We’ve been in San Diego over a week now and have really enjoyed seeing all the friends that we’ve made over the years. We are parked in the Palisades Presbyterian Church parking lot in our old space with most of the comforts of home. (Take a look at Google Earth and check the satellite picture of 6301 Birchwood St. You’ll see the motor home in the southeast corner of the church parking lot.)

We arrived at the Palmdale Elks Lodge after a 330-mile day. We were both tired and hoping the Lodge would have a typically great evening meal. Our surprise was that the scheduled meal was pizza - purchased from Costco and baked in the kitchen at the Lodge. Well, we passed on that and I brought out the BBQ for a couple of small steaks. We enjoyed the quiet surroundings of the Lodge and retired early.

On Saturday morning we were up and ready to head out to San Diego. On the way out of town we visited the Super Wal-Mart, probably the last one for a while. We drove down the hill into Riverside and were amazed at all the road construction - even on a Saturday! The traffic was typically Los Angeles frenzied with all the cars seeming to be in a great hurry. We drove down through Murrieta and Temecula and were shocked by all the home construction. When we got to Escondido, the freeway was eight lanes of traffic moving at least 70 mph. I just stayed in the right lanes and let the speeders pass us by. Even on Saturday the traffic was horrendous! If there were one reason I don’t like to come back to Southern California, it would be the traffic.

I had checked a web page that shows the best fuel prices in San Diego and saw a station in El Cajon that was selling diesel for $3.03/gallon! I decided to divert our route to top off the tank. We went to El Cajon and filled up before heading for the church. When we arrived I was able to dump the holding tanks and then get parked. We have had a wonderful time getting back in the groove with all the activities here. We’re attending two Bible study classes and just being available for anything that needs to be done. I’ve already made a few small repairs and have a list that continues to grow.

We had the opportunity to baby-sit our grandson yesterday for almost nine hours. He’s a typical three-year-old and challenges his parents with his bargaining tactics. That dog ain’t gonna hunt with Granddad!! He was a well-behaved boy and we had a great time with him on Saturday afternoon. When his folks arrived to get him last night, our son was dressed in a Halloween costume as Shrek. I’ve never seen such an accurate depiction as we saw last night. Dottie and I have chuckled over it a lot today.

I have been searching on the internet for RV lots in Yuma and we have both decided that we need to get serious about it. Prices have dropped a bit and this may be the ideal time to purchase a spot for future landings. We don’t know when we’ll get the chance to go over there for a few days, but we need to sit down and talk with a realtor to get a feel for what is available in an affordable price range.

Weather in San Diego has been as warm as it was in Rapid City this past summer. We haven’t needed an air conditioner, but the fans have been working overtime. At night things cool off wonderfully so the sleeping has been fantastic. Both of us have noticed the increased humidity compared to what we’re used to, but it hasn’t been uncomfortable.

Barring any major change in our plans, we’ll be staying in San Diego until after the first of the year. We plan to go to Indio for the FMCA Western Area Rally, then on to Quartzsite for two weeks. We’ll return to San Diego for about a week before we depart for Moultrie, GA and a Monaco Pre-Rally where we need to arrive by March 2nd.

Wednesday, Oct. 15th

Our stay in Sutherlin at the Escapee Park with the Smoots was an enjoyable time. Gary and Shirley are terrific hosts and we always treasure our time with them. Dottie and Shirley spent some time away from the guys and doing some serious shopping. Meantime, Gary and I drove down to Roseburg and had lunch at a McMenamin’s brewpub. We really relaxed while in Sutherlin and will visit there again next year.

We left Sutherlin on Sunday morning, the 5th, and drove south to Medford. I had planned to spend the night at the American RV Park, a Passport America park (half-price discount), but they don’t accept reservations. When we pulled in to the park, it was not very impressive. There were many semi-permanent RVs in the park and the clerk told us he had just rented his last site. I knew that the Wal-Marts all have signs posted saying “No Overnight RV Parking”. So we drove to the local Fred Meyer, asked the Mgr. if we could park in his lot, and received permission to do so. Once we were situated, I phoned our good friend, Sandy Baleria, who is now staying In Medford. Dave Baleria, who was a very close friend of ours, passed away suddenly last February in Benson, AZ. Sandy has had a rough time after losing Dave and now lives in Medford. We specifically wanted to spend some time with her. She drove over to our coach and took us to the Wild River Brewing Co., a small brewpub in Medford. We were able to sit and talk with Sandy and let her vent a lot of emotions. She is doing amazingly well in spite of her loss. We had a great time visiting with her and enjoying her company.

