We start our journey home....

Tuesday October 2 AA  We are up before 7am this morning....Truck packed and having breakfast at 7:30.....On the road by 8am....Take us about half an hour to get though the rush hour traffic....A nice local shows us to the 508......Its hot again this morning but we will be going to cooler temperatures soon....Rick starts out driving then earl takes the wheel after we gas up...... We stop in a rest area for a quick stretch then off we go again......We have lunch in a McDonalds in Weed California ......The McDonalds looks good a fireplace and comfy couch and i great play area its inside but the slide goes outside into a big area cool....All the t-shirts in the store say Enjoy Weed lol   Lunch is good but getting an ice cream cone after proves to be a chore...the young man runs out of ice cream and has to open a new one but he cant get the plastic open...he gets it mopen and cant seem to make the cones so on the fourth one he gets it, some customers seem to be short drinks so the manager starts yelling at the crew lol Well its back to the truck we are half way to Portland which is our destination tonight.... Cheryl isnt feeling any better today and we sleep on and off most of the morning pretty boring ride and its the way the way home now....Couple of more rest stops and Rick drives another four hours then its earls turn......Its getting to be 6 o clock so we decide to stop in Salem Oregon about 50 miles short of the original destination..... We find a Residence Inn Marriot its a nice place we are sharing a two bedroom suite, with livingroom, eating area and kitchen....Its happy hour when we arrive and they have free beer and wine till 7:30...they have soups and salad for dinner too.... The pool is open 24/7 with hot tub......We load our goods upstairs to the room and decide to go to Applebees for dinner.....We have a nice dinner and stop at the local pharmacy for some cold medicines and head back to our hotel...Night caps and beddy byes......till tomorrow.....

Oakland here we come

Monday October1st AA This morning we are up early as  want to get on the road, big day of driving...We meet up just before 8 and have some breakfast...Great breakfast here to, all outside on the second floor, it was funny to see them have heaters up...It is hot already going to be a cooker....We are on the road just after 8 heading to oakland california on the last leg of our journey and our last ball game.......We gas about an hour after LA this truck has been amazing on gas the last time we fueled up was last tuesday in longbeach......Earl started out driving today but changed over went we fueled up.......Cheryl isnt feeling well today she is all stuffed up ......We girls nap away the morning as the boys drive through the desert.....We decide to stop at Jack in the Box for lunch it was good.....bought some water in the ajoining store as the temperature is rising....It is 30 now.....We continue to drive we made really good time we arrived at the La Quinta just after 2.....It was 39 just before we arrived..Too damned hot....Rick decides to have a wee snooze while Earl. Cheryl and I check our email and just relax....We find out there is a shuttle to the Bart where we can cross the bridge to the ball park....We get there just before six and walk around the stadium we check out the merchandise stores ......Earl is checking out where the cheapest beer is lol...Our seats are incredible right behind home plate 4 rows back....we are grinning......this is a big game for the A's they are fighting for their spot in the play offs....the fans are all rialed up.....There is a guy sitting in the front row with a giant sports ring on this finger cant see if its a super bowl ring or a world series one, but preety sure he is somebody...... A couple from Texas sits right behind Rick and Cheryl the man is obnoxious to say the least, he is loud and screaming all game....Then an over six foot guy sits right in front of Cheryl...The game is close .....the fans are crazy what a great game to be at.....The big guy infront of Cheryl gets booted cause it isnt even his seat.....The A's win and clinch there spot in the playoffs....Everyone is screaming and clapping and yelling the players are all jumping ontop of each other ...what agreat game...we have to make our way back to the bart and call the hotel for our shuttle......oh no I have lost the card, lets walk over the bridge and I will check out the phone book...its not there ok lets call 411 they give me the wrong number and it costs me money...Now we have to walk back to the stadium through the yelling and screaming crowds going against them....We make it though and to the parking lot wow they are partying there beers, fires, dancing ,music, holy shit id hate to be here if they won the world series....Back at the hotel now going off to bed its an early early day tomorrow and a 11 hour drive...Bye bye Bay area ...till next time.....

