Russian River - Days 6 & 7

Doin' Nothin' & Wet Dog

Wednesday was a down day for us, at least relative to doing nothing the rest of vacation. We dedicated it to doing nothing. The highlight of the day was washing down Eco, getting all of the dust and grime from the drive up off her.

Thursday we decided to take a walk on the Russian River, and see if Sasha would go near a calmer body of water. We headed 1/2 a mile up the road to some state beach river access, since we really can't get to the river from our camp. What a disappointment, since that was one of the reasons we picked this camp. We'll probably never stay here again.

Anyway, a short hike through the woods and we got to the Russian River. Since the water level is low this time of year, we were able to cross a sandy spit of land and get to an island in the middle of the river. As we got over there, two women seemed surprised to see us. One was in a wedding dress, or at least trying to put it back on. It took us a few seconds to realize that the other was a photographer, and they were taking pictures of her in the river prior to the wedding, wherever that is. I guess nude photos in the river are all the rage here.

After the initial shock of us almost seeing her naked, we took Sasha to the edge of the river and tried to get her to go in. We tossed sticks in, found an old tennis ball for her to chase, and Steve splashed around at the edge trying to get her in. Nothing doing. Ao, we went for a hike down the middle of the island, though some dense thickets. Sasha was quite the trail dog, leading the way like a seasoned vet. We decided to take one more stab at getting her wet, but she would have none of it. After about 20 minutes or so, a couple came by in a canoe, and that seemed to get her interest.

Once we saw how excited she was, we told her to chase them, and released the leash, She barked and bounded into the water. There was no way she could reach them, but she gave it a valiant effort. She got about 5 feet out and almost went under before she realized she was in the water. She had to stop and doggy paddle a bit to get back. A few feet from the edge she stood in the water an looked around, almost like she was trying to figure out how she got so wet. Finally she came bounding back on to the beach, shook off, and would not go near the water again, no matter wa=hat we tried. Oh well, at least she got a little bath.

Back to Eco, relaxed for the afternoon and evening, and mentally geared up for starting the trip back in the morning.

While we sitting outside enjoying a campfire (Steve is getting better at that), a couple pulled in next to us. It just so happens that they are from San Diego as well, and they had a Manchester Terrier a little older than Sasha. The two dogs played together for quite awhile as we chatted. Seems like they wore each other out and both families will be able to enjoy a peaceful night of tired dogs.

Tomorrow, the road back home.

River's Edge

No Way

Trail Dog!

Barking at the Canoe

Getitng Wet

River Dog!

Russian River - Day 5

More Pub Food & Sasha at the Beach

This morning we decided to celebrate our 8th anniversary somewhat according to plan. We had originally thought we would go over to the Russian River Pub for dinner on our anniversary, but last night watching the game sort of threw us off. So, we went over for lunch. We picked some food that was marked on the menu that had been featured on the show, to see how it measured up to the hype. Here's a link to the clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uue8SwdKc_8

Here's our review of the place and the food, and we justed watched that clip again.

The place still looks just like in the clip. Not sure where the pinball machine ended up. The ladies room really is that clean. Even Steve had to check it out.

After re-watching the clip, none of the food mentioned are items that are marked on the menu. There is no Mexi-Burger on the menu, although the Spicy BBQ Burger does look like what they showed. There is no tri-tip burger on the menu, nor is the Ahi salad. And none of the items featured on the menu as "Showcased on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" except the wings and the Pesto Chicken Breast are in the clip. So we sort of felt like we got duped.

We split a Spicy BBQ burger, a Prime Rib sandwich, and of course more wings. The burger was so-so, the sandwich was pretty good but a little bland, and the wings were very good again.

Our consensus: it was average at best. Maybe they have a different cook, which we could understand, but to completely change or delete items, and claim other items on the menu are what was shown, is a little underhand, as you can see in the photo I took of their roadside sign, they still promote that they were on the show 5 years ago. Perhaps they should re-watch the clip and update their menu.

After lunch, we drove back out to the coast to Blind Beach. The sky was clear and sunny on the way out, making us hopeful to be able to get some nice photography in. The huge rocks and waves crashing against them are really dramatic, but by the time we actually got to the coast, it was overcast. I don't think it ever clears up at that part of the coast. Oh well.

