Running South from Northern Oregon to San Diego

Hello again. Our last episode concluded on Thursday, August 15^th, while we were parked in the Neskowin Creek RV Resort in Neskowin, Oregon. Neskowin is a small beach community of less than 200 people on the North central coast of Oregon, about halfway between Tillamook on the North and Newport on the South. We are about a week into our three week stay here at the resort. Friday was a stay at home day. I got some chores done around the coach but we didn't go anywhere.

Saturday, August 17^th, we left the coach about 11:00 and driving into the village of Neskowin. The town is almost exclusively residential, with the “village” consisting of a large resort hotel and golf course, a small store and a post office. We went there for their weekly Saturday farmer's market. There were probably 18 vendor tents set up in the parking lot, the majority of which were food related. We did get some excellent local fruits and vegetables, as well as some more cheese. We have cheese, lots of cheese. It seems that fruits and vegetable grow half again as big as anywhere else we have been, but they are also so much tastier than the stuff that comes from outside the country. After the market we toured around some of the local residential areas and got one geocache. We wanted to get at least one cache today because it is International Geocaching Day and we get a souvenir for our geocaching page. Yea! We then drove into Lincoln City for some lunch. We ended up wandering around Lincoln City for a while looking for a good place. Because this is a tourist area the weekend traffic is terrible and it is hard to make left turns or get turned around to go the other way. We finally found a place called the Wildflower Grill which turned out to be an excellent choice. We sat on the back patio, which overlooks a creek, however this time of year the creek is pretty much dried up and it is more of a small swamp. I had a Philly cheese steak which was one of the best I have had. Jackie had a nice Cobb salad. After lunch we went to the Chinook Winds Casino, which is right in the middle of Lincoln City. It is an Indian casino, but very modern and nice. We gamed for an hour or so, then went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Sunday, August 18^th, was another stay at home day. We got a few things done, but mostly just relaxed. Monday we left the coach about 11:00 and drove South about 35 miles to Newport, Oregon for the day. Newport is a fairly large coastal city with a population of about 11,000. It is also the closest Walmart to where we are parked. We stopped for lunch at a beach-side cafe called Nye Beach Cafe and had another nice lunch. After lunch we did try to get one geocache that was on the beach, but we were unable to find it. We drove around and explored town a little, then went to Walmart for some supplies. After Walmart we started back North, stopping in Lincoln City so we could get pedicures. After getting our toenails taken care of we headed back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the evening.  As a side note, I saw a very interesting and unique RV in the RV park this morning while doing my walk.  It is a 1968 Ultravan, a smallish aluminum and fiberglass class A coach that is powered by a Chevy Corvair engine.  It has been nicely restored and was there for the weekend with a family.  I did some research and found that there were less than 500 of these made from 1962 to 1969 and there are very few examples left on the road.  This would be a great vehicle to travel to classic car shows with.

Tuesday we left the coach about 1:00 and drove to Lincoln City to go to the movies. We went to see Good Boys, which is a comedy about three boys who have been friends since kindergarten and have just started in Junior High School. They are all three basically good kids, but to try and fit in, and deal with their budding puberty, are trying to be “bad” kids. They suck at it, which is where the funny comes in. No big name stars, the only face I recognized in the whole movie was old SNL cast member Will Forte who played one of the kid's dad. It was silly and not an Oscar contender, but we like silly and enjoyed the movie. After the movie we stopped at the Outlet Stores in Lincoln City and did some shopping. We got a few things, then headed back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, August 21^st, was a stay at home day. We picked today because the weather forecast called for rain today, and it didn't disappoint. We had light rain on and off all day. No storms, no downpour, just a steady drizzle. I got several projects done inside the coach, including one that I had been trying to fix for almost a year. Those familiar with air brakes on large vehicles, trucks or motor homes, know that the parking brake is almost always a large plunger that you push in, or down, depending on the mounting, to activate the parking brake. What is does is cut the air pressure to the rear brakes and the internal springs lock the brakes. Pull it out and the air returns and the brakes release. As part of that system there is a warning tone, a very annoying beep, that goes off if either the transmission is in gear and the brake is on, or the brake is not on and the transmission is not in gear. In some motor homes it will also go off if the jacks are still down and you release the parking brake. This is controlled by an electrical switch on the bottom of the plunger assembly that tells the engine computer whether the parking brake is on or off. Since, in normal use, the parking brake gets “cycled” a lot, this switch has a tendency to wear out. When it does the damn parking bell with continue to beep, even when everything is normal, jacks up, vehicle in drive and brake off. Ours has been doing this intermittently for over a year. We have had this issue twice before in the 14 year life of the coach, so I know HOW to fix it, I just couldn't find the part. I couldn't find it online, mostly because I guess I didn't know what to look for. An RV mechanic in Las Vegas couldn't figure out which switch to use. Finally I got a replacement from the manufacturer a week or so ago in Coburg (see previous blog) and today I was able to replace the switch. Not a hard job, only took about a half hour, but you had to have the part. I also replaced our toilet seat and did some other small chores. As a reward for my hard work Jackie made a nice chili relleno casserole for dinner. Yum.

