Places Visited:
We headed north to San Clemente today. Although we are moving the Motorhome there tomorrow we have so much to see and do while there that we though we should try to get some of those things accomplished today. The only practical way to get to San Clemente from Oceanside is via I-5 or "the-5" in California speak. At one time the Pacific Highway connected the two cities. Now the Pacific Coast Highway has been converted to a State Park. We exited "the 5" at exit 71 and headed south on the "Old Pacific Coast Highway" hoping to get a glimpse of the great surfing spot near the nuclear power plant. Surfers were there in force but we couldn't see them. Camp Pendleton had a Rec area and campground on the coast but it was not open to civilians or so the sign said. We continued south past the nuclear power plant to the entrance to San Onorfe State Beach & campground. The individual on the gate let us drive in to "look" at the Campground without having to pay the $10 day-use fee. As it turned out a parking area has been added too much of the roadside. Further along, where space allowed, larger parking spaces were marked off and numbers assigned. These spaces were "campsites"----with no utilities that command $28 per-night. According to park literature 3-miles of the old road has been converted to a campground. There are several dump stations, they called them "sanitary disposals" scattered along the old highway now a state park. Before reaching the end of the road/campground we turned around and continued our trek to San Clemente. We were only a few miles south of San Clemente State Beach/Park & Campground where we are moving to tomorrow. We stopped by there to check things out. This is one of the few California State parks that have hookups. We liked the looks of it. From San Clemente State Park we went looking for President Nixon's western White House when he was in office. His old home is now owned by a wealthy Republican. Trees have matured and now block almost all views of the old White House. Close was good enough. One thing I can say is Nixon had a GOOD view. The old grounds consisted of 25-acres. Those 25-acres are now a posh gated community so there is nothing to see of the actual house from Avenida del Presidente the road leading to the "gate".
In San Clemente we turned off the El Camino Real toward the San Clemente Pier and ran smack into one of those "Market Days" with vendors selling fresh vegetables and flowers. Naturally we stopped and participated in the fun. The vendors were selling beautiful cut flowers, fruits and vegetables.
The Pier and beach area were so crowded that we could not find a parking place. We will have to return tomorrow or Tuesday and walk on the pier. It just wasn't a possibility today.
Our next stop was Dana Point Harbor. We were mesmerized by this facility. It is so big and beautiful. Huge green areas abound throughout the harbor area as well as ample parking. Many hundreds of private boats are moored in the harbor. Restaurants and specialty shops litter the complex like confetti. Landscaping is impeccable. The place is just inviting. We weren't intending to but we ended up spending the rest of the afternoon at the harbor. As we passed by the boat that transports passengers to and from Catalina Island we stopped to listen to the band and ended up sitting down and enjoying them until they folded up shop at 4PM. A ride to Catalina would be something fun to do------but we do not have time in our schedule for that.
Near Carlsbad on I-5 in an area that we presumed was Camp Pendleton we could see fields as in hundreds of acres where some kind of crop is grown on sticks. These sticks/boards appeared to be about 5' tall and spaced 2' to 3' apart. There weren't any plants visible at this time just bare ground. We are assuming that the plants will appear shortly. Does anyone know what they are growing on those sticks?
It was getting late when we arrived back in Oceanside and made a swing around the Oceanside Marina to see the dredge perfroming maintenance dredging to the channel out of Oceanside Marina and to check on the RV's spending the weekend in the Marina Parking lot.
Some people enjoy life more than others. These people obviously "enjoy life". This Class "C" motorhome is dedked out to the "9'es" so to speak. Racks on the other side of this motorhome held several surf boards. This picture was taken around 6PM on Sunday afternoon after 95% of the weekend campers had long departed. It is obvious to even the casual observer that these folks will not depart until after the sun goes down. They are going to squeeze everything possible out of this weekend. You gotta love it.
