Determined to make it up the hill on Pauba Rd on our bicycles that defeated us on my birthday, after breakfast we head that way. Not only will we get our 10+ miles in but we can conquer the hill… and we do! We’re out of breath but elated. Accomplished, proud, and puffing! 😀

After completing the bike ride I finish writing the emails for this week and Ashley presents the idea of motorcycling over to the ocean for lunch. Sounds great to me! She puts together lunch while I grab a shower and we hop on the motorcycle and head west until we run out of road, back to Dana Point. It’s a warm ride and the cool air as we hit the last few blocks feels wonderful!

We find a parking spot and walk over to the beach. Spreading out a towel we sit down and enjoy lunch overlooking the ocean – watching the surfers/paddle boarders catch waves. Then we lay down in the sun and listen to the surf for a bit before going and wading in the shallows. Don’t want to get our jeans wet so we roll them up and don’t venture very far out – the water starts out cold but then feels good as we grow accustomed to it.

We know it’s going to be a busy ride back but decide to head on anyway. Indeed, we hit some pretty good traffic – thankfully you can split lanes here and we jump on ahead of a few traffic lights. Still slow moving but so much faster than a car would be. The traffic thins out as we head back over the mountains but we’re still in the middle of a line of cars. This slower speed gives me a chance to admire the view more closely, however, so we certainly enjoy that.

Ashley wants to check out the book store near the mall so we stop on the way home. She finds the two books she’s looking for, though I don’t see mine. Now she can prepare for the John Muir trail later this year and we have a reference for bicycle riding/training that will be pretty darn handy.

We beat Bill and Carol home by a few minutes, just in time to have started putting together a salad to go with supper. After finishing up our meal we play a couple rounds of CatchPhrase before catching the news and then trickling off to bed.

After breakfast we hopped on the motorcycle and headed up to check out Menifee – the other nearby Christmas Tree lot. Took the long route through the countryside to enjoy the trip. We stopped at a park down the road from the lot for lunch. Town itself doesn’t seem like much more than a big suburb with some chain stores – tract development. It’s awfully convenient to family, so that’s certainly nice. We’ll see if it’s available next year for trees.

Lots of stop signs along the way, so we hop on the freeway and head to Old Town for a coffee as we’re tired of riding. Back at the Havana Kitchen we grab drinks and chat for a bit.

Back home it’s maintenance time. Wash and oil the bicycles, was the motorcycle, clean the A/C filter in the RV, etc. Productive afternoon, if not completing the todo list just yet.

Bill and Carol are having friends over to watch the Superbowl (Denver Broncos vs Carolina Panthers). So we help get ready. I run to the store for a few last ingredients. Ashley and I put together jalapeno poppers and I make salsa. Other stuff is in the works, as well.

Once everything’s going, Ashley and I take a stroll around the neighborhood, enjoying the fabulous weather.

Back at home, everything’s ready and everyone starts to arrive. We have a great time, chatting, eating, and generally enjoying the company. Very defensive game, Broncos end up winning.

Afterward, we help clean up and call it a successful, enjoyable day.

Upon first seeing me this morning, Carol sang Happy Birthday to me!

Ashley treated everyone to bananacakes, turkey bacon, and scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Bill and Carol headed to the office while Ashley and I got our bicycles out and ready. We headed out for our bike ride – intending to ride 34 miles (riding my age) but weren’t sure about the hills. We found a suggested route for the area that was about the right distance, but had to stop every couple of turns to see what the next steps were. Between the stops and the hills, we were both surprised when we hit the 10 mile mark – that’s it?!

Our route went right past Wilson Creek Winery – which we’d received multiple recommendations for. So we stopped in for a bit of a break. They have a beautiful property and we greatly enjoyed checking out the grounds. A glass of wine each was a nice treat and refreshing. We listened to the live music, chatted, and generally relaxed for a bit before heading back out.

Along we went, enjoying the beautiful country side. What fabulous views! We ended up back at Pauba road, but at the base of the big hill! We’re tired and don’t make it far up the hill before we stop and walk. A woman passes us – “I hate this hill.” We don’t disagree. At the top, we begin pedaling again and it’s not too long before we’re back at the house. A couple of loops through the neighborhood and we’re nearly done. One last jaunt down the subdivision side-roads and we finish with 34.08 miles. Just about exact!

We hop on the motorcycle and run to the grocery store to pick up a few items for a surprise that Ashley’s putting together. Back at the house we grab showers and are ready when Bill and Carol get home. For my birthday, they’re treating us to dinner. We head to a Mexican restaurant (Guadalajara) and enjoy some fabulous supper – everything’s delicious!

