Saturday, August 28, 2010

August 27, 2010 -- Back in Antioch, CA

Where did summer go? We were enjoying the Olympic Peninsula, and now suddenly, we are back in Antioch, CA.

I promised a report from Hoodsport, WA and the Hood Canal area. My report is short….we were there two nights and it was enough.

Driving to Hoodsport from Sequim along Highway 101 is not for Sunday drivers. State law requires slower cars to use the pull-outs to allow the race-car drivers to pass and zip out of sight. The pull-outs are short on this route so we had to come to a complete stop after pulling over, which slowed us down even more. It’s not a relaxing drive. I don’t know if we are much slower these days, or the others so driving faster than 18 years ago when we last traveled this road.

We spent two nights at Sunrise Resorts’ Dow Creek, a pleasant rustic, woodsy Coast to Coast park, located just below scenic Lake Cushman.

We were disappointed to find Lake Cushman State Park was turned into a privately-owned campground resort about 8 years ago. They have a very nice campground ($28) and the the resort is the only public access the lake. The rest of the lake front is privately owned and off limits to visitors.

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Lake Cushman on a misty day.

In wandering around the area, I spotted this National Forest Service “rustic rest stop.” I don’t any pass rest stops, so I had the perfect opportunity to had to take this photo.

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The roof is about 4 inches deep in moss and ferns; an old-fashioned sod house.

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We were in the area to explore spots from we remembered from 15 years ago. Next stop on our rote was Shelton, WA. We returned to Elk’s Club. for one night. The club has about 20 RV sites down below the lodge building ($17) and it is surrounded by woods. I heard coyotes calling during the night.

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We arrived during the Elk’s Club annual yard sale. “That is wonderful,” I told Larry, “I can donate a few things we don’t need to tote around.” (To make room for some things (from sales-tax free” Oregon.) Jerry and Mary Frye drove down from Poulsbo, WA, to meet us for lunch. We tried a local restaurant called Nita’s; it’s like stepping back to the 1960s, complete with a lunch counter and stools. Mary said her berry pie with ice cream was delicious. Next time, we will go Blondie’s, just down the street.

Larry wanted to check out the local boat harbors so we drove up the Sound a bit. I took this photo in the Shelton Yacht Club parking lot. Aren’t they lucky to have some fantastic views?

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It was a beautiful day! Here, see it again; which photo do you prefer?

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Then on to Salem, OR, again. Remember back when I wrote we see the oddest things on our travels?

As we were approaching the Salem Elk’s Club, we noticed something a bit unusual at the airport—an Airship.

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The airship’s mooring tower is mounted mounted on a truck. Farmer’s gave the rides in the Airship gondola all week. We were too late to take advantage of it, oh double darn!

I could hear it taking off the next morning and ran out to get a shot.

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Up, up and away. Isn’t that a beautiful sight? We do see some interesting things as we travel around this wonderful country.

After four days in Salem, we continued south on I-5. Whoops, what is that on the rear view mirror. Is it broken? What are we doing in this heat? Oh No, is that real? The mirror thermometer MUST be broken or we are crazy, out of our minds driving south.

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We passed up our favorite dry-camp stop at the Klamath River Rest Stop and continued south to find a place with electric hook-ups.

Taking turns driving, we continued on to the Redding Elk’s Club ($20), and hunkered down with the air conditioner on full blast. One look at the camper thermometer was enough to chill me. Where are we, in Phoenix?? The 97 degrees was inside the camper and the 117 was outside.

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Luckily it cooled down during the early morning hours and we got up at 6 a.m. and headed south to Antioch, CA. We are here to do Larry’s monthly lab work and see his kidney doctor next week. The weather is comfortable and in the 80s and we hope it stays that way!

We are settled into the Antioch Fairground RV park ($20) and will be here for about 10 days. We are sticking around to help my dad with a garage sale next weekend. He has finished relocating to California from Washington and has a bit of stuff “left over.”

Let’s take a short side trip into our daily world.

Have you wondered how we manage living in 10 feet, six inches of space without killing each other?

It is tight, but the camper meets all of our daily needs.

