Sleepy in Seattle and a Bavarian Town

Our ship docked on time early Saturday morning and there was a strict process for disembarking depending on a form we filled out earlier in the week. We finally got off at 9-30 am and our Limo was waiting and home we went. It had been a great week - too many late nights but we had a fantastic time. We moved our trailer from the storage area to our site and just sat! I am the first to admit we are on a rather long holiday and have just returned from a cruise but we were exhausted! We had plans of doing the washing but we decided that could wait till tomorrow.

While here we wanted to visit downtown Seattle so we drove downtown, grabbed one of those walking tour maps and off we went. One surprise we found was the Klondike National Park museum. It is situated in a renovated building in the middle of the city and has a great display about the Klondike gold rush. I would never have thought a building could be a National Park? After a couple of hours at the National Park we headed back to the car and on the way happened upon a pub called the "Fireman's Bar". We stopped for a late lunch and our day in Seattle was done - tomorrow we hit the road again to a town in Washington state called Leavenworth. (no not the jail)

Downtown Seattle


Klondike National Park Museum is in the Old Cadillac Hotel


Lunch and a Beer at the Fireman's Bar





In it's day Leavenworth was a bustling timber come railroad town but had to reinvent itself when the Great Northern Railway located to another town. The city struggled until 1962, when the Project LIFE (Leavenworth Improvement For Everyone) Committee was formed to transform the city into a mock Bavarian village to revitalize its economy and the tourism associated with this keeps the town alive.

As we could not get a RV park in town we decided to stay about 20 miles outside the town near Lake Wenatchee. This park was different and was in need of some TLC - it was once a "Resort" but not now. This is the first park where when we booked in and they said "just go find a spot and let us know which one you picked"! In essence it is not a bad idea but this park had narrow, dusty roads low hanging branches etc - not what you want when pulling a big trailer.

Our New Spot Amongst The Trees


Leavenworth is a very touristy place, in fact I was surprised how much so. Parking was limited and you even had to pay for it in this little "quiet" town. As a tourist town it had it all including a cuckoo clock shop and of course a fudge shop. We had lunch at a restaurant called Baren Haus - sounded German but the name was about all that was. They did have German style food but it was no where near authentic. We ordered and it was on the table within 5 minutes. It was obviously pre prepared and we left very disappointed. The town itself is very well done and we can just imagine what it would look like in winter with a covering of snow.

The Beautiful Drive Into Leavenworth Followed the River


Very Bavarian in the State of Washington








German Beer for One


We finished our time in the area with a few drives to see the countryside which really was beautiful. Our time in "little" Germany was done. We headed further east to Glacier National Park with a two day stop over in the town of Coeur D' Alene in the state of Idaho.

Although Coeur D' Alene was only a stopover point we were pleasantly surprised at the sheer beauty of this area. We needed a new brake controller fitted to the truck and were told that the best place in town to get it done was no other than RnR's RV centre!

We Own an RV Sales and Service Centre. Who Would Have Thought!


The RV Park we stopped at was very nice and we could have spent more time there but as we had already made a booking at Glacier we had to move on.

This Park had a Lakeside Beach



On the way back from RnRs RV Centre (its got a nice ring to it hasn't it?) we saw the road side sign for Cabela's which is a huge outdoor shop. This is the Bunnings of the outdoor world. Apart from the obvious gun counter they have a "gun" library for the really unique stuff and yes you can buy a replica civil war cannon for the price of $9,000-00. I was informed they sell two a year on average. I asked about loading it and was told "put some black powder in then anything else you want to fire. Gotta love America!




Next stop is Glacier National Park another place we had been told so much about and as an added bonus it is right near Whitefish Montana our home address in the USA so we will finally get to see where we "live".



Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Seattle WA, Leavenworth WA and Coeur D' Alene ID

Bound For Alaska

As we were traveling towards Seattle Rose started looking at some "last minute" cruise deals to Alaska. It's not something we planned however we had not discounted it either. After some searching and phone calls we grabbed a deal and we were all set. We were to set sail on the 22nd of June and return on the 29th of June.

