Redding, California

We spent a week in Redding, California, which is in the northern, central part of the state. It is a beautiful area, with mountains surrounding it, including Mount Shasta that looms in the background at over 14,000 ft. Little did we know that it gets very hot in this valley during the summer. During our stay, it was from 101 to 106 degrees on three of the days!!!!! We were told, however, that at times it has gone up to 123 degrees! Glad we missed that! Some of our time was spent trying to figure out how to stay cool. Our RV air conditioner had all it could do to perform when the temps were really rising!

On one of the cooler days, we were able to bike ride along the Sacramento River. At the beginning of the bike trail is the Sundial Bridge which spans 700 feet across the river. It is made of metal, glass, and concrete, and the end pylon acts as the world's largest sundial! The bridge was designed by Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava. Quite spectacular!

On one of the hotter days, we decided to drive to Lassen Volcanic National Park. It was much cooler there, and in fact, not all of the roads were open yet due to snow! The park is at the southern end of the Cascade Range, which is a chain of active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes that stretches to British Columbia and includes Mt. Shasta. Lassen Peak is one of the many volcanoes found around the Pacific Ocean in what is known as the "Ring of Fire". This volcano last erupted in 1915, and luckily, no one was killed thanks to one homesteader warning the others. After 80 years, the "Devastated Area" around the volcano is sparse but does have new tree and vegetation growth. We also were able to see the remains of a rock avalanche that occurred 350 years ago and collapsed the Chaos Crags volcanic dome. The rocks were said to have traveled into the valley at 110 mph!

Shasta Dam is the 2nd largest dam in the country after the Grand Coulee in Washington State. We both thought the largest dam was the Hoover, which is really the 4th largest. The size is determined by the volume of cement used to build the dam. Shasta Dam was built in the late 30's and is a major source of water for California, including Los Angeles. A tour of the dam was offered, and we were able to go down an elevator 750 ft to the bottom and have a great view of the spillway and also the giant turbine room that provides electricity to the grid.

Shasta Lake was created by Shasta Dam. Beneath the Lake are some old pioneer towns, that were flooded on purpose when the dam was completed. We took a boat ride to the far side of the lake to tour the Shasta Caverns. These caverns were discovered in the late 1800's by a native Indian tracking a bobcat. They were not commercialized until the 1950's. Once across the lake, we had to take a bus ride 800 ft up a mountain to go into the caverns. What a view of the lake and the surrounding area from there!

"The Giant Orange Restaurant" was recommended for breakfast. Once there, we discovered that the Giant Orange was opened in 1946 and was one of 30 orange juice stands along historic Route 99, which parallels I-5. As far as we know it is the only Giant Orange left, although the restaurant now serves not only juice, but good food.

Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite was as beautiful as we had heard! Giant granite cliffs, lush meadows, and tumbling waterfalls! We found out this was the best time of the year to visit, since the falls are at their fullest due to the melting snow. Later in the season the falls slow down quite a bit, sometimes to a trickle. We spent 3 days in the park, and it was a challenge to see everything because of the winding, narrow roads, construction, and "crowds", which seemed to be the main obstacle! It is estimated Yosemite receives 3 1/2 million visitors a year, 2 million more than Sequoia/King's Canyon! We discovered you had to get there early to find parking, use the park shuttle system (especially at Yosemite Valley), and leave early afternoon when the roads become really congested! Despite the inconvenience, Yosemite was truly breath-taking to see!

Our first day, we drove up to the north entrance of the park and traveled Tioga Road. This road is closed during the winter, because of heavy snows, and there was still snow on the ground during our visit. The scenery was fantastic, and at one point we were at an elevation of 8000 ft! At the end of the road was Tuolumme Meadows, the largest Alpine meadow in the park. Along the way we saw a few bears which is always thrilling! After that, we headed for Yosemite Valley in the central area of the park, but couldn't find parking, so we could only glimpse at some of the wonders while we were driving!

The second day, we decided to explore the southern area of the park. We got there early, and found a parking space at the Wawona Visitor Center and hopped a shuttle to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. Once there, we took an open-air tram ride, which went around the entire grove. The grove was so beautiful and peaceful. We never got tired of looking at those huge trees! Lunch was at the Wawona Hotel, which has been in operation since the 1850's. We sat on the huge veranda, enjoyed our meal, and thought about all the people who had preceded us there. Next to the hotel, was a historical village, where original buildings, cabins, and wagons in the park had been moved for preservation. A wet- glass photography set-up was portrayed. Looked like that would have been a really labor intensive way to take pictures. Think we will stick with our digital camera!

