George, we're really sorry!!!

Friday Mar 9
It was 10:30am and already warm outside when we pulled out of our campsite at Picacho Peak State Park. After only a short drive of 90 miles we arrived in Benson, Arizona. Having noticed ,earlier in our trip, a billboard advertising a rv/truck wash at the Benson exit, we decided it was time to wash the road grime off the rv. This turned out to be a very nice, reasonably priced, self serve wash. If only we had this type of facility back in the Midwest. Washing the rv is a dirty, messy job but needs to be done every once in a while. With the rv clean and shiny once again, we made the short trip down the road to the Cochise Terrace RV Park, which was to be our home base for the next couple of days.

Saturday morning we were off to Tombstone. The town of Tombstone is about 35 miles from Benson and visiting this town was one of the reasons for stopping here. We had been warned that Tombstone is very touristy and as we were to find out that is very much a true statement. It seems very one dimensional and seems to be trying way too hard ...... If you are expecting to see a slice of the old west this isn't it.

We lost interest very quickly and after about an hour decided we'd had enough. The Boothill Cemetery just outside of town was the most interesting. ........ Reading the markers makes you realize how swift justice could be. Although I'm sure George wishes it were a little less swift and a little more accurate.

One of the highlights of the day was exploring the back roads out in the desert after we left Tombstone. We headed west out of town by way of a dirt road through the town of Gleeson, then headed north on Ghost town Trail Rd. up to the little town of Pierce where we stopped at a small pottery shop. We bought a little milk pitcher which was nice, but mostly because we felt sorry for the shop owner. As this desert town is out in the middle of nowhere, ours may have been her only sale of the day. Back through Benson, a quick stop at the Safeway and our day was complete.

Road trip and the London Bridge

Monday morning was our time to leave Paso Robles. We have enjoyed this area, but it's either time to find a job here or time to move on. And since we have a business back in Michigan, it's time to move on.

We decided to avoid the traffic of Los Angeles on our way out of California. So we headed east for the first time in 6 weeks and began crossing over the mountains towards Bakersfield. The landscape began to change as we went up over a 2nd range and into the Mojave desert. So far, so good. We stopped at a rest area near Edwards Air Force Base for lunch. Turns out this is the area where the famous 20 mule team wagons brought borax out of death valley.

An hour later found us in Barstow where we joined up with I-40 heading east. We really enjoyed the drive and will remember this route for future trips out to the California coast. We stopped for the night at the Desert View RV park on historic Rt 66 in Needles Ca. It was a pleasant 65 degrees outside. The last time we were through here was with our kids back in 1993 on one of our famous road trips. It was slightly warmer then. Judy reminded me that the temperature back then was 120 degrees.

The next morning we did a quick load of laundry and took our time leaving since we knew we only had a couple hour drive to Lake Havasu City. Our plan was to stay for a couple of days at the Cattail Cove State Park in Lake Havasu and to see the famous London Bridge. Well, Arizona State Parks do not take reservations. When we arrived there the campground was full, but they offered to let us park overnight in the overflow parking lot (for $14) and to put us on a waiting list for a camp site for the next morning. We paid the $14, parked the RV, unhooked the car, made a joint decision that we were going to leave this area in the morning, and headed into Lake Havasu to check out the bridge. The picture of the bus sums up my feelings about Lake Havasu. It looks like a city built with no plan and certainly no heart. And the British shops surrounding the bridge. All closed. There were 2 t-shirt shops trying to stay in business, and one poor guy on a P.A. system trying to convince people to go on a boat ride. After 15 minutes we left.

While we were out we found a little mexican restaurant for lunch called Mad Miguel's. Really good food. So far that was the highlight of Lake Havasu. It was 85 degrees outside when we got back to the rv so we needed to turn on the generator and AC to cool down the inside of the RV. Later in the afternoon , when it had cooled down a little, we went for a walk on a trail along the lake. It was so quiet and peaceful. It made the day.

Wednesday morning while we were eating our cereal a park ranger showed up and said he had a camp site ready for us. We told him we had changed our minds and were going to move on. It was no big deal since three other RV's were waiting for sites as well. Turns out the ranger was a volunteer from Traverse City, Michigan. He mentioned that a lot of Michigan people used to come down to Lake Havasu, but since the troubles in the automotive industry they aren't coming as often. So anyway, we made someone else happy by moving on. Frankly the campground wasn't much different than the overflow lot except for electricity and water. This is a great place if you have a boat but otherwise.....

