Boxing Day - December 27,2015

We decided that we couldn’t let the holidays pass without spending one day Navioning with Allison & Tony so we headed out to Silver Reef for dinner and an evenings entertainment with our good friends.

Dinner at the Steakhouse.

 We had dinner at the steakhouse as we had to use up our free Birthday Dinner they give us once per year. We had a fun evening in the casino. They drove home that night but we "roughed it". A quick breakfast the next day and home once more - a little bit of quick but a little cold (shiver) fun.

Friday - Winchester Mansion and Jaxon Keys Winery

Early Morning Fog at Jaxon Keys Winery

We were up early Friday and on the road by 8:00 AM looking for a Walmart and McDee’s. We GPS’d and found one on the way - 12 miles ahead. We pulled out on the highway and two or three exits up we spied a Walmart right at the exit but it came up to fast so we passed it. We followed the GPS to the one on the route but as we came off at the exit it was one of the "off one freeway and onto the next freeway" that California is famous for. We missed the proper exit and had to go up a ways to turn back but now we were on the wrong side of the road to take the exit so had to circle around again. We took a back road, through a residential area and got completely lost! We re-GPS’d, using NO Freeways and finally after 45 minutes of driving around lost we pulled into the Walmart parking lot and bonus it had a McDee’s also. Fed, shopping done, and dieseled up - we headed to San Jose for Winchester Mystery Mansion 11 AM Tour - a very interesting stop we have done many times but really enjoy every time. After the tour we headed through the maze of Metropolitan San Francisco Freeways which was no easy feat! We headed up the 101 to our planned Harvest Host stop for the night - Jaxon Keys Winery & Distillery.  We pulled in about 3:30PM - just in time for us to have a wine tasting before “Happy Hour”. We tasted some delicious wines and chose their “Farmhouse White” to take out onto their wrap-around porch to sip with some of our cheese & crackers and watch the sun go down. There was a group of young people already on the porch enjoying their wine and we invited them to join us in our cheese platter.

Fun and laughter with new friends!

Soon we were having a fun time with Rebekkaa, Thomas, Julia and Tom who were visiting from just north of Hopland - Willitts,CA. We had a great time chatting with them and then went back to cozy up in the Navion parked amongst the rows of the vineyard.

Who could ask for a more wonderful place to "Camp"!

The next morning, I woke early about 6:00 and went out into the fog shrouded, nippy morning to take some photo’s - a photographers dream setting! We had breakfast - a sausage and egg scramble, said goodbye to the lovely ladies in the Winery and set off for the last leg of our long journey up the Oregon Coast to home. We cruised up the all but seasonally deserted coastline, staying in a Walmart parking lot Saturday. We continued up the coast Sunday, stopping only at Tillamook Cheese for a quick look, spent that night at a rest stop near Kelso, Wa. and crossed the border about noon on Monday AM.

The Navion in the early morning Fog

The Vineyards among the rolling hills -
after the fog cleared and the Sun came out

Such a picturesque setting!

Thursday - Hearst Castle

After breakfast, we once more headed up the coast - the destination of the day was Hearst Castle at San Simeon. It was a beautiful sunny day again. We got to “The Ranch” as it was affectionately called in time for the 11:00 o'clock tour.

"The Ranch"

We had done the basic tour before so we chose the bedrooms and upper floors this time and Sue did the basic. Once again we were not disappointed - it is well worth the $25. admission. What a magnificent architectural history - a tribute to the “Money” times of the early 1900’s. After a quick lunch in the RV, we set out mid-afternoon to tootle up the coast. We stopped at the seal vista point not far from San Simeon to see the hundreds of Elephant Seals laying on the beach.

Hundreds of Seals on the beach

We continued on, enjoying the wonderful scenery of the coast but getting stuck in the rush hour traffic of Monterrey. We got to Camping World in San Martin about 7:00PM. A quick meal of homemade sauce and spaghetti, a movie and bed.

Wednesday - Starting to head NORTH!!!

