On The Road To Portland (Part 2)

It took us six days to make the drive from San Diego to Portland. Why, you ask? Why did it take us 6 days to drive the 1,000 short miles? Well, because we were pulling a trailer and going under the speed limit, but also because we wanted to catch as many of the destinations along I-5 on our way as we could. In the first four days we went roller coaster riding in Santa Clarita, spent a long day driving most of California to Redding and then two adventurous days in Redding itself (I wrote about those four days here). Here is how we spent the next two days, ON OUR WAY TO OUR NEW HOME IN PORTLAND! :o)

Thursday morning we woke up in Redding and got back on I-5. Within minutes of getting on the interstate we were greeted with gorgeous vistas of Shasta Lake. I had noted in the atlas that we'd be passing by this lake when planning our route, but had not expected it to be as magnificent as this. The views we saw that day strongly reminded me of the views we'd seen off of the Sea-to-Sky Highway in Vancouver, BC and we were both blown away by the natural beauty.

View of Shasta Lake from I-5

Shasta Lake

Soon after passing the lake we rounded a bend in the road and were presented with another amazing site- snow covered Mount Shasta, the fifth tallest peak in California at 14,179 ft. The view of the mountain got better and better as we got closer (I probably took a million pictures, thinking each was better than the last) and eventually we were directly next to the imposing mountain.

First glance of Mount Shasta

Getting closer!

Mount Shasta!

Not thirty minutes later we passed the last exit on I-5 in California. This might not seem that interesting, but it was exit number 796, meaning that I-5 stretches almost 800 miles north and south through the state! Right after crossing the border into OREGON! we also passed another I-5 landmark: Siskiyou Summit, the highest point on the I-5 at 4,310 ft elevation.

The last exit in California on I-5

Welcome to Oregon!!

Our destination that day was Ashland, a super cute little town tucked deep in the Rogue Valley. We'd heard great things about Ashland, and my Pacific Northwest guide recommended it as a culinary delights destination, which is always a huge plus in my book. The town was located conveniently right off of I-5 and we had no trouble finding parking for our truck and trailer on one of the side streets right off of Main Street.

Walking around Ashland

Main Street in Ashland

The biggest reason we decided to make a stop in Ashland was because it was also home to one of my favorite bloggers, Patti from One Road At A Time (Patti wrote a great write-up on Ashland here). After living in the Bay Area in California for over 30 years, her and her husband Abi decided to shake things up by moving to Ashland, buying a Bed & Breakfast and renovating it! Today, two years later, they are running a successful business and have gone on several exciting adventures around the US and abroad. I really like reading Patti's blog because she is totally open about what it's like to run a B&B, and haven't we all wandered and dreamed about what it would be like to open and run a B&B some time in our lives? Well, I know I have, and I really enjoy reading the "behind the scenes" stories. Patti also writes a second blog on behalf of their B&B, On the Road to Abigail's, where she shares up to date interesting information on what's happening in Ashland and the Inn.

Abigail's Bed and Breakfast in Ashland

So! After wondering the town we made our way to Abigail's Bed and Breakfast and Patti gave us a true "behind the scenes" tour of the B&B. It was awesome to hear about the before and after progress they made on their renovations. Then the four of us made our way back down Main street to one of Patti and Abi's favorite restaurants, a quaint Italian place called Pasta Piatti, and we spent the rest of the evening swapping blogging secrets and sharing funny stories. It's really funny how the four of us would have never met had Patti and I not accidentally found each other on this huge world of the internet. How amazing is it to find friends like that?

Abi, Patti, Sky and I at dinner in Ashland

The following morning we'd planned to drive to somewhere between Ashland and Portland, to arrive in Portland on Saturday, but we couldn't help our excitement and drove all the way to the city. On the way the weather could not make up its mind and we kept passing under grey clouds and light rain and then blue skies and bright sunshine. Right before we drove into the city limits we were greeted with a huge and beautiful rainbow that seemed to begin right at the side of the intestate and stretched far into the countryside. Does this mean we've found the end of the rainbow? We've found the gold? I sure hope so! We plan to call this place home. :o)

The rainbow right off of I-5

Huge rainbow over Oregon!

