Where's Lei & Howard?

Mama Mia Trattoria

2009-08-07T01:53:00.000-07:00

439 SW 2nd Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
(503) 295-6464

Excellent food at reasonable prices. Pasta cooked al dente, and delivered fast and hot! My carbonara was creamy, not too eggy, not too cheesy, with lots of pancetta. Wood tables are crowded together, so we ate at the bar, which also was crowded for happy hour. It also got noisy. A runner brought our food out for the bartender, and came back to check on us as well.
Tablecloths and napkins would be nice, and a more attentive door person to control the crowd at the door.

Four stars
Average entree: $15

Provino's Italian Restaurant

2009-07-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

2575 Hilton Garden Drive
Auburn, AL 36830
(334) 826-7360

Good Italian restaurant with nice atmosphere and great portions for the price. Everything prepared well, despite some special requests on our selections. Dinner comes with all you can eat house salad served family style, including little garlic rolls. Good service, our waiter was knowledgeable and professional, but the food runner was a bit short with us and not very friendly. The desserts our friend ordered were plain and not memorable.

Average entree: $15
Four stars

Bushwacker Seafood Restaurant

2009-07-29T01:16:00.000-07:00

1527 E 1st Street
Port Angeles, WA 98362
(360) 457-4113

It was Father's Day, and I think they were understaffed. We sat on the bar and had draft beers and all you can eat salad bar. The bartender was friendly and kept up his part of the operation. The seafood plates that we saw looked great, huge portions.

Three stars (only because we didn't try the menu)
Average entree: $15-$20

Oregon Brewfest

2009-07-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we volunteered at the Oregon Brewers Festival, held at the McCall Waterfront Park in Portland. In exchange for about four hours of time, we each got a souvenir taster's mug, a t-shirt, and eight tokens for beer tasting. Our commitment was for the last shift of the festival, on Sunday afternoon, and we were allowed to pick up our tokens and mug ahead of time (on Saturday) to enjoy the tasting.
WE HAD A BLAST!!! There were eighty different beers for the tasting, and we probably tried forty. We would get a couple of tastes, sit down at the tables, and enjoy the beer and people watching. We brought sandwiches and veggies, so we didn't have to buy the expensive fried food offerings. There was great music, and no one was really drunk and obnoxious.
Two huge tents provided shade from the ninety-degree heat, and there were lots of chairs and tables available. Also provided outside were mist archways to cool off.
Our volunteer shift on Sunday was hectic, but we had fun, and the time flew by. After closing the taps, the volunteers were allowed to finish off some left over pitchers of beer. We headed back to the rig, tired but happy.

We parked at the Elks Lodge in Beaverton, west of Portland. It was a short, 12 minute train ride into the city. We were grateful for that after a long day of drinking beer.

Alessia's Ristorante Italiano

2009-07-24T23:19:00.000-07:00

5251 E Brown Road
Mesa, AZ 85205
(480) 396-2888

This is a wonderful little place tucked into the corner of a strip mall. I selected it for our anniversary dinner. The guy that greeted us said a funny thing about the ocean view table, which was a cozy two-top next to the windows. He said we looked familiar, we said probably not, we're from Hawai'i. It turned out that he used to be the restaurant manager at the Elks Lodge in Waikiki, and he remembered us!! Jon works the front, greeting guests and waiting on tables, his wife Shari (a Hawai'i girl!) is the chef.

Excellent food, fresh ingredients and good portions. All the other diners were regulars, and that gave the place a nice feeling. Casual dining in an elegant little dining room. The best in Italian food!!
Check them out!

Five stars!
Average entree: $15

2009-07-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Villasenor Mexican Restaurant

601 Fruitvale Blvd
Yakima, WA 98902
(509) 454-3293

The best way to find good Mexican food is to ask the locals. The lady at the Elks front desk even gave us driving directions. There must be a hundred Mexican restaurants in Yakima, so we were glad for the reference.
Excellent food, really big portions on the combo plates. Two types of salsa, we tried the 'hot' for a good kick of flavor! Friendly service by latina waitresses.

Average entree: $10
Five stars!!!

Yakima Greenway

2009-07-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

The Yakima Elks Lodge is a mile from the Greenway. This is the typical rail trail, following an old train track right-of-way. It's amazing that they could spare one, as downtown Yakima is criss-crossed with tracks for the fruit shipping companies. It follows the Yakima River for ten miles, with lakeside stops, nature trails, and playgrounds.
The first time, we drive to the parking lot at Harlan Landing. Howard runs, I bike; it's really hot, at least ninety degrees. We both turn south, and end up at the shorter end of the path. I ride to Myron Lake, about 2.5 miles out, but it requires riding a short distance on 16th Avenue, for which I am not mentally prepared for. We meet back at the truck, and each drink a quart of water.
Howard figures out a way to (safely) get to Harlan's Landing on foot, so the next try at the Greenway, we set out from the Elks Lodge. It adds a mile each way to the route, and we both choose to go north on the trail. I turn around at McGuire Playground, one of those "kit" playgrounds of wood, assembled by community volunteers. The slats of the surrounding fence are carved with the names of supporters, individuals and businesses, and there are over a hundred!

Freddy's Just for the Halibut

2009-07-14T23:31:00.000-07:00

1110 Commerce Ave, Longview, WA 98632
(360) 414-3288

Great seafood in a family style restaurant. Good portions on all our selections. My friend, Ethel, had cioppino that was overflowing with seafood, my fish and chips were crispy but moist on the inside. Reasonable prices and casual atmosphere. Great cold beer on tap!

When it came time to pay the bill, the server arrived with a hand-held device. You swipe your credit card, and a tip (or not), and print your own receipt. A secure way to keep your credit card in your sight, but uncomfortable when it comes to the tipping part, as the server is standing over you.

The Road to Yakima

2009-07-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

We have four days off from workamping, so we drive to Yakima. US Highway 12 follows the valleys between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier, through the little towns of Salkum and Mossyrock, and past Lake Mayfield and (huge) Lake Riffe. We passed the old logging town of Morton, and stopped in Packwood to fix a snack for the road. From Packwood, the road climbs into the mountains, mostly high up on the valley walls. Beautiful views of the forest, the patchwork of planted stands, and mossy old-growth trees of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The forest changes names, to Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
At White Pass, there are ski lifts, and ski runs wind down the mountain to the edge of road. There's another mountain lake, just before a little town called Rimrock. The road goes on down to the dry grass valley, to Naches, the first of the fruit producing towns. We stopped at Thompson's Farm Stand, to check out the cherries. There are also apricots, nectarines, blueberries, blackberries, melons, onions, and a few other vegetables. Howard took a taste of a blackberry, and decides not to get any. We figure we will stop on the way back to Castle Rock.
We arrive at the Yakima Elks Lodge, grassy sites just off the driving range of the golf course. And just as we are setting up, a train goes by. Fortunately, it's the only one we hear the whole night!

NW Washington

2009-07-13T01:46:00.001-07:00

It was the first week in July. An absolutely beautiful day, so we took the motorcycle up to Johnston's Observatory to hike the Boundary Trail. The air was cool, we had jackets and gloves on. The views of Mt. St. Helens were spectacular, and changed as we walked along the trail. Too bad so many people don't take the time to walk out a bit, to look at the mountain under the silent sky. Saw a herd of elk down in the valley below.

Bar Harbor, Maine

2009-05-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

We spent the summmer of 2005 in Bar Harbor. This is a copy of an email I sent to a friend about our stay, and our summer job.

Aloha from Bar Harbor, Maine!
We are in the thick of it now! Even though it’s peak season here in Bar Harbor, we actually have two days off in a row this week. Only problem is we only have one day off together. I’m really liking working for this kayak and bike rental company, lots of new people to meet and the time flies when it’s busy like this. If I get a lunch break, I borrow a bike and ride up into the carriage roads for a daily workout. Or if I have to wait a couple hours for Howard to get off, I take my ride. I’m riding six days a week! I think I’m losing weight, since I’m hungry all the time and I even eat a small breakfast every day (a new thing for me!). As for Howard, his job is a lot more than driving the van for kayak tours. He also has to load and unload the kayaks, which weigh over a hundred pounds. Even though the kayak guide helps out, his arms and shoulders are painful and sore every day.
The Acadia National Park is just beautiful. We have tried to bike or hike on our days off, and Howard even got me into a kayak (my arms were sore!). We are living in a campground on the other side of the island from Bar Harbor, it’s nice and quiet, with quite a few seasonal campers around us. There are a few nice little restaurants in town, and a small grocery store across from the campground.
The weather has turned warm and sunny, finally. When we got here in May, it rained for one week straight. We thought we had made a mistake coming to Bar Harbor! I went to work dressed in four layers of clothing for three weeks! I finally can work on the tan, and go to work in shorts every day.

