Author Archives: Traci

Sunsets, Sunrises and Fishing! 1/15/14 – 1/21/14

Sunrise in Key West

Moving to our new spot at the campground has made a huge difference. We actually have had room to spread out and we back right up to the water. A perfect place to kick back in the evening for sunset and morning for sunrise. This second week in Key West we have definitely been in relax mode! We have been cooking more in the MoHo and I have been getting in my exercise and reading a lot while Mike continues to fish.

Our new spot at the campground!

A few highlights this week:

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park
We found a sandy beach – yay! It was a beautiful day so we packed up the chairs and cooler and headed out. The beach itself was pretty littered with seaweed/debris and the water was very rocky; we had to have sandals on. But, it was a great place to kick back for the day and read my book. Mike tried fishing for a bit, but no luck.

Southernmost Point monument
This was the most touristy thing we did this week. We waited for a non-cruiseship day so that it wasn’t so crowded, then went into Key West to get the obligatory photo. Hard to believe we are only 90 miles from Cuba!

90 miles from Cuba

Sunset Cruise
Since we had already seen the amazing sunset from the land, we decided we wanted to see it from the water. We opted for Sebago and the Appledore V, an old schooner. There were only 8 other people onboard with 3 crew and they provided appetizers and cocktails. This sounded better than the crowded party barges we had seen go out. It wasn’t a crystal clear day and the wind had definitely picked up, so we weren’t sure how it was going to go. I actually had to make a last minute jacket purchase because I didn’t dress warmly enough. Well, the clouds made for a fantastic sunset. We had a great time getting to know our fellow passengers and crew and would highly this company.

The sister-ship to ours in the foreground

The sister-ship to ours in the background

Sunset cruise!

Seahawks Sunday
This was the perfect day! We started off at the local Seafood & Arts Festival down the road. It was a small little event, but they had a lot of fresh food, some local craft booths and a great beer garden. $5 for the first beer with a souvenir mug, then refills were only $3. And you didn’t have to stay in a restricted area to drink. What a great concept! Then, we stopped at a local bar right on a marina, Hurricane Hole, with a great outdoor area. We had a late lunch and ended up watching the first half of the Denver/New England game. A fun group of people there. Then, it was time to head back to the MoHo to gear up for the big game. We ended up watching it outside and had a lot of interest from our neighbors and other campers walking by. One guy actually sat down and watched the last quarter with us. I was pretty nervous the entire game, but felt the relief and excitement along with everyone else on that final play! Mike promptly got up and sounded the MoHo horn. It was close to 10pm, but had to do it!

Go Hawks!

We sent this to our favorite Washington winery, JM Cellars to post on their FB page.

Bahia Honda State Park
This was about an hour drive for us away from Key West, but so worth it. Someone had recommended this park for kayaking, so we decided to go for it. We tooled around in the beautiful blue/green water for a few hours, then decided to take advantage of some beach time. This beach was about the same as the one we had been to before with lots of seaweed, but there was a sandbar to wade out onto. It was about 50 yards of knee high water with a very sandy bottom. Much better! When we got back to the car I noticed something on the windshield. There was a note and full sized Coug Flag. It said, “Of all places to run into a fellow Coug. Enjoy!” He must have seen my license plate cover. So very cool. I couldn’t believe it. I will have to pay it forward.

Kayaking at Bahia Honda State Park – the picture doesn’t do the color of the water justice

My new Coug flag!

Fishing Charter
Mike had wanted to do this for 2 weeks so he finally booked a 6-hour charter with 4 other people. I stayed home and did some errands and more or less just relaxed. The boat caught 6 fish consisting of mackerel and dolphin fish. Mike reeled in two of the mackerel. It was a beautiful day out on the water and he loved it! Even brought home some of the dolphin fish to grill up. I think a fishing boat is in our future at some point.

Mike’s catch for the day

Today it is pouring down rain so it has been a good day for us to get packed up. We head to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow to meet my mom who is flying in from Seattle and then we get on Ruby Princess for a 9-day cruise on Thursday. We will leave the MoHo in Key Largo where we have a week booked after the cruise. Bon Voyage Key West.

Chillaxing in Key West – 1/7/14 – 1/13/14

6 Replies

Sunset in Key West from Mallory Square

We have been in Key West for a week now, halfway through our stay here. This is part of the trip that we had planned quite some time ago and Mike spent a lot of time researching where to stay. We landed on Boyd’s RV Resort because it was the closest to the town of Key West and we were able to get a spot on the water. Upon arrival, we were very disappointed. This place was a zoo, absolute chaos. The first spot they gave us, we couldn’t fit into. And, it wasn’t on the water. After talking with the office and going back and forth for about an hour, we got settled into a spot that would do, but still not on the water as we had expected. Disappointed to say the least, but they were able to find a water spot we could move into on the 14^th. I think we have been spoiled with our last few parks, because this place just did not measure up. Crowded, extremely tight spots (we can’t even extend our awning), not paved and very noisy. We would not recommend this park. In fact, we tried calling around to see if we could fine another park, but everywhere was full. Stay tuned for an update when we move to our new spot. I am trying not to dwell, but that is not in my nature. Mike of course is doing better with it than me.

Sunrise (Mke took this - I was sleeping)

Sunrise! Mike took this – I was sleeping : )

Ok, so now that my rant about Boyd’s is out of the way, let’s focus on the fact that we are in Key West! This place is like no other. Blue, blue water and everyone is in full vacation mode. A relaxed, party atmosphere to say the least. Our first full day here, we decided to head into Key West to see what it was all about. The RV Park is at Milepost 5 and town is Milepost 0, so we are fairly close (the best thing about our park – location). There were 2 cruise ships in town, so it was busy and crowded. We parked and the first experience we had was seeing Guy Fieri roll down Duval Street in his red Camaro filming for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He stopped at a light right in front of us. For those of you who know me well, I LOVE celebrity sightings! We then stopped in at Sloppy Joes (famous spot that Hemingway used to frequent) for a beer that turned into three. There was a live band playing, we met a couple of fellow RVers and ended up chatting with them for awhile. Left there and walked by a place on the street, the Smallest Bar, which really was the smallest bar. Mike could touch both sides of it with outstretched hands. There was a young couple there who we hit it off with, Joe & Kate from Toronto. A few more drinks and Fireball shots and that’s all she wrote. We ended up bar hopping with them the rest of the night and having dinner at Margaritaville. By the way, they have the same concept of “to go” beverages that New Orleans had. Needless to say, we did up Key West right on our first night in town.

