Bangkok Life

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Nanette Harter

I stayed in Bangkok almost 2 weeks. As I wrote in my previous post, the initial scheduled dental procedures only took a week. But the last procedure was to have two wisdom teeth extracted on Thursday night and they wanted to see me Friday night to check on the healing.

So let’s back up to my arrival date and my time in Bangkok. After my appointment Friday (the day of my arrival), I watched the sunset over Bangkok from the rooftop garden and met Chris who told me how much he loves living in Bangkok. I found the W District open air food court he told me about and had a yummy Pad Thai. You can get Pizza or Mexican or Greek or BBQ in the food court, but I am in Thailand! I want to eat Asian food! I slept well that night after not sleeping on the red-eye flight. My next appointment wasn’t until 3 pm, so I went for a morning swim and meet Grace and Jill enjoying a morning dip. They are retired and travel each year during the Australian summer. The last few years, they have spent four months in Chiang Khong, a north Thailand town on the Mekong River. There is a new bridge to Lao (Laos) near the town which expanded Chiang Khong from a local market town to an international border crossing in 2013. They spoke so fondly of the people that have befriended them there and their many activities helping with children’s reading programs and women’s projects. They had stopped over in Bangkok for some dental work this year but were anxious to get on the bus and out of the big city!

Hotel Search

It had been my plan from the beginning to stay at Dr. Sunil’s boutique hotel a few nights and then look for a budget hotel. The boutique hotel room was only $45 a night so very reasonable, but if I could save a little more then the overall cost of an international dental trip goes down. 😉 Neil did some research and gave me a few leads close by. I spent the morning walking to look at some hotels, then brought the BTS Skytrain back one stop from On Nut to Phra Khanong; the BTS is very modern, clean, and fun to ride! Right under the stairs as I exited is a small hotel, The Mix, that wasn’t on my list. I walked in to look at the rooms: clean and bigger than the one I was staying in but not as new or gleaming white. I inquired about price and availability and was told it would be basically ½ the price of what I was paying but they were booked for several more nights. Time for lunch and a rest from the heat.

When I got back to the hotel, I was handed a letter on Dr. Sunil’s letterhead that there would be a ceremony in the lobby from 1 to 3 and we guests were invited. Some of us dressed in our black clothes (of course that is all I had, ha) and went downstairs to the main building lobby. When nothing was happening there, we went back to the 5^th floor hotel wing and in what I would have called the common room was a Hindu pujari (priest) preparing for a ceremony. We watched the color and patterns evolve for a while but then I had to leave for my clinic appointment. I was later told the ceremony started about 3 with much chanting and clanging cymbals. The beautiful colorful patterned art was still there for me to appreciate when I got back. [I never learned what the ceremony signified or honored.]

That Saturday afternoon, I had two root canals and then my teeth whitened. The teeth whitening is the one procedure I could have, should have, skipped. My thought was that it might make my teeth match the one front tooth cap/crown I got when I was 17. Didn’t really work and it was actually more uncomfortable than the process of getting the root canals. There was no pain during the root canals because I was well numbed and relaxed while she drilled and dug in my mouth doing two side by side upper left molars. Afterwards they handed me three drugs I could take: pain killers, antibiotics, and one for swelling. I didn’t take any; didn’t feel the need. I had clove oil diluted with coconut oil which I would put a few drops on cotton and sleep with the cotton against my gum for pain and antibiotic. I also took turmeric capsules and ginger tea for swelling. No problems.

Sunday exploring

At dinner that night in the food court (I had soft Indian dahl, yum), Grace and Jill asked if would like to join them for an outing the following morning. The clinic is closed Sundays so we had the full day. They were heading to an English language bookstore that served organic coffee. Their plan was to have breakfast and browse. We took a taxi the couple of miles to the bookstore along the road with the BTS track overhead. It is very efficient construction with broad pillars in the center of the street separating the traffic and the track elevated overhead. It utilizes the existing thoroughfare and doesn’t take any real estate away from buildings. There are lots of cars on the road but probably almost equal number motor scooters! I later observed that scooter drivers with orange vests were registered taxi scooters.

