Life happens…..and other stuff

Life has a habit of throwing twists and turns that pop up when one least expects it. Living on the road, we are no different. Like when you’re driving down that lonely street, curve after curve, just enjoying the ride, not knowing what’s on that end of the curve. And there it is. Whether it’s a wake of vultures munching on a skunk carcass, a car that has crashed in the road ahead waiting for the first responders, the ruins of a 19th century church, a double rainbow arching across the sky, you just have to stop and take some action. Even if that action is just to take notice of the beauty of the world around us or to get involved. Life’s kinda like that. It happens to us all at one time or another, good and bad, sometimes more than we’d like, sometimes wondering if we’re up to dealing with it.

2018 was not an easy year.  Last April our daughter,  Angela, was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.  It was a shock, to say the least.  We were in Yosemite National Park at the time.  What to do.  She lives in Maryland, the other side of the country.  The Mom instinct in me was to rush to her side.  But family was already there.  I had time, even though it didn’t feel like it.  Long story short, we did travel east eventually, we did see quite a few sites throughout our travels. Just not the ones we had planned.  But I had no heart to write in my blog.  We did stay quite some time in Maryland, visiting, going to and from doctor appointments with her, going to and from chemo appointments.  Eventually we hit the road again. 

Angela is still fighting.  She has gone through chemo, several surgeries and is currently undergoing radiation therapy.  Within a few weeks she should be finished with that and we are all hoping she will be cancer free. And then its time to heal. Only time will give us the result that we’re praying for, that cancer does not return. Right now it’s one day at a time.             

Since reliving a full year would be quite difficult (especially with my faulty memory) I’m going to review 2018 with mostly pictures.  We’ve been wintering in Southern California again this year, yep we really are snow birds, and have about a month to go before we hit the road again.  This year it’s traveling to the pacific northwest.  

Thank you for traveling with us!

Fran & William

2018 in pictures

March 2018  

It’s only a few hours to Santa Barbara, but we decided to take an extra day, staying overnight at a rest stop in Lebec, CA.  Woke to some chilly weather and a little bit of snow.  So very pretty, not that  it lasted very long.   

Lebec, CA

Glimpse of the Pacific outside Ventura on the PCH.

We spent the rest of March at Rancho Oso Guest Ranch, RV Park nestled in the Los Padres National Park.

A resident of the ranch. Total sweetheart.

Corriente Cattle  

Weekly roundup during the summers.  Australian Kelpie Stock Dog.   Really fun to watch, that dog took his job very seriously.

Rodeo!  The little girl and pony in training.  Pony tended to have a mind of it’s own.  

Another friendly resident.  All they wanted was a little TLC…..and food.   Muzzle rubs yes, food no.

Wild turkeys.  They daily wander around the park and in the outlying forest.

Lake Cachuma

Spent a day in Solvang, small town in the Santa Ynez Valley. Danish style architecture, delicious food and the Little Mermaid.   Definitely worth visiting if you are in the area.  

Old Mission Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, marina, ocean front.

Stay tuned for the next update!!