As another stopover on our way to Death Valley National Park, we booked a campground in Lone Pine CA, not realizing that it was right at the base of Mount Whitney. It happens to be the highest peak in the lower 48 states at an elevation of 14,505 ft. from our campground, we were able… Continue reading Mount Whitney
Orange trees in bloom!
On our last day in Visalia, we saw and smelled orange tree groves in bloom. By the time we drove to our campground in Bakersfield, CA, a stopover on our way to Death Valley National Park, we discovered that the campground actually was named correctly. The entire campground has been developed in an orange grove… Continue reading Orange trees in bloom!
A twofer: Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park
Our home base for these two parks is Visalia CA. During our preparation we had planned on doing one of these parks a day, due to winter road closures. we were stunned and elated when we were told at the entrance gate that the road between the two parks was now opened, and that the… Continue reading A twofer: Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park
Wine Time
This is a summary post. We love good wine, and accordingly, we had planned to do a few wineries in the Napa and Sonoma valleys, as the outermost point in our journey. So here’s a quick summary. While we were camping in Petaluma CA, we did two consecutive days in the California Wine Country On… Continue reading Wine Time
Petaluma, CA
on our fist full day in Petaluma, we had the visit of Sharona, a business acquaintance of Claudette, who she has been talking to on a regular basis for several years. This was their first in-person meeting. The following two days, we visited wineries, and this is covered in a separate post. We extended our… Continue reading Petaluma, CA
Nerd talk – trip statistics
We have now arrived in Petaluma, CA, which is the furthest point away from home. When we leave from here here, we will be getting closer to home, rather than getting further away So far, we have driven 5,106 miles pulling the RV, and another 2595 miles of local driving (truck only) for a total… Continue reading Nerd talk – trip statistics
Pebble Peach 17-mile drive
Today after taking it easy in the morning, after lunch we decided to drive towards Monterey, and specifically to 17-mile drive at Pebble Beach. We had done this before early in the 1990s, but felt that we wanted to do it again. We did not regret it, because we were able to view spectacular ocean… Continue reading Pebble Peach 17-mile drive
Hearst Castle – San Simeon, CA
We had visited Hearst Castle in the late nineties while we still lived in Montreal. We both anted to go back and did not regret it. It is absolutely stunning that someone can have enough money to acquire so much art, and then build a castle to elegantly display much of it. Claudette and I… Continue reading Hearst Castle – San Simeon, CA
Morrow Strand State Beach
The movement north began today, and our first stop for two nights is Morrow Strand State Beach, , which is just slightly north from San Luis Obispo along the famous scenic California Highway 1. We did not drive out after our arrival, and instead we went for a walk on the beach three different times.
Channel Island National Park
Today was a big day, as Channel Islands, as the name suggests, are islands, and the only way to get there is by boat. The specific island we chose to go to is Santa Rosa island, and that is a 3 hour ride, each way… So we had to be there by 7:15 AM for… Continue reading Channel Island National Park