Peppy's Dream Moving Adventure Blog

It’s amazing how beautiful it is in Colorado.  We have really loved visiting this wonderful state, full of vistas and views that take your breath away!

We left our campground this morning and decided to take a little drive.  We saw some beautiful horses in a corral right near the road.  We had purchased carrots the other day, because we kept seeing horses and had nothing to feed them, so we pulled over, grabbed the carrots and made four new friends.  I would have had some great pictures, but unfortunately the batteries on my camera died after the first two, so we took some with Eric's phone, but I don't know how to download them to my computer!  These horses were so sweet and friendly.  Once we started feeding them, they followed us up and down the fence until we had four horses walking along with us.  It was so funny!

After we left our new friends, we took a ride west about 5 miles to the mountain biking trails which are right near a town called LOMA.  We got to KOKOPELLI'S  TRAILHEAD around 11:30am. 

On the way there, I told Eric he shouldn’t be surprised if he had to ride alone, because – after all – it was a Monday morning.  Lo and behold, we got to the parking lot and there were at least a dozen cars parked there and about 20 guys and girls on mountain bikes, heading onto the trail.  So, Eric had plenty of company!

Just in case you're curious, KOKOPELLI is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with a huge phallus and antenna-like protrusions on his head), who has been venerated by many Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music. 

While Eric rode, I worked in the RV, answering emails on the computer, organizing my receipts and mementos from the trip so far, and filing papers.  I also got to watch DANCING WITH THE STARS, which I had missed, because we don't get to watch much TV.   Lot of cars came and went in the parking lot the whole time I was there.  It is definitely a popular place to ride!

Eric got back from his ride four hours later, elated and exhausted.  KOKOPELLI'S TRAIL is 142 miles long and runs from Colorado to Utah, but Eric just did about 15 miles today.  Not only did he have a great ride, with a group of at least 8 other riders, but the leader of the group was none other than Dave Turner, a mountain biking legend!  TURNER BICYCLES founder, Dave Turner was a professional racer, helped design many of the best suspension forks in the industry, and then – in 1994 – started designing high-performance frames, which are highly coveted and well-respected.

When he was introduced to the group, Eric just learned their first names, but noticed that everyone there was riding TURNER bikes.  He mentioned that he thought they were great bikes, but didn’t own one yet, although he would love to.  Later, one of the other guys mentioned that Dave Turner organized the ride through OVER THE EDGE SPORTS bike shop in Fruita, Colorado. 

Eric asked, “THE Dave Turner?” and was told that it was the man himself!  Eric was so excited and went to talk to Dave, telling him he had a great ride with the group and was totally awestruck by the fact that he got to ride with a mountain biking legend.  Dave just said, “Aw, come on!” and was very humble about his many accomplishments.  Nevertheless, this is a memorable day for Eric!

It was just starting to rain when Eric returned from the ride.  This is the first time we have been out in the rain since we left New York.  We’ve been so lucky with the weather! 

We decided to go for a fast bite and went back to the small town of Fruita to a place called MUNCHIES PIZZA & DELI where we had individual pizza pies, onion rings and Eric also had hot buffalo wings.  Then we went back to MONUMENT RV RESORT where, for the first time, we turned on the heat in the RV -- mostly to be sure it worked!  It worked great and we relaxed, cozy and warm in our little RV, until it stopped raining and the sun came out again!  I guess the rain in Colorado is like the rain in Florida -- a little rain and then more sun! 

I decided to do some laundry (I told you it was my favorite pastime), since we had no other plans for the evening.  We watched TV and Eric prepared for tomorrow morning, when we will leave for Moab, Utah, and more great mountain biking!

I got an email from an old "cabaret friend," Maureen Kelly Stewart.

We both worked with the late, great musical director and accompanist, Dick Gallagher, for many years.  Maureen is still performing in cabarets and nightclubs in Manhattan to enthusiastic audiences and will be performing again later this week.  You may remember that I often played Maureen's CD, SEVENTEEN ON MARS, in the shop and everyone always commented on how lovely her voice is. 

If you'd like to spend a great evening in Manhattan, listening to the sweet and melodious Maureen Kelly Stewart, she'll be playing at the LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE at the WEST BANK CAFE.  See her flyer, below, for all the details -- and tell her Peppy sent you!

I guess we really DO love this place, as we decided to stay another day. 

The first thing we did this morning was go to OVER THE EDGE SPORTS in Fruita to see if anyone was riding this morning.  It rained a lot last night, so Eric thought it may be too muddy for a ride today.  He didn’t find any riders at the store, so we went across the street to a little coffee house for a bagel and then went for a drive and found more horses to feed.  We stopped at two different places until we had no carrots left.

We love feeding carrots to horses!  My darling friend, Liz, who owns and runs horses at Belmont got me on this kick!  Now, every time Eric and I see horses we have to pull over and out come the carrots!  I want a horse of my own, but I guess that’s a dream that will probably never come true!

In the bottom right corner of the picture below, please notice the miniature horse.  He was SO sweet!

There were also a couple of donkeys, but we fed them, too.  We're equal opportunity feeders!

After our ride we went to DINOSAUR JOURNEY where we got to examine real dinosaur fossils, see a working fossil preparation laboratory, came face-to-face with life-like robotic dinosaurs and experienced a simulated earthquake! 

It was all very interesting.  Who knew there were so many dinosaurs found in Colorado?  These mountains have a LOT of dinosaur stories to tell!

We worked up an appetite fighting off the dinosaurs, so we decided to get a bite, but we couldn’t find any more restaurants in Fruita, so we drove to Loma.  All we found were more horses to feed!   I have to say again that those of you living in big cities where there are restaurants on every corner just DO NOT KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE!  I figure people must cook a lot more, because we couldn’t find a restaurant in all of Loma!

Fortunately, I had some leftovers in the fridge, so I heated them up.  We decided to go back to Kokopelli’s Trailhead to see if Eric could find someone to ride with.  He had given some guys at the campground his number and told them to call him if they rode today, but he didn’t hear from them.  There was no one around when we got here, so he took off by himself, but soon came back, because the guys called and were meeting him there.  So, the three went out on a ride.

I stayed behind, as usual, and watched TV – MARTHA and DR. PHIL.  It’s weird how good the reception is out here, in the middle of nowhere! 

Eric always asks me to go riding with him, but I just don’t have any interest in riding trails.  I’m hardly interested in riding bicycle paths, which are MUCH easier.  I’m just not much of an athlete and that’s all there is to it.  I was hoping we would have more opportunities to ride together on this trip, but there was only one place, in Massachusetts, where there was a nice greenway we could ride side-by-side on a paved road through a beautiful park.  That’s my kind of riding – no traffic and no rocks, trees or logs to trip me up!

Eric got back to the RV with his riding buddies about 6:00pm and we took off for Moab, Utah, which was less than 2 hours away.  By the time we got there, it was dark and we were hungry.  We stopped at the very first restaurant we saw, which turned out to be one of the few we passed before we hit our campground – CANYONLANDS CAMPGROUND “In the Heart of Moab.”

The restaurant, BUCK’S GRILL HOUSE was packed and we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table (and this was a Tuesday night at 8:00pm!). 

We started with two appetizers: the Smoked Catfish and Crayfish Cake (pan seared with breadcrumbs and topped with Southwest tartar sauce), and Artichoke Ceviche (diced artichokes marinated with fresh mozzarella cheese in a spicy tomato sauce).  I had the Southwest Pasta (linguini pasta tossed with cilantro pesto and grilled vegetables.  I LOVE cilantro, so this was a new and exciting taste sensation).  Eric had the Duck Tamales (two tamales with adobo sauce and grilled pineapple salsa, pinto beans and rice verde).  We finished off the meal by sharing a piece of Pistachio Chocolate Cake.  We enjoyed everything so much.  This was really a fantastic restaurant and we could see why it was so crowded!

After dinner we drove the 2 miles to our campground and settled in for the night.  Moab is a happening town.  We passed lots of great stores on the way to the campground, so I know I’ll enjoy some great shopping and Eric is really looking forward to a couple of days of great rides.  We will probably stay until the weekend!

Here we are in Moab, surrounded by magnificent mountains.  CANYONLANDS CAMPGROUND “In the Heart of Moab” is right on Main Street.  We drove a few blocks down Main Street to the JAILHOUSE CAFÉ, and had a wonderful breakfast.  Their motto is “Good Enough to be Your Last Meal,” and it really is!  I had the Southwestern Eggs Florentine, which had a real kick to it, and Eric had the Scandinavian pancakes (almost like crepes) with Lingonberry jam (which is native to Scandinavia).

After breakfast, we went to POISON SPIDER BICYCLES where Eric reserved a Yeti full-suspension bike to ride down the mountain tomorrow.  There’s a service called the PORCUPINE SHUTTLE which takes about a dozen riders and their bikes all the way up the mountain and then they ride the 25 miles downhill the whole way.  Eric could do it on his hard-tail, but the full suspension Yeti will make it a lot easier -- and more fun!  So, we’re happy he’s all set for tomorrow.   

I insisted on buying him a new jersey, because he really needed one, so he let me pick out the one I liked best!  It’s red, orange, yellow and black (sunset colors), has the poison spider logo on the back, but also shows a mountain biker riding up the mountain in the sunset both on the front and back.

Eric called Danny, a guy he met at Kokopelli Trailhead in Colorado yesterday and they met at POISON SPIDER and took a ride up the mountain today.  I stayed behind in town, with the RV and walked up and down Main Street, enjoying an iced decaf mocha latte and looking at all the souvenirs and artwork for sale.  The thing that makes me laugh is the American Indian souvenirs are all MADE IN CHINA!

It reminds me of a story from many years ago – like the ‘60s or ‘70s -- when my parents took a trip to Mexico and came back with souvenirs for all of us.  What they didn’t realize is that there was a sticker on the bottom of each one that said MADE IN JAPAN.  Forty years later – it’s still happening!  I guess most people don’t look at the bottom of everything – like I do!  It’s an occupational habit!

Our campground is really nice, and the riding is so great here, so we’ve reserved a spot until Friday, when we’ll start heading south.  We don’t have a solid plan yet, but we do want to hit Four Corners and the Grand Canyon before meeting our friends, Geri and Larry, in Las Vegas at the end of October.  We’re really looking forward to that!

After Eric and Danny came back from their ride, we went back to the campground and Eric took a shower.  Then, we headed out to dinner at SLICKROCK CAFÉ – Moab’s Oasis for Food and Fun! We started with the “Mission Impossible” Quesadilla. I had the “Moon Flower Canyon” Veggie Burger with French fries (for those of you who know Houston’s, it did not compare, although it was very good) and Eric had the “Take the Other Road” Turkey Burger with onion rings, which he really enjoyed.  We finished it off with a piece of chocolate cake. 

The woman who waited on us must have been one of the owners, because she brought us our check and then when I gave her our credit card she came back with a new check and said she had given us 20% off!  She said we were her favorite customers of the night!  She had been so sweet and friendly to us and she really made our night!

We came back to the RV and (I know you won’t believe it) I did two loads of laundry.  It's just that Eric goes through so many clothes when he's riding and he needed it all for tomorrow!

Eric got everything ready for his big ride tomorrow morning, because he and Danny have to be at POISON SPIDER BICYCLES for the PORCUPINE SHUTTLE ride at 8:30am.  They will have a great downhill ride.  I am looking forward to sleeping in!

Eric woke up real early this morning, so he could be ready for Danny to pick him up at the campground at 8:00am.  They headed off to POISON SPIDER BICYCLES to catch the PORCUPINE SHUTTLE all the way up to the top of the mountain, so they could all ride downhill all the way – about 35 miles!

I was looking forward to sleeping late and sleep in I did!  I woke up when Eric was getting ready, and it took me a while to fall back to sleep, but I did.  I woke up a few times, but didn’t even look at the clock.  I just rolled over and went back to sleep.  It felt GREAT!  I finally woke up at 11:00am, took a shower and read emails, wrote postcards and watched some TV (on the TV and on the computer).  Eric called around 1:00pm to say they were about halfway down the mountain and they were having a great time!  He called again at 4:00pm to say they were done and back at the shop.  Danny dropped Eric back at the campground and he took a quick cat nap.

Then we met Danny for dinner at EDDIE McSTIFF’S BREWPUB & RESTAURANT.  We started the meal with Buffalo wings, onion rings and pot stickers.  I had the Goat Cheese and Roasted Tomato Ravioli (gourmet ravioli made with slow roasted tomato, chopped herbs and a blend of goat and mozzarella cheeses, served with a home made tomato basil cream sauce.  Delicious!)  Eric and Danny both got the Ruby Red Trout, a boneless filet sautéed in a savory lemon, white wine, pepper, and butter sauce, served with vegetables and potato.  They both said it was great.  For dessert, Danny got the Key Lime Pie and Eric and I shared a Mud Slide Pie.  Everything was surprisingly good – for a place called Eddie McStiff’s!  The place was packed, so it must be a popular Moab hang-out!

Our young waitress had a lot of tattoos and Danny noticed a big one on her forearm of a head of broccoli.  We thought that was the strangest choice of tattoo – especially since it was about six inches long and three inches wide and all green!  We asked her if broccoli was her favorite vegetable and she said it was and then guessed all our favorite vegetables.  She really was adorable. 

Eric said he was going to get a tattoo of Kokopelli, since he’s an image that’s everywhere in Moab and he rode Kokopelli’s Trail in Colorado and in Utah (Kokopelli’s Trail runs from Colorado to Utah).   Considering he's never gotten a tattoo in his life, I doubt he'll go through with it, but -- hey -- a couple more Bloody Mary's and he may just do it!

During dinner, Eric and Danny regaled me with stories of their adventurous downhill run from Hazard Trail (part of Kokopelli Trail) to Porcupine Rim Trail.  They said it was very fast, technical, gnarly and pretty brutal.  They both loved it!  Eric said you don’t know mountain biking until you’ve done this run!

We also talked about our move, work, and careers.  Danny is a Harley-Davidson technician in Tampa, but he prefers mountain biking to motorcycles these days.  Eric said Danny was a great rider, and it made his experience much more enjoyable, because Danny kept him challenged.  I know both of them will sleep well tonight!

We’re heading south tomorrow, probably toward Four Corners.  Moab is really a great town, full of adventurers and thrill-seekers.  I didn’t really fit in, but – hey – I’m with Eric!

This is probably going to be the longest blog I’ve ever written, but today was “one for the blogs.”  Read on and you’ll see why!

We got a pretty early start leaving MOAB, stopping at the PEACE TREE CAFE for an energizing breakfast.  Eric had a Peanut Butter Wrap – Chunky peanut butter, granola, banana, apple, & blueberries wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, and a Watermelon Burst Smoothie – watermelon juice, pineapple sherbet, strawberries and peaches.   I had a Roma Egg Wrap – Scrambled eggs, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach wrapped in a sun-dried tomato tortilla, and Garden Sweet -- fresh-squeezed juice of carrots, beets, celery and cucumber.  Delicious and oh-so-healthy! 

We drove for a while and I was feeling really thirsty so we stopped in Bluff, Utah for coffee at COMB RIDGE COFFEE.  This place seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere, but inside it was so lovely.  Big tables and chairs, couches, a desk with computer, and racks of magazines made it a place in which you’d like to stay for hours. 

There is a table with jewelry for sale on display, and paintings all around by local artists.  They not only provide delicious drinks, but support the diverse and unique artisans in the Four Corners area.  It was wonderful!

After that, we headed south to FOUR CORNERS, where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet.  It is the only point in the United States shared by four states.  It was surrounded by booths where American Indians were selling jewelry, pottery, etc.  I managed to take two pictures of Eric sitting on the floor, which is the monument, but the batteries on my camera went dead (again).  We met four young people from the Czech Republic there and I took pictures of them with their camera and they took our picture with their camera and emailed it to me, so I have one of me and Eric together.

We hit the road, heading west to US-191, so we could go south to the Petrified Forest in Arizona, where we were staying tonight in a nearby campground, but we got a flat.  We didn’t even realize it, until another driver notified Eric, because it was on one of the four back tires.  Eric felt like the RV wasn’t handling well, but it was so unbelievably windy that he thought it was the wind pushing the RV.  We pulled over to the side and we both got out.  We were, literally, in the middle of nowhere.  Desert to the left and desert to the right, for as far as the eye could see.  Not the kind of desert you picture – all sand dunes and maybe an oasis somewhere in the distance.  This was the Arizona Desert with sand, dirt, and short shrubs – no oasis.

Eric proceeded to try to change the flat.  I kept telling him to let me call GOOD SAM CLUB, because we have roadside assistance, but he wanted to do it himself.  After a few minutes a sheriff pulled up and stayed around while Eric tried to get the tire off.  The conditions were so hard, because we were on the edge of this ravine and it was SO, SO windy!  Stuff kept blowing into the ravine and either the sheriff or Eric (or I) would go and get it.   Eric was also getting all kinds of sand and dirt in his eyes.  It was horrible.

Eric just couldn’t get the flat tire off and he and the cop couldn’t figure out why.  He was using a hammer, a crow-bar and still it wouldn’t budge!  Meanwhile, I called GOOD SAM CLUB and they said they were sending someone, but it would probably be about an hour.  It was 5:30pm, so we expected them to come by 6:30pm and were hoping they’d get there before it got dark.  The sheriff left and Eric finally got the tire off, but discovered that the inside tire on the same side was also very low on air.  He fixed the flat, but the spare was low on air, too, so we decided to wait until the tow truck arrived, to see if he had a compressor to fill up the low tires.

Eric said we should probably get four new back tires (we just got two new front ones), because they’re all pretty old.  It will be expensive, but I guess better safe than sorry!  The flat we got today is the one we took from the front and put on the back when we got the two new front tires!

We waited until 6:30pm and, when the tow truck still didn’t arrive, I called GOOD SAM CLUB back up and they put me on hold to find out what the story was.  The guy came back on and told me that the tow company couldn’t find someone to send out, but they never called me to let me know!  I was SO mad.  I told the guy that I understood if they couldn’t find someone, but how could they not let me know?  The guy said he was going to call the police to send assistance and I said we HAD assistance, but we let the cop go, because we thought a tow truck was coming!  Thank goodness another cop came soon afterwards.  We don’t know if a passing trucker called in that there was an RV with a flat, or if they just drive along this road very often, but we were SO lucky.

We have had the BEST experiences with police throughout our trip.  First, Eric got pulled over for having his license plate covered (by the tarp covering our bicycles) and ended up having a great conversation (and no ticket).  Then, we had two of Arizona’s finest stop to help and both were very concerned and helpful.  Good Sam?  Not so much.

Eric finished changing the tire while the second cop kept traffic away and then stopped traffic completely, so that Eric could make a u-turn and we could head back towards Four Corners, because I had found out (using the computer) that there was a GOODYEAR TIRE store in Farmington, New Mexico, and we were going to head there to stay overnight and go to the tire place in the morning to buy four new back tires.

By the time we left, it was after 8:00pm.  We had to drive 40 miles per hour, since the spare and the tire next to it were both very low.  Eric went to a gas station and tried to fill the tires with the compressor, but we know (from previous experience) that those things never work well and he wasn’t able to fill them at all.  So, we drove at a snail’s pace all the way (over 50 miles) to Farmington, New Mexico.

