Home Sweet Home!!!!

Left Lodi early this morning.  Stopped by the office and they weren't open yet.  So we dropped off our comment card in their comment card box and hit the road.

Kept driving south on Interstate 5.  Not going to take the 99.  The 99 about beat our motorhome to death the past two years, so not going to take that road and have it happen again this year.

It was quite hot outside and we were worried about climbing the Grapevine.  Not pretty.  Especially with me so dang worried about breakdowns.  Just kept my finger crossed until we started to hit the traffic around LA.  Yup, you guessed it.  My favorite thing.  Traffic in highly congested urban settings.  Just love it.  NOT!!!!!

Traffic only slowed once or twice and we took the 210 all the way in to Rialto.

Got home about 3:30 p.m.  Very happy to be home.  Don't even want to unpack the motorhome we are soooo tired.  Tomorrow is another day and we will unpack then.

Ta Ta for now till our next RV Adventure.

Leaving 7 Feathers Oregon

Well, as if finding this place for the overnight stay wasn't good enough, as we were leaving this morning and talking about finding a gas station to fuel up we looked up and they had a gas station right there before you enter the highway.  How convenient was that?????  We will definitely keep this place in mind for future trips!

Heading on down into California.  Things just don't seem to change that much.  You know that highway work that was going on last year??  Guess what, it is still going on.  Not much progress being made at all.  The only thing that seemed to change alot is the amount of snow still on Mount Shasta.  Way down from last year.  And Shasta Lake is so far down from the past two years it is almost terrifying!  So sad to see.  The water is all yucky and muddy looking too.

Decided not to make any stops at the resorts that we visited two years ago.  Really just want to get home.  I think we are tired.  So we looked at the map and decided to stay in Lodi.  Found two campgrounds in Lodi and I called them.  Made reservations for the night at Flag City RV Resort.

Arrived at the campground around 5:00 p.m.  Yeah, driving through Sacramento was almost as fun as driving through Portland.  Can you tell, I am not a fan of driving through densely populated areas during busy freeway times.  I just want everyone to STAY CLEAR of our motorhome.  Is that really too much to ask?????

OK, I digress.  We arrived at the campground around 5:00 p.m.  Gorgeous campground and very friendly office personnel.  I am surprised this place is only $48 a night.  It truly is a resort.  Got all checked in and assigned our spot.  Drove to the spot and pulled in.  Mike got us all hooked up so that we could get the air conditioners started.  Of fun.  The circuit breaker on their power pole keeps popping.  Mike called the office and they sent the manager to our site.  What a rude, rude man.  Tried to tell Mike he didn't know what he was talking about.  Yeah, that's right.  Mike is only a retired electrical engineer.  Hmmmmm.  Me thinks the man knows electricity.  Anyway, the manager wouldn't change out the extremely old breaker.  So Mike put our 50 amp adapter on and found out that the park had two 50 amp services on the pole rather than one 30 amp and one 50 amp.  Yeah, who doesn't know what they are talking about??????????

Decided we will spend the night here tonight since it is already paid for, but will definitely write a letter of complaint to Good Sam's Club since they are an affiliated park.

Leaving Poulsbo Heading South

Got everything all packed up and headed south this morning.  Heading home.  Still haven't decided if we will stops along the way.  I personally still don't trust that the motorhome won't bread down on us again.

As we drove in to Oregon we noticed that the fuel prices were quite a bit cheaper than in Washington.  We knew they were cheaper than what we were going to purchase in California so we decided to make sure to purchase fuel in southern Oregon before we hit the California border.

You know how I said that I hate driving through Spokane?  Well, guess what?????  I absolutely abhor driving through Portland!!!!!!!!

Decided we were going to drive as far as Roseburg and park overnight in the Walmart Super Center parking lot.  Wow, when we pulled in to the lot there were more "No Overnight Parking" signs than I have ever seen.  I swear they were every 10 feet.  We saw a Walmart employee and asked if there would be a problem with us parking the night and he told us that we could NOT.  So, off we went.  We decided that we would take our chances and go further down the road to Grants Pass to their Walmart Super Center.

