Our Travel Dreams for 2016

Back to the Dream

Here it is 2016! Haven’t traveled in over three months and keep thinking about going ANYWHERE. Sometimes life takes other turns and gives you a chance to do some long-range plans, repair your rig, re-organize the living areas and dream of where you want to go.

Today is a rainy California day. Our travel time is usually winter so rain reminds me of our travels. In our last walk around of our rig we found a small drip over the bed after a recent rain. The little silver castle is seven years old and we keep thinking she is brand new. This precipitated a complete re-check of little repairs that may need to be done before we travel again.

Last October, 2015, we got the bright idea of Yellowstone National Park in 2016. We are combining that with a family graduation in Idaho and then meandering back home! Wow a dream travel plan that we have read other Airstreamers enjoy. This will be the first “long” road trip for us. Yep a whole two weeks! Ok we have been 11 days on the road with tight timelines….. this will be our first vacation!

It has been a rough year but we know this year is our year to really grow and enjoy life. We have had challenges of serious illness in our family, someone stole our Airstream keys out of our truck, had to order new ones and then needed to make repairs to keep our silver coach safe and road worthy.

In the meantime we did take our Flying Cloud in for a complete service and upholstery change. In essence she is still a new rig of dreams. After we left our trailer at the Bay Area Airstream dealership and service bay we drove up through Suisun Valley to our favorite winery Six Sigma! It was a beautiful drive through cattle and wine country, no traffic just green trees and grasslands.

It was sad to see the after effects of the Lake county fire. The amazing wonder is how mother nature heals herself with beauty and strength! We enjoy peace and greatness of our little piece of the world.

We arrive at Six Sigma and there is a pick up party in process. The people there make us feel at home. The great warmth, friendliness of everyone and fantastic wines create an oasis in a world of crazy noise and cold. As we are sipping our wine we look around and see a campsite! Yep an empty spot that says stay with me and enjoy my peaceful view.

We spoke to Christian Ahlman and were informed they are part of the network of wineries across the United States that allow trailers and RVs to enjoy the beauty, great wine and quiet. This area is like stepping back in time. The fact that this is a working ranch, winery and historic piece of California makes this magic. We can’t wait for our turn to fill this space with our silver trailer at the next Farm to Table dinner and wine pairing. We have the best place to stay! Walking distance to the great food and wine and a little still to our home.

Our coach will be ready in two weeks with a new look to enjoy our next wine adventure. We are looking forward to our first Farm to Table experience just outside our silver door! Bowser!

Racooned!

As we continue with the story of our Pinnicles National Park 3-day we are on a Sunday walk to the Caves. It is a beutiful day and we are enjoying new sites we had not seen before. More people are on the trail but all are courteous and appear happy to be out and about!

We make our way back to our site and note that many of the weekend travelers are gone and it is very quiet. Oh how wonderful the sounds of nature are. We do note that we see alot of small racoons and silly black birds looking to clean up the crumbs of the weekend campers. The signs all over the campsites quite clearly state DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE, ESPECIALLY RACOONS, they can be dangerous.

We take an afternoon nap and then begin to prepare for our dinner meal. Our table is set and the new camp stove heating the griddle and feed the dogs. Our appetizers, chips and salsa with lemonade make for an easy preparation for our dinner. We had purchased a couple of bottles of Cabernet from Pietro Santo winery to go with our meal and so we open and let it breathe.

Little racoons keep running at the edge of the creek and our table. My hubby puts his back pack at the door of our trailer and goes back to help prepare our goodies. A little racoon is quietly unzipping his backpack! We shoe him away and laugh. Our evening continues and don’t think anything about it and proceed with our evening.

As we finish our dinner I see a medium sized racoon approaching us quietly and quickly and almost gets to my sister-in-law! it frightened us and she jumped up and down screaming at the creature and it finally went away. We laughed and continued on with the evening! As the cleanup is complete and we settle in for desert racoons are not on our mind. We all go to bed and know tomorrow we return back to the rat race!

We had a solid sleep and awakened for our usual al fresco breakfast. We have our first cappuccino first and while I am dressing I hear a few choice words from outside. I hustle outside to find my husband shaking his head, waving his hands and saying wonderful expletives. There are tiny hand/feet prints all over the roof of the truck, the cargo over over the bed AND the entire interior of the truck windows etc. !!!! Luckily we had our H2O cleaning towels and it made it fun, easy and no smells.

