Music of the World

Picacho Peak State Park, AZ

We enjoyed the beauty of the desert this morning.  It was quiet and still with the occasional sounds of doves.  We were also entertained by quail and bunnies scurrying thru our campsite.  Last night the coyotes put on quite the concert, howling to each other. It’s early in the season so there are some flowers still in bloom. Just love the sights and sounds of the desert. 

One of our rules of the road is to take two lane highways or back roads whenever possible. This usually takes a bit more time, but the journey is worth it.  Today this took us well off the beaten path. Once we crossed over the Colorado River most of our scenery consisted of blooming Saguaro cacti with a backdrop of jagged mountains.  

Our big outing for the day was visiting the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. We spent almost 4 hours here!  It was amazing, if not overwhelming.  There are over 10,000 instruments displayed. It is very cleverly divided into different regions of the world, Asia, Latin America, Europe, Caribbean, The Oceanas, etc. I believe almost every country of the world is represented!!  

We were given headsets and as you walk up to the flat screen display, the headset automatically begins playing a selection of music. There was every single kind of instrument you can imagine and then some.  Nose flutes?  Who knew.  

Because music and dance are so closely intertwined many of the displays also showcased elaborate costumes. I think this was one of my favorite features. 

There were also rooms that had the music divided by genres, such as jazz, folk, country, and other obscure categories I had never heard and instruments we had never seen before. So fun to hear what they sounded like filmed in their native environment.  

We really enjoyed the experimentation room where we got to play all kinds of instruments.  We beat on drums, strummed exotic harps, banged gongs, and tested out the ethereal theremin (as featured in The Beach Boys, Good Vibrations). 

We spent so long at the museum we pulled into our campground at dusk.  We are camped at the base of Picacho Peak.  Here’s a shot of our site this evening looking out over the valley.  A nice quiet ending to a music filled day.  

Heading Out on Our Own

Black Rock Canyon Campround, Joshua Tree National Park

We enjoyed a slow moving Sunday morning under blue skies and warmer weather.  Josh started to lead us in a yoga morning stretch on the beach, but Marlina and I eventually went rogue and just began doing our own thing.  Sorry Josh we really do appreciate your enthusiasm and technique.  We reluctantly said our goodbyes mid day and Ned and I headed out solo for our adventure.  

As we headed over the mountains on our way into the desert I said to Ned, “Hurray, that should be the last of the cold or fog we should experience for the rest of the trip!  I’m putting away my sweatshirts and coats and only living in shorts, flip flops and bathing suits from now on.”   Well, the gods smiled down on me and laughed.  We had heard about a small town called Oak Glen and thought it would be fun to stop there and walk around.  By the time we reached it the only thing we saw was thick fog and temperatures plunging to the 50’s.

Oak Glen is touted as being a scenic loop of cherry and apple orchards, much like Apple Hill outside of Placerville.  Because we literally couldn’t see, we decided to pull into an apple farm restaurant and have a late lunch.  If we believe the signs, one can walk around a 14 acre village dotted with crafts and other folksy items.  We settled on admiring the kitschy displays thru the windows as Ned ate the biggest chicken pot pie I have ever seen!  Apparently, if you can eat everything on your plate seconds are free.  Neither of us found out if that was true.  

They are also famous for their mile high apple pies made with 5 pounds of apples.  We didn’t bite.  

By the time we left the restaurant the fog had lifted and the sun had begun to burn thru. The drive back down into the valley was amazing. We couldn’t believe we had missed so many apple orchards, bucolic farms and gorgeous flowers.  Just love this poppy field we came upon.

We finally made it Joshua Tree National Park about 4ish and thoroughly enjoyed the temperature in the high 70’s.  I’m not going to say a word if I’m enjoying the warmer weather just in case the sun god is listening in. 

Beach Time

Doheny State Park, Dana Point, CA

After a breakfast at the campsite and a group morning walk my mission was to get us upgraded to a premium site on the beach. The rangers informed us there was a lottery system at high noon for a few of the campsites that opened up.  Ned and I, with about 15 other people, showed up to take our chances.  As luck would have it, because we had already paid for the night I got first pick! So, dreams do come true and we had an epic campsite right on the beach. 

For Mother’s Day Josh got me a “washer toss” game.  The early afternoon was spent honing our toss skills. Mimosas definitely helped improve my game. For the record, Marlina has a killer toss.  Josh and Marlina were thinking about getting in some surfing, so Ned checked the water temp with his trusty infra-red thermometer. Yikes, 59 degrees!  

Of course, that didn’t stop the kids from surfing!  Marlina’s parents, Beverly and Joe, joined us for the rest of the day. We had a great time watching the kids surf.  So fun to be steps from the water, especially since the sun came out and the winds died down. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing games, telling stories and getting in a nap under the sun.  Joe has a contagious laugh and is a very enthusiastic story teller. Beverly is very sweet and put up with all our shenanigans. 

