11/9/07 (Friday): This is my first blogging via dial-up internet experience. I hope it won't be too slow! We finally got our land line installed so that I can now access the internet at will (if somewhat slowly). We're isolated here, but there are some advantages to that. We have deer wandering the campground, lots of birds, and a gorgeous view of the mountains that are isolating us. I have lots to report, so I'll get right to it.

Last Thursday we made a spontaneous decision to drive up to Mark and Heather's for a few days. We packed up some camping gear and left Friday morning. We took the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping for one night on the way up and one night on the way back. We did loads of sightseeing. The Coastal Highway is magnificent--great views of the Pacific Ocean from the coastal mountains. Our first stop was the Hearst Castle, the vacation home of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper magnate.
Wiley wasn't interested in the tour, so he made use of the nearby fishing pier.

What a magnificent place. It had indoor and outdoor pools, a fabulous art collection, beautifully furnished rooms and three guest houses. The Hearst family still owns all the surrounding ranch land, where they mostly raise cattle. I was amused in the formal dining room to see the typical place settings that Hearst used. The ketsup and mustard, paper napkins and inexpensive blue willow reproduction china were apparently the norm.



We stopped every few miles along the way as the sights got more and more spectacular. The highway is an unbelievable engineering marvel. It clings to the mountains, crosses deep canyons with long bridges and traverses what must be some of the most incredible views in the world.






There were lots of places where you could access the shore, which ranged from sandy beaches, to rocky beaches, to high cliffs with crashing waves. At one of the pullouts, we saw these sea lions. They weren't more than 10-15 feet away from us! The big males seemed to be fighting. They'd raise up and bump chests while making this pig-like noise. It was really cool!




It was so good to see Mark and Heather and the boys again! It had been almost a year--the longest stretch I'd ever gone without seeing them. Heather had a bad cold, so I really appreciated her putting up with unexpected visitors. They've completely renovated their kitchen, and the house looked great.




On Saturday morning, we took the ferry to Angel Island and hiked all the way around the island (about 5 miles). I saw on the news yesterday that there's been an oil spill in San Francisco Bay near Angel Island. That's awful. It was a beautiful natural area, within sight of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. We saw deer and all kinds of birds. I hate to think of all the animals that will be killed.


We came back via a more inland route, but we still camped on the ocean. California has beautiful campgrounds with access to the Pacific. We were tent camping, and it was pretty cold at night, but being able to walk across the dunes to a lovely beach was very nice. Pismo Beach, where we camped on the way back, has real firm sand and there were a lot of joggers, dog walkers and people riding bikes. I just sat and people watched until the sun went down. Wiley, of course, went fishing!





To end on a funny note, I just had to share this funny picture. This pelican is just so dopey looking--he makes me laugh every time I look at him!

Well, I've got to do laundry and a little house cleaning today (and maybe make a trip into town for some groceries), so I'll call it good and close now. Have a great day!