On the road to Lake Cowichan

Thursday, March 5th

We left early at 8:30 am and headed to our destination Kit Fox RV Park in Patterson, CA. An uneventful drive with one stop to take Freya out and for Ray and I to stretch. The traffic on the I-5 was great and most of the road from Bakersfield to Patterson was in relatively good shape. We had a ton of bees hit the windshield though with the blossoms on the fruit trees, the farmers have bee boxes everywhere.

We ended up with a "primo" site on the end. Otherwise the sites are very tight ... we can reach out Rays window where he sits and knock on the other MH's bedroom. lol This place has great wifi and the convenience right off I-5 but otherwise is very pricey at $50 with Good Sam with what you get.  We found out after the park takes Passport America, but don't advertise it.  You have to ask for it. Other than a restroom and laundry that's it! The upside is there are several fast food restaurants within walking distance and fuel stations.

We could not check in until 1pm so left the coach and Freya after her walk, and went to the KFC which is walking distance, had lunch and brought some home for dinner. Ray did not eat much but he did eat and it stayed down. lol

Ray cleaning all the squashed bees off the front window.

A quiet afternoon, looking forward to getting home.

Friday, March 6th

Woke up early, Ray's feeling great so we decided to push through the mountain passes and get to Canyonville and Seven Feathers Casino for the night. The forecast was for 24 hours of snow in the mountain passes the next day and we did not want to get stuck behind a winter storm. A long drive but traffic was good and 2/3 of the drive was sitting back with the cruise control on. The last third was up and down but with Ray's superb driving and our coaches great exhaust brake, it seemed in no time at all we were through. 

Lake Shasta

Mount Shasta with the ominous clouds.

We set up in the free camping area in the casino lot and went outside to play with Freya who was so done with travelling. lol

I noticed that tonight at the casino is Seafood Buffet night. So at 4pm, when it opened, off we went. What a great spread. Tons of dungeness crab, steamed clams, mussels, oysters etc., as well as fried versions of the above. They had a carving station with Prime Rib as well.

After an hour of stuffing ourselves it was back to the coach to relax for the night. Freya was none to impressed again with staying inside. We were both tired so were in bed by 8pm for the night. Unfortunately I woke up at 11:18 pm precisely with "Montezuma's Revenge"!!!! Kristi, our daughter, says buffets are "cesspools" of bacteria. Never happened to me before but OMG. I did notice that a couple bites of my crab tasted "fishy" so spit it out. Other than that I had mussels which Ray did not so ???? Anyways the next 30 hours were not fun.

Saturday, March 7th

Woke up with very little sleep at 8am. Ray went to the casino for breakfast, that was not very good ... Decision time. I told Ray that I would make myself "a nest" in the bed and spend the next leg of our journey there as it was close to the bathroom. There was not point staying in the casino parking lot, certainly did not want to eat there again.

So for the next 4 hours I stayed in bed and fortunately only had to get up when Ray stopped for fuel and a couple of rest stops to stretch. It really was no different in the "bounce" than sitting in my chair as the bed is right over the back tires. The traffic was pretty good and only a 10 minute delay going through Portland. Destination today was the Mt. Saint Helens KOA in Washington. Ray was hopeful for some pictures. 

We ended up with one of their "Premier Sites" for the same price as a regular one as this is off-season. After minimal set up I was back in bed for the rest of the day, feeling quite a bit better and tolerating liquids. Tomorrow I should be good to go. lol

Sunday, March 8th Daylight Savings Time

Still feeling a bit weak, I opted to stay at the coach and finish tidying up, dishes etc. while Ray took off to Mt St Helens.

Forest Discovery Centre

Forest Discovery Centre

Hoffstadt Creek Bridge

 Mount St. Helens

 Mount St. Helens

 Mount St. Helens

Toutle River and the debris field

Silver Lake with Mt St Helens in background

Silver Lake

Freya found some friends while he was gone. lol They played with her every day while we were here.

Monday, March 9th

What a glorious morning. Pretty cold though at 28F. Woke up feeling like myself again, yeah.

After a slow start to the morning it's off for a drive to a park in Longview, a short distance away. The Lake Sacajawea Park also sports a Japanese Garden. A beautiful walk in the sunshine. Ray took so many great pictures, it was hard to decide which ones. lol

Nice to see spring has come with the blossoms.

 Beautiful older houses surround the lake.

The church in the distance played wonderful music every 1/2 hour. 

We also walked through their Japanese Garden.

After walking for an hour it was time for lunch. My first big meal since the crab. lol

This place had the appropriate name. lol

They had a great selection of beer on tap from local breweries.

Back home by 1:30 pm. It was such a nice, sunny afternoon, we sat outside until 5 pm just enjoying the day. 

Tuesday, March 10

Here is the picture of the Wormy Moon this morning, such names they come up with. lol

Another cold morning. Today we are going into Tacoma and staying overnight at Ray's sister Judy's for the night. As it is only 1 1/2 hours away from us we will leave later this morning to miss all of the rush hour traffic. 

Made it to Judy's just before noon. We just parked the coach, walked Freya and then headed out for lunch on the waterfront fairly close to their house. Lunch was really tasty. 

After lunch we walked around the plaza and stopped for homemade ice cream for dessert. Yumm This whole area used to be an industrial site which has been cleaned up and all the soil remediated and replaced. Now it's quite a busy place with all of the new building going on. Lots of condos, a hotel and many eating and drinking establishments.

Back at Judy's we set up the coach for the night. Being that it was cloudy we just ran a cord and plugged the fridge in to their house so we did not have to run the generator. Out came the big buddy heater and we were good for the night with freezing temps overnight.

Milt and Judy 

Called it a night at 8pm. We retired for some TV in the coach. A lovely day.

Wednesday, March 11th

One more sleep and we will be home. Yeah. A ferry cool morning at 36F. We are having a leisurely start to our morning as we only have a short drive to Port Angeles today to take the ferry tomorrow. Another cloudy morning with possible flurries.

Lunch was at the Downrigger Restaurant, right beside the ferry dock. It was sunny by lunch time but a very cold wind was blowing. We saw the Coho docking. We will be on it tomorrow. I had Seafood Chowder in a bread bowl and Ray had grilled salmon teriyaki style.Both meals were delicious. Ray had enough of his left over for dinner.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet. Freya stayed outside in the sun on her mat while Ray and I stayed inside.

Thursday, March 12th

A very cold night. I was up at 3:40 am turning on the furnace. Coach at 50F. Excited about getting home so didn't manage to fall asleep. At 5 am I got up, started the generator and cranked up the heat. By 5:30 it was warmer and Ray got up. An early breakfast for us and Freya we were in the ferry lineup by 6:45 am. More than ready to go home.

Ferry loaded us on time and by 9:55 am we had arrived in downtown Victoria. We did not tow the car onto the ferry as it is less expensive and easier for Ray to maneuver inside the ship. Customs was easy with only a few usual question asked except with the Coronavirus pandemic, questions were asked if we had been in Iran or Italy recently and did we feel sick. It did not take long and we were on our way. I drove separately to Duncan and met up with Ray for lunch at the White Spot. He carried on home and I did a major shop at Superstore.

All tucked back in the house by 3:30 pm, both of us exhausted but oh so nice to be home.Freya is ecstatic to be home.

A great Winter but looking forward to Spring.