We went for a ride so Don could show us the sites! On our way up the coast we saw a herd of Elk. Beautiful animals.
Went to see “The Big Tree” a giant redwood.
Here is Don Joy and John with the tree so you can get an idea how big it is.
On our way home we stopped at Arcata Pet Supplies. This is Don and Joys pet store. What a great store. So many things! Of course we had to get stuff for Indy. They not only have the store but they also sell on the internet.
Pizza for supper and more pet play.
Do you know how sharp puppies teeth are? I do. I met Nikki. Few we sniffed but the we played and played some more. I had so much fun. We wrestled – sometime I won and sometime she won (I let her) When I needed a break I jumped on the couch to get away – she can’t get on the couch yet.
Doesn’t she know when I’m on the bed it time out!
Here we are jumping for joy!
Mom said to put in a link for the rest of the pictures.
So much fun but we are both tired out – time for sleep. good night!
Don and John started working on a program for their satellites. Jean and Joy got to play with the cats and dogs.
There new golden retriever puppy Nikki is so cute. So much energy – just like having a new baby in the house. She has such a pretty face.
Indy and Nikki met and played but more on that later.
Here are the cats.
Indy got to meet Lichken. She’s not sure what to make of him.
Don’t get too close
Oh no too close
Of course we saw Sam. Indy knows him and knows not to mess with him.
We made a grocery shopping trip to Winco. What a great store. Huge with good prices. Its employee owned. They don’t take credit cards.
Left Thousand Trails Russian River to continue our trip north to Eureka. Just taking 101 all the way. Little concerned about the mud slide that closed the road last week but it was reported as open.
Road very curvy and goes around some giant redwoods.
Stopped for lunch in Graberville.
Got to the spot where the slide was. They sure work quickly in Ca – both lanes were open. They were still working on the side but there was no delay.
Here are some pictures of the slide.
Arrived in Eureka with Don and Joy waiting for us. Don helped us park in his driveway ( he moved his Bluebird to another spot). Nice spot – full hookups, friends and pets right next door. Who could ask for more.
We hadn’t seen Don and Joy in over a year so it was great to get all caught up. Joy gave us a tour of the house. She has her room with all her quilting and fabric. Beautiful quilts. Don has his toys in the living room including his computers and large 3D TV. Cool! The cats have their own room too with toys, towers and litter boxes.
We packed up and left Morgan Hill today. We wanted to leave on a Sunday to avoid the commuter traffic. Good choice since we had to go through Oakland, Cal
We decided to stay overnight at the Thousand Trails Russian River Preserve and continue to Eureka on Monday. Shorter days are better.
We traveled over the Richmond San Raphael Bridge. Not bad and the toll was only $8.25. Cheaper then the east coast.
Here are pictures of the bridge.
Arrived at Russian River in Cloverdale. Nice campground, small, hilly and many trees but pretty and we were able to get both TV and Internet. Verizon service is minimul.
We decided to go back to San Fransisco for another day of sightseeing. We like to take a tour of a city to see the highlights and then go back and visit the ones we would like to see. San Francisco was no exception. Here is the trolly.
Glad we took the trolley. The streets are unbelievable! so steep and parking on them must be an experience.
The driver took us down one of the streets. Glad his brakes worked!! Not a place to take the RV.
We also saw the crookedness street.
The driver pointed out all the different neighborhoods. It was an interesting tour.
When we returned we explored Fisherman’s Wharf. We went into the bakery that is known for their sourdough bread. Boudin bakery. Sourdough got its name because wild yeasts in the San Francisco air had imparted a unique tang to their traditional French bread. It sure tastes good.
Of course Jean always needs the bathroom. They are very unique at fisherman’s wharf. You push a button and the door slides open. The toilet flushes itself when you leave. The sink it automatic – first it dispenses water,then soap, then switches to dry. Push a button the door opens and out you go.
There was an old Navy submarine and Liberty ship docked at the pier. We look but decided not to take the tour. We have toured many ships already. Here is a picture of the Liberty trip. John’s dad served on a ship like this during WWII.
