Day 316 – Joshua Tree to San Diego
Sunday morning we packed up the van and traveled from the relative solitude of Joshua Tree National Park to the big city, San Diego. It was a very scenic drive, with beautiful views of Mount San Jacinto and the Coachella Valley as we left the park and headed down to I-10. We arrived at the hotel in time for a nice sunset and a relaxing dinner near the hotel.
Day 317 – San Diego
Michael started off the work week at the hotel Monday morning, while Tracey walked around near hotel running errands. Soon after, she got a call that her dad was in the hospital, so she flew out that night to DC while Michael stayed behind in San Diego.
Days 318 – 321 – Michael in San Diego and Tracey in VA
Michael stayed in San Diego and worked all week from the hotel. Tracey spent the week in Virginia with family while waiting for her Dad’s heart surgery. All went well and he’s happy to be home and recovering nicely.
Day 322 – San Diego to LA
On Saturday, Michael packed up the van and tried to visit the International Friendship Park, located on the Mexican border on the Pacific Coast (basically the most SW point in the lower 48). Unfortunately, the road was closed about a mile or so from the park, so he reluctantly turned around and began the trip north. The destination for the day was Los Angeles, to stay with his friend Dayvin in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood. He arrived in time to spend the afternoon hanging out before heading down to Sunset Blvd. to eat at Mel’s Diner.
Day 323- LA
Sunday was a day for lounging at Dayvin’s house catching up, but also included a late breakfast at Sawyer in the Silverlake neighborhood, and then an excellent dinner at Pace in Laurel Canyon. Great day with an old friend.
Day 324 – LA
Tracey flew back from Virginia on Monday, so Michael took the day off to bring the van down to our motel on Hollywood Blvd, then meet her at the bus stop at Hollywood and Vine. We walked around Hollywood for a couple of hours seeing the tourist sights, then relaxed at the hotel so Tracey could get some rest. Then we took the Metro downtown to see the Blazers beat the Lakers, stopping for some Greek food along the way.
Day 325 – LA to San Clemente
Tuesday morning Michael squeezed in some work while Tracey finished our shirts to wear when we went to a Price is Right taping. We didn’t win, but did sit right next to the couple who ended up winning the showcase. We also met a couple from Portland and the wife was called up and made it to the showcase showdown (but didn’t win). Even though we didn’t make it up on stage, based on where we were sitting we should at least make it on TV a lot! The show will air May 28. After the taping we still had a 2+ hour drive back south to San Clemente where we checked into our hotel. It was a long, but really fun and memorable day!
Day 326 – San Clemente
We were exhausted Wednesday morning, so we stayed in the hotel while Michael worked and Tracey did laundry. For lunch, we walked into the downtown area of San Clemente to a small cafe. For dinner, we traveled a few miles north to San Juan Capistrano to meet four of Michael’s PhoneBurner co-workers (and two of their wives). It was great to finally meet in person and we had a wonderful dinner. It was really fun to show off the van, which they had all heard so much about.
Day 327 – San Clemente to Leo Carillo State Park
Another morning working from hotel, then it was time to hit the grocery store to stock up and get a quick lunch. We had wanted to take the Pacific Coast Highway almost to LA, but traffic was too bad (turns out there was a gas leak so the road was closed off) so we ended up having to hop over to the freeways until we could return to the PCH in Santa Monica.
After a fairly long but pretty drive, we arrived at the Leo Carillo State Park campground, set up camp and then had a relaxing dinner.
Day 328 – Leo Carillo State Park
We’d had a busy week, so we did a lot of relaxing in the van (while working) on Friday, interspersed with a few walks to the beach, which was less than a half-mile from the campground.
Day 329 – Leo Carillo State Park to Buellton
Our original plan was to go to Channel Island National Park for the day, but weather wasn’t cooperating so we had to cancel our boat trip. We took our time packing up the van and then drove to Santa Barbara for lunch at La Super-Rica Taqueria, which was recommended to us by one of Michael’s coworkers. After lunch we stopped for groceries and then made our way to our next stop, the Flying Flags RV Resort. Rain prevented us from doing a lot, so we cozied up in the van and hoped the weather would improve the next day.
Hello RC,
Was pullin for them Blazers the other night, unfortunately Houston brought their A game.
Your covering some territory, see you are back on Pacific Standard Time.