The only way in was a two inch opening of the small back truck window! They broke it by pushing it down?! After the initial shock and awe we laughed and couldn’t believe how they took every little thing inside and examined it all. They found my lost bluetooth earpiece, ate all the doggie treats they found in a zipper pouch. Yes they carefully unzipped the pouch and then took out stuff. No tearing and no chewing any of material.

After our outside breakfast we began to clean the truck up for our ride home. This just goes to show you ALL the signs at the park are really, really, REALLY need to be followed cuz it’s true!

Yet another wonderful trip to put in our book! Oh yeah, this is a photo of my brothers rig and his stuff no ours! We followed the rules and we got attacked!

LAKE COUNTY!

As I was about to start a post about a racoon attack I realized our favorite place to visit is on fire! Yes the home of Six Sigma, Shaw’s Shady Acres and Hidden Valley Lake Estates is facing another fire! The town we love to drive through, stop for foods and coffee is gone. Middleton was engulfed in flames and we are in shock.

Our close friends are safe so far and we hope they stay that way. It is hard to realize that it will never be the same. What can we do to help them now and in the next few weeks of clean up and reality? I ask my followers to send up prayers and maybe a suggestion of how we can support our neighbors to the north. Please do not go their unless assigned their with crews, Red Cross or other local relief services.

Our own Scotts Valley Market has been sending food to help feed fire crews around California and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts. My son-in-law and my cousin are retired Califiornia Fire Fighters and we remember all the strike teams they left on.

Our beautiful state is encountering so many fires in some of the most beautiful parts of our country. We must all be careful as we travel through our parched lands. Look for ways to help no matter how small you think it may be, even if just in prayers.

Keep tuned to this blog to see if we can guide you to other ways we can help.

Sunset Magazine Wins Again

Thank goodness I read the latest Sunset Magazine issue that featured camping. This issue had great new ideas and instructions on campfire/charcoal briquet cooking. We have decided to try 4 of the recipes! I have read all the instructions, prepared and prepped all the ingredients per the instructions in Sunset! I had given my husband the responsibilities to prep for the “Hobo Bundlels”. Guess what? He did not do the prep! So we set up at our site. My brother sets up his new toy, a great cook stand. Oh yeah, we cannot have open campfires! It is high fire season and we have a drought!!!!

So along with no cocktails, no fires permitted, we also have to finish the prepping in our kitchen and pop the bundels into the oven to cook. We are all settled in, our outside lights are on, table set, the chips, salsas and Martinis are handed out — oh happy nights!

We are parked in our favorite sites. There are not many people here but more than the last time. Weather is a little cool and windy but no rain, no gusts and only the sounds of families camping. Even the doggies are all settled into their fenced play space. Thirty minutes have elapsed and the bundles are done, lights are up, the propane outdoor heater is on, table set and we are relaxed. Dinner was so delicious and filling, worth the wait. Now the sun has set, there is a slight breeze, we are ready for our cappuccino nightaps and NO KALUHA to be found… Yep, my brother forgot the Kahluha, but we did bring the frother.

The morning dawns a little cloudy and breezy but the grill made the Sunset Magazine’s wholegrain, lemon buttermilk pancakes recipe a big winner. The heat of the grill made cooking easy and quick. The lemon flavor was a real treat to the palate. Coffee, friends, a new breakfast food and the meal outdoors, not in the trailer, was a real treat. Actually a new phenomenon for us. We usually cook in the trailer and sometimes eat outside. This time we cooked and ate outside. We are now learning the essence of al fresco dining.

My mom has been in hospital fighting cancer chemo side effects so we want to check in on her status. There is no cell access in the Pinnacles NP. We then drive to Hollister to get reception, call mom and get Kaluha too. I then convince all that a quick ride down the Cienga Rd, wine trail would be fun, on the way back and I could finally try some local olive oil.

Mom is fine, grocery list done and now onto the wine trail. The trail needs help BIG TIME! No real signs or directions and we almost pass two wineries. The one we were looking for is the Pietra Santo Winery. It is as beautiful as ever and it looks closed. Again. But it is open, it just looks closed. We go inside and it is beautiful. I find the olive oil. They have three kinds, lemon, rosemary and organic! The olive oils taste fresh, light and great enough for dipping. The organic is light, clean and cooks well. We do not see any price on the shelves. It is a little difficult to find the oils from the wine and chocolates.