The bookstore only had a coffee bar and no breakfast. We ventured a block farther to find a local restaurant with a plate lunch buffet. They handed us a plate and let us spoon on our choices. Then she came to the table and decided how much to charge for the amount taken—60 baht which is less than $2 for oh so good food! Now satiated with brunch, we returned to browse the 3 story bookshop. It clearly caters to the expat community and has a good niche market with English and other foreign language books plus a small espresso bar.

We walked to a nearby high-end grocery store where you can find imported products. I got some chocolate and Grace got them a loaf of fresh rye bread! Then we covered a couple more blocks to the EM Quartier Complex, one of the many upscale multistory shopping malls in the downtown area. It’s interesting to look at the architecture and the variety of stores even if there was nothing I needed to buy. One thing that impressed me about Bangkok is the love of plants and greenery. Even in the concrete and paved city, there were plants everywhere the residents could put a planter pot. Many rooftops had gardens and potted trees growing high above the streets. When space was limited, they designed vertical planter walls. We found the Quartier Water Garden on the top floors of the mall with indoor and outdoor sections allowing you to meander through a variety of habitats. The Mall is integrated with the Phrom Phong BTS station so it was an easy three stops back ride to our neighborhood.

What to do about housing?

I was feeling mixed about moving from Dr. Sunil’s hotel because I had friends now in our little community, however, I did want to economize. I was already emailing with Grace and Jill to coordinate meals and getting together, so my logic was that staying at a place in the local area would still allow me to hang out with friends. (It did work out that way all week!) I walked over to The Mix Monday morning and they had a room opening up after all. I went back and packed, check out of The Bloom, and moved to my new hotel for the next week. My first night was VERY noisy from the street noise (even with earplugs) but they were very accommodating and moved me to the garden side room on the same floor the next day. I had a mini fridge, an electric kettle to make tea, free wifi, and the Craft Café right downstairs. I had found my little haven in Bangkok.

Text and Photos by Nanette Harter

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Thailand for Dental Work

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Nanette Harter

What did I want for my birthday last October? I couldn’t think of anything and Neil was trying to come up with ideas. I finally said what I wanted for my birthday was to get my teeth fixed! I had been ignoring them for a long time as I don’t have dental insurance. I was hurting on one side but then the other side of my mouth started throbbing too. Time to take some action.

I remembered a friend once talking about going to India for good but inexpensive dental work. I emailed him and also a friend who lived in Mexico. My requirement was a holistic (also called biological) dentist who didn’t do amalgam (silver/mercury) fillings. The only biological dentists in Mexico are in Tijuana and their websites read that they wanted multiple visits. My other friend suggested Thailand and the Philippines over India. I had been to Thailand before so started online investigation. There are several dental clinics that cater to international clients. They start your appointments the day you arrive and continue daily until complete. And they have their own in-house labs so crowns are processed quickly onsite. I chose Dr. Sunil International Dental Center in Bangkok. In addition to the positive reviews for excellent dental service, they have limo service that handles your airport transportation and drives you to each appointment at the clinic, and also have a boutique hotel for clients in a good location in Bangkok.

Within two weeks of beginning the search, I was on a plane to Bangkok! My return flight was for three weeks later. The clinic suggested allowing at least a week for the dental work, I thought two to build in buffer, and Neil suggested three so I had some time to tour. I went by myself because Neil was still recovering from the serious road burns on his legs and wasn’t able to travel yet. I missed Neil’s companionship on the trip but I have traveled often by myself so was comfortable with the trip. Neil and I spoke every day over the HangOuts app and he did invaluable research for me on places to see in Bangkok and later options of where to travel out of Bangkok for my week holiday.

