MOTORHOME CHRISTMAS

Feels more like Christmas now. Just a little decoration makes a big difference. The tree is real. We were supervised to find this small one in a pot at the local grocery store. The crèche figures are
original to our family, made at a family style Christmas event at our church years ago.


Christmas came into our hearts yesterday with the morning church service. A sermon about the dark side of Christmas with the killing of the babes in Bethlehem. A reminder that there is suffering in our world. Suffering that The Christ will eventually wipe away from our experience. Only possible because of his advent. The children's choir sang as well. Somehow the songs of Christmas are sweeter when sung from small ones.

Lastly, a special service of lessons and carols arranged and performed by Dan and his best friend, Joel Patterson, with other friends filling out the worship team. Lots of dramatic reading of the
Christmas scripture. Glorious!

FRIDAY NIGHT SLEEPOVER

Three boys, three overnight bags, three sleeping bags and three pillows fill up the living space in the MH very quickly. Don't care. Don't even try to organize the chaos. Chaos reigns and its delightful! Making, lighting and sitting around the fire are major attractions. No s'mores tonight. Grandpa Bos sent sundae making stuff. Handmade sundaes eaten around the fire hit the spot!

Bedtime videos a must! Croix (3) falling asleep during his video. Opa moving him to the wall side of the bed so he won't fall out. Caelan and Sage settling down too.

Croix awake at 2 coming in with Opa and Oma. Caelan has actually fallen out of his bed to the floor, but he's sound asleep anyway. Morning pancakes and bacon, then back to home.

One more item checked on the bucket list!

SMALL TOWN CHRISTMAS

Last Saturday was the Carpinteria Christmas Parade. A four block route lined with white chairs. Yes, you didn't even had to bring your own chair, although we did. No floats, no marching bands, just community groups showing their civic pride. People riding weird bikes. People showing off their dogs in full Christmas regalia. An area equestrian group riding lovely Palamino horses, throwing candy to the crowd-followed by a much appreciated pooper-scooper volunteer. The parade ending fire engine decked out with greenery and lights with friendly firemen and their children waving to the crowd.

The blocks were filled with spectators. Dan and Serena kept introducing us to friends they knew. Everyone knows each other. It all lasted maybe 30 minutes. I think they kept the pace slow so it would last longer. Which is fine by us. Small town America at its best.

DECEMBER FALL

Finally, fall colors have come to Southern California.

The first week of December, was spent in Ventura with the MH having work done. The shop was in an industrial and commercial area where landscaping doesn't have deciduous trees. The drive back to Lake Casitas has beautiful vistas of the hills. Spotted all through the evergreens were brilliant yellows and reds. Not very many because deciduous trees are few in number around here. Right across from our campsite, a tree has turned golden. The morning sun lights this tree and only this tree for about 15 minutes. It's a wonder to behold. Fall in December-who knew?

This is just out our front windshield

BERM BUSTING

This is why the children can't wait for the BERM to be built!

Our Three BERM busting specialists

Literally, while the BERM is still being made the children begin some demolition! In addition to jumping, somersaulting and diving into the BERM, they sled down it with their bogie boards. They eventually may end up in the water, but during the winter months, BERM busting is the name of the game.

BERM BUILDING

Winter is the time for strong storms in the Pacific and the higher surf erodes the beach. Last year the waves flooded quite a large area, even onto the main business street. Not all the beachfront in Carpinteria is part of the state beach. Beachfront homes and condos take up where the state property ends. In order to protect this expensive real estate, they build a berm. The work has to be done at low tide so the bulldozer has room to move sand. It's a boring job even if you are doing it on a beautiful beach. The worker goes back and forth scraping sand into one continuous 10 foot high berm along the beach in front of the properties. The ground floor units lose their ocean view, but that's better than having ocean running through the door!

Next post: Why do the children get so excited when the berm is finished?

HUMMINGBIRD ALERT

Part of the reason we love rving so much is watching God's creatures as we see them around our campsite. Our suction cup-stick-to-the-window hummingbird feeder helps a lot. We had it up for two days before we saw hummers. They became frequent visitors. Croix (3) was at the MH since he was not feeling well and the older boys had to go to a program. Unbeknownst to Jim and Croix,the screen door had blown open. They heard buzzing and were astonished to see a Hummer flying around-inside!

