PHOTO GALLERY 2022

At the left is a composite photo of some of recent adventures from the past year or so. See the complete 2021 photo gallery featuring photos such as these as well as many many more great photos. Left to right and top to bottom those thumbnail photos are Vilano 5th Wheel, Miramar Motorcoach, Joe sailing, Anne Marie sailing, Libby & Taffy, MGB travels, Taffy + Poe, and the Blokart I tried.

Previous Photo Galleries 2012-2021:
Select another Windseeker gallery from the dropdown menu  :   2021:  Windseeker VI  Miramar - Western Travels 2021 2020:  Windseeker V  Forester - Western Travels 2020 2019:  Windseeker V  Forester - Western Travels 2019 2018:  Windseeker V  Forester - Western Travels 2017-18 2016:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - Eastern Tour - PART II 2016:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - Eastern Tour - PART I 2015:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - National Tour - PART II 2015:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - National Tour - PART I 2014:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - Western Tour 2013:  Windseeker II  Country Coach - Western Tour 2012:  Windseeker I  Gulf Stream - Northwest Tour 2010:  our first RV - Ford F250 with Lance Camper --------------------------------- 

Winter Trip to California - beginning December 2021

We left Vancouver in the Miramar on Wednesday Dec 1, headed south to California. Our winter itinerary part I will take us down I-5, crossing over the Siskiyou Mountains into California. Then we'll head down thru the central valley, and on to San Diego for a family Christmas celebration the end of the month. Our route home ultimately mapped out as our winter itinerary part II which will take us back thru San Francisco and up the Oregon Coast. On the first day we made a quick stop at Camping World in Wilsonville to pick up a few supplies. It seemed like a good photo opp as the first photo of our three month planned excursion.

Taffy is excited to be heading back out on the road. She enjoys traveling in the motorhome and visiting new RV Parks and campgrounds. That being said, she doesn't really think of herself as a dog. She's our "dogter" and gets rather put out if treated like an ordinary dog.

I'll be picking up a new Blokart Christmas present in San Diego and have ordered several accessories to aid in my use of the new toy. These accessories include a Foot Extension Bar to accommodate my long legs, and a Ratchet Pulley Block to aid in sail handling. This is similar to the ratchet fiddle block I added to our Catalina Sailboat this year. I also ordered a Rear Bearing Shield Kit and a spare Pulley Whip. [ED: A year later, I decided to sell the Blokart as I had not found any opportunity to use it.]

After a brief layover in Veneta at our Vilano, we continued on to Medford, OR to spend a day before we head over Siskiyou Summit on Saturday. We met up with long time RV friends, Dennis and Myra Bailey who live in Medford. We had a few margaritas at their home and then headed over to El Molcajete Mexican Grill where Libby and I shared their namesake specialty dinner.

This is now the third time we have had El Molcajete and this was the best yet! Delicious strips of grilled skirt steak, chicken, cactus, dynamite bacon wrapped prawns, and queso fresco served in a steaming hot mortar, carved of natural volcanic stone, which keeps the tasty sauce with bell peppers and onions hot. We'll be going back when we come thru here again.

On Saturday, Dec 4, taking full advantage of the clear weather as read on the myweather2.com forecast, we crossed over the Siskiyou Summit which divides Southern Oregon from Northern California. Considered one of the most hazardous stretches of road along Interstate 5, up and down the west coast, it rises to an elevation of 4310', which at this latitude can be quite treacherous in winter driving conditions. We have made this trek a number of times in the past, and when driving a motorhome while towing, one always has safety as a primary consideration. Our destination for the night is Red Bluff, CA, about 125 miles south of the border, where the day's weather is projected to be a high of about 70 degrees!

Fortunately we are making the trip over Siskiyou Summit in our luxury Class A Thor Miramar motorhome. I'm not too sure I would have wanted to make the trip in this rig at the left! Now, on the other hand, if you REALLY wanna travel in style how about this rig or this rig. For a fascinating view of motorhomes or 'housecars' over the past century take a peek at this amazing collection, courtesy of Cypress Trail Luxury RV Resort.

After crossing over the summit, it's an easy cruise on I-5 through the Siskiyous as you wind down into California past Mt Shasta. Shasta had some snow on it but the area was awfully dry. Shasta Lake water level was the lowest we have ever seen it in all our trips down into California. Level is 171.30 feet below full pool of 1,067'. The drought is really taking its toll! We pulled into the KOA Kampground in Red Bluff around 3:30 this afternoon and set up camp in the warm sunshine. We'll be here a few days, leaving Tuesday for Morgan Hill.

After spending our first night in California in Red Bluff, we continued on to Morgan Hill RV Resort, a part of the Thousand Trails network, for 4 nights. Morgan Hill is just south of the San Francisco Bay area Libby got in a visit to San Francisco for a couple days and visit with Tim, Kristin and the two granchildren, Oliver and Emery. Ollie is now 21 months old and Emery is two months, and Grammy treasures every minute with them.

This morning we pulled out of Morgan Hill just in advance of a major wet weather event called an "Atmospheric River". We headed down I-5 for a brief layover at Orange Grove RV Park & Resort in Bakersfield before we go up and over the Grapevine into the LA Basin tomorrow. Orange Grove RV Park is a large, well maintained RV park as you can from this beautiful aerial photo. Big level wide pull-through spaces with orange trees at every site. We parked the Miramar in amongst the orange trees and picked a dozen delicious navel oranges which are ripe and sweet right now.

Even though we're only here for a one night layover as we make our way on to the L.A. area, with just a few minutes set up, we are instantly "at home". A push of the button sets up the Dish Hopper for full satellite and DVR enjoyment. Libby has the passenger seat captain's chair which swivels around to make a comfy recliner, and with the slide out, my "office" is set up as I sit, work, relax and watch TV from the comfort of my king-size Lazyboy recliner. And of course "home is where my dog bed is", says Taffy.

Our next stop was Soledad Canyon in the northern edge of Los Angeles County, and after 4 nights there, on Thursday, we moved on to Ojai, California, about a 2 hour drive from Soledad Canyon. Long time friends Mike & Marilyn Schradle live here and we always enjoy visiting them on their lovely property above the orange groves and the spending a little time in the charming town of Ojai. The city park downtown is called Libbey Park and is a delightful place to walk the dog.... Taffy was here with Corey in 2019 as well

We haven't seen Mike and Marilyn in a couple years because of COVID, and are spending 3 nights at their place before we head on to San Diego. We have stayed here before... They live on several acres and have a long flat concrete driveway where we can park and connect to their water and 20A power. 20A is enough to run the refrigerator, minimal appliances and keep the batteries charged. Here we have joined them for morning coffee on their sunlit patio with a marvelous view of their orchard and White Ledge Peak in the nearby Santa Ynez Mountains.

This time of year, particularly after recent rains, the air is clear in Ojai and the view across the Ojai Valley of White Ledge Peak in the nearby Santa Ynez Mountains is an excellent one.

Mike and I took a drive up into the Santa Ynez Mountains to a little photographed spot called Piedra Blanca, Spanish for 'White Rock'. I couldn't find any photos online at all. The Piedra Blanca Trailhead is a major paved trailhead facility in the Ojai Ranger District located at the end of the Sespe River Road. Driving along Sespe River Road, also known as Rose Valley Road, we stopped at a viewpoint just long enough to catch a glimpse of the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara as viewed though the mountains.

On Friday evening, our last night in town, we all went over to Boccali's, a local italian eaterie and pizzaria. The restaurant proprietor is Duane Boccali, a long time friend of Mike's since their elementary school days. In high school he and Duane both played guitar and had a little local band. A tasty meal was had by all and Duane comped us some of his delicious apple cobbler.

We are down in San Diego for Christmas and New Years to spend the holidays with family but also to escape winter weather at home. We are getting it in Vancouver in spades right now with 3 inches of snow last night and freezing temps won intp the teens over the next few days. Brrrr... At the left is a shot from our secuirty camera in the backyard and here's another shot of the driveway. We've been getting some rain in San Diego, but still pretty mild by comparison.

Today, Weds, December 29, was a momentous day. About 20 years after I saw my first iPhone at a software conference, I finally capitulated and bought one. I have been saying all along that when they make a smartphone that wil fold up like my trusty Alcatel flip phone I would consider getting one, but not until then. I have resisted it all these years. Libby has had an iPhone for years, but I stayed back in the dark ages. Until today. On a tip from my brother who just bought one himself at a special discount from Best Buy, I drove over to a Best Buy near us in San Diego and bought a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3. Regularly about $1000, I got mine for $600. Whadda deal!

