Saturday, April 27, 2013 - Farewell to Chris

The bed and breakfast accommodations were superb!  We enjoyed sleeping in a larger bed in the guest room for a change

                                           and the lion still looked friendly in the morning.

Next, we went back to pack the MH and pick up Chris to deliver her to the airport.  It was as short, but good trip.  She really enjoyed staying with Kelly and Glenda - the cabin was comfortable, and the girls had fun with talk of jewelry crafting.

We moved in to Cal Expo for one more night.  It was HOT today, but we got a nice shady spot where we sat out and relaxed for a while before going to visit with Dad.  He was aware and fairly present, and I stayed to feed him dinner before moving on to Connie's house where the kids were gathering for a visit and dinner.  Connie made a delicious lasagna, we brought salad as usual, Kelly brought garlic bread and Steve and Terri brought chocolate banana cream pie. Yummy!

Friday, April 26, 2013 - dinner with Jeff and Becky

After work this morning, I got Mom T's favorite - Taco Bell - and brought in lunch for Chris, Mom and I at ART.

It was a nice day to eat outside.

 

Next was a quick trip to the storage unit to swap out clothes.  Heading up to Oregon calls for less hot weather and work clothes, and more warm things.  Mike met me there and then we delivered my bug to Jenny's house where it will sit until we return to the Auburn area again at the beginning of June.

 

We swang by ART to say farewell to Mom and pick up Chris and deliver her to Kelly's house. 

 

Then on to a reunion with Jeff and Becky, friends who we have not seen in over a year. 

                   We met for a delicious dinner in Folsom, then continued our conversation at their home. 

Jeff's sister painted a lovely wall mural in the wine cellar.

 

and we enjoyed the inner courtyard until time to sleep.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - Welcoming Chris from Austin

We worked a bit in the AM, then packed to leave Cal Expo.  I went to visit dad on the way out, but he was sleeping pretty soundly so we did not get a change to visit. 

We picked Chris up from Sacramento airport at 1:00, then drove to Auburn to visit with Mom. 

Then to Kelly's house where Chris will be staying while she is in town.  We had a nice dinner with Kelly and Glenda - Little Joe's sauce over fresh pasta, with garlic bread, ceasar salad and good conversation.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - Travel day to Sacramento

We left bright and early but still could not beat the Santa Cruz commute traffic.  We stopped for gas and for Mike to make a business phone meeting off Hwy 680 after we passed San Jose, then stopped again after we crossed over the Carquinez Straights for a lunch break in sight of this US naval ship graveyard.

 We arrived in Sacramento early afternoon and checked in to Cal Expo.  Mike drove up to see his mom in Auburn while I rode the bike to visit my dad, then back to Cal Expo to do some laundry and housekeeping.  Mike brought a steak to grill outside where we also ate because it was WARM.

Monday, April 22, 2013 - work day in Santa Cruz

Today we returned to the coffee shop we discovered on Saturday for a morning session.  It was not crowded, has comfortable seating and lots of plugs.  We heard Frank Sinatra classics on the sound system all morning - man, did he have a lot of iconic songs:)

 

We took a lunch break at Café Gratitude,

 then returned to the Santa Cruz Public Library for an afternoon work session.  By the time we were done for the day, the fog had rolled in and it was too cold to eat outside back at the park, but we enjoyed our Chicken Parmesan, red potatoes and Ceasar salad in the comfort of our cozy home.  We were the only ones in the whole place tonight.

Sunday, April 21, 2013 - Beach Day

We drove in to a Starbucks in Capitola for today's work session, then back to enjoy our own park on another beautiful day at the shore.

It was Sunday afternoon. and the unlucky ones had to go home, leaving the state park almost empty

and the beach was plenty big for those still around.

We walked from one end of the state park to the other along the beach - the return end had some rickety almost stairs making for quite a climb.  We were happy to climb them - we've been missing the steps we climbed at Woodhaven.

 

 

Saturday, April 20, 2013 - Santa Cruz Earth Day festival

This morning we headed in to Santa Cruz to find a comfortable work spot for the morning.  Then to a local farmers market where we got some great looking butter, romaine and kale greens plus a nice piece of salmon for dinner. 

When those chores were over, it was time to recreate for the rest of the day. 

We found no-fee street parking near UCSC and rode our bikes back in to downtown for the Santa Cruz Earth Day festival.

This is an earth day booth presented by the client I visited on Thursday - Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz.  There were many others discussing earth day issues - water, farming, global warming,

recycling opportunities

plastic bag monster. 

Then back to the car on our bikes along the waterfront.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day in Santa Cruz!

 

Friday, April 19, 2013 - moving day

We only had two nights at New Brighton, because back on March 1 when it was time to reserve state park campsites online via Reserve America, I spent too much time getting our Carlsbad reservations, so by the time I moved on toe Santa Cruz, I could not get six consecutive nights at New Brighton, so I took 2 here and 4 at Sunset State Beach about 10 miles farther south.

