Tales from Kansas

♫ ♪  "Aaaa-OOOH...werewolves of London..."  ♪ ♫

Do you know that one from Warren Zevon?  Well, that would be an appropriate theme song for one of our camping overnights on our road trip from the west coast to the east coast about 8 weeks ago.

Our "Werewolves of London" camp out was one of my favorites from the trip.  Which is a little surprising, considering it was Kansas.

Nothing against the sunflower state, but come on - what's Kansas known for? The Wizard of Oz.  And...tornadoes.  Not exactly a top destination for R&R.

But Wilson Lake?  Beautiful!  We scored a prime spot right on the lake, and it was by far our best camp location on this road trip.

You couldn't beat the view, and the breeze off the water was perfect.  Actually, it turned out to be super windy overnight, but it was so fresh and kept the bugs down.

I loved the landscape and our view, but that quickly took a back seat once the sun went down.  I only wish it was because someone was playing Warren Zevon too loud.

Alas, it was more mundane than that.  The short answer?  Rednecks.

We're talking an impressive barrage of cursing, fighting, yelling, and literal howling at the moon by our remarkably inebriated camping neighbors.

Yes...actual howling.  It was sumthin' alright.  I wasn't bothered as much by all the commotion because I had earplugs to block out the nonsense.

The hubby wasn't so lucky.  He got the full brunt of all the angry hollering and f-bombs.  Till about 3 or 4 in the morning.  Nice, right?

But, did I mention the beautiful view?  Ha.

We were ranking our campsites as we traveled, and despite the evening's yokel-tastic entertainment, we decided when all was said and done that Wilson Lake was the winner on this road trip. 

A lovely campsite, a welcome break from the road, and another step closer to our new home on the east coast.

Rowdy rednecks be damned.

♪ ♫ "I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand..."  ♪ ♫

Ta-ta for now.

The Loneliest Road in America

Final mileage count

We're on the other side of our fifth Coast Guard move...hallelujah!  It wasn't nearly as long as some of our other massive, cross country road trip moves over the years, but it was still quite a haul.

We made a slew of stops along the way to visit family, took out a bird and a snake in the road kill tally, and ogled at this massive, geographically diverse country we call home.

We started our journey on the aptly named  "Loneliest Road in America."  Also known as US-50.  That nickname was news to me, but after traveling on it, I can't argue.

These road signs were dotted periodically all along the way through Nevada & Utah

As we trucked along, the word that continually went through my mind was isolated.  There isn't a damn thing anywhere around you on the loneliest road except the sage grass and distant mountains.  Think High Plains Drifter scenery.  Minus Clint Eastwood.

Not a whole lot out here!

It was a little less lonely with these characters, I have to say.

The landscape in Nevada and Utah was a departure from most of the other incredible scenery we've seen during our time traveling and moving around the country - and just as awe inspiring as the green mountains of Kodiak and stunning blue mangrove shallows of Key West.

The take-away?  We live in a beautiful world!  Cliché, sure.  But, that doesn't make it any less true.

On this trip, we alternated between camping in the Cricket, spending the night in hotels, and plopping down with family along the way - which was from Sacramento, CA to Arlington, VA for those who may not know. 

Our first stop was in Eureka, NV.  That one was...unique.  It was a strangely dead town.

And I don't mean that it didn't have entertainment.  I mean it was literally like an old west, abandoned town.

The main drag was deserted, forgotten storefronts, neglected buildings, and an eerie sense of a place that's been cast aside.  The kind of main street where tumbleweeds blowing down the road wouldn't seem out of place.

We managed to find one spot open for dinner called The Owl Club.  First time in a long time I'd seen a place that still allows smoking inside.  I forgot how gross that can be.  Guess it jives with the whole wild west vibe they had going on.

So naturally, we got take-out and brought it back to our room. Plus, we had the boy and I don't think The Owl Club would take kindly to Pugbulls at dinner.  Despite the fact that they have excellent table manners.

Along with the deserted old west feel, there were some beautifully restored and historic buildings.  Talk about dichotomy.  I think this one was a courthouse, or town hall - some kind of government building.  It was striking amidst the dilapidation surrounding it.

On our way out of town the next morning, we found a cute little coffee & breakfast joint right at the edge of town.  We had a few surprisingly good egg sandwiches at their picnic table before hitting the road again for day two.

Not a bad start to our trip.  And now I have to share the Nevada-tastic roadside art we saw.  Yes...that's an Elk, a Bighorn Sheep, and a bench all sculpted from horse shoes.  It was pretty cool!

