Leashed to California . . . Breaking free, for a few months

We have had invisible forces working against us as we have tried and tried and tried to cut free from California. Finally, ignoring several “issues” we hit the road any way. Here is a visual of a couple minor set backs . . .

                                     

Me; complications from February knee surgery. Mark practically knocked himself out and bled all over everything when he hit his head on a sharp part of the sky. Ice pack wrapped in towel on bloody head does not deter him from chatting on the phone. Chatty chatty.

These are just inconveniences. There is still a bigger health issue tying me to my doctors...waiting for approval to leave town!

Whoa, good news! I just got a call from the doctor advising that I am cleared for travel. Especially good to know since we are already on the road!

Dear Northwest, we are headed your way!  A little later than planned, but we nomads aren't concerned with dates and times, right? Wouldn't that be ideal.

However, doctors don’t play by nomad rules.  I have to be back in Santa Clarita in October. Therefore, we have to cancel our plans to spend the winter in Florida. 

Hey, if that's the worse news that comes out of all this, I'm good with it! Florida isn't going anywhere. We, on the other hand, will find some other places to explore.

And...I realized that I have been skimping on pictures. Here is our site (#185) at the Anaheim Harbor RV Park, poolside.

And as promised, the best view of Disneyland’s nightly fireworks I've ever seen.

      

Not really a dog park there though, they share the grassy area designated for the children’s playground area. Poor kids! Even if the doggies are picked up after, there is sure to be residual messies left behind for kids playing on the grass. Ew.

I am going to start making notes on each RV Park we visit; listing the best features and site numbers to reserve. With my memory getting 'full' it will make for a good reference later on if we wish to revisit sites or refer friends, or for you readers if you should cross a path we once traveled.

When we stay in Valencia, we like the Valencia Travel Village RV Park. Anything on row A faces the pool, and is near the store and laundromat. The lower the number the better, i.e. A1, A2, and so on. They are also pull-through sites, which we like best.

Today we pulled into Flag City RV Park in Lodi, CA. Haven’t had a chance to investigate the place yet so updates tomorrow...although maybe not. We are only staying the one night. Not sure how much time we’ll have before we head out in the morning with tomorrow being our 20^th Anniversary! Seems impossible since I'm only 38. Mark really robbed the cradle!

We have reservations at an upscale RV resort and spa, with appointments set for a 90 minute couples massages upon arrival. Yeah baby!

As I have mentioned nearly every travel day, they are exhausting. Plus after dinner I baked a cake. Why? Because. Now if I don't go crawl into bed, I shall pass out on the sofa. 

I will log off with a few pictures of the younger loved ones enjoying their California vacations. (Had to steal a few photos from family as I lent out my phone so we could all keep in touch while in Disneyland).

Scarkett, Lightening McQueen, Parker
The car talks...it IS alive!

Parker chillin' California style

Josh and the soon to be Mrs. Monica Randall

Becci, Asher, Scarlett and Parker

The Sound of Silence

Has it really been six days since I blogged? I am literally hanging my head in shame as I type. I do have a good excuse, really I do. I have been held hostage by two small children; four medium-sized young adults; three Senior Citizens; a dog and a Mouse (M-i-c-k-e-y).  Not complaining. No time. No time for breathing much either. But it’s all good. Oh who am I kidding…it’s like a sitcom family Thanksgiving get-together. (She says with a wink and a smile)

At the moment I am sitting in the RV and the silence is deafening. It is kind of scary actually, somewhere there are nine people very close by and yet there is no noise. Did the rapture come? Did I get left behind? I now understand the phrase “the sound of silence”.  

Best not to investigate. If it was the rapture and I am still here, I'd rather not know. Or if I peek outside, and they are nearby, someone is sure to notice me and there goes my stolen moment alone to post. 

This week we are staying at the Anaheim Harbor RV Park and in my opinion we have the best site in the park (#185). We have a nice grassy lawn and then the pool right outside our front door. PLUS Disneyland's nightly fireworks take place right above our heads. We have a better view of them here than if we were standing in the park itself!

I think I have seen more fireworks this trip than in my entire life totaled up. Lobster and Fireworks, two things I could never tire of. (Strange combo; I just visualized a lobster exploding mid-air and it wasn't pretty!)

Time is flying by much faster than seems possible. Josh & Monica, Nana & Lyle all leave on Thursday. Then Asher and his family will leave on Saturday. 

Thinking maybe I should record an hour of random family time today, just to play after everyone has left. The sound of silence can be soothing but it can also be a very lonely thing.

Oops, they found me. I will post pics in a couple days. Apparently we are about to watch "Frozen". 

Hey, are there leeches in rivers?

Let’s see, how can we tell we are getting closer to Mexico?  

We are actually in San Diego. 

Not sure if this little area has its own name, however since it is right on Mission Bay, that is what we shall call it. 

I can tell just passing through this town on our way to the Camp Land on Mission Bay RV Park, I would love it here. 

We’ll have to come back when we can spend more time and explore these artsy shops and cafes.

