The drive up California’s legendary Highway 1 has been touted as “The Ultimate Road Trip” and it is certainly living up to its reputation. From Santa Barbara we traveled a short distance to Oceano which is just below San Luis Obispo. The campground where we stayed is located right on the sand dunes at Pismo Beach. These dunes, known as the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes complex, stretch for 18 miles and are a biologically diverse ecosystem that includes dune, scrub, wetland, riparian and aquatic habitats. It is the home to hundreds of species including the Western Snowy Plover which is endangered and was currently nesting in the park. While in this area we have done several exciting things, some of which are:

• Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery is the largest colony (more than 15,000 members) of elephant seals that come ashore at this locale to enact their entire lifecycle. The males or bulls can weigh more than 5000 pounds and have a large nose or proboscis resembling an elephant’s trunk, thus, their name. The entire lifecycle of mating, birthing and molting takes place on this beach and there are literally hundreds of animals at any given time. When not here at Piedras Blancas the males head to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to put on weight in anticipation of the winter birthing and breeding season. The pups are born mid-December to early February and then the mating regime starts anew. This time of year the animals are “molting” where they are sloughing their dull tan or brown coats and will have silvery new coats. This molting process is like peeling a bad sunburn and is an annual process among all elephant seals. The newborns have been weaned and are learning to swim and the sub-adults males, like all teenage boys, are sparring and playing and challenging each other with their changing voices. It is a fantastic show to watch and we spent hours just enthralled by all the dynamics of this vast colony. There is a boardwalk built along the bluffs, just a couple yards above the beach, that stretches for several hundred feet and affords a fantastic opportunity to witness every aspect of these magnificent animals.
• Hearst Castle which is at San Simeon and is also known as La Cuesta Encantada (“The Enchanted Hill), was built by William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnet, from 1919 to 1947. Developed as his private retreat, this magnificent Mediterranean-style country house features 3 huge guest “cottages”, extensive gardens, two spectacular pools, lavish terraces and the main building (Casa Grande) which is comprised of 115 rooms. In its heyday the castle, which sits in solitary splendor atop a hilltop, in the midst of a 250,000 acre ranch that also included an exotic animal zoo, its own airport and a mile-long equestrian pergola, was a playground for Hearst and his guests, many of whom were Hollywood celebrities. What an unbelievable spectacle. The attached photos do not even begin to show its grandeur.
• Madonna Inn a lodging and dining extravaganza which for nearly 50 years has been one of California’s landmark attractions. Each of the 110 rooms has its own special theme, i.e. the Moonshine Still, the Caveman, the Golfer’s Paradise, etc. This place must be seen to be believed and to say that it’s “over-the-top” would be an understatement!
• Nitt Witt Ridge was a complete opposite from Hearst Castle and The Madonna Inn. This “interesting” example of folk-art architecture was home to a colorful character named Art Beal (aka "Captain Nitt Witt" or "Der Tinkerpaw") before he passed away in 1992. Nitt Witt Ridge has the appearance of a trash heap from afar, but up close it is an imaginative assemblage of sculpted junk - stone walls inlayed with bottles, rusty metal, busted TV sets, toilet bowls, wheel rims and any other imaginable piece of debris. Often called the Poor Man's Hearst Castle. Where Hearst may have been spending the family fortune right up the coast, Beal was trying to concurrently build the cheapest castle he could. Starting in 1928 and continuing for 51 years, he collected junk, trash, and recycled goods to use in his castle. A favorite material seems to be old Busch beer cans, which were always in supply. He also used washer drums, abalone shells, TV antennas, car rims, shells, tile, car parts, an old stove and about anything else people wanted to throw out. The property, which is officially listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, is now owned and being “maintained” by Michael O'Malley who appears to be equally eccentric as the original builder.
• Morro Rock, located at the mouth of Morro Bay, is a 581-foot-high volcanic plug (or morro) that is the nesting home and reserve for the Peregrine Falcon as well as numerous other shore birds.  We enjoyed hiking around the rock and viewing the birds and the "angry" surf.
• Moostone Bay, with its crashing waves, tidepools and driftwood-strewn sand, is also the home to Moonstones. These white or translucent stones are formed in the earth by the patient dripping of water through the ages. They are then swept downstream where they are tumbled and polished in the turbulent surf and produce a smooth stone that the ancient Greeks believed would arouse “the most tender of passions”. They also believed that they foretold the future and could guide a person in making decisions. We were fortunate enough to find a few Moonstones, so we shall see…
• We also visited Harmony, a lovely little haven of 18 people which was a pleasant contrast to Los Angeles with its 8 million people!
• Mission San Luis Obispo, another of the 21 Spanish missions in California, was founded in 1772 by Father Junipero Serra. It is unique in its design in that its combination of belfry and vestibule is found nowhere else among the California missions.

So, as you can see, we’ve had another very busy week; and this isn’t even half of it!

The link to see pictures of some of these wonderful sights is at

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMqe

Until next time from further up the coast and BIG SUR,
Take care and stay safe,
Pat & Judy

What a wonderful place. As we start north up the California coast we are encountering one beautiful city after another. Santa Barbara is truly a jewel. It has long been an oasis for Los Angelenos seeking respite from the hectic big-city life. The weather is glorious and the homes and beaches are beautiful. Many celebrities now call this area home, including Oprah Winfrey who, by the way, did not invite us in for tea at her 42-acre Montecito estate!

We stayed in a great campground, Rancho Oso, right on the Santa Ynez River. In addition to a RV park it is a working ranch. We’ve stayed in some really nice, and fun, campgrounds and this will certainly rate up there as well.

