Sunday night ~ July 31, 2011

Happy 26th Birthday to my oldest grandchild, Amanda!  It seems like yesterday you were an adorable baby and now  you are a beautiful grown-up woman!

We continued on down 99 today for most of the drive, safely arriving in Palm Springs.  We drove in to the park on Gene Autry Trail and then turned onto Dinah Shore Drive.  It's a nice park, not many people here and no drive throughs but they told me to just park across two spots (like it was a pull through) and they would just charge us for one site!  How NICE is that!!  There is a gated grassy area near us, very clean, for the girls to run off leash and play in.  It's so nice to have that as it's rocky around the RV spots.......with cement pads for the RVs to park on. 

 A lady who lived here for 5 years made this dog area behind her site; she doesn't live there now so the park can let their guests use it.  It is the ONLY grass in the park for dogs to go potty on.........a real plus for dog owners and their dogs

view from our site

So far, no partying people within our hearing or sight!  :)

It rained off and on most of our trip today.  Being from OR, I didn't mind the rain at all and I'm sure all the area can use it. 

The road today was in MUCH better shape than the last couple days so we didn't get shook, rattled and rolled as much as we had previously....which was a NICE change.  The pick-up does ride better with the RV attached than it does without it but at it's best, it's still NOT like riding in the van was!

Saturday ~ July 30, 2011

We took HWY 99 from Sacramento to Bakersfield.  We stopped at a REALLY NICE rest area with LOTS of LUSH GREEN GRASS that the girls were allowed to walk on.  Some rest areas have "pet areas" that  are usually really awful...no grass, rocks, etc.  We were so surprised to find the green grass for them and, of course, they were so happy to pee in grass!   Ruby continues to draw a lot of attention.  Here, a British woman asked to pet her and as she left, she thanked me for allowing her to "stroke" my dog........

Bakersfield is HOT, HOT, HOT!  (I know, Tucson will be hotter)

We were all miserable until the A/C kicked in!  It was 95 outside when we got in but the A/C made short work of cooling down the RV....THANKFULLY!

We have been noticing street/road names on our trip down to Tucson and so far, "Easy Street" is the winner....everyone wants to live on EASY STREET!  (I must admit Wild Pony holds some appeal for me too)

We stayed at a really nice RV resort and had an excellent GRASS yard for the girls which they LOVED.

Next door to the RV park was a "I don't know what" (private land, park, ???) but large groups of Hispanic people party there on a regular basis according to  a neighbor in the RV park....they started about 4 PM.....the band rocked out most of the night..........our RV rocked in time to the music I think........after the music stopped, the karaoke started.....I'm sure most of the singers were TOTALLY drunk.........I was able to sleep though most of it and when it did wake me up, it made me laugh.........I should have walked over there and asked to join them......my "natural" singing voice wouldn't have been much worse than their drunk efforts.  Ya gotta give 'em credit; they do know how to party!

Friday ~ July 29, 2011

After a mercifully uneventful trip out of OR, into CA, we spent the night within sight of Mount Shasta at Abram's RV Resort.  I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who needs a place to park their RV for the night or a week or more.  It's clean, easy to get off and on 1-5 and QUIET!

I could have taken an amazing photo of Mount Shasta from our site but did I???? NO....darn it....and I meant to take it............no excuse......just forgot!  So, I borrowed one from the internet....it didn't have as much snow on it yesterday but it's still an amazing mountain!

We drove to Sacramento  and are in a KOA tonight.  It's really nice, seems quite so far and has all pull through sites which ya just gotta love! 


In CA, if you are towing anything, you can  legally go 55 mph.  If you aren't towing anything or a truck, you can go 70!  Since MURPHY (of Murphy's Law) follows me like a shadow, I go the speed limit........but REALLY!!!!!!!!  It FEELS like you could get out and run faster and California, PLEASE FIX YOUR ROADS!!!!!

We've had two different people offer to BUY Ruby.......NOT FOR SALE PEOPLE!!!!  We always keep a good eye on the dogs but NOW, we are extra careful with them!

Tomorrow night in Bakerfield, then Palm Springs Thousand Trails and then Tucson. It will be good to get to Tucson and stay put for awhile and hopefully, rest up!

Wednesday July 27, 2011

We arrived in Eugene yesterday afternoon, safe and sound. We got "camp" set up and then I ran a couple errands and had dinner with a friend from HS and her husband.  They are leaving tomorrow for a family wedding in Colorado.

Yesterday, Judy told her Dad we were headed to Tucson and the decision was made to day to leave tomorrow morning for Tucson.   We found a place near her Dad's house for the RV so if we don't totally melt, all will be well.  August isn't the ideal time to be in Tucson.....dry heat or not...it's HOT!

Tonight, I had dinner with a dear, dear friend from HS and we had a good "old lady" chat over dinner!  They are going to Loon Lake for a family vacation; they have been going there annually for 35 years or so now.........They should have an engraved plaque on a site by now I would think!

Tomorrow night we will be near Mount Shasta.  After that....I don't have a clue!

More as I know more!

Monday July 25, 2011

Not a lot of excitment today.  The ONLY decision we made was to leave here and go to Eugene a day earlier as there are SO MANY people I want to see while we are there!!!  You'd think I'd been gone for months instead of days.

Judy made a new friend today; I had to get out the insect ID book to see who she was hangin' with!

It appears her new friend is a Ten Lined June Beatle.



POSSIBLE CELEBRITY SIGHTING:

We were standing outside talking with a neighbor guy when this guy walks by and the neighbor guy did a double take.  He said "There goes *"John Locke" who was a character on the TV show, LOST.

