San Fransisco

It was overcast and about 45 degrees when we got up this morning. We hoped it would be better later because today we planned to visit San Fransisco. Mike spent some time on the laptop and put together a plan, just so we wouldn't miss anything in the few hours we could spend down town.

Earlier that morning we made reservations to do a 90 minute tour at 1:00 pm, so we left about 10:15 for SF. Rohnert Park is about 50 miles north on Hwy 101 or about an hour away. As we came over the crest of the last hill before the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge loomed on the horizon.

Crossing the bridge Hwy 101 becomes Marina Avenue. We stayed on Marina until we got down to Fisherman's Wharf where we found a parking garage under North Point Center and stashed the car. Taking the dogs we walked down to Embarcadero. Our first stop was to look at a restored WW II submarine and the Liberty ship Jerome O'Brien. After that we slowly wandered down to Pier 39 which was lined with shops and restaurants galore including another one of my magic shops - heh, heh...

We stopped for a smoothy and hot dog as we wandered our way out to the end of the pier where we had a great view of Alcatraz and the Bay. Then we took the dogs back to the car and walked back to the tour.

We had booked our tour with Mr Toad Tours. They have a series of pre-1930 touring cars convert-ed to run on hydrogen. Ours was a 1924 White originally used to run tours in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. We started the tour by going to North Beach, known as San Francisco's "Little Italy". Then it was on to Jackson Square, formerly known as the Barbary Coast and now a charming antique district. Interestingly, the San Fransisco Financial District is adjascent to the old Barbary Coast. We also drove through China Town, home to the largest population of Chinese outside China.

Leaving China Town we explored the elegant homes and hotels of Nob Hill and Pacific Heights with many beautifully restored Victorian mansions. Next we visited the Presidio District, a 1,500 acre park and former militsary base turned local community. Included in the Presidio are Crissy Field with a breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Cow Hollow - The dairy farm turned boutique fashion area and the Palace of Fine Arts.

Leaving the Presidio area we continue along through the Marina District across Ghirardelli Square where you can get free chocolate samples and back to Fishermans Wharf, home of the World Famous Ferry Building, Boudin Bakery and historical piers.

Leaving the tour and walking back to the piers we decided to have a snack before heading home so we walked to the seafood pier where you can get all sorts of fresh seafood ordered up in minutes for less than ten dollars. We finally ordered two prawn baskets expecting to get a half dozen prawns and fries. Instead we got about 18 large fresh cooked prawns and walked over to the dock overlooking the fishing fleet.

Walking back to the car we got the dogs some water and headed for home. What a beautiful day!!

Calistoga to Napa

We got up early and waited for the sun to come out a bit. By 10:30 it looked promising so we grabbed the dogs and headed out for a day of exploration. We headed west to start with a drive to Sebastopol. There wasn't a lot to see so we didn't stop but continued back to the east and Hwy101. Going north for about 10 miles we exited to Mark West Spring Rd and headed east across the Sonoma Valley to cross the Sonoma ridge stopping at the Petrified Forest.

The forest was found in the late 1800's and later turned into a tourist attraction. Approximately 3.4 million years old, the forest of redwoods was buried by volcanic ash heavy with silicates. Milenia of rains washed the minerals downward and petrified the trees, several of them thousands of years old when buried. We walked along the trails and were able to view and touch these huge petrified trees, some of them up to eight feet in diameter.

After our hike we continued down into the town of Calistoga. We parked and went for a walk around town with a stop for lunch. Calistoga is a very pretty little town filled with shops and restaurants. And of course, wine shops abound.

The Napa valley, as is the Sonoma valley and the Petaluma valley (along both sides of Hwy 101) are filled with large and small wineries. Where ever you look you find beautiful buildings like the Rhine House on the Berringer Estates. Other wineries are more modest, but all had scores of cars, busses and tour limousines. We stopped at the Berringer winery and toured the grounds and several buildings. Everything is imaculate.

Once again on the road we passed through several other small towns including St Helena and Yountville before getting off the highway and pulling into Napa. Another beautiful town that has grown with the explosion of wineries and wine sales around the world.

Leaving Napa we headed west towards home through thousands and thousands of acres of grape vines glowing in the afternoon sun.

Exploring Sonoma

We woke up to a chilly, foggy morning and decided to do laundry after breakfast. By 11:30 it was starting to clear up so we had some lunch, grabbed the map and headed out across the Sonoma ridge. First stop - the Jack London Ranch in Glen Ellen. By taking the scenic route we planned to explore some of the countryside. However, true to form we had to take a detour after nearing the top of the ridge due to a landslide that took out the road.

So we caught another road and finally got down into the small community of Glen Ellen. The road up to the ranch almost took us back to the top of the ridge - heh, heh. We parked and started our tour with a hike out to the old house which was closed to visitors, then continued on to the big mansion which burned down leaving nothing but the foundations, walls and chimneys.

