Thousand Oaks to Mulholland Drive

Thousand Oaks to Mulholland Drive

After a quiet sleep Harris was up at 5 AM. This is what happens when he goes to bed early. After finding a Starbucks to update the blog, he looked at the map and decided that taking Route 23 over the mountains to the coast would make a nice early morning drive. Traffic in town was non-existent. It was a different story while on the 101 South to link up with 23. Traffic was zooming at above posted speed limit of 65. Harris felt like he was crawling along at 60mph. After leaving Westlake in the rear view, he had the winding 2 lane all to himself. The stars were out along with a bright moon. When stopped at a pullout, a lonely howl could be heard up in the canyon.

Stopping on Hwy 23 and hearing the coyote



As a general rule, houses were large and they were gated. There were several subdivisions of McMansions with a single gate restricting access to them. The lone vehicle Harris encountered on the 50 min. drive was a garbage truck making its rounds. The best views were from places where there was no place to pull off.

The exception to those LA hills homes





Why it took 50 mins to go 17 miles



The sun was up when he entered Malibu with temps around 40 degrees (they were in the 20’s going over the pass from Thousand Oaks) and it was shaping up to be a nice day. Harris pulled over for breakfast (oatmeal and an orange)and shared the ocean view with the multi -million dollar homes. Not a bad place to be!

Malibu just after sunrise (my breakfast spot)



! He then plugged in the first geocache and let TomTom direct him to Mulholland Drive. Harris has read many books (and watched a couple of movies) that featured this road which led to this geocaching expedition. He found 6 along the drive. Unfortunately the clouds were coming in with the next storm and combined with the haze, it was not a good day to take pictures.

More of a typical "hills" house



The drive was still very much worth it and he’d do it again in a heartbeat. One thing is for certain about L.A. Everything is possible with money and there is plenty of money (or perhaps deficit spending) in Los Angeles.

Almost the entire back yard is on stilts!



He saw impossibly huge houses, weird dogs leading their masters along the many trails on this drive, and many many Mercedes, BMW’s, and exotic sports cars when he pulled over to cache or let the cars by so he could enjoy the views. It was almost 2:30 now and he wanted to beat the traffic out of town so he called it quits and headed east on I-10. It was so windy in Palm Springs that he continued on to Indio where it was much calmer (although it’s been picking up as I’ve been writing this).

An aspiring Michigan actor (w/SAG card) who has good taste in vehicles



Harris pulled off when he saw a McDonalds sign and stumbled upon his favorite store—Winco. After asking inside if he could park overnight, he purchased a pre-cooked chicken and chief’s salad and had a great dinner. After showering in Howie, he started working on what you read here. Time to sign off and finish the rum and coke!

Howie in Hollywood!



High temp in LA was 57 degrees
High temp for me was in Indio of 64 at 6PM

Two sorta homecomings

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 (Day 160)

When Harris pulled in last night he parked a couple of spots down from a Roadtrek that he thought looked familiar. This morning he asked the owner if they had met last year. It turns out that they had; like last year, he was on his way back to the Seattle area while Harris was on the way to Spring Training. Talk about feeling at home…

The back way into Thousand Oaks




This morning the temp was 45 when Harris went for a walk. There was some frost in the shady areas, but he was warm and gloveless for a change. On his return to Howie, a couple (newly retired) started a conversation about how great retirement is. Harris went on to learn lots about Frito-Lay and its approach to business. In short , it likes to own everything from the factories to the trucks to its drivers. This ensures Frito-Lay/Pepsi Cola is in control over every facet of its business. After helping them jump start their tow vehicle it was almost 10AM before he hit the road. He thought he was getting a deal after finding diesel at $3.79 per gallon. The price of diesel in California has shot up 50 cents in two days because of oil uncertainty.

Harris's High School




Harris took a back way into Thousand Oaks that involved getting off I-5 after climbing the infamous grapevine (Turn off just before 6 Flags) and passing through some tree farms and fruit orchards. It was very scenic, but the clouds were coming in obscuring some of the far off mountains.

They've updated the Lancer mascot!



Entering Thousand Oaks where he had gone to elementary and high school around 4:30 he promptly got lost. Nothing seemed familiar. Tomtom to the rescue! He entered the high school and found his way there. Same old buildings and grounds, but a new mascot statue. He had no clue how to get to his old house so he asked the librarian (you can always count on the librarian) where Meadows Elementary school was. Turns out he couldn’t plug it into the GPS because the school was changed into an art magnet charter school called MATES.





