Neighborhood Watch

It turns out, that perhaps Easter week is not the best week to vacation without reservations.  After spending one night at a KOA campground, we got up early determined to get a spot at New Brighton State Beach.  We arrived at 10am to a campground waitlist already 16 deep.  Come back at 2pm and we will let you know if there is room at the inn.  While waiting in the day use area, we decided to check for openings at the nearby Seacliff State Beach.  Seacliff was holding a lottery, come back at 12:30 for the drawing. Bill was holding lucky number 5.

Bill rode the motorcycle to Seacliff at 12:30 and we got a spot right on the beach.  It is what we call “parking lot” camping but we had a campsite and you know the saying “a bird in the hand, is worth two in the bush”.  We loaded up the motorcycle and drove the 1 1/2 miles down the road and pulled into our spot.

There are no hookups, just a piece of asphalt with white lines defining our spot.  However, the view from our front window is fabulous.

The waves crashing against the shore lulled us to sleep, until about 3am when there was a new sound. I awoke to Bill barking out the window at two men rifling through our neighbor’s stuff, stealing a chair and something else that looked like a small ice chest.  The men ran off and Bill called the police.  A patrol car soon showed up to investigate and the neighbors came out to investigate the lights and noise.  Fortunately, the men ditched the contraband when Bill yelled at them, so all property was accounted for.

This morning the park ranger stopped by to get the story and thanked Bill for calling the police.  He said the thieves have become very brazen, stealing a generator and bicycles in broad daylight.  He wished they had more budget so they could patrol the campground more aggressively.  Not to worry about our small stretch of campground because Bill has warned all the neighbors, both old and new.  He is now taking a nap because being the neighborhood watch captain is hard work.

My 3 Fun Facts:

1. Seacliff is one of California’s first state beaches founded in 1931.
2. New Brighton, once known as China Beach or China Cove, was the site of a Chinese fishing village during the 1870s and 1880s.
3. Put all your stuff away when you go to bed.

Lunar Peek-a-Boo

We had high hopes for a clear viewing the lunar eclipse.  The moon rose over the trees in full splendor filling us with anticipation for the main event.

 

We watched and watched (eclipses take time) as the earth’s shadow started its journey across the moon.

 

Then the clouds rolled in and that was the end of the eclipse for us. We never did get to the Blood Moon stage. It was a disappointment especially since we stayed up well past our bedtime to watch.  Maybe next time.

My 3 Fun Facts for today:

1. This was the first of a series of four total eclipses to concluded in September 2015.
2. The phenomenon is known as a tetrad, in which the moon is completely covered by the earth’s umbral shadow for four eclipses in a row.
3. The beach is not the best location to watch a lunar eclipse.

Incessant Posting

This post is dedicated to my dear friend (you know who you are), who texted me

"I just checked the blog.
What no post???? Aren't
you on the road? Lazy"

We had just arrived at our first campground (Pismo, of course), hadn't even checked in yet!  And nothing worth mentioning happened on the drive (thank goodness).  So I went searching for something interesting to blog about while walking with Marley.

Marley waiting patiently for his walk.

Walking down the beach we stumbled upon the final afternoon of the 12th Annual KiteXPO, which is the largest kite boarding event in the country.  Kite boarding combines surfing and hang gliding with large kites. The weather was perfect with a slight wind.   The kite boarders were amazing weaving their way up and down the shore and performing tricks for the crowd.

It was getting late in the afternoon so many were starting to call it a day.

There was still at least one kite boarder trying to catch as much time on the water as possible.

My 3 Fun Facts:

1. There is an actual term “kitemare”, which is a combination of “kite” and “nightmare”, and you can pretty much figure out what it means.
2. The fact that they offer a clinic, “How to Recognize an Injured Kiter”, tells me that I will not be trying the sport of kiteboarding.
3. Telling your friends that you are writing a blog about your travels, raises the expectations of those friends.

Pismo Beach

Aaah Pismo Beach, it always feels like we are coming home.  Pismo is a classic beach community which always has something going on including the Classic Car Show in June, and the Clam Festival in October.  We have been camping at the North Beach Campground in Pismo Beach for over 20 years and it will always be one of our favorite spots (we have been there three times so far this year).  The campsites are huge. 

Our campsite

 The beach is just a short walk over the dunes.

 

The Monarch Butterfly Grove is right next to the campground and in the winter is the home to thousands and thousands of butterflies (October through February).  There were only about 5,000 butterflies still in the grove this trip, but they could be seen flying throughout the campground.