We had to leave our jobs that August to work cat adjuster for Hurricane Katrina. Our stay lasted from late May to late August.

Bremen Lakeview Resort

2009-02-24T23:47:00.000-08:00

Bremen Lakeview Resort
1940 County Road 143
Bremen, AL 35033
Phone: 256-287-9250
http://www.friendlyrvparks.com/detail/11/bremen-lakeview-resort.html

Very nice location, a bit out of the way and hard to find. The campground is a Christian retreat, with campsites and dorms, although we did not see any of those visitors. The host was very friendly and helpful. Level, gravel sites with some trees. We used the bath house for showers but it was in disrepair, with spiders and bugs in residence. The larger swimming pool was open, but the smaller one seemed to be closed for quite awhile, full of trash. There were several couples staying there that seemed to be members, there for the summer season. We stayed at the Coast to Coast rate, so at that price, we would stay again. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

2009-02-24T23:35:00.000-08:00

Mama Louisa's Italian Restaurant
2041 S. Craycroft Road
Tucson, Arizona 85711
(520)790-4702

This is a great place for family or on a date. Reasonable prices, good portions and good taste. We walked in without reservations and were seated in the lounge. The server was prompt, cheerful and knowledgeable, and checked back on us several times during our meal.
All the locals and snowbirds know about this restaurant. We definitely would go back!

Average entree: $16
Rating: 5 stars!

Sunset King Lake RV

2009-02-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

Sunset King Lake RV Resort
366 Paradise Island Drive
Defuniak Springs, FL 32433
(800) 774-5454
http://www.sunsetking.com/

This campground is at a very nice lakeside location. Very helpful and knowledgeable staff. Lots of friendly seasonal residents. There is a small restaurant on site, but it was not staffed. We stayed twice at this campground at the Coast to Coast rate of $8 per night. The price makes the drive out of town well worth it. Out of the way location, but shops, market , and Walmart are just fifteen minutes away. Cute little town nearby, called Defuniak Springs.

More Mexican food!

2009-02-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

La Casa Gutierrez
520 S Orange Avenue
Yuma, AZ 85364-3028
(928)782-1402

This is an excellent Mexican restaurant at reasonable prices. It is a small place, in a house, hard to find but worth the stop. We know it’s good if it’s full of locals!
Our friends in Yuma recommended this restaurant. We would never have looked, or found it otherwise.

Entrees: $6-$11
Rating: Four stars

Acadiana Park

2009-02-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

We stayed here a week while waiting for some mail from home.

A nice little park on the edge of the suburbs. Paved sites are fairly level, but the road through the park is narrow. Busy on the weekends, but we were there during the week, and it was quiet. Call for reservations if you will be there on a weekend. We used this as a base to explore the area, Opelousas, Eunice, Abbeville, St. Martinville, New Iberia, the Tabasco Factory, etc. Downtown, markets and restaurants are within a few minutes. Verizon cell and aircard worked fine. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.

Acadiana Park
East Alexander Street
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 291-8388

Price: $13 per night, honor system
Rating: 4.5 stars

Try again

2009-02-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

Well, let's try this again! I have been posting restaurant reviews on Dine.com, and campground reviews on RVParkReviews.com. I will try to copy over all those reviews to the blog, and from time to time I might even talk about our travels. Here's the first one:

DonQuijote Mexican Food
11254 E 35th Street
(off Fortuna Road)
Yuma, AZ
(520) 342-3313

Best Mexican food in the Foothills! Family restaurant, reasonable prices with good, fast service. Some good American selections on the menu, too.
Entree price: $7-$10
Rating: Five stars

Petit Jean, AR

2006-05-01T01:14:00.000-07:00

April 26th, 27th and 28th
Found this park by referral from the visitor center host on the border at Dora. It is the oldest state park in the state, constructed by the CCC in the early thirties. It was developed by a local doctor who later became head of the state parks system. It is named for a French girl who followed her fiancé to explore the upper Arkansas river. She traveled disguised as a boy called Petit Jean (little John), and was not discovered until she fell ill. Unable to return with the expedition, she remained with the local Indians until her death. Her reputed grave is on an overlook of the Arkansas River bend below the park. Over a hundred campsites with water and electric. One fourth are lakeside of the road, and are premium spaces for about 22 dollars. Lots of trees but the underbrush is cleared between trees. Mostly pull-through sites, and most were occupied or reserved. Three more sections of sites across the road, two with underbrush cleared. The third section was fairly wooded with underbrush. There was just one fifth-wheel parked in the far corner, we selected the site nearest to the bath house. All sites on this side of the road were $14.50 plus some tax. Bathhouse was clean, with hot showers on a spring release timer.
Took a drive along a road across the lake from the main park area. There were two lookout points where we discovered the park to be atop a small mountain overlooking the Arkansas and Petit Jean rivers, as well as the farm and pasture lands below. Some fields were still partly flooded due to heavy rains in the northeast part of the state. It was an amazing view of the area which we had no idea about.
Several hiking trails in the park, so we took a short walk to a natural cave that had some wall art from ancient occupants. An off-shoot of the trail went to a lookout across from the main lodge, but still looking down at the falls. The next day we did the longer hike, called Canyon Trail, that actually goes down into the canyon and ends at the falls. The description warned that it was for the very fit only, but we figured it would be okay. It was an amazing hike, first down the side of the canyon on a well kept path laid with stones by the CCC. There was a creek running down the rocks next to the stream. The path flattened out and wove among the trees and along the stream from the falls. At the end of the trail, the falls drop into a rocky pool, not recommended for swimming. We just sat there looking at the falls for at least a half hour. It was running fairly full and kind of muddy, again due to the recent heavy rains. There were a few other groups on the path, mostly fit enough for the walk, except for one girl we met as we were going down who was sweating a lot. We made the walk back in amazingly little time and effort.
Scrounged some kindling from the underbrush and had two nights of campfires. I commented on how it took us a month, but this was what we had been dreaming of all those years.

WalMart, Fort Smith, AR

2006-05-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

Most RV full timers live on a limited budget. Many are retirees, on pensions and social security. Since the cost of a campsite is an ever present expense, discounts or deals are very important. We prefer to stay in state parks, for the scenery and walking trails, and the cost of a campsite averages about fifteen to twenty dollars a day. There may not be the amenities of a private park, but we are really not interested in swimming pools, beach volleyball, and craft classes.
We had heard through the on-line forums that Walmart stores across the nation allowed Rvers to overnight in their parking lots. There is even a Rand McNally atlas that has a state by state directory of every Walmart in the US and Canada. Lei was pretty uncomfortable with the thought of sleeping in a parking lot, so we didn’t try it until we got to Arkansas. Coincidentally, the corporate headquarters of Walmart is in Bentonville, Arkansas.
We had been driving for most of the day, probably eight hours on the interstate. We used the directions from our atlas to find a Walmart Supercenter in the suburbs of Fort Smith, AR. We parked the rig in a corner, far from the front door of the store, and went in to get an okay from the store manager. We got the okay and bought some groceries, used the restrooms, and headed back to the RV.
The parking lot has no hookups, so we couldn’t open the slide out. The on-board batteries ran the lights and the water pump, and the propane powered the refrigerator, water heater, and stove. This is called dry camping, where you use no land based utilities. We had dinner and turned in for the night.
In the morning we went into the store to use the restrooms and thank the manager for letting us stay. We were on our way by ten in the morning.
The good news? The parking spot is free. The bad news? Because this was a 24-hour WalMart, there were people driving in and out all night. In addition, the train tracks ran right next to the parking lot, so we heard the ka-thump-ka-thump of the train cars passing by all night. That’s just the “price” you pay!!

