Some days don't go as planned

We got up this morning in Brookings, Oregon. We went for a walk and got a paper at the little restaurant at the RV park. It smelled good, so we dropped of the paper and went back to have breakfast. Sorry, it 10:01 and no more breakfast. Didn't matter that the place was empty. So we went back and cooked our own. It was better I'm sure. However, reading the paper it said "Monster storm heading our way" (The Oregonian) I would guess that everyone in the Pacific Northwest has heard about this storm. The paper here compared it to the October 12, 1962 storm. Gee just what we wanted. We were going to stop in Coos Bay, Yachats, Lincoln City and then Canon Beach. 4 Days. We had some leftovers from dinner last night so Sue fed the Sea Gulls. Remember we need to protect them so they do not infect us.




So we left and passed Coos bay, Yachats was closed so we are in Lincoln City. They have a casino here. Tomorrow we will head to Cannon Beach at which point we will most likely hunker down for the storm. I know a place just off 101 that should be cool and we can drive to town and hang out and see what happens. Only pictures today were when we stooped at Bandon Oregon.



Bandon is a really nice small town with lots of cool shops. We almost bought a picture of a light house with a few old relic boats behind it. Tittled (Sue noted this one, as she has others, but wouldn't let me change them. Humor you know.) "Over the hill" Didn't know where we would put it up.

Sue is in heaven

Was short drive today, about 97 miles. We stopped in Crescent City for lunch/breakfast. Was a pretty drive as were were on the North California coast with lots of beaches. Went to the good old Safeway and picked up supplies. Picked up a little more Sea Gull medicine.

We arrived at Boat Basin RV Park in Brookings, Oregon about 2:30. Sue is now in heaven.



This meant and immediate walk. I barely got the RV hooked up and Sue was heading out the door. We walked down a bit to sort of jetty. There were a bunch of cats on the rocks. Seem that there is lady that comes daily and leaves food in a small shelter that has been built. We saw at least 7 or 8 different cats.

A little further around the harbor is a pretty good sized marina that houses mostly fishing boats. One was leaving as we walked by.

There is a Coast Guard Station here where they are restoring one of their 44 foot motor life boats. These boats saved a lot of people over the years. These boats served the Coast Guard from 1963 through 1997. They were replaced with a 47 foot model. They could rollover and roll upright in less than 10 seconds. I'll bet that was a long 10 seconds.

Walked out on the beach and down a little way. I went thru 4 walking sticks before I found the right one. It is a pleasant day with little wind. Temperature is 60 or so.

Sue is now placed on the couch watching Oprah, reading and looking at the ocean in between. She really loves the ocean.

Snuffy is happy but a little dirty now as we passed thru a little rain and that spotted the dust. I need to get a California Duster. They really work. I just hope that the Sea Gull don't poop on Snuffy. We just got him buffed and puffed.

The big buy

Today we left the peacefulness of Calistoga in the upper end of the Napa valley. The parking place here was just a fairgrounds. There was a clunky golf course a nine iron from the motor home. Next year we will try it. Calistoga was fun and it is a nice place to kickback and relax. The drive out of town is over hill and dale. Some tight roads, but not too bad. Then you hit highway 101 and off you go. Couple tight places in the Redwoods. All in all a good drive. We were going to spend the night at a place south of Eureka, but it didn't look too good, so we drove on. This meant that we had to do the Costco thing today.

Being as I myself and some friends have been bitten by rabid Sea Gulls recently we had to pick up some medicine at Costco. Seems that there were some other bites this afternoon. We will try and help them out. This is an old joke. Many years ago my parents had a friend who did not want to talk over the radio on his boat about drinking. Those Sea Gulls were really bad back then.

Arrived at Mad River RV Park about 3:30. We were here last year. Nice place just off the freeway. Sue is cooking and we are hunting for Oprah on the TV. Haven't found her yet.

Lah de dah day

Got up this morning to lovely blue skies and about 50 degrees. By the time I got back from the store (ice and paper) it was almost 60. After some fruit for breakfast, oranges from the tree, we went to town for a walk. Calistoga is not a big city, like abut four blocks long. Lots of little tourists shops. Was a good walk.

We then drove south. I saw a sign about a national historic place. Bale Grist Mill. Seems that this guy in the 1800 built a grist mill for flower and such. Was a really neat place. The were closed but the miller was there. Apparently they still run the mill as part of the park. Big water wheel outside that use to be powered by the stream/creek running buy.
They use to collect water in some ponds. Now the use a electric motor to recycle the water over the wheel, but the wheel still does the work.



Big stones about 4 feet across do the grinding. The guy there was nice and showed us around. Sue bought some of their flour.

By now it was lunch time. so we went back to the Culinary Institute. A place that train Chefs. They have this restaurant called Graystone. This is where the Lah de dah came from.




