August 6-13.2023

Sonoma County

Sunday August 6th was moving day, we packed up from Willamette and headed south towards California. It was sure nice to drive over the bridge at Lake Shasta and see the water level be at the almost full mark. Houseboats were on the water in full force towing ski boats on this iconic lake. One night stop in Weed, CA at a small campground then hit the road early Monday for Sonoma County. We arrived at our Harvest Host Mayo Winery, only one space here so we back into our spot and visited the winery. This is a small family winery that produces some good wines with friendly staff and owners. Drove over to Walt Winery in downtown Sonoma to check our this division of Hall Winery. We are members here so fun to go meet the staff and taste some of our favorites from Hall and Walt. Tuesday morning we drove to a new RV spot near Healdsburg, River Bend RV Park was a small very nice place right on the Russian River. Spent the day in downtown Healdsburg checking it out. First wine stop was at Arista Winery for their Signature Tasting menu. Met with Kim, the wine club manager and had a perfect setting on the patio to taste these delicious grapes. Louie and Isabella double hosted us, explained the Arista family story and poured a few wines to go with the cheese and nuts that are always a warm welcome when tasting wines. Twomey Winery was right down the road so we had to stop in and say hello. Keith was getting ready to shut down for the day but wanted us to stay a for wines before he did. Very nice family man that was a pleasure to spend some time with and share some Silver Oak wines. Dinner at Willi’s Seafood and Raw Bar, sat at the bar and had a great dinner with fresh oysters, fish tacos and a nice bottle of Jordan Chardonnay. Wednesday morning was time for a walk along the river and check out the rest of the campground. Packed up and started the short drive over to Napa Valley.

Napa Vally

Arrived at the Skyline Wilderness Park just south of downtown Napa, set up and met with Julie at the front gate to give her some of Pat’s famous carmels. She remembered them from out last stay there and was very excited to see that we brought her and the staff some more to enjoy. Off to Hall Winery in Saint Helena where Celeste hosted Glenna and I for another great wine tasting experience in the members lounge. Hard to beat their varieties of grapes from the Pinot’s to the big bold Cabernets that never disappoints the expectations. Dinner at one of our local favorites, Taylor’s Refresher also know as Gott’s. We tried the heirloom tomato, buratta cheese, basil with a balsamic glaze drizzeled throughout on a toasted chibatta bread. Added some Ahi Fish tacos to split and sat on the patio and reminisced about all the great times we have had in Napa with family and friends over the years. Thursday morning was a golf day, we played at Chardonnay Golf Club in Napa. Met up with a third who was a very good golfer and played the round that worked it’s way all through the vinyards with big elevations tee to green. After a good round of golf on a beautiful summer day, it was time to visit a couple wineries. First stop was Pina Cellers where we stopped to buy some Chardonnay, one of our favorites then drove up the Silverado Trail to Rombaurer. We love to just get a glass of wine sit on the balcony and enjoy the view overlooking the valley below. Friday morning Pat got up and went to the Model Bakery to buy some of their famous English Muffins for the family back home. Lunch with our friends at Oakville Cross Winery, Jack and Ruthie. They prepared a wonderful lunch at their house with salmon, salad, bread, deserts and of course a bottle of their 2014 Oakville Cross Cabernet. Had a great visit catching up with some of our favorite Napa Valley friends. Stopped by to see Pat Vinatieri at a bottleing company where he was bottleing his 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. Went over to his house where he opened up his wines and we spent the evening visiting with him and his grandson, Jack.

Paso Robles

Saturday morning we took off as the sun came up over the hills in Napa, really enjoyed the early morning drive down the 101 towards Paso. Checked into the Wine Country RV Resort, changed to a nicer spot near the spa with a way easier in and out space. Only one stop in Paso Robles at Thatcher Winery and Vineyard, tasted some good wines sitting outside near the vines watching a momma and baby deer checking out the grapes along with some wild turkeys nipping at the deers hoofs. Back to the RV Resort, dinner at the Mexican food truck they brought in for the weekend and called it a night. Sunday morning started early for a day of driving trying to beat the traffic through Los Angles and back home. Good safe drive and back at the Ranch in Aguanga.

