Along the Oregon Coast

As we made our way north through California, with one night in Medford, OR, the highlight of our trip - to date - was our drive from Medford, down Highway 199, back into the California coastal redwoods. Mid-day Saturday, as we turned on to Highway 101, at Crescent City enroute to Eureka, we begin to notice the clouds hovering over the bay. Our drive took us up and at just the right point, Roger pulled off in a rest area so we could take a break and get some pictures. Have flown above the clouds many times, but don't remember driving above them! You could hear the surf crashing onto the rocks below, but you could not see them. As I stood there for a few minutes, just enjoying the view, the clouds begin to shift and we could begin to make out the foamy surf below. An awesome moment in time.

One night in Eureka and then we headed back north to Crescent City. Made a couple of stops at little redwood shops in the town of Orick - but didn't find just what we were looking for.

The Crescent City KOA is one of our favorites as this park has 17 acres of redwoods to wander through. With Sunday scheduled as an 'off' day, we shucked the yellow shirts and headed back up Highway 199 to Jed Smith's Redwoods - in search of Roger's redwood carving that he has envisioned for our living room wall back in Oklahoma. The minute Roger stopped the truck, I knew we had come to the right place! Spent a couple of hours wandering through the shop and surrounding grounds, just admiring the pieces and trying to decide which one was "THE" one. In the process I spotted some maple burls that were nature's own design. I begin thinking how neat one would look over our fireplace. Before the day was done, Roger had purchased his redwood carving . . . and I had latched on to a maple burl. What was neat, was once we decided exactly what it was we were looking for, Dirk - the main artist - took us back into his 'storage' area and let us go through his entire stock of burls till I found just the right one. We bought it unfinished, to save us some dollars, but then Dirk went on to give Roger a full course on how to sand it and finish it out.

A thoroughly pleasant afternoon, and with our finds stowed carefully in the truck, we headed back to the KOA for some supper and an evening of nothing but pure relaxation. Roger carefully stowed our finds away under the bed; at some point we'll have to ship them home.

Monday - after doing the walk-about at the park, we again 'shucked the yellow shirts' and paid a visit to the Battery Point lighthouse.

One can only walk over - or 'up' actually - during low tide. We had no idea when that would be, but we were lucky enough to hit it. One has to walk down to the ocean bottom and then back up to the lighthouse. Not sure I was up to that, Roger made the walk up to the light so he could get some pics. I wandered around on the beach and picked up a small piece of redwood driftwood to add to my 'lighthouse' bathroom back home.

In reading about this lighthouse, I discovered that the reason the light was placed on the 'house' was so that the light keeper could tend to the light without getting out in the elements. It is also called a 'Cape Cod' style, which is not common out here on the West Coast.

Then it was on to make a stop at the local WalMart, one of the few along Highway 101. That should hold us until we stop for next weekend for a couple of nights in Corvalis, OR. Have to admit to having a bit of sticker shock when we found that a gallon of 2% milk was $4.88! Ouch!

Roger is getting hungry for some of his favorite Pecan Sandie dessert. Found everything but the pudding, so that will have to wait another week. Took pity on him though and mixed up a batch of his favorite chocolate chip cookies. That 'infamous' Neiman Marcus cookie recipe has quickly become a family favorite. I brought just enough ingredients to make a batch a month while we are on the road! The trick is that the oatmeal has to be blended into a powder, and I didn't bring my food processor! It also has a mix of walnuts & pecans, which gives it a different twist.

Tuesday found us trekking on north back into Oregon. Temperatures are predicted to be a bit warm inland, but our next week will be spent along the coast. Yesterday (Thursday), driving from North Bend to Waldport, we made a stop at the Sea Lion Caves. When we were here in June last year there was no parking available. Traveling early in the season has its advantages . . .but also disadvantages! This is supposed to the be world's largest sea cave where thousands of these sea lions call home.

