Ben and Megan Travel the World

Our First Visitor, Part 1

My sister-in-law Amy came to visit for about a week. She’d already had plans to meet Emma (my niece) in London, so she tacked on a trip to Portugal when she heard we’d settled on a place. Emma had been studying in Germany for a semester. Her visa had expired, so she couldn’t join Amy to Portugal unfortunately.

It was great to see Amy. She explored with us as we got to know more of our town. We walked around Buarcos the first day, checking out the old fort wall and having lunch at a cafe. At the heart of Buarcos along the beach, there’s a road that goes up a hill, separated from the beach road by the remains of the old fortress. The fortress was built in the 16th century, and mainly protected this coastal area from pirate attacks. It was severely damaged in the 17th century, and only a portion of it has been reconstructed and preserved. It lends some wonderful views of the area.

This is definitely not in the US – there are no barriers or handrails keeping people away from the edge of the wall.

We walked up the hill to the Castle of Redondos, also known as the Tower of Buarcos. There’s not much to see there, but it is one of the highest views of the ocean that’s accessible to the public – i.e. not someone’s balcony. This was a defensive tower in the Middle Ages, dating back to the 11th century. It’s location afforded an expansive view of the coast, protecting the area commerce coming into the River Mondego. The fortress we just saw replaced this tower as defense for the town. It was almost entirely demolished in 1854. What remains is just a corner of what had been the castle.

Our turning point back was a square that I consider the “border” between Buarcos and Figueira. It holds a weekend market and has a small park area. We came across this sculpture in the park. It looks like the artist used trash found in the ocean–tires, fishing line, rope, netting. The plants are a nice touch. I can’t find any information on the piece or the artist. I didn’t see a placard near it.

Our next day out we ventured north into the mountains for a waterfall and south across the river for a lighthouse. Ben and I had found a waterfall near us on the map, the Cascata de Quiaios, and Amy’s always up for waterfalls. We drove to it, it’s in the hills just north of us. We took a small, winding road there and parked off the main road to hike down to it. It wasn’t a bad hike, though as it’s downhill the whole way there, we knew we’d get our exercise in on the way back.

So…this must be a waterfall only in the rainy season cause it was bone dry! We have had rain, but I guess it’s not enough. I’ve read there’s an old mill here, I didn’t find it this trip. Maybe next time. The structure here looks like a face. I don’t know if it’s man-made or natural.

We headed south, across the bridge to Cabedelo Point. We ate lunch at a cafe overlooking the river and outlet into the ocean. We walked down the jetty to a small lighthouse at the end.

Transportation…check

We had limited means of transportation after returning the car, mainly our feet or Uber. Monday was a true rest day for us, we just walked to the closets grocery store to us, a 15 minute walk. Tuesday we met with a tutor to set up Portuguese lessons. We’ll have them twice a week until we return to the US in June. We had our first lesson Thursday. We learned a few basic phrases, pronunciation, and numbers.

The next order of business for us Tuesday was to find a car and/or bikes. We prefer to drive cars with an automatic transmission, and it’s challenging to find them here. Looking online, I’d only been able to find one, so that’s the dealership where we began. Pedro helped us, he speaks English well. He knew the car we asked about, a Peugeot 208 electric, but it isn’t in Figueira. The dealership is one of a network in the region, and he said it was in Coimbra, about 45 minutes away. So, we headed to Coimbra. But the dealership isn’t in the city limits of Coimbra, with easy access from the highway. It’s on the outskirts, so we took back roads all the way there. Both Ben and I were nauseous by the time we arrived.

We get out of Pedro’s car, and he goes into the office to get the keys to the car…only it’s not there. Whoever told him it was there on the phone was wrong. He showed us a similar car of the same model, and we found it was actually too small for us. The driver’s seat didn’t have enough leg room. As we’re leaving to drive back to Figueira, one of the salesmen there tells Pedro about another automatic car at the Citroen dealer across the street (same autogroup). It has good legroom, so we test drive it. We aren’t picky at this point, and it drove well, so we take it, a Citroen C3.

When buying a car in the US, this is the time where the salesperson takes you to their desk to start the paperwork, and you’re able to take the car that day. In Portugal, at least at this dealer, that is not the case. The car stays in Coimbra as we head back to Figueira. Pedro takes us to lunch on the way back. The errand we had in mind–go look at a car, meet a person to tell them what we are looking for in a car–has now turned into a 3.5 hour excursion. This is us because at least there’s an end in sight. Pedro loves to do these panoramas.

