Almost Home

We are slowly inching our way home. We both are reluctant to see this Grand Adventure end. We plan to be home by Sunday noon so Jack can watch the Indy race. For us this has been a trip of a lifetime visiting family and friends.....seeing the wonderful scenic beauty of our United States. We have wonderful memories of living in our rolling Condo. Aloha!

St. Louis

We are near St. Louis to sightsee, however, the campground is across the Mississippi River in Illinois. The weather has been wild, under tornado watch at Topeka and now here in St. Louis. When the warning sirens blow the drill is to leave the coach and gather at the campground office to wait out the weather. So far no problems and yesterday the weather cleared during daylight hours and we were able to see the sights. We found a trolley tour to view the highlights of the town, great way to see everything fast. We enjoyed our tour of the Budweiser Brewing plant, very well done.... good beer, too!

Of course the must stunning sight in St. Louis is the Arch, so huge, 600 feet tall and 600 feet wide. So big I couldn't get a pic of it with my cell phone. The pic Jack is holding is our prize we won on the trolley tour for catching the driver in a tall tale. One can ride to the top of the Arch for the view but I was chicken because it is so tall, why doesn't it just fall over? The Mississippi River is very full, hundreds of tourist parking spots along the river under water.



 

Kansas

Driving into Kansas....we spent the night at Colby where I toured the Prairie Museum. Very nice, it houses the Kuska Collection, the life-long possessions of Nellie Kuska. Upon her death it was given to the people of Thomas County...seventeen tons of artifacts.... Smithsonian quality.
prairiemuseum.org

Moving right along..... Friday we arrived in Abilene to visit the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. Sure did remind Jack and I about history that we lived through. We had forgotten that Richard Nixon was only 38 when he was elected Vice-President and about the turmoil the U.S. was in during the Eisenhower administration. I loved the extensive collection of Mamie's hats and gowns.    dwightdeisenhower.com/library-museum




Now we are in Topeka, state capitol of Kansas. From the tourist brochure I found the excellent city park with camping on Shawnee Lake. Really lovely....we'll be here a while.

Jack visited the Combat Air Museum, two full hangers of military aircraft. Very well done, history comes alive. combatairmuseum.org

This was Jack's museum day, he also went to the Harley Davidson museum with 30 Harleys of all kinds, from WWII military bikes to modern day racing Harleys. Nice little museum.

Shawnee Lake, an awsome county park with every outdoor recreation possible. Encompasses 430 acres and includes an incredible formal garden and arboretum. Eight mile bike/walk trail with lots of up, up, up and lots of down, down, down.

Colorado

On Sunday we left Utah and passed through Wyoming and spent the night....don't have much to say about that route..... desert, no trees.


Arrived in Colorado on Monday to visit with our niece Susan and husband....can't think of his real name. LOL Oh, yea...Scott! We enjoyed seeing their lovely home in Westminster, a suburb of Denver. Susan served us a delicious dinner; she takes after her mother, Peggy. We watched DWTS on their giant TV.

Now in Golden, a gem of a charming, historic town. We are camped on the banks of Clear Creek, which runs through the town. The creek is very full, running fast. Love it! A half-mile walking path along the creek takes us to downtown. Susan & Scott joined us for a stroll and lunch. Golden has many bronze sculptures all over town, so delightful. Our favorite is a life-size string quartet.


Photos by Scott

Today we visited the Golden History Museum  which includes two museums and Clear Creek History Park, a recreation of an early Colorado village. 

I enjoyed the Foothills Art Center housed in a  unique 1872 Gothic Church. It is worth a visit to their website.    foothillsartcenter.org 
Jack waited in the sculture garden while I browsed. The Coors Brewery tours were closed today so we missed the free beer! Visiting Golden has been one of the highlights of our trip.

Salt Lake City

On Thursday we made a long drive (for us)....... 320 miles, to reach Salt Lake City. Wonderful weather, we could eat dinner outside.
First item of sightseeing we took a city bus tour. It was great, only four people on a 20-passenger bus. In addition to the usual sights, the tour included an organ recital in the Mormon Tabernacle and lunch in one of Brigham Young's former homes, Red Lion.  Huge highlight of the tour was the flower gardens in Temple Square.....full Spring bloom with thousands of flowers of all colors. Awesome!

The Utah State Capitol recently finished a 10-year restoration project and Wow! it is stunning. The rotunda is snow white polished marble, unbelievable. I was captured by the sculpture of the lion named "Integrity".....smooth, white polished marble.

Today I went out alone to sightsee while Jack "relaxed". LOL

I visited the new City Library...it has to be the grandmother of all public libraries, a magnificent building,  humongous atrium, a cafe, shops, four floors of stacks, hundreds of nooks with desks and comfortable chairs for reading and a roof-top garden with a 360 degree view of the city and the mountains. slcpl.org I could live there!

What a great city, so beautiful in the Spring!

Nevada

First stop in Nevada was Reno....I went downtown to sightsee. The city has made a really wonderful riverside park with trails, bridges, picnic tables, etc on both sides of the Truckee river which runs through the center of town. The river was very full and running fast with lots of small rapids. I watched kayak riders having lessons and running the course.
I strolled though the major casinos to see the "action"....gambling is not for me, I observed the people were not having much fun.

