MARIN COUNTY

Acqua Hotel Mill Valley

Sorority sister Carol

It was a pleasure to settle down for 9 days at Acqua, a charming boutique hotel in Mill Valley. Our room faced Richardson Bay which we enjoyed walking and biking along.  The highlight of this stop, however, was visits with several friends including a sorority sister I had not seen in over 40 years.  I had a "catch up" visit with Carol before we met Ron for lunch.  It turned out to be Carol's birthday - even more reason to celebrate.  

Ron with Tove & Gene

Gene & Tove's home in Tiburon 

Coastal Redwood 909 - 1930

Another treat was seeing several friends from last year's world cruise including Tove and Gene who live in nearby Tiburon.  We had a wonderful dinner at their beautiful home overlooking San Francisco Bay.  
   

Ron supporting the Redwoods

Muir Woods National Monument

We were fortunate to have great weather the day we went to Muir Woods, home of some of California's magnificent coastal redwoods.   150 million years ago, redwood and sequoia trees were growing throughout the United States but most have been destroyed by development. In California, almost 2 million acres of old growth forest was lost to logging.  Thanks to William Kent, the stretch known as Muir Woods was saved because he donated it to the Federal Government and Theodore Roosevelt declared it a National Monument.  Rather than having it named after him, Mr. Kenwood requested that the land be named after his friend, naturalist John Muir. We have Muir to thank for our national parks as he petitioned Congress for the National Parks Bill that passed in 1890.


"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike."   John Muir


                                              Now it is on to Napa Valley.    

PISMO BEACH, PASO ROBLES and MONTEREY

Wine tasting in Paso Robles

California has everything!  From seashore to desert, valleys to mountain peaks, it is an ever changing landscape.  It also has ever changing weather!  Unfortunately, the 2 days we spent at  Pismo Beach were cold and rainy, but going inland a little to Paso Robles we found some sunshine.  

Paso Robles is slightly north of San Luis Obispo in the heart of the central coast wine country.   Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio spent the first night of their honeymoon here (don't ask me why).  It was established in 1870 by Jesse James’ uncle Drury James.  Jesse hid out in tunnels underneath the original Paso Robles Inn. 


California's Highway 1 is one of the most scenic drives in the world. We were fortunate in that the weather was clear and the road had not been closed due to rock slides.  It was hard for me to believe that some15 years ago we navigated the same hills and curves in a 40' motorhome with a car hitched to the back.  

(Ron and I sold both our homes when we married in 1995. We bought a motorhome and lived in it full time for 6 years as we  traveled all over the US and Canada.  On this 9 month circle the U.S. car trip, we are re-visiting some places we especially liked as well as making sure we see some areas we missed.)

Slightly north of San Simeon and Hearst Castle is a large colony of northern elephant seals, the largest of the seal species.  Males can be 20 feet log and weigh over 5,000 lbs.  Females are much smaller, about 1,600 lbs.  The males fight aggressively for dominance to win and protect harems of about 50 females.  Once a year elephant seals shed all their fur.  It is called a ‘catastropic molt.’  Here they rest in the sun - exhausted from mating season? They line the beach as far as you can see.

Northern Elephant Seals

We stopped in Carmel By The Sea for lunch en route to Monterey.  Both towns have grown considerably since we were last here.  Monterey has morphed from a fishing village into a major tourist town.  

Pacific Grove, next to Monterey, is reminiscent of Carmel some 20 years ago.  The coastal drive around the peninsula is gorgeous with views to rival Pebble Beach’s 17 mile drive – sans the $9.75 toll.  We returned to Monterey to visit Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row.

Shacks immigrants lived in

In the early 1900s, after attempts to can salmon failed, Monterey turned - wth great success - to canning sardines.  Most of the laborers were from Sicily but workers also migrated there from Japan and the Philippines.The market collapsed in the 1940s; all but a few  canneries closed by the early 50s.  Cannery Row was made famous by John Steinbeck's book of the same name.  Steinbeck, one of the great American writers of the last century (Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden) won both the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes. 

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

Su Nido Inn in Ojai

Santa Barbara pier

Mission at Santa Barbara

Danish village of Solvang

We spent several days on the border of Oxnard and Ventura. We had hoped to visit the Channel Islands National Park, five islands just off the coast, but were discouraged by cold, windy, rainy days.  Fortunately, the weather was in our favor during the 5 days we spent in Ojai (oh-hi).  This idyllic area was the site of Frank Capra’s 1936 movie Lost Horizon.  Ojai Valley was the Shangri La Ronald Coleman discovered.  

