Back in San Diego

August 9, 2015
Yesterday we had lunch with our SLO Real Estate Agent friend, Cindi Petrovich. We ate at a taco shop in SLO. One of the properties we looked at with her, less than six months ago, that was on a lake is all dried up now. SLO has a water shortage like the rest of California. Anyway, it was nice to catch up with Cindi. She promises next time we meet to bring her partner Karen. We gave her a hard time about Karen being a figment of her imagination since she keeps promising to introduce us but the scheduling never works out.

We stayed last night at a Walmart in Oxnard. We got rousted at about 10PM by security and had to move. The security lady told us where we could move to so it was not much of an inconvenience for us, but we are tired today. I think all of the excitement of the last couple of days is catching up to us.

We arrived in San Diego today and we are staying at Joan and Pete's house for the night. We have a real bed and bathroom to use. It's ironic because their house overlooks our old house. So we are back at where we started over three months ago.

We can see the slow progress on the new pool at our old house. It is not near completion and I thought it would have been done by now so I could go swimming in it. The new owners promised me a swim and a look around at their remodeling of the house.

Judy just told me we visited 29 states on our trip. She is updating our progress on a paper road map that is yellow highlighted with our route. I will have to figure out how many miles we traveled.

I am not sure how much longer I will keep up the Blog since we are back at the beginning again.

Tomorrow we start preparing for the move to San Luis Obispo. We are feeling overwhelmed with excitement and fear. I suppose it will be like our Epic Adventure and we will ultimately have fun and be rewarded with new experiences. This is what happens when you, "Don't Quit Your Daydream".

Monica parked at our new residence

car parked in downtown SLO

Sadie and Joan

The House on the Hill

August 8, 2015
We signed a one year lease on a house on The Blue Stone Ranch, San Luis Obispo. It is a small two bedroom one bath with a single car garage. The layout will work for us and we will have room for both our cars and Monica.
More to come later...

Maybe the One

August 7, 2015
This was the last one on our list and we had almost given up on a place in San Luis Obispo. This one looks good and we filled out an application. We decided to sleep on it and we are not sure we will be chosen, but it looks good. Hopefully everything will come together tomorrow or fall apart.

We are at the free Concerts in the Plaza, San Luis Obispo eating bratwurst and drinking beer.

Tucked in the trees

Garage and parking

Free Concert

Rental Properties Near SLO

August 6, 2015

We looked at many rental properties today from Pismo Beach to Cambria. At least 123 miles on the odometer. There are not many rental properties in this area to look at and they don't last long on the market. We looked at shared living arrangements, places in the city, at the beach, and in the country. We have a couple more to look at tomorrow.
We are staying at Chorro Regional Park for the night.

Morro Bay

August 5, 2015
Bay Pines Travel Trailer Park

We spent last night at a Walmart in Stockton, Ca.

This morning we woke up at 6:15 to someone trying to steal our bikes off the bike rack on Monica. We looked out the rear window to a black guy messing with the bikes. He said he was just checking out the wheels. Judy yelled he's taking the bikes. I jumped up and went out and the guy said he wasn't taking them, but he had my bike on the ground and was getting ready to ride away. Two other guys were waiting in a running car next to the van. I said to the guy stealing the bike ; " you're taking it" he said back to me, " I'm not taking it". We kept saying the same thing to each other three or four rounds until I said,  she's calling the cops.

Judy came out with my cell phone and I told her to take a picture of his license plate. Judy put the phone up like she was taking a picture. The thief looked to get on my bike, but noticed the pedal was folded up and so he dropped the bike and got back in the car and they sped off.

We were lucky because the pedal was folded up on my bike so he couldn't pedal away.  And when he went to steal Judy's bike it got stuck in the bike rack. This guy didn't care we were there watching him attempt to steal our bikes.

The get-away car had no license plate and the phone was not turned on to take a picture. The whole thing seemed surreal to me,  especially my exchange with the thief about taking and not taking the bikes.