There is just so much to see and do that we can't pack it all in. Monday, May 16, San Mateo Campground (state park) San Clemente, California: Free but normally $24 with water & 30-amps central dump. Paved interior roads and sites. N33° 24.365' W117° 35.006'. After spending 15-days in the San Diego area (Carlsbad & Oceanside) we disconnected utility connections and bid farewell to this part of southern California. There was so much that we did not see and get to do but 15-days is a big chunk of the 4-months we are spending in California this summer. We did not make it far up the road. In fact we only moved 23-miles north to a state park in San Clemente. We had a number of things on our list to do in this area. We got some of them accomplished yesterday. San Mateo State Park Campground is less than a mile east of I-5 on the northern border of Camp Pendleton and in the city limits of San Clemente. We are now in Orange County after having been in San Diego County. San Clemente's claim to fame has to be that President Nixon had a house/compound here. In fact the state park is only a mile away from where the old Nixon compound is located. Other than the Western White House being located here for a time San Clemente has a wonderful beach and pier with a quaint downtown shopping area. Eight miles up I-5 from San Clemente is the town of San Juan Capistrano. The famous Mission San Juan Capistrano noted as the mission where the swallows return each March 19 or sometime near that. I suspect Mission San Juan Capistrano is the most famous of all the California Missions. It is touted as being the "Jewel of all Missions". There was a $6 admission fee to go into the compound and look up close at the crumbling mission. We elected not to do that but we did walk through the current church and found it to be rewarding as well as beautiful. The old stone church of San Juan Capistrano was all but destroyed when the roof collapsed during the earthquake if 1812. Arches of the two story high vaulted Chapel were left bare and exposed when the roof collapsed. The famous cliff swallows that at one time returned to the "Old Mission" built mud nests on the ruins of that old stone church. I kept looking for the swallows but never saw any. There is a good reason I didn't see any. There aren't any. The swallows that used to return to the old mission now return to the area but nest in cliffs along rivers and the ocean around San Juan Capistrano. I guess that is a small fact the tourism bureau has conveniently neglected to promulgate.
Construction on the "Old Mission" began in 1776 but was destroyed in 1812 by an earthquake only 6 years after it was completed. It is the remnants of this "Old Mission" that became the summer home for the "swallows of Capistrano". The Old Mission is located inside a walled 10-acre compound located in the center of the small, eponymously named town a few miles inland from the coast. As you can see I took this picture from outside the walled compound thus I have some of the wall in the foreground of the picture. I think it is good enough for you to see what Mission San Juan Capistrano is all about.
Ancient bougainvillea vines brighten not only the Old Mission grounds but the old train depot and several of the extremely old adobe homes in the town. This bouganvillea display is adjacent to the old train depot two blocks from the old mission and across the Amtrack tracks from "Old-historic" San Juan Capistrano. After eyeballing the old Mission San Juan Capistrano from the street we set out on the walking tour of old San Juan Capistrano the "town" outside the Mission.
While the Mission dates from 1776 some residential and commercial buildings in town also date from the 1790's and early 1800's. Get a grip on those dates. That is prior to the Civil War and prior to California becoming a state. One of the old adobe houses from 1794 has been continuously occupied by a member of the Rios family since that time. The 10th generation is residing in the house now. It is the oldest residence in California continuously occupied by a single family. For those of you not familiar with adobe they are "bricks" formed with mud and straw. They are NOT fire hardened like the bricks modern homes are constructed with. Adobe bricks require annual maintenance to replace what has been washed away by the infrequent rain. It is amazing to reflect on how this simple adobe house has been here and in use for over 200-years. Three adobe homes built in 1794 as housing for families with ties to the Mission are still used for housing today one of these is the Rios house. These adobe houses in the Los Rios District, about a block west of the Mission, reveal a policy unique to Mission San Juan. It was the first mission to allow Indians working within the mission system to reside outside mission grounds. This is thought to have been important to the generally good relationship in San Juan Capistrano between Indians and Spanish newcomers.
We enjoyed walking through this OLD neighborhood. Ancient California pepper trees, date palms, bougainvillea bushes, orange trees, rose bushes and other tropical plants have thrived here since possibly the late 1700's. We really enjoyed seeing all these old plants and trees in addition to some of the oldest buildings in California.