While in the Santa Barbara area we enjoyed the downtown area including the great wharf and beachfront. Several interesting sculptures, parks and gardens abound. The architecture is really phenomenal and we especially enjoyed touring the Courthouse which has the grandeur of a Moorish palace. The Santa Barbara Mission, which is referred to as the “Queen of Missions” is another architectural beauty with its twin bell towers, extensive artwork and beautiful altar.

We did several driving tours and side trips including a visit to the quaint village of Solvang. Settled in 1911 by a group of Danish educators, the town is comprised of half-timber buildings and windmills with several great restaurants and bakeries. We feasted on Danish pancakes which are thin like crepes but large in diameter and have a vanilla taste. We ordered the plain, lightly dusted with powdered sugar, but they also came with a variety of toppings. They were delicious but so were the Danish pastries that we took to go! Thank goodness we’re doing a lot of walking.

Another real treat of the Santa Ynez Valley is the large number of vineyards and avocado groves. We didn’t partake of any wine tastings but we have gorged ourselves on fresh avocados and guacamole. They are so creamy and good and we have bought them right off the tree for as little as 30 cents apiece! As we stated on the previous blog, we are REALLY enjoying all the fruits and vegetables that California has to offer.

This is a shorter Blog than usual but we want to get this posted. Our next stop is in Oceano/San Luis Obispo as we continue north on the Pacific Coast Highway.

Here’s the link for the pictures of Santa Barbara and the surrounding area

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We’d love to hear from you. The email address is

PFerraro1@cfl.rr.com

Until next time, as always, take care and stay safe,

Pat & Judy

This place is HUGE; the second largest city in the U.S. Judy was VERY apprehensive about coming here and was not looking forward to experiencing the LA Freeway system but she has done great. We tried to be smart and time our journeys outside of rush hour and after a couple days she was just reeling off directions like “take the 57 to the 210 to the 134 to the 101 or the 5 or the 405…”

We have seen some really fantastic stuff but we have also really enjoyed all the produce. The fruits and vegetables are phenomenal. Everything is so fresh and lasts so long. We are eating the sweetest strawberries and crispest lettuce ever. On two different occasions we went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and we have also hit several local farmers markets and roadside stands. Judy is in her glory with all the bounty to choose from.
We drove all over Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, experiencing Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, all the mansions up in the hills (a lot of people still have a LOT of money), Burbank, Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice (and Muscle) Beach and lots of other places. It has been very exciting.
Here’s a brief synopsis of some of the things we’ve seen and also a link to some pictures.


• La Brea Tar Pits where about 40,000 years ago deposits of oil rose to the earth’s surface, collected in pools and coagulated into asphalt. In the early 20th century geologists discovered the largest collection of Ice Age fossils ever found in one place. Roughly 100 tons of fossil bones have been removed. There are many pits all around the area and bits of tar continue to ooze up on streets and sidewalks. There are ongoing excavations and the Page Museum tells the fascinating story.
• Grauman’s Chinese Theater where there are scores of famous feet, hands and even the “schnoz’ of Jimmy Durante and the horse-shoed hooves of Trigger, ensconced in concrete.
• Hollywood Walk of Fame where for a mile-long stretch of Hollywood Boulevard we saw the Stars of more than 2400 entertainment folks, each embossed in brass at the center of a pink star. It was fun picking out all the folks we knew.
• We walked along Rodeo Drive and peeked into all the VERY trendy and EXPENSIVE stores along the way.
• We saw the red carpet and setup for the Kung-Fu Panda II movie but we didn’t get close enough to glimpse Jack Black or Angelina Jolie. 
• As mentioned above, we went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market, known locally as “Third and Fairfax”, where the Hollywood elite mingle with us common folk. There is not only every beautiful fruit and vegetable you can imagine but also a phenomenal international food court where we had breakfast one day and lunch another. The Farmer's Market was originally started by a guy named Gilmore and his old homestead and gas station are still on the property.  Note the price of gas :))  We have seen a few celebrities while we’ve been here – Jay Leno, Jack Black, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Billy Bush, etc. but, sadly, no one has invited us for tea or to “do lunch”. We did, however, have the privilege of meeting up with Freddie and Sally and Mary and MarieElena, our RV friends from Florida who are also out here on a Western trip. It was great to see them and compare notes. We will hopefully cross paths with Mary and MarieElena next month in San Francisco.
• One night we had dinner – the “World-Famous” hot dogs” and fries - at Pink’s, which has been a Hollywood institution for more than 70 years. Stars frequent here and have their own dogs named for them. It has lots of great stories and it’s even rumored to be the place where Bruce Willis proposed to Demi Moore. (Fortunately Pink’s has out-lasted their marriage.) The hot dogs are REALLY good. Judy had her favorite chili-slaw dog but Pat got more adventurous with the guacamole dog. There is every possible concoction with scores to choose from. The “Martha Stewart” is a 9” dog with relish, onion, bacon, chopped tomatoes sauerkraut & sour cream and the LA Philharmonic dog is a 9” dog with guacamole, American & Swiss cheese, fajita mix, jalapeno slices and topped with tortilla chips, just to name a couple.
• We did a tour of NBC Studios and then went to a live taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It was fun to experience all the behind-the-scene workings and to be part of the production. The night we were there Jay’s guests were Jack Black, Mike Huckabee and the band Parachute. The Ricky Minor Tonight Show band is great and Jay is a very down-to-earth guy. He talks to the audience before and after and on the tour we were surprised to hear that every penny he makes from the Tonight Show is donated to charity and he lives off of the money he gets from special stand-up gigs that he does in Vegas and all over. Also he has over 250 vehicles in three hangers at Burbank Airport and every day he goes and picks up a different vehicle to drive. They day we were there he showed up in a classic, blue Fiat convertible.
• We drove up to Griffith Park which affords spectacular views of Los Angeles and also visited the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium which has not only been a working scientific facility but was also featured in “Rebel Without a Cause” with James Dean.
• We drove the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu, checked out the oceanfront homes of the rich-and famous and watched surfers and great waves along the way. We joked that here, just like in Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Hills and canyons, most of what we saw was phenomenally landscaped grounds and exquisite gates; the homes are strategically placed out of sight, but it was fun to see how the other half lives. Judy said she would just like the $$$ spent on gardening 
• We also drove to Santa Monica and went on the famous Pier and then walked the Boardwalk at Venice Beach, which is really a several block long paved walkway. What an experience!! You see EVERY form of entertainment, exhibitionism, decadence and fun you can imagine. We were even offered our very own "Medical Marijuana Cards" if we wanted them; we declined…
• Our last evening in LA, May 21st, happened to not only be Pat’s birthday but it was also the day we all survived the Doomsday end-of-the-world predictions. We were REALLY lucky in that our FAVORITE baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, were in town playing the Anaheim Angels. We went to the game and the BRAVES WON in extra innings. It was a GREAT night.
Next we’re off to Santa Barbara. We continue to have a FANTASTIC time and we hope you enjoy sharing our travels.