After arriving there he remembered how he had to walk home for those disaster drills in the 60’s so he headed in search of his teenager home. Back then it was so easy; now there are many more homes, streets, and shopping centers he couldn’t find it. After calling his brother who wasn’t available, he flashed on the name of the street—Berkshire. After plugging that in, he found that the sub-division was hidden by a bunch of newer ones. He did find the house but the owner wasn’t home. He tried to speak to the neighbor across the street but she was convinced that Harris was probably casing the place to break into later.

Where Harris grew up




Harris is typing this in the Moorpark Denny’s parking lot where he’s camped for the night thanks to the night manager which gave his blessing. Tomorrow he is off to Mulhulland Drive for some geocaching.

Temp high today was 54 (Seattle was rain and snow mixed according to Judy)

Off to Spring Training 3.0

Monday Feb 21st (Day 158)


It was a sunny and brisk day in Lake Stevens when Harris left. He was almost having second thoughts but read that the forecast for the rest of the week called for rain or mixed rain and snow so he headed out of town. The first stop along the route was a home techie support visit near Shelton, WA. Our friend Glenda had a few questions and traded a wonderful lunch for the services rendered. Harris headed out of Shelton around 6PM and wanted to at least cross over into Oregon. Three hours later he saw an exit sign that had the Hospital “H” symbol and he took the exit. He found a quiet spot and parked.

Harris has followed several blogs of people living full time in their van sized RV’s. Several times he read about such people using the hospital parking lots for an overnight stay as people headed from one place to another with the added benefit of free wi-fi. Since Judy was not along, he decided to give it a try for the experience.

After the fantastic lunch, he went easy with chips and bean dip. Very nutritious… you have your carbs, and more carbs and the beans count as a vegetable. Also no worries about possible air quality comments later. Afterwards, an episode of Boardwalk Empire and off to bed!


Finally, some warmth!

Tuesday Feb.22nd (Day 159)


First an update about yesterday’s boondocking. It was cold!! And since it was the first night of the trip, Harris had the usual hassle of adapting to sleeping on the road. So putting both of these factors together, he didn’t sleep too well. This resulted in him getting a very early (4 AM) start from Portland. This also explained how he managed to get all the way to Patterson, CA for about 670 miles traveled today. A third factor also influenced his drive (pun intended). The weather was terrible to start and only improved ever so slightly as he drove southward. Portland was in the 30’s. Southern Oregon was no better due to the gain in altitude. The pass heading into California was mixed rain and snow. One of the activities that occupied him was tracking the temperature fluctuations. The temps stayed mostly in the 40’s with clouds decreasing as he headed south. The high temp reading (58) occurred around 4PM when he reached Sacramento. From Redding south, temps stayed in the 50’s but changed with the altitude and He also finished listening to an audio book by Joseph Wambaugh called The Hollywood Hills (4.5 stars) and listened to his XM music.

Check out the pics…


Leaving Southern Washington (around 30 degrees)





Leaving Oregon (Mid 30's)





Entering Calif (Still cold)





But the sky is improving!




Now this is a great sky!




As Harris finishes the blog, the temps are dropping into the low 40's but the stars are OUT!! and the heater is plugged in!!

Off to the Oregon Coast

October trip to Oregon Coast (Days 153-157)

Monday, October 11, 2010


We’re at Umpqua Light House State Park which is 5 miles south of Reedsport, Oregon. A few days ago our friends, Carl and Anita, mentioned that they were headed to the Oregon Coast. Harris checked the 10 day forecast and found out that the prediction was no rain and temps in the 60’s so we asked to meet them for part of their trip. We decided to leave today (sunny) rather than yesterday (rainy) because we enjoy actually seeing the scenery. (Plus, Harris didn’t want to drive Howie in the rain. He might get dirty.)

A quick rest stop on the way down (and the leaves are starting to fall...)




Harris was excited to see how his two recent Howie upgrades would work out. The first one was adding a Lightning Rod to the hot water tank which is an electric heater element that replaces the anode rod (used to preserve the water tank) so that we can have hot water when plugged into shore power at campsites without using propane. He got the idea from Judy’s brother-in-law, Gene. The second upgrade was adding a second house battery under the passenger seat to increase the time we can run off the battery. So far we’ve tested the hot water (thumbs up).


