Touring San Diego on the Trolley

Thursday was the only day I had free from the cardiologist. . .
so touring San Diego is the way to go. . .

as always. . .love those trolleys. . .
someone else who knows where they are going does the driving,
we sit back and enjoy the ride. . .

$35 pp was a little ouchy. . .
but doable for an all day, hop on/hop off. . .


Sharon and John Roberts, originally from Tacoma Washington
joined in for the all the fun. . .
We met them last year in Michigan. . .
it’s been fun to be parked next door this trip. . .

(thanks for sharing the pic Sharon)

off we go. . .


San Diego Harbor. . .

but most importantly. . .the USS Ronald Reagan Aircraft Carrier
which our awesome nephew and Navy Sailor Nicholas calls his home away from home. . .

Any other time we could have taken a tour. . .but it’s been under wraps
having some painting and repairs done, so alas. . .couldn’t happen. . .boo hoo!

at least I got to see it this time. . .when we were in Newport News it was out on maneuvers. . .

cannot seem to get our timing down. . .rats!


anyway. . .the tour continues. . .
the USS Midway Naval Museum. . .available for your viewing pleasure. . .
     

The USS Reagan. . .the San Diego Harbor. . .and the San Diego Skyline
as viewed from the Coronado Bridge. . .

 

the Pacific Ocean. . .as viewed from Coronado Island
the first place we chose to get off and explore. . .and have lunch!
Coronado Island, as you can imagine, is a tourist mecca. . .
with all the requisite touristy things provided. . .
but very, very beautifully done. . .

I could see driving over, and spending an entire day or more exploring. . .
plenty of parking available. . .really lovely,

The Mexican Food place where we had lunch
was reasonably priced and had good food. . .

Okay. . .we are revived. . .more exploring to do. .  .
  

 

 

Hotel Del Coronado was way high on the list of must see places. . .
absolutely lovely. . .and rooms start at only $450 per night. . .
a bargain for sure. . .right?


back to the real world of the trolley for us peons. . .

it really was a great tour

we saw Balboa Park
the Gas Light District
Little Italy. . .

some things I’m sure I’ve forgotten. . .
it’s very difficult to get pics out the window of a moving vehicle. . .

but one of the most interesting things we did all day
was our visit to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site
once we returned to Old Town. . .

it was very dark, and these pics do it no justice. . .
but it was a very well done re-enactment of the Mormon Battalion’s March from Iowa to California. . .
very reminiscent of great Civil War Activities we have attended. . .

4D graphics. . .our seats shook. . .the wind howled. . .holograms of folks
talking to us and interacting with us. . .so great. . .highly recommend. . .

John was a very, very willing volunteer to play dress up. . .LOL!

what a great day with good friends. . .

onward to our next adventure. . .

see you next time in Old Town Temecula. . .

’til then,
Janice and Dave

LiveJournal Tags: Full Time RV Living,Motorhome Travel,California 2015,San Diego CA,Old Town Trolley Tour

Mission San Juan –Capistrano California–Fabulous

with nothing else scheduled, we decided it was time to see the ocean. . .

We could do a day trip to Mission San Juan in Capistrano
and then continue down the coast,
circling back around through Oceanside,
and back to the RV Park in Menifee. . .

it was a beautiful winding drive over the mountains,
past Lake Elsinore, overlooking Temecula Valley



close enough to Camp Pendleton to see the Paratrooper maneuvers. . .

and the beautiful Mission San Juan Capistrano. . .
with the domes of the Basilica in the background. . .



such a pretty, pretty place. . .
so much history. . .



something beautiful. . .



and interesting to see. . .

  

around every corner. . .

  

and the gardens were just as lovely as the mission. . .

  

as a part of your admission price ($9 for adults)
you were given an audio set
which corresponded with each section. . .

we always enjoy those, as it allows us
to explore at our own pace,
rather than keeping up with a group tour. . .



and of course, no tour of the Mission
is complete without a mention of
the swallows who return every spring. . .

this year they are scheduled to return
March 19. . .or at least that’s when the
Swallows Return Festival is. . .

hope the birds get their dates right. . .LOL!

I could have spent an entire day. . .
but alas, we still needed to see the ocean. . .



isn’t it lovely? 
I do believe the marine layer had moved completely in by the time we arrived. . .
so this was our view the entire drive down the coast. . .boo hoo!

Lots more time to explore in the next few months. . .so. . .
better pics coming soon. . .

Trolley Tour of San Diego next. . .

see you there,
Janice and Dave

 

Mission San Juan Capistrano–California VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

LiveJournal Tags: Full Time RV Living,Motorhome Travel,California 2015,Mission San Juan Capistrano,San Juan Capistrano CA

The “Angelic Beings” Came for a Visit. . .

and brought their Mommy and Daddy. . .

our favorite part of traveling is seeing the family,



and seeing these two great nephews is really special,
”cause they’re in the Navy. . .and always far, far away. . .

