Day 6 - Peter, Lancaster and Escondido

This is a two for one day be sure to read ==> Day 5 -Following James Dean


The day started at 5:00am ~ way too early



Sharyn, Isaac and I drove to CSP Lancaster to wait in line to visit Peter as the sun was trying to decide wether it would pop up or not.



At 5:30 in the morning there is already a long line of vehicles waiting to surge toward the gate at 7:30 when the visitors are assigned numberfs and let in to visit their relative (sons, nephews, husbands and even grandsons, uncles, fathers) and some as lovers and close friends.


As the sun rose the blue of the sky looked promising reflecting in the "moat."



Of course we are not allowed to have cameras on the grounds and fater returning to the Musemobile I took this picture of the water tower next food and the hospital.


As we wound our way through Lancaster and then Palmdale I got a shot of this bright yellow hot rod with red flames.


We arrived in Escondido and immediately set up the RV complete with glowing snowmen.


We then took off for dinner with family at .............. Rubios Fresh Mexican Grill ~ the grill formerly known as Rubios Fish Tacos....


Jill & George were there already with Steven & Martha and the grandchildren, David, CJ (Chris), Samantha, JD (Dylan ~my name for him because I like Bob Dylan) and ........


The surprise of the evening Kevin - yup Kevin is a west coast boy now so I better teach him to say "dude"


Chris is now talking up a storm and is so sweet and loving and just loves hugs........


JD enjoyed a cuddle with grandma


Samantha is already showing signs of being an independant woman probebly a lawer or doctor..


Then there is Mister heart-throb David so handsome and always helpful and kind..


It was a day of kindness to our souls to see Peter and hear him laugh with Isaac over a conversation about nachos and seeing Kevin back home finally, seeing JD for the first time in person and seeing more than one son at the same time. I've heard alot about what to do when life gives you lemons but what do you do when life gives you lollipops...........


Scrable Score The Queen 306 - The opposition 279

Quote of the

Day "There's nothing worse than being an aging young person." ~ Richard Pryor quotes (American Actor and Comedian, b.1940 - d. December 10, 2005)

Along with his Grammys and Emmy, his script for the comedy satire "Blazing Saddles" written along with Mel Brooks, won the American Writers Guild Award and the American Academy of Humor Award in 1974.

Day 5 Following James Dean

Highway 46 at the junction of Highway 41 in California September 30, 1955 the date and place James Dean Died. We drove along this highway a little over 50 years after that terrible day when Donald Turnupseed, a Cal Poly student turned directly in front and into James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder.



This convenience store was the last place James Dean safely stopped befor his death a 24 miles west.






We can look back toward the Temblor mountains (named for their location on the San Andreas fault) and the James Dean Memorial Junction.


Just a few miles from the town of Cholame


James Dean is quoted as having said

"You must bridge that gap between life and death
and to go on living even after you are dead."

In many ways he has bridged that gap.

Closer to Interstate 5 we came upon this oilfield that looked like it went several miles north and south of highway 46 where gasoline was selling, as we noticed, for $2.46 per gallon 5 miles up the road.


We made it to Lancaster in good time and after setting up the RV I took some sunset pictures.




And even caught a motorcross race next door with a long range shot.


Some magnificent color displays.....


Before shutting down for the day.


Scrabble Score Scrabble Queen 284 the contender 302 (It was a miserable game neither of us enjoyed much)

Quote of the Day

"There is no way to be truly great in this world. We are all impaled on the crook of conditioning. A fish that is in the water has no choice that he is. Genius would have it that we swim in sand. We are fish and we drown." ~ James Dean quotes (American motion picture actor, symbol of rebellion, 1931-1955)

Steinbeck in Salinas, Soledad and San Miguel

Today and yesterday have been traveling in the the Great California Central Valley. The Central Valley is indeed centered on agriculture. Eight of California's 15 top producing agricultural counties are in the Central Valley, and of the top seven, only one (Monterey) is not encompassed in the area from San Joaquin to Kern. This area is not only the most productive in California, it is widely considered the most productive in the world. It's not just agriculture this area is rich in, it's also culture. So we did a cultural tour today Starting with the National Steinbeck Center.



The street outside the center is almost as colorful as the characters in a Steinbeck book.


Inside the displays were great this one was showing East of Eden with James Dean.


This area was patterned after Grapes of Wrath


The next exhibit was Canney Row. Scrabble Queen loved this quote....