Jim managed to find a butterfly net from summer days and trapped the bird between it and the windshield. Croix picked a large book for Opa. Opa managed to slip the book under the net. They released the bird outside. I'm sure the small bird was thoroughly frightened. All's well that ends well!

CARPINTERIA STATE BEACH CAMPGROUND

One of my favorite places in the world. Gorgeous sunny days, warm sand, wide spacious oceanfront, spectacular sunsets and best of all-planned and unplanned grandchildren visits! Wish we could be here the entire time, but CA sadly limits length of stays, can't imagine why😕


We are here for a week, then to a very kid-unfriendly park. It was the only place that had space for this Thanksgiving week. It redeems itself a little with a heated pool and hot tub! Jim and Serena are running a 10k race in Santa Barbara on Thanksgiving morning (I know, it's a thing with them). The afternoon will be spent with the Patterson family. Some of the most gracious, welcoming and warm people on this planet. Dan has known them from his childhood in Holland, MI. Dan and Serena are family to them and we get to be family too for special occasions.

Super moon from Carp Beach

FAMOUS AND FABULOUS?

It's no secret that Santa Barbara (SB) is a very wealthy community. Less known Montecito, is even more so. Oprah's  supposedly SB home is actually in the Montecito hills. Carpinteria also has its contingent of rich and famous. Just to mention a few names: Kevin Costner, Brittany Speers, Brad Paisley and Pierce Brosnan have all been spotted around town.

Our car, 2000 Honda CRV, was in desperate need of a wash. There is only one car wash in Carp. Very low key and part of a gas station. Yet, you would be hard pressed to find a rival anywhere in the Chicago area. Six men work on your car at the same time! All done by hand. As we walk to the lovely patio provided for waiting, the car in front of ours come out. It's a brand new, very shiny, very black (are you ready?) Ferrarri! It's owner is already sitting in the patio. He actually smiles and says "hello". Unmistakable, he looks just like his brothers. He's Billy Baldwin, one of the four Baldwin brothers. Serena says they all live in the surrounding area.

We had occasion to be at the SB Cottage Hospital complex. In the lobby, there is a lovely little cafe. It only has about eight small tables. Each table is set with linen tablecloths, heavy silverware and linen napkins! Only in SB!

Campfire at Carpinteria State Beach

FAMOUS AND FABULOUS?

It's no secret that Santa Barbara (SB) is a very wealthy community. Less known Montecito, is even more so. Oprah's  supposedly SB home is actually in the Montecito hills. Carpinteria also has its contingent of rich and famous. Just to mention a few names: Kevin Costner, Brittany Speers, Brad Paisley and Pierce Brosnan have all been spotted around town.

Our car, 2000 Honda CRV, was in desperate need of a wash. There is only one car wash in Carp. Very low key and part of a gas station. Yet, you would be hard pressed to find a rival anywhere in the Chicago area. Six men work on your car at the same time! All done by hand. As we walk to the lovely patio provided for waiting, the car in front of ours come out. It's a brand new, very shiny, very black (are you ready?) Ferrarri! It's owner is already sitting in the patio. He actually smiles and says "hello". Unmistakable, he looks just like his brothers. He's Billy Baldwin, one of the four Baldwin brothers. Serena says they all live in the surrounding area.

We had occasion to be at the SB Cottage Hospital complex. In the lobby, there is a lovely little cafe. It only has about eight small tables. Each table is set with linen tablecloths, heavy silverware and linen napkins! Only in SB!

Campfire at Carpinteria State Beach

FAMOUS AND FABULOUS?

It's no secret that Santa Barbara (SB) is a very wealthy community. Less known Montecito, is even more so. Oprah's  supposedly SB home is actually in the Montecito hills. Carpinteria also has its contingent of rich and famous. Just to mention a few names: Kevin Costner, Brittany Speers, Brad Paisley and Pierce Brosnan have all been spotted around town.