After figuring out how to initiate and receive phone calls on the first day, I set my new phone aside and waited for an excellent opportunity the next day when the family planned to get together one more time before everyone heads home. During the visit I managed to corner our darling daughter-in-law Linjia who has been using android phones most of her life and asked if she could give me a couple lessons. She gladly complied and taught me how to move things around and organize the desktop, take photos and organize them into "albums", resize my keyboard, and more! I am blessed to have such a lovely, clever and patient instructor. Between Linjia and Patrick, and youtube videos, I will eventually get the hang of this thing!

Our Winter Trip - the Return home

After the holidays in San Diego, we started our trip north again pursuing our winter itinerary part II. We made a brief stop in Menifee and then on to Palm Springs. We checked into Thousand Trails amidst the omnipresent palm trees. For dinner we joined our friends Steve and Judy Chown at Babe's Bar-B-Que & Brewery for some craft brews, outstanding BBQ ribs, killer cornbread etc etc.

Babe's Bar-B-Que & Brewery is a beautiful restaurant with a great menu of craft beers and delicious barbeque. The decor is quite amazing.

Steve and Judy Chown are good friends from our time in Lake Oswego... we lived just around the corner from one another, and socialized a lot together. Then when they decided to move to Vancouver in 2013 we did the same and moved once again to the same neighborhood, just a couple blocks away. They also bought a beautiful townhouse style condo here in Palm Springs about 10 years ago and we have visited them here before.

We have seen a lot of change in our lifetimes - some of it really jumps out and smacks you in the face when you travel around in an RV the way we do. There are many slideshows floating around the internet illustrating just how much things have changed over the last century. I found this one particularly poignant. Watch this one on Youtube... with a couple dozen slides, you will be charginned at the "progress" our society has made. And here's a youtube link to quite a few other takes on this same topic.

We moved on to Long Beach, California on Jan 7 where we'll stay for a week while visting any number of old friends in the L.A. area. And this evening, Jan 8, we met my old friend Shad Meshad and his wife Melinda... and old friend Jil Gotlib at The Lazy Dog Restaurant in Redondo Beach.

Visits to LA are always a scheduling challenge. Sunday I met friend Jodi and her husband up in Glendale while Libby met several of her high school friends at the same restaurant. Monday we met friends Greg and Paula for lunch in Torrance, Tuesday we met friends Fred and Frans where they live in Altadena, and today, Wednesday, we met Libby's brother Forrest and wife Lynn and her mom Margaret (left). We have one more day of friends lunches tomorrow before we head on to Las Vegas.

Today we met friends for lunch at a little restaurant called The Toasted Bun in Hollywood. Pictured at the left are Libby and I with my long time actress friend Jodi Taylor... we have been good friends almost 50 years now

Today Libby also met her old high school friends Madeleine and Judy at The Toasted Bun. They generally have a large reunion when Libby comes to town, but due to COVID and other commitments, only two friends could make it this year.

On our last day in the L.A. area we drove into Hollywood... I dropped Libby off to visit with her friend Betsy while I went on to West Hoillywood to meet with my old actor friend Mike Forest. We have visited him and wife Diana multiple times in the last 5 years when we have come to L.A. Mike is an inspiration to me... he will be 93 in April when I turn 77. 93! And he's still doing pretty well... he can get around on his own steam, he still drives, etc. I should be so lucky!

I met Mike when we were both living in Rome, Italy in the early 70's. Mike had arrived there about 10 years or so before I did and had some good success in the Italian Film Industry. I arrived too late after the government had cracked down on American actors working there. I watch a lot of old westerns on TV and frequently see Mike in an old western film or TV show. He also appeared as Apollo on Star Trek and as Atlas in Roger Corman's film Atlas in 1961 Here's a great webpage which is a tribute to Mike's film career. We have stayed in touch and I always try to visit with him when we come to the L.A. area.

On Friday we pulled up stakes and headed for Las Vegas. Enroute to Las Vegas, we decided to layover in Victorville, where there just happens to be a Freddy's Steakburger. We became Freddys Fans when we were living in Texas. Besides their terrific steakburgers made with fresh ground beef, they are infamous for their delicious frozen custard Custard and ice cream are basically created from the same three ingredients: milk, cream, and sugar. The major difference between the two is that custard must also contain 1.4% pasteurized egg yolk. The addition of eggs gives it a smooth and creamy texture.

Further up the highway to Las Vegas we passed thru Apple Valley which has signs for Roy Rogers Blvd and Dale Evans Blvd. Happy Trails! Roy with his horse Trigger and faithfull German Shepherd dog Bullitt was my hero when I was a kid. I faithfully watched the Roy Rogers TV Show during the years it aired from 1951-58. He settled in Apple Valley and had a nearby Ranch in Oro Grande. Happy Trails to you until we meet again!

We made it to Las Vegas on Saturday. We did some bicycle riding, shopping, and relaxing. Then on Tuesday we drove out to Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It has a capacity of about 2,080 megawatts of electrical power supplied to the American Southwest.

Here Libby and I posed the by sign commemorating the Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which is also known as the Hoover Dam Bypass which crosses the Colorado River on I-11. I took the photo of the dam above from this bridge.

Lake Mead is still a beautiful place even though the water levels are way down, 1066' elevation, down from full pool of 1220' elevation. That is down about 154' due to the continuing drought in the southwest. (May 2022: 1051'/down 177')

We also drove out to Lake Mead Village RV Park on the shores of Lake Mead in Henderson, Nevada. We had planned to stay here on our planned National Parks trip, which was ultimately cancelled due to Covid. We liked what we saw today and we'll probably stay here on our next visit to Las Vegas.

On our last day in Las Vegas, with perfect sunny clear weather, we drove out to Red Rock Canyon about 30 minutes west of the city. We took the 13 mile scenic drive through the canyon gawking at the large red rock formations, sandstone peaks and walls which were formed by thrust faults a few hundred million years ago. Oxidation of the iron minerals in the sediments resulted in the red colors of some of the rocks.

Well we left Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan 20, and spent a few days enroute to San Francisco, where our son Tim lives with the two grandchildren. We made a couple stops in Bakersfield and Hollister, California to break up the trip before heading up the peninisula toward the city. San Francisco, often called The Golden City, has as its most iconic symbol the famous Golden Gate Bridge which bridges the entrance to the San Francisco Bay over to Marin County and Sausalito. It may also be called The Golden City because you need a truckload of gold to be able to live there! You do NOT wanna know what Tim and his wife have to pay to rent a two bedroom apartment. Insanity!

On Sunday we arrived in the small coastal town of Pacifica, California today and pulled into San Francisco RV Park. We are planning to spend the next two weeks at this Thousand Trails / Encore RV Park which sits right on the bluffs above the Pacific Ocean. It is just a short 20 minute drive into the Presidio district of SF where son Tim and wife Kristin live with our two grandchildren, Oliver and Emery. This bench is just a few steps from our RV space and offers a great view north up the coast.

On Wednesday we arranged to meet up with a dear old friend who lives down in Santa Cruz, about an hour and a half south of Pacifica. We spent the better part of the day driving along the very scenic Pacific Coast Highway, also called Highway 1, making a number of stops along the way. We drove down through the pophlar coastal town of Half Moon Bay. Here we stopped at Pescadero State Beach for an escellent photo opp. In the background you can see some substantial waves rolling in!

After Pescadero State Beach our next stop was at Pigeon Point Lighthouse, shown at the left. This photogenic lighthouse was built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California. It is the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States and is still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. I walked out to that point where you see the railing at the edge of the bluffs to capture the marvelous photo below.

I snapped this marvelous photo of Prisoner Rock in Whaler's Cove just south of Pigeon Point Lighthouse. The fields beyond are covered in beautiful Bermuda Buttercup wildflowers.

This sign commemorates "Where Land and Sea Collide" at Whaler's Cove just below Pigeon Point Lighthouse. The sea collides with picturesque Prisoner Rock and the rocky bluffs behind.

After lunch in Davenport, a charming little seaside community further down the road after Pigeon Point, we finally arrived in Santa Cruz where we met up with dear old friend Martha Kaufeldt at Steamer Lane, a famous surfing spot in the popular coastal town of of Santa Cruz. You can make out surfers catching a wave in the upper right corner of the photo. Steamer Lane is a popular point break off the cliffs in the West Cliff residential area near downtown Santa Cruz. The shape of the waves here is excellent. Some major competitions have been held here and the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is housed in a lighthouse there/

Here's nice wave at Steamer Lane... probably a ten foot face with a couple surfers enjoying the ride. This peak is bi-directional and could give a surfer a nice ride in either direction if he were in the right spot. Steamer Lane is divided into four zones: Indicators, Middle Peak, The Slot where the photo at the left was taken, and The Point. The Point is the furthest out and is where the biggest sets break and where the most daring surfers paddle out to catch the biggest waves and the longest rides.

