Valleys to rivers to the ocean

October 16, 2010
Pacifica, CA

Well, we've certainly been through some different parts of Northern California over the last few days. Here's the rundown...

We left the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning (Central Valley) on a bright and sunny Tuesday morning. Our travel day was short and pretty direct: I-5 south about 115 miles to Sacramento. Having stayed there twice last fall, we aimed the coach for the CalExpo RV Park, right along the banks of the American River. As we drove along, we could feel the temperatures rising, so we were glad we were heading for another place where we could plug in and enjoy air conditioned comfort.

Once we were set up, our friend, Jim, from back in the early Aetna days, stopped over for a nice visit. It was nice to catch up; we'd missed him last fall since we didn't have enough time on the caravan to add much in terms of extra activities.

We thought about dinner after Jim headed home, and decided that a quick trip to the local Outback might be appropriate, so I got my steak fix for the week. As I mentioned, it helps decision making if you know what's around.

We were up early on Wednesday, another sunny morning. OK, it was the pups who were up early; I wanted to sleep in. We did a walk around the RV Park, growled at a resident cat for a bit, and generally had a good time. After a quick breakfast, we unplugged, hooked up the Rover and were back on the road.

It was another short driving day, just under 110 miles. This time, we were headed for a new (i.e., we've never stayed here before) place in Pacifica, CA. We followed I-80 out of Sacramento to Oakland, then paid the modest toll to go over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. after a quick jog onto US-101 and I-280, we were on CA-1, the Pacific Coast Highway, south of San Francisco proper. We were soon parked at the San Francisco RV Resort, in a great space overlooking the Pacific Ocean. They've designed the spaces along the bluff to have motorhomes pull in and trailers (many of which larger windows at the rear) back in. We rewarded ourselves with a relaxing afternoon: watching the surf, taking a nap, and enjoying a nice sunset.

Thursday, we just plain relaxed. Geri got a couple of loads of laundry done, but that was about it. We walked the pups around the park and down the street, seeing the "sights". I picked up our mail from the Post Office and went through that (other than our Absentee Ballots and AZ property taxes going down by 31% - wow! - nothing earth shattering), but otherwise, we just enjoyed a nice, sunny day overlooking the Pacific. For dinner, I did up a nice Pork Tenderloin with Pan-roasted Red Potatoes, which went very nicely with a Cabernet Sauvignon we'd brought from Three Rivers Winery in Walla Walla. We were treated to another nice sunset to cap off the day.

Yesterday, we got down to brass tacks. Well, we don't really have any tacks, much less brass ones, but we at least got busy. Geri started cleaning the inside and I started on the outside, getting the power washer going (yes, this RV Park allows vehicle washing) and cleaning the road grime off the Rover and then the coach. Just as I was finishing up outside, the wind shifted and we were enveloped in a gray "marine layer" of clouds. I'm not sure how long this pattern will last. The sun's right above us, peeking through every once in a while, but the fog and low clouds are hanging on. Of course, it is San Francisco, after all...

We did some of the Otto's Wieners we'd bought in Portland for dinner, with a pre-packaged serving of Geri's Famous Sauerkraut. Since we had a couple of pears left from our stop in Gold Beach, Oregon, she also whipped up a fantastic Pear-Cherry Tart. I did a quick walk to Safeway for ice cream (reminds me of when we lived in Brooklyn!) and we enjoyed the evening.

Today, we're still under the marine layer. Geri's wrapping up the laundry, I vacuumed and polished the tile and gave the mirrors a once-over. Pat and Al should be on their way from CT (we heard from Alicia that they at least made it safely to the airport in Windsor Locks), so we'll aim to pick them up at SFO tonight. We've got a nice weeks planned: tomorrow in San Francisco, Monday-Tuesday in Sonoma, and Wednesday-Friday in Napa. Woo- hoo!

And, speaking of "woo-hoo", a "Happy Birthday" to our niece Alyson on her 21st birthday!