Back to Marysville

On Sunday, following the ceremonies at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, we returned the 130 miles to Marysville, Washington, so Carole could spend more time with her son, Bruce.

As we left Ellensburg Westbound on I-90, it was a fairly clear day and we could see the snow-covered mountains off to our North. The tallest mountain is Mount Stuart, at 9,415 feet. What a pretty sight!

We then passed by a large mountain lake, then over Snoqualmie Pass.


The rest of the trip back to Marysville was through some very scenic, tree-covered mountains. No wonder the State of Washington is called "The Evergreen State".


We arrived back in Marysville and parked "The Bus" at the Tulalip Casino again where we will be close to Bruce's home. We plan to stay here for a week or so.

Lieutenant Krallman

Carole's grandson, Alek Krallman, attended Central Washington University (CWU) in Ellensburg, Washington, and participated in the Air Force ROTC Program. Tonight, following his graduation at Commencement Exercises this morning, the Air Force held a formal dinner at which the eight ROTC graduates, including Alek, were commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants in the United States Air Force.

The dinner was held in the Ballroom of the Student Union Building. Tables were set up and arranged for the hundred or so invitees.

Alek's family members were seated at a table in the front of the room at which Alek was also seated as the host. Pictured below are Bruce, Alek's father; Carole, Alek's Grandmother; and myself.


The commissioning Ceremony was very impressive. The Base Commander at a nearby Air Force Base was the main speaker. The Colonel, who was the Commander of the CWU ROTC Detachment, also spoke as well as several others connected with the ROTC Program. The eight graduates were then in turn administered the oath of office, had their Lieutenant bars pinned on, presented parent pins to their parents, and received their certificate from the Unit Commander.

The most impressive part of the evening . . . and the most emotional and inspiring . . . was the administering of the Oath of Office to Alek. Alek's mother is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve and is currently serving a tour of duty in Kuwait. They arranged an Internet video connection between his Mother in Kuwait and the Ballroom on the CWU Campus allowing the Oath of Office to be administered to Alek by his Mother from Kuwait. Her video image was projected on a large screen at the side of the Ballroom during administering of the Oath of Office. That drew a huge patriotic response from all of those in attendance.

Following the administering of the Oath of Office, Bruce and Alek's brother pinned new 2nd Lieutenant bars on Alek. It was all a very impressive ceremony.

Following the ceremony, Alek, now Lieutenant Krallman, is pictured below receiving congratulations from his proud Grandmother, Carole, and his proud Father, Bruce.


Alek will soon be sent to Texas to begin pilot training. Congratulations, Lieutenant Krallman. I know you will serve your country proudly.

Congratulations, Alek

Our prayers were answered. The weather Saturday morning was bright and sunny with temperatures forecast to be 85 . . . and with no wind!

We picked up Bruce and Alek and drove to the football stadium for the graduation ceremony, and then discovered that parking space was a real problem. Cars were parking 5-6 blocks away and Carole is no longer able to walk that distance. So I drove to the stadium expecting to drop her off, and then go back and park the car . . . but a very kind police officer told us to go ahead and park in the handicap lot adjacent to the stadium entrance. Alek was shocked that an Ellensburg policeman could be so nice, but he was.

I took folding lawn chairs and we sat on the grass in front of the stands, but like all such graduation ceremonies, all we could see was a "sea of red caps and gowns".



Alek collected his diploma and we listened to all of the various speeches encouraging the graduates to "go forth and accomplish great things". But then when we returned to Alek's rental house, we had an opportunity to relax with a brat and a beer, and socialize with many of Alek's family and friends.

Here Alek is pictured showing off his diploma . . .



And then there's the proud grandmother, Carole, and father, Bruce, with the new graduate.



Congratulations, Alek!

Ellensburg

On Thursday, we moved to Ellensburg, Washington, location of Central Washington University. Ellensburg is located 130 miles Southeast of Seattle on the East side of the mountain range, so we had to go over the pass and down into the valley which is warmer and drier than the Puget Sound area.

Carole's grandson, Alek, is graduating from CWU and the graduation ceremony is scheduled for Saturday morning. Alek has been attending school and participating in the Air Force ROTC Program, so Saturday evening we will also be attending the Air Force commissioning ceremony.

We checked into a KOA campground, the only RV Park in the area. It is a typical KOA Park except that the interior roads are very narrow and the individual sites are very tight, otherwise the facilities are nice.



The RV Park is located on the Yakima River which we could see from our location. The river was moving fast with lots of water from spring rains and snow melt in the mountains. Our site in the park may have been confining, but the scenic view of the river was really nice.



