Westcoast Winter Wonderland!

I came home yesterday after five days in Vancouver visiting with Michelle & the grand-dog, Zephyr. Wow, It was -27C Sunday afternoon when I flew out of Edmonton hoping for some respite from the cold and snow. Vancouver greeted me with typical rain and atypical below zero temperatures. There was snow on the ground and much more to come over the next few days. Vancouverites were loving the novelty of it all and everyone seemed to be in good spirits, greeting one another, which is not the norm when the weather is the routine!

Michelle & I had fun. She lives in the West-end of Vancouver and we shopped, lunched and went to the Art Gallery, traveling mostly on foot as it was easier to get around walking instead of trying to drive on the ice.

I came home yesterday to... surprise, surprise...-27C! There were cars in the ditch all along the highway in from the airport. Winter in Canada, you gotta love it!! We have to get travelling south with Kingsley ASAP! We are aiming for early January. I will keep you posted on our activities.

P.S. Zephyr is modelling her new raincoat and snood!

Footloose in the "Big Apple" with Barbara Dundas (Sims)

This is the account of an adventure without Kingsley and without Alan..... a different kind of adventure!

We headed out on Friday, November 7th via Air Canada (Barb from Calgary & me from Edmonton) bound for NYC and a little holiday. This was a birthday present for me from eldest daughter Barb & hubby Keith and our third trip there. The first time was 20 years ago and a really exciting adventure for both of us in the big city. The second trip in the spring of 2003, there were four as daughters Catherine & Karen joined us. Unfortunately, Cath, Karen & Michelle were unable to get away from work to come with us this time.
Friday was a long day with a connection in TO but, we made it to our lodgings at the Westside YMCA about 6:00pm. The Y is a great place to stay in NYC...definitely spartan but, clean, safe, central and very affordable! The four of us stayed there in 2003 and Barb & Keith stayed there a couple of years ago when they ran the New York Marathon. It's a bit of a well kept secret.... and now I've let it out of the bag!! Anyway, it works for us and with the money we saved, we were able to do lots of other fancy things.We went for dinner to a great restaurant, Le Bonne Soupe, which we discovered the last time we were there and after dinner walked over to Rockefeller Centre where we bought tickets to the Top of the Rock. It was a beautiful night, warm & misty with a very fine drizzle up on the roof. What a view and what a beautiful Art Deco building! We spent over an hour up there and I took lots of pictures.

Saturday, after breakfast we headed thru Central Park and over to the newly renovated MOMA(Museum of Modern Art)where we spent over four hours. So much to see including a Van Gogh exhibition ...48 paintings from the Starry Night collection.
It was raining when we came out of the museum and several fellows were right there with $5.00 umbrellas for sale. We bought one and proceeded to walk over to the TKTS outlet in Times Square to buy same-day ½ price tickets for a Broadway show. The line-up was around the block and everyone was getting soaked so we decided to come back the next day. We saw a movie instead: ‘Rachel getting Married’. Barb wanted to see it in Calgary but so far, it hasn’t arrived there. It was very good. We walked to Columbus Circle after the movie and had curry in this wonderful place(Whole Earth Market)in the Time-Warner Mall. On the way out, we watched them setting up the Xmas decorations and coordinating the lights to the music. Awesome! It was even snowing from the ceiling of the four story rotunda…something new being added this Xmas season.

Sunday, after breakfast, we headed to Time Square to line up for tickets to the matinee performance of ‘Spring Awakening’, a musical which won the Tony award in 2007. We really enjoyed the show…a good choice. On our way back to the Y we passed the Ed Sullivan Theatre, home of the David Letterman Show. A small sign outside said ‘show tickets available’ so in we went and signed up for a lottery for one of two shows being taped on Monday. After a glass or two of wine in our tiny room, it was back to see another movie at our movie theatre around the corner. We walked through the night streets to Barnes & Noble bookstore and café, bought some books and had a late meal.

Monday, we headed west to the docks and the East river..a beautiful day and a brisk walk. We discovered the USS Bataan, a supply ship and aircraft carrier on active service and just back from the middle-east. They were having an Open House for the public so we checked it out. It’s a massive ship and all the crew were so accommodating. They are in port for the Veteran’s Day parade through the streets of NYC Tuesday. The newly refurbished museum ship, the Intrepid, was at the next pier. The grand re-opening and dedication by George W. Bush also set for Tuesday. We were heading to the Harbour Cruise Pier for a circle tour around Manhattan when my cell phone rang. It was the Letterman show and we had tickets for the first show taping. It’s not every day we have the chance to see Letterman & company…the harbour cruise was off! The show did not disappoint. Dave’s guests were Ted Turner (CNN, Jane Fonda’s ex), Jamie Oliver (celebrity chef & cookbook author) & Taylor Swift (up and coming C & W singer). The band & Paul Schafer were terrific and it was fun seeing how the show is put together. Dave came out before the show started in his shirtsleeves and talked to us for about five minutes. It was one of those great New York minutes (well…hour)!! Back to our little home away from home for Happy Hour and then out for a chinese dinner.
Everywhere we went, we walked…so central to all the action!

Tuesday, November 11th - Veterans/Remembrance Day and our last day in NYC.
It was a long traveling day: first the subway and bus to Laguardia, then the plane to Toronto. Then we parted ways; Barb leaving for Calgary and me for Edmonton. We had a wonderful holiday and lots of fun. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

The Family

I 'm always talking about my family so, here are some pictures! Our four daughters are: Barbara, 47; Catherine, 46; Karen, 44 & Michelle, 31. Barb & Keith and Karen & Russ have three & two boys respectively and live in Calgary, AB, Catherine & Bill have three girls and live in Thornhill, ON & Michelle lives in Vancouver, BC. Counting Alan & I, that's 17 of us altogether!

We don't get together as often as we would like but we try to make it happen.

The four girls spent last weekend together in Vancouver but this picture was taken last fall. (Barb, Karen, Michelle & Cath). The latest, taken last weekend, is on my Facebook page...couldn't download it here. The two pictures of the grandchildren were taken last year and they have changed/grown up somewhat since then. The girls: Jeanne, Annie & Leslie and their parents are at Annie's Gr. 9 graduation. The boys: Donny, Jack, Fraser, Sam & Tom are delivering flyers.

We are very proud of all of them!

A picture is worth a thousand words, they say!

Here's a selection of some of the thousand pictures I've taken on the the trip...I exaggerate!!

The Dominion Observatory near Oliver, Soaring Eagle winery, Naramata and George & Alan going for a beautiful morning of golfing. More pictures on the sidebar.

Kingsley back in Home Port!

I have fallen behind with blog reports!

It has been a week since we left Summerland. Thursday, we traveled as far as Oyama (short trip) because one of the tires was heating up red hot. We had them checked at Kal Tire in Vernon the next day. Brakes needed adjusting but the bearings were in good shape. One hour up in the hoist, two tires off, brakes & bearings checked. No charge!! Gotta love that Kal Tire! That was our 49th anniversary present!

Friday night we stayed at a wooded camp by the road at Malakwa, BC. We followed a trail through the woods to the Eagle River the next morning. Everything is pretty deserted by now but it must be full of campers & hikers in the summer. Good steelhead fishing in the river.

