PHOTO GALLERY 2019

We toasted in the new year, hoping for much better luck with things in 2019. With our health issues all behind us and a brand new motorhome, the 32' Forest River Forester 3041DSF, we have a number of excellent adventures planned. For a quick overview, see this year's proposed itinerary which as you can see, will include some major Western U.S. trips to many very scenic places. So please.... stay tuned!

For Christmas, Libby and I gave each other L-O-V-E in the form of a new Westie. A little female to keep Corey company on our 2019 travels and beyond. And here's our two bookends... Corey and Taffy relaxing on the loveseat in the family room. Taffy is a one year old female, a little taller than Corey but much slighter of build with longer legs... she weighs around 18 pounds. Very reminiscent of our first Westie, Gracie. She and Corey get along famously. She's a pretty little lass, seems very quiet, sweet and affectionate and a little timid but she'll likely adapt quickly.

Today, Jan 13, we attended the fruition of our mutual Christmas presents in a matinee performance at Portland's Keller Auditorium of The King and I, one of Rodgers & Hammerstein's finest musicals. The King and I boasts an award-winning score with many memorable tunes that have become standards, and sterling performances by Angela Baumgardner as Anna, Pedro Ka'Awaloa as the King, Deanna Choi as Lady Tiang, and the brilliant Paulina Yeung as Toptim. We thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and were reminded of just what a top New York touring company has to offer in terms of top tier talent.

I am keeping up with my new year's resolution and health warnings from the doctor. For about 6 weeks now, I've been hitting the fitness center at Firstenburg Community Center (left) near our home in Vancouver three times a week and am back to lifting weights again. I am slowly getting my strength back after my ordeals with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. That really set me back quite a bit and left me feeling very weak for a good six months or more. But it's coming back now. Between lifting weights and riding my exercycle at home daily, I am making good progress. And I'm also being very careful with my eating habits now after being diagnosed borderline diabetic, I have lost 15 lbs so far and plan to lose 15 more.

It's March now... and spring is rapidly approaching. Taffy has been going to doggy daycare several afternoons a week to 'socialize' her. It also wears her out. She's a cuddly little bugger. Here she is asleep on my chest while Corey is sleeping on his favorite perch, the recliner footrest. Very sweet!

California or Bust!   First Stop - Northern California

We finally left home March 28 on our spring trip to California. We waited a full week for the weather to shape up... and abandoned the idea of taking the coastal route... we'll put that off for a future time when the weather is better. Instead we picked a window of clear weather (and clear roads) to head straight down I-5 and up and over Siskiyou Summit from Ashland Oregon into northern California. We'll pause in Eugene for a couple days to test all the coach systems and make sure she's ready for the open road, and then head down on April 30. Let the adventures begin!!!

Here's the Forester with our Durango in tow at an I-5 rest stop by Seven Feathers Casino in Southern Oregon on the first leg of the trip. That's Libby with the two dogs, Corey and Taffy and I grabbed this photo. This one is very reminiscent of an almost identical photo I took last fall when it was just Libby and Corey were in the photo, at a different Oregon rest stop.

Here's a separate photo at another I-5 rest stop just after a Winnebago Journey pulled up alongside. This is against the sun so the color is worse, but I just wanted to illustrate the difference in size to make it apparent how much we downsized in going from our Tiffin Allegro Bus to the new Forester. And this Journey at 40' is STILL not quite as large as our Tiffin was! The Forester is a nice compromise between total luxury in a monster road vehicle and compact comfort in a much more maneuverable package. I feel more like I am driving my pickup truck instead of feeling like Ralph Kramden! 'Bang, zoom, Alice! Right to the moon!'

After the Seven Feathers rest stop we headed south to Ashland and then up into the Siskiyou Mountains, through Siskiyou Summit, and crossed over into California. The Forester's powerful Ford V-10 engine was put to the big test up this steep grade and performed admirably with plenty of power to tow the Durango, barely slowing to about 50mph a few times. As you can tell from this photo the dogs were nonplussed as they shared the dogbed between the front seats. That's Corey sacked out in the foreground and sister Taffy over next to me in the driver's seat. We have a couple great traveling companions in these two Westies!

As we wound our way down I-5 over the Siskiyou Summit and through the Siskiyou Mountain Range, we passed a familiar icon, the towering snowcapped Mt Shasta. We pulled over on the highway and took this photo, reminiscent of the memorable winter photo we took several years ago with our Tiffin Allegro Bus.

We arrived yesterday afternoon, 3/31, at Camanche Lake, east of the S.F. Bay area out in the foothills of Northern California Gold Rush Country. Back in the late 1970's I had an old 50's mobile home vacation spot here. I kept a motorboat here and brought my windsurfing gear and enjoyed my time here immensely! I haven't been back since. We're here for 4 days... a real walk down memory lane for me! We are staying at the Miners Camp RV Park adjacent to the area where I had my mobile in the 70's. At the left is a Google maps aerial of the area and the road leading down to the marina.

Here I am standing next to the coach after we settled into a nice campsite in Miners Camp at Camanche Lake South Shore Recreation Area, space #11 as pictured above. Our first full day here was pretty nice weather and we drove down to the marina to scout it out. We also drove around to the North Shore marina. 40 years later, Camanche Lake is still a charming place to spend some time. We decided we'll return in May on our way back home when the weather is nicer and rent a boat for the day. Probably also take some day trips, like over to Angels Camp, Columbia and Sonora. Our 2nd day here was rainy with sun breaks, but it's forecast to be nice on our last day.

This being our first extended trip, we have spent some time getting everything dialed... all the various electronics installed and secured, charging outlets for electronics, stash pockets for remotes and miscellaneous, hooks for jackets, bedding for dogs, etc etc. Here's a nice shot of the main cabin now, me with my laptop and sharing the recliner with the dogs as usual, and watching a western on the TV. Libby's laptop is on the dining table and dog toys adorn the settee. All the comforts of home in a compact package.

As expected this time of year there were not many people in the campground, and those that were around for the weekend were mostly gone by Monday morning. We have the campground almost entirely to ourselves. Just a few other folks over on the other side of the loop. The really nice part about it is that we get to experience the wildlife with no one around to scare them off. There was a whole flock of wild turkeys, grazing near our coach... took this photo out the window our first morning here. They also have the best fenced and mowed 1/2 acre grassy dog park we have found anywhere and not another dog to share it with!

Taffy is fascinated by the turkeys grazing near the coach and sits at the window growling at them. But when they move on she quickly makes herself comfy. Corey could care less about turkeys and is all about comfy. He can still hop up into the recliner when it is vacant... he spent a LOT of time in the recliner in our big bus. Taffy is quickly learning the ropes. Lest you think this is a posed photo, this is an entirely candid moment which Libby caught when she returned from an errand and snapped the photo. I was taking a little nap in the bedroom and the dogs seized the moment!

Moving on to the S.F. Bay area to visit some friends, We always stay at the Maple Leaf RV Park in Morgan Hill just south of San Jose. It's conveniently located right off Hwy 101 and more or less equidistant from several sets of friends. The Bay area has a dearth of RV parks catering to travelers... most of what is there is all taken by permanent residents fleeing the absurd cost of housing there. One really nice aspect of Morgan Hill is the Morgan Hill Community Park which is very close to the RV Park and has excellent walking paths and a superb fenced dog park where the dogs can run free.

Morgan Hill Community Dog Park covers about an acre and is divided into two areas, one for small dogs where ours go and one for the larger pooches. We saw a Great Pyrenees in there today, probably weighed 200 lbs. Pictured at the left is the picturesque large dogs dog park. And nearby to the rear of the dog park is a really nice duck pond as well. Morgan Hill is a really nice community... if we had to live in California, this would be a nice place to live, but the prices, here like most nice areas of California, are off the charts. All this for the joy of paying 9% combined sales tax, 9% state income tax and roughly 1.2% property tax on the grossly inflated sales prices. We'll stick to Vancouver with rationally priced homes and zero state income tax.

