Balboa Park Museums

Friday Feb 21

Day 3 of the tourist tours.  We chose to visit museums today as the weather was on the cool side.  There are over 20 museums in Balboa Park beside the Zoo. Some are free but most have some sort of entrance fee.  We got a one day pass to visit 5 museums.

First stop was the Air and Space Museum which had exhibits about our space history.  One of the nine capsules shot into space is located in this museum.  Another one is closer to our home in Hutchinson KS.  I guess we’ll need to stop there one of these days.  And what would be an air museum without airplanes - from the Wright Brothers all the way up to the stealth jets and bombers of today.

Next door to the Air and Space is the Automotive Museum which was featuring cars of the 1970’s. But they also had some unique automobiles and antique motorcycles.  One of the unique cars was Louis Mattar’s Fabulous $75,000 Car.  Its an 1947 Cadillac outfitted to run endurance non-stop trips.  The first trip was from San Diego to New Jersey and back without any stops. The second non-stop run was from Anchorage to Mexico City.  It towed a trailer that held 230 gallons of gas which fed the car and could be refilled without stopping.  Also without stopping the car could air up the tires and hydraulic jacks allowed tires to be hanged while moving.  The front seat held a tape recorder and hookah pipe while in the back seat you could find a washing machine, ironing board and iron, an oven, food storage, refrigerator, and a chemical toilet.  The trailer also held water so you could shower plus it had a telephone and TV.  

Another unique exhibit was the Plank Road from Yuma to El Centro across the Imperial Dunes.  It was used from 1912 to 1926.

After lunch we walked through the Model Railroad Museum.  It is so big that when they are running all the trains they use a control system that was once used on regular rail lines.  The detail that goes into these displays is fantastic.  In our pictures there is a scene with police cars and an ambulance stopped by a car with the trunk open and a body in the trunk!  The big deal is that all scenes are scaled to the size of the trains.  They use pictures of actual places to create landscapes, mountains, rivers and trestle bridges.

We are getting tired so the next two museums don’t get a very thorough examination.  The Fleet Science Center is definitely for kids with lots of hands on activities and people to guide the kids at each station.  The Natural History Museum is multi storied and features not just dinosaurs but whales and ancient sea creatures.  A special exhibit of skulls caught my eye.  There were skulls of lizards, mice, humming birds up to the apes & human, turtles and elephant.

We also were impressed with some of the  architecture of many of the buildings.

Today we stayed in the city until after rush hour.  A friend of ours, Austin, is a chef at a seafood restaurant where we stopped to visit and he prepared a couple wonderfully tasty dishes for us. The restaurant was next to the USS Midway. 

Cabrillo National Monument & Old Town

Thurs. Feb 20

Day two of the tourist visits took us out to Loma Point through the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and part of the Naval Air Station to the Carrillo National Monument. 

Juan Carrillo was the first European to set foot on the west coast of the US.  Even though it was a bit foggy, we had nice views of the coastline, the city sky line and the entrance to the San Diego Harbor.  Beside the statue commemorating Cabrillo, there is a lighthouse complex and the remnants of battlements and gun placements posted during WWII.  We also hiked along the shoreline where we looked for sea anemones in the tidal zone, enjoyed the early blooming flowers and spotted some sleeping sea lions.

We found a good seafood place for lunch and then drove over to Old Town San Diego where we strolled along the streets, stopping in historic buildings, shopping and enjoying the nice afternoon.  Again we headed home after rush hour had started so it was stop and go traffic all the way home.

Lions & Tigers & Elephants & Birds

Wed. Feb 19

After running errands, getting hair cuts and grocery shopping on Tuesday we started our tourist visit to San Diego.

First stop is the San Diego Zoo!  A very friendly volunteer helped us chart our course through the maze of trails, animals, and food courts.  A lot of the animals were ones we had seen on the African Safari or on our visits to Australia, South American and Costa Rica.  But new ones were some of the apes and monkeys, the Red River Hog (Congo), Andean Condor, Stellar Sea Eagle (Russia), tigers, bears from Borneo and Andes, the cheetah and a rhinoceros.  We had been warned to leave the zoo before 3 pm or we would get caught in the evening rush hour.  Even though we tried to leave early, it was after 3:30 and the traffic was already stop and go (mostly stop).

