DAY 23

HOME AGAIN!

Grass is green.

Gardens look wonderful.

(Thank you, Sam Maholick and Dick & Judy Day!!!)

Laundry’s on.

House smells good.

It’s wonderful to be home!

This trip has been like no other that Bob and I have ever taken.  Our senses and our spirits have overflowed every mile of the way.  We have witnessed some of the most breathtaking vistas this country has to offer - wandered through out-of-the way backroads and tiny hamlets - talked with local residents - enjoyed cultural cuisine - reconnected with family and forever friends.   

From sea to shining sea,

we have felt the pulse of life in America the Beautiful. 

And so, to end our blog, let me borrow from Emma Lazarus…

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp,

Send me…”

Across miles of waving corn and golden grain

To the glaciered mountaintops of Montana.

Show me sagebrush and scrub grass on the ribbon roads of Idaho.

Let me walk among giant stone outcrops dancing in the waters along Oregon’s coast.

Stir my senses with the blue waters and craggy cliffs of Mendocino,

Wind me through the vineyard valleys and redwood corridors of California,

And allow me to savor the gifts of Napa and Sonoma, buttery gold and velvet red.

Impress me with steel skylines and luminous lakes.

Then, fuel my spirit with family and forever friends - reconnecting, reminiscing,

            rekindling deep places of the heart.

Take me across America,

And remind me that I am blessed with the bounties of this land

I call home.

Thank you for traveling with us.

View of the Chicago skyline from our 28th floor Hyatt suite.  

Lake Michigan is to the right, sparkling in the sun.

Days 19, 20, & 21

Chicago!  Chicago!  Chicago!

Last stop!

 Shimmering Lake Michigan!

Sawtooth skyline etched against a cloudless blue sky!

Lake Shore Drive - Soldier Field - Michigan Avenue!

An "alabaster city" gleaming!!

Yes!

 

But, far more meaningful, time with

ROB and EMILY! 

 

Exquisite Chardonnay in their enchanting lake-view apartment!

Laughter!

Brobdingnagian burgers (Google that one!) at RJ Grunts!

Nonstop talk!

Bodacious brunch at Hash House A Go Go!

Laughter!

Nonstop talk!

Sensational softball game - Hyatt vs ???

(Watching The Dunk strut his stuff - he hasn't lost the touch!!)

Did I say laughter?  And nonstop talk?

We had such a great time!

What a climax to our journey!

And now, "Home, James!"  

 

Salt Lake City, looking toward Little Cottonwood Canyon and Alta Ski Mountain, where Rob lived - and lived to ski - right after college.  We hold many happy memories of visiting and skiing with him!

 

DAYS 17 & 18

TRUCKIN' TOWARD HOME

You know, there is something about turning homeward that changes the mindset.

We would not change one stop or one visit along our journey - this trip is one out of a dream - but, once the nose of the wagon turns eastward,

so do our hearts long for Maine - and home.

We have one more very special stop - in Chicago -  to spend a bit of time with Rob and Emily.  That is what I call the perfect culmination - to hang out with your kids on their turf!

Who could be more blessed than we!

 

Day 17 took us out of California, through beautiful Nevada (near Lake Tahoe where we have also visited Rob), and across the vast salt flats of Utah.  Spectacular mountains rise on each side of pancake flat Salt Lake City.  The contrast of terrains is so dramatic that the mountains don't look real. I have always felt that an artist must have dropped down a canvas for special effect.  

 

Another Nevada highlight was passing through OASIS, NEVADA - POPULATION  29!

(Oasis makes my hometown of Dixie, Georgia seem like downtown Atlanta!)

Day 18 led us into Nebraska - a first-time state for us.  Nebraska is one wide state - matter of fact we're still in it today.  I will remember mile after flat mile of lush green cornfields, now beginning to tassel out.  LOVE THOSE FARMLANDS!

 

There are many unique things about the West - two that we have not mentioned: trains and windmills.  

 

Yes, trains are alive and well in the West!  Everywhere railroads - everywhere trains going both directions, are hauling - you name it - EVERYTHING - from coal to oil to livestock to cars.  And they are LONG - REEEAAALLLY LONG - hundreds of cars - pulled  (and pushed) by two - sometimes three - engines.  Couldn't see the other end many times.  Bob says invest in the railroad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look for the train in the lower right corner.

In addition to trains, massive windmill towers have graced hundreds of hilltops in most every state.  I particularly remember them, mile after mile, standing watch  over us from high ridges along the Columbia River.

It's hard to capture the hundreds that were there. 

 i

 We send love to each of you.

Look for me to sign on again after Chicago

DAY 16

(and the evening before)

BOTTOM LINE - IT'S ALWAYS

THE PEOPLE! 

  Uncle Bob and Zach

Our last two official stops in the West were in Davis and Rocklin, California.

Check the Sacramento area, and you will find them both. 

  

 First stop - Davis... 

and dinner with Zach (Bob's nephew) and Teale (Zach's girlfriend)

We finally got to meet Teale, who is in veterinarian school at UC-Davis.  'Twas a WONDERFUL, non-stop-talking evening with an amazing couple.  The 21st century is in good hands with folks like these two!!!  