Santa Barbara, California

We made it to Santa Barbara on Tuesday, April 8 where we'll spend 6 days, visiting my old friend Don and hanging out in this lovely old town. Santa Barbara is often called the "American Riviera"... a lovely and historic coastal town and popular tourist and resort destination just north of Los Angeles. The oceanfront park along Cabrillo Blvd is a lovely spot to walk the dogs and watch the waves breaking on the beach and sailboats in the harbor. And we hit the weather just right as spring rains have ceased and sunny days in the 70's prevail.

Sunrise RV Park is a convenient little RV Park close to downtown Santa Barbara which doesn't have much in the way of RV Parks right in the city. Santa Barbara real estate is ungodly expensive so this tiny park is understandably crowded and tight. But it is neat and clean and is right next to the 101 Freeway which is very convenient for getting around, but it's a bit noisy. We can see the freeway exit sign looming above the freeway sound wall visible right from our coach window.

On Friday morning we drove up to Franceschi Park, tucked up in the foothills of Santa Barbara. We walked the dogs around a little bit and took in the wonderful views of Santa Barbara and the entire coastline.

Friday afternoon we took a nice excursion over to the old Mission Santa Barbara, a Spanish mission founded by Padre Fermin Lasuen of the Franciscan order in 1786 and located very near downtown Santa Barbara. The old mission, often referred to as "Queen of the Missions" for its beautiful exterior, is a very picturesque historic landmark. You can take a brief self guided tour which takes you back through the centuries.

We walked all thru the mission and read about the history and religious significance of the Franciscan Friars, and this the 10th of 21 missions of 'Alta California'. At the left is a photo of Libby standing by the "Inner Quadrangle" - communal meditative meeting place for the friars in the middle of the mission.

We sat in the church at the old mission for a while and took in the silence just as the Franciscans must have done several hundred years ago. Ommmm... Very few tourists were on the grounds on a Friday and we had it pretty much to ourselves. If you are interested in learning more about Mission Santa Barbara, there is a complete Mission Tour online for your further edification.

Our primary reason for visiting Santa Barbara was to spend a little time with one of my oldest friends, Don Tondro and his wife Sally who have lived in SB for many years. I met Don when I was stationed in Key West Florida with the Navy back in 1969-71. Don had also been a Navy officer and stayed on after discharge to run a diving business there and we became lifelong friends. I visited him many, many times over the years when I was living in L.A. Many fond memories of diving together, cooking Florida lobster and Pacific abalone together, margaritas at the Espana in downtown Santa Barbara, etc etc.

Ojai, California

We left Santa Barbara on Monday April 15 and made the short drive up into the beautiful foothills of the Ojai Valley to visit one of my very oldest and dearest friends, Mike Schradle and his wife Marilyn. They have a beautiful home on several acres and we were able to park the motorhome for our stay in their nice level driveway and connect to water and power. On Tuesday we took the dogs down to Libbey Park in downtown Ojai and Libby posed with the pups by the entrance to her namesake.

Today, April 16, was my birthday and it was great to celebrate it with my old friend Mike and his wife. Mike and I have been friends since we were both in cub scouts! A fitting venue to celebrate my birthday after the difficult year last year. Tonite they prepared a delicious birthday dinner. And after washing my hair this afternoon, I decided it had finally grown in enough to allow myself to be photographed without a hat! It'll be another 6 months before I have enough hair to comb it as I used to before it all fell out during chemo, but this is definitely progress!

Mike and Marilyn and even prepared a delicious 'Tres Leches' birthday cake with candles, a Spanish traditional sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk... evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream... popular throughout Latin America and Mexico. First time in many, many years I had a birthday cake with candles. That was fun!

On Sunday we drove over to Lake Casitas reservoir near Ojai. Mike knew where an eagle was nesting and we watched him in the nest and soaring high above, hunting for food, and Mike got this great photo with his telephoto lens.

Los Angeles, California

On Thursday, April 18, we bid farewell to Mike and Marilyn, thanked them for their hospitality and moved on down the road to Los Angeles, our next stop. Libby has family and friends in L.A. and I have many friends as well from the 17 years I lived there. We both moved up to Oregon (and then Washington) and have never looked back, but we still like to come down and visit with old friends. We have always stayed at Valencia Travel Village just up the I-5 freeway in the North San Fernando Valley. RV Parks are hard to come by in L.A. and this one always seems to be our best bet. We arrived to temperatures above 90 degrees! Ugh! We were happy to be escaping cool dreary weather at home in Vancouver on this trip, but this is too much!

Valencia Travel Village is a large well maintained RV Park with more than 350 spaces, just up the I-5 freeway in the North San Fernando Valley near Magic Mountain and Castaic Lake. We have stayed here every time we have come to the Los Angeles area to visit in our various motorhomes. They have made considerable improvements over the years and it really has become one of the nicer RV Parks we have stayed in on our travels.

Here's the Windseeker settled into our space A17 at Valencia Travel Village. It's a nice long pull thru, almost perfectly level with a clear shot at the southern sky for satellite reception. We're just down from the swimming pools and large spa, as well as the fenced dog park. The RV Park has lots of nice grass for the dogs. Our first engagement with friends is Saturday for dinner, so we have some time to just relax in this nice environment.

Valencia Travel Village has a really nice swimming pool complex... about the nicest of any RV Park we have seen. They actually have two large swimming pools, one for adults and one for kids, although the kids pool doesn't open until Memorial Day. Not too many kids here right now, at least not on week days. They also have a large in ground heated spa for relaxing in the evening.

On Saturday evening we visited with our dear friends Fred and Frans Simson, lifelong friends of Libby and her family, who have also become good friends of mine. We enjoyed congenial beverages at their home and then all went to the famed Tam O'Shanter restaurant in Los Feliz for a pre-Easter dinner (tomorrow is Easter Sunday). At the left is a humorous photo of the Simsons they had taken for Easter! [Revisited again on 4/30]

In the endless cavalcade of friends we wanted to visit in L.A., one was my old pal, actor Mike Forest, and his lovely wife Diana, live in West Hollywood, and we joined them for dinner at their favorite Chinese restaurant, Genghis Cohen. Mike just celebrated his 90th birthday, and Diana is not far behind at 89. They are just amazing - an inspiration to both Libby and myself. Mike and I met as actors when we were both in Rome, Italy back in the early 70's. We've stayed in touch over the years and always glad to see old friends doing so well! [Revisited again on 4/25]

On Tuesday we were invited to my dear old friend Jodi Taylor's home in Encino. Her husband Alex joined us to celebrate Jodi's birthday which is on Weds just a few days from mine, so we had a double celebration. Jodi is an actress I have known for almost 50 years... her daughter Hayley is now older than Jodi was when we first worked together in the early 70's and she's now a proud grandmother of baby Savannah who is adorable. The edited composite photo left shows the group. A good time was had by all.

Driving around today, we spotted this - only in L.A. - a new fast food option... Chicken Star - Asian fusion with an Israeli Twist. WTF?!?!?

On Thursday Libby stayed back and relaxed with the dogs while I drove into the city and met my dear old friend Jil Gotlib (a.k.a Jilly Bean) and her mom Buffy for lunch. Buffy is a remarkable woman... at age 93 she still lives alone in her beautiful Brentwood home and has all her faculties and then some. A true inspiration.

Saturday we had a nice get together at the Playa Del Rey home of old friends Shad and Melinda Meshad. The weather was cool and pleasant and Libby and I were joined by mutual friends Jil Gotlib and Kitti Berci Good wine, good food and lots of good conversation was the order of the evening.

