196 OC what does that mean to you?

    With less than half a month until we left our Hemet home and moved to Arizona.  We needed to make wise use of our remaining days in our tiny home, there are still many sights we hope to see  in Southern California. 
     One afternoon out of the blue (not sure where that phrase comes from but it seems to fit) Lynda sent us a text asking if we wanted to meet at the Callaway winery.  Of course!   Arriving before Lynda I positioned the trike under the winery debris dump for a Kodak moment.   Wouldn't have been so funny if a worker inside had seen me and decided to switch on the auger. 
     After a wine sample we decided to have a lite lunch at the onsite restaurant.   The lamb chops with a rosemary balsamic drizzle caught our eye and Ruthie and I decided to share.  The scenery, meal and company was pleasant until a familiar sound and movement on the grassy knoll outside caught our eye.  An enormous flock of sheep with a mobile shepherd had taken up residence.  Was it our food choice?  Silence of the lambs?  I felt guilty already.

Chalking the thought of our food choice and the sudden appearance of the sheep outside as a coincidence we settled back to enjoy our time with Lynda and marvel at the shepherd and his almost  mystical communication with his herding dogs. 

     February 23rd   With a list and directions of Orange County "must see" prepared by Lynda herself  we headed over Ortega highway stopping long enough to enjoy one of our favorite views.  The valley with Lake Elsinore laying below us,  inspiring!    
        Many times over the course of our winter residence with Lynda and Sterling we had heard the familiar reference to the Orange county area and now recognized "OC" as code for those that believe they have been blessed with a chosen life or gifted experience.  When asked where they are from they respond with "orange County".  I would have liked to say I was from "Wabasha county" however Ruthie felt it was in poor taste.  Probably a good thing she is there to moderate me.  Myself being somewhat cynical and hard to impress noticed immediately the initials could just have well referred to "obsessive compulsive" the more I think about it I believe it fits.   

Menu and Lynda's list.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 Our first stop was for breakfast in San Juan Capistrano to plan our trip.  With Lynda's note on the table we checked our list.  Laguna beach, top of the world, Balboa Pier, Balboa island, Fashion Island and we were on our way.    Lynda expected it would take us several days to visit all the stops and take it all in.   A quick stop at the restroom before we mounted up made me pause.  Do you think the maximum capacity is for the whole restaurant or just the bathroom.  Sorry, just some things make me wonder.  

      Having been raised at least part of the time in Orange county many of Lynda's recommendations were close to Laguna beach.   Many of her suggestions involved shopping and higher income type activities.  We were enjoying the day.  There were many unique little tourist shops.   It didn't take Ruthie long to find a salt water taffy store.  At first her goal was to fill her bag with 2 of each flavor however she soon realized there were just to many and imposed some restriction on her purchases.  Even with her self imposed limits she still walked out with a pretty large sack and $19.00 in taffy.  After checking out the main street and beach we headed to "the top of the world."  A couple of miles winding up the residential streets away from the ocean gave us a panoramic view of the hills and shore line surrounding the village.   


I teased and said I thought I
could see Wisconsin. 

     Breathtaking, there were numerous hiking and biking trails crisscrossing the rugged hills I think you could spend a lifetime and not see them all.  Normally I wouldn't have used the word bike when I viewed the trails as I don't think I could have stayed in the center of one.  However we seen many riders up there with mountain bikes.  Scary!

     We spent some time on the pinnacle taking pictures in every direction, we never tire of looking at scenery.   By now we were looking to satisfy our appetite and on our list was Las Brisas, an upscale restaurant that Lynda had suggested as must see.  It was everything she had said, and with our habit of sharing meals the bill was not out of sight.   The view from our table was worth the stop.  How many times in your life do you get a chance to dine with the Ocean lapping at the coast outside your window? Certainly not to farm kids from Minnesota.

On the winding trail back to the parking lot we relaxed knowing we might not pass this way again.  While mounting our trike we responded to questions on our vehicle choice and the every present.  "you didn't ride that all the way from Minnesota, did you?"

     Our next stop was at a expensive shopping area called fashion Island where famous and financially endowed people visit.  What are we doing here?  Well it's on Lynda's list.  Entering Neiman Markus we started browsing, perhaps our motorcycle clothing gave us away and I think we were being observed a little more closely than their regular customers.  

