2019

A 365-day adventure by Debra Read more

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Trip start
January 1, 2019
2019 Traveler
January 1-8
January 8, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
We departed Milwaukie, Oregon on New Year's day and arrived at our winter home at Cat Spa on the 2nd. Finally toured the Visitors Center at Pyramid Lake, very interesting and worth the stop.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vista_del_Lago_…
We've been spending some quality time with our friends Phil and Dee who we met over four years ago while volunteering at Nehalem Bay State Park.
Tonight we had a great time sipping, snacking and playing pickleball while admiring a beautiful sunset. Sometimes it feels like we never left our neighborhood in Gresham...Chad, Leslie, Mike and Paula all lived within a block of us and are also our neighbors here at Cat Spa.Read more
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2019 Traveler
January 9-15
January 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 52 °F
We've had a great week doing the "usual": lots of pickleball, wine tasting and hanging out with friends. Friday we helped put up new wind screens at the pickleball courts then dined at Filipe's where we enjoyed excellent margeritas and mexican fare. Saturday we attended William Florian's tribute to John Denver. William has a great voice and is an excellent entertainer. http://florianmusic.com/index.htm
Today we had a ladies lunch at Panera. It was nice to get together in a testosterone free zone. 😉 Many thanks to Heather for organizing the lunch and for her thoughtful gifts.Read more
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2019 Traveler
January 16-24
January 24, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Last Thursday we met Kathy, Jim, Betsy and Gene in Indio for lunch at TKB, one of our favorite sandwich shops in the area. https://www.tkbbakery.com/
Sunday, Randy was invited to play with the "big kids" on the pickleball courts and held his own. Late Sunday night through Tuesday was very windy with gusts up to 60 mph💨 No outside activities but we did see M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, Glass. Really enjoyed it, especially since we watched the first two movies of the trilogy, Unbreakable and Split, the night before.
As usual Leslie hosted our Wednesday wine tasting where we met new folks, visited, noshed, played Name that Movie and of course...tasted plenty of wine. Many thanks Leslie, you do a fantastic job.
Today we cheered on our friends: Ben, Barb, Larry, Chad, Leslie and Mike at the Cat Spa Water Volleyball Tournament. This afternoon we took Kuma for a thorough washing at the Barking Lot then home to be clipped.Read more
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2019 Traveler
January 25-30
January 30, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Another great week. Attended a sold out house for Danny Vernon's Illusion of Elvis show which was excellent as usual. https://www.dannyvernon.com/
Sunday we hosted a mimosa and bloody mary brunch. Delicious food contributions by our guests and entertainment by Chad.
Tuesday our fitness instructor, and friends, Heather and her husband Ben hosted pickleball under the lights. They'll be moving on and will be missed.Read more
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2019 Traveler
January 31-February 3
February 3, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
We've been keeping busy helping with the Second Annual Catalina Spa RV Resort Pickleball Tournament. The tournament was very well attended with almost 200 participants though Mother Nature did throw us a curve ball. We ended play early on Thursday due to rain. Put in a 17 hour day on Friday with the last match ending at 11:00pm. Rained out on Saturday. Make up day on Sunday. As the court prep guy Randy had his work cut out for him drying the courts before play began. Many thanks to Jim, the tournament director, and Angie as well as the many volunteers who helped make the event a success.