Pack our bags and let's go! One problem, we had no bags - we left them at Rose's brothers place in Ohio to save space in the smaller trailer. So it was off to the cheap shop to get a bag, then a dress shop for Rose for the formal nights and a suit for me. We managed to get bags and Roses dresses but no suit for me. The day before we sailed we found a suit and thankfully found a place that hemmed the trousers within the hour.

We found an RV park in Seattle that, as long as we stayed one night they would store our rig for $3 a night, including power to keep the fridge running whilst we are away. Needless to say we booked in including 3 extra nights on our return - just in case we needed to recuperate!

Not wanting to be late for our ship we made sure we had put our trailer in the storage are of the RV park by 9-30 am. We then made the mistake of carrying our bags to the park entrance rather than just directing the limo driver to pick them up, we live and learn. Princess cruises also phoned to advise us that a "fun run" was taking place in Seattle and to allow time for some road closures. Our driver made the appropriate detours and got us to the terminal without fuss and on time.

Waiting For Someone to Carry Our Bags (check out the $10 bags)



Arrival at the terminal was chaos with everyone attempting to get booked in and on board four hours before departure, us being one of them. No great problems just like getting on an international flight, passport, metal detectors and alike. We lined up and got our room card which also is your on board purchase card and ID card for getting on and off the ship - what a great idea! We declared our 4 bottles of wine and paid the $15 corkage (each) on two - they allow you to take one bottle each aboard for free but any additional ones incur the $15 corkage charge.

The Biggest Cruise Ship I Have Ever Been On, In Fact The Only One!


Fifteen minutes later we are heading up the gangplank to our cabin we do three circles in the foyer before we get our bearings and we are off ship map in hand. Our balcony cabin is on level 14 - the highest deck - and about level with the ships bridge. First thing we did was to open a red, sit on our balcony and take in the reality that we are here. Next thing is to explore the ship and have some lunch.

Seattle from the Deck


Our departure is due at 4-00 pm but we leave just 20 minutes late and to our amazement they just back the ship up left turn and we are on our way, no tugs needed for this big baby! In fact the ship never used a tug the entire journey - shows how behind the times I am. We then just spent time exploring and sampling a cocktail or two. We also had to do a lifeboat practice drill which means heading to your "muster station". Here they scan your ID card so they can account for everyone on the boat very quickly. There were no ifs or ands, the drill was compulsory for everyone on board.

We Are on Our Way


Life Boat Drill, I'm Ready



We chose dinner to be at a set time each night so at 8pm we headed to the restaurant to meet our other table guests. For the entire trip we ate at the same table, with the same people and same waiters. Our first night with our new table guest was very pleasant, even if the three young blokes from California did turn up 30 minutes late! We all talked and got to know one another. Henry and Grace are both doctors and they had their son with them who had just graduated and was heading off to Uni. The three young blokes all hailed from Bakersfield in California. Mark had been dumped by his girl the week before the cruise so he called upon his 'mates' Christopher and Branden to go along with him instead. We all joked if someone was missing the following night it would most likely mean that one of us is not liked. After dinner we went back to our cabin and sat on the balcony to watch the sun go down. It was 10.30 pm and the sun was still shinning brightly! Amazing!

Yep Sunset at 10.30pm From Our Balcony



Sunset at 10.30 pm and sunrise at 4.30 am - just five hours of dark. The first day is at sea so we participated in a few of the organised daily activities. But before that I needed to iron my new shirts for the formal nights - I was surprised I remembered how to do it after 7 months without touching an iron!

Shirts done we headed off to the casino to learn the art of Roulette, Three hand Poker and Blackjack - a free learners activity but we all know the intention was to get you into the casino to part with your cash. Lunch was a English Pub themed event so we went and had steak and kidney pie with a Guinness. Next stop was the art auction offering free champagne so I willingly sat and watched the proceedings. We saw some amazing and impressive works but much too expensive for us. Auction done , we headed off to a dancing lesson - yes you heard correct - it was great fun. After working up a sweat we stopped at one of the many bars for a quick drink.

