Wine and Apple Pie

Julian is a small town known for it's apple pie. We had many people telling us that eating Julian's apple pies is a must, so we took an afternoon and drove to Julian, about 42 miles from our RV park.

The town was hustling with tourists and applie pie lovers. We bought 2 pies, one apple pie and one pecan. We shared both pies with our friends, Doug and Rita Fick. They were the best pies we've ever had.

Julian is a quaint little town as you can see. It's at an elevation of about 4300 feet. The locals said they had about 8 inches of snow on the day that we had about 2 (see the story about Snow in Southern California). Signs on the road up to Julian warned of icy conditions and using chains when driving on the hilly curvy roads.

Pictured is the main street in town with a horse and carriage. There's not much more to the town than the main street.


California is known for it's many delicious wines. There are many wineries here. We went to one of them - the Shadow Mountain Winery. It is located about 11 miles from where we are staying, near Temecula.

We were greeted by Pam, (pictured below) the owner of this Mom and Pop winery.
Since it is February, this is the dormant season for the vineyards. As you can see, there are no grapes on the vines. Pam explained the wine making process to us.

After the grapes are picked they are crushed. The seeds and the skin are extracted. The juice is placed into the vats (shown) for fermentation. After that the juice is placed in barrels for aging. Actually, there's alot more to it than that, but this is the short version.
We were able to taste various wines.
Since this was a small operation, we were given personal attention on our tour.

Joni's grandparents were born in Italy and when they came to America, Joni's grandpa built a wine celler in their basement in Flushing, NY. Since Joni was small at the time, she wasn't real interested in the process, but going through the winery brought back memories of her Grandpa . She remembers that he had 2 or 3 wine barrels and the basement always smelled like wine.

BBQ in Outdoor Resorts

Buffalo wings - rice and slaw - all delicious! With cupcakes for dessert. What a great way to spend an afternoon at Doug and Rita Fick's "place".


As you can see, Doug and Rita have upgraded their RV site with many wonderful amenities. With many tables, umbrellas and a completely equipped kitchen, how can you not have a great party with good friends and delicious food. Their outdoor kitchen is equipped with a stove, oven, grill, washer dryer,and even a dish washer.



Joining us for the evening were Cissle, Cheryl, Amon and Bonnie. Please forgive me if I've spelled their names incorrectly. We talked about fulltime RVing, motorhomes and places to visit. This is a great lifestyle.


Getting around Outdoor Resorts is easy when you have a golf cart, but Doug and Rita have a special golf cart. As you can see, it's more like a little toy car. Cute!


We've enjoyed Doug and Rita's friendship and hospitality. We hope to meet up with them in our future travels. They plan on being in Texas in the fall, so we'll see them in Grapevine.

Snow in Southern California

February 15, 2008

Do you believe it? The forecast for today was rain in the morning, clearing in the afternoon and a high of 60 degrees. The weather man was wrong!!!!! The days before the snow, the temps were in the 70's.


Our neighbors Barbara and Tony live in the white and brown motorhome. Their beautiful backyard is pictured and covered with snow. The picture is taken from our bedroom window.

Also pictured are the motohomes across the street from us.

A Bike Ride Around Coronado Island

February 12, 2008

Coronado Island is located just outside of San Diego. The view of San Diego from the island was beautiful. The picture was taken near the ferry dock to cross the water.

A few years ago, Joni visited her son, Ken who lived in Chula Vista (south of San Diego). They took a long bike ride to Coronado Island and then rode the ferry into San Diego and then on back to his condo. Ken and Joni rode about 30 miles that day.


We didn't go that far this time but we did clock up 14 miles on our bikes. That was far for Delton, but Joni rides every day and it was easy for her.








The Coronado Hotel is a pretty fancy hotel right on the ocean. Pictured is Delton standing on the beach in front of the hotel. This hotel is luxury at it's finest.


As we rode along the ocean, we passed the Naval Amphibious Base and saw some amphibious vehicles. Joni wanted to walk across the sand and get on one of them, but then we noticed that there were military guys on them, probably practicing whatever they practice.

Hollywood and Los Angeles

February 9, 2008

We couldn't go to California without going to Hollywood. First thing to see as you enter the city is the big Hollywood sign set up on the mountain.

One of our first stops was at Graumans Chinese Restaurant where all the celebreties set their hands prints and other parts in concrete on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. Joni's hands fit right into Marilyn Monroe's hands and Delton stood by Arnold Swartzinager (did I spell that right?)

We also liked seeing Roy Rogers hand prints with his horse Trigger's hoof prints imprinted with them. Joni wanted to go to the "Leno" show. We were about 1 hour too late. The show tapes at 5:00 in the afternoon and you must be at the studio by 3:00 . We thought about going back on another day but the LA traffic is horrific. I don't think we will go back.

Delton won the biggest Oscar of any celeb. It's even bigger than he is..... Oscar statues were on display. Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland donated their oscars for a display (pictured)

We walked along Hollywood Blvd., among all the "stars". Two we liked in particular were Billy Graham and Bob Hope. The stars are displayed along the sidewalk all along Hollywood Blvd.

Hollywood and Vine is supposed to be a famous intersection. We weren't impressed. It looked like any other regular street in a regular city.



We drove over to Rodeo Drive, supposedly the richest street in America. It didn't look much different than an other downtown street with some nice shops and expensive prices.


We've seen it and we've done it. And we don't need to do it again. And that's all I have to say about that!

Carlsbad with Fred and Sue Beaman

We met Fred and Sue in Destin, Florida. They were park hosts at Top Sail State Park, a beautiful park 1 mile from the Gulf of Mexico.



We kept in touch via e-mail and found out we would both be in California this winter. They camped about 1 hour from us on the coast.



Carlsbad was a great place to meet in the middle. Lunch at Dini's in Carlsbad on the coast was followed by a walk along the beach.



Fred and Sue were leaving for Baha, Mexico with an RV caravan a few days later. Their Mexican trip would last 1 month. We can't wait to hear all about it. Meeting new people in new places all over the country doesn't mean we will never see them again. RVers travel all over and make plans to meet again in different locations. Pretty neat, huh?

San Diego Zoo

February 2 and 5, 2008

The San Diego Zoo is one of the nation's best zoo's. It actually is 2 separate zoos. One is in downtown San Diego and the other is about 30-40 miles north of the city.



The downtown zoo is pretty much a zoo like most would expect. It contains lots of animals and all are behind fences and in cages in as natural a setting as can be made.



The other is a natural perserve where the animals have a lot of land to roam in a setting which most resembles their natural habitat. We rode around the pereserve in a tram and viewed the animals from a far. Some had fences to divide them so they wouldn't kill and eat each other - if they were natural enemies. As you can see, many lived together as they would in the wild.


Did you ever see a lion on a station wagon before? The lion can go wherever he wants to go.......



Warhogs are pretty ugle creatures.

The most comical and enjoyable creatures to watch are the apes, monkeys and gorillas. It's eerie how human they seem. As we watched them, we wondered who was watching who. A sign said not to stare at them, as it makes them self conscience. They will behave more naturally if you don't look them in the eyes.



We spent 2 days at the zoo. It's amazing how many different species there are. There are animals here at the zoo that we never knew existed. Each one is different and unique. Seeing the country and all that is in it gives one an awareness and wonder of all of God's creatures and creation.