On Monday morning we pulled out of the parking lot and headed west to Williams, OR and the home of Bob & Sally Nason. Bob was the closest friend of cousin Paul Anderson. Paul went through the ordeal of dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease and passed away four years ago. Bob has written several times inviting us to visit and stay with them for a couple of nights. The timing was right and we were in the area, so we took advantage of his invitation. We arrived in Williams about 10AM and looked over the parking arrangement. Bob has a long, narrow driveway with overhanging trees. Sally had a dentist’s appointment, so they weren‘t there to see us finesse the coach into his driveway. I backed it in from the road stopping every 10-15 feet to check for obstacles. It took us a few minutes to get in and parked, but careful maneuvering made a successful parking job. When Bob and Sally got home, Bob was amazed that the coach was all the way back in his driveway! We had a relaxing evening with them and made plans for the next day.

Tuesday morning Bob and I went to the Williams Church and met a group of men for the Tuesday morning men’s breakfast. I remembered many of the fellows from my visits to Paul in previous years. It was an opportunity to enjoy some great guys and have a tasty breakfast with some old friends. When I returned to the house, Dottie had the coach ready and we prepared to leave. Bob wanted to show us some of the wildlife in his yard, so he got his animal caller and started making some sounds. We had three foxes come out of the woods and start toward us. They looked like small skinny dogs. It was amazing to see them hop through the grass thinking an injured animal was waiting for them. When I started the coach’s engine, Bob walked ahead of me and watched for any errant branches and I drove out the driveway to the road where we hooked up the car. It was a short visit but a lot of fun to see both of them after too long a time.

We drove the coach over to US-199 and started the climb over the mountains and to the coast. We got to Crescent City and, on a whim, phoned Jim & Peggy Grich to see where they were. They had a change of plans and decided to join us in Eureka at the Elks Lodge for the night. We arrived at the Eureka Elks Lodge, checked in and parked, and awaited their arrival. They pulled in within the hour and we prepared to go to supper at the Lost Coast Brewery. I restocked my craft beer supply after dinner and we went back to the Lodge for the evening.

The next morning we drove over to the Samoa Smokehouse, an old restaurant that was part of an active logging operation. Food is served family-style and we had tasty, filling breakfast. We drove back to the Lodge, packed up the coaches, and headed south to Cloverdale, CA and the Russian River Thousand Trails park where we both had reservations. When we arrived we found sites that allowed us satellite reception and settled in. It was a long day driving through the redwoods and both Jim & I were tired from the drive.

The next day we rode with Jim & Peggy in to Windsor and Santa Rosa to get some supplies and take care of some business paperwork. During our stay at Russian River, we made another trip to Santa Rosa to introduce the Griches to Costco, Trader Joe’s, and BevMo. I added some additional brews to my collection and several food items that we needed. We also had the opportunity to try Ruth McGowan’s Brewpub in Cloverdale, a small brewpub that was fun to visit.

Our time with Jim & Peggy was a lot of fun! They are a couple that isn’t that familiar with the West Coast, but are enjoying the full-time lifestyle while still working. We had some memorable moments with them and look forward to seeing them later this year when we will all get together again.

We left Russian River on Sunday morning and drove down to Walnut Creek to see my youngest sister. Our drive took us through the wine country of Calistoga and Napa. The route was a narrow, two-laned road with light, Sunday tourist traffic. It’s an easy drive that avoids the bounces of Hwy. 101. We arrived in Walnut Creek and the Elks Lodge by 2PM. Sister Harriet had tickets to a Carlos Santana concert, so we knew we wouldn’t see her that night. We checked in to the friendly Elks Lodge, paid our donation fee, and waited for a traffic school to finish so we could park the coach. In the meantime we sat in the Lodge lounge, enjoyed a drink, and met some of the members that were there watching the San Francisco football game. Once the parking lot cleared, I was able to get the coach parked and run a 100’ extension cord to a 15a outlet for electrical service. We spent the night and drove over to my sister’s house on Monday for a fantastic rib dinner including pasta salad, Caesar salad, and an apple crisp dessert. Husband Skip does a fantastic job of cooking dinner and we had a great time with them.

