Year – 3

Mexico to Reno (and Borrego Springs)

  • Met up with our Canadian friends Larry and June in Tucson for dinner
  • Visited Dr Yasmin to finish dental work from late 2019 and to fix recently broken tooth (really enjoyed The Palms RV Resort).
  • Dropped off Vista in Las Vegas and drove Rio, Lila and Felix to Reno for Christmas with the family; the cats were amazing during the car rides
  • Graham joined us Borrego Springs for a few days
  • Thankfully, Rio seems to have recovered since his seizures in Mexico
  • Met Dr Lou in Yuma – he suggested we do blood tests and xrays to see if cancer had spread – thankfully not – will schedule leg surgery when we arrive in Borrego Springs

Washington to Mexico

  • Rio experienced several seizures. Worked with vets in PR and Yuma. Appears that his tumor in the head as gotten worse. Also, took Lila to vets in PR and Yuma as well
  • Rendezvous with Mike & Sue (Pat & Gary, Donna & Ed, Rusty & Sharon and Gene & Shiela) for caravan down to Puerto Penasco, Mexico
  • Met up with Sam & Susan in Paso Robles for wine tasting (they missed Leavenworth when their MH broke down in WY).
  • Visited Suz’s parents and friends in the bay area
  • Visited Vicki and Dave in Santa Rosa – have not seen for 25+ years
  • Visited our friends in Sherwood and Sutherlin Oregon

Reno to Washington

  • Cameron visited us in Leavenworth
  • Lila’s tumor got bigger and developed an ulcer in our third month in Washington.
  • First time visiting the Cascades and towns just east – very different geology and climate – Visited North Cascades and Mt Ranier National Parks for the first time. Smoke lessened quite a bit since mid-summer
  • After 30 some years, we came back to Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands. Enjoyed the towns and state parks
  • Was able to visit with our son in Woodinville and Leavenworth
  • Rear AC was replaced on warranty – woohoo!
  • Visited Suzanne’s cousin and husband in Gig Harbor
  • Marine layers along the coast – we did have afternoon sunshine through most of July – then more full days of Sunshine as we moved west into August
  • Visited the Olympic NP again – western entrance @ Hoh, northern entrance at Hurricane Ridge and Sol Duc and eastern entrance at Staircase
  • Western side of Olympic Peninsula was very nice and rustic. Fresh seafood and shellfish was really good quality and great prices – had local Salmon, Crabs, Oysters and mussels
  • Incredible fireworks (private) in Longbeach in Washington.
  • Visited our son and girlfriend – really hot – especially with only one working AC. Postponed our visit with friends near Portland and headed to Astoria and the coast – only 99 degrees – 112 degrees in the Portland area
  • Visited Mt Lassen NP

New Jersey to Reno

  • Arrived in Reno (Christmas in June!) and setup the Vista @ the RV Park. Had a great time with Suz’s parents, our boys and girlfriend, and Suz’s brother and family. We had seen everyone in the last 8-months, but this was the first time for everyone to be together for the past 18-months due to Covid. Celebrated Gram’s birthday and father’s day. Rio had a good time with LuLu (Cam’s pupster). The week was fairly hot.
  • Really hot when arrived in Boulder City – 105. Ran the genny for the last portion of the trip. Unfortunately, the rear AC stopped working – believe it is a bad compressor – need to find a RV service center that does warranty work.
  • Visited West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada – first trip along I 40 – visited Hot Springs National Park and Petrified National Park. Need to go back to Harper’s Ferry and the Appalachian and Shenandoah mountains. Very powerful visit to OKC for the 1995 bombing memorial and museum. Visiting northern NM – Santa Fe and Taos. Petrified Forest NP was very nice, but pretty hot, even in the morning hours.
  • Ordered replacement for water pump and wally receiver – having other items shipped to Reno; had replacement battery for laptop sent to Graham after many delays
  • Finalized Alaska 2022 planning and started making reservations
  • We found a nice county park in New Jersey to store the Vista. We stayed in an AirBnB in Staten Island. Went to Peter Luger’s for a great steak lunch with Graham in Brooklyn. Really enjoyed Graham’s graduation
  • Enjoyed our visit in Philly – Congressional Hall, Liberty Bell and Cheesesteak sandwiches
  • Enjoyed our visit to Colonial Williamsburg
  • Visited our friend Paul for dinner in Raleigh. We also had dinner, in Raleigh, with friends we knew in Saratoga
  • Bought Specialized Como e-bikes and bike rack in Columbia, SC! Had a hitch installed in Raleigh. e-bikes have added a new dimension to our travels as well as routines and maintenance. The ransomware of the Colonial pipeline caused major gas shortages in the SE especially the Carolinas – thankfully we tanked up and made it to Virginia where we could find gas
  • Camped in South Carolina for the first time. Enjoyed visiting Savannah again with Covid relaxing. Visited Congaree National Park

Florida

  • We were given an opportunity to visit our youngest son’s belated college graduation in Staten Island. Changed our plans again so that we could attend
  • Spent 2-months in various places in Florida. Visited our son twice in Cape Canaveral. He also visited us in Key West and St Augustine. We were able to see another SpaceX launch. We got vaccinated in Orlando
  • Visited Everglades and Key Biscayne National Parks as well as John Pennekamp State Park
  • Purchased salt water fishing pole and reel – fished a few times – but did not fish much
  • Met Peg and Frantz (Minneapolis St Paul) in Key West – hoping to meet up with them in Alaska if not sooner
  • Met Susan and Sam (Chattanooga) in Eastpoint – will meet up with them again in Central Washington in September
  • We re-planed our plans for 2021 for Christmas in June in Reno! Will not spend the spring and summer on the east coast. Everyone in Suzanne’s family will be vaccinated – exception might be our nephew and Cam’s girlfriend – feel really fortunate that our family and friends have been able to avoid getting infected and sick

Winter

  • Decided to spend most of the summer in Oregon and Washington; will now re-plan New England for summer and fall of 2023
  • Quick sprint to Florida to spend a couple of months with our youngest son who moved there in late 2020. Spent a couple of extra days in Las Cruces after Texas had a major cold snap that caused power outages and gas shortages. Had to bypass visit to Austin due to lack of power and water at the campground
  • Able to get waiver for Subaru smog check accepted since Florida does not have that requirement
  • Finalized plans to spend much of the winter with our youngest son in Florida where he recently moved to
  • Spent January in Borrego Springs. Third time we spent a month in one location