Simple Hobby Homesteading

Kevin wakes up with a killer headache and an incredibly painful neck. The camping has not been good for his osteoarthritis in his neck and his inner thigh issue is incredibly painful. We aren’t here to wreak havoc on our bodies beyond the point of enjoyment so we decide to take a break from riding on this day.

San Simeon to Oceano would be enjoyed from the support vehicle rather than in the saddle, we had to be ok with that and I will say it was a nice day to enjoy some time sitting next to my husband.

We packed up camp, loaded our bikes on top of a support van and hopped in with Brian (the guy that fixed my bike a few days ago… was it coming out of Monterey?… hard to remember all the places now. Anyways, we liked this guy and were happy to hang out with him and a few other riders he picked up along the day’s travels.)

We hit all the stops with Brian including a VERY YUMMY cookie and coffee shop called Brown Butter Cookie Company. There are rumors of this becoming an official rest stop or checkpoint for next year’s ride… great idea! I got their original cookies and a bag of their almond ones. Oh my goodness yummy. We also went up the block a bit for some coffee at Top Dog Bar & Cafe. This was a must because my dog training business is called TOP (Training Our Pack) Dog Training, so cool and best coffee ever!

The checkpoint was at Wally’s Bicycle Works and Kevin enjoyed their homemade tamales and salsa. Along the way Kevin and I discussed what we were going to do about the sleeping arrangements (camping) which were proving a nightmare for his neck. We decided to book hotel rooms for the rest of the ride and we were both pretty darn stoked to sleep in a real bed that night.

We drove past the Avila Springs and I remembered taking the boys every year up to the Pumpkin Patch in Avila Beach to get our sweet corn, rock candy, pumpkins and even a bee sting on my big toe one year (we were video taping the pumpkin selection process and the boys still laugh at my select use of words when I got stung… they say it’s the only time they have ever heard me swear. I doubt that but they are sweet for saying so.) I miss our boys and the days of heading to the Pumpkin Patch and vow to take them this year in Indiana. Fifteen and ten isn’t too old for pumpkin picking is it? At what age does it become absolutely and totally “uncool”… I could care less, we’re going 🙂

We arrived in Oceano well before check in time at the hotel so we headed out to the beach to enjoy some calming ocean time. The hot sand felt awesome on my swollen bare feet and we got some nice pictures that afternoon. I remembered riding horses through those same dunes 15 years ago and suggested we go try to find the stables for a nice horseback ride. For some reason that was the last thing on Kevin’s agenda for that day or any other day in his life. Some day I will get this man on a horse! I was missing my animals immensely and would have biked 100 miles to find a horse and bury my face on her warm neck as I do every night at home. Hopefully Mercedez and Pepsi were cooperating for our farm sitters.

It was time to check in at the hotel and you would have thought the Oxford Suites was Trump Tower the way Kevin and I fell on the bed and swooned over the most basic of ammenities. I washed and dryed every item of clothing we had at the hotel laundry that afernoon and walked over to Denny’s to get french fries. Best french fries ever… had never really craved french fries before that day and then suddenly realized I was craving POTATOES! Oh my, you potatoes, what was I going to do with you?

Sat in a hot tub forever and loved every second of it. Couldn’t talk Kevin into the hot tub as he’s not a fan of public swimming pools, hot tubs, or even personal baths… he’s a shower kind of guy. It was good to give my feet a break from cycling shoes that day as they had become quite swollen over the past day or two.

Supper was amazing as usual and we slept better that night than we had in months. We were just entering our old stomping grounds (we lived on Vandenberg Air Force Base for eight years) and we were excited.

The Honoree tonight is Andrew, a fun loving athletic teenager battling Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis since the age of three. An avid bike rider he will most assuredly be on this ride when he reaches the age of eighteen. Seeing, meeting, and hearing all about him makes me think of my boys and I suddenly miss them almost more than I can bear. Ugh, this ride has made me kinda an emotional basket case. I thank God my husband is next to me as I lower my sunglasses over my eyes, shed a few tears, and get the best side hug squeeze from a husband who misses our boys as well.

Ya think Kevin heals enough to ride the next day? Ya think I can fit my huge feet into those seemingly itty bitty cycling shoes? We’ll see…

~Jhenna