More Challenges!

We came back from a 12 day cruise, after the COVID shut down we can now move around the world, kinda. This cruise was planned 3 years ago. It was a beautiful itinerary that kept changing as time passed. Wow, how to be flexible. We did learn so much about history as well as how age does effect your travel-abilities. I know that my mind doesn’t know how old I am. My bones do. But, our minds can be healthy and still adapt and learn. That was the exciting part.

We had so many hoops to jump through. Vaccines, antigen testing, re-testing and passports, excursions were cancelled, new ones made and flexibility was a must. We did see so many wonderful places, learned unknown, to us, history and even the rain and cold did not slow us down.

This was a way for us to see a world we had not experienced before. Well we have sailed on 5 night cruises, Trafalgar Tours of Europe and of course driving and pulling our Airstream CC!

As our physical abilities have changed, we changed. Due to health issues we had to go from a towable to a small class C. For me the challenge is learning to love the new way as much as I had our Airstream. Our Leisure Travel Van Unity FX to be precise. The Unity is smaller than our 27 ft Airstream. The Leisure Travel Van is 25ft total. It really is a physical and emotional shift. Funny how we connect to our vehicles and how we feel while we are in them.

We had promised ourselves that we would not drive more than 4 hours a day during our travels. Well we drove 10-11 hours. The dogs were not comfortable. We did stop every couple of hours for them to relieve themselves. We even stopped for lunch and ate in our coach after walking the dogs. This was a family event trip. We had time frames to be in different cities to see family and be home for my hubby’s work schedule.

Hopefully, this will be the last time this happens to us. A challenge to work through. I have made a list of goals for our future travels. Not on a ship but our little motorhome. We still have not been able to agree on a name that would reflect her personality and our feelings about her.

Here are a few of my goals: 1) learn healthy meal planning that will take advantage of the plates we travel through and keep a budget. Good health and new flavors are a challenge; 2) Use the tools we have to plan how to take advantage of boon docking, Harvest Hosts and with some full hookups interspersed; 3) Develope a financial stream to help augment our goals and dreams while on the road.

Do you have travel dreams/goals? Please share your goals/dreams of how you are looking to solve the puzzles. Happy Travels.

Write a comment and let me know what you think about and would like to hear more about.

Keep traveling, be healthy and enjoy your world.

We Have Passed Into Spring

Looking out the window at the ranch looks like spring. I speak with my friends across the nation and find snow, cold, windy and tornado weather. Hmmm I think I like it where I am. I look at the Facebook pages of various groups and all are readying their rigs for travel. Then I get to thinking of places I want to see and experience. Spring fever is here not just quite spring weather though.

I have almost finished my first attempt at writing a book for fellow travelers. I also realize that what’s in my head is very difficult to translate to paper. Luckily I have found friends who are writers that are teaching me how to write and re-write without fear.

What does all this have to do with my Airstream? She sits patiently waiting for another trip. CC3 has survived snow storms, gale force winds, rain and rutted country roads. She deserves a rest and TLC. I think of all the little things that make her our little home. She is a beauty in our eyes and we love her.

The Airstream blogs/groups share creative ideas and DYI talent. Little steps is a great way to start. Thinking the kitchen storage area needs help. I am not sure what to do. I know that online shopping is dangerous. Too many options. I have done a little decorating before but a bit overwhelmed. My youngest grand-daughter (9yrs of age) is always wanting to stay in the Airstream when we visit.

COVID-19 has given us a gift of time. Time to be with our friends and families in new ways. Time to see what we really want. Time to see what is important to our life. Taking a big breath of air and seeing what we have and what we need to make life more meaningful. But it sure is a challenge not to take off in our rig just to get out of our Shelter in Place rules. I want to stay healthy and want others to be healthy. Darn, well dreams, plans and enjoying today sure keep me busy. What about your days and dreams of getting on the road again, meeting new people and learning new things?

Well, we did go travel from ranch to home and found a beautiful change of scenary on the way. It was strange to drive highways with rare vehicles other than semi-trucks delivering things we need. We rested for awhile then had a request for help on the ranch. Off we went to the ranch.

The fun weather changes on the upper plains!

It was a learning ride from home to ranch. Every trip on the same highway is a different view. It was a quiet road and fresh views. The semi trailers were fast and zooming past but not problems. We stopped 30 miles north of our regular Hwy 70 turn off and visited a KOA we had stayed at before.

Our last stay was during winter. Quiet and few people with a beautiful view of the snow capped mountains out the window. This time the same mountain with no snow, a packed campground, lots of families and ATVs. It was quiet. The shelter in place seems to have exploded family travel in trailers. Hmmm not the quiet beauty as last time but still comfortable.

Leaving the Fillmore KOA gave us a beautiful ride around a big chunk of Hwy 70. The wide open spaces with ranches, livestock grazing on spring grass, lambs are so cute and all the babies are adorable. This is what makes travel so great. It is the journey that makes your travel so wonderful. Keep traveling and enjoying the newness of the old.

We Have So Much!

