Loving Summertime

After 260 miles, we made it to the Netarts Bay RV Park and Marina in Tillamook, Oregon where we were provided a bayside view. While I was focused on the tsunami warning signs, it only took Darryl a few minutes to realize we had beached seals on a sandbar as our deluxe view from our bedroom window. It’s the simple things that make him happy!

While in Oregon, we spent most of our time outdoors exploring the Cape Meares Lighthouse, Oceanside beach and Cape Lookout State Park. As we walked through the forest, I continued to think back about the Twilight series and how the forest resembled much of the landscape I had seen in the movies. With a feeling of de je vu, I checked to see where the series had been filmed and found that parts had been shot in Oregon.

With three days of overcast, cold days, no cable tv (or any TV at all) and a limited amount of attractions nearby, Oregon was mostly a place to appreciate the beautiful beaches, water and overall tranquility of a small bay town.

After our time in Oregon, we spent three weeks in California, with 7 day stays in Fortuna, Lido, and Long Beach. Since it is inadvisable to drive an RV on Hwy 1 (most scenic, yet treacherous road in California), we opted to take the 101 which was filled with beautiful winding roads, cliffside mountains, and miles of ocean views and vineyards. While in Fortuna, we visited the National Redwood Forest where we saw the Immortal Tree, Eternal Tree and some of the largest redwoods in California.

After spending time in nature, we decided to check out the sites in San Francisco. We enjoyed seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, downtown SF and shared our first trolley car ride together. When we weren't checking out the local wineries, shops, and restaurants, we spent some time lounging by the pool and enjoying the 90+ degree weather.

One of the most anticipated places we wanted to visit was Los Angeles. Our RV park had waterfront sites, which made for some exceptional sunset views and soothing sounds of boat horns giving notice as they traveled through the channels. We were excited to take the TMZ tour, see the walk of fame stars and catch some amazing views of the Pacific coastline while staying in Long Beach. While on the TMZ tour, we were shown all of the hot spots the celebs visited, shopped and ate at and caught a glimpse of Terry Bradshaw eating lunch. I won a cool TMZ cup as a prize for a trivia contest which was the highlight for me!

We finished off our time in California by driving Hwy 1 and visiting the most popular beaches such as Muscle Beach, Malibu, the Palisades, and Laguna Beach.

After a 300- mile drive from Los Angeles, we made it to Lake Havasu, AZ. I had seen pictures of the beautiful canyons that were surrounded by green/blue, transparent waters so this was a must-see location. With an average daily temperature of 110, the night barely cooled off when it dropped to the high 80's. We were forced to purchase a roll of reflective window screen to cover all the RV windows in order to deflect some of the heat and sun, yet really appreciated cooling off in the nearby pool on most days. We explored the area and saw the famous “London Bridge” which was dismantled from London,

England and relocated to Lake Havasu. The buyer spent over 7 million dollars to transport and reconstruct it to bring in tourists to the area.

We booked a water adventure tour to go see the canyons and falls however, unfortunately, the winds were deemed too strong to be able to take the boats out, so we opted to check out the local state parks and nearby shops. Hoping for some cooler temperatures, we left a day early to add a day to the Vegas trip.

We booked our 4-day stay at the Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort which had over 500 RV spots. While the pool and spa were not grand, we appreciated the free movie channels and close proximity to the strip. We tried our hand at using the local transit system and only had a few blunders. I thought it would be productive and fun to walk the 4 miles from our park to the strip yet that only happened one time. We splurged and saw the Cirque Soleil Zumanity show which I would rate a 2.5 out of 5 stars. After two days and 17 miles of walking, we decided to spend our last day poolside with cold beverages in hand. Feeling grateful for being able to spend ten days with my daughter,

we drove her to the Vegas airport and headed out towards northern Nevada for our upcoming thirty-day visit.