PHOTO GALLERY 2013

We left home January 16 and hit perfect weather for our trip down the Interstate... fortunate because Siskiyou Summit as you cross over into California is at 4300 ft elevation and can be nasty if it's icy. This shot was taken at the freeway rest stop by Seven Feathers Casino in Southern Oregon. We will be adding lots of photos as our travels take us down through Arizona including Phoenix, Tucson, Sedona, Northern and Southern California, and the lakes of the Pacific Northwest in the coming year. Please check back often for a photo tour of our travels.

Here's a second shot at the I-5 rest stop 99MM by Seven Feathers Casino, a really super spot high above the fwy - phone, info, picnic tables, trash cans, vending, pet area. You can spend the night here if you wish, and we have done so in the past. We didn't this time - we pressed on to reach the Walmart in Medford another 65 miles south.

We reached Medford just after nightfall. We had stopped in Corvallis to visit our son Pat who attends OSU there, and got back on the road around noon headed south to the OR border. Wally's World, as RV'ers fondly call Walmart, is usually ok with overnighters, and it is an ideal place to pull in after dark because it is always wel lit, there is always plenty of room, and you can pick up groceries or incidentals in the store. The weather was clear but very cold... we awoke to temps in the 20's and everything covered with frost which you can see in the photo on the grass and in the trees. Corey didn't seem to mind!

This spectacular photo was taken just south of Weed, CA as we made our way through the Siskiyou Mountains. That is of course Mt Shasta in the background. I think this one could be a cover shot for one of the RV magazines! We waited in Medford for the sun to warm things up a bit before we headed up toward Siskiyou Summit. As you can see from this photo, the weather was absolutely picture perfect as we cruised down the California side of the Siskiyous.

After a layover at a nice little RV park in Orland, CA we pushed on to San Jose area and pulled into Maple Leaf RV Park just south of town, in a place called Morgan Hill for a couple days. Not much to choose from in this part of California. Real Estate is so expensive, there just isn't much room for RV Parks, and those that still exist are filled with transient people living in trailers and 5th wheels trying to beat the high cost of living. Like most places, there are the haves and have-nots... at the left is one definite 'have' just outside of Morgan Hill. California living, in grand style.

Paso Robles, San Simeon and Hearst Castle

We visited with some good friends from Los Gatos just west of San Jose. We were limited on time as we're headed for the big RV rally in Quartzsite AZ, so we didn't get to visit with many other friends in the bay area on this leg of the trip, but we will be back in March on our way to Clear Lake and will be able to spend more time. So we pushed on down El Camino Real (CA Hwy 101) to Paso Robles, which is vying for the title of Wine Capital of California with Napa/Sonoma, it would seem. We pulled into a pretty fancy RV park, aptly named Wine Country RV Resort. We got a nice premium space on the bluff overlooking the vineyards.

Wednesday morning we drove our car over to the coast at Cambria and drove north on Hwy 1 to San Simeon and Hearst Castle. The northern California coastline is very picturesque and we stopped for a few photos. Weather was outrageously warm for mid January and we were both in short sleeve shirts. You can't do that even in summer much of the time. Couldn't ask for nicer weather, really. That's Libby by the car with the dogs wanting to get out and stretch their legs too!

OK Westies... let's mark a few bushes and breathe that salt air! This is at San Simeon State Beach along Highway 1 just south of the Hearst Castle turnoff. It was about 1:00 in the afternoon with air temperature about 65 degrees! Corey was busy looking for critters. He raced off after a rabbit last night at the RV Park and I got my exercise running after the little bugger. Westies are born to hunt!

This is the iconic shot of the magnificent Hearst Castle just up the steps leading up from the road. William Randolph Hearst, the wealthy media magnate, came up here camping with his family as a child and named it La Cuesta Encantada, The Enchanted Hill. What started as a little something to get out of the camping tents turned into a 30 year building project that he never completed. He hired famed San Francisco architect Julia Morgan in 1919 to build a little something to house his art and antique collections.

Here's Libby and I standing by the main entrance. Thru these gates passed many famous personages as Mr Hearst loved to entertain at what he lovingly called "The Ranch", still a working cattle ranch to this day with a herd of some 2000 grass fed angus cattle. At its peak the ranch covered some 250,000 acres and stretched 38 miles up the central California coast.

We took two of the 6 or 7 tours offered... the Grand Rooms Tour (downstairs) and the Upstairs Suites Tour. This is the dining room or Refectory where Mr Hearst held formal dinners for his guests. He sat in the center where all the blue willow dinnerware and napkins are, and right behind him in a glass case was a large silver sceptre, a symbol of power for kings and royalty.

After dinner guests could enjoy a game of blliards or pool in the game room. It's said Hearst himself didn't enjoy games, but encouraged his guests to amuse themslves while he went off to work for the evening. I like to shoot pool myself and think I would have made good use of this room.

This is William Randolph Hearst's 'home office' or study lined with some 3000 books. He had a vast collection with many rare tomes, first editions, and highly collectible books. That is a portrait of Hearst himself in his 30's down at the far end of the room.

The castle, known as the Casa Grande, had several swimming pools. The Roman Pool was a large indoor pool located underneath the tennis courts. At the left is the Neptune Pool, a large outdoor pool with a sweeping view of the California Coastline. This guy knew how to live!

Mr Hearst is famously quoted as saying "I would like to build something up on the hill at San Simeon. I get tired of going up there and camping in tents. I'm getting a little old for that. I'd like to get something that would be more comfortable." A man after my own heart! I think we're going to make up a plaque like this for our motorhome. We wanted something a little more 'comfortable' for camping ourselves!

