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We arrived home at about 7:30 on Thursday. A little dirty, a little cramped, a lot happy and very thrilled to be home. We leaped out of the car, ran into the house, I said hello to the dogs and leaped into the shower. Boy, that was nice!

Once my senses were restored I noticed that something smelled like it died in the garage. Serious dead body smell.

You want to know what smells like a dead body?....A freezer that has been unplugged for two weeks. Once we opened it, every fly in Fresno county came to welcome us home. Ugggh. Add that to the unpacking, clean up duties.

Next, we discover our pool is green. Nice, another chore to add to the list.

Welcome Home Bridgemans!

Poker Playing Boys

The boys played poker with Dad so often that we had to throw away the cards because they were worn out. In the end, Mackenzie joined in and had quite the lucky streak.

Apparently the only person who cant win is Mom.

Middle Falls

Here is the family at Middle Falls. There is an Upper falls, but Middle Falls is the most spectactular. Upper falls is at its lowest/slowest during this time and I was outvoted to hiking another 1 1/2 miles uphill to see it. This was already a hot 2 mile hike.

Lower Falls

We are at the Lower Falls. Just a short walk from our campsite. Later we scooted down and went swimming. brr chilly.

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

Hello All,

Back in California, driving down the I5 and we just hit 2050 miles. This has been a great trip relaxing, exciting, interesting and as all family vacations a bit cramped and frusterating.

On our way to our last campsite, we just got sick and tired of being in the car and pulled over to a site in McCloud near Mt. Shasta/Trinity Lakes. We lucked out and they had a couple sites available. What we found there were three waterfalls and a river deep enough for the kids to swim in. Of course the water temp was equal to what comes out of my refridgerator door, it was nicer than sitting in the 102 degree campsite. It did cool down nicely in the evenings though and the quiet spacious beautiful sites were well worth the heat.

We saw deer tromp through our site at dust, chpmunks and squirrles and eagles and bluejays.

However, it is so nice to be headed home. I miss my puppies, I miss a real toilet that doesn't smell or have to be carried to a dumpstation and I miss my shower, my kitchen and my bed with 3 extra pillows.

I think this trip with the kids being a year older and all the new gear we take and everyon's clothes and the set up and the clean up has shown Scott that we have outgrown our PopUp. When we get home we will be cleaning out our gear and putting it on the market while looking for a pull behind. We definately want one with 4 bunks and a real toilet and sizable refergerator.

I will post pics once we get home since both my batteries are dead.

Hugs to all.

On the Road Again

We are back on I5 headed toward California. Our next stop is a fabulous site in Susanville that is rated a 10 from the Foghat guide of camping. No electricity, no water hookups but the trade in is beautiful scenery and great hiking. A nice finish to trip.

The true downside is the weather. We are watching our 74-76 degree weather creep up to 88 and rising with every mile. We expect todays weather in Susanville to be a cool 94 degrees. Compared to Fresno's 106....hmmmm.

We finished our time in Oregon teaching the kids to play poker, hiking and burritos over the campfire for dinner. They hooked up with a group of kids that played in the little stream and rode bikes for hours. It was nice to see them out of each other's hair.

We will be home late Thursday.

Wish us luck in the next two days.

Hugs to All.

Loving it.

Oregon State Parks are the best. Clean, enviornmentally friendly and very on top of "guest" issues. (No drunks allowed to terrorize the masses).

Mackenzie found a friend at one of the programs for kids. Maverick is his usual charming self.

This has been a great stop. Its what we all love about camping. Nice sites, friendly people and you can let your kids wander a bit without freaking out.

Showing Off

See....I can climb a stump.

Upper South Falls

What a hike this was. All downhill to get there and all uphill to get back. Good thing the view was so worth the trip.

Note to self: learn to read maps better

Under the Falls

How many times can you say you walked under the water fall?

Why I love Oregon Parks

Yesterday we took about a 4 mile hike and visisted only 3 of the 8 waterfalls in the area. The weather was great.

Welcome to Oregon

The joys of car travel.

Nothing is worse that being on a long car ride and one of your precious children fails to mention that he is barfing in the backseat until everything is soaked and fragrant.

Lovely.

Guess Where This Is.

Last Posts from Friday Harbor

We rented a row boat and took the kids out for a ride. Here is my hubby rowing for us and the kids on the island.

The island was a tiny thing full of duck poop. Exciting.

We are in the car watching the ferry pull in. We are headed back into Oregon for a couple of days and then into California for two days before we head home.

Hugs to Everyone.

More Fishing

Mac and Mav doing their thing.

Highlight of Remington's Trip

Scott took the kids fishing early on the 4th and wouldn't you know it, in two minutes Remington caught a 2 1/2 lb. Rainbow Trout! He didn't think this was too special until the bait shop weighed it and took his picture and made him feel like a star.