There are Three Painted Female Bodies Making Up this Picture



The next day we arrived at Juneau which is the capital of Alaska. The port side area is very quaint and very obviously geared towards the constant flow of tourists with an over abundance of souvenir shops- there were 4 ships in port the day we were there. There were plenty of "tours" that could be organised from the ship. It's a short tourist season up in Alaska and they don't miss you when it comes to price - generally speaking prices start at $125 for a bus tour to $449 for a helicopter flight to a glacier. We took a rain check on the tours and just did our own thing which we pretty well did in every port we stopped at. We were amazed at the number of jewellery stores in each port we reckon there must be one for every 10 people in town. There are obviously a lot of people who buy a trinket or two when they are on holidays.

Our Ship From the Top of Mount Roberts






After Juneau we set sail for Skagway and thankfully everyone from our table turned out for dinner the next night. For such a mixed group of people we all got on really well, so well in fact that we were the last ones to leave the restaurant every night. The Bakersfield boys, in particular Christopher, were quite fond of red wine and were quite the connesours. They were never going to be happy with drinking their expensive wine out of water glasses so a quick chat to the maitre d resulted in all our glasses being replaced with proper red wine glasses for the remainder of the trip. Thanks Christopher! The boys have been friends all through school but hadn't seen each other for quite awhile. Mark's unfortunate situation with his girlfriend was the topic of many jokes around the table - fortunately he took it well. Branden was the quiet one of the group often just sitting there listening to the other two with a smile on his face. Grace and Henry's son was a typical teenager and it seems he was constantly searching for food - he even told us there was an all night cafe which he paid a visit to most nights for a midnight snack. Grace and Henry were great company and we plan to catch up with them at their farm in northern Tennessee later in the year.

We thoroughly enjoyed meeting our dinner table friends and will hopefully keep in touch with them for many years to come.

Every Dinner was Filled with Laughter and Stories.



Once again the tourist trade is a big part of the business of Skagway. The population of the city is 920 however this doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with more than 900,000 visitors. Like many other towns in the panhandle of Alaska, Skagway was affected by the Klondike Gold rush in 1896 with the population growing to around 8,000 during this time. Unfortunately the gold rush only lasted for 2 years and Skagways economy collapsed shortly after. We jumped on a city tour bus which, as well as stopping at the main attractions, also took us over the boarder into Canada.

Skagway Port



The Historic Town of Liarsville



In 1898, a 14-mile, steam-operated aerial tramway was constructed up the Skagway side of the White Pass.


Broadway Avenue


We Are In Canada




Our next stop, and the one we were really looking forward to was Glacier Bay National Park. We arrived early in the morning and were woken by the frequent blowing of the ships fog horn. Yes the whole bay was blanketed in a thick fog. All we could see were icebergs of various sizes floating by as we sailed very slowly up the bay, so slowly that this huge ship barely made a ripple in the ocean. After several hours it was announced the ship would not go any further due to the dangers. We were all really disappointed but had to trust the Captain's decision (which he copped a lot of criticism for) , he knows the risks and we all remember the Titanic!

The Fog was Very Thick



On the way out of the bay the fog lifted momentarily in one spot and we did get to see one glacier.

Just Beautiful



Next stop was Ketchikan and as always there was a rush as people got ashore to get to the waiting tour buses. We watched from our balcony and waited until the rush was over and then ventured into town. Once again we saw at least 10 jewellery shops in town and numerous other gift shops selling souvenirs made in China - it's not just Australia that has that problem. Our stay in Ketchikan was very short - only a couple of hours so we found a coffee shop with free wifi, checked our emails and Facebook and headed back to the ship.

Go Figure! Come to Ketchikan and go to Walmart! Guess some of the crew might take advantage of it.



Our last stop was Victoria BC in Canada. We didn't have a plan in mind, once again this was a relatively short stop, so we jumped on one of the shuttle buses into the city. Grace and Henry were also wondering what to do so decided to join us. As we entered the main street of Victoria Rose spotted one of those double decker open top buses which offered a 90 minute city tour for $20. Bargain- we all jumped on and off we went.

