Mike and Beth's Adventures

San Simeon: California's Alluring Central Coast The beach near San Simeon The next leg of our van odyssey took us to San Simeon and Hearst Castle.  Getting there was more difficult than normal as a landslide, in January 2023, closed Highway 1 between Big Sur and San Simeon forcing us to backtrack from Big Sur to Monterey and then Salinas, to access Highway 101 south to Paso Robles, then west to the coast, and north on Highway 1 to San Simeon State Park.  The slide, which interdicted the coast highway, turned an 80-mile drive into a 180 mile journey.  John Steinbeck Truck & Camper from his book "Travels with Charlie" The detour gave us the opportunity to visit the John Steinbeck Museum in Salinas California.  The Citizens of Salinas are rightfully proud of their native son.  He was a prolific writer who realistically portrayed the struggles, loneliness, social isolation and violence that accompanied the Great Depression.  During World War 2 he served a...

Beth and Mike are Nomads Again!        In the words of the immortal Willie Nelson, "On the road again Goin' places that I've never been Seein' things that I may never see again And I can't wait to get on the road again " Instead of our boat, Amy Marie, we are travelling the country in a Winnebago Travato Van named "Boomer".   Size wise, it really is very similar to our Ranger Tug R-27.   It sleeps two, has a refrigerator and freezer, a toilet and shower, a range and microwave, a TV, and a 10-Kilowatt Lithium Battery Pack that will provide power for 3 days while we are boondocking!   We love it! Boomer loaded with Bikes and ready for Adventure! Prior to starting our cross- country odyssey, we tuned up with 2 short shake down cruises to familiarize ourselves with the vans systems and their operation.   We were satisfied that it would be a good platform for terrestrial exploration, so we have initiated an open-ended drive to the east coast and ...

August was a short cruising month for Amy Marie.  She was treated to a spa treatment at CSR South Boat Yard in Des Moines while we attended family events.  Beth headed to San Diego and Santa Rosa California and I headed to Colorado.  We reunited with Amy Marie in mid-August.  During her "spa" visit she had damaged gel coat areas repaired, heat exchangers serviced and a full exterior buff and polish.  She looked quite jaunty and proud of herself when we returned! As we planned to attend the annual PNW Ranger Tug Rendezvous in Roche Harbor in early September, we started meandering that direction.  This gave us an opportunity to re-visit some favorite destinations as well as explore some new ports of call. Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island Our first stop was Eagle Harbor.  Why?  It has a great grocery store and it is fun to walk and explore.  Town and Country Market is very close to the public dock, so a good location to perform a major resupply....