There's No Place Like Home

We arrived safely home on Thursday, October 8th. We were actually happy to be home and I think that the dogs and the cat were releived to see home too.  There was a ton of mail that we had to sort through, as well as a ton of laundry that needed to be started, but, over the weekend we got it all done and by Sunday everything was finally finished. 

We both really enjoyed our trip, even though the last two days seemed to less enjoyable that the rest, I think we were just ready to get home.  I also enjoyed sharing it with all of you, and will keep the blog, and update it with our future travels, but for now there will be no more posts for awhile.  If you subscribe to my blog, (info in on the right hand side of this page) you will be notified when there are new posts about our adventures.

So for now, I bid you all goodby until the next trailer trip.  DD

Pastels in the Plaza

Saturday was the annual Pastels in the Plaza in Arcata, Ca. It is an annual fund raiser for the Northcoast Children’s Services. The way it works is that Businesses or Sponsors “buy” a square for $100 or $200 Sponsor Card. Artists sign up for the event Artist Card. Some businesses and artists will agree to work together, but for the majority, we match up artists and businesses a few days before the event. We provide the pastels and a square of cement. At 8:00 on Saturday morning, artists show up to start drawing. Click on the pictures below to make them bigger:

All while this is going on, there is a Farmer's market surrounding the perimiter of the plaza.  The colors of fall were all around with apples, pumpkins, and peppers.

Of course you can’t go to the plaza early in the morning and not have breakfast at the Alibi. The Alibi is a full service bar, they open early for a Bloody Mary and breakfast and close late for the college drinking crowd. But, they serve one of the best breakfasts in town, many different things to choose from, peanut butter waffles, five different kinds of eggs benedict and you can even have the hang town fry , which is fried oysters and eggs.

Later on in the day we took the dogs on a trail through Arcata’s Redwood Park Trails. As you are walking on these trails it is hard to not take in the extreme beauty of the redwood forest system. The smells, the beauty, and the grandeur.

We are planning on leaving Arcata on Tuesday to head home via Ukiah and Solvang.  So we will be seeing all of you real soon.   Love DD

I Love Trinidad

For our first full day in Northern California, we took the dogs on a hike up Trinidad Head. The trail is in the Trinidad harbor and it is 1.25 mile hike round trip. The hike is well worth it, the views from the top are spectacular. There is a lighthouse on the west side of the trail, but all you can see if it is the light tower and the old water tank that supplied water to the lighthouse keeper. As you go further up on the trail you get to a granite cross which is a historical landmark that marks the spot, that on June 11, 1775, Bruno de Hezeta, commandant of an expedition up the northwest coast, marched with his men and two Franciscan fathers from the shore of the bay to the summit of Trinidad Head. Here they erected a cross and took possession in the name of Charles III of Spain.

Here are some more pictures from the downhill side of the hike that shows the sleepy town of Trinidad (and the backside of "Kong Island").  We stayed in one of these ocean facing houses, the Boathouse, a couple of years ago when David graduated from Humboldt State and we had a great time. Of course, most of the time was spent on the deck looking toward the harbor and watching the fishing boats come and go. There were a lot of good memories of that long weekend. And that long weekend had the exact kind of weather we are seeing today - Beautiful clear skies…

We then went to Patrick's Point State Park to have a picnic lunch with the dogs to enjoy the beautiful day.  As you can see, Sassy was enjoying lunch just as much as Paul was.

Tomorrow is golf at Beau Pre in McKinleyville. DD

Back to California

For those of you who read my blog, and are of a certain age, you will remember this famous pancake house of your childhood. I don’t know why I liked it so much, but I think it was how the little boy turned the tiger into butter by running it around in circles. When we were young there wasn’t the political correctness that we have today, so you cam imagine my surprise when I saw this as we were driving down highway 101, through Lincoln City. Every time we passed by it, it was filled with customers, so it must be doing good business. I remember going to the one in San Diego when my family took its annual trip to the zoo, we would stop there for a breakfast of pancakes with “tiger” butter and syrup.

Paul and I left Lincoln City on Tuesday for another leg of our trip back home. We spent the night at the Bandon by the Sea RV Park in Bandon, Oregon. As we were traveling down Highway 101, it was really interesting to see all the Oregon state parks that have RV camping sites available. I think that the next trip we make up the 101 we will take out time and plan staying at some of these coastal parks for a couple of days each to explore the Oregon and Washington coast.

