West Coast, USA

Tuesday 5th March. 57 miles.

It was not such a cold night, and a fine day with a cool wind. We had breakfast outside. We did the filling and emptying and left at 10.30. We drove back into Santa Monica and stopped by the beach just before and had coffee and watched the seabirds. We collected our post from the post office (hooray!) I had birthday cards from Do and Tom and an Escapees magazine. We walked around the pedestrianised 3rd Street then had lunch in the van (the remains of the thick soup in tacos). Adrian got some money from an ATM machine and we left Santa Monica and headed north. We had found a shop selling English things and had bought two Union Jack stickers and also Dettol, brown sauce, and Heinz beans. We stopped to buy some food just north of Malibu and then had a cup of tea soon afterwards, overlooking the sea. We stopped for the night right on the beach at Thornhill Broome Beach ($7). We stuck on the Union Jack and Route 66 stickers.

Wednesday 6th March. 48 miles.

We woke late to a slightly cloudy morning. We had a cup of tea looking out to sea and saw dolphins. The wind had changed round and it was too windy to sit outside for breakfast. We walked across to the edge of the sea before leaving, after 10 o'clock. We stopped at a viewpoint and saw Californian ground squirrels. Adrian's tooth was hurting so we found a dentist at Oxnard and he got some antibiotics and painkillers. We went in the dollar shop and then we had lunch. It came on to rain for the rest of the afternoon. We drove around the posey Marina area, and then north looking for somewhere to stop. We were by the sea, but also a there was the railway and also the road, and places were expensive. One was $18, which was just parking on the roadside! We finally stopped at Carpinteria State Beach just before Santa Barbara. We were right by the sea, but packed in like sardines ($12). We had a cup of tea sitting in the front seats, looking out to sea and we saw dolphins and sea lions.

Thursday 7th March. 118 miles.

It was a dry morning then a mixed day with some sun. We walked along the beach and saw seals and lots of birds. We had breakfast sitting on our seats in the sunshine on the beach, and then walked in the other direction and left at 10.15. We drove on into Santa Barbara - it looked a very attractive town.

We stopped by the Mission and viewed it from the outside but didn't go in. We went on to the Botanic Gardens. These looked vast and good but we didn't go in as you had to pay and we didn't think we had time to explore them properly. Instead we had a short walk in part of the gardens opposite. I was feeling unwell again. We drove past Santa Barbara and had lunch in Tucker's Grove Park beside a pretty pinky/purple flowered tree.

We then drove on Highway 1 through green pretty country past Lompoc. We then drove through an agricultural area past Guadalupe to Ocean Beach, Pismo. It was a very pretty campsite, but it had been raining and everywhere felt very damp and cool.

We walked around the lagoon to the entrance to register and then right round the lagoon back to the Bam. I still felt unwell and went to sleep at 9.15 and didn't wake up until after 8 a.m.

Friday 8th March. 32 miles.

I was still feeling unwell. It was a fine, bright day so we had breakfast outside. We walked across the dunes to the edge of the beach and then watched a pocket Gopher on our return.

We left and drove round to North Beach and walked among the eucalyptus and saw hundreds of monarch butterflies.

We walked to the beach, which was very beautiful.

It had now turned midday. Adrian got some propane then we had lunch further round the bay and I slept. We drove on to San Luis Obispo - Adrian shopped while I slept. It was very lovely scenery as we drove to Morro Bay State Park for the night. We walked out to the water's edge - it was like Devon or Port Fairy (Oz).

Saturday 9th March. 74 miles.

It was a pleasant day - like a spring day in England. We had breakfast outside. Two chaps, one from Montana and one from Canada, came to admire our van. We left just after 10 o'clock and drove round to the other side of Morro Bay, where there were lots of surfers in the sea. We stopped at Cayucos and Adrian bought a bit for the screwdriver. We drove through Cambria where we got petrol and then had lunch on the beach (tuna sandwiches). The beach was made up of coarse dark grit. We had a short laze afterwards. It was very pleasant and unpretentious - a beautiful coastline. We stopped by Hearst Castle but didn't go on a tour as it was expensive, and they were all full today. We visited the beach opposite and then a bit further north stopped and viewed loads of elephant seals on the beach.