Our car, 2000 Honda CRV, was in desperate need of a wash. There is only one car wash in Carp. Very low key and part of a gas station. Yet, you would be hard pressed to find a rival anywhere in the Chicago area. Six men work on your car at the same time! All done by hand. As we walk to the lovely patio provided for waiting, the car in front of ours come out. It's a brand new, very shiny, very black (are you ready?) Ferrarri! It's owner is already sitting in the patio. He actually smiles and says "hello". Unmistakable, he looks just like his brothers. He's Billy Baldwin, one of the four Baldwin brothers. Serena says they all live in the surrounding area.

We had occasion to be at the SB Cottage Hospital complex. In the lobby, there is a lovely little cafe. It only has about eight small tables. Each table is set with linen tablecloths, heavy silverware and linen napkins! Only in SB!

Campfire at Carpinteria State Beach

CALIFORNIA DREAMING-NOT

When last I left you, we were approaching CA. Our first campground was Lake Casitas State Recreation Area, which is also where we will spend the Dec. - March months. It's about 30 minutes away from Serena. Lovely huge campsites and views. It's high desert, so temps are cooler at night (we expect to have freezing temps some winter mornings) and climb into the 70s most days. Our first weekend, we met lovely weekend neighbors with great conversations about rving, grandchildren and retirement! They all clear out on Sunday and it's blissfully empty during the week!

Caelan handling the soccer ball

Serena and family came to visit. Sage made friends with the neighbor grandchild and they constructed a raccoon trap hoping to catch the resident (only one?) raccoon seen in the vicinity the previous night. This grandma will be happy not to meet him.

STUFF I FORGOT

We've been on a whirlwind. At least it feels like it. We changed everything in our lives. There is no 'old normal' and as yet, no 'new normal'. Hopefully that will change once we settle in in CA. I find myself longing for some kind of normal. I'm not feeling much. I think I have had a lot of change and I need to give grace to myself.

Today we left Pahrump, NV. Six days there at a beautiful Lakeside Resort. In the middle of the desert, this place has a lovely lake with water fowl. It is part of a casino complex as are many of the campgrounds in NV. There is no pressure to gamble and most ,of them are rated very highly. I got out for great morning walks and Jim kept up his running routine.  This is the view during my walks.

And for all our Family Camp friends, we discovered where Jaybird lives! Jaybird St., Pahrump, NV.
Who knew?

The completed crochet project

Beautiful Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam in Paige, AZ

WATER SCULPTURE

Still on the Navaho lands, we moved to Paige, AZ to view the slot canyons. To access them required navigating many flights of open stairs.  By open, I mean the stair treads were grates which you can see right through. Since I'm not a lover of heights, these were a bit of a challenge. Five flights down, through spaces just big enough to handle a set of stairs, we reached the bottom. The path (led by our Navaho Guide) continued in a zigzag. There were a few places where 4-5 people could gather, and some narrow slots too. The rain-carved rock is spectacular! The colors brilliant. They defy description! Again, the pics do not do it justice.

TOWERS AND TERRACES

October 27 finds us in Monument Valley, UT. Stayed in a wonderful campground located in the valley. Each lot was terraced because it was on a slope. This meant everyone had an unobstructed view of the valley. No highway noise, no loud campers gave space for experiencing the peace and serenity of the valley.

View from the campsight

This valley is part of the Navaho lands. The valley is "owned" and administered by the  tribal Government. They consider the valley sacred land. An effort is made too make it somewhat difficult to access the valley. There is only one public hiking trail. There is only one 17 mile road into the valley. You should have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to drive it. It's not paved and is very rough and bumpy.
We did both. The hiking trail is 3.2 mil es long and goes around the West Mitten Butte. A moderate hike until you have to climb up what you went down at the beginning of the hike. Elevation change is well over 500 feet. We missed a trail marker somewhere and ended up (after trying different ways) on a horse trail that was going the right way! It eventually met the original trail, but we added a few more steps onto the 3.2 miles!

Breaking in my new hiking hat and shoes

West Miten Butte

Our 2000 Honda CRV took the drive like a champ! They did not lie, you really did need 4 wheel drive. This put us up close and personal with the buttes. They tower in the vast, wide open space of the valley! The solitary sentinels keeping watch over sacred space around them. We know the God who placed them, created the elements that formed them and holds their space together to bring glory to his name. Sacred space indeed!

