Big Creek Sawmill Tour, Davenport, CA.

Debbie had worked for lumber companies for most of her career, 13 years at Handy City and nearly 24 years at Tibbett's Lumber.  Debbie also had a short stints with William's Brothers and Double Branch Lumber before retiring.  Although she learned just about every phase of the lumber business, she never had the opportunity to see a sawmill in action.  Well, I found a sawmill in Davenport, California that would give us a tour.  This event really made her day. (you can tell by the look on her face in the first photo)  We had a tour at Big Creek Lumber, with Kristin Lovett.  Big Creek only works with coastal redwood.

Smiling Debbie at Big Creek Lumber

Debbie and Kristin

Bringing in the redwood logs

The redwood heads to the giant band saw

Cutting out the bad spots and cutting the rest to size

Sorting lumber and directing the wood outside

Sorting lumber by size and grade

More sorting

Moving the sorted lumber

The big blades get sharpened and changed every 4-5 hours

Debbie-Manny-Kristen (Manny gave Debbie a dvd about sharpening blades)

Big Creek Lumber overlooks the Pacific Ocean, what a view!

                                                                              

Carmel-By-the-Sea

We went to Carmel to visit the Carmel Mission and the burial site of Father Juniper Sierra.  After visiting the mission we stopped for some pizza and did some shopping in ritzy Carmel-By-The-Sea and then down to the oceanfront for a walk on the beach.

Debbie and me near the mission entrance

The outside courtyard

Debbie relaxing after the tour

The sanctuary

The Alter

Father Sierra's room

A painting of Father Sierra

The beach at Carmel-By-The-Bay

Relaxing by the beach

                                                                                

Pismo Beach-San Luis Obispo-Arroyo Grande

Today we went for a ride to see Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and the area around San Luis Obispo.  The mission was great, the sanctuary and grounds were beautiful.  Afterwards we drove down to Pismo Beach on our way to the swinging bridge in Arroyo Grande.  We had a nice lunch at the Olive Garden and headed home.  We leave Morro Bay in the morning heading to San Juan Bautista.  There we will visit the central coast cities of Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Santa Cruz, and take a sawmill tour in Davenport.

                                                                                 

Elephant Seals

On the north coast near Cambria, California is an area where Elephant Seals have made their home.  We saw thousands of them today.  Most were napping after filling their bellies with the numerous fish in the Pacific nearby.

                                                                             

Morro Bay and Hearst Castle, California

We are in Morro Bay for 5 days, right on the bay near the giant Morro Rock.  We arrived in the rain yesterday and only did a little grocery shopping in town.  Today we ventured to Publisher/ Millionaire William Randolph Hearst's Castle.  He inherited nearly a million acres from his father and the property they use to camp on is where he decided to build his home.  Hearst was 51 in 1919 when he started building that took 23 years to complete.  At the time he owned thirty newspapers, numerous radio stations, and owned the rights to numerous cartoons including Felix the Cat, Popeye, and many more.  At this time, gasoline was selling for 10 cents a gallon, and Hearst was making $50,000 a day.  Yes, 50,000 a day, so there was no budget.  He purchased art, statues, buildings, and parts of monasteries, old churches, and collectibles from throughout Europe.  The state of California now operates the Hearst Castle as a state park.  Our admission today for two tours, The Grand Rooms tour and the Upstairs tour was $100.00. We enjoyed every minute.

Morro Rock on the Pacific coast

Hearst Castle

The Dining Room

The Library has over 40,000 books

A Sitting Room

Mr. Hearst's Office entry, his desk is behind his portrait

Mr. Hearst's bedroom

Mrs. Hearst's bedroom

The outdoor pool

The indoor pool

A 500 year old Tapestry

Flags over the dining table represent different areas of Milan, Italy

One of hundreds of imported statues

Beautiful Gardens

Debbie with her back to the view of the Pacific

                                                                              

Santa Barbara, California

Today was a day trip to beautiful Santa Barbara.  This is a very upscale community on the Pacific Ocean.  We spent the morning at the Santa Barbara Mission.  This is one of the largest and most beautiful missions built by the Spanish priest Father Juniper Sierra, on his way north.  The buildings, gardens and the sanctuary are just gorgeous.

