PHOTO GALLERY 2021

At the left is a composite photo of some of our adventures from 2020. See the complete 2020 photo gallery featuring these and many many more great photos. Left to right and top to bottom those thumbnail photos are Vilano 5th Wheel, Pat's wedding, MGB by the Umpqua River, Joe sailing, Anne Marie sailing, Libby & Taffy, MGB travels, Taffy + Poe, Libby and grandson Ollie

Previous Photo Galleries 2012-2020:
Select another Windseeker gallery from the dropdown menu  :   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 --------------------------------- 

Well, as we move into 2021, I think we are all hoping for a more congenial year than the past one. It is not off to a very good start... the awful Insurrection riots of Jan 6 which breached the US Capitol are a day that will live in infamy. As we were glued to our TV's here in the Northwest, a nasty winter storm crept in and took revenge on our gorgeous Golden Deodar Cedars which we planted in our side yard as part of our relandscaping when we purchased our Vancouver home in 2013. The saturated soil coupled with high winds, knocked over one of the Deodars (left) and left the other leaning precariously. We're heartbroken.

Here's another view from the driveway of the damage to our beloved Golden Deodar Cedars. The one in the foreground is blown down and leaning against our cedar wood fence, the far one is leaning and will have to be replaced.

As if the news has not been bad enough so far this year, the COVID pandemic is worsening... reaching total crisis proportions in many places like California, Texas, Florida, Aizona and elsewhere. "Pandemic fatigue" is being blamed... meaning too many people are too selflish, lazy and uninformed to take this thing seriously and are not observing basic safety precautions. Now the virus is mutating and the newest strain is much more transmissable than previous ones, and so the crisis gets worse. Instead of coming out of the pandemic by March, epidemiologists are now predicting this new variant will become the prodominant strain by March and that things will get considerably worse with hospitals overrun and people dying. Sigh...

Well, with the Pandemic worsening, it is now clear we can no longer be thinking of getting back on the road by March. We had thought to maybe take a month-long trip south for a break in the weather and try to get a little use out of our beautiful Forester motorhome which has been idle since our last trip in August. Since we will spending the whole sailing season at Fern Ridge Lake again in our Vilano 5th wheel, sailing our Catalina sailboat, we decided it was pointless to keep paying storage for the motorhome while it sits and rots. Who knows when we will be able to travel again. So I placed an ad on Craigslist and sold it in one day. Remarkable. The buyers will be picking it up next weekend. Ah well, sailing has always been our main focus, so nothing will change in that respect. Summer on the Lake!

With the Forester gone on down the road, we are now left with our beautiful Vilano 5th wheel to act as our homeport for the sailboat during the sailing season on Fern Ridge Lake. The Vilano is all closed up and winterized right now. We look forward to opening it back up in March when we're sure the freezing weather is behind us. And we hope to launch the sailboat first week of April if all goes well. For many more photos, please visit the large format Vanleigh Vilano photo gallery.

We bought 3 new trees to replace the ones damaged by the big stormstorm. Our only option was to have our gardener cut up the damaged trees, dig out the roots and remove them so he could plant our replacements. We picked out three 8' Steeplechase Arborvitae (Thuja Plicata) from Garden World Nursery in Hubbard, Oregon. These will only mature to 15-18 feet in height with a maximum 8 foot spread. So we bought three to fill the space. We'll miss the beautiful Golden Deodars but these new cedars will also be quite beautiful and lush when they mature... and a better fit for the space.

One of the true silver linings of this awful COVID-19 pandemic has been the experience of our son Patrick and his lovely wife Linjia staying with us. They have a nice condo of their own in nearby Portland. But they are both working form home online and decided it would be more fun to live with us for a while. It started early December "through the holidays" but ultimately extended into late February. Part of the fun has been the group cooking and during the Chinese New Year holidays Linjia prepared a true Chinese New Year feast. After dinner we all played Mah Jongg which Linjia has been teaching us... lots of fun for all. The dogs Taffy and Poe have also each other's company.

Much of the country was slammed by a massive winter storm beginning Friday 2/13 bringing with it record low temps in some areas... dropping into mid 20's overnight here. We awoke this Saturday morning to about 7 or 8 inches of snow, less than forecast, but the depth of the snow was undoubtedly lessened by some freezing rain which battered down the light fluffy snow. The little black dots leading up to the front door are actually the very tops of the malibu lights along our front walkway.

With all the snow, our sloped driveway makes a fun sledding hill. Pat and Linjia, who have been "sheltering in place" with us here at home in Vancouver since December 1, made themselves a sled out of cardboard covered with a contactor's garbage bag. The photo at the left shows Patrick sledding getting a push off from mom, as Linjia looks on. Linjia took some runs as well, as did Libby herself! I took a pass, but I was the one who shoveled the walkway down to the street. That was all I could manage!

We are closing out February pretty soon and looking forward to spring. There are major reasons why we chose to stay in the Pacific Northwest, rather than move to another state, after we sold our home in Lake Oswego Oregon in 2013. Ultimately we chose Vancouver WA because it is right across the river from our home state of the last 20 years... Oregon. AND... Washington state has no state income tax. Yep... turns out it is one of only seven states with ZERO income tax. Oregon has an 8.9% state income tax and a marginal rate of 9.9% on higher income. But Oregon has no sales tax... so we can drive right across the I-205 bridge just a few miles from our home and buy larger ticket items and avoid the sales tax. Of the other 6 states without income tax, none is situated on the border of a state with no sales tax and a major city nearby. This unique location allows us to do just as we did on this item below...

Today we drove over the river to Northwest Fitness in NE Portland and purchased a Matrix R50XR recumbent bike... a high end Bluetooth Enabled, WiFi Enabled, stationary bike with Exact Force Induction Brake Resistance System with 30 Levels of magnetic resistance, and a fully adjustable Comfort Arc seat with reclining mesh seatback. I have been riding my Vision Fitness R2250 recumbent stationary bike regularly for several years now and I really like it a lot, but sadly it only offers 16 levels of resistance which is just no longer enough. This new Matrix, made by Johnson Fitness the same company that makes the Vision, offers 30 levels of smooth silent resistance, which will be much better for me to build my leg strength. Because we can load the box in our SUV and bring it home, we don't have to pay any sales tax which saves us more than $250!

