Bye Bye 2007

The last day of the year. Can't exactly say what I thought of this year, probably all in all it was a Good Year. Got to travel a bunch, see old friends, meet new friends, spend time with my children and the rest of my family. Had some scares along the way, with thanks we had the courage and wisdom to handle them. Had many moments of Joy, and also some not so Joyous. Lost some friends, felt the pain of the ongoing war, and still am wondering what the leaders of the Government are doing! Hoping you kept up with our journey. With the new year upon us we will try to be a little more attentive to the blog and will definitely try to see you all on different occasion's. We are in East Point, Ga. and going to some friend house for the Eve. Don't have too many plans for the rest of the night, might have a Libation or two. With the passage of time and our lives always in flux, we are not sure what is going to happen. All of that being said, We both want to wish you a Most joyous New Year. Take care of yourselves and each other. Again I will say, Peace and Love,
Cris & Bob

Still Slow Remedies

I didn't realize that you have all been kept in the dark (pun) about our travels and the condition of our 5th wheel. Rebecca McGaw and Cris were looking at the blog and noticed it has been some time since I posted. So, nothing has been resolved by the insurance company or the adjuster, but hopefully it will be handled soon. Rebecca and Shawn have moved to the Ryan Hacienda in Needville and will soon be starting on the McGaw spread in Fairchild. Pat and Sherry will be gone to Jackies house this week to help with Beckett while John is in Fla. We went to the Christmas party at the Methodist Church last night, and a good time was had by all. Sherry worked pretty hard for this shindig and we got to help some, but without her efforts it would have been a bust. We are hanging here for a bit longer and will depart on the 21st we will head to Atlanta to see Lex. We plan on renting a car and leaving the rig here. We will pick up Lex and go Hilton Head SC for Christmas. Todd won't be with us, we will miss him and Olivia. We may get to visit some friends in Savannah, Ga. Tomorrow is our 37th Wedding Anniversary so we are planning a trip to the movie and then dinner. I'll catch you up later in the week. Love to All, Cris & Bob

Slow Remedies

The idea of relying on insurance cos. is probably foolish. I heard back from the warranty co. and Alfa and their assessment of the situation is that they are not liable for the damage because it was caused by shore power. So, I contacted my insurance co. for the 5th wheel and they are sending an adjuster to us to see the damage and talk to the RV Dealer/Repair to find a remedy. I have since ordered another surge suppressor that automatically interrupts power if something happens to the voltage. The unit should be here this week, and I have already done some prep work for the wall mount TV and the new cabinet. Alexia sent me some cables to connect the HDTV to my computer to watch downloads, becoming very hi-tech here in the Ryan Trailer. Now all we need is to have a frig & microwave, and maybe a few other things. So for now we will just be patient and calm, and enjoy the Texas Ryan's and this part of the Great USA. More pictures will be coming within the not too distant future. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Trials of Travelin

Back to the problems(electrical) with our home. The 5 yr Alfa Gold warranty appears to be a Farce. The rv dealer who we purchased the 5th wheel from did not finish the paperwork through to Alfa and Western General insurance Co. It has taken since the 10th of Nov. til the 26th to even get them to admit that we are supposed to be covered. It has been amazingly difficult and it is even enough to piss me off. Today I found out that they now have to have an adjuster look at it to determine the extent of the damage. It wasn't good enough for them to talk with the rv repair facility, no, now we have to take it back in to the dealer and the have an adjuster come and look at it. It will be interesting either way. I don't have the warm fuzzes right now. I am sure that this is going to take a long time, and we will get it in the shorts. The big problem is just getting answers form these D___ B________. So tomorrow it will be back to the phone and we will see what else will transpire. You might want to say a prayer, not for me, for the people that piss me off. A prayer for us will be appreciated too. I am also contacting my home owners insurance to see if they want any part of this. So that's all for now. Love to All.
Cris & Bob

