Penthouse RV

This recreational Vehicle has got a bit of fine styling, and has a captains lookout/ penthouse apartment. very handy if you don't like bungalows

Santa Barbara beach was a beautiful place. We ate succulent steaks in a restaurant on the pier overlooking the harbour. we had wonderful service and a view to die for... How many times have you heard that.
We also bought a souvenier but I am sworn to secrecy so you will have to guess that it is a photo of our favourite bird whos beak can hold more than his belly can... Come on wake up Ellie

Penelopes futile camouflage attempt.

We visited this lavender farm, which we smelled long before we saw it. The flowers are cropped before the seeds fall, and left in the sun to dry when they are effectively threshed to extract the seeds and husks
These are hand sieved, before being put in to a copper still to extract the all important essnce of lavender. Janet has made an effort to support the local economy, whilst disguising the smell of our growing bag of dirty washing in the suitcase.

Solvang the Danish Capital of California

Apparently ther was a windmill mine discovered just up the road from here.
Some of them are still standing, but in this gas guzzling society they have all been nailed up to make them less energy efficient.
The Danes were noted travellers in fact some of them were Great! The town is really pretty. They can grow the fancy blue flowers that Sara grows at least twice as big, and have the friendliest way of parting tourists from their money... by tantalising you with pastries or subtly fermented grapes which they have painstakingly encapsulated in glass bottles and sealed with a cork like material.Here comes the double whammy in order to extricate said libation they sell you a speciallist device not unlike our own corkscrew, which the Motel sees as non essential, and does not provide as standard along with the TV, VCR, CD player, Air Con Unit, Microwave, Fridge, 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, bath mat, King Sized bed, Piezo ignition log fire in authentic stone fireplace.individually wrapped shower cap and various toiletries etc. I am forced to ask myself what the world is coming to. If the airline industry was not scared that I was going to cause inappropriate upset to their passengers crew and schedule, I would have had my less than dangerous plastic Volvo one in my rucsack. I have risen to the challenge, and tonights libation is a well chilled 2006 Bernardus Chardonnay that I intended to open last night before being short circuited by the largesse of Bill and his good lady. I can report that it has travelled well, (but is unlikely to do so again as we are here for two nights)

Her Castle and Solvang

We drove down from Her Castle. (Yes Heather that really was the name of the Band B we stayed in last night.) to Solvang today. Her Castle was run by a charming couple who looked after us phenomenally well, despite our Yorkshire charm. Lovely soft bed, quiet basement room, completely en suitewith terace to either side, and a welcoming bottle of chilled wine. . My advice to you all is not to leave it till the dollar strengthens.
Bill is an author, and we had a good chat with him over the most thorough breakfast, about a range of ecological projects he is working on, and I have left with a copy of his book on solar power for use on the plane. (Do not misconstrue dear reader. The plane will run on aviation fuel as usual and I will read the book whilst it does so,) although... given we will be well above the clouds and there fore on the same (sunny) side of them as the sun, there may be scope for some solar panel fixing on the upper aerofoil sections, and these might be capable of powering such things as air conditioning, or less usefully emergency lighting when it gets dark. I will doubtless get a battery of protests about this!

The Solvang Gardens Lodge is apleasant motel with a difference. It has really well laid out shaded gardens, which given temperatures have risen substantially in our 100 odd mile drive south, is refreshing.
There is a secret garden where you can have a quiet nap. uninterrupted by paparazzi, where your beard can grow in peace,, a key feature if you live life on the edge as we have been doing. THe stylish headgear I am currently modelling was purchased from a pony at Assateague bay early in our trip. I have sewn up the holes where his ears poked through, to give added protection to my thinning pate, and am adopting a provocative pose by teasingly showing the chin strap, which has proved so useful fully dployed, when Penelope discards her top and is blasting down the freeway.

