OREGON CONTINUES

We are in Bandon Oregon and have rented a room with a kitchen and a short drive to the beach. Tomorrow we will walk on the beach and check out the downtown area. The drive south today along the coast was very spectacular! My batteries in my camera went out after taking a few shots, but was able to get some more at the next town. Have to get a bite. Bye, S

OREGON

Finally we are in Oregon. Today we wenty to the Acquariam and to the beach. Weather is foggy in the morning and nice in the afternoon. We went to the store and bought vitals for the kitchen oin our room. It is nmice yto nmot eat in a restaurant all tne time. More later, S

SEATTLE, WA

So today we traveled from Ellensburg to Seattle. A nice trip through the mountains. Stopped and bought some peaches and nectarines at a little stand. Lots of traffic as we neared Seattle. Had to go through the Sea-Tac Airport to get to the Comfort Inn, but we made it. The airport has changed a great deal since we were last here. Weather is nice, no rain. Tomorrow we take a shuttle to the airport and then catch a bus to Bellingham to catch the ferry to Ketchikan. Alan Mc and his wife are coming over tonight to go to dinner with us and then take F's insulin home with them to refrigerate it while we're in Alaska. When we return they will meet us and deliver the insulin. We have a portable refrig with us that runs on the car battery. So far it has been doing fine. Oh, Alan lives on an island near Seattle. He and F worked together 15 years ago. S

WASHINGTON

Today we traveled from Spokane to Ellensburg. We are staying at the Commfort Inn. We had oriental dinner and F did his laundry. Thursday, tomorrow, we go to Seattle and prepare for our trip to Alaska via the Alaska Marine Highway. Called the office today and all seems to be going well. Weather is beautiful--still a little warm for us. No rain today. View of the Colombia River Gorge was very spectacular. s

MISSOULA,, MT

After another long day of travel we finally arrived in Missoula, MT. I called my second cousin and we had a nice talk. His father died two month's ago--he was my first cousin and we were planning to visit him next month in California. Anyway, he is married with three girls. Unfortunately, he did not remember us from the time we visited in 1995, or thereabouts. He is the youngest of Larry's three children. Today was a holiday and they had just come home from camping and were unpacking, etc. It didn't sound like a good time to try to get together. Tomorrow we are off to CdL to see Donna.

MONTANA

Here we are in billings montana. A long day, but it was very beautiful--Lots of hay and straw bales standing in the golden fields. Off to Butte tomorrow. s

Bismarck, ND and chocolate silk cream pie. Trip moving along just fine. Today was a very long day and tomorrow may be also. Weather is a little warm but that is better than rain and storms, etc. Everyone we meet is very nice. Not too many trucks on this stretch today. Had a nice swim in the pool yesterday. Hope to have one in this pool in the morning. We'll see. It's good for my new knees. Most places have laundry facilities, so we may do laundry before Seattle.

ARRIVAL

We arrived in St Paul in good shape. Have visited with the cousin and family and had a nice outdoor grilling dinner and a Mexican lunch today after a visit to a wonderful yarn shop! Tonight is Chinese food with the family and then tomorrow we take off with stops westward. More later. S

TAKE OFF

Take off finally happened--allbeit two plus hours late. Arrival in Beloit WI at dinner time worked out just fine. Found a nice motel and are now getting ready for a nice night's rest. This high speed internet is very nice but unsecured, so won't write much. Lots of construction of the road; lots of big trucks. More tomorrow.S

Dog Wash

Monday and the dog is all shampooed and almost ready to go to the sitters. He will have such a wonderful time as she is a great sitter. We will miss him very much, but we will consider it his vacation. The outside work is almost all finished. The car will be power washed and packed and then we'll be ready to take off. It might even be waxed--time will tell.

Mother Nature

The weather seems to be cooperating. Lunch yesterday was fun--we went to a place we hadn't been to in a long time. Food wasn't the greatest, but the company was good. Streets were filled with lots of water and there was lots of thunder and lightning, but it passed right away. Drivers were speeding in quite an unsafe manner. Oh where are the police when you need them?? It is still hot and muggy, but that will end soon.

Getting Ready

Preparations for the circle tour continue. Soon the bags will be packed and goodbyes said. Most of all during this time we will miss the dogs. Too bad they cannot go with us. So, more later. S

GARLIC, GARLIC

Dear Blog: It has been some time since I have written. Now we are in Gilroy CA and will be off tomorrow to visit with Dr. Forster and then on to Santa Cruz for my high school reunion. This motel has been very nice for us to rest and then visit the surrounding area. There are lots of new stores in the new shopping centers nearby. We even saw some condos for sale in downtown Gilroy for starting at $300,000.00! Today we used the spa and F is doing the laundry while I worked on the computer. We will be spending only three nights in Santa Cruz. We decided to get on down to the nieces. F will have lots of time to rest while we're in SC so he should be in good shape for the trip south. More later, I hope S

OFF TO CA

Preparations begin for departure from the beautiful Oregon coast. We will probably end up in northern California for our evening stop. The trip down the Oregon coast has been a delightful one. Traffic has not been too bad. We can only imagine what it would be like if it were in the height of the tourist season. We both agree that we planned this visit at the right time of the year. Weather is blue sky, so appears as if it will reach the 70 degree level today. Everything is working well--for now. Gas prices are going back up. However, we are not getting 19.8 miles per gallon. Who knows, we may reach 20 before the end of the trip. More later. S

Monday in Oregon

Rained last night. However, today the sky is blue and not quite 70 degrees. Should be here for another night. The facilities are a little less than desirable, but we can survive okay. Just heard via the tSkype telephone that our home's outside window was shot at. Apparently, someone was shooting at the dog. This is really upsetting. More later. S

BROKEN IRON

Progress is being made regarding preparation for the Circle Tour. Animals are cooperating. Unfortunately, the iron turned-up leaking so I had to go looking for another iron. Actually, I did find one that works and have been able to iron lots of travel clothes. At this time I don't know what will happen to the old iron. It might be good for doing transfers. So, I hope that this is the last challenge before blast off!

Overcast

Today I was able to accomplish lots of things even though the weather was overcast and even rained and thundered for a while. Everything seemed to be working okay, even this old laptop, so things went smoothly. This blogging is still new lto me, so it may take several days until I'm able to get the hang of it. Meanwhile, have patience.

Fabulous

The weather continuew to cooperate so all systems are a go.  Still many little details to take care of but that too is manageable.  Time for breakfast.  Until later.  

The Beginning Continues

For some reason I've had a little trouble getting started, however, it appears as if I'm on track now. We are planning a long trip and should be departing in several weeks. At this time we are making all the necessary arrangements. Needless to say, it takes a lot of organization to be away from home. My plan is to Blog every day or so and hope that people who are interested in our travels will tune in. Having never done this before I'm not sure how this will go, but am willing to give it a try. So, I'll be signing out until the trip starts.

The Beginning