Lincoln City to Lakewood, WA

Lincoln City to Lakewood, WA

Well, we decided not to stay a second day in Lincoln City. We really enjoyed our lodgings and the beach was phenomenal but we've been here several times in the past and there wasn't much new we wanted to see.

So we packed up, loaded the car, walked the dogs and drove to Starbucks for breakfast. Back on the road, I stopped for gas , lest I forget, and headed for Portland on Hwy 18 which cuts across the Coastal Range from the Coast to I-5. With one more stop for a break we made it to Portland in about two hours.

Once on I-5 with light traffic we made the drive to Lakewood (Tina's Mom's house) in a little under three hours. Once we arrived we had leftover sandwiches from last night's dinner then unpacked the car and got settled. It's a nice day here with a light overcast, no wind ad about 62 degrees out.

We'll probably be here a few days then transfer up to younger daughter Marni's home before heading up to the Freeland on Whidbey Island around the 8th just to visit. Our friends, Mary Jo and Widwalker who are currently renting our place will be moving to their new home and we will be able to start preparations to sell the place after the 15th.

No photos today.

Crescent City to Lincoln City

Crescent City to Lincoln City

We both got up around 7:20am anxious to be on our way. The kids were eager too, asking to go out right away followed by a strong demand for their breakfast!! After loading the car we scooted over to Starbucks for oatmeal and coffee. They really have good oatmeal with a mix of raisins, cranberries, nuts, blueberries and brown sugar. Hearty and healthy too1

With breakfast out of the way we got back on Hwy 101 North. Our plan was to stop at several way points and take photos. We had our first trip down the Oregon Coast together in 1992, the year after we got married. We drove from Seattle to Grants Pass in Southern Oregon then cut over the Coast Range to Crescent City. From there we took a week to drive back to Seattle, stopping at all the light houses and most of the parks along the way. It was a great trip! Since then we've done the coast several times both up and down as a way to avoid the mountains n Southern Oregon/Northern California when we've gone out in the motor home during the winter looking for warmer weather. The coast is always beautiful.

Spruce Island Viewpoint

We had some rain off and on early in the drive but eventually the sun came out and we had great weather for the drive. Our first stop was at the Spruce Island Viewpoint. Really shows what a great day it was.

Pistol River Way Point

Our next stop was at the Pistol River.

My Pistol Packin' Mama at Pistol River

That's where I found my Pistol Packing Mama!!

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Another stop was near the Heceta Head Lighthouse. That's the lighthouse in the top left of the photo. We could hear Sea Lions below us on the beach but it was so far down we could barely see them. I actually spotted a few and took this photo. How many can you spot?

How many Sea Lions can you count?

There are a lot of Rivers coming down from the Coast Range to the Pacific and lots of bridges to cross.

Stunning Gothic Architecture!!

Tina took a photo f this one as we drove over and it looked like a cathedral!

We took lots of seaside photos, you can see them all in our albums.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

We stopped for lunch in North Bend, just north of Coos Bay at a Kozy Kitchen and the food was excellent!! Later we were passing through Waldport and stopped at a Bakery Gift Shop where I found a bottle of Loganberry Chipolte BBQ Sauce for my brother-in-law, we both like hot stuff!! We also refreshed the ice in the cooler and bought a couple of sandwiches for our dinner plus a huge chocolate chip cookie for dessert - heheheh!

That's our room on the second floor

.We arrived in Lincoln City around 3:30pm and got registered. They gave us a beautiful suite with separate bedroom and kitchenette looking out over the bay.

Salmon Sculpture at the entrance to the beach

Once we got everything in and unpacked, we hooked up the dogs and headed for the beach where we passed this big salmon sculpture.

Sea Lions everywhere!

Across the way on the island was a pod of Sea Lions sunning themselves.

Yes, we really had blue sky for our beach walk!

The dogs simply loved being able to get out and run around and play on the beach! We spent a couple of hours on the beach (freezing our butts off in the wind) before heading back to our room and having one of our sandwiches for dinner. We think we may take another day here before pushing on for Tacoma.

Stay tuned!

