Quiz Results (finally)

It took me a long time but I'll tell you the results of my quiz. First the reason it took so long is Ray has the piece of paper with the mileage on it and he can't find it so I don't know the # of miles we drove in the RV but it was close to 3000.

# of pictures : 3265

$ of gas : $1904.89

So Freda was closest on the gas with $2000

And Angela was closest on pictures with 2500

And Aunt Dot and Angela tied on the mileage with 2500 each

So there you go. Glad you all read along.

We really want to go again, this time to the Canyonlands. Ray would like to make that trip around Christmas so it would be cooler. Not sure if it will be this Chirstmas, probably not. But next time we want all of you to come with us!

And for those of you interested in scrapbooking - if you have not seen Creative Memories new StoryBook product - you MUST follow this link http://www.creative-memories.com/MainMenu/Our-products-and-services/Digital-Scrapbooking It will change the way you scrapbook for ever. I was really hesitant about going digital but in all my years of scrapbooking I have never found a product I like better. Here's a birthday card I did yesterday in about 15 mins for a friend of Preston's.

Kerry

Our trip quiz

What was your favorite place that we went?
Ray: Yellowstone
Kerry: Leanne’s / I-FLY Utah
Parker: Uncle Alson’s and Aunt Martha’s
Preston: Aunt Martha’s /

What was your favorite RV park?
Ray: Outdoor Resorts of America Pacific Shores Motorcoach Resort, Newport, OR
Kerry: Newport, OR Pacific Shores
Parker: Newport, OR Pacific Shores
Preston: Newport, OR Pacific Shores

Who was your favorite dog?
Ray: Tasha and Holly (tie)
Kerry: Tasha
Parker: Tasha
Preston: Tasha or the 2 poodle/goldens at Newport, OR

What was your favorite hike?
Ray: Trail of Mosses in Hoh Rainforest, Olympic NP
Kerry: The 3mi hike in Glacier along the Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Creek
Parker: Cleetwood trail in Crater Lake NP from Rim Drive to Crater Lake
Preston: First hike in the Redwoods (Simpson / Reed Trail)

What was your favorite National/ State Park?
Ray: Yellowstone, but Olympic was a close second
Kerry: Grand Teton
Parker: 1st was Yellowstone, and 2nd was Glacier
Preston: Grand Teton

What was your best day?
Ray: The day spent at Glacier NP
Kerry: The day in Victoria
Parker: The day we shot guns at the vineyard
Preston: The day we went home

What was your favorite cup of coffee/ frappachino?
Ray: Morning at Pacific Shores, sitting in passenger seat watching Yaquina Head lighthouse out front window
Kerry: The Venti Carmal Macc when we got to CAL
Parker: N/A
Preston: In San Fran after the cable car

What was the best book you read?
Ray: Innocent Man, by John Grisham
Kerry: Kiss Me While I Sleep by Linda Howard
Parker: The half of The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Preston: Point Blank (an Alex Rider book) by Anthony Horwitz

What was your favorite state? (Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, California)
Ray: Wyoming (Grand Teton and Yellowstone)
Kerry: Montana (Big Sky country)
Parker: tie between Washington and California
Preston: Oregon (for the beaches)

What was your favorite city?
Ray: San Francisco
Kerry: San Francisco, CA
Parker: San Hose
Preston: Salt Lake City, UT

What was your favorite Brady Bunch episode?
Ray: Deacon Jones shows Peter he’s not a sissy if he sings in the glee club
Kerry: The one where proved she was “just as good as boys”
Parker: The one where Mike drives off a cliff and kills all 8 of the Bradys
Preston: He liked them all

Who was your favorite repairman?
Ray: Mike in Idaho Falls – he was the most knowledgeable
Kerry: Bob in West Yellowstone
Parker: Mike
Preston: Liked them all

What was your biggest surprise?
Ray: That we had great weather everywhere we went
Kerry: That most of the people we met in the RV parks were from southern states FL, GA, NC, SC
Parker: How much fun I had at Uncle Alson and Aunt Martha’s
Preston: That the last hotel was nice

