We have some catching up to do. This addition of the blog will look like a photo gallery. Lots of pictures to share.
It’s Sunday night, and we haven’t written about Thursday night and later. After we went to the Hearst Castle we went back to Morro Bay and met Christina Elliott-Sheffield, a high school classmate of ours. Connie and Christina were very close friends from kindergarten through high school. We met at the motorhome and visited for several hours. Then we went to San Luis Obispo for a brief city tour, farmer’s market and dinner by the creek that runs through the downtown. We left for Los Angeles on Friday morning and got to our KOA near Ventura by early afternoon.
When we got parked and leveled the MH we usually run out the slide rooms. On Friday, we could not get the bedroom slide to do anything. It wouldn’t even make an attempt to slide out. I call the service desk at Winnebago, and he suggested a couple of things to try. I disconnected a fuse and put it back together and the slide room went out. Then I tried to bring it in and nothing happened. One more call to Winnebago, and we agreed that the electric motor is probably shot. We made an appointment with the local Winnebago dealer and will have them look at the problem on Monday. If parts are needed we will have to stay in the area a couple of more days. I will also have them fix a couple of other issues when it’s in the shop. It seems there is always something to go wrong. (It doesn’t just seem that way, it happens all the time.)
Friday night, we ventured over to my cousin, Tom and Barb McConville’s, for a visit. Tom and Barb are both teachers. Tom teaches at a private school, Villanova in Ojai, and Barb teaches special ed at the high school in Oxnard. We visited about “cousin stuff” and had pizza. It’s always FUN to get together with family.
On Saturday, we drove to the beach in Oxnard and spent most of the afternoon and evening with Larry and Shelia Chase. Larry was also in our high school class. We had lunch and watched Wisconsin beat Iowa. They gave us a tour of the area, and we stopped at the Channel Island Visitor’s Center. We had a fabulous time! Our seafood dinner was fabulous also!
Today, Sunday, we visited the Gamble House and Huntington Gardens and Museum. In the evening we went out to dinner with my cousin Tom. Barb was in San Francisco baby sitting their grandson. It was quite a day.
This is exactly how Connie and Christina act (giggle) when they get together. It’s funny just to listen and watch them.
This is a “morro” (a monolith) at Morro Bay.
My cousin Tom McConville and his wife Barb.
When we were with Larry and Shelia Chase we drove to the Channel Island National Park Visitor’s Center. We got the “Passport” book stamped, but did not take the boat ride to the islands.
The Gamble House was built by the Architects Greene & Greene in 1908. It’s one of the top ten residential homes in the Los Angeles area. The Gambles were owners of the Proctor & Gamble Company and built this as a winter home to escape the winters in Cincinnati. The house cost $50,000 to build back then and today it’s priceless. The attraction to the house is that all the interior is wood and most of the joinery is exposed. There are also many different types of woods used. The front door is teak. Other woods are Douglas Fir, Oak, and Cherry. The architects designed everything - the house, most of the furniture, the carpets, and the landscaping. Two of the bedrooms upstairs were furnished in original Stickley furniture. Some of the Greene & Greene furniture is so historic that it was on loan to the Huntington Museum for a special exhibit. In the early 60’s, heirs of the Gambles considered selling the home. They put the home on the market, but when they overheard one couple talk about painting the interior wood paneling and trim WHITE, they decided to give the home to USC and the City of Pasadena. In 1978, it was designated as a National Historic Site.
The Huntington is the residence of Henry Huntington and was built in 1911. Since then several other buildings have been added. One gallery (55,000 sq. ft.) “display one of the finest collections of European art in the nation.” Here you’ll can see photos we took of the original Blue Boy and Pinkie. Another gallery (16,000 sq. ft.) has American art. I especially noticed several Remington bronzes and several pieces of early American furniture. The chest on chest was made in Massachusetts, pre-1775! The chair and music stands were made by Sam Maloof. Sam specialized in custom rocking chairs, some of which ended up in the White House and the Smithsonian. He died within the past two years. He was over 90 years old, still worked every day and had orders for chairs that would have kept him busy another ten years. The museum even has a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. There is also a collection of rare books.
The gardens were past their peak and you had to look to find the really beautiful roses, but there were some.
Thomas Paine’s words are as true today as when he spoke them in 1776!