No Lack Of Activities

Our area is simply stunning right now.  The spring flora is flourishing and the average daytime temperature, with some exceptions, is most comfortable. 

And we have not lacked for things to do since our return from the desert.  In fact, we have been very busy.

When visiting at our place, Brie enjoys sitting at the little people table to colour or play with toys,

We've had our Langley based grand children over a few times and that is always a fun time.  Easton got to help his Nana prepare the bird feeders and to prepare the 'birdie juice' for the hummingbirds.

Nothing beats going for a bicycle 'strider bike' ride to the local park

At the local park near us, Easton has any number of choice activities to keep him busy.  The great bicycle obstacle course is a favourite and so is the washboard bike track.

Rather than ride over the teeter totter, Easton opts to walk it.  He is at the mid point balanced spot.

Easton turned three years old this Friday past.  As a result, there were numerous get togethers and parties to attend.  That started on Friday, continued on to Saturday and culminated in a young peoples'  Sunday party at a local community centre.   So, he celebrated well and had a lot of fun.  And so did Jeanette and I.

We brought these goodies and gifts to Easton's home.

Early on Friday morning, Easton's folks Face Timed us when they presented him with a new pedal bicycle.  Was he thrilled?  You bet.  And he could not wait to show us his new wheels.

Easton's paternal grand father, Warren dropped by to see the new bicycle Easton got for his birthday.

And when we arrived at his house on Friday afternoon, Easton had to show Jeanette and I his new set of wheels.  He will be getting plenty of bike time in the weeks and months ahead.

Happy Brie is playing with an electronic toy.  And she knows how to turn it on and make all kinds of sounds with it.

We had another get together with Easton and his family on Saturday. But Sunday morning was reserved to meet up with our good friends, Mariette and Lorne at the White Rock beach for breakfast.  It was also the first time we have seen them since Christmas.  

It was nice to get together before they catch a flight to South Africa in the days ahead.  We enjoyed a nice breakfast at Hemmingways on the beach, while watching the white caps on the Pacific Ocean.

Breezy White Rock Beach on Sunday morning.

Hemmingways is the building with the poles sticking out and up over the roof line.  It is also known as the Ocean Beach Hotel.

While we were enjoying breakfast with our friends, back in Alberta, Jeanette's sister, Darlene was busy with mom Mary putting together a traditional Ukrainian Easter food basket.  To maintain such a solid tradition means so much to Mary. 

Check out the food stuff in the basket

And check out the breads that were prepared for the occasion

Sunday afternoon was set aside for a kids party to celebrate Easton's birthday.  Many little kids attended - with their folks - and it turned into a fun time for all. To have rented the facility was well worth it considering there were 40 people who attended.  Imagine that number of big and little people in one's home!

Ginette (R) and friend, Kara (L) are getting the food stuff organized.

The Langley Events Centre facility was where Trevor chose to rent a room to house the party crowd.  And what a good idea that was.  An employee (a young girl) was offered up to help organize games.  And the kids got into that with vigor.

After all the fun games, it was time for some lunch and a gift opening.

Since our return back home from the US southwest, Easton had been asking his folks if he could have a sleep over at our home.  That is what happened on Monday.  Easton came over in the morning.  We enjoyed a lovely day with him and he was very tired at bed time.  We were tired too.....!

Easton helps his Nana sort out the bottles and cans for recycling.

And before his mom returned to pick him up yesterday afternoon, Easton and I enjoyed some park play time,  fixing a few things on the motorcycles and generally enjoying some outdoor fun.

And that is the way it has been around here.  It is hard to believe that it has been 14 days since our return.

With some very nice weather forecast for the weekend, I am planning to put the Harley Davidson back on the road.  And that is something to look forward too.

Easton decided to check out the Harley too.

All set to roll.

 Thanks for dropping by.

Cleaned Up and Stored.....

Back home since last Thursday evening, our weather has been so sunny and mild (no rain) that we were able to quickly and easily move stuff back into our home, wash and detail the exterior and interior, and to push our RV back behind locked gates on the west side of our home.

Removing the motorcycle

Removing the motorcycle and disconnecting the motorcycle swivel wheel deck is done before backing the rig onto our driveway.

Backed in, washed and detailed - and ready to be pushed back in storage area.

We were busy looking after our Langley based grand-kids on Saturday.  With Easter Sunday dinner preparations, we did not have a lot of time to work on the 5th wheel cleanup.  But we got back at it this past Monday and Tuesday.

Easton showed up at our home in full firefighting gear.

When asked why he came over in full firefighting dress, Easton replied that he could have to hurry and help people should they need it.  Cute!  His dad, Trevor is a volunteer firefighter....and Easton thinks that is pretty cool.  He has experienced riding in a fire truck and spending time at the fire hall.

Brie is happy to hang out in her Nana's arms. 