Santa Monica

Sunday AA This morning we decided to sleep in and go to Ihop for breaky...We met at 10am and off we went it was just up the road in the Best Western....Today we are going to go to Santa Monica Beach and Pier....We snag rock star parking lol and head up to the pier.....Since its Sunday morning the traffic is light and it isnt crowded at all...it is hot hot hot 80 and its 11am...We walk along the pier and check out all the stalls Earl and I have a 3D picture taken...Guys are fishing and there are people on the beach...We go over to the amusement park and decide to all go on the ferris wheel.... It is big and we all get into the same cart, we are laughing ans a little nervous ,the first round up wasnt good but after that it was great...we went around five times got some great shots of santa Monica.....after this we decide Rick needs to go on the rollercoaster he has never been on one, this is just a little one so the boys go buy ticjets and Cheryl and I watch from below trying to get a good picture.....well they go around twice and Cheryl and I go over to the picture booth to see tere faces...I wish i coyld post the picture because it is priceless......First off the sat at the back and had to totally adjust the seatbelts ,then the bar was a tad snug, just as te went over the first hill Rick said off off off just like our Beni lol ....it was a first alright....Then we decided to go down to the beach and Cheryl and I wanted to put our feet in the water while Earl wanted to go for a swim.....It is 80(25) now and the sand is very hot the beach is quickly filling up...Rick is walking aling the boardwalk to the water while us three are struggling in the sand lol The water is cold and it is alot cooler at the water...Earl goes in for a quick swim hesays the waves are strong and full of sand....Cheryl and I get wet too...A fellow is on the beach giving out free geloto sovwe all have one....We take a walk down the beach then decide to head back to the truck.....We are going to go to the farmers market ...Traffic is still good till we get a block away......Wow the temperature is at 100 hoky shit it is hot hot.....We get out of the oversized vehicle ,rock star parkung again and go to the market...we walj around a bit but it is too hot so we go over to the grove and have a look over there...There is a plane in the sky it is writing LOVE that neat......Why arent the rest of these peope as hit as we are? We are going to head back to the hotel and cool off......We take a little drive around the head for Santa Monuca Blvd ....Our room is nice and cool so we settle in for a drink and Cheryl does sone laundry...We decide to go out for pizza for dinner and walk up three blocks to the New York Pizza and Pasta place.....There are police officers everywhere specially at the entrance wzys to the 405 as it has been closed all weekend for construction...The resturant isnt at all what we thought it is cafe style with sawvdust all over the floor.....The boys have a glass of wine and we order salad and puzza...It is grezt pizza and we all enjoy chatting with te young manager he is telling us about LA...Now we walk back to hotel for a quick night cap as we r on the road early tomorrow. We are starting our trip home and going to our last ball game in Oakland. They are playing the Rangers andfighting for a play off spot.......Nighty night all...till tomorrow

Here we are in LA

Saturday AA  This morning we had a bit of a sleep in up and met for breakfast at 9:30 in the lobby...Wasnt such a big area for breakfast corn flakes and then we are packed up and off down sunset strip to mingle with the stars....We park under the Kodak theater with the Spechts oversized vehicle again......only $5 more this time... and take the elevator up to the main floor......and just look around its awesome  we see Elmo, Monkey, Charlie Chaplin, Ewalk, Starwars, Micheal Jackson, and Shrek...Nana needs to get a picture with Elmo so Beni knows his Nana is friends with Elmo.....We go to starbucks and get a beverage then continue to walk down sunset its 30 out very very warm....We cross the road over to the shady side and Ricks chats up some tour guide and he gives us  half price tickets....well not quite half $25 instead od $40......It leaves in half an hour so we do some souvenier shopping its hot hot and not a lot of these stores have air conditioning either....Oh we are going to be traveling on an openroofed mini van...12 seater....So its hot hot and we have to squish  into these seats and touch each other lol....In we go nice I get to sit with Rick and Cheryl Earl is sitting with 2 Norweign girls... and we are off  to see the famous and glamorous celebrities mansions and homes....We see Johnny Depp, Madonna and her orange grove, Ozzy, The Beckhams, Dr Phils spanish style home......Lisa Marie's , Micheal Jacksons and his stuff is all still there after 3 years his car is in the open garage.... Lucille Balls former home and  Christina. Tom Cruise owns the whole street and is currently building a new one. We go up the hollywood hills in the blazing sun and Cheryl and I get out at visa point and see the Hollywood sign  and take some good shots....We see Lindsay Lohans place she seem to need arrows to show her how to get in and out....We see JLo's place, Rosemary Clooney, Whitney Houstons, Phil Collins, Sylvester Stallones unfinished  place and Sharon Stones....of course Rick has got beers in his pocket and earl is drinking from a paper bag....Earls girl friends are telling us about when they were at the bottom of Leanardo De Capri house and the guard came out with a gun the f bomb sounds cute with an accent lol We are off down Mulholand Drive  threw Bel Air , Melrose ave, Beverly hills and Rodeo drive...We cruise down sunset strip seeing the viper room, Roxy, Whiskey a go go ....We saw Brittanys resturant  where Belushi spent his last days ...Beverly Hills Hotel, Playboy Mansion , We saw Charlies place( jail) it was fun and intresting....We jump off early at the Elvis and Beatles star where all the musicians  are honoured.....Now we are walking back down sunset Oh Oh Cheryl and I saw Justin Timberline yep we sure did sitting on a bench......We didnt take a picture because we werent so sure....We are getting a tad hungry and the boys see a seafood buffet for $12.95 well omg it had every sea creature available to man unreal..... Cheryl had a stir fry personally cooked up for her with all the things she picked out.....I was definately recommend it....Now we are all stuffed and continue down the road for a bit then decide to head to Santa Monica west Hollywood area where our next hotel is for two nights......Earl is arguing with the gps once again this time its Earl 1 GPS 7......We are staying at Holiday inns and suitets on Santa Monica blvd..... Its not the hilton but its nice and clean.....Still so hot out we decide to go to the theater on the promanade deck and she ' trouble with the curve" it was a bit dicy getting there with a bit of a time crunch but we just make it......It was a really really good show... Good old Clint does it again  just when you think he's made his last movie.....We are heading out after the show and notice all kinds of things going on Its kinda like an open mall but there are little white lights in all the trees outside....Performers everywhere dancers, singers, guitar players the black dancers told everyone to clap even the white guys lol It had cooled down to about 70 (20) and it was 10 at night....We walked up and down the streets and watched everything.....Then we went back to the hotel for a night cap.. I finally did some laundry and we decided to view all our pictures from Cheryl, Earl and my camera's....So it was a late late night.....till tomorrow...