We continued south to Quartzite. It seemed strangely familiar to be back where we started our Western adventure almost two months ago. The town is much quieter now that the shows are done and people have moved on. While I filled up the RV with propane and diesel , Judy ran in and made a quick purchase at the bead shop next door and mailed a couple of letters. We continued driving east and by 3:00 p.m. we found we were close to Picacho Peak State Park (about 45 miles north of Tucson). After calling ahead and finding that they had sites available we decided we had driven far enough. This is a very nice park and we found a large pull-through site with electric hook-up. By 4pm we were sitting in our chairs, having our peanuts and beverages, and thinking we might have to stay here more than one night. We fixed salmon patties and salad for supper and then watched the sun go down over the mountains. It was a classic sunset. I don't know if the pictures do it justice.

Another day of safe travels. Another good day. We wish the same for all of you.

55 bpm and a coonskin cap

Even though we weren't feeling 100 per cent today,we decided to drive down to Los Olivos and meet up with our friends from Michigan. Judy fixed our morning meal of oatmeal, adding some flax seed for good measure. We were on the road by 8:30 and after a wonderful drive down the central coast we arrived in Los Olivos just before 10am.

We met Chris and Teresa and their daughter Audrey at their hotel and then drove a short distance up one of the canyons. Within a short 5 mile span are some of our favorite wineries. Firestone, Curtis, Fess Parker, Koehler and Zaca Mesa to name a few. We decided to start at the upper end at Zaca Mesa Winery. We visited here last year and really enjoyed our visit, not to mention the wines.

One nice thing about going during the week is there are no crowds. The young man who poured for us was great. It turns out this is his part time job. His full time job is owning and running a cheese shop with his wife in nearby Solvang. Unfortunately, time did not permit us to visit his cheese shop but we definitely want to the next time we're out here.

Due to changes in the law, some wineries are finally shipping directly to Michigan. We took advantage of this by joining their wine club. We'll get 4 shipments a year at very attractive prices. And these are wines you would never find in Michigan.

As we were finishing with the paperwork ,our wine guide mentioned that they were bottling wine that day and we were welcome to watch. What a surprise. It turns out that smaller winery's like Zaca Mesa don't have their own bottling facilities but contract it out. We thought that meant that they shipped the wine somewhere else to be bottled. Instead, the bottler comes to them. We walked out back and saw there was a semi tractor and trailer parked there. Inside the trailer was a full bottling line capable of bottling 55 bottles per minute. It turns out “The Bottle Meister” mobile wine bottling of San Luis Obispo owns 2 rigs, each costing 1 million dollars and they travel from vineyard to vineyard. They had been set up at Zaca Mesa all week and were going to be finishing up on Friday. What amazed us is that they welcomed us up into the truck to watch the production. We have never met more friendly guys who seemed so proud of their work. The bottling company provides 2 men and the vineyard supplies 6 other workers to keep everything running smoothly. As you can see in the pictures this is a highly automated process. Nitrogen is used to purge all the air out of the bottles and the bottles can be sealed with a natural cork, synthetic cork, or screw caps. The line then applies labels and then the bottles are returned to cases. A case of wine is 12 bottles which or roughly 2.4 gallons. Over the course of year Zaca will sell approximately 35,000 cases or 84,000 gallons of premium wine. And this is considered a small winery. This was a rare experience that we just happened to stumble upon and what makes this trip so special.

We then went back down the road to the Fess Parker Winery. If you are my age you might remember him as Daniel Boone,on the tv show by the same name, who traveled with his trusty companion Mingo, played by Ed Ames. Ed Ames' role as Mingo led to an infamous tomahawk throwing demonstration on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. You know, the guy that hosted before Jay Leno!!! What many people don't know is that Fess and his family live in this area and have a wonderful winery and hotel in Los Olivos.

Once again we were able to sample some new wines that aren't even on the market yet. If I look rather loopy modeling the coonskin cap it was my cold not the wine. I promise!!!! While I didn't buy the cap, Judy did talk me into buying a cheese board. Fess Parker also produces a wonderful fig balsamic vinegar that we like a lot. We bought several bottles of that along with a new balsamic vinegar containing black cherry. If you saw the movie 'Sideways', some of the tasting room scenes were filmed at the Fess Parker Winery.

