Las Vegas

Las Vegas

 As with any trip to Vegas there should be no evidence you were there. Because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. This might be true in most cases but we are on a road trip and this blog was meant to chronicle our progress. Honestly we did not take any photos while we were in Sin City. It wasn't done intentionally but we were running around and enjoying the city. 


We stayed at the Vegas RV Oasis. For an RV park it was huge. Most of the places we stayed at so far had at most two-hundred sites, this place had almost a thousand, two swimming pools, spa, five dog-runs, mini golf, restaurant/bar, fitness center, store, movie theater, ballroom and no free internet. The last thing wasn't a perk it just sucked to have to go down the street to Starbucks in order to do homework. There was no way I was paying $10 a day for internet access that wasn't private.  I know that I can take down a connection by myself, let alone if there were a hundred other people on it at the same time.

Fremont street or old Vegas was great. They have a zip-line from the strip to the other end. Pretty cool. We didn't have a chance to ride because they were closing up when we got there. Fremont street is filled with street performers and impersonators, including a Poison cover band. 

We had dinner over our friends Fernando and Ashley's house. Great dinner by the way thanks again. Pasta and meatballs. We played with the new Xbox Kinect which I have to admit was fun. Fernando and I enjoyed a nice hookah on the front porch. Oh here are the only photos that I did take on the whole 3 day trip to Vegas.

  
We went shopping at the Forum Shops in Caesar's and did a little window shopping. We also had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Sequoia National Park

The Sequoia National Park is one of my favorite parks.  Those giant trees make you feel like you've been shrunk to Smurf size.  The pictures really don't do it justice...

Kenny and I hadn't seen any wild animals since Yellowstone even though the signs all over the park say that it is an active animal area.  Kenny and I got lucky that afternoon and saw something that most people will never get to experience.  We were rounding a corner of one of the back roads in the park and caught a glimpse of two baby bears eating and playing in the meadow.  So cute!  Mama bear was keeping watch.  We have some great video footage to edit, then we will post it asap.

Yosemite

We biked all over the Yosemite Valley the day we were there.  We got lucky with some unusually warm weather!

San Francisco

I hadn't realized Napa Valley was so close to San Francisco! It only took us about an hour to reach our "RV Resort" outside of SF in Pacifica.  The little old lady at the campground was nice enough to give us an "ocean view" spot for the regular price because the campground was being repaved and their weren't many other options.  Once we arrived at our spot, we realized that we were on a cliff ledge which has been eroding more and more every day.  After a little research, which was fueled by my paranoia, I found that some apartments not more than 700 yards away had been evacuated earlier this year because of severe erosion.  Later that night, we moved to a safer spot more inland...

You can see where they moved the railing forward because the edge of the cliff keeps falling away, creeping closer and closer to the pavement and where people are sleeping...
 

That's a 60 ft drop to the ocean folks!

Our first day in San Francisco began with us touring some the city's familiar sights like Lombard Street (the curvy street) and Fisherman's Wharf.  For a rainy day, Lombard street was pretty busy with tourists like ourselves.

Gotta love those San Francisco streets! Like rollercoasters!

If you are a seafood lover, Fisherman's Wharf is the place for you.  There are probably ~20 different seafood restaurants, seafood stands, and seafood carts; each one shouting for your business over the next seller.

 

But our favorite part of Fisherman's Wharf was the Sea Lions! They usually hang out on the docks near the aquarium.  We could hear them barking from the other side of the Wharf.

WARNING: SEA LIONS SMELL! BAD! REALLY BAD!

 

The next day, it was Halloween in San Francisco! We drove up to the Golden Gate Bridge and got some good shots of the bridge and Alcatraz.  The Golden Gate Rec area and surrounding parks were packed with San Franciscans jogging, picnicking, and playing with their doggies.  It was a beautiful day!

