A Very Busy Week

Last week was filled with fabulous memories. We started our week with a whale watch at Moss Landing. We were very lucky to see a hump back whale frolicking in the ocean surrounded by pods of dolphins. I would have taken pictures with my phone but the boat was rocking too much...however, Lee did take a picture of me on the side of the boat.

Later in the week, Lee and I played host to Karen, Glenn, David, Amanda, and Sophia at our motorcoach. We prepared an amazing shrimp boil that was a big success!

This was the first time Amanda and her family saw our coach....they were completely in awe of all the conveniences that this lifestyle offered us...now they understand how we can live in our motor home for six months! We ended our week celebrating Lee's 64th Birthday with David and Amanda. Lee and David spent some private time hiking at the Henry Coe Park

....then after a dinner of leftover shrimp boil, Lee was presented with his cake. Sophia helped him blow out the candles!

It just doesn't get any better than that!

Andy McKee Concert in Paso Robles

David treated all three of us to a concert at the Treana Tasting Cellar in Paso Robles featuring one of his favorite guitarists Andy McKee.

We arrived early enough so we could avail ourselves of some delicious wine.

The concert was outdoors and the views were amazing!

Andy is a "percussion" guitarist who was able to create the most incredible music. Sitting next to David and sharing his love for the guitar made the experience so very special!

Thank you David for another treasured memory!

Mother's Day Weekend 2016

We had a fabulous weekend with David, Amanda, Sophia and Amanda's family in Inverness.

Karen had rented a house for the family and Lee and I were able to get a room in a nearby Bed and Breakfast. We all arrived in the late afternoon on Friday and enjoyed some schmooz and downtime

before having an amazing dinner prepared by Amanda...the most incredible lasagna ever.

Wine was flowing, conversation abound, and love was in the air! We were very surprised after dinner with a little birthday celebration for all those having birthdays in May...would you believe 4...Jeff, Veronica, Glenn, and Lee! Lee received a great tee shirt from the kids and the book Hamilton from Karen and Glenn...then there was a fabulous chocolate birthday cake for everyone! Yum! On Saturday we all met up at Port Reyes Station where we visited little boutiques, bakeries, Cowgirl Creamery, etc. We passed by the restaurant, Stellina, where Karen had made dinner reservations. It was quite damp and drizzly so we decided to go back to the house for some wine and nosh...some of us even took a nap after playing a round of Apples to Apples. Before we knew it, it was time to head to Stellina where we were treated to authentic Italian food. After dinner, we decided to watch the movie, Prestige, when we returned home..That movie was spellbinding leaving us with a lot of questions at the end. I recommend it highly! Sunday was Mother's Day and Amanda's first....to be able to share this wonderful day with her and her family was indeed a treat! All the Moms received heartfelt gifts and were blessed to be together! I also received a video from Michael of Lydia wishing her "Bubbie" a Happy Mother's Day! I couldn't have been happier!

Hello Sophia Dahling!

We finally planted some "roots" in Morgan Hill, California! I have to say that both of us were a little road weary and happy to be in one spot for a while, or in our case, about six weeks. It was wonderful to open all the slides of the coach giving us the space we have come to enjoy! It made the coach feel so very big after living in it with only three slides open! We settled in nicely and were looking forward to seeing David, Amanda, and Sophia! It took about an hour to get to their home because we timed the traffic...the traffic in California is ridiculous...depending on which direction you are going and the time of day....it is so crazy!!!! To say that everyone was excited was an understatement...seeing and hugging David was a gift to this mother's eyes and arms...sometimes it isn't easy living so far apart! Amanda was beautiful as ever glowing with motherly pride and contentment! And then there was Sophia Luna....oh my....she had just woken from her nap and sat in Amanda's arms staring at the two new faces in her world! Sophia doesn't just stare. Her penetrating look is so focused that you feel like she is looking into your soul. It was amazing to behold. We were in love!

We gave her some time to get acquainted with us before we held her...she loved opening her presents from Bubbie and Papa, however she might have enjoyed the tissue paper more!

We celebrated this family reunion with a wine toast to our blessings. After good conversation and a nice walk around the neighborhood, we were treated to a fabulous dinner cooked by Amanda. The ambience in their apartment was one of comfort and love....candles burning, music playing, baby laughing....it was perfection!

Paso Robles - Day Two

We were so excited about visiting some of the local wineries and having a late lunch....we got recommendations, a map, some complimentary tasting cards, and we were off. We figured that our experience has shown us that you can only do two or three wineries in a day....so our first stop and, as it turned out, our only stop was the Broken Earth Winery

..we did their traditional six wine tasting selection and took a little tour of the area.

As luck would have it, they had two guitarists playing outdoors for the afternoon

....so we grabbed a table and before you knew it, Lee and I were ordering a couple of bottles of wine and some lunch

....we must have been there for a good couple of hours...our senses being enhanced by sunshine, music, food and wine...it was perfection. Afterwards we talked with the musicians and found out that the husband of the lead guitarist was born in Lewiston Maine...His family was there at the vineyard and we were all talking about Maine and what a beautiful state it is....Imagine being on the West coast and meeting these people...how awesome is that! This second day in Paso Robles more than made up for the first! Tomorrow, we head to Morgan Hill to plant some roots.,,six weeks exact! We will be seeing David, Amanda, and Sophia on Tuesday...I am getting vermlempt! Oy Vey!

Paso Robles - Day One

As most RV'ers know, it is always something! For us it was the lights on our tow car that were not in sync with the coach...we had a left signal but no right signal ability....fortunately for us there was an RV service truck in the park and they were able to troubleshoot the problem...we had some broken wires! So now, after a minor setback, we were on our way to Paso Robles...it was a long drive especially since we left later than planned....we arrived at the "resort" and Lee was ready to park the coach...let me just say that the sites at this particular park were not necessarily big rig friendly more so because of the planting of decorative shrubs and trees..nice to look out but not user friendly....here are some photos to show you what happened.

Yes indeedy, the tree ripped one of our decorative panels on the coach and scratched the exterior. Glad we were in Paso Robles wine country...can you say, give me a drink! Once we were settled, Lee assisted our neighbor who had a fifth wheel which he was using for the first time...he didn't know how to hook up the sewer plus his refrigerator wasn't working properly! He and his wife had their two grandchildren with them and all they wanted to do was go to the pool! I am glad to say that in the RV world we always pay it forward! Oh by the way, I did not mention in my former posts that we have not been able to use one of our salon slides since New Orleans...too complicated to go into but will definitely use when we are in Morgan Hill for six weeks...can you say tight quarters! Also, with the issues we had with our tires at the beginning of our trip, we lost one of our hubcaps.

Life on the road!,