A Lot of Shifting Going On....

Our Tuesday morning started off with an 8:30 appointment for a complete service at the Temecula Harley Davidson dealer in Old Town.

The huge service area. A technician took our ride in at 8:30 am sharp.

We had pre-booked the service at this HD dealer and they were ready for us when we arrived.  This full service required two  hours and included a complete systems check (mechanical and electrical) a change out of all fluids, the addition of a heal shifter kicker (that I personally prefer), tire pressure checks and more.

By 10:30 am, our ride was taken for a road test and once the invoice was squared away, we rode off.

Temecula Harley Davidson is a top class operation.  The service shop is humongous!  It sits across the street from the motorcycle and accessories store.  It too is humongous! It is a candy store....pure and simple!  We kept our wallets in our jeans....other than covering the service costs.

There is product for sale here....and this represent about 40% of the inventory that is available.

We dressed up for potential tail ends of the rain that was forecast for Tuesday but we escaped without getting wet. 

Lake Elsinore, CA, from California Highway 74 - west toward the coast.

Heading north on I-15 from Temecula, it was about a 30 minute ride before we headed to off ramp California Highway 74 and west towards San Juan Capistrano.  It was a slow ride up the switchback highway but it was fun too.

A view from about 2,000 feet

A complete view of Lake Elsinore before we rode over to the Pacific Coast side of the mountain range.

Once over the summit, we could smell the salt air.  The temperature took  a good drop at that elevation.  It was not cold...but it was refreshingly cool.

Navigating a fun, switchback road.

Although it is only about 29 miles from Lake Elsinore to San Juan Capistrano, it still took the better part of an hour to get there. 

Arriving in San Juan Capistrano - near the Pacific Coast in California.

This is a pretty place.  Famous for the swallows that return here, en masse, year after year, this small city offers some interesting history dating back more than 200 years.

A worthwhile spot for any tourist to visit.

It was 1:00 pm by the time we arrived. We rode around the downtown area, scouting for a good lunch spot.  A lovely outdoor, authentic Italian, restaurant caught our attention.  Jeanette and I shared a most tasty pizza.

The Mission

From our outdoor seating at the restaurant (photo below) we watched tour bus after tour bus drop off tourists at the Mission (photo above).  Although we would have enjoyed taking the tour, we felt the need to press on.  We'll be back here though - perhaps even next winter.  

The owner and his wife are 1st generation Italians.  Their menu is authentic.  The food and service is true to European expectations.  What a delight!  Prices were shockingly reasonable too.

I caught this photo of Jeanette just after lunch.

We left San Juan Capistrano for the short ride to the 'PCH' - Pacific Coastal Highway.  It's the California No 1 highway on any map or GPS.  Knowing full well that we would make little distance due to stops for traffic lights, every one to two blocks, we  readied ourselves to take the required breaks when needed.  Stopping and starting off - shifting up then shifting down - breaking then speeding up - was the better part of three hours of grueling, urban riding  before we could finally ride without having to stop for traffic lights.  That happened once we got north of Malibu.

On California Highway No. 1 - The Pacific Coast Highway

Great views along the way.

Our ride took us north through Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach,  Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles (right by LAX - the airport in LA),  Marina del Ray, Venice, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Thousand Oaks and finally into Oxnard - our overnight stop.

Beautiful, lush and breezy.

A brief stop @ Huntington Beach.

 We got off the motorcycle for a few minutes of stretching at this great beach.  The scene above and below are often seen in LA based  beach type movies.

Oil rigs just off the coast.

While I kept eyes on the traffic, Jeanette got the pleasure of taking in the incredible views.  She thoroughly enjoyed the views from the passenger seat.

Drove right by LAX airport in Lost Angeles.

Awesome farming scenes just north of Malibu.

Our very nice room in Oxnard at the Best Western

Nice resort style facility

Beautiful

Stunning  'Bird of Paradise' plant

We did ride by burned out hills from the most recent fires.  We could smell the acrid smoke as we rode by.  Crews kept busy putting out small fires and working  hot spots.

The burned out hills that jumped the Pacific Coast Highway a day or so ago.

That covers our travels for Tuesday.  All is well.  We're past the crazy traffic zones. We look forward to good weather as we head northwards on the coastal route.

Thanks for dropping by.