Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Take A Road Trip With Me~Episode 1

We left the house about 12:30pm Saturday Feb 9th.  I had a few errands that had to be taken care of before I left town.  Bob's brother & sister in law were heading straight to Las Vegas to visit her sister...so we left town together.  Our target for the first day was Canyonville, Oregon where we would spend the night.  We wanted to go over the Siskiyou Pass in northern California during the daylight hours.  The weather, especially this time of the year can be different from day to day. 

We got to the beautiful Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville after dark.  Bob's brother & sil had reservations at the hotel there and we planned to stay in the camper out in the parking lot.  We went into the restaurant there to have dinner and afterwards Bob was in line to pay for our dinner with his credit card.  The cashier asked for ID, so he handed her his drivers license.  He was talking back & forth with his brother during the transaction and not until the next morning when he went to pay for our breakfast did he notice his drivers license was missing.  Obviously the cashier the night before did not give it back to him.  We spoke to the Security people there and they checked their records~no drivers license had been turned in.  So he filled out a report and we were on our way.  He knows the number of his license by heart, so I wrote that down & we put it with his auto insurance information.  He dug out his Passport and put that in his front pocket so in case we got stopped, he'd at least have picture ID on his person. 

We went over Siskiyou Pass with no problem.  The beautiful Mt Shasta was visible (last year it was hidden by clouds) and clearly had lots of snow covering it.    I called my cousin, Susie, who lives in north eastern California to see if we could spend our second night at her place. I didn't get an answer on her home phone so I called her cell phone only to have her answer from a ski shop in Reno.  She said we could go to her house but she said she'd rather have us come to Reno, so Bob could ski with her and her friend.  So we turned east thru Susanville, California heading for Reno. 

From southern Oregon on, we saw lots of snow...but it was all along the side of the road.  (Thank you Lord!)  The highway was bare and dry.  We arrived in Reno about 6pm Sunday evening.  We were bothstarving and our eyes lit up when we saw the In-N-Out Burger sign.  YIPEE !!!  Just what we'd been waiting for.  For those of you who have never been to California, Nevada or Arizona...you don't know what your missing. 

After eating, we got a spot (#160) at the lovely RV Park at the Sierra Grande Casino.  I loved our spot because I could see the non-stop line of planes coming and going from the Reno airport.  It's funny...I really don't like to fly but I've always been intrigued by planes.   Is that weird or what ? 

Monday morning we gassed up the truck and headed up to Mt Rose Ski Resort, just 25 minutes from Reno, to meet my cousin and her friend Tom.   They were waiting for us in the parking lot and it was so good to see her again.  Bob got his ski gear on and they headed over to the lift.  The resort is beautiful (most of them are) and I relaxed in the sun out on the open air deck with my cell phone, my book and a coffee.  They skied for several hours, in fact right up to the time the lifts were closing.  We stopped into the cafe and had a Coke, the guys talking politics & Susie and I catching up.  And.........she helped me "cast-on" enough stitches, with the yarn and knitting needles I'd bought, to get started knitting a scarf. 

We headed back to our spot in the RV park, fixed some soup and sandwiches and settled in for the night.  Bob was practically asleep while eating~skiing does that to him.

After eating brunch at the Sierra Grande we headed to Sparks, Nevada and the J.C. Penney outlet store (another place I love to go to).  I could spend a million dollars in there.  All the last season stuff that wasn't purchased ends up in this huge warehouse type building.  I did buy a few things but I used some self control.  After all this was just the first of many "shopping" days I had before we got back home.

After Penney's we headed for Carson City, Nevada and the home of Bob's aunt Helen and his two cousins.  We were there last year too....one cousin makes these beautiful candles and the other is in the Jerky business.  The candle maker opened his side of the warehouse and Bob pulled the truck & camper inside the building...... the smell is heavenly, from all the candles. 

My cousin Susie was staying with her niece (my other cousin's oldest daughter) in Carson City and Tuesday evening she called me and said they wanted to come and get me for a "girl's day out" on Wednesday.  They showed up about noon and we went to Chilie's for lunch.  It was such fun to spend the afternoon with both of them. After lunch we picked up Kristin's little guy from school and then went back to her lovely home.  Her hubby was home soon after we got there and after a short visit with him, Susie took me back to the home of Bob's aunt.

