2021 - Year in Review

 Don’t judge. I’m too busy living to write about it!

Highlights (the places I’d visit again) -

7/30 - 8/2/2021 - Ancient Redwoods RV Park, Redcrest, California - ON  the Avenue of the Giants, one of my FAVORITE spots the whole trip.

8/5 - 8/12/2021 - Honey Bear Campground and RV Resort, Gold Beach, Oregon

8/16 - 8/20/2021 - Cannon Beach RV Resort, Cannon Beach, Oregon

8/20 - 8/22/2021 - Lewis and Clark Golf & RV Park, Astoria, Oregon

8/24 - 8/31/2021 - Gig Harbor RV resort, Gig Harbor, Washington

9/8 - 9/10/2021 - Wallace RV Park, Wallace, Idaho

9/15 - 9/22/2021 - Peter D’s RV park, Sheridan, Wyoming

9/22 - 9/24/2021 - Fort Casper Campground, Casper, Wyoming 

10/4 - 10/8/2021 - Camp A Way, Lincoln, Nebraska

10/8 - 10/15/2021 - Victorian Acres Campground, Nebraska City, Nebraska 

10/15 - 10/19/2021 - Winterset City Park Campground, Winterset, Iowa

10/21 - 10/25/2021 - The Campus RV park, Independence, Missouri

10/26 - 10/30/2021 - Ponca City RV Park, Ponca City, Oklahoma 

10/4 - 10/11/2021 - Oak Creek RV Park, Weatherford, Texas

I didn’t pick these location for the parks, necessarily, but for the locations and the things we were able to do during our stays.  I’m sure, if you asked my husband, he’ve have a totally different take on the best places we visited.  But I was enchanted by the small towns we found with great local history and beautiful town squares (and their shops and restaurants).  We have a rule that we have to stay in a state for at least one night before we can add the state sticker to our US map.  So we visited those middle states that we wouldn’t have otherwise visited, and found some very cool stuff. 

Let’s start with the Redwoods - so otherworldly.  The Avenue of the Giants is the largest stand of Redwoods in the world. Some of these trees are over 2000 years old!  You can feel really small and insignificant when standing next to one of these giants.  Walking on the trails is magical.  All noises are muted, and you feel like you might spot a fairy around the next bend.  I’ve never seen such large clover!  One night, we sat around a campfire with our neighbors until late, and watched the Perseid meteor shower!

Gold Beach, Oregon was the first beach we encountered on the Oregon coast.  It was very different from California.  It was clean, with very few shells, mostly pretty rocks, drift wood and black sand that could polish your feet smooth in no time.  It was definitely not a swimming beach, but it was beautiful and VERY WINDY! 

The drive up and down the coast between Gold Beach and Cannon Beach revealed monolithic rocks, like Haystack Rock, just off the coast and water spouts.  In Lincoln City, I hit the tide just right so I could explore the tide pools!  I found colorful anemones and starfish!

Astoria, Oregon may be best known for the setting of “The Goonies”, but I was a little old for that one.  Instead, I loved exploring the beach, the downtown and great Victorian architecture!  We stayed a few miles away from Fort Clatsop, Lewis and Clark’s winter digs before heading back across the country on their Expedition of Discovery.  I caught on to the whole Lewis and Clark/ Oregon Trail thing a little later in Casper, WY, so we didn’t even visit Fort Clatsop!  But we did drive to the Cape of Disappointment, which was closed.  We couldn’t even see the lighthouse, so we were disappointed, too.  They had an antique hop-on, hop-off trolley that gave us a nice overview of the area.  

We crossed over to Washington, and happened to find a park in pretty Gig Harbor (not a lot of choice in this area!) which is just across the sound from Seattle.  So we took the ferry from Bremerton on a sunny day, and played tourists at Pike Place Market, just enough taste of this busy city, on a day when the Mariners were playing at home - eek!  Flying fish, the wall of gum, rubbed the brass piggy’s nose, more clam chowder, croissants, and fresh pressed apple cider!

We spent a week visiting family in Coeur de Alene, ID, and took Mom to Wallace, Idaho, a sweet mining town that declared itself “The Center of the Universe”. This place is truly like stepping back in time. When the I90 construction plan threatened to demolish most of the town, the citizens had every building placed on the National Historic Registry!  Amazing!  I90 had to go above and around instead of through.  I love a small town with attitude!

We kinda fell in love with Wyoming.  If it weren’t so far in the middle of nowhere, we might consider settling there.  It has a very independent, cowboy feel, a lot like Texas, with wide open spaces, but much colder!  We stayed in Sheridan, Casper and Cheyenne - all had cool historic old west downtowns.  Sheridan was a little more yuppie.  It has a great art scene - especially western art.  Casper has the National Trails Museum. Situated on the North Platte River, this is where the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, California Trail and Pony Express all crossed over.  This is where I finally started clueing in about the pioneers heading West.  We basically did the Oregon Trail in reverse, from Fort Clatsop to Independence, Missouri.  