The country of Thailand was in mourning: King Bhumibol Adulyadej had passed away on October 13, 2016 at age of 89 and was the world’s longest-serving head of state, and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history at that time. People were requested to wear black or subdued colors for one month of mourning. I packed only black: black tops, pants, shorts, hat, purse, day pack, and shoes. It was easy to coordinate everything and it was appreciated by the people of Thailand as a few stopped to comment to me. There were memorials up all over the country and black and white banners outside every school and government building. The clubs, music, and entertainment was subdued. And many Thai websites like the official government Tourist information site changed to black and white for the month; same information but text and photos lacked color.

Bangkok Skyline

I left Maui on Wednesday night (redeye) and arrived in Thailand Friday morning after crossing the International Date Line. My driver was waiting outside immigration and whisked me off to the hotel. They changed my initial appointment to 5 pm so I thought I could get a few hours of sleep and maybe be more alert. Mid-nap, the housekeeper knocks on my door and hands me her phone where the voice tells me they changed my appointment to 3 and could I meet the driver downstairs. The Dr. Sunil’s boutique hotel is on the 5th floor of The Bloom, a gated high rise condominium building, with the pool and workout room on our floor and an accessible rooftop garden that has a wonderful view of the city. It is only a short walk to the Phra Khanong Skytrain (BTS) station. Neil had read about the area before I left noting it is one favored by expats and has both a wonderful native Thai and an eclectic feel. That evening as I watched sunset from the rooftop, I met a building resident also enjoying the evening. Chris is from the UK and has loved living in Thailand for several years. He gave me great info about the outside food court across the street and suggestions on outings including the weekend market. Thanks Chris!

A great feature of the hotel is the small number of rooms and all guests are international clients of the clinic. The other guests I met were from Australia and New Zealand and it was fun trading stories. I met Jill and Grace from Castlemaine, Australia, the first morning and had a great time hanging out with them all week.

Back to my first visit to the clinic: The driver was early and waiting. It only took about 15 minutes to get to the clinic from The Bloom. The first thing I saw was white and gold and chandeliers plus several employees. The valet brought me ice cold water and little slipper covers for over my shoes while I waited. I was escorted upstairs to have x-rays taken and escorted back downstairs to wait to see the doctor. Your first consultation is always with Dr. Sunil himself. I knew from the throbbing and that I had some chipped teeth but needed to hear what he recommended. He recommended two root canals and crowns, plus a third crown to replace one that was chipped, three small fillings, and extraction of the two right wisdom teeth that were both decaying, He didn’t feel I needed to replace my three remaining amalgam fillings with composite because they were in good shape. And of course I needed a cleaning.

Decision on jetlag: I believe my choice of doing all the procedures was the right one because they all needed to be done and the two women dentists who did all the work within the week that followed were exceptional. That said, my only real issue was feeling “rushed” to make the decision and to pay. I wanted to internalize it a little and come back with more questions and had wanted to talk to Neil (but 17 hour time difference). My concerned was about having root canals however I had done the research before leaving home and the only real alternative to root canal is extraction. I said yes to all the work ($3200) and they had a driver take me to a nearby money exchange booth to get a better exchange rate than they could give me (very considerate of them.) Once the payment was transacted, the work began with my teeth cleaning that evening and an appointment set for the next night for the root canals. All the appointments were all set for late afternoon or evening and the work was completed within the week. I had daytimes off to explore Bangkok. Stay tuned.

Text and Photos by Nanette Harter

$Dr. Sunil\'s Dental Center$

$Inside Dr. Sunil\'s Center$

$Nan in front of Dr. Sunil\'s Center$

College Friends Reunion in Austin

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Nanette Harter

In June, I took a trip to the mainland making four stops: California, Montana, Ohio, and Texas. The last stop was in Austin, Texas, where I meet seven other college friends for a three day reunion. My friend Carol Clouse did a wonderful job of writing up our adventure and organize all our photos and has given me permission to use her text here on the web post. Thanks Carol!

Real Austin
Our Fourth Biennial Reunion June 18-21, 2016
By Carol Clouse

Our adventure stared out on June 18, 2016, eight friends traveling from Maui, Chicago, Breckenridge, Willow Glen, Santa Clara, and Watsonville gathering in Austin Texas, the live music capital of the world.