Now he keeps using "i'm the one who caught the fish" as some sort of mantra.

Bowling Fun

We went to the smallest bowling alley we ever saw. The people were so nice and we had such a great time. Remington was frusterated until we switched him to a larger ball and he ended up with 4 strikes and a spare. Lucky dog.

Mackenzie couldnt care less if she knocked down 1 or 12 pins, she just had a good time. Maverick was his usual lucky self.

San Juan Ferry

The ferry is so cool. Once we drove onboard we headed upstairs and found one of these booths. Scott bought breakfast and we enjoyed the trip.

There was a fire drill and the kids got to see the Firemen shoot water off the back of the ferry.

Pixar's WallE

We took the kids to see the movie WallE and it was so cute. They loved it, I loved it.

Mmmmm, movie theatre popcorn...

Ahhhh Back Online

Here are our friends Jason, Lavonne (really the person we know, Jason is her boyfriend) and Ryan. We had such a nice dinner and ended with smores by the fire. It was so good to see Lavonne and Ryan again.

Good Morning

What a great time last night. Our friends arrived about 6:30 and we had a fabulous dinner. Pretty good for campfire cooking if I do say so myself. Appetizers were shrimp with sauce and smoked gouda with crackers and a sm. veggies plate. Steak and salmon, baked potatoes, coleslaw, and a pretty salad for dinner. We made smores for dessert because the son Ryan had not been camping in so long, so it was a treat.

It looks like today I must do the dreaded task that cannot be denied on a long trip ...LAUNDRY!!

We are going take the kids to either a movie or bowling today while I do laundry and knit. Laundry Mats arent so bad. You can get your laundry done in about an hour and I sit and either read or knit. Since I am making a gift for someone I will see tomorrow I better knit.

We have to be on the road at 8-8:30 to make sure we catch the early ferry to Roche Harbor/Friday Harbor and on to the hotel.

Dinner Tonight

We are lucky. Tonight we are going to have a good friend who moved from Fresno to Bellingham, WA come for dinner. She is bringing her new boyfriend and her son Ryan. We are all cleaned up and ready for guests. How exciting.

I have some free time and you can see me here updating my blog and answering some emails.

Notice the EyeQ can sleeve. Guess who took the pic?

Just a Pic

Relaxing

The kids have been wonderful. They fully enjoy camping because it seems like there are so many less things that divide Mom and Dad's attention. We watch them play, ride and do. We blow bubbles with them, play games with them and let them lounge about. We do this at home too, but its more leisurely and seems to last longer. We expected to go kayaking and to the intreperative center today but the preference was to play DS games this afternoon. OK we are flexible.

Earlier today the bay emptied out and the boys and I spent a good 2 hours wandering the shore with the metal detector and seeing how far we can walk into the bay. Our booty consisted of a couple of bottle tops and couple of pull tops and a lighter. Doesn't anyone lose change from their pockets anymore.

As for the bay, trust me, it gets squishy out there and that mud dries like paint on their shoes. Uggh.

Sunset

Seriously, The picture on the left I went back to Hammel Beach at 8:45 or so and spent 20 minutes fooling around. On the right, a quick shot at 9:20 of our campsite. Even thought there was such a gorgeous sunset, look at all the light that still lingers. Amazing.

Dessert Time

We get tired of smores really quickly so we try new things. Tonight is tortillas with chocolate chips and marshmellows heated over the fire. Last night was brownies and maybe tomorrow will be a cake. Who knows.

Hammel Beach

Hammel Beach on Padilla Bay

We are here and it is GREAT!

Even though we were in the car the same amount of time as the first day it felt so much longer. I think we left at an awkard time and werent quiet as ready as we should have been.

We arrived at Bay View State Park overlooking (kinda barely) Padilla Bay. Like our last site, this one overlooks a huge grassy area. The biggest plus is the amount of 8 and 9 year old kids and a 6 year old in the site right next to ours. There is a circle of blacktop around the grass and we are in sites outside that circle. Kids are riding bikes and scooters and going round and round.

After 8 hours in the car you know what that means for little arms and legs.

Its 9:30 and there is still enough natural light to read a book by.

Naturally I am updating my blog rather than my mind.

Love you.

Bored in the Car

After our big storm last night we had fog this morning. It was interesting.

The one on the left is the foggy Rogue River and makes me wish I had spent a little more time getting some good pictures.

The one on the right is the sun at 7-7:30 am.

Are We There Yet?

Almost to Seattle and get caught in a traffic jam that suddenly opened up to what?? We wont get into the campsite until well after 7. Not so bad considering this next stop is another 4 days of fun.

On the Road Pic

Only 500 miles to go.

Bye Bye Kitties

We left Grants Pass and I am full of tears. We had to leave the kittens behind because we couldnt get anyone to pick them up before the weekend. The campground Hosts promise that they will call and find someone, but it was still sad to see their sweet trusting faces as we pulled out of the site.

