July 2016 - Tucson, AZ to Long Beach, CA

First off, we want to let everyone know that we realize how hot it is in Tucson this time of the year, but there is a purpose for this trip.  We started off on July 5 to Tucson, AZ.  We were traveling in our truck, so our first night was in Blythe, CA at the Comfort Suites at $130.00 per night.  This was Blythe! On the California - Arizona border where I-10 crosses the Colorado River. Where it was Hot! Hot! Hot! Nobody was around, and the price was $130/night!!  When I asked why the price was so high, the office clerk offered a $10 discount and said it was "a busy time of year".  The next morning, we left around 9:00 a.m., and it was already hot outside. 

We had an appointment with Floyd at 1:00 p.m. in Tucson, so we wanted to make sure we had lunch before our appointment. On our way, we seen this couple filling up their RV.  The guy was out begging for money while the gal filled the tank, and she really worked on scrubbing one side window.  Hmmmm... Inside the door is a 5-gallon gas can.  I was wonderin' if there was gas in that there can??

We got into Tucson about 11:30 a.m., and ate at the Brooklyn's Burgers & Brew.  It was a diner, not pretty, filled with locals, and good food. After a sandwich and a beer, we headed to our appointment.


We met Floyd from La Mesa RV in Tucson, and he took us to meet our new motor home - a 2016 37 ft. Allegro Bus!

The floor plan is very similar to our other motor home, but our new bathroom is much more roomier, and there are a lot of upgrades that you can't see.

It was probably close to 112 degrees as we did the walk around with Lance. He showed us all the features explaining how they worked, as well as answered many questions.  

We stayed in the La Mesa RV parking lot for 2 nights to make sure we understood how to operate things.  We had electricity so we could run the air conditioners and keep comfortable.  

Moving all the stuff from the truck into the motor home was not the easiest thing in the world.  With the heat outside, and going up and down the stairs, we both wanted to faint.  Then, making the bed and putting stuff away was next.  I had to be careful in what I packed, since Bill felt there would not be enough room for everything.  But since we were heading to Long Beach right after picking up the motor home, I wanted to make sure we had enough supplies.  BUT we only had room for 2 outside chairs, 4 forks, 4 knives, 4 spoons, and 4 plates. I was so glad that Bill had enough room and packed the outside mat. We did have plenty of room for our "stuff", but we all had to give Bill a hard time for just NER (Not Enough Room)!!

Bathroom has 2 entrances, 2 sinks, & a large shower

Kitchen even has a dishwasher!

                                                                        We toasted to "us" on our new purchase with these yummy Margaritas at Guillermo's in Tucson!

We stayed 2 more nights at the KOA across the street from La Mesa in Tucson, and were ready for some cooler weather.  We decided we would head to San Diego.  We were going to stay in Yuma, but since nobody answers phones on the weekends or in the summer because of the heat, Bill decided he wanted to drive further, so we stopped in El Centro, CA.  Our overnight stay was at the Rio Bend RV & Golf Resort.  We arrived at 3:30 p.m. only to find this place deserted also.  The view out our front window was nice, but it was still very hot, so you couldn't enjoy the outside. 

We left El Centro about 10:00, and headed to San Diego.  On our way through the southernmost part of California, there was so much sand.  It looked like we should have seen camels.  Both sides of the rode was just sand.  We were glad the wind was not whipping as we went through this area.

We arrived at Campland by the Bay in San Diego about 1:30.  This RV park was very busy and right on Mission Bay, so we enjoyed the cooler weather.  Two nights here, and we set off to meet Tom & Debbie at the Golden Shore RV Park in Long Beach.

We were in Long Beach to watch the 68th Annual Catalina Ski Race.  This race is an annual event where skiers ski from Long Beach to Catalina Island and back.  This year, the average speed was 73 mph, and completed in just over 1 hour.  This is approximately 60 mile course.  We help our cousin Cindy Pryor Lee score the race from the deck of the Queen Mary.

The weather was beautiful while we were in Long Beach.

Fire boat shoots water as boats head to beach.

54 entries this year.  Boats are making their way over to the beach to begin the race.

One night, we had everyone over for a BBQ.  Since parking is very strict and not a lot of spaces anyway, Cindy didn't want to lose her parking spot at the hotel, so the 7 of us all piled in Debbie's PT Cruiser and headed over to the campground.

Once again, we had a great time, and look forward to future trips to Long Beach and the Catalina Ski Race.

