Catching up again

On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
Willie Nelson 1980

It's about time I caught y'all up with where we've been and what we've been doing.

I'm not gonna bore you with a great deal of detail, maybe some links for the more interesting bits.

Thursday 3rd
We picked up H&S (hereafter known as 'The Smiffs) to start our trip south.
Visited Dorothy in Watts (already covered) then went to see the Queen Mary in Long Beach (more of that later).
Cruised down SR1 through Huntington Beach, Newport Beach
and Laguna Beach where we spotted the ultimate brass Fire Hydrant
and this charming seat outside the library,
before ending up in San Juan Capistrano for the night.
Fri 4th
Changed hotels in SJC to a great one by the sea after the Smiffs managed to strangle a ridiculously cheap price out of the manager.
Visited the mission in San Juan Capistrano which was lovely.

California has many beautiful missions along 'El Camino Real', the mission trail from San Diego in the south to Sonoma in the north. To find out more read here.
Sat 5th
Walked about 3 miles around Dana Point harbour and met an English lady who used to live about 8 miles from us in Sussex. Moved on to San Clemente and had a walk along the pier to watch the surfers
then stopped on the way back for dinner at 'Tommy's Family Restaurant' which is an authentic 50's diner full of memorabilia.
Great Liver & Onions!!

Sun 6th
Continued cruisin' down SR1 as far as Oceanside where the Smiffs blagged us another great hotel deal. So good we decided to stay for 3 nights.
Had a look around the town and surrounds before retiring for the night.
Mon 7th
Headed inland to a lovely old historic town called Temecula
where we wandered for a good part of the day. When we got back to Oceanside, Harvey & I had a walk along the pier to chat up a couple of old birds
whilst the girls watched a drunk getting 'Tasered' at the shore end (honest).
Played Zonk in our room that night and drunk one of Mike's bottles of 'elixir'
Tuesday 8th
We spent a pleasant day at the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park near Escondido which wasn't cheap but well worth the cost. Stopped off at Mimi's on the way home for dinner then headed back out to visit the local Barbershop chorus. Sketchy information on the Chorus Locator website led us 23 miles back to Escondido only to find that they had moved rehearsal venue and nobody knew where to!! I made a half hearted attempt to re-arrange the front end of the car on a road bollard but fortunately missed.
Weds 9th
Cruisin south again on Hwy 101 through some pretty towns. Stopped off in Carlsbad for the obligatory Starbucks and a wander. Val found a craft shop and we thought we'd lost her for the day.
Kept as close to the ocean as we could despite all 'Kate's' efforts to route us via I5. She never gives up but I've now found a dastardly way to get her to avoid the Interstates so perhaps she won't get so frustrated with me in future.
Arrived in San Diego and booked into the same motel that we were in last year. Bit of a comedown from our last 2 hotels but 'cheap as chips'.
Supper just round the corner and another game of Zonk accompanied by the last of Mikes elixir. (more supplies needed Mike, send a tanker).
Thurs. 10th
Spent the morning on San Diego waterfront visiting the USS Midway for a photo shoot (see 'reviving old memories) and Seaport Village.
Went up to Alpine after lunch and ended up at the Outlet center at Viejas which is very nicely laid out in a Mexican/Indian style but has virtually no shoppers. Then we visited the Casino where Sheila & Val gambled away all our money. Had supper in the Buffet (all you can eat for $14. Not as good as the buffet in the Stardust in Las Vegas).
Fri 11th
Drove to La Jolla for a walk around the town and beachfront then moved down the coast to Mission Village where we visited the Crystal Pier hotel. Walked along the pier to take some pictures and by the time we got to the end a sea mist had come in to blanket everything.

The hotel is very unique but too pricey for us to try out. The rooms are actually luxury beach huts along the pier.
You sleep over the ocean. Cool
Sat 12th
Took the trolley down to the train depot in San Diego then caught the Amtrak Surfliner to San Juan Capistrano. It was a lovely trip and gave me the day off from driving and also a different perspective of the route. After 3 hours in SJC we came back again, only to find that the sea-mist had caught up with us so we saw virtually nothing all the way home.
Had Fish'n'chips at Anthony's on the waterfront and it was far nicer than I recall from last year.
Back to the hotel where I've just finished catching up with the blog
Whew.