Parrottrek Journal 2015

November 3rd - November 10th - Fun With Kurt and Philly - Chula Vista, California -
Every once in awhile you meet people that become part of your soul. No matter how far apart you are, no matter how long it has been since you last saw them face to face, your friendship with them is one of your most treasured possessions in the world. About two weeks after we hit the road full time back in 2005 we met our fabulous friends Kurt and Philly. We worked together for 6 years, traveled together on our off times, and made memories with each other in countless states all over the country. Most of those states we are still allowed to go back to... just kidding. Kurt and Philly own the same type of coach we do so Frank and Kurt have been known to spend hours in person, or on the phone talking about their busses, figuring out issues, or bragging on how great these rigs are for all our wild adventures. The four of us were lucky enough to meet up this week near San Diego at a great RV Resort on the water in Chula Vista. Philly and I took long walks each morning around the harbor and marina, we had breakfast most days at the restaurant here and then would head into town to play tourist. Our evenings were spent around the campfire, since it's pretty darn cold here in California for us Floridians, catching up on each others adventures.

A Private Tour of the USS Mercy with an Officer -
Today's adventure included a trip around the city, lunch overlooking the ocean, and a tour of an active military hospital thans to our friend Kora, who is in charge of the IT on The USSMercy when it is out on a mission. The inside of this behemoth was unbelievable, they have an entire surgical ward with every type of machine imaginable, it has a huge recovery room, a treatment room, and an imagery room with CT scan machines, X-rays, and every other helpful device today's modern hospitals have. WHile The USS Mercy is in port most of the navy personnel works at a nearby hospital, or back on base. The Naval base here is also immense, and is a city within itself. It was amazing to get an up close and personal tour and a peek inside the lives of these men and women that keep us safe, help us in a time of battle, and risk their own lives so people like us can travel the country and know we are as safe as can be.

An evening sail in Santa Barbara

Highlights of our Two Months in Santa Barbara -
From quiet sunrise breakfasts overlooking the Santa Ynez Valley to fun and festive dinner parties with lots of friends, we have had a blast these last couple months. We have met with old friends to go sailing on the high seas, camped with some of our best friends on the beach of Morro Bay, celebrated birthdays, holidays, and just for the fun of it days... and nights, girls nights out that is. I love how no matter how long we've been off traveling we come back to familiar places full of friends and it doesn't feel like a day has gone by. This post could be about two pages long, but I'll spare you the all the fun details and just give you the highlights.
The sailing was fun, picturesque, and relaxing. The dinner parties were full of laughs, a few cocktails, stories of long ago told, and memories remembered. The camping trip included smores, walks on the beach, bike rides, group dinners, and memories made. The girls night out was an absolute blast.

Ugly Pajama Party - Steve and Karen's - December 19th -
What do you get when you take 30 friends and tell them to dress up in the ugliest pajamas they can conjure up? Enough laughs to make everyone's sides hurt and enough terrifying photos to make sure none of your friends ever think of double crossing you, or go into politics. Steve and Karen have the best ideas, and tonight's was theirs. My goal, not that I am the least bit competitive, was to win first prize, and by a land slide. The rules of the Ugly Pajama Party were 1) The pajamas have to be ugly 2) You get extra points if they cover your head 3) Bonus points awarded for embellishments 4) Bonus points awarded for covering your feet... so I went to work.
As I scoured the city for an idea, I came across the perfect set of matching pjs. A set of matching pjs that were so perfect for us I actually screeched in Target when I found them on the sale rack. They were onesies with bird wings, beaks, and owl eyes already attached. To get the bonus points for embellishments I sewed the ugliest gold tinsel up and down the arms and legs, attached some ornament and made it so a star lit up on top of our heads. To complete the outfit and get the 4th bonus point, I sewed miniature tree skirts and attached them to the ugliest christmas socks anywhere on the planet... so off to the party we went. Once we arrived everyone filled out a "who do you think should win" form. There were three categories. One for the ugliest girl. One for the ugliest boy, and one for the ugliest couple, or their pjs that is. I am happy to announce that we did win, but there were some other really ugly pjs milling around.

December 23rd - A Day of Great Sights -
This morning on our walk on the miles of nature trails around our place, we heard a rustling sound. Usually when we hear this noise either a deer, or a turtle, or a bird emerge from the bushes. Every once in awhile we see a flock of turkeys or a bobcat, but today the sound came from higher up. We looked up into the tree above us and saw two of the cutest little faces imaginable, they were baby raccoons. The good news is that they looked big enough to survive on their own since the bad news is, or so we have heard, that when baby raccoons are out in the daytime by themselves, it usually means something happened to their mama. Later in the day we were texted a great shot a friend of ours took from the seat in her plane, and the evening was finished off with views of some elves who had put quite a bit of work into decorating for Christmas