I had researched on the computer and found out about a campground right in Farmington (where the GOODYEAR place was), so we headed there, exhausted and dirty – me from standing in the windy dust and Eric from lying on the ground for 2 hours changing the tire (he was filthy).  We washed as good as we could in the RV, but we both desperately needed a shower.

We drove, nervously, and by now we were both hungry, too, so when we got to Farmington we decided to find a place to eat and were lucky enough to go into a place called EMILIO’S GRILL & BAR.  They were about to close, since it was 10:00pm, but we told them we had a flat and were exhausted and hungry and they welcomed us in and fed us the most delicious meal.  They were cleaning and shutting down for the night all around us, but they took such good care of us and were so kind.  They spoke Spanish, and not much English, but we managed to communicate our thanks and gratefulness to them.  I was so mad at myself, because I couldn’t remember any of my Spanish, except to keep saying I was sorry and thank you!

We finally pulled into the RV place around 11:00pm, but it was completely dark, desolate looking and very run-down.  We thought it might be dark because it was so late, but we have arrived very late at other campgrounds and there’s always some activity and some lights on.  We realized it was deserted, and wasn’t even open for business.  It looked like the Bates Motel of campgrounds and I got the creeps.  We got out of there FAST.

We saw a sign for another campground, so we headed there and were so relieved to see that the office was still open and there were actually people inside.  I went in to register and told them that we had a flat, had been on the side of the road for hours and just wanted to take a shower.  They informed me that the campground had no showers.  Now, we have been to at least 20 campgrounds across the United States of America and this is the FIRST time a campground didn’t have a shower!  They said they only had an outside bathroom (I didn’t ask for details on what that even meant).  So, of course, we left.  We were laughing, because it was so ridiculous, but also so tired and frustrated that we felt like crying, too!

We had seen a WAL-MART and had heard many times that RVs are okay to park there overnight, so we went and parked and washed up as good as we could in the RV bathroom and just fell into an exhausted sleep.  All I can say is, “What a night!”

We had an uneventful and restful night’s sleep at Wal-Mart and got washed and dressed in the RV so we could head over to GOODYEAR TIRE.  I forgot to mention that when we got into town last night we saw a lot of people and cars along the sides of the road and asked someone why everyone was milling about, setting up chairs and tents.  It turns out that there was a huge American Indian parade today, and there was also a carnival in town last night and today, right outside town.  If we weren’t so concerned about the tires, we might have gone to the parade, or the carnival, but we were focused on the RV.  We called GOODYEAR to make sure they could do the job.  Turns out, no one had turned up for work, because they were all at the parade.  Can you believe it?

They recommended a few other places and we finally ended up at TREADWORKS TIRE AND SERVICE CENTER.

 
There was a Laundromat across the street, so I decided to go across and do two loads of laundry while Eric waited for them to put four new tires on the back of the RV.  They did a great job (and so did I), and we were off by noon.

We had noticed a nice strip of stores and restaurants on Main Street, so we went back there and had a nice lunch at TJ’s DINER.  The girls there were all very interested in our trip, our RV and our previous lives in New York City.  They were all so friendly.

After lunch, Eric stayed in the RV and made phone calls while I went into a fabulous place called OLD FAITHFUL, INC., which sold antiques, camp & cottage décor, gifts, vintage clothes and books.  It had everything arranged so beautifully, and they had such a wonderful array of collectibles, linens, clothing, ephemera and furniture.  I loved it!  I spoke to one of the three owners and told her about the shop I had in New Hyde Park.  I know all my customers would LOVE this store!  Too bad it’s so far away.

Finally, we headed out of town.  I was exhausted, so I took a nap in the back while Eric drove.  I woke up when he turned off the engine, thinking we had arrived, but we had only gone about 10 miles.  He had turned off the engine, because traffic had come to a complete stop.  Turns out that, because of the parade and the carnival, there was bumper-to-bumper traffic going south on I-64 (the direction we had to go) and it ended up taking us two hours to go about 15 miles.

Once we passed the carnival, the traffic cleared and we made it out of New Mexico and into Arizona (again) by 6:00pm.

We had had another three-state-day yesterday (even though we had been in FOUR states at FOUR CORNERS!).  We went from Utah to Arizona to New Mexico.  Now, we drove back to Arizona to go to Holbrook where we would stay for the night and go to the Petrified Forest tomorrow.

We got into town at about 7:30pm, but we didn’t realize we had entered Pacific Time, so it was really 6:30pm!

We were hungry, so we looked for a restaurant in town and saw a Chinese restaurant.  We haven’t had Chinese food since we left New York!  We had Thai food in Chicago, Sushi in Tampa, and Vietnamese Food in Denver, but no Chinese, so we decided to stop.  MANDARIN BEAUTY RESTAURANT (specializing in Chinese & American Foods) was very busy, but there was only one young man waiting on all the tables, so service was very slow.  The food was okay, but after living in New York all our lives, it wasn’t what we were hoping for.  They brought us noodles and we asked for duck sauce and he had NO idea what we were talking about!  Can you imagine?  No duck sauce?  What’s up with THAT?

After dinner we came to the HOLBROOK/PETRIFIED FOREST KOA campground and had our fingers crossed that it would be nice.  We were not disappointed.  Laura, who greeted us in the registration office was SO lovely.  They had a great store where we purchased batteries (for my camera), ice (since the fridge isn’t working so great), ice cream (since we didn’t have dessert at dinner), and Arizona post cards.  Laura informed us that there is an “All You Can Eat” pancake breakfast every morning for $1.99.  You can’t beat that!  They also have a Cowboy Cookout every night from 5:30pm – 7:30pm.  What a place!

We headed to our site, which was very close to the showers.  Eric hooked up the electricity and the cable and we immediately took long, hot, showers and felt SO much better!

Then, we had some ice cream and watched TV.  Tomorrow we are off to the PETRIFIED FOREST.

Nothing gets you out of bed like the thought of “All You Can Eat Pancakes!”  We usually get up around 9:00am, but today we were out of bed by 7:30am, took showers, got dressed and were over to the outdoor breakfast concession stand by a little after 8:00am.  It was REALLY cold out, even though we’re in Arizona!  We heard there’s been a heat wave in New York.  We believe the weather’s been better in New York than in Arizona!  Anyway, it was too cold for us to eat outside (although lots of other people were sitting at the picnic benches nearby), so we went back to the RV and had breakfast.  It was really good and we were stuffed.

We left for the PETRIFIED FOREST even though Eric was less-than-enthusiastic about it.  He just didn’t understand how there could be a forest when all you could see for miles and miles was desert and shrubs.

We drove for about a half hour before reaching the entrance, but found out that you pass through about 20 miles of the PAINTED DESERT and tour the PAINTED DESERT INN before reaching the PETRIFIED FOREST. 

The Painted Desert was really beautiful.  There was a big basin called “the Badlands,” which is a dried-up lake bed which left smooth, colorful hills with horizontal stripes of oranges, reds, greens, whites, yellows, etc.

The Painted Desert Inn, built of petrified wood and other native stone, is a 30-room building that was originally a tourist attraction offering food, liquor and a shop for Native American crafts in the 1920s.  It has been beautifully restored and now serves as a museum and souvenir shop selling all authentic Indian crafts.

The panels of glass in the ceiling represent original art found on Native American pottery:

These are the men who built the Painted Desert Inn.

We finally reached the Petrified Forest and both Eric and I were so impressed. 

The tree trunks are all laying down and broken into large and small pieces.  From afar they look like regular tree trunks, but upon closer inspection, you can see that they are rock and not wood.  If you try to move a log, you can see that it weighs hundreds of pounds. 

Can you believe this is a tree trunk?

They look so out of place that Eric said they must have been brought in from another location, but we read about it and found out that they were buried millions of years ago and have slowly been uncovered by erosion.  Some of the logs could just barely be seen sticking out from the ground, leading us to believe there are probably thousands more still buried.

They look like wood, but appearances can be deceiving!

There were certain areas where you could actually touch the petrified wood and see them up close.  The colors of the trunks, which are now stone or rock, were magnificent.  Eric felt it was somewhat surreal, because these petrified trees seem so out of place in the desert.

There are signs everywhere that federal law prohibits collection or removal of petrified wood or any natural, archeological, or historical object from its setting.  Violators will be fined, imprisoned, or both.  They actually give you a form when you enter, which you must fill out if you witness anyone stealing rocks. 

Eric kept picking up little pieces (pebble sized) and I kept saying, “put that down or I’ll turn you in.”  I also kept watching other people saying, “I’ve got my eye on him.”  I can understand why they don’t want people stealing, because I’m sure before they made these laws people would throw entire logs in the back of their trucks and display them in their homes.  It’s just not appropriate to remove anything from it’s natural habitat, whether it’s an animal or a rock!

We hiked around for a while then returned to the RV, where we made friends with a giant black crow.  He was so used to people that he let us get within 10 feet without moving.  Then, when we got closer, instead of flying away, he simply walked further down the wall where he was sitting, so he could keep us at a safe distance.  He sat and crowed (which crows are known to do) much to our amusement.

Finally, we headed west on I-40 to our next destination – Williams, Arizona, which is just 50 miles from the Grand Canyon.  Williams is famous for having Route 66 run through it.

In 1926, U. S. Highway 66 was established through Williams, Arizona. A little over half a century later, on October 13th, 1984, it became the last bypassed town along the "Mother Road," as old Highway 66 became Interstate 40.

Today, all of downtown Williams is on the National Register of Historic Places, and its largely-unchanged main street evokes images of the legendary route. Williams the town is also like a slice of small-town America, a place where they still hold a local beauty queen contest, and seven visiting travel writers make the local paper.

We went to the Visitor’s Information Center, where they had a lovely little museum and gave us lots of great information about mountain biking in the area, going to the Grand Canyon, and local tourist attractions.

We then registered at the GRAND CANYON RAILWAY RV PARK, which is FABULOUS.  It’s probably the nicest RV park we’ve been in.  I guess it’s because it’s relatively new and because it’s next to the nicest hotel in town.  It’s also packed with giant RVs.  Ours is, by far, the smallest one in the park.  The bathrooms are to die for!  Too bad we could only get a reservation for tonight, because 80 rigs are pulling in tomorrow (I guess because it’s Columbus Day).  So, we have to move to another RV park tomorrow, which is about ½ mile away.  It won’t be as beautiful, I’m sure, but we’re hoping it will be nice!

After settling in, Eric worked on his bike, so he would be ready for a mountain bike ride tomorrow.  Then, we headed out to Route 66, just about ½ mile away, to do a little shopping and eat dinner. 

Eric at a local souvenir/jewelry store, the Turquoise Tepee, playing cards with his new buddies:

Eric got a ROUTE 66 t-shirt and a KOKOPELLI t-shirt.  Kokopelli is Eric’s new best friend.  Since he rode KOKOPELLI’S TRAIL in Colorado Springs, we’ve seen him everywhere – Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and now Arizona.  We already bought a tiny hand-made ceramic fridge magnet, and a silver and turquoise key chain.

After shopping, we went across the street to the RED RAVEN RESTAURANT.  The minute I walked in, this restaurant appealed to me, because the walls were lined with plates, pictures, and a shelf, high above, lined with vases, bowls, pitchers, teapots, etc.  It was beautifully decorated.

Eric started with the Southwest Egg Rolls, stuffed with chicken and a savory mixture of southwest flavors, served with a creamy Chipotle sauce.  He followed that with the Crispy Shrimp salad (shrimp dipped in a light Tempura batter and deep fried to perfection, served on a bed of fresh salad greens lightly tossed with Ginger-Sesame dressing and topped with sprouts, red cabbage, tomato and red onion).

I had the Seafood Gumbo and grilled swordfish with a pineapple cranberry salsa, mashed potatoes and broccoli.  Everything was SO delicious.  We were so stuffed that we took our cappuccino chocolate mousse to go.

We drove around for a while, down Route 66, looking at all the great stores, hotels, motels, and restaurants.

We are not sure where we’re going tomorrow.  We’re sure we’re going to visit the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff (for mountain biking) and Sedona (for spa treatments for me and mountain biking for Eric), but we’re not sure in what order we’ll do all this!

The song, composed by Bobby Troup in 1946 and first recorded by Nat King Cole that same year, goes:

“If you ever plan to motor west,
Travel my way, take the highway, that's the best.
Get your kicks on Route sixty-six.”

We really enjoyed driving up and down Route 66 last night, so we woke up earlier than usual, because we wanted to head back there and we had a lot planned for today!  After showers, Eric fixed a flat on his bicycle, while I tidied up the RV and got dressed.

We drove over to Route 66 and had breakfast at Goldie's ROUTE 66 DINER.  It was a real 50s style diner with great decorations everywhere and even a life-size Betty Boop! 

After breakfast I walked into a few shops and Eric worked on his bike some more.

Eric and I posed by a vintage Ford Fairlane:

Betty is everywhere!  Even on Route 66 in Williams, Arizona:

Then we went and checked in at the place we’re staying tonight and it seems very nice.  It’s called RAILSIDE RV RANCH.  I forgot to mention that the place we stayed at last night, although fabulous, was closer to the railroad than any other place we’ve ever stayed.  The RV actually shook a little when the train went by (just once – but it was loud).  We already heard the train here and it’s just as loud.  Yikes!

After we left RAILSIDE RV RANCH we drove about 30 miles to FLAGSTAFF, AZ., where there is great mountain biking.  We found a bike shop that was open, Eric bought a map of the park, and we headed over there.  I did my usual computer/phone calls/postcard/nap thing and waited for him to come back, so we could drive back to Williams.

Eric was hoping to find someone to ride with and saw a guy who had his bike hanging from a tree branch, trying to fix something.  He went over, started a conversation, and ended up helping him fix his front derailleur and they became mountain biking buddies.  They climbed 5½ miles to Humphrey’s Summit, the highest point in Arizona, elevation 12,633 feet.  From there, they did a mile loop on top of the mountain, and then descended the 5½ miles in 15 minutes.  Eric said it was a screamin’ downhill!  He loved it.  He said they “smoked that mountain.”

When they got back, I met Steve and his 17-year-old dog, Sydney (a female), who had waited patiently by Steve’s car, as I waited patiently for Eric!

Sweet Sydney:

Steve is a great guy, and we took pictures, exchanged emails and phone numbers and thanked him for showing Eric the best of Humphrey’s Summit.

As I’ve said before, Eric has been so lucky, because he always meets great people who are happy to guide him through the mountains.  Eric says that’s because mountain bikers are good people.  I know now that it’s true, because he’s met great people in Saugerties, Massachusetts, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and now Arizona.  He’s looking forward to riding Sedona next and is guaranteed to meet a lot of great mountain bikers!

We left Flagstaff and headed back to the campground where Eric took a shower before we headed out to dinner at PINE COUNTRY RESTAURANT.  This place is huge and was packed.  We had to wait for a table, holding those vibrating, beeping, blinking pagers, like they have at Olive Garden.  The restaurant is famous for their homemade pies, but their food was really good, too.  Country cookin’, I call it!  Eric had split pea soup and a hot turkey dinner with pinto beans and mixed vegetables.  I had a pasta dish with a sauce made of pureed vegetables and sun-dried tomatoes.  It was SO delicious.  We finished it off with a piece of one of their famous pies.  We chose Raspberry Cheese.  It was fabulous.

Here is a sampling of Pine Country's mile-high pies:

Besides having great food, a country store and a friendly, country ambiance, they had their walls covered with art by a famous Arizona artist, Fred Lucas. 

He is one of America’s most notable fine art painters of the Grand Canyon and American West.  His work was so magnificent, I couldn’t stop staring at them.  The colors, the realism, the way he captured the sunlight on the canyon.  It was so impressive.  They had reproductions for sale in all sizes.  I was tempted, but we already have SO much art in storage in San Diego, so I resisted!

We are heading to SEDONA tomorrow and will probably stay a day or two.  We’re really enjoying Arizona!

Before I begin today’s story, I have to show you a picture of my gorgeous nephew, Eddie, playing soccer in college.  He’s the one on the right, in white.

Okay, now on to our day:

We had a late start to SEDONA this morning, because I haven’t been feeling well.  I am pretty sure it is my allergies, but for two days my nose was running and my head was very stuffed.  It’s now the third day, and I was thinking maybe it was a cold, but it’s just not progressing the way a cold does.  I just keep sneezing and blowing my nose!  It feels like allergies, I just never have a 3-day episode like this.

Even though I didn’t feel great, the laundry room was right near our rig, so I wanted to do a few loads of laundry (it just builds up SO fast!) and Eric had a lot of stuff to do outside the RV, so we didn’t leave Williams until after noon.

The ride to Sedona was fantastic.  Route 89A off I-17 is gorgeous.  We never knew Arizona had so many mountains.  We always imagined the terrain as desert and pretty flat, which was why Eric didn’t want to drive through the bottom of the U.S. (through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona).  He just doesn’t like flat terrain.  He’s a mountain man.  So, that’s why we drove north through Colorado, and Utah, and just came south for the Grand Canyon.  Eric’s been looking at his atlas a lot, and is always looking for mountainous regions.

The following are pictures of COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST taken in the park and on 89A on our way to Sedona:

See how I caught myself in the side view mirror taking the picture?  Cute, huh?

Eric and I thought these rocks looked fake -- like the set of a movie!

Someone told us there was great mountain biking in Sedona, so we researched it on the web and came up with a shop called MOUNTAIN BIKE HEAVEN in the heart of Sedona.

After we stopped at the “Call of the Canyon West Fork” of COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST to take pictures, we headed straight for the bike shop. 

It was small and the owner wasn’t there, because he and his wife just had a baby, but the guy working sold Eric a map of the trails and told him he would probably find some people to ride with there tomorrow.

After that, we headed to the RV camp in town, but they were completely booked!  I asked the woman why it was so busy, because we’ve only had that happen once or twice in two months, and first she said it was because it was the weekend (it’s Tuesday).  Then, when she realized she made a mistake, she said it was because it was November (it’s October) and then she said people come to see the changing of the leaves.  All the way down 89A we saw magnificent scenery, gorgeous mountains and streams, cliffs, and rocks, forests and parks, but we didn’t see anything but green.  There isn’t any changing of the leaves – at least not yet!

Anyway, they recommended another place, 12 miles away, in Cornville, AZ (yes, Cornville!) called LO LO MAI SPRINGS OUTDOOR RESORT.  We drove there and they were able to accommodate us.  We registered, looked at our site and then left to drive the 12 miles back to Sedona to have a very late lunch.  I also wanted to check out the day spa I had found online, to see if I could get my hair cut and touched-up, massage, manicure and pedicure tomorrow, while Eric rides.

FANGO DAY SPA, also in the heart of Sedona, is a lovely little spa, hidden away on a side street off 89A.  The women there were so lovely and I had a consultation with Lomisa, who will cut and color my hair.  I also made an appointment for a massage with Faith and manicure/pedicure with Regina, so it will really be a day of beauty and relaxation for me.  I’m so looking forward to it!

