Home Again, Home Again

Back in Grapevine. We arrived last Wednesday afternoon. We left Albuquerque a day early and drive down I25 to pick up US 380 that would take us all the way to Decatur where we turned on 114 and into Grapevine. Right back where we started from. Here is the view from our front door:

Land of Enchantment

We have parked for the night after a marathon driving day from Surprise. Tomorrow we meet up with 100+ airstreams at the balloon fiesta.

Williams, AZ

We spent a few nights at Williams. Went to the Grand Canyon and enjoyed the cool weather. Stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway RV park. It was great and we anticipate returning when we are in the area.

SURPRISE!

This is the view from my spot in the pool at the Sunflower Resort. We are 15 minutes from Collin's house. Today we rode the trike to Lake Pleasant. Upon Collin's suggestion we went to the Scorpion Bay Marina which is on the opposite air from where we were in June.

Reno Air Race



Reno Stead Control Tower



Racing

 We attended the Reno Air Races on Thursday.  Our tickets were bought on line, but I don't know if I'd do that again.  Geremy was able to print them and then fax them to the RV campground office.  We did buy the Chairman's Hospitality Tent tickets which included lunch and a seat in the shade.  We were able to come and go throughout the day, which let us wander the vendor tents and visit with the 99s in their tent.  Pit passes allowed us to go into the hangar area and see the racers up close.  There was a lot of "down time" between the races, but other than that, we had a great day.  We took the advice of the website and road the bus from one of the casinos, so we didn't have to drive and park in the dirt lot, and figure out out to get there.  This was truly the way to go to the races.

Virginia City, NV

"The Long and Winding Road" would be another good title for this trip today.  We rode the trike to Virginia City.  About 37 miles one way.  Nice ride on twisting, climbing road.  We walked down one side of the street and back up the other.  Lots of touristy stores and bars.  The views were spectacular!

Chasing Icarus

I finished this book and enjoyed reading it. Taken from the early days of aviation. I bought this book about 3 years ago in anticipation of retirement. I had been reading on the Kindle so when Gerry tool over my Kindle, I picked up the book. Good read and some cool pics. Let me know if you want to borrow it.

Hand Crafted

Gerry worked on the trailer today to solve an issue with the cladding that was never properly attached at the factory. This now looks great.

Waiting for our ship to come in

I called a boat charter company to reserve us space on the boat for a tour of Lake Tahoe for Gerry's birthday today. We got there early and waited. As the time for us to board grew closer we went to buy the tickets and were told that the boat had been chartered for the whole day. Very frustrated that my plans did not work out for what was to be a great day on the lake.

Reno

We left Petaluma on Thursday morning and arrived in Nevada for two weeks. This will put us here through the start of Street Vibrations - an unexpected treat. We are in a great RV park behind a small casino, Gold Ranch, just west of Reno.

Loading the Trike

We leave in the morning for Verdi, NV. Our plan is to stay there for 6 nights before moving into Reno for our first trip to the Reno Air Races. Today was our prep day - clean house and load the trike so in the morning it's a simple hitch and move out.

Charles

Snapped this as we were leaving yesterday. Not the best pic but it's all I got.

Trike & Stream

Thought it was time to post a new pic of the Trike & Stream. We are at the KOA in Petaluma, Ca, just down the freeway 101 from Santa Rosa.

Bodega Bay for lunch

We rode the trike to Bodega Bay for Lunch at The Tides. The ride took us through rolling hills and dairy farms. It was cold and overcast but the chowder was excellent.

Yacht Club of Petaluma

Lunch at the pier. I don't think it was the yacht club. We rode the trike to the Marin County airport afterwards. Not a lot going on there either. Then we saw this big rig advertising a re-enactment of Lindberg's flight from New York to Paris next May. 84 years! Hmm. I don't get the significance of 84 years.

Summer in the city

We rode the trike to Larkspur and boarded the ferry to San Francisco. Ride the crowded streetcar to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch. Hot in the afternoon. Reversed our path and got back home at 5:30. Long hot day.

Tomatoes from the garden

These came from Charles and Karen's garden. Delicious. Just look at the color. One slice covers an entire hamburger cooked over a campfire.

Eureka!

Actually it's Fortuna for the night. Left Oregon behind and are moving down the California coast. Here's a pic of redwood trees going at 55 mph. Hopefully better shots tomorrow from Avenue of the Giants.

We spent the last 3 nights at 7 Feathers rv resort in Canyonville, Oregon. Very nice with an indoor pool and hot tub.

Oregon Coast

Pic from our drive south on 101. The views were unbelievable.

