Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

So our vacation has come to an end and we … HAPPILY return to our previously scheduled programming. It was our first foggy day in a while so that confirmed that it was time to go! The plan for today was to drive to Santa Barbara and hang out there for the day. The only problem was that we could not find any campsites that were of interest in that area so we figured maybe what we should do is continue on further south after our visit. But we still couldn’t find a half-descent campground south of here either. (In retrospect we found out that there were some great state park campgrounds in the area because we drove right past them however we did not know about them at the time we were making our decisions) So we decided, why not stay at a Walmart parking lot for one night? The price is right and we just need a place to sleep as we are planning to simply get up and head to San Diego the next day. So we made our way to Santa Barbara and started to look for a place to park the MoHo so that we could check out the town by car. We proceeded to drive straight to the beach. I had seen from Google Maps the day before that there were lots of big parking lots in that area and from the satellite photos I could actually see other MoHos parked there. We found a parking lot, unhooked the Matrix, and left the MoHo behind. Upon closer inspection I realized that this was the EXACT same parking lot I had seen on Google Maps. Cool! Anyway, my friend Louise, who used to live here (lucky dog!) told me that a “must see” was the SB Courthouse. I have to admit, the courthouse is not usually high on my list of places I “must see” when I get to a new town but Louise was quite adamant that we should go, so we did. Wow! What a fantastic building! I think the inside is even more impressive than the outside. We toured around most of the building and grounds and even made the trip to the top of the tower for a great view of the city. One of the things that really struck me was the fact that some of the halls along the outside walls of the courthouse are actually open air. That is a level of casualness that is not often associated with a courthouse where I come from. But then again, where I come from you would have to wear your parka in the halls in the winter with this type of architecture. Actually, you’d have to shovel the halls in the winter so that is not really an option no matter how casual you are. Anyway, we then decided, given the limited amount of time, to take a tour of the rest of the town via trolley. That ended up being a pretty good idea as we got to see all sorts of things we would have never been able to see on our own. The Spanish architecture that is everywhere really gives this town a wonderful feel. On our tour we past a park that had an awesome wooden playland for kids so we decided to go back there to let the kids check it out and then toss the frisbee and baseball for a while. The tour guide happened to mention that SB was a great place to enjoy some seafood so, as we departed, we asked him where he goes when he wants a nice sushi dinner. He recommended a place that was quite far from the touristy area and we ended up enjoying a lovely sushi dinner there. Then it was off to the Walmart in Oxnard, CA for our first taste of true RV-ing.

Today’s word:

adamant: adjective:Unshakable or insistent especially in maintaining a position or opinion : UNYIELDING

NEWS FLASH: It was something other than a hot, clear sunny day today!?!? Hmmm ... that’s weird, eh? It was more a temperate, hazy day which became sunny-ish by the end of the day … just in time for a seafood dinner by the beach … yup, still on holidays!

Did I mention that we are on vacation right now? Did I mention the beach? You’ll just have to settle for some photos from our day at Pismo Beach as I am taking some time off this Sabbath.















Today's word ... Paradise.

NOTE: OK, so Blogger seems to be working better now but the issue has switched to me having a crappy intenet connection. So, it looks like I won't be able to upload any photos for a few days. Check back in after the weekend and hopefully I will have been able to get some pictures uploaded by then.

