Some changes with the Facebook end of things ...

I had been so busy with work that I hadn't checked in on my Facebook account or my email for many months.  When I went into Facebook this evening I discovered that I had been "Disabled"!!  Huh??

Turns out that someone tried to set the group's owner's email address up to someone else's email address. Was it a coincidence that the name was the same as mine@gmail.com? When I didn't reply they actually disabled my account.  Now, in order to reactivate it I need to send them a scan of my driver's license to prove I am a real person!!

Just so happens I am using a pseudonym to protect my identity.  I can't set up a Facebook group using a pseudonym. The worst thing is that the group is still listed in Facebook, even though they deleted all the followers and now there is no admin!!  All the content is gone, since there are no more people attached to it.  It is just floating there looking silly.  At least the Info page is still intact and the link to this blog is still visible!!

In the absence of a reply to my email, I set my pseudonym self up as a Page rather than a person, and I created a business Page for the group.  You will still be able to "Like" the pages and post links to your photo albums from your travels.  However, the world will not be able to see who "Likes" the page.  This might be a good thing!!  I may look into setting up a true Group later, but I think for our purposes this will work well. We don't schedule events so that would have been the main benefit of a group rather than a page.  I am unable to reconstruct the content that had been on the old Group, but I uploaded the Road Rules as photos and posted the album from my Inaugural trip.

© 2011 Traveling by Chance

First Draft of Road Rules

© 2011 Traveling by Chance

Second "Traveling by Chance" day trip

I started this trip at a hotel in Cambria.  I had been staying there to redeem a free night voucher that was going to expire.  They offer free breakfast, so I decided not to use the "breakfast" rule and eat in my hotel room.  I rejoiced as I pressed my Pop-o-Matic dice dome to "roll the die" and a "4" showed.  That meant I could turn right, North, and might get a chance to see the Elephant Seals in San Simeon.  Of course, that could have easily turned around with a later roll of the die, but I was off to a good start.

My first stop was at the "brown sign" park called Leffingwell Landing.  This was the parking lot I had pulled into the previous night to watch the sunset.  It looked quite a bit different in the daylight, offering many opportunities to picnic and take short hikes.  Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and with a stairway leading down to the shore, this was a wonderful way to take in the views up and down the coast.  There were some interesting rock formations just under the bluff and the weather was truly amazing for January!!

 There are so many vista points on Highway 1 that I decided only to stop at those with the blue "Vista Point" signs.  I usually took a photograph looking North, one looking South, and sometimes one looking West.  I stopped at the Washburn Day Use Area, which has a wooden boardwalk leading down to the beach.  San Simeon Creek flows under the highway and out to the ocean here, and so there are some amazing rocks to be seen.  The "sand" is really pebbles and rocks and is beautiful.  This is not too far north from "Moonstone Beach" in Cambria.  Because this creek comes from the hills, there is also lots of driftwood on the beach.

I stopped at the San Simeon State Park, which I discovered is composed of two separate campgrounds.  One, San Simeon Creek Campground, is closer to the beach and the other, Washburn Campground, is located back in the hills.  They are both nice campgrounds, with tent camping.  I live so close and I never knew these campgrounds were right off the highway!!  I will have to make some time to camp here in the future.  The campgrounds did not have a lot of campers this time of year, but I loved smelling the campfires as I drove around.

I was thrilled when my "dice" took me up the Hearst Castle road.  I decided not to take a tour, but watched a documentary movie in their IMAX theatre after I checked out the gift shop, ate lunch in their cafeteria, and wandered through the free museum.  When I bought my "Wish You Were Here" postcard in the gift shop the saleslady told me that there was a tiny post office in old town San Simeon.  So, I headed down there immediately so I could get the "San Simeon" postmark!!  The post office is adjacent to an old country store, which unfortunately was closed.  In the field by their parking lot there is a great old school house.  And, across the street there is an old Mission-style building that William Randolph Hearst used to store all his arts while Hearst Castle was being built.  I visited the William R. Hearst Memorial State Park, which offers picnic areas, kayak-rental, the Coastal Discovery Museum, and the San Simeon Pier.