TREES AND SQUIRRELS

Next stop is Flagstaff, AZ. Stayed at a KOA campground in the middle of a pine forest. This was a lovely change after days of camping in scrub plants and desert. I love the scent of pine! Cruising through the campground in the morning was a strange looking squirrel. Identified it as an Aberts Squirrel. A tree squirrel with white belly and paws. It also has very long ears and a white border all around his tail. Look him up. He's beautiful! Once again I couldn't find a picture that would transfer.

GOOD SAMARITANS

We are still in Canyon, TX. Had to take a household duty day of washing and grocery shopping. That finished, we decided to drive through the Buffalo Lake Wildlife Preserve. The wildlife was hiding. We never saw a lake either. We stopped at an overlook which was when the Honda gremlin struck again.  We needed a jump with no help in sight. Jim jogged to the entrance and flagged a car down with two couples. They were glad to help us. Lifted the hood and one of the guys say a cable loose on the battery! They tightened it, jumped us and we were going again. I asked why they came to the preserve so late in the day. Answer: Pokémon! I felt old.

On the road again, our destination-Canyon, TX. We passed several large fields of cotton. Looked a lot like snowballs scattered all over the fields! Generally, the landscape has become very scruffy with hills getting bigger. I love how the short grasses in this prairie catch the sun and just glow. Especially lovely when the wind dances through them.

The second largest canyon in the US is Palo Duro Canyon. The canyon is beautiful. The flies are awful! Since entering TX, we've had a plague of flies! We attempted to eat lunch in the canyon. I would be shushing the flies from my food while at the same time flies would be in my hair and face! We retreated to the car. Jim managed to get some good pics though.

I've been using the driving time to crochet. Finished a long term project while we were here. It came out really well. Unfortunately I can't get the picture to transfer into the  Blog😒   I'll post it later if I can get it to load.

JUST ASKING FOR ELECTROCUTION

On the road at 8 AM on a beautiful, lovely, and sun-drenched morning. Scenery still very Midwestern with cattle and lush green pastures. This changed the closer we got to Oklahoma City. The hills got bigger with less trees and and roadsides took on a scruffy appearance.  Camped in Foss, OK at a lovely KOA literally on Rte 66. 

The next day, we drove to Elk City, OK to take in the national Rte 66 Museum. Well worth the stop! Many interesting exhibits, vehicles and history. The scariest was this machine for getting a permanent! Looks like in those days a permanent simply getting your hair fried into curls!

The other shock was the impossibly small waists on the clothing on display.  The picture doesn't really do it justice. 

I have to mention Country Doves Tea House. Lunch was wonderful and every entree and sandwich came with Jello! Who ever heard of that on a menu? We both had the daily special, cup of potatochowder, chicken and cheese enchilada with a heart shaped bran muffin and Jello. Jello was a delicious blend with lemon Jello and cream cheese. Delicious!

Don't think I mentioned this before, but the Honda drivers door decided to not open. In Elk City, had a friendly mechanic who agreed to look at it. He spent about an hour trying to fix it . . . No luck. He would take no money for his work! Looks like my lanky, long-legged hubby will be crawling over the console (and me exiting the car every time he wants to take a picture) until we get to CA and a Honda dealer to get a new lock. 

APOLOGY

To the millions (lol) who follow our blog, I apologize. If you are wondering if we've fallen off the highway, no, we are just enjoying the highway too much. 

I left you in Litchfield, IL. Part of the procedure to set up the Honda for towing, is running it for 3 minutes. The Honda decided not to start. Since we are a two vehicle traveling unit, it was a simple jump procedure. Figured that by leaving our auxiliary braking system plugged in all night, we had drained the battery. Live and learn. 

We have decided the old Rte 66 is too much of a gamble for us. Two lane, no shoulders and very narrow. I55 is a much safer way and most of the way, you can actually see the old road. At St. Louis, we change to I 44. Our detail book on Rte 66 informed us that Cuba, MO is a town decorated by murals. Ate lunch in a funky, muraled building that had amazing French onion soup. Drove to Springfield MO.  Camped in a slightly sketchy campground. Would not have been happy if I'd had to use their bathrooms-but the price was right at $18!