Needeville and Family

We arrived in Needeville, (Sherry and Pat's house) on Wednesday the 13th of Nov. Good to see all the people we know here and looking forward to the alternate Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday the 18th. On the 16th we took our home to the service shop and then returned to our address in Needeville, Tx. Was a very busy day, the I had to take Cris get her birthday present. It was a good surprise, and if I hadn't taken a wrong turn we would have been on time. Todd arrived at IAH as a Surprise for Cris's Birthday. I know she has had more birthdays than anyone else but she deserves them. To make her birthday complete, Alexia came to join us on Sat. We had a great time with all the Texas Ryan's and the turkey and feast we enjoyed was marvelous. We got to be together as a family to start the Holidays on a good note. Todd had to return to Cal. on Monday, and we were able to spend the rest of the week with Alexia. Before we took Todd to the airport we saw the movie Fred Claus. Worth the matinee price but not much more. Alexia was with us until Fr1day(black Fri.) and we ventured out to shop at 4am to get the deals. With the help of Alexia, we were able to get a new TV 42" LCDHD Toshiba and a new Compac computer. Todd had recently rebuilt my old Compac and then the electrical problem burned it up. Thanks for my Children that I can be electronically connected. Well I will try to catch you up on all the gruesome details with the warranty and repair. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Sadness into Texas

San Antonio was a nice visit, the Alamo, River-walk, and the rest of the tourist areas were nice. We enjoyed or time here even though we were stressed out. The problem we had in Ft. Stockton was an Electrical anomaly that still hasn't been explained. We had an electrical short circuit that burned up and disabled many things in our fifth wheel. The list is long, it includes just about all electrical components including computer, tv(2), surround sound, dvd, vhs, refrig, microwave, power converter, and probably other stuff that I don't know about. We were able to reach Alfa and the warranty company on Tuesday and figured out our plan of attack. We would travel to Houston and get our home looked at there. We had a time getting into a service shop and they were able to assess the damage. The service shop visit was on the 16th of Nov. and we are still almost totally disabled. The communication between Alfa, Mike Thompson's, and the warranty has been feeble at best. Today should be another day with elevated blood pressure after trying to get some results. Cris has been very understanding with our situation but we are both getting a little tired of the way things are. Enough for now. Love to All.
Cris & Bob

Onward to Texas

Departing So. Cal we trekked through San Diego and proceeded East on I-8. The fires that had ravaged the area were out, but their trail was plain. Arriving in Imperial Valley our memories were triggered as to all the trips we made to there for picnics, weddings, baptisms,funerals, visits, and all the other trips across the border to Mexicali. I can still see all their faces, remember how we tried to talk to each other, and always the Laughter. Some good times for sure. We continued past those memories through Yuma, Az and stayed in Wellton, Az. The travel for the day was about 300 miles. Stayed at a park named Tier Drop RV Park and slept well. The morning brought sunshine and new travels as we whisked our way across Az. into NM.
We stopped at a KOA in Lordsburg, NM and spent the night there. We got an early start to travel the 400 miles to Fort Stockton, Tx. After an very trying night, we again got on the road. The night in Ft. Stockton will be the next post, maybe more. We are now in San Antonio, Tx and this morn we are going to the Alamo, and the River Walk. Until next time. Love to all,
Cris & Bob

Pahrump To Angel Stadium

It's always with both excitement and sadness when we leave our friends Barb & Les. The time in Pahrump was enjoyable and busy. Had trouble getting anything done, I mean we had to visit the casinos, buffets, and Walmart. Travelin to So. Cal. is always an experience. Wasn't too eventful this trip but traffic did get heavy in Orangs County. The park we are in is near Angel Stadium, in the County of Orange, City Of Orange and is named Orangeland RV Park. Can you guess who picked this place? Have been here since the 1st and will leave on the 8th. We have seen many of our old friends and family. Todd and Oly have spent some time with us and will have dinner tomorrow night. Todd is playing soccer and his team won their first play-off game so the have more to play. Todd also put a new hard drive in my PC and the info that is in the old one is being retrieved by some techs. Tonight we will have dinner with Lex. We will take the Amtrak to LA from Angel Stadium. The station is within walking distance of the RV Park. This trip we saw Kristy,Victor,Taron,Arryanna, and Dylan, Mac&Barb, Kelly&Jess, Rebecca ,Margot&Ken, Kitty&Kieth, Don Dickman, most of the Backstreet crew, my pals at CED, Riv. George &Isabel(mom) Dwight&Charisse, Brian&Robyn, Matt, Tyler,the Soccer Team, Todd&Oly, and we are having lunch with Mark&Rita today. We would like to have seen more friends, only so much time. Love to All,
Cris & Bob Both Cris & I wish you Love

