Sunday 28 October 2018

Oct 15 -20 Look out America, the Albertans are coming!

Oct 15
I think I was awake at 5 a.m. today, stayed in bed until 7:00 but tossing around thinking about the trip. We had breakfast and by 8:00 we were packing up the last of our stuff and getting hitched up. Our neighbours at Wright's Beach came out to say good bye, which was nice of them. We pulled out of Wright's just after 9 a.m. headed for the border crossing at Oroville Washington on highway 97 south of Osoyoos. We ate everything out of the fridge and all the fresh fruit etc. We even timed it so Margaret had no food left.
Oroville border crossing.
Here we go!!

The crossing was really a non-event but they did ask us to pull over for an agriculture inspection. The fella checked the fridge and said "have a great trip". We're on our way!! Pretty excited. Our first stop is Toppenish Wa. at Legends Casino parking lot. Not exactly a glamour stop but it's free to park overnight and it's not far off the highway. We have been so lucky since leaving Alberta, seeing the leaves changing all the way down and Washington is great too.
Beautiful fall colours.

We stopped at a roadside stand selling fresh apples. OMG were they ever good! And cheap. So many orchards in Washington state and it was a beautiful day to drive, not a cloud and 23C/ 75F. We snapped a picture of a wind farm beside the highway. The turbines are huge and I think it's the first time they were so close to the road.
So huge but hardly any wind.

The first day went pretty well and our GPS brought us right to the casino parking lot. It took a bit of looking to find a level spot to park but we found one under a set of lights.
Only bringing out the bedroom slide, short stop.
Unfortunately a few semi trucks knew about the casino lot and one truck left his rig running all night beside us. We both used ear plugs so not a great night. We messed up the free parking idea too. Spent $40 on slots in less than 10 minutes. Plus we had supper in there, another $20. Could have stayed at a nice park for that price lol.
Oct 16
Not a great sleep but woke up to a beautiful morning. We grabbed fuel, coffee and breakfast at a station across from the casino. Gas station muffins for breakfast, mmmm. Our destination today is a short drive to Benton Oaks RV and fairgrounds in Corvallis, Oregon. Benton Oaks is across the road from Oregon State University and Leslie's buddy, Char, is getting her degree in nuclear physics and a minor in statistics and probability. Yeah, she's way smarter than me for sure. It's been 11 years since Leslie and Char worked together at Grey Nuns Hospital in Edmonton. Leslie is super excited to see her again. Char is way younger than us but her and Leslie got along great when they worked together.
The drive through the hills and valleys of Washington and Oregon was amazing. So cool to climb over a mountain and see the valley on the other side. We could easily see Mt Rainier, from the Ranier beer commercials. Remember.... Raaaaaiiinnnneeeer beeeer lol. (might need to be over 45 to get that one) We also saw a sign for Mt Hood far in the distance. 
Mt Ranier
Mt Hood
Crossing the Columbia River
Cool rock, wish I could remember the name, beside Columbia river

Absolutely amazing drive. We both just ran out of "wow" words to describe the drive. By 2:00 in the afternoon we arrived at Benton Oaks Fairground and RV Park. Full hookups on a paved back in site for $35 per night. John, the camp host, was a great guy. Sounded a little snarly on the phone but he was great in person. Our GPS was smart enough to avoid a train bridge that was labeled 13' 4". That would have "touched" our a/c I think!

Nice park in a great location for us.
We checked to make sure there wasn't some sort of event going on before we booked. The fairground is large with big barns and storage sheds. Could have been crazy with some sort agricultural event going on.
Some of the barns and sheds.
There was an old carriage house that was donated and relocated to the property. It's a meeting room or banquet room now but originally housed a carriage and had a loft for hay. Cool building.
Carriage house that is a meeting room now.
Char is in school until 4:00 so Leslie and I have time to do a grocery run before Char and her son come over for supper. We're grilling burgers and hot dogs. Of course Leslie is adding salads. Gotta have the green veggies and salad. I would have done potato salad and brown beans lol. About 4:30 Char and Darwin arrived and it was really cool to see Leslie and her greet each other after so many years. I got a hug too but just because.... lol. We visited for quite a while and I grilled while Leslie made salads. Darwin chilled on our bed with his books and the tv. Pretty boring stuff for a 9 year old. The conversation continued after supper until they had to call it a night because of school tomorrow. No staying up late on school nights ! Great day and so cool for Leslie to hook up with an old friend on our second day on the road over the border.
Oct 17
Another beautiful day! We're going for a run this morning. There is a great trail across the road that goes to OSU campus right past their cows, llamas and horse barns. Great run for me and Leslie took Margaret for a walk and then got some miles in for herself.
OSU campus

Field of solar panels

Cows, sorry no pics of llamas or horses.

