this would be a destination over the holidays but what a thrill!

Sumptuous plans for a gentle road trip. The snow will dictate our travel time as will our time restraints. We have five days and how do we plan? The Airstream makes the travel a breeze. We do not worry about warmth and comfort as it is so well insulated we are always comfy. I have come to appreciate the thought put into its design. There is no wasted space, we can hunker down in a monsoon, wind storm and blizzard! It has taken me five years to appreciate the design and thought put into our Flying Cloud.

So we plan for our creature luxuries, menu for New Years Eve, nosh on the road and reservations on the way to our destination. Just think herbed butter, we made, rib steaks, garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans with butter and shallots, Six Sigma 2009 Tempranillo and French press coffee with espresso shortbread cookies to bring in the new year! No matter where we are, if in our Airstream, we know we are not only warm and safe, we are more than comfortable.

We hope to bring in the New Year with style and panache! We do not need to be ever stylish but we know less is more and it is the little luxuries that make our lives special.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND A WONDERFUL RIVETTED AIRSTREAM NEW YEAR

Wine and their little gadgets!

I remember our very first night ever in our Airstream. We drove all of 15 minutes from our home. We reserved spot #1, at Sea Clliff State Park. We had the best site, the waves could be heard breaking on the beach, great view of the beach and about 20 feet to the beach. We set everything up by the book, the rain began to fall, and we were so proud of ourselves! We took the doggies for a short walk before dinner, set the beef stew simmering on the stove, opened the vents and went through a light rain.

As the rain increased in intensity we rushed back to our silver castle dry and toasty. We began our first meal preparation and settle in for the night. The stew’s aroma, the warmth of our coach and the music on the radio set us up for a romantic triumphant evening. BUT we chose our bottle of wine and . . . . NO BOTTLE OPENER!

So we ask what is the best bottle opener for our trailer? THE ONE YOU HAVE! LOL, well luckily about a half mile away and up a hill was a local liquor store that actually had not only a wine bottle opener but a great selection of wines. Five years after our maiden voyage we have acquired a moderate collection of bottle openers. Guess we like the ones we buy for home use too, then forget to put them back and there we are again, no opener.

Everything we need to open, filter, mix and store our libations!

Yep a filter was sent to us in a shipment from a wine club and we have learned to love it! When we first saw it we did not know what it was. We are such great wine lovers.

This is fancy, it breaks the foil seal, can open wine with a flair and look good too! Also it does not rust.

This lovely little prince, the Venturi, has a big brother but this little guy helps the reds breath more quickly.

After we bought a utilitarian opener on our first night we now have our favs! We did also learn some bottle neck widths are just a little different and the old non screw but “wiggle” ones work wonderfully.

Now let’s open a great bottle of Six Sigma Tempranillo and enjoy a glass.. . . . .Happy Travels

Momma Mia –

Napa Style did it again! Now you can have the same tubular spice experience with the stackable spice as the 12 spice travel spice tube but now a 9 spice assortment for Italian cooking! Yep now you have your choice. Same price as the larger one but only one spice is in the Italian choices that is not in the larger one. I still like this idea because you can make your own mixes too.

Idaho special for rubs and great new creations

The major begining — The major beginning

Theses can actually last for a long time if stored in a dark, cool, dry space! They are so small and fit well in the smallest pantry. Nice go to on the road and you can replenish them with fresh when back home.

Settlng to enjoy another restful dinner by the stream Ahhh — A setting to enjoy another restful dinner by the stream at Shaw’s Shady Acres

We were so thankful that our best friends introduced us to the most wonderful Farmer’s market to enhance our traveling kitchen. The Calistoga Farmers Market is always waiting for discovery by new friends. The locals get to enjoy the freshest, most beautiful fish, veggies, flowers, fruits and cooked delicacies ever. We were ready to create with our Mobile Herbs!

The fresh caught white fish was a delicacy with just a little olive oil, fresh thyme and a sprinkling of salt and pepper done in our simple cast iron pan. hmmmm so tasty and flakey. Italian green beans with garlic, butter and olive oil, the local peasant bread and Sauvignon Blanc from Six Sigma made the evening so much more. Relaxing in the evening with friends and food is what life is all about.

The next evening the local market had organic rib eye steaks on sale! Smoked Hickory flavored salt rubbed on the sides with a little olive oil, hot cast iron over the outside grill, fresh salad greens with sliced local green apples and goat cheese was mouth-watering! Add a little Coppola’s table red and you have a meal to enjoy by the stream at the Shaw’s Shady Acres with our stowed treasures to complete the scene. Traveling to eat and enjoy is a nice carrot to get us out the door!

It has been awhile!

The poor little trailer sat sad and forelorn! Nobody loved her —- yes we do. We forgot what great fun she could be! It is the little 2 day trips that can bring us back to the reason a luxury silver trailer can make you smile.

Our Fall season begins now! We have worked hard all summer and waited for the quiet of the off season. This past weekend was a beautiful start. Serendipity brought us back North. We are wine members of the Six Sigma Winery. The Paella event brought us back to Lake County. This also allowed us to adventure out of our normal campground to a new and interesting place to unwind and relax.