We have been searching all around the Pacific Northwest for an appropriate travel trailer which could serve several purposes. First and foremost we wanted something to serve as guest accommodations, where our kids and friends can stay if they come to Veneta to go sailing with us. Today, March 7, we spotted this one-owner Jayco White Hawk 27DSRL on Craigslist from a private party in nearby Ridgefield, WA for a great price. This trailer will fit in our large space in Veneta beside the Vilano. See the special large format Jayco White Hawk photo gallery..

On July 10 after running an ad on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, we sold the trailer. You snooze, you lose. The RV park has changed its rules... only one RV per space, so we sold it.

The White Hawk is very roomy with high ceilings and a full deep slide in the main salon. Feels more like a small apartment than a trailer. The idea was to provide very comfortable accommodations when friends or family come to Veneta to visit. We spent some of our COVID stimulus checks and bought a new deluxe pillowtop Queen mattress for the master bedroom. Also a super comfortable Allure Trifold sleeper sofa in the main salon, a new 40" 4K LED TV, plus a new high end Porcelain toilet, as well as several other upgrades to provide supreme comfort. The new owner should appreciate these upgrades

We towed our new Jayco Whitehawk trailer down to the lake today, March 28, where it fits neatly into our large space at Fern Ridge Shores, right next to our Vilano 5th wheel and directly in front of our car trailer which serves as our storage locker. The MG car dolly fits in neatly in front of the Jayco. (The MGB is still at home in the garage... we'll bring it down in May.) The sailboat, still covered on its trailer, was moved out to the back storage lot. We are scheduled to launch it next Monday. But later this week, we'll tow it back to Vancouver where our detailer will buff it out and wax it. We had him do it a couple years ago and it held up well... time to do it again. We'll bring it back down next weekend to launch it Monday if weather permits.

Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle of Vancouver, WA delivered an inspiring "State of the City" Address on March 29. Makes us proud to reside in Vancouver and call it home. If you'd like to learn more about why we chose to live in Vancouver, Please watch the address.

Well it is April 1, no foolin', and spring is here. Forecast today is for mostly sunny today and temps to hit 67! Getting the sailboat all cleaned up and waxed, and we'll be launching it early next week with help from Scott Coleman's launch team. And with a little luck we'll log our first sailing day or two on the lake! Meanwhile, it is very relaxing to be here at the lake as everything begins to green up from its long winter's nap. Taffy enjoys her long walks and watches the geese, deer and other wildlife with great interest.

The lake is open, the marina is open, and our sailboat was completely buffed and waxed and ready to go. On April 5, at about 10am, we got her launched over at Orchard Point Marina (which has the deepest boat ramp). I then motored across to Richardson Park Marina where we once again have slip C-34 for the season. Libby drove the car and trailer around and met me there. We got the mainsail on and the mooring lines... we'll return in the morning to rig the jib sail and she will be ready for her first sail of the season! We were only the 9th boat in the marina and only the second one on C dock as you can see in the photo at the left. The early bird catches the wind!

After launching our boat on April 5, we had to go home to Vancouver for a week of scheduled appointments, but we returned this past weekend on April 18 to ideal weather. Our first week of sailing yielded 4 days of sailing - Monday through Thursday, April 19-22. Monday winds were light but we got out for a couple hours and made sure the boat was ship-shape for the season. Tuesday was a bit gusty but quite strong and we sailed only with the mainsail. Yesterday, Wednesday steadied off into perfect conditions... sunny, temps in the low 70's and ideal steady 10-12 mph winds. Today looks to be almost a carbon copy of yesterday, maybe a little cooler. We took Taffy out with us on Wednesday and just like last season, she was totally relaxed and enjoyed herself immensely. That's our 'dogter' - Sailor Taf!

The finest motorhomes and 5th wheels today are more like living on a yacht than in a 'trailer'. In fact they are often referred to as Land-yachts. These range in price from modest five figure price tags to millions of dollars for something like a Prevost or a Newell. The Tiffin Allegro Bus we owned before, today retails for close to a half million dollars and considering the fact that you are not buying a plot of land, the price compares to a pretty nice stick-built home today. A quality 5th Wheel compares nicely to a mid range Motorhome like a Tiffin, but sells for much less because there's no engine, transmission and running gear. Our Vanleigh Vilano is manufactured by a division of Tiffin Motorhomes which sport the logo "Roughing it Smoothly". Some call it "glamping" or glamorous camping... a Villa on wheels.

Well, we're a fine pair. We headed home to Vancouver last weekend to take care of personal business scheduled for this week. On Friday 4/30 we're still in Vancouver. My tooth started hurting on Tuesday... my dentist squeezed me in, and unfortunately I had to have a tooth extracted today. Meanwhile Libby was feeling the after effects of her second vaccination for COVID. The Moderna Vaccination didn't hit me hard at all, but Libby had a rough 1st night with fever and chills and aches and pains. We'll survive and are planning to head back to the lake on Sunday if all's well.

While Libby and I are laying low and staying quiet, it's been a very busy morning for dogs.... Taffy has been running around the house, spending time at each of her window viewpoints scanning and sniffing for critters. There are always squirrels around... last night she saw a rabbit in the yard and a possum! There is the occasional raccoon, neighborhood cat, and this morning two ducks paid us a visit! Taffy's wild kingdom!

Grandson Oliver is growing like a weed. He's gonna be a BIG boy. He's just 14 months and already wearing 18 months clothes sizes. He's a little speed demon on all fours and just yesterday he took 5 steps on his own. He'll be walking and talking before we know it. Tim and Kristin are thrilled. We're looking forward to their visit later this month.

Today, Tuesday we got back out on the lake for our fifth day of sailing after spending last week at home in Vancouver. We had excellent winds from about 4:45 until 7pm when we came in. About 7 or 8 other sailboats were on the lake and then a bunch of small sailboats near the marina having some sort of small sailing event. Windws ere very stead and mostly in the 11-13 mph range. We sailed on marvelous smooth water and cool breezes reaching speeds of almost 7mph at times. Taffy had a ball as well... she has really settled in, becoming an excellent little sailorette!

As we move into the sailing season, the pall of COVID-19 is lifting. We've both had our double shots of the Moderna vaccine and are feeling pretty safe these days. We are eating out in restaurants, things are opening up and life is slowly beginning to return to some sense of normal. We are now feeling like we are safe to travel again... but glad we sold the Forester Class C, for we had long ago decided if we started out on the road again in a motorhome, it would once again be a Class A bus-style coach. This new Thor Miramar MotorCoach fits the bill perfectly. See the large format Thor Miramar photo gallery.