Osage Hills, OK and Bartlesville

2006-03-21T19:39:00.000-08:00

This state park is within the boundaries of the Osage Indian Reservation, and was built in the 1930's by the CCC. The drive from the state highway to the park headquarters is nearly a mile long, a winding road through the forest. We thought maybe we were lost, but found a park ranger near the headquarters who collected our camping fee (eighteen dollars) and said to pick any open site to park in. There were only about fifteen campsites cut into a hilly area with a small creek running through it. We found a site midway between two bathhouses, and Howard backed in without too much difficulty. All of the camp sites were among the trees, twenty feet tall and leafy and cool. It was really like being in the forest, except with water and electricity! There was a family camped nearby in three sites, full of tents and kids. We walked up to a huge area cleared and staked for tent campers, but because of heavy spring rains, it was full of mud and puddles. There was a big lookout constructed of stone by the CCC, overlooking the lake. A short path called lakeside wound down from the lookout, so we walked though the woods and found a little canoe launch area on the corner of the dam that created the lake.
One of the bath houses on the campground was unisex handicapped accessible, and had the newest and cleanest showers, so we showered together for fifty cents. The campground was nearly full at sunset, with a mix of RV’s and tents. We liked the park and wanted to explore the other trails in the park, so we decided to spend a second night. We had dinner and turned in for the night.
The lady we spoke to at the Beaver Creek park had said to check out Bartlesville, for the fancy houses along the road. The Osage Hills park was just ten miles down the road, so we headed out in the morning to explore the town. By accident we found the town museum, on the fifth floor of town hall. This town of Bartlesville was the origin of the Oklahoma oil boom, started by the Phillips brothers (as in Phillips Petroleum). The brothers had started out with cattle land, but were having trouble with black tar that kept floating up on the surface of a watering hole. That “black tar” is now called Texas Sweet Crude oil, and the original gusher well still stands near the middle of town.
At the peak of the oil rush, oil rigs dotted the landscape for miles. The town boasted several millionaires, and over ten thousand people. One of those oil millionaires even commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design his corporate office building. It is the only tall building that Wright designed, standing ten stories tall in downtown Bartlesville. It is so notable, it is on the cover of the state visitors’ guide.
Back at the campground, we took a longer hike through the forest that had views of the hills and woods of the park. Although the daylight hours were warm enough to be out without a jacket, it was cold enough at night to still require the little space heater to warm us.

Beaver Creek, OK

2006-03-20T20:16:00.000-08:00

A little campground that is part of a sand dune recreation area. Located down a two lane road five miles from the little town of Beaver. There is a small dam which created a pond for fishing but no swimming. A boat ramp allows for non-gasoline powered boats, and someone actually came by with a bass-fishing boat. The road is only fifty feet from the camping area, but the park is in a little valley created by the creek so the road noise is very limited. There are only eight campsites with water and electric, all drive-through, for $14 a night. There’s also a cabin for rent for $25, but you still have to bring bedding to use on the cots. A very nice and clean bathhouse close to all the sites. The sand dunes are used by ATV owners, and we heard them riding around later in the afternoon. There is a small walking trail over to the dunes but we didn’t check it out.
We got to talking to the only other camper there, a couple originally from Beaver during the oil boom days of the sixties. The woman kept saying what a good bath house the park had, and I kept thinking, “that’s nice”, but strange to keep mentioning it. Then she said if a storm came up overnight the park rangers would come by to get us so we could hide out from the tornadoes, and I finally understood the importance of a good, sturdy bath house. There was supposed to be a storm coming, but they didn’t know how severe.
About six in the morning the thunder started rumbling and there was some rain. Then we were jolted awake by a thunderclap virtually overhead, and the show was on. The thunderstorm passed in about twenty minutes, but we got to see lots of lightning, and more rain. The thunderstorm passed over quickly, and by ten in the morning we were on our way.

Jan and David, Cripple Creek, CO

2006-03-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

The wedding (the party we couldn’t crash) was on Saturday, and we had already planned to have Jan and David stay a couple nights with us in the RV. They are planning to do much the same kind of RV retirement, except in Australia. They showed up in the late afternoon, and we had our own little wedding reception, just the four of us. Lei had chili in the crock-pot, and there were lots of, uh, beverages. We had a twelve-pack of a local beer, and a couple bottles of wine. Jan and David arrived with more beer, four bottles of wine, and a bottle of Dom Perignon. We spent a few hours around the campfire sharing stories and drinking champagne out of paper cups. Then we stayed up late finishing off the chili and drinking more beer.

In the morning Jan had several suggestions on places to go for a drive. Her brothers thought it would be nice to take us out to her old family homestead, about an hour east from Pueblo. Jan had already nixed that idea, since there wasn’t much left to the town. Her family had already been away from there for many years, and Jan didn’t really think there was much to show off anyway. Her preference was to head into the mountains for some sightseeing. We piled into their car and took a winding dirt road that followed a creek through the mountains. It was a beautiful drive between the canyon walls, and we marveled at the cliffs and crags of the mountains all around us. There were even a couple of short tunnels cut out of the rocky cliffs. We came to an old gold mining town in its last days of existence. There were a few businesses left open, a volunteer fire station and an Elks’ Lodge. There was some funny stuff floating around in the air, like ash from a fireplace. It was snow!! Amazing for a Hawai’I girl like me, but it meant it was too cold outside to step out and play. It was actually just light flurries, not a snowflake reached the ground.

We continued on to the next old mining town, called Cripple Creek. Yes, really, you can hum the song now. This old town is in the midst of a revival, due to a special law that was passed in Colorado to allow gambling in six specific mining towns that were about to cease to exist. So the town has a four block main street lined with casinos, big and small. Tour buses make the climb up the mountain to bring the city folk up here to gamble. We parked at the top of the street and walked down one side, trying our luck at the slot machines. Lei made $80 on a nickel slot machine, we stopped for lunch, then walked up the other side of the street to the car.

We drove back down the mountains into Colorado Springs, and then took another local road back to the campground. There was more beer and conversation, chips and salsa, and then we threw together some sandwiches for dinner.

There’s never enough time spent with Jan and David. We talk for hours, and never seem to get caught up with everything. We see them about once a year, no small feat considering that they live in Australia and we live on the road.

We're still at it

2006-03-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

Are you out there? It's been a long time since the last post. Classic writer's block, I would say. I'll start up again shortly, thanks for waiting me out.

Colorado SkySox, Aurora, CO

2005-01-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

We knew there was a minor league baseball team in the Denver/Pueblo area, so we headed towards Denver in the morning with Makana to check it out. You could see some of the grounds of the Air Force Academy from the interstate. While driving around trying to find the baseball field, we saw a sign at a Wendy’s for a baseball ticket giveaway. We stopped in for some food and got a two for one coupon. We found the baseball field on the windy east side of a hill in the Denver suburb of Aurora. It was a beautiful, warm spring day, and we got third row seats on the first base line, between home plate and the dugout.
Watching minor league baseball is like being at a college game. People are casual and friendly. There’s a serious ball game going on, but there are also constant mid-inning features for kids and adults. A six year old girl announced the home team line-up every time they were at bat. There were bean bag and ball toss contests.
Makana and Lei took off their shirts and sat out in bikini tops in the sun. We stick out anyway, an Asian, a Haole, and a hot twenty year old that is a mix of the two! We had a nice time, the team won, and we got some sun as well.
On the way out of the stadium, we saw a rugby game being played in an adjacent field. Lots of folks were looking through the fence, curious at this different game. This was some kind of tournament, and everyone was not curious enough to pay the five dollars admission. That was unfortunate for the rugby players, as well as supporters of the sport. Here was a missed opportunity to expose sports fans to another game.

