Photos - Santa Barbara, CA (Feb 2006)

Trip Update #1

Hello Friends and Family!

We set sail on our journey around this beautiful country on January 30th after a week of mooching off of several friends (you know who you are, thanks a bunch, and hope to host you on the hide-a-bed when you want to catch up with us) while our fifth wheel trailer was at the dealership in Salinas getting some of the “kinks” worked out.

Our first stop was King City, which is down the 101 about 50 miles from Salinas. We went hiking one day at Pinnacles Nat’l Monument. There are some talus caves that required flashlights to go in. At certain times of the year you’re not allowed to go in because of the bats mating and we certainly wouldn’t want to interrupt that sort of thing. Next was Lake San Antonio, which is near Fort Hunter Liggett…we had a campsite right on the water, which was perfect for launching the inflatable kayak we had bought ourselves for Christmas. It was beautiful, with great weather, sunsets, wildlife, etc.

We headed down the 101 through Paso Robles, Atascadero, then took the road to Morro Bay, where we stayed next to Morro Rock and soaked up more awesome beach weather. The kayaking in the Morro Bay estuary was particularly memorable, paddling by seals and an incredible variety of seabirds. We also took a side trip to Hearst castle, which was absolutely extraordinary and learned all about its history and William Randolf Hearst who made his dream come true. We had the chance to hang out with some great folks from the Seattle area who were finishing up their trip and heading home. We were glad to hear that you had a great and safe journey back, Dot and Butch.

Next was Pismo Beach where we stayed in a beautiful campground nestled in the dunes… so nice that we ended up staying for 6 days taking in the sights in the area and hanging out on the beach. The weather was unseasonably warm for February with record temperatures all down the coast and we enjoyed every minute of it. We trekked through the dunes (reminded me of the movie “The Mummy” a bit), and explored San Luis Obispo – neither Debbie or I had been to this town, if you’ve never been you ought to check it out – if we had to go back in time, I think we would go to school here.

Right now we’re at Lake Cachuma about halfway between Santa Barbara and Solvang. We went to Solvang yesterday, which is a Danish community filled with charming architecture, unique shops and Danish food. We had to try some pastries, cookies, and one of their staple foods called aebleskivers, which are fried balls of batter covered with powdered sugar and raspberry jam. Everything was awesome but you could see the pounds forming in the wrong places on the figure!! In almost three weeks, we have only made it from Sacramento to Santa Barbara! Everyone is joking that at this rate it will take us 7 years to see everything we want to see on this trip! But you have to admit, California is a beautiful and big state!!

Oh, and Zoshia (the other white meat) the cat is doing great, too. She is our mascot and seems to enjoy the gypsy lifestyle as much as we do.

That’s all for now. Hope all is well with you all…would love to hear what’s going on in your world.
-Debbie and Marty

Photos - Solvang, CA (Feb 2006)

Photos - Pismo Beach, CA (Feb 2006)

Photos - Hearst Castle, CA (Feb 2006)

Photos - San Antonio Reservoir, CA (Feb 2006)

Photos - Pinnacles Nat'l Monument, CA (February 2006)