Thursday, August 22^nd, we left the coach after lunch and drove into Lincoln City to visit some of the many antique stores in the area. We spent a couple of hours looking at stuff, but didn't buy anything. After we were done we headed back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the day. Friday we went out after lunch for an afternoon of local caching. In a few hours we had a dozen new finds and two DNFs. One of the finds was a milestone, number 9,600. Closing in on the 10K mark, Yea! After caching we went back to the RV park and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Saturday, August 24^th, our last full day here in Neskowin. We went out after lunch and drove to Lincoln City and the Chinook Winds Casino for a car show. There were a lot of really cool cars in the parking lot. Jackie looked at a few with me, then went into the casino to game. I spent about an hour looking at cars, then also went into the casino. Neither of us won anything, but we had a good time. After the car show we went back to the coach and I spent some time cleaning up outside and getting ready to leave tomorrow.

Sunday, August 25^th, another travel day. We were packed up and on the road by about 10:30, basically heading south and east on the same route that we took to get here. We arrived back in Coburg and the Eugene Kamping World RV park about 1:30. We got set up and relaxed for a bit, then left about 5:00 to visit with some of our Pahrump friends who happened to be in the area. Dick and Millie Duffin were across the road at the old Monaco Service Center, now owned by REV, the big RV company that has Fleetwood, Monaco, American Coach and several others. The Duffins have an old American Coach and like to use the company run service centers for repairs. Another couple who we know from Pahrump, Jim and Paulette Woolridge, were also in the area, at a service center in Eugene getting some work done on their coach. The six of us got together for cocktails and conversation in the shade at the REV center. We talked for an hour and a half, then we and the Duffin's went across the street to the cafe at the TA truck stop for some dinner. Jim and Paulette had to get back to their coach, so they didn't go to dinner with us. We had a nice dinner and afterwards we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Monday, August 26^th, I was up early and headed to Northwest RV Supply on the south side of Eugene to pick up the new screen door that I discovered in their “junk yard” two weeks ago when we came through Eugene. I didn't want to buy it then because I wanted to measure our door to be sure it was the right size and I didn't have time to go back to get it. They held it for me and this morning I took off our screen door and put it in the car. Jackie didn't go because there was no room with a seven foot steel screen door on the passenger side. I got to Northwest RV supply when they opened and checked my door against the one they had and it was identical. I bought it, put both doors back in the car and headed back home. By lunch time I had the new door cleaned up (it had been sitting outdoors for a couple of years) and installed on the coach. Still needs some adjusting and I need to take the paper off of the Plexiglas panels, but it fits perfectly. After lunch we went out and did a couple of geocaches, then went back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the night.