We probably would have been okay if Ruthie had not spotted a cute little jacket with small mirrors attached to it.  Unfortunately she just couldn't contain herself when she read the price.  In case you can't read it, its a little over $3,400.00 over and over she kept repeating "that's just stupid" and with every "that's just stupid" her voice raised.  A few more "that's just stupid" and I think we had been isolated on the surveillance cameras.  We had gained some attention from a clerk and they seemed relieved when we moved on.   On the way  back to the trikes we seen a lady with several shopping bags headed for her car.  I was surprised she didn't have security with her. 

Even the mannequins seemed
happy to see us leave. 

.    With the day flying by we rode quickly to the ferry and crossed to Balboa Island.  We decided we had seen enough and rode across to the exit bridge and made our way back towards the ranch.  Not realizing how bad the evening commuter traffic would be going back across the mountain and the Ortega highway it was dark by the time we descended the other side.   A quick decision and we stayed at a modest motel.  The significance of the layover was the next morning we rose late to avoid the morning rush.  One of the game shows was on, (Ruthie would no which one) and a lady won a $2000 gift certificate to Neiman Marcus.  Of course to us this was hilarious except feeling sympathy for the so called winner, her "prize" wouldn't even by the little jacket we had seen.  What a joke. 

195 Scary ride!

While our recent guests returned to Apache Junction and Minnesota we spent a couple of afternoons working on our little caravan.  We understand that sometimes our friends shake their head at some of our little projects however most of the time we feel they turn out well.  Purchasing some 1/4 inch flat iron to modify our goodwill

office chair arm rests to fit the Valkyrie trike.  Ruthie and I cut the metal pieces and set them up in a jig as Sterling volunteered to preform the welding for us and also weld a receiver tube to the bottom of our little trailer that would serve as a hitch for our little carrier.  With everything we had brought with us on our trip and a few purchases to supplement our tiny home living we figured we would need all the room we could for our move to Arizona.   One of Wes's comments on our little pull behind trailer prompted us to do a paint upgrade.   A trip to home depot provided sand paper, body filler and red spray paint close enough match to our trike.

    Under "Bobbies" supervision Ruthie prepared the trailer and applied the paint.  We have been careful not to mention our exit date from the ranch in front of her however I think she knows.  She seems to be staying closer to us these days probably fearful that with our work on our trike and trailer we might be leaving in the dead of night.  I'm having trouble looking her in the eye lately and I find myself avoiding being alone with her to avoid prying questions.  With the exertion today I started to feel some more unwelcome discomfort in my left side it seems that somehow the surgery last summer had not reached the source of this nagging pain   I hope it doesn't lead to something serious. 
     A little bad news as we received a note from Michelle that we weren't going to be able to share her rental in Arizona.  Her friends were going to concentrate their efforts on selling the residence and wanted to have it empty.  With that in mind I put a horse training\work ad on Craigslist trying to find replacement lodging. 
     February 20th did not turn out well. It started as a fun get together with some of our Hemet friends for breakfast at Farmer boys restaurant. Afterwards it was a little overcast and I was ready to call it a day and go back to the ranch. Unfortunately Ruthie was ready for a ride. Trying to think of a route to ride and not knowing if the weather was going to clear I headed out Sage road past the ranch a few miles, a few miles down the road I cut east up a windy (okay is that a curvy road or is it breezy road? A message to my thesaurus friend Deanna schooled me that us "farm" folks had said a windy road when we should have said winding. Now you have it. ) okay fine, it was a winding road, actually a very winding road that I had explored a few days earlier while searching for a welder advertised at the bottom of the hill. Never did locate him, however asking directions from a huge man living off the grid with only a solar panel to charge his phone reminded me that one can survive with almost nothing if you have a mind to. Sometimes we don't realize how fortunate we are. We weaved back and forth up the hill admiring the view of the valley and Diamond lake in the distance. Reaching the peak we followed the ridge road in a Southwesterly direction. We were surprised at the number of residences tucked in among the huge boulders and rocky ground on this crazy mountain road.

Pretty happy with our "goodwill store"
custom arm rests. 


