We are now in Tumwater at the same RV park we stayed in on the way down in November. It's really a nice place, especially if you're tenting, because they have acres of old-growth Doug fir and all the campsites are in the bush pretty much. Really great for the dogs to run around and check out the wild bunnies and squirrels, too.
So we're back in the rain and mist here. Checked the weather in Kamloops and it's about 10 degrees warmer than here. It was 7 last night and felt like minus 10 with the dampness. Oh well ...
Heading up to Aldergrove today to get repatriated, LOL. We'll be visiting friends and relatives at the coast for a week or more while we get organized for our move up to our property.
So it's goodbye to the U of A for a little while. Sure do miss Texas ...
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Junction City, Oregon (again)
We pulled into Junction City at 5:00 p.m. after travelling through the wide valley of the I-5, noting how much farmland there really is in California. It was cloudy when we got here. First observation upon alighting from the truck: Put on long pants and a jacket cuz you ain't in Kansas anymore, amigos! It felt fricking damp, chilly, and downright COLD. Waaaahhh. Yes, I'm whining again, get used to it.
On the upside, we were parked beside a drainage area, and the happy little frogs serenaded us all night long. This brought a question to my mind that I hadn't thought of before: When do frogs sleep? They stop singing at daybreak, but then they have to catch bugs during the day, right? So maybe they just take a lot of naps during the day. I am unclear on this... Perhaps a government research grant is in order for me and a few close friends.
Anyway, we're here for a few days getting warranty work done on the RV. Then we'll probably head over to Long Beach in Washington again, since it's a great beach for the dogs to romp on. It's supposed to be pouring rain everywhere for Easter (but it beats the snow that we see forecast for the Interior), and then we'll have to pop back into Canada at the end of the month.
Clearly, we are missing Texas and warm weather. Hopefully it will be warm soon where we are heading, but all bets are off since we still have the May long weekend to contend with, which is always exceptionally cold and dismal in the home valley. Sigh ...
On the upside, we were parked beside a drainage area, and the happy little frogs serenaded us all night long. This brought a question to my mind that I hadn't thought of before: When do frogs sleep? They stop singing at daybreak, but then they have to catch bugs during the day, right? So maybe they just take a lot of naps during the day. I am unclear on this... Perhaps a government research grant is in order for me and a few close friends.
Anyway, we're here for a few days getting warranty work done on the RV. Then we'll probably head over to Long Beach in Washington again, since it's a great beach for the dogs to romp on. It's supposed to be pouring rain everywhere for Easter (but it beats the snow that we see forecast for the Interior), and then we'll have to pop back into Canada at the end of the month.
Clearly, we are missing Texas and warm weather. Hopefully it will be warm soon where we are heading, but all bets are off since we still have the May long weekend to contend with, which is always exceptionally cold and dismal in the home valley. Sigh ...
Corning, California
We used this as just an overnight stay on the way to Junction City. It's just south of Redding, and it was still nice and sunny and warm here, about 81 degrees. The small park was a nicely treed place behind the Subway Sandwich shop in a small town. We went to a Taco Bell for dinner and the staff were all excited about the new double taco for 89 cents. One at a time, they would come over and ask us how it tasted because none of them had tried it yet. It was typical Taco Bell food, but we didn't feel like cooking after being on the road for 8 hours!
Kind of reminded me of the kid working in the kitchen at the Cowboy Cafe in Roswell, New Mexico. This is a small cafe run as a hobby by a guy who likes to keep busy in his retirement. He bakes all the pies that they sell there, and they are really tasty. Anyway, the first day we went there, we get asked the usual question about where we're from (we can't help it if we sound like Yankees, we were just on our way south and hadn't developed the suthun' drawl yet).
So awhile later, out comes the (obviously) dishwasher kid, Tyler, who is about 17 years old. We figured he was the dishwasher because he had on blue rubber gloves to his elbows. Anyway, he does his best impersonation of a waiter and asks us how everything was. It was rather incongruous with the rubber gloves. So we said it was great. And then he blurts out, "oh, darn, they were right. You guys don't talk funny at all." And he's dead serious. Ha! So my cohort gave him a "Have a nice day, eh," in his best McKenzie Brothers' voice, and then Tyler's face lit right up. I guess we made his day after all!