This new 34' Thor Miramar MotorCoach has the requisite 50A electric system with a Xantrex inverter which supports the essential minimum of two roof air conditioners and has the towing capacity of 8000 lbs to tow our Durango, all with the ultra reliable Ford F-53 chassis and 320 HP V-10 gas engine. And at just 34', a full ten feet shorter than our Tiffin Allegro Bus diesel pusher, and just two feet longer than our recent Class C Forester motorhome, this one is the perfect balance, full comfort with a roomy full body slide, and opposing bedroom slide which supports a memory foam king size bed, yet easy to drive even with Libby at the helm!

Grandson Ollie:
"Uh Oh! What in the world have you guys done now????"                           

We came home for a week to spend time with our grandson Oliver who is now almost 15 months. He's walking quite a bit now and grammie is thoroughly enjoying being the babysitter while Tim and Kristin are on their computers a good bit during the day, working from home.

It's been nice to be home with all the spring floral display. Our beloved Dogwood tree in front of the house is just dazzling this year. Our corner home is absolutely stunning this spring! The forever roses out front on the corner are also gorgeous this spring. Wow!

And of course our rhodies are always a real crowd pleaser... always heartwarming to see them in their splendiferous spring glory.

Back on the lake today, May 5, I finally had a chance to try out this marvelous "Harken carbo ratchet fiddle block wth swivel, becket, & cam cleat". While sailing recently with a friend on his O'Day 24, I had my first experience with this handy device. I was really impressed with the major handling improvement it added to trimming the main sheet which controls the mainsail at the traveler. I replaced my own double pulley fiddle block with this new one. The ratchet makes for much more effortless control of the sheets, especially when the winds are strong. This is the most significant upgrade in handling I have made to our Catalina 22 since I bought a new HDPE rudder from Catalina Direct 6 years ago. That was a huge improvement to the OEM fiberglass rudder which transformed the steering of the boat, like adding power steering!

We have been getting some much needed rain, which has been kinda cutting out the sailing, but on June 10 we finally brought the new Miramar coach back to Veneta. We temporarily moved the Jayco travel trailer to our covered storage space that we rented in Eugene. We have some minor modifications we want to make to the Miramar. Libby and Taffy are sitting on the steps to the deck... and the MG looks proud to be in such high class company! A pretty pair indeed... yes Libby and Taffy, of course, but I was referring to the Vilano and the Miramar. Definitely some high class trailer trash here! As you can see there's still plenty of room for our daily driver, the Dodge Durango and we can tow it or the MG on its dolly behind the new coach.

I have been sailing four days in a row this week... June 16, 17, 18 & 19. Day one with Libby, day 2 with neighbor Don Barnett on his O'Day 24, day 3 with neighbor Don Marks and day 4 with neighbor Don Barnett again. Libby was back in Vancouver the last few days for dentist and other appointments, while I stayed in Veneta where I am fortunate have several sailing pals. Winds have been ideal... ranging from 9-10 on day one to 12-16 today. Ideal summer sailing winds every day from our prevailing northerly direction.

The Pacific Northwest is currently heading into a "heat dome" with temperatures predicted well above normal for late June. Not nearly as hot as it has been lately in the Southwest where temps in Phoenix have been as high as 118 lately. But we are predicted to be above 100 degrees this weekend. Ugh. Doesn't do much for the sailing, I can tell you. Fortunately our Vilano has the three roof air conditioners, so we are able to stay cool. This afternoon, June 22, with outside temps in the upper 80's, we enjoyed a movie on our 55" UHD TV, played from my vast library of recorded films from Dish Satellite TV. Taffy is chillin' as you can see in the photo at the left. And Libby is not racking up too much activity on her Apple watch exercise monitor. I'm cool and comfy in my LazyBoy.

My friend and neighbor Gene Lunneman has been working on his Kent Ranger 26 sailboat for the past year, and today I helped Gene find out if it holds water... or rather holds the water out! We were not attempting to launch the boat for recreation at this point... the goal was simply to see if the engine runs evenly, pumps coolant, drive shaft seals are not leaking and sea cocks are all holding. I am happy to say it was a success. In a few weeks we'll launch her again after stepping the mast and fitting the sails.

Well this "heat dome" we are under is peaking... Hard to even step outside in this infernal heat. Our windfinder windcheck website reports as shown at the left. There is a breeze out there, but I wouldn't go out on the boat in this heat on a bet. Too darn hot! I guess it is worse at home... a neighbor texted us it is 112 at our home... an all time record. Fortunately it will be much cooler here tomorrow, back in the upper 80's, still warm for late June in these parts but quite tolderable and I hope to be out sailing on the lake in the afternoon.

The heat has abated somewhat today, Monday, after being over 100 for most of the weekend. But today fierce winds moved in gusting up to 30mph on the lake, so we skipped sailing again today. But I was able to go over to the Veneta Community Pool which is reserved for lap swim from 12:30 to 2:00 pm daily. The little town of Veneta, Oregon has an extraordinary city park when they have developed in the last couple years. Most recently they completed a beautiful outdoor amphitheater for outdoor summer concerts. They also have a superb 25 meter community pool plus a wading pool. Remarkable for such a small town. I hope swimming laps 3 days a week this summer will help get me back into shape a bit.

The week of July 12 we booked 3 nights at the beautiful Winchester Bay RV Resort at the Oregon Coast. We made the trip both as a way to escape the unseasonable heat in the Willamette Valley and to take a shakedown cruise in the new coach to familiarize ourselves with the many great features and settle in. Winchester Bay RV Resort is located right on Winchester Bay a small inlet off the Pacific Coast just south of Reedsport, and about 30 minutes south of Florence. Just an hour and half from Veneta and the lake, it's a whole different world here at the Oregon Coast. The yellow arrows indicate our scenic spot.

Here's a photo of our Miramar coach in our waterfront space with Libby and Taffy standing alongside after we just returned from an invigorating walk along the great walking path by the harbor. Our space affords a marvelous view of the harbor with all the sailboats and fishing boats. This was mid afternoon on our second day here... the weather was beautiful with blue skies and cool temps.

One of the top reasons for taking this trip to the coast, aside from taking a little break from the heat inland, was to do a "shakedown cruise" or trial run with the new coach and see if anything needs correction or modification before we take a longer trip this fall. I am pleased to report that all systems are working well. The floorplan works well for us. Here's Libby sitting at the dinette playing with her iPad while Taffy looks on sleepily with what we call H.N.S. (Heavy Nose Syndrome) as she rests her chin on the table. I am seated across the way in my Lazyboy recliner watching CNN news on the TV via our dish satellite.