Jojoba Hills Escapee’s Park

Feb. 14 - 17

About the only place there is to camp is to go over the mountains towards Temecula where the Jojoba Hills Escapee’s Resort is located.  Since we are Escapee members we are allowed to boondock on their grounds and have use of most of their facilities such as pool, exercise room, showers, laundry and pickle ball courts. This is a huge park with close to 700 sites which folks purchase then install their RV or park model on the site.  If not in use, the site can be rented.

The drive over the mountains was a little on the tense side as the road was very narrow with next to nothing for a shoulder and curvy.  As we were coming down, all of San Diego were going up!  At least that’s the way it seemed.  Camper after camper pulling trailers of ATV’s were headed to the sand dunes we had just left behind. 

The area north of Temecula, North Mountain Wine Trail in Warner Springs, is an up and coming wine region.  We visited two wineries on Saturday (Shadow Mountain and Sierra Roble) and two on Sunday (Hawk Watch and Emerald Creek), all were having a special Valentine’s event with music, barrel tastings with a specially created desert, and specials on their wine tastings. These were all rather small wineries with less than 1000 cases per year.  The weather was warm and the wines were pretty good. We came home with 6 bottles on Sat but only two on Sunday and one of those was half empty by the time we got home.

Today we will head to San Diego, staying in the KOA in Chula Vista.

Borrego Springs, con’t.

Feb 8-14

I have played a lot of pickle ball this week, and so did John until he pulled a muscle in his leg.  It didn’t stop us from riding our bikes or taking a hike up Coyote Ridge.  We drove out to Fonts Point Saturday evening to enjoy the sunset while sipping gin and tonics and snacking on cheese and crackers except I forgot the food but not the drinks.  It was not a spectacular sunset but the full moon rise to the east caught our eye!

We dined at the wood fire pizza place one evening, sipped Margaritas another time, lunched at Ram’s Hill Golf Club and then John took me out for a fine dining experience at the Coyote Steakhouse where we enjoyed a rack of lamb.  It was on Valentine’s Eve so we would miss some of the crowds. He’s such a romantic!

It’s been a pleasant stay but its time to move on.

The Springs at Borrego

Feb 2-7

We arrived in Borrego Springs in time to set up camp and prepare a couple of dishes for the Super Bowl Party held in the meeting room of the RV resort where we are staying.  John and I were the only Chiefs fans in the room, all the others were rooting for the 49ers.  A lot of friendly jabs back and forth until the Chiefs exploded in the 4th quarter, then things got quieter.  I tried not to get too loud but we were pretty happy for the Chiefs!  Great game!

This RV resort is surrounded by a lovely 9-hole golf course and is next to a residential area with an 18-hole golf course.  I think they got their name, Springs, from all the water hazards on these courses.  They also have a large pool, 3 hot spas, tennis courts, 8 pickle ball courts, horse shoes, and bocci ball.  This is a very active community.  John slightly twisted his angle the first day we played pickle ball so he has not been able to join me on the courts.  Instead we have been riding our bikes in the afternoons.  We had a 15 mile ride yesterday and a 10 mile one today. 

We normally camp out in the desert in Anzio-Borrego but we have opted to stay in this park.  One morning we drove out in the desert to see if we could camp in some of the places where we have parked in the past but found that area has been closed to motor vehicles.  It looks like desert camping in Anza-Borrego will not happen any more. I’m hoping we can go mountain hiking in a day or two when the weather cools down again.

Desert Life

Jan 26 - Feb 1

Things are starting to quiet down in Quartzsite as the RV show is over so many, many people are moving on to new adventures.  We opted to stay a few extra days to enjoy a slower pace and fewer people.  We rode our bikes into town on Sunday with a short cruise north of town on their nice bike trail. It took us past their park that is made for fun.  There are tennis courts, sand volleyball, R/C airstrip and race course for R/C cars and of course the playground.  We also found this desert garden where folks have planted trees or bushes in memory or in honor of their loved ones.  The Historical Society created a miniature city with homes, businesses, barns, people and privies.

We went wild on Monday and rented a side-by-side Polaris ATV and we went crazy driving down gravel washes and climbing hills to explore the mountains just west of the town.  It was so much fun that it now has John thinking about getting one along with a pickup truck to haul it behind the RV.  Imagine me shaking my head “NO!”

