Halloween 2009. Yvonne managed to hook up with our neighbour's daughter, Marissa today. She was also trick or treating with her friends Isaac, Miles, and David. There was a huge group of kids here at Campland, so it was quite the adventure. Contrary to most places, everyone was giving out candy. Yvonne got her biggest score yet - a huge bag of candy. We had such a busy day. We started out by roller blading / scootering around the park. We were invited to join Isaac's Soo Bhak Do class. It is a form of martial arts. We have no idea what it's about, but the instructor is an ex-Marine and gets those kids into shape. Yvonne loved it and decided to join the regular classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, she will learn more about it in the next few weeks and should get about 8 classes in before we move on. We will update as we learn about it too. After that, we came home, had lunch, altered Yvonne's costume, did a bit of cooking for a potluck dinner, then went swimming. We went straight from showers to trick or treating (with a pause to throw on some clothes!!!). That went on for two hours, after which we joined a big group for a potluck dinner. Then, it was over to the bandstand for some music and costume judging contest. Yvonne was quite perturbed that she didn't win since she was the only devil present. There were some amazing, innovative costumes, that's for sure! We are all now on our last moments for the day. Our feet are aching and eyes are heavy!!

What's for breakfast???? CANDY!

We managed a day trip to LegoLand on Thursday. This time, it was all decorated for Halloween. We were there on Thursday, so there weren't any actual Halloween trick or treat things, since they only do that on Saturdays. We had an absolutely lovely, warm day. Yvonne totally enjoyed the car driving circuit. The kids get their own drivers licences once they are done. She accumulated a whole bunch of them while we leasurely sipped on coffee while sitting in the sun. It was a far cry from the first time we came here when she was three and couldn't figure out how to make the cars go. She just sat there hollering for us to get her out of there. It is really hitting us how long we've been doing this when we can remember what happened at one of these faraway places when she was so little!

Hello everyone. We are in Oceanside, Ca. Tomorrow we are off to Legoland for the day and then down to San Diego on Friday for a month.

Last March when we got home from down south we were not allowed to stay in Burnaby Cariboo RV park because we had a school aged daughter. Yvonne was of school age the 2 years before and we were not refused accomodation there. Anyway I decided that this reason was some sort of discrimination and took the matter to the BC Human rights tribunal.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I was sucessful in this endeavor. I obtained a verbal and written apology from the General Manager of the park, Harriet Mazur. As well a verbal apology from the owners of the park.

Anyway I am glad this brings this matter to a close for myself and my family.

Take care all. Jim

San Simeon is also home to elephant seals that breed and frolic on the beaches. It is quite a sight and treat to the ear to hear these huge animals play and voice their apparent glee. We also spotted a very chubby squirrel with his eyes on the closes tourist, likely in hopes of a chunk of burrito :-)

Hearst Castle is one of our favourite stops. Jim and I have now been here three times. This is Yvonne's second visit. We did a new tour today (there are 4 different ones!). We toured the top floors of the Casa Grande, which included William Randolf Hearst's personal suites (the bed with cream satin bed cover is his bed). It is hard to believe that one person could command such a huge project - let alone pay for it. We would all like to experience being a guest in the day. While you are touring, the quite is somewhat like touring a mausoleaum. We would love to be there to hear the echo of laughter, the tinkle of shoes running from spot to spot. It must have been a most incredible experience to be one of his guests in this magnificent home. We also got to tour the kitchen, which was as large as a typical 5-star hotel in its day. I was very interested in the separate bathrooms, people to care for my clothes, and a kitchen to cater to my needs. Can you imagine???? The things that I could get done!

The Streets of San Francisco! OMG - please don't make us drag the trailer up that hill!!!! He didn't say it out loud, but I could hear it just the same. HWY 101 takes you right thru downtown San Francisco, with its frightening steep hills. Luckily, we got to turn left just before that steep hill. Whew - we could just hear the tires a spinnin'. The Golden Gate Bridge was enshrined in fog, which made it a very surreal crossing. It felt like we were driving on a cloud.