Late Thursday and on Friday, we had the opportunity to tour the University campus and look around town. The CWU campus is an attractive, modern campus spread over 350 acres near the center of town. The town appears to be a clean, active Western town in cowboy country, but with the common affliction of a lot of small rural towns . . . too many downtown stores empty and for rent.

However, Carole did manage to find an antique store. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we arrived after the store was closed.


The weather was warm and sunny, unlike the Seattle area and that was a welcome change. However, the wind was blowing and we were told that the wind always blows here. Maybe we'll be lucky and the wind will calm down for this weekend's celebrations.

The Tulalip Casino

"The Tulalip Casino" on Indian land in Marysville, Washington, is a very large complex including a huge casino, a large bingo building, a hotel, beautiful grounds, and huge parking areas . . . including parking for RV's. This is a convenient location for us, about 15 minutes from Bruce, Carole's son's home.

There are no hook-ups (water, sewer, electric) for RV's, but the parking space is available free with a maximum stay limit of seven days. Of course, they know nearly every RVer will stop in the Casino and end up indirectly paying for their parking space, or more. They have 30-35 RV parking spaces, about half of them pull-throughs, and while we've been here about half of the spaces have been occupied.


The complex includes a 10-12 story luxury hotel . . .
















A huge casino with several restaurants including a buffet larger and more diverse than I've seen anywhere . . .


The grounds are beautifully landscaped with many fountains and waterfalls . . .


And the grounds are covered with lots of statuary of many types . . .
















This is a beautiful facility, a very nice place to be. You just have to be careful not to spend too much in the casino . . . or the RV parking could end up being a very expensive place to stay.

Ouch!

On our trip North, we stopped in a quaint little town and parked "The Bus" so we could get out and walk down the shady Main Street. Unfortunately, the streets were tree lined and when I parked, I was only about a foot away from a 4 inch tree branch near the back of "the Bus". But it was of little concern because the street was clear ahead of us all the way to the next corner.

We had a nice leisurely walk window shopping, and then returned to "The Bus" to continue our journey. When we were ready to pull out, a car pulled in to the only parking space in front of us, blocking us in. I gave him a short touch on the air horn and he pulled forward slightly giving me enough room to swing out into the traffic lane.

Then I made a stupid mistake! I forgot two things: (1) the tree branch close to the back of "The Bus", and (2) the fact that in a long vehicle with a long rear overhang, when you turn hard left, the back of "The Bus" actually goes to the right. Yes, as I turned sharply to the left easing into the traffic lane, we heard a "crunch". That tree branch had us!

I pulled around the corner to inspect the damage and it made me sick to look at the result of my stupidity. I went into a nearby store, bought some duck tape, and patched the hole. This is the way "The Bus" now looks wearing duck tape on the rear corner.


I have been so proud of myself driving "The Bus" thousands of miles, many times in tight situations, and not having scratched it. Well, that pride came to an end . . . and I am reminded that you can never forget anything around you when driving . . . especially when driving a vehicle the size of "The Bus".

I'll pay for my dumb negligence in fiberglass and paint when I get to the body shop. "Ouch!"

Back to the Interstate

After our experience on the "White-Knuckle Road", Carole's shattered nerves, the fact that during the last two days on Hwy #1 we only averaged about 150 miles per day, and the fact that we still have a long way to go to be in Washington by Sunday . . . we decided we should go "Back to the Interstate". So we diverted East to Interstate 5 and turned North.

Driving the Interstate was certainly a calm relaxing drive compared to the Coastal Route. But the scenery in the mountains of Northern California was very inspiring even though we drove in a light mist among low clouds much of the way.


As we left California and entered Oregon, the weather remained overcast, but we were able to turn off the windshield wiper. The mountains look better through a clear windshield.
















The rest of the trip North was uneventful driving through Oregon and Southern Washington on the Interstate. The weather was nice and the scenery was interesting. The road was wide and the grades were tolerable.

Since we went "Back to the Interstate", we made much better time and arrived in Marysville, Washington, on Sunday afternoon. Carole's son, Bruce, who lives in Marysville, came right over to see his Mom, whom he hadn't see in two years. This will be much needed time together for Mother and Son.

White-Knuckle Highway

As we began the day's drive North along the coast, we passed a picturesque lighthouse out on a point. It would have been nice to visit, but there was no place to park "The Bus" and we didn't see an adequate turn-around for our 60 foot long rig including the Blazer. So we continued on down thr road watching the lighthouse disappear in the rear-view mirror.


As we continued North toward San Francisco, we began encountering fog. (Fog in San Francisco?) The fog got thicker as we entered town and continued all the way through town. When we started across the Golden Gate Bridge, we were still in fog so heavy you couldn't see the upper reaches of the bridge.