Jay, our thorough and very organized travel agent, found our 705 Garner Ave. palatial six-bedroom house. On arrival, we were greeted with an amazing BBQ dinner from Terry Black’s Barbecue, a great find by Eric. The brisket and ribs were cooked to perfection, the cheesy sausage was an amazing blend of flavors, and the beans and the additional sides made for a perfect start to another fun adventure.

After catch up and cocktail hour, we walked the “Dirty Six” (6th St.) checking out bars and music venues. We popped in the Nook and played a ring game, which involved tossing a hanging ring onto a hook on the wall (quite a challenge). Not finding the right venue on 6th St., we traveled to One-2-One club where the band was playing Tom Petty music.

Our Barbecue leftovers made for a yummy breakfast, perfect with coffee roasted by Matt. Next, we settled on a list of things to see and do. The Lauries, Nan, Judy and Carol walked S. Congress from Heritage Boots to Allen’s Boots, enjoying shops along the way. The designer boots were tempting, but the over $1,000 price tag kept us at bay.

Shopping is hard work, we eventually found ourselves with drinks in hand at Guero’s Garden listening to four musicians who just got together to form a band called Blue Sunday. Their bluegrass music was lively, entertaining and well done. With air misting to cool us down, we were very satisfied. After a bit, Eric, Jay, and Matt joined us.

Next on our check-off list of Austin finds was Barton Springs Pool. Nan, Jay, Laurie B., and Judy went swimming to cool off while Eric, Laurie and Matt stayed cool in the air-conditioned house enjoying margaritas, gin and tonics and the US Open. On our way back, we hit the food trucks near Barton Springs and brought home Monte Cristo Sandwiches from “Hey!…You Gonna Eat or What?”, chicken and avocado cones from “The Mighty Cone” and cupcakes from “Hey Cupcake”. We were very pleased with our selections.

Our evening plan was to watch the NBA Finals and then seek out some live music. Our half-time entertainment was Eric on the piano and Judy singing. The current Californians cheered the Warriors while Eric and Laurie B. for some unexplained reason rooted for the Cavaliers/LeBron. Much to the disappointment of the Californians, the Cavaliers won the very close game. Eric and Laurie where kind not to rub our noses in it. The lure of spending a beautiful evening with a full moon, on the deck with college friends trumped a night of live music.

Our second full day was a day of many check offs. We got out early in the morning and walked down to Barton Springs Trail before it really go hot. We fallowed Barton River to the Colorado River (little Colorado) on a very well-traveled, tree covered path that followed the river. We even caught photos of an owl perched on a branch hanging over the river.

And what brought us to Austin??? Jay heard about the Mad Dog Margaritas at the Texas Chili Parlor in the Townes Van Zandt version of Guy Clark’s “Dublin Blues” tune. Judy and Laurie B met us there after their fun shopping excursion. The margaritas and Bloody Mary’s were quite tasty and the chili did not disappoint, what flavor! Well-done Jay, we love Austin food and the music scene.

Laurie B. and Carol walked down to Barton Springs, this time not to the very large pool, but to a free section adjacent to the pool. A perfect spot to cool off in the refreshing water was found. A paddle boarder came along looking for someone to watch his paddle-board…perfect. Laurie was stoked with the opportunity to try paddle boarding again and Carol made a first attempt and got up on a first try. Very fun time.

We were a group divided on the evening, half looking for great music and half looking for bats. Nan, Jay, Matt and Carol rented water bikes and tootled around the river waiting for the bats of Austin appear. Under a full moon, summer solstice sky at dusk, bats emerged from under the S. Congress Bridge. We definitely saw bats but not near as many as desired. (The one photo with bats shows what we were hoping to see.) Meanwhile, Judy, Eric, Laurie and Laurie went off to find some music and returned excited with their find at Antone’s. There was a $5 cover charge, lots of special guests and a birthday celebration for Derek with cake and pizza.

When we all returned, we shared stories of our adventure and enjoyed each others company. Carol and Matt received great news that night that Andrew and Julia were pregnant with their first child.