On Tuesday morning we left the Elks Lodge and drove south to the Morgan Hill Thousand Trails park. We met cousin Kate and Keith Nelson for dinner at the El Toro Brewing Co. brewpub in downtown Morgan Hill. We haven’t seen Kate for almost two years - she was always a reason for us to visit Lincoln, NE since she was staying there with her father before he passed away last year. Kate is back to substitute-teaching and staying busy with her house. We spent Wednesday evening with her at her house and letting Nancy meet her new poodle, Kitty. ( Yeah, a dog named Kitty - can’t you just imagine? Calling the dog - “Here Kitty, Kitty!”)

We have a flexible schedule and manage to keep it that way. Well, we have made a change in our plans and will be arriving in San Diego on Saturday afternoon, the 18th. We’re going to bypass Rancho Oso Thousand Trails and leave Morgan Hill on Friday morning. We’ll spend Friday night at the Palmdale Elks Lodge and drive on to San Diego on Saturday. My, how things can change…

Wednesday, September 24th

As I wrote in the last Travelogue, things are always subject to change. And we did!

We left Moses Lake and headed for the Columbia River Gorge hoping to find a peaceful site at a COE park on the river. When we got to the Biggs Bridge crossing, signs were posted that the bridge was closed for construction work. So we were rerouted along WA-14 on the north side of the river to The Dalles and the only other close bridge. We drove by Wishram, WA and couldn’t see the supposedly quiet site so we crossed the Columbia River and continued west. About twenty miles later, all the traffic on I-84 came to a full stop. Hood River had a grass fire and the police shut down the freeway! It took us three hours to move five miles! By the time we were finally through the town of Hood River, I decided to continue on to Portland and the Milwaukie Elks Lodge. We arrived about 4PM and, scoped out our parking spot, and headed to a local pizza/beer joint that we discovered last year. Friend Don Presten joined us for a beer and we made plans for the next day.

Saturday morning gave us the chance to get to the K-Mart and Wal-Mart and do some needed shopping. We drove over to Don & Bobbie’s about 1PM and relaxed the remainder of the day in their beautiful home. We enjoyed the warm, sunny weather, the outstanding company, Don’s excellent cooking and beer, and a chance to see some treasured friends.

On Sunday morning, Don picked me up and we went to the Clackamas Co. Sheriff’s Range where we put a few rounds through our handguns. It was a lot of fun and I was able to fire and then clean my firearms that I carry in the coach. We rested and drove in to Portland to spend an enjoyable afternoon with my Aunt Mary Jo Anderson, the last of my father’s generation.

Monday morning saw us packing and securing the coach and heading to Salem for the Keizer Elks Lodge. We arrived there before noon and discovered the park was completely full. I dumped the holding tanks and the Salem Elks Lodge to check on site availability. We were told the RV parking area was closed due to renovation of the water lines. So, I decided to drive by the Fairgrounds in hopes of finding a place to park. We went by the parking areas and found no motorhomes parked there. As I was about to leave, we saw that the Fairgrounds has an RV parking area with full hook-ups and three of the Monaco parking crew were there. I found an open gate and drove in to check on the possibility of us staying there. The result was two nights in that park and the chance to start working early to get spots marked out on the Fairgrounds. On Tuesday afternoon we moved the coaches over to the parking area where we’d be for the next week.

On Wednesday the remainder of the Parking Crew began to arrive and we started marking the grassy fields on Thursday. This Rally is a combined rally, which includes all of the Monaco-owned brands - Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Beaver, & Safari. The other parking crew members are a bit different than the Monaco crew in their way of doing things, but Bob Larson (the Chief of the Parking Crew) is the organizer and does things the way that are most efficient. Moreover, he’s a great guy to work for!

We worked through the week and had everything ready for the early arrivals on Sunday. There’s a saying that goes “If you arrive after the Early Arrival day, you’re late!” It held true on this Rally. We parked close to 400 of the expected 500 attendees on Sunday, and the remainder of the coaches on Monday. Tuesday we only parked one coach!