Ukiah to Crescent City

Ukiah to Crescent City

We got up at a leisurely pace, packed our bags then went to the lobby for breakfast. Should have gone to Starbucks! After breakfast we loaded the car, took the kids for a quick walk and got on the road. We had planned to stop at another winery but realized that they probably wouldn’t be open at 8:30am, heheheh!

Actually very pretty scenery with the low lying clouds!

The weather was off and on rain showers, never anything too heavy but it would keep the old wipers going pretty steady. Once we left the Mendocino Valley our route took us along the hillsides of the King Range, then from Willits we drove through the King Range for three hours until reaching Fortuna on the Coast.

I drove for the first 90 minutes then had to stop at a rest stop to give my eyes a rest. I’d had trouble trying to keep looking out away from the car farther down the road. Okay on straights but not so good during lots of curves at 65 mph. It was worst going down hill but with Tina able to take over I could take a break. Tina had the wheel until we got to Eureka where we stopped for lunch and to switch drivers.

Tina exiting the Chandelier Tree

We made one stop at the Chandelier Tree in Leggett, which is where Hwy 1 and Hwy 101 join together for the run back to the coast. The Chandelier Tree, a giant Coast Redwood, is named for the way it's branches spread out from the trunk in the shape of a chandelier. The first limbs are over 100 feet from the ground. But the unique feature of the tree is that you can drive through. Thought to be nearly 2,400 years old, the tree is 315 feet tall and over 21 feet in diameter. The opening s 6 feet high and 6 feet nine inches wide. With the mirrors out it's a pretty tight fit! After parking we walked over to the gift shop to look for something for the kids. Then it was back out to the highway.

The rivers are rising!

Apparently it has been raining quite a bit in the past few days. We had been following several different rivers along Hwy 101 and when going downhill alongside them it was easy to see them rushing along, filled with mud and debris. We watched as multiple feeder rivers joined together and by the time we got to the lower valleys you could see that they were definitely over their banks. It's interesting and not something you'd normally think about, but in mountain regions when it rains a couple of inches, the water doesn't have time to sink into the ground and rushes downhill to the rivers which are susceptible to flooding. Whereas in Florida where it's flat, we can get 6 inches of rain in a couple of hours and not much happens.

Horse Sculpture in Eureka

Tina kept the wheel for a little over two hours, driving into Eureka where we had lunch. Leaving town we had switched back to me driving when she saw an amazing sculpture of a horse and was able to snap a picture from the car window as we went by. Pretty amazing as I was doing about 20 mph and there were cars alongside us so she managed to time it to between cars. and all our pictures are done with a small Panasonic Lumix.

And then there were three...

Now that we were at the coast, Hwy 101 would run along the shore then head inland to go up and over a headland. Along the way we kept seeing signs that said "Watch for Elk" but we only saw one out in a field a long way away. Then, with cars following us too close, I pulled over in a lay-by. And there, across the road, were three elk, patiently waiting for Tina to take their picture! The oldest male only has one antler. Perhaps having lost it in a practice duel or maybe it just hadn't dropped off yet as part of the winter molt.

With a rugged shoreline like this the road has to go up and over the headland

Eventually we pulled into Crescent City and found our stop for the night. I registered, then with key in hand, parked in front of our room and unloaded the car. We spent about twenty minutes getting organized then decided to go for a walk on the beach. I had googled the beach and knew what street to turn down. 

Battery Point Lighthouse

Heading back toward town we turned on 9th Ave and drove to the coast where we discovered that we were on a bluff about 50 feet above a very rocky shore, no place for a walk. So we continued driving along the bluff until we came to a small park. Pulling over and parking we got out to look for a trail down to the beach. That's when I realized we were at Battery Point Lighthouse! 

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This Historic Landmark is actually only accessible at low tide and what do you know, it was near low tide. So we worked our way down to the beach and over to the walkway (not yet under water) up to the lighthouse. Half way there we saw the sign "No Dogs Allowed" so I quickly walked up the rest of the way and snapped this photo. There are actually volunteer lighthouse keepers that will give you a tour of the lighthouse on certain days to give you a feel for what a "keepers" life was like.

Exploring the tidal pools

Not having time to do the tour and needing to get back to the beach before the tide came up too far I turned around and walked back to Tina and the kids. We continued to spend time on the beach looking in tidal pools, checking for agates and playing with the dogs. At one point Wicket decided to go for a swim and walked into one pool where the water came up to the middle of her side. Fortunately at this point she had her leash back on and didn't go in any further, I guess she just wanted to cool off. Of course I didn't think to take a picture.