Saturday, it was Golden, BC by the river and the CPR line. Lots of trains going by night & day. I love the sound of the trains. After Golden, Sunday morning we drove through to Lake Louise with a stop at Emerald Lake and on to Calgary.

We had a great trip home after seeing the family Sunday in Calgary. Everytime we see the five grandsons, they've grown another inch or two (Donny & Jack especially). The girls (Barb & Karen) arrived about suppertime from Vancouver and their weekend together with Catherine & Michelle, so we heard all their news. They packed a host of activities into a short couple of days. By Monday we were ready to head on home. We dropped in on our GMCer friends Carol Gray in Calgary and the Engmans in Olds on our way north. There were lots of big tandem trucks and pipe-carrying ones on the highway to Edmonton . The economy on the corrider is booming and Red Deer is expanding like crazy. Arrived in Edmonton about 4PM and the roads were all torn up with construction. The traffic was insane but we made it home and we're happy to be here. We will stay put for Thanksgiving in Edmonton. The coach drove like a dream!
We didn't move Kingsley around to the back 'til yesterday and Alan did all the unpacking. This afternoon he has drained the water system and blown out the pipes with his new compressor. What a guy! Today is Wednesday and he's back working at Rona! He just can't stay away.

Still lots of veggies and herbs in the garden waiting to be harvested but, our weather is changing. Winds and colder weather are coming.

Thanks for letting me share our travels with you and thanks for your comments! We hope to hit the road again in a couple of months and head waaay south to the warmth of Arizona & California. We just have to watch for a break in the weather and we will make our getaway with Kingsley!

Autumn in Summerland, BC

After a couple of lovely days in Penticton, we are camped out at the Nagle's in sunny Summerland. We were sorry to say good bye to the Parkers and our parking spot under the willow trees at the Park Royal in Penticton but it was just a very short drive north to our present spot.
Mary & I spent a couple of hours soaking up the warm rays of the sun and revelling in the fabulous view from their lawn while Alan & George went to hit a bucket of balls at the driving range. George put together his trademark 'deli chicken and kitchen sink salad' supper. Delicious! A little political forum on the CBC and we were ready for an early night. Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be just as nice as today's. We're still having fun!!

The Sunny Okanagan doesn't disappoint.

It's Sunday night and we have had a great few days enjoying autumn here in wine country. We were in Osoyoos at the N'kmip Resort Thursday & Friday nights. The last time we stayed there was exactly five years ago, shortly after we bought Kingsley and we were real greenhorns! Actually, we were quite terrified about the prospect of owning this antique coach and getting it to operate safely.At that first rally, our fellow GMCers helped us with parts and expertise and many of them have become our good friends.
We were parked next to the water and it was a perfect spot.
Friday we rode the bikes into town and on to several resorts. Many changes in the last five years.
Saturday, we toured the N'kmip winery and the adjacent condos. They have done a wonderful job designing and decorating them. Later on we headed north to Penticton and the Park Royal RV park where we have stayed before. It's a lovely spot right near the beachfront.
Sunday, a very long bike ride and then Caryl(Alan's sister) & Warwick drove us to Naramata for some wine tasting and wine buying! They joined us for dinner in the coach, our first dinner guests since the renovation. It has been a wonderful day, weather-wise, warm and sunny.
More tomorrow and pictures too!

The Bloomsday sculptures at Riverside Park, Spokane, WA

Here are the pictures of the art installation. Very inspiring!!!

From Idaho to Washington and north to BC!

Tuesday
I met a nice fellow named Mark in the hot tub last night. He lives in Phoenix but spends most of the summer in Post Falls at this place. He loves the RV park ($375.00/month)and says it is the best kept secret around! He is an independent contractor and is doing heavy duty aircraft maintenance on UPS planes nearby. His wife is an airline mechanic in Phoenix.. He came over after supper and had many interesting stories to tell. He has promised to send us some special oyster shooters??
Alan took the bike for a long ride today and we tested our walkie-talkies for range. They’re pretty good!

Wednesday
Left Post Falls around 11:00am headed towards Spokane. We wanted to see Riverside Park which we hear about all the time on PBS (Friends of Seven). There was no place for a motorhome to park anywhere nearby so I asked a fellow on a riding lawnmower for directions. He said “follow me” and led us down a side road to the Gonzaga University Parking Authority where we purchased an all day pass for $2.17! Our new friend, Brian, then led us to the perfect parking spot fifty feet from the Centennial Trail in the park. We rode our bikes right into the centre of Spokane. The trail passes through beautiful gardens, sculptures and major attractions such as a carousel and gondola over the Spokane river falls . This is also the site of the Annual Bloomsday Race. Spokane turns out in huge numbers for this event.
We went shopping at River Park Square and stopped for coffee and fabulous fries with blue cheese dressing at the Sawback Grill. We spent about five hours looking around before we returned to Kingsley and set out again. We drove 45 miles north to Deer Park and the Spokane RV Resort http://www.spokanervresort.com/
Thursday
This is a wonderful spot on the edge of a golf course. The air is so fresh! Alan hit a bucket of balls and we checked out some good real estate opportunities in the area. On the road again and we headed north on #395 and west on WA #20 to #97 to the border and Osoyoos, BC. So, tonight we are at Nk'nip RV Resort where we were last here five years ago with our newly acquired Kingsley. A tiring day for Alan on the windy road rising to 5500 miles above sea level....lots of up and downs and turns on the road to the border.

Catching up

I’m sitting in the driver’s seat of Kingsley trying to catch up with the events of the last few days. We have been so busy with minor crises and irritations that there was no time to write! All problems have been resolved for now.

Going back to Thursday, mostly everyone from the rally (two busloads) went to the Rockin’B Ranch and enjoyed a shoot-out & melodrama outside followed by a wonderful barbeque dinner and a terrific wild west show inside the barn. This included a great fiddle player who had placed third in the national fiddling competition this year. Lots of fun!

Friday was a beautiful hot day. We had a shuttle bus provided by a new condo resort in CDA so we took it to the waterfront and saw the Wooden Boat Show. It was awesome…about 150 lovingly restored Chris Crafts & Century yachts from the ‘20s thru to the ‘70s. Took us back to our youth seeing all these great old boats. It was a perfect weekend for the show. After, we had a tour of the new condo development, Village at Riverstone http://www.riverstonecda.com/ Very swish!

Saturday, most of the coaches packed up and headed for home. Carol, Jean & I drove in Ole Yeller north to Sandpoint to shop and have lunch. The fellows went in Bernie’s coach to look at boats and motorcycles. Bernie’s in the market for a new boat (he has two-foot-itis)! There were six GMCs that stayed over Sat. night at the park.