Here’s the link to some pictures from the Los Angeles area

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMpS

And, if you wish, drop us an email at

PFerraro1@cfl.rr.com

Take care and stay safe,
Pat & Judy

We spent a FANTASTIC week in the San Diego area and REALLY enjoyed it. The last Blog posting dealt with just the animals of the San Diego Zoo so this one will address some of the other things we did while in San Diego and the surrounding area.
One of the first things we did was take a 25-mile narrated trolley ride which gave us a GREAT overview of everything in the immediate area. We like to do these types of tours when we arrive somewhere new because they give us a good overview and we can decide what things we want to go back and re-visit. For the next several days we visited many AWESOME sights and, as usual, there is a link below that will show pictures of just some things we enjoyed. Among these were:
• The Embarcadero where we viewed the US Navy aircraft carrier, Midway; the ferry boat Berkley, built in 1898 and used to ferry people to safety after the 1908 San Francisco earthquake; the Star of India, a square-rigged sailing vessel that was built in 1863 and has circled the globe 27 times; the luxury yacht Medea that was built in Scotland and served during WWII; and the HMS Surprise that was built for the motion picture "Master and Commander", starring Russell Crowe. We also saw a great statue park that paid tribute to Bob Hope and an interesting 25-foot tall statue entitled Unconditional Surrender. It recreates the image of a sailor in Times Square on V-J (Victory over Japan) Day grabbing the nearest gal -- a nurse -- and planting a kiss. In our photo notice the ‘person’ holding on to the girl’s leg 

• Harbor Island, Spanish Landing and Shelter Island where we were treated to beautiful views of San Diego Bay, several military installations, including two giant Navy bases and lots of other interesting sights. Among some that we found quite impressive were the large park and multi-statue and exhibit area of the cancer survivor’s park named Cancer…There’s Hope. It was designed to disassociate cancer from death and was inspired by the creator’s successful treatment and recovery from what was thought to be terminal cancer. The park not only encourages current patients to have the will to fight but subconsciously gives healthy people the will to fight should they ever subsequently be diagnosed with the disease. It is truly a tribute for the living. We also saw some other great tributes like the Yokohama Friendship Bell and the Tuna Man’s Memorial. Another interesting sight was the USS Recruit (aka the USS Never Sail, a two-thirds scale mock-up of a real Navy ship which served as a school for thousands of recruits going through basic seamanship indoctrination. The ship's deck is an exact replica of what a Sailor could expect in the fleet. It’s quite interesting, especially when you see it sitting in the middle of a huge gravel parking area!

• Cabrillo Monument, situated on a hilltop high above San Diego Bay, commemorating the site of the Portuguese explorer, Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, who first landed here in 1542 and named the area San Miguel; Old Town, site of the first town which was later moved down to the waterfront; Little Italy, home to thousands of Italian immigrants who settled in the area and were responsible for the tuna industry in the Americas; The Gas Lamp Quarter, home to the historic area of present-day San Diego including the Stingaree District with its shadier past of gambling, prostitution and other sordid forms of vice; Balboa Park, home to 15 museums (including the Model Railroad Museum which Pat loved), gorgeous architecture, flora and fauna and the previously mentioned PSan Diego Zoo; PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres; and we saw lots of other GREAT sights in San Diego proper.

• Coronado, home of another huge Navy base and the beautiful old Hotel Del Coronado which was built in 1888 and is one of the world’s largest wooden structures and is an absolutely gorgeous example of elegant Victorian architecture and lifestyle.

• LaJolla, home to many beautiful homes, many famous residents and the LaJolla Gliderport where we watched engine-less parachute gliders take off, sail over the ocean and return back to the same spot. They were so beautiful and graceful. We also spent a long time at Children’s Pool, a protected cove that is home to a large harbor seal rookery. It is the middle of pupping season so there were lots of babies around. What fun, we could have stayed forever watching their antics.

• Escondido, where we spent the day at the San Diego Safari Park, sister park to the San Diego Zoo. We thought it would be somewhat anti-climatic after the Zoo but it was equally as fantastic. It encompasses 1800 acres, spread out over the valleys and canyons in areas created to replicate their natural habitats. It is mostly a research facility and also part education and part entertainment facility. They have a huge collection of 100s of animals. We were treated to many exotic and rare animals but probably the one’s that had the greatest impact were the two Southern White Rhinos. These two magnificent beasts are one pair of ONLY SEVEN that remain on Earth. It is truly frightening to stand this close to something that is SO CLOSE to final extinction. Sad…

• Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, two of the crown gems of the California coastline steeped in surfing tradition.