Finally we realized it was getting close to dinner so we took a shortcut back to the top of the beach, next to a big resort and walked back to the car along the sidewalk. Once back at our room we got out the towels and dog shampoo and gave the girls a bath. Wow, they were really dirty, especially Punky! Well Wicket had already done a saltwater half bath, so maybe she was dirty too but had washed most of it away in the ocean - heheheh!

A Bull Sea Lion guarding his Harem

Once the kids were dried off we loaded them in the car again and headed for dinner at the Chart House restaurant at the other end of town. Driving out onto the pier we parked, got out, and saw Sea Lions on the jetty and hauled out on the sidewalk where they were sunning themselves and sleeping. Tina took the camera and got a couple of pictures then we went in for dinner. Tina had a bowl of Lobster Bisque and I had a Sampler Plate with grilled Prawns, Cod and Scallops with Cole Slaw. Everything was excellent and the prices were great too!

And everybody says they don't exist... Heheheh!

Leaving the Restaurant, Tina took a picture of me with a local mermaid perched on a whale. Then we headed back to the room for the night. Tomorrow we drive to Lincoln City before heading for Tacoma and Tina's Mom's place. We'll spend some time there visiting with family before heading up to Whidbey Island.

Santa Cruz to Ukiah

Santa Cruz to Ukiah

It was a relatively quiet start to our morning, even the kids didn't seem anxious to get moving. But we managed to get up, packed, walked and loaded in the car and headed for Starbucks by 8am. After a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal and coffee we headed out of Santa Cruz on CA-17 over the Coastal Range. The traffic over the range was another white knuckle ride with 60mph traffic on a road designed for half the traffic and probably speeds of 50mph. Up, down, around and about we went for 20 miles to Los Gatos where santy returned as we changed to the CA-85 and then onto I-280, the Junipero Serro Fwy. Beautiful countryside with rolling green hills on our left and broad valley's on our right with a low range of hills along the South end of San Fransisco Bay.

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge

Eventually the freeway came to an end and we were on 19th St headed through West San Fransisco toward the Golden Gate Bridge. No matter how many times we cross the bridge it's always a great experience! Soon we were across the bridge, out through the north tunnel and headed toward San Rafael on Hwy 101. We made a brief stop for gas and a break for the girls in Novato, then we were back on the road headed for Healdsburg.

The Central Square in Healdsburg is actually a large park

I got off the fwy in Windsor to see how much it had grown since we were there five years ago. What a change. We continued up the Old Redwood Hwy towards Healdsburg eventually arriving at the central square where we parked to get out and walk around. The Central Square is actually a park bordered on four sides by streets lined with shops, restaurants and businesses along the outer side of the square. What you think of when you think about an old fashioned small town.

Clock Tower

Of course, today, the city has grown so much more since the first time I was there on a bike ride with my friend Mike Wray from Chicago. that must have been at least 15 years ago. We ended up in a small cafe on the square for lunch and had a really great meal! Leaving Healdsburg we continued north to our destination, Ukiah, another small town.

100 year old olive tree at Saracina Vineyards

Along the way we stopped at Saracina Vineyards to see what they had for great wines. They are a small boutique winery that mostly serves a local base of clientelle and a few special patrons who belong to their Wine club. Tina tried several wines and ended up buying a Sauvignon, Malbec, Syrah blend called Old Farm that she really liked along with a bottle of olive oil made on site from trees in the grove outside, some trees over 100 years old.

On the steps at Jaxon Keyes Wine Tasting Room

Our next stop was at Jaxon Keyes Winery, another small boutique vintner. Once again, after trying several wines, Tina found one she liked and we were back on the road to our lodgings at the Best Western on Orchard in Ukiah. We got settled in by 3:30pm and then I asked if Tina wanted to accompany me into town to buy some shirts. I had only brought one and with limited laundry opportunities, I figured I better have a couple more.

Three blocks away in a small mall was a new JC Penney. We actually found some very nice shirts on the discount rack and along with some new undies and tee shirts I was back in action. Since Tina had half of her lunch left I grabbed a 6" Subway Club and we ate dinner in. Some nights really are cheap!

