Another mini rally in Discovery Bay

We were both excited and pleased to see Russ Mahoney arrive at our place yesterday. We invited several RVing friends and near-neighbors over for a 'cook it yourself' BBQ. Several of the folks are forum members. Yep, it's official - we took photos  ;D

Russ showed us some (of) the upgrades recently installed on his coach. He also gave folks a brief slide show of one of his trips.

Karen and George arrived home from the maiden voyage in their new Monaco Dynasty, and headed over. They also recently bought a Jeep, and were intently listening to tales of stuff to do around Moab.

This morning Russ treated me to breakfast at a local marina, while Chris had an appointment elsewhere.

Thanks for stopping by Russ!

And away he goes!!  ;D

ArdraF

Away he went Ardra.

Check out the title of the book that Sarah is holding in the Sarah_Karen photo.

Tom, I noticed the cover when I looked at the photos initially.  It's an old friend! 

ArdraF

Ardra,

I took it off my bookshelf when Karen & George talked about their Jeep and their intention of visiting Moab. Someone in another group had tried to explain the degrees of difficulty of various trails, and they were trying to envision it. A picture tells a thousand words, and that book has lots of pictures.

Glad to see that Russ's GPS didn't fail him   He didn't get a ticket parking on the street, did he?

I'd probably be the one who'd get the ticket. Russ and I talked about it, and figured:

• The "county enforcement officer" who handed a ticket (for me) to a neighbor probably doesn't work weekends.
  
• The Sheriff's deputy who more recently put a ticket on our coach probably received an education when I called his boss to explain what the local parking laws were.

very nice visit with Tim and Chris jones. They invited a group of friends for a dinner party and all had a superb time.

Today transited down to Carmel by the river CG under grey skies. In Gilroy stopped at garlic world roadside stand, unchanged from 10 yrs. ago ( east side of US 101 just S of Gilroy).

Marine Dunes CG N of Monterey had no sat friendly sites.

DId a brief drive into town and and noted they have increased the number of expensive shops in Carmel.

Found a delightful mediterranian restaurant in a Safeway shopping plaza on the east side of hywy 1 in Carmel area.
The lamb and hummus with veggies and pita bread appetizer was big enough for my entree, needing only a cup of soup to top off the meal. Cafe Stravaganza.

Carmel and Monterey have joined the traffic ticket swindle racket. Every where you look, a cop has somebody pulled over!

Major storm is coming in off the Pacific tonight, lots of rain and wind predicted. the valley I'm in is listed as one of the flash flood prone.

Stay safe and dry Russ!

The expected storm hit overnight, our first rains and increasing winds. Hope Russ is OK.

Must have started raining here after midnight. Weather radar loop picture shows the heavy stuff is nearing its end here.

My slide out room is dry, so repairs did not make any new leaks.

Good news Russ. Hope you got out the TransdermScope before going to bed  ;D

Looks like Russ got out of here just in time. The storm won't let up until sometime tomorrow. Flooding in SF, power outages around the Bay area, SFO airport reporting 3 hour delays. Roads/traffic are a mess.

Now why did I wash the boat a couple of days ago?

Now why did I wash the boat a couple of days ago?

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Look at the rain as a free rinse   We've had a lot of needed rain here, but it's washing out the driveway   We have 2 loads of stone coming to hopefully fix that problem.

rhmahoney said:

Must have started raining here after midnight. Weather radar loop picture shows the heavy stuff is nearing its end here.

My slide out room is dry, so repairs did not make any new leaks.

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The storm has moved well into the valley now -- as all storms from the Pacific do.    But, of course, that is good news for the farmers as they have not seen rain in awhile.

Russ, are you heading down the coast or the 101 or coming back over to the 5? I ask because I'm in a park in Santa Nella, CA at the intersection of the 5 and 152 (from Gilroy to the 5) freeways. If coming this way, a bowl of pea soup at Anderson's would be my treat.

Either way -- safe travels, my friend . . .