Pueblo Party for Banned Relatives

2004-12-29T13:11:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Pueblo a day early, to give us time to scout out the area. Central Pueblo is under redevelopment, with a new river walk and revitalized old downtown. We explored the river walk, which had little park benches and picnic areas along the way, and a little paddle boat area for rentals during the summer. We drove through downtown looking for the bar where Jan & David’s party was going to be held. We stopped in and had a couple beers and chatted with the bartender a little. We also went looking for the airport. Makana was making a surprise visit for the weekend, and we would need to leave the party midstream to go pick her up.
We have known Jan for almost twenty years. We met her through the Ron and Jenny Williams, who were school mates of Howard’s at the UH School of Social Work. Jan became Lei’s racquetball buddy, and used to babysit Makana. She also lived with us for a short time before she moved to Australia, where she met David. And Jan and David met us in Sydney and Townsville, Australia in 2000 for the World Sprint Outrigger Canoe Races.
The wedding was planned for a bed and breakfast place in the mountains above Denver. There would only be space for immediate family. Lei kept harassing Jan about being invited, even hinting that we might be David’s "Yank" (American) cousins. Nothing worked, we were "banned". Jan’s sister, Holly, also known as the matron of honor, planned a pre-wedding party for all the friends and family not invited to the wedding. Because we were on the road in the RV, Jan didn’t think we would make it. We got to the party early and introduced ourselves to everyone.
Jan and David pretty much knew who would be at the party. Cousins and some old family friends, about twenty people. They were pretty surprised to see us both. Jan and Lei got all blubbery, laughing and crying at the same time.
We left after a couple of hours to pick up Makana. We had to slip out unnoticed by Jan and David. Jan’s sister-in-law said she’d make sure they didn’t leave. Makana was the only person on her flight from Denver to Pueblo. We picked her up and were back at the party in 45 minutes. Jan & David were surprised again, although they had been a little put off because we had left without saying goodbye!
We had a wonderful visit, getting to know Jan’s family and friends over a few beers. And it was great to be able to share in this wonderful occasion with an old friend.

Pueblo Lake State Park, CO

2004-12-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

April 14th to 23rd
A huge lake behind a dam built to protect the town from flooding of the Arkansas river. There are boat ramps on two sides of the lake, and three campgrounds. The south side of the lake has campsites available year round across the street from the main visitor center. There a some walking trails and a horse trail as well. The north side of the lake has two huge camp areas available during the season only. One campground is for dry camping, no hookups, water taps sprinkled among the sites, a bathhouse and several restrooms. The other campground has back-in and pull-through sites with electric, a covered picnic table, and water taps sprinkled around. There are three main bathhouses with a laundry in each, and several restrooms. Colorado charges a five dollar per vehicle park fee, and $16 camping fee for the hook-up sites. The park fee is daily, so the real cost of camping is $21 per day. Showers are fifty cents for less than five minutes, and it takes at least a minute for the hot water to come down the pipes. We figured out you could run the hot water in the bathroom sinks to get the water down the pipes, so the shower started out hot.
We cruised through the dry camp area by mistake, and scrounged some good wood for campfires. The park ranger at registration let us choose a site at the right campground and then come back and pay. There were only three or four other campers, and we chose a site next to the bath house and across the water tap. The laundry in the bath house had a big sink, so I ended up coloring my hair and rinsing it there, and we also washed some dishes there as well.
The hiking "trails" are actually paved bike paths that go all over the park and actually down to town. We saw several serious bike types on them, and Howard jogged on them a couple of times. Our water tap didn’t work, and although we reported it to the park ranger, it was never fixed the entire time we were there.
Very severe winds blew a couple of times, rocking the trailer and increasing the wind chill factor. The weather could change dramatically in a few hours, although it did not rain at all.
We spent ten days at this park, going to Jan & David’s party, and then hosting them for a couple nights of camping.

Lake Trinidad, CO

2004-12-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

Another park built around a man made lake. At the ranger station there was still a little snow on the roof from a couple days before, so we threw some snow at each other like a couple kids. The campground was only partially open because it was still not camping season, and the ranger told us to just pay for a night and go ahead and park on any site. Only one bath house was open, but we found a site near a water line and settled in. We had to use our long water hose to connect up, and later found out that you’re supposed to fill your tank and not use the water spigot exclusively. I guess that’s why later arriving campers didn’t park next to us, because we were hogging the water to ourselves!
Howard went for a run along the roads within the park. It was kind of hilly but there were beautiful views of the mountains and the lake. Lei did a power walk around the campground, the air was cool and clean and smelled of the forest. Historical markers around the park explained that there had been a coal town in the valley that was been drowned when the dam was built. All that remained of the town was a big coal slag hill on the northern shore of the lake.
We did have electricity, so even though the night time temperature was around 45 degrees, we were able to use the little space heater to keep warm. We made a small campfire in the fire ring at our campsite, but the night got too cold, so we turned in for the night.

Dream Destinations

2004-12-05T15:29:00.000-08:00

Use your imagination. Where would you like to go? This is what we did for so many years. We have been planning this adventure for years. We talked about the places we wanted to see, and things we might want to do. Lei had been to Yosemite as a child, but wanted to visit and maybe volunteer at the park. Howard wanted to see the great National Parks of the West, like Sequoia, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone. Lei had also heard of Cape May, in New Jersey, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We also wanted to spend some time in Washington, DC, seeing all the monuments and the Smithsonian Museums. Then there was sightseeing in Maine, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Howard wanted to see Alaska, although Lei was still pushing for the Crystal Harmony cruise up the inland passage instead of the RV.
We once saw a special on PBS about the lighthouses along the east and west coast of the country. And there are hundreds of historic sites in the states of the Confederacy, great battle grounds like Gettysburg and Fort Sumter. There are big and little museums around the country that tell the little stories of the people who built each little town, each great industry. Route 66 and the Grand Tetons. We still talk and dream every day of all the places to see.

Santa Fe, NM

2004-11-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

Santa Fe is actually the state capitol of New Mexico, but has an old town area full of art galleries, shops and historical buildings. This part of town has lots of little streets in a compact area, so the only way to explore is to park and walk around. The buildings here have that southwestern feel, and the old town area is dominated by an old Spanish mission and a government building. We wandered around and found the central park, where there were a few street musicians and craft booths. There was a big square with street peddlers, many of them Native Americans selling silver and turquoise jewelry. We found the historic building in the center of the old town that had been the seat of government for the Mexicans and later the Americans. It was already closing time, so we looked at the displays its the lobby and then continued walking.
This old town area was pretty quiet, and we wondered why many stores and art galleries were closed. Only two or three of the restaurants were open. Then we realized it was Easter Sunday, so the only folks walking around were tourists like us. We found a small restaurant that was serving Easter Sunday dinner, so we had a couple of beers at the bar. The bartender was actually the manager or owner, and did not seem to want to be working that day. We tried to strike up a conversation with her to get more information about the area, but she was more intent on closing up and going home.
The next morning we headed back to town, and parked in a municipal parking lot. We hoped that the museums would be open, and we found the Institute for Native American Arts. The admission was seven dollars per person, and when we stepped up to pay, the cashier asked where we were from. I said we were from Hawaii, and he asked if I was a Hawaiian. I said yes, "kanaka maoli" (literal translation is real person). The cashier said our admission would be waived, and I thanked him and said we would like to pay for Howard, as he is not a Hawaiian. But he insisted that it was something they did for all native persons and because we were together, the admission was waived for both of us. Is there a place in Hawaii that does that?
The Institute is not a museum of cultural and historical artifacts. Instead, it is a place for contemporary Native American artists and students to study, and it is a gallery for their work. There were drawings done by teens from a artists’ seminar. There was a display of graphic art done on skate boards. There were also a small courtyard with several impressive sculptures by a famous Native American, George Houser.
Before leaving we made a comment (of thanks and admiration) in their guest book, and left some cash in their donation box.
We did not have time to go to any other museums in Santa Fe, but we were satisfied that we had seen something out of the ordinary.

Trailer Ranch RV Park, Santa Fe, NM

2004-11-25T13:18:00.000-08:00

This park had good reviews in the books we had. It seems like this park started out being pretty far from town, but the strip malls and big box stores, the fast food and jiffy lube shops have grown up around it. The lady at the desk was very helpful, telling us how to get into town and the important things to see. She also helped Howard back into our space, without the stress and yelling that we usually did. This park also had a lot of full time trailer homes in the back part of the property, but these folks were into taking care of their homes. There was a clubhouse with a lending library, some puzzles and a modem line. The pool outside was shut down for the season. The bath house was clean but kinda dark and old, but the price was reasonable and the location was convenient to downtown. We unhooked the trailer, got set up, and then headed into town to look around.

