Mount Rainier

Here are pictures from our visit to the Mt. Rainier area . The one with the flowers was from our patio table at the cafe on the summit of Crystal Mountain. Okay, the flowers were actually in planters around the deck, but it made for a pretty picture.

I’m also including a picture of Mt. St. Helens, about 60 miles away. Those of us old enough to remember it will never forget when it erupted in May, 1980. It’s generally considered the worst natural disaster in US history.

Liz along the White River

These gondolas rise about 2,000 feet to the summit of Crystal Mountain, which is at about 7,000 feet and has a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier. 

Mt. St. Helens

Seattle

We decided to ride up to explore Seattle area for a few days. The last time I was there was in 1979. I was a first lieutenant and assigned as a PAO for an exercise for three weeks at Fort Lewis. It was six months before I met Liz. That trip to the Pacific NW was a good one. But this one was a whole lot more fun.

Obligatory stops included the Pike's Public Market and the Space Needle.

Oregon Highlights: Rodeo for the Holiday

One of the ways they celebrate the 4th of July  in Eugene, Oregon is with a four-day rodeo. It was awesome. We had front row seats which were perfect... especially when we were dodging clumps of dirt the horses kicked up.

Oregon Update: Spring Falls

There are ten spectacular waterfalls in Spring Falls State Park, and  we hiked to them all. In total, we did more than 5 miles of trails. Once again our thanks to my friend George for being host and wilderness guide. Oregon is an amazing state.

Oregon Highlights: The Coast

We have enjoyed our time on the Oregon coast so much we extended a second night. Liz says it's  magical there. I agree. We’ve spent our time on the coast exploring, visiting lighthouses, eating great seafood, and taking a whale watching charter. Yes, we saw about a dozen whales. They can get as 45-50 feet, which is bigger than our RV, and we saw several less than 100 yards away from the boat. 

Oregon Highlights: The Ems

Minor League Baseball, the Eugene Emeralds (Cubs system) vs the Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays).  For just $10 I had a second row seat behind the dugout.

A few fun facts. The Ems play their games at the University of Oregon’s PK Park, across from the Duck’s football stadium. It’s a pretty new, really nice park and great minor league atmosphere. This is a Northwest League game, a short season single-A league.

Oregon Highlights: Crater Lake

A “must visit” in southern Oregon is the amazing Crater Lake National Park. The water is an amazing blue and the pictures don’t do it justice. We spent a lot of time taking in the incredible views from the rim and had lunch in the historic lodge. And yes, at 7,000+ feet, there  was still a fair amount of snow there in June.

Jim & Liz’s RV Trip Tracker.

Where Jim and Liz are staying tonight... 

On to Oregon

Liz drove the first leg from Redding, CA into Oregon,  which means I got to take pictures and post them as we drove north on I-5. Up ahead is snow capped Mt. Shasta. 

California Highlights: Burney Falls

We moved our RV further north and stayed in Redding, CA for a few days. We drove to Burney Falls, which Teddy Roosevelt called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” It’s easy to see why. Our hike took us to the base of the falls and along the creek. 

California Highlights: Sausaletto

Here’s a bit of trivia. The Tequila Sunrise was invented at the Trident Restaurant in Sausalito, California. It’s history is interesting. It became popular after Mick Jagger took a liking to the drink at a party here to kick off a Stones tour in the 60s. This restaurant was originally opened by the Kingston Trio and became a popular hangout for folks like Janis Joplin, who had her own table. Others who hung out here included Jerry Garcia, Clint Eastwood and... um.... Bill Cosby.

So, we celebrates that history with an incredible view of SF across the bay.

California Highlights: Hiking

We learned that the San Francisco Bay Area has a lot more to offer than cable cars, seafood and wine. We went hiking in the hills overlooking Oakland. We enjoyed lush, dark forests, incredible redwoods and magnificent views of the Bay Area. A big thank you to our hiking guide, Liz's cousin, Sue.

California Highlights: Wine Country

While in the Bay Area, we explored the Napa Valley. We tasted some wine, took a tour, tasted some wine, ate, tasted some wine, shopped, tasted some wine... you get the idea.

Our tour guides were Liz’s cousins Sue and Kathy. Thanks for a great time!

California Highlights: Oakland Colleseum

Here’s another MLB stadium to check off my list. This one is traditionally ranked last among ballparks, but between the Raiders and the Athletics, there’s a ton of history on this field. And who know how much longer it will be here. 

In the meantime, I got to watch a daytime ballgame and eat a hot dog. What’s not to like?

California Highlights: San Francisco

After a two week vacation from our endless vacation, we were back on our RV adventure. We’ve moved further north and did the “touristy” exploration of San Francisco, including the obligatory picture at Fisherman’s Wharf, a cable car ride and watching the sea lions sleep and play at Pier 39.

California Highlights: KHJ Radio, Capitol Records and Sinatra

Since we’re in the LA area, I was trying to find the building that once housed radio station KHJ, one of the legendary top-40 stations in the 60s and 70s. It was called “Boss Radio” and featured radio greats such as Charlie Tuna, Robert W. Morgan and The Real Don Steele. It turns out the studios were in the very same building that now house the Paramount Pictures tours. I was actually in it a few days earlier and, at the time, had no idea about awesome history of that building.

And that’s not all. It turns out that it was the also original home for NBC television and later the Capitol Records recording studios. Most noteworthy is that Frank Sinatra recorded many of his early albums and Nat King Cole recorded the classic Mona Lisa there.

And to think the building with so much history now houses a security desk and an exhibit from the Terminator movies, with no mention of NBC, KHJ, Capitol or Sinatra.

California Highlights: Movie Studios

What's a trip to Hollywood without a  studio tour? This is Paramount Pictures and it was pretty awesome being on the same hallowed ground where so many great films and TV shows were shot, including The Godfather, Rear Window, White Christmas and dozens more. Here are three highlights of the tour.

#1: We visited Soundstage 29 and the Dr. Phil set. For me, even more impressive is that it’s the same stage they taped Mission Impossible (the TV show, not the movies) which was my all time favorite show growing up. It was also where Mannix and a bunch of the Star Trek movies were filmed.

#2: We stopped by the outdoor pool where Cecil B. DeMille filmed the parting of the Red Sea for the Ten Commandments. This pool has been used in a bunch of movies, and when it’s not being used for filming, it’s a blue parking lot.

#3: They took us to Soundstage #25 where a Nickelodeon sitcom is now taping. More impressive is that this building one housed the Cheers bar and Frazier’s radio studio.

California Highlights: Venice Beach

We made a stop at Venice Beach, which is sometimes referred to as “a cultural hub known for its eccentricities.” Which translates into a place where there are a lot of weird, and sometimes interesting, people. There Liz found a new friend that reminded her of one of the lovable creatures from her favorite movie, Aliens.