1-14-19

Torture in Crescent City, CA.

Yesterday we drove from Garberville, CA to Crescent City where we, thankfully, only stayed for one night.  Our RV park was right on the Pacific and beautiful to see.  The problem was the foghorn.  It was loud, insistent and turned on 24/7 in spite of the fact that there was NO FOG!  A few more hours there and I would definitely have lost my mind.  The natives say they don't notice it anymore!  It was worse than the beeping of the trucks backing up across the highway from our home.  Condos for seniors are being built there.  We have listened to that noise for over two years but it is only permitted from 7 A.M. to 5 P.M. and is not constant.

Some local art at Shoreline RV Park and the aquarium next door.

Here are some pictures of the stunning Pacific coast of California and Oregon.

Redwoods which grow right up to the edge of the highway.

1-15-19
Here is what 3 1/2 months of mail looks like MINUS the catalogs.

It has been a fantastic trip.  We have driven 9,941.6 miles and enjoyed the company of many family members and friends.  Can't wait to do it, again.

1-12-19

On the way to Santa Rosa, CA we encountered even thicker fog than what we experienced today in the pictures above.  In Santa Rosa we stayed at the Fairgrounds RV Park, a place we have stayed before.  We enjoyed Kettles Vietnamese Bistro again and ran some errands.  Today we left for a night in Garberville, CA.

Driving on US 101 we detoured through Willits for lunch.

We decided to take the coast route home to avoid any snow or freezing rain in the mountains along I-5.  It is a longer ride but we were rewarded with another trip through the redwoods and the beautiful scenery.

Tonight we treated ourselves to a special dinner at the historic Benbow Inn.  We walked there from the campground.  The food was good but it was very expensive.  Many famous people stayed here in its heyday such as Clark Gable, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc. 

They had a book tree in the library, which I loved.

Tomorrow we will move to Shoreline RV Park in Crescent City, CA, then the Mill Casino and RV Park in North Bend, then home.  It has been such a wonderful trip!!

1-8-19

We hit 9000 miles driven today.  I have been lazy about writing and I apologize.  It gets more difficult when we are visiting places we have been before.

Our friends, Al Stewart and Ann Clayton live in Palm Springs today but not tomorrow.  We were lucky we got to see them for dinner before they closed on their new home in Buckeye, AZ.  They squeezed us in between their Panama Canal cruise and moving.

The photos above were on the way to Bakersfield, CA where we stayed last night. We didn't unhitch the truck so we had dinner in the RV.

These photos are difficult to see but they are of hundreds of airplanes lined up in an Airplane Boneyard in the Mojave Desert.  Most of them are retired but a few are rehabilitated and go back into service.

Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield is exactly what is suggested by its name and we were encouraged to pick the oranges in the park.  It was a good thing we picked a few because there was a mighty windstorm last night and lots of oranges were blown off of the trees.  We also had a big collection of tumbleweed around the Airstream this morning.

Tonight and tomorrow night we are in Chowchilla, CA.  This place is known for three things, a prison, this beautiful RV park which is right on a golf course, and a nearby Starbucks.  What else is there to say?

1-4-19

On the road after Phoenix, we passed Sore Finger Rd. and the unusual Quartzite, AZ.  Everywhere you look in Quartzite you see motor homes and trailers dry camping in the desert.  There are hundreds of them.  I don't quite see the attraction as you would have to move every few days to fill up with water and propane and to dump the black and grey water tanks. There are also hundreds more parked in roadside RV parks with hook ups but there is nothing else in the area. ?????

After leaving Phoenix and arriving in Indio, CA, we had one more night below freezing.  We unhooked our water line.  Now we appear to be heading toward slightly warmer weather.

Last night we had dinner with our dear friends and former across-the-street neighbors, Donna and Bonnie.  They introduced us to Jackalope Ranch.  The food was good and the art was unusual.  Today Gary is playing golf with them.

 The motorcycle and everything on it, including the gloves, are carved from wood.

 Above is the outdoor garden, where weddings can be held. Below is one of several bronze pigs to be found in and around the restaurant.

1-1-19

Happy New Year from Phoenix!  This small blog entry is called Metal Cacti.

 And here's the joke of the day.