The road now wound above the sea and there was no habitation. It was very lovely. We stopped above the sea and viewed the whales out to sea. We stopped soon after at a forestry site - Kirk Beach ($16) where there were lovely views. We walked down to the beach.

Sunday 10th March. 30 miles.

It was a very bad night for me and I didn't feel good during the day. Adrian got the breakfast - it was Mothering Sunday but he had forgotten. It was a grey morning, which turned to heavy drizzle and fog until mid-afternoon, when the sun got through. We drove slowly north up the beautiful coast, but it was difficult to see anything. We stopped and read for a while. We stopped several times overlooking the sea and saw lots of seals. We had lunch in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and then walked to the falls, which fell straight into the sea.

We drove on to Big Sur State Park to camp - there were lots of huge trees making it shady, which we didn't need today! We had a cup of tea, in a sunny spot, and then walked through the site, through the forest. We met a camp "host" Chris Gardner and chatted to him for a long time. We walked on to the Canyon, which was very attractive with clear water and then came round to where we were staying. We got back at 6.15 and it was soon dark.

Monday 11th March. 36 Miles.

We woke late to a fine morning. We had breakfast outside, then did the emptying and filling, and then had a lovely walk through the huge Redwoods to Pfeiffer Falls, then on to 'Valley View'.

We came back for coffee, which we had sitting on some large rocks. We left Big Sur and drove north for a short way to Andrew Molera State Park and had a pleasant walk of one mile to a very pretty beach, but we couldn't get across the river.

2002-03-11 2 Adrian at Andrew Molera Beach, California

2002-03-11 3 Californian poppies at Andrew Molera Beach, California

It looked like Coffee Bay (South Africa). We walked back and ate lunch sitting by the rushing river. We left and drove north along the beautiful coast to Point Lobos Reserve. We had a short walk by the North Shore, and a second walk where we saw sea otters. We drove on a bit and stopped at Carmel Tourist Information, and then stopped at the Veterans Park, Monterrey. We settled in, but we had to move later, as another chap had booked into this site.

Tuesday 12th March. 95 miles.

We awoke at 6.30 and got up, but the ranger came as we were leaving, so we had to pay ($18). We left and drove down to the beach at Monterrey for breakfast (toasted muffins).

We went to the library, arriving early for the 9 o'clock opening, and spent an hour reading our e-mails and sending one back and also one to Margaret Massialas. Later we spoke to her on the phone. We had coffee above a lovely sandy beach at Marina (after driving through Sand Cityand Seaside!) Schoolchildren were collecting litter here and two ladies spoke to us about the Bam and travelling. We drove to Watsonville, which was an attractive town. We got fuel and then shopping and then did washing at the launderette, which was very Spanish. There was a sign on the wall which amused us - it said 'dryers are for washing customers only'.

We had our lunch while the washing was being done and then drove to San Martin and Adrian got a toilet fixing at Camping World. We drove back to Gilroy, and then east through lovely country and stopped at the turn-off to San Luis Reservoir. We were near Pachero Pass - 1368 feet.

Wednesday 13th March. 161 miles.

We left after breakfast and drove east, past San Luis Reservoir to Los Banos. There was attractive and very varied scenery all day, really green and quite unspoiled. Around Los Banos it was a flat farming area. Las Banos itself was a large attractive town with beds of pansies. We turned off through Chowchilla along a palm-lined road, then took a rural road to Raymond. We had coffee along Grub Gulch Road which was hilly with a lot of trees - it was an old gold mining area.

We stopped at the Tourist Information in Oakhurst and then drove on to Yosemite National Park. The day had been sunny with a cool wind, but now it started to snow! We had lunch at Wawona and then drove to Yosemite Valley with increasing snow and very poor visibility! We walked to the Bridal Veil Falls viewpoint in the snow,

then continued to Upper Pine Campsite, seeing nothing but snow and trees. It was often very pretty!

We had a cup of tea and then later when the snow had stopped we drove out and had breathtaking vistas as we walked to Yosemite Falls (the highest in North America).

Thursday 14th March. 140 miles.

We were awake early - it was very cold, but there was a blue sky. Everywhere looked very beautiful - white with snow. After breakfast we left for a walk at 8.30 and walked to Mirror Lake then back via Happy Isles and then we left the campsite.

