Worldmark Windsor, CA – 7/13/2015 – http://fulltimetimeshare.com/blog

July 13, 2015 (Monday)

Lots of things have been happening the last few weeks. We got an offer for our home, accepted it, and then waited for about a month for the appraisal to come in. When the appraisal did come in, it was way lower than we thought it was worth so we decided to just move back into the house (once our renter moves out the end of August) and get it ready to go on the market. We’ll update the guest bath and do some flooring, as well as some painting. We wish our neighbor could have bought it but the appraisal did not give any value for the mobile home, studio attached to the mobile home, the storage container (connex), or the over five acres of land. (We also found out our Airbnb operation was not allowed by the coastal commission.) We just feel it was worth more than what their appraisal said. Anyway, we are converting the rentals to long term and moving on to another adventure with the house. We’re kinda looking forward to being in it again before we sell it.

We’ve been staying in Santa Clara since June 21st. The last couple of weeks we were at Aaron and Arla’s because they were in Cancun and we got to watch our grandpuppies. They had a wonderful trip and now Michael and I want to go explore Cancun and the cenotes. We enjoyed the time with the grandpuppies and our time with the kids once they got back home.

We got up earlier than usual this morning and went to breakfast with Aaron and Arla. They are now vegans and Michael had gone on line to find a vegan breakfast place close by. We decided on a place called Delicious Crepes in Santa Clara. Our GPS took us the long way so Aaron and Arla were waiting on us when we got there. (They know their way around and don’t need GPS.) We weren’t too sure when we saw the menu but Aaron ordered a vegetarian crepe, Arla got an avocado crepe, I got a fruit/sweet crepe, and Michael got some oatmeal. All was delicious (especially Aaron’s – so yummy). Will definitely go back and try other items when we’re back in the area.

Aaron and Arla, a little tired, such fun.

Aaron's veggie crepe, we each got a taste and agreed his was the best. — Aaron’s veggie crepe, we each got a taste and agreed his was the best.

Arla's avocado veggie crepe. — Arla’s avocado veggie crepe.

Edie's dessert crepe. Filled with fruit. — Edie’s dessert crepe. Filled with fruit.

My oatmeal. Had some fruit and it was delicious.

Aaron and Arla, love those kids, hard to say goodbye.

The drive today was from Santa Clara to the Worldmark at Windsor, California – about 130 miles. We had gotten a bonus time night there. We had plenty of time to kill (check-in wasn’t until around 4:00 PM, so we decided to do a side trip to Armstrong Redwoods State Park near Guerneville.

We said our goodbyes after breakfast and hit the road. We were originally going to go Highway 101 through San Francisco, but once we saw the traffic backed up, we headed another way (East Bay through Oakland, Berkeley, etc.). Was fun seeing San Quentin, Petaluma, and then headed over Highway 12 through Guerneville. What a fun little town.

Not sure what this statue is. On a landing to a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 880.

My old stomping grounds, San Quentin State Prison.

Some lovely woods to go through on the way to the woods.

Saw lots and lots of people floating down the Russian River on tubes and canoes. Looked like something we want to put on our bucket list for another visit.

Buerneville theater. — Guerneville theater.

We got to Armstrong Redwoods State Park and drove through. What an absolutely stunning place. So glad Michael wanted to share it with me. (He had been there several times before with his first wife who died.) Loved seeing the tree they say is over 1400 years old, and another one that is around 1300 years old. Just beautiful. We drove to the very top/end of the park. What an exciting and scary drive, especially when another car would be driving by. Good thing you can’t go very fast.

We entered the park and it is a slice of heaven on earth.

Pictures don't do justice to the 12% grade. — Pictures don’t do justice to the 12% grade.

Rugged country. We were grateful for no fires.

There used to be a lake through those trees.

Usually this is a lake on the top of the mountain.

Blind curves, rough road, dramatic drive, Edie did great.

So beautiful here, wish we had smell o vision, the Forrest scent is sweet, clean and wonderful. — So beautiful here, wish we had smell o vision. The forest scent is sweet, clean and wonderful.

Muffled sounds, muted steps, reverence demanded.

Pretty woman capturing the moment on her new phone.

Direct light is rare on the forest floor.

The black is where flames have licked against the tree.

The colors and smells were overwhelmingly comforting.

Filtered light is very pleasant to the eyes.

So, 1300 years old, that means it was a sprout around 700..

The drive from Guerneville to Windsor was very short, only about 20 miles or so. We took some really fun back roads and enjoyed a leisurely drive.

Russian River with floaters and beach folks enjoying the day.

Once we got into Windsor, we stopped to have linner. We went to a place called High Tech Burritos. I guess it’s a chain but we had never eaten at one before. It was quite good and we both enjoyed our chicken salad.

We decided to give High Tech Burrito a try.

Pretty woman's salad. — Pretty woman’s salad.

We checked into the Worldmark at around 3:30 PM and were quickly checked in. Nice staff. We were offered a timeshare presentation but we declined (first for us I think). We were told it was strictly informative, no heavy pressure, etc., etc., etc. – but we told her we had recently been to one in San Francisco and we feel we’re up to date on all things Worldmark at this point.

Fireplace, pool tables that look out on the swimming pool.

Large open areas in the recreation room.

The unit we have is lovely – a two bedroom special needs room. Very roomy and comfortable. I am loving having the washer/dryer and have already done two loads. We are in for the evening and just enjoying our own space for the first time in almost two months. (We love AirBnb, Aaron, Arla, and the grandpuppies, but when you’re sharing in someone else’s home, you just can’t quite get totally comfortable.)

Dining/Living room. Fireplace and flat screen. — Dining/living room. Fireplace and flat screen.

Tiniest kitchen island I have ever seen.

Special needs kitchen, lowered appliances and cabinets, spaces for a wheel chair to get under the counter top.

That was our day. Hope yours was great!