We woke to a wonderful Sunny day. We had a great breakfast of gourmet sausages, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and English Muffins - all cooked on the BBQ right there at the beach. We did a big clean-up and then headed out. A few miles up the road we had a spur of the moment decision and did a quick zip off the highway to tour the Mission Santa Barbara. It was a beautiful place with lovely gardens and some interesting history - thoroughly enjoyed. Once more we headed out and before long we were off the highway again and walking around the little Danish style town of Solvang. We toured the little trendy boutiques, admired the old style of architecture, shopped a little and had a nice lunch/dinner on an outdoor patio. We avoided the farmers market going on there - crowded and expensive! Up the road we went once more hoping to put a few miles behind us. We got as far as Pismo Beach and decided to stay there for the night. We got set up and Dale and I walked up to the washrooms and found them on FIRE! I quickly ran back to the rig to get my phone to dial 911. Of course being a Washington number the operator had no idea where Pismo Beach was and had to try a few places to find out who handled this area. I was finally put through to the local fire department and soon the lights and sirens started to appear. Someone had started a fire inside and then locked the door so no one could get in.

The fire department soon had it open and the fire doused but what a mess the inside was! We went back to the RV, ate a snack and sat around chatting until bedtime. Once more - another day, another adventure and only 135 miles under our belt! More photo's to come with stable WiFi!

Tuesday On The Coast

The view of the coast from our RV Site

After another windy night of the RV shaking & shuddering we woke to a beautiful, calm, sunny, and warm day. We had breakfast of Muffins, Yogurt & fruit and then we all had a shower. We did a quick clean-up of the Rig which was starting to look a little like it had been on the road for ten days or so! While I downloaded my camera of it’s 252 photo’s and wrote the Blog, Dale & Sue took Henry for a walk. They tried to have a look at the little “Apple” things on some of the Cacti close by and both got covered in thorns - Hahaha!

Trying to get out all the Cactus Needles!!!!

It serves them right I told them, as they sat trying all different ways to get them out of their fingers. Posting this now while we have WiFi but will add the rest of the day later as it’s only 10:00AM. Continuation: We drove a little ways up the Hwy., stopped at a trendy little market for some great things for BBQ’ing as we planned to be at the beach that night. It was called Vintage Market and a bit pricey but it was right in Malibu Beach and it was all gourmet and organic foods. We had three wonderful steaks, some yummy veggies and scrumptious desserts! We piled back into the RV and went about ten miles up the coast to Point Mugu State Park which has campgrounds right on the beach.

Henry playing in the waves!

We had a fantastic afternoon just walking the beach, watching Henry chase waves, lying in the sun reading, and basically doing nothing at all. The wind picked up late in the afternoon but wasn’t too bad. Henry got attacked by two big dogs that came running off the beach with some woman. One bit him in the shoulder and also wrenched it as he was limping. Dale picked him up right away and one of the dogs bit him twice on the hand. We yelled at the woman and she just took the dogs, put the vicious one on a leash, called the other one over to her truck and as we were checking Henry’s bites under the blood she just drove away! Poor Henry was all upset and very quiet all evening. We dressed his bite, cuddled him for a while and tucked him up under a blanket.

We had a wonderful meal, BBq’d by Dale as the sun set over the ocean in front of us and we ate it by candlelight.

Monday - Hollywood

The Sign Says it All!

Shrek & I

When we got up after a very WINDY and RAINY night, we breakfasted and got on our way. Who could believe that we were in the Mojave Desert - It was SOOO cold and the rain was unbelievable! We headed towards the coast - about a 3 hour drive to Hollywood. We stopped in Montcalm for lunch of sandwiches and pick up some dogfood for Henry from Petco.We got to Hollywood about 1:30pm, paid $20. to park and then walked up “The Walk of Fame” looking at all the Stars stars! The wind was a biting one so it was sunny but very cold. I had to buy a sweater it was so cold - Darn! About 4:00 pm we headed down Santa Monica Blvd, through Beverley Hills and onto the Pacific Coast Hwy. and into Malibu Beach - a trip that only took about 3 hours. We were starving so Sue fixed up a “Happy Hour” platter of Cheeses, Kolbassa and Apple slices and we ate on the road (It was actually the LA Hwy.101 parking lot!)

We finally reached Malibu, quickly found a nice little Bistro called “The Marmalade Cafe” to have a light dinner and then found a spot at The Malibu Beach RV Park for the night.

Saturday and Sunday in Vegas

"I'm just a little Black Rain Cloud - Hovering over The Navion"!!!!