It was now time for lunch so we drove back into Los Olivos for lunch at the Los Olivos Cafe (also shown in the movie 'Sideways'). We shared a small pizza and some great bulghar vegetable soup. Simple food, prepared well, with excellent service.

After lunch, we then drove over to the Lincourt Winery. The tasting room there is in an old farm house. Sitting out on the porch looking over the valley a certain peace swelled over me. Like my good friend and business partner Stan says: “This is how man was meant to live”. Unfortunately, in this area, living this way requires a lot of money. That's one of the advantages of traveling by RV. We get to taste the local culture without all the baggage, or in this case mortgage and taxes. One thing I have discovered on this trip. When you get away from the big cities, even in the blue states of Oregon or California, the people are pretty conservative, just like in the Midwest. But I digress. Once again we were the only ones in the tasting room and a retired school teacher was doing the pouring. Judy was surprised to see her knitting a scarf as we entered. After discussing knitting, log cabins, chamberpots and wine, it was time for us to move on. Lincourt produces some excellent wines and we were tempted to join their wine club. But frankly, I think we have already spent our wine allotment. We did leave with a bottle of young wine which we are going to hold onto for a few years.

Our last stop of the day was at Koehler Winery. I must confess that I wasn't really into it at this point. My cold had reasserted itself and I found myself dreading the 90 minute drive home. It is a beautiful winery, but I was so congested that I really couldn't taste anything. The highlight for me was seeing their herd of emu's. We said goodbye to our friends and headed back up to Paso Robles. So even though we weren't feeling well we're glad we made the trip.

Beautiful Scenery, Good Food, and Good Wine.

Yes Stan, “This is how man was meant to live”.

Colds and Sniffles

We have both got bad colds. We started feeling down on Sunday, and it has finally got us. I think we got the bug as a going away gift from Portland. We are staying home today to recuperate. We are taking some decongestants and drinking hot tea. The weather is nice and we are planning to drive down to Los Olivos tomorrow for the day.

Hope your day has less sniffles than ours.

Rain, Redwoods, and a leaky drain

Saturday morning was departure day from Portland and we were on the road by 7:15. It was raining but traffic wasn't too bad.

With snow in the forecast for the mountain passes in southern Oregon and northern California, we had to make a decision on which route back into California we would be taking. After checking the internet for a weather update on Friday we realized we were required to have chains if we wanted to go on I-5 over the Siskiyou mountain range in southern Oregon. Finding out that it would cost us $200.00 for chains, we decided to take the coastal route. It is slower but much more scenic.

We took on some fuel south of Portland and arrived in the town of Winchester Bay by 11:30. Hmm, it's lunch time and we're in Winchester Bay. Isn't that great little seafood place called Griff's on the Bay located here? It was pouring rain when we arrived but we didn't care. It's a beautiful area even when it rains. So once again we got to enjoy some great local seafood. I had a bowl of cioppino, Judy had a cup of clam chowder and we split an order of halibut. Very delicious.


We hit the road again and ended the day south of Eureka, California in a little town called Fortuna. After 9-10 hours on the road we were both tired so dinner consisted of a frozen south beach microwave meal, and a baked sweet potato. Judy was doing dishes and noticed we had a leak again under the sink. We have had a problem with the drain most of the trip but were hoping to make it home before we needed to do serious repairs. Looks like I will be doing a drain hose repair when we get to Paso Robles.

Sunday morning we were again on the road by 7:15 and headed south through the redwoods on 101. About 2 hours later as we were driving along Judy asked what all that white stuff was on the road. We were at a high enough elevation that the rain had turned to sleet. It only lasted 15 minutes or so, but we quickly slowed down. Looking over the edge with no guard rails to see a stream several hundred feet down was enough to keep me on my toes. We came through Oakland around noon without any slowdowns. Traffic was heavy but since this was Sunday, it was moving well and the rain had stopped.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. We drove through the Garlic capital of Gilroy, through Salinas and arrived at Wine Country Rv Park where we will be for a week. I think both of us are a feeling a little down. Both from the trip and from missing those we left in Portland. But once again we are thankful for our time there and for safe travels.

Monday morning it was time to tackle the drain problem. As you can see in the pictures it required taking out the stove to get to the drain. The problem was twofold. First a plastic fitting had broken, and secondly, the flexible tubing which connects 2 rigid parts of the drain had split. The reason for all this is our home has a slide which moves in and out. There needs to be some flexible hose to allow that to happen. Three trips to the plumbing store and a little bit of fabrication and the repair was finished. I guess all those years of working on the boat and photo processors paid off.