As we were driving along I noticed a "Rest Stop" sign.  I pointed it out to Mike and asked him if he wanted to stop for a cigarette break there.  In other states where they have "Rest Stop" signs, it usually indicates that there is a gas station and a fast food restaurant with a large parking lot for you to park and come in and purchase something from them.  It is not actually a Rest Area like we are all used to.  Anyway, Mike said that he really didn't need to and that he was just going to keep going to Grants Pass.

As we got closer to the Rest Stop turn off Mike changed his mind and exited the highway.  We found out that this Rest Stop was affiliated with the 7 Feathers Casino and RV Resort.  However, as we kept driving into the area we noticed that there was a motorhome and a couple of semi trucks parked in a lower parking lot.  Mike kept driving to the upper parking lot and we noticed signs that stated "No Parking Longer than 12 Hours." We decided well, we wouldn't be there that long so we decided to stop for the night.  Much to our surprise we discovered that this parking lot had a 24 hour security guard who took note of who came and went, wrote down license plate numbers, the whole deal.  Talk about feeling safe.  We had dinner and are staying the night.  So happy we found this place!!!!!

Touring Seattle

Mike on the ferry boat leaving Bainbridge Island

Patty on the ferry boat coming in to Seattle

Today we rode the ferry over to Seattle.  Mike and I took the ferry from Bainbridge Island and Larry, Hana, Diane and Paul took the ferry from Bremerton.

Seattle skyline from the ferry

We met the Godin's once their ferry arrived in Seattle.  From there we went to the Harbor Cruise terminal and purchased our tickets for the hour long Argosy Harbor Cruise.

View of the Space Needle from the boat

Larry and Hana on the Argosy Harbor Cruise

After we finished the cruise we said our goodbyes to Larry, Hana, Paul and Diane.  It was Diane and Paul's first time in Seattle so they wanted to go see alot more sites.  Mike and I used to live there so we decided to go and see one site we hadn't seen before and then head on back to Poulsbo.

We went to Pike's Market Place.  This is the place that you see featured on TV where the fish mongers actually throw the fish from person to person when one is purchased or delivered.  It is also where the original Starbuck's Coffee is located.  Yup, it all began right there.

Pike's Market Place

The crowd in Pike's Market Place

We bought some of the most awesome pastries at one of the pastry shops and then just enjoyed wandering through the market seeing what everyone had for sale.  It is truly an awesome place to visit.  

Once our feet began to hurt we decided to head on back to the Ferry Terminal and catch the ferry back to Bainbridge Island, picked up our car in the parking lot, and drove back to the campground.  We did decide to go out to dinner and then concluded our evening at the wonderful Poulsbo Central Market.  Just love that store!

Tomorrow we are taking off for home sweet home.  Looking forward to getting there.

A Little Bit of Touring Around the Bremerton Area

Since Larry and his folks are going to their church today and won't be back until early afternoon, Mike and I decided that we would do some things on our own.  Went to mass in Poulsbo and then headed into Old Poulsbo to go to the fabric store I have going to for the past two years.  I couldn't believe it when we walked in and they had less than half of their inventory!  They are closing their doors because the ladies that own the shop are planning to retire.  I will sorely miss this shop.  They have awesome fabric.  I did purchase a few items and then we went down the street to Mike's favorite shop, "The Cargo Hold." It is a shop full of nautical and Naval items.  We purchased several things for the motorhome.  I have decided to change my decorating decor to represent us better.  The motorhome is now going to be know as our Land Yacht.  So we purchased a brass plaque for the bathroom door that says "Head," some anchor robe hooks, and a couple of new keychains for our motorhome keys.  I am going to have so much fun with this decor!  Can't wait to get home and get it all started!

From Poulsbo we drove over to Port Orchard to find a fabric store I have been planning to go to for almost a year.  Found it, and boy did I spend a bundle!  Mike is going to get five new shirts as well as a couple of new pairs of shorts.  At least this way he can't complain about how much I spent.  See, my old brain is still working!!!!

As we were driving over to Port Orchard we had the perfect picture opportunity to take pictures of the Naval ships in the Bremerton Ship Yards.  Such an awesome sight.  Once you've been in the Navy, it never gets out of your system!

