Paso Robles/ Hearst Castle/Coastline

Hank & I had a wonderful picnic along beach, then we watched the Elephant Seals bathe in the sun and throw sand on each other.


Can you imagine the famous movies stars that sat around this pool. Clark Gable, Linburg, Garbo, Bob Hope. The pool looked like it belonged in Rome.

We drove about 25miles to the Hearst Castle, sitting on top of this mountain. Randall purchased 400k acres, all the way down to the coast. The tour took us through the house, the bungalos, the indoor pool, the outdoor pool and the gorgeous gardens.

Paso Robles is another Wine Country, just like Napa Valley but not as old. Grapes are everywhere. We were driving through the valley and a hot air balloon almost landed right in front of us.This is a really nice place we are staying with horses on the side, mountains all around and vineyards next door. We can walk to the tasting area!

farewell to Casa de fruita

Hank and I are finally leaving...it is harvest time for GARLIC. The air is saturated with garlic smell. In fact, today Hank asked me if I were eating garlic, that my breath smelled. (tsk tsk Hank) It is amazing how much garlic there is in this valley.

With a late start, we are heading further south in California to Paso Robles, another town for Wine Country and more wineries. We plan to visit the Hearst Castle on Saturday, so more pictures will be posted at that time. Obviously, more wineries.

It is a cool 65...jackets are necessary! I miss everyone. Until Tomorrow.

Carmel, Monterey Bay, and Pebble Beach

We went to Carmel by the sea, my Mom and Dad's favorite place. We had a nice lunch and saw The Lone Cypress!



A beautiful 17-mile drive along the coast. We drove past Pebble Beach golf course, walked the beach on the Pacific Ocean.


We had a wonderful adventure today! First we went to Monterey Bay; checked out the Fisherman's wharf then Cannery Row.

Casa de Fruta, Hollister, California

Look at this beautiful male struting around the RV...pretty huh?



We were sitting in the RV having dinner and about 7 peacocks walked by...they were really pretty but Buddy ran them off before I could get a good picture.


Hey Tony, we did pass the graveyard of ships! It was amazing how many miltary ships were in the harbor. Kinda sad too.

San Fransico, California

I am sure I will sleep well tonight. Hank walked me to death. We drove over to Vallejo about 30mins. away and caught the ferry to San Fransico. That took about 1hr.
Our boat went past Angel Island, then Alcartraz, San Quintin and finally the Golden Gate Bridge. We landed at pier 1 and walk down to pier 39, watched the seals and listened to them bark(ark ark ark). We ate lunch at Bubba Gumps with a gorgeous view of the Bay. Then walked past Lombard Street and up to Bay St. to catch the Cable car. Up up up the hill we rode stopping in the financial district. We went by Union Square and China town. We walked all the way back down the hill to the piers.
Phew...what will be in store for tomorrow???? Who knows?

Napa Valley Tour

Finally, we saw the Sutter Home Winery. When we were in Hilton Head with McNairs', Pepi served a great wine from Sutter Home. Hank and I decided to try and find with one it was....Pinot Grigio??????



We went to lunch at a really neat deli called V. Sattui, picked up a sandwich, salad and cheese. As you can tell, gorgeous landscaping. If it weren't so cool we would have had a picnic here.



The Beringer Winery had a great tour. The cave had about 300 barrels of 2006' Sauvignon wine. The mansion had been beautifully restored where we tasted White, Merlot and Sauvignon wines. The grounds were gorgeous and very well maintained.

The weather was cool so we wore our jackets today. One of the stops was the Robert Mondavi. Great tour. Beautiful landscaping.


Napa Valley is about 30mins. away from where our RV park is located. We headed out early this morning. Driving up the Silverado Trail you see row after row of grapes vines and we were really lucky, it is harvest time. The vines are full with white, red and purple grapes. Obviously we saw alot of pickers, mostly mexican.
Darioush Winery had fascinating architecture. Stag's Leap Cellars seem to go on forever. (They had the first Calfornia wine to beat out the French in International tastings).

Sacramento, California

Hank and I decided to be really adventurous today. We took a tour of the Jelly Belly factory. I have never seen so much candy being made. Remember when President Reagon wanted blueberry jelly beans. This is the company that made them for him.



Today Hank and I arrived in West Sacramento. We had a little time to kill so we decided to visit the Budweiser Brewery. Yes, Hank and I went on the tour. It was pretty neat actually.

Last surprise visit with kids

Today Rebecca had to come down to Reno for Girl Scouts and she brought the kids.
Boy were they surprised to see Grammie. They thought we had left. So, Hank and I took them out to lunch at Port of Subs. They were connected to Baskin-Robbins, so Hank splurged and bought them ice cream. Bye Bye babies...Grammie loves you.
We leave in the morning.



This is where we are staying, "The Gold Ranch". The mountains back right up to the campground and boy is it cool here especially the evenings.

Boomtown, Nev.

Today we went to see what Boomtown was?? Nothing but another gambling casino. But we did find a nice KOA located behind the casino. We are always looking for a central location place when we come back next year.

Reno, Nevada

Reno looks like a mini Las Vegas, not near as many people and not nearly as much fun.