We sure had a fun time looking after Easton and Brie on Saturday.  Mom, Ginette came by in mid-afternoon to collect the kids. They would return for an Easter Sunday egg hunt, plus dinner.

Jeanette readying to hide stuff for a planned Easter hunt.

A kid at heart, Jeanette gets a lot of pleasure finding hiding places and creating clue notes for a fun Easter hunt.  Easton sure got into that.  He loved listening to the clues and searching for the goodies.

One clue revealed something hidden in his John Deere wagon.

Cousin Darcey, from Vancouver Island, was spending a few days at Ginette and Trevor's home and she was invited to join in for Easter dinner.  It is always nice to see Darcey.

Taking a break after a fulfilling Easter egg (other stuff too) hunt.

Easton moved a small chair by the kitchen island to watch his Nana dish out the vegetables for dinner.

We enjoyed a great Easter dinner meal while catching up on everybody's activities.  

 And the grand-kids got the opportunity to play with some of the toys that we have in our home.

Dad, Trevor is busy keeping the kids busy in the sun room.

Jeanette took this photo to celebrate those of us who have recently had a birthday or will soon celebrate one.

Yummy tasting lemon pie for Brie.  Hmmmm, hmmmm good!

Deni and Owen made the two hour drive to enjoy Easter dinner with Jeanette's family in Alberta

Our son Deni, with his son Owen, drove a couple of hours east from Edmonton, Alberta to join in on a family Easter dinner.  It was being hosted by Darlene, one of Jeanette's sisters.  Jeanette's sisters (and their families) were to join Jeanette's mom there too.  

Owen's mom, Courtney, was busy being a trauma nurse in Edmonton. She had to miss out on the festivities.

Deni, with Owen and Jeanette's sister, Darlene.

By all accounts, they too enjoyed a lovely Easter dinner put on by Darlene and Tom at their farm.

L-R  Sisters, Georgina, Mom Mary, Darlene and Deb.  Jeanette is missing from this photo

Darlene decorated her home and offered up some yummy Easter treats along with a five star meal.  

Back home in Edmonton, following his visit in the Alberta countryside, we shared a nice, long Face Time with Deni and Owen.

Other than RV clean up, Easter dinner and some time spent with the grand-kids, we've caught up on some yard work.  Jeanette got out there for several hours and managed to pluck some early weeds, trim some flowers and shrubs and generally begin bringing order to our front and back yard.  There is more work ahead....but it is all routine.

That's about it from here.

Thanks for dropping in.

Back Home....

Four days from our Palm Springs departure and we were back home last evening.  That is a record for us.  We're we in a rush?  No.  Our plans included a return today; Good Friday.  Thinking about traffic and cross border delays due to the Easter long weekend, we opted to drive the 10.5 hours from southern Oregon to our home.

Mt. Shasta - Northern California

Our last blog had us spending the night at a nice RV site in Corning, California.  The park is part of the Rolling Hills Casino.  We left early on Wednesday morning.  The passes (numerous climbs and descents) from northern California into Oregon were what we faced for most of that day.  We arrived at the southern Oregon, Seven Feathers RV Resort and we're set up in a great spot by 2:30 pm.

Our great RV spot at the Seven Feathers RV Resort, Canyonville, southern Oregon.

Although rain was forecast, we left for a nice hike into the local hills.  It was a beautiful and balmy day with temperatures hovering in the mid-50's.  But a great day for a nice walk in the beautiful nature this place affords.

A view from high up at Seven Feathers.

A truly great RV resort.

Threatening clouds

The RV park was busy with snow-bird RVers heading back for home.  I counted 23 British Columbia license plates at the Rolling Hills RV park and the Seven Feathers resort offered up many, many blue and white license plates too.

Slight drizzle on the way out of Seven Feathers RV resort - Friday 7:45 am

Our Thursday driving plan was to spend one more night somewhere near Portland, Oregon or southern Washington State.  Driving conditions were really good; including travel through the busy city of Portland.  We kept driving.  

The city of Seattle - with nearby cities of Olympia, Tacoma, Fife, and Everett - usually presents crushing freeway delays during rush hour.  We always try to avoid that senseless drive.  It isn't the traffic that is disturbing, it is the numerous stops and starts - accidents and distressed vehicles - and the foolish drivers.  

I felt we could reach Seattle before 2:30 pm.....which could get us ahead of the long weekend early afternoon rush.  By and large, that proved to be true.  We faced numerous stops for construction and other silliness....but we succeeded in moving through without too much of a delay. We were on the edge of the crushing afternoon rush.

For the uninitiated, Seattle metro traffic is often chaotic.  And that is putting it mildly.  Our normal drive has us spending a night south of Seattle Metro and driving through after 10:00 or 10:30 am.  That's when the freeways return to normalcy and one can more seamlessly cruise through.