After dinner I managed to finish up on the blog, upload photos and basically catch up on our finances while Tina and the girls relaxed. One more walk before bedtime and we'll turn out the lights!

Santa Cruz - Next Day

Santa Cruz - Next Day

Everybody slept in this morning... until 7:30am that is, then the girls decided it was time to visit the great outdoors!! It was a little chilly but at least it wasn't raining which is definitely a plus! After everyone took care of our morning chores we went to the office and had a light breakfast and decided what we wanted to do for the day.

Photo of Natural Bridges courtesy of  Friends of Santa Cruz.org

We decided to start with a drive of the area to check out some of the beaches where we could walk the dogs. Driving West along West Cliff Drive we passed some absolutely beautiful homes sitting atop the bluff looking out over Monterey Bay and the surfers riding the waves below. Our tour took us all the way past Lighthouse Field State Beach and the Surfing Museum to Natural Bridges State Beach. Unfortunately, the Park Ranger informed us that no dogs were allowed, so we turned around and headed inland to see some of Santa Cruz.

Tina and the kids on Twin Lakes Beach

We crossed Santa Cruz from West to East and ended up on East Cliff Drive and crossed over the Yacht Basinand down to Twin Lakes Beach where we stopped to give the dogs a break and chase Seagulls. It was around 60 degrees out with a wind that took the temperature down to the mid 50's as you can probably tell... we both have jackets on. The girls loved running around in the sand and checking out all the smells.

The shops by the beach in Capitola

After about 40 minutes at Twin Lakes we headed back to the car to continue exploring. Continuing on East Cliff Drive we wound our way around past Soquel Point and ended up crossing Soquel Creek into the small town of Capitola.

Tina and Wicket taking a break!

Capitola got it's start as a small fishing village and with it's wharf was able to deliver produce from inland to the coast. Today Capitola is a popular tourist town because of its trendy shops and restaurants on the shore directly connecting to a fishing wharf and its large, sandy beach. We parked at the beach and walked around town before ending up back at the beach where we sat on a bench to take a break!

Tina checking out the wind on the Wharf!

Leaving Capitola we headed back to Santa Cruz for lunch at a small place on Pacific called, Surfrider Cafe where we both had a very nice lunch. After lunch we went back to the hotel so we could drop the kids off, they would take a nap while we continued exploring. Santa Cruz is definitely a young persons town with kids skate boarding down Main Street and bicycles and people walking everywhere. Since we were only a few blocks from the beach we decided to walk down to the Santa Cruz Wharf and see what's there.

The "Captain" and his new ride - found it on the Wharf!

The Wharf is huge, you can drive on it (two lanes plus parking) and it must stretch out into the bay for about half a mile. The Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf is possibly the longest Pier along the California coast that allows car traffic. There are no parking meters on the Wharf, you drive on, park, shop or eat and when you drive off you pay your parking tab. Actually it was pretty reasonable, a buck an hour up to four hours.

Just a few of the Sea Lions passing the end of the Wharf

We walked past all the shops and restaurants checking out menus for dinner. When we got to the end of the wharf we found a huge pod of Sea Lions on the move. The sound was incredible and when we looked over the end of the wharf, towards the water, we found the reason. At high tide, at least 100 to 150 Sea Lions had pulled themselves up onto the pier cross beams.

They're Everywhere!

When we moved back to one of the holes cut into the wharf normally used for off-loading fish or supplies we were surprised to see how big some of them were.

They really look soft when their fur warms and drys!

Leaving the end of the wharf we wandered back to Bonnie's where Tina had looked at a nice jacket. We went back in and after trying one on again she decided that she liked it so we got it. Back outside we decided to come back for dinner to one of the restaurants we'd passed.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk Amusement Park

Rides on the Boardwalk

Heading back to shore I took a couple of photos of the big Boardwalk Amusement Park. If you ever decide to head here check out the website http://www.beachboardwalk.com/ for details. When we were visiting we couldn't figure out why nothing was in use - later found out that in March they only run the rides on weekends! Their season starts in April while Naples Season is just winding down - heh, heh! But it's still a pretty spectacular sight with two huge roller coasters and a real carnival atmosphere, even if just sitting there!

