I got such a thrill as we rounded a curve just north of Yreka at mile marker 776…….the majesty of Mt. Shasta came into view.  When we left you could hardly see her for all the smoke.  Today she is clear and crisp and snow capped.  She is sort of like God….when you know where she is, you know where you are.

Miles traveled 1,230

We will be going down (flying) to Long Beach next week to meet our new sweet baby girl, Malia Rose, and to attend a memorial service for a dear friend of Doug’s, John Messenger.  John was a cardiologist at Long Beach Memorial and very instrumental in the development of the Heart Institute.

Well, we found an RV that we couldn’t resist. We followed the RV to a rest stop in Oregon and found that it was for sale! It had more mileage than we wished but it made up for the miles with outstanding new features.

First, it is brightly painted with high visibility (HI-VIS) colors to aid in road recognition and thus safety. Second, the new RV  has ample length and comes with a superb roof storage area complete with a roof mounted vented propane system. The most intriguing aspect of the roof is the rear deck with an onboard functional hen-house with six hens up there enjoying the view at more than 60 MPH.  You don’t find THAT feature at many RV shows do you now? (the hen house  is usually a major, major  upgrade) The hens do have a completely enclosed and protected shelter available for high speed maneuvers and frigid conditions if they are having any trouble walking on the deck. When the vehicle is stopped the hens are able to feed on a rear deck exercise area from an auto feeder and auto water source. The current owner told us that the hens have a heck of a time trying to peck at those corn pieces at 60 MPH so he must slow down or stop and activate the feeder or they will get “sickly”.

Owning this technical masterpiece means that Bonny and I will  no longer have to rely on KFC for sustenance during our travels! Just a quick trip up that rear ladder and dinner is ready – scrambled eggs or …?

Talk about true freedom and living off the grid!

I need a hair cut and a pedicure…….My electric toothbrush has died….I am out of clean underwear…..it is time to return to Redding.  Oh did I mention, it is raining?  I don’t particularly enjoy outdoor exploring in the rain.

We are at Seven Feather’s RV Resort on the I-5 North of Medford.  It’s claim is that it wants to be the best RV Park in Oregon.  It is connected to the Seven Feathers Casino and is run by the Cal Creek Band of Umpqua Indian Tribe.  So far I am impressed.  When we arrived (in the dark) we were escorted to our site by a guy in a golf cart ( gratuities appreciated).  The cost per night is $36.  We have found that our cost per night on this adventure has been in the $20-30 range.  We have just decided to stay for the day and explore when the rain lets up, make a pot of soup, cozy up and read.  Coincidently The Bucket List is on the TV.

Doug and I have been on the road together in approximately 400sq.  feet for a little over 3 weeks.  He is very easy to get along with.  There is a definite division of labor.    He does everything on the outside and I do everything on the inside.  One of the things I made very clear before we ventured out was that I absolutely could not live for long in a messy coach.  For those of you that know Doug, I am not exaggerating when I say, Messy is his middle name.  He has blown me away with the pride he takes in the coach.   Wonders never cease!!!!  The cupboards are organized and the wood is polished.

One of my goals on this trip was to learn how to cook in a combination microwave/convection oven. The microwave broke shortly after we left and one burner on the stove just doesn’t seem to want to turn on.  I have actually done quite well with one burner and a bar-b-q.

Every where I go, I think it is the best.  I think of the kids and grandkids and how much they would enjoy each place.

One of the acquisitions Doug has made this time around is a little round thing that I thought was a white covered bar-b-q.  It turns out to be a satellite dish with much newer technology than our 10 year old RV has.  On this trip we are returning much less news depleted.  At this time in the news we are 3 weeks from the mid-term elections. There are 3 cases of Ebola in the US.  The nurse that contracted Ebola graduated 4 years ago and has worked in Critical Care and is one of 70 people that had cared for Mr. Duncan, the first to die of Ebola in the US.  Leon Panetta has just released his book. BO still stands firmly on “no boots on the ground” as ISSIL moves in on Baghdad.

I am learning that there are about four different kinds of camp sites….at least those in Oregon.  The first is the state or county parks with gravel pads, lots of trees, sometimes grass, a well worn picnic table, and a REAL fire pit…….places that make you want to hang out at your campsite.  The next have little or no trees, concrete or asphalt pads, very clean with laundry facilities, not much character but reasonably priced and put you near a city or attraction  you want to spend the majority of your time.  For me that would be Portland Fairview RV Park.  The third are very very nice “resorts” with flowers and all the amenities with very strict rules and no children or fire pits in site.  Many of these places only allow class A or C rigs of a certain age (Pacific Shores RV Resort).  Perhaps the price and word “Resort” are the clues.  The last are simply “parking lots” like the Walla Walla Elks or Whisky Town at Oak Bottom. This Seven Feathers might just be the best of everything……we will see when it stops raining.

As this trip comes to an end, we are talking about our next outing.  We are thinking of starting at Quartzite in Arizona which is a meeting of about 20,000 folks with Tiffin RVs.  This is on BLM land and is completely “dry” camping.  Waste is trucked out and Water is trucked in.  We were thinking it would be a good starting point in January for a tour of the South West ending with a visit with Matt in Dallas, Texas.  I have never set foot in Texas.

