4/25/17 Gulf Coast Breezes and Some Favorite Places



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob, Linda, Val, Katlynn Xmas, San Jose del Cabo                                              Val with Santa on Beach Sleigh, San Jose

 

We spent the Christmas holiday in San Jose del Cabo, Baja, Mexico with Linda’s niece Valerie and her daughter Katlynn.  We had a great time there, enjoying all the tourist activities and the warm sunny weather. 

  

 

Bob, Pam and Pat Tequilla Tasting, Todos Santos

After Val and Katlynn flew home, we drove our rental SUV 6 hours north to Loreto for a week enjoying the remote parts of the Baja peninsula before heading back south to Cabo San Lucas to spend a week with our friends Pat and Pam Cullen.  We love the Baja and all it offers; Pat and Bob caught enough fish offshore for two nice dinners at the condo. 

 

 

 

Linda and Pam swim with Dolphins, Cabo San Lucas

 

 



Panama City Skyline from our 64th floor Penthouse
 

After a few weeks home enjoying our friends in St. Augustine, we flew to Panama City, Panama and the San Blas Islands for 3 weeks.  We really got to know the city as “residents” (yes, we are now officially Panamanian residents), and found that we enjoyed “high rise condo living” in the urban environment a lot more than we thought. Panama City is a very international city, with a population and skyline resembling Miami. 

 

Tom and Linda at top of Hard Rock Cafe

Our friend, Tom Hart, joined us for a couple of weeks, so we enjoyed a lot of good wine and great food at some of the best restaurants in Panama City.  Linda cooked several excellent seared ahi tuna dinners along with the tasty fresh ceviche we obtained from the Mercado de Pescado (fish market), which was walking distance from our Penthouse rental condo.   

San Blas Islands,Panama

Traditional Dress Kuna Woman in Dugout Canoe

Our trip to the San Blas Islands on the Panamanian Caribbean coast was fabulous.  We chartered a roomy (not so fast but very comfortable) 52-ft ketch with a husband /wife crew; S/V Blue Sky. http://www.blueskysailingsanblas.com   Breeze, the captain sailed between the islands and used the motor only to anchor (Bob enjoyed tending sails only when he wanted) and Debbie,  the captain’s wife and cook, was a former chef at the Captiva Yacht Club (FL) so the food was fantastic. They worked very hard at getting fresh local seafood; they know all the local Kuna Indian veggie boats to keep them supplied with fresh fruit and veggies. 

Bob, Linda, Doug, Wendy on Kuna Island

Our friends, Wendy and Doug Pullen, joined us.  We had met them last year (they are Canadian citizens working in Panama for 5 years) while we were at the Bahia, near Coronado, Panama, on the Pacific coast.  The San Blas Islands are beautiful, with gorgeous crystal clear blue and aqua waters, idyllic islands, fabulous snorkeling (diving not allowed by the indigenous Kuna Indians), and interesting local villages on some of the larger islands.  We ate lunch locally a couple of times; the fresh seafood was delicious and the crevesas very cold.  It reminded us of our cruising days in the eastern Caribbean and our 4-day trip was over all too soon. We hated to leave and would recommend the charter highly – 4 days is too few.  We are up for going back if anyone wants to go.  

Marcello and Bob enjoying sail

After returning for a few more weeks in St. Augustine getting ready to depart on this year’s motorhome trip, we headed out on March 31.  Our first stop was to spend a weekend with our good friends, Marina and Marcello Borzatta, in Destin FL.  It’s always fun to spend time with them, and as we normally do, we ended up spending the weekend on their 42 foot Beneteau sloop sailboat out of Panama City Beach.  We sailed offshore Panama City Beach both days and enjoyed lunches anchored in the Bay and grilled dinner at the dock.  We always have a fabulous time being with them. 

Linda and Bob enjoying Sunset on Gulf Islands National Seashore

Our next stop was only a few miles west to Ft. Pickens Campground, Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Pensacola.  The Gulf Islands are barrier reefs along the gulf coast, with beautiful WHITE, fine grain beaches, dunes, and birds…lots of birds.  We enjoyed the park’s beaches and the historic forts, but also explored Pensacola.  We were able to see the Blue Angels practice: they are stationed at Pensacola Naval Air Station.   

