The night in Palm Springs was pleasant, as we did little of anything but just hang out. We finished the Netflix series we had been watching and turned in early. I think I remember loosing a couple of games of cribbage but I hope I am wrong. We slept well and were up early, it cooled off to a respectable 85 degrees and we had coffee outside in our comfy chairs. By the time we finished our second cup the sun had begun to come up properly and the temps began to rise. By the time we hit the road, around nine, the temperature was at 111 degrees. We had a lot of conversation about how folks can live in these temps, but I bet they wonder about us and snow in the winter. Driving out of Palm Springs was quicker that driving in.
Lots and lots of wind mills, for miles.
As we joined the highway just a mile or so from the campground and were quickly heading west through a huge wind farm, must have been a couple thousand windmills. The road was bending through a valley past the huge mountain. The wind in the valley provided the power for the mills. Row after row of windmills slipped past as we wound our way westward. The geography was changing rapidly, within a half an hour we were in smoother and more sandy hills then a deep brown green began to appear and lighter green landscapes began to show up here and there. We had left Interstate 10, and onto 215 then to 15 then to the 5 and into San Diego county proper. We stopped for fuel, at a reasonable $4.09 per gallon, and of course a Walmart, as we were also in need of a new doggie bed, and a few other things.
The landscape constantly changed.
Route 5 takes you right through San Diego. The road system is amazing compared to what we have been traveling on. At one point there were 12 lanes, in each direction, and traffic, lots of traffic. We continued south past National City and into Imperial Beach and then up the Silver Strand toward Coronado. We stopped at a small park and made lunch, killing a bit of time as we could not check in before 2:00 PM - rules are rules. We checked in at 2:05. What a zoo. The 'campground' is just a very large parking lot, filled with RVs/campers of all sorts and were packed in like cars at the airport.
Not MY vision of camping!
We had neighbors on both sides just a few feet away and the ocean was a row away, so it wasn't in view. We had reservations for just one night and that was plenty. When we walked down to the beach, it was a beautiful beach, and it stretched for miles in each direction. A few miles North Point Loma was in view and a few miles south, Mexico. Oh, and the temperature dropped to the low 60s! Everyone was in long pants and sweatshirts. It was chilly. What a change from the morning. We hung out, and chatted with neighbors and walked around. Harper was not allowed on the beach, but we found plenty of places to walk. It was a long night - as this is a party place, lots of noise including fireworks and loud cars.
The beach was beautiful
We were up early this morning, around 5, made our coffee and headed to the beach. Carol and I sat and watched the sunrise and chatted with our daughter back home. This was nice, the weather was cool and a bit overcast, but the sunrise was spectacular as we sat and watched the waves roll in.
Walking to the beach at 5 am
Coffee at the beach
First ray of sunlight hitting the waves.
We showered and packed up and were on the road at 9 once again. We had promised Harper that we would take her to the Dog Beach, at Ocean Beach, in San Diego. When we arrived we suddenly really felt like we were in Southern California.
Harper played and played
Harper made lots of friends.
My older Brother Dan lived here in 'OB' (Ocean Beach) back in the 60's after he got out of the Navy, it was a happening place back then, and it is today. Dan was the king of OB back then, and I am sure if he came back he would regain his crown. Harper had such fun on the beach, this is a beach where she can play 'off leash' and with lots of other dogs who were also off leash. She ran and ran, and ran into the ocean and chased other dogs when they were not chasing her. She had fun. It was a good day for Harper.
The OB pier
We walked along the beach popping in and out of the stores and doing a lot of people watching. This is a surf community and is full of that SoCal personality. We even saw the classic VW surf bus, and more than one. Lots of blond hair and tie dye. We ended up hiking a little over three miles through OB and even found the spot where my brother lived fifty years ago. OB is still a pretty cool place.
The house has changed but this is the spot where my brother lived, wish I had that van.
But soon we were back on the road and heading for Oceanside, about twenty miles up the coast. Oceanside is where I was born, over seventy years ago. It took me by surprise as it resembles the set from Baywatch... it's like OB but was very upscale with less funk. We had lunch on the beach and we walked another coupe of miles. Oceanside has changed a lot since I was last here about thirty years ago - it has grown.
Beach at Oceanside
Lunch under the pier in Oceanside
From Oceanside we wandered through the countryside and ended the day at a great Harvest Host location - The Correcaminos Vineyard. Doug greeted us and suggested where we could park. Once settled we walked up to the patio and enjoyed a tasting.
Drinks on the veranda
Harper made friends with a young girl named Faith and we chatted with her and her brother and her Mom and met a few of their dogs as well. It has been a social day for Harper. We purchased a bottle of a red and returned to the Doodle for supper and cribbage. The sun had set and we are getting ready to turn in, maybe I will get this posted in the morning, it has been a long day.
Another great spot for morning coffee.
ADDENDUM:
It is now the next evening, Saturday, June 5th., I didn’t get it posted so forgive the length. Our evening was nice, the temperature got down to the very comfortable levels and we were asleep by 9:30 - a couple of old farts. During the night, around 3 AM I heard a coyote howl, then another and then, a symphony of coyotes were stirring the night. It was eerie, I have never heard anything like it before. There must have been at least twenty or so coyotes howling simultaneously. It too me a while to get back to sleep, even though they must have been quite a ways off and posed us no danger. It was still un-nerving. We slept in late and as you can see I didn't do any blogging in the morning, it was just that kind of laid back morning. We drank lots of coffee and I made Canadian Bacon, eggs and Carol got the toast going.It is nice to have a leisurely morning. We also had a spectacularly foggy sunrise over the vineyard.
Carol always makes the Doodle feel like home
Midmorning rerolled down the road, and I really mean down the road. We made our way backdown the winding twisty road toward Escondido. We made a stop at the post office to drop off some mail and found a grocery store. It seems as though we are always in need of a grocery store. This time we shopped at the Vallarta Supermarket, a Mexican supermarket. It was amazing. So much of the stuff I didn't know what it was. This market was large, like any large supermarket, and all Mexican, and we love Mexican. More tortillas of different varieties and sizes, so many unknown spices, fresh baked goods..I could live here. The meat counter was awesome, cuts of things I don't know, the cakes were amazing, and lots of things I just didn't know... I hope we find other markets like this. Long after this visit to the Mexican Disneyland of grocery stores we realized we forgot eggs....I guess we were just too wrapped up in it all. From there we found a county park and got in a good two mile hike in a nicely wooded area.
Tortilla heaven!
OK, on to another subject, planning. We made a few reservations when we were planning this trip back in March and April. I wanted to stay close to or on the beach in California, but it was already too late, lots of placed were already fully booked. I found Dixon Lake, about twenty five miles from Oceanside just outside of Escondido. Camping by the lake, that sounds good. Since we don't like to travel on the weekends, we booked Saturday and Sunday nights.
Camping on the edge
We arrived here about 2:30. Checked in only to find that the campsite is about a mile from the lake and is the very highest site on the mountain, literally, our picnic table is the summit. Two feet in front of the Doodle is a drop-off down to Escondido, behind us is a drop-off to the lake. Wonderful views but, there is also no swimming in the lake as it is Escondido's water supply and dogs are not allowed within 50 feet of the water. I am thinking that we should have researched this a bit more. However, it will be nice to hang out for a couple of days without any travel stresses. As I was setting up the site our friend Kathy texted that our tax bills had arrived. She is getting our mail and keeping us up to days with things back home. Of course Carol is less than enamored with the site as she had fear of heights...and this is quite the high site with edges very close so it will be fun. Ok I am going to quite writing, process a few more images and get this post up.
Below, in random order is a gallery of images from the past few days
