Into Central California

We got through the mountains finally, after the signs of 'downhill grade 7 % for 7 miles and entered Central California. I was getting a bit dizzy so very glad to get flat again. Went through Sacramento, then Stockton, with the old part a very historic area. There was the Stockton Locomotion Works and the Mechanics Exchange all in very old brick buildings. We left I 5 at Lost Hills and headed across 46 through Kern county to Bakersfield. This is farming country with grapes, cotton, almonds, fruit trees, plus fields of roses and pansies. We even passed a truck with pup, full of garlic, a new sight for us. Very pretty scenery. Fueled at Flying J and stopped overnight at the A Country RV Park. We haven't boondocked this trip as we wanted heat in cold ORE, but putting the slides in and out has been a pleasure with our new folding coffee table that CJ made for us.

25th Wedding Anniversary - to Dunnigan

We drove up and down the mountains of Oregon and through the Siskiyou Mountains into
California. We were absolutely stunned when we drove through the Lake Shasta area. Mount Shasta was shrouded with fog so no view there but the Lake was so extremely low that you could see the lake bottom in the smaller arms of the lake and the bottom of the boat ramp was about 90 feet above the water. This is when we went over the bridge of the main lake - the bridge lane was being reconstructed so we were on the inside one but this shows where the water should have been up at the treeline. This is simply astounding and I fear a terrible disaster and really worry about the drought conditions in California. We celebrated our 25th anniversary by buying $200 of Diesel and having lucn at a truck stop. Got down to Dunnigan and the rain started and the wind was really blowing so we stopped at Happy Times RV Park at 2:30 in the middle of nowhere because there wasn't anything else for many miles. Enjoyed a cocktail and memories of 25 years of fun together.

Wilsonville to Phoenix, ORE

We got away in a light rain today, clearing by noon. We passed Harrisburg where we had a great time in the spring at Camp Monaco, and Cottage Grove where we drove through 2 covered bridges and saw 6 more. Here's a picture of one we went through with the tow connectors still on the car. Note the high windows on the sides. Wood bridges are less expensive to build and last well when maintained. Nice steady driving day. Oregon is so green and filled with trees, just like B.C. and lovely fall colors now. We climbed up and down the mountains and arrived in Phoenix, below Medford by 3 p.m. Ron said, I'll buy you dinner and you can buy breakfast - a treat for our 25th wedding anniversary tomorrow. While we were having dinner at the Iron Skillet at the large Petro Truck stop beside the Peartree RV Park we're at, the couple beside us were celebrating their return home after a 2 week vacation when their kids reno-ed their house as a present for their 60th anniversary. The kids said they'd just updated it by about 40 years. So they celebrated with their strawberry Sunday and we had chocolate.

A Visit with Sharon

We met Sharon in Woodburn today, 20 minutes down the road and enjoyed a great visit during lunch at Elmers.
We returned to the RV Park which does great Halloween decorations. It's a very pretty place with summer hanging baskets about 2 and a half feet in diameter, still surviving with large blooms.

On The Road Again

We got to the Main Border at 7:06, backed way up to the Duty Free on the Canadian side. We finally inched our way through at 8:16. The guard asked where we were going, if we owned a house in Canada and said, go ahead. What a bonus, no checking out the motorhome. Mind you, there's nothing in it, we shop when we get done south. So much easier. With the Canadian dollar actually above par at $1.02.46 many people are cross border shopping. It's never been this busy early in the morning, the 25 years we've gone south in the winter.
We had a pleasant driving day, sunny but low, light fog for a brief time, every time we got near water. Lots of traffic through the cities, even on a Saturday. Pretty fall colors are nice to watch as we go down the road.
We arrived in Wilsonville at 3 p.m. and are checked into the Pheasant Ridge RV Resort where Mike stays. He came to visit and we went out to Wongers, a funky bar and grill where you get peanuts for appies and just throw the shells on the floor. Quaint, I guess and certainly a popular spot..

Thanksgiving Family Dinner

Well, we had the best family dinner for Thanksgiving at Brenda and Peter's in Vancouver. The Wallachs from Nelson, Merritt and Kamloops couldn't get down so we missed them and send love but the lower mainland crowd of 20 adults and 7 kids were together. The most fun to Hana and Lexi is seeing their cousins, Josh, Zack and Isaiah, whom they adore, and now Maya and Trey are added to the group. The turkey was superb, our cooking was great, the company was a pleasure and we were delighted to have Floss and Ken with us.

Fun with Grandkids

Aanother great day in beautiful weather here on the Sunshine Coast. They really do have good reason to call it that. Deer in the front yard, a visit to the ocean and a playing at the park. Here's 3 fun kids together.