After our first overnight in Eureka, it was back to the loneliest road toward Utah.  Whoever gave US-50 that nickname was was spot on.  I think Clint Eastwood would agree.

Ta-ta for now.

One Last Cali Thing

We had to have our 'one last Cali thing' before our cross country road trip and move back to the east coast, and we pulled it off a few weeks ago. 

It was a life list trip for me and it was excellent to finally get to cross it off!

What was this life list trip of mine?  Trees.  Really, really big trees.  Also known as the giant Sequoias. And man, were they giant.

How 'bout this muthah?!

Full disclosure, though - we didn't even get to see the truly massive trees because the road was closed to The Trail of 100 Giants, which was where we had hoped to go.

It was a bummer, but we were still able to hike around and see some legitimately BIG Sequoias.

We wandered around the forest saying. "Ooo, there's a big one" over and over.

We stayed in an Airbnb mountain cabin I found just outside Springville, CA, and it was nothing short of peaceful, quiet, solitude.

I didn't expect us to be able to have a fire, but the altitude was high enough that it was chilly at night, so we cranked it up.

This trip was the perfect unwind before chaos.  Our timing was less than stellar, considering the movers were scheduled to come and pack us up right after our weekend away.

Bad timing, but great unwinding!

The Pugbull enjoyed the mountain views, too.  Ha.

During the days, we drove further up into the mountains on winding, picturesque roads to get to the Sequoias and did lots of hiking through the National Forest. I definitely got winded more quickly at the higher altitudes!  (Somewhere around 7k feet up)

 
At night, we cooked up some comfort food like grilled steak with sweet potato and veggies and spaghetti & meatballs, listened to music, and enjoyed some of the wine we picked up during our Sonoma trips over the last year.

One of the things I loved about the location was that we could hear the cascade of the waterfalls just below the cabin while we were out on the deck.

And when we opened the window at night - it was like nature's sleep machine.  And the stars?  Good Lord, the stars!  The nights were beautifully clear.

The cabin truly was off-the-grid with no TV, just a selection of DVD's. Somehow we ended up watching Fantastic Mr. Fox on repeat all weekend.  (The hubby has a thing for Wes Anderson.)

Which inevitably resulted in us singing   ♪ ♪ "Boggis, Bunce, and Bean..." ♪ ♪ all weekend.  Those of you who've watched Fantastic Mr. Fox more than once might know what the hell I'm talking about.  The rest of ya?  Moving on...

The deck had a lovely view overlooking the mountains

So I have to say, it was a pretty excellent 'one last trip' in California for us.  And now?  East coast bound, baby!

Ta-ta for now.

More Trippin'

That would be ROAD trippin', for all you delinquents that may have thought otherwise.  Ha.  We're tip toeing toward the end of our tour in California, so it's about the time to start doing those last few things we want to cross off the Cali list before we leave.

Ahhhhh...the beach.

And that included a roadie out to Bodega Bay.  Why Bodega Bay?  Well to be honest, the answer is chowder.

Chowder, and my low beach light was blinking.  The American River here in Sacramento is great and all, but I've been jonesing for the beach.

So, off we went.  Bodega Bay is about a 2 hour drive west of us, so a nice leisurely drive through wine country. 

I tracked down a dog friendly hiking trail down to a secluded beach, a pup friendly cafe, and we tooled around the zig-zagging Bay Highway and Westshore Rd. along the bay. Which predictably equaled a good time had by all!

Cheet got to run around off leash at the beach with some new pup friends, which of course is his own personal doggie nirvana.

What I need to remember - which for some reason I'm severely challenged with - is remembering to throw a towel in the Jeep before we go out adventuring.  We inevitably end up with a sandy, salty, but decidedly satisfied dog when we're done.  And a dirtier car. Gotta remember the damn towel.

Which brings me to the chowder.  After our mile long, tomato-face inducing hike down to the beach and back, we headed over to a cafe overlooking the bay for some lunch and beers.  And the aforementioned chowder, of course.  What a beautiful day.  And rest assured, top notch chowder & fish tacos were had. 

The hubby had mentioned that Bodega Bay is known for good chowder and oysters, and that was all it took to plant the road trip seed.  Fun day trip for sure.

Needless to say, my low beach light isn't flashing quite so brightly after our roadie to Bodega Bay.

Ta-ta for now.

Monterey

I'd read that the Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel/Big Sur areas were among some of the most beautiful parts of California.  Well, thanks to a travel-centric few weeks, I can say with confidence that everything I read was spot-on.