Ben and I were exhausted by the time we get back. We were going to look at bikes next, since it’s on the same side of town. We split up: Ben stays with Pedro to do the paperwork, and I walk to the bike shop to look at their bikes. We decided to try electric bikes, ones where the motor assists your pedaling but doesn’t move the bike by itself.

The sales lady was very nice, she speaks English very well. Unfortunately again for us, I found that the location here in Figueira is a show store. The main facility with all the bikes is across the river. So no getting bikes today either. She did have 2 in stock of the ones I wanted, so we ordered them to pick up Friday. Until then, we continue on foot and Uber.

Thursday comes, and we’re excited to finally have a means of transportation – a car. We meet Pedro at 5:30pm, expecting to just pick up the keys and the car. Nope – another trip to Coimbra! I couldn’t believe it, but it wasn’t surprising. Pedro had told us the car would be in Figueira for us to pick up. We had planned to get food and pick up a few more things we needed. So I was a little hungry on the drive. I did have a snack, but I was tired by the time we got to the dealership.

That’s Pedro in the background. We all felt like that after this ordeal. He wanted to show us how to do everything, but we just wanted to get going. We may have slightly insulted him by cutting him off, but I don’t care after 2 hours of travel time to get the car and zero gas in the tank. Yep – first stop, a gas station to turn off the fuel light. (Deep sigh).

Friday we pick up the bikes. This goes much smoother than with the car. Susanna has them ready for us when we arrive at the Figueira store. She gave us a discount on all the things we bought that day, so we picked up the helmets, a bag, and locks. She shows me how to operate the battery and the tire lock, and we’re soon on our way. I still haven’t taken a photo of the bikes, but I’ll add it when I finally do. We biked along the beach and stopped for dinner on the way back. Good end to the week. We pick up Amy tomorrow!

Finally remembered to get a shot of the bikes. We got Trek Verve electric bikes. They’ve been great, we use them quite a bit. I bike to the gym, and it’s a great warmup. The motor assist helps up the long, large hill on the way there. I’m a fan so far. The bag we bought holds a good amount of groceries. Ben’s bike is gray, mine is “aquatic blue.” Pretty much a teal green.

Shopping, Shopping, and more Shopping!

It felt like all we were doing the first few days was shopping. Well, being jet-lagged and shopping. We didn’t do much the first day we arrived, Thursday. We landed around 10:30 and arrived at the condo around 2pm. We quickly ran to the closest store to get food for dinner and breakfast. The rest of the day, napping, and enjoying the balcony. I’d brought everything we’d need for the first day from sheets to towels to basic kitchen items. I knew from past trips that we’d be exhausted from the overnight flight. Gone are the days I can sleep the whole way and be ready to go when we land.

Friday was the longest shopping day of my life. It started with getting sim cards and home internet. e-SIMs have made travel a lot easier. We’re able to purchase and download it at home, so it’s ready to use right after we land. No longer do we need to stand in line at an airport kiosk or find a store in town, nor do we have to remove our US SIM. Luckily, we could do e-sims for our Portuguese numbers as well. We got the bundle–TV, internet, home phone, and mobiles. Yes, we have a landline. I haven’t had one since Cauby Street in San Diego, when I was still in the Navy! But, international calling is free after 9pm, so that’s a plus. Just have to buy a phone.

After our visit to MEO, the service provider we chose, and eating lunch, we began the afternoon of marathon shopping. There is an Auchan (think small French Walmart) in the same mall as the MEO, so that’s where we started. We had to do 2 trips to the car with a full cart. It’s impressive what you have to buy when you start fresh, with only 8 bags of possessions. We need things like plates, silverware, cleaning stuff, a TV, things for my work setup, comforter, etc.

What we didn’t find at Auchan was a mattress topper–something we sorely (pun intended) needed to sleep that night. So, we headed to the local Leroy Merlin, hardware store. They showed one online, but we didn’t find it at the store. We did pick up a few tools to have handy in the condo. We tried the Continente next door, it’s similar to an Auchan but more focused on groceries and a few houseware items. There’s a Worten in the same building, and they happened to have the topper we needed! I didn’t think to get a photo after I fit it in that already packed car. But I managed it! Back to the condo to unload and unwind.

We spent the next day at the condo putting things away and then taking a walk along the beach. We did need to get a few more things–we had the car rental through Sunday to give us time to do a few errands. We ran into our realtor Vitor at a cafe. He was on his coffee break, so he sat with us a bit. We made plans to meet him and Gina to watch the Benfica match Sunday evening.