I know one of those carriers is the USS Ronald Reagan, but I am not sure which one.

We drove over to Larry and Wendy's apartment and spent the rest of the day visiting and playing cards.  Went out to dinner at Red Robin.  That turned out to be a horrible fiasco.  Took forever to get our food.  Once we got it it was ice cold.  Even the cheese was congealed.  Yuck.  We got new food and the manager paid for everything.  Love Red Robin.  They stand behind their product and service and make it right when things go wrong.

Bremerton Beer Fest 2013

We headed over to Larry and Wendy's apartment around 10:00 this morning.  Larry had arranged to have a babysitter baby sit Hana while the five of us went to the Beer Fest.  So when he got home from dropping Hana off, we all piled into Diane and Paul's van and headed on down to Bremerton to the Fest.

Didn't quite know what to expect.  There were live bands playing and over 30 microbreweries providing tastings of their products.  Wow!  Mike and I are not beer drinkers per se, but we sure tasted some pretty yummy and some pretty gaggy products.

Larry, Diane, Mike and Paul

A bit of a crowd!

My pretzel King!

Mike had to buy one of the pretzel necklaces.  He thought they were pretty darn cool.  Of course they were very tasty and nothing goes better with beer than pretzels.  He says he is planning to make some of these and take them to the club the next time we go camping.  Hmmmmm, I think my creative side is rubbing off on him!

After the Fest we went back to Larry and Wendy's apartment.  Larry went and picked up our little Hana.  I spent some time playing with her.  We also played cards and visited with Larry, Paul and Diane.

Cutest little girl around!

Just way too precious!

Poulsbo Here We Come!

Left Moses Lake pretty early this morning.  Got to Poulsbo mid afternoon.  We got all checked in to the Eagle Tree RV Campground.  We got the same spot we had last year. It is really a nice spot here in the woods.  Lots of trees and an end site.  It is one of the larger sites so we are very happy.

Headed over to see Larry and Hana in Silverdale.  Larry's parents Paul and Diane are visiting from Michigan so we finally got the opportunity to meet them.  We spent a few hours visiting and then decided to head on back to the motorhome to get some sleep.  Pretty tired and tomorrow we are going to the Bremerton Beer Festival.  Should be fun.  Mike and I have never been to a beer festival before.

Leaving Montana, Going Through Idaho, Entering Washington

We left Missoula pretty early this morning.  Planning to stop for the night in Moses Lake, Washington at, yup you guessed it, a Walmart Super Center parking lot. We stayed there overnight last year. We will see what we find when we get there.

As we were driving through the Rocky Mountains we noticed one thing you just don't see in California.  Well, at least in the flat lands of California.  Snow measurement poles.  These are located all along the side of the road for the snowplows so they can see just how deep the snow is as well as where the edge of the road is.  We stopped in a rest area and they even had them in there so I just had to have Mike stand beside one so the I could take a picture of him.

That skinny pole that appears to be coming out of Mike's shoulder is the snow measurement pole.  Gee ya think they get snow up here in them thar hills????

Driving through Spokane wasn't as bad as it has been in the past.  Thank goodness we didn't hit it during rush hour.  I hate driving through that town.  The people there just don't seem to know how to drive.  Especially when they see a very large motorhome beside them, or in front of them, or behind them.  People please take note.  We are almost as large as a semi truck.  They cannot stop on a dime and neither can we.  Sheesh!

Well, we made it to the Moses Lake Walmart and guess what??????  No signs.  Yay!!!!!!  We are parking this sucker, going inside to shop a little bit, and then eating at the Subway inside.  Perfect evening if I do say so myself.  Even if we have to park in a parking lot right beside a busy and noisy road.  

I think I will rethink posting on Facebook the fact that we have stopped at another Walmart Super Center parking lot to spend the night.  Man am I taking heat from all of our friends about the quality places we stay.  LOL!

Leaving Billings and Heading West

We said our goodbyes to Pam this morning.  We will see her when we get home to California because she is heading down to see Rick in a few days and will still be there when we get home.  Cool beans!

