CLOSED BLOG _ Riding the Road With The Barry's

The End of This Blog - Visit my Blog Listed below.

2011-10-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hello, I no longer have time to keep up two blogs. I am moving my RVing to my Christine's World Blog.

Here is the link: http://christinescrapandstuff.blogspot.com/

Thank you for following this blog and keep on our RV travels on the above listed blog.

Santa Cruz Summer Vacation 2011

2011-08-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Day 1, July 24th, Sunday

Everything is packed and ready to go. I had our departure set for a Sunday instead of a Saturday and it was so much better. Time to pack and still do fun stuff during the day.

Campsite 70

We departed our home at about 9:30 a.m. and arrived at the Santa Cruz KOA on San Andreas Road in Watsonville, CA at around noonish. Check in is at 2:00 p.m. I go in to the office to check in. Our site is not available this early so we decide to take a little drive through the campground to estimate when the people in our site are going to be leaving. To our surprise they are not leaving anytime soon. Their trailer pretty much looks like they never came back the night before. I said "Oh great, they are not leaving anytime soon". Back to the office we go. They inform us that 76 is in 75's spot and won't leave until Sunday. (Well let me tell you that 76 in 75's spot never left the whole time we were in Santa Cruz). They never even came back to their trailer. The KOA put us in a new site which after I was clear I did not want to be near a live-in resident they put us next to a live-in resident. Also, we were dropped into a site next to a big surfing camp of kids. The grown ups told us "hope you were not looking for a romantic stay". Oh great!!! Lucky for us we were not. We unpacked and set up camp. We had a heck of time finding a place to hook up the dogs as our live-in resident had his big Dalmatian on a 30 foot cord. So let's just say the start to our trip looked a little bleak at first.

Once we were set up we relaxed the afternoon away and then ate a nice dinner. Our regular "cheeseburger 1st night dinner". I then made blackberry cobbler in my dutch oven.

We headed to Sunset beach which is about a mile from camp. It was a little chilly so we headed back to camp.

The houses in the area are just beautiful.

Day 2, July 25th, Monday

7:00 a.m. the Surf Camp is up and banging around things as they leave at 9:00 a.m. everyday for surf lessons. They talk pretty much next to the trailer from 7:00 - 9:00 a.m. and bang huge boxes around that they have stored items. They have a refrigerator, microwave and many other home items set up on the patio area. They are in a lot of tents but use a RV site because of the patio and full hookups. It is a pretty organized camp and the kids seem very well behaved. They come back at 5:00 p.m. everyday and in bed by 10:00 p.m. (Refreshing). So they have ended up not to be bad to have next us except in the a.m. We never really got to sleep in, darn!

Today we hung around most of the a.m. at camp and then we went to Seacliff State Beach near Rio Del Mar. It is a pretty cool place they have full hook up campsites right by the ocean. Mind you they are on the pavement but the waves do crash pretty close to the trailers. The sites are nice and roomy. We might just check this out this location on a future trip. No where is perfect so here is the info on this location. The beach is huge and lots of people are here. It is very nice. Except the stench from the old ship known as "The Cement Ship". The SS Palo Alto that was built in World War 1. It sits off the huge wood pier. It at one time was purchased (1930) by the Seacliff Amusement Corporation. They bought the ship and turned it into a elaborate amusement center. The Palo Alto sits on the ocean bottom and the pier was built to lead to the boat. The corporation went bankrupt and the boat was stripped and abandoned it is now unsafe for public usage. However, the birds love it and the amount of poop on the boat stinks to the point you want to get sick to your stomach. People eat and fish near it but it so stinky I could not hardly get a picture of it close up.

Peanut loved the water and it was a nice cool temperature not like our freezing coast line. The sand was so hot we carried the Peanut she could not handle it. There is a little visitor center were you can look at sea life in a tide pool atmosphere.

We headed back to camp to take the dogs back and eat dinner. I made the dinner in my dutch oven. Raspberry Cornish Game Hens. It was yummy!

We headed off to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for the evening. It was packed as usual. It is for sure a people watching location. Amanda freaked me out on some the crazy rides she went on. I remember going on some rides when I was kid that were crazy. I can't do them now. I am a roller coaster person only. Amanda and Dave went on the famous wooden roller coaster. Amanda and I went on the water log boat ride in the dark now that was wet and wild. (especially in the dark). Here is a picture of Amanda on a ride, can you see her? Good luck!

Can you see Amanda?

Amanda after ride

I had a funnel cake which was not even close to the fair funnel cakes that I have had in the past. We had a great family night!

If you head to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk it is $1.00 per person on the ride after 5:00 p.m. Monday and Tuesday (well at least when we went).

Day 3, July 26th, Tuesday

Up early again and off to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was a long ride to Monterey, as they were doing work on the road. But we finally got there at about 11:30 a.m.

We met my friend Mimsie and her family in Monterey. We went to the aquarium and it has not changed to much since our last visit years ago with Amanda. It is about $29 a person to go in the aquarium. School age kids are about $26. I am sure for the younger kids it is cheaper. The aquarium is on Cannery Row which has many shops and restaurants.

Inside the aquarium there are the a few otters (none outside in the bay like in the past). They had lots of Jellyfish. They had a Sea Horse exhibit which I think is their feature this year. We watched the Penguins get fed, they are so cute. Then Dave wanted to see the Albatross . It looks like a huge gull. They have had the bird since it was small as it has a damaged wing and cannot fly.

We headed over to Bubba Gump's of course for a nice lunch/dinner. I love their big mix of shrimp it is very filling and yummy. The company was good. The price is steep for food there but it is a tourist restaurant so you should expect to pay higher prices for meals.

The weather was a little cooler today and foggy. It was the coldest night we had in Santa Cruz. We ate left over cobbler and snacked.

Day 4, July 27th, Wednesday

Today is stay at camp day and relax. We took a small trip to the Capitola Mall so Amanda could get a book that was released. Plus Borders has sales going on since they are going out of business. I bought several photography magazines at 40% off . Mostly things are 10% off so no big savings.

We stopped at Safeway picked up a few things. Tonight was Amanda dinner night. Rigatoni, French Bread, Salad, Peas, and a nice chocolate dessert (cooked in the dutch oven). It was very nice and relaxing.

Dave and I walked the dogs over to this house on the hill so I could take pictures of it. It was so cool looking sitting up on the hillside overlooking Bok Choy and cabbage. Most of the area around Santa Cruz is agricultural. We saw raspberries, cabbage, strawberries, etc. while driving and walking.

Dave and I enjoyed the fire and then headed into the trailer for a game of Yahtzee. Amanda was able to get wi-fi on occasion (this KOA had poor wi-fi service).

Day 5, July 21, Thursday

We are up early as Dave is heading to Pinnacles National Park to view Condors. It is a long hot drive both ways due to once again, you guessed it road work. The dogs cannot go on any of the trails so Amanda and I read our books (well I do Amanda can get occasional cell phone coverage so she texts). Dave goes on a short hike into the canyons to see if he can see the Condors. He does see a few Condors from a distance with his binoculars. The park is very nice with a pool and camping sites (dry camping). It is VERY hot there and this was a day that was not super hot so I can imagine on a really hot day it would be terrible. I took pictures of some of the wildlife but missed a cute bunny and deer.

We then stopped at Dave's cousin Nancy's house. She lives way up in the hills in San Juan Batista. On the way to her house we stopped at nice little store that actually carries Clover products! They also carry Fufu Berry Soda by Jones Soda (it is very hard to find). I bought Amanda a six pack, it is her favorite soda. We headed up the road to Nancy's house and missed the turn. We ended up so high up in the canyons it was a really cool sight to see. The view was amazing. We slowly and carefully turned around and headed back to find her house. Nancy and her husband have the cutest house, decorated with antiques and paintings. She shares her home with 4 cats. The view from her home is amazing too. Nancy shares with us how she is researching her family history and includes so much of Dave's side of the family. He filled her in on some of the info he knew of and it was interesting. Nancy wanted us to stay for dinner but we were pretty ready to head back to camp to relax and enjoy the last night on our trip.

View from Nancy's back deck

Ridge above San Juan Bautista

Our trip back to camp was a little longer then anticipated as it took a while to find a gas station and we felt like Round Table Pizza. So we took pizza back to camp. We headed down to Sunset beach to enjoy a show by the dolphins and surfers. We enjoyed a little fire and knocked down the outdoor camping items. Then another night of family Yahtzee. Amanda got the first Yahtzee, she was all smiles.

Day 6, July 29, Friday

Well another fun summer vacation. I hope Amanda has fun memories of our camping trips when she is older. The drive home was long and it is nice to be home. So until next time enjoy the outdoors and make memories!