We are now in Arcata, Ca at the Mad River RV Park and even though it has been at least two years since we stayed here last, not much has changed. Arcata, Ca is where Humboldt State University is and that is where our son David graduated from a few years ago. We have always loved this area with the redwoods, the coastline and the cities and are planning on exploring all of these areas in the week we will be here. I will have more pictures of the area in my next post. The pictures below are of the little town of Orick, Ca. Paul and I always try to stop there to get some good Mexican food when we are passing through, and lucky for us, we were there right at lunchtime. Tomorrow we will be going to Trinidad and Patrick’s Point for a day of exploring with the dogs.

I will post more tomorrow. See all of you soon, DD

On Friday we took a drive up to Astoria, Oregon on the 101.  There are so many large and small towns along the way, it was quite enjoyable.  We started out early, since Astoria is about 2 hours from where we were staying.  .  The 101 weaves through green inland valleys and a breathtaking coastline.  Paul and I both remarked that the northern Oregon coast line is spectacular, but we were glad that we didn‘t have to drive the trailer through it on our way to Lincoln City from Washington.  Here is a picture looking north to Cannon Beach

 In Astoria we drove around the old town and stopped and walked the dogs along the Columbia River.  There is an interesting history about Astoria and the Columbia River.  The town has burned down twice in the early 1900 since they built it on piers, in the river.  After the second fire, I guess that the towns people finally figured out that they have to clear and level the land adjacent to the river to build their town.  These pictures show the piers that the old town was built on, as well a the big boat traffic that delivers many different kinds of cargo up river.

Here is Sassy posing in front of an anchor at the Maritime Museum on the Columbia River.

This picture not only shows the piers that the old town was built on but also, the Astoria-Megler Bridge that spans from the Oregon coast to the Washington coast. It is a continuous truss bridge that spans the mouth of the Columbia River.  The span was the last segment of U.S. Route 101 between Olympia, Washington and Los Angeles, California. It is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.

On our way back to Lincoln City, we decided to stop at the Tillamook cheese factory to take a tour and perhaps buy some ice cream.  While I like to visit factories and sample their different items, Tillamook was way too commercialized for us.  We walked in and after a quick look of our choices and the crowds, we decided that we can get Tillamook cheese anywhere, so we left. I can wait until I get to the Lolita Cheese Factory in Lolita, Ca to sample cheese and buy some cheese.

The last couple of days we have been enjoying the weather, blue skies, temperature on the high 60’s - low 70’s and a nice breeze blowing.  Yesterday we went to the farmer’s market for some onions, garlic and tomatoes for the sauce, and some good bread, for the steamed clams and pasta we were making for dinner.  Yum!!

 
Today is kind of a lay back read and watch football kind of day.  See all of you soon. 

Love DD

Coastal Oregon

We are now staying at the Premier RV Resort in Lincoln City, Oregon. We will be here for a week and will be exploring northern Oregon Coastal cities. Yesterday morning we did the laundry and some light cleaning of the trailer. After laundry on our way to get some groceries, we drove by the Chinook Winds Casino. The casino is in Lincoln City, on the coast. While we were there, the Oregon Field of Honor Traveling Veterans Memorial was setting up their display for the week. It was a beautiful sight to see row after row of American flags.

After we walked through the casino and did our grocery shopping we returned to the trailer to pick up the dogs and take them on a walk. We went to Devils Lake to walk the dogs and took a drive down to Newport Oregon. The Oregon coast is rugged and beautiful. There isn’t a lot of development along the coast, but there are pockets if interesting condos, timeshares, little motels and one spectacular RV Timeshare/Resort that I am sure you have to have $$$ and at least a 38’ Class A RV, less than 5 years old.

Here is a picture of the coast looking south to Newport, Oregon.

This morning the dogs are going to get baths - Sassy to the groomer and Spanky to the dog self-wash. While that is getting done, Paul will be getting the truck washed and vacuumed. It has been too long and the truck really needs it.

