Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all of our travel plans were canceled after we returned from our annual Puerto Vallarta trip. We had planned a trip to Oklahoma for a Reimer family gathering, a long-awaited Panama Canal Cruise for May and a family reunion at Fort Worden in June. When other plans were canceled, we changed one trip to a weekend getaway to San Diego at the end of May but that needed to be canceled also.
We originally had a road trip planned for October to go to Phoenix to a conference, however the conference was also canceled so we decided to go in September. Doug had planned a July trip to San Diego which got canceled, however since the hotel was pre-paid, they offered to let him change dates. I had wanted to go to some of the National Parks in Utah, so we planned to take 2 weeks, travel through Utah, then 5 days in San Diego, then home. We both felt that a road trip would allow us to see some sites but still be able to social distance from others, wear a mask when necessary, and stay healthy along our way.
We left home on Sunday, 9/6 and our first stop was La Grande, Oregon. The weather was in the 80’s but it was comfortable. On our way we stopped in Richland, WA for lunch at Hop n’ Drops, which is a client of Doug’s. Our plan all along was to take several days with no more than about 5 hours per day driving. Neither one of us had been to La Grande – there wasn’t really anything special to see. That evening we went to a local Chinese restaurant called Moy’s Dynasty which was very good, the price was reasonable, and we received excellent service.
We went to dinner at the Black Bear Diner, and as we were leaving the restaurant there was a gust of wind that was very strong, and there was dust all over the car. It was blowing off and on all night.
Tuesday morning, we got up and headed for Salt Lake City which was only about 3 hrs. I really wanted time to look at different things in SLC so I kept that in mind as I was planning our route. On the way to SLC we stopped at Juniper rest stop which was about ½ way to SLC. When we got out of the car it was so windy that we had to hold the door of the car and be careful as we walked to the facilities. It was warm, but extremely windy. Then as we drove into SLC we saw at least 10 semi-trucks in a short distance turned over. The weather dropped quickly and once we go to SLC it was only 49 degrees, which was considerably less than the 90 degree weather I had planned on. It was apparent that it had recently rained and when we go to our hotel, they told me that the power had just come back on.
We took a drive over to Temple Square and everything was closed up due to the storm. There were downed trees all around us, and still power out in several areas. We found out later that there was 100 mph winds which did a lot of damage in the area. We went to Olive Garden for dinner then in the morning we drove up by the capital grounds before we started on our way.
Thursday, 9/10, we drove to the town of Panguitch, Utah which is near the entrance into Bryce Canyon National Park. This time we checked into our hotel first, then drove to the park entrance. As with Arches, the road in is also the way out but there are a series of side loops and places to explore. The ranger had suggested we drive to the end (18 miles) and work our way back by stopping at the vistas and viewpoints. Right away I noticed that it was completely different than Bryce Canyon. There were large evergreens on either side as we climbed the mountain, and it was not easy to see the canyons. On the way back down, we stopped at each viewpoint and I saw that it was much vaster and spread out than Arches. With Arches, there are very little evergreens so you can see so much more red rocks and canyons. Bryce Canyon reminded me of the Grand Canyon with lots of striations and deep canyons. That evening we went to a BBQ place in town called Cowboy Smokehouse.
Bryce Canyon was an important place for me to visit as I had looked forward to it for many years. When I was almost 10, our family went on a vacation to CA (relatives and Disneyland), and the Grand Canyon. Our next stop was to be Bryce Canyon. Dad had talked about it and I was really looking forward to it. Instead, on our way across the Arizona desert, a car pulled out and the trailer we were hauling jack-knifed. No injuries but an interruption in plans as we had to stay in motels the rest of the way home. I don’t know if Dad ever made it to Bryce Canyon, but I thought about him all day as we viewed the spectacular, stunning vistas.
On Friday, 9/11 we drove to Zion National Park, another 4 hours. Zion is a much smaller park and since it doesn’t have a lot of parking available inside the park you need to take a shuttle if you want to go up the main canyon road. However, after checking online I found that there is a more scenic highway that can be driven from the north entrance to south entrance, especially for those not hiking. Since it is so small, even with plenty of time to stop we were able to get through the park in about an hour.
On to St George, just. A 45 minute drive. I had been in contact with Michelle, Matt’s friend, who had moved to St George a few years earlier. She offered to take me around to see some of the local sites in her area. Doug had some work to do so Michelle picked me up at our hotel. Michelle hikes every day and recently had been preparing for a 46 mile backpacking hike in the Grand Canyon. Living in St George she has access to a lot of beautiful places close by. She took me to Snow Canyon, Tuacahn Amphitheatre, Red Hills Desert Garden and Bloomington Petroglyph Park, all within a few miles of her house. St George is a beautiful city. It was quite warm, in the 80s, which was a change from the 40-50 degrees we had been unexpectantly getting the last few days.
Dinner that night was at the Black Bear Diner. I usually like to try new places, however it was conveniently located in the parking lot of our hotel.
