Category Archives: RV Trips

9/17/2019 Salish Seaside RV Haven, Victoria BC, Day 7

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Yesterday Revisited

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Chinatown

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Hi, I’d Like Some Funk, Please.

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Ellen Preferred The Raptor to “My” Wolf

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A View from Finn’s Seafood

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Along the E&N Rail Trail

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Yesterday’s Walks

My GPS watch is charging. It was nearly out of charge this morning. Yesterday we walked a total of eight miles and I feel good.

This is great, let me explain.  All my life (until recently) I’ve been active, exercising 2 hours a day 6 days a week on average.  I played racquetball for hours, ran an hour a day, and/or did weight training.  I’ve been in great condition and pain free. 

Last December my replacement xbox came with Battlefield V, a single person shooter with thousands of players across the world.  I could play in a team of 32 players against another team of 32 players.  It is fascinating, challenging, rewarding, and frustrating.  I’d found a new addiction.  I’ve played practically every day for an hour or two in the afternoon and three to six hours in the evening.

About a month ago, after not exercising much for months, I hopped on an exercise bike for a two hour extravaganza.  This sort of all-or-nothing approach to exercise is “me”.  What was startling for me was the pain I was in the next day and few weeks.  My legs: hamstrings, inner leg, ankles, and lower back screamed in pain.  After sitting for a while I couldn’t stand straight without pain and had to stretch my lower back to stand.  This was agony; a new experience for me, and something I hoped was temporary.  All those TV ads for solutions to back pain made sense to me now.  When would this stop.

Each time I exited Li’l Beast, I’d have to stretch my lower back to stand straight.  It was painful to walk, though the pain subsided a bit with each step.  Sitting still during the 3 hour performance of Hamlet in Ashland led to a stiff neck that has hounded me these past few days.  More agony, pain was layered on pain.  This Sucks!

However, as we walked more I found the pain in my legs subsiding.  The pain in my lower back eased a bit each day.  My stiff neck was less stiff.  Then we walked everywhere yesterday.  This morning I feel great (again). My neck is still a bit stiff, I have a bit of leg pain, but my back feels normal again. ASTOUNDING.

I conclude (and for me), that some form of exercise is necessary every day to maintain a moderate level of neuromuscular health.  Muscles atrophy much more quickly than I had imagined.  Becoming couch potato for a few months, exercising my fingers on the xbox controller and nothing else did me in!

Consider the implications for society at large.  A sample of one is not statistically significant, but not if you are that “one”.

Morning Sunshine

I wish!  The skies opened up at 5:55 AM.  We awoke to a symphony of timpani on the roof.  The timpani have subsided, though the rain is still heavy at 8:26.  Welcome Fall in the North West.  62 F says the outdoor thermometer.  It’s a cool day and probably will not warm much with clouds masking the sun.  We’re in for a gloriously gray day, 

There are a few markets on Esquimalt.  The first two were so small, we didn’t bother to stop.  The Save-On Market looked to be a good choice and it is not far from Salish RV Resort.  The parking lot has a median between parking rows.  There is no way we could park in that cramped lot.  “Look over there, there’s lots of parking.”   The parking lot Ellen spotted was at the Da Vinci Center, an Italian American organization. 

Returning with our groceries, a woman said from her open window, “You cannot park here.  People pay for those spaces.  If an owner wanted to park there you’d hear about it!”  I apologized, “We’re just leaving. Sorry.  We’ll be gone in a few minutes.”  I looked the center up.  They host speaking Italian lessons and cooking classes.  They even have an October guided trip to Italy scheduled in October.

For some reason Li’l Beast’s GPS wanted us to go over a bridge into Victoria.  Luckily that bridge was under construction; and closed to traffic.  We headed south to another bridge into Victoria when the GPS woke up and guided us away from the bridge and right to Salish Seaside RV Haven.

 

Salish Seaside RV Haven

This is one of a very short list of favorite RV stops.  What makes Salish so special?  The view for one.  Proximity to Victoria via the inner harbor water ferries; two.  Proximity to the path around the inner harbor to Victoria; three.  The relatively new clubhouse, four.  Good WiFi and Sat visibility, five.  It is a small RV “camp”. Add to that we simply “feel good” here.

At check in we were met by the same personable, well spoken fellow who was here last year.  Tom has a wonderful true British accent, speech pattern, and mannerisms.  Check in was fun.  The office has a small selection of gifts and clothing for sale.  I have a new travel cup to replace the Home Depot one I’ve been using.   We’re snug in space 9 overlooking Victoria and the inner harbor.   We’re in site #9 for a few days.  We have a view of Victoria, the inner harbor, and float planes coming and going.

The wind has shifted.  Float planes taxi all the way from Victoria to our RV park, turn, run toward Victoria to take off. 

A lazy day of reading, playing cards, talking, watching floatplanes come and go, and planning.  We drove a total of An RV neighbor said the salmon run this year is poor.  Orcas follow the salmon and they’re also not here.  We are planning on a kayak experience off San Juan Island and a whale watching tour from Orcas Island, weather permitting.  We will play that by ear.

I read in the upstairs rec room by the fireplace with windows all around  while our laundry washed and the rain fell.  It’s a slow day today, and welcome after yesterday.  Our neighbor’s comments about the salmon run has Ellen thinking we will not go whale watching.  I’m more confident the weather will break.  We’re not due on Orcas Island for five days.  Change is inevitable.

The timpani drummers are at it again! Let ‘em wail away.  As rainy as it is, the inner harbor is visible and not socked in.  There’s hope for tomorrow.  No fettuccine for us this evening, though I did grab a personal chicken pot pie at Save-on earlier.  We definitely will not starve.

I’m reading Richard North Patterson’s “the Outside Man’.  It started slowly and it’s building.  I also picked up Moment of truth by Lisa Scottoline with a “New York Times Bestseller” banner.

9/16/2019 Fort Victoria BC, Day 6

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We’ll leave Fort Victoria RV Park shortly.   Skies are overcast with temperature at 59 F this morning.  We’d like to do some cycling with good weather.  Both the Galloping Goose Trail and the E&H Rail Trail run to the Johnson St. Bridge,  Our latest plan is to start at the bridge and head toward Sooke.  On less clement days, we’ll explore Victoria.

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The Confluence of E&N and Galloping Goose Trails

CORRECTION!  Due to a brain fart on my part, we have an “extra day” in Victoria.  We’ll stay at Fort Victoria RV Park tonight then move to Salish for three days tomorrow. 

Taxis

The local taxi company, Fort Victoria Taxi, has poor Google ratings.  Most ratings are 1 star.  Blue Bird Taxi in Victoria has a four star rating.  A taxi will pick us up at the RV office and whisk us to the Johnson St Bridge for ~ $20.00.  We could walk back on the E&N Rail Trail.  It’s 7 km.  Smart phones and the web have made selecting services much easier than hit-or-miss yellow pages or a call to information as we did 30 years ago.  

Everyone we have spoken with in Victoria has been very friendly, and seem happy and up-beat.

Our taxi arrived early and whisked us to the Johnson St Bridge,

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Johnson Street Bridge, Victoria BC

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Chinatown Victoria

Victoria

Right away we searched for a bakery and spotted “Dogs in the Bakery” just north of us.  We walked into Chinatown, turned down Fisgard St. and couldn’t locate the bakery, but Chinatown was a trip.  Next we found the Victoria Pie Co.  Tempting, but who wants to walk around Victoria with a pie and there’s no way we’d eat one there.  Now we were a few blocks from the Dutch Bakery and Diner and Crust Bakery.  The Dutch Bakery features sweets.  Their diner featured a bevy of white haired elderly folks: not our style.  Even so, Ellen engaged a server talking about “another bakery we visited near by …”  I rolled my eyes and exited.  No need to give this gal our life history when we’re clearly not interested.

A Bakery in Victoria?

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Sour Cherry Danish & Double Cappuccino

Just next door?  Crust Bakery with wonderful baked goodies and a line out the door.  The line moved quickly.  “I NEED a …”  I chucked as the woman ahead ordered.  We sat with our cappuccinos, a sour cherry Danish, and an almond Danish.  They were out of almond croissants, just as they were last year. We savored our crunchy Danishes as the four counter women pumped out baked goods and the line held strong at 10 people deep.

