Sacremento to Port Angeles, WA - March 30th - April 3rd

Saturday morning we left Sacramento at 8:30 for Redding, CA. Lots of rain showers for the first half of the trip. Pretty miserable. The second half the sun came out and the roads dried, a much better drive. We arrived at Redding RV Park shortly before noon, a quick set up and then off for lunch at Woody's Brewing Company. Great fish and chips and beer selection.

Next up we decided to go explore the Sundial Bridge over the Sacremento River, a few miles from  camp. Wow, what a bridge.  There were some people fishing today.

The sundial bridge really is quite a span to walk over.

The sun even came out for a bit.

After we walked across it, we noticed signs for the Glowing Wild Lantern Festival, that just started last night. Looks really interesting and we can see how amazing it would be lit up in the dark.  I checked on line for tickets and purchased two for later tonight.

We decided to go back to the RV and rest up for our evening adventure. Quite a bit of walking involved with 10 acres of lights, not to mention walking from the parking lot, across the bridge to the entrance.

Experience Glowing Wild Lantern Festival for the first time at the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay Exploration Park, featuring 10 acres of illuminated wildlife displays inspired by Asian lanterns showcasing plants & animals from around the world.

We arrived back at 6:15 as our tickets were between 6 and 6:30 pm. Sun didn't set until 7:30 so we sat around for a bit waiting for dusk. Good thing we got there early as we were able to find a parking spot not too far from the entrance. They had live animal displays for the kids for the first hour until it was dark. We even saw skunks.

Ray took the picture of me below just as the sun was still shining on the "dial of the bridge". Notice I'm having a beer. lol We found a place to sit under cover as it was sprinkling rain. As the sun set, the rain quit and it was a beautiful evening.

As the sun set it was time to start our tour. We actually walked it twice to get all the differences in the lighting. Ray took over 200 pictures so it's hard to pick only some of them. lol

These bubbles hold up to 8 people that you can book in advance for $550! They serve you non-alcoholilc drinks and 2 pizzas. You can order alcoholic beverages but it costs extra.

They have laser lights with moving butterflys and other things throughout the walking about display.

They had lots of interactive displays for the kids. Below the Tree of Life only changed colours when people played the bongo drums and changed faster the faster one pounded the drums.

They also had several bubble machines for the kids.

This kid pretended the alligator was eating him. lol

A lot of the creatures had motorized parts.

This peacock's feathers would go up and down and then when up show different colours. Gorgeous.

We left the display and walked back over the bridge. So cool it's all lit up in red

Back at the motorhome for 9 pm. What an unexpected evening. Fabulous.

Sunday morning and we're back on the road for 8:30 am. Stopped for a brief fuel up. Ray only put in 20 gallons, as we wanted to fill up completely once we hit Oregon as it's so much cheaper. We made it to Seven Feathers Truck Stop just as the yellow light came on. Good judging Ray.

The sun's out on the California side but as soon as we got to the Oregon side it's somewhat cloudy. Roads were dry which is awesome. A lot more water in Shasta Lake this year than 4 years ago when we were coming home.

Mount Shasta in all her glory.

Black Butte

Finally coming down from Grants Pass.

After fueling up, we headed over to the casino parking lot where we dry camped for the night. First up though, lunch at the casino. We both ordered the barbecued spareribs (hit and miss on being dry and stringy on various orders over the years). They were surprisingly delicious. Enough for Ray to eat the remainder for his dinner tonight. Another day closer to home.

Monday, up early and on the road heading to Woodburn Oregon. There is a Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival not far from where we are staying .... more to see. It started out pretty chilly just above freezing while we were still in the mountains, but as we got down on the flats it warmed up substantially. 

The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival is an annual celebration of spring, showcasing acres of breathtaking tulip fields in bloom. Located in Woodburn, our festival attracts visitors from near and far to experience the beauty of millions of blooming tulips.

Once we got to Woodburn, I purchased our tickets for the Tulip festival online for 2 pm. It's a warm 70F walking the fields. Gorgeous.

Lots of people everywhere.

Mount Hood in the background.

Ray up on the platform for a "long shot".

For those with a handicap they have a little tractor to take you around the fields, included with your admission.

They also have an amusement area for kids with rides, a wine and beer bar, food trucks and a farm store with lots of wind chimes etc. A great place to spend the afternoon in the sunshine.

Tuesday morning, off to Tacoma to overnight with Ray's sister Judy and her husband Milt. A bit of a traffic snarl getting into Portland that took an extra 15 minutes or so. We stopped at SpaceAge Travel Centre near Tuttle, WA to fuel up. They have a great diesel price at $4.69 per gallon. Not as great as Seven Feathers though at $3.69. 

We arrived at 12:30. Judy and Ray decided to take us all for a stroll in Port Defiance Park. What a beautiful place. They are lucky that the park is only a short distance away from their house.

Brother and Sister, Ray and Judy.

After a lovely walk, we went back to their house before going out for dinner at The Fish Peddler Restaurant. This is the same place we went last year. Delicious. Unfortunately our meal took forever to get served ... the "Ray" factor in place. I don't know if they lost our order or what. but almost everyone who came in after us were served first. You can imagine how that affected Ray. 

Back home for 7 pm and we all called it a night. Ray's back is such that he needed to get "vertical". In bed to sleep at 9. We are such fun. lol

Wednesday morning, we were up early ... 5 am. We waited until 7:30, then went inside to visit with Judy and Milt before pulling out of their driveway at 8:30. One more sleep! It was a beautiful drive for the first half an hour, but then it certainly clouded up and even rained before getting to Sequim where the skies lightened and we had dry pavement.

Crossing the Hood Canal Bridge.

We arrived in Sequim where we fuelled up the car and coach before we cross the border tomorrow morning. I'd planned to stay overnight at the Walmart in Port Angeles as it's only 10 minutes from the ferry. I saw signs posted everywhere "no overnight parking ... you will be towed!"

It's been 2 years since we were here, so I went into the store and asked. I was told that they've had problems with people leaving derelict RV's in their parking lot. I was able to give them our name, type of units and my phone number and we were allowed to stay. Otherwise we would have had to go into the ferry lineup on the street after 2 pm today where we would not be able to open our slides overnight.

After parking at Walmart we headed out to the restaurant across from the ferry terminal and saw the Coho Ferry coming in for the afternoon sailing.

After lunch we went back to the coach and hunkered down for the afternoon. We are ready to go home tomorrow.