August 17 brought us to Newport, on Oregon’s central coast. We stayed at Outdoor Resorts Pacific Shoes and were parked right on a bluff overlooking the ocean with a view of the Yaquina Head lighthouse, Oregon’s tallest. Newport has Oregon’s largest commercial fishing fleet, and we definitely enjoyed the local seafood. Diane ventured down to the docks one day and bought a 12-pound tuna right off the boat. The fisherman kindly filleted it, and we ended up with over 6 pounds of fresh tuna—some eaten that day and some put in the freezer. We watched folks crabbing [View Full Entry]

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Leaving Idaho on August 1, we headed west into Oregon. Eastern Oregon is quite different from Central Oregon which is quite different from the Oregon Coast. Driving from the eastern border to Bend (located east of the Cascade Mountains) takes you through high desert. We spent two weeks in Bend at Crown Villa RV Resort, which has the nicest sites of any RV resort we’ve visited…..huge pads of pavestone, lots of manicured grass between sites, tall trees, everything just pristine. Unfortunately, the property has been sold to a housing developer. :( Bend has a very charming dow [View Full Entry]

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We left Yellowstone in late June and headed across southern Idaho. We spent a little time in Boise (for doctor’s appointments and such) before heading north to McCall. The McCall area contains a lush valley with two large lakes, plenty of smaller high mountain lakes, rivers, streams, and forested mountains. The water is crystal-clear. Real estate prices have zoomed since the Tamarack ski resort was built about 3 years ago. At an elevation of about 5,100 feet, the weather is warm during the day and crisp in the evening. We saw several deer, including three crossing the Payette Riv [View Full Entry]

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We picked up Alan’s Dad (JC) in Salt Lake City on 06/11 and headed for Jackson Hole, WY. We spent only a few days there and would like to return someday. The beauty of Grand Tetons National Park is quite dramatic! We saw elk, buffalo, and a few young female moose, just grazing on roadside vegetation. Alan was the first to spot a bear waiting to cross the road! Jackson is somewhat of a tourist town, but very quaint and cute. We left there reluctantly and headed to West Yellowstone, Montana. We entered Yellowstone National Park from the south gate, only [View Full Entry]

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After finally leaving California on May 30, we drove to Lake Tahoe. On the way, we stopped at a rest area for lunch where I proceeded to make roast beef sandwiches while Alan was cleaning the windshield. Ironically, two cattle-haulers pulled in and parked on either side of us. The cattle were mooing loudly and smelled a lot! We closed the windows, ate quickly, and left in a hurry! Dan flew to Reno to spend a week with us, and we had a great time. We stayed at Zephyr Cove Marina & RV Park, in a lovely setting near the Heavenly [View Full Entry]

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We drove back to California from Las Vegas and headed north to the San Joaquin Valley. We drove past mile after mile of orchards, fields, and vineyards, ending up at a new RV Resort in Chowchilla. While there is nothing to do there, the park offered free golf with our stay--so that was a plus. We spent a few days in Yosemite National Park. It’s as big as Rhode Island, but most of it inaccessible to vehicles. Coco couldn’t go because of length restrictions, so we left her behind and drove the Honda approximately 2 ½ hours into Yosemite Valley from [View Full Entry]

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After enjoying the Central Coast wine country in Paso Robles, we headed back to Palm Springs to spend a week with brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Joyce, in our time-share. Outings included the wonderful Desert Museum and the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the Western Hemisphere’s steepest incline with a revolving gondola. We enjoyed snow on the mountain, while it was 93 degrees in the Palm Springs valley. Took in the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, a song-and-dance revue, where the youngest participant was 56 and the oldest 82. Amazing how a lifetime of dance keeps the body young, no [View Full Entry]

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Just 135 miles north of Santa Barbara on CA 101 is the charming town of Paso Robles, pop. 28,000. We stayed at Wine Country RV Resort, right smack in the middle of 100 vineyards and tasting rooms - kind of like a Disneyland for wine lovers. The Central Coast is the third largest wine producing area of California. One can’t drive down too many rural roads without seeing wineries, olive oil tasting rooms, and organic farms. The wine selections here are very good, much better than other places we’ve visited so far. Our “wine cellar” is well stocked. We visited He [View Full Entry]

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After leaving Chula Vista, we spent several weeks in Santee Lakes. We’ve taken side trips all around the greater San Diego area including Point Loma, La Jolla, Torrey Pines, and up the Pacific Coast Highway. Weather’s been sunny but chilly during the days, and cold at night. Just within the last few weeks, we’ve had rain (sorely needed here); and a cold front came in which produced snow in the higher elevations. We hit another Indian casino (Alan’s still ahead in blackjack!) and visited the Wild Animal Park. Mostly, we’ve vegged, watched videos when it rained [View Full Entry]

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We had a good visit with Mary Ann. She and I went to what we thought was a normal seafood market………but it was a Mexican/Filipino place where English was not the language. The fish were all “whole” in large tubs filled with ice. You had to pick them up with tongs and put them in a plastic bag so the guy behind the counter could cut them. However, they don’t “fillet” but they would “butterfly.” So, we ended up with a hacked up hunk of fish (at least the head/gills/guts/tail was gone), and Alan had to finish the job so we [View Full Entry]

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