[quote author=Ned]Look at the rain as a free rinse[/quote]

It is that; I didn't get to the hard top on the bridge, and all that peat dirt from the surrounding fields washed down into the cockpit and onto the gunwhales overnight. Noticed it when I was out there snugging up dock lines a short while ago. The neighbors probably thought I was nuts out in the pouring rain wiping the boat over with towels. This is a day to snuggle up with a book by the fire, but I have a meeting to attend this morning; Might be easier to go by boat.

The wind and rain aren't letting up any time today, and I'm glad we re-roofed a couple of years ago, and replaced doors and windows last year. Also glad we shored up the levy. Wouldn't want the house floating down river  

We have 2 loads of stone coming to hopefully fix that problem.

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Been there, done that, a few times  ;D

Russ,

If you haven't left that area yet, there's a wonderful Afghan restaurant in a little shopping center in San Carlos.  How we miss it!  It's called Kabul and is on the east side of El Camino between Ralston and Holly Streets.  Long's Drugs (now defunct) used to be in the same shopping center and closest to El Camino.  Kubul is tucked back in the corner on the opposite side of the parking lot from Longs.

Safe and dry travels,
ArdraF

Ardra,

Russ said he was down in Carmel. Methinks it's a long way back to one of the five Kabul restaurants around the Bay. Maybe he'll bookmark them for the next trip through the area.

Methinks Russ really did get out of here in the nick of time...

Some of today's rainfall stats (it's not yet 5.00pm):

• Ben Lomond (in the Santa Cruz mountains):  9.6"
• San Rafael:  5.6"

Varying amounts of rain, all above average, all around the SF Bay area. 156,000 folks without electricity. Lots of flooding, including Jerry & Ardra's old stomping grounds (Redwood City). I'm waiting for the mud slide reports from the various hills.

High wind warnings on all Bay area bridges. A big rig flipped over onto a car on the Richmond/San Rafael bridge, near San Quentin; Commuters have to find an alternate way across the Bay (San Mateo bridge or Dumbarton bridge maybe? Either one is a very long detour) to get home. A tree fell on a car on Hwy 17 over the Santa Cruz mountains, shutting down the homeward commute.

I was checking out a neighbor's house and boat this afternoon; I could hardly stand on the dock (due to water movement), and the horizontal rain was stinging my face.

Another wave coming tonight.

Edit: NWS called this the biggest storm to hit the Bay area in 47 years.

20091013/tuesday.
It was a dark and stormy day in Monterey. Lots and lots of rain. Plant litter covered the roads, but luckily no big branches on my routes.
First stop was the visitor's center where I overheard the lady advising foreign tourists to stay off of the big sur hywy due to mud slides and fallen rocks. Don't know if she had heard an official report, or if it was lifelong familiarity with storm effects. I asked about handicapped parking near the aquarium. She said to go behind the aquarium and apply at the gate for access to limited handicapped parking in the employee lot. Turned out there was none available so I went with plan B. She also told me that I could, with my handicap licence plates, just park at a metered street parking slot and not even have to put money in the meter! I was there over 4 hrs and got no ticket!

My one mistake was going there on a stormy day?everyone else did also. Still, I had fun at my most favorite aquarium. The power went out just as I was ready to pay for my loot (soft sculptures of hermit crab and octopus)(stuffed toys to anybody else). The cash register computers crashed ( must have been Microsoft) as did the TV screens on the wall. They need a better UPS. Rather than wait, I made snide remarks about Windows and paid in cash. Finally found an espresso shop but it was without power. Went back to Carmel valley along 17 mile drive to a coffee shop that charged me $4.50 for an americano! Passed one accident that had just occurred - pickup truck skidded off the road and was canted down 80+ degrees and driver not out of cab yet.

Ardra, as Tom suggests, I bookmarked the Afgan restaurant for another trip...sounds intriguing.

Bob, doublt that I will get that far east. My next stop is Buellton for a datastorm user rally.