California Trip 2015 Part 1 Come along with Shirley and Chuck as we visit new and exciting places and revisit some old favorites.

Jan. 11, 2015

This was the first long trip in our new motorhome.

We left home about 7:00 am, and headed south to meet up with Chuck and Linda Skorupa.  Our first stop was Valley of the Rouge State Park in Oregon.  The trip started out a bit rainy and grey.  But by the time we reached northern California we found sunshine and warmer weather.

I was really pleased with how easy it is to drive the motorhome.  Marty Borden tasked us with finding her a name, and so she became Little Miss Sunshine.  A nod to all the sunny places she will take us.

The afternoon of our second day brought us to Lake Solano park, near Winters, California.

At first glance it didn’t seem all that impressive, but after finding a great spot near the water it soon became apparent that the park was loaded with birds and other critters.  It is apparently a birders paradise as there were lots of people standing in the roadway with binoculars looking up at the trees, or across the water.  There were peacocks everywhere.

We couldn’t have asked for a better place to relax with good friends, right by the lakeshore, with a little wine and cheese!

It was also a wonderful place to kayak, allowing us to get up close to lots of birds.

Chuck, paddling around.

It also served as a base of operations as we explored wine country in the Napa Valley.

Chateau Montelena was a must see for us, as it was the winery that propelled California wines into history with the Judgement of Paris, when the California wines won the top spots in the blind tasting.

The Chinese Gardens at Chateau Montelena

We also stopped at Beringer  Winery.