For many more pictures visit this link: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvHxVRL

Benbow RV Resort and Inn

2011-07-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

We were not able to take our trailer on this journey. It was in the shop getting the awning fixed. If you recall it was destroyed by a wind storm a while back. My sister-in-law and her husband always wanted us to go to Benbow RVing with them, but we never did. So we decided to take them up on a offer for us to drive up to stay the night with them in their 5th wheel. We are very glad we did, The Benbow RV Resort and Inn is a very nice location whether you are RVing or just want a nice romantic get away at the Benbow Inn. Located in the redwoods in Northern CA. The location is quiet and the river runs along the property. The park has lots of family fun, games, ice cream socials, and swimming pool.

We went up on 4th of July weekend so it was quite full at the park and we have heard people book a year ahead to stay at this park. Lots of friendly people and nice sites. The Inn is older but very nice, we may just go back on our anniversary.

We took a ride through the redwoods "Avenue of the Redwoods". Very beautiful country, the trees were huge. We visited a couple of other campgrounds, dry camping of course. The Northern CA country is just gorgeous.

While we were at the Benbow RV park, a neighboring trailer caught on fire. It was their refrigerator. Here are the fireman working on the fire.

We look forward to taking our trailer on a trip to Benbow soon.

Camping in May

2011-05-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

We go once a year with our church youth to Sugar Loaf State Park. It is a beautiful park. The kids get to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Well as much as kids can, it is hard for them as they are usually running around the city, texting, or sometimes getting into trouble. What is nice is no electronic communications work in Sugar Loaf unless you just happen and I mean just happen to set you phone in just the right spot. Amanda and I just happened to get a couple texts out to my husband by just setting the phone on a cabinet in our trailer. He was in the picking up kids and were at camp and we needed a few things, like the dog food we forgot.

The weather was gorgeous the country was beautiful. There is a nice creek that flowed behind our campsite and that made for some beautiful sounds. Night was particularly musical with frogs croaking loudly.

This year we did not experience an hail storm instead we received warm days and cool nights. As you can see the kids enjoyed the waterfall a lot after their hike down into the creek area.

Their were not a lot of flowers this year as in the years past. There were lots of deer watching us while we hiked in the evening.

On Saturday night the Spanish congregation brought a full on Mexican dinner. It was so good. I wish I could cook that good, but then it might be a good thing. I don't want to gain weight :)

Morning Moonscape

It is sad that we will loose this park to state budget cuts. It is one of the most scenic we have in Northern California. Many of our state parks are closing, I hope that maybe they will give private groups the opportunity to adopt the various parks. Hopefully next year I can show you pictures of a camping trip at the same park.

Casini Ranch Campground

2011-04-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

View from Campsite

Great weather for once, Great Company too!

Arrival to camp was uneventful but wait could it last. Friday night is cheeseburger night and that seem to go smooth. But then it happened - I decided to tie our dog Aimee to my nice anti-gravity lounge chair. It is also known as the "Queen's Chair". Everyone knows not to sit in my chair (it was my mother's day gift a few years back). I was standing by the fire getting warm after we all enjoyed a nice night of smore's. I flipped my scarf back and as I did everyone starts screaming. I think oh my gosh "AM I ON FIRE". Oh it could not be that exciting, well.... maybe it could. I look up to see my "Queen's Chair" being dragged and flipped across the ground by our dog Aimee. She decided that it was a good time to act a little like a big boss dog and chase down a couple walking towards our site with their dog. The chair was flying and Amanda was screaming. Everyone was yelling "Stop Aimee". I was running like a maniac with my gnome hat and my scarf, probably pretty exciting for the folks looking at this situation coming towards them. I am almost ready to grab the chair and then Aimee takes off again. It was a sight to see believe me. I finally get a hold of my chair and drag Aimee back to camp. I was livid, my chair was damaged, scrapped and thrown through the air like a rag doll. Then I look at my poor daughter who is clinging to her daschund, Peanut. Poor thing did not know what to say but she knew to hang on to Peanut with dear life. After the shock wore off of what happened. I could not quit laughing as the tears came streaming from my eyes as the reenactment of the event replayed in my head over and over. The huge chair flying through the air in the dark on a gravel road. It really was funny. My my chair now is officially broke in with minor scaring. Lesson learned never tie a dog to your lounge chair. I wonder what would have happened had I been in the chair, oh boy I have a feeling that would not have been a pretty event.

Moon in the beginning of the evening by the river

Saturday we spent time lounging and visiting. We took a little trip to Duncan's Mill to check out the few little shops that remain in the little city. Dave and I bought my wedding ring at the jewelry's there but it is no longer in business. There is a very cute tea shop that sells many, many tea pots, tea sets, and varieties of tea. I of course made a purchase there. Dave was gone most of the day to a event at another location. But when he returned he told me of a man with a huge camera lens near the road into the town Duncan's Mill. The man was taking pictures of the Osprey nest. My birder husband just needed me to take photo's so I grabbed the camera and off we went. Of course I do not have a HUGE lens. But I do the best I can for the sake of my man.

Note the one Osprey lays flat so the other one can land

Osprey most likely laying on eggs

We went back to camp and enjoyed a wonderful t-bone steak dinner. Strawberry shortcake for dinner and then a night relaxing and enjoying everyone's company. Oh wait I almost forgot! There was a Air Stream Rally at the campground. I never saw so many Air Stream trailers. Dave and I are big fans of these trailers and dream of owning one. We were able to go into some of the trailers and they were decorated so cute and then some not so cute. People will buy old trailers, gut them and build them up again. The oldest was a 1953 tiny thing and then the big new 2010 model. I hope some day we get one for ourselves.

Sunday morning we woke to another beautiful day. We headed off to a benefit for the Pole Mountain Fire Lookout. A nice pancake breakfast, 3 huge pancakes, scrambled eggs, and a slice of ham. Orange juice and coffee flowed freely. All for $6.00, what a deal! And it was super yummy!

General Store

We packed up, said our goodbyes and headed home, with one more crazy and great trip under our belts. Thanks Beth, Steve, Vinny, Nancy, Chris, Britney, Dave and Amanda for a fun time! Thanks Aimee for one more crazy memory!

Until next time!

Camping April 2011

2011-04-19T10:13:00.001-07:00

Camping April 2011, a set on Flickr.

A Storm Comes this Way

2011-03-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

"Mom, I have a bad feeling about this trip" My daughter said this to me a day before the event. We toyed with canceling our trip. But we figured it is just another raining weekend at Doran Beach, Bodega Bay, CA. Every time we make a trip to Doran it seems to be a windy or rainy trip. I think we may have hit it just right one time. The forecast was for a big storm coming in, but what the heck let's take the trip and not loose our reservation fee.

Doran Beach Landscape

Friday, March 18th, I pick up my daughter at school and we head out on our journey to our relaxing, rainy weekend in our 20 foot trailer. Packed the books, games, and DVDs so we should have plenty to do. We arrive at Doran Beach to actually a nice evening. The sun was out, some small rain showers. We set up and then take a journey down to the beach. There is a lot of sea junk on the beach most like from the Tsunami that recently hit our coast from the big Japan earthquake. We checked the rocks at the jetty for any special sea creatures and found this beautiful starfish.

We walked along the beach where there was only other person. We were able to let Peanut off her leash and she looked like she was in heaven. She looked like she was smiling as she dug at the sand. We headed back as we saw a big rain cloud heading our way.

As we headed back we noticed the park was not full with trailers as the website said they would be, there was hardly anyone at the park. About 10 campers at each campground.
The storm kept getting upgraded to have thunder, lightening, and some wind.

I went on about the evening preparing our hamburgers indoors instead of on our BBQ. That is our usual first night dinner when we camp "BBQ cheeseburgers". We ate and then spent some time walking and enjoying the nice calm evening with a few showers. Then headed in for the evening. I enjoyed reading The Pioneer Women's New Book "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels". Good read. We then headed off to bed.

BEEP BEEP... oh no the darn battery died at 3:45 a.m. so the propane alarm was telling us our battery was low. This is the usual, why can't they get this right in RVs. Everyone we talk to deals with this issue unless they set up a battery system with golf cart batteries. We unplugged the battery hoping the rest of the night would not get to cold as we would not have a battery. 8:30 a.m. hit and the generators started up all over the campground. A nice breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

Saturday was a good day even with terrible down pours and dark gray clouds. We rode around with my birding husband looking for special ducks and birds that were not normally seen in the area but found their home on our coast this year.

I of course had to have some Salt Water Taffy which mean stopping and letting poor Aimee (our beagle fox terrier) to be further drenched in the back of the truck. We ate a nice sandwich lunch back at the trailer. My daughter and I watched "Happy Feet", read, and texted while my husband snored away the afternoon. We then decided to head out for dinner at "The Sandpiper". Nice small restaurant. The food was tasty and the relaxing atmosphere was so much better then the bustle of "Lucas Wharf". We did a quick visit to my father in law's house and then off to the trailer. This is where it begins!