The clouds were breaking up as we headed to the inner harbor.  The sunny side of the street was becoming hot. We walked back down Johnson St and along wharf street.   The inner harbor is very much the same as I remember from last year.  “The Local” was very busy. We joined the mill of tourists walking the inner harbor.  The sea plane harbor was quiet, Restaurants were busy serving lunch.  We turned up a side street toward white capped turrets on a brick building.

 

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Really a Bug Zoo

“The Bug Zoo”, I thought of Gavin and how he might like visiting.  We stopped but didn’t venture inside.  “Eagle Feather Gallery” practically next door looked inviting. Eagle Feather is one of the artists whose work are displayed.  A nature park in Belgium purchased 16 of his work for display in their visitor’s center.  Cool.  He’s entered a impressionist phase that’s unappealing to me.  His earlier work is fantastic. Check out the wolf below.  Ellen mentioned the art gallery we’ll visit in Jackson Wyoming.  That dampened my excitement at seeing the wolf.  Chris, the owner’s husband, recommended the restaurant on the corner as having great appetizers during happy hour and a reasonable prices.

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“The Wolf” by Eagle Feather

St. Andrew’s founded 1866, we found the red brick building which turned out to be a Presbyterian Church.  We passed it many times but never had looked up at the spires.  The stained glass would have been interesting to see from inside, but the church was closed.

 

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Back at the inner harbor, Ellen pointed out a party boat painted in a typical Haida style. Clouds and fog were forming in the distance, but the sun shown bright in the inner harbor. We walked into the Empress Hotel and the Hotel Grand Pacific.  We were not yet hungry.  Even so we were looking for a place to alight.  We watched the Black Ball ferry unloading then walked back along the inner harbor.

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Party Boat in Unique Native Colors

Not that long ago Victoria was a quaint fishing village with very little in the way of tourist traps and few hotels.  How it has changed since the late 70’s.  There are hundreds of restaurants and perhaps as many hotels in town. There are remarkable native art galleries and typical tourist knickknack shops.  Bakeries are numerous.  Kiosks advertising whale watching tours, sea plane tours, party boat trips, schooner trips, and sight seeing bus tours stud the inner harbor.  They are understated in a “Canadian” way and not the rash in your face advertising you’d see elsewhere.  There are no street barkers and no neon signs.  Canadians assume you’ll find what you want with no need for hard sell.  It is refreshing.

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The Empress, Victoria BC

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Fog and Clouds approaching the Inner Harbor

Walking back toward “The Local”, I wanted to eat at “Finn’s Seafood Chops & Cocktails” while Ellen mentioned  “The Farmhouse”.  We dropped into The Farmhouse and found a coffee shop with sandwiches.  We were seated Finn’s outdoor patio.  We had seen a woman eating fettuccine with mussels that looked great but for the mussels.  They’re far from my favorite.  I asked Ellen if she would split an order of fettuccine and an order of Kusshi oysters.  She mentioned not loving mussels, but said ok.  Our waitress was fun.  She said we could go with all clams on the fettuccine for another $3.00 when the brought my Fat Tug IPA.  It was good medium hopped hazy IPA.   The six oysters were presented on the half shell over ice.  They were served with a slice of lemon, a bit of grated horse radish, and a small dollop of shrimp cocktail sauce each in a diminutive plate.  The Kusshi oysters are small and tasty, not at all chewy.  They were fabulous.  But the fettuccine with clams was a show stopper.  The pasta was served al dente, with a portion of steamed spinach, a bit of rosemary, and an olive/parmesan cheese/butter sauce.  The pasta was so very good and the clams were fresh and very tasty.  What a wonderful meal this was if you enjoy shell fish as we do.  The view over the patio of the inner harbor was great.  It was the meal that was momentous.  It brought me back to spaghetti con vongole in Sicilia.  It was that good.

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What is That?  It was Mexican Bulldog!

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Fettuccine with Clams Wonderfully Scrumptious

Where would we find the E&N Rail Trail?  We planned to walk back to Fort Victoria along the old rail right of way “just to see”.  Across the Johnson St. Bridge, three trails branch off.  One goes left along the inner harbor.  We had walked that one and knew it wasn’t the E&N Trail.  The left looked like it was or joined the Galloping Goose Trail to the north.  The center should be or lead to the E&N Rail Trail.  “Should”, how many times have I said “this should” or “That should be”.  Ellen tried to stop a cyclist to ask directions, no way a cyclist would stop.  A group of women said, “I think you’re on it.  This curves around to a bicycle shop and meets a trail there to the left”.  They were correct.  We found a sign for E&N  just past the cycle short fifteen minutes later.  The E&N trail “should” go right by Fort Victoria RV Resort.  Follow this trail and we should be home “in no time”.  No Time was an hour and a half.  We enjoy walking, though we’re out of shape.  We seldom walk more than a mile or so.

 

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The E&N Trail

The trail did not replace the E&N tracks.  Rather it is a bi-directional trail beside the tracks.  IT crosses a number of low traffic streets and a few heavily trafficked roads.  It runs through the length of Esquimalt runs between Esquimalt Nation and Songhees Nation and into the town of Royal View.  We walked a sidewalk through a TBD section of the trail in Esauimalt Nation and walked faster than traffic on the road was moving.  A bit later the trail turns left and becomes much more scenic and rural.  We saw a few spectacular homes on an inlet with a private dock in the distance.  There were many rabbits along the trail.  The E&N is a mishmash of a trail.  I’m hoping the galloping goose trail is more trail and less urban.  We may see later.

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The skies darkened as we walked.  Now and then a stray drop of rain fell, but we were comfortably cool and dry for most of the walk.  Toward the end the sky tried to rain, drops fell frequently, but never amounted to a rainfall.  We arrived “home” dry and happy to walk no further.

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Home

J E T S jets, jets, jets

Ellen is watching her game now.  I’d say happily, but the jets are not doing great.  That could change, “could”.

Today was a great day.  Sunshine helps.  We love to see rain, but please not every day.  OK?

9/15/2019 Elwha River Port Angeles, Day 5

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Fall in the Pacific North West

Why am I surprised that the sky is gray with clouds and intermittent often heavy rain.  The Olympic Peninsula is a rain forest after all. We may not be cycling today.  Not that we’ll melt, but there’s no reason to be uncomfortable, cold, or wet in the midst of beauty. The Strait of Juan de Fuca is gorgeous in good weather.  It can appear bleak and uninviting in cold wind driven rain.

With weather, anything is possible.  The sun could break through later today, though that is very unlikely.

Evenings, the temperature drops and the clouds open up.  We slept to the sound of heavy rain last night.  As the temperature warms in the morning, rain stops as the clouds store moisture and the promise of rain in the evening.  Plants benefit, we see vibrant green  everywhere. 

There is a burn ban in effect.  I expect it will lift soon.

Happy Wife, Happy…

It’s Football Sunday with NFL Sunday Ticket from DirecTV.  Cool. Search “Jets football” or “jets NFL’ on our guide and get no results!  WHAT?  Ok a Google search turns up Jets @ Browns Monday at 5:15, Monday Night Football.  Sunday Ticket only covers Sunday Football.  Why wouldn’t my search find Jets @ Bills in my lineup? Google search again for “Jets @ Bills” and up pops ESPN.  Tune into ESPN; I’m not subscribed to ESPN. 

DIRECTV offers three methods to solve this.  The first: Text upgrade to 223322.  Cool.  I do the text and get back a text stating, “DIRECTV MOBILE: go to DirecTV.com or call 1-800.531.5000, the other two on-screen methods.  Why even provide text to 332233 if it does absolutely nothing?  Probably for the money ATT makes charging for texts.  That SUCKS.   Go to DirecTV.com with tons of advertising for shows. Eventually I was routed to ATT.com, a maze of a website.  Method #2 is untenable.

Method #3: call.  The first thing you hear when ATT picks up is a sales pitch for NFL Sunday Ticket with extended instructions about how to subscribe, what to do to activate your subscription and on and on.  Such BS.  Using the voice recognition system I asked “upgrade ESPN” and was told “that package is unavailable”.  Typical of ATT.  I think they would have done better not to centralize ATT, ATT mobile, and DirecTV.  “Operator” and I was transferred to a live person who made ESPN happen for a few dollars more.

I cringe each time I want to make changes to my DirecTV account.   In any case ESPN is now available to me and “JETS @ BROWNS” is set to record tomorrow.  Ellen should be happy and happier if the JETS happen to win (an unusual occurrence).

CNN, Phase 10, Lazy Day – not.