Great to see a lot of family, friends, golf courses, National Parks, wildlife, lakes, boats, marina’s, wineries and much much more. Here are a few fun facts from our trip this year:

2 Countries: USA and Canada

8 States: California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon

2 Provinces: Alberta and British Columbia

3, 884 miles

Way to many potholes to count

17 RV Resorts

49 days

PRICELESS MEMORIES!!!!!!

Travel Safe my Friends!!!!

Camping in the vines

Glenna, Kim and Pat

Glenna and Keith at Twomey (Silver Oak)

See the sign? Eat oysters live longer

RV spot at River Bend

Glenna at the beach on the Russian River

Hall Winery Iconic Rabbit out front

Chardonnay Golf Club in Napa

Vines on the course

Wine at Rombaurer

Here is the view from the Rombaurer balcony

Great sandwich at Gott’s

Jack and Pat with the new 2021 bottle

Best English Muffins ever!!!!

Pat’s vineyard in Yountville

Great looking grapes that are in the verasion stage

Enjoying the wines at Thatcher

In a few years, this will age and be another awesome wine and yes I will share it with my family and friends!!!!!

Thursday morning August 3rd, Glenna and I headed down the 5 thru Southern Washington, passed into Oregon. Had a blowout on ABE ( Glenna’s tow car, it’s a Lincoln) and a nice person flagged us down to report the damage. Pulled off the freeway to the off ramp, called AAA, took out the spare and waited for the service person to change the tire. We called a tire shop in a small town just 5 miles away, very good person showed up from AAA and changed the tire. Off to the tire shop, new tire and back on the road, we felt lucky this entire episode only took one hour and ten minutes. Into Oregon passed Portland and into the beautiful wine country in McMinville. Checked into the Old Stone RV Park, set up in this very nice park. Pool, good wifi, clean everything with friendly staff. Our first night we went in to McMinville to meet up with some old friends from my days at Hamilton Avnet in San Diego 40 years ago. Jim and Susan Wittry live in Hillsboro just 30 miles away and this was a perfect place to meet up. Fantastic spanish tapas at La Rambla, wine and plenty of conversation was the perfect setting for this reunion. Glenna did hear some good stories about me from my early days as a Charger fan and days at the Pomerado Club in Poway. Fun times for sure, we will see them again because I want to come back and do some fishing with Jim on the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean, great salmon, crab, etc up here.

Thursday, our friends from Laguna Beach, CA Scott and Beth picked us up at the park and we set out for a wine tasting at Stoller Family Estate. Beth set up a tasting on the patio overlooking a vineyard and the view was just spectacular. Wine, cheese, nuts, more wine and this beautiful setting made for a perfect afternoon. Back to the RV and Pat whipped up some tasty quesadillas for a small dinner to end the night.

Friday, Ron and Kathy arrived and parked in the space next to us. Scott, Beth, Glenna and I went to lunch at the Red Hills Market while the Fawcetts and John arrived and got set up. John, a long time friend of Scott and Beth who lives in Eugene also joined us at the park for a couple nights. Picked them up and out to the next wine event at the Holloran Tasting Room. Flight of five wines seemed to be the thing to do ($25) so we had our fill of Pinot’s from this area and enjoyed getting to know John and being with our old friends. Dinner at the RV’s was someting not to be missed. Shishito Peppers, Quesadillas, Pork Loin, Corn on the cob with plenty of good wines to share.

