Rio Bend RV and Golf Resort, El Centro, CA (we made it!)

It’s 0800 and the Blue Angels just did another fly-by.  They’re amazing to watch and even their practice jets (they’re the white ones with red tips instead of blue and gold) are very good and entertain us at least once a day. We’re up of course because the huge broccoli plantation behind us has ripened (well, actually the broccoli ripened. I can’t really speak for the plantation itself) and is being collected by at least a dozen workers and some of the largest (and loudest) farm machinery I’ve ever seen and heard. They start each day between 0500 and 0700. Ah, there goes another fly-by; this one too low for us to see because of the lovely hedge half surrounding our site.

Yes, we have arrived at our first destination. We had two stops to make before getting here.  The first, The Almond Tree Oasis RV in Coalinga, was quite acceptable and suitable for an overnight stop.  Unfortunately there was nothing there for Maddie; not even a small patch of ground cleared of trash.  She wasn’t too impressed.  In fact she’s been kind of worried about having left home into what must seem like a journey into the uncomfortable unknown. I’m happy to report she is delighted with the Rio Bend full-on dog park. It’s  clean, cared for, with a large grass area  and a separate, fenced, agility area.  Phew!  I’d been fearing an all out civil disobedience kind of event.  Anyway, she s much happier now and may not abandon us after all.

Back on the road; our next, and last, stop was to be at SpacePort RVPark in Mojave. I won’t go on about this but suffice to say we moved on. We finally came to rest at The Californian RV Resort in Acton. This was an upscale RV Park and a good place for an overnight stay and a shower.

Right on schedule, and after an awesome truck and RV wash (at K&S Truck Wash in Hesperia), we arrived at the Rio Bend RV and Golf Resort, El Centro.  The sun is shining, we have tokens for the driving range and our first Tee off is this afternoon.  We’ve done some shopping and will continue sorting out the trailer storage as time allows. We’re here for three weeks so we can settle in and relax. No more stop and goes. 

Must sign off now. There’s a Hummingbird at the feeder  Yeah!

Hope all is well with each of you. Stay safe. Our hearts go out to our friends who are dealing with the loss of loved ones and who are facing physical challenges of their own.  You are in our thoughts. ❤️

On the road again…

Mount Shasta - in her glory

It’s 2:30 am, the ‘wide open range’ winds are buffeting wee Lucy, we’re snug as ‘bugs in rugs,’ and we’re three days out from our destination. As I’m awake, I now have the time to check in and let you know how we’re doing. 

I can’t believe how fast four days have whizzed by. We left home on Monday the 17th, headed south to Victoria and spent a wet night at the Fort Victoria RV Park (a little rustic, but friendly staff and nice and close to the Coho ferry terminal in downtown Victoria). Up early Tuesday morning and first in line at the terminal gates by 0820. The last time we were here we were treated quite poorly by the Customs officer but this time the two officers who vetted us were very nice. We were asked few questions and sent to buy our tickets. What a wonderful difference. The ‘cruise’ to Port Angeles was uneventful and/but gave us our first glance at how things might go with respect to mask wearing.  Most folks were conscientious about wearing masks; a few weren’t. Arriving in PA was equally smooth. This time the officer greeted us with a big smile and a comment that we had to be the smallest trailer he’d ever seen coming off the Coho. Then he sent us on our way after confirming Maddie’s dog food didn’t contain any beef or lamb.  That was it.  I put away my 7 page, detailed, alphabetically ordered, inventory of each and every blue bin crammed into the truck (and the three most likely to be inspected that were stacked in the trailer) and we were off; high-tailing it to our next destination.