After walking back to the hotel and taking the kids for a walk we decided to take it easy for the rest of the afternoon until dinnertime. I grabbed the laptop and went to the office to update the blogs while Tina took a short nap. Right around 6:30 we decided to go to dinner. Since it was continuing to cool off we drove to the pier and out to the Fishfire Grill. Tina ordered a Seafood combo that was two kebab skewers with Prawns, Scallops, Salmon and Ahi along with chunks of onion, carrots and peppers on a bed of rice pilaf. I ordered a bowl of clam chowder knowing I'd be able to share what Tina had. Everything was really excellent! We passed on dessert and feeling rather stuffed made it back to the hotel in time to take the dogs out fr a last walk then we pretty much called it a night watching a little TV and reading.

Nitey, nite!

City of Industry to Santa Cruz

City of Industry to Santa Cruz

Once more into the breach! It's 7am and time to walk the dogs before breakfast. With that little task out of the way with no mishaps we managed to get everything packed up and with two trips to the car were able to sign out of Pacific Palms Resort and head to breakfast.

We found a Denny's down on Valley Ave in La Puente and went in for a light breakfast. I ordered a breakfast sandwich with yogurt and fruit Tina had an egg white omlette and fruit. When the waitress brought mine she informed me that they were out of yogurt and asked if I wanterd an order of fries or hashbrowns. I said I wanted a light healthy breakfast and if they didn't have the yogurt they could discount my breakfast. They did. They only charged us for one cup of $2 coffee instead of two. Goodbye Denny's!!

Over the hills and through the valley's to Santa Cruz we go!

From there we drove over to Don and Diane's for a last visit before heading for the freeway. We stayed for half an hour and said our good byes and made plans to have christmas together. Leaving La Puente we jumped on the I-605 North up to the Foothills Fwy, I-210, which took us all the way to San Fernando Valley where we caught I-5 North through the mountains and into the Sacramento Valley. Its amazing how easy it is to forget how many hills there are north of LA before dropping into the Sacramento Valley. From North San Fernando all the way past Lebec, nearly 60 miles of twisty, turny, up and down at 70 mph plus with Semi's all around. Won't be back this way any time soon...

Oil well derricks as far as the eye could see on both sides of the road - did we get transported back to Texas??

Our route took us on I-5 past Bakerfield and on up to Lost Hills where we turned onto CA-46 headed west. This route took us up over the inland coastal hills and dropped us down into a parched, dry valley. At one point, before going over the Coastal hills  to US-101, we passed though a stretch of highway at least a half mile long where as far as you could see, off to either side of the car, were oil derricks, oil field equipment, collection and distribution piping. I thought we'd been transported back to Texas!

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Another interesting area we passed through was on US-101 just before Soledad where it was raining along the hills to the west of us but where the sun was shining through. Very cool phenomenon. Once we reached Salinas we cut down to Hwy-1 on the coast through Castroville, Watsonville and on into Santa Cruz. With a stop for gas, one for the dogs, lunch and another stop for the dogs, we made it to our hotel in downtown Santa Cruz (about three blocks from the beach) around 4:30pm.

After taking the dogs for a walk and unloading the car we settled in for a while then walked into town for dinner at a small Tacqueria. The food was good but nothing to write home about. After dinner we decided to call it a day and other than a last walk for the kids around 10pm we were done for the night.

Visiting with Don and Diane - Day Two

Visiting with Don and Diane - Day Two

This morning we took our time getting up as we didn't have a fixed schedule. After taking the kids out for their morning walk I brought them back to the room then headed downstairs to pick up a couple of cups of coffee to get the day stated right.

Once we were fully awake we gathered up the girls and all their stuff and headed for the car. Breakfast was once again at Starbucks then it was off to a local Jiffy Lube to get the car serviced. With all that out of the way we made it over to Don and Diane's where we spent the day visiting, playing cards and board games. Around five we had dinner, took pictures and bid our friends adieu.

Mike, Diane, Don and Tina

We'll stop by in the morning for a final goodbye before heading out for our next stop on the way to the Island. I took the kids for their final walk around 10:30pm then turned off the computer and fell into bed.