Napa Valley

Next stop?! Wine country!!! Who doesn't like wine? Or paying $5 for a tasting and leaving delightfully tipsy!  Our only regret was driving ourselves around instead of hiring a driver or taking a wine country tour, like some of the regulars were doing...Either way, we visited a few wineries and had a great time before heading home with purple grins and flushed cheeks.

Northern Cali and the Redwoods

The Goon Docks

The Goonies has always been one of my favorite movies. My friends and I would disappear for the day and mimic their adventures in the woods and marshes behind our house. Of course we never found any pirate treasure since we lived on the Jersey Shore.

As we approached the west coast I started bugging Jean to go to Astoria, Oregon. We left Vancouver and headed back through Washington on our way to Oregon. However this trip down the coast didn't go as smoothly as we wished. We were driving down Route 5 in Washington when the traffic ahead of us suddenly stopped. I slammed on the brakes, the tires locked up on the truck as well on the trailer. It was all in slow motion as we slid down the highway. There was nothing we could do but lean forward and watch as we smashed into the car in front of us. 

The lady we slammed into was very nice considering I just trashed her car. We exchanged our information and called the police. My front bumper is collapsed and the two driving lights I just installed no longer work. Her rear bumper, trunk and tail light are trashed. I think some of the damage was caused by the steer horns, which we had to remove because the front grill is cracked and the zip-ties holding them on snapped. The police helped us back onto the road and we continued on to Oregon.

The Goon Docks

By the time we arrived in Oregon it was late as that is our style on this trip. We stayed right on the coast while a huge storm was rolling in. The whole night the camper was shaking and trembling from the wind and rain. The next morning we awoke to a sliver of sunshine but the wind was still strong. We stopped and got some coffee and headed west to Astoria. As soon as we pulled into town we spotted the bowling ally from the beginning of the movie where Chunk smashed his pizza and strawberry milkshake against the glass. We made a couple random turns and came across the county jail.

After driving through town we followed the boys bike route from the movie and headed towards Ecola State Park which was about 20 miles away. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot we could pick out scenes from the movie. One of the most memorable features is Haystack Rock. The Lighthouse Lounge from the movie was a mock-up and was torn down after they completed filming. There is a shelter in its place and that is where Jean and I found the fireplace that lead us on our underground adventure for One Eyed Willies gold.

Vancouver

It was still raining when we got to Vancouver but we tried to make the most of our sightseeing.  We took a walk through the downtown area and Gastown, the historic district.  We thought there was a bank robbery on Ballard Street judging by the road blocks, news crew, and SWAT team but soon realized as we got closer that a movie was being filmed.  We watched for a little while, but didn’t see any recognizable movie stars.  

Afterward, we grabbed some lunch at a local brewery and drove through Stanley Park before heading home in the rain.  

 Kenny and I are ready for some sunshine and warmer temperatures!  Time to head south!

Olympia National Park

We were blessed with one day of sunshine in the northwest and then it was gone!  Oh well.  We headed to Olympic National Park in the drizzle hoping to see some more wildlife and the coastal beaches.  

On our way there, we passed through a town called Aberdeen, Washington.  According to the DJ on the radio, it was Kurt Cobain’s hometown.  We were a little skeptical until we arrived at the town and the sign said Welcome to Aberdeen, Come as You Are…It looked like half of the houses and buildings were abandoned…Not really somewhere I would visit again.  

Once we were within the park, we got out of the car at Ruby Beach.  We spent a good hour wandering along the beach and exploring the tide pools.  King had a blast too!  

We left the beach and went back into a forest area called Hoh rain forest.  The place gets 12 feet of rain per year.  It was crazy!  All of the trees were covered in bright green moss.  It would make a perfect Ewok village!  Sorry, I don’t have too many pictures because it was getting dark…

On our way to our campsite near Port Angeles, we passed through a town called Forks.  Apparently it had something to do with Twilight because all of the shops and gas stations and motels had some kind of Twilight souvenirs advertised.  Even our campsite billboard said "Vampires Welcome." Mwahahahaaaaa