Rockaway Beach, Albany, Oregon at Paradise Cove RV Resort TO: Bend, Oregon 10/26 - 11/10 2020 Travel Tour

                                                         From: casarollnotes.blogspot.com 
                                                                   Tim and Linda Bunyan

We have the month of October before our return to Sacramento.  We plan our Travel Tours to end by November 1 to be with Angela and Lee and our Grandson Jeff for Angela's birthday in November.  We spend the holidays with Jason and Erin too.  They have reserved Carmel Valley RV Ranch for Thanksgiving this year to include our in-laws John and Barbara.  We are going to meet up with each of their rigs in tow in Carmel. 

From Mike and Paul's house in Semiahmoo (Blaine) Washington [northwest corner of Washington state], we have planned to visit our Mazatlan neighbors Mike and Judi Phillips at their Bend, Oregon house.

Along the way, we spend a week at our membership RV park: Paradise Cove at Rockaway Beach, Oregon, and a couple of quick overnights.  It is about 450 miles and we've some time to enjoy the Oregon coast.

Cabela's Parking Lot:  We find a space on the outside perimeter of the parking area with 'some privacy'.  Woodstock can walk about along the trees.   Perfect timing as this week the sign at the door says: "Flannel Festival".   I bought a couple of flannel shirts!

We grab a coffee the next morning and on the road south and to the Oregon coast.

To head west from Hwy 5, we follow the Lewis & Clark trail; now paved!

Onto the Columbia River Highway, the bridge is a scene of high industrial use.

There are still many trees remaining.

Thru Astoria (Lewis & Clark's camp area).  The Columbia River Maritime Museum filled with history where the Columbia meets the Pacific Ocean!

A cruise ship comes to Astoria!

SMALL PLACES hold huge stories: Suomi-Hall Finnish Brotherhood (if these walls could speak).  Preserving local heritage extends back over 130 years.  Its mission to promote the organization first served as a sanctuary when Finns flocked to Astoria in the late 1800s after their home country experienced horrible famine and economic collapse.  They came here in their native tongue and learned English as a second language.  Today its membership is over 200.  Similarities between Finland and Astoria are their experience back in their home country of dairy farming, logging, and fishing. 

Some say 'because it's just like Finland' is why they came.

The Finnish Brotherhood connects with the community by hosting events each year open to the public.  Look to "The Kaleva" an epic Finnish poem for those history buffs.  Also in Astoria is the Public Library designed by Finnish architects Ebba Wicks Brown and the Tapiola Park.

The Astoria-Megler Bridge, 4.1 miles steel cantilever through a truss bridge across the mouth of the Columbia River to Point Ellice.  (where Lewis & Clark crossed from "Station Camp" in WA across to Oregon on the Columbia in their canoe.

Paradise Cove, Rockaway Beach, Oregon

This is our site.  We love our site along the shoreline of Neskowin Beach, Oregon.

Nice views.  It is peaceful and nice to be here.  This is one of our Membership RV Parks.  We stay here for the 7 days we are allowed.  

October is near the close of the season so we have the place to ourselves.

Sunset.

dock for all kinds of fishing....and strolling.

We travel out to the unpretentious seafood store & eatery: The Fish Peddler recommended by Cousin Diz and Vicki.  A great place in beautiful Bay City, Oregon to enjoy fresh oysters!

Of course, "Look for Tillamook on the Rind" when along the Oregon Coast one must stop at Tillamook.  We stop for the ice cream.  It is covid safety guidelines in place with safe spacing.....forming a line to the very best ice cream!.

The Morning Star ship played an important role in strengthening the community of Tillamook and establishing the dairy industry in the county.  For 110 years values of Farmer-owners is the journey of working toward Dairy Done Right.  

History: The first European settlers find the wet, cool climate perfect for raising dairy cows.  Farmers had butter and milk to sell but hauling it over rough mountain roads takes so long, it would spoil,

The fastest route to Portland is by water, so they built the Morning Star

 to carry their dairy goods to market.

The beautiful Oregon Coast.

It is time to turn towards the east, inland thru Corvalis where our Mazatlan friends, Rod & Audry live, and then onto visit Mike and Judi in Bend, Oregon.