We continued on the trail past Jack London's grave and continued up to the new house built by his wife after Jack's death. We were able to go inside and tour the house and learned a lot about his life as a writer and conservationist. By this time the dogs were getting tired from all the hiking so we finished our walk back to the parking lot and went back to Glen Ellen. From here we went south on the old road to Sonoma.

We parked in downtown Sonoma and walked over to Sonoma Square which surounds the Town Hall building, a beautiful stone structure. The four streets surounding the square are lined with shops, restaurants, winery retail outlets with tasting rooms and gift shops. There are trees lining the streets and the land around city hall is a park with benches, play areas for children, water gardens and resting benches. Very similar in layout to Healdsburg. We had a nice afternoon outing and looked forward to exploring more of the area tomorrow.

Willits to Rohnert Park

Turkey Day!!! Happy Thanksgiving to all.

We pulled the curtains and what did we see? Fog, fog, fog. We woke up to a blanket of thick fog, had a quick breakfast and hit the road. Since this was Thanksgiving, Tina wanted to get into our next stop early so she could cook a turkey.

We pulled into Rohnert Park and after asking directions found our way to the Wine Country RV Park. After we got set up, Tina put the bird in the oven and spent the afternoon cooking. We ate around 5:00 and what a meal - baked turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams, cranberry sauce and later we had pumpkin pie with whipped cream and coffee - yum, yum!!

After dinner and cleaning up we put "Ratatouille" in the DVD player and had a relaxing evening.

Tomorrow we start to explore the area. This leg, 82 miles. Trip total is 892.

Crescent City to Willits

We have a long drive today, around 220 miles. We were going to go to Fort Bragg on the ocean but decided to shorten our drive time.






Crossing the California border we drove into the Redwood Forest.



Some stretches of road are in very good shape. While others are like a roller coaster due to earth movement tearing apart the blacktop or creating pot holes. The rig is tosssed about from side to side and everything not secured rattles and shakes. Meanwhile, towering stands of Redwoods and giant Sequoia's surround us as we glide and bump our way down Hwy 101, the ever present ocean on our right just over the edge of the hill. As you can see, the trees are enormous.



We were fortunate to have another beautiful day with the overcast breaking up around noon as we pulled into Eureka for lunch.


Getting back on the road we held our course for the next three hours finally pulling into the Creekside Cabins and RV Resort just north of Willits. Even though it was listed as a Good Sam facility we decided not to stay. Unfortunately, there was no way to turn around with the car attached. So we disconnected the car, took out the auxilliary brake, put the fuses back in, moved the car, did a five point turn (with Tina helping to keep me from backing into the creek), moved the car behind the rig, connected the tow bar and cables, pulled the fuses, reconnected the auxilliary break and pulled back onto 101. Five miles later we turned right onto Hwy 20 and drove 1.5 miles to a very nice KOA. Whew!! After parking and setting up for the night, we had a liesurely dinner, walked the dogs one last time and called it a nite. This leg, 220 miles. Trip mileage 810.

Coos Bay to Crescent City

After a liesurely breakfast and dog walk we got ready to head out. That's when I remembered we had to reset the ignition on the car to 'accessory' and put the gear shift in neutral. I had turned the key off the night before so we wouldn't run down the battery. So I quickly went to make the change and that's when we found out that the battery was dead anyway. Bummer!! Well, as long as the shift could be put in neutral we were okay. So away we went.

We had a nice trip down the Oregon Coast and some of the best was from Coos Bay south. We made several stops to let cars pass and every time we had an incredible view. Around every curve was a new vista with stacks and spires galore, crashing surf and sweeping shores of smooth sand. Aaaand, the sun was out and we had blue sky all day. Simply marvelous!!

We pulled into Crescent City about 1:30 pm. The place we planned to stay at didn't exist so we pulled off by the port and had lunch. That's when we decided to see if we could jump start the car. So we unhooked the car and positioned the RV alongside it with the coach battery available for a jump start. Then I had to take the bike off the back of the car so we could get the jumper cables out. After hooking up the cables, Tina turned the key and started the car. I quickly disconnected the cables and the car died. Once more we connected the cables and started the car, but this time Tina kept the rpm's up while I got everything put away and the bike back on the car. Rather than hook up the car again we both drove to another RV Park and after got the rig set up.

As we were driving down the coast, Tina had seen the Lake Earl State Wildlife Area on the map so once we were ready we headed out in the car to find it. After a couple of false starts we got the the parking area at Dead Lake, part of the Lake Earl preserve northwest of town. Putting the dogs on their leashes and grabbing a couple of poop bags, the dogs took us for a long walk across the moors and out to the ocean.

