Oregon Coast to Canada...and back - Day 14 ... the Final Day

Wednesday Oct 12

Waking up at 6:00am I had nothing to do except sit there and wait for the sun to crawl over the horizon. Soon Kerry joined me. Rosie just slept. Finally the morning sky was bathed in soft sunlight. Time to get ready to rock and roll southbound on highway 5. 

As I gathered our stuff I ran the engine to pump a little warmth into our home on wheels. Since we decided to just head home there was no need to put every item into its allocated spot. It all just got thrown onto the bed...I will sort it all out when I unpack the van at home

Next stop would be for gas at the Costco in Salem. I also had my favorite Costco drink, a latte mocha freeze heavy with chocolate syrup. Yumm. Before hitting the long road home we stopped for some breakfast. 

The diner was called Almost Home and was mediocre to say the least. Our day old cold Starbucks coffee was so much better compared to the fresh brew we were offered. McDonalds breakfast would have been a wiser choice. The drive continues.

Next stop was Grants Pass where Kerry's favorite candy store is located. Carey's Candy sells the best dark chocolate and since we were in the area, we had to pick up a supply. Mission accomplished.

Arriving in Jacksonville, we were greeted with awesome Fall colors. Autumn has arrived. 

There's no place like home...

By 12:30pm we were pulling into our driveway and by 2:00pm the van was converted back into a van, no longer the Hunter Family Camper RV. With just a few camping items that still need to go back on the shelve, I decided to finish off the unpacking tomorrow. Last thing to do today was to get Kerry to help me lift the Yakama Sky Box off of the van.

Once everything was unloaded and put away, it was time to put the seats back in place.  

Now it was time to call it a day. 

Over the past couple of weeks Kerry, Rosie and I traveled over 1900 miles, sailed across international borders and navigated our van along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the country, if not the world. Of the 14 nights of this adventure, 2 nights were spent in a beach house, 4 nights at my brothers house and the remaining 9 nights were spent in various campgrounds, each with their own special flavor, a taste we shall savior for a long long time.

We have been looking at getting a small camper for some time now. We looked at "A" Frame hard sided Pop Ups, Tent Trailers, Teardrops, T@G's and T@B's. Our preference was narrowed down through elimination. We owned a Pop Up Tent Trailer before. Nice and roomy but not the easiest to set up, even though we only looked at models with an electric open/close system. This option was quickly removed from our list. We saw a bare bones tiny Teardrop and when I got inside it was like being in a coffin, for two. It too was removed from our list. The T@B and T@G was all we had left to consider. We would take our time, since this was a buyers time of the year.

One night while camping I said to Kerry that there are Teardrops with larger configurations that would be roomier compared to sleeping in the van. I suggested we put the Teardrop back on our list. She agreed. So now the Teardrop was back in our search. While camping I searched Craigslist daily and found a Teardrop for sale, in Jacksonville. Was this a sign? A week after arriving home we went to look at it. Kerry and I both fell in love with it. 

This fully loaded High-Desert Freedom Extreme was designed  by hunters who wanted something that sat a little higher off of the road, as well as being roomier inside. Fast forward to October 18th when Kerry and I first saw the Teardrop...we negotiated and closed the deal. We took possession on October 24th. No more camping in the back of the van. From now on, we actually have a camper to sleep in....I prefer to call it our RV. Her name will be Roxy (inside joke).

Bonus...it fits in our garage with our other vehicles, where it will be protected from the elements.

Thanks for allowing me to share our little road trip with you. As soon as something else BLOG worthy comes up, I'll make the posting and invite you in Facebook. 

This is a tired, Road Warrior, his wife and of course Rosie too, signing off, for now.

Oregon Coast to Canada...and back - Day 13

Tuesday Oct 11

We were both up by 6:00am and lounged an extra hour before heading down for our continental breakfast. Oatmeal and energy bars along with a strong dark roast coffee would set us up nicely for the day. By 9:00 am we were wheels rolling, southward towards Oregon…Portland to be exact. Downtown Portland  is where we will spend most of the day, not all but most.

First stop was Washington Park, smack dab in the middle of town

Once we found a place to park we headed for the zoo, leaving Rosie to guard our stuff (don't worry, we were parked in the shade with all windows cracked open…Rosie was comphy). At the zoo we saw a nice variety of wildlife including, bears, lions, elephants monkeys, gazelle, a mountain goat, bald eagles, turtles, an anaconda, a semi trained hippo named Pops,  and we even saw a three legged hyena. 

Around noon we headed downtown to try and find somewhere to eat lunch. Great people watching...

Once we found a convenient parking spot the three of us walked around in search of a great meal. We walked and pondered display menus and walked some more. Then we finally made our decision..we settled for our old faithful eatery. A twelve inch subway was split between the three of us…and it was good.

There is a waterfall about 30 miles out of town that Kerry always wanted to see. I tried to argue it was too far out of the way, but like a politician, she debated her opinion and won by a landslide. We were now off to the Multnamah Waterfall. Irony…it ended up being the best part of the day for me. 

Once the awe was absorbed and the photos shot, we headed to our last destination for the night, a state park called Champoeg, just outside of Salem Oregon.

This was a beautiful place to call it a day. While I set up our van Kerry got to visit with a camping neighbor, a young family who recently moved here from South Africa. They were looking for a better life, and judging by this beautiful campground, they found it.

She actually told Kerry that they were living the life of gypsies, and they enjoyed the freedom that this lifestyle offered them.

It was interesting when later on Kerry and I took Rosie for a bedtime walk. As we approached our campsite we noticed the entire gypsy clan sitting outside of their camper, socializing by the camp fire. On the lawn standing by herself was a young girl playing the violin. Yupp, they were gypsies alright. Have you ever seen the movie "The Red Violin?"

By 7:30pm the sun was down, our meal was consumed , our teeth were brushed and a nice leisurely walk-a-bout wore us out just enough to insure a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we continue south on the I 5. Tomorrow might be the last day of our vacation…maybe, or maybe not!