Vitor told us that the reason there is so much distance between the road and the water is that breakwaters have been built at the mouth of the Mondego River for shipping. Where we sat at the cafe had been where the beach and marinas once were. Those structures dried up sections along the coast of the city, creating what looks like a flat dunescape–i.e. without the dunes. The city has added boardwalks, seating areas, and sport courts. Mostly football (soccer), but I hear there are volleyball courts somewhere. Just have to find them…

Sunday was travel day to return the car back to Lisbon. We took the train back, and Vitor was nice enough to pick us up. We enjoy his company, and he and Ben are becoming friends. Vitor is a Benfica fan, but Ben chose Porto as his club of choice. So they developed a genial rivalry over this season. Gina is working to convince me to come to the Benfica side, but I may just have to be the dark horse and pick Sporting or the local team in Coimbra.

Above is the train station in Lisbon. We had one connection, taking a fairly empty train to Figueira. Interesting color scheme…

After the match and dinner, Vitor showed us around the city. He said he does it with all his out-of-town clients, but we didn’t have time when we met him in December. He’s been in Figueira for a while and knows the town well. They also took us north to the Praia Quiaios (kwai-osh). It was a beautiful drive. If you visit, we’ll take a trip over the mountain.

The photo below shows the city of Figueira da Foz. I’ll have to check out some sunrises here.

We came home to a spectacle along the beach road. Apparently someone hit a light pole. I have found that the Portuguese like to stop and watch anything out of the ordinary. A German Shepherd barking at another dog–we all stop to watch. A speeding car–heads turn in unison. Tall lady definitely not Portuguese running by you, this requires a second look. So you can imagine that this incident had gathered a crowd, even at this quiet end of town. Ben went down to get a better look; I was too tired.

The light pole stayed up until morning, when a crew cut it down. An interesting end to a long day. Monday will be a rest day.

Homeowners in a Foreign Country!

It’s official, we have closed on a condo in Figueira da Foz, so we now own property in Portugal. I didn’t want to jinx it before the official closing, and wow, has it been a LONG process! Since this is my journal blog, mainly for myself, I’m going to include some posts on our adventures living in another country.

So far–bureaucracy and red tape are thriving world-wide! We found this condo in December, 2023 and made the offer in January. We closed April 22nd. That’s the longest time we’ve ever had to secure financing and for the bank to close. It’s also been done remotely. We found a great realtor who has made the process much easier. At least…we hope so. We’ll find out for sure in May when we actually see the place we bought. …fingers crossed…

Jump to…May 9th. We’re here! Our realtor Vitor and his partner Gina (pronounced Jenna) met us to show us around. The condo is what we expected – enough room for us and nicely updated. I’m surprised with the amount of storage it has, many cabinets. The furniture the seller left us is very uncomfortable, so we’ll switch things out over time. We bought a “pocket spring” bed to put on top the mattresses after the first night’s sleep. Sleep is a generous word, more like turning when your side went numb from sleeping on a mattress made of wood.

The view is amazing! The top selling point for us is the proximity to the beach, but I could not have imagined how beautiful it is. Not from photos or a video tour. It reminds me of San Diego some – it is a dry climate (don’t know whether it stays that way) with loud, large rolling waves, and a warming, intense sun. It does rain much more often here though. I was reminded of Sunset Cliffs when I stepped out onto our balcony. It was my favorite place in SD. Now I can see the sunset every night and hear the waves all day! Heaven.

We have a second balcony that is longer and faces the east. It will be nice to sit in the shade when it’s hot. Another selling point was that we are surrounded by areas that will not be built upon. We have a nice square and monument that means we won’t have very close neighbors. They are building like crazy here as Portugal has its own housing shortage. There are several buildings going up down the street from us.

There were places for sale in the tiered building in the photo above. Our realtor knows the area well, and the contractors, so he was able to tell us that the home association has not maintained the building well. It’s a beautiful design, and I liked the architecture; it’s a shame to hear that it’s not been kept up.

Portugal

We visited Portugal for 2 weeks at the end of 2023. I’m lumping the trip into one or two posts since we’re seeing so many places. I’ll update a few times throughout the trip.

We flew into Lisbon and headed north. First stop, Braga, just north of Porto. It’s a city of much religious heritage, and we could see this in the number of churches we walked by. It’s a beautiful city. That’s a catholic church behind the city sign. It’s full name is Igreja do Hospital ou Igreja de São Marcos.

