Smith River Weekend

This trip has been filled with wonderful family visits and reconnecting with old friends. We left Crescent City Friday afternoon and drove the 20 miles north to visit Lynn and Les Odom, friends from Shell Beach that we haven't seen in 10 years. The fog had cleared by the time we got there so we had a wonderful chance to see their new home in Smith River right along the coast. Absolutely stunning moorish architecture! Les is a master with tile, which is how he and Paul first met. He has really worked his magic on the walls and floors and columns of this new house.

After catching up on our new lives we had a tasty lasagna dinner with a fantastic ocean view. Saturday we took a ride up into Oregon to visit Gold Beach and do a little shopping at a huge Hospice resale store...Paul picked out a little Halloween decor for the MH. From there we stopped at a beautiful overlook at Natural Bridges Cove. So amazing to see the power of water which has carved both a natural bridge and an opening in the huge rock.

I did get a photo of Paul with Les and Lynn along the path.

Once we got back to the house we put on walking shoes and headed to the beach.

The sun was still showing slightly through the fog.

After the long walk on the beach we changed and went to dinner at a darling cafe:  The Art Grill Gallery
Wonderful dinner and lovely surroundings. A fun evening.

Sunday morning we were up early, leashed Foster and headed right back down to the beach for an early morning walk.





Wow...even prettier than the night before and the tide was out much further so we saw even more rock formations, large piles of drift wood and so many sea creatures.

After another wonderful breakfast at the Odom Kitchen Cafe we said good bye, loaded us up again and headed east to Medford. By accident we took an alternate route, Hwy 197 that was so beautiful and got us over to Hwy 199 very easily. Then we were following the Rogue River with fantastic scenery all the way to Grants Pass.The drive was windy and narrow but so beautiful and it only took us two and a half hours to

get all the way to Medford.

We had decided to try to stay as close to Medford as we could so we chose the Medford Elk's RV Park.  What a perfect place!!! It is about 7 miles outside of Medford near White City.  It was the Elk's Picnic Grounds and they've added the 10 RV parking spots.  Well, lucky for us...no one else is here! There is a care taker, Merle, who has lived out here for 30 years and is a sweetie pie. There is a river nearby but mostly all we hear are crickets at night and the cows mooing in the morning.  I never had any idea my new Elk's membership would be so fantastic!!! For $15 a night we have power, water and beautiful scenery all the while being only 15 minutes away from my Mom.

Once we got set up we headed into Medford to meet my brother Harry and his wife, Mary, for dinner.  Another fun night...they suggested "Shoji", a Japanese Tapenyaki Restaurant.  So fun!!! All the food was prepared with style right in front of us and was delicious!

We've been spending the last few days visiting my Mom and getting to see a little bit more of Medford.  We saw a play yesterday afternoon in Ashland's Shakespeare Theater, always a treat! Mom's doing well and we loved being here. Can't believe she'll be celebrating her 89th birthday in November!

Morning along the Klamath River

It's early Thursday morning and a great time to do a little blogging. Our mornings have fallen into a pattern not much different from when we were home.  Paul gets up early, makes the coffee, takes Fossie out for a walk while I get the pillows all in a corner of our bedroom ready for my morning coffee.  Then PK sits in his driver's seat (turned in towards the living room).  I get the big laptop, he uses the iPad and we are set for an hour or so…as long as we have internet.  Guess what happens here at some campsites is they get a certain amount of service, so many GB, and it is shared throughout the park so if too many people are using at the same time, the service is much weaker.

Today we'll go south a little ways south to the Elk Reserve and then along the coast for  a walk.  It's been nice to have the cooler weather, we can leave Foster here in the MH while we go out, dogs can't go on trails. We did take a wonderful loop walk along a lagoon and out to the sea

By mid afternoon it was so warm and beautiful. I wanted to go further but Paul doesn't have good walking shoes and sandals aren't the best for hiking so we did a shorter version, but so pretty.