It was 4:00pm and we were both really hungry.  We went to the RED PLANET DINER, which was decorated with aliens, spaceships and anything else you can imagine from  outer-space, but also looked like a 50s diner.  Cute combination!   The back of the t-shirts the staff wore said, “Welcome Earthlings!” and the bathroom doors had giant aliens painted on them and said, “Maliens” and “Femaliens.”

We started with deep fried dill pickles with a ranch dressing, just because it was something we never even heard of before.  Delicious!  Then, I had the taco salad, which was lettuce, onions, red peppers, tomatoes, guacamole, salsa, beans and shrimp in a taco shell bowl and Eric had a turkey burger with cole slaw.  All very good!

It was now after 5:00pm and we didn’t know what else to do.  Since I wasn’t feeling well and now Eric had a headache (what a pair!), we decided to just head back to the campground and settle in for the night.  I really wanted to lie down, and convinced Eric to take a nap with me.  I awoke at 7:30pm, but he was still sleeping.  There’s no internet or cell phone service in Cornville (at least not that we can get), so I won’t be able to post this blog until we leave here, or at least find a place where I can get online.

I hope we both feel better in the morning!

Eric and I both woke up feeling sick.  He still had a headache, and my allergies were still really bad.  My nose hurt, because I was blowing it so much!  It just ran and ran and my head was clogged.  Nevertheless, I was going to FANGO DAY SPA for my spa treatments today and just hoped my nose didn’t run through it all.  I took two Tylenol Cold caplets and they helped a lot.

Eric wasn’t going to ride, because he said his headache would just get worse, so he relaxed in the RV for a while, and then took a nice walk around Sedona, while I had my 50-minute massage by Faith (fabulous), my manicure and pedicure by Regina (wonderful), and my touch-up and trim by Lomisa (fantastic).  I loved every minute.  I was treated like royalty by everyone on the staff and it was just a luxurious, lovely day.  I cannot recommend FANGO DAY SPA highly enough.  It is truly a wonderful spa with a friendly, talented staff.

One thing I did learn, because I told the girls at FANGO DAY SPA that my allergies were so bad and my husband had a headache, was that the change in climate and the altitude of Sedona causes lots of people to have allergic reactions and to get headaches!  Just our luck!  We come to this beautiful paradise and both get sick!  They said the secret was hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.  They also said that people's skin gets dry as a bone and you have to moisturize much more than usual.  I guess the humidity in New York serves some purpose!

Anyway, Eric came in at the end and got his hair cut (cut off, I should say, as he gets a #1 buzz cut, which is the next best thing to being totally bald!).

After that, we went over to a fabulous place for lunch called SPICES RESTAURANT, which not only had delicious food, but was decorated in such a delightful way that it was also a feast for the eyes!

My handsome husband right after his haircut at FANGO DAY SPA:

I had the Mediterranean Salad, which had grilled Portobello mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce and red peppers in a delicious vinaigrette dressing.  Eric had the Chicken Mango salad, with oranges, mango, strawberries, almonds, and a bed of garden greens with a mango dressing.  Very different!  We finished it off with a piece of hot apple pie with ice cream and whipped cream.  YUM!

After lunch, we headed over to WALGREENS to pick up some supplies, including DRIXORAL, which my dear friends, Geri and Larry, recommended.  They said it would alleviate my allergy symptoms.  Larry’s a doctor, so if he tells me to take something, I take it – doctor’s orders!

Then we headed to a SAFEWAY SUPERMARKET where, not only did they have a STARBUCKS, but I was able to get internet service in their parking lot.  I got my decaf and Eric took a late afternoon ride around Sedona.  I worked on yesterday’s blog and answered emails.

When Eric got back, we went into SAFEWAY to get something to eat to bring back to the campground, because we weren’t yet hungry, but knew we would be before the night was over.  The campground is really in the middle of nowhere and there’s nothing for miles and miles.  So, we got some sushi, which – for supermarket pre-made – was remarkably good!  It certainly satisfied the sushi cravings we’ve had for the past two weeks.

Tomorrow we leave Sedona, which – except for not feeling too good – was really a great place to visit.  The scenery never fails to amaze you.  My sister, Lenae, took an award-winning photograph in Sedona.  Now, I know why she was so inspired.
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Before I end today's blog, I want to share a story with you.  I hope you remember our friends, Sergio, Lourdes, and Angela, who were so kind and generous to us when we visited them in New Orleans.

Sergio sent me an email explaining that October 2nd was a special day for him, because it marked the anniversary of his immigration from Cuba to America.  I thought it was such a wonderful, touching story that everyone would enjoy reading it, so here it is, in Sergio's own words:

Today, Oct. 2nd, is always a bittersweet day.  It is my anniversary of leaving Cuba...47 years ago. You'd think by now I would have forgotten...I always relive that day fully from the trip to the airport, to the long hours of being detained to the arrival in Miami. The events of that day are so fresh in my mind.
 
It was common practice in those days for Castro's "milicianos" (goons) to use scare tactics to Cubans leaving, so they would delay the plane for hours and go through all the baggage. My mother wore no jewelery, because surely it would have been confiscated, plus she was risking it big time- Her Supreme Court papers allowing her, as a judge to leave the country had been forged, otherwise they would not have let her escape.) The plane was detained for 4 hours.

Of course I knew nothing of this at the time, but I could sense the tension, my mother wringing her hands in anguish. My parents had planned that even if one was left behind, the other would leave with me to freedom. It wasn't until I was on the plane that I found out we would come live in the states, I left thinking we were visiting for two weeks...It is now even more bittersweet, given my parents are no longer with me.  On days like today, I miss them so much it hurts, not talking to them and remembering with them. It is now just my story...

On the Pan Am plane, the stewardess gave me a muffin. It was only a 50 minute flight. I remember waving goodbye to Havana from the airplane window, the image is seared in my brain. Upon arrival, my parents applied for political asylum. We then took a taxi to Jimmy's house, where he had to pay the taxi driver from his savings since we had no dollars. A little while later, my grandmother, Jimmy's mother and Lily his sister arrived from the grocery store and there was a happy reunion. It was a Sunday and my uncle, Victor, arrived from New York where he had been on a business trip. Junior, JoAnne, Diana and Nuni were also there, and I was happy to be with them. I remember Jimmy talking about how he was for Kennedy, there was a furor about the upcoming presidential elections and who would win, I remember the adults talking about it and I was clueless at 8 years old.  All I wanted was to visit the stores in Miami, I loved Woolworth's in Cuba "El Tencen" as we called it, and my father kept saying there was a "tencen" on every corner in Miami downtown, and he was right they had Woolworths, McCrory's, and Kress...I was in heaven.

A week later, I remember my dad bought me a little set of Marx toys, it was Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, Wimpy and Sweepea inside tiny race cars, I was so happy, having lost all my toys in Cuba. I played so much with them... I still have the Popeye racer, all the other characters broke and were lost through the years, but I still have Popeye in perfect condition in our dining room curio, a trophy of sorts from that first visit to "el tencen" in Miami. More significantly for me a child's symbol of a new beginning in the USA.

Here is a picture of 8-year-old Sergio.  His first photo taken in the United States, which actually came in those little plastic viewers that you have to hold up to your eye.  Such a handsome boy:

The first thing we did this morning, after leaving LO LO MAI SPRINGS OUTDOOR RESORT was stop nearby to feed four horses we had seen yesterday.  We bought carrots at SAFEWAY last night, so we were well-prepared.  Let me tell you, horses LOVE carrots.  It must be like candy for them, because they just can’t get enough.  If you want a horse to follow you to the ends of the earth, just carry a handful of carrots and it will be no problem.  We had four beautiful horses each trying to get a carrot at the same time, and nudging us with their beautiful heads if we were too slow in delivery.

Next, we went into town, back to SAFEWAY for my morning STARBUCKS, and then we headed north on 89A, the most scenic route we’ve taken in our 8-week trip, stopping again a few times, to walk around the park, take in the views, and try to memorize the beautiful vistas.

By lunchtime, we were in Flagstaff.  What we’ve learned from driving around America is that you can’t just stop to eat at the first place you see.  You have to drive around a town, until you find the “trendy” section, where there are no BURGER KINGS, or APPLEBEES, or WENDY’S.  We don’t eat fast food, but we also don’t like chain restaurants, unless we’re desperate (which means I'm starving).

We went down Route 66 (our favorite route!) and found a quaint part of Flagstaff that had lots of little boutiques, art galleries and great little restaurants.  We went to a place called MOUNTAIN OASIS on East Aspen Street and had a wonderful lunch.  We started with Japanese Nori Rolls (organic Sushi rice, plum paste, scallions, carrots, cucumber, fresh avocado wrapped in Nori (seaweed) paper.

Eric had a Spinach Melt Wrap (spinach, roasted red peppers, grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms, combined with organic brown rice and topped with pepper jack cheese  Mine was a Hummus Wrap (hummus, avocado, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, black olives and lettuce).

The best part of this restaurant is that every month they feature another artist’s work, which is for sale.  This month, the artist is a woman named LISA ALBINGER, whose work is very unusual.  The thing I love about her is that she is whimsical, yet dark.  She starts with a sort of decoupage/collage, where she glues different objects and papers to the canvas.  Then she paints over it all, using only cotton swabs and paper towels.

Another thing she does, which I just adore, is she will continue a painting off the canvas and onto the frame, so I think she must paint with the frame already on.  I have a feeling she might buy cheap paintings and paint right over them.  Some of her paintings don’t have a frame at all and look like they might be painted right on wood.

I fell in love with one of her paintings, but really enjoyed them all.  If you like the paintings below, please visit her website to see much more and read all about her.  I haven’t been taken with an artist like this in a long time!

This is my favorite, photographed as it hung on the wall in MOUNTAIN OASIS:

Here are some others, some copied from her website, some photographed in the restaurant:

See how her paintings continue, right onto the frame?  I LOVE that!

She definitely has a thing for bunnies.  She describes this one as Gene Kelly as a bunny!

This one is a little different than the others in the restaurant, but she has another whole series that are less whimsical and dark, depicting beautiful women and nature.

After lunch, we walked around Flagstaff, enjoying the gorgeous weather and window shopping at all the trendy stores.  We got back on the road and headed back to Williams but, before we got to the campground, we stopped first at DEER FARM petting zoo, where you can feed the Deer and pet (or just gaze lovingly at) the reindeer, wallabies, llamas, mini donkeys, mini horses, mini cattle (zebu), axis deer, potbelly pig, talking birds, coatimundi, marmosets, and new as of this year a baby camel and two baby bison.

 This is Sparky.  He was very shy, but sweet!

We brought out carrot supply into the zoo, but they told us we couldn’t feed the animals carrots (they’re all on a special diet – who knew?), so they put our carrots in the fridge and Eric bought a little cup of some kind of deer food and we went in. 

The deer are hysterical.  There must be twenty or thirty and as soon as they see you coming with that cup they swarm you, nudge you, and won’t leave you alone until you give them some.  It was actually a little scary.  I could hardly take pictures, because they thought the camera was food and kept trying to eat it!

We loved petting the baby goats and the potbelly pig, but the marmosets (whom you can’t pet) have such tiny, funny little faces!

This little girl was like the Pied Piper of Deer Farm!

After we had our fill (or, should I say, the deer had THEIR fill), we went back to RAILSIDE RV RESORT, where we had spent two lovely days earlier this week.  We took a nap, then ate in.  Tomorrow, we are finally heading to the Grand Canyon (I hope!).

Today is Eric’s youngest sister, Susan’s, birthday.  HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSAN!!!  It was great talking to you today.  Hope you had a fabulous day!

Eric and I are both feeling better, but are still suffering from the hot, dry change in climate.  Eric actually got a bloody nose this morning!  His headache is gone and the Drixoral, which Dr. Larry recommended, really helped me.  Nevertheless, we decided we definitely didn’t want to go further south in Arizona, because it would just get hotter and drier and we are already suffering from the effects of this drastic change in climate.

We had planned to go to the Grand Canyon for over a week, but hadn’t made it yet.  We were clearly procrastinating.  I don’t know why, but Eric was not very enthusiastic about going.  Part of it was the fact that he felt riding down the mountain in Moab was more spectacular, because he was actually IN the canyon, not just on the edge looking over.  Since they don’t let you mountain bike the Grand Canyon, and Eric’s not into hiking, we were just going to look over the edge.  I told him it would impress him, because it is SO huge – after all, GRAND is in its name!

My problem is: I’m afraid of heights.  It’s not the kind of fear that makes me afraid to go up to the top of the Empire State Building.  I feel safe there.  It’s the kind of fear that makes me nervous standing at the edge of a balcony, or if people walk too close to the edge of a cliff.  You know what I mean.  I’m afraid of falling off (or someone else falling off).

The combination of his being kind of blasé and me being more than a little afraid made us keep putting it off.  We went to Sedona for a few days, then Flagstaff, then back to Williams.  But I was determined that I wasn’t going to finish this trip without seeing the Grand Canyon, and Eric agreed that it was worth doing.  So, today we finally went.

We were already in Williams, so we went to Route 66 (our new favorite hangout) and had breakfast at the TYPHOON SALOON AND RESTAURANT in WILD WEST JUNCTION.  It had the feeling of an old west saloon (although they don’t serve liquor), and had lots of great western memorabilia.

Eric, and a few others, making me EXTREMELY nervous:

It was a fast trip from Williams to Tusayan, Arizona, where the Grand Canyon is located – less than an hour away.  We parked the car on the side of the road and went to see some of the views.  Spectacular!  It’s really just so much bigger than you can imagine.  We walked around a bit, took some pictures, then got back in the RV, drove a couple more miles, parked the car in the RV lot, got on the shuttle bus, and went to the GRAND CANYON VISITOR CENTER, on the South Rim.

We walked to the view from there, and ended up being just about a half mile up from where we originally stopped, but the views seem to be the same all around.  There are miles and miles of beautiful mountains with tiers of color, occasional trees and shrubs, and a LONG way down.  I guess the views would differ depending on the time of day, time of year and weather conditions, but I guess I was as blasé as Eric, because we only walked about a mile altogether and I had seen quite enough.  There were just too many people standing out on rocks, posing for pictures, or taking pictures, and it made me so nervous!

We took the shuttle bus back to the RV and, in less than 4 hours, were back on the road to Williams.  We came, we saw, we photographed.  I’m glad we went.  It was definitely worth the trip.  If you’re interested, you can take a jeep, helicopter, airplane, bus, mule, horse, raft, or hike the canyon, but none of that is my cup of tea, and Eric felt the same way.

The thing that amazed Eric the most is that all of the canyon was under water millions of years ago.  Boy, have things changed!

Listening to the people as we passed, we heard so many different languages.  People from all over the world come to see the Grand Canyon!

Seeing the size of the people in relation to the canyon, really puts it all in perspective!

After the short drive back to Williams, we registered at RAILSIDE RV RESORT and talked about our day.  The truth is, we were glad we went, but we both had a better time visiting our friends in New Orleans and Chicago, visiting Graceland, or seeing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  Those days were much more memorable for us.

Having decided that we don’t want to go further south in Arizona, we decided to head West on I-40 and see where it takes us.  We will probably head into California, before meeting our friends in Las Vegas on the 22nd.  After that, we’re heading to San Diego, and this dream vacation will come to an end.  I’m really not happy about it, and neither is Eric.

We could easily do this for a year!

We left RAILSIDE RV RESORT, and Williams, with some regret, as we had a lovely time there.  We decided to go to SELIGMAN, ARIZONA, because we kept seeing that town on maps of Route 66.  Since Eric’s sister, Ellen, is married to a Seligman, we thought it would be fun to visit the town.

Route 66 runs parallel to I-40, but not all the way through, so – to be safe – we decided to take I-40 there.  Route 66 used to run from Chicago all the way through to Los Angeles, but after I-40 was built, parts of Route 66 were permanently closed.  Route 66, also called “The Mother Road” (by John Steinbeck in “The Grapes of Wrath”) and “America’s Main Street” (by an ad writer when it was first built) is now called “Historic Route 66” and, when it runs through a town, that town automatically becomes a tourist attraction.

So it was with Seligman, Arizona!  We got off the exit and drove through town.  It was small and cute with a lot of souvenir stores, just like Williams.  We saw that there was a “town square” and that there were a lot of people gathered.  Something was definitely happening in Seligman today!  We parked and got out.  Turns out it was the SELIGMAN RT. 66 CLASSIC CAR SHOW, hosted by the Seligman Chamber of Commerce.

Didn't I tell you Betty was EVERYWHERE?

There were so many great cars there: A Corvette, Camaro, Mustang, Impala, GTO, Chevelle, and many others.  Eric loves vintage cars, so he was happy to have the chance to get a good look at all these classics.  The owners were “proud papas” thrilled to have someone admire their “babies.”  Eric talked to all of them, and I took pictures.

While driving on I-40, we had seen a man on a bicycle, loaded down with backpacks and other bags.  Eric noted that it’s illegal to ride a bicycle on an interstate and he figured the guy had been on Route 66 and had to get off, just like we did, when the road ended.  Sure enough, we saw him in town later and went over to talk to him.  Turns out, he’s from Germany, started his odyssey in British Columbia and was on a ROUTE 66 ROAD TRIP, riding his bicycle straight from Chicago all the way to Los Angeles.  He was an older gentleman, and I couldn’t believe he could ride like that, day after day, in the heat of the day, camping at night in his little tent.  I told Eric, “He must have good lungs and strong legs!” 

Next, we went into the HISTORIC SELIGMAN SUNDRIES store and bought some souvenirs, and some coffee, before going around town, taking pictures of anything that had a “SELIGMAN” on it!
We were told that the best place in town to eat was the ROADKILL CAFÉ (“You Kill It, We Grill It”), so we headed over there.  Everything on the menu has names like “Splatter Platter” or “Highway Hash.”  I wish I could remember the clever names of our dishes, but they escape me.  Anyway, Eric had a Turkey BLT Club sandwich and I had crab cakes.  The service was really slow, but the food was worth waiting for!

This lovely stuffed leopard greeted you at the door!

This guy stared at me all during lunch!

Leaving Seligman, we got on Route 66 and took it all the way to Kingman where it ends and we had to get back on I-40.  We were heading to NEEDLES, CALIFORNIA, to stay in an RV camp right on the Colorado River.  (I know.  Who knew the Colorado River was also in California?).  By now, we were following the directions of our GPS system (Betty) and she told us to get off Exit 44 and get on Oatman Highway (aka Route 66).  Little did we know we could have taken I-40 all the way, but Betty sometimes chooses routes that are more scenic and this one was definitely interesting.

We ended up going about 15 miles through treacherous, dangerous, and – for me – stomach churning, nerve wracking road conditions, as we wound our way through mountains, where the car was on the outside lane and the drop was at least a thousand feet.  And I thought the Grand Canyon was scary!  This perilous drive went on for about 40 minutes, and Eric was enjoying himself, driving slowly and carefully as the sun went down in the west.  I was so nervous I was lying on the couch in the back, because I couldn’t bear to look.