We are planning to drive as far as Missoula today and stay overnight in the Walmart Super Center parking lot again just like we did last summer.

The drive is beautiful.  Just gorgeous blue skies and farmland as far as the eye can see.  The corn crops seem to be awesome this year. Hopefully that will translate to all of our wallets.  Ya right, figure the odds.

This time the new GPS with its updated software didn't route us through all of Missoula.  It directed us to the correct exit and we found Walmart with no problems.  But what the heck is this??????  Signs that say, "No Overnight Parking?"  A city ordinance.  Crud.  I had to get some groceries and Mike decided to stay with the motorhome.  It is so hot we have got to use the generator and get the air conditioner going.

Got my groceries and Mike decided to check to see if there were any campgrounds nearby.  He called a KOA to see if they had anything available for the night.  $63 really????? For a partial night???????  Luckily the guy asked us where we were and Mike told him we were in the Super Center parking lot but we noticed the No Overnight Parking signs.  He told us that those signs went up over 10 months ago and he drives past the parking lot every day on his way to work.  The police never enforce the ordinance and he told us to just stay where we were.  OK?  Really?  We saw a Walmart employee and asked him about parking there for the night.  He told us that Walmart does not have an issue with it and that it is a city ordinance that has never been enforced so he told us just to stay where we were.  Okey dokey.  Well, guess what?  As the night progressed there were several other campers who came in and spent the night right along with us.  We had no problems.  Very happy campers!!!!  Tee Hee!!!!

The Great Rhubarb Hunt

Yesterday when we were visiting with Pam, I gave her a jar of the Rhubarb Strawberry Jam that Dad and I made as a little gift.  She told us that she and her friend had gone on one of their infamous walks on an old homestead out of town and they found an old rhubarb plant that was still producing.  She had picked some of the rhubarb and brought it home and cooked it up.  She said she thinks she put too much liquid in it because it turned out pretty watery.  So then she proceeded to ask us a ton of questions regarding rhubarb and its growth and preparation.  We made the decision to go out to the homestead and see if we could find the rhubarb plant, dig it up and bring it back to their house and replant it.

But first we had to find an AT&T store to have Mike's phone fixed.  He was trying to set up a password on his phone so if he loses it or it gets stolen, the person cannot access his phone.  Well, as he was trying to do this he proceeded to lock himself out of the phone.  So he called AT&T from my phone and found out that now he has to go to an AT&T store for them to replace the SD card.  Fun!  We found the AT&T store and it took the guy about 2 minutes to fix Mike's phone. Phew!  Now we can proceed on.

Today is the day of the Great Rhubarb Hunt.  It rained pretty good yesterday so we are sure that we will be running into some muddy dirt roads along the way.  So we got a bucket to put the plant in if we find it, a shovel to dig it up, and a sheet of plastic to line the trunk of her car to try and minimize as much dirt mess as possible.  Off we go!

Pam thought she remembered exactly where the homestead was, but as we were driving she started to question her memory.  Not to worry, she drove right up to the spot where we were then able to hike into the property.  It is such beautiful country.  Can really see why she enjoys her walks.  Not too far into the homestead property we found the rhubarb plant all alone and lonely.  So Mike dug it up with a lot of the original dirt around the root ball. We lifted the heavy thing into the bucket and headed back to the car.  Oh joy, we get to go slip sliding through the muddy road again.

Yup, this is Pam standing beside what used to be her immaculately clean car.  This is what happens when you drive out into the country after it has rained. Oh well, we had a blast.

Pam decided where she wanted to plant the rhubarb plant in her yard and Mike dug the hole and we planted it.  Now all she has to do is wait for it to grow and she can start harvesting some tasty awesomeness.

We had such a nice day just going around doing a little shopping for Mike and a little fabric shopping for me.  Then we decided to go to dinner at the Pizza Ranch.  Wow!  That was a mistake!  The food is so delicious and of course it's a buffet.  When you are dieting it is NOT a good idea to go to dinner at an all you can eat pizza and dessert buffet.  Needless to say, we all overate and then came back to the Perry house to sit and moan and groan about how full we were.

We hit the road again in the morning heading west to Washington.