Here Martha and I posed by a tall bronze statue of a surfer standing tall at Steamer Lane. Steamer Lane is a busy place teeming with men and boys running around in wet suits carrying their boards either heading out for a "sesh" or just coming in. I used to surf back in my 20's when I first came to California after graduation form college. The love of surfing from back then led me to the sport of windsurfing in my 30's.

Around 5:00, we drove out on the Santa Cruz wharf where we met Martha's husband Rick after work for dinner at Firefish Grill Restaurant, a local favorite, where we got a nice waterfront table and enjoyed some brews and delicious seafood.

Besides the beautiful daytime view from the bluffs here at San Francisco RV Resort in Pacifica, we get some excellent sunsets here as well, as the late afternoon sun sets into the Pacific Ocean.

Taffy loves our spot here in Pacifica as well. The RV park has some nice grassy areas to walk dogs and the one right near our coach has lots of molehills. Taffy is a born huntress and loves to go hunting on the grass and listens for mole activity below her feet.

As shown in previous photos on this blog, son Tim and his wife Kristin live in San Francisco. They have two children now, Oliver who is almost 2 now and little Emery who is just 3 months old now. Both are adorable, and while Emery is still an infant and just starting to show signs of recognizing us, Ollie is very attached to Grammie and Pop Pop and is a lot of fun to play with. Here he is in the neighborhood park on his new balance bike (no pedals).

On Weds of week 2 in Pacifica, Libby's cousins John and Sue drove down from Napa for a visit. We hung around the RV Park for a while catching up on each others' lives. They have all remained pretty close over the years so it was nice to catch up. Then we all drove over to a nearby eaterie called Celia's Mexican Restaurant for a delicious "Linner". We learned something... no longer will we casually order a cup of guacamole to go with the free chips without asking how much. Normally that will cost $5 +/-. When the bill came that cup of guac cost us $12.25!!! Yikes! Are we talking triple digit inflation or what?

Today, Thursday, Libby went up to see the grandkids and I stayed back with Taffy for a visit with old friend Scott Wainner who came up for a visit with wife Joyce and their dog Maisie. Scott and I have been internet pals since the late 90's when he was still in college. He's a Silicon Valley wunderkind and has done really well for himself, I am proud to say. He travels in pretty high circles now (he's friends with Richard Branson, for example) but still will take the time out to visit me when we come to the Bay area. We have visited him in his spectacular new home in the hills above Los Altos in recent years. Nine years ago we visited Scott and Joyce shortly after they moved to Los Altos. This photo of Scott and me shows me with a lot more hair on my head and my face! At the left are hunting pals, Taffy and Maisie, hunting for gophers in the fresh gopher mounds.

On Friday, our next to the last day of our two weeks in Pacifica we treated ouselves to lunch at Taco Bell. Wait a second... This ain't just any Taco Bell, this is Taco Bell Cantina on the beach in Pacifica! They even serve beer here!

Here we are dining on tacos and burritos sitting by the beach I would imagine you are not likely to find many Taco Bell locations like this one... literally beachside. Eat your tacos or burritos and watch the surfers riding waves on the beach.

After lunch we took a stroll on the beach and let Taffy run... she just loves to race around on the sand!

The Bay Area Discovery Museum is a marvelous children's museum located in Sausalito, California inside the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Tim and Kristin are members so their kids can go as often as they like. Grammie and Pop Pop took Ollie over there on our last day in town, Saturday Feb 5. Ollie had a great time playing with the little train sets.

After the train play area, Ollie wanted to go play with the garbage trucks! So we walked over to the sand area where the trucks are located and he played with them until closing. Having too much fun! After we left, we took Ollie back to the apartment were we all enjoyed a delicious meal from a local Burmese restaurant. Little Emery is now almost 4 months old and is growing more responsive by the day... here he is sitting with Pop Pop.

Today, Sunday we left Pacifica and headed up Highway 101 enroute back to Oregon. Here we are crossing the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito and Marin County. Adios San Francisco. The updated song is "I left my wallet in San Francsco..." Everything is just so expensive in the city any more, much of the charm and romance is gone. There's not a chance we would go back except for the grandchildren. We're trying to persuade Tim and Kristin to move back to the Pacific Northwest.

Our first stop is The Benbow KOA Holiday RV in Garberville, CA, about a 4 hour drive north of Pacifica. We're here for two days before we head on up Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County to Eureka on the northern California coast where we'll spend several days. The name The Benbow KOA reminds me of the Admiral Benbow Inn, a pub featured in the classic novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. We got a nice patio space in the uncrowded park and here we are relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine in the late day sunshine after getting in getting set up in our space.

We stayed 2 nites at Benbow KOA and our full day here was slated as a relaxation day... This KOA is in a very pretty setting and it's mostly empty this time of year. There's a little 9 hole golf course attached to the park, and is free for park customers.

I played a lot of golf when I was young, but chose to avoid the frustration as I got older. Going sailing is a helluva lot more relaxing and enjoyable than going from tee to rough to sandtrap to water hazard to three putt. That is just masochism. There was no one using the course so we rented a golf cart for $25, loaded Taffy on board and drove around the course.

Just for fun, we borrowed a putter and a chipper each and a couple balls and drove all 9 holes chipping to the green and putting each hole.

Here I am lining up a long putt on one of 9 holes. (Spoil alert: I didn't make the putt)

Here's Libby lining up a putt on a different green. "Green" is kind of a generous use of the term... The grass was green, what there was of it, as you attempted to putt amidst the gaps and little weeds and wildflowers. Yep, that's a photo of the ball on the green, not in the rough! The flag on the flagpole says it all! But it was still fun in warm afternoon sun.

Here's Libby standing by the golf cart as Taffy looks on with great interest. This was her first ride in a golf cart. Taffy loved it. Our other westies all loved it... We actually owned a golf cart when we lived in Las Brisas in Texas and the dogs loved to ride around the neighborhood.

Today, Tuesday, we drove the 70 mile drive from Garberville up to Eureka on the northern California coast. On our last trip through here we took the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County, CA in what is known as the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It's a beautiful stretch of road through a truly impressive redwood forest and I recall stopping and gawking at some of the huge trees. but since we had already driven it in 2019, we opted this time to just stick to Hwy 101, which is essentially a 4 lane freeway all the way. We did pass by some giant redwood trees, and it is in general a beautiful forested drive along 101 as well.

We pulled into Eureka Tuesday night. We stayed at Shoreline RV Park and visited with good friend Gary Rooney and wife Kate who raised their son Logan here after leaving Portland around 20 years ago. We have visited them here before. Logan is now working on his Masters Degree in England.

Eureka is an old lumber town where lumber barons built many old Victorian mansions. Here's the most famous one in the city, the Carson Mansion is a large Victorian house built from 1884 to 1886 which is located in the historic Old Town, considered to be one of the premier examples of Queen Anne style architecture in the United States. It currently houses "The Ingomar Club", a gentlemen's club which promotes good fellowship.

Libby and I stopped in historic Old Town for a cup of coffee and a chai tea at the "Old Town Coffee and Chocolate" shop to "drink in" the gilded age ambience of Old Town. In retrospect, the only negative comment about Shoreline RV Park where we stayed is that like so many places these days Eureka is a textbook example of wealth inequality. It is overrun with homeless people and this park is right along a public path (with no fence) where the people hang out. We saw them sleeping in the park in an empty RV space under a picnic table, and while we were there someone stole the bike seat and seatpost off my bike, even as it was mounted on the RV bike rack! I bought a new seat, even more comfy than the one I had, and a black anodized alloy seatpost which matches all the other hardware on the bike, unlike the shiny alloy one they stole.

Our next stop after Eureka was Crescent City, a popular beach town right up on the border of northern California and Oregon. A popular spot Battery Point Light is a lighthouse in Crescent City, California, United States. It is registered as a California Historical Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Battery Point Lighthouse". The Lighthouse is a wonderfully picturesque structure perched on top of a small rocky island just off the shore near Crescent City's harbor

The Northern California Coast and the Oregon Coast is some of the most picturesque coastline in the world. Any dummy with a smartphone can take photos worthy of a National Geographic spread. This photo was taken from a little turnout just north of Battery Point Lighthouse.

This little fellow was taking a break and enjoying the view before continuing on his afternoon fishing expedition. Behind him is a beautiful classic off shore rock formation, which is technically called a Sea Stack.

Crescent City is not only all about the spectacular coastline. Just a few miles up U.S. Route 199 lies Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, a state park of California preserving old-growth redwoods along the Smith River. Some spectacular stands of giant redwood trees here make this coastal park very popular with tourists year round. Here I am standing by a medium size redwood right at the entrance to the state park.