We saw many of these trees around the city. It reminds me of the whomping willow. My guess is many of these trees were so old, and the branches so heavy, they were cut to avoid damage to the roads or buildings. Shoots have grown out of the cuts.

These are remains of an old aqueduct. You can see the old city wall to the left as well. These are from Roman times. The Roman ruins were not open when we walked by, and we didn’t have time to see the many museums. Next time.

We lucked out that we were there for their tree lighting ceremony. It felt like the one in Williamsburg, so many turn out to see it. The lights were beautiful.

We headed to Porto after Braga. We drove along the coast since we had time between checkout and check-in. The first stop was in Apulia. The beach was beautiful. We had a bite at a cafe before walking along the beach to see some old windmills.

Porto is a much larger city than I thought it was. We stayed just north of city center, next to their metro system. We walked down by the river the first night and had dinner at an excellent restaurant. And when I say “down,” I mean…down! I have found online the steps we took are called the Escadas Guindais and that there were a total of 292 steps, at least by one bloggers count. I did not count. I did pass several VERY unhappy tourists going up.

The shot above was from an overlook spot by the Fernandine Wall. The tracks are for a streetcar that goes to the riverfront area. It was closed while we were there. The bridge is the Ponte Luis 1 (Luis 1 Bridge), designed by Gustave Eiffel and built in the 1880’s. Below is a view from the riverfront.

I imagine the riverwalk gets very busy during the warmer months. It was pretty busy while we were there. We had live street music during dinner that was very good, and we walked by a street fire performer. Ben and I have both been a bit disappointed that all the music we hear is American. Even all the Christmas music–all Mariah Carey or other singers in English – none in Portuguese.

The second day in Porto we walked across the bridge into Gaia. Many of the wine cellars are on this side of the river. Almost all of it is Port, the main wine export for Portugal. We did a tasting. The ports were good but too much alcohol to try various brands.

We walked down the hill in Gaia and took the skyway back up.

The photo below has a good view of the Fernandine Wall and the streetcar that goes to the riverfront. If you don’t want to walk up 292 steps. If it’s running while you’re there. =)

I got a little side-tracked on our trip, back to update the entry with the rest of our trip. From Porto we headed to Coimbra, a city between Porto and Lisbon on the Mondego River (the river’s name led to several Indigo Montoya and Big Bang references). The city has a large university, Universidade de Coimbra and several large gardens.

The first day we walked around the river, crossing the bridges into the park on the other bank. We were lucky to get a break from the rain long enough to check them out. The first view is looking to the other bank, Santa Clara I believe. The second is looking back to Coimbra.

The riverfront park had several sculptures. This one was a favorite of ours.

The next day we took to the hills, wandering around the University’s botanical garden and surrounding area.

Our next stop was Praia Barra, a beach town near Aveiro. We stayed a block from the beach. Barra is a small beach town on a narrow peninsula. I imagine it gets very busy in the summer. There’s a nice boardwalk along the beach that extends into Costa Nova, though it was covered with sand while we were there. I don’t think they keep it clear during the winter.

Costa Nova is a pretty beach town with a fishing village feel. It’s known for its colorful striped buildings.

Our last main stop was Figueira da Foz. We stayed in a nice house about 15 minutes outside the city area in a more rural area. Both Ben and I really liked the city. Barra is probably my favorite place we visited, since it’s a smaller beach town. But Figueira is a close second. It has more to do as it’s a larger city.

I like the sprawling natural area it has between the road and the beach. It’s almost half a mile wide at its widest area. There are several sports fields and courts and a trail through that area. Here’s the view from the closest road to the beach.

The Forte de Santa Catarina sits at the mouth of the Mondego River. It’s believed that there’s been a fortress here since the late 14th century. The current fort was built in the late 16th century. We didn’t come across a museum close to it, just walked around it one night.

Redding

I’ve had this post ready to go since March but never posted it. So I’m finally getting around to it. I’m glad we had time to visit Milt and Pat in Redding before I needed to be in Reno for ASC. They love the outdoors, both had careers in the Parks service. They’ve certainly retired in a beautiful spot to enjoy the various parks and wildlife preserves in the area. They can enjoy day trips to Mt. Shasta or Lassen. Pat is an avid birder and photographer. I get lots of practice with the camera when we visit them, and I really enjoy that.

There is a nature preserve within walking distance to their house, so we took a few walks there at sunrise and sunset.

