On My Way to San Jose

Had another great morning at Buddy and Krimy's -- a wonderful breakfast provided by Krimy again with a glass of fresh squeezed oj (straight from the backyard).  Krimy was always busy in the yard and tending to her beautiful garden, fixing wonderful meals and continually staying busy and moving about (morning to night) -- recent knee replacement was not slowing her down -- at least she was not letting it slow her.  Buddy was as talkative as usual and he had been checking online trading companies/brokerages and thought Fidelity might have the best research tools and such -- this after our discussions from the night before (my preference is Etrade and that's where I invest).  Carl came down after we (Buddy, Krimy and I) had finished our breakfast.  He had a strong interest in the info I had gathered from cousin Dave's printouts from Ancestry.com regarding the Cunningham clan -- told Carl I would clean it up, compare the info with my brother Rick and his wife Kay then, I would send it along to him -- I did point out to him on my hand written copy how it went back to Scotland and England (1700s).



MM (me), Krimy and Buddy

After taking pictures and packing things in the Jeep, I departed by 9:30 am heading for LA and San Jose.  Did check earlier on the directions per Google and sent pics to cousin Shirley that I had taken while at the Waterford in San Antonio.

Missed the 101W cut-off after LA -- the route to the coast and Rt 1 up the coast so, kept going up 5N to Buttonwillow, CA where I hoped to catch Rt. 58W to San Luis Obispo.  Hoped to get on 1N and get far enough north toward San Jose to find an RV camp within driving distance to pick up my son (Tim) in San Jose -- maybe near Big Sur, I thought (could stay through Sunday depending on what was available as I got near).

Next morning, I left Buttonwillow and headed for the coast with Big Sur on my mind.  After an hour or so, I made my way through San Luis Obispo and toward Morro Bay on coastal highway 1 but, after a short drive there were signs that the coastal highway was closed going north -- only route available was 101N (back in the valley).  My fuzzy thoughts did remember something about a big landslide back in March (totally forgotten until now).  After a detour onto 101N and some 100 miles, I made my way through Salinas toward Monterrey and back onto the coastal highway to head south looking for Fernwood Big Sur RV park.  Space was limited but, did get a beautiful spot right next to Big Sur river -- between some huge Redwood trees.  Each morning some wild turkeys would come down to the opposite side of the stream and gobble -- wake up call at about 5:30 am.

Had a nice dinner at the restaurant a short walk up the hill from my campsite and planned the next morning's trek or walk on the beach -- Pfeifer Big Sur State Park.  Followed dinner with a nice campfire near the stream and checked out the facilities of the RV park -- showers and restrooms but, no laundromat (maybe the next place).  Next morning, after the wake up call by the turkeys and a pot of coffee, I headed out in the Jeep for the park and access to the beach -- a few miles of one lane road with "turnouts" proved a bit testy but, well worth it.  The beach was beautiful and had very few people -- wonderful long walk on mostly deserted beaches with a slight wind and fairly clear skies -- not much fog like the San Francisco area or Monterrey, I guessed.

Campsite at Fernwood was not available for the extra night so, rather than taking down the camper and relocating to another space I decided to relocate to Carmel by the River RV park with a new plan to pick up my son in Santa Cruz around 9:50 am Saturday morning.  After spending the night in Carmel, we would be heading to Yosemite for a few nights, then to Sequoia and finally to the Pinnacles.  While at the RV park in Carmel, I made a trip to Carmel Beach and tried to take a few pictures of the beautiful little town but, the Canon A80 Sureshot seemed to be "shot" not sure.

Pfeifer Beach

While staying at Fernwood Big Sur RV park, I had the pleasure of meeting a young couple from Ireland who were staying in the campsite just south of me -- using the last month on their visas to travel and see the coast before having to head back home to Ireland.  I invited them over to enjoy the campfire with me (their first attempt to make a fire the night before went down pretty smokey with not much flame) but, they only came over briefly to share some "Smores" they had concocted -- wanted to know if that was how they were supposed to taste.  They also were heading out the next morning but, they were heading south to the Hearst mansion -- luckily, the coastal highway had reopened the day before (I arrived one day too early it turned out).  They were driving a friends Mustang and sleeping in a tent they had borrowed from another friend.

Also, had a couple families camping next to me on the other side -- a couple infants crying occasionally.  They seemed to dissappear most of the time during the day, perhaps to a beach nearby with the kids but, made the most of their campfires each morning and night to cook their meals -- living in tents had to be less comfortable than my little pop-up.  They were the first ones to mention and point out the turkeys across the river -- our wake up call.  The last night, they brought me some home made dessert which one of the women had cooked -- a fine treat and I thanked them kindly acknowledging how tasty it was.

Anyone who visits here (Fernwood Big Sur Resort) should be sure to see the "Albino Redwood(s)" just across from the park office on the river side of the little dirt road.