CROSSING BORDERS

CROSSING BORDERS

Saturday we headed to another country LOL – But first we headed to the Mall! Macy’s department store we heard was having a one day sale and one teen decided she really REALLY needed those blue shoes she’d seen earlier. So father dutifully detoured slightly and we went to this big mall that had four department stores, plus all the other individual stores. Macy’s was a disappointment. Maybe the store was just too big for these hicks from downunder. But we did find some bargains at JC Penny’s. Really neat going into these stores we’ve only read about or seen in movies.
But then it was time to head north to ..not, not Alaska...just a bit before that. Canada. Trouble was, just as we were about to leave the Mall carpark, I realised i had left my reading glasses at the motel, so we had a side trip to get them. No glasses, this gal is blind as a bat reading the map and we’d never navigate ourselves outta here.
On the road again. An hour or so later Canada loomed. Border crossing, passports, then we had to get out of the car to get stamped! Easy peasy really! Not like my visit in 1994 when I had unknowningly left the USA without handing in a form and they had me down as an illegal alien and I got hauled aside!
But i think my proudest moment of the day was actually finding my friends house in Vancouver. This downunder readers is a city of 2 million people. Now I may have visited here often, but never driven, so it was a feat of great difficulty. But I succeeded.
Spring has come to Vancouver. The residential areas are lined with flowering plum, cherry and crabapple trees. With the soft breeze there is a carpet of pink blossoms littering the sidewalk. Really beautiful. Plus the Vancouver i remember is famous for its hanging baskets in summer and it hasn’t disappointed. They are everywhere. But so too is some snow on the tips of the mountains that line the northern regions of the city. They’re a great landmark for drivers. Face the mountains and you know you’re going north.
And that’s exactly what we’re doing tomorrow. Heading north for the day only. Going to Grouse Mountain to check out the cable car and snow. But apparently this cable car is glass bottomed, so this gal aint going near it. Space Mountain at Disneyland was enough scary stuff thank you very much.

Also beware, if u see this number plate on the road, beware. Approach with caution. It may turn left or right in the wrong place.

Catch u tomorrow.

Jane and the gang
www.janebeckenham.com

Pinkie is outed

Pinkie is alive and well!
A very kind friend has declared that Pinkie must surface. He is concerned for her. So to make sure that no one is worried (he he he) we have Pinkie on active duty, carrying sunglasses (yes the sun is out albeit fleeting), plus Pinkie has to guard the wallet from overspending, take care of assorted papers, passports etc.

FROM THE SEASIDE TO TUMWATER

Water, water everywhere.

Today we left the Pacific coast and headed inland, but first had a brief stop at Astoria, Oregon which is the oldest town on the west coast. It is very step and reminds me of the streets of San Francisco. We drove up to the back of the town where a column watches over the city. It is painted with pictures and words depicting the journey of the discoverers of this area. You can normally walk up the colum (inside), but the steps were closed off today. It was very windy and chilly there, with a temperature below 50deg F. Then it was down to the waterfront where we had to drive over the longest bridge in America (can’t verify this as google is down!) Have added some pics of it. It is about 4miles long and as Neil says it makes our Auckland harbour bridge look like a baby.
Then inland we went, surrounded by lakes and rivers and again more bridges. Finally we came to Tumwater which is just south of Olympia. We’re now in the state of Washington. I phoned an internet friend who lives nearby and she came round. Isn’t it wonderful how you can meet people online and then one day get the chance to meet. I suppose this is the modern day equivalent to a penfriend. Candy took us to the cascade of waterfalls which run through the centre of Tumwater, and really if you didn’t know they were there, you would miss them. The river was the site of a brewery which sadly was sold off a few years ago and the new owners closed it down. But there is still evidence of where the water wheels once churned. Candy was a mine of information, identifying all the trees, and specially beautiful was the Dogwood, with its abundance of white flowers. It’s the native plant I believe of the state.
A great day, and the rain has finally disappeared.

Look out for Pinkie...she's back on the road.

Jane

THE WATERY WORLD OF OREGON

Today we travelled from Coos Bay to Seaside, both towns in Oregon. It’s been an interesting day, with wonderful scenery and contrary weather. We had hoped to visit the seal caves just north of Florence, but when we stopped there the rain was horizontal and the view – well white with fog. So sadly we passed on the seals. But the scenery, despite the rain, made up for it. The coast is wild, for kiwis – think west coast south island. Rocks, just like yesterday, rose from the water, towering next to the highway. Then it changed and we had sand dunes 2-3 stories high on the coastal side, with lakes on the other side of the freeway. Just beautiful. At times we could barely see because of the fog, then the sun would come out for a few moments. At one time there was sunshine on our left on the ocean about 30 yards away, and then we were in fog on the road.
One thing captured me today. The bridges. They are architecturally beautiful, with graceful arches and Grecian columns that stand sentinel on some. We managed to go beneath one bridge, and i’ve loaded a picture of this. These bridges and their isolation is another thing that strikes me about this country. The vastness of America, and the work that its forebears have had to do to make it what it is. The grandness of the scale of this is immense.
We drove through small villages where sadly it seems life is changing, small stores are closed, houses empty or abandoned, while along the coastline are groupings of large holiday homes.
Stopped at Lincoln City and discovered Outlet Mall Shopping! What fun. The variety of goods available constantly amazes us. Prices okay, but of course we have to work out the exchange rate for us and that is a pain! 2$ for 1US$ doesn’t make things good buys at time.
On we drove, through rain, sunshine, clouds/fog and have come to rest our weary heads at another motel 6 in Seaside, Oregon. Had an adventure at the Safeway –supermarket- where we self-check our own groceries.
Now it’s trying to work out our route from here, driving taking us a bit longer than expected because of weather and probably because i keep telling Neil to slow down – despite the fact that we’re slower than everyone else.
They predict sunshine tomorrow- long may it last
Happy days everyone
Jane Beckenham
http://www.janebeckenham.com/

Traveling again today. Do you know that playing tourist is HARD WORK. But definitely fun. Today we hit the road early - about 7.40 am and headed towards Grants Pass, Oregon where Neil went to a vintage car place to buy parts. It's a cute town, very much what I thought old time America might be like. Then it was westward to Brookings and up the coast to Coos Bay, Oregon.