Stormy Bodega Head

It was pouring big huge rain drops and the wind was picking up a little. We watched "RV" with Robin Williams. I laugh everytime I watch it! We noticed the trailer was getting a little rocky from the wind but figured it would be a little like that all night. 10:00 p.m. quiet time, generators off. I head out to give the dogs their final walk, I come in totally drenched. It is just terrible outside. I crawl in bed after getting everyone dried off and in bed. I lay there thinking to myself this is not good. The trailer is rocking like "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" Disney's ride. I think, I am feeling a little motion sick in fact. Then the rain stops but the wind is just rocking the trailer and not in a good way. We hear our bathroom vent opening and shutting. We had a bag round it because it had some cracking as we did not want rain in the trailer. We even put a piece of wood on top to make sure it stayed put so no water could sneak in. At 12:30 p.m. we just said no way we are going to sleep and things do not seem right. My husband and I decide it is time to pack up the valuables, dogs, daughter, and head home. We will come and pick up the trailer tomorrow. We drive home and the wind is terrible, branches everywhere, emergency crews in various areas. It was a sweat just driving home. We get home and crawl in our beds. Set the alarm for 7:00 a.m. so we can get out to our trailer in time for check out.

Purple Ice Plant Flower

The alarm goes off we crawl out of bed take our much needed showers and head back to the trailer. The roads are clear but emergency PG&E crews are working on lines. We arrive at the trailer, no rain, no wind just a nice normal morning at the beach. I am undoing the pet cables and look up at our trailer. The awning has been destroyed. The wind was so strong it ripped up our closed awning. You for sure don't want your awning open in this type of weather for sure. DANG!! Now you know this is not going to be cheap repair. The vent is ripped off and laying in another campground. The garbage can which was weighted down is in the ice plant. Dave looks and there is a piece of wood that use to be under our stabilizer and it is about 7 feet from the trailer. That only means one thing. The trailer was lifted up at some point and the wood was knocked out. Great...

The neighbor camper came out of his pick up camper and said he saw our awning coming apart at about 4:00 a.m. when he came outside. He just did not know what to do as he has not used a awning before. His wife wanted to leave last night too. He said lots of folks took off during the night. His estimate of the winds were up to 100 mph. He lives at the coast and never has seen winds of this magnitude hit our coast. Our friend Rhonda stayed with her friends in their big RV which was also bounced around a lot and rode it out.

We now have our trailer at home. Believe me if they say a big storm is coming I will not ever head out to the coast again. It had to be one of the most nerve racking and scary experiences I have been through. Our county was hit very hard by this storm along with other areas in California.

I never take naps but I did today, it was so good to be home. We had a good time spending time together but next time I will listen to my daughter when she says "Mom, I have a bad feeling about this trip".

This rabbit thinks I can't see him

It has been a while!

2011-02-13T14:11:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone, We have not been doing much RVing due to we spent a ton of money in DisneyWorld but it was well worth it. We are back on track for 2011. In March we begin venturing out again and already have our summer vacation planned! So stay tuned we will be sending fun updates again soon!

The Barry Family

Casini Ranch, Russian River - August 2010

2010-08-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

We headed out to join our friends at Casini Ranch. The weather was great considering the very cool summer we are having in Northern California. The fog came in the sun came out and the wind blew pretty lightly. The campground has for sure become more family oriented and it is cleaner. There are hayrides and a big bonfire down by the river on Saturday night. There were kids having fun riding their bikes and lots of dogs enjoying time with their owners. No big excitement other then my windsock melting on the fire pit which some how it whipped into the pit.

Some fun pictures at Casini Ranch on this trip

Gualala River Redwood Park - CA

2010-07-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

One thing I can tell you is am not particularly found of the road to Gualala, it pretty much like riding a roller coaster. If you get carsick drive or sit in the passenger seat. Gualala River Redwood Park is a great find, it is as it says in middle of the redwoods. The Gualala river snakes around some of the sites, which I recommend you get on of those sites. It was a fully packed park this weekend. The staff are friendly and everything is clean. RVs and tents are welcome. I will recommend this park to all campers. They were offering a BBQ Saturday night that sounded darn good, but to save the bucks we ate what we packed for the trip. The river is crystal clear and beautiful. Then you can head on out for adventure to the near by beaches. It is not far from Point Reyes.

The weather was a little cold but no heater needed. It was foggy but when we headed over to the Gualala State Park by the ocean the sun peeked out. Then we headed off to Scooner Beach it was a nice beach with interesting rock formations. The parking at Scooner is pretty much non-existing, you park along Hwy 1. The park is not far from the town of Gualala if you crave a little shopping.

Pretty much fun was had by all :)

-Christine

Hail, Sunshine and Animals Oh My!

2010-05-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park, May 21-23, 2010

We went with our SRAC Youth to Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park. The first night out there it was just a couple of grown-ups stack out sites and spending the night. It was really cold that night, glad to be in a trailer.

Then the next day the youth came out to enjoy the outdoors. We went on several hikes, one to see the biggest and oldest grandmother maple tree. Then to the beautiful waterfall. The kids had a great time splashing in the water. We headed back to camp and started getting in line for hamburgers, when what do we hear through the trees coming towards us.... hail. It hailed for 30 mins or more, the temperature dropped. Then as the evening went on sitting by the fire and eating smores it did get to a nice temperature but still cold. We all headed off to bed.

The next day of course bright and sunny, how it usually is on the last day when we have to pack up.

We saw deers, butterflys, and lots of bumblebees. The flowers were beautiful.

It was another nice trip considering the weather to Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park.

Cloverdale KOA - May 2010

2010-05-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

We headed out on our first of hopefully many trips for 2010. It was great weather around 80 degrees during the day and cooled off nicely for a good night's sleep.

It was 2 nights for the price of 1 at the Cloverdale, CA KOA. It was a very nice campground, out in the hills of Sonoma County. You are really not near any roads, more less residential roads. The Russian River runs by down the road aways. There are a lot of tent and RV spots along with the normal KOA cabins. There is a very nice fishing pond (catch and release), a swimming pool with nice shade and a hot tub. The store is a nice size. They have movie nights and had free snow cones. Pancake breakfast you can pay for on Sunday a.m. It quieted down nicely every night. Lots of dog walkers.

We spent time with my friend Nancy, her son, and her boyfriend. Amanda brought a friend a long so she had fun walking around and spending time as teenagers do inside the trailer. We sat around the fire in the evening visiting and smoring. We had a dinner together Saturday night. Dave went for a hike with another group in Sugarloaf and returned to enjoy Saturday evening. Nothing to weird happened on this trip for once, usually it does at some point.

Overall we had a great relaxing trip.

Willits KOA Crab Feed Trip - January 15th

2010-01-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

This is the first trip with my new Nikon D5000. I spent most of our trip reading about my camera. I have come to the conclusion I need fun gadgets to go with it. It is easy to use in auto or manual, I know my shots will improve the more I use the camera.

We went to our favorite KOA in Willits for a fun 3-day weekend and a yummy crab feed. The weather was gloomy and rainy (but hey we need the rain). They are redoing the pool and other areas of the campground so it should be a hit this summer. The crab feed was yummy, but it was to be all you could eat and they ran out of crab.... some of the folks got a little "crabby" pun intended. They really should have more crab then they think they need so this would not happen. However, Dave and I were filled so it was ok (Dave said he could have ate more) and Amanda loved her pasta. They had the yummiest salad to.

Here is a little ( I mean big) newt that Peanut found on our walk.

We walked the walking trails and spent time just relaxing. Reading and played Yahtzee. I had to be on call over the weekend so that was kind of a bummer but it worked out ok.

The excitement for this trip (what is a Barry Adventure without a little excitement). As we are getting ready to pull out of the KOA onto the highway. Amanda notices Peanut looking at the back window of the truck, there is Aimee looking in at us from outside. She escaped her dog crate and got out of the tarps that were covering her and other items. Aimee stood there like ok guys I am ready for the ride.... So she got her dream come true to ride with us in the cab on the way home. Time for a new crate. Had Amanda not noticed Aimee would probably not been with us now. Thanks Amanda!

Well enjoy the pics and on with winter and future trips!

Christine

Casini Ranch - September

2009-09-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

We had not stayed at Casini's Ranch since our maiden voyage. Reason being there were people living there; they were messy and the view, how can I put it... it was darn ugly.

We were pleased with the changes at Casini's this trip and will be returning. Everything was very clean and organized. The campground was quite full but people seemed to obey the rules quite well.

The first night we had our traditional cheeseburgers with beans once we set up camp. The night was a little windy but then the weather went crazy... if it was not 4:00 a.m. I would have gotten up and took pictures. There were gusts of wind, lightening, thunder, and off & on rain! It for sure was a weather change from the past two days of 100 degree weather. I was disappointed at this weather change as we wanted to have a nice warm weekend at the river. We had not been there in years.

Well Saturday, Dave took off to hunt with his brother... then we went to a lunch potluck for Jim's (Dave's brother) 50th B-day.

We then were please the sun had come out so we headed to the beach. Amanda and Peanut had a nice time playing in the river. Peanut was pooped out after her rides and swims in the river.