Although we were not able to check out more sites, music venues, restaurants and bars in Austin, we were pleased with the balance we were able to reach in the limited time we had together.

One last stop at La Mexicana Bakery and Taqueria for tacos; their tortillas and salsa were quite tasty and really added to the taco.

Another trip filled with new adventures and memories with good friends. We are left with the question, “Where to go in two years?” There are so many great destinations in the United States!

Photo gallery below:
Clicking on any photo thumbnail brings up the full size photo with a description. To easily see them all, use the arrow buttons or keys to move through the full size gallery photos with descriptions. If you are receiving this in an email and don’t see a photo gallery below, please click into my webpage to view all the photos!

New Grandson

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Nanette Harter

Patrick Hayden Schultz was born January 9, 2016, at 4:58 am to Ariann (Neil’s youngest daughter) and Eric Schutz in Missoula, Montana. He was 8 lbs 0.9 ounces with a 14 inch head and 21 inches long. We enjoyed getting to watch him grow through lots of photos and finally got to meet the precious little guy in May and June of 2016 as he turned 5 months old. Neil flew in to Missoula the end of May and spent two weeks with Patrick, Ariann, and Eric in their new home. They had just moved into their new house and Neil was able to help with a few handyman projects in addition to spending quality time getting to know Patrick and being Granddad Neil. I flew in for the last 4 days of his stay to get to be Grandma Nan and love the special little man.

I started my trip in May landing in LA for 5 days visiting Pamela and Chris and then going up to Ridgecrest with Pamela to visit Mom and Bill. It was a relaxing low-key time. I flew to Missoula late Friday night and the following morning we spent at the downtown farmers market. The weather was beautiful and Patrick was happy in his stroller. We met up with our friends Sunni and Merrill for tea and walking about the downtown looking at some of Merrill’s incredible handmade wood projects installed in several business. Our days were spent working on yard projects and playing with Patrick. Evenings were spent with Eric using his smoker making wonderful meals and I enjoyed their deck hot tub! It ended much too soon and I headed off to Ohio.

I stayed with Dad and Jane in Ohio for 10 days. Dad and I spent time working on projects at the house and also many mornings cleaning the Lion’s Club sausage trailer after the Van Wert County Fair. My time there happened to overlap with Mom in Ohio visiting her family. We had some fun afternoon gatherings and I even showed Aunt Janet how I make my organic scones. Melanie drove up from Maryland in time for our Kreischer family gathering Sunday afternoon. It was great to see all my Uncles and Aunts, cousins and many of their children and grandchildren. Thanks Cindy and Clare for hosting us at your Special Occasions event center.

Time flew by and I was on a flight again to Austin for a reunion with Cal Poly college friends. There were 8 of us altogether. The next post will be about our adventures in Austin.

Four cities, five legs on five different airlines in three and a half weeks (I love google.com/flights for easy searching of one way fares including graphs and flexible date options). It was a great visit with family and friends and especially special to meet and spend time with our new grandson!

Last Leg 2014

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Nanette Harter

After our Sunday morning walk on the Mendocino Headlands, we started driving south for what became a very long drive day. We were heading to LA for our Tuesday departing flights, or as Neil says “we were heading back to the barn.” Our plan was to drive straight through San Francisco and on to San Luis Obispo for the night. That became easier said than done. Even on a Sunday, I couldn’t believe the traffic!

Marin Headlands

Heading south toward the Golden Gate Bridge we took the last exit north of the bridge which took us into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Neil wanted to get a view of the Golden Gate Bridge before we crossed it. When I would drive up to Sausalito or beyond I used to take the first exit coming north off the bridge to enjoy the vista of SF and the bridge from the overlook (you can’t get to that overlook parking area going south onto the bridge, and from that overlook you can’t go west onto the headlands). How could I have lived in the Bay area so long and not driven or hiked around in this large Recreation Area (it would have been the second exit going north)?