On Wednesday we took a bicycle ride along the bay side bike path in an effort to get our daily quotient of exercise. Wepaused by this wood-carved Jack Unger Memorial Wayside, a former mariner who was instrumental in the building of this port at Salmon Harbor Marina. The marina has immediate access to the Umpqua River, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, the Pacific Ocean, and miles of white-sand public beaches.

After our bike ride and sme lunch, we drove about 2 miles down the road from Winchester Bay to Douglas County South Jetty Beach where there is easy beach access. Taffy and I walked along the beach and marveled at all the driftwood while Libby played photographer. Here Taffy and I sat on a driftwood log and took in the ocean sounds as the clouds started to roll in. For dinner we had delicous fresh halibut fish and chips and some excellent clam chowder at a local restaurant, Bedrocks On the Bay. So much for burning off those calories today!

Back from the Oregon coast this afternoon, we did a quick turn around and took our Catalina 22 out for a late afternoon sail. Lots of boats out as you can see at the left... Winds got very steady after 6pm as is common on this lake. We sailed in 8-11 mph winds with occasional spikes to 12 and higher.

Oops. For the very first time in all the years of owning and sailing our Catalina 22, we wound up dead in the water this evening. We were out for a late sailing session today, July 21. As is typical, winds came up late this afternoon and got really good after 5:30. We enjoyed winds ranging as high as 11-14 and finally headed for the marina around 7pm. The winds got light and variable as we approached the marina, common in our little protected harbor. So we dropped sails and went to start the outboard motor to motor into our slip. Oops. Pushed the starter button on our trusty Yamaha outboard - and nothing... It was obvious it was a weak battery because the electric lift barely had enough juice to lower the motor into the water. There was not enough wind to attempt to sail in... fortunately a fellow sailboater offered us a hand and towed us to our slip. You can read the full story here.

Today July 26 marked the end of the sailing season for us. We have been watching the Fernridge Lake Water level dropping on the USACE Chart. Last year we reached the last day with a lake elevation of 368.0'. That was August 24. We are just a few inches from that level on July 26, and due to some other plans we decided to pull it today, Monday, and not wait until next weekend when the ramps will be busy and we will have borderline depth at the launch ramp. So today was the day. We had our final sailing day yesterday... making a grand total of just 25 sailing days for this abbreviated season.

With the boat out of the water, we decided to plan a major fall excursion in the Miramar beginning September 1. We were concerned that the nasty wildfire season caused by the drought in the west could pre-empt our travels to smoke choked states like Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. We are also hoping that the resurging COVID-19 pandemic and the virulent Delta Variant could not block our trip. In short, it did... this trip will be postponed to next year... maybe in the spring.

In preparation for our extended fall road trip, we added some enhancements to the Miramar, including an upgraded porcelain toilet, a Maxxair remote controlled roof exhaust fan and a Splendide stack washer/dryer like we have in the Vilano. Amd I have built a small platform as a slide extension to be able to use a new Lazyboy Recliner in the motorome like I have had in all our motorhomes. We have had a lot of RV's over the past decade and we know full well which features really add to the liveability of a modern motorhome. Left is a composite of the 9 different RV's we have owned and camped in since 2010. I wonder what people in their homemade camper vehicles from a century ago would think of modern motorhomes?

With our planned national parks tour now postponed, next week we head out from Veneta on September 1 for a monthlong trip to Washington's Olympic Peninsula; we'll do a quick two night visit to Bend, OR, to hang with our kids who will be there... then we head on the Columbia River Gorge for a night to visit old friends before we head north to Woodland, Lake Quinault, Forks, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, and Anacortes on leg one of our trip and then from there on to Birch Bay, Seattle, Ocean Shores, Long Beach and back home to Veneta leg two. We'll be gone about a month or longer if all goes well, returning to Veneta by mid October.

One final component I wanted to install on the Miramar before we hit the open road was the Safe T Plus Steering Stabilizer. I had one installed on our Forest River Forester and and it made a distinct difference. This time I figured I could do it myself so I bought the correct one on Amazon along with the corresponding F105K2.5 Mounting Kit for my Ford F-53 chassis.

Safe T Plus provides positive centering capabilities, and stabilized steering control in crosswinds, or when a big truck passes, resulting in safer and more confident handling. It can also help the driver maintain control in the event of a tire blowout. I installed it today on the front end of my Miramar. It can often take several trial and error drive-and-adjust efforts, but as luck would have it today, I hit it spot on first try!

Enroute to La Pine Oregon to meet up with our son Patrick and wife Linjia, we drove thru the Willamette National Forest past Dexter and O'Dell Lakes up and over the 5000' summit into the high desert and out to La Pine just south of Bend, Oregon. The Foest was quite smoky from nearby forest fires.... but we were watching the Airnow.gov website we were confident the air in La Pine was pretty good, about as good as we had in Veneta by the lake.

When we arrived at Bend-Sunriver RV Campground in La Pine, I checked in while Taffy watched with rapt attention the many rabbits running around. Oh this is gonna be an excellent camping experience for dogs!

We had a space reserved in the Bend-Sunriver RV Campground, a pretty, forested Thousand Trails campground only a few miles from where the kids are staying with friends in a cabin. We're trying out Thousand Trails' camping club. We found a nice quiet level 50A site for our two night stay. No satellite reception, but for evening entertainment, with my new Dish Hopper3 receiver now operational in the coach, I have full access to an infinite number of TV shows and movies I have recorded on 5 different external 2 TB hard drives.

On Friday we left La Pine and drove highway 97 and 197 through Maupin and Madras in central Oregon and pulled into The Dalles in late afternoon, if time to join our good friends Ted and Leanne Matzen for a bite to eat before heading on to our reserved campground for the night in Cascade Locks, about an hour west of The Dalles on I-84. Being Labor Day weekend we were lucky to get into this KOA for the night. Ted shared this iconic photo of The Sternwheeler at the docks in The Dalles with snowcapped Mt Hood in the background. Great photo I thought I would share with you!