We didn’t expect much from the Plain States, and really, there’s a lot of open plains.  But each one had something special to offer.  Lincoln, Nebraska is a cool capital city and college town.  They love their Cornhuskers!  Nebraska City is the birthplace of Arbor Day and is known for its apple orchards.  Winterset, Iowa is the birthplace of John Wayne and has 6 of the remaining covered bridges of Madison County.  Independence, Missouri is the hometown of President Harry Truman, and has the second largest genealogy research library in the country. I enjoyed digging around both sides of our family trees.   We drove into Kansas City for World Famous BBQ.  And I had to indulge in some Pioneer Woman fan fun in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.  We went to the Mercantile and out to the lodge to see where the Food Network show is made.  It was fall, and I was loving the whole vibe.  We picked apples, made apple pie and apple butter and took walks in the brisk air and autumn leaves.

Finally back in Texas, we visited with some friends outside Ft. Worth, explored Granbury, where some of our distant relatives settled, and followed TX 281 down to San Antonio - one big 6930 mile loop. We stayed in two places that had exotic animals.  One raised alpacas and one was a Safari Park.

Happy Trails!  We’re looking forward to 2022. Maybe we’ll finally get to see the East coast like we originally planned for 2020, but we’re staying flexible, just in case. 
  

California’s Middle Coast and Other Wine Country

 7/7/2021 - 7/9/2021 Boron, CA to Paso Robles, CA (196 miles), stayed at Wine Country RV Resort, $81/night including all fees and taxes

7/9 - 7/16/2021 Paso Robles, CA to Greenfield, CA (67 miles) stayed at Yanks RV Resort, $367.20 for the week

7/16/ - 7/23/2021 Greenfield, CA to SanJuan Bautista, CA (just south of Gilroy)(54 miles) stayed at Betabel RV Resort, $414.40 for the week 

7/23 - 7/28/2021 Gilroy, CA to Lodi, CA (122 miles) stayed at Flag City RV Resort, $255.30/week

7/28 - 7/30 Lodi, CA to Ukiah,CA (157 miles) stayed at Redwood Empire Fairground, $36/night

Typical of this year, with so many people traveling by RV, if you didn’t book a year in advance, you don’t get the prime spots at the choice parks.  We had wanted to stay on the central coast of California to explore their little seaside towns, but found they were all booked. So we stayed at RV parks along CA 101 and drove to the coast to get a good taste of Pacific Coast Highway 1.  It was just as well.  Hwy 1 is not well suited for big rigs and the parks were even more expensive than what we paid inland.  

From Paso Robles, we drove out to the coast and found tiny Harmony, CA, population 18. It had a creamery, glass blowing shop, pottery, winery, chapel and lots of painted cow sculptures - the entire town available for rent for a special event. From there, we drove down the coast to Morro Bay - a cute, unpretentious town with a large rock on the beach, lots of bungalows, shops and several piers from which to watch sea otters and eat yummy seafood. I got my first taste of Pacific clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, and I was hooked!

Greenfield was literally in the middle of commercial farmland.  We were surrounded by green fields. The Salinas Valley is called “America’s salad bowl” providing over 60% of our leafy greens, fruits and veggies.  From our RV park, we watched them harvest celery, onions, romaine lettuce, and plant broccoli. On the drive out to Monterrey and Carmel, we saw people picking strawberries. I didn’t realize how much manual labor was still needed to plant, grow and harvest our food. When we got into the area, we noticed MANY old white busses pulling porta-potties and hand washing stations on trailers behind them. We finally figured out that these were the farm workers. They brought what they needed with them for the day, and when they finished one field, moved on to the next. With the proper rotation of crops, they could continue working in this state year-round. But the years-long drought is making farmers rethink what they grow. Further north, we saw farmers pulling up huge fields of almond trees and other crops that require more water.  They are planting more drought-resistant/tolerant crops in their place ahead of the new tighter water restrictions that come into effect in 2050. 

The wind off the Pacific Ocean whips down the Salinas Valley like clockwork, every day from noon to 9 pm. So when the sun goes down, it gets cool fast.  Directly on the coast, it’s MUCH cooler. When we visited Carmel by the Sea, it was overcast and too cold to get in the water. I was still chilly in jeans and sweater. But the scenery was gorgeous!  We drove south on Hwy 1, pulling off to explore the walking trails. Huge waves crashed against the rocky shoreline with beautiful, huge succulents growing wild. We ventured as far as Bixby Bridge, then turned around to get a late lunch at Monterrey’s Fisherman’s Wharf. 

