bobanddenisewanderlust

Saturday- Happy Cinco Da Mayo! We had a very bad start to the day at 3 AM. Both of us were sleeping pretty hard, and did not wake up for Karlie vomiting on the bed. We both woke up when we heard her tag banging on the water bowl. Bob got up to help her back on the bed and realized what had happened. We turned on the light and Bob started cleaning up the bed while I comforted Karlie. Suddenly she took off. Bob grabbed shoes and clothes and took her out. That was when we discovered that she had diarrhea on the rug near the door. Poor baby, she was so upset!

I cleaned up the rug and pulled the quilt off the bed. When they returned, I comforted Karlie for awhile, before she had to go back out. I had to keep Roxie with me, both times, so that Bob did not have to deal with two dogs.

This time Karlie was able to settle back on the bed with us and we cuddled both dogs, as they were both upset. We finally fell back to sleep around 5 am and woke up at 8. We took quick showers and ran to breakfast. We decided it would be best for one of us to stay with Karlie all day, as she still had diarrhea.

Bob took the quilt over to the laundry room and washed the rug in the washer in the MH. We were out of the pill pockets for Karlie’s meds, so I ran to Goleta. I stopped at Ulta for hairspray, then Jersey Mikes for sandwiches for lunch. Then to Costco for the pill pockets. I ran through Costco, picking up chicken, ground turkey and pork chops also, and returned to the MH at around 1, as it was Saturday and everywhere was very busy.

We took a nap. Then went to the Ice Cream Social at 3. We bagged some of the items for the freezer. At 6 we went to the ”make your own” Tostada dinner at the resort. Just before bed, Karlie wanted to play, so she was feeling much better. We are not sure what caused her tummy issues….

Sunday-  We did our usual Sunday tasks, then around 11, we left to go to Goleta to the Farmers Market, as we had missed the one in Santa Barbara yesterday. This market was much smaller. We purchased cucumber, oranges, local Romaine lettuce, and strawberries.

We went to lunch at Pieology. We had a nice pizza for lunch. This was the first time at Pieology, and we would return.  We stopped at Ralph’s for groceries and returned to the MH. We bagged the rest of the meat from yesterday. We had a quiet afternoon and evening. Karlie is back to normal.

Monday- We have noticed that our shower water has not been very hot. So we used the Hydro Hot, instead of the propane Atwood water heater. The difference was really startling. So Bob investigated the issue. The Atwood website said that we might need a new thermostat for the water heater. So he checked with an RV Parts store in Buellton. They had what we needed, so we left and went to Buellton. They had the part, $13.

We drove through Flying Flags RV park in Buellton, per Glenda’s suggestion. It is a very nice park! We returned thru Solvang and stopped for lunch at one of the Smorgasbord’s. The guidebooks recommend that you go to one of the Smorgasbord’s during your visit to Solvang.

We looked at the Smorgasbord and were not impressed, but we did want to try the Danish sausages and meatballs. So we both ordered the Sausage/Meatball plate, with mash potatoes, gravy and red cabbage. The bread was interesting. We both enjoyed the plates.

We returned home and I took a nap. Bob had watched a YouTube video of how to install the thermostat. It was to take 30 to 45 minutes. It took him 1.5 hours! Guess if he had to do it again, it would only take the 30 minutes! The water heater water is now 120 degrees instead of 90 degrees.

We ate dinner at home and watched TV.

Tuesday- Finally, enough people have left the park, that I can now use the internet again. I was able to send my three articles that have been waiting until I had decent internet.

Around 10 we took the dogs and went down the mountain to Santa Barbara. Our first stop was at Arroyo Burro Beach, which was where we had been before. It is dog friendly. We drove through a really nice residential area on the way.

The marine layer was still over the area, but we still took the dogs out. The temp was supposed to be in the 70’s, but with the marine layer, it was in the 50’s. We keep some jackets in the car, so we took them out to wear.

We took the dogs to the ‘off lease area’ and let them run, play, dig, and meet up with other dogs. They had a great time. They let us know they were done, and we put the leashes on and walked back up the beach. I have no pictures, since the marine layer was covering everything.