We walked on the beach for a mile or so, and Sasha had a blast, running in the sand, smelling rotting seaweed, and nosing dead crabs. But she was terrified of the water. Pretty sad for a dog who lives in San Diego. She just would not go near the water. All in all, a pretty good walk and we had fun watching Sasha alternate between utter joy and terror.

When we got back to the campsite and were relaxing, we had a good opportunity to observe some RVers a few sites down. They were in a huge motor coach, but didn't seem to be enjoying it. The rig looked immaculate, but after they parked, the guy took over an hour wiping it down while his wife sat inside and wrote in a notepad. Maybe she was grading his performance.

Then they put out their awning and dragged out 2 chairs. Nothing else. They positioned the chairs facing the RV, and sat there without talking to each other for several hours. She kept taking notes, and he just stared off into the distance. Now we felt like we were being graded. Steve had tried to engage them in conversation earlier, but basically got short answers just a step above a grunt. We did notice that they did talk to one other RVer, who just happened to have a nice huge motor coach too. We could hear them complaining about the camp from where we sat, so I guess they have higher standards that the rest of humanity.

Later in the afternoon a very nice older couple parked in the campsite next to us. We struck up a conversation with them, so maybe they were slumming it this week. They were fascinated by Eco, so Anja gave them the grand tour, showing off her organizational skills. It was only the second time they had taken their RV out, so they asked Anja to go over to theirs and give them some tips on how to organize better. As it started to get dark, we made campfires and sat outside for a few hours chatting. Steve seems to have gotten his pyro mojo back, as the fire was damn near perfect.

Tomorrow, same channel!

Walk on the Beach

Watch Out, Waves!

Russian River - Day 4

Pub Food & Lumberjacks

This morning we took a drive out to the coast, to the town of Jenner about 20 miles west. It was a nice drive, going through the little towns of Guerneville and Duncans Mills. Once we got to the coast, it was overcast. We had gone through Jenner several years ago on our coastal trip up Highway 1, and fell in love with the area around the Russian River, which is why we wanted to come up here this time. After getting turned around and accidentally heading north on the coast for a few minutes, we backtracked and headed south about 10 miles to Bodega Bay. We scoped out Goat Rock and Blind Beach, which we decided to come back to when it was sunny and warmer. We also found a very neat state park campsite in Bodega Bay that the ranger was kind enough to let us drive around to see how it measured up. They don't have sewer hookups, but water and electricity, with a dump station on the way out. The entire park, with about 125 sites, is on a several mile long spit of land that protects Bodega Bay. We are thinking of coming back and trying it out for a few days sometime, as you have great views of the waves crashing against the huge rocks just off the coast, and on the other side the peaceful little town of Bodega Bay.

Late in the afternoon we found out that we would not be able to see the Monday Night Football Chargers game at the campsite, as they do not have ESPN. So, we headed over to the Russian River Pub a short walk away and asked if they were going to have the game on. This place was one of the reasons we picked this campsite, as it was featured on the very first episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network several years ago.

The owner was there, and Steve recognized her from the TV show. She was very nice, and said that they would turn the game on for us, and that the bar would stay open until "whenever". So, we quickly got ready and headed over there for some beer, chicken wings, and football.

The wings, onion rings, and beer were really good, the bartender was awesome, and the game totally sucked. The Chargers lost miserably. By the time the game was ending, the only people left were us, an old couple that lives full time at the camp, the bartender, and the cook. We mentioned several times that we didn't want them to stay open late just for us, but they had no problem with it. I think it was a combination of being nice and friendly, and following the owners orders.

This was also a really good test for Sasha, to see if she would be OK staying in Eco all by herself. She whined for maybe 2 minutes after we left, and then jumped up on the bed and napped until we got back several hours later.

On the way over to the pub, we passed a large statue of a lumberjack. This 20' tall guy is inside the camp, and we can see him from our campsite. He reminds me of the Paul Bunyan statue I saw as a kid in Bemidji, Minnesota. I think this new guy is supposed to be a miner or gold panner or something, because he has a shovel instead of an axe. There's no sign or anything describing him, he just towers over the camp, keeping an eye on things I guess. Sort of creeps me out, with that weird grin and a shovel at the ready. Like the grin would never leave his face as he buried your dead body.