• Long Beach, home to the Queen Mary, one of the most famous ocean liners in history. The ship is huge and the tour was several hours in length and very informative.

• Oceanside, which is home to The Flower Fields, which are fifty acres of ranunculus flowers, blooming in every conceivable color. We also visited Mission San Luis Rey which is the largest of California’s 21 missions and also Mission San Juan Capistrano which is home to the famous swallows who return every March.

This is only a partial listing of the MANY awesome things that we did in the San Diego area but now it’s on to Los Angeles. Hollywood awaits us!!


Here is the link for the pictures that accompany this Post:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMoW

As usual, we would love to hear from you at:
PFerraro1@cfl.rr.com

Until next time, stay safe and take care,
Pat & Judy

The San Diego Zoo - FANTASTIC!!!

We have been in San Diego since Sunday and we are REALLY enjoying the city, the weather and all the great things to do.  We left the desert and 104 degree weather to wake up here to 57 very pleasant degrees!  Every day has been sunny and in the seventies; just IDEAL.



We will have another Blog to cover all the great things we're doing here but this Post covers just the San Diego Zoo.  We spent the entire day there on Monday and it was awesome.  Neither of us are usually too keen on zoos and the whole concept of caging animals BUT the San Diego Zoo, which we had heard so much about, is really the exception.  It encompasses more than100-acres and is home to over 4,000 rare and endangered animals representing more than 800 species and subspecies.  The zoo also has a prominent botanical collection with more than 700,000 exotic plants.  It is laid out on several levels within Balboa Park and is HUGE.  We arrived as the gates opened and spent the ENTIRE day.

We have been in San Diego since Sunday and we are REALLY enjoying the city, the weather and all the great things to do. We left the desert where it had been 104 degrees to wake up here to a very pleasant 57 degrees! Every day has been sunny and in the seventies; just IDEAL.


We will have another Blog to cover all the great things we're doing here but this Post covers just the San Diego Zoo. We spent the entire day there on Monday and it was awesome. Neither of us are usually too keen on zoos, and the whole concept of caging animals, BUT the San Diego Zoo, which we had heard so much about, is really the exception. It encompasses more than 100 acres and is home to over 4,000 rare and endangered animals representing more than 800 species and subspecies. The zoo also has a prominent botanical collection with more than 700,000 exotic plants. It is laid out on several levels within Balboa Park and is HUGE. We arrived as the gates opened and spent the ENTIRE day. We found it both interesting as well as enjoyable. It is one of the largest and most progressive zoos in the world and is extremely active in conservation and species-preservation efforts.


Attached is a link of some pictures from "Our Day At The Zoo". They represent just a few of the MANY that we took! It has been a very productive Spring at the zoo and we were treated to LOTS of new babies - including new additions to the koala, panda, elephant, giraffe and many other families. Hopefully you'll enjoy these photos:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMnI

As always, we would love to hear from you, the email is

PFerraro1@cfl.rr.com

We'll try to get another Post done after the weekend.


In the mean time, take care and stay safe,
 Pat & Judy

This Blog will cover April 30th through May 7th.

We spent four wonderful days in Twentynine Palms, California and REALLY enjoyed Joshua Tree National Park.
Humans have occupied the area encompassed by Joshua Tree National Park's nearly 800,000 acres for at least 5,000 years.  The higher, drier, and slightly cooler Mojave Desert is the special habitat of the Joshua Tree for which the park is named.  In addition to Joshua Tree forests, the western part of the park includes some of the most interesting geologic displays found in California's deserts. The dominant geologic features of this landscape are hills of bare rock, usually broken up into loose boulders. These hills are popular amongst rock climbing enthusiasts.  We did several hikes within the park including a visit to the Oasis of Mara.  The Chemehuevi Indians moved to the oasis in 1871. This was also a Serrano campsite in ancient times. This was the only water for miles around . Food was provided by waterfowl and desert dwelling animals that came for a drink.  Next was a trek to Barker Dam which was constructed by early cattlemen, including rancher William F. Keys whose homestead is available for a tour. The dam and watering trough are gathering places for desert wildlife such as Desert Bighorn Sheep and also includes many species of birds, e.g.the Greater Roadrunner, Cactus Wrens, Mockingbirds, Le Conte's Thrashers, Verdins and Gambel's Quails. We also saw Native American petroglyphs.   We were also fortunate enough to see two Desert Tortoise.  They spend 95% of their time in burrows so we considered ourselves very lucky to be able to view them.  They are only found in this locale and are, unfortunately, on the endangered list.  The scenary in Joshua Tree NP is awesome as you'll hopefully see in some of the attached pictures. Twentynine Palms, is home to our LARGEST US Marine Base, the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center so, as you can imagine, there were a LOT of happy faces after the news of last Sunday evening.  While in the area we also went to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, which is an internationally-recognized birding site.  Several rare or unusual species are known to nest here, and many other species are abundant during the spring and fall migration seasons.  Additionally, we went to PioneerTown which was built in 1946 as a movie set for western movies, including the movies of Gene Autry, The Cisco Kid, Annie Oakley , Judge Roy Bean, Range Rider, Buffalo Bill.  We also had an enjoyable lunch with Robbie and Jerry, some fine folks whom we met last year while in Oklahoma City and capped off the four days with a trip into the desert at ten o'clock at night to view the skies.  We're here to tell you that we saw MORE stars than we ever imagined were in our heavens.  The clean, crisp air of the high desert, coupled with the lack of any surface or city light really provides a star-gazers dream.  It was fantastic and was the perfect way to cap off our visit to Joshua Tree.

