Family and Disneyland in Southern California

Andy has been in heaven these past few days.  We've had a great time with the kids and grandchildren, Kennedy and Hunter were such good kids and a joy to hang out with.

Last day at Disneyland..can't escape the rain !

Had a wonderful time at Mikes and Teri's place for the yearly "Christmas Dinner".  Andy couldn't make it ! She wasn't feeling very well plus large crowds are a major problem for her due to her hearing loss.  Teri did a fantastic job with the decorations and dinner.  She is just amazing !  Thank you for inviting Andy and I.  I never did get to spend very much time with Teri and Mike because they were so busy feeding that rowdy crowd. Well over 30 people !

The girls, Christine and Dana, doing what girls do...just like teenagers

The Dossey families

Nice picture..I do have copyright on this picture...plus you owe me drinks...Seattle Seahawks won!

Mike and Page Dossey with family. Neighbors kids is there too !

The Four Amigos

Larry and Ernie invited us to stay and spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with them at their place in downtown LA.  We had such a great time!  I think all we did was eat !  Andy and Larry sure know how to cook and drink wine.  I opt out on the wine...nasty stuff.  We even sat in the hot tub on the roof over- looking downtown LA on Christmas Eve.  How fun is that !

Christmas Dinner at Ernie's and Larry's place

It was good to see Ron again.  He is so nice !  He even let me win a "Shit Head" and to hold his Laker's NBA Championship Ring.  Don't be a hater now Jeannie and Bobby !

Lakers 2010 NBA Championship Ring on "MY" finger !

We went to Disneyland on December 27, 2012 !  It was so busy !  They even stopped letting people into the park at 2PM because it was so busy.  It was hard walking around, let alone going on a ride.  I would never ever go to Disneyland or California Adventures during this time of year again.  We knew there would be a crowd but never imaged it would be this bad.  We still had a wonderful time standing in the lines and goofing with each other.

Huh !  Does anybody get this ?  Tell me !!

What a misfit gang !

No way..see next photo

Greg being silly and Andy pissed her pants..lol

First day at Disneyland

2-3 hour wait ! Nope ! 

We are still hanging out in Seal Beach Navel Weapon Station in Seal Beach California.  This is a really nice place.  We are schedule to leave here on the 15th of January but we will see.  We are thinking of going to Camp Pendelton near San Diego for a few weeks.  We are hoping to see Casey and Anne and maybe Chuck and Donna.  Casey and Anne I have known and have been friends with them since 1980.  Chuck and Donna we met in Tucson, Arizona last year while we were traveling.  Hope to see all guys soon!

People from all over the world read this blog which I really enjoy.  I do wonder from time to time how this happens.  People from America read this blog more than any other place followed by Russia.  If you are reading this and are from Russia please feel free to be a member and or leave a comment.  I find this extremely interesting

Christmas In Our RV !

So what is it like hanging out in a RV in Southern California, during the Christmas Season?

I have lived in cold climates all my life and Andy has been in Oregon for over 30 years, so this sunny, warm environment is kind of strange to us ole timers.

Today, the sun was shining so we took a "walkabout"  the small town of Seal Beach, California. The Christmas decorations were out...people dressed up in their "Christmas Sweaters" and bands were playing Christmas Music. People were shopping and smiling but something just didn't feel right ! It seems like the "Christmas season" !  I know it is !  I see the decorations, I see people shopping,  I know its like mid December! What can it be...why does it not feel like Christmas...oh I know !!!

Palm Trees next to a Christmas Tree ? Oh my !  How can this be ?  Tell me it isn't so ! It is also 68 degrees ! How can this be the "Christmas Season"?  No cold, no snow, and for the people from the Northwest...NO RAIN !

I am glad it doesn't feel like the "Christmas Season" come to think of it! I don't miss the cold and the rain !

Being in a RV resort around Christmas is kind of weird too.  As I sit in the passenger seat in Epinephrine, our RV, and look out the windshield ...lol...What do I see ?  I see Motorhomes and 5th Wheels all decorated up!  They, the people who live in them, have strung lights all over the place. If something can hold a string of lights then by gosh there is a string of lights hanging from it.  They even put those blow up things on their roofs and put lights on the ground surrounding the RV site.  They are so weird ! 

I am looking right now on my GPS for the nearest Walmart....I need some Christmas lights and one of those big inflatable Santa and Reindeer things !!

Andy just had to decorate the inside of our RV too. So here she is...big smile on her face.

Universal Studios Hollywood

On Saturday we decided to take the girls to Universal Studios.  The weather in the morning was cool, clear and sunny.  We thought we should go early to beat the crowds and the weather...glad we did.

We almost paid extra for the "Fast Pass"..which was like 80% more than a normal ticket.  Glad we didn't !  This week was a slow week.  If you buy a "One Day Ticket" this week it is good for all of 2013.  What a deal ! The lines were short anyway.  Good job Andy !!
 

Three Pretty Blondes !

I do what I am told !  I am along for the ride !  LOL

Yea baby

Hanging out in the snow in Grinch's Winter Playground

WaterWorld Set..show was very cool !

Universal Back Lot

Back Lot Scene

The gang !

For Kloee and Harley !

We spent about 7 hours in the Park. We generally saw and done everything there. I am sure if the weather were warmer we would have stayed longer in the evening, it was getting pretty cool and cloudy.