Saturday, we all went back to the Red Hills Market to order lunch to go. It was so good the day before, we decided to do it again. Picked up the lunches and headed over to Torii Mor Winery for our outside seating in their Japanese style garden with a great view overlooking the valley below. Relaxing lunch and wine tasting chatting away on muliple subjects. We then went to Patricia Green Cellars with Scott doing the driving and John providing the music list blasting the wine wine wine song along with other wine related songs, thank you John….. Arrived at Patricia Green Cellars where there was a warm greeting and a wonderful table in the center of the tasting room. Pat and Glenna are members so the tastings are all on the house, good to be part of the SPONGE TOUR. Ryan, Abigail and Kathern took great care of us pouring the tasting menu plus others we wanted to try, of course we did need to revisit a couple along the way. The staff loved the carmels provided by Pat and Glenna (signature move). Picked up the wine that Pat and Ron bought and heded back to the RV. We all decided instead of going out to dinner, we would have a BBQ at the RV’s and drink some good Cabernets because we were all Pinot out. John bought some big ribeye steak earlier in the morning, Beth picked up some potato’s to bake and Kathy added a nice salad. Fun time watching the ballgame and eating the feast set out by all. Said our good bye’s as John was heading back to Eugene, Scott and Beth were leaving in the morning, Ron and Kathy were heading North to the Columbia River for the next week. Pat and Glenna are going South to California to visit other wine regions.

Enough said

Susan, Glenna, Pat and Jim

Air Museum in McMinville

Pat, Glenna, Scott and Beth

View from the patio at Stoller

Tasting room Holloran

Shisito Peppers

Lunch and wine at Torii Mor

Scott and Glenna

Red Hills Market

Dinner on the patio at the rv park

Thank you Scott for doing the driving

Abigail, Ryan and Kathryn love the carmels

Glenna pouring wine

Beth wanted to be the host and pour the wine.

Next stop: Sonoma and Napa Velley

September 23-30, 2022

We woke up in Santa Rosa, New Mexico and for the first time in 130 days we don’t have our great travling partners next to us. Ron and Kathy are taking a different route home thru Sante Fe, Alberqueqe and Phoenix before getting home. Left at first light as the big ball of yellow peaked up over the horizon from the east, nice to drive West with the sun behind us. Drove up thru Sante Fe and into the rolling hills of Colorado enjoying the ranches, farmlands and sweeping views of the mountains. We are heading to Pagosa Springs to visit my some family, Kathy and Alan live outside of town on a wonderful 6 acre property with stunning views. The canadian geese filled the pond and the breathtaking view of Pagosa Peak from the patio deck was the perfect setting to open some wine and visit. Brother Mike and Nancy were there for a visit as well, great to catch up and eat some of Kathy’s awesome meals. Our friends from Mountain Center, CA (near Temecula) met us at my sisters house. This is the first trip to this area for Jeff and Andrea and we look forward to exploring this section of Colorado with them over the next week. Fabulous rib dinner with my Mom’s great BBQ sauce, homemade beans and lots of conversation catching up.

Saturday morning we went to the local farmers market to pick up some Olatha Corn and Palisades peaches, some of our favs from this area. A hike up to Treasure Falls provided some much needed exercise and great pictures. Packed up and headed out over Wolf Creek pass and onto Creede, Colorado. Checked into the Mountain View RV Park and set out to explore the small towns of Creede, South Fork and Lake City. This area is very popular for off road vehicles with hundreds of miles of trails, we spent Saturday afternoon driving the Batchelor Loop seeing the countryside from this four wheel drive trail. Golf on Sunday at Rio Grande Golf Course had spectacular views of the colorful mountains, flowing rivers and lush green grass of the course. Wasn’t our best round of golf but had fun on this difficult course anyway. Jeff played great as usual and Andrea hit some great shots as she is still learning this crazy game.

Monday was time for another Magical Mystery Tour looking for moose up near the lakes in the back country. Lunch at a small mexican restaurant in Lake City then hit the trails to hike and look for moose. Signs along with local folks telling us the moose are plentiful in this area got us excited to finally see our first wild creature that has elluded us for months. After many hours of hiking and driving around the area we left with still not seeing a moose.

