The Excitement Continues

We choose to avoid LA traffic by circumnavigating LA. This is accomplished by taking I-15 north out of Escondido, then continuing to I-91 W at Corona, then north up Hwy 71, eventually ending up on 210 west until it merges with I-5 north, not far from Magic Mountain. We've been on the road for about 4 hours now, and as I maneuver into the truck lane heading down the "Grapevine," at about the half way point we hear a "ping" on our dash. I look down and watch the fuel gauge fall to "empty," not exactly a heart warming sign. A glance at the mirrors and cameras provide no clue of smoke or of liquids gushing out of the coach. Finally all the way down, I pull into one of the many truck stops at the bottom of the grade and do an outside visual check. Good news - nothing seemingly wrong. The only thing broken is our planned stop to visit son David up in Corning and our tentative schedule. Oh well, they call this an adventure - right? Now we have an unplanned stop up in Coburg OR, birth place of the Popeye Express and best place for service. To be continued!

Starting Out With a Bang!

After a grueling tax season, all we wanted was to hit the road. I started the engine, and waited for the air gauge to reach 100 psi before driving the big coach up the steep driveway and onto the street above our house-office. Just as I was about to reach the top, "Bang!" It sounded much like an explosion, but hearing air escape, I knew we either blew an airbag, or some other such component. Continuing onto the street, and with air and now sirens going off at an ear piercing screech, we finally reached (by phone) the service center for Monaco who told us what to look for. In about 30 minutes, and after removing the dash cover, Bob found the air hose where it blew off the dash instrument panel for the air gauge. Now if we only knew the part number. Two days of phone calls around the country provided no help. Finally, brilliant husband figured out how to unscrew the part that fit behind the gauge, and voila', found a part which fit approximately 3 miles from our house-office. Progress! So, on Saturday afternoon after replacing the part, we once again, started our 2015 adventure.

Second Post Alert

Check out the town of Lunenburg on our visit in September of 2012. One note to add: If the town seems a bit familiar, and you know you've never been there, worry not. My guess is you're a fan of Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone , made into several TV movies featuring Tom Selleck. The fictitious town of Paradise MA is actually Lunenburg, and they filmed it from every angle possible to show off the town!

Post alert!

Although there is more to come, I've managed to post 3 more stories of our September 2012 visit to Nova Scotia. While travelling, high speed wifi can be extremely difficult to come by when it comes to uploading pictures. Of course it takes time to download them and sort out the worthwhile ones. Most get deleted, but the ones I want to share will eventually wind up here! Please take a look.

A Perfect Sunday Outting

It's been a long time since posting to this blog, and I apologize for the delay. I had to relearn many skills, including the jump from Web Albums to Google Plus. Since we are planning a nice long trip this year in The Popeye Express, I'm starting early practicing how to post and most importantly, retrieve pictures. So, without further ado, here are the pictures from our car trip this past Sunday to The Mission San Juan Capistrano in San Clemente California. We hope you will enjoy this post!

Once the entry fee is paid, this is the view of the beautiful courtyard.

Shown here, a long pathway aside the actual church.

One of many old doors along the pathway.

A first look at the alter area

Now a full view

Inside one of those old doors

An impressive burst of color!

Of course the Swallows call this home!

Finally, a look at the Mission Bells. Until next time. . . .

Sunday Drive

Bob wants to take the Jeep and go out exploring, so I suggest we take the coastal route to Coos Bay to see if the road is suitable for travel with Popeye.

It's about 75 miles to Coos Bay once we turn onto Hwy 42, shortly past Mrytle Creek, and the drive is slow, but certainly Popeye approved.

We stop at the Casino in Coos Bay to use the facilities, and want to drive out to Charleston, the nicest and prettiest part of the Coos Bay area.

Now in Charleston, we stop for some clam chowder and enjoy the fog. It is supposed to warm up today, so we are delighted to be out in the cool fog of the sea shore.

Next we check out the Bastendoff County Campground, then drive over to Shore Acres and Cape Arago State Parks, take some pictures and enjoy the views of the fog.



Time to head back, we drive back through Coos Bay and  over the historic bridge at Reedsport, take a few pictures of the bridge, then head east on Hwy. 38 past the Dean Creek Elk Viewing area, and enjoy the Oregon Scenic Byway drive back. Highway 38 turns into Highway 138 follows the scenic Umpqua River and is a nice drive home.

It's been a very long drive of over 240 miles with temperatures of 61 degrees in Reedsport to 93 degrees back on I-5 - whew!

Tomorrow will be laundry day - not much to write about.

Falls Day

It's another beautiful sunny day, so rather than go to the gym for a workout, we take the Jeep and hit the road.  We travel north on I-5 to Roseburg and then head east on Hwy. 138.

This is known as the Land of Umpqua, and roughly follows the Umpqua River and its many tributaries.  It is a National Scenic Byway.

Our first stop is the visitor center in Glide. Armed with a few more maps we turn off onto County Road 17 first coming to the Cavitt Covered Bridge followed shortly by Cavitt Falls with its beautiful swimming hole, then on to the Wolf Creek Falls and over the long curved bridge to hike the 1.2 miles to the falls.

Now back on Hwy 138 and over to Susan Creek Falls, and finally, Fall Creek Falls. We think the Susan Creek Falls to be the prettiest of the falls.



Having hiked in excess of 6 miles, we decide we met our quota of exercise for the day. Now well past 5 PM and having no lunch, we decide to let the Creekside Cafe do our cooking and enjoy dinner, and naturally, pie and ice cream.