What was the funniest thing?
Ray: Driving a 34ft Rv down the Mormon Road (dirt) in Grand Teton
Kerry: The new “high” toilet in the RV, the “Road Closed to Poopy Conditions” sign
Parker: Aunt Leanne
Preston: The RV leaning so much

What did you miss most about home?
Ray: Bed and pillows
Kerry: Jingle
Parker: Sharp 52” high definition LCD TV, and my bed
Preston: Jingle and my comfortable bed

What is one difference you noticed about the NW vs the SE?
Ray: “Sure it’s hot, but it’s a dry heat…”
Kerry: Cool temps
Parker: The air
Preston: People are thinner, the air is cleaner and not as humid

What is the strangest thing you saw?
Ray: Street performer in SF playing what looked to be a cross between a violin and an accordion
Kerry: Some really odd tattoos
Parker: Dumb people (such as the three people I live with) that got OUT of their cars to observe and photograph a BEAR that was 20 ft away!
Preston: Some of the people – huge earrings stuffed inside their ears (the fad here is to place a ring in the lower section of your ear (like tribal people) then increase the width of the ring over time so you eventually have a huge opening in the earlobe)

What was the prettiest place you saw?
Ray: Grand Teton NP
Kerry: The snow capped mountains of Grand Teton
Parker: Crater Lake’s “sapphire water”
Preston: Oregon coast at Pacific Shores

What was the most fun thing you did?
Ray: (1) Canoeing with Preston at Glacier NP, and (2) skeet shooting at Alson’s house
Kerry: The horseback ride in Yellowstone (I think I’m still sore in places)
Parker: Shooting Shotguns at the vinyard
Preston: Walked on the beach

What was the best PBJ lunch spot?
Ray: Inspiration Point at Grand Teton NP
Kerry: Teton Pass
Parker: California coastline
Preston: ?

When did you run out of words?
Ray: Redwood National and State Parks – kept saying “now that’s a big tree” over and over again
Kerry: When I was struggling from lack of Carmel Macchiatos
Parker: Every afternoon at about 5 ‘o’ clock when I started getting sleepy
Preston: When we were at the restaurant with Uncle Alson and Aunt Martha after I had been swimming all day with Tasha


Now here’s your quiz (answers tomorrow)
Guess how much we spent on gas?
Guess how many pictures we took?
Guess how many miles we traveled in the RV?
What was your favorite blog entry?

Homeward Bound

Up at 7am. Breakfast at the buffet. 9am leave for the airport.

We checked our baggage. 2 bags weighed 49lbs each! The other 2 were slightly less – pretty good if I do say so. Ray returned the rental car.

We ran into trouble with the hiking stick. I asked 2 TSA people if my stick would be OK. They assured me it was fine. But… when I got to the security check point the manager there didn’t agree. He didn’t like the sharp point. Sigh! Ray had to take it back out of the secure area. He also took our scissors that somehow got in a back pack. Using the scissors he was able to get the nail out but the point was glued on. It took him 15 mins to find someone with plyers to pull the point off. Then he had to go back through the check point. In the rush he had left his cell phone with me. So the boys and I were on one side of security and he was on the other. Time was ticking by for our 11am flight. I was a little tense. He left saying he’d be back in a couple of minutes. 30 minutes had passed. I found the security manager and he went out in search of Ray. He found him in the line to get back in. We made it to our gate just in time to start boarding.

The flight to Dallas was uneventful. The flight to HSV left late. The McCracken family greeted us in HSV. Yeah! It was great to see them. They brought 2 cars to load all of our stuff. They took us by Wendy’s for dinner then Freda brought us home. We got in around 10pm. The house was fine. Ray turned on the water and I turned on the Braves. What luck – they were playing in San Diego, CA so it was a late game – they were on the same time as we were. We headed to bed about midnight and slept until 10 on Sunday AM.

Packing Day!

