A Gimpy Time in San Diego

In January we joined Kris and Tom Downey for a replay of last years two week adventure as RVing neighbors. Plans to explore San Diego’s touristy spots, shop and dine were in the works- until Kris had the misfortune to stumble and propel herself from the door of their RV unto the hard ground of their campsite. Her airborne exit resulted in several days stay at a local hospital, surgery and the addition of some heavy hardware- including multiple screws. Ugly occurance! But I was not dissuaded – surely in the two weeks before our arrival she would be able to be mobile- if not, I would push her around in a wheelchair! But fate had other plans for us. On our second day on the road to San Diego, I opened the pantry door only to have my big toe attacked by a Pyrex baking dish. The immediate pain was amazing and so was my rapid recall of the multiple curse words I had often reprimanded my children for using. Ice and elevating seemed to help but walking was a limping affair accompanied by the slip of the aforementioned curses. A change of plans were in order-we got to spend time together- playing word games, jigsaw puzzels, coloring books , whimpering and elevating our iced feet, proving the old adage that misery loves company!

Kris’s broken ankle

My sore toe

Looking back on the way to moving forward

Virtual travelers- I realize that once again, I have neglected my traveling companions for a pretty lengthy amount of time.  But life got kinda complicated over the last several months. What will follow is a series of blogs leading up to the present. I guess I need to explain that my blogs aren’t scripted- blog moments just happen. They are messages from the universe requesting that I take time to reflect upon my reaction to life happenings- and a gentle spiritual nudge to my share my reactions in the hopes of entertaining or perhaps inspiring another to reflect too.

So let’s start all the way back to Thanksgiving  last year. At that time I was nearing my last weeks of the fall semester of teaching second year nursing students and we were discussing travel plans for the Christmas return to Ohio. I had been offered an opportunity to again provide clinical instruction at my previous lovely facility teaching second semester students. Since we would be free to travel from the second week of December until the first of February and we were enjoying our life in Portland , I might as well renew my teaching contract. We then decided to fly to Ohio and upon our return to Portland, we would take the Treehouse to San Diego to visit with Kris and Tom Downey. We had a delightful two weeks as their RV neighbors last year at Desert Hot Springs and looked forward to more of the same.

In the midst of completing our plans Raymond had a cardiac health scare, ending up with a new coronary artery stent after a two day hospital stay.  Although it didn’t change our plans it did encourage us to reconsider our lifestyle. He had found a talented and delightful fellow musician willing to work with him and I wanted to teach year round. Leaving Portland for extended periods didn’t have the same appeal and we began investigating alternatives to our mobile lifestyle.

Could we really give up the gypsy life? He needed space to set up a music stand practice and I wanted a desk, file drawers and a book case-but at what cost?

 

 

Moving Around

On the road again

Hi there, fellow travelers, it has been awhile since we been on the road together.  Since we returned to Portland OR last May we have been on the move-literally.  We spent two weeks at an RV Park on the Columbia River(1) while we moved our stored Ohio possessions from Olympia WA where he had planned to rent a home to a space in Portland.  We managed a two-day transfer with the help of our friends from Port Townsend, Bob and Helen.

Boband Helen treating us to lunch at Salty’s

The next move was to haul the Treehouse across country again to Ohio and Maumee State Park (2) where it stayed while we traveled to Baltimore (3) to help daughter Chelsea move into a new loft apartment.

I flew back to Portland and stayed at son’s Matt’s house (4) in time to start teaching summer semester while Raymond and his old army buddy brought the Treehouse back for a week at Portland Fairview RV Park (5).  Having failed to book a RV Park for the summer, monthly or even weekly stays in Portland were not available so we found ourselves in Woodburn OR (6) approximately 30 miles from downtown Portland-inconvenient.  The good thing was I could walk to Starbucks which was connected to the RV Park-bad thing was the bumper to bumper traffic trying to get to or from my classes. We stayed there for a month where Kris Downey joined us and she and I drove to Livingston, Montana (7) for a week where I shared my happy place with her.read more about this here Upon my return from Montana we moved again to Fairview RV Park (8) again for three weeks until we had to leave the country.

In September we put the Treehouse in storage, kenneled the dogs and left for three weeks in Italy (9). Upon our return in late September we again stayed at Columbia River RV Park (10). We had to vacate after a week, for a weekend on the coast (11), due to no available sites.  We made a quick overnight at Port Townsend to visit Bob and Helen. (12) As I taught the fall semester at Linfield’s School of Nursing we stayed there until mid -December when we left for Ohio for the holidays and stayed at Maumee State Park (13) and Raymond’s mom’s house (14).   We did move one other time for three days when Chelsea was in town to celebrate Thanksgiving with Lisa and Jacob David and other Ohio friends in Olympia WA (15).