Kind of reminded me of the kid working in the kitchen at the Cowboy Cafe in Roswell, New Mexico. This is a small cafe run as a hobby by a guy who likes to keep busy in his retirement. He bakes all the pies that they sell there, and they are really tasty. Anyway, the first day we went there, we get asked the usual question about where we're from (we can't help it if we sound like Yankees, we were just on our way south and hadn't developed the suthun' drawl yet).
So awhile later, out comes the (obviously) dishwasher kid, Tyler, who is about 17 years old. We figured he was the dishwasher because he had on blue rubber gloves to his elbows. Anyway, he does his best impersonation of a waiter and asks us how everything was. It was rather incongruous with the rubber gloves. So we said it was great. And then he blurts out, "oh, darn, they were right. You guys don't talk funny at all." And he's dead serious. Ha! So my cohort gave him a "Have a nice day, eh," in his best McKenzie Brothers' voice, and then Tyler's face lit right up. I guess we made his day after all!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Coalinga, California
We're heading out tomorrow morning for Coalinga, California, about 6 hours from here northwest. For anyone who may be paying the slightest bit of attention to all my efforts here, yes, we did stay there on the way southward last year. It's the place with the huge almond and pistachio and orange groves all around it, and not much else. We're staying there for a couple of nights, then pushing on towards Junction City, Oregon, where we're going to spend a few days at the RV dealership getting some warranty work done that was left over from last November.
Anyhoo, we're going to be taking a different route up there from last year, and going through Pasadena, then up the I-5. The weather looks promising. When I called to make a reservation a few days ago, I was informed that it actually had snowed there the day before, briefly, before turning into rain. The weird weather continues!
Anyhoo, we're going to be taking a different route up there from last year, and going through Pasadena, then up the I-5. The weather looks promising. When I called to make a reservation a few days ago, I was informed that it actually had snowed there the day before, briefly, before turning into rain. The weird weather continues!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Indio, California (Palm Springs)
Back in sunny California again. It's a little warmer now than it was when we left on January 2nd this year. We arrived at the start of a 2-day heat wave with temperatures around 105 degrees F. Lucky for us that the RV park has 3 pools and 2 spas, and lucky for the dogs that the RV has air conditioning!
There are a lot of Canadians staying in this park. We really miss Texas. People just aren't as friendly as they are there. And there's no Texas BBQ here either. Am I whining? Get used to it...
A guy just pulled in that we met in Roswell at the park we were staying at. He had said his wife had some golf tournaments here in La Quinta the first week of April, so we told him about this park, and here he is! Kind of cool to see someone further down the road again!
The citrus trees here had more fruit on them in December than they do now, and there were more hummngbirds flitting about, so I guess some of them have started to move a bit northward. Even though we kind of know that once we start moving northward in a week or so, the weather isn't going to be summer-like anymore, we are still going to be in denial til we get into it! We will be in Oregon around April 18th, and back in Canada at the beginning of May.
Time to go lounge by the pool, then barbecue some chicken for supper. I'll add some photos to this later :) Meanwhile, check out the Photorama and Random Observations pages for photos from Texas and Arizona...
There are a lot of Canadians staying in this park. We really miss Texas. People just aren't as friendly as they are there. And there's no Texas BBQ here either. Am I whining? Get used to it...
A guy just pulled in that we met in Roswell at the park we were staying at. He had said his wife had some golf tournaments here in La Quinta the first week of April, so we told him about this park, and here he is! Kind of cool to see someone further down the road again!
The citrus trees here had more fruit on them in December than they do now, and there were more hummngbirds flitting about, so I guess some of them have started to move a bit northward. Even though we kind of know that once we start moving northward in a week or so, the weather isn't going to be summer-like anymore, we are still going to be in denial til we get into it! We will be in Oregon around April 18th, and back in Canada at the beginning of May.
Time to go lounge by the pool, then barbecue some chicken for supper. I'll add some photos to this later :) Meanwhile, check out the Photorama and Random Observations pages for photos from Texas and Arizona...
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