Talk about a great photo, what can I say? Here is our Thor Miramar Motorcoach with the gorgeous lacquer red full body paint in perfect afternoon sun, which really shows the colors at their best. Photo was snapped today, Sept 3, where we parked temporarily in a Walmart parking lot while we ran some errands before continuing on our road trip

After leaving the Bend Area and a quick overnight in the Gorge is Columbia Riverfront Resort, we arrived at the our first stop in Kalama, Washington about an hour north of our home in Vancouver. Our space faces the river and as the sun sets in the west right above the river it provides some excellent sunsets. This is the view out our coach windshield. A nice cool refreshing breeze was blowing off the river, a welcome relief from the heat and smoke in central Oregon. The AQI (Air Quality index from Airnow.gov) here is 13... in Bend it is a "hazardous" 377 on a sale of 1-400! This is precisely why we abandoned our plans to head east on our national parks itinerary and opted to head for a more coastal route.

On our last night here in Woodland we drove over to the nearby McMenamins Kalama Harbor Lodge for dinner by the Columbia River. We sat on the outdoor patio where they allow dogs as do many restaurants with outdoor patio dining. Great experience for the Tafster! She's underage, though, so they wouldn't serve her any beer!

After we left Kalama we continued up Washington's Olympic Penisula led us to the Quinault Rain Forest at beautiful Lake Quinault. We had reserved a spot at the lovely Rain Forest Resort Village campground in Quinault WA right by the lake. Here's our Miramar coach tucked back in a nice quiet corner of the campground where we could see the lake and still get good satellite access to the southern sky. That's our new RF Mogul satellite system antenna where we had it installed on the roof at the front of the coach.

The first evening here we had a pretty sunset over the lake and were able to snap this photo with some interesting cloud formations.

Right next to our site is a well known landmark of this area, billed as the World's Largest Spruce Tree, a 1000 year old Sitka Spruce, 56' feet in circumference and 191' tall.

First day at Lake Quinault we hiked the nearby July Creek trail. The rain forests here get an average of 12' of rain a year, perfect for the spruce, hemlock, fir and cedar trees, which enables them to grow quite large. No rain during our 3 days here, but on our departure day, Sept 10, we awoke to a light rain which accompanied us off and on to our next stop in Forks, WA.. Rain or no, we are enjoying this nice clean cool air, as opposed to the hot smoky conditions to the east and south of here. Good choice!

On our hike, we came upon a picnic site which looks like it has seen better days... Taf and I rested for a few minutes while Libby snapped this photo.

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is present, does it make a sound? Maybe not, but in the rain forest, where trees fall with some regularity, if it falls across a trail, you can bet the park service will be along soon to cut and remove a section so the trail is again passable. Some of these fallen logs are massive.

While here in the Quinault Rain Forest we took another hike, this one on the Rain Forest Nature trail, just a couple miles from our campground. The Rain Forest Nature trail crosses the lovely Willaby Creek through the Quinault Rain Forest. Just 1/2 mile long it was just right for our aging legs... a pretty good climb up the first half and then a gentle slope down back to the parking lot.

"We are Just Strands in the Web of Life"
On the Rain Forest Nature trail, we spotted this memorable plaque commemoratiing Chief Seattle, a Susquamish chief who lived on the islands of the Puget Sound in the 1800's. Chief Seattle delivered a now famous speech in 1854, an excerpt from which is inscribed on this plaque: "This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. What befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."   Many people today would do well to heed these words.

There are lots of fun recreational opportunities to enjoy while camping in the rain forest. I snapped this photo of some fun things we found to do. Can you guess what this is? Hey! Get your mind out of the gutter... it's just my fingers over the lens!

The Olympic Peninsula Rain Forest is Bigfoot Country. We were fortunate to catch a glimpse of this elusive fellow who obligingly posed for a photo with me.

On Friday, Sept 10, with a light rain falling, we pulled up camp and headed up Hwy 101 to Forks WA. Forks is near the Hoh Rain forest which is one of the premier rain forests on the peninsula, and one we wanted to hike. We also knew that Forks is the setting for the popular Twilight Saga series of films about Vampires and Werewolves. Turns out this week is the annual Forever Twilight Festival in Forks, which draws hundreds of "Fanpires" each year. We did our homework and watched all 5 films in Twilight Saga series... so we know our Twilight Saga lore!

We arrived early afternoon at the Forks 101 RV Park where we had a nice quiet space reserved for 3 nights. Parked on a level grassy spot next to a horse pasture, the RV Park is right on the edge of town and close to everything.

On our first full day in Forks, we drove around the town a bit, and visited a few local movie landmarks like the Cullen House and the Swan House from the Twilight Saga. We did a little shopping and snapped a few photos like this one of me standing by some cardboard cutouts of the Cullen family from the Twilight Saga. Left to right, that's Jacob Black, Edward Cullen, Bella Swan, and Alice Cullen.. and in the background one of the Volturri coven, Marcus.

On hand for the festival, parked in front of the Timber Museum, were "Bella's Trucks" from the Twilight Saga... the one on the left a 1958 Chevy from the book version with the license plate "BELLA"... and on the right the well known 1963 Chevy Truck from the film version. That's our silver Dodge Durango parked next to the movie truck.

We also drove out to La Push, a village on the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula just 12 miles west of Forks. La Push was featured in the Twilight Saga film series, as the community where Jacob and his shapeshifting tribal buddies lived. La Push sits at the mouth of the Quillayute River, surrounded by Olympic National Park. The largest community within the Quileute Indian Reservation, it's known for wild Pacific beaches like scenic First Beach. This area gets a lot of rain, some 12 feet per year, and today was a typically rainy day.

On our third and final day in Forks, we busied ourselves with a few projects in the morning, had lunch at the Subway and then took a drive thru the Hoh Rainforest in the heart of the Olympic National Park. We were headed for the Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center, but the traffic was so bad as we got close, we turned around and headed back out. But it was a nice drive in any case.

On Monday morning we left Forks, WA and drove up Highway 101 thru the Olympic Peninsula. The scenic drive took us along 10 miles of shoreline of the glacially carved Lake Crescent, the second deepest lake in Washington (after Lake Chelan), with a maximum depth of 624 feet and covering an area of 5,127 acres. Lake Crescent is known for its brilliant blue waters and exceptional clarity. Gorgeous!

We took a short drive up into the Olympic National Park just south of Highway 101 on our first day in Port Angeles. We drove along the Elihwa River to the Madison Creek Trailhead for a little hike in the forest.

At the Madison Creek Trailhead we took a short hike on a paved trail up to Madison Creek Falls. Taffy broke the rules and went along for the hike... no one seemed to mind! Everyone thought she was adorable. It's a picturesque little spot easily accessed from the parking lot.