Tuesday, August 27^th, we were on the road about 10:00, heading south to Medford for the night. We arrived at the Jackson County RV Park around 1:00 and settled in for our one night stay. We didn't even unhook the car. We stayed in for the rest of the day. Wednesday was another travel day. We left Medford early, about 9:30, because it was going to very hot, over 100 in the area, and we had to climb over the Siskiyou mountain range between Oregon and California. Our coach is prone to overheating on long climbs in hot weather. We made it over the pass without having to stop and cruised the rest of the 160 mile trip to Redding. We arrived at the Redding Elks Lodge around 1:00 and found there were plenty of spots available. We had been a little concerned because the lodge doesn't take reservations and this weekend is the Labor Day holiday weekend. We got parked and set up for our six day stay here in Redding. We stayed in for the rest of the day and evening.

Thursday, August 29^th, we had an errands day. We left the coach about 11:30 and drove to Anderson, the next town south of Redding, to the UPS Service Center to pick up our mail. We then did a few geocaches, getting three new finds. We drove back into Redding and stopped at the In N Out for lunch, then did a Walmart run and a Costco run. Nice to be back in California where we can buy our vodka at Costco. Yea! After our shopping we went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the day. Friday was a bit of a repeat of yesterday. We had to take one of our lawn chairs back to Costco because it was falling apart, so we did Costco. We then went to WinCo to pick up a couple things we needed to take with us when we go up to Mineral tomorrow to see Peggy and her family. After our errands we went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, August 31^st, we left the RV park around 11:30 and headed south and east to Mineral to visit with the Bullock family. Regular readers will remember that last month our good friend Vernon Bullock died at his home in Mineral. We have known and been best friends with the Bullock's since we first met them on an Alaskan RV Caravan in July of 2009. We arrived in Mineral around 1:00 and spent the day with Peggy, her son's Matt and Larry, her daughter Katie, Matt's wife Roxanne and Larry's girlfriend Valerie. Basically we were part of a family gathering for the holiday weekend. We sat around and talked, played some games and had a wonderful time. For dinner we had chicken and TriTip steak, corn on the cob, salad and lots of great conversation. After dinner we visited until bedtime. We had a bit of a restless night sleeping in a different bed in a different house, but we enjoyed the day.

Sunday, September 1^st, goodbye to summer. Jackie and I have talked that when we were in school, and even when my kids were in school in the 70's and early 80's, school always started on the Tuesday after Labor Day. That was kind a a ritual date making the “official” end of summer. Of course with the changes in the education system schools have a lot more “off” days during the school year, so to make up for it they start back to school in the middle of August now. After we got up Jackie and I traded Anniversary cards. Today is an important anniversary for us in that it was September 1^st that I left Phoenix and moved to Indio, California to be with Jackie. We didn't get married until a little over five years together, but September 1^st is always a very important and happy day.

After everyone was up and had a cup or two of coffee breakfast was made, bacon and eggs, potatoes and biscuits. After breakfast we played another game of dice, which was fun. By about 11:00 everyone was packing up and getting ready to leave. For some reason Larry and Matt, their significant others, and Katie decided to wash everyone's cars before we left. It was very nice of them and saved me a needed trip to the car wash. We left Mineral around 12:30 and headed back to the Redding Elks, getting home about 2:00. We relaxed until about 5:00 then went out to have an anniversary dinner at a local Mexican restaurant called Mazatlan Grill. The service was excellent and the food was good, although both my shredded beef and Jackie's chicken were a little on the tough side. The sauces and the rest of the food were excellent. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV for the rest of the night.

Monday, September 2^nd, Happy Labor Day, whatever that means. We left the coach after lunch and drove to a laundromat to do our laundry. We figured Labor Day would be a good day, but were surprised to see a lot of people at the laundry. There were empty machines, however, so we got our laundry done and were back home by about 3:30. After we got everything put away I did some outside clean up chores in preparation for our departure tomorrow for Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento.