Here is our bedroom with a queen-sized bed and we each have a small cabinet and a long cabinet next to the bed for clothes, etc.

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The “living room” has room for reading, eating, TV watching and working on our computers.

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And of course, we have a nice shower stall and a compact bathroom. All the comforts of home—in a shoe box!

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The kitchen was too cluttered to take any photos today. We visited our favorite fruit stand, Smith’s Farm in Brentwood, CA, for our fill of field-ripened tomatoes and corn and peaches, and, and, etc. Get the picture? Our eyes are bigger than our camper kitchen and refrigerator! What a great way to live!

Life is good and we are having fun!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

August 18, 2010 - Olympic Peninsula, WA

We are blessed! No other words for it…the opportunity to visit the Olympic Peninsula is a special treat!

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From the ocean's edge at sea level to looking over and down on mountains standing at 5,200 feet, The Olympic Peninsula covers it all. 2010  Washington 090

We stayed at the Sequim Elk’s Club for four nights ($16) and then moved to a Coast to Coast park at Diamond Point ($11) for five nights.

We drove the peninsula from end to end—from quaint Port Townsend out to Neah Bay on the Western front. From beaches up to Hurricane Ridge to look out over the Olympic National Park’s mountains.

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We started for Neah Bay with sun shining in Sequim, but picked up fog in Port Angeles. The fog played hide and seed with us as we drove west on Hwy 112, the scenic route to Neah Bay.

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I understand what poets mean when talking about fog creeping in on cat’s feet. The fog teased us, coming in to blanket one scene while opening up to show us another.2010  Washington 115

We drove up the 17-mile highway to Hurricane Ridge. The fog played with us there too. We saw some fog going up, but arrived at the top to a beautiful sunny day.

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It was too beautiful for words. Within 30 minutes, however, our friend Mr.Fog slipped in to hide the snow-covered mountain tops—and all the views. From sky blue to gray within minutes.

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We also drove up the Elwha River valley to re-visit two National Park Service campgrounds, Altair and Elwha River, that we camped in about 20 years ago…(where has the time gone?) and see the Elwha Dam that is being removed in 2011 by a joint project of the Park Service, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the Washington state government.

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The dam will be removed to restore the river to “save” the salmon runs that come up the river. I wondered about what will happened to all the lake trout that call the reservoir home?

I guess the lake trout don’t have any supporters to save them before they are flushed down the river to the sea.

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It is a beautiful lake; I have remembered the sight for 20 years. I will be sad to see it drained.

And of course, we can’t forget visiting the local boat harbors.

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No, we didn’t fly to Los Angeles, CA for a few days. John Wayne’s family really did donate 22 acres of waterfront land in Sequim Bay to the City of Port Angeles for a public marina. He enjoyed sailing his boat, the Wild Goose, in the Puget Sound and while anchored in Sequim Bay, he thought it would be a perfect spot for a marina.

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It is perfect. It’s a safe and protected harbor in a protected bay. While checking out the boats, Larry fell in love with this little cruiser.

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See all those surfaces--on the hull and house--that require someone to wash and wax it? No Way! Enough with this truck and camper! But I am not mean; if he wants a boat, I I offered this boat—less maintenance for Carol to do—just a dab of paint every five years!

Larry's new boat

No washing or waxing required. (No, not the blue one.) Room for just one person—perfect! I could go for this one. Isn't’ it cute?

The weather turned quite warm in Sequim, it was over 90 degrees all weekend. Where was the fog when we needed it? We ran the air conditioner several days and nights. We are moving on to Hoodsport, WA, for a few days. This morning the fog returned. Oh, I do like that cool fog!

Have you ever seen the inexpensive Northwest weed whacker? Guaranteed to keep your green weeds down. Saw one in use by Diamond Point RV Resort for trimming the green dandelions:

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Check back in a few days for news from Hoodsport, on the Hood Canal, Washington. More water and mountains…life is beautiful.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

August 8, 2010 – Playing in Poulsbo, WA.

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Would you believe me if I said this was where we were staying while in Poulsbo, WA? Darn, you are right! Not a chance, smile!

This is the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. The 150-acre reserve was given “to the public” by Virginia Bloedel so we could enjoy nature’s beauty—and we did!

