We had 10 wonderful days in Oceanside. Most of the time was spent shopping at outlets, doing some sight seeing and celebrating Virginia's 90th birthday. Virginia took us to the Pageant of the Masters which was amazing. It is an art show combined with a pageant where people are dressed up and posed as real life Masters paintings. We thoroughly enjoyed this. Virginia had booked us in to a hotel in Laguna Beach which was very nice as we did not have to use our car to go to the pageant. We were able to leave the car at the hotel and use the free tram system that Laguna offers in the summer. We just hopped onto the tram right outside the hotel, went to the pageant and then the tram took right back to the hotel afterward. Most enjoyable. The next day, August 20th was Virginia's birthday. We spent the day driving up the coast and seeing some of the sites. One of which was the Roger's Gardens which is a nursery, but also a wonderful place to go. We had fun trying on big floppy hats, looking at plants and browsing in their store.
On the evening of the 21st We, Virginia and some of the Popes went to dinner at John's Neighborhood Bar and Grill in Vista. The food was outstanding. Michael had steak and I had smoked salmon, capers and linguine in a cream sauce. Yummy!
Michael and I took a drive up to the top of Mount Soledad in La Jolla. What views! and of course we went to Oceanside Beach. It was very hot, but the water was icy!
It was with very sad hearts that we left on the morning of August 24th. We will be back in January/February
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Our Facebook Photo Abum
To see the photos of our trip go to our Facebook Album until I can get photos posted on here.
Thanks
Thanks
Friday, August 13, 2010
Friday the 13th - Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California
Yes, we really did go through all those states. Early start as soon as we were defrosted! The trip through Utah was beautiful! As my sister says, Utah is a strange and beautiful State. Almost as soon as we entered Utah we were in the area known as the Colorado Plateau. This is an area of outstanding beauty. The colours in the rocks are anything from grey to salmon, peach and cream. Back in 1999 Michael and I toured the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon. All wonderfully scenic National Parks, and all different in their own way. We decided not to go back this trip, but we will most definitely spend some time here when there are not so many crowds. Maybe in February....Brrrr.
Well, we drove right through Utah, missing out Salt Lake City and driving through Provo, and before we knew it we were in Arizona. The very top left corner of Arizona and a short time later we were entering Nevada. Apart from the Grand Canyon, we are not terribly enamored with Nevada. Of course we have not been up to Reno or Lake Tahoe yet!
As we approached Las Vegas the temperature started rising dramatically and pretty soon it was 43C (109F). The drive through Las Vegas is always harrowing, but on a Friday afternoon, when the world comes to Las Vegas it was very busy! Smart Alec, Dee decided to go to Henderson to find accommodation. That didn't work too well either and so we decided, after heading in the wrong direction, that we would just press on into California. Back on the I 15 and off we went. The best laid schemes of mice and men......... Not far out of Las Vegas the traffic ground to a halt and there we sat for almost 2 hours, crawling forward. Over 11 miles of back up all the way to Primm at the Nevada/California State line!! Someone had raced down the truck lane in his Ford F150 and, despite the warnings of road work ahead, drove at high speed, crashing head on into a heavy road construction vehicle. Of course he was killed instantly and so it took a very long time to clear the road. By now it was dark, so we decided that it would be prudent to call ahead to Barstow KOA to book a cabin. Too hot for tent camping! I only had my Canadian phone which is pre-paid, so what the heck, the call was made and I was on hold for quite a while and then I got the KOA person to call me back and eventually we got the cabin reserved. When we get to the KOA all I had to do was to call a number for someone to bring me the key. Well, I had used up all my time on my phone so when we got there, luckily, someone had driven in right behind us and I asked to borrow his phone. He let me use it and then told me he was from the Yukon. I hope I didn't use up too much of his time!! My cost on my cell phone was $30 for the time it took to make the reservation!!
We were absolutely stunned at the number of people that were travelling to Las Vegas from the LA area! The highway looked like it was rush hour. Bumper to bumper traffic heading North. Craziness!
We got into the cabin which was very nice, with a full bathroom, kitchenette, TV etc. We soon found out that the room was about 50C inside as no-one had bothered to turn on the AC. It took 2 hours to cool down. The fridge was about 60C inside as it was broken and the there was no hot water for a shower. Nevertheless, having travelled more than 1000Kms that day, we had a cool shower and both slept like logs. Up early, for a quick look around and a nice breakfast. I had a quick "discussion" with the office staff about the deficiencies and received a 10% discount on my nearly $100 bill for the 1 night. Then we set off on the last leg, of this portion of our trip, to Oceanside.
California always gives us the feeling that we are "home". It is so much like Durban in South Africa where we had lived prior to immigrating to Canada. So we got to Virginia's in the early afternoon, just as she was about to head out to a historical society function. Got settled in, unpacked and enjoyed not having to race off to our next destination.