The tasting room is beautiful but the staff is less than helpful. We don’t get any information on the winery, their wines or olive oil processing. We have to almost beg to get the staff to help us. The setting for this place is idyillic. We have been here before but were stood up for a photo op and then came to a function and could not taste any wines unless we bought the bottle! If you want a beautiful setting, stained glass windows and quiet with swallows flying about then visit.

We winded our way back to Pinnacles and bagan our relaxation for the rest of the afternoon. We took a 45 minute walk aroung the campground area that had many, many tent spaces and all inset into the woods. They have group and single tent spaces and the the few trailer/RV spaces are grouped by the entrance. There is only electric hookups, no generators are allowed, there is dump station with a fresh water spiggot for filling the freshwater tanks of the trailers. Quite nice. It was very clear and sunny and the heat of the sun was wonderful. It has been a long time since I was able to be outside to enjoy the sun. What a treat!

While we were out walking our traveling companions were preparing our carne asada meal! This is the second time we have been able to enjoy this meal and the homemade tortillas. The new grill is perfect for this sort of cooking. We have now baptised the grill with breakfast and now our dinner. It really got a workout and we loved it. The aromas, the heat and the fun of cooking with friends and enjoying the meals is a wonderful part of camping.

Oh looking forward to another gentle day for enjoying family and beauty. . . . .

A Great Plan for the 4-Day

We have all the makings for a wonderful long weekend. My brother’s wife was able to get us our favorite spots at the Pinnacles National Park, the menus have been agreed upon and the prep work done! We have plans for the hikes and the weather is in our favor. How much more perfect can this Friday be!
After a week of famiy stuff and work stress it is finally Friday!

The guys started out early today to prep the campsites, start our dinners and have our cocktails waiting for us. My sister-in-law and I worked a full day. This is our first time we are riding together to meet our guys. It is so easy to jump in a car and not naviate the city streets with our silver coach. It is 5:00 pm. We are going from my Salinas Office, through Holllister and then to the Pinnacles! The east entrance is the only way for campers to gain entrance to the park.

A beautiful Airstream drives by going south and it is a good omen. Yes, we are ready for our quiet weekend . … then I spy a glint of silver shimmering on the highway ahead of us. There is a big semi-truck in front of us, we can’t really see the silver shinny thing. What I can see looks like the same model as ours. It is going rather slow. Just as we think we can catch up it is time to turn onto HWY 156 toward Airline HWY and Pinnacles. We finally pass the truck and IT IS MY Flying Cloud! My husband waves and the doggies look happy. What happened? I hope there are no problems. He should have been going south to this turn off not north. He should have been going south on Hwy 101 from Hwy 129 and already be at the campsite! OK what happened!?????

We keep going and are keeping an eye on the coach. As we turn south onto Airline Hwy we get a strange text from my brother asking which turnoff to take to get to the Pinnacles from Pacheco pass! We pull off the road to text him back and find out where he is. We don’t get an answer back and continue one.

As we are driving I ask my Sister-in-law what was the name of her trailer. I though it was a Sierra and she could not remember but looked in the rear view mirror and thought she she saw one like her’s behind the Airstream! It was a Salem! It then picked up speed and passed the Airstream. We started laughing because that is something my brother would do. It was my brother! OK now neither one is at the park and that means we have to set up and do the cooking. We just start laughing and laughing! Only those two would have this goofy convergence without even planning it.

Always something happens to make each trip an adventure. We just want to know what happened to our great planning!?

Ready, Set . . . .. . . . . GO?

Oh boy! We are getting in one more adventure before we stop for the vacation season. Yep we are going back to Pinnacles for one more look. Usually we are cleaning and repairing our silver castle for a little rest time while we wait and prepare for fall adventures. We like to travel when the weather is cooler, less crowded and a different vacation perspective.

As we began the process of emptying the coach of all foodstuffs, clothing, doggie treats and linen we received a call from my brother. He got us our newly found favorite spots at the Pinnacles! As we had already started the process of cleaning we decided just finish the job and be ready for the next trip.

Keeping your rolling home clean and repaired means that the surprise trip will not have major “surprises”! This practice is well worth the effort as it protects your investment, your traveling dream maker! I am always surprised how the simple little fixes prevent the big owies.

When we first ordered our Flying Cloud I read and re-read the marketing booklet and then the manufacturer’s recommendations to be prepared to give loving care to our new silver dream!