Yesterday, around 8:30 am ,we left Jeff and Christine's place in Covina California.  We are now staying at the Seabreeze Resort.

The Resort is in the middle of Navel Weapons Seal Beach, Seal Beach, California.  The Resort is just minutes away from Disneyland and favorite destinations.  It is also pretty close to Andy's brothers house , Larry and Ernie's, in downtown LA. The Resort isn't really a "Resort"  it is a RV Park on a military base.

The Naval Base is very nice place to stay.  It is close to family and friends so we decided to stay here for a month  . They even have a eighteen-hole Championship Golf Course/Clubhouse, WIFI and free washers and dyers to use. Andy is very happy about the free laundry facilities..lols

After we set up in our spot it was time to meet Larry at the "Sports Bar" to watch the Seattle Seahawk Game !  It was very good to see Larry again ! Andy and Larry must have talked about food for 2 hours.  How can anyone do that ?

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Winchester House

It's been 4 days since my last confession..oh I mean blog !

We left Travis AFB Monday morning.  We were going to leave on Sunday, but decided to watch Football Games instead. Seattle Seahawks sure kicked some butt.  SF 49's here we come !  lol

We decide to check out Winchester House in San Jose on our way south to LA.  The Winchester House is a well-known 160 room Victorian Mansion. It was once the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun maker William W Winchester.  She bought an unfinished, eight-room farmhouse near San Jose and soon started the construction 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and she never stopped until her death 38 years later.

Opinions very about why Mrs. Winchester kept building the Winchester House.  While some say she thought it would prevent her death, others thought that, she was just crazy, rich woman with too much money and a poor sense of building design.  Here are some of the eccentric characteristics of the house:

*  40 staircases, several of which lead to nowhere, ending at a ceiling.
*  One room features a window in the floor.
*  Two closets doors open to blank walls.
* One door opens to an eight-foot drop to a kitchen sink.
* Another door opens to an 14-foot drop to an outdoor garden.
*  47 fireplaces, four of which have flukes that go nowhere.

If you are in the San Francisco/San Jose area it's worth the visit.  Inside photos weren't allowed...reason none posted.

Tuesday night we stayed at Lorenzo County Park in King City, California.  It was a very nice place with many pull-thru's and big enough for our 37 footer and toad. Thank you Barbara Bombach, Andy's mom, for the tip...Great place to stay along Hwy 101.

We arrived at Jeff and Christine's driveway, in Covina, California yesterday afternoon. Covina is in the LA area and the traffic is challenging to say the least.  Don't think we will ever get used to it. We were greeted by Bernie and soon afterwards by Jeff and Megan.  Christine will be home tonight from a business trip...we are excited to see her. 

Rain, Rain go away, we landed in jail !

We WERE going to stop in Redding, California on Tuesday but it was raining hard so I kept on driving...I know, I know!  I just HAD to get out of the rain..two months was enough.  So, I continued to drive through the mountains, the slosh, and 40 mph winds. We are currently staying at Travis Air Force Base which is 40 miles east of San Francisco, California.  The plan is to use this place as our home base to visit the surrounding area.

Our home

Our yard

Who would have known....Bud and Sue Hansen, Andy's first cousin, also came to Travis AFB the following day...they are also staying in the RV park for a few days. All we had to do was sponsor them.  Since I hardly know them, I hope they don't do anything to land me jail.

Sue and Bud

On the day Sue and bud arrived they all went wine tasting through Napa Valley...yes of course Andy got more wine.  I couldn't tell you how many bottles of wine we are carrying on this coach...I would guess maybe 30 to 40.  I keep teasing her...every new bottle that comes aboard she has to empty, drink, a bottle before we leave.  They had a great time!

Yesterday we landed in Jail.  All four of us !  It wasn't that bad, we ended up having a great time!

Hear and see no evil...I land in "Jail"

We took a day trip into San Francisco to visit Alcatraz.  It was very interesting.  Of course I have seen the movies..."Escape from Alcatraz" and the "Birdman of Alcatraz". It was just like the movies.

St Vincent Medical Center

I really like the "Several Years"

View from Alcatraz

View from the boat ride

The "Rock"

For thousand of years, Alcatraz was a lonely island, occasionally visited, perhaps by Ohlone and Miwok Indians.  In 1850, a military board proposed a three point defensive strategy for San Francisco Bay.  By the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, Alcatraz had 111 smoothbore cannons and more than 400 soldiers on the island.

Alcatraz was a prison almost from the beginning.  During the Civil War era, soldiers convicted of desertion, theft, assault, rape, and murder; citizens accused of treason; and the crew of a Confederate ship were imprisoned here.

In 1930's it became a Federal Penitentiary. of the 1545 men who did time on Alcatraz, only a handful were notorious-among them, Al Capone, George "Machine Gun " Kelly and Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz.

Increasing maintenance costs and operating costs led US Attorney General Robert F Kennedy to close Alcatraz in 1963.  In 1972 it became part of the National Park Service

View from Pier 39 as the sun sets

Afterwards we bummed around pier 39 and went to the San Francisco Maritime Historical Park.  It was nice to walk around on the ships.

A real person with Sue

From the wooden decks of the "Balcluha", a square-rigger that rounded Cape Horn 17 times !

Andy and Sue

ah..ships mates

Will miss you guys

As the sun sets on Pier 39

We had a great time just hanging out with Sue and bud !  It was a perfect day !