Sunday, about noon, the three other coaches left the park heading for Kalispell and north to Calgary/Edmonton. We had a great time with our buddies and lots of good memories from the trip and the week at the rally.
We left shortly after heading back to Costco in the pouring rain and then traveling west to Post Falls where we encamped at the Walmart for the night. This morning it was back to CDA to get our exhaust pipe welded back in place and the tires checked. It was pouring with rain so we went back down the road to an RV park which is next to Walmart where we are tonight. The sun came out for a while so we took all our wet things out of the coach to dry while we tackled the latest water leak in the coach. It is never ending! Anyway, this is a really nice park where we are. It has a swimming pool, jaccuzzi and a huge clubhouse with a stone fireplace. I talked to the doctor in Edmonton today and he says the X-Rays show that I have osteoporosis in both wrists but not necessary to rush home...just carry on with the penicillin, etc. so we will stay away for a while yet. The finger is a little bit better today.

Monday, we went back to CDA to have the exhaust pipe secured. It came loose in the mid-section and needed to be welded. We also wanted to get the tires checked at Les Schwab as we bought them at their outlet in Santa Rosa this past spring. Back to Post Falls and checked in to the Coeur d’Alene RV Park so we could dry all our stuff out and tackle the latest leak in the water system. We tore the bedroom section apart and found a short section of hose with two jets of water coming out every time we turned the pump on! We are pretty sure it was mice cause we had one or two visit us during the rally. Two little teeth marks. Alan replaced the hose and we put everything back together. So we are dry inside and out now! It’s so nice that we are staying tomorrow too. We haven't traveled very far.
We are not sure where we’ll go from here but, we will keep you posted. Bye for now. Janet

Hot & Sunny Daze!

We are having a very good time and enjoying this unseasonably hot, sunny weather here in Idaho. The last gasp of summer.

Alan & I have been out walking with the morning people every day. We usually go for 2.5 miles and there are 15 or 20 each time. The air is so fresh at 7:15 am! Then there's a huge breakfast including bacon & eggs to follow @ 8:30. Alan is playing golf today with a couple from Billings, MT and another 'older' fellow( late 70s). Hope they are staying cool.

Tonight we are all going to Rockin' B Ranch Dinner & Show.

Yesterday after a seminar on electronic fuel injection and it's merits, Alan spent the afternoon on the ground with his head under the side of our Kingsley, installing the new door step. A very tricky job when you can't elevate the coach or drive it over a pit! He did it and we are really enjoying the fruits of his labours!

I am still coping with my infected right index finger and it has slowed me down considerably. I started on penicillin a week ago and it seems to be working but I'm afraid it will be a while before it is completely healed. I have osteo-arthritis and this is an infection in the ganglion ...it is also painful.

Hope this great weather lasts. Talk to you all soon.....Janet

Blackwell Island RV Park

Here's Alan & Carol at one of our pit-stops enroute.

We left Sandpoint and made the short trip down the highway to Coeur d'Alene and to the rally site just south of town, arriving at 1:00 pm. What a sight to see all the coaches in one place! Right away we ran into friends from previous events. Everyone was happy to have arrived in one piece!

Dinner was catered and excellent.

In the early morning a group of about 20 met at 7:15 for exercises and a brisk walk around the area. It was a beautiful morning and a good start to the day which turned out to be hot and sunny. It's nice to settle in one place for a few days. We are going to take advantage of these last few days of summery weather!

Travels south to the GMC rally in Coeur d'Alene

Friday, Sept 12th
After final packing and all the household preparations were done, we left home in Kingsley at 12 noon. We gassed up on our way out of town (south) @ $1.21.9/litre just ahead of the massive increase of about $.14/litre throughout the city due to Tropical storm Ike. We only put in about $100.00 worth. Drove straight south to Olds, AB and the Engmans. Bernie Bartko came later and the five of us had a good visit that evening and the next morning. We watched a great DVD of Bernie & Norm on their fishing trip to Kitimat. Joan Engman had knee surgery a week ago so they are unable to attend the rally in Coeur d’Alene.

Saturday, Sept 13th
We left Olds in the morning after getting more gas @ $1.27.9/litre and drove south to Nanton, by-passing Calgary. There we had a rendezvous with the rest of our little convoy: Carol Gray, Jean & Dick Lyne, Bernie, Alan & me. Everyone was raring to go and it was a perfect day for the journey. We headed west from Nanton to highway 22, south to the Crowsnest and west along #3. We arrived in Cranbrook and spent the night at the Mt. Baker RV park.

Sunday, Sept 14th

We departed Cranbrook about 11:00am PDT after Bernie made some repairs to Carol's 'Ol Yeler'. The gas when we all filled up was $1.33.9. We crossed the border about an hour later. Gas prices...$3.59 to $3.79/US gallon...much cheaper than at home! We drove to Sandpoint, a very pretty little resort/tourist town. All four of our coaches were lined up just off the main street and looked very smart together! Dinner at a cozy micro brewery/bistro and then we backtracked north on the highway to the local Walmart Supercentre for the night. A beautiful moon in the clear sky tonight.

The Finished (?) Product!

Is a GMC ever truly all done? Everyone who owns one of these classic wonders knows that it will always be 'a-work-in-progress'.

Alan & I worked on Kingsley all summer. It was challenging but...a lot of fun. The interior layout is re-configured, the flooring is all new, the plumbing now works and we should be much warmer/cooler with all that new insulation in the walls!

Today, we have to fix the pass. side rear signal light. I think it's a loose wire connection but, it's hard to get to. Just another challenge on the way to perfection!

More to follow.....Janet

Hi Everyone:
We are off and running again with the new and improved "Kingsley"! I do apologize for promising lots of postings throughout the renovation project. I failed to make any posting...guess I was just too busy or tired! My last posting was way back in July when we were still immersed in the reno and now here we are in September and looking forward to a trip to Coeur d'Alene next weekend for a GMC rally. There will be four GMCs travelling south together....safety in numbers.
Just about everything is done in the coach now and it sure does look pretty! It took a while but it has been so worth it. We had it in yesterday for a lube job....first time out on the road since last May and it ran well. Kingsley is raring to go!
It has been a really nice summer here in Edmonton, the Festival City. We managed to attend Shakespeare in the Park, Heritage Days, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival(my favourite) & the Fringe Theatre Festival and that was only a fraction of what is offered here each summer !
Tomorrow, I start putting everything we took out, back in the coach along with our clothes, groceries and other supplies. We have lots of new storage and I want to use it wisely. We will leave Thursday or Friday for Calgary where we meet up with Jean & Dick Lyne, Bernie Bartko & Carol Gray. We will all be parked on Carol's driveway in Calgary 'til Saturday when we head for the border. I will keep you posted!!
Janet

Kingsley gets a makeover!

Welcome back to my blog! It's been almost two months since the last posting and several friends & family have been asking me what's new. Our nine weeks on the road were really terrific. We covered a lot of territory and met many old and new friends along the way. We left on Good Friday and returned home May 22nd(63 days on the road). Kingsley went 3054 miles/4886 Km. without mishap.

After all that time in close quarters we could see several improvements we could do to make the coach more comfortable in the future. We came up with a list:

1. Get rid of the orange shag carpet!! (31 years of dirt, food spills, dog hair, etc.)

2. Re-arrange the furniture to make the living area more spacious.

3. Find the leaks in the plumbing and repair. (really bad constant flow of clean water from an elbow joint behind the toilet).

