Day 12 - Nov 18 - My last day on the road

Talked to Janet and Mike last night and learned that scheduling isn't good for a visit with them. So am headed home. Today is my last day on the road!  Can't believe it's gone so quickly and I'm definitely not ready for it to end.  I was just getting a good start after getting most of the kinks out of the RV and the media stuff. But probably a good idea since I'm out of clean clothes and have some obligations coming up.
The purpose was to check out the operation of Doodle and of me.  I loved driving it but operator error like forgetting to switch the fridge from DC to AC when parked was still an issue until the last few days when things seemed to become routine without having to refer to notes.  And only once did I almost drive away without unplugging the electric cord.

I also learned and shouldn't soon forget that if all cabinets aren't securely shut tight, this is what happens:
                                                Luckily it wasn't the refrigerator!
                             

 

 Other things I learned:

•  hippies know a good place to eat in town even if they look like they are stoned
•  I can be totally happy and at peace alone driving thru the countryside.
•  the Pacific Northwest has an awful lot of Christian radio stations.
• a shower every other day is acceptable even if you aren't French
• I can turn the heater on with my toe before getting out of bed
• a blog every day is too much. Even I was becoming uninterested

Learn to look ahead for a pull out to stop when a photo op appears instead of flying by and wishing I had taken a picture.

 

12 days isn't enough time to make 7 stops for visits and do much sightseeing.  On my one year long trip around the US beginning in June 2015 I will have plenty of time for serendipity and adventure.

 

Skip reservations. It takes the spontaneity out of travel and with the RV I always have a place to lay my head at night.

 

Insider road information is very valuable. Only take the interstates when you are in a hurry. Secondary roads are much more interesting. That's where you'll find the real America.  For more read Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon and Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck.

 

Become a packrat. Save the odd rubber band or plastic bag. You never know when you'll need it.

 

Look at the feedback on RV park websites about wifi signals. It can mess up reception on your cell phone. Post some feedback warning others about this.  What does the fi in wifi mean anyway?!

 

It's illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon. You can stay nice and warm in your car while the attendant does all the work. Why can't we do this in California and employ more people?

 

It's been fun letting you know where I am and what I'm up to on this 1400 mile journey.  Next year's trip will have only a weekly blog. 

 

Liz

 

 P.S.   Couldn't resist stopping at the historic Benbow Inn in Garberville. My first time there...went in and had a cup of coffee and sat by the fire after exploring the beautiful grounds.

                                                                           



                                                                               

 

 

Day 11 - Nov 17

Spent last night in the 7 Feathers Indian Casino RV Park near Roseburg, OR.  Absolutely first rate beautiful park. Know I disappointed them in that I did no gambling.  Only went to the Casino for the Buffet, which was only OK. It's hard to measure up to Las Vegas style casino buffets. I was tempted to stay for the MoTown Musical Review but it didn't start until 8 and I would be breaking my rule of not being in bars after dark. Before dark is OK.

                                               There were beautiful walking paths by a creek.

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Spent the morning on hwy 199  from Grants Pass to Crescent City. I was a little afraid there might be ice but decided since I hadn't seen any ice yesterday morning and it was the same temp this morning I would give it a try. No prob and extraordinary views coming thru the Redwood Highway.
Thx for the suggestion of the route, Kev!

                                                                                                       

 

A funky collection of burl wood shops near Kerbyville.

 

 

 

burlwood mailboxes

 

The main house but no one came out to greet me.  What if I had wanted to buy something?!

Love poking around and exploring places like this.

 

 

Redwood Highway

 



The scenery is so beautiful.  I don't remember being this interested in the scenery when we came thru here on our honeymoon in 1962  headed to the Seattle World's Fair.

 

Trees of Mystery - Klamath, Calif.

 

But this I do remember, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. I have this same photo in our honeymoon album from half a century ago.  So of course some of Bob's  ashes had to be resting here. He would be pleased.  This trip has been so healing for me.  Grieving takes strange turns as some of you know.  For me seeing these places again has given new meaning to all those years we spent together.

Trinidad, on the California coast

Day 10 - Nov 16

This first photo is for you, Cash. It's the little Lego man you gave me to keep me company on the ride home. He likes his view from the dashboard!
                                                                              
                                                                           

                                                                                 

So far no snow or ice and not likely to have any now that I'm heading South toward home. This incredible view greeted me as I neared Damascus, Oregon to see Connie and John.
                                                                   

                                                                              
                                                                     Mt. Hood                                                  
                                                                           

Our Bay area friends now have a several acre spread here in the Oregon countryside.  Their two cockapoos kept the visit lively and Connie is sending me the best recipe for apple bread from their own orchard.  I'll share......

                                                                  

    
                                                                               

                                    

Day 9 - Nov 15

Drove south on hwy 5 expecting to run into ice but none all the way to Portland.  Arrived at Rebecca and Kevin's in Tigard to find Bud and Sandy so spent the afternoon visiting into happy hour when Becca arrived with the boys.

