Saying goodbye to my Great Grandparents in Oceanside

Lots of cities reuse the same street names, like Market St. or Walnut St. For me the real El Camino Real is in Oceanside, where my great grandparents lived. My family would regularly drive to So Cal and visit both sets of grandparents to play cards, dominoes, create plastic canvas art, sew clothes and bake pies.

In 10th grade, when I started taking classes at the local public school to supplement my home school education, three of my four great grandparents passed away. The last living grandparent was Carol, my great grandpa who's pictured below holding a bottle of ketchup. The story behind the photo was that we were sitting around the dining room table and he told me that worms used to be processed into the ketchup, because they'd be in the tomatoes. I was so grossed out having just eaten dinner with ketchup- that just cracked up my grandpa. 

I'd write letters to Carol and he'd reply with a typewriter written letter. Then one day when I was in college he didnt write back. Nor did he respond back to my mother's letters. Given that he was born around 1907, I'm sure that he's passed away, but I wanted to visit The Lamplighter, his old trailer park home in Oceanside. 

It's a gated community, but lucky me, my motorcycle is skinny enough to slip between the tire spikes. I waited for someone to leave the park, and I went in the out exit. 

I hadnt been there in 15 years, but everything looked the same and I easily navigated back to Ruby and Carol's old spot. I talked to one of the senior neighbors to see if he knew my grandparents. This gentleman said he didnt recognize me with my helmet on. We actually have never met, but I didnt want to tell him that. I played along and asked if he knew Carol, but unfortunately he moved in 11 years ago and by the sounds of it, Carol had passed away by then. 

I was pressed for time to make it to Escondido to check-in at the Deer Park Monastery so I couldnt stay as long as I'd like. I teared up on the ride out of the park. That place is so full of so many wonderful memories. 

Read more: The California Motorcycle Tour 2014 Table of Contents

Right of Passage- Riding in LA

When I was planning this trip and getting advice on what to see and roads to avoid, a friend who owned a motorcycle shop told me not to ride in LA. The drivers are nuts. They are reckless and wont see me. His friends in LA dont ride bikes for that reason. I'd heard the same thing from several other people. Part of the reason for this adventure was to get away from traffic and go back to nature, so it seemed like no big deal staying away from LA.

When I was in Santa Barbara, I remembered that there was a Vietnamese monastery that I heard about a few years back when I was staying at a Soto Zen monastery. A fellow guest gave the Vietnamese monastery a raving review, that the monks there are smiley, play guitars and laugh a lot. That was the complete opposite from the serious, super-focused Japanese monastery that we met at. I love both approaches and plan to visit both again in the future.

The Vietnamese monastery, called Deer Park, had an opening for the weekend. It only cost $25 a day for a platform to pitch my tent, three vegan meals a day, a hot shower, and flush toilets. The guests are expected to follow a strict schedule along with the monastics. The location is beautiful- chaparral and oak trees. Bunnies hopping around every where. Lots of lizards, hawks and buzzards. No internet. No cell service. ;-)

You rise at 5am, meditate for couple of hours before breakfast. Participate in some kind of work for about four hours, like shoveling sand, gardening or preparing lunch. Then there's lunch, some free time, a meeting for the guests to watch a Dharma talk on a DVD which went over how to properly invite a bell to sound (basically that means how to ring a bell). Then there's another session of mediation, dinner, and the evening is free. I was hard pressed to make it until 9pm. I slept great while I was there.

Following The Heroes Journey, you cant just waltz into paradise. You have to earn it. For me, that meant riding through LA to get to the monastery.

Of course I left late from Solvang, taking longer then I expected to load up the bike, (I'm sure I'll have a system down the day before I head home). I rode from Solvang, the Danish capital of America, down Highway 101, through Santa Barbara, connected to Highway 5 and kept riding though Hollywood and LA to get to Escondido.

At the very first place that I camped in Santa Cruz, I found an orange safety vest, freshly washed and hanging on a branch. Before leaving home, I was debating about buying a vest but decided against it because you dont look cool wearing one and I feel like if I wore it then people would rightfully assume I was scared and I dont want to put myself in situations where I feel in danger. I grabbed the vest and hopped that I wouldnt need to wear it.