The next two days were wet, foggy and long. When we left home we were delighted the snow and freezing temperatures had abated, at least temporarily. “We can handle a few days of rain” we chortled as we headed down the road, “no problem”. Well, it wasn’t really - a problem - but the rain, fog, and majorly large trucks sharing the road sure did make for challenging driving.  It took the two of us; me on the wheel and Kathy managing the navigational technology to successfully wind our way through and around and through again… the twists and turns of several converging highways. Luckily we succeeded and popped out onto I 5 right where we were supposed to but, I can tell you, there were some fast moving, spray filled, moments of slight terror before we did.  Once on I 5 things settled down to the usual heavy traffic, most drivers behaving (a few idiots) and us.  After a quick stop in Sequim for groceries and a cell phone plan we headed to our first US stop, the Little Creek Casino RV Park in Shelton, WA.  We’ve stayed here several times. It’s clean, paved, tidy and has good facilities.  It’s also a Passport America site and therefore not expensive ($23).

Still raining the next morning, we headed on to our Wednesday destination (Seven Feathers Casino RV Park) in Canyonville, OR.  This was another long day of driving and the wet and challenging driving conditions continued for the first half. As predicted, the weather began to dry up and, by the time we arrived at Seven Feathers, the rain had stopped and the temperature had risen several degrees 😀.  We began to cheer up and celebrated with a quick dip in their wonderful hot tub - which we had completely to ourselves. This RV Park is beautiful and well run. We’ve stopped here every time in the past and, while it’s a bit more pricey ($56) it’s worth the price.

Thursday was the day we cheered up completely; all memories of rain and fog quickly dissipating. Grants Pass and Siskiyou Pass were the usual challenges involving long, slow hills heading up - mixed with the related downhill slalom (being overtaken by the transport trucks we passed on the way up and who were now screaming by us with no regard to the likelihood of their brakes actually being effective at those speeds).  Again, we survived and as latitude decreased, the sun and blue skies provided our first clear views of the Oregon and Northern California forests and fields. We were saddened to see the charred remains of forest fires in some areas and we passed one or two smaller fires being tended by officials along side the highway. We also stopped in a couple rest areas for a leg stretch (etc :-). One was quite nice, the other not so much. I imagine staffing shortages due to COVID are having their impacts here as well.

The Rolling Hills Casino RV Park ($36) was our stop for this night. The management (record keeping and administration of RV reservations) was not at its best but after some discussion the details were sorted out and (we think) our Visa records will confirm we only paid for two sites and not three. We were able to catch the last rays of the setting sun before a late dinner of take out pizza and an early night.

 I’ll be glad to get to Rio Bend (our home for several weeks) so I can sort out the blasted blue bins. Packing for a two and a half month adventure and trying to save a little money by carrying what supplies I could…well, I ended up packing and stowing half a dozen blue bins. They’re heavy and the three in the trailer have to be moved out at each stop and returned before we leave. I’d intended to sort everything out and repack once we’d cleared customs but I didn’t factor in the reality of ‘stop and go’ nights. Securing  long enough sites that mean we don’t have to unhook and can leave quickly each morning, also means I can’t drop the tailgate of the truck. Without opening the truck fully I can’t unpack and repack bins and other equipment.  And so we go… as we left… carrying several heavy blue bins waiting to be emptied in some cases and sorted and repacked in others. I really must learn to pack for the moment rather than as if we’re heading to sea again and need to carry it all from the start.  Sigh.

Enough said. We are fine, warmer and dryer than when we left, and doing well.  Our travelling companions are also in good shape. Safe to say we are all looking forward to making our final destination of Rio Bend RV Park in El Centro; EDA (estimated day of arrival) Sunday, Jan. 23. Today we head to Coalinga, CA. and tomorrow Mojave. We are looking forward to more enjoyable drives as we hurry south to the sun and sand. Will check in again when we arrive. 

We are doing fine and we wish all of you peaceful and healthy days. Stay well & stay safe. Adios for now. CJ

Cloud-bathing in the driveway... practising for warmer happy hours !