And the Boiler Pipe room


Travels with Charley perhaps the inspiration for travels with a muse.

"Steinbeck decided to take their pet poodle, Charley, on the 10,000 mile journey. Travels With Charley can best be appreciated as an act of courage.

The journey began on September 23, 1960. Steinbeck joined Elaine and her relatives in Amarillo, Texas, in time for Thanksgiving 1960. They returned to New York in January 1961.

The manuscript of Charley was in progress by early February 1961, and was written in part in the West Indies on Barbados and completed in New York. It was published mid-summer 1961 and became one of the largest commercial successes of Steinbeck's career."

I loved the inside of Steinbeck's Musemobile



Soledad is south of Salinas and the Steinbeck Center - beautiful wine country.



The Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude). I love the rough doors different but as beautiful as the blue doors at San Juan Bautista.

"In its beautiful but lonely location many miles from any town this mission more than any other looks just as it did in early Spanish times. Entirely of adobe construction, Soledad Mission fell completely into ruin after its forced abandonment.

Recent rebuilding projects have recreated one side of the quadrangle, as well as the old chapel. Location of the church which washed away in a flood has been found, the tile floor intact. An interesting museum is housed in the rebuilt rooms."

I guess I've see a lot John Huston movies and enjoy the doorway shots.


The road that linked the missions, pueblos, and presidios in early California was called El Camino Real. While typically called "The King's Highway" the term "camino real" is more usually used to denote a crude road, almost a trail, used mostly by wagons. The El Camino Real is marked by symbols like the one here a mission bell supported by a staff in the shape of a Franciscan walking stick




The stubs of adobe walls still mark the exact locations of the remainder of the old quadrangle. Irrigation water and loving care are being used to turn the area into a beautiful garden (can't see it here in the background), as excavation work proceeds.


Next was Mission San Miguel Arcángel. This mission is undergoing a large amount of rebuilding.


Even this large crucifix rests in an overgrown and fenced off courtyard.


The entrance is still very picturesque and though rough I really enjoyed this view. We did not go in since we were ready to hit basecamp.



We did take one picture to go as we were leaving.


Scrabble Score Scrabble Queen 327 - the contender not accepting defeat gracefully 272

Quote of the Day ~

"Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals." ~ John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath (1939) won the Pulitzer Prize.

John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 “...for his realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception.”

San Juan Bautista and Monterey

We are staying at a nice RV Resort called Betabel. Not having taken a Spanish language class I asked the owner what the derivation of the word Betabel was. I was told simply "Sugar Beet" so I guess this area is known for sugar beets and Gilroy, up the road for garlic. This gives you some idea of the agricultural nature of central California.

We started our touring in the Musemobile at the mission of San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist). This is the place where the final scenes of Alfred Hitchbock's Vertigo was filmed with James Stewart and Kim Novac. The statue of John at the entrance of the church is wonderful.



Next to the church is a small cemetary on the hill overlooking the Camino Real and the San Andreas earthquake fault.




Also in front of the church is a verfy simple cross that is wonderful against the whit stucco of the church.



Across from the church is the restored stable with a some unique decorations.



Along the walkway at the church are simple doors and windows painted a beautiful shade of blue.



Inside the church is a quiet working church colorfully decorated and still very simple.



After several pictures we walked down the street to try some Basque food but unfortunately the restraunt was closed.



So we drove to Monterey, home of the famous Aquarium, the Cannery Row area where John Steinbeck penned the famous Grapes of Wrath and the London Bridge Pub home of, among other things, great clam chowder.



The pub was very nice and planned to be quaint and outrageous. The barkeep was a jovial guy that made everyone feel welcome.



Even Albert Einstein was welcomed........



On the wharf next to the Pub as a place called Loulou's. I'm not sure what it was but I liked the picture.



WSe drove out past the Monterey Bay Aquarium (no time to visit) to a park on the bay where I took a few shots.



I liked the butterfly sculpture and it reminded me that Pacific Grove the town next to Monterey was where the Monarch butterflies gather every year for the butterfly dance before flying to Mexico for the mating season.



The water of the Bay is a beautiful blue and the shore is surrounded by rocks to add contrast.



Of course the rocks are the resting place of many shorebirds.



Finally it was getting late so we headed back to Betabel for scrabble and some sleep.



Scrabble score Scrabble Queen 327 the contender 341 (I'm on a roll)

Quote of the Day "Why is the Cannery Row next to the Aquarium?" ~ Paul Viel - little known author and poet