Update to Teardrop camping: life is an adventure

We worried about the wrong gods, the weather gods were appeased it was the mechanical gods we should have thought about. All loaded up, pulled out beyond the gates--truck won't start. Seems as the column, where the key goes, has a very important gear and it broke. Bummer. No one is going anywhere in that truck.

We got the trailer unhooked and pushed back in the back yard and Dan "hot wired*" the truck to get it behind the gate. He realized it was not something that could be fixed in an hour, more like days, so while he worked I unpacked all the camping stuff. Everyone, including the hundred-year-old-dog, was disappointed. Good thing it happened in the driveway and not our first gas stop along the way which would have meant towing. We hate towing.

After living with old cars for more than 40 years these kinds of problems always pop up and I'm sure will continue as long as we keep driving old cars. No quitters here.

* For any law enforcement folks reading this post please note Dan would never use his "hot wiring" knowledge for anything nefarious. But it has come in handy more than once.

Weather of not

Our once-a-year Teardrop Gathering (we've gone since '07) is this week and with rain in the forecast my honey is none to pleased. His Safety Event was rained out last Sunday so the weather gods have not been too kind to him lately. Quoting Noah, I say go for it, what the hell is a little rain going to do?

We've not had the Teardrop out since our unfortunate accident in New Mexico and it's been repaired. The water leak has been fixed with the wood stripped out of the galley and replaced and everything is looking quite spiffy. I've got all my cast iron loaded for a few days of Dutch Oven cooking. Oh how I look forward to this. Will be making a carrot cake, potato side dish, and two pots of chile verde--not all on the same day, whew.

Before we get on the road I will attend the last Life Drawing class of this quarter and partake in a potluck. This class has been a lot more familial than the other with everyone eager to bring something. Jay is marketing this as "The Last Supper" but that sounding a little too ecclesiastical I think it should be called "The Luncheon of the Boating Party." After all, Renoir's masterpiece is much more festive.

I'd like to say I sacrificed a chicken last night to the rain gods but actually I just burnt dinner a bit. So, snorkel and fins in hand we'll head for the lake.

Deadline met

The bi-yearly Getty Art Show for the staff and docents deadline is August 4 so I've been working like the devil to get this finished and when I say finished I also mean matted and framed. I would like a double mat and bought large pieces, this is a 22x30 inch frame, but for some reason cut the second mat the wrong size. To quote a former co-worker, "I cut it twice and it's still too short." Rather than wait until next Wednesday when I'm in LA so I could pick up another board I decided one mat was just fine.

This pastel was taken from a photo on our last trip. We were in Arches National Park, it was late in the afternoon, and the truck had a ignition problem. So I could take some photos of the wonderful red rocks in the park my darling drove us from spot to spot and I'd jump out and snap what I wanted. He never tried to hurry me along though the temperature was triple digits.

At one stop I snapped a shot and turned to walk back to the truck. The green of the truck looked so great with the red rocks and the lengthening of the shadow that I snapped another one. This really says it all about our vacation. The truck, the teardrop and the wonderfully beautiful country we drove through.

Tales from the teardrop: Leaving Las Vegas

My beloved woke me this morning with a kiss and told me he'd take me to Bryce Canyon for my birthday. He was trying to prove he's spontaneous and it would have worked if I'd not planned this whole trip my self. His heart's in the right place. 

We'll be leaving Vegas in a few hours. Our short stopover with his cousins has been fun. The weather, quite mild for this time time of year, has been great. We didn't do any gambling but had breakfast in a casino yesterday. It was the Original Pancake House which was always a favorite of my Dad's and Dan had the Apple Pancake in his honor. It's a huge baked concoction with apples on top. He's looking forward to the leftovers this morning.

The weather report for Bryce called for Mosquitos. Never seen that before so our first stop is to the store for some Off since those pesky critters just love me. Somewhere there's a mosquito wife rolling out of bed this morning saying, "Oh, I know what I'm having for dinner tonight, there's a pasty-white woman coming, I can just feel it".     