Last night Hank and I went to Harrah's in Reno, did a little gambling, won $10. We are such "big gamblers" huh? Then of course, the buffet! Hank has to hit every buffet in every Harrah .

Last day in Carson City with family

Sunday was our last day in Carson City. Rebecca and I went to the movies and saw a chic flic (not very good). We later went over to her house to make a cake with Ansley and Gabe in the Easy Bake Oven. It turned out pretty good too! Jim took this picture of us at the end of the day, worn out and dirty.

I had a great time with them and will try to fly back within 6 months for another visit. Hank and I plan to bring RV back here yearly because we really like the dry cooler weather during summer months.

I will miss you guys and Grammie loves you. I will write later.

Reno Air Races, Nevada

The above picture was the USAF Heritage Flight with over 50years of planes flying together in formation. A F-16, and the Glacier Girl found in Greenland (recovered and restored) and a WWWII plane. It was very patriotic! Hank and I had a really enjoyable time going through the Pits checking out all the planes and new engines. That is just in case we decide to continue building his RV in the near future when we settle down.



Hank and I drove over to Reno-Stead Airport for the air races. Just as we drove up, the races began. We saw two planes race around the pylon, the plane underneath apparently touched wings and one plane went down and the pilot died. The other plane landed safely. So, the races stopped but they did have an air show. The picture above are the Canandian Snowbirds performing. They had 9 planes all together and put on a great performance.

Virginia City, Nevada

Unfortunately, the altitudes of going up and down have caught up with us. We are about 4500' and we are having sinsus problems and headaches. Today, we decided to take a ride over to Virginia City and see the old town. Climbing the mountains over 5,000' with ears popping etc...we made it. A very tourist-town, but cute. We saw suicide poker table from the 1800's. Old buildings falling down, and old churches. We walked up one side of the street, then down the other. We decided to drive down the mountain towards Reno, now that was an adventure. Can you say, S-curves!
We are starting our planning for next week to California, not sure yet where we are going. It's weird, you don't like your neighbors, you just drive your RV somewhere else, haha.
Talk later.

My night with Gabe

Monday Gabe came to spend the night. We went to the park and boy can Gabe climb. We had a great time plus got in a nice walk to and from the park. Tuesday am, we spend a little time at the laundurmat, then a short swim in the pool.

After lunch, I met the kids at the childrens' museum and we played there for a couple of hours.

Finally, Tuesday night, I attended Rebecca's first tupperware party (do we remember those in the 70's.) She is going to sell tupperware. A great job for a stay at-home mom.

Bedtime now...phew...day is done.

My day with Ansley

This is a picture of Ansley playing soccer, and look who was referee for the girls game today...MOMMIE


Rebecca did the poster behind the team. This is Ansley with her team and coach.


We went swimming at the pool here at the park. Ansley actually held her breath and went kicking from one end of the pool to the other.


Our day started out with Saturday cartoons, then we colored.

A day at kids museum with Gabe

We went to the kids Emergency Room and Gabe listened to my heart, check the x-rays on my neck and made sure my BP was ok after dancing to some machine that almost gave me a heart attack. Fun Day!



You know Gabe and Thomas the Train! We played there the longest. He just loves trains.

Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California

Hank and I did one more fun thing today, we went to Harrah's, did a couple of slot machines and then ate a great buffet. What a fun time we had!




This is a view coming down the mountain of the town and the lake. Isn't it gorgeous?



Here I am standing in California...so I made it all the way to the west coast.



Today Hank and I drove up to Lake Tahoe. I had never been there and Hank had never been there except with snow. It was a beautiful drive. We walked around town and took the gondala up to the top of Mountain. What a view, huh?

Our visit in Carson City

Today, was Girl Scouts! I hunted for my pins among my many possesions, I found them. I had a great time watching Rebecca lead her Daisy troop of Kindergarten kids. How time flies? I remember doing the same thing with Katherine and Rebecca. WOW. Talking to my Mom this morning and she remembered leading me in Scouts. We sang,"I got something in my pocket it belongs across my face.....etc." Such memmories.


This morning Gabe came over for a visit while Mom was running errands. Hank and I took him for a short walk, then he help Hank with some chores around the RV. Later, Grammie and Gabe played with the Wii and had a morning snack. I got some sugar too!

Carson City, Nevada

Good morning! We arrived yesterday and after checking in and setting up, I jumped into the car and went to Rebecca's house. The grand-kids were waiting outside for Grammie! I visited for a couple of hours cause we were tired. I woke to this beautiful view from our RV. The mountains had red from the sun, very pretty. It is windy but still very comfortable.
I am sure we are going to have busy days ahead with the kids. I will be sure and take some pictures. Talk later.

Crater Lake National Park,Oregon

Hank and I took the dogs and drove over to Crate Lake. It was about 2hrs. from our campsite, but worth the drive. The weather was chilly this morning and not unheard of getting snow in August or September up on the mountain. Elevation of the lake is 6178', but the mountains around (where we stood) were 8106.



Along the drive down the mountain, there was a beautiful river. We pulled off the road and had a picnic with the dogs. Hank caught a picture of me bribing the puppies. What another gorgeous day! Exploring God's Creations!