Guy Fieri filming on Duval Street!

Our new friends Kate & Joe at the Smallest Bar in Key West

The rest of our time so far hasn’t been quite as crazy. We had to get that first night out of our system before we could hit a more mellow and relaxed mode. We have been back into Key West twice. Once on Seahawks Football Saturday for brunch at Blue Heaven (highly recommended to us from Craig Gambino and it did not disappoint – banana pancakes)! We walked up and down Duval Street, then decided we wanted to watch the game from the comfort of the MoHo so we could utilize the DVR function if needed. It got a little interesting, but we came away with a victory!!!! Another day we went into town in the late afternoon for an early dinner at Fogerty’s, then to Mallory Square for the sunset celebration. The square is located on the south end of Duval Street and faces to the west. We were there on a Sunday night and the place was packed. Street performers everywhere. At about 5:55pm, we watched the sun disappear into the ocean and everyone cheered (see main photo at the top of this post). If you’ve never seen this phenomenon, it certainly is an incredible sight. This is a nightly celebration and I’m sure is crowded every night. There were also tons of boats out in the water, so we may look into a sunset cruise for another night to experience the sunset celebration another way.

Brunch at Blue Heaven, Key West

Go Hawks!

We have also had a chance to use the kayaks! One day we took them out right from the RV Park, which definitely was convenient. The wind kind of kicked up on us though, so made for a good workout on the arms to get back. But, being out on the water is just hard to beat. Another day, we drove back up Highway 1 about 5 miles to Geiger Key. The weather was perfect and the water was oh so blue. It was so clear and varied among 3 or 4 shades of blue and green. It is also so shallow in places; even hundreds of yards from shore, we could get out and stand in just 2 feet of water. We saw a turtle swimming and tons of huge birds. Mike fished and got a few nibbles but nothing to reel in. On the way back to the take out spot, I had a manatee surface right next to me and it scared the doo doo out of me. This thing was huge and I thought it might tip me over. Possibly an over-reaction as they guys are apparently gentle giants and probably more scared of me, but it just really startled me. After we got back on shore, we continued to watch this guy surface, which was very cool to see!

Kayaking!

Saw this guy hanging out on the bulkhead

We’ve had a little bit of everything weather wise. Rain, wind, sun and of course the humidity. For the most part, it has been great weather though and typically in the high 70’s. Mike has been getting his fish-on daily and has been enjoying trying out different lures and locations. He typically gets up early and heads out for a few hours while I snooze away and have a leisurely morning. We have really settled into the laid back atmosphere! We are looking forward to another week here to continue to kayak, fish and explore new areas. I’m sure we’ll head back into Key West a few more times, but there are so many other “Keys” to explore. We are trying to balance the touristy stuff with off the beaten path experiences. One thing that has surprised me is there are not a lot of beaches. I had in my head that we would take the kayaks onto a beach and sit at an open-air bar with our toes in the sand. This is not the case, mostly marina’s/bulkheads to launch boats (there are A LOT of boats around here) and then the islands that are lined with mangrove trees. In fact, I haven’t seen anyone swimming from the shore, just people out in boats. Not a big deal, but just funny how your expectations aren’t always accurate.

I hope the New Year is treating everyone well. My resolution is to continue to embrace what we are doing and try to let things roll of my shoulders when all doesn’t goes as planned. This is a challenge for me, but I’m working on it!

The Holidays with friends in Florida! 12/22/13 – 12/30/13

4 Replies

Panama City Beach, FL

After New Orleans, we stopped in Biloxi, MS for a few days. We had been through the area about 15 months ago right after Hurricane Isaac so we were curious to see how it looked after the devastation of that storm. Plus, we needed a few days to relax and recover from our time in New Orleans! We stayed at the Majestic Oaks RV Resort, which was in a great location and had everything we needed. The weather wasn’t great, so we hunkered down most of the time. We did take a walk out on the beach and explored the area a bit and were happy to see that it had been rebuilt nicely from the storm, but there was still evidence of the damage that was done.

Biloxi, MS

After 2 nights here, it was time to head to Florida! Part of our routine when we are getting ready to leave is to check the tires. Turns out they were low (we think due to the below freezing temps) and we couldn’t get them to pump up with our air hose. So, we had a slight detour to find a place to pump them up. A bit of a challenge since it was Christmas Eve, but we found a place and were on the road only about an hour behind schedule. We arrived at the Emerald Coast RV Resort in Panama City Beach, FL in early afternoon. Mike’s friend from high school, Pat Bunker, lives here with his wife Allison and soon to be Baby Bunker, due in Feb. He owns Panama City Beach Maps, so knows many people in the town. He hooked us up with a free 4-night stay at this nice place! Awesome! They invited us over to their home for handmade pizza (BBQ chicken was my fave) to celebrate with a group of their friends. Both of their families live elsewhere, so they do an “orphans” gathering for friends in the area. We felt right at home!

With Pat & Allison at their home

The next day was Christmas and it did feel a bit odd waking up and not have anywhere to be or rush off to. I think it was my first Christmas ever, not seeing family. It was a gorgeous day, so Mike & I grabbed a bottle of champagne and squeezed some OJ from the oranges Craig gave us from his tree in New Orleans, and headed down to the beach. We drank mimosa’s sitting on the beach – perfect! The sand is so white and feels like powder in your toes. We headed back over to Pat & Allison’s for the afternoon and evening. Another group of their friends came over for take out Chinese and homemade lumpias – very tasty. It was so nice to have friends to hang out with!

Christmas morning on the beach

Mimosa’s on the beach!

The rest of our time here was great. PCB is a very cool resort town that apparently gets crazy for Spring Break. It was quieter while we were there, but we prefer it that way! Pat tour guided us around and took us to a few of his favorite local restaurants. Liza’s Café for a delicious lunch and Marina Cantina for tequila and dinner (right up Mike’s alley)! He also had passes for golf at Bay Point Resort. I opted out and let Mike play with Pat and a few of his friends. Our time here was fantastic and we can’t thank the Bunkers enough for hosting us at their home, chauffeuring us around and introducing to their town!