When we finally got through the mountains, we were in the middle of nowhere and Betty had “frozen.”  She wouldn’t talk, she wouldn’t move.  We couldn’t get her to “calculate” the route.  I turned her on and off a couple of times.  Nothing.  So, with darkness all around us, and the desert to the right and left (and in front and behind) we drove along Historic Route 66, not knowing where we were headed, but just hoping we’d find a town or, at least, I-40.  I couldn’t believe Betty had let us down, just when we needed her most!

We finally DID find I-40 and got back on.  We crossed the border from Arizona to California.  It was kind of an important moment, because – after 9 weeks on the road -- we had finally made it to California, even though we’ll be leaving to go to Nevada.  We saw a sign for NEEDLES and exited.  You’d think our troubles were over, wouldn’t you?  But we couldn’t find the NEEDLES MARINA PARK.  I went online and they had NO directions on their website.  Eric and I each stopped and asked for directions at two different gas stations and we still couldn’t find the place! 

We ended up trying two RV parks before finally pulling into the DESERT VIEW RV RESORT.  
This place is really nice, so we’re happy to be here, but it was still a stressful experience.  It’s a good thing we had planned on eating in tonight, because by the time we got here it was almost 9:00pm!

All in all, it was a great day.  Seligman turned out to be a great surprise and we had a wonderful afternoon there.  I just hope that tomorrow, in the light of day, Needles, California is just as wonderful!

Before I close, I want to give a “shout out” to our dear friend, Artie, who is recovering from surgery.  It was great to talk to you today, Artie, and we hope you are feeling MUCH better REAL soon!

DESERT VIEW RV RESORT was different than any other RV resort we’ve stayed at in all 9 weeks on the road.  If we get to a campground late, we usually fill out “night registration” and pay in the morning at the office, which is located near the entrance.  In this case, we didn’t see the office, so we just drove around until we found an empty space and parked.  This morning a guy on a golf cart drove up to us and asked us when we arrived last night (8:30pm).  Eric told him I was going to go to the office on our way out, and he told Eric there was no office and they come to your site to get your information and payment.  Such service!

When he came back, he had a woman in the golf cart with him.  She had a clipboard.  She got out, approached the RV and I got out to greet her.  I tried to hand her my charge card, but she told me that they only take cash or personal checks.  That seemed very strange to me, but I paid her and filled out the form she had.  She gave me my copy and they left.  It struck us both as so strange that they don’t have an office and they don’t take credit cards.  Doesn’t seem very business-like, does it?  Anyway, the accommodations were very nice!

We had breakfast at a place called WAGON WHEEL RESTAURANT in Needles, on Historic Route 66.   Needles is called “The Gateway to California,” because you have to pass through it to enter California on I-40 or Historic Route 66.

After a hearty breakfast, we headed out of town to BARSTOW, which was just over an hour away.  It was a cute, little town.  We gassed up ($3.49 a gallon – by far, the most we’ve paid this entire trip), got Starbucks (yeah!) and then drove around a little.

I noticed that there were lots of beautiful murals on the walls of the businesses in town.  This one in particular attracted my eye.  It depicted the military in the 1850s using camels, because they could cross the desert with only a drink every couple of days.  When the Civil War started, they gave up on the camels.  Interesting, eh?

Here are some other interesting facts about BARSTOW:
Route 66 ran through Barstow and the town's name is mentioned in the lyrics to the song, "Route 66" and in the Black Eyed Peas song "Like That" as Will.I.Am. raps that he "(has) a style that's way out like Barstow" commenting on Barstow's distance from the BEP's home city of Los Angeles. Barstow is also mentioned in Hunter S. Thompson's novel "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," in Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill Vol. II," and in numerous other films and television shows.

I saw an Antique Mall, so Eric read his book while I shopped for about a half hour.  I saw lots of cute stuff, but nothing that I had to have.

We drove on to SAN BERNARDINO.  There were several exits off I-40 for the city, and we didn’t know which one was best, so we just got off one exit and started driving around.  First we drove through a really nice business district, where we saw courthouses, a beautiful library, etc.  Then, we hit a not-so-nice neighborhood, so we kept driving.  We entered a nicer neighborhood, with lots of stores on a major thoroughfare.  Nothing special.

Here’s SAN BERNARDINO’S biggest claim to fame -- did you know the entire McDonald’s empire started in good old San Bernardino?

1948 - On December 12, siblings Richard and Maurice McDonald convert their "barbecue" restaurant on "E" Street into a fast food restaurant, McDonald's, by introducing their Speedee Service System. Glen Bell, inspired by their success opens Bell's Hamburgers on the corner of Oak and Mount Vernon Avenues. Bell would later open Taco Tia at Base Line and Acacia in 1954, El Taco, and in 1962, Taco Bell in Downey, California.

1952 - Neal Baker, a friend of Glen Bell's and an admirer of the McDonalds', opens the first Bakers' Drive Thru. This local chain now has 35 stores in the Inland Empire.

1961 - Dick and Mac McDonald sell Ray Kroc business rights to their restaurants for $2.7 million dollars; they retain the original McDonald’s as "The Big M." Kroc opens a McDonalds across the street. Today, the Kroc restaurant remains boarded up, the original McDonalds was demolished, though a McDonalds museum exists at the original site (with a building built in the 1970s), which is run by Albert Okura, founder of the local chicken chain, Juan Pollo.”

I’m sure there are wonderful places to visit in San Bernardino, but we weren’t able to find them tonight and it was getting late, so we headed south about 8 miles to GRAND TERRACE to the TERRACE VILLAGE RV PARK.

We’ll ask the people at the office tomorrow morning where we should go to enjoy the best of San Bernardino.

Yesterday, when we were in San Bernardino, Eric started to freak out a little.  He didn’t like San Bernardino at all.  There was a lot of litter on the streets, the neighborhoods we saw (while only a small part of the city) were not that great, and it was very flat and “desert like” – very few trees, small shrubs, and lots of dirt and sand.

He also expressed his fear that mountain biking in San Diego will be unfulfilling compared to New York, where there were beautiful parks and forests to ride through.  He loves the mountains and trees – think Upstate New York.  The truth is, Eric really moved more for me than for him.  He could have stayed in New York and dealt with the cold much better than me.  He doesn’t like the ice and snow, but he doesn’t mind the cold like I do.  I HATE the cold.  I was the one who really wanted to get away from the cold and San Diego seemed like the perfect place for us.  He's happy about the climate, and likes the fact that it's pretty mountainous.  I’m hoping that he will see that the mountain biking in San Diego can be just as great, even though the terrain is a little different.

He said he was afraid that San Diego would be the same as the parts of San Bernardino we visited.  I assured him that San Diego was FABULOUS.  That it was a paradise.  That he would LOVE it.  But, he wanted to see for himself.  So, we decided to head there today.  We were only a few hours away.   It was a fast drive.

We got here around 2:00pm and drove into HILLCREST, (Metro San Diego’s hippest community). a lovely area with lots of great restaurants and stores.  It’s also the residential and commercial hub of San Diego’s gay and lesbian community (no wonder it’s such a hip neighborhood!).

We went into a sushi restaurant, but they were closed.  Turns out, they close at 2:30pm and reopen at 5:00pm.  Weird, huh?  We went across the street to a Thai restaurant, called TASTE OF THAI. Turns out they close at 3:00pm, but they were willing to serve us.  What is UP with that?  In New York, restaurants may not open for lunch, but if they DO they usually stay open through dinner.  Does anyone know of a restaurant in New York that closes between lunch and dinner?  I told Eric we have VERY bad luck with that, because we have gone into a few restaurants on our trip that closed just as we entered!

Anyway, our lunch specials at TASTE OF THAI were delicious.  I had the Shrimp in Chili Sauce (very spicy).  Eric had the Chicken with Peanut Sauce (spinach and cabbage with coconut milk peanut sauce).  Both meals came with soup, tossed green salad, spring roll and fried wontons.  They were very nice and didn’t rush us at all, although we are very fast eaters!

After lunch we walked around town, looking in the windows of some stores, and shopping in others.  BLUESTOCKING BOOKS is a fantastic bookstore with so many great cards, postcards, magnets and, of course, books!  The woman behind the counter was so friendly and we all ended up talking for about a half hour.  We told her we were soon settling in San Diego and she told us we would be very happy.  I was so happy she said that, because I know Eric is nervous about it all.

This is the fabulous logo for WEAR IT AGAIN SAM:

I bought a few things in the bookstore, and then wandered into a place called WEAR IT AGAIN SAM, a classic vintage clothing store.  It’s a good thing I didn’t have time to try things on, because they had FABULOUS vintage dresses.  Eric promised me we’d go back soon.

A few doors down there was a STARBUCKS and after getting an iced latte, we headed back to the car and I turned on the computer to find a campground.  We found a place just 8 miles away called CAMPLAND ON THE BAY, which was voted 2006 Best Campground in San Diego.  Considering there are over 40 campgrounds in San Diego, I guess that’s saying a lot.

Turns out, it’s really fabulous and we’re about 50 feet away from Mission Bay.  They rent boats, quads, skates and bikes and have all kinds of activities like yoga, aerobics, and horseshoes.  If we were staying longer, I would try to catch a class or two!

After registering and checking out our site, we left to go into the GASLAMP QUARTER, which is a really hot spot in San Diego.  It’s kind of like the French Quarter in New Orleans, or Beale Street in Memphis, but much more refined (although I’m sure not as colorful or as much fun).  We couldn’t find a spot for over a half hour, and they wouldn’t let us park in the outdoor parking lot, so we didn’t get to eat in one of the many, many restaurants, or window shop at all the art galleries.  I’m sure it was very expensive and I told Eric this was definitely a place to bring friends when they come to visit us!

We left the GASLAMP QUARTER frustrated, but happy that at least we had seen it.  We headed back towards the campground and found a fabulous SUSHI restaurant that was still open on a Monday night at 8:30pm and had a delicious meal.  HAIKU JAPANESE RESTAURANT was hopping and they had a big-screen TV, so Eric could watch the football game.  Sushi and football.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

We were back at the campground in 5 minutes and Eric said he was going to go for a night ride along the bay.  That was almost an hour ago and he’s been talking to our “neighbor” ever since!  Turns out the guy just bought a mountain bike, so Eric’s been in his glory, showing him all the “armor” he uses, and giving him tips.

I’ve been watching HEROES and blogging.  The blog is something I really enjoy.  I enjoy working on the computer, and it’s also nice to go back through our day, remembering what we did, and documenting the places we visited.  Sometimes I have lots of pictures, but I didn’t take any today.

I told my friend Katie, who is also my webmaster (she designed my website for PEPPY'S DREAM  and my blog) that I am so grateful to have this record of our trip.  I never kept a diary or a journal, so this is new to me, but already Eric and I are already forgetting places we’ve gone or things we’ve done and the blog is a great resource.

Katie is a multi-talented artist.  She designs rugs and is also a jazz singer, amongst other things.  She’s what I would call a Bohemian, who just happens to often work in the corporate world.  We met when we both worked for Price Waterhouse, but the corporate world didn’t suit either one of us very well and it drew us to each other.  I quit to open my shop, and she quit to go out on her own.  I was so lucky to get Katie to design my website, because she usually works with big corporate clients, but loves to design websites for artists, photographers, designers, etc.  She has her own blog and talked about our cross-country journey in today’s entry.  I thought you might want to check it out, so here’s the link: (http://www.coloraddict.com.).  You can also look at her rug designs (http://KatieUlanov.com), her communications and design website (http://NonlinearNYC.com), or her band (http://WEEPwithKatie.com).  I told you she was multi-talented!

Eric seems to like what we've seen of San Diego so far.  He enjoyed the trendy neighborhoods we visited, and was happy to see how clean and well-maintained it was.  Although he is not completely won over yet, he says he feels better about our move.  (I'm happy to hear that, as I'm not ready to go back to New York!)

Tomorrow we are heading to the San Diego Zoo.  It’s kind of nice to be tourists here, before we actually move here.  I’m sure when we get here in a few weeks we’ll be too busy finding an apartment, unpacking, and settling in to do much sightseeing, so this is our big chance!

We got a late start this morning, because I wanted to do a few loads of laundry in the fancy Laundromat at our campground.  They’ve got a big-screen TV!

After the laundry was done, Eric and I drove to MISSION HILLS, another cool neighborhood in San Diego, which is actually very close to HILLCREST.  We saw a bike shop and decided to stop, so Eric could ask them about local mountain biking and maybe buy a map of the trails.  The owner of MISSION HILLS BICYCLES, Eryn Pecka was really great.  He spoke to us for about 20 minutes, explaining the nature of San Diego mountain biking.  It is very different from New York as San Diego is, basically, a desert, so there are no trees.  He said there is lots of great, challenging mountain-biking in and around San Diego, but it’s not the same kind of terrain Eric’s used to.

Eric is kind of in a state of shock.  I guess he just didn’t think about it enough before we left and now it’s hitting him really hard.  The reality of it all is upon him and he doesn’t know if he can cope with the change.  He spoke of buying a motorcycle, because he said that would be more fun to ride around town than road riding.  He spoke about driving a car a couple of hours north to find mountain biking in a more familiar atmosphere.  He talked a lot, and I listened.  I tried to tell him that if San Diego is not going to make him happy, we could go somewhere else, just as long as it doesn’t get cold!  I’m not stuck on San Diego.  I picked it because it seemed like the perfect place for both of us, but – if it’s not – I’ll go anywhere he wants.  I just want him to be happy!  I think Eric’s just having a mini-meltdown and will be fine, but who knows?

After a fast lunch at a Mexican restaurant we went to the SAN DIEGO ZOO.

These gorillas were so cute.  The husband was grooming the wife.  Can you see how her elbow is resting on her knee?  Such a human pose! 

This funny-looking bird had the most gorgeous blue feathers!

It was really fun and we saw so many great exhibits.  When we visited the DENVER ZOO we weren’t able to see the gorillas, monkeys and orangutans, so we made sure to see them all today.  They were fabulous!  Such personalities!  The mothers with their babies were the cutest, but there was one gorilla who really made everyone laugh.

There was a big crowd at the big glass exhibit and they were playing, sitting, eating, and napping.  All of a sudden, one of the gorillas came right up to the glass.  It was a photo opportunity and everyone got their cameras ready.  What did the gorilla do?  He sat right down with his BACK right up against the glass, so no one could get a good picture of him.  He was RIGHT there, but he knew we wanted to see his face and he purposely put his back to us.  He was teasing us!  Everyone laughed so hard, because we all knew how smart he was and that he got us all!

It's hard to tell, but this is a sleeping panda bear!

Eric said his favorites were the Malayan Tapirs (again).  This time they weren’t swimming, so we got to see them walking around.  They really are the strangest looking animals, and their coloring makes them look like they’re wearing white underwear!  Too bad I wasn't able to get a picture!

This gorilla was so serene.  He just sat in the same position for a while and looked like he was meditating or doing yoga!

Eric also loves the Birds of Prey – the eagles and the condors.  They’re so regal!  The pandas were adorable, but they were both taking a nap, and the baby is only on a web cam so far, because it’s just a few weeks old!

It's hard to see the birds in the picture, below, but the landscaping is so gorgeous, I thought I'd show it to you anyway!

The reptile house is great, but the biggest challenge is finding the snakes and lizards, because they really blend into their environments so perfectly!

The Pink Flamingos are simply Devine!

The hippos were adorable and you can see them underwater, where they spend most of their time. 

We left the zoo at closing time and drove around San Diego, looking at more neighborhoods.  They all seem nice and probably expensive!  We haven’t seen a bad neighborhood yet, but we haven’t driven that far.

We went back to HILLCREST to ARRIVEDERCI RISTORANTE (Nouvelle Italian Cuisine) for dinner.  The place was packed.  We started by sharing a Mushroom soup, which was just pureed mushrooms with seasonings to die for.  We loved it!  We also shared a Trecolori Fantastica salad, which had radicchio, arugala, Belgium endive, walnuts, goat cheese and a house vinaigrette dressing.

For dinner, Eric had the Pollo Millegusti, chicken breast stuffed with imported cheese and spinach in a wild mushroom sauce.  I had the spaghetti with lobster, shrimp and mushrooms in a pink sauce.  It was so good.  We had a piece of chocolate mousse cake to finish off a delightful meal.  I would definitely recommend this restaurant!

After dinner we drove around a little bit more and Eric was able to get us back to the campground without using our GPS system.  I was impressed, because I had no idea how to go and he only did it once before!  He said he’s learning this town like the back of his hand!

We have no plans for tomorrow, but will probably drive around and see more neighborhoods in the area.  I’m hoping Eric will fall in love with San Diego and see that it really is the place for us.   If not, I’ve already told him I will go wherever he goes.  We’re a team!

As Albert Hammond wrote in 1972,
“Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya
It pours, man it pours.”

We got a VERY late start today.  We slept until 11:00am.  Can you believe it?  I guess it was partly because we knew we were staying at the campground another 2 days and didn’t have to worry about check out (which is usually 11:00am).  Also, it was raining early this morning (yes – raining!).  It has rained twice since we’ve been here, but both times it was in the middle of the night, or in the morning before we got up.  It’s kind of like Florida rain.  It starts out cloudy and wet, but then the sun comes out and it’s another gorgeous day!

We didn’t leave the campground until 3:00pm.  We decided to drive to some new neighborhoods, but first we went to RALPHS supermarket (first in California™) on Mission Boulevard.  We only needed to pick up a few necessities – like bottled water, laundry detergent and cereal, but it’s so frustrating, because of course we see other stuff we’d like to buy, but we either can’t fit it in the RV, or it needs to be kept refrigerated and our fridge is so “iffy” that we can’t take a chance.

After shopping, I walked around the corner to STARBUCKS (there are a LOT of them here – wheeeeeeeee!).  Then, we took a drive up La Jolla Boulevard.  It was pretty and the houses were nice, but we weren’t that impressed.

So far, HILLCREST is our favorite neighborhood.  Hillcrest just turned 100!  They had a lot of wonderful celebratory events, but they all ended before we got here!

We decided to head to Hillcrest (where else) for dinner and chose NAMI SUSHI BAR & FUSION JAPANESE RESTAURANT.  They have a HAPPY HOUR Monday through Wednesday from 5-7pm with ½ price on selected sushi rolls!  We started with two Miso Soups and got two rolls from the ½ price list and one "White Dragon" special roll.  They were all delicious and, because they were very busy and the rolls took a while to come, they gave us a free bowl of edamame.  I thought that was SO sweet!

Ater dinner we walked around the neighborhood.  In our three trips around Hillcrest, I have noticed three or four shops that sell vintage clothing which say “BUY SELL TRADE.”  Some of them are more costume-y places, which are hot right now, since Halloween is just two weeks away.  The other places have real vintage clothing, but most of it is 70s and newer, and I prefer 60s and older.  The only place I’ve seen so far that really excited me was WEAR IT AGAIN SAM, which had older, more elegant clothing and jewelry.  I can’t wait to go back there and shop!

We decided to find a place for dessert and had several choices, but then we saw CORVETTE DINER BAR & GRILL.  It was fabulous!  They have a DJ nightly and great entertainment, including a magician on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Dan the Balloon Man on Friday and Saturday nights. 