We are all Shelter in Place and feeling a bit of the road calling. I am like many of you and have to store our rig away from our home. It still doesn’t stop us from thinking about the travels ahead. Reading the blogs online showing how creative so many people are. It can be a place we can to to visit and do some preparations for the roads we shall travel. Watch the blogs and see what you can learn that may enhance your travels.

I am not blessed with the brilliance. I see in the creative posts of other travelers. It puts a smile on my face to see the colors, modifications and creative use of the inside of the Airstream.

Now I have time to complete my first small travel book for the roads less talked about. I am newly living in Southern Nevada and thought there was not a lot to do or see here but the Vegas strip. I was so wrong.

The Death Valley National Park is very large and and spans many landscapes. We all hear about the lower part of the park but that is just the beginning. As an example, Pahrump is a small jewel siting near one of the entrances to Death Valley. There are also very nice RV parks in the area, one fairly new. Wineries in the area too.

Let’s look at the places we can see when this is over and people we can meet. Safe travels and good adventures.

Is it August Already!!

I started this in July now it is already the end of August, 2019! We have traveled twice from Henderson to the Ranch! We have really broken in our new, new 27 ft Flying Cloud front bedroom! We have learned so many new lessons for really traveling without real time constraints. We are slowly learning that we do not need to stay in an RV campground but Harvest Host is opening our eyes to what is really in our great big country.

We have gotten used to the different levels of KOA campgrounds but we have started Harvest Hosting also. We also know our little window of using HWY 70 over the Rockies is seasonal so we are really enjoying our drives.

Our first fun stop was in Cedar City at the Creamery, It has the best tasting, locally sourced milk! We enjoyed great melted cheese, local bread and ice cream that is soooo delicious. We have passed this place 4-5 times and we finally stopped! Yum Yum. We bought about 4 -6 pounds of wonderful cheddar and curds for putine!

Look who parked next to us at the Creamery!

We were boondocking on the ranch for about 4-5 days and we really enjoyed the quiet and privacy. We utilized our solar and propane for more comfort and the view of the Rockies is pricless!

On our way back we stopped at a Harvest Host Sopris Alpaca Farm and boutique . What a gem! It is of Hwy 70 in Silt, Colorado. Yes it was hot and lots of seasonal bugs. The big present was the view and the cute alpacas. The hosts were so friendly and the boutique was so cute. We plan on staying there on our way back to the ranch.

Because we had some time we also stopped in Palisades Colorado. It was a beautiful little Napa in Colorado!. We couldn’t believe our luck ! It was like a little European jewel. The charcuterie was so delicious and the wine very enjoyable . Please, if you can stop, enjoy the wines and fresh fruits in Palisades, Colorado. Another place we want to return to!

Can’t wait as we keep expanding our itinerary for each trip.

To Say Wow! Is Not Enough

Our first family dinner in the beautiful Madison Campground was more than we could have imagined! The whole camp was so comfortable and lost in trees. The kids made the evening. We laughed at the fact the smoke from our wood campfire followed us all around the circle. The smoke even set off our smoke alarm in the coach.

Before dinner my daughter and grandson helped do meal prep on the outdoor table and set the tone for fun. Involving everyone in the dinner prep and being outside is the magic of camping. All ages get to contribute and enjoy the end product. Even our five-year old was running around helping with the cleanup chores. Of course doing dishes outside with two dish pans is something new for the kids!

We sat under the trees and watched their tops sway in the winds as we just felt a little chill as the sun set over the mountains. The glow of the fire made it seem magical. Of course the smores really finished the day with gooey grins.

As the next day dawned we headed for Old Faithful, of course after a great camp breakfast of bacon, eggs pancakes and coffee – thanks grandpa and grandson for their cooking skills! We did not see much traffic and thought we would make a quick trip to the geyser but guess what! Buffalo! A small herd meandering across the road and waylaid us for 20 minutes. Split the group but what great, magnificent animals all going 2 miles per hour! Well the babies are adorable so can’t get anxious. Afterall we do have 5 days to see the park!

We all meet up at Old Faithful, poop the doggies, settle them down and we just miss the geyser blowing. We go to the little hotel meander and ask for directions for the Old Faithful Inn and follow the suggestion of an old friend to view the geyser in style! We walked over to the hotel, bought some of the worlds best ice cream, found coffee and wonder seats to wait for and watch the next spouting of Old Faithful! Now that is a great way to see these natural wonders.

After the event we hiked around the geysers and spent the day amazed at the miracles of nature. We are overwhelmed with the expanse of this park. We must have hiked FOREVER! The amazing colors of the blooming wild flowers was a true surprise. Again an old friend did say we were in time for the spring bloom of amazing color that only happens in the early part of the summer season. She was so right on about the landscape surprises. Tiny purples, roses, whites, yellows and oranges popping up in surprising places. They just added to the magic of Yellowstone.

By the end of the day we were excited and pooped! A hot, tasty campfire dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers, coldslaw, potatoes, beverages and a campbaked apple pie with home-made ice cream cannot be beat! Can’t thank Sunset Magazine enough for all the menu ideas! Kid and family approved!

