The 5 hour ride to Manchester, CA, which is about 20 miles south of Mendocino, was very twisty on US 101, then CA-20 and CA-1.  I am not exaggerating when I say we saw over a dozen landslides or rock slides being worked on by crews.  In each of these places the lanes were narrowed to one, with flaggers, or as Gary calls them, sign-twiddlers.  Very frustrating and slow-going.  Not to mention that Jazzy gets carsick and has had an accident every day we have changed locations.  We called the vet and will try her on some kid's Dramamine tomorrow.

We arrived at the Manchester Beach/Mendocino KOA RV park, which is in the middle of nowhere.  This was where we lost our ability to use the internet.  I never realized how addicted I am and how terrible I feel when I want to know something and can't look it up.  I will have to work on that.

This is a sculptured tree with the silhouette of a woman sitting underneath.  It is in Point Arena, which is just south of Manchester.  We saw it on our way to dinner at the Garcia River Casino, which is a tiny, one room casino with a grill in the corner.

After dark Gary took Jazzy for a walk and heard some kind of animal screaming in the woods.  Since this is Bigfoot territory, we had to wonder.

After several miserable days of no internet connectivity, I am finally getting a chance to catch up on my writing.

In Fortuna, CA we tried to visit the Clendenen Cider Works.  The reviews were amazing and we couldn't wait to try the cider that was supposed to be like "drinking an apple".  When we arrived there was a big sign on the door that they would see us in August!!  Bummer!!

We went to Eureka to the Blue Ox Millworks where we took a tour of the facility given by the head of the place Eric Hollenbeck.  It is a specialized mill that produces detailed pieces for the restorations of old homes and other buildings all over the country.  It is nearly the last of its kind.  He said that it was the last place that produces wooden gutters.

 The picture below shows a part of one of the workrooms.  The best thing about this mill is the work they do with at-risk youth.  The kids come into the program by order of the court, in many cases.  They have to agree to go to school in the mornings and if they do, then they get to come to the mill in the afternoons and learn a trade.  They have been doing this for sixteen years with many successes.  Eric had many of the same philosophies that I had when teaching the at-risk program at Canby High School years ago.

 The Blue Ox Mill fabricated a replica of Abraham Lincoln's hearse for a re-enactment of his funeral at its 150th anniversary.  They were able to reproduce it from one photograph and one note from a builder that gave the dimensions of the back wheels.  They donated their work and the materials were donated by a supporting family.  Below are two other items on display at the mill.

 This was a tree slice on display.

Sunshine!!  Fortuna, California is gloriously sunny!  We are enjoying our stay at Riverwalk RV Park. 

Yesterday we drove the 20 miles to Eureka to see what we could see.  We headed for the Romano Gabriel Wooden Sculpture Garden, which was not at all what we expected.  Evidently, when he lived here he sculpted hundreds of art pieces from wooden vegetable crates and displayed them in the front yard of his home.  It was meant for passersby to enjoy.  When he passed away the city displayed them in a building where they can still be seen.

The boardwalk in Eureka is on Humboldt Bay.  There are marinas, art pieces and beautiful views.  We had lunch outside.  Next to us was a kinetic sculpture of waves and seagulls.  It circled on a motor and there was a big sign about not climbing on it.  Nevertheless, some parents there let their kids stop it with their hands.  Sigh!

Another art piece was nautical.  We were impressed that the city had flags along the boardwalk with pictures of local military personnel.  It was a nice tribute.

Across the bay is a large statue of a fisherman.  It is next to a restaurant and a lighthouse.

The harbor is a relaxing, pretty place.  While we were there, our friend Bob flew his drone over the boats in the marina.  The drone can go up to four miles away and projects a video of what is below to a hand held screen.  These videos can be saved to the cloud.  The remote control has a button that, when pushed, signals the drone to return.  It was fun to see.

After the harbor we drove to an amazing Victorian home, the Carson Mansion.  It is used today as a private club.

Here is a picture of a flag we saw in the window of a Eureka store. Enough said.

We left home on Thursday, March 9, 2017 for a two-week change of scenery.  Bob and Sue Cowan are with us in their new Lance trailer.  They are accompanied by their little dachshund, Gracie.

On the way to the Oregon coast we drove by a an elk viewing area with benches and a pavilion for people to watch the elk herds.  We also saw two landslides and a rock slide being cleaned up by road crews.  These have been happening all over because of all the rain we have had.  February was the rainiest one on record in Oregon.

