We arrived in Los Angeles December 23rd and it took 3 hours to get to where we were having dinner and then another hour to get to Megan (my God daughter) and her husband Reginald’s house. Not that the traffic was exceptionally bad – it’s just that LA is huge! It goes on and on in a maze of freeways leading to the many cities that LA is made up of. Megan lives in a very nice community called Mission Viejo. This was their darling little boy Ethan’s first Christmas. He is now 8 months old and such a sweetie! Megan's mom Sandy and Megan's sister Shannon are visiting from Victoria for the occasion. We feel very special to be invited to spend Christmas with them too. Check out Ethan's website – such a photogenic baby. He has been scouted already (only in LA) but they turned the offer down.
http://ethanlavender.blogspot.com
We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at my good friend Sandy’s sister Donna’s house, fabulous food and a great way to spend Christmas Eve. Sandy’s two other sisters and their families were there too. Sandy’s other daughter Shannon flew in from Victoria with her cute little dog Lucy and arrived about 5:30 – just in time for dinner.
Christmas day we spent at Megan’s and had a fabulous brunch and met some of their friends and Reginald’s sister and her family. The girls ended the day with a great soak in the hot tub in the back yard. All in all I ate way too much over the past few days.
We are now at Miguel’s shop getting the coach attended to. It is very cold here – I’m wearing my down winter coat and my hands are freezing as I type this. There is nothing seriously wrong – it’s just an old vehicle (1976) and needs regular check-ups. Just like us…..
We are thinking about zipping over to Quartzite or seeking out some hot springs for a few days before meeting Dawne at Tecate.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
A friend and unexpected activity
Just as we had settled in at the Crescent City RV Park, each on our own laptop, there was a tapping at the door, know it wasn't Santa – I said “I’ll bet its Dawne!” Sure enough it was! She has been here in Crescent Beach for a few days and was planning on pulling out in the morning! I thought we might run into her here, I remember that Dawne spent time here before with Ian and Debi and they liked it a lot. Well, we would like it too if it wasn’t raining sideways, foggy, lighthouse foghorn harmonizing with the tiedown straps for our kayaks… It really is a spectacular beautiful place, however, if we were seeking this kind of weather we would have stayed at home!
So, we will travel with Dawne in the morning to Vichy Hotsprings Resort just outside Ukiah. This about 200 miles south of Crescent Beach. Hmmm…. Driving a twisty turny narrow road in the pouring rain… fun.
December 21
Well, it was exactly that – twisty turny narrow and pouring! However, the good side was the amazing redwoods! These are incredible trees – massive, tall and straight – as high as 300 feet! Wow!
We planned on meeting Dawne at the Hotsprings – however, by the time we got to Ukiah it was 6:00. It was very slow going for us on those twisty roads. Dawne had checked into the Days Inn and was making her dinner so we agreed to meet at the hotsprings in the morning. Just as we pulled off the highway one of our back tires went flat – Lorne heard it – I opened the door and then I could hear it too - ssssss! And indeed within seconds and before my eyes it went from an inflated tire to sitting on the rim! Very fast! We are so lucky that it didn’t do that on the freeway. So – we had dinner, Good Sams came out and changed the tire for us and told us where to go to get the tire repaired in the morning.
In Search of a Tire
The store they told us about didn’t have the tire we needed and they said they wouldn’t repair ours as the piece of shrapnel that punctured it also ripped a belt – this thing was a piece of steel ¼ inch thick, an equilateral triangle with sides as long as my index finger – about 2.5 inches. So we cancelled the hot springs. Dawne went on to Calistoga Hot Springs, and off we went to Costco in Santa Rosa (who were supposed to have our tire). They didn’t have it either so now we are on our way to the Costco in Modesto who does. We will meet up with Dawn at Potrero on New Years and cross over at Tecate.
So, we will travel with Dawne in the morning to Vichy Hotsprings Resort just outside Ukiah. This about 200 miles south of Crescent Beach. Hmmm…. Driving a twisty turny narrow road in the pouring rain… fun.
December 21
Well, it was exactly that – twisty turny narrow and pouring! However, the good side was the amazing redwoods! These are incredible trees – massive, tall and straight – as high as 300 feet! Wow!
We planned on meeting Dawne at the Hotsprings – however, by the time we got to Ukiah it was 6:00. It was very slow going for us on those twisty roads. Dawne had checked into the Days Inn and was making her dinner so we agreed to meet at the hotsprings in the morning. Just as we pulled off the highway one of our back tires went flat – Lorne heard it – I opened the door and then I could hear it too - ssssss! And indeed within seconds and before my eyes it went from an inflated tire to sitting on the rim! Very fast! We are so lucky that it didn’t do that on the freeway. So – we had dinner, Good Sams came out and changed the tire for us and told us where to go to get the tire repaired in the morning.
In Search of a Tire
The store they told us about didn’t have the tire we needed and they said they wouldn’t repair ours as the piece of shrapnel that punctured it also ripped a belt – this thing was a piece of steel ¼ inch thick, an equilateral triangle with sides as long as my index finger – about 2.5 inches. So we cancelled the hot springs. Dawne went on to Calistoga Hot Springs, and off we went to Costco in Santa Rosa (who were supposed to have our tire). They didn’t have it either so now we are on our way to the Costco in Modesto who does. We will meet up with Dawn at Potrero on New Years and cross over at Tecate.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
South Till the Butter Melts!
