by kenny

We left the Pilot truckstop early and headed west to Castroville because Laura had heard about a restaurant that specializes in all things artichoke. And Laura loves artichokes. When we arrived at the Giant Artichoke Restaurant we were greeted by of all things... a giant artichoke. We ordered the artichoke sampler which consisted of a steamed artichoke, artichoke bread, and deep fried artichoke hearts. Laura couldn't get enough of the artichoke hearts and I thought the steamed artichoke was clearly the best artichoke I have ever had. There's a "produce stand" next door, which is really just a small grocery store. Don't pass this place up. It has the coolest old school fruit and vegetables display stands, in the shapes of the various fruit and vegetables they are meant to display (bananas in the banana-shaped stand, etc. Check out the photos.




After eating we headed down the coast towards San Simeon. This drive was a lot more pleasant than our first time getting to the coast. Before we reached San Simeon I was pleasantly surprised to discover hundreds of elephant seals along the coast line. They come during the months of October and November to rest before they continue on a circuit near the coast. They start as juveniles and return as adults.





We got a spot at the nearby San Simeon state campground and headed up to Hearst Castle. When Laura and I lived in Lompoc we had always wanted to go to Hearst Castle, but never seemed to find the time or money. Well we found the time on this trip and spent the money anyway. Hearst Castle was made for William Randolph Hearst and his mistress Marion Davies. He got his money from the newspapers and other media outlets that he controlled. And he got a lot of money. He had his own private zoo at the castle. Celebrities and people of note were invited to his place on a regular basis and all attended except 2, Shirley Temple and Katherine Hepburn. Katherine later went on to say it was the one regret of her life.

Hearst Castle gives various tours throughout the day and during certain seasons they offer evening tours. The evening tours have a different emphasis, the people who have stayed at the castle, or ranch as Hearst called it, rather than the amazing art collection. As a bonus, the evening tour, is also a living history tour. Volunteers dress up in period attire and walk around the ranch as if you have stepped into the heyday of the castle. A couple might be playing pool, having a smoke and coffee in a random room, enjoying the night air, an author working on a novel in a guest room, etc. The only down side of the evening tour is that the lighting is bad, and with no flash allowed, photos are hard to get right.



After leaving Hearst Castle, Laura and I were torn on our feelings about the man and his castle. He seems like a good guy, but if crossed, would crush you. He had a tremendous amount of wealth and spent much of it on his friends and protecting art. He removed all the trees that were in the way of building his castle, but went to great lengths to replant those trees nearby. He build this massive castle with every door hand-carved, a pool painted with gold, etc and his dining table was set with paper napkins and ketchup. All my information comes from Orson Welles portrayal of him in Citizen Cane and this tour, so I would like to learn more about his balance of wealth and a decent life. If he was actually able to do so.

When we went to pick up our tickets we met a great guy named Dale who was friendly to us and even commented on our blog. There are two questions I still have and if you are reading this, Dale, maybe you have the answers.

Hearst accomplished and acquired so much... what, if anything did he still want before he died?

Did he see a purpose for his life?

When we got back to San Simeon park we celebrated Halloween with nachos, pumpkin pie fudge, and questionable wine we bought from Trader Joe's.

by kenny

Teedee (today) we branched (left) Mendocino early in the morning and headed to Boont (Boonville). Located in Anderson Valley, which is now becoming known for it frattey (wines) and steinber (beers). Before we hit Boont we japed (drove) thru Barney Flats (The Hindy Woods State Park) which is a little known mini version of the Avenue of the Giants. It is the southern most redwood forest in the US and just as bahl (good).

We were headed towards Boont because we had found out the boonters (locals) have created their own language over time called Boontling. It started in the 1880's as a way for parents to talk around their tweeds (kids) without the tweeds knowing what was being said. And over time it became a boontling. It was even taught as a second language in the heese (high school). The whole town made Boontling a part of their lives and bits were picked up in the neighboring areas. Johnny Carson had boonters on his televeef (television) show as guests and some went on game shows that were popular 40 years ago. All the words come from actual experiences the boonters had, all the words have history. There was a man named Zachariah Clifton Blevins, or Z.C., that was known to make a bitter cup of coffee. So the word for coffee is zeese. A couple in town were caught having sex on burlap bags. The word for sex is burlap. The local doctor had buck teeth. The word for doctor is shoveltooth. The first man to own a phone was named Walter. The word for phone is Walter and a payphone is buckey walter (a buckey is a nickel). Essentially what usually stops with a nickname of a friend, they took it one level further and used the nicknames as adjectives and nouns.