Tuesday evening we had a nice evening visiting with Dwight and Sharon at their campsite and meeting some of their fellow RV friends.  Then on Wednesday we drove down to Yuma and found an Escapees park with boondocking sites for $8 a night.  Janet and Mellow pulled in the next day and we had an enjoyable time with them.  Then we found Cherrill and Jim and had dinner with them.  They were the wagon masters on our Canadian Maritimes Tour in 2018.  Saturday found us searching the city for Kansas City Chiefs t-shirts so we could properly represent our team at the Super Bowl Party on Sunday.  We also strolled around a Renaissance Festival. It was a clear, warm and enjoyable day.

Quartzite

Not much changes out here in the desert nor in town during RV week.  John says this every year but he swears the Big Tent is even bigger.  It does seem like there are more people, RVs and cars this year with traffic jams most of the day.  We are camped about 1.5 miles from the big tent, an easy 5 minute bike ride with no traffic issues or parking problems.

We have walked the big tent almost every day, and perused the junk aisles, biked into town to the east but have not made it to the west side yet.  Friends from the Canada caravan came over for dinner and friends from the Baja caravan met us for lunch and friends we made through earlier travels took us to lunch.  All these visits were 3-4 hours of catching up and reminiscing.

Today has been a hard day for John as the inverter/charger quit working this morning.  As it turns out we overloaded it and it said that was enough.  A short call to Newmar and he was able to reset it and start it up again.  I guess I can’t bake, fry and perk all at the same time!  This afternoon’s bike ride out into the desert was short but difficult. It may look flat but its up hill and rocky which made for a rough ride.  But a campfire and beautiful sunset makes the tough day right again.

More Buckskin

Last Sunday was the first of the NFL playoff games and the KC Chiefs were playing.  We are not huge football fans but since our local team is playing we are trying to keep up with the games.  But first we made a trip out to the Desert Bar only this time we took the gravel road instead of the four-wheel trail through the mountains.  I don’t know if it was the cooler weather, the football game or just no interest but the place was not as crowded as it has been on past visits.  They still have cold beer, hot sandwiches, and a great band.

We got back to the campground in time to catch the last quarter of the game.  Chiefs won!!

Again this week we biked and hiked.  One hike was 5.5 miles!  We also played 9 holes at Emerald Canyon Golf Course.  It’s a bit of a challenge with narrow fairways, elevated tee boxes and sandy roughs but it was still fun. We ate out a couple of times - nothing fancy but it was tasty and I didn’t have to cook.

Today we drove a whopping 58 miles down to Quartzite where we parked in the same area as when we were last here.  John was able to get the Chiefs vs Titans game on TV.  So exciting that we are going to the Super Bowl!!

Buckskin Mountain State Park

It’s not been as warm as I would like but John has insisted on wearing shorts everyday!  Me, I’ve been wearing long pants and long sleeves and a sweater!  Oh well, its still better than the cold back home.

We have taken at least one bike ride this week and several hikes on the trails in the park.  The most exciting thing we’ve done is to drive up to Lake Havasu City to take in their annual Hot Air Balloon Festival.  There are supposed to be over 70 balloons but due to high winds on both Friday and Saturday, we saw zero balloons.  We thought for sure they would fly on Saturday afternoon as there was no wind in Buckskin but there was in Havasu.  

We also drove over the Parker Dam and explored the California side of the Colorado River down to Parker. Lots of RV parks and retirement communities.

Westward Bound

We left Sedalia on January 2 and headed west through Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and our final destination of Arizona.

After two full days of driving we stopped early near Winslow AZ and stayed at the Homolovi State Park where the Anastasia had once settled on the Little Colorado River.  We saw some ruins, walked a short trail and enjoyed the clear starry skies.

While singing “Taking it Easy” by the Eagles, we drove into Winslow AZ  and did the typical tourist thing of taking our picture while “Standing on the Corner in Winslow AZ.”

There was lots of  snow covered hills along the interstate so the state has posted signs over the interstate highway asking people to not park on the highway to play in the snow. Unbelievable.

We arrived at the Buckskin Mountain State Park early on Jan 5 and will be here for two weeks.  Sure hope the weather stays sunny and warm for us.

Austin Camping

Our last stop in Texas is McKinney Falls State Park which is just a short drive from downtown Austin.  There is no easy access to the city with our bikes so we drove into town, found a parking spot and walked around, ate lunch, shopped and went back home.  MeKinney Falls is a large park so we were able to ride our bikes around to see the two different falls and an old home site.  We also hiked a circle trail.