Bob & Christina had to head back to San Diego on Saturday so after breakfast we all packed up and headed out. We had another free night but thought it might be boring without the rest of the Warcup’s so off towards Needles we headed. Just a few minutes on the highway we saw the signs for Hoover Dam and Sue wanted to see it so off we turned. We love doing that - see something and just go for it that’s why we end up in such interesting places. Going down the hill towards the Dam - our brake warning light came on so after the Dam and sandwich lunch there, we headed the 20 miles back towards Las Vegas to have the light checked. Coming through Boulder City we saw a Big O Tire, so in we pulled. They had a look and the brakes definitely needed work and they could get the parts right away and be done in about 2-3 hours. Dale stayed there while Sue and I walked through “Old Town” - something we had seen on the way to the Dam and thought would be an interesting stop but decided against.

Downtown "Oldtown" Boulder City.

How lucky were we - now we could browse all the little boutique style shops that I love! The brakes took almost 5 hours to fix - “It’s a MERCEDES you know!!!”. Being close to 6:00 PM we decided to head back to Sam’s Town KOA for the night since we hadn’t actually checked out. We stopped at a Red Lobster for dinner and GOOD it was. A movie before bed and another day over!

Sunday morning after we had all had Breakfast and showered we tried to head out once more. We were on the road by about 10 AM and first stop was a Diesel fill up and then South to Laughlin/Bullhead City & Needles, CA. We tootled along, looking at the desert scenery and watching the black clouds form over all the hills surrounding us. It even sprinkled on us once - the middle of the Mojave Desert and we get RAIN!!! At Bullhead City, we stopped for a few supplies at Safeway and then headed Southwest towards Needles and the coast. It was cold and windy and the weather forecast for the area was going to be the same for the next few days so we wanted out of there and in search of sun and warmth.

"The Cloud"

In Needles we caught up with the “Old Mother Road” Route 66 and followed it. By 4:00PM we were getting hungry and the light was starting to dim so put in for the night at the John Wilke Rest Area at Penner on Hwy. I-4. We had a few Bevvie’s, played some cards and had dinner of Taco Salad - YUMMY!  

Friday in Vegas

Friday morning we were up about 7:00ish having coffee and tea. We then had a co-op breakfast between the two rigs, next door with Bob & Christina. They then went to do some laundry and putz around their RV while Dale, Sue and I went for a walk up our little “Strip” around the RV park. I picked up some new nail polish (exciting I know!) and we topped up a on a few supplies like fresh veggies, etc. When we got back, I spent an hour or two catching up with the blog now we had semi-good WiFi while the rest hot-tubbed or laid in the sun.

Dale and Henry laying in the SUN!

We had a bit of a “Happy Hour” with fruit and cheese” and watched the news about the Paris Bombing on Bob’s outdoor TV. We started prepping for an early dinner about 4:00 - left from the day before. We had steak, rice, Harvard Beets, garlic roast Brussel sprouts,etc. After dinner, we all went to the Casino - the luck was sort of lousy so we Canadians left before they got it all (they only got half of Dale and I’s and Sue broke even) but Bob and Christina stayed. When we got back, we three had dessert - Brownie with Cream cheese Icing that Sue had made earlier, watched the new “Vacation” movie (sort of ridiculous - not funny like the last one) and then off to bed.

Wednesday & Thursday - Las Vegas!

Wednesday AM saw us on the road once more. We took the #178 east to Pahrump, a nice little town with an interesting history - you should google it. We then headed along the #160 and into Las Vegas and the Sam’s Town KOA. We had a voucher for a couple of free nights they had sent us so we only had to pay for the Third - such a deal!

"The Patio"

We were soon settled in and relaxing on “The Patio” - sunny but still a little short on the WARMTH - only 61*F. We had dinner next door at the other Rig and a fun evening of playing cards. I headed off to bed a little earlier though as I hadn’t slept properly (only a couple of hours per night) for over a week and suddenly felt really tired. I finally had a really good nights sleep and felt so much better in the AM.

Nighttime on "The Patio"

The next day the others headed downtown to the do the Strip but as Dale didn’t feel all that great we decided to stay behind.We laid around and relaxed for a while, we walked across the street to Walmart to do a little shopping, I did some dinner cooking prep, I had a pedicure, we both went to the pool and hot tub, and we took Henry for a long walk. The others returned about 5:00PM but Bob wasn’t feeling so great so they stayed behind while Sue, Dale and I decided to go over to the Casino for dinner instead of the big dinner we were going to BBQ. We saved it for the next night.

Dale & "Elvis" having fun!

We just caught the early bird special at Billy Bob’s Restaurant - Prime Rib! It was delicious and so much that we took half home for breakfast the next day. We spent a little time at the Casino - Dale lost his $20, I lost $30 but Sue once again won! Off home to a movie and bed.