The entire diner is TOTALLY filled with 1950s memorabilia and collectibles.  The front is all black/white/pink (which I adore) and the hostesses are dressed in poodle skirts and saddle shoes.  There’s a soda fountain on the left with all the seats to sit at the counter.  On the right were a bunch of tables with formica tops and chrome chairs. 

We walked through to the back, which is black/white/red and were surrounded by Marilyn, Elvis, and Coca-Cola.  There was even a real yellow Corvette in the middle of the floor.  All the waiters, waitresses, hostesses and bartenders are in 50s uniforms, and all look adorable.  We sat in a fabulous booth in the middle of all the fun, and our waitress, Lulu was a doll.  We got an ELVIS SHAKE (banana, peanut butter, marshmallow all shook up (uh huh huh) and a piece of Giant Chocolate Fudge Fantasy Cake (rich and moist with creamy fudge frosting).  It was so much that we only tasted the cake and took the rest home and just finished the shake, which was FABULOUS with pieces of peanuts and banana blended into it). 

When we were finished, we were about to leave, but Lulu told us we had to stay, because the staff was going to dance.  We sat back down and watched them all line up and do a line dance.  They also invited all the kids to come up and they did and participated in the dance (and did a great job, too!).  It was a lot of fun and we promised we’d return soon.

When we got back to the RV, Eric and I did a lot of research on the computer, finding local and nearby places to mountain bike.  He was encouraged by the reviews we read (from other mountain bikers) and found some of the places on the map.  We will do more investigating by going to more mountain bike shops and driving to some of the parks to see the trails.

Eric is feeling more positive about the mountain biking situation, which of course makes me feel better.  I just want him to be happy.  That is of the utmost importance to me.  Nothing else really matters much, besides Eric.  He is my everything.

The last couple of days were very tense, because I felt like I let him down and I felt he was disappointed.  I think he was just really nervous.  I can’t explain why I’m not nervous about moving here.  I guess it’s because I require so little.  I need a place to live, a place to work, and Eric (and Starbucks).  That’s all I really need.  I know I can find a yoga studio, or an antique shop anywhere.  I’ve already found vintage shops I like and a neighborhood that’s fun to walk around.  It doesn’t take much to make me happy.  I just want him to be happy.

The first thing we did today was go to a local bike shop called BICYCLE WAREHOUSE (“It’s your world.  Ride it!”) on Santa Fe Street.

This place really is a warehouse – it’s huge and filled with everything a mountain biker or road rider could possibly want.  A young man named Kellen spoke to Eric for a while, telling him about his experiences with San Diego mountain biking and Eric bought two books: SAN DIEGO MOUNTAIN BIKE GUIDE by Daniel Greenstadt, and MOUNTAIN BIKING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S BEST 100 TRAILS (second edition) edited by Delaine Fragnoli and Don Douglass.

Kellen showed Eric a bulletin board where people looking for someone to ride with can post their names and numbers, and where group rides are announced.  Kellen said group rides start out from the bike shop and end back there, so it’s really convenient.  Eric was happy to learn all of this.  I think it’s finally sinking in that he will have all the riding he needs right here, or very close by.

After we left the bike shop we drove a few miles to a restaurant called HOMETOWN BUFFET in Clairemont.  It was one of those all-you-can-eat places, but it is remarkably cheap compared to New York.  Lunch is $8.26 per person (including tax – no tips).  They only have breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.  Otherwise, it’s open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.  Dinner is just a dollar or so more than lunch.  If you’re a big eater, it’s definitely a bargain.  We noticed it was mostly seniors, and thought that maybe there was a senior residence close by.  Eric and I never heard of Hometown Buffet before, but now we’ve seen 2 or 3 commercials on TV, so I guess it’s a pretty popular place here.  I have since learned it’s a chain and there are locations all over the U.S.!

Me and the Sea Otter!

We were stuffed when we left and headed straight to SEAWORLD.  We were shocked to find out it was $57 per person, after already paying $15 to park the RV.  I don’t know how families can afford it.  We didn’t realize it was an amusement park with various rides, and also had many “attractions” and “shows.”

SHAMU: BELIEVE:

DOLPHIN DISCOVERY:

We saw THE SHAMU SHOW: BELIEVE and DOLPHIN DISCOVERY, each of which was about a half hour long.  We walked around a lot, visiting SHARK ENCOUNTER, ROCKY POINT PRESERVE, WILD ARCTIC, PENGUIN ENCOUNTER, FORBIDDEN REEF, and ANHEUSER-BUSCH HOSPITALITY CENTER (visiting with the Clydesdales in their stables).  We didn’t go on any of the rides.  One ride was closed, due to “wind conditions.”  The others got you wet, and we weren’t dressed for it.

SHARK ENCOUNTER:

PENGUINS!

Since we didn’t get there until almost 2:00pm, we missed some of the attractions.  There was some kind of show called PETS RULE with dogs, and we missed the CLYDESDALE show (but we did get to see them up close and personal in their stalls, even though we didn’t have carrots with us (darn!).  The Clydesdales are SO huge.  It's amazing.  I've always thought horses were big animals, but the Clydesdales are so big they make regular horses look like ponies!

The MANATEE exhibit was closed for the day, which was very disappointing, because I think they’re so cute.

The lonely polar bear:

My favorite part was the walrus in the underwater tank, because he was so funny and I really think he was trying to make everyone laugh, although I could be wrong.  He had pieces of fish in his mouth and he kept spitting them out, right up against the glass, and then sucking them all in again.  Eric said maybe that’s how he gets all the flavor out of the fish, but I doubt if that’s what they do in their natural habitat, since they don’t have many glass walls in the ocean!  Anyway, he was HUGE – I mean they’re literally the size of an elephant but with stumpy little legs.  Their tusks are at least a foot long and their “moustaches” are about 8 inches long.

The comic walrus:

The Clydesdales and the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Center:

Eric’s favorite part was the stingray pool, where you could actually pet the stingrays.  They’re so sweet and come right up to you for some lovin’.  They’re so silky soft and smooth.  The dolphins also come right up to you, but stay just far enough away so you can’t pet them.  When you make eye contact with the dolphins, they just look so intelligent.  I wish I could swim with the dolphins.  I’m not much of a swimmer, but I’d just love to give a dolphin a hug!  I also wanted to hug the polar bear, because he really looked lonely and a little depressed.  Eric said they’re very solitary animals, so maybe it’s just their personality.

We stayed until they made us leave at 5:30pm and it took us about 6 minutes to get back to the campground.  No matter where we go (Hillcrest, Mission Hill, SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, La Jolla, Pacific Beach) we always seem to be just 10-15 minutes from where we started!  We came back to the campground and I took a nap while Eric read through his bicycle books and studied his maps.   He woke me at 8:00pm and we got dressed and went out to dinner.

We drove around to what we thought was a new neighborhood.  There were lots of tattoo shops, a few bicycle shops, a lot of head shops (selling flavored tobaccos and bongs) and thrift shops and resale shops.  It was very young and very cool.  We parked and walked around, looking for a restaurant.  There are more sushi restaurants than any other kind in San Diego.  Just sushi restaurant after sushi restaurant.  We looked at one restaurant and realized it was HAIKU SUSHI, where we had ended up on Monday night!  We thought we had driven to a new neighborhood, but were back where we started on Monday night!

We decided to go back to HAIKU SUSHI, but would get hot dishes, instead of sushi.  We started with three appetizers: Soft shell crab (deep fried Japanese style), Shumai (steamed shrimp dumplings), and Deep fried stuffed jalapeno peppers.  Then, we shared an entrée of Seafood Yakisoba (a Japanese noodle dish).  Everything was so good.  We finished with Fried Green Tea Ice Cream (again).  It was so good last time, how could we resist?

After dinner, we walked around the neighborhood and ended up in a place called THE HIGH ROAD LIFESTYLE STORE (2,500 feet of the coolest Sh-t @ the beach).  The guy had a few piercings on his face and had little rhinestones glued on the outer sides of his eyes.  He was definitely a hippie, 2007 style.  He and Eric talked while I walked around the shop.  There were t-shirts, bicycles, wet suits, bongs (quality hand-blown glass), and lots of other items I couldn’t really identify.  It was a weird combination of merchandise, to say the least.  He was telling Eric how wonderful San Diego is.

He said he has lived in a lot of different cities (he’s originally from Omaha, Nebraska and spent some time in Scottsdale, Arizona), and he said San Diego has everything going for it.  He was very sweet and positive and said we should move to PACIFIC BEACH, because it’s such a great neighborhood with lots of college kids.  I pointed out to him that we were too old, but he insisted we would love it there and said there were lots of families on his block.  He said we should rent a house, instead of an apartment (which seemed like a great idea to Eric).  I promised him we’d look into it!

We arrived back at the campground just in time to watch Jerry Seinfeld on Jay Leno.  It was a great day in San Diego.  We are leaving tomorrow to head towards Las Vegas.  We will probably spend the night in Hesperia, California tomorrow night at DESERT WILLOW RV PARK.

I really didn’t want to leave San Diego this morning.  I have fallen in love.  It’s no surprise, because I knew I would love it.  I’m just surprised at how fast it happened.  It’s growing on Eric, too.  He really enjoyed our time there.  He liked the restaurants, the stores, the views, the neighborhoods, and visiting various bicycle shops.  He just hasn’t taken that big step of riding yet.  I guess he wants to wait until we get back in a few weeks.

We ate breakfast in and checked out of the RV park at noon.  I had a project I wanted to do, and Eric was game.  The whole time we’ve been in San Diego, I had noticed these big metal boxes on street corners that were hand-painted with different themes.  Eric told me they were transformer boxes, which contain the electrical circuits and wiring for houses and apartments. 

Here's an unpainted transformer box.  Pretty ugly, eh?

I eventually found out they were all in Pacific Beach (or “PB” as it’s called by the locals).  This beautification of something inherently ugly really appealed to me.  So, I decided to drive around and photograph as many as I could, before we headed out of town.  As you can see, the art is not necessarily museum-worthy, but makes the corners more interesting, more beautiful, and definitely more whimsical!

The first one I ever saw was just around the corner from our campground.  It's also my favorite -- the mermaid with the heart! 

After photographing a lot of the boxes, we parked on Garnet Avenue, one of our favorite streets in PB, and had lunch at a place called CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, which is a chain serving fresh, delicious Mexican fast food.  You get on line and choose a burrito, fajita burrito, burrito bowl (no tortilla) tacos or salad.  Then you choose chicken, steak, carnitas (pork), barbacoa (shredded beef), or vegetarian (they had no seafood).  Then they add one of four salsas (mild to hot), sour cream, cheese, peppers, shredded lettuce, onions, and you can add extras (chips and salsa, guacamole) and a drink.

I got the Burrito Bowl with everything but meat.  It starts with cilantro-lime rice, choice of pinto or vegetarian black beans, and then I added on all the goodies.  Eric got three crispy corn tortillas with chicken and all the extras.  It was all yummy and I can definitely see myself having a bowl once a week when I get back to San Diego

We headed to our next stop – Hesperia, California!  Eric and I both said it sounds like something out of a Greek myth, and we were right!  HESPERIA is defined as “one of the Hesperides” (really explains it all doesn’t it?).  Actually, they’re “nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in Libya, or on a distant blessed island at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean.”  Who knew?  Anyway, HESPERIA is a small town in California,  which is not far from San Bernardino.  We are on our way to Vegas to meet our friends, Geri and Larry, and see my cousin, Audrey.  We can’t wait!

We got the last site at DESERT WILLOW RV RESORT, so we were feeling really lucky!    We checked out our site, relaxed for a while and then left to go get dinner.  The manager of the office told us there were a bunch of restaurants on one strip a few miles away. 

We passed by CHILIS and APPLEBEES (as we try to avoid the chains we had in New York at all costs) and decided to go to THE ROADHOUSE GRILL STEAKHOUSE & SALOON.  They have locations all over California, but I had never seen one before.  They have big barrels of peanuts in the waiting area (and we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table), and buckets of peanuts on each table.  Everyone throws the peanut shells on the floor, so it’s a big, fun, mess.

We started with the Jalapeno Artichoke Dip.  I got the Garlic Citrus Trout and Eric got the Grilled Chicken Sandwich.  We were so full we didn’t get dessert.  I know it’s a shock, but we’ve both been eating SO much and VERY rarely pass on dessert.

By the way, in case you haven’t noticed from the pictures I’ve posted on the blog, I am officially fat.  I know you may not believe it.  You think I’m exaggerating, because I’ve gained and lost weight before, but I’m not kidding – I’m fat.  Even Eric says so.  He has no qualms about saying so.  It doesn't hurt my feelings, because I know it’s true.  It almost doesn't seem real, because no one I know has seen me (until we get to VEGAS).  The people who I meet every day don't know I used to be thinner.  So, it doesn't really make me feel as fat as I would if I was this heavy back in New York.  I know I've gained weight, even though I haven't stepped on a scale, because I don’t fit into some of my clothes, and I just feel different.

I don’t know how different I look, because the only mirror in the RV lets me see myself from the chest up, so it's hard to get an overall view.  There are very rarely full length mirrors in the campground bathrooms and, even when there are, it’s not like I can examine my naked fatness without fearing that someone will walk in.  I had floor to ceiling mirrors in the bathroom in my house, and also on the closet doors in my bedroom, so I know what I USED to look like.  I can only imagine what I look like now.  I don’t really want to see.

I’m sure I’ve gained at least 10 pounds since we left on vacation.  Ten pounds on a 5 foot frame is a LOT of weight.  You do the math.  I don’t think it happened slowly or gradually, either.  I think I gained 5 pounds the first 2 weeks we were on the road and 5 pounds the second 2 weeks and I have just been gaining minimally since then.  I’m not the only one.  Eric gained weight, too, but he’s so thin that it’s hardly noticeable.  But it’s VERY noticeable on me.  I don’t like it.  Believe me.  I hate the way I feel, but it’s just too hard to do anything about it right now.  I’m not the type to start jogging around the campground every morning, or riding my bicycle up a mountain.  Eric’s not even riding his bicycle.

We could start skipping meals, or eating just salads, but we both feel like we're still on vacation, albeit the longest vacation EVER, and we're still enjoying discovering new restaurants.  Let’s face it – we LOVE to eat out!  We’ve both resigned ourselves to being fat and out of shape until we get settled in San Diego.  We’re hoping (very optimistically) that being back in a normal environment will help us to get back in shape by working out, eliminating desserts, making better food choices, and getting back into a routine.  I’m looking forward to taking yoga classes again, and want to ride my bicycle more, too.  I’m hoping all the unpacking, cleaning and organizing will help, too!  I think I will lose weight as soon as I stop sitting in the passenger seat of an RV for hours a day, and do more than walk around a zoo!  I just have to be fat for a few more weeks.  Bear with me!

Anyway, enough about me!  We will be leaving here tomorrow and should hit Las Vegas.  Even though I have no interest in gambling, I’ve always wanted to go to Vegas.  It’s just another colorful, fun place to visit!

We left DESERT WILLOW RV RESORT and got on the road to Vegas.  We had a fun three-hour ride, listening to CDs, making fun of town names (like YERMO) and just enjoying the beautiful, sunny day.

We arrived at the LAS VEGAS KOA at CIRCUS CIRCUS campground, registered, went to our site and immediately took a nap.  We wanted to wake up refreshed and ready for VEGAS!!!  We took showers, got dressed and got a golf cart shuttle (free) to the Circus Circus North Entrance.  From there, we walked around the strip, but it was unusually windy today in Vegas and it was REALLY uncomfortable to walk.  The wind was blowing sand in our eyes, and even in our mouths!  I had the hood on my sweatshirt pulled tight around my face and was walking with my head down, so I could avoid the wind as much as possible.  We stopped at the first casino after CIRCUS CIRCUS, which was the RIVIERA.

We walked around the casino a lot, looking in the souvenir shops, boutiques and watching people play all the games.  We remembered how much we DON’T like gambling OR casinos!  Eric commented that no one was smiling.  They're so intent on whatever game they're playing.  Some of the people sitting at the slot machines seem to be in a trance.  It's kind of depressing.

We went to the buffet for dinner, which was good, and then we walked around some more.  The only game we enjoyed in Atlantic City (23 years ago) and Verona (this past August) (and which we did well playing) was the money wheel, so we decided to try it again.  We only played $20 and managed to sit there for almost 45 minutes before it ran out.  At one point we were up over $50, and I wanted to quit, (see how much of a gambler I am?) but that was after only about 10 minutes, and Eric wanted to keep playing.  After another half hour it was gone, but we had a lot of fun losing it!

After that we saw a WHEEL OF FORTUNE slot game that was only 5 cents a play and they took dollar bills, so we sat and played that game for a few minutes.  I thought I’d be really lucky, because I was on WHEEL OF FORTUNE, but it didn’t work out that way.  Surprising, huh?
Then, we saw another slot machine where the big prize was a Harley Davidson Motorcycle and I wanted to win that for Eric, so we played that game, too!  No such luck.

By now it was only 10:30pm and we had only been out for about 3 hours, but we had had enough and walked all the way back to the campground (going through the CIRCUS CIRCUS casino, which allowed us to walk most of the way indoors).

The bottom line is -- we were never big fans of Atlantic City.  It didn’t thrill us when we visited TURNING POINT CASINO in Verona.  So it is no big surprise that Vegas isn’t our cup of tea.  The only reason we came here was to see our cousin, Audrey, and meet up with our friends, Geri and Larry, and we’re really looking forward to that.  We will do a lot of sightseeing and just enjoy their company.  We’re just not into the whole casino scene and everything that goes with it – gambling, drinking, etc.

Tomorrow we’ll drive around in the RV and see all the sights up and down the strip.

We really slept in today.  We didn’t even get out of bed until after noon.  We took showers, ate in, and then I did three loads of laundry in the campground Laundromat, which was right next to their fabulous store.  I got a Mocha Granita (which is a sugary slushie drink) and made some phone calls while I waited for the laundry to finish.

New York, New York:

I spoke to our friend, Artie,  He said we have to stop thinking of Las Vegas as a place to gamble, and think of it as a giant theme park.  He said to visit NEW YORK, NEW YORK and PARIS, the LUXOR PYRAMID and some of the fancy hotels, just to see the sights.  He also recommended the car museum, which Eric will love.

I spoke to our friend, Jimmy.  He said we have to go to see some of the shows and also recommended the LIBERACE MUSEUM, which he said was fabulous.  I really want to see that, but Eric’s not very enthusiastic.  I’ll see how Geri and Larry feel about it!

After the laundry was done, Eric took me over to the strip where I had seen a sign for the LAS VEGAS NAIL SALON AND SPA.  I didn’t know if they would be able to accommodate me, but I really needed a pedicure!  The place was super fancy (like most Las Vegas establishments!) with lots of mirrors, gold-framed pictures and massage pedicure chairs in a circle in the middle.  They were able to take me right away and I got a pedicure by Nancy, which was the absolute best I’ve had since I left New York.  She gave me a reflexology massage on my feet that had me in heaven.  After that, she tweezed and shaped my eyebrows, and I would have gotten a manicure, too, but I didn’t have time before we had to go meet our cousin, Audrey, for dinner.