We left Reno heading east on I-80...we were in the desert, the terrain is so different from where we were in California. No trees! However, we saw many snow-capped  mountains along the way. Snow in the desert? We were on the California Trail, one of the routes pioneers took to the west. Unfortunately the interpretive center was closed when we passed..I wanted to learn more about their journey. I'll get a book on the subject.

We spent last night in Winnemucca because the name fascinated us and also there is not a lot of choice along our route to Utah. We toured the town to see the many murals portraying western life. It is the site of the Buckaroos Hall of Fame and also has a sizable Basque community. With a population of 7,000 we were surprised to find a Walmart so we stocked up on bananas and milk.

Today on to the Utah border and to visit the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Weed

We left the Florence area on Saturday....driving the scenic route between Reedsport on the coast to I-5. Once again a scenic beauty of nature, the road followed the Umpqua River for 55 miles. Incredible! We spent the night at a campground on the banks of the fast running Rogue River near Grant's Pass, OR. Our destination was  Weed, CA to visit family....the whole drive was indescribably beautiful, huge snow-capped mountains and forests of every shade of green imaginable.



Step-Dad Ed & Nola



Glenda, my Scrabble Nemesis



Niece Crissy & Family

  We spent Sunday visiting and enjoying Cindy's favorite grandsons, Hunter & Nathan, Crissy & Rob's boys. Nola cooked a lovely meal as always. We had a great game of 3-13 with me the winner, of course!

Monday Ed took us sightseeing around Weed. The most special point of interest was the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden dedicated to the veterans of  the Viet Nam War. It was very moving. Please go to their website to view the garden:  weedlmsg.org

We went to Shasta Brewery which makes local beers, famous as "legal weed", it houses a very unique saloon type bar. weedales.com  Then a 5-person game of 3-13 with Jack the winner, we were accused of being "ringers".

We enjoyed the views of Mount Shasta, a humongous snow-capped volcano, last eruption was 200 years ago. So beautiful!

So all good things must end and today we head east to return home. .....we still have three weeks of our Grand Adventure left. Next stop Reno, NV after 225 miles of "scenic" highway.

Florence

Yesterday we traveled north to the Florence area. We are at Jesse Honeyman State Park.....a tiny letdown because there is no ocean view. I am spoiled! This is the largest state park in Oregon, 160 sites.... we are one of only 5 campers here. It is weird for it to be so empty. The park host guesses that it is the fuel prices and chilly weather that are keeping campers at home.

This area is part of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, 47 miles of coastal dunes. Not what we expected to see....years ago they planted non-native grass on the dunes to keep the sand off of Highway 101. The grass took over and now most of the dunes are covered with the grass. There are many state campgrounds and hiking areas along the dunes.



The real treat of the day was the visit to the Heceta Head Lighthouse, about 12 miles north of Florence. Talk about a gorgeous bay, stunning. It is a 1/2 mile hike up to the lighthouse from the parking lot through an incredible forest, even has a small waterfall. Jack hiked ahead at his usual pace and delighted in scaring me from behind a tree. A park volunteer took us on an informative tour of the lighthouse, complete with climb to the top.




RE-ENACTMENT

Harris Beach

 Yesterday we drove into Brookings for lunch. I had looked on TripAdvisor for restaurants and Art Alley Grille was #1 in popularity. artalleygrille.com The lunch area is a rooftop patio with views of the mountains and ocean. Our meal was so outstanding we've booked a res for dinner tonight. It is amazing dining in a town of 6,000 population. 

A follower has noted that  in most of our pics we are wearing jackets. That's right.....we didn't expect the weather to be so chilly but when the sun shines, it is great! We've been in rain only four times the whole trip.

Yellowstone Park was in our plans; however, in the latest 10-day forecast, SNOW is predicted in eight of the 10 days. We are rethinking our route.

Today we enjoyed Harris Beach, it is warmer and very sunny.



Oregon Coast

Note to followers and readers: Click on upper right hand corner to "follow by email". You'll receive an email each time we post a new blog.

Yesterday we traveled a whopping 24 miles to Harris Beach State Park near Brookings.
A fellow RVer had recommended this park and boy! was he right. The campground is atop a bluff overlooking the beach. We got lucky and found an ocean view site. Absolutely gorgeous! We parked head-in for full Pacific view. Here is the funny part....this is the very first state park we've been in that has cable TV! I won't have to miss DWTS. LOL The beach is a short walk down the hill. It is typical of Oregon beaches with humongous rocks and cliffs near the shore.
Today we drove around the area, saw some whales migrating, had crab sandwiches for lunch, spent time contemplating the waves...now it is nap time.

Redwood Highway

Left the lovely Bodega Bay on Thursday, continued north on Highway 101.
I've ordered Pedroncelli wine each time it is on my wine site, wine.woot.com. I love the fruit forward style. A stop there was a must for me. When I told the hostess I was a wooter, she offered me a 25% discount. Such a deal! We left with two cases of wine which made it a challenge for Jack to store it somewhere inside the coach.....no room in the bays. Never fear, he did it!