Morro Bay lunch

This lunch included a beef sandwich so big we could not get it all on the photo
The beef involved was carved by two pleasant young girls who took it in turns to force the knife three times through a succulent medium rare spit roasted joint reducing its size by a centimetre per stroke, before levering it between a gigantic roll and climbing on to a stool to facilitate cutting it in half. Janet and I had one each, in order to balance our seafood diet and were charged the equivalent of £4 each for the sandwich chips and as much coffee as we could drink. The 'Naked Man' could learn a thing or two about pricing strategy.

With a view to die for out over Morro rock, and pelicans divebombing the water all around in a feeding frenzy it was another particularly memorable occasion.

Giant Californian Redwood forest.

We have spent a lot of time searching for the remnants of this alleged forest (You may rmember our dismal failure at Muir woods) and could not believe our luck, when we chanced upon it in the garden of our B and B.
Planted around 1824. (I am open to correction as I know I am unlikely to be right), This particular specimen provides excellent shade for the guest house, and is almost certainly the reason why all the downstairs floors are out of horizontal, giving the guests many of the benefits of inebriation without the hangover. An observed benefit of the uneven floor was that skirting Boards were well dusted in the hope of finding any loose change that inevitably rolled and accumulated around the rooms perimeter.
Front left you will see Penelope, anticipating another sun soaked day.

We stayed here two nights, and were impressed with the breakfasts.




On the first morning, having taken 15 of the advised twenty steps to our 'private bathroom', I was confronted by a film crew who ere doing a feature article on the place. I coloured (or maybe covered) up a little, but will doubtless be responsible for any upturn they might have in their trading.Janet is pictured outside holding up part of the verandha.

an impromptu snowcem practice

Morro Rock

Did we get lost and end up in Rio.
Not quite. Over my right shoulder which is perversely on the left when you view it, is a work in progress in many respects. Having had the good fortune to be blessed with such an impressive natural landmark visible to the naked eye from 20 miles up and down the coast, (and an obvious attraction to hundreds of thousands of tourists a year) there was a period of frantic activity (that Bob Leakey would have fought with ferocity to the exclusion of all else) when some well meaning people decide to treat it like the Skipton Anticline and turn it in to Ashphalt (roadstone) Some local spoilsports objected to this and therefore do not have the benefit of a big hole in the ground (where this obvious eyesore still stands) in which to bury their rubbish like Skipton does.
Meanwhile the seabirds are 'relieved' (sorry) to be able to continue with what they see as being one of the last real challenges in the modern world.

Kitesurfing at Morro Bay

This rock dominates the seascape from miles away, and eventually provide the basis for a snug and picturesque harbour for the town of Morro
More of that later
maybe 2 Morro

Classic coastal vew

Here Janet is providing some foreground interest for yet another attempt by the seabird population to redecorate the distant high water line. Mariners have been very grateful for these attempts as it provides excellnt contrast under poor lighting conditions, and has averted countless mishaps.

I want your log for my blog

An otherwise docile elephant seal takes an interest in something uninteresting just because some other seal has it.
Apparently they are always branching out.

Elephant seals

We have come accross loads of spectacular wildlife, some of it very busy, and some of it pretty lethargic and reminiscent in many ways of the teenage children we have left behind us. These elephant seals are such an example, laid there on the beach waiting for thewater to come to them, isolated from the human species in case they were to rashly and inappropriately interact with them, and quite happy to spar and confront each other over matters which were indiscernable to the casual observer. In this shot the seal is apparently balancing a log on his nose in the hope of attracting a circus scout. Times are clearly hard down here.

Why are all the rocky islands white.

A good question, and one that deserves serious contemplation.

1. My first stab was geological. Some quartz or limestone stratum that ran roughly parallel with the coast and had been erratically weathered to expose itself periodically along the coast


2. An enthusiastic coastguard service looking to highlight potential dangers to shipping by painting all rocks above the high water mark with luminous white paint


3. My mind strayed back to my sea cliff climbing days in Cornwall, where the unsurpassable friction of the granite was occasionally compromised by an idle cormorant or shag that was not prepared to leave its nest before depositing the contents of its bowel on key hand or foot holds.


