Well, hello again! It’s been a long while! Many of you have wondered about our trip & just how it ended. Well, guess what, it’s not over yet…and now we’re back in full swing wrapping up this amazing adventure!!
At the beginning of November, we packed up the camper & stored, it along with Ken’s truck, in the San Francisco area and flew home for the holidays. What was meant to be a two month trip home, got extended not once, but twice. The west was having such severe weather and California was having such strong rain that we thought it’d be best to stay home in our cozy, warm, DRY house. Plus, if you recall, shortly after we moved to Jacksonville, we left on this adventure, so staying home was still “new” to us, as we hadn’t yet had a chance to settle in to enjoy our new digs. Instead of staying home two months, we stayed home for four months…and we needed every bit of that time in Jax. You would think that with the non-stop travels, sight-seeing & adventuring, we would head home to relax…but how much fun would that be?? Our plan was to wait until our trip was over to start a new page in this life of ours, but we thought, WHY WAIT?? So in the midst of the holiday chaos and cheer, Ken and I began our new business, Ring Property Investments. You know we have a love for renovating, flipping and building homes, so we thought we’d start with that. In those four months, we managed to buy up a nice portfolio of rental properties…so now we’ve added landlording to that bag…& so far, so good! Yes, we needed every bit of that four months home!
When March came, the camper was calling for us, so we flew back out to San Francisco and began what we refer to as “Part 2”, or the conclusion of this grand RV Adventure. The difference now is that Part 2 is a race for time. Those two extra months at home didn’t extend the end date of our trip, as we still need to be home for camp dates & just to begin LIFE again. So Part 2 is going to be the fast version of our trip, just touching on as many spots in America The Beautiful as we can. Now…let me take you back, back, way back…to October 2015, where we left off….
Having just left the magnificent Pacific Northwest, we headed into Northern California. Arcata, CA, in beautiful Humboldt County, is home to some of the most grand Victorian style mansions…or so we heard…because we didn’t see them. We did however spend plenty of time inside the redwood groves & had an amazing day exploring Avenue of the Giants. Upon entering the forest, we knew it was aptly named. It’s actually like walking among GIANTS!!! One of those things you truly have to see to believe, as they are HUGE!!
In Humboldt Redwoods State Park, the kids found a tree with plaques of the world’s timeline at various rings, showing the tree’s size during these historical events. We found ourselves singing the Classical Conversations Timeline Song (the new version is one of our favorites)!! It really put these ancient tree’s age into perspective!!
Another timeline tree!
After a long day of exploring, we ended the adventure the way the early loggers would have done…at the LAST surviving cookhouse in the west! The Samoa Cookhouse is a historic logging museum which serves food lumber-camp style, so in our tired & famished state, we toured the museum & enjoyed a hearty meal meant for a lumberjack!
The next part of our adventure took us to the coast…like the EDGE of the coast! From Arcata, we were bound for the beautiful Mendocino Coast. As you know by now, we are considered a BIG RIG, and I do mean BIG. With The Beast measuring in at 44’ & the truck another good 15’, we are 60+ feet. That being said, travel takes some real planning. We refer to the Mountain Directory often to know how steep the grades are, how “truck-friendly” roads are & so on. Keep in mind, we’ve been on the road for six months by now. We are still enjoying everything, but are tired. With the end of Part 1 in sight, we are READY to get home for a break! I am the trip planner & Ken is the driver. All I can say is that I guess I forgot to check the Mountain Directory because what was a gorgeous fall day in Northern California quickly turned bad when we followed my directions, which happened to be the only route possible, to the Mendocino Coast. One road in, one road out…no turning around on the way! Turning west from the 101 onto CA Hwy 20, we had no idea what was in store. Of all the trips not to do thorough planning!! What should have taken us about 2-3 hours, took us about 6 as we wound up & down a mountain range making our way to the coast. It was a hard drive for Ken & I was filled with anxiety the entire ride. By the time we made it to Hwy 1, we were relieved. Obviously, we didn’t know what lay ahead! Highway 1 was a nightmare. Constant large caution signs saying “Tractor-Trailors over 30’ NOT Advised”! Anxiety bloomed big-time & the praying continued, as it’s the only thing we could do. The kids watched movie after movie bc we couldn’t even handle simple conversation. We needed total concentration! Thanks to God alone, we made it to the campground. Truthfully, I wanted to scream at them for not stating up front the dangers for big-rigs trying to reach their site. We felt lucky to be alive! Evening was approaching quickly & checking into the campground was a tight squeeze. Shortly after, we realized there was no cell phone service, no internet, no satellite for Direct TV, not even a grocery store close by…NOTHING. The middle of nowhere! After the day we had, a serious uneasiness come over us & we wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. We didn’t bother unpacking the camper, just made the decision to move on the next day. Beautiful coastline or not, we needed to leave, we just didn’t have an ounce left in us for more “adventure”.