Who knew??? Did you know that grape vines change colour in the autumn??? We would definitely recommend touring the Napa Valley during the autumn. The rolling hills are covered with all different colours of vineyards, all arranged in the most perfect rows, it's incredible. We aren't even in the Napa Valley, and it's gorgeous here. I think we're just past half way on HWY 101. What an incredible route. It's taking us about twice as long to get south, but the views have been incredible. We can now say we've gone east to west on HWY 1 in Canada (yes, we missed the prairies), and north to south on HWY 101, from start to finish. We have to find these new challenges to help our bums manage past the long hours on leather seats :-) We are also happy to announce that we are into warmer California weather. We went from 60F to 85F today - amazing what 5 hours of driving can deliver you.

Redwood Highway is home to huge trees, Paul Bunyan and Rosevelt Elk. What a day! We drove the bottom half of the Oregon Coast and got as far as Eureka, CA. HWY 101 along the Oregon Coast sure has some gorgeous views. Unfortunately, today the weather was rather misty, foggy and rainy, so the views weren't at maximum clarity. It was a good day to travel. Although the vehicle gets mucky - what else are we going to do on a rainy day?

Preying Mantis at Sea Lion Caves

Sea Lion Caves, Oregon

Well, today we managed to see the largest sea cave in the world AND the most photographed lighthouse in the world. All in one place, too! Just north of Florence, Oregon, there is a huge sea cave that is home to Stellar Seals during cold weather. The fall has been so mild, they can still be seen on the beach, pictured above. We stopped to see them and were treated to a chorus of honking and huge batches of seals lunging into the surf. We can only imagine there must have been some great buffet in the waves! In the afternoon, we picked up the puppy and took a trip to the closest dunes and beach. Both little girls went nuts running and digging on the beach. This area of Oregon will likely be a hit summer vacation spot for us once our winter escapes are done!

Northern Oregon Coast

This is one of the prettiest drives you can ever imagine.....BUT! give yourself extra time. It is a slow and windy road with a lot of quaint little towns to slow down thru. We managed to get to central Oregon today. We are just a few miles south of Florence. We are in the top part of Oregon Sand Dunes National Park. Stay tuned for some cool touristy stuff tomorrow :-)

Long Beach, Washington

Well, we're certainly heading south the long way! We have been on the road four days and have just made it through Washington. For good reason, mind you. We've managed to visit three households in an interesting route. We came through the border on Thursday and stopped in Blaine to visit the VanBuskirk family. Ben is the ranger at Point Roberts where we have spent many a weekend since 1995 when we first went there with a batch of friends for Labour Day. We went from there to Mount Vernon, across Whidbey Island and took the Ferry to Port Townsend, and on to Sequim to visit the Street family. The last time we were together, they were on their year-long RV trip and happened to be in Vancouver for our snowy November in 2007. We all went up Grouse Mountain to visit Santa - you can see those pictures in the blog archives found to the right on this web-page. We then travelled south on HWY 101 along the eastern side of the Olympic Penninsula and into Montesano, where Jim's friends, the Willey's reside on a farm. Both Yvonne and Princess were in their glory with all the animals.

Yesterday, after prying ourselves away from a fantastic visit with John and Julie, we managed to make it to Long Beach, WA for a sunset dinner. Yvonne had the great idea to take our dinner down to the beach, so we did!

Jim's Newest Butterfly!

WOW - isn't this one a beauty. Jim's really discovered a major talent with his stained glass hobby. I can't wait to see what he does to our house!!!

Teapot Hill Hike

Every September, Yvonne's school, Fraser Valley Distance Ed, does a hike up Teapot Hill at Cultus Lake. Our first year, we were rained out and last year just didn't go. This year, we were treated to magnificent, sunny, and warm weather for the hike. It was a good butt burner and Yvonne created a few blisters, but the view was fantastic.

Yvonne is now well into Grade 2 curriculum. She picked up right where we left off at the end of May, so I must say, I am a proponent of good, fun holidays. You wouldn't think it, but those little brains are busy absorbing everything even at play.

Beautiful Vancouver from Queen Elizabeth Park