We will be locking the bikes every night from now on.

And no, Pumpkin did not bark. He didn't even get up out of bed.

Walmart, Stockton, CA

August 4, 2015
Judy says we are all business now. We are not interested in sight seeing so much because we can always come back this way once we get settled in our home. Our priorities have shifted to finding a place to live.
We are at a Walmart in Stockton, CA and on our way to San Luis Obispo, SLO. We have an appointment in SLO with our Real Estate Agent Cindi Petrovich on Friday.

Shasta Lake, CA

Electrical Towers, Walmart

Roseburg, Oregon

August 3, 2015
We drove most of today. We are camped at Rising River Campground for $34 per night.

There is also a picture of all my clothes and the Ebags I packed them inside. I brought more than enough clothes for the trip. I packed one pair of hiking boots, one pair of tennis shoes, and some CROC sandles.

Seattle Day Three

August 2, 2015
I had lunch with Christie and Greg. Greg made some beans, bbq chicken and salad. I brought the desert,  Haagen-Dazs ice cream.

It was fun catching up and I got to talk about our Journey so far. I showed them a map of the U.S. with yellow highlighting our route.
I can't believe we did all that.

And now we have to look at settling down. I wonder where we will land. There are not many rentals in SLO. We may have to look further south. It would be cool if it had a tree house or a pool and jacuzzi. It's hard to find a place that will take pets.

Judy and Traci went on a hike and geocaching. They found three geocaches. Traci has been doing it for a year or so and has over 500 geocache finds. That's a lot.

Seattle Day Two

August 1, 2015
Discount Tire called this morning and they found me a replacement tire so I got that installed. Judy, Traci, and Ian went to Bikram's Yoga. Then Traci went off geocaching and Ian and Judy went for a 25 mile bike ride on The Sammamish Bike trail. They did all this with a heat advisory for Seattle.

Traci and Ian's dog Kioko doesn't like Pumpkin so we have to keep them separated. Pumpkin and I are hanging out in the driveway with the AC on watching the parking lot. This might sound not so good, but it is actually okay. The condo is not air conditioned and the van does feel like home to us after three months living in it. Too bad there is nothing good on over the air TV.

Tomorrow there will be more of the same weather. I am going to visit Christie Wilson at her house and have lunch. She has two dogs that are Pumpkin's size so that will be good for him. At least if the dogs don't get along no one will be seriously injured or killed.

We have been able to get Ian's wifi in the parking lot so I have been researching places to live and rental properties. It's been mostly discouraging. There are not a lot of rentals in SLO and the ones we have found are less than ideal. Sometimes we both get a little worried about finding someplace to live especially with two pets. Our plans are to leave Seattle and has south Monday morning.

Redmond, Washington

July 31, 2015
We are at Traci and Ian's condo camping in the parking lot. We had a major tire failure on the freeway getting here. Judy was driving and the tread came off of the tire on the rear passenger side. It sounded like a bomb went off. She pulled over immediately and we looked under the car. We checked for a flat tire. The traffic was loud and busy. We were afraid to stop for very long and we were out in the middle of nowhere. The next exit was probably ten miles down the road. Judy said she thought she might have hit a tire tread. We jumped back in the van and went slowly for awhile listening for any problems. We drove for another hour on the tire with no tread and the wire showing through before we stopped. By that time part of the rear bumper had come off and the mud flap was hanging by a thread. We had passed a Discount Tire just before we stopped so we doubled back for repairs. Two days ago in Nampa I had been to Discount Tire for a tire rotation,  balance, and rotation.
Discount Tire did not have the exact tire match but provided us with a temporary replacement. We will get a permanent replacement in San Diego. We will fill out a claim form for the rest of the damages. Just another  epic road trip adventure.

