Chapter 473

Bookin' It -

Leg #1 From Home to Auntie Karen's

We have been planning a trip with no timeline nor destination after our retirement. Since the teardrop was a little small for rainy weather, we opted to increase our RV length from 10' to 12' so we could be inside if it were to rain. 

We got off to a late start, a full day late, and ended up at JoAnn's only 4 hours away the first day. To their surprise we requested space in front of their house for the night we were graciously welcomed into their home. No sense staying in our 44" bed in the trailer when there is a perfectly great queen bed offered. Besides, we want to wait until we are too far away from home to return before we sleep in our bed. 

Here Scott is our greeting crew at our first stop in Albany, OR.

Somewhere in the distance is Mt. St. Helen's. Mountains do not EVER show up on my camera phone, yet I continue to take hundreds of photos of them. Why??? I'm just an optimist I guess.

We stopped at a rest stop and took a few moments to find a GeoCache before we hopped back into the car. Only 38 more to go to make it an 400. We should be able to knock that out by the end of our trip.

Our first stop is the Jedediah Smith State Park. We fit just fine into our average-sized camp spot. 

 Mt. Something or Other.

Jedediah Smith State Park, our first stop.

A native dugout canoe at the visitor's center at JS State Park.

The Smith River. It's really a pretty color that doesn't quite show up too well here.

Bob is making his hot cider to warm up on a cool evening. The project is two-fold. Bob gets cider and the trailer is warmed up all at one time.

We woke up to rain the next morning but we were glad to be able to move around inside the trailer and continue to function. That was the point of the "bigger" trailer.

So. We have to put this bottle on our drain so that we don't get our toothpaste water all over the environment. Funny how our bottle is floating in a puddle of scuzzy water.

The Redwoods Avenue of the Giants Highway in Redwoods National Park.

Geocaching in a giant redwood stump in the rain. This pose wasn't meant to be a photo op, it was meant for me to get out of the rain for a bit.

Bob is in a different dead tree with Reagan's flamingo, Albert. Don't we know how to live the high life???

Albert in a solo flight in a slimy dead redwood tree trunk in the middle of the rainy woods.

A super tall redwood tree dwarfs it's little descriptor sign far below the tree.

Dinner #2 in the trailer. I had fresh carrots and boil-in-the-bag brown rice cooking simultaneously in our one sauce pan while warming our cups up for cider. Meanwhile Bob grilled burgers outside. All-in-all a good low-key meal.

Andersen's Pea House was a favorite of mine when I was a kid. They made the BEST split pea soup ever. Since we were passing by, we stopped for an early dinner. The split pea soup was as good as I remembered Yu*um!

The interior was just as I remembered it. Nothing has changed in the 50 years since I've been in the restaurant. Nothing. NOTHING.

Bob had to work on the trailer's electrical system since it appeared I was charging the trailer battery off my phone. Bob got the electrons going the other direction so now I can charge my phone off the trailer battery. I'm pretty sure that's ow it was supposed to be from the beginning.

Our trailer is just like the International Space Station. Stuff is crammed in every nook and cranny and attached in some manner to keep it from bouncing around during transit. Add to that some Velcro on odds and ends and it sticks anywhere in the trailer to be available whenever it's needed. This allows us to move the light where it works the best.

We traveled through central California for hours and hours of nothing and nothing. Then more nothing. Then even a little bit more of nothing. 

While I sit in the car for these hours and hours, I crocheted a doll blanket for Reagan's pet Jaguar "E", per her request with the yarn she picked out at Walmart. Although it was similar to the yarn I had already purchased for this project, this yard had "sparklies" in it so back to the store with the first yarn I bought.

We ended up at my Aunt Karen and Uncle Bill's house in San Clemente, CA. Uncle Bill always BBQs something A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Tonight it was prime rib. OMG! It was sooo good.

Reagan thought she looked like Grampa in these sunglasses.

Reagan is almost 5 now! She's getting to be so big and independent these days, and she's trying hard to be ready to help out when Baby Brother arrives.

Reagan and her Jaguar "E" having their snacks at the table.

"Who me?" Reagan mines for goodies in her underbed drawer and Mozzie is her lookout.