Upon our return from Ohio the first week of January, we loaded up the Treehouse and hit the road for San Diego to spend two weeks with Kris and Tom Downey from Ohio. And that my weary travelers, is where we are now.  Heading slowly to San Diego-currently in Crescent City trying to decide if we should travel down the coastal road or I-5 Highway.  The weather is somewhat dicey due to El Nino acting up with snow storms and icy mountain passes so we will wait until tomorrow to decide our path. We have to be back to Portland on the first of February as I decided to teach this spring semester, too.  We both are hoping for some stationary time in one place after the 15 or so moves since last May.  It is great to have all of one’s belongings with one when one moves but it does get tiring securing all those belongings before moving.

So join us once again on one more RV adventure as we head south to hopefully sunnier and warmer climes! We will be there shortly-bring your sun screen, sandals and floppy hat!

Livingstone MT- My Happy Place

The view from our site at Rock Canyon RV Park- Livingstone Montana

Rock Canyon RV Park sits on the Yellowstone River and is surrounded by awe inspiring landscape, approx 50 mikes from Yellowstone Park the views are breath-taking. This is my fourth visit and the magic never changes.  I experience the same sense of sacredness one feels upon entering a century old cathedral – the timelessness and beauty is so humbling.  I mean, really, in the presence of such magnificence and age old splendor how impressive of an impact can my little life make upon the workings of the world?  The decisions I fret over, the importance of the choices I make shrink in comparison to these surroundings.  There is a true sense of peaceful surrender that follows such a realization, and that peaceful sense is what draws me back to Rock Canyon.  I suppose one could make an .argument that it holds a spiritual significance for me, but most of nature has a spiritual aspect. I do feel blessed, though, to have found such a place, it is the place I visualize  when being exposed to negative things- like stitches, root canals, or other invasive exams.  I also think being reminded of our lifeline speck related to the world’s timeline puts our problems, disappointments, failures and even our successes in perspective. So Virtual Travelers, if you haven’t found a happy place of you own, I will lend you mine, I would love to share with you. Just enjoy the pix above, take some deep breaths- feel the peace.

No Reason to Stay is a Good Reason to Go

Mt. Hood view along dog walk and Columbia River- not far from RV Park

Found the time to take the Harley out to the Bridal Veil Falls

Hi there Virtural Travelers! Guess what- we are on the road again! Plans to just drive to help Chelsea relocate her household in Baltimore to a new loft space and fly home in time to start my summer semester of teaching have changed. The treehouse had no place to stay while we were heading east so we left earlier than planned and am crossing the country once again! Although this time we are taking the Northern route and will be stopping in the Toledo area mid May on the way to Baltimore.  We wil be stopping at my all time favorite spot in Montana, Livingston, so you all will get a chance to share that experience with me.

We have been surprisingly busy while spending the last two weeks in Portland.  Visiting with Matt, celebrating his birthday, securing a site for the treehouse for the summer, catching up with last years’ neighbors took up most of the first week.  The big adventure if this week was moving our stored goods from Olympia, Washington down to the Portland Oregon area. That included a four hour round trip, a 26 foot rental truck, and several hours of transferring object from one place to another. Luckily we had good friends join us, good friends feed us and Matt’s help once back in Portland. Helen and Bob met us in Olympia after a two hour drive from their home in Port Townsend. We had pick-ed up the truck later than planned due to our size truck having not been returned to the rental place on time. Forty minutes into our travels, the Big Guy realized we had forgotten the keys to the locks on the storage doors! Good news – Home Depot down the street from the storage units rents angle grinders. Bad news they are corded and require electrical connections. Good news there was an outlet two doors from the unit- bad news it didn’t work. Good news the outlet ten doors down did work, bad news the cord wouldn’t reach! Good news-Home Depot sells extension cords. Great news-after some delay the guys managed to sever the locks and we could begin to empty the storage units into the truck.

Jacob and Lisa visited with Helen, Kathy and Raymond At Food Truck in Olympia  

Birthday dinner

Matt and Lydia     

Did I mention that we found an angle grinder in one if the units! Ha! The best treat was lunch in Olympia at Lisa and Jacob David’s  Food Truck.  Shawarma, baba, garlic sauce and salads eased the hunger pangs and eating them allowed us old aquitances to catch up with one another.  Helen and Bob came to Portland with us and we shared dinner at a Peruvian Resturant. The next night after unloading the truck, Matt made reservations at the Olympic Provisions Resturant where we enjoyed Prime Rib and Pork Cheeks- perfectly prepared.  We were joined by Matt’s girlfriend, Lydia, who entertained us with tales of travels. Lunch the next day before Bob and Helen left for home took place overlooking the Columbia River at Salty’s – Bob treated us to more good food, great company and more memories to add to the previous 40 plus years!

