Pinto Lake, Watsonville, Ca.

     Always have the fishing gear packed in the basement (what storage under the coach is called) just in case we're on or near the water and feel like doing some fishing.  Usually it depends on the lake or stream and the State we're in and their fishing license requirements.  This place looked good and we're going to be here for a week without TV so why not do a little fishing, so I went in town and got a two day license for $23.50.  They rent boats, row boats for $10/hr. which I think is a bit steep since by the time I rowed over to a shore line suitable for fishing for some of those big bass it would cost me $10.  Talking to the gal at the boat house about all this she tells me and I start to see some signs posted that the lake is toxic!  No swimming, and don't eat any fish you catch!  Do they fish here a lot and catch big bass, oh yes and there's a wall full of pictures proving that point.  So it's a lot of catch and release and that is surely no problem for me, only usually keep what we can eat that day anyway.  But then I had to laugh out loud to what she said next, she said "yes it's pretty much catch and release except for the trout...........you can eat any trout you catch"!  You're saying I can't eat the bass, crappie, bluegill but I can eat the trout, why can I eat the trout and what makes them any different?  To which she replied "because there are not trout in the lake"..............WTF!  Just some humor I guess, but she looked dead serious I tell you, I think she meant every word of what she said.
     So the yesterday I strolled down to the lake with fishing gear in hand to snag one or two of those trophy bass I seen pictured on the wall.  There were a few local lads fishing and in talking to them I asked about the toxic water and the fish not being able to eat, to which they said "ya that's what they say but we eat some of them, no problems"........after reading the sign's I'm now wondering what's wrong with these fellows.  You see my first clue was when I purchased my license from the local "Big 5" sporting goods and mentioned doing a little fishing at Pinto Lake his reply was "oh you're going after some of those 3 eyed fish huh."  By late afternoon there were a few fathers and their kids throwing lines in all around me, I throwing lure after lure at the bass with no luck but these kids are throwing lines with just a salmon egg and catching bass................3-4 inch bass and having a blast!
     I'm forgoing my second day of fishing on my license, who knows maybe late tonight, but hey it was fun talking to the local boys and getting some insight to what's happening at Pinto Lake.  Here are some pictures of the signs down by the lake.

    

Watsonville, Ca. on 10,000 year old Pinto Lake

     From Morgan Hill, Ca. to Watsonville and Pinto Lake just 45 minutes down the road, that's what we did on Wednesday.  Now it's Friday and pretty much just another week of relaxation, not too many big plans for around here.  There will be time set aside for laundry because it's down to just a couple of pair of undies for the both of us.  Laundry day can sometimes be an adventure, especially at a place like this that doesn't have the laundry facilities needed for 3 big loads at the RV park.  We'll go into town as usual and try and find a nice laundromat, but you know how that goes and some of the folks you meet can look pretty surly!  We made our trip to the market on the first day after getting set up, picking up what we'll be needing for the upcoming week.  This year we're eating in a lot more and better meals for us, last year I gain 23 pounds back of the 30 pounds I lost before taking our journey.  This year I lost that back and an additional 12 pounds before leaving and I've vowed not to repeat last year and continue losing more.  How's that going you ask.......well as of today I've gained 8 pounds since leaving home, and that was a bit higher when leaving Sacramento.  We did a lot of eating out the first month of this journey and that's to be expected I guess with all the friends and family we've been visiting, and the BBQ's while in Sacramento were to die for!
     We'll most likely drive back towards Gilroy over the weekend for a taste of the Annual Garlic Festival, yes Gilroy the Garlic capital of the world has what we hear is a pretty lively festival each year.  We're living kind of primitive this week, not as far as the camping goes in the motor home but as far as being without TV for the week.  For some reason we're getting no satellite reception and they have no cable at this park, and the antenna to pick up local channels only gets Telemundo channels 1-4 and nothing else!  Oh well we still have the internet and can stream something every now and then, we at least will stream our soap opera (Young and the Restless) each night and most likely get our news from the web..........nothing new there, that's a daily thing with me anyway.
     A nice golf course right around the corner so sometime, probably Monday we'll give that puppy a go.  The golf course looks from driving by and down to the clubhouse like it's in great shape and pretty challenging but fair, no matter it'll be fun.
     This blog is getting lengthy so I'm closing for now but will be adding another right behind it with a update on the Lake (Pinto Lake) and the fishing.................stay tuned.      

Farmers Market and then a ride through berry country

     The morning started off with a visit to the farmers market, fresh veggies and a lot of peaches, and all the berries you could ask for.  We're in the middle of a fantastic growing area of California, a lot of berries, tomatoes, peaches and nectarines all grown right here along with melons and sweet corn.  So much organic stuff too and that was nice after reading an article about China and the processing of our food we send to them and they send back.

     After buying a few things from the market it was off to breakfast and a little place called "Just Breakfast" and being it was now 11:00 am this was just the place to be.  Now it was a ride through all this farm and wine country to Pinto Lake were we'll be setting up camp at the RV park on the lake next week for another week in the area.  This is about 45 minutes from where we're at now but on a lake where we can do a little fishing, they say there are some pretty big bass in the lake......catch and release!
     Tomorrow it's a ride to the Bay, San Francisco for a nice cool day in and around San Francisco.  Can't wait for that, we just love that area!

