Our revisiting places tour Highway 101

Our usual route traveling in this area was Highway 1 along the coast. This time since the winds were going to be kicking up we tried the 101 which turned out to be a real treat. The rolling farms and ranches were beautiful and no slow and go through the coastal towns.

 

I have never seen so much green in our time in California. It was usually brown or as they call it "gold".

Miles and miles of vineyards

 

Driving through the Salinas Valley reminds me of John Steinbeck's stories. The amount of food grown in this area is mind boggling. I wonder how the raise in minimum wage to $15/hr will affect the industry and workers.

 

This doodad was so the workers would have shade while harvesting their crops.

Mike found a treasure of an RV park in Marina, CA across the street from the dune and Monterey Bay. We had stayed on a beach in northern CA one time and found it to windy with the sand beating us up.  The dunes protect us from the afternoon winds without the tourist congestion of Monterey itself.  At night we can hear the waves crashing.

After spending time in the dry AZ climate, I am enjoying my morning walks in the cloudy morning marine layer.  

What a great birthday

Long-billed Curlew

sand dollar

We sat on the beach for 40 minutes waiting for the sun to set and saw whales spouting. At times they would show their heads and tails.

While riding the beautiful 17 mile drive by Pebble Beach to Carmel by the Sea, we met a young man on his touring bike riding from San Diego to San Francisco. Our ride ended up being 34 miles without a lot of wind on our return.

The Lone Cypress

Ghost tree

This morning while doing the laundry, I met a man who lived just down the street from us when we lived in Woodland Park. Small world.

There were quite a few paragliders just floating above the dunes in the afternoon breezes.

A surfing paddle boarder

 

 

Our revisiting places we've worked tour -Santa Barbara

When we started our traveling, I never thought there would be time to return to many of the places we had visited. Looks like I was wrong. It is fun to be returning now and reminiscing.

 

This is an old ranch that was built as a hunting lodge and weekend retreat. During the years 1910-1920, Santa Barbara, not Hollywood, was the center of California’s growing silent film industry. The famous Flying A Studios were located in Santa Barbara. Many silent film stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were regular visitors to the E.W. Ranch, where they lounged at the pool, ate steaks in the Stone Lodge, and put on impromptu skits by the Pavilion.  high in the Santa Inez mountains along the river.

 

That would have been quite a sight.

 

When we lived in Santa Barbara in the spring of 2007, our morning bike rides were pretty chilly. That hadn't changed. We waited until after lunch to venture out.

The winds were blowing but the surfers were still out there with a couple of swimmers in wetsuits.

Another place that I worked briefly. This was not a favorite.

Do we look like we are pondering our lives.

We always enjoyed the bike ride through Montecito to Carpenteria but the winds were pretty rough this time. The gusts were 40 mph. We should have gone to Goleta and let the winds push us back. NOoooo we went the easy way first. My calves were pretty sore when I woke at night.

Santa Barbara Harbor

 

In 1868 this tavern was known as "Cold Springs Relay Station". It was the half way stop between "Mattel's Tavern" to the north, and Patrick Kinevan's "Summit House" to the south.

In those days sturdy stagecoaches know as "mudwagons" traveled the rugged San Marcos Pass. It was here horses were changed and passengers rested and enjoyed the noon day meal.

The Ojai Jail which was built by Andrew Van Curen in 1873.  Mr. Van Curen was the sheriff in Ojai for a very long time.  When he retired he offered his jail (which he built on his property) to the city of Ojai at least three times but, for whatever reason, they did not accept his offer.  Audrey, on the other hand, accepted the first time! 

The prices seemed reasonable. This is California.

               Thee old "Road Gang House" where the Chinese Road Gang bunked when they built the Toll Road through the rugged San Marcos Pass in 1868. 

Love the old cash register.

Changing our plans. Heading to California

We had decided that I was not going to do the traveling critical care nurse job anymore and made plans for a different life. Tuesday morning I woke up and told Mike I felt I needed to get a contract for the summer and was not comfortable with giving up the job. I contacted Julie, my recruiter and had her send over my file to a hospital in Washington state. We will see how that pans out. All of the best laid plans were set aside and we headed to California. I am glad he is flexible, we went about changing our plans again.

Price of gas $2.79 a gallon, Driving in Los Angeles on Easter Sunday Priceless

When we left Arizona, the dust storms were not too pretty off in the distance. Not too much sandblasting for us though.

 

The moisture in the air felt so good. My skin started to plump up and not feel so dry.

Entire sides of mountain in the Los Padre National Forest were covered with these flowers.

We are staying at Rancho Oso, a horse ranch, for a couple of days.

There are multiple accommodation options, even covered wagons. 

We took their little waterfall hike to stretch our legs. The mountains are always so abrupt and steep leaving the coast. Every hike is an up hill climb.

We heard a turkey scuffle outside our camp site and found two male turkeys arguing over a female.

 

We have been trying to figure out the best way to live this nomadic life. Starting 14 years ago taking contract jobs as a traveling nurse and Mike would often find jobs in bike or ski shops. In Alaska he worked at the mall as a maintenance person.  The company provided furnished apartments until we moved on. We tried returning to our home base a few times in Woodland Park and then Colorado Springs until the "itch" returned.

 

Since full time work wasn't necessary now, I tried part time which did not allow for extended time away. We are now trying 3 months on and 3 off living in our travel trailer and weren't sure how all of that closeness would go over. Actually, we haven't minded the small area as long as we can continue having new experiences.I bet we change our minds once again.

Now that we have been in Arizona for 6  months, it is time to go. This is the first time to spend this much time in one area.