West Coast "Coastal Cruisin"

[Tom]

Have a safe trip Marsha and Tim. We thoroughly enjoyed your company. Say goodbye to Charlie for us.

Now I have to go back to Isleton and check out the Tong.

 

[Tom]

Hope you guys landed safely in Napa  ???

Deanna called, and she was so excited about seeing Charlie that she wanted your email address, so she could ask about the breeder. Charlie sure has a way with people - he's just too friendly! Methinks that Charlie brought back lots of memories for Deanna of her poodles.

 

[Marsha/CA]

Tom, hopefully you gave Deanna my email address.  I still need to look at the file for Charlie and see if I have the breeder's phone number.  Yes, he is very friendly...too friendly.  He was convinced you, Chris and Robert were there to see him when you came over on Tuesday night.

We are now in Napa.  Arrived here close to 12:30 or 1:00 ish.  We took 160 to 12 to 80 to 37.  Highway 12 into Napa was closed, so we were detoured via 37, which turned out to be a good detour.  The Elks lodge was full ,so we headed to the Napa Fairgrounds Expo RV park.  It is FANTASTIC.  They redid the rv park last May, and it is very-very nice.  With a Good Sam discount it is $31.00 per night for full hookup/50 amps.

After we had relaxed for a bit in the afternoon, we found a dog park for Charlie and he played to his heart's content.

Tomorrow we are packing a picnic and heading out for a wine tour.  Tim found a horse/carriage wine tour and we are still looking at the train tour; haven't decided which one or both.

This no schedule...no plan stuff is great.

Marsha~

 

[Tom]

Marsha,

I gave Deanna gave your email address.

I gotta see a photo of Charlie on a train or horse & carriage ride. Just don't let him drink too much Napa wine.

 

[Tim Lassen]

Wendy,
I guess the model railroad in San Diego was at Balboa park.  I have visited many times and it is fantastice and represents several model rail clubs in the San Diego region.  Looking forward to the exhibit at the fairgrounds in NAPA...tim

 

[Tim Lassen]

Well "Al the Wop's" was not as described in the Camping World magazine.  I peeked in the door expecting to see many people enjoying great cheese steak sandwichs and exotic beers.  But no we were not so lucky, just 3-4 guys seriously enjoying bud on draft.  I'm pretty sure had we mentioned the wonderful description opf the place in the motorhome magazine thye would have responded with huh??? and put their heads back on the bar.  We did stop at the chinese restaurant next door for an alternate lunch but they were closed from 12PM to 1:30 PM.  We finally settled for a great deli sandwich and picnic at a nearby park and the drive through the delta was wonderful..tim

 

[Tom]

LOL Tim, you missed some great food at Al the wop's aka Al's place. When you go in the front door, you're in the bar. Look up and you'll see all those $1 bills tacked to the ceiling that Robert was telling you about. Go through the bar and you'll get to the restaurant. Definitely not fancy, but good food.

In the summer months, Locke is a popular stop for bikers on hwy 160, the levy road from Rio Vista to Sacramento.

 

[Tim Lassen]

Thanks Tom..Guess I better come back for the burger.  Somehow I missed where the eating was and the bills on the ceiling.  I'm afraid to ask what holds them to the ceiling..tim

 

[caltex]

Tim, maybe my memory is getting foggy, but I seem to remember my last meal at Al the Wops consisted of a steak, bread and peanut butter. not what I would call gourmet fare.  So maybe you didn't miss anything but the dollar bills thumb tacked on the ceiling, and I gave you the secret to getting them up there.

 

[Tim Lassen]

Sorry...you did mention about the thumbtacks..so much for short term memory..tim

 

[Marsha/CA]

Napa & Healdsburg   Wine Country

We arrived in Napa on Wednesday, getting settled in at Napa Valley Expo RV Park.  This is a very very nice RV Park with full hook-ups and is satellite friendly.  For those who have pets, there is a fenced in area on 3 sides where the dogs can run and play.  We also found a dog park with not only a fenced in area, but over 100 acres of ?off leash? hiking.

On Thursday, we drove through miles and miles of vineyards with beautiful estates wineries.  Drove up to the Beringer Winery and walked through the gardens.  They are beautiful with examples of all sorts of plants and trees.  Then we stopped in at Rutherford winery, had samples and bought a case for the coach.

On Friday, we walked the downtown part of Napa, stopping in at a doll shop to buy a birthday present for our granddaughter.  I was a bit disappointed in Napa, I expected it to be more quaint and unique.  Friday was the highlight for Tim.  Every Friday, the local model railroad club operates the railroad.  Members bring their own trains, running them over the rail lines.  The modeling for the rail road was done very well.  Members participate by performing various rail duties such as:  dispatchers, train masters, engineers and switchers.  It was a lot of fun to watch; even I was impressed.