Tuesday - Shoshone

Tuesday morning we were once again on the road to our destination of Shoshone. We had a bit of a laugh starting out as Dale once again didn’t understand the “take the next exit right” and nearly missed it and we had Bob right behind us wondering what we were doing! We travelled east on the #58 to Barstow and joined the I-15 until we turned off to the #127 at Baker. We stopped for lunch at Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner at Yermo on the way. We enjoyed the Desert scenery along the #127 until Tecopa and Tecopa Hot Springs and then turned off to visit China Ranch Date Farm - a place we’d been before but the others hadn’t. After having a fun walk through the Date Orchards and seeing the  other interesting artifacts there, we filled up on some Dates and then continued on to Shoshone - another wonderful little Oasis we had been to previously. We had planned to stay for a few days, relaxing in the warmth of the sun and lay around and/or soak in the mineral spring fed pool but as it was in the mid 50 degrees F. with a biting cold wind we decided to head off to Vegas a little sooner. 

Sunday & Monday - Sacramento and SNOW!!!

Sunday morning we once again woke up to rain and it plagued us right over the pass and into California. It stopped for a while when we were in Redding checking out Liquor Barn and Camping World but only for about an hour - then the deluge began again.

My new wine glass in Liquor Barn!

Once we got closer to Sacramento we started to cut over on the #20 east towards Reno and meet up with Bob and Christina. I went in the back to have a little nap around 3:00PM and when I woke up we were in long traffic line-up on the I-80 close to Truckee and in SNOW! That’s the last time I leave Dale & Sue in charge!!!! After about 15 minutes traffic came to a halt - they were turning people back from going over the pass - only 35+ miles from Reno.

The I-80 Parking Lot before we got turned back

It got worse and worse!

We headed back towards Sacramento and stayed in a Rest Stop close to Gold Run in an RV Only Parking area where we listened to the idling of 3 or 4 semi’s all night long that had overflowed from the Trucks Only Parking area. The place was packed - Cars, RV’s and Trucks holding out for the roads to clear of snow.

Early Monday morning we hit the road once again heading into Auburn and had breakfast at The Edelweiss Restaurant - and delicious it was too!

Breakfast at "The Edelweiss" 

We continued on the I-80 through Sacramento towards Bakersfield in the absolute drenching downpour - almost to bad to see out the front window at one point. We headed south through Merced, Fresno and into Bakersfield to the Smoke Tree RV Park - a nice little place - not great but what we needed for overnight and at a reasonable rate. We had a great get together with Bob & Christina over dinner in their Rig and then an evenings entertainment of silliness, singing and even some dancing!

Coming through Sacramento 

Headstart to California/Vegas November 6&7/15

Dale picked up his sister Sue on his way home from work on Friday afternoon and as soon as he loaded up her things, we headed to the border. We ran through the Duty free to pick-up a bottle of “Screech” for his brother Bob and then we were across the border in about 8 minutes.Our usual stop at Rite-aid for beer and wine and off to Tulalip Casino we went. We stopped at the Winco at the same exit as the casino to get our needed supplies for the next couple of days. We got set up at the Casino in the almost full RV lot but were lucky to get the end spot close to the Casino itself - conveniently no one had taken it! We had dinner - a delicious Beef Stew that I had slow cooked at home all day and brought with us.

In the Hot Tub

We then headed over to the hot tub and pool. We spent a little time soaking our bones, had a nice hot shower, spent $20. each (only Sue had any luck) and then headed back to the Rig. We had a good laugh watching Sue try to make up her “Nest” in the bunk and then off to bed for a good nights sleep and an early start in the morning - a long journey ahead of us to meet Bob & Christina in Sacramento on Sunday.

Sue trying to fix up her "Nest"!

We were up bright and early on Saturday morning and soon on the road, through Seattle and the rest of Washington and into Portland, Stopping at McDee’s for breakfast on the way. It did take a little longer because Dale doesn’t know what “keep right” means and ended off the I-5 and we had to circle around aways at the next exit on his “Oops” road and come back to join it.

Crossing into Portland, Oregon

We leisurely travelled south all day through the liquid sunshine, getting to Seven Feathers in Oregon by dinnertime so that was our stop for the night. A wonderful dinner of Parmesan baked chicken and roast vegetables was our dinner. A little time spent in the casino where I lost $40, Dale lost $20 and Sue cleaned up again with $60. 

Yummy Dinner!

The "Reel Competition" - Oct. 23-25

Outside one of the stores!