We departed on Saturday morning around 9 as we had one of our longest drives ahead of us to St. Petersburg, FL. We were losing another hour, had to get gas and hit some unexpected traffic, so rolled into the St. Pete KOA in the dark, which is not ideal. (BTW, this was not our favorite park – overpriced, loud and not a great location). We got set up and decided to just eat in and call it a night. The weather had definitely changed – warmer and humid! Family friends/former neighbors of Mike’s, Bill & Emily Lee, live here, so the next morning we met them for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel then headed up to their home in Palm Harbor for the day and night. The rain had arrived so indoor activities were on the agenda. It is different rain than we have at home — constant, loud and a lot of it. Basically coming down in sheets. Wowza! We had a nice night at Bill & Emily’s watching football, drinking wine and eating Bill’s delicious Chicken Cacciatore! We ended up spending the night at their condo instead of making the trek back to the MoHo.

Emily, Bill and Maggie

The next morning we were treated to homemade French toast with orange syrup and mimosa’s (a dream meal for me!). It was so nice to spend time at their home and reminisce about Mike’s mom. They were very interested in hearing about our adventure and gave us all of their support which means a lot! We said our goodbye’s, Mike and I ran a few errands then decided to head down to Clearwater Beach where there was a huge beach party going on for the Outback Bowl – LSU and Iowa fans everywhere. A really fun atmosphere. What a difference a day can make weather-wise. The rain was gone and hello sunshine. Tomorrow morning we head south to Ft. Myers Beach for New Year’s Eve!

Clearwater Beach, FL

N’awlins Y’all! 12/18/13 – 12/22/13

9 Replies

Bourbon Street, French Quarter

We were up early and on our way Wed. morning for the 8+ hour drive from Galveston to New Orleans. It was a weird day of driving; saw a truck catch on fire and a trailer’s satellite dish fly off the top of their rig. Looks like they forgot to put it done – OOPS! Finally made our way to milepost 880 and the east side of Texas. Wow that is one big state! Arrived at the New Orleans KOA at dusk and got set up. This park was nothing special except for location, location, location and the service was fantastic and the cheapest laundry yet. So, I guess maybe it was a bit special! We got settled, then our friend Craig Gambino came to MoHo for a welcome to NOLA cocktail. His home is less than a mile from the KOA, which was perfect! He took us to a local favorite, Copeland’s, for dinner. A great introduction to Cajun food and Craig proclaimed that if we both didn’t put on a few pounds by the end of our stay, then he would not have done his job. Crikey.

The next day, our tour guide Craig picked us up and drove us out to the Ninth Ward and Chalmette to see the damage from Katrina. He also took us to where one of his storage units (he owns many in the area) had been devastated and now is just a big empty lot. Hard to imagine that in these areas the water was 12 to 15 feet high. In the Ninth Ward, we saw all of the houses that Brad Pitt is rebuilding in the area. They are modern and stand out like sore thumbs compared to the existing homes that are still there. A pretty cool thing he is doing though. We met Craig’s dad and friend at Rocky & Carlos’ for lunch – a local southern joint with classic New Orleans food. It was delicious, but boy I am not used to eating that much food, especially for lunch! We then took a ferry ride over the mighty Mississippi and drove around a bit more. Craig and his wife Kim had us over to their house for dinner that night. They tried to find crawfish (Mike’s fave), but it wasn’t in season. Instead, they did a shrimp boil with all the fixins. As usual, Mike was the last one eating! He just loves that Cajun spice flavor!

Mississippi River ferry crossing

Dinner at the Gambino’s!

On Friday, Craig picked us up around noon and we headed down to the Quarter. Went straight to Central Grocery for Muffuletta and a stuffed artichoke. This is one of those landmark places that only the locals seem to know about. My motto these days is to try everything. I don’t really like olives and it is basically an olive sandwich, but it was tasty! Then we started walking. We lucked out with the weather, sunny and warm. I would even say a bit humid, but Craig did not agree! Stopped in at several places for a beverage…Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar for a beer, Pat O’Briens for a Hurricane and Hotel Monteleone for cocktails where the bar rotates a la the Space Needle. One thing I was infatuated with is the concept of “to go.” If you are not finished with your drink, you can get it in a to-go cup or just stop in and order something to go – classic! As the afternoon and early evening approached the scene definitely got more crowded and lively. Kim came down after work to meet us for dinner at Café Amelie. Our friend Joanna who we met in Lodi, CA suggested it and it was nice as Craig & Kim hadn’t been there. A new experience for all of us. We sat outside in the courtyard. Great ambience and delicious food! We were actually the last ones there. We headed back to Bourbon Street to walk around. The scene was in full force, but apparently this was nothing compared to big weekends like Jazz Fest or Mardi Gras. It seemed pretty crazy to me. There were a lot of ‘Ragin’ Cajuns’ there for the football game the next day. Our evening was topped off with a stop in a bar where Craig paid for Mike to sit in a dentist chair for a fireball shot from a very “friendly” server (see pic below). A site to see and quite entertaining for all of us. One more ‘to go’ beer and time to head home. We were in bed by midnight. A LONG day, but so fun!

St. Louis Cathedral

Muffuletta’s at Central Grocery

Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar in French Quarter

Craig & I enjoying our Hurricane’s at Pat O’Briens

Classic Bourbon Street

Craig, Mike, Kim & I at Cafe Amelie

The entertaining end to our night

I had a much needed hair appt on Sat morning – thanks Kim for arranging! Then Craig & Kim picked us up to head to Cooter Browns Tavern to watch the Coug bowl game complete with Bloody Mary’s and lots of fried food. It was fun until the Cougs absolutely self imploded and lost. Brutal. After a bit of sulking and bitterness on my side, we headed to one of their favorite places, Jacque Imo’s for dinner. A very random, eclectic place and one of the hottest spots in town. I had a fireball shot to calm myself and we lucked out getting a much-coveted table in the bar. Craig’s sister, Susan had joined us as well. Craig ordered a variety of appies/dishes that we all could share. The most random was a shrimp and alligator cheesecake (not a dessert). And yes, I did try it! After that we headed uptown to see all of the big mansions decorated for Xmas. Beautiful. Stopped at the Columns Hotel and sat outside for a round of cocktails. A great way to end our time here. We said goodnight and our goodbyes since we would be on the road the next morning.

