Valencia, Los Angeles and Back to Morgan Hill

2/02/05 - Storm Damage
Yesterday we moved the coach to the Far West Resort in Santa Paula (Map). Its a nice park in the hills, but is a fair distance from the highway and we had to drive over a badly damaged road to get there. Apparently there was a big storm a couple of weeks ago that did considerable damage to this part of California. We witnessed evidence of flooding in many places including the Ventura RV Park which got almost completely washed away. There are several roads closed due to slides in the area, and the road to Far West was only open to local traffic.

On the way here we saw some of the biggest strawberry fields I have ever seen. After settling in to our campsite we were visited by several Peahens (female Peacocks). The photos I took were not impressive due to the fact that they blend in with their surroundings so well.

Tomorrow we will drive back to Casa Dorinda in Santa Barbara (Map), to pick up a lens that Ritz Camera sent by a very slow UPS truck more than a week ago. We will be treated to a BBQ lunch and then take my Aunt and Uncle to see our new motorhome somewhere in the area (we have yet to decide exactly where). Then we will move to the Valencia Travel Village near I5.

2/06/05 - Super Bowl Sunday
The Valencia Travel Village is a very big park situated along Hwy 126 near I5 just north of Santa Clarita. Good shopping and the Six Flags amusement park are nearby. This is one of the friendliest parks we have been in. Today we got treated to a great Super Bowl which was won by the New England Patriots. The four hour pregame show wasn't bad either, but we were a little disappointed in the commercials.

Our DataStorm internet connection has been a bit more reliable lately but still takes a long time to find the satellite and then establish a connection. So we have an appointment for tomorrow to have it looked at by a guy that does a lot of related work for the movie industry. We are also looking forward to seeing another Aunt and Cousin who live in Santa Monica while we are in the neighborhood.

2/08/05 - Los Angeles and Santa Monica
Yesterday we drove the coach to Los Angeles and met Scott who spent a lot of time just updating the software that controls the DataStorm. I think he got there about 3PM and had to leave for a dinner engagement at about 7PM. Since he still didn't have us online, he agreed to come back after dinner at about 10:30. So I got out the BBQ and cooked us a steak while we waited for his return. Once he got back, it took him a little over an hour to make a few adjustments and get our Internet connection working again. His final advice was to be patient with the connection process because it was taking longer for everyone lately for unknown reasons.

Venice Beach

So we spent last night where we were, in a parking lot with a bunch of movie production trucks. Then, this morning, we went to visit my Aunt and Cousin in Santa Monica (Map). After a short visit we decided to go to lunch and then they wanted to see the coach of course. By 2:30 we were all ready to go do something else, so we said goodbye and headed for some of the world famous beaches in the area. Along the way I took this photo of a huge clown, which I think was on a theater in Santa Monica. We wound up on Venice Beach, which was pretty quiet compared to a weekend or summer day, but had lots of interesting people and things to look at.

Tonight on our way back to Valencia, we got caught in a huge traffic jam (typical for Los Angeles I suppose). It took us almost two hours to go four miles. It was very cool to be in the coach though, with the sun setting over the Los Angeles skyline, on top of a long ramp over 10 lanes of traffic, as dusk turned to dark. We were able to just relax and enjoy the time together, because we had a great view, food to snack on, dogs to love and play with, and even a bathroom if we needed it.

2/10/05 - Back to Morgan Hill via Casa De Fruta
Today we decided to go back to the Maple Leaf RV Park in Morgan Hill (Map) for a week, while waiting for our next event, which is another painting class for my wife in the Monterey area. So after getting lunch and picking up some medication at Kaiser in Santa Clarita, we headed up I5. It was a nice, uneventful drive. Here is a photo of a flock of birds I took at a rest stop as the sun was setting. We made it to Casa de Fruta on Hwy152 for dinner. This is a very cool place, with a great fruit stand, average restaurant, and many other things to see and do. There is also an RV Park here which we may come back to someday.

This evening I got an email from my sister informing us that my mother was in the hospital. Apparently she had been found laying on the floor in the dining room on Tuesday, taken to the hospital, released, fallen the next day, taken back to the hospital, and then as she was being released, again fell into semi-consciousness. They will be doing some more tests tomorrow to try and figure out what is going on. We're not sure if we need to rush to her side or what, so we're standing by to hear more news tomorrow. I am very glad my sister was nearby to be with her through most of this ordeal.

2/17/05 - The Week in Review
A quick recap of the past week: Saturday night we rented The Majestic, which is a great movie starring Jim Carey; Sunday I released a new version of Rental Property Tracker Plus and watched the Pro Bowl, which was one of the better Pro Bowls in recent memory; Monday was laundry day; Tuesday we watched the movie What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, which has great special effects but not a great story line; Wednesday night we had dinner at the Hometown Buffet in Gilroy, which was just OK.