 

The town of Pismo Beach is less than a mile down the road and clam chowder in a bread bowl is a wonderful reward for making the walk. Plus the walk back to the campground helps work off the bread and chowder.

This trip proved to be just as wonderful as ever.  The first three nights we were joined by our friends Tom and Dorolyn with their son, Austin and his girlfriend, Kim.  We had a great time strolling the beach and the boardwalk, watching the wind surfers, exploring restaurants in town, and just hanging out by the campfire.

During this trip we also encountered some rain.  It was the first time that we camped in the rain in our motorhome.  We discovered that we need to pack a few things before we travel to the Pacific Northwest next week such as an inside doormat to wipe our feet, old towels to clean the dog's feet, rain gear, and hiking boots.

My 3 Fun Facts for today:

1. Over the last 5 years an average of 25,000 butterflies per year have wintered in the Pismo Monarch Grove.
2. The Pismo Monarchs live for 6 months as opposed to common monarch which live only 6 weeks.
3. Giuseppe's restaurant will deliver hot pizza right to your campsite.

What's in a name?

Why "3 Fun Facts"?

My husband, Bill, is an educator, and cannot help but find teachable moments anywhere, anytime.  Whenever we would travel, attend an event, or even go to an amusement park, Bill would tell us all that we had to learn "3 Fun Facts" to share at dinner.  The kids and I learned to roll with it and could easily come up with fun facts by dinnertime.  They were not always momentous, sometimes repetitive, and frequently inaccurate, but hey, we had our 3 Fun Facts.
             
                                                                  

However, when family and friends were sucked into included in our learning moments, they would obsessively stress over their facts.  You could see the sweat starting to bead up on their foreheads.  Will this count as a fact?  Will I remember this information at dinner?  Are my facts going to be fact checked?  Do I need a backup fact in case someone steals my fact?  It was like studying for a final exam that would determine the course of their lives.

I remember one family trip to the Newport Aquarium many, many years ago.  As we were walking through the front gate Bill told everyone to be sure and have their "3 Fun Facts" ready to recite at dinner. The kids and I took the assignment in stride, no big deal. The panic within the rest of the family (especially the adults) was palpable and made for some very interesting "facts" at dinner.  For example, my brother's contribution included "the line at the ticket booth is much shorter at 3pm than at 9am", my nephew shared "never travel anywhere with a teacher", and my sister-in-law added a commentary on the size of Keiko's dork (of "Free Willy" fame).  Oh my!




Bill knew that he had finally won the family over when several years later my brother and sister-in-law while traveling in Mexico sent us a postcard that included their three fun facts at the bottom of the card.  Bill's work is done.  Thank you very much.
 
So here are my 3 Fun Facts for today:

1.  Creating and embedding a map on this blog is not intuitively obvious.
2.  3 Fun Facts has had 8 page views.
3.  The correct terminology for a whale's private parts is dork.

Who, What, When, Where, Why

The Who

My name is Peggy and I will be your guide through these escapades adventures.  I am joined by my husband, Bill, who is the driver extraordinaire and photographer.  We are recently retired and looking for ways to spend our children's inheritance.  

Our goofball golden retriever, Marley, will join us on many of our voyages.  This is Marley on his 3rd birthday which everyone knows is 21 in dog years.
 

The What

Our motorhome is a 2012 29.2 A.C.E. built by Thor Industries. It is the "evolution" between a Class A and a Class C motorhome, or so the marketing brochure claims.

It is a huge step up from our 1991 Lance camper which we shared with 2 children.  As the years went by, the kids got bigger and the camper seemed to shrink. 

We have now become "those people" we used to laugh at envy in the campgrounds.  You know the ones, an older couple in a ginormous motorhome with all the comforts of home while we crammed 4 people into a 24 square foot tin can on the back of a pickup truck.

The When 

Anytime the mood strikes us.  That is the beauty and freedom of being retired!  We do not plan on full-timing, but to borrow a term from another blog, we plan on being "anytimers".  We are currently planning a 6-8 week trip to the Pacific Northwest beginning in mid April, but in the meantime we are headed to Pismo Beach next week to enjoy the sand, surf and clam chowder.

The Where

Anywhere the mood takes us.  Over that last several years we have traveled within the United States and abroad.  My Our retirement plan includes visiting all 58 National Parks, traveling in Europe, exploring Machu Picchu, and wherever else my our fancy takes us.

The Why

Because we can!  I've created this blog to allow family and friends to join our travel adventures. So jump on board and check out the view from my seat.