Woke up to strong rain and wind and feeling tired. We really lucked out on weather for our time in New Orleans. A very big thanks to the Gambino’s for making our time here so special. We invaded them at a tough time, the kids finishing exams, busy at work, their daughter’s bday and of course the Holidays with family in town. Needless to say they had a lot going on, but they took the time to host us and show us a great time for 4 days and nights! We so appreciated this. Seeing the city with locals makes for a much better experience.

p.s. Craig did his job! We both feel a bit puffier than when we arrived.

Jaques Imo's - they set up a table in the truck and you can eat out in front

Gambino’s & Miller’s at Jacque Imo’s

The beautiful Columns Hotel

Winter on the road has arrived! 12/3/13 – 12/7/13

Thanksgiving in the Desert – 11/13/13 to 12/2/13

6 Replies

Thanksgiving Dinner at the IW Club.

It feels like a long time since we have last written. Well I guess it has! We spent 2 nights at the Crazy Horse RV Park in Lake Havasu, AZ. Wished we had more time here, as it was a really neat spot. Our parking place was right on the lake so we were able to use the kayaks. We did a long paddle around the island we stayed on and under the London Bridge. Apparently it is part of the original 1831 London Bridge that was purchased and shipped over in pieces in the 60’s and reconstructed here in Lake Havasu. Kind of cool. We also ran into our friend Matt’s next-door neighbor. They saw our Washington plates and we got to talking…random.

London Bridge, Lake Havasu

We rolled into the Emerald Desert RV Resort in Palm Desert on a Friday afternoon and just pulled out this morning. This is the longest we have stayed in one place (2 ½ weeks) and I tell you it was fantastic. This was probably the nicest park we have stayed in yet. It was very resorty with a nice pool, workout room, clubhouse and lots of planned activities. Our favorite was every Saturday morning out by the pool, Muffins & Mimosas! We were also perfectly located only a mile and a half from where our group was staying. Mom & Jeff at Palm Valley and Sunny, Mitch, Shelly, Marc, Gom, Jerry & Ann at Desert Falls.

Besides the group above, we were also able to see some other friends and family who were down in the area. Alicia & Renee were down for a getaway weekend in the beginning of our stay, so we spent one night out with them. Mike’s Aunt Melanie came over to our Apple Cup party. And, we saw Brent & Ashlie Johnson a few times, including a night out in old town La Quinta that was really fun!

Me, Sunny, Laurie, Renee & Alicia – prefunc in the MoHo

Jeff, Brent, Mike, Me & Ashlie in old town La Quinta

We golfed five times (Mike six) at a variety of courses; some we had played before and others were some new ones for us. The weather cooperated most of the time and was typically in the high 70’s, but we did run into a bit of rain, which seems unusual for PD. We were still able to get some pool time and a good dose of Vitamin D! We had some fun dinner’s out, especially at one of our favorites, Villagio’s. Also, a tasty breakfast at the La Quinta Bakery. And, a great spaghetti feed at Ann & Jerry’s and yummy taco fest with Mom & Jeff at their place.

Sunny, Me & Shelly golfing

We had a large group with us, not everyone for the entire time, but for Thanksgiving, our whole group of 11 was together. Eight of us golfed in the morning, then we went to the IW Club at Indian Wells for an early 4:30 dinner. We had a big table out on the patio with heat lamps and enjoyed a delicious dinner, nice wine and great company. We made our way to The Nest for a post dinner cocktail and all sat at the piano bar requesting songs and people watching. I can’t think of a better way to spend Thanksgiving!

Jeff, Mom, Me & Mike at Thanksgiving Dinner

Happy Thanksgiving!

For the big Apple Cup game, Mike & I decided to host a tailgate and viewing party at the MoHo. We had 13 people over and even picked up a few stragglers at the MoHo park. We had indoor and outdoor viewing going, BBQ’d brats at halftime and played Bocce Ball. Unfortunately, the Cougs were not able to pull it out. We had a 3 to 1 Coug vs. Husky ratio, so Mike definitely felt the thrill of victory and let us know it. Regardless, it was a great day and so fun to have a group together for the big game!

MoHo Apple Cup Party

Shelly, Me, Jerry & Sunny – Go Cougs!

Aunt Melanie, Me & Mike

Mike on the BBQ!

The Pflu’s and Cameron’s left on Sunday morning and that was extremely difficult for me saying goodbye to my best friends. We had one more night with my mom & brother, then they were gone on Monday. Another very hard goodbye. This left just Mike & I so we decided to head up to Joshua Tree National Park for the day. Both of us had been battling a cold and cough, so we didn’t do any big hikes, but just enjoyed the scenery and took a few short walks. Back to the MoHo for the big Monday Night Football game with our 12th Man flag flying – what a fun game to watch! We packed up this morning and were on the road by 9am for the trip to Tucson where we will visit my dad.

Joshua Tree National Park

The Desert is a special place for us as we got married here. It has been a place where we have continued to vacation especially for Thanksgiving. This time was obviously very special since we were able to spend time with so many great friends and family after being on the road for 5 months. It has been on the books ever since we left Seattle in May, so it has always been on my mind that we had this to look forward to. But leaving feels bittersweet to me as this is now really the start of our adventure where we will be gone for a year and on the other side of the country. I am looking so forward to what is ahead, but it was very hard to say goodbye. I do have some fun rendezvous’ in the coming months though which I am excited for. But, as I type this and it is just Mike & I driving down the road, I feel at ease and very happy.

Mike & I at Joshua Tree NP

The calm and the crazy of Nevada – 11/5/13 – 11/12/13

2 Replies

Beautiful Lake Mead (the calm)

We had 3 nights unplanned before heading to Vegas for Shelly’s big birthday weekend. We decided on Lake Mead RV Village at Boulder Beach for some relaxation. This was a place we stayed last year during our trial trip, so we knew it would be spectacular. The sites are facing the lake with the red-orange hills behind, making the view look like a painting especially at sunset! The drive from Camp Verde took about 6 hours, so when we arrived we got set up and enjoyed the sunset and a nice evening cooking and relaxing in the MoHo.

Our site at Lake Mead – love this view!