Next it was on to Palm Springs where we spent another terrific four days.  We started with a visit to the Salton Sea which was formed between 1905 and 1907 when the Colorado River burst through poorly built irrigation controls south of Yuma, Arizona. Almost the entire flow of the river filled the Salton Basin for more than a year, inundating communities, farms and the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Sea is currently 228 feet below sea level. Interestingly, the bed of the Salton Sea is only five feet higher than the lowest spot in Death Valley. Fish were introduced to the lake, and by 1920 it was a major tourist destination. As with any lake without an outlet, the Salton Sea became salty. In the 1950s, the Salton Sea was a greater tourist draw than Yosemite National Park. The saline levels continued to increase and spawned an algae bloom. In 1960, California’s Fish and Game Commission announced that they feared the Salton Sea would be dead within fifteen years. The water and the fish were deemed “unhealthy” and by the 1970s the resorts and tourists were history.  The entire area was relegated to use only for irrigating and a wildlife preserve. There are miles and miles of deserted buildings, dilapidated structures and plat after plat of “ghost developments”.
The next day, Thursday, we attended a performance of the FABULOUS Palm Springs Follies; what a delight!  The Follies are a world-famous, Broadway-caliber celebration of the music, dance, and comedy of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s with a cast old enough to have lived it!  That's right, the Long-Legged Lovelies and Follies Gentlemen all range in age from 56 to 81 and they are INCREDIBLE.  Also on the bill was the comedy of Riff Markowitz (he was hilarious), the juggling of Rejean St.Jules (whose juggling sequence was both high tech and impeccably choreographed to a dynamic musical score) and several songs from the Four Preps, whom I'm sure many will remember from the sixties (when they performed their hits like Santa Catalina - Twenty-nine Miles to...).  It was an all-around GREAT show and we would recommend it to all.  Thursday evening was spent at VillageFest.  Once a week the City of Palm Springs closes off seven blocks of their downtown area and it becomes a street fair complete with all kinds of vendors.  There was fresh produce, home-baked goods, LOTS of street food, art and many musicians and street-performers.  It was a fun time, we bought some neat things and capped the evening off by dining outside where, even though it was still in the 90s, it was quite pleasant - there is virtually NO humidity.  Did we mention that every day the temperature has gone over 100 degrees?  But, it really has not been too unbearable.  We feel fortunate to be here now.  Within the next couple weeks many shops and shows are closing for the season because the mercury will really start rising!
Friday we went on tours of the Date Farms in Indio which account for nearly 100% of all dates produced nationally.  We went on tours, viewed videos, ate dates and even drank date shakes; which weren't too bad but we thought they were a little too sweet to make a steady diet.  We learned that Date Palms are grown from offshoots of the mother tree.  Date palms are said to live with "their feet in water and their heads in the sun," which means they must have plenty of ground water, yet thrive in arid, high heat to produce fruit. This is why date palms grow only in hot, dry desert climates throughout the world. It is a very labor-intensive crop necessitating hand-pollination of every fruit-bearing tree.
On Saturday we started the day at 8 AM with a three-hour ranger-led hike up Tahquitz Canyon. Centuries ago, ancestors of the Agua Caliente Cahuilla (pronounced Kaw-we-ah) Indians settled in the Palm Springs area. The Agua Caliente Indians were industrious and creative with a reputation for independence, integrity and peace.  The hike was pretty strenuous but the spectacular 60 foot waterfall at the top of the canyon, the rock art, ancient irrigation systems and artifacts, along with cultural and educational exhibits made the trek well worthwhile. Next we went to Desert Hot Springs where we visited one of Peter Toth’s Indian carvings. Toth escaped the Soviet invasion of Hungary with his family and as a gift to his adopted country, he has carved a giant log into a sculpted head in every single state to honor our Native American past. Collectively these are known as the "Trail of the Whispering Giants" and this one, Waokiye (meaning “Traditional Helper” in the language of the Lakota Sioux), in Desert Hot Springs, is the 27th in the series. We have viewed Peter Toth’s carved Indians in other states during our travels and hope to continue to see as many as possible.  We also saw
Cabot's Pueblo Museum which is a Hopi-inspired Pueblo located in the heart of Desert Hot Springs. The structure is hand-made and was created from reclaimed and found objects. It was built by Cabot Yerxa  on property he homesteaded in 1913. He worked on the property until his death in 1965. Cabot journeyed through the desert; gathering reclaimed materials from as far east as the Salton Sea, north to Morongo Valley, south to Palm Springs and west to White Water. The Pueblo is four-stories, 5,000 square feet and includes 35 rooms, 150 windows and 65 doors. There are many unique features: including windows and doors collected and reassembled from abandoned homesteads, old telephone poles, buck board wagon parts and many other materials used creatively.  Another stop in Desert Hot Springs was to see the VW Spider. This giant "black widow" guards the entrance to a warehouse known as "Hole In The Wall," which was formerly a welding shop and a Volkswagen repair shop. The shell of an old Volkswagen Beetle provides the body for the huge spider. The legs were crafted from large tubes, and it has a menacing "mouth", a red “hourglass" on it’s underbelly and a series of barbs at various leg joints. Quite a sight to behold! We just love these offbeat sights of “Americana”.  Our last treat in Palm Springs was the Aerial Tramway.  This is the world’s largest rotating tramcar.  We left from the desert floor and experienced a breathtaking journey up the sheer cliffs of Chino Canyon, ascending in ten minutes to the the Mountain Station at an elevation of 8,516 ft!  What an experience and what a view.