Big road trip in a tiny trailer

My beloved and I will be on the road for 14 days, yet again, in our teardrop trailer. We've done 11 days with our little doggie, in the desert, so what a few extra days. Maybe grounds for divorce. We've had a forty year run so far so I suspect not but, stay tuned.

Ever since Ken Burns made his wonderful documentary about the National Parks I've been jonesin' to get on the road and see a few for myself. This trip is a start to accomplish my goal starting with no less that five parks on the travel route.

Bryce Canyon
Canyonland
Arches
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Petrified Forest

We might see a few extras, if we have time, but we have a very tight schedule. We are also throwing in a NSRA car show in Pueblo, CO just to make sure we don't get bored.

Some might be wondering what about Buddy-dog? Well, he's ace a vacation from us, friends are stay at home with him. He's getting a bit long in the tooth for a long trip and there are too many places that are not dog-friendly. Don't worry about him he'll be spoiled by some of his favorite people.

Since I forgot to order my connector for the iPad, that would have enabled me to download pix, there will be no photos until we return but I will try to post from the road with wonderfully descriptive paragraphs making my readers feel as if they we actually there. Hope you're not afraid of heights.

Cool ocean breeze makes life worth living

We've been away camping, again so blogging takes a far back seat. Someday I might get a laptop and post from where ever but until them the blog takes a bit of a hiatus from time to time. We have a few campgrounds to choose from but we knew it might be difficult to find a spot. It's been hot here in town and that usually drives the peasants to the shore and this peasant was feeling the heat and wanted to get to the beach.

We decided Monday morning would be our best bet and though our first choice, Faria, was full we found more open spaces at a camp ground called Hobson. It's tucked into the end of the Rincon and the beginning of some private residences with a few dry camp spot and about a dozen ones with full hook-ups. We took a dry camp by the water, well rocks actually because there is a berm built of big rocks between most of the spots and the surf. The view is only visible if you climb up on a rock or two bit you can find a few flat ones to put a beach chair.

The photo is looking south about five in the afternoon with a bit of fog drifting in. Other than that we experienced wonderful weather. The nights were great. Clear skies that were dark enough to see the Milky Way if you were up late. I get such a kick out of that each time we are there and am lucky to have a bladder that wake me around two in the morning for my own private show.

We did have some interesting neighbors this time. A family with three teen aged boys and three younger girls and a truck full of surf boards arrived after we'd set up. While they unloaded, we are so close we could have helped, I couldn't help but notice the mother unloaded what I thought was a little puppy. No, it was a little piggy. Lilly, a 10 month-old pot-bellied pig, was quite a surprise at the beach. Buddy the dog wasn't aggressive but very interested in the noises she made. When I asked why a pig for a pet the father said, "Well, we had one before." I didn't go any further with that line of questioning.

The little porker was kept in a dog carrier and evidently didn't get out much because by the morning it was covered with flies. Nice neighbors to have. Lucky for us they found a better space the next morning and left. Pig, kids, and surfboards were thrown into the trailer and truck and off they went. They forget to take the flies.


Going home we were driving into the sun and that makes it tough on Buddy. He usually gets on the floor of the truck but it was pretty hot and couldn't find the right place. After he'd gone back and forth enough to make me scream I plopped my cap on his head to shade his eyes. Bingo! That is what he was looking for and wore my cap the rest of the way home. When you're pulling a teardrop trailer with a dog wearing a baseball hat you get looks.

It was back to the real-hot world on Wednesday morning. Sad that it has to end but knowing school will be back in session soon and we then can take the 5th wheel up to the Rincon, again.

Camping in the wild

We usually don't need too many amenities when camping with the teardrop but a shower would have been nice on this last camp out.

We stayed at Montaña de Oro, a CA state campground just south of Morro Bay. The weather was gorgeous and the wildlife, so friendly. Well, maybe a touch too friendly. The camp is just about over run with raccoons and they have no fear of humans or dogs so they do exactly what they want after sun down. This little guy my beloved picked up at the local museum store. He was the best behaved of the lot.

We camped with about 35 other teardrops and had a great time learning new ways to cook. Quite a few do some cast iron cooking in Dutch Ovens and even gave a demo on Saturday morning. Looks fun and if I try it out I'll post on PBE.