2002-03-14 1 Adrian off for a walk in the snow in Yosemite NP, California

2002-03-14 3 Mirror Lake, Yosemite NP, California

A snowy walk to Mirror Lake

Adrian attempted the emptying and filling, but the ‘gray water’ pipes were frozen. We had tea and coffee then visited the Visitors Centre and the Indian village behind it. We now began driving out of Yosemite Park but stopped for lunch with a view of the Bridal Veil Falls ( a hanging valley). It was good visibility today.

We drove back up to the viewpoint of the valley from near the tunnel, where we had no view at all yesterday, and then drove out of the park on the El Portal road. The scenery was really lovely. We followed the very pretty Merced River and stopped beside it, then continued via Mariposa, which was high up with more snow around, and Merced to Turlock and found the road to Patterson. This was flat with a lot of cows but became very green and hilly after Patterson and we soon stopped beside the road. It looked very Scottish. It was now 5.45.

Friday 15th March. 139 miles.

We were awake early and had breakfast and left at 8.30. We drove back towards San Jose through beautiful country but with continual hairpin bends. We stopped at a remote campsite to use the phone and ring Michaela at about 9 o'clock, but we didn't reach her house until nearly midday. We passed the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton (4209 ft). We had lunch with Michaela and chatted. Her daughter Erica (just two years) slept most of the time.

We rang Emma and also Margaret Massialas. We left early afternoon and drove through Saratoga up into the hills then along the Skyline Boulevard, with the sea to the west and San Francisco Bay to the East. We drove down to Half Moon Bay State Beach to camp for the night. We had a quick walk onto the beach. It was bright, but there was a really cold wind.

Saturday 16th March. 37 miles.

It was bright, but with a cold wind. We had a short walk on the beach. We left and drove north into San Francisco. We stopped beside the beach for "elevenses" (a small child and adult were running into the sea fully-clothed!). We viewed the Golden Gate Bridge

and then got to Margaret's at midday. We had lunch with her and telephoned Renee and Paul, then later Simon. In the afternoon we went to a party for a little girl called Mara with Sabrina, Margaret's granddaughter. Afterwards we had a drive around with Margaret - across the Golden Gate Bridge and back. We could see Alcatraz.

In the evening we had a meal with Margaret’s son Gregory and his wife Chwan Hui. We slept at Margaret’s.

Sunday 17th March. 0 miles in the BAM

It rained all morning. We had breakfast with Margaret then she left for the Bowls Club. Margaret collected us later and we had lunch at theBowls Club. It was a special lunch for St. Patrick's Day, and lots of people were dressed in green and white. The weather cleared up in the afternoon. Margaret drove us around San Francisco - through the park, then a walk by the beach, then to Downtown and Pier 39.

2002-03-17 1a Adrian & Margaret Massialas by pier 39 San Francisco with Alcatraz behind, California

2002-03-17 2 Sea Lions by Pier 39 San Francisco, California

There were lots of sea lions here and a very vibrant atmosphere with lots of little shops and street entertainers. We walked around and then drove back up to the Japanese gardens where we walked around and then had a cup of tea in the cafe. We drove back to Margaret’s and stopped to buy a duck for supper on the way.

Monday 18th March. 0 miles in the BAM

We slept well and got up at about 8 o'clock and had breakfast with Margaret and later coffee with her and Chwan Hui, who played her Chinese zither for us.

2002-03-18 1 Chwan Hui playing the Chinese Zither, San Francisco, California 28-01-2014 15-36-36

2002-03-18 4 Alexander & Sabrina in their garden, Post St, San Francisco, California

Gregory arrived and we all went out for "dim sum" at a local restaurant.

It was really nice food. The postman still hadn't come, so Adrian and I got the tram (cable-car) after Margaret had given us a lift.

2002-03-18 5 Adrian by a San Francisco tram car, California

Adrian boards a San Francisco tram

We got off the tram and walked around then got a different tram back part of the way and then a trolley bus. We moved the van and when we got back the post had arrived (hooray) - a card and letter from Emma and a lot of official stuff. Margaret arrived with Alexander and Sabrina then Gregory arrived and we went out for a "hot pot" meal with him and later Margaret. We went back to Margaret's and had a nightcap and much chat and went to bed after midnight.