 

Blue Angels Flyby over Pensacola Light                                        
                                                                                                              Blue Angels Overhead


 

Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola

We spent a whole day at the Naval Aviation Museum, which is excellent - a must do for anyone.  The museum is devoted to the history of naval aviation, including that of the US Navy, the US Marine Corps and the US Coast Guard.  It covers a full range of aircraft and spacecraft representing the development, growth and history of US Naval Aviation. In addition to the excellent exhibits in the museum, there are almost 100 aircraft parked outside in the rear; however, the back area was closed to visitors when we were there.   

 

Bob in backseat of F4 Fighter Jet

Bob really enjoyed this museum; he was able to sit in the cockpit rear seat of an F4B Phantom fighter jet like he had flown in while he was on the USS Kitty Hawk in Vietnam.  It brought back a lot of memories.   Bob was also stationed in Pensacola while in flight school.  We spent some time visiting his old “haunts”, including the Officers Club (O Club), which is now an All Hands Club.  We had a couple of drinks and a lunch there, but we have found many of the O Clubs in various military bases to be only shadows of their former selves.  With the crackdown on drinking and the political correctness in the military, the former “hell-raising” days of the Navy are gone (too bad for the Navy – MHO).  The clubs are mostly now open to everyone, serving only lunch, and mostly only open for a not-so-happy hour on a Friday or Saturday evening.   

Linda enjoying raw oysters before our BBQ Shrimp

We left Pensacola and drove to an Elks Lodge in New Orleans.  We left early enough to get there in time to have one of our favorite dinners, BBQ shrimp, New Orleans style.  It is not just shrimp cooked on the grill, but the whole shrimp, including the head which adds flavor, sautéed and served in a very spicy sauce (Worchester sauce, butter, garlic and lots of spices).  It is one of our favorite dishes and worth a “small detour” to New Orleans.  We had planned to go to Mr. B’s Bistro in the French Quarter, but we found out that there was a seafood festival going on, and we decided to not have dinner with 60,000 of our “closest friends”.  So we decided to try Pascal Manale’s, the original BBQ shrimp restaurant, which is not in the quarter. It was excellent and a much better choice.  Another favorite added to our list and a great restaurant recommendation without the hassle of the Quarter.  

RV on Galveston Ferry

On the way to Padre Island National Seashore on the Texas gulf coast, we parked our motorhome on the street in front of our cruising friend’s, Judy and Bill Rouse, house in Galveston, TX.   We had met them in the Caribbean when we started to cruise in 2005.  We have stayed in touch with them as they continued cruising and spent 11 years circumnavigating the world on their 53 foot Amel ketch, much of it with kids and grandkids, particularly in the south Pacific and Mediterranean.  They recently sold their boat and moved to Galveston to be near their family.  We had a fabulous stay with them, catching up on all their cruising adventures including the week spent dodging and riding out a typhoon (hurricane) in the Indian Ocean.  It is always a lot more fun to talk with people who have experienced cruising, so they were happy to talk about their cruising and our boats in detail with us. We enjoyed a great evening and had a delicious cioppino dinner at their favorite Galveston restaurant within walking distance to their house.   Judy is an excellent cook (as we knew from eating on their boat) and she cooked a wonderful breakfast before we headed south to see the Padre Island National Seashore and to camp at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station.   

Padre Island National Seashore, Corpus Christi

Padre Island National Seashore is a barrier island along the Texas coast.  Our best (or worst) description is: WINDY.  The wind was incessant and strong, so much so, that we could not put out the slide-outs on our motorhome.  The dunes and grasslands have made a long recovery from being overgrazed by cattle. 

Caracara, Padre Island National Seashore

The number and variety of bird species there are incredible.  It is the first stop on the migration route from the Yucatan Peninsula, with the birds flying over 800 miles over the Caribbean before they hit land and head north.   We took a birding tour with a park ranger and saw a lot of resident, but even more transient, birds.  We are not birders, but it was still interesting to see the variety.  Our biggest takeaway from this area is that it is very windy about half the year….so much so that we would be uncomfortable doing stuff outside, but the locals (and maybe crazy tourists) were on the beach.  It is a great place if you are into wind surfing, or kite surfing, particularly on the hypersaline Laguna Madre estuary between the barrier island and the mainland. 

Our stays at Gulf Islands and Padre Island completed our visits to ALL the US National Seashores and National Lakeshores.  