Paliasades RV Park, Albuquerque, NM

2004-10-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

As we continued north on the interstate, the weather was clear but cool. We wanted to stop off in Albuquerque to sightsee, but the downtown area was nearly deserted. We realized it was Saturday, and headed back to the interstate towards Santa Fe. Lei called the local weather service, since we had heard the night time low temperature might be in the thirties. As Howard tried to navigate the highway interchange, Lei told him to just get off, GET OFF!! The Santa Fe area was expecting a freeze overnight, not the kind of weather we wanted to drive into!
In one of the visitor magazines we found a private RV park, and headed west out of town for the hills. The park had a few short stay spaces in the front, while the rest of the park behind the main building was full of long term RV types. This is the image a lot of folks have for RV parks: dirty old RVs, tires flat, lots of junk around, with beat old cars and trucks. The office was pretty ratty, with a young guy working the desk and smoking continuously. We paid for a space and parked the rig in one of the spaces in the front, near the road but out of sight of the broken down mess in the back.
We drove back down into town to see if anything caught our interest, but most everything was shut down for the weekend. We found a supermarket on the way back, and spent the afternoon doing laundry at the RV park. The night time temperature was going to be near forty degrees, so we bundled up and slept with the little space heater on.

Isleta Indian Casino & RV Park, NM

2004-10-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

The drive north on the interstate to Albuquerque follows the Rio Grande as it heads south to Texas. This is the southern part of the Rockies, with a few mountain peaks on each side of the highway at eight or nine thousand feet elevation. The hills are covered with scrub and grasses, no trees except for in the mountains. The sky began to turn grey, and as the wind picked up, Howard began to have difficulty controlling the rig. In a crosswind, the trailer is just a big, 29 foot sail. The truckers just kept on going, but after forty minutes of battling the wind gusts, we decided to pull over and wait out the weather. There just happened to be an Indian casino up ahead, so we pulled in and decided to spend a couple hours waiting out the wind storm. We parked near a couple of other RVs and truckers in a fairly deserted parking lot. By the time we headed for the door of the casino, a cold, blowing rain had begun. We took a walk around inside and Howard decided to go back to the rig and read, while Lei stayed to check out the slot machines. When Lei got back to the rig, the wind and rain had not let up, so we debated whether to stay in the parking lot with no hook ups, or try to make it to Albuquerque. Instead, we found a campground operated by the Isleta Reservation, just down the hill. We paid for a spot at the gate and drove around the campground a few times looking for a not too muddy site. There were a few other campers there, locals with old rigs and tents, and all the sites were fairly far apart, with a few tall but scraggly trees. By nightfall, all the sites were occupied, and the wind and rain continued.
We slept all bundled up and managed to ignore the train that went by early in the morning. The little space heater served us well that night, and in the morning it was still drizzling and about fifty degrees. It was Good Friday, and some of the families hid eggs in the grass for their kids. We hung around until noon when the ran let up, then packed up and headed for Santa Fe.

Truth or Consequences

2004-10-25T15:20:00.003-07:00

Before we left the park to go explore the town, we asked the park ranger for his recommendation on a good Mexican restaurant, and he told us about a small place in town that all the local folks go to. We headed out north from the park for the town, called Truth or Consequences. It was a sleepy little town, and we drove through twice before we found the little town museum. There was a design competition going on to construct a gateway type marker for the area, and the models were in the museum for the locals to vote on. There were a few fifties kind of exhibits on the Wild West and Indian notable people of the area. There was a large room dedicated to some guy named Edwards, which vaguely sounded familiar. It turns out this man had been the host of the most widely watched game show of the fifties and early sixties, called "Truth or Consequences". Several years into the fifteen year run of the show, there was a search for a town that would change its name to Truth or Consequences, and this little town in New Mexico took up the challenge. Every year since that day Edwards came back to the town for a birthday party. He would bring the press and some Hollywood types, and this went on until the show went off the air. The town went back to being a sleepy little stop along the interstate.
We went back to the rig to get cleaned up for dinner and grab some beers, then went back to town for our Mexican dinner. The ranger was right about this restaurant, it was a friendly little place that had the best Mexican food. The salsa was freshly made by the waitresses, who took turns every day. Everything was wonderful, and in typical small town style, the restaurant closed at eight o’clock.

Truth or

2004-10-25T15:20:00.002-07:00

2004-10-25T15:20:00.001-07:00

Truth or Consequences

2004-10-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

Before we left the park to go explore the town, we asked the park ranger for his recommendation on a good Mexican restaurant, and he told us about a small place in town that all the local folks go to. We headed out north from the park for the town, called Truth or Consequences. It was a sleepy little town, and we drove through twice before we found the little town museum. There was a design competition going on to construct a gateway type marker for the area, and the models were in the museum for the locals to vote on. There were a few fifties kind of exhibits on the Wild West and Indian notable people of the area. There was a large room dedicated to some guy named Edwards, which vaguely sounded familiar. It turns out this man had been the host of the most widely watched game show of the fifties and early sixties, called “Truth or Consequences”. Several years into the fifteen year run of the show, there was a search for a town that would change its name to Truth or Consequences, and this little town in New Mexico took up the challenge. Every year since that day Edwards came back to the town for a birthday party. He would bring the press and some Hollywood types, and this went on until the show went off the air. The town went back to being a sleepy little stop along the interstate.
We went back to the rig to get cleaned up for dinner and grab some beers, then went back to town for our Mexican dinner. The ranger was right about this restaurant, it was a friendly little place that had the best Mexican food. The salsa was freshly made by the waitresses, who took turns every day. Everything was wonderful, and in typical small town style, the restaurant closed at eight o’clock.

Cabalos Lake State Park, NM

2004-10-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

Another lake created by a dam for water supply and recreation. We had already put in enough hours of driving, so we stopped to talk to the camp host about the best place to park. He didn’t believe our truck was from Hawaii until he saw the matching front and back license plates. He then got into telling us his parents had lived in Kona for many years, but he never liked it because he missed the change of the seasons. He pointed us towards the unreserved portion of the campground, and we cruised through the rest of the parking spots before finding a site near the bath house. We parked in a pull through that had a nice picnic table with its own pavilion. The campsites were all on gravel, very level and easy to pull into. There were only a few other campers around, even though the camp host had said the park would be full for the weekend. We got set up and took a walk on one of the trails in the park. There were no large trees, just a lot of scrub bushes, all about a foot tall. We walked down to the of the lake, which was noticeably below the normal waterline. We found out later that there are several lakes in a string running north to south that were all low due to a light winter snow season. All the towns and farmers downstream rely on the snow melt from the Rockies for water, so when there’s only a little snow, the lakes are drawn down to continue to supply the surrounding population. The night was too cold to try a campfire, so we stayed in and slept with the little space heater turned on High.
When we woke up the next morning, we decided to stay on another day and enjoy the park, maybe walk another trail, and check out the nearby town. There were still only a few other campers around, so Howard gave the rig a quick wash down, even though the park requested all campers to conserve water. It took less than ten minutes, and was only to rinse off some of the road dust we had accumulated since we started in Eugene.

Karchner Caverns, AZ

2004-10-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

We drove south on the interstate towards Tucson, being careful to avoid the part of the highway that ran directly through the city. We were fairly comfortable with driving for five or six hours to the next stop, the Karchner Caverns would be a good place to spend the night. The Karchner Caverns are underground caverns that the state acquired from the Karchner ranching family. The state park includes a nice visitor center and several different tours of the caverns. Although it was a weekday, there were vacationing families left over from spring break, as well as the usual RV campers.
We found a spot in the small campground without having to check in. There was no camp host or park ranger around, so we took a walk around the campground to explore and check out the bathhouse. We found that camping fees were on the honor system, just fill out a form, add your money and drop in the box. It was a beautiful campground on a hill, with the caverns underneath and behind us in the hill. We also checked out our fellow campers, looking at their rigs and toys. We still were not confident enough to walk up and strike up a conversation, so we just said hello as we walked around and turned in for the night.
The next morning we walked over to the visitor center to possibly take a tour of the caverns. There were great displays of the discovery and creation of the caverns and park, as well as the history of the area. The valley to the east of the hills was a river valley that produced much of the fruit and vegetables in this part of the state. We decided we didn’t want to pay to go on the tour of the caverns, and left the park before noon.