They took us to see some beautiful spots. Our first stop was Burney Falls State Park. It was icy but sunny. We walked around the falls, crossing the river below and then above the waterfalls. I didn’t have luck getting a good shot of the falls with my camera – the shadows made it tricky. I’m using the photo Ben took of us instead.

Ben likes taking photos of me taking photos. =)

The bridge above the falls has a nice view, but you can’t see the falls.

The next day we spent checking out places around Redding. Milt showed us the theater he volunteers for. He makes the sets, takes care of the building, and does pretty much whatever needs to be done. We also walked the Sundial Bridge. We’d been here the last time we visited Milt and Pat. It’s still a nice walk and a great place to see the sunset.

We also got to check out Whiskeytown Lake. It was late in the day, so we only had time for a quick stop.

The Carr fire in July 2018 started in Whiskeytown National Rec area, near the lake, and burned over 200,000 acres. It was the most destructive fire in the National Park Service’s history. We saw some of the damage while driving to and from the lake.

Lassen Volcanic National Park is about an hour from Redding. They’d recently had good snowfalls, so we decided to go snowshoeing. I’ve done it once before; Pat, Milt, and Ben had never been. We had a great time walking around the lake.

Lassen Peak Volcano is in the distance.

My attempts to be artistic.

Travis AFB

We spent a few nights at Travis AFB, just north of San Francisco in Fairfield. We did our usual routine at military camps – hit the commissary, exchange, gym, etc. There’s usually good WiFi for work. The gym was really nice here, especially compared to the few we’d seen recently. But hey, no complaints when it’s free!

The gym has an unusual track, like it was laid out around buildings to get the quarter mile distance. I don’t think you’ll get a personal best on your PRT, but it’s more interesting than an oval.

It was nice weather while we were there, so we took walks each day. We played a round of disc golf, though we kinda had to make up the course as we went along. I don’t know if it just wasn’t well mapped out or very old and not used often. We saw the baskets but none of the tee areas. It was near a road with parked cars, so we avoided one basket close to them. I’m not so confident of my aim; better safe than sorry.

We also checked out their bowling alley. It’s been a long time since we’ve bowled, and it showed in our first game! Ben beat me each game, but at least I got over 100 twice.

We ventured off base the next day. We headed to Lagoon Valley Park in Vacaville. We walked around the lagoon and then ventured up the hill. It was a decent hike up, and we got to see a gorgeous view of the surrounding area. There were plenty of cattle on the hillside enjoying the view as well.

Here’s a view of the lagoon.

A tree and swing at the top of the hill.

Bay Area to the Berkshires

I’m looking at the weather Friday morning in Monterey, and guess what I see? More rain. And a news article that says the peninsula could become an island! The Salinas River had broken levees and was flooding areas near the two roads that lead onto, and out of, the peninsula. We were supposed to stay another night at Monterey before heading up to Half Moon Bay. After a call with the very nice lady at the RV park in Half Moon Bay, we decided to just head to Kerry’s in Oakland. We were able to cancel our reservation, luckily, so it was nice that every place was considerate with the impact of the storms.

After many hours of searching for places to camp/park the RV (FYI, it’s VERY expensive to RV camp around the Bay area, and definitely NO free spots), we decided just to park it on Kerry’s street and stay with her as she generously offered. I was certain someone in the neighborhood would call the police on us since it’s illegal to park RVs on the street, but no tickets!!

We hung out with Kerry, Rob, and Waverly Saturday night. It was great to catch up with them and see their neighborhood. Kerry was Coast Guard and fun fact – she is the reason Ben and I met! Ben knew her while they were both stationed in Portsmouth, and I played All Navy with her. Ben happened to be hanging out with her when I came down to stay with her while coaching a tournament in Virginia Beach. The rest is history. Huge thanks, Kerry!

On Sunday, Ben and I worked out at the Coast Guard base there in Alameda, and we walked around the base. I got to see another place where Ben was stationed! We then visited our friends Chris and Anne in Palo Alto. Chris went through the Master’s program at William and Mary with Ben, and he and Anne were some of our favorite people there. Ben’s kept in touch through the years. Anne is a world-class linguist and has been courted by several large universities over the years. We didn’t get to see them while they were in Santa Barbara, but I’m happy we got to see them while she’s at Stanford. Fun times with them as always!

The next day I flew back home for work while Ben got to explore the Bay area RV style. He stayed a few days in Petaluma. He had the whole RV park on base to himself. Cody really loves that – no leash!

He then parked overnight at the Golden Gate parking lot. The views he had, amazing! I’m jealous I didn’t get to see it all with him.

