Road Trip!!!!!

The reason I have not posted recently is because Mike and I are on a road trip.  We took Tempest to her new home in Oregon with my friend Rachel, and from all accounts her new home is working out well.  It was really hard to say goodbye to her, but it is in her best interests and I could not have a better home for her.  Now we are no longer dog owners, and I miss both Tempest and Sophie terribly.

We drove up from California on I-15, avoiding LA and going up through the high desert into Sequoia and Yosemite.  Then up the eastern sierras until Bend, Ore.  We went to Crater Lake, and drove all around some of the most beautiful country ever.  We saw friends in Portland (Nancy, Lisa, Sue - it was fantastic!) and then visited Rachel in Hood River.  We saw Mt. Hood, and are really curious who thought it was a good idea to put power lines through that Lolo pass?  Now we are on our way home, heading down highway 1.  As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel room in Gualala. (it is pronounced "gwa LA la".  I was hoping it would be "gwa la la" to rhyme with "tra la la", no such luck.)  My room overlooks the beach, with big rocks and lots of driftwood.  It is really incredible. 

We spent a lot of time on this trip looking at enterances to harbors and trying to determine if a sailboat could get through.  We looked for masts in the distance.  I guess this is the long way of saying we look at things differently now. 

I am looking forward to getting back and finishing up so we can leave for Mexico.  I don't think we will be ready in time for the rally we wanted to go with, but that is not the end of the world and we are not really group people anyway.  The projected date for leaving is the second week in November.  Maybe sooner, who knows?  There are things to deal with, like prescription medications and so on.  I really wish I didn't have to take any of those stupid pills!  There are a few things Mike has to complete on the boat mechanically, provisioning to be done, a car to be sold, and I am almost afraid to complete this list!  But by this time next month, I want to be underway.  Besides, if I don't start sailing soon, no one will want to read this. 

Mike is waking up, so we will get going and head on south.  More beautiful country to come.  California is the greatest state in the nation.