Tuesday 19th March. 107 miles.

We were awake early and had breakfast with Margaret. Adrian had to move the van as they were cleaning the street. We said goodbye to Gregory and Chwan Hui and Margaret and left at about 10 o'clock.

Adrian with Margaret outside her house

We crossed on the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at the Vista point.

It was a pleasant sunny day and quite warm. We drove to the West Coast and stopped by Muir Beach for coffee. We walked onto the beach, which was really pretty. A lot of small children were there for a picnic.

We stopped soon after at Muir Beach 'overlook' with very pleasant views and then stopped at Stinson Beach for lunch. We sat at a picnic table on a grassy area, and then lazed on the long sandy beach for a while. We continued up the very attractive coast past Tomales Bay (a long inlet) then turned inland (east) to Santa Rosa then down Sonoma Valley. We turned off onto a winding, hilly road towards Oakville and stopped beside the road for the night.

Wednesday 20th March. 87 miles.

We slept until 8.30! We had breakfast, then drove down the long hill to Oakville. We briefly visited the Beaulieu Winery at Rutherford, then followed the Silverado trail to the attractive tourist town of Calistoga.

We stopped and walked around. After getting fuel, we drove to the "Old Faithful Geyser" and viewed this then had lunch here

We drove on a short way to the Petrified Forest and walked around here.

We drove back towards the coast via Santa Rosa, then up a short distance north on the N1. We then followed the Russian river through attractive country with tall trees to the river outlet at Jenner. We had a cup of tea here with a beautiful misty view down to the river mouth and rocks.

We saw cormorants and seals in the water. We drove north along wonderful coastal scenery to Fort Ross State Historic Park, which was closed, so we stayed by the entrance.

Thursday 21st March. 71 miles.

We had a cup of tea then left at 7.30 and drove a short distance to Fort Ross itself and had breakfast, and then a lovely walk down to the beach. There were lots of a little blue irises and other flowers.

We walked back by a different path amongst trees beside the old Call Homestead. We continued driving up the Shoreline Highway 1 beside the beautiful coast .We had coffee above Gualala Mouth, an attractive estuary with lots of seals (we think) out to sea. We stopped at Point Arenaand Adrian made phone-calls about storing the van at Seattle. We stopped at Manchester Beach where there were lots of tiny blue nemophila ( baby blue eyes) flowers in the sand dunes, and lots of logs on the beach.

2002-03-21 2 Nemophila (baby blue eyes) by Manchester Beach, California

2002-03-21 4 Mancheater Beach, California

The sunny day became increasingly cloudy with a strong, cool wind. After a walk onto the beach we had lunch in the van then drove on through the attractive little town of Elk and stopped at Navarro Beach by the outlet of the Navarro river. We walked out around the beach area, where there were lots of logs again. We saw two seals in the water.

Friday 22nd March. 50 miles.

We woke at 4.30 am to hear rain. It was still raining in the morning but it cleared to bright sunshine in the afternoon. We had breakfast then left and continued north through beautiful coastal scenery. We stopped at Van Damme State Park and did the emptying and filling.

We had coffee overlooking the lovely beach here, then drove inland three miles to walk the Pygmy Forest Trail of stunted trees. We drove back via Little River, and then Big River - all lovely estuaries past delightful small towns, to Fort Bragg. We shopped in Safeway and got a discount card and had lunch just afterwards overlooking an old wooden viaduct over Pudding Creek.

Afterwards we walked on to the lovely beach. We crossed Ten Mile River and walked on another delightful sandy beach with lots of stacks and arches. Soon afterwards we came to Westport and stopped at Westport Union Landing State Beach.

We were directly above the beach. We walked out and onto the beach then came back and had a barbecue!! above the beach. Beaut! We sat out until 8 pm.

Saturday 23rd March. 106 miles.

It rained all night and all day! We left after breakfast and continued north. The road soon turned inland across high ground to Leggett. We visited the 'drive thru tree'.

Back in Leggett Adrian phoned about R.V. storage at Seattle (hopefully booked) . We continued north (now on the 101 - end of road 1). We stopped in Richardson's Grove State Park for lunch, then headed for the "Avenue of the Giants" - an alternative road through forests of enormous Redwoods. We stopped several times and walked loop trails - the first at Franklin Lane Grove.