4. Stain & refinish the kitchen cabinet doors (faded and scuffed over time and no longer matching the upper storage doors)

5. Replace rotten particle wood & paneling where needed.

6. Build in a new couch up front to replace the dinette/bed.

7. Insulate wherever possible

We started on the project about a month ago and we are nearly done! The shag is long gone, all the furniture is out, new carpetting installed in the cockpit, cork laminate 3/4 done, toilet out and back in and all leaks found and fixed, foil & bubble pak insulation and new panelling installed, furniture cleaned & some of the cabinet doors redone. Another week and we should be done. It has been a real learning curve but we are very pleased with the results.

Our next adventure will be a trip to Coeur d'Alene for a GMC Cascaders/Western States rally in September. We hope to extend the trip to 4 or 5 weeks on the road. I have been taking pictures as we have progressed with the reno and will be posting them too.

Meanwhile, we are enjoying a lovely Edmonton summer with long days and lush gardens. The raspberries in the side garden have ripened and should be good for the next three weeks or so. Life is good!

The Journeys End...back home safe and sound!

We spent Monday and Tuesday night in Summerland. It was wonderful to see our old friends again. We helped them to celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary Tuesday. Wednesday we headed north through the Okanagan while the Nagles headed to Whistler and then the island for the celebration of the life of our friend Bruce Atkinson this Sunday.

We stopped for the night at Blue River, BC on the Yellowhead Highway. It was a very rustic spot in the trees for our last night on the road.



Thursday, May 22nd

Homeward bound! We left Blue River after a big breakfast. The sun is trying hard to shine. All the rivers and creeks (Fraser, Similkameen and the Thompson) along our route since we left the coast are swollen and close to flooding over their banks and there's still lots of snow to melt along the Hope-Princeton and in this part of the country, too. The last part of the trip from Jasper in to Edmonton seemed to take forever.

Well, we made it after exactly nine weeks on the road with the trusty workhorse, Kingsley! We rolled up to the front door in a rainstorm (what else!) at about 7:00pm. The house and the garden look great...lots to do in the yard but we're looking forward to getting our hands dirty.

Back in the Okanagan

Monday, May 19th

Left about 10:00am for Chilliwack and the Hope-Princeton highway to the Okanagan. We arrived in Summerland and our friends, George & Mary Nagle's place. The highway was not too busy going east (everyone was heading west at the end of the long weekend ) but the driving was stressful...lots of climbing and high elevation. We used lots of gasoline!

On the road again

Sunday, May 18th

Today we packed up and drove Kingsley to Daphne & Derek's place for lunch and the gifts opening.

We were sorry to leave our great spot by the water at West Bay and all the wonderful happenings in the harbour. I will really miss seeing those great cruise ships, especially my favourite, the Celebrity Infiniti, which I went to Alaska on in 2004.

We set out for Schwartz Bay and the 5:00pm ferry to the mainland and then drove to Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley and the Walmart parking lot. All the RV parks were full because of the May long weekend. It was a quiet and secure spot to stay.

Tim & Sarah are married!

Saturday, May 17th

Today is the wedding of Tim and Sarah(Alan's great-niece). The ceremony at St. Marys Anglican church in Oak Bay, was followed by wedding and family pictures at Government House grounds. The reception took place at the Officer's Mess at the Esquimalt Naval Base. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. Everyone had a great time. It truly was a day to remember!

More fun in Victoria the beautiful!

Friday, May 16th

Today we just relaxed and enjoyed the spot where we are staying. In the evening everyone gathered to celebrate some birthdays: Warwick's 75th, Alan's 76th, Harry's 85th and Michelle's 31st. Family members arrived thru the evening: Barb, Michelle, Sam & Tom from Vancouver, Karen from Calgary, Christine, Michael & the children from Ontario and Steve and Nancy from Port Angeles. The wedding party came over after the rehearsal. It was great to see everyone together.

Getting our exercise in Victoria

Thursday, May 15th

Took the little harbour ferry to the Empress Hotel dock. We did some shopping at the Bay and then started walking along the waterfront over the Johnston Street bridge and on to the Westsong Trail back toward West Bay. About half way there we stopped at Spinnakers where we sampled the beer and cheese pairings and had chocolate truffles with selected beers, too. An amazing food experience and a nice break during a long walk. The view was exceptional.

In the evening we went for Chinese food at the Sampan in Saanich. There were 17 of us ...all related! More relatives arriving tomorrow for the wedding on Saturday.

Catching up with travels on Vancouver Island

Wednesday, May 14th
We went back to the Duncan RV park last night 'cause it was a comfortable spot and convenient too. We worked our way down to Victoria and the West Bay Marina RV park. Our camping spot is fantastic! We're right on the water facing the harbour and all the action: seaplanes, little harbour ferries, big car ferries, catamarans, helicopters, sailboats, kayaks and (most impressive) cruise ships, up to three a day at the entrance to the harbour(see the pics).
Daphne & Jennifer picked me up and we went to a bridal shower for Sarah at Cheryl's(Daphne & Cheryl are our nieces; Jennifer & Sarah, great-nieces). We had a great time.

Tuesday, May 13th
Awoke to a rainy drizzle and set off for Cobble Hill and a visit with Shirley Atkinson, long time friend and VGH classmate, who lost her husband, Bruce, in March. It was great for Alan & I to spend some time with her and get caught up. Shirley is having a celebration of Bruce’s life on the 25th.
After we left Shirley’s we went to Cowichan Bay and spent an hour or so in a new gallery/espresso bar on the waterfront. I had a latte and we bought some of the artwork. We met Fran Allen, a GMC friend, who recently also lost her husband. The three of us went for steaks at a pub overlooking the pier and the bay. Fran is having a rough time dealing with the loss of Denny. It was only three months ago that he passed away and we along with all the GMC community miss him so much.

Monday, May 12th
Our GMC friend, Gordon S. (Gordon & the ‘Tin Gerbil’) came by on his way to picking up a 2nd GMC. This one has quite a history! There have been lots of mechanical upgrades and $$$s spent on it but, it has been used as a dog kennel for some time so, the interior is in ruins. He plans on salvaging everything that is usable and using some parts in the ‘Tin Gerbil’.
After Gordon left, we headed south stopping at Chemainus for several hours to see the famous murals on the buildings. It’s a great place to wander around in. Tonight we stayed at the Duncan RV Park(in Duncan, BC).

Sunday, May 11th
We woke up in the Living Forest RV Park, a lovely natural forested campsite. We explored the place and moved to another site with a fabulous view…we had our choice of spots as the camp was virtually empty…and we stayed for a second night. Alan cooked a nice Mother’s Day supper for me.

On Vancouver Island

Friday, we went to Ladner and then south to Point Roberts, WA. There were long waits both ways at the border. It was a nostalgia trip for us. We lived in this area for several years in the sixties and we wanted to check it out. Lots and lots of changes. We spotted another GMC in Ladner and met the owner, Ken Fraser.

Saturday, we drove Kingsley in to Oakridge Shopping Centre in Vancouver, met up with our youngest daughter, Michelle and saw her new place in the west-end. She had her greyhound (and our grand-dog), Zephyr with her. What a great dog! We went to Granville Island Market to shop and sightsee. Michelle drove us back and we left for the ferry to Nanaimo. We arrived on the Island @ 10:15pm and proceeded to find the campground in the dark. Dicey trip but, we made it and were real happy to wake up here Sunday morning. The weather continues to be consistent.....RAIN!!!! Staying here tonight, too.