Dave left to hunt again and saw many interesting birds but no deer. Amanda and I had nice steaks for dinner (Dave is better at bbqing his steaks, but mine were okay). Then we did smores and relaxed by the fire. It got very cold and foggy.

Then Sunday we headed home. The a.m. was fairly nice but then turned to our first real official fall/winter rainy day. Bye-bye summer. Autumn is in the air the leaves are changing and falling out by the coast.

Another nice trip!

Doran Beach August 09

2009-08-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

Well this really is our official last camping trip before school starts for Amanda. We had a wonderful time considering it was so foggy. There was sun for a few hours and enough rays got through to give me a nice red lobster glow.

We had our normal cheeseburgers for dinner the first night and then a nice New York Steak BBQ Saturday night. We had a friendly visitor Grandpa Bob at 8:00 a.m. in the morning, nice to seem him but I heard the pillow calling me.

There were many pelicans and it was fun to watch them dive into the ocean for food. I found some very pretty seashells on this trip. I was up at 6:30a.m.ish for a dog run in the a.m.

A wonderful time with family again.

Family Vacation Summer July 09

2009-07-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

Day 1 -July 13
The family headed to CA Academy of Science in San Francisco. It was a fun place to visit. I would rather go to Monterey Aquarium. The planetarium show was neat and the penguins were neat. But the rest of it was average. The best thing about the trip was spending time with family and the weather was the best I have seen in San Francisco. The food at the The Cafe at the Academy was very good for that type of place. I did not think it was overpriced.
We did walk a little distance on the Golden Gate Bridge but not to far as my daughter had a blister on her toe. It was windy, but the view was great.
One funny thing that happened is we were standing outside the academy and this lady asked me all about the academy. As to where to buy tickets, etc. Then she yells over to her family... “hey come listen to this lady she knows about this place!” like I was a tour guide. She asked how I found out stuff "just the facts from the internet lady". She called her family over twice and I hardly said anything. It was funny.

Day 2 - July 14
We headed to Raging Waters in San Jose, CA. If you want to spend money here is the place to fork it out. It was 103 degrees and the water felt great. The slides were a blast. The wave pool was great too, until something happened it (no telling what they fished out but it probably was not too good) they kicked everyone out. The lines were so long you could only go on one ride per the 6-7 they had at the water park during the whole time you are there. The cement around the park is a danger zone, not sure why they have it so slick. The food was OUTRAGIOUSLY expensive. The parking was $6.00 not bad. To rent a little locker it as $11.00, you get back $3.00 when you return the key (rip off). Sodas were $3.00, a little think of dipping dots ice cream was $5.00, lunch was over $10.00 for each of us and it was hardly anything. I liked the place as it was clean and was very safe except as I said for the sidewalks. My daughter bought a friend and they loved hanging out. It was $31.00 a person I can't believe they rip people off like that... but the place was packed.
I fell on a step and messed up my toe it is either broken or jammed good, it sure hurts when you’re an adult and fall. So far down to the ground. So it is a pretty black and blue color and swollen.

We then stopped at In-Out Burgers in Strawberry for dinner, yummy!

Day 3 - July 15
We are now at KOA in Willits one of our favorite hang out. The new owners have cleaned up the place. One downer is they have opened it up to the public outside of campers for swimming and stuff. So you have to wear special arm bands while you are here. I asked for a site where we have Wi-Fi and close to the pool. We did not get that so we are limping along on when we can get access to the web. The walk to the pool is not too bad. We are really relaxing today. We had cheeseburgers for dinner and blackberry crumb made in the dutch oven. It was good!

Day 4 - July 16
We went on the Skunk Train 1/2 day trip. We left from Willits KOA; yes they pick you up at the KOA (9:45am’ish). Then arrived at mid point for a nice little lunch. Then back on the train back to Willits KOA. Pretty trees and just good old woodsy scenery. It is a nice 102 degrees in Willits today. We went swimming ate some ice-cream and hung out and relax out under the awning. The wind is picking up here now at 4:00 p.m. should be a little cooler tomorrow if the fog comes in from the ocean.

Day 5 - July 17
Today we did not have any plans we just were plain free to do anything. We went into Willits to get a few supplies. Stopped at some of the stores. Dave got Fudge and I bought Peanut a cool dog toothbrush with toothpaste. We swam and tried to enjoy 104 degrees. Played on the computer. Then for dinner we had Bean and Meat Bake made in the dutch oven. It reminded me of sloppy joes. We enjoyed our last real day at Willits KOA. We will leave for home at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.

Day 6 - July 18
We departed Willits at 10:15 a.m. to arrive in a nice warm home not overly hot like what we were getting on our vacation in Willits. We are now resting and enjoying our last couple of days of vacation.

It was a wonderful fun family vacation! We are so blessed by God!

The Barry's

Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park, Nor Cal

2009-05-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend we headed out to Sugar Loaf State Park for a weekend with our youth church group. The weather was stinking hot!!! Lucky our sites were up against the creek. The kids played there and had fun. We did hobo dinner Saturday night and kids got IN&OUT burgers on the way to camp on Saturday. Of course the kids did smores and some of them did this for the first time. It is interesting to see how city kids relate to the outdoors. It is hard for them to understand to keep the park in it's original condition, but Dave does a good attempt at letting them know how important it is.

The park has many water falls and views that are beautiful. Some of the views are quite the hike but if you love to hike you will enjoy it. I do not like to hike but I will take some of the smaller hikes to the beautiful falls. This time we took the trailer for dry camping (there is no dumping station so be prepared). We will be going back by ourselves and again some time with the kids. It will be more like fall or spring to hot in the summer and once the creeks dry up no water.

Peanut was funny hunting for gophers, the kids loved Peanut!

Doran Beach - Kites & SandCastles & RV Group

2009-04-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well let's sum this up..... WINDY WINDY WINDY

We arrived at Doran Beach for a relaxing weekend with several of our RV acquaintances. It was so windy Friday we resorted to the trailer for protection. We had a nice dinner of London Broil, salad, and beans. One of the RVers brought steamed mussels and clams, and BBQ'd oysters, yummy!

Saturday a.m. we got up bright and early to head off to the Apple Blossom Parade. Amanda and Peanut were in the parade. Peanut was a flying monkey from Wizard of Oz (that was the theme for our group this year). Our 50 + Dachshunds won First Place in the Parade this year. They were so cute. When we woke up Saturday there was no wind and the Parade weather was perfect. However, we returned to Doran Beach to another wind adventure.

It was the perfect weather for the Sandcastles and Kite event they hold at Doran Beach each year. Even the kiters were saying it was just to windy. But the kites were very cool. I bought a new item for our trailer a 20 foot kite type sock. It is very pretty. There were several people building some very elaborate sandcastles. It was a neat thing to see.

We returned to camp to relax. We had dinner in the evening our friends Butch and Karla made some great burgers, others made potluck items and we made chili. We stayed out for the evening a little longer because the fire that was built was huge so it kept us plenty warm. We headed off to bed for a night of a trailer shaking like we were going to be lifted off the ground in a tornado... hey Wizard of Oz... Peanut could have wore her flying monkey costume!

It was very sunny and the company was great so no complaints.... what I can't hear you my ears are frozen from the wind....

Sugar Loaf State Park, CA

2009-02-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

Crab Feed, Jan 09 KOA Willits

2009-01-18T18:26:00.000-08:00

This year's Crab Feed was put together by the new Willits KOA owners. They are from London and are a wonderful family. The crab feed was small this year but the service and the upgrades to the event were very enjoyable. The crab was tasty, served with rigatoni pasta, salad, and garlic bread. It ended with cheese cake which Dave enjoyed, I do not care for the stuff. Amanda and I found some cute little crab/lobster lights at a party store and put them up in our trailer window.

The Willits KOA is being upgraded with some nice new spots being put in and upgrades to the toy area and there will in about a year be the lazy river for summer fun.

Over all the trip went flawless. Amanda had a fall from the wooden walkway out at MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg, CA. But she recovered nicely.

MacKerricher State Park has been upgraded since I had been there a several years ago. We eventually will head there for a camping trip. The road is killer getting there especially for people like me who get car sick. But I always manage to survive. What was very cool was the pod of Grey Whales that were coming through the area, we saw them spout and saw their bodies flow through the water. Sorry no pics they are just to fast. The harbor seals were laying everywhere and they were so cute. The tide pools were full of life; fish, starfish, sea anemones (not sure on spelling), and little hermit crabs. We also saw a couple of cute ground squirrels and Dave was not disappointed with bird watching.

We then went into the old town of Ft. Bragg where we shopped and ate. Temperatures dipped into the 30's and up into the 60s. Very nice weather.

As I said this was a flawless trip and fun stuff! (REMINDER IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE PICS BIGGER CLICK ON THEM)
-The Barry's

Merry Christmas Message

2008-12-22T11:29:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A New Blog for Christine

2008-12-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

Christine has created a blog for her crafting and other updates. Please visit the link on the left if you would like to see what she is up to.