Cool covered bridge on the trail.
We did some errands in the afternoon and around 5:00 we drove to Char's house for supper and more great conversation. We had a couple adult bevvies before supper and then Char cooked up a fantastic meal of Columbia River steelhead, brussel sprouts and mushrooms and a caprese salad. So good!
Leslie and her buddy Char
I had water while the girls enjoyed a couple more glasses of wine. We all talked and laughed until I had to be the downer and asked Les to head home. It was after 9 pm, come on that's a late night!
Still early!
After big hugs we drove back to the rig to call it a night. We might see Char in March on the way back north. Great seeing you Char!
Oct 18
Today is a short travel day to Grants Pass, Oregon. I booked an appointment to get the trailer suspension looked at at Henderson's Line-Up.
Henderson's in Grants Pass
I read online that they do great work on RV suspension and our Lifestyle needs an upgrade. It just bounces too much and needs an upgrade of some kind. I had talked to Cotey on the phone and we are looking at doing a Roadmaster Comfort Ride suspension with shocks. It's a few $$$ but making the trailer ride better will save money in the long run I think. Our appointment isn't until tomorrow morning but they backed me in to where they will be doing the work. The spot also has water and 30 amp electric, bonus!! I asked where we could go to wash the trailer and they said to just go ahead and wash in their lot. I love these guys! So Leslie and I got busy and washed the trailer and the truck. Really needed a good wash after this far.

Hard at it.
After getting everything cleaned up we walked over to a pub nearby for supper and a brew. We watched a little TV after supper and called it a day. Up early tomorrow so the guys can get busy on the upgrade.
Oct 19
We were out of the rig by 8:00 so the guys could get to work. We drove downtown and grabbed a lovely McD's breakfast mmmm. We're doing laundry which should take a little while at least. They need at least 4 hours to get the suspension done. Cotey from Henderson's called me at about 10:00 and said they had run into some problems. We were almost done anyway so back to Henderson's to talk about the problem. Long story short they would need to do some major cutting and welding to get the Comfort Ride system on. Also they would need to mount it as spring-over axle which I'm not a fan of. Tends to make the rig more top heavy. After much discussion with the techs and Cotey we decided to just add the shock kit to my stock suspension. It will take care of the bounce and they will order new rubber hangers that I can get installed later. Back to work, won't be ready until 5 pm so we are spending another night in their lot for free. Well free with the bill paid for the shocks, ouch.
Stock suspension before the upgrade
The new shocks custom installed.
We spent the day checking out some parks and did a short driving tour of the area. We drove to a state park 10 miles out of town but it was packed so we won't be staying here this weekend. We found a nice park in town and took Margaret for a nice long walk. 

More incredible fall colours.
For our buddies Scott and Leanne Morrison lol.

We made supper in the rig and watched a little TV. Amazing how many over the air channels we get down here. 24 different channels to choose from. Back on the road tomorrow heading south and east.
Oct 20
Back on I5 by 9 a.m. headed south towards Mt Shasta and then east over the Cascades to a destination of Susanville, California. Another beauty driving day! Didn't take long and we're in California and driving in view of Mt Shasta.
Lots of hills to drive up and down.

California border!
What a cool mountain and you can see it for a long time. Too bad it's still so smoky in California.
Mt Shasta
Another cool stop we had was at a place called Weed. I'm not making this up, it's a real place in California!
Not sure what Leslie means here?? Lol
Terrible picture quality but we stopped at the Weed Rest Area haha. Only in California, I thought it was funny. 
We turned east onto highway 89 and drove through some of the most awesome pine forest. The road is a little narrow with very little shoulder but it was spectacular. Lots of hills and our suspension upgrade is making a huge difference for the better. Way less trailer bounce and a much smoother ride. The truck is doing great as well, pulling all these hills like a champ and I love the engine brake on the downhill.We stopped for lunch at a small town called Burney, Ca. Great little town but we only hit the Subway and kept going. Not a great review. We got back on the highway and soon arrived at our destination for today, Standish, California and the Days End Rv Park. We got set up in our site and went for a short walk around the loop. They have a cool map that was hand painted that shows the area. Really good detail for being done by hand.
On our walk

