Sorry honey, but it’s time to head home…

And, so we did.

‘Twas with mixed emotions we realized it was time to point our noses north and west.  What a winter we’ve had.  Don’t worry. I’m not going to rehash the challenges we had to work through this time… they have been set aside and will be moved to the ‘lessons learned’ and other such files in due course.

Instead we will focus on the beautiful scenery and skies we had the good luck to enjoy, the wonderful people we met along our route and the natural ‘high’ one experiences when you step off the usual path and seek out new horizons.  We remain blessed with our friendships (old and new) and we consider ourselves extremely lucky to be able to live this life and share the good times. We are determined to continue ‘living’ our summer, sailing locally, and exploring warm places in the winters as long as we can. We wish you all your own beautiful horizons each and every day.

Suffice to say we are home; tired and road weary… but home.  April will be a busy month as we have dedicated May for a long awaited ‘Bucket List’ journey.  More on that at a later date.  For now, we must unpack and tuck in to all the springtime chores that houses and boats demand.  

Bye bye for now. CJ

Wine anyone?

So last night's stay may not have been 5 star but tonight's certainly is. We headed on down the highway to an address unknown. But, there was wine involved… how bad could it be? Fact is, it was perfect.
As advertised; large, flat. open parking area…
Free wine tasting, dogs welcome, lovely hosts, and fun at the wine tasting. This is a well run, family owned, small vineyard that has been owned by the same family since the 1930's. Except when Charlie (the family wee dog) decided to voice his displeasure (we assume related to the presence of Maddie) by urinating on the floor behind my chair- narrowly missing the sleeve of my favourite fleece jacket… aside from that, it was a perfect visit (and the family was quick to apologize and mop up the evidence! 😄.

We had fun and met some nice people too. Tomorrow, we head to another mystery stop called Walker Lake. Stay tuned. Adios for now. CJ.

Plan B… Hooches 66

Plan A had been leaving Cattail Cove SP this morning and heading to Tehachapi, CA where Kathy was going to experience a ride in a glider. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans for us. Once packed up and getting ready to leave, like all good sailors, we checked the weather and highway forecasts. Oops…. Heavy winds (up to 40 mph) forecast in all directions but one. And…apparently Tehachapi is expecting the winds… and snow! Ergo, cancel Plan A. 

We stopped at Lake Havasu SP to see if they might have room for us for one night, but no dice. They did allow us to park in their parking lot long enough to come up with a Plan B.

Don't know if you've heard of the Harvest Host program but it allows folks like us to stop and stay the night… sometimes on the hosts residential street, sometimes in an actual Vineyard or ranch or farm… and sometimes in the parking lot of a Pub or some other business venture. Each host asks the camper to spend a little; like a purchase from their shop of whatever wares they are selling, or a donation to their favourite animal rescue group or, as in the case we chose… a meal at their eatery.

So, Plan B brings us to a small and dusty town on Route 66 called Topock and a bar and grill called Hooches 66.

 The photos say it all but they don't tell you about the dirt bikes, dune buggies (“side-by-sides”), and antique cars travelling all around us. Today being Saturday, as it turns out, was one of those “club poker rides”, kinda of like a pub crawl by motorcycle, where each rider collects a poker card at each bar and grill they stop at on their route.   Yup, it's a little noisy and camping on a level dirt parking lot isn't my first choice BUT the price is right, the food is good and it got us on the road. 

Tomorrow, we cross over the Colorado on the I-40 from Arizona into California, a scene which might be familiar to you, from the movie Easy Rider. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadtripmemories/14705690006

All going well, we will continue to hop north and west and, hopefully, get to stop at the Seven Feathers RV resort on Canyonville for at least one night on our way home. Until you hear differently, all is well, we're travelling towards home, and we still plan to make the early Coho on the 31st. 

No more news is good news… we're 'on the road again 🎶 …. TTFN. CJ & Kathy

I know there’s a toy in here somewhere!

There may be, but odds are it's well buried. And, as you can see, it's time to start sorting and packing up. We've had a lovely stay at Cattail Cove SP… including meeting up with friends and making a few more. Even the weather cooperated. We'll be heading west and north starting on Saturday and we're booked on the March 31st Coho.
Hope all is well with each of you. CJ

Look who’s turning five today!

Wishing a happy birthday to our funny, playful, devoted, brave, friendly, resilient, smart-as-whip, fast-as-the-wind, and sometimes very, very loud Wee Ms Maddie Mulhaley!   May you have lots more snuggles, scratches, treats and balls and many wonderful adventures ahead! 

Maddie says hi to all her buddies at Camp Yellow Dog.

Group photo courtesy of Julie Davidson @CYD.

 

The Hitching Post

One of the craziest, funnest bars I've ever been to… and with excellent food, great servers and good music. This place is just down the road from the State Park we're staying at and we noticed it was always busy. We went to find out why last night and had a super time. We didn't sit at the covered wagon table but it sure was cute. The other photo is a little hard to see but the inside of this place is crazy. The walls and support beams are all covered in dollar bills. Everything from bicycles to stuffed animals hang from the ceiling and every square inch of wall is sporting some unique piece of history or whatever. And, did I mention… the food was great!

We move sites today, for one night dry camping and then we head west to Cattail Cove State Park, just outside Lake Havasu City. The weather's going to turn a little wet and cool. Hopefully it won't last long. All is well here…. Hope you are too. CJ
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Beauty at home too…

Seems my orchid is enjoying winter at home. Thanks Holly for the photo and orchid care.
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Mother Nature… no words required.

