six sigma – Canned Comfort

Starting over! A new adventure a new path!

Almost a year ago we sold our very first Airstream. She was a 20 ft Flying Cloud and a sweet home on wheels for our 2 miniature Australian Shepherds, me and my hubby. We do plan to get another gem and then see all the 49 landed states (Hawaii to far for a swim!). We now realize we feel so stranded as we only have vehicles, one doggie and have to use hotels!

This will be the beginning of our new movements, cooking, cleaning and enjoying our new world! We are leaving California, my family roots go back to a Spanish sea captain and a native California indian woman whose marriage was noted in the Mission San Diego registry (1759). I love the central coast climate, the sound of the ocean but now so does everyone else! Its time to see the rest of this great nation too.

I love the green-ness, clean lines, efficiency of the Flying Cloud we are planning on getting in the fall of this year. I am thinking of how I want to keep her clean, stay “green”, keep our foot print light and cook up a storm as we travel about. Before I wrote about our travels as new owners and very small geography covered. We were working and had family responsibilities that limited time and miles traveled. We are now retired and free to stretch our horizons leisurely, no military orders or other career restraints.

I am reviewing our re-start with a new gleam in my eyes and eagerness to photograph our best thoughts on keeping our forever Airstream as pristine as our first one. Just this time we will have more room and one less doggie. We lost our first doggie 6 weeks ago now his sister will be at the helm. The Airstream is made for our little family and really is a dream come true.

I look forward to sharing thoughts about our little travels for the next few months in an SUV and our preparations for our new gal. Travel up to Six Sigma Winery and Ranch if you are near Lake County California and stay overnight at no cost! Its beautiful and the wines are even better.

Happy travels and happy tummy!

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.

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