Universal Studios in Hollywood California

We were able to spend two days at Universal Studios (July 4^th and 5^th), six hours each day is about enough. We would get there before it opens and then we would be tried out by 2pm, the afternoon sun got too hot for us. We were then able to check into our Best Western Hotel and enjoy the down time and a dip in the pool didn’t hurt either.

The most favorite ride was Transformers 3D, we rode it 3 or 4 times each day. Everyone highly recommends it. But you do have to do it first, by 10am there is an hour wait. Next favorite ride was Jurassic Park Ride with the dinosaurs, all the water and even some surprises, every well done. The Mummy Ride was good but too short for the wait in line. But the beetles were very convincing. Studio Tour is always a must for all. I liked the JAWS part the best, because I get to try to throw one of my grand kids in as Jaws can out of the water. House of Horrors was one that I really liked and wanted to do again but once through was enough for James and my grand kids. I guess the real people that came out of the walls and grab at them was too much. The Food Court was outstanding something for everybody and the prices weren’t too bad either. I hope everyone will get a chance to go soon. Buy you tickets on line and you will get two days for the price of one. I would like to give you a website to link to but I couldn’t find one on their brochure.

Central California

Big Basin Redwoods State Park (June 22, 2012) in Boulder Creek (just southwest of San Jose up in the Santa Cruz Mountains ) California is the oldest Of CA State Parks est. in 1902. I remember it well from the many trips I took there when I was a child with my family, some more than 50 years ago.  Time flies! I was very pleased to see the same level of enjoyment in my grandchildren that I had as a child. Their Jr. Ranger program is excellent too. They have many fine campsites, hot showers and flush toilets. This is especially good after our two previous campsites didn’t have either one.

Manresa State Beach (June 23-24, 2012) in La Selva Beach (just south of the Santa Cruz area), has a very nice large sandy beach with good access. The Jr. Ranger Program is excellent. The only thing you should be a where of is that when they say you park your car and walk in, that means you carry everything in and out, some site are quit a hike in. But if you are up for it, it’s great and has outstanding photo opportunities as well. 

 

Natural Bridges State Park has been one of my favorite ever since I was very young. It is just a short drive north of our Manresa State Park Campground. It has a very informative visitor center, the tide pools were always my main attraction and if you time it right you can carefully examine this life at a negative tide. I’m glade to report that my grandkids love it too. You can get more information at http://www.parks.ca.gov  

 

The Mystery Spot has been around since 1940. This strange place has stumped millions with its gravitation wired effects and the fact that the laws of physics do not apply. I encourage you to try it for yourself but be sure to bring your own ball, level, plum-bob, and bottle of water to try these things for yourself; you will be unexpectedly surprised and will talk about it for many years to come. Everyone enjoyed it. If you can get Nick as your tour guide he was an extra bonus this time around. You can check it out at http://www.mysteryspot.com  

Giant Artichoke Fruit Stand 11221 Merrit St, Castroville CA, 95012 Jose Rico Owner, (he has a great coffee stand next door) it is a must for anyone traveling through the Santa Cruz and Monterey areas of California. The people are very pleasant; food is outstanding and very affordable. I really recommend trying the French Fried Artichokes and with ranch dressing out-of-this-world. I even stopped the car, turned around and went back for more. When you stop by please say HI for me.

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park (June 25-27, 2012) south of Monterey is a nice change from our other camping sites right on the beaches, we are warmer, drier and I don’t have to hear to the constant running water sound of the ocean (LOL).

Andrew Molera State Park (day use only) just five miles north of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. I rate it at a 3 in the scale of 1-10 because of its $10 parking fee then you hike over a mile down a hot dusty trail; once at the beach you will find it small, rocky, and the winds blow the sand pelting your face and legs. It doesn’t have very good photography shots either. I would find another spot.

Pt. Sur State Historic Park this lighthouse is just five miles north of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park campground and was well worth the $10 per person price. The tour was three hours and a bit of a walk about. The view, photo opportunities and information was superb. I recommend it highly and for more information you can reach them through http://wwwpointsur.org or http://www.parks.ca.gov

Now we are on our way to Kings Canyon National Park our next camping stop. Driving south on Hwy 1 from Big Sur was a very pleasant drive, not to steep or windy, with many good photo opportunities; but 60 plus miles to a gas station, please be prepared. As we approached San Simenon, just north of our turn onto Hwy 46, we got a tremendous bonus; a beach full of California Elephant Seals even several babies. We were so close we could hear them breathing. It made for an awesome experience and photo opportunities. 

Kings Canyon National Park we arrived early the next morning and had some time before we could check into our campsite. We took some time to go into the visitor center, watch some short films on bears and controlled fires, and found out about all the special activities planned throughout the park.

One tour we had to take was to Crystal Cave one of over 250 caves here in the park and home to of some the parks bats. We were able to see some nice cave formations and got a very informative tour from our guide Beth.

Giant Forest Museum, General Sherman Tree, Tokopah Falls, Tunnel Log, and Big Trees Trail are some of the ones not to miss out on. We even got to go to a Study of the Nights Sky put on by a resident Astronomer Katie; it was a crystal clear night for it too not like back in Seattle. It was so much fun.

