Whoops

As usual I managed to hit some key that posted my blog before I finished. Arrrgghh!!!!!

Saturday was the big wedding day.  The wedding was held at the Evergreen Museum, about a 40 minute drive from Salem.  It is the home of the Spruce Goose, an experimental cargo plane made of birch by Howard Hughes.  The one and only flight was 11/3/47 the day I was born.  The ceremony was held under the tail and the reception under one of the wings.  Stacy, my son, came down from Chewelah, Wa. (look at the map) it is north of Spokane Wa halfway to Canada.  It was a big surprise for his 3 sisters, all four kids have not been together for about 8 years.  It was hard to keep from spilling the beans that he was coming down (about a 8 hr drive).  The bride and groom looked very handsome and beautiful, you could see the love they share for each other in their eyes. 

Sunday, our last day in Salem, we started the day going out to breakfast with Micah,( Chris had to work) and Stacy.   Sven, Gary's biking buddy came by, followed by Leah, et.all, Talena, Kurt and Ethan, Larry and Nancy, who own the bike shop, Chris, Micah, Alyssa, and Charlotte came by in the evening.  We had a delightful visit with everyone who came by this week.  We need to be at the DMV by 8am in the morning to get the new coach licensed then hit the road we would like to make it to Redding, Ca tomorrow night.

It's been a fun week but our wonderlust calls.

TTFN

Gary and Pam
                                          My technical skills are amazing

                                           Pic's from Woodland, Ca. Reiff's gas station

                                         Old time gas pumps

                                         The Gable Mansion on historic walk in Woodland Ca

                                          State capitol flanked by flowering cherry trees and daffodils

                                         Fountains looking north from capitol

      Replica of the Liberty Bell, each state in US has on their capitol ground

                                         Rehearsal dinner with Nick and Sam

                                          Bride, groom with Talena Kurt and Ethan

                                          Nick waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle

                                          Our four kids, Talena, Chris, Stacy and Leah

                                          The four kids with their spouses and Elly

Wedding day 3/22/14

What a glorious time to come back to Oregon.  Before we headed north I was whining that it was going to be cold and rainy, the Arizona sunshine and warm weather thinned out my blood.  Normally Spring Break is nasty for the kids, well we must have brought the sun with us, it has been amazingly gorgeous.  We had some rain one night just as we were leaving the pizza parlor, we got a little wet and chilly but as I write this at 5:00 pm Sunday night it is still 63 degrees.  All the flowering trees in the capitol mall were in full bloom just at their peak, daffodils and tulips have popped up.

Saturday daughter Chris and son-in-law Micah invited us to dinner at their place, Micah is quite the cook, he smoked a ham on the Traeger and made a blackberry cobbler from the berries he's picked last summer.  We played part of a game of Mexican Train but we were all too tired to continue to the end. 

Sunday morning Jack and Sharyl, friends from our Good Sam camping club stopped by for a visit, they left the next day for a 2 week Panama Canal cruise, if I were ever to take another cruise it would be the PC, that whole project has intrigued me since I was a kid.  In the afternoon, friends, Brian & Susan, Ed & Charlotte and Carol came by for snacks and adult beverages, we had a good visit then went out for some sustenance (pizza)   It was fun to get together again, B & S were our neighbors on Lone Oak and of course Seahawk ticket holders, along with Ed and Charlotte and Carol and her late husband Ed, we'd get together up in Seattle for games.  Lots of fun, I do miss going to the games.  Brian loaned us the Seattle papers and Sports Illustrated magazines after the Super Bowl, it was such fun reading, the Seattle paper showed the crowds at the victory parade. 

We've had many doctor, dentist and CPA appointments this week.  I'm in the process of lining up an auction house to hold and estate sale for us when we return in the summer.  There is no sense paying storage on "stuff", we have everything we need right here.  You've heard the saying "close the barn door after the horses have escaped" I had Chris meet me at the bank to become a signer on our safety deposit box.  When we traded in the coach we had no way to get the title out of the box so we had to file for a lost title.  Gary has been able to ride with the bike group from Scott's Cycle even though it was down to 32 degrees Saturday morning.