Start of our Journey, Post 3

Back at Alexia's house we started to help with some house maintenance and other stuff. We were there for almost two weeks and then we towed out cargo trailer and went to Needville, Tx. We went there for John and Jackies wedding in the beginning of September. We had a grand time with all the family that was able to attend. The wedding went well and the parents of the bride were very very happy. We stayed in Tx. for a bit and then we headed back to East Point, Ga. With Alexia, Dory, Jack and Eamon we enjoyed our stay very much. We helped Lex with some more house stuff and then headed west again. We stopped in Needville for a time and then hauled our cargo trailer back to Pahrump. The day we arrived in Needville the skies opened up,and gave us about 7" of rain. Pat and Sherry's yard was a lake and the rains kept up for a couple of days. On the way to Pahrump we stayed mostly at Comfort Inn and Suites. The towns were many and the hwy seemed almost endless. We arrived back in Pahrump near the end of October. We stayed here until the 11th of November and then headed for Thanksgiving at Pat and Sherry's. I'll elaborate on that in the next post. Peace and Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Time in Nevada

Hi, its been a while. We left Reno and headed to Pahrump, Nv. staying one night in Tonopah, Nv along the Hwy 95 route. Along the way we went through many towns(most forgettable) and saw some really pretty hills and valleys. One of the towns we were surprised with was Hawthorne, Nv. This little town is an Army Depot next to Walker Lake. This World War Two depot houses munitions for conventional warfare. We were told they have enough munitions to last a year against almost any foe. The valley that this depot lies is covered with above ground bunkers and some very large half buried buildings with roads going down into the earth. Don't know what they would keep in there. Lots of soldiers around this place. We continued on the journey to Pahrump, passing Yucca Mountain, and some other hot spots like Area 51, The Bunny Ranch, and Crystal the soon to be home to the infamous Male Brothel run by the Hollywood Madam (Heidi Fliess). Managed to get by them all and arrive at Barb & Les's house in the early afternoon on the 12th of October. We will be here for a bit, and then probably hit So. Cal. and then on to Texas. Looking forward to some relaxation and some maintenance and projects. Hope all is well for everyone. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Into Nevada

Getting out of Idaho and into Nevada was cold wet and snowy. The snow was no longer on the hwy but was still about 6" on the side of the road. The wind was horrendous but we made it to Winnemucca, Nv. Strange name and a cold environment to say the least. We spent the night at High Desert RV Park. Reasonable with full hook-ups and cable. Unfortunately the cable went out very soon after we arrived. We watched a Star Trek Movie. The cable came back on about 10pm so we were able to watch Meet The Press Sun. morn. We took off for Reno and arrived early in the afternoon. The air was clear and warm, and the park is nice. We are across for the Peppermill Casino and have enjoyed it. We hung out here, got some nice walking in and today we went to Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is really beautiful and very cold. We toured around half of it and then retreated to our home and a planned dinner at the Peppermill. This stay has been nice and we have enjoyed ourselves. Tomorrow we take off for Tonopah, Nv. and one of the final legs of the trip back To Pahrump. We plan on being around there for a few weeks to catch up on stuff and get ready for the next legs of our journey. So I will catch you up after tomorrow and then we may be quiet for a bit. I'm not sure. Anyhow, Love to All.
Cris & Bob