We met Audrey a few miles from the strip at SAMMY’S WOODFIRED PIZZA.  It’s one of her favorite places and it sounded right up our alley.  We shared an appetizer of hummus (garbanzo beans, lemon, tahini, and garlic with grilled herb flat bread), a Margherita pizza (a classic with roma tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil), and the grilled shrimp salad (mixed greens, bell peppers, roma tomatoes, feta cheese, roasted sunflower seeds, scallions, cilantro, grilled garlic shrimp and balsamic basil dressing).  It was all so good and the salad was fantastic.  I love a chopped salad with lots of great stuff.

We decided to go for a ride in the RV to DAIRY QUEEN for dessert (but Audrey passed – I hate her for her discipline!).  I got a small peanut butter shake and Eric got a “Butterscotch Dilly” which was an ice cream popsicle with a butterscotch shell.

It was so great to see Audrey again.  It had been a couple of years since we had seen her (when she was in New York) but it’s as if we saw each other yesterday.  We know each other so well, and it’s always comfortable and easy.  Audrey is so funny, so she’s a lot of fun to be around.  She had us laughing and was telling us stories about Vegas, but also gave us lots of good advice about places to go and things to do.

We were so lucky to have her here, because she works at THE STRATOSPHERE and was able to get Geri and Larry a great deal on a room.  She told us that CIRCUS CIRCUS KOA CAMPGROUND was a great place for us to stay, and has given us a lot of info on what to do and what to avoid.  She’s a great resource, and great company, too!

Since she had been on vacation in North Carolina and just got back to town yesterday, she was pretty exhausted, so we dropped her back at her car and then decided to drive around the strip to see more than we saw last night.  We went all the way down and came all the way back, so we got to see everything on the strip. 

It’s really fabulous to see all the lights, all the people (the streets were REALLY crowded tonight, because the weather was much better and there was no wind), and all the advertisements.  Most of the billboards are really electronic, so the pictures change and some of them are more like TVs or movie screens!  It’s very exciting to walk or drive down the strip.  We passed NEW YORK, NEW YORK, and PARIS, which I definitely want to see close-up.  It will be like being back in New York!  Well, maybe not exactly, but it will be close!

We returned to the campground and did some research on mountain biking in Las Vegas.  There’s a place called RED ROCK, which is just 20 miles away and we’re heading there tomorrow morning to see if Eric can get in a ride before we meet Geri and Larry tomorrow afternoon.

We got a very early start this morning (at least for us).  We drove the 20 miles to BIKE OUTPOST and arrived at around 9:45am.  Turns out, the bicycle store was closed, but there were a few guys meeting there to go out for a ride with a tour guide and Eric joined them!  Our timing was perfect!  If we had gotten there 5 minutes later, they would have been gone and Eric would not have known where to ride.

For some reason I was able to get minimal TV reception and watched OPRAH and THE PRICE IS RIGHT.  I have never been a fan of THE PRICE IS RIGHT, but I wanted to see how Drew Carey is doing.  He seems a little out of his element, but he’s a sweet guy, and I think he’ll get better.  I polished my nails (since I knew I wouldn’t have time for a manicure today and I really needed one).   I don’t do a very good job, but at least it’s fresh and there are no chips!  I also answered some emails and made some phone calls.

The bright and colorful decor at CIRCUS CIRCUS:

When Eric got back, we went back to the campground and took showers.  Geri and Larry arrived in the early afternoon. They are staying at THE STRATOSPHERE, which is right near our campground.  They picked us up at 4:00pm and we went over to CIRCUS CIRCUS to grab a fast bite.  We were meeting Audrey at her apartment tonight at 6:30pm to go out for sushi, so we didn’t want to eat much. 

Larry, Eric and our "Massage Guy," Chad:

We went to a Mexican/Italian place called MEXITALIA X-PRESS (how creative!) and Geri, Larry and I got Southwest Salads that came in a tortilla bowl.   Eric got a Caesar salad with grilled chicken.  Then, we walked around the hotel and saw the VITALITY AQUA MASSAGE (It’s time to feel good!), which I had seen the night before.  I wanted to wait for Geri and Larry to try it out. 

If you haven’t seen these at the mall, or in hotels, they look like tanning beds, but you lay, fully clothed, face down on a massage table and they close a lid on you.  There is high-pressure water jets that run up from your feet all the way to your neck and then back again – over and over.  There is a thin piece of plastic that covers your body, so you don’t get wet, but you feel the pressure of the jets.  It is SO relaxing.  It’s definitely not as good as a real massage, but – hey – it’s the next best thing.  It costs $15 for 7 minutes; $25 for 15 minutes.

Eric had a headache, so the guy working there put something on his neck called a “massage mouse.”  There are two wires that stick to your neck and then there’s a “mouse” that you turn on and it makes the muscles move through electronic impulses.  Eric really liked it, so he decided to buy one.  The guy said Eric could have a free 15 minute aqua massage with the purchase, so we decided we would all get a 15 minute aqua massage and he said he would just charge the three of us for the 7 minute aqua massage!

Eric and Larry went first and they both loved it.  Geri and I went next.  I was in heaven, but when I emerged 15 minutes later I saw that Geri had not had a massage after all.  She said as soon as she got in there she felt like she couldn’t breathe, it was hot, and she felt very uncomfortable, so Eric took her place and had ANOTHER 15 minute massage!  Unfortunately, all that (and 3 Advils from Audrey) did little to relieve Eric’s headache, which just continued to get worse and worse.

We went to pick up Audrey at her apartment and she gave us a tour.  It is such a cute condo and is exactly what Eric and I would love to have in San Diego.  It is in a lovely complex, her apartment is right on street level (no stairs), she has a parking spot, she’s got two nice-sized bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living room/dining room/kitchen area, and a fireplace!  Who could ask for anything more?

Audrey and Coco:

We left Audrey’s and went nearby to a place called NAKED-FISH’S SUSHI AND GRILL for dinner. We had a bunch of different rolls, and some other appetizers like Vegetable Tempura, Miso Soup and Seaweed Salad (which they call Chuka Salad).  One thing I love about sushi is that at every restaurant you go to the names are different.  It’s something that each individual sushi restaurant comes up with.  We tried all different rolls with great names like Déjà vu, Lisa Lisa, Roppongi, Skip Da Beat, and Naked Crab.  Audrey doesn’t go for the spicy stuff, like we do, but she enjoyed the less spicy fare!

Eric wasn’t able to enjoy it all as much as we did, because his headache was so bad.  We think it’s a combination of his ride this morning, because it’s so dry riding in the desert and you can get dehydrated so easily, and also the dryness affects his sinuses, which can cause a headache, too.  I know my allergies got bad again as soon as I hit Vegas and Larry said his sinuses were bothering him, too.  Anyway, we’re all hoping Eric’s better tomorrow , because we’ve got a LOT planned!

Geri and Larry:

It’s so great to have Audrey as a resource, because she’s been here for 18 years and knows all the best places to go and the best things to do.  Geri was so excited she was making a list!  We’re really going to be on the go for the next few days, and we’ll try to fit as much in as we can!

We had so much fun tonight.  It’s so great to see familiar faces again, because we haven’t seen friends or family in over a month.  Geri and Larry are two of our best friends, and we’re so happy to see them, and Audrey.  It makes our trip to Vegas so much more enjoyable!

I really want to tell you all about our fabulous day in Las Vegas.  We had such a great time and saw so many great sights, but foremost on our minds are the California wildfires.  We have cousins in Malibu and Los Angeles and also friends who live there, and we are praying that they are all okay and that they were not affected by the fires.

We had NO idea about the fires in San Diego until 5:30pm today.  We don’t have cable at this campground, but we do still get one channel (CBS).  We haven’t been watching much TV, because we were not in the RV a lot at all lately.  Since Sunday we’ve been with our cousin and our friends, and we haven’t read newspapers or heard anyone talking, so we just thought the fires were in Malibu, and that the smoke had blown down to San Diego.

Today, Audrey and Geri both told us that the fires were in San Diego, but we told them they were wrong, that it was just smoke.  They didn’t argue with us, because they figured we’d find out eventually and they didn’t want to ruin our day.  It’s a good thing, because when we found out what was going on in San Diego, our day WAS ruined!

First of all, Eric had a bad headache last night, but when he woke up this morning he felt better.  Geri and Larry picked us up at 9:30am and we went to THE OMELET HOUSE for breakfast.  It’s a really fun restaurant, because they have antique curios and display cases all over the restaurant with great ceramic pieces – cookie jars, salt & pepper shakers, teapots, etc.  When we first walked in the door, we were greeted by a curio filled with Betty Boop.  It was FABULOUS!  Geri and Larry love Betty Boop, too, and have an amazing collection, so we all enjoyed the display.

The menu is also very entertaining.  They have about 40 different types of omelets and they all have funny names.  I had a GREEN HORNET, which had avocado, tomato and cheddar cheese.  Eric had a BLT and Larry and Geri both had egg white omelets with spinach and mushrooms.  Everything was delicious and the portions were huge.

After breakfast we went to THE STRATOSPHERE, where Audrey works and where Geri and Larry are staying.  We thought we were going to meet Audrey and she was going to take us up to the Observation Deck, but we couldn’t get in touch with her.  Geri and Larry knew where she worked, so we went to her office and her co-worker, Rosina, was kind enough to try to find Audrey, but she had already gone to lunch.  Rosina took us to the observation deck (through the VIP area) and we went up in a private elevator.  We felt VERY special!

The boys on the observation deck:

The views from the observation deck at the top of The Stratosphere’s tower are really spectacular.  Its panoramic vistas of the Strip, downtown Las Vegas and the hills and mountains are amazing.

Geri, ace photographer, captures the moment!

We saw a bridal party here, and at the Bellagio!

You can walk all the way around, so you get a 360 degree view from 1,149 feet up.  It’s the 8th tallest building in the world!  They also have three rides at the top, which are CRAZY scary.  I would never go on any of them.

The first, called X SCREAM , is only one minute long.  You get in a car like a roller coaster, but it’s on a see-saw that looms 27 feet out over the edge.  First you go backwards, and then you go forwards and it seems like you are going to go straight down, but it stops.  It’s unbelievable.

Then, there’s INSANITY – THE RIDE.  Extending 64 feet over the north edge of the tower, the inverted centrifuge spins passengers at up to three Gs.  As the speed increases, riders are pulled out in "escape-proof" seats to an angle of 70 degrees, with nothing to look at but the Las Vegas Strip more than 900 feet below.

Finally, there’s one called BIG SHOT, which is a 160-feet freefall from the top of the tower to the base, but you’re almost 1,000 feet up, so it’s extra scary!  Eric wanted to go on all the rides, but no one would go with him, and he said it’s no fun by yourself!

We left the tower and went back to Audrey’s office to see where she worked.  We got to meet her boss and some of her co-workers, and made plans to visit her mom and then have dinner together tonight.  She went back to work, and we went off to the Strip.

We parked at the Monte Carlo and walked right next door to NEW YORK, NEW YORK.  It’s adorable.  They have a Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and Chrysler Building, amongst other famous New York landmarks.  You can imagine our surprise as we were walking through the "city streets" and found GREENBERG'S DELI.  After visiting Seligman, Arizona, it was a thrill to see our name in lights!

That's Eric inside the deli, with the dark glasses!

Geri on "Broadway"

The Brooklyn Bridge!

New York, New York's homage to Rockefeller Center, one of my absolute favorite places in Manhattan:

The fabulous Bellagio Hotel:

We walked around, took lots of pictures, and then went over to THE BELLAGIO, which is simply stunning.  Upon entering their extraordinary lobby, you are greeted by 2,000 dynamic hand-blown glass flowers, by world-renowned artist, DALE CHIHULY. 

There are mosaic floors everywhere, in gorgeous geometric and floral designs.  Fountains provide the soothing sounds of water flowing from cherubs, angels and beautiful goddesses.

There are velvet couches, large armchairs, and inlaid wood tables at which to sit and relax.  The views of the pool and sculpted gardens outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows were magnificent.  The curtains were silk, with thick fringe on the edges.  It’s sumptuous, luxurious, and opulent.  In other words, it’s my kind of hotel!

We walked over to the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, located on the main floor of THE BELLAGIO.  Apparently, they change the display seasonally and the current exhibit is “Autumn Harvest.”  The plants, flowers and trees reflect the fall colors and there were huge carved pumpkins, gourds, and other fall harvests.  From the ceiling hung huge glass leaves in all the fall colors.

There was a huge display of green and red apples pouring out of a giant basket.  There were gazebos, a bridge made of twigs over a pond, water features, and fabulous lighting.  I can just imagine how fantastic it must look for the holidays, and in the Spring, when everything is in bloom.

We also saw a bridal party there.  I cannot imagine a more beautiful place to get married, and the weather was absolutely perfect today, too!

We had more places to visit on our list, but unfortunately, Eric was not feeling well again.  He had a headache and a terrible neck ache.  So, we drove back to the RV and he laid down while I relaxed for an hour before Geri and Larry came to pick me up.  That's when we heard about the fires, and saw how serious it was in San Diego.  There was Katie Couric, live from San Diego, reporting on the devastation.

Eric wasn’t feeling well enough to go out again, but I wanted to see my cousin Minna (Audrey’s mom), who I hadn’t seen in about 20 years.  Geri and Larry picked me up and we met Audrey at SAMMY’S WOODFIRED PIZZA where we had eaten the other night.  She left her car there and got into the car with us and we went off to Minna’s place.  Minna's husband, John, wasn’t at home, but we got to visit with her for about a half hour.  It was great to see her.  It was as if no time had passed and we reminisced and filled each other in on family for a while.  She loves Vegas and has a great life there.  We were talking about what Eric and I will do now, because we can’t go back to San Diego for a while, if at all.

I have been having problems with my camera for a few weeks and it died again today, so I didn’t have it with me.  Otherwise, I would have taken a picture of Minna, so all the cousins reading my blog can see how great she looks!  When we left, she gave me a care package with bottles of flavored water, snacks, and some other goodies for the RV.  It was wonderful, and I really appreciate it!  I was just sorry that Eric couldn’t come, and that I didn't get to see John.

After we left Minna’s, we went to SAMMY’S WOODFIRED PIZZA for dinner again.  It was so good on Sunday night and I knew Geri and Larry would like their menu.  Audrey and I shared the same Margherita Pizza and Grilled Shrimp Salad that we had on Sunday.  Geri and Larry shared the Lobster Bisque, the Grilled Shrimp Salad and a Shrimp Calzone that would have made George Costanza proud (remember the episode with the calzones and George Steinbrenner?).

Audrey left to go home and Geri and Larry dropped me off back at the campground.  We were hoping that Eric would be much better, but he was still feeling really sick.  These headaches/neckaches are pretty much like migraines, because he gets nauseous and can’t stand light, so they’re pretty horrible and I feel totally helpless, because there’s nothing I can do to make him feel better.

He finally fell asleep and I’m sitting here typing away, wondering what is going to become of us.  It’s kind of scary, because we definitely can’t go back to San Diego now, when the city is in the middle of a natural disaster.  We are lucky, because we don’t have any commitments there – no jobs or apartment.  Our belongings are all in storage (and we don’t know if the warehouse survived the fire – I’ll try to find out tomorrow), and we will continue to travel in the RV until we can figure out where to go and what to do.  I also feel lucky, because we could have just settled there when this happened.  I know, at the very least, that my allergies and asthma would have been negatively impacted by all the smoke.

I feel grateful that things turned out the way they did, and that we are here with family and friends whose advice and counsel we really trust, instead of just somewhere alone.  Geri and Larry are such good friends and they would do anything for us.  We are so lucky they’re here with us.  It’s so comforting.

I also know that Audrey and Minna would help us in any way they can.  Audrey has already gone out of her way to make sure this vacation was fantastic.  She got Geri and Larry a great rate at the hotel, got us coupons and discounts, the VIP treatment, and free tickets to shows.  We really appreciate our friends and family and all they have done for us.

It’s kind of weird that this happened in San Diego, because Eric was having some trepidation about moving there, and now he’s even more hesitant, because he is afraid this will happen again (and, of course, it could).  I guess we’ll just have to continue our vacation a little longer (which is no great sacrifice) until we figure out what to do next.

Eric wasn’t feeling great this morning, although he said he felt MUCH better than last night.  Even so, he decided to stay home and rest while I went out sightseeing with Geri and Larry.  They picked me up at 9:15am and we went back to THE OMELET HOUSE for breakfast.  They have such good food there and we really enjoyed another great meal.  Larry and Geri got some adorable Betty Boop salt and pepper shakers.  The perfect souvenir of our great vacation together!

We headed to Henderson, Nevada to visit the ETHEL M CHOCOLATE FACTORY and Cactus Gardens. 

We first walked around the cactus gardens, but were disappointed to see that every single cactus, large and small, tall and short, fat and thin, was wrapped in Christmas lights.  They are preparing for the holidays and have them covered in lights from November until January.  It really looked silly and out-of-place, and some of the cacti were wrapped so tightly that it looked painful for the plant!  We didn’t enjoy it much at all.

Thank goodness the factory tour was much better.  ETHEL M CHOCOLATES was started by Forrest Mars, Sr., the founder of MARS candy company and named for his mother.  They are gourmet chocolates of the highest quality.  The self-guided tour and visit to the cactus garden is free, and you also get free samples of chocolates!  Although you can see the factory and all the machines used to make the chocolates through a viewing window, you really can’t see much of anything being made.

A sculpture of cards, made entirely of chocolate!

There were some conveyer belts, and some of the machines looked like they were working, but we didn’t see any chocolate come out at the end (like when Lucy and Ethel worked at the factory).  There were signs everywhere with clever sayings, like "Exercise is a dirty word.  Every time I hear it, I wash my mouth out with chocolate."  This was attributed to Charles M. Schultz.  There was also, "Chocolate is cheaper than therapy.  And you don't need an appointment!" and "The 12 step Chocolate Program: Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate!"  There was also one that said, "There are four basic food groups that are essential for good health: Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and Cocoa!"

Before I found out who Ethel M was, I thought maybe Ethel M was Ethel Mertz (or it could have been Ethel Merman).  The MARS company also make M&Ms and there’s a big souvenir store that sells everything you could ever want with the M&Ms characters on it.

There’s also a lovely shop called “Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge” where you can get chocolates, ice cream and chocolate drinks, too.  I had an Iced Mochaccino and bought Eric a four-piece sample of truffles.  Geri, Larry and I annoyed the sample lady by repeatedly passing by her and getting free samples.  We thought it was funny, but she took her job VERY seriously.

We left the factory, drove to HOOVER DAM and went on the POWER PLANT TOUR, which included a short film depicting the history of the dam and a visit to the Power Plant.  Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake in the United States, was created by Hoover Dam.  The whole construction process of the dam is mind-boggling.  The fact that they were even able to do it – and almost 80 years ago – is amazing and impressive.  It is one of the greatest engineering works in history!