Hanging out in White Rock

Well, this is day 8 in this place! It has been fun settling in and not travelling too far. Everyday we have ridden the bikes to the beach or to the town centre so we are getting lots of exercise and fresh air. We met up with Dwayne & Sharon Jacobson and David Carter, GMC Cascaders club members. Dwayne has been incredibly generous with his time and resources. They have a restaurant, The Roadhouse, where we have had a couple of breakfasts and a dinner, so far. I heartily recommend the place for great food and service!
We met an interesting fellow, George Marriot, at the Parklander. He is interested in the GMCs so we introduced him to Dwayne & David. We hope he will be one of us one day (a GMC owner)!
Yesterday George, Alan & I went to Carterville, David's acreage, to meet him. He gave us a grand tour of his spread, his GMC 23', and his wonderful collection of vehicles, original & restored. He also has an amazing miniature railway that meanders all around the house and garden as the pictures will testify.
Well Sam, in answer to your earlier comment....... yes, we are still having fun!

Saturday, May 3rd

We left White Rock at 10 am headed into Burnaby and the cemetery where my parents are both buried. Today is my mother, Hildegarde’s, 100th birthday anniversary. She was born May 3, 1908 in Peterborough, ON, the sixth child in the Langfeldt family. I am glad to be in the vicinity on this day and be able to be there….so many years since they passed away (56 for my Dad & 49 for my Mum).
After that, Alan dropped me off at Shirley North’s place for the first VGH 50th Reunion planning meeting….lucky for me to be in town for that, too! There were seven of us: Glenda Porter, Eileen Depeel, Kaso Thune, Joan Howey, Elaine Kelley, Shirley & myself. The reunion will be exactly one year from now and includes a special Tea in our honour given by the VGH Alumnae. The organizing committee are off to a good start and three of the gals are traveling to Harrison this week to do some negotiating. Lots of news will follow from the committee.
It was kind of a stressful day for Kingsley and the driver (Alan) what with all the traffic, potholes in the road and strange territory for us. The coach prefers the highway driving. We were very happy to make it back to our camping spot safe & sound! We will stay put for the next couple of days…lots to do around here.

Friday, May 2nd

We walked all the way into the centre of White Rock (5 km uphill to get there & 5 km downhill to get back) toting the laptop in the backpack and hoping to find a WiFi Hotspot. We found the library and ended up using their computer instead. It was quite a workout for us two oldies!

In White Rock, BC

Crossed the border mid-day after a night at Birch Bay, WA and didn't travel far. We came to White Rock and settled in to a spot in a RV park with mostly permanent dwellers. Nice friendly folks and pretty reasonable price for the Lower Mainland. We may stay for a few days. Only problem...no WiFi so we are at the library right now and have to look for some hotspots. Everything is uphill from where we are staying...a hilly town. We rode the bikes down to the beach yesterday and got a good workout and with the walk today, we're keeping fit.
I will have to wait until I can use my own laptop before I post pictures from the last couple of days. More to come, Janet.

Fidalgo Bay in Anacortes, WA

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Spent most of the day in Anacortes, a lovely town. We checked out a couple of RV parks and decided on an open spot (as apposed to the dark woods) on the water in Fidalgo Bay The sun shone long enough to warm us up in the late afternoon .

Monday, April 28, 2008
North through Olympia on I-5 thru Tacoma then Seattle to Lynnwood and on to Mukilteo and the ferry to Whidbey Island. Nice short ferry trip. On the island, we traveled N. to Freeland, where I called my friend, Joanne, a classmate from my class of '59 VGH school of nursing. Joanne has lived here for many year and it has been many years since I last saw her. We went to Magee High School together then we both went into nursing at VGH. We had so many great times together in training because.....Joanne had a car! Lots of memorable trips to the White Spot & to Seattle overnight when we were supposed to be in residence. I remember changing into our uniforms at the border at 5:30 am so we could go straight to breakfast and to work the next day! Those were wild & crazy times!
We had a wonderful visit with Joanne at her place..... beautiful setting and a spectacular view of the water.
Further north to Deception Pass State Park where we got lost finding a spot to camp for the night. We must try harder to arrive before nightfall!
It was nice being in the woods. Tomorrow is the last day in April. 39 days on the road, so far!

Mt. St, Helen's

Sunday, April 27, 2006

Seaquest State Park was so great and after we spent a little time there in the morning, we crossed the road to the Interpretive Center. What an amazing job they have have done telling the story of Mt. St Helen's and the events around May 18, 1980. We spent a couple of hours there then back on the road to Tumwater, a sister city to Olympia, the capital of WA. We stayed at the Olympia RV Park where it was so damp that the buildings all looked like 'soddy' huts!!

More great places.....Saturday, April 26, 2008

Saturday, April 26, 2008

We woke up in the Walmart Supercenter in Troutdale, OR. and left about 10 am heading east for Multnomah Falls. What a glorious sight!

We spent about 45 minutes there then headed back into Portland and the Lloyd Center where we hopped on the MAX(light rapid transit) for downtown. What a great transit system they have here in Portland! So handy & convenient (and free)! We made our way to the Multnomah Athletic Club and were treated to a tour by the manager. This will be the site for the 2009 World Handball Championships in October of next year. A truly amazing facility!
After wandering about downtown, we ended up at the Portland Saturday Market, a regular circus of fast-food and humanity! It was overwhelming to say the least and we barely made it on to the MAX and back to the place where Kingsley was waiting for us.

We left Portland heading north about 4:30 pm and are staying at the Seacrest State Park right across from the Mt. St. Helen’s Interpretative Center. The air is divine!! We are very comfortable tonight!......Janet

All the best spots to see in Oregon

Thursday, April 24th
We really enjoyed our stay at the RV Park in Tillamook. It was kitty-corner from the Tillamook Cheese Factory so we walked over there in the morning and had the tour. It is a very well run company and a real tourist mecca! Everything first class. Besides the cheese products, they make the very best ice cream so we sampled some before we left.
Next we went to the Tillamook Air Museum housed in one of two WWII blimp hangars built just after Pearl Harbor was attacked. The second hangar burned to the ground in a spectacular blaze in 1992. We saw these hangars in 1959 when we were here on our honeymoon. I took lots of pictures of the planes for Donny, our Air Cadet grandson. On our way east from Tillamook to Portland, we saw lots of fresh snow in the Cascade Mountains. Still waiting for spring!

Friday, April 25th

We met up with my cousin, Dorothy, today. Her father, Alan Langfeldt, is my mother’s brother. We met once before in 1960 when we traveled through the northern states from Vancouver to Minneapolis but have not seen each other since. We parked Kingsley at the Lloyd Center in Portland and took free transportation downtown. Dorothy showed us around and treated us to a late lunch/happy hour at one of her favorite places. The three of us had such a great time. We were sorry to have to say goodbye. Thanks Dorothy for a lovely afternoon! Hope we can reciprocate real soon!
We ended up in Troutdale at the Walmart for the night….very comfortable!