We found a campground at the southern edge of the Redwood Highway, we planned to drive Smartie through the Avenue of the Giants redwood grove.  Wait a minute! We couldn't stay there another night because the cell phone and the aircard were very, very weak.  Therefore, Jack drove the coach through the Avenue of the Giants, a feat because of the narrow road with huge redwood trees on each side.  It was worth it to me because of the magnificent trees; can't speak for Jack.

The Redwood Highway between Eureka and Crescent City is 80 miles of stunning, breath-taking scenic vistas, Pacific Ocean on one side, redwood forests on the other. Up and down from sea level to several thousand feet high, each turn in the road a new view. Just when we thought we'd seen the best views in California, another vista appeared to awe us.

Now parked in Crescent City for several days, then north to the Oregon Coast.

Bodega Bay



Jack, Marilyn, Del

 We hit it lucky here in Bodega Bay, just north of San Francisco. Our campsite is right on the bay, 180 degree water view. Everywhere we travel in California it just keeps getting more magnificent, such natural beauty! We were joined by my sister Marilyn and her husband, Del.
They will celebrate their one year anniversary on May 7th.With two kite shops in town we had a clue that it would be windy....yep. We drove to the top of the ridge to Bodega Head to view the sunset. Winds of 40 mph nearly blew us off the path, however, the coastal view was stunning and mind-blowing. We all sat in the car for sunset. Wimps!
      

Marilyn brought dinner for us from home, special receipe chicken and rice, and fresh peach pie. So good! As a wonderful treat she brought gorgeous roses from their garden. They smell so good. We had lots of laughs and played cards. I relieved them of $3 playing Rap (now we can buy some diesel for the coach). Before heading home Marilyn and Del treated us to a late lunch....wonderful fresh crab louies!
Today we head north to my favorite winery Pedroncelli and the Redwoods Highway.

Seacliff State Beach

 Easter Sunday (note the bunny ears)  we traveled six miles to Seacliff State Beach, smack dab on the sand. So popular I could get a campsite for only one day..but it was worth it. The waves were beautiful and the winds were down so we actually sat outside the whole day. Sister Cindy and her husband John joined us for the afternoon...just sitting and chatting. Our dear friend Ardith arrived with dinner.... gourmet pizza, salad and brownie bites for dessert. Such a deal!

This morning we drove to San Jose to meet with Remington Stone, Jack's Marine Corps Squadron mate. He is part of the reunion group that meets every two years. For the past forty years he has been an astronomer with the University of California at Mt. Hamilton Observatory. Quite impressive!

We traveled north and now are parked waterfront on Bogeda Bay 
on the coast. Sister Marilyn and husband Del join us tomorrow.

Santa Cruz 2

Friday, April 26th
We started the day with a wonderful walk on West Cliff Drive, a bike/walk trail overlooking the ocean. Lots of joggers, bikers....we could watch the hundreds of surfers in the waves and view the historic Boardwalk and Wharf. Jack and I both went there as little kids to ride the rollercoaster and merry-go-round, play in the sand.    beachboardwalk.com

Our long time dear friend Ardith took us to Capitola, a unique beach town for lunch and a stroll. The restaurant, Stockton Bridge, overlooked the beach and waves.......she always knows the best places to go. I found a lovely glass tile with an ocean wave on it made by a local artist for a special momento of our California visit.


The Cassingham Men


Friday evening we were at Jack's brother's home for dinner. Joining us was nephew Wayne and his wife, Dori. Conversation with the Cassingham men was lively! As usual sister-in-law Peggy cooked a wonderful meal.

Saturday morning we had a very special treat....on the beach was the Santa Cruz Ukelele band, aka Sons of the Beach.  Close to 100 ukelele players of all ages, with Hawaiian shirts,  leis and of course, bunny ears for Easter, played and sang their hearts out. I loved it! I had to restrain myself from joining in and dancing. Please check out their website.
sonsofthebeach-santacruz.com

Santa Cruz

On Wednesday we traveled 180 miles north on Highway 101 through gorgeous California terrain, green rolling hills, ranging vistas. We traveled though the Imperial Valley which has to be the lettuce capitol of the world. Huge fields with hundreds of pickers.... looked like a hard way to earn a living. We ran into the first rain of our five week trek, kept raining all day.

Jack's brother Archie led us to the Santa Cruz Harbor which has 12 parking spaces for RVs with full hookups. We'll be here until Sunday where I was able to get one night at Sea Cliff State Park right on the ocean.
The harbor has slips for over 800 boats and we are parked with a water view, in walking distance to the ocean. It was rainy and dreary all day. We are spoiled and look for sun and blue sky. The coach and Smartie got so dirty and wet, but neverfear, Jack didn't rest until all was clean.


Today is much better, sunny and pleasant. We met Archie, his wife Peggy and cousin Maggie for breakfast and good conversation.

Jack & I went  to one of my all time favorite wineries, Storrs, grapes grown in the Santa Cruz mountains. Very yummy and fruit forward. storrswine.com

Now it's time for a walk on the beach!