Coming up, some highlights of our stay in Oceanside.
Well, we drove right through Utah, missing out Salt Lake City and driving through Provo, and before we knew it we were in Arizona. The very top left corner of Arizona and a short time later we were entering Nevada. Apart from the Grand Canyon, we are not terribly enamored with Nevada. Of course we have not been up to Reno or Lake Tahoe yet!
As we approached Las Vegas the temperature started rising dramatically and pretty soon it was 43C (109F). The drive through Las Vegas is always harrowing, but on a Friday afternoon, when the world comes to Las Vegas it was very busy! Smart Alec, Dee decided to go to Henderson to find accommodation. That didn't work too well either and so we decided, after heading in the wrong direction, that we would just press on into California. Back on the I 15 and off we went. The best laid schemes of mice and men......... Not far out of Las Vegas the traffic ground to a halt and there we sat for almost 2 hours, crawling forward. Over 11 miles of back up all the way to Primm at the Nevada/California State line!! Someone had raced down the truck lane in his Ford F150 and, despite the warnings of road work ahead, drove at high speed, crashing head on into a heavy road construction vehicle. Of course he was killed instantly and so it took a very long time to clear the road. By now it was dark, so we decided that it would be prudent to call ahead to Barstow KOA to book a cabin. Too hot for tent camping! I only had my Canadian phone which is pre-paid, so what the heck, the call was made and I was on hold for quite a while and then I got the KOA person to call me back and eventually we got the cabin reserved. When we get to the KOA all I had to do was to call a number for someone to bring me the key. Well, I had used up all my time on my phone so when we got there, luckily, someone had driven in right behind us and I asked to borrow his phone. He let me use it and then told me he was from the Yukon. I hope I didn't use up too much of his time!! My cost on my cell phone was $30 for the time it took to make the reservation!!
We were absolutely stunned at the number of people that were travelling to Las Vegas from the LA area! The highway looked like it was rush hour. Bumper to bumper traffic heading North. Craziness!
We got into the cabin which was very nice, with a full bathroom, kitchenette, TV etc. We soon found out that the room was about 50C inside as no-one had bothered to turn on the AC. It took 2 hours to cool down. The fridge was about 60C inside as it was broken and the there was no hot water for a shower. Nevertheless, having travelled more than 1000Kms that day, we had a cool shower and both slept like logs. Up early, for a quick look around and a nice breakfast. I had a quick "discussion" with the office staff about the deficiencies and received a 10% discount on my nearly $100 bill for the 1 night. Then we set off on the last leg, of this portion of our trip, to Oceanside.
California always gives us the feeling that we are "home". It is so much like Durban in South Africa where we had lived prior to immigrating to Canada. So we got to Virginia's in the early afternoon, just as she was about to head out to a historical society function. Got settled in, unpacked and enjoyed not having to race off to our next destination.
Coming up, some highlights of our stay in Oceanside.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
On into Wyoming
We managed to get away quite early and set off for Wyoming. The scenery in Wyoming is very mixed. Once we got away from the Badlands and the Black Hills of South Dakota, Wyoming flattened out again to miles and miles of flattish prairie. We saw some ranches that just went on forever and there were cattle in some of the fields, but because the ranches are so huge, it looked as if the farms just had a few animals. Midday, the wind started picking up and very soon we were battling a 45 mph headwind. It was so windy that we saw an 18 wheeler that had been blown right off the highway into the median. Luckily it was a wide median, so there were no injuries on either side of the road.
We had almost crossed the whole state when we decided to pull into Lyman KOA. We asked the young man at the desk to give us a site which was protected from the wind. What did he do? put us on a site that was at 45 degrees to the wind. It was hilarious trying to put the tent up. bags were flying away and Michael had to chase after them. We tried pegging the tent down before getting it up into position (we have a pop-up tent), but that too failed and eventually we went and asked to be put at the back of the campground to get the protection of the hedge on the Western end. The tent was erected, the mattress was inflated and everything was working a lot better. This site had an electric outlet, so we were able to charge everything up. The lamp, the battery pack and my computer. The Koolatron fridge was plugged in and positioned outside the tent. The wind dropped and we were able to cook dinner then we went to bed quite early and set the alarm to wake us up at midnight to see the Perseid Meteor Shower.
Well, it got colder and colder. The sky was absolutely clear and the stars were incredible, but by midnight we were awakened because the mattress had deflated to the extent that our hip bones were right on the floor. Mattress inflated again and a quick look outside to see if there were any meteors. I saw 2 or 3 but they were so fast that I soon lost interest and (also because it was now 9C) decided that it was time to go back to bed. 3:00 am awake again because the mattress was once again deflated. Pumped up and back to bed. Now every time we got up it took about 1/2 an hour to get warm again! 6:00 am, mattress deflated again 3C outside and ICE on the fridge and on the car. It was bitterly cold. Must have been at freezing point and because the sun was starting to rise, it had actually warmed up to 3C!!! Of course we had no warm clothes, just one fleece jacket each. We had slept fully dressed in our day clothes and our fleece jackets. A quick early breakfast and then pack the car and set off. Next stop Nevada.