Had all the frills. For those who know me, they would be surprised that I even tried the taster dish. Yep, I had a steak, Sue had chicken.










Next came Cakebread. This is a winery that some friend told us about last year. Sue loves their Chardonnay. She is happy now, she has her favorite wine.



Now of to Robert Mondavi winery. Frankie Stephens wanted us to pickup a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Sue called her to check her order. Sue tested and we got her bottle.


Now it was off to the Mumm Winery. We are members of the Mumm Club. This means that we get to sample free. They are very nice. Had a couple classes of Champagne. We also picked up our November shipment. They send two bottles every other month. So we were here and got them our self. They have a fabulous art gallery in another building. Ansel Adams and that sort.


Off again to the Andretti winery. This is the one owned by Mario himself. Little disappointed here this time as we are club members here as well. so got to taste win for free, but the December shipment could not be picked up. They just didn't want to work on it. This means it will cost $19 bucks for shipping. We will be ending our membership with them.



Things were going so well. Driving home up the Silverado Tail on the way back to Snuffy. Got within a mile and the road was closed. Had to go over to the other road and I thought that I was back in Seattle trying to get Bellevue at 9AM.


We finally made it and are back in comfy Snuffy watching the Biggest Loser out of Atlanta so we can watch the final of Dancing With the Stars later. All in all it was a really cool day.

My butt hurts

We are now in Calistoga at the fairgrounds. We were here last year. This is in the north end of the Napa Valley. We passed lots of grapes today. It was a long drive. We left at about 8:15 from Orange Grove RV park. I picked some more Oranges just before we left. Neat picking fresh Oranges off the tree. First stop was for fuel. $3.54 a gallon. That's what you call the big gulp. Only 70 gallons. We get about 9 to 10 miles a gallon. I know its terrible, but not too bad when you consider that you have your home with you.


Took a picture of Snuffy parked with the big boys at the stop over place.

We stopped at a cool place for breakfast. One of those places where they have a million signs to pull you off the freeway. It was worth the pull off. They make fresh cheese, have a gift shop, fresh vegetables and a place for food. One of the best breakfasts I have ever had.


Left there and drove...drove...drove and drove. Put in 352 miles today. Some times you have to put in a long one. We are now at The Calistoga fairgrounds within sniffing distance of a whole bunch of wineries.

We will visit one of our favorites Mumm, for champagne. We are members. Also Andretti, also a member. More on all that tomorrow. Sue is cooking dinner after she gets off the phone with Lesley. Tonight we get to watch Dancing with the stars.

Orange Grove RV Park, Bakersfield , Ca.

We took Kens advice and turned right on Highway 62 to Yucca Valley. This was good as as we left Emerald RV park and hit Highway 10 West there were a zillion RVs and other traffic heading West. We did run into a lot of folks on the back road as well. After all this was the Sunday of the Thanksgiving weekend. Saw a few nice rocks around Yucca Valley.




As we left got a few pictures of all the wind generators in the north of the valley. I think I read last year that these generators provide most of the electricity for the valley.





We stopped in Victorville for lunch at a place called Cocky Bull. Was a cool place. Definitely country. They were caring in a wagon wheel with lights like a ballroom ball, only in the shape of a wheel. It was cool. Lunch was good as well.




Back in Snuffy we continued west/north, and came again to Orange Grove RV Park. A very nice park. We were happy to find that some of the Oranges were ripe. Reached up and picked a few.




We were here last year and got Oranges and Grapefruits. Last year was the end of the season and this year is the beginning. So here we are. Sue is doing laundry and I'm bloging. We are really on the net tonight with Wi fi. It goes in and out as much s the phone does. Just a lot faster.

As I said before, when one is away the kids will play. The grand kid too. Kelsey looks like she is having fun. Pictures from their trip to quad city at the ocean. They should be down here. We saw about a million quads coming back from the dues down here.

PS, as I have always said. Mis spelling is for humor. The spell checker does not fix my wrong words. Waist/Waste, Meant/Met, Two/to/too. I love to pronounce things weird too.

The beginning of the journey home

Yesterday was a busy day. It started out with a trip the The College of the Desert. This is a BIG flee market or what ever you call it. I thought it was in Palm Springs and it turned out to be in Palm Desert. In other words we drove about 20 more miles then we needed to.

When we got back Ray and Bonny came over for a visit. We got to meet Bonny's mother. She was a kick. Loves to spend her day at the Casino spending Bonny inheritance.

Then we went to Ken and Elaine's house for pre dinner drinks. Meant their friends Jim and Elly. Nice people. All 6 of us went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Good food and wine.

After dinner we bid goodbye and headed home to get ready to head north. We will be leaving this morning. First stop Bakersfield then on to Napa tomorrow.

