Lots of Driving

Frito Takes the Wheel, Thistle Dew Too, April 2008

Well, it's been quite a bit of driving to get up to Eugene, Oregon. Steve was getting kinda tired, so Frito thought he might help out.

Lap Dog, Thistle Dew Too, April 2008

But that was tiring for Frito as well. So the next stop was on Carol's lap. This will clearly become the preferred seating arrangement during the long days of driving.

Frito's Bed, Thistle Dew Too, April 2008

For the record, here is Frito's official travel position.

PCH Coastal View

Thistle Dew Too on Pacific Coast Highway, Rt 1, CA, April 2008

Well, this is the reward to the curvy, and somewhat slow, Pacific Coast Highway. We enjoyed this break from the California Freeways. And Thistle Dew Too handled the road very well.

Classic Coastal View, Big Sur, CA, April 2008

I love this view -- it is a postcard picture.

Thistle Dew Too Rear View, Big Sur, CA, April 2008

And take a look at those rear windows. Our plan is to find nice remote locations to take advantage of all that glass. Looks inviting, don't you think? Frito certainly enjoys them.

Old Age RVs

Old Age RVs, Belle Vista RV Park, Cayucos, CA, April 2008

So where do senior RVs go to retire? How about the Belle Vista RV/ Mobile Park. (Hey, it's where we were when the sun went down ;-) But it wasn't bad for just an overnight. They also had a section for RV storage. I thought all the shapes and colors of these stored RVs up against the blue sky was picturesque.

As we continued our morning walk with Frito, we rounded the corner and had this view of Cayucos State Beach. Not such a bad way to get some exercise, now is it?

Morning View, Cayucos State Beach, CA, April 2008

Headed toward the coast

Beach Time, Morro Strand State Beach, CA, April 2008

Anyone ever drive on SoCal freeways? My God! Those things are crazy. Rough I mean. And since we are in an RV, and not in any big hurry, we drive in the right lane -- where all the trucks ride. That means they are really beat up.

We couldn't really imagine the tooth-jarring adventure all day, so we decided to head to the coast and take a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway (CA Rt 1).

Here we are at the beach at Morro Bay. Frito was happy to get out and play a little. And we had a nice sunset.

West Coast Sunset, Morro Strand State Beach, CA, April 2008

Mega pine cones

Steve, Carol, Frito and the giant pine cones, San Gabriel Mountains, CA, April 2008

In addition to our "enlightenment", we also got to take a nice walk in the woods. Check out those giant pine cones. Those things are heavy and very sharp. And yes, we now have two of them in Thistle Dew Too's storage compartment.

Don't ask me why. Call it our first souvenier. (And yes, it is legal for us to take up to twelve each ... see what great restraint we showed? ;-)

The Enlightenment Weekend

First Outing, San Gabriel Mountains, CA, April 2008, L-R: Steve, Frito, and Carol Crisp; Terry Tanner; Denise and Garth Morrison, and our rigs, respectively (how come they are all blue?)

Yes! We took ownership of our new-to-us 2000 Lazy Daze Mid-Bath from Ed and Carol Daniels. They were picking up their new rig (same floorplan), and we flew out to the Mothership (aka Lazy Daze factory) to hand over the keys.

So where does one go on their first outing? Well, we made contact with Terry Tanner (of Techsnoz fame) via e-mail, since we wanted to get his LED tail lights installed. And he invited us and another couple out to his "hide-out" up in the mountains just outside of Pasadena, CA. (I could tell you where it's located, but then I'd have to shoot you ;-)

LD Enlightenment by Terry Tanner, San Gabriel Mountains, CA, April 2008

Terry declared this a weekend of "enlightenment", and that was surely the case. Oh yeah, he also installed LED lights on rigs ;-)

If you have not taken advantage of Terry's kind service to get your rear lights upgraded, I'd strongly encourage you to do so. He showed us just how dim the stock rear LD lights are. They simply would not get the attention of a vehicle following you. But the new ones, plus the third light he adds to the tire cover really pop! I would say these are a "must have" safety improvement. And for older rigs (like ours), I would also say the replacement Velvac mirrors are also a critical upgrade.