One of the great joys of travel, and RV travel in particular, is meeting fellow travelers. Bonny and I took a walk on the beach in Newport, Oregon today. There on the beach we met and talked with a wonderful American, Neil Lindstrom. Neil and his wife live in the north-east corner of Colorado where he is a retired farmer.  He and his wife are heavily involved in helping children and youth in Colorado. He financially supports a children’s summer camp near Estes Park, Colorado. Most interesting, he has been generously offering parcels of his own farm land to deserving young farmers in his area. He wants to help them get a start in family farming – something he believes is an important part of the United States. We agree. Hats off to Neil and his wife – real Americans!

133 miles of Oregon coastline from Astoria to Newport…….I enjoyed the scenery, Doug, however,  was white knuckling it for most of the trip as he maneuvered 62 1/2 feet and  38,000 pounds of vehicle  on the 101 Coast Highway.  He is really quite a good driver.

Oregon is my new favorite state and I think God’s favorite color is green.  The lushness of Central Oregon and the coast is unsurpassed.  I know I look forward to returning and enjoying the many bike trails that are everywhere in the state.

We stayed at Pacific Shores RV Resort.  This was the most pricey of our sites at $70 in the off season.  Unlike other parks, each site is individually owned.  There was an indoor pool, spa, and gym ( none of which we used :  (   ) BUT, the view from the front seat of our RV was spectacular with a trail down to a beach that we mostly had to ourselves. For future reference, space 128 is the most beautiful with ocean view, grass, and a forrest to the right.

We spent a day at a state park thats main attraction is a beautiful lighthouse………Yaquina State Park.  The sea was very rough that day with anticipated storms.  We were warned to be careful of Sneeker waves which are exactly that.   We never saw one, but our previously mentioned acquaintances, Neil, said he and his wife were drenched by one near the beach.

We arrived in Newport, Oregon late yesterday 10/10/14. It rained most of the night and the fog was thick this morning. By noon all had cleared and we went hiking up a substantial hill at the south end of the beach. This is a beautiful part of the Oregon coast.

Below is a picture I took of Bonny at the summit. On the cliff just over her right shoulder and about a mile away, sits our RV. This turned our to be a beautiful day!

Welcome to Malia Rose deMetropolis – Born 10-09-2014

The day has been long as we were updated periodically about Lindsay’s progress in labor.  Then…………at 7:52 pm came Andy’s text….. It’s a girl!   Wait a minute……I predicted it was a boy!   Never, never take me to Las Vegas.   Janice says she looks just like her big brother, Dylan.   We can’t wait to see her.   With the miracle of texting, we ALMOST feel like we are there.   For those of you that aren’t in and around Long Beach,  Andy is my youngest son and Lindsay is his wife.   He is a Long Beach fireman and Lindsay is an RN and works in the ER at Long Beach Memorial Hospital.   This sweet girl weighed in at 7-14 and is 20″ long and HEALTHY.

Every year I start looking for stocking stuffers on January  1st.  It can get expensive when you are filling 16 stockings!  I saw some Chinook Salmon that I thought the boys might enjoy but it was $14 a can at the museum store.  My quest……..to locate this item at a more reasonable price.  This led us to this small cannery on the Skipanon River.  It is referred to as a micro- cannery.   These are quickly disappearing from the coast.  Josh, the manager,  greeted us and gave us a great personalized tour.  Fridays are busy for them as they get ready to go to Portland for Saturday Market. The canning machine they use was built in 1917.  He says it works perfectly but he is finding it difficult to get parts and a mechanic that can actually work on it.  I think he said he has to fly in a mechanic from the mid-west.  Besides learning about the hand packing and smoking process, I was fascinated by their best butcher ( is that what you call someone that filets fish?).  She is 81 years old.   She is also the chief  sharpener of all the knives.

I saved a little at $9.50 a can.  Merry Christmas boys.  Please don’t feed it to the dogs.

Today Doug and I are waiting on word of the birth of Andy & Lindsay’s second baby. It has worked out by design that Janice (our other daughter-in-law) will be taking care of her at Long Beach Memorial. Sweet anticipation! We feel very comfortable with her under Janice’s watchful eye.

Yesterday we visited the Maritime Museum here in Astoria. What an educational day it was. We learned a great deal about the Coast Guard and the vigorous and dangerous training. The area here where the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean meet is considered one of the most dangerous in the word calling it the “Graveyard of the Pacific” with over 700 ship wrecks and countless loss of life. What makes the Columbia River so important is its ability to provide transport of goods to inland America as far as Lewiston, Idaho. Imagine! Today we are going to learn about the discovery of this area by Lewis & Clark.

Looking back at the pictures Doug has posted, it looks like we are always wearing the same thing….it is true. When we left Redding it was 100 degrees and we packed accordingly. It had been so long since we saw temperatures below 80, we couldn’t imagine needing anything but flip flops and shorts. Lesson learned.

