Heading Home

Thursday, April 15, 2010 (Day 129)


It rained last night, but this morning all was clear. We left the coast so we could cut over to Portland and Judy could have a stop at Fabric Depot. During the two hour stop there Harris did a few caches and headed to Fred Meyers to fuel up. Diesel was $2.80 there which was almost 45 cents cheaper than surrounding stations. Harris is still lamenting how diesel is so much more than regular gas at almost all gas stations. Upon picking up Judy, Harris noticed a fellow husband in the Fabric Depot parking lot surfing the web via the wifi from the library across the street. It was 3PM and we decided to head home and end the trip. We listened to the The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest as we drove, stopping for dinner at a Denny’s outside Tacoma to let the traffic settle down. As we were five miles from home we finished the audio book. It seemed like the timing was perfect to come home. Luckily in a couple of weeks we’ll head over to Eastern Washington to meet Judy’s sister for a weekend. Tasha and Ewan will be going over too!




Home...

Quilt stores and caching day 3

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 (day 128)

One of many interesting houses along the coast



After the morning rain, the day turned sunny and glorious. We stopped often to look at the coast and took a few pictures. We stopped at quilt stores, and Harris found more caches.


The "Devil's Churn"--What a neat name!



Judy helped him find a couple, just to keep in practice. We meandered up the coast some more, and finally stopped outside Tillamook, in a small RV park in Netart.


Looking south from "Devil's Churn"



Harris was able to borrow a grill, and so made a great steak and potato dinner. By the time we went to bed, it started raining and raining.It rained through the night, and a little this morning, but the sun is trying to peak through.


All those white specks on the big rock are birds!



We’re headed for Portland, and a big quilt store called Fabric Depot. If the weather isn’t great, we may make it home tonight. Or, we might just stop again….it’s nice not to have a deadline. (Harris was able to watch the Mariners win last night, so he’s happy!)

Total miles driven today=144




A view from a geocache site in Cloverdale

Quilt stores and caching—Day 2

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 (day 127)


Our campsite is on the other side of that point!





Rain has been pounding Howie during the night, but it tapered off to a light drizzle by morning. We were able to get a short walk in before we continued our travel northward stopping off at quilt stores that Judy has marked on the map. Harris has downloaded caches near to each of the stores. Today we stopped at 3 quilt stores in Coos Bay and Florence. Harris found 7 caches but the highlight for him was stopping at Mo’s for clam chowder. It was as good as he remembered and a bowl filled him up. Judy had a pasta primavera and was not as impressed with her dish. Meanwhile the sun reappeared and we decided to stop while the sun was shining at Washburne State Park which is 14 miles north of Florence.


Howie is glad to see the sun in the almost empty campground




We stopped around 5PM and strolled across the street to walk on a long stretch of beach that must have been at least 3 miles long. The tide was way out and we were the only people on the beach. The power of the waves, the roar of the ocean, the seemingly endless sand and rocks stretching north and south of us made us feel small and insignificant. But the sun shining on the water and in our eyes also gave us a feeling of peace and well being. The beach is a healing place.

The long and deserted beach



We rented Up in the Air from a Redbox and watched it tonight while keeping tabs on the Mariner game on XM radio. The movie was good and the Mariner game was even better (3-0 against the Oakland A’s)!



A walk on the beach




Total miles driven=70

Brookings Weekend

Saturday, April 10-Monday, April 12, 2010 (days 124- 126)


Our 500th cache!



We dawdled a bit more on the way to Brookings, Oregon on Saturday morning, stopping to geocache along the way. We found our 500th cache! (We had hoped to make it a cool one, but the only ones on the road were easy guardrail ones, so we finally decided just to do one and make our milestone. Luckily we found a guard rail with a great view. Then we went on to see our good friends Helen and Joe Donahue in Brookings. They live in a condo right on rocky cliff above the ocean. It’s a million dollar view that we never get tired of looking at. They took us out to dinner Saturday night, and we stayed up late talking, laughing, and playing cards.


Harris and Joe go caching along a beach



The weather was changing with light showers Sunday morning. It seems that we are finally catching up to the rain! We did some geocaching a little south of town with Helen and Joe. We found 7 including one that involved hiking ½ mile along a beach, scrambling over some rocks, and jumping over several streams. We returned for a great dinner and more cards. (Can you believe Harris lost 2 out of 3 games?)