Marine Discovery Tour

We took a 2 hour boat tour on the Discovery.  Saw gray whales just outside of the harbor.  A first for us.  The boat ride was cold and the day was foggy.  We had clam chowder in town and then came back to the trailer to get ready to leave in the morning.  Headed to Canyonville tomorrow.  I can't believe this is August and we are wearing jackets and sweatshirts and sleeping under 2 blankets. 

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Visited this lighthouse just up from Newport today. Breakfast in town and dinner in the trailer. Steak fajitas.

Port of Newport

Left Portland behind. Bad cell phone coverage and even less Internet access. Attached is the view out the window of the restaurant. We walked down to the fishing pier where crabs are being caught and passed the boat that sells fresh tuna. We won't be needing our a/c for the next few days.

The Dalles

We rode to The Dalles today to see a car show. Good ride but it was hot coming back home. Tomorrow is wash day.

Here are some pics from today's ride and the proverbial Light At The End of the Tunnel.

Lazy Day

We're taking today off. Rode the trike 2 days so today we're staying around the house reading. Gerry's buying books (please send gift cards via FedEx). This is the view outside today. Tomorrow we ride at dawn to The Dalles to see a car show and, of course, The Dalles.

Birch Goose

As it turns out the so-called "spruce goose" is actually made mostly out of birch. Who knew?

Mt. Hood

Rode to Mt. Hood yesterday. Finally found a spot to have our picnic but we didn't have the correct change to park so we left and rode back home.

Portland Today

We rode the bus to downtown Porland today.  There wasn't anything that we could see that made us want to stay and walk around, so we had lunch (overpriced) and got back on the bus and rode back to the trailer.  One thing we have seen in the northwest is the amount of homeless on the streets.  They also will approach you and ask for money.  Makes me uncomfortable (sigh).  We saw one young woman who appeared to be homeless, but with a closer look, her cloths were clean and pressed (unlike mine some days), her hair was clean and shiney, and she didn't have shoes, but had a great looking pedicure.  Hmmmm. 

Sorry for the lack of pics, but our connections here are iffy at best.  I'll try again later.

A 2-Month Review

We've decided to do a quick list of the campgrounds and cities we've visited since we left home in May.
1.  May 30-June 4, The Vineyards, Grapevine
Of course we loved this one and we will be back.
2.  June 4-June 5, Balmorhea State Park, Texas
I love Balmorhea.  This was not our first time here - and we'd go back again.
3.  June 5-June 6, Fort Wilcox, Wilcox, AZ
OK for one night.
4.  June 6-June 8, Desert RV, Phoenix, AZ
OK for a couple of nights.  Close to the city.
5.  June 8-June30, Lake Pleasant, AZ
On the lake.  We'd do this again when its cooler.  Too hot for us in the summer.
6.  June 30-July 1, Cedar City, UT
Nice and attached to the Best Western in town.
7.  July 1-July 2, Cowboy RV Park, Pocatella, ID
OK for one night.
8.  July 2-July 4, Flathead Lake, Polson, MT
Nice.  We'd do this one again.
9.  July 4-July 5, Tamarac RV Park, Coeur d'Alene, ID
Scary!
10. July 5-July 23, Maple Grove RV Park, Everett, WA
Nice park.  Very tight spaces.
11. July 23-July 25, Elwha Dam RV Park, Port Angeles, WA
Nice park.  Easy to get in and out. 
12. July 25-July 26, Parking Lot at Ferry.  The price was right to not have to move after getting off the ferry after dark.
13. July 26-August 16, Portland-Fairview RV Park, Fairview, OR
This park is nice, but be sure and ask for a slot up on the hill.  We're down in the "valley" by the RR tracks.

Bridge crossing

We rode today. 200 miles but never got as far as Lewis & Clark. Those guys were something else. We finally turned around and came home. Cold and windy. And lots of traffic (something they didn't have to deal with).

On the move - again

We're in Portland and the weather is great. Riding the trike tomorrow. Watch for pics.

Chili on a Chilly day

Today started with cool temps and rain.  We made chili in our new crockpot.

We rode the ferry to see the Naval Undersea Museum.

Riding the Ferries of Washington State

We love riding the ferry system of Washington State.  On the expensive side for our budget, but you do what you have to do.  This ride took us over to Kingston, WA and we headed south to the Naval Undersea Museum.  All about naval operations with submarines and diving expeditions.  A great free thing to do. 

Westward Ho!