Coffee this morning with the heat on briefly and a rookie mistake.  The heater cycles on, off, then stays off with no heat if LP is switched off.  ooops.  We finished last night’s phase 10 game and started another.   It was 10:45 when Ellen said, “Since the weather is bad and we’ll not bike today, let’s go to home depot in Victoria.  We can fix the drawer today.”  The next ferry to Victoria loads at 12:15. Black Ball said their reservations were full, they leave 20 slots open for arrivals without reservations, and we could go on standby if all slots are filled. “We have five slots open.”

We’ve never “broken camp” as quickly as we did that morning.  We took one of the last three RV slots.  Li’l Beast is rated a 24’ motorhome.  It is actually 25’ 6” long, but with the bicycles on back we measured out at 30’!  “UGE.   Port Angeles at sunrise is beautiful.  At mid day its commercial nature belies the area’s natural beauty.  The sound was socked in with nothing to see.  Victoria’s inner harbor was partly sunny.  A new marina was completed with a super yacht parked fronting a new hotel complex.  Each year there’s more construction here.

We were fourth off the boat and breezed through customs.

“Where do you live, how long will  you stay in Canada? Do you have firearms? Do you have beer? Do you have wine or spirits? Are you carrying bear spray?  Do you have marijuana products,”  

“One Beer, but it won’t last long (I had maybe 12).  Is marijuana legal in Canada?” 

“Yes it is legal in Canada, but you cannot bring any in.”  “Oh, Ok”

We called Salish RV Haven; no space available for tonight.  They recommended Fort Victoria RV Park.  They had availability, no reservation necessary.

Home Depot carries a variety of draw slides from 16” to 22”.  I took one of the slides with me, and found a strong 20” slide; the perfect length but maybe 1/2” wider than the original.  “Some Assembly Required” I thought.  The new sliders went in relatively easily with a bit of measuring, drilling, and screwing.  The sliders need a bit of lubrication, but they work.  

Fort Victoria RV Park

At 5:30 PM we drove a few miles to Fort Victoria for the night.   Fort Victoria sits right on the intersection of two bike trails.  Both are converted Railroad right of ways: the Galloping Goose Trail and the E&N Rail Trail.  Both run down to Victoria Harbor.   Though we could have, we chose not to unload the bikes this evening. 

We cooked a chicken meal in the convection oven, watched “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and played two games of phase 10. Ellen won the last game.

Fort Victoria RV Park packs ‘em in.  The sites are level with full hookups.  Many have good satellite visibility.  For a single night sitting window to window with neighbors we no problem.  I’d rather not stay here as “home base” even if I didn’t know about Salish.  Salish’s location has such a wonderful view and easy access via water taxi to Victoria.  Why stay anywhere else?

Checkout is at 11AM.  “I wonder how early we can arrive at Salish”, Ellen asked.  We’ll find out.

Port Angeles to Victoria Ferries

The ferry schedule varies by season.  In winter, the ferry runs once every day.  In high season it runs four times daily.   For us the ferry departs Port Angeles at 8:15, 12:45, and 5:20.  The 9:30 PM ferry stops on September 3.  I recommend making ferry reservations well ahead of time.  We arrived for the 12:45 ferry at 10:20 AM and barely made it on.  Had we missed the 12:45 we would have been first in line for non-reservations on the 5:20 PM sailing; inconvenient, but doable.  If you miss the last ferry, you’ll be spending a night at Fort Victoria RV Park.

The ferry takes an hour and a half to make the crossing.  People rush upstairs to grab booth seating.  There are rows of seats in the bow, where we sat.  Even though we were relatively early on the boat, most booth seats were taken.  You’ll find food and drink aboard ship.  Ellen brought a tray of fried potato slices that were yummy.

9/14/2019 Elhwa River Port Angeles, Day 4

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Mt Shasta, Day 1.

 

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Mango Salad Lunch, Day 2.

 

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Muted Sunset, Day 3.

 

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Barrel Sauna, Toutle River RV Resort, Nice.

 

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Very Hot and Relaxing Last Night, Day 3.

 

Some Early Morning Rambling, Day 4

“Alexa, play NPR”, is our morning mantra when we’re home.  On the road we’ve done without.  This morning I thought, “humm,  Siri?”  and said, “Hey Siri, Play NPR”.  Will this work?  Seconds later on came NPR.  GREAT, our morning ritual survives.

This morning and for the first time this trip, the temperature in Li’l Beast is a cool 64 F. The sky is overcast, the grass is vibrant green.  On longer trips we settle into a rhythm of activity in the morning and evening that makes life in a confined space easy.  We’ve not hit stride yet; we’re close.  We still fumble with what goes where and avoiding clutter.  The noisy ‘fridge fan has been quiet for days.  I’ve ordered a replacement thermistor that Amazon will ship to a rite-aid in Anacortes.  I’ll pick it up there.  Amazon has established “Amazon Lockers” worldwide that are places they will ship to for later pickup.  I love the way forward thinking companies anticipate and fill needs.  I’m freed from Camping World and Walmart for parts on the road.  This is ‘UGE.  I would have shipped to Anacortes, but Amazon’s delivery date was the day we will leave for Victoria.  With a quiet fan we can wait.

This year we’re skipping a Seattle/Whidbey Island visit.  To avoid weather in the Rockies, we cannot spend a few days or a week visiting friends.  Whidbey Island is quaint and well worth an extended visit.  Clamming or crabbing is fun; seafood right out of the ocean?  Scrumptious.  Perhaps we’ll have similar experiences in the San Juan Islands.

Some days we have a long drive, though I prefer to plan numerous short hops.  Today is an intermediate day with about 2:30 drive time.  I look forward to exploring Port Angeles and surrounding.  The last time we came through we awoke early to catch the ferry for Victoria and spent zero time on the Olympic Peninsula.  The allure of the Olympic Discovery Trail was enough for us to schedule a two day stop over before moving on to Victoria and Salish Seaside RV Haven. 

A quick note about Salish Seaside RV Haven and reservations in general.  We happened to find Salish the last time we visited Victoria.  The RV Haven has spectacular views of Victoria over the sea plane landing strip on the ocean there.  When we travel in September and October we seldom make reservations ahead of time.  Typically camping sites have availability in the fall.  Because Salish is so well situated, I made reservations well ahead of time.  As it turns out early September is still popular for RV’ers in Washington and the San Juans.  Mt St Helens KOA, one of our “go to” sites, was booked.  My first choice in Port Angeles had no availability for us; I booked the last site at my 2nd choice!  It is clear that there would be no availability at Salish had I waited. With availability so tight, we may be dry camping in the San Juans.  I may have call Lake Louise and Glacier National Park well ahead of our arrival or it could be a non-issue later in September.  We had not difficulty without reservations in  Yellowstone last year.  I’m not concerned, though it is more comfortable glamping than stopping at some random  roadside pullout (something that’s not possible  in national parks).  

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We’re getting a late start today after lazing about with NPR and “wait wait”, Nespresso, and breakfast.  Clearly we’re not in a rush today.

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Highway 101, Washington State

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Overlooking the Hood Canal

Hood Canal, Washington

We left Toutle River RV Resort at 11:10 AM.  We said bye to the Sauna, the River, and CC (our friendly site manager) and headed north on I-5 toward Tacoma and Seattle.  A few miles south of Tacoma we veered north west on 101.   This brought us to the west side of the hood canal before skirting along the Straits of Juan de Fuca which divides the U.S. and Canada.

At noon we stopped at the Hood Canal Market, Hoodsport Washington to get groceries.  The last loaf of French bread and sliced cold cuts from the deli made a good sandwich: roast beef for me, turkey for Ellen.  We did get assorted peppers and some frozen veggies to use when we get lazy with dinner and some other staples.

 

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Hama Hama Seafood, Established 1922

Maybe fifteen miles later we cruised by Hama Hama Seafood. “Do you want to stop?”, as we whizzed by.  “Oh, I don’t know” “Fresh steamed clams?”  I U-turned and we went right back.  The fridge was not happy running on propane.  I went into the restaurant as Ellen waited for the fridge to purge the propane line and operate normally.

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Beer’s To Ya

I walked into the retail shop first “on” mistake (I hate the way that phrase changed in the past 20 years, but that’s a rant for another time).  They had a good selection of fresh oysters in a water bath and a few Manila clams.  In frustration I walked out and into the outdoor restaurant which was buzzing.  I ordered a pound of steamers and an IPA.  The IPA came immediately along with number 70 on a stick.  Number 70 and I found a seat and watched the race: Ellen vs clams.  Ellen won and a pot of steamed clams arrived shortly after.  They were good and the first steamed clams we’ve had in 2019.  Had we not eaten those sandwiches, we would have ordered oysters and more.  We left comfortably sated.

