First week's recap

Writing a blog about our travels didn't occur to me until we were already a week or so underway. So, here's a quick recap:

Day 1: New Orleans to the Natchez Trace

Day 1, leaving NOLA

Typically, we head to Natchez so we can do the Trace in it's entirety. But we felt we might not make it to Cleveland without having to put in  long days, which was something we make a mighty effort NOT to do.

Lake Davis was a wonderful lake, and judging by the swimmers, warm.

Russ did a little kayaking, however.

Day 2: The Trace

Day 2, on the Trace

The Natchez Trace is the longest National Park in the US. However, it's only as wide as the road. While today it's a roadway, it used to be a stage coach trail. Before that, first nations used it for migration. Before that, wild game used it for migration. Before that, dinosaurs used it for migration. No joke. It's been around a while.

We stopped in Nashville and had some BBQ at a place called Edley's. Crazy good! Across the street was a food truck selling peach cobblers. Crazy GOOD!

At the camp (another great lake place) we'd just set out some chairs to sit outside when it threatened to rain. It didn't just then, but during the night, big rain. Russ tried to kayak in the morning, but thunderstorms flared up out of the blue.


Day 3: Arriving ARV

Day 3, getting to Cleveland

A longer day by design. We wanted to get to ARV at night, but had no reason to get there early. Our appointment was Tuesday morning. So we took some smaller roads, ate at a meh restaurant called Henning's in Lebanon.
















Day 4: Athens, Ohio

Athens, Ohio

We met with the ARV folks, then rented a car. With the dogs in the back seat we headed for Athens, which was Russ's college town. As we drove into Athens there was a tremendous thunderstorm. We had to pull over and wait for it to lighten. We couldn't see out the windows with the wipers running full blast.

Finding a hotel with the dogs was a little trickier here, since the town lacked many hotels. We ended up staying at the fancy one nearest the university. The Ohio University Inn and Conference Center.













Day 5: Russ's home town

Flat tire day

From Athens we wanted to go visit Barnesville, Ohio, Russ's home town. We took small roads that winded through the hilly terrain of eastern Ohio, retracing some of the old travels Russ used to do. After a stop at a grocery store, our rental warned us that a tire was low. We filled it. About 30 minutes later, it warned us again that same tire was low. This time we inspected the tire to discover it had a screw embedded in it.

Being mindful we contacted Avis, hoping they would use roadside service. The offered to drive a new car to us. It would only take 3 hours. That would kill our day, and we needed to return to Cleveland that nigh. They then asked us to put on the spare (the tiny, clown car kind) and drive it to Columbus. Russ asked if there was an Avis in Canton, which would be on the way to Cleveland. After being put on hold, they said Canton had no cars available.

We drove to Canton. They had cars. We got the exact same make and model. Putzes.

However, we didn't get to Barnesville. Russ thinks the universe is telling him NOT to go back. Ever.

Willoughby

Day 6: A day in Willoughby

The coach wasn't ready, which wasn't a total surprise. ARV had a comfortable guest area, complete with water and donuts. What more do you need? Mike Neundorfer, the owner of ARV, took us out to lunch.

We spent that night in out coach -- on a lift. They lowered it, of course, but it was a little creepy sleeping in a cavernous mechanic's workshop.

And we're back!

So impressed by the little-casino-that-could we went there for breakfast this morning. Heck, we should give them *something* for letting us stay overnight for free. We packed everything for the big unload at the condo, and headed homeward.

We (or I should say, I) got home by 11. I shlepped everything up to the condo and started unpacking. Meanwhile, Russ dropped the coach off at Treasure Island where we store it, and bussed home. As soon as he arrived, around noon, we headed off to Spark with the dogs for some outside lunching.

The city was sunny and clear and welcoming. It's good to be back.

The fog is a give-a-way

Hey, look, new street lights!

Life on the Interstate

After checking with the weather, we realized that, yet again, hot weather would plague us. All of us were aware that it would be hot Saturday for Salem (92, when the average for this time of year was 82), but the temps were going to get worse. Our options were to dash for the cool of the coast, of just make the dash toward home. We decided to do the latter.

We said goodbye to our gracious hosts and headed south in I-5.

Traffic wasn't horrible, but given the vasts stretches of highways without anyone around we'd gotten accustomed to, it was a bother. It's astounding how often people see a "big car," speed up to pass it, only to realize they are going faster than they want to, so they hit the brakes. We heave heavy sighs.