Tomorrow we drive the northern section of the figure eight road! Good comfy warm sleep and coffee in the morning. What a life!

Operation Fun and Family

We have prepared for seven months for this moment. The Airstream is fully serviced, repaired, cleaned and carefully stocked! Yes, we have been planning this first, long trip with family and experimenting with more than seven days away. A bit scary.

It is 7:30 pm, I have left work and pre-listed everything for food, dogs and gifts. We packed all non-food items, records for dogs, all our clothing last night. During the day my hubby finished all the last-minute needs like gas and water needed. We do a last minute check, lock and secure house and off we go. Our goal is to arrive in Eagle, Idaho no later than 5:30 pm the next day!

The best preparation was a revelation of what we did not need and what really needed our attention. The Bay Area Airstream Dealership Service Department was our angel. Chris, is the service manager and he is the best. Every detail was attended to and reviewed with us. We learned to let go of items we really never used or needed. Thank heaven for the airstream storage and planned layout. We have learned how lucky we are to have our silver coach.

We leave with late day sunlight. Our hope is to get out of the bay area and Sacramento traffic before it gets too dark. We start to get a little sleepy about the base of the Sierra’s! The dogs let us know when we should stop. We packed snacks to get us through the night and have our rolling home with us for potty breaks and napping.

At about Truckee we try to nap at a large well-lit rest stop but it is FULL! Truckers and other travelers have already taken every inch. We trudge on and find a well lighted gas station with a few trucks parked and ask if we can park for a little while. They said yes! It was frigging cold and very dark. We walked the dogs arranged our stuff and napped for about 2 hours! Quiet, warm and cozy. Again doggies walked and watered and off we went.

The dawn is approaching and it is beautiful. We feel refreshed, wide awake and happy to be on the road again. We make it to Nevada and know we have to make it at least to Oregon before we nap again. We have traveled these highways before so we kinda know where we want to be.

Usually we travel in the winter. This is the first time traveling at the beginning of the vacation season. What we noticed was there was beautiful spring flowers everywhere, greenness and water!!! Yep streams and rivers and pools of wet stuff—water! We last until just after the beautiful Jordan Valley and nap for another 60-90 minutes. What a great and safe way to travel. We have no need to stop at truck stops, road chain places and possible stomach problems! We are so relaxed and seeing a new view of a familiar road. What fun.

We arrive at our destination, Hi Valley RV park and it is still light and very warm, 90 ish and no ocean breeze. We are guided to our spot, contact our family, prep for a two night stay and of course walk the dogs and have a great class of Six Sigma 2006 Tempranillo! Life is great and this is just the beginning of our adventure!

A Dream Come True!

To say we had fun is an understatement! After a very busy work week we landed in heaven! Our first overnight at our favorite winery and ranch. Six Sigma farm to table dinner and overnight camping.

We just got our Airstream road ready for the Yellowstone adventure with family and needed an excuse for a “shakedown” cruise. Six Sigma here we come. We also invited friends who live in the area to share a meal with us while we where in the area.

After battling, unholy traffic we bumpty bumped into the ranch. We arrived as the crew was setting up for the dinner venue. This is our first farm to table event. Kaj Ahlman, the “father” of this wonderful, multifaceted family enterprise, guided us to our spot! It was a cleared area with generous room to park our rolling home. There are no hook ups, we came with our water tanks full and solar panels on our roof. It was an easy fit.

We expanded our awning, set the stabilizers, and made ourselves comfortable. We had a gas firepit so no sparks or chance for potential fires, our grass pad was a new acquisition and rolled out beautifully. The dogs had their own fenced pen to relax in after a nice walk. We then got ready for dinner.

Wow the place was filling with lots of happy people sipping wine and reviewing a menu that included Six Sigma lamb and local fruits and vegetables paired with wonderful Six Sigma wine! Christian Ahlman, Judy, Matt the winemaker and Kaj et al made the evening fantastic. People enjoyed seeing our well behaved pups roaming about with us and marveling about our silver coach awaiting our end of evening relaxation.

As all the hustle and bustle of the evening wound down the beauty of natures quiet overtook us. We could even hear the small creek running by us. The weather was perfect, a slight breeze with the sound of the wind in the tall trees made everything very relaxing. We slept with all curtains open, windows slightly ajar and the breeze just right. We could see the stars in the night sky. This is camping! This is living, this is why we love our silver baby. The dogs were comfortable, we were experiencing our dream for the very first time. Alone, not in a crowded campground, even the national parks have too many people, generators and noises all the time!

ranch house tasting room — Just before lights out at the end of the day.

The morning was sweet, ranchers and work hands drove by, no real noise, no disruption, cyclists going by, all surprised by the silver thing in the woods. Our friends came by for a relaxing brunch and then off to the real world.

We did find I had forgotten to re-stock all we had taken out for the maintenance to be done so that was goofy. Everything worked, yeah Bay Area Airstream for the great job. This little sojourn was so much more relaxing than any of our other excursions ever! Ohhhhh how enjoyable! This is what we were trying to find. Now we know where to find it.

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!

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!?