Merry Christmas!

Manchester, CA October 3-5, 2008

2008-10-05T16:02:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Oct 3, 2008 we headed north for a nice relaxing weekend at the Manchester KOA. The weather started turning bad in the afternoon as we were getting ready to leave for our new journey. It took us about 2.5 hours it rained continuously all the way there and all night on Friday. We were drenched but we set up in record time. It was a nice night, it was nice to lay in the trailer and listen to the rain and the ocean, we slept great.

The ocean was crashing loudly and it was drizzling when we awoke. We slept in until 10:00 a.m. that is late for us. We got up ate a great breakfast and the rain stopped. We decided to go investigate our surroundings. We noticed there were lots of tents around. They probably had a rough night. We walked about 3/4 of mile out to Manchester State Park. There is a nice dry camping park there, we might just stay there some time. We walked to the beach it was a nice beach. It was not to cold and it did not rain on us. The beach was covered in many jelly fish the storm had pushed them onto shore. The waves were big and rolling. We walked the beach , we could see the Pt. Arena lighthouse through the fog and cloud cover. We sat and relaxed and enjoyed the fresh air and watched the waves. It was not cold at all. We then walked back a different direction than we came, we saw a cute a bunny (look at the picture carefully) and many cows. I did a panoramic of the cows. We arrived back at the Manchester KOA.

The KOA is very large it has many cabins and tent sites. Not a huge amount of RV sites but enough to have a group head there for gathering. They had a great dog park that Peanut and Aimee ran around having fun. The sites that you backyour RV into are much larger than the pull thru sites. The people were friendly and everyone quieted down at 10:00 p.m.

We ate lunch and then headed to Elk, CA where Dave and I went on our anniversary a few years ago. I wanted to go back to the neat little store they had at the Greenwood Inn. It was as beautiful as we remembered. We then headed back south to Gualala. We were to late for the stores but now I can say I have been there and that's it. Did not see much there.

We then headed back and set up for a nice BBQ chicken dinner. Yummy! Dave built a nice fire. We sat outside and enjoyed the fire. We sat out until about 9:00ish and then I got tired pretty early. Must be that fresh air. We slept great, woke up a few times and heard a great horned owl hooting out by the trailer. It was cool to listen to and hear the waves crashing too.

We then packed up and headed home. Well worth the trip!

Doran Beach - September 12-14, 2008

2008-09-15T18:37:00.001-07:00

We are heading to our favorite RV camping destination, Doran Beach. It is a foggy day and as we arrive we have a little wind. Our RV.Net friends have arrived. We have begin setting up camp. We are ready for a nice relaxing weekend.

As, I go to turn on the water pump, I realize there is no water. Oh no dry camping and no water, the tank is empty as the Mojave Dessert. "Hey Dave what should we wash the dishes with or flush the toilet with..." the look of pain came over Dave's face. We forgot to fill the tank of water. Then we continue our set up and discover our ratty piece of garbage battery is dead even after we have charged it for ages. Well at least we have the generator Dave's friend let us borrow.

So off we go to have a nice dinner at our friend Butch and Carla's campsite. Our other friends John, Marcel, and Katlyn are there also, this is going to be a great weekend. After a nice dinner and smores we head back to our RV for a nice night of rest. Well some more fun just happened the generator ran out of gas, hey Dave can we fill the generator with more gas... well we could except because we were thinking we had a good battery there was no need to bring more gas right? Oh boy. So we crawl into bed, oh well we have an expensive tin tent right now. About 11:00 p.m. the lights flood the trailer, our battery must have decided it had one cell that could work. I rushed around turned the lights off saying "I hope the refrigerator stays cold".

Dave got up on Saturday at 5:00 a.m. to do some deer hunting. The girls and I woke up at about 9:00 a.m. and had a nice pancake breakfast. We still have battery power but not much. Dave returns around noon with a new battery and some gasoline. My knight in shining armour. We now are back to the expert RVers we are. We played on the beach, climbed the jetty and now it is time for a nice dinner with friends. We are the host site so everyone heads down with some yummy food. After a campfire, tons of food and pies it is time to head to bed.

We had a heck of a good time considering all the adventures of dry camping. The weather was foggy but not to low so you did not get misted out, there was hardly any wind and the sun poked out a little on Saturday. Sunday looked to be a good day with sun but we were heading on home. We ate and packed in a relaxed mode.

Off we went to tell our tales to others and say goodbye to our friends until the next time.

Last Few Weeks of Summer Vacation

2008-08-03T14:17:00.001-07:00

Well we have been busy but not RVing. We built a pond in our backyard, we have nine fish counting our very cool catfish. We always wanted a pond and this year we set our minds to it. Hopefully soon we will get rid of the electric fence around it. Our dog Aimee decided that fish make a nice treat. Now she does not even notice them, hope it stays that way. The pond is about 7 by 5.5 feet.

This year we also have a garden in our backyard. We are getting squash right now and there will be tons of tomatoes and corn is soon to be ready too.

We adopted a little kitten with Amanda's urging, like we need any more animals. She is a darling black Halloween kitty, her name is Grace. We adopted her from an animal shelter near by, it makes me feel so good to know I have given this little rascal a home.

We currently have two trips coming up after school starts. I can't believe we are almost to the school year. Only 3 more weeks. Amanda is in middle school/jr high this year. WOW!

Well have a wonderful remainder of the summer and updates soon on our upcoming trips!

Christine

Link to More Yellowstone Photos

2008-06-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

I have attached the link to see more Yellowstone photos :)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=ukcvkw5.1y3chcct&x=0&y=y2g9l3&localeid=en_US

Yellowstone - June 2008

2008-06-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

Day 1 - June 13th

We leave our home at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. We are heading to Winnemucca, NV. Our journey was a slow and hot one. We were stuck in traffic in the Vallejo - Sacramento traffic (about the time everyone is getting off work and heading for a destination trip or home) it was 104 degrees. It took us an extra two hours to arrive at our parking spot for the night. Model T RV Park, a place you would only want to stay at for the night. It is a small 24 hour restaurant and small casino. We arrived there about midnight and we were tired, especially Dave because he had been awake since 1:30 a.m. We park in the spot we are told to park in only to find that our electricity outlet is being used by another person. She did not pull in the right way so she her cord would not supposedly reach her power area. She was awake so we asked her to move her power cord but we were promptly welcomed by a mean spirited woman that obviously was either drunk or lost a bunch gambling. Security came and we moved to a new spot just next to us.

We promptly got up the next morning to head to our new destination.

Day 2 - June 14th

We are now on our way to Twin Falls, Idaho. Appx. 6 hours travel. To spend the night at our brother-laws parents home. It is a beautiful area. Lots of farming communities around the outskirts. In town they have all the stores we have Target, Michaels (important for us scrapbookers), Sportsman’s Warehouse (for the hunters in our lives), Fred Meyer, and TJ Maxx. The subdivisions in the area are very quiet and nice. Especially the one where we spent the night.

We went to visit the falls in Twin Falls they were beautiful. We were surprised they were allowed to build some homes in the area. What scenery these residences will have. We then saw the jump were Evil Knievel tried to jump across the Snake River Canyon. Then over to a big bridge where people are allowed to base jump. We were standing there and a guy jumped off and parachuted down. It was really cool but I would never do it.

We had a very nice rib dinner at Ken and Doreen’s home and Peanut played with their two Schnauzers. It was quiet peaceful night.
(click on pictures for bigger images)

Day 3 - June 15th

Off to our star destination YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.

We had breakfast at the Oasis in a little truck stop (not really little once you are in there, they had little fast food areas, and tons of stuff). It was Father’s Day so the little café had a Father’s Day buffet going but we went for other items. I loved the Strawberry French toast I had. Ken had this huge Cinnamon roll; he said they use to be bigger. We then said goodbye to our gracious hosts and off we went on our way.

We then traveled appx. 5.5 hours to Fishing Bridge RV Park. We entered the park through the West entrance and then through the park to our home for the next 8 nights. We arrived at about 4:30 p.m.

We saw buffalo/bison’s and bald eagles coming to our home. It was so cool to see these big creatures. They are everywhere we look. The rivers, waterfalls, geysers, and sulfur/mud pots. There is snow everywhere it snowed the week before we came. The weather now is warm!

Fishing Bridge to our home. We drive into the RV Park and are sent on our merry way to our spot in the E loop. The spaces here can handle small to very large RV homes. We are a little disappointed by the size of the area for us to sit our chairs out and there are no tables or fire pits (no pits allowed). We are not sure why there are not tables unless wildlife and weather destroys them. The fire pits could be allowed as there are areas in each site to allow safe burns, but it could be that they are just afraid after the big fires that rolled through 1988. This year is the 20th anniversary of the big fires that burned this beautiful place and you still see the damage but you also see God’s work making it beautiful again. God made this place so beautiful.