The day wasn't all work and no play. In the late afternoon we drove over to Cambria to have dinner with friends visiting from Michigan, Chris, Teresa and Audrey. We will be visiting some wineries in the Paso Robles area and doing a little wine tasting for the next couple of days.
We arrived back home in time to do some reading and tv watching, and Judy did a little knitting on another blanket she's working on.

We hope your day was a good one too.

Sushi, Salmon, and a Scrapbook

This is our last post from Portland. The 11 days went by too fast. Our last day began with some motor home maintenance. Then we were off to Safeway for a few groceries, and then on to lunch with Michelle and family.

We met at to a wonderful Japanese restaurant. Ian and I went for the sushi combo which had salmon, shrimp and eel among other things. It was great. Judy and Michelle had the Bento. I'm sure it is available in other areas but Portland is the only place we have seen it. Bento is basically an Asian box lunch. Judy's bento had salad, spicy chicken, tofu and California roll. All neatly arranged in little compartments in a box. A feast for the eye as well as the stomach.

After running a few more errands, we found a little French patisserie that Julie had recommended. It brought back wonderful memories of being in Paris. We had a great cup of coffee and a chocolate brioche, that we shared. Need I say more.

As this was our last evening together before we left Portland, Michelle and Ian invited us, and Julie , and Jeremy over to their apartment for dinner. They prepared a wonderful meal of baked salmon with couscous. It was excellent.

Michelle also surprised us by giving us a very nice personal scrapbook of our Portland visit that she had been working on. Of course that was enough to make Judy a little teary eyed. We have always wanted our kids to be independent and worldly. Not in a material sense but an awareness of this great big world we live in. Of course they could have done it a little closer to home.I must tell you it is a challenge to see everyone in person now that we have kids on both coasts and one in the Midwest. Sometimes email or phone calls just aren't enough. You gotta hold em. If you are a parent I don't need to say more.

We enjoyed our stay and it was great to be with Michelle and Ian, Julie and Jeremy, and Nemo and Mia. We left a piece of us in Portland, but we take with us precious memories.

Britney, Spam and Shrove Tuesday

Wow with a title like that you have to wonder about our day. Actually it started out the way most days here have started......Rain!! Ok, I know I'm complaining. I know it's February in Portland and that's what it's suppose to do and I know you all back in Michigan have had it cold and nasty and except for those who use mechanical means to go careening through the woods you are probably sick of the snow. There, that was a great run on sentence. By the way it has been brought to my attention that there were some grammatical errors in yesterday's post. That's what I get for not having Judy proof read it.

But more about today. Since Judy got her hair done yesterday, today it's my turn. A #1 attachment on the clippers and the job is done. Of course in my case Judy only has to do the back half. The front seldom needs doing. When she was done, I resembled Britney, but of course I kept the beard so there would be no confusion.

Then it was time to head out with #2 daughter, Michelle, to shop for shoes for Judy. And guess what? When I opened the door to go outside, the sun was actually shining. Looks like it's going to be a good day. Two pairs of shoes later, one coffee stop, fill up the car with gas (By the way they pump it here for you), and it was time to pick up grandson Nemo from Preschool and head out to lunch.

Portland has lots of choices for lunch without having to give in to the Franchise type. Today we had Hawaiian food at a little place called 'Ohana'. I had Teriyaki chicken and Judy had barbecued chicken. Both came with a side of rice and macaroni salad. Sounds strange, but it's really tasty. I also had a side order of what can best be described as a small block of rice topped with a piece of grilled spam and wrapped in Nori. Kind of like giant Spam sushi. I know it sounds strange but it was great.

After lunch it was nap time for Mia, so Nemo, Grandpa, and Grandma went to a used record store and then to the mall to look for some new jeans for Grandma. I've been wanting to find some cd's or old fashioned albums of the group called the “Dillards”. If you are a fan of the old “Andy Griffith Show” you would remember a strange singing family called the Darlings who used to visit Mayberry from time to time. Well the Darlings played blue grass music and their real name was the Dillards. I found one cd and 2 albums. The jeans were found at the mall and then it was time to head back to Michelle and Ian's so we could leave for the final event of the day.