Thank you, Zach and Teale, for sharing an evening with two who adore you!!!

Teale is the one on the left.  :-)

Second Stop - Rocklin...

  and an overnight stay with the 

Rieckens:  Holly, Ron, and Gabby

Gabby, Holly, Marilee, Ron, and Bob

Yep, these faces look happy!

Holly is the daughter of our dear Raymond friends, Dick and Judy Day, and the Rieckens have become forever friends as well.  What a special occasion to visit them in their California home!  The only thing missing was Gabby's sister Isabelle who is actually in Maine visiting Nana and Papa Day.  Next time, Isabelle! 

Thank you, Holly, Ron, and Gabby, for rolling out the red carpet in such a big way!!!

 

Reluctantly, we packed up this morning,

bid adieu to yet another forever friend family,

and this time officially turned the Conestoga eastward

to begin our return journey to Maine. 

But not quite...

NEXT STOP CHICAGO!  

 Days 14 & 15

CHEERS!

Here's to WINE COUNTRY! 

Mile after mile of vineyard after vineyard on hillside after hillside.

Tasting rooms surrounded by meandering gardens.

Gentle breezes and balmy sunny mornings.

And the WINE!

Let's not forget the elixir of Bacchus.

The velvety Pinot Noir!  The golden Chardonnay!  The lush Zinfandel!

HERE'S TO NAPA AND SONOMA! 

Leaving Mendocino, we coiled through curves and switchbacks to reach Sonoma Valley in the afternoon, with time to visit two wineries - Merriam, a random choice and Kendall-Jackson, a big name we know well.  Here lie their stories: 

Merriam

Our first stop was a small, out-of-the-way winery in Healdsburg.  We came away with smiles and a soft smooth Pinot Noir.

 

 But wait a minute!  What's over there?  Maine Mud chocolate sauce?  Stonewall Kitchen jam?  In California?  Turns out that owner Peter Merriam comes from back East and was a near-Olympic skier - would you believe from Sugarloaf.  Lives in Boxford, Mass. but summers on the coast of Maine.  

A  Mainuh skiah billionaiuh with a winery in Sonoma that we chanced to visit. 

ALL RIGHT THEN!

KENDALL-JACKSON

Second stop was right down the road apiece.  The grand Kendall-Jackson mansion was absolutely beautiful, and a stroll through their gardens and vineyards brought us up close and personal with the GRAPES! 

 
We liked their Chardonnay - have drunk it many times - but came away with another Pinot Noir.  What's happening to this Chardonnay girl going red?

Oh, I know!  I'm saving the Chardonnay for

TOMORROW!!! 

         

Anybody got a straw?
 

ROMBAUER

Oh my!

We saved it for last - the creme d' la creme.

Thank you, Janice Rey, for introducing us to Rombauer!  The winery is like the Chardonnay - elegant and unforgettable. 

First there was the drive up the out-of-the-way hillside to a hidden haven.

Next came the sculpture gardens.

Do I look excited?

Wonder what the milk looks like?

 Hobbits inside?

 

 

Our tasting appointment was at 10:00 - with Terry.

Bob and Terry look over our purchases.

The Zinfandel was deep and fruity,

and the Chardonnay - no words.

And finally ...

a toast to US.

 

 Until next time, Rombauer.

Days 12 and 13

Pacific Coast Giants

Gargantuan rocks rose from the ocean!

Magnificent cliffs plunged into the sea.

Towering redwoods closed around us.

The Pacific Coast greeted us with giants!

And then there the lighthouses.

Shortly after bidding the Fongs adieu on Sunday, we hit Rt. 101, the

 Pacific Shoreline Highway.

 

Around every twist and turn, new sights bombarded our senses.  Couldn't help but stop at every "Vista Point" to capture the beauty - will try not to include all 943 photos.

Sunday night landed us in a Port Orford, California dive – There I was sitting in the car with a blog ready to publish and a DYING computer (8% power) that refused to do so.  Desperate to save the latest entery, we checked into the Surfside Motel and made it into room 5 just in time to plug ‘er in.  Now listen to me – "sketchy" is too kind.  There was no air conditioning, the bedspread and curtains looked like GoodWill’s deal of the day, and the lemon yellow tin shower had a showerhead so low Bob had to do deep-knee bends to wash his hair. And did I mention that the beds had faded flowery sheets and Bob’s feather pillow was about the size of a pincushion? But, hey, we got a good night’s sleep--- AND Days 10 & 11 hit the airwaves!!   (We didn't take a picture.)

Monday took us on down the coast to MENDOCINO, a QUAINT Victorian village whose storefronts and homes were decked in pastels and gingerbread. Now such a place might not seem so unique, but place her on a 90-foot high head of land jutting out into the Pacific, and you've got yourself a work of art.  Check out the pictures for a special surprise I found on my Mendocino coastal hike.

 

Better luck with accommodations that night as proven by this picture taken in our PRIVATE COURTYARD.  The Surfside is but a distant memory.

 

  Did someone say Chardonnay?

 

 

Enough talk.

The proof is in the pictures.

 

 

  

 

(Yes, we drove through it, too.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now, last but not least, that special surprise I found at Mendocino.

 

 

Ain't life grand sittin' in the sun!!!