So, as you can see, we've had a VERY EXCITING week-and-a-half and now it's off to San Diego.  We're leaving the desert but it has been very beautiful in its own stark way.

Here is a link to enable you to see some pictures of everything I mentioned:

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=12d75a4ec4dce698bcfd7207a7b1fe91&sid=0Sbs27hoxZMmu


And we welcome any email correspondence at PFerraro1@cfl.rr.com



Stay safe, take care and keep in touch,

Pat & Judy

PS - we'll send more news down the road...

Our Western Adventure 2011

FINALLY – a new blog posting. This is the first entry since May of last year! Okay, we haven’t been idle, just sloughing and not keeping up with our posts. As a matter of fact, in the last ten months we’ve been to Scotland for three weeks, spent a couple months in Texas, Oklahoma and the fabulous Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and several other shorter trips over the winter. We also spent a great deal of time getting caught up with chores around the house. And now we are on the road again for the Summer.

We left Flagler Beach on Thursday, April 7th, made a quick stop in Orlando to have a fast little repair done to the motorhome and then drove up to the Florida panhandle and spent the night in Quincy.

On Friday, we arrived in Bayou La Batrie, Alabama where we spent three enjoyable days with Judy’s sister Kathleen and her family. We had a great visit, had some delicious food (including the BEST gumbo) and even enjoyed a karaoke party that was fun. It was great to see everyone and it made a nice start to our summer adventure.

We continued westward to Houston, TX where we visited with Alan and Sal, friends we met at the Balloon Fiesta last fall. We enjoyed wonderful company, some delicious food and informative tours of Houston and Galveston. Hopefully the guys will meet up with us somewhere in California later this summer.

From Houston we went on through Abilene, Texas and Santa Rosa, New Mexico on our way to Flagstaff, Arizona where we spent Saturday and Sunday, the 16th and 17th of April. While traveling through Texas we did experience smoke from some of their terrible wildfires and we hope they can get them under control soon.

While in Flagstaff we toured many things including:

- Meteor Crater where 50,000 years ago a meteor ended its 500 million year long race through space resulting in a spectacular collision with Earth. This impact left a crater nearly a mile across and nearly 550 feet deep. To put the immense size into perspective, the crater would accommodate two million people seated on the walls watching 20 football games being played simultaneously on the crater floor!
- Walnut Canyon, where we hiked in the footsteps of people who lived there more than 700 years ago. We peered into their homes, cliff dwellings built deep within the canyon walls, and learned of their agrarian society.
- Wupatki Pueblo which was constructed in the years following the eruption of nearby Sunset Crater sometime between 1040 and 1100. For its time and place, there was no other pueblo like Wupatki. Less than 800 years ago, it was the tallest, largest, and perhaps the richest and most influential pueblo around. The largest structure was a multi-level, high-rise that had about 100 rooms. It was home to 85-100 people, and several thousand more lived within a day’s walk. It was built in one of the lowest, warmest, and driest places on the Colorado Plateau. Human history here spans at least 10,000 years.
- Sunset Crater Volcano which erupted sometime between 1040 and 1100 shows the powerful forces that shape the earth.

Next it was on to Las Vegas where we spent five fun-filled, as well as informative, days. First we went to see Rita Rudner’s show at the Venetian. She is SO funny and we laughed for the entire 90 minutes. The next evening it was off to The Wynn where we saw La Reve. It is an absolutely awesome show that was developed by Franco Dragone, one of the original founders of Cirque du Soleil. It is set in a one million-gallon (water) capacity theater and features diving and feats of strength with state-of-the-art special effects. No seat is more than 40 feet from the stage and it was just PHENOMINAL. We have seen several Cirque shows over the years and we both agree that this is, by far, the VERY BEST and MOST SPECTACULAR of all!

Other sights in the Las Vegas area:

- The Ethel M Chocolate factory and Cactus Garden where we toured the factory, learned the process, ate samples and purchased more additional confections to take with us. Ethel M is the high-end chocolatier of the Mars Co. (M&Ms, Snickers, etc.) and their products are delicious.
- The Valley of Fire which derives its name from red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs. These features often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun's rays. Prehistoric users of the Valley of Fire included the Ancient Pueblo Peoples, also known as the Anasazi. They left examples of petroglyphs which can be found at several sites within the park.
- The Pinball Museum, a 10,000 square foot dedicated museum, with pinball and nothing but pinball machines from the past. The machines are all restored to like-new playing condition by people that love pinball and understand how a machine should work. All older pinballs are set to 25 cents per play, and newer 1990s models are set to 50 cents per play, which, in our opinion, is a far better return on fun than any Las Vegas casino environment!
- We also spent significant time walking the “Strip”, viewing the shows outside of all the extravagant casinos and also viewing the show at the Fremont Street Experience which includes the Viva Vision canopy and light show. The canopy towers 90 feet above the ground and spans the length of five football fields. It features more than 12 million LED modules and a 555,000-watt sound system and has hourly tribute shows. The night we were there the show was dedicated to Jim Morrison and The Doors. It was very bright and very LOUD!
- The last day in Las Vegas we took a paddle-boat cruise on Lake Mead which took us right up to Hoover Dam. Later we drove through Red Rock Canyon and saw several wild burros. It was a GREAT five days; we saw a lot, did a lot and managed to NOT lose any money 