Right before Hollywood I was starting to get pretty nervous. I saw a motorcycle shop from the freeway and bought a spine and chest protector. Joe, the motorcyclist who I met at the beginning of this adventure, was shocked that I wasnt wearing leathers and a spine protector. I didnt know that I should. I pride myself on wearing high quality, full textile gear that's armored, which I'll talk more about in a future post as to the gear I'm wearing.

I suited up for battle. I wore my brand new spine and chest protector (I figured a $140 of armor was cheaper then spinal surgery), and I donned the orange safety vest, besides the rest of my gear. It was now noon and the meters to get onto the freeway were on. Can you believe that? There was so much traffic. Thankfully, as a motorcyclist I'm allowed to ride in the carpool lane, far away from the majority of the idiots. I didnt have any close calls. It was really cold in the morning, then it got super hot. I didnt want to stop to take off layers for fear that traffic would get worse, so I rode on.

The ride from Solvang to Escondido took way longer then I expected, so I checked in late to the monastery. Good thing they are so forgiving there. I felt like I accomplished something really big. I rode through LA and survived. Not that I want to do that again, anytime soon.

Read more: The California Motorcycle Tour 2014 Table of Contents

Motorcycle Museum in Solvang

Before starting on this trip, my moto friend James told me I had to visit the Motorcycle Museum in Solvang, CA. It's a private collection of a 100 bikes from the last 100 years. I only wanted to go if there was a tour or with a  friend who knew about bikes. Otherwise I'd just admire the pretty bikes, but not understand why these bikes are so valuable. I was very fortunate and got to tour the museum with a friend I made on the road, Joe, who rode motorcycles professionally. I couldnt ask for a better tour guide.    

There were signs by all of the bikes giving their specs and some had stories, but Joe's stories were way more interesting about the bikes. 

This bike looks like a hoot to ride. This is the same bike pictured below. 

I was surprised and impressed by the variety of motorcycle at this museum. The bikes on the road now look very similar. You can spot a Ducati or a Suzuki from a mile away. The bikes in this collection had knobs that I didnt know what they did. Or they had bicycle pedals, so you could bump start the motor. On the older bikes, the clutch wasnt always on the left, nor was the chain. Things were still being invented; there was no established norm.    

I've sworn off living in places where I cant ride year round, but perhaps all I'd need is a bike with spikes in the tires!

The museum is open on weekends and by appointment for weekdays. It was $10 to get in and to droll over the bikes and way worth it. Being in the presence of so many amazing bikes I wanted to ride. Preferably one of these bikes! I asked if I could ride a bike around the block, but of course the answer was no. How about just turning on a bike? Nope. What about a sleepover here in the museum? Good idea, but no. 

I look forward to visiting again. Time to go ride my bike! 

Read more: The California Motorcycle Tour 2014 Table of Contents

Solvang- windmills and papercuts

Welcome to Solvang, the Danish capital of America! It's only one hour north of Santa Barbara.

I've visited here when I was in college and I loved the experience of stepping over the pond to a Danish town. The real reason for staying in Solvang during my motorcycle tour of California, was to visit the Motorcycle Museum, which you can read about here.

The houses are adorable and some even have thatch roofs.

As a kid, my dad was in the Air Force and we were stationed in England for five years. I spent my early years living off base, in a village, playing Robin Hood in the woods and learning to ride a bicycle. I remember visiting Denmark and seeing the windmills and giant rolls of cheese being carried by two people. 

My brother and me were inseparable from our wooden clogs. They were really comfortable. (I'm curious if I'd still feel the same way. The store in Solvang wanted $40 for clogs, so I decided to pass.) When I out grew my clogs, I got to wear my brothers. There are perks to being the youngest. 

I met up with Joe, the biker that I picked up in Carmel at a stop light. We're very Green and shared a parking spot. There was room for another bike too!

We were walking around and Joe's back was hurting. He asked if I wanted a massage. And five minutes later we were both getting chair massages. I'd never walked into a spa on a whim. It was such a treat. Joe said I better get used to it. Oh darn.

Above a bookstore is the free Hans Christian Andersen museum. I hadnt realized that he'd written some of my favorite childhood stories, like The Little Mermaid, Thumbellina, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor's New Clothes. 

I also learned that Andersen was not only a Danish poet and a writer, but a talented paper cut artist. Paper cuts, are not only those pesky cuts that you get on your fingers, but also the name of the art form where you fold up a piece of paper and then cut it up to make silhouettes. As kids I'd make paper cuts of snowflakes. 