Sun City West and Passover

2004-10-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

We had no idea where we would spend the night while in Phoenix. Howard was thinking we might stay at a Walmart, so we found one in the suburbs and stopped to talk it over. This really wasn't going to work, because we would have to unhook the trailer and drive away to spend the evening at cousin Jean's house. That meant leaving the trailer in an unfamiliar place, relying on whatever security the store had in the parking lot. So we went inside to borrow a yellow pages, looking for an RV park. We found one nearby, just on the edge of Sun City West, called to check on the price, and headed down the road to park the trailer.
Leon's RV Park is a small private park, with big spaces and a pool and community center. There were several RVs there that looked like snow birds, folks from the north who spent the winter in the warmer area in Arizona. They were obviously set up for a long stay, with outdoor furniture and plants outside their rig. We only had time to park and plug in before we left for Jean's house.
Sun City and Sun City West are planned communities, made up mostly of retirees and snow birds. The houses all look alike, built from the same four or five plans, multiplied by the thousands. Most of the developments are only for folks over 55 years of age. There are churches, temples, shopping malls and golf courses, but very few schools. In fact there are so many golf courses that there is a lane on the streets for golf carts, like a bike lane. And the golf carts have the right of way on those streets! We found that out when we nearly drove over two old guys in a golf cart going through an intersection.
Jean's house is large, with a large living room, dining room, reading room, a master and guest bedroom, and family room next to the kitchen. She had invited several friends over and squeezed us onto the end of the dining table for the seder. This group socialized together often, and had supported Jean while her husband was dying. And now Jean had a boyfriend, a widower she had met while on a cruise with these friends.
There was only one other Jewish person there, a woman who had actually gone to the Yeshiva. This is unheard of for Jewish women, where the Jewish men always take precedence on all things religious. Remember "Yentl", the Barbara Streisand movie where she dressed as a man to go the religious school? Women in the orthodox wing of the Jewish faith play no part in the religious services at the temple, and must sit separate from the men if they are even allowed in at all.
The Passover reading went fairly quickly, which was kind of a disappointment to us. The story of Passover has so much meaning for Jews, it is a reminder of the great sacrifice the ancestors made in the days of the phrase of Egypt.
Dinner was wonderful, it was nice to have a home-cooked meal, including matzoh ball soup!
Jean came over the next morning to see our new home and catch us up on her life since we had last seen her. It was a wonderful visit, too short due to the 11 o'clock check out time at the RV park. We said our good byes and headed down the road for New Mexico.

Quartzite, AZ

2004-07-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

We had heard things about this desert town through the RV forums and Trailer Life Magazine. It seemed to be a "snowbird" town, but filled with a different sort of character. Our route on I-10 to Phoenix would take us through Quartzite, so we stopped to take a look and satisfy our curiosity.
We missed the first exit for the town, but one mile down the highway was the second exit. That was the size of the town, one mile long. The main street of town ran parallel to the highway, from one freeway exit to the other. There was town only on the north side of the road, and to the south the scrub desert stretched out for miles. The town did not extend any farther in any direction. There were restaurants, businesses and a few RV parks along the main street, but over half were closed for the season.
It was late enough, and we were curious enough, so we found an open campground that charged $10 a night. We parked, did some laundry, and asked the guy who checked us in where to get a beer and some ESPN. He directed us to Crazy Al’s, a local bar just down the road.
It was still happy hour when we got in, so we got a couple drafts and started talking to a guy on the bar. He was waiting for his wife, the bartender; she worked for the season while he just hung out. The season for Quartzite was from November to March, and peaked in January. The thing that makes Quartzite different from other snowbird destinations is you can get a permit from the US Bureau of Land Management for about $100 for the season, and camp in the desert. You just pick a spot and park it. There are no hookups, so you drive into town to dump your tanks and get fresh water, and live off your batteries and propane. Many people have solar panels for electricity.
Because it is so cheap to camp there, people come from all over to spend the winter in Quartzite. The guy told us in the off season the local population numbers about one thousand. Most businesses are closed, and all that remains is a gas station and one restaurant. But during season, the population swells to two million, most of whom are camping out in the desert. The town is booming, with some businesses open twenty-four hours a day. There are flea markets every weekend, and RV rallies and fairs.
Most of the folks that were still around were the last of the seasonal workers, winding down the town. Even the Crazy Al’s bar was due to close in less than two weeks.
We drove off for Phoenix in the morning, hoping to someday see Quartzite during the winter season.

Destinations

2004-07-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Destinations
Many years ago a lady contacted us in Honolulu looking for Howard. It turned out she was a cousin on the Tocman side of the family, and she lived for several years in Kane’ohe to be near her daughter. Jean Marcus and her husband Ralph became part of our Hawai’i Jewish family. Ralph loved kids and honored us by witnessing Makana’s trip to the mikvah at the Pearl Harbor temple. We lost track of the Marcus’ when they moved to Sun City, Arizona.
We were driving through California in early April, and Howard thought we might visit his cousin, Jean Marcus, for Passover. He had to contact someone at the temple in Honolulu who had a current phone number for Jean. We discovered that Ralph had passed away a couple years ago, but Jean was still in Arizona and had a boyfriend (that kind of information travels fast among those ladies)! It took us a couple of weeks to reach her, but the travel days were going to make it possible to see her. It was kind of awkward to call out of the blue after so many years and invite ourselves over for Passover, but Jean insisted. She had already planned a Passover get-together with her friends, only one of whom was Jewish. We aimed for Phoenix, to arrive for the first night of Passover.

Morongo Indian Casino, CA

2004-07-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

We don’t know how this happened, but we ended up again at an Indian casino on a weekend. It seemed that every person within a hundred miles was at this casino. Every single slot machine was occupied. All the table games were filled up too. The poker room had a waiting list for the Texas Hold ‘em, and all this on a Sunday afternoon. It was late afternoon, and we decided to stay overnight in the parking lot, no hook-ups, but Lei could gamble a little and Howard could watch baseball in the snack bar. This overnight parking happens a lot at casinos. You may not have hookups, but the food is cheap and the casino wants you around to come in and gamble. Most casinos have huge parking lots, and besides the RVs, you’ll often see truckers staying over for the same reasons.
The casino had over five hundred slot machines, a bingo room and a poker room. There were some other card tables, but Lei could not find an open seat at the Pai Gow.
So we slept our rig, and were awakened by the big semi-trucks leaving, and construction noise from the new ten-story hotel and casino being built by the Morongo tribe. We had a big, inexpensive breakfast in the morning, and set out for Arizona.

Destionations

2004-07-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Our second destination was Colorado to visit with Lei’s friend Jan, who was bringing her Australian boyfriend over to get married (good on you, David!). Although the actual wedding and reception was very small, we agreed to take Jan and David camping in the new RV while we were all in Colorado. We set up a camping date of April 22nd, which would mean about twenty days to travel the one thousand miles from LA to Pueblo, Colorado. In the meantime, Jan’s sister, Holly, planned a get-together for all us folks that couldn’t attend the wedding. Lei called it the “Pueblo Party for Banned Relatives”, which just added more guilt and stress for Jan. The Pueblo Party was scheduled for April 15th, which instead gave us two weeks to travel from Los Angeles to Pueblo.

Malibu RV Park

2004-07-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

We were in LA to pick up the computer and spend some time visiting with Paul, Mariko and Mele. The drive from Leo Carillo into West Hollywood took one hour in light traffic, which was more than we cared to endure. It was quite a culture shock being in the city again, with people and buildings everywhere. And in the cities, RV parks are far and few between, so Leo Carillo seemed to be our only choice. The problem was that Paul had tickets to a Dodgers’ game, and we would arrive back at the campground after they had locked the park gates. As we drove down the coast into the city, we saw a park built into the hillside overlooking the sea, Malibu RV Park. It’s just mile from Pepperdine University. Being a private RV park, the daily rate was higher that what we were used to, but there was a nice view, complete facilities, and no closed gate after hours. We were assigned a “mountain view” site up the winding road on the hill, but because none of the “ocean view” sites across the road from us were occupied, we had a great view of the Pacific.
This was the “fanciest” park we had stayed at for a long time. There was a small pool, computer room, game room, playground and a big, clean bath house for long, hot showers. Howard especially liked doing the laundry while looking out at the ocean. We stayed at this park from Thursday to Sunday, and didn’t use any of the facilities except for the showers and laundry. Howard did a run down the highway, but only once, due to the big hill he had to run up at the end!
We had lunch one day at a fish and chips place just down the road from the park. Did some shopping at the supermarket near Pepperdine, and snacks and beer at the Dodger game. We tried to keep the expenditures down due to spending more on the campsite. That was pretty hard to do given that the price of gas averaged $2.30 per gallon!