Rock with geocaching clue (had a hole drilled out for film canister)




We left Lake Stevens at 9:30 this morning which for us means we got an early start. We took a shortened morning walk with plans to do another short walk on one of our stops along the way. First stop was REI in Lynnwood to return something for Judy. Our second stop was for gas. The third stop was in Woodland in Southern Washington. After running some water, Judy noticed that the water pump was not coming on properly. Harris looked under the rig and noticed a water leak and upon fiddling with fresh water drain cock broke it. Well the leak was now noticeably bigger—much bigger.


Interesting drain spout spotted while caching



The fourth stop was Camping World where he bought a drain plug and noticed some pebbles between the metal strap holding the water tank and the plastic tank. This was something that hopefully duct tape will temporarily fix when we get to our campsite until we get home. (So far, the leak seems to have been fixed.) We pulled into the last campsite available which just happened to be next to Carl and Anita. Wow, we should have bought a lotto ticket today. After chatting for a bit we parted to our respective domiciles to prepare dinner. Harris decided to be nice to Judy and selected “My Sister’s Keeper” to watch on our DVR/TV. Well, he was snookered. He thought it was based on a true story and felt manipulated by several “something in the eye” occurrences (those father/daughter scenes were killers). Judy was very upset that the movie changed the book’s ending completely. We both agreed that the movie was good at clearing the tear ducts.


Car we saw while caching in Wheeler, Or






Tuesday, October 12, 2010

We got up early, and were on the road geocaching by 9. Carl drove us around the Reedsport area, and by the afternoon we had logged 11 more finds. One of the caches took us to an old cemetery site that was located in a very hilly area. It was different in that the grave markers were scattered amongst the mounds with sand and brush without being clearly organized. We took some photos to show.


Two daily vistors around camp




We stopped for a great lunch of fish and chips on a floating houseboat/restaurant called Unger Bay Fish and Chips. Carl went for a ride on the sand dunes and Harris drove Judy and Anita into Florence to check out a quilt shop. When we returned to camp, Carl showed us one more geocache that was on a trail around Lake Marie. It’s amazing to us to see all these lakes, some small, some huge just over the dunes from the ocean. After we found the cache, we continued on a short hike around the lake, then back for drinks around the campfire. We had a small supper tonight, because we had had such a big lunch. We watched “The International”---good flick. The stars are out again tonight, but we know it’s fall. There is a chill in the air. The sun goes down early. We find ourselves going to bed earlier as well. Still, it has been sunny, and that’s what we sun-seekers came for!


Nehalem State Park is between the 2 bodies of water





Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Up at the crack of dawn, literally. That’s what going to bed gets you! Judy was trying to catch a few more winks, but Harris decided we might as well get up and get going. So, showers, breakfast and out by 8..but no morning walk. We thought we’d find a bakery open and supplement our breakfast since we were on the road so early. We missed the turn for the first one, so had to wait until we hit Waldport before we found another one. We shared a piece of coffee cake (just okay, the fantasy was better than the reality, we never stop at bakeries.) We also stopped in Newport so Judy could visit the quilt shop. We caught up with Carl and Anita there. Carl and Harris were in the parking lot when the owner of the shop building came out and started chatting. Amazing what people tell you. She’s owned the building for 20 years and just recently discovered her new windows were put in backwards 16 years ago. Anyway…onward up the coast on a beautiful, sunny, blue sky, crashing blue ocean day. We started to listen to a book, and decided we couldn’t concentrate on it with all the scenery, so just turned on some oldies music on our satellite radio and enjoyed the ride.



Map showing the many lakes along the Oregon Central Coast




We stopped at a viewpoint to make lunch. It’s called Winema Vista. While we were there, Harris chatted with a couple in a huge RV. They were looking down at the beach from the vista, and saw some RV’s parked and decided to investigate. The husband buzzed down the hill in the little car they were towing, and came back to tell us he was going to go there to camp for a few days. There was a private RV camp, run by a church mainly for summer camps, and they rented out the other spaces for $22 a night for full hookups. It was right on the beach, no sand dunes or trees between you and the view. We went down as well to check it out, and decided we’d have to come back to camp next time we’re down this way. We took a walk on the beach…very prosaic words to describe what may be the highlight of the trip. Warm, almost hot sun. Miles of almost deserted beach. No wind at all. Judy even picked up a sand dollar, whole and unbroken. Such peace.



