On the road again!

October 22 – We have closed our show “Mesa” at the Janet Ritchie Centre Stage in Summerland. We had great houses for all shows, standing ovations from every audience, and hopefully some profit at the end of it all.  It was a great show and what an amazing cast and crew.  Thank you to all who participated.

October 23 – Back again to Summerland but this time it’s for the cast party.  Summerland Singers and Players always amazes…..no matter what the occasion, where the event takes place, or even why we  having the event, there is always lots of people, huge amounts of food, and lots and lots of laughter.  Truly great to be a part of this gang.  Off  to Marg’s  for dinner and last minute stuff then home to continue packing and to bed.

October 24 – We think we have everything (and probably too much of some things!) and we are off like a herd of turtles.  Good trip to Richmond/Surrey and settle into the RV park that is about 2 miles from the border.  Met up with Carolyn, Emily, Alex, and Angie.  We had a great dinner of sushi and sake, and got caught up on all the comings and goings.  Emily is now speaking in two or three word sentences and apparently is learning both English and Spanish phraseology every day.

October 25 – No pressing things to take care of today so we have dim sum for a late breakfast (or early lunch) then off for a bit of shopping.  About 2PM we traded cars with Carolyn and picked up Emily from school.  Ross was expecting a bit of fuss from her about leaving school and going with these two weirdo grandparents……but she calmly helped Grandpa Ed find her coat and things and we were off to explore.  We decided to go for a walk at Garry Point Park in Richmond (along the dyke) and Emily got to hold Mojo’s lead while we walked.  Not sure if Emily was actually leading or just holding on for dear life but there was lots of squeals and laughing so apparently everything was OK.  Stopped for ice cream (she can say Grandpa Ed and Grandpa Ross so Grandpa Ed has to honour his promise of ice cream when Emily could say our names!!) and then home for more Chinese food…..and sake.

October 26 – Off to Centralia, WA but first we have to wait in line to cross the border……about 60 minutes!!!  We really started to sweat when we saw it was a young female officer in the booth, but she only wanted to look at our passports, ask us where we were going, and see our faces.  We had an easy drive in good weather and, after  a quick trip for some groceries, we settled in for the night.

October 27 – Off to one of our favourite RV parks Seven Feathers in Canyonville, OR.  We had a quiet trip and the weather is still holding up – sunshine, and only a slight breeze.  Seven Feathers is on the Umpqua Indian Reservation and has a casino, hotel, multiple restaurants, and an outstanding RV park with level lots, huge landscaped sites, pool/hot tub/showers, library, and a free shuttle to the casino. 

We had a quick dip in the hot tub (and endured a rather outspoken braggart who knew everything about real estate)  then back to the M/H for clean clothes.  We made the call for the shuttle, AND as it was Thursday the feature is a seafood buffet!

Shrimp, crab, prime rib, scallops, cod, and shrimp, shrimp, shrimp!!  Good dinner (not as good as previous times, but still good) then off to have a little fun at the one armed bandit.  Both of us are kinda chicken when it comes to betting, so the penny slots are made just for us!  We start out with $20 each and off we go.  Ed went through his money rather quickly but for some reason Ross started making money, and even more money….to the tune of about $70.  This is a guy that NEVER wins, E V E R!!!  Nice feeling I must say!

October 28 – Feeling rather flush we fill up at the Seven Feathers casino (52 gals at $3.81/gal – you can do the math-so much for the ‘flush’) and leave the casino grounds somewhat poorer!  But the day is bright with no hint of clouds or rain in the forecast.  Off to Corning, CA but first have to cross over the Siskyou Pass – several climbs and descents through the Monashee and Coastal mountain ranges.  We get to the Rolling Hills casino with plenty of time to head over to the Olive Pit – another of our favourite places.  This store has a huge, I mean H U G E selection of olives in all sorts of configurations.  We got a few more groceries (remember we can’t take much fresh stuff across the border) and then back to the M/H. 

Instead of staying in the truckers lot as we have at times we sprung for a space in the RV park.  Got cleaned up and into the casino.  Again this casino has a hotel, a few restaurants, RV park, etc……..certainly not at the same scale as Seven Feathers, but very nice just the same.  The seafood buffet (yes, Rolling Hills has a seafood buffet every FRIDAY……now you  know why we plan our trips so carefully……..the seafood buffets!!) is much better than Seven Feathers this time around and we had a great feast. 

The casino gods are smiling down on Ross this week as he won over $170 on the penny slots!  Again remind yourself that Ross NEVER, E V E R wins…….at anything…….at all!!!!  Back to the M/H, only half-heartedly joking about needing an armed guard – although the couple sitting next to Ross were winning four and five times as much as he was – those machines must be tired with all those lights flashing and bells ringing.  Anyway, all Ed could do was stand there and watch in amazement.

October 29 – It is now official shorts weather (high 70’s and low 80’s) and we are not complaining.  The dogs are happy to be with us, but the heat is a little too sudden for them we think.  Teddy is panting most of the day, but again they are happy to be with us.  We are off to Lodi today and to Flag City RV park, with an easy drive on surprisingly good roads for the main part. Flag City is another huge park with high-end amenities.  It also has a “winter pool” where spring run-off goes, so there is a massive indentation surrounded by a fence and is a great place for the dogs to run – if ever Mojo can get over his aversion to grass! 

After we settled in it was off to find some dog food and maybe something for supper.  We found Pet Discounts which is the size of any large pet supply store and has comparable brands and prices.  The cashiers were friendly but suddenly became a bit concerned when Ross decided to use a John Hudson quote……………”Hi there, did you find everything OK?” “Yes, thank you…….yes, Grandma loves this brand of food…….it’s her favourite”!!!! 

We were actually looking for a Safeway when out of the blue we came across a Mexican grocery – Rancho San Miguel.  Great store and incredible smells.  BBQ, fresh seafood, wine and beer for very low costs, tortillas being made right there, bakery pushing out delicacies that you just wouldn’t believe.  Back to the M/H for a soak in the hot tub, a walk with the dogs, and a quick game of Scrabble.  Then dinner of roasted chicken and tomato/cucumber salad.  We are here for two days.