November 12-15

November 12-15
Drove down the coast to Mendocino this morning and spent a few hours by the sea. Ahhh the ocean! The 3 of us exploring, climbing over rocks and marveling at the ocean and its waves. Ben & I spent a short while meandering down the streets of the quaint ocean town peering through the windows of local shops. We continued driving that afternoon, vineyard after vineyard wizzed by until we reached Geyserville.
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We were told of Lake Sonoma by a local and headed that way. We reached the campsite early enough for a hike down to the lake for a refreshing dip as well as to launder a few items. Sadie had a blast barrelling into the water after her ball. It felt great finally able to relax in a natural, quiet setting. When we arrived back at camp Ben ran a line for laundry, it was nice watching the garments blowing in the wind as the sun was setting. After sunset we hopped on our bikes and rode to the entrance to submit our fee--only 10 bucks! The cheapest weve found yet. Em spent the evening reading while Ben was widdling his staff made of Madrone wood from Grandpa Moosman. The next morning Ben finished up his staff (looks awesome!) while Em did some yoga at our spot overlooking the lake. Beautiful, warm day!

We packed up camp and were on the road to Santa Rosa. We drove around the northern outskirts of Santa Rosa looking to finish up some errands. It was our first real difficult experience driving Homey, big city with tight roads and very fast moving vehicles! We must move so much slower than others (especially pulling from side roads or parking lots into traffic) otherwise our tail bashes the concrete. (Thankfully we have a metal bar and wheels which scrape nice and smooth when we go real slow :) The way we interrupt the seemingly nonstop flow is comical to us now, its certainly teaching us how to be ok with a slower pace.

We had another first experience today--dumping the tank. Everything was going great. We (Ben) attached the hose and released the valve for full flow. Meanwhile we filled our water tank with fresh water. We were about to head out when Ben decided to check the tank and discovered it was still full! We had a clog! Nothing serious though. After trying a second time to no avail, we headed down the road to the local Wal-Mart in Windsor, Ca to purchase a de-clogger. We were allowed to return to that same RV stop without being charged a second fee, and worked all the kinks out.

Unsure of how to navigate to the Moosman home in Santa Rosa (Emily's Uncle Paul, Alice, Grady, & Owen) we stopped into a gas station to check out a map, and surprisingly spotted their road name & exit right from the highway. We arrived just as Paul and the boys were coming home from dinner. The boys ran off excess energy while we visited with Paul, just before heading to bed. They had the perfect spot for Homey to chill in their backyard.

In the morning we woke to the sounds of boys jumping, climbing, swinging from trees :) Theyve got an incredibly large backyard full of tree houses, zip lines, tetherballs, and even a bunny! Theres also a great space for the garden and several fruit trees. All of us spent the morning playing in the yard, jumping on the tramp, etc. Later the family took us to the local farmers market, where we enjoyed delicious coffee and stocked up on apples. After the market, all of us set out on our bikes to Grady and Owens favorite places to ride. First stop the church parking lot for some sweet jumps, then around a loop, over a creek, and finally to see a couple emus (or ostriches, we werent sure) What incredible birds!! The way they move is amazing to watch. That evening Paul treated us to a savory fresh from the garden dinner and we visited on into the evening.