We explored pier 39 – many shops and restaurants. The best part was seeing the harbor seal lions.
They just love having their picture takes.
We said good-bye to San Francisco and headed home.
Too much traffic!! We had dinner at Panda Express. Always good food.
We always have a challenge when we go back east to try to find a campground that is reasonable in price and still close enough to visit, the family. We have been staying at a TT (thousand trails) park Chestnut Lake in Port Republic, NJ. It is a drive to Piscataway and always shore traffic. So we usually stay there then move the rig up to our friends at Belle Mead farmer co-op and dry camp there for a few days.
Chestnut lake is not one of our favorite campgrounds. Grass usually needs cutting and the mosquitoes are terrible.
Jean has been doing some research and wanted to add the Outdoor World Campgrounds to our TT package. This will add two more campgrounds in NJ and many more in PA – both in the Pa Dutch area and the Pocono area.
We talked to the salesman at TT Morgan Hill and he suggested upgrading to the Elite Plan. We decided to do it. This will give us additional campgrounds, able to stay 3 weeks(which we can do using our present plan) at no additional cost except our annual dues which will stay the same. The dues will be frozen since John is 62. Since we are going to continue with this lifestyle we decided to upgrade. Hope it works out.
Alcatraz has been on our bucket list for many years and we finally made the trip. We have visited all the large historical prisons in the US and many of the smaller prisons also.
The weather was perfect. We decided to drive in from Morgan Hill since we are not paying a daily rate there. Its a 75 mile drive. We got a great parking spot in an inside lot for only $10.00 for the whole day – early bird special. From what I heard about parking this was a bargain and only 2 piers from the Alcatraz pier.
We already had our tickets for the 10:30 cruise to the island so we boarded the boat with no problems.
There was a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the boat
Then we saw the Island!
Alcatraz was once a Fort then it was a military prison. In 1934, it became a federal maximum security penitentiary. Because of cost and upkeep it was closed in 1963. It only housed a maximum of 302 prisoners – the worst of the worst.
This is the dock area – the building was once a military barracks and a then apartments were added for the guard’s families – in the background you can see the cell-house, the lighthouse and the ruins of the warden’s house.
This is the shower room. There were no stalls – they were removed so the guards could keep a better eye on the prisoners.
Here are some of the cells. There was only one prisoner to a cell. Of course there is John all locked up – Jean couldn’t lock him in since the cell doors don’t close. Darn!
We saw the ruins of the social hall. When the military was on the island this was the post exchange/officers club then it became a social club for the families staying on the island.
The island is also a bird sanctuary and this is the nesting time of year so many areas are closed. But here is one gull who made a nest on a post!
Well our visit was over and it was time to take the boat back to the mainland and pick up our car.
We stopped at In and Out burgers on the way home. They have the best fries. Indy was fine after being left all day!
To see all the pictures click here to go to the web album
After being cooped up in the RV, it was time to get out. We decided to go to Mountain View, Ca to see the Computer History Museum. What an amazing place. It showed the progress from the time before the computer as we know it. We saw the Super Computer with vacuum tubes. Keypunch card. Wow we remember those. The progress once the transistor was invented. Went into the history of the PC.
Also traced the beginning of the internet.
When we think about how much things have changed in out lifetime its amazing. Now the electronic age really makes our RV lifestyle easier. All our bill paying and banking is done electronically online. We can keep in touch by email, blog and of course Facebook. John even works online.
We each have our own laptop. We have a satellite dish that sits on the roof and gives up internet access. We both have DROID2 phones which we can tether to our PC for internet access(backup). The DROID is like a mini computer on its own with email, maps and all different apps. It has a camera and oh yea its a phone too.
Since we were in Mountain View, we decided to drive by Google Headquarters. We know they don’t give tours unless you know someone. It was a Sunday so we parked and walked around the campus. Interesting place. Love their bikes, the tires are painted to match Google colors. It was fun.
We finished off the day by having a great burger at Red Robin.
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| From Amazon lunch group |
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| From for wordpress |
