Highway 1 and Tim

We decided to take Highway 1 at least most of the way to San Francisco and to do a slight detour to meet Tim and Sarah for a late lunch.  Tim is our nephew and moved out to Thousand Oaks a couple of years back.  Sarah couldn't join us as she had just started a new job and needed to be at work but we had great tacos at Tim's favorite taco place while we caught up.  After leaving Tim, we kind of abandoned our plan to take 1 the rest of the way and opted for 101, getting to Santa Maria for the night.

with Tim

Newport Beach

From San Diego we shifted north, up the coast to Newport Beach.  We were there to visit friends, Todd and Barbara Keeler.  Mark first met Todd when he worked with Sonardyne.  Sonardyne and Todd's company, Parker shared the second floor in Loyang.  Shortly after that Todd joined the boating community and as they say the rest is history.  They had always said that we should come visit them and stay with them at their place on Newport Island.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity so off we went.  Newport Beach is neat because everything is within a short walking distance (probably because parking is so tough).  The weather was ideal for walking and the beach.  This is probably why there are so many people living in Southern California.

We spent a couple of days visiting their local haunts and even played trivia at the Elks Lodge one night.  They also helped us purchase our house batteries for Sari Timur which we loaded up on our way out of town.  We couldn't leave town with out heading over to Balboa Island to take the car ferry several times.  Barbara is a captain on the ferry so we took advantage to watch her work. 

Todd and Barbara

on the Balboa Island ferry

Captain Barbara

San Diego

From the Grand Canyon the next destination was San Diego.  We couldn't make it in one shot so stopped in Blythe for the night.  Blythe is famous for being super hot in the summer time but was nice in late winter.  We stayed in a Holiday Inn Express that was only 3 months old and the manager loved the idea of our road trip so he upgraded us to a suite.  Nice room but we were on the road early in the morning so couldn't enjoy it as much as we would have liked.

Four miles from our friend's house a large truck threw up a rock and cracked our windshield but we made it to their house.  We were staying with Jan and Steve, friends from Guam.  We were introduced to them by Beth and Al and if you remember from a few posts ago they were visiting Jan and Steve when we passed through Ohio.  They have taken over the house that Jan grew up in.  They were one of the first houses in the neighborhood back when there wasn't much around.  Pretty built up now. They are in the midst of a major renovation.  It was fun seeing their ideas play out for the reno.

We quickly got in touch with old friends Bill and Titus and one of Pauline's ex colleagues, Clarence to  meet up in Escondido for dinner and a brew or two at Stone's Brewery.  Stone's was featuring a collaboration with our favorite brewery in Japan and one in Guam so we felt the stars were aligned.  Clarence couldn't make it but we all had a great time meeting up again.  We also made plans to meet up with Bill and Titus again later in the week.

We met Clarence and her boyfriend for lunch later in the week. 

Bill and Martha (Titus)

Steve and Jan

at Stones Brewery

Pauline with Clarence

Grand Canyon

Neither of us have ever been to the Grand Canyon,  We thought we would miss it this time as well but then read an article about seeing the South Rim in the winter.  So it was immediately put on the itinerary.  When we talked about this at Angie's house, cousin Jeff said we should stop at Four Corners as well, so that also got put on the list.  Four Corners was nice but the 'Grand Canon needs another look during better weather.  Don't get us wrong, it was phenomenal and we were wowed out.  We spent an entire day until sunset just staring at the sights.  The weather was not bad but a bit cool for big hiking excursions.  We plan to be back!

the spot where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meets

Pauline standing where x marks the spot

Here are just some of the many photos we took at the Grand Canyon.

Colorado

Leaving South Dakota we went through a small part of Wyoming.  As a third grade project, Mark had to pick a state and study up on it.  This required writing to the Wyoming Chamber of Commerce for literature about the state and for a map.  Nearly 60 years later he couldn't find the map or info anymore so we just rushed through.  Actually we think it had more to do with the cold weather and the fact we were heading to meet friends in Vail.