But when we neared the middle of the bridge, the fog dissipated and we could see the rest of the bridge ahead of us. Good timing for a quick picture on-the-fly.


Soon after we crossed the bridge, we turned off onto Hwy #1 again to follow the Coastal Route. We immediately again encountered a narrow winding road . . . and Carole began to get a little apprehensive . . . again.


But then we entered the Redwood Forest and the road straighted out some. Those big trees are awesome. So inspiring it's easy to forget about what lies further down the road.


We then came upon a large yellow and black road sign warning "Not recommended for vehicles over 30 feet in length because of narrow roadway" . . . and there was absolutely no place to turnaround. We were trapped! Our only alternative was to forge on ahead.

Even though "The Bus" is 40 feet long and we were towing the Blazer making our rig about 60 feet in length overall, I thought, "How can length be of concern because the roadway is narrow?" Well, I found out. The road had numerous steep inclines and downhill runs with many sharp curves of probably 15-20 feet radius . . . and "The Bus" doesn't bend in the middle! To get around most sharp turns, straight up on one side and straight down on the other, I had to take up the whole road. I couldn't see around the curves and the oncoming traffic couldn't see me until they were right on us.

We encountered many close calls with oncoming traffic screeching to a stop until we got around the curve. Needless to say, it was a "White-Knuckle Highway" . . . and Carole nearly had a nervous breakdown. By the time we got through that section of Hwy #1, she was a total nervous wreck threatening to take a flight home.

I wish I had some pictures of that section of the road to post on this blog. But Carole was in no mood to operate a camera and I was too busy to even consider picking up a camera while I was occupied keeping "The Bus" on the road and avoiding collisions with oncoming cars . . . most of whom were driving way too fast.

At our first opportunity, we were both eager to divert from Hwy #1 to Hwy #101, which was more of a normal road, and stop for the night. Wow! What a day.

The Road to Big Sur

When we woke up this morning, we began talking about the tour of the Hearst Mansion. It was only a few miles down the road and I was excited to see it up close. However, Carole was not feeling well and said she was not up to taking the tour. So we put everything in its place, went through our checklist, and hit the road . . . Hwy #1 Northbound along the beautiful California Coast.

This part of the coast is rugged, with a wild beauty of pounding surf. At times the road was near sea level and at times was clinging to the side of seaside cliffs generally around tight turns without guardrails.
















The road was well paved with a center line, but rarely was there any place to pull off to relax and soak up the beautiful scenery. We were, of course, headed North and when there was a turnout, it was always on the Southbound side . . . and Carole freaked out when I crossed the center line.
















There was an occasional sandy beach, but most of the Coast line in this area was very rocky with imposing cliffs and a lot of large rock formations offshore.
















Much of the "Road to Big Sur" was a lot of ups and downs, very sharp turns, and narrow roadway. I was so busy watching the road and dodging oncoming traffic that it was difficult to enjoy the scenery. Carole got quite nervous about traveling this road in "The Bus" with the Blazer in-tow and said, "The next time you want to go sightseeing, I'm staying home".

However, after we went through Big Sur, the road flattened out around Monterrey Bay. We turned off Hwy #1 into the town of Monterrey on the South side of the bay, which is a modern bustling seaside town with a very nice harbor. It was getting late in the afternoon and we hadn't had lunch, so we stopped for a seafood lunch at a dockside restaurant right on the yacht harbor.
















From there we went on up a tame part of Hwy #1 around Monterrey Bay to a nice city park on the North side of the bay where we stopped for the night. It felt good to fix a drink, take off my shoes, and kick-back after a high-tension day of driving. Tomorrow's drive will take us through San Francisco and into the Redwoods, which should be much more relaxing.

The Coastal Route

The shortest and fastest trip to Washington is up the Interstate through the middle of California. But we prefer the scenic routes. So we drove West to the Pacific Ocean North of Los Angeles to take "The Coastal Route", Hwy #1 and headed North along the coast. The drive was pleasant and the scenery was awesome. The California Coast is beautiful . . . so rugged with rock out-croppings in the ocean and the waves crashing all around.

At Morro Bay, the very large rock out-cropping is called Morro Rock That is an awesome piece of rock!
















The drive along the coast was very inspiring. We stopped many places to take a closer look at the coast and the wildlife.


Then we reached the Hearst Mansion setting high atop a hill overlooking the ocean. It is now owned by the State of California and is open to the public. However, we reached the area near closing time, so we decided to stay at a nearby State Park for the night.


We'll return in the morning and tour the mansion before we continue our journey Northward following "The Coastal Route".