Thursday we celebrated daughter Leah's birthday at Christo's, Salem's best Italian restaurant.  Poor Salem, they have the lousiest restaurants in the state,  It was so nice traveling to cities where it was hard to decide because all the choices were so great. 

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner, daughter Talena is an event planner for non-profit organizations in Bend, so putting on a spread for 50 people was all in a days work.  She did a lovely job, we had a fajita bar, the caters did a great job.  First Nick (the groom) made a toast to Sam, he was so eloquent, made me cry, they have been friends since middle school.  Then Nick's dad gave another tear jerker toast, followed by Talena who seemed a bit weepy.

In Salem for Nick and Sam's wedding

We were very lucky, on
 our drive from Lake Havasu to Salem we had beautiful weather, no rain and some wind here and there.  We left Lake Havasu heading towards Edwards Air Force Base, at the entrance the first thing we saw was a NASA airplane which brought back memories of 747's taking off from there with the shuttle piggyback.  Edwards main mission is flight testing, named after Capt. Glen Edwards, who, after combat service, was a test pilot there for 5 years before crashing one of the planes near the base.  Since the 50's almost all of the new military aircraft has been tested there.  It is best known for Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier and the Space Shuttles landing there during inclement weather in Florida.  I just about jumped out of my skin shortly after arriving here, there was a HUGE boom and until I figured out what it was I was a bit nervous.  It was a small FamCamp but nicely laid out, e-z pull in for Gary. (that is always a good thing)

We left (early for us) for our drive to Santa Nella, Ca. which is best known for Anderson's split pea restaurant.  The people there were very helpful, they gave us two spots to pull in diagonally and a third spot for the car. There was a geo cache across the street that we picked up, located right next to an In and Out.  Gary really twisted my arm to have dinner while there, I hate to say this but I was very disappointed, the patty was very thin and Gary's French fries weren't hot.  An employee came around to see "how everything was" so I told her.  Gary was aghast!  On PBS that night Folk music was featured including Kingston Trio and Brother's Four.  It brought back memories of our youth and a concert we went to in Salem a couple of years ago, both groups were there (not the originals), but they sounded so much like them.  We stayed there two nights, we were way ahead of schedule, we needed to be in Davis by the 10th.  Behind the park was a canal with a road we could take Luci out off leash.  We walked over 2 1/2 miles, just as we were getting close to the park, Luci found something dead and furry to roll in.  Argh.  We have an outside sprayer so Miss stinky Luci got a bath outside with cold water.  I love traveling with dogs.

Our next stop was supposed to be Travis AFB near Sacramento so we could be close to Davis for an early morning appointment for the coach.  We are still "tweeking" and we also needed to sign papers for the LaMesa in Tucson.  It seems that the paperwork for out of state purchase with no sales tax was missed.  Al in Tucson must have been CIA because he lured us there with a fill up.  We came in on fumes to get the most diesel we could, the tank has taken us all the way to Salem.  Well back to Travis, it seems if you have a pet you can only have a rig 36ft or shorter, the larger spots don't allow animals.  No plan B so we had to figure out where to spend the night, we are always a bit "cranky" when we arrive in our new spot.  We ended up a Yolo County Fairgrounds in Woodland, they advertised a RV park.  Well it was just a parking lot with hook-up's, I thought to myself cheap. Ha! it was $35.00, oh well we'd have killed each other if we had to go any farther.  As it turns out, Woodland is a cool town.  We drove into town for dinner, found a much needed (surprise) brew pub.  After dinner we wanted to pick-up a gc and stumbled upon a cool place.  As I've said before geo cacheing takes you to places you would normally not go (and someplaces you don't want to go).  It was called Reiff's retro Automobile and Gas station.  The owner bought an ordinary ranch house in an ordinary ranch house area and decided why don't I put some gas pumps out front.  The first thing we saw was an airplane crashed on the roof, a 58 Oldsmobile crashed into the garage, vintage gas tanks out front, a faux 50's diner and all kinds of memorabilia.  Well we couldn't find the g.c. but decided to come back the next day with the camera and look again.  We went into Historic Woodland downtown for another g.c. What a cool area, the downtown area is thriving, no empty store fronts or antique stores.  We found a tricky g.c. then went back to crash.  My brother called, he full-time RV'd for about 3 years before moving to Honolulu, he says he is living vicariously through my blog and had stayed at the same park on the Colorado River.

