Just a note...

This park doesn't have wifi at every site...so I am here in the office with my laptop, probably won't get here every day to update the blog. It is great exercise walking over here from our site.

We made it to Crescent City

This was taken in our RV park along the Klamath River, on our anniversary, June 29. Don't I have a great view?

Cary is taking it easy in one of the chairs provided for guests' enjoyment of the scenery.

This was our drive to Klamath, CA, on the morning of the 29th.

Our view out our back window as we awoke for breakfast on June 30.

The indoor/outdoor thermometer about 7:30 a.m.

Cary with his second cup of coffee.

Our neighbor took our picture of us together, since we didn't manage to get one on our anniversary.

We didn't know we would be starting work today, but luckily we got over to the lighthouse to help out the last 2.5 hours of the day. The tide was already starting to come in.

I looked back for this shot before we left for the day.

Last Full Day in Eureka

This is how the day looked--cloudy except for a brief amount of sunshine when we were in town.

There are lots of murals painted on the businesses. I tried waiting for a clear shot, but the other drivers wouldn't cooperate.

In front of a diner--take out only.

Many of the windows in this diner are filled with miniature cars and trucks.

Of course I had to stop in this fabric store (only open 9 months), bought three colorful buttons.

And right next door to a wonderful bookstore, our lucky day.

The sign was on all the pumps; on the back read, "OUCH!" Not too far off the truth here in California!

Sequoia Park in Eureka

After all the eating we have done the last few days, I wanted to go somewhere and get some exercise. The RV park manager suggested this park. There were lots of trails, majestic trees, some interesting characters and perfect weather.

One of the interesting characters...do not adjust your set--this picture really is out of focus.

Beautiful sequoias reaching for the sunlight.

Interesting roots. And huge!

This guy was one of the interesting characters. Apparently one of his friends failed to show up for a reunion, so he stole the guy's gnome and has photographed it all over the area to put on Facebook. He showed me many of the pictures: at the beach, at the Target store among other gnomes, in a bar, at a public restroom, restaurants, etc.

The branch on this tree was a picture just waiting to happen.

Appropriately enough, this little guy is a banana slug. You don't see these in Tucson!

Cary wondered, facetiously, if he was the first ever to pose for a picture in this spot. I am sure that only guys even consider it. I am just happy he consented to go somewhere and just walk. He even enjoyed himself.

Yard sales and...surprise, another car!

Saturday morning generally means yard sales for us, and Eureka is always a good place for them. The first stop and Cary found this in the guy's garage--a 1947 Mercury. For $50,000 we could have taken it home with us!

he said he was selling it because he could no longer get under it. i told him i had the same problem and mentioned my solution. the paint job is 22 years old. he said it is a rolling testimonial to meguiars products. when i mentioned my '49 sedan delivery he gave me the latest north coast cruiser mag. that featured a '52 sedan delivery. very nice fellow. he also had 100s of old car mags and miniature car toys. every year we have come to eureka we have come across great old pieces of history.

Another meal...need to get in a lot of walking

Here we are after supper. I do have some leftovers--fish and chips, which I normally never eat. Once a year when we are on the coast, I splurge. We are all ready for another day of playing tourist tomorrow.

And the car info you may be waiting for...

the village of ferndale, calif. is also a gold mine of stuff. the '57 chevy is part of an advertising gimmick for some gals in this town. it is showing "portawalls", that are beginning to come loose. Portawalls, as far as I know, came about after the war when lots of raw materials still weren't available. they inflated and became a poor man's white wall! the 1919 dodge was found in the northern desert of utah buried in sand up to the running boards. the building was built in '32 and was an oil distribution center for shell. they had the patent on this postless style of building. in the backyard of the building there were 3 of these early '50s chevy trucks. the 5 window next to me was a factory 4wheel drive. i don't think i have ever seen one of this vintage before. down at the corner of the block was an abandoned service station that was jammed full of the antique garage tools that were onced used there. in the office was a gasoline powered wringer washer and one of the old glass tubed, pump up gas pumps.

Ferndale

We arrived at the RV park, right next to the Harley store, about 11:00. Susan drove up before we even got hooked up. From there we went over to Ferndale, a great little Victorian town. We ate lunch at Rose's Cafe, the same place we ate last year. Susan wanted to drive by the racetrack; she is planning to come back August 12 for a race.

