Southerly Direction

Haystack Rock at Pacific City

We have started the trek south again and are making a whopping 60 or so miles per day! Well, we have our reasons, I suppose. First stop was Seaside, Oregon because there are friends there. The RV park was a pleasant place and we stayed for three days, checking in with Rod and Debo to have dinner and then shop a bit. Then on to Pacific City, Oregon where we found a great RV park across the street from the beach and the Pelican Brew Pub. Here is where we were surprised by the food served as much as enjoying the excellent beer. That was a two day stop. From there we landed in Florence, Oregon to visit family and ended up staying two days as well. From here we are going to Sutherlin, Oregon to visit more family. Then there will be a stop at Crater Lake followed by Ashland. Then the days will get a little longer as we get to the Redwoods and Sonoma Valley. After all the small distances we need to get much further south and expect to be in San Diego before the 22nd of October. That should put some hustle in the bustle!!

Just trees at Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, Oregon

The thing that I have discovered about these short days is that I am much less exhausted when setting up or tearing down camp each time. It is a lot easier on me to be going through the motions when I am not tired from driving all day and a leisurely time while stationary makes for a simpler pack up as well. If we stay someplace for a couple of days it usually means we get comfortable but do not get too spread out! When we roost for more than three days we start setting things up more completely and it takes a bunch longer to put it all away again.

Our pattern this summer has been leaps of no more than 350 miles per day which normally is a full day since we do not get up to higher speeds most of the time. It is an art to travel at these slower speeds but it is very rewarding. It used to be that I was all about the destination and 600 mile days were not out of the question. Now, however, we can stop for the least excuse and read plaques or take pictures at will. If we do not quite make it as far as we thought we would there is almost always an RV park wherever we find ourselves. Oh well, it makes for a great day to be less concerned with how far we need to go.

Crater Lake

What we are shooting for now, in the longer run that is, is to get to San Carlos before the end of the month. It will take a good effort to have the boat ready to go before the end of November if we get there by late October. I am hoping for a two week “get ready” this season but that is probably just wishful thinking on my part. After all I have to finish finishing the galley floor (a re-varnish job), install the new composting head, run lines everywhere, reinstall the BBQ (after a thorough cleaning), varnish the board that we attach the extra fuel cans to, install the new bow light, install the dinghy wheels on the new dinghy, fix some of the interior lights, put the dodger and bimini back on and, oh, whatever else I am not thinking of right now. There is always a bunch to do getting ready for the season again. We still have things (like the dinghy wheels and water filters) to purchase in San Diego not to mention the fishing licenses and… what am I forgetting? It will take us some time to have everything put together but who can say how fast it will come together? Last season I incorrectly thought that it would be two or three days to install the new windlass but, did I mention it took the better part of a week to finish that job? So, who knows how long all this will take!?!?

For now I am organizing the list and getting mentally prepared to go back to work!!