          

Yesterday we made the stupid mistake of actually stopping at the Trees of Mystery…tourist trap! We have passed this place for years and never stopped but we had nothing pressing us this time, so in we went. With senior discount it was only $10 so we figured not too bad, we'd give it a try.  Well, after being in gorgeous forests these last weeks, this left a little to be desired.  Basically they named unusual shaped trees…the candelabra tree, the elephant tree, the cathedral tree, the family tree etc. Guess most of the folks going through must not ever take a real walk in the real woods cuz they thought it was pretty amazing…go figure.  Talking speakers along the way, so hokey. But the entrance price included the gondola ride to the top of a peak so we were seeing the trees from the top down rather than looking up.

From there we could see from the ocean to the farthest peaks and with binoculars we saw and osprey atop a tree snag in the distance. You could see where logging had taken out this area 60 years ago and has been reforested.  Another part of the place that we really enjoyed was the Indian Museum with a very large collection of indian baskets, clothing, pottery from all parts of the country, so interesting to see such a extensive collection from all different tribes.  That was free…we should have just spent more time in it rather than the tree thing. So, all in all, not so bad and another reminder that if it looks like a tourist trap it most likely is exactly that!

From there we went on up to Crescent City for groceries, cell service and internet…OMG…even after just 10 days with limited service, to be in a Starbuck's with full speed internet was so addicting.  We sat for 2 hours playing on the computers while Paul drank a small cappuccino. On the way back we saw cars stopped not the roadway which means only one thing up here…ELK SIGHTING!

This time the herd was all around the yard of a beautiful private home set in a meadow. They are beautiful animals to watch, and I am kinda partial to them now, so we watched for a few minutes and drove on.   When we got back home again, made our 2nd berry pie, warmed up some leftovers and had our campfire.

We wanted to watch a Modern Family episode but not enough service to run it on the computer, so shut everything off and went to bed. We are in such a secluded area when we turn off the lights it's totally dark other than the stars peeking through the branches. We'll miss this wonderfully private campsite when we move north tomorrow...but guess there are so many out there yet to be discovered.

A Walk in the Rhododendrons, well, kind of...

Well...what a hiking day we had! Sunny skies were all around us as we woke this morning, a surprise for this part of the coast.  The manager at the park here said they'd had fog for a week straight, so sun was fun to see!

We did our usual slow start to the morning  but before leaving for a day trip along the coast we wanted to check out the very cool chicken coop near us.  Isn't this the best?  Guess if PK designed one for us we could pull it along behind us and have our own fresh eggs every day. Too fun!

From our campground we went toward the overlook of Klamath River.

Then up a very narrow gravel road to see some great sights. Our first stop was what the park host had called "The Farm that Wasn't", a very real looking cinderblock farm house with shingled roof and gabled windows that actually housed a radar and gun location during WWII.  When we walked down the path we could see that it was under renovation with new wood shingled roof.


 We drove further hugging the cliff, kinda like driving Highway 1 except on gravel not paved road. The views were spectacular and the air crisp. Too funny that we actually had a little bit of cell power along this stretch, so we call Burt and Diane to see how they're doing with their move.




A little further down the road we came to another turn in the road for The Bluff Overlook with more gorgeous views down the coast, very rough and rocky.

Back to the main highway we had this look across the Klamath River, set with 2 large bears on each side.  This is the place where a bridge once spanned the wide river until the floods here in Dec. 1964.  The power of the redwood trees surging down the river was too much pressure for the bridge to withstand and so it collapsed and was washed away as was the town of Klamath. Today it was peaceful and very calm, hard to picture a raging torrent that had once hit here.

Our road trip took us further south to the scenic alternate route on the Prairie Creek Parkway.  A slow, forested ride, again with very little traffic.  Beautiful! We picked a spot for our lunch under a grove of trees, then once refreshed, stopped for a hike in the redwoods.  The trail we chose was called the Rhododendron Trail, of course! I knew it was out of season for the flowers to be seen but still wanted to see the plants. Well, after a 3 hour hike through some of the most beautiful undisturbed forests we have ever seen, there  very few rhodies but so many incredible trees.  The hike was an uphill of switchbacks for a mile then over and under several fallen giants before heading back in a slow 2 mile route.