                                              Cash and Parker, Becca and Kevin

                                             
                                             Parker's Children's Theater Play
                                           

                                                              
                                                               Lego and Kevin

Kevin and Rebecca invited me to stay in their driveway for two days plugged into their house electricity which allowed me to experience yet another aim on this trip: driveway surfing.  I now have only one more method of RV travel to try, the infamous Walmart stay for free parking lot.






                                                                              

Day 8 - Nov 14

This is the half way point of my 2 week trip and I am holed up in a motel on hwy 5.  Had planned to drive to Portland yesterday afternoon but hwy 5 was a slow crawl out of Seattle due to an accident and it was getting dark near 5 p.m.so I gave it up. I had planned to get a motel once a week to wash my hair and watch some tv. Have been showering daily in the rv park facilities. Don't want to be the smelly old lady in line at the museum. Watching the news last night on tv and on my weather app on my phone tells me I shouldn't get back on the road until 10 a.m. because of icy wet roads. I have chains and I would think hwy 5 is no problem just because of all the traffic. But I will go slowly toward Becca's in Tigard, Ore..... I had a reservation for an rv park near Tigard last night but missed the cutoff time to cancel it so will lose my $30. 

Lesson learned:
This time of year you don't need a reservation at any rv park. None have been more than 1/2 full.

Day 7 - Nov 13

Drove to Bellevue, the home of many Microsoft employees, including David and Jody, the kids of friends Bob and Peggy Long. Jody took me for a great view of the Space Needle where we talked with a pair of flight attendants from Germany who wanted to know what to do and see in Seattle.  Jody told them of the Chihuly glass museum and made me wish I had time to see it myself.  Not on this trip if I'm to get home in time for an 80th b'day party of a friend.
                                                                         
                                                                            

                                                                            
             Jody brushing her dog almost makes me wish I had cats again. Almost.
                                                                                        

 

The Space Needle

 

A Chihuly art glass installation in a business office.

We had lunch with David downtown near his office after a tour of a Seattle which reminded me of San Francisco with its hills.

 

Seattle is a sentimental journey destination for me since Bob and I went there to the World's Fair in 1962 on our honeymoon. I feel like he was here with me today. 



Day 5 & 6 - Nov 11 & 12

Veteran's Day brought out many veterans waving flags as I passed under freeway overpasses.  Everyone honked our gratitude for their service as I headed toward Seattle.

Stayed at a KOA near Sea-Tac, the airport and also home of many Boeing plants in the area.  Will go to lunch tomorrow with Brian, a family friend who works at Boeing. Settled in for the night,  I woke up around 2 a.m. thinking someone was trying to break in.  There was obviously a storm going on that shook the RV like it was coming apart.  Once I decided it wasn't an intruder I went back to sleep, but in the morning woke up very cold. It was 42 inside the Doodle.  My electric blanket had gone off. I reached over and turned on the heater before even getting out of bed. Love this little rv.  The lights all worked because they work off the battery in the rv and the propane had the heater and stove working so I could have my breakfast. But didn't know why the electric blanket went out. It's old, I guess.

Went to lunch with Brian at a place called Bahama Breeze and had a hot toddy to warm up.
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After lunch I gave up trying to charge my laptop while driving and alternating it with the GPS plug in and bought a universal electric charger. There will be other charging cords I leave places so it will come in handy, I'm sure. Now I can charge the laptop at night like normal people.

 

Arriving back at the rv park the electricity was out all over south Seattle because of the storm last night. That's why my electric blanket didn't work. It needs to be plugged in to shore power and the rv park power was off. It was too late to go to another rv park and besides my app told me the only other ones were in Bellevue and with commute traffic I wouldn't get there before dark, another rule of mine not to drive after dark.

So I called my rv guru, Nacio, who told me I would be unintentionally Boondocking tonite.  That's where you camp without hookups. Great! I did want to experience every kind of camping on this trip but thought I would save that for another trip. It's really an adventure now.  He told me to turn on the generator for an hour or so, then turn it off and turn the heater on. Do this until I go to bed and then put on many layers of clothes and all the blankets I have. The generator runs on gasoline from the vehicle and it was only half full so I couldn't leave the generator on all night. Besides, its' noisy and drives the neighbors crazy. At least I was better off than the tent campers in the next aisle and the young man who seemed to be sleeping in his car!

 

So I did some blogging on the computer which had some power left until I got tired of typing with gloves on and went to sleep at 7:30 feeling like a stuffed sausage with all those layers of clothes.

Woke up hours later thinking surely it's morning. It was 10:30. Closed my eyes remembering reading that when people freeze to death its like falling asleep. But I did wake up in the morning at 7 feeling pretty good to be alive. It was 35 degrees inside the Doodle.

                                                                            

 

 Still no power in the rv park. So glad to get out of there toward Bellevue that I forgot to stop in the park office and see if there was a refund for no electric.

 

What I learned:

You won't die without heat. You'll just be cold.

Don't be tempted to heat with propane from the stove. That's how to die, not freezing to death.

Your electric blanket will only operate when you are plugged in to shore power.

Always ask to use a person's photo. They may be in the witness protection program.