The next morning, we took the kayaks down to the lake and tooled around for a few hours exploring. The fish were literally jumping all around us. This is a very clean, clear lake so we could see down to the bottom in places near the shore. It was about 75 out, so perfect for kayaking. Back to the MoHo for an early dinner then we headed up to the local casino. It was completely dead and no tables open. We each dropped about 20 bucks in slots and decided to just head back for a good night’s sleep.

Kayaking on Lake Mead

Thursday, we drove through the Lake Mead recreation area and ended up at Lake Las Vegas. This place just popped up out of nowhere with mansions, condos and high end looking hotels. I’m curious if this area is surviving, as it seemed pretty deserted. We continued our drive and looped around through Henderson and back to our campsite. We decided to have an outdoor fire and Mike cooked up steaks right on the grates. We enjoyed a nice salad and some sautéed veggies and of course a nice bottle of red.

The view from our dinner at Bellagio (the crazy)

The view from our dinner at Yellowtail, Bellagio (the crazy)

Friday, we were off to Vegas, only about a 45-minute drive. The Pflu’s and Lindley’s flew down from Seattle and arrived at 10:30am. The plan was to meet at their hotel, Mandalay Bay. Mike & I rolled into the Oasis RV Park, just 5 minutes from the strip and set up. We then drove the car to Paris where we had a few comp hotel nights. We checked into the room, then made the trek down to Mandalay. On a map, it looks like 2 blocks, but these are Vegas blocks…45 minutes later we arrived. We met them out at “The Beach,” the very cool sandy beach pool. They were actually staying at “The Hotel” which is the all-suite hotel right behind Mandalay Bay, so we headed up to their rooms to get caught up and have a few drinks while they all changed and got ready for the night. The boys hit the sports book to make their football bets for Saturday and we all gambled for a bit before dinner. We found a great Italian place right at Mandalay, which was delicious. We decided to head over to the Luxor for gambling since the table limits were a bit more reasonable. The big winner for the night was Marc Lindley. I put my head on the pillow at 3am and think I outlasted everyone.

Needless to say, I slept in, while early riser Mike headed back to Mandalay to meet Marc Pflu to get a table in the sports books for the day of football. Everyone was on their own schedule for the day, but eventually we all ended up together watching football for the afternoon. Shelly & I decided we wanted to look into Garth Brooks tickets. This was his last show of the season and it was sold out, so we got on Craigslist and found a ticket broker with 2 tickets. It was a bit of a splurge but this is one of the best concerts I have ever been to. It was at the Wynn in the Encore Theater, which is a very intimate setting. Our tickets were in the first row of the Mezzanine level and it felt like we were almost on top of the stage. It was just Garth in jeans, a grey hoodie, baseball hat and his guitar. He was very conversational with the audience and basically took us through his lifetime of growing up through the 60s, 70s and 80s and which music influenced his own music. He played snippets of songs, and then played one of his songs that was influenced by that particular song or artist. Very cool and showed off his talent and he was funny too! His wife, Trisha Yearwood, came out at one point and they bantered and sang a few songs together. At the end, he of course did an encore and played my favorite, “The Dance” and the ultimate crowd pleaser, “Friends in Low Places.” I loved that before he sang the Dance, he said, “This is MY favorite Garth Brooks song.” We were soooooo glad we splurged and went, because most likely we would have lost the same amount of money at a table and not had this very cool experience. We headed back to Mandalay to meet the group. In bed a bit earlier tonight – 1am.

Shell and I at the Garth Brooks concert

Seahawks Sunday! The game was at 10am, so we all had to get rolling early. Mike and I checked out of Paris and drove down to Mandalay. We all had our gear on and ended up in a bar with some other Hawks fans. Bloody Mary’s and Beer and a great victory! Mike & Marc even won some money on the game. Mike & I drove the car back to the RV Park and got dressed for Shelly’s b-day dinner. We met the group back at Mandalay at the vodka bar, Red Square. Then we had a limo take us to Bellagio (about the same cost for two cabs and much more fun!). Marc L’s friend got us a reservation at Yellowtail with a table on the balcony overlooking the fountains. This place was amazing and probably one of the best views in Vegas! The restaurant was Japanese with a lot of fish and seafood, which is not typically what I would choose. It was family style where they brought out dish after dish and we all got a little sampling. I ate Ahi, duck, lobster, crab, sea bass, shrimp (also beef and pork). Very proud of myself for being so adventurous. For those of you who know me, this is way outside my comfort level. But, I said I would try everything and it was all delicious with great flavor and excellent presentation! The desserts were tasty too! This was the most expensive dinner I have ever had, but so worth it for the food, atmosphere, service and of course exceptional company! We all continued our evening across the street at Bally’s. At around midnight, Mike & I said our goodbyes and took a cab back to the RV Park.

Pre bday dinner drinks at Red Square

We both slept in and it was great to be back in the MoHo. The others flew back to Seattle, but Mike and I had a few more days here. It was nice to be back in the comforts of “home” that’s for sure. We were very lazy in the morning, but decided in the afternoon to drive downtown to the Fremont area. We drove by the pawn shop from Pawn Stars and opted not to go in. We parked near Binions and had a famous Binions burger and walked Fremont Street. I had never been here before and it was a pretty cool experience. A completely different vibe from the strip; kind of reminded us of Reno. It was Veteran’s Day so the light show they had going on the ceiling was patriotic themed. There were a lot of people out which made the atmosphere pretty lively and fun. We drove back to the MoHo and were both in bed by 10.

Fremont Street

Last day in Vegas. The RV Park had a mobile washing service, so we decided on a much needed wash and wax! What a difference when professionals with the right equipment do it. We have tried to wash on our own a few times and it just hasn’t turned out very good. Mike washes the front windshield often, but doing the entire 40-foot beast is a much bigger task. We ran some errands, grocery shopped and did laundry. Decided to head out for our last night in town. Jeff Brauns recommended the M Resort (He was also here for the weekend, but we never had the chance to meet up.) This place was only about 5 miles from our RV Park so we thought we would check it out. We had a great happy hour dinner. Mike had caprese salad and shrimp cocktail and I had French onion soup and a chopped salad. The casino was absolutely dead but we sat down at a Pai Gow table and treaded water for awhile. I think the weekend finally caught up with us, as we were both exhausted so decided to call it a night. I got some Pistachio gelato on the way out and we hit the sack early.