Tuesday, September 3^rd, another travel day. We were ready to pull out of Redding at 10:00 and on Interstate 5 headed south 167 miles to the Carmichael Elks Lodge. We arrived at the Carmichael Elks around 1:30 and found a number of empty spots. We got parked and set up for our four day stay here. About 5:30 we left the coach and drove to the Texas Roadhouse in Citrus Heights, a nearby suburb, to meet an old friend of Jackie's, Kathy Yarbourgh and her

husband Bill. Kathy and Jackie have been close friends since the 80's. Kathy's daughter Julie was also there with her daughter Bella, who we have known since she was born. We had a very nice dinner and spent an hour and a half talking and catching up. As a general rule we see Kathy and Bill at least once a year, but there have been a few years that we missed when we didn't travel up the middle of California. After dinner we drove back to the coach and spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Wednesday, September 4^th, we left the coach after lunch and did a Walmart run for a few supplies. There was a Costco right next door, so we stopped there too for a couple of things. After shopping we stopped at a few geocaches on the way back to the Elks, getting three new finds. We spent the rest of the day and evening in the coach. Thursday was movie day. While looking at the theater listings the other day I had noticed that one of the nearby multi-screen theaters was playing a re-released version of the original 2017 movie IT, based on the Stephen King novel. We had been considering going to see the new release, IT: Chapter Two, but since we had never gone to see the first movie, we thought we would take the opportunity to go see it. I had read the book back in the late 80's but had never watched the short-lived 90's TV series.

Since I think most people know the story, I won't go into a lot of detail, but basically it is a story of a small Maine town haunted by a demon who “collects” people from the town, coming back about every 27 years. He usually appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, but is a shape shifter and will appear to you as whatever scares you the most. I love Stephen King stories and this was no exception, a very scary movie. We are now ready to go see the sequel next week when we are in Fresno. I was glad this theater thought to do the old movie along with the new, and it was a huge XD screen and they had big, reclining seats too. After the movie we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Friday, September 6^th, our last full day in the Sacramento area. Today was a stay at home day. We did go into the Elks Lodge around noon and had lunch. It was a limited menu, but the food was good. We did a few chores around the coach and I took down the outside stuff for travel tomorrow. Late in the afternoon Kathy and Bill came over for a visit. They stayed for a couple of hours and we just sat in the coach and talked. After they left we had dinner and spent the rest of the evening with the TV. Saturday was another travel day. We were packed up and on the road about 10:00, continuing South on Highway 99, 177 miles to Fresno, California. The weather was nice but there was a brief time when we went though some wind which made handling harder. We arrived

at the Fresno Elks Lodge RV park about 1:30, got parked and set up. Around 4:00 we left the coach and drove to Jackie's cousin Stephanie Kopf's house in Southeast Fresno. Stephanie is actually a second cousin, daughter of Jackie's cousin Sue. Stephanie is another member of the family that we usually see about once a year. Since she knew we were coming, Stephanie's mom Sue and her sister Cherie came up from Torrance, California for the weekend. Jackie, Cherie and Sue pretty much grew up together. Stephanie's husband Ron works out of town and was not due back home until late tonight. We all sat around in Stephanie's living room talking. You may note in the picture that there is no furniture. Stephanie and Ron moved in this new house last year and the tile in the house was not installed correctly and was cracking badly. They have been working with the builder and they are in the process of replacing the tile, so all the furniture is in the garage. We stayed and talked until about 7:00 when we went back to the coach. We spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Sunday, September 8^th, we went out after lunch and did some quick shopping at Walmart and Costco. We are having Stephanie and family over this afternoon for a cookout and needed a few items. After we got back I set up the BBQ and a table and got ready for company. The family came right around 3:00, Stephanie and her husband, Ron, Jackie's cousins Sue and Cherie, and Stephanie's daughter Madison. Her younger son Bryce came about an hour later. It was a little warm, so we all sat around in the motor home where the A/C was and talked for a couple of hours. Around 5:00 I made some burgers on the BBQ and we had that with some mac and cheese and coleslaw that Stephanie brought. We had a really nice family visit and even watched some football on the TV outside once the shade came to the side of the coach. They all left around 6:30, after which we just cleaned up and relaxed with the TV the rest of the evening.