Heading to the RV Rally at Quartzsite AZ

We drove down from Paso Robles to Rancho Mirage outside Palm Springs and met up with friends there for dinner. We stayed at Palm Springs Oasis RV Resort which worked out pretty well. Got up leisurely this morning and headed towards Arizona... about 125 miles... to the big RV Rally at Quartzsite. Here we are crossing into Arizona.

Here's Captain Joe at the wheel... piloting our 68 feet of rolling thunder along Interstate 10 over to the big RV Rally at Quartzsite.

When the sun is not hot in the front windshield, this is how the dogs like to travel much of the time. Gracie sits watching the road unfolding ahead of us for hours on end... Corey on the other hand likes to keep an eye on us, when he can keep his eyes open, and only occasionally watches the road. With the dogs' help, in the early afternoon, we pulled into the Holiday Palms RV Park in the town of Quartzsite just adjacent to the rally site. We'll mosey over to the rally site tomorrow.

Once a year, for one week in January, tens of thousands of RV owners from all over the country pack into the small Arizona town of Quartzsite for one of the largest RV shows in America. The show is located amidst large swaths of BLM land making it a very popular RV camping or 'boondocking' area. The area also abounds with RV parks from very inexpensive crowded campgrounds to generous, full featured, well maintained parks like Holiday Palms RV Park where we stayed for 4 nights while we took in the show. The big tent houses hundreds of booths where vendors from all over the country hawk their wares like any RV show at any big city Expo Center.

Phoenix, Arizona

Here we are in Phoenix Arizona staying at the Desert's Edge RV a.k.a. The Purple Park. It is on the north side close in to Phoenix and a very pleasant park in terms of landscaping and amenities. It caters strictly to traveling RV's - no long term residents - and we secured space 416 in the back corner. We're in between a beautiful Beaver Patriot Thunder Class A on one side and an Allegro Bus on the other. We secured a nice wide pie shaped spot surrounded by a tall hedge and shrubs and much more like having our own garden. We love it here. We have a number of places we want to see while we are here, so watch the blog and this gallery for more entries soon.

Dining with friends and fellow Country Coach owners, Bill and Ginny, at El Encanto Mexican Restaurant in Phoenix. The night was a little cool for outdoor dining but it was a lovely setting by the duck pond. And excellent margaritas! As in a sailing photo with them last year, can you tell who lives in Arizona and who lives in Oregon? (Hint: see the clothing.)

A nice two-shot of Libby and me at El Encanto after a couple margaritas.

Here is Libby standing with our friends Bill and Ginny at Lake Pleasant. As mentioned in the blog, Lake Pleasant is larger than expected, covering some 11,000 acres when full. There are a lot of sailboats at the marina. But the lake is way down with the protracted drought here in the Sonoran Desert and a lot more shoreline and islands are cropping up. It is not a lake we would probably bring our sailboat to, but if you needed to live in the Phoenix area and were into boating this is a pretty reasonable alternative!

At the left is a display case filled with Kachina Dolls at Phoenix's Heard Museum, effigies made of cottonwood that embody the characteristics of the ceremonial Kachina, the masked spirits of the Hopi Native American tribe. The museum also contained wonderful examples of native American pottery like this Pueblo Water Jar from 1890 and many exceptional examples of Navajo rugs and various Hopi weaving. We had a nice 45 minute guided tour of some of the museum's huge collection and wandered around a bit on our own as well. Tomorrow we're off to the Desert Botanical Garden.

Here I am standing next to a majestic Saguaro Cactus in the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) is one of the defining plants of the Sonoran Desert. These plants are large, tree-like columnar cacti that develop multiple arms after the age of 50 years. With the right growing conditions, it is estimated that Saguaros can live to be as much as 150-200 years old. Saguaros can grow to be between 40-60 feet tall and when rain is plentiful and the Saguaro is fully hydratedm it can weigh between 3200-4800 pounds. I kinda like it when something like a cactus can make me feel small!

At the left Libby is standing in the Desert Botanical Garden amidst various species of cactus and a small arizona peak behind her. The Garden sits on 145 acres and features over 50,000 plants, including a broad selection of the approximately 2000 species of cactus.

I am standing next to a sculpture entitled Spring, one of the 4 Seasons fiberglass sculptures by Phillip Haas at the Desert Botanical Garden. Makes even me feel small!

While in Phoenix we also visited and toured famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home, known as Taliesin West. This unique place sits on 620 acres and is under consideration by the U.S. National Park Service, along with nine other Frank Lloyd Wright properties, for World Heritage Status. The photo at left, taken during our tour, is actually two photos pasted together to get a panoramic effect.

This photo is taken inside the music room at Taliesin West. Frank Lloyd Wright was also a concert level pianist and had some 9 grand pianos scattered around Taliesin West. The room shows the hallmark FLW architectural touches including the sharp angles and ample use of natural light, as well as heavy use of the color red, reportedly his favorite color.

Tucson, Arizona

From Phoenix, we drove the two hours down to Tucson, arriving at our space 1558 on Happy Lane at the Lazydays RV Resort. As you can see there's no shortage of large contemporary Class A Motor coaches here, everyone enjoying the lovely weather this time of year. That's us - second coach on the left visible below those two palm trees, with our silver Suburban beside it. On the right across from us is a large white Class Super C Motorhome on a Freightliner Truck chassis. *Heavy Duty* with a towing capacity of 40,000 pounds! Overkill for us, certainly... our 10,000 lb towing capacity is plenty... but impressive nonetheless.

