The Lodge Corning Vagabond Exe

We passed through the buffet breakfast that was included with our room, then drove an hour to Crater Lake, the bluest lake in the world (perhaps a matter of opinion and weather conditions). There was a cold wind that came up while we were there, so we stopped by the lodge to warm up, post a few cards to friends back home. By the time we went back around the lake, it ...

It rained all night again. It was raining heavily this morning. Weather.com did not say anything favourable about the day. The hiking we had originally planned in the Redwoods had to be shelved because it also involved a nine mile drive along a dirt track. Visions of being bogged and stuck in Crescent City again did not sound like a good idea. Over breakfast, we tossed around possible new itinerary ideas. We could not head through the ...

Another long day, watching the professional development. It began to rain, and rained most of the day. After lunch, we made the long drive home, mostly through the rain, rain, rain. When I reached home, I made a margarita and sat in the hot tub. Exhausted.

... take us to the area with old Victorians. Instead, we ended up walking past the police station and county jail -- and suddenly remembered the correlation between rural poverty and meth addiction. I know it's a horrible thing to say, but, really, you've never seen such rotten skin and teeth. But we did eventually find our way to a pleasant street, lined with ...

After a long day of work, I met Laurel at BART and we drove up to Red Bluff together. We made good time: about two and a half hours, getting 46 miles to the gallon, driving between 70 and 80 mph. It grew increasingly overcast and began to rain just as we were arriving around 10pm. The space-ship shaped rain clouds over the valley were the most interesting part of the drive.

... Julie lucked out and picked up a nasty case of Strep Throat. I blame the Berkley House :P Anyhow we soldiered on, Donna and Amy (from San Fran) and I spent my final weekend doing just the same as we started out doing... relaxing.. with farmers markets, visits with Donna's friends, great food and a lot of laughing....oh and we watched MILK with Sean Penn... Did he get the award for that performance? I don't remember, but if he did he deserved it ...

Chico is not a place that oh so many kiwis have been I imagine. It sits about 3 1/2 hours drive north of SF in California. it reportedly has a population of 86,000 and is largely made up of students and hippies, what's not to love? So, if you don't have a car then to get here you have just a few options. Hitch Hiking was not something I wanted to try in the states, and so my options became even narrower- plane or bus. Being that all the flights this way were frightfully expensive ...

... s a beautiful place, but I really feel it's full of positivity as well. All I know is that whenever I go, I feel renewed. It's this amazing place that truly makes me feel one with nature, on the edge of the world, and entirely insignificant in the grand scheme of things...

After we spent the late morning and afternoon climbing around, and enjoying the scenery that is Humboldt County, we ...

... shall make it as far as Chowchilla. One couple who have a fifth wheel trailer in Cathedral City and are driving their car have to decided to leave us to make better time and will leaving earlier than us tomorrow. I check the tires on the coach and find I am low on one tire so in the morning I will get some air before we push on. Again a early night. Weather still warm and sunny but with some wind. We are having a good time and the dogs are traveling well.

... Redding. We experienced several 8 degree down slopes which made driving an adventure. The highlander "Lassie" is performing with ease. We caught the I-5 freeway and drove into Corning. Our goal was to get a tour of the olive plant but they will only accommodate parties of 10 with a 2 week notice. Unfortunately we qualify for neither. Stay tuned, Shawn, Dirinda and Jan