It was supposed to rain today.  Instead, it came down the other white stuff…hail.  Crossed our fingers and toes that it stopped before any damage was done to the new solar panels on the roof.  Perhaps a plan preventing other damaging things that fall from the sky should be put in place now.  I’m guessing Alaskan weather might not be as kind.

Took a trip down memory lane, Chico addition.  John and my first place together was a garage in back of John’s friend’s rental property.  Can’t really see the apartment anymore with all the plants.  One room, just a bit smaller than the rolling box where we now live…so I guess that means our living accommodations have come full circle.

John and I met at Some Other Place (SOP), a bar owned by a friend of John’s, 41 years ago.

My apartment was three streets down from SOP and just a few steps from my favorite (actually just the closest) liquor store.

I stopped at our local donut shop on the way home from SOP almost nightly and sometimes caught a ride on the back platforms of the slow moving trains that passed down the middle of town just a few feet from my apartment.

John and I met, dated three months and then married.  The motel across the street where I worked, the donut shop, the liquor store and my apartment are still standing as what they were 41 years ago with the exception of SOP, now a woman’s dress shop.   Of course John’s work place, Chico State University, still stands although it long ago lost its Playboy Magazine standing as the number one party school in the nation.

Dinner tonight at the Lodge.  It’s Tightwad Tuesday buffet with drinks, a huge salad bar, gumbo/rice, fresh steamed veggies, pork medallions and yeast rolls.  We sat with one couple, her brother and they were delightful company.  Shared memories of life in Chico years ago until we were the last table to leave.  We love staying at Elks RV Parks.  Meeting members,  being invited into their lodge and being treated as if we were long standing members certainly gives you a feeling of comfort and safety.

Woke up to President’s Day with US flags proudly waving from every area of the lodge.  I haven’t seen that many flags flown at a single location ever.  The words and melody to “I’m Proud to Be an American” echoed inside my head as I snapped pictures around the property.

Bidwell Park plays a large part in the lives of many natives of the Chico area.  It is almost 11 miles in length and 3,670 acres, a perfect place to bike, walk, jog, ride horses, swim, picnic, walk the dog, etc.  It was a large part of my life as a young adult and was the location of many of my “firsts”, none of which will I divulge.   Living near it meant you didn’t have to drive home drunk as its tall trees and thick brush made it a perfect place to party and then stumble home.

The park has several area’s and all have their own special appeal.   Middle and Upper Park were a bit far for my choice of party attendance but were great for hiking and walking my dogs.  One Mile, aka Lower Park where the stream gathers and is held together by cement walls for swimming, is flat, bordered by neighborhoods and is near the entrance and only a few blocks from where I and John lived BM (no, not poop…before marriage).  Upper Park is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada with steep terrain and has many rock formations.  There are several dirt paths for bikes, jogging and horseback riding.

We drove to Paradise to check out the Paradise Elks Lodge.  I’ve never appreciated Paradise, CA.  It is what the poorer parts of Conroe is to The Woodlands.  Wasn’t worth taking pictures back when I lived in Chico and not worth it today.   We drove up, turned around after checking out the Paradise Elks Lodge and drove back to Chico with only one quick stop at Lookout Point for the fantastic view.

Our Navigation system had another episode of senility this morning as we headed out to the local dog park after John came back from his first bike ride since our departure.   The irritating female voice told me to go down Hwy 99 for 3 miles, then turn right on a street and left on another.  I turned right but there wasn’t a left turn.  We got back on Hwy 99 and she told me to go 1-1/2 miles down, where we passed several minutes ago, and turn right.  No exit at 1-1/2 miles down but we did see the dog park on the right as we drove by.  I told John to shut her up and found my own way to the park.

We brought the dogs with us to Upper Bidwell Park, now a golf course and water fowl preserve, but used to be an uncongested unpopulated area for those that wanted to get an “all over” tan.   The pups ran loose as we walked around the large lake until Millie caught the scent of something, probably cow patties, and took off in another direction refusing to respond to any requests, demands or pleads.  John went after her and we finished the rest of the walk with dogs disappointedly leashed in tow.

Our day ended with a drink at the Elks Lodge bar discussing the growth of the Chico Elks membership with the Exalted Ruler and discussing his travels to Austin for the National Convention.  Thought about learning to use my Bernina sewing machine when I got back to the LilyPad but the drink was so strong I couldn’t feel my fingers so using a machine with a sharp needle didn’t seem like a smart idea.