Today, we took a long drive going north on highway 29 toward Healdsburg stopping on the way at the ?Petrified Forest? which is west of Calistoga.  We have been to the Petrified Forest near Holbrook, AZ which we found fascinating, so we weren?t expecting too much from this Petrified Forest.   However, there is a difference, this site has various trees such as pine and redwoods.  At this PF many of the over 3 million year old trees only had part of the tree exposed, so the remainder of the trees had to be ?excavated?, as they are laying in the ground, sometimes 20 feet below ground in order to be viewed.  It was a bit hokey, but interesting.

We continued onto Healdsburg, a great little town; lots of fabulous restaurants, and great shopping.  It was Saturday night with people milling around.  There was also a ?beer garden? with a live band in the city?s square, so it was a lot of fun just walking around.  We took Charlie, the puppy poodle, who had a ball with folks making a big fuss over him.

If we were to do this trip again, I would skip Napa and just go to Healdsburg.   There are wineries all over the place all up and down the Sonoma Valley. We didn?t check out any RV parks; but Woodalls lists several that might be very nice.

Tomorrow we head toward Bodega Bay and hope to get into Doran County Park.   No hook ups, but it is right on the ?spit? of the bay and several have told is it is a great campground.  If we can?t get in, we?ll head up to Bodega Bay RV Park and see if a spot is available.

More from Bodega Bay??..

 

[Wendy]

Dang, I had to open MS Streets & Trips to find out where you were ! Sounds like you're having a great trip. I especially like the 100-acre dog park....doesn't that make Napa worth a stop?? Let's see, wineries and model trains....who could ask for anything more?

Enjoy
Wendy

 

[Marsha/CA]

Bodega Bay, CA

After driving a whopping 50 miles, we arrived in Bodega Bay last Sunday afternoon and stayed at Doran Regional County Park.  This is a really neat location because some of the campsites are out on a ?jetty? with the port of Bodega on one side and Bodega Bay on the other. We happened to get a site on the jetty, which was fun; but full of Seagulls. (I kept thinking about Betty and her ?bird adventure?).  There is a bird sanctuary wetlands area nearby with trails.  Doran Campground is dry camping with flush toilets and hot showers available.  I recommend it highly and it can handle big rigs.  If you go during the summer, you will need reservations.  When we arrived it was sunny and beautiful.

On Monday we took a drive up highway 1 North to Fort Ross.  Fort Ross was used by an American-Russian Company to provide food and supplies to the outposts in Alaska.  They farmed, tanned hides, fished the nearby ocean and provided other services needed in the Northwest.  It functioned from 1812 to 1841.  The company had difficulty providing all that was needed in the Northwest settlements, so in 1841 they sold the fort and all the land holdings to John Sutter, a wealthy rancher from the San Francisco area and moved their establishment up to Hudson Bay.  Many of the local Native American Indians and farmers helped in the fort.  It was a thriving establishment and the only Russian American Fort on US soil.

We then took a ride inland to various little towns following the Russian River into Sebastopol.  Many of the little towns had Russian names.  Having visited the Fort, we now know why.

Tuesday we packed a lunch and headed to Point Reyes which is a National Seashore Park.  The visitor center is full of great information and there are numerous trails just outside the center.  We drove all the way to the lighthouse out on the point, to only find that it was closed.  There are several working cattle ranches on the way, which made for ?great smells? and dirty roads.  We were not impressed.  So we were a bit disappointed; although we did see and hear sea lions on the point.

Wednesday, we stayed around the campground, letting Charlie, the poodle puppy, play on the beach in the waves.  He had a ball.  We went out for lunch at a local restaurant and I had my first BBQ oyster, along with ?garlic? oysters.  Years ago, I had deep fried oysters, but never BBQ.  I must admit it was an experience; not sure I?d try them again.  I think they were steamed and were very bland, in my opinion.

Thursday, we headed to the ?Redwoods? to a campground near Eureka, CA.  It was a beautiful drive.  We?ve gotten so used to just going 50-75 miles a day, that the 220 mile drive seemed long; but very pretty. 

Thanks to all who recommended we not take #1 up the coast, we took #101 which was a very very nice drive.

We are now in Fortuna.  Today, we took time to pay bills and do laundry.  We went to Samoa Cookhouse near Eureka for dinner.  This is a historical facility and the only remaining cookhouse which fed loggers during the days of heavy logging.  Tim and I had been there close to 30 years ago with our kids during the days of tent camping and driving a small Subaru.  The food was still great.

Tomorrow we are doing a drive through giant Coastal Redwood Trees.  The drive is actually called ?Avenue of the Giants? and is nearly 35 miles long, with stops along the way and lots of hikes.

We are still having lots of fog/cloudiness; even had thunder and lightening with rain this morning.  The sun does peek out every once in a while.

Photos are of the coast line of Point Reyes and Fort Ross.

Marsha~

 

[Marsha/CA]

Forgot....I added the picture of the flowers hoping someone would know what they are.  They look like Fuscia to me; but hopefully someone will know.  They were growing wild and are beautiful.