We spent all morning packing up. We drove to the UPS store and parked in the parking lot. We bought, packed, and shipped home three boxes ($200). Most of this was the things we bought for the RV. We decided we didn’t want to trash or give away the sheets, blankets, dishes, etc we had purchased in Salt Lake City. We also shipped back 34 lbs of books.

Ray contacted the RV rental place. Enrique (remember him from day 2?) is arriving at …..1:24 AM!!!! Yes, someone (Ray) has to meet him at the airport. This was the only flight they could get for him. He’ll leave early in the morning to drive the RV back to Mont Claire, CA.

Mid-afternoon we checked into the StayBridge Suites. WOW!!! What space! 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 TV’s! What luxury! We completely moved out of the RV. Ray picked up a rental car.

Late afternoon we drove to Trey and Kellie’s. Trey is my nephew. He and his wife Kellie and a baby, Ashe. Shhhhh… don’t tell anyone ….he’s the real reason I have traveled 3000 miles. Oh he was so cute. I could post tons of pictures. He is almost 8 months old and is a complete doll. He smiles from ear to ear. Trey and Kellie fed us a wonderful meal.



Trey feeding Ashe his first chocolate chip cookie (we wondered what that would look like later)










Kellie and Ashe (isnt he precious?)









Ashe nibbling Ray's shoelaces









All the boys, Preston was so glad to meet Ashe - for nearly 10 years Preston has been the youngest in the family - he was glad to pass off his title.







One happy family




By 8pm we needed to leave so we could finish any last minute re-packing (remember the 50 lbs limit). What a fun night!!

A’s Game

If you know us at all you know we LOVE baseball. We had hoped to see some games along the way. Unfortunately the Seattle Mariners and the SF Giants were out of town.

The Oakland A’s were in town! We drove to Oakland late morning in time for the 12:35 game vs. the Seattle Mariners. A’s won 3-2 in extra innings, yea. Whee free baseball. It was hot but not as hot as a Braves game.

Came back to the RV parked in the south parking lot – I took a shower (I love RVing) while Ray called to check in with my other nephew, Trey, whom we will see in San Jose. Then headed off to SJ.

We were really pleasantly surprised with the Trailer Tel RV Park. You have to admit the name just doesn’t lead to you believe it will be a fantastic place. They had a nice pool. The boys swam and I blogged –SLOWLY.

Criminals, Relatives, and Friends

Several weeks ago we made reservations for Alcatraz. It was a good thing; they were booked through Sunday. We got a 10am taxi for the 11am ferry to Alcatraz. The ferry ride was short.






When we reached Alcatraz we gathered for a short Ranger talk. I opted to take the handicap shuttle to the top, a 13 story hike; Preston joined me. Ray and Parker walked to the top.





We checked in at the Cellblock to get headphones for the audio tour. Very, very well done audio tour. Each of us had our own headset. The most famous residents included Al Capone and the Bird Man of Alcatraz (Robert Shroud).






We learned about the violent escape attempt, known as the Battle of Alcatraz, a 3-day siege which began on May 2, 1946 and resulted in the death of 2 guards, 2 inmates and the execution of 2 others. On June 11, 1962 5 others left dummy heads in their beds and climbed through the roof. They were never seen again. It is assumed they died in the cold waters.



After 3 decades the prison closed due to high operating costs, deteriorating building, and a change in prisoner handling – reform rather than punishment. The last inmates left on March 21, 1963.

We left around 2:30 to go back into San Francisco. We were so glad that my nephew, Colin, was able to make time for us. He has a busy schedule as an attorney in SF.





He met us at the restored Ferry Building at 3:30. We really enjoyed seeing him and catching up over coffee. He is a neat guy and the quintessential single, professional, living the great life.

As soon as he had to leave we met Jane Pryjmak, a college student from HSV, who is working as an intern in Sausalito. She arrived on the 5:15 ferry. We walked around for a while then had dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the Ferry Building. She caught the 7:55pm ferry back and we caught a cab back to the RV.





What a fun day! We had a good time seeing Colin

and Jane.

Goodbye Alson and Martha, Hello San Francisco

Ray and Parker went with Alson and Martha to the bakery for breakfast. Preston and I stayed back to take showers, do the last load of laundry, and start packing up.