At last... finally... and yahoo!  Our date of departure approaches.  Yes, you are correct in figuring out we didn’t leave on Dec. 27^th ...couldn’t find little Lucy in the snow, never mind get ‘er down the driveway.  It’s now 13 days later and looking much better. Starting tomorrow we expect to see our usual rain (which is OK by far) and safer travelling conditions. Just in case it gets icy, ol’ Ricky is pointing downhill on the driveway.

 Some of you may recall my experience our first winter in this neck of the woods. If so, feel free to skip ahead. 

It was winter alright and the snow fell like I’d never seen before; knee deep by noon. Kathy was working in Vancouver and I needed to check the boat. Chuck (Ricky’s predecessor) was parked at the top of our driveway. We were at a different address then, with a steeper driveway... and, like this one, it had a slight curve in it. The main difference between the two is that the one we have now has flat land on either side and the worst you can do if you wander off it is crush an automatic sprinkler head or two. Not so the previous house. That driveway had a fairly steep slope. It had a garden of sorts, filled with evergreen shrubs and such on one side... and a VERY steep ravine, maybe a foot away, on the other side; deep enough to  easily roll a small truck at least once around on the way down.  Being new to ravines and curved driveways I had not applied much physics or even a touch of brain power to how and where I parked Chuck (the truck). He was nestled in at the top of the driveway, facing up, just the way I’d parked him since we had moved in October. Thinking only of how the boat must be faring with all the snow, I warmed Chuck up and proceeded to back down the driveway like I’d always done. It didn’t go well at all.

As soon as we got moving the truck started to slide... not straight backwards mind; that would have been ok. But, with a gentle yet firm slew (is that a word?) the front end began to swing left and slither and slide. The physics I mentioned earlier came screaming into my consciousness. The truck was now mobile, totally out of control with the front end creeping quickly towards the aforementioned ravine. Gravity was winning the battle and there wasn’t much I could do to counter act it. Bailing out my driver’s door didn’t seem like a good idea so I did what any ‘out of other options’ driver might do and slammed the truck into reverse to get as far away from the ravine as possible.  Chuck decided to respond and we bounded backwards and skidded right off the driveway and half way into the steeply sloped, shrub covered, garden on the other side. Safe from the ravine? Yes. Out of the woods?  Not yet.  When all the action came to rest, Chuck was broadside to the slope with my door being on the downhill side.  Not a good idea to exit I decided as we were balanced pretty precariously, so I carefully crawled up and out the passenger side door. The sight that awaited me was very embarrassing.  Ruined garden and stranded truck where no truck should be. Luckily I didn’t have to go inside and change. I was younger then J

There was nothing left to do but get some help. The woman on the other end of the BCAA phone wasn’t all that sympathetic (I didn’t tell the whole story, just that I needed a tow truck to help remove a truck from my garden. ’nuff said, right?).  The driver arrived, didn’t laugh too hard, and dragged old Chuck around and down through the sloped garden (I had wanted to plant rhododendrons anyway). He then lined Chuck up with the road and bade me farewell.

Imagine my chagrin when I finally got to the marina to shovel off the boat... and found no snow. Lesson #2 was about water level and freezing temperatures.  Oh, and the rhododendrons I planted that spring looked great and are doing very well to this day (I check on them from time to time as we don’t live far away); and I added a parking pad at the bottom of the driveway before the next winter.

Now then, back to our present situation. Ricky is indeed pointing downhill and now you know why. Lucy waits patiently. She’s clean and dry and rarin’ to go. The Rubbermaid bins have been packed for weeks and the lists have been re-written and re-checked umpteen times. We’ve practiced ‘Arrive Can’ and have finally received our Booster invitations. Ferry reservations are set for January 18^th all going well. We’re so ready we’re going to head to Victoria on the 17^th and stay at an RV park so as not to have to deal with the Malahat on the morning of our departure.  Now all we need is the days to pass peacefully between now and then.  

We’re also hoping all is well with each of you and wish you all the best in this, the new year... 2022.

Stay tuned. I’ll be in touch.  Adios for now... CJ