2020 - Road Trip - September 6-20th

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.  

 

On Monday we drove to Twin Falls, Idaho.  Most of our drive was through farmlands so not a lot to see on the way.  We had beautiful weather again and the ride was easy.  We stopped in Boise and had lunch at Cracker Barrel, one of our favorites when we are traveling near one.  Driving into Twin Falls we crossed a bridge over a huge canyon, but we couldn’t stop to view it.  After settling down for a little at the hotel, we took a drive down to Shoshone Falls, which was spectacular.  I had never even heard of the falls, and they were known as “The Niagara of the West”.  We were there shortly before sunset, so we really enjoyed the view. 

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.

Wednesday, we drove about 4 hours to Arches National Park in Moab, Utah.  We only drove 4 hours, so it was too early to check into our hotel, which was actually about 6 miles past the entrance to the park.  The visitor’s center is right inside the park entrance so we stopped so I could talk to one of the rangers and plan our route for the next 3 days.  I wanted to maximize the time we had at Arches, Bryce Canyon and Zion so it was helpful to get some ideas of what to see and how to spend our time.  We wouldn’t be doing any hiking, but we wanted to see as much as we could.   Arches is so beautiful, and, in the end, it was my favorite of all three parks.  We spend approximately 3 hours stopping and taking pictures.  It reminded me of Sedona, with the red rocks and all the amazing configurations.   After getting settled in our hotel we went to dinner at the Moab Diner which was a block or so from the hotel.  Due to social distancing and the lack of tables outside we had a little wait, however the food was great. 

 

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.

 

 

2020 - a year to forget

I think we can all agree that 2020 is turning out to be an unforgettable year, even though we all want to put it behind us.  We started out with a great annual trip to Puerto Vallarta but came back to an escalating health crisis which by the middle of March had shut down the whole world.  Never in our lifetime would we ever experience such a crippling crisis.  All travel plans were cancelled, restaurants and businesses closed, kids sent home from school with no return date scheduled, etc.  Covid-19, a new virus took over our lives and as of 9/21/2020 has killed over 200,000 in the U.S. alone, and 31 million worldwide cases with 962,000 deaths.

 

Personally, Doug lost all his business overnight.  We canceled a long-awaited Panama Canal Cruise, a trip to Oklahoma to visit family, a San Diego get away and a family reunion scheduled in June at Fort Worden.  By June Doug started getting a little business and now into September he has gotten about ½ of it back.  Some clients are no longer in business, so he won’t ever recover those, however he has gotten a few new clients.  

 

As if the pandemic was not enough, May 31^st was the beginning of riots all over the U.S. due to the officer involved killing of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis.  Protesters have been calling for defunding of the Police and have caused violence and even death in their fight for it.  Portland and Seattle are currently STILL having protests and flareups, and many police departments nationwide are making changes to address some of the systematic inequality and treatment of black individuals.

 

In August hurricane Laura made landfall as a category 4 in Louisiana causing major damage and killing 27.  Hurricane Marco which was following Laura, weakened so did not cause the anticipated damage. 

 

In September, unprecedented wildfires wreaked havoc in CA, OR and WA.  Our kids in Oregon City were put on level 2 alert and had everything packed and ready to go before the fire turned and allowed them to stay put.  Then smoke was so dense in WA and OR that it was classified as the worst air quality in the world and unsafe to even be outdoors.  Even wearing masks due to coronavirus didn’t help filter the smoke.

 

Do you think someone is trying to get our attention, or shake us up?  It sure seems that way.  It has been unprecedented, and we are barely through quarter 3.  Everyone wants it to just be over.  As much as we want it to, this virus is not going to just “go away”.  We need to remain vigilant and press forward.  Someday, we will look back on this and wonder how we managed to get through it.  Things will forever be changed, some for the better, and others just because of what we’ve been dealt.  But we will get through it.  One day at a time….

Puerto Vallarta - Family - February 8th - 22nd, 2020

Once again we traveled to our favorite spot, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  It is our Paradise.

This year, we invited family.  Brad and Kaycie, with the littles, Hudson (6) and Grayson (4) as well as Lori and Andy.  Andy has had a tough year and everyone thought it would be good for him to get some sunshine and relax and enjoy the beautiful sunsets, the great food, and the time with family that isn't stressed by all the hustle and bustle of everyday life back home.  Between cancer treatments, and with DRs approval, it was just the medicine he needed.

On Saturday, February 8th, our flight from Seattle arrived about 2:30 pm, about two hours before their flight from Portland.  We headed to our timeshare, the Sheraton Buganvilias Resort. We were able to get family a room several doors down from our room so we could help when needed.  It also gave Andy a shorter distance to the lobby.