The how of cleaning small spaces can be challenging or easy and green. The cleansers on the market may not be compatible with the interiors of campers, trailers and RV’s. The surfaces are not to be scrubbed to death and our aluminum walls are special. I have used multiple sprays, antibacterial cleansers and also learned not to use chlorine liquids. Fragrances of cleaners are also a potential hazard for those with allergies, animals and sensitive skin. The solution? H20 Home! Yep I found it was very simple, the difficulty is in leaving old habits behind. I did mention it in a previous blog but now I am really liking it. The process kind of makes you question the new way and then go ahhh.

When we returned home this last trip I really got energetic and thought a study this process was needed. This is what I did. I analyzed storage space for a cleaning kit I could keep in the trailer and make the upkeep ongoing and minimize the pre-rest cleaning time. All I needed was three (3) chiffonnettes, one container of clay cleaner, and water. Yep that is what I was going to us to clean the entire inside of my coach.

I had read on another blog how a traveler used two dish pans that fit the sinks to clean dishes and then disposed of the boiled rinsing water into the blackwater tank instead of the grey water. By doing this it helps keep the level of the greywater tank lower- more room for shower water! This saved overuse of water and disenfectied the dishes at the same time. Check out this blog J5MM to really see how she did this.

Back to the new process study. I read the directions on the use of the chiffonnettes and thought it was too simple. I wrung out the thickest one for the counter top and began to wipe down the surfaces, hmmm then did the same to the cabinet doors and was really surprised as it shinned with a wipe of the medium towel. I rinsed out the first towel as needed with just warm water. No cleaners, no sprays and no disinfectants. All surfaces and mirrored surfaces gleamed. I then used the clay cleanser product with its little sponge and worked on the sinks and stove top. It has never looked smoother and shinier. I proceeded with this same process to include the aluminum walls and ceilings and got the same results. It was amazing. I did spend a lot of time going end to end but I only utilized water and the clay cleanser. No drip marks and no overpowering fragrance. WOW! Along with this thinking I decided to see what I would actually need to keep her clean on the go and when she rests. How much space, how much effect on the environment and keeping everything easily cleanable and pretty. I also began to think about dishwashing, clothing and towels. I know I can over think a lot but I like to keep things pretty and clean. I came up with a small collection that fits in a small basket under the sink!

Here is the Silver Coach Package: I slips right under my sink and the basket was from the dollar store! It has the three chiffonnettes, two sponges different colors so you can use one for the bathroom, one for dishes with two sides. Clay cleanser for the tough spots and the spots on the floor or carpet, dish cleanser to put two drops on the dish sponge( they can be cleaned and disinfected in the dishwasher at home), the Netepur bar to put on the stains on the camping clothes! Works like magic! Kids clothing actually survives to camp another day without the stains. If you would like to learn more about the super Silver Coach Package from Monica Hein of H2O Home at 1-831-566-5324. She really gets the Airstream dream and of course she cares about the environment.

Well enough cleaning I need to rest to get ready for our next Pinnacle Trip. It is going to be very hot!

Wow! Beauty, Wonder and History!

This is the day we see what we can see. The short but heavy rain had stopped overnight and the sky was clear. Our dogs are small and really not ready for a long hikes (nor allowed on the trails) but we walked them all around the camp ground and then we started our walk.

We stopped at the park store and spoke with the ranger staff about our hikes and if the cave with the bats were open. Sadly they were not. We then started out from our campsite and proceeded through tent campsites to a gate that said we need to keep the gate closed so wild hogs would not run through the campsite and cause damage! It was ok for them to attack us just not the grounds.

We did not expect the many beauties we stumbled upon.

We knew we had not had any rain lately so walking along a dry wash was not expected to yield such beauty. We had seen the photos on the posters of all the wild flowers that grow throughout the park but did not expect to see them. Luckily my brother brought his camera and captured the wonders. It was dry but the morning wasn’t too dusty or dry. There were no more than 4 hikers encountered on our first leg of the walk! There was no strenuous increase in grade as we ascended to the natural museum trail head.

All I can say is I am amazed! We live so near the mass of civilization and who would guess that we also have pristene wilderness. Not just squirrels and crows we have underground water wonders, microclimates spread over just a few miles, pre-historic vultures, caves, bats and fresh air! Oh, no ability to connect to the internet.

We started at 8:00 am and returned to our campsites at 3:00 pm. We were not exhausted but awed! Mostly gentle terrain and more to see and experience that just the caves and bats! We did get to see a circling Condor so that was unbelivable.