Going to Astoria and Cannon Beach tomorrow, DD

Last Days in Mt Vernon, Washington

On Monday Paul and I visited the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. There was so much music history there. One of the traveling shows that was being exhibited was the Jimmy Hendrix Experience. The exhibit had the history of how Jimmy Hendrix, from his first experiences to music, to Woodstock, to his death. They had his guitars on display, his music workbooks, and letters he wrote to his family. The other exhibits that they have are the guitar gallery, that shows the history of the guitar with many interesting examples of the evolution of the guitar, the sound labs where you can play guitars, drums, and even the keyboard. You can sing and even record a CD if you want. The other regular exhibit is the timeline of music in the Northwest, from the blues, to the grunge. There are many examples in the timeline of Pacific Northwest music evolution. Ray Charles to The Whalers, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Heart, Nirvana and more. If you ever find yourself in Seattle, I highly recommend you get to the Experience Music Project.

As for the Science Fiction Museum, it was really interesting to see Uncle Gene so prominently featured in the exhibit. He is a member of their hall of fame with a special dedication be his son, Rod and others that were involved in Star Trek. Here are some pictures from the EMP/SFM.

Bo Diddley’s Guitar:

Uncle Gene’s Hall of Fame information:

Uncle Gene in the Science Fiction Timeline:

My favorite from Terminator 2

When we got back home, we were at David and Amy’s house to say our goodbyes since we were planning on leaving early in the morning.

David, Amy and Sienna

Grandma, Grandpa and Sienna

David & Amy's Little House in Washington

On to Oregon - DD

Unseasonably Warm

Thursday was another beautiful day in Mt Vernon. Paul and I took the dogs for another long walk at the park in Mt Vernon, on the Skagit river. Spanky really likes to get in the water and splash around. When we returned to the trailer with tired dogs, Paul and I showered and got ready for our afternoon. We started by visiting the Skagit casino just outside of Bow. It is amazing how many Indian casino’s you pass in your travels. Each one a little different than the other. But, once you get inside they all seem to look the same. After the casino we continued up to Fairhaven to have dinner and walk around the town. We were in Fairhaven earlier in the month and wanted to go back to take in more of the old town. Fairhaven is a cute little town with many small shops and restaurants.


The ferry to Alaska starts out in Fairhaven. It looks like an interesting trip as it travels up the coast of Canada and ends in Alaska. Apparently you can take the ferry all the way to Skagway and then you can explore Alaska by using their ferry system to go on to other cities in Alaska. You can check it out at http://www.alaskaferry.com/

On Friday we went to Washington Park in Anacortes and enjoyed another beautiful day under the cloudless, sunny blue skies. I know that Washington gets rain and snow, but, I guess people live up here for days like these. The park was alive with people. There were walkers, most with dogs, some without there were boats in the water busily zipping by or being casually rowed by someone who was just enjoying the calm seas and blue skies. We walked the dogs for about a mile and then sat and enjoyed the view of the ferry taking another load of tourists to Vancouver, B.C.

The arch in Downtown Anacortes

Sassy and Spanky watching other dogs and people walking and wondering why they aren't out there.

Someone enjoying the warm sunny day.

That night we took David and Amy out to dinner. This week is “eat local” week, so we went to a local pub called The Trumpeter. The chef tries to use local resources, when available, for his meals. We had a very delicious dinner. We finally got a good rain on Friday night, and I am happy to report that our leak did not return, so it looks like we finally fixed that problem.


Paul and I spent Saturday getting ready for our departure next Tuesday. Doing routine cleaning and general packing up of things that we won’t be needing. We stayed around the trailer and read, watched football and even watched Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise. It was a good movie that we both enjoyed.

Time Flies

This past week has seemed to fly by. On Monday we did our normal cleaning and laundry. Did some house looking/hunting, shopping and had a quiet dinner of pasta with some fantastic garlic bread made from wonderful potato rolls I bought from the co-op.

Tuesday we took a drive to Stanwood and Camino Island. I am still in awe when we drive around the different areas in Washington. Stanwood is a community that is on the coast of the Puget Sound. It is an area that is full of agriculture and antiques. You drive through Stanwood to go to Camino Island, which is in the Puget Sound. We drove around the island to the Camino Island State Park to take in the views. It was there that I found this little fellow swimming around in the kelp beds. I really liked the area, the sun was shining and the skies were clear.

Later on in the afternoon, we went to David and Amy’s where Paul helped David cut up another tree for his winter supply of firewood. While they were doing this I was able to visit with Amy and Sienna. Sienna had her 15-months doctor’s appointment earlier in the day where her stats were height 31.25 inches (80th percentile, she‘s going to be tall like her daddy!), and her weight is 20 lbs. 8 oz. (25th percentile and thin like her mother). We had dinner at their house and played with Sienna, who finally kissed Grandpa goodbye! I am going to miss that little monkey.