Carl walking among the many grave sites




When we were leaving the beach, we ran into an older couple. Harris said, “Gorgeous day, isn’t it?” That was about all we said for the next 40 minutes! By the time we edged away, feeling almost rude because we couldn’t really find a natural break in the monologue, we knew the man’s life story. (Where and when he was born, when they married, had kids, when his parents divorced, when his grandparents died, the land he inherited, etc, etc, etc. ) He was a nice enough guy, but we just couldn’t believe how much he talked!


One of the many decorated grave sites




So, between that and another stop at the quilt shop in Tillamook, we were pretty late getting to the camp ground. Carl called us to see if we were still coming! We arrived about 5, had a drink and headed for the beach again to take sunset pictures. (This time we had to climb a dune…just a short walk.) Harris will post one or two when he decides which one of the 50 he took is good enough!
Best day ever.
(well, almost. Day we got married, days our kids were born, a few others come to mind, but you get the idea.)



Harris and Judy enjoying the sun and water





Thursday, October 14, 2010
Yesterday the man we talked to on the beach told us the weather would change today. We didn’t believe him because it was soooo gorgeous. We should have! We woke to a cool wind, and a few feathery clouds in the sky. By the time we were ready to leave for geocaching, Harris had changed into long pants. By the time we stopped for lunch it was very, very gray. By the time we returned to camp, it was raining! Guess those locals know something about the weather patterns!



Our "Travel Buddies" for this trip, Carl and Anita




But we had fun geocaching, and Anita and Judy found a new quilt shop in Wheeler, one of the little towns around here. We ate a picnic lunch on top of a hill that had a lookout with all the local peaks labeled, but alas, the clouds prevented us from seeing any of them. We must have found 15 or 16 caches today!


We loved the added car details to the restaurant




We stopped for some wine tasting at a local winery in Nehalem. We bought a Riesling, Carl bought 2 reds, and because we had 3 we got one bottle free. We decided on a peach flavored white wine that was quite delicious to share tonight.


One of our favorite light houses along the coast




Harris grilled steaks for everyone tonight and did a great job on them. Peach wine doesn’t really go with steaks, but it did taste good. After dinner, Harris finally talked Judy into playing cards. We played Quarters. Judy lost. Again. And, after giving away 2, count them 2 wild cards, she’s decided that we don’t need to play cards ever again. So, Harris threw away the cards. Guess we’ll have to play Bananagrams from now on. Sure.



A birds eye view of the coast





Friday, October 15, 2010

Yesterday’s rain passed on, and the skies cleared up overnight. We were able to watch the stars come out as we went to sleep, and even this morning as we awoke early. Since we were leaving today, Carl graciously offered to make us a special breakfast. Of course, we took him up on it! Sourdough pancakes with apples, sausages and eggs, and fruit. What a feast!
After breakfast, we took off, deciding to go up the coast as far as Astoria before cutting over to I-5, since it was such a beautiful day again. We stopped at Cannon Beach for a quilt shop, and again at a couple in Astoria. We stopped for some lunch in Kelso, and otherwise just drove home. It was a great trip! Oregon really has the best state parks and the best coastline.




Passing a VW bike along the way...





Judy saying good-bye to the ocean

Off to Lake Chelan

September 6 through September 9, 2010 (Days 150-152)

Hmmm…was it Sept 6? Why do we need a calendar when we’re retired?


Carl and Anita's ranch outside Brewster, WA



We kinda sorta decided at the last minute to go camping with Marilyn, Gene, Jeff and Mary. Because it was Labor Day weekend, everything was full, of course, so we left on Monday. We were hoping for better weather on the east side of the mountains. Jeff has a new (to him) boat he wanted to take, so we all headed for Lake Chelan.


Their Living Room...



Good friends from Lake Stevens, Carl and Anita Johnson, were visiting their property near Brewster. We have been invited over many times, and thought we’d better show up before they cross us off their list. Getting to their property was an interesting experience. Leaving Brewster, we went up and up the hill on a paved road that eventually turned into a dirt road.


Their bedroom and kitchen...




OK. But our little Tom-Tom navigator, which we know darn well lies to us just to have some fun, took us too far up the hill. Then it told us we had another 90 minutes to go, when we knew darn well we were close. So, back down the hill, up a driveway that was heavily marked with various “no trespassing” signs, looking for help. Luckily, the man behind all the signs was friendly and helpful and pointed us to the right driveway. (hard to see, overgrown, back from the road, what other excuse can we use?) Then bump and bump, we finally arrived.