We had beautiful blue skies for our trip down from Phoenix. At the left, a photo taken out the front windshield from our space at the Lazydays RV Resort with the picturesque Santa Catalina Mountain range in the distance to the Northeast. I never mind a view across some beautiful high end large Class A motorhomes like those across the way in this shot. Just like when sailing on a lake, it is always picturesque to see other boats dotted against the beautiful scenery. Same thing with these beautiful motor coaches. It's a breezy day (you can see the flags standing straight out) so the air is clear as a bell.

We went with our friends Dennis and Myra Bailey to see and tour the Biosphere2. The weather was cold and rainy but the tour is all indoors inside the Biosphere where the weather varies according to which biome you're in. Biosphere 2 is an earth systems science research facility now owned and operated by the University of Arizona which was originally built to be an artificial, materially closed ecological system. The tour took about an hour and a half from start to finish and was very interesting and informative.

At the left, the interior of the ocean biome with its small ocean and beach, mangrove wetlands and so on. This is a photo back thru the mangrove wetlands to the far end of the enclosure. Biosphere 2 will allow the UA to perform key experiments aimed at quantifying some of the consequences of global climate change. Like most of the scientific community they are concerned about mankind's impact on the future of the planet. Especially in Arizona the effects of warmer temperatures and extended drought will be disastrous. Like they say here, "Regardless of your politics, be liberal... with your use of sunscreen."

Dennis and Myra Bailey standing outside the tour entrance to Biosphere2. We met them at the RV Park in Phoenix and they were also heading to Tucson a little sooner than we were and staying also at LazyDays RV Park. This is part of the fun of RV life - all the nice folks you meet. Dennis and Myra are from Richland WA, so fellow Northwesterners, but they have leased their home out and are now full timing in their beautiful Beaver Patriot Thunder Motor Coach .

We visited Kartchner Caverns State Park, a state park of Arizona, which is a visitor accessible cave with 2.4 miles of passages, affording many spectacular views of the various formations. We went there with our RV friends, Dennis and Myra.

Since photos are not allowed, I borrowed a couple from the internet to show in my blog and photo gallery. The two major features of the caverns currently available to the public are the Big Room and the Throne Room, which was the tour we took. The tour takes about 1.5 hours and the temps below ground are surprisingly comfortable - about 70 degrees with 99% humidity, which they take great care to maintain.

On Monday of week 2 in Tucson, we drove the 8 mile loop through the Saguaro National Park on the east side of Tucson. It was late afternoon on a rare overcast day and I caught this photo near sunset of our car beside a majestic old Saguaro cactus with the Arizona mountains in the distance. That's Corey with his head out the window looking for rabbits.

I couldn't resist capturing this photo. Corey thought the cacti were looking a little parched with the recent drought so he decided to do his part to quench their thirst. I carried him through the rough terrain over to this majestic looking Saguaro to try to keep him from picking up any thorns, but in the process, I must've brushed up against a teddy bear cholla or as they say around here, it jumped out and bit me! Ouch! Oh well, it was worth this classic photo of the boy.

Well after Libby extracted the cholla needles from my leg, we decided that the best medicine was a Freddy's Frozen Custard, a habit we picked up from our Texas days. Fortunately there just happened to be one on the way home! If you haven't tasted a Freddy's Frozen Custard, you are definitely missing a special treat! Eat your hearts out Ben and Jerry!

On Tuesday of week 2 we visited with Dennis and Myra the nearby Pima Air & Space Museum which houses a wide array of both military and civilian aircraft. Pima is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, and the largest non-government funded aviation museum with more than 300 aircraft and spacecraft on display. At the left is a photo of Dennis and me standing beside a Blue Angels jet.

The Pima Museum hosts some really enormous aircraft including B-52 bombers, and this enormous 6 prop-jet Air Force craft. The planes outdoors cover many acres, while the indoor displays are housed in 3 hangars.

In the largest of the 3 hangars at the museum, Libby is standing next to one of the original SR-71 Blackbird spy planes, which her Dad Frosty helped build at Lockheed Skunk Works back in the 60's.

In the eastern foothills of the Santa Catalina mountain range, Sabino Canyon just outside of Tucson Arizona is a spectacular park-like oasis offering stunning vistas juxtaposed with the tranquility of running creek water, and abundant wildlife.

The backdrop of the Santa Catalina mountain range offers a stunning contrast to the fields of cactus. Sabino Canyon is popular with hikers, but also offers less adventurous types a wonderful 45 minute narrated tram ride thru the canyon from which one can see many of the beautiful vistas the canyon has to offer.

The dramatic rock walls of Sabino Canyon offer Kodak moments at every turn of the road. This is called Thimble Peak, the highest point at the center of the photo on the left. The almost infinite array of Saguaro Cacti can grow right out of the rock, with their shallow root system which spreads as wide as the cactus is tall. Sabino Canyon is too magnificent to cover entirely in this gallery, so I created a special Sabino Canyon Photo Collection page where you can see more great photos of the canyon in a little larger format.

Sedona, Arizona (also see special Sedona Photo Gallery)

Northwest of Tucson is the fabled town of Sedona located in the northern Verde Valley region of the upper Sonoran Desert in the Coconino National Forest in northern Arizona. At an elevation of 4,500 feet the town is best known for its amazing array of red sandstone formations, the Red Rocks of Sedona. These majestic red rock formations and mountain ranges are visible from almost every turn in the road.

The panoramic vistas visible from just about every street corner or side road in Sedona are difficult to capture with a camera. At the left is actually two photos I took, pieced together in an art program. Too many 'Kodak Moments' for the gallery page, you can also visit the special Sedona Photo Collection page which I created with more than 30 great large format photos of this spectacular area.

