Happy Halloween!

We had happy hour at Debbie and Peter's and then went up to the clubhouse for a spaghetti dinner. Arla's decorations were great as usual and I ran into a ghost.

Catalina Spa and RV Resort

Well, this is wonderful to be here in the sunshine. Here's the mountain behind Palm Springs with the sun coming up in the morning. Debbie and Peter are parked 4 up from us and D and I walk down Corkill to the corner store each morning - 7000 steps. We played Pegs and Jokers with Ida and Darrell tonight.

Kramer's Junction

We stayed overnight and a truck beside us blocked some of the wind - lucky break. We went to the Lil Sister's Truck wash and pulled into Catalina Spa RV Resort by 1 p.m. Very nice to see who's here and it's fun to be at our 'winter home'.

Oops, another adventure

When we stopped yesterday afternoon and I went to take the key out of the car, I was stunned. Somehow the oil cap had come off of the engine in the back of the motorhome ( after friday's oil change) and oil had sprayed all over the bikes, protect a tow, car and back of the motorhome. Our first stop today was the Camping World in Bakersfield where it took them 3 hours to clean and recheck and top up the oil. We were treated very well but after the brake failure in July and now this, we're afraid what the next service trip will entail. We enjoyed seeing the scarecrows and hay ride at a produce market and the train going though tunnels in Tehachapi where Cajon Summit is 4260' high. We got to Kramer's Junction by 2:45 but the wind was blowing like crazy so we parked for the night.

Going south through California

This is like Ontario - it takes you 3 days to go through. From 1769 - 1823, Spanish fathers built 21 missions from San Diego to Sonoma, a valley above San Fransico. One forgets that this was originally part of Mexico. In 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill and the rush was on. Calif became a state in 1850, Yosemite National Park was established in 1890 and San Francisco was nearly destroyed by earthquake in 1906. In 2003 Gov. Gray Davis was recalled and Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced him due to a fiscal crisis.Today we read that the state is bankrupt. Who knew?
We're going through the farmland, following the aqueduct. The difference between irrigated or non irrigated land is startling. We're passing truckloads of garlic, carrots, the rice paddies above Sacramento and see trees of many nuts and fruits. Skipped Lost Hills and parked O/N at Flying J in Bakersfield where we fueled at $2.91.9

Into California

We celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary ( Oct. 16 when I was at Suzannes) with a Sunday Brunch at the Iron Skillet here at the Petro Truck stop. Just delicious. 2 bonuses, hazelnut cream for your coffee and chunks of chocolate for dessert. Yum! We didn't get away until 10:20, a world record for us. It was 40 degrees F overnight so we appreciate driving in the sunshine, into Calif through the Siskiyou Summit 4310', winding our way up and down the mountains. We passed Mt. Shasta, 14,162' with little snow left and went over the Lake which has more water than last year although you can see how far down the banks from the treeline it is from the past years. No deer today, 5 cops ticketing vehicles. The blue California lilac and pink oleanders are blooming and its 74 ( 23). We fueled at Corning and pulled into the Rolling Hills Casino. It's a bit of a short day but no hurry and this is convenient.

Up and Down Oregon

This state started with the dramatic geography of the Columbia Gorge and has majestic Mount Hood, the highest point, overlooking the area. The jagged coast to the west has pounding waves but we're driving in beautiful sunshine through peaceful valleys with cattle, lots of deer this year and wineries next to the forests. Oregon is one of the states that allows 3 trailer transporters, count them, very long. We had an afternoon coffee at a rest stop, the Blue Star Memorial for World War II Veterans and I am always amazed by the grey green moss on the tree limbs, just covered with it. Here's my driver waving against the backdrop of mossy oak trees. We climb up and then cruise down the mountains. Lovely day and we parked at Peartree RV by 3:30 in Phoenix and Ron has the Canucks game to enjoy.

On to Wilsonville ORE

We woke to rain and had hooked up power and water so had to go out in it to unhook. This is the first time we've had rain in about 10 years. You could barely see the Seattle Space Needle in the background. It cleared up about noon as we followed the Columbia River into Ore. It was very dull looking out the channel from the bridge toward the Pacific. We stopped At Camping World for an oil change and are staying at Les Schwab's tonight. Time for a tire rotation in the morning.
After English explorer Sir Francis Drake left Washington, he discovers the territory now know as Oregon and presented it to Queen Elizabeth I. Overland explorers, Lewis and Clark were next in 1805, followed by Methodist missionaries founding the first settlement in the Willamette Valley in 1834. The 2000mile, 3 decade 'Great Migration' from Independence, Mo, starts over the Oregon Trail and it became the 33rd state in 1859.

On the Road Again - to Ferndale

We crossed the Pacific Border at 3:30 and when we were recognized as 'snowbirds' he said have a great trip and waved us through. We fueled at the Ferndale Truck stop f0r $2.85.9/gal and went up the road to The Cedars, a Holiday Trails, AOR resort. It is quite a nice park with 165 spaces, pool, bear statues and cute things around. Washington, our nearest neighbour was discovered by Sir Francis Drake in 1579. Capt. George Vancouver mapped it in 1792, Lewis and Clark arrived overland in 1805 and the Washington Territory was created in 1853 including parts of northern Idaho and western Montana. Washington itself became a state in 1889.

Our final Goodbye

We went to say goodbye to the kids. It looks like fall is here and time for us snowbirds to fly south. Isaiah is enjoying his quilt I finished this summer. The flannel on the back has soccer, baseball, rugby, etc, balls and I repeated the colours on the front pattern. I just finished one for Zack, after I commandeered their jeans from the work crew in our park. It has guitars for the flannel backing and between the jean squares. It even has 4 pockets for remotes etc and I left some fraying seams which he thought was cool.

St. Ann's Friends

Imagine - we've been friends since Grade 7. This was the first time Maryanne was able to join us, so it was a delightful surprise and of course we talked for 2 hours.

Time to Go

I've had a wonderful visit which has to last until we get back in April. The kids are growing so fast. Hana loves sewing, here she's hemming her mom's pants. Trey now scoots along on his 2 wheeler. As usual you see deer all over the place. Trey's big treat was taking me to the ferry. There was solid fog, could only hear the foghorn could be heard, couldn't even see the boat until it pulled into the dock. Lovely sunshine and a pretty trip.

Prayers for the People

We went to St. Bart's today where Suzanne does the Prayers for the People once a month. This original part of the church was built in 1892 and was rebuilt and used today. A trip to the Mall was needed before we went back for a Thanksgiving Dinner. Very nice congregation.

Soccer canceled

What a busy time. The kids crawl into bed with me in the morning and I told a 5 alarm ferry story which Trey loved. We went to Hana's soccer practice in the pouring rain but it was canceled by the other team so we went to the beach where it stopped raining.

Our 27th wedding Anniversary

This is the first one we've been apart. We've celebrated them in many different places along the years.
S and I helped at kindergarten this morning. It was very interesting to see what goes on in a classroom these days.

Off to see the other Grandchildren

I've gone to Gibsons for the weekend. I really love this oceanside town. There is a view in every direction and you always smell the clean salt water. Important night with Grey's Anatomy tonight. Suz and J and I talked and had a great visit.