Aunt Helen wanted us to go with her to the Valentine's party at her senior center on Thursday, Feb 14th.  So Bob, Helen, his cousin Ian and his other cousin's son, Kyle and myself piled into the van and away we went.  The senior centers have such wonderful lunches.  For $2 a piece, we had a breaded veal cutlet, mashed potatoes & gravy, steamed carrots & broccoli, rolls, cake and coffee, tea and/or milk.  It was so good !  We were each handed a raffle ticket as we entered the building and three of us had our numbers drawn.  Bob & Kyle each won one of those really big Hershey Bars and I won a bag of little shampoos, body wash & body lotions & some miniature Hershey's.  After lunch we went Thrift shop hopping....yes I bought some more books.  And I found a stack of  accordion music in one place.  (Yes I attempt to play~I took lessons when I was a kid and I have one).   Kyle found a "Scattagories" game for $1 and we had a blast after dinner playing the game.  Now I'm on the hunt for one.  They are expensive if you buy a new one.

Friday morning Bob and his cousin Ian got up early and went skiing at Kirkwood Ski Resort.  They had a great time....but forgot sun screen. Bob had a red bandanna in his jacket pocket so he wrapped it around his face just under his goggles.  But despite rubbing Chap Stick on his face, Ian really got burned.  Yup, he tried Chap Stick to prevent sunburn.  When they called and said they'd forgotten sun screen, I suggested that they stop any female on the slopes and ask for a little sun screen~because females don't forget things like that.  I guess they were too bashful.  LOL

Saturday morning we got up, had some breakfast and said our "goodbyes."   Before leaving Carson City, we stopped at the Railroad Museum.  They don't have very many old trains on display but what they have are in beautiful condition.    Saturday evening, we camped out in the parking lot of the El Capitan Casino in Hawthorne, Nevada. 

We now had been away from home for one week.......

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, I DO loved taking your journies with you Linda!  Wonderful travelogue as always and great pictures!  I am curious now as to whether you could go into the little red school house or not!  I Love visiting those types of things the most.  Those candles look fabulous by the way!
Marie from over the sea!

http://ayearatoakcottage.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

sounds fabulous.. your pictures are great!!!   What a view!
d

Anonymous said...

Linda I really enjoyed the trip with you and loved that Little School House we have one like that in the village ~ (well not exactly like that but just one class room) The picture of that Eagle was beautiful as were all the rest of the pictures ~ Ally x

Anonymous said...

Sounds wonderful and great photos! I like the little school house too :-)
Martha

Anonymous said...

sounds wonderful linda, fab pics. mrs t xx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/mleppard06/eternity

Anonymous said...

those were great pictures, Linda; this first week of your trip sounded like it was a fun one; lots of good memories you made :)

betty

Anonymous said...

what a great road trip that way :)  LOVED the little red school house!  Makes me think of my favorite tv series "Little House on the Prairie" lol  Did bob get a new license now?  

Anonymous said...

It sounds wonderful ~ I really enjoyed your pictures.  That ski slope is huge!!!  There is no way I would ski that.  Thanks for putting links on for the places you visited, the Mt Rose Ski Resort looks very nice.  Looking forward to hearing more.
Lisa

Anonymous said...

Enjoying your account of this trip, Linda - thanks very much for sharing those pics

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing Linda looking foward to reading more and great photo's.

Yasmin
x

Anonymous said...

Oh Linda though your holiday in reality is over ,I am just beginning to take this trip with you ,you do it so well Im very  excited ,Great pictures ,thankyou for sharing ...love Jan xx

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip with us.  I feel like I am going right along with you.  Penny's is one of my favorite places to shop.  I love eating at Chiles.  Your pics are really great.  Looking forward to enjoying more of your trip with you.  Your write so beautifully and in such detail that you make one feel that we are right there with you enjoying everything also.  Thank you for that.  

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you had a great first week on vacation, look foward to reading about the rest of your trip

Anonymous said...

All right Linda....enough show pictures...where are the cruise ones  ha ha

Blessings

Lori

Anonymous said...

Has Bob got his driver's license back yet? I hope so! Only a man would use Chap Stick for preventing sunburn! Lol! I'm glad you caught up with Susie. The photos are beautiful, I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing more of your trip. Jeannette xx  

Anonymous said...

What a great first week!!
shopping and eating and visiting and the sights....
Linda :)