There is a specialized New Age tourist industry in Sedona, where the "Harmonic Convergence" was first organized in 1987. There is a lot of spiritual energy in this small city of 10,000 people, perhaps somehow spawned by the incredible mountain ranges and beloved red rock formations visible everywhere. Right in the downtown of Old Sedona, nothing says "Sedona" better than this purple building, The 'Center for the New Age', home to Psychic Readers, Massage & Healing, Vortex Information, Spiritual Books and Crystals, and even a UFO Center. The shop also sells a lot of religious statuary including many images of Buddha, Shiva, Krishna and others. At the left is Libby.... "Have you hugged YOUR Buddha today?"

Besides the scenery and the new age industry, there is another cottage industry in Sedona aimed at snagging unwary tourists. Around town one spots all these "tourist centers" which it turns out are actually lead generation storefronts for the ubiquitous Timeshare operations here. Visitors spot these so-called "tourist centers" offering free maps and the like, and once inside they are quickly pitched free tours and activities if they will simply attend a free 90 minute presentation for a 'wonderful oportunity' at one or another Timeshare development in town. We actually got conned into attending one ourselves for Sedona Pines Resort and had to talk pretty fast to get back out with our checkbook intact. We vowed 'never again!'

Los Angeles, California

After leaving Arizona, we headed for Southern California. Libby was born in L.A. and I lived there for 20 years, so it was 'old home week' for us. Libby and I both have fond memories of the Huntington Library Gardens and Museum in Pasadena, so for an outing one day with her mom, who now lives in nearby Glendale, we all went to the Huntington. The photo at the left is in the Japanese Gardens with the famous arched bridge in the background.

At the left is Libby, her mother who now lives in Glendale, her childhood friend Lisa, and me, seated in a Glendale coffee shop. Speaking of childhood memories, Libby also made a stop with her mom at the original Bob's Big Boy in Burbank, a landmark in the city and always one of her dad's favorites.

Here we are at a restaurant with long time friends Fred and Frans Simson. Not visible in the photo, but just down at our feet in the restauarant is their guide dog for the blind. Fred and Frans have been fostering and helping train guide dogs for the blind for many years. This is their 8th such dog.

At the left at another restaurant reunion are friends Shad Meshad, Jil Gotlib, Melinda Wallingford, me and Libby. With the height differential in this photo, I am reminded of the soap opera, "All My Children." Shad is a tireless advocate for Vietnam Vets and runs the National Veterans Foundation

And here I am visiting with my old buddy and former fellow actor Don Allen, at his home in nearby Culver City. Don is now manufacturing solar systems, and I bought a small portable one from him for our motorhome as a backup power source.

Aside from visiting friends and family, the highlight of the trip was our visit to the famous Nethercutt Museum of antique and collectible cars up in Sylmar. J.B. Nethercutt, the founder of Merle Norman Cosmetics, built this incredible collection of the world's finest motorcars, numbering more than 250 of the most magnificent specimens of Packards, Duesenburgs, Pierce Arrows, Cadillacs, Rolls Royces, Mercedes and much much more.

One of the highlights of the collection is Nethercutt's 1933 Duesenberg SJN Arlington Torpedo Sedan, visible in the center of the shot above in the Grand Salon, and winner of many, many Concours d'Elegance car shows (left) and is valued at some $12 million. The Duesenberg was one of the most desirable cars of all time, and this one is truly extraordinary.

This remarkable 1934 yellow Packard, and the gorgeous red one just behind it, are just two of many, many breathtaking cars in the Nethercutt Collection, arguably one of the greatest collections of fine automobiles in the world. Many of the exceptional vehicles in this collection originally belonged to famous movie stars, royalty, and Heads of State.

Across the street from his Grand Salon Showroom is the larger building in the museum housing another 150 fine automobiles, including Packards, Duesenburgs, Pierce Arrows, Cadillacs, Rolls Royces, Mercedes and much much more. Besides these more well known makes were many rare models like Knox, Gardner, Gobron-Brille, Reo, Pope Hartford, etc. The collection is truly mind boggling with each and every vehicle painstakingly restored in 100% accurate materials, parts and paints to Concours d'Elegance condition.

Central California - Santa Barbara, Paso Robles

Having a Blue Margarita and tri-tip sandwiches at the Cold Spring Tavern, an old stagecoach stop on the old Stagecoach Road just over San Marcos Pass from Santa Barbara with friends Don and Sally Tondro. Don and I used to ride our motorcycles up here 30 years ago... and not much has changed since.

Libby and I took a drive up to nearby Ojai one afternoon, only about 15 miles inland from Santa Barbara. I used to go up there many years ago when I lived in L.A. to listen to one of my favorite philosophers, J. Krishnamurti, give talks in the Oak Grove. Downtown there's a Libbey Park, so naturally Libby had to pose for a photo with the Westies.

We made it to Paso Robles after a 2 day detour in Oxnard for some minor coach repairs at Quinn Caterpillar. On day one, we went over to Paso Robles' Sculpterra Winery and Gardens for a bit of wine tasting and a walk in the garden. We sampled some very tasty wine at no charge thanks to the free pass from the Wine Country RV Resort where we are staying, and took a walk in the gardens (left). The wine was too spendy for my simple palate.

On day two, we went into downtown Paso Robles which produced several yawns, then went and visited Eberle Winery, one of the oldest vineyards in PR. We tasted an interesting Viognier and several different varietals capped by their Estate Cabernet. We bought a bottle... well, actually a little bottle magnet with the Eberle label for Libby's magnet collection. That will certainly remain in our consciousness long after the wine taste has faded. For dinner we bought some prime ground beef and grilled some tasty burgers. The beef had a distinct bouquet of southern alfalfa, with a hefty backbone of Midwestern Angus, which produced a wonderful aftertaste of sweet Texas clover and a lingering robust highnote of polled Hereford. <Grin> It went well with the bottle of Two Buck Chuck!