The Alamo, San Antonio

We were glad to head back northwest to another of our favorite stops, San Antonio.  We wanted to spend enough time to really enjoy the city.  We did the usual tourist things: the Riverwalk, the Alamo, and the San Antonio boat cruise in the downtown area.  But we also spent enough time to go visit 3 other mission sites, the Tower of the Americas, and the historic Spanish Governor’s palace. 

Riverwalk Café, San Antonio

Of course, we also had to have a few meals at the excellent restaurants along Riverwalk before we left town.

We enjoyed our visits along the Gulf Coast, and are now looking forward to going to west Texas and then on to New Mexico. It is good to on the road again.  

We continue to be blessed with a great trip and safe travels.  Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.  

Best,

Linda and Bob  

 

 

 

 

11/29/16 California and GOOD FRIENDS

Golden Gate Bridge

After we left Washington state and the Olympic Peninsula, we headed to California, the last leg of our 2016 RV Adventure.  We were planning on combining a few stops at places we had missed in our 25 years of living in CA, along with spending time with good friends we had not seen for quite a while.   

 

 

 

Huge waves hit CA Coast

We were initially headed to the Redwoods National Park, just over the border from Oregon.  We were going to be camping along the Klamath River on the coast.  Unfortunately, the bad weather we had lived with for weeks in Washington continued to follow us. A big northwestern storm was predicted to hit the whole northwest; the Redwoods National Park area was predicted to have 75 mph winds, 10-12 inches of rain with heavy flooding, and 25-30 foot waves.  Going to our campground would be like driving into a hurricane…and not a good idea.   

Pat Cullen and Bob at Poor Reds

Instead, we headed to the Placerville area earlier than planned and spent a few extra days with our friends Pat and Pam Cullen, and kids Kelly and Krista, who have both grown up to be delightful young women. Placerville had been our ranch home for about 7 years, and it was nice to see the area again and interestingly, not much had changed since we left in 2002.   Poor Red’s, a local favorite and the home of the Golden Cadillac, has been nicely remodeled and was open again.    It was fun to visit our favorite wineries and taste the spicy old vine zinfandels we love from the area;  Apple Hill provided a tasty day trip for Linda and Pam.  



Wine Tasting in Sonoma Valley

From Placerville, we spent a few days tasting wines in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, but were surprised at how expensive it has gotten to just taste wine…. $20 to $40 per taste was not unusual.  Linda spent some time researching wineries on-line, and found enough wineries that did not charge, or waived the tasting charge with a wine purchase…. a much better deal.  It made us appreciate the Amador and El Dorado wineries all the better.   

Golden Gate from Lands End

We spent a week in the San Francisco area.  We parked the RV in Pacifica, right along the cliffs.  The RV park had lost some of its land and RV parking spots to cliff collapse the year before, so we kept an eye on the small swath of land between us and the ocean…. the big waves from the large NW storms were still attacking the cliffs.  We enjoyed visiting places we had previously missed on our many visits to SF, including hiking the Marin Headlands and Land’s End right in SF.   



Fishermans Wharf Boats

We really had fun learning a lot at the SF Maritime Historic Museum and visiting the historic boats on their two docks.  But we also spent some time just walking around and enjoying all the SF has to offer:  dinner in Chinatown, shopping in Ghirardelli square, sampling seafood on fisherman’s wharf, watching the seals at pier 39, and just people watching.  We were there on Halloween, and almost EVERYONE wore costumes… the kids were cute but many of the “adults” were a bit much.  The day after Halloween, Christmas decorations were already going up!  Friends of ours that live in SF suggested dinner on a “locals” alley, Belcher Place, with outdoor cafes and lots of excellent food. 
 

SF Maritime Museum

While in SF, we had an opportunity to spend time with Bob’s Navy buddy Tom Hart and Linda’s former co-worker, Larry Reynolds and his wife, Susan.  It was great seeing them again…everyone is looking good and enjoying retirement.  

Rt 1 Coastline Vista

From San Francisco, we drove the most beautiful road in the country, Rt 1 along the Pacific Coast between Half Moon Bay and Morro Bay.  We have driven this route several times, but this was the first time in an RV.  The narrow, winding roads, with sharp up and downs and switchbacks, were “interesting” in a 36 foot RV.  To make it easier on the RV and driver, Linda drove the Jeep Cherokee so we did not have to tow.  Linda was free to stop any time for photos, but Bob managed to pull off the road once to get a closer look at “seal beach” where huge numbers of elephant seals, along with other sea lions and other seals, were sunning on the beach in huge numbers.   