Our third day in the park, we devised a game plan to see Yosemite Valley, including Yosemite Village. We went on a Sunday, since there was no road construction that day, and we were in the park by 7am! On our way we drove to Glacier Point, which probably was our favorite place in the park! We were at an elevation of over 7700 ft and had an incredible view of "El Capitan", a steep granite cliff, "Half-Dome", a huge cleved rounded- top granite rock, and the upper and lower Yosemite Falls! You could look down into Yosemite Valley, and the people and cars looked like ants! Our extra bonus at Glacier Point, was we were able to witness a few brave people hang-gliding right in front of us into the Valley! Wow!! We never were sure where they landed! Upon entering Yosemite Valley is "Tunnel View", a beautiful meadow, with El Capitan, Half-Dome, and Bridal Veil Falls as a backdrop. Another spectacular view! After exploring the Valley, we ended our day with a walk to Lower Yosemite Falls. What a sight up close!!!!!

Sequoia/King's Canyon National Parks, Ca

After leaving the LA area, we headed for Vasalia, Ca, which is near Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks. We camped about 30 miles from the entrance of Sequoia, and once there, we learned how winding, narrow, and under construction the road into Sequoia was! The park also discouraged vehicles over 22 ft driving the roads. Our truck is exactly 22 ft long and extra wide because of the dual tires. To avoid the driving hassles, we went to the park twice, once on a private day tour, and the second time using a shuttle from Vasalia and then taking a shuttle inside the park. Both were worth it and sure made life and sightseeing easier!!

Sequoia Nat Park was beautiful and our first day on the tour we saw the highlights, including Moro Rock, a huge granite rock which can be climbed up a stairway, (elevation of 6725 ft at the top), Tunnel Log, which has an opening to drive through, and the Giant Forest, where some of the largest Giant Sequoia Trees reside. The Giant Sequoias are spectacular! Although not the tallest trees in the world, they are the largest in volume. The General Sherman tree is said to be the largest living thing in the world, according to volume. Not only are the trees huge, it is hard to imagine they have been living for such a long time. General Sherman is estimated to be over 3000 years old! Our guide, Stephanie, was great, and explained all about the forest and what the trees need to survive and regenerate. Fire is an essential part. The parks now know that not all fires should be prevented and most are essential for a healthy redwood forest.

Our second day at Sequoia, we decided to do some hiking. Our first hike was at Crescent Meadow, about 2 miles in total. To our delight, in the meadow were two bears, looking for food! They weren't close enough to make us nervous, although Art was standing behind a log while I was getting some pictures! Up to that point, we hadn't seen much wildlife, other than some large chipmunks! On the same trail, we saw Tharp's log, a cabin made from a fallen Sequoia in the mid 1800's. After lunch, we decided to try one more trail that was labeled "easy". It was a 3.4 mile round trip trail along the Tokopah River to see the Tokopah Falls. Pretty quickly it started to elevate and was steep in places, rocky in others, and had streams we needed to cross that were flowing down to the river! "Easy"???? Art was carrying a heavy backpack, so we decided to hide it behind a tree to make the hike easier. Once we left it, we worried about forgetting where it was, or if a bear would smell the 2 sandwiches we had inside! We were so proud we made it to the end, and the falls were well worth seeing! By the way, we did find the backpack intact on the way down!

Since there was an easier road to get to King's Canyon Nat Park, we drove there on our own. We went from the San Joaquin Valley, flat, rich agricultural land, full of citrus trees and grapevines, to an elevation of 6000 ft in the park! There were gorgeous mountains, granite cliffs, and the King's River, which was rushing and roaring due to the melting snow in the mountains! Yes, we did see piles of snow in the higher elevations! We drove to the end of the road, where Zumwalt Meadow was and happened to be in time for a tour by a park ranger. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at Roaring River Falls and saw Grizzly Falls, both of which were beautiful! Our most exciting adventure at King's Canyon was our trip to see where loggers of the 1800's had cleaned out a whole grove of Giant Sequoia trees and left huge stumps and only one tree alive, the Boole Tree. The road to this area was narrow, winding, unpaved, and went down into the forest area. Art had just mentioned he hoped no one was coming the other way, when a large SUV met us at a curve!!!! The other driver managed to get over to let us pass, and Art told him he was "our worst nightmare"! Shortly after that, we decided we had seen enough large stumps, found a place to turn around, and headed back to the main road. Never did see the remaining live tree!