We left the motorhome at a nearby Walmart as we drove up U.S. Route 199 for a quick visit to a redwood forest... Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Here the afternoon sunlight plays gently through the giant trees.

Friends Myra and Dennis came over to Bandon to meet up with us from their home in Medford where we vsited them back in December. We all drove over to Coquille Point, a spot we had visited before quite by accident. Here, perched near the cliffs at Coquille Point, Cosmo the Tufted Puffin stands sentry. Cosmo resembles the clownish seabirds, only he stands six feet tall and is made of marine debris. We posed by Cosmo for this photo.

Puffins are some adorable birds, once thought to be fish because of the way they flap their short wings underwater chasing fish to eat. They flock here at Coquille Point at certain times of year and roost on the big rocks offshore.

The story of Cosmo the Tufted Puffin is remarkable. Artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi's nonprofit Washed Ashore turns litter from Oregon beaches into 'beautiful and horrifying' sculptures of wildlife harmed by plastic pollution. Volunteers collect the junk and help wire it onto steel frames to create art. Read the fascinating story of how Cosmo was created and more about the artist here.

Just a few hundred yards down the path from Cosmo you are standing about a gorgeous cove with more large rock formations just offshore.

Here's another great photo taken at Coquille Point looking to the south as the waves roll into the beautiful cove and up onto the driftwood laden beach.

Bandon is also known as the "Cranberry Capital of Oregon" for all the cranberries grown here. And this coastal city is also home to world-famous Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. It is a colorful town as the mural at the left demonstrates as it proclaims horse drawn carriage rides once popular in the city. And the historic Old Town with its quaint shops and restaurants is a big attraction to summer tourists.

On our way north from Bandon to Winchester Bay, one of our favorite Oregon coastal destinations, we pulled off Hwy 101 and headed out to Cape Arago State Park, a scenic headland jutting into the Pacific Ocean just north of Bandon Beach.

One popular viewpoint off the Cape Arago Highway is Simpson Reef Overlook in Shore Acres State Park. Simpson Reef is a major migratory, resting and non-breeding area for California sea lions and Steller (northern) sea lions in the spring and fall seasons.

This marvelous sign stands at the Simpson Reef Overlook and tells about the "wild community" in this reef area and the sea lions that visit here.

We stopped for a quick photo opp at this intersection off the Cape Arago Highway... at Libby Lane. Yep, it's Libby, Libby, Libby on the Street-sign, Street-sign, Street-sign..."

After leaving Cape Arago we continued up 101 to Winchester Bay, a favorite spot of ours along the Oregon coast. Winchester Bay is just a short drive south of Florence, our closest coastal spot west of Veneta where we keep our sailboat at Fern Ridge Lake. We got our same spot #100 right along the harbor with a nice view of the sailboats out the RV windshield.

The weather turned chilly after we arrived and we got some much needed rain early in the week. That was fine... we stayed cozy on the Miramar and enjoyed some cuddle time and watched figure skating in the Winter Olympics, our very favorite sport that we enjoy watching on the television. American phenom Nathan Chen won the men's individual event, the crowning glory to his spectacular skating career. And Russia's beautiful Anna Shcherbakova, last year's gold medal winner in the World Championships ladies singles won Olympic gold. We have followed them both all season and so we watched with great enthusiasm as they took the gold.

On our last day the weather turned pretty nice and in the afternoon we drove over to the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area, the year-round residence for a herd of about 100 Roosevelt Elk. Taffy enjoyed sniffing as we viewed!

The Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area is located in the town of Reedsport, Oregon just a few miles from Winchester Bay where we were camped. The elk are a major attraction in the area and right downtown stands this beautiful bronze statue. That's about the only way I could get close to one of these magnificent creatures for a photo.

Also downtown is the Visitor's Center and out front is this wonderful statue of everyone's favorite bear, Smokey. "Remember, only you can prevent Forest Fires."

After leaving Reedsport and Winchester Bay we headed up for one last stop at Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast north of Newport. We came up to find an art exhibit from the same folks that created the Puffin at Bandon Beach. It rained pretty hard overnight and in the morning but began clearing around noon so we headed out and stopped for lunch at HWY 101 Burger recommended by TripAdvisor where they advertise "Always fresh, never frozen."

As advertised the burgers at HWY 101 Burger use ground beef that is "Always fresh, never frozen." Delicious! And the fries were also great, hand cut from fresh spuds... while waiting for the food, we saw the handtruck loaded with sacks of potatoes roll in while we were there!

After lunch we drove over to the Lincoln City Cultural Center where they were hosting an exit of 'marine debris sculpture' created by Angela Haseltine Pozzi's nonprofit Washed Ashore. We first encountered her unique form of art a few years ago with the permanent statue of Cosmo the Tufted Puffin at Bandon Beach. We stopped back earlier on this trip to visit Cosmo the Tufted Puffin

Here is a fine example if this unique 'marine debris sculpture' - Flash the Marlin. Washed Ashore creates these elaborate sculptures representing the marine life affected by plastic pollution. They are made entirely of debris found washed up on our beaches. See all the amazing Washed Ashore sculptures in this exhibit on our own Washed Ashore photo gallery.

Back at Home in Vancouver

After Lincoln City we headed back home. Because we were having a real cold stretch, we decided to take a space just across the river at Fairview RV Park, a Thousand Trails park, (almost free for us) for a few nights until the cold snap passed. It actually snowed while we were there. We're not winterized, of course, as we have been living in it and it seemed kinda pointless to go thru all that now as we move into March. We have an excellent propane furnace which also heats the underbays so camping in cold weather is no problem. Therefore, just to be on the safe side we kept it at Fairview until Sunday, when we brought it across the river to our storage facility in Vancouver. It's nice to be home again and see our son Pat and daughter-in-law Linjia... and Taffy was happy to see her pal Poe.

It's a sad time we have returned home to... we arrived back in the Portland area on the very day Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. The invasion is the largest military attack in Europe since World War II. We shall remain hopeful for the success of the unprecedented global reaction against the tyrannical dictator Valdimir Putin... NATO has imposed many harsh sanctions on Russia which will impose serious economic hardship on the country and on their ability to wage war. And many, many global corporations have joined in, refusing to sell their products and services in Russia. The Russian rouble has collapsed, interest rates in Russia are now 20%, many goods in Russia are being rationed due to shortages, and the major airlines have stopped flying into and out of Russia. This catastrophic situation has been brought down on the country all due to the megalomaniac ambitions of one man, Vladimir Putin.

In these trying times, it is important to find some glimmer of joy and pleasure amidst all the bad news. St. Patrick's Day is a good excuse to get out of the house, down to the local pub, and raise a glass of green beer to remember our Irish heritage in the evolution of the history of this free country we are so fortunate to live in.

We always know when it is spring here in the Pacific Northwest when the cherry blossoms come out. We get a gorgeous display here right about the beginning of spring each year. Our neighborhood abounds with ornamental cherry trees on almost every block. Just half a block away is this spread on both sides of the street and half a block up from here is this beauitful display.

Northwest Portland Hostel & Guesthouse located in the heart of the city, is a village of 6 buildings, all located in the same block. Each lovely building has its own character and special features with most built in the late 1800's. Voted 3rd best medium size hostel in the world, their cafe is open Thursdays through Mondays. We met up with longtime friends Nora & Kevin Semonsen for Sunday brunch... unlike so many popular dining spots in the city, this one was not at all crowded but very charming with heated outdoor patio well back from the street. Nice to catch up with old friends... we made future plans to get together this spring at their vacaton home in Sun River, out near Bend, OR. My "merged photo technique" got us all in the same shot.

Sunday was a warm spring day with no rain in the forecast so we decided to take the MG out and give her some exercise. We drove the hour or so on back roads down to Mt Angel to a tavern we visited once before some years back... the Mt Angel Sausage Company. Here we are parked out in front of the tavern. The sign on the front of the yellow truck reads "Got Brat!!" We sure did. Brats and then some...Below is a photo of the lunch plate we split!

This is the delecious European Wurst Sampler plate that we split, complete with delicious sauerkraut, and sensational fried "Kartoffeln und Zwiebeln" (potatoes with onions). Not to mention some oustanding Deutsches Bier. Prosit! Mt Angel is a charming German-theme town south of Portland which is the home of a popular Oktoberfest each fall.