Then we relaxed had a short nap after taking our doggies out for a stretch and then planned for the evening. It was a beautiful afternoon to evening. So many people had left for home and it was even more quiet. We luxuriated in the quiet and calm. We had our dinner preps going and our outside dinning room ready. We had would for our fire pit and smoores too.

Oh, Friday Escape Is Here!

As I worked all day, my hubby had the responsibility to pack our silver comfort to go to Pinnacles. I have lived all my life within 2 hours from this jewel, ALL MY LIFE! Recently we had the epiphany of the beauty surrounding us. Everyone lives near beauty but thinks that over the hill on the other road is where beauty is. Living in the central California Montery Bay Area we take so much for granted.

After our adventure in the real winter of Nevada and Idaho we wondered if we couldn’t enjoy our Airstream closer to home and learn how to benifit more from our cozy comfort. We have survived our frozen poopscicle and many other challenges, as all travelers do. We have learned to laugh and cherish the lessons learned and the appreciation of the moment.

The weather has been warm and clear for too long. We planned on more of the same but of course mother nature had other plans. As I worked through the day watching the clouds gather, my man and doggies prepped for our journey. I had left a list of food stuffs and clothing to pack so we could enjoy an old new “jewel”.

My brother and wife were going to join us. What fun. Of course I worked an hour later than expected, the skies where getting dark with clouds and the wind was getting stronger. I could not wait to get in the truck. As we started out from my office we began our journey.

The skies were getting darker as the sun bagan to set and the storm began to gain momentum. Oh well, that just meant we could have a little adventure and expierence some weather. Of course our “weather” is nothing but a mild inconvenience. We love our climate we just need rain!

The road and emotions began to lift as we left the highway and city behind and drove through Hollister, California. Unfortunately for us the darkness cloaked the beauty we drove by. It is so fun to see our silver coach behind us. It signifies freedom from work, stress and pressure. When your think about it, we don’t need to travel days for beauty and regeneration of spirit. It surrounds us. We just need to see it.

As per usual we really don’t know where we are going, ok we have general directions and a road. It is dark and the signage for Pinnacles is minimum. We travel along wondering when the rain will drop. We keep going and arrive after dark at the park. We get a little confused on the road and finally find the campground. We find our spot and easily park. Wow it was too easy. We settled in and took our doggies for a walk as the rain started in earnest. We laughed and enjoyed the smell of rain and knowing our doggies were soaked! Luckily we had put up our awning which sheltered us as we toweled off our friends. It was an easy evening and the rain played music on our roof. The enjoyment of the sound of rain lulled us to sleep.

The morning was lazy and enjoyable. The park was less than half filled, no generators were allowed at all but we had electric hookup. Comfort, beauty and quiet. We did not have our Nesspresso Pixie nor the Frother! Someone who shall remain nameless forgot to pack our beauties. We pressed on and enjoyed our french press coffed instead. I do miss the frother though. hmmmm

Our Pixie and frother to the rescue. — Our Pixie and frother!

We had dinner outside, slow roasted lamb ribs, garlic mashed potatoes and blanched asparagus with goat cheese and bread. We ate outside under the stars as the rain passed over and the stars were out. Just before dinner the ranger held an little discussion on the California Condor! It sprinkled throughout the presentation but it was informational and fun. We walked back to our trailers and began to set out the picnic table for dinner. I drained the fat off the ribs and spread salsa over the garlic sea salt rub and we ate hungrily.

Of course we can not have a trip without fun. As I brought a beautiful toasted lemon cake with toasted coconut frosting it flew off the plate in my hands and landed on the ground! I had waited for a taste of this luscious cake for days. Sooooo we saved the top layer and followed the 5 second rule and all tasted the cake with a little extra seasoning. Nothing ever goes as planned! Flying Coconut Cake is the first evening star.

As we go back to our trailer and start to clean up I realize my hubby did not pack our H2O Home cleaning tools to pick up. But even worse my sink was not draining. We tried boiled water, at least three times and realized that the hot water only went so far down the pipes! I unwound the plumbing stuff and found a 2 inch by 1.5 inch fat plug! We had a fat-scicle!!! We went from poopscicle to fatscicle! wow so much laugher and fun.

Soooooo all systems clear, we rest as tomorrow we go a hiking to the caves!

Rain Rain Happy Day !

How wonderful to actually be hearing RAIN again. The warm weather is beautiful but the rain is what we need. It also makes we want to travel. Yep, weird huh. While everyone is on the road during the good weather the cooler, more unpredictable weather and fewer options for open campgrounds etc make it more exciting.