We were planning to eat at the El Adobe Restaurant (President Nixon's favorite restaurant) but it looked closed when we pulled into the parking lot and Joyce said "I don't want to have Mexican food again today--ugggg". She suggested in a way that only wives can suggest ---------- that she would prefer us returning to Dana Pt Marina where there were numerous "upscale" restaurants with atmosphere, view and menu appropriate for a princess.
Back at Dana Pt Marina I was looking for Delaney's that Don Robertson had told me about. We looked for it yesterday and didn't find it dining instead at the Brig. We looked unsuccessfully again today before Joyce spotted the Beach House and announced that some people she had met recommended it and the Beach House would be the perfect place for this princess to dine. Guess what? We ate lunch at the Beach House overlooking several hundred of the boats moored on the south side of Dana Pt Marina.
This is the view from the restaurants window.
Since the pier area in San Clemente was so crowded yesterday, Sunday, afternoon with beach worshipers that we couldn't get a parking space we headed back to the pier today to see if we could find a parking spot and walk on the pier. Monday afternoon is much more conducive to locating a parking spot. In fact there were plenty of them this afternoon. We enjoyed our walk on the pier where we watched pelicans, lifeguards, surfers and a host of other sights. The beachside cliffs lined with luxury homes and offices are so beautiful. Had we not eaten a big lunch we would have ducked into one of the eateries on the pier for dinner.
After spending a mere hour at the motorhome it was nearing time for the sun to fall over the western horizon in its normal blaze of glory. We dutifully jumped in the Saturn and headed to the public beach near the entrance to San Clemente State Park where Joyce recorded the last gasps of today's sun as it sank in the western Pacific.
This was a full day and we
have another one scheduled for tomorrow when we head up to Newport Beach to meet
a friend for lunch.
Until next week just remember how good life is. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- First and foremost to help us keep track of information for return trips and to document things like mileage, names, addresses and phone numbers. Also to help fellow RV'ers and to let family & friends follow our journey. We send these travelogues via an e-mail distribution list every week when we are on the road, if you would like to be added to that distribution list just e-mail me at the address below: Mike
& Joyce HendrixPlaces Visited:
We headed north to San Clemente today. Although we are moving the Motorhome there tomorrow we have so much to see and do while there that we though we should try to get some of those things accomplished today. The only practical way to get to San Clemente from Oceanside is via I-5 or "the-5" in California speak. At one time the Pacific Highway connected the two cities. Now the Pacific Coast Highway has been converted to a State Park. We exited "the 5" at exit 71 and headed south on the "Old Pacific Coast Highway" hoping to get a glimpse of the great surfing spot near the nuclear power plant. Surfers were there in force but we couldn't see them. Camp Pendleton had a Rec area and campground on the coast but it was not open to civilians or so the sign said. We continued south past the nuclear power plant to the entrance to San Onorfe State Beach & campground. The individual on the gate let us drive in to "look" at the Campground without having to pay the $10 day-use fee. As it turned out a parking area has been added too much of the roadside. Further along, where space allowed, larger parking spaces were marked off and numbers assigned. These spaces were "campsites"----with no utilities that command $28 per-night. According to park literature 3-miles of the old road has been converted to a campground. There are several dump stations, they called them "sanitary disposals" scattered along the old highway now a state park. Before reaching the end of the road/campground we turned around and continued our trek to San Clemente. We were only a few miles south of San Clemente State Beach/Park & Campground where we are moving to tomorrow. We stopped by there to check things out. This is one of the few California State parks that have hookups. We liked the looks of it. From San Clemente State Park we went looking for President Nixon's western White House when he was in office. His old home is now owned by a wealthy Republican. Trees have matured and now block almost all views of the old White House. Close was good enough. One thing I can say is Nixon had a GOOD view. The old grounds consisted of 25-acres. Those 25-acres are now a posh gated community so there is nothing to see of the actual house from Avenida del Presidente the road leading to the "gate".
