Jalama Beach

We arrived at the Newport Dunes Monday afternoon. Joe spend most of Tuesday at his office for meetings while I did some shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joes and a little clothes shopping as well. Wednesday we went down to Mission Viejo to see my Dad. He is on our Verizon phone plan and was seriously in need of a new phone. We got his phone and went to the nearest Verizon and picked out a new one for him. He was really happy to have a new one. We talked awhile catching him up on what we were doing and thenn headed back to the Dunes. We also dropped off our inflatible boat at our boys house as we didn't have any more room in our storage unit for it. Casey and Karol were there and we talked with them awhile.
Thursday morning we headed out and made our way to Jalama Beach Campground. We have been here many times on week vacations over the years and is one of our favorite spots. We have never been here this early in the year, The earliest was probably in early June. Athough the 14 mile drive from Lompoc down to Jalama is always pretty, it was especially beautiful this time. The hills were green with big patches of yellow flowers and some displays of some other colorful floweres. You drive through farm land, then the rolling hills and lots of twists and turns through the trees.

         Jalama has three levels. There are sites at sea level, some of which look right on the water. In fact, some of the sites use to have sand berms in front of them but they seemed to have been leveled so that you can now see the water from the camp sites. There is a midlevel that has good views of the water and then a top level that gives you the best view of the whole area. The top was filled and so we picked one in the midlevel which has electric.

Jalama is a county park and we were surprised when we got there as they are in the midst of making some changes. There is a large area on the lower level that is behind berms and the store,cafe and they are redoing that whole area. In fact some of the many trees have been removed. Also one section of the midlevel is being set up for 5 or 6 cabins. They are going to be around $85 a night and more on weekends in the Summer. Also they are going to go to a reservation system. Now they are first come first serve. We didn't have any problems getting in as it is still off season. However, in the summer, we have had to wait a day or two to get in. They have a system where you get a number and then there is a camp call  at 3 in the afternoon and they call numbers until the open spots are taken.  When we have to come back the next day we will stay at a campground in Lompoc. Usually you go the next day and a number of the people will have gone elsewhere and decided not to try again. The longest was three days and that was a time where Joe went ahead of time as he had more vacation time than me. I then came up on the train and got off at either Santa Barbara or Golets(did this a few times). It is worth it though as just a beautiful spot.                                                  

Races in Parker

We just loved staying at Cattail. Such a nice state park and so relaxing. Friday we headed back to Blue Water Casino in Parker. Casey and Michael are coming in Friday night for the hydroplane boat races. The drive between Lake Havasu is reallly a nice one if I didn't mention it before. Lots of rolling hills and views of the river here and there.
We got set up and went down to the cafe for some beers and sat outside overlooking the water. Our sons arrived around 9:30 and they are staying at the Casino. Saturday morning we walked down to the water where they were set up. Michael was having trouble with his engine again in one of his boats. He borrowed someone else's motor and by the end of the weekend ended up buying it. It worked much better than his which he has had a lot of problems with.  All the people who race are really nice and everyone helps each other out. Everyone seems to be more interested in just having fun than being overly competitive.
Michael raced both Saturday and Sunday and got a few third places. They left Sunday to head back to Huntington but we stayed until Monday.

We are going to stop back in Newport for a few days and then start heading up the coast.                                                     

Kayaking with Sailor Savannah

We decided to try out our inflatable 2 person boat first as we weren't sure how Savannah would do kayaking.
We walked over the boat to the shore. It was pretty choppy as the winds were starting to come up but it was still a nice paddle and Savannah sat on my lap and was just fine looking around and then settling in for a nap.

Another day we went to the Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuse to paddle in our hard shell kayaks

The Refuge is between Lake Havasu and Parker right off Highway 95.  It is 6,105 acres  and has one of the last stands of cottonwood willow forests along the Colorado River.  As we paddled down the river we saw cattail, cottonwood trees and saguaro cactus. The unique ecosystem creates a good habitat for both resident and migratory wildlife. It was a beautiful place to paddle. 