We met 3 groups of similar hikers along the way.  One a family from Portland who were traveling with their 2 sons and gave us tips for routes in the Cascades of Oregon not to miss.  Next we came upon a single hiker thinking he was on a hike that would lead to the beach, NOT! He decided to go back the way he had come so he would find where he had left his car.  And lastly a very sweet young couple from SF who shared their salmon jerky with us as we visited.

As we walked, it was fun to actually see the delicate white flower of the Redwood Sorrel (which I had always thought was some kind of clover).

And...3 Banana Slugs!!!! A first for me! (other than the band called The Banana Slugs from Santa Cruz that used to come and perform for the kids at school. )

After the hike we  continued further down to the Information Center at Prairie Creek where you are able to view the Elk herd, if they are there...but not for us.

By now it was 5:00 and we were looking for a grocery store, the nearest one being 8  mi south to the little town of Orick. Well, that turned out to be a great plan!!!! As we came around one corner tons of cars were pulled to the side because a herd of 30-40  Elk were crossing the road.


We pulled into a nearby parking area and the herd came right in front of us!!!! Several large antlered males, the rest much younger. So incredible, we just sat there and watched them nibble on the grasses.

So, onto Orick we went, got our groceries and turned back north.  There was a turn off to visit the Lady Bird Johnson Grove of redwoods and we couldn't pass that up, so turn we did! The grove was dedicated to her in 1969 for her continued support for preservation of our natural resources.  The walk was only a mile long and so beautiful once again with an interpretive guide book provided. So glad we stopped because we saw enormous rhododendrons all along the trail! Some probably 10 feet tall. They must be amazing to see in bloom! We were surprised that when we left at 6:30 the weather was still warm and others were still walking the trail,  though the fog was circling. On our walk we saw this beautiful snail. I know I usually don't call snails beautiful but this one was so large and colorful.

Finally got back to our campsite and Foster about 7:00. What a wonderful day...for a walk in the woods!

From the Humboldt Redwoods to the Klamath River

Monday night by the camp fire!!! Not singing songs tonight just relaxing and writing this Blog.  We are here along the Klamath River in a perfect campsite at Kamp Klamath RV Park, another great find using our Passport America 50% discount. I asked for the prettiest site that also has wifi and here we are...surrounded by trees, and totally private with a huge area around us. We only drove 125 miles today but it seemed to take us most of the day, as we do go slowly.  This is an area we've only passed through on travels before but this time we want to stay a few days and see some of the coast and sights along here. We were lucky to have blue skies when we got here and slowly the fog has come back in. But  we've noticed there are NO mosquitoes here!!! YES!

But, back to the weekend first.  We decided to take a walk in the Founder's Grove last Saturday morning. We came across one redwood that had fallen in March 1999, the Dyerville Giant. A park neighbor who lives a mile away, reported hearing a large crash and thought it was a train wreck.  A tree 50 feet away had mud splattered 15 feet up its trunk from the impact of the Giant hitting the ground! Before it fell it was 362 feet tall, 2 feet taller than Niagara Falls and probably weighed over 1,000,000 pounds! it is amazing to stand near the exposed roots and try to understand the size of these amazing trees.

 The walk through the grove was beautiful.

 From there our plan was to hike the trail at the Roosevelt Grove with some of the largest remaining redwoods,  but as we drove out that way the day was so warm and lovely with the top down on the car we changed the plan and decided to take the "Scenic Route" I had read about in one of my travel guides.  According to the guide the drive is about 65 miles long and would take only 2 hours. Along the way we would come to a small dwelling called Honeydew...sounded like a perfect little drive. Well, after 4 hours of the twistiest up and down hill roads we've ever been on

we finally saw the welcomed sight of civilization once again in the little town of Ferndale with its charming Victorian architecture.