We're talking REEEEEEally narrow

We came upon some road work, where they smooshed the 3 lanes of traffic into one. The backup was horrible, so much so that we took a detour that would cut out a chunk of the "black" wait lines on G-maps. Russ mapped out a longer detour, only to find the on-ramp closed from the construction. He even found forest roads (reeeeeally narrow dirt roads) that looked like a promising throughway. Eventually, however, we gave up, turned back, accepting the smaller detour.

Mt. Shasta in the distance amid t-storms

And wouldn't you know it! I recognized a motorcyclist and a truck -- they were right next to us before we started. We lost no time at all. We had to have dilly-dallied for nearly 45 minutes. Instead of being in traffic, we had an adventure and discovered the cute town of Mt. Shasta.

Once we neared Sacramento (having driven for over 9 hours) I waved my white flag, and asked for somewhere to park and sleep. He found Cache Creek Casino, off highway 16, kind of in the middle of nowhere. We drove through 20 miles of fields and crops, all the while I'm thinking what the heck kind of casino is out here?

GREAT GOOGLY-MOOGLY! This place rivals those on the strip, AND they're building additional hotel space for 500 more rooms. We were flabbergasted. And the best part? We're the only RV here. The place is full of cars and people, and we're out on a deer-filled field all by ourselves.

Note: LTE in the nowheres of Canada is waaaay better than the US. Just sayin'.

A Grand Day Out

Everyone piled into one of Gini and Colleen's cars, a new Flex. It was already set up with a dog bed in the back, which comfortably transported our pooches. After about a 90 minute road trip we were unloading stuff at the PYC, the Portland Yacht Club on the Columbia River. The ladies have a house for their boat, which doubles as their 3rd garage. Yes. Third.

They have a Ranger 27, which is like a tug boat. We got on, threw the lines, and away we went. We took an hour long ride to reach the Willow Bar Islands, where the PYC has a private dock. They're in the process of upgrading it. Currently there's a small building with tables for events, and they're adding a large floating deck.

Across the street is a small market. We bought some sammiches and chips and drinks, then headed back to the boat for lunch. After eating, and a bit of chatting with other boaters moored, we started the return trip.

After the ship was safely in its home we headed back to theirs. Everyone took showers and freshened up. We had dinner and drinks at La Margarita, their favorite Mexican restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and the company.

Even the dogs had a grand day out.

The Echo in the boat house

Docked at the Island

Colleen and Gini

Packing out to head back

Fellow ARV-ers

One consequence of such long travels is that your RV gets filthy. A couple of days ago we took it to a self wash, tall enough for us to get into (a challenge, all by itself), just to wash the windows. But when a real wash is needed, there's only one trusted name known to RVers and truckers alike: Blue Beacon. The closest, however, was in Portland. We cut across the state and waited in the looooong line (over an hour) for our bath. We had time, since the destination was Salem. Otherwise, we would not have bothered. Blue Beacons are few up here in the Pacific Northwest. Hence the line. And, yes, there is an app for that.

We have plans to meet Gini and Colleen around 3 at their place. The fastest way to get there would be I-5, but it also is the most boring and congested. So we take a number of small roads around Portland, passing farms and newly developed bedroom communities. The route is quite a mix.

Once we arrived we got a tour of their house, some wine, a fine steak dinner, and conversation until 9:30 in the evening. Tomorrow, boat day!

Russ, Colleen, and Gini

Finn, one of their 3 dogs

Our coach parked in front of their new garage,
complete with a 30 amp circuit for us

Coastal Oregon

Despite the late night, we got an early start. The Walmart had a single "No Overnight Parking" sign, yet the lot had twenty or so vehicles doing just that. In the dark of night we quietly joined them, but felt we shouldn't linger. We had coffee and skedaddled.

We traversed Washington Highway 6 toward 101, and it wasn't long before we were rewarded with amazing bay and ocean views, including long bridges, rocky coasts, and cute seaside towns. All of which were stuffed. Doesn't anyone work anymore?

Russ got a chance to kayak at the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. I took a shower and enjoyed the breeze.

Cod and Grilled Oysters
Not at all like NOLA grilled oysters

We'd planned on eating in, but all the salt air made us crave fish and chips just one more time before we headed inland. Our chosen place to do that was the Bell Buoy at Seaside. I asked the woman behind the counter about the crowds (we arrived there around 2 pm, well past the lunch rush). She said it was like that every day. Well, not in the winter, she clarified.

A bit more driving to a cool place to nap (recall the early start?). We listening to the ocean along a pullout with a point-of-interest. Then onto our over-night destination: The Blue Heron French Cheese Company. Another Harvest Host. While they do sell cheese, they also have wine, chocolate, chips and nibbles, ice cream, jams, t-shirts and sweatshirts, beer, a petting zoo, and coffee in the morning. SCORE!