One of the things I love about Oregon is the GREEN. It actually rains here. We have several umbrellas, but not a single one in the RV.

I don’t really have an obsession with Costco. When I meet someone that lives in Redding, I will often ask what made them choose Redding as their home. One of the answers I found very interesting was from a fellow hiker, Linda Katlin. They have travelled extensively around the US (looking for a place to settle in retirement). Gary is an engineer. They narrowed their search to only places that had a Costco, believing that that community would have the level of goods and services that they felt necessary to establish a home. They built their own home in Cottonwood. They live in the country but know that civilization is just down the I-5.

The Art of Racing in the Rain…..recommended read on many levels. I now can’t look at a dog without wondering what he or she is thinking. I know more about race car driving than I ever wanted to know & never ever give up.

Bonny and I visited The Lewis and Clark Center which is located at the site of the log fort built built by the  U.S. Army Discovery Corps led by Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clark.  The group had departed St. Louis in May of 1804 and arrived here in November of 1805 at the Pacific ocean. This fort was designed and built from local trees in a few weeks to provide needed shelter from a bitter winter. It is magnificent to see and appreciate what these  remarkable individuals accomplished.

At the dusk at U.S. Army installations world over the U.S. flag is lowered and  correctly folded. The entire event and the bugle played is called “Retreat” followed by “To the Colors”.  The staff noticed my U.S. Army hat, the Park Rangers honored me with the opportunity to fold the flag. It has been a long time but my memory kicked in and I pulled it off. Whew!

Astoria has an interesting hill overlooking the town and the Columbia River. There is a tower that Bonny and I climbed (164 steps) and the view is amazing. I will stop with the words but here are the pictures. Click on them to see full size.

October 7th marks our 14th anniversary.

Bonny and I feel very fortunate for our families and many friends both in Southern California, Redding and all across this wonderful country. We also spent time reminiscing about past adventures and travels and planning more of the same to come!

Thank you all for enriching our lives! Really, thank YOU.

We enjoyed a wonderful evening and dinner at the Bridgewater Bistro here in Astoria, Oregon. We had wonderful seafood dinners and attacked a bottle of matured grape juice from Roderer.  The combination and location were just great. We would really recommend this restaurant if you ever get up this far into Oregon. Here is there web site:

http://bridgewaterbistro.com

Some pictures follow and as usual you can see them enlarged with a simple mouse click!    Anniversary Dinner

I woke up this morning completely surrounded by fog.  It was delightful sitting up front watching the sun rise and the fog lift on the beautiful golf course that we have called home for a few days.  I have always said that one of the best things about retirement is “sleeping until I’m through”.

Today is our anniversary….14 years.  We have had a lot of fun and I can honestly say, still, that I have never once been bored!!!  I would gladly sign up for another 14……that should put us into our mid 80’s.

Yesterday we visited the beach communities of Seaside and Cannon Beach.  (Pictures are here – just click) They are typical beach towns and very different from Astoria just a few miles to the North.

Astoria is built on a hillside near where the Columbia River meets the sea.  Most of homes are Victorian and some are 200 years old.  At one time the population was as high as 100,000  with a thriving logging, shipping, and canning industry.  At that time the town was build on wooden piles  over the water.  A huge fire in the 1920’s destroyed the city as it swept under and burnt the support the city was built.  Today the population is 10,000, however, Doug and I spotted a Costco which tells us a lot about the surrounding community.

We arrived in Astoria, Oregon last evening and found our RV site on a beautiful golf course. Getting here was a challenge. Our GPS choose to route our 40 ft motorhome with our Jeep attached (63 feet total) up a steep hill then onto  a narrow residential street which was a dead end! This necessitated unhooking the Jeep and blocking the street while we made a tight multi-point u-turn.  Bonny was a great spotter! All went well! But check out the sign on our GPS “approved” route!

We plan to stay a few days here it is so lovely.

Bonny will add her thoughts.

Astoria Pictures here

October 3, 2014   Columbia Gorge

October 2, 2014  

Mt. Hood,  Cascade Locks, and Columbia River Gorge

We drove to Mt. Hood for a pleasant morning at Timberline Lodge. After visiting the mountain, we ended up spending quite a while at a small town called Cascades Locks, population 1000.  We met the mayor who was mowing the lawn at the park and is also the paddle boat captin.  There was a very small beautiful island called Thunder Island that we explored.  We did make it to the Multnomah falls, but late. We watched the sun set at Vista House on the Historical Route 30.  We are going back tomorrow via Route 14 from Vancouver over the Bridge of the Gods and have brunch at the falls.

Click Here for Photos!

October1, 2014 

Portland, Oregon

Bonny and I arrived in Portland and met her long time nursing school friend, Maggie. We attended the Oregon Symphony that evening in one of the most beautiful music venues we have ever seen.

Then next day we had a personal Portland tour by Maggie

The following day we did a self guided tour of the Japanese Garden and the Western Forest just on the edge of the city. We had a beautiful day and a wonderful experience. Portland is an attractive city with a lovely, lively downtown and much to see.

Check out our Portland Photos here!

October 1, 2014

Portland