Our American Road Adventure will be coming to an end shortly. In the meantime, we still had stops to make along the way to Tahoe (in a roundabout sort of way).

Our first stop was outside of Stockton at Janet and Mike's. These are friends of ours who own the cabin across the street from us in Tahoe.
Our final stop was a reunion with our sons and their gals. We spent the weekend catching up, planning the next family togetherness, gaming, dining really well and exploring B & C's neighborhood.
Flowers were found everywhere- still!

A neighbor allowed us to harvest her persimmons. The promise of delicious bread soon followed.

Our boys married wonderful cooks. Dinner was roasted vegetables, various cheeses and this scrumptious fig, olive oil and sea salt challah bread. What a satisfying weekend!

When we met with our friends, Karen and David, she was armed with questions about our Road Trip. One of them was "How many books did you read?". One would think that a bibliophile, like myself, would have read copious amounts with all the miles we put on and open terrain we passed through. The truth is, I don't read while we drive. It's not like I can't. I'm quite proficient at it with no carsickness issues. It's just that I love to look at the view and discuss it with Steve. So to answer Karen's question: I read TEN books in three months (not too bad).

What surprised me was that 1/3 of the books were biographies. I thoroughly delighted in each and everyone of them. The first, Betty White's, about life in television, just made me an even bigger fan. What a woman!
Mindy Kaling's tale was about the start of her career (The Office) and her ultimate desire to be happily married with children. So sweet!
Oh man, and the last one was Bill Bryson's hysterical and historical depiction of his life and America in the 1950s. Even more poignant was the fact that he grew up in Des Moines, Iowa- the town my parents grew up in too (only much earlier). Through his eyes, I was given the opportunity to glimpse a bit of what life was like for my mom and dad. This book is high on my "you should read this" list. What fun.

Our night had us Nestled in the grassy hills of the western San Joaquin Valley near historic Pacheco Pass, at the San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area, noted for boating, board sailing, camping, and picnicking.

The San Luis Reservoir was constructed as a storage reservoir in 1962. It stores runoff water from the Delta that would otherwise flow into the ocean and provided us with the perfect lakefront campsite we were looking for.

Over 35 species of birds call this lake home. Bird watching was part of our day's end.


This morning we awoke to a spectacular sunrise. It was an idyllic way to begin our day.

Tonight's social calendar included dinner with my dear college friend, Annie and her husband, Bob. We stayed in, having Chinese food delivered. We shared our travel tales and family stories and delighted in the reunion.

And Steve's fortune cookie could not have been more perfect.
We are camped at the closest RV Park to "The Happiest Place on Earth". And just when we thought the night could not be more awesome, Disneyland's Believe... In Holiday Magic Fireworks Spectacular began and we were able to enjoy it from the comfort of our Camper's 'bedroom'. It was a little strange to watch without the music that normally accompanies the show, but it was definitely a pretty wonderful way to end our last SoCal connection. Tomorrow, we head North.

Continuing on our quest to see as many friends and family as possible, we headed to Carlsbad to visit with Steve's Mom. It was wonderful to see her so happy and so settled in her new place. Two days was not enough time- ever.

While this post seems to have nothing to do with our travels, the image was sent to me recently and it made my heart smile. As we are heading to see our "pups", this just seemed perfectly timed. I hope it makes you smile, too.

This photo of sea otters has made its way around the internet multiple times, and usually with the caption that sea otters hold hands to keep from floating away from each other. Yes, it's true — often a mother and pup will hold on to each other while sleeping to keep from drifting away from one another. How totally darling is that?!

There really is no better Temecula morning than one in which the horizon is decorated with Hot Air Balloons.

Okay, it's pretty magical when one can meet with various friends and even though the time is too brief, there is comfort in knowing that "some is better than none". One brief meet-up was coffee with Bill, his daughter, Nicole and his grandson, Billy... Delightful.
And it was pretty neat to visit with Terry and Joel in their new, as-of-Monday, home.
We settled into our next Temecula campsite, at Steve's brother's. We dined on the patio and stayed outside until even the scarves and parkas couldn't keep us warm (we're in big trouble when we get back to Tahoe). Brr.

I just loved this bird atop their flagpole.

Heading back to our old hometown was made extra special due to the arrival of a contingency from Temecula's Japanese Sister City.

In addition to seeing so many friends, we had the most amazing place to camp for the night at Scott & Lynne's.
We were invited to attend the Mayu Choir performance and Friendship Dinner. The timing could not have been more perfect. This choir, from our Sister City Daisen-Nakayama, had performed here once before, and since I had missed that concert, I was very excited to be a part of this one.
It was a really wonderful performance. One song, Iwai Uta, made most of us tear up. Sung by a soloist, it was about a daughter leaving her parents to get married. It was hauntingly beautiful. What a surprise and a treat.
The most fantastic aspect of the evening was spending time with old friends, one of whom was Mizue, who we had hosted ten years ago. She is also staying at Scott and Lynne's so we had even more time to reacquaint. TANOSHI (fun).
We got to catch up with many people. Marianne and Ted are friends whose daughter traveled to Japan when I led the student group in 2004.

We are totally orchestrating some wonderful opportunities to catch up with friends (thanks to all for their flexibility and willingness, apologies to those we just couldn't see this time around). Our stay in Oceanside provided us with a two-for-one.

A wonderful dinner and our 'campsite' for the night was provided by Eric and Brady.
Then this morning we left the camper parked at Brady's and met other friends for breakfast.
We love exploring Oceanside and always seem to find something new in which to delight.
While we have seen Dr. Graves' home before, the irony of seeing it today ties into our choice of breakfast spots. About the house... Steve is standing in front of the Top Gun House. This Victorian-style cottage became a popular landmark after it appeared in several scenes of the blockbuster 1986 movie (where Tom Cruise's love interest, Charlie, lived). When built in 1887, it was one of few structures in Oceanside facing the sea. In those days, most structures were built facing the then new railroad tracks. Today, the house is one of few remaining beach cottages of its kind in San Diego County. Sadly it sits on an empty block behind a chain-link fence awaiting its final destination.
It was ironic that we were seeing a relic from a very 80's movie because our next rendezvous was with friends, Odile and Tom, at the Breakfast Club Diner, a themed restaurant that captures, perfectly, my favorite decade- the 80s. What a very cool way to start our SoCal Social Day #4.

We began our day hiking our favorite local mountain- Monserate. It is here we trained for our Grand Canyon hike in 2009. It was good to do as John Muir has said, “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”

Driving as much as we have on this trip has found us woefully deprived of exercise and the much needed Vitamin N (Nature). We got both of them this morning.

 We hiked 12,341 steps (4.5 miles) in 2.5 hours. Due to the elevation changes, we climbed the equivalent of 143 flights of stairs. Thanks to my fitbit's stats, I get to be impressed with myself. It truly was an incredible way to start the day.
And the best way to end it? In the company of wonderful friends. Dinner, the sunset and a sweet campsite were all provided by our first daughter-in-law's parents, Mike and Julie. What a great night.