So the next morning, we pulled out, heading south, bound for Sacramento or anywhere we could find that was AWAY from the Pacific Ocean! The worst had to be behind us, right?…WRONG!!! It took us another whole day of driving down Highway 1 trying to reach the only road that could take our big-rig inland. Let me tell you, if ever traveling by car, you will enjoy this drive, as it is absolutely GORGEOUS. However, we were just trying to stay alive. At one point, near the Russian River & also near Gualala, the switchbacks on the edge of the cliffs were so tight & so scary that I just burst into tears out of complete fear! Ken had to drive in the center of the two-lane road just to make it around the curves so that we didn’t fall off into the Pacific. Praise God for light traffic that day!! We pulled over 2 times just to stand outside & pray together that we could make it. As he was driving, my prayer was that if we did fall into the ocean, the impact of us hitting the cliffs on the way down would cause our propane tanks to explode & take us quickly so that we didn’t have to endure drowning…I’m not kidding! This was one of the scariest things we’ve ever experienced & I can say that I’m OVER anything adventurous now! I am made for flat, safe adventures from now on…or at least adventures that don’t involve cliffside oceans!
Thanks be to God, we reached Bodega Bay & were able to head inland. Traffic & interstates had never looked as good as when we reconnected with the 101 & then headed east to Gold Country!!
When we saw this postcard, we had to get it…it was a must…we totally did survive!!!
Caden was so excited to spend his 9th birthday inland, with great hopes that he, too, would strike it rich on California Highway 49: The Gold Rush Trail!!
A gold mine & preserved tailing wheel found along the Gold Rush Trail in Amador County, near Sutter Creek.
Leaving the Sierra Nevada foothills behind & stopping in Sacramento area for a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory!
Then up into the Olive Oil Capital of the World, near Red Bluff, CA, where we toured Lucero Olive Mill!!
Next stop, Napa Valley…a favorite destination of ours, the kids were eager to get there too! You know we’re all serious foodies (well, not Caden, but give him time), so this is a fun town for us!
We took them to The Carneros Inn to see where Ken & I stayed the last time we were here (& NOT IN A CAMPER!:)) & had a great meal at Boon Fly Cafe.
Visit to CIA, a favorite stop for me!
And more than one stop at the Oxbow Market for sushi, fun food gifts to carry home & of course milkshakes from Three Twins, the best ever!
A short drive west to our final destination for Part 1…Petaluma, CA. All of us, VERY excited to get home, but first looking forward to seeing the cool city of San Francisco & mostly to visiting with one of my best friends from high school & also my maid of honor, Nicole Burbridge Kindseth & her great family!
A fun night together by the campfire with Eric, Nicole, Luna, Crusoe & Iris!!
Another great evening at their house in Sebastopol…we didn’t want to leave them…
Halloween Trick-or-Treating at KOA in Petaluma…we even pulled off some last minute costumes all from inside the camper…like a REAL mountain man & his collections…the Liberty twins…& the Professional Dog Walker (I may use that one again next year)!
Touring San Fran was amazing! Obviously, the Golden Gate Bridge, a marvel of the modern world!
Inside the Golden Gate Park, by the Music Concourse, the kids found the home of the Keebler Elves! I don’t know if these are sycamore trees, but we thought they were & sang the Zaccheus song the whole way through!
Japanese Tea Garden, The Painted Ladies & Haight Ashbury
The kids #1 stop at Ghirardelli Square!
Well, the time had come to pack the camper & put it into storage in Petaluma. To celebrate a wonderful adventure, we spent the weekend in Union Square at the Sir Francis Drake before flying back home for the holidays!
The Jenkins introduced us to Dim Sum & we’ve loved it since…so why not hit the 1st Dim Sum house in America! While in Chinatown, we found a fortune cookie factory & personalized our own!
Street Cars to Fisherman’s Wharf
Before heading to the airport, we had to get some silver dollar pancakes at Sears Fine Food!
Thanks for enduring this LONG post. It was hard to get back into the swing of blog writing again & I guess once I started, the words didn’t stop. (The other posts promise to be shorter!) So, when we meet again, it will be to introduce you to Part 2 & Southern California…see you there soon!!
Ring Tales...our great RV adventure! 