Nemo attends Montessori preschool at a local Lutheran church. They were having a pancake supper at the church tonight as a fund raiser for the preschool. We were informed it was also Shrove Tuesday which I've learned is kind of like Fat Tuesday only a little more subdued. In Canada, this day is also known as Pancake Day because it is customary to eat pancakes on this day. Maybe that explains the Pancake supper??

Michelle and Ian had volunteered to help serve and of course we got to help watch Mia and Nemo. Nemo's preschool class then entertained us with a few songs and the evening was over.

As we got out of the car tonight to enter our home on wheels I looked up and there it was the moon. The clouds had cleared just long enough for us to see it. Amazing isn't it. A little Sun, a little Moon, fun with the family and suddenly the rain doesn't seem so bad. And one other thing. Nobody made fun of my hair cut today.

Eat your heart out Britney!!!!

Finding Nemo....... and Mia

So why would anyone come to Portland this time of year?? It's rainy, oh and by the way, did I mention it's gray and it's really rainy. Well the reason we are in Portland is family, 2 daughters, one son in law, one boyfriend of a daughter and 2 grandkids ( Nemo and Mia).

I realize it's been a week since our last update, but we've been busy. Between playing, watching and having sleepovers there hasn't been time for writing. But with it raining today, Big surprise, the warden has order me to post. I should also say that last Saturday it was beautiful, no rain and 60 degrees.

Yesterday we all went to Newport on the coast. There is an incredible aquarium there. Not quite Monterey, but very good. After our learning experience, we went to Mo's for lunch. There claim to fame is clam chowder. It was very good.

Today was fix it day. Judy got her hair fixed and I got to fix some things on the Jeep and to try and find a leak in the motorhome. The jeep got 2 new battery cable clamps and 2 new headlights and the leak turned out to be coming from the washer/dryer. It was a simple repair. Judy is diligently knitting. She is determined to finish Mia's blanket before we leave on Saturday.

We are staying at the Columbia River Rv Park. It is on the final approach to PDX, so yes Jonathan we are enjoying watching the planes. This is a nice park, but we long for more open spaces. It is convenient to family so it all works out. In closing, we realize how blessed we are to have family, and to be able to enjoy time with them. Stay tune for more details on our stay in Portland.

Emma and Ella we'll see you soon.

P.s. If you'd like to see any of the pictures larger, simply double click on them.

Oysters, Wood Blocks and a Measuring Cup

Sunday, February 11th

We had three items on our agenda today: buy a measuring cup, find wood blocks to level the motor home with, and go up to Winchester Bay.
But first we had to eat breakfast. Today was oatmeal day. Not the instant kind, but the regular, good for you hearty kind, cooked on top of the stove with some dried cherries in it. We've come to really like oatmeal day. With breakfast eaten, it was off to Walmart. We needed a new liquid measuring cup as our other one had fallen on the floor and broken a couple of weeks ago. The measuring cup was easy to find but no luck finding wood blocks. No luck at the Ace hardware or Lumbermans store either.

So we headed up the coast to explore Winchester Bay and see the Umpqua River lighthouse....
Our friends Bob and Linda of http://www.because-we-can.net/ worked at the lighthouse last fall. Bob lead tours of the lighthouse and Linda worked in the museum and we were anxious to see where they had volunteered.
(Actually we wanted to see whether there actually was a lighthouse or if they had fabricated the whole story) : )
Well, as you can see in the pictures there really is a lighthouse. What a beauty it is, perched on a hill overlooking the bay. There aren't any tours this time of year so we just walked around a bit and took some pictures.

It was soon lunch time and we found our way over to the little town of Winchester Bay and Salmon Harbor. If you remember one of my previous posts, I said if I ever come up missing, look for me in Napa Valley. Well, if you don't find me there you might try Winchester Bay. I'm a sucker for marinas and fishing boats and this one's a beauty., We found a great little restaurant “Griff's on the Bay” for lunch. (On a side note when we got back to the RV this afternoon we were reading our emails and Judy had received one from Linda. She said they had only gone to one restaurant when they were here last fall and guess which one it was.... )

I love fresh seafood and it was time to take a break from the South Beach regimen the 'warden' has me on. There is nothing like a plate of fresh fish and local oysters ever so lightly breaded and fried to a golden brown and served with fries. The oysters were fixed just right, they just melted in your mouth. Judy had the halibut nuggets but skipped the oysters, too bad. Our lunch was worth every single calorie, fat , and carbohydrate gram!!