4. As I pondered in this vein my mind digressed to an energetic and objectionable fulmar petrel that disgorged its undigested stomach contents at my face as I tried to share its ledge during a tricky mantleshelf move at Bosigran


5. The dawn was slowly breaking.... If you create a state park over 400 miles of coast and forbid human interference with sea mamals and birds they are likely to take advantage by breeding prodigiously, which is what the good State Park managers had hoped would happen. It is a trait of all animals to mark their territory, and I had temporary visions of Gulls, Cormorants, Sea Eagles and colossal numbers of Pelicans each with their buckets of snowcem painting away above the high tide mark.


6. There was clearly a defining moment where a key Cormorant was too idle to get his snowcem from the stores and pooped on his patch in order to cover his tracks so to speak. This fine example was quickly followed, and explains why the demand dropped and we havent seen snowcem in the shops for over 20 years. (maybe the bottom dropped out of the market).

Anyhow there are lots of bird poo islands and they glisten beautifully in the photos.

I recall a story about Noah finding his ark in danger of capsizing from the poo from two of every animal accumulating in dangerous proportions,and ordering it to be shovelled over the side. Apparently it lay there until the floodwaters subsided and Columbus discovered it.

Who knows where the truth lies. I will try and avoid fiction lest it causes offence, given that I am posting this blog in California.... Come to think of it it might have been Captain Cooke that discovered it!

Carmel to Cambria

This was not a journey, but an absolute delight. The travel books whet your appetite, the odd photos on the internet of views from here and there tell you it is really pretty, but what is hard to believe is the continuity of the vista, the beauty of everything around you, and how the road is actually made for driving on. Every time the view changes/ gets bettter(like every 50 yards, a turn out (lay by) appears and you can roll off the road irritate penelope by leaving the keys in the ignition, opening the door (causing her to Ping exasperatedly at your sheer incompetence), and get out and take a photo or two.

In truth we should have organised an overnight stop here in advance so we could have pulled off at at least some of the state parks with waterfalls landing directly on to the beach, and had a closer look at what is truly marvellous countryside.

In the event we probably stopped every 5 miles, and less in some cases, to gorge(pardon the pun) ourselves on the precipitous delights that unfolded.

Fair dos. You can't take our word for it. You will have to do it yourselve. But I had forgotten what driving for pleasure was. The road is steep in places , but not like Langcliffe Brow. It has tight bends, but the thoughtful Amercans adjust the camber of the road so that the car leans out from the corner and rolls easily round it, aligning itself for the next surprise.

The thoughtful American have advisory speed limits on every bend that merits lifting your foot from the throttle, yet they want you to enjoy the road, and its sweeping turns without having to mop up vomit from the kids ( or suitcases ) in the back, so the advice is good . Dad enjoys the drive without crawling cautiously round every bend, and mum sits comfortably in the front seat luxuriating in the views.

Without a doubt. This was the highlight of our trip so far. I know the photos will be as meaningless to you as the ones we saw before our departure. The road just goes on and on. Thankfully the fog of Carmel lifted to give us bright unhindered sunshine, and the opportunity to regret not choosing a more all encompassing form of headgear, / sun deterrent.

We stopped for a quick stroll round point Lobos, steak in Big Sur (a blessed relief from seafood), An ice cream at Lucia, and were almost tempted to make a sixty mile reverse drive and part with $400 for a king size bed in a cliff top apartment at Ragged point on the Friday night.

In the event our timing was impeccable and we rolled up at the door of our current abode with 10 mins to go before our host shut up shop.

Do look at the pictures, enlarge them, ponder the scale, and then imagine driving from Birmingham to Kendal without seeing anything other than beauty (unless you were careless enough to catch your reflection in a wing mirror.)

How far do you want to go?

In my mind, Big Sur was to be the spectacular part of our road trip, and I had this urge to spend a couple of days there soaking up the atmosphere.

