Listening to Linda Ronstadt sing Adios as I head home to Minnesota was a fitting end to part one of this trip.

I did stay the entire time in this campground even though it was quite crowded at first. Once the Cinco de Mayo celebrations were over, the place cleared out, with the exception of the folks directly to the left and right of me!

The family traveling in the retro trailer was from 5 miles away in Ventura and they come to this campground frequently as their 20 year old son loves it there. He is autistic and spends much of his time on a scooter or bike going round and round in the campground. Really sweet family and in two years when he reaches the end of his state sponsored activities, they will buy a new motor home and hit the road full time.

On the other side was a husband and wife who just sold their house and belongings and have decided to live on the road full time. They just purchased a new trailer and off they went. Staying in places like this, you very quickly hear too much information about their relationship and pretend you don’t.

Got to LA in time to get my baby washed and waxed…the guys were proud of their work and had to take a photo or two.

The return trip with Linda!

Our itinerary for this trip gets us out of LA quickly and up to the Santa Barbara hills where we’re staying on this lovely property. Multiple buildings on a bunch of acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. We were in a studio above one of the buildings.

Now, for most travelers, going from LA to SF is a day trip, maybe two at best. In the Westy, it’s a 3 to 4 day trip, weather permitting. Stayed here for 2 days as we looked at weather reports up the coast (all rain) and reconsidering whether we could get to Big Sur in a day to camp – impossible! So, we hit the road Wednesday morning for San Luis Obispo and accommodations in a guest house behind our host’s main home. Cute little studio and perfect for one night.

One of the highest rated dining spots was a mile or so walking distance from our place. Cute family run restaurant where they would bow gracefully when you enter and leave and if you tell them how much you enjoyed the food, they would bow again and pat their hearts! Totally enjoyable!!!

Oh – one minor problem – about 3 hours later, boy did we get the heebie jeebies – you know the leg and body twitches that tell you something in your food dish caused this feeling. And here we thought the curry and pad Thai were healthy choices!

The HWY 1 run to Carmel Valley

We left SLO in the morning with high hopes for the next part of the journey – from San Luis Obispo to the Carmel Valley / Monterey Peninsula. This is a spectacularly beautiful section of HWY 1 that winds and twists along the coast. I haven’t driven this one since the ’60’s and it brought back many memories! It poured buckets and buckets of rain and was actually a bit of a white knuckle day.

The rain stopped long enough for us to get a couple photos of the Elephant Seals basking on the shore. No, they are not dead! Although it smelled like they were! Check out the video.

By mid afternoon, we made it to Carmel Valley, about 15 miles inland from Carmel by the Sea to stay in another lovely home in the hills.

Friday morning, I wake up and look at email and find a note from the host with this message ‘I think you left your lights on.’ CRAP!!! I run out and sure enough, I did and sure enough my battery is as dead as can possibly be. There is no buzzer when you leave your lights on and shut off the engine so I can only blame myself. There is no way I am going to call AAA or the owner of the property for a jump.

The good news is, I’ve seen this movie before. If you notice from the photos, since we’re staying up in the hills, I felt no need to panic. We simply went about getting ready to leave, packed the bus and I told Linda to help push a little and hop in! Coasted down the hill, turned the ignition on, put the bus in second gear and POP, she fired right up. Of course, we didn’t stop for an hour so we could charge up the battery. Stupid Boy!

On Friday, we made our way into SF and across the Golden Gate Bridge to our home for the next few days. We’re staying in a guest house in the Muir Woods above Mill Valley – incredibly beautiful location.

Showed this photo to Becca and she asked…’did someone just move out?’ It’s the California minimalistic vibe.

One problem staying up here…Uber drivers hate coming up. Last night 4 drivers accepted and then bailed on us. The app would say they were on the way and show 10 minutes. And 15 minutes later, it would still show 10 minutes and then it would simply drop. So, I figured I needed to move up the food chain and kept selecting a higher priced ride. Finally Joseph came for us in his black Suburban for 3 times the price of the Uber X. Live and Learn!

Tonight we’re having dinner in Sausalito with Steph and Jared, Becca’s good friends and we will plan on leaving 3 hours earlier to ensure we get there in time!

Oh, it’s still raining and will be for the next 2 days!

One more thought…don’t you love how they design houses to fit in with the environment instead of cutting trees down that are in the way?!

Bye for now!