Tuesday was moving day, on the road driving back across Wolf Creek Pass into Pagosa Springs to have lunch with our friends from San Diego who were visiting their family while on school break. Matt, Danine, Bradley and Elena joined us for lunch and a great visit catching up on each others travel adventures. Said our good byes and off to Hesperus to try our first Harvest Host camp spot. After meeting back up with Jeff and Andrea while getting fuel we drove past Four Corners, Shiprock and small towns during the 1 1/2 hour drive. We pulled into the Pleasant Journey Alpaca Farm where our host Sue meet us at the gate and directed us where to park. Our tour of the farm would have to wait till the morning because we had a dinner date with my high school friend Kristi and her husband Paul. The have a big ranch in Hesperus only 13 miles from the Alpaca Farm. Fun time catching up wth them over a nice dinner and tour of the ranch seeing all the animals and views of their property. Wednesday morning we were ready for our 8:00 am tour with Sue explaing everything you wanted to know about Alpaca’s and more. They had 40 Alpaca’s of their own and boarded another 52 and she knew everyong by name. We all had a chance to feed them some snacks and pet the friendly ones and visited her retail shop where we picked up a few things to remind us of this stay. Then hit the road to Valley Verde RV Park just past Flaggstaff for a one night stay at this beautiful resort.

Thursday morning Jeff and Andrea hit the road heading home while Glenna and I drove to Scottsdale to visit with Brother Dana, Becky and Tyler. Lunch in Kierland with Becky to catch up then relaxing around their pool was a perfect way to wind down this awesome trip. Dana came home from work and we had a very nice dinner with Hale and Sally joining us for the evening. Always fun spending time with the Huth’s and Irwin’s catching up on life’s adventures.

Friday was go home day, easy drive across the desert and back to the ranch…….

Here are a few facts of our adventure:

140 days

10, 550 miles

2 Countries

27 States

5 Canadian Provinces

10 National Parks

0 Moose sightings

Priceless Memories!!!!!!

We did learn a few things along the way. Almost every road across the country is full of pot holes and most are under construction to get fixed. We took the backroad as much as possible to see this gorgeous country. Every state had their own cultures and the local folks in the small towns were fantastic. We have the best travel partner’s, a big thank you to Ron and Kathy for all the great times together and memories fir a lifetime!!!

Thanks for following along this epic trip and allowing us to share this special adventure with you all.

Until the next journey, take care and safe travels to all.

Pat and Glenna

September 6, 2022 – Ssptember 22, 2022

Arrived at Swan Bay RV Park after a nice drive south along the St. Lawernce Seaway from Burlington, Vermont. Of course, Ron has us booked at the two best spots in the park right on the waters edge overlooking the marina and the channel where all the cargo ships pass by. Just amazing watching these giant ships, some as long as 740 feet cruising right in front of us. Some are heading to Lake Ontario and some going up the St. Lawrence Seaway going to the Atlantic Ocean. They had a nice pool area with entertainment on Saturday so Pat, Kathy and Glenna spent the afternoon at the pool enjoying the live music, cover band playing 60, 70 and 80’s and drinks from the Tiki Bar. Magical Mystery Tour around the area and a drive out to Tibbetts Point Lighthouse. This is where Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway meet. Lunch at Sacket’s Harbor on the patio was delicious. Played a round of golf at the Thousand Island Country Club that started in 1894. Took the Uncle Sam Boat Tour along the river and into Canadian waters to see the beautiful rolling estates along the shorelines of both Canada and the USA.

Geneva on the lake RV was a one night stand right on Lake Erie but well worth the stay. We drove into Cleveland and visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. WOW, this was fantastic seeing the generations of music that helped shaped the world. The Beatles exhibit with a few video’s of the group writing and playing songs like “Let it Be” was one of the many highlights of the day. From Prince to Elvis to the Rolling Stones made for a great time reliving our past concerts and memories of these music Icons.

