But then that’s what happens when you spend a week traveling up the 5, all the way from San Diego to just north of Seattle. ‘Twas dry and warm and overcrowded at the bottom; and it’s sopping wet and chilly but slightly less crowded at the top.
The ground is saturated here in the PNW, so wiping muddy boot and paw prints off our little entryway now makes for a full-time hissy fit job. But we saw more people we love along the way, and we are parked for a good 3 weeks surrounded by even more people we love — including our big boy! — so it’s all good.
On Dec. 11, we drove from Escondido to Travis AFB. Other than seeing rainbows, the journey up the 5 was really rather unpleasant, and we do not intend to take on LA traffic in an RV ever again. Ever.Took the wrong exit for Travis AFB, but lookit who we ended up behind!We spent two nights at the home of Tim’s cousin Kim and husband, Rajiv, in Lafayette. She fed us, shared wonderful wine (it’s herjob), and let us borrow her car to drive into San Francisco to visit even more cousins.The view from Kim’s kitchenAcross the Bay Bridge we went, on the dreariest possible day.Parking in San Fran: Mercedes, Mercedes, Audi, pottyFamily time! This is my cousin Mark’s wife, Claire, and their son Ryan. Mark was out of town, but we’ll catch him next time. Hadn’t seen these two for 20 years!Claire and Ryan took us to their favorite place for crepes…… and then down the street for a smidge of ice cream for dessert. A smidge!Ryan gave Tim a demo of Google Glass. Those two tech-heads are a lot alike!On Dec. 15, the mountain passes between California and Oregon looked clear and thus safe for travel, so we headed northward and enjoyed fantastic views of Mount Shasta from the valley.Hello snow in Oregon!On these mountain passes I learned to use the manual shift mode on the BFT. Nothing like learning while doing, and/or by necessity, according to that man I married and who coached me through it. I may or may not have shouted something about STUPID, STUPID MECHANICAL THINGS during the process. Really, it’s a wonder we’re still married. And not at the bottom of a cliff.Dec. 15: We spent 16 hours on the road. Dec. 16: I got this look when I put her back in the truck. Not. Fucking. Again.Today, we finally arrived at our Christmastime destination, Bay View State Park. Family surrounds us in Mount Vernon, Port Townsend, and Bellingham (too far north to fit on this map), and Dane will fly up from San Antonio to join us next week. We get both sons with us for Christmas this year, and that is a gift!Our bay view, at Bay ViewAnd someone is very happy to be not-in-the-truck.
Snarky, irreverent, occasionally sentimental, viewing the world with head cocked and one eyebrow up. Navy wife (retired), mom to two bigguys, full-time RV traveler with husband. Shit breaks and we make mistakes. Join me anyway?
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