We stopped for the night in Longmont, then continued on to Vail after resting a day.  We met Danny and Yvonne in Palau.  Actually Danny was our Advanced Diving instructor.  They have a sailboat that is now in the Philippines and they usually work the summer seasons in Alaska so we touch base pretty often.  During Covid they were forced to stay in the PI for over a year during lockdown so their cruising kitty took a bit of a bashing. They got back to Alaska just before the summer season in Alaska.  Pauline did get a chance to meet up with them there. They have rental property in Vail and one was becoming available so they decided they best work the winter season as well to help top up the tank before going back to Talkeetna to do their normal season.  

We had a blast catching up and having them show us the sights.  Neither of us ski anymore but the Vail area has a lot to offer for the non skiers too and it is certainly a pretty place to hang out.  To normal people it seems like an outdoor music fest in the winter would seem strange but in Vail it seems normal and there was a surprisingly large crowd the night we attended.

They also took us out for steak dinner up in Leadville which is supposedly the highest incorporated town in the USA.  Great steaks in a bar built in the 1800's.  The menu is incredibly short, the content is hard to beat.

After Vail, we stopped for the night in Durango thus crossing our outbound track.

Danny and Yvonne

Vail

Vail

Us at the bus stop

Beaver Creek Ski Resort

South Dakota

From Illinois we scooted thru Wisconsin and Minnesota in another windstorm.  We stopped for the night in Sioux Falls and spent the next day fighting 40+ mile headwinds to make it to Rapid City.  One of Pauline's bucket list items was to see Mount Rushmore.  So we took a day and ran off to see Rushmore and the Crazy Horse project.

side profile of George Washington

the presidents at Mount Rushmore

Crazy Horse

While we were in Michigan, Laura and Steve insisted we should go to Deadwood as well.  Deadwood is where Wild Bill Hickok was shot while playing cards in the saloon.  So the next day's trip was planned and off we went. 

Mark trying to get into the brothel in Deadwood

bartender dressed up like Wild Bill Hickok

Historic town of Deadwood

The Millers

We left Michigan in a windstorm to head over to the Illinois side of the Wisconsin/Illinois border to see the Millers.  Again it has been years since we saw them and now there are two more of them!  Katie cooked us a lasagna and we visited and played with Brooklyn, Cassidy and Tori their dog, while we waited for Travis to get home.

We love your family, house and neighborhood.  Keep up the good work guys.

Us with those adorable girls

Katie and Travis with Brooklyn and Cassidy

Michigan

We had hoped to wind down some and still get caught up with everyone in Michigan.  It was a pretty busy schedule and thanks to everyone who helped us make it possible.  For those we missed, we are sorry, hopefully next time our schedules will work out better.

The Grand Haven pier with a frozen Lake Michigan

Mom and Dad sold the house a couple of years back but this is the first time we had been to the new place even though it has been our permanent address for that time.  We have to agree, it is ideal for them and we really enjoyed our time there.

Mom and Dad

After a couple of days with Mom and Dad we got the chance to catch up with Greg and Hayden in GR for some shopping and lunch.  We are glad they are as much Carhartt fans as we are.

with Greg and Hayden

with Greg

As mentioned in the last post Laura and Steve had arranged to stay with Angie while we were there and the ever generous Angie opened her house up for a party.  Marianne, Jeff, Nikki, their son Hayden came down from Muskegon to catch up with us all. Jeff and Marianne had just finished getting back from North Dakota, so we knew they were tired but they still had the stamina to make it through the whole party. Alyse and Greg were also able to make it.  And of course Tom drove up from Indiana. The food was great, the company was great and the Cards for Humanity was interesting!

The next day we took the opportunity to help Angie move some cabinets to a house she is renovating in Spring Lake, not sure how she finds the time running two restaurants and two houses.

We also got a couple of days to catch up with the Jeff and Ako and Lori and Kevin.