We made it to Davis Monday morning for the tweeking.  It was there all day so off we went, first to Costco to spend our AMEX cash back coupon.  We did go back to Reiff's, still didn't find the g.c.  We had the dog with us so we had to find a dog friendly restaurant with a patio, We found the Burger Saloon, it was a nice day to sit outside we enjoyed our lunch, Gary got a sandwich with VERY hot, hot sauce (on the side).  Our son-in-law Micah loves hot food, we asked if they sold bottles, they didn't but gave us a couple of to go cups.  We picked up the coach about 5, a nice time to drive back to Woodland, they finished the work we needed and filled up the tank.

Tuesday we headed north on I-5.  The rice paddies and ponds north of Sacramento we rain laden, filled with Canada geese and other birds.  Still no rain, we drove through the Siskiyou's in beautiful sunshine.  Gary is loving the diesel pusher (RV jargon) it climbed those hills with no problem.  After a stop at 7 Feathers Casino for lunch hit the freeway again.  We spent the night in a RV park in Eugene.  One of those parks that will make the " don't go back" list.  Between the trees and tight corners things got a bit tense. 

Wednesday we pushed on to Salem (60 miles)  Another bug popped up on the trip, an engine light came on, Gary called Freightliner, they said no emergency, so when we got to Salem we had it fixed.  We took off for the day, visiting our neighbor Edie, a 92 year  old ball of fire, she lived in the neighborhood when we moved in 35 years ago.  You'll never has a better neighbor.  Then we decided to surprise daughter Leah, she moved back to Salem from Germany a couple of weeks before we left town.  She was surprised!  It is amazing how much her 4 kids have grown in six months, they are ages from almost 9 (the twins) almost 7 and 5.  Cute kids.  We settled into HeeHee Illahee RV park in north Salem about 7 after picked up the coach.

Originally we were supposed to be in Salem the 14th, instead we arrived on the 12th.  I played pinochle with friends for years, they  were playing cards that night so I decided to surprise them.  One of the gals had texted me to see if we were in town yet, I lied, not until Friday, then I surprised them.  It was great to see them, they quit playing cards and we visited until about 10, after I went to Carols house and chatted until midnight.  On my drive back to the coach it started to rain, yep we are back in Oregon.

Friday we had  lot of errands to take care of, including a service on the Jeep and an informative visit to the DMV, a long story I won't get into.  My girlfriend Charlotte came to the coach for happy hour then we went to dinner.  What an exhaustive day!  Great so see family and friends again.

It's been a wild week but had lots of fun on our journey back to Salem.

TTFN
Pam and Gary

Heading North

Hi Everyone,

We can't believe it, it's been six months since we left Salem, we put over 4700 miles on the Pace Arrow and 677 miles on the new coach.  I don't even want to know how much gas we've put in them.  Now we are on our way back to Salem for Nick and Sam's wedding on March 22nd.