In my Giggleswick cocoon I had checked websites, established potential stopping off spots, but wished to remain fluid about our time of arrival and choice of bed on the basis that hoteliers were doubtless queueing up for our patronage.I had (cleverly as it turned out ) booked Moss landing in advance, and agreed an extra night there thanks to the fluidity of our plans, and the hospitable welcome we had received Two nights in Big Sur turned out to be the Big Ask. Despite considerable amounts of midnight oil, sprawled with countless maps and hotel guides on the floor at Moss Landing , all 7 key players proved to be

1. Absolutely full
2. Not need our patronage
3. Be unconcerned that we were in urgent need of help
4. Did not relent even when facedwith the matrimonial angst caused by sleeping with/ in Penelope.

As a result we booked ourselves in to the Olallieberry in Cambria, a good distance south on the recommendation of Melanie and the promise of a $10 discount.

Penelope

Penelope is becoming an important influence on our lives, and like most fickle women, having arrived without a manual, is taking some getting used to. The real asset of Penelope was always supposed to be that on Highway 1 we could drive with wind through my/ our hair. She was not originally forthcoming with this asset, and chides me constantly for minor transgressions, such as not using my seat belt, trying to leave with the lights on(something a volvo takes inits stride), and she will positively not let me put the key in my pocket unless the handbrake is on and she is in p for park. Personally I see these 'automatic responses' as flaws in her character, and eeventually, manual or no manual I removed our luggage from the apparently Gaping Ghyll sized boot, pressed the button inviting her to let her hair down and watched as she transformed herself in to a sleek, aerodynamic temptress justwaiting to be handled.
Well actually for once I was so mesmerised at the amount of boot lifting hood folding and window dropping going on that I left her to it. Hopefully the video (wow thats how impressive it all was) will be self explanatory.
This explains how, as we set off on the dramatic Moss Landing/ Big Sur / Cambria part of our journey we were to be fried to the scant roots of our bald patches. More crucially now that the boot was filled with hood, we had the slight problem of luggage on the drive. Clarkson has mentioned these issues in his chirpy on screen gambits,without providing a solution other than sarcastic whingeing, however as there was a back seat with seat belts and a suitcase each the biggest problems largely resolved themselves. The devil as ever is in the detail. and what becomes of our polystyrene cool box lid and various maps and other critical paperwork like where we are hoping to stay is a matter for frivolous conjecture

Carmel

We took Penelope to an upmarket shopping precinct today. She took a while to find a parking spot to her liking, and then asked for my credit card and diappeared with janet hanging on for grim death. Carmel is Marks and Spencer answer to Montereys Woolworths. More crucially and no doubt in deference to and considered flattery of Uk visitors with £s rather than dollars to spend, their sizing makes us all considerably smaller so we all are expected to buy more.
Once they have you in the shop it is like you have your own personal shopper. Things that are a normal escape route at home don't work here.
Eg "my parking ticket is about to run out and Idon't want a fine," is met by " where are you parked, we have valet parking right here" (which translates roughly as .. is a fine really worth spoiling your wifes shoppng experience for.) Clearly the answer was yes, and we escaped with only three items in the bag and an exhausted sales assistant chasing us down the street waving four garments in this years colours.
We returned to an anxious penelope who had two minutesleft on her ticket and was, trembling at the the sight of an oncoming traffic cop with a sensor that says how long you have been parked, and automatically writes the ticket based on the numberplate sensor. Close shave.

Monterey and the Aquarium.

I am getting to know Monterey quite well by now, we have popped in a couple of times , and it is a busy place to say the least. We parked Penelope in a pitstop (I said I would give you some clues) and wandered past the harbour before Using one of Mares Gift cards to go in to the aquarium. (Thanks mares that was really good of you) Thereare some big tanks, and loads of things for kids to do but the pictures speak for themselves. (apart from the seals, we didnt hear the fish ay much) Can't seem to add photos to this, will try tomorrow.

The Captains Inn

The Captains Inn, or as the email address has it res@captainsinn.com I like the idea of a captain Sinn, and I suspect the captains wife Melanie who is a tremendous hostess does too. Melanie is very good at leaving cookies in unexpected places (not found any on my laptop yet), and has a lovely comfortable and homely inn here . The sunsets from the deck are awesome... judge for yourself, and her breakfasts are worth the laziest of souls prising themselves out of the comfortable beds for. Home made everything, and a good nature that goes with it.. She has a wealth of reading material and local information, and she and the captain are highly knowledgeable on matters ecological. Whilst our stay was too short to take one in there are boat trips to be had with the potential to see wales as well as loads of other birds etc. To be fair, it is hard to fault the place, beautifully clean and nothing is too much trouble. (I am still negotiating the discount to my next booking that this eulogy is worth, but those of you who know how hard we are to please will appreciate the sincerity)

Where have we been?