I must say without the weather challenges, less utilized camp grounds and quieter landscapes we would be bored. No fun, goofy memories. I love reading the many blogs that feature Airstreams and decor. It makes me think, what is our style of travel. We know we love to cook, then Airstream comes out with limited edition gourmet cook version of our dream size coach. Ohhhh bad! The challenge is to make more with less space and re-think the decor, comforts we slowly find we either need or don’t. Oh boy more fun! In two weeks we are traveling far away (90 minutes) to the Pinnacles National Park. Shall we see California Condors, large wing bats, winter flowers, secret vistas that take your breathe away or just the beauty of sitting and drinking in pure wonder given to us from Mother Nature! No not just wine and olive oil that is abundant in this area! That means a trip to Santa Pietra for olive oil, and one of the local wineries we have yet to discover.

I have already thought of our menu, our travel times, reserved our space and have plans to coordinate with my brother and his wife on Saturday of the 3-day adventure. The challenge is, I need to re-think what our creature comforts are and how can we go from ” what we started with” to “okay what do we do now?” That says a lot of laughs and more fun.

Reading “J5MM” blog I am immediately wowed and a little intimadated. She is so vibrant and brings new views of what we can do in our little silver rolling statement! Where do my needs and adventurous energies lead us to?

Ohhhhhhh what shall we do? Dream and go! I am determined to go from where we started our statement to we are venturing out to find our FUN and adventure NOW! Yes Rain makes us start thinking of places to go and things to see. Especially near our home turf! See, the silver wink beckons. We are anxious to get on the road!

Two sites I have found that are inspiring are J5MM and Social Vignerons are two new fun, informative sites that make me think of luxurious, simply fun, tasty adventures on the road! Let’s get traveling.

Silver Dreaming

We are prisoners of our routines. I know I feel like there is this hamster wheel I keep running on without the ability to jump off. Then I look out and see a glint of sunshine on our silver Flying Cloud that keeps winking at me. It seems to say “come on we should go someplace”. We just returned from the ice-cube travel to the Idaho countryside that took five days. We had a timeline, many miles and new lessons learned — NO MORE POOPSCICLES!

As we look at our work week and think there is not enough time or money to make another trip somewhere right now. Wrong, we live in beautiful Santa Cruz County on the Monterey Bay, hmmm. There are many state parks and national parks close by. The Pinnacles National Park is the farthest away at 90 minutes! Sea Cliff and New Brighton are 15 minutes away. They do need reservations all year round but well worth the planning. If you’re self-contained there are even more opportunities to run away.

When we first bought our beautiful Airstream I had many things on my mind, I did not want to rough camp, I wanted to be comfy, I did not want left over household items as our trailer pantry and stores and I did not want to create a large footprint as we traveled. I loved the pictures of others luxuriating as they “camped”.

The first five years were filled with meltdowns, tears, new lessons, forced communication all with new eyes to see our world. We have traveled from California to Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. We marvel at the bigness of our country and the kindness of those we encounter. Again though that took up to eleven days to get there and back. That is too much time.

A friend of mine who lives in Aptos, California told me when his kids were younger they would get into their Class C RV and drive 10 minutes to New Brighton State Park and feel like they were worlds away from home and had fun like tourists do. Hmm hadn’t really thought about the local parks.

That makes escape easier and more relaxing. We have many wineries here in Santa Cruz County and Monterey County, Olive oil tastings, ocean shores, mountains and quiet relaxation. This doesn’t even touch on great foodie adventures. With our little Silver coach reminding us of the why behind our investment we smile. It is a new year with new possibilities for seeing what we don’t see every day. When I drive to work everyday I drive by miles of open beach, the Elkhorn Slough, miles of farmlands growing everything we eat but I just drive by and take it for granted.

We often lose sight of what we have right next to us because it is just there. Now we can see that with a little time spent on the State Parks and National Parks internet sites we can make a reservation and be on our way within an hour after work. This puts a little lift in my spirit and lets the stress release. I have made one day car trips to Lake County to pick up Six Sigma Wine, but it is a long day. Here I can go out of my daily circles and in 10 minutes to 90 minutes max, be in another beautiful place. If you’re prepacked with all your creature comfort have to haves, you just add a little sprinkle of your favorite wine, steak, comfort food and off you go! What we have and don’t see is what takes the energy out of our lives. We don’t have to go to Paris to find adventure. Here where we live, if we open our eyes we can find it here!