On our last day in Port Angeles, we got up leisurely and heated up the last of our scrumptious Cousin's cinnamon rolls which we picked up at our stop in the Columbia River Gorge. Fresh brewed coffee and one of these monsters - just doesn't get much better than this. Taffy was happy to join us, although she doesn't much care for the taste of cinnamon

To work off our cinnamon roll, we loaded up the bikes on the back of the car and headed over to the Olympic Discovery Trail, a 120-mile trail that stretches from Port Townsend to Port Angeles and across the Olympic Peninsula to La Push on the Pacific Coast. We drove to Robin Hill Farm County Park at Pinnell Road where it intersects a trailhead of the Discovery Trail. The weather was perfect for bicycling, so we rode a mostly level 4 mile round trip, enough for a couple out of shape seniors. But at least we pedaled under our own power and were not on Ebikes (electric assist).

On September 16, we broke camp in Port Angeles and headed for Port Townsend. We stopped in Sequim on the way (pronounced Skwim). We wanted to return to the Dungeness Spit. We drove to the Dungeness Spit National Park and parked at the entrance to the trail leading out to the spit, a 5 mile long spit of sand covered with driftwood. There's a display at the trailhead explaining how the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is a haven for wildlife, and highlights the history of humans in the area dating back about 12,000 years, not long after the Vashon Ice Sheet receded, and the early Native Americans who called this area home.

The Dungeness Spit is part of the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, home to a wide variety of wildlife, birds, mammals and sealife.

We hiked out a densely wooded trail to the viewpoint. This forest is located in what is called a "rain shadow", which only gets 12 inches of rain, compared to the nearby Olympic National Forest where an average of 12 FEET of rain falls each year.

Here's my adorable wife posed along the trail to the Spit by a large display highlighting the focus on natural habitat and nurturing the fragile ecosystem for the forest and coastal wildlife which call this area home.

We followed the wooded trail out to the viewpoint above the Dungeness Spit where we posed for this photo. (On longer hikes like this it helps for me to wear my elastic support belt.)

We arrived for a 3 day weekend at Port Townsend before we catch the ferry across to Anacortes on Monday. We stayed at Point Hudson Marina & RV Park just down the eastern shore from the Point Wilson Lighthouse at the northeastern tip of the peninsula. The park itself isn't much... spots are level and it does have full hookups, but no amenities in what is otherwise a gravel lot with some flowers planted around. But it's all about the location located right on the water here in Port Townsend, along Port Townsend Bay in the lower Puget Sound. I managed to snap this photo of the view to the northeast from our front windshield on the first day before the storm moved in. Almost looks like a painting!

Point Hudson Marina & RV Park does have a marvelous location right on Port Townsend Bay in the lower Puget Sound. This is a stock aerial photo of the place on a beautiful summer's day. The yellow arrow indicates our RV space, immediately adjacent to the marina. and not in the stormy conditions we encountered when it was mostly cloudy and windy. We awoke to gale force winds on Friday, gusting to 50 mph!

This is a photo taken on Friday out of the front passenger side window of the Miramar of Port Townsend Bay with the winds just howling and rocking the motorhome like a boat on its mooring in a storm. Those are huge whitecaps on the water in the distance! I have fond memories from my windsurfing memories of Gorge troubador extraordinaire Moe Dixon performing his song "Living on the edge of a Hurricane" celebrating the fabled Gorge winds

This is a photo Friday morning taken from the hill above the harbor with the gale force winds howling. I snapped this photo of the ferry just coming into the landing on some pretty rough waters. Fortunately this is only supposed to be a one day weather event and the storm is supposed to pass and be much warmer on Monday, when we are due to catch the ferry on to Anacortes. Actually Port Townsend is much drier than the surrounding region due to being in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains, receiving only 19 inches of rain per year.

Port Townsend was a bawdy seaport in the late 19th century, its saloons and bordellos packed with rowdy sailors whose ships docked here to clear customs before sailing into Puget Sound. Its history goes way back, originally named "Port Townshend" by Captain George Vancouver in 1792. . There are any number of quaint little eateries around town. We found a particularly colorful little cafe for breakfast called the Point Hudson Cafe. Delicious food and classic local ambience with its dockside location.

I snapped a photo of this adorable little ink and watercolor painting on the wall of the Point Hudson Cafe. I may have this printed and framed.

Some gorgeous boats here in the marina that really set an old sailor's mind to wanderin'. This beautiful schooner was docked right across from the Point Hudson Cafe where we had breakfast. Driving around the waterfront we also enountered some really large yachts like this massive motorsailor. Perhaps in a future lifetime. For now I am just happy go lucky blond kid in the painting above!

The storm lifted and Saturday was only partly cloudy with no wind. We drove around town passing the iconic Ann Starrett House in "Uptown" Port Townsend, now being operated as a B&B. We also passed the beautiful Hastings Building. Built in 1889, the Hastings Building is an iconic Victorian 3-story structure that has been called "the most elegant building in the city".

On Saturday we drove all over Port Townsend taking in the sights, including the old Victorian mansions, and Fort Worden State Park and campground (a possibility for a future stay). We drove out to the tip of Fort Worden State Park to the Point Wilson Lighthouse, an important active aid to navigation run by the USCG, which overlooks the entrance to Admiralty Inlet, the waterway connecting the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound. The buildings are currently under restoration by the U.S. Lighthouse Society.

From Fort Worden, we returned to the Point Hudson Cafe for another delicious brunch meal and then walked along the pathway which loops around Port Hudson Inlet. There was a moderate breeze in the afternoon and a number of sailboats were out enjoying the wind on the water.

On Sunday morning we caught the Washington State Ferry out of Port Townsend over to Coupeville and drove up the 30 miles up to the city of Anacortes on the edge of the San Juan Islands. It was the first time we have ever taken a motorhome of ours on a ferry, but it's quite common and we were not the only ones. It was only about $75 for both the RV and the car, cheaper and faster than driving all the way down the Olympic Peninsula and back up on the mainland side.

The ride across the narrow 5 mile section of the Strait of Juan de Fuca only took about half an hour compared to about 3.5 hours and almost 200 miles by highway. More fun too! Since we arrived early, we were among the first to load and we were up at the front of the ferry and had a great view out the windshield and we crossed to Anacortes.

The weather cleared up beautifully and we pulled into Fidalgo Bay RV Resort right on the bay. Lovely spot... we'll be here three nights before we move on to Birch Bay up on the Canadian border.

It was an adventurous day pulling up stakes in Port Townsend, riding on the ferry, driving to Anacortes, and setting up camp there. And of course we have to show all the local dogs how tough we are, All this stuff tires a little dog out.

