Happy Holidays! (12-27-13)

And a wonderful time was had by all. 


Paul’s mom flew in from El Paso a few days before Christmas and we all spent the day at Paul’s nephew’s house. 

Part of the attraction is Shad and Amy’s son, William, who we had never met. He is a 21 month old barrel of fun!

We have also been spending considerable time there because Paul offered to help Shad and Amy with their deck.  He was quite happy to have a project to sink his teeth into.  The original intent was to just add a railing, but after checking it out, they decided to do a rebuild of the deck itself.  I'll put some before and after pictures in a different post.







Christmas Eve was spent at Paul’s brother’s house, eating the day away, as usual! It’s so nice that in Southern California, we can relax outside on Christmas Eve!

William is a constant entertainment, especially when he does things like use the doggy door to go in and out of the house!

Christmas morning was just the three of us-Jess, Paul and I- or should I say the four of us.  Dozer thought we got this  just for him.

Our newest tree ornament, a gift from my sister, is a small travel trailer- perfect for our tree!

Our main gift to Jess was new clothes and the three of us had gone shopping together in L.A. for that, but she still had no shortage of gifts to open. 

In the afternoon, it was back to Shad and Amy’s house where we enjoyed watching William play with all his new toys.  Lucky for his mom and dad, this drum set is fun, but not too noisy!

Although I missed my family, it was nice to be able to spend the holidays with Paul’s family.

More time in Los Angeles (12-17-13)

I was pretty happy to move a little further south, where the weather forecast called for temps in the 80s, but of course part of my happiness had to do with the fact that we’d be spending more time with Jess.
Originally we were only going to be here for two days, but she ended up with vacation time, so we stayed a few days longer and delayed our arrival in San Diego.


 
The first order of business was to decorate for Christmas.











Jess was a great help, when she wasn’t hamming it up for the camera!

I think Dozer likes the tree because it gives him a new corner to hide in.

Every year we add a few more Christmas decorations, but I think we are getting close to being done buying.

  When we had the  house, we had 27 bins of decorations.  In the RV we have at least two. That’s a lot when you consider how small our basement is!

Once the chores were taken care of, Jess couldn’t wait to take a spin on Paul’s newest toy. It only took her about 2 minutes to get the hang of it and ride around with the throttle pinned.













The last time we were here, we had great plans to do a bunch of hiking.  Well, that never happened so this time we made more of an effort to get out there.  

Our first day in L.A., Jess was working so although not quite a hike, we walked with her and the baby she nannies for to the local mall- The Grove.  He loved watching the dancing fountain!

Just in case we ran out of time (or ambition) again, we started our hiking adventures with one of the hikes unique to Los Angeles.  We hiked to the Hollywood sign!

The trail is well traveled, of course.  Its very wide, more like walking up a street than a trail, but its almost two miles in each direction, with great views of the city along the way.











Here’s the view from behind the sign:





 
Although that was the only hike we had a chance to do, we did go for a fairly long bike ride.  I think the head wind made it feel even longer, plus I discovered halfway through that my rear brake was stuck “on” so I got a better work out than the other two!

The bike trail runs along the beach for much of the time, making the trip much more enjoyable. Our destination was Venice Beach.

Lunch at the Venice Ale House

Venice is one of many beaches in the area that cater to the tourists.  With the weather in L.A. being picture perfect so much of the time, you see some unique things on the beaches. Of course there are the many open air restaurants, and the usual vendors along the boardwalk.

There are also some unusual sights, including a piano player serenading all of the shoppers, and a full outdoor gym, typical of what you would find indoors.








Jess warned us that although Venice Beach is “ok” during the day, it is definitely not someplace you want to be come sunset, so after a short visit, we took off for home. With all the warm weather, we tend to forget that the sun sets at about 4:30 in the afternoon.

The trip back was made more interesting by the views of the setting sun along the way.  All in all it was a great day.

Dozer also enjoyed his visit to L.A.   He loves finding new places to sleep and was very pleased to find the empty shopping bag that was left in the living room.

Apparently the pigeons in L.A. are not familiar with cats.  This one wandered around in front of our rig for quite a while.  Dozer probably would have enjoyed  himself a lot more if he hadn’t wrapped himself around the post, and was actually able to reach the bird.

From the Frigid Cold of Boston to the Bitter Cold of California? (12-10-13)

  Here I was, looking forward to leaving the cold temperatures of New England behind me, but I had forgotten that we were headed to the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California for the weekend.