The Infamous Powell’s City of Books

Author Heidi Julavits with Kathy at Powell’s City of Books Store at reading and book signing -“The Folded Clock”

My first college composition class required us to write a daily journal entry.  I found it to be an introspective exercise and continued the practice in a somewhat inconsistent manner for decades.  When we became mobile and shrunk our storage space it was necessary to dispose of the aging recorded memories and thoughts.  Perusing before discarding the various notebooks led me to scoff at their contents while at the same time shake my head in confusion at the scribbles of a naive and younger me. Some entry’s were touching, the birth of both children were recorded and the amazement and wonder of those initial moments of motherhood were tempered by the realization of the immense responsibility for these little persons.  The fear of not being good enough, smart enough or well enough prepared to nurture them was evident in the questions I had shared on the journal pages.  Other entries were just plain silly- plans to exercise more, quit smoking, lose weight, budget better and the recording of dissapointing dates made me smile.  It felt wrong to just dispose of these ramblings, yet who would ever take the tine to wade through the years of everyday thoughts and impressions? They had served their purpose of introspection and no longer belonged to the woman I had become- no room in the motor home for the girl and her issues from the past.

This blog seems to be my current phase of journaling, an opportunity to record unique sights and experiences.  Which led me to attend the reading and book signing at Powells City Of Books of Heidi Julavitis’s current book, “The Folded Clock“. Heidi seems to have had the same experience of reading old diaries, but her readings led her to starting a two year attempt to keep a diary and record her daily life. The book jacket states that this evolved into “a meditation on time and self, youth and aging, betrayal, loyalty, friendship and romance, faith and fate, . . .desire and death, gossip and secrets, art and ambition.” Who wouldn’t want to read that! She read entertaining entries from the book and answered every question, even those requesting information about where she bought her glasses.

it always is a delightful experience to visit Powells.  The building itself is a city block, they average 3,000 visitors a day selling them books, office supplies, coffee and souvenirs.  It is a magical place for book lovers and readers, one could be lost for days browsing shelf after shelf.  It smells like an old fashioned bookstore, too, hardwood floors and hand drawn directional signs are everywhere.  The readings are the best for people watching, as various genre of authors draw different crowds. So Virtural Travelers, now you can say you’ ve been to Powell’s City of Books in Portlanf OR!

The End is Near, Virtual Travelers

Surprising Uphill trail

At least the carousal at Seaside was open and running- next to the coffee shop !

Well Virtual Travelers, this is it. Our last night on the road before returning to Portland. We have been on the road together for four months and the time has come to park the Treehouse again for a few months over the summer and through early fall. Good news is that my summer contract to teach Nursing classes over the summer has been renewed, which makes me really happy! Bad news is that our Gypsy rambling will be on hold. There will be blogging related to the Italy trip,though.
Currently we are in Cannon Beach during what they call the ” quiet season”- quiet meaning most of the shops aren’t opened during the week, so mostly we ambled around deserted streets, peeking in shop windows with “Help Wanted” signs. I suppose they are gearing up for the “non-quiet” season. This morning we decided to take my new hikers out for a test spin to Ecola State Park, it has breathtaking views of “Haystack Rock”, forested mountains, babbling brooks and waterfalls. We chose to park and hike to the campers tent site in the Indian River area having had a picnic lunch the day before at the Ecola site. The trail head said the path to the campers site was one and a quarter mile. That would be a three mile hike round trips and would be well within my doable parameters. The trail marker didn’t mention that the path consisted of one long incline- straight up! I should have purchased a portable oxygen machine when I bought may hikers! We never made it to the hiker’s camp-we did complete over the mile and a quarter though, but we were on the wrong path. The trail head we struck out on by mistake was an eight mile trek to Seaside through the mountain pass-all up hill until the downhill slope to Seaside.

Eating lunch overlooking Canyon Beach 

Without much else to do in Seaside due to everything being closed for the season, I suggested a movie. There was one I particularly wanted to see. The director, Kenneth Branagh is one of my favorite actors and I had heard the costumes were fabulous! Because I have one of the best husbands in the world, he sat through a Disney production of Cinderella with me. I thoroughly enjoyed most of the movie, except for the number of dying people.(at least they had the decency to die off screen!) It was an unusual ending to our four month adventure- but served as a mellow transition to heading for our Portland home-base in the morning.