Seal Beach, Rt 1, CA

 

Rt 1 in Early Morning Mist

Big Sur Lighthouse Sunset

McWay Falls, Big Sur

We spent several days in Big Sur.  The huge fires that engulfed hundreds of square miles had only been out for 2-3 weeks, and all the trails east of Rt 1 were closed due to the danger of landslides with all vegetation burnt off.  We did some great hikes along the coast including the Old Post Road before Rt 1 was finished, and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and McWay Falls.    

Sunset, Morro Rock

We spent the night in Morro Bay State Park to have dinner with near-by friends Yvonne and Bob Huggins, and breakfast with Bob’s cousin’s husband, Jim Pauly.  The waterfront in Morro Bay has not changed much either; many of the places we enjoyed in the past are still there.   

Oval Office, Regan Library

We continued down the coast to stop in Simi Valley; we wanted to spend a day at the Regan Presidential Library.  It is excellent.  In addition to the usual historical perspective about the president’s life and his years as president, Regan’s Air Force One plane is there available to see.  Regan certainly lived in “interesting times”; and in our opinion, he improved the US stance in the world (in disarray after Carter), won the Cold War with Russia and oversaw the “collapse” of the Soviet Union.  “Peace through Strength” was his motto.  Many of the same challenges face the US today after the Obama administration; Trump should take lessons from Regan’s successful first 100 days.   

Our "Home" overlooking Crystal Cove

We finally headed to Laguna Beach, our last home while in CA.  We were able to get reservations at Crystal Cove State Park, right on the beach.  From there we spent all our time visiting old friends.  We spent one night with our sailing and church buddies Pam Polzin, Peter Colgrossi, and Ann and Bill Odlum watching the presidential election returns.  We drove down to La Jolla to visit friends Mike and Lonna (Williams) Stolper for dinner, and then finished up with a dinner party adding friends Phil and Laurie Owens to our Laguna Beach group.  We drove by our former home in Laguna; it was identical down to the furniture, drapes and outdoor potted plants (why change a good thing); even the same gardener was there working and we said hi to him.    

Sunset over Catalina Island, Crystal Cove

We even managed enough time to have lunch in Dana Point Marina with our long time sailing friends Jim and Janet Prideaux. We even happened upon the owner of the boat that Linda used to crew on for Wednesday races – a fun reunion.  We heard that the boat that Bob crewed on is still racing.  We viewed our former 30-ft Newport sailboat – still in the same slip and our additions are still looking good.   

Joshua Trees, Joshua Tree Ntl Park

We finished up with a visit to Joshua Tree National Park, near Palm Springs.  We spent a day driving around the park, and taking a couple of short hikes.  Our La Jolla friends Cindy and Del Foit joined us for our visit to the park.  We loved visiting the Living Desert, a desert garden and zoo in Palm Desert.  We got to see the animals we didn’t see on our hikes…. and an incredible array of desert plants from deserts all over the world.    

We left Palm Springs, but made an unplanned overnight stop in Phoenix (thanks to the Elks Lodge).  Linda’s great nephew, Sammy Puma, had just been diagnosed with brain cancer; he was recovering from his surgery but had not yet started chemotherapy at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.  We spent a little time comforting Sammy, and providing some emotional support to Kristen, Linda’s niece, and her husband Charles.  They are going to have a very difficult time over the next 5-6 months; Sammy will essentially be living in the hospital through his treatment.  WE ASK THAT YOU PRAY FOR SAMMY AND HIS FAMILY, for a successful treatment, and comfort while going through treatment, and for his family to have the strength to help him though this difficult time.   

Waterfront, Night of Lights, St Augustine

We bolted across Interstate 10 to arrive home in St Augustine in 4 days.  It is great to be “home” again.  St Augustine just feels right to us as our home.  It was great to be back to see our friends and family, who we missed greatly during the 8 months we were gone this year.   We will be here until March 31, 2017, when we will depart on the final leg of our 3 year adventure.  

It has been an awesome year and we have been blessed with a safe and almost trouble-free trip.  We Thank God for His many Blessings!   

We have listed some of the statistics from this year’s trip below, for those who are interested in more information.   

Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.  

Best,

Linda and Bob   

STATISTICS                               This Year              Cumulative 2 Years

Months on Road                                    8                                    13

RV miles (point to point)               11,000                            21,000
Car miles (touring each area)         16,500                            26,500
US National Parks                               17                                    22
US National Seashore/Lakeshores         1                                      8
Ntl Historic Sites/Landmarks               32                                    37
Canadian National Parks                       9                                    15

10/31/16 Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula

For our St. Augustine friends, you might have missed the previous blog, which was posted right after Hurricane Mathew hit St. Augustine.  It is posted below this one.  We hope your hurricane recovery is going well. 

Seattle and Space Needle from Overlook

After we left Mt. Rainer, we spent about a week in and around the Seattle area.  Neither of us has spent much free time in the area, and we were looking forward to an interesting and fun visit.   

We spent a lot of time downtown.  Although going to the Space Needle gave a nice view of downtown…right next door was the FABULOUS Chihuly Glass and Gardens Museum.  If you have been to some of the expensive

Chuhily Glass Garden

resorts in the world (like the Atlantis in Nassau and some Los Vegas casinos), you probably have seen his artistic glass chandeliers. We were awed by the themed displays in room after room of his work.  This is a must see if you ever get to Seattle.  

Flower Stand at Pike Public Market

We loved walking the waterfront and sampling the delicious restaurants along the wharves.  The Pike Public Market was great; lots of fruit, vegetables, and other fresh food vendors with the most fabulous flower stands.  In general, the food here has been fabulous, especially the salmon.  To quote a good friend of ours, “We had the best salmon ever at Ivars”; Bob really wanted to eat there since he loved the salmon there while on a work project over 35 years ago!  We went to see the Seattle Mariners play their last winning game of the season and Linda won the grand prize for the 5^th inning Fan Appreciation drawing:  two tickets to Diamond Club seats directly behind home plate (including unlimited refreshments)…now we have to figure out if we can use them next season (a $500 value) J.  

Underground First Level Store Front After Street Raised

Seattle’s historic waterfront district history is fascinating.  The tide range in Puget Sound is about 10-12 feet, and the oldest part of town was basically built on tidal mud flats.  Houses and business were routinely flooded during higher tides and storms.  The plumbing was a problem, and sometimes toilets “erupted” with seawater and sewage during storms or higher tides.  The city got a second chance to build the city “right” after the Great Seattle Fire in 1889 destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle.  They decided to build the city about one story higher, but it would take 10 years to complete.  Of course, businesses could not wait 10 years to rebuild their business so they continued to conduct business at the lower street level (now the basement) while finally getting the city one story higher (about 15 – 18 feet) -- a tribute to human inventiveness.    

How Street Level Was Raised in Seattle

The businesses rebuilt with stone and brick to prevent future fires; the lower level entrance and windows were very basic in design and style since they would be covered up and below the ground within 10 years.  The “second” stories were the elaborate entrances and windows you see now at street level.  Retaining walls were built at the curbs around each block and water cannons were used to wash mud down the hills which flooded the streets behind the retaining walls and became the ground for the higher lever street.  The last step was to build sidewalks over the old street level, connecting the new street level with the second story of the buildings – now ground level.  We recommend the entertaining Underground Tour to see this very interesting history. 

Snoqualmie Falls

We also spent some time outside of downtown.  Snoqualmie Falls is gorgeous and another example of hydroelectric power use in Washington.  The 100-year+ old US Army Corps of Engineers Ballard Locks was interesting; during the summer months, up to 100 pleasure boats can be moved between Lake Washington and Lake Union and Puget Sound with each lock opening.  It’s hard to believe so many boats are owned here, with so few months to enjoy them!  The fish ladders at the locks were full of salmon migrating upstream for the annual fall spawning….fun to watch through the underwater glass windows.  Best of all, we were able to enjoy several lunches and dinner with Bob’s long-time Navy friend Paul Thor; we had not seen him since 2002.  

