The Last Two Days of Our 35 Day Journey

After Crescent City, California it isn't too long before you cross into Oregon.  Driving thru Oregon on Highway I-5 is rather boring but when you take Highway 101 along the coast it is a wonderful, scenic drive. Oregon has some of the most beautiful bridges and light houses I have ever seen.  (Of course I'm sure there are other states that have them too but I haven't seen them)

We stopped in Brookings, Oregon at an outdoor Flea Market.  There we met a nice man named Ray (who actually grew up here in my home town) who made model airplanes from beer and soda cans.  Bob & I each bought one from him, the one I  bought is for my son for his birthday.  It was made of  17 Sierra Mist cans (his favorite soft drink).  The craftmanship of these planes is amazing.  The propellers even turn in the breeze and they are replica's of real planes.  The plane I bought is a replica of a Starduster II.

We had a hot dog lunch in the camper and continued north with our next stop at Gold Beach, Oregon.  This is a great town and the home of Jot's  Resort.  I've been there twice (with the girls) and once with Bob.  This is where you can take a jet boat ride up the Rogue River (I've always gone on Jerry's Rogue River Jet Boats.)  If you've never done this...add it to your list of things to do.  I've been up the river three different times (July and August are the best months) and it is a wonderful, exciting experience.

From there we went on to Humbug Mountain State Campground.  We have driven thru this campground so many times but this was our first time to stay there.  It's down off the highway and the path from the campground to the beach goes under another one of Oregon's beautifulbridges.  We walked out there and watched the sun dip down into the ocean.

The next morning we left the campground about 10:30am after another walk out to the beach. We stopped off and on throughout the day at various spots to take pictures and just take in the views.  We've traveled this road so many times but you just never get tired of the beauty of this area.   That evening we stopped at the beautiful Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City for dinner and then we camped in the parking lot at the Lincoln City Eagles Club...our last night on the road.

Tuesday we left the Eagles parking lot about 8:30am and stopped for breakfast.  From there we continued on to Tillamook, another one of our favorite stops.  We stopped at the Air Museum, housed in a World War II blimp hanger and then on to the Tillamook Cheese factory.  A place you must stop as you drive thru this part of Oregon.  They have the most delicious ice cream and here at the factory they offer about 30 or so different flavors for your eating pleasure.  They also have a great gift shop, and a store where you can buy all kinds of their cheese, including bags of curds.  Gotta have the curds !  I bought two small bricks (instead of the big ones) of their Garlic Cheese and I'm so upset because so far I've not been able to find it in any of the grocery stores in town. And it makes wonderful grilled cheese sandwiches.

Later down the road we stopped at Cannon Beach.  Bob took a nap and I walked on the beach.  Cannon Beach is known for the Haystack Rock and their many gift shops.  I decided I was all "shopped out" when it came to gift shops so stayed away from the ones there.  When the tide is out, you can walk out to Haystack Rock and climb around.  But, there have been people who didn't head back soon enough, the tide came in and they found themselves stranded and had to be rescued off  Haystack.

Our next stop was Seaside,Oregon and their Outlet Mall.  I like to shop at that one because there's no sales tax in Oregon.  I only wanted to go to two stores...the Paper Factory and the Corning Outlet.  Soon after leaving Seaside, the big bridge over the Columbia River at Astoria,Oregon came into view.  The south end of the bridge is in Oregon andthe north end is in Washington.  

We had planned to continue on Highway 101 along the Washington coast and spend another night at Westport but once we got to the little town of  Raymond, Washington.... it was raining, it was getting late,  we were tired so we headed across a little cow trail to Highway I-5. Once we were on I-5 we were at my house an hour and a half later.  It was so wonderful to be home...to be able to sleep in my own bed and to see my little kitty.

I hope you all have enjoyed this journey. It was really a lot of fun and   very interesting. And I've enjoyed sharing it with you...I wish we could have all been in a long caravan of vehicles, seeing the sights together.  I have printed out about 900 pictures and have them in an album to that I can take it out at anytime and remember all that we did.  Stop ny anytome and I'll be happy to drag out the album and let you see the pictures.  By the way, the total price for gas for the 4,000 miles we drove was just under $1,800. 

Until next time...........Linda

What A Surprise

I was just ready to turn the TV off at 10pm tonight and much to my surprise...the 10 o'clock program came on and it was "Northern Exposure."  The first episode, I believe...I was so excited, I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and settled back to watch it.   After it was over I sent an email to KOMO TV in Seattle and thanked them for showing the program and asked if this will be a regular Thursday night feature.

I think those of us who live in Washington especially liked that program because it was filmed in our own Roslyn, WA  just a couple hours across Snoqualmie Pass from the Seattle area.  There was even a scene in the famous Brick Tavern.

That's all for now....     Linda

Our 35 Day Adventure Continued

After leaving San Francisco on Saturday morning (April 28th) , we continued our trek north on the beautiful Highway 101.  Until you reach Eureka, CA the highway is mostly inland, away from the ocean.  We drove until we reached Ukiah and then stopped for lunch and an opportunity to stretch our legs.  Our next stop was Eureka, CA where we stopped and bought a few groceries.   We drove that day until we reached a rest area about 50 miles south of Crescent City, CA.  