Where in the hell have I been for 16 days?

     Where do I start?  Last post was when we arrived in Vacaville. Ca. at the only RV park we could find in and around the Sacramento area, should have known with it being the 4th holiday and all.  We new Vacaville though, if you all that followed us last journey remember this is the same place we had the rear end replaced in the motor home by the fine folks at Midwest Trucking.
     The surprise was a good one, we pulled that one off and the party at Don and Sharon Papers was just as billed, on of the best BBQ parties you'd ever attend.  We are so happy we decided to do this and bee line it to California for the happening.  Cousins, Don, Bill, Rich and even Jeff from Oklahoma were there and most of their families, it was good to see all of them again.  We ended up staying there two weeks, after the party spending a lot of time with Rich, Jeff and Lynn Paper while Don was on a fishing trip to Mexico for that week.  We ended up waiting until Don got back so we could spend a little more time with him and Sharon, just at this point regret no going to Modesto to spend more time with Bill and his girls.
     The plan all along was to spend that time in the Sacramento area and then head to the coast around Half Moon Bay and get a spot over-looking the ocean...............poor planning once more and it being summer and kids out of school really cost us once again.  We checked RV parks from Vallejo to San Jose and ended up here in Morgan Hills, Ca. about 75 minutes south of San Francisco and not over looking the ocean.  The park is nice and the town is another one of those quaint little towns with a neat down town and nice little shops, and oh yes a few pretty nice looking golf courses too!  We golfed Coyote Creek yesterday and if our backs hold up we'll try one over in Gilroy before we leave. 
     While looking for this place I spotted another interesting RV park in Watsonville about 45 minutes south of here, Pinto Lake RV Park and it sits on a lake with boating, fishing etc.  We made reservations for next week over there and after that who knows what we'll be doing.
     We are now planning on taking the "Caltrain" which runs from here into San Francisco each day rather than driving over or up there.  It's a commuter that runs from all the small towns from here up to the Bay area, leaves this station 3 times between 6:30am and 7:30 am and if you stay till the last train we'd return around 7:30 pm which will make for a long but fun day I'm sure.  Just can't miss the train or we'll be spending the night in hotel in San Francisco..........................oh well.
     Yes it's been 16 days of a lot of laughing and fun with cousins and their families and you can't believe the hospitality we were shown and how much we appreciated that.  My back has been acting up quite a bit even to the point of having to visit a chiropractor while in Vacaille, it's still sore and hurts on and off but living with it for now.  Might have to do something about it when we get back to Phoenix.  This week will be a lot of relaxing, like today we did absolutely nothing all day but hang around the motor home, tomorrow a short ride and another day of rest and probably that train ride to San Francisco on Monday.  I will try and keep up with this blog more often from now on out, I enjoy it and hope you do too! 

July 1st and here we are!

     There will be a surprise visit to someone in the next few days, I've basically been a bit vague about where we're headed and exactly where we've been for that reason.  This may or may not work or surprise anyone but we're trying while at the same time keep friends and family up to date on where we're at, where we've been and where we're headed.  With Face Book and blogs and e-mails it's hard not to let on the direction of our visits and directions we been and are heading from there.  I think at times we're hoping some folks don't read or pay too much attention to some of the post we've made, I'm hoping the blog is read by many and if so have been keeping a bit close exactly our destinations and times spent here and there.
     Let's change the subject to cost of seeing your country via the highways and the by-ways, it is becoming harder and harder to do in vehicles like our motor home.  The price of operating this vehicle has really gone up each year since we've owned out rig.  The fact that the United States now has the ability to produce all the oil and gas we need and also can export some to others should mean lower prices.  As long as the administration continues to stop us from drilling off shore and in so many other places is ridiculous in my opinion.  Since North Dakota and Montana have been producing so much gas and oil we have more than enough and should no longer have to import from foreign countries at outrages prices they set.  Hopefully we elect someone and enough Senators to make the much needed changes in order to make our country energy independent, and thus easier on us to continue to see this wonderful country we call home.  To let you know we left Phoenix June 30th to $3.20/gal gas and have been steadily going up the entire trip so far, we're finally in a place where the gas is between $3.95 and $4.15 a gallon depending on the station.  Anytime we here of more violence in oil and Arab nations our gas price go up and don't seem to ever go back when all is said and done.  Why is the fact that Iraq and folks of their neighboring countries that want to and continue to fit each other in civil wars have any control over out gas prices?  We don't need them or there oil, we have plenty right here at home, just let us take it from the ground!
     Well that did have something to do with our trip, the gas prices are starting to hurt a bit and we like others would like to see some relief in the future, regardless we'll always find a way to make these voyages because we like it so much and enjoy seeing the USA from shore to shore and border to border!
     In a day or so the cat will be out of the bag and I'll share where we are right now and why we're here and being so secretive.................stay tuned.