The road is also called The Wildcat Ridge by locals and they sure know how to drive it!!! They would pass us in their huge pick up trucks like we were standing still and down the continuing curves they'd go! Every time I thought we'd gotten to the top of the last hill, down we would go with another bigger climb ahead of us. We both began to watch the gas gage as we climbed higher and higher with nothing in view but trees. 

But along the way we saw such beautiful country side, passing the little town of Petrolia where the state's first commercial oil wells drilled in 1865. On through orchards, redwood groves, the Lost Coast of  Humboldt and even Cape Mendocino, site of many shipwrecks and one of the continent's most active earthquake zones. We drove for 5 miles beside this windy beach that rose 4 feet during the April 1992 earthquake, giving the appearance of perpetual low tide.

So glad we did the drive but it is definitely a one time trip for me. I added our notes and date in the guide book and then turned the page. And...very glad we never contemplated doing that scenic drive in the motorhome!!!! Another RV learning lesson...scenic drives in car only! We took in a Ranger Campfire Sat evening, which always makes summer camping fun.  The one camper who had traveled the farthest was from Hannover, Germany...how about that, Friederike! And when we saw him the next morning he was traveling the coast on bicycle.

Sunday we took it easier and decided to stay out of the car if we could.  So instead we rode the bikes up the Avenue of the Giants, something I've always wanted to do.  There is so little traffic on the road making easy for us novice bike riders to enjoy it. We stopped and picked a basket full of berries again for pie #2!

That afternoon we hauled the kayaks down to the river for another couple of hours. (Actually, Paul carried the two large bags that hold the kayaks, I only carried the 2 chairs.)  The kayaks are inflatable and really quite easy to put together once we got to the river, just pump up with a hand pump and they're all ready to go, once in the water they are strong and very sturdy. Everything is stored in a carrying bag and it all folds down to such a small size. The best part is that both the bags fit in the truck of the car. I think I'm getting the hang of kayaking...Paul's so patient with my limited skills. He'd love to be riding down some rapids somewhere rather than paddling around in calm ponds of water.

Since I couldn't get my photos to load last night it's now sunny Tuesday morning. How nice to wake up to clear skies. We're planning on a drive down the road to view the Elk , the largest herd in the world I was told. A must do for me as I am now an Elk myself!!! 

We’re back at the Benbow Inn for anther evening of jazz (and a little internet use).We’re heading further north tomorrow so thought we’d take advantage of the music.

First off, I think we’ve got the Comment Section working on the Blog...AT LAST!!!  We’d love to keep in touch with you, so drop a note (or email or FB, I’ll be checkin in on all of them as we go along).  It’s at the bottom of the blog itself where it says  “0 comments”.  Click on it and you’ll be the first to leave a message. Thanks, Marcy, my personal computer guru!

Friday we made the big 30 mile drive north from Richardson’s Grove up to the Avenue of the Giants and Burlington Campground in Humboldt Redwood State Park. Since it was such a short distance I drove the SAAB instead of putting it on the trailer.  But before we left we picked so many sweet, ripe boysenberries from the bushes right across from our campsite. That was pretty wonderful. Gobbled up lots but saved some for later.

Had to also take a look at the “One Log House” and the “World Famous 

Grandfather Tree”.  Others along the way include The Living Chimney Tree and The Drive Thru Tree. 

Staying here at the Burlington Campground is such a childhood memory, having camped here with us 10 Fuhrmans about 50 years ago...a little Shasta Trailer for Mom and Dad, Emmy and me; I think the boys all slept outside in a tent. Cant imagine what people must have thought when we’d pull into a campsite with that many people all in one car pulling a tiny trailer. But the Ranger walks, campfires, huge wooded campsites...they’re still the same here all these years later. 

Our site, #18, is enormous and surrounded by redwoods and ferns. Even though the road goes right in front of us you’d never know it, there are so few cars traveling this stretch of road. 

