We're back! Wed/Thurs, 5/22-5/23

 

When last we left you (click here), Jimmy and I were scouting around for someone to look at our RV to see what was the matter and fix it.  Sorry to leave you "on tenterhooks" for such a long time, but we were uncertain about if/when Tergel could be fixed, how long it would take.

On the Road Again!

We took her to Wayside Garage in Monterey CA, Monday morning, May 13th.  We wandered into nearby stores for several hours while they looked over Tergel.  When we returned to their fixit garage, it was determined they'd need her at least one entire day, probably more.  We elected to drive the five hours home that afternoon in Smartie (with our bikes) because who knew how long it might actually take to set her right ... something about wheel bearings and spindles and front axel and stuff like that.  Turns out more time was needed as parts ordered were not correct, and much had to be fabricated.

No more spring green grasses along South I-5.

The hills have gone golden!

Shelly called us yesterday, Tuesday afternoon, to say, Tergel was all better, come and get her!  I made an online reservation at the Monterey Elks Lodge so we wouldn't have to come and go in the same day.  We left for Monterey this morning, Wednesday, 5/22 in Smartie, paid Tergel's ran$om (haha), and drove to the Elks.

Russell Lupine with freeloader.

Flower pics taken today in Monterey.

Bottle Brush in full regalia, as big as a VW bus!

We're hoping everything is A-OK with Tergel now.  Rather than hanging around Monterey, we plan to return home tomorrow, with Smartie in tow as usual, and get on with our normal business of living.  Things to do, places to go, people to meet, and all that. 

Originally we came to the coast to fish for Halibut.  Yes, we caught one.  Only one.  Throw in this RV fix along with everything else, and you might NOT have The Most Expensive Fish Ever Caught, but I guarantee it's a close second!

Monterey fun! Sat/Sun, May 11-12, 2024

As long as we were going to be in Santa Cruz (fishing), we figured we may as well drop south a bit and spend a couple of days in the Monterey area.  We always like to add more stops to a trip if possible.  Anyway, our GPS navigator said it was only 45 miles!  We'd made a reservation at the Monterey Fairgrounds, where we'd stayed in 2009, and, believe me, the cost was a lot pricier this year!  We'd brought our bikes and planned to ride the coastal trail, something we also did in 2009.

Unfortunately, our Tergel developed an ominous steering wheel vibration on the way, along with what  seemed like a braking issue.  We were very happy to get off the road!  Seems to be something wrong with the front driver's side tire/wheel, as in, it's loose, and it isn't supposed to be loose.  We called a few fixit shops in Monterey when we got here and hope to take it in Monday morning and get it fixed.  Oh, fingers crossed big time!

We're not the kind of people who sit around wringing our hands and worrying about something over which we have no control, so we hopped on our bikes, as we'd planned, riding north on the trail.  We had a glorious day to ride!  Not hot, nor too chilly.

The very dramatic fog bank stayed mostly out to sea. 

I saw several clumps of huge Russell lupines.

They're in the WOW category!

As we rode up higher onto a cliff, we began seeing these parasails.  Can I tell how fascinating it is to watch these things as they literally hover motionless many, many feet above land or water?  Or else, they can swoop in, as one did while Jimmy was sitting on a bench and watching.  (below)

In the photo, bottom right, a dark blue and white parasail swooped in, mere feet above Jimmy and me, and let out a joyful whoop.  Geez, I thought the parasailor was gonna hit me with his feet!  It must have been a lot of fun -- he came back three or four times, doing the same thing.  I'm sure we were in no danger, it's just he was so fast!

Since we had a late start, we quit the trail and returned to Tergel, putting 15+ miles on the bikes.  Really enjoyable ride, too.  Think we'll go again tomorrow, this time to the south.

* * * * *

Accuweather predicted more and denser fog for Sunday and, by gum, they were right.  It was also noticeably cooler, with a high of 57.  And windy.  Always windy.  We waited in Tergel till 11/ish to head out, and we were wearing more layers!  Even so, we were never really warm, tho our ride started in sunshine.  Yup, we pointed our bikes south toward Pacific Grove.

Hey! Happy Mother's Day to me and every other mama out there.  Early in our ride, Matt called to wish me a happy day, he and Jen and Evie sending love.  But ... everybody and their Great Aunt Harriet cluttered the coastal bike trail, families strolling, milling, visiting, older folks, teens, all happy to be Out and About.  Which made biking a little precarious; we pedaled carefully so as to not knock anyone down!

For a while, we watched kayakers and divers as they played in the kelp forest.

Listened to the seals barking at Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf.

This Rock rose (Cistus) bush was as tall as me and simply covered in flowers.  Look how pretty the blossom is.

As we made our way south along the bike trail, we were caught in the high fog.  A gray day.  But the scenery was really outstanding.  We would've loved to park our bikes and go exploring in the tide pools, but not today, it was just not nice enough weather for that.