Leaving Oregon for Northren California

Once leaving Oregon driving into California be sure to full up with gas; then when you start getting down to a half of a tank fill it up again. Gas stations seem to be farther apart than they are in Montana. It was a good thing that I had filled up my extra five-gal gas can before leaving home. I hadn’t planned on needing it quite so soon, I was thinking somewhere out in the desert or maybe in Mexico, not Northern California.

Mount Tamalpais State Park (June 19-22, 2012) is an environmental site right on the cliffs edge overlooking the ocean north of San Francisco. This is one of those sites that you have to tote everything in and leave your car in a parking lot. But this site has wheel barrows for you to use in and out of your site. The view was spectator and road down to the site was very thin. I do not recommend trying to drive it anytime but daylight. It only has pit toilets and no showers but, well worth the inconvenience for the view. Outstanding!!! 

Muir Woods Nation Monument, north of San Francisco is one of my favorites from many years back and still a must for anyone traveling through the San Francisco bay area. It was established in 1908 so few of these old redwood trees are still around and this 295 acres not only protect the trees but, an ecological treasure. The Redwood Creek watershed and Muir Woods are part of the Golden Gate International Biosphere Reserve, one of the world’s richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life.

Next time you’re in this area please take the time to visit; it was nice to be able to take a step back in time. More information can be attained at http://www.nps.gov/muwo

San Francisco has changed so much in the last 20 plus years since I last drove through. One thing is still the same, the streets are up, down and one-way much the same as Seattle. I still recommend parking the car and taking the cable cars. The Golden Gate Bridge is still stoic and Fisherman’s Wharf is impressive and seafood fresh. Ghirardelli Square is a must for anyone in need of a chocolate fix. Be sure to bring lots of money a small bag of chocolate runs $25.

We rode the cable cars to Chinatown, Austin and Brecklynn loved looking into all the store windows. They even wanted to stop for lunch. I stopped in a small place and ordered a few appetizers I thought would be fun; some eggrolls, dumplings and a serving of jellyfish. I enjoyed everything, the kids not so much (LOL)

But at the fortune cookie factory the kids had a lot more fun. It was fun to watch the cookies being made. We did buy a big bag of the cookies that of course gotten eaten right away. I got several great fortunes like: “You should be able to undertake and complete anything”,

“You will have a fine capacity for the enjoyment of life”,

“You have a great deal of energy and self-reliance”,

 “Your present plans are going to succeed if you stick to them”,

“You have a strong desire for personal freedom”,

“You will travel far and wide for both pleasure and business”.

They all work for me!!

The Journey Begins

I left on my journey early Sunday morning the 17^th. First thing I saw just before putting my grand kids into the car was my little trailer was leaning too much to one side so some last minute repacking had to be done. Once I was able to rebalanced it, then we were off.

On our way to the first planed overnight stop my tail pipe came loose. Thankfully I brought some bailing wire with me. I was able to do a temporary fix at one of I5’s rest stops; once I came into a town of size I was able to get the proper strapping from O’Reilly’s Auto. I’m sure glad my 4Runner is far up off the ground, it made it easy to crawl up under it.

Spend two nights on the beach at Tillicum Camping Grounds. The beach was long and wide the kids loved exploring it and building a driftwood fort. We had typical Seattle weather cold, rainy and windy. The camp ground was clean and well maintained. We were so close to the beach we heard the waves loud and clear all night long.

My right rear wheel started leaking some oily stuff. I again crawled under it to look from where, but couldn’t tell. So once I got to Eugene (Oregon) I stopped at LES SCHWAB’s and had them check it out for me. It was my axle seal, so they are working on it now. It does pay to build good relations with them at home; you never know when you will need them on the road. This delay will put us in late to San Francisco, but better late than broken.

The Journey begins in 25 days

Time is getting close now; I have finished working on my little trailer. I have moved out of my place and in with one of my sons. I am living out of boxes and sleeping in the front room while I finalize things. My last day of work at Safeway was Friday the 18^th. My last work day at Joann’s is the week I leave in June.

I have been planning this trip for a long time and it is now here…I am excited and a bit nervous at the same time. Hoping I have thought about everything that might come up and planned for special events I do not want to miss as I travel throughout each country. Making sure that I have the flexibility in my schedule for the unplanned events and sights I should not miss… only time will tell.

Water Filter

I got a 20% off coupon from REI, great timing I used it when I ordered my KATADYN GRAVIDYN drip water filter on Wednesday (March 28^th) that I need for my journey. I love it when a plan comes together...only 82 days to go!!!.

I received my KATADYN GRAVIDYN drip water filter on Friday (March 30^th). So fast, thanks REI. It looks well-made and should work for a long time. But the proof will be this summer when I get into Mexico. I'll let you know.

New Printer

I needed a new printer that would travel well with me. I found the Epson NX130 that seemed to meet my needs. It was on a special sale that made it look even more attractive to me. Word to the wise, don’t get it, not even if they are giving it away. It prints slow and has very small ink cartridges. Replacement cartridges are only available on-line for more than the price of the printer. 

I picked out a new one; Canon PIXMA MG3120. It was at a good price, but before getting it I checked the price and availability of replacement ink cartridges. They can be gotten in many places like Best Buy and Staples as well as on-line. The price is less than $40 for the complete set with a pack of photo print paper. I can even get the large capacity size. I’m still hoping that I can refill them, but that test will have to wait till I use up the ink I have.