We came to Poulsbo, WA, WA, to see Jerry & Mary Frye’s new fantastic kitchen and living room re-built by Mary and Jerry—with their own hands! Mary requested two sinks and a kitchen bigger than my living room in Texas. (Mary is a gourmet cook and deserves a kitchen like the one she designed and built.)

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Her cooking area—granite counters with tile back splashes. Yes, they installed all of it. The cabinets are from IKEA; do you know what that means? They assembled all the cabinets too.

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The prep sink and ovens—across the room from the cooking area. See Mary’s double ovens? Drool!

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And the clean-up sink—between the other two photos across the room also. Isn’t it wonderful? And I have a kitchen in the camper with two drawers and two cabinets! Oh well, life is not fair.

On the way, we drove out to Manchester State Park just east of Port Orchard and guess what we saw in a field? We have driven passed by Siberian tigers and elephants in our travels, not to mention alpacas and llamas, however, this was a first:

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And he (?) wasn’t alone…along with a double-humpy camel, we spied a single hump camel too—in a field in Washington. 2010 August Washington 048

I wondered if they thought snow was very cold sand??? We see oddest things in our wanderings!

Mary and I visited Poulsbo, the Scandinavian-themed town where they live, and Bainbridge, to check out the shops. We stopped to sample ice cream at the new shop in Poulsbo--and again the next day in Bainbridge:

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Mary is thrilled—dark chocolate ice cream!

We both tried the dark chocolate ice cream, the first day---and the Italian chocolate the next day.

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I think Mary’s smile says it all! If you are in the Northwest and see a sign with Mora Ice Cream, and you like chocolate, try the dark chocolate.

Back to the Bloedel Reserve. Mary and I treated ourselves to another day out…to check out the gardens. Little did I know I was agreeing to a one-mile walk in---and another mile walk out!

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The estate is a slice of heaven—all the best parts of heaven.

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See Mary walking, walking, walking……

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And, of course, there is a Japanese garden, with a Zen garden too. Feel the peace!

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And they didn’t forget the reflecting pond either.

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While touring the garden, visitors are invited wander around the downstairs of the mansion. This is the view from the deck—they can see all the way to Seattle.2010  Washington 027

Gee, rich folks have a rough life, smile.

After spending four nights with Fryes, we moved next door to the Eagle Tree RV Park to discharge our full tanks. It is a lovely park, ($32 a night) but we were parked in the trees—and when it rained, as it did for both days, it continued to drizzle for hours after the outside-the-trees rain stopped.

We went to Sunday breakfast at the Farm Kitchen Cafe with Mary & Jerry. The Farm Kitchen Cafe offers a First-Saturday breakfast. I think it is popular; Mary & I stood in line for an hour….

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See Larry; see Larry stand in line. I don’t think Larry will agree to another breakfast at the Farmhouse Cafe in the near future!

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The bacon was delicious! I heard they cook it twice. What ever they do, it was yummy!

On Sunday, we moved to Chimicum, WA, a whole 26 miles—a long travel day, to the Escapees Co-Op park on Sunday morning. Their campground was full; we were offered a dry-camp parking spot for $5 plus 52 cents tax.

“Yes, Virginia, Washington charges lodging taxes on a parking space,” We bring our own bed, linens, water, bathroom, and take away our sewer, and still have to pay a lodging tax for parking overnight. We spent that afternoon checking options and decided to move to Sequim Elk’s Club on Monday morning for a water/electric site for $16 a night donation.

We are exploring the Olympia National Park for the next few days.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

August 3, 2010 – Tourist Time in Tacoma, WA

Tacoma, Washington was the next stop on our route into Washington for August.  I had Larry make a quick stop in Chehalis, WA, at the VF Factory outlet mall so I could hike over the the Body & Bath Works’ REAL outlet store to stock up on Sea Island Cotton shower jell. I filled up my bag and ran back to the RV before Larry could see all I had bought—on sale, of course!

By noon, we pulled into the Tacoma Elks’ Club and paid our $60  “donation” for four-days parking with electric hook-ups.  We ate lunch and headed off to explore Tacoma.  First stop was AAA for a map—just up a half block from the Elks’ Club; very convenient.