We passed the nice little towns of Miranda and Myers Flat and stopped at the Visitors Centre (we saw the Travel Log of Charles Kellogg). We had a cup of tea at Mahan Plaque, then I walked the trail, and with Adrian we walked the Founders Trail and saw the 'Dyerville Giant' tree.

We left the forest and finally stopped at 6.20 beside the road near Rohnerville on the outskirts of Fortuna with a glimpse of the setting sun!

Sunday 24th March. 126 Miles.

It was a brighter morning and a sunny day. We left after breakfast and drove to Eureka - a nice "old town". We had a walk beside the restored pier area. A group of young people came and gave us a donut and hot chocolate!

We drove on through Arcata to Trinidad where we got fuel. It was a lovely beach drive. We had lunch at the Big Lagoon then drove on throughOrick and the Redwood National and State Parks, where there were more huge trees.

We had a walk at the Big Tree. We took the Scenic Coastal Drive, part of which was an unmade road, and had a short walk at the Klamath estuary. We drove on to Lagoon Creek and walked the Yurok Loop Trail and then drove on to Crescent City. We found Walmart, but they didn't do one-hour photos. We stayed at Shoreline RV Park. We went for a meal at Harbour View Grotto, back by the other RV park, but it wasn't a great success.

Monday 25th March. 76 miles.

Neither of us had slept well - there was a foghorn and sea lions making a noise. It was a fine morning. We had breakfast then a walk on the beach and then did the emptying and filling. We drove down to the lighthouse and then on to Safeway and then Adrian tried to pay in our cheque at the Bank, without success. We had coffee by the beach near the lighthouse, in the warm sun. We left at 11.30 and drove north viaLake Earl Drive and out of California and into Oregon. We continued up the beautiful coast, having lunch at Harris Beach State Park, just north of Brookings, overlooking the wonderful coast. We saw some whales. We drove back through Brookings for fuel, then continued north. We stopped at several lovely view points - we viewed the Natural Bridge (there were two) and the Natural Arch.

We stopped by a wonderful sandy beach with stacks after Pistol River and walked on it and I paddled barefoot in the pools (Adrian paddled unintentionally!) There were lots of huge mussels and barnacles on the rocks and also gigantic orange starfish and green sea anemones.

2002-03-25 2 Sea anemones & Starfish, Oregon

2002-03-25 3 Starfish & sea anemones near Pistol River, Oregon

Brill! We had a cup of tea afterwards, overlooking the beach. We stopped for the night just before Nesika beach in a pull off amongst piles of road stuff. The sun was still warm. We saw two wild turkeys. I cooked calamari and we had the rest of last night's meal, which was good.

Tuesday 26th March. 92 miles.

We had a cup of tea at 7 o'clock, then left and had breakfast overlooking the sea. We drove on up the coast through lovely scenery. We stopped to view twice near Port Orford, and again saw whales. We turned off on a scenic loop before Bandon and had coffee overlooking the vast sandy beach after walking across it. There was a lot brilliant gorse around. We stopped at Face Rock viewpoint, where there was a whale-watching lady, but we saw no whales here. At Bandon we stopped by the harbour. We bought fish-and-chips (snapper) for lunch - excellent. We drove on north and took the "Scenic" unsurfaced road after visiting Seven Devils Beach to Charleston, by South Slough. It was a historic looking place with old wooden piers. We drove on to Coos Bay and by Empire Pier, another historic area, then we found Walmart and I had three lots of photos developed. We visited the library at Coos Bay and received and sent e-mails. We collected the photos. We stopped in the Casino car-park at North Bend - free, but we had to register. We were overlooking a large "lagoon". We had seen seals at Bandon and Charleston.

Wednesday 27th March. 95 miles.

It was a grey start, but turned bright and sunny with a cold wind. We continued north and went on into the Oregon Dunes area.

We got propane, then stopped to view Winchester Bay - we spoke to a couple from Portland, Oregon. We drove down to Umpqua Lighthouseand had coffee overlooking the sea - there were signs of whales. We viewed Lake Tahkenitch.