Idaho and Onward

Leaving Baker City, Or. and heading south-east to Twin Falls was not very eventful. The weather was crisp and the plains were many. We traveled the 270 miles to the KOA park with the expectancy of visiting the unknown. The park was okay, enough room for the truck trailer and the flies. It seems there are a lot of cattle and cows around here. After arriving we toured the Perrine Bridge and the Snake River Canyon. It was windy and cold with all the Beauty the Earth could offer. We didn't do much the rest of the evening. Sat. we left our home early and headed to Twin Falls. After breakfast we went to Shoshone Falls. These falls are known as the Niagra Falls of the west. The falls are created by a damn, at a narrow spot in the canyon. They fall almost 200' and flow down under the spot where Evel Kneivel tried to jump the Snake River. It was cold and raining when we were there, I will say that the views and feelings we had were indescribable. With the water, rocks, rain, birds, you can know that there was some master plan in the creation. There is no way that all of that was a chance of evolution. Enough on my theories for now. Twin Falls was a nice experience and we had some fun. Our next lenghty stay will be in Reno, Nv. We hear tell that the rain and snow could hamper our travel to Nevada.
Will let you know what happens. Oh yeah, no pictures for a while, computer problems, should be remedied in a couple of weeks. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Leaving Washington State #2

Monday and time to move onward. Driving to Baker City, Or we were amazed at he amount of cattle we saw on the open range. I had always thought that Wa. & Or. were all forests and trees. Not so, the plains that they have are immense. On the Leeward side of the Cascade Mountain range you could mistake this area for Texas, Az. NM, or any of the other plains states. The fields are planted with hay, wheat, and other grains. When we got to the RV Park in Baker City we were not impressed at first. The front area of the park is in very poor shape. The clerk said they only use that area for over-flow. The rest of the park was very nice, with wide spaces and clear areas. Baker City is very old, and the downtown area has a lot of charm. The temp here can get down to 30 degrees below zero. Not planning to look for property here or anywhere in this neck of the world. After our two days here we are heading to Twin Falls, Id. for a few days to Visit the Snake River and some of the other tourist spots in the area. Oh yeah, the reason we went back through Oregon, is because that is the most expedient route to our next stop. Another note, in Oregon you can't pump your own gas but if you go to Papa Murphy's Pizza you have to cook your own Pizza. We went there ordered a Pizza and they handed one to us almost immediately. The sales clerk then said they don't cook them, they just make them. So we took it home, Cris cooked it and it was very good. Will let you know how life is in Idaho in a few days. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Leaving Washington State

Left the coast Fri. morn and had a long drive(relatively). We passed Yakima and made it to a city called Richland, Wa. The park we found is very nice, neat, clean, well maintained and well appointed. Horn Rapids RV Resort. Worth a stop if you're in this neck of the woods. So we got here Fri. 5pm and had a good nights rest. Sat we trekked around town and went to the Columbia River Park. We tour and walked and enjoyed the clear skies. Not for long, started raining last night and it's still raining on & off. This city was built because of the Hanford Company. Hanford was a refiner of Uranium to make Plutonium. The plutonium refined here was used in the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan. They built as many as ten reactors here and employed thousands of engineers. Dupont was the anchor company and did the most R & D. With all those reactors you have to know what the result was. All the nuclear waste is still being treated here and they have developed a method to turn it into Glass particles. (So I'm Told) The development process to clean up the waste has kept the Tri-City area alive and growing. Watched some football today, saw the Fish lose to the Raider's. We went to the Home Depot late today and noticed they have Christmas Decorations on the shelves already. We enjoyed dinner at the Olive Garden.
Tomorrow we will depart for Baker City, Or. stay for a day or two and then on to Boise, Idaho.
Love to all, Cris & Bob

Annacotes, time over

Hi All, today was supposed to be ferry day to Orcas Island. When we got up and were having coffee we could see the fog rolling across the bay. The weather report said rain by 10 am, so we chose not to venture out too far. Later that day proved the weather report was accurate. Got a substantial amount of rain that day and into the night. Got some new neighbors with some interesting hobbies. They moved into the park with the normal RV stuff but with some boats on top and sides. They like to fish for crab. They set traps and harvest them with the high tide (every 12 hours or so). One of the crabbers was a whole lot more successful than the others. He came back with buckets full. As a side note, the crab boat The Wizard set sail from the harbor near Seattle and is heading for Alaska to compete in The Deadliest Catch. We had a nice day, we got to have a nice walk during one of the rain breaks. We received our new DVR but I won't set it up until all the recorded shows have been watched. We are going to head toward Yakima, Wa or a little further and stay there for a few days before heading to Idaho. The coast is getting cooler all the time, time to head inland to the warmer climates. Enough for now. Love to All,

Cris & Bob

Fidalgo Bay, Wa.

