Desert Hot Springs, Calif. Dec. 21, 2010

Yes, we will have a white Christmas, see it on the mountain!



The view out our front windshield at Catalina Spa RV park in Desert Hot Springs.



Palm Springs area, Dec. 2010

Cheryl relaxes at an exhibit on the tour



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At the top of the mountain, we enjoy the views



Yes, it had snow on top of the mountain!

We take a road tour around Palm Springs and up the mountain for a 125 mile road trip.

Why they call it "Palm Springs"!

It sits adjecent to the San Andreas fault which allows water to surface through the fault providing water for the palms. Otherwise this would remain a barren desert.

Visiting friends! 11/18/10

We will visit our friends, Charlie and Gayle Parker in Temecula, CA tomorrow! They came up to NY last summer to visit us and the area. They are native Californians who full-time like us. We wintered in Rio Grande Valley together last winter.

The Adventure Caravans Reunion, Santa Rosa, Calif. Oct./Nov. 2010

We crown a new King and Oueen
Harold and Francis Scidmore from Colorado

Our guests, all 120, enjoy welcoming remarks from the owners.

Cheryl and crew provide a wonderful  meal again!

Deserts are alway a favorite!

This is the bar set up we had! Wonderful!!

Spence Shaff and Mike Weinstein work the bar: beer, wine and soda flow!

We visit the state capital and old Sacramento, California

We enjoy a dish to pass supper at the campground

An amazeing railroad museum in Sacramento

A rose for my Cheryl!

Old Sacramento was once at the lower level, constant flooding caused them to raise the streets!

We did a tour of the State Capital with a very good guide!

San Francisco tour

The Golden Gate bridge welcomes us to San Francisco!

We ride the cable car up Russian hill

 A panorama of S.F. from Treasure Island with the Bay bridge

We visit China Town

San Francisco and environs

Not the kind of island you want to spend 30 years to life on! Not a problem if you live within the law! Alcatraz is a Nat. Park now.

You can spend many hours here with headphones giving you a self-guided tour.

Santa Rosa, Calif.

 We visit the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Warm Pupp[y Cafe for a breakfast buffet.

We can watch the skaters while eating! Remember the cartoon strip showed the characters playing hockey!

At the museum there were numberous cartoon strips showing the evolution of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. This wall is made up of four frame cartoons with night scenes outlining Lucy and Charlie.

We visit the canine training facility near-by where they train Lab-Retriever mix dogs to assist the handicaped!

San Francisco and environs Oct. 6, 2010

On the way to S. F. we stopped in Petaluma for a tour of Mrs. Grossmans sticker factory. I didn't realize what went into producing stickers! Very impressive. Here we "play" with stickers and make a postcard. Many thousands of stickers are donated to childrens hospitals and donated to raise money for autism programs.

In S. F. we ate lunch at Bubba Gumps at Pier 39 prior to takeing a boat out to Alcatraz Island and the infamous prison! This is where they locked up the worst of the worst. Again, the weather was great!

NAPA VALLEY WINE TRAIN Oct. 5, 2010

We were bussed to Napa Valley for a wine tasteing and lunch on a domed rail car. The weather was wonderful and the meal, gormet to say the least. Doug and Pauline Cook enjoy a great view from the domed car! There were fields and more fields of grape vineyards.

Bodega Bay Loop Drive, Oct. 4, 2010

Today we took a 70 mile drive out to the Pacific and Bodega Bay, where Alfred Hitchcock filmed portions of the "Birds" in 1964. It was here at the Tides resturant prior to it being rebuilt where some of the action took place. We watched the movie on a DVD while on a bus tour.

Arch rock and then on to Korbel cellars for a tasting and tour.

I said,"TASTING", Cheryl!!

San Francisco, Oct. 3, 2010

 We crossed the Golden Gate bridge to enter San Francisco on a great day. NO FOG to speak of!

We did a city "Highlights" tour. The weather cooperated and we had an opprotunity to get some nice photographs of China Town where we had lunch.

City panorama from Treasure Island in the bay.

Cheryl rides the cable care with our guests!

Santa Rosa, California

 Today we arrived in Santa Rosa for a six night stay. We are at the Fairgrounds campground which is very nice. The weather could not be better! Tomorrow we spend the day in San Francisco on a bus tour. More on that later.

Cheryl and I look for Gray whales moving up the coast off Bodega Bay. This is the town where "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock filmed with Tippi Hedren. We had some great clam chowder here also.

Fort Bragg, California Oct. 1, 2010

 Today we rode the Skunk train through the redwoods of Fort Bragg. It is cool here near the Pacific, but as we rode inland it was sunny and warm. Left, is the train station and below you see the open gondola car if you wanted to ride outside rather than in a pullman coach.

Below is a redwood with a "spring board" sticking out of it. The woodsmen would cut the trees off at 10-12 feet off the ground by standing on the board while cutting. We were told that the base of the trees are so full of water, they would not float down the river, so they cut them high!

Here Cheryl stands at the brink watching the sea rise and fall. The waves were very high this day. And, as you can see, Cheryl has a jacket on as the air from the Pacific is very cool! Tomorrow we drive south to Santa Rosa, Calif.