Destination: Marriot Courtyard, San Luis Obispo, CA to get jabbed We made plans to leave Eric's and head south, down the coast to San Luis Obispo (SLO) so we could get our Covid boosters and check into a hotel for two nights, in case our side effects prevented us from being 100%. Though we did have a glimpse of sun, once we hit CA 17, ...

Destination: Eric's San Jose, CA We had another wonderful visit in San Jose, CA, visiting Eric on our way south to sunnier and warmer climates. This time, we were happy to see Emily, who joined us for a yummy meal at a downtown sports bar to watch the Patriots v. Bills. We had a fun night. Eric treated us to an amazing breakfast at Bil...

Destination: Eric's San Jose, CA via Matchbook Wines, Zamora CA outside Sacramento Sleeping at a truck stop was more pleasant than I thought it would be. I guess it depends on the travel stop. I love Love's. We were getting to know fog. Van picked out a breakfast place on our way to the winery, then we set off. Driving backroads instea...

Destination: Love's Truck Stop off of I 5, Williams CA via Farmers Brewing Company, Princeton, CA As we drove down the hill from the chardonnay vines, past Hummingbird Estate and onto the main road, TCB emerged from the blanket of fog hovering high on the hill. Perhaps we would see sunshine today, especially as our next destination was...

Destination: Hummingbird Estates, Rogue Valley, Central Point, OR (Harvest Host stay) As we left one of our favorite camps yet, Van decided to take a left instead of the right turn Google had instructed. We passed Lady Hill Winery only a half mile from the campground. "Oh well," I said after realizing we could have walked from our camp...

Destination: Staying an extra night in Willamette Valley After breakfast, we took an early bike ride along the Willamette River to the town of Butteville, an historic village with a country store, which was closed, and a post office. Our total ride in this beautiful park was 8+ miles. We exercized Quinnbo upon our return then we were o...

Destination: wine tasting in Dundee, OR. Staying another night at Champoeg State Park, OR We awoke early to a sunny day. With the new foam topper, we had an amazing night's sleep. We had a 12 noon appointment at Alit Winery in downtown Dundee for wine tasting. It was an experimental, small winery that stood for natural processing using...

Destination: Champoeg State Heritage Area, Dundee, OR Upon recommendation from Rachel, our plan was to visit Oregon's Willamette Valley wine country and see a few of Rachel and Chad's faves. As we left Edmonds, we made our way down to the town center and waterfront, only a quarter of a mile from CLIK's house. We stopped at Walnut Stree...

Destination: Tacoma, WA Rachel's house and Edmonds, WA CLIK's house We departed at 8:30 AM after saying our goodbyes. They were more "see you soons" as we were planning to drop Sky and Monica at Rachel and Chad's house in Tacoma, then head to CLIKs in Edmonds, where we would stay for the night, before heading south. Quinnbo was very ha...

Destination: Sellstone Clan Thsnksgiving at Lake Quinault Lodge "The Journey Matters" - motto of St. George's School, Middletown, RI This was a topic of conversation at our Thanksgiving meal at Lake Quinault Lodge. Rachel and her husband Chad, met and graduated from St. George's. This was not an ordinary Thanksgiving table. We were all...

Destination: Lake Quinault Lodge, Olympic National Park, Washington We were on the road earlier than expected as the washer at the Best Western was out of service. Our alternate plan was to visit a laundromat near the Safeway in Aberdeen just before crossing onto the Olympic Peninsula. We would do laundry then stock up on groceries for...

Destination: staying put at Best Western, Long Beach, WA Monday was a low key day. Van took a walk in the rain with Quinnbo to discover the place. He came back to report of a boardwalk and many bike trails. Quinnbo was getting acclimated to hotel life. He was initially hesitant to enter the elevator, but soon learned that it was a quic...

Destination: Best Western Long Beach, WA Despite the morning of intermittent drizzle, Van took advantage of walking the beach and riding the Ebike along a nice bike path before packing up. I was not up for a wet ride, so I stayed back with Quinnbo to drink my decaf, write and knit in solitude. It was difficult saying bon jour to the be...

Destination: South Beach State Park, OR After Van removed the Lego levelling blocks and we finished up other chores, TCB departed just before 10 AM, heading to the 101 again. Our trip to the beach would be short. The skies were bright blue, filled with sunshine at a mild 46 degrees. The tire pressure warning light told us otherwise, as...

Destination: Exploring downtown Coos Bay, OR The rain and wind ceased early in the morning. To be safe, Van did get up to latch the pop top during the night (he stores the window panel privacy shades underneath). It would be a major problem if it blew off the van. TCB did shake, rattle but did not roll... Because we liked it so much he...