Before I tell you about today's venture I need to tell you a story. A few years back I retrieved the letter "R" from commercial remodel. I carried the "R" with us, installed lights in it and run it with a timer. I've located it outside near the front on the fifth wheel. Yesterday the neighbor to the north asked if we had stayed at Jantzen Beach RV Park in Portland,Or. He recognized the "R". I suppose it's the little things in life that we really appreciate. The park is nice, well maintained and it has some great walking paths. The ducks, geese, and gulls are always flying around and picking up shellfish to eat. These birds are adept at opening shells and their beaks and feet. They drop them from the air onto a hard surface to crack them open and then proceed to eat them. They would also land on top of our trailer and then we would hit the ceiling with a fly swatter to scare them away. We enjoyed the trekking around here. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Anacortes, Wa. Vancouver, BC. Canada

Left southern Wa. and headed to Anacortes, Wa. Arrived Mon. afternoon after a 210 mile trip. Good trip. This place is Great. We are in Fidalgo Bay RV Park on Anacortes Island. We have this great spot backed up to the bay. Neighbors are nice and keep to themselves. This park in owned by the local Indians. The Samish Indian Nation and they also have a casino. Tues we went to town and did some looking in the shops and stores. Wednesday we went to Vancouver, B.C.. Getting across the border was another trip to customs. They searched our truck pretty exhaustively looking for contraband that they knew we were smuggling. Took about half hour to get into Canada. We drove to Vancouver and parked in Yaletown. Finally we were in Downtown Canada. Vancouver has about 6 million people according to our waitress.Had some lunch at a nice riverside upscale diner and then walked around. After returning to the border the customs officer was upset that we had to drive to Canada to have lunch. He thought that was an excessive drive from Nevada. We had a chuckle with that. Easy border crossing coming back. We got back to our hood and here I am. Couple of beers and viewing the bay, doesn't get much better. Tomorrow is our trip to Orcas Island, Wa. Love to All.
Cris & Bob

Start of our Journey, Post 2

We left Kristi, Victor and the Babies house in Menifee, Ca. heading to Atlanta, Ga. Departing at about 4pm and towing a cargo trailer we drove to just past Tuscon, Az. We stayed at Comfort Inn and Suites as we did throughout the rest of the this trip. The first day's travel was about 300 miles and the next two days we did just at 700 miles each. The last day was only about 500 miles, so we got in in late afternoon. Lex was still in LA so we met up with Dory and Eamon. The reason for pushing across the country was because we had to leave for Fla. on Fri. the 11th and we were in a caravan with Jack, Dory, & Eamon. We left Ca. on the 7th of Aug. and scheduled to leave for Fla. 11th. Hence the crazy trip. After day two, Cris had no Idea where she was. We left for Fla. about 11am on Fri and arrived in St. Petersburg Beach at a bout 8pm and stayed at the Travelodge on the beach. Most of the hotel had poor Air Conditioning, luckily our room was okay. We met a lot of Dory's family and had a great time. I got to visit some of my old haunts and see the areas and schools I went to. Visiting family was good. The baptism was on Sunday after mass. The reception that followed was at a Greek Rest. and it was good. We got Eamon welcomed to our faith and we were able to visit with family and friends, Good Trip. We left Monday and headed back to East Point Ga. to help Lex with her house. I will continue the catch up blogs at another time. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Washington, & Mount St. Helens Volcano