Wouldn't you know, the one day we were passing that way, was the day they would have the elevator closed for maintenance! Just our luck! On the good side, though, we did get a discounted price for the privilege of walking down to the half way point to see the critters on the rock ledge. And, we got a great shot of Hecata Head light while we were at it! HOWEVER, when one walks down, one must also walk up! Thirty-seven steps and a very long winding trail down, makes for (what seems like) 137 steps and a near vertical climb back up! :>) Even the young ones among us were commenting on the trek back up!

Boy, were we feeling it, and we still have a campground to 'walk-about' when we get to our destination. We did it, but I know we both slept pretty sound last night. All that exercise and fresh ocean air, does make for some 'tired puppies'!

Today should be another pretty drive as we head north again to Lincoln City, before we head inland on Saturday. Looking forward to another Sunday off, for it is time once again to catch up on my least favorite job of doing laundry.

Romaine Lettuce and Artichokes . . . Oh My!

Friday was a very long day . . . making our way across California from Visalia to Santa Margarita. No wrong turns this time.

We passed the spot where James Dean met his demise - a 'claim to fame' that everyone still talks about.

Obviously the San Joaquin Valley is where most of our produce is grown and I think we've about seen a bit of everything! Miles and miles of fields - but then occasionally you come up on fields of oil rigs. They look like a bunch of 'bugs' sitting around, ready to pounce! In Oklahoma we are used to seeing them 'scattered around', sitting in the middle of a residential development or along the highway. But here they are all grouped together. The first we spotted in the Lost Hills area along Highway 46, then another as we drove north on Saturday on Highway 101.

Our trek of 176 miles on Friday took us almost to the coast, turning south at Paso Robles to Santa Margarita. Beautiful country here, and the park is literally right in the mountains. I always feel we need a 4-wheeler to navigate this park. It's big on kabins and tent sites. However, the bathhouses are such a trek - straight up - that I put on my 'secretary' hat and let Roger do the actual inspection of these bath houses. My joints have already started complaining about this damp ocean air, and stairs are just not something they want to do!

Wildlife abounds here and I could have sat and watched the ground squirrels all day long. The only site that 'fits' our big trailer is right on top of one of the lower moutains, and one feels like you are sitting on top of the world. The manager here tells us that it's not unusual to see a hawk swoop down to grab a ground squirrel, only to have a mountain lion leap and grab the hawk! Of course, one has to be further back in the property . . . not anyplace our yellow truck can go (although I think Roger would try!) Hands down, this park is the least developed of our 115, and it has a very faithful following.

Saturday found us heading north to the Santa Cruz area. Since we had not approached it from the south before, we decided to let our GPS, "Sylvia", lead the way. She did a fine job till we were almost there. For some reason, she directed us past the exit that said "Santa Cruz" and sent us two miles further north, only to have us basically make a big U-turn to get back to Highway 183. Go figure. Took us through a couple miles of busy commercial development; I commented that maybe she thought we needed to stop for a hamburger or something, since it was lunch time!

Then, ignoring the directions in the KOA Directory that stated to "exit at San Andreas Road and go 3.5 miles west", Roger blindly followed her through another very populated residential area that was definitely not designed for 38 foot fifth wheels! A VW bug would have been much more suited to those streets! When will we (more specifically Roger!) ever learn!

GPS gadgets are great . . . sometimes . . . but they need some way to program them that you are towing a behemoth!

Oh, I almost forgot . . . romaine lettuce and artichokes! As we traveled up Highway 101, we passed fields and fields of romaine lettuce! Quite a sight! What was even more picturesque was the fields that were bustling with farm hands harvesting it. (Oh, how their backs must ache!) Then we hit Castroville, which proudly advertises themselves as the "Artichoke Capitol of the World"! There was the Artichoke Restaurant, where you could get 'deep fried artichokes" (those folks must have come from Oklahoma!). Then there was the Artichoke Motel . . . wonder if all the rooms have artichoke themed decor?