All in all Vegas was a great trip even though we donated a bit to the cause. It was nice to do some new and different things this trip. Garth Brooks and Yellowtail were definitely the highlights for me. Not to mention hanging out with good friends which we always love after being on the road just the two of us. Next stop is Lake Havasu, AZ for a few nights of chillaxing before we hit Palm Desert, CA for 2 ½ weeks. I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is upon us. So excited to spend time with great friends and family — Cameron’s, Aldrich’s, Pflugrath’s, Bob Gom and my mom and brother! It will be so nice to be settled in one place for that long!

Football & Friends in sunny AZ! 10/17/13 – 10/24/13

1 Reply

Seahawks Game in Arizona

We arrived in Scottsdale and the Talking Stick Resort & Casino on Thursday mid-day for the big Seahawks game and birthday gathering of our friend, Becky Kelly. We opted to stay in the hotel and park the MoHo in the lot, which was a nice treat for us. This was a very nice resort and reminded us a lot of Tulalip back home. There was a group of 12 of us, so we had shuttles organized to take us to the game. The guys got in one van and the gals in the other. Not sure what happened, but the guys made it to the stadium in 45 min’s whereas our genius driver got us there in a record 2 hours 15 mins. Obviously he went the wrong way smack dab into traffic. It wouldn’t have been that big of a deal, except one of the guys had all of the tickets. Two of the guys waited outside for us to arrive, which was so nice. We ended up missing the 1st quarter which was a bummer. Finally made it in the stadium to find out our tickets were in the family section (no alcohol). Are you kidding me?! Regardless of these snafus the game was awesome and the Seattle 12th man presence was huge! It was a great win and pretty fun to be there to witness. The shuttles back to the hotel went a bit more smoothly!

The next morning, Mike & I played golf with some of the group. Thankfully we teed off early, as it was pretty toasty by the time we got off the course. We headed back to the hotel for some R & R before the big birthday dinner in old town Scottsdale. We ate at the coolest restaurant, Olive & Ivy. We sat outside on the patio and I had one of the best meals I have had in a long time! Delicious and very reasonable. After dinner the party continued to a few bars in Scottsdale, then back to the hotel. We stopped off at the MoHo for the group to see our home on wheels and ended up having a dance party in there with 14 people (that’s a record)! Only interrupted by the hotel security “encouraging” us to take the party inside. We headed up to the hotel nightclub for more celebrating. Mike & I went to bed early at 1:30am but the youngsters stayed up until who knows when. Thank you to the group for including us in the party. It is so fun to see friends along the way!

14 people in the MoHo!

Saturday morning we were up and out of the hotel by 9:30 to stay with our friends, Vickie & Bruce Cline, who were down from Seattle at their house in Sun City. We were able to park the MoHo at their home association clubhouse and stay in their house. They had another couple, Steve & Jolene, visiting as well. The Husky football game at ASU was on the agenda today. I was outnumbered 5 to 1, them in their purple and gold and me in my neutral colors. Off to Tempe we went! The streets around the stadium were packed with fun bars and restaurants with outdoor areas, misters for relief from the heat and loud music playing. What a fun, college atmosphere. There were A LOT of husky fans there, which was pretty impressive. Our seats were in direct sun for the whole first half which was a bit brutal, but the shade came over us for the second half, which was a much-needed reprieve. The Huskies were horrible and in the words of my husband, didn’t even show up for the game. This was a great place to come watch college football and I would love to return for a game in the future. Back to the house for a relaxing evening. Oh, the Cougs also lost to Oregon, no surprise.

Huskies vs ASU

The next three days were wonderful and relaxing! Mike played golf with the boys one morning. We drove into Cave Creek for the day and a great Mexican dinner. There was also a “Bike-toberfest” event going on there. Hundreds of pristine Harleys and lots of decked out biker guys & gals. We stopped in at the main hub, the Hideaway, for a few beers before dinner and to people watch. We all stuck out like sore thumbs since we weren’t in black or leather. It was fun up until the point where Bruce had his wallet stolen. Not much cash lost, but as we all know, such a hassle to have to cancel everything. Kind of put a damper on things, but Bruce was pretty even-keeled about it. The next few days we hung out poolside, kayaked on the lake that their house sits on, Mike fished for hours and we cooked some darn good dinners, enjoyed great wine and loved hanging out with good friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you to Bruce & Vickie for opening up their home to us!

The group at Vickie & Bruce’s house

On Wednesday, they were off to the airport for their flight back to Seattle and Mike & I continued our visiting of friends. We drove 15 minutes west to Surprise, AZ and the Sunflower RV Park. This was an over 55 resort, but they made an exception for us! This was our home base for our visit with Bob & Gloria Woolsey, Mike’s former employers and now close friends. They have a beautiful home in Buckeye. We got settled then headed out to their house for dinner. Another friend who used to work with the group was also there, Brad Wallace. They made us a delicious home-cooked meal and we had a great time catching up talking about old times. Bob & Gloria were a bit of an inspiration for us with what we are doing. They bought a 40-foot MoHo over a year ago and have been doing a variety of trips. We visited them when they were in the Seattle area and toured their rig. This was in the early stages of our planning so seeing how they were doing it and talking through the lifestyle change with them proved to be invaluable. They have really been great supporters of what we are doing. We returned to the MoHo that night for a great night sleep in our own bed after being out of it for almost a week. The next morning, we headed back to their house for a five-star breakfast and more fun catching up. Mike & I had errands to run for the day, but they came down to “our house” for dinner that night. We ordered pizza and sat outside and watched the baseball game. Really, really great to see them and spend time together!

Mike, Brad & Bob

Next we are heading north to Sedona and the Grand Canyon!

Are you ready for some football? 10/2/13 – 10/8/13

3 Replies

Cougs vs. Cal

We left Yosemite disgusted with the Government closure of the park (and for that matter, all National Parks. What a shame for people who had planned their vacations and events who are not able to see these amazing places). We planned the drive out of the area a bit better than the drive in. We opted not to hook up the car and I drove separately from Mike in the MoHo. MUCH more pleasant for all! Our destination was San Jose and the Coyote Valley RV Park. We were now in the Bay Area and the prices reflected it! We got settled for the night and enjoyed a relaxing evening ‘at home’ in the MoHo.