So we stopped in to Boont to see what info we could find. And there wasn't much to be discovered. The local museum was closed. The Horn of Zeese (local coffee shop) is now a mexican gorm sale (restaurant). All that was left was two books about the language in a gift shop. Heads hung low we went to the local gorm sale and chiggled (ate) some breakfast. As we were chiggling, I heard some strange sounds coming from the corner of the gorm sale. Soon those strange sounds formed words, words I had read but never heard. They were speaking Boontling! So I went over and introduced myself and had a really intriguing shattaquaw (conversation). I learned that I had shagged (stumbled) upon and was harpin (talking) to Ite and Deekin, 2 of maybe 6 boonters still alive who speak Boontling. As the codgy (older) crowd pikes to the dusties (die off), so does Boontling. Most of the tweeds think it's hangin' higher n' bolley's fiddle (no longer of use), but apparently Ite's daughter is fluent. I learned that in addition to the televeef appearances, books and audio recordings have documented part of the language, but no documentary has been filmed about the language. Both Ite and Deekin thought is was a bahl idea to do so and in the near future I plan to do just that!

We eventually left the gorm sale and were told to "pike easy". And so we did with thoughts in our head of when we could get back and put the language to film.




As we headed south we kept our eyes at for the first In-N-Out Burger on our route. We had a little difficult parking the moho, but we would not be deterred. 3x3 animal style. It was so amazingly good. I love these burgers!


After our delightful lunch we crossed the Golden Gate bridge and drove through Lombard Street. Downtown Santa Fe, the 1, and San Francisco. The moho can drive through anywhere. Well, not anywhere. We skipped this part of Lombard Street.

by kenny

Up and at it early (9am) today and after a quick stop at Trees of Mystery, it was on down the 101, through the Avenue of Giants and then down the 1 towards Fort Bragg. We drove this route, along the Oregon and California Coast 6 years ago for our honeymoon. Although we are now driving it the opposite way, its been fun to stop at familiar places and remember what it was like then, when we were just married. There's that motel we stayed at. Remember how awful Mo's clam chowder was? Hey look, there's that cool little town we ate lunch in...


We left Princess Leia inside a redwood tree along the Avenue of Giants near one of the first west side pull outs north of the Immortal Tree. She was a replacement for a Leia I had since I was 19. This Leia has been with us since just before our wedding in October 2002. She stood up as one of Laura's bridesmaids. But she is old and tired so we left her there in Endor to live out her remaining days surrounded by beauty. May the Force be with her.





We cut off towards the coast again on highway 1. Not the most RV-friendly route, but very pretty. If I can drive that route, I can drive the motorhome anywhere. We ended up parking at Harvest Foods in Mendocino for the night. Nice little town.

by laura beth

We took our time in Bandon today, perusing the art supply store, where I found some creative inspiration; visiting a candy store and a cranberry shop, where we found some Christmas presents; and eating fish & chips on the jetty. Kenny really likes Bandon. We headed down 101, stopping along the coast to dip our toes in the surf. Kenny likes to say, "What a nice little sea-faring village!" as we drive through small coastal towns. The Oregon coast has incomparable beauty.

Kenny pulled over when we saw him on the highway and waited for him to make his way over to us. Kenny asked, "So what's the story?" And he replied, "Show Business! That is the life for me!" He came over and they talked some more. Apparently he has walked this stretch of highway off and on for 4 years, waving at cars, and letting his stick do the talking for those that do the asking. Hands were shaked and pictures taken. If anybody has more information about "El Bone", please pass it our way.



As we crossed the border we sang "California" a la Phantom Planet. Tonight we are staying at The Redwoods RV Resort near Crescent City, California, parked among giant sequoias. It's nice here. We ate crackers, Port-Salut cheese, smoked salmon & kalamata olives for dinner. We eat this meal pretty often. Tonight Kenny asked if I thought we ate like kings when we eat like this, sitting on our bed using our fingers and I said yes. Poor, penniless, kings, but kings nonetheless. Listening to Elliot Smith, blogging, and planning our drive tomorrow, rulers of our own little nomadic kingdom. I'm getting a glass of wine now. Or is it a chalice? Goblet? What do kings drink from?

by kenny

We left the Cottage Grove Wal-Mart parking lot and headed back up to Eugene. I recently was informed about some RVers from the Living Lightly Tour who had their motorhome converted to run on veggie oil and I wanted to see what it would cost to do the same. The RVers that had the conversion done recommended Green Eye Auto in Eugene, so we paid them a visit. Clark Tippin, the co-founder/co-owner of Green Eye, pulled in just as we did and approached us drawn by the allure of the Airstream moho. Good timing. He gave us a rundown on what he would do, what it would cost, how he makes bio-diesel, veggie oil, and everything else associated with it. $3500 total to have a veggie powered moho in about a week. Sometime after being in California we may be coming back to Eugene to have this done.