Now we've spent the last week running around Portland, trying to get all of our affairs in order before I start my new job tomorrow! I have lots to say about this last week, and plan to write about that soon.

To see more pictures of Ashland, click here.

Happy New Beginnings!

M.

On The Road To Portland (Part 1)

We reluctantly left San Diego after spending two awesome weeks there. Our original plans had included visiting Joshua Tree National Park next, but we soon found out that all the campgrounds in the vicinity were booked solid because of Spring Break. We spent an extra day on the beach instead...bummer. :o) Sunday morning I woke up with the crack of dawn because we were spending that day RIDING ROLLER COASTERS!! We drove three hours north from San Diego to Santa Clarita, to Six Flags Magic Mountain and then spent the next eight hours running around the park like school children, trying to ride as many coasters as we could.

Recipes From The Road- Pears and Figs in a Sherry Sauce

While wondering around the fruit section of a grocery store the other day we were trying to find fruit that we had not tried before or fruit we hadn't eaten in a while. There was a gorgeous display of ripe green pears and the sign above it listed the pears as being the "Best Ever Pears" from Oregon. Well, who can beat that? And plus, its from Oregon! The store also conveniently provided take home recipe cards as suggestions on what you could do with these pears. The suggested recipe was Pears in Sherry and Fig Sauce, and after reading through the directions and ingredient list we decided to give it a try.

California Dreaming

We spent the rest of our two weeks in San Diego (aside from spending afternoons in La Jolla and visiting the San Diego Zoo) biting our fingernails thinking about the impending end of our year long journey exploring downtown's Little Italy and Gaslamp districts, laying out on the Pacific and Coronado beaches and admiring the other treasures around the city. The two weeks flew by in an instant and all I have left to prove that we were even there now is the collection of pictures I took and the golden tan on my skin. There is something to be said about Southern California...life is just different here. This region of the country has an amazing smell to it; it smells of sunshine, of freshly cut grass, flowers. If this smell could be captured, I think it would be a top seller for car air fresheners, although its likely it would cause an increase in traffic accidents, as drivers would tend to drift off, happily dreaming about California.

San Diego downtown view from Coronado Island

We wasted whole afternoons laying out by the ocean on the warm, golden sand, watching kite surfers and sailboats go by. Since our next destination (Portland) doesn't deliver quite as much sun as the SoCal region, we were trying to soak up as much sunshine as we could before we left to make the drive north. Our most favorite beach ended up being Pacific Beach mainly due to its popularity (lots and lots of interesting people watching!), its wide and clean sandy beach and its long boardwalk.

Pacific Beach

Me, trying to work on that horrible shorts tan line!

The boardwalk on Pacific Beach

A pup enjoying the views on Pacific Beach

Spring Break rolled around during our second week in California and the beaches filled up with all kinds of amusing folks out for their one week of freedom. We would pack up our beach blanket, a picnic lunch and our books and head to the beach late morning. We'd spend the rest of the afternoon goofing around on the beach and then in the early evening we would walk the boardwalk and wait for the sunset. Sunset over the Pacific Ocean is one of this nation's greatest assets. We tried to capture as many as we could.

Sunset on Pacific Beach

One Saturday afternoon we drove out to Coronado Island to visit the Coronado beach and see the famous Hotel del Coronado. It turned out that a dog beach was nearby so we spent a good portion of our visit there, watching dogs happily run around, kicking up sand and chasing balls into the high waves. Afterwards we strolled the beach up to the hotel and got a hot coffee from the cafe inside. We took our coffee to the outdoor patio and sat and watched as guests of the hotel shuffled past, some dressed in swimsuits and some dressed for Rodeo Drive.

Coronado Island

The Hotel del Coronado

Coronado Beach dog beach

We spent an afternoon in Balboa Park and another touring the Old Town San Diego, the birthplace of California. On our last day in town we finally made it out to the San Diego harbor and Skyler got to oogle at historic warships. That evening turned out to be pretty magical. There was a gentle breeze off of the ocean, the temperature was a warm, mid sixties. We strolled the harbor, then made our way to the Gaslamp district where we had an amazing Italian dinner on an outside patio. Afterwards we walked the streets, taking in the casual and happening atmosphere of St. Patrick's Day celebration. We ended the evening with a dessert from an Italian bakery, complete with two frothy caffe lattes. Life truly seemed grand, and it was.