On the Road Again

Today we headed west on I-94 to Billings, Montana to see our friends Pam and Rick Perry.  Rick is currently in California so we won't be seeing him during this visit.

Got on the road by 8:30 a.m., pretty early for me as I have gotten pretty acclimated to getting up around 9:00 a.m.  Got to Billings around 3:30 p.m. and called Pam to let her know we were there.  We drove right up to their place and parked the motorhome in our permanently assigned camping site (LOL).  Pam arrived shortly thereafter.  We have to remember that she is still working and not retired yet.  Poor girl.

We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and visiting with Pam and making plans for tomorrow.

Final Day at Dad's

Sniff, sniff.  It's our last day at Dad's.  Today I got some cinnamon rolls baked and Mike got some little things done on Dad's car that he wanted checked.

Once again I am so happy with the results of my dough for the cinnamon rolls.  It really turned out soft, moist and fluffy.

Mike is so jealous.  He gets this same way every year.  He pouts because he says that I never make him these things at home.  Well, this year we are both on diets.  Does he seriously think I am going to be made to feel so guilty that I will relent and bake him all the same goodies as my Dad gets once we get home????  NOT!!!!!  Dad sure is thankful for them though.  

Yup, I put these in ziplocks bags too and put them in the freezer downstairs.  It's getting pretty difficult finding room in that freezer.  At least I know Dad will have goodies at least until Christmas.  

Since it is our last day at Dad's we spent the rest of the day and evening just visiting with him.  We said our goodbyes around 9:30 p.m. and will leave Dickinson tomorrow morning.  Love my Dad so very much and will miss him terribly!

Yup You Guessed It. More Work at Dad's

Today Mike is planning to mow and trim the grass and I am planning to make a batch of sticky buns for Dad.  At least we are keeping Dad from working so darn hard right now.  We know he will continue to do all of this yardwork by himself after we leave.  Pretty unbelievable with the size of yard that he has and the fact that he is 89 years old!

Well, I got the sticky buns done and they turned out beautifully.  The dough was so light and airy and moist.  Pretty darn proud of myself!

I broke them into individual rolls and wrapped them each in foil and put them in the freezer downstairs.  Now he will have sticky buns for breakfast whenever he wants one.  Or at least for as long as he makes them last. 

Mike and I had to get things done pretty fast today so that we could get back to the motorhome and get cleaned up to go to church.  We met Dad at church for services and then came back to his house.  Mike ran out to Wendy's to get dinner and we spent the rest of the evening sitting inside the garage watching the world go by on the street in front of Dad's house.  Nice evening.  Great company.

Another Busy Day at Dad's

Well, the holiday is over.  Mike got back to finishing the trees and bushes today and I went shopping.  I could have sworn that Mike and I saw a sign in the mall that said today was supposed to be the first day of Crazy Days, which means fantastic discount prices.  Hmmmmm, misread that sign.  It doesn't start until next week Friday and we will be gone!  Crap!!!  Oh well, undaunted I will continue on and see what I can find as far as bargains go.

Well, I found three tops and three pairs of sunglasses and spent a total of $11.00.  Not bad!  Although that's all that I found on sale.  I was able to go and check out some new places that I had never been to before.  Dickinson really doesn't have much to offer outside of the mall for shopping.  I have heard rumors that the city is trying to revitalize downtown.  We will see.

When I got back to Dad's house Mike had completed all of the pruning and trimming.  Wow, it looks beautiful!

Mike took his shower and we spent the rest of the evening relaxing and visiting with Dad.  Came back to the motorhome at our regular time 9:00 p.m.  Tomorrow is another day.

Happy 4th of July!

Today is the 4th of July so no work for us!  Well, except for cooking for our little barbecue this evening.  Making hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, watermelon, and Dad's baked beans.  Mmmmmmm, delish!!!