Today I want to take a moment to wish a very Happy Birthday to my hero Secretariat. On March 29, a few years back in the spring of 2015 we visited Claiborne Farm in Lexington, KY. Owned by the Hancock Family, Claiborne Farm has been a leading Thoroughbred farm for generations. Claiborne is where the greatest racehorse of all time, Secretariat, my favorite athlete of all time, stood at stud and is buried. Tens of thousands visit the gravesite every year. I brought my own treasured bronze racehorse statue to the gravesite to physically imbue it with Secretariat's spirit.

Secretariat was born March 30, 1970, and was named Thoroughbred Racing's Horse of the year as a two year old, the first time a two year old ever won that honor. He became the first Triple Crown Winner in 50 years in 1973, breaking track records for the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and the Belmont, where he won the race by a record 31 lengths, a record which still stands today. He retired after the season as a three year old and stood at Stud until age nineteen at Claiborne Farms in Lexington, KY. You can watch this video of the gorgeous stallion running free in his paddock.... and this special tribute to the racing legend. Called by some "The greatest athlete the world has ever seen", I watch this touching tribute every year on his birthday... R.I.P. Big Red".

On June. 11, 1973, the incomparable Secretariat was featured on all three covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports illustrated Magazines, another first for this record-breaking super-horse! Watch this touching tribute to the greatest racehorse of all time, "Big Red", the magnificent chestnut stallion, Secretariat! Happy Birthday, Secretariat. We sure could use your inspiration today!

Well, spring is blooming everywhere now. The cherry trees are beginning to give up their blossoms and others are now in full bloom. Left is a line of Callery Pear trees. This ornamental pear is ubiquitous in our neighborhood, lining many of the streets near our home. Their opulent white blossoms are just lovely.

We took Taffy for a nice long walk in our neighborhood park this Wednesday afternoon. Here's Libby and Taffy standing beneath a lovely little Lily Magnolia. Years ago we had a really beautiful large one in our front yard in Lake Oswego. A closeup of the blossom is one of the composite photos below.

The composite photo at the left is made up of 4 photos taken on our walk in the park. Clockwise from the top left are are a beautiful pink Azalea, white blossoms from the beautiful Callery Pear, pink blossoms from the Lily Magnolia above, and a flowering Oregon Grape.

Also at the park we spotted this beautiful yellow forsythia in full bloom right now... nice arrangement with the white Candytufts at the base. Forsythia has always been one of my favorite early spring bloomers... always so cheery.

This unique weather event is worth a photo here in the photo gallery as well as on the travel log page. The photo at the left is of the Blue Spruce and the Norway Spruce in our back yard. It's not the most snow we have seen here... not like the winter of 2017 when we got nine inches at our home. Normally the snows are long gone by mid April in this area. It will melt quickly as the high temperature predicted for today is 42 degrees, but still it was quite a shock to wake up to it this morning.

Son Tim and family are visiting Portland this week. They rented a home in Portland, kind of midway between our house in Vancouver and his father's place in Lake Oswego. We have been down to Portland to visit them, and today Libby brought grandson Ollie back for a 'big boy' visit and sleepover at Grammie and Pop Pop's house. He's been a big help in the kitchen, helping Grammie prepare dinner as Taffy looks on with great interest just in case any food hits the floor! Of course little boys LOVE cars and trucks and Ollie was thrilled to climb into the MG in the garage (left) and pretend to drive it. It was rainy or I would have loved to take him for a ride in it. Next time!

Ollie saw a small model that we have of our motorhome in our family room and was fascinated by it. So of course we drove over to our RV covered storage yard and took him in it and let him investigate. He had a ball. Here I am pretending to drive (Vrooom, vrooom) with him on the dash grinning back at me. Little munchkin!

Our aging gutter system was in need of serious work and was starting to look pretty shabby. Enter LeafGuard. We had this excellent gutter system installed on two of our previous homes, so it was no-brainer to choose it once again. Expensive but effective. The LeafGuard seamless gutter system comes with a clog-free guarantee which makes cleaning gutters a thing of the past, all thanks to a built-in hood that covers the top of the gutter to keep out debris while letting water pass thru. Watch a brief video which shows exactly how LeafGuard works.

The LeafGuard Gutter System is a MAJOR upgrade to our home. The 2-story design of our home, including the hiproofs on both ends and over 400' of gutters with lots of turns and corners. This is more than twice the linear feet of gutters on a house with a simpler design, the Leafguard system did not come cheaply. Along with the new premium Cascade Windows we had installed throughout the entire home when we bought it in 2013, the LeafGuard Gutter System also adds considerably to the appearance and value of the home.

Today, May 1, we got a nice break in the weather to take the MG out for a spin. We drove over to Vancouver Lake and took Taffy for a walk in the park. Taffy really enjoys riding in the MG too and can sit on the rear bench and look out the middle between the seats, or just curl up and lie down back there which she does quite a bit. Vancouver Lake, located just west of Vancouver, Washington, is a large, shallow, 2,858-acre lake, measuring 3 miles long and 2 miles wide. Located on the right bank of the Columbia River, the lake is popular with locals for non-motorized water sports. The lake is about 1/3 the surface area of Fern Ridge Lake where we keep our Catalina 22 sailboat and spend our summers sailing.

Sign by the lake in the park: "Vancouver Lake is man made and was deeded to the port of Vancouver in 1919. Max depth of the lake is betweem 12 and 15 feet. Canoeing, rowing, sailing and kayaking are popular uses of the lake - etc"

We walked Taffy along the park's asphalt paths and enjoyed the pleasant weather. We decided next time we'll bring a picnic!

Driving to and from Vancouver Lake we took some nice, uncrowded local roads and boulevards. Here we are pulled over right by a gorgeous flowering pink dogwood tree. Spring in the Pacific Northwest is a very lovely time to cruise around local roads and enjoy the wide variety of flowering trees and shrubs. We also have a beautiful white dogwood in front of our home... this is a photo from last year. It is not yet in full bloom this year but we should see it come out in the next few weeks.

Summer at the Lake

We drove down to Fern Ridge Shores today, May 10, to open up the Vilano and make preparations for the summer season. We got a nice break in the rainy weather and were able to tow the MG down as well. We'll be launching the sailboat later this week, depending on the weather. The lake is full for the first time since spring of 2019 so we look forward to a long sailing season this year. We also added a new toy to the arsenal this spring... a SunSlider pedal boat. You can see it leaning up against the sailboat. We keep the sailboat over at Richardson Park Marina, but since we get a free boat slip in the park marina here, we figured we might as well have something to dock there. We can have some fun in the mornings before the wind comes up pedaling about for some exercise.

We lovingly refer to our spot here at Fern Ridge Reservoir with the magnificent Vanleigh Vilano 5th wheel as Villa Vilano. It is a real treat to have a spot here at this marvelous sailing lake, the best in the western US, and be able to look out the window or sit out on the quiet deck and watch the wind on the lake and other sailboats to see how they are moving with the available wind. This is something we searched for all across country on our long multi-year sojourn and never found until here, almost right in our own backyard! "Roughing it Smoothly" indeed!

Google has refreshed their aerial photos of Fern Ridge Shores this year. A previous one I posted on the blog was from before we occupied the space, but this one is now clearly us. The aerial photo now shows our Vilano 5th wheel in our over-sized space (outlined with yellow dotted line) along with the Miramar and our car trailer parked next to it, the MG in front under a grey cover and our Dodge Durango. Of course the Miramar is only there occasionally and the car trailer has had to be moved back to the storage lot. The photo also shows our partially covered deck next to the 5th wheel along with the small fenced backyard with bark chips for the dog, and our storage shed. Home Sweet Home Away from Home.

This is my brother Frank who lives in Vermont. He winters in Florida and spends his summers at Lake George, in upstate New York where we have visited him in the past. He just jumped into the RV community and bought his first RV, this small camper which he can easily tow behind his small truck. We'll haveta see where this leads... we started small too in a Lance Camper many years ago.

The country just passed a grim milestone... one million deaths from COVID-19. This graphic puts this in perspective, courtesy of CNN News. More people have died from Covid in two years than died from ALL the major wars we have been involved in back to the Revolutionary war!

Today, Monday May 16, we were able to launch the boat at Richardson Park Marina on Fern Ridge Lake. Early spring has been cold and wet and not too good for sailing, but excellent for filling the lake which is right at full pool. We enlisted the help of Scott Coleman and his launch team which makes it easy to get the mast up and put the boat in the water. We'll rig the sails tomorrow and hope to get out sailing the next suitable day.

The marina is only about 15% full right now, but over the next couple weekends it should fill up quickly. After backing the boat and trailer down the ramp. I motored around to our slip of C Dock where Libby was waiting to catch me and we rigged our 4 dock lines.

