Sacramento Highlights

As I sat down earlier today to begin this entry about our stay in Sacramento, I was going to say, "Over a week with no truck issues." I got interrupted and went back outside of the Frinks only to see Don under the truck again. I am not kidding. He was looking at the truck and noticed that the back wheel was sitting too far back (??). No, I don't know what that means either. Anyway, this was a fix that only took a couple of hours. Then we were off to see the California Auto Museum which was very cool. A quick tour of downtown Sacramento included a stop at the Rex Cycle shop. Steve Rex, a nationally known bike builder, is the Frink's son-in-law. Pretty cool shop that he started on his own from scratch. The Sacto visit ended with dinner that included other ORPS friends, Rick & Judy McWilliam. What a wonderful way to end our western vacation. Don & I will be heading home tomorrow with the truck & trailer. We will be taking I-80 and should be back to Ohio on the 12th. That schedule, of course, depends on not encountering ANY other truck issues. :) It was wonderful finishing up with two of our closest friends, Dick & Charlotte.

Jensen Hospitality Exceptional!

Don & I were treated to a whirlwind tour of Paradise. That's right, I said Paradise. The Chico area is one part of California that we haven't spent any time in. Lucky for us, the Jensens had an opening at their campground. We packed a lot into our two days with them starting with area sights such as the Honey Run covered bridge, the Bidwell mansion, and a city park where we tried a new sport. A smaller paddle, hard plastic balls with holes, goofy rules - I can't remember the name of the game. Another highlight was a day trip to Lassen National Park. The hike to the mud pots was through spectacular scenery and gave us quite the sense of accomplishment. The newest member of the Jensen household offered us hours of entertainment. When you go to the pound for a new kitty, you take your chances. But they got a DANDY! Thanks so much to Rich & Janet.

Coastal Redwoods & ORPS Friends

These last few days have been so relaxing. Maybe it is the immensity of the giant coastal redwoods or the quiet as you walk through them. Or maybe because we only traveled a few miles each day. Another highlight for us was a visit with Palm Springs friends, Chris & Brian Farrell. They live among the redwoods on property that they cleared themselves and live in a home they built themselves. Actually I was a little tired after leaving our visit with them seeing how much they have done. Besides building their home, Brian is an accomplished boat maker and Chris takes care of the outside property. Yep, I am pretty lazy compared to these two.

Coastal Travels

Leaving our Eagle Point friends, Brent & Kathy, was hard. They had been so good to us. But the open road called. Two nights in Brookings on the Oregon coast were restful and enhanced by staying next to ORPS friends, Laney & Joanne Westbrook. Their Prevost was just a tiny bit larger than our trailer. Today began our journey through the redwoods of coastal California. A quiet walk through the Stout Grove in the Jedediah Smith State Park was just a preview of the sights that await us further south on Hwy 101 the next few days. We only traveled a few miles today, but I am happy to report ... no truck issues.

Lake of the Woods & the White City UBER

The truck repair meant that Don missed the excursion to Lake of the Woods with Mike & Sue Sullivan. He missed out on an incredible day on a pristine Oregon lake with friends. We met Mike & Sue last winter in ORPS and they made the mistake of saying, “stop by and see us when you are in Oregon.” What incredible hosts! Their cabin sits on the shore of Lake of the Woods, barely visible from the water. Joining us were John & Debby Jensen with their peddle kayak’s. Tons of fun. Then, Kathy & Sue decided on a tube ride with Mike driving the boat. My one regret of the day was not having the video running when Sue was trying to get in the tube and flipped Kathy WAY up in the air and into the water. Priceless, but lost to posterity. We could have made a fortune on “America’s Funniest Videos.” I can’t thank Sue & Mike enough for sharing their lake experience with us. Loved it! All I have to say about the evening after the lake, is “Who needs UBER when you have Kathy?” She drove us all around town for various errands, not the least of which was checking on the truck in White City! Thanks, Kathy!

Crater Lake Tour

One could get used to Medford, actually Eagle Point. After Kathy's scones & fruit for breakfast’, Brent took us up to Crater Lake, pointing out all the sights along the way. The only thing I can say about this national park is that words cannot express the beauty of it. Wow, incredible, spectacular … after about the 10th time of saying these things, I just gave up and pictures don’t do it justice. It was wonderful having someone who knows the area and all the good spots too. Brent was a first class tour guide! OK, that was the good part of the day. Coming out of the Kortus driveway, Don again noticed we had transmission problems. So off to Baxter Auto Parts in White City. They couldn’t do the repair Don wanted, but the guy there knew a guy who knew a guy who could. So this guy and his buddies showed up at the Baxter parking lot and fixed it. Of course, while waiting for the fixit guys, Don noticed airbags he wanted for the truck. (There’s always something!) So before leaving, he arranged for the guys who work out of their garage (see picture) to put the airbag on tomorrow. Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.

Slow start ... GREAT finish!

Pulling out of our Florence campground – Bob & Shari Johnson, be glad you were out of town – Don noticed something wrong with the transmission. Checking, he discovered we had no transmission fluid in the system. Not a good situation if one is crossing the coastal range to Medford. So he tightened a few things, added fluid and we were off again! I love traveling with a mechanic. The GREAT part of the day was seeing our jeeping friends from Palm Springs. Brent & Kathy Kortus, Ed & Carin Jolly, Laney & Joanne Westbrook. Dinner in the extraordinary town of Ashland was wonderful. We did a short walking tour of the town after dinner, seeing highlights such as the Shakespeare theater and Lithia Park. A low light I might mention was Ed Jolly’s suggestion that I take the famous water at the park. Bad Ed!!! Sorry no pictures of that crew, we were having too much fun!