It was time for final pictures and good byes. Martha led us down the road to intercept any oncoming traffic down the tiny windy road from their home and we were on our way into San Francisco. Preston was teary-eyed for about 40 minutes because he wanted to stay at Alson’s so he could play with Tasha and Holly. They have become fast friends.

We arrived at Candlestick RV Park. It is adequate for what we need but it is little more than parking in a parking lot. It is right in back of Candlestick Park.

(Pix : Chinatown)

We took the RV Park shuttle into the heart of town then caught a Cable Car (whee fun!) toward Fisherman’s Wharf.

What do you know – there was a Starbucks right where we got off!! Who would have thought?

A Carmel Macchiato later we were on our way to walk down to the Piers. We spent a good bit of time at Pier 39 shopping for goodies for friends.

We ate a great dinner at Sea Lion Café. Yes, we saw Sea Lions. They didn’t do much other than lay there and occasionally roll over.

After dinner we shopped some more to kill time. We found a photo bo

oth - rather than pay the $5 we all piled in and held our digital camera up to take our pix.

We signed up for the 9pm shuttle back to the RV Park. At about 8:30pm we caught a taxi back to the meeting spot. Then the 9pm shuttle back to the RV.

We had hoped to meet my nephew, Colin, today in SF but he was called away to LA. We are hoping to see him tomorrow. We had also hoped to see Jane Pryjmak today. We have plans to meet her tomorrow night for dinner.

(Pix : Going under the Golden Gate Bridge)

Monday...

Waiting for boys to blog this day...

Relaxing

Ray and Parker were up early and went to work in the vineyard with Alson. They were trimming leaves from the vines. Preston slept late.

By 8:45am we were all ready to head into town to “the bench” where “the gang” meets for coffee and pastries every morning.

(Picture #1 Alson's house)

(Pix #2 Looking from house over vineyard to barn/office where we stayed - note RV parked beside - but we slept in barn)

Once home, Ray and Alson went back to work in the vineyard. Preston swam with Tasha. He had a great time. He must have been in the water for 3-4 hours. Parker tossed the toy some for Tasha. I blogged and caught up on email and did laundry.

(Pix #3 Parker working in vineyard)

The temp was HOT today. Near 100 up here in the wine country. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse.

(Pix #4 Looking from house across valley)

Late afternoon we took showers and naps. For dinner we went into Healdsburg to eat at a new restaurant “Healdsburg Bar and Grill”. We had yummy pizza, burgers, and salads.

Week 4 begins

My goodness, where has the time gone? I can’t believe we will be flying home a week from today. It is a good thing we left Jingle or we might not come back. We miss her so much.

Pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Then onward to the Avenue of the Giants – a road snaking through a Redwood Forest.






We drove along Hwy 1 and 101. Very windy roads – so much, in fact, that Preston and I got a little icky feeling since we were riding in the back.



We arrived at my brother, Alson and Martha’s, home around 5:30pm. Ray did a great job navigating the RV along small roads and up Alson’s driveway.






Preston and Parker swam in the pool for a short while. Alson has two goldens, Tasha and Holly. Tasha loves the water and had fun swimming with Preston. Preston has fallen in love. I don’t know will sleep better, Tasha or Preston.





We had dinner and then walked over to the treehouse, a deck/platform built overlooking the vineyards in a Fairy Ring (a ring of redwood growing from the stump of a dead redwood tree).

The 4 of us slept in the barn/questhouse. It was nice to all be in real beds.

Happy 4th of July!

Good News! Day 21 and Preston hasn’t run out of words yet!

We toured the Redwoods today. Stopped at visitor centers = cancellations and medallion. We took a couple of really neat hiking trails. Those trees are GINORMOUS!!! We got tired of saying “Wow, that’s a big tree”. Chatted with a guy along the trail from Atlanta. We really had fun climbing on, over, and through the trees. There was even a place to slide down. A tree had fallen and the bark had worn off enough so that the boys climbed up and slid down.