In Lexington, we stayed at the Kentucky Horse Park. We went to Keeneland racetrack where they hold the annual Yearling Sale that attracts horse buyers from all over the world. The Sheikhs from the Middle East to the small town horse owners in middle America, were all here to purchase a future Triple Crown Winner. One Yearling sold for $1.7 million with many in the $400,000 to $800,000 range. Watching the auction and seeing how they handle these one year olds was quite exciting. We did make sure that we didn’t wave to anyone and accidentely buy a horse!!!!! They also hold the Rolex Horse Show and the Kentucky Three Day Event and one day we hope to see our Grandaughter Abby compete in these shows. The horse museums, barn of champions and the overall park was well worth the visit.

Lexington is also the home of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, so off we went to visit few of our favorites. First a Triple D lunch spot called Wallace Station gave us some substance to make it thru the day. Wordford Reserve was the first stop, started in 1812 this is Kentucky’s most historic Distillery. Had a wonderful Old Fashion cocktail in the Distillery bar. Stopping in the gift shop buying some surprises for our friends and family back home, are you one of those? Now, off to Bulleit Distilling Company, no tastings available but they had a great bar with Angie making us a Smoked Rosemary Old Fashion and a Hibiscus Mojito to wet our whistle. The next afternoon we had a tour scheduled at 3:15 (because we don’t day drink) but this is close enough, HA HA. Buffalo Trace was on our bucket list and we finally made it there for a tour and tasting. Our tour guide Caleb, who was celebrating his 30th bday was a fantastic host. The tour included walking thru the warehouse full of barrels of bourbon that sits for 3-20 years before it’s bottled and ready to drink. We tasted five different liquors they make on site including a Wheatley Vodka, Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Colonel Taylor, Buffalo Cream and their Freddie’s Root Beer. Until next time, here’s to you Kentucky!!!!!

The next day we headed west past St. Louis to Grants Farm, this is the home of the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. They train these majestic animals to be able to join one of their Hitches staged around the country. Amazing to see how gentle these horses can be, standing at least 19 hands. Groomed everyday and posing for pictures are a daily event. Our tour was called the Clydesdale Close-Up Tour if you want to go in the future. Who knew the tour started with a free Budweiser as we watched a few of the commercials from past Suberbowls. The next day we went to the Warm Springs Ranch where they breed the Clydesdales. Again, the walking tour started with a free Budweiser and learning all about the process to ensure they have enough horses for future generations to enjoy. We had a special treat, a newborn fowl was born the afternoon before and we were the first tour of the day to see this new baby Clydesdale. Little Rooster was born on 9/17/2022 and momma and baby are both doing fine. Rooster weighed 150 pounds at birth and will grow to 1800-2300 pounds at full adult size. Two great tours if you are in the area.

Manhattan, Kansas to visit some friends and play golf. Jan ( Michelle Fawcett’s Mom) and Bob were the perfect hosts. Dinner at their house on Sunday followed by golf on Monday (Colbert Hills) and Tuesday (Manhattan CC). All good except the heat, tempetures of 101 and then 100 made for some hot days but didn’t stop us from playing. It did make the beer taste better after each round. Dinner with some of their friends at the Manhattan Country Club was the perfect way to say goodbye and head west to continue our journey.

The five hour drive to Pawhuska, Oklahoma was easy heading south then east into town. This is the home of the Pioneer Woman ( Ree Drummond) from the food channel. Another bucket list item for me and Kathy, we stayed at a local RV park only 3.6 miles for the town. This is a foodie tourist town with a small Boarding House Hotel, Mercantile, Bakery, P Town Pizza, Charlie’s Ice Cream shop and many small shops along main street. We went straight to the Mercantile to have lunch and were surprised to see the wait time was only 35 minutes, just enought time to browse the gift shop. Homemade lemonade for 25 cents seemed to be the drink of choice with many good food items for lunch. We all enjoyed our lunch selections and had great service from the friendly staff. The tomato soup was a velvety, sweet and savory, rich and a little creamy with basil and small bits of parmesan cheese on top. We bought some cinnamon rolls that my sister Kathy had requested I bring to her on Friday when we arrive in Pagosa Springs, CO. Walked around town a bit but the 101 temperature cut our walk short. Back to the RV to cool off and spend the last night with the four of us together. After 131 days traveling together, Glenna and I are heading to Colorado and Arizona, Ron and Kathy are heading back thru New Mexico before we both get home on September 30th. One last meal together in town at the Mercantile, the breakfast was over the top delicious. From the appetizer cinnamon roll we split to egg dishes and the belgium waffle hit the spot. Back to the RV’s, hugs around and off we go………

Stay tuned for more updates from Pagosa Springs, Creede, CO and Scottsdale over the next 9 days.