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Hama Hama was Packed

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Heat on Our Backs was Very Welcome

The drive along the hood canal is a two lane road, one lane in each direction with turnouts for slow traffic.  By law a slow driver must turnout when four or more people have been inconvenienced.  I turned out a few times for one or two cars, but never felt pushed and usually had nobody behind.  The drive is curvaceous, but not uncomfortably so at speeds between 40 and 55 mph.  Driving along the Hood Canal is picturesque.  I wonder what real estate prices are.  It’s not easily accessible from Seattle; the ferry runs to Port Townsend tens of miles to the north. 

As we passed the  turnoff to Port Townsend, traffic picked up for a while then settled down again.  Driving along the north side of the Olympic Peninsula on 101 is not nearly as beautiful as  the Hood Canal.  The road sits back from the water.  We had only seen Port Angeles from the ferry terminal at sunrise.  Port Angeles was a surprise. It is industrially commercial and not a wonderful place to visit IMO.  We drove through “to see” and were happy to come out the other end and off to Elhwa Dam RV Resort.

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Elhwa Dam RV Resort’s Garden

Elhwa Dam RV Resort

The first impression driving into the resort was disappointing.  Spaces seem close together and the “resort” seems small, because it is small.  I had called ahead and could chose between a narrow full hookup and a water and electric only site.  We switched to the water and electric only site and I’m glad we did.  We had to use leveling blocks for side to side comfort. Front to back was perfect.  We have clear sat reception.  A bonus: Elhwa Dam RV Resort has an organic garden that we can pick from.  I ate a few strawberries.  Ellen found a raspberry.  We’ve picked zucchini blossoms, a tomato, and lettuce for dinner.

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Too Bad They’re Not Ripe

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A Gardening Marvel

The garden features a small solar array that power pumps.  Water is pumped from a large fish tank, through 3” PVC Pipes, through a large filter, and back to the fish tank.  The fish poo provides fertilizer for the plans.  The large 3” pipes are full of water flowing past the plant roots.  To fully close the loop the fish would have to live on some part of the plant life.  As it is they’re fed goldfish food.  It’s a very competently designed system that shows evolution over time.

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Picked from Elhwa Dam’s Garden

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What’s for Dinner Tonight?

Ellen just roasted a few zucchini blossoms to finish off our vegetarian meal.  Though they shriveled up (not being breaded), they were yummy.

With our late arrival, we’ll keep the bikes under wraps and see what tomorrow brings weather wise.  The forecast is for rain for the next few days. 

Siren Call

Interestingly, this is a trip to Glacier National Park and Yellowstone.  Yet, here we are headed to Victoria and the San Juan Islands.  We are very fortunate to have both the time and ability to meander as we are.  I love visiting Washington State and British Columbia.  I love the ocean.  The promise of the sea: oysters, clams, crab, and fresh fish.  It beckons to us.  We shall succumb.

9/13/2019 Castle Rock, Day 3

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Toutle River RV Resort

We’re camped along RR tracks. While watching Suits last night a huge train went by.  It started as a low clicking sound and grew to a crescendo.  Ellen jumped up, “that’s not a train”.  A heavy downpour had started.  We battened down The Beast and swabbed the decks.  In our RV travels over the past two years we very seldom had mist or rain.  This was a deluge!   Good stuff.

Overnight the rain abated and started afresh around 6 AM.  Visibility is poor.  it’s not the best day to be going up Mt St Helens.  Do we push on or stay?

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Cog Moose, On The Road Again

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Toutle River with 60’ of debris filling the valley floor!

We had a leisurely morning the drove SR 504 to the three Mt St Helens visitors centers.  Each center focuses on a different aspect of the eruption with different movies playing on a loop.  The extent of the mud and ash flow in the Toutle Valley is jaw dropping.  The sludge that ran down the Toutle River ran all the way to the Columbia.   The Columbia River’s shipping lane filled with mud, ash, and trees; closed; and had to be dredged.

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Numerous Bridges cross Toutle River’s Tributaries

The sides of the Toutle Valley was replanted in the 80’s.  The Noble Fir on the south facing slopes and the Douglas Firs on the north facing slopes have grown tall.  They stand in startling uniformity of shape and size.

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A Successful Male and some of his Harem.

At one scenic view appropriately named Elk Rock, a couple shared their binoculars to view some elk in the valley.  One, two, three, a baby nursing, a male with a huge rack, Elk kept appearing.  Clearly this was one harem.  Then atop the ridge another group strolled out of cover; another twenty or so.  Then a third harem.  There must have been close to 50 elk, two separate groups, in close proximity.  Even at this distance the male’s trumpet sounded crisp and clear; a warning to other males or a call to his girls to move?

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I’ve Never Seen so many Elk Together (long distance shot, no tripod)

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One Hungry Baby Elk

To the right of the Elk a lone blazing white mountain goat broke cover and ran across the ridge.

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Mt St Helens Crater Obscured by Clouds

Clouds obscured Mt St Helen’s crater as shadows played across the valley.   What we could see of the mountain was desolate, barren, uninviting.   As with Mt Vesuvius, the sheer amount of material blown from the mountain top is staggering.  I’ve visited the Toutle River valley a few times and each time I feel renewed respect for the sheer power of nature and volcanoes in particular.  The extent of the devastation in the 1980’s explosion is hard to grasp without actually looking over the valley and realizing it is filled with between 30 and 60 feet of debris that extends all the way to the Columbia River and that the ash traveled hundreds of miles and blanketed regions in ash. 

The drive back to Castle Rock went quickly.  We skipped the gas/restaurant/gift shop area east of I-5 and drove into the old town to walk the streets and find a bite to eat.  Castle Rock is a small town.  I was told it was lively before the eruption and that it is slowly coming back.  We walked the eight blocks of “downtown”.  Failing to find a restaurant per se, we stopped in “The Vault” a coffee shop housed in what once was a bank.  I mentioned that we had not found a place to eat.  “I’m just here getting a coffee.  You should try Wine Dog Down across the street.  I’m headed back there.  We serve pizza on flatbread, salads, and wine.  It’s good.”

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Great People & Great Food

Across the street group of loud revelers sat in the Crosscut Taproom’s window.  Just next door, Wine Dog Down was welcoming and quiet.   The restaurant was nearly empty; we took the table by the window.  James brought out a menu, then launched into a description of a new pizza he is trying:  naan flatbread with olive oil, some garlic, parmesan  and mozzarella cheese, and blueberries.  I had their take on a Margherita  pizza with balsamic reduction and a glass of chardonnay.  Ellen steers clear of garlic; I thought for sure she’d share the pizza.  Truly Surprising, Ellen opted for James’ new creation.

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My Margherita Pizza Disappeared in a Flash

My pizza and wine was very good.  James gets his naan bread fresh daily from the bakery next door.  It sets the pizza off.  Ellen’s blueberry pizza was spectacular.  “How did you like the pizza?”  We talked for a while with James about pizza, ingredients, dough, Mt St Helens.  He said he was 8 years old when the mountain erupted.  He could see the cloud from his home between Tacoma and Seattle!  Everyone locally knows where they were the day it happened.  Castle Rock is not a culinary wasteland.  The owner of The Oasis, a bar, is planning to expand opening a restaurant next door and there are two bars and Crosscut that serve good food as well.

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Blueberry Pizza, YUM!

Nice that there was less shouting on Bill Maher’s show tonight.  This month’s political trope is will the democrats go centrist or go “far left”.  There is no agreement between the two sides.  The possibility of a stalemate in the democratic convention and the selection of a “safe” candidate like Amy Klobuchar could be victorious.

We took a sauna this evening; sauna in a barrel, truly.  The dry heat is relaxing even refreshing up to a point.  A cold shower to finish off = perfect.

Off to Port Angeles and the Olympic Discovery Trail. ODT is a railroad right of way that’s been converted into a bicycle path.  It is 35 miles long and runs (mostly) along the north rim of the Olympic Peninsula.  We’ll be staying at an RV Park practically on the OTD.  Weather could be an issue.  Rain is in the forecast.