Made the corn on the cob a new way thanks to our friend Velma back in So Cal.  Clean some of the husk from the corn, but leave most of it on.  Cut off the very tip of the husk and silk.  Soak the whole cob with the husk on in water for about 10 minutes.  Then you put the whole cob with the husk still on it right on the hot barbecue.  Grill it for about 25 minutes.  OMG, this is totally awesome.  The corn doesn't get squishy like when you boil it in a pot of water.  It is cooked all of the way through but still crunchy.  Tastes fantastic!  I think Dad really liked it.  We cut the left over cobs in half and I put them in a ziplock and put them in the freezer so that he can have corn on the cob whenever he wants some in the next few months.

Headed over to the rear of Roosevelt Elementary School to watch the city fireworks display.  There were so many fireworks being set off from private citizens all around us.  Wow!  What a display.  I felt like I was watching a tennis match or something.  My neck was getting sore from watching this side, then this side, then this side, etc.  Finally at 10:00 p.m. on the nose the city started their display.  Once again, no complaints, just awesome compliments on the fantastic display this small North Dakota city puts on.  Some major California cities could take lessons!!!!!

Once the fireworks were over we went back to Dad's house for a little bit and then headed home to the motorhome.  Another day tomorrow.  The work will resume.

Busy Day 2 at Dad's

Today Mike is still pretty much out of commission because his hand is in alot of pain.  But I am going to get a second batch of cookies done.  Today are the Chocolate Chip Pecan cookies.  Let's see how many I can get from a double batch for my daddy.

Not bad.  Got a few dozen.  Yup, you guessed it.  I packaged them up in ziplocks and took them to the freezer downstairs.  He's got quite a few packages that should tide him over for a few months after we leave.  His freezer is getting pretty full.  Got 12 mini rhubarb pies, several packages of the oatmeal date cookies, and now the packages of chocolate chip cookies.  He is one happy boy with a big smile on his face.

Headed back to the motorhome at the campground around 9:00 p.m.

Busy Day 1 at Dad's

Got to Dad's at our regular time, about 10:30 this morning.  Got a busy day ahead of us.  I am going to get started on baking cookies for Dad and Mike is going to get started on pruning and trimming the bushes in Dad's yard.

Dad already made the rhubarb jam, so all I have to do is pack up the two batches he is giving me.  Now to get busy on those cookies.  Going to make him his favorites, Oatmeal, Date, Pecan cookies.

Got a few dozen for him.  Bagged them all up in ziplock bags and put them in the freezer while they were still slightly warm.  Should taste really good and fresh when he takes them out to eat them in the next few months.

Mike got started on the bushes in the front of Dad's house.  He did most of them and then decided to take a break.  Note to self:  do NOT hit the on switch of the electric hedge trimmer while your finger is in the blade portion.  OMG!!!!!  I felt Mike should go to the Emergency Room to have stitches (which is exactly what he needed).  But NO, he just wanted me to clean it up and put a bandaid on it.  Gee, do you actually think he should have maybe gone the route I wanted him to take?????  Especially when he was going out of the house to go sit in the garage and began running into things because he was going into shock and was getting ready to pass out!!!!   I got him to a chair and got him some cold water to drink and that was it.  No hospital for Dr. Mike!!!!!

Needless to say, all work ended for all of us.  We spent the rest of the evening sitting and visiting.  Sometimes I wonder about the man that I married.  Sheesh!!!!!

Rhubarb

Headed over to Dad's place this morning around 10:30.  Today he and I are going to pick rhubarb so that I can get things set up to make three batches of Rhubarb Strawberry jam as well as some mini pies for him.  Dad has got some of the best red rhubarb you can imagine.  It truly is awesome.  He picked two of the five plants he has in his garden. Once he picked it I carried it back to the garage and began cleaning the leaves and the stem ends off.
I then proceeded to cut it into cubes for the jam batches and to see if we were going to need to pick any more for his mini pies.  OK, got the 24 cups for the three batches of jam all separated into their own bowls.  Now for the pies.  We bought those little mini aluminum pie tins.  I made 12 little pies for him.  They are raw, wrapped in foil and in the freezer.  Now when he is craving a pie, all he needs to do is go to the freezer take out a pie and bake it.  Mmmmmmm, fresh rhubarb pie.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and visiting with Dad.  He and Mike discussed what he wanted Mike to do around the yard and with his car.  So tomorrow Mike's work schedule begins and mine continues!