8 months, 10,924 miles

The great summer adventure actually spilled over into fall. Now that we are in Florida for the winter, I've had a chance to tally up some statistics for our "summer" of travel. After leaving Florida in March, we headed north to GA for a FMCA Rally, then to AL for factory repairs, onto to MO and KS to see friends and more maintenance, then to the west coast, staying a month in Oregon (saw my brother & wife), fitting in an over night trip to Victoria, Canada, and 2 weeks in WA. Then heading east experiencing our first major breakdown (had to be towed), seeing more friends and family as we headed towards the east coast. Up to VT from MD and then back, then heading south though VA, NC, SC and TN before the last leg to FL. As Norwegians would say, UFFDA!

8 months

10,924 miles driven

234 avg. # of miles driven/day

6 New States

34 States Visited

6 National Parks

0 -Total # of Bear Sightings

We enjoyed our time in Middletown visiting family and taking in Middletown football games. We were able to get some needed maintenance done on the RV-a new windshield, a new clutch fan, and some minor indoor maintenance helped by (RV tech in training) grandson Jacob. 

Grandpa supervising RV Tech Jacob 

Jacob's (#32) Middletown Knights Football team 

Fun time on the Ferris Wheel at the Frederick County Fair

On our list was a trip to Essex Junction, VT for a Tiffin Rally. These are always fun and a great chance to get together with fellow Tiffinites. Despite the rain, we had a good time. It seemed that wherever we went in the northeast, we were hitting it just before peak colors for the fall foliage.

Opening Dinner at Tiffin Rally, Salute to Veterans Night

Andy & I 

My friend Kathy had told me about some friends from Fargo that were going to be in DC visiting the sights. We were able to connect and I was able to spend a Sunday with Babs and Pat at the Washington National Cathedral. It is a beautiful place, and it was poignant for me realizing that just a couple of weeks before, presidents had been sitting not far from where I was for the funeral of Senator John McCain. It truly is the nation's church. We had a fun day with the touring and catching up on each other's lives since I had left Fargo. 

Altar at the National Cathedral

One of the most photographed stained glass windows at the National Cathedral

Space stained glass window

Each stained glass window tells a different story. The range from old to present day. This window depicts space exploration and even has an actual moon rock in it. You can see the orbit between the moon and earth depicted in the glass. 

Tres Amigas - Pat, Jean & Babs

Picture taken along the Cherohala Skyway in TN 

While it's sad to have the traveling part over with, we are also glad to be in one place for a while. Things just are much easier when we are not on the road. We'll be in St. Augustine for a month while we take care of doctor and dentist appointments. After that we head to a place near Ocala, FL for the rest of the winter. 

Great Summer Adventure 2018 - Installment Five - Heading East

Well, Labor Day has come and gone so it's time to wrap up the great summer adventure of 2018. It can be summarized by lots of miles, visiting family and friends, a couple of surprises and more fun.

From Washington we headed east through northern Idaho, then to Montana where we stopped in Bozeman to see college roommate Jan and her husband Jim. We figured out it had been 25 years since we had last been together! We had a fun time catching up. In Bozeman, we stayed at the Bozeman Hot Springs Campground. Our daily fee also gave us access to the Hot Springs next door. What a treat to be able to soak in the warm springs at the end of the day! (This gal misses a good soak in a bathtub.)

This buffalo was in TRNP, not Yellowstone!

College Roomie Jan and I 

We also took a day to visit Yellowstone National  Park. We traveled the south loop and saw Old Faithful and also the Painted Pots hot springs. We were hoping to see buffalo, and maybe bears. We did see an elk. Bear sightings remain at 0 for the entire summer. :( 

Firehole Falls, Yellowstone National Park 

One of many geysers

Beautiful View

This guide plugs into your car

It's worthwhile to mention the "Gaperguide".  For $45/day, this device plugs into your car, and uses a gps to give you a personalized guide to the park as your drive through it. This includes not only your location, but history and other fun facts about the park. We definitely thought it was worth the money. 

While in the campground, we met up with fellow Tiffin owners, Jon and Cathy K. We had fun comparing notes and getting to know each other. (We love how you have an instant community with fellow Tiffin owners.) Jon & Cathy, we look forward to seeing you on the road again!

From Montana, we headed east towards ND and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, ND. We had originally planned on staying in Dickinson. At the last minute, we changed our campground reservation to Medora. After having dinner, we drove to downtown Medora. All of a sudden, I said, "I think I just saw one of my high school classmates!" We turned around and went back to where I thought I'd seen them. We went into a restaurant and sure enough, there was Linda J. and Joanne B. SMALL WORLD! They were staying in Dickinson because they couldn't get a room in Medora. However, they had driven over for the evening to explore Medora. After joining them in the restaurant, we drove through the park, and ended up seeing beautiful wild horses and buffalo up close and personal. This was definitely an example of  SERENDIPITY!