     Every once in a while there was a hint of sunshine and I thought I could make a enjoyable ride for my co-rider.  I remembered our friend Nick at the winery mentioning the view and winding road up to Palomar mountain.   With that in mind I put it into the digital map and headed out.   A short pleasant ride later we went around the edge of a lake and started up the East side, we were getting a little hungry and some fog was rolling in.  As we gained altitude the temperature started dropping and it started to mist.   The cold was getting uncomfortable, my hands were wet and I wished I had changed to heavier gloves.  At some point I should have realized that the journey was useless as we could not longer see far enough to enjoy any sights that may have been available to us on a clear day.  As we neared the summit it was no longer comfortable or enjoyable.  It was now to foggy to see the scenery and due to the fog and traffic we didn't feel safe pulling off the narrow mountain road to rest or change to more comfortable gear.  Near the peak we found a road that headed down the South side, the rain and fog coupled with traffic coming up the mountain made for a dangerous situation.  At times I found gravity was allowing us to pick up speed to fast and more than a few times the trike started to skid as we were forced to brake on a curve, some of

Master Painter?

the corners were inclined away from the rock wall to our right side and it caused the weight of the trike to shift to the outside and resulted in a loss of traction.  This was not going well at all.  Anxious to get down and warm I pushed the speed a little to much for conditions.  The hairpin curves seemed to come up fast, braking for the curves the inside tire started to slide.  Suddenly Ruthie shouted "rocks", I couldn't see them at first my face shield was wet and blurry.  The rain and rushing water had washed them down from the hillside to our right, I seen some dark spots on the roadway and swerved,  I missed most but hit one rather large one with the right tire, the right side of the trike lurched up in the air, almost immediately it settled back to earth on three wheels and I proceeded a little more cautiously down the mountain.  Ruthie said she was almost thrown off, was she being dramatic???   I don't think so.  We had been put in a bad situation, we had survived however neither of us wish to repeat it.  We found a place to rest, warm our chilled bodies and calm our nerves.  Note to self;  I need to be more aware when conditions change and not allow gravity and inertia to put us in dangerous situations.   At some point I should have listened to that nagging instinct when your subconscious tries to save you.  I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day.    

194 Tiny home guests

     Returning from a cruise out of Los Angeles Warren and Barb our neighbors from the prairie arrived before driving back to their winter home Apache Junction Arizona.  Brave souls they were about to share our 185 square foot tiny home.  
     Four people I think we were close to oxygen deprivation.   Truth to be told I think we could have got 4 more occupants in here.  Warren chose the train berth.  Barb chose the automatic queen bed lower, the upper berth remained empty.   Ruthie and I slept on the couch conversion.  We got this licked, "goodnight John boy".

Kind of like being at a camp with good friends we made the best of it.   In a desire to show them the best experience we tried to give our guests options as far as sightseeing and side trips based on our pre-ride.
     I don't know if we have discussed Ruthie and her obsession with the "copper kettle as seen on TV".  It is now a part of our cooking experience and friend Tom from the prairie delights in calling and although he doesn't talk to Ruthie he has me pass on information to her on the latest TV infomercial,  he loves teasing her. 
      A fun evening Ruthie made a delicious lemon chicken hot dish using her copper kettle the highlight of which was finding out where capers come from.   She did a remarkable job for the space. Later a card game ensued, we found out our good friend Warren is a complainer.  Every hand was worse than the previous. 

      The next morning I resisted temptation or more accurately Ruthie stopped me from grabbing Barbs exposed toes sticking out of the covers above us.  I still think it would have been a great way to start the day.  Our first stop found us at Mount Soledad just north of San Diego.  A huge cross and military recognition overlooking the ocean.  It was obvious from the time Warren spent looking at the military plaques that we had hit a home run with this stop.

   On the way home we took them on Deluz road so they could experience the wonderful mountain scenery. 
      We had a great time and enjoyed their short visit.  A note from Barb a few days later saying she was still trying to get the chicken manure out of her floor mats, my words , not hers, hers were a bit more country flavored .  I guess that's the drawback to sharing a yard with chickens.  

Wes with his new friend.  Hope this
doesn't get on their floor mats.

     Our next guests from the prairie were on a automobile road trip and weren't so anxious to put on a huge amount of miles sightseeing.  After visiting with Wes and Brenda we decided to do some of the scenic roads and of course Deluz road. 

