USA March 2011

Hiking in the saguaros.....

31 March Thursday (Geyserville CA)
JoAnne and I walked four miles each way to the world's largest Salvation Army where I bought heaps of clothes that I do not need for three bucks! And then a delicious dinner at the Isis Oasis.

30 March Wednesday (Olema to Geyserville CA)
Drove over to Geyserville to visit with JoAnne, a friend from the Peace Corps, with stops for coffee in Bodega (and photos of the church from the film "The Birds") and food shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes.

29 March Tuesday (Olema CA)
More hiking in the sunshine at Point Reyes today.....the Kule Loklo Trail (learn about Miwok Indian culture), the Woodpecker Trail, the Earthquake Trail (learn about geology of San Andreas Fault Zone)....also watched a film about the area and saw my geology instructor from the 1970's featured!

28 March Monday (Olema CA)
Crystal clear sky this morning with twinkling stars and bright moon shining through my windows. Sunny walk to Point Reyes National Seashore Park (about half mile from my campsite) and then up to Mt Wittenberg (1400') and across Sky Trail to the Coast Trail for beautiful sea views and return along the Bear Valley Trail....about 12 miles.....and the same hike that I did in September 2009 (my last visit here). Today's hike was quite muddy since California has had so much rain....reminded me of hiking in Juneau!

27 March Sunday (Redwood City to Olema CA)
Drove north over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County and Point Reyes National Seashore where I plan to do some hiking. It was beautiful all morning then rained all afternoon.....here is hoping for sunshine on Monday.

26 March Saturday (Milpitas to Redwood City CA)
Morning visit with Denny in Milpitas then overnight with Debra in Redwood City. I worked with Denny at IBM in Palo Alto in the 1970's and I worked with Debra at IBM (where she is still working) in the late 1990's.

25 March Friday (Lake Del Valle to Milpitas CA)
Clear morning with stars and bright moon then sunshine! First a visit to Starbucks in Livermore to catch up on internet then drive on route 84 to 680/237/880 to San Jose. I visited two RV parks and one said that my rig was too small and the other did not look very safe so decided to use my points and stay at a Hampton Inn for free....plus the weather is really bad again so not the best for camping and hiking.

24 March Thursday (Manteca to Lake Del Valle CA)
Beautiful morning drive to Lake Del Valle then heaps of wind and rain for most of day. They moved me from a campsite that was threatened by rising waters to higher ground and I ended up being the only one at the campground....two others had reservations but were no shows due to the bad weather.

23 March Wednesday (Patterson to Manteca CA)
Visiting my father's cousin Hazel in Manteca. We had a wonderful visit perusing the work that she has done for the past fifty years researching our family genealogy.

22 March Tuesday (Kingsburg to Patterson CA 127 miles)
Driving north today on route 99.....first stop at Starbucks in Kingsburg for internet where there were about a dozen men in two different groups doing bible study...something a bit different! Also drove around the downtown founded by the Swedish with a water tower in the shape of a coffee pot! Big double truck accident on the highway.

21 March Monday (Mojave to Kingsburg CA 156 miles)
Beautiful morning with new snow on the mountains. Drove over Tehachapi Pass to find that it had just been opened (I hear the Grapevine ion I5 is still closed this morning) so it has been quite a storm. Gorgeous pink glow with the sunrise on the new white snowy moutains also dotted with wind turbines....difficult to take a photo though while driving (and I hear that there is a new law in CA that it is illegal to use camera while driving). Now doing internet at Hampton Inn near Bakersfield so will continue north, probably on route 43. Had planned to camp at Colonel Allensworth State Park but it is now closed so continued north to Kingsburg where I stayed at small RV park. I walked over to the nearby Sun Maid factory to learn about the history of raisins in San Joaquin valley and had a few to taste. I am heading to Manteca to visit my father's cousin.

20 March Sunday (Desert Hot Springs to Mojave CA 193 miles)
Happy Solstice
A bit of a worry today for travel because a big storm is travelling across California but I am ready to move on! Early 6am start and not too bad on freeways (I10 to 210 to 215 to I15 to 395) until I got to 395 off I15 then the rain and wind started...just enough wet and dirt in the air to cover my van in mud. Drove north on 395 to visit Johannesburg and Randsburg then small road over the hill to Red Rock State Park. The rain really started coming down so decided not to camp in this beautiful park with just pit toilets for $25....moved a few miles down the road to Sierra Vista RV Park near Mojave at half the price and hot showers to sit out the storm.....it rained hard for the remainder of the day.

19 March Saturday (Desert Hot Springs CA)
Happy Full Moon (SuperMoon)!
It was a busy day today with morning sales pitch by Linda Kelley on the Western Horizons resorts then afternoon at the pool then sales pitch on MASA (Medical Air Services Association - transport insurance) by Alan Deitsch, which got me a free dinner of barbq chicken (only jello for dessert though)...then evening country gospel singing by Milly and Bernie Loewen!