Several cormorants silhoutted on the rocks



We left Brookings this morning after a great breakfast, and drove slowly up the coast. Judy stopped for quilt shops along the way, and Harris stopped for geocaches. The weather has turned a bit rainy, but we’ve been so lucky this whole trip we really can’t complain. We’re stopping for the night outside of Coos Bay in a little town called Charleston. We were going to stay in Sunset state park but since it was raining steadily we opted for a very nice private park right next to the beach with wifi (to catch up on our blog) and cable. Total miles driven today= 105.


Taking a lunch break along 101

A day of puttering

Friday, April 9, 2010 (day 123)

Today we drove a whopping 150 miles. Over several hours! We left Garborville after breakfast, and soon left highway 101 to go on the Avenue of the Giants which parallels 101.

One of several "Tourist attractions"




It is a scenic drive through the redwoods. Harris loaded several caches for the route, and we stopped frequently to search.

Judy logging one of caches found today



We found 9 of them.


The Avenue of the Giants



Because of the geocaching, and stops for the visitor center, the beach, and some dinner, it was dark by the time we reached Klamath.

Checking out the ocean




Do we really want to go north???



Amazing! But it was good to dawdle, and not have to go 500 miles, nor go 20 miles an hour because of twisty roads. It was a relaxing day, and tomorrow we head for Brookings, OR, to visit Helen and Joe Donahue.


Our rvierfront campsite in Klamath,CA

The Long and Winding Road...

Thursday, April 8, 2010 (day 122)

The WW day.


Today was the WW day—windy (blows a lot) and windy (lots of bends in the road). We left Larkspur and traveled 250+ miles on Highway 1. When we asked Kate, our English voice on our GPS, how long it would take to get to Garborville she said 4 hours. Well, she kept wanting to take us along Highway 101 and after numerous commands of “Turn around when possible” she finally figured that Highway 1 was the route we wanted to take. The ocean views were different today. Because of the wind, the waves were crashing like mad against the shore. We had to turn on our windshield wipers twice, not because of rain but because of spray from the water hitting us. It was very scenic along Hwy 1 with rounded green hills, sand dunes, 6% up and downgrades with numerous turns at 15 mph, and forested mountain passes. It was also very, very slow going for much of it. We were glad to see hwy 101 after 220 miles. Fortunately 101 is very scenic along this stretch too. Depending on the weather tomorrow, we hope to take a shorter drive into the redwoods and perhaps some hiking. Enough of these long, windy roads!


PS—Judy won at Quarters (by a lot)


Lunch stop looking south




Lunch stop looking north

San Francisco Day

Wednesday, April 7, 20190 (day 121)


Howie got a good rest today.

Harris and Judy walked their tootsies off.


Leaving Larkspur dock



We started with a mile walk to the ferry. It was a sunny 30 minute ride across the harbor to the old piers in San Francisco. We passed Angel Island where the Japanese were held during WWII and then passed Alcatraz prison. Next time out here we will have to take the tour. We landed at Pier 1, and had to walk to Pier 41 to catch a trolley tour. Ok…but at Pier 1 and a half, Judy started complaining. How long is this walk going to be? The sun was out, and Harris told her to just enjoy the day. We got to the pier 41, paid our money, jumped on the trolley and started off. The tour itself was about an hour, but we got off outside Union Square to get some lunch.


Passing San Quentin prison




The tour guide said this was as close to Chinatown as we’d get. He’d also told us that this was the largest Chinatown in the US, and after walking through just a part of it, we can believe him. Several blocks were taken up with shops, and then we finally got to a restaurant area, and had a good size lunch. We decided that walking through Chinatown to the other side would be quicker than walking back to Union Square for a trolley pick up. We ended up outside a church that had a replica of a shrine St. Frances of Assisi built in France. It was beautiful inside, and we just had a small visit before our trolley came and took us back to the piers. Judy really wanted to ride the cable cars, so we hopped on another trolley tour and had him take us part way to a cable car stop. (We skipped the station stop, the line looked at least a mile long.) We found out you can just pay the conductor on board, which we did. We bought a day pass that allowed us to get on and off cable cars and busses all day.


