Tehachapi, CA

This is one of the windiest places in the world, an excellent location for wind farms, and Tehachapi Pass is the site of the world’s largest.  I don't know how wind farm size is determined, whether it’s the amount of energy produced or the number of windmills.  Anyway, there are about 5000 windmills in the Pass and more under way.  The first windmills erected here 30 years ago were 45' high; .  Wind power technology has evolved constantly in the interim, each generation of windmills getting larger and more efficient.  The newest ones are on 265' towers, have 143' blades and have a sweep area of nearly 1.5 acres. 

We’re camped at a small private RV park a couple miles southeast of Tehachapi, beside the local airport at 4200’ elevation.  From this vantage point you get a much better idea of the wind farm’s tremendous scope than you do when driving over the Pass on highway 58 – which I’ve done several times, each time thinking wow, that’s a lot of windmills, must be 3-400 of ‘em.  I had no idea there were 5,000!   

Our sunset last night.  'Say goodnight, Dick.'

This is our last night on the road.  We’d planned to extend our summer adventure several more days, hiding out in a cool, high-altitude AZ location while the high LHC temps eased off a bit.  But, a couple days ago we decided we’d had enough road time and were ready for the roominess and convenience of home – and Papa Murphy’s and Netflix and daily mail delivery and full size bathrooms and, and, and.

Central Coast, CA

The Central Coast is the stretch between the urban sprawls of San Francisco and Los Angeles.  It’s an attractive area, with a scenic coastline and much smaller towns and cities.  Highway 1 runs along the coast and has gorgeous scenery, especially in the Big Sur area.  It’s a slow drive through that part, 75 miles of ups and downs and dozens of hairpin turns at 15-25 MPH.  Most RVers avoid that stretch, saw only one other rig the entire distance.

We visited Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo and both are appealing towns.  MB has great views and the beach/port thing going for it; SLO has a rich history and an upbeat downtown.

The San Luis Obispo Mission, above and below, looks pretty darn good considering is was built in 1772. 

The foundation would benefit from new facing but maybe they like it that way for effect.

A stream runs through downtown SLO and they’ve made the most if it with plantings and trails and bridges along its route.  It's a park really, a very long, skinny, curvy one.  Many restaurants with outdoor seating areas border the stream at street level.

Morro Rock is at the northern end of Morro Bay. 

The waters off to the right (north) of the Rock are popular with surfers.

Poorly

Poorly designed and poorly managed: that’s our current campground in a nutshell.  The designer didn’t know shit about RVs, most likely was never even in one and was too stupid to get input from someone more knowledgeable.  The result: sites that are too close together, too narrow, too slanted and oddly spaced.  The frosting on the cake is that some of the sites have the utility hookups on the wrong side.  RVs have water, electric and sewer hookups on the left (driver) side, but some of the back-in sites here have the utilities on the right side.  Unbelievable!

Our site is so narrow, it took precise placement to be able to extend the slideout and still be able to open the entry door on the opposite side.  As it was, I had to remove several tree branches that were blocking the door.  Extend the awning?  No way in hell!  The site is quite slanted front to rear, so much so that it’s necessary to block up the RV tires to level the rig.

Poorly managed it definitely is.  When we arrived 3 days ago, there was no one near the entrance to check us in or direct us to our site.  That’s not uncommon and I have no problem with it; having someone sitting in an entrance booth twiddling their thumbs most of the day would be a waste of time and money.  We had reservations so already knew which campsite was ours.

Typically though, the ranger-type or camp host drops by your campsite on arrival day to check you in, answer questions, etc.  We’ve been here 3 days now, saw a ranger drive around the loop once, haven’t seen the camp host drive around the loop at all, and neither of them have talked to us.  For all they know, we aren’t the people who reserved the site at all, just drifted in, found a vacant site and moved in.

In well-managed parks the camp hosts come around and check out the campsites soon after they’re vacated.  They pick up trash, clean out the firepit, and in some parks they even rake the ground smooth and sweep off the paved RV pad.  Not here.  The firepit in the space next to ours was full of trash when we arrived 3 days ago and it still is.

And here it is, the subject of this richly deserved criticism: El Chorro Regional Park, between Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo, CA.  If you’re ever in this neck of the woods, be sure to give it a miss.

Pebble Beach, CA

Our first stop today was the DIY dog wash facility.  This was a good one, coin operated like a car wash, towels and waterproof apron provided, even a hair dryer.  

While Trish did the dogs, I did Safeway and ACE.

Next on the schedule was one of the most scenic drives anywhere, 17 Mile Drive.  It’s a toll road, costs $10, which is reimbursed if you eat at one of designated restaurants along the route.  Above pix taken at one of the numerous parking/viewing areas.  All the following pix were taken on the drive.  

The Lone Cypress, 250 years old, is the official Pebble Beach symbol.