Tillamook County and the cheese centre of the western world.

We left Newport today in the same rain situation as we arrived two days ago. What a shame to have all this rain as it is such a beautiful place with so much to do when conditions are right! The rain never let up on our trek north to Tillamook. We took the scenic route towards the coast and ended up at Cape Lookout...very desolate and very wild! I took some pics but nearly got blown into a tree in the process!
We heard from Alan's niece , Nancy, today and she has been following this blog. She asked" When does the R & R (rest & relaxation) start"? Well, R & R for us seems to stand for Rough & Ready!!
We will heed her words, though....we need to incorporate a little more of that rest & relaxation into our regime!
That's all for tonight.....J.

In Soggy Newport!

Well. it is really socked in now. I can't believe the magnitude of this rainfall! Now I know we are lucky that it's only rain and not snow, sleet & hail but it sure is depressing. It seems magnified as it pounds away on the roof of our Kingsley. We were watching the results of the big primary in Pennsylvania and the pundits and media folks have been saying the same thing over and over for the past many hours, ad nauseum. We finally turned that off but there is precious little on our cable TV worth watching.
We really enjoyed our time at the Aquarium this afternoon. It's a wonderful place and the exhibits are fascinating. I took a lot of pics....some didn't work out well because the fish were moving too fast for my camera! I did get some good ones though and have posted them to the blog.
Nothing left to do but turn in for the day. Tomorrow is another(drier?) day. TTFN!

At the Marina in Newport, OR

We arrived here yesterday afternoon and went to the Aquarium. We decided to wait until today to go through as it will take several hours to do it right. We are camped out on the docks in a lovely new RV park with excellent facitities.
Yesterday we toured the famous Sea Lion Caves. We traveled 208' down in an elevator and into a grotto where the Sea Lions were everywhere(see pictures). It was dark and quite stinky but fascinating!
I also got some great pictures of the ocean surf at a place called Yachats where Alan & I remembered staying on the honeymoon in October 1959.
Still raining here and snowing higher up the coast. Oh well, we can't do anything about Mother Nature!
We are off to the Oregon State Aquarium just minutes away from here. More later...J

RAIN, RAIN...GO AWAY!!

Yesterday, we spent some time with Rosemary Wheeler and son Cory before we left Charleston. Sorry we missed Jerry but he was in N.C. We had a tour of the garage and saw their two GMCs. It was great talking about the coaches and other stuff with them.
Back on the road north with several stops along highway 101. Very rugged and beautiful. Stopped at Honeyman State Park and the amazing sand dunes there. We remembered it from our honeymoon when there wasn't a park there... only the dunes. We climbed to the to the top of the dunes without being short of breath and Alan's leg was up to the task. All is well with the leg now.
We stopped for the night at Florence and are parked in the harbour at a RV park in the old town centre. It rained most of the night, a nice sound when you're inside and warmly ensconced in bed. However, the roof fan over the bed started to leak after awhile and we had to pull a tarp over the bed. Not a big deal.
Rain is forcast for the next three day all the way up the coast. We will head up the coast to Tillamook today. I'm glad I packed the umbrella.....Janet

On the Pacific Ocean at Charleston, OR

We stayed last night on the very edge of a sand dune with the raging seas within earshot. The roar of the ocean was a constant throughout the night. There was a full moon, when we could see it but, lots of wind and clouds passing over. We awoke to hail and heavy rain but bundled up and walked along the beach anyway. We have the furnace or the Braun heater on all the time. The Braun is 47 years old and still going strong! Charleston is an original fishing village west of Coos Bay/North Bend....good clamming and whale watching. The Oceanview RV park has everything(very impressive) @ $20.00/night. Life is good!

Now we are in Oregon.

We are 5 miles into Oregon now and just getting ready to leave our campground by the river ('At River's Edge', Brookings,OR) and we are heading up the coast on 101. Weather is cool and windy but nothing like what's happening at home and in BC! Wow, when is spring due to come?....just too much winter and for too long! I posted some more pictures from the last two days and will post again tonight if I have a connection. Love to all, Janet

Wednesday, April 16th
I set the alarm to wake up early this morning because Donny from Jim’s shop was going to do some final touches and we would be on our way. Well, I never had a chance to get out of my pjs before he arrived and commandeered the coach @ 7:55 am! Four hours later they were finally finished, had taken it for a test drive and we were ready to go, after we paid the bill! We headed north to Santa Rosa (again) where we gassed up at Costco($3.79/gallon), $.20 more than a week ago! We went to Costco and Trader Joe’s for a few provisions and back on to Ca. Hwy. 101 headed north and stopped near Cloverdale at Dutcher’s Creek RV Park, a lovely spot up in the trees but close to the highway. The motorhome is handling really well with new shocks and a
new exhaust system. We are headed for Eureka tomorrow…..Janet
Thursday, April 17th
We slept like a log in this gorgeous place....cleaned up the coach and did the laundry and left about 1:30pm. The trip north on 101 was exhilarating....up, down, left, right, however, it was no match for the new, improved Kingsley!! We called it a day @ 6:00pm at the Redwoods RV Park on 'The Avenue of the Giants' and we are having Salmon, baked potatoes, leeks and asparagus for dinner. What more could we ask for! Pics to follow.....love Janet

Our last day with the Langfeldt's in Pleasanton

I went for a nice early morning walk with Caroline in the foggy weather this morning. What a difference a day makes! Yesterday was such perfect weather for our road trip down the coast and then the fog rolled inland. After we got back, Caroline and I drove to Livermore where she teaches a class of latino mothers english twice a week. There were 8 women in the class and a resource person fluent in both english & spanish. I speak no spanish and they speak very little english but, they gave me a very warm welcome. Caroline is a terrific teacher and she loves working with these moms and watching them grow in confidence as they learn. On the way home we stopped at the new library in Livermore...a beautiful, modern facility with lots of programs.
In the afternoon, John drove us over to Trader Joe's where we took advantage of the 'Two-Buck Chuck' several times! What a treat to shop there! Thank goodness they have stores all up the coast on the way to the border with BC. Alan & I have had such a good time with our Langfeldt cousins. They certainly went out of their way to make us feel at home. Thank you, guys! We will definitely be staying in touch.
After a delicious London Broil dinner at the Langfeldt's, we bid them farewell and left in Kingsley. We drove south to Fremont and our friend Jim's shop where we are settled in for the night in his very crowded parking area. Some of our friends from the rally in Santa Rosa are here too. We have power, we are warm and comfortable and we have an internet connection.....So long for now,,,,,Janet

A very pleasant time in Pleasanton, CA!