Our first night here we walked to fishing bridge which is about ¼ mile from our camp. We sat on the bridge and watched Pelicans (I think that is funny Pelicans in Yellowstone). We then saw the Cutthroat trout going up the river. They were huge and beautiful. No one can fish at this bridge, they once allowed it but now you cannot because it was causing damage to the ecosystem. The bears and other animals need the fish to survive.

We also took a walk around the area where we are staying and saw two Snow Shoe Hares. They were funny with their big back feet. We forgot the camera this time. You have to have your camera with you at all times.

Peanut of course is going nuts with all the little Least Chipmunks running around.

We then head home for a nice nights rest. We discover we have very nice people surrounding us. We had our traditional first night dinner of Cheeseburgers and beans yummy! We played “Catch Phrase” and Dave started laughing so hard he got me laughing too, I could hardly breath.

Day 4 - June 16th

We headed off about 9:00 a.m. to visit Old Faithful Geyser. It took us about 2 hours to get to that scenic site. We were lucky we only had to wait about 45 minutes for Old Faithful to go off. The geyser goes off every 90 minutes. There are other small geysers around the area. You are literally sitting on the top volcano, that could make you a bit nervous. They say there is a lot of seismic activity. It was fun to watch Old Faithful.

After we ate lunch we then visited a gift store. We stopped at many of the beautiful sites the lakes the snow the mountains. The wildlife, bison and elk.

The other highlight was when the buffalo walked across the roadway everyone was stopped it was so neat to see, they are such slow creatures.

We went back to camp and had a nice dinner of BBQ chicken and ice cream for dessert.

Then to bed about 10:00 p.m.

Day 5 - June 17th

We got up had a nice breakfast and then headed out to Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was a very long journey on this day. The Grand Tetons are the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen. The lake was beautiful. As we traveled through the park we saw a moose in the river eating and then we saw a mommy fox with her two kits. The foxes were quite the show they were so cute and beautiful. We will never forget them. Amanda did not want to leave she loves wolves and foxes.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming is a big elk town and tourists flock there to shop and see the western events. We ate lunch at a family style saloon. The show was the Ballad of Cat Ballou but we did not stay. The building was very old around 1916 it was built. We were allowed to walk around the theater and building. We had our first buffalo burgers and Huckleberry Sodas. They had saddles at the bar for the kids to sit on while they drank their sodas. Everything was western the people were dressed up for the show; they wait during the day and put on the show at night. At 6:00 p.m. they have a shoot out in the streets but we had to get home. It would be good to stay there over night. There are many shops we only went to a few as we did have Peanut with us and it was 82 degrees. Dave’s favorite site was the park that had elk horn arches at every entrance. Thousands of horns made these arches.

We then headed home through the South entrance to the park back through the Tetons. We canceled our rib dinner at home and had spaghetti much to Amanda’s delight (her favorite dinner). I then made blackberry cobbler in our Dutch oven. I love to cook that way it is so fun. We head off to bed for a very early night. We are getting up early, 5:00 a.m. to head to Lamar Valley and Mammoth.

Day 6, June 18th

We got up ate pastries, juice, and coffee. Headed out at 6:00 a.m. to our next destination of Lamar Valley. We drove over Mt. Washburn it was very windy, made me a little queasy. There was tons of snow everywhere. The snow melt off is causing flooding in some rivers, it is very warm and this was a late winter. We saw beautiful rivers, cliffs, and mountains. We saw some great wildlife in Haden Valley we saw a Grizzly bear and her cub from a far. We also saw a lone wolf. We continued our drive through some beautiful valleys, where we saw more buffalo. They are everywhere in the park. We saw an adorable baby buffalo.

We also continued on to Mammoth. That is where the Mammoth Hot Springs are located. We did not go up into them. But we looked at the town. We also went through Tower on our journey.

We then came home in a loop that brought through Mammoth, Canyon, and Swan Lake where Dave still had not seen his Trumpeter Swans. I hope he sees them soon, he is driving us nuts! By the way did you know that Flamingos live in Yellowstone, just kidding Dave was a little tired and called the Pelicans “Flamingos”. That was our laugh for the night!

Day 7, June 19th

We slept in until about 9:30 a.m. We took today a little easier and spent a little time at camp. Around 1:00 pm or so we headed over to a post office in Lake Village just a little ways down the road. Mailed off our postcards. Then we headed over to Mud Volcano. There were all kinds of bubbling muddy sulphur caldrons. The mud caldrons are so stinky they smell like rotten eggs. There is also this water that shoots out of sides of rocks. It was quite a sight and the smell will not be forgotten. You smell the sulphur smell a lot in Yellowstone as the fields and rocks have these pots throughout the park.

We also saw a Cinnamon Phase Black bear on our way to Gardiner, MT. The amount of cars that were around and the people running everywhere you would have thought it to be a national disaster. But seeing a bear at Yellowstone is quite exciting.

Tonight we went for our hour long horseback ride in the mountains of Gardiner. The landscape was so beautiful. Amanda rode a reddish brown horse named Rooster, Dave rode a black horse named Rhino, and I rode a beautiful big horse named Drambooie (not sure what that means or if I am spelling it right). There were 3 other families with us on the ride. We had 3 college aged guys as our guides, they were quite funny. Amanda spotted a bison on our ride. After our ride we returned to the ranch for a great bbq steak dinner. We had potatoes, beans, salad, cornbread and a berry shortcake dessert. I think the little girls in the group were amazed that one of the guides could play Hannah Montana and Jonas Brother’s songs on his guitar. They were giggling so much. The group sat around the huge fire pit, sang and roasted marshmallows. The ride was put on by a company called Flying Pig out of Montana. The ranch was called Hells a Roaring Outfitters.

We went into the owners home and it had a trophy room which Dave was in heaven looking at… there were so many different animals. Dave would love to go on a trip with this group I could tell!

On our way home we saw Rams on the side of the big rock cliffs above the road. There were little babies; I don’t know how the mother ewes keep the kids from falling off the cliffs.

Also, we have new neighbors that have two doxens too so Amanda is very excited.

Well off to bed so we can get up for a new adventure tomorrow.

Day 8, June 20th

Today we went to Cody, Wyoming to visit the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. It was a very nice museum and I recommend you to visit this museum. It takes a few hours to go through it. If you like to look at everything very carefully you could be there all day. Your payment is good for two days. We went through the East entrance it was a beautiful drive, full of snow and ice and beautiful cliffs and rivers. The water is just raging in Yellowstone with the snow melt. The summer/spring flowers are just popping open everywhere. Today we were able to photograph Rocky Mountain Bighorn Rams up close about 8 feet away from them. Then we saw muskrat and some beautiful moose eating along the river. It was a good wildlife day. We stopped at Dairy Queen in Cody and some yummy desserts on the way home from Cody.

Tonight I made meatloaf in the Dutch oven. I made enough for about 3 other families. It turned out great. I also bought this cookbook called “5 items 3 steps” so far everything in it has been great. I bought the book before this trip to plan meals and it has been great, it does not deal with the Dutch oven, you can use it anytime. Dave said he wants me to make some of these things at home.

The weather today was pretty dark and gloomy in the afternoon. It seems the late afternoon is the storm time; they blow through the area so fast. It thundered and lightened and poured big raindrops. Right now as I type this it is very peaceful and a little cloudy.

Tomorrow we are off to white water raft, it should be exciting.

Day 9, June 21st

It was white water rafting day today! We hung around camp and then took off at about 10:30 a.m. We went to Gardiner, MT to the Flying Pig Adventures Headquarters and put our wet suits on for a fun time. Our guide was Poncho. We were with about 5 other people. The river was roaring when we took off 19,000 cfs, I was a little worried about Amanda. But she laughed and giggled all the way. The ride was suppose to be a ½ day trip but it ended up to be about 2 hours because the river was flowing so fast, it took us less time. The river is at flood stage and hides all the rapids you usually would go through so it was not quite as wild or slow. The sites were beautiful the mountain ranges around us. We then caught a bus to the headquarters. We purchased a disc with all kinds of pictures of us going down the river. Not sure how they got the pictures but they are great!

We stopped at Canyon Village to look at a nice visitor center there. We spent time there looking at a lot of earthquake and volcano info. We also took a drive through the Mammoth Hot Springs (they have a drive through area).

On our way to our rafting trip we saw a Cinnamon Black Bear about 6 ft from our truck. We also saw Osprey’s nesting as we traveled down the river. The river we rafted was the Yellowstone River. The Gardiner River joins into the Yellowstone River. The river is not dammed so it changes every day.

We ate lunch at Helen’s Burgers. It was a late lunch. It was very small town no ATM no checks. It took a long time to get our massive burgers and the milkshakes were pretty much just Huckleberry Ice cream scooped into cups. They had great food but service was not that good.