The traffic in Seattle is among the worst.  Between the large Lakes Union and Washington and the Puget Sound, the highways have limited area to travel, and they are mostly only 2-3 lanes wide.  It seems to us that the traffic outgrew the highway system here years ago.  It often took hours to travel from downtown to Bothell and around town.  Major accidents occurred multiple times each rush hour, and caused us to be re-routed 2-3 times every time we traveled.   (As an observation, recreational marijuana is legal here.  Studies have shown that driving under the influence of pot increases the accident rate 2xs, due to slowed reaction time and increased rear end collisions – Cause and effect? )   

Rainbow Over Port Townsend

We next headed west to the Olympic peninsula.  We stopped at Port Townsend and Port Angeles.  They are both cute historic port towns, but the most interesting part was Fort Worden near Port Townsend.  The picturesque historic Army artillery base has been converted to a state park, and has several interesting museums.  The movie, An Officer and a Gentleman, was completely filmed there.  It was already off-season, so many exhibits, museums, and restaurants were already closed, and with so much rain (it rains almost every day on the Olympic Peninsula), many outdoor activities were limited.    

Lake Quinault, Olympic National Park

With fall upon us, the leaves were turning yellow (no brilliant reds here), and LOTS more rain and colder and shorter days.  Of course, rain on the west side of the Olympic Mountains is not unusual….after all, it is a temperate climate rain forest.  We camped at the Sol Duc Campground and Hot Springs Resort which is part of the Olympic National Park.  From there, we explored the northern part of Olympic National Park, including hiking to and around Hurricane Ridge (the winds were over 

Sol Duc Hot Springs in Fog, Olympic Nat Park

40 mph on non-windy day), Madison Falls, Lake Crescent, and the beautiful Lake Crescent Lodge, and on the west side, the Hoh Rain Forest (in the rain of course), and Lake Quinault. In spite of the cold, rain and fog, we were able to enjoy some time in the campground hot springs, finally getting some warmth into our bodies.    

 

Cape Flaherty, Westermost Point in Continental US

We took a day trip to the westernmost point in the continental US, Cape Flaherty, west of Neah Bay, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific Ocean.  We were able to see up and down the beautiful rugged coast during a brief break in the weather, and enjoy a short hike to the point.  Bob had worked there over 35 years ago to put in a tide gauge when he worked for NOAA.  We searched a while for the actual site, but we never found it (we found out later we were close by, but missed it).  We had fun in Neah Bay at lunch, watching a sea otter entertain us for quite a while.     

Linda at Vampire Treaty Line, Forks WA

For Twilight fans, we camped in Forks and visited La Push on the far west side of the peninsula.  Apparently, the author of Twilight had never been there, but googled “the wettest place in the US”, and Forks, WA came up; the rest is history.  While the timber industry has decreased dramatically, the businesses in Forks and La Push have been able to take advantage of their notoriety, and have now built businesses around the Twilight series….  People now come to Forks from all over the world.

 

WA Beach Littered with Huge Trees

The coast and temperate rain forests here are similar to those we visited in Vancouver Island, Canada.  Lots of rain and fog, huge trees in the ancient groves (only those spared from the lumberjacks), rocky beaches littered with huge tree logs, and high cliffs with crashing waves…. beautiful to see and watch, but from the comfort of an indoor fireplace please J.     

Columbia River and Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Our final peninsula stop was at the southwestern tip at Cape Disappointment at the Columbia River, where Lewis and Clark ended their 1804-1806 exploration.  The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is excellent, we learned all about the incredible journey of Lewis and Clark and their impact on our nation’s geography and history.  The primary objective was to explore and to map the newly acquired territory, to find a practical route across the western half of the continent, and to establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it.  The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to establish trade with local Native American tribes. With maps, sketches, and journals in hand, the expedition returned to St. Louis to report its findings to President Thomas Jefferson.  We visited several sites where they camped during their journey.  Interestingly, their trip west took two years, but the return took only six months.  We look forward to stopping at several other points of their journey on next year’s trip. 

Mt Olympus from Cape Disappointment

 

The entire time we were on the Olympic Peninsula, we never saw Mt. Olympus or any of the other snow-capped peaks; we did see them once from the north on Vancouver Island across the Straits of Juan de Fuca, and then again as we left Washington State from Cape Disappointment at the very south end.  

 

In spite of the cold and wet weather, we enjoyed our visit to Seattle and Olympic Peninsula, but will be glad to drive south to California (and hopefully warm and sunny weather) for the last leg of our trip.  We will be visiting a few places, but mostly visiting longtime friends in the various places we have lived.   

 

We continue to be blessed with a great trip and safe travels.  Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.  

 

Best,

Linda and Bob