We drove on to Reedsport and then retraced our route back to Coos Bay. On our way back we detoured up the north side of the river to watch a ship docking. Yes Jonathan, it's a lot like watching planes land only slower. While were watching the ship we also saw something that one doesn't get to see very often, a magnificent, complete rainbow over the bay. Not a bad way to end the afternoon.

Oh, we finally did find some wood blocks. Turns out the office had a huge pile of them. So a few minutes later boards under leveling jacks, jacks come down and we have a level home. As you can tell it doesn't take much to make our day.

On to Coos Bay

Saturday February 10

Since our plan for today was to only drive 2 hrs north to Coos Bay, Oregon, we weren't in any rush to get going this morning. We fixed eggs and coffee and enjoyed a great view of the harbor outside our front window as we ate breakfast.

After a quick stop to take on diesel ($3.33 per gallon...WHAT!!) we were on our way once again.
Even though it rained most of the way we enjoyed a safe, uneventful trip up the coast with beautiful views of the ocean and rugged coast.

The only Passport America rv park in Coos Bay claims to be the second highest rated park in the state. That was good enough for us, so we headed to the Midway RV park. What a nice park this turned out to be. The sites are all paved, full hook-ups, with cable and wi-fi.

One rather unusual request at this park is they ask that wood blocks be used under the jacks or face a $150.00 fine if the site has to be repaired. Well, guess what...we don't carry wood blocks with us.

Oh well, guess we'll survive one night listing slightly to the left. :)

More pictures from our Road trip

Since I haven't figured out how to add more than 5 images to a post, and Judy wanted more, this is a continuation of our trip to Crescent City. In reviewing our pictures we realized how narrow and curvy 101 is. It was a good day and we are thankful that once again we arrived safe and sound.

On the Road again

Friday, February 9

With the weather channel calling for rain again all the way up the northern coast today we weren't sure we wanted to leave Santa Rosa. However by 8:45 we were on our way, heading North up Highway 101 and as it turned out we glad we did.

North of Santa Rosa, the highway winds and curves it's way through the mountains and is sometimes a 4 lane road and other times becomes 2 lane. Beautiful in spite of the rain.

Just south of the little town of Garberville, we found a lovely turn off area that was right beside the Eel river so we pulled over to fix a quick lunch of ham and cheese wraps. By the time we had finished eating the rain had just about stopped -- so don't always go by the weather channel's forecast :)
We decided that we would try to go as far as Crescent City today and found an RV park listed in the Passport America guide for $12. a night with full hook-ups.

So, with that being our destination, we came into this little town, tired from 6 hrs of driving, and we began the search for King Street where we needed to turn to go into this park. Of course, the street sign was very small we didn't see it and just after driving past it we realized our mistake.
Now one of our (mostly John's) pet peeves is overshooting the entrance to an rv park since our home doesn't turn on a dime especially when towing the jeep. After a few heated words between driver and navigator (note to Melissa, we did refrain from using the D word) we found a empty gravel lot to turn around in and we headed back to the missed park. Upon entering the park we discovered the office was closed because of manager illness but there was a sign instructing us to just pick a site and settle up later. All the empty sites were small and would have required us to unhook the jeep and back in.

It was approaching 4pm and we were tired and ready to stop for the night. We didn't really like the look and feel of this place but we weren't sure where to go. We even thought about spending the night in the local Walmart parking lot, if we could find it. We remembered a park we passed as we were coming into town that had looked ok but didn't want to spend full price on full hook-ups when all we really needed was just electric. We drove out of the first RV park and down the road into the Shoreline RV Campground where they gave us a deal- full hookups for $17. since the park was practically empty. And the best part about the campground, like the name said, it was right on the shore.

Rain, salad, and chocolate cake

Thursday February 8
Woke up this morning to more rain, so we made a command decision. We were planning to head north up the coast today but decided to just hang out here in Santa Rosa for one more day.
After a call to the office (I actually went 2 weeks without calling!!) while Judy made Linda's Chocolate Zucchini Cake – delicious and is south beach friendly) we decided we needed to get out for awhile. We stopped for a quick, healthy,(sort of )low-carb lunch at Fresh Express, then over to Borders to read magazines for awhile and drink coffee (a very cheap form of entertainment for us) and then back to our home, our home on wheels.
Tomorrow we head north. We head north reluctantly. Cold and rain are not what we seek, but 2 daughters, 1 son-in-law, and 2 grandkids are pulling us towards Portland.