The Grandkiddles had another Dance Competition so once more we headed south to Bellingham. Gramps was off but needed to do some work at the restaurant so Friday morning I headed out with Kelly and the kids for some shopping before hand.

Halloween Costumes taken care of!

We spent the night at Walmart and then bright and early at 6:30AM, we headed over to the venue.

Breakfast of Champions!

We got prime parking and were the first ones through the door at 8:30. We were soon joined by Miss Meghan and Miss Lorraine as well as Kara and the girls along with Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Dave. My little dancers did fantastically once again - cleaning up on medals with both Jacob and Gwynnevere getting stamps. We spent the long afternoon watching Miss Meghan and Amanda dancing but passed up on the 1 hour wait to go with other dancing friends to the Olive Garden for dinner. We headed over to Walmart for the night.

Miss Meghan and my "Winners"

The next day we did some grocery shopping before heading over to the dance workshop that Jacob and Ivy were registered for. Jake had a great time reuniting with his friend from a previous Dance Camp - Coach Tyler and they both got some great training from the 2010 World Champion Dancer Daniel Carr.

Ivy and Daniel Carr

We headed for the border about 3:30 and were across and home by 4:00PM - another wonderful weekend.

Aldergrove - Oct. 16-18

Beer - Yuck!

This weekend we spent with our WIT Club group the Fraser Valley Explorers at Eagle Wind RV Park in Aldergrove. We had our usual good times on “The Patio” with Allison & Tony as well as some added guests from the group.

Friday afternoon there was an arranged tour of Dead Frog Brewery in Aldergrove that Dale, Allison and I attended with Wayne & Maureen and others from the group. I think they enjoyed it but not being beer drinkers Maureen and I weren’t as impressed - LOL!

We continued the fun back at the RV Rec Hall with a club Happy Hour. 

Dead Frog Brewery

Beer tasting with the club members

After the club breakfast and meeting on Saturday, the four of us set out to wander Fort Langley and I was doubly happy doing my favourite pastime because there was a Farmers Market going on. We picked up a few more “supplies” including Dale’s favourite hard to get lager that we found in the liquor store - McEwans. We went back to “The Patio” and had some beer & wine tasting with other members as well as a few food goodies before Happy Hour in the clubhouse.

Potluck Dinner in the Club House

Fraser Valley Explorers

This was followed by a pot luck dinner, some card playing and a campfire. Dale & I also had some time in the hot tub before heading off to bed. Sadly I didn't win the 50/50 draw but that made all the other members happy! After a continental breakfast with the club the next morning we started the ten minute journey home!

Kamloops Competition October 9-11

Thistlebrook Dancers wearing their new jackets

Right after school on Friday, we headed EAST this time, with Kelly & the kiddlebeans for the Interior Competition in Kamloops. We arrived in time to find the venue which conveniently had a Home Depot across the street - our home for the night. We spent the next day at the competition where everyone danced well and came away with a bunch of medals.

Ivy scored Candy as well as medals
- It pays to be a Primary Dancer

Then the whole of Thistlebrook Academy of Highland Dance went out to dinner at Red Robin. We all had fun with Miss Meghan and Mama Pike celebrating Amanda’s birthday.

Watching Minion Movie - all comfy and warm!

We spent the night at Home Depot once more and returned to the Tournament Capital Centre for the Sunday competition. We were finished by about 1:00 PM and headed off down the Coquihalla towards home. Another fun getaway!

Shopping Sept. 27-29

My New Motto!

I had the urge to GO again all weekend but Dale had to work and I couldn’t find anyone to go with me. Everyone had school or work on Monday so Sunday afternoon I decided to take Henry and go by myself. I headed South once again of course. I was on the lookout for some jackets for the new Dance School that Miss Meghan had started - Thistlebrook Academy of Highland Dance. We had a big competition coming up in a couple of weeks and it would be great if we could get them embellished with the name in time. What an excuse to shop!

My new dance jacket!

I spent that afternoon and evening in the Bellingham area pricing out all the activewear/sports type jackets. Monday morning I headed down to Burlington/Mount Vernon area to do some shopping there. I got the lowdown on the jackets plus a few items I picked out for our upcoming jaunt to Southern California in November - a double whammy! I spent the night at Camping World - Henry and I were tucked up warm and cozy with an ambient fireplace glowing! Tuesday morning I headed out to pick up the best priced jackets for everyone and then headed home in the afternoon - just in time for dance class. Mission accomplished!