Marsha~

 

[BernieD]

Marsha

The memorable CGs we stayed at last summer working our way up the coast from Eureka were:
Madding River, Arcata; pricey but you are near there anyways so nevermind
Shoreline RV Park, Crescent City, CA; right on the ocean, city park downtown, our favorite (because of location)
Indian Creek RV, Gold Beach, OR; up the Rogue River a bit. After Shoreline somewhat of a let down but actually very nice.
Charleston Marina, Charleston; convenient to Coos Bay and North Bend but in the middle of a working marina.
Winchester Bay Marina, favorite of many of us, don't miss the lighthouse at night.
Newport, OR; Pacific Shores usually has discount coupons on it's website, can be very pricey otherwise. Russ has stayed at the Newport Marina, across from the Aquarium and liked it very much.

 

[Tom and Margi]

Yes, those are fuchsias. 

Thanks for the pictures and the trip down memory lane.  We lived in Sebastopol from 1976 to 1989.  Tom has gone on many "party boat" fishing trips out of Bodega Bay to the Farralone Islands.  We also went crabbing out of Bodega Bay when he had our SeaRay.  I wish I had mentioned to you that Hitchcock's "The Birds" was filmed in the town of Bodega, a little town inland from Bodega Bay.  The most recognizable landmark from the movie is the white church with the tall steeple. 

Glad to hear the Samoa Cookhouse is still around.  We haven't been there in about 35 years, but it sure was fun for us and our kids then.  Another RV park to add to Bernie's excellent list is At River's Edge in Brookings, OR on the banks of the Chetco River.  If they still have salmon and steehead pictures on the wall, there should be one of Tom holding his first steelhead.  Also, if you like really good fish and chips, try "The Crazy Norweigian" in Port Orford. 

Margi

 

[Wendy]

Don't know how far north you guys are going, but in Oregon don't forget about the state parks. Many have campgrounds and most of the campgrounds have hookups. We've never been to one we didn't like although some are less than satellite friendly.

What, no pictures of Charlie playing in the surf?

Wendy

 

[Marsha/CA]

Thanks Bernie for the campground suggestions.  I was going to ask you about campground ideas, because I remembered you had stayed at several nice ones.  We've stayed at Newport Marina, which was really nice.

Margi,  we really liked Sebastopol, it was just far enough inland to have less fog; not too big but had nice ammenities.  And, we did go through Bodega with it's "white church and tall steeple; and we knew about "The Birds".  We even bought a few groceries there. Tim, being an avid-voracious reader, bought several paperbacks from a little antique 2nd hand store.  We mailed a post card to our granddaughter from the Bodega post office.

We are working our way north, so all of everyone's suggestions are greatly appreciated.  We were hoping to do some fishing on this trip, so I'll check to see if the steelhead are running.  We know nothing about steelhead, so I'll have to do some research.  If we get to River's Edge in Brookings, I'll look for Tom's picture.  Hopefully, it will have his name on it; because I'm not sure I'd recognize him.

On to the "Avenue of the Giants".

Marsha~

 

[Tom and Margi]

If we get to River's Edge in Brookings, I'll look for Tom's picture.  Hopefully, it will have his name on it; because I'm not sure I'd recognize him.

I just checked their website,  Tom's picture is Image 27.  It wasn't his biggest fish, but it WAS his first.  ;D  We workamped there a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it.  The owners are terrific and the staff was great that year.  It's a little early for winter steelhead but the fall King salmon should be running.   

http://www.atriversedge.com/tour.cfm

I agree with Wendy.  Oregon State Parks are wonderful.  Tom and I both had brothers in Oregon, so I think we've stayed in all of them at one time or another.      Some are iffy for satellite reception so you might want to unhook and do a drive-around to see if there is a site open to the southeast sky.  It's finally cooled off inland in Southern Oregon so that should make the coast less foggy.  Late September/October often has the best coastal weather of the year.   Another nice RV park is the Mill Casino in Coos Bay.  They have sites on the shipping channel and the log ships turn around there and head back out to sea.

If you like oysters be sure to drive out to the end of the spit at Winchester Bay to the little oyster store.  Yummmm.    Chuck's Seafood, just across the drawbridge and left in Charleston, has wonderful fresh fish and shellfish, also.  Tom and I just finished pressure canning 50 pounds of tuna (25# dressed out) from Chuck's. 

I'm eagerly reading your travel posts and enjoying them immensely.   Keep them coming!

Margi

 

[Betty Brewer]

Hey Marsha,

Great posts. I just love to hear of  other people's travels. The photos are wondrful.  My favorite was the fuchias!  I am on a break from posting .  I  do  appreciate it when folks on trips mention the name of parks they stayed as it helps to narrow the many choices we ae lucky enough to have in this life style.

Betty
Begining to see fall colors in New Hampshire