Heading Home

We had only a short hop home, but the high winds that were fueling all the fires around the North County were a concern. We normally go around L. A. through Pasadena and then hit the I-215 above Corona. With the high winds, we decided to stay close to the coast. We drove through L. A. on the the I-405 and then stayed on the I-5 to reach San Diego. We had some tense moments in the Ventura area, but by the time we reached L. A., the highway was sheltered enough from the winds that we were back up to normal speeds.

When we reached San Juan Capistrano, we calculated we had about 90 minutes left and we would be home at 3:00. Five miles later, we were stopped. We occasionally creeped forward, but mostly we were stopped. A truck had caught fire on the shoulder of the freeway near San Onofre, and the fire had jumped the freeway. It was burning on both sides of I-5, and the freeway was closed. It took us 1 1/2 hours to drive from San Onofre to Oceanside. Helicopters poured water on the remnants of the fire when we finally reached the fire area. Camp Pendleton already had 3 fires burning, so they had lots of fire fighting aircraft in the area. The fire charred a big area near the San Onofre State Beach Campground in a very short time.

We finally got home just in time for the evening traffic, but without incident. The only thing left was to unpack the motorhome and get everything cleaned up. Traveling is fun. The cleanup is not. And tomorrow is supposed to be 105 degrees in La Mesa. Maybe we should have camped one more day where we would have A/C in the motorhome. It's ironic that we have A/C in the motorhome but not in our home.

Favorites of the Trip

Favorite day of the trip: Napa with Brian and Michelle

Best food: All the main restaurants were so good that we couldn't agree on a single restaurant. In fact, neither of us could even come up with one favorite for ourselves.

Favorite section of San Francisco: Haight-Ashbury

Best view of Golden Gate: Marin Headlands

Favorite Winery: Castello di Amorosa. How can you beat a Tuscan castle complete with farm animals?

Cutest: Sorry, it wasn't a person. It had to be the sea otters. Carol voted for the wooden sheep cutouts on the hillside in Napa.

Best lighthouse: Pigeon Point or Pt. Bonita

Favorite landscape scene: Cow Arch. The pasture with the Herefords in front of the gorgeous coast was amazing.

Favorite coastline shot: McWay Falls

Favorite San Francisco shot: Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park

Favorite HDR images: Great Room in Castello di Amorosa winery. Carol voted for Filoli Sunken Garden