We stayed Thrsday night in Fremont at Jim's place He provided us with power, internet connection and accessto the washroom facilities overnight. He won't be able to the work on the exhaust system 'til Tuesday am so we left Friday afternoon for Pleasanton and stayed at the Fairgrounds RV park Friday night.
Today is Saturday, April 12, 2008 and it is our daughter's 31st birthday! Happy Birthday, Michelle...have a great one.
We rode the bikes over to my cousin John's place It was great to see John and his wife, Caroline again after five years. Kingsley fits nicely on the street in front of their house. John & Caroline took us over to Alameda, a suburb of San Francisco, to meet their daughter Cathy, her husband, Bob & their toddler, Keira. They live in a really interesting older neighbourhood in a great house they are fixing up themselves. Later back in Pleasanton, we had a good time over dinner outside on their patio and a good sleep inside the house for a change.
Today is Sunday and the four of us drove to the Monterey peninsula, Pebble Beach and Carmel. We explored Fishermans Wharf at Monterey and had lunch by the water. We travelled along 17 mile road ending up at the legendary Pebble Beach Golf Club. After that we went to Carmel spending some time window shopping. It was a perfect day weather-wise and we thoroughly enjoyed being by the sea. Pictures to follow!

At Jim Kanamoto's Shop

We travelled to Jim's place in Fremont, CA and he has GMC coaches everywhere! They all came after the rally and we thought by now most of them would be gone. We have camped for the night along with a fellow from San Antonio, TX and a guy with a motorcycle (and a coach) not sure where he's from. Jim is so generous. He has provided us with power, water & internet connection and left the shop unlocked so we can use the washrooms. We will have to decide tomorrow whether to wait 'til next week to have some work done or just buy some supplies and take them with us. In any case, we are having a good time and meeting interesting folks. Tomorrow we may go to San Jose.....So long from Fremont where it's nice and warm and the air smells good! Janet

We are now in Vallejo

We left Bodego Bay heading north on a different route back to SR Wednesday morning. Another coach rattling experience up and down a twisting roadway. So glad we came to this place...it's so beautiful and rugged.
Hooray! The package arrived from Jim Kanamoto in Fremont and they can go ahead and install our new front wheels & tires. They look so classy!
Next we drove to Sonoma, parked on the historic square and checked out all the shops. It hasn't changed much since the last time we were here in October 1997. Still great. We toured the Sebastiana Winery & Cellars and continued on to Vallejo for the night. Here are just a few of our pictures......Janet

Still no tires...UPS failed to deliver!

We checked out of the campground...again! We were the last of the 200 coaches to leave as we headed to the tire place. The tire valves did not arrive because they had the wrong zip code on the order. The package went to Petaluma instead and is supposed to be there tomorrow, they say. So we headed to the ocean, Bodega Bay via Sebastopol, about an hours drive. Very beautiful windy road to the coast. Bodega Bay is famous as the place where Hitchcock' film, 'The Birds' was made.
We are camped on the water by a marina and the view is great. I haven't downloaded the fabulous pictures of the ocean I took today so, will post them tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed that the package will arrive tomorrow. We are still having fun!
So long for now....J.

Spoke too soon...we are still in Santa Rosa!

We packed up this morning and left the campground bound for the tire store. They started to install our new front tires and found that we didn't have the proper valve stems for our tires/wheels. Our friend, Jim Kanomata, who we bought the wheels from, is sending them via UPS for tomorrow.
So, we are here for another day! We went shopping to Trader Joe's where we found a nice bottle of merlot for $6.00 and a 2nd bottle for $.10. It has been a mellow day and we are enjoying steak, baked potatoes & fresh tomatoes in our little house away from home....and the merlot!!
Love Janet & Alan....more tomorrow.

Last night in Santa Rosa

Well, I'm still up and wrapped in a quilt. It sure gets cold at night here. We went shopping at Costco & Trader Joe's this afternoon. Gas is $3.59 @ Costco and that's the cheapest price around. Trader Joe's is a great place to shop: great liquor and food prices & selection and excellent customer service. They have stores right up the coast to the border.
Our friend, Bernie, flew back to Edmonton on Friday for the funeral of a family member. He arrived back here about 3pm this afternoon and retreived his coach. It was quite a trip with delayed flights due to weather. Snow in Edmonton and fog in San Francisco. He and our friends, Norm & Joan, left for home at 4pm. We'll miss them. Now the place is almost deserted with only four coaches left here. I am freezing so I'm off to bed!! Tomorrow is another day.......Janet

The GMCMI rally is over

The rally officially ended at noon on Saturday and we moved from the Mexican Village to the campground. There were 14 coaches here last night and most have left this morning. We will stay here tonight and get our new tires in town tomorrow. We bought two new Eagle aluminum wheels earlier in the week.

Friday night we played Bingo followed by the last of three Ice Cream Socials. I won $25.00(rare for me to win at bingo). The ice cream topped with hot fudge and chopped pecans was decadent!

We have made many new friends and plan to visit some on our way back home

Cool weather in Northern California

We haven't worn our shorts yet on this trip...it is still very cool most of the day here in Santa Rosa. I've been too busy to keep up with the blog so...here goes!
Alan's ankle is getting better each day; still swollen and stiff but all the bruising is gone and the crack in the fibula is not bothering him.
We bought some Eagle aluminum wheels here at the rally and went tire shopping in town. There are over 375 people here from all over N. America and one from Australia(he has 2 GMCs, one in Australia and another just purchased and in Florida-he's coachless at the rally). He says he hasn't told his wife about the second one yet! Brave man!
I am helping with breakfast and alternate days , walking and exercising at 7am. I wear gloves and my ski jacket to stay warm. Yesterday we went to a Farmers Market a short walk under the highway from here. Beautiful produce and crafts. On Sat we will go again as it will be 3 times bigger and there's a booth where they sell gluten-free goods....I've run out of bread.
The food here is so good. Several catered meals and last night, a pot-luck with the Cascaders club(Pacific Northwest area).
Tues. & Thurs. afternoons are Open House days where we can check out all the amazing renos people have done to their coaches. I took pics of a few interiors to show you.
Please leave us a comment when you read the blog. We would love to hear from you.
That's all for now......Janet

Quinceanera Party in Santa Rosa

Well, we have just returned from the first of several ice cream socials being held at the rally. Decadent!! We made a stop at the party in progress. My new best friend is the security guard, one of two hired for the party. It's unbelievable and so colourful!
Definition from google search: "The quinceanera party, with its throng of family and friends, shines a happy light on the 15-year-old Latina as she moves from childhood to womanhood".
The security guard is latino and a single Mum of several daughters who spent $15,000. on a quinceanero party for two of her daughters, 15 & 18, a couple of years ago. She said this family spent over $20,000. on this party! It's bigger than a wedding and very common in the latino community. It is almost 10:30pm here and the party started at 4:00pm. The music and dancing are still going on. I took a couple of pictures but they don't really do it justice.
Love to all, Janet

Saturday at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds

We're taking it easy today. The rally starts officially tomorrow but, there are already more than 120 coaches here. We are seeing lots of familiar faces from the last two we attended. I have posted some more road pictures. We love the handicapped spot they gave us...right next to all the action. Tonight there is a fabulous latino coming-out party for a 15 year old girl happening next to us. Lavish decor, food & music. The guests are 'dressed to the nines' I will get pics.
More tomorrow.....Janet