Yesterday we finally were able to go golfing. We went to the Battle Creek Golf Course in Marysville to play on their par-3 9 hole course, but when we got there, the small course was closed because they were doing their twice a year maintenance on the greens, so Paul and I decided to do the front 9 on the regular course. Of course we left our drivers at the trailer, so all we had were the irons. We decided to use the “best ball” as they do in some tournaments, since it was going to take us a little longer to get to the green using only our irons. It was a beautiful course, kind of like walking through a forest with all the pine trees and we had a really relaxing time. And we didn’t do as bad as we thought, our final score was 45 (par was 36)

We are really enjoying our stay here.  See you all in October.  Love  DD

Willkommen

During the week Paul patiently waits for David’s days off so they can go salmon fishing and on Friday afternoon they started their weekend ritual. As you can see from the picture of David, this was a successful start to the weekend. They both limited out, again, on pink salmon.

On Saturday we all went to Leavenworth, Washington.

Leavenworth is to Washington as Solvang is to California. But, Leavenworth is set in the Cascade Mountains with a gorgeous view of the green trees and mountains. While we were there, we shopped, ate and enjoyed the day with David, Amy and Sienna.

We are planning on going to Seattle some time this week to visit the Experience Music Project Museum and Science Fiction Museum and I am really looking forward to "experiencing" it, as well as downtown Seattle. 

Still on the read.   DD

Sunny Washington

Yesterday was a layback kind of day. We took a drive to Anacortes to take the dogs on a walk in Washington Park and to look around at the different neighborhoods in the area. The fog was just lifting when we got to the park and the sun was a shining spotlight on this little white boat in the sound. It was really beautiful.

I really seem to be enjoying myself a lot while I am here. I am beginning to think that all the tales about the rainy, cloudy weather here is just some kind of reverse PR to keep all of us Californians from moving up here. Everything is so green and lush. I just can’t help feeling that this is somewhere I really could live.

Last night we went over to David and Amy’s where I cooked chicken tacos, rice and beans. I have been wanting Mexican food since we have been here, and the one thing I have discovered is that Washington does not have any good Mexican resturaunts. So, Amy was gracious enough to let me take over her kitchen to whip up chicken tacos. As you can see from the picture even Sienna enjoyed the refried black beans. By the end of dinner, she even had some in her ear.

Still having fun, DD

Daily Chores

The last few days we have spent laying low because of rain and trailer chores. The rain was a welcome rest with both Paul and I, planning on staying in and reading. Unfortunately, plans changed after being rudely awakened at 2:00am by a leak that is in our front window above the bed. We pulled the bed back and bolstered the leaking area with rolled up bath towels and tried to sleep until daylight. At least the rain wasn’t as heavy as expected so we were able to get a good look at the problem and get to Camping World to see what they had to correct it. Apparently the design of the front window and the attachment of the rock guard cover let the water run off from the roof down the window. Then, the water that ran down the window it would pool on the bottom of the window frame and then it would wick into the inside of the trailer and slowly drip onto the bed. At camping world they suggested this silicone RV caulking around the window, but I found some gutter type material that you attach to your trailer over windows that will direct the run off around the window. Well, we bought both and installed them on Monday. Hopefully this will fix the problem. We are expecting rain today and I will let you know if it works.

Monday the boys got up early and went fishing, but they were skunked. The river water was really murky from the rain so I guess the fish just weren’t seeing the bait and the spinners. In the afternoon Paul and David finished cutting up his firewood and filling up the woodshed. Hopefully David and Amy will have enough wood to keep them warm all winter long.

Yesterday was laundry in the morning and then a drive in the afternoon. We took a drive around the area and ended up in La Conner. La Conner is a cute little touristy town on the Skagit river. Along the drive you pass through many family farms and communities, and one really neat farmers market where we stopped and bought some vegetables, butter and of course some ice cream for Paul.

Anyway, today there is more rain predicted, but the rest of the week and weekend is supposed to be just beautifully sunny. I really haven’t taken too many pictures, so here are a few pictures of the most beautiful granddaughter in the world - at least in my opinion.

Anyway, all is going well and we expect to be here another couple of weeks.  Love  DD