18 March Friday (Desert Hot Springs CA)
Crystal clear sunny day but the wind sure does blow in the afternoon! They have a breakfast on Fridays so had egg and veggie and cheese burrito for $2 then morning walk then relax by the pool then to "fill-up" at Trader Joe's and the petrol station (Safeway/Vons ten cent discount was $3.82 per gallon although many stations are over $4).

17 March Thursday (Salome AZ to Desert Hot Springs CA 164 miles)
Happy St Patricks Day!
Drove to Desert Hot Springs today where the price of petrol is getting higher! Three free nights at Desert Pools RV Resort so spent afternoon at the pool then listened to Fantasy RV Tours present their 59 day RV caravan tour to Alaska.

16 March Wednesday (Lake Pleasant to Salome AZ 92 miles)
Midnight awakening to sound of coyotes then 4 am awakening to sound of a mouse...again! So early morning shower then departed for photos of sunrise on the lake. Short drive on scenic routes 74 and 60 to Salome. Stopped in Wickenburg for mouse bait....I have not yet heard him again so here is hoping that he hopped out.

15 March Tuesday (Lake Pleasant Regional Park AZ)
Happy Ides of March! I paid for another night at my campsite then drove to Paradise Cafe at the local shopping mall about ten miles away to do internet. Returned for afternoon hike along the lake.

14 March Monday (Sun City to Lake Pleasant Regional Park AZ 20 miles)
My next destination is Desert Hot Springs by the weekend where I have booked a free three night stay at an RV resort if I listen to a 90 minute sales pitch! I had stayed at Lake Pleasant last year and really enjoyed camping and hiking around the lake....unfortunately, I did not know that this is spring break week......but still not too bad....found a more remote campsite so will stay two nights and then head west.

13 March Sunday (Chandler to Sun City AZ)
Although I will still be in Phoenix, it is about an hour drive from here to visit my aunt and uncle on the other side of town!

12 March Saturday (Phoenix AZ)
Christine and her friends return from California today and I depart tomorrow. Morning walk through the neighbourhood garage sale browsing all the junk that I do not need!

11 March Friday (Phoenix AZ)
Enjoyed sunshine by the pool and caught up on paperwork and rang a few friends before I depart this weekend.

10 March Thursday (Phoenix AZ)
Oil change for the van! Then to the library to return the movies that I have watched: Girl Who Played with Fire (I had just finished the book), The Last Station (last days of Tolstoy), Wall Street (new one with Michael Douglas)

9 March Wednesday (Phoenix AZ)
Back to Little Dealer Little Prices to get my Roadtrek refixed at the expense of Leisure Time in Florida who did not do it correctly the first time! The silicone sealant on the roof vent was removed and replaced with Dicor self leveling sealant; the new fresh water intake hose was sealed properly so that it did not leak; the battery cables were tied up properly so that they were not hanging down on the road. Afternoon walk to Great Clips to get my hairs cut!

8 March Tuesday (Phoenix AZ)
Morning walk in my new shape up shoes then afternoon visit with Gail, a woman with whom I worked (and also sailed) in San Francisco. She and her husband bought a fifth wheel last year and have been in Phoenix for a few months this winter.

7 March Monday (Phoenix AZ)
While in Florida I had work done on the "house" part of my RV by Leisure Time RV in Orlando and have since found that much of their work was done very poorly or incomplete. I spent this morning at another RV dealer to determine the extent of work required to fix it and will return on Wednesday to have the work done.
A very windy day here with many clouds so not a good day for the pool!

6 March 2011 Sunday (Phoenix AZ)
So instead of filling my gas tank today, I walked to the local shopping mall and bought some new shoes (shape-ups) and a daypack....had forgotten how much fun it is to shop once in awhile (for something besides food)!

5 March 2011 Saturday (Phoenix AZ)
Chris and Ronnie and Myra are off to Indian Wells for the tennis tournament and return next Saturday so I am here to watch the house and enjoy the sunshine by the pool!

4 March 2011 Friday (Tucson to Phoenix AZ 105 miles)
Drove north to visit Christine in Chandler. She and her friends Ronnie and Myra from Virginia went to the Carefree Wine Festival today then we had a delicious linguine and clams for dinner.

3 March 2011 Thursday (Tucson AZ)
A late start today since we were up last eve until 1:30 am chatting...time by the pool then Becky and I did a bit of shopping.

2 March 2011 Wednesday (Tucson AZ)
Rugby was THE sport when I attended college at George Mason in Virginia and that is how I know Clay (where I am staying in Tucson). Another rugby player from those days will join us for dinner tonight and Clay has not seen Rick in about forty years! Delicious moussaka a la Becky!

1 March 2011 Tuesday (Tucson AZ)
Gorgeous sunny day today! Becky and I went shopping at the 17th Street Market for some fish and veggies then to Gerson's Used Building Materials then to Tuesday Morning....then to relax by the pool in the sunshine reading.