We ended the weekend watching the Super Bowl at Mario's with cousin Steve, Carlene, Jim and Angie.Read more
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2019 Traveler
February 4-10
February 10, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
We enjoyed a relatively quiet week. It's been windy and cool with snow on the surrounding mountains. Thursday we had my cousin Steve and Carlene over for a fun evening of pickleball and dinner. Saturday morning we shopped at the Palm Springs Farmer's Market then listened to Vocolacity that evening. Vocolacity is a talented quartet that performs jazz and pop harmony arrangements.Read more
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2019 Traveler
February 11-24
February 24, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
Lot's of flooding and closed streets in the Coachella Valley during the two storms we've experienced the past two weeks. Yesterday we finally enjoyed a sunny, warm calm day.😊
Last Saturday we went to the College of the Desert Street Fair to stock up on dates and licorice then headed to Old Town La Quinta for Art on Main Street. That evening Phil and Dee had us over for a delicious homemade mexican meal. Monday Chad and Leslie hosted a group of us for delicious pulled pork sliders. Thursday we met our friends from Portland Jessie, Betty and Alex for lunch at Grill-a-Burger. Yesterday we played ping pong then danced the night away to the Doc Rogers Band.Read more
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2019 Traveler
February 25-March 3
March 3, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
The wildflowers have been blooming profusely thanks to the rain and warmer temperatures. Painted Lady butterflies have also been abundant. We've had a busy week of the usual pickleball, ping pong and wine tasting as well as visiting with Lorraine and Kevin, who we met last fall playing pickleball at Hillendale Park in Oregon City. Friday our friends Sandy and Elaine took us on a two hour bike ride around Palm Springs. We pedaled by golf courses and neighborhoods...perfect weather for a scenic ride. That night we watched Desperado, an Eagles tribute band, at Spotlight 29 Casino. They put on a fantastic show. Thanks Mike for organizing our group. Today we met Liz, Mark, Debbie, Chad, Leslie, Tom and Marilyn at the El Dorado Polo Club for lunch. What a fun time! It was our first polo match and won't be our last. Thank you Mark and Liz for including us.
http://eldoradopoloclub.com/Read more
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2019 Traveler
March 4-8
March 8, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
Tuesday we attended our first tennis match at the BNP Paribas Open held at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. A beautiful venue and it was way more exciting than I expected. 🎾 venuehttps://bnpparibasopen.com/experience/
Tuesday evening we had our 2nd annual crazy sock pickleball/wine/snacks event.
Wednesday we attended our second pickleball clinic instructed by Mike. We're very fortunate that he's sharing his expertise during his stay at Cat Spa. https://iptpa.com/
After pickleball I took a pour painting class then Wednesday evening was our wine tasting and chili cook off. Sampled some delicious chili (there were 10 competitors) drank some tasty wine and played a rousing game of Songburst.
Battling wind gusts up to 40 mph 44 hearty souls competed in today's pickleball round robin. Afterwards we all gathered at the upper clubhouse for a potluck, grilled burgers and dogs. Good food, good friends and some crazy pickleball. Thanks to Angie and Jim for organizing today's event.Read more
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2019 Traveler
March 9-15
March 15, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
Another great week. We took in Bethany Owen's performance on Saturday. http://www.bethanyowen.net/home.html
Had burgers and dogs while listening to the Sunday jam. Went to another excellent pickleball clinic instructed by Mike Cooper. Enjoyed a delicious dinner at Filipe's with Jim, Angie, Mike, Susan, Donna, Rick, Chad and Leslie. Had a hilariously good time playing the Match Game at Wednesday's wine tasting. Ate a tasty burger and tastier fish tacos at Tony's Burgers. https://tonysburgers.com/
Visited with Cindy and Lee who we met four+ years ago in Bullhead City, Nevada.
Played our last pickleball round robin this morning before hitting the road for our week stay in Yuma, Arizona. We've thoroughly enjoyed our 15 weeks at Cat Spa and look forward to connecting with our winter family next season.Read more
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2019 Traveler
March 16-22
March 22, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Arrived at Westwind RV and Golf Resorthttps://www.westwindrvgolfresort.com/ Friday afternoon and feasted on fish and chips at their weekly fish fry. They fly fresh cod in from Alaska every Thursday... truly delicious. Saturday we watched the St Patrick's day golf cart parade while dining on homemade corned beef and cabbage.
We connected with friends while on the pickleball courts; Heather & Andre from Cat Spa and Candy & Ron who we met last spring during our stay at Rancho California.
We had the motorhome and car washed and waxed by Sergio's, as always they did an excellent job for the ultra reasonable price of $140! Tuesday afternoon we saw paratroopers as we drove through the Yuma Proving Grounds https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuma_Proving_Gr… on route to Martinez Lake for lunch and bloody marys.
