Wow! We've been really busy since my last post, so this entry will be a conglomeration of several things.
We stayed at the Petaluma Elks Lodge #901 for a couple of nights to visit Don's aunt and uncle in Santa Rosa. The Santa Rosa Fairgrounds, closer to their home, had an event going on and we couldn't get in there. After we left, some friends reminded us that they live about 10 miles from Santa Rosa and we're welcome to park at their place. So now we have another option when we return.
Many Elks Lodges provide RV parking, and the donation $, usually set by the lodge, helps support their community activities as well as providing comfortable places to park. We often have meals at the lodges, and always meet friendly folks who can offer great advice about things to do and see in their area. Some only allow you to park in their parking lot, but others provide partial or full hookups (water, electric, sewer), as does this one. There was even a grassy area in back of the RVs where Shadow enjoyed rolling on his back.
The primary reason for coming here was to visit Della and Gene McKamey. Aunt Della is Don's late Mother's sister.
She fed us royally while we were there, including some traditional Swedish potato dumplings, called Kroppkakor, filled with salt pork and allspice. They were yummy! The next night she cooked the abalone that Don's nephew John raised in his aqua culture farm near Santa Cruz, and had saved in the freezer for us. It was the first time I'd eaten this delicacy in many years, and Della really knows how to cook them -- what a treat!
We had lunch with Della and Gene at Dempsey's beside the Petaluma River in the historic part of town. More photos are in the web album.
Driving further north in California, we spent a night in McCloud at Dance Country RV Park, a nice, quiet place near Mt. Shasta.
After a brief visit with Don Moore, a friend of mine from the Montana Owners Club who lives in Mt. Shasta City, we enjoyed an authentic Mexican dinner at Casa Ramos and a drive out to Lake Siskiyou and around the area. The weather here is beautiful in the summer, but I wouldn't want to spend a winter here in the high country where lots of white stuff falls out of the sky. Remnants of last winter's snowfall are still on top of Mt. Shasta in August!
Leaving California behind for now, we drove to Phoenix, Oregon, near Medford, to visit our good friend Sandy Baleria. Her husband, Dave, suddenly passed away a year and a half ago. She established the Dave Baleria Center for Victory Over Grief (http://victoryovergrief.homestead.com/), through which she helps others, as well as herself, deal with the loss of a spouse. Dave's mother Billie Raney, joined us as Sandy treated us to a wonderful Chinese dinner.
We stayed overnight in the same park where Sandy now lives in her 5th wheel.
It's beside a creek where there are places to sit and watch the water flow by.
On that peaceful note, I'll close out this post and save our other adventures for my next entry.
