Silver Strand State Beach San Diego

Our first outing since returning from the Rocky Mountains.  We made this plan way back May when reservations for the State parks first open.  We had heard silver strand was lovely and it is.....You are literally right on the beach with the sound, smell and visuals of the waves lapping at the shore.

It's also a parking lot with no privacy so you need to focus on what is in front of you and tune out the rest.  Of course currently one of our neighbors is feeding the seagulls directly in front of our rig kind of taking away my peacefulness.....sigh.  A second neighbor elected to pull in forward meaning they directly face our seven feet of parking lot under our awning with their 7 feet of parking lot under their awning.  I guess I would have opted to back in as then we'd each have privacy.  I mustn't quite understand RV etiquette yet.

I'm still enjoying it....just learning about my style.  I know there must be ocean sites with less distractions.  I'm hoping a trip to the Oregon coast next summer provides a little more solitude.  I long for the peaceful dry camping sites we had on our  Rocky Mountain trip.

I'm a little reluctant to share.....but I was responsible for the rookie move of hooking up the water to the wrong outlet.....and not noticing until we totally filled up the black water tank and started leaking water out all outlets.  Thankfully the black tank was totally empty and we were only leaking fresh water, but still embarrassing in a parking lot.  A parking lot with no dumping at the sites, so we had to re hook up the trailer, take it to the  dump station, and then spend the next half hour sloshing the water out of the interior.  Not the best way to start, but I think I will never make that mistake again.

The first night was crystal clear and had Mark hoping for the elusive green flash.....not this time.

But it was pretty

I spent the majority of my day with Madli's stole, completing three 12 row repeats and moving into the next skein of yarn.  There are six skeins in total and they move through three greens and then into fuchsias.  I'm putting beads in every 6th row for a touch of sparkle.

Last nights sunset was enhanced by the cloud cover

and this morning we are watching for a predicted coastal flooding due to an unusually high tide.  We're prepared to move if we need to but at the moment it's not looking too threatening.

All in all I would not choose this spot again.  The fact that not all vehicles are required to back in creates a lack of privacy I'm not comfortable with.  I don't mind being on top of each other to experience the beautiful ocean but I really don't want to by eye to eye while your shaving with your electric razor under your awning six feet from my door.

and we're off!

Our next adventure starts Monday when we take off for a local beach front state park. The Strand between Coronado and Imperial Beach on the Southern California Coast.

We've been home from Colorado for three weeks during which time I've attended the bead retreat of a friend which was held in San Diego.  It's rare for me to be on the other side of the table so to speak, but I took three classes with three top talented bead teachers and enjoyed each one.

The airstream was off being 'diagnosed' although Mark is a very thorough diagnoser himself and wrote a paragraph of his findings for each of the problems we've experienced.  Sadly we needed to pick up the airstream to go on our next outing so not much was resolved, although one of the two fantastic fans was restored to working order.

The fridge has trouble switching between electric and propane resulting in a very warm fridge between sites.  The water heater leaks all over the bedroom floor..no solution  yet, the second fantastic fan needs to be replaced and the converter which overheats and causes the fan to run continuously remains unresolved..  The factory solution is to install more vents which we find unsatisfactory.

Nothing is unsafe or earth shattering but with a brand new airstream we would like things to work.

We're hanging out in the airstream tonight in the driveway because we miss it.

We'll be so happy to be back in our cozy environment.  We'll be posting photos of our beach location and enjoying the surf.

We spent time perusing our local San Diego aistream group's rally plans and hope to enjoy a side plan in February when we also plan to go to Tucson.  2016 will be the year of the airstream with a long summer trip planned up the West Coast and ending in Seattle where I will teach at Fusion Beads.  I'm also hoping for the Albuquerque balloon festival next fall.  Life is good!  

Ridgefield to Las Vegas

The reverse trip through todays scenery was as magical as the first time through. I continue to be amazed by scenery unlike any I'm familiar with and I thought I was reasonably well traveled, but I haven't done a lot of road trips in these parts.  I've driven cross country twice and I've been to  Colorado and  Wyoming before but I've never passed through the canyons near Zion and Bryce.

Last night I looked to see if we might make more mileage today but there are woefully few places to stay 1 to 2 hours south of Las Vegas and in 98 degree heat camping without electricity seemed ill advised.  So Las Vegas was our goal and we arrived at 1:00 which was really 12:00 as we gained back an hour.  It's hard to be so close to home but carrying on would have put us going through LA and arriving in San Diego during rush hour so we opted to stay at the Oasis.  We'll head out early tomorrow morning and insure a mid afternoon arrival.

Here are a few of todays shots.  My camera was seemingly acting weird, throwing up a busy icon after every photo.  It turns out that some of my best shots were interspersed with a video that was accidentally in process.  If I can sort out how to edit the video and capture some of the stills I'll be pleased with some great photos, but until then......

It's been a great trip but it's time for a little home time.  My other life beckons.  I have some work to do for my March Bead Retreat and I'm volunteering to be a witness for Kellie DeFries, the crystal ninja who is going for a guinness book of world records for a car with the most crystals on it and of course visiting with my friends, some knitting and I think the studio could use a good deep cleaning.  I'll FaceTime with grand babies, get my hair done, welcome a friend in my home and attend a bead retreat.  Then it will be time to head out again for our beach adventure.  By then I'll be ready to be back in the airstream!