Wednesday morning was spent in Los Algodones, Mexico where I got a haircut, we dined on street tacos and purchased tequila and kahlua. While in Yuma we also shopped at the Arizona Market Place https://azmktholdings.com/ ate at our favorite taco stand, El Costitas and bought a 20+ lb bag of oranges, grapefruit and lemons.
On to Hemet, CA for a week stay at Golden Village Palms RV Resort.Read more
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2019 Traveler
March 22-28
March 28, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Beautiful spring flowers as we made our way to Hemet driving through the Imperial and Coachella Valleys. We really enjoyed our week stay at Golden Village Palms RV Resort... well kept, spacious sites, lots of activities, friendly people and 10 pickleball courts!
https://www.goldenvillagepalms.com
Our friends from last April's stay at Rancho California in Aguanga, Sandi & Bob, were there. They are truly good friends and we had a great time hosting happy hour for each other and playing pickleball.
While in Hemet we also visited their museum and took a short hike to the Hemet Maze Stone. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hemet-maze-…
Tomorrow we depart for a six night stay at Pismo Coast Village in Pismo Beach.Read more
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2019 Traveler
March 29-30
March 30, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
After battling through L.A. traffic we had a lovely drive up hwy 101 to Pismo Coast Village RV Resort in Pismo Beach, CA. A nice, busy resort located right on the beach. We're used to seeing snowbirds so it's weird to be in a park that's filled with Californians.
Today we drove up the coast to Morro Bay. We checked out the Maritime Museum then watched the mama sea otters grooming their pups... sooo cute.
https://www.morrobaymaritime.org/
Our next stop was the San Luis Obispo History Center Museum housed in a former Carnegie library building. https://historycenterslo.org/museum/
Then we visited the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa's museum and sanctuary.
Very beautiful. http://missionsanluisobispo.org/
Our best stop of the day was Dallidet Adobe Gardens and Museum. We happened to visit the day of their annual Spring Fling so we not only enjoyed the gardens and museum but also live music, paella and sangria! https://historycenterslo.org/dallidet-adobe/Read more
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2019 Traveler
March 31-April 1
April 1, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
Lots to see and do here on California's central coast. Yesterday we rode our bikes to Pismo State Beach and the Butterfly Grove, though the monarch butterflies were no longer clustering on the eucalyptus trees. http://www.monarchbutterfly.org/
We then biked to downtown Pismo for a stroll. Kuma and I also enjoyed an afternoon beach walk.
Today we played three hours of pickleball at Del Mar Park in Morro Bay. Excellent play, beautiful courts and friendly, welcoming people. We traveled a bit farther north to Cambria and toured Nit Wit Ridge, the Anti Hearst castle. Fun, quirky and interesting. https://nit-wit-ridge.business.site/
Next we stopped at San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens for a short hike. https://www.slobg.org/
We ended our day with dinner at Splash Cafe in downtown Pismo. We knew it had to be good as people were waiting in a line over a block long on Saturday. We weren't disappointed. Delicious fish and chips, calamari and clam chowder not to mention cute clam murals on the walls. https://www.splashcafe.com/Read more
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2019 Traveler
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April 2-3
April 3, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
Tuesday we hit the San Luis Obispo Coastal Wine Trail with tastings at Saucelito Canyon and Claiborne & Churchill wineries. We were entertained by Saucelito's official greeter, Gladys the pug, and enjoyed Clairborne's friendly, homey tasting room.http://www.slowine.com/taste/ We ended our day with an outstanding burger at the Cool Cat Cafe in Pismo.
We started Wednesday with pickleball at Meadow Park in SLO, aka San Luis Obispo, then made our contribution to Bubblegum Alley https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bubblegum-a… before driving to the Madonna Inn, the epitome of kitsch, for some black forest cake. https://www.madonnainn.com/ Next stop Arroyo Grande for a wine tasting at Qupe' & Verdad and lunch at Klondike Pizza.
Thursday we head north on hwy 101 for a week stay at Yanks RV Resort in Greenfield, California, about an hour east of Monterey.Read more
That place is over the top in pink!!