The exit took us onto Conzelman Rd. and into the midst of a swarm of other Sunday excursionists, all of us looking for a place to park. The area we were exploring I later read is called the Marin Headlands. We enjoyed beautiful views of the bridge and Pacific Ocean as we drove.

“Welcome to the Marin Headlands! One of the most unique areas in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Marin Headlands covers various types of histories from the Miwok Indians to the Military, including historic Fort Barry and Fort Cronkhite, the NIKE Missile site and the 150 year-old Point Bonita lighthouse. Other attractions include varied hiking trails, dog friendly Rodeo Beach, and astonishing views of the coast and San Francisco. The explosion of wildflowers in the spring and raptor migration in the fall fill the headlands with year round excitement. The Marin Headlands is an example of open spaces still available in the Bay Area for visitors to enjoy.” NPS website Marin Headlands

It appears this is an area to explore when we next travel through the Bay Area!

We got out at a few viewpoints where I bundled up against the cold wind. People didn’t spend too much time in the chilly wind after taking in the views so parking spots frequently opened but were rapidly taken. The first viewpoint we stopped at turned out to be the highest point in the Recreational Area: Hawk Hill. It is now known as a conservation site for the Mission Blue Butterfly (endangered) and for raptor migration viewing, but it has a military history from World War II and through the Cold War. There was a big tunnel at the viewpoint which Neil explored. It turns out have been built to house anti-aircraft guns but was never completed and was left with the simple name Battery 129. It wasn’t until I was researching this that I read that sitting on top of the hill above the tunnel had been a Nike missile site built in 1954. The radar buildings have been removed but you can see the concrete pads from Google Earth.

“Hawk Hill, or Battery Construction 129, has been a silent witness to the ecological and cultural changes in and around the San Francisco Bay for eons. It is the story of soldiers waiting for an enemy that never came. Although most of the World War II fortifications built in the park were intended to keep the newest battleships from reaching striking range, the war was fought and ultimately won from the air. Built into the highest point at the Golden Gate, Battery Construction 129 had two large guns mounted under thick concrete shields covered with native vegetation for camouflage and virtually invisible from above. NPS Hawk Hill

Henry Cowell Redwoods

Back on the road, we crossed the always impressive Golden Gate Bridge. Neil took lots of photos through the windshield as I drove. I thought Sunday might be an easy day to get thorough the city that has no freeway crossing through it. I forgot there is always something going on in the City! We crawled through the Presidio, past Golden Gate Park, and along 19^th street until we finally reached Interstate 280. Our next destination was Henry Cowell Redwoods.

On Maui, we sometimes use Google Maps on our phone to locate an address but we don’t need the navigation or traffic features. That Sunday I found their value and can understand what a great feature it is for urbanites! We would see lots of red areas along our route telling us the traffics was heavy. We hit a standstill when we turned onto Hwy 17 toward Santa Cruz and there was a long red line on Google Maps (two hour estimated delay). We were able to ease over and get off at the next exit, double back and get on Hwy 9 that was still slow but at least moving.

As we turned into the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park entrance, it felt very commercial. There is the visitors center, retail store, and Roaring Camp railroad train depot all surrounding the parking area. However, it had very easy access to the Redwood Grove Loop Trail which starts at the Visitors Center and loops .8 miles through the section of old growth redwoods.

“Henry Cowell’s redwood grove is the only remaining old-growth grove in the Santa Cruz area and is an intriguing glimpse into what the region’s extensive redwood forests might have once looked like.