Next, it was on to Death Valley, California where we spent five days. Among the fascinating things we saw were:
- Harmony Borax Works which was the central feature in the opening of Death Valley. After borax (known as “Desert White Gold”) was found near Furnace Creek Ranch in 1881, William T. Coleman built the Harmony plant and began to process ore in late 1883. Getting the finished product to market from the heart of Death Valley was a difficult task, and an efficient method had to be devised. The Harmony operation became famous through the use of large mule teams and double wagons which hauled borax the long overland route to Mojave. The romantic image of the “20-mule team” persists to this day and has become the symbol of the borax industry in this country. Many of us still remember “Twenty Mule Team Theatre” on TV, with that unknown announcer (Ronald Reagan) as the host! At Harmony we enjoyed an informative Ranger-led program that provided a great insight into all that we were to see for the next several days.
- The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, the highest of which rises about 200 feet, cover a vast area. This dune field includes three types of dunes: crescent, linear, and star shaped. Many first time visitors to Death Valley are surprised it is not covered with a sea of sand, however, less than one percent of the desert is covered with dunes, yet the shadowed ripples and stark, graceful curves define "desert" in our imaginations.
- Salt Creek which is a stream of salty water that is home to a rare killifish known as pupfish. The name is said to derive from the mating habits of the males, whose activities vaguely resemble puppies at play.
- Mosaic Canyon, Golden Canyon, Titus Canyon, 20-Mule Team Canyon and Natural Bridge Canyon were all hikes that we did. Each was of varying lengths and each had their own beauty and unique features.
- Wildrose Charcoal Kiln, constructed in the 1800s to provide a source of fuel suitable for use in two smelters for a group of lead and silver mines in the Argus Range. These ten beehive shaped masonry structures are about 25 feet high and held 42 cords of pinion pine logs which would, after burning for a week, produce 2,000 bushels of charcoal.
- The Devil’s Golf Course which is a large salt pan on the floor of Death Valley. It was named after a line in the 1934 National Park Service guide book to Death Valley National Monument, which stated that " Only the devil could play golf " on its surface, due to a rough texture from the large halite salt crystal formations.
- Ubehebe Crater which is a half a mile wide and 500 to 777 feet deep. The age of the crater is estimated at 2,000 to years old. "Ubehebe" (pronounced YOU-bee-HEE-bee) is a Timbisha Shoshone Native American word meaning "Big basket in the rock”. It was so windy at the rim we literally almost got blown over!
- Badwater Basin which is the lowest place in North America and one of the lowest places in the world at 282 feet below sea level.
- Dante’s View which is a viewpoint terrace at 5,475 feet on the north side of Coffin Peak, along the crest of the Black Mountains. It provides a panoramic view of the southern Death Valley basin which appears like a great sparkling ocean - instead it is solid halite salt. The crust of salt is 1 to 2 yards thick and changes form after rain in the winter season dissolves the salt, to be re-crystallized as the water evaporates.
- Artist’s Drive with Artist’s Palette which is noted for having various colors of rock. These colors are caused by the oxidation of different metals (red, pink and yellow is from iron-salts, green is from decomposing tuff-derived mica, and manganese produces the purple).
- Scotty’s Castle is a two-story Spanish Colonial Revival style villa built by Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson, his wife and his friend Walter Scott also known as “Death Valley Scotty”. Scott initially convinced Johnson to invest in his gold mine scheme and although the riches from gold never “panned out”, a life-long friendship was forged and together they built a desert oasis complete with underground hydro-electric power, gardens and castle in the desert.
- Zabriskie Point which we went to at sunrise and we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the valley bed, mountains and colorful rock formations of this varied land. This vista was one of our favorite spots in Death Valley.

We saw several more sights and did several more things in the land of GREAT extremes but after five days we moved on to the Mojave Basin and the heart of the Mojave Desert. We were met with a genuine desert sandstorm which whipped the sands so viciously that it made driving difficult and even had Interstate 15 closed for a while. Fortunately we only had about 100 miles to drive but on the road into our next stop at Newberry Springs the sands of the Mojave Basin had completely obliterated the road and were it not for some construction barricades we would have not even been able to discern the pavement from the sand! The first night was rather raucous with gust upwards of 60 mph and we were constantly bombarded with the incessant sand-blasting, however, midway through the next day it did start to subside and we were able to resume normal activity. WOW, last fall it was tornadoes and this year sandstorms. You gotta love Mother Nature!

In addition to enjoying the Mojave National Preserve we went to Goldstone Deep Space Communications Center, Kelso Depot and Sand Dunes, Calico Ghost Town and Baker with the world’s largest thermometer. Its 134-ft height matches the highest recorded temperature of 134 degrees which was set in Death Valley. Goldstone was really fascinating as it evoked visions of Jodie Foster in “Contact” where she was communicating with folks way out in space. It is a network of antennas that support interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. It was from here that Apollo missions were tracked and it is currently communicating with Voyager, the Mars Odyssey and many other spacecrafts. There are several antennas at Goldstone but the 70 meter (230 feet) one is quite impressive. We even went inside “Mission Control” and watched all the scientists pour over their monitors and extrapolate inter-planetary data. Also, the computer arrays were phenomenal. It really brought out Pat’s “geekiness” and we even received official NASA lapel pins! Goldstone is located on the Fort Irwin military installation which is the world class training center for America's military, known for its excellent desert training and armored, ground and tank assault troops. One of the more fascinating, and moving, sights on base is “Painted Hill”. Many years ago one of the squadrons visiting Ft. Irwin climbed to the top of a rock pile and painted their company colors on one of the rocks. As time went on other squads painted their colors on the rock pile as well and over the years it has grown into the spectacle it is today. This unique monument to all of the units that have been sent there for training bears paintings of hundreds of unit insignias. The troops transport these monster rocks to the spot themselves. It is quite a sight to see
The last fascinating sight in the Mojave Basin was the acres and acres of pistachio farms. We didn’t know what the trees were initially, they resemble Georgia peach trees in size and shape but our campground host filled us in. The nuts are not harvested until October but they were currently on the trees and we enjoyed seeing them

WOW, this has been a LOT. Hopefully we have learned our lesson and won’t spread these out so far. We are now off to Twenty-nine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park. It has been an exciting start to our summer adventure where we will travel all over California and then on to Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and eventually to Glacier National Park. It promises to be an awesome summer and we hope you’ll enjoying traveling along with us.