4/9/19Reply
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2019 Traveler
April 4-6
April 6, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
Thursday we traveled 90 miles north into the Salinas Valley to Yanks RV Resort in Greenfield, California. A very nice park nestled among vineyards and row crops.
http://www.yanksrvresort.com/
Friday we tasted wine at Scheid Vineyards then had an early dinner at Tacos La Potranca in King City...delicious! 🌮🌯
Saturday morning was spent at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. Very informative and gave us a better appreciation of the region and of the author. http://www.steinbeck.org/ Afterwards we strolled old town Salinas, including the farmer's market, then had a bite to eat at the Steinbeck House Restaurant where John Steinbeck was born and raised. http://steinbeckhouse.com/
The afternoon was spent at Pinnacles National Park where we went to the visitors center then drove to Chaparral and took a short hike. Beautiful vistas, huge boulders and wildflowers galore. https://www.nps.gov/pinn/index.htm
We ended our day with a leisurely tasting at
Chalone Vineyards. Yummy wines and pretty views.Read more
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2019 Traveler
April 7-10
April 10, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
Sunday we took a scenic drive on Carmel Valley Road to Carmel-By-The-Sea where we checked out some of the many shops before sampling some wine at Hahn Tasting Room. We also toured the Carmel Mission Basilica and Museum...very beautiful and informative. https://carmelmission.org/
Sunday night I had an acute flare-up of rotator cuff tendinitis, suffered through it Monday before consulting a doctor in Salinas on Tuesday. Feeling better now that the pain is under control but still have very limited motion. Thanks Randy for taking such good care of me. It sure threw a monkey wrench into our plans to bike Monterey. 🙁 Had to content ourselves with a driving tour.
Next stop, Flag City RV Resort in Lodi for a week stay.Read more
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2019 Traveler
April 11-14
April 14, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
Thursday we arrived at Flag City RV Resort in Lodi, California. Angie and Jim stopped for the night during their northerly migration so we had the pleasure of having dinner and breakfast with them.
Saturday we shopped the Asian Farmers Market in Stockton. It was fantastic with tons of produce as well as a fish market.
https://www.visitstockton.org/directory/downtow… Next stop was the Ghirardelli Outlet in Lathrop for some shopping and a brownie & hot fudge sundae for breakfast.
We ended our day back in Stockton at the Haggin Museum, a definite must see if you're ever in the area. A well curated fine art and history museum under one roof.
http://hagginmuseum.org/
Sunday morning we headed to the Sacramento Farmers Market then strolled Old Sacramento, including the visitors center and a one room school. Historic, great architecture and touristy. http://oldsacramento.com/ Sunday afternoon was spent touring the California State Capitol Museum, another must see.
http://www.capitolmuseum.ca.gov/the-museum/gene…Read more
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2019 Traveler
April 15-18
April 17, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Monday was cool with rain in the forecast so I spent the morning grocery shopping. Later that afternoon we went to Michael David Winery for a tasting.
Tuesday we had planned on biking the American River Parkway starting at Discovery Park in Sacramento but it was closed due to flooding, also there were many homeless camps along the urban portion, so we drove 20 miles east and had a beautiful two hour ride along Lake Natoma. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Natoma We stopped at Oto's Marketplace in Sacramento, a Japanese grocery, on our way back to Lodi. Tuesday evening Chad & Leslie joined us for a glass, or two, of wine during their layover on their way home to Oregon.
Wednesday we had breakfast in Stockton then visited the Wat Dhammararam Buddhist Temple. Very interesting and colorful.https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/wat-dhammar… Back in Lodi we went to Oakridge Winery where we had some of the best wines of our trip, especially their old vine zins which this region is known for.
We ended our day with a walking tour of downtown Lodi.
https://www.visitlodi.com/wineries/
Thursday was spent catching up on domestic chores then we rewarded ourselves with a delicious italian meal at Pietro's Trattoria.