It has been a fun rally albeit expensive. I’ve managed to get several things done to the coach under warranty work, but also purchased some items that I’ve been wanting for years. We now have a supplemental braking system for the Kia that will slow the Kia every time I apply the coach’s brakes. I also got an upgraded Pac Brake, the engine brake on a diesel engine. We will be getting our refrigerator recall handled on Friday morning by a local RV repair shop and install an upgraded circuit board for the refrigerator. It ought to be more efficient and cool food better.

We have talked to the Monaco Paint Shop manager and have been assured that we will have a parking spot when we arrive on Friday afternoon to get our bodywork done. The end cap is trying to separate from the main body and has some small cracks at the roofline. Monaco is going to partially warranty the work and grind down the fiberglass, smooth it out, and repaint the damaged area. We don’t know how long we’ll be in the Paint Shop, but we have that “flexible factor” in our schedule and this will give us some time to see cousin John & Ruth Anderson in Eugene before we head on south to Sutherlin, Medford, and Williams, OR.

We left the fairgrounds on Friday morning and drove over to the Oak Park RV Service in Salem. On the way out we found a dump station and emptied our holding tanks. We got to Oak Park by 8:30 and parked the coach. Nobody had arrived yet, so we had a bite of breakfast and awaited the owner, TR, and the Norcold Area Representative, who was going to help install the recall modification. The Norcold guy arrived and we chatted until TR showed up. This was TR’s first installation so the Norcold rep had decided to give him a hand. The refrigerator had to be pulled out of the coach to the inside. It’s a two-person job!

They got started and worked for almost two hours getting the frig moved forward into the coach and installing a new temperature sensor, new sheet of insulation around the burner flue, and a new thermistor that attached to the fins on the inside of the frig. We also got a new circuit board and control eyebrow installed. After all that work, the frig seems to operate more efficiently now and seems to cool down faster and better.

Once we got the recall work finished, we hooked up and headed for Harrisburg. It was an easy hour drive to the Service Center, the old Safari Motor Coach factory. We checked in, were assigned a parking site, and settled in to our home for the next week. This Service Center is all but shut down. It is now used by Monaco for all their major paintwork. There are several paint stalls with huge exhaust fans and they keep busy doing repair work. There are only 12 people working at the Peoria Rd. Center and their future is bleak. With the economy and the work situation, they all know their jobs could be in jeopardy of the necessary cutbacks.

We spent a wonderful weekend enjoying the company of my cousin, John and Ruth Anderson. On Monday morning our Service Tech arrived at the coach by 7:30 and drove it in to the shop. He worked most of the day grinding and re-fiber glassing the roof area. On Tuesday he applied paint and clear coat. He had completed the job by Tuesday afternoon! Since we didn’t have any need to get away, they allowed us to stay at the plant until Friday morning. During those days I was able to visit some of the businesses in Eugene and shop for other goodies. We visited Northwest RV Parts, which is a collection of discontinued parts from Monaco and Country Coach. They have old, discontinued part at discounted prices. We found some things that we needed and some we didn’t need but purchased anyway.

On Wednesday morning I took John and Ruth for a tour of the Monaco factory. When we walked through the front door, we were surprised to see Dick and Karen Seal Stewart, formerly from San Diego and the La Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club, now living in Prescott, AZ. They were also going on the tour. It was a real kick seeing them again and so far from San Diego! They were traveling in their Allegro Phaeton motor home and were looking at the Monaco products. There were only seven of us on the tour and our guide, Sara Vaughn (yeah, that was really her name - a gorgeous blonde young woman who was extremely knowledgeable about the Monaco products) gave us a great tour. After the tour, Dick and Karen had to head south. The rest of us went over to Harrisburg to a restaurant that is in the old bank building and had a tasty lunch.

The rain started on Thursday night and has continued through the weekend. We left the Peoria Rd. Service Center on Friday morning and drove south to Sutherlin and the Timber Valley Escapee Park to see friends Gary & Shirley Smoot. We were parked on the lot right next to theirs and had a fantastic time catching up. We worked together at Hart Ranch in the summer of ‘07, but they didn’t return this last summer. Instead, Gary has been working on his lease lot in Sutherlin. The deer walk right through the park and sleep under the trees on the lots. We also see wild turkeys walking down the street and perching in the high trees at the back of the lot. We will spend two nights and then go down to Medford for a night to spend some time with Sandy Baleria.