How cool is this??
Our next door neighbours were having a small happy hour and invited us over. It turns out that the fella we met who is from Seattle probably went to grade school with Leslie's cousin in Prince Rupert BC. Small world right? They gave us their card if we are in Yuma this winter so we can look them up. What a great bunch you meet in RV parks. 
Our site at Days End RV, Standish California.
We had a couple drinks and headed back to our rig for supper. We watched a little tv and called it a day. I know I'm tired from driving through the mountains today. It takes more concentration than just cruising around Alberta that's for sure. So far we're loving being on the road. Sure there are stressful times and it gets weird trying to find places to stay but the sights we are seeing are incredible. We are staying here in Standish for a few days to relax and enjoy some trails in the area. This is what we came for. Cheers!













Tuesday 23 October 2018

Oct 8 - 14 Another week in Penticton!

Oct 8
We headed back over to Donna & Dennis's place to say good bye to the gang heading back to Alberta. There was leftover mashed potatoes so they had "tatey cakes" for breakfast. It is a family recipe of Dennis's and a good memory for Kevin & Kerry. Leslie and I managed to grab some leftovers because we were late for breakfast.  Cousin Michael was staying at a motel just a block away and he was there for breakfast and heading back to Chilliwack today. So with lots of hugs and handshakes we wished everyone a safe trip and waved as they left. We headed back to the rig to give Donna & Dennis some quiet time before John gets here this afternoon. They have had a busy house all this week so a little break is needed. Leslie and I relaxed a while too. Remember we have cable TV this week! I crashed on the couch while Leslie and Margaret relaxed in the lazy boy.
Warm and relaxed.
We took it easy all afternoon. John stopped by to see us on his way in to town from Victoria and then went over to Donna's. We're meeting Terryn and her kids at a bar called the Barking Parrot in the Lakeside Hotel tonight for Graydon's 19th birthday! We'll pick up John and head down as D & D are sitting this one out. Of course we had to buy Graydon a shot for his birthday, a Burt Reynolds, they're pretty sweet and easy to drink.
Not the Burt, he did many shots ;)
We didn't stay that long at the Parrot. Graydon has school in the morning and the rest of us are just played out I think. Happy 19th buddy!! 
Oct 9
A good nights sleep and a good breakfast. We're off to Skaha Lake Park for a run. My legs are feeling way better and I want to try a longer road run instead of the fabulous trail by our rig.
Beauty day.

Paved trail


We both got a nice run in and went back to the rig to shower. Getting together with John and then visit Margi for a while. The three of us went shopping for steaks and fixin's to cook for D & D tonight at their house. They have done lots for guests this week so it's a little payback and thank you.
Leslie bringing the goods!

We also picked up a caramel drizzled apple pie for dessert. Didn't take long and we were off to the trailer to sleep.
Oct10
We hooked up with John for another visit with Margi in the morning. I need to get a couple things done on the trailer before I go south. The caulking along the leading edge needs to be finished and I have to relocate the license plate on the back so you can see it. With the bike bag on the back it totally blocks my license plate. Alberta doesn't issue a front plate for vehicles so when I'm towing you can't see any plates. I know that seems like a great idea for tickets or red light cameras but I don't want some US sheriff deciding to tow my truck and trailer because my plates are hidden. Trust me I struggled with this lol. Leslie is doing laundry and a major clean in the rig while John and I are busy outside.

Roche boys doin' work!
No pictures of Leslie working because she usually takes the pictures. It was such a nice afternoon we decided to go for a beer and a burger. We went to Barley Mill Pub. It was a good choice, good food and beer.
Great server too, she takes good pics.

Terryn got tickets for a junior A hockey game for tonight. The Penticton Vees are playing Merritt Centennials! Should be a great game. Terryn has season tickets and got us super seats on the second row behind the players box!!
A new arena by my standards, holds about 6000 people.

Terryn, John & Leslie in a picture!

The not so good selfie.
John is driving back to Victoria in the morning so we all said good bye after the game. Leslie and I are shutting off our social calendar. We haven't been out so much in years. Remember we have free cable!!

Oct 11
We did a visit with my sis and then stopped at a sushi place to pick up lunch to go. The sushi place, Kojo, makes a lot in one container. We ordered 3 rolls but holy man!