San Diego, California

We completed our two week stay in L.A. and on Thursday as planned, we headed south and arrived in San Diego this afternoon May 2. We were fortunate to get a spot for our 4 night stay at Admiral Baker RV Park near downtown San Diego. Our son Tim is getting married this weekend and this RV Park is conveniently near the venue.

Our visit to San Diego was to attend the wedding of our eldest son Tim and fiance Kristin King. The wedding was held on Saturday May 5 with many family members and friends in attendance. Tim's cousin Mike Mahedy, an ordained minister, performed the ceremony. The ceremony and the reception were held at the Fort Oak Restaurant, where excellent drinks and an open bar were the order of the evening.

The evening before the wedding, a dinner was held at a local Mexican eaterie for immediate family. Siblings were seated at a second table. Seated at the table left to right are me, Libby's mom Betty, Libby, Kristin, Tim, Tim's dad John, John's wife Sally, Kristin's dad Steve, and Kristin's mom Margie. The food was delicious, some toasts were made and everyone wished Tim and Kristin a long and happy life together!

We started home after the wedding, leaving San Diego on Monday morning. We made several stops and arrived at Sacramento Shade RV Park on Saturday in time to accept the invitation for dinner to the lovely home of our long time Gorge friends and fellow windsurfers Tom and Becky Kidwell. We shared stories and caught up on each others' lives and kids. Tom and Becky live in a really nice part of town called Fair Oaks. On Sunday, Mother's Day, they showed us all around nearby Folsom Lake.

As we headed up into the Siskiyou Mountains we passed a familiar landmark, Mt Shasta, where we stopped for a photo opp on the way down 6 weeks ago. Always a pretty photo and lovely views in many spots as I-5 winds its way up and past the mountain.

Just a little further past Mt. Shasta is another iconic mountain called Black Butte, a cluster of overlapping dacite lava domes in a butte, a parasitic cone of Mount Shasta. It isn't nearly as high as Mount Shasta at 14,179 feet, and doesn't get snow very often, but the way it juts up out of the terrain to an elevation of 6,334 ft is always impressive nonetheless. From there it was just a few more hours up I-5 to our final stop at Seven Feathers Resort just north of Grants Pass, Oregon. We should arrive back home on Monday.

Home in Vancouver, WA

We made it back to our lovely home in Vancouver, WA, on May 13, right on schedule. Fun to travel... always nice to get home. We're just in time to catch all the rhodies in bloom, a favorite time of year. We'll relax for a bit, give my beloved MGB some exercise, catch our breath and then begin our preparations for a great sailing summer at Fern Ridge Reservoir with our Catalina sailboat.

Fern Ridge Lake

On Sunday, June 2 we set out for Eugene and Fern Ridge Lake with the sailboat in tow for a summer of sailing and relaxation at the lake. We have sailed here a number of summers in the past... it's the best sailing lake in the pacific northwest.

Here we are in our RV space set up for the summer. Beautiful weather with a stiff breeze... should be great sailing as soon as I get my boat motor back from the shop. Premier RV Park is a lovely park, well appointed with excellent amenities, lots of nice grass throughout for walking the dogs as Libby is doing here... and the new section where we're located has attractive water features.

RV Life involves many basic chores including setup and teardown, vehicle maintenance, towing, and the like. Most require a reasonable amount of concentration, something which can sometimes be in short supply in the senior mind at the end of a long day. Improper connection of water hoses is one of those little senior brain fades that can make a bit of a mess. Oops! After 6 years of doing this you would think one would get past these little gaps in mental clarity. True for a youthful agile brain; not so true it seems, for the tired, befuddled senior brain. Here's a collection of Random thoughts as we age and other senior humor.

After the challenges of the day and some frazzled nerves, a visit to to nearby Los Potrillos for a couple goldfish bowl sized margaritas and some shredded beef nachos really hit the spot for dinner!

Today Thursday, June 6, we rigged and launched the boat at Richardson Marina on Fernridge Lake. Here I am backing the boat down the ramp right next to the marina. The ramp is steep enough that I didn't need to use the extended tongue on the trailer.

If you're an experienced sailor and would like to try sailing on Fern Ridge Lake yourself, you can contact Scott Coleman who rents sailboats out of Orchard Point Marina including a 27' Bristol with its large cockpit for $75/day and a 19' Cape Dory Typhoon (no motor) for $60/day. Call 541-463-0555 for details.

After launching the boat, I parked the trailer and then motored around to the slip in the marina visible behind the launch ramp above. She will be berthed here in slip D5 for the summer. You can see by the overwhelming number of sailboats in the marina, this is a sailor's paradise. Tomorrow there's rain forecast but we should be out sailing on the lake Saturday!

We invite all our friends to come visit us while we are here this summer. Premier RV Park of Eugene is right along the I-5 Interstate on the north side of the city in Coburg, Oregon. We're just 20 minutes from the marina where we're keeping our sailboat and would love to take you sailing on Oregon's best sailing lake. And you do not need an RV... there are plenty of hotels and motels nearby, or if you want a totally unique experience you can can stay in a Teepee right here at the RV Park. These are fully furnished and very comfortable. See the website for interior photos.

Today, Saturday, June 8, was a cool breezy day so we took our windbreakers and headed down to the marina for our first sailing day of the current season... got out on the lake about 3pm and had a wonderful sailing afternoon, getting in about 6:30. At the peak there were about 15 other sailboats out sailing, plus about a dozen smaller craft, lasers perhaps, sailing a little regatta in the SW corner of the main lake. Winds peaked around 15 or so this afternoon... we had excellent wind and sailing all afternoon. More is forecast for tomorrow :-)

Back out on Sunday, my able bodied seaman and first mate, Libby, standing in the companionway as we sailed downwind in 12-15mph winds. We didn't even need to let the jib out. Once again the weather was perfect. Here's a nice indepth 4000 word review of the venerable Catalina 22 which features, among other things, a photo of our very own C-22 in tow behind a former motorhome of ours a few years ago.

As we were out ripping along at about 6.5 mph, which is close to hull speed on a monohull sailboat, a kiteboarder blew by us like we were standing still, riding on his foil. Those things are FAST!

Today was 3 in row... all stellar days of sailing with clear skies, warm temps and steady winds and now that it's a weekday we had the lake almost all to ourselves. There were about half a dozen other sailboats out and that was it for the afternoon. Winds were 12-16 most of the afternoon and were building towards 20 mph gusts when we came off the water at 5. Hard to beat! By the way, if my nose looks a little strange, it is because I am wearing a skin colored Beko nose sun shade on my sunglasses. Just say no to Skin cancer!

Fern Ridge Lake is just a great place... managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, they go out of their way to cater to recreational boaters. This is the only place I have ever sailed where they have floating restrooms out on the water! They call it Leakin Lena. We've never used it but are impressed they make it available!

On Wednesday Eugene was hit by an unusual heatwave, highly unusual for early June. We sure hope this is not the new normal! It was a good excuse to make our annual pilgrimage over to the Oregon coast. The charming town of Florence is due west of Eugene about one hour. We made our first stop just north of Florence at Heceta Beach which has excellent access to the ocean beaches from Heceta Beach County Park. We walked the dogs down on the beach and stopped for a photo on a big piece of drift-log. It reached 96 degrees in Eugene and only 68 here at the coast. We all enjoyed the nice refreshing cool ocean breeze.

Back in downtown Florence we made a stop for late lunch or early dinner... sort of a 'linner' at the International C-Food Restaurant, one of our favorite spots situated right on the mouth of the Suislaw River. 'Dogs are welcome' on the outdoor deck as the sign proclaims, and their clam chowder and foccacia bread is legendary. Corey is at my feet, ever watchful for any chowder crackers that might "accidentally" fall on the deck.

