We are back from Spring Break and making plans.

The plan that we have been working towards for the past 18 months is for our family to live full time in our lovely Grand Design Solitude-S 5th wheel trailer and spend the next three years or more touring the United States. We plan to visit every state. We want to savor every sunrise and every sunset. We want to immerse ourselves in nature. We want to be together.

The plan is to hit the road on Monday 17th July, 2023 and set off on our Grand Adventure. That's the plan.

Before we get to that plan, we have another plan.

The plan is for Kim and Henry to have a six week mini road trip to test out the trailer. It is a plan fit for adrenaline junkies covering some of the major National Parks in Arizona and Utah; Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands plus Moab and the Bonneville Salt Flats for some off-roading, speeding and dirt biking. It's a man plan!

Meanwhile, I plan on nipping back to the UK for six weeks to see family. My Dad is in a care home in Northampton and I miss him desperately. I want to spend some quality time with him at the beginning of the summer. My niece is expecting her 4th child in June and I want to hold and rock a newborn. My sister turns 50 and I want to be there to celebrate. I have some dear friends who are coming to visit the UK and we are planning a mini tour of Cornwall. The Eden Project is already booked. Woo hoo! Most of all I am so excited to spend time with family, just chatting and hanging out. Maybe watch Love Island. Maybe not. Special times. It's a fam plan!

Before we get to that plan we have another plan.

The plan is to get the truck and trailer roadworthy ready for the Grand Adventure.

Since buying our trailer last October we have spent a great deal of time and energy getting a few warranty issues completed so we are safe when we set off. We are still waiting for an awning to be replaced and Kim and Henry are upgrading the toilet next week. It's an ongoing saga that all people who own trailers understand. 

We found out last week that the transmission and a couple of other minor issues needed fixing on the Chevvy. The truck is now in the garage being fixed.

At the same time, we are moving out of our gorgeous apartment and into our temporary apartment with Henry, just for the next four weeks, before we all head off on our mini-trips. It has been exhausting packing, moving boxes, arranging and rearranging, sorting out storage and constantly thinking about what we will actually need to take with us when we begin our Grand Adventure.

​I am still working during all these shenanigans.

Plans. Plans. Plans.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans!

The last few weeks have been hectic, tiring and exceedingly frustrating at times, but we are steadily moving closer to our plan of hitting the road in July. We are tired but excited. We keep catching each others eyes and smiling. Knowing. We are planning and preparing for our Grand Adventure. It's  coming and we can't wait!

From hot pink to flamingo pink and all the princess pinks in between, the pink decor at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, CA, is spectacular and always in vogue. Having featured in TV shows, music videos and movies, the Madonna Inn is a flamboyant starlet.

Pink, pink and even more pink is the theme of the Inn.

Established in 1956 by Alex and Phyllis Madonna (not the Virgin Madonna or the 'Like A Virgin' Madonna) this charming hotel with its shocking pink hues and grotto-like rooms is an iconic Californian Landmark.

We stopped for lunch on a rainy day and were warmed by the colorful welcome.

We couldn't resist a return trip to San Luis Obispo, CA, to add more bubble gum to the walls of Bubble Gum Alley. We last visited in 2008 on Kim's sabbatical. This time we visited in the rain, and had fun trying to make the gum stick!

It was still a bit icky and not the place for germaphobes!

Here are some pics from our rainy day in March 2023 and some pics from June 2008. Double Bubble Gum Fun!

After our visit to Hearst Castle, we stopped at Moonstone Beach looking out over the Pacific Ocean for a fabulous lunch. Oysters, lobsters, calamari and the best cioppino we have ever tasted. Delish!

Henry had a tried and trusted burger.

After lunch we walked along the beach with the wind whipping at our smiley faces. Lots of driftwood to play with due to the Spring tides. We were the only ones there. Kim and Henry had to drag me away. 

William Randolph Hearst the newspaper and magazine publishing tycoon first began building his 'Ranch on the Hill' overlooking the bay of San Simeon back in 1919.  Once built,  the family named their ranch "La Cuesta Encantada,"  Spanish for 'The Enchanted Hill,' as it was often shrouded in a mist, giving it an air of mystery and enchantment. The name 'Hearst Castle' came much later.

Together with Julia Morgan, an esteemed architect determined to be the best in the world at that time, Hearst created a stunning home that played host to some of the richest and most famous people of the day; Winston Churchill, Calvin Coolidge, Charles Lindbergh, Walt Disney, Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant and the list goes on. You can just imagine them relaxing in the opulent castle. 

We were fortunate with the weather and had a memorable day admiring the pools, fountains, pavilions, patios, Spanish inspired twin towers, statues, artwork and the breath taking architecture. How did they manage to get all the building materials up the steep 5 mile long drive way?

Our favorites were the swimming pools; the outdoor Neptune Pool and the indoor Roman Pool with its extravagant gold embossed tiles. We took the Grand Rooms tour but we would love to return to do more of the tours on offer.

We watched the adversarial elephant seals flipping sand, grunting, snarling, bickering and sparring, their behavior much more social and engaged on the beach than their solitary existence in the ocean. 

From the pier at Cayucos, CA, looking back towards Morro Bay, we were lucky enough to spot some grey whales passing through on their migratory route to Alaska. The shoreline was scattered with debris and drift wood due to the high tides at the Spring Equinox. 

Back in 2008 when Kim had his sabbatical from Intel, we set off in the old Sunset Creek trailer for a 2 month road trip up Highway One in California. One of our most favorite stops was Morro Bay, so we were excited to revisit and make new memories. 

Here are some pics from back in 2007 ❤️

And here are the pics from 2023 ❤️

 We almost stumbled on a nudist beach at Pirate's Cove, our first stop of the day in San Luis Obispo Bay, but due to the wet, windy and slippery (arrrr, me hearties, that's what she said) conditions, the path was closed. We did see some disappointed nudists arrive and then depart. 

We drove in the rain to Avila Beach, splashed along the shoreline and then when our teeth began chattering we stopped to warm up with a lovely cuppa coffee from The Kraken. 

We traveled straight to the Pacific Dunes Ranch RV Park just outside Pismo Beach from the Visalia KOA. The California Poppies were in full super bloom, lavishly spread over the lush green hills. They were dancing the flamenco, flamboyantly spreading their vivid orange dresses in joy, waving and winking at us the whole journey. It was a fiesta!