March 3, 2008

Hello everybody!

Just so you know, I am in the process of setting
up a blog site....whoopppeeee! You wont have to
get a 17 page email from me unless you choose to
go look! Unless you are in Mrs Meehans First
Grade! But not until this one and maybe a couple
more are done...

Those seals were so darn cute we didnt want to
leave, as I mentioned. Which is why I sent a few
more photos of them earlier...

We spent the night at the Big Sur State Park
Campground, which is a really beautiful place -
especially in the daylight. After a walk around
the park, we decided that the 29 or so miles of
Big Sur Coast that we had driven in the dark the
previous night were worth driving backwards for.

There are several turnouts along Rt 1. I think we
stopped at at least 10 of them on our way back
south. They are all spectacular - the views, the
cliff-like drop-offs, the plants still blooming
in December, the color of the water below, the
tourists stopping to take pictures....

So here are some shots from Big Sur - I included
the one of the gorgeous, private beach, with its
private property sign. I didnt even notice the
sign until after the photos were in the computer!

We then drove north again, and got as far as the
Marina Dunes RV Park, just north of Monterey, CA.
I am only telling you this because if you ever
want a seaside RV park, this is a great one! It
is located right next to the huge sand dunes,
oceanfront. Of course the highway is on the other
side of the park, but it's relatively easy to
ignore, if you get a good site, which we lucked
into!

This was the first RV park where we were told we
had to empty the RV of all living things ( ie
Allie and us) while the propane was being pumped
in....in case we exploded during the filling of
the tank. Hmmmm - I guess in all the other states
it's OK to explode?

Next day, Dec 9, we were on our way to the San
Francisco Bay Area to meet up with Sarah, who was
in town for a geologists National Science
Foundation (?) Conference. We hadn't really done
any research into where we were going to
stay....but Sarah and her friend, former
roommate, and co-geologist, Carrie, went online
while we were driving...and they found a state
park in the middle of Oakland with RV sites!

Anthony Chabott State Park is at the top of one
of the highest "peaks" in Oakland. We used
Cynthia, the GPS, to help us get there. It was a
wee bit hairy going on all those major highways.
Then we took a turn, and began going uphill. And
uphill, and uphill. Soon we were on a dirt road,
looking at one another and questioning how we
were ever going to get out of there if we were,
perchance, in the wrong place.

We were in the right place! The State Park had 4
RV sites with hook-ups, and many beautiful
camping sites. If you walked to the edge of the
site you had an overlook of the city that was
spectacular! There are a couple of photos of the
campsite here. We arrived mid-afternoon. Our
mission, if you will, was to meet up with Sarah
and her friends in Berkeley, at Cesar's, a great
tapas-style restaurant, for dinner.

Several phone calls later, Sarah was stuck in
traffic in San Francisco with her friend, Bunny,
in a rental car. In the meantime we discovered
that the Park had a "curfew" - meaning that you
could not drive in the entrance after 10 pm. Now
that would be ok, except that the entrance was
fully 2.5 miles from the campsites, and there
were those spikey things sticking up in the
driveway, so that if you tried to come in after
10 pm you would ruin your tires!

We were going to take the scooter from the
campsite to the entrance of the park, then get a
cab to the BART (train) station in Oakland, then
ride the train to Berkeley - then it wouldnt
really matter what time it was when we got back
because the scooter could get around those nasty
spikes.

Well - glitch #1 - the scooter didnt start. Not
even a chance of flooding it, it was dead.

Ok - plan #2. We called the cab back (this was
the fifth cab company we called, most of them
only did city driving, and had never heard of the
State Park!) and asked if they could pick us up
as we walked towards the entrance. They said
yes....so we walked and witnessed a gorgeous
sunset - no photos, dang - and the cab brought us
to the BART station, where there are some very
cool photos that Ken took of people on the
escalator zooming the lens!

We got off the BART at the downtown Berkeley
exit, which is when we found out that Sarah was
stuck in traffic on the other side of the Bay. We
were supposed to meet up with Carrie outside the
station and then go to the resaturant... which
did happen!

All I can say is YUM...what a great place to go
eat! A changing menu of small plates with
signature cocktails - tables that are either
shared with other people or the right size for
your party....always packed, always terrific,
always a bit loud (if you are old, (-:-)

We got a ride back to the RV with Sarah and Bunny
in the rental car - before 10, no slashed tires!
The adventure will continue the next day!

Love, Mindy