Sky and the Star of India in the San Diego harbor 

Unconditional Surrender statue in the San Diego Harbor 

Gaslamp district of San Diego

Walking around the Gaslamp district of San Diego

Little Italy district of San Diego

Dessert selection in Little Italy, who could say no?

If only all days could be filled with as much sunshine as these...but then would we appreciate them for what they were? San Diego has moved into our top ten cities around the US list. We'll be back, maybe often...to recharge our sunshine batteries during long stretches of rain in Portland perhaps. :o)

To see more pictures of San Diego, click here.

Happy California Dreaming,

M.

La Jolla Afternoons

While visiting San Diego, we've spent several amazing afternoons in La Jolla, a little scenic seaside community just north of the city. One of La Jolla's best features (in my opinion) is the abundance of seals and other marine life that is easily visible on the shore. The harbor seals can be seen year round in La Jolla at Casa Beach and Seal Rock, and right now (early spring) is pupping season! These baby seals, with their giant flippers and whiskers are possibly the cutest babies I've ever seen. In addition to the seals we saw a few California sea lions, and lots of brown pelicans and Cormorants on the beaches. Even whales can often be spotted close to shore here during migration season!

San Diego Zoo

Aside from the beaches, we were the most excited about visiting the San Diego Zoo during our time in San Diego. I'd been to the zoo in the past with my parents and little sister, but Sky had never been and we were looking forward to spending a day there together. We bought our tickets online with a $4 discount and got to skip standing in line at the ticket office. We arrived just after lunch and had five hours left until the zoo closed, so we got a map from the front and planned out our route around the park. Our ticket came with a free guided bus tour of the zoo, so we went on that first to get acquainted with the park layout and learn a little about the animals. Then we spent the remaining hours running around the zoo like madmen, making sure to visit all of our favorite animals (the park is HUGE and has Lots and Lots of hills...if you visit, plan to walk a lot and wear comfortable shoes!). In the last thirty minutes before closing we caught a ride on the aerial tram that flies over the zoo from one end to the other, a nice feature that was also included with our admission tickets. I believe this day is best captured in pictures, so here goes:

Our Little, Big News!

Just when we thought we had our plans all figured out (at least until after Russia), we got one more life curve-ball thrown at us, and once again our plans have morphed into something completely new. So, without further ado, here is the big announcement…

On The Way To California!

After spending five days in Phoenix we packed up and headed west to the land of sunshine and sea, California! I-8 took us right through the Sonoran Desert National Monument, by large fields of solar panels and again right by the Mexican border.  Since the drive from Phoenix to San Diego was too far for us in one day (pulling a trailer we have to go slower on the highway and Sky is the solo driver), we were just hoping to find a boondocking spot along the way.

Desert Heaven in Phoenix, AZ

The drive from Tucson to Phoenix was a piece of cake and took us just over two hours. The desert landscape was similar to what we’d seen coming into Tucson, with saguaro cacti scattered amidst dry sand. What was interesting though was how many tumbleweeds we saw that day. It was a particularly windy day (we seem to pick all the windy days to do our driving…it makes it more exciting that way) and because we were driving through dry, flat land, tumbleweeds had nothing to stop them from swirling around the highway. I’d seen tumbleweeds crossing roads before, in cartoons and silly movies, and kind of always thought that the size of these things was exaggerated for comedic effect. BUT NO. These massive tumbleweeds, the size of wine barrels, would fly right across traffic, with no obvious trajectory pattern aside from the direction of the wind gust.

Tucson and the Saguaro National Park

Wednesday morning we woke up at the gas station on the side of Interstate 10. It was a bright and sunny morning in the New Mexican desert and we had plans to drive west into Arizona to our next destination, Tucson. The weather forecast for southern Arizona called for snow later in the day, and I had trouble believing it. Snow…in the desert…on such a nice sunny day? We’d run into similar craziness last time we’d come through Flagstaff, AZ when we experienced a gorgeous sunny day followed by a morning snow blizzard, only to end in another sunny and warm afternoon. Well, we set out on the road hoping to be parked at our campground, snug and safe, by the time this “snow” rolled in.