We drove the waterfront area from the end of Pacific Ave. out to Defiance Point Park—and fell in love!

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Six gardens live inside the little square on the map right above here…I wandered through the rose, fuchsia, hydrangea, dahlia, herb, and Japanese gardens for over an hour.

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Look at the size of the hydrangea blooms. The arm in the photo belongs to a helpful lady—not a skinny, young child!  While those gardens had beautiful flowers, I am partial to Japanese gardens….feel the peace!

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We drove the five-mile road through the park, ooohing and aahing over the scenery.  We stopped at Owen’s Beach to gobble down an  ice cream cone and do a bit of beach-goer watching from the sea wall.2010 July Oregon 089

Look at that sky and the calm, peaceful water.  What a wonderful day!

We were stopped by some little furry friends—one guy who wanted to collect a toll to continue on our way—any kind of food was acceptable currency.  We didn’t pay, he checked our license plate number as we drove by, so we may get a toll-violation ticket in the mail!

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The younger raccoon was more shy—just hoping for a handout!

The next morning, Jerry and Mary Frye drove down from Poulsbo to take us to a secret (ha ha) little restaurant in downtown Tacoma to try western Southern cooking. Guy Fieri highlighted it on his show, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  If you are in Tacoma and enjoy Southern cooking—this is the place:  Southern Kitchen, 1716 6th Avenue Tacoma, WA 98405, (253)-627-4282  http://www.southernkitchen-tacoma.com

The food was so good, I forgot to take any photos!  For breakfast, try the Biscuit and Gravy—or Chicken-Fry Steak!  Yum Yum.

Sunday morning I headed for the  Museum of  Glass and the Dale Chilhuly Bridge of Glass in downtown Seattle.

Parking is a big pain, but Sunday mornings are better.  I left Larry in the nearly empty lower lot of the Washington Museum of Natural History, just below the Chihuly Bridge of Glass.  I climbed up to the bridge and was enchanted by the view.

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The ceiling of this structure is filled with Chilhuly blown glass and just breathtaking.  A sunnier day would have enriched my experience with more backlighting to highlight the beautiful blown glass in the ceiling—but one can’t be choosy in the Pacific Northwest.

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The Museum of Glass lives at the other side of the bridge.  The big silver cone is the Hot Spot where glass is blown.  The exhibit area and gift shop is in the building to the lower left.

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And this is what was happening in the cone on Sunday morning:

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One of the blowers went to get “colored glass” for the vase.  Would you stick a short pole into this?  I wouldn’t!!

2010 August Washington 020Yikes, that is worse than looking into a  pottery kiln while it’s firing!!!

The Museum of Glass was fantastic, however, I felt frustrated.  No touching and no photos of the exhibits!  One exhibit were things designed by 9-11 year olds on paper and created by the studio glassblowers, and it was so whimsical and fun, I had to smile—time and time again.  The other exhibit was blown by a man who works in local Indian art.  All of it looked so touchable!  I wanted to touch it!!

Sunday afternoon we drove south to the new Cabela’s store in Lacy, WA. It is hard to find once you get off the freeway at Exit 111.  Traffic engineers, who must ride bikes, have fallen in love with the “round-abouts”  for intersections instead of four-way stops.

If you haven’t been trapped by one yet, just wait—you will.  it’s the newest thing in traffic control.  The cars swerve into and out of the lane of traffic—while zooming around the circle in two side-by-side lanes as fast as possible, and no one is sure who has the right of way!  Circular chaos comes to mind while waiting for a turn—only if you wait, you lose!

We had to make it through 3 round-abouts to locate Cabela's and the parking lot was quite full.  Is there really a recession??

Larry needed to put in some walking time and he enjoys wandering around Cabela’s so it was our afternoon task. They have interesting wildlife displays and aquariums.  No entry fee—and we know keep our hands to ourselves—no buying more “stuff.”

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Although he hates to admit it, Larry’s blood pressure started back down after walking Sunday and Monday.  We are on to a good thing, smile!

Off to Poulsbo, Washington for a few days to visit with Mary & Jerry Frye and see their handy work on their new kitchen and living room.