We all enjoyed the tour so much.  It was not only educational and interesting, but there was also a lot of artwork to appreciate – murals, terrazzo floors, and sculptures.  We had a wonderful time, and of course we kept making jokes about the best dam tour, the best dam time, the best dam day, etc.  It was a lot of fun.

When we got back to town, they dropped me off at the RV and Eric and I got ready to go to dinner and a show with Geri and Larry.  They picked us up again at 6:15pm and brought us back to THE STRATOSPHERE where my cousin, Audrey, had arranged for us to get free tickets to the AMERICAN SUPERSTARS TRIBUTE SHOW.

We first went to NAGA CHINA EXPRESS, an adorable Chinese/Japanese restaurant in the hotel that was decorated in black/white and red.  The chairs were all red lacquer and the waitresses wore cute red and black kimono-style jackets.

We had some appetizers, Miso soup, and four different sushi rolls.  It was all great.  I was the only one who wanted dessert, so I had some Green Tea ice cream.  After dinner, we went up the escalator to the theater and got the VIP treatment at the show.  They gave us excellent seats.  At 8:30pm the show started.

They had performers portraying Britney Spears, Elvis, Tim McGraw, Michael Jackson and Christina Aguilera.  They were all really talented and most of them looked a LOT like the artist and sounded just like them, too.  Eric and I were very impressed.  Unfortunately, it was too loud for Geri and Larry, so they left and met up with us again when the show was over.

Eric and I have spent so much time at loud concerts, including my 3 years singing with a band in the 80s, so we’re pretty immune to the loud music and pulsating bass.  We felt bad that they couldn’t stay, but we were having too much fun to leave, and after Audrey was kind enough to get us the tickets, we really wanted to stay!

The stars of AMERICAN SUPERSTARS, along with the five gorgeous showgirls who, if you ask me, are the REAL stars (they're in almost every single number -- in different costumes!)

Elvis stands by himself after the show, taking pictures with all his female fans!

After the show, Geri and Larry were waiting outside and we walked around the hotel for another hour, looking at shops and talking about our three days together, which was really fun (except for Eric being sick!).

They are headed back to New York early tomorrow morning and we will miss them.  It was so good to have them with us for a few days and so nice to have good friends close by again.  The good news is that Geri and Larry are world travelers, so we know they will come visit us wherever we end up!

We checked out of CIRCUS CIRCUS at 11:30am and headed towards my cousin’s house.  Audrey was having a medical test done this morning, and had taken the day off from work.  We told her we’d go visit her this afternoon and maybe even stay overnight in a parking space right outside her condo.

Eric actually was able to find a place to align the front wheels of the RV (he’s been searching for over a month through at least 8 states).  We made an appointment for 7:00am tomorrow and went to lunch at FRIDAY’S. 

We each had a salad.  I had a grilled shrimp Caesar salad and Eric had the pecan-crusted chicken salad.  No appetizers; no dessert.  We’re trying to be good (at least for lunch!).

After we ate we got in touch with Audrey.  She told us she was in a car accident on her way to her medical appointment.  The car was pretty smashed up in the front, but she was fine and even got to go to have her test done.

She had already spoken to her insurance company and they had arranged a rental for her at HERTZ.  We met her at a GOODYEAR TIRE place, where she had the car towed after the accident, and we brought her to get her rental, which was a nice, silver Mazda Six.

We went back to her apartment and she did some stuff around her apartment and took care of her dog, Coco, while Eric and I took a nap for an hour.  Then, she got in the RV with us and we went over to KONA GRILL for dinner.

The restaurant is in a gorgeous shopping center with high-end stores, restaurants and salons.  The restaurant was beautifully decorated.  Their menu was very interesting.  Eric and I shared an appetizer of Avocado Egg Roll with sun-dried tomatoes and red onions, with a honey-cilantro dipping sauce.  Audrey had a Miso soup.

Audrey had the Pan-Seared Ahi Tuna served with sautéed bok choy, steamed white rice and a sweet-chili sauce.  I had the Basil Pesto Linguine with grilled shrimp, tomato in a chipotle-cream sauce.  Eric had the Thai Peanut Chicken Noodles, linguine with marinated chicken and mixed vegetables in a spicy Thai peanut sauce.

We all enjoyed our meals and the service was great, too.  We checked out their dessert menu, but nothing thrilled us and we decided to go a few doors down to THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY to get something fabulous!

The place was packed, so we got two pieces of cheesecake to go and went back to Audrey’s apartment.  I can’t stay there long, because I am allergic to Coco (and my allergies today were already really bad), but it didn’t take us long to enjoy the pieces of pie.  Audrey only had a taste, but the Fresh Banana Cream and Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple really hit the spot.

In 1993, Eric and I went to Los Angeles and went to THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY with our friend, Joe.  I remember also getting a slice peanut butter and chocolate pie and it has stayed in my mind all these years!!!!  That is my favorite combination in the world, followed by chocolate and raspberry.  I am a chocoholic and always pick the most chocolate thing on a dessert menu.  If it has peanut butter or raspberry, so much the better!

Because Audrey had such a crazy day and wasn't sure she was going to work tomorrow, we decided to go back to CIRCUS CIRCUS KOA to stay one more night.  We left Audrey, saying our goodbyes, as we will be heading out of town as soon as the work is done on the car tomorrow morning.  It has been so great to see her and we were so sorry that the week ended on such a bad note, but we kept reminding her how lucky she was that she wasn’t hurt, the other car in the accident had absolutely no damage at all, she didn't have to cancel her medical appointment, and she already has a great rental!  Things were definitely looking up!

We are hoping to head to Bakersfield, California tomorrow, which is about 5 hours away.  If we are not in the auto repair shop all day, we’ll make it there by dinner!

Las Vegas has been a lot of fun and we had a fantastic week with our friends and our cousin, but we are happy to be heading on the road again.  We have missed it!

By the time we reach San Francisco tomorrow we will have driven 10,000 miles.  Pretty impressive, eh?  And it only took us 11 weeks!  Do you realize that if we had driven straight to California, we could have gone back and forth three times already?

Anyway, we’re still having fun, even though our lives are pretty much up in the air and we don’t know where we’re going to live.  No big deal, right?  I figure as long as I’m with Eric I could probably live just about anywhere, but the idea is for me to get a good job working in an office, and the bigger the city, the better the jobs.  For that reason we will look at bigger cities, rather than smaller towns, to settle.  San Francisco is fabulous (we were there on our honeymoon 23 years ago).  It is SO much like New York, but I was freezing in June and I’m afraid I’m going to be freezing there this coming week, since it’s the end of October!  I really didn’t want to be so far north, but – hey – anything can happen!

We woke up at the crack of dawn this morning (it was still dark out when I got out of the shower), because we had an appointment to be at TED WIENS TIRE & AUTO CENTER in Las Vegas at 7:00am. 

We got there and there was a STARBUCKS right across the street.  I knew right then it was going to be a good day!  We got drinks and a little something to eat and then went across the street.  I sat in their waiting room, which was really nice, and watched their big screen TV, read PEOPLE magazine and wrote out postcards.

Eric went for a test drive with the mechanic and told him what was wrong with the RV, which was that whenever he went 70 mph or faster, the RV shook.  It didn't feel like it was going to fall apart, but it was annoying.  Eric thought it might be the alignment of the front tires, but it ended up being all in the rear tires, and they were able to fix it in just under 4 hours.  We were on the road by 11:00am and made it to Barstow, California for lunch at BUN BOY RESTAURANT, which was a little run down and not the cleanest, but the food was okay.

We got back on the road and made it to Bakersfield, California and A COUNTRY RV PARK in time to have dinner in the RV (leftovers).  We watched TV (there’s cable!), and I answered emails and went through all the mail Geri and Larry lugged to Vegas.  I felt so bad, because they brought it with their carry-on and it probably weighed 30 pounds.  They’ve been getting our mail since we left NY.  We changed our address to theirs, and all our mail is being forwarded.  They will continue to get our mail until we settle somewhere.  It’s been so great having them do that for us, and it’s been a big inconvenience for them, because they’ve also been depositing checks we received, and opening bills to let us know how much to pay.  They’re good friends, to say the least!

Speaking of good friends, we are going to see our friend, Jimmy, tomorrow.  It’s been a LONG time since he visited NY, and we've never visited him in San Francisco, so we haven’t seen him in a few years.  I met him in 1991 when he lived in Manhattan and worked for THEATER WEEK MAGAZINE.  We became fast friends and have stayed in touch even though he moved back to San Francisco years ago.

We want to thank all the friends and family who have called and emailed to make sure we were okay and find out what we’re doing next.  My parents told me their phone has been ringing off the hook with all their friends and relatives calling, because they thought we were already in San Diego.  We feel so lucky to have so many people thinking of us, praying for us, and wishing us the very best.

Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected in any way by the fire.  We are praying that the fires are all out soon, so the healing process can begin.

As William Saroyan said, “"No city invites the heart to come to life as San Francisco does. Arrival in San Francisco is an experience in living."

We certainly feel that way!  We were here last in June of 1984, on our honeymoon.  After a few days we drove all the way down the coast on Pacific Coast Highway.  That’s when we first fell in love with California.  I felt like I must have lived here before, in a previous life, because California just felt “right.”  I've dreamt of coming back here ever since.

Anyway, we left A COUNTRY RV PARK in Bakersfield, after doing a couple of loads of laundry and calling some friends and family.  We ate a fast breakfast at DENNY’S.  Eric had the MOONS OVER MY HAMMY®, which is a ham and scrambled egg sandwich with Swiss and American cheese on grilled sourdough, served with grits.  He was embarrassed to ask for it, because the name’s so silly, and the waitress gave him a hard time, which really made us laugh.  I got a Mushroom Swiss Boca Burger and fries, which tasted great, but wasn’t nearly as funny!

We got on the road and headed towards San Francisco.  Jimmy had given us good directions, which were more scenic than those that Betty (our GPS system) came up with, so we followed his and just used Betty to get us to the CANDLESTICK RV PARK, which is “30 steps from MONSTER (Candlestick) PARK.”

Jimmy was waiting for us in the campground office when we arrived.  It was SO great to see him, after all these years.  Jim was always such a good friend – to me and to Eric.  He is a great guy, a lot of fun, and tall, dark and handsome to boot.  Who could ask for anything more?

I went into the office to register.  There is a HUGE crystal chandelier in there, which really blew my mind.  I have been in fancy campgrounds before, but NONE of them have had a crystal chandelier of ANY size.  They gave us keys to the bathrooms, and we went to check them out.  They’re really nice and big, with beautifully tiled walls and floors.  Also very fancy!  We’ll have to see how well the showers work.  Eric and I have become experts in campground bathrooms and showers and always compare notes and rate each one.  Some have terrible water pressure, or the showers don’t work well, or there are no paper towels (which really annoys me). 

We parked the RV at our site and gave Jim the 3-minute tour of the RV.  Then, we got into his car and drove to his apartment in THE CASTRO section of San Francisco, which is like the Village in Manhattan.  There are lots of great stores, restaurants, bars and clubs.  We saw Jimmy’s apartment, which is adorable.  He has a great eye and knows how to arrange and display all the wonderful pieces of art, toys, and collectibles he has accumulated over the years.  He also has a huge collection of DVDs and CDs.

Jimmy’s building survived the 1906 earthquake, so it’s over 100 years old and has so much character – inside and out.  His walk-in closet is big enough to be a tiny bedroom, and has built-in cabinets and drawers.  There is the remnant of an antique phone on the wall in the hallway – just the little horn-shaped piece you would speak into, but the other part you would hold up to your ear is gone.

There is a garage in his building and indoor parking, but you have to drive through a very narrow driveway that – I swear – was just about 3 inches wider than Jimmy’s car.  I don’t know HOW he does it, but he’s a pro!  It’s great to have that parking, because it’s just as hard to find a space in THE CASTRO as it is in Manhattan!

Jimmy's tiny garage door:

The entrance to Jimmy's building:

Jim is a real theater buff, and this is part of his extensive collection of theater memorabilia:

We went up the block to THAI CORNER for dinner and got several appetizers, a noodle dish with chicken, a rice dish with shrimp and an eggplant dish to share.  It was all delicious.

We noticed a bunch of guys in drag wearing HUGE pink wigs walk by and we realized it was the Saturday before Halloween – in San Francisco!  After dinner, we walked around the neighborhood and there were people in costume EVERYWHERE.  It was so fantastic.  I was taking pictures left and right.  It was so much fun.  What a great neighborhood!

These divas were absolutely fabulous!

After walking around for about an hour, we went back towards Jimmy’s apartment and stopped into a place called SWEET INSPIRATION for dessert.  I had mocha cheesecake, Eric had warm chocolate cake, and Jim had some kind of pumpkin cheesecake or mousse cake.  The servings are huge and they were all so fantastic.

The Marilyns!

Here's AUDREY II from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS!

The Mary Kay girls:

We ran into the divas again, and they wanted to take a picture with ME!

They wanted to take a picture with me, too!  I made some new friends in San Francisco!

We walked back to Jim’s apartment and he got his car and drove us back to the campground.  We are going to rent a car tomorrow morning and pick him up for brunch.

It was so great to see Jimmy again.  He reminded us that the last time we saw him was when he visited NY and stayed with us right before September 11th in 2001.  So, it’s been six years since we’ve seen him!  We’re going to make the most of the next five days here and see as much of Jim as we can!

We awoke to the sound of activity outside -- a LOT of activity.  I couldn’t imagine what was going on.  It was the sound of HUNDREDS (maybe THOUSANDS) of people arriving and setting up for the San Francisco 49ers vs. the New Orleans Saints football game.  I think I already mentioned that our campground is right behind MONSTER PARK, where the games are played.  Most of the people in the campground were there for the game.  The parking lot across the street was filled with people preparing for tailgating parties.  There were people selling 49ers souvenirs; people selling beer.  There were people directing traffic (which was crazy).  It was loud and hectic, to say the least.

On the way back from my shower at 10:00am, there were at LEAST 5 different groups of people throwing footballs back and forth.  Were they warming up to watch the game?  I am the furthest thing from a sports fan (I mean the FURTHEST), so I have never been within 50 miles of a football stadium on the day of a game.  I had no idea people were this enthusiastic about the game, but I guess I should have known.

Jimmy was coming to pick us up, to bring us back to THE CASTRO for brunch.  We felt terrible, because we were afraid he would hit tons of traffic, but he said it wasn’t bad at all.  We drove back to town and went to HOME for their fabulous brunch.

The place is adorable, with a large front room and smaller back room (where we were seated).  There is a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar, which Eric did with great enthusiasm.  He has always loved Bloody Marys, but many times he complains that there isn’t anything more than mix and vodka.  Here, they had about 10 different kinds of hot sauce, pearl onions, celery, horseradish, olives, lemons, limes, tomato juice, and Bloody Mary mix.  They give you a glass with ice and vodka and you do the rest!  He made his very spicy with lots of horseradish – just how we like it!
I had a mimosa and Jim had coffee.

Jim had the croissant sandwich, with scrambled eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese and breakfast potatoes.  I had the Eggs Florentine, with an English muffin, poached eggs, sautéed spinach, hollandaise, and breakfast potatoes.  Eric had the Eggs Benedict, with an English muffin, poached eggs, Canadian bacon, hollandaise and breakfast potatoes.  They also put cranberry bread and chocolate bread on the table, which was to die for.

We left – stuffed and happy (especially from the Bloody Mary and Mimosa!) and walked around THE CASTRO for a few hours, going in and out of all the stores.  It was remarkably warm out today.  I wore a t-shirt with a light cardigan over it, and had to take the cardigan off and put it around my waist.  Eric was wearing a sweatshirt over a t-shirt and had to take his sweatshirt off.  It felt like 80 degrees, but the temperature was really only about 65 degrees.  The sun was just SO strong!

Some of the beautiful houses in THE CASTRO: 

A fabulous three dimensional mural by COLETTE CRUTCHER painted in 1998:

Jimmy had his eye on a great pair of VANS sneakers (classic slip-ons) so we went to a shoe store and we bought them for him.  We felt he deserved something special for doing so much for us over the past few days.  He has not only driven us around, and shown us the sights, but he also gave us all the information about our campground, and local mountain biking.

Jimmy's fabulous new VANS:

Eric also needed a new pair of sneakers – badly – but he didn’t like anything they had at this shoe store, so Jimmy suggested that we go downtown.  He said there was a DSW there, which has tons of shoes for men and women.  So, we hopped on the trolley, which was really fun, and headed down to the area where Eric and I stayed on our honeymoon, in June of 1984.  On our honeymoon we stayed at the St. Francis Hotel and had a view of Union Square.  We stood there today and thought about how much time has passed.  We had a wonderful time back then, and we had a wonderful day today, too!  Jimmy told us that Union Square was renovated years ago, and it looked quite different than when we were there.

Eric at DSW trying on sneakers:

We went into DSW and Eric bought a great pair of black sneakers.  We shopped around town, in H&M, Macy’s, and some other stores, and walked all over. 

Eric and Jimmy at DSW.  Please note that Jimmy is holding my purse.  Now THAT'S a friend! 

Then, we hopped back on the trolley and went back to THE CASTRO.  We went up to Jim’s apartment and relaxed for a while.  By now, it was dinner time, so we went to the BAGDAD CAFÉ on Market Street.  Jim and I had salads and Eric had a chicken sandwich.

The Trolley!

My handsome boys:

Some of the amazing choices at Gelateria Naia:

We walked around a bit more, going into some record shops, and then went to GELATERIA NAIA on Castro Street for dessert.  All I can say is, WOW!  They had the most unbelievable flavors of sorbetto and gelato I have ever seen.  It was hard to choose, and they said we could have two flavors in the small cup.

I got Nutella and Espresso (my favorite things – chocolate and coffee!).  Eric got Banana Walnut and Madagascar Vanilla.  Jim got Pumpkin and Pistachio. 

They make all their gelato and sorbetto the traditional way using high-quality, natural ingredients, many of which come from Italy.  Some ingredients come from local businesses; others are imported from around the world.  They don’t use artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.  It really was fantastic.  If our freezer was working better, we would have taken some to go!

By now, we were full and exhausted (and, because the sun was down and I had just eaten gelato, I was freezing!), so we piled back into Jimmy’s car and he drove us back to the campground.  Fortunately, the game ended hours ago and the only remains were the tons of garbage strewn about the parking lot.  It is really disgusting how much people litter and it’s horrible that they can’t clean up after themselves.  We were happy to see that it was much quieter in the RV campground and there should be no rude awakenings tomorrow morning!

Jimmy's Tiny Garage:

We will be renting a car tomorrow morning, so we won’t need to bother Jimmy anymore.   He has been so kind, not only chauffeuring us around, but also showing us all the sights.  We really had fun last night and all day today.

We are going to investigate mountain biking in the San Francisco area and see if we can’t get Eric out on a ride.  He also still wants to get the front wheels aligned on the RV (the never-ending quest for alignment!), so we have plenty to keep us busy while Jim’s at work!

