The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine

Retirement is seen to us as an opportunity to expand our horizons, both physically and mentally.  We wanted to first explore, at a more leisurely pace, The USA!  Rather than simply hop in our car and drive, we chose to purchase a 2007,  27' Arctic Fox travel trailer and a '06 Chevy Diesel 2500 pickup to take us to our destinations.   Since Neither one of us had any prior experience, we began researching the RV lifestyle over a year ago.  We took the advice of several friends and rented a trailer for week to see if we would like it.... and we did.   So, we've taken the plunge and off we go!

Stop #1 (8/21/13 - 8/25/13)- RV Resort - Napa Valley Expo -  http://www.napavalleyexpo.com/f-rvs.html 

This RV park had a pull-through space so Mark didn't have to back in (definitely a plus). 

 It provided all the necessary hookups (power, sewer, water and WiFi). plus it was within walking distance of the Napa Valley Wine Train, downtown Napa and the local Farmer's Market.

 



Annual Downtown Napa Festival - Blues, Brews & BBQ

Great music, food and beer

Ordering Pull Pork Sandwiches and Ribs.

While walking in downtown Napa, we stumbled upon the Cha Cha dance steps and look a little dance lesson.  Grandmommy would have been very proud of us!

In addition to being known as a wine region, the Napa Valley is also a beautiful area to take in on bicycles.  Since our one of our goals is to stretch us physically, a bike ride to a winery for wine tasting was on the itinerary.  We packed up our bikes and drove to the start of the bike trails in Yountville.  There we set off on a six mile ride to do a little wine tasting. 









 The closest winery to us (we were getting pretty tired) was the Cardinale Winery.  So...we decided to visit that winery for some wine tasting before heading back to Yountville.  This winery was located at the top of hill much too steep for us to ride so walked our bikes to the top.  Needless to say, we were exhausted, hot and sweaty.  We walked into this beautiful winery and found the tasting room, only to discover that THIS winery requires reservations AND the tasting is $50 per person AND their wines start at $250 a bottle and go up from there.  So our best intentions of a leisurely bike ride and wine tasting weren't totally met.  It still was a beautiful day, with a gentle breeze and the countryside was breathtaking.  A definite MUST, just do your homework before setting out on your ride.

http://www.napavalleybiketours.com/napa-bike-tours/index.html  In Yountville, there is a bike shop called Napa Valley Bike tours where you can rent bikes with a map to follow, or you can pay to be part of a guided group tour - check out their website, they were super friendly and helpful!

RV LESSON #1:  Be sure the door to your rig is actually closed and locked.  About 2 hours into our first day we pulled into a rest stop to find the door to our rig wide open and blowing in the wind.  Fortunately no damage was done and nothing was missing.  Now, we make sure it is securely shut and locked.

Stop #2 - Trinidad - (8/25 - 8/28) - Emerald Forest RV Park - http://www.rvintheredwoods.com/



We chose to stay in this area because of the location to the beaches and redwood forests.  When making this reservation over the phone, the call was ended by the clerk saying "may the forest be with you."  Yes...we were definitely in big tree country!  That same clerk (Skip) later volunteered to help us get our cable set up in our rig.

Our campsite in the Emerald Forest RV Park.  Our first time putting up our awning.

We decided to visit a state park and a national park in this area.  Patrick's Point State Park was about 10 minutes from our RV park.  We've been here before but this time, the weather was perfect!!  The beach is called "Agate Beach" and we had a great time walking the beach collecting beautiful agate rocks in different sizes and colors.

We drove up 101 North about 20 minutes to visit the Redwood National Park.  We selected a 4 mile round trip hike called the Cathedral Trail and literally attended church in the most beautiful cathedral we had ever seen.  Unfortunately these pictures can't begin to capture the beauty we witnessed.  It was totally silent except for the gentle breeze through the trees.  We encountered very few people on the trail and we were both overcome with the magnitude of God's creation - this old growth forest.

RV LESSON #2 - It's great when your campground offers over 80 cable channels!  Of course, you have to understand how to setup the TV in your rig (different than home) to work on cable and search out the stations.  Swallow your pride and be willing to ask for help. 

Stop #3 - Grant's Pass, Oregon (8/28 - 9/2) - Joe's Creek Waterfall RV Resort - http://www.joecreekrv.com/

On our way to Oregon, we stopped in Crescent City to visit Sherry's cousin David and his wife Pauli.  They showed us around the town, explained why they moved from the Bay Area to Crescent City and shared some history of the area with us.  After about 2 1/2 hours we were back on the road to Grant's Pass.