 The die was rolling numbers in my favor, and it continued to take me North.  I was able to stop at all the Vista Points, including "Elephant Seal Beach".  This is an amazing place where the Elephant Seals give birth and spend the winter.  Right now there are mostly females with their pups, some large males, and more young males that are just practicing.  The noise is deafening, young pups with their high-pitched calls, females making occasional irritated calls, and of course the males with their deep bellowing.  I was surprised that it didn't smell bad, one would think it would with the thousands of seals on the beach.  Here is a video clip I recorded to allow people to experience a bit of what it was like:

 

 After I left the elephant seal beach, the die sent me back onto Highway 1, going North.  I was supposed to go until the third exit.  Well, let me tell you, that is one long lonely stretch of Highway 1!!  There is nothing but beautiful ocean on the left and ranchland on the right.  Every time I thought I found a street to turn on, it turned out being a ranch gate or a private driveway.  I got to a really windy place on the Highway and knew I was headed for Ragged Point.  Although Ragged Point is a little town, it really doesn't have an "exit"!!  So, I just decided that I had driven quite a long time looking for an "exit" and I would turn into the Ragged Point "oasis" and call it an "exit"!!  It is so beautiful in Ragged Point, with all the amazing vistas.  It is sort of a combination of the high-end with an Inn, a Restaurant, an espresso bar, etc.  And at the other end there are the remnants of the vintage camp feel, including a gas station mini mart, a snack bar, and a little jewelry shop.  I wish it was all vintage, I loved the snack bar and the old ice boxes in the mini mart.

Luckily my die took me North as I left Ragged Point.  The sun was setting and I was able to get some great light for some pictures.  I ended up back in San Simeon for the sunset, stopping at a Coastal Access that I had stopped at earlier.  When I was there earlier there were a couple of surfers, and there was still a couple of surfers out there surfing while the sun went down.  I watched the sun set and then walked back to my car, only to find my keys locked inside!!  I ended up walking up to the Best Western Plus Cavelier hotel up the street and they generously let me use their phone.  She even knew the phone number I should call, and let me wait by their fireplace while the tow truck driver came over from Cambria Towing.  The tow truck guy was great, he got my car unlocked in no time flat!!  He is a surfer and showed me how to tell if there is a rip tide, as well as taught me how to pronounce Cambria properly!!  When I told him there were a couple of guys still surfing and he could tell by their cars who they were.  I asked him how late people surfed here and he said that he wouldn't be out because of "Whitey", the great white shark who hangs out in the cove.  I love small towns where everyone knows one another and happily helps people out.

After I got my car started again I decided that my day trip was done and I headed back to Morro Bay.  It was a really nice drive, with hardly anyone on the road.  I was out and about for a little over 8 hours, and traveled a bit over 50 miles.  I was able to tweak the "Road Rules" a bit more and plan on publishing the current draft for people to use if they want.  I handed out my card to three people today and left a card at one of my stops.  I am already looking forward to my next travel day, I hope it will be soon!!

To check out more of my trip, check out my Facebook Photo Album.

© 2011 Traveling by Chance

"Pop-o-Matic" Dice Dome

After my first "Traveling by Chance" trip I realized that a loose die is difficult to roll, and often gets lost in the car!!  So, I decided to try out the traditional "Pop-o-Matic" dice domes from the Milton Bradley games.  The game "Trouble" seems to be the most common game with the Pop-o-Matic dice dome, although there are more, one of which is called "Headache".

I won a "Double Trouble" game on eBay, which is great because it had two dice domes.  I made sure to contact the seller to make sure the domes were working before I bid.

The domes originally came loose in the box and the owner would stick them to the board the first time they played.

The board would be too large to use in the front seat of the car while I am traveling, so I carefully removed the dice domes from the board.

 Some Goo-Gone on a cotton wipe should remove any sticky residue from the base.

Some directional pieces came with the original game, I will keep them just in case I can use them for some other purpose.

While I was searching eBay I discovered that there are other items with the dice dome, such as a keychain and a pen.  I bid on a pen and won it.  It is really small, but I will be using it to make notes during my trips.

Follow-up:  The pen didn't even work as a pen!!  Also, here is a pic of the Burger King kids meal toy this week.  It is a small Trouble game with a miniature pop-o-matic dice dome.  The only problem is that instead of the numbers 1-6, there are the numbers 1-3 and the negative numbers -1 through -3.  I suppose if you can't find a vintage or full-sized dice dome this could work.

© 2010 Traveling by Chance

Adjustments to the Rules

 I took the opportunity last week to "travel by chance" for the first time.  I wanted to test out the "Road Rules" that I had written up so far.  It went pretty well, with a few notable exceptions.