Destinations

2004-07-02T12:40:00.000-07:00

Our second destination was Colorado, to visit with Lei’s friend Jan, who was bringing her Australian boyfriend over to get married (good on you, David!). Although the actual wedding and reception was very small, we agreed to take Jan and David camping in the new RV while we were all in Colorado. We set up a camping date of April 22nd, which would mean about twenty days to travel the one thousand miles from LA to Pueblo, Colorado. In the meantime, Jan’s sister, Holly, planned a get-together for all us folks that couldn’t attend the wedding. Lei called it the “Pueblo Party for Banned Relatives”, which just added more guilt and stress for Jan. The Pueblo Party was scheduled for April 15th, which instead gave us two weeks to travel from Los Angeles to Pueblo.

Leo Carillo State Park, CA

2004-06-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

This park is wedged into a canyon along the Pacific Coast Highway, just north of Malibu. The canyon had been used for location shots on the TV show “MASH” (remember the helicopters flying in?). The information we had from the California visitor system had great pictures and descriptions. The park actually straddles the PCH, with camping and hiking on the canyon side and beaches and surfing on the ocean side. There were lots of campsites, but no electric hookups, just water. Howard had quite a hard time backing into the space, he was still pretty stressed out with that whole thing. But we had arrived in LA, in time to pick up the computer from Paul.
We took a walk around the campground, saying hello to other campers, although there weren’t many around. We had arrived later in the afternoon, so after the walk, we made dinner and called it a night. Because there was no electric, we bundled up for the forty degree night.

Expenses on the road

2004-06-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Expenses on the road
We have been planning and saving for this adventure for almost twenty years. The RV idea actually came from Lei’s Uncle Jimmy in Reno, who had his RV parked on the side of the house. We visited Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Tomi in the summer of 1985, while we were driving across the country (motels, no camping). So we were able to pay cash for the RV, and shipped our truck, and that covered the major expense of being on the road.
The next biggest expense on the road is gas, which this summer has fluctuated wildly. A twenty-five gallon gas tank will get us over two hundred miles down the road, but at two dollars a gallon we tried not to go any farther in a day. Some days the truck (and the driver) were humming along, so we would fill up a second time and keep on going.
The next expense is camping fees, which vary depending on whether we stayed in state parks or private campgrounds. We have tried to stay in the state parks, the prices were lower, usually about $20, and the scenery was much nicer.
The campground in Eugene, Oregon was really nice, with full hookups, a swimming pool, three brand new bath houses, free coffee and pastries, and wireless internet in clubhouse. But the daily rate was over $35, and there was no scenery to look at out the window. You kind of get what you pay for, that is if you feel like hanging out in a $35 campground’s swimming pool, or walking the trails in a state park.
The last expense is food, and of course, beer and wine. Although Lei likes a good steak once or twice a year, for the most part we stick to fruit and vegetables for our meals. We can have a really big dinner salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, carrots, cheese, tuna, and sunflower seeds for under five dollars total. The rest of the day we munch on fruit or crackers and cheese.
Living on a budget has really cut down on our search for the ultimate spicy chicken wing. If we stay at a park for more than one night, we usually end up checking out a local brew pub for a beer, some ESPN, and chicken wings. Otherwise, we have our glass of wine at “home”, sometimes around a campfire.

Morro Bay, CA

2004-06-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

We definitely wanted to drive south on the Pacific Coast Highway, but the road in Oregon and Northern California was too narrow and winding for us novices. Instead we headed for Morro Bay, which only required a little hill climbing to get over the San Andreas Mountains. We took mostly local roads from Allensworth park, and found a site at the state park. The campsites were pretty close to each other, but tall trees and bushes between each site gave lots of shade and privacy. It was still late March, and not camping “season” yet, so there weren’t a lot of people around anyway. We drove into town, which was just five minutes away, and found an internet café to check the email. Morro Bay is known for a large rock in the bay, it’s about 100 feet tall. We couldn’t see it from town due to afternoon fog, so we drove out to it and watched the surfers (in full wetsuits) catch waves in the shorebreak and fog. It was so quiet and peaceful in the park that we stayed for two nights, just relaxing and sightseeing.
On the second day of our stay, we drove north to take the tour of the Hearst Castle at San Simeon. It is actually a state historic site, and the grounds and tour are part of the state park system. The presentation is very slick, with a visitor center near the highway on the coast, and a ten minute bus ride up the hill to the actual mansion. There are actually three walking tours, each priced to match the length and scope of the tour. We took the basic tour, which included a film by National Geographic about Randolph Hearst, and a walk through the castle with a very well-informed guide. It is an amazing display of wealth, this “castle”, and the film showed that whatever Hearst wanted, he got.
In the afternoon we drove south to the next town, San Luis Obisbo, county seat and site of Cal Poly. In Morro Bay we had no signal on the cell phone, and wanted to call Makana to let her know we were okay. We found a beer place downtown to watch some basketball and try the spicy chicken wings. San Luis is a college town, but it had a real small town California feel to it, despite the Victoria’s Secret and Kinko’s in the restored part of old downtown.
The California state parks had done us well, in location, scenery and price. The most expensive park we had stayed in had been at Morro Bay, at eighteen dollars for the day.

Destinations

2004-06-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

During the years we were planning this adventure, we knew we would need a computer to keep up with family and friends, and for Lei do to some writing. The features and capabilities of computers grow year by year, and prices have dropped considerably, thanks to Dell and Gateway on-line business. Lei’s brother Mike recommended a page on Dell’s site that sold “reconditioned” computers, which is systems returned by buyers for whatever reason. We finally ordered a notebook from Dell while we were in Eugene on our shakedown week, scheduling delivery on about April 1st to our friend Paul in Los Angeles. That gave us about ten days to drive from Eugene to LA, a journey of about a thousand miles. So even though the goal of the RV adventure was to not have a destination or deadline, we did want to get the computer, and the LA visit would also mean seeing Mike’s daughter, Mele.

Colonel Allensworth State Park

2004-06-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

We stayed at Millerton Lake for two nights, the first time we stayed at a park for more than one night. We were getting closer to the kind of place we had been dreaming of while planning this adventure: someplace in the forest, quiet, with full hookups! We still had not made a campfire, although most parks had a fire ring at each campsite, and some even sold firewood for your fire. And we had not really spent time talking to other campers, meeting new people. It’s so easy to set up the trailer, plug in, move the slide out, and hide out inside.
We set out due south on the state roads, trying to avoid the speeding turbulence of the truckers. We finally found this park in the middle of nowhere. It's several miles west of the interstate, and yet the train line that runs through this major farming area is just 100 yards from the park. The original town was founded by a former slave who became a chaplain in the Union Army and was discharged as a colonel. He took several other former slaves and went to California to make a new start away from the war. The town had several general stores, a school, a large church, and a doctor.
The park is still in the process of restoration, there are several buildings completed with historical markers explaining their origin. We were there in the off season, so the museum was not open, and I think during season the town is populated with people portraying the original residents.
There were covered picnic areas with barbeque rings; one large group area with four or five tables. All the people there were Hispanics, except a guy living in his van. The large party left the park in a mess, pinata paper left wherever it fell.
No hookups except for the park host, although it looked like there had not been one last season. Clean bathrooms, large outside sink for washing dishes. Hot showers for 50 cents.
About the guy in the van, he was sitting in the sun in a lounge chair when we arrived, and we called him “sunburned guy”. I found out from him that the 50 cent showers lasted long enough to take a leisurely shower, so we showered together and had plenty. We started a fire with discarded wood we found in the construction area, and I walked over and invited sunburned guy to join us. His name was Danny, and he was a pipe fitter working construction in the area. He said living in the van beat paying for motel rooms, although he was limited to fourteen total days in the California park system. The cost for this campsite was eight dollars, a great price. The night got pretty cold, we were apprehensive to use the onboard furnace, and had no electrical hookup to use the little space heater, so we just bundled up for the night.
The park had several buildings under construction, and we found a bunch of wood to use for a campfire. No termites means the wood is dry and chemical-free, so we climbed into a dumpster and helped ourselves to the scrap pieces.

