Marty's Travels

My house has wheels

The Steinbeck Boat

Last summer I wrote about a boat that a friend of John Steinbeck's rented from someone else. Pulled off the bottom after sinking, it was brought to PT to be restored by a developer from Salinas, CA, eventually to be used in a Steinbeck museum there. It's in the same place, and absolutely nothing has been done to it. Boat Haven, the Port Townsend boatyard authority, required and got a $20,000 deposit for parking it there, and charged regular fees...

Turning over a rock at the beach

If you've visited Port Townsend you've probably seen the guy that sets up a bunch (20+) of whiteboards expressing his thoughts and ideas on various issues. He's been an iconic regular at the park downtown for years. Odds are you won't agree with some of his notions, but I've not seen anything offensive or aggressively vicious. He himself is always quiet, polite, never in your face, never soliciting. I enjoy it when the grandkids come to visit...

Chimacum

Heavy rain woke me at 4 this morning in Astoria, and at first light I headed to the Peninsula. The rain wasn't terrible, but all along the way I was listening to reports from the Oso slide while eyeing the rain-soaked hills on my driving route. This after driving 101 along the coast during a tsunami awareness week. I was pretty convinced that a giant earthquake from the Cascadia subduction zone would topple the hill next to me, covering me in...

Cover Oregon

That's the name of the state-operated system to implement the Affordable Care Act, totally notorious now that it's been declared a complete failure. Unlike the Federal ACA "website", this one just plain didn't happen at all. An audit report of what went wrong came out the other day and I've been hearing a lot about it. Today I read the executive summary of the problems. Wow, do I know what they are talking about. In my former life I was involved...

Lincoln City, OR

I'm glad I sat out the storm at the Mill Casino and RV in Coos Bay, though the RV park is much better than the casino. The winds were pretty stiff yesterday. The drive to Lincoln City might be the most dramatic leg of an Oregon Coast drive, but it's slow and narrow. Rain was heavy at times, but at other times the clouds parted and I could see the big breakers pounding away at the rocks. Construction work was frequent, especially on bridges, so...

Coos Bay

The forecast for tomorrow is thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail, and high winds. So, I'll be sitting it out at The Mill Casino and RV. It has no trees to speak of, up against the safe harbor of Coos Bay, and on the lee side of a ridge that separates the harbor from the sea. I'm hoping that Wednesday is moderate enough to continue north. Rain is guaranteed.

Oregon Coast

The grey whale migration is in full swing right now (I thought I was too early); in fact, it's whale watching week at the state parks. I got a quick glimpse this afternoon. I can reach a casino parking lot in Coos Bay tomorrow before the rain starts. Then I'll decide to wait out a storm or keep moving.

Heading Home

If I hadn't made the decision to make Port Townsend my home, it would be here, in the Eureka/Arcata area. Tomorrow I leave Eureka to make my way to the Olympic Peninsula. It's a dandy driving route, US101 along the coast of Oregon. Plenty of state parks, and in March no competition for spots. The high season doesn't start until May 1. I'll get the hell out of California first by landing in Brookings, Oregon where I can say good riddance to the...

Eureka

After seven months in the desert I wanted to see surf, redwoods, moss, and green. I always like Eureka mainly for it's location for daytrips to all of the above, and each time I visit I try out another parking place. Shoreline RV is up against the Arcata marsh, but like almost all places in the region also next to US101. Rather pricey, but they have great free wifi. I'll be here for 3 or 4 nights. There is green around here but it is obvious...

Ukiah

Once I made the decision to basically take 101 north, I went through the hills from Sacramento and have landed in Ukiah, at the fairgrounds RV lot which is a quite nice place. The drive was slow, curvy, and high winds kept me slowed down and stressed out. Howie warned me the winds can vary a lot around Sacramento, and I see what he meant. 2 nights here then I decide whether to go through even more hills to the coast, or stay inland until I make...

Patterson, California

I'd never heard of it, either. I drove through the valley (I cannot figure out why we need so many almonds) and ended up here at a real nice, but pricey RV park. My experience in roaming the country has taught me two things: (1) Stay for free in the desert and (2) but save your money because you'll need it in California. Patterson is in a pretty part of California, huge vistas and this time of year pretty green hills populated with happy cows,...