Jimmy forgot to bring long bike pants, so he paid a price.  I forgot to bring any short-sleeved shirts.  No doubt I'll wish for one on our homeward return, with the temps in the high 80's.

Ah, the usual suspects on the seacoast.  Gulls and Cormorants and Brown Pelicans, and a Pigeon Guillemot with bright red shoes 'n sox (bottom left).

We turned around near the famous 17-mile drive, and rode home to Tergel (to get warm).  I'd hoped to ride the scenic drive, but, nope, not today.  As it was, we put in 23+ miles, much of it enjoyable.  After eating hot soup, we decided to drive Smartie down to Cannery Row to walk/look around.  Lots and lots of people.

Did you know you can grow anything near the coast and it'll thrive?  It surely seems so.  Monterey had some wonderful plant specimens growing in planters and parks.

Hi, Jimmy!

I took the photo, but I didn't walk down to read the signage.

We 💗 Mom!

Happy day.  Glad we could be here.  We hadn't planned on a long outing and figured to return home tomorrow (Monday) or Tuesday.  Now we're not sure.  Wish us luck!  to be continued ....

Into the Bay! Thurs-Fri, May 9 and 10, 2024

A month or so ago Jimmy and I signed up to join our friends, Marlene and Cliff and son, Keith, on a halibut-fishing charter boat out of Santa Cruz, Calif.  Mmmm, who doesn't love fresh halibut?  Of course, there's a two-per-person and minimum 22" size limit, but we all hoped to catch the max.  Every RV park or state park in the Santa Cruz area was booked solid, so we opted to go a bit inland and settled on Cotillion Gardens RV Park located in the redwoods at nearby Felton.  As a plus, the weather looked promising for our sojourn along the coast.

Our site under the trees, with Marlene and Cliff next to us.

Redwoods are so magnificent.

Check out the burly base on this tree directly behind our rig.

A nice campfire in an old washtub ring (?) with wood they brought from home.  Jimmy and I usually don't have a campfire, which made this all the nicer.

This RV park abuts Henry Cowell Redwood State Park.  From our site we walked to an entrance and betook ourselves for a wander among the big trees before our friends arrived.  A perfect undertaking after a tedious four-hour drive.  Do you see Jimmy?  As long as I dodged the poison oak, our walk was just what we needed.

We discovered this 1909 trestle bridge over the San Lorenzo River, walked across it and just as we stepped off the rails on the opposite side, a maintenance choo-choo train came whizzin' 'round the bend!  Whooee!  That was fun.

At 7AM Friday morning, we met up with Cap'n Tom of F/V MEGA-BITE (yup, up real early), and boarded the second boat in on the photo below.  We were dressed in layers, expecting chill temps from the cold Pacific water.  And wind.  Always wind.

Sunny day, however!

Santa Cruz Breakwater (Walton) Lighthouse, dedicated in June 2002.

Spied a few birds:  Top left is a Brown Pelican, right are Western Grebes.  Bottom right is a group of Cormorants (unsure which kind), and bottom left is a Surf Scoter.

We motored out into Monterey Bay, always within sight of land, and came up empty-handed at a couple of spots and then BAM, fish on!  Jimmy was closest to the rod, so he managed to haul in a 30", 12-pound halibut!  Tyler, the deckhand, gaffed it.  I won't tell you what happened next, except to say it landed in the cooler, below.

Great job, Jimmy!

Thing weighed heavy on his outstretched arms!

Well, and that was it for fishing.  No more bites.  No more fish.  Not even a diversion to the rocks to reel in some rockfish.  One halibut for five people.  Lousy odds.  If you look at it another way, I can tell you we enjoyed a beautiful day on the water, warm enough to doff jackets, the bay as smooth as silk.  Also, we found a ball, basket-ball-size, floating far, far from shore, all by itself.  Maybe it was a balloon.

As we approached the jetty, the wind had kicked up enough to encourage sailboats to head for the open water.  What a pretty sight!

We remarked about how icky it would be to have a million+ dollar waterfront house with a slew of noisy Pelicans and Cormorants sitting on a stinky guano-laced rock shelf out front!  Or, maybe, who cares?

Here's the famous Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, with amusement park rides, such as the Big Dipper Roller Coaster.  This is our first trip to Santa Cruz (traffic was horrible) and I suppose we should've gone to the boardwalk, but we didn't.  Maybe next time. 

Ah, life is good when you can find a good spot to snooze.

Back at the dock at Noon, here we are!

Tyler, the deckhand, fileted Jimmy's fish and put the filets in baggies.  Four baggies for five people?  We kept one; everybody went home with a taste of halibut to come.  The captain did say when we began that it was early in the halibut season, but every day in fishing is different.  One day they catch six, next day none.  We love being on the water and enjoyed our morning, nevertheless.

Next up:  Moving south to Monterey.