Gilroy is “the Garlic Capitol of the World”!  They have a pretty, walkable downtown, with restaurants offering dishes with LOTS of garlic. We ate at the Gilroy Garlic Cafe where I tried a garlic chicken and eggplant panini and garlic fries - delicious! One processing plant pumps the scent of garlic into the air that you can smell for miles.  It made me hungry for Italian food.  They have an annual Garlic Festival that we missed by one day!  I was very disappointed. But we did visit The Garlic Shoppe and several produce stands.  We bought a bunch of strawberries, 6 avocados for a dollar, and I got to sample garlic ice cream.  It’s not bad while you eat it, but it leaves a really pungent aftertaste. 

Oh, Gilroy is also the birthplace of A&W Rootbeer, so naturally, we had to taste!  There is something special about root beer made from pure can sugar in a frosted mug!

From Gilroy, we drove out to Santa Cruz and explored the wharf, where I ate MORE clam chowder and watched sea lions, then stopped along West Cliff Drive to look for surfers.  

Gilroy has its own wineries, but I held out until Lodi to do some wine tasting.  I had read that they had some very old Zinfandel vines. We stopped at Oak Ridge and Michael David wineries. Michael David displayed vines that were 128 years old!

What a sweet brick-paved, tree-lined downtown!  We went on a Monday, so most things were closed, of course, and the Farmers Market wasn’t until Thursday night, so we might have to come back and spend some more time.  

The real reason we wanted to stop here was to get close enough to venture into San Francisco. We’ve gone several times, but not in years.  So we took a day trip in so see the tourist sights and eat dinner. The tourists are back in mass!

I think the Bay Area is the unofficial dividing point between SoCal and NorCal, so I’ll do the rest of California next. 

Better Late Than Never…

There are times in my life when I’m really good about journaling/blogging, and times when I’m SO NOT. These past few months have been one of those NOT times. And there’s a lot that has happened that I think one day I might want to look back on.  This blog is more for me than anyone else, so I guess I’m only disappointed myself. Ever since my dad passed away in May, I just haven’t been motivated. I’m glad I’m not one of those full timers who’s trying to make a living on YouTube travel videos. We’d be in real trouble. 

We have been to some amazing places since leave South Padre Island. We decide to go west this year since COVID prevented us from going East. We forgot how hot and dusty and difficult the high desert altitude could be on us, but we made the best of it.

Some highlights - 

Alpine and Marfa, TX - great little Far West Texas towns that have artsy vibes, murals, mysterious lights, long sweeping views, and are worth a visit.  

Las Cruces, and Albuquerque, NM - especially the old town squares and cathedrals, Mesilla and La Posta restaurant, Petroglyphs National Monument and red or green sauce on your Mexican food.  Hatch Chile peppers!

Mesa Verde National Park, CO - oh, the cliff dwellings.  AMAZING!

Moab, UT  - Arches and Canyonland National Parks.  Record heat, lots of dust and the Pack Creek wildfire south of town.  Sweet little Main Street, but getting a little full of itself.  

Las Vegas, NV - more record heat, had to leave the RV during the day, because the ACs just couldn’t keep up.  I flew home for Dad’s memorial service. Beautiful synchronized 4th of July fireworks from multiple rooftops on the strip.  A new resort and casino called Resorts World.  The Neon Boneyard that I’ve been wanting to see for years.

We can’t believe how many people live in the desert! And thank goodness we left before the monsoonal rains flooded Moab and Las Vegas.  

Now, we’re in California.  We haven’t spent much time here outside the big cities before this trip.  We’re finding some real gems.  They deserve their own post.  

Back to the Beach!

 3/30/21 - 3/31/21 Bulverde, TX to Kingsville, TX - Stayed at Nature’s Own RV Resort for one night, $40

3/31/21 - 4/30/21 Kingsville, TX to South Padre Island, TX - stayed at South Padre Holiday KOA for one month, $999

Back to the beach

If you’ve read any of my posts, you know that the beach is my happy place. Bill and I have been coming to South Padre Island, TX almost every year since 2002, when we bought our first RV. The thing I love about SPI, besides the fact that it’s the best beach on the Texas gulf coast, is that it’s not too commercial. Maybe it’s just too far south for some people to bother. Don’t get me wrong, there are still some high-rise hotels and lots of kitschy souvenir shops, but there are also some great mom and pop places to discover. 

We spent the month of April 2021, shoulder season, at the KOA Holiday RV Park. It was windier and foggier than other stays, but, except for the holiday and weekends, it wasn’t nearly as crowded.