Henry Chatting To The Bus Driver


It was a great tour, Victoria is one beautiful city, one we would definately like to visit again. As always there were plenty of laughs along the way.

A Rare Shot, Rose with Coffee Not a Red Wine!











The cruise was fantastic - the ship was always clean or being cleaned, the staff were great and the meals were fantastic. We saw whales, seals and one of the largest pods of dolphins I have ever seen - hundreds of them rounding up fish and feeding. We all know ships tend to be expensive for alcohol but we found it reasonable, $5.50 for a "well" drink, (Bourbon, Rum etc) , $7-$9 for a cocktail and $25 for a bottle of wine at dinner. The entertainment was great, new friendships made and lots of memories (and photos) of an amazingly beautiful land.

Sunset From Our Balcony



We Are Welcomed by the US Coast Guard ( note bow mounted machine gun!)


Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Seattle, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and Victoria BC

Oregon Coast Travelling Highway 101

We were excited - we were heading for the west coast of Oregon and the blue oceans of the North Pacific Ocean. Excited because we had not seen the ocean since our visit to Corpus Christi in Texas back in February.

We headed up highway 101 hoping the road would not get too steep and windy. It did have sections that slowed us down but nothing to worry about in fact it was better than the Pacific highway in Australia. Everyone we spoke to suggested 101 as the most scenic road to take - they were right!

Bright Blue Sea


A Real Change From The Desert



Our first stop was Bullards Beach State Park located 2 miles north of the small town of Bandon. The site was great - screened on three sides by bushes and shrubs so very private. I climbed up on the roof and snapped off a few low hanging branches ( 5th wheeler roofs are made of rubber and are very easily damaged by tree branches) - great site! At check in the ranger warned us about the mosquitos - being a state park they are not allowed to spray any chemicals around to kill them. He was not kidding, we have never seen such big mosquitos (they are jokingly called the state bird). Even after spraying ourselves with insect repellant we still managed to get a few bites and were forced inside.




We had booked three days here so had plenty of time to explore the area. Oregon has the most number of state parks in the USA with a large number along the coast line. The beaches are beautiful (not golden sand like the Gold or Sunshine Coast in Australia though) but are littered with large amounts of drift wood, or rather drift logs!! We later found out this comes from winter storms that hit the coast and wash the trees etc out of the river system onto the beach. The rocky outcrops and tiny islands along the coastline are home to the native birds, sea lions and seals and It is against the law to go near them. We were lucky to see some sea lions basking in the sun - got a few good photos using the zoom lens of course!

Migratory Birds Fill the Small Islands


Sea Lions and Seals Rest Up


Tonnes of Driftwood Scattered on the Beach



One of our favourite foods here in the USA is clam chowder - they do it soooo well! We found a small waterside restaurant (with only enough seating for 7 people) and tucked into a big bowl of their homemade chowder made from freshly caught clams straight off their boat which was moored at the back of the restaurant. Can't get any fresher than that!

As Small as a Restaurant Gets!



From Bandon we headed further up highway 101 towards Newport stopping frequently - the scenery was just spectacular. Against our better judgement we stopped at a tourist spot called Seal Lion Caves. We had read and heard about it so paid the $14 (each) entrance fee. We should have listened to our instincts - for $14 we caught a lift down a couple of hundred feet which opened up to a cave where about half a dozen sea lions were resting. In reality we got better views of the sea lions out in the wild. We were disappointed!

Forget this Tourist Site!



We hadn't booked ahead for our stay in Newport so were lucky to get the last available site at the South Beach State Park. This was one big and busy park with 227 sites. Newport is a bustling tourist town and supposed to be the fresh seafood capital of Oregon. So we headed into the old town area where the majority of the eating houses were located. After a few trips up and down the strip we finally picked a restaurant and placed our orders. We had envisaged that prices would be low given the number of fishing boats in the harbour - incorrect - they must export all they catch because we paid top dollar for a not so well cooked seafood meal.

Depoe Bay is another quaint little seaside town about half an hour north of Newport. It is infamous for having the worlds smallest harbour and of course clam chowder. At $6 a bowl it was a far better eating experience than in Newport.