Every kind of weather on the road to Santa Rosa

Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Bernie drove up at 10:30 am having left Coeur‘dAlene early this am. We added water to both coaches as it was lovely and warm in Pasco and we thought we were safe to do so. The weather and the highways were great and we drove to Bend, OR where we stayed at Walmart. Shortly after arriving, it started snowing like crazy and the temp.dropped to freezing. By morning it was -7C and our furnace stopped working thru the night….warm under the covers but we could sure see our breath! Bernie had a warm coach so we sat there ‘til we thawed. The road as we took off was iced up and it was snowing. At least the sun is shining.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
What a day this has been! We set off at about 8:30 am from Bend heading south on Hwy. 97. The roads were awful and Bernie (in the lead) was desperately looking for a way to burn a U-ey and go back to the Walmart because the road was so treacherous! We made it down the road about 30 miles and stopped for breakfast @ Cindy’s in LaPine. That felt better. Then we continued on until we were stopped by a horrific accident between a semi and a blue car, head-on collision. The semi went one way, spewing cases of potato chips over the road and the blue car went into the other ditch, hardly recognizable as a car. The car driver didn’t survive. It was very sobering.
We carried on traveling in conditions more like winter in Grand Prairie than southern Oregon in the spring and crossed the border into California where there was still snow. We were traveling most of the day at an elevation of between 3800 – 5000 feet above sea level and it was not pleasant!! We finally made it to Corning, Ca where we stopped for the night at a RV park on a lovely river…great fishing here they say. It is finally warmer and lots of fresh greenery about. Tomorrow we reach our destination in Santa Rosa. I requested a handicapped spot in the campground because it’s 3/8 mile from the campground to the activity buildings and I know Alan can’t handle that hike several times a day while we’re there. He’s healing slowly and there are no complications, so far. He has done almost all the driving on the trip and is feeling good. The leg is quite swollen and black and blue but doesn’t hurt.
Friday, March 28, 2008
We saw some amazing huge spring salmon mounted on the wall of the registration office of the RV park where we stayed last night. Their river, the Sacramento, also has tons of river otters but, we couldn't see any when we looked. We left Corning after gassing up and breakfasting at the Flying J truckstop and washing both our coaches which were quite filthy. We can't arrive in pristine wine country with dirty vehicles now, can we?
We left Corning about 11am and travelled down I-5 to Williams(check your maps). From ther we chose a route more or less as the crow flies to SR. Well, what a roller-coaster ride were we in for!! I think it's called the Petrified Forest Highway. We went up and we went down and we have never experienced so many hairpin turns ever! Alan was driving ,thank heavens!! Also, it was raining and the mist was so heavy that you could hardly see. Very scary!!! The speed limit for most of the road was 20 - 25 mph for all the turns. We finally reach our destination on "The Road to Santa Rosa at 5:00pm...we hit the rush hour in SR, too.
What a relief! They gave us a handicapped spot beside the main building..Thank heavens . The rest of the people have quite a hike.
Well, right now it is 9:30pm PDT and there's a steady drizzle outside. We hope that changes tomorrow to the traditional California sunshine. This really is a beautiful place and we are so happy to have arrived safe & sound.

Moving south through Washington

Easter Sunday
We spent the day recuperating from Friday & Saturday's adventures in the icy weather and the ER! We were both quite exhausted. Warwick & Caryl put together a splendid meal and we had a lovely Easter with them. We parked Kingsley in the Cherry Lane shopping centre in a spot where we could keep an eye on it from their place.

Monday, March 24, 2008
Left Penticton after lunch and crossed the border into the US without any hitches. They even let us keep a small steak and 2 lemons that we forgot we had! They were more concerned about whether we had lamb in our fridge. Travelled as far as Omak, WA where we stopped at Walmart, joining 8 or 9 other coaches for the night. It was a restful night.

Beginning the trip to Santa Rosa

Friday, March 21, 2008
Well, we finally got started on the Road to Santa Rosa at 10:00 am on Good Friday. We stopped at fellow GMCer, Bernie Bartko’s place in Devon , to check out our coach wheels etc, before continuing west to Mt. Robson where we stayed the night in the deserted parking lot(totally alone)!
About 9:00pm, Alan went out check out the lay of the land and slipped on some ice and into a pool of icy water. He injured his left ankle and leg near the knee. Also, he was soaked through and in shock. We managed to keep warm and slept OK but, in the morning, he couldn’t put any weight on the leg. It didn't look good for continuing on into the states.

Saturday, March 22, 2008
We awoke at 5:00am am and decided to start driving at 5:45 in the dark. Alan was able to drive and wasn't too uncomfortable. I wasn't sure he would be able to get out of the coach as he couldn't weight-bear on that leg. We encountered snow, ice on the road, cloud cover, smoke & mist just in the first 2 hours! When we stopped at Little Fort, he was able to stand briefly on the leg and that was a relief. We kept going and I took the wheel for awhile. When we got to Vernon we went to the Emergency where they took X-Rays. The doctor said there was a break on the fibula...small bone below the knee... and the ankle was badly sprained. He said it didn't require a cast and shouldn't cause any problems while in the USA. It was a lucky day for us!
Arrived in Penticton at 5:00pm. Good to see Alan's sister, Caryl & husband, Warwick. We will spend Easter with them and recuperate from the events of Friday & Saturday!

Happy Easter Everyone!

We still have winter!

Well, so much for well crafted plans for re-awakening our Kingsley this pass weekend! The snow started falling on Friday and continued thru Sunday. The cover stayed on until today when it was dry enough to remove it and fire up the motor.
We had lots of fun watching our grandson, Sam, swim in the Alberta Provincial Timetrials in Edmonton. He and his Mum, our daughter Barbara, came from Calgary Thurs. night and we made lots of trips back and forth, to and from the pool. It was great to have them here and be part of the excitement as Sam bettered his times in almost all his events. Our long-time friends Don Clark, daughter, Mary Jo & Garry Holmes came out to cheer him on and and visit with Barb who they hadn't seen for years.
Now, all the focus is on getting ready to go....we can hardly wait to hit the road! Our first stop will be Penticton where we hope to spend Easter with Alan's sister Caryl & husband, Warwick. Caryl is recuperating slowly from pneumonia and it will be good to see her for a couple of days.
That's all for today...time for bed.
Janet

The cover is still on the beast! It comes off this weekend. Alan came home from RONA today with a 200 watt Power Inverter for Kingsley. This will power up all our gadgets: cellphone, dig. camera, laptop & GPS on the road. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and tucks in to a corner of the cockpit.
We leave a week tomorrow(God willing).
Cheers, Janet

The Road to Santa Rosa

Hi to Friends & Family:
Well, this is my first posting on my brand-new blog! It is destined to be a record of our travels in the next two months(God willing!)
Eight days to go! We leave on March 20th for Santa Rosa, CA and the GMCMI Spring Rally. As we speak, Kingsley is sitting still covered with a shroud and surrounded with snow! Yesterday it reached +10C and that helped to dissipated some of the winter's dump of the white stuff. Today it's a little cooler but...there's a stiff wind and that is helping to evaporate the snow. We will move Kingsley and take him for a ride around the block this weekend when Barbara & Sam are here from Calgary for Sam's swim meet. Lots & lots to do before we leave Edmonton for up to two months.
I will try to add something every day and I am hoping that this will be a good way to stay in touch will all of you. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks......
Janet