Went back to Eco, and realized that almost everyone who was here for the Jazz & Blues Festival last weekend had left. A few new RVs showed up, but we pretty much have this end of the camp to ourselves.

More tomorrow!

I'll Bury You!

The Real Deal

Deceptive Advertising?

A True Dive

Russian River - Days 2 & 3

New Camp, We're not in Civilization Anymore

Got an early start out of Los Banos, and had a short 4 hour drive to Forestville. We got to the campsite a little before noon, and were parked and all set up by 1.

Driving through the camp, we were a little worried. There are a lot of permanent residents here, looking a little sketchy. Some of the rigs they were living in looked like they had seen better days. But by the time we found our site, off in a corner, it looked better. More of the campers are just that, camping for a few days or so.

The weird part was the tent campers. There were quite a few people just across the way, making quite a ruckus. Things quieted down after dinner though, and all of them left the next morning. We did see Ma and Pa Kettle crashing in sleeping bags right on the ground, no tent or anything. Not sure if they were homeless, thought they were cowboys, or just a lot tougher than us.

It was warm during the day, hitting about 86 degrees, but when we woke up the next morning, it was quite chilly out, at least for us San Diegans. 54 and a light breeze felt like a noreaster to Anja.

Saturday night we hung out and chatted with our neighbors, meeting some very nice people. Our next door neighbors saw Steve struggling to get a fire going and teased him about needing to go back and get his Boy Scout badges again. The neighbors on the other side took pity and chipped in with some better dry wood, and the fire was going strong. We called it a night about 9 or so.

Sunday we got up with the sun (and the rooster across the road), had some coffee, bagels and lox, and after much discussion (Anja coming up with ideas, Steve nodding in agreement), ended up rearranging everything in the RV. Things are much more organized now. Most of it was because you can only do so much by theory. When reality hits you, and you find yourself tripping over your shoes for the fifth time and swearing like a Sailor/Marine* about it, you start organizing. Or at least we do.

*one of us is from a Navy family, one from a Marine family, so together we really know how to swear

For dinner we broke out the new camp stove and grilled up some brats, heated some sauerkraut and beans, and sat by a much better fire until it got dark. Since it was at least 10 degrees cooler all day long, the evening started getting pretty chilly by 7. Even Sasha, with all her fur, was starting to shiver. We may break the unwritten rule and get her a sweater like real grandparents do.

The Campsite

Russian River from our campsite

Sasha on alert

Russian River - Day One

On the way to the Russian River

Woke up early, and started loading all our gear into Eco. Steve had to run some bins back to the house, so Anja took a few minutes and attended to the most important part of the day. She taught Sasha how to go up and down the stairs into the RV, and got her to jump up onto the bed. Pretty good for 2 tries!

We hit the road at 9 am, and then hit the usual LA traffic. That slowed us down quite a bit, but we got through it and over the Grapevine by noon or so. The Central Valley was nowhere as hot as we were worried it would be, maxing out at about 84 degrees. We decided to take a chance and see how the truck did with some low AC on. It did fine, and we rode in comfort the rest of the way.

Around Avenal we stopped for gas, and Anja spotted a guy selling fruit from his truck. She bought 5 lbs of organically grown grapes, 6 nectarines (all of which are delicious), all for $5. But Anja gave him $6, hoping the extra dollar could go to his fund to get his 2 front teeth replaced. Ah, the Central Valley.

Sasha did really well at the rest stops along the way, seemingly a bit overwhelmed with all the new sights and sounds. She had her first run-in with a huge dragonfly at a rest stop, which was fun to watch. She mostly slept in the back seat though. Her new safety harness made us feel much better about driving with her.

We finally pulled into the RV park near Los Banos about 4 pm, wondering why they named a whole town "The Bathroom". We were a little worried that it would be the pits, but the park is actually pretty nice, and we enjoyed a pleasant evening relaxing outside.

Partway through the evening Anja discovered that the fridge wasn't getting cold, so we tested a few things and found out that Steve forgot to flip the circuit breakers to the electrical hookup. We definitely need a checklist for all this stuff. After that, everything was working fine and Steve had to apologize for getting so steamed about nothing working for awhile. Par for the course on that one.

The bugs started to get a bit much about 7 or so, so we decided to head in and relax, download and watch the latest episode of Project Runway, and get some rest for the drive to Russian River the next day. Here's a few photos from The Bathroom.