The next morning the wind was howling, but we had a tee-time at the Coyote Creek Golf Course so we decided to go for it. We were paired up with another guy and ended up having a great time. It certainly wasn’t our best round, but the course was in great shape. We headed into the local town, Morgan Hill, for pizza that night.

Friday morning, I was in desperate need of a pedicure so we headed into town and found a local nail joint. Mike went to wash the car and I enjoyed my hour of bliss! Then it was off to Saratoga for the day our new friend Joanna planned for us (we met her and her husband in Lodi and they basically planned an entire afternoon/evening for us). First stop was Mountain Winery. We drove up a steep, windy hill to the winery and felt like we were on top of a mountain with amazing views of the valley. It was a gorgeous, sunny day so we opted for glasses of wine and a cheese plate. We walked over to the concert venue and were instantly jealous that we had never been here before. Bonnie Raitt/Marc Cohn were playing that weekend but it was sold out. We were determined to get tickets as this was a venue NOT to be missed (more later on this topic). We enjoyed another glass of wine, then decided it was time to head back into Saratoga. Next stop was ‘The Bank,’ a dive bar where we enjoyed an ice-cold BL. Then onto stop 2.5, ‘The Basin’ for a recommended Martini. Mike actually had a Moscow Mule and I opted for refreshing glass of sparkling wine. The menu here looked incredible, but we were determined to honor Joanna’s itinerary and hit La Fondue for dinner. This place was very similar to Melting Pot (our local Seattle fondue restaurant), but more upscale. We did the typical cheese, salad, meat and dessert courses. My fave was definitely dessert, but we both left feeling overly full. Good food, but definitely way too much of it!

Mountain Winery concert venue, Saratoga

Today, was the day! The reason we came to the area. COLLEGE FOOTBALL! Mike had scoped this out months ago. Cougs were playing Cal in the day and the Huskies were playing Stanford in the evening. We were doing the double! We were up early and on BART to Berkeley on the 9am train. We met Mike’s aunt Melanie for breakfast and bloody mary’s and a quick visit. Then it was time to head onto campus and prefunc for the game. Surprisingly, it was hard to find a bar to get a beer in. We ended up in some random hotel, then found a Coug rally area where we got a cold beer. The game was a bit boring to be honest. Yes, the cougs won, but the turnout wasn’t great and the Cal fans were quiet! I’ll take the win though! Off, we went back to BART for the trip back to Fremont where our car was parked. It just so happened that there was also an Oakland A’s playoff game that night, so the train was packed with A’s fans. Kind of fun to feel the energy of these excited fans. We made it back to our car and headed to my very dear friends house, Renee Kaplan. We have known each other since middle school. She lives very near Palo Alto with her hubby Evan and darling sons, Jace and Penn. The game was very exciting and I must say those Husky fans definitely outshined the Coug fans. They had a HUGE presence at the game, which was very impressive. The energy at this game definitely kicked butt over my Coug game. Sad, but true. We also ran into good friends, Mike & Dawn Cameron, who were down from Seattle to cheer on the Dawgs. I was shocked at how close this game was and hard to admit that the UW Huskies are no joke. They actually could have won this game and it was too bad that it came down to an officiating call. A great game to watch! We headed back to Renee & Evan’s and said our goodbyes and back to the MoHo. A VERY long day, but so fun. We did it!

Miller’s and Kaplan’s at the UW/Stanford game

Needless to say, we slept in on Sunday after our 16-hour day! It felt great to relax and just hang out at the RV Park. We watched the Seahawks lose (boo!) and went to the grocery story. We got a new neighbor, PGA pro Charlie Beljan. He rolled in his mac-daddy MoHo for the Fry’s tournament just south of San Jose. We were watching the President’s Cup on the TV when he came over to talk with us, so it was very cool to find out he was in the PGA! We had a relaxing night on the MoHo and getting ready for our morning departure. We were going to try to get tickets to the Bonnie Raitt concert, but lost our steam after our busy day. But, I still believe this could be one of the best concert venues ever! It would be worth it to scope out next year’s concert calendar and fly down for a long weekend.

Our drive was an easy one. Only 90 minutes, which is a dream come true! This never happens so it was a pleasant surprise. We arrived in Monterey to the Monterey Fairgrounds by noon. This area was a challenge to find a place to stay, as there aren’t may options. So we felt fortunate to find a spot. However the airport was right next door (loud!) and the spots were not level at all, so our jacks had to lift the front end of the MoHo 6 inches off the ground. But, the location couldn’t have been better. We got settled and headed right out to the 17-mile drive. This is a drive along the Monterey Peninsula/Pebble Beach area. Talk about gorgeous scenery and amazing mansions. We did stop at Pebble Beach Golf Course for a light lunch at the Lodge overlooking the 18th green. This was so cool for us to be at such a recognized location that we have seen so many times on TV. Loved being here! We checked out the pro shop and inquired what green fees are…$495! We drove back to the Fairgrounds for the night. Wow, those planes were loud!

The Lone Cypress near Pebble Beach

18th green at Pebble Beach

The next day it was off to the coast. We drove the 1 down to Big Sur. It was a pretty foggy day, so the scenery wasn’t perfect but pretty impressive. We drove as far as Nepenthe, a cool restaurant on the side of a cliff overlooking the amazing scenic coast. We drove back and stopped in Carmel (or Carmel by the Sea, the official name) and strolled through this quaint town. They were gearing up for their film & arts festival the next day, so I was hoping for some celebrity sightings, but no luck. I think there is some cash-ola in this town! We drove back to Monterey and decided to hit Cannery Row downtown. This is a vibrant, touristy area right on the waterfront. We walked and walked and decided on an early lunch at the Cannery Row Brewing Company. Then headed back into town for the local farmer’s market. We nabbed some blackberries, raspberries, lettuce and delicious caramel apple. We love to hit these local markets when we can!

North Coast

Bixby Creek Bridge, near Big Sur

Next stop is Paso Robles and more wine tasting! Yippee!

Vino – now we’re talking! 9/24/13 – 9/28/13

3 Replies

Mendocino, CA

I had been looking forward to this part of the trip; especially after all of the rain we had been experiencing! Sunny skies and wine tasting – right up my alley! We have been to the Napa/Sonoma area a few times, so we were excited to try out some new wine regions in Northern Cal. Mendocino County is more known for whites and sparkling wines due to the colder weather and close proximity to the coast. Our campground in Albion was our home for the next 3 nights and jumping off point for exploration.

Our site in Albion (just south of Mendocino). Right under a cool bridge and up against the ocean.

Our site in Albion (just south of Mendocino). Right under a very tall bridge and up against the ocean.

On our first day, we drove into the quaint town of Mendocino, located right on the cliffs of the Pacific, where we shopped around a bit and hit the visitor center for a wine map. We decided to stay in the Anderson Valley and go to Boonville, about a 45-minute drive, then work our way back. Ideally, we should have kept driving toward the Russian River region but we didn’t want to get too far from Albion. The first order of business was lunch. We found a great spot, the Buckhorn, where I had a French Dip and Mike had a Ruben. The waiter gave us some recommendations on wineries to hit. We were able to make it to five as we drove back through Philo and Navarro. It was interesting that most tastings were complimentary which is definitely not the case in Napa or anywhere in Washington. Kind of refreshing.

Scharffenberger – They specialize in sparkling wines, which we did enjoy. The tasting room was small, but we had fun chatting with the other patrons.
Husch – A cute tasting room in a little cabin. Many people were buying the non-alcoholic grape juice but we opted for a nice Zin!
Navarro – Nice tasting room with a pretty outdoor sitting area above the vineyard. We stayed here awhile talking with the woman who was pouring.
Roederer – Another one that specializes in sparkling wines. They produce a lot of wine and mass distribute so we will look for them on the shelves at stores.
Handley – We were the only ones in there and they were getting ready to close for the night. An interesting tasting room with unique carved teak furniture.

Navarro Winery

Husch Winery

We had one more day in the area and decided to head up to Fort Bragg and explore a little. This would be our last stint on the coast for a few weeks as we were heading inland next, so decided to go enjoy the amazing views of the Pacific Coast. It was a gorgeous day so we had some pretty nice scenery! We had an early bird dinner in town at the North Coast Brewing Company, then back to the MoHo to relax and get ready for an early departure the next morning.

Mike on the beach right behind our campsite

We got on the road by 9, always later than we think. Our destination was Lodi – more wine country! We actually had to retrace some of the road we had traveled when we went to Boonville, so we knew we were in store for windy roads, which are not fun in the MoHo. This didn’t last long though, then we were on decent roads east to Lodi. We arrived at the Flag City RV Resort, which was a very nice park with lots of amenities, but right off of I-5 and near a truck stop. Surprisingly, it was very quiet and a perfect location for our 2-night stay. Since we wouldn’t be here long, we quickly got set up and headed out to do some wine tasting! Our friend Bill, recommended Jessie’s Grove, which we absolutely loved. We had a very personable young gal pour for us who circled some of her favorites on our wine map. Next stop was Michael David, which we could have skipped, but they had an amazing store with very reasonably prices fruits, veggies and baked goods! We then headed downtown where the wineries are open a bit later. We hit a new one, Toasted Toad, which is owned by a father/daughter. We had a nice time chatting with them and got some great rec’s for dinner. We decided on Rosewood Bar & Grill, and were able to sit outside as the temps spiked up quite a bit for us here vs. the chilly coast. We had an absolutely delicious dinner! French Onion Soup, Filet Mignon (Prime Rib for Mike) and Crème Brule to top it off. We were stuffed and slept well!

Great spot for dinner!

We had a leisurely morning (well, started out this way), until we noticed the ANT PROBLEM!! Holy crap, there were these tiny ants everywhere inside and outside the MoHo. Gross. After inspecting outside, we noticed there were thousands of them making a trail up our water hose and one of our jack stands and making their way onto the MoHo and inside any opening they could. Because of our slides, there are some access points that these little creatures can make their way through. They are so small, but this just completely grossed me out that we had lines of ants making their way into our home. Mike went to the store to get some spray for the outside areas and I began vacuuming up lines of ants. They were everywhere including inside cupboards. We think they were ‘sugar ants’ looking for food. We asked our neighbors and they were having the same issue. The front desk was very apologetic and said they would get out to spray our area. Too late – the damage was done! This was really an unfortunate incident because we really did like the park. (Side note – we are still dealing with these ants days later even though we have left this RV Park – arghhhh!).

Tasting Room is a wine barrel!

We headed back out for some more wine tasting. It was a gorgeous day (85 degrees), so we decided to forget about the ants for now, and just enjoy Lodi! First stop was Oak Ridge, which was cool, as their tasting room was a large wine barrel. We didn’t care for their wine though. Next stop was Klinker Brick, which was recommended by a few people including our good friend Marc Pflu. The Lodi area is really known for its Old Vine Zins and this winery did not disappoint! We enjoyed our time here tasting outside on their back patio. Next stop (and last of the day) was Harney Lane. For me, this was my favorite one. The tasting room was cool and modern with lots of cute gift items and the grounds were beautiful. We ended up meeting a couple from Mill Creek here and ended up ordering a few bottles of wine and sitting outside for the afternoon. They were so easy to talk to and gave us some great tips for some upcoming stops. We exchanged info and hope to meet up with them again somewhere along the way or back in Seattle. A really fun way to end the day! Unfortunately, we had to go back to the MoHo and deal with Ants!!! More vacuuming and spraying. Amazing that something so tiny can wreak so much havoc. Mike was a bit more easygoing about this than me – surprise, surprise!

Harney Lane – Loved this one!

Off to Yosemite in the morning.

Note: We haven’t had wi-fi for a week, so we are a bit behind. We will post about Yosemite later this evening.

	Dua Frey on Lamoille Lake Hike –…
	Davis S on Moab, UT – Arches NP and…
	Yield Wars on Super friends and a return to…
	Red9 Lincoln Ne… on Nebraska – Go Big Red! 9/24/14…
	BestJulissa on N’awlins Y’all! 12/18/13 –…
	MarissaJuicy on N’awlins Y’all! 12/18/13 –…
	Traci on Nebraska – Go Big Red! 9/24/14…
	Arden on Nebraska – Go Big Red! 9/24/14…
	FirstGail on Made it to Maine! 7/6/14 –…
	86Gustavo on Keys Disease
	loshi on Keys Disease
	Traci on Beautiful Seattle and Mt. Rain…
	Ken/Karen Carpenter on Beautiful Seattle and Mt. Rain…
	там on Keys Disease
	Traci on Re-Entry