In spite of the fact that it was windy and chilly yesterday, we just couldn’t stay inside when we were this close to a beach. We started out by dropping off bundles of sample issues of the Gypsy Journal at some of the local RV parks between Oceano and Pismo Beach. They sure cram a lot of RVs into small spaces here on the central California coast, where land is at a premium!

Then we spent some time walking out on the Pismo Beach pier, stopping to watch surfers trying to catch just the right wave. Those kids have more energy than common sense! That water sure looked cold!

Further out the pier, there were a few folks fishing. No license is required, and you can rent a rod and tackle from a vendor on the pier.

As much as we enjoyed the pier, the cold wind drove us off after a half hour or so. We did some browsing at the shops along the waterfront, then drove to a used book store in Grover Beach, where the pickings were slim.

Blog reader Levonne Gaddy had suggested we try Mama’s Meatball, a block or two from the Elks lodge campground, for pizza, so we stopped there and it was very good. The crust was super thin, but the blend of cheeses was delicious.

The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area is within walking distance of the Elks campground, but we chose to take the van and stay out of the wind. We parked near the entrance to the fee area and spent the afternoon watching all of the activity on the beach. We love people watching, and a day at the beach can be more entertaining than an afternoon matinee.

This is one of the few places where you can drive on the beach, and people come here from hundreds of miles away to drive 4x4s, ATVs, motorcycles, and even family cars on the sand.

If you drive on the hard packed sand, you are usually okay, but if you get stuck (and a lot of people do), the local tow trucks are equipped to pull you out, for a price.

Some folks get carried away having fun and get stupid instead. This is the end result when that happens. Whoever was in the cab of this truck must have had a terrible headache, if not worse.

You can even camp on the beach, and though we would not have considered bringing our Winnebago out there, we saw a lot of RVs coming and going.

If you get your fifth wheel or motorhome stuck here, you’re really stuck!

Some people choose to get back to the basics when it comes to horsepower. These may not be the most comfortable ride on the beach,  don’t at least they get stuck very often.

We also watched windsurfers zipping up and down just offshore. It must take a lot of arm strength to hold onto those things!

Some of the acrobatics they were doing were fascinating!

We returned to the Oceano Elks campground about 7:30 p.m., and the place had really filled up while we were gone! I don’t know how they squeeze so many RVs into such a small campground, but like I said, space is at a premium on the coast.

We spent the rest of the evening inside, not doing much of anything. It was a wonderful, relaxing day, in spite of the wind and cold, and we are feeling more relaxed than we have in months. We really needed this time. We love our family and friends, and we cherish being with them. But sometimes we just have to have some “us” time, away from everybody. It’s our special reward to ourselves.

Bad Nick has been lazy lately, and we haven’t heard much from him. But yesterday while we were out playing beach bums, he was at the computer posting a new Bad Nick Blog titled What About Them? Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – The things that come to those who wait may be the things left by those who got there first.

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We love finding strange museums in our travels around the country, and we have discovered some real finds as we explore this great land of ours. Here are fifteen of my favorites, in no particular order.

Mustard Museum; Mount Horeb, Wisconsin – You can learn everything you ever wanted to know, and some things you never thought to ask about mustard, at this fun and quirky museum, which has it’s very own college called, what else, Poupon U!

Spam Museum; Austin, Minnesota – No, not that aggravating e-mail, we’re talking the original Spam, the meat that won World War II. Find out the history of this canned meat product, and the contributions the Hormel Company made to our nation during the war effort.

World’s Smallest Museum; Superior, Arizona – At just 143 square feet, smaller than your average motorhome, this museum has an amazing amount of stuff crammed inside, from Indian pottery to antique cameras to mining artifacts.

Tow Truck Museum; Chattanooga, Tennessee – At the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum you will find a fascinating collection of restored antique wreckers and equipment.

Marsh’s Free Museum; Long Beach, Washington – You’re guaranteed to have fun here as you see everything from shrunken heads to dinosaur dung, and even a two headed calf! And don’t forget Jake, the Alligator Man!

Mid-America Windmill Museum; Kendallville, Indiana – You will find over 50 historic windmills on display at this interesting small outdoor museum.

Music House Museum; Acme, Michigan – This interesting museum near Traverse City is home to the world’s largest collection of mechanical musical devices.

Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum; Farmington Hills, Michigan – This fun museum is home to a fun and funky collection of everything mechanical, from historical and modern arcade machines, sideshow wonders and curiosities to carousels, posters, coin operated kiddie rides and much more.