The Barn at Tamarack Springs.  A place for weddings.

 It is across the street from Les Schwab where we pulled in to have our tire repaired.  There was a nail found in it.  No charge and no long delay.

It is October; this is quite the photo!

This is the kite store in Newport, Oregon (driving through).  Stayed here last year for 5 interesting days.

We are inland in Corvalis where the Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University.  We drive around town; the Fall colors are brilliant.

We drive to Albany where Rod & Audry live.  We planned to stay at the Elks Lodge; however, we find it closed with a large boulder blocking the entrance to the parking lot.

W

We have contacted Rod & Audry (they are in Mazatlan) and they extend their driveway at their house in Albany, Oregon for a quick overnight stay.  They are not at their Oregon house; they are at their beachfront condo in Mazatlan!  We visited with them last year.  Rod and Audrey are generous and welcoming toward us to stop at their house.

Inland about 50 miles is the Willamette Valley filled with meadows and wineries.  Rod and Audrey live in the pastoral area which makes for a pleasant surrounding and contrast to their 2nd home in Mazatlan.

Inland to Bend, Oregon

Port Townsend to Birch Bay by ferry to visit Mike and Paul at their ocean front home in Semiahmoo, Washington 10/09 - 10/26 2020 Travel Tour

           From: casarollnotes.blogspot.com 
                     Tim and Linda Bunyan

We arrive at Port Townsend from Shelton for an overnight at the Elks Lodge as we plan to catch the ferry in the morning to the mainland north of Bellingham to our RV Membership Camp at Birch Bay located about 5 miles from Mike and Paul's house in Semiahmoo.

The Elks Lodge Camp Host is quite self-sufficient living in her 40's Park RV trailer.

There is no one here in this 30-space area at the Elks in Port Townsend, so we make ourselves at home for an overnight to catch the ferry over to Coupeville and onto Bellingham, WA.

Woodstock is happy to get out and stretch his legs.  He is romping on the grass here with Tim.

We take a ride into Port Townsend and recall our happy memories here last year when we stopped with Jim and Linda and Rob and Sandy joined us here for a couple of days in July 2019!

Port Townsend boatyard is always interesting!

The totem downtown Port Townsend

The Marina where we camped last year.

Here is a photo from the boatyard; the boat of our dreams.

Mike has been diligent in preparing Terry's house for sale and clarifying necessary paperwork for Bow Cemetary where Terry is laid to rest, next to mom.  Mike has handled the posting of the obituary website and has shared information with us kids and the entire extended family.   He and Paul and Larry and Tracy boxed up pertinent items for the family; Terry's close friends knew what she wanted each to have in her memory.

Bow Cemetary

Mike and I searched for Grandma and Grandpa's site and found it not far from mom and Terry.

Here is Paul, Mike, and Jennie, and Terry's other friend, Jeannie, visiting Bow Cemetary.

Terry Ann Klaus Oct. 8, 1943 - Mar 10, 2020 Life Was Good, a musical note, and a rose 

design by Mike and Angela

from Tim and Linda

Terry: "You called your own shots in your life; making your way as a daughter, sister, friend, and Self.  You inspired us that travel is an extension of our inner self to bond and relate in a rare and in unconventional fashion.  You have your talents of spreading goodwill with your creative and loving greeting cards.  You showed me to pay attention to music: that it is a friend always there for you.  You are always in our world here on this earth.  As you know, you have set and lived by that standard of the family is a responsibility and one of life's great pleasures.  Your message Life Is Good remains satisfying to those that love you and will always keep you in their hearts."

Burial plot for Terry - Bow Cemetery Road, Bow, WA

Unspoiled and charming Bow-the village of Edison, WA.  The Breadfarm stop is an enduring bakery crafting artisanal loaves of bread, pastries from locally sourced ingredients.

Edison's most famous son Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) attended Edison High School and went on to gain national prominence as a World War II correspondent and influential television broadcast journalist.

1910 Edison, WA in Skagit Country.

Hand-painted from reclaimed house paint, the Edward R. Murrow mural of the Lucky Dumpster store has become a bit of Edison's appeal.  

