Well On Our Way!

4 days ago

5 min read

Apparently, we took not a single pic from our stop in Oceanside, a sign of a good time and that we were all a little tired as we were heading out for our various summer adventures!

The campground itself was so nice, clean and orderly. We loved it despite the less than easy entrance, that required me to stand in the middle of the 1 and stop traffic, so Doug could swing wide!

Our highlight was that Haley, Zeina and Frankie joined us for dinner. We found a great fast food restaurant just a block or two away that had delicious Hawaiian food.

Zeina was a bit confused in seeing us just a day or two after our big goodbye but calibrated quickly for a fun time at our bonus dinner before we really took off on our trip. They were headed North to see some friends.

The next day we headed North to Santa Barbara. When we first arrived, it was underwhelming because it's similar to camping at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. It's a horse park and arena that they cleverly converted a parking lot into several full hook up spaces.

It turned out to be a wonderful campground and one of our favorite dog beaches, that we went back another day to enjoy! But first, I had to tend to my soon to expire passport!

We arrived on a Sunday and at 3:30am on Monday, I got up to beat the traffic in my air cooled car, to head down to LA to renew my passport. It was a long day and filled with uncertainty as they weren't sure my passport photo was the correct proportions or saturation. Luckily it all worked out and I got to witness robots that delivered food to nearby businesses and residents. What a trip! The future is now.

I always told my Girl Scout Troops to travel with a passport and bikini, for we should always be prepared to go somewhere far and warm. I forgot to add, current passport! Haha

We met several nice people in Santa Barbara and I was lucky enough to get to know Kathy. She was a sister from another mister. Raised at the local beaches and was nice enough to teach us what the locals called various beaches that were nearby. Sacred teachings from one beach baby to another.

The only way Doug could get ball crazed Pearl to slow down and have some drinking water was to put the ball in her bowl!

Dog beaches are high on our list, for we all dig a good beach day. This one was especially nice, for it checked several boxes:

not far from our campground
easy parking
easy access
sand on the coarser side
a small inlet that Pearl loved soaking in
small surf for both my and Pearl's enjoyment
AND..... drum roll please

A self serve dog wash station with all of the products and even a blow dryer included!

If you own a doodle, you know how crucial it is to keep their hair (they don't have fur) from tangling.

The next day, since Pearl was tired and it wasn't too hot out, she hung out in the RV with the AC on, while Doug and I ventured out to check out State Street. It is much different from when I was a young adult visiting there, well that's true about a lot of places.

What's different about State Street is that they blocked it off during covid and never looked back. This makes for a delightful promenade to stroll down.

They were celebrating Spanish culture and I was delighted to happen upon a stage full of dancers performing! They were all so talented and my favorite number is the one with these red hats and fringe that covered their faces. Does anyone else get so moved by a well choreographed and performed dance routine? It's an art form that speaks to my soul.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/efa2b6_a60b1a8f7de14ad69766b94bba9f1e5c/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

As we strolled along to find a place for lunch, we noticed countless colored eggs being sold. It wasn't Easter time and I needed to know what this was about. The young man that I asked taught me that it comes from Spain and are called Cascarones - pronounced 'Cas-cah-roh-nehs'. They are colored eggs filled with confetti and you crack it over someone's head for good luck and to send them abundance in their future.

So of course we bought half a dozen eggs and set off to find lunch. Turns out, I later learned from Kathy that we had lunch at a tried and true diner from when she was a kid! The food was delish and it was nice to sit out on the patio to watch the people stroll by.

After our second beach day wrapped up and I dropped off Doug and Pearl at the RV, I knew this was my last chance to go back to State Street and snag more Cascarones. You see, this will be our first Christmas since my Mom has passed. She really knew how to host parties and especially Christmas. It was my parents anniversary as well.

She always had the tables made up in advance and each setting included a few table favors. Some were whimsical like she was and some actually ended up being an MVP for the years to come, much to our surprise!

So, I decided that we needed enough Cascarones for our entire family at Christmas. The only challenge is that I haven't decided where this egg cracking will take place, as to not leave a mess for our property management company, who will be cleaning up after our departure.

As I drove out of the campground, I spotted Kathy stepping into her coach. I yelled, 'hey Kathy, wanna go to State Street for a quick errand with me?' and she yelled back 'yeah, give me 5 seconds' and she shooed her dear dog into the coach, grabbed her purse and closed the door. It was literally 5 seconds!

She jumped in our Porsche and asked, 'are there seat belts?'

I laughed and without hesitation she said, 'let's go!'

Sometimes, you just vibe with someone and Kathy has been my person to meet on this trip. She is spunky, done some cool shit in her time and is so fun to be around.