KOA Pasco, Washington

July 30, 2015

After a nice visit, we left Nampa, Idaho at 9:45AM for a mostly driving day. We stopped in Baker at a park for lunch and in Richland at Walmart for food supplies. We camped at a KOA in Pasco, Washington for the night. It was 101 degrees when we arrived at our campsite. Today's forecast is 106  degrees. We are heading to Seattle to visit Traci and Ian and hopefully better weather.

We will be heading towards San Diego probably Monday morning. We will be stopping in San Luis Obispo, Carpenteria, Ventura, and any towns along the way where we might want to rent a home. Our tentative plans are to be in San Diego on August 18th. We will be house sitting and pet sitting until the end of the month at Ken's or if his plans change...

Road Art

More in Nampa

Wednesday Jody treated me to lunch at the LeBaron' Honked cafe in downtown Nampa. We split the chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, string beans, and a roll. It was delicious. We had a really fun and entertaining waitress named Coco. We then went to Jody's chiropractor for me to get adjusted. This was my second time to see him and I think it is helping my nagging neck pain. 

Judy went for a bike ride with Bill and Ann Marie along the Boise Greenbelt. They rode for 30 scenic miles.

We have been staying in Monica out in front of Jody's house. The street is very quiet and we are able to plug into her house for electricity. The weather is good so we don't need to run the air conditioner.

Yesterday we had dinner with the family, ( Robert, Debra, LeeAnne, David, Alex, and Paige), at Jody's house. Jody and Judy made enchiladas, refried beans, guacamole, and Spanish rice.

We loved staying and visiting with Jody and her energetic dog Bella. Her and Bella have been so nice and generous sharing their space with us. 

Bella

Jody, Bella, And Judy

Nampa, Idaho Jody's House

July 26, 2015

We are staying out in front of Judy's cousins host in Nampa, Idaho for the next couple of days. I have a chiropractic appointment tomorrow to get an adjustment. I am so looking forward to the relief that comes with proper spine alignment.

Today we saw EBR1, (Experimental Breeder Reactor), at The Atomic Museum in Atomic City on our way to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.

We are getting to the hard part of our journey. We are slowly on our way back to California, but we have no place to call home. Now that it is getting closer we realize we have to settle on a town and find a place to rent.
    

Making adjustments

Punky pushing the BUTTON 

Crater of the Moon

Crater of the Moon lava

People walking up to a lookout point

Movin' on Through

July 25, 2015

McCammon, Idaho

McCammon RV Park...sort of. Located by the Chevron Station next to the train tracks.

We went to Sink Canyon State Park in Lander, Wyoming. We saw the biggest trout, (twelve pounds or more), I have ever seen. Then we went to the Kemmerer Oyster Music Festival. I got a massage and we listened to music.

Sunset last night at Twin Pines RV Park

Sign outside coffee concession Kemmerer, Wyoming 

Red Canyon, Wind River Mountains, WY

Big trout

Kemmerer, Wyoming July 25, 2015

I got a great massage at a booth set up at the Oyster Ridge Music Festival. My neck and back have been bothering me so I hope to get some relief.

Twin Pines RV Park

July 24, 2015
Lander, Wyoming

The Anonymous Travelers" are back home in San Diego. They made it there on Monday the 20th.

We haven't had much cell service for the last couple of days. We like to avoid the big Interstate roads and set Monica on cruise control and let the miles roll by. The clouds have been really awesome. We like to listen to music, podcasts and talk. We have grown much closer on this trip. It amazing what can happen when you toss your whole world upside-down and live in a 18 foot van for three months. More on this later.

Mt. Rushmore

July 23, 2015
Keystone, South Dakota
We are in the same campground Kemps Camp as yesterday only in a different site.

We saw Mt. Rushmore today. It was bigger and more interesting than I had thought. What an amazing achievement and a work of art.

Judy went for a bike ride on one of the trails they have made from the old railroad tracks. 

this is the park where Judy started her ride

Flower art