Back at the rig early evening Libby was relaxing on our little patio outside the rig, pretending the freeway sounds were still the sound of the ocean waves from earlier in the day. We have our deck chairs and barbeque set up by the little stream which runs in front of us there... a picturesque spot.

We sailed three excellent afternoons on Fern Ridge Lake this week, and after the weather turned hot and still for a few days, we headed home on Thursday. We returned home for several different appointments and events, but key was my followup on Friday with the oncologist to get the results of my 6 month CT Scan which was performed May 28. We were greatly relieved to receive the news that nothing was detected and that my bout with Lymphoma remains in remission. Chemotherapy and radiation appear to have done their job and I remain cancer free! Hooray!

RAIN - Beatles Tribute Band

Besides a few doctors appointments we had tickets for this concert. We had seen RAIN, the best Beatles Tribute Band in the country, perform in Las Vegas quite a few years ago and have been waiting for an opportunity to see them again. They finally came to Portland and we arranged our schedule to be back in town for the concert. Each performer in RAIN has mastered his character's posture, accent and inflection. And their musicianship and vocals make you feel like you have gone back in time to see John, Paul, George and Ringo live once again... a real Magical Mystery Tour!

RAIN does several costume changes... they start out like the original Beatles in the dark suits (stock photo above)... then they transition to the Shea Stadium look wearing tan suits. Their music follows suit. After the Shea Stadium change they go into a casual mode before intermission and when they come back from intermission, it is full on Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and total psychedelia. This is an actual photo from our concert taken with the iphone... they played to an enthusiastic full house. Their final costume change of the evening is into the Abbey Road look. Abbey Road was the final studio album which the Beatles recorded in 1969, even though Let it Be was released after Abbey Road.

RAIN has a bunch of videos on their website Raintribute.com. Take a moment to listen to the lead video on that page, also available on Youtube, a composite of brief excerpts from a dozen of their tunes. RAIN features Paul Curatolo (as Paul McCartney), Steve Landes (as John Lennon), Joe Bithorn (George Harrison) and Ralph Castelli (Ringo Starr) in place of the lads from Liverpool. Amazing.

Here's the two happy Beatles fans, taking a selfie at the Portland Zoo, waiting for RAIN to begin their evening performance. Fortunately, contrary to the band's name, Portland weather cooperated fully and it was a sunny mild day and evening, "Good Day Sunshine", perfect for an outdoor concert!     "I wanna hold your hand!"

Fern Ridge Lake

Back to Eugene today, Tuesday June 18. After several days at home with doctors appointments and the RAIN concert, we made it back to the coach today in Eugene, and in the mid afternoon we headed over to the lake for a sail. Perfect weather once again. When we first got out on the lake we counted only 5 other sailboats, but by the time we came in about 6:30, we counted more than 20 with more just heading out of the marina. The photo at the right was taken from the car on the road home. Fern Ridge is the quintessential sailing lake, and we are in excellent company here.

There are quite a few Catalina 22 sallboats on this lake. There are several others on our "D" Dock alone at the marina. It's nice to see Catalina 22's sailing by us on the lake as it is almost like looking in a mirror. Our wingkeel C-22 MkII, however, is unquestionably one of the very nicest ones on the lake. Here's a nice indepth review of the venerable Catalina 22 which features, among other things, a photo of our very own C-22 in tow behind a former motorhome of ours a few years ago.

Today Tuesday was a light wind day... we went over to the lake and tried a sail, but the wind died off and so we got off the water early. Made a stop at Home Depot to pick up a special order Frigidaire Portable Air Conditioner which we are going to try to set up in the RV's main cabin to supplement the roof air. When we had several days of 95 degree weather recently, the roof air was not able to keep up. We have to try something to make the coach comfortable in hot weather. Thanks to the new room layout in the main cabin (left), we now have a spot over behind the passenger seat by the ladder at the upper right corner. I'll post more photos when installation is complete.

Today the wind was back for the first day of summer. It was another fine day on Fern Ridge Lake - winds were consistent, skies were clear and blue. Click on the photo at the left to watch an 80 second video of me at the helm of our Catalina 22 cruising in the late afternoon. By the way, I am wearing a skin colored Beko nose sun shade on my sunglasses. Just say no to Skin cancer!

Late afternoon today a few clouds moved in and the winds increased a bit and steadied off at 11-12 mph for some absolutely perfect early evening sailing.

On Friday, 6/21, our son Patrick who lives and works in Portland for ODOT as a transportation engineer, came down to Eugene for a visit. Pat is training for a triathlon with his friend Matt, so he took Amtrak down from Portland with his bicycle on board, and then biked to a friend's house for one night, then over to the lake to go out sailing with us on Saturday. Pat is a serious cyclist and has all the gear! He stayed with us overnight the second night on the convertible dinette/bed and then biked back to the train station on Sunday.

Weather cooperated for sailing with Pat... we had more sunny warm weather and excellent sailing winds all afternoon. Pat has been sailing since his early teens when he first learned to windsurf on the Columbia River and piloted one several little sunfish sailboats we kept at our Columbia Gorge river property.

Friends Martha Kaufeldt and her husband Rick Burros are visiting from California attending a vintage trailer rally in Salem this week. They spent a couple nights at Richardson Park Campground with their 70's era Ken-Craft trailer and we had hoped to take them out sailing but the wind did not cooperate... so we settled for a barbeque at their campsite with ribs and tri tip steaks.

The next day was the day before Independence Day and we celebrated the holiday with an excellent late afternoon sail with winds 8-12 and some 20 other sailboats out sharing the lake with us. Tonite we'll celebrate wc fields style as he was quoted saying, "The only way to celebrate the 4th is to buy a 5th on the 3rd."

The 4th of July came and went... the lake was a busy place... normally sparsely populated lakeside parks were packed with people, as you can see in the photo (left) of the park across from the marina. But the lake itself was still relatively uncrowded. A few more ski boats and jetskis than normal, but not even a fraction of what you'll see on a popular California lake on a normal summer weekend. The wind didn't really kick in until 6pm and by then most of the power boaters were off the water enjoying their BBQ... but we shared the lake with about 20 other sailboats who were all enjoying the mellow late afternoon 7-11 mph breezes. Our Catalina 22 can reach speeds of over 6 mph, in a 7-8mph breeze so we had a pleasant relaxing late day sail before returning to the park for our own holiday dinner.

Another pleasant day in central Oregon with mild temps and clear skies. Not much wind for sailing today, Friday, July 5, so we drove about an hour north to a vintage trailer rally being held at the Powerland Heritage Park in Salem. Our friends, Martha & Rick from Santa Cruz, are up here attending the rally, so we drove up to share their passion for vintage trailers. Their 1970's era Ken-Craft trailer was right at home amongst dozens of Airstreams, Silver Streak, Aristocrat, Spartan and other famous brands from yesteryear. We felt like we were back in the 50's living the movie, The Long, Long Trailer with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. If you haven't seen this hilarious movie, rent it! Ya gotta love Lucy!

Powerland Heritage Park has many interesting displays... one which caught our eye right near our friend's trailer space was this classic Blacksmith Shop, where the smithy was actually forging and crafting steel implements as we watched.

This holiday weekend the wind was good both Saturday and Sunday, coming up late afternoon as usual and steadying off after 6:00pm. We sailed several hours both days, marking our 9th and 10th days sailing since launching the boat June 7. Most 4th of July celebrators were on their way home by Sunday evening and it was nice and quiet out on the lake... mostly other sailboats silently gliding along in the bright sunshine in 8-12mph breezes. I am wearing my nose shade as usual.