Shaw’s Shady Acres! A blast from the past, the early days of fish camping. It is situated next to a charming creek, Cache Creek and the Anderson Marsh. Unfortunately our severe drought has the level quite low. That being said, the Blue Heron and Kingfishers are still fishing and the sense of calm abounds. The campground also has year round residents. There are kayaks, motor boats and one restored, vintage trailer that may soon be a “cabin” for travelers. This historic resort began its life in the 1950’s and has been open for catfisherman and birders since then. Its charm is what it can be and what is has innately available to travelers. Lisa, the mistress of the grounds has great ideas for making this resort a hub destination opening Clear Lake and Lake County hamlets the exposure they deserve. It is and area that is not as high end as Napa County but has the rustic and warm charm that small towns of California’s past have. We wish Lisa luck and fortune. She is quite accommodating to small groups of vintage trailer buffs to string their trailers covered wagon style too.

We were directed to the Featherbed Railroad Caboose Bed and Breakfast! Yep there are 9 real cabooses that have been made into creative period retreats!. It is right across the street from Clear Lake, has lots of shade and trees. Railroad themed music is piped through to the large outside porch and a train whistle is sounded everyday at noon. The proprietor, Tony, is a wealth of local knowledge and can direct you to whatever floats your boat. If we ever traveled without our coach we would love to maybe rest there a night or two. The main registration area is an old style train station.

The two really bright stars in our short trip were visiting with old, dear friends, a quiet candle light dinner by the creek and stopping for an hour near a little lake off Pope Valley road. Sitting just watching the birds, listening to the quiet and enjoying the warm breezes remind us . . . less is often more.

Happy traveling!

Lisa, the mistress of Shaw’s Shady Acres. She is a wonderful help to finding fun things to do , or not.

Paella !! So wonderful with our favorite wines and hosts

The porch to cool off and meet new friends

it’s that time again!!!!

October, 2013

For many of us it is the time of year to prepare the trailer for winter storage and others of us start preparing for winter travel. We like to go places during the fall and early winter, then again in early spring. Why less people and a different beauty to see. It truely the roads less traveled.

We still prepare the silver baby to have its annual check-up, tires evaluated for replacement, all systems evaluated so we can roam without worry. As this begins I start thinking hmmm what else can we do to make our trips even more fun and more comfort.

The newest melmac dishes are so beautiful and light. They look like real dishes but are no where near as heavy and don’t break, only melt! These are so beautiful. I have seen them at Sur La Table and Napa Style stores so you have a real assortment of choices and colors. NICE WAY to make your travel table look elegant and not worry about the buffalo roaming through and breaking them!

I often wander through the local Goodwill stores to find beautiful crystal and special small plates to give us a variety of goodies to suit our moods. These can be stored at home to save weight.

. . . . . . now it is time to travel through California for quick short trip! We chose Marble Quarry! What a cute little town, aside from the dryness due to our drought. The campground was a little walk through a trail to the town. We were hoping to see the newly carved pumpkins! So cute ! PS I am a little late in posting this. Indigeny Apple Cider is a must place to stop on your way home!

The inbetween time . . . . .

Waiting for the next trip or is it planning for the next trip that seems soooo frustrating? This is also of time of restlessness for me. I know where I would love to be going but there is no time yet. There are things I should be trying out, planning, researching and yet I sit.

I know what I want to put next into my grown-up glamping pantry but I procrastinate. I should be taking a photo of the next addition and typing a blurb about what I would add to the experience of our outings but I don’t. So I think alot like a certain bear we all know and dream about the perfect trip.

Yesterday we drove to Pietra Santa winery in the hills south of Hollister, California AGAIN. We learned there was to be “Music in the Vines” event. Driving from our home to the winery is beautiful and alot less treacherous without our silver friend behind us. Our truck was happier.

Thankfully we knew where we were going because there were no signs pointing to the event. We arrived and there indeed was music! The setting was beautiful. Very green with vistas that could have been set in the 1800’s of California’s past. Ohhhh so breathtaking.

We then walked into the winery and were abruptly met with a table with sales people ready to sell bottles of their wine and picnic goodies and water. I asked if we could taste any of the wines first and was told NO. I also asked about their olive oil and was also informed not at this function. Had we arrived during regular tasting hours it was available. We bought a bottle of red and one bottle of white, water and the cheese bundle they were selling. Wine good, the cheese bundle gave me ideas. The cheese etc were from Trader Joes and were tasty enough to compliment the wine. Why not Trader Joe’s for a large group you may meet on the road as we travel the riveted lifestyle? Well because the local cheese we find on our journeys is more of a find and story.

As we left for home we turned right onto the two lane road going south not north toward our home. The ranch lands were vibrant, quiet, glowing with the rays of the setting sun. This vast, vital landscape was worth the disappointment, again with this winery. If you are going to the Thousand Trails campground, now open to the public, or on your way to the Pinnacles, Cienega Rd is a road less traveled and full of beauty. It would take you maybe an hour out of your way but you end up on Airport Hwy and can continue on your journey.

If you are lucky you may actually get to taste some little known wines and taste local olive oil from 100-year-old trees!!! We are planning on actually camping at the newest National Park the Pinnacles. Happy wanderings.