Llave sus manos!

Before the Facelift

Eco is our 18' travel trailer that takes us on adventures far and wide. After 2 years of vacationing with her, we realized that she needed some modifications. Every time we took her out, we came up with more and more ways to organize, change, modify, and generally rearrange her guts to make our trips more comfortable. Follow her journey here.


Wayfarer to lands unseen


Original interior - forward


Original interior - rearward

She is small inside, measuring 15' long and 7' wide. But she has everything we need. Stove, sink, microwave, furnace, toilet, shower, tv, bed. Just like home, only smaller! Much smaller.

Immediately after joining our family, we knew she needed changes. Some of them have been minor, some have been fairly dramatic. And some are subjects of ongoing discussion about how far we can push the envelope of long-term livability with her.

We are just finishing some major overhauls this weekend, prior to our trip to the Russian River after Labor Day, so I will take a bunch of photos and detail all of the modifications in my next post.

Home on Wheels

Eco

That's what we call our RV. You can see a picture of Eco to the right, and more detail on her own page at the top. She's an 18' micro-light travel trailer, and we have had her since July of 2008. In that time, we have been on several trips with her, and have been modifying her for more extended use.

See, I grew up camping, mainly in the woods of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Boy Scouts and all. And in my early 20's, I took an extended solo camping trip around the west. So after Anja and I married, I wanted to get her involved in something I enjoy so much. She had never been tent camping before, and I quickly got her hooked on the great outdoors. Most of it.

Several years ago, we bought all kinds of camping gear. OK, I bought the stuff. I love gadgets, and I especially love gadgets designed for things I like to do. New lightweight tent. Sleeping bags. Cooking gear. Boots. All the cool stuff I thought you needed to enjoy the outdoors.

We headed up to Sequoia National Forest, and spent a weekend. See Sequoia Hangover for that particular episode of hilarity. A month later we took our youngest son Dylan with us. Had a blast, went hiking, saw deer wander right into our campsite, had a bear snuffle around our tents at night, saw tons of stars sitting around the campfire. But there was a problem. An age-old problem. Old age.

Our backs just couldn't take the abuse of sleeping on the ground. We had fun, but we never really relaxed. Everything ached, and everything felt dirty. This bothers Anja more than me since I am a guy, but I was sort of miserable too, and I couldn't figure out why.

On the trip home from Sequoia, Anja got to daydreaming about being able to camp more comfortably, and the possibility of getting a boat. Her daydreaming usually involves talking things out. My son and I quickly disabused her of this notion, both of us realizing how much work and money a boat can be. As the discussion wound down on that subject, she spotted an RV. And then she noticed all kinds of them being pulled, driven, towed, and everything short of flown, down the highway that holiday weekend. I could smell the gears turning and burning in her head, my back started to ache like the living room was going to be rearranged again, and my wallet suddenly felt a whole bunch lighter.

2 weeks later we were driving off with Eco. We didn't know the first thing about RVs, but we have learned more than I ever thought possible, and have had some great times. Our trips to Zion, Sedona, and Yellowstone have been some of the best times we have had, and we always look forward to the next trip in Eco.

When we lived in the north part of San Diego, we stored Eco at a lot that was close by, but had some restrictions about hours they were open. We like to leave for a trip early in the morning, and they were only open from 7-7. So often we had to wait around to get Eco, then spend time hitching up. This would seriously cut into the plans for the trip. And we had to plan to make it back into town with enough time to drop her off before they closed. And they were also closed on holidays, which was a major pain, since that is when most people have vacation. Sure it was cheap, but once we downsized and moved closer to work (see earlier post), it became a hassle to drive all the way up north to get Eco, especially for short trips. So, didn't take her out for months at a time. She sat idle, unused, a little lonely I think.

We finally decided to move her closer to home. Now she is in a 24-hour a day lot 10 minutes from home. A bit more expensive, but much easier for us to get to. And planning our next trip seems so much easier. We can pick her up any time we want and hit the road. We can stop by and check in on her. She sits out in the hot sun all day, never complaining, just waiting for our next adventure together.

The drawback? As we have used her more and more, for longer periods than a weekend, we have come to the realization that Eco needed some adjusting. For that ongoing saga, check out Eco's very own page at the top of the blog here. And for the legendary trips she has mostly been a part of, see Adventures up there too.

