A Tri-Tip Steak and a Bobcat

We finally moved up to the San Francisco area. We're staying in the Coyote Valley RV Park, just south of San Jose. It's one of the closest to San Francisco and definitely the nicest one.

As we backed into our spot, we met Michael, who was busy cleaning his car in the spot next to us. He was very friendly. Michael and his wife Imkelina (shown with Delton) were planning on leaving the next day. Our friendship clicked immediately and they decided to stay an extra day. They invited us to join them for diner at their site. We brought salad and dessert. Michael cooked a Tri-Tip Steak. We had never heard of it before, but it was delicious!

After they left, we met some more people, Ken and Margaret (shown with Joni) from Canada. After visiting with them for a short time, we discovered that they shared our love for biking We decided to go on a bike ride on the 16 miles of trails which are located next to the RV park.

As we rode along the trail, Joni looked up and saw a BOBCAT!!!! (The picture shown is not the actual bobcat we saw - it was taken off the internet.) At first Ken thought it was a mountain lion because there were signs at the trail entrance warning bikers and hikers of mountain lions in the area. But, after closer inspection, we decided it was a bobcat!

Ken decided to continue to ride past the bobcat, who was actually ON THE PATH! The bobcat was stalking something and not real interested in us, but Joni wouldn't move till he was gone. A few minutes later, more bikers rode past the bobcat and he jumped into the brush. Seconds later a rabbit darted across the trail with the bobcat in hot pursuit leaping across the trail. The bikers almost crashed in him. I'm almost positive the bobcat caught the rabbit as he was only about 5 feet behind him. Then they disappeared.

That was our first ride on the trail. We will definitely be on the lookout as we ride there daily. Many people use these trails, so I guess there are not that many sightings. That was an exciting and unusual experience!

We enjoy meeting new people and making new friends on our traveling adventure. We hope to meet up with our new friends from Coyote Valley RV park in the future.

Hearst Castle

The Hearst Castle is like an enchanted castle. It was built by William R. Hearst and used for his own personal retreat. As you can see, it was built high on a hill above the Pacific Ocean. (See the pictures looking up at the castle -above Joni - and looking down at the Pacific from the guest house patio)
Once we were at the castle, we couldn't get far enough away to get a complete view of the castle in the camera. We couldn't drive our car up the 5 mile long driveway. We had to go to the welcoming center and ride the tour bus up. The road was steep and had many switch backs - one of Joni's favorite kinds of roads.

There is an indoor pool and an outdoor pool. They are built in a Greco-Roman style. The outdoor pool has many sculptures around it. The indoor pool is made with Venetian glass and gold tiles. Real gold! Also pictured is the diving board of the indoor pool. The diving board looks like a balcony overlooking the water.

Hearst created this retreat to entertain his many celebrity friends and famous guests. (pictured is a view out of the bedroom window.) It was his desire that after his death, the State of California would open his house to the public for everyone to see his many treasures and pieces of art. He traveled the world collecting many antiques, sculptures, tapestries and more to display in his home.
There are many guest houses on the property. Pictured is the one we toured. It only has 18 rooms and faces the Pacific Ocean!!!!

We weren't allowed to use our flash while in the house, so many of our indoor pictures came out very dark. This one is of the dining room. Hearst liked to seat himself in the center so that he could visit with as many of his guests as possible. he even allowed the help to dine with him.

This is an attraction well worth the trip. Our pictures can't really show the magnificance of the castle. It is very lavish. I can't imagine living in this life style, but Hearst built it mainly as a showplace to entertain his guests.

Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Pismo Beach

Our next stop was the coast. We decided to stay at a few parks that were just off Highway 101. That gave us the ability to drive up and down the coastal highway to see the sights and to enjoy the beach at the same time.

As we drove north on 101 we encountered some unusal stone piles that someone had made into art???? I think???? (see photo) . Heading north we drove into Santa Barbara. The beaches there were nice. We walked out onto the pier to view the beach from the ocean side. It was a pretty good sight. (see Joni sitting on the pier) As we walked along the sand, we saw a homeless man displaying his sand sculpture. We took a picture and he requested
some compensation for his hard work. He said he does a sculpture every day. This particular day, the sculpture had a military theme. Actually, he does pretty good work!

California is know for it's surfing. On one very windy day, there were many wind surfers (pictured) out in the ocean. I don't know how they keep from crashing into each other.


Our next stop was Pismo Beach RV Resort. Since it was spring break, the park was full with lots of kids. It's a great family park. See the photo of our site. You can see the dunes right next to us. The ocean was right over the dunes, but the beach was wide, so the water wasn't very close.

The RV park we stayed in is to the far right of this beach picture, behind the trees and behind the dunes. We spent Easter at Pismo Beach and we sure did miss our home church in Grapevine, Texas.

Ronald Reagan Library

The Reagan library is about 45 minutes from Los Angeles. Reagan picked a spot high on a mountain top with beautiful views of mountains, valleys and even the Pacific Ocean.

The library follows President Reagan and Nancy Reagan's life historically and personally. It's the largest of all the Presidential libraries containing many documents, photographs, state gifts and much more.