So this morning, we packed for the road and moved the MH out to the Safeway shopping center parking lot because we couldn't leave it at NEw Brighton and it was too early to check in to Sunset.  then we drove in to downtown Santa Cruz to find a work spot.  Before lunch we worked at the main branch of the Santa Cruz Public Library.  It was just OK - the first out of Auburn library we've
visited that was not modern an awesome.  Plus, we had to pay for parking:(

We walked to lunch in the downtown area of Santa Cruz - an area we have never been in before - it was very active and Haight-Ashbury like.  We stayed there at a Peet's Coffee shop for the rest of the afternoon because I had a phone call appointment with the same client I talked to on Wednesday morning before we left Camarillo - I am doing the same thing for her as I am with the RCD of Santa Cruz County - helping her organize her QuickBooks file so she can take better care of her church's special ministry funds.

After work, we decided that cooking would not be good because it was getting late and we still needed to drive an check in, so we found a Papa Murphy's pizza place in Capitola and got a 14" vegetarian pizza - a perfect size for our oven.

Trouble is, our oven is not digital, so we cannot tell for sure how hot it is, and we burned the bottom pretty bad.  The top was delicious, though:)  We ate outside in our new home for four nights - a really nice, secluded campsite at Sunset State Beach,

                with a view of the setting sun over the sand dune between us and the ocean.

Friday night happy hour!

Thursday, April 18, 2013 - Santa Cruz work day

Today Mike dropped me off at the client I have been talking with over the phone since January -  Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County - I am helping them set up their QuickBooks file so they can track their project costs more effectively.  They are nice people, willing students and I like the concept of their non-profit organization, so it feels good working with them.

Mike tried to find a good place to work in Santa Cruz, but had a tough day of it, so ended up working in the MH at New Brighton Beach.

We had our lentil-walnut-feta main dish salad for dinner outside in the sunshine, then took a short beach walk before calling it a night.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - get away day to Santa Cruz

We woke up in our overnight spot in the parking lot of one of the nearly vacant office buildings in the Mission Oaks Technology Center.  It was quite and beautiful. 

 We skipped Marriott today, made breakfast in the MH and took off for Santa Cruz right after I finished my morning client phone call. 

It was a slow and easy ride north - about 300 miles which took us 8 hours because we stopped for lunch once and for a nap another time.  I received two potential client calls today related to networking with the Auburn Chamber of Commerce - and passed the leads on to Laurie  - working where we are is going pretty well so far.

We arrived at New Brighton Beach State Park in Capitola about dinnertime and cooked the halibut steak we bought at farmers market on Sunday.  Then a quick walk around the park after dark, and apple crisp for dessert - I have been working on apple crisp for quite some time now, and think I finally have it figured out.  Yummy!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013 - de-je'vue all over again

This morning we moved from our overnight parking spot to street parking

within walking distance of  Courtyard by Marriott for today's mobile office work session.

Mike ate lunch at the New York Deli and got bread to add to the dinner plans we had with Michal and Roger.  I walked to the MH again  and had lunch - tasty pinto bean stew and took a nice lunch walk around the Mission Oaks Technology Center for a break in the afternoon. 

 

I am listening to the NPR app on my iphone to get latest news about the unfortunate happenings at the Boston Marathon yesterday.

 

After work, we went back to Roger and Michals house for dinner number two - this time we gave Roger and break and brought some Little Joes pasta sauce from our freezer and some fresh pasta we bought at farmers market last week.  We had another round of good conversation, but no more pictures - Roger told me I should have used photo shop on his picture:)

 

Monday, April 15, 2013 - visit with Roger and Michal

We got up pretty early today and found our way to Courtyard by Marriott in Camarillo for today's mobile office. This is the 6th unique Marriott we've worked in:  south SF, two in Roseville, Carlsbad, Solana Beach and Camarillo.  This one was was really quiet.

 

I left work early to hook up with Roger and Michal (who live in Camarillo) because Michal was nice to let me do three loads of laundry at her house.  We got the laundry going, then did some town errands - I needed to drop off an April 15 tax payment for our business.  Thank goodness I am not a part of the April 15 deadline madness any more:)

Cars clogging the USPS parking lot, USPS trucks coming on.

Delivery truck #1

Think of all that paper, all those hours!!!!!  The joy of the road is big today:)

 

OK, enough of that.  Back to dinner at the Bouillys.   

Filipino stir fry, salad, bread

and fruit plate for desert.

Delicious! Good conversation and company, too.

 

Sunday, April 14, 2013 - moving day

Our week is up at South Carlsbad State Beach. We packed up and checked out first thing this morning and moved south to park along the Pacifc Coast Highway at Ponto Beach. Surprising amount of street parking today, but that's because the weather is still cool and cloudy.

We made out 2nd weekly trip to Encinitas farmers market - this time we had lunch there at one of the food vendors, and bought a fresh chicken, a piece of halibut and some fruits and veges for the week.

Next, we took one last bike ride back into the park we just checked out.  Way different on Sunday afternoon at less than half full with campers.

Back at the MH, we hooked up the Jeep and took off north out of LA to Camarillo, CA where we will be for a couple days to work and visit with Michal and Roger.