Today was another windless cloudy day, so for something different we took a drive down to the Cascades Raptor Center just south of the city of Eugene, a wildlife rescue center, with one of the largest collections of native raptor species in the Pacific Northwest. We visited up close and personal with several Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Hawks, Owls, Falcons and other beautiful birds of prey.

Here's one of a number of Hawks in its own enclosure at the Cascades Raptor Center. Each bird was rescued by the organization due to an accident or other disability which have left them unable to handle life in the wild. Some have been there for 20 years or more. They are well cared for by the center, and each has a large private enclosure in the wild setting.

After our visit to Cascades Raptor Center, we went for a bicycle ride on the Ruth Bascom Trail down along the Willamette River in Eugene. Then after that we stopped for a quick dinner at Burrito Boy, a great little Mexican hole in the wall chain here in Eugene. Libby enjoyed the carnitas street tacos (left) while I had a muy delicoso Burrito Boy shredded beef burrito. Yummmmm!

After a week at home for doctors' appointments and warranty car repairs, we made it back to Eugene on Thursday 7/18 and were back out sailing on Friday. We headed out of the marina with great anticipation as the lake was wall to wall whitecaps. With our jib sail furled in about 3/4 we zipped back and forth across Fern Ridge Reservoir, as you can see by the tracks on our boat's chartplotter left. In very uncrowded conditions with about 7 other sailboats, we had winds mostly in the 12-16 mph range all afternoon, the windiest day of the summer so far out on the lake. More of the same is in store next week according to the forecast! Finally looks like summer sailing season is kicking in!

Today we finished up the temporary installation of a portable air conditioner in our Forester motorhome. The single roof A/C that comes with a 30A motorhome puts out 15000 BTU's and is generally adequate in temps up to about 90 degrees. But above that, they just cannot keep up with the heat generated inside the coach in full sun. After much research we decided to add a Frigidaire 12,000 BTU Smart Portable Air Conditioner. If interested you can look at the detailed full webpage I made which completely explains and describes the installation with lots of pictures and photos. Any questions feel free to send us an email using the link at the bottom of this page.

Today, Sunday, we took the dogs over to nearby Armitage Park for a walk along the lovely Crilly Nature Trail which meanders along the McKenzie River thru this part of Oregon. In the afternoon we went to a BBQ held at Richardson Park Marina for season pass holders like ourselves. Pulled pork, bbq chicken, tasty chili, etc. Very tasty. Unfortunately the wind did not come up this afternoon, so no sailing afterwards.

Monday was a weak wind day again, so we took our bicycles down to the riverside park in downtown Eugene and once again we took a relaxed ride on the Ruth Bascom Trail which meanders along the Willamette River. We enjoyed perfect weather once again. Sunny and warm around 80 degrees.

We stopped off to 'smell the flowers' and took a leisurely stroll through the Owen Rose Garden which is a part of Skinner Butte Park on the bike trail.

The last couple days we have had excellent wind... Yesterday we had 10-15mph winds late afternoon and today even steadier 12-14. Clear skies, warm temps and perfect wind. Doesn't get much better than this! Libby was certainly enjoying herself!

Today was Thursday nite "beer can races" out of the yacht club. A couple dozen sailboats participated making quite a lovely spectacle on the lake as we sailed back and forth on the outskirts of the race course. The winds were excellent so I am sure a good time was had by all!

We were home on the weekend and went to see a marvelous matinee performance of South Pacific by the Clackamas Repertory Company in Portland. We were all set to leave and discovered the Durango would not start. We've been having some trouble with the starter and a couple trips to the dealer have failed to resolve the problem. Fortunately the trusty MGB was running good and the weather was perfect top down weather, so we drove the MG to the theater. I wore a Hawaiian shirt to fit the South Pacific theme of the afternoon. Afterwards we met son Patrick and his ladyfriend Linjia for dinner at a Russian Restaurant in Portland

Keystone Avalanche 382FL

Well I decided a needed a new hobby and some new stuff to post on the blog, so here we have it. We are having this spectacular new 2019 Keystone Avalanche 382FL 5th Wheel coach positioned in a great space at the only lakefront RV Park here in Eugene... Fern Ridge Shores RV Resort. This will become our new summer headquarters in the coming years for sailing Fern Ridge Lake, the best sailing lake in the pacific northwest, bar none. We have been coming here since 2011 and stayed at Fern Ridge Shores for the first time in 2012. But you can no longer stay here short term, you must lease a space by the year so we have done so with this superb new 5th wheel coach, and will spend our summers in the lap of luxury with all the space and amenities we were accustomed to in the Allegro Bus.

Here's a photo of the new Avalanche from the other side with the entry door. It is temporarily parked by the lake in an open lot at Fern Ridge Shores RV Resort until our space #58 is ready and then we'll have it moved over there. At this time we do not own a pickup truck to move this rig. We may get one in the future if we decide we want to take this baby on the road, but for now, it will be at this RV Park full time. We'll use it when we come to the lake instead of staying in our Forester motorhome as we have been doing this summer. Premier RV Resort, where have been this summer, is a nice RV resort, but it is a half hour drive from the lake, meaning we have to drive all the way over any time we really want to know what the wind is doing. No more! Lots more photos on the Avalanche Photo Gallery.

The owner of the Avalanche has also been keeping a pontoon boat on the lake at the Fern Ridge Shores Marina and took us for a ride one day when friends Nora and Kevin Semonsen were visiting and the wind was not cooperating for sailing. Ray is an affable fellow and we are grateful to him for selling us his almost new Avalanche on the wonderful space 58 at Fern Ridge Shores RV Resort.

This is the old Cameo 5th wheel which was sitting in space #58. We purchased the Avalanche from Ray, who had purchased the Cameo as well, specifically because this great space #58 came as part of the deal. You cannot rent a space at Fern Ridge Shores RV Resort any longer, without putting your name on a 3 year waiting list *or* buying an RV already located in the park. Ray never intended to use the old Cameo himself, but had planned to use the new Avalanche in this space... but then for personal reasons, his plans changed and he was willing to move the Cameo out and place the Avalanche on the spot and sell it to us. The shed behind the 12x16 deck also belongs to the site, and the silver trailer next to the Cameo also belonged to Ray and sits on our huge space 58 where we'll be able to park our own toys.

With Ray's help we got the old Cameo 5th Wheel out of Space 58, and positioned the new Avalanche alongside the deck at its new home here at Fern Ridge Shores RV Resort. This is one of the best spaces in the park - very large with space for ALL our toys, a nice 12x16 wood deck, openspace on two sides, and with slice views of the lake in plain view. Eventually I will build myself a raised perch on the deck where I'll have an expansive view of the lake activity and see exactly what the wind is doing. It has long been my fondest dream to be able sit on my own deck by my RV with a cup of coffee and watch the sailing activity on the water. With this move I finally get to realize my dream. And such a beautiful RV to boot!!! See the Avalanche Photo Gallery for lots of great photos.

Just a few hundred yards from our space at Fern Ridge Shores RV Resort is the nice protected marina in the middle of Fern Ridge Lake.

An aerial view from Google Maps showing Fern Ridge Shores RV Resort's protected marina and its relative location a few hundred yards walk (yellow dotted line) from our park space in the RV.

One of the first projects over at Fern Ridge Shores with the new 5th wheel was to hook up a carefully engineered long term sewer hookup. In order to avoid sewer gas coming back up the sewer connection hose into the coach (or out the tank vent on the roof), seasoned RV'ers know to leave the holding tank dump valves closed except when draining the tanks. Of course you ALWAYS leave the black tank closed until it's time to dump once it gets at least 2/3 full, but some folks like to leave the gray tank open but this leaves the path open for sewer gases to enter the coach. So I designed a special sewer connection out of black 3" ABS with a custom made P-trap similar to what you find under the sinks at home so we can leave the gray tank drain open all the time. I have posted a special sewer connection page with photos and full documentation.