Sunset AND sunrise at the bridge.

I did get to stay in a really nice hotel room with a fireplace in Williamstown. I didn’t get to really enjoy it – got there late one night for meetings the next day – but I would love to go back. It was really close to the College campus. It was snowing, and the town was very pretty. I had time to walk around the campus for a little bit in between meetings.

Why does the Inn have the fires going in the snow?

After I flew back, we hung out with Kerry and family a little more before heading north to Redding with a stop at Travis AFB.

Monterey

We relaxed our first day in Monterey – did some errands on the bases there and enjoyed having water and electricity. I enjoy the freedom of boondocking, but you need services after a few days. The RV camp is right next to their golf course. Our spot backed up to one of the holes, but there’s a tall net so we didn’t have to worry about wayward golf balls. Plus, we were next to a large tree.

The next day was nice, so we took our bikes out. We biked to the Ford Ord state park, it’s a nice trail along the ocean with beautiful views along the dunes. I loved the vegetation colors in the dunes. Much different than the dunes I see on the east coast.

Fort Ord closed down in 1994. It had been a training area for WWI and designated a base for WWII. There isn’t much left of it; most has been redeveloped since it’s prime real estate.

It was a nice day, somewhat warm and little wind. The waves were huge – one advantage of the ongoing storm.

There’s a path leading through the dunes to the beach near the northern end of the park. We were there by ourselves, and it was amazing.

The waves were huge, and I loved watching them break. One came in so fast, and I wasn’t quick enough. Wet shoes, but totally worth it.

After the park, we grabbed food and beer at a local place. The brewery had a bakery inside it, and the sourdough was amazing. They had a cribbage board, and I smoked Ben. =) He’s learning though, it won’t be long before he masters that game as well. But for now, he has Battleship, and I have Cribbage.

California Coast

It was raining the morning we left Point Magu, January 9th. I worked while Ben broke camp. We headed north on 101, not thinking too much about the rain. That’s a normal thing in Connecticut. Of course, we weren’t in Connecticut. And what we didn’t realize was this was an unusual storm with massive amounts of rain for the area. One article I read said LAX saw 5 inches of rain in the winter of 2020-2021. It recorded 5 inches in two weeks in January. (Groton averages about 4 inches a month, so 5 inches in 2 weeks is cause for comment but not altering travel plans or hunkering down. If you haven’t noticed, I’m setting the stage.)

What we didn’t realize was the Governor had already declared a state of emergency for the areas to where we were traveling. And we didn’t know that they were advising evacuations along Santa Barbara. If only we’d known, or thought to check! Ce la vie.

An hour into our drive we hear the emergency broadcast signal and hear evacuation notices for several places. Not being familiar with any of them, I focused on one to look up – Montecito. That happened to be just east of where we were. The GPS wanted us to take another route, up 154. A lesson we’ve been learning this trip – ALWAYS scout the routes Google wants us to take. Several are not fun towing a 29′ trailer. 154 would have been ok, however, the on-ramp to it was closed. We continued on, and Google gave us another route. San Marcos Rd. Here’s a fairly benign shot of it:

Benign until you look at the top of the image.

Those. Towing a trailer. In a torrential down pour. With boulders in the road. The posted speed limit around those switchbacks was 5. We make it to to the 154 intersection to find CHP there. 154 has been closed completely. Yep, we can either park and hang out there or go back down San Marcos Rd. We made it, but we will never cross roads around terrain without first looking very closely at the satellite images. No photos of that drive, I was too busy clutching my computer to my chest. (Oh yes, I had been working up until this time.)

We got back on 101 and continued north. We saw a lot of red near Gaviota and road closures north of it. We got close, but it was getting late. We were trapped. We decided to find a place to park, hoping the rain would clear out and the roads would open up. We parked at the Arroyo Hondo Vista Point, ended up staying the night with several other travelers.

We got up early the next morning having given up getting to Vandenburg AFB. We were so close! Yet no way to get there without going south all the way back to the 5. We tried all the routes we could to get through Santa Barbara and by closures on 101. We finally gave up when we could go no farther south, and found parking at Rincon Beach County park. The rain finally stopped, and it was a gorgeous day.

We talked to the park ranger who gave us the CHP number to call for road closures. We headed out just before 5, went back to 126–almost right back to Point Magu–and cut over to the 5. We found a rest area just north of Bakersfield and stayed the night. The RV park at Monterey was able to get us in a day early, so we headed there the next morning. We were still hopeful we could finish up our trip along the California coast…