Rolling through Portland, Oregon.

We were at the US/ Canada border by 6:15 pm....and, believe this, we only had a two car wait before answering three questions - using our NEXUS border entry cards - and being waived back into Canada.  Fifteen minutes from leaving the border, we were rolling to a stop by our front driveway.

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Upon arrival back home.

We opened up our home and all looked the way it was when we left it shortly after our Christmas visit.  We moved a few things from the RV before calling it a night.  We have plenty of time to sort stuff out today and in the days ahead.

We let our kids know we were back, Jeanette had a nice chat with her mother and once we settled in, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner.

Hector and Diane's great Portuguese Water Dog......at Morro Bay, California

Our friends, Hector and Diane, who left Desert Hot Springs two days after us, sent a few photos of their California coastal site south from Pismo Beach.  They are taking the time to tour and drive the coastal California areas while heading north towards their home on Vancouver Island.  

OK....enough said.  It's time to get outdoors and begin the RV move out process.

Thanks for dropping by.

Leaving California....

Our Monday started with a very early morning pull away from our Caliente Springs Resort site, hitching the swivel wheel, loading the motorcycle, saying good bye and driving away.

Hector and Chico (his great dog) were up early and eager to lend a hand

Jeanette and I wanted to be rolling out very early.  Our goal was to drive the nine hours required to get us to Kit Fox RV in Patterson, off I-5 in central California.

Lining up to attach the swivel wheel

Attached and secured, I fired up the Nomad...and very quickly rode it up the ramp and on to the deck.

Readers may recall when I wrote about losing the clutch on the motorcycle riding up the twisty and curvy high mountain highway 74.  When the engine was hot, the clutch would not work.  It is worn out.  Choosing to take it back home for repair, I thought of a few ways to load it onto the swivel wheel.  One thought was that maybe....just maybe....with a cold engine, I may have sufficient clutch to quickly load it.  I tested the theory out several days before departure and, sure enough, a cold engine offered sufficient clutch to get it loaded.  And it did!!! 

Driving north on Highway 62 from Desert Hot Springs.

Bye byes exchanged with Diane, Hector and Chico - and with a nice, fresh coffee in hand offered up by them - we drove away from park.

Long, long climb up Highway 62 towards Yucca Valley

Our very first 30 minutes would entail a long, very long climb up Highway 62 to Yucca Valley before turning onto 247 and heading north towards Barstow.  To manage that climb long before the forecast high 100+ heat was a worthy goal too.

Driving #247 in the Lucerne Valley, heading to Barstow.

We headed west from Barstow on I-15, taking a turn onto Highway 58 towards Bakersfield, CA.

The lovely area around Tehachapi, Ca

 By 12:45 pm, we rolled by one of our most favourite RV parks, Orange Grove.  It is mere minutes east from Bakersfield.  Rolling through Bakersfield was a breeze - albeit the road construction - and before long, we headed off Highway 99 north, onto Higwhay 46 west towards I-5.  In Lost Hills (just off I-5), took us north again on I-5.  I-5 will be our route from this point going forward.

Our pull through site at Kit Fox RV park in Patterson, CA

By 4:30 pm on our first drive day, we were settled in at Kit Fox RV.  We did not unhitch. We were tired but happy to have traveled a long day.  Our plan going forward would be far more reasonable.  Day 2 would see us drive 5 hours - driving through Stockton and Bakersfield, CA - to our planned second night stop at the Rolling Hills RV park in Corning, northern California.  We arrived and were all set up by 2:00 pm.

Our site in Rolling Hills RV park - at the Rolling Hills Casino

By early evening, there was not one site available here or on the paved boon docking site.  It was busy with transport trucks and RVs.  Being in the RV park was a gift.  Very little noise.....nice private sites....and lovely afternoon temperatures and great views overlooking the lovely golf course here.

 We took a long walk under sunny skies but with very breezy west winds buffeting golfers.  Jeanette did suggest a round for me but to golf those windy conditions would be trying at best....and it would be a rush to try and play 18 holes before sunset.  We just enjoyed walking the grounds and checking things out.

The waterfall that fronts the Rolling Hills Casino.

 Jeanette spotted several olive trees and had to check one out.  She is pulling off some older olives from the branches.  The ground was littered with fallen olives.  For the uninitiated, this area is famous for growing and reaping olives.

Enjoying the late afternoon sun - away from the wind.  Arriving early gave us plenty of time to select the right site to block off the wind.  Ours was a very comfortable site offering great valley, golf course and mountain views to the south and west.

Every possible site was taken by 6:00 pm

We head further north today.  Our travel plans include driving through the major passes that will take us from northern California and into southern Oregon.  We have two possible overnight options and we'll report on the site that would best suit us in a later post.

It's off to close up and get the wheels rolling once again.

Thanks for dropping by.