Dec 1, 2009 - Going back to where it all Started

After spending part of my morning recovering from a hangover and having some truly horrid but well meant salmon soup, with fish pancakes, and fish filled bread. I left Hubbard and Paise to head North and eventually got to Bellingham, Wa. My original plan was to travel up the Washington coast and to take the Whidby island ferry but it just didn't come to fruition. I ended up at my brother's house and even though I didn't think it would happen found myself staying there for the remainder of the year. It was probably not the worst thing to do...

Oct 17, 2009 - Kalama, Washington...

Woke this morning to gray dreary skies and sporadic rain. It rained most of the night as well. Not much fun to sight-see when you can't see! We met our friends Jim & Pat for a late breakfast as Pat had an appointment this morning. After visiting for a bit they took us to meet a very nice couple they met at church. Phil & Linda live way up in the hills in Kalama, Washington, up a long private driveway. Many of you know that hunting season is in effect in much of the country. In fact most of the male gender in our family were duck hunting...

Oct 15, 2009 - Lummi Island

We headed back north early Monday morning (Columbus Day) to visit friends Bill Fox and Nancy Gale at their lovely Lummi Island home. The traffic around Seattle was thicker than we expected and we were glad to reach the farther northern sections. The ferry ride proved to be a bit tight, but all went well.

Oct 15, 2009 - On the road again...

Good news! After searching and searching they finally located a bad wire affecting our trailer brake control system. They never actually saw the bad wire, but after running a new one the problem seems to be fixed. After Googling our issue, we discovered there are lots of folks having this same or a similar issue. The trailer disconnect/fault light would intermittently come on and the brakes would fail, sometimes for 5 seconds and sometimes for 5 minutes. It seemed to do it most coming down 10% grades, not good! However, it might also occur...

Oct 14, 2009 - RV repair...

We got up early and arrived at the RV repair shop promptly at 9am. They said to give them at least a couple of hours while they tried to troubleshoot our problem. So we headed back north on Interstate 5 toward the Canadian border to visit Birch Bay. It was the second destination recommended after the Mt Baker scenic highway drive we took yesterday. It was a cloudy overcast morning with an occasional sprinkle or two but around noon there was spotty sunshine and the temperature actually wound up in the mid 60's. It was a nice drive to Birch...

Oct 13, 2009 - Mt Baker Scenic Hwy...

It was gray and overcast this morning, so Larry did the laundry while I made homemade turkey noodle soup for lunch. Even though there was rain in the forecast, the drops seemed to be holding off. After lunch, the sun popped through for a bit so we decided to take a drive. We decided on the 60-mile scenic Mount Baker Highway, winding eastward from Bellingham, alongside the North Fork of the Nooksack River. Our route took us through pastoral farm land, several lovely small towns, and dense rain forests before finally climbing past the Mount...

Oct 12, 2009 - Bellingham, WA....

We arrived at the house just before noon Sunday so that we could visit for a couple of hours before leaving for the border crossing. We listened to the radio throughout the afternoon, as they give updates on waiting time to cross. There was an approximate one hour delay when we left about 4pm. It took us no time to arrive at the border and even less to get across! There was a separate line for anything over 12 feet high, and there was only one vehicle in front of us. After glancing at our passports and asking about a half dozen questions we...

Sep 8, 2009 - First Day To Bellingham

JOANNE AND I LEFT AT THE CRACK OF 10:30 AM TO GET AN AFTERNOON FERRY, ARRIVE AT BELLINGHAM AND A LATE DINNER AT THE OLIVE GARDEN. WE REGISTERED AT THE BELLINGHAM RV PARK BY THE AIRPORT. THE FACILITIES WERE VERY CLEAN AND THE STAFF WERE FRIENDLY BUT WE WERE THE SMALLEST OF THE RV'S.

Jul 25, 2009 - Bellingham, Mountains, Snow, & Wildflowers

Bellingham is a beautiful city on a beautiful bay, just 70 miles north of Seattle and 45 miles south of Vancouver, BC. This is where the Alaska ferry departs loaded with passengers, vehicles, and RV’s headed for the ports of Ketchikan and Juneau and great adventures in the wild. There is a walkway that runs for miles along the bay with great views of the Squalicum Harbor and also of the San Juan Islands. We spent yesterday, Friday, with friends of Marvin, Bill and Faye, who showed us around their town. The downtown is very vibrant with...

Jul 10, 2009 - Day 29.....Bellingham to Spokane, WA

We arrived in Bellingham at 8am. We packed up our tents and loaded the bikes. Not much room to pack the bikes as it was pretty tight quarters in the car deck. We disembarked, riding up the grated ramp and reorganized once we got on to the parking lot. Our destination today was Spokane, Washington. This ride took us through the Cascades, which were beautiful. Once, in the lower 48, there was a sense of comfort, for whatever reason, perhaps I just felt closer to home! We stopped at a scenic overlook in the Cascades and took a small path that...

Jul 9, 2009 - Day 28....Day at sea....

Today was a day to relax,read, and for me....walk around finding someone to talk to! I packed my things to lighten the load for tomorrow morning. Twice a day, they allow you 15 minutes to go down to the car deck to check on your things, let the dogs potty (those left in cars and RV's), etc. I went down and packed some things and organized. The day was pretty uneventful so about 5pm I went to the lounge to have a glass of wine and talk to Tony(the old man bartender!). I met a guy, Jim Wickham, who had boarded a day before and talked with him...

Jul 5, 2009 - North Cascades Mountains

We left motorhome with cooler packed, maps in hand, got two blocks away from motorhome and found out I had left my camera. Turned around, had to go back for camera or there would be no pictures. I always hate to leave something. The weather sure was nice. Sun was shining and temperature was great. Our first stop was Cascadian Farms. Very nice place, lots of plants for sale. There was a cutting garden. Cut or pick what you want then pay. The food here was organic. Kind of pricey, but it tasted all right. The water here is such a beautiful...