When you camp and you are the only teardrop in the place you stand out, way out, and really draw a crowd. We all had to laugh because the first question people ask is, "Do you really sleep in that?" I'm thinking of having shirts made with the answer. Camping all together gives you a chance to look at some different ways people have put these little trailers together.

We met some new friends and saw some people we'd camped with last March in Lake Perris and everyone was hoping to make this a yearly camp out. I'd say yes to that. The one great thing about teardrops is they are all different; some odder than others, sorta like the people who own them.

Butter and sugar

It's odd when retirees say they are on vacation but we took a few days away in Solvang, a semi-local touristy type town with a Danish theme. As a matter of fact, Solvang is Danish for butter and sugar. Yikes I don't know what they had more of, bakeries or wine tasting bars. The area got way into wine tasting after the popularity of the movie, Sideways, which was located/filmed in the Santa Inez Valley.

The area is quite beautiful and my beloved and I have been going there since before we were married and make it back there often if nothing else but to eat breakfast at Ellen's. This little restaurant, only a dozen or so tables, was the first place we'd ever eaten in Solvang and in the 80s they moved from the town up the road to Buellton, home of Pea Soup Andersons, another famous eatery. Ellen's has wonderful Danish pancakes with a mild veal sausage with a name I can't pronounce. If you say Danish sausage they know what your are talking about.

There are a number of bakeries in town and they are all good. My favorite is Mortensens. You can't imagine how fresh these pastries are. If you are there and on a diet, this would be a good time to go off.

Our real reason for the trip was to camp a bit and go to the Saturday Car Show in town. They closed off the streets to park nearly 300 cars of all varieties. We took our 51 Chevy pick-up. Nothing special, just a driver but it always gets a comment or two. A number of other car club members met us there and we had a great time, eating, (again) shopping and enjoying the lovely day.

We were only gone a few days but it was nice to get away from the routine. We hope to do more camping in the upcoming months when the kids are back in school and us seniors can have the sites all to ourselves. Next teardrop trip is in September, can't wait.

So many sights; so little paper

Back from a week at the beach. This is the dry hills around Santa Ynez. The sky was a beautiful blue, no fog. More on the trip but I needed to get this out of my head and on paper.

Dolphins off the beach in Ventura. They came about an hour before sunset. I missed the shot of two of them surfing in a wave, you'll have to take my word.



Our camp in Pismo. Wow, what a nice place. Pismo Coast Village RV Resort.


Creek between us and the town of Pismo. Simply wonderful. Only draw back: there is a six month wait for reservations. We were lucky because we only wanted two days and we were willing to move for the second day.

Before the next tear drop falls

Some might know my dearly beloved and I have a Tear Drop Trailer. I'm sure some wonder why, with all the time he spends with the cars, and safety team when do they have time but hey, let's add one more thing to our already full plate. The plate right now is dripping with gravy running off one side and mashed potatoes slipping of the other.

If I had to describe the Tear Drop it would be half the trailer with twice the fun. It is compact so packing and stocking the galley, notice I didn't call it a kitchen, is a challenge. We love challenges.

Cooking is very rustic. Two burner propane stove. For those of you never having the pleasure of cooking outside on propane it has two temperatures. Burning the hell our of anything in the pan and making that odd, poof, which means the fire's gone out and you'll need to re-light. Please turn off the gas, wait a few minutes then re-light. And speaking of fires, I set off the smoke alarm (yes, that little tiny thing has one) making toast one morning. Nice at 7:00 am to let others in the campground know I'd burnt something.

Ok, so we were off to a Tear Drop "Gathering" last weekend and we didn't have a clue what to expect. I'd seen a link to the event online and we thought we'd give it a try. Boy did we have fun. We found that Tear Drop Enthusiasts are just a nutty as Streetrodders so we fit right in. There were 120 trailers of different sizes and styles and my darling was in his height of glory talking to other people who've built theirs. We made many new friends, too. Some energetic sole has already posted photos of the event. SCCT Gathering

Because everytime I tell people we have a Tear Drop I hear this song from the late, great Freddie Fender--here are the lyrics.