Friday we'll spend the night in Yreka then on to Junction City, Oregon to have a new living room TV installed as ours gave up the ghost two months ago.Read more
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2019 Traveler
April 19-28
April 28, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
We arrived at Junction City, Oregon Easter weekend for installation of a new TV and custom cabinets to house it. Shaun and Matthias Davis of Davis Cabinets will be doing the design, build and installation. Monday and Tuesday we discussed design and components with Shaun then shopped for the new TV, receiver, subwoofer, and speakers. The rest of the week was tear down, build and installation. Randy had fun helping to set up our new audiovisual system and fine tuning it to our taste. The folks at Davis Cabinets are excellent craftsmen and did a fine job. We highly recommend them. http://mobile.dudasite.com/site/daviscabinets?u…
Monday we head to Nehalem Bay State Park for about a week.Read more
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2019 Traveler
April 29-May 5
May 5, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
We met our friends Phil and Dee when we camp hosted at Nehalem Bay State Park April of 2014.https://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkP… During our travels we've met them in Texas, Arizona and California. Since they're hosting this spring at Nehalem we decided to end our winter/spring season with a week stay at our old stomping grounds. We've had wonderful week biking around the park and into Manzanita; beach and trail walks; drives to Rockaway, Garibaldi, Tillamook and Cannon Beach and especially spending time with Phil and Dee, hosting meals for each other and playing numerous games of 5 Crowns.
Monday we return to our home base in Boring, OR.Read more
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2019 Traveler
May 6-12
May 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
We were treated to a delicious dinner at Sharon & Larry's (Randy's mom and dad) upon our return to our home base located at a RV site on their property in Boring, OR. We've spent the week deep cleaning the motorhome, helping elderly relatives with medical appointments, yardwork and meals. We also attended our friend Kurt's memorial service which reaffirmed the importance of living life to the fullest.
We prepared Mother's Day dinner, a delicious bacon wrapped smoked meat loaf. Kelsie made a yummy angel food cake topped with lemon curd and strawberries. A perfect day with my family. 😊❣Read more
Great
5/15/19Reply
Great pic and we had a great day. Thanks. Mom and Dad
5/15/19Reply
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2019 Traveler
May 13-20
May 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
Another good week! Demolished Larry and Sharon's deck, site prep and taking bids for construction of a new one. Live wire at the Alberta Rose Theater with Kelsie, Kelly and her twin Leila. Always fun, entertaining and informative. http://www.livewireradio.org/
We smoked, sliced and packaged 17 lbs of buckboard bacon after a 10 day cure.
http://virtualweberbullet.com/buckboardbacon.html
Celebrated the 47th Anniversary of our first date...fond memories of the Godfather at the Eastgate Theater followed by dinner at Chico's Pizza. Pre-op doctor visit and MRI for Randy's bunionectomy and possible tendon reconstruction on Wednesday.Read more
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2019 Traveler
May 21-26
May 26, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
Tuesday morning we headed to Willamette National Cemetery and Lincoln Memorial Park to pay our respects to our dear departed.
Tuesday I met my friends Jan and Terri at Toro Bravo for an evening of delicious food and drink.
https://www.torobravopdx.com/
Wednesday morning Randy had his bunion surgically corrected with a midfoot fusion. We'll be parked at our home base in Boring until August when he can drive the motorhome again. We're confident that once he's fully healed we can resume long walks and hikes.
Saturday my sister, Chef Marcia, prepared a delicious salmon dinner for us accompanied by olives, nuts and chocolates brought back from her trip to Greece and Italy.Read more
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2019 Traveler
May 27-June 10
June 10, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
It's been a comparatively slow two weeks. We shared a meal with the kids. Randy had his first post-op doctor's appointment. He's now in a boot, can rest his heel on the ground and is moving around more with his crutches. I've been taking long walks around the neighborhood, helping elderly family members with medical appointments and house cleaning, reading (Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream, Whip Smart and Seveneves), watching movies and TV (sure appreciate the new TV and sound system) and of course...assisting Randy.
Sharon and Larry's new deck is finished and looks beautiful. Patio to be poured next week.Read more
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