Sunday March 2nd we left Ehrenberg for Lake Havasu City,  just a short drive of 88 miles, we enjoyed the lovely spot by the river at Colorado River Oasis but there was absolutely nothing to do in the area unless you have a boat.  We did some geo cacheing in Blythe, you could call Blythe the arm pit of California but that would insult arm pits everywhere. There was a very old cemetery across from the RV park, a memorial to immigrants that traveled through there and were buried in unknown graves.  We finally found some cactus in bloom, it has taken us about 4 or 5 trips down to the desert to see flowers in bloom, this was our first time.  On the way up to Lake Havasu there were several state parks, I'm sure they will get very busy soon.  Spring break is a mecca for students, I've heard tales about the crowds and their antics, fortunately we are just a little ahead of the fray.  When we first got to the RV park we took Luci to the desert area adjoining the park.  She had a great time running up and down the hills and of course rolling in the sand.  A fellow and his dog were out there at the same time, he warned us about coyotes in the area.  At night you could hear them howling.  Our next door neighbor's dog greeted us as we pulled in, a huge great dane.  They are such sweet dogs but the size is a bit intimidating.  The people across the street, Rick and Cynthia from Michigan,  have the same motor home as we do, they bought it in December.  They researched what they wanted to buy and where to buy, sold everything, packed a U-Haul and headed to Texas where they bought it sight unseen.  Scary!  We spent happy hour with them comparing notes, they started full-time RVing in December.

Lake Havasu is the reservoir from Parker Dam on the Colorado River down the road towards Ehernberg about 25 miles.  In 1963 a very rich industrialist, Robert McCulloch bought an Army Air Corps landing strip, some 3500 acres then added another 13,000 acres turn the area into a vacation destination.  In 1968 he bought the London Bridge which was sinking into the Thames River.  He had it taken apart stone by stone, numbered and rebuilt it in Lake Havasu.  He had a canal dug across the peninsula making and island to place the bridge on.  I've always wanted to come here, I was not disappointed!  You can rent anything from a paddle board to pontoon boats to have run on the water.  Next time.  Lake Havasu has more lighthouses than any other city in America, 24, they are 1/3 scale replicas that actually function as navigational aids.  Surprisingly I have a number of the Harbour Lights versions of many of them.  Anyone want to buy a lighthouse? 

Monday we went to London to see the queen, no I mean we went to see the London Bridge.  It is amazing, looks like it's been there forever, I heard that you can see some scars from WWII, we didn't take a tour so we missed them.  Had lunch at a brew pub on the island overlooking the channel then took a walk down to the lake.  What a nice park on both sides  of the channel with boats of all kinds heading out to the lake.  We did find a geo caches on a light post on the bridge on the way back to the car.

Tuesday we took Luci to the dog park at the channel park.  There were two Neufoundland hounds in the park, they don't move too fast on land.  Then we took her swimming, she had a great time chasing sticks in the water.  Afterward the 3 of us went to another brew pub for lunch, the patio area was huge, must have had 25 tables, two couples came in shortly after.  Then!!! Two obese men came and sat down right beside us, remember probably 22 other tables were available, and chain smoked.  To top it of, one of the guys starts a phone conversation.!  They are two heart attacks waiting to happen.  When we got back to the park I went to the pool, the first time on this trip. It was heaven.

Wednesday morning we cleaned in preparation for our move.  We drove around the island to see some of the lighthouses, most of them you need a boat to see.  Picked up a couple of geo caches while we were at it.  We had been to two brew pubs for lunch so we had to go to the third one in the area.  Our favorite, I skip the beer but the food is always good. (almost anyway)  Luci had to stay behind, they are not dog friendly.

Thursday morning we packed up and headed out of Arizona, we'd been there since mid-January.  We stopped at a couple of rest areas in California to geo cache, one was a "first to find" which means it had just been hidden.  We are spending the night at Edwards Air Force base which is east of Bakersfield.  Will be here just overnight, it's a little chilly, I think tomorrow long pants will be in order, the first time since we left Texas.

Enjoy the pictures, we'll see some of you next week.

TTFN,
Pam and Gary
                                         Monument in cemetery in Ehrenberg

                                          Blooms on a prickly pear cactus in cemetery

                                         Blooms on a cholla

                                          Sunset on the Colorado River

                                         Me at Barley Bros. brew pub overlooking bridge

                                          Me on a paddle board

                                         Lighthouse at Channel park
 Our space at Ehrenberg

 London Bridge looking toward island