Its a long story, but a lot has happened without us being able to report in. To cut a long story short.

We picked up our car which Nadia referred to as a blue pimpmobile which we refer to more affectionately as Penelope. I may give clues about that later... No of make up mirrors etc.

We had a successful journey down to Moss Landing on Sunday after dropping James and Nadia at Safeway. Saw some amazing kitesurferes.but pics didn't seem to come out. and got here around 6.00pm

later that night we discovered the power lead for the computer had been left in San Fran, so some San Frantic phone calls eventually got to James who arranged a Fedex delivery to the Captains Inn here. We had already decided to stay an extra night, so no probs really, only a lot of relief when it arrived, andwe were able to start i) looking for onward accommodation, That is now the other side of Big Sur, as it is all booked up there.at the Olallieberry Inn at Cambria.

In the meantime, we have eaten a lot of really good local seafood, (If you pick your places carefully, it really is very reasonable. ), and seen some stunning coastline.and a whole load of brilliant sunsets.

Why does James need a 'studfinder'

In assessing the requirements to hang what is by anyones imagination a sizeable and heavy mirror to an inadequate plasterboard wall, it was apparent from James'manly but futile attempt that plasterboard was not the material of choice for secure fixing.

In the past I have used speciallist plasterboard fixings to attach lightwigt fittings such as helium balloons and the like, when I have been satisfied that safety and integrity would not be compromised.

I have alluded in a previous post to the organisation necessary for this task, but was completely staggered to realise that James had spent sometime hunting for a suitable stud (with Nadias full knowledge and co-operation,) and had purchased a device to aid him in his quest from a speciallist purveyor. Tentative holes in the wall stand testimony to his maybe here will be ok approach, and a greater degree of professionalsm ensued, when with great flashing of LEDsand perfunctory beeps the best suited stud was located and accessed.

In deference to James elderly neighbours we have not drilled holes in their party wall at 10.00pm Saturday night as we think they may prefer the up at dawn on Sunday approach.

Giant Coastal Redwoods

James and Nadia hired a car today and we toured over the bridge to the north in search of Giant Redwoods, sun and sand. To quote meatloaf two out of three aint bad.
Parking was impossible at Muir woods where the last few Gigantic coastal redwoods are trying (successfully as far as we were concerned) to hide. So we drove on to m
Muir beach where we sat on a big driftwood log and watched dolphins playing in the bay... Well they might have been sharks.... Well there was only one, and it didn't have its exercise books, so it wasn't a school.Anyhow then Northwards on the beautiful picturesque Highway 1 to Stinson Beach where we had a great lunch before wandering down to the beach. The shark warning notices put 75% of our party off swimming and they spent the afternoon successfully improving their lobster impersonations. Your blogger was able to confirm that shark attack in less than 6 feet of water is improbable, but unable to put current shark theory to the test. (That shark go comatose if you put them upside down n their backs. Anyone with direct experience of this, or willing to take their chance shark wrestling to find out,
should
i) take out good insurance
ii)let me know how they get on, (or ask their next of kin to do so)

We are home now having salvaged some scrap wood from the car rental place in order to hang the mother of all mirrors to James stud wall.
James has some of the requisite tools such as a spirit level (for the uninitiated this is not an academic requirement for theological college, but a handy device for proving that things you have made are not level.), but is lacking, other useful items such as a saw. Necessity being the mother of invention we are going for the controlled perforation technique by drilling slightly random holes creating a fault line similar to the one on which the city is based.

With luck it will stay on the wall till we leave. If it comes off I fear for the lives of those in the flat beneath. At least they will be consoled by the look of terror on their faces as it hurtles fatally towards them.