Moving Right Along....

The View from Chez Mastrorocco

Hello all!!

It's hard to believe we've been on the road for 2 months already. We've been busy relaxing and exploring as we travel from one destination to the next. We have also been busy spending wonderful times with family, friends, and with some new friends, we've made along the way!

I know it's been a while since our last post. I have a lot to fill you in on, but I promise to make it exciting to read 😀 while keeping it brief.

After our long, busy stay in Colorado visiting with family (who we miss terribly😢), we packed up the camper, jumped in the truck and hit the road. Next stop...Vernal. Yes, Vernal Utah (know what I mean?) about 3 hours north of Salt Lake City. It was a beautiful drive through the high desert mountains while we stayed in the air-conditioned truck, as it was between 97-103 degrees outside! Our campsite was up on a secluded ridge overlooking the valley below and the stars at night were amazing! We had hoped to meet up with a couple of our "bluesin'" friends who were willing to drive over 2 hours to meet us, but unfortunately, our plans changed. We decided to get out of dodge (and the extreme heat) and head further north. Hopefully, we'll catch up with them later down the road before the next Blues Cruise in January.

We drove further north up into the mountains to the small town of Montpellier Creek, Idaho for a quick overnight stay, before moving on to yet another stop in northern Idaho (not far from the Montana border). There, we stayed at Henry's Lake State Park, surrounded by the beautiful scenery of mountains, clear blue waters, and lots of cows! We even listened to them mooing and bellowing (a truly magnificent sound!) while we drank our morning coffee. We spent an afternoon in West Yellowstone which was only a 20-minute drive away where we walked around the shops, ate delicious BBQ (yes, as per YELP) and reminisced of our time spent there a couple years ago. Also, as we did on our last visit to the area, we took an hour drive into Montana, through mountains, dirt roads, and cows to "surprise" our friends Jake and Laurel. They have a quaint resort, with several log cabins, alongside Elk Lake, that is absolutely beautiful and picturesque! We sat talking and laughing for several hours before parting ways so they could get ready for their next group of guests. We had one more stop in Northwest Idaho, Coeur d'Alene, an area Greg has been talking about for a very long time. He had been there on a golfing trip many years ago and it made a grand impression on him. Well, I am happy to say...the town did not disappoint!! Once again the scene was absolutely beautiful, surrounded by lush green forest and the huge lake Coeur d'Alene. We enjoyed a fancy dinner at Beverly's, which sits on the top floor of a resort overlooking the marina and the crystal blue lake below. The dinner was delicious, as was our dessert that consisted of a scoop of vanilla ice cream surrounded by blue cotton candy!!! The weather was on our side the whole time we were there, with temps in the mid-70s, bright sunshine, and cool evenings. The campground had a beach area where we spent a lovely afternoon reading and relaxing (Greg napping) enjoying every second. After a few days, it was time to pack up and head to our next stop...Washington State.

Our stay in Washington was gloriously spent with our dear friends Tony and Liz. We spent 10 days, most of it camped at Chez Mastrorocco in the beautiful, often rainy state. Unfortunately, if it wasn't raining, it was dark and cloudy, but we made the most of it and enjoyed every minute! The four of us spent a weekend in Port Angeles, a quaint seaside town in the Northern part of the State. We took a beautiful drive to Hurricane Ridge high in the mountains of Olympic National Park. Every view was more breathtaking than the next. We spent an afternoon on a whale watching adventure, that was absolutely amazing. When almost 3 hours into our 5-hour journey we had yet to see any whales, I was losing hope. But...after that third hour, while we ventured west on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, just 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the whales surfaced...many of them!! It was an absolute marvel to see them swimming, popping up out of the water and then diving back down. I was quickly taking pictures with my camera trying to catch every glorious minute...I think I got some fabulous shots of the magnificent creatures! The rest of our stay was spent back by their house, with Mount Olympia, Brother's Peak, and Puget Sound as our backdrop. Greg and I took the ferry into Seattle one afternoon, walked over 7 miles up and down the hilly city, took a fun Underground tour, saw the Jimi Hendrix statue, and took the Monorail to the Seattle Space Needle. We wanted to go to a museum but sadly by the time we got there since the peak season had just ended, they had closed already. We walked around some more, grabbed an early dinner, before catching up with Mar, who was getting ready for a show with their band, Flower, near Market Place downtown. We wanted to stay for the show but it was late for us old folks, the truck was on the other side of the ferry, and we knew Mar would be with us for a few days the following week. So, we hung out for a little while, said our goodbyes, and made our way back to Tony and Liz's. The next day, it was back to the ferry terminal to head over to Seattle for a delicious dinner to celebrate Tony's birthday. We spent time with our "new" friends, Doug & Catherine, and Marc & Janet, who welcomed us into their circle with open arms. It was so great having coffee and breakfast with the Mastrorocco's every morning, making and sharing delicious dinners, and hanging out, chatting, and laughing with them over the last week and a half!! We miss you guys already!!

Sunday morning, we packed up, loaded up the truck and said our bittersweet goodbyes as it was time to move on with our journey. Next stop, about 4 hours west to Milo McIver State Park in Oregon...a major disappointment. Apparently, it only rains 7 months out of the year here in Oregon, contrary to the myth of it being 9 months (big difference, huh?!). It has been raining heavily on and off since our last few days in Washington and since our arrival in the state. While it had been raining for a few days and we expected the park to be a bit wet, we were not prepared for the state of disaster the park was in😞. We decided to spend just 1 night there (instead of the 3 we had reserved). Monday morning we drove an hour closer to Portland to a campground in the small town of Troutdale. It's a very strict private campground, but it is pretty here and it serves our purpose. We'll be meeting up with Mar and the band while we're here, then Mar is traveling with us for a few days down the coast of Oregon to a campground near the beach...we are so excited!!

Stay tuned for future updates...I promise to not wait so long between posts!

Until next time....
We love and miss you all,
Greg and Laura