 Spent some time in the Visitor Center once we were settled into our site to get suggestions for hikes in this part of the forest. It’s not quite as hot up here, there’s so much shade from all the towering trees so everything stays cooler. Nice

One of the things I’m learning that I love about life in a motorhome is that I have a good size refrigerator and I CAN STILL BAKE A PIE!!! I took the berries Paul had collected on Friday morning and made us a yummy boysenberry pie. Oh, so good, and used a ready made crust so it was all so easy.

 I think you got me started on that, Mary, when we were with you last week.  We are now picking berries every time we see some bushes with little black berries hanging within reach.  And CT...Paul's got the cutest little BBQ and he's taken hints from you using the briquettes, and having fun at it.  He tries to see how few he can use and still have a strong enough fire to cook our meat. Too funny.

My first outing in our kayaks on Thursday afternoon.  So much fun!

I forgot to mention that we put of the kayaks in the river last Thursday afternoon for the first time!  The water was so warm and so very, very shallow, but we still had fun. (Actually, the water level was perfect for me as I am NOT a water baby.) But I did wear my color coordinated outfit for this inaugural event!

Paul loves how easy the kayaks inflate, and they’re so light weight yet sturdy.  We can get both of them in the trunk, put the bikes on the rack, Foster in the back seat and off we go!  

That catches us up for a few days...cant wait to write all about our weekend..it was a doozie, but that will have to wait till I have the time and the connection more easily than this. Hope all is well in your part of the world.

Going out on the deck to listen to another terrific jazz quintet.  Good Night!

More Trees than Cars!

I'm writing tonight with the help of internet service at The Benbow Inn in Garberville.  We've been out of cell and wifi service since Tuesday, but came here tonight for a jazz concert and also found we could connect to the internet. YES!!! We had stayed here several years ago and it's fun to be back, feels like a very comfortable home. A great place to stay if you're up this way and NOT camping like we are.  :)

Well, last time I wrote we were on our way to dinner at my cousin MJ's home in Potter Valley. What an amazing evening... surrounded by their vineyards and the new construction of their winery. A fantastic lamb dinner with neighbors, laughs, lots of tasty Naughty Boy wines and just fun catching up. Thank you, MJ and Jim!!! Congrats on your new endeavors!

Nothing better than a warm evening outside.

Here's a preview of the new Naughty Boy Winery of Potter Valley. We loved the lovely purple interior color.  Jim's crew worked until 7 that night trenching a ditch but it looks fantastic already! Looks like it will be ready soon.

We left Ukiah the next morning about noon...it still takes us lots of time to pack up and get us ready to go. Stopped by the cemetery on our way out to visit the gravesites of Paul's Mom, Helen, and his grandparents. Then we were on our way to the Redwoods passing through the little town of Willits and it's welcoming sign: 

Gateway to the Redwoods

 Guess we were headed in the right direction!

The little yellow motor home did well considering we were traveling in the heat of the day and had quite a few hills to climb, another RV learning experience for us...get on the road early, not in the middle of the day!  But it was only an 80 mile drive to Richardson's Grove, our destination for the next few days. And, our first State Park camping on this trip, which means BEAUTY, not just a place to park us!!!  The most amazing thing was the park was practically EMPTY!! Not at all what we had expected. I guess with all the schools starting up so much earlier (right, girlfriends?) vacations are over for summer. How nice for us  cuz we had an absolutely gorgeous site, Huckleberry #28.  A big pull through, our first, and no neighbors...nothing to see but trees, trees and more trees!

We rode our bikes, checked out the rest of the park and did a couple of small hikes to view these amazing redwood wonders. Wednesday was still very warm so time to head to the river to cool off. Now that we're in the parks I love to cook outside, but we both were getting eaten by mosquitoes!!! Yuck!!! Nothing seemed to help...I used OFF spray, put on my "Buzz Off" clothing that's treated to repel these nasty bugs, but somehow they were immune to it all. Sure could use any advice about how to keep these things from biting!!!

Yes...I did have to pick up a beautiful flower for the table while we were in Ukiah.  Couldn't resist the yellow mums. I keep a red geranium in the shower when we travel and this one goes in the sink, but I have tons more space to pick up a few more along the way.  Cant wait to see how my traveling flower garden will turn out.

