Hot and Cool in California With More Friends

 July 12 - 20, 2023

Morgan Hill - Oceano, California

Again I'm sad to say good-bye and happy to be moving on to see more friends and family. Hugs and see-you-laters, and we continue south. Hwy 680 is a rough mess most of the way (not I-40 dangerous, but nasty still), and I can't help but wonder what new damage the motorhome is going to suffer. 

There are very few RV parks in this area and I'm glad we could get a spot at Maple Leaf RV Park in Morgan Hill for five nights. Clean and safe with easy access, it's also sort of weird (not the good kind). Several park-model units that look like they're for transient work crews, zero ambiance or landscaping, astro turf strips between asphalt and concrete sites. Strange of a different kind is no WiFi - none, not even one that doesn't work. There is a pool and small store with nice staff. The hate agenda sign above the counter is a huge turn-off, but fortunately there are no flags or signs in the park. 

After a quick lunch we make a grocery pickup and then hide out at home because it's HOT! Sacramento was also hot, but I'm more surprised to find the heat this close to the coast. It looks like it's the same in most areas this weekend (122 in Death Valley!) so we'll just ride it out. 

We've had so much fun visiting people during our eight years of traveling. The combination of relatives, high school and college friends, work friends, and RVer friends has added a wonderful layer of entertainment and joy to our lives. This year we've seen fewer than usual, but this last few weeks is all about visiting!

Bill and I were friends with a lot of the same people in high school, and one of our very favorites was Sandie. We have lots of great memories that include this good pal. In addition to a couple reunions, we've seen her here one other time. We're thrilled to get this chance for another visit!

Lauren (Sandie's daughter), Sandie, Bill, Jodee and Tessa

Sandie and Bill - decades of friendship.

The hot bumps up a notch over the weekend, and Saturday afternoon the power is off-and-on for a couple hours. Within minutes it's 97 inside so I'm grateful we have the generator during the longest outage. Thankfully we get through the warm night with no further issues. 

Other than laundry, a little housekeeping, and a quick dash for someone else to heat up their kitchen to feed us, we hunker down at home to avoid the oppressive heat. If I'd made earlier reservations, and had sold a kidney, we'd be parked at the beach for this stop!

Monday Bill has the great idea of going to Santa Cruz before we meet up with David and Morgan in Santa Clara. The temps have dropped some, but it's 20 degrees cooler at the beach! My oldest, our #1, Brian, lived in Santa Cruz for a couple years so we send him some pics of his places. Our favorite eatery was Santa Cruz Diner so breakfast there is a must-stop. It's freezing inside (put-my-puffer-coat-on cold), but the meal is as good as it always was. Downtown and the Boardwalk are packed with zero parking available. Instead we take the pretty drive along the water front before heading north.

Still looks the same.

We've visited several NFL stadiums around the country, been on some of the tours, shopped the pro-shops. It's been fun to see how different they all are. But we've never been to the new California/Las Vegas stadiums! One of the reasons we made this stop is to see the 49ers' stadium in Santa Clara. 

It's a big disappointment. Maybe the least-appealing one after the Superdome in New Orleans. And the pro-shop is closed as well. We're still checking it off the list!

Hope it looks better on the inside.

The trip has a silver lining as we're meeting David and Morgan for dinner! They live here and when we saw them last week in Clearlake we were so glad we'd get this chance for another visit. Pedro's is a beautiful venue with good food and service. Of course the company is wonderful.

Looking like a vintage hacienda in the big city.

Tuesday morning we head south for more visiting along the coast where we'll enjoy the last of our cool temps for the rest of the summer. Most of the parks on California's central coast are stupid expensive, if you can find a vacancy in the summer. Pacific Dunes Ranch RV Resort is away from the hustle of Pismo and Avila Beaches, and although it butts up to the dunes, the beach is not close. 

After another rough-road drive on Hwy 101, through gorgeous golden hills, we get set up in our tight dirt space. 50 amp FHUs and a picnic table is about it in this "resort". Another over-priced and marginally maintained Thousand Trails park. And they charge for WiFi!

Alas, the weather is glorious and we're here to visit Bill's college besties again. Wednesday we join them for brunch in nearby Grover Beach.

Lori and I enjoy some time moseying through the cute downtown of Arroyo Grande, finding some small treasures before joining Steve and Bill back at the park. The sun comes out and we sit outside for a few hours getting caught up. They always wanted to retire in this area where they (and Bill) went to college, and we're so happy for them that they were able to make that happen about four years ago. 

Thursday we sleep in and head to their lovely home about noon. Overlooking vineyards with a perfect floorplan, we love visiting here. More fun conversation and a delicious home-cooked meal, and as always the time is over too quickly. 

 

Friday we're leaving 65 degrees for 90 :-( but there are grands to see and that's a lot of good reasons to continue south!!

A nod to the best daughters-in-law anyone could ask for - moms to our special grands.

M&M's mom Jillian.

Oliver and Mommy Christie.

Mom to Reese and Penelope, Emily.

Shalise - mom to Ezra and Elliott.