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Best Photo of the Day

 

In retrospect today was all about Elk, Food, Good People, Barrel Sauna, and Nature’s Brute Power.  Off to the Olympic Peninsula for some cycling tomorrow.

9/11/2019 Redding to Ashland, Day 1

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Day 1, Our First Full Day on the Road

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Allen Elizabeth Theater, Ashland Oregon

On 9/10 we left late, drove to Redding, and stayed at the Marina RV Park in Redding.  We’d stayed there last year.  Nothing has changed it was just as expected.  On the way we passed Shasta Lake, snowcapped Mt. Shasta, Shasta Caverns, and  a bit further on, “The Crags”.  Sometime next year we will visit the Mt Shasta region for a few weeks.

We had hoped to make it to Ashland on 9/10 even with our late start.  It is much more fun to stop early and enjoy sundown once we’ve settled in.

The Yreka WallyWorld had a cheap sleeping bag, we’ll use it and not make the bed daily. It’s a short 50 miles further to Emigrant Lake just south of Ashland.  We took a “full hookup” site overlooking the lake. Last year we drove Li’l Beast into downtown Ashland.  That was a mistake; there is no RV parking to be found in the city.  Uber is available and would pick us up at the Lake!  Cool.

Unusual for Ellen, she wanted to relax and rest for  “a while” before going in town.  “What’s available to do in Ashland today”, she asked. I found that the Oregon Shakespeare Festival was staging Macbeth this evening.  Cool.  Each time we’ve driven through Ashland the festival was over.

We lounged.  I read some of a mystery I “borrowed” yesterday.  Time passed lazily.  The first Uber driver messaged to say he was headed to the airport and would be very late.  Our second uber driver took us right to the Starbucks downtown. “Oh yes,, Macbeth and two others are playing tonight.  The ticket office is just up the street there to the left across from the outdoor amphitheater. Macbeth is playing in the outdoor theater, just past the one you see there.” 

Do we see a play tonight?  I had seen ticket prices ranging from $55 to $155.  “Let’s see what’s available”  Once we found our way, the ticket office’s open door was obvious.  Inside stood a small maze to guide people to the three ticket windows on the right.  The maze was empty.  The three people issuing tickets were sitting at their windows with no customers.  However to our left was a long bench with a number of people patiently waiting, but clearly not in line for tickets.  This was very strange; a line that was not a line!  What’s up?  The center ticket guy motioned to us.

“What are these people waiting for?  They are clearly not in line.”  “Oh, they’re waiting for rush to open.  Sometimes if we don’t sell out a performance, we put the remaining tickets on sale at $40.00.  You could wind up with a $155 seat for $40.  They are waiting for rush to open at 7:00.”   “Is this performance outdoors? Will we be sitting on stone?”  “Yes it is outdoors, but you’ll be sitting on regular seats, There are blankets available for a fee, a concession area, and you can bring your drinks to your seats.”  

In the “rush group” a couple beside us were from Marin, another from Walnut Creek, and a woman who had dropped her daughter off for college was from San Mateo.  The Walnut Creek couple hoped for tickets to “The Cambodian Rock Band”.  Though sold out, two tickets became available, but were snapped up.

We walked out at 7:00 with our 2nd row balcony seats, ate a rushed meal at Umami Sushi, and headed back to find the outdoor theater. The “outdoor theater” is more truly an open air theater.  It is a crescent of seating facing a stage that fills in the crescent. It is fully enclosed though open to the sky.  Blankets and cushions in hand we walked up to balcony seating.  An usher with a wide grin said, “Stop!”.  When someone says stop, we stop.  She pointed through a stand of trees to our right, “Look, isn’t it beautiful”.   There was the 3/4 moon rising through the trees.  We grinned back.  “We often marvel at the beauty of sunsets and the moon.” 

Macbeth was well done, though long at 3 hours running.  Our blankets kept us warm.  Most interesting, aside from the play itself, historically the play was first performed in 1606!   A year after the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to blow up parliament and King James I.  Hamlet brought to mind Game Of Thrones.  There is lots of mayhem with few of the principals surviving.

An Uber picked us up at the Starbucks a few minutes after we left the theater and took us right to Li’l Beast.  We were comfortably home for the night.

New England RV Trip 2015

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We left for our tour of New England with no travel itinerary. We chose to follow our whims as we went. I highly recommend this approach to RV travel “off season”. Up to Columbus day, we had no trouble finding open campgrounds with available campsites. In fact the campgrounds were practically empty, with some notable exceptions: Normandy Farms Foxboro discounts Columbus day and was booked the weekend we left, the Keene Pumpkin Festival moved to Laconia and campgrounds fill for the festival. On a day we relocated, we would look for campgrounds in the area we expected to stay and called ahead. We had no problem finding a number of possible campsites. All this changed after Columbus day. In New England, Columbus Day marks the end of “the season”. Though some campgrounds close Sept 15th, most close after October 15th and practically all are closed by November 1. We had some trouble finding campsites after November 1. Things close earlier in Maine where we boondocked two days in mid-October.

By having no plans, we could stay as long or as short as we liked. We enjoyed visiting family and friends where we stayed a few days. We used Foxboro Ma as base camp for exploring Boston, Concord, Lexington, Arlington, and Cambridge in a rentall car and Mountain View Campground in Morrisville Vt to explore Stowe. We were not sure how we would do on an extended RV trip. Before we left, friends would ask, “How long will you be gone?” I’d answer, “six to eight weeks” to which Ellen would retort, “we’ll see, four weeks maybe six”. We both agreed as we buzzed home driving 500+ days that we could have been on the road another month. There were so many places we skipped with “limited time”. If we had it to do over, we would have left mid-August. It is great having tourist destinations almost to yourself, as we did on Cape Cod or in Maine. The down side? Practically no shops are open. Those that are open display a huge 10 foot flag stating “OPEN” in huge letters. So much of the charm of small towns on the cape are the people and the seasonal food. Both become scarce off season.

We skipped visiting Yellow Springs and Write Patterson in Ohio, spending more time on The Cape, exploring Moosehead Lake and northern Maine, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Gloucester, and Salem. We drove past a great number of those brown signs marking points of interest. We simply did not have the time to do “everything”. There were a number of museums we drove past.

We also had three system failures on our trip: 1. hot water running cold with the water heater working fine, 2. central locking crapped out, 3. the refrigerator refused to run on 12 volts. We also had the engine start hard and run very rough with the inverter on. Restarting with the inverter off solved that “problem”. The hot water issue was caused when a campground ran high pressure air thorugh their lines to clear them ahead of a freeze. We were attached. The pressure forced the check valve into the sleeve effectively blocking hot water flow. The check valve is $9 part at camping world. Central Locking and the Fridge are yet to be fixed.

We had a phenominal trip, made more memorable by our daily log. We revisit the blog to relive our trip.

Here is our timeline. I’d say “itinerary”, but that suggests pre-planning, something we assiduously avoided. We had a want list including Stowe, the White Mountains, Cog Railway, Franconia Notch, Smuggler’s Notch, Conway, Hampton and Rye Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, Boston, Arlington and surrounds, the North Shore, Zip Lines, a moose tour, New York City, Long Island, Mystic Ri, Groton, Crowly RV, the Inner Harbor Baltimore, Washington DC; some we skipped, others we did.