Double rainbow. 😄

The view…

These are the views I drive into when I return to the park… and the view even the garden enjoys from our site. So beautiful and it changes throughout the day as the sun rays creep across. It's magic! And a great place for contemplating. I hope you have found your good place. Be well. CJ.

CJ update

Thanks to all of you for checking in. We're finally back from town (Kathy tending the laundry system (at our favourite pink laundromat) and I wandering the aisles of the adjacent ACE hardware store. The laundry cost a fair bit… but I won the "who can spend more" contest. Seems the hardware store had everything I needed…and even more that I hadn't realized I needed (until I saw it) 😇.

As for my knee… seems I will survive after all…although I believe I am now a 'retired pickle ball player'. Too many years of field hockey and tennis have taken their tolls on my poor old knees…and it kind of sucks to be in the heart of hiking territory and being, now, in the 'watching' position rather than the 'doing' position…sigh 🤨.

What I am very happy about is how quickly the AZ medical system worked for us. From the triage centre to the Orthopaedic surgeon referral to an MRI appointment has occurred over a scant 2 days. Apparently angels were on my side and, even the Dr. was surprised I was there a mere 2 days after the injury. He surmised there must have been a timely cancellation as he is usually booking two months out. My good luck continued as Dr Scroggin is a very nice guy and the appointment went well. He did the doctorly tests and predicted that I have a "complex tear of the lateral meniscus of my right knee". He then booked an MRI (next week if you can believe it!) to confirm his diagnosis. The MRI results will also predict whether I need a wee bit of surgery (arthroscopy) to tidy up the loose ends of the tear or not. He also gave me a corticosteroid injection which has helped considerably…. I'm barely limping today and doing fine without the cane (just one day later).

Yes, I promise to be careful and am not at much risk today as just when we arrived home from laundry etc., the heavens have opened up and the wind is blowing and this is expected to last until sometime tomorrow. Oh well, we have Crib, Jenga and other games to keep us busy… not to mention the great books we are reading. Even Miss Maddie is settling in to life on board… lots of naps.

Hope all is well with you…best wishes to our friends who are struggling with some challenges right now. Know our thoughts are with you and we keep you close in our hearts…❤️… until I write again. TTFN. CJ

Slight glitch, but still having fun…

We do love it here. The natural beauty is something to behold… and to treasure. Just as I was about to start this note, a small hawk landed on our humming bird feeder hook for a short visit. Beautiful.

Ok, the slight glitch is I have managed to hurt my right leg… just about knee level. Seems I twisted when I should have twirled! After wandering through the initial levels of the AZ health system, I have an appointment with an ortho Dr. Will let you know how that goes.

For now we 'ice and elevate' and wait. At least I had an old cane available ( carry it to retrieve things from the truck box. I also carry a long boat hook…. Works like a charm). Anyway, glad to have the cane along. And funny thing. The left over pain pills from the dental surgery work like a charm for leg pain. Too bad I only have one left ☹️

Having said all that… life is good! Beautiful sunset tonight; great company ; all (mostly) healthy. It could be so much worse. And the guy in the motorized kite… came by again tonight. I think he liked it when I waved at him last night!

Stay well my friends…and keep your eyes open for new experiences, where ever they may lay. Adios for now CJ
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Lost Dutchman

Another of our favourite state parks… and we arrived yesterday, right on schedule. The trailer's set up (even the old awning), the hummingbird feeder's out (and attracting all kinds of birds), the garden's enjoying the sun, Maddie's enjoying a rest and the mountain view is as spectacular as ever! Oh, and we're enjoying the warm sun and crystal blue skies as well. We're here for two weeks and plan to do some hiking, reading, resting and even play some pickle ball with friends in town (Apache Junction). Aaah, the name Apache Junction reminds me of a quick story.

My Grandpa Daley (Fred was his name and Eva was my grandmother)… used to tow a small travel trailer from White Rock, BC to Apache Junction, Arizona…wait for it… in the 1950's!!

I remember the '50's fairly well and I know roads like the one through the Fraser Canyon, were only just being built. A drive from Vancouver to Shuswap Lake (for us) started at 0300 hrs. with three little girls and a dog stuffed into the back seat of our older car and separated by pillows, and included stopping in Hope, BC at the Caribou Cafe for breakfast, 'stop and go' in 30 minute shifts through the Fraser Canyon on a dirt road with no guard rails, the foot-long hotdog stand in Kamloops for lunch, and the Balmoral store beside a huge tree at the road we turned off on to get to our wee cabin overlooking Eagle Bay. Dinner that night was usually canned beans or the like, heated up on the old pot-belly stove. What I also remember is the canvas water sacks hung on each side of the front of the car and the spare tire lashed to the roof.

This brings me back to my grandparents.

Can you imagine what their drive south must have been like? Given our own experiences driving a similar route and with all that today's development and technology has created; I can't imagine making this same trip without GPS, cell phone coverage, the internet, gas stations on both sides of the highway at regular intervals, rest stops and tow trucks a phone call away. I can't even read the fine print on paper maps without a magnifying glass!!

But they did it, without any of todays conveniences… and they did it year after year. There's more to their story, like their work on behalf of an orphanage in Apache Junction, and my grandmother's trike and baked pie deliveries… there's much more. But that's for another day. For now, I will just applaud their courage and stamina with respect to a drive that remains onerous today and must have been horrific back then.

Best wishes to you all for a good sun-warmed day… and may your roads be mostly paved and your GPS remain charged. CJ