Enchanting Florence, OR

Sun starting to set over driftwood beach in Florence OR

New Keene Hikers- no excuse not to hike those trails, now!

Norman Mesman, playing Flamenco music at Bistro

Florence, OR is another one of those small coastal towns that are so delightful to visit that one is tempted to stay longer than planned- like forever! Even the big guy suggested we park the Treehouse and get a mailbox. The “old town” has everything to entertain us-art galleries, local musicians, fine dining establishments and coffee roasters with an ocean view. Even the demographics are appealing. The population consists of a little over 8000 residents with a median age of 57 and 36% are 65 years old or older. Historically the economy of Florence was logging, agriculture and fishing, but recently tourism has increased. The boardwalk promenade showcases shops,restaurants and multiple art galleries that promote local artists. My favorite gallery was a converted dentist office filled with paintings created by the retired dentist and his retired nurse- wife. It is located on the Siuslaw River where full sunlight shines through the large glass windows of the studio. The big guy and I visited with the artist in residence, the dentist’s wife, who was working on a painting when we entered the gallery but stopped to trade stories with us. We had a delightful and engaging conversation. It was evident that she loved her coastal town. That seemed to be the case with everyone we met. Last night we had dinner at a little eclectic Bistro, small plates included multiple cultural tastes. The owner, Mary Ann, was from Dutch Indonesia, as was the flamenco guitar player who entertained diners. She, too, had fascinating historical Florence facts to share.
The coastal towns have provided us with some of the most awesome ocean views as well as great beaches and wooded trails to explore with the dogs. At issue has been my footwear. The Treehouse has limited storage space and I have managed to store snow boots, dress boots, rain boots, sandals, and walking shoes, but no hiking boots. My walking shoes have “breathable”- read open netting toes and sides where sand can enter, making walking uncomfortable. Another problem is that my socks are perpetually damp too. As luck would have it, there was a fun little store selling Keene brand hikers. Check out the pixs- not necessarily a fashion statement but comfy!
Next stop was supposed to be Bend Oregon,it comes highly recommended for beautiful scenery and is about three hours from Portland. We had planned on spending a few days there, but the weather wasn’t cooperating. Daytime temps would be in the low 50’s but overnight would drop to the 20’s, and also there would be snow in the elevated passes through the mountains. No worries, we will just keep moving up the coast-next stop Cannon Beach!

Gold Beach -Oregon Coast

Currently we continue progressing North on the Oregon Coast, Virtural Travelers.  Staying at the Turtle Rock Resort at Gold Beach gave us the opportunity to enjoy an almost deserted beach for our morning dog walks. The big guy and I made sure to walk down to the shore line in the evening to catch amazing sunsets.  Gold Beach has a spring contest where colored glass orbs are hidden throughout the town. When one is found the finder is entitled to join a raffle for a $100 -as an encouragement for us tourists to “look around town”.  We found one in a historical museum of sorts-most museums have gift stores attached so one could buy a souvenir if one is so inclined.  This gift shop had a museum attached, kind of a different spin on the same idea.  We also took the dogs hiking to Cape Blanco for more fabulous beach, pine forest and mountain sceans.  While eating lunch and visiting with a local BMW rider the big guy watched a whale frolicking by the Cape’s Lighthouse. The dogs and I missed it because we ate our lunch sitting in the shade of the car admiring the mountain views. Hopefully we will be stopping there again- great beaches!

Sunsets

Mutton and Raven at Cape Blanco

Morning dog walk on Gold Beach

Bodega Bay,- Not Just For the Birds!

Bodega Bay in California is the very small town in which Alfred Hitchcock filmed the memorable scene from “The Birds,” in front of the still standing schoolhouse.  The bay is lovely and the town is full of quaint shops and even a small Casino.  We set up camp at Bodega Bay RV Resort  and dinner appeared with the arrival of old friends, Jim and Karen Rector who live in Santa Rosa, about 30 minutes away. Karen brought along her new doggy companion, a red husky- a real beauty. She also brought wonderful chicken enchiladas! We shared breakfast together the next day- then the girls went shopping while the guys took the dogs to the beach then napped. More meals together, coffee and ice cream breaks and we were soon saying good-bye and heading down the road to Eureka. Yet another unique coastal town- altitude is 39 ft above sea level – lots of sand.

Kathy and Alfred hanging out at Bodega bay