I’m glad I brought my winter coat with me because temperatures up at Shaver Lake were in the teens.

Lucky us, we also got about 8 inches of snow while we were in the mountains.  It was actually really nice.  Very peaceful and beautiful. It’s nice being in the snow when you know that at soon as you come down off the mountain, you’ll be leaving it behind.

The truck has never seen so much of that white stuff!

Someone was very happy about the cold and the snow!

Our friends, Kirk and Karen, have a cabin up in the mountains and we were up there for the weekend so the guys could do some more work on the master bathroom renovation.

  Of course, the weekend was not all work and no play- we did plenty of eating, as usual. Dinner was particularly fun, since Suzy brought all the makings for fondue with her.

Some of us took advantage of the sunshine to go for a (short) walk.

Paul’s drink of choice, Smirnoff Ice lived up to it’s name for the first time.

Once the weekend was over, it was back down to the city of Fresno for us. That’s where I got to see everything that Paul’s been up to while I was away.  He bought all the fasteners needed to put a truck camper on our F450, and he is adding some switches to the cab of the truck.  We have two horns on our truck.  One is the “baby” horn that came with it, and the other is a set of train horns that Paul installed.  Hearing that horn is an unforgettable experience (the decibel level is incredible).  It’s not a horn that we toot lightly because beeping at an unwary biker, for example, could easily cause them to fall off the bike.  So, having a switch is awesome.  Paul is moving that switch from outside the grill to inside the cab.  We also have an air compressor in the toolbox so we can easily add air to things like the air horns, the air hitch, the air springs, and of course, the tires. He is moving the control for that into the cab as well.

   And of course, once again, life is not all work and no play.  While I was away, Kirk gave Paul a scooter.  Not the kind that’s like a motorcycle, but the kind we grew up with that had no motor. Except this one definitely has a motor. 

It goes so fast, Paul was a blur in every picture.  When I expressed concern as to what purpose this scooter will serve, and where on earth we’ll store it, I got no sympathy.  Karen was just happy to have it out of her garage (traitor!) and the guys suggested I use it to go back and forth while doing laundry. Ha.

We wrapped up our visit to Fresno by having people over for our standard Mexican food and Margarita Fest.  We always have a great time in Fresno, and we plan to be back in the spring.  I think we’ll use this as our jumping off point for our trip to Alaska, moving into our truck camper  and leaving the 5th wheel in storage here.

Looking Forward to Being Warm Again (12-04-13)

The weather outside is frightful- downright cold, in fact.  This was the only snow we got while I was in Boston, luckily, but the temperature has been in the 20s and 30s- not exactly what I am used to these days. 

Once Thanksgiving was over, my sister wasted no time starting to prep for Christmas. She and I spent an afternoon building her Christmas tree.  I've never done that before- it was kinda fun!

Once it was put together, of course we had to decorate it.  Since she is "vertically challenged" I did the top branches.  It's pretty nice looking once its all decorated.  Now I am chomping at the bit to get home and put my own up!  Of course, mine only takes about 10 minutes, and that includes the decorating, but I am hoping to have my daughter come over and help us one afternoon, to make it more fun.

When the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, my brother and sister-in-law went on a buying frenzy so I am now the proud wearer of a World Series Champions shirt.  Awesome!  Maybe they'll have a reason to buy me a Superbowl Champion  one too?

Two weeks was a long time to be away, but it gave me the opportunity to relax and enjoy my visit, rather than running around trying to fit things in.  Apparently Dozer is missing me because he is bugging the heck out of Paul, wanting attention all the time.  Of course, Paul's been gone a lot too,  working on his projects so the cat's been alone a lot.  I'm sure he'll prove how much he missed me by biting me at the first opportunity.

Its Like Someone Pushed a Button. (11-30-13)

there is no such thing as Enough Lights

Driving home in the dark the day after Thanksgiving (which means about 4 pm around here) I was amazed at the amount of houses that had their Christmas lights all lit up. It's like someone flipped a switch and we went from Thanksgiving to Christmas in one day.
I am cheating using this picture as an example though. This is actually the house Paul and I had before we went on the road.  As you can see, his fascination with lights is not a new thing.








So, what have I been up to, here in Boston.....I went Christmas shopping (BEFORE Thanksgiving) with my sister.  We tortured my daughter- I sent her a picture of this dress with the text "Help! Aunt Debbie wanted to buy this dress for you because it would match your cat! I had to talk her out of it! "  Jess's response was that it might look cute... I guess we need to pick an uglier dress next time.