Take Care,

Pat and Glenna

August 22-September 6, 2022

We left Caraquet the morning of August 22nd, 0800 on the road traveling the scenic highways of the Gaspe Peninsula. We had a few stops along the way to view the landscapes from along side the roads, lunch overlooking the water and on to Camping Baie Gaspe, set up camp and discussed a POD for our 3 night stay. Plenty of sightseeing opportunities doing our Magical Mystery Tours. One stop was at Le Quai rock, a natural deck overlooking a beautiful cove and out onto the Gulf of St. Lawrence as far as the eye can see. The Forillon Cliffs, in the Forillon National Park mark the culmination of the Great Appalachain Mountains. The La Chute Trail, although not long, only 1 mile but it did provide us a walking path in the Maple forest to the waterfall with a 17 meter drop. If we were looking for a stair workout, we got it today. On Wednesday morning we hit the trails early to explore the Cap-Gaspe Trail, a 6 mile walk along the water, thru some forest, up and up and up some grades and finally to the top and the end of this spectacular hike. The views at the lighthouse, the birds flying around were breathtaking. Ron and I decided to take the path down to the lower viewing platform right on the water about 1/2 mile straight down and you guessed it, a 1/2 mile back up to the lighthouse. They call this Lands End, it certainly is. The Appalachain Trail started here in 1937 and is one of the most popular hiking trails in the United States. With its 3455 kilometers of old mountain chains, the AT crosses 14 states, 8 national forests, 6 national parks and numerous regional and state parks.

Off to Camping Anne for 3 nights, another beautiful drive along the coast stopping for pictures and snacks. Time to play some golf so Glenna booked us a tee time at Club de Golf in Matane, about 20 minutes from camp. Very well maintained course and a great way to spend time outdoors in the fresh air. Yes, Glenna beat me again but we all keep enjoying the lessons she gives us along the way. In camp, Saturday night they had a local country band that lit up the dance floor with fellow campers enjoying the sounds of country music sung in French.

On to Quebec City for 4 nights, checked into the KOA with huge pull thru spaces and good WIFI. Finally a place with a pool and hot tub which was immaculate, thanks to this local family owned KOA for the past 30 years for keeping it all so clean and welcoming. Our first day we headed into the City, did the Hop on Hop off city tour. A great way to see the sights and learn the history of this unique city, the audio in english really helped. The famous Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac hotel is a 4.5 star hotel with 611 guest rooms, full spa and a beautiful bar in the lobby. (see pics below). A drive past the oldest grocery store in North America (J.A.Maisan) on the bus was something we could not miss. We went back and visited this store and deli, bought some fresh pastries and just imagined what it would be like hundreds of years ago. Lunch at Cotes & Cotes restaurant on the patio was a perfect setting to enjoy some good french food. Glenna and I had French Onion soup that was fantastic, Ron tried the Maple ribs while Kathy enjoyed the local fish and chips. The Mooshead beer was cold and probably the only Moose we are going to see on this trip. One very big highlight was going to the Mosaicultures Garden Tour. This is a garden tour that travels around Canada and is a must see. The 2 kilometer loop walk takes you past the dozens of Topiary that are just amazing. It remind me of the Rose Parade floats with all the fresh flowers showing off the colors of each animal. The pictures are great but seeing this in person was spectacular. Another MMT over to the Isle D’ Orleans for the 47 kilometer loop around the island, going counter clockwise as suggested meant we hit the famous Chocolaterie Cafe Resto Creme Glacee at 10:15 in the morning. This is one of the highlights of the drive and everyone we talked to on this trip that had been there said we had to try the ice cream. Not just any ice cream, this is soft cream freshly made each morning and you have choices of the dippings. I went for the chocolate carmel sea salt, OMG this was the best dip ice cream cone I have ever had. The thick topping was plentiful and chewy, the small was plenty for us all. Back in the car and off we go, beautiful island full of little towns, shops, restaurants, wineries and only one gas station. We stopped at the Fromagerie De L’Lile shop and discovered the local cheeses and breads. Pick up a few items for our meals at the rv including a wheel of cheese you put on the BBQ to soften and eat with their fresh breads just like we did in Spain many times. This was the first cheese shop in North America. Vignoble du mitan was our first winery stop, bought a few bottles to enjoy for happy hour later in the day. Ste-Famile proved to be the better winery so we did a few tasting, learned about the local grape varitals and picked up a few bottles. Nice views of Quebec City from the shorline and large cargo ships pass along the St. Lawerence River. Ships can take this passage all the way to Lake Superior or stopping at any of the major ports in Detroit, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Cleveland, Buffalo and others.