The charming little town has an artsy/new age ambiance and boasts a ten mile “rails to trails” path for hikers, bikers and horses. We were fortunate to be there the one day of the week they show an art festival film.  The showing that day was  “Whistleblower,” a true story about an American policewoman who went to Bosnia as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission and uncovered a human trafficking ring in which members of the UN played a part – either directly or in covering it up.  A woman who addressed the audience after the film said that there are at least 27 million slaves in the world today of which more than 2.5 million are sex slaves. 

Ojai was also the American residence of Krishnamurti, considered one of the greatest philosophers and spiritual teachers of the last century.   We visited his home and retreat center.  Our visit to Ojai was enhanced by the cozy one bedroom apartment we had at the Su Nido Inn, a small complex built around a lovely courtyard. 

Ballard Inn

We were in Santa Barbara, sometimes known as the American Riviera, over Easter weekend.  

During our time there, we enjoyed walking State Street and the pier, eating at a few of the numerous restaurants.  On Sunday, we strolled through the weekly art show, drove around Mendocito and followed winding paths across the Santa Ynez mountains to the Santa Barbara Mission.  Completed in 1820, it was the tenth of 21 Franciscan missions built in California.

One of best schools in Santa Barbara

125 miles north of Los Angeles and not far from Santa Barbara, six small and picturesque communities sit within the Santa Ynez Valley.  They are surrounded by the Santa Ynez and San Rafael mountain ranges.  This is big wine producing country and wineries abound.  It is also some of the prettiest countryside you can imagine. 

Western village of Santa Ynez

The biggest of the villages is Solvang.   It was founded in 1911 by a group of Danes who had come west to escape harsh midwestern winters. The architecture reflects traditional Danish style, the restaurants serve Danish dishes and there is even a replica of the little mermaid statue.  After lunch in Solvang, we drove on to our destination, the Ballard Inn.  The town has less than 500 residents but the Ballard School has been in operation since 1882 and is one of the top performing schools in Santa Barbara County.

We spent 3 nights in a charming room at the beautiful Ballard Inn. While there,

Santa Ynez library

we visited Los Olivos (seen in the movie Sideways), and the western style town of Santa Ynez.  There we saw a replica of one of the stagecoaches that passed through all these towns.  As you can see from the pictures, the stage coach is almost bigger than the local library.   

In the late afternoon the Ballard Inn hosts a wine and hors d'ouevres hour for guests.  It is a wonderful way to meet fellow lodgers, and provided some of the pleasurable memories we will carry of this beautiful area.

PALM SPRINGS, TEMECULA, LA JOLLA and RANCHO SANTA FE

Palm Springs 

In the last few weeks, we have stayed in Palm Springs, Temecula, La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe.  Years ago, when we had our motorhome, we spent some time in Palm Springs.  It has changed.  Many of the upscale shops and restaurants have moved to Palm Desert.  We found Palm Springs to be kind of funky and fun, and we had a peasant two weeks there.  

Scott, Ann, Geri, Ron Temecula

Then we drove over to Temecula for a week long seminar at the Foundation for A Course In Miracles.  This has been our spiritual path for many, many years and we try to get out here at least once a year.  It is always nice to see familiar faces and friends we have made over the years.   

Debbie, Conrad and Ron

Estancia Hotel La Jolla

View from the Inn into town

The fabulous weather changed abruptly on March 17.  That is the day we left Temecula and drove to La Jolla. It was rainy, windy, foggy and cold.  For the next couple of days, we shivered in 50 degree weather while it was in the 80s in Chicago and the northeast.  But the sun finally came out, temperatures rose into the 70s and we enjoyed our last couple of days at the beautiful Estancia Hotel in La Jolla. While there, we were able to spend a little time with two different couples we befriended on past cruises and had not seen in a couple of years.  Conrad and Debbie invited us to lunch and a matinee performance of Room 

Our room at Rancho Santa Fe

With A View at the Old Globe Theater.  We did not realize until we approached the theater and saw a sign that it was named after Conrad.  He is such a dear and humble man that you would never realize he is one of San Diego’s greatest  philanthropists.   


Another delightful couple, Cheryl and Imre, came to the Estancia one night to have cocktails and dinner with us.  As I've said before, one of the great pleasures of traveling like this is seeing friends along the way.

We are spending a week in Rancho Santa Fe, a quaint and charming town about half an hour north of San Deigo.  Ron is looking forward to seeing a former patient whom he inspired to become a chiropractor.  On March 28, we begin our travels  north.  

GREAT READ: "Behind The Beautiful Forevers" is a true and heartwrenching story about the slums of Mumbai, India.