Wes is known for not smiling,  I think we almost got one here.  

 A fun relaxed day we ended it with dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Hemet.   

No trouble getting these two to smile.



        Wes and Brenda headed to Arizona to see a few more friends before returning to Minnesota.  Wes was less than impressed with the high prices and traffic in California.  After an experience with freeway traffic he commented "and they call me crazy for ice fishing, no this is crazy."  

 ,  
 

193 the other half

     Its always hard to leave family however if plans go as expected we will be back in Arizona in a month and probably sharing this home with her.   Michelle shot a picture of us as we left this morning

    We only had one confirmed stop on our circle back to Hemet to visit our new prairie neighbor Karen in Arizona city.  She had purchased one of the trailers by the Pioneer club and we had gotten close in a short time.   We delayed our departure to allow the Phoenix workers to clear the free way.  A short 90 miles from Michelle's in Rio Verde to Arizona City put us there early afternoon.  Karen was busy at her part time job in the golf proshop.   What we assumed would be a casual evening of visiting and catching up was not on the agenda.  

Karen had reserved a table in the bar/grill/dancehall and we rested and enjoyed a beverage while she finished.  During  dinner at our table a small band set up on the stage.  A few of the older members at our table were unable to read the specials posted across the room.  Trying to be of assistance I took a picture and read it to the table.  Okay fine I couldn't read it either.  The music they played was enjoyable and easy to dance to.  No relaxing tonight, Ruthie was on a roll, old country, rock and roll they played it all.  From Coeur d' Arlene Idaho with a cowboy boot for tips this little troupe subsidized their winter travel by playing for the winter Arizonans.   They certainly had Ruthies approval and I have to admit I enjoyed them however perhaps a few tunes just sitting and listening wouldn't have hurt.  Although I tried my best to catch her she did fall on the dance floor once.  I think she said it was the floor or her shoes that caused her fall and that's the story she's sticking to.  We rested well in Karen's condo next to the golf course and the next morning thanking her for her wonderful hospitality we resumed our travel.
   A group of prehistoric replicas by a fuel stop at Gila Bend gave me an excuse to text Sterling  a picture that his comment during his dinner grace thanking God that the dinosaurs were gone was premature.
     Maybe we were anxious to get back to the ranch or perhaps the highway from Casa Grande to Yuma is boring.  What ever the reason Ruthie occupied her time taking some shots of the scenery and the long freight trains  that crossed the desert. 

    

     A motorcycle couple in Yuma had graciously accepted our request to spend the night.  John and Heidi are not ordinary motorcycle riders I will call them hard core riders riding the desert and Heidi is an Iron butt rider.  Iron butt riders cut their teeth on completing trips of 1000 miles or more in a 24 hour period.  Like long distance riders they get satisfaction of churning the miles away as they ride on their stripped down efficient steeds carrying extra fuel to avoid gas stops.  Pulling into a gas station and refueling while still in the saddle and roaring back onto the asphalt.  Pulling beverages and nutrition from their bike and eating while they ride.   The wheels have to keep turning or you are wasting time.  Rides to the 4 corners of the United States are quite common.    Ruthie and I once did 1160 miles in a 24 hour period once with 3 minutes to spare. 

     The next morning we were on the road early.  As we passed thru Yuma we were surprised that on many corners where a gas station once stood was now replaced by an ice and fresh water dispensing station.  We were told that the local water has a bitter alkaline taste and many choose to buy their water supply.
     Crossing into California highway 8 starts to climb and wind its way up the mountain and once we reached the peak it was downhill all the way to the center of San Diego, probably all the way to the ocean. 
        In motorcycling we call it a pre-ride, checking roads, detours, refreshment stops and sights.  The ride leader is responsible for their guests and we had visitors expected so we needed to check out some of the tour possibilities to make their trip enjoyable.   Today we checked out several possibilities before heading back to the ranch. 
   Carrillo monument overlooking the San Diego bay was impressive however due to having to bring our guests thru the heart of the city excluded it from our travel plans.  The road to the monument was lined on both sides by a military cemetery.  Thank all of them for their service and sacrifice. 

     Completing the second half of our 2014 mile circle we arrived back at the ranch later that evening.    It was February 2nd and our first guests would be arriving tomorrow.