Kevin, Lori, Jeff and Ako

And on the very last day we caught up with Steve Cochran.  Sorry Steve we forgot to get a photo.

Racing to Beat another Winter Storm

With another winter storm warning forecasted, we decided to plow through Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana as fast as possible before seeking refuge in West Michigan with Mark's parents.  We did catch up with brother-in-law, Tom in Northern Indiana but he recommended we hit the road as soon as possible after lunch as 24 inches was in the forecast. We told him we were planning a big party at Angie's in Grand Haven when Laura and Steve, the Michigan Vladikas, along with Greg and Alyse and got him to commit to making the trip.

After leaving Tom we got a call from our friends, Jan and Steve who had Al and Beth staying with them.  We missed Al and Beth on this trip.  We were planning on seeing them in Ohio but they decided to avoid the wither storms by fleeing the coop early and headed to Mexico and Southern California before we could get there.  Anyway we did get to chat with them and promised Steve and Jan that we were still indeed planning on visiting them.

We made it to mom and dad's just as the snow started.

Further North to Virginia

During this trip we found out that one of Mark's college friends, Marcus Weaver, had passed away.  This is the second close friend lost within the last couple of years.  We lost Cliff Thrift to cancer about a year earlier.  It sparked a renewal in interest for the rest of us to get caught up. Terry, the ever efficient, got Don, Gary, Mark and Jim talking via texts.  Since we were heading fairly closely to Jim's cabin in the woods, he invited us over for a night.  He has a pretty nice cabin that he and his brother Tom built.  We had a great visit and got to meet his twin daughters and the dogs as well.  The daughters made a great meal for us.  Hey Jim let us not wait 40 years to catch up again!

the delicious curry dinner

Jim with his twins, Koko and Nono

From there we continued on to visit fellow cruisers Walt and Jane who are living near DC now.  We had a great couple of days with them and celebrated Jane's birthday with their two daughters Michelle and Lisette. 

Great catching up with you guys as well.

Jane and Walt

Mushing to North Carolina

As stated in the last post, we started north with the temp in Florida colder than in Sitka but it didn't stay that way.  Florida started to warm up and the temps as we drove north hit 60.  So we thought that the emergency winter storm warnings we had been getting were a bit false.  We had a very pleasant drive through the rest of Florida though a bit windy, through Georgia and most of South Carolina.  Near the border between the two Carolinas, the temperature suddenly dropped and we noticed lots of road signs and trees damaged by winds,  Then we broke into the snow.  By the time we hit Charlotte we were driving in pretty horrible conditions.  We did get a lot of cars slowing down and following us along the freeway.  I guess they respected the Alaska plates!

Laura and Steve held dinner for us and we only kept them a little later than usual.  Of course upon arriving we broke out the dark and stormys and sat in front of the fire place.  This is the first time we have been to the farm since they moved in.  We got to see the fairly finished off barn (Mark helped do some repairs to it the last time we were here) and now a full working farm with a hound dog, 3 horses, 3 ponies, 1 donkey, 4 chickens and a partridge in some kind of fruit tree.

Jacob, Baylee and Emersyn came over for a visit for Laura's birthday though Jacob had to leave early as he was called in to work.  They came back for another visit before we left as well.

Later in the week the weather was better so we got a chance to see friends Tom and Carol as well.  Great to catch up with them and we took the ponies and the donkey out for a walk to the back field.  We also discussed the plans for putting in the new fishing pond behind the house.

After a week of our stay, Steve had to head out on a business trip.  We stayed a couple extra days to keep Laura company.  

Laura with Emersyn, Jacob and Baylee

The horses - Pearl, Wyatt and Sadie with Ruby the hound dog

The house on the farm

The ponies - Bella, Tokyo and Dolly and Jenny the donkey

Steve and Laura with us

We took one of those days to see Pete Crispell and his girlfriend for the day over in Durham.  They made a great lunch for us and showed us the projects they are working on to restore their neighborhood.

Pete and Liz with Storm and Sailor