Back at home, Ashley puts together my surprise – some absolutely amazing cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate ganache inside and topped with whipped chocolate frosting. As much chocolate as she could put together. 😀 All made from scratch. Wow. They’re dense and heavy and fabulous!

One last morning in the San Diego area – we hop on the motorcycle and head back to La Jolla for breakfast at the Sugar and Scribe. It’s right across the street from The Cottage and looked too good to not visit! Irish-inspired food and an amazing looking bakery – I had a croissant egg sandwich and Ashley tried a quiche. Everything was delicious and it’s so nice to have a salad served with breakfast! We enjoyed our breakfasts and coffees before heading back home.

Almost packed up and finally met our neighbors. Wendy was really nice and a delight to chat with – she told us about the company she’s been contracting for over the last four years and it sounds like it might be a great opportunity for us. She had an info pack that she shared with us. We’ll look into it as a possibility to make some money on the road. Additionally, it would allow us to write off all our travel expenses (which, in our case, is basically everything) as work expenses. Interesting possibility that we’ll have to look into further.

Heading out, we drove up to Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. It’s a beautiful stretch of land that has been set aside as it was without/before any development. The parking lot was nearly empty so we had our pick of spots. It’s a short walk under the highway to the shore, so we walked over and then down the beach. Spotted some surfers out catching the waves so we sat and watched their attempts for a bit.

Back past the RV we hiked up the road into the reserve, proper. Up the hill we went, exploring every trail that was offered. They were all short and offered fabulous views – not only of the bluffs and vegetation but also of the ocean.

At one point a puff of water caught our attention. After a few moments of watching we confirmed that there were whales! We could see the sprays of water as they breathed out, their backs breaking the surface, and tails as they dove back down. How fun!

The parking lot closes just before dark, so we didn’t get to finish all of the trails in the park before having to leave. We headed back and had plenty of time to navigate out – right into rush hour traffic. The GPS didn’t show much of a difference between traffic on the freeway and on the highway, so we headed north on the 101 for a bit, in the chance that we might find somewhere along the beach to stay the night. No luck, though, since we were on the wrong side of the street to quickly pull over and check out any opportunity that might have come up. Back in Oceanside, we decide to head back to Temecula for the evening. End up beating Bill and Carol home and get to enjoy a delightful supper with them while recounting our adventures over the past few days.

What a full day! On Jennie’s recommendation, we headed north to La Jolla for breakfast, to The Cottage. We had coffee cake as an appetizer with our coffee. It was absolutely delicious and roughly the size of Ashley’s head! Ultra light and fluffy… I chose the lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberries grilled inside and Ashley had a Tuscan omelet with potatoes and a scone on the side. Everything was amazingly delicious… we didn’t stop eating until we basically ran out of food, by which time we were stuffed to the gills.

We had to stroll around for a bit to let everything settle, meandering around the area and checking out shops.

Back at the motorcycle, we headed south, following the shore line down past Mission Bay and on to Coronado “Island”. We went past the bridge and headed out across the peninsula to reach it, passing by the Silver Strand State Beach – wow, is it beautiful! Blue ocean and white sand beach… And it stretched for a couple of miles! It’s easy to see how delightful that would be if the weather were warm, to go hang out during the day, soaking up the sun and playing in the water. Of course, since it was still a tad chilly and the water is definitely not warmed up, I think we spotted about 5 people out there.

Circled around Coronado a couple of times and then headed across the big bridge over to San Diego. Big bridge, large enough that naval ships can pass underneath it.

We meandered downtown, to the Gaslamp distric. Found a parking spot and walked around for a bit. As always, we just aren’t city people and only stopped a couple of places to check them out. Still full from breakfast, we didn’t want anything to eat so no point in checking out restaurants (including the BarleyMash that Bill recommended – a friend of the family is a co-owner). So we hopped on the motorcycle and headed back to the RV. Much quicker trip when you’re going directly there and not meandering around!

Back home we changed cycle types and headed out for a bicycle ride. Went over to Fiesta Island and made two loops around it. Beautiful place to ride and only a few cars to pay attention to. That’s certainly nice! Lots of cyclists and we were passed pretty regularly. We’re partially out of practice (and recovering from a cold) and partially they just ride faster than us! (We aren’t fast, but we are persistent!)

Wrapping up our second loop we head back home. Changing clothes we go for a stroll along the bay, enjoying the view as the sun sets over the water. Can smell a lot of grilling going on – guess we’re finally ready for something to eat. 😀 Fix some skillet veggies for supper, play a game, and then time for bed.