From Medora we traveled to Fargo, stopping to see good friend, Mary D. Then it was on to MN and WI where we stayed at Willow River State Park near Hudson. We were joined there by daughter Sara and family. 

Andy & I by Willow River Falls

Grandma & Grandpa with Hope, Chloe & Alexander

Willow River Falls

We also had a chance to connect with son Erik and family, and while in Waseca, daughter Becky and family. It was fun to get my "grandma" fix!

Also, while in MN, we had a chance to get all of the (midwest) cousins together. (Planets have to align for this to happen! ) My niece Olivia lives in London, so periodically comes back to MN for visits. This time we found an evening where all six (midwest) cousins could manage to get together. (We're missing the CA contingent, Alison and Alex, Alison's spouse and daughter.)  

Can you tell we're sisters?

Cousins all grown up with their spouses

Grandkids (of course not all looking at the camera!)

I think we're officially the old farts!

We've done the drive from MN to MD many times, so there was nothing new to report. The roads in Indiana are STILL terrible. I think they are the worst we've ever driven on. Right now we're in MD seeing the east coast contingent of grandkids, and seeing some Middletown Knights football, courtesy of grandsons Vince and Jacob. Also, while here, I get a chance to see Kathy H., former pastor from Fargo, ND, where I used to live. Since we are here for a while, we've caught up on some things, including getting our cracked windshield fixed. 

Next stop: Tiffin Rally in Vermont. We're  looking forward to gathering with other Tiffin owners and seeing fall colors!

Great Summer Adventure 2018 - Installment Four - Washington - After

After we left Seattle, we headed east on Highway 2, taking the more scenic route through the mountains. We were on our way to Wenatchee when all of a sudden we had buzzers going off and warning lights on the dash. Pulling over to the side of the road, we realized that the engine was overheating. We let it cool down and then started the engine again. It was barely 5 minutes before the same thing happened again. 😒

We were able to drive to the Stevens Pass Recreational Area - it had a big parking lot and because it was off season for them (ski area in the winter) they let us park there without any problem. This was on Monday afternoon and of course, with the time difference, the Tiffin Service Center was just closing when we called. We did call our roadside service, which assured us they would find someone to tow us. (Tiffin had suggested we be towed.) Andy spent most of Tuesday morning on the phone trying to figure out what was going on, when we would be able to get towed, what the probable problem was, etc. Finally, around 5:15 on Tuesday night, the tow truck showed up. We had originally been scheduled to go back to the Seattle area. However, after asking, they found us a dealer in the Spokane area since we were heading east. It took nearly 3 hours for the guy to hook up the motor home. It's a bit scary when you see your home being towed down the highway. (We drove in the car.)

It takes a big truck to tow a motor home!

Making sure things are attached

About ready to leave

Monday night we drove to Leavenworth, WA. This city is a replica of a Bavarian town in Switzerland with everything (even McDonald's and Wells Fargo) having Bavarian architecture and design. 

Leavenworth, WA

After a long day, both the tow truck and motor home and us made it to Spokane. We spent the night in the parking lot of the dealer. On Wednesday, our initial diagnosis was confirmed, a failed clutch fan on the engine. A part was ordered from Tiffin. We were able to keep our reservation at Alderwood Campground near Spokane. On Thursday,we took a day trip to Coeur d'Alene, ID. While there we enjoyed a boat trip on Lake Coeur d'Alene. 

Lake Coeur d'Alene 

The part arrived as promised on Friday and we were able to get installed without any problems. And, we were able to leave the area on schedule. All in all, it was not as bad as it could have been. We went from "OMG, what are we going to do now?" to "Well, that wasn't as bad as we thought". We have certainly heard of others who have had it worse than we have. It's still scary when something this big causes you to have to have your motor home towed. We survived, and that is what's key. 

Our west coast adventure done, we head on going east. As always, more adventure to come! 

Great Summer Adventure 2018 -Installment Four - Washington - Before

It's probably unfair to the state of Washington to divide it into two parts, but it will be forever remembered that way. More on the "after" in a bit.

After leaving McMinnville, we headed north on I-5 . Mt. St. Helens National Park was our first stop. It's amazing to see what is left of the mountain after the eruption in 1980. At the visitor center, we watched a video of the event - bringing to light the destruction of life and homes, and of course, the forests and mountain.

Squirrel at the edge of the parking lot entertaining us 

Best view of Mt. St. Helens is from the Johnston Ridge Observatory

You can see the portion of the mountain that was blown away

We decided to drive along the Washington coastline on our way to the Olympic Peninsula and Chimacum, the location of our next campground. While scenic, it's not nearly as spectacular as the Oregon coast. 

Washington Coast

Chimacum is a small town on the Olympic Peninsula. We especially enjoyed Port Townsend. It has a nice downtown area with interesting shops and a great ice cream store (Elevated Ice Cream - www.elevatedicecream.com ). Being right on the water, Port Townsend reminded us of towns on Cape Cod. The buildings are old and architecture unique.

