Mike

[Guest guest]

I am so happy you guys had so much fun

Mike!!! I enjoyed your post! I like to travel vicariously.

From: minniemyno@...

Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004

8:46 AM

To: LUPIES

Subject: Re: Mike

Ok, Brat, you asked for it...Here is our

itinerary: Day One - Drove down HWY 101 through San Francisco, San

, etc. to Hill where we got a hotel and spent the night so my Randy

(16)

could have a short visit with his girlfriend. Her family lives in Hill. I got

to meet her mother,

and really like her a lot.

Day Two - Got up early, drove the rest of the way down 101 to Paso Robles, then

headed west to

the coast. Met our friends at San Simeon about 10:30 a.m. We had to

hang around outside the

park until check out time (Noon) to find out which campsite we could get, but

had a nice visit while

we waited. Checked in at Noon, got the site we wanted, and set up camp.

With my boys' help, and

her kids' help, we got set up in about an hour, and the rest of them headed off

to the beach to

explore. I was still putting my bed together in my tent when they left.

Since the sun was strong and

high, I avoided going to the beach until later.

I took another fall, while they were gone, but did not get hurt. At

least, no one was there to witness

my injured dignity. LOL I was walking to the door of the

tent, still inside it, then bending down to

unzip the door, when down I went on my hands and knees. The ground under

that part of the tent

floor slanted downward unexpectedly, and I couldn't save myself once I over

balanced. I just crawled

slowly and painfully (my knees are really bad) to a spot between my bed and the

camp chair and

hauled myself up. I'm getting good at using that camp chair for other

reasons than sitting.

The people who came into the site next to us were a Jewish youth group who were

travelling for

the summer. The counselors were college students who were teaching

cooperative teamwork, coping

strategies, and independent living skills to troubled kids. The

counselors were musicians, singers, and

the whole group sang lots of Hebrew and Yiddish songs while they worked.

They came over and

introduced themselves to us at campfire time, and we all sang together for a

while. Great fun.

We let the kids build the camp fire, roast hotdogs, and make S'mores so they

got all that jazz out of

their systems the first day in camp. I sure slept hard that

night. (I have to keep a large plastic jug

in my tent so I can pee in privacy at night. With these damned diuretics

for the CHF, there's no way

I'd be able to walk the 100 ft. to the bathroom in time. During the 48

hour period that the booster

diuretic is working I can fill a half-gallon jug overnight.) I only got

up once to use my little jug.

Day Three- Went exploring along the coast to Cambria, Cayucos, and Morro Bay.

Also, did the

grocery shopping for ice and perishables that I couldn't do before leaving

home. My friend, ,

had told me not to bring any cooking gear, etc. as she had everything, and I

had the longer drive to

get there. So, I didn't bring my camp coffee pot. I usually get up

before everyone else, build a fire,

heat water in the camp pot and make coffee for myself. Well, no coffee

pot for the campfire. She

brought a good one to use on her camp stove, and all of her pots and pans were

for that cooking

arrangement, and she had the stove inside her tent trailer where she and her

girls were sleeping.

I couldn't get in to get anything without waking everyone, so the first day I

suffered without my

coffee. Then while exploring the area, I hit every hardware, grocery,

second hand shop, etc. looking

for an old coffee pot that wouldn't be hurt by getting fire blackened. No

luck, and then

dug

out an old camp pot from her trailer that she'd forgotten was in there. I

was in business!

My friend, , is the former foster mother to my youngest son, Reesey.

She had him from the

birth hospital until I adopted him at age two. She currently has one

adopted son age 14, and three

foster siblings ages 12, 13, and 15. The eldest is the only girl so she

brought a friend, a very mature

12 year old girl. The three siblings have two half sisters (Are you

keeping all this straight?), one of

whom came to camp with her hubby, and the hubby took the middle sibling deep

sea fishing on Sunday. The kid is 13, got the biggest fish so he won the

jackpot pool. He and his BIL caught 21

cod between them, and had them all filleted. I spent over an hour frying

it all for the crowd that

night. Boy, was it good, though. We had a little left over and made

sandwiches with it next day.

That kid was so proud he almost exploded. Went around telling everyone in

the park about his day

out on the ocean, showing off his pictures, and bragging about his prize money

and how he had

taken the BIL out to dinner to thank him. We ate fish until WE almost

exploded. LOL

Day Four- The kids had been eating and leaving their messes, not picking up the

trash that fell on

the ground, leaving tents open and unattended, etc. since Day One, and after

nagging them to do

their part, getting surly replies or outright " noes " from them,

and I declared a strike, and left

them to fend for themselves for the day. We left and went our separate

ways to do whatever struck

our fancies. The kids were responsible for getting their own meals,

cleaning up the campsite, and

looking after each other for the day. You should have seen the shocked

looks on their faces when

we drove off. It was priceless. told them all that if things were not

in good order when we

returned that night, they would be without access to the camp food containers,

and have to go out

and fish and pick berries for their meals the next day. I told them I had

no problem going on strike

for the entire week.