Today we decided to take advantage of our Passport America Club and move to a private RV park just down the road.  We get it at 50% of the price of the state park plus it has full hooks ups.  One night here and tomorrow we move on to the Avenue of the Giants and another park along the way. After dinner tonight I was reading a local paper and saw that there was a Jazz Fest starting tonight at the Benbow Inn, so we jumped in the car and came up for a lovely evening here outside on the deck.  What fun!

So, now it's time to say good night and head back to our little RV in the woods, thanks again, Benbow Inn. I know there's still a problem with writing comments on our blog...hopefully I can figure it out.  its got me stumped right now.  So....if you can't leave a comment, you can always send me an email, I love keeping up with everyone.
julieklopping@mac.com

Does anyone know how Blog sites work for comments...I could really use some help!!!! I want this to be a dialog for us.  Love to everyone.

Tuesday in Familiar Ukiah

I'm so excited...I think I've got the photo thing now working for me on the blog.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed to see if this works. Just when I was totally frustrated Saturday afternoon, I checked on line and was able to get back down to Santa Rosa for an hour of coaching time at the Apple Store. Guess I never realized that the words pictures and the word photos mean different things to a computer...now I know better. 

Saturday night was another warm evening and perfect for our last BBQ with Charlie and Mary. Paul watched while CT did the cooking

We sat outside at the campfire till well after midnight talking and reminising over so many things.  It was such a sweet ending to our stay in Healdsburg.

We were up early the next morning since there was so much to pack up and put away in the motor home. Remember when I said Paul had been tinkering on lots of projects??? Well, all that tinkering meant there were tools and supplies almost everywhere. Our goal was to leave at noon but that came and went faster than we realized. Hugs and good byes said to CT and Mary as they went to work, and we tried putting everything back where it belonged. By 2:00 we backed into Chas's yard and hooked up the car for our next short drive to Ukiah only 45 miles away.

Highway 101 was so beautiful with vineyards and golden rolling hills...and very few cars. It was a warm drive but the RV made it up a couple good sized hills, through Cloverdale on into Ukiah. This was a stop planned for several reasons. Paul and I both have cousins here in the Ukiah area we wanted to see and he had spent many summers here at his Grandparents' canyon home so his heart is tied here. We set up our camp at the Elks Lodge just outside of town. Another wonderful location for a 2 night stay.  With only 2 other RVs here it's quiet and comfortable.

We went into town early to the Ukiah Brewery to have some refreshments and a bite to eat. Ukiah has their concerts in the park on Sunday evenings at 6, how lucky for us!  We were excited to see The Robert Cray Band perform for the last concert of the season. Such a huge turnout in a beautiful city park. We kept  scanning the crowd looking for my cousin, MJ, and her husband, Jim, and I couldn't believe that in all those groups of people we actually saw her from a distance and went to join them. Fun evening!

A huge harvest moon was just coming over the mountains to the east as we headed home. Paul kept saying what a kick it was to be sleeping with a view out our window of Doolan Canyon he had spent so many years visiting. The hot day turned wonderfully cool in the night and crisp when we woke up this morning.

So, first thing this morning...with coffee in hand I grabbed the iPad to add some more to the blog. But that eventually led to another change in our tech system as Paul talked to ATT and got our laptop connected to the internet through my iPhone!!!! Yes! That means I can add photos and do the writing all in one process on the laptop which I couldn't do on the iPad. I'm going to LOVE that!

As always, time with any computer tasks takes a while so we didn't get out for a bike ride until about 10:00. But this is such a PERFECT place to bicycle...at least the way I like it: FLAT!!! We rode all around town on the little side streets all the while Paul is telling me about little memories he had from 50 years ago; getting the mail with his Grandma at the Post Office, learning to drive, going to the drag races with his cousin, working at his Uncle's store selling 8 Track tapes.  We tried to connect with his cousin, Alberta, found the house but not her. Hopefully we can try again tomorrow before we leave. Our ride included passing pear orchards that are now being picked right next to our campground.