In South Hero near Burlington, Vermont, we arrived at the Apple Island RV Resort to once again find the two best spots were ours, thank Ron for all your work on getting reservation for us. Glenna and I spent the first day driving up to Stowe, Vermont. Ron and Kathy had already been here in the past so they are having a down day to read and relax at the camp. WOW, the scenic drive up to Stowe thru windy roads had us stopping for pics. The main street of Stowe, a few blocks long provided a good walk and a stop at a local bakery. The Cafe on Main had good homemade muffings that gave us some energy for our walk along the trail over small bridges, passing rivers, ponds and wild flower pastures. Continued up the mountain to the Stowe Ski resort. The view from the top was awesome and the gondola was operating but we passed on going up even higher. Next stop was the Von Trapp Family Lodge and properties, stunning views overlooking the fields full of flowers. As they say, the hill are alive with the Sound of Music. The Stowe Cider stop had us trying local ciders and having a sandwich at their onsite food truck, the Very Vermont Grilled Cheese was perfect to split. Full and local cheese, green apples and carmelized onions inside of sourdough bread grilled to perfection. Next stop was the Cold Hollow Cider house, apple cider here and lots of tourists items in their shop. From there we went to the original factory for Ben And Jerry’s where we took a tour of the ice cream making facility and of course bought some ice cream to bring home.

Saturday morning spent at the local farmers market, great produce, lots of craft tents and plenty of food vendors to fill the air with good smells. We saw a taco tent and had to stop to check it out, this young couple was from Fresno, CA and moved to Burlington a couple years ago and started this portable business. His tacos reminded us of the tacos at home and we sure enjoyed our best mexican food since leaving home back on May 15th. Church Street is a popular walking / shopping district in downtown Burlington. We stopped in a few places including an olive oil shop to replenish our stash in the RV. Kathy’s favorite place was the Simon Pierce Glassware store, beautiful items on display of every shape and size. Sunday was golf day, we played at the Essex Country Club. An 18 hole in the woods course with narrow fairways and turtles burring under each green. Cool with a little mist made for a wet front nine and then the rain was coming in so we passed on the back nine and went to lunch instead. Ray’s Seafood Market Restaurant had all the local fresh fish items along with confort food for all. We had seafood chowder and tried their bacon wrapped scallops, both were great. The hottub at this RV Resort is a big hit with Pat and Glenna, good way to spend some time relaxing.

Next stop is Alexandria, NY right on the St. Lawerence Expressway for a week then down to Ohio, Kentucky and heading West. Enjoy the pictures and stay safe……

Pat and Glenna

August 08-22, 2022

Our last three days in Cape Breton were spent doing some sight seeing adventures. We checked out the famous golf courses over in Inverness. These two courses are ranked the number 1 and number 3 golf courses in Canada, the Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs were $440 each plus $125 for the caddie, we passed but was fun to check them out. We had lunch one day at the Red Shoe Pub owned by the famous Rankin musical family. It seems like a small world when two couples pulled into our RV park close to us and started talking, what a surprise. They are from Poway, about 5 miles from Ron and Kathy’s house. We had some happy hour drinks and made plans to meet them in PEI for lunch the next week.