We stopped at a viewpoint over the sand dunes and had a short walk. We drove down to Siltcoos and viewed the long duney beach. We had lunch by Woahink Lake - crab sandwiches. At Florence we visited the tourist information, then walked around the nice old town by the water. We got some fuel then headed for Heceta Beach - an immense sandy beach where we had a short walk. Next was the "Botanic garden" - a short boardwalk to view "Darlingtonia California" (pitcher plant).

We drove back to the coast and had a view south of Herceta beach.

We viewed Heceta lighthouse then drove down to delightful Devil's Elbow Beach and had a walk. At Cape Perpetua we drove up to the viewpoint and walked a short trail - there were yellow "violets". On through Yatchats to Tillicum Beach, to stop for the night. We had a walk on the beach - there was a full moon.

Thursday 28 March. 85 miles.

It was a grey start, but there were some bright spells. We continued north, the coast was still lovely but busy (it was nearly Easter). We drove past Waldport then stopped at Seal Rocks where I took a photo, as we had a picture of this on a new calendar.

At South Beach State Park we had coffee at Lost Creek. At Newport we crossed on another superb bridge then drove along the Historic Waterfront. It was very attractive and full of character.

Back on the main road we shopped in "Fred Myer" and stopped soon afterwards for lunch, overlooking the sea. We drove on to Cape Foulweather (named by Cook 1778). We had a good view of the coast here then drove back a short way to the Devil's Punch Bowl (an arch of rock).

We crossed Depoe Bay (a hidden Harbour) then stopped at Boiler Bay where there were whales in the distance. On through Lincoln City to Neskowin Beach where we had a walk on this lovely sandy beach with a huge rock and a stream and ancient logs. We turned off past Pacific City and stopped at Cape Kiwanda - a "haystack" rock and a huge sand dune/rock area.

We stopped soon afterwards beside the road for the night on the “3 Capes Route" near Cape Lookout.

Friday 29th March. Good Friday 117 miles.

We continued on the "3 Capes Route" past Cape Lookout to Cape Meares.

We had breakfast (melon and then English muffins - no hot cross buns in USA) sitting in the cab overlooking the coast. We had a lovely walk around this peninsula - there was whale watching here (we saw no whales but were given a lovely postcard), many viewpoints, and an "octopus tree". There was a bald eagle on a stack and a man was filming peregrine falcons. There was also a lighthouse. We continued on the "Route" - there were no stopping places for coffee, we stopped by Tillamook Bay. We continued north past Manhattan Beach where we viewed the misty, sandy, duney beach from above. We drove on to Hug Point. It was at a pebbly beach (it was high tide) and there were quite a few people here.

We had lunch sitting in the cab by Arcadia beach, as it was drizzling but afterwards we had a walk on the beach. There were a lot of people at Cannon Beach (the name of the town) - we had a short walk across the beach at Tolovano Beach. At Seaside there was a huge sandy beach and we had a walk. We drove on to Fort Stevens State Park, at the mouth of the Columbia River.

There were wonderful views from here and from Hammond Marina. We bought some daffodils from beside the road. We viewed Fort Clatsop(Lewis and Clark) and stayed beside the road just beyond here. We slept lengthways in the van as we were sloping.

Saturday 30th March. 90 miles.

We drove round to Fort Clatsop and had breakfast then visited the site.

We saw an excellent film about Lewis and Clark then viewed the 1950s reconstruction of the Fort and also the spring where they got their water and their canoe landing place, then the Visitors Centre. (we bought a book on Lewis and Clark).

We had coffee just afterwards by the "Fort Clatsop" information sign. We drove into Astoria, crossing the Lewis and Clark River, and up to theAstoria Column. We climbed this and had great views of the Columbia River estuary and all around. We drove around Astoria - there were some fine houses. We then crossed the Columbia River on a 4 mile-long bridge to Washington State.

We had lunch beside the river just afterwards. We viewed the Lewis and Clark "campsite" at Chinook

then drove along to Fort Canby and visited the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Centre. We now drove northwards along the eastern side of Willapa Bay. We got fuel (cheap) at South Bend. We drove through Raymond - a pleasant "logging" town on the Willapa River. There were lots of metal statues and cut-outs of animals etc. beside the road. We followed the 105 road west and stopped beside the water. There was a beautiful sky.