Gorgeous sunrises and the sound of hot air balloons overhead made it even harder to leave Calistoga on a weekend.  We were going to miss lots of great happenings.  A chocolate buffet, wine and chocolate tasting and weekend farmers markets were just a few.   Must make a note on next year’s calendar to stay longer.

We took a few back roads so the trip to Chico was a bit bumpy.   Miles and miles of fields, this being farming country and all, going on for hours.   We spotted dozens of predators perched above the fields watching for the smallest movement that might turn into a meal.

Rice, fruit and almonds (with or without the “l”) scattered helter-skelter over the flat lands.  Had a few dusters come very close overhead as we passed rows and rows of neatly tilled brown soil and then rows and rows of green rice plants.  Looked like a strange patchwork quilt spreading out in all directions.  When we finally got close to Chico the highway turned into town roads and just past the traffic circles…TRAFFIC CIRCLES…HOW THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO SNAKE 65 FEET THROUGH 3 TRAFFIC CIRCLE?!  John is still laughing at my expressions while making those turns.

Pulled into our next home base, the Chico Elks Lodge RV Park, and set up camp before exploring to see if anything was left of Becky at 8, 9, 10, 11 and 20 years old and John at 25.  Walk dogs, pay for the space, pizza dinner at a small diner, watch Castle on TV and sleep.

Our last day in Napa Valley so we are making a list and checking it twice.  Gazing out across the vineyards to the mountains surrounding this valley relaxes the body and soul.  Not that you can see it from our RV site, but pull over on the side of the road in any direction and it spreads out in front of you.  In an area known for wine, spa’s and gourmet dinners, we hit two out of three several times…not bad for two old fogies!  The “to do” list included an Antique, Estate & Salvage Shop, the rest of the gigantic facility of the Culinary Institute of America, Sunshine Foods and the Dean and Deluca store in St. Helena.

On our way back from doing dog laundry in the morning we found a recycled treasures shop and I spotted a small bowl with a Ribbit and LilyPad molded into the side.  It had to be a sign so I brought it home to replace the charger plates I gave up last week.  One in, One out…that’s the rule and I’m still shy one black serving piece, a perfect excuse to shop on!

The CIA tour gave the history of the winery, the “brothers”, the CIA and a few other tidbits of interest.  Huge facility for students and guests with some great offerings of wine and bites in the Café and the restaurant.  Specials on weekends for cooking demonstrations with tasting and wine pairings, wine education classes, cooking and health education and the list goes on.

In the morning we leave for Chico, John and my old stomping ground.

Happy Valentines Day!   Began the day with breakfast at Sarafornia, a tiny local café.  Then we walked all over town with stops at several shops including a resale boutique.  Afternoon had room for one more winery tour so we picked Sterling Vineyards.

Fun ride up the mountain in a tram, beautiful views, great tour of the winery then wine tasting with tiny bites of local delicacies with our flight of red wines.

No sunsets in the valley so we ended the day with another walk around St. Helena with the dogs.  Back at the LilyPad, a bottle of wine, some great cheeses and salami… totally enjoying our feet being up off the ground.

We arrived in Napa Valley at the Calistoga Fairgrounds and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, walking around all 6 blocks of the town area with the dogs before going to bed.  California has so many gorgeous area’s that it is hard to pick one over another.   Calistoga is a tiny community surrounded by hills with vineyards covering every available inch.  Lines of my favorite tree, the eucalyptus, border many of the two lane highways and the cool mountain air mixed with the trees scent is a wondrous fragrance.

We decided to be typical tourists and began the day with a stop at the geyser.  I enjoyed the 4 four horned sheep and the Tennessee Fainting Goats almost as much as the geyser.  It was interesting to read about the geyser, the history of the area and what makes it erupt.  They believe its actions can predict earthquakes as well.

After giving our navigation system two tries to find the petrified trees we drove back to the LilyPad for lunch, checked out TripAdvisor,  read the bad reviews on the petrified trees and decided to skip it and head to the wineries.  Quick stop in town to walk around St. Helena before bending the elbows.