Well, we have been on the road for almost 3 months now. The funny thing is that even though we have been having a fantastic time day in and day out, we are all starting to reach the point where we feel like we need a vacation. I know, that sounds a little weird but, after being exposed to incredibly amazing and breathtakingly gorgeous views over and over again, as well as exploring cool natural, and man-made, phenomenon for week after week after week, you tend to almost become immune to it all. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining in the slightest, it is simply a case where something needs to be adjusted because the current situation is certainly not ideal. So we thought that perhaps if we took a break, it might help. Our solution? Well, it just so happens that we are on the California coast, right? Then why not just hang out by the beach for a few days to sit back, relax, and take it easy. A vacation, if you will. That just left one thing to decide …should we go to Santa Barbara or Pismo Beach? Decisions, decisions. I tell ya, it is a rough life. What finally made our decision for us was that we could not find any half decent RV campgrounds in the Santa Barbara. So Pismo Beach, here we come! I had no idea what this place would be like. There were 2 or 3 very large RV campgrounds there with lots of amenities like heated swimming pools, horse shoes, ping pong, etc so I figured that it must be a reasonable place for a vacation. Well it turned out to be better than I had expected. Our campsite is about a 50-yard (50-metre) walk to the beach! And just about everything you could want is here … with the exception of a hot tub. See, I told you it is a rough life. But they have wireless internet access with a very strong signal and it works from the comfort of your own MoHo so that makes it awesome for me. We hung out on the beach that afternoon and took it easy in the sun and sand. Then we fired up the BBQ and had dinner outside for a change. The weather was, as I am sure you are all assuming is the case at this point, hot and sunny and we were already feeling like we were enjoying an insouciant holiday. Mission Accomplished!

Today’s word:

insouciant \in-SOO-see-uhnt\, adjective:
Marked by lighthearted unconcern or indifference; carefree; nonchalant.

Unfortunately the time has come to leave … and I was just getting used to watching race cars on their warm-up laps during breakfast. We enjoyed our track-side location one more morning and then packed up to take a trip down one of the most well known highways in the world, Highway 1 down California’s west coast. I have actually driven the Half Moon Bay to Big Sur part of the road before. That was 18 years ago and it took place during a stopover in San Fran. I visited with my friends Jay and Barb, who had just moved there from Canada, whilst on my way to Australia. They were kind enough to loan me a Toyota Corolla and I took off for the day to check out this famous highway. About all I remember was that there were beautiful views and that the road was along the edge of the hills rising out of the ocean and it was very tight and twisty. Not exactly ideal for navigating with a motor home. We spoke to some fellow MoHo-ers at the campsite who had just made the trip the day before and they described it as challenging but doable. They said that there were a lot of pretty steep hills as well. The most challenging road we have experienced so far was the drive to Ucluelet and Tofino on Vancouver Island. We figured that it could not be worse than that. However, we also remember that our return drive on that road was much easier, which we ascribed to the fact that we did not have the Matrix attached on the back of the MoHo, so we decided to have Chantal follow me separately in the Matrix for this section of the trip. Off we went past Monterey and Carmel into the heart of the central California coast. The views were, as expected, spectacular. Once again we got lucky. You see, there had been quite a bit of fog along the coast for the last two days. It was actually making our visit to the Laguna Seca and Monterey area quite chilly causing the temperatures to hover in the 14C to 19C range (58F to 67F). So we were basically keeping our fingers crossed that we would get a clear day for the one time we would be heading down this road. And we got our wish … Yesssssssssss! Of course, I could not help myself from stopping on a regular basis to photograph the gorgeous coastal views. This certainly expanded our drive times and we found ourselves stopped for lunch before we even got to San Simeon. That happens to be where the Hearst Castle is located. We had been debating whether or not to stop and check this place out and had still not decided yet. We were using walkie talkies to communicate with each other as we drove down the highway in tandem so I was checking with Chantal as to what she wanted to do. She was leaning toward taking the visit however, the boys were not interested and I was in that “I think I have seen too many nice things lately to be able to appreciate it properly” mode. Anyway, as we approached the entrance to the castle grounds we had not come to a definite conclusion on whether or not to enter. So, to be on the safe side, I turned in just in case (I’m really starting to get the hang of these “how to save your marriage” skills, eh?). When I did not hear any complaining via walkie talkie, I knew we were going to visit the castle. We arrived just in time to catch the last tour of the day. The tour starts with a bus ride up the hill to the castle itself. As I sat in the front seat with a clear view of the road all the way up, I was very glad not to have to drive the MoHo up this snake-like road with guardrail-less drop-offs on many of the switchbacks. When we got to the top the view back toward the ocean was amazing. And the castle itself, an extravagant, sprawling, mini-village, really, was most impressive as well. Much of the castle architecture was Mediterranean in style and the entire grounds, both inside and outside the castle, were packed with artwork from around the world. In addition to the statues, paintings and tapestries that adorned virtually every room we visited, the architecture itself was as grandiose as you can imagine. It took 28 years to create this marvel, and you can see why, as you begin to absorb all the details. It is almost overwhelming as you try to notice and appreciate the effort and attention to detail that was lavished upon this castle. Perhaps that is part of the definition of a castle. Who knows? We were also treated to a film which talked a little bit about the history of William Randall Hearst and how he came to build this place. One part of the film that really seemed to hit home with Morgan was the part where they talked about how William, at the age of 10 (same as Morgan right now), went on a round-the-world journey with his mother for 18 months. Morgan felt that he was living a similar life experience and I have a feeling he extrapolated on where he might be when he grows older as he watched how William Hearst ended up a very rich man. The bottom line was that we all ended up enjoying the Hearst Castle tour and were glad that we finally made the decision to check it out.
Now, as you can imagine, my picture-taking stops, combined with our Hearst Castle visit had put us substantially behind schedule. And on top of that, everyone was very hungry. We decided to grab some dinner in San Simeon first and watch the sunset at the same time. As we did that we realized that if we continued, we would be doing so in the dark. Now, not being able to see the scenery would kind of defeat the purpose of driving down Highway 1 so we decided to stay at the State Park which was right there just outside of town. We found our campsite and got settled as darkness fell. We got the kids to bed and then Chantal and I looked out the window to check out the stars. We were at a campground with no electricity, and hence, no lights other than a few distant campfires. I stepped out to see the sky more clearly and suddenly I realized just what we were missing in Redding when we had a full moon. The Milky Way looked like cloud cover stretching from on horizon almost all the way to the other and the sky was carpeted with stars of varying brightnesses. We decided to get the kids out of bed to take a look, which of course they were very happy to do. There were so many stars in the sky that we were unable to successfully locate any satellites floating by, which is one of our favorite pastimes. My brother Eric would have been very jealous. Too bad he was not here to tell us what we were seeing. The best I could manage was the big dipper. I guess the time has come to look into a few more details about the heavens above.