  

                                                                               
In the afternoon we went to the Santa Barbara pier, where not much was going on, then on to the Young American's Foundation sponsored Reagan Ranch Center.  There are displays on the timeline from Ronald Reagan's announcement to run for President through his retirement and death.  The main thrust of the center is to show the time Reagan spent on the ranch, his retirement and the beauty of the property.  There is also info about all the dignitaries that visited there.  Some of his farm tools, a jeep given to him as a birthday present from Nancy Reagan in 1983 is there as well as paintings of the president, his horses and the ranch are on display.  The ranch is not accessible to most people, it's main use is outings, fund raising and business meetings.

                                                                               

                                                                         

Solvang, California

We are in Buellton, California while we see some of the central coast.  Today we were a few miles away in Solvang, which is all Danish.  The architecture of the buildings and houses, and of course the many windmills are all Danish design.  We ate danish and coffee for breakfast and sausages with sauerkraut, red cabbage and potatoes for lunch. We did a lot of shopping, but didn't buy much.
We saw the statue of the Little mermaid, which is the centerpiece in every Danish town.  From here we will visit Santa Barbara before heading farther north. We are staying at the Flying Flags RV Resort, on Avenue of the Flags, in Buellton and there are American flags lining the street.

Solvang in the evening

Debbie Shopping

Danish Architecture throughout

Debbie and the Little Mermaid

                                                                               

Our campsite at Flying Flags

Debbie relaxing in the spa after a hard day walking and shopping in Solvang

                                                                              

Robinson Helicopter & Paramount Ranch

Yesterday we took a tour of Robinson Helicopter in Torrance, California and then visited the famous Santa Monica Pier.  The tour at Robinson was very informative, it showed how they produce most every product in-house.  They purchase engines from two U.S. manufacturers,  Rolls Royce and Lycoming.  Yes, Rolls Royce builds them here in America. They make 2 and 4 seat models.  Photos could only be taken at the end of the tour, none inside the factory.

Santa Monica pier was loaded with tourists and vendors selling all the beach souverniers, 7 restaurants selling over-priced food and beggars galore.  The beach was also full, but nobody was swimming, just too cold.  I guess that the water temperature is in the 50's.

Today we went to the Paramount ranch, once owned by Paramount Studios, was the scene of hundreds of movies, mostly westerns, although I did see a photo of one set that was of a German town.  Today, all that is left is most of the western town.  The hotel is a large building, because inside is the sound stage with padded walls to keep out sounds from outside.  It was a nice walk and when I look at 1950's westerns, I'll look for these buildings.

                                                                            

                                                                              

                                                                             

Malibu Beach

Today was beach day.  We drove south to Malibu on a winding road that took us through several canyons filled with luxury homes dotting the hilltops.  We visited Malibu Beach, did some shopping, and drove past Pepperdine University on our way up the coast to Oxnard.  At Oxnard we visited the beach, but it was too cold to swim.  We did visit the original Woolworth store and a small museum they have inside.  The food counter is still there and in operation, but no more 5 cent coffee.

                                                                                    

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, CA.

We are in Simi Valley, California, our first stop on our second season as full time RVers.  Today we went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.  It is situated on a hilltop overlooking Simi Valley, one of the most picturesque sights that we've ever seen. The library was great, full of memorabilia, movies, and informative displays.  We got to hear some of those great speeches from the Reagan era, which reminded us how great a president he was. It reminded us also of why he was known as "The Great Communicator."  Reagan's grave is here, as well as the retired Air Force One, a Marine One helicopter and beautiful gardens and a picnic area. The library and grounds are gorgeous and the details inside are perfect.  If you come to California, this is a place to see.