We began seeing the road side produce markets and I didn't get excited about that until we hit the fields of strawberries! Right in the middle of harvest for those lucious berries, with plants so heavy with fruit that you could see the red as we drove by. Made Roger promise to make a stop on Sunday as we are out and about with only the truck. Think we'll buy a 'flat' and I'll work them up and put them in the freezer! Yum!

We are always treated like royalty here at the Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA. It's owned by KOA, and the manager, Sally Phillips (no relation), is one of our favorites. We know her from our time in the North East when she managed the Niagara Falls property. She & her staff greet us like long lost family and furnish us with a golf cart to do the review. This very large park is a bustling city in its own right, with so much fun stuff for kids. The 'newest' thing to come along is the mechanical bull ride! Know our grandkids would love this place!

Had a nice visit with an international guest as we did our 'ride around'. He was asking for 'travel guide' advice about what to see and do in California. Roger kept saying that he could go just about 'anywhere' in that small CruiseAmerica motorhome they were traveling in. Finally the guy grinned and said, "It may seem small to you. . . but it's HUGE to me!" :>)

Up early again today - but must get busy and finish up some reports. Have a day trip to the Moss Landing KOA this afternoon, which should be a breeze as it is a KOA Express. Roger wants to be back in time to watch the OU girls play at 4:00. After all, we have our priorities!

Men Are From Mars. . . .

Well, so much for updating every week! Eleven reviews in thirteen days could be the reason. My sis, Linda, says it is because I'm spending entirely too much time on Facebook & Farm Town. Whatever! :>)

One would think, after being married for almost 40 years, and spending 6 months of every year for the past seven cooped up in a truck and fifth wheel . . . that Roger and I would know each other pretty well. . . ya think?

Well, one thing I do know - is that regardless of that . . . "men are from Mars and women are from Venus!" We are a perfect example of that! Not sure why we seem to be noticing this about each other this year - but it's gotten to be downright comical! Neither way is 'wrong' - we just view situations from such different viewpoints! Sure keeps life interesting!

One would also think that after all this time we would be about 'talked out'. But just the other day, as we left San Diego, and got on I-805 headed north to Lake Isabella . . . my instructions to Roger were to go north till we merged on I-15 and keep trucking. Can't even remember what we were talking about, but the next thing I know, Roger said, "Well, there's the Pacific Ocean!" I immediately grabbed the atlas, for we were NOT supposed to be anywhere near close enough to see the ocean!

Sure enough - and not sure just how we did it - but we had 'talked' our way right past the merge on to I-15 and we were on I-5 which runs right along the coast - straight into Los Angeles! What a beautiful drive as we passed Camp Pendleton and drove through San Clemente. I recalled that this was where Nixon had a presidential retreat and it was easy to understand why.

But nothing seems to come easy for us, so I'm scrambling for a solution to get us back 'inland' to I-15. Two things to consider: 1) a mountain range lies between I-5 and I-15, and 2) there is only one 'free' way through LA - the rest were toll roads.

Toll roads are not such a big deal, but when you are towing 38 foot of trailer, they can get pricey! And, of course, I had just spent our last cash in the laundromat at the San Diego KOA. So, what to do!?! With our luck, we would have ended up on a toll road, even when we didn't intend to, and toll roads don't typically accept plastic!

So exit on to the Ortega Highway . . . over the mountains and through the woods . . . a beautiful scenic drive, just not ideal when towing that aformentioned 38 foot of trailer! Not so bad going up, but a real nail biter going down - for me, anyway! We had a beautiful arial view of Lake Elsinore and finally got on to I-15 going north.

We figure it only added about an hour or so to our already long day! Such is life on the road with Roger & Twylah!

Kept trekking north into yet more mountains before finally reaching our destination of Lake Isabella. Eight hours of driving, which included two mountain ranges, makes for two very tired people at the end of the day. Thankfully we have had a bit of time here to 'recharge'.

This morning, April 1st, a new month and a new day! Taking a bit of time off today to head down to Bakersfield where we will spend the afternoon and evening with the Johnson clan (Roger's cousins) before getting back to work on Thursday.