Reagan had a dream that one day Air Force One would be shared with the American people. His dream has come true. Air Force One is on display facing a 200 foot wide by 60 foot tall glass wall with an inspiring panoramic view (pictured). It's a 707. We were able to board the "Flying White House". It was an experience that makes history come to life as we realized how many presidents and world leaders flew in this plane, promoting freedom and democracy.

Inside the plane, behind the cockpit, is the large communication center. Then the President's office and First Lady's office behind that. Towards the rear of the plane are the staff rooms for the cabinet, guest compartments for official photographers and security, and then the press. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the plane.

Also in the Air Force One Pavilion were the Marine One Helicopter and the Presidential Motorcade limousine (shown).

Reagan wrote daily in his diary (see photo) and many love letters to Nancy. They had a very loving relationship. Some of those letters were on display.

We were able to view an exact replica of the Oval Office as it was when Reagan was president. We took a bunch of pictures there, but none of them came out. We were not allowed to use our flash, so all the pictures came out too dark to see anything.

Outside the library, on the grounds, is the Memorial site where Reagan was laid to rest on June 11, 2004.

Also on the grounds is an actual piece of the Berlin Wall which was presented to Reagan at the library. The Wall stands at the entrance to a reproduction of the White House Rose Garden.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the library. Reagan was a GREAT president. Our country would strongly benefit with another president with Reagan's integrity and passion for a free America.

A Visit With Ken

Joni's son, Ken, lives in the San Francisco area. We had an opportunity to visit with him in San Diego because he had a business meeting there.


Ken flew down to San Diego and we met him at the airport. We had a great day enjoying the coast. First we drove up along the coast to LaHoya. After we took a walk along the beach, we decided to grab a bite to eat. We chose a restaurant along the beach.

After that we continued to drive north, checking out some seals lying lazily on the beach and admiring the power of the ocean.


Ken stayed at a hotel on the coast across from the USS Midway Air Craft Carrier. After a cup of coffee at the hotel, we left to go back to Indio.


Ken may be moving to Denver pretty soon. We're hoping to get up to the San Francisco area before he leaves for Denver so that we can enjoy visiting with him some more and letting him show us his stomping ground.


Since we spend our summers in Colorado, Ken will be able to join us in Fun Valley, CO for some hiking, rafting and horse back riding. We can't wait!

Pacific Life Open Tennis

The Pacific Life Open Tennis Tournament was held in the Palm Springs area of Indian Wells during our stay in Indio. It was located only about 2 miles from our RV park.

Being the tennis lovers that we are, we HAD to go! Joni has been to 1 tournament (the Virginia Slims in Dallas) many years ago, but Delton has never been to one before.

The facility was beautiful and the day was warm. See the overview of the facility. This picture was taken as we exited center court.

There were 6 courts for play. Pictured is center court from the nose bleed section, where we were seated. We watched Nadal (number 2 seed) play Young (unseeded). Nadal won but Young gave him a good match. (Pictured on center court close-up)

Was also watched some doubles play and then went back to center court to watch some women's singles, Davenport vs Chang. They went 3 sets with Davenport winning.

We had a great day. Federer didn't play the day we were there. We were disappointed that we didn't see him. But, we watched some the tournament on TV.

Luxury RV Park in Indo, CA

Outdoor Resorts in Indio, California is probably the most luxurious RV park in the country. Indio is just 20 miles from Palm Springs, a very upscale and beautiful area in the desert. As you can see, the mountains surround the park creating a great view from every direction.
The entrance has flowers on all sides with fountains on either side of the drive in. See photo. Flowers also line both sides of the street as you approach the entrance.

Our site was the on the highest spot in the park, overlooking a canal with a wall of flowers next to us (see 2 photos). Our motor home is the white one with the green swish on it. It was one of the oldest motor homes in the park. Only motorhomes were allowed in (no 5th wheels, trailers or tents) and they could not be older than 10 years old. Ours just made it in.

Joni was able to float around in her kayak during our stay. Notice the beautiful setting while paddling around the park. This picture of Joni in her kayak is taken next to our site, heading under the bridge.

Amenitities included a golf course, tennis courts (see photo of courts behind the brook and bridge), pools, canals, private boat dock at each site, work out room, restaurant, and more. (See the pictures of the canals along side the golf course)


The RV lots are privately owned. Not all the lots have been sold yet. We were given a FREE 5 night/6 day stay as a promotion to sell the lots, yet we were not required to tour the park or listen to a sales pitch. WHAT A DEAL! We were given the coupon by some friends in the Outdoor Resorts Rancho California which is the previous park we stayed in. The lots normally rent for $95/night and you can rent through the office or privately through the owners.

Each owner has upgraded their spots with various amenitites. Look carefully and you will even see a lot with a POOL overlooking the canal. Yes, some owners have actually built pools on their RV lots. Also notice beautiful patios, cascading flowers with fountains of flowing water, boat docks with electric powered boats and more.

The canals allow about 1 mile of floating from one end of the park to the other.

This has got to be the most beautiful RV park in the country. By the way, if you'd like to buy a lot here, you can buy the one we were in for a little over $300,000 (basically a driveway). One lot with many amenitites already finished out lists for over $700,000.

Any takers out there?????