Friday, December 18
Well we managed to get all packed up on Wednesday and over to Mike and Kate’s as planned – around midnight as predicted. We had the bulk of our stuff put away and off to bed by 1 am. The grandkids were banging on the door by 8 am! Needless to say we were a wee bit tired, so tired that Lorne incorporated the knocking into his dream! He was very confused when I told him the kids were at the door. It was nice to see them and to say goodbye before leaving for 4 months. Four months is a very long time from now. I miss them already.
After getting some last minute errands done we were on the 1:00 ferry and to Tulalip Casino (near Seattle) to meet John and Sharon for dinner (see last years post about these folks and their tank and their . It was very great to see them. Nether they nor us went to Toquart this year so we haven’t seen them since our return trip from Mexico last April. After not a long enough visit and some serious video poker we rolled into bed by 10 and up and off south in the morning (after a quick trip to my new favourite clothing shop at the outlet mall nest door). We are spending tonight at the Columbia River RV Park in Portland.
We are spending Christmas with my God daughter Megan and her husband Reginald and their son Ethan. Megan’s mom Sandy(my younger than me old friend) will also be there. We plan on having Miguel look over the coach right after Christmas and before crossing over into Mexico.
With luck we will meet up with Dawn (one of my mandolin players) in Potrero State Park and we will cross at Tecate and travel into Baja with her. Actually we are hoping to run into her before that - perhaps at a hot springs somewhere along the way....
Saturday
Spent the night in Portland – a very nice city, we will come back to visit for sure. Drove to Seven Feathers Casino today for way too much dinner at the buffet. I remain puzzled that with a fridge and cupboards full of food and treats I never eat at home (or the motor home) the way I gorge myself at some of these buffets. Of course looking around we see that about 99% of the patrons do the same as I do. My tummy hurt! Lorne doesn’t seem to do the same….. he has learned from his experience of many sore tummies I guess.
On the recommendation of our friend Ian, we decided to go to Crescent City (on the Pacific) and continue south on 101. The weather is mostly cloudy but not to cold. We may return this way too, it’s a beautiful drive through a very mixed forest including arbutus and redwoods, if we do we should plan to stop at Cave Junction to visit some cool caves. There is also a rest area just after entering California where we can stay overnight (8 hours).
4:00 pm - We just arrived in Crescent City California - crossed through the redwood forest and over the Siskiyou mountains. Incredible trees, some 300 feet tall and straight, we had a bit of a wet walk in the forest with the mist and the rain. We are staying at The Shoreline RV Park right on the ocean and next to a light house. Its foggy...... the light house is haunting..... hope it clears soon..... especially before bedtime! And we had complaints about our roosters!!!
Hugs,
Catherine
Well we managed to get all packed up on Wednesday and over to Mike and Kate’s as planned – around midnight as predicted. We had the bulk of our stuff put away and off to bed by 1 am. The grandkids were banging on the door by 8 am! Needless to say we were a wee bit tired, so tired that Lorne incorporated the knocking into his dream! He was very confused when I told him the kids were at the door. It was nice to see them and to say goodbye before leaving for 4 months. Four months is a very long time from now. I miss them already.
After getting some last minute errands done we were on the 1:00 ferry and to Tulalip Casino (near Seattle) to meet John and Sharon for dinner (see last years post about these folks and their tank and their . It was very great to see them. Nether they nor us went to Toquart this year so we haven’t seen them since our return trip from Mexico last April. After not a long enough visit and some serious video poker we rolled into bed by 10 and up and off south in the morning (after a quick trip to my new favourite clothing shop at the outlet mall nest door). We are spending tonight at the Columbia River RV Park in Portland.
We are spending Christmas with my God daughter Megan and her husband Reginald and their son Ethan. Megan’s mom Sandy(my younger than me old friend) will also be there. We plan on having Miguel look over the coach right after Christmas and before crossing over into Mexico.
With luck we will meet up with Dawn (one of my mandolin players) in Potrero State Park and we will cross at Tecate and travel into Baja with her. Actually we are hoping to run into her before that - perhaps at a hot springs somewhere along the way....
Saturday
Spent the night in Portland – a very nice city, we will come back to visit for sure. Drove to Seven Feathers Casino today for way too much dinner at the buffet. I remain puzzled that with a fridge and cupboards full of food and treats I never eat at home (or the motor home) the way I gorge myself at some of these buffets. Of course looking around we see that about 99% of the patrons do the same as I do. My tummy hurt! Lorne doesn’t seem to do the same….. he has learned from his experience of many sore tummies I guess.
On the recommendation of our friend Ian, we decided to go to Crescent City (on the Pacific) and continue south on 101. The weather is mostly cloudy but not to cold. We may return this way too, it’s a beautiful drive through a very mixed forest including arbutus and redwoods, if we do we should plan to stop at Cave Junction to visit some cool caves. There is also a rest area just after entering California where we can stay overnight (8 hours).
4:00 pm - We just arrived in Crescent City California - crossed through the redwood forest and over the Siskiyou mountains. Incredible trees, some 300 feet tall and straight, we had a bit of a wet walk in the forest with the mist and the rain. We are staying at The Shoreline RV Park right on the ocean and next to a light house. Its foggy...... the light house is haunting..... hope it clears soon..... especially before bedtime! And we had complaints about our roosters!!!
Hugs,
Catherine
Monday, December 14, 2009
Just Testing
Yes we are getting ready to leave. Yes we have snow. Therefore we are leaving too late - AGAIN! Out of here on Thursday for dinner with Sharon and John at Tulalip. Then more southward on Friday. Hopefully we will find a hotspring in California somewhere. We are having Christmas with my Goddaughter Megan and her husband Reginald and their beautiful new son Ethan and Ethan's Nana, my good friend Sandra. Fun. Happy Holidays!
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