Speaking of lobby, last year when we came the lobby was closed off at the timeshare because they were remodeling it.  This year, it was open and it was beautiful. There are now two restaurants, a fitness center and gift shop.  They still don't have a coffee stand, which I really think would do a considerable amount of business.  There is one at the hotel which is just a short distance.

After settling in, I went down to the pool while Doug caught up on a few work things.  Once the kids called to say they were on their way I went back so both Doug and I could meet them when they drove up.

That evening we took taxis to Senior Frogs which for the last few years has been our first night meal.  It was great food, and a lot of fun.  Afterward we walked along the malecon for a little while.  Andy was not able to walk far with his walker, but he could stop and sit down when needed. We were all back to our rooms fairly early as it had been a long day for all of us.

Each of our days were spent down at the pool, sometimes the timeshare one, other times the hotel pool.  The kids both enjoyed the water and had fun swimming and playing with various pool toys.  Andy would come down for awhile, have some breakfast and enjoy the sun, and the rest of us spent time in and out of the water.  Andy usually went back to the room after lunch and rested until dinner.

Each night we went to a different place for dinner, and afterward we walked around for awhile before heading back.  Sunday we went to the Marina and ate at Victor's, always a favorite with free tequila shots.  The kids saw a crocodile as they were walking along the marina.

Monday night we walked along the Malecon down to the spot we found last year, the family run taco stand Tacos el Bigotes just before the bridge heading to Old Town.  Dinner was great, and cheap!  On the way there we go to see the sunset which of course is always beautiful in paradise.

Tuesday morning we went to Fredy's Toucan for breakfast then walked over to the glass store for souvenirs.  Back to the hotel for pool time, rest time, etc.  It was our 25th wedding anniversary so when we went back to our room to get ready for dinner, there was 25 silver ballots and foil streamers hanging in the doorways.  That was a fun surprise from the family.  The little kids even knew about it and hadn't said anything! Dinner that night was at el Barracuda.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the day was spent by the pool until the afternoon, then downtown for dinner at Joe Jacks Fish Shack, la Dolce Vita for Italian and Cerveceria  Union.  Friday was Valentines Day and the Malecon had painted hearts that were fun.

Saturday was the day that family was flying home.  The week had gone so fast!  Rather than go somewhere else for lunch we decided to try the new Pub 9-99 in the new lobby.  The food was great with lots of choices.  They had the typical pub fare (burgers, dips, onion rings, etc) but also other interesting things included fried grasshoppers.  We didn't try those. After lunch it was time for family to head to the airport.  Brad had a little bit of a stomach issue so he had a miserable flight home.

Saturday also was the day that we were moved to another room.  For the first time we were given a room in the other building.  Rather than our regular unit that had a bedroom two bathrooms and living room with a Murphy bed, we had a one bedroom, one bath with a large living room with couches, and a great balcony with a ocean view looking toward town. Beautiful sunsets too.  We were able to arrange to get the room early so Andy could rest after they checked out but before they had to head to the airport.  We were thankful that they worked with us on that. Saturday evening we just stayed in and enjoyed our room.

Sunday I walked to the hotel for coffee then headed to the pool and Doug worked for awhile before heading down. I started to feel like I had a stomach bug so we decided to eat a light dinner at 9-99 Pub.

Monday night we had dinner at the Oasis Bay which is right on the Malecon, but we had never been there.  The food was good even though I was still feeling like I had a little bug.  As we walked around we saw that there was a celebration down by the amphitheater.  The signage said it was Gala 2020.  There were people dressed up in fancy clothes and most had face paint.  We didn't quite get what it was about.  It looked like it was some kind of dinner show.

Tuesday we went back to the Marina and had dinner at PV Chan's. We had been there a couple years earlier but it was in a new, bigger location. Dinner was great and we will definitely go there again.

Wednesday we went to Joe Jacks again which is always a favorite, then Thursday we waited in line for about 1/2 hour for Cafe de Olla.  There food is grilled and very good.  I had a large piece of steak and Doug had ribs.  We ordered the garlic mushrooms - oh so good.

Friday night we met up with Brenda and Carl Stace-Smith, who had flown in earlier that day and were staying at the hotel for 2 weeks. Since they had just gotten there we decided to eat at 9-99 again.  It was our last night there and it was fun to give them some ideas of places to check out.

Saturday it was time to head home... we got up and had breakfast at the hotel restaurant then just enjoyed our room as long as we could have it.  Once again we reflected on the last two weeks and wondered if we should extend it in the future to three weeks.  We love the weather, the food and most everything about it.  We do want to try new places, but will always want to come back to our paradise.