The day with Cuz

We spent today with Sue's cousin Ray. We golfed at Ray's home course at Shadow Hills. We got there for breakfast at about 8:20 for a tee time at 9:15, Being as this was a holiday weekend it was a bit of a long round. Actually it finished in about 4:30 hours. Played the first half with a guy named Sheldon and his grand daughter.



After golf we went to Ray's house. Bonny was there as well as John. Bonnie's mom was out visiting so we didn't get to see her. Bonnie went to pick her up just before we came home. Had a good visit with Ray.



After coming home we sat for a while and then went out for Mexican diner. Back home now with a big full moon over the RV park.

Snuffy is resting in the dark and getting ready to head north. We will be leaving here Sunday and heading for Napa and the Mumm winery. We plan to be home on December 6th , we have tickets to the Seattle Symphony for the 7th. Looking forward for Christmas.

So I leave with Snuffy sitting in the desert. I expect that as we start to move north things will get colder. Monica, Philip and Kelsey are still in the dunes. They are having fun.

Late night post

While the folks are away, the kids will play. Isn't it amazing that a picture taken in Florance, Oregon and e-mailed to some old farts in Indio, California can end up on a blog that the world can see. Happy Thanksgiving Kelsey, Monica and Phillip, Love you all. Sue and Joe.

Burp.....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Jeannie, Jeff, Kelsey, Monica, Phillip,Tony, and Christie (Did that in abc order, well almost). Hope everyone had a great turkey day. Also Mike,Mikey Taylor,and Lee (Love You) and anyone else who is following this blog. We are really lucky to be enjoying our travels.

We got up this morning and had frozen breakfast as we had a 10:07 tee time with Ken and Elaine. I did better today. I caught up on the putts and trash game. Ken , Elaine and I had 61 puts over two days and Sue had 64. Just really shows how everybody is equal in the end.

After golf we went back to Ken and Elaine's home and rested on the patio. Great view of the mountains, if your look over my shoulder.



The south has many different things than up north. There was a Road Runner who stopped by to check out his territory. Little guy just off their patio. Didn't see a Coyote running after him. Should be one somewhere "Beep Beep". This is really a nice view from their back porch over looking the 17th fairway.



At about 4:00 PM we went to their club house for a really good Thanksgiving buffet. They had different seating times. Heritage Palms is really a nice country club. Their club has a big banquet room. Lots to choose from for dinner. Being me I got every thing I like for dinner. Prime Rib. Spuds were good too.




Sue loved her Turkey. Wine good friends and Pumpkin Pie. What more can you ask for. This was better this year for Sue. Last year we spent Thanksgiving at an Indian tribe Casino on the old route 66 (Hwy 40) near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Traveling makes things a bit different. This year it was with friends in Indio , California.


After dinner we went back to Ken and Elaine's home. Was a great visit with with some very good friends. Elaine has her Christmas tree up already. She is kind of missing not going home for Christmas. Her tree is just like back home. Beautiful and perfect.





A great day with some really good friends. We love you Ken and Elaine. Thanks for a great time. Joe and Sue

Tomorrow we will be golfing with Cuz (Ray and Bonny) at Shadow Hills. Every day is something different. We are looking forward to another adventure. They had better be ready for the blog camera as we have many requests.

Resting for Turkey Day

Seems that the computer has survived the spill the other night. I tipped my glass over on the computer key board. This has happened before. the last time it was Sue. This was good because I could say "Oh me too" Anyway after the last time my computer guru "Dr Dave Said to just run water over the key board, to wash out all that bad stuff. Seemed to work. I'm still however looking for an excuse to get a new lap top. We had Snuffy washed waxed buffed and fluffed yesterday. Really looks cool now. Shines all over. They covered everything.





Today was a day of no plans. We got up and did our morning thing. Coffee, Sudoku and such. When we discussed breakfast/lunch I mentioned Casino. Sues eyes got real big. So we went to Fantasy Springs Casino. Real neat buffet. We then did a bit of a donation to the Indians. Took about and hour and a half to lose our money, which was good,. We only spent $20 bucks each. This picture is us just out of the pool,where we read our books until about 4:00.

When we got back we had new neighbors. A bunch of folks from north of here had arrived. Apparently they spent their Thanksgiving here every year as a group. They say that their kids go to the others. One has a really nice cat named Hussy. They say she will visit. Got a picture of her in a tree. This one is for Steve. See Emily can climb a tree. The story is that this cat was a stray who they took in. She goes everywhere with them. No leash just stick around.

We did the pool thing again. There were some folks we meant that are from Oregon around Portland I thing. Grandma and Grandpa, daughter and a cutie 3 year old. Interesting because they have a lot of rules around here about kids and visiting. Definitely a senior park. Was a pleasant day.

Tomorrow is golf in the morning and Thanksgiving dinner at Heritage Palms with Ken and Elaine. Looks like we will see Cuz and Bonny on Friday for golf. Saturday is Collage of the Desert. Need to hit Cosco sometime as well.