Heading Home

What a lovely holiday season we had seeing all of you!

Matthew & Laura's three sons introduced us to Wii games where Zachary excelled at Guitar Hero, Nathan at boxing, and little Benjamin at bowling. Thanks so much for sharing...I think. Now Clint's all hepped to get a Wii game instead of going to the YMCA! HA

My niece and her family entertained us for an afternoon and evening with games of Chutes & Ladders, CandyLand, and, I think, Cherry Oh. It was such a treat for me as I don't recall having played those games in about 50 years! And my great-nephew's pet budgie, Bingo, kept me company. Makes me want to have a bird again, but I don't think Zorro and Chaplin would accommodate one... We had a great dinner with them and miss them so much already! From there, we spent some time at the harbor in Oceanside. It sure is developed since my days sailing into that harbor--one time with a California grey whale swimming in tandem with the boat to reach safe harbor during a storm!

We camped at Santee Lakes, somewhat inland in San Diego County, where we got to spend some time with my nephew, Brian, his wife, Denise, and their sons, 3-year-old Andrew and 1-year-old Carson. They also came to my sister's house for Christmas Day. That Andrew is such a blur of activity that I realized I didn't know what he really looked like until I saw a recent photo of him on my sister's wall! HA

Christmas with my family was just lovely. Maureen and Jess provided a great brunch for everyone, including rowdy, engaging nephew, Brett, who gave me an interesting book, "California Coast Trails" by J. Smeaton Chase. The book was written in 1911 by an Englishman who rode horseback from San Diego to the Oregon border. I know intimately each and every canyon, beach, and redwood forest about which he wrote so eloquently. I heartily recommend it to anyone with a love of the California coast. In many ways, California hasn't changed one bit...

We could have stayed in sunny San Diego for many more months, but we really do need to get home! So, we hit the road to our beloved Morro Bay where we camped on the beach and visited so many of our dear friends, stayed with John & Devon in Paso Robles for New Year's, and then had a final hurrah at Ginny & Bob's in Grover Beach before heading up Highway One. Thank you ALL for accommodating us on such short notice. We spent time with Cindee & Larry, Mary Ann & Orry, Kimberli & Doug, Marge & Mark, Dexters, Debbie, Kay, & Nancy, Annie, Sue, Barbara, Theresa & Bob. We love you all and hope to see you soon!

We so enjoyed both San Diego and Morro Bay this winter that we've made reservations to return to the beach at Morro Bay from mid-January to mid-February 2010 and to San Diego's Mission Bay from mid-February to mid-March. I hope our friends and family won't get sick of us! I guess we'll be snowbirds next winter, too!

One would never know that we're traveling the coast in winter. The sun has followed us the entire way and has reflected on the ocean so that it just glistens. Highway One is a winding, somewhat treacherous sliver of asphalt that hugs the coast's every twist and turn. We visited the elephant seals just north of San Simeon, drooled over houses hanging over the cliffs in Carmel, watched parasailers off the coast of Monterey, strolled the Victorian town of Ferndale, walked among the redwoods near Trinidad, and, best of all, watched the little foxes as they scurried around the campground at Patrick's Point State Park. The photo of the foxes is a bit grainy as we were both inside the camper looking through our steamed-up galley window. I held the big flashlight on them while Clint shot them with our camera set at iso 3200. So, we're thrilled to have a photo at all! Foxes are so elusive. They're one natural element I've rarely seen.

This evening, as we headed for our campsite in Lincoln City, Oregon, we found the fog was accumulating for the night. Good thing we're late sleepers as that will give the fog time to dissipate before it's time to continue north!