Saturday, April 13, 1013 - new Marriott and local errands

Today we drove south to Solana Beach where we knew there was another Courtyard by Marriott for a morning work session. We had lunch at Beach Grass Cafe on Pacific  Coast Highway, then picked up Mike's laundry and swung by Home Depot looking for a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet like we see many other campers in the park have to keep the dust down. No luck, but I did have a brief encounter with Mary who noticed I had taken one of her white charging cords by mistake when I leather house yesterday.

Big news is we did a walk through San Elijo State Beach and spoke with ranger Brooke who is in charge of camp host volunteers. She was in a meeting but said to turn in an application and she would call - they use four hosts in each park during the summer and there are always emergency needs for new hosts. We are hopeful we can get a camp host assignment in either San Elijo or South Carlsbad State Beach campgrounds in the fall.

This evening we enjoyed our last night by cooking a good mushroom stir fry for dinner, and sitting out to watch the weekend camping crowd parade by.

Friday, April 12, 2013 - Carlsbad City Library

Today we discovered our third library of our travels - Carlsbad City Library. It was great - private room was available so we could  make phone calls.  We had to leave when the library closed at 5:00. We went over to Mary's house to pick up the Jeep 's DMV tags which arrived today thanks to Laurie who has been checking our PO box and mailed them to us on Tuesday.  Then back to the park to make dinner - pork tenderloin from the freezer with fresh mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Yummy!

 

What a difference some clouds makes - no one on the beach

Thursday, April 11, 2013 - off afternoon

Mary and I both had business phone calls this morning. After lunch at home, we ran a couple errands for Mary, then went by to see another client of mine at her shop in Solana Beach.

LaFemme Chic Consignment Boutique.

Next, we hooked up with Mike at Pacifica Del Mar for happy hour.

It was a cool place with an ocean view, but the fog had rolled in - the weather is changing. We all went to dinner at Native Cafe in Encinitas - this is a new restaurant that serves only vegan food. It was delicious.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - first guest for dinner

Today we stopped at Jimbos for some portobello mushrooms for dinner on our way to our work day at the Marriott.  Tonight Mary came over for dinner. It was a beautiful day so we ate outside at the picnic table again and enjoyed the sunset.

We went inside to talk and clean up , then I went to Mary's house for the 2nd of 2 sleepovers.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013 - beautiful day for work and play

Mary and I had a quiet morning before she took me back to the state park where Mike was working this afternoon. I took the car to see a client at his home office in San Marcos.  I visited him once before during a previous trip and have been helping him via telephone meetings for about a year.

I stopped at Trader Joes for a few items on the way home to have dinner with Mike - fresh made orzo pasta salad - sitting out in the front yard watching the state park visitor parade go by in the sunset. Very nice

Monday, April 8, 2013 - another Marriott

Today was a work day and we located a Courtyard by Marriott to work in. It was just like the others we've visited. High stools at a center island with plenty of plugs and Starbucks nearby.  I took a kale salad (I made up last night with farmers market kale) so we didn't have to pack up the computers at lunch time. Mike went out exploring

After work we went to the sports bar we know in Encinitas - The Stadium - and watched the NCAA championship game on the big screen. U of M looked good in the first half but couldn't hold on to beat  Louisville.

After the game, Mike took me over to Mary's house for the first of our planned sleepovers,

Sunday, Apr 7,2013 - South Carlsbad State Beach

We did some office work this morning, then drove north to Encinitas to have lunch at Mosy's - we split a Caribbean burrito - then on to the local farmers market. It was pretty amazing - lots of crafter vendors and make to order food stands in addition to fresh fruits and vegetables.

We got some unusual looking mushrooms for a stir fry and good looking tomatoes, citrus and avocado.

Back at the MH, it was time to check I. To the state park. It was a pretty days we immediately went for a beach walk to enjoy it.

Then back home to a simple dinner of grilled salmon from farmers market with rice and sweet potato fries. The fries got too crisp on the bottom, but the rest was good

Sat. April 6, 2013 - back in Carlsbad again

We drove straight through from the Grapevine to Carlsbad - 3.5 hours.  tonight we are parking on the surface street Avenida Encina

Where we have parked before with other RV's along the Coaster tracks between us and the ocean.  Our state park reservations do not start until tomorrow.

We went for a nice bike ride north through Carlsbad and into Oceanside, then over to Mary's house for a home cooked meal. We brought green salad and wine. She had turkey meatloaf, sweet potato and another vege side dish. We met Mary's friend, Bob and had a nice visit

Fri. April 5, 2013 - mobile office

We took our time moving south to our destination in San Diego county - we stopped  frequently as we were checking out comfortable places to stop and work.  On Thursday we discovered the Avenal exit truck stop which had a wide open parking area, not too many trucks during the day, and a great expansive view of the central valley.  We liked it so much, we stayed all afternoon and night.

Today we stopped at the Lost Hills exit for breakfast and a morning work session, then drove south to Bakersfield and Lassen Natural Foods to re-supply for the next few days.  Finally, we continued south on 99 from Bakersfield to the top of the Grapevine at the Frasier Park exit truck stop where we have stayed before. 

 

Tonight we had pan fried calamari steaks, rice, dry fried broccoli and cauliflower for vegetables and homemade apple crisp for dessert.  What a great way to travel:)