The next morning, we continued on thru the Redwoods.  They are truly awesome.  We didn't stop a lot along here because we've been thru this area so many times.  But we did stop at one gift shop (actually I wanted an ice cream bar).   We noticed immediately the large carved bears at the gift shop entrance were carved by a Native American man we have seen in action at the chain saw carving contest in Westport, Washington.  Sandoval is an excellent carver (and also a very nice man) and these giant bears attest to his ability.

We continued on and came to the famous elk herd near the town of Trinidad, CA.  In the fall, the cows are usually herded into a large field right along the highway by one huge bull elk.  But at this time of the year, they were just up the road in a large field, grazing and resting.  They are such an awesome sight.

Our next stop was the Trees of Mystery sight.  Here, we visited the gift shop and took a few pictures. This is the home of Paul Bunyan and Babe his big Blue Ox.  We've gone thru the Trees of Mystery exhibit before, so didn't do that on this visit.  My first visit ever to this area was in 1972 when I was married... my son was just 1 yr old, my daughter was 9 1/2 and we stopped here on our way home from visiting my former husband's family in Ashland,OR and Redding, CA.   I think it's so great that this display has been lovingly maintained over the years for thousands of tourists to enjoy.

Our last stop in the state of California was in Crescent City at a grocery store.  We crossed the state line shortly after 1pm on Sunday April 29th.

Next installment....Oregon and then home.

Your Monday Photo Shoot From John

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Orange from John

Consider orange.  It's a fine color, but of all the colors in our cultural spectrum, it's the one that seems to get the least respect -- sure, you wear it for a safety vest, but you're not especially likely to wear it to fancy ball (especially if you're a guy). So this week's Photo Shoot is about giving up a little respect for the color:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Picture something in orange. As a challenge, don't take pictures of actual oranges (the fruit), and picturing actual pumpkins seems a little too easy too. Other than that, go for it.

Here's my orange entires.  My full size rose called "Livin Easy" and my last remaining minature rose, whose name has long ago slipped my mind.   At one time I had 50 minature roses but in the last 20 years they have by one died off, one by one. 

Good subject John, thanks.       Linda

Our San Francisco Adventure

We had driven thru San Francisco so many times in the past.  Once we even stopped at a Chinese restaurant and ate dinner but we have never spent any real time there. 

 Last year Bob spent 4 nights and 5 days there.....camping on the street in the truck and camper.  So I was up for at least a couple  nights of "camping" in San Francisco.  We pulled into our first night's spot a little after 6pm.  Within 2 blocks of Jefferson Street that runs along Fisherman's Warf. There was a parking meter there but after 6pm, and you don't have to feed the meters.   The street just around the corner didn't have any meters at all.  It is unlimited parking on a first come, first serve basis.   So at about 4:45am the next morning, Bob was up and moving the truck just around the corner, where we stayed all that day and one more night. 

The first evening, we walked the couple blocks to Jefferson Street, just sort of looking around.  We did go to the Wax Museum as they were offering a late night special admission price.  It was a good one...however, I still maintain the best one is in Victoria, B.C.   I was a little concerned...there are a lot of strange people on the streets at night.  But with so many tourists I decided we were probably pretty safe. 

The next morning we ate our breakfast in the camper and got ready to do some heavy duty walking.  Some guy parked behind us, so close..we thought we may have to step on the hood of his car in order to get out the back door.  Fortunately Bob had left about 2 feet between the front of the truck and the car he parked behind, so he squeezed out the door and pulled the truck up a little.   While I finished getting ready, he walked up to a place and got us each a 1 daypass for unlimited rides on the trolleys and the cable cars ($11 each for 1 day).  There was a trolley stop right across from the truck, so we started there first.  We rode the trolley up to the Castro District.  That area was interesting...to say the least.   What amazed me was the number of street people who manage to ride free on these trolleys...they sneak in the back door as people are getting off.  I even saw one get on thru the front door but the place you put in your fare is behind the driver.... she took out a bent paper clip and wiggled it in the area where the money goes, which apparently made it look like she paid.  Unbelievable !!

We got off the trolley as it head back down towards Fishermans's Warf in a shopping area.  As we walked around I spotted the Betty Boop Diner.  It was so cute..we decided to have lunch there.  I have a friend that loves Betty Boop, so the waitress gave me a clean placemat and napkin to take home to her.

We tried at one place to get a cable car ride but the line was so long and out in the hot sun, we decided not to wait.  So we walked on to another place just about five blocks from where we were parked.  We were able to get on there after about a 30 minute wait.  I made Bob stand in line while I visited a neat gift shop right there on the corner, where we were waiting.  

My first cable car ride was so fun.  We went up and down to Union Square.  We were going to go walking around this famous shopping area but both of us had sore feet by now, so we just got back in line and took the next cable car back to the starting point near the truck.  

