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!