We did have a little adventure or at least Savannah did. She started in Joe's boat and had her paws hanging over the side of the boat and leaned too far and fell in. Luckily she had her leash on and thought she was swimming to get back to the boat, Joe had to pull her close and get her out of the water. Joe gave her to me and she finished the trip sitting on my lap, shivering from cold or being scare but was fine after awhile and we had no further incidents. We decided to use the hard shells in the future and will put our inflatable in storage when we stop off in Newport on the way up North.                                                  

Parker and Lake Havasu, AZ

AFter having to make an overnight stop at Temecula RV to have slide adjusted again and a few other things fixed, we were finally able to get back onto the road for next chapter in our current life style. We knew we would be getting there Thursday night and so decided to stay at the Blue Water Casino in Parker. We have stayed there before and is a good overnight place to stay especially as it is free which a lot of the Casinos are for RVers. On Friday, April 1st, we decided to check out some different campgrounds. One of them was Cattail Cove State Park, which we stayed at for a few days last year before ending back to Newport. One of the sites that is nearest the river with an unobstructed view happen to be open and so we decided to reserve it right away. We got signed up and then went to pick up our motorhome and got back to Cattail and set up late afternoon. The weather is hot in the ninetys. We wanted warm weather but yikes what a change from the 60s at Newport. But won't complain. Cattail is right on Lake Havasu and has 61 campsites and a boat launch which gets a lot of use. It has a large parking area and so is extremely popular in the summer when all the boaters arrive. Lake Havasu, by the way, was formed when the Colorado River was dammed near Parker.



Sunset View from our Motorhome



The campground is surrounded on two sides by hills heading towards the lake at one end. There are quite a few trees planted throughout the park. In fact many of them have markers identifying them, such as Willow, Cottonwood , Lemon and Sissoo. There are trails for hiking. Most of the beach area is off limit to dogs. However, there is a small section where they are allow. Savannah is very happy for that as she likes hunting for shells to eat and seems to like the water. When we were at Blue Water Casino we took her down to the river. She walked right in and even swam a little. This is the first dog we have had since our dog Sky that we had when our kids were growing up that liked to swim.

Yeah, my own beach

Joe enjoying the view

                                                        

                                                                                                                                          

Ducks, Flower Shop, Engagement Party and Savannah

We did get to go to another Ducks game in Janaury Then I went with my sister Kristi and George, Brock's best friend to the Ducks Skill competition at the Honda Center. We met Karol there as well. It was fun as it was the first time we went to it.



Go George Parros



Tim in middle, Todd Marchant's young son

                                                             Karol, Kristi and George



Bonnie, one of our friends who works at Norstan with Joe and has also been working in the flower business for a number of years. She and her daughter in law, Kaylee, decided to open their own flower and photography shop. Bonnie does wonderful flower arrangements and Kaylee is a very talented photograpther.
They also decided to sell botique items as well. Their shop is just charming. It is in San Jaun Capistrano in the historic district. The street they are on has many older homes that have been turned into restaurants and shops. Their shop is called the Tangled Vine. We have a special interest in it as we gave them a number of pieces of furniture from my Mom and Dad's house as we prepare to clean it up to eventually put it on the market.

Kaylee and Bonnie



Matthew and Andrew, Bonnie's sons

                                                        

Their open house for friends and family was a lot of fun. They also do weddings and other events and we wish them the best in their adventure.

At the end of March we went to Kristi and Brock's house for an engagement party for their beautiful daughter Heather and her handsome fiancee Ryan. They are getting married October 15th at the Hilton, which is right accross from the beach in Huntington Beach. We will be back in town for that. There were a lot of friends and family at the party. Lots of good food and fun talking to people we only see once in awhile. Forgot the camera, my bad. I won't forget at the wedding and we be sure to take a lot  of pictures then.

 Below are a few pictures of Savannah who is still growing. She has been so much fun and is really a good puppy as long as we keep her from chewing on everything in sight. She made a lot of friends, people and other dogs at the Dunes. Everyone knows her and says hi Savannah.

                                                                         

She loves to walk around the lagoon and find shells. At night lately we have to check her month before going back into the MH. She will find a prize, such as a snail,and want to run back to the MH to play with it and chew it  up. Of course, she also loves to sit in your lap and give kisses so you can never get mad at her.                                                                              