Mead (in paper), Peach Sour Beer, and Huckleberry ice cream

PS. Americans so know how to make ice cream. We need to set up workshops for the Canadians.

Uh oh

We had plans to dine with some family in Seattle for dinner, which gave us a day to kill exploring. We talked about ferrys around the islands, seeing the Olympics, you know, touristy stuff.

However.

Sad dog at vet

IVAR'S

A number of days ago I ran the dog alarm, thinking I saw a worm on Savannah's bottom. Russ inspected and gave the all clear. Today, it's very evident -- she's got worms. We hoped  to take her to a Banfield vet in a Petsmart and get a quick in and out. No such luck. Appointments weren't available till 3 pm.

Ferry to Muk-town

So we did a little bit of sightseeing, caught the ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo. Even got to eat a bite at Ivar's -- still the beat fish And chips.

Once Savannah got her shot (just a one and done kind of thing) we still had a few hours before dinner with the gang. We found a small park, and Russ went for a run around Green Lake.

Dinner took place at Palermo Ballard, a small Italian place where we all shared spaghetti, pizzas, and some pistachio ice cream for dessert. We introduced the family to our dogs (who had to wait in El Coche), then got to see where the apartment where Jake, my nephew, and his girlfriend, Kenzie, lived.

Kenzie and Jake

Gary, Tess, & Russ

We could tell we were much further south since the sun went down before 9:15. We'd gotten used to 10 pm sunsets. Hoping to not be involved in traffic the following morning, we headed south, driving in the dark for the first time on this entire trip. We got to a Walmart in Olympia for the night.

Leaving Seattle at dusk

Back in the USA

Remember back in Calgary where Russ wanted to kayak but didn't have his life vest so we went to a Cabella's to purchase another? Funny story: while setting up camp in Revelstoke Russ moved some items around to get the chairs out for our camp. He flopped something on the back of the sofa/bed. I pointed at it and yelled, "What is that?!" He looked at me like I was crazy. Then I picked it up and showed it to him... the lost flotation device. But didn't want two of the things, so we planned on returning the new one at the Cabella's in Abbotsford.

That was our first stop of the day.

Back in the USA -- almost

From there we went into Vancouver where we met my niece for lunch at her favorite Indian place, Raga. BEST Indian food we've had in a looooooog time. We started with a appetizer sampler, then split a couple of vegetarian paneers, rice, and naan.

We said our goodbyes and crossed back into the USA where we immediately bought some cheap gas at Costco! Not that it really was cheap, but better than anything we paid in Canada. To their credit, the did have some great roads. Probably money well spent.

We toured the little town of Bellingham, then settled on spending the night in a state park, Deception Pass. We're nestled in among some old growth trees. Russ plans on kayaking in the morning.

Gondolas, breakfast, and tube carts

We set out to partake in the Revelstoke Lodge special: a ride to the top of the mountain on a gondola, then breakfast at the chalet on the mountain, then a cart ride back down. Seems like a great way to start the day.

Once we reached the top, we noticed that there was, in fact, another gondola going even higher. It, however, didn't open until 8:30. Not a problem. We went to eat, then did the BIG gondola.

The views were amazing. Gorgeous valley and the little lake below.

Breakfast at the upper lodge

As we traverse the sky we noticed little walking path below us. That, too, sounded wonderful -- we'll walk down, then do the scooter thing. It was, what, just a few kilometers? Maybe take 45 minutes or so, right?

It took us over 2 hours. Portions of it were quite technical, taxing my bad knee and heel. I wore sketcher tennis shoes, famous for their soft and cushy soles; great for walking, but lousy for stepping through a skree field. My foot kept sliding toward the front of the shoe, jamming my big toe. I could barely walk once we were down.

But we did get down. So. There's that.

In that time, however, once we got back to the chalet, a huge line formed for folks wanting to ride the carts. I was in no mood to wait to get back to the coach. We still had a five hour ride ahead of us to get near Vancouver, and I really wanted a shower. And to do that meant we needed to get some water since we were low. We took the gondola back down.

Given the delays and late start to the day (and that I desperately needed a nap around 2:30) we didn't drive quite as far as we hoped. Mountain roads, twisty and indirect. We did, however, get to Hope, BC. We paid for a campsite. It was the second time we shelled out cash for some sleep since crossing the Canada border.

PS. Salmon Arm looks to be a nifty town. Shuswap Lake is an enormous body of water, much like Lake Havasu. Lots of water sports, house boats, and pontoons. Quite the summer destination.