We left and stopped at a McDonalds drive thru for lunch, since we had the dogs with us. We continued back down the mountain, off of Cliff drive, and went to Montecito. Montecito is an upscale area and there was supposed to be a beautiful scenic drive. We could not find the drive from Santa Barbara, so we took the freeway to the exit and drove into the town. I have no idea why celebrities and other rich folks want to live there. The roads are narrow, the area is crowded, and the houses are all surrounded by lots of vegetation, so you do not have beautiful views of the ocean. There had been a mud slide there in January, and much of the area was under construction.

We left, stopped for gas $3.53 gal, and returned to the MH.

Wednesday- We had a quiet day to day, getting ready to leave tomorrow. We ate lunch and dinner at home. We left and went to the Square Dancing in Santa Barbara in the evening. Our last drive up and down that horrible hill! We will not miss that drive!

Just before the bad road into the park, there was a tree down on half the National Park road. We were able to get by on the road. We turned into the park and when we arrive at the TT Ranger Station, we told the ranger about the downed tree. He said he would report it and have it removed.

Thursday- We packed up the MH and got ready to leave. We pulled out of the site at 9:15. I was nervous about the road, so I drove the MH. Bob drove in front of me in the car. This road is only 1 mile, but it is a very long mile in the MH with, ups and down,and the twists and turns. Right after the first sharp turn, Bob called on the radio to tell me that there was an RV coming my way. Huh? At 9:15 in the morning! This is why we were leaving early so that we would not meet anyone on the drive out!

Bob told the guy that his wife was right behind him driving a big motor home. The guy met me on the road. He got over as far as he could to his right. I managed to pass him with about 1.5 inches between his trailer and my mirror. Whew, was that scary!

By this time, Bob is calling me again! There were tree guys taking down trees on the park road. Bob had gotten out of the car and told the guys I was coming and that they needed to move the “bucket” and all the limbs out of the road. They did and Bob directed me through the mess.

We got to the end of the park road, and both of us were stressed! We hooked up the car and got the heck out of there. Next time, we will not stay at this TT. That drive is just too much! There is a nice Elks Lodge in Santa Barbara where we can stay if we come through this area again. Oh, and the tree had been removed from the park road and you could not even tell it had been there!

We arrived at the end of the National Park road and turned right, heading towards Solvang, and down hill on Hwy 154. There was no way we were going to go up the mountain from a dead stop on that highway.

We drove pass the exit for Solvang, and continued through Mt. Olivos, to the 101 freeway. We turned north and traveled to Oceana. We turned west towards the town. We drove into Pacific Dunes RV resort at about 11:15. We arrived just as a wind advisory was posted, so we were glad to be settled.

We set up camp in the 50 amp, FHU site. The sites are not great, although the nightly rate is $67. We only pay $23 as this is an Encore park.

We left and drove north to Pismo Beach. We had to drive around the block to find parking. We pulled into a parking place. As Bob was going to the meter, a car stopped and I guy leaned out and gave me his ticket. The ticket was good until 2:30. Talk about good luck!

We walked up the street to a little walk up restaurant called Splash. Bob had the clam chowder with steamed clams and I had the crab melt. Both were excellent! I see another time going there for lunch in our future!

We walked down to the beach and looked at the ocean.

 

We returned to the MH and continued to get settled into our site. We had a quiet afternoon and evening.

Friday- We drove north on the 101 to Paso Robles. We stopped at the Visitor Center, where the girl was the least helpful of any that we have been to…They did not even have a public restroom! 

Evidently, there was one at the park, and most of what we wanted to see was located around the park. So we walked over to the park. They were really nice public restrooms, with outside hand washing and Dyson hand driers.

The town of Paso Robles was founded in 1889. El Paso de Robles means “The Pass of the Oaks”, The town was also  known as “Almond Town” due to all the almond orchards surrounding the town. Currently, the area around the town is producing Olives and Wine.

We stopped to look at the Carnegie Library-  We have now seen several of these libraries around the country. It is now the Historical Society.

Below is the oldest bar in town.

It was built in 1887 and now hosts a different bar. The building below was the Municipal Bath House, built by and for the city, the building made it possible for the residents to share the curative power of the hot sulfur water and the building was used for that purpose for 65 years.

There were a number of other buildings on the walking tour, but none are still used for their original purpose.

We went to lunch at The Blue Moon Southwester Grill. We had found a flier for this restaurant at the RV park, and we liked the menu. Bob had a huge burrito, which he only ate half of. I had a shrimp chili relleno. Both meals were terrific.

We left and returned home. We ate dinner at home and had a quiet evening.

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