Newport Beach, Newport Beach, Newport Beach

Well, our plans to stay in this area for a month ended up being four months. As they say, plans are made in jello. We finally took our motorhome to Temecula to be fixed or so we thought. We ended up staying there for almost a week just to find out, they would have to take the whole slide out in order to fix it. As they would need a full week with workers decicated to just this job, we had to wait until the middle of March to bring it in. We also would need to leave it there as we can't stay in it when the slide is out. Fortunately one of the people we know here at the Dunes who lives in a 5th Wheel also has an older motorhome that he keeps in the parking area while trying to sell it. Curt kindly oftered us the use of it while our motorhome is being repaired. Of course, nothing when smoothly. First the insurance company refused to pay saying the part is not a mechanical part and the manufacturer is responsible. This inspite of the fact that both the repair people and Thor, the manufacturer say it is a mechanical part. This was when we first had taken it in. Then when we took it in in March and they got the slide out, at first it looked like it might be something that would be covered. But no and then after going through everything they could think of to fix it, there finally found that one of the brackets had originallly been installed backwards. This seems to be the root cause of the problem and so we are now trying to argue with the manufacturer to see if they will pay for it. We had to pay the repair people, but hopefully we will be able to get some or all our money back. Yikes, not the fun part of RVing. Oh, another thing was the orginal week to be fixed ended up 2 1/2 weeks. Then, we went to Temecula knowing we would be staying there at least a day, as they were waiting for parts for a few things we asked them fix such as the awning over the door and some electrical problems. We got there Wednesday and left Friday still having to come back on Monday as one of the parts for the awning was still not in. We stopped at Joe's work as we had left everything that was on the slide section including table and anything in the shelves there while MH being fixed. We had thought about going to the desert during the months we were waiting until we could take the MH in but had some health issues. Joe had a sudden hearing loss in one ear. At first he thought it was just wax, but using ear drops didn't help at all and so he went to the doctor.  Then he had to go to a specialist and after that have a MRI to make sure it wasn't a tumor causing the problem. After all that, they still weren't sure what caused it which is typical in this problem. It could be many causes,including listening to rock music too loud when young. That seemed to be the most likely I think. He might get some of the hearing back but he will have to go back to the doctor in October to see if any change. Then I had a carpal tunnel type issue with my hand which I think was from cleaning out my parents house.A lot of repetitive action stuffing bags with trash and moving things. The other two times I had this was when doing a lot of gardening and weeding clean up in the spring a couple of years ago. It lasted for a couple of the months with being very painful for a few weeks. So anyway we ended up just hanging arould the Dunes.
we did get to go to a few events we would have missed if we left sooner and I'll put those in a separate posting and then we will be caught up and onto our next destination which is the Parker/Lake Havasu are for a few weeks to get some warm weather. Also some more pictures of our wonderful puppy who has been a joy to us since she came into our lifes.

Holiday Cheer

We had nice holidays. Xmas eve we went to Karol and the boys for dinner. We had cooked a pork roast in the slow cooker. We have really been using it alot lately. Meat comes out so tender. It had a sauce that included cranberries and golden raisins that I found on one of the slow cooker blogs I use, A Year of Slow Cooking. I also made a dish with apples and leeks that went well with the roast. Karol made all the rest. Everything was great. Dusty, their cat, was very friendly when we were there. Usually she would be upstairs most of the time. We brough Savannah and she and Dusty got along pretty good.

Karol gave one of her gifts to Chris early. It was a NHL game for the Wii. It is a pretty cool game. You can pick your teams( of course Anaheim Ducks was used for one of the teams), You can also practice shooting and lots of other cool things. It is a fairly new game and so the players are current as of last season.

Joe just relaxing after dinner

                                                         


Got one of Karol who trys to avoid having her picture taken.



Chris playing some Wii Hockey

Michael kicking up with a beer

Didn't take a lot of pictures. One of Casey didn't come out. I must have been on a wrong setting and a few of the pictures came out fuzzy. Sorry Casey.

For Christmas day we went to Kristi and Brock's. Heather was there but Kori went to her boy friend Nick's parents house for dinner. Casey and Michael came for dinner as well as my Dad. Chris and Karol ate at her Mom's but stopped by after dinner. We all played some Wii games and just talked and enjoyed being together as a family.

New Years Eve we went to the Back Bay Cafe which is right by one of the boat ramps and in the Dunes Park. It was nice. First New Years Eve I didn't spend at work for over 10 years. I don't miss that at all.

We were going to leave at beginning of January but our slide needs fixed. We had a mobile repair guy out but he determined that it needs to go into a shop to be fixed. bummer. We need to set up a time to take it in. ALso having the microwave/convention oven fixed. So we are not sure when we will be able to head to Arizona where we want to spent a few months. Hopefully somewhere warmer with less rain. I like rain but we have really had a lot since we got here. Much more than normal for this time of the year in Orange County. And trying to house train a puppy who needs to go out often even if it is raining is not much fun. Can't whine too much as it is certainly better than being back East with all their major storms.
Well hope everyone had real nice Holidays. Bring on the New Year and further adventures in Trails End.