One of the most recent additions to our toychest is the Sun Dolphin Sun Slider which we found for sale on Craigslist This is a small 8'x5' pedal boat which steers with a rudder and is entirely powered by a couple sets of pedals, much like riding a recumbent bike. The bimini top keeps us out of the sun which will keep the dermatologist happy.

On Tuesday, we launched the Sun Slider, using the Catalina trailer to cart it over to our RV Park Marina and lower it down to the water on the boat ramp. Libby pedaled it over to our assigned (free) slip and we set our docking lines and took her for a spin together. Kinda fun. With my weight I can't stand up and move around, but I can sit and pedal just fine. (NOTE: After some experimentation with this little craft we realized it is impractical for us. Our dog won't go near it, the pedaling position bothers Libby's knee and it is difficult for me, with my size, to get in and out of. Another resident of the RV Park has decided to buy it from us.)

Today Tuesday, May 24, was a pleasant warm day with no wind at all in the forecast. So instead of sailing, we took the opportunity to hop into the MG and take the one hour cruise over Hwy 126 to Florence on the Oregon coast. Hwy 126 is a scenic state road which winds through the beautiful coastal mountain range to the Oregon Coast. We drove down to Heceta State Beach and took Taffy for a walk on the beach. Then we drove over to our favorite restaurant at the Florence Harbor along the Siuslaw River, the International C-food Market Restaurant.

We have been to the International C-food Market (ICM) Restaurant many times over the years. We always enjoy sitting on the outside deck which is dog-friendly, and having a bowl of their delicious clam chowder. And Taffy gets to lick the bowl!

On Memorial Day weekend we drove down to Portland's Memorial Coliseum to see the Stars on Ice show. Portland is the last stop on a 24-city spring tour. We follow figure skating competitions closely on television every year but we have never been to a live competition, and so we have never seen a single one of the international skating stars live and in person. Today was our opportunity. Appearing in the big show were many of figure skating's top stars including the incomparable Olympic Gold Medalist Nathan Chen, ice dancing world champs Madison Hubbell & Zach Donohue, US ladies single champion Mariah Bell and many others. We were Covid-cautious and wore our KN-95 masks for the whole show.

Back at the lake, the weather was still not cooperating so on Saturday June 18 we went over to the Oregon Horse Center in Eugene where they were having a Morgan Horse competition. We were privileged to see some really beautiful animals. were competing in dressage with some very accomplished riders who put their beautiful Morgans through their paces around the indoor arena. Libby and I always enjoy seeing these magnificent creatures strutting their stuff.

Today is Father's Day and like all dutiful children, our 'dogter' helped me celebrate by sitting in my lap. Of course, having the BelVita crackers with a cup of coffee will always beckon Taffy to the throne. Here she is avidly awaiting her little morning treat! Every Dad should be as lucky as me! Happy Pawther's Day!!!

Of course Taffy can only sit in my lap so long and then she has to back on duty. Her primary station is the little window by the sofa which offers her an excellent lookout onto the RV park road. Her secondary station is on the bed looking out an identical window out onto the back greenspace. Not as much activity back there but it offers her some variety.

Taffy likes to alternate her time between her lookout duties and resting and relaxation. After all it takes a great deal of energy to be on guard and protect our RV home... a job she takes very seriously. But after a while on lookout she adjourns to catch a little shuteye.

Today was first day of summer and our first sailing day in almost a month. The weather has finally shifted from the wettest spring on record to real summer weather. And the sailing season has begun in earnest. Sailboats were out inforce... and we joined them for a fun afternoon on the water. This picture perfect photo was taken at Richardson Park Marina waterfront park.

The sailing weather looks good all week and we're taking advantage of it. We sailed again today in absolutely perfect conditions... temp around 80, super steady winds around 10-12mph and several dozen sailboats out on the lake to enhance the view. Speaking of the view, that's my cute first mate as best part of my view!

On Friday June 24, just before a brief heat wave struck the area, we loaded up the MG on its dolly behind the Miramar and headed over to Winchester Bay on the Oregon Coast. It's just an hour and half from Fern Ridge Shores, and a totally different environment, especially when it gets hot inland.

We got our favorite location at Winchester Bay RV Resort along the inlet looking out the front window across at the marina with all the sailboats. The Resort is really well maintained with excellent dog walking paths and bike trails throughout the area. Lib is standing out behind the coach next to the MG which we towed over on its dolly. We'll be joining up with the Oregon Coast MG Club for a picnic at Tugman State Park just down the road from Winchester Bay.

Today we drove the MG a short way from Winchester Bay RV Resort down 101 to Tugman State Park where we met up with the Oregon Coast British Car Club for a picnic. Temps were a very pleasant 80 degrees with a nice breeze in the shade.

Besides MGs and Triumphs, there were jags and a new Bentley. It is after all a "British Car Club"... so all British made cars are welcome. Dr. Peter Lund arrived in his third Bentley (front) , a new (to him) 2007 Bentley Continental GT coupe. With only 30,000 miles on the clock, the opulent interior still carries the aroma of fine leather. The 6.0L twin-turbo W-12 powerplant creates 552 horsepower, enough to whisk Dr. Lund from aught to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, with a top speed of just under 200 mph. Taffy enjoyed it as well and got lots of attention from the group. Nice to visit with old friends.

On our last day of the long weekend at Winchester Bay we drove the MG up about 4 miles to the town of Reedsport and then took Highway 38 east following the Umpqua River out about 15 miles and took the turn off about 7 miles up to a little mountain lake called Loon Lake. This looks lile a popular little watersports lake for summer recreation. This is a photo from a sign up by the Lodge.

The destination is the Loon Lake Lodge and RV Resort. Here's me and Taffy in the MG parked by the sign.

Just down from the Lodge we parked and walked down a short stairway to this little landing by the lake where young people were enjoying the sunshine and water recreation opportunities. Probably lots of hidden spots like this all around the lake. The lake is about 2 miles long with a maximum width of about 0.4 miles, and is over 100 feet deep in some places.

OOOOOPS!!! As we were leaving Winchester Bay this morning we had a small mishap loading the MG on its tow dolly. My foot slipped and the car went over the platform and I was stuck - I could not back it out at all. Had to call a loca tow service who came out to render assistance. With the use of a floor jack, various blocks and his platform and winch, he pulled me back and onto the dolly platform. Whew! No harm done!. This goof up wound up costing us about two hours and $200, but at least the MG emerged unscathed. Supposedly we'll be reimbursed by our insurance as roadside assistance.

Today July 2, the chicks flew the nest :-(. Son Patrick and wife Linjia caught a flight for New York today where they are planning to live for the next couple years. Linjia has an excellent job offer with Sidewalk Labs, an urban planning and infrastructure subsidiary of Google. Patrick also has secured an engineering position in New York. Both of these new jobs are career moves, but they intend the move to be temporary and to return to the Pacific Northwest within 2 years. We sure hope so. We'll miss them both, and the grandpuppy, Poe.

On Wednesday, July 7, we picked up the Miramar from storage in Eugene and drove an hour or so north to the Oregon Garden in Silverton. One of the attractions onsite is this architectural gem, the Gordon House by Frank Lloyd Wright, his only one in Oregon, originally built near Wilsonville, Oregon in 1963 and moved to Silverton in 2001.

Here I am standing in the Conifer Garden which is one of a dozen themed gardens within the Oregon Garden compound, including the Axis Garden, Bosque, Tropical House, Medicinal Garden. Home Demonstration Garden, and the A-mazing Water Garden, among others. We took the tram tour through the whole garden and walked part of it afterwards including the Water Garden where we visited the Loch Ness monster in the A-mazing Water Garden. Afterwards we stopped by the Mt Angel Sausage Company to split a delicious European Wurst Sampler plate complete with delicious sauerkraut, & sensational fried "Kartoffeln und Zwiebeln" (potatoes with onions).

On our second full day in Silverton we had to change spaces. The park is pretty full but we still got a nice pull thru over on the other side of park.... just as good as what we had before and we are able to extend a day. So we'll stay here until Sunday morning before we head back to Veneta, hopefully missing most of the Oregon Country Faire crowd which should be heading home on Sunday.

After changing spaces we had lunch and then took a 15 mile drive over to Silver Falls State Park which is the largest state park in Oregon. With an area of more than 9,000 acres, it includes more than 24 miles of walking trails. The Trail of Ten Falls runs by ten waterfalls along the banks of Silver Creek. The most accessible is the South Falls which has excellent parking near the Information Center and a paved path down to this excellent viewpoint of the falls... and dogs are permitted! South Falls is nestled in the trees across a small canyon and affords an excellent photo opp.