Love You Truly Dear

Well, I am not so sure I love Oregon so much. We sweltered the day on the river, did our daily chores because we are leaving tomorrow and then headed out for laundry, dinner and some restocking.

Out of the resturant at 7:30 and what do we see? A HUGE black cloud and a tremendous wind that should have been here earlier. The temp dropped about 10 degrees and we knew to head straight home, no shopping. (I know...bummer).

We packed as much as we could without taking down the tentbeds and tried our best to coax the cats out of the bushes and then the lightening storm arrived. Lightening, thunder and rivers of rain. Maverick was so upset because he already is a bit concerned about lightening/thunder and then you add his precious kittens. Its 8:22 and he has been asleep for about 5 minutes. He actually stressed out tears over them.

I personally cannot believe those cats prefer the bushes to my cozy homemade shelter. Hmptf! Ingrates!

This is our second time with rain in the pop up. The first time we had to put everything up in the dark and the rain so we didn't level it correctly and guess what? Rain dripping in from the box lid. After that we are extra careful to level front to back and side to side. We even purchased a BAL leveler to make things easier.

Well, the rain is leveling off to a moderate drizzle and I am being pulled into a rousing game of go fish so I will say good night.


Love to all for your crazy thoughts on my blog.

Still Here

What the..!!!! When I checked the weather for Grant's Pass it said high of 85! 85! Not the 102 degrees at 7pm that we suffered through. It was 96 at 9pm. Awful. We camp to escape the Fresno heat, which at least cools down in the evening.

Yesterday we went grocery shopping in town and ate a cool dinner at "Abby's Legendary Pizza" Legendary? Yes, legendary for being awful. For some reason they find a pizza tasty with mozzarella, provolone and too much cheddar. I think there was something bad with the cheese. You could pick it off in chunks like wet paper. Ewwww!

Aw well, they have a Fabulous Dairy Queen. The resturant was cool inside, service was friendly and quick and the kids enjoyed their ice cream.

I have to say, I love Oregon. The people here are very friendly and their towns/cities all look clean. I'd move here for sure.

If you want a postcard while we are traveling you have to email me your address.

Hugs to All.

Just Sharing

Maverick brought me flowers.

UPDATE: Kittens

Good News! Someone called me back and will be here Saturday to pick up the kittens. They have moved from over by the river to a bush next to our trailer. Everyone is anxiously waiting for them to wake up and come out and play.

We bought kitten food and put out water for them.

Repeat after me..."we cannot take kittens home.......we cannot take kittens home"

In the Evening

Last night we had a lovely dinner of salmon, carrots and rice. A nice bottle of wine and I was ready to stare at the fire for a few hours.

However, every mother's bad dream came true when Mackenzie discovered three small kittens who were obviously dumped off by some loser. You can tell the difference between the feral cats that disappear if they think you are looking at them and these super playful, chubby and friendly kittens.

Naturally we couldnt call the ASPCA until this morning, which I did. The shelter can't take more cats. The Animal Control won't take them on Fridays and we are waiting for the SPCA to call back. I feel sick because I am afraid we are not going to have options. We can't take them with us and we can't leave them here.

People suck sometimes.

Finally Relaxing

After weeks and months of preparation (first reservations were made in November) and days of packing and shopping I finally felt fully relaxed and enjoyed the day.

We headed out for a hike along the Rogue River and the kids finally "got" skipping rocks. Remington has the record with 7-8 skips.

We are very luck because just outside our campsite is a HUGE grassy area the kids can run, skip and play without feeling like they are bugging or in someones way. We set up the badminton net and played badminton. We also played Soccer, wiffleball, football and used R's metal detector to discover that there are thousands of bottlecaps in that field.

Good Morning-Official Day 1

After a seriously great snuggly night sleep we are up and about. Here are the munchkins in various stages of waking and getting dressed. R just woke up. M is dressed for a ladies lunch and Mav is in jammies, hikers and begging Daddy to play football.

It was nice to see Fresno State take the CWS last night.

We have arrived.

Whew! We arrived at 5 o'clock to a very pretty campground on the Rouge River. The campground is almost empty and very quiet. So quiet we can hear the running of the river.

Please explain how kids can be in the car for 8 hours and then all pile on the same bed in the camper????

Tomorrow we head down to the "beach" for some toe dipping. It looks pretty fast and chilly so I am not sure how much swimming is going to go on.

Tonight though.......s'mores.

Good Nite Friends.

Passing Mt. Shasta

OK, obviously I am enamored with this new blog thingie so here is another as I wile away the hours in the car.

We just passed Mt. Shasta and here is a terrific pic out the car window driving by at 65 miles an hour. It took me 4 trys because I kept getting pics of trees right in front of the mt.