Charleston Marina and RV Park, Coos Bay, OR Waking to seaside noises of gulls, traffic going over a nearby drawbridge and windy rain pattering TCB's roof were all new sounds, as we had rarely encountered rain since we left RI. It was a leisurely morning, as we desperately needed to do laundry. We had little cash and all the quarters Va...

Destination: Charlestown Marina and RV Park, Coos Bay, Oregon We departed Elk Creek Campground after a solid night's sleep - Van with 8.5 and me with 11 (darkness sets in alot earlier nestled beneath the CA Redwoods without internet or cell service). We planned to finally leave CA after 18 adventure filled days. We passed some beautifu...

Destination: Lucky One Casino Parking Lot changed to Elk Creek Campground, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, CA We awoke to darkness, which was really the forest being itself. I felt as though time stood still here among the giant redwood beauties. We departed at 10:07 AM after a leisurely breakfast of coffee, instant oatmeal and yogu...

We left Eel Creek at 8:17 AM, after Van repacked our newly acquired wine collection to handle the bumpy ride back to civilization. Pickup was easy as we did not settle in too much. It was a quick one night stop over. Overnight guests included an RV from Oregon and several tents and trucks that seemed longer term. The camp was adjacent ...

Destination: Eel Creek Campground, Mendocino National Forest, CA After packing our camp and taking care of housekeeping, pumpout, trash and filling water tanks, we departed Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, at 10:30 AM via the 101. As we departed the beautiful KOA, I made sure to take some final pics as I would recommend this place to a...

Destination: staying put at KOA Cloverdale/Healdsburg to visit three northern Sonoma Valley Wineries On this day, we planned a full day of tastings since we were were staying another night at the pleasant KOA. We stopped at Big Joe's Market beforehand, to pick up a steak for the evening's dinner. The fabulous market was a laid-back, wi...

Cloverdale/Healdsburgh KOA, Northern Sonoma County, CA Today we decided to head back south, through the countryside that we had missed while driving in the dark. This would be our first major lesson learned about van travel. Optimizing for the most driving and distance travelled in a day results in arriving at a destination in the dark...

Destination: Nowhere, staying put at Westport Beach, Northern CA coast... We woke to a cool ocean breeze passing through TCB, as it was warm enough to sleep with the rear windows cracked. Our plan for the day was to enjoy a full day and night at the beach. This was the first two night stay in TCB. We were the only van; all others were ...

Destinaton: Westport Beach RV Park, Westport, CA along US1 Before departing, we had plan to ride the Napa Valley Bike Path, a fairly new path built along the railroad tracks. Since we had two more tastings, we got an early start riding our Rad Ebikes. Since it was cool, Quinnbo would be happy staying in TCB. The fog would not prevent u...

Destination: Napa RV Park Expo Center, via Sonoma We left Eric's at 10:30 AM after doing some sewing before storing my sewing machine and quilting supplies at Eric's. I also stored some luscious Jane Sasseman hand-dyed brushed cottons for my stash. This would give us a bit more storage space under the Murphy bed and gear garage. Van de...

Destination: Nowhere (TCB staying put, parked among the fruit trees in Eric's backyard) The next four days in San Jose were a beautiful break from miles of driving. We were glad to stay in TCB as it alleviated having to pack up our belongings and move into a house. It also made us feel more comfortable about being there, while not impo...

Destination: Eric's house, San Jose, CA Checkout at AQT was 11 AM. Pattie, my sewing buddy and I, had the good fortune of having hubbies who would be retrieving us directly, whereas most attendees were taking early morning airport shuttles to Reno, about an hour drive away. Patty and I took advantage of the extra time to get some sewin...

Destination: Van and Quinnbo's TCB vacation at Lake Tahoe While I was working and learning with my "peeps" at Art Quilt Tahoe, Van spent his week a mile down the road at Zephyr Point Campground and Resort in TCB with Quinnbo as his sidekick. Van reports that he spent the days riding his Rad Ebike on bike trails along the lake. Meanwhil...

Shirley's stay at Art Quilt Tahoe The week of learning, making and networking with artists from near and far was a gift that I will always cherish. The week was spent dining in a cafeteria setting with 125+ art quilters and teachers who are the most accomplished and well known in the field of art quilting, surface design and textiles. ...

Destination: Zephyr Cove Resort and RV Park and Zephyr Point Conference Center, NV In anticipation of my upcoming art quilt conference and five day workshop with master quilter and textile designer Jane Sasseman, I was beyond excited to be heading to Lake Tahoe, finally. (This conference was supposed to happen in 2020.) I had a 3 PM ch...