Sights from Santa Cruz, California

One evening we decided to take in the sights at Santa Cruz. My husband was mainly looking for the surf sights he has seen mentioned in the Surf magazines. We did find one spot where there were some surfers who were pretty close to the rocks. We walked to the pier and ate outside at a restaurant. It was chilly even though they had some outside heaters. The place was really crowded because one of the guys, don't know his name from American Idol was performing on the beach. We had to park about a mile away from the pier but it was a nice walk and we needed the exercise since we sit in the car so much.

Just want to let you know that we are now in a campground near Yosemite. We only get one free hour of wifi so it will be 2 days before you hear from me again.

Looking forward to seeing the big trees tomorrow,
Carrie P.

Highway 1

Here is our first view of the Pacific Ocean and some Golden Poppies which are the state flower of California.
We pulled off at this exit because we saw some surfers out in the cold ocean. Along this road you can set up your camper right along the beach.

When we stepped out of the car we could smell the ocean air which I have not smelled since I was a child. For some reason the Atlantic ocean on the east coast of North Carolina does not smell. I am not sure if it has to do with the kelp or not. It has been in the mid 50's the whole time we have been here and the wind has been blowing strong. To me it feels like the 30's. Just like winter in North Carolina. As you can see this surfer is in his wet suit which is a good idea.
Here are some other photos of the Highway 1 as we drove further north.
We stopped in Pismo Beach at the pier and watched some more surfers.

Looks at the collection of vintage skateboards, boys!!! So cool!
As we continued up the coast we stopped at Morro Bay. This is Morro Rock. When I was a young girl my family would camp here. My parents also had a boat called a cabin cruiser which was docked at the camp ground. It was a fun time except when we went out in the boat and I got sea sick one time. I was so glad to be on dry land. I learned how to sail a dingy which is a small sail boat while we stayed here.
If you look close in this photo you can some sea lions on the platform. We could hear them barking so we had to find them and get a photo. They used to lay on the docks all around our boat.
Right there at the docks was a small fish shack so we had some fish and chips. It was excellent.
Another view of the ocean as we traveled north.


We are in a town called Watsonville right outside of Santa Cruz. We are staying at another KOA campground but this time we are staying in luxury. Some campgrounds have lodges and since we were going to be here 3 nights we decided to stay in the lodge. This lodge is a mini house. All the necessities. With all the rain it certainly has been warm and comfy.

And look here. We also got to see the state bird of California which is the quail.


Enjoying the new sights,
Carrie P.

Santa Paula, California

After a night in Las Vegas we were ready to get up and get on the road. As we drove through California the landscape began to change yet again. It has made this road trip exciting to be on as we watch the changing landscape. Even in the desert it is not boring.

Next stop, Santa Paula, California where we spent one night in the tent.
As we drove along the highway we noticed more and more farm land.
Here are some images from the camp ground.
During the afternoon we decided to take a walk to see if we could find Bigfoot. We didn't find him but we did find...
this beautiful river.
We sat down on some rocks to listen to the bubbling of the water and watch some gold finch at the waters edge.

We enjoyed our stay here. It was neat to see so many families bring their children to this campsite to create memories as we had done with our children.
Next images will be of Highway 1 on the California coast.

Enjoying our trip,
Carrie P.

Nevada

So lets catch up on where we have been and what we have seen. After we left Arizona our next stop was the Hoover Dam in Nevada. The state line of Arizona and Nevada runs down the middle of the dam. It was a gigantic dam. It was very very high as you can see from the photos.

Next stop, Las Vegas. I took many photos of the landscape as we were driving to the town. It is amazing how it changes. Even though we were in the dessert it was surprising how many flowers were growing. We didn't see many cacti, mostly Yuccas.

Our first view coming into Las Vegas was this very, very tall building. If you look close in the left picture you can see something jutting out the right side. Looking at the close up you can see it is an amusement ride. Not way would I go on that ride.

Some more views of Las Vegas and our camp site. We decided to take a walk through the strip of Las Vegas. It was very crowded with people from all over the world. That was one thing I noticed about being at the Grand Canyon too. It was very interesting to hear all the different languages. Some I had never heard before.
We went into Caesar's Palace, walked through the casino, and into a huge shopping mall. We decided to eat at Planet Hollywood.
Then we did some window shopping.
As we walked through the mall I saw what I thought was a statue. It was a human pretending to be a statue. As we walked by I looked at his face and he winked at me. It was funny to watch other people walked by him. Sometimes he would wiggle a finger. One lady from another country was with some friends. She was speaking in her language to the statue trying to get him to wiggle his finger so her friends could see but he didn't move.

We went to see the dancing fountains at the Bellagio. I took a video. The music that played was Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley. I don't know how to add a video to the post so if you want to see some on You Tube you can go here. We spent one night in Las Vegas and that is as long as we wanted to be there. It was noisy, crowded, and smelly. My #2 son says it is all part of the adventure. Well, Vegas was an adventure.

We are in the Santa Cruz, California for the next three days. It is cool here in Southern California. It rained last night too. I will share more later.

Relaxing and washing clothes today in California.

Carrie P.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Yes, the next day was much better. In fact it was beautiful as you can see from the pictures. We spent most of the day at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was totally awesome. I told my husband that whoever named it didn't give it the right name. When I laid my eyes on it for the first time I was just awe struck. Totally amazed.
I thought I would show you our home away from home besides the tent. This cabin is nothing new to our kids because we camped many years with them when they were younger. We have so many great memories. These cabins are simple but nice. Since it has been cold in Williams, AZ. It was in the 40's most of the time and 20's at night.
Enjoy some of the 280 photos we took. This first one shows snow coming down but it never snowed on us that day.
This photo is a zoom shot of the river way down in the canyon.





Some wild life. I knew not to feed the wild animals but I found out later when we went to the Visitor Center that you are not supposed to feed the Ravens either. I feed birds all the time. He was pretty neat. I gave him a few cashews and went to the car to get more and he followed me to the car. My husband feed him and try to pet him. He would not have any of that. We never saw any wild cats but we did see some Western Bluebirds.
Here are some photos of some neat looking trees. These trees are called Manzinita trees.The tress and flowers sure were pretty.
I was going to do a post last night but I was having issues with the internet connection and blogger was down. So I am behind in where we really are. We are in Santa Paula, California today which is not too far from my home town of Simi Valley. We will be around Santa Cruz tomorrow for 3 days. Then I can catch you up on what we have been doing.

Hey kids!!Love ya'll.

Still seeing the USA,

Carrie P.

ps, I have read all your comments and I appreciate you taking the time to read and follow our trip.