Hollywood, California

"Hurray for Hollywood"! We really enjoyed "Tinseltown" and all the glitz and hype that goes with it. For several days we took part in many of the tourist attractions and it was lots of fun. Driving and parking our truck in that area was a challenge, but we managed.

The first day was busy. We started with a tour of the Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards take place. It was great to learn what really happens on award night. The red carpet is actually on the street of Hollywood Blvd and continues up the walkway and stairs into the theater. Only stars nominated for awards are allowed to ascend the long stairway and enter the 2nd floor of the theater. Unfortunately, the theater is undergoing renovation for a Cirque du Soleil show, so when we walked into the actual theater, where the ceremony takes place, instead of the red seats, we were faced with draping plastic over the seats and stage! Guess our timing wasn't perfect! We did find out when the stars win awards, they don't just go backstage to talk to the press, but are put in a freight elevator, and whisked to the Renaissance Hotel next door where the press is waiting.

Later that day, we toured the Hollywood Museum which is in the famous "Max Factor" building. There were the blond, brown, and redhead rooms, where the stars had their makeup done. Each room had special lighting to compliment the coloring of the stars. Max is the one that convinced Lucille Ball to become a redhead after he saw her in his special lighting. There were also tons of star photos and artifacts there, including Cary Grant's Rolls Royce, and a special Marilyn Monroe exhibit, with her nude photos taken for Playboy. Art took a special interest in that display!!!!!!!

Yes, we did take a tour of the stars homes, which included driving through Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, Rodeo Drive, and Mulholland Drive. There were at least 40 homes pointed out to us, and we were snapping all kinds of pictures, to find out later we could only remember who owned a few of the houses! Oh well! If any of you are interested, the "Spelling" mansion is for sale for 150 million, reduced from 250 million!

The second day, we were able to take a tour of Paramount Studios. Paramount started in 1912, and is the only studio that remains in the Hollywood area. There is so much movie and TV history there, and many of the original buildings still remain. We saw the buildings that use to house the big stars, such as Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, and Katherine Hepburn, in between takes. They were more like small apartments. Now, the dressing rooms are in trailers around the lot! We went on a tram and saw some of the back lots and sound stages, including the famous New York City back lot. Each sound stage has a plaque with the movies and TV shows that have been filmed there. At one time Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz owned Paramount and "I Love Lucy" was filmed there, as well as their other productions. One of the parking lots in the studio is walled and painted blue and includes a large screen on one side, painted to look like the sky. The cars are removed when needed, and it is filled with water. This is where many water scenes were and are still filmed, including Charlton Heston parting the waters of the Red Sea in the "Ten Commandments". Talk about Hollywood magic! In our pictures you will see where Art and I tried out for remakes of "Psycho" and "The Godfather". We are still waiting to hear if we got the parts. Art was also able to have a good conversation with Jack Nicholson, who we happened to bump into!

No Hollywood visit would be complete without a trip to Grauman's Chinese Theater, which happens to be next to the Kodak Theater. It sounds corny, but it was so much fun to see the cement footprints and handprints of the stars, as well as prints of other things, such as Jimmy Durante's nose! We were told the tradition began when Sid Grauman, the founder of the theater, accidently walked through some wet cement in front of the theater. Being the creative person he was, he came up with the idea of asking the stars to participate in this, and it became a tradition. Douglas Fairbanks was the first star asked. To qualify for a square of cement, your movie has to premier at Grauman's. Only 6 cement squares are added each year.

"Stars" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame began in 1960 with the first star being awarded to Joanne Woodward; the "Walk" now goes on for over a mile. In order to qualify for this, you have to be approved by a board for talent and philanthropy and also give the city of LA $25,000! You can actually qualify for 5 stars-one for film, TV, radio, music, and theater. Only Gene Autry has gotten all 5 stars.

P.S. Our star pictures were taken in Madame Trussard's Wax Museum. It was fantastic and a majority of the figures looked like the real people!