 

we love their Daddy and Mommy too. . .
(all pics above “borrowed” from our niece. . .thanks Linds)

so Wednesday they came for a swim. . .

which it seems they really, really enjoyed. . .

 

a few swim lessons at the “Y”
and I do believe the oldest one will have it down. . .
he’s very close. . .

it gets very cool here as soon as the sun goes down,
so Dave headed to IN-N-OUT for burgers. . .
and we all headed to the rig. . .

now, let me tell you. . .
there’s a magical store called Dollar Tree
that sells the ultimate in “entertaining kiddos” junk. . .
$5 buys you at least two hours of fun stuff. . .

 

bubbles were a hit. . .

 

as was the silly string. . .

until it wasn’t. . .LOL!  he was not a fan of having it in his hair. . .

feeding the geese. . .

but I do believe the most entertainment the boys had
(and I didn’t get a pic)
was our outdoor reclining chairs. . .
they just thought that was the coolest thing. . .

ha ha. . .kids. . .go figure. . .

So great to get our hugs in. . .

planning to see them all several, several more times while we are here. . .

See you next time at Mission San Juan, Capistrano. . .

’til then,
Janice and Dave

LiveJournal Tags: Full Time RV Living,Motorhome Travel,EVANS,Evans Nick Lindsey Caden Ashton

Friends, Peanuts, Dates, Lemons, Oranges. . .hmmm. . .what else?

We’ve been so busy visiting that we haven’t gotten much else done. . .



let’s see. . .last Friday, there was a “tour”
of the peanut patch at 10A. . .
so Rick, Janice, Dave and I piled in the Jeep
to go check that out. . .

Who knew they grew peanuts in Arizona. . .right?

 

now. . .I might say “tour” was a bit of a stretch,
but, about 30 of us went out to “the warehouse”
for “a talk” about how peanuts “used to be grown in Arizona”
until the white fly infestation several years ago
decimated the crop, threatened the lettuce crop. . .
and basically put AZ Peanut Farmers out of business. . .

this is a peanut roaster. . .the drum rotates
keeping the 70 pounds of peanuts moving. . .

the larger roaster processes 150 lbs at a time. ..
that’s a lot of peanuts. . .

the owner of the Peanut Patch now imports all her peanuts
from a supplier in California. . .but does all the
roasting, peanut butter, and peanut brittle making
in house, along with a variety of fudges and other delicious peanutty goodness. . .

a fun, informative way to spend a couple hours. . .

on to lunch. . .first time Dave and I have partaken of an In-N-Out burger. . .
purty tasty little morsel. . .a great little “snack”. . .LOL!

on to the next adventure



Martha’s Gardens Date Farm



where Dave and I are on a quest for a “date shake”. . .
we shared. . .two straws and everything. . .

ours did not look this fancy, but it was delicious. . .
kinda like a DQ Blizzard with DATES. . .yum!

AJ and Rick had a date shake the day before,
at a “different” date farm, where they went
with their “other” friends. . .ha ha, so they were going to resist. . .

until they saw ours, which they thought
looked as though it had lots more dates mixed in. . .
at which point. . .they caved. . .and went for it!

Rick and I each bought dates for later snacking. . .
Dave and AJ weren’t as big of fans. . .so they resisted!

Have you ever mixed dates with cream cheese (greek yogurt style)
and made stuffed celery. . .it is delicious. . .and healthy. . .right?

SATURDAY and SUNDAY were wipe down, wax, clean windows,
all that nasty stuff that needs to be done ever so often. . .

along with continued visiting and eating of course. . .

MONDAY. . .we were scheduled to travel to PIO PICO Thousand Trails. . .
however with all the tales of internet issues, and no phone service. . .
we decided a better decision for us would be the
Wilderness Lake Thousand Trails Park in
Menefee California, just north of San Diego. . .
30 minutes further from the tourist attractions. . .
but. . .BONUS. . .



all these loves are right around the corner. . .
Dave’s nephew is stationed at the Navy Base in SD. . .
his two little mini’s and gorgeous bride will be here to see us tomorrow. . .

The pool is heated, so the boys are excited about swimming. . .
and we are excited about seeing them. . .

The youngest was five months old when we saw them last in Pensacola. . .
he turns four in a few days. . .that’s way too long. . .

definitely ready for those hugs. . .bring ‘em on!

We have lots, and lots, and lots to see and do in San Diego. . .

Stay Tuned. . .

Janice and Dave

LiveJournal Tags: Full Time RV Living,Motorhome Travel,Arizona 2015,Yuma AZ,Date Farm,Date Shake,Peanut Patch,Janice and Rick Binns