On our last evening in Silverton, we went back to the Mt Angel Sausage Company and took Taffy along since dogs are allowed on the outside patio dining. We had a couple German beers and I had a delicious reuben sandwich while Libby had the Stroganoff. This was also served with one of their delicious hot soft pretzels with cheese dip. We head back to Veneta in the morning.

We returned back from Silverton just in time to catch an excellent sailing session on the lake on Sunday with 15 other sailboats... ideal winds in the 12-15 range. We sailed until about 7:00 and got back to the dock just before 7:30. Next morning we woke up to a lot of wind, but the heatwave sweeping the globe is catching up with us today with forecast temps in the mid 90's today. Might be a little hot for sailing. Watching the BBC this morning, apparently it is hot all over the world including in Spain and Portugal, where this lady was carrying her panting doggie. He's a little westie that looks exactly like our Corey, who passed on a couple years ago. Such a cute lil guy!

We took a short excursion over to a lovely little place we have stayed before called Casey's Riverside RV Park on the banks of the confluence of the North and Middle forks of the Willamette River in Westfir, Oregon. Just an hour or so away from Eugene, it's a refreshing getaway for a few days in the motorhome. We got a lovely riverfront spot and this is the view out our windshield. Right out in front is one of several redwood swing sets where we spent pleasant hours watching and listening to the rushing river. Some RV friends of ours, Don and Rosie, are staying here for the summer and we joined up with them for dinner, drinks and a little bicycle riding.

Casey's Riverside RV Park is a fully paved campground and offers excellent bicycle riding around the park. We brought our bikes and rode them every day. Our RV space is on the frontage road, by the river and is a delightful spot to ride the bikes along the river.

Even Taffy got into the act. Here she is taking a spontaneous dip in the river, a first as near as we can recall.

Here we are on our last evening at Casey's RV Park, with our RV friends Don and Rosie, out for beers and burritos at a local watering hole.

We finally got around to a little fun chore we have been meaning to do. We put up the travel map showing states in the US where we have traveled with our various RV's over the years. The missing states are ones we haven't made it to yet, mostly in the midwest. We applied the decal to the side of the bedroom slide. Here's the full map from which we can add missing states as we continue our travels. N.B. We have visited many of the missing states like Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, etc... but not yet in one of our RV's.

On Monday we drove back from Westfir and bid farewell to our friends and to Casey's Riverside RV Park. We had a pleasant stay by the rushing river. We parked the Miramar at our storage facility and drove back to Fern Ridge Shores Resort... Life is tough! We ate lunch, relaxed for a bit then headed over to the marina where we took the Catalina 22 out for a couple hours late afternoon in 12-18 mph winds. Not many boats out - we left the jib sail furled and sailed only on the mainsail.

Fern Ridge Shores Resort has some pretty spots and none prettier than this hydrangea planting right adjacent to our space. On a brief paw-stretch and sporting her summer haircut as an antidote to the hot weather, Taffy stopped to smell the flowers!

The entire U.S. is currently experiencing a record setting heatwave. Portland is seeing the longest stretch of 90+ in decades and several days over 100. Eugene is equally hot.   Can you say   G-L-O-B-A-L W-A-R-M-I-N-G? Libby is flying down to chilly San Francisco to see the grandkids, so we drove back to Vancouver on Monday, July 25. Taffy and I will stay cool in the central A/C at home, and we'll all return to the lake when Libby returns next week, and when the weather has cooled down again and the wind returns.

Unfortunately on the morning of the day Libby was returning from her trip, I visited the dermatologist's office and outside the building while fumbling with my surgical mask, I tripped over a ridiculously high curb and fell forward, skinning both my knees, banging my head and worst of all badly spraining my right elbow as I reached out to break the fall. I went to the urgent care clinic and had it x-rayed. It seems to be a simple sprain, but is really black and blue and swollen, and it will delay us returning to the lake for a few days.

We got back to Veneta beginning of the week. My elbow is still in rough shape, but it's good to be back at the lake. The wind isn't cooperating at the moment, gusty and from the west. This gives me a little more time for my elbow to heal. We'd been having a lot of trouble with the gas absorption fridge in the Vilano 5th wheel, so after trying numerous fixes, we decided to just go ahead and replace it with the same Samsung 17.5 cu ft the manufacturer often installs in this model. It's a perfect fit. in the kitchen space. The photo at the left shows the original Dometic RV fridge, the space with the Dometic removed, and the new Samsung in place.

Still no wind! It's been a great summer for lake levels, terrible summer for wind. Next decent wind day in the forecast is Tuesday... hope it holds... been a long dry spell. On the bright side my arm is recovered well enough I should be ok on the tiller! Today, Saturday 8/21, the park held a birthday party for Mary Horner. She and son Ed own and manage Fern Ridge Shores RV Park. This was her 99th birthday. We should all be so lucky! Here she is surrounded by 4 generations of family!

Well our long dry spell concluded today, thankfully, and we had excellent sailing in the late afternoon with our usual prevailing NNE winds reaching a peak of around 12-14 late afternoon. If you click on the thumbnail at the left it will take you to youtube on a separate tab to watch a 2 minute video of today's sailing adventure.

Friday we had tickets to a sold out Pink Martini concert (all 3800 seats) at the Hult Center in Eugene. (selfie at concert) . The concert featured both lead singers, China Forbes and Storm Large, appearing together... both great talents. If you are not familiar with Pink Martini you need to watch some Youtube videos of the iconic band. If you enjoy music by a top notch 10 piece orchestra, especially music with a sizzling latin rhythm, then Pink Martini is for you. Of course they performed one of their most popular numbers, Amado Mio, made famous by the film goddess Rita Hayworth in the film Gilda. Tonite it was performed by China Forbes. If you like the tune you'll also love the sensuous rendition by the band's torch singer Storm Large, seen at the left singing last night center stage.

My brother Frank, who is also a sailing enthusiast, has finally dipped his toe into the RV waters... here he is on his first camping trip with his new cute little teardrop camper which he can tow behind his new pickup. Frank spends his time between his property at Lake George where we visited him some years ago, and his condo in Venice, Florida. We're taking bets on how long it will be before he moves into a Class A! heheh.

We decided to escape the heatwave this week, since low winds were forecast, and head over to the coast to one of our favorite spots, Winchester Bay. Instead of highs in the 90's each day, we had highs in the 60's. While we were here we drove down to TenMile Lake (left) just south of Winchester Bay. With 20 miles of shoreline Tenmile Lake long lake with many fingers should be great to explore with a pontoon boat. We've often thought of buying one but we figure we wouldn't get enough use out of it at Fern Ridge Lake. But bringing it over to Tenmile would be a very interesting proposition. We scouted out a nice little RV park over here called North Lake RV Resort. Located right at the southern tip of North Tenmile Lake, one can explore the North Lake or take the short cut through to the larger Main Lake.

Each year we take a moment to wish our little boy a Happy Birthday even though he has gone to the happy squirrel hunting grounds in the sky. We miss him and remember him fondly... here he was sailing with us years ago. Such a cute little guy! He's always traveling with us in spirit!

The photo at the left is from the webcam at Orchard Point on Fern Ridge Lake, taken on 9/10 at 6:40 pm when wildfires have blanketed the area with smoke. We would typically be out there sailing if we were there and when you could see the marinas across the lake as clear as a bell. Just as well we're not there now. Normally the view across the lake very clear as in this midday webcam photo. I'm home in Vancouver with Taffy, while Libby flew to NYC to visit son Patrick and his lovely wife Linjia who have moved to New York for a couple years. It's a career move and they hope to return to the Pacific NW within a couple years. Here's a selfie photo of the three of them which Linjia took today, Sept 10, by the East River.

Libby is visiting Patrick and Linjia in New York, where they moved this summer. It's a career move and they hope to return to the Pacific NW within a couple years. Meanwhile they are enjoying the change of pace in "The City That Never Sleeps." That's the Empire State Building looming above the Brooklyn Bridge over Pat's right shoulder.

Pat & Linjia have taken up residence now in a nice apartment in Brooklyn, convenient to public transportation, etc. Here's one corner of their modern but tiny apartment. Faithful companion, Pomerino Pup Poe, looks on as Patrick catches up on a little office work at his work-from-home work station for his new job with CHA Consulting, Inc., an "innovative engineering design, consulting and construction management firm delivering sustainable, integrated solutions to the world's most challenging infrastructure projects."

Libby and the kids got tickets to see the popular Broadway show, Come from Away at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on West 45th street. The rousing musical which premiered on Broadway in 2017, was nominated for seven Tonys that year, and won for Best Directing of a Musical. "Come from Away is a moving, inspiring portrait of community, of the power of humanity when differences are set aside and people come together for the greater good."

