PCH & Harmony

Our Saturday Adventure ... Continued.

After visiting the Mission, the Hacienda, and wetting our collective whistles, we started our drive down the Nacimiento-Fergusson road which heads West from the San Antonio Mission to the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). We were feeling a little silly - I guess the fresh air, the brilliant blue sky, and the holy spirit was in us because we were all a little loopy. It started with the wife declaring to everyone in the car that "She was full of brown gravy." Now, this was obviously a reference to the gravy on the hot roast beef that she ate at Wilson's but everyone in the car took it completely the wrong way - which is always the fun way to take things. Our laughter was interrupted by a fork in the road - one fork took you across a river ford, the other a bridge with a sign saying Damaged bridge, no vehicle over 8 Tons allowed. I, of course, took the damaged bridge. After we crossed we realized that the bridge and the ford went to the same place so I just had to cross the ford. The water was only a couple inches deep so no big whoop but after crossing I did a 180 and we drove back through as we all said "WHEE!" Oh yes, we were special.

The Nacimiento-Fergusson road winds through the military reserve and on through a national forest. On the way we passed through areas used by the Army for training. On a flat meadow area we say several old tanks that were probably being used as targets. The "J" and I wanted to go out and climb on the tank but the wife, and the Danger Signs, said no. Sigh - Bummer! The rest of the drive to the PCH was remarkable. The drive is only 16 miles long but it takes about an hour to drive. The road twists and turns up and back down the Santa Lucia mountains. There were few places to pull off so we didn't take any pictures. I imagine the road would be even more beautiful in the spring when the wildflowers are blooming and the oak trees are all leafed out. Maybe a return trip is warranted. As we came down the Santa Lucia mountains we were rewarded with spectacular views of the pacific coast. The PCH from Monterey to San Simeon is one of the most beautiful drives in America and is highly recommended for everyone.

The road dumps you on the southern edge of Big Sur. We headed south ogling the gorgeous views. We stopped at one of the overlooks and took some pictures and scrambled on the rocky beach. Breathtaking. The pictures I took were OK but didn't capture the views. We stopped at Gorda Springs where we found a combination General Store, Resort, Filling Station, Restaurant, Post Office, and City Hall. We stocked up on water, ice cream, and salty things before hitting the road to places south. The road is very twisty-turny and the wife was threatening to hurl. The idea of brown gravy - of any type - all over the interior of my car slowed me down. Fortunately the road straightened out and all was well.

The last stop on our Saturday adventure was Harmony, CA - population 18. I have been wanting to stop here for quite a while. We pulled up at 4:50 pm and started to take pictures and explore. The pottery store was going to close at 5:00 so we hit there first. The wife bought a mug suitable for holding pencils on her desk at work. I looked at the t-shirts but they didn't have my size - drat.

The town was a dairy town. A feud between the dairy farmers in the area eventually resulted in a death. The farmers gathered together, ended their feud and decided to live in Harmony - the origin of the town's name. The dairy moved to San Luis Obispo in the 1950s and the town closed down except for the post office. In 1972 they restore the town but, once again it is in disrepair. The restaurant that was once here closed in 1997. The tiny wedding chapel closed two years ago. The only thing left is the post office and the pottery store. I have hope though since a winery has opened nearby. Maybe the town will be rebuilt once more. The "J" and I took some pictures before we lost the light.

I wandered around the small town. Looked through the old post office - It looked like it hadn't changed since it was opened in 1914. I saw the roaming gnome at the closed restaurant keeping an eye on the equally closed wedding chapel. As I was walking around I saw the doors to the out-of-order restrooms and noticed that one of the doors was marked "GEN LEMA." I pointed this out to the wife and she was confused too. We then realized the T and N were missing ... it was a very long day, you understand.

The drive home from Harmony was uneventful. I was exhausted by the time we got home. I should have let the wife drive the last two hours from San Luis Obispo. Anyway, the whole trip took 12 hours and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire day.

P.S. Happy New Year Everyone!

Mission San Antonio de Padua

We had a full Saturday. We decided to go to the Mission of San Antonia De Padua. The drive promised to be a long nine hours. We picked up the "J", who couldn't pass up this great opportunity to be stuck in a car with us for over 9 hours, and we were off. We stopped in Paso Robles (full name: El Paso de los Robles) for an early lunch since we didn't expect to find any place to eat further on (this turned out to be an incorrect assumption since we passed several eating establishments after that). We ate at the wonderful Wilson's Restaurant, established in 1948 and decorated in 1970's Porn Chic.