When returned home the two sites near us were blocked off with tape. There were notes stuck to everyone’s doors. They stated that there was a water leak and we would only have 15 minutes to top off our water tanks. It seems that a woman drove her jeep right over the water faucets and electrical box. Supposedly she got flustered about someone beeping at her and tried to take a short cut. Not seeing the cement blocks in front of her. We still don’t really know how this could happen, but no water. We took showers down at the registration desk.

Later we went to Pelican Creek to see if we could see coyotes and bears. We just mainly saw geese, ducks, and a muskrat.

Day 10, June 22nd

Today is our relaxing day, the last day before we head home. We have loved our stay at the park and will miss the beauty and peacefulness.

I made omelets for breakfast. We then headed out to drop Dave off to hike at Elephant Back Loop trail. He was gone about 2 hours. He was warned by rangers to stay with other groups as there was a mother grizzly and her cubs heading his way. He never saw the bears. Amanda and I drove around and discovered a nice road that went along part of the Yellowstone Lake. We took other roads off the main roads but nothing as nice as this trip.

We came back to the trailer to relax the rest of the day. It is very gloomy at Yellowstone today. Dave and Amanda took little siestas.

We are going to pack up the truck and trailer and get ready for take off to Salt Lake City and Reno. We will stay in Reno tomorrow. The trip will take about 13 hours or more.

Day 11, June 23rd

Depart from Fishing Bridge RV Park and Yellowstone National Park. We got up at 4:30 a.m. to head out at 5:30 a.m. On our way out of the park heading west we were greeted by early morning sightings of elks, bison and the steam from the mud and sulphur pots. As we were leaving we were greeted by a big bison right in the middle of the road he was big and was walking towards us as to say “see you folks again some time”. He was looking straight at us with big open eyes. Peanut about lost her mild manner at that point. The park is always so beautiful in the a.m. so peaceful with hardly any tourists.

We had a very long day, especially Dave we drove from Yellowstone to Reno, NV passing through Idaho, Utah, and almost all the way through NV. Dave said he would not do that again. We did not arrive at the Boomtown KOA until about 10:30 p.m. We settled in at 11:00 p.m. Dave was exhausted. We headed to bed after a quick sandwich dinner.

On our way through Utah we saw the Salt Flats and the Salt Lake. Morton’s salt maker was located on our route. It was very white. Through Nevada we started picking up the smoke from all the fires in California that were started by dry lightening storms. It was like driving through fog. It was strange leaving spring like conditions to come to dry hot summer conditions.

Day 12, June 24th

Well today is Dave’s heaven day. We are going to Cabela’s store located right next to the KOA Park. Once we are all packed up the race to get to the doors of Cabela’s starts. The store is located in Boomtown and is very big. They have a huge parking lot. This has a lot of cars and RVs parked in it when we arrive. There are animal statues in front and many animal displays inside. In one huge display there are actual trout in the river. There is also a huge aquarium filled with miscellaneous fish. There are hiking, camping, and hunting supplies in every corner. Dave purchased his new hunting boots, binoculars, and I purchased Amanda and I Cabela's hoodies. We also found a beautiful wood and metal swing with wild life on it for our backyard. The swing took over an hour to get which were not happy about but that was taken care of by a manager.

We head home to Northern CA and we make it by 4:30 p.m. We are greeted by the horrible traffic so we know we are home for sure. Ahhhh our beds!

The summary is: Yellowstone National Park is absolutely beautiful, if you have not seen we encourage you to do so soon. The best place we visited and thought we could see ourselves retiring to be Twin Falls, Idaho. Twin Falls is quiet and the weather conditions are not extreme. They have hardly any traffic and the houses are so nice. The worst drivers we ran into all of our journies are in Utah. I remember one time going there for an event and almost getting hit in a cross-walk, it all came back quickly as we tried to maneuver our way to an Applebee’s in Salt Lake. Worst roads are the ones heading into and away from Idaho/Yellowstone. We received damage to the inside of our RV where the bumps were so bad they threw our small television into the wood paneling and put holes in the walls. Salt Lake is still working on their freeways, according to Dave this has been going on for years. Visit Cabelas if you are in Reno too, even if you are not a hunter it is incredible.

Well until the next journey best wishes,

The Barry's

April In Our BackYard

2008-04-21T21:09:00.000-07:00

We are not spending much time away from home...because... you guessed it the price of the darn gas. We are saving for our summer trip. A friend was telling me that in Europe gas is over $9.00 a gallon. Oh well enough for the good news.

I thought I would take some pictures of our lovely blooms in the backyard this year! So enjoy!

Fool's Rally - March 08 - Rio Vista, CA

2008-04-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

We stayed at wonderful RV Park "Rio Viento RV Park" it is located on Sherman Island adjacent to the Sacramento River, where the Delta meets the Bay. It is spotless and very quiet, now in the summer it might not be as quiet. I could tell it would be the perfect place for play on the delta. The bricks were laid by hand that created the driveways and rv spots. Each spot is the exact same size and very level. There are full hookups and wi-fi (you pay for the wi-fi). The bathrooms are spotless and everything is well manicured.

The rally was hosted some of RV.net friends. There were over 37 rigs that came in for the event. We arrived on Friday late afternoon and stayed until 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Check out is at 1:00 p.m. which is wonderful. Saturday night was filled with eating (bbq'd tri-tip and potluck items) everyone made great items. We even had homemade ice cream. The tri-tip was cooked to perfection by our friend Butch. In the hugest smoker/bbq we ever saw (he rented it). We were there for the crowning of the new King (yes there is a king and queen of these events). Their were jello shooters for us non-drinkers and for the drinkers, the kids loved the little shooters (of course they were child safe).

The weather was fair, some wind off and on but we contributed it the power company turning on the huge fans all around us (heehee, those are power windmills).

We finally got our satellite dish hooked up after 20 mins of loving arguing! We really need a signal finder. Dave was able to keep an eye on the basketball games. We don't really watch TV to much but is nice to have if the weather turns.

Amanda saw a old friend Monica from a previous RV.net event. Monica and Amanda had so much fun playing Nintendo DS and flying kites. I am glad she has a connection on these trips.

We highly recommend this RV park so if you are in the delta area check it out!

Camping in the Backyard, March 23, 2008

2008-03-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I slept in our backyard, in our tent. It was actually pretty warm considering that there was moisture all over the tent when we woke up. It was a nice different thing to do together the night before Easter. This was the most beautiful Easter weekend I can remember. Dumb crows woke me up at the crack of dawn talking to each other but it was a nice nights sleep.

I purchased a new family member this weekend. His name is Joey and he is a darling Netherland Dwarf Rabbit. He loves to be held

Peanut would love to have him for lunch but she is learning that a spray bottle of water goes with the bunny and now sits from a far watching the new toy in our home. He is a very loved bunny already.

Happy Easter! Jesus has risen!

Crab Feed 2008- Willits January 18-20, 2008

2008-01-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

Well, we are back from another wonderful crab feed at the Willits KOA. This is probably the last event that we will see Connie and Jerry (owners of the KOA). They have sold the KOA to a family from England and they are off to Oklahoma. We will miss them they were the best KOA owners. Jerry has a great personality and keeps things fun! We will go to the KOA again in the summer to check out the new hosts.

The crab was yummy as you can tell by these pics:

The weather was cold but nothing like last year. This year we did dip into the upper 30s but we had water and slept comfortably. The pond was not frozen, so Peanut and Amanda had fun playing and digging. We took a nice hike around the hill and Dave did some bird watching.

Dave had a friend from work there and then I ran into a woman from my work so it was a fun knowing people. Amanda just had fun being a kid!

No wild events this trip! Yea!

Fun Time In Lodi, CA - October 26-28, 2007

2007-11-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a fun time in Lodi, CA. You say fun in Lodi? Yes, it was fun.

We checked into the Lodi/Stockton KOA. It is a marvelous KOA. It is so family and pet orientated. It is laid out near the delta. When you first arrive you go through an area that looks like a boat storage but once you are past that you are into a beautiful and huge layout of campsites. Some have porch swings, iron tables and fire pits you would find on your porch at home, and some of the sites have a cement slab for a nice patio. It is clean and quiet, don't know how it is in the summer with all the boaters but this time it was beautiful. The weather was so nice.

After we got everything hooked up we headed to Stockton to see our friends. We have not seen them in quite some time. We had a wonderful dinner and relaxed. We then headed for camp.

We woke up the next day to head to a huge corn maze located outside of Stockton along I-5. The maze was huge here are some pics! I took a panoramic of one part of the maze. The

map of the two mazes is shown here. (click on pictures to make them bigger). There

were horse rides, petting zoo,

bouncies, pumpkins, food, and hayride. The girls had a great time. Then we headed out for some time to rest. Then we had a nice dinner at our camp with our friends.