Monday, September 9^th, we left the coach about 12:30 and went to the movies to see IT: Chapter Two. This was not really a sequel to the 2017 movie we saw last week, but more of a continuation. The two movies together, more than five hours by the way, tell the entire story contained in the original novel. Jackie didn't think the movie was as good as the first, I though it was better. The new movie seamlessly melded the characters and activities from the first film, mostly new material, into the second film with many flashbacks to 27 years ago. I thought it was an excellent film. After the movie we went home and relaxed for a bit, then we went out to a local cafe for dinner. We went to the Yosemite Falls Cafe and had a really nice meal. The service was great, my liver and onions were excellent and Jackie thought her salmon was good, though just a touch dry. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.

Tuesday, September 10^th, we went out after lunch to do some geocaching, getting five new finds, and almost as many DNFs, four. After caching we did a quick Walmart run for a couple things, then went back to the coach. Stephanie came over about 5:30 or so to visit. She was by herself since Sue and Cherie and had gone home and Ron went back to his job site near the coast. Stephanie had dropped Madison off for water polo practice at her nearby school and came over for a while. We visited for a while and Jackie made some green chili and chicken enchiladas for dinner, with rice and beans. Stephanie left around 7:15 and we spent the rest of the evening with the TV. Wednesday was another travel day. We were packed up, dumped and on the road by 10:00, heading 122 miles south to Bakersfield. We arrived at the Shady Haven (formerly the Bakersfield Palms) RV park around 1:00 and got checked in. We have stayed at this park a lot over the last six or seven years because it is kind of on the way between Pahrump and Central California, as well as the Coachella Valley and Central and Coastal California. I would say we are here at least twice a year, sometimes more. We almost always only stay overnight and like the long, pull through sites and fullhookups. Today we changed a little and are going to stay for two nights. That means for the first time in probably five years we will unhook the car and explore Bakersfield. We got parked and set up, had lunch and left the park about 2:30 just to drive around and do a few caches. We drove around downtown for a bit, got two geocaches and tried for a third, but couldn't find a place to park. We found the Bakersfield Elks Lodge north of downtown and discovered that they were open. It is a huge building but the membership is just over 300. It is an old lodge, number 266, and has a nice bar. Despite how many times we came through Bakersfield, we have never been here. We had one drink and asked for a lodge pin, but the bartender said they don't have lodge pins. Boo Hoo. After our stop at the lodge we headed back to the RV park and stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Thursday, September 12^th, we left the RV park after lunch and went out to do some geocaching. We were out for a couple of hours and got eight new finds with no DNFs. After caching we stopped at Walmart for a couple of things then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the night. Friday was another travel day. We were on the road about 10:00 again, heading Southeast to Hesperia, about 135 miles. We made one fuel stop and then arrived at the Hesperia Elks Lodge about 1:00. We got set up for our one night stay and then relaxed for a while. About 6:00 we went into the lodge for their Friday night dinner. We had a couple of cocktails and then dinner, which was BBQ spare ribs with salad, beans and rice. The food was pretty good and only $10 a person. We chatted with a few members and I even did one karaoke song when they started it about 7:00. We left around 7:30 and went back to the coach where we watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, September 14^th, another travel day. We left the Hesperia Elks about 10:00 and started South to San Diego, about 145 miles. Although a relatively short drive, it was still very stressful. The hill down from the Cajon Pass near Hesperia is a 14 mile 6 percent grade and you really need to watch your speed. Once we got off the hill we dealt with heavy traffic all the way down to San Diego. With a max speed of 55 because we are towing, all the cars going 65 and 70 are zooming around you, switching lanes, cutting me off, and just generally driving me nuts. I was very happy when we finally arrived at the Santa Fe RV Resort in the Mission Bay area of San Diego. We got checked in and parked, then spent a couple of hours setting up for our one week stay here. We are primaily here because Jackie's brother Dennis. He lives here in San Diego and we wanted to spent some time with him. We will be here for a full week. After we got set up we just rested and decompressed from the drive for the rest of the day and evening.

Our arrival here in San Diego marks a good spot to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time, remember the words of author Dennis Wholey. “Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian." See ya soon.