I took off and spent the day exploring the beaches and bays nearby, took some

pics, read a book, and

just generally enjoyed my own company. I went to a fruit stand and got

blueberries, some cheese

and crackers (unsalted, of course), prawns, and a salad, and that was my day's

meals. I had taken

the littlest ice chest, because I needed to get more ice, anyway to take back

to camp. I sure did

have a nice day. The weather was great, foggy and cool in the evenings

and mornings, but sunny

and mild during the day. I did have to watch myself in the sun, and with

the thin layers of overcast,

but it was worth all the sunscreen, etc. You have to dress like an onion,

with layers you can take off

and put on all day on the coast. The weather is so changeable, and so

quick about it, too.

Day Five - We took both vans, and all the kids and drove into Morro Bay

so the kids could spend their

souvenir money. Of course, my Randy tried to renegotiate his amount

upward to cover the cost of

a fancy cap he spotted. It took an hour to convince him that I wasn't

coughing up any more money.

No surprise why we call him the Arab Negotiator, Mr. Yeah-but-can-I?

Pronounced Yabbit Kinai.

Reesey was his usual loud self. He kept the other tourists entertained

with his silliness. Lived up to

his nickname, My Son, The Mouth. LOL The boys finally compromised

on things they could afford.

However, we had a problem in a candy store later in the afternoon. All of

the kids had gotten these

gigantic jawbreakers at one store earlier in the day, and Reesey had his in

it's bag when we entered

this other candy store. He looked around, then picked out some candy to

purchase, and I chose

some for the other adults in the group that day. When we got to the

register, the clerk accused

Reesey of putting his old jawbreaker in the bin and taking a new one. She

wanted to charge him for

it, and for the " contaminated " candy in that bin. When I told

her that he still had his original candy

ball in it's bag from the other store, she told me off publicly, saying she had

her eye on him from the

minute he walked in. So, I looked Reesey dead in the eye, asked him out

loud if he had even taken

his jawbreaker out of it's bag, and he looked me right back and said, " No,

Mama. I did bend down and

look at the others in the bin, but I didn't put my used one in there.

Yuck. " Then, I took his old bag

from the other store, opened it, and dumped the used jawbreaker out on the

woman's counter. You

could see where it had been licked most of the day, it was flat on one side,

etc. I told her to keep

the other candy, we would shop elsewhere, and the rest of the customers

applauded and followed

us out. You see, she had profiled Reesey because he's black, not because

she saw him do anything

wrong. It was so obvious, especially when she saw that I am white, and

not going to take any guff

from the likes of her. She lost twenty or more customers with that one

action. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

We took the kids for fish and chips, and then headed back to camp. They

had made friends with lots

of other kids in the park, and were anxious to get back and party at those

campsites. Was kind of

nice for and me, as we could enjoy the fire, talk in private, and just

relax a little bit.

An added bonus, 's sister owns a summer

home in Cambria (about two miles from camp)

and

she and another sister came out from Bakersfield

to visit. Had a great time talking and laughing

and comparing aches and pains.

Day Six -

had to do the two hour drive home to Wasco to register her daughter for high

school. They wouldn't let her do it early, had to do it on that day.

So, she took Reesey with her so

he could see his foster dad, and they were gone until late that evening.

I took the rest of the gang

into Cambria to explore the old part of town,

took them to lunch, and then back to camp. We had a

good time, just me and the four other boys. They kept the waiters

entertained where we went for

lunch, a place called Mustache Pete's. Great Italian food. I found

a hat that screens more UV rays

than straw hats. It also can be crushed up in your suitcase and returns

to it's original shape.

and the other kids got back around 10 p.m., and we all fell into bed.

I got pretty tuckered out

each day, but sure did enjoy it anyway.

Day Seven - The sisters came back and joined us for breakfast, so cooked the whole

big deal,

eggs, bacon, hash browns, etc., and I indulged in some eggs, potatoes, and

unsalted side (instead

of bacon). I don't usually have more than cereal, or a poached egg on

toast, but I was hungry for

a real camp breakfast, so I compromised. Sure tasted good. We went

to the beach for the last

time, and then started packing things to make the next morning easier on

ourselves.

The traffic on 101 was so bad when we drove down, I was reluctant to go back

home that way, so

and I talked it over, and she suggested I spend a night or two at their

place in Wasco and then

go home on Interstate 5. That suited me, so after we packed up camp on

Saturday morning, we

headed back to Paso Robles, had breakfast there, and then went on to Wasco.

It had been in the 60's

at the coast, but was in the 100's in Wasco when we got back there. Good

thing her house is air

conditioned. I am not good in the heat.

Anyway, rested up for a day, cooked for everyone Sunday night (enchilada

casserole), and got up

at 4:30 a.m. Monday morning and took off for home. We got in about 11

a.m. after stopping for

a few groceries on the way in. We had breakfast in Santa Nella, about

two hours out of Bakersfield

on the interstate. Other than that, we only stopped once or twice for a

bathroom for me. Diuretic

was working overtime that day. LOL

I am paying for all my fun, now, though. Am in a minor flare, and very

tired and sore. It was worth

it, though. We really enjoyed the week. Are you sorry you asked,

now? Love you, MM

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