San Francisco Bay Area Morgan Hill, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Half Moon Bay

We drove from Paso Robles up to Morgan Hill and the Maple Leaf RV Park, a good centralized location for visiting the San Francisco Bay Area and where we have stayed before. We will drive in to visit friends in Santa Cruz from here as well as several friends in the Bay area in Los Gatos, and Los Altos. We'll also make trips into Monterey and Half Moon Bay in the next ten days before we head north to start the sailing season!

A shot of one of many strolling paths by the ocean rocks and surf along the scenic 17 Mile Drive around the Monterey peninsula. The weather was typically cool and a bit foggy at times, but it was very refreshing by the ocean and the dogs had a ball.

Here's an iconic photo of the Monterey peninsula - the famed Lone Cyprus, which has been growing out of the rock there for more than 200 years!

This is the same shoto as shown on the blog... taken at Pescadero Point of Libby and me and the two Westies. The 17 Mile Drive around the Monterey peninsula abounds with great photo opps and is a must-see in any visit to the Bay area.

Libby with old Hood River pal John Lyddon on Tunitas Beach at Half Moon Bay in the SF Bay area in front of the oceanfront property he owns there. The typical fog lifted a bit and enabled us to snap a few nice shots on the beach.

And this is John Lyddon and I on the same stretch of beach... just visible at thee tops of the bluffs behind us are the series of cabins on this property there. We enjoyed our visit and all had lunch at Sam's Chowder House just up the road. I enjoyed a hot tub sized bowl of their delicious clam chowder, showing us why it was voted one of the "Top Three Outdoor Dining Spots in the Bay Area" by San Francisco Magazine. Right on the beach you can check their webcams here.

We drove up to Los Altos on the SF peninsula to visit some other old friends of mine, Scott and Joyce. Scott and I have been friends since my earliest days on the internet when we collaborated on some software deals. Since then Scott has aggressively pursued some internet startup ideas both of which he eventually sold for princely sums. At just 33 years of age, Scott surely counts as one of those Silicon Valley wunderkinds living a life the rest of us can only dream of. At the left, that is Scott in his gorgeous fully electric Tesla Roadster in the driveway of his fabulous Los Altos home. 0-60 in 3.7 seconds is just something you have to experience for yourself.

Scott took me for a ride in his Tesla Roadster above, which was most impressive, but I had to decline driving it as I could barely fold myself into the car at all, much less behind the steering wheel. But Scott's newest toy is his Tesla Model S Performance Plus Electric Sedan, which he graciously offered to let me drive through the hillsides of Los Altos. Quite a thrill, I have to say, driving Motor Trend's 2013 Car of the Year! 416 horsepower coupled with an amazing single speed fixed gear accelerates the small sedan with incredible smoothness, making this ground breaking machine one of the fastest sedans on the market today.

Scott and I standing in the hallway of his Los Altos home. We'll see them again in Portland in the late spring - Scott maintains a home there as well.

Libby and Joyce in the same hallway of their Los Altos home.

We had a chance to visit my oldest and dearest friend, Mike Schradle and his wife Marilyn. Mike and I have been friends since we were in cub scouts together. He grew up in Ventura and has lived in Los Gatos for more than 30 years. We actually got to visit with them on our way down from Oregon in January and now again in spring.

We had a marvelous visit with old Lake Oswego friends Jayne and Lorenzo Dunn at their lovely new home on several acres in the hills of Los Gatos. Sharing grilled steaks and good wine with good friends... one of the great joys of the RV life style.

For our last day in the SF Bay area, we took a leasurely day trip back over to Santa Cruz... Our 'visiting friends' marathon was over after meeting up with no less than 20 different sets of friends over the past month in California. Today was a Joe and Libby day... we took the dogs and drove down to the beach at Santa Cruz, a place we had fond memories staying at 15 years ago, before we were marrried. We located the same little Mexican restuarant by the beach, now under different management, but the decor is pretty much the same... the surfer theme. The table/bar we are sitting at is actually an old surfboard.

After lunch we took the dogs and went for a walk on the beach. It was a gorgeous warm sunny day hitting a high around 75 at the beach. That is the Santa Cruz boardwalk and amusement park in the background, in full swing as it is Spring break for some California schools. Corey really enjoyed himself on the beach... acting like a real surfer dude, he thought it was really bitchin'!

We got back to to the coach mid afternoon and Surfer Dude and I were wiped from all the sunshine and salt air... so we dozed off in the recliner. Photo courtesy of Miss Libby.

Clear Lake, California

On Wednesday April 10 we drove from Morgan Hill up to Williams, CA on I-5 to pick up our Catalina 22 sailboat from storage. There we disconnected the car from the coach, hooked up the sailboat to the Suburban, and towing the boat Libby followed me on the 1.5 hour drive over to Konocti Vista Casino RV Park at Clear Lake. We've stayed here before, last time on the original shakedown cruise with our previous motorhome in 2011. We're happy to be back and were greeted with excellent wind this time! The park is very uncrowded - I counted only ten RV's in the 70+ spaces. We were able to rig the boat right next to our coach and get her all cleaned up and then just tow it across the property to the boat ramp by the hotel.

As I said, the RV park is very uncrowded, but the hotel is booked solid as the Bassmaster Western Regional Fishing Tournament is being held here this week. Looking very much the "fish out of water", our Catalina sailboat (upper left) sits amidst a sea of bass boats at the free docks adjacent to the hotel and RV park. Although there are a lot of bass boats here for the tournament, Clear Lake is enormous. At 68 sq miles, it's the largest natural freshwater lake located entirely within the state of California. And since bass fisherman tend to hug the shoreline, we pretty much had the open lake to ourselves for the first day's sail.