We left Oregon and proceeded to Washington on our trek north. Our locale change and relocation were kind of minimal. Total of about 53 miles to Mt. St. Helens RV Park. Not a bad place, very busy with the traffic (in & out) but relatively quiet. Stayed there Fri, Sat, & Sunday and left for points north on Monday Morn. We wanted to leave early ( 9 am ) got on the road at about 10:30 am. Oh Well. Arriving at the park early in the day left us time to go exploring Fri. afternoon. We tripped over to the first visitor center on Hwy 504. It was closed but the surrounding areas and marsh were open for a few more hours. We hiked around for some time through the marsh and wooded areas. The day was clear and cool. Mt. St. Helens was just amazingly clear that afternoon. That was the last time. Sat. we toured the whole road to the volcano (50 miles) and stopped many times at visitors centers. We saw movies, displays maps and much literature as to what took place May 18, 1980. We took it all in and it is hard to tell how we felt, and what our thoughts were. We both had a poor night of sleep, very restless. Sun. we toured the city of Longview, Wa. Nice small city with all the necessary things for a nice sustained living. We checked out a local pizza place and it was good. Also checked out a Fred Meyer chain store, very much like a Walmart but a little more upscale. We relaxed Sun. night to get ready for our next trek. Our Direct TV DVR has been having some issues, a new one will meet us in Anacortes Wa. Should get it on Tues. or Wed. That's all for now. Love to All,

Cris & Bob

Portland, Oregon #2

More about Oregon. Oregon has no sales tax, surprised a number of times when making purchases. Another quirky thing is fuel. At the stations there are attendants who fuel your vehicles. The first time was a shock when I started filling the tank and the attendant told me it was illegal for me to operate the pump. This was okay, today I went to a Chevron station and an attendant took my CC and then said that diesel was self serve. They need to get organized about which is which or what. Anyhow, we fueled up so we can travel tomorrow. We are going to a park near Mount St. Helen's in Washington. Think back a long time ago about what happened at Mount St. Helen's. We will let you know what has been the progress since then. We will leave Oregon in the morning, have spent a lot of time here. Nice state. The weather has been cool, but not too drastic. The locals love it.
We went downtown today and had a bagel from Kollblatts Deli. Very Good. Downtown is like other large urban areas like New York. Lots of traffic and lots of small shops. Cris was happy.
Must close for now, Survivor is on. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Portland, Oregon

Thursday, got here Tuesday and will leave tomorrow. Left Lincoln City and came inland and away form the coast. The coast is very breath taking and we enjoyed it immensely, but it was time to travel some straighter roads. Took Hwy 18 from Hwy 101 and connected to I-5. Along the way we stopped at a DQ, and for those that know the story it was totally for Cris. We passed through a town named McMinville, Or which now has the Spruce Goose. It was moved there from Long Beach, Ca. and they built a hangar for it. The front of the hangar is glass, and you can see the plane from the street. We didn't stop for the tour, I think it wasn't open yet. Barbara Peterson reminded us that it was here. Portland is a very large city. We are in a park on Hayden Island in the middle of the Columbia River. The park is named Jantzen Beach RV Park. Misnomer. No beaches on this Island. The island is mostly commercial with dredging, house boats and boat slips surrounding the place. The number of boats both large and small is phenomenal. The traffic is another matter. We kind of roll with it. Travel at times that others don't. The park is under a flight path for PDX, next to I-5 and Amtrak is close. The train trestle is really amazing. Tall boats that need to pass under under the trestle must wait for the bridge to open. The bridge actually spins on a pylon and move the tracks to open the the area for the ship passage. We saw it happen a few times. The horn that alerts people to the opening and closing is loud enough to hear a long way off. Need to tell you more about Oregon. Next Blog.
Love to All, Cris and Bob

Lincoln City, Or

We left Coos Bay, Or and proceeded up the coast to our next stop. We didn't make reservations and decided we would find a place along the way. We stopped a number of times along the way at vista areas and a couple of coffee shops and ended up in Lincoln City, Or. We stayed at Ocean View RV Park on Hwy 101. Nice park, pull thru's are a joke and the back ins are not bad. We stayed for a couple of days and saw some of the local fare. They have some nice beaches with very rough waves coming in for a long way. Didn't see any surfers and didn't see as many hippies as we did further south. The trip north was cool and mostly cloudy, and it was all along the waters edge. We went through an arched tunnel that the center height was 14'4" and the edge was 11'1". Our fifth wheel is 13' , so we had to encroach into the other lane for the length of the tunnel. No on-coming traffic until the very end of the tunnel. We got lucky. We only travelled 140 miles on this leg of our journey, but it was enough. With all the twists and turns it kind of wears on you. Lincoln City is long, about ten(10) miles, four little towns that merged to become Lincoln City, Or. We relaxed there except for our walk on the beach with the stairs coming up to the street. The folklore is there are 80 steps down and 280 coming up. Good time was had by all. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Arcata, Ca To Coos Bay, Or.