Visiting with Don and Diane - Day One

Visiting with Don and Diane - Day One

Up early to walk the dogs, it's a long way to get out of the hotel to the dog walk grass. Down in the lobby, Wicket smelled another dog scent in the carpet and decided that was a place to go. Fortunately I was able to quickly scoop her up and carry her the rest of the way outside, whew, made it without an incident!

Back upstairs in the room, Tina was slowly waking up! With showers done and other morning routines taken care of we fed the dogs and gathered up their bowls, food, toys, etc., oh yes, the dogs too, and headed downstairs to the car where we headed for the local Starbucks for Coffee and Breakfast, oatmeal with raisins, nuts and blueberries. Actually it was very good!

With breakfast done we drove over to Don and Diane's for a meet-up to go to Knotts Berry Farm for Diane's traditional Birthday Lunch, Fried Chicken with the works. Tammy took the wheel and with Don at her side received his directions on how to get there. Normally only a 40 minute drive, Don gave Tammy a couple of directions that took us on a more roundabout route so we didn't get there until around 11:30am. After parking we headed to the shops to do a little shopping before lunch.

Tina and Tammy leading the way to the Knotts Shops!

Once in the shops, we decided to mostly look and identify things we wanted to purchase before heading to lunch so we could pick them up on the way back to the car. By noon we were ready to eat so we headed over to Mrs. Knotts Chicken Dinner Restaurant. We were able to be seated right away so had time to decide what everybody wanted. 

Mrs Knotts Famous Chicken Dinner (not shown - Boysenberry Pie)

The restaurant was made famous by Mrs Knotts starting in 1934 when she opened a kitchen for "folks just passing through". Of course, back then Mrs. Knott did all the cooking and her three daughters served the five-table Tea Room. Since 1934, over 20,000,000 guests have eaten chicken dinners in the famous restaurant. In fact, the restaurant bearing Mrs. Knott's name has grown into one of the country's largest full-service family eateries. Mrs. Knott's traditional chicken dinners are something to crow about serving the same famous chicken, biscuits, and boysenberry pie as she did when opened in 1934. Well we all had a really great lunch and ended up taking enough chicken home that we had leftover lunch for dinner!

After lunch we made our way back through the shops and picked up a few items to take home with us. The drive home was much shorter with Diane providing the directions, much to Don's chagrin - heh, heh! After dinner (fried chicken, what else) we got out the "Attack Uno" card game and played for several hour before Tina and I had to call it a night and head back to our hotel.

The dogs got one last walk around 10pm then we all hit the rack. It was a long fun day and we really enjoyed spending time with our friends.

Blythe to City of Industry

Blythe to City of Industry

Woke up very early, 5:15am, too soon to get up but after seven hours my back won't take much more. The fact that the bed was like sleeping on a board with a couple of blankets on it probably had something to do with it too. I took a shower, dressed and took the kids for their morning walk then gave them their breakfast. They immediately went back up on the bed next to Tina and went to sleep again. Sheesh! A dog's life...

Breakfast at Starbucks!

As it was still only 6:20am I thought I'd give Tina another half hour of sleep and go across the street to Starbucks for coffee and to catch up on my email. Just as I was finishing,Tina sent me a text requesting a Short Americano for her 'wake up'. When she got done with her shower and morning routine we packed the car, loaded the kids and drove to Starbucks for breakfast. Then we stopped for gas and headed for LA.

Now that's what I call a wind farm!

Like yesterday, traffic was light for most of the drive but by the time we reached Indio and stated going through Windy Pass where all the Wind Farms are located, traffic picked up pretty good. As we continue on I-10 west we got to Beaumont and cut over to CA-60 through the Moreno Valley. Even though Tina and I had driven this route in both directions several years ago when we were staying in Hemet, I had forgotten that we were actually going through a mountain pass. With cars packed head to toe at 60 mph through winding twisting hills on a two lane freeway, fist going up, then coming down it was a real roller coaster ride and one I don't want to repeat any time soon!! But finally we were down on the flats of Moreno Valley where traffic eased up and a certain amount of sanity was achieved - heh, heh!