Los Angeles, California

After leaving San Diego, we headed for Los Angeles. Driving while towing the fifth wheel was a little disconcerting, due to the traffic. However, we had another scare while on the road. A car next to us signaled that our truck's right rear tire was low! We got off at the next exit, and managed to find a small gas station that we pulled into, taking up most of their space. The tire was not only low, there was no air left in it!!!! Luckily, it was one of the dual tires on that side, so the good tire held us up. There was nothing sticking out of the tire, so we filled it up with air and were on our way. Art later figured out he had been checking the air pressure in the tires the previous day, and that the tire extender wiggled loose in the process!

We were able to visit some friends while in the Los Angeles area. Marcus Kourtjian was a high school friend of Art's. They hadn't seen each other in 50 years! Marcus came to our campground and we had a wonderful visit! Angela, the daughter of our dear friends, Rich and Dee Ann Schiappacasse, and her boyfriend, Nate, live in West Hollywood. We had a fun evening with them, spending some time at their beautiful condo, and going out to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant. They live in a neat neighborhood with all kinds of restaurants and entertainment, within walking distance. Oh, to be young again!!!!!!!!

On Wilshire Boulevard in the center of LA, are the La Brea Tarpits. It is hard to believe that in the middle of the city are pools of seeping asphalt and methane gas! The pits have been known about for a long time, and in fact, Native Americans used some of the asphalt for waterproofing their boats and baskets. In the late 19th century, fossils from the Ice Age were discovered deep in the tar. It has been theorized that many Ice Age animals, including Giant Sloths and Wooley Mammoths, got stuck in the sludge and died. Fossils are still being actively found in the pits. The Page Museum has been built next to the Tarpits to continue the work on the fossils and educate the public.

Marcus had suggested we visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, and we are glad we did! The library was on the top of a hill overlooking the Valley. What a beautiful setting! On the outside of the library, was beautiful landscaping, a piece of the Berlin Wall, and Reagan's gravesite. Inside we were able to view pictures and artifacts of Reagan, a scale model of the White House that a family had been working on for the past 60 years, and the retired Air Force One. Art loved the DVD of Reagan's witicisms. (T. Kennedy accused Reagan of supporting old ideas to which Reagan responded he gets all of his ideas from our 200 year-old constitution!) The whole library was really well done, and more exhibits are going to open in 2011, commemorating Reagan's 100th birthday.

San Diego, California

After visiting San Diego, we can understand why people love living there! It is a beautiful area, with green hills, lush flowers, and a wonderful climate that includes moderate temperatures, (in the 70's), and sunshine most of the year! We spent two weeks in San Diego and had time to catch up on some business issues and chores and also had plenty of time to explore the area.

The first stop of our sightseeing adventures was at the USS Midway Museum docked at Navy Pier on San Diego Bay. The Midway was the longest active US Navy carrier in the 20th century, starting service in 1945. The ship is huge, and we were able to tour everything from the bunk areas and brig below to the captain's bridge above. We were there 3 hours and still didn't see everything! A park next to the ship has an enormous statue representing the famous photograph of an anonymous sailor and nurse kissing at the end of WWII. There is also a tribute to Bob Hope, with life size bronze figures of Bob and some of the troops he entertained. A continuous recording of some of Bob's jokes are running, so it almost seems like a show is going on!

The San Diego Zoo was a gem! Not only did we get to observe the Giant Pandas, there were many animals in residence that were very unusual and probably not seen at other zoos. The actual layout of the zoo was also special, landscaped beautifully, and set up to make you feel like you were walking in the jungle or woods and just happened upon the animals!

Old Town in San Diego is where the Spanish colonization of California began in 1769. This area would eventually be governed by Mexico and then by the USA. Old Town is now a state park and we were able to take a tour sponsored by the parks department. Around the original town square are 7 of the original buildings and some newer shops and restaurants. We had lunch at one of the restaurants and while eating were serenaded by a Mariachi band! Very festive!!

While in San Diego, we did explore some of the beach areas. The Coronado City Beach on Coronado Island was recently voted the #1 beach in the country. Coronado Island and the beach were absolutely beautiful, but we decided we would have to win the lottery to live there! We drove to La Jolla and walked along La Jolla Cove with spectacular ocean views. Within the Cove were large rocks with seals swimming and sunning themselves. In the Mission Bay area, we rode our bikes on the boardwalk overlooking South Mission and Mission Beaches. The boardwalk went on for miles! Our final beach visit was to Laguna Beach, which we saw while having dinner with our good friends, Dennis and Josh Couture. It was especially nice to see Josh, who we hadn't seen in several years.