Our first day after arrival we spent much of the day cleaning up the boat, and doing some chores. Friday morning we rigged the boat, and then while Libby worked on the inside, I waxed the entire deck and sides restoring the gleaming white gelcoat. Then in the late afternoon with perfect 10-12 mph winds, we headed out on the lake for a couple hours sailing, the first time we had 'The Anne Marie' out since last fall. She sailed like a dream, as always. Winds were steady, temps were warm in the upper 70's, and the scenery was gorgeous. And the forecast is for more of the same for the next ten days, a wonderful way to kickoff the 2013 sailing season.

Friday the wind was excessive... strong and gusty and so we opted to hang back and get some chores done. I washed the coach. The whole process takes me several hours... I have to scrub the top first and hose it off otherwise moisture from the dirty roof will just make dirty drips down clean sides. Washing the sides is pretty easy with the extendo handle washer , and then I have a super stable Werner collapsible stepladder for using the chamois to dry the sides. More often than not, RV parks do not let you wash your coach, at least not in your space, but Konocti Vista is ideal in that respect. Last time I was able to wash it was early February at Desert's Edge in Phoenix.

As described on the blog, we did go out sailing for about an hour on Sunday but it was just too windy to enjoy ourselves so we came back in. Today, Monday, the brunt of the cold front hit. Temps did not even reach 60 degrees and the wind was really gusty. So we did not attempt to take the boat out. With the Bass tournament over, the marina is absolutely empty... not another boat in the entire marina except our sailboat! Amazing. Anyhow we did some shopping, had a great brunch over at the Hotel cafe, and then watched the news coverage of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Sad world we live in, that some people take pleasure in causing such terror and mayhem. Sad.

Not only is the marina empty as in the above photo, the RV park is also pretty much empty. At the left you can see all the empty spaces with just one other coach in the background. We really do have the place to ourselves! Very quiet and relaxing stop on the tour.

A friend sent me a link to a funny youtube video... well funny as long as it didn't happen to you! It pays to read signs on bridges! This would definitely put a damper on the trip! Watch the video! Dozen of trucks and campers hitting this thing! This bridge is so famous it even has it's own website 11foot8.com. Our rig is 12'9" tall and we will be watching for low overhead clearance signs carefully hereafter!

We had a really nice mellow day on Weds as noted on the blog... we sailed all the way across the big lake in 10-12 mph winds. But Friday the 19th was a different story. It started out quietly with barely a breath of wind but by 2:00 the wind was up. No weather system at all - the skies were clear - so it must have been pressure differentials causing the wind. It was a very WINDY afternoon . By 3:00 we were getting a steady 15 mph with higher gusts and we sailed over close to the windward shore by Lakeport where the chop was a bit less. By 4:00 it was 15 gusting to 20. We were sailing on the mainsail with only a hint of jib to facilitate the tacks. But it is a bit early in the season to be pushing our boat to its limits, so around 4:00 we dropped the main, turned tail and sailed in on the jib at about 50%, hitting speeds above 7 mph even so! We got in close to 5 and the wind was still building. An exciting afternoon! We were glad we left Corey at home.

Sunday, April 21 started out quietly... sleeping in... fresh coffee while watching Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN (DVR), waffles in the waffle iron, and doing nothing much until about 5:30 when we saw the evening breezes were coming up. Classic late afternoon thermal effect as the east facing mountain slopes, now in shadow, send the cooler air dropping down the slopes and across the lake toward the warm west facing hills on the east shore. This is Libby standing in the companionway as we sail on a downwind run toward the east shore, some 6 miles away.

I am kicked back sailing in 8-10 mph breezes at sunset same day on beautiful Clear Lake. That is Mount Konocti over my right shoulder, a dormant volcano which last erupted 10,000 years ago. It towers above the lake at 4,305 feet, and is the namesake for the Konocti Casino, RV Park and Marina where we are staying these three weeks in April.

That's Libby on deck relaxing in the late Sunday afternoon breeze as we sail on a close reach towards the marina. We headed out around 6:00 with 8-9 mph breezes. It built to a rousing 10-15 by 7:00, getting close to hull speed in the Catalina under full sail on smooth water... and then as the sun began to set it dropped off to a nice steady 8-10 and we sailed til after sunset, the only boat in view on the lake. We made it back to the marina inlet about 7:45... plenty of time to drop sails, fire up the outboard and motor into the slip and tie up for the night.

Tuesday, April 23... yet another beautiful day at Clear Lake... calm and warm with highs about 87 today. The thermal breezes come up like clockwork around 5:30, so we went out for a lovely 2+ hour sail, getting back to the marina just before 8 in the pre twilight. Snapped this killer photo shortly after sunset running on a broad reach back toward the marina. The photo was taken across the boat's cockpit with a 95% full moon rising up above Mt Konocti, the dormant volcano which last erupted 10,000 years ago and towers above the lake at 4,305 feet. The stuff dreams are made of

The City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas is an international Buddhist community and monastery founded by Hsuan Hua in 1974. Situated on 488 acres outside Ukiah, CA, it is one of the first Chinese Zen Buddhist temples in the US, and one of the largest Buddhist communities in the Western Hemisphere. Originally the site housed the Mendocino State Mental Hospital founded in 1889. There were over seventy large buildings, now occupied by the schools, monastery and dorms, the Jeweled Hall of 10,000 Buddhas. Jyun Kang Vegetarian Restaurant, gift shop and bookstore and much more.