We then headed to the coast and saw our first glance of the ocean somewhere south of Florence. In Florence I saw a familiar site from when we were going up the coast on our honeymoon 6 years ago. Target Golf! We stopped here before and were greeted by a wonderful lady and led to the driving range where we could hit golf balls at TV's, pictures of Saddam Hussein, and the like. I thought due to the political season I might be able to get some shot off at Obama or McCain, but sadly, it was closed for the season.

We had dinner at a German restaurant named the Blue Heron Bistro in Coos Bay and tried to get a hold of our friend Janell Winegar, but no luck there. Strike 4 on the friend front. No Kristine Stinnett, no Kevin & Chrissi Wright, no Silver Mogart, no Janell Winegar. So we drove on to Bandon-by-the-Sea and camped for the night.

by laura beth

We left Saturday afternoon after saying goodbye to the family. Mom, Dad, and Hannah were on their way to Tim and Ashley's (my brother and sister-in-law) so we said goodbye to them really early. Melisa, Melanie, and Olivia came bye later bringing us breakfast and Dr. Pepper for the road. We stayed the first night at Crystal Crane Hot Springs, about 2 hours south of John Day. $18 a night for RVs includes full hookups, wifi, and unlimited use of the hot springs pond. There is also a club house and nice kitchen where I warmed up our leftover homemade tortilla soup for dinner. We soaked in the springs when we first arrived, right before bed, and first thing in the morning before leaving. It was a perfect first day and night. On to Bend and Eugene.

We had no luck getting a hold of Kevin and Crissy in Bend, so we kept going west towards Eugene and passed through Black Crater. It is the second time we have been there but still just as jaw dropping. It's a large land area that a volcano did a number on and turned it into a black wasteland. But now there are signs of life as trees are growing and such. I am sure many Star Trek scenes were filmed here.


Had no luck getting a hold of Silver in Eugene so we spent the night in Cottage Grove's Wal-Mart.

by kenny

by kenny

If you purchase anything from Amazon or Ebay, you can help support our adventures. At the bottom of this blog are links for Amazon and Ebay. Click on the link, go to the item you want to buy and purchase as normal. Since you clicked on the link at the bottom a portion of the price you paid for the item will be sent our way. It's around 3% to 5%.

If there are other businesses you buy from online, let us know and we can add them. Thanks for helping us out.

by laura beth

Although we've been here all summer, we still find ourselves scurrying to say goodbye to everyone. We have a lot of friends here and will miss them.

Monday, Nate and Athena Moline, family friends and future RVers, had us over for dinner.

On Thursday we had lunch with Grandma Willey at the Senior Citizen's Center. Beef stew, salad, rolls, chocolate cake, orange juice, coffee, tea, buttermilk...

On Friday we had dinner with Mitch Saul, a dearly loved friend from high school and an accountant who moved back to John Day a while back.

We briefly saw Dan & Karen Benson at the Fall Market on Saturday (I was there selling my wares). The Bensons are friends that we used to have a fellowship group with. Dan is the pastor of a United Methodist church and Karen is a substitute teacher and full time mom to twin 3-year-old boys, Nathan & Jeremy, and one-year-old Peter. We house-sat twice for the Bensons this summer.

That night we had dinner with Andrew and Andrea Janssen, friends also from our fellowship group. They are both doctors at the local hospital. They have an almost-3-year-old son, Isaac, and recently adopted a daughter, Titaya, from Ethiopia. She's almost 6 months old. They gave me a housecleaning job this summer.

Later that night we went to the local honkytonk to hangout with Tonia Seebart and Mitch Saul. Tonia, a friend since the 5th grade, is a science teacher and volleyball coach in the nearby town of Unity. Out of the blue, Janell Winegar, and her husband Sam showed up at the bar, in town from Coos Bay for deer hunting season. Janell is also a friend from high school. She arranged a limo for us all (it was the night of the high scool homecoming dance) from the Grubsteak to the Branding Iron. I've never had limo service between bars. We also got to say farewell to Shannon Taylor, the bartender at the Grubsteak, and her boyfriend Joe Radinovich. So it was a big day for goodbyes. We love you all.