June 2016 - Oregon (Coast & Mid State)

Our adventure began on June 17 with Tom & Debb.  We stopped along the giant redwood trees along Hwy 101.

Our first night was at the Klamath River RV Park in Klamath, CA. This is the view from our camp site.

Next stop, Coos Bay, OR.  A beautiful small town with flower baskets hanging from light poles along the streets.  We stayed at the Mills Casino RV Park, and after getting settled, we went to the Sharkbite Cafe and tasted one of Tom & Debbie's favorite Margaritas, which were made from scratch.  After enjoying the Maggie, we headed over to 7 Devils Brewery, then back to the casino for a little bit of unsuccessful gambling.

Next morning, we were off to Newport, OR. We stayed at the Newport Marina & RV Park. The weather was cool, so we grabbed our sweatshirts and headed to the historical town of Newport. These 3 willingly posed for this picture in front of the Historic Barge Inn, which was a dive bar, and then a visit to the Rogue Brewery where we enjoyed some brews.

 Continuing North, we visited Tillamook Cheese Factory, and took the self-guided tour.

Workers are not very motivated.  I suppose doing the same thing day in - day out would be pretty boring.

These ladies were aligning the blocks of cheese for slicing.

No tour would be complete without samples, so off to the sample line where we sampled several types of cheese.  Nothing bizarre, just your run of the mill samples.  Then, of course, the sample line ended in the gift shop, where we bought more cheese and some ice cream.

After a lunch of cheese and crackers, we headed east towards Portland.  We stayed for 2 nights in Wilsonville, OR which was south of Portland.  Debbie and I wanted to go to a store in which we have ordered fabric on-line.  Fabric Depot is a huge fabric store in Portland, so we spent some time there, while the boys went to Home Depot.  Once we were all finished shopping, we went over to The Portland Brewing Company in the industrial area of Portland.  We had a nice appetizer and a round of micro-brews.  Right after we got back to the motorhomes, Bill discovered he left his sweatshirt and the motorhome keys in the pocket of his sweatshirt, so back to Portland Brewery we go.  The time was about 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon as we headed back, and got back home between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m.  The traffic in Portland was horrendous!  Never imagined.

It is Wednesday, and we are headed to Albany, OR where the FMCA Rally is located.  FMCA is Family Motor Coach Association.  During these rally's, the Association has several classes on different subjects related to RVing.  The rally began Thursday and ended Saturday night. These rallies include dinners and evening entertainment.  One night, we saw Hypnotist Tammy Harris.  This was sooooo funny watching people from the audience get hypnotized.

During our stay, we visited Covered Bridges, and also the historic area of downtown Albany.  

There are a few Covered Bridges tours around Oregon.  You drive yourself following the route that you wish to take.

Here are the covered bridges we visited:

Of course, we visited a brewery here and there.  So here us enjoying a beer at the Growler Garage in downtown Albany.

We also visited downtown Albany.  The city received a donated Carousel through a project started by anAlbany resident.  This Carousel dates from 1909 and was in operation at an amusement park in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.  This mechanism is fully operational but only has four completed animals on it for balance.  When complete, the Carousel will hold 52 animals.  All which will have been sponsored by a family or individual. Each animal is carved with unique details about their owners.  As an example, Neal, a greyhound, is modeled after a real dog that was a rescued race dog and loved to sprint through the grass behind his family's Albany home.  Grizzly Berry is a bear adopted by a family of optometrists that wears glasses and carries an eye chart in his basket.  The Berry's granddaughters named are carved into his fur.

Here are pictures of some unfinished animals as well as one of the volunteers who started 10 years ago and knew nothing about wood carving. 

The city is in the process of constructing a new carousel building, which will house the fully restored mechanism with all 52 hand carved and painted animals.  The museum has postcards of what each animal will look like, and they all have a unique name.  The animals that are completed are on display around local businesses in the historic downtown area.  There are so many awesome animals, it is hard to pick a favorite.  I will look forward to returning to Albany to see the completed Carousel.

Sunday was here before we knew it, and it was time to head south.  We traveled from Albany, OR to Lakehead, CA and stayed at the Trail Inn RV Park.  It was a small park, and felt like you were in the middle of the forest even though we were only a few miles off of Hwy. 5. 

Mt Shasta in June

On the road home

Our vacation was officially over the next day, which was Monday, June 27, 2016.  What a great time we had!