Home Again..Home Again... Part I

Did you miss me?  We took a week off and headed up to Washington and Oregon to visit friends and enjoy a little road trip along the way.

Heading up California we took our normal Rt 395.  This road takes you up through the Sierra Nevada mountain range and is always spectacular.  It is amazing how much snow is still there after their record breaking winter.  From there we entered into Nevada and spent the first night in Reno.  We had a great meal, played a little video poker, did not win my Royal Flush and called it a day.

The next morning we departed bright and early in chilly temperatures and blackened skies as we headed to Oregon.  The drive was beautiful despite intermittent rain showers throughout the day.  We even witnessed a calf being born.  Of course we had to pull over and watch the mother finally get the little thing up to nurse.  I have mentioned before how we love to take the backroads and this is one of the reasons why.  You really get to see so much more and can pull over at any time to look closer.

That night was spent in Sisters, OR - one of my favorite spots.  A little walkabout town and some shopping at the Stitchin Post was a nice break from the car.  It is an amazing shop.

We had a few snow flurries overnight and the next morning was the most "exciting" as far as driving went.  The pass took us up to about 4800 feet and the going got a little interesting as we climbed.  There were not many cars and one can see why from the pictures.



Doesn't look too bad....does it?



This was up a bit further.

The rest of the day was rainy and cold as we drove to Olympia and met our friend.  Tom led us from Olympia to his home on a beautiful lake.  His wife recently passed away and Tom has become quite the homemaker.  He greeted us with a true NW cuisine - raw oysters and champagne as appetizers, fabulous salmon done on the BBQ and a Washington berry compote for dessert.  It was all delicious.  All the while we enjoyed the view from his "glass" house. 



You can see how high the water is by looking at the docks. 



This bald eagle entertained us in the morning over our coffee.

Rain...rain...all day!

We departed his place in a continuous rain as we headed down the coast to Oregon.  That night was spent in Newport, OR - a stunningly beautiful town.  Perhaps it was because the sun finally shown that morning, but the beaches and harbors were glorious.

We continued our drive down the coast and crossed over into California and through the Redwoods.  We spent the night in the "Victorian Alps" town of Weaverville - a historic town.  Our accommodations that evening were fabulous.



Oregon coast.



The Redwoods.



Loved the crazy quilt at the foot of our bed.



The champagne tub...love all the linens???

The sitting room.

The rain returned the next day as we headed for another historic Gold Rush town - Murphys.  We were getting a little tired of all the rain and were relieved that the following day's trip was dry.  We found some fabulous roads as we headed south.  On this one we met one other car in a 60+ mile drive.  The green hills were the most luscious color and the flowers were blooming everywhere.  It was a fun time to travel despite the rain and snow.