Sunday at church we said goodbye to friends there.

Monday I went to Old West Federal Credit Union to say farewell to Katie, Christy, Pam, Jeanne, Julie, Susie, Johnna, Karen, Cindy, and Jeremy. I'll have to come back to see Tabitha.

Friday we visited Maryann Blem. She is a wonderful woman, friend, and mom to our friends Maggie and Ben. She also gave me a job cleaning her house this summer. Many wonderful meals and conversations have been had at Mama Maryann's house.

There are a lot of good folks here in Grant County. We will miss you all!

by laura beth

My word, the fruits and veggies we've encountered this Summer and Autumn have been amazing. First of all, my mom plants a mean garden. This year she had strawberries, rhubarb, broccoli, peas, lettuce, green beans, swiss chard, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, carrots, onions, cabbage, pumpkins, and peppers in addition to basil, parsley, cilantro,dill, chives, rosemary, thyme, and mint. We canned green beans, tomatoes, and pickles from the garden. Mom made strawberry freezer jam and hot pepper jelly. We picked plums from a tree across the street and Dad dried them. Mom and Dad picked peaches and pears at a nearby orchard, which we canned. Grandma Rosella let us pick her apples and blackberries. We dried apples, made applesauce, pies, and cobblers. Grandma Willey gave as pears and some friends gave us apricots and grapes which we dried, canned, and made grape juice out of. Right now Mom is making sauerkraut. Kenny helped and really enjoyed learning how to can. I wish I would have taken photos of the fruits and vegetables as they were harvested, and different preserving processes, but I got a few photos of the finished products. It is so rewarding to look at a pantry full of delicious food that you grew, harvested, and canned. And a lot of it was practically free.

by laura beth

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary. 6 years and still best friends. We didn't really do anything eventful, just spent the day in our PJs and watched The Story of Us (something we do once a year). I've been painting little river rocks lately and an inexpensive addition to my jewelry table at markets. Kenny made me 2 of them for our anniversary. They feature his signature doodles: a turtle with teeth and a bird. Thanks Kenny. I love you more each day.

by laura beth

Almost 6 months we've been here. And soon we are leaving again. A few more of the things we have enjoyed while in John Day:

• family time camping, having big meals together, and just being, well, a family.
• friend time eating together and having drinks.
  
• the newest Willey family additions, the chicken ladies: Pepper, Beatrice, Foghorn, and Leghorn.
  
• harvesting, canning, drying, and eating fresh fruits and vegetables.
• movies at the Grantville Theater.
• the distinct Eastern Oregon weather this Spring, Summer, and Autumn.
• hanging out in the yard, surrounded by beautiful flowers, trees, and a wonderful vegetable garden.
• having time to work on the website, the blog, and my jewelry.
• Olivia, our 2 year old niece. We don't necessarily play favorites, but Olivia was possibly our biggest source of entertainment. So smart, so precocious.
  
• drives.
• watermelon Arctic Rushes from Dairy Queen.
• the UMC Ye Olde Thrift Shop.
• mom's coffee.
  
• I'm sure I'll add more...
  

by laura beth

Two years ago in October, for Hannah's 10th birthday, she got a dwarf hamster. Earlier that year she had taken a cross-country trip with Mom and Dad. While visiting friends in Kentucky, she saw a dwarf hamster for the first time and wanted nothing more than to have one of her very own. So for her birthday she picked one out, and thus Skittles became a part of the family. The pet store employee told us that their lifespan is usually about 2 years. Today, roughly 2 years and 2 months after Skittles was born, she was found lifeless in her sweet little hamster pad. This wasn't unexpected, for over the last few months she had been less active, unable to climb, and her fur had turned from tan to completely gray and white. Skittles had a small plastic ball that she could run around the house in. The ball was so small and transparent, it could easily get underfoot and you always had to be on the lookout for it. Mom would often burst out,"Don't kick the squirrel!" Skittles was placed in a tiny box with a flower and was given a simple burial under the apple tree in Mom and Dad's backyard next to other family pets that had gone to glory, Parsley Jane, Pretty Freddy and a couple fish.

by kenny

I decided to watch the Gambler series because I remember as kid that my dad was an extra in the film. And I love Kenny Rogers. The films are hard to get through, but 5 hours later we did it. And at the very end of the third Gambler installment laid our reward. My dad, ass up, grabbing all the money he can get his hands on!