Depoe Bay









Clam chowder devoured and with a jumbo bag of caramel popcorn in our hands we headed back to the park stopping at a few lookouts etc along the way.









As we were driving up a fairly steep incline we pulled aside to let a couple of cyclists pass - they were doing it tough! Oregon has a number of designated bike routes and as we discovered later this couple was doing one from Vancouver to San Francisco (a distance of over 1500 km) - not just the 2 of them though - they also had their 5 year old daughter with them. We had pulled in at an old lighthouse to take a few photos and they pulled up - "are you from Australia?" we were asked. I had my Aussie cap on so that was probably a dead give away! We started chatting - Lauren, Adam and Tahlee are from Adelaide and have been in Canada for the past 5 months and are leaving the USA from San Franciso. They had heard and read about the Oregon bike trails and decided to give it a go. Tahlee has a little pod she sits in (sunglasses on) which is towed by Adam. They cycle each day and camp in a tent most nights with the occasional splurge and stay in a cheap motel. We were in awe of them - to undertake a challenge like this alone is amazing but to do it with a 5 year old is, for us, unthinkable.

The quick chat at the lighthouse was never going to be enough - as they were heading for the same town we were staying at we arranged to pick them up later in the day. A few drinks in our park turned into dinner as well. A great night spent with an amazing family. We said our goodbyes (swapping contact details) still shaking our heads at what they were undertaking - highway 101 is just that - a highway used by cars, motor cycles and logging trucks.

Adam,Lauren and Tahlee, what a family adventure!


Who Else but an Aussie Would Cycle With a Naked Barbie on Their Bike



Fort Stevens near the town of Astoria on the Columbia River was our next destination - just 3 hours up the road - stopping where we could to take more photos. This is not an easy task with such a big outfit. This photo really brought it home to us just how big it is.

Nothing Like Towing Your Home



As we drove north we came across a number of tunnels and bridges which have pedestrian type buttons at each end. Cyclist press these to start the flashing lights to warn others of their presence. I shudder the thought of being in a tunnel on a bike as a logging truck comes through! Once again we thought of Adam, Lauren and Tahlee.

Not For the Faint Hearted


101 Views Never Disappoint


We arrived at Fort Stevens in a light rain and once again the state birds (mosquitos) were out in force. Being ridgy digde campers we put the "deet" spray on lit a citronella candle and sat outside. Our site was covered in little mounds of dirt and were informed by the locals that they were gopher holes. The gopher is a small burrowing rodent that frequents the area and are commonly treated as a pests. We disrupted one of the burrows as we were told, if they were still around, they would pop their heads up and rebuild. We sat with drinks in our hands for quite a while watching but didn't spy any little critters.

A Wet But Nice Site



Fort Stevens was an American military installation that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. It was built near the end of the American Civil War. On the nights of June 21 and 22, 1942, the Japanese submarine I-25 fired 17 shells at Fort Stevens, making it the only military installation in the continental United States to receive hostile fire during World War II. We toured the site and as always we were warmly welcomed by the volunteer hosts.

Fort Stevens







We had been hankering for fresh oysters since Destin Florida so headed into Astoria which is another fishing town. Unfortunately oysters weren't going to be on the menu, we could only find the bottled variety - not quite the same! A fishing charter boat had just docked at the wharf and the lucky fishermen we getting their catch cleaned by some locals - for a price of course. We also learned that a 'shucked oyster" is called a shooter in this part of the country.





Local business' are always interesting in little towns - I was in desperate need of a hair cut - last one I had was in Yuma in April - so on the way back to the park I stopped in at the local barber shop. When asked what I wanted I responded with " a number 4 all over thanks." The response came back, "I don't use that plastic stuff I use scissors". Technology has not made it to the little town of Warrenton!

The Oregon coast is a truly remarkable and beautiful part of the world. We leave here tomorrow and head for the bright lights of Seattle. We have a very different travelling experience starting on 22 June.




Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:Bandon, Newport and Astoria Oregon