2004-06-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

June visit with Makana

Lake Millerton

2004-05-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

The road map showed a fairly large state recreation area just outside of Fresno, so we stayed on the state road and found our next stop, Millerton Lake. You could see mountains in the distance, but the park was in the rolling hills again. This was another park and lake created for water management, but this time is was to bring water out of the Sierra Nevada mountains for the huge farming operations of the San Joaquin Valley. The lake actually covered the town of Millerton, and all that survived was a historic court house that had been moved to higher ground. We registered at the gate, and found the RV campground at the end of a winding road on the north side of the lake. This was just a big paved parking lot with campsites on either side of a grassy median. There were water and electric hookups, and we chose a spot next to the “accessible” (that means handicapped) campsite. There were quite a few other RVs there, but our spot had an open space on either side. We could look out our rear picture window and see the trees and a bit of the lake. We got set up and took a walk along the shoreline of the reservoir. Although it was Friday afternoon, the campground was not completely full, except we did not take into account that these mainland people think nothing of driving three hours to get somewhere. The Rvs just kept rolling in, and the last one arrived at 10:30! In the morning we discovered that all the campsites were occupied except for the handicapped site next to us. This was our first experience of being in a full campground.
Campers etiquette says you use common sense and respect the other person’s space. The family next to us had four kids with them who played well with each other, didn’t yell and scream, and took care not to cross our parking spot. It was nice to see a family out for a weekend camping trip, in fact, it was nice to see the park getting well used.
The park ranger at check-in had told us there was an Indian casino about five miles up the road, so on Saturday we took a drive to try the slot machines. Indian tribes around the country are allowed in varying degrees to operate casinos on tribal lands. This casino, Table Rock, was squeezed into a valley pass above the reservoir, and had slots and table games. The casino was busy, and Lei had a hard time finding a promising slot machine to play. Howard hung out watching sports on TV, and Lei deposited some dollars in the Indian casino bank.

RVers like us find places to park in various ways. There are two directories published that have complete information and ratings on RV parks across the nation. There are several web sites with varying degrees of information, and online forums have listings and comments. Every state we have visited has a website with state park information, and California has a great visitor information system of offices on the interstates on the state borders. There’s lots of billboards along the highway, although we don’t consider that a good thing. And there’s always word of mouth, just talking to other campers in a campground and at state and local information centers.
We had ordered a directory called Trailer Life in February while still in Hawaii. While waiting for it to arrive, we grabbed whatever park information we could from RV stores and tourist information centers. The Rand McNally road guide also shows state parks. After trying the information from stores and tourist publications, we decided to stick to the state parks, which has served us well.

2004-05-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

Our new home

Picture time

2004-05-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

We finally have a photo of the RV for all to see. This was taken at the Pueblo Lake State Park in Pueblo, Colorado. We actually stayed in Pueblo for ten days to visit with Lei's friends, Jan and David from Sydney. That is a long story to be continued later.

Power Plant Park

2004-05-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

Howard was still getting used to towing the trailer as we drove south through California. He decided to take a state highway instead of the interstate to our next stop, a local park owned and operated by the Sacramento Power Authority. We had to take a few more local roads, and thought we were lost when we saw the cooling towers for a nuclear power station. The is in cow pasture land, rolling hills near a little town call Clay on California Highway 104. So we found this park, Rancho Seco, built around the lake used to cool to nuclear plant. It had started to rain, so we paid our money, parked and hooked it up. The park is built around the lake, and has fishing, swimming and canoe rentals. There’s lots of picnic tables, kids’ play areas, and plenty of parking for day users. It was still the middle of the week, so there were only a few other campers and one man fishing out on the lake. This campground had a laundry room, so we counted out the quarters and walked back & forth in the rain with the laundry basket. Because of the cold and rain, we stayed bundled up in the trailer the rest of the day, and set off down the road the next day.
Electrical power in our trailer is provided by two marine batteries. The batteries are charged as we drive along by a connection to the truck The lights, slide out motor and water pump are powered by the batteries when we’re not plugged in. The stove/oven and furnace (heater) are propane, and the refrigerator also runs on propane when no electricity is available. Then there is a long 30 amp electrical line for us to plug in at campgrounds. It powers the microwave, air-conditioning and all the plug-in outlets (12 volt) throughout the trailer, and everything except the stove and heat switches to the land line. We especially look for electrical hookups at camp grounds so we can use the little space heater at night. Remember, it’s March in Northern California, so the daytime temperature is in the sixties, and night times drop to forty degrees!

State Parks

2004-05-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

One of our goals on our travels is to stay at state and county parks whenever possible. Although the prices can range anywhere from eight to twenty-five dollars, the locations and scenery in a state park just can’t be beat. The quality of campground services can vary widely, and doesn’t always have to do with the cost of a night’s stay. The first state park we stayed in was at the Bidwell-Sacramento River Park. It is located on Highway 32 in Northern California, between Orland and Chico. We called ahead and were told to go to the Irvine campground, and when we arrived there, no one was there, no campers, no picnicking, no one fishing on the river. There were about ten back-in spaces for RV’s with water but no electrical hook-ups. There was one space right next to the bathrooms that had electrical, so we looked around and decided what the heck, let’s park it there. Payment for camping is on the honor system in California, you pick up a little envelope at the gate and drop it back with your money in it. This park was eight dollars, and we knew that this one and only space with electricity was probably for a campground host, but the worst that could happen is the park ranger would make us move to one of the other spaces. Although the park is next to a two-lane highway, it’s below the slope of the bridge that goes over the river, so the road noise wasn’t too bad. We had a great, quiet stay among the almond and walnut trees.
The park ranger showed up the next day to clean out the bathrooms. We knew we were in the wrong space when he went to a central switch box and turned off the electricity. He knocked on our door and let us know we weren’t supposed to park there, and made sure we had paid our eight dollars. We were on our way by ten in the morning, off to the next park.
More information on our facilities. The RV has three water tanks. One tank is fresh water, for drinking, cooking and showers. The other two tanks are waste water: grey water, which is the sink and shower water, and black water, which is the toilet waste. RV parks have a dump site, which you hook up to and dump your waste water. At many privately owned parks, you will have your own dump site at your parking space. Where ever we stay, we try to use the bath house as much as possible, that way we don’t have to go through the business of dumping our tanks. And even though the RV has a shower, it’s nice to use someone else’s hot water.

How we started

2004-05-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

We picked up the truck in Seattle on March 19th and drove to Eugene, Oregon to pick up the travel trailer from the dealer. We spent the weekend in Eugene and Springfield practicing the towing, driving, setting up and breaking down. We also had fifteen boxes of stuff to unpack, everything from clothes to rice and the rice cooker. On Monday, the 23rd, after sorting out a couple of questions for the dealer, we were on the road!
First stop, Roseburg, Oregon to visit my cousin, Dennis Ihara and his family. We found a beautiful RV park on the fork of two rivers, next to a huge public park. The owners/operators were a wonderful couple with a couple of teenage boys who made us rookies feel welcome and comfortable.
Then came the treacherous crossing of the Cascade mountains at the Oregon-California border. Howard was very apprehensive about the truck’s ability to handle the job of pulling the trailer (and all our stuff) up the long hill climbs, but we took it slow, in the breakdown lane along with lots of other truckers, and made it fine. Stopped for the night at a little town called Weed in California. There was a beautiful view of Mount Shasta, clear and still snow-covered. Unfortunately, the campground we stayed at was awful, located between the interstate, railroad and a truck stop. All the RV’s were wedged in next to each other, and the bathrooms and showers didn’t work.
Which brings us to the subject of our facilities. We now live in a 29' travel trailer, which we pull behind Howard’s truck. There is a bedroom with a queen-sized bed, closet space, night stands, skylight, screen door and a small shelf for a TV. The bathroom has a shower (hot & cold running water), sink, toilet and linen closet. The kitchen has a microwave, refrigerator/freezer, pantry, stove/oven, double sink and storage cupboards. There is a dinette that comfortably seats four, and an entertainment center large enough for a TV and stereo tuner or VCR/DVD. We also have a couch that folds out to a bed and two lounge chairs next to the rear picture window. We have heat and air-conditioning, and lots more storage that we haven’t even used. There are windows everywhere that have pull down shades for evenings. Most of the windows have screens so you can open them for fresh air.
The best feature of the trailer is the slide-out. It is three feet deep and fifteen feet wide. It slides out from the side of the trailer to increase the floor area of the main living area. The sofa bed and dinette are in the slide out, and there is vinyl flooring in the kitchen part of the room and carpet in the living part. The slide-out is powered by electric, so it moves in or out with just a touch of a button.