We came back down to the truck...I wnated to lay down on my bed and read my book while I rested my poor tired feet.  And Bob needed his nap.   After a couple hours, we walked down to Pier 39 and looked around there.  My feet were still killing me and it was hot and there were a lot of people there.  Even Bob was complaining about his feet hurting and he never does that.

We took the trolley down the street and walked over to Boudin Bread and looked around...it's a very fun place.  I stood in a very long line and bought a small round loaf of their famous sourdough bread.  From there we walked over across the street and had some dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe.   We considered Tarantino's but in the end chose the Rain Forest.   We walked back to the truck one last time and turned in for the night.  Our plan was to leave the next morning and continue our way towards home. 

We woke early the next morning and after some breakfast in the camper headed for Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill.  You can see it from all over town but Bob wanted to show me the view from up there.  The tower itself didn't open for visitors until later in the morning but we stood on the wall surrounding the parking area and took pictures and took in the beautiful view from high up on the hill. 

We came down from the tower and headed for the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway 101....our way out of town.   We did stop at the viewing area after crossing the bridge and took in the view of that beautiful city from across the bay.  There's a wonderful area there, a tribute to all the military personnel who have sailed under the Golden Gate to the different ports of call where they went to serve our country. 

We didn't get to many areas of this beautiful city (including China Town) but we did a lot more than I thought we would be able to.  And there's aways next time.....

From San Francisco we headed up Highway 101 aka the Redwood Highway.......getting closer to home.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend weather has been great here in the Pacific Northwest. 

Saturday, we ventured out to the little town of Orting for the graduation party of Bob's oldest grandchild (Heather).  It was a Mexican theme, lots of wonderful Mexican food to eat and music playing in the background. As you can see by the pictures, Bob and I did what we could to go along with the Mexican theme.  We had such a good time, three of Bob's four daughters were there (we always miss Hope, who's down in Pasadena, at these functions) and four of his grandchildren were there.  However, his youngest and her husband are expecting another baby June 27th, so I guess there were really five grandchildren there if you count little Marin Rose.  They have a little guy who turned 3 in April.  Bob's son always has to work on Saturday's so we don't see him very often.  We stayed until about 9pm and helped clean up.  There were people coming and going all afternoon.  Heather's graduation ceremony is the evening of June 12th at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.  We already have our tickets for that.

I think it's kind of neat that his oldest grandchild is graduating from high school the same month a new grandchild will make her appearance (unless of course she's a few days late.)

Today, I really didn't have much to do so went out to Bob's place with him.  I don't go out there very often, I have enough to do at my place.  And it's a matter of either taking Gabi or leaving her home alone, if I stay out there over night.  He lives about 35 miles from me across the Narrows Bridge and then some.  His house sits on 5 acres and it's very peaceful there, but it's also long distance to call my friends from there, he has no cable TV (only gets 1 channel) and since I've switched to DSL, I can no longer use his computer because he still has dial-up.  I tried signing on under "GUEST" again today and AOL informed me that I was no longer paying for dial up, so I couldn't sign on.   So...those are all good reasons to not go out there very often, in my mind anyway.  LOL

He does seem to get more done when I'm there, he started weeding his dahlia patch, cleaned off the sun deck and I spent the day cleaning up the kitchen and doing several loads of laundry.  But now I'm back to civilization and loving it !

This evening it's cooling off real fast, the wind has come up and it's getting overcast.  I guess rain is blowing in off the coast.  Which is fine with me because I have some stuff to do in the house and this way, if it's raining, I don't feel guilty about being outside working.

Until next time....Linda

Continuing Our Journey..A Visit to the Mission

When we woke up in the rest stop, Bob decided we were going to have steak & eggs for our breakfast.  He took the portable BBQ, out to a picnic table and started the grilling. I had some left over baked potatoes, which I cut up and fried, I scrambled some eggs, got out the carton of orange juice...it was better than Denney's Grand Slam breakfast!  As we headed down the highway near Salinas, I spotted a Mervyn's off to the side and he went off at the next exit and we made our way back to the shopping center.  Mervyn's was once of my favorite stores here in my town but last fall the "big wigs" of Mervyn's closed all the stores in Washington and Oregon.  Anyway, I went on a little shopping spree...while Bob took his mid-morning nap in the camper. They had great sales going on (as always) and I really made a haul ! 

Our next stop was the Mission San Juan Bautista.  It is a State of California Historic Park.  This mission was founded in 1797 by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. We've been to many missions on previous travels and this was certainly an impressive one.  The chapel is still being used...has a daily Mass for those who live locally and are just passing thru.

"This park is adjacent to one of California's 21 Franciscan missions. The location was once the largest town in central California and the hub of travel between northern and central California. The mission is owned and operated by the Catholic Church and has been in continuous use since July 1, 1812. The park site includes several structures built in the 1800s. These include the Plaza Hotel, Plaza Hall and stable, blacksmith shop, granary, jail, and the newly reopened Castro-Breen Adobe with colorful and informative exhibits to help create a unique learning environment for people of all ages." After a walking tour of the mission and later down the road some lunch we continued on to our next destination...San Francisco. Until next time.......Linda