The grounds abound with peacocks. As you walk around the peaceful grounds the silence is often shattered by the cry of the male peacocks. In Buddhist iconography, peacocks are symbols of wisdom and purity. In Buddhism the peacock supports the throne of the Amitabha Buddha. Its feathers are used for Buddhist purification ceremonies.

No shortage of peacock feathers around here for the Buddhist purification ceremonies. The city even has peacock crossing signs! As protectors of all animal life, they also have squirrel and deer crossing signs. We saw both, but neither are nearly as prevalent as the peacocks.

In the roads, on the grass, even sitting in the trees, these splendid peacocks are everywhere... you can hear their shrill cries all around the beautiful campus.

I am standing by a wall painting of Zen Buddhist Monk Hsuan Hua in 1974, founder of The City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and a major contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the 20th century. The City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas is the largest and one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries in the United States.

And here is my own personal Kwan Yin standing in the lobby of the Administration building next to a lovely statue of the Chinese Kwan Yin, Goddess of Compassion and Mercy, and a Bodhisattva and incarnation of the Buddha. Thank goodness she had mercy on me!

The Hall of 10,000 Buddhas is where Master Hsuan Hua gave talks to his followers for several decades. We actually walked in during mid day services and we sat in silence for a bit and drank it in... then I snapped a couple photos. The walls are lined with hundreds, perhaps thousands of little alcoves with little gilded Buddhas in each one. The light fixture at the right of this photo is actually comprised of perhaps one thousand tiny seated Buddhas with lights behind each one. There are several of these light fixtures.

A beautiful bronze Buddha seated on a lotus throne in the teaching mudra at the back of the Hall of 10,000 Buddhas, flanked by two gilded Buddhas. A lifelong collector of Asian art myself, I have an extensive Buddha Collection as well, so I was very interested to visit the City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

What would a Buddhist monastery be without a big bronze bell? Temple bells are used to announce the time of events during the course of the day. The City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas has theirs in a little park on "Wisdom Way". This concluded our visit to this holy place. Calming our minds, we tackled the winding Hwy 175 back to the RV Park.

When we got back to the coach, we found the two Westies practicing their own form of Buddhist meditation. They are contemplating the famous Zen Koan ... "What is the sound of two paws clapping?"

When we got back to the park, the wind was up so we walked the dogs, packed a cooler, and went out sailing about 5:00 pm for 2 1/2 hours in the best session of the trip thus far... a very consistent 10-15 mph for the first hour and a half had the Anne Marie ripping back and forth across the flat bay between our marina and Lakeport, reaching speeds of 7.5 mph according to our GPS, the fastest close reach I have ever clocked on the Anne Marie. I have had her up to hull speed of 8 mph downwind, but on a close reach this was a record! As it drew near sunset winds fell back to 8-10 and we had a very enjoyable last hour, getting into the marina about 7:30. Two other sailboats were out, and we captured this one behind us with Mt Konocti in the background.

Here we are out on the lake for another late afternoon sail in the reliable thermals chasing my new friend Michael in his Catalina sailboat. Clear Lake is a delightful place to sail! As we cruise back and forth the lake on our final weekend, I must say, we have had absolutely perfect weather for our three weeks here. Spring sailing on Clear Lake ranks up with the best places we have sailed. We will be back!

Michael snapped this photo of The Anne Marie ripping along on a starboard tack in front of Mt Konocti on our last day of sailing on Clear Lake for this year. Tomorrow we have to pull the sailboat and get ready to head north on the next leg of our journey Tuesday morning. Head 'em up and move 'em out!

Heading back to Oregon

Monday the 29th was a very windy day but we could not take advantage of it as we had to pull the sailboat , derig it and get it ready for towing on to our next destination. As we head for Oregon, our next stop was Red Bluff, CA, where we'll spend a couple nights and visit with our friends Myra and Dennis Bailey who we spent time with this winter in Tucson. At the left is the sailboat in tow behind the Suburban and the coach behind it in the long pull-through space with the bicycles on the back.

It was fun to visit with Myra and Dennis and recount all our various adventures since Tucson. We celebrated and went to a local Mexican restaurant in Red Bluff where we had fishbowl sized margaritas and some tasty Mexican food.

We made plans a few months ago to do a May layover in Oregon on our Western US tour. It is difficult to leave our large home unattended and there are some things at home that require our attention. Also May 5 is our youngest son Patrick's 21st birthday so we wanted to be there to celebrate that with him. We also have some medical and dental appointments to deal with, and we'll also have some things fixed on our coach at the shop in Eugene, so that is yet another reason to make this layover. Details, details, details.... the plan is to pick up the coach end of the month and continue on to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I will pick up writing the blog again in June so please join us then for the continuing adventures of the Windseeker.

Lake Coeur d'Alene, ID

We have arrived back in Coeur d'Alene on Sunday, June 2, staying once again at Blackwell Island RV Park right on the lake. At the left is the Windseeker set up in its home base for the next 6 weeks. Just off to the right of the photo and thru those trees is a little sand beach right on the Spokane River near where it flows out of Lake Coeur d'Alene. I'll be posting lots of sailing photos soon. It is great to be back in the "Heart of the Awl" which is what Coeur d'Alene means in French. The beautiful resort town was dubbed "a little slice of Heaven" by Barbara Walters who included it in her list of most fascinating places to visit. We would have to agree!