One thing I did notice on the drive, hundreds of dying trees along the windy mountainous road.  They were overburdened with moss just like the ones in Garner State Park…those are dying too.  So the gratis experiment that was done years ago by a prominent college proving that a spray of water and baking soda killed the moss and saved the trees was ignored.  Now these beautiful trees are almost dead too.

Drove by Bale Grist Mill and made a U turn to take a look.  It was closed on week days but since we weren’t going to be here, what the heck…we walked around the gated entrance and looked around.  So quiet, so peaceful, not really worried that we were trespassing!  Beautiful creek and building.

First winery stop was Freemark Abbey, the winery that the movie “Bottle Shock“ was based on.  We tasted four, each over $100.00 a bottle, and they were OK.  The wine snob to our left remarked that she only drank wine from France and I so wanted to say in my best Texas accent that I only drank wine from gallon jugs cause we like everything big in Texas…and it wouldn’t be a lie.   I like Carlo Rossi’s Paisano.  Untypically I kept my mouth closed and just smiled.

Next up was Charles Krug.  Their wine was OK but too much tannin (what I call “bite”) for me.

Last was Beringer.  Oh my what a beautiful winery, grounds and house.  And the wine was good enough to buy a bottle for our dinner tonight at the CIA…Culinary Institute of America.

Pictures…worth 1,000 words.  Wow and Yum is all we can say.

Took the dogs to two dog parks.   They had fun in the morning and played.  Didn’t do much but sniff around at the second place later in the day.  More house work in the afternoon and then relaxed with a bottle of Zin, black truffle popcorn and watched a movie.  So, if you were thinking that we spend every day doing something fun and that our days were filled to the brim with exciting places to go…well, you would be wrong.  Sometimes you have to kick back and relax or all semblance of normal becomes skewed.  If you live in an RV, the words “this is not a vacation, this is my life” needs to be well planted in your brain.  And it’s going to take a large neon sign and chanting daily for me to finally have it engraved in the depths of my being.

Lunch at a tiny Italian place in Santa Clara just up the street from where my grandmother, great-grandmother and aunt lived for many years.  Lots of houses still remain and are part of the historical register, not just old decrepit houses as I once thought when I was young.

At the end of Franklin street is a Monastery behind solid adobe walls so high you could not see over them even from the two-story houses across the street.  Even the side yard is gated and private.   My cousin Cathy and I always wanted to get inside to look but until a few years ago, it was nuns and monks only.  Today most of it is open to the public and mass is said several times a week in the chapel.  The gates were open and John and I took the opportunity to look around.

Just before dark we took the dogs back to the dog park and KatieBug really showed a large Pit mix who was boss.  She went after him for bugging her and sent him running.  We had to pick her up because she wouldn’t stop trying to rip him a new one.

Time to say good-by to Santa Clara and prep LilyPad for our next stop… Calistoga CA and wine country!

Breakfast at a little Country Inn then a long overdue visit with a friend who’s friendship started in grade school.  Being an only child and having Donna’s family take me into their close knit family was a gift I’ll never forget.  Visiting with Donna, her grown children and grandchildren left me with a warm and fuzzy glow for the rest of the day.  The visit, in her living room, was crowded with her family all chatting merrily and sharing their lives just as I had done with Donna’s brothers and parents so many years ago.  I don’t know what made me contact her through Facebook a few years ago but I’m so thankful that one of her daughters answered my friend request and we are now connected again.

After a late lunch, we took the dogs to Santa Cruz with us and spent some time walking around the beach,

the  board walk

and downtown area.

So many people talk of Austin, TX and Portland, OR as being weird but “people watching” in the Santa Cruz downtown area makes me believe that Santa Cruz should be included in the mix of strange.  Long haired hippies danced, sold crystal jewelry or played music on every corner.  A guy in old time jazz player garb was tickling the keys on a street corner.  Dread locks have not lost their popularity.  Spent a while relaxing with a cup of Starbucks to “people watch” and then the white knuckle drive through the curvy and mountainous highway that leads back to Santa Clara.

House work chores interrupted by shopping for tennis shoes, fixing minor things on the LilyPad,  lunch with Auntie El in Los Gatos and steak dinner at the Elks Lodge where we are staying.  I am amazed that, in a city where the price to live greatly surpasses the national average,  you can get a very reasonable RV hook up along with all that the Lodge has to offer just by joining the Elks Lodge.  The fact that they are a great bunch of people who volunteer their services to the community in a multitude of areas only adds to the find.