We have moved over to our new space at Fern Ridge Shores RV Resort in Veneta, Oregon, and will spend the rest of the sailing season living in our new Keystone Avalanche. We're looking forward to staying right on the lake now and having our sailboat at their marina close at hand. And to make it even better we will be spending only about half as much per month between the RV space and the boat slip! As you can tell from the entrance sign, this is a sailing community!

For decor in the new Avalanche we went out on ebay and found a number of different items including this beautiful stained glass of a sailboat sailing on blue water. We will hang this in the dining area window as a tribute to this sensational sailing lake.

Here's a brief slideshow showing all 6 sailing art items we picked up on ebay to decorate the new 5th wheel and augment our sailing lifestyle.

Here we are back out on the lake on a nice breezy Sunday afternoon with winds 10-15 mph out of the North. Wind looks good all week and now that we are living by the lake we can judge exactly when the best times to head out sailing will be. Check the heel on our Catalina 22 - nice and steady too! Libby looks like she is enjoying herself too!

We brought the Forester motorhome over to Fern Ridge Shores on Saturday to transfer all our living supplies into the new rig, including of course my recliner (the original double recliner which is beautiful but horrible to sit in went into the shed and will be stored in my car trailer when we bring it down next month.) After taking a breather to go sailing for a couple hours early afternoon, we came back and transferred all the stuff over. It is unbelievable how much stuff we packed into the Forester which needed to be moved over. We'll buy duplicates for what we want to take trips with next year, but for now we simply transferred a lot of stuff over. Libby made a humorous short one minute video to give you a look at what was involved.

While Libby was busy inside organizing, I am outside attending to some of the other chores of home ownership. We only have a little strip of personal lawn between us and the neighboring 5th wheel, which we are responsible for. The maintenance shop has two new loaner power mowers for residents to use. And our RV sits on the edge of a greenspace and has no neighbor on the other side so we have a rather large lawn which I have started watering with sprinklers, but the park maintenance crew mows it. Next spring I will treat for weeds, fertilize and overseed, to create a really nice lawn for the dogs.

Here's an aerial view of our space at the RV Park, outlined in yellow. You can see the 12x16 wood deck alongside the coach, and next to it, the narrow strip of grass I need to keep watered and mowed. It also shows our storage shed in the back corner and the large greenspace area behind us and to the side at the bottom of the image, ideal for walking our dogs. The image also shows the scope of our oversized space. This is an aerial view with a former resident in the space, one who also kept lots of toys on the lot. We'll eventually have our new 5th wheel, our Forester motorhome, our car trailer, and our sailboat in the off season, plus room to park our SUV and my MGB.

Late season sailing at Fern Ridge Lake

It is September 1st, Labor Day Weekend 2019. Kids will be going back to school, days are growing shorter and we will be enjoying another month of fall sailing here at Fern Ridge Lake. We have never sailed here in September, so it should be interesting to see how it goes. If this weekend was any indicator, it should be excellent. Yesterday, Saturday we had friends Todd and Lydia drove down from Portland and join us for some excellent afternoon sailing. And today Libby and I went out late afternoon and got in a couple hours of perfect 10mph winds with two dozen other sailboats enjoying the holiday with perfect fall sailing weather.

We were home in Vancouver for several days this week. We had some doctors appointments and also hired some help to empty the car trailer of the left over stuff we had stored there. It will be our fall project and for now it is all in our garage. Then we towed the trailer down to Veneta. We made a stop at the Lazyboy warehouse in Tualatin in the Portland area to pick up my new recliner. Before we headed home we bought a new king-size Lazyboy Astor recliner at the Lazyboy furniture store in Eugene. Good timing as it happened... they were having a big labor day sale and the recliner was discounted $300! I wanted to replace the nice looking but very uncomfortable Thomas Paine theater seats which were the factory option in the new Avalanche... now stored in our multipurpose car trailer.

My new Lazyboy Astor tall boy recliner was available in a nice warm brown which matches the sofas in the Avalanche living room, and it's a wall hugger model so it takes up a lot less room. And we didn't need or want the swivel or rocker options. This unit looks great and is very comfortable and it serves perfectly for watching TV, working on my laptop, and for napping in full recline. We repurposed a very nice 3 drawer side table from home which was used briefly in the Forester beside that lazyboy until we had to replace it with something smaller when we installed the secondary portable Frigidaire A/C. It is an ideal side table to put my laptop and laptray on when it is not in my lap. These changes create a much more workable floorplan for me.

Today, Sept 6, we celebrated Corey's 13th birthday. Sweet lil guy... we have had him more than 8 years now (took him in around age 5 as a rescue) and he is the light of our lives. The light in his little brown eyes is growing dim. He suffers from diabetes and has to have insulin shots twice a day. His liver is a little rough and his cataracts make it hard for him to see much now. But he's still a happy little guy and we sure love him just the same. We hope he can be with us a little while longer. We made him a special dinner and gave him lotsa love.

Well after a whole summer of glorious weather with scarcely a raindrop and sunny skies and good winds, we are finally getting some much needed rain. Everyone always complains about rainy weather in the pacific northwest, but not us and certainly not this year. Weather had been great for sailing but not so good for threats of forest fire and the like, so a few rainy days are welcome. Rain is scheduled for Sun, Mon, Tues and tapering off Weds morning, Sept 11. So we'll take a break from sailing, take care of some projects around the new RV and hopefully get back out on the lake midweek.

Meanwhile to keep us focused on sailing during the rainy spell, we hung the sailing stained glass in the dining area window this morning. To the right of it, between the top of trailer behind us and the distant shore with the mountain, that is a slice of the lake, and on a clear sunny day you would see sailboats on the water in that sliver of the lake... right from the kitchen!

Saddest day... Corey was in full renal failure. There was just nothing more to be done for our sweet little boy. This is so hard to write. We came home to Vancouver so he could see his own doctor for all these years, rather than an unfamiliar one in Eugene. She said the most humane thing to do was put him down and so, Libby and I took Taffy, went to the vet at 5:00 and held him and gave him kisses as he slipped away. We did the same for our little female Westie Gracie when she crossed the rainbow bridge a few years ago at age 16. With his diabetes, poor little Corey just couldn't make it that long. Farewell, our fine furry friend. Sleep well! We'll love you always.

To our little guy:

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

We love you, little guy. You'll be in our hearts forever.

Here we are in mid September, enjoying an excellent late afternoon sailing session on the lake. The wind is not up every day as we move into fall. But being here at the lake now, we can take advantage of a late afternoon sail when it gets good. We needed a break to air out our minds and distract from the loss of our little pal. He used to love to go sailing. Here's Corey sailing is in happier days.

We have not yet broken in Taffy to the sport of sailing. At 20 months, and new to us, she's still a bit skittish and scares easily. We'll probably wait until next season to take her out sailing with us. Here she is on the sofa in the new 5th wheel kind of in mourning for the loss of her big brother.

Spent the last couple days making some improvements to our little deck by the coach. The railing across the front, with a little gate will make it secure for the dog and our next step will be to enclose the back area behind the deck with a small metal fence so Taffy can be outside without direct supervision. The photo shows the deck, the fifth wheel and beside it, my 20' car trailer which is serving as a storage garage, plus the Forester motorhome. By end of the month we'll have to pull the sailboat out for winter and there's plenty of room to park it on the space as well, and still have plenty of car parking space,

Our youngest son Patrick who lives in Portland came back down for another visit and brought his lovely girlfriend Linjia. Linjia is from Shanghai and lives in Portland with Patrick and works as an electrical engineer at Intel. Not only beautiful but smart too! It was on the first day of autumn, and the winds cooperated. Linjia picked up sailing quickly... first time handling the tiller and she was able to tack back and forth and even made a gybe or two. Patrick came down last month to go sailing with us. He has been sailing since his early teens and was happy to help Linjia learn some of the finer points. After sailing we barbequed chicken back at the RV Park, along with fresh corn, zuchini and other vegies from the local farm stand.