Every morning I walked 3-4 miles in a circuit beginning at the KOA, through the Isla Blanca County park, stopping at the jetty, along the beach, to the Holiday Inn board walk, and back to KOA.  You don’t have to pay to walk or bike through the County Park.  Just stay on the sidewalk to the left of the guard shack and walk on through. If you follow the loop road to the right around the park, you will find their performing arts/concert hall, a statue of Jesus, and a bait shop before you get to the jetty.  

If you go left, you’ll get to the beach faster. Isla Blanca has built some really nice day-use facilities in the past few years, which you can use for $12.00 a carload. There are two covered pavilions with picnic tables, grills and snack bars that have not been open since COVID began, but I bet they’ll be operating again this summer, and lots of benches from which to enjoy the view along the boardwalk. 

Either way, follow the beach down to the jetty. This was my favorite place to stop and watch wildlife. April is nesting season for Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, and I saw quite a few in the water, as well as pelicans, cranes, and dolphins leaping from the waves. They like to follow the shrimping boats, because the wake disturbs the fish and makes for good eating!  

From the jetty, you can see across the Laguna Madre shipping channel to Boca Chica beach and, if the day is clear, the high bay complex and launch pad for SpaceX. We were in SPI for a month, mind you, and didn’t get to see a launch. We heard two engine burns that sounded like loud roars of thunder, but left four days too early to see SN-15 go up. Ugh!  It is an extra cool thing to do while at the beach. You can also drive to Brownsville and explore the area on you own on the days that the roads are not closed for testing. Check the internet before you go.

Shelling is best near the jetty, after a storm on a low tide morning.  The waves wash up small to medium-sized shells, lots of oyster shells, and some sand dollar fragments.  If you want big, hearty shells, drive to the north end of the island, as far as the road will go before the dunes overtake it.  Park on the side and walk across the dunes to the beach. There are lots of interesting finds along the way. Be sure to wear shoes and sunscreen or a long-sleeve shirt.  The dunes get REALLY hot.  

Besides fishing (get a free pass for the large pier at Pirate’s Landing when you stay at KOA) and building sand castles on the beach, you gotta visit Sea Turtles, Inc. When we first started going, they were housed in a tiny shack and worked on a shoe-string budget with the help of college interns, and volunteers like us. Now, they have a great complex with lots of educational opportunities and turtle patients to see.  Their mission is to rescue, rehab, and release injured turtles and hatch and release as many Kemps Ridley turtles back into the wild as they can. Summertime hatchling releases are thrilling!  Hundreds of babies swim back into the gulf while onlookers wish them luck. You can find out when they’re happening by calling the Sea Turtles, Inc hotline or their website.  Say hi to my favorite, Fred the loggerhead turtle, a permanent guest who’s lost too many flippers to return to the wild.

 Now for the food!  Fresh seafood and lots of it!  We always start at Dirty Al’s for the fried shrimp botanas platter for two enjoyed on the patio overlooking the marina. Watch out for the seagulls who will snatch a bite right off the table.  Pier 19 also has great fried shrimp and the best onion rings, AND Texas cinnamon rolls for breakfast!  Call ahead to make sure they still have some. Ceviche, Ceviche is relatively new.  They have a small storefront on SPI and Port Isabel serving super-fresh, you guessed it, ceviches. I go to Senor Donkey for blackened fish tacos (Mexicana taquitos) at least once during our visit.   We found a new-to-us, hole-in-the-wall, awesome, authentic Mexican food place called Chilito Pikin. They have different lunch specials every day.  Their enchiladas were particularly yummy. And, I love the addition of the food trucks on the island. We tried two of them that were parked at the Green on South Padre Island and boardwalk near Laguna Bobs.  Bill tried the street tacos at Breaking Bread.  I had a burrito and the cup of elote(Mexican corn) with butter, Mayo, chili, garlic and cortina cheese, YUM!  We also enjoyed the sunset, burgers and some adult beverages along the bay side at a tiki bar called Coconut Jacks, then walked over to the Gravity Park, where you can play putt-putt golf, ride go-karts, or try several rides that swing or fling you in the air. It was lots of fun just to watch. 

One thing I’m not thrilled about is the abundance of rentable, street-legal golf carts that can hold up to 10 people. Thankfully the speed limit is only 35 mph on the main strip, but you know how people get on vacation :(. At least they’re not scooters; they don’t work so well in the sand. I do also appreciate that SPI has numerous public access points, many handicap accessible, and free parking near the beach. Many beaches we’ve been to around the country allow large resorts to snap up the beachfront and you have to be a guest or pay to park to get near it. One of the many reasons we love SPI, and we’ll be back, again and again.