We got the boat launched on Tuesday afternoon and motored over to our usual slip at Skip and Susan's marina next to the RV Park. We sailed Wednesday and Thursday afternoons in very nice winds, reaching probably 12-14 at times. At the left is a shot across the Anne Marie's stern of the Coeur d'Alene Resort downtown. A very picturesque place to stay. They have an excellent restaurant and wonderful accommodations and shops, but it's all a bit ritzy for our tastes. Today we sailed almost all the way across the north bay of the lake to Arrowpoint Resort, a 3.5 mile reach. We played in the warm breezes blowing up from the south end of the lake through the narrows off Arrowpoint.

We've been here about 10 days now. We have been looking at a lot of homes for sale in Liberty Lake, We actually made an offer on this house however it was contingent on the sale of our home in Oregon and they were unwilling to do that. But that's a neighborhood we like so we'll just wait and see if our house sells. Here's a virtual tour of our home as it is currently listed in the MLS. We have lots more Coeur d'Alene photos on last year's photo gallery, like the one at the left of the downtown Coeur d'Alene resort lakefront hotel marina and beach... with Libby and the two dogs.

Despite the dismal weather in Coeur d'Alene this 3rd week of June, our own Blackwell Island RV Park here is hosting a major Marathon Prevost rally, the "Pristine Coeur d'Alene" rally. There must be about 25 of them here for the rest of us to gawk at. We have never seen so many Prevosts in one place... matter of fact we've never seen more than 3 or 4 in any park at one time. These are the ultimate motorhomes. This is like attending the Concours D'Elegance in Pebble Beach when all you have ever been to is the local yokel car collector club show. At the left is one row of classic bus style Prevosts towards the front of the park. A new Prevost starts at around 1.2m and goes up from there.

Another row of Prevosts with the more modern look on the first one. Some customers prefer the classic Greyhound Bus look, while others prefer the new private coach look. Either way they are gorgeous machines, definitely the Rolls Royce of RVing.

Along the front of the park are 6 or 8 more Prevosts. In the foreground is the only quad slide Prevost we've ever seen. Many Prevosts have no slides at all, or perhaps 2 on the driver's side for the more expensive models. But a quad slide? Unheard of!

The first and only quad slide Prevost coach we have ever seen. New these go for about 2 million or more and this baby ain't very old. Each slide adds about $250K to the price, I'm told. I know where you can buy one just two years old for 1.7m. This super land yacht is 45' of ultimate luxury. Holy tag axles, Batman!

At the left is a new iteration of the classic "bus" style motorcoach. Marathon builds both the classic and the modern style, but I am particularly enamored of the classic like this one. 45' feet of gleaming stainless steel, mirror-like paint and smoked glass. Still I would have to think long and hard about giving up our 4 slides and dropping down to one or two like most Prevosts. The roominess of a big coach with 4 slides really makes RV life liveable.

Here's a brand new, very glamorous, modern style Marathon Prevost... only two slides, but hey, who's counting? You have to appreciate the artistic beauty of this coach. Whew... be still my heart!

To the cheers of the Ironman bicycle event (112 grueling miles) as all the masochists passed right by the RV park, Libby and I did our own 5 mile bicycle event with the Westies in tow in their new Doggyride Bike Trailer. We're thinking of sponsoring an alternative event to Ironman here next year where Doggyride enthusiasts from all over the U.S. convene to quietly ride their dogs around the downtown parks. Maybe we'll call it 'Easyman'.

Corey and Gracie after completing the Easyman event are ready to climb out for some refreshments.

Corey was worn out after the grueling Easyman event and decided to snuggle up on the sofa for an afternoon nap. Westies just aren't cut out for these marathon competitions.

And tag axle too! As our bumper sticker says.... "If you're tag, you're it!"

Homeward Bound - our house has been sold!

Well we're homeward bound... back to Oregon to start packing... the house sold on June 27. Got back Saturday morning June 29 and by Saturday afternoon we bought our new house (left). The photo at the left is actually a slideshow - if you keep your mouse over it, it will run thru 15 or so photos of the new house located just across the Columbia River from Portland in Vancouver WA. And only minutes from the Steamboat Landing Marina too!

This is an aerial view from Google Satellite view. It shows the scope of the house and yard with its location on a large corner lot. I LOVE the side entry garage... it adds so much curb appeal to the front of the house and adds so much potential for additions. We have more than enough room for a possible 480 SF addition for a rec room (future downstairs bedrom conversion if ever needed) off the back corner alongside the garage which will tie in nicely through custom french doors off the formal living room.

Steamboat Landing Marina is the marina near the new house where we will be keeping our sailboat. It is just 3 miles from the house on quiet surface streets and as you can see this is a very sailing oriented marina. We are excited to be living so close to the sailboat when we are at home.

We've taken possession of our beautiful new home in Vancouver, WA, just across the I-205 bridge from Portland OR. This is the best of both worlds... it is right close to all the things Portland has to offer, including no sales tax on purchases, but located in the state of Washington where there is no income tax. We are actually downsizing from our Lake Oswego home of 4000 SF to a little over 3000 SF, but with the oversize side entry garage on the right side of the house, the new house looks much larger than it actually is.

Work has begun on the new home. The first major change is all new top of the line Cascade windows for the house. We had these installed on our Lake Oswego house many years ago and always appreciated the quality and beauty of these windows. This is one of those projects you really like to have done before you move in. The project was completed in 3 days and looks great. Next step will be painting.

At the left is a photo of the completed project taken on October 24, 2013, just before Halloween, hence the lighted pumpkin. We moved in almost two weeks ago and have been busy unpacking and making minor tweaks to the house. I've posted lots more photos on a special photo gallery for the new house. In the spring when the inside is all settled and finished and the weather is perfect I am going to hire the same professional photographer who took the realtor photos of the house to do another set inside and out with our changes and enhancements.

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