Next night we succumbed to a TV Commercial for Red Lobster Seafood Restaurant advertising all you can eat Shrimp for 15.99. We are not talking deep fried small tasteless frozen shrimp that are 75% fried batter. You have your choice of four delicious shrimp dishes... Shrimp Alfredo, Shrimp Scampi, Teryaki Shrimp and lightly breaded fried Shrimp Sirocha... all delicious and as many refills as you want. Libby stuck with a chicken dish but I ate two Scampi, 2 Teryaki, 2 fried and one alfredo. 50 shrimp in total not including the alfredo dish. The rest all had the little tailfeathers which I removed and arranged artistically on a plate for this photo. I think I got my money's worth!

Here's Libby and Taffy sitting outside enjoying a pleasant late fall afternoon on our deck. With the new gate closed, this helps keep Taffy contained, and when we complete the little metal fence around our little back yard she will be fully and safely contained. Unlike Premier RV Park where we spent all summer, Fern Ridge Shores is nice and quiet and it's a pleasure to sit outside and enjoy the lovely fall weather. No wind this afternoon, so no sailing, but very pleasant to take a walk down by the still lake with the dog and and enjoy the peace and quiet.

We completed work on the small fenced yard for the dog. We purchased powder coated steel "no dig fencing" from Lowes. We anchored it with the included anchors plus a number of 4' posts for reinforcement. Then attached it to points on the shed and the deck. Using black plastic zipties, we attached 8" plastic gutter screen at the bottom to contain the 2 yards of cedar wood chips we spread around the yard about 4-6" deep. All in all, a very cost effective, attractive and secure yard enclosure for little Taffy.

This is a look back from the little fenced yard across the deck to the front of the rig

As I described earlier, I had a handyman out to help me construct additional matching railing across the front of the deck and back along the inside to enclose the area below the raised part of the 5th Wheel front end. A gate with a latch and railings down the steps completed the project.

Here's a beautiful late afternoon on the lake at sunset... one of the final days of sailing for the year. We had excellent 11-15 mph winds as we sailed from 2-5pm. This will be our final sailing day of the season, our 25th day of sailing for the season. Since Fern Ridge Lake is managed for winter rainy season flood control by the US Army Corps of Engineers, they will begin draining it on October 1st. We'll be pulling the boat out that same day, and we will store it for the winter on its trailer next to the Avalanche.

Took Taffy to the vet and as part of her checkup she had to read the eye-chart. Cute stuff!

Today October 1, was a clear cool and calm wind day. It is also the day the USACE begins drawing down lake levels 4" a day. Since there was no chance of sailing today and weather changing to rain later this week, we decided to take advantage of the nice day and pull The Anne Marie out of the water. Richardson Marina has very nice boat ramps.

Besides excellent public boat ramps, Richardson Marina also has a nice hoist in the parking lot, free to use to raise or lower your mast. That makes it much easier than using our usual pulley system. A couple hours after pulling the boat up the ramp we had the sails removed and folded up, the mast lowered and everything secured for transporting it on the road back to our RV Park where it will be stored for the winter.

Here's the sailboat all cleaned up and parked in our oversize RV Space at Fern Ridge Shores. For the winter, we will put on the full boat cover that came with the boat when we bought it back in 2010. Then we will store it here for the winter, looking forward to next spring and the 2020 sailing season.

MG Club Rally - Mt St Helens

We drove back to Vancouver to bring the Forester Motorhome back to covered storage near our home for the winter. We have a couple doctor appointments and then Libby is headed to San Francisco for 5 days next weekend. This weekend we had perfect weather for a backroads tour with our local MG Club. We started out at Keith Ansel's shop in Brush Prairie, WA.

We took a 90 mile tour of some marvelous backroads in the southwestern part of Washington State with the Columbia Gorge MG Club. We drove around the environs of Mt St Helens and stopped at a spectacular viewpoint. That's the infamous Volcano that blew its top almost 40 years ago in 1980. That's Libby sitting in our white MGB.

We had about 30 cars participating. Here are a bunch of us all lined up in the McClellan Viewpoint- for a great view of Mt St Helens. Driving some nice twisty roads another 40 miles, around 5 pm, we all wound up at Backroads Brewery in Carson WA for some delicious pizza and beer before cruising the 50 miles back home on Hwy 14.

Back at the Lake

We are back in Veneta for our final visit for the season. We are getting a real treat with the weather which is typically much more likely to be rainy by now. As noted above the boat is out of the water now, but we have lots of other fun things to do in the area to enjoy the nice weather. We'll stay until it turns rainy again, and then we'll winterize the coach, pull in the slides and leave it sit until spring. We have a 2200 mile trip to San Francisco and L.A. planned for 3 1/2 weeks in November, going via Seven Feathers Casino OR, Brookings OR, Crescent City CA, Eureka CA, and Mendocino CA. After a stop in San Francisco, we'll head to L.A. for Thanksgiving and then return home for the holidays.

Today, October 31, we finished the season wrapup... we emptied the fridge, set up anti-freezing heaters/dryer blowout, winterized the water system, disconnected all hoses, and pulled in the slides, locked the doors and said our goodbyes to Fernridge Shores and headed back to Vancouver. We plan to stop thru here or make an occasional day trip down between now and spring when we plan to return for next year's sailing season.

Traveling the Oregon Coast and El Camino Real to San Francisco

On November 8 we took off in the Forester on a short trip down the Oregon coast to California. Perfect weather is in store as we stop at Brookings and Crescent City, then on to visit friends in Eureka and Mendocino before we head on to San Francisco on November 15. Our oldest son Tim and his wife Kristin live and work in San Francisco. It's been some time since we visited the Windy City, so it should be a scenic trip down the coast with some really fun stops at the Golden Gate, the Wharf, Chinatown, etc. We are on no particular schedule to return home, so we'll play it by ear and probably get back home some time after the middle of the month and before Thanksgiving.

On our way down the Oregon Coast to California, we passed thru Bandon Beach. Since it was lunch time, we googled a city park where we figured we could park and have lunch in the motorhome, and by luck we spotted Coquille Point. A spectacular viewpoint with nice easy paved walking paths out to the edges of various cliffs with varied views. It was a nice relatively mild fall day at the coast, but Libby was wrapped in her parka. Taffy enjoyed herself immensely.

Here's Taffy and me with a slightly different view of the same rocks at Coquille Point - visible is a big hole in the rocks which obviously gets ocean waves dramatically crashing through it when the tide is higher and surf is up.

Coquille Point and Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is home to more than a dozen different sea birds including the beloved Puffin. Libby is standing by a unique statue of the Puffin bird. The artist was very creative using hundreds of small bits of beach debris and screwed on to simulate the Puffin feathers.

Coquille Point and Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is home to more than a dozen different sea birds as explained in this display board at the site

This display board provides some information on "Cosmo" the tufted puffin, probably the most beloved of all seabirds. The tufted puffin, also known as crested puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of three species of puffin that make up the genus Fratercula and is easily recognizable by its thick red bill and yellow tufts.

Here's Libby and Taffy sitting on a bench gazing out at another impressive rock outcropping at Coquille Point.

No shortage of spectacular rock outcroppings along this stretch of Hwy 101 along the southern Oregon Coast before crossing over into northern California enroute to Crescent City.