The first exception became apparent pretty early in the "game".  I hardly ever was able to enter the highways because there is not a "decision point" where I could roll the die and follow the number.  Because of that I ended up staying in my general neighborhood, which is not a bad thing.  I think I will have to tweak the rules a bit so that if you pass a highway entrance that trumps everything.  Perhaps I could make that an optional rule for people who want to stay in their own neighborhood.

Another exception is that I discovered if you don't have a "navigator", the driver has to pull over almost constantly to safely roll a loose die.  I was lucky that I was in a residential area on a weekday and there was not too much traffic behind me.  I lost the die a couple of times and, again, I was lucky that I brought the whole tray of dice.  I ended up throwing several throws ahead so I didn't have to stop so often.  I was keeping notes on the throws, otherwise I might have forgotten what the numbers were because the die kept rolling round while I was driving and going over bumpy portions in the road.

Speaking of roads, I added an important rule that says not to go "off the map".  Once I got on the highway I was rolling numbers that would have taken me "off the map", in a rain storm, when it was already getting dark early, and I was by myself!!  This is not safe, and so I will have to tweak the rules a bit to have an alternative rule when this happens.

Also, I cannot stress enough the importance of taking advantage of restrooms when you see them!!  I ended my adventure with a desire to use the restroom.  I knew of a park that had one nearby and so I headed there.  They had a sign posted indicating that they no longer kept the restrooms open on weekdays!!  I ended up at a McDonald's, in the rain, and deciding to end my adventure for the day.

Here are the pictures I posted to my Facebook album.  I will create some entries here on the blog for specific aspects of how to take advantage of what the world offers you when you are "Traveling by Chance".

© 2010 Traveling by Chance

Business cards

I ordered some free business cards from Vistaprint, I only had to pay a bit for shipping.  I plan on leaving these at sites I visit for publicity.  I also ordered some with my real name for Traveling by Chance, just in case I have to use my real name for checking into a hotel.  I also ordered some using my writer's pseudonym in case I want to check in under that name.  The cards came with some free post-in notes, as well, which may come in handy!!

© 2010 Traveling by Chance

Inaugural Trip

My first "Traveling by Chance" trip was an adventure.  I worked some kinks out of the rules, and plan to revise them as I do more trips.  I didn't travel too far out of my own neighborhood today, but that was actually a good thing.  I discovered many little spots that I didn't know existed.  I cut the day a bit short because of the rain and was getting dark early.

I started my travels early, around 7:15 or so.  Breakfast was my first priority, and I threw the die several times to end up on Main Street in North Morro Bay where, luckily, there was an open coffee shop.  It is called the Blue Bean Espresso Bar and I was happy that they offered some food products as well as coffee.  I parked and was greeted at the door by a pup named Rouge!!  In addition to the yummy treats the shop offers a nice view of the Pacific Ocean, as well as free Wifi for patrons.  The owner waited on me, toasting my bagel while she brewed up an iced mocha.  The mocha was tasty, they use Illy espresso, but I wish I had remembered to ask for whipped cream!!  The bagel was toasted just right and the schmear of cream cheese was just the right amount, she even remembered to give me a knife to spread it with.  When she found out I was local she offered me a frequent buyer card, which I will definitely use in the future.

From breakfast I journeyed north on Highway 1, towards Cayucos, stopping at several beaches and campgrounds.  I had always heard that there was one beach that allowed dogs to run off-leash but hadn't been able to find it.  It is located on Highway 1, just north of Morro Bay at Toro Creek Rd.  I really enjoy watching dogs run free on the beach, cavorting with each other.  And it amazes me that when dogs are allowed to run free they hardly ever have any "issues" with each other, unlike most people!!

I also discovered a public beach access trail that was located in a cute neighborhood.  The garden path was darling and it led to some steep steps which ended at a shallow beach where people were walking their dogs. 

The Morro Strand State Beach campground is a popular site, half of the campsites butt right up against the dunes that lead to the beach.  It is mostly concrete, but the fact that it is so close to the beach is a plus for campers.

I stopped to use the public restroom at the trail head of some more dunes and beach areas.  The endangered Snowy Plover gets a bad rap around here because people and especially their dogs are prohibited from the beaches and trails where the birds nest.  They are ground-nesters with no actual nest, just a depression in the sand.  They are camouflaged so well that people can step right on the babies, and of course the dogs love to chase and catch them.