Off to our next adventure driving to PEI, crossing the Confederation bridge, this is an 8 mile box girder bridge which is the longest bridge in Canada and the worlds longest over ice-covered water. It was like driving over the Coronado bridge for 8 miles. PEI was everything that it was supposed to be: beautiful waterfront scenery, green trees, harbors, fishing / oyster / mussel boats and spectacular sunrises and sunsets over the water. We checked in to the Twin Shores RV park, this is an 850 site park that is family friendly with lots of activities for the kids. A beautiful beach walking distance from our space made for a perfect 4 mile walk in the mornings. A big surprise to us was that the Island has a huge agricultural presence, the PEI New Potato (the small red and white potato’s) fields dominate the island. These potato’s are freshly dug up each morning and sent out to the markets for a truly farm to table dining experience. We did a few MMT’s around the Island to explore the French River, Cavendish Beach and the famous Anne of Green Gables house. This was the authors house who wrote the book Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery was a very popular figure in this area. Golf at St. Felix Golf Course in Tignash was worth the drive to see this small town and have lunch at Our Family Traditions Restaurant, a local favorite. Drove out the the North End where a working lighthouse and beach is a popular attraction. The Malpeque Oyster Bar had the best PEI oysters in town, we had dinner there including mussels and chowder that were all great. MMT over to Charlottetown to check out the marina and have luch at the Cork & Cast on the dock overlooking the private yachts. The PEI Aquafarms processing plant and retail store proved to be a big hit, we were able to buy local PEI oysters and mussels to cook back at the rv’s. (see pics below) Ron and Pat are getting pretty good at shucking the oysters and Kathy and Glenna have the perfect way to BBQ them with Butter, garlic and parmesan over the top.

Pat and Glenna tried out the local fishing by booking us on a charter boat called the Green Witch out of Stanley Bridge marina. This was a 4 hour trip that did not disappoint, Glenna caught 8 fish including the biggest Altantic Cod on the boat. Pat only caught 7 so this made Glenna want to book another trip in San Diego when we get home. Plenty of fish to take home and the fish tacos for lunch the next day were a big hit with Ron and Kathy, we are all craving mexican food.

Caraquet is the home of the Acadian Heritage Village, we spent a few hours seeing how the Acadian people lived when they arrived back in the 1800’s. They had about 40 buildings, most were originals with a few replica’s. Local Acadians at each building would explain who lived there and how they lived. The local cheese shop was a nice stop to pick up some local cheeses and Pat bought a pair of socks, don’t ask. Cheese curds were the big item so we had to try them.

Next stop was the Distillerie Fils Du Roy in Petit-Paquetville, they advertise this as a Gin Distillery but they had more to offer. We had a tour of the facility then off to the tasting room where we tasted thier Micro brewed Pilsner’s, Vodka, Rum, Whiskey and the Double Gold medal Gin that put them on the map. Purchased a few items for future day drinking and headed back to camp. Pat and Glenna went on a 14 mile bike ride thru town and along the waterfront seeing beautiful beaches, boats out on a big sandbar, and enjoying the sunshine along the way.

We are still on the hunt to see our first Moose, so far all we see are the hundreds of signs on the roads warning you to be on the lookout for these large animals. We went out at dusk, had a picinic dinner overlooking large meadow hoping to see the elusive Moose. No luck on this journey but we are not giving up, better chance to see them at our next two stops in Gaspe and Cape Annie.

Stay tuned for more from Gaspe, Cape Annie and Quebec City over the next ten days before heading back to the USA into Vermont.

this guy was way faster shucking oysters than we are but we are getting better