Passing Angel Island



When we first boarded, it was a bit crowded, and there was standing room only. Ok, even though we were tired from all the walking around we had already done, we wanted the experience, so we hopped on. At first we thought we should pay the driver, but he was a young man who only told people to move back and rang the bell for traffic…as he operated the brakes, both a foot brake and a large handle he yanked on with muscle. The conductor was an older man who gladly took our money and packed people in. And packed people in. Even when the driver said he was full, people still jumped on, pushed their way in and away we’d go. It was still fun to go up, up, up steep hills, pause for just a second, then seemingly rush down the steep hills. The conductor in the rear had fun telling people to push forward on the way up hills to help us climb, and told us to hang on when we went down. We got off downtown, jumped on another one to go back up the hills to the top of Lombardi Street, the crookedest street in the country. It’s the one you see in the movies that winds back and forth in tights curves.



The Golden Gate



Cars can only go a few miles an hour and have to ride their brakes pretty hard all the way down. There is a sidewalk along both sides, so people like us can walk down and watch the cars. It’s just too bad our camera battery had died, and we couldn’t take pictures!


San Francisco skyline



We walked some more, hopped a bus to the waterfront, and then took an electric trolley to our Pier 1. It, too, became increasingly crowded at each stop. We were lucky to board it at the beginning, and get seats, although not together. By the time we got off, we had to shout through several people…hey, Judy, hey Harris, I think the next stop is ours! Another ferry ride, another walk, and we were back to Howie….worn out, tired feet, but happy the day had been so beautiful and sunny and warm.



A one man band



(Harris also got to watch the Mariners on TV again tonight. They’ve had 3 close games with the Oakland A’s..won 1, lost 2 so far.)


An 8 million dollar purchase?

Heading to San Francisco

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 (day 120)

We headed out this morning for San Francisco. Most of the road was much straighter and faster than yesterday. We headed straight north on highway 1 to Golden Gate Park for some geocaching and walking. Wow! This park is huge. We walked our tootsies off and barely covered one small corner. It was interesting geocaching in such a public place. And the public was out in force on this sunny day. As we walked along, looking at our GPS or our Palm Pilot, we realized we did not stand out in any way. There were so many people strolling along, looking at their phones, texting, etc. If anyone noticed us, they surely just thought our instruments were sadly out of date.


It's nice to be able to park Howie on the street!




Serendipity. We went up to a building on our way to one cache. Harris asked a uniformed lady about it, and found out it was the de Young Museum. She described all the various kinds of exhibits there, including a special collection of Amish quilts. Well! Then, she added, the first Tuesday of the month is free! So, of course we had to go in and see the quilts. We also went up to the 9th floor for a panoramic view of the city.


Looking for a cache at Golden Gate Park



We continued out highway 1 and across the Golden Gate Bridge. Our RV park was just a few miles out of the city, and we plan to take the ferry into the city tomorrow for some sightseeing.


An interesting rest stop for the birds which was close to a cache.




Tonight we logged our caches and found out we are at 489. We’re hoping to reach 500 before long!


Crossing over the Golden Gate bridge.




Looking back at the Golden Gate.

Morro Bay

April 5, 2010 (day 119)





This brought back childhood memories for Harris




Rain shower in the morning, then a gorgeous blue sky day. Sunny California indeed. The ocean is blue, immense, and just crashes on the beaches and rocks like there is a storm somewhere, but looking out on the horizon all you see is blue ocean, blue sky, yellow sun. We love the sound of the crashing waves. On our walk this morning we saw some houses on the beach for sale. Judy was excited…let’s live here! Hmmm, Harris said. Think of the taxes. Taxes, smaxes…Judy wants sunshine and ocean waves .We walked through a small area of houses, doing a few geocaches as an excuse/incentive to be there.



The lnadmark rock at Morro Bay





Geocaching along the beach



Then we took off for San Simeon and Hearst Castle. We haven’t been there since our honeymoon almost 35 years ago. When we arrived, we were surprised to see such crowds on a Monday. Oh, of course, it’s spring break for a lot of people. By the time we reached the ticket counter, everything for the day was sold out. But we caught a real break. The woman at the counter asked us to wait just a minute, then explained there might be tickets on a waiting list, as people who reserve tickets don’t always show up. We had expected to wait an hour or two for tickets, but instead got right on the bus! Ten minutes waiting time, max. The house and grounds were just as ostentatiously beautiful as we remembered. Huge house, huge ranch. Art work, statues, panels, etc from Europe…truly a museum now, and that’s the way the state of California runs it. We enjoyed our tour and the movie afterwards, but didn’t realize how late it was getting.

