Cruising ~ The Cat's Meow Style ~ August & September
Cruisin'.....for New Beginnings
Time to get out of the Baja, time to get out of the intense heat and humidity. Yes.....the desert of Baja gets plenty humid in the summer months! Temperatures can be in the high 90s or low 100s and the humidity can match the temps! This is the time of the year when even Robin says "Enough!" and we head north, to the States.
This time we took the crooked, bumpy dirt road that cuts across the Baja peninsula, cutting away highway 1 on the west coast, heading to the east coast of Baja. Friends have told us that while it is a rougher road for the hour or to cross the peninsula, it cuts hours of time from getting to the border. They were right!! When wanting to end-up farther to the east than San Diego, this is definitely the road to take. Bumpy as it was, we also had great vistas of the Sea of Cortez when we were heading down the slope.
Heading down the bumpy road
After getting both of our driver's licenses renewed, in Nevada, we visited all sorts of good friends and family in California. Jaye & Irwin, of the boat Winsome, met us at the grand home of Doug & Kathy (Spirit Quest) where we had food, drink, fun, and relaxation. We also had some time with good friends Hans & Dianne in SoCal ~ we even got to stay on their nice big beautiful boat! A visit to California usually includes some time with long-time good buddies Vito & Diana in the Paso Robles area ~ another warm welcome for us, always.
Each of our good friends all around the globe have some special talent, and Diana is one of them. We would like to just show you a few of her wonderous works of wearable art. She does it all, and creates stunning pieces that are so very unique.
Earth
Woven collar
Although our good friends Cinny & Bill decided to take a journey to the ends of the earth, they allowed us to enjoy their very nice "cabin" in Bear Valley. We were looking forward to doing some hiking, taking long walks, enjoying the scenery and the high pines. Not to happen. We were there during the very devastating Rim fire that threatened the Yosemite park, not too far away. We did get to relax...a lot...and that was a good thing. Howsumever, we could not be outside much, due to the heavy smoke and ash.
While we were in the Bear Valley area, we spent some time exploring the nearby mining towns, such as Angel's Camp, Murphy's, and what is left of Cooperopolis. Another plus for us was getting to visit with ex-cruisers Ted & Billie, as they live in the little town of Murphy's.
One brighter day we did get out to visit the Calaveras Big Trees park , where one walks about in the forest, among the giant Sequoias. Wow. Impressive, to say the least. Go there if you can.
One of the old markers in the old graveyard at Copperopolis
These Sequoias are so majestic........... and BIG!
Now we were ready to head farther east, with New O'rleans as our destination. There is some visiting to do along the way, however....and some adventuring, too......
We found our friends, ex-cruisers Pat & Diane, in their big beautiful home somewhere out in the boonies near Kingman, Az. They have done quite a lot of work since we visited them a year ago. Very tranquilo....
Looking out the doorway at....... beauty
Robin used to work in Cottonwood, AZ. She has maintained many of the friendships she developed while there, and we usually visit some of those friends while Stateside. This visit was really fun, with get-togethers and dinners and dancing.......
Some of the Special Ed staff Robin used to work with
Some of the special friends she used to play with
While in Cottonwood, we also attended some fun cultural events, like the Verde River Art Show, where friend Kristen showed one of her very nice watercolors. Cottonwood is becoming known for wine ~ who knew?? ~ and events bring all sorts of crowds, like a whole buncha' bikers, for wine, food, and music in the Old Town area. Funnn!!
This is where it got real interesting for us. Ya know how sometimes the Universe has something special and unexpected waiting for you...... ? Well, we had a surprise when people we knew and people we did not know all started telling us about the "new" Cottonwood, and then we began to realize how much nicer the area has become within the last few years. We were encouraged to "just look around".....and so we did.....and the biggest surprise of all was that we fell in love with a piece of dirt!!! Yes. Us, the cruisers. We found a place to put down some roots, in the dirt. Lot 9, Kindra Heights, in Cottonwood. No one is more surprised than we are! There really isn't any hurry, no schedule of events, but we made an offer which was accepted on this lot with excellent views. Who knew??!! Well.......another adventure, another beginning........
Bikers and wine in Cottonwood. Huh.
Kristen's painting about the Verde River
Our new beginning.....a piece of dirt.
The rest of the month of September was filled with a lot of meetings ~ meetings with realtors, bankers, escrow people, and a contractor. A very busy time, but very invigorating, too.
Eventually, we did hop in the Subaru and head east......with N'Orleans on our minds.....
And THAT was waaaay funnn...... so come right on back and see how we did cruisin' in N'Orleans....
Cruising ~ The Cat's Meow Style!