PALM DESERT

FEBRUARY 7, 2012:  We arrived in Palm Desert, California.  I looked at renting a house here but they were all in gated communities; you had to  drive everywhere.  Consequently, we settled at the Embassy Suites for our 3 week stay.  It was ideal.  We had a 2 room suite overlooking the pool and could walk to the famed El Paseo Drive – the Worth Avenue of the California Deserts. Embassy Suites offers a wonderful breakfast with plenty of fresh fruit and cooked to order eggs.  In the evening, they have a complimentary happy hour but we preferred the many upscale Happy Hours in the area since we like to eat light at night. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, for example, offers reduced price drinks and a bar menu that includes salads, crab cakes, sliders etc.  

Alan, Geri, Marc, Ron at Mission Inn

We enjoyed visiting local art shows and the weekly College of the Desert street fair.  Of course, we can’t buy anything as our car is overfull already but it is always fun to look.   We were delighted to see Marc, a friend from the 2011 Voyager World Cruise.  He invited us to a wonderful dinner at his Indian Wells Country Club.   Alan, another friend from the World Cruise, was in Los Angeles briefly and came out to spend a few days with us.  The four of us drove to Riverside where Marc gave us the grand tour of the historic Mission Inn.  

We don’t have to travel far to our next stop: Palm Springs.

SEABOURN LECTURE ENGAGEMENT:  I will be lecturing on the Seabourn Quest transatlantic crossing Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale, November 24 – December 7, 2012.    Would love to see you on it!

TUCSON and SCOTTTSDALE, ARIZONA

Ventana Canyon, Tucson AZ

We celebrated Ron's 75th birthday in Tucson at the beautiful Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort.  This was a marvelous deal from luxurylink.com.  It included 5 nights lodging with a full breakfast each morning, one 3 course dinner for two, and two massages each. We enjoyed every minute there.  

Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort

Next stop: Scottsdale, Arizona.  As so often happens, what started out as a problem turned into a blessing. We had rented an apartment for a week but it was a far cry from the picture in the ad.  Fortunately, we were able to get our money back but drove around anxiously looking for a place to stay.  We found a great hotel in an ideal location -- walking distance to Old Town and Fashion Square Mall. 

Celebrating Ron's birthday

Microsoft recently opened stores to rival Apple and there was one in the Mall.  I've been looking for a new ultraportable laptop for travel.  I was impressed with the Asus which is ranked at the top and we bought it.  It came with Windows 7 and the 2010 version of Office.  I've been frustrated at times but for the most part, I've enjoyed getting used to the changes, updates and additions.  


We were fortunate to have a friend in Scottsdale.  Marlene spent a day giving us the grand tour of Phoenix and Scottsdale.  


On February 7, we drove out of Arizona into California and our next destination: Palm Desert.

CROSS COUNTRY DRIVE: BOCA RATON to HOUSTON

Our chariot

After disembarking Celebrity on January 5, 2012, we had a very busy week in Boca Raton.  Getting ready for our 9 month circle the USA car trip necessitated appointments with doctors, dentists, car check ups and the biggie: sorting through our clothes in storage and packing the car.  It was exhausting and stressful but on 1/12/12, we hit the road.  (Last year we closed on the sale of our condo on 1/11/11.  Wonder what 1/13/13 will hold.)  

Bright white sand and lots of water along Florida's Panhandle

We made it to Tallahassee and spent the night before moving on to Destin, Florida where we rented a cute apartment near the beach for a week. We were told the oil spill did not do much damage to the beautiful water and white, white sands of the Panhandle but the media coverage destroyed the tourist industry for that period.  Unfortunately, the weather was not conducive to sunning in mid-January but we caught up on a few movies, relaxed and began planning future stops.

Cottage we rented in Destin, FL

We stopped overnight in Baton Rouge, Louisiana before heading on to Houston, Texas to visit our friend Hans.  It was hard to believe that 10 years had passed since we met and last saw Hans on the 2002 Regent World Cruise. What a treat it was to visit him and his friend Vuthy and stay in the beautiful guest house.  Hans gave us a wonderful tour of Houston.  It is a very impressive city and the 4th largest in America.  Vuthy is from Cambodia and a marvelous cook.  They spoiled us with good food, wine, conversation and games.

Our wonderful hosts: Hans and Vuthy

At Hans' house in Houston

One of the nicest things about traveling like this is getting to visit friends who live all over the country.  As we drove across the long,  long state of Texas, we were able to stop for lunch with friends in San Antonio.  Then it was on the road again and another overnight stop before reaching Las Cruces, New Mexico.  After several long days of driving, we wanted to settle in for 3 nights, get caught up on email and make some future travel plans before heading to Tucson where we will celebrate Ron's birthday.  
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