Leaving Arcata and heading toward Coos Bay was another interesting trip. After arriving we had one heck of a time parking our house. The Internet drawing showed the roadway to be twice as wide as the space is deep. Not even close. The road was about 23' wide and the space is about 50' deep and perpendicular to the street. Well we had a time, I thought Cris was going to have a coronary. After some struggling we finally made it. It was a park, Midway RV Park. We had a good time in Coos Bay. The town is small and the people are nice. We were there for a parade and saw the school bands from the town and all the farming machinery and logging items that are used around here. This is a big fishing town and the river is always busy with small boats. One of the neighbors in the park showed me the type of tackle that is used. Don(neighbor) gave us some Salmon filet's that we prepared on the grill. Great. We got to tour some coastal towns and saw the crabbing and clamming industry that goes on here. So all in all Coos Bay was nice and we enjoyed. The weather was good and we finally saw some sun. Next stop will be somewhere up the coast and another post awaits. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Start of our Journey, Post 1

This will be tricky to catch you up and not confuse you. Cris and I sold our house in Riverside, Ca. and closed escrow on June 28, 2006. The escrow (30 days) actually took about 110 days with much concern and stress. We learned a ton about escrows and the real estate bus. That will be another story. With the help of friends and loved ones we moved the majority of the items we are keeping to Pahrump, Nv. With Barb and Les Peterson's help we are now residents of Nevada and we stay at their house when home. The moved was finalized on July 4th weekend 2006. Mark & Rita made the trek with us and they also towed a trailer with our belongings. We took possession of our Alfa 5th wheel on July 17 at Whiskey Petes in Stateline Nv. Drove to Pahrump and stayed in the unit until the end of July. We babysat at Kristi & Victors house until Aug.7, 2006 and then we took off towing a cargo trailer to East Point, Ga. and Alexia's house. The trailer had some antique furniture and some stuff for Alexia. The next posts will highlight the first trip across the U.S. and it will eventually catch up to today. Love to All.
Cris & Bob

Arcata, Ca

We've been here since Monday and we are leaving tomorrow am. Hope to get on the road by 9am and travel to Coos Bay, Or. Not too far(210 miles) but it's hilly and we will have to stop and view some of the ocean and coast.
We came through Redwood Forests on the way here and this is to some degree a logging community. Not much lumber is harvested but the logging trucks are still on the road. Some towns close to here are Eureka, Samoa, Manilla, and Mckinleyville. I guess you can tell some of the ethnicity of the area. The still have the Samoan Cook House, where the food is designed to please the lumberjacks.
Today we toured Arcata and Eureka, did some shopping and then went for a hike through the Redwood Forest on the so.east portion of Arcata. It was truly amazing to see a tree with a stump 20 feet across and as high as you can see. The darkness was sometimes disturbing but fun never the less. The weather here has been cool. Highs in the low 60s and low in the mid 40s definitely jacket weather. Overcast most of the time, good snuggling weather. Must go now to get some handsome sleep and prep for the journey tomorrow. Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Caspar Beach 2

Sunday Night. We have been here since Fri. afternoon and have enjoyed it tremendously. We rested when we arrived, went for a short walk to the beach, had dinner and slept very well. On Sat. we went to the city of Mendocino, Ca. Great touring and the cliffs over looking the ocean were awesome. At the inn, the movie Same Time Next Year was filmed. The town is small and somewhat trendy, with lots of hippies hanging around. We did the tourist trek throughout the town, got some post cards, coffee, and trinkets.
Before we left I started a crock put with the fixins for some Beef and Barley soup. Cris said it was the best I have ever made. I enjoyed it too.
Today we went back on Hwy 128 toward Booneville and the wine country in this area. We stopped frequently and had some nice tastes. At one winery Brutocao Cellars and tasted some good wines. They also had a BBQ with chicken, sausage, slaw and fruit. The highlight was that is was freeee. Couldn't believe it. We had a good time bought some wine, met some people, had some food and all in all had a very good time. We came back to the campground the long way(we stopped a number of times) and filled up with fuel for a fresh start tomorrow. Looking forward to another adventure tomorrow. Will update soon. Love to all, Cris & Bob