Stephen and I went to see the movie Gravity, in 3D.  My opinion?  Don't bother.  Its a movie about Sandra Bullock trying to survive in space when a million things go wrong.  By about halfway through the movie, we were both rooting for Space to win.  It was a good movie for 3D however.






Thanksgiving Day I went out to dinner with one of my brothers, my sister, and my son.  No pictures.  I am so bad at taking pictures when I am with people.  We had a great lunch/dinner at Legal Sea Foods, a well known local restaurant.  I had fish, not turkey- I eat turkey all the time.  Its the first time I have deliberately gone out to a restaurant on Thanksgiving (one year I got stuck on the road and never actually made it home that day- ate a turkey sandwich at a 7 Eleven store).  It was really nice eating out, and we went back to my sister's place for dessert.

I've had some time to read my favorite forums, where I found this picture that is supposedly  the results of a wind storm.  Amazing and scary if the wind could just knock over a 5th wheel like that.

I've also had time to watch the live feed of my favorite pair of Bald Eagles.{Ft. Myers Eagle Cam }
    They now have two eggs in the nest and take turns incubating them.  Its cool to watch them carefully settle themselves on top of the eggs, making sure they don't break.  They also use their talons to turn the eggs periodically.



That's about what I've been doing.  Nothing exciting per se, but I sure have enjoyed spending time with my family!

From Sea to Shining Sea (11-21-13)

One of the perks of traveling the way we do is the flexibility of our lifestyle.  Once we left the west coast, we headed inland to spend a few weeks in Fresno, where Paul went to college  and several of his (and now my) friends live.




Everyone knows that Paul is a "project guy". He loves to fix things and build things, especially when they aren't HIS things.  Don't tell his friends this but he loves to work on their projects so he can learn from any mistakes he makes.  His friends are obliging him by giving him things to work on, as well as helping him with his truck projects.














 Anyway, so about that flexibility. Two things "hit" me.  One, Paul would be among friends for the next few weeks (not like last time I left him to go home and he spent 2 weeks alone in Wall, SD)  and two, having just seen our daughter, I was now missing our son.

 So, off I went, flying the friendly skies of United, bound for Boston.

I love getting a window seat.  I'm still like a kid- I watch the scenery go by right up until it's blocked by clouds.











Since I got here I've been hanging out with my son, and my brothers and sisters.  I'm glad I brought my winter coat-with the windchill factor, it's 5 degrees out there!

Coastal California (11-16-13)

After leaving Los Angeles,  we were headed up the coast to Morro Bay to meet up with some friends.  On the way we stopped for 2 nights in Pismo Beach  to check it out because I, for one, had never been there.  Now I am looking forward to getting back there at some point! We could walk to the beach from our RV park, and if we had had time, we could have walked to a cute looking downtown area.  Instead, we chose to hang out with our neighbors.  There were two couples traveling together.  One was parked on one side of us, and the other was on the other side.  They were great people and we hope to catch up with them again!

Dozer stalking his prey

 Dozer was very happy to be rid of the Parking Lot RV park that we had been in while in Los Angeles.  Not only does Pismo have lots of grass, it has lots of wildlife too.

Here's the cat's eye view of the ducks that Dozer spent the afternoon stalking.

sunset at Pismo Beach

 Directly behind our site was a sitting area where people gathered to watch the sunset.  Pretty convenient for us, and a great way to meet new people!
The weather was perfect while we were there- it was even warm enough that I can say I swam in the Pacific Ocean.  Paul can say that he watched me swim in the ocean.  He doesn't like cold water much.

Morro Rock from the house

After a very short stop, we headed up to Morro Bay, which is known for the famous rock- Morro Rock. Once again our RV park was walking distance to the beach but the weather here is much cooler and it was windy so we never actually made it to the beach.

Sigma Chi brothers

 Our friends came up for the weekend and some of them stayed in a nearby house. These guys are Paul's fraternity brothers and trust me, when we get together, it's always a great time!

Most get-togethers tend to revolve around food, and this one was no exception!

 Since the weather wasn't conducive to being at the beach, we did what many Californians do when they need to fill time- we went wine tasting!

With more people arriving for dinner, we decided to cook, instead of going to a restaurant.  Everyone contributed something to the meal.

It was a great idea to do it that way- we got to relax over our dinner and spent the evening laughing and chatting.








The weekend came to an end way too quickly but we left everyone knowing that we'll be seeing them again in the near future, so it's easier to say goodbye.