Sunday 31st March. Easter Day. 144 miles.

It was a grey start, with some drizzle but also sunshine. We had boiled egg for breakfast. We left and drove west, back to the coast at North Cove and then north for a few miles for the last bit of "ocean" but it was very flat and "unloved". We viewed the beach at Grayland then did the "emptying and filling" at Twin Harbours State Park and then headed inland beside Grays Harbour. The road here was not by the water - they were many strewn out houses. We stopped for coffee and a Swiss roll with mini eggs by the oyster works. We drove on through Aberdeen where there was a Walmart but it was closed. At Motesano we turned off to Lady Sylvia Lake for lunch (it was like a place we visited in Canada 89). We had a short walk here then took the road past Matlock to the east of the peninsula and then north beside the Hood canal.

We stopped beside the water for a cup of tea and another brownie with mini eggs. At Eldon we took the road into the Olympic Mountains and had a short walk towards Lena Lake.

We drove back down and stopped near the bridge over the Hamma Hamma River. We had a short walk out.

Monday 1st April. 155 miles.

There was rain and drizzle at first but it was sunny later with a cold wind. We continued up the western side of the Hood canal, stopping for breakfast at Triton Cove, but we couldn't see much. We found a roundabout way to Port Townsend (visited in 1989) and had elevenses here, sitting outside in the sun beside the water. There were a lot of wooden piers and it was a nice old town.

We had a walk around - it made us think of Nelson in New Zealand. We bought a French loaf in Safeway then drove to Old Fort Townsend State Park, but having driven a mile down the road to it, when we got to the gate, it was closed (temporarily)! We continued south again and had lunch outside Port Hadlock library, then went in and used the Internet. We drove south, across the Hood Canal bridge to Kingston where there were views across towards Seattle. We went south via Suquamish to Port Orchard. We couldn't find the free campsite, but found Walmart and took in my film. We had a cup of tea then visited the dollar shop and bought some small plastic storage boxes and one larger one in the shop next door. This was not quite right, but then we found one the right size in Walmart!

Tuesday 2nd April. 105 miles.

We were awake very early with the sun streaming in and a clear blue sky. We drove into Tacoma across the Tacoma Narrows bridge. We arrived at the service place at 8.30 and had the service done on the Bam. Next we found a place where we had to the roof light sealed. We then found Camping World, which was not very successful. We had lunch afterwards then headed for the storage place at Burien, to sort out leaving the Bam. We found a place to pay in our cheque, but it was over a month old, so they wouldn't accept it. Things were difficult and there was a lot of traffic. We got some fuel and here a woman begged for money. We tried to head out of Seattle, but it was slow and difficult. At Covingtonwe found the post office for Adrian to get money orders and stamps. We finally got "out of town" and stayed at Kanaskat-Palmer State Park and had a walk by the rushing Green River, then Adrian lit a fire and we ate outside!

Wednesday 3rd April. 35 miles.

It was a beautiful day. We had breakfast outside. I cleaned the Bam and Adrian videod. We had a walk through the woods to the river.

We made our way back to Seattle. I bought some rolls at Cavendish and Adrian phoned Barry about the cheque, but later we were able to cash it. Hooray! We had lunch sitting outside, beside the road (there were brambles and catkins). There were wonderful views of Mount Rainier - like an iced motta cake. We found our way to Majestic Manor RV Park at Puyallup. It was very boring! We had showers and did two lots of washing and started packing up. We had a cup of tea sitting outside on a seat.

Thursday 4th to Friday 5th April. 24 miles in USA.

It was a beautiful day. We ate breakfast outside. The morning was spent clearing up and getting packed. We had elevenses outside then left midday and drove to Shurgards at Burien to store the Bam.

We had lunch here - cheese and chutney rolls and pasta salad. We got a taxi to Seattle - Tacoma airport. There were very few shops but we bought two books - "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Lewis and Clark". We read until it was time to board. I had a window seat and there were lovely views of the snow-covered Cascade Mountains. We watched two films - "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" and "Harry Potter". We didn't get any sleep. We got a taxi home from Heathrow and arrived at Hermitage at 1 o'clock on a lovely day with a lot of spring flowers.