These unique doors are the entrance to a bike shop 

Part of downtown Port Townsend

Interesting looking place to eat but (not so) great food

On the Olympic peninsula there is a city called Sequim (pronounced Skwim). Known as the "Lavender Capital of North America" it is home to numerous lavender farms. The city re-invented itself in the late 90's as the previous industry of dairy was in decline. It was found the soil in the area were ideal for growing lavender. In 1997 the city celebrated it's first lavender festival.

Lavender Farm

While on the Olympic Peninsula, we decided to take the ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We left our car in Port Angeles, and reserved a hotel room for one night in Victoria, taking the ferry back the next day. We walked around downtown (just happened to be there for their annual Pride parade and festival) and took a bus tour of the city. As a teenager I recall going to Canada with my parents and remembered how clean the cities were. I'm saddened to say Victoria did not live up to my expectations. We also saw homeless people, again, did not expect that. 

Downtown tree art in Victoria 

Our first attempt going to Olympic National Park had us turning around because of construction in the park. We would have had a 20-30 minute wait until the guide car came back for us. We didn't fare much better on our second attempt. This time we still had the road where there was only one lane for parts, but most of the back-up seemed to be at the entrance booth to the park. There was only one booth to handle the stream of traffic waiting to get in. (We've been at other national parks where they have an express lane for those of us who have senior passes.) We've made good use of our senior pass this summer using it for six different national parks. We've also been in several national recreational areas.

View taken from Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center

Another View 

Campground reservations were hard to get in WA. Our original plan had been to spend a month in the Seattle area. But since we couldn't do that, we ended up with another campground in Bothell, WA. We had met Chris and Jenny in Red Bay at the service center, and we knew they were going to be in WA in July. So I reached out and sure enough, they were going to be there and we happened to end up at the same campground. But who would have thought that we would pull up to the office to register at the same time? Small world. It was great to catch up with them and enjoy a couple of meals together. 

You can't do Seattle without seeing Pike's Place market. It seemed much bigger than the last time I had been there. 

Bakery

Busy Place!

We also toured the Chihuly Garden & Glass Museum, featuring the works of Dale Chihuly, and the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. 

Beautiful colored blown glass 

Amazing colors!

Outside, glass among the bushes and flowers 

Display of guitars at MoPOP

From Seattle we headed towards - well, that's the "after" part of the story. Stay tuned for the next installment! 

Great Summer Adventure 2018 - Installment Three - Oregon

After staying in Bend for a week, we headed to Olde Stone Village RV Park in McMinnville, OR. This would be our base for the month of June. Several of our reservations are made sight unseen, and we were glad this one turned out to a good one. I was excited to learn that they have a water aerobics class 3 mornings a week. However, this might be classified as an "polar bear" water aerobics class! 😀Most mornings the air temp (at 9 am) was between 50-55 degrees. When I told them that in FL they don't have class unless it is at least 70 degrees they all laughed at me! But I toughed it out and made it to the classes. (Most days once we got moving it warmed up pretty well.)

Oregon. Crater Lake National Park. ✔ Painted Hills. ✔ Mt. Hood. ✔ Columbia River Gorge. ✔ Oregon Coast. ✔ Multnomah Falls. ✔ 6/8 recommended "must-see" places in Oregon, not bad!

We had heard a lot about the Oregon coast, and it did not disappoint. We made several trips to the coast and saw something different every time.

Oregon Coast

Beach 

Cliffs overlooking Pacific Ocean

Sand Sculpture competition in Cannon Beach

More Oregon coast

One of the more spectacular sights we saw was at Cook's Chasm, where we witnessed the power of the ocean crashing on the coastline. Spouting Horn is basically like a blow hole, that was created from a cave with a crack or hole in the roof of the cave. So when waves roll their force and power creates a geyser of water erupting up into the air from the crack in the cave.

You have to watch this!

In Florida we are accustomed to seeing signs for hurricane evacuation routes. In Oregon you see these signs.

This picture is for our family members who love blue herons - Sara & Hope, and Jack & Patty. The tile mosaic is outside the Blue Heron Cheese factory. 

Columbia River Gorge

Multnomah Falls 

Dinner with my brother Greg and wife Diane 

While we explored the coast, we also went into Portland for a farmer's market, craft market, Powell books (a wonderful place!) and of course, Storables, where I had trained years ago. We had also been told not to miss Voodoo donuts. It is a wildly popular place and is interesting for the people and the building. Donuts were a bit overrated, we thought. Voodoo donuts come in a box like this.

And in the spirit of you can't make this up/quirky things we see category, here is a picture of a gal in Portland carrying her pet goose. He was on a leash walking before she picked him up. 

More adventures to come as we head to Washington. Stay tuned!