We spent 2 nights in Polson, MT and had much cooler temps.  Drove around the entire Flathead Lake.  It was beautiful.  Today we drove to Couer d'Alene, ID and will move on west tomorrow morning.  Our reservations are for July 6 in Everett, WA for 3 weeks.  Today's journey was beautiful.  I love Montana.

Flexibility

We are nothing, if not flexible.  Just roll with the punches.

Last week the air conditioner on our new Airstream went out.  We spent two nights in hotels until the new unit could be delivered and installed.  Thanks to Dillion RV in Mesa, AZ.  Great bunch of people to deal with.  It is hot here.  We've seen our first sand storm roll through.  Fortunately it wasn't too bad.  Collin called to give us a headsup so we could be inside and check the windows on the truck were closed tight.  We've been on the water several times.  Its cooler.  Walk 50 feet from the water and your back in the heat. 

Another speed bump this week, but we're recovering and anxiously awaiting Collin and Yana's house closing next week. 

God willing and the creek don't rise, we'll be out of here next Saturday or Sunday, on our way to Washington and cooler temps.

Lake Pleasant, AZ

Maybe I should call this blog Zodiac and Stream.  On second thought - no.  This is not a great picture, but you can almost make out the marina at Lake Pleasant where we are camped.  We put our Zodiac in the water this morning and rode around, had lunch at the marina, and came back to the Airstream for the rest of the day.  Hot is hot, but not too bad when you're on the water. 

Planning on dinner with Collin and Yana tomorrow.  A little cook out after the sun goes down.

Fast and Furious

Since last we spoke, here is what's happened:  We moved out of our hangar/house and into the Airstream.  We moved most our worldly possessions into a storage facility.  We moved the Airstream to the Vineyards Campground at Lake Grapevine.  Saturday we had family over to the Vineyards for a little cookout.  Burgers, Dogs and Brauts.  John and Kerry and Grandson Hunter, Geremy and Tiffany with daughters Lola and Delia, and Jana and Tom.  It was soooo good to have everyone together.  Today we attended the 114th Aero Squadron's annual Float Fly for RC airplanes.  Geremy and Gerry had two planes ready to fly, but only one made it off the water.  It was a glorious event!  Lots of rc airplanes flying and a few casualties.  Monday morning we leave for Scottsdale to see Collin and Yana.  We expect to be there by Wednesday evening and spend a few days before heading north to cooler locales.

Is this Retirement?

We supposedly "retired" two weeks ago, but this is not what I thought it would be like.  We have worked everyday getting ready to full-time in the Airstream.  We've given away a great number of items.  We've thrown away a lot - and I mean bags and bags of trash.  We are storing the things that we want to keep (at least for now) and will revisit them in the fall to see if there is more that can go live somewhere else.

As Wednesday approaches, we are making progress.  Tomorrow we will visit Gerry's mom's gravesite and replace the flowers, make one more pass through the grocery store, as well as pick up two more boxes and packing tape.  The furniture goes to storage on Tuesday and we hand over the keys to our home for the past eighteen years to someone else on Wednesday morning. 

Just One More Day

We are less than 24 hours away from being homeless and unemployed.  We've worked for years.  We had dreams and we made plans.  Now its time to live our dreams and make new plans. 

Even though our last work day is tomorrow, there are more days ahead of us to finish clearing out our house, packing up our memories and moving into the Airstream.  The one thing that surprises me is all the address changes that must be made.  Just when we think we have contacted everyone, another pops up and we scurry to get that changed.  Surely we must be getting close to the end. 

We will miss our family and friends.  They will be in our thoughts everyday.

Winding Down and Gearing Up

Gerry and I are in the final weeks of working our regular jobs and getting ready to head out on the first of many months on the road.  We're selling our house and giving away many of our possessions.  Its funny how these things seem to accumulate over a span of 34 years together. 

Lots of things to plan for a life on the road.  Picked up our mailbox key at the post office this morning.  Dropped by GRACE to leave a car load of items we no longer need - hopefully someone who needs these will get them.  More work this weekend to gather another load to drop off next week. 

We're also planning our first trip to the northwest.  Where should we go first?  Do we go here - or should we do this?  We know that Oregon and Washington are on the list, but where do we fit in the cruise to Alaska?  Got to be back in Reno in time for the Hot August Nights.  Do we visit my brother in California before or after that date.  Need to be headed back to Scottsdale to see our Collin and Yana before we need to be at the Balloon Festival the first week in October.  I think I need to write these "must dos" on a calendar to get a better overall picture of our first year.

This is the story of Gerry and Ellen, a Motorcycle Trike, and an Airstream travel trailer.  We have many places to go and lots of things to see.