Seemed like a good opportunity to, well, do nothing. We turned off our alarms (and woke up before they would have gone off anyway) and enjoyed breakfast and coffee this morning before reading for a bit. Snacked on some popcorn, had a second coffee, and eventually Ashley started making a batch of Joni’s bread. While the flour warmed up she yoga’d.

We watched a couple episodes of “Lois and Clark” and enjoyed some fresh bread before it grew too warm in the RV and we headed out under the awning for some air flow in the desert breeze.
Spent the afternoon reading before it cooled off enough for supper. Made a chicken stir fry.

Time for a bicycle ride. It’s just about 10 miles to the visitor center, so we hop on the bikes after breakfast and head that way. There we stop to drink our water and refill our bottles before heading back out.

It’s starting to warm up for the day when we return so, to try and beat the heat, we trade cycle types and motorcycle out, back the way that we drove in, to the town of Julian. Cute little tourist stop that is apparently famous for apple stuffs – pies and ciders. Lots of the little shops smell delicious as we walk by. Bakeries and such. We check out the tea shop, peruse a couple of stores, and then head to the coffee shop for a drink and some reading.

I finish Born For This and start copying over some notes while Ashley reads more of the Cyclist’s Training Bible. We were going to do online tasks but don’t bother getting the wifi password.

Finishing our drinks and reading, we head back down. You can really tell as the elevation drops and the environment changes – the temperature warms up and the mountains switch from green with patches of brown to brown with patches of green. It happens quickly. We stop for a snack at a pull-off and explore a short distance down a side-road that parallels a creek bed – find some potential camping spots for later in the week.

We continue on past home to see what the rest of the road offers. The edge of the park is badlands – it contains some fascinating, entirely different, types of landscapes. From badlands to flat desert, to desert mountains, to canyons, and on to green mountains. Not too far past the park, however, the road condition turms norrible. I’ve been on dirt and gravel roads that were in better shape.

On both sides of the road are RV’s and ATV’s of different sorts. It’s definitely a 4×4 paradise. Sand and hills and trails going far past what we can see and plenty of places to just pull off the side of the road and camp as long as you have supplies to do so.

We head back for the night. Chicken and veggie stir fry for supper. We read before bed.

We are always surprised how much time it takes for us to move out after a long stay somewhere. We spent half of the day packing up, refilling tires, loading up the motorcycle, stopping for groceries, and refilling gas and propane.

But finally we were on the road and headed toward the Anza-Borrego State Park. It’s a huge patch of mountainous desert that is preserved. On the one hand, that’s a great thing, and on the other it means that most of it is accessible only by 4 wheel drive, so we’ll see how much we can explore.

It’s good to be back home again. As nice as Bill and Carol’s is, and as comfortable as we feel there, it’s just not our home.

Up and over and winding around mountains we go, enjoying the scenery and looking for a place to stay once we get into the park. Eventually we join a few dozen other RVs, parked off the side of the road just outside of Borrego Springs. This will make a good home base as we explore further via motorcycle and find the next place to stop.

We snacked on the way and decide that popcorn will be a great supper. We sit outside and enjoy the stars while eating.

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!