In San Clemente we turned off the El Camino Real toward the San Clemente Pier and ran smack into one of those "Market Days" with vendors selling fresh vegetables and flowers. Naturally we stopped and participated in the fun. The vendors were selling beautiful cut flowers, fruits and vegetables.
The Pier and beach area were so crowded that we could not find a parking place. We will have to return tomorrow or Tuesday and walk on the pier. It just wasn't a possibility today.
Our next stop was Dana Point Harbor. We were mesmerized by this facility. It is so big and beautiful. Huge green areas abound throughout the harbor area as well as ample parking. Many hundreds of private boats are moored in the harbor. Restaurants and specialty shops litter the complex like confetti. Landscaping is impeccable. The place is just inviting. We weren't intending to but we ended up spending the rest of the afternoon at the harbor. As we passed by the boat that transports passengers to and from Catalina Island we stopped to listen to the band and ended up sitting down and enjoying them until they folded up shop at 4PM. A ride to Catalina would be something fun to do------but we do not have time in our schedule for that.
Near Carlsbad on I-5 in an area that we presumed was Camp Pendleton we could see fields as in hundreds of acres where some kind of crop is grown on sticks. These sticks/boards appeared to be about 5' tall and spaced 2' to 3' apart. There weren't any plants visible at this time just bare ground. We are assuming that the plants will appear shortly. Does anyone know what they are growing on those sticks?
It was getting late when we arrived back in Oceanside and made a swing around the Oceanside Marina to see the dredge perfroming maintenance dredging to the channel out of Oceanside Marina and to check on the RV's spending the weekend in the Marina Parking lot.
Some people enjoy life more than others. These people obviously "enjoy life". This Class "C" motorhome is dedked out to the "9'es" so to speak. Racks on the other side of this motorhome held several surf boards. This picture was taken around 6PM on Sunday afternoon after 95% of the weekend campers had long departed. It is obvious to even the casual observer that these folks will not depart until after the sun goes down. They are going to squeeze everything possible out of this weekend. You gotta love it.
There is just so much to see and do that we can't pack it all in. Monday, May 16, San Mateo Campground (state park) San Clemente, California: Free but normally $24 with water & 30-amps central dump. Paved interior roads and sites. N33° 24.365' W117° 35.006'. After spending 15-days in the San Diego area (Carlsbad & Oceanside) we disconnected utility connections and bid farewell to this part of southern California. There was so much that we did not see and get to do but 15-days is a big chunk of the 4-months we are spending in California this summer. We did not make it far up the road. In fact we only moved 23-miles north to a state park in San Clemente. We had a number of things on our list to do in this area. We got some of them accomplished yesterday. San Mateo State Park Campground is less than a mile east of I-5 on the northern border of Camp Pendleton and in the city limits of San Clemente. We are now in Orange County after having been in San Diego County. San Clemente's claim to fame has to be that President Nixon had a house/compound here. In fact the state park is only a mile away from where the old Nixon compound is located. Other than the Western White House being located here for a time San Clemente has a wonderful beach and pier with a quaint downtown shopping area. Eight miles up I-5 from San Clemente is the town of San Juan Capistrano. The famous Mission San Juan Capistrano noted as the mission where the swallows return each March 19 or sometime near that. I suspect Mission San Juan Capistrano is the most famous of all the California Missions. It is touted as being the "Jewel of all Missions". There was a $6 admission fee to go into the compound and look up close at the crumbling mission. We elected not to do that but we did walk through the current church and found it to be rewarding as well as beautiful. The old stone church of San Juan Capistrano was all but destroyed when the roof collapsed during the earthquake if 1812. Arches of the two story high vaulted Chapel were left bare and exposed when the roof collapsed. The famous cliff swallows that at one time returned to the "Old Mission" built mud nests on the ruins of that old stone church. I kept looking for the swallows but never saw any. There is a good reason I didn't see any. There aren't any. The swallows that used to return to the old mission now return to the area but nest in cliffs along rivers and the ocean around San Juan Capistrano. I guess that is a small fact the tourism bureau has conveniently neglected to promulgate.