We woke up at 9:00am this morning at CANDLESTICK RV PARK. We were renting a car from ENTERPRISE (they’ll pick you up!).  They picked us up at 11:00am.  We had asked for a mid-sized vehicle, so Eric could get the bike in there, if he needed to, but all they had was a mini-van and we were in a hurry, so we took it (free upgrade).  I feel like I should be picking the kids up from soccer, but – hey – it gets us where we’re going!

Eric wanted to get the RV aligned, so we drove to San Rafael in two vehicles. I was in front with Betty (the GPS system) in the mini-van, and Eric followed behind in the RV.  We got to BRANDON TIRE at about 1:00pm.  They took the RV for a test drive and then proceeded to do the alignment.  Meanwhile, right down the block was a diner called PHIL’S CAFE, so we had lunch.  After a fast lunch, Eric went back to wait for the RV to be finished.  I was going to drive around San Rafael in the rental and then meet him back at the shop.

Unfortunately, before I had a chance to even drive away, he called to say that there was more work that needed to be done on the RV.  The ball joints were “shot” and need to be replaced.  They couldn’t even align the truck without doing this work.  Eric said the truck would be much safer and run much better with the ball joints replaced, so they are doing the work tomorrow (they had to order the parts).  It is just one more repair we have had to have done in the last 11 weeks.  Eric said we have invested so much in this RV that we have to keep it!  I want to keep it anyway, and now we know it is in good shape and is “road worthy.”  We didn’t pay much for it, so I figure it was inevitable.  We could have paid $10,000 more and had less headaches, but you get what you pay for!

We got back to the campground at about 3:00pm and I needed a Starbucks – badly!  I programmed Betty to take us 2.5 miles to the nearest Starbucks and got my iced latte in a neighborhood called NOE VALLEY, which is considered an upscale yuppie neighborhood.  There were lots of interesting stores and restaurants on the strip.

When we got back to the campground, we relaxed for a while before going in the rental to pick Jimmy up at his apartment.  He took us to a great restaurant in North Beach, San Francisco’s renowned Little Italy.  This fabulous restaurant is called THE STINKING ROSE (“It’s Chic to Reek!”).  They say, “We Season our Garlic with Food!” 

We started with Bagna Calda, (Garlic soaking in a hot tub): “Garlic cloves, oven-roasted extra virgin olive oil and butter with a hint of anchovy.  A wonderful treat for spreading on our house-baked focaccia bread.  Served at your table in an iron skillet.”  WOW!  We love garlic and it doesn’t get much better than this.  We were oohing and ahhing.  As my mother always says, “My mouth was having a party!”

Then, we shared a large Sizzling Iron Skillet of Roasted Mussels, served with tiny pots of melted garlic butter.  We also love mussels, and I’ve never had them like this before.  Dipping the roasted mussels into the butter was heaven on earth.  I must say the only place I’ve ever had mussels that compared to this was at WATERZOOI, a fabulous Belgian Bistro in Garden City that serves mussels that have been cooked in big pots with all different seasonings, like Fra Diavlo, Creole, Thai, Provencal, or Paella.

Back to the Stinking Rose!!!!  After indulging in all the bread and garlic cloves, and the mussels in garlic butter, we each had an entrée.  Eric had the Sea Bass, with asparagus and acini de pepe.  I had the angel hair pasta with fresh tomatoes, olives, basil and roasted garlic.  Jim had the spinach fettuccine, with chicken, asparagus, roasted tomatoes and pine nuts.

We know we’re going to offend everyone who comes within “sniffing distance” of us for at least a day, but it was worth it!

We didn’t even look at the dessert menu, because we decided beforehand that we would go back go GELATERIA NAIA for some more gelato.  It was THAT good!

I had two flavors: Ferrero Rocher and Dark Chocolate.  Jimmy had Chocolate Covered Cherry and Stracciatella, which is a cream gelato with chocolate chips.  Eric had FOUR flavors (because he got a bigger size than us).  He had Gravenstein apple, cantaloupe, dark chocolate and one other that we can’t remember the name of!  The best was the Gravenstein apple.  It tasted SO much like an apple.  FABULOUS!

We dropped Jimmy off at home and headed back to the campground.  We have to get up REALLY early tomorrow, because we have to be back in San Rafael at the repair shop by 7:30am.  We’re going to leave the RV for them to fix and we’re going to MUIR WOODS and SAUSALITO.

It should be a fun day, but of course the most important thing is getting the RV fixed.  After all, it’s ALL about the RV!!!

Before I forget, I have to show you the chandelier in the office of CANDLESTICK RV PARK in San Francisco.  Eric and I have been in over 30 campgrounds in the last 80 days -- and some were pretty darn fancy -- but NONE had a chandelier.  This is a BIG chandelier, too.  At least 4 feet tall.  Enjoy!

Okay, now on to today's story:

We woke up really early this morning, because we had to be at BRANDON TIRE in San Rafael before 8:00am to get the new ball joints on the RV.  Once again, I drove the Dodge Grand Caravan and Eric followed me in the RV.  Once again, we had to go up and down some UNBELIEVABLE hills (this IS San Francisco, after all).  I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like heights, and the hills have the same effect.  I’m actually more scared going UP the hills, because I’m afraid I won’t make it and I’ll roll backwards.  Going down the hills isn’t fun, but at least I know the brakes will work!  Meanwhile, when I was younger, I’d go on any roller coaster I could find.  It scared me half to death, but I loved it.  I’ve gotten soft in my old age.  I’m a scaredy cat!

We got to BRANDON TIRE and dropped off the RV, then got back on 101 going south and went to SAUSALITO for breakfast.  We ate at a cute little diner called THE LIGHTHOUSE CAFE.  I had raspberry pancakes, made with fresh raspberries, which was so good you didn’t need syrup!  Eric had a bacon and avocado omelet with mushrooms and jack cheese.

One of the two elephants framing the entrance to Viña del Mar Plaza in Sausalito, in honor of their sister city of Viña del Mar, Chile:

The fountain in Sausalito:

We walked around Sausalito for a while.  The shops there are all beautiful, selling expensive jewelry, artwork, clothing, and furniture, but it was all brand new, so it didn’t appeal to me too much.  I much prefer vintage or antique.  There was one shop that had art, accessories and jewelry that was all hand made by artists from all over the country, and that was wonderful.

Betty in Sausalito!

There was one artist, Mark Brown from Massachusetts, who uses vintage tins and other found objects to make robots and then puts a clock in the stomach.  They were adorable!  If you’d like to see more of his work, click on these links:
http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=15734&gclid=CMPboum-uI8CFQh6gwodMivLcQ
http://www.uncommongoods.com/artist/artist.jsp?artistId=10560
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_home_accessories/article/0,,HGTV_3255_3273674,00.html

JON ANDERSON'S creation using FIMO clay -- all made by hand and not painted: 

We went into the studio of JOHN WILMER, who does antique restoration, sells prints, paintings and photography, and also had some beautiful pieces of furniture for sale.  He was a lovely gentleman with two beautiful collies, both over 15 years old, who were so sweet.  Eric really enjoyed petting them.  He has become a real dog lover over the last few months.  He is unable to resist petting any dogs we see and it sometimes slows our progress a great deal as he befriends every four-legged creature on the street!  It’s very sweet, and the animals seem to love him as much as he loves them!

It was chilly in Sausalito this morning, and I don’t have any jackets in the RV, since I didn’t think I’d be traveling north in October!  We stopped at SOTTOVENTO and I got a great fleece zip-up jacket in a chocolate brown with cream trim, which has SAUSALITO embroidered on it in red letters.  I felt cozy for the rest of the day!

We stopped in at PINESTREET PAPERY, which had gorgeous cards, journals, wrapping papers, books, and other beautiful accessories for the home.  I could have stayed there all day!  I bought a sheet of beautiful wrapping paper that is a map of the U.S.  Since we’ve been traveling across this beautiful country of ours, I have become very interested in maps of the U.S.  I was never very good at geography, but now love to study the map!  This has been very educational for me – and I think for Eric, too!

We then drove all around the town (up into the mountains) to look at the neighborhood.  Most of the homes have an unbelievable view of the bay.  The homes there cost at least a million, and renting an apartment is as expensive as Manhattan.  It’s definitely an exclusive place to live.

We finally left Sausalito and headed to MUIR WOODS.  On the way up the mountain, we stopped at BIKE RX, a mountain bike shop in Mill Valley, and Eric bought a map of MARIN COUNTY, including Mt. Tamalpais, to see if there is good single-track there (turns out there’s really not).

We then headed to MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT, who will celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2008.  Many of the trees there are over 600 years old (they can be as old as 2,000 years old!), but the 295 acres of redwoods was donated to the federal government by William Kent and his wife in 1905.  In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the area as a national monument and, at William Kent’s request, it was named for conservationist John Muir.

It's very hard to tell, because they blend so well, but there were four deer at the entrance to the park.  They were only about 10 feet away:

MUIR WOODS is so impressive.  The trees there are the tallest living things on EARTH.  It’s amazing to think that a tree could just keep growing and growing and growing until they are almost 400 feet tall!  The trunks of some are the size of a normal tree, they’re just extraordinarily tall.  Others are so big you could hide 10 people behind them!

These are pictures of a scale model of the forest in the Information Center:

The real thing:

There is a lovely boardwalk with railings you can walk along to see all the trees and read all the plaques with information and history.  Then, there are steps you can climb to take a different view of the forest.  It’s all so beautiful, so historic, so tranquil and so majestic.  We loved it.  We stayed a few hours, had a fast lunch of sandwiches in their café, and then headed up the mountain to Mt. Tamalpais.

It was another harrowing trip for me, with miles of curvy roads up the mountain, but Eric had a great time.  There were houses all the way up (I can’t believe people live up there), and we enjoyed the views from every angle.

We went all the way back down the mountain and headed back to San Rafael to see if the RV was finished.  We got back to BRANDON TIRE around 3:00pm and only had to wait a few minutes.  Eric was thrilled.  They did a great job and the RV is now riding perfectly.  No more veering to the right if you take your hands off the steering wheel for a second.

I think Eric is finally happy with the RV.  In the past three months, it has had an oil change, six new tires, new brakes, new shocks, new ball joints, and has been balanced and aligned.  He’s happy, so I’m happy!

We got back to the campground at 4:30pm and we were both exhausted.  I had called my college friend, Nancy, this morning to see if we could get together with her, her partner, Donna, and their son, Joshua.  We were hoping to see them tonight, and wanted to bring Jimmy along to meet them.  I left a message at their house and still hadn’t heard back from them when we got back to the campground. 

We decided to take a nap and set the alarm for 6:00pm.  When the alarm went off and we still hadn’t heard from Nancy, we decided to go back to sleep.  We called Jimmy and he said he was tired, too (we had kept him out late Saturday, Sunday and Monday) and was going to go to bed early.  We went back to sleep for a while and then took showers and were doing things outside the RV when Nancy called, so we missed her call.

While Eric was in the shower in the men's bathroom, there was a man on the toilet.  He suddenly asked Eric if he felt the earthquake and Eric said he hadn’t.  When I met him back at the RV after our showers, he asked me if I felt an earthquake and told me what the guy on the toilet had said.  I told him I hadn’t felt anything and the guy on the toilet was drunk.  We turned on the TV and they were reporting a 5.6 earthquake!  I couldn’t believe it.  First, we were in San Diego and the day after we left the wildfires started.  Now, we’re in San Francisco and there’s an earthquake!  Eric feels like he brings disaster wherever he goes!

Anyway, we saw that we had missed Nancy’s call, so we called her back, but it was almost 8:00pm, so we decided we’d all get together tomorrow (Halloween) for an early dinner.

Eric and I now had a second wind, after our nap, so we went back to NOE VALLEY.  On the way there, my sister, Audrey, called.  She is so funny.  She was begging us to come home, because we’ve already escaped wild fires and now there’s been an earthquake in San Francisco!  She said we could click our heels and be home safe in New York with the snow and the cold.  I told her thank you for your concern, but we’ll stay here, thank you very much!

A window display in NOE VALLEY had a beautiful table setting with place cards.  My mom's name is Hazel, and she IS a grandma!  I couldn't resist!'

We got to NOE VALLEY and went to PASTA POMODORO for dinner.  Eric had chicken cutlet parmigiana and I had a seafood risotto. 

We wanted to go back to GELATERIA NAIA for gelato for a third day in a row, but decided it wasn’t fair to go back without Jimmy!  So, we drove around NOE VALLEY looking for someplace to get dessert.

A genuine rickshaw, which has been attached to a bicycle, was chained to a tree.  It reminded me of the rickshaw episode of SEINFELD (everything reminds me of an episode of SEINFELD!):

Believe it or not, we found a place called BELGANO CHOCOLATIER GELATORIA on the corner of 24th Street and Sanchez.  It was just 10:00pm and the place was closed, but I tapped on the window and made pleading faces, with my hands clasped, begging, and he opened the door to let us have dessert.  What a guy!  I got a small cup of chocolate espresso and Eric had a bigger cup of vanilla and mango. 

This is what has become of me.  I'm now a fat cow begging for gelato on the streets of San Francisco.  Aren't you ashamed of me?  I'm pretty ashamed of myself.  I told Eric I want to find a scale, because I've been telling people I've gained at least 10 pounds, but Eric says it's probably more like 20.  Since he's had better views of me than I have, I have to assume he knows what he's talking about.  You can tell we're deeply in love, because there are some women who would file for divorce if their husband told them they gained 20 pounds.  Fortunately, he still loves me (although he DOES want me to lose it).  We discussed (over gelato) our plans for change when we settle down.  We will both eat healthier, eat in a lot more, and get back to exercising.  He will lose all the weight he's gained in about a week, as soon as he starts mountain biking regularly again.  I will have a LOT more work to do, since I've gained more than him, and I'm naturally a lot more sedentary than he is.  I WILL do it, though.  I'm determined! 

On the ride home, my mother called.  Did I mention I have the coolest mother in the world, who is still up at 1:00am in Florida?)  We spoke all the way home while Eric followed Betty's directions, ate his gelato and drove.

I had my Mom laughing, because I told her how all the natural disasters have been occurring wherever we go and promised we wouldn’t go back to Florida, because there would certainly be a hurricane!

We got back to the RV and Eric promptly fell back to sleep and here I sit, typing away, and watching LENO on TV.  We had a wonderful day today.  It was such a good idea (of Eric’s) to rent the car, because we were able to go sightseeing all over while the RV was being fixed, and it makes driving around San Francisco MUCH easier, because of the hills.  Those hills are scary enough in a car.  In the RV it seems like you’re just not going to make it up, and not going to be able to stop coming down!  Yikes!

Tomorrow, we will sleep in, relax and then drive around town to see more sights before meeting up with our friends for an early dinner.  Maybe we’ll find some kind of costume to wear.  After all, it’s HALLOWEEN!

We slept really late this morning.  It was wonderful!  We finally got in the rental car around noon and went to a local Laundromat to do MORE laundry.  I know, that’s all we do!  This time, we were washing all the blankets.

After that was done, I got my Starbucks and then we headed back to the campground to relax until we got the call from our friend, Nancy, that she was on her way home from work.

At a little after 5:00pm we left for THE CASTRO to pick up Jimmy, and then went over to see Nancy, Donna and Joshua.  Nancy was one of my best friends in college.  She was a talented actress and singer and we did a lot of shows together at Queens College.  She has lived in San Francisco with Donna for about 20 years, and I have seen their son, Joshua, who is 11, twice before – both times when they visited New York.  The first time he was about 2; the second time around 5.

He is the sweetest, smartest, handsomest boy.  He greeted me with such a big hug and kiss, even though he admitted he didn’t remember me!  You know love at first sight?  That’s what meeting Joshua is like.  He is just so warm and friendly, you can’t help hugging him – and he hugs you right back (and kisses you, too).  I was LOVING it!

Joshua in his backyard:

Their beautiful house:

Nancy and Donna have been in their beautiful home since 1991.  It is 100 years old.  It looks tiny from the outside, but there is room after room after room inside.  They have a great fireplace in their living room, a big bathroom with a claw-foot tub, and lots of other great features you would expect to find in an old house in San Francisco.  They have done a lot of work on the house, including an extension in the back of the house, which made their dining room and Joshua's room much bigger.  They also built a separate garage.  There is a full apartment in the basement, which they use for visiting friends and relatives.  It is so cozy and warm, and full of great art, fun collectibles (including tins – something I collect, too!), and is obviously filled with love.

Some of the fun collectibles on display:

They collect PEZ and their collection was fantastic!

Eric, me, Donna, Nancy and Joshua.  My camera was not working (as usual), so Jimmy was my ace photographer tonight.  Unfortunately, he's not in any of the pictures (boo hoo!):

We would have stayed longer, but they have a cat, so I could only stay for a few minutes.  We walked a few blocks to THE FRONT PORCH, a restaurant with interesting combinations of Cajun, soul food and American favorites.  We decided to eat family style so we shared appetizers and entrees, including Tuna Carpaccio (ahi tuna with persimmon and parsley caper salad), Cornmeal Crusted Oysters, with poached egg, braised frisee, and horseradish mustard dressing, Roasted Root Veggies with house-marinated goat cheese, a big bucket of fried chicken, crab and grits (spicy Dungeness crab and sweet corn grit porridge with chickerling peas, lemon and scallion) (which was fabulous), macaroni pie, cole slaw, and fries: sweet and french.

The Front Porch:

We enjoyed everything, especially the company.  We told them all about our travels, and the places we have seen in the last 11 weeks.  It’s amazing when you start listing all the cities and states we’ve visited – even to us!

Here we are outside The Front Porch:

After dinner, we walked over to MITCHELL’S ICE CREAM – award winning ice cream since 1953. 
I had a small cup of Peanut Butter Indulgence – and what an indulgence it was!  Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cups mixed in.  YUM!  Eric had French Vanilla Custard, Jimmy had Pumpkin (he’s been on a pumpkin kick since we got here!).  Nancy had coffee.  I can’t remember what flavors Donna and Joshua had, but I’m sure they were as delicious as ours!

We walked back to their house and said our goodbyes.  As we left, Joshua was playing “ONE SINGULAR SENSATION” from A CHORUS LINE on the piano.  Is that a great kid, or what?

Then, we dropped Jimmy back home.  We were so sad to say goodbye.  We have had the best time with Jimmy over the past 5 days.  He showed us a great time and knew all the best places.  He is so much fun and Eric and I thoroughly enjoyed being with him.

We noticed that there wasn't much going on in THE CASTRO, even though it was Halloween Night and the town is famous for their big parties.  There was tons of news all day and night about the fact that they didn’t allow any Halloween parties in THE CASTRO tonight, because last year there were a lot of problems, including shootings and stabbings.  When we were out and about last Saturday, there were tons of people out – all in fabulous costumes.  Tonight there were more police than anyone else, and most of the bars and restaurants were closed (at the city’s request).  It wasn’t much fun, so I’m glad we went elsewhere for dinner.

Tomorrow we will head to Monterey, which we also visited on our honeymoon.  We are excited to see it again and to visit the aquarium, which we have heard is wonderful.  We have enjoyed our time in San Francisco so much and know we will be back in this marvelous city again.  We certainly won’t let another 23 years pass before we return!