Some quirky things we've seen along the way since we've arrived.
Road signs. There are road signs that ask you to 'adopt' a road. And people and businesses do and they have signs up saying "MacDonald's adopted this piece of road. Then while we were driving down very steep roads through the mountains - read - nervous passenger here - signs saying "Runnaway trucks this way' I just hoped they wouldn't 'runaway' near me! There are hundreds of trucks on the freeway, huge double trailer jobs.
The other thing on the road we've seen lots of are RV - recreational vehicles. To me it seems like America is on the road. Most of these it seems are retired people and they often have cars towing behind, or a trailer attached to the RV. Also we've noticed so many RV parks - they're everywhere and they are full. So really people are moving.
We saw our first hint of snow atop a mountain which was exciting, but we do hope it stays there and doesn't come to the roadway. Another thing we've noticed, or in fact not seen is farm animals. Being from NZ we're so used to seeing land with huge numbers of cows or sheep, and here, there are just a few - really only about 20 at a time. The land is bare. So I guess cattle farming and sheep farming isn't happening in this neck of the woods. But each time we see a few cows we get excited. Sad really!
And here we are in Coos Bay, ORegon. So far we've done 1500 miles!

That's it for today. No pics to load as yet. Am pooped and hitting the bed and blobbing in front of the tv when the writer in me says I should be writing....but heck... don't tell my editor.

Happy days everyone
Jane Beckenham
www.janebeckenham.com

IT'S RAINING...IT'S POURING...

Okay, so Auckland NZ isn’t the only place to get rain! We arrived in Sacramento – actually – Elk Grove - -on Friday to heavy rain which continued most of the weekend. Staying with a cousin who married here 27 years ago, but he still sounds pretty much like a Kiwi. It was great staying with an American family, getting to see how others live here, and really you know, we’re no different. We work hard, want the best for our kids etc.
You know this travelling is hard work and so Sunday with continual rain we found ourselves relaxing which was really nice. Another thing that was good was not having to do the driving or navigating for a day! My nerves got a rest!
But the girls did go shopping again. The economy is really telling. Sales everywhere with discounts up to 70 and 80% in some cases. So good for us Kiwi’s with our rotten exchange rate (US readers 1US$ costs us $2NZ and hit the pocket hard!) But heck what are holidays for?
We took the relations out to dinner at a family restaurant, great food, lots of it and cheap. So happy campers all around after dinner.
Then i had my first experience of hearing frogs in the neighbour’s pool. Very loud! Didn’t get to see my first frog though.
Today (Monday 4th) we drove from Sacramento north with the aim of ending up the night at Grant’s Pass, Oregon but rain set in just before the Shasta Trinity National Forrest. Great highway, but a winding road and terrible rain. The cars didn’t seem to mind and raced passed us, over the speed limit. Scared the heck out of me. What we did notice was the change in landscape again. The mountains of course were beautiful with redwoods towering skyward, and Shasta Lake where there is a dam also. We stopped to take pics, the soil quite red/coppery. It was also REALLY cold. When we got back in the car, the temp gauge said 39deg F which for this Kiwi is chilly!
After passing through the mountains the landscape was quite barren again (kiwi readers, think of the Desert Road/National Park area) and there were visible signs of forrest fires in the past/trees blackened etc.. But today no fire would stand a chance the rain so heavy. In fact we decided to stop earlier than planned and are holed up in a motel at Yreka (Pronounced Why Reeka) which is in northern California.
They tell us the rain is badly needed and should be falling all week – oh joy!
Anyway, all is well, we’re having fun, fed well, sleeping well, and the girls loving the shopping!

Happy days everyone
Jane Beckenham
http://www.janebeckenham.com/

When it rains...the girls hit the mall!

CARS AND GIRLIE SHOPPING
The rain is still falling, so what do you do when it rains? The girls go shopping and the guys look at cars.
However, we first went to the Towe Museum today, a great place for vintage car fans – which we are. Neil was in ‘man’ heaven taking lots of photos of the cars, and of course wanting to bring them home. The interesting thing about these cars were that they were basically all (about 150) from the California region, and probably more than we’ve seen in NZ. Just another reminder how big this country is for us hicks from downunder. One car was originally owned by Henry Ford’s wife, and what they did was just fix her scratches/panels, etc. Henry never gave her a new car!
Then the guys and gals split up – the guys going to other car places while the gals – the girls and I and my cousin’s wife, hit the mall. The Roseville Galleria. This mall has 3 – yep three - you kiwi readers – department stores attached to it, plus loads of other shops. We actually didn’t get around it, but had fun trying. I reckon that American Malls are a bit like shopping Disney/fantasyland. So much fun, but we constantly had to double the price of everything just to see if it was a good buy for our NZ dollar. A lot was, but a lot also still dearer for this thrifty shopper. But we came home with sore feet and slightly emptier wallets and the teens satisfied that they’d shopped America!
One nice thing today was that I didn’t have to do any navigating, or worry about where we were driving as relations did all that. A relaxing change!
Tommorrow? Who knows. This is the fun of travelling, we’re going kinda just where the mood takes us.

Happy days everyone
Jane Beckenham
http://www.janebeckenham.com/