 

9/16/2015 Truckee Ca Coachland RV 10873
9/17/2015 Austin, Nv Pony Express RV Park 11083
9/18/2015 Salina, Ut Butch Cassidy RV Park 11452 Cindy recommended Pony Espresso Deli Eureka Nv
9/19/2015 Parachute, Co Battlement Mesa RV Park 11718 Duayne @ Ace; Jenny @ campground; Green River State Park
9/20/2015 Woodland, Co Diamond Campground 11955 Vail; Breckenridge; past Cripple Creek; John and Rona
9/21/2015 Woodland, Co Woodland RV Park & Campground 11958 Visit with Rich, Alea,
9/22/2015 Woodland, Co Woodland RV Park & Campground 11958
9/23/2015 Woodland, Co Woodland RV Park & Campground 11958
9/24/2015 Oakley, Ks High Plains RV Campground 12218 Capt’n Jack’s Pub, Kobe Beef, Crab Cakes, great showers
9/25/2015 Danville, Mo Lazy Day Campground 12743 Lazy Day great campground. Skipped Chrystler Museum, Oz museum, Totoz Taco, Dinosaur Museum
9/26/2015 Mansfield, Oh Walmart Boondock 13298 Skipped Yellow Springs, Dayton Museum, Cincinnati
9/27/2015 Grand Island, Ny Cinderella Motel and Campsite 13598 Niagara Falls
9/28/2015 Syracuse, Ny Visiting Carol, Paul, Dylan, and Jameson 13688 Empire Brewing
9/29/2015 Syracuse, Ny Visiting Carol, Paul, Dylan, and Jameson
9/30/2015 Syracuse, Ny Visiting Carol, Paul, Dylan, and Jameson
10/1/2015 Syracuse, Ny Visiting Carol, Paul, Dylan, and Jameson
10/2/2015 Tivoli, Ny Visiting David,, Chris, Danny, & Erica 13966
10/3/2015 Tivoli, Ny Visiting David,, Chris, Danny, & Erica
10/4/2015 Tivoli, Ny Visiting David,, Chris, Danny, & Erica
10/5/2015 Tivoli, Ny Visiting David,, Chris, Danny, & Erica
10/6/2015 Fort Ann, Ny Moose Hillock Camping Resort 14114 Near Lake George, Adirondack outlet mall most extensive for miles
10/7/2015 Ticonderoga, Ny Brookwood RV Resort 14172 Lake George
10/8/2015 Lake Placid, Ny Cascade Acres Campground 14246 Fort Ticonderoga in the afternoon, Ellen:”There is literally no other RV @camp tonight”
10/9/2015 Winooski Vt North Beach Campground 14342 Mirror lake & Lake Placid in the morning, Ferry to Burlington VT, North Beach is right on the lake.
10/10/2015 Morrisville, Vt Mountain View Campground 14395 Near Stowe Vermont
10/11/2015 Morrisville, Vt Mountain View Campground
10/12/2015 Morrisville, Vt Mountain View Campground
10/13/2015 St Johnsbury, Vt Moose River Campground closed the campground
10/14/2015 Littleton, Nh Crazy Horse Campground 14708 closed the campground, search for Cherry Lake a bust.
10/15/2015 Lincoln, Nh Country Bumpkin Campground White mountains, cog railway, smuggler’s notch, the Flume
10/16/2015 Lincoln, Nh Country Bumpkin Campground Closed the campground
10/17/2015 Woodbury, Nh KOA Woodbury Nh Closed the campground, expensive but very nice campground, drove the Kancamangas Highway
10/18/2015 North Conway, Nh Eastern Slope Campground 14918 No hot water in the AM (they blew out their lines)
10/19/2015 Portland Me Elks Lodge, electric hookup ate at Bea’s Café recommended by gal at camping world, purchased check valve
10/20/2015 Portland Me Walmart Boondock drove Old Orchard Beach & north along the coast. Gave up install of check valve
10/21/2015 Meredith, Nh Meredith Woods Campground 15220 Beast serviced @ Prime Motors Portland Me, Indoor heated pool, Full resort style glamping
10/22/2015 Meredith, Nh Meredith Woods Campground
10/23/2015 Meredith, Nh Meredith Woods Campground 15310 James ordered an electronic switch to fix our hot water problem, Part & Jim never arrived, left late afternoon
10/24/2015 Shelburne Falls, Ma Country Aire Bridge of Flowers, pedestrian bridge Brookline, NH; West End Café; The Best Pizza in New England
10/25/2015 Shelburne Falls, Ma Country Aire
10/26/2015 Hatfield, Ma Ed & Jean Parked The Beast and stayed with Ed and Jean for five days!
10/27/2015 Hatfield, Ma Ed & Jean
10/28/2015 Hatfield, Ma Ed & Jean
10/29/2015 Hatfield, Ma Ed & Jean
10/30/2015 Hatfield, Ma Ed & Jean
10/31/2015 Hatfield, Ma Ed & Jean
11/1/2015 Bourne, Ma Scusset Beach State Park Campground Closed the Campground, Marconi Station & White Cedar Swamp
11/2/2015 Foxboro, Ma Normandy Farms Family Campground Resort
11/3/2015 Foxboro, Ma Normandy Farms Family Campground Resort Enterprise Rental and trips to Boston, Concord, Lexington, Arlington, and Cambridge
11/4/2015 Foxboro, Ma Normandy Farms Family Campground Resort
11/5/2015 Foxboro, Ma Normandy Farms Family Campground Resort Brad’s RV Service fixed our hot water problem
11/6/2015 Foxboro, Ma Normandy Farms Family Campground Resort
11/7/2015 North Stonington, Ct Mystic KOA Campground Mysic Ct, Mystic Old Town, Mystic Seaport
11/8/2015 North Stonington, Ct Mystic KOA Campground steamers on the half shell (errr)
11/9/2015 Clarksboro, Nj Timberline Campground Ferry Monmouth-NYC financial district, world trade center, central locking fail
11/10/2015 Dumfries, Va Prince William Forest RV Campground 16487 Fort Mercer & Valley Forge
11/11/2015 Hilton Head, SC Jessie & Ryan 17016 Savannah, fishing, oyster toad fish,
11/12/2015 Hilton Head, SC Jessie & Ryan
11/13/2015 Hilton Head, SC Jessie & Ryan
11/14/2015 Moton, Ms Roosevelt State Park 17609 surprisingly, we stumbled upon Roosevelt State Park, on of our favorites from our first X-country trip!
11/15/2015 Vidalia, La River View RV Park & Resort 17795 Natchez Trace, Nathez, camping on the Mississippi
11/16/2015 Abilene, Tx Buck Creek RV Park 18353 Tornado watch, high wind, rain, hail, stopped at Buck Eez bbq brisket was forgetable
11/17/2015 Alberquerque, Nm High Desert RV Park 18873 Billy the Kid’s grave, heavy X-winds, Trouble with fridge not running on 12 volts.
11/18/2015 Kingman, Az Sunrise RV Park 19357 warming as we drove through Arizona, T-shirt weather @ petrified forest & painted desert
11/19/2015 home 19999 Total of 9,126 miles driven 66 days on the road.

Natchez Mississippi

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Roosevelt State Park Campground

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Our Favorite Campsite

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The Next Campsite Down the Lake

Leaving Jessie, Ryan, and Hilton Head, we headed west toward home.  Our GPS wanted to route us through Atlanta, something we chose not to do.  Instead we I-95 to I-85 to I-20 going through Columbus, Tuskegee, Montgomery, Selma, Meridian, and Jackson.  It was a long haul day driving through Georgia, Louisiana, and into Mississippi .  We need to be home by the 21st to host a family get-together.  Ellen would prefer to arrive home on the 19th.

As we pushed on, it became clear fatigue would set in before we reached Jackson.  Ellen found a campsite east of Jackson, Roosevelt State Park. I remembered Roosevelt Park from our inaugural trip driving The Beast back from Crowley RV in Bristol Connecticut.  No, it could not be the same park, could it? As we turned off I-20 and a bit later turned left into the park, I was sure it was the same campground.

On that trip home from Connecticut there were two outstanding campsites, Oak Hollow in Georgia  and Roosevelt State Park, Mississippi.  Our favorite campsite is #87 with its stairs down to the picnic table and a campsite dock on the lake.  #87 was taken.  We slipped into #88 right beside 87 and on the lake.  It was amazing that we happened to find this park and campsite without making it a point to do so.

Roosevelt State Park was much busier in November than it had been last February.  We arrived well after the office had closed, but made it a point to swing by the office in the morning to pay for our campsite.  I enjoy supporting state parks and in this case one of our favorite stops.

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Roosevelt State Park Guest

Natchez Trace Parkway

Just past Jackson in the town of Clinton, we turned south onto Natchez Trace Parkway.  The Natchez Trace is a historic forest trail that runs from Nashville Tennessee to Natchez Mississippi. Today the trace between Jackson and Natchez is a two lane road through remote sections of Mississippi. It is also one of the best maintained roads I’ve driven.  It winds through swamp land and forest then into vividly green pastures and farm land.. We saw very few cars on our drive south.

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We did see a Coyote.

Natchez trace figures prominently in the Civil War. Ulysses Grant used the trace in his march north to Jackson and Vicksburg.  Though Sherman is better known for his scorched earth policy, it was Grant who developed the policy.  Interestingly he and 17,000 troops stayed in Port Gibson and at the Windsor Mansion.  Grant spared the town and the Windsor Mansion saying, “It is to beautiful to burn”, or so the legend goes.  The Windsor Mansion survived the civil war only to burn to the ground.  A careless smoker destroyed one of the most beautiful mansions in the south.