We spent the night in Crescent City and woke up next morning to a beautiful clear fall day. We drove out to Battery Point to view the photogenic Battery Point Lighthouse. It was one of the first lighthouses on the California coast and is registered as a California Historical Landmark. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Crescent City Lighthouse". You can actually walk out to it and there's a small museum there, but we had Taffy with us and just settled for some good photos of this historic spot.

We meandered along Pebble Beach Drive right at the ocean as far as Point St George, stopping for some spectacular photos like this one. Not too shabby for an iphone 6 camera!

A little further along Pebble Beach Drive where it winds right down to the beach, we parked and took Taffy for a walk on the beach so she could chase seagulls and visit with other dogs. The weather was just gorgeous in the mid 50's with a warm afternoon sun and only a light shore breeze.

Libby and Taffy climbed up on one of the small barnacle covered rocks along the beach to pose for this shot.

Crescent City is justifiably proud of its shoreline and its lighthouses... we spotted these beautiful mural on a building near the beach.

We left the gorgeous coastline mid afternoon and took the historic drive on Howland Hill Road through a lush rainforest called the Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Named after the first white man to explore the interior of northern California, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park protects more than 10,000 acres of old growth redwood forest. The Stout Grove is a large parcel donated to 'Save the Redwoods League' by the family of lumberman Frank Stout. The tallest tree in Stout Grove is known as 'Jedediah Smith', and is 342 feet in height.

Here's a shot inside the Stout Grove of Libby and Taffy by a massive old redwood tree, which has lived there since long before Columbus discovered America! (Those are my car headlights shining on the bottom of the tree.)

Enroute to our next stop on the northern California coast, we passed a local landmark, "Trees of Mystery". We're parked here in front the huge statue of Paul Bunyan. This is of particular interest to me, because in my childhood, when people would ask me that I wanted to be when I grew up, I would often respond "a lumberjack." I had read the legend of Paul Bunyan when I was a child and he remained a hero of mine for many years to come.

Our next stop was in Eureka to pay a brief visit to an old actor friend of mine, Gary Rooney, who has lived in Eureka for the past 20 years. He lives there with his wife Kate and raised his son Logan there. He has several small business enterprises there and is also a high level karata instructor. Pictured at the left is my friend Gary with his son Logan who is now attending St Martin's University.

After we left Eureka, we continued south and followed our GPS taking the scenic route on Avenue of the Giants.

The Avenue of the Giants meanders some 40 miles through a HUGE grove of giant redwood trees in Humboldt County, CA in what is known as the Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

The Avenue of the Giants runs about 40 miles parallel to the main route 101 through this magnificent old growth forest. It is an easy, pleasant, uncrowded and picturesque scenic drive which should not be missed if passing this way. We stopped for a couple kodak moments like the one at the left. These huge trees are several hundred feet tall and have been here for many centuries.

Occasionally when these mammoth trees pose a hazard to visitors, they are cut down and left to lie on the forest floor as a refuge for a variety of forest flora and fauna. Here I am standing next to the cut trunk of a moderate sized one which is larger in diameter than I am tall!

We pulled into the charming coastal town of Mendocino early afternoon on Wednesday. We're visiting a friend of Libby's, Melissa, who lives here. She has a large lot and we're able to pull the RV into her long driveway and connect to house 110v power there, enough to run the RV, the coffee pot and lights or whatever. For microwave use at the same time as other appliances, we fire up the generator.

Melissa and her friend Carole gave us a quick tour of Mendocino on Thursday... here they are at a picturesque point along the ocean.

Here is Melissa, Libby and I standing in the same spot, close up, standing in front of some coastal cypress.

On Friday 11/16 we drove on down to San Francisco. We took US1 south from Mendocino and took really the only route over to US101... California highway 128, a tortuous 45 miles or so through the coastal mountains. Not dangerous or scaryt, but very tiring. We arrived at Candlestick RV Park. It is a cramped inner city RV Park, but not too crowded this time of year... and the closest place for us to stay in our coach for visiting son Tim and his wife in San Francisco. The RV Park is adjacent to Candlestick Park stadium, formerly the home of Baseball's San Francisco Giants. But it is now an abandoned wreck of an area with the streets lined with "Zombie" RV's where some of the city's homeless population live in squalor. Not a place we would ever stay again.

The streets around Candlestick Park are literally lined with Zombie RV's tucked on wherever they can manage. And the sidewalks are filled with garbage. This stands in stark contrast to the modest middle class streets just a few miles away where Tim & Kristin live paying a gobsmacking $4300/month in rent. Sad commentary on the city management.

We spent the afternoon on Saturday with Tim & Kristin at their apartment in the Presidio area. We talked about the baby due in March, their jobs, and politics. We joined them again on Sunday for brunch, and more visiting time

Back at the RV Monday morning, Taffy gazes longingly out the window, wondering where her yard and squirrels are.

On Monday we took a drive up to Golden Gate Park for a picnic lunch. Golden Gate Park is a true gem. Streching several miles to the Pacific Ocean, it includes more than 1000 acres of green lawns, trees, lakes, sports complexes, gardens, museums and a lot more.

Here I am standing near the Old Dutch Windmill at the far west end of Golden Gate Park. In 1964, the San Francisco Citizens Commission for the Restoration of the Golden Gate Park Windmills was formed and led by Eleanor Rossi Crabtree, daughter of former San Francisco mayor Angelo Rossi. The windmill was restored in 1981. The windmill is adjacent to the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden.

From the windmill we walked over to the beach along the Pacific Ocean just north of Golden Gate Park. In the distance is the landmark Cliff House Restaurant where you can dine in casual elegance and watch the waves crash on the big rocks in the ocean below. We settled for this photo.

After leaving Morgan Hill we headed down to a familiar haunt, Santa Barbara, a Southern California beach town just north of L.A., to visit my dear old friend Don Tondro and his charming wife Sally. Don and I have been friends since 1970 when I was in the US Navy stationed in Key West Florida. We usually try to stop into Santa Barbara whenever we visit Southern California.

We all went to Chili's restaurant for a delicious meal of their famous mushroom jack fajitas. We celebrated with Henessey Maragaritas, Chili's monthly sensational special, made with Lunazul Blanco Tequila, made with 100% blue agave tequila produced by the Tierra de Agaves company, and with Henessey Cognac and fresh sour.

Yesterday 12/4, we left Napa California after a nice relaxed visit with Libby's cousins. We left early and made tracks up I-5 managing to cover the 350 miles in daylight hours, going up and over Siskiyou Summit back into Oregon in the mid afternoon. We pulled into Medford Gold Hill KOA in Central Point near Medford in the twilight. It's a nice KOA and we were comfortable and slept in a bit this morning before waking and driving an hour to the legendary Heaven On Earth Restaurant & Bakery in Azalea, OR right along I-5. If you haven't had one of their massive heavenly cinnamon rolls, put it on your bucket list! The only ones we have had to compare are the ones from Cousin's Restaurant in The Dalles and Jake's Diner in Bend, OR with their enormous gooey monster

We drove back to the lake in Veneta to look in on our other RV, the Avalanche 5th wheel which is all buttoned up for the winter. We spent the night there and decided to head on back home to Vancouver before the Friday afternoon traffic builds. We'll empty the rig, winterize it again and park in our covered storage spot for the next few months thru the holidays until spring.

We arrived home, emptied the rig, winterized it and washed it and rinsed it using my deionizer for a spot free rinse. We are ready to settle in for the holidays! Merry Christmas gentle readers... we'll resume blogging in the spring.

This is our Christmas card sent via email to friends and family this year. This is Libby and me at home - all we need is a pitchfork and we could be a new Norman Rockwell painting! We're standing in front of my favorite Christmas decoration, an original oil of Santa Claus, purchased in L.A. back in the 80's. I don't believe there is another quite like it anywhere in the world! Merry Christmas to one and all... and a very happy new year!