Back in the Sac (home away from home)

We fought through the smoke and landed back at Sandy and Arny’s house at 2:30.  They don’t live that far from the Interstate, so when we got off the freeway, I rolled down the windows and watched the sleeping dogs go from sleep, to sniff, to sniffing a lot, to coming up onto Marcia’s lap all within a minute’s time.  As soon as we drive into the cul de sac, they go wild…more Bubba than Skruffy.  By 3 pm everything is hooked up, I am sitting down catching my breath, and mom comes through the back door.  From there until after 8 it is all family time.

   

After Arny’s BBQ of Tri-Tip sandwiches, it is time to break out all the goodies we brought back.  Sandy got her pick of three of the four Moose Munch we brought.  Arny got three different Grilling Sauces, including the Raspberry Chipotle that he seemed the most pleased with.  Mom and Dad got matching coffee/soup mugs which say, “Mom” and the other says “Dad”.  Also got mom a selection of dipping sauces and the Pretzel Sticks to dip with.  Told her that she was bound to get some visitors over the next few weeks and she needed something to offer them.  Patti, who showed up after dinner, got two bags of Cashews.

Arny’s mom loves Ice Cream, and we bought some Tillamook Hazel Nut & Salted Carmel Ice Cream for her…remember, this is the same place we got the box of “Lemonilla Tillabars” that Marcia liked so much…and we KNEW sister Sandy would die for them too.  So as I was going out to the RV to get Arny’s mom Euleda’s gift all I said was, “Your gift is from Tillamook and it is real cold.”, which perked Sandy’s ears up for sure.  I come in with the Ice Cream behind my back and say, “Here you go…”, and it was Ice Cream…and I think my sister’s heart dropped just a little.  Sand asked Euleda if she was going to share her Ice Cream, and Euleda quickly and promptly said, “NOPE!”  Not bad for 90 years old.   “Oh yeah”, I say, “We need to get you that empty box of “Lemonilla Tillabars” so you can ask the local grocery store to stock them.”  And I go back out…and get a box of “Lemonilla Tillabars” in a bag and hand the bag to my sister….her eyes pop out, a big smile comes over her face…”There are BARS in this BOX!”   Yep, we sure pulled one over on her in a good way.  I KNOW she won’t be sharing her bars, that is for certain.

Our four week, 1,800 motorhome mile, 1,000 HHR mile, three State and one Canadian Province road trip has come to an end.  Did we like it?  WE HAD A BALL!!!!  Although we did not make it to Alaska this year, everything we did on this trip was also part of the Alaska trip…so that felt good.  The Motorhome did very well, with only two minor problems which will be addressed over the next few weeks.  Since one of these problems, a portion of an outside mirror coming off TODAY, within 100 miles of the end of the trip, we certainly feel good about our motorhome’s performance.  Thank goodness I saw that the mirror was loose, and pulled it off before it flew off and broke…so it will be an easy fix.   For now, it will continue to be family time leading up to, and after mom’s breast cancer surgery.  Also, if all goes as planned, my three kids will be in the area for Labor Day week…and I am hoping to get to take them all to dinner while they are together. 

If this happens, it will be the first time we all got together since May 2013 when Ryan graduated from the University of Arkansas.  I have seen each of them a few times each since then…but not all together…I hope everything works out so this happens.  With Ryan flying into Salt Lake City, and Stephanie and he driving to California, they will be able to stop and say hi to Mom and Dad too, which will be real special for them….especially since it should happen just two days after the surgery.

Moose Munch Galore

Someone in the family is a Moose Munch fanatic.  So as we got closer and closer to Medford today, I just couldn't help but to stop at Harry and David.  Back in 2013 we did the Harry and David tour...but I accidentally erased all those pictures, so there is no blog about that other than a mention that we went. 

Little did we know when we visited two years ago that Sandy (my sister) was such a lover of Moose Munch.  She asked us how much we bought when we got back to her house two years ago, but alas, we only had a few bars...which we gladly shared.  This time we just had to go there to get some for ourselves...to see just how good this stuff is.

LOOK at this wall!  All Moose Munch!!!!  There are all kinds of Moose Munch.

Here are just FOUR of the many flavors of Moose Munch.  These, and more, are always available.  But they also have SPECIAL Moose Munch that they offer from time to time.  That's what we got....

Of course they had samples of these special flavors, and we picked the Apricot Mango and Neapolitan Moose Munch.  Hmmm Good...we are going to save them for special moments along our trip.

Of course, Harry and David are known for many things...their fresh pears and other fruits are at the top of everyone's list...except for the LEMON LOVER.  We found these three special treats, Lemon Curd, Meyer Lemon Marmalade and Lemon Spice Chutney that Marcia just couldn't say no to.  And when I showed her the Marmalade...MEYER LEMON Marmalade, I thought she was going to open it and try it right there on the spot!

As you can see here, Harry and David has lots and lots and lots of stuff.  They opened at 9:00 am, right when we pulled into the parking lot.  At 9:30 they announced their first tour, which did not seem to have that many people there...but you really should call and get a reservation for the tour, and there is a small fee which is very worth while.  Of course, we will HAVE to stop on our way back to Sacramento from our Alaska adventure, the question is, how much Moose Munch can the motorhome carry?

The first part of the day the sky was pretty blue, but the further north we got, the more the skies were painted with clouds.

Oregon is a wonder state...lots to see as you drive through, and lots to see and do if want to stick around for awhile.  We are on a mission, a mission northward...and we spent a good bit of time twice now in Oregon.  Still lots to see, which means there will need to be another visit..but that is for another day.

As we were going along, stopping from time to time, I did readings on our coach batteries, and the motorhome's alternator is not charging the house batteries.  When the batteries were loose, I am sure there must have been some sparking going on, and we either blew a inline fuse, which I can not locate, or we blew a solenoid or a relay.  So we are at McKay Truck and RV Services in Albany.  They were along our route, could get to use first thing Friday, have free night hookups for us, and had good reviews on RV Service Reviews.  We hope to be on the road by noon...but only time will tell.  If not, we will adjust our schedule again...but this should be a fairly easy fix, one that someone with more knowledge than I could easily fix.