The Windsor ruins are about ten miles west of Natchez Trace.   All that remain are the massive columns that supported an above ground basement and two floors.  The ruins are roped off with warning signs stating that the ruins are unstable.  There is a path around the ruins that we walked.  We both gingerly stepped over the ropes and walked the ruins.   The columns were made of brick, plastered over and had iron Corinthian capstones.

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With the afternoon waning, we took highway 61 south to Natchez.  The trace is beautiful, highway 61 is fast.  The sun was low in the sky as we drove through Natchez.  Ellen suggested visiting the welcome center.  We could learn about the town and get a feel for what we want to do with our afternoon.  There are signs posted leading to the welcome center which is on the south side of town near the Natchez-Vidalia bridge.  It is not your typical tourist information kiosk; it is a huge building.  With limited time, we hardly noticed the interior of the building, focusing our attention on the attendants at desks behind two windows.  One asked if she could help us.  We asked for a map of Natchez and her recommendations for what to see or do with limited time.

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Natchez Welcome Center

 

During the steamboat era more than half of the millionaires in the United States lived in Natchez.  Natchez supported the Union in the civil war and was spared destruction, unlike so many other cities and towns that Grant and Sherman marched through.

Tours of the mansions is a highlight of any visit to Natchez. On a Sunday  only a handful of tours are open.  We only had time for two half hour tours leaving a half hour to get to the first and a half hour between the two.  There was a full hour tour at another that we simply did not have time for. We chose two: Longwood, an unfinished mansion, and Stanton Hall located on a full city block.  we purchased tickets and took a map of the Natchez mansions with us as we went off to find Longwood.  Just before we left, I asked where we could get a bit to eat.  The Camp Restaurant and Magnolia Grill both at the waterfront were recommenced.  Ellen asked if there was an RV park close by. Yes, there was one just across the bridge in Louisiana that is right on the river.

We had no problem finding Longwood and stopped at the gate office.  “Yes, we are here for a tour and we have tickets”  There was a concert starting as we arrived.  We were directed to “RV Parking” at the back.  We walked back to the gift shop to start our tour along with a few dozen couples headed to the concert lawn chairs.   The band was playing and they were good!

Longwood Plantation (AKA Nutt’s Folly)

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Beautiful and Expansive Exterior

On our tour of Longwood Mansion, our guide stated that Adams County (Natchez is in Adams County) was pro-abolition and supported the north in the Civil War.  Nonetheless, Natchez surrendered to the Union on two separate occasions: once to the Army and a second time to the Navy.   A tour of Longwood Mansion is not to be missed.   It is an octagonal mansion that was never finished.  Dr Haller Nutt a wealthy cotton grower who specialized in the cultivation and sale of cotton seed, saw plans for a home by architecht Samuel Sloan of Philidelphia.  Sloan had never thought the house would be built, it was a study in what was possible.  Dr. Nutt contacted Sloan and with some changes, work began on the home.  The Civil War interrupted building of the mansion.  The exterior was completed as was the raised basement.  Thinking that the war would last a few months, the family occupied the basement (lower floor).  The war lasted much longer than a few months and tragically work on the mansion stopped with the upper floors unfinished.  A tour of the mansion starts in the lower floor, which is large and its octagonal shape is novel. Walking upstairs to the second floor is jaw-dropping.  The mansion is 30,000 square feet though its full size is not apparent until you walk to the second floor. The structural brick has not been plastered over, no doors are in place, and the sheer size of each floor is apparent.  The brick walls are massive. Five floors were planned with a central room open from the second floor to the roof. To finish Longwood as it had been envisioned when construction started would consume in excess of 35 million dollars today.  Longwood will never be finished.  It was sold to the garden society for $10.00 on the condition that it never be finished and that aside from repairs, it remain in its current state.

 

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Structurally Complete Interior

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Unfinished Interior Second Floor and Up.

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Second Level Floor Plan

The original spire sitting atop the dome fell during a storm.  The Garden Club took molds of the original and created a light weight but strong replacement.  They are maintaining the exterior and addressing structural issues as they arise.

 

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The New Spire

We were very lucky.  Our tour consisted of Ellen, myself, and our tour guide, who has spent many hours researching details of the design and history of both the house and the Nutt family. Our half hour tour consumed over an hour.  The three of us would have continued but for closing time.

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Walking the Grounds

With a one hour tour, the last tour of the day at Stanton Hall had already begun.  We opted to go to the Magnolia Grill.  There was plenty of off-street parking for The Beast.  The restaurant is well located with a view over the Mississippi River, though looking away from sunset.  The fried green tomato appetizer was great.  Our meals were just OK.  (Ellen did love the appetizer; fried green tomatoes with craw fish and shrimp.) With the day gone, we could either drive back to Vicksburg as we had originally planned, or we could stay overnight locally.   If we stay locally,  we could lose a day’s travel time getting home if we explore Natchez.  Ellen called River View RV Park.  They had plenty of spaces available; we stayed locally. We will try to take the Stanton Hall tour in the morning.

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At Riverview Campground

The next morning we didn’t dally.  Rather we went off to Stanton Hall for the first scheduled tour of the morning.  No photography is allowed inside the mansion, though we learned that there are a number of photos and video to be found on the web.  Our tour of Stanton Hall went quickly.  It is a beautiful home with amazing architectural detail in the molding, chandeliers, immense mirrors, medallions, and overall design. Greek-Revival style. The family remained in this residence until 1894 when it became Stanton College for Young Ladies. It was later purchased by Pilgrimage Garden Club in 1938.  For some years it was, a bed and breakfast.

Stanton Hall

Stanton Hall (originally named Belfast) is massive and a treasure, but it does not have the history of Longwood, nor the appeal.

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       Across the Street, a typical Natchez home

Natchez feels like a city that has gone to seed.  Its glory days are long past.  It feels like the residents living there now take their history for granted or could care less.  Not all of them to be sure.  There is a lingering pride in the mansions that are preserved, a number of them are operating B&Bs today.   For all  Natchez’s beauty, and it has that in abundance, it does not feel vibrant.  Rather it feels like the young with aspirations have left for better opportunities; those remaining seem listless.  We will find a way to return to Natchez when we tour the south.  We love the history of the town and its wonderful southern charm.    I hope my first impression of the town is dead wrong;  that Natchez is a vibrant town.  We will look for a B&B when we return.  Stanton Hall was operated as a B&B into the 1990’s!

The music scene at Natchez is alive and well.  There was a concert playing at Longwood when we arrived.  It was the first concert held at the mansion; there may be many more.

We left Natchez for a long drive to Abilene Texas to put a dent in the 1750 miles we have to go.

Jessie and Ryan, Hilton Head SC.

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Hilton Head, November 12, 2015

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DeeDee had a family get-together/thanksgiving dinner in up-state New York weeks ago that we were fortunate to attend.  Jessie, DeeDee’s daughter, arrived and we met Ryan, her B-friend that evening.  We promised to visit them on our way back home.  After visiting New York City, Fort Mercer, and Valley Forge, we made a bee-line from Virginia to South Carolina covering 550 miles in a day to get to Hilton Head and Jessie’s house.  We arrived late.  Ellen called Jessie as we pulled up in front and both Jessie and Ryan greeted us.  There was ample parking by the club house/swimming pool.  We dropped “The Beast” off for two days while we had some fun.

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Palmetto Bluff

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The next morning Jessie took us to one her favorite places, Palmetto Bluff.  On the way we drove past a marshy area where Jessie pointed out a few alligators basking in the sun.  I’d think twice before swimming in anything but deep waters here.  Jess said they don’t like salt water.  We had late breakfast at Buffalo’s and walked the shore at Harbor River. Just across the street from Buffalo’s stands a small, charming and understated, waterfront chapel.  Jessie talked about getting married in this chapel someday.  Later she asked at the local bridal shop for details about a wedding at the chapel.  Hummm…

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Jess said every year there’s a big party on a sandbar just offshore.  Boats pull up on the bar and swim and cavort in the water.  I’m thinking, right with alligators.  Jess said they don’t come around here.

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Palmetto Bluff is very beautiful.  There are a few magnolias. It is the oak trees covered with Spanish moss that are so dramatic.    Palmetto is a very affluent community with large tastefully designed homes lining the streets.  With no lack of water, lawns are bright green and extremely well maintained.  Jess mentioned a few celebrities who own homes here.

