The Duck has landed

@GeorgeTheDuck took USPS Airlines all the way across the US to join us on our road trip to go to  BlogPaws this year!

He arrived today! We all are so excited to have him with us.

tsk is checking out the travel accommodations

tsk and George getting to know each other. George brought gifts with him!

 

 

 

took these two no time to be fast friends! Playing in a paper sack..

tsk and George with their Flat pals

 

Everyone is ready for BlogPaws!

@Dashkitten ,#AngelPetie  (@petiethecat) , flat tsk,  and George

will be piling in the RV with us and the real tsk as we begin our road trip to Blogpaws.

Leaving sunday, stopping occasionally for some cycling, we will have great fun at Blogpaws and see lots of pals! Then we will continue east to do more cycling, perhaps Boulder CO and Moab UT.

Stay tuned here for lots of photos and adventures of our trip!

Mt Diablo

After leaving Santa Cruz County we stopped at Mt Diablo overnight. 

We were hoping that the campground was at the base. Sadly, not the case. And once you start up the narrow, winding, hairpin turning road there is no place to turn around an RV. So up we went.

The road traveled by motorhome, then by bicycle

 

Our room with a view

Climbing up to the summit observation deck

Winner and Champion (or is that chimpanzee?)

Our evenings vista

Next mornings alarm clock....

...to get an early start down the mountain before the traffic started. And then back home.

We had a really nice time on our trip. Next planned trip is to Blogpaws in June.

Stay tuned for more fun and adventure from the meandering moodys!

Coastal Cruising

Today we went for a ride we found on the Santa Cruz County Cycling Club's website. We just chose one randomly but it was an excellent choice. It took us away from the ocean and up into the hills. Many different views to be seen. Thru eucalyptus groves and vineyards, gentleman ranches and strawberry fields (forever). 

Here are some photos of our day

Beautiful flowers along the way

An old rusty car

 

Rodeo practice, mechanical bull pulled by a tractor

 

The road always seems to go up

Sunset beach

TSK meeting park kitty, and smelling the flowers

Have had a pleasant time here, tomorrow we are heading towards home, perhaps stopping at Mt Diablo for a night and some cycling.

KOM

...or King of the Mountains

After leaving Sanborn Park we drove on yet more twisty narrow winding roads. Good thing our motorhome is short and Jim has excellent driving skills.

We were able to find a fairly flat wide spot off the road to watch the race as they came by.

But they weren't coming till the next day so what else to do but ride some of the course.

The spot were we were was about 20 miles from the finish in Santa Cruz so we rode there. When the racers go thru the roads will be closed. No cars. Sadly, they didn't do that for us so when in Santa Cruz we were looking at a map and a very kind tow truck driver helped us find a different way back. Of course it was all uphill. And we missed one of our turns. But it was a good ride. Unfortunately we have nary a photo as the battery died in the phone.

Monday, the day of stage 2 we got up and rode the other way before they closed the road. The way the racers would be coming up. Into the town of Boulder Creek.

It was nice to see other spectators showing up and lots of cyclists doing the same thing we were.

Stopped at the Rainbow's End for cappuccino and muffin. They have a tree growing in the middle of the place

Jim at the 5k to go sign, the KOM, and Dana chalking the road

Our perfect spot, wacky spectator, the racers!

#35 George Hincapie

the last racers coming thru, and the lone Lantern Rouge..

After the roads opened up we managed to get turned around and off to our next stop. Aptos, just south of Santa Cruz. We are just a block away from the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Ocean

The Palo Alto, built as a concrete warship, bought and moored at the end of the pier to be used as an entertainment venue in the early 30s. Was only opened for 2 years. Now just home to the local birds.

An end to a long day at the famous Manuel's Mexican Restaurant

Road to Sanborn Park

Planning a trip to watch a stage of the Tour of California first entailed getting the motorhome out of storage, and then getting it washed. We found a truck stop that washes RVs. Having a motorhome means spending more time at truckstops than you ever imagined...

We drove to Saratoga to Sanborn Park, passing the Mothball Fleet in Benicia.

Kitty KoPilot

Next stop was Sanborn Park, after a harrowing drive up the narrow steep winding road to get there.

A lovely setting in the redwoods, went for a hike in the woods.

tsk and some of the plentiful deer that roam the park.

Next stop will be near the KOM of stage 2 in the #ATOC.

We are a few days behind in posting due to bad connection and no wifi.

Playing catch up 

The Making of Flat Cat

In June, we will be taking the Motorhome and driving to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend Blogpaws. It will be one of a several stops we make since we will be taking bikes and plan on going to Moab for some good cycling too. Of course tsk will be coming with us, and being that Blogpaws is all about animals he would be welcome at the conference. But even though he is a very easy going kitty, we feel it might be a bit too much of a sensory overload for him. So we made a Flat TSK to take into the conference. It was surprisingly easy to do, so if any of you are thinking of leaving your four legged furbabies at home but want to bring a Flat version of them, here's how:

Items needed

Foam Board (I used one 20x30x3/16, plenty to make 2 flats)

Xacto knife

Spray Adhesive (photo safe)

11x14 Photo of your pet

The above items cost $12.70, before tax

For the photos, I used my photo editing app to remove the background from the image, figuring it would be easier to cut out that way. Also using an image that was taken straight on at them, as opposed to looking down or up at the kitty. Since the photo was going to be printed out large, I made it 990x1260 pixels to ensure a clear image. I used Costco's online photo store to upload and order the 11x14 prints. But Target and many other stores have the same type of deal. Costco was $2.99 for a 11x14 print and Target was $7.99. Make sure you chose a non glossy finish. 

Items at the ready

 

 

I cut a piece of the foam board to the size of the photo to make it easier to handle. Spray the back of the photo and the foam board, firmly attach the photo. I wiped the front of it with a cloth to ensure no air in between.

Using the Xacto knife I carefully cut along the fur line, leaving a flat bottom edge so it would stand. The xacto knife worked well in a sort of semi sawing motion. Here are Flat #AngelPetie and Flat TSK.

Using a piece of scrap foam board, affix with heavy duty tape making sure one side will lie flat for easy transport.

tsk checking out his Flat self!

The finished Flats of #AngelPetie and tsk, ready for BlogPaws!!

If anyone needs help with some photo editing of their pet to make a Flat Pet, let me know.

Last Leg....

...of our trip. Dropping the RV off at storage, then making our way back up the hill.

All in all we had a good time. The weather wasn't always perfect, and the scenery wasn't always pretty we were able to get on our bikes and ride. And we did have sunshine with no snow.

But the best thing of all was that we were all together.

tsk ready to drive!

A relaxed tsk on my lap while we are on the road.

One thing we did see while staying at some RV parks was the real 'snowbirds'. Folks that come from Canada, Montana, Wisconsin, etc and spend 6 months at the RV parks where it's warm. Many of them were starting to pack up and make their way home where the snow is starting to melt.

At our house, sadly, it's been snowing...a lot... while we have been gone. Seems winter is here now. 

Might have to plan another trip soon!