We passed the sign for Harmony as we drove south on CA 1, otherwise known as PCH or the Pacific Coast Highway.  We had elected to drive it from Monterey south to LA putting us on the lane closest to the ocean and the passenger in the navigator seat staring down into the waves many times.  Anyhow Harmony, pop 18 got my mind working.  How harmonious were those 18 souls? Do they sing great harmony? Is it a religious group.  Then of course for those who play with Jewish numerology, 18 combines letters that are Chai which means life.  That would seem to make Harmony a life affirming place.  I suppose I could continue to play with this, and may in the future, but mudslides, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, including Congress keep dragging my focus elsewhere.

Contrary to accepted opinion and many blog posts, driving CA 1 in a 36 foot motorhome is not completely foolhardy, for that matter, other than the occasional idiot that just must go faster than 35 mph, it is a very pleasant drive.  I will concede that it focuses the attention of the driver miraculously.  We only had one scary incident and it related to two cars, of the ilk suggested above, who passed us at a high rate of speed over a double line, actually around a double blind curve.  I really didn’t give a damn if they wanted to kill themselves, but certainly did not want to be a party to the mess.  Fortunately there were no oncoming cars for at least 10 seconds!  There really is no place to bail out.

We had set out from Alameda Elks Lodge which we used as a stopping place to visit with our niece Minda and her husband Will.  We had a lovely dinner at their house with Minda’s friend Prea during which we learned that Minda is a expecting a boy in September.  Since both our boys called while we were there, they too learned the great news.  The second night we went out to a neighborhood restaurant that was very nice.  While in the Bay Area we also visited with Marlene who had been with us on the Baltic portion of our trip. We drove to her home in San Rafael and had a lovely evening with wine, cheese and a delightful meal.  I really enjoyed the Halibut from Alaska.  It is so nice to make new friends who share so many interests.

We had committed ourselves to driving down CA 1 because we enjoyed the northbound trip three years ago on our way to Alaska.  First we stopped near Monterey to sightsee along Cannery Row and spent two nights at Marina Dunes RV, our most expensive nightly cost so far this year, but we did get laundry done as well as sightseeing.  Would consider staying there again if the weather were better, although getting in might be tougher, as it is we could only get two nights there.  Although we considered the San Luis Obispo Elks Lodge, we did remember that the parking is right next to US 101 and just a bit noisy, so we decided to stop at Morro Bay State Park.  When we arrived, with no reservation, we learned that the only sites available were dry camp (no water, electric or sewer) for $33 a night!!! Thank you California.  We took a site for two nights because we enjoy the area.  We were sung to sleep each night by an owl in the trees near our coach.  Never did see it.  We actually did very little because it poured on and off.  Drove into town one day to pick up some groceries and check out a Radio Shack for a replacement temperature sensor for our 9 year old Radio Shack remote thermometer.  For a wonder, even to the store manager’s surprise, they had two on the shelf.  I bought both although I really only need one.  They work with our old base station.

Onward to Solvang, actually Buellton where Flying Flags RV is located, just down the road from Solvang.  We went to the home of Marty and Barbara Goldstein who we traveled with in the Baltics.  Marty does dogs in bronze and that is just one of the galleries that represents him.  We had a lovely cocktail hour with them and dinner at Firestone Barrel  House (close anyhow).  We will spend Thursday touring this area and catching up on some other stuff before moving down the road a wee bit to Santa Barbara Elks Lodge.  We have come up this way a couple of times and never been able to get a reservation.  This time we have five nights booked.  On Sunday we will meet yet another couple from our recent travels even as we are preparing for our trip to Japan in 2 weeks.