After our satisfying and filling meal, we headed toward the Mission. The mission is located inside the Fort Hunter Liggett Military Reservation. The mission is the furthest from the beaten path being about 16 miles east of highway 101. San Antonio de Padua is a nice mission. Set in a beautiful area of the central coast, there were many opportunities for pictures.

After our customary visit to the mission store, we walked around the active mission and explored the surrounding grounds. The mission brought water from the hills using an aqueduct. the aqueduct fed water under a mill where a water-wheel turned a grinding stone. The wife was walking by the mill house when another visitor started turning the water wheel. The wife, praying with a new rosary she had bought in the mission store, was surprised by the noise of the turning grind wheel. She came around the corner with a wide-eyed expression. I pointed out the water-wheel to her which ended her religious experience. HA!

In front of the mission were displayed two ship's mast heads that were donated to the missions by sailors. No one knows how old they are or what their history is. They do look old and I am sure they are well traveled. Who knows what wonderful things these heads have witnessed.
We have to appologize to the "J". The night before she had suggested we pack a picnic lunch which we poo-poo-ed thinking that there wouldn't be anywhere to stop and eat. It turns out that the Mission had picnic tables shaded by oaks nearby and a picnic would have been great - Sorry "J"!

After leaving the mission we stopped by the Hacienda - a hotel that originally was William Randolph Hearst's hunting lodge. The restaurant/bar was closed which was disappointing since we were looking forward to something to drink. As we drove away the eagle-eyed wife saw some vending machine in the distance and we quenched out thirsts. The vending machines were outside the fort's barber shop/store/post office. The strange thing was that several of the signs were in English and Arabic. Odd.

We had so much fun on this trip that I am going to split the post in two. Part two will describe the drive on the Nacimiento-Ferguson road, the drive down the PCH, and a visit to Harmony, CA.

To Be Continued ...

"I Know What We Should Call It ..."

We heard about this in a commercial. What were they thinking? I'm not sure if this is a appropriate name for a product but it did catch our attention enough to buy a box as a gag gift for a friend.

I Gotta Get Out Of This House

O.K. It's been four days since my last post and it's time to bring people up to date. Christmas is finally over. I have felt cooped up in the house despite a trip to the Outlet Mall on Tuesday. We opted for another Mission mission and set our sights on San Miguel Archangel. We rung up the "J" to see if she wanted to go with us (she said Sure!) and we made plans to drive up on Thursday.

We picked "J" up at 9:00 and headed north to the Paso Robles area. It's a three hour drive which went fairly fast despite the traffic near San Luis Obispo. The day was perfect for Mission gazing. A Clear blue sky, crisp December air, and warm sunshine to keep the chill away. The San Miguel Mission was damaged by the San Simeon earthquake of December 2003 and you can not enter the church. The damage to the church was quite obvious with one of the church walls propped in place with wooden braces. The gift shop and a small museum are open though. The wife purchased a beautiful statue of Mary, its form reminiscent of the Peruvian Mary. The priest, as rundown as the church, blessed the statue before it was boxed up. We then walked around the grounds and took some pictures.

We then headed back to Highway 46 and drove west to the Ocean. We stopped at a scenic overlook that was breathtaking this morning. Usually the haze restricts the view but the winds we have been having the pass few days blew away all the haze letting us see all the way to Morro Bay. The panorama below doesn't do it justice since the sun is washing out a lot of the picture but it gives you some idea.


We made our way to Cambria, had lunch and shopped around. We came across a sign for Nitt Witt Ridge. That sounded like our kind of place. We drove up but discovered that tours required reservations. Next time perhaps.

We then headed north to see the Elephant Seals. They were out in all their splendor. We have been here before but there were a lot more pups this time then before. I saw one of these suckers move - I never expected something this large haul-ass like a freight train down the beach. Very impressive ... and disgusting ... at the same time.

We returned to Cambria to visit a few more stores and headed home. Mission numero ocho is off the list. We are thinking about doing another about an hour north of San Miguel tomorrow. It's a longer drive but I don't want to just hang around the house. If we go, this will be the last we can do in a single day-trip. All the rest will probably be done with overnight stays.

It Just Gets Better ... Enough Already!