Patrick and Linjia took mom to dinner at one of the their favorite local eateries

Back at Fern Ridge Lake in late September, we are currently enjoying an Indian Summer weekend here with temps in the 80's and clear skies and summer temps. This morning we drove over to a local dahlia farm. Hue's U-pick Flower Farm, where we tiptoed thru the Dahlias, took a few photos, and bought several potted dahlia plants. Dahlias are a beautiful flower made famous by movies we watched this summer... the 1946 film noir "The Blue Dahlia" and the 2006 "The Black Dahlia", a very dark film based on one of the most notorious unsolved crimes in the US which will forever haunt true crime fans.

Saturday after under clear skies, we got our classic summer prevailing NNE winds on the lake and got out for an afternoon sail. Since they begin draining the lake around October 1 and many sailors realized this and got out there this afternoon. We counted over 20 sailboats with us out there on the lake enjoying breezes in the 8-10 range, for the most part. That large sailboat over Libby's right shoulder is a Corsair trimaran... a very fast sailboat.

Sunday was back to light breezes, not sufficient for sailing. Our friends Todd and Lydia paid us a visit and we all wentout for a Mexican dinner at Ixtapa in Veneta. On the way home afterward, Libby and I stopped to feed my pal Floyd, a sweet ole horse who waits for me to stop by and give him a bunch of horse treats, which I try to do each day at some point when we are in town. Often if it is late in the day as we drive up, he is standing out by our corner on the front fence and he starts pawing at the ground when he sees me, It warms my heart to visit him. He brings as much joy to me as I do to him.

On Tuesday October 4, we loaded up everything and headed back to Vancouver. The sailboat is connected to the Miramar and the MG is on its dolly behind our Dodge Durango. The MG will spend the winter back in our garage in Vancouver. We'll store the dolly in our RV storage space in Vancouver, and the boat is headed to Schooner Creek Boatworks for a fresh coast of bottom paint, last done in October 2017. A good quality bottom paint job keeps the grass and algae from growing on the bottom of the boat over the summer. This slows down the boat and can actually blister and damage the gelcoat on the fiberglass hull. Once painted, we'll pick her up and take her back to the lake where she'll be covered and stored in our space until spring.

Now that we're back home and Libby is filling the squirrel feeder tray again, there is a LOT of activity in the backyard and Taffy spends much of her day glued to the window, and racing outside whenever the squirrels come to the feeder, occasionally staying outside and hunting. In this photo she stood totally immobilized for close to 5 minutes watching the squirrel eating seeds just a few feet away. We had dubbed a similar situation with Corey, our previous Westie, as the "Statue of Limitations". This was a first with Taffy, and we thoroughly enjoyed watching this drama play out.

The time of year has arrived and it is time to winterize our RV's. Part of owning an RV is proper winterization when you put them into storage for the winter months in northern climes. I am capable of doing it myself, but I use a portable air compressor which is down in Veneta at the moment. The weather forecast is showing rain every day for the next ten days (3" tomorrow!!!). So I contracted with a couple mobile techs... one in Vancouver and the other in Eugene to winterize both the motorhome and the 5th wheel for us. Temps are dropping to the high 20's for a night or two next week, so it was time to get on the stick. This cost me a little money but not worth the risk of substantial damage in the event of a freeze.

Well, after being totally inundated with political advertisements for months now, the midterm elections finally arrived and the GOP was mortified by the results. They were predicting a "red wave" and a "red tsunami" all over the airwaves. Instead, Democrats pulled off an astonishing upset, retaining control of the U.S. Senate and possibly picking up a seat after a Georgia Senate runoff next month. And the U.S. House of Representatives is teetering in the balance. If the GOP wins control there it will only be by a razor thin margin. It will take some weeks to know the final result there. But in any case this election was a total repudiation of Trump's "Big lie" and a total embarassment for the Republicans who are now rethinking their allegiance to the disgraced former president.

          Happy Thanksgiving                                                                  

We had Thanksgiving dinner with friends at the Garden View Restaurant at the Oregon Garden in Silverton Oregon just south of Portland. We met Myra and Dennis Bailey there and we all enjoyed the magnificent buffet feast which included sliced turkey and ham, stuffing, fabulous potatoes, creamed string bean casserole, and much more - even big juicy cocktail prawns, plus delicious pies for dessert.

Myra and Dennis Bailey with Libby at the garden side table about to dig into this marvelous feast! I may not eat for a week!

This is the typical holiday season scene around our house. Here's a large size photo for better detail. I am sitting in my recliner with Taffy watching a western on the TV in our cozy "Western Theater." In the fireplace we have a realistic electric logset, with a couple small Christmas stockings hanging from the mantle. Surrounding and above the fireplace we have various decor items representing the 'Old West', including, top center, a mint Winchester 3030 lever action repeating rifle, known as "The Gun that Won the West." On the floor is a gorgeous vintage Turkish Hereke rug. This in doors, even as we get our first dusting of snow on Dec 4.

On Dec 3 we attended a matinee Christmas concert by the Portland Choir & Orchestra. The event was entitled "How Great Our Joy" at the Newmark Theater in Downtown Portland with special guest the Encore Youth Choir. At times there were some 200 people onstage. We wanted to get our annual dose of Christmas Spirit and this seemed like an ideal way to do it. Here's the program. At the left is me in the lobby of the Newmark Theater sitting on the enormous bronze throne, Mago Hermano (Brother Wizard/Magician), a gift from the Mayor of Guadalajara, Portland's Sister-city.

This is our Christmas present to ourselves this year, something we've been wanting for some time now, a pontoon boat. We bought an almost new 20' 2018 Sun Tracker 18DLX Party Barge Signature Series Pontoon Boat. Powered by a reliable four-stroke Mercury 40 HP outboard motor this open platform motorboat is built atop two aluminum pontoons. Here's a quick video tour. While our primary interest is still sailing, on days when the wind doesn't blow at the lake, the Sun Tracker will allow us to still get out on the water. Since Fern Ridge Shores has its own marina, we have a free slip near our RV where we can keep the boat in the water, yet it is easy to pull out using the marina's boat ramp and take it to other lakes in the Pacific NW for a change of venue any time we want. Can't wait til summer... this cruising video will be us on the lake!

I located the new pontoon boat on Craigslist listed in Medford. On Thursday, Dec 15, we drove down to Medford. There was a good bit of fog on the road. By the time we reached Roseburg the fog had mostly lifted but some pockets of low couds remained nesled in the mountains. I snapped this unique photo on the way down.

We looked at the boat and then went to the seller's bank where we handed over our cashier's check for the purchase and he signed over the title to us. We spent the night at the Comfort Inn in Medford, then on Friday morning we drove back out to the seller's workplace to pick up the boat. The sun was peeking through the early morning mist and ground and everything was covered in frost. Strange to be towing a boat when the ground is covered with frost.

On the way home we stopped at the Seven Feathers rest stop and snapped this photo of our now toy in tow.

We decided to get in the Christmas spirit and watch a good Christmas movie. Of the top recommended ones online is The Christmas Chronicles with Kurt Russell. It's on Netflix. Very fun movie... almost gets you believin in old St Nick again! And there's a sequel for next Christmas

On New Years Eve, Libby wanted to take a drive through the Christmas lights display at Portland International Raceway. We took Taffy and drove down... this got us out of the house without mingling with viruses. This particular display seemed apropos for 2023.

Our new jib sail was delivered on 2/10/23. I called up the same sailmaker. Don Yager, who custom-made my existing furling jib for me back in 2014 when we were up in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It has been a sensational sail and it is still in excellent shape, all except for the U/V protection panel which is what is exposed when the sail is furled at the dock. 8 years of sun exposure in the sailing seasons and the old U/V material had started to deteriorate. Of course the sail itself underneath the protection panel is fine. I could have taken some time to remove it with a seam ripper and could have gotten a few more years out of the sail, but I decided I would buy the new one now while Don Yager is still in business. If he retires then I am stuck with a production sail, and there's just no comparison. Custom sailmakers are becoming a rare profession in the US anymore. With 30+ years of experience Yagersails makes absolutely superior quality sails and I look forward to sailing our Catalina 22 with the new sail this summer.

Libby flew to New York City for a long weekend, Feb 9-13, to visit son Patrick and his wife Linjia who are living in Brooklyn for a few years for work. The kids have enjoyed showing Mom the sights including a show on Broadway. They saw Book of Mormon, a musical comedy which they said was thoroughly enjoyable. The Book of Mormon, which opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in March 2011 is the Tony Award-Winning Best Musical that has been called "the best musical of the century" by The New York Times and "the funniest musical of all time" by Entertainment Weekly. Here's the opening number on Youtube from the 2012 Tony Awards featuring a funny look at the Book of Mormon Musical