We dropped the bikes off and packed a lunch to take to Lake Mendocino about 10 min from here.  Such a nice afternoon breeze and a beautiful lake. 

Well, it's now almost 4:30, Paul is at the hardware store...where else..and I'm trying to stay cool. I think it's over 90 degrees. Once he gets back we'll be going out to Potter Valley to have dinner with my cousin MJ and see the construction of their new winery. We're both looking forward to that.

Hope this 2nd entry works! 

Saturday in sunny Healdsburg!

With a deep breath I'll start this blog and see if it works!!!! (Im feeling a little like Julie in the film "Julie and Julia" when she starts her daily cooking blog...is there anyone out there to read it?)

I tried earlier this week to set it up and somehow the Blogs-meister thought I was way too young to be creating a site...but I must have aged in the last few days as it all connected for me this morning.  So, not only are we on the road, we're also posting our travels along the way. I hope this will help us stay connected with friends and family all over the world. It is a very strange feeling for me to know we're leaving everything we've known in SLO county these last 40 years to try out a dream, but here it goes. Paul and I would both really LOVE for you to reply and keep us connected to you as well, with stories of what you are doing.

So...Saturday in Healdsburg.  Day # 5 here with my brother Charlie and his wife, Mary, and 3 kids Katrina, CT and Molly. It's been a real treat to stay longer than just a quick evening BBQ or over night as we'd done in the past. So nice to actually spend TIME with all of them! Mary loves to cook so we've had wonderful dinners every evening outside at the picnic table usually followed by a campfire in the backyard and time to talk and laugh. Mary and I made pies on Tuesday from blackberries and apples picked right here near their house. With a bird and fish inside and chickens and bunnies in the backyard along with a few other little critters it's a busy household. Katrina is almost 21 and will be going back to Santa Rosa JC next week, CT is getting ready to begin college at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA a month from now. Molly, 15, is starting her sophomore year in high school looking forward to playing tennis, softball as well as auditioning for the Youth Symphony with her oboe. We've loved just hanging out here, and sure can't beat the weather. Warm sunny afternoons sometimes a little early morning fog then cooler evenings but perfect for us. But time for us to move along on our northern bound tour. We've loved the blue margaritas, BB Gun practice shoots, nightly BBQs, wine/beer time when Charlie gets home from work, shooting baskets in the front yard, hanging laundry out back, and some fun shopping. It's been a wonderful week.

While here, Paul's pulled out his tools and had too much fun fiddling around on stuff for the motor home.  We now have an alarm system, a solar powering system connected for our batteries, and all kinds of wires to connect us to TV and radio (I think). Not really sure what all he's been doing but he's been a very busy guy. He and Charlie spent Wednesday together checking on some of Charlie's accounts up near Ukiah and Willits and just hanging out in Chas's Man Cave. I don't think he's really ready to go, but I think it's time we hit the road tomorrow and go at least another 100 mi or so north.

Thursday we headed down to Santa Rosa for a class at the Apple Store to help me with the new features of iPhoto on the computer.  Such worthwhile time!  As we travel these next few months we can always check in at other Apple stores and take classes through the one-to-one teaching program, what a terrific benefit form Apple. After the class we hit up AAA for maps and books to help plan where we're heading once we get to Medford. Then we decided we had enough time to go further south to Tiburon and take the 1:00 ferry across to Angel Island with our bikes. What fun!!!! Only had 3 hours before the last ferry left the island but got to see lots of the historical buildings, especially the Immigration Center, which I had always wanted to do. We did realize on the way back to Healdsburg that big city traffic is the pits! It took us 2 hours to get back up to Charlie's and after one evening of that we cancelled our idea to go into SF the following day.  Just too much driving. Time spent here was better for both of us.

I must be doing something wrong with my photos as I've been trying to add as I write but Im having troubles...so not many pics this time. More to learn! Always more to learn.