Today's word:

ascribe \uh-SKRYB\, transitive verb:
1. To attribute, as to a source or cause; as, "they ascribed the poor harvest to drought."
2. To attribute, as a quality; to consider or allege to belong; as, "ascribed jealousy to the critics."

The kids were pumped when they got up this morning. They couldn’t wait to head over to the paddock of the Skip Barber Racing School to see things close-up. After breakfast we took the short drive across the track, literally (overpass), and quietly joined the group of lucky dogs at the driving school. There we saw them taking turns driving a Porsche 911 and a BMW M3 around a a course laid out with pylons in a large paved parking lot area. We fraternized with the paying customers and found out that most of them already owned a 911 of one sort of another. One guy owned both a 911 and a Boxter and when I asked which he like best, he told me he preferred the boxter, but he did so in such a way that the others couldn’t hear him. You could immediately tell who was the most aggressive driver since, when he pulled in after his turn in the M3, the front brakes were actually smoking. We notified the instructor since he was in the car and might not have been able to see it. He simply said, “That means he was using the brakes.” You know, I think I can relate to these people. I must admit that it was a little frustrating watching these people doing what I wish I could be doing ... up close and personal. I was hoping that if I stood with the group long enough maybe they would think I was one of them and I would get a turn. No luck with that unfortunately. I should also mention that off to the side there was another group of Skip Barbarians, if I may use that term, practicing slides on a wet track in some other BMWs. Lots of fun. After a little while they put the 911 and M3 away and pulled out the Dodge Viper. For those who are not familiar with this car, it is a 500 horsepower beast that has the appearance of being about twice the size of a 911. It is notorious for being a "hairy chested" machine that requires a lot of effort just to steer and shift. Each of the guys (yes, they were all guys), in turn, emerged from their Viper drive with one of those goofy smiles on their faces that says both “That was awesome” and “I’m not exactly sure what the people were thinking when they created this vehicle”. I'm guessing it is probably a similar feeling to what you get after stepping out of a bobsled at the end of your first run down the track. Anyway, it was time to move on so, after a quick look at the open-wheel Formula Fords that the guys would be taking out on the full track soon, we popped by the Laguna Seca souvenir store to pick up some souvenirs (another word those French stole from us). Then it was back to the campsite for an early lunch at the MoHo afterwhich we sat by the track and watched our morning buddies flogging Boxers, 911s, and M3s around the track (check the video). Once we had our fill of that we headed off to the Monterey Aquarium just a few miles down the road. Now this aquarium is an extremely well done facility. All the way through they managed to provide incredible close-up views of the fish, and sea creatures in general, along with the natural vegetation of the undersea world. They had some very exotic species there on display and, believe it or not, they even had a “petting zoo” area which they more delicately named “touch pools”. I actually got to touch everything from a sea cucumber, to a star fish, to a bat ray (see video). If I had to summarize what that all felt like, and I guess I do, I’d say that most of that undersea life is pretty slimy. The jelly fish they had on display were pretty wild, especially the way they displayed them. But I think the family favorites had to be the sea otters. They are just too cute. After seeing all those fish what do you think we had for dinner? Yup. Then it was back to the MoHo and off to the land of Nod.