In many ways the grove has a typical old-growth feel; it’s remarkably cool and lush, with a groundcover of ferns and redwood sorrel, and there’s a characteristic hush from all the sound-dampening foliage. However, typically for southern groves near the ocean, there aren’t a lot of big redwoods here, and an unusual number of the trees are oddly mishhapen. Also, mixed in with the redwoods is a thick understory of tanoak and bay trees that obscures the redwoods and makes the grove look like a dense deciduous forest. The broadleaf growth is densest within the redwood loop; the old growth just outside the loop is much more open, suggesting that the grove’s appearance may be partly the result of fire suppression or other land management practices. …

The old growth was the first coast redwood grove to be saved from logging, having been purchased in 1867 by San Francisco entrepreneur Joseph Welch. A sawmill had existed near the grove since 1841, but the town of Felton and the railroad had not yet been built. Welch’s Big Trees Resort remained in operation until Santa Cruz County purchased the resort in 1930. In 1952, the Cowell family donated the adjacent land, which had been logged to support the nearby lime kilns, to the state.” The Redwood Grove Loop Trail

The Park brochure is very informative including a summary of the Geology, Native People, and additional History. I found the full brochure online if you are interested in reading further.

“Adjoining the park is Roaring Camp Railroad, offering visitors a chance to journey back in time on an old steam locomotive.” (Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks) The train chugs up from Santa Cruz through the mountains with part of the route actually traveling through the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park although the train depot is on private land connected by a walkway to the parking area of the State Park. After walking the redwood loop trail, we crossed the tracks to view the vintage steam engines in Roaring Camp. There seemed to be a lot of activities going on for children but nothing we saw that we could participate in.

“Ride into the Past on 19^th Century Steam Trains: Travel over trestles, through towering redwood groves and up a winding narrow-gauge grade to the summit of Bear Mountain as conductors narrate the history of Roaring Camp, the railroad and the forest.

In the 1880s, narrow-gauge steam locomotives were used to haul giant redwood logs out of the mountains. Roaring Camp’s steam engines date from 1890 and are among the oldest and most authentically preserved narrow-gauge steam engines providing regularly scheduled passenger service in America.” Roaring Camp Railroad Redwood Train

San Luis Obispo

Back on the road again, we drove straight down Hwy 101 toward our hotel in San Luis Obispo, stopping only for gas and food in Paso Robles where the county fair was going on. We watched the colorful lights of midway carnival rides as we found our way back onto the highway. Yes, it was past dark by then and past 10 when we arrived at our comfortable, basic Motel 6 room for a shower and luscious sleep in a queen bed.

It felt like double luxury with no need to roll up sleeping bags nor pack the tent the next morning before we met our friend Ken near Madonna Inn at a local coffee shop for breakfast where we enjoyed catching up. My memory of the area from 20 to 30 years ago was all open ranch land along lower Madonna Road and Los Osos Valley Road; now it is all paved with shopping malls!

Departing LA

We drove our final leg to LA, timing our arrival at Pamela and Chris’ in Lawndale for Monday midday to avoid the worst of rush hour traffic (worked out well.) We took a rest stop in Santa Barbara at a small little park overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I have to memorize the exit name for next time because it is not visible from the highway before taking the exit. Thank you again Google Maps.

The afternoon was spent unpacking and cleaning the car, sorting what would stay with mom or Pamela and what we would take back to Maui. We enjoyed a home cooked evening meal with Pamela and Chris before driving to Manhattan Beach pier to walk along the strand and on the pier. I saw all these people with ice cream cones and I just had to ask where. Just up a block on the avenue is the Manhattan Beach Creamery. It was hard to decide on a flavor but I am sure I had something with chocolate in it! Enjoying the sunset over the ocean as we stood on the end of the pier was a wonderful way to close our summer adventure together.

On our departure day, Tuesday July 29, we packed our bags for our flights and fit everything else in Mom and Bill’s car trunk to return to Ridgecrest. We had time to walk with Pamela along the Veterans Parkway (an old rail line converted into a parkway through Manhattan Beach) before enjoying a Mediterranean lunch at the Hummus House near their home before she went to work.

Chris kindly took a break in his work day to drop us at the LAX airport late afternoon. Neil and I had separate flights! He was returning home to Maui while I was flying to Ohio to visit with my dad and extended family. He took our one checked bag freeing me to just a carry-on for the rest of my trip. We had been able to work out our departures to within 45 minutes of each other and while Neil would arrive in Maui yet that night, I settled in for my red eye flight. It was one month ago we took the red eye from Maui to LA. What a great adventure!