Construction on the "Old Mission" began in 1776 but was destroyed in 1812 by an earthquake only 6 years after it was completed. It is the remnants of this "Old Mission" that became the summer home for the "swallows of Capistrano". The Old Mission is located inside a walled 10-acre compound located in the center of the small, eponymously named town a few miles inland from the coast. As you can see I took this picture from outside the walled compound thus I have some of the wall in the foreground of the picture. I think it is good enough for you to see what Mission San Juan Capistrano is all about.
Ancient bougainvillea vines brighten not only the Old Mission grounds but the old train depot and several of the extremely old adobe homes in the town. This bouganvillea display is adjacent to the old train depot two blocks from the old mission and across the Amtrack tracks from "Old-historic" San Juan Capistrano. After eyeballing the old Mission San Juan Capistrano from the street we set out on the walking tour of old San Juan Capistrano the "town" outside the Mission.
While the Mission dates from 1776 some residential and commercial buildings in town also date from the 1790's and early 1800's. Get a grip on those dates. That is prior to the Civil War and prior to California becoming a state. One of the old adobe houses from 1794 has been continuously occupied by a member of the Rios family since that time. The 10th generation is residing in the house now. It is the oldest residence in California continuously occupied by a single family. For those of you not familiar with adobe they are "bricks" formed with mud and straw. They are NOT fire hardened like the bricks modern homes are constructed with. Adobe bricks require annual maintenance to replace what has been washed away by the infrequent rain. It is amazing to reflect on how this simple adobe house has been here and in use for over 200-years. Three adobe homes built in 1794 as housing for families with ties to the Mission are still used for housing today one of these is the Rios house. These adobe houses in the Los Rios District, about a block west of the Mission, reveal a policy unique to Mission San Juan. It was the first mission to allow Indians working within the mission system to reside outside mission grounds. This is thought to have been important to the generally good relationship in San Juan Capistrano between Indians and Spanish newcomers.
We enjoyed walking through this OLD neighborhood. Ancient California pepper trees, date palms, bougainvillea bushes, orange trees, rose bushes and other tropical plants have thrived here since possibly the late 1700's. We really enjoyed seeing all these old plants and trees in addition to some of the oldest buildings in California.
We were planning to eat at the El Adobe Restaurant (President Nixon's favorite restaurant) but it looked closed when we pulled into the parking lot and Joyce said "I don't want to have Mexican food again today--ugggg". She suggested in a way that only wives can suggest ---------- that she would prefer us returning to Dana Pt Marina where there were numerous "upscale" restaurants with atmosphere, view and menu appropriate for a princess.
Back at Dana Pt Marina I was looking for Delaney's that Don Robertson had told me about. We looked for it yesterday and didn't find it dining instead at the Brig. We looked unsuccessfully again today before Joyce spotted the Beach House and announced that some people she had met recommended it and the Beach House would be the perfect place for this princess to dine. Guess what? We ate lunch at the Beach House overlooking several hundred of the boats moored on the south side of Dana Pt Marina.
This is the view from the restaurants window.
Since the pier area in San Clemente was so crowded yesterday, Sunday, afternoon with beach worshipers that we couldn't get a parking space we headed back to the pier today to see if we could find a parking spot and walk on the pier. Monday afternoon is much more conducive to locating a parking spot. In fact there were plenty of them this afternoon. We enjoyed our walk on the pier where we watched pelicans, lifeguards, surfers and a host of other sights. The beachside cliffs lined with luxury homes and offices are so beautiful. Had we not eaten a big lunch we would have ducked into one of the eateries on the pier for dinner.
After spending a mere hour at the motorhome it was nearing time for the sun to fall over the western horizon in its normal blaze of glory. We dutifully jumped in the Saturn and headed to the public beach near the entrance to San Clemente State Park where Joyce recorded the last gasps of today's sun as it sank in the western Pacific.
This was a full day and we have another one
scheduled for tomorrow when we head up to Newport Beach to meet a friend for lunch. Until next week just remember how good life is. Mike & Joyce Hendrix
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