We had almost crossed the whole state when we decided to pull into Lyman KOA. We asked the young man at the desk to give us a site which was protected from the wind. What did he do? put us on a site that was at 45 degrees to the wind. It was hilarious trying to put the tent up. bags were flying away and Michael had to chase after them. We tried pegging the tent down before getting it up into position (we have a pop-up tent), but that too failed and eventually we went and asked to be put at the back of the campground to get the protection of the hedge on the Western end. The tent was erected, the mattress was inflated and everything was working a lot better. This site had an electric outlet, so we were able to charge everything up. The lamp, the battery pack and my computer. The Koolatron fridge was plugged in and positioned outside the tent. The wind dropped and we were able to cook dinner then we went to bed quite early and set the alarm to wake us up at midnight to see the Perseid Meteor Shower.
Well, it got colder and colder. The sky was absolutely clear and the stars were incredible, but by midnight we were awakened because the mattress had deflated to the extent that our hip bones were right on the floor. Mattress inflated again and a quick look outside to see if there were any meteors. I saw 2 or 3 but they were so fast that I soon lost interest and (also because it was now 9C) decided that it was time to go back to bed. 3:00 am awake again because the mattress was once again deflated. Pumped up and back to bed. Now every time we got up it took about 1/2 an hour to get warm again! 6:00 am, mattress deflated again 3C outside and ICE on the fridge and on the car. It was bitterly cold. Must have been at freezing point and because the sun was starting to rise, it had actually warmed up to 3C!!! Of course we had no warm clothes, just one fleece jacket each. We had slept fully dressed in our day clothes and our fleece jackets. A quick early breakfast and then pack the car and set off. Next stop Nevada.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park and Needles Highway
We had a good breakfast of eggs and bacon and set off for Mount Rushmore. The route from Badlands KOA took us through more of the Badlands State Park, and we took the dirt road route through the more remote part of the park in the hopes of seeing buffalo. We saw one in the distance, that was all.
One thing that I have not mentioned is the number of motorbikes we saw on the road. Thousands of them. We found out later that there is the annual motor bike rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. This year is the 70th anniversary, hence the number of attendees. We heard that anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000 bikers were at the event. I can believe it!
When we got to Mount Rushmore we were almost crowded out of the parking lot by motor bikes! A $10 fee to park and the Monument is actually free. It is very impressive, with granite pillars all the way up to the viewing area. On each pillar are the names and flags of 4 States. Each one occupying the 4 faces of the pillars.
The view of the carvings is very awe inspiring. What a feat!! We were there about 30 minutes, took lots of photos and then left. After the stop at Mount Rushmore, we took the Needles highway to Custer State Park.
The primary reason that we went into Custer State Park was to see the wildlife - buffalo. We drove the wildlife route and saw a few buffalo in a far off grove of trees, a couple of deer and 2 wild donkeys. After Custer we drove to the statue of Crazy Horse that is still a work in progress. We took a couple of photos, but did not go into the park.
A quick drive back to Rapid City and then pressed on West. We stopped at Spearfish KOA, which was chock a block full of motorcycles and bikers and their families. camped in all manner of camping gear from tents all the way up to million dollar motor homes. The campground owners were absolutely great and managed to find us a corner in their overflow section (an open field) and charged us a discount rate, which was nice.
One thing that I have not mentioned is the number of motorbikes we saw on the road. Thousands of them. We found out later that there is the annual motor bike rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. This year is the 70th anniversary, hence the number of attendees. We heard that anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000 bikers were at the event. I can believe it!
When we got to Mount Rushmore we were almost crowded out of the parking lot by motor bikes! A $10 fee to park and the Monument is actually free. It is very impressive, with granite pillars all the way up to the viewing area. On each pillar are the names and flags of 4 States. Each one occupying the 4 faces of the pillars.
The view of the carvings is very awe inspiring. What a feat!! We were there about 30 minutes, took lots of photos and then left. After the stop at Mount Rushmore, we took the Needles highway to Custer State Park.
The primary reason that we went into Custer State Park was to see the wildlife - buffalo. We drove the wildlife route and saw a few buffalo in a far off grove of trees, a couple of deer and 2 wild donkeys. After Custer we drove to the statue of Crazy Horse that is still a work in progress. We took a couple of photos, but did not go into the park.
A quick drive back to Rapid City and then pressed on West. We stopped at Spearfish KOA, which was chock a block full of motorcycles and bikers and their families. camped in all manner of camping gear from tents all the way up to million dollar motor homes. The campground owners were absolutely great and managed to find us a corner in their overflow section (an open field) and charged us a discount rate, which was nice.
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