I mean...really.  Just look at this coastline!

Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove

I was in love with the crooked, unique looking Monterey Pine trees.  Just beautiful and windswept all along the coastline.

The hubby was on leave over the holidays, so we took lots of day trips and a few quick overnights while he was off.  December was a very full month!

On one of our trips, we loaded up the Cricket for our first California camping expedition, and headed on down the road to Monterey for New Year's weekend.

We set up camp at a military campground called - appropriately - Monterey Pines.

Of course, the Puggy Boy got his own doggie sleeping bag mat for the occasion. Only the best for the spoiled pup, right?

We spent most of our time exploring the towns in the area, and my favorite was Pacific Grove.  It was such a beautiful coastal town with lots of dog-friendly beaches.  I couldn't get enough of that salty, sea air.

Carmel Beach

Can't you just smell the beach?  It was the perfect blend of breezy, salty, and misty.

We had some excellent meals both out at a few restaurants and a few at our campsite. Overall, it was a great trip!

Pup friendly dining in Carmel

 

New Year's Eve Dinner in the Cricket

I think we've packed quite a bit of travel in our short lived Sacramento tour.  I have a few more trips up my sleeve, but they'll have to be quick because when we blink, it'll be time to move again. 

Such is the nomad Coastie life.  But hey, nomad ain't so bad when we're calling California home.  For the moment, anyway.

Ta-ta for now.

Wining in Sonoma

Our time in Sacramento is rapidly become road trip-centric...and I'm more than okay with that!  After living in a place where a road trip meant driving about an hour until the road literally ended, it's a welcome change!

We added to our arsenal of roadies a few days before Christmas with a trip through Napa and Sonoma Counties to a tiny, winery-centric town called Healdsburg, CA.

First of all, the drive through Alexander Valley was gorgeous.  Granted, the vines are all dormant because it's winter, so we weren't driving through rolling, vibrantly green hills by any stretch.  They mostly looked dead if you didn't know any better.  Not too far off from this...

But despite that - what a beautiful, idyllic, winding road through the vineyards!  Truly a relaxing drive.  Especially as a passenger.  Ha.

We joked that the entire town is "stuff white people like."  Well, because it is.  (Do you know that satirical comedy book from 2008?  It's pretty damn funny.)

Healdsburg can only be described as a quaint, wine-happy town in Sonoma County.  Wine tasting rooms for area vineyards every 3 feet, top-notch restaurants, antique shops, and I counted at least 3 over-priced doggie boutiques.

You know, the kind of shops that sell personalized dog pop art, Houndstooth dog coats, and gluten-free dog treats. (kidding about the gluten-free - but you get my point) C'mon, the place was named Fideaux.  Need I say more?

Strolling downtown Healdsburg

But aside from the somewhat hoity-toity factor, Healdsburg was a fun little town.  We tasted some excellent wine, and I learned about a red I'd never heard of before that blew me away.

Portalupi Tasting Room

Ever heard of a Barbera? (pronounced BAR-bear-uh) Me neither.  But, oh my Lord was this a good wine.  So smooth.  So tasty.

We tried it at the Portalupi Tasting Room and brought a very pricey bottle home with us.  We'll have to pick our special occasion to crack that one!

Apparently in addition to northern Italy, the grapes grow well in Amador County, which isn't too far from Sacramento.  Might be another wine-fueled roadie in our future!

We ended up popping around to 4 different tasting rooms around the charming downtown, which was all decked out for Christmas.

Along the way, we learned from one of the sommeliers that each flight of wines generally adds up to equal about one glass of wine.

So, by the time we finished up at the 4th tasting room - we were ready for some food!

Nonsense with the toad outside Toad Hollow & in one of the tasting rooms

We had a delicious dinner at one of the zillions of restaurants there were to choose from, but were out of luck finding any live music to check out.

Such is the way of the off season. Still fun, though!

Our second day brought us to Simi, a vineyard we stopped in on our way out of town.  Classy with their fireplace, fountain courtyard, and balcony.

To be honest though, I was over-wined at this point!  We hit the road back to Sacramento after that for another beautiful drive through the valley.

Simi Winery

So Healdsburg gets a thumbs up from me.  But, of course it would.

A quaint, wine-centric town with a seemingly endless array of restaurants specializing in locally-sourced, farm-to-fork menus?

Umm, yes please.  I say bring on our next road trip to stuff white people like!

Ta-ta for now.