I even Let Leslie have some lol.
I still have some stuff to do to the trailer and Leslie is making sure the cupboards are good for the border guys.  I'm kind of full though haha. We got a text from Terryn that Margi wants to come see our rig this afternoon. How awesome is that!! It's another beauty day in Penticton and we are so happy to have her over. I thought the stairs would be a problem but Margi is having a good day and pretty much walked right up them. I gave her the quick tour and we sat down for a coffee. Great stuff!
Margarets head, Margi & Bella, me & Terryn. Love these girls.

We visited as long as we could and then it was time for them to go. We carefully got down the stairs and they went back to the hospice. Thanks Margi and Terryn for visiting :) It was great!
Oct 12
Well not every day can be exciting so other than a visit with Margi we got nothin.
Oct 13
Time to get in another run on this fantastic KVR trail by our park.
I feel pretty good so I managed 8 kms (5mi) out and back on the trail. Leslie did a 6.7k out and back as well. Good work buddy!
Odd smile ??

Way better smile !!

 Today is also the Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii and guess who is there competing?? Of course it's Ailsa. Barry is there practising for his Ironman that is coming soon... maybe? Barry is supposed to compete in Panama City Beach Florida November 6. That obviously is in jeopardy after the hurricane smashed the Florida coast. Anyway we're watching online as Ailsa progresses through the day. It's hot and super muggy in Hawaii of course which makes it even harder. As if Ironman distances aren't hard enough. Barry did a run of his own while Ailsa was competing. What a support crew! We feel your pain champ! Just way less distance pain. Ailsa had a great time and completed the full course in 10:25:53. Super effort champ! You deserve a beer. Of course her support guy was ready.
Super champ Ailsa MacDonald.

After we got cleaned up we went to Donna's for a coffee. We are all loading up in their mini van to take Margi out for some sun and a drive around. We picked Margi up and drove to Skaha Lake Park where we walked along the beach on the paved path. It was a beautiful day at almost 20C (70F) and we wheeled her down the entire beach and back to the park to just sit and enjoy the sun and the breeze. Fabulous!
Bumped into a friend of Donna's along the path.
We loaded back into the van and did a driving tour up Carmi road to the east of the city. So much development since I was a kid here. Sub divisions go way up the mountain into the canyon that we used to hike (aka; sneak out to drink beer)  as teenagers. It was a great drive and a really nice way to spend an afternoon together.
The van tour.
We dropped Margi off and all headed back home for supper and a good night sleep. It's our last day here tomorrow and it's a little bitter sweet. Looking forward to our adventure but not to saying so long.
Oct 14
We got busy packing up bikes and barbecue and all the stuff we had pulled out while here. I went to get propane and when I got back Mark's kids pulled in for a quick visit. Matt drove down yesterday from Abbottsford to do some hunting here in the Okanagan and stay with Sam & Dave. They all went on a hunting/scouting trip this morning but didn't see much game. They did glimpse a moose but no tags for that so just watched him walk away. We stood outside and chatted for a while and had a few laughs then they jumped back in their truck and headed home.
Leslie and I showered and got ready for supper. We're having Chinese food at the hospice tonight in their dining area. They have a bunch of tables and a full kitchen with all the plates and cutlery. A commercial dishwasher too! Bonus. Les and I went and picked up dinner and met Terryn, Margi & Graydon in the dining area. We ordered a dinner for 5. Holy man there is a ton of food here! Graydon gets the leftovers as he is a starving student lol. He can use the weight. We ate until we were stuffed and then cleaned up the table and packed Graydon the leftovers. We went back to Margi's room to chat for a while before we have to leave.
This is where it gets super hard to tell. I sat with Margi and held her hand and we both talked about regretting the time we let pass without seeing each other. Families have stuff, we all know the deal but when it comes down to brass tacks we're still family and we love each other anyway. No matter what we do otherwise. She's going to fight this awful damn disease and we will see her in March on the way back. Thankfully technology will help us stay in touch so much easier.  I waited outside while Leslie gave her hugs and said see you soon for herself. Terryn came out with Les and I got a chance to give her a big hug and tell her I love her. She's doing such a great job helping her Mom, I can't say how much respect I have for her.
We love you Margi. Keep fighting that bitch disease and we will talk to you soon from somewhere in the south. Love ya sista!
Deserves another shot.