We had a pretty sunset on the island for our first night in Anacortes. This is a beautiful spot in Puget Sound... I can see why it is a popular sailing venue.

Our first day in Anacortes we laid low... took a little walk by the water with Taffy, did some chores around the RV and relaxed outside for a bit and watched the sailboats go back and forth. I also finally got around to installing the Hawkshead talon TMPS I have been saving from a previous motorhome until I could use it again. A tire pressure monitor system is a must-have device on a motorhome as it will alert you if your tire pressure drops outside of preset levels. This is a strong safety feature - maintaining proper tire pressure is the number one thing you can do to prevent premature tire wear and/or failure. If you have never seen a motorhome have a tire blowout on the highway, watch a few minutes of this youtube video and it will make a believer out of you.

I bought the Hawkshead Talon TPMS 10 years ago for our Country Coach and I liked it a lot. But when we upgraded to the Tiffin Allegro Bus, it had its own built-in TPMS so I put the Hawkshead on the shelf and have not had a chance to use it again until now. I upgraded it with all new sensor batteries and installed it on our new Miramar. This unit works really well and has the exclusive flowthru sensors which Hawkshead pioneered ten years ago. The system can be set up to alert the driver when tire pressures get above or below preset levels... same with tire temperatures, and the dash monitor provides constant readout on all tires 24/7. A critically important safety feature.

On our last day in Anacortes, on a warm clear afternoon, we drove around town and up Mt Erie for a mountain view of the snowcapped Mt Baker thru the forest. Mt Baker glacier peak is almost 11,000 feet and is about 40 miles due west of Bellingham. Mt Baker Ski Area has a peak elevation of about 5,000 feet, and holds the record for the world's greatest recorded snowfall in one season, 1,140 inches or 95.0 ft! Mt. Baker also enjoys the unofficially highest average annual snowfall of any resort in the world, with 641 inches.

Coming back down Mt Erie, we pulled over for several other excellent views of Puget Sound. Then we drove down to Washington Park, highly recommended on TripAdvisor, and sat for a while down next to the water gazing across a very calm Rosario Strait in Puget Sound at a few of the San Juan Islands... that's Blakely to the left, Orcas in the middle and most distant, and Cypress to the right

After leaving Washington Park. we headed over to Cap Sante Park, one of the most famous viewpoints around Anacortes. From this viewpoint one gets an excellent view of the snowcapped Mt Baker across Padilla Bay and about 50 miles to the WNW as the crow flies.

On Wednesday we left Anacortes as planned and drove an hour and a half north to Blaine, WA and the little community of Birch Bay which is perched right on the border with British Columbia, Canada. This is about as far north as you can go in the western US before you cross into Canada. We're staying at a Thousand Trails Campground here, the network we joined when we were in Bend at the beginning of the month. So it costs us nothing to have a look around and check out the area. Nice quiet campground, very uncrowded with large roomy level spaces and full hookups.

We decided to go into town and have dinner... we chose a little hole in the wall place, the Bordertown Mexican Grill with its outdoor patio right across from the bay and large marina at Birch Bay. The carnitas dishes were absolutely marvelous... I had a Carnitas burrito and Libby had Carnitas street tacos. Sadly, they did not serve cerveza... ah well, you can't have it all, I guess.

Next day we drove around the area and out to Semiahmoo Bay Resort just to have a look. Virtually an island connected by a causeway to the mainland, Semiahmoo Bay Resort is a popular golfing and boating community in Blaine WA. Blaine sits at the northwest corner of the US border of the US on Drayton Harbor, a very well protected bay inside the much larger Semiahmoo Bay, which leads out to the Salish Sea which includes Puget Sound.

Since Blaine is located right on the Canadian border, it is my guess that a lot of wealthy Canadians probably have summer homes, condos or yachts at the marinas around Blaine. Lots of gorgeous yachts here!

On our last afternoon in Birch Bay, we drove back into Blaine and visited the Peace Arch Historical State Park which is located right on the border between the U.S. and Canada. It's a beautiful park as some of the photos below show.

As is common in Canadian parks we have visited in the past, there are some beautiful flower gardens planted around Peace Arch Historical State Park.

Some interesting artwork around the park including this unique "Pack of Dogs" sculpture made from recycled Stainless Steel fire extinguishers. Taffy felt right at home!

We took a leisurely stroll thru Blaine Marine Park with Taffy and she and I posed by this Orca Killer Whale sculpture display.

Directly across the bay from Blaine Marine Park, the skyline of Whiterock, B.C. in Canada is clearly visible.

We wrapped up the afternoon with another visit to the Bordertown Mexican Grill in the same area and dined at their outdoor patio right across from the bay. I am pointing to their irresistable Carnitas Burrito Supreme shown in the inset.

We pulled into Bothell, WA just north of Seattle in the late afternoon on Saturday and set up camp at Lake Pleasant RV Park. Since we arrived kinda late without any opportunity for grocery shopping, it was a good excuse to go out for dinner. I spotted a place night near the RV Park, Carolina Smoke BBQ. On their website they brag about their authentic Carolina BBQ, and honestly the very best BBQ we've ever had was in South Carolina. Sorry Texas, your BBQ was not even in the same league. Well this place did not disappoint... that was the best brisket I have EVER had, the "hot link" sausage was terrific, and the pulled pork compared very favorably with our finger-lickin memories of Ridgefield's Bar-B-Q Grille in South Carolina back in 2015. Talk about a mouthwatering photo! We'll be back!

While staying in Bothell this week we visited with some old friends, John and Sharon Adamski, at their place on Lake Washington. They're old windsurfing friends we knew well from the Rowena days. On Tuesday evening we had dinner at the nearby Carolina Smoke BBQ Grille with another old sailing friend, Junaid Omar, a Pakistani Engineer who lives in nearby Lynwood. On Wednesday I rode up with him to Everett where he keeps his 34' Catalina sailboat at a marina and where he sails the Puget Sound. Nice boat! I'll probably come up and go sailing with him next year at some point.

On Saturday I met the owner of Sand & Sails H2o who is a Blokart dealer, a land sailing cart they sail on the beach. I have been wanting to try one, and that is the whole reason we came to Ocean Shores on this trip. First step was to see if I could manage to get in and out of one with my over-size and under-flexible body. The dealer Russ met me at an empty parking lot on Saturday for a "fitting". By disconnecting the angled side rails temporarily I was able to step across and then, grabbing a hand of the dealer's assistant, I could lower myself down into the seat. We then swung the side rails back up onto their mounting bolts and tightened them down. Getting out was easy.. I lowered the rails again and could just roll out onto my knees.

