Our Travelscapes #2

Hi All! We spent three days "doing" the San Francisco Bay area. Driving over the Golden Gate bridge, riding cable cars, "experiencing" Alcatraz and wondering how any one could survive a stay in such a dank and dreary prison. Much smaller than I had expected, certainly not the "Waldorf" situation of today's jails!! TWO cells would fit in OUR master bath!! A cot mattress no more than 4" thick, one drop down tray-size shelf for a desk/table, one short shelf for personal items, one sink as big as a mixing bowl, and a john in the corner about the same size!! Had there been windows, they could have at least enjoyed the view! Only the common areas (which were very few) offered a glimpse to the outside. Stark and minimal...an understatement! One of my favorite places on the Bay was the town of Sausalito; a "touristy" area with beautiful hillside homes; great little shops and nice places to get a meal. Only the well-to-do live here and though wildly expensive, the homes are quite small. But with many having balconies and porches, the views of the Bay and the weather make it worthy. We were in one campground in Vallejo for three nights where we could take the ferry across to SF (taking about an hour). Then we moved into another campground in Petaluma for another three nights. This was a wonderful, cool and shady camping area; a mix of motorhomes and lots of "tenters". A petting zoo for the many children there as well as completely equipped play areas; a large pool; large canopied common areas where they had a pancake breakfast every morning and a different band every night over the holiday weekend of July 4th. Fireworks, too! There were several pairs of peacocks wandering throughout the campground...permanent residents! One male had a gorgeous display of plume feathers; another male looked like he got caught in a fence somewhere or perhaps was molting? His only 2-3 large feathers were broken and bent. Maybe he lost out in a battle with an RV but he seemed fine other than his poor display of finery! It was from here we drove the car back to SF and Sausalito one day and another day drove the vineyards of Sonoma and Napa Valleys. This was a beautiful sight....miles and miles and miles of vineyard. Sutter Home, Beringer, Louis Martini were among the largest but even the smallest offered tours, tasting, and gift shops. From Petaluma we drove to Red Bluff, (northeast CA) where we stayed two nights in another excellent campground. We took the car up to Lassen Volcano National Park which is close to Mt. Shasta (covered in snow). The ride through the Volcanic Nat'l. Park was gorgeous and reminded us a lot of Alaska. Fast running rivers, deep snow patches (we stopped to make snowballs), and dense forest of Jeffery pine, Ponderosa pine, Red Spruce, juniper, etc. contributed to the beautiful scenery. This volcano is still considered active but last erupted in 1915 when it wiped out a huge area of forest. It's had 87 years for regrowth and now, except for some meadow areas of lava rock, the forest is thriving. It was a pleasant relief to spend the day up there as the temperatures were comfortable and we were in shorts and T-shirts. We were quite surprised that the town of Red Bluff was in the high 90s with today, tomorrow and Thursday predicted to reach 108 to 110 degrees! Bluff/Redding area is considered Hell's Kitchen! Hopefully, now as we have passed into Oregon on our way to Crater Lake Nat'l. Park, we will have cooler temperatures! In Bend, and Sisters, OR where we will be from Wed-Sun. It could be quite hot again as that area is considered the Oregon desert! Oh NO! Not that again!! We had a most amazing experience while in Lassen Volcanic Park. Coming out of the Visitor's Center we walked by a car with Massachusetts plates. I spoke to the lady standing near and asked "Where in MA are you from?" They were from Concord, MA where my son Peter and DIL, Kristin live. When I mentioned this... they asked what their names were. Once I said my daughter-in-law was Kristin Campbell, the husband said "Are the parents Jack and Joan Campbell?" I said "YES!!" Well this fellow, Mr. Jim Carter, was Kristie's brother Spencer's teacher at the boys' school he attended in Concord and knew the family! What a small world! Well, it's a little after noon and we'll soon be at our campground for the night so that's it for now! I'm using our new iBook (MAC laptop) as we drive! Dennie and Roger