Danish sausage, grilled potatoes and red cabbage! Yum! 

On the way out of town, we stopped at the Ostrich farm to feed ostriches and emus. I'd seen it on the Atlas Obsura, the interactive map of obscure things to visit. I had forgotten that I'd seen it online until I saw a hundred ostriches grazing in a field right outside of downtown Solvang and I just had to meet the birds in person. Their heads are way bigger than I was expecting. Some of the ostriches also had blue feathers. No idea why. But it was interesting all the same. 

Read more: The California Motorcycle Tour 2014 Table of Contents

Andersen's Split Pea Soup

As a kid, my mom, dad, brother, me and sometimes Grandma, would drive from Northern California to So Cal to visit both sets of great grandparents. It's about an eight hours drive, so about half way we'd stop at Andersen's restaurant to stretch our legs. I'd always look forward to stopping there because the restaurant had a real sized windmill!

I saw a billboard for Andersen's in Buellton and I had to make a detour. It wasnt until I got there that I realized this wasnt the same location I visited as a kid. There was no windmill. But it was sentimental all the same. I picked up a bumper sticker for my saddle bags of Pee Wee and Hap Pee working together to hand split peas with a hammer and chisel. 

I didnt order any food (even though their split pea soup is really good). Instead I walked around the gift shop, reminiscing over my childhood. I was thinking about our California road trips and growing up in England and getting to visit Denmark and seeing working windmills in person. I love you family.  

I love the tulip railing! It's so happy and playful. 

I dont think of wine and my childhood restaurant, but this was too funny not to share. 

I teared up a bit in the gift shop. I hadnt expected this detour to mean so much to me. Thank you family for all of the good memories. 

Read more: The California Motorcycle Tour 2014 Table of Contents

Santa Barbara hostel

I spent the night at the Santa Barbara hostel before going North to Solvang, the Danish capital of America. 

Highlights from the hostel:

• Giant $1 tacos right up the street
• I had the ladies dorm to myself
• Unlimited computer access that had the internet. I was starting to feel anxious from being one week behind on blogging, because I'd been in the wilderness. It was wonderful using a computer that recognized my cell phone when I plugged it in, so I could pull the photos from off of it. I dont have the internet on my cell, so I carry a cable with me, and hope that the library computers have the driver I need to read the phone. So far, most of them have worked.

Read more: The California Motorcycle Tour 2014 Table of Contents

Treated to a fancy hotel room in Goleta

Like most places I've stayed, I dont have an itinerary for how long I'm going to stay there or where I'm going next. When I left Carol's in the Santa Barbara Wilderness, I didnt know where I was going to sleep that night. It's not a scary thought. There are lots of motels around, not that I could afford to do that every night. But they're there just in case. I'd heard from a fellow guest at the Cambria hostel that the Santa Barbara hostel was closed for renovations (which is wrong. They are open!)

I called my ex boyfriend, Ian. We're good friends, and get along great. I went on several vacations with his family, like camping on the beach in Mexico for Christmas and going to the Santa Barbara area for his uncle's retirement party from the police force. Ian's aunt and uncle are really awesome people, who I'd like to get to know better. His aunt flies helicopters and trains people how to fly them!

My ex called them on my behalf to see if they'd be up for company. Ends up they were both sick. I figured I'd ride around looking for a campsite, when I got a call from Ian's aunt. She asked if it would be ok if she used up some of her points to rent me a room at a Hampton Inn in Goleta. I was floored. We'd only met once before and she was basically doing this for a stranger. Plus she and her husband were sick. Thank you so much!

I stay in hotels maybe once a year, so it's a novel experience. I get so excited to be there. I have to walk around the property, check out all of the amenities, enjoy the bath tub, look in the fridge and all of the drawers... I slept great until 1am, when my brain kicked in and said "There's a computer with unlimited Internet downstairs, so you should be blogging!!" I tried to ignore that thought, but it wouldnt go away. Mostly I've been blogging at hyper speed at libraries, because they give you only one hour. That's barely enough time to check email, upload and organize photos and write something that's coherent. 

I love it that the Braille is white. Typically it's the same color as the back ground. I notice Braille because I did a series of interactive art installations featuring Braille. 

Thank you again for the hotel room! It was such a treat to have hot, running water.

Read more: The California Motorcycle Tour 2014 Table of Contents