Caspar Beach, Ca

Travel day, and quite an experience. We left Morgan Hill about 10am and drove through some nice territory and some helacious traffic. We went through Oakland on the 880,80,580 and some roads that we cannot name. Over the 580 we crossed a bridge (toll $8.50) San Rafael Bay bridge and was close to San Quentin. When connecting to the 101 hwy we had a traffic jam due to bridge construction, same delays we had 7 years ago when we came through here. Just amazing. We traveled the 101 to Cloverdale and then took the 128 to the coast. What a ride. We had some great scenery and drove through a lot of redwood forests. Cris was really impressed, not with the roads but with the surroundings. We were lead astray by Mapquest and had some very challenging maneuvers to make. We found a local who was able to guide us in the right direction. We made it to the campground and were nicely surprised. This place is in a cove and the water is real close. Dirt spots with all the things needed including wi-fi. No cell service here, so we can really relax. We arrived, set-up, had a beer and went for a walk to the beach. Quite nice. After we had some dinner we started to bundle up,about 50 degrees. I can see there be a lot to tell you about from here, so I will write more later. Peace and Love to All.
Cris & Bob

Today Is Friday 09/07/07 and we are getting set to travel. Our week here has been fun. We got to visit with some family family and to hear how their lives are going. Saturday the BBQ went great at the Cisneros house and we enjoyed it tremendously. Sunday we went with Danny and Irene to Capitolla for the Begonia Festival. There is a parade of boats that go under the bridge and the boats are dressed up like floats. The whole town is very flush with Begonias in every shape,size and color. We also toured Santa Cruz and had a nice fish dinner on the wharf. Traffic was terrible.
On Monday we had another party at Gus & Aracelias house with their chidren and other relatives.The rest of the week we spent exploring Morgan Hill, sometimes afoot and other times mobile. There is a big fire still raging close to here and the smoke cover is getting thick. Cris had a minor battle with allergies but is okay now. Yesterday was maintenance and modification day, as always we continually try to find ways to make our home more efficient and livable.
Morgan Hill is a nice little city located just south of San Jose, Ca. This suburb has started to grow with all the peeps moving away from the fray of big and busy city life. There is still some farming here but a lot has been covered by houses and apt. bldgs. Nice place though, a valley surrounded by some nice rolling hills to the east and some coastal barrier mountains to the west. Worth a visit if you have the time.
Must go for now, will have another story in a few days. Love to you all.
Cris and Bob

Hi All, we left Pismo Beach this morning and we are now in the San Jose area. Morgan Hill, Ca. to be exact. The drive was good and traffic was not too bad. The temp here was warmer than the beach, about 95 when we got here and now(8pm) its about 75degrees. The whole day wasn't too eventful but we noticed that the landscape has been devastated by the lack of rain and the blistering heat. The fields were all still planted and the harvests are on going. The areas around here are known as the nations Salad Bowl. Very impressive, looks like a lot of hard work to me. Tomorrow(Sat) we hope to find a coule of vegetable stands to see what the local fare is.
We are having a bbq Sat. with some of the relatives form this area. Looking forward to seeing some folks we haven't seen for some time. Will keep you up to date on our take on the area.
Love to All,
Cris & Bob

Oceano, Ca.

Here in Oceano, Ca. aka Pismo Beach, Ca. The summer rages everyhere, and here we are freezing at night. Daytime here it's great, gets up to about 73degrees and the fog seems to always be close. I suppose we should be happy, Friday we will travel to San Jose, Ca and I hear tell it will be near 100 degress. Hoping this new blog will work out. I will need to figure it out so we can post some pics of the journey.
We were in Morro Bay today and had some good fish&chips. Did the tourist thing but had a great time anyhow. Leaving So. Cal. is somewhat joyous, but leaving our loved ones behind is always tough. This park is nice, very clean and well maintained, about a mile from the beach and very close to the dunes. Hope you all have a good day tomorrow.
Love to all, Cris & Bob