While in New Braunfels John discovered a new system for delivery of Amazon purchases - Amazon Lockers. John orders so much stuff from Amazon that I think he was going through a withdrawal of sorts since he hadn’t been able to order anything for most of this trip.  Now with the lockers, he can order from Amazon and have it delivered while we are in the ‘wilderness’. He found one near MeKinney Falls. 

As usual we stopped in Norman for the weekend to spend time with our daughter and her family.  It’s always enjoyable to play with our grandsons and visit with their parents.

We dropped the new RV off at the dealership in Carthage MO to have several issues repaired, replaced or corrected.  John will have to drive back down next week to pick it up again.  I think we have located most of the issues to be attended to.  We should be about ready to head out for the winter in January.

Austin Waypoint

The KOA campground is about 8 miles from  downtown Austin.  We know this because we rode our bikes on a trail from near the campground to near downtown where we found a group of food trucks.  We had a choice of Thai, Greek, Italian and BBQ.  We chose the BBQ that was very good.

The bike ride was partially on the trail and part on city streets but enjoyable none the less. Our bodies let us know that we hadn’t done this for awhile so naps were in order when we got back.

Today we move to a state park that is even closer to the city.

German Experience Continues

Monday started out nice so we took a short hike down to the river and back before we moved to New Braunfels, a German community outside of San Antonio.  As predicted the weather turned nasty with temps dropping 20 degrees in two hours, the wind kicked up and then the rain fell!  We found a delightful German restaurant for dinner.

Friend and former colleague, Ray and his wife who live in a San Antonio,  joined us for lunch on Tuesday and again on Thursday.  We spent Wednesday walking the downtown of New Braunfels, shopping and viewing an art gallery.  We also walked around the small community of Gruene which is a very popular place in the summer due to its location on the Guadalupe River but was fairly quiet today with the gloomy, cold weather keeping folks at home.

Guadalupe River

We have spent the last couple of days in  the Guadalupe River State Park near San Antonio.  The once lush prairie is now covered with live oak and cedar trees which house lots of birds, coons, foxes and deer. A ranger led hike in the Honey Creek State Natural Area helped us to recognize the live oak, white oak, and persimmon trees as well as bald cypress along the river banks.  He pointed out deer and coon tracks, scat from coons and fox and other natural wonders.

Today John and I hiked almost four miles on the cliff tops overlooking the river and the forests and hills on the opposite banks of the river.  This park must be packed during the summer months as there is plenty of access to the river from the shore where kids can wade and splash around in the cool shadows of the many trees.

The weather is due to turn really nasty on Monday so we will head to the city to escape the worst of it (we hope).

Shakedown Run

On Monday, October 28 we were in Carthage MO to pick up our brand new 2020 Newmar Ventana!  She is a beauty!  Following the walk around to view and learn about her workings, we began transferring everything from the Bay Star into our new home on wheels.  It took a full two days!  We worked in rain and cold, Pam caught a cold and a few things had to be repaired right off the bat.  Pam’s cold plugged up her ear, causing severe dizziness and a trip to urgent care.  She is now well.

We tried to leave Thursday and drove a whole 12 miles only to discover that the door is misaligned and the wind whistles through it.  A temporary fix will get us through this trip until we return to Carthage for our follow up repairs visit.

Friday and Saturday we drove through Oklahoma with numerous stops to check on things rattling, whistling or moving around. Our destination for our first stay is Fredericksburg TX, a lovely German town in the heart of Texas Hill Country. We could hardly wait to walk into town to get some exercise and to see if anything had changed since our last visit to this area.  

While here we visited the Enchanted Rock State Park where we hiked in the rain around a 425 foot tall granite dome.  We only got half way around and turned back since the way was blocked by a full creek further on. We still put in 4.5 miles.  And then the sun came out!

We also drove over to the LBJ Ranch State and National Parks and Johnson City, hometown of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. Again the weather did not cooperate but we still got to see the ranch and a few buildings.  The Texas Whitehouse is closed for repairs. The visitor centers presented his history as president and his life after office in very interesting formats.  

We’ve done our share of walking in town, shopping, and eating at some fine restaurants.  We are in Texas wine country but we have been reluctant to try their offerings as we are wine snobs and afraid the wine won’t reach our standards. (Ha Ha).