Then I had to go over to the little quilt shop to show the owner the picture I had taken last year of Cary sitting in the lobby; in January of this year there was an earthquake in Ferndale and the same shot was on the national news showing the damage. I am sure I have the pictures somewhere on this computer. Oh, and I bought a yard of fabric too.

Didn't I tell you? The car guy strikes again!

you can never be too far away from cars in calif. we are way up north in benbow, just south of eureka. as luck would have it we are camped next to this guy, named geralld from redding, with his way cool '57 star chief convert. he had just been over to ft. bragg for a car show. he has owned this car either 47 years according to him, or 33 years according to his wife. if all things are equal he has probably owned it the 33 years his wife said. we males are not in to keeping track of time, just go for it. he tired of the pontiac power giving constant headaches and put in a chevy crate motor and overdrive trans. no more probs.

Cute Kitty!

One of our neighbors at Delta Shores had this cute young cat who was eager for affection. They are lucky I didn't adopt their pet!

Delta Shores RV Park

On Wednesday we had a free night at Delta Shores near Lodi, CA--just had to listen to a sales pitch. Those of you who know me know that I would rather pay than listen to something, but my husband was persuasive. The great thing was, the guy had a family emergency (I do hope all is well by now), so there was no sales pitch and we were invited back for another free night. The guy in the RV next to us invited Cary for a game of pool. He declined. Little does he know that the U of A actually asked Cary if he would rather not attend classes since he spent so much time in Louie's Lower Level...playing pool!

Lunchtime

The weather at lunchtime was still pretty nice. Here is our picnic spot.

My husband has a 6th sense when it comes to finding cars. Here is a '41 Willys, truck stop at Harris Ranch.

The Flying J

Still trying to get the hang of this. Pictures won't go where I want them!

millie's favorite places to hangout are truckstops. the all time favorite is the flying j on the streets of bakersfield. we offset the costs of our travels by hanging out and waiting for the tour buses. for the third year in a row we struck paydirt. china and france sent people over to help us out. we have a sliding scale to pad our pockets. one allows you to take pics of our rig, another allows you to have your pic taken in front of our rig, and the elite allows you to peek inside. we were so flooded this year that i couldn't get pics of the inside peekers. we cleared enough this year to fill the truck with $3.07 diesel, buy one johnsville brat, and one medium coffee. since we were still in southern calif. fun cars are everywhere. this '53 pontiac was on its way for a restoration, and the '40's plymouth was a restorod.

Bakersfield

I can't get "The Streets of Bakersfield" out of my head. Looking into the sun made for a pretty bad picture, but maybe you can see the sign. Cary is going to take over the writing from when we got to the Flying J. I am no longer going to go back and find capital letters for him. When you see that style, you will know he is doing the writing!

Starting day three

Every year that we have come down 58 from Tehachapi I have asked Millie if she remembers Gen. Beale. This morning she said aren't you going to talk about Beale. I said not to you. Back in the good old days, when the U.S. was expanding there was a plan launched by the govt. to use some animals as pack animals instead of mules. Governmentt wisdom said what animal is purely suited for the desert? The camel naturally. The U.S. bought a bunch in Africa and dropped them in Texas. The plan was to march them accross the desert to California. General Beale and a driver named Hi Jolly(the Americanization of his name) were in charge. Long story short, it was a complete failure. Most of them were turned loose on the way.

Sierra Trail, RV Park

Near California City, another park with an exchange library, a pool, and very slow wifi service. I bought a crocheted towel hanger in the office. Maybe it is something my lovely daughter-in-law can copy...

Day Two

It's great to see all the wind being used to such a degree!

Father's Day Rods--Cary's turn

For the motorheads reading this you know what father's day means in los angeles county. thats right it is the LA father's day roadster show. We saw lots of them heading east on I 10 today as the show had ended. Couldn't get pics as they were going one direction at 75 mph and we were travelling the other at 58 mph. Next time you get to Quartzsite watch for the interesting used car lot on the west end of town. There must have been a couple of dozen of cars from the '50s.

Day One

We got a nice start, very uneventful, settled in here at Shadow Hills RV Park in Indio, CA. Cary has already taken a dip in the pool, and I have checked out their book exchange. It is still pretty hot in the trailer, but lots better than outside.

One week to go, and it can't come soon enough. Cary pulled the trailer out this morning.

Countdown to our Summer 2010 Getaway

Twelve days till we hit the road, heading to Crescent City, California, where we will once again lead tours in the wonderful Battery Point Lighthouse.