Neither of us knew his "real" name so we couldn't call out "hey ---" see if he would turn around.  I picked up Ruby and followed him to his campsite and walked on past.  He wasn't with a Hollywood starlet; just a woman about his own age and they were talking to someone else and saying they lived in Florida....so, who knows....................BUT, he really DID look just like JOHN LOCKE..............

*John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke. In 2007, O'Quinn won the Emmy award for acting in a supporting role for his portrayal of Locke

Ruby found her legs......finally!

Ruby has ALWAYS refused to walk on a leash......she will just stand there, like she is frozen in place!

The other day, she walked a short distance on the beach. 

This afternoon, we went to the beach so Judy could fly her new kite.  Ruby fussed to get down as we were going back to camp so I sat her down and much to my surprise and delight, she walked the ENTIRE way back to camp!  I hope she continues to want to walk on our "walks" now!

Judy loved flying her kite and she flew it like a pro!



Hang on Lucy!!



Bailey was content to lay there and watch mommy fly her kite!

Saturday July 23, 2011

Today Judy elected to stay home with the dogs  while I drove into Long Beach for the "Sandsation" celebration.  I met a friend from HS who lives in nearby Seaside and we roamed the beach together, watching people sculpting pieces of "sand art."  

Sue Stauffer and Bev Roberts Garoutte

The local Humane Society sponsored a little pet contest with prizes for the "best dressed for the beach dog" "best pet trick"  "looks most like the owner" and a couple other catagories.  It was fun to see all the dogs.  I saw a lot of breeds today I haven't seen in years.  I even spotted a "Spuds McKenzie" dog.

Two women had a small herd of 5 Chihuahuas and said they had four more at home!  I got their photo so Judy could see their dogs and later on, I sat at a  picnic table with them to watch the dog show and got lots of Chihuahua kisses.

Judy had been talking about getting a kite so I brought her back  a kite and a new tee-shirt we had seen earlier and she liked.

Around noon, I got a call from a cousin I hadn't seen since we were in HS.  I saw his older sister in WA when we were at Mount St. Helens and she told him I was going to be in Long Beach for two weeks.  He had a vacation home here.  He and his wife brought two of their grandsons over to see  the  sand sculpting contest.  It was wonderful seeing Tom and his family again and catching up on each others lives.  Tom tells wonderful stories and I heard many stories I hadn't heard before about our family.  His Mom and my Dad were brother and sister. 

Sue Stauffer and Tom Iverson

What a wonderful day!!!!

Judy and I have both agreed it feels like we are on "vacation" and not RVing full time.  I'm  not sure how long we will be "on the road" before it stops feeling like a "vacation".  Wouldn't it be WONDERFUL if it doesn't stop feeling like we are on a "vacation"!!!

Friday ~ July 22, 2011

Today,  we drove over to Astoria and toured the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

We spent three hours there and Judy LOVED it.  With her love of sailing, the sea, ships, etc., it was a perfect fit!  Not only was it very educational, it is so well done that it left us amazed, room after
room.

We had our lunch before going to the Museum at a local restaurant for our THIRD visit.  I had my usual, clam chowder.

Judy had fried clams. The fries are batter dipped, light, tender and OH, SO YUMMY!!!

Thursday........July 21, 2011

Yesterday we went back into Long Beach.  You know how you find a great place to eat but the next time you go there, it wasn't as good.  We HAD to know if the bakery would be "as good" two days in a row so we went back there and YES, it was just as good the second day.  I think it's REALLY IMPORTANT to check those things out~


We went down to the beach......."Long Beach" says they have the "longest beach in the world"  You can drive on the beach in one direction but not the other.  It's nice they can't go both directions as there were some "CRAZY" people behind the wheel of some rigs.  One guy got stuck in a small car near the surf.....I've seen cars IN THE SURF over the years....we left before he got "un-stuck".

I'm guessing he can't read!

This morning, we spent working on trip routes and reservations.  We will be in Eugene the 27th, 28th, and 29th leaving on the 30th.  From there, we will go to Abrams Lake RV park by Mt. Shasta, CA.


We will spend the 30th and 31st there and on August 1st move to Yosemite Lakes Thousand Trails which is 5 miles from an entrance to Yosemite park.  We will be there Aug 1, 2, 3, 4 and after that, it's up in the air where we will be.


We have found out that if we spend four nights or less in a TT, we can go from park to park with no time out.  If we stay 5 night to 14 nights, then we have to be out of the system for a week before we can go back in.  The time we spend in those parks is FREE.....so, we LIKE that!!

Tuesday July 19, 2011

We took it easy this am and then decided to do a little sight-seeing.  We drove down the road to Cape Disappointment State Park and toured the Lewis and Clark center there.  It was amazing.  We both really enjoyed it; it's very well done and interesting.  I was glad Judy has the handicap sign so we could park up on top by the center...the walk from the lower parking lot would have probably done us both in...wish I'd taken a picture of it so you could see what I'm talking about.

After the tour, we went back to Duggar's Restaurant.  It's locally owned and very good.  I had a cup of clam chowder, Judy had onion rings and then we split a crab louie.  It was so good.  I was glad we split it as it was WAYYYYY to much food for just me!

We walked up and down a couple streets, found a HUGE, yummy bakery and a fudge shop.

I saw a scrapbook store that is also a tanning salon and tells coffee...............

The weather was perfect today...comfortable in 3/4 length sleeves.