It is my favorite combo of;

beachy - surfer - boho - laid back 

atmosphere that makes my 

heart smile.

The RV Park here is really just a huge paved parking lot but it is very well organized and has a lot of trees so you don’t really notice. Every spot is a close walk to the beach. There are four pools, a well stocked Market, a restaurant, laundry facilities and a game room next to the laundry, just in case you have more quarters you’d like to throw away. 

Between the four of us, we didn't have a pair of undies to share, so it was time to hit the laundry facilities. 

        

The game room turned out to be a great distraction for the children, and was a wonderful means of squelching the whining from not coping well with the lengthiness of such a boring chore.

I, however, kept up my end of the whining until the awful chore was completely behind me.

To say it lightly, I detest Laundromats. So when discussing the aspect of full-time RV-ing, I obviously wanted the washer/dryer unit. But Mark wanted the storage. (Our RV came plumbed and ready for a washer/dryer unit, as well as set up for an outdoor entertainment center, that we have yet to acquire).

We now have plenty of storage for appliances we don’t use, and we get to go to the public laundry once a week. Hoping Mark will get sick of this routine rather quickly and I'll get that unit sooner rather than later. I would love to be fully self-contained. I guess it will also depend on how long we decide to stay full timers.

Looking forward to our first out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere trip where Mark gets to pound his clothes clean on river rocks. (Maniacal laughter...silenced only by the realization that he'll have ME doing this, not him...Hmm, thinking maybe a few leeches in the boxers will do the trick. Wait, do rivers have leeches? Drats!)

Meanwhile, back to Mission Bay…The beach has great sand for building castles, making sand friends or just digging your way to China for some good take-aways.  No waves, just fresh saltwater air.

There are also tons of noisy, bright green parrots that are very hard to capture with my phone camera. (Hint; birthday is almost here. Maybe it is time for a big girl camera???)

Can you spot the parrot in this tree?

Neither can I, but I know it is there because I watched it fly in!

With four pools all linked together, the kids could spend all day hopping between them.  

Scarlett is like a fish that only comes up long enough for air. 

She had me take a photo of her eyes so she could see how red they were. (Mum, those freckles are a mere figment of your imagination, go back to whatever you were doing).

Parker checks back every 5 minutes looking for food. Look at that little belly! Does he look underfed to you? 

I cannot imagine the cost of feeding him when he hits his teens. 

Poor parents (literally!)

They usually come out shriveled like little white raisins.

This is the only RV Park in California we have found to date that allows campfires. Not to say there aren't more, just that we've never found any. 

The kids roasted hot dogs over the fire for the first time, and later made S’mores; fun American traditions they won’t find at home in Australia. 

Just as we enjoy learning Aussie traditions while we are there, it is fun to share with the kids some of the things their daddy grew up with.

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Scarlett is not fond of the smoke...such a little Princess.

We are right across the bay from Sea World, which every night sets off fireworks from 9:50pm to 10pm. Last night Scarlett was able to stay awake late enough to see them. (Parker, no way, ZZZzzz)

This is our last day here in Mission Bay. Next stop is Anaheim, where we will have other family members meeting us for a Disneyland Adventure the kids will never forget. 

Plus, it will be great to have the 'parents' back from their missions trip so that us grand-folks can catch our breath and enjoy not having to be the ‘enforcers’ any longer, just the spoilers, as it should be.

Destination Lego Land the Second Happiest Place on Earth!

Kudos and 10 Thumbs Up for Lego Land! Seriously a much grander place than we ever could have imagined. Friends who brought their children here years ago all said pretty much the same thing; ‘there wasn't a lot to do' or 'pretty boring’. 

Well it has been reborn and it is massive! We had a 5-day pass and there were still a few things we were unable to get to, but then again, there were some attractions that just had to be done two or three times.

Like Disneyland, Lego Land has themed sections, mini lands if you will, with food and attractions to match the themes.

It also has an aquarium. It’s no Sea World, but something you wouldn't want to miss. The unique ways they came up with for children to interact with sea life, as well as knowledgeable and friendly staff at every turn to answer any questions, made for a thrilling experience for the kids.

Then there is the water park. It was also sectioned off into themes with a good variety of attractions to amuse both big and small.

The whole experience was very impressive. I got to be the photographer for the most part due to a flat tire in the knee department. (I go to the knee mechanic for a redo of the last overhaul come mid-July) So . . . I was side-lined from any rides that required a bent knee. Quite alright, Mark was a good sport and made a hilarious, super-sized chaperon on teeny-tiny rides. Plus Scarlett didn't mind flying solo AND we now have some fun pics that we wouldn't have gotten if we were all being flipped around on the rides, so it’s all good!

Now, if a picture states a thousand words, then get ready for a long, long read...

                                              

 

                   

    

     

                       

                       

              

            

           

                 

  

Ended the day with a dinosaur dig. These pictures are just from the attractions I could not take part in, so you can imagine how massive this park is.

Thoroughly enjoyed our week here. Highly recommend for children 4 years old through 10 years old. Yet I'd go by myself, just saying. . .