We really had a great time wandering around. Walking on these wooded trails has become something we all really enjoy. This is why we came – to just spend time stomping around and having fun being together. We love the cool temps that allow us to get out and enjoy. We know heat and humidity await us at home.

We also stopped on the coast but it was so foggy that you couldn’t see the water from that visitor center. We still walked down. The sand is so different. It isn’t the pretty white sand we are used to in Orange Beach but rather a charcoal color. The dark color makes it really hot, even in the fog. We do continue to occasionally smell smoke from the wildfires here.

We then drove 140 miles from Crescent City, CA to Myers Flat, CA. On the way Ray found a Starbucks for me!!! Yippee! I went for a Venti today!!! We also got gas O-U-C-H!! Gas was $4.79. Hello California.

The Redwood RV Park is, ummm, eclectic. Many tent sites. Volleyball area. Playground. Many Mexican-American families. Just an interesting place. We liked it. To celebrate the 4th we hung our Wal-Mart flag on the end of our broom stick and attached it to the back ladder with ….come on now, you can get this, ….Gorilla tape. God bless the good ol’ US of A and God bless Gorilla tape!

We had a little cleaning spree. Then we walked down to the Eel River. It had a large rocky shore but was great for swimming, wading, or just skipping rocks. We hurried back from our wading because the movie started at 8pm. What a fun thing! They show a movie every night. The park voted and Chronicles of Narnia won out over Independence Day. We quickly fixed our Sloppy Joes (yes, again) with mac n cheese, mixed veggies, and watermelon and went over to get a seat at a picnic table. The movie is shown outside around a fire pit. The owner fixes popcorn in a shack (accurately described) and serves it in small bags for free. The TV quality was fair, the kids were running around, dogs in and out, fireworks were going off so it was hard to hear. But it was a blast (oh, ha ha, blast, get it!). After dinner and popcorn, Parker got out s’more makings. He borrowed a coat hanger from a kid to roast his marshmallows. Preston got cold so I got a blanket for him to wrap him in. A good time was had by all. For those that know….. doesn’t it remind you of Monteagle? Leanne, is Phillip reading my blog? We missed our traditional fireworks with the Harnesses but we had fun.

The campground was a little noisy – Friday night – 4th of July! Do the math! So we closed the windows and turned on the A/C for white noise.

Crater Lake

Up early. Ray wants to get to Crater Lake for the first half of the day.

Crater Lake is 6173 ft above sea level. The lake is 6 miles across and 1943 ft at its deepest point. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US, the 2nd deepest in the Western Hemisphere and 7th deepest in the world.











And we found SNOW again. I love snow! The road that goes all the way around the rim of the crater is still closed on the eastern side, blocked by snow. The film told us they receive 500 inches of snow a year. They begin to clear the road in April – it takes them 4 months, clearing .25 miles per day. When they start it is piled 30 ft deep.



The view was obscured by smoke from the fires in northern California, the direction we are headed. We first thought it was just morning fog but were corrected when we got to the Visitor Center. By the time we were leaving the winds had blown some of it out. The island in the middle is called “Wizard Island” because it is shaped like a Wizard’s hat.



This was Parker’s park! He was in charge of researching it and planning our day. (Preston did the same thing for Mount St. Helens). He decided we were first going to stop at the Visitor Center and see the film, get stamps, and medallion then we’d hike the mile down to the lake shore. I think he was trying to kill his mother. My stars! We got about half way down, when Ray suggested Preston and I turn around and go back up. Ray and Parker continued on to the bottom. This trail was a 10% grade over the mile. All down! Then all UP!!! UGH! But I earned my medallion!









At 1:00 it was time to move on to another state. We drove 174 miles from Crater Lake to Crescent City, CA. Our last state! Desperately searching for a Starbucks. I’ve only had 1 Carmel Macchiato this whole trip. No luck!

We rolled into the Hiouchi RV Park – or as I refer to it the Hoo-chi-koo. A nice RV park. Quiet. Up in the mountains again just outside the Redwood National Park. We are headed there tomorrow.