Archive for November, 2007

Summing up our week

Sunday, November 25th, 2007

I already miss our little vacation and we haven’t even left the campground.  This week was a sort of test for Paul and I to see how we would manage in the RV without much to do.  I found out that even when you have less responsibilities the days are still too short and there are even more distractions.   Paul and I spent time working on the computers and a lot of time just relaxing and enjoying our days.  This week brought many challenges to be overcome;  Ammenities were in short supply, dead batteries, and there was no water to brush my teeth,  I missed many of my favorite TV shows, I didn’t get my grande nonfat latte everyday.  Any of these are probably reason enough to make me change my mind about wanting to live fulltime in the RV but I won’t.  The views from our RV, the choices of things to do, lack of a schedule, freedom and the pure pleasure of being able to just pick up in the middle of the morning and take the dog for a walk along the beach with your spouse are all the reason I need to continue with our plans.

Living in the RV will be just like living at home.  Paul still leaves the knife on the counter after making a sandwich.  The dishes still pile up in the sink and there is always laundry to do.  The days are just too short. We did have time for lots of walks and I got to golf twice.  So I will go back to real life and wait for the next time we can pick up and find another place to spend a few days and learn how to slow down and enjoy life.

Days go by

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

I’m sitting here watching the sun set into the Pacific Ocean though the windshield of my motorhome from campsite #22 at San Simeon State Park. I just poured a healthy double of Crown Royal and took a sip. Denise is out golfing with her brother and Stephanie. I expect them back any minute now. We had about the nicest weather you can imagine for Thanksgiving yesterday. I made turkey noodle soup from the remains of yesterday’s dinner. It’s sort of a family tradition I started a few yeas back. Every year my daughter Stephanie tells me that this year was the best soup ever. We both know that there is no real way to know that, but it’s fun anyway.

The days are warm. Mostly in the high 70s and low 80s. It gets chilly at night. The first night here, I didn’t think I would need the furnace. It was 50 inside when we woke up Monday morning. Now we use the heater at night. It means I have to run the generator for a couple hours to recharge the batteries, but oh well! Speaking of generators, you can tell time by them. Generator hours are 10:00am to 8:00pm. They all start exactly at 10:00, and they all go off exactly at 8:00pm. No one runs theirs all day, but it’s funny to hear them all start and stop at the same time. It’s as if everyone is standing there watching the clock with their finger on the start button. Which is probably not too much of an exaggeration.

Anyway. We need to come back here before too long.

Paul

Happy Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family! Hope yours was wonderful.

Since 1992 we have done Thanksgiving from a campground with only one missed year..  In the beginning there were more children than adults; now we have almost as  many dogs as adults! 7 dogs, 9 adults and no children.  I guess we just like something to keep us busy.   We have had years where it was so warm that we went jet skiing before dinner and years where we had to rescue kids from flooded tents in the middle of the night.  Then we have had years like this one where the weather was just perfect and the turkey came out tender, juicy and right on time.  We usually plan to eat around 3 pm as we want to be done and mostly cleaned up before dark so we have time to relax and have dessert around the fire.  Sometimes this doesn’t always work out as the turkey determines when we eat and a bbq does not have a temperature gauge so dad is constantly checking, adding more charcoal, opening vents, closing vents and ultimately saying “I think he is ready?”  This year the bird was done by 2:15 and we were seated at the table with all the trimmings by 3pm.  Everything turned out beautifully.  I love this new RV.  I had plenty of room to cook and even room for the girls to help.  Stephanie peeled potatoes while Amy made the fruit salad and I made green beans at the stove all at the same time.  Tuesday evening Amy and I made a Lemon Meringue and Apple pies from scratch.  The oven worked perfectly and everyone said the pies tasted just like every year so I guess I don’t need to bake them at home before we leave anymore.

Enjoying the views

Monday, November 19th, 2007

   The beach       

San Simeon Beach

Now there's a backyard!

 

It was so cold last night!  We had to raise the bed to find more blankets about 3 am.  Finally this morning I convinced Paul that he was going to have to start the furnace.  Come on, we have to make sure everything works.  It does and within 20 minutes it was toasty warm and coffee was brewing.  The weather here cannot be more beautiful and this campground is one of my favorites; we have been here a couple of times before and each time I have great memories.  After breakfast we took a walk around the campground just to look around and see if we could get some cell service.  We need to let everyone know where we are and confirm the plans for Thanksgiving.  We also need to find another big site for my parents to park when they come.  We need to stop going for walks because we keep finding better spots.  This time we find this amazing site up on the hill with a view of the ocean that you can’t capture in photos.  We even talk of where we could sit and have coffee tomorrow morning.  You guessed it – back to the RV, repack and move up the hill.  This will be my 4th shot at backing the RV. We are getting really good at this backing all 36 feet into a site.  Paul stands behind the rig talking to the camera while waving his arms; Denise slowly follows every direction he gives for fear if she doesn’t she will run into something and ruin the trip!  I am way better at following directions than giving them and being ignored.  Just another lesson in marriage – do it the way it works for you.

So we are parked in this amazing place, atop a hill watching life move along.  Paul is working and I am wondering what am I going to do today and will I find things to keep me entertained when we finally go full time.  Today I went for a really long walk on the beach alone- I mean really alone, for over an hour I did not see another sole.  Who would have thought on a beautiful day in November on a very accessible beach in California I could walk for over a mile on the beach of the Pacific Ocean and no one else is there? Crowded CA? maybe not.

San Simeon State Park

Sunday, November 18th, 2007

                             Our campsite

 

Not sure how it happens but a 150 mile trip took all day.  We woke up early,I had the motorhome packed and ready to go, and then our neighbors called about 8:30 and said “want to go to breakfast?” So of course we went because as of Sunday at 8:30 am we were both on vacation for one whole week.  Breakfast was big, unhealthy and tasted amazing.  Anyway we finally pulled out of the driveway about 11:30.  We made our first planned stop in Gilroy because Paul thinks that Super Wal-Mart is the place to shop!  He keeps reading all about how Rver’s love Wal-Mart so we are trying to keep up with the RVJones!  $200 and an hour and a half later we had our groceries for the week loaded and we were off.  Our next stop was in Salinas to fill up with gas.  It took about 20 minutes and I won’t even share how much.  We made it to San Simeon about 5:00 pm and found the campground pretty full, especially the sites that will hold all 35 feet of us.  We found a couple and settled on one near the restrooms.  Cocktail time!!!  .   From our site we can hear the ocean and it sounds wonderful.  The sky has cleared and we can see so many stars. Vacation is great and just think in a short time I get to do this everyday.  I wonder if every day will be this relaxing after we hit the road. Next is dinner and a nice walk around the campground and pay our fees for the night.  Then Paul decides that our site is just too sloped and the slope goes right down to the restrooms.  He is afraid he might drink too much and start rolling!  Anyway we pack up and relocate.  Since I am the one that is now in charge of backing into the sites when we pull out I drive.  We get to the new site, which is very flat and really close to the ocean.  Time for more cocktails and a fire. Hm, maybe he was right about the slope!  We are very happy in this new location but are not sure where to put the rest of the family when they show up later this week. We will work on that tomorrow.  

 

A view from our livingroom

San Simeon State Beach looking south toward Cambria

 

 

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