Less Stuff

My wife and I are in the process of radically changing the way we live, along with the how and the why.

Our kids are grown, and once we started banging around the mostly empty 3 bedroom condo we were living in, we decided that we needed less. Less space, less clutter, less hassle. So, we moved to a 1 bedroom apartment much closer to work. The commute is down to 15 minutes, rather than 60+. And we have gotten rid of stuff. Lots of stuff.

We started out with a garage at the new place, but a couple of months ago we decided to get rid of it, and all the junk in it. Because that's what was in there. Junk. And $75/month was coming out of the checking account to store stuff that we just didn't need. We had already downsized quite a bit, but this was the final push. We felt like if we could live in this 800 sq. ft. apartment, things would be better.

Some things were donated. Some things the kids took. Some things were sold. And some things went straight to the trash. In the end, only a few things ended up back in the apartment.

I don't know if everything is better, but the less stuff we have, the better we feel. True, it takes some getting used to, having less stuff. We're still working on it. Just looking around the kitchen, I think I need to do a better job of sticking to the "one in, one out" philosophy. Nothing new comes into the house without something else going out. Not sure exactly where I heard that idea, but it is making more and more sense.

See, the kitchen is a hard room for me. I love to cook, and I love cooking gadgets. Not that I need an avocado slicer. Or an olive grabber. They're just fun to have. The olive grabber especially, because it's sort of like those coin claw games where you try to get a stuffed animal or other cool prize. Sometimes you just don't know what kind of olive you are going to come up with. Now that I think about it, I can't remember the last time we used it for grabbing olives. Anja uses it to get the cherries out for her vodka collins. Maybe we do need it.

Anyway, we've continued to examine what we need vs. what we want. A lot of this is tied up in our desire to be debt-free. But I will talk about that some other time. So here we are, crowded into our little apartment, and what do we decide to do, but get a dog. Anja convinced me that a Miniature Schnauzer would be perfect. So Sasha entered our lives. Now, dogs are not necessarily considered stuff, but they do take up space. And all their stuff becomes your stuff, and you have to find a place to put that stuff. Looking back, I don't think we got rid of anything when the dog came in. That may have been a mistake. At 4:30 in the morning, when Sasha needs to go out to pee, I can think of something that should have gone out, but then Anja gets up and makes coffee, so I decide the trade-off is ok.

Having Sasha has made us even more aware of how much stuff we have. Like how many objects we have that have cords that dangle off of them. Or how many pairs of shoes I have. It's easy to count them when they all get pulled into the living room and chewed.

Several people we know have started following our example of downsizing their lives once their kids are grown, and they all seem pretty pleased with the results. Once you step out of the mindset about your supposed obligation to own a home that this country crams down your throat, it's pretty easy to get small in your life. You learn want vs. need. You place a value on things that hadn't been there before.

Over the next couple of months, we are going to be carefully looking at everything we own, and seeing what we can get rid of. We want less stuff. Because with less stuff, the stuff you keep becomes more important. With less stuff, you stop focusing on stuff, and start focusing on what's around you, the people, the relationships, the time spent together. The important stuff.

So, what am I doing here?

By "here", I sort of mean in the existential sense, but more in the blog sense. I have started this blog to chronicle the second half of my life (maybe longer if I reach my goal of living to 100).

I am a creative person by nature, and without some sort of creative outlet, I start to go nuts. Not locked up nuts, but mope around the house nuts. Can't sit still nuts. Take up a new hobby that costs too much nuts.

I am a graphic designer by profession, but in the back of my mind I have always wanted to be a writer. Fiddling around with a blog seems like a good way to satisfy a little of both urges.

That's what I want to write about.

I want to write about a lot of things, explore a lot of ideas. Some would say I want to expound on topics just to hear myself think. I'm not sure if that's entirely bad. The unexamined life and all. I want to talk about my passions in life, like traveling, photography, and my cute little dog. Sappy, but true. I want to explore some of the ideas that percolate around in my head, some new, some old, some obviously insane. I want to grab a current topic and wrestle it into submission, look at it from as many angles as I can, and then let it go, without the referee stepping in. I want to try my hand at some creative writing, and suffer the internal struggle everyone who creates goes through.

But mostly I want to have fun. Oh, and live to 100.