Today’s word:

land of Nod, noun:
sleep

We now had to move on. We were heading south to the Monterey area. We made an executive decision not to drive the MoHo across the Golden Gate bridge and through the tangle of streets in San Francisco and on down through Silicon Valley. Since our campsite was almost right beside the Richmond bridge into Oakland, and the east bay area, we decided to swing down that side of the bay in the hopes that it might be an easier route. I guess my only concern with this latest plan was that the MoHo might end up going a lot slower than the flow of traffic on the 8, 10, & 12 lane highways we would be taking. But I figured as long as I stayed to the far right lane, it should not cause too much of a slow down for the others. What was I thinking?!?! For the first 50 miles (80 kms) nobody was faster than me! Of course, that is really more a statement on the depressingly low average speed of the freeways in the bay area rather than the high performance capabilities of the MoHo. So we ended up blending in with the general traffic flow most of the way to San Jose (and yes, we do know the way there in case you were wondering). Once the traffic finally started to speed up, we just did our best to stay out of everyone else’s way as we continued on to our final campground destination of Laguna Seca. Now, for those of you reading who are familiar with car racing, this location may ring a bell as there is a race track situated in this general area which goes by the same name. What I did not realize until we arrived is that we would not only be camping in the same general area as this race track but, rather, we would be camping AT this race track There is a very steep hill you need to climb to get up to the camping area and as we crested the final hill to reach our actual campsite, a commanding view of almost the entire facility unfolded in front of us! Not long after we parked and set up the MoHo, we were watching Formula Fords ripping around the closest corner to us then powering on up the hill and under the bridge. Very cool! I started wondering if maybe this wouldn’t be so cool after all considering the noise but thankfully we were able to take solace in the knowledge that they only have cars on the track between 9:00am and 5:00pm. And the fact that we could even get a sight at this campground meant that there definitely were no races going on while we were there. The people we were watching circling the track were students at the Skip Barber Racing School or, as I like to call them, rich, lucky, dirtbags. (Me jealous??? Nooooo.) We found out later that we were welcome to go down to the paddock area and take a look around and chat with the Skip Barber Racing School people, so we put that on our agenda for tomorrow. Then we grabbed dinner and decided to catch a movie before bed. The movie, or perhaps a better description would be documentary, we watched, called Endurance, about a British expedition to cross Antarctica in 1915 was quite intense. Now there were some people who lacked fear almost as much as they possessed courage. Quite a fantastic story and certainly makes you think. Check it out if you get a chance.

Today’s word:

solace \SOL-is\, noun:
1. Comfort in time of grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety.
2. That which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; a source of relief.
3. To comfort or cheer in grief or affliction; to console.
4. To allay; to soothe; as, "to solace grief."