Heh, heh I had to lift this one from their home page

The rest of the drive to our hotel in the City of Industry, Pacific Palms Resort, was fairly easy. We got off a Azuza Ave and within a mile we were heading up a long winding driveway to the top of a small hill to the hotel. Tina took the kids for a walk while I went in and registered. With key in hand, we gathered a couple of our bags, the kids and made it up to our room.

Looking out over the valley from our room

Almost a Suite

We had a third floor corner room with big sliding glass doors leading onto a private balcony looking out over the valley and one of the two the golf courses. After getting settled in we went down to the Cafe located near the pro shop and had lunch. By 2:30 we were back on the road again headed for our friends Don and Diane house about five miles away.

Don and I have been friends for nearly 40 years, since shortly after Linda and I got divorced back in 1976. Even though we have spent most of those years in different parts of the country we've always managed to stay in touch, writing a 30 chapter blog together, taking several joint vacations, and even motor homing together to Yellowstone one year. He and Diane are trying to get their home ready to sell so they can move to Florida to enjoy the nice weather we have. Diane's daughter Tammy, lives about 15 miles from our place in Naples.

Lighting the Candles on Diane's Birthday Cake

When we got to their place we were surprised to find that Tammy had flown out to surprise her mom for her 29th birthday, Diane's 29th birthday, that is!!And going out to the patio we had another surprise, "Big" Jim, Diane's son and his girlfriend Michelle were there too.We hadn't seen Jim for several years. We all spent the next several hours visiting before Don weent in to make his famous Tuna Caserole for dinner. Just as everything was ready, Diane's grandson "DJ" and his wife Rosie and baby "James" showed up! The last time we saw DJ he was and awkward teen trying to find himself and now here he was married and a father! What a nice family visit for Diane's birthday.

After dinner we had to have the traditional lighting of the birthday cake with the Birthday song, then everybody got dessert!

By eight o'clock Tina and I plus the kids were beginning to feel the effects of a long day and bid adieu to all until tomorrow and headed back to the hotel to call it a day.

Tucson to Blythe

Tucson to Blythe

A nice breakfast downstairs. A final walk for the dogs and we were on the road by 8am headed for Blythe just the other side of the California border. Pretty much a routine drive, stop for gas, drive, pass trucks, get passed by crazy drivers, just motoring down the highway.

A beautiful day for a drive, but as Alice (Through the Looking Glass) would say, "Too Much of a Muchness!"

Originally, we had planned to go to LA by following I-8 towards San Diego then cutting north past the Salton Sea to Indio for the night but there really wasn't anyplace to stay so we decided to stay on I-10 and break the mileage down to two manageable days.

Mesquite Trees in Bloom

We had one stop at a rest stop to take a break and let the kids stretch their legs and make a nature call. Amazing how much of the dessert is in bloom. I took this shot a a Mesquite Tree in bloom, it's hard to get a good photo from the car. Being able to drive at 75mph ate up the miles pretty quickly and we reached our Blythe just before 1pm making it a comfortable day of driving. We checked in to the America's Best Value Inn and parked outside our room so we could unload the car.

Ooops - a little too much food!

After taking the kids for a walk we walked to the corner and had lunch at an old Denny's. Tina couldn't resist and ordered Liver and Onions with Mashed Potato's and Gravy, one of her favorites. While I had a Patty Melt. Both were excellent even though Tina could only eat a little bit!

After lunch we walked around town. Much like Van Horn, Blythe is struggling to survive as a town. There's lots to do in the area from fishing and boating to bicycle rides along the Colorado, but everything of interest to see is fifteen to twenty miles away. There are no attractions in town.

Interestingly, within a two block square there were three sit down restaurants, five fast food joints, four Inns and kitty corner from our lodging, a brand new Starbucks. The main intersection where we were was a complete traffic jam with three or four cars stopped at any one time, and this was a four lane in either direction stop light intersection.

Once back at our Inn we took our books out and sat at a picnic table next to the pool on a huge grassy area where the dogs could run about and play for a while. Later we walked around the corner to the local 'four star' BBQ joint for St Louis Ribs. They were very good but we've had better in Naples. Oh well, as my Dad always used to say, "it's only one meal".

After dinner we enjoyed sitting outside some more and watch the sun set. By 8:30 Tina was ready to call it a day so I wrapped things up on the computer, turned off the TV and read until 10 when I called it quits also.