The "Little Ranch"




One of the 3 pools (redone three times)




Heart's gathering room



We should have stayed in Morro Bay for the night again, but instead, thought, oh well, a couple of hours up the coast, we’ll find something. Wrong! Highway 1 along the coast is narrow, twisty, slow, gorgeous and virtually uninhabited. There were large ranches. There was the occasional restaurant. Sometimes an art gallery. Sometimes a house or two. But nowhere to stop, even for groceries. The late afternoon and evening sun shone on the water and made the trip worth the drive. (even more so, because for once, Judy had the land mass on her side of the car and not the drop off).Looking at the map, we thought Big Sur would have a grocery store, or something. Nope. Onwards. When we reached the outskirt of Carmel by the Sea, we pulled into the first store we saw. Then, driving on, discovered it was a much bigger town, with lots of shopping. And Santa Cruz was huge. We saw no signs for private parks, and some state parks were closed. But we finally pulled into an RV park in Felton, in the complete dark, about 10 PM. Too long of a day!


One of a multitude of vista spots





This morning we woke to more sunshine, but it is filtered through huge redwood trees. Much like camping in western Washington. The sun is up there, somewhere. The trees make the park somewhat dark, fooling us into thinking it’s earlier than it really is. We’re planning to head to San Francisco today.
One of several stop signs on Hwy 1 due to storms

Easter Sunday in Mojave

April 04, 2010 (day 118)


Strange to be on the road for Easter Sunday.
We took a walk around the RV park this morning, because it was sunny although cold. We did one cache on the walk and one more on the road on the way out.


Close up of charcal hut




Harris decided to take smaller highways, instead of big interstates….and you know what that means. Yep, more twisty, climbing, steep sided roads. Why are the steep sides always on our side of the road? Why are there never any guardrails?


Like new condition after only 3 years use



The scenery at first was interesting, sort of. On one side of the road were agricultural fields, orchards and vineyards. On the other side of the road were huge industrial plants, electrical plants, and oil pumps. Then we started climbing into the Sierra Madre mountains. Twisty roads. Yep. But the hills became beautifully green with grasses and trees. We passed isolated ranches, some combined with wineries! Some of the hills became sunshiny yellow. It at first looked like the sun was just shining on some areas, but then we realized there were beautiful yellow wildflowers just covering the hills. After we went over a pass, we noticed a big change….even more green, more trees, very hilly and beautiful. We were sure out of desert country, and getting closer to the coast. The sky was getting grayer, too, although we only got a few sprinkles.


So this was what was causing all our wind!




We didn’t know exactly where we’d end up tonight, so we checked out a few RV parks around Morro Bay. The state park was gorgeous, but cost $50 for hookups. So, we found another park a little further from the beach and parked it. Since we’re only here for sleeping, it doesn’t matter if we’re on the beach. But we saw it today!



Finally some green!

Leaving Death Valley

Saturday, April 3, 2010 (day 117)

So, after almost 35 years of marriage, Judy has been replaced.
We took a small hike this morning, in the Golden Canyon. Even though it was morning, we got hot and sweaty, and soooo enjoyed having some cold water with us. Harris (twice!!) said, “have I told you lately how much I love…..? now, this sentence used to be finished with “you”. But on this morning, he said, “our RV with the fridge”. Twice!!!





The hike was worth the effort, with beautiful rock formations and mineral colors. We headed back to the visitor center for some advice as to which road to take out of the park. We had a couple of choices. The ranger giving us the advice asked a couple of questions, looked at Judy’s face, looked at Harris’s face and then said, “go for it”. Can you guess which road we took? Of course! The one with curves and steep sides! Harris thinks they are fun to drive! Judy thinks they are torture! Howie thinks they are an excuse to rearrange everything in the cupboards!




Part of the road led on a side trip up a dirt road to the charcoal ovens. These were beehive shaped structures used years ago to make charcoal for a nearby silver mine. They are in such great shape because they were only used for three years; they are almost new (and the best example of them on Earth). We had lunch while we were there….inside, because it was cold outside. There was snow on the sides of the road!




Continuing out on the twisty road, the scenery changed from hillsides with trees back to desert with scrub brush. After we left the park (stopping a couple of times for caches), the scenery got duller and duller, and even ugly in spots. Lots of mining and industrial scenes.





We stopped outside Mojave, CA, in a small RV park. Harris cooked a great steak dinner. We were glad to have hookups because we needed our heater.