Moss Landing (2)

So Alissa, it’s your birthday. What would you most like to do in the world? Oh, I don’t know, maybe kayak with otters and see shows in Ashland with friends? And Dory says, “Poof! Let it be so! But let’s also throw in a week of Spring Break and some oversized margaritas. Sound ok?” Thank you, yes. That sounds divine.

Leading off our celebration week, we repeated last year’s successful combo birthday trip with our daughter, so she could enjoy the weekend in Monterey. The only challenge there was to be able to clear out a passenger seat for her, given how much extra camping stuff we have acquired. We dropped her off in the heart of Cannery Row, while we spent the weekend enjoying our favorite activities and favorite restaurants.

The KOA is located ideally for launching a kayak in the Elkhorn Slough. I wish more of my pictures of otters came out. Sadly, most were as fuzzy as the newborn pups, floating around on their mommies’ tummies. For dinner, we had only to walk across the street to either Whole Enchilada or Haute Enchilada, where the food is fantastic and the decor uniquely eclectic. After dinner, we went for a stroll and discovered another place, Phil’s Fish Market, that we will have to try out next time. The campground has full hookups, clean bathrooms, and friendly hosts. It’s not nature camping and doesn’t pretend to be. But when you’re away being outdoorsy all day, it is a perfect place to park your rolling hotel room. And here are some otter videos for your enjoyment:

Part one of the extended birthday week complete, we dropped the other birthday girl at home and immediately continued north. We only paused at home long enough for her to get out, us to have a bathroom break, and we were on the road again.

I should note that prior to this outing, Dory got a mani-pedi from our BFF Randy, of Randy’s Mobile. She got some nice new tires and he put in a new axle for the Caravan Mover wheels. Given the maneuvering we do on the driveway, and the frequency of our outings, it is not too surprising that this particular item is experiencing wear and tear. Ok, one of them we kind of ran over while backing, but the other one was bending due to stress and frequent use on an incline. The axle was pretty well bent, though it was still able to function. It just squeaked a lot. It’s much better now. We love Randy.

Oh, we also installed new flooring in Dory from a place called Chilewich. Another Altoiste posted pictures and I was immediately impressed. The material is synthetic and is easy to hose off to clean. It’s comfortable under bare feet and adds a nice homey feeling to the interior. It is easy to cut to fit the space and just lifts out for cleaning. There are many fun colors and patterns to choose from, as well as lots of different sizes. In all, we used 2 Doormats, 1 Big Mat, and 1 Utility Mat. So far, I am liking it quite a bit, though I have yet to spill my protein shake all over it. I shall report back on the cleaning part after I accidentally test that.

Total miles: 106.8, 17.2 mpg, 2 hours 30 min