Saturday morning we drove to San Diego, which was the longest leg of our journey. We were concerned that we would have a lot of smoke as the wildfires in the area were really bad and causing a lot of smoke. Coincidently, there were several wildfires in OR and WA at the same time. Our kids in Oregon City had been put on a level 2 alert, and had their cars packed and ready to go, and had moved several things off their property. Fortunately, the nearby fire turned the other way but then the smoke rolled in. In WA there were no fires close to home, but a thick layer of smoke also that remained for several days. So, we were prepared to see and smell smoke when we drove from St George to San Diego, however, other than a little hazy sky it was fine.
We got to San Diego, checked in to our hotel and then took a walk down to the pier. The hazy sky made for a beautiful sunset. After our walk we went to El Tapatio for dinner
On Sunday, we took a walk then went to Balboa Park for the afternoon. All the museums had recently opened so we went in the Railroad Museum, then over to the outdoor theatre for the organ concert, which turned out to be online only. It was too hot to be in the sun for extended period, so we left and drove to Coronado then back to Imperial Beach via the Coronado-Imperial Beach Strand.
That evening we took pizza and beer over to Glen and Marty’s and spent a few hours catching up with things, laughing, and reminiscing with them. Bart and Jim were also there. Marty took me aside and shared that Glen had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a couple years before. Doug had not visited for over a year and was not aware, so it was devastating news to hear. Glen, Bart and Doug had gone to school together and Doug tried to visit every year when possible. Bart, who already knew, sees Glen more regularly and has noticed a decline, however Doug hadn’t noticed. He seemed a little more forgetful, but we just thought it was like the rest of us, get older.
On Monday Doug had a meeting with a client at Phil’s BBQ, so I went along. We wanted to get the car washed at a touchless/brushless place and found a great one close to the appointment. They thoroughly washed the outside, vacuumed and cleaned the inside including the dash and windows, and the trunk area for $23. It looked like it had just been detailed. I wish we had something like that in our area! That evening we had dinner at the Coronado Brewing Company which was right across from the beach. They were seating people outside, with plenty of distance between tables. The food was great, and we enjoyed the atmosphere.
We stayed around the area on Tuesday, walked to the pier and just enjoyed the nice weather, although it was still hazy. We ate dinner that evening across from the hotel at El Sonorense Mexican Seafood.
Wednesday we took a drive to Shelter Island, then Cabrillo National Monument, and the lighthouse. The day was only a little hazy so we had a great view. We drove to Sunset Cliffs on our way back. There were beautiful homes in the area. I looked up one of the more modest ones and it was 2.5 million. They had a great view of the Pacific Ocean.
That evening we met Bart and Jim and had dinner at Siam Imperial Thai Kitchen, then went back to Glen and Marty’s for a short visit as we were leaving the next day. Glen seemed more tired so we didn’t stay too long. We were both glad that we had one more opportunity to see Glen before we left.
On Thursday 9/17 we checked out of our hotel and started our journey to Fresno. We were officially on our way home. Doug’s colleague Stefan lives in Burbank, so we had lunch at Bob’s Big Boy, then met Stefan and his son at the Starbucks next door. It was good to see him, and they talked business a bit, comparing notes on how this pandemic has disrupted both businesses. Stefan has recently gone in the real estate business and is doing very well at that so looking at different options for his other business.
As we approached Fresno, we had our first whiff of smoke from the wildfires that were raging all over the West Coast. It wasn’t too bad, and visibility wasn’t affected. That evening we had a Kiwanis Zoom meeting, so we didn’t go to dinner. I went to Chili’s next door and got us each soup and salad.
Friday morning, we had breakfast with Eunice, Vern and JoElla at McCoy’s Coffee Shop which was about 15 miles or so from our hotel. They all live in the area, so we enjoyed getting together. We had been through the area a couple years earlier but were not able to see them at that time. From there we headed north to Redding.
Redding was smokier than Fresno, but still not as bad as we had heard it had been earlier in the week. We were able to meet up with Kristi and had dinner at Casa Ramos. We were surprised to find that they had a full house and were not social distancing.
Saturday, we drove from Redding to Bend, Oregon. We had planned to take the Crater Lake Scenic Highway however after a few miles we ran into “fire instance ahead” signs and saw firefighters putting out hotspots. There was a lot of burned forestry and we felt it best to not go further up that highway. We got to Bend earlier than planned but were able to check into our hotel. After resting a little we took a drive down to the park by the river, and through the Old Mill District. Lots of little shops, brewpubs and restaurants, walking paths along the river, etc. I will definitely make my way back there in the near future, possibly a sister’s trip. We had a great dinner at Kayo’s which was next door to our hotel.
Sunday, our last day. Where had the time gone? We really enjoyed this trip and are already thinking of where to road trip to in the future. We started out our drive with a quick Starbuck’s stop, then headed north toward Yakima, Ellensburg then home. We stopped at the Stonehenge replica in Mary Hill, then made a stop in Thorp at the fruit stand then got home mid-afternoon.
It is good to be home, but I enjoyed this trip and look forward to our next one.