Josh and Marlina made the moms dinner  The menu consisted of chili and cornbread made entirely in a Dutch oven.  It was unbelievably tasty. 

Here’s some before and after pics of the meal getting made. For the win, Marlina has the best wine glass. 

Such a memorable Mother’s Day weekend.   I’m feeling very blessed.  

And We’re Off - The Cold Springs Tour

Doheny State Park, Dana Point,  CA

This is our tenth trip across the US. We’ve explored over 30 National Parks, camped in every state but Alaska and Hawaii, driven iconic roads from Route 66 to the Natchez Trace, biked hundreds of miles on RailsforTrails and swam in rivers, lakes, oceans and hot springs. We wondered what could we explore next that’s a little off the beaten path.  Well, why not cold springs?  Wait, what? Yep,  places where millions of gallons of crystal clear cold water bubble up and create amazingly blue swimming holes, some filled with wildlife. Thus, this trip we are calling the Cold Springs Tour.  Florida has the highest concentration of springs in the world, with over 900.  Texas also has an abundance of these amazing springs. Of course we’ll also continue to eat our way across the USA sampling the local fare and visiting other bean to bar chocolate makers. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention.  The temperature of cold springs vary between 50 and 70 degrees - so pray for warm weather. Adventurous sure, sadistic possibly. 

We started our trip visiting Ned’s sisters in Pacifica and Arroyo Grande. Nothing helps you transition more from the hectic world of chocolate making to vacation than a warm send off from the sisters. After enjoying several days of visiting, playing with great nephews, imbibing in too much good food and lots of laughs our first night of camping is finally here. 

Southern California beach camping at its finest. It’s a bit misty and cool, but heck I’ll take it!  Nothing a good glass of Zin won’t fix.  It’s our reward for making it thru the “belly of the beast”, i.e. Los Angeles traffic. 

While this camping spot is far from remote or exotic it does come with two incredible great features, Josh and Marlina!  The kids made it to the campsite around 8:30. We got caught up over burgers and beers and took a late night stroll along the beach.  What a perfect way to kick off our road trip.  

Our Journey - one second a day

Home Sweet Home

 

Thanks everyone for coming along on this journey with us. 17 states, over 9,000 miles, two countries and 50 days on the road.

We made a "one second a day" video to capture our trip. Click on link below to watch.

https://youtu.be/jyPTxeyLHzg

Any suggestions on where we should go next year?

 

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Freeway Blues

Polly's B&B, Arroyo Grande, CA

 

We rode bikes from Josh's house and met up with Marlina for breakfast. Love the different neighborhoods in San Diego and tons of unique restaurants. This restaurant specialized in breakfast burritos.

Marlina was leaving today for a family vacation in Europe. Au revoir Marlina, enjoy!

We thought it would only take us 5 hours to get from San Diego to Arroyo Grande. Well not on a holiday weekend. More than 7 hours later we finally made it. Oy! I think we're somewhere in this picture.

We're so used to only driving backroads we forgot what it was like driving on the interstate.

 

 

Yes, we made it just in time for dinner.

Had a great time with Ned's family. Of course the highlight is always seeing our 3 great-nephews. Looking forward to spending time with them the next couple of days.

 

 

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San Diego - Biking, Son/Sun and Good Times

Chez Josh, San Diego, CA

Today was about as perfect as it gets. Warm weather, sea breezes, biking, and spending time with Josh.

 

La Jolla Cliffs

 

While Josh got some work in, Ned and I went out for breakfast. We stumbled upon this too cool for us coffee shop complete with a self serve coffee bar. There was at least 10 different coffee choices. The menu had things on it like pitaya bowls. We had no idea what they were so we settled for traditional things like poached eggs (yes, Uncle Bud the chicken laid an egg on the table) and an omelette.

I learned later what a pitaya bowl was so now am feeling a little bummed I didn't get it! (Turns out it's a dragon fruit-granola- yogurt bowl.)

 

One of my favorite bike rides is the path from Mission Bay to La Jolla. The people watching is epic.

We came upon Slomo, saw yoga on the beach, drummers, beach volleyball and smash ball to just name a few things.

 

Riding thru all the streets of La Jolla and looking at all the swanky houses was as much fun as the people watching.

 

 

 

After beach time was Balboa Park time. We were going to take in some museums, but the weather was so perfect we didn't want to go inside. We settled for more people watching and strolling along the promenade and thru Spanish village.

 

 

Tonight Josh took us on a bike ride thru various San Diego neighborhoods. We had a great time riding thru North Park, Normal Heights, Kensington, University Heights and Hillcrest. So fun to see all the different houses, restaurants and shops. I also really enjoyed having no idea where we were headed. Just blindly followed him down alleys and streets. So freeing to just ride!

Ned and I rode about 25 miles today. It almost justified the Indian meal tonight.

I really miss Josh not living close by, but love visiting him in San Diego. Thanks Josh for making our stay in San Diego so wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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