Note sign in upper right in picture below. 

Strolling along the row of shops en route to Pebble Beach Lodge, 

lovely bougainvillea and hanging flower baskets.

The Pebble Beach golf course has been famous forever it seems, has hosted the US Open 5 times, and is rated the best course in the USA by Golf Digest.  We had lunch at the Pebble Beach Lodge Restaurant, sitting on the patio directly in front of the 18^th hole.  My Sierra Nevada Pale Ale cost $10, had purchased a ½ case of the same stuff at Safeway earlier in the day for $14.  Location, location, location.

The 18th hole.

It’s a spendy course, of course.  Some would-be players might be teed off by the green fees: $495 + cart, certainly not my cup of tea.  But, they have a fantastic deal if you stay in an ocean view room at the Lodge for a mere $1030 per night (plus taxes and fees): you don’t have to pay extra for the cart!  Wow!  Who can turn down a bargain like that?   But wait, there’s more: they allow dogs – at only $70 per dog/night!  Bring your entire dog sled team and stay a week or two, what the hell. 

Turning 180 degrees from the 18th hole picture above, you see Pebble Beach Lodge, built in 1919.

Our lunch table was under the black umbrella on the far right.

Laguna Seca Recreation Area, CA

Once part of Fort Ord, Laguna Seca (dry lagoon) is now home to the Mazda Raceway, a campground, and a firing range.  It’s located a few miles inland from Monterey, in an area of steep hills.  The road to the campground and Raceway has a 16% grade, not VW van-friendly I’m thinking.

Priscilla, the converted bus, was parked across from us a couple days.

Some readers will get the connection of the bus name to a 1994 movie that was a hoot. 

The pix above and below were both taken from our campsite.  The Raceway is 1/2 mile north of us, picture taken at 10X zoom; one car on the track, one coming out of the pit area.

The Raceway is the real deal, a professional 2.2+ mile course with 11 turns and a steep stretch that has an 18% grade.  Grand Prix, CART, INDY car, Superbike, etc races are held here, plus numerous specialty events like the Aston Martin Festival later this month.  

Looking west towards the coast and Monterey you see upscale homes and a golf course.

Fort Ord proper, where all the buildings are located, is a few miles north of us.  The Fort was an army base from 1917 to 1994, when it was decommissioned. My brother, Gerry, did his basic training there in 1963.  Groundwater cleanup efforts started 25 years ago and have many years to go.  Several decades of careless use of motor pool solvents and lubricants, fire control chemicals, etc, left plenty of nasty stuff behind. We visited there yesterday and were briefed on the cleanup efforts.

Monterey, CA

The north end of Cannery Row

Cannery Row in Monterey, made famous by Steinbeck’s book and the movie that followed, was the home of the once flourishing sardine industry.  The fishery was decimated and the canneries went belly up in the early 50s.  Now, the Row is a string of chic (and not so chic) shops, restaurants, and various types of lodging.  Yesterday, we strolled along the Row and had lunch at a nice restaurant overlooking the Bay.  I did squid.  Trish’s dish was fish.

A kayak rental group gets briefed before paddling around in Monterey Bay.

This picture was taken about midpoint in Cannery Row. 

Artie, looking hangdog: I'm sorry I barked, Mom.  I just get so excited sometimes I can't help it.

Monterey Bay in background.

SCUBA divers and kayakers flock to the Bay.  

We saw about 30 divers in the water and another 100+ loitering on the grass above the beach. 

John Steinbeck

Yesterday was Steinbeck day.  We visited the National Steinbeck Center and then had lunch at the Steinbeck House, both in Salinas, CA.  The Center is a museum dedicated to his life and times, with posters and film clips from several of the movies adapted from his books, filmed readings, printed excerpts and various artifacts.  Trish was delighted with the Travels with Charlie exhibit, complete with pickup and camper and route map.  I vaguely recall hearing a rumor that Trish was fond of poodles (gee, ya think?); Charlie was a standard poodle.

Above and below, the pickup and camper in which John and Charlie traveled.

John and Charlie

Trish’s book club read The Grapes of Wrath awhile back and then watched the movie, which starred Henry Fonda.  Grapes, a bleak and depressing story about the Great Depression, Dust Bowl, and early labor union days, may be John’s best-known work.  Many of his books were bestsellers and many were made into movies: East of Eden, The Red Pony, Tortilla Flat, Cannery Row, Of Mice and Men, plus several more.

The Steinbeck House is where John lived until age 17, when he left to attend Stanford.  The exterior and main-level interior have been restored but the upstairs has not.  The main level is now a restaurant, open for lunch only, with a matronly wait staff outfitted in colorful, floor-length dresses and prim little aprons.  The menu is limited to 4 items, which change every few weeks. 

The restaurant-interior of the Steinbeck House