Feeling better still upon waking, so we pack up and head over to Oceanside and then south into San Diego. Aiming for Mission Bay RV Campground. They accept Passport America but no reservations, so we’re not positive that we’ll be able to get a spot. Fortunately, we can and are quickly settled. (Though we have to leave our trailer over in the overflow parking. That’s a wee annoyance, as there’s more than enough space to leave it in our spot since we don’t have a tow vehicle.)

After lunch we hop on the motorcycle and head further south. We circle around Mission Bay itself, tour Fiesta Island, and then head down to the Sunset Cliffs. Beautiful spot along the road to stop and look down into/over the ocean. While there,  Ashley spots a seal in the water.

Back on the road, we continue down the peninsula to the tip of Point Loma – Cabrillo State Marine Reserve. Our National Parks Pass comes in handy at the historic monument and we take a few minutes to wander around and see what there is. Beautiful views across the bay of San Diego and down in to Mexico, a statue of Mr. Cabrillo, and a historic lighthouse. After our quick tour we head back north and toward home – it’s been a chilly ride and we’re ready to warm up.

The steaks are thawed when we return, so Ashley seasons them and puts some vegetables in the oven to roast. Everything turns out absolutely delicious! We relax in front of the TV before bed.

Monday I felt maybe 10%. Spent the day in bed. Ashley made chicken noodle soup from scratch – tasted great to me!

Tuesday I felt better, but still not well enough that I wanted to venture down to San Diego in the RV. Walked down the street for some coffee to get out of the house for a few minutes. Walk was nice.

I woke up feeling not-so-great so after breakfast (omelettes for everyone!) I laid in bed for most of the afternoon. Ashley went shopping with Carol. We had a delicious supper.

Shortly after Bill and Carol headed to the office we hopped on the motorcycle and steered toward IdyllWild, a town in the mountains. Bill helped us plan out a fun route through the country, avoiding the major roads that the GPS tried to send us through.

Wound our way through Wine Country and ended up in Hemet where we stopped to check out the Farmer’s Market. Ashley found a soap/candle maker that she liked and picked up a scented candle for the RV (she’s been wanting one for months now) and we found a hummus/dip vendor that was fabulous. I walked a bit closer just to see what he was offering and he asked if I wanted a sample. Sure! So he gave me one, then another, then another. After the first I was going to get one, it was so tasty. But Ashley was still looking at candles so I was going to wait and let her pick one. And another and another – he gave me at least 7 samples. And they were all amazing! There was a price break at 3 and another at 5 – we would have gotten more than three if we thought they might fit somewhere on the motorcycle. 😀 And then, to top it off, we didn’t have quite enough in cash (the only form of payment he accepted) so we got a further discount. (I felt bad, but I certainly didn’t want to have to choose one to put back!)

On up the mountain we wound – what a fun ride and a fabulous series of views. You can really see all the way through the valley from there!

Into IdyllWild, a little mountain community in the San Jancity mountains. It was beautiful – built into the pine forest on the mountain top. We loved the feeling of being back in the forest, smelling the trees. Wandered around and through town – exploring shops, eating our picnic lunch, and stopping for a coffee. I loved the first art gallery we visited (Singerton Fine Arts) and enjoyed chatting with the painter there. His paintings reminded both of us Lennon’s work (a past art teacher), but more involved and intricate. He included gold flake, inks, and more to give layers of depth to the work.

It’s interesting how differently people are wired, and how obvious it can be. Dan really lights up when he talks about the ocean, about water. Ashley enjoys visiting the beach, but that’s about it. A mountain town set amid the trees and rocks, however, is where she feels most comfortable and really seems most peaceful.

After visiting everywhere that caught our eye we headed back down the road. We wound around and around and eventually made a turn that we remembered from the trip in via the RV. After a few miles, we ran into a traffic jam. We crept along for a bit, skipped a few, and finally decided to detour down a side road. Our random decision worked out perfectly, as we were back on familiar roads after 1/4 of a mile and actually shortened our route.

Back home, we hopped in the Mustang (Ashley was surprised at the rumble when it turned on) and headed over to the Lindsey’s to pick up the RV. It’s been 72 hours so we needed to shuffle around again. Back at the house I hopped in the hot tub for a bit before getting ready for our dinner. Bill and Carol invited Dan, Michelle, and the girls to join us at a Chinese restaurant for the evening! We had a fabulous meal – everything was delicious! They had a huge lazy susan in the middle of the table and so the different dishes were placed on there and just circled around the table for everyone to sample from.

After supper, everyone parted ways. We headed back to the house and after chatting for a bit stumbled off for food-induced slumber.