Our first stop was the RV park at The Mill Casino in North Bend, OR on Coos Bay.  We stayed there two nights and it rained nearly the whole time.  We had a nice meal in the casino restaurant the first night and also had breakfast there in the morning.  We went exploring in Charleston, OR during the day.  We had all been there before but the ocean views there are spectacular, as they are the whole length of the Oregon coastline, so the ride was very relaxing and enjoyable.  The second night we had dinner at Cafe Mediterranean, which was excellent.

One exciting sight was a large cargo ship being towed into Coos Bay to load up with wood chips to be made into paper.  I have never seen such a big ship in those waters before.  The area is known for logging and there are enormous piles of chips and sawdust lining the bay side.

This morning we left Oregon for Fortuna, CA.  On the way we saw a large field of daffodils where many horses were grazing.  I wish I had been able to get a picture of that beautiful sight.

The Riverwalk RV Park is the closest decent one to Eureka that I could find.  Since we drove over 5 hours we decided to eat in tonight.  We all had leftovers from the last two nights.  Tonight begins Daylight Savings Time, so we will get to bed a little earlier if we are smart.

 Gary is finally getting to play a round of golf.  It is the first day since we arrived in Florence without intermittent downpours.

There is a funny little boat marooned at the end of the Port of Siuslaw RV Park called the S.S. Bean.  I looked it up and it was brought here to help Old Town Florence promote itself and its commercial area.  It was named after a man named Bean who is credited with founding all of the ports on the Oregon coast except the Port of Portland.

Yesterday we walked through the cute shops in the Old Town area and bought a couple of holiday gifts for Macy and Evan.  We had lunch at a "British" pub.  It had pretty good food but the sausage rolls were tiny.  They had many products you can't find in stores in the U.S. but no wine gums.  They did have two GB stickers that Gary bought because Great Britain and Gary Bays have those initials.  He will probably stick one on his car and one on the TrailBayser.

Last night we had dinner at Three Rivers Casino because they were hosting a Shrimp Night buffet.  Gary was in heaven.  They had at least 12 different preparations of shrimp plus two different kinds to put on your salad.  You could have several different kinds custom made by the resident chef and all you can eat for just $11.95.  Can't beat that!

Here is Baby relaxing on Gary's pillow.

The beautiful Port of Siuslaw in Florence, OR is where we have landed for five nights.  The RV Park at the port is minimal but the views are spectacular.

We have had wave after wave of rain and wind, walking Jazzy and Baby in between storms.  That has worked well so far.

Here is Jazzy using the iPhone.

The roof of a nearby building has hundreds of seagulls on it.  They alternate between this roof and a nearby pier.

Today we did a few things we had been meaning to do on the Airstream.  We hung a mirror on the bathroom door and hung a few hooks inside.  After lunch we went to a movie, a perfect thing to do on a rainy day.  We saw The Accountant.  It was very bloody but interesting as it is the first movie I've seen where the protagonist was on the autism spectrum. 

We didn't get to see the full super moon last night because of the storms but what is left of it showed itself tonight.  Still stunning.

We headed for the Oregon coast on Thursday, November 10.  It was about a four hour drive to North Bend and The Mills Casino and RV Park.  We have stayed here before but were tempted back by a winter special and a chance to spend time with our good friends, Vince and Debbie S.  We were able to camp in adjoining spaces.

On the way here we saw a strange sight.  There were dozens of piles of slash, which is the woody byproduct of logging, the tree tops and smaller side branches.  These particular piles each had a piece of black plastic draped and tied over the tops of them.  They were about 6 feet by 6 feet, not nearly large enough to keep the pile dry.  No idea what they were for.

The first day we explored Charleston, OR, a small town nearby.  We also went through Coos Bay and found an RV park we hadn't heard of before with a great view of the ocean, Bastendorff Park.

The town has a large oyster industry and shells were everywhere.

Yesterday we drove to Bandon, OR known for its difficult but beautiful golf courses.  We strolled through the downtown area and went into several fun shops.  Lunch was at the Minute Cafe. 

On the Bandon waterfront we saw a life vest stand meant to save children's lives.  Great idea.

We also saw two examples of street art made completely of floating garbage salvaged from nearby waters.  Another great idea.

In the marina was a yacht called Plan B.

North Bend is known as a port for logging.  Huge piles of tagged logs can be found by the river.

Last night we went to the casino to see a Fleetwood Mac cover band.  They were fairly good but the real show was watching the audience members rocking out. Some of the fairly aged dancers had real moves but many were hilarious to watch. The lady in front of us was really wild.  I'm surprised the man in the seat next to her didn't get bruised. 

Today we worked a little in the Airstream and then went to see a science fiction movie, "Arrival".  I liked it but I don't think Gary did.  Tonight we ate dinner at the casino and tomorrow we leave for Florence.  I hope the rain holds off enough so that he can play some golf this coming week.