Summer Trip 2017: August 2017

Day 37: Big Sur to San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara to Brentwood to Home, August 5, 2017

It was very foggy this morning and our tent was wet. We packed up our site and Leia watched the squirrel show for the last time. We had a family of 9 and it looked like 3 were pregnant. Leia was very nice and didn't attack them at all, even when we left her alone. There were so many squirrels the ground looked like it was moving. We drove back on the windy road through the mountains, along the creek and then through the Army base and stopped at Mission San Antonio de Padua. We walked all around the mission. There were 2 cats and not many people because it is so far from everything. It was very peaceful and the flowers were beautiful. We drove to San Luis Obispo and had acai bowls and an empanada and walked around town. They food was excellent and it is a cute little town with lots of places to eat outside! We drove through the hills to Los Prietos, the campground near Santa Barbara we didn't stay in, and found the treasure my friend Ella and her family hid for us last week when they were camping. It took us awhile to find it, it was well hidden! It was a very sweet note that came inside a sponge!! We drove south on the 101 and the 405 and stopped in Brentwood near LA and had dinner at the salad bar at Whole Foods with Yogurtland for dessert. They even have dairy free choices now- the world is changing!! We stopped here to avoid the 2 traffic jams and it worked, there was no traffic on the way home!! I miss traveling already, it was an amazing summer!!

Our last morning with the squirrel family!

Visiting the Mission San Antonio de Padua.

The fascinating bee hive oven.

The church facade. This mission is very well preserved.

A white praying mantis at the Acai place, Ubatuba, in San Luis Obispo.

This is at the Vegetable Butcher!! We will try this next time!

Our clues in Los Prietos TO THE PIRATE TREASURE:

1) It's called the Loo some places in the world. Find it.

2) Now step just off the concrete surrounding the loo and, with your right arm facing the door to the loo, walk to the second tree down the hill.

3) In 3-4 leaps maximum, hop or jump to the mossy rock near you.

4) A ring surrounds this majestic thing. It rhymes with flee and plea and free and pee... its a ________. Go there.

5) if you are strong enough you can find this hidden treasure, under a (rhymes with flock), paired together.

**** Hope you find it!

Xoxo Shaina Ella and Liam

Reading the sweet note from friends!!

We finally found the treasure!! What a way to end the trip!! I'm not ready to go home.

Day 36: Big Sur, CA, August 4, 2017

We woke up and headed to the beach. We saw otters, dolphins and seals! We said goodbye to our nice neighbors in the RV. They were off to drive the crazy Nacimiento-Fergusson Road back home. Luckily, it was a very sunny day so the water was very nice to swim in. Sometimes I swam in the ocean and then I would swim in the creek to rinse off. There were so many people on the beach today! We had a nice day swimming, relaxing and reading on the beach. Leia wandered all over the beach and met almost everybody there. I think she was looking for our neighbors since they had given her chicken and rib eye the day before. We had leftover salad from last night's dinner for lunch. We fed the squirrels and Leia watched her nature show. She was mesmerized by these little forest creatures. We met a really nice family from Pasadena who brought their puppy who was 16 weeks and just adorable!! We made coconut curry and rice for dinner, made a huge fire and went to bed under the bridge listening to the creek and the ocean.

A very sunny day at the beach!

Leia resting while the fisherman bring in their boat. They caught their limit. Lots of bright orange fish in their buckets.

Absolutely perfect day at the beach!

Cooling off in the creek!

The creek led right into the ocean. This was the spot we entered behind our tent!

We relocated, now we are even closer to the waves!!

Just a beautiful spot, we couldn't leave!

A ladybug in flight!

Back and forth from the ocean to the creek!

Leia was in dog heaven.

These squirrels had no fear and Leia learned a new trick, patience!!

The fog came in and stayed all night. The tent was wet when we woke up!

Day 35: Big Sur, August 3, 2017

We decided to hike through the Redwoods with our neighbors in the morning. We loved hiking with our neighbors, they were so nice and told great stories. We saw the pretty waterfalls and the lime kilns. These were only operational for three years because they ran out of wood. We hiked back along the creek and moved sites so we could stay two more nights. We decided not to go to Santa Barbara because it was hot and smoky because of the recent fires. We made a nice pasta lunch. We are almost out of food! We moved sites and then read in the tent because it started raining. We explored the beach and relaxed. We drove north to Lucia to get more food and cash to pay for our site. We bought food, but the ATM was out of cash. We heard great stories about what life has been like since the rains and the roads being closed. We drove south to Gorda and got the last $20 from their ATM. Luckily, the money man is coming tonight! We bought more groceries and headed back to camp. We fed the squirrels some of Leia's food and they all came out to visit. It was a nice relaxing day!! We were invited to dinner with our neighbors who had lots of good food and made a great meal. We had a huge salad, corn, potatoes, beans and grilled chicken. I had ice cream for dessert! They had an RV with a fridge and a plug to charge the Surface!! We laughed a lot tonight and shared our adventures!

Hiking the Limekiln Trail.

So many spots to cool off!

We found the kilns!

These were only operational for 3 years, they ran out of wood.

Love this hike!!

We made it to the top with our neighbors!!

At the top!

If you feed them, they will come!

Pasta and Veggie lunch today, we need more food!!

We headed out to find cash. There was lots of construction on CA 1. It was closed 22 miles to the north and 9 miles to the south of Limekiln.

Day 34: Big Sur, CA, August 2, 2017

We had pancakes and peaches for breakfast. We loved it!! We saw lots of squirrels especially with the peanut butter jar being open. We wandered all around the beach and I swam in the creek, but not the ocean. It is very cold and breezy today. Leia and I climbed all over the rocks and explored. It got very windy and dust blew everywhere so we went in the car to eat our lunch. We had a little rain so we went inside the tent to read. Mommy finished The Secret Life of Bees and I finished Wildwood. After the wind and rain stopped Leia introduced us to our neighbors Julie and Manya. They were super nice even though we thought they would be annoying since they were in a big RV. We ate our dinner and watched the sunset by the fire before we went next door to enjoy another fire, chocolate and wine! It turned out to be a great day!

Cruising the rocks on the beach- so much Jade!

Breakfast with an ocean view!

Pancakes and Peaches!!

Love this spot! Ocean in front and the creek on the left!

Leia climbing the rocks near the sea! She's hunting squirrels!

Our campsite friends!!

They wore her out!!

The hills in the background behind the creek.

Watching the sunset over the ocean by the fire!

Day 33: Oakland to Big Sur, CA, August 1, 2017

We visited with baby Ollin in the morning, he was so happy and smiling and laughing. We had great oatmeal and scrambled eggs at Carey's. Mommy held Ollin for hours while he slept, he even smiles in his sleep. We even got to see Aunt Anne because she was just arriving from vising L.A. We stayed and chatted for a couple more hours and headed out to beat the traffic. We drove south to Gilroy and had dunch, which is lunch and dinner combined. We had delicious garlic fries, pasta and a tomato salad in the Old City Hall that is now a restaurant. I went to the bathroom in the old jail. We drove to our campsite in Big Sur and went down a very long and windy road to get to the campsite since the road along the coast was closed due to the landslide in the heavy winter rains. We saw an amazing sunset as we were driving along the road. We got to our campsite and set up in the dark. We are getting really good at setting up! We are right on the ocean and fell asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach.