Endless LA and wasteland with surprise General George Patton Museum & gas station

By Friday morning, I was desperate for my beloved Barq's Root Beer.  California has let me down on the root beer front on several occasions and, so far, I have only found it at the odd Subway restaurant and at Denny's.

So, we started today at Denny's and, oddly enough ended it at a Denny's farther down the road.  There is undoubtedly symmetry there.  In between, we passed through the California where the old cowboy movies were filmed - golden grass with a few trees here and there, madronas and many that we couldn't name - interesting rock formations and groupings of vegetation, horse and cattle country co-existing with vineyards and orchards.  We started to see many of the LA area names that appear in films: Pasadena, Cucamonga, San Bernadino.  [I found a great online map of all the sites where The Big Lewbowski was filmed for those who would love a Big Lebowski tour.  Just know that some of these places are private residences now.]  And, I found my birthplace on a map, finally.  Huntington Park is right next door to Inglewood.  I just didn't know where to look before, assuming it was over near Huntington Beach - what a maroon?.

My parents lived in LA proper; next door to a well-known old cowboy actor (his name was Uncle Bill, but Mom could never remember his last name), one of the character actors who seemed to be in the background of every cowboy movie in the 40s and 50s  He and Mom would have coffee and play pinocle almost every day before I was born.  When the time came, though, the nearest hospital was over the municipal line into Huntington Park.  Fact - I am a California girl and appear to have been born with a craving for caffeine.  Coincidence? I wonder.

If you haven't visited this part of the world, you would be surprised how many oil pumps you see in some areas.  Miles and miles of them; some not working, some rusty and worn, some very close together.  I was so slack-jawed that I did not get one photograph, but I will on the way back.

The end of our day took us through the Southern California Mars-like terrain - rocks, piles, and hills - an endless looking wasteland.  Now and then, there were dead or dying scrubby little trees and plants that made me think of the Zombie apocalypse for some reason.  There were surprises, though: the huge wind farms with white windmills for miles and the sudden appearance of a very large palm tree farm, and the biggest surprise - the General George Patton Museum sitting out in the middle of nowhere next to a gas station, with a dirt yard full of tanks and military equipment surrounded by steel fencing and nothing else for miles and miles.

These windmills went on for miles.

Palm tree starts for as far as you can see.

General George Patton, one of Steve's idols.

Tonight is spent in a much nicer motel, very close to Denny's where we sat in air conditioning (outside it was 108 F) and savored an ice cold soft drink before coming back to see if our room was less like an oven after turning on the AC.  Dinner, however, was at the appropriately named Sizzler Restaurant where the AC had broken down and they were trying to compensate with 4 big, free-standing room air conditioners, which really didn't do the job.  I inquired: the AC had been down for a whole month and the kitchen staff, slaving over the steak grill, had NO AC in 113 degree weather.  Criminal!

Sunset in Blythe, CA.  It hit 113 that day.

Tomorrow, Phoenix at last, where it's a cool 104 degrees.  We are arriving early by a couple of days and will be staying with my parents for that short period until we can move to our reserved BnB rooms on Monday, July 17.  It will be SO nice to stay in one place for a few weeks and explore the area without having to lug all our stuff around or wonder where we will sleep tonight.  I'm SO ready.

The California wasteland punctuated by Los Gatos and Santa Cruz

After meandering along the Pacific Coast Highway from Newport down to San Francisco, the sheen has definitely dulled for the "road trip", although it is proving to be an invaluable learning experience.  It has been frustrating to deal with a broken and slashed toe because how long can one be satisfied with watching the beach, the waves, and watching other people walking on the beach and playing in the water?  I believe that I have proven that period is not long.  I want to frolic in the waves, damn it! But, this stupid bandage will get wet and sandy.

Steve and I have agreed to cut to the chase.  He has enjoyed his share of beaches for this leg of the trip and we agreed to cut over to the direct route to Phoenix, AZ.  So, today...  we left Walnut Creek after our early morning breakfast with the cousins and we struck out for I-5.

There was a blur of heavy traffic, wrong turns, and mistakes that we have mental blocked and never intend to mention again.  We drove around the little town of Los Gatos, where I lived for one year, and found that the old saying is true "you can't go home again", in fact, you may never figure out where that home was.  We drove and drove and nothing looked familiar in any way.  I even stopped to use one of my "life lines" and called my father to find out what street we used to live on, or even what the name was of my elementary school that one year we lived in Los Gatos.  Neither of my parents could remember and I realized - the universe is telling me to "Let it Go, Donnie, Los Gatos no longer exists for you".

So... we ventured down to Santa Cruz, the site of some happy memories - the boardwalk, the amusement park, and the Concrete ship.  The boardwalk and amusement park are still there, better than ever!  My toe didn't want to walk around and check out the rides and games, but it was there.  (We, of course, forgot to take any pictures.  We were enjoying the moment.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)  The huge Concrete Ship, a merchant freighter, was no longer docked (sunk) at the Santa Cruz pier, though.  It was fascinating to that little 5th grade girl that something that large, made of concrete, could actually float.  I think it was my first real musing in the physics arena and my Dad came through with the explanation - air.  A ship made of just about anything will float because it has air inside the hull, cabins, rooms, holds, etc.

Central California, we agreed, looked an awful lot like the terrain of the Moon - all one color and sort of sculptured.  After an untold number of miles of that, we rolled into a little town called Buttonwillow, CA after dark to find a motel.  It was literally a truck stop town and the Super 8 was the best available.  [No photos.  It was a very long, rather trying day.]

Plans for Southern California

Tomorrow, we leave after breakfast with the cousins and head for San Jose and Los Gatos.  Hopefully, we will be able to make it to Santa Barbara by the end of the day.  But, I really want to mouse around in Los Gatos and take a look at Monterey, Morro Bay and maybe a little bit closer to the "no fly zone" where the Pacific Coast Highway has been closed by avalanches.

More to come...

Walnut Creek reunion

We arrived in Walnut Creek, CA (not of Little House on the Prairie fame, I think).  It was wonderful to share a home cooked meal in these lovely surroundings with Steve's cousins and just chat about family and whatever came into our heads.  Steve got to catch up on all the family news and I learned a lot about traveling, since both of them are much more experienced world travelers than we.  They have a lovely apartment and gave us a bed for the night, for which we are very grateful.

Tomorrow, we head for nearby San Jose and Los Gatos where Donnie spent an interesting year during 5th grade.  My father was given a temporary job in San Jose at General Electric and he took the whole family with him.  This was the eventful trip on which we (me and two younger brothers) traveled across the U.S. by car from Lynchburg, Virginia with our parents, a tranquilized Siamese cat, a very sick female Dachshund dog, and her litter of 2 week old puppies.  Poor Pixie couldn't nurse her babies, so my brothers and I took it in turns feeding all six puppies, whose  eyes were barely open, with tiny doll baby bottles and trying to keep the pups cool with the breeze from the open windows all the way across this great land.   We were driving the Southern route in late July with extremely high temperatures, especially in the Mojave Desert.  [Children, this was before cars had air conditioners and it was not pretty.]

I would like to see Los Gatos again, especially because this was the scene of my pre-teen suffering.  So much happened that year in that rented house.  It was hard to be wrenched from my friends and the culture that I had adopted in Lynchburg to live in this place where I knew no one, had a sick Mom, sick dog, and two little brothers to watch.  I chewed my fingers (yes, fingers), had my two adult eye teeth grow in on top of the baby eye teeth (yes, a trip to the dentist), and suffered mind numbing boredom (thank goodness for the bookmobile and horse riding lessons).  It's possible that I was not very good company during much of that year, though. :)

After the San Jose area, we will continue toward Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast Highway and see if we can sneak some peeks of the beaches on either side of the closed road between Monterey and San Luis Obispo.

Giant Redwood Forest and Pacific Coast Highway (and lots of elk)

We just drove through the Giant Redwood Forest in Northern California.  It's indescribable, of course, but I'll try.  Photos seem an impossibility right now, not that I didn't take quite a few.  Eventually, these photos of the Redwoods start looking the same, like the views of the beach.  I have a few photos that include Steve or myself, just to give a perspective.  But, many have seen photos of the Redwoods.  Being there is so much different.  What struck me was how MANY there are of the giant trees and the realization of how very old they are.  These trees can be up to 2000 years old, according to the U.S. National Parks.  How does a person wrap their mind around that idea?  Some of the trees I saw today could have existed during the Roman Empire, when there were still pharaohs in Egypt, during the Dark Age of Europe and the Renaissance.  Some will still be here when I and my children's children's children are long dead.  They are up to 375 feet tall, wider than the average human is tall, so silent, and so many.

Here Steve is asking if this tree makes his butt look too big.

There were two places to turn off of the Pacific Coast Highway in order to drive through these forests.  The State Parks person in Eureka at the State and National Park information center gave a lovely map and directions for the two scenic tours.  They are both well marked on the highway.  I particularly like the Avenue of the Giants, which includes large segments of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

The inside of a giant redwood.

The elk came out to send us off in search of a bed for the night.  This is where we learned that elk love to eat our roses just as much as deer.  The herd must have been at least 20 or so and they were definitely having their evening meal outside a small company house.

Those are definitely delicious roses next to the back steps.

Looks like the females and young grazed here and the adult males watched protectively from  across the street.

We were unable to find a campsite in the forests, so we ended up in Benbow, California in a lovely KOA beside a river.  We have another clean, tiny cabin (this time with air conditioner, private bathroom with shower!) at about 7pm, just in time before we both hit critical mass.  This was a very long day that started at 7am, on the road at 8:30am.

Tomorrow... we head for San Francisco and a short visit with Steve's cousins Kerry and Nancy, who live in the Orinda area.  

Oregon beaches, Siuslaw National Forest and Brookings, OR on the Calif. border

Florence, Oregon is a quiet little town on the Pacific Coast Highway.  My parents lived in several places in Oregon including Florence after they retired and quit the jewelry show circuit business.  [We are a gypsy family at heart.]  The beaches along the way after Florence were gorgeous.

We camped for the night in the Siuslaw National Forest (50% for Seniors with the National Park Card, friends) at the Sutton Campground.  Camping was not bad at all.  We set up at a site directly across from the bathrooms (running water, but no showers).

The cell service appears to be iffy for those with ATT and Tmobile on the Oregon Coast.  I'm told you need Verizon out here.  So, we have been off the radar for a few days.  Since I have Tmobile and ATT is the provider for the "bars" that I am finally getting right now, my service is very slow and uploading photos is not happening.  The scenery is outstanding and I will do a photo dump when I can manage it.

I'm sitting in the car (resting my healing, but broken toe) and looking at the beautiful beach at Harris State Park right now.  Those beautiful Oregon rocks are strewn just off the coast.  Steve is walking the beach and taking photos.  I am walking the sidewalk and doing the same.  (Sand and toe lacerations do not mix, not yet.)

Steve driving.

Steve in front of Harris beach.

Beach without Steve.

We spent the night in a great little RV resort near Brookings called At River's Edge.  They rent RV parking, little cabins, and tent space.  For two nights, we are renting one of their cute little cabins.  Ours could sleep 4 people, but it looks like a "tiny house".  They are clean, have a front porch and electricity, and best of all they are a short walk from bathroom and shower facilities.  They even have washer/dryers.  Heaven!

Indeed a "little house" and it's close to shower/toilets, too!

With the scent of dead sardines in our nostrils we ate our dinner in Brookings, OR and watched pelicans feed.  If you look really hard you can see pelicans all over the second jetty.

Tomorrow morning early, we make a run for the border.  As long has we don't have any produce we should be fine.  We've already crossed once because, oddly enough, you can't seem to buy a California road map outside of California.  (Believe me, I've been trying for 100 miles.  We are only a couple miles from the California border here, but Fred Meyer and two other places do not have California maps.)

False alarm.  We stayed one more day in Brookings (the sun belt of the Oregon coast) to explore its potential.  Steve definitely didn't want to leave.

As I finished packing, Steve gazed off into the misty banks of the river.

Corvallis, Oregon and Oregon State University

We spent a whole lot of time in Olympia getting our Spanish visa ducks in a row.  It might work... or might not, but we've done what we can for now.

Hours later, we arrived in Corvallis, the sweet little town where my parents met and married 69 years ago.  Dad was a very young ex-GI, studying Engineering on the GI bill, and Mom was a senior in high school about to graduate.  They fell in love and I think of them as "lovebirds" to this day.  They seem to have a simple secret - love and forgiveness - it's gotten them through many tribulations for almost 70 years.  These days, that is quite a feat.  We are headed to the Phoenix area to visit them before flying to Europe.  They are living on their own (Dad 90, Mom 87), which is also quite a feat.  

I have some very happy memories of visiting my maternal grandparents in Corvallis, home of the Oregon State University Beavers.  My two younger brothers and I played Hide and Seek on the campus, dreamed under the canopy of the low-hanging fir boughs, and were spoiled rotten by Grandma and Grandpa when we visited.  There is a lovely park here that I want to see again.  We had some great picnics and play times there.  The high point, though, for me as a child was the day my middle brother (about 6 years old) opened the car door as we slowly drove across the creek bridge to the park and actually fell out of the car while it was moving.  My little 9 year old self thought that was the most amazing and funniest thing I had ever seen.  Of course, he landed well and wasn't hurt except for a small scrape and a bruise or two.  My 60+ self says, "what the heck did he think he was doing?  He could have been killed."  But, somewhere inside I'm still giggling.

So, here we are in our second AirBnb near Corvallis, watching the sun go down on the deck of a cute little house in a very beautiful place.  

A fateful injury, 4th of July, and the beginning of our adventure

Okay... a little snag - a little, tiny one.  Bright and early the morning of July 4, I celebrated by dropping my laptop directly on middle toe of my right foot, breaking it in a couple places and making a deep cut in the skin.  Photos are available, but I don't recommend them without a stiff drink.  Urgent Care confirms that the bone is broken and I will henceforth have my toe taped to the one next to it, soak the wounds 2 times a day, and sport that elegant, basic black color for a few days (changing, I'm sure, to the many colors of the rainbow as it heals and sheds its toenail.)  Yes, this happened the day before we drive off into the sunset.

[Lessons - 1. make sure your padded computer sleeve is completely zipped before I pick it up (so the laptop doesn't slip out AGAIN), 2. Always call the Nurseline to see if you need to go to the doctor, 3. Never use hydrogen peroxide on an open wound (it will break down the healing that your body is doing and make the healing take so much longer), and 4. When starting a journey, know that something WILL go wrong, and prepare to be flexible, especially if you are a klutz like me.]

The Fourth was wonderful, even with a mangled toe.  We spent it at a cookout and 4th of July party at our daughter's house.  The people were friendly and there were fairy lights strung across the yard, giving it a happy glow.  The hamburgers tasted so good and it was great to spend just a little more time with Meghan, Aram, their friends, and Aram's family.

My youngest, Meghan, blowing bubbles instead of fireworks.  It was gorgeous!

So, today, the first day of our journey, we drove an entire 40 miles to Lacey, Washington and I am now ensconced on a BnB bed with my foot propped up.  The camping will wait for a few days so the scrapes can scab over and infection is less likely.  (I will bring out the horrendous pix to display whenever it is suggested that I carry my own suitcase or walk more than 20 feet.  So, it's all good.)

Here is a pic of the final visit to the storage unit to drop off what we don't need and pick up what we did need before leaving.  We actually got everything else in the car, believe it or not, including camping gear and two suitcases each.  This and the contents of our car are all our worldly possessions (except for most of the art (stored with the kids), the family jewels (stored with Meghan) and the important papers in the safe deposit box).  Steve is an incredible packer, exhibit A below.

Everything in it's place. Jenga - pull one thing out and it all falls.

Himself across from the rose garden he tended at Mary Bridge/Tacoma General Hospital in Tacoma.

Saying goodbye to our friends, children and the Pacific Northwest

It's amazing how much has to change when you leave an address, a city, work, friends, and family.  Steve and I have spent most of today going from place to place to get our lives disengaged so that we can travel for a few months to a year.

Yesterday, we had a gathering of us and all our children (3 natural, 1 "adopted").  It was wonderful to share a meal with them, talk and hug, but it still hasn't quite connected in my head that I will be thousands of miles away from the people that I love most in the world soon.  We met at Six Arms, a lovely little restaurant near Pine and Minor in Seattle and then crossed the street to go to the roof-top garden in the building where my oldest lives.  The city view was magnificent.  You can certainly tell that Seattle is currently booming; there were at least 10-15 cranes all across the city.

The family on the roof of my oldest's apt bldg.

Today, we took care of business: the bank, the School District, the phone company, the mail, and  Steve turned in his Volunteer badge at Multicare Tacoma General Hospital.  He's worked as an official volunteer there, among other things trimming the roses in the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital rose gardens.  It has been a commitment that he has enjoyed for many years.  While he turned in his "shears", I walked among the gardens that he so carefully tended and took some photos to share.  The care that the Multicare groundskeeping crew puts into making these gardens a quiet place to sit for hurting little patients, friends and relatives is inspiring.  I mean, look at these gardens.  The topiary are so easily recognized as playful animals and the roses have such heavenly scents.  There is a fountain, with the musical sounds of water dancing, and a statue of a child dancing right in the middle of the pool.  Steve kept these roses fresh and beautiful and I'm sure they have comforted thousands of people at a time when they needed it most.  He and the rest of the groundskeepers really make a difference in people's lives.

Packing and planning to move

Our journey has begun.  With the help of two of our children (one is an honorary child and Meghan's boyfriend), we crammed almost ever last piece of our belongings into a small storage unit in Tacoma.

Aram and Nick were amazing and amazed that it all fit, sort of.

We passed the cleaning inspection on the apartment with flying colors, sold Steve's car for asking price, and even sold his bicycle - all on the same day; certainly a sign of good things to come.  So... no more apartment, no home, and we are currently sitting in the bedroom of an AirBnb room in Lakewood/Tacoma - effectively Homeless. 

Guess whose feet are whose.  Boy, it's hot today.  Do I really want to go to Arizona?

Tomorrow, we go to Seattle for a gathering of the clan at Six Arms restaurant on Capitol Hill.  We won't see our children for a couple months.  It will be happy/sad; the downside of "following your dream".  Both our older sons, Roarke and Nicholas, are living and working in Seattle now.  Our daughter, Meghan, and partner Aram ,live and work in the Tacoma area.  We will miss them all terribly - when we aren't having the time of our lives on the road :).

But, 4th of July is coming and our daughter is having some people over to watch the Ruston fireworks near her apartment overlooking Commencement Bay.  I haven't done that for many, many years and it sounds like fun!  (I always worry about people blowing parts of their bodies off at the neighborhood fireworks shows. It will be great to see a professional, bloodless presentation.)

We leave for Arizona on July 5.  More photographs to come and information on the places we go next.  Fortunately, our daughter and Aram, have recently broken the trail for us.  They have lots of information about good places to go and things to see in California.  We will be heading down I-5, possibly stopping to see a garden in Portland, and going all the way to the turnoff for Corvallis, Oregon (a place where my parents met and married 69 years ago and where I lived when I was very young).  Then, it's off to the Oregon Coast, a stop to see relatives in the San Francisco area and "straight" down the California Coast. 

We have 11 days until July 17, when we have to be in Glendale, Arizona near Phoenix for our next BnB reservation.  And, there is so much to see in Arizona when the recycle bins are not melting from the heat.  We can't wait to see my parents again and are wondering how much exploring we can actually do between 7am and 11am, which appears to be the only time humans should venture out in mid-July/early-August in Phoenix.  I hear it's monsoon season, too.  Better and better.

Point Defiance Rose Garden, Tacoma, Washington

Point Defiance Rose Garden - Tacoma, Washington (maintained by the Tacoma Rose Society)

The Point Defiance Rose Garden is very large and very lush.  The roses are planted in concentric circles around a lovely pergola.  Of course, the whole garden is also surrounded by fencing to keep the deer from eating it all up.  Besides the gorgeous rose garden, there is a miniature rose garden, a climbing rose arbor (a rather long one with gates on each end, a dahlia garden, and a beautiful walk with hydrangeas and lots of hug big-leafed jungle looking plants.  Below are some phones of the Rose Garden, including an image of a painting done by my beautiful daughter.  I'll try to post more pictures later.
http://www.metroparkstacoma.org/point-defiance-rose-garden/

Pt. Defiance Rose Garden by Meghan Mitchell

Port Gamble, Washington

Port Gamble, Washington

Port Gamble is a restored village on Hood Canal; a National Historic site that dates back to the 1850s. [ http://www.visitkitsap.com/cities.asp?ID=3]  There are beautiful New England-style houses and businesses and a wide-open expanse of grass have made this the site of many fairs, celebrations, and weddings. One could shop for unique gifts and nautical items, but it is a wonderful place to walk for exercise, too.  I visited in mid-August and the gardens were just beautiful.  See for yourself:

Opulent neighborhood garden (that is no more)

Opulent Garden

This outrageously opulent garden is in Tacoma, Washington.  Even though there is no walking involve (it is private property, after all), I had to share this garden. It made me feel uncomfortable as I drove by this house for years.  It seemed like such an embarrassing overindulgence. There are so many plants in pots and so much flowering that I guess I felt overwhelmed just looking at it, too.  The gardener has been doing this for at least a decade and I'm starting to really enjoy driving slowly by this house now and then on a beautiful Pacific Northwest summer day.  There is a joy and a wild exuberance about this garden that is starting to rub off on me.  Although I don't believe that I'm inspired to do this myself, I am content to be an enthralled observer and I believe this gardener truly enjoys sharing with us all.
 

The majority of these plants are in pots.  The owner probably overwinters many of them.  I'm sure that keeping them in pots makes that process a lot easier. 

[Update 4/4/2020: Unfortunately, this home no longer puts on a show each spring and summer in Tacoma.  Either the wonderful gentleman who planted this every year died, or he had to move.  The house was sold and the new owners were not inclined to continue this over-the-top tradition.  I, for one, will miss it.]