Along Highway 1 there is an area with a building and the sign reads "Chevron Estero Marine Terminal".  I have often driven past this and wondered what it was all about.  My die send me onto their little street and I investigated as much as I could.  There were tons of signs posted about the danger and no trespassing, etc., but the building appeared to be abandoned.  A truck arrived and the driver explained to me that they were working to remove the contaminated soil from the site for Chevron.  Later that week on the local news there was a story about the Marine Terminal.  Apparently for many years this was the site where tankers would come to get their oil on the Central Coast.  There were tanks of oil up on the hills and a long pipeline would gravity-feed the tankers while they waited in the ocean below.  There were actually two of these (don't know where the other is) and only this one was being cleaned up.  I wonder what the land would be used for once Chevron has it cleaned up?

By far my favorite discovery was the Cayucos-Morro Bay District Cemetery!!  I had been hoping to find a local cemetery and had prepared for it by purchasing several sprays of fake flowers at my Dollar Tree store, cutting the flowers apart, and bringing a Phillips head screwdriver to dig the holes.  I walked through about a quarter of the cemetery (amidst the sprinklers) and left a flower at gravesites of children and people with one of my family names.  Most of these people probably don't have any descendants to do this for them and it made me feel good.  On the way out of the Cemetery I noticed that it is across the street from a dog park!!

After the cemetery my die brought me to a little beach with picnic tables on the sand!!  I met a nice woman here and saw some interesting birds.  People were walking, walking their dogs, fishing, and relaxing here.  I will definitely come back here if I want a place to sit down and work on the tables, as long as it is not too windy!!

After leaving the South Cayucos area my die led me back (again) to North Morro Bay, where I discovered a wonderful park, the Del Mar Park.  There is a little creek running through it, some fantastic trees, a great playground, and nice picnic area.

Another darling area I found was at the base of the hills, running along the Chevron fence was a garden with a view, maintained by the neighbors.  The most thorough was called "Yvonne's Garden", and contained vegetables, herbs, and flowers.  It even had some cacti along a pathway that was lit-up with solar flood lights!!  There were three different steps up to the pathway, and one area had a white plastic Adirondack style chair which was set in the perfect place to take in the sunset.  The street-level gardens were also well-maintained and sported little decorative elements such as the ubiquitous pink plastic flamingos!!

After I left the little neighborhood garden I discovered the Estero Community Garden.  This garden is right across the street from the local Latter Day Saints church and behind the local elementary school.  Community gardeners rent the plots and grow mostly vegetables, but some flowers as well.  A compost area is set up and there is even a little chicken coop with a spunky rooster!!  I met an amazing man here who told me lots of stories about his life, including that he had a machete from World War II Japan!!

It was past lunchtime and I was lucky when the die finally took me by a restaurant!!  I even had a coupon and it is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Morro Bay.  Located at the Cayucos-end of Main Street in North Morro Bay, Lolo's Mexican Restaurant is almost always full.  Their take on Mexican food offers many unexpected treats.  Fresh salsa and chips daily start you off, and I always get their taquitos.  Luckily their lunch special was four taquitos, I got beef and chicken.  They are always so nice here and they offer free refills on my soda, which I always appreciate.  I ate my lunch while I wrote down all the stories of the fascinating man I met at the community garden.  It was a nice relaxing lunch, with a view of Morro Rock!!  I will always return here, especially for their taquito meal which includes 3 taquitos, a salad, beans, rice, and tortillas!!

After my late lunch I ended up down by Morro Rock, where a man had his scope set up to view the Peregrine Falcons that nest on the south side of the rock.  He is almost always at the Rock, showing the visitors these magnificent birds.  I walked a bit toward the breakwater rocks, but didn't have the right shoes on for climbing over them.   There is a shallow beach area to the south of the Rock, where people kayak, surf, and paddle board in the Bay.

My die took me down to the other end of the Embarcadero where I checked out the launch facility.  The day was stormy so there were not a lot of people putting their boats in the water today.  There is a nice playground called Tidelands Park and this is where people gather to watch the Independence Day fireworks.

I was happy to finally make it out of North Morro Bay onto Highway 41, headed to Atascadero, where I discovered a mobile home community/RV park, some curious donkeys, and a rutted dirt road where I had to switch into four-wheel-drive!!  By this time the rain was coming down pretty good so I called an end to my day of adventures!!

To check out more of my trip, check out my Facebook photo album.

© 2010 Traveling by Chance