Leila’s Hair Museum; Independence, Missouri – And you thought hair was just for brushing! Leila’s Hair Museum displays over 150 wreaths and more than 2,000 pieces of jewelry containing, or made of, human hair, dating before 1900.

Heaton-Bowman-Smith Funeral Museum; St. Joseph, Missouri – The wicker basket that carried the body of Jesse James from his house to the funeral parlor in 1882 is among the unusual collection of funeral industry artifacts displayed at this unique museum.

National Bird Dog Museum; Grand Junction, Tennessee – You can see displays of art, photography and memorabilia reflecting a variety of pointing dog and retriever breeds, hunting, field trial activities, and shooting sports covering more than 100 years of sporting tradition at this small town museum.

International Rock-a-Billy Hall of Fame and Museum; Jackson, Tennessee – Dedicated to preserving and promoting Rockabilly Music, this museum’s displays recognize the pioneers of Rockabilly music with stage costumes, instruments, and memorabilia.

National Watch and Clock Museum; Columbia, Pennsylvania – You’ll find everything from sundials and ancient Egyptian hourglasses to ultra-modern atomic clocks that can measure time in nanoseconds at this surprisingly interesting museum.

Easton Museum of Pez Dispensers; Easton, Pennsylvania – This small museum displays an amazing collection of the candy dispensers loved by kids and collectors alike.

Bead Museum; Glendale, Arizona – The Bead Museum tells the story of beads, which have been used as currency, jewelry, and in religious rituals dating as far back as 30,000 B.C.

These are just some of the fun and interesting museums waiting to be discovered in every corner of America. Post a comment below and tell me about some of your favorite oddball museums.

Thought For The Day – I’ll try being nicer if you’ll try being smarter.

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I’m sure glad we moved into the Indoor Vendor area, because it was still raining when we went to bed last night! At least we are parked on the road. Almost everybody else here at Escapade is parked on grass, or what was grass before spinning tires churned it into mud. The local tow trucks are making a fortune pulling people out.

Of course, part of the problem is that people tend to panic when it gets wet. If they would just sit tight until things dry out (and the weatherman promises they will be drier by Friday when the rally ends), everybody would be better off. But people want to move early to avoid getting stuck, and in the process they create a giant mud hole and then everybody gets stuck!

The big majority of the people here are fulltimers, so it’s not like most of them have to rush off someplace. The rally ends on Friday. They could stay here in beautiful Sedalia and enjoy the town for a day or two and leave after the weekend and have no problems getting out.

Sedalia has a lot to offer, and we love the charming old downtown section, which looks like a time capsule from 50 years ago. If it were not for the modern automobiles parked on the streets, it would be easy to imagine that you had been transported back in time to a typical small town America Main Street.

I often mention the many vendors who help make up our extended family of RV gypsies, so I thought for this blog I would include a few pictures to put faces with the names.

This first couple needs no introduction to most RVers. While they are not vendors, they are icons in the fulltime RV world, Kay and Joe Peterson, founders of the Escapees RV Club.

And here is my good buddy Mac McCoy, from Fire and Life Safety, and a familiar name to blog readers. Mac and I go way back, and he’s been a good friend for many years.

This pretty lady is Carol Hill, co-owner of the RV Driving School, along with her husband Dennis. Carol loves dancing, and gives line dancing lessons at many RV events.

Next up is another familiar name to blog readers, my dear friend Chris Guld from Geeks on Tour, talking with Jim Beletti, head honcho of the Heartland Owners RV Club.

John and Lexa Comstock own Big Rig RV Accessories, and sell all kinds of top quality products to keep your RV looking good as new, when Lexa is not busy doing acrobatics and back flips from lawn chairs.

We just met Joe and Susan Briggs from Uniquely RV, vendors for neat portable solar lampposts for your favorite campsite.

Ken and Marilyn Murphy from Coil N Wrap have been vending at RV rallies for a long time and have a loyal following of customers.

Patsy Collins was holding down the SMI Braking Systems booth while husband Reggie was off gallivanting somewhere.

While not vendors, we have known and loved Sami and Earl Aeverman for years. They were so generous as to offer us the use of their lot in Aransas Pass, Texas for the five weeks we were there this past winter.

And last in the photo show, but always first in my heart is my own dear Miss Terry, pictured visiting with another longtime friend, Oz Oszman in our booth.

Thought For The Day – I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.

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