Here's a factory picture of a new Blokart. Fully equipped and manufactured of stainless steel, they run about $3800. They come equipped standard with a 4.0 metre sail... larger ones are available. For an old windsurfing junkie like me, they look like they should be pretty entertaining! You can google Blokart on Youtube. Here's a brief how to video. Tomorrow we are going to meet Russ at the beach here in Ocean Shores and I will get to try sailing one in the afternoon, if the wind is not too strong.

On Sunday I met the blokart dealer down at the beach at Ocean Shores to demo a blokart. He rents them for $25 an hour and by the time we got it all set up, using a rope tied to his pickup truck, I lowered myself in and got in about an hour of sailing. After getting the hang of it using on a 4.0m sail, I decided I needed more sail, and so he switched me to a 5.5 metre sail which was perfect. I spent about an hour zipping back and forth tacking and jibing the kart and getting the feel of it, trying to avoid capsizing and trying not to get too far away from the truck. I edited together some sailing video footage Libby took of me which you can watch on youtube. The whole experience exceeded my expectations. Just call me Joe Blow!

The Long Beach Peninsula, our final stop on this tour, boasts endless flat beaches and at low tide they are several hundred yards of sand to play on. If I buy a Blokart next year this is a great place to bring it!

We also rode our bicycles on Long Beach's paved Discovery Trail which winds through the dunes along the endless beaches of the Peninisula. We rate this bike trail a 10!

We drove around Long Beach on Tuesday afternoon after the rain let up, investigating various options for beach access and where I might possibly come back to sail a blokart if I decide to buy one. Saw this attractive lass seated by a roadside stop and she graciously posed for a photo with me!

On our final night of the fall touch here in Long Beach Washington, we took TripAdvisor's advice for the best Mexican food in town and went to El Mar. This is the very definition of a hole in the wall, but we took a chance and went in. A guy at a neighboring table had ordered molcajete and it looked so awesome we did the same. Molcajete is an authentic Mexican dish consisting of a veritable cornucopia of various strips of grilled meats including chicken, steak, prawns, special cheese, and even cactus served in a steaming hot mortar, carved of natural volcanic stone, which keeps the tomato sauce with bell peppers and onions hot to the last mouthful. Delicioso! Topped off with a couple bottles of Mexican beer. Maravilloso! Olè!

Here's an interesting bit of Trivia... do you know who the biggest employer in your state is? Answer at the left! CLICK HERE to see the answer to this question and many other fascinating maps of the world that give context to various bits of information.

We have concluded our fall trip to Washington's Olympic Peninsula and coast and have returned home for the fall months. Fall is a glorious time in the Pacific Northwest and we always enjoy spending it in our beautiful Vancouver home. We have have one more short sojourn planned to Ashland in southern Oregon in early November. We'll return home in the second week of November and finalize our tentative plans to take the coach down to California for the Christmas holidays, in the second week of December. That's all winter dependent. And then we begin ruminating on the national parks trip we're planning for the spring! So stay tuned!

For the last week of October, we took a trip in the Miramar down to southern Oregon... Grants Pass, Medford, and Ashland. We made reservations at the Rogue Valley Overnighters campground in Grants Pass. On Monday after spending the night at Henderson's Lineup, we left the coach there for some chassis enhancements. Henderson's is a highly respected service center that specializes in handling, steering, suspension and braking in RVs. I have already installed their recommended Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer. Today they will be installing the Supersteer rear trac bar (left) which should eliminate sideways movement of Ford's rear axle when towing a heavy car like our Dodge Durango. The Miramar sure looks huge up on the shop lift.

In addition to the Trac bar above we also had Henderson's Lineup install the Roadmaster heavy duty anti-sway bar. Ford equips their F-53 chassis with front and rear sway bars, but the rear sway bar is under designed for the weight and height of the coach and this sway bar can be installed over and above the stock sway bar, greatly improving handling in the curves. These two enhancements were both recommended by Henderson's for our motorhome. This and the trac bar above cost about $2000 installed but along with the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer which I already installed, the combined suspension enhancements should make a noticeable difference when towing on the highway. Our return drive home later this week should realize the benefits of these improvements,

While in southern Oregon, we wanted to go to the horse races... Grant's Pass Downs offers fall Thoroughbred Horse Racing and we went to the track today to watch them run and place a few bets for fun. Libby and I have both had lifelong love affairs with horses and are always excited to watch these majestic animals run. Readers of this blog will remember our 2015 visit to Lexington Kentucky where we visited famous Thoroughbred horse farms and the noted Keeneland race track.

For our final day in southern Oregon we attended the matinee performance of "Poirot: Murder on the Links" at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland. They always do a terrific job with their stage shows. Hercule Poirot is always an amusing sleuth!

Well we have put the motorhome in storage for now... and we'll be winterizing the 5th wheel at the lake. So for the next month or so we'll be relaxing at home and catching up on the endless library of films I have recorded from Dish Networks to my DVR, and following the figure skating season which we both love, all on our new 50" 4K Samsung TV. I can also settle back into my home routine getting some home exercise with the recumbent exercycle or following my favorite exercise routine. And of course we'll be planning our new excursions for next year.

When we were in Long Beach last month we discovered a Mexican dish we had never heard of before... Molcajete. Molcajete is an authentic Mexican dish consisting of a veritable cornucopia of various strips of grilled meats including chicken, steak, prawns, special cheese, and even cactus served in a steaming hot mortar, carved of natural volcanic stone, which keeps the tomato sauce with bell peppers and onions hot to the last mouthful. Delicioso! We enjoyed "date night" out and found a small local restaurant in Vancouver called 4 Caminos which serves a very tasty authentic version very similar to what we had in Long Beach.

This is a closeup of this excellent Molcajete served in a steaming hot mortar, carved of natural volcanic stone, which keeps the tomato sauce with bell peppers and onions hot to the last mouthful. Delicioso! We topped it off with a couple of delicious margaritas made with fresh lime. Maravilloso! Olè! We shall return!

After the deliciious molcajete dishes we enjoyed this year, I can't say we weren't tempted, but we stuck to tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving Mexicano-style. Actually we granted pardon to one more turkey and ordered a honey-baked ham which we had for Thanksgiving dinner celebrating with son Patrick and his wife Linjia.