As usual, we are including some pictures which can be enjoyed by clicking on:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMli

And we welcome any email correspondence at PFerraro1@cfl.rr.com.

Stay safe, take care and keep in touch,

Pat & Judy

We spent a FANTASTIC week in the San Diego area and REALLY enjoyed it. The last Blog posting dealt with just the animals of the San Diego Zoo so this one will address some of the other things we did while in San Diego and the surrounding area.
One of the first things we did was take a 25-mile narrated trolley ride which gave us a GREAT overview of everything in the immediate area. We like to do these types of tours when we arrive somewhere new because they give us a good overview and we can decide what things we want to go back and re-visit. For the next several days we visited many AWESOME sights and, as usual, there is a link below that will show pictures of just some things we enjoyed. Among these were:
• The Embarcadero where we viewed the US Navy aircraft carrier, Midway; the ferry boat Berkley, built in 1898 and used to ferry people to safety after the 1908 San Francisco earthquake; the Star of India, a square-rigged sailing vessel that was built in 1863 and has circled the globe 27 times; the luxury yacht Medea that was built in Scotland and served during WWII; and the HMS Surprise that was built for the motion picture "Master and Commander", starring Russell Crowe. We also saw a great statue park that paid tribute to Bob Hope and an interesting 25-foot tall statue entitled Unconditional Surrender. It recreates the image of a sailor in Times Square on V-J (Victory over Japan) Day grabbing the nearest gal -- a nurse -- and planting a kiss. In our photo notice the ‘person’ holding on to the girl’s leg 
• Harbor Island, Spanish Landing and Shelter Island where we were treated to beautiful views of San Diego Bay, several military installations, including two giant Navy bases and lots of other interesting sights. Among some that we found quite impressive were the large park and multi-statue and exhibit area of the cancer survivor’s park named Cancer…There’s Hope. It was designed to disassociate cancer from death and was inspired by the creator’s successful treatment and recovery from what was thought to be terminal cancer. The park not only encourages current patients to have the will to fight but subconsciously gives healthy people the will to fight should they ever subsequently be diagnosed with the disease. It is truly a tribute for the living. We also saw some other great tributes like the Yokohama Friendship Bell and the Tuna Man’s Memorial. Another interesting sight was the USS Recruit (aka the USS Never Sail, a two-thirds scale mock-up of a real Navy ship which served as a school for thousands of recruits going through basic seamanship indoctrination. The ship's deck is an exact replica of what a Sailor could expect in the fleet. It’s quite interesting, especially when you see it sitting in the middle of a huge gravel parking area!
• Cabrillo Monument, situated on a hilltop high above San Diego Bay, commemorating the site of the Portuguese explorer, Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo, who first landed here in 1542 and named the area San Miguel; Old Town, site of the first town which was later moved down to the waterfront; Little Italy, home to thousands of Italian immigrants who settled in the area and were responsible for the tuna industry in the Americas; The Gas Lamp Quarter, home to the historic area of present-day San Diego including the Stingaree District with its shadier past of gambling, prostitution and other sordid forms of vice; Balboa Park, home to 15 museums (including the Model Railroad Museum which Pat loved), gorgeous architecture, flora and fauna and the previously mentioned San Diego Zoo; PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres; and we saw lots of other GREAT sights in San Diego proper.
• Coronado, home of another huge Navy base and the beautiful old Hotel Del Coronado which was built in 1888 and is one of the world’s largest wooden structures and is an absolutely gorgeous example of elegant Victorian architecture and lifestyle.
• LaJolla, home to many beautiful homes, many famous residents and the LaJolla Gliderport where we watched engine-less parachute gliders take off, sail over the ocean and return back to the same spot. They were so beautiful and graceful. We also spent a long time at Children’s Pool, a protected cove that is home to a large harbor seal rookery. It is the middle of pupping season so there were lots of babies around. What fun, we could have stayed forever watching their antics.
• Escondido, where we spent the day at the San Diego Safari Park, sister park to the San Diego Zoo. We thought it would be somewhat anti-climatic after the zoo but it was equally as fantastic. It encompasses 1800 acres, spread out over the valleys and canyons in areas created to replicate their natural habitats. It is mostly a research facility and also part education and part entertainment facility. They have a huge collection of 100s of animals. We were treated to many exotic and rare animals but probably the one’s that had the greatest impact were the two Southern White Rhinos. These two magnificent beasts are one pair of ONLY SEVEN that remain on Earth. It is truly frightening to stand this close to something that is SO CLOSE to final extinction. Sad…
• Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, two of the crown gems of the California coastline steeped in surfing tradition.
• Long Beach, home to the Queen Mary, one of the most famous ocean liners in history. The ship is huge and the tour was several hours in length and very informative.
• Oceanside, which is home to The Flower Fields, which are fifty acres of ranunculus flowers, blooming in every conceivable color. We also visited Mission San Luis Rey which is the largest of California’s 21 missions and also Mission San Juan Capistrano which is home to the famous swallows who return every March.

This is only a partial listing of the MANY awesome things that we did in the San Diego area but now it’s on to Los Angeles. Hollywood awaits us!!

Here is the link for the pictures that accompany this Post:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMoW
As usual, we would love to hear from you at
PFerraro1@cfl.rr.com
Until next time, stay safe and take care,
Pat & Judy