On Christmas Eve, we were going to have a visitor (one of the wife's friends) and we were all going to have dinner at another of our friends. First, the wife's friend who was in Corona for a Family wedding decided to stay for another party and didn't show up. And then, I get sick. My nose is running, I have a sinus headache, I feel feverish (though I don't have a fever), and I feel all wrung out. So, the wife has dinner with our friends alone while I lay on the couch fighting a bug watching strange Christmas cartoons. The weirdest cartoon, by the way, was the Grim Adventures of Bill & Mandy in which Santa Claus is turned into a vampire by Mrs. Claus who happens to be the head , head vampire (The head vampire turns out to be a prissy neat freak). It seems Mrs. Claus was tired of doing all the housework while Santa kept checking his lists. I topped this off with Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, and a Christmas South Park episode. Merry Christmas. This is the weirdest Christmas I have ever had. I think I am ready for a traditional Christmas with family.

No more Weirdness!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. Here is a picture of our tree - and our presents in the plain brown wrappers. We opened our presents last Wednesday in anticipation of being away for Christmas. Then this happened - this is a picture of Denver Airport. The weird thing is that it feels like Christmas has already happened and we both keep asking when will Christmas end?!?

Tonight we are going to some friend's house in Montecito to have dinner so at least we won't be alone on Christmas Eve.

Boron ... And Not A Mule To Be Found

On Saturday we decided to go to Boron to visit the 20 Mule Team Museum. We have passed the sign on our way to Las Vegas but had never stopped. Curiosity finally got the best of us and we headed out. We stopped for breakfast in Ventura before heading for the Mojave Desert. The road takes you through the town of Mojave - home of Spaceship One. I have never investigated to see if there is a museum or something there - oh well, another roadtrip possibility. Nearby is Edwards Air Force Base. The wife had heard that the Shuttle might land there Saturday and we were considering stopping by but they ended up landing in Florida and I don't think we would have made it in time to see it land if it did. By the way, the airport in Mojave is not part of Edwards - some airlines store/maintain some of their planes here in the dry desert air.

We made in to Boron. There are two museums covering the Borax mines near Boron. The first is run by Pacific Coast Borax Company. The other is in the town of Boron. Both museums were interesting. Nothing spectacular, you see, but interesting never the less. The museum has a great view of the open pit mine - the largest in California (Thank god for that). You get a free sample of the Borax and learn about all its uses. The symbol of the company is a Twenty Mule Team like the ones originally used to haul the Borax out of Death Valley. It reminded my of my younger days when my dad was watching Death Valley Days which was sponsored by the Borax mining company. I still remember the commercial with the mules and wagons. It's weird what you remember.


The second museum is in Boron. The museum covers both the mining and the history of the town. It was a typical small town place with pictures of the homecoming queens and listing of all the championships won by the Boron Bobcats. There was also a small, but well stocked, aerospace museum next door highlighting some of the planes tested and flown out of nearby Edwards.

The wife was disappointed that, in neither museum, a mule was not to be found. Sigh.

We finished our trip off with some tasty ice cream across from the Museum and returned home. One more place checked off our list.

A view of Nebraska ... and most of the Midwest

I came across this yesterday. My family back in Omaha should enjoy. The family in Iowa and Minnesota shouldn't be smug since most people lump you in with Nebraska. Enjoy!

Bizarro by Dan Piraro, 21 December 2006

The Best-Laid Schemes o' Mice an 'Men ... (Robert Burns, "To A Mouse", 1785)

Well, traveling plans are always subject to change. We were going back to the mid-west to visit the families for Christmas and our flights scheduled for Friday morning were through Denver. Denver is now snowed in and all flights have been canceled. We went to our local small airport and talked to the United rep. He tried to get us on other flights but gave up when he reached the 28th without finding any flights available. They were very nice and refunded all our money and my frequent flier miles - we didn't lose a penny. I do regret that we won't see everyone. I was going to see cousins I haven't seen in over 9 years. We were going to see the spud's new sisters. Oh well, it will have to wait for another time. This is the first vacation I've ever planned that was canceled due to weather. I hope it's the last.

We are going to try to fill the time with day trips and maybe a Mission or four. I'll keep you posted.

What ?!? No Pretty Paper?!?

I got home today and collected all the supplies I needed to wrap the wife's Christmas presents and discover to my dismay that we were out of Purdy Paper. We decided that we would have to be happy with brown butcher paper. How depressing. Blah boring brown butcher paper. My worst wrapping job ever. Sigh.