After dinner the kids played on the playground which only a few yards away from our trailer. Then it was time for the haunted house that the KOA put on for the kids. It was not to scary and the kids had fun. Then the kids could go on trick or treat hay ride if they were dressed up. We did not even really think about it being Halloween so we did miss out on getting candy, dressing up, and trailer decorations. From now on I am calling the KOA we are staying at to see if they have activities going on while we are there. We did get go on the hayride after all the kids were done trick or treating. It was fun seeing all the trailers decorated. Then for the end of the night festivities we were treated to a old classic film on a big inflatable movie screen on the lawn. The original "Frankenstein". We caught the end of the movie as the kids were not that interested. But Amanda and I took a stroll to catch the end. Then off we went to bed.

We woke up Sunday, to get ready to head to church and then remembered it was the end of daylight savings time... we laid in bed another hour. Then yam the SURPRISE... it is the end of daylight savings time in Europe not in the USA! We then got cleaned up, packed up the trailer and we made it to church 30 mins late but we were there all nice and fresh and laughing at how silly we were... I actually think I was to blame not reading all of my calendar entry. I found out we were not the only ones confused.

We ate lunch and then headed home it was a great weekend!

Dave In The Paper

2007-10-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

The link to the article is: http://northbay.pressdemocrat.com/article/20071007/NEWS/710070303/1227/BUSINESS0110

Doran Beach September 21-23, 2007

2007-09-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

It was the most beautiful weekend at Doran Beach. Usually it is so windy and cold we can't enjoy ourselves. This time we went out to the beach knowing it was suppose to rain. Friday afternoon when we arrived we did not need jackets and there was not even a whisper of wind. It was beautiful, we stayed out at the beach almost all evening. Dave went deer hunting as it was the last weekend of deer season at the ranch in Jenner. So I built the fire, it was a very fine fire at that. Made the girls (daughter and friend) BBQ hamburgers and then they had ice cream sundaes.

One thing to remember when you stay out at Doran especially if there is not wind or rain bring ear plugs. The beacon is very loud on a quiet night. I used the ear plugs about 5:30 a.m. when Dave got up to go do some more hunting. Dave left and did not return until 9:00 p.m. Saturday evening.

The girls and I had fun at the beach, I believe the got everyone of their pairs of clothes wet, it was a little cold on Saturday and it rained in the afternoon. So it was a break to the inside of the trailer. Our battery failed again and we tried our Solar power panel but it did not work. It is time to invest in our generator. Hope we get one by next summer. It was like regular camping except we had gas so I made beef/venison stew for dinner with polenta. It was good! We saw seals, crabs, and there was a sail boat race in the bay.

I woke up with a sore throat but that is OK we had a great weekend and tomorrow is my birthday!

Our next journey is to a new KOA, as we visit some friends next month.

Lake Tahoe - Family Vacation Summer 07

2007-08-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Tahoe Valley Campground, CA

July 22-26, 2007

All pictures including Panoramic taken by Christine

We left on Sunday, for our summer vacation. It was a nice drive and we arrived in the afternoon. We spent the day swimming in a nice pool and made a great BBQ hamburger dinner. We set up camp in no time, we are getting to be pros. One thing about this campground is be sure you ask if it will be easy to back into your site. It was a tight fit in into our spot.

The first night we took Amanda over the Nevada/CA line so she could say she had been to Nevada and we took her to touch the water in Lake Tahoe. She also got to peek into a casino as we sat a stoplight.

Day 2 was spent at Sugar Pine State Park, great beach. Amanda and Dave swam and they had great time. The water was chilly but hey it is Lake Tahoe. Sugar Pine State Park has RV spots across Hwy 50. We are thinking we might try them out some time. We stopped to check out this cool tree. Then we went to Vista Point to take a look and take some nice pics. You can see the tea room that went with Vikingsholm Castle.

Made a great dinner Cornish Game Hens in my dutch oven, yummy! Amanda swam some more and I read. Dave bird watched.

3rd Day we really just relaxed and swam and did a little bit of sightseeing. Then went on cruise on Emerald bay around the Vikingsholm Castle. It was fun.

On the 4th day. We tried to get Dave to the Angora trail but never made it. Angora is where the big fire was just weeks before we left for Tahoe. Here is a picture of the burned area from the lookout above Heavenly Valley.

Then later in the day we went on the Heavenly Valley Gondola ride here are some pics. It was very high up. I was not sure if I would like it as I hate heights but you are closed in and it goes nice and slow. The scenery was beautiful.

Amanda and I on the gondola. Looking up the mountain to Heavenly Valley Ski Lift and slopes and then coming down.

Peanut's favorite part was hunting..... squirrels

We had the best time ever! We wanted to stay longer!

Doran Beach June 29-July 1

2007-07-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Doran Beach was actually very pretty this trip. Friday night was beautiful with some fog and a light wind. But as the weekend progressed the winds became very strong. The sun was out but it was just to windy to stay out long. We did go out at different times to walk the beach or see jellyfish floating in the water.

We arrived with some squaters in our campsite and we had them move right away they spent the night next to us and were just a pain. Their dogs kept running over into our site (Leash law meant nothing), ate our dogs food and upset them. The left at noon on Saturday which was wonderful. The next neighbors to arrive were very quiet and nice.

It was a very nice quiet weekend. Of course today when we had to come home it looked to be a nice day out there with mild winds.

Next trip Lake Tahoe! It will be something to see the poor burned out areas.

2007-05-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

Llamas What???

KOA Willits - CA May 4-6, 2007

We look at each other as we pile into the truck, do we have everything, is the garage locked, doors locked, and we look at each other with a look of yahoo RELAX time! Our family heads off with a friend in tow to Willits KOA, one of our favorite destinations, especially this weekend for a Pig on the Spit Luau! Everyone puts out the tropical decorations and puts on the luau print clothes and heads to a wonderful potluck and pig on the spit Luau.

As we arrive after our 2 hour so drive we back into our spot, yahoo it is LEVEL! We did not have to use any lifters (we used all of them on one side of the trailer on our trip to Lake Chabot). We hooked everything up like pros and we were done and ready to eat in no time.

As we look over at our neighbors we notice these are not your normal neighbors, these are tall furry neighbors that are making strange mooey noises. These are very fluffy soft neighbors, who SPIT!! Well we did not get spit on but they were very curious about us and our two little short hairy things (Peanut and Aimee). Here is a picture of our neighbors the Llamas, yes Llamas

To our surprise the dogs dealt very well with our hairy neighbors and the girls just loved them. In fact now they would like Llamas. Our daughter will have to wait for her own ranch, won't happen in our back yard. I don't think the neighbors would appreciate us much.

Once again the pig roast was wonderful, the weather was wonderful. We flew our kite and had a relaxing time. The girls were disappointed as the pool was in repair and the hay ride did not happen due to the luau festivities (karaoke, dancing, hula hoop contest, ice cream social). But their eyes lit up when I said go in the hot tub! We had no beginner mistakes and it was a flawless trip!

Lake Chabot, CA April 22, 2007

2007-04-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a wonderful weekend at Lake Chabot, CA. It is right out of the town of Castro Valley. The campgrounds were nice, there are full hookups, dry camping areas, and tent camping. We did the dry camping. We joined a group of RVers for a get together and it was nice to meet some new RVers and reacquaint ourselves to others.

There is fishing. We did not get anything but is was fun. There is also a shooting range which Dave enjoyed all afternoon.

The first night there Amanda met a nice little girl by the name of Bridget and played with her on her scooter and lost control down the hill. Need I say more? She did receive her share of road rash on her stomach, arm, and knew. The little girl and her exchanged info and will stay in touch.

The 2nd night we enjoyed a potluck with TriTip and many other yummy items. Amanda and another little girl "Monica" played by the fire all night. Right when we were getting ready to eat a rain storm came in and we were all pretty ready to head to the trailers. We went to bed early others played games.

We also had some really feathery friends spend a lot of time with us in fact they joined us for dinner too. Meet Tom and his other brother Tom. They came right up to everyone at dinner. It was great to hear them gobbling away. I bet it was real hard for Dave not to want to "get himself a nice turkey for dinner".

I recommend staying at Lake Chabot and we look forward to our future trips there.

Still Water Cove, CA Mar 30 - Apr 1, 2007

2007-04-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

Still Water Cove, CA Mar 30 - Apr 1, 2007
We spent a nice quiet weekend at a small campground. Still Water Cove State Park. It was a very nice woody campground with it's own little beach. The park has a few hiking trails. Also, the old Ft. Ross school house has been placed on the property along one of the hiking trails. Very cute little school house. Amanda brought her friend along for the trip and they had a wonderful time at the beach and hanging out at the campfire. We even let Peanut off her leash for a run on the beach she was so funny to watch bouncing across the beach. If you like a very relaxing campground this is for you, even with opening weekend of Abalone season it was quiet. We watched the sheriff's department practice helicopter rescues, they needed to get prepared for the season. There was a little wind on Saturday a.m. but the evenings were wonderful and we could sit by the fire without freezing. Very nice. The only weird note for the trip was the gas leak alarm going off at 2:30 a.m. because our battery was getting low. Then of course we could not go to sleep for a long time after.

The girls had a great time.