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Our breakfast was very tasty.  I had a french toast sandwich consisting of two half slices of french toast cut diagonally with a fried egg and lots of naturally smoked bacon inside.  It came with two round hash brown dumplings.  Wonderful.  I shared a taste, and that was all.

 

Savannah, Georgia

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hat afternoon Jessie took us to Savannah.  Hilton Head is right on the boarder with Georgia. We walked riverside along the Savannah River for a while.  This is a tourist shopping area with a variety of restaurants.   Though we were not interested in shopping nor catching a bite, we enjoyed walking the cobblestone streets and esplanade.

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TTourist maps in hand, we headed off to Forsyth Park.  Savannah was the fist planned city in the United States.  Forsyth Park was central to that vision and the older homes around the park show it.  In the past fifty years, the roads around the park have become major thoroughfares complete with tour buses and an irritation to the owners of these gorgeous mansions.

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The three of us walked the park and ogled the mansions.  Seeing a sign for an open house a block off the park, we wandered towards a row of town homes.  A fellow stepped onto the sidewalk and asked if we were interested in viewing one of the units?  “Sure”.  He was a contractor who renovates homes for resale; these four were his latest project.  He had renovated a number of houses on the street.

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This town home is very attractive with modern appliances, twelve foot ceilings, 3 br 2.5 ba and just off the park.  It is a very desirable area, though as we saw walking further down the street, more renovation is necessary.  Some of the houses showed decades of neglect. This home was light and airy and well appointed, though I thought it lacked down stairs spaciousness.

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We met Ryan for dinner and headed out to a local sushi place that was good. Ellen and I had ordered our usual and something new for us,  a “volcano roll”, failing to notice that it was deep fried. It was good, but way over the top.

Fishing Hilton Head,  Friday the 13th

Jessie planned to cut our hair the next morning.  That same morning I decided to “fix” Ellen’s camera. Some of her shots were destroyed by a little blob in the lower right quadrant.  By elimination, I found that it was dust on the sensor and cleaned her sensor.  Right, I used a fabric that left more lint on the sensor than it cleaned off!  Oops.  I shifted to microfiber and at that point her camera popped up with “Camera Error  Turn Off and On to Recover”.  The camera was “hung” and would not turn off!  I re-seated the battery and the camera reset until the next photo when the error popped up again.  Crap, Crap. Crap.  This was not good.  I backed up her camera memory, re-formatted, and tried again.  Crap Crap Crap, same problem.  This was taking some serious time and her camera was still not working!  When in doubt read the manual, or in this case run a Google search.   There are two possible reasons for this problem: 1. the lense in incompatible with the A6000 or 2. something is screwed up.  (right)  If something is screwed up, reset the camera!  Yes, there is a camera reset that clears out a data base and some other stored tables.  After a reset, the camera still failed with “Camera Error Turn Off and On to Recover”.  This time turning the camera off and on cleared the error (probably by reading the newly created tables into flash memory).   By now there was no hope to both get haircuts and go fishing.  We skipped the morning haircut and headed off to meet Ryan at the marina.

We parked and walked down a pier.  I though we were looking for Ryan when a boat drove down the pier with Ryan at the forklift controls.  He was bringing his boat to the water!  Into the water went the boat and into the boat we went.  We were off.  There’s nothing I like more than being on the water; this was no exception.  It was a blast.  We rode past a number of beautiful homes on the Harbor River with private hydraulic docks.   It must be nice.

Ryan headed us out to fish at the Carl Bower’s Bridge.  Ryan said that he prefers fishing off shore, but that with the rough waters today, it was better to stay in the channels. No Problem, Ellen and  I would enjoy fishing anywhere.   We stopped up-current from the bridge, dropped anchor up-stream of the pylons, and dropped some chum.   Within ten minutes, Jessie hooked a small sea bass and I landed a redfish.  The next hour went without a solid bite though our bate went missing regularly.  Then Jessie landed another larger sea bass and half an hour later an Oyster toadfish.  The Oyster Toadfish is one fugly fish. Although Ellen did not fish this time she loved being on the water on such a beautiful day. She was behind the scenes photographer.

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We all agreed to head back before sunset and saw a dolphin or two in the distance though none approached the boat.  We saw a seagull land on a pylon and tear pieces off a fish in its talons.  Talons?  It was not a seagull, but an Osprey with a kill.

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We arrived back at the marina with enough time for haircuts ahead of dinner.  We missed the sunset that evening, though dinner at home of baked and grilled fish was wonderful.

Ryan headed off to work early.  We had some time with jessie going over photographs in the morning.  Then Jessie went off to work and Ellen and I left for Natchez Trace and points south.

I was torn.  We could have stayed with Jess another day.  On our first trip driving The Beast back from Crowley RV in Bristol Connecticut, I had wanted to drive some of Natchez Trace and see Natchez.  We could not take the time and the weather was not cooperating on that trip.  I did not want to skip Natchez on this trip.  Then too, Ryan and Jess had to work today.  Off we went toward Mississippi vowing to return on our next trip to the South East next spring?

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Fort Mercer and Valley Ford

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Timberline Campground, Clarksboro New Jersey 11.10.15

We arrived very late.  There was a welcome packet taped to the door; Ellen called ahead.  The office here closes at 9 pm.   Our site was right at the entrance and we drove right in.  This is a small campground.  We were lucky to get a site.   We were late getting up and leaving and did not take much time to walk the campground.  We’ve been spoiled by Normandy Farms, few campgrounds will compare.

We spent too much time catching up on our blog and left the campground quite late for our drive to Fort Mercer and Valley Forge.  Further the weather was not cooperating.  It had rained overnight and was windy, overcast, and raining off and on.  At least it was warm.

 

Fort Mercer, New Jersey

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There are very few campgrounds open at this time of year, fewer still anywhere near the site of Fort Mercer.  I first learned of the role Fort Mercer played in the War of Independence through Tara Ross’s daily history lesson on facebook: taraRoss.  Forts Miffin and Mercer effectively blockaded the Delaware River preventing the British from reinforcing Philadelphia and attacking Valley Forge where the Revolutionary Army wintered December 1777 to June 1778.  The two forts prevented what could have been the annihilation of George Washington’s army.

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The Monument to Colonel Christopher Green

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One Very Old Monument, I have not yet deciphered this.

 

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James Whitall House

It was fascinating visiting the site of the Fort Mercer.   Unfortunately the James and Ann Whitall house was closed.  We did find a door open.  Being inquisitive we considered going inside, but thought it best not to.  Moments later, Rachael popped out to say “Hi” and wonder what we were up to.  She was working there.  “There are no tours today and the house is closed to the public, but there are candlelight tours on the weekend if you’ll be around then.”  She was very lucky to have this house and location to work.

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A Tribute to the Revolutionaries Who Fought Here

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Fort Miffin, across the Delaware River, is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Some links about Fort Mercer:    Fort Mercer     The Battle of Red Bank

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Valley Forge, U.S. National Park, Pennsylvania

The drive to Valley Forge took us right through Philadelphia.  Driving freeways we did not go through downtown city traffic, but the traffic on the freeway was very bad heading out of the city and worse going in.  It was a significant delay leaving us a little over and hour to tour Valley Forge before the park closed.  Valley Forge is huge.  The is a natural hill flanked by a valley on either side and the Valley Creek River winding alongside..  The stone house, the Issac Potts’ house, that George Washington rented while overwintering is intact and mostly original.  The hall floor has seen so many visitors it has been replaced and the bedrooms are gated off. Pott’s had two houses, the one he rented and his house further down the valley near the site of a mill and forge that were destroyed by a British expeditionary force long before the Continental Army arrived.  The British never threatened the army during the winter, largely due to Forts Mercer and Miffin.

George Washington’s house was open when we arrived, but Pott’s house was closed.  The houses are set in a beautiful valley that must be stunning in early fall.

At the visitor center I asked how many troops wintered here.  A docent said, “between six and ten thousand, but most of them were ill and not fit to fight.  By the end of the winter that number grew to twenty thousand.  George Washington wanted his men housed and established a contest for the fastest and best build cabin for the men. What surprised me, there was an inoculation for small pox that was administered to his men in 1777

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The Today Show, 11.11.2015

The “Today Show” features Al Roker on a road trip touring 48 states in a Winnebago View!  I’m watching Al driving his View as I’m writing this.  He’s loving his “Views” as he calls it. There are four people on the tour.  His is not a J model, like ours, and it’s a 2016.  Our View is old now?