A road trip through Skagit Valley's Talking Fields.  Family farms established in the late 1800s to habitat restoration efforts to the complex network of dikes and ditches that support agriculture in the delta, Skagit County's fields are home to a rich tapestry of culture, history, agriculture, and wildlife.

This is one of eight Talking Fields sites (part of a program of Skagitonians to preserve farmland) with a focus on heritage farms in Skagit County.  Sheep Cheese at Harmony Fields makes artisan, farmstead sheep cheese; using organic and ecological farming techniques.  Twice a day the milk is pumped from the milking parlor to the bulk tank where it is stored refrigerated for a day or two.   Blanchard Mountain in the background.

We stopped for a pick up of Sally's Best a soft, spreadable sheep's milk cheese.   They also grow WSDA certified 100% organic herbs.  At this retail shop one can buy yogurt, beff, pork, cheese and whey more!

Mike is so fun!

As we drive from our Birch Bay RV camp to visit Mike and Paul, we find the waves coming up against and over the road along the bay.  The crew is there working on the shoulder of the road as fast as they can shovel fresh asphalt and gravel to shore up the road!

We arrived Mike and Pauls and must use the umbrella to shade against the setting sun.

It is a beautiful front-row seat here on their patio on the Pacific at Drayton Harbor.

Mike and Paul are diligent in care having us for dinner during this Covid time.  They are fine hosts and make up feel welcome and want to hear all about our travels from June - October 2020,

During our visit with Mike and Paul, we are looking at possible options for settling here in this area.

The access to the water here at the marina in Blaine is ideal for sporting around the San Juan Islands.  This boating on the Sound would be adventuresome.

This Horizon neighborhood is being developed with a great water view.  We rode Mike's electric bike around the roads that are developed.  The lot sizes are large for a 3-car garage; however, we are considering all our toys be at our property instead of storing them.

We find oversized lots to accommodate all our toys; it is an expansive view; however, no water views.

This seaside village has boats parked in front yards; however, it is Indian Reservation land which we are subject to yearly adjusted fee increases.

          

We are learning by defining our vision of living conditions once we decide to stop our Travel Tours and settle down with all our toys and do boating on the Sound.

This is where Paul is nearly every evening.  At his house settled along the shores of the Pacific Ocean, Canada, Blain, WA, the Peace Arche, and Semiahmoo.

Wildlife always a feature.

At our Membership Birch Bay RV Camp, the winds forced a tree-top to fall down onto our RV!  We are safely in the bedroom as the branch came thru the ceiling!  

In the early morning hours Tim went outside, onto the roof and began tossing the tree branches off the top of our RV.  There was not any damage to any of the airconditioners, vents, or solar panels on the top of our RV roof!  

We are fine and Tim is repairing the roof before the sun comes up!

We rest at the welcoming, safe haven at Mike and Paul's house.  It is warm and cozy inside thier house.

So nice to visit with Mike and Paul and take comfort here at their Semiahmoo house.

Paul bakes cookies.  

Delicious, soothing dinner prepared by Mike and Paul.  They have been here for us and we've had a great week visit!

This black squirrel reminds me of the one we saw at our house in Fair Oaks!  Many here at Birch Bay RV Park.

Better, sunny days.  We out from underneath the trees.  Feels Good!

Tim is cleaning and repairing the awning damage.

Before we leave, we go to visit Diz and Vicki in Bow, WA.

Cousin Richard is there too!  So good to see family!  Of course, they have a bounty---fresh apples right off the tree!

Viki's best friend, her horse is such a good boy!

Diz and Viki's 10 acres of love, ever so beautiful!

Mike found a family photo album for Diz and Viki -- mostly Rena's 'clan'.

Diz and Viki's animals Sue and the Cat.

We safely space in the sunshine eating pizza and going thru the family album Mike brought to give to Diz and Viki.  Diz has many stories of the area and people that have come and gone and land developed and land not developed.

As we say goodbye, Diz has lit a campfire to do some burning.  (so tribally comforting)!

It is time to continue back to Sacramento,  It is October and we plan to be back in time to celebrate Angela's Birthday.  She is making some plans where we can gather safely.

Goodbye, Mike and Paul.  So very nice to have a long visit and say goodbye to Terry too.