17.11.12-26. Home base

I took my time driving the 580 miles from Newport to home base because driving alone is slower than driving with a navigator, and driving the motor home is slower than driving a car. Simply getting gas is an ordeal. First step is finding a gas station large enough to accommodate 32 feet of rig with the Jeep in tow. Second step is waiting for the 75 gallon tank to fill. Actually, I try not to let the tank go much below half full so it takes less time to fill.  Plus, the generator runs off the engine gas tank and will not pull gas if the tank is under 1/4 full.

The first night I took advantage of another benefit of being an Oregon State Park volunteer host - one free night camping while in transit to or from an assignment. Last year Mike and I drove down the coast and stayed at Harris Beach State Park near Brookings. This year I went directly down I-5 and stayed at Valley of the Rouge State Park just north of Medford. I got a pull-hrough site for easy in and out.  I arrived just before dark and had a nice riverside walk before going in for leftover dinner and a good night's sleep.

The second night was a special treat because I hooked up in Redding with Eric and Claudia

who were heading down from their summer home in the coastal mountains between Redding and Eureka. They spent the night and we had a short walk along the Sacramento River

with their dog, Jamie before parting ways again.

The third night I spent in the back lot of Thunder Valley in Roseville - a favorite layover spot of ours - especially in the cooler months!

The next six nights were spent spare room surfing at the homes of Yvonne, Marian, Connie, Kelly and Glenda, Laurie and Bob, Chris and John.  I also hooked up for meals with Dollie, Shirley and Diane.  It is always good to come back home to check in with family and friends.  This was a short visit, so I did not get to see everyone I wanted to - looking forward to next time!

I had some Jeep work done at Auburn Autohaus and some MT work done at B&B RV - both were important stops and conveniently coordinated with my short time frame.

And last but not least, I finally managed a few hours at my storage unit to reorganize and pull out some photos and baby items to take with me on my upcoming trip to see Curt and his new daughter, Brynne in England.

Next stop was the Elks Lodge in San Jose where I parked MT for six nights while in town to enjoy Thanksgiving with Kelly and her family. Eric and Clay came too, and we were hosted at Kelly's parents house for three nights. 

This was the first Thanksgiving in ten years we were not  all together with a large Dempsey/Brown/Tomczak/Scott extended family gathering. 

  Here we are in 2006 at our house in LOP

We've lost quite a few since then, 

but all are with us in our hearts and minds every day.