Harris and Judy getting comfortable on the couch...




They have a beautiful piece of property up on a ridge, surrounded by trees and silence. Such peace! We had a great visit with them, a great dinner of barbequed ribs, and the quietest night’s sleep since leaving Alaska.
Unfortunately the weather has not been cooperating. It rained a lot on Monday and Tuesday. It’s raining on Wednesday. What’s with this?



Lowering the flags to indicate that the royal couple is no longer in residence.




Dropping down about 1000 feet from the Johnson ranch...




On Tuesday, we left “the ranch” and headed down the highway to Chelan. We found Marilyn and company at 25 Mile Creek State Park. They had arrived on Monday and set up camp. Finding a campsite was no problem, of course, since the park is almost deserted. Everyone went home on Monday. In fact, when we started over Stevens Pass, we commented on the heavy, almost bumper to bumper traffic coming west. Best part of being retired is not having to vacation when everyone else does!



Rocky Reach Dam...




One of the old hydro powerplant turbine props...




25 Mile Creek State Park is beautiful and quiet and a good place to launch boats. We had a break in the weather yesterday afternoon, and Jeff took everyone out for another test run. His boat goes fast! Trix, Gene’s dog, especially liked being in the bow, ears flapping in the wind. We also did a little wine tasting at a few local places, an activity we enjoy even if we don’t buy much.


Wine tasting in Lake Chelan...




Wednesday morning, we went for a walk along the highway and found 3 geocaches. One was by the ranger’s station, one along a guardrail, and one was hard to find…even though it was rated a “1”. Judy finally found it in the bottom of a rock that had been drilled to make a hole, then covered with another piece of rock.


An interesting house on the other side of Lake Chelan...




When we left home, we packed food for ourselves….really….because we didn’t know exactly where we’d be and when. But Anita fed us dinner. Marilyn, of course (as she says) always has enough for us. So, Tuesday night was lasagna. (real camping food, what?) Wednesday night was roast beef! (the joys of having an oven in her trailer!) We finally cooked our own steak on Thursday, when we returned home!


The Olson crew enjoying the new boat...




Jeff loves to make fires when we’re camping, and we love to watch him do it, and enjoy the fruits of his labors. Many hours are spent sitting around the fire, sipping hot drinks and just enjoying each other’s company. We did play a little “Bananagrams” one afternoon. Marilyn, Mary and Judy went into town on Wednesday afternoon to look around the unfortunately very expensive shops while Harris and Jeff tinkered on the boat and Gene supervised while reading a book.


Harris also enjoying the ride...




Marilyn and Gene are great hikers. They took us on a “walk” Thursday morning up by a forest service camp further up the road that was totally deserted. Great place for Trix to get off leash and really run and run. It was going to be a short, 2 and a half mile walk up a road for a view of Lake Chelan. BUT. Of course. Harris had loaded some geocaches.



The cache that was "only" 1/3 mile away...




“There’s one just .3 miles away!” (That’s point 3, in case you missed it.) BUT. Of course. He doesn’t mention that the .3 is “how the crow flies”, or how the GPS measures. So, we start out. About 3 miles later, after many switchbacks up and up and up the mountain, we finally find the cache. It was a good day for walking, sunny, not too warm, shady spots, etc., but Judy still found things to complain about. Going back was of course much easier. We got our exercise in this day!


Marilyn and Judy coming back down the mountain.




We had to head back home after lunch, and arrived in time to cook our steak dinner. Along highway 97A we had a little excitement. Just past the town of Entiat, we saw something in the road, up ahead of us, in our lane. Slowing down, we watched some rocks and debris slide down the hill and block our lane. There were several large rocks, and one that was about 3 or 4 feet high. We had to stop, wait for traffic to clear, then go around it into the other lane, which fortunately wasn’t blocked.


Mary and Jeff working on the boat.




We waited until we saw a mile marker, then called 911 to report the rocks. The dispatcher sounded as though he’d heard a lot of such reports. “Are there any rocks in the road? Are they bigger than a softball? Bigger than a microwave? Oh! As big as that! OK! We’ll get right on it!” Do people call 911 when there are little rocks in the road?


Taking it out for a spin...



The weather had turned nice on Thursday, of course, the day we had to leave. It stayed nice all the way to Stevens Pass….then dark clouds and rain all the way home. Oh well, at least we got out a bit. It’s always good to go, and always good to come home.


Modern day hieroglyphics outside Entiat, WA