Mendenhall Museum Delights

February 28, 2024

The Mendenhall Museum in Buellton, CA, had a couple of surprises for us. The website says its a museum of gasoline pumps and petroliana. Well, it was that, plus license plates, plus racing memorabilia, plus, plus, plus, including mom's kitchen. One could easily spend hours there looking at all the signs. The tour lasts a good hour and a half, and goes by fast. The tours are typically led by a member of the Mendenhall family.

The first surprise was in their own little gift shop. No less than two jigsaw puzzles have artist renditions of the premises. The story behind the Springbok one is interesting. The Wheels Up one has been discontinued, but the museum has a couple.

The second surprise was the sign for Endless Caverns and the city license plates for both Winchester and Harrisonburg, VA. I'm quite curious as to how those items made it out to CA. 

It was a fun visit for sure!

The Mendenhalls live on the upper level

Richfield

Endless Caverns

Harrisonburg and Winchester city license 

Check out the old fuel pumps

Puzzle inspiration

Puzzle inspiration

Over 200 mph

Mom's kitchen

That looks familiar

No glue needed

Where Are We Going Next?

High School Aquarium

February 21, 2024

I was intrigued when I saw the event listing of a free open house at Cabrillo High School Aquarium. I had never heard of a high school with its own aquarium big enough to sponsor an event. With a quick perusal of their website, we added the event to our calendar. 

We were totally impressed. Students manned the event, eagerly talking about the various species in the tanks as well as the systems for maintaining the water quality. They had a freshwater tank, a tidal tank, and several saltwater tanks. The event had craft activities for younger kids. They had touch tanks and even a puppet show. All of this was done by the students. 

They have science classes geared to each grade level and points toward field trips can be earned by doing extra, such as helping to maintain the tanks in the summer months. Students apply for grants and help at public events and tours. Our camping neighbor next door went to the event as well. She has a masters degree in marine biology, and she said that this high school had better resources than the university where she obtained her degree.  

It was quite refreshing to see this kind of involvement, commitment, and responsibility in teens. All we can say, is "Wow!" 

There's even more than this

Lobster anyone?

Movie star tank

Shark egg layed earlier in the day

Baby shark

Touch tanks with starfish, urchins, anemones, etc.

Black light effect

Where Are We Going Next?

Solvang Motorcycle Museum

February 17, 2024

We based at Vandenberg SFB for a month. Our primary objective was to kill some time at a reasonably safe and affordable place before venturing further in the quest for the California National Parks. While the parks are open year-round, snow in the mountains might mean activities are not available or stores and museums are still closed.

So, one Saturday morning we ventured over to Solvang, a touristy Danish town. Indeed, I hadn't seen that much Danish stuff since we were in Holland, MI. Our goal was the Solvang Motorcycle Museum, which is only open on weekends. The museum is one guy's collection. It focused primarily on vintage and racing bikes, including two one-of-a-kind bikes. Harold really geeked out. Daniel, the docent, has a passion for the bikes and is quite willing to answer questions. 

1922 Megola and 1932 Brough Superior

Has its own Hot Wheels version

Spare tire included

1921 Mars 1000

Yale

Velux one of one 

Honda one of one

1915 Militaire

1957 Aermacchi Chimera

Jawa Ice Racer

1949 Vincent Black Lightning

Where Are We Going Next?

Channel Islands National Park

February 3, 2024

We were going to content ourselves with a stop at the mainland visitor center for Channel Islands National Park. A day trip involved a boat ride and the islands themselves have little or no infrastructure. The weather would be too cold for swimming, and we're not much on water activities. So did we really want to shell out the money for a boat ride just to walk around an island for a bit? 

In the end, we found a half-day wildlife cruise around Anacapa Island. The cruise did not stop on the island itself, just cruised by landmarks such as the lighthouse, famous Arch Rock and Keyhole Arch. We saw dolphin pods and seals resting on the rocks, and lots of birds. It was a pleasant way to spend a morning. 

A couple of days later, after the atmospheric rivers had dumped rain on the area, we made it to the visitor center in Ventura. Got to get that passport stamp!

Away we go!

Oil rig platform

Watching a pod of dolphins

Anacapa in the green

Arch Rock with seals on the left

Arch Rock and lighthouse

Where Are We Going Next?

Joshua Tree National Park

January 29, 2024

From our Palm Springs/Joshua Tree KOA base, we headed about an hour to Joshua Tree National Park. We stopped at the California Visitor Center in Yucca Valley. We chatted with the attendants for a bit and picked up a new CA state map. Their advice was to enter the park at the north entrance in Twentynine Palms. GPS units tend to use the west entrance at Joshua Tree, which can lead to park entrance delays.  

Our first stop in the park was the cholla cactus garden. Then we took a short hike near the Skull Rock. We then drove to the park's highest point, Keys View. The viewpoint overlooks Coachella Valley, the Salton Sea, and surrounding mountain ranges. It's a bit smoggy, but still a pretty good view. Our last stop was the Hidden Valley picnic area, where we took a one mile loop trail. Among the boulders, it was easy to imagine the wild west. Sure glad we were there in January too. The park had so many warnings about hiking in the heat and the need for water. 

Oh, and the Joshua Tree is a member of the yucca cactus family. The tree received its name from early pioneers. The tree's outstretched arms reminded them of Joshua from the Bible. Now that the park information has suggested the tree looks like one from a Dr. Seuss book, I can't get that image out of my head!

Cholla Cactus

Boulders galore

Two of the park's features - Joshua Tree and boulders

Joshua Tree

Hidden Valley area

Where Are We Going Next?

Vegas to Quartzsite

January 21 - 26, 2024

Chris, Harold's friend from high school days, had told us about Vettix, an organization that provides tickets to events for service members and retirees. We used the service to obtain tickets to a comedy/magic show at the Flamingo on the strip in Las Vegas. We had a nice evening and enjoyed the show. Just how do they do that?

Flamingos at the Flamingo

Piff the Magic Dragon

We left Las Vegas the next morning to camp near Quartzsite, AZ. Our goal was to attend the Quartzsite RV Show. We had heard much about this snowbird winter mecca and wanted to check it out. We chose to stay at the KOA in Salome, AZ, about 35 minutes away. We toyed with the idea of boondocking on BLM land, which is the proper thing to do in the area. However, after being in Vegas and attending a crowded show, we thought we'd prefer less traffic, full hookups and amenities such as a hot tub. 

The Quartzsite show was different in a couple of notable ways from the Tampa Supershow or the Hershey RV Show. First, there was only one RV dealer and the rigs were a good mix of new and used. Second, we noted a vendor doing chassis and tire work in tent bays they had set up onsite. Third, we noted a fair number of vendors were employers searching for workampers. 

The beet harvest is one that has Harold intrigued. The Unbeetable Experience has a location near friends in MN. If we both work the 10 - 15 day season, we could about pay for a set of tires. Before you dismiss that idea, remember we're talking a thousand to fifteen hunded per tire plus the installation. The guy told Harold that some grandparents come work the harvest so that they can treat their family to Disney vacations. Anyway, we'll see what the future holds. 

Rainy day in the desert

Quartzsite RV Show in the big tent

Where Are We Going Next?