With long stretches of sand and surf, we let the dogs run loose so they could play and dig up crabs. Walking up to a barking and frenzied Punky, Tina discovered a huge Dungeoness crab, probably six inches across the back. He wasn't moving much and probably had gotten stranded as the tide went out. Doing my good deed for the day, I picked him up and put him into a tide pool that was being filled by the incoming tide. Sure enough, after about ten minutes he revived and crawled up under a rock overhang.

After we got back to the car and dried off the dogs we drove to a viewing area overlooking Castle Rock Island Bird Sanctuary. We got there just befor sunset so we watched the sun go down behind the island taking lots of pictures. A perfect ending to a great day. This leg, 140 miles. Trip mileage 590 miles.

Lincoln City to Coos Bay

Up at 7:30 to walk the dogs, another beautiful day. After our 2 mile jaunt around Devils Lake we spent the morning getting set up... some more - heh, heh! We finally rolled out of camp around noon and headed south. First stop - Depoe Bay for lunch at the Sea Hag Pub. Shrimp and linguini in a delicious garlic cream sause, simply devine.

After lunch we walked around town with the dogs and took a few photos. Getting underway we only got about 15 miles down the road when we stopped for a walk on the beach. The dogs had a ball running free and chasing sea gulls. I finally had to leash them when Wicket headed for the surf and nearly got caught in an outgoing wave. After climbing back up to the RV, we dryed off the dogs and continued our journey.

Hwy 101 is a very beautiful drive and with the sun filtered through a high haze we had a very enjoyable afternoon.

We finally pulled into the Mill Casino Resort and RV Park around 5:00 and got set up for the night. Play Time!! After taking care of the dogs we walked over to the casino for dinner and some gambling. We split $100 and headed off to try our luck. An hour later Mike was up $75 and Tina was down $35, so with our $40 gain we grabbed some dinner and headed back to the RV. Not bad, paid for dinner and our site fee!!

Naturally with cable we were able to watch a little TV and make plans for the next day. Distance this leg 130 miles. Trip so far, 450 miles.

Lakewood to Lincoln City

Sunday morning and we're up for a pancake breakfast at Mom's, kind of a gettaway send-off. Yum!! We got on the road at 10:30 and headed for Portland. Very nice weather and little traffic. We got through the Portland area and caught 99w for Tigard and the coast reaching Lincoln City and the Devils Lake RV Park around 3:30 where we have stayed before - really nice facility. We got set up and had a short aftrnoon walk, a liesurely dinner and started getting the motorhome organized for an extended trip. This leg, 220 miles. Trip milage 320.

The Family Visit

Last week was a lazy one for us. We got to Lakewood on Sunday the 17th and parked in Mom's driveway. Monday we relaxed. Tuesday Tina and her two sisters drove to SeaTac and picked up Alicia (niece) who flew in from Wisconsin while I took the RV to Fife for servicing. Tuesday I drove to Federal Way and played pool with my buddy Pat. Wednesday and Thursday were shopping days for Tina and the girls while I spent the day reading and relaxing before heading to Federal Way and another pool session with Pat. Friday we spent helping to get ready for the early Thanksgiving family dinner. Of course I took one more opportunity to meet Pat for a few games of pool - heh, heh.

Saturday was a big day with cooking and cleaning - I even did the inside of the RV! By 3:00 pm everybody started arriving. Alicia, Kevin and Jo (Tina's brother and his wife), Shanda and Denise (Tina's sisters) Lori and Jay (our oldest daughter and her husband), Marni and Emma (our younger daughter and granddaughter), Amber and Chris (Shanda's daughter and her husband) with their two children - Kylie and Brodie. We were happy to see a new friend, Bob Hanft, who is dating Shanda. And also happy to see another niece and nephew -Falon Miller and Brandon Christensen. And then what a delight to see Zach and Ev Hays, longtime good friends of the family.

After a huge dinner of baked ham with all the trimmings, there was a surprise birthday party for Tina with presents and a cake. She celebrated a happy 54th! By 7:30 pm, things were pretty much cleaned up and everyone had gone home. Then we played some cards... Denise and Tina won again. Shortly after that Tina and I settled in for a nights rest along with the two rascals. Tomorrow - Day two of Getting Out Of Dodge. This leg, 20 miles (drive to Fife and back). Trip so far, 100 miles.

Getting out of Dodge

We'd been planning this trip for about two months. After weeks of preparation, deciding what to take and what to leave, the day of departure was on us. Sunday dawned bright but brisk. With temperatures in the low 40's we loaded up the last our the groceries and set off for the ferry. A smooth 15 minute crossing and we were off for I-5 and our first stop - Lakewood, WA where we planned a week long stay at my mother-in-laws house. Relatives were coming from all over to enjoy an early Thanksgiving with us before we headed off into the sunset. This leg, 80 miles. Trip mileage 80 miles.