Last day in San Deigo

Thursday AA  This morning we slept in till 8 oclock.We meet for breakfast at 9 and walked over to the broken yolk cafe,the waitress there was awesome  and really helped us enjoy day and really helped us enjoy our day...She gave us some great tips...The cracked yolk was on Man vs food...The food is great and I bought a shirt there...Now we are going back to the hotel to get the truck.This is quite a feat to wqtch, Earl dodging the valets its kinda like a war movie with Earl sneaking around the underground parking lot on his belly ...All this to avoid the tip.He has figured out that if you leave threw the side or back doors yu can avoid the bell boys too..This time he is not so lucky and the valet has to be called in to get the truck....Now we are going to drive over to the old town san deigo, it is really neat and we pas threw little italy...apparently okd town used to be part of Mexico....We walked around until the boys spyed a $1 Beers but you know they cant have just one We wrote our names on an american dollar bill and Cheryl taped it to the wall. It was a neat place OHungrys. We bought some souviners and returned back to the truck..We had a bit of grief getting back to the Hilton but managed ok..Earl had to give it up to the valet this time lol Cheryl and I seemed to have miscalculated our days as we seem to have run out of under garments, guess the swanky hotels we r staying in have no laundry... so we go up five blicks to the Horton Plaza Center ...Hummm Nordstrum or Macys???? Macys wins out and we go buy some extras.. We check out the world market on the way back... We find the boys beached out at the pool on those double loungers. Earl said Greenpeace flew by but left them alone. We sat for a bit then returned to our rooms  to Padres up.. Now we are going to the Omni for happy hour. The Omni is a fancy smancy hotel the guy that built the ball park owns it so it caters to all the ball players, they have a private floor just of them for safety and privacy. He even buikt a private walk way to Petco Park. It cost over four million dollars, so we are going to have happy hour in the bar where they will stamp our tickets and we can cross over to the park...Dodgers and Padres tonight....It is a nice field 398   to center field , we take a walk around and find our seats, absolutely amazing seats best yet...first base 9 rows back......Rick is so excited as this time he is able to go right down to the field.......He manages to get himself a ball from one of the ushers and is told a ball player will show up in about half an hour to sign autographs.....So he sits his ass down and patuently waits chatting up everyone around him lol The blue man guy comes around so Rick gets a pic wuth him, kinds looks like he might have had a little accident.....lol  Wow its a ling walk down to the good seats.... Chase Headly shows up and Rick is waiting patiently he finally signs his ball.....The Dodgers are killing the Padres 8 to 1 Looks like they are going to toss some tshirts out..Rick nabs one he is having a good game isnt he....In the nineth we decide to head for the doors, this stadium has the bleachers in a graas area wuth a giant sand box and play ground at the bottom very cool then behind that is a grassy hill were you can sit. These tickets are affordable starting at $5  going to about $18... Its a beautiful night so we stroll back to the Hilton....Did I mention they sell hard stuff at the park and they have a wine store.....We had a night cap thought about having a hot tub bt it was close to midnight...So till tomorrow......

We are off to see the Dodgers

Friday AA This morning we are up early and on the road at 8:30 we are off to Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium via the coastal highway to check out all the beautiful california beaches.....We have breakfast just outside San Deigo at the local McDonalds the porridge is good here tooo.....Our first one is Laguana Beach its a nice place we drive threw then stop at the vista point, just lovely.....Next we go through Huntington Beach we werent intending to return there but Earl spyed a market on the sand by the pier so we pulled over and checked it out hot today 90 again......On the road again next we cruise threw Newport Beach stop for a starbucks take some pics....On to Sunset Beach, Redondo Beach, Manhatten Beach, Marina del Ray, we pass LAX seems to me have been on the road for a long time its almost two oclock I think our co pilot messed up it shouldnt take five hours to get to Venice beach???? anyways here we are at Venice Beach we park the car right on the street on a meter and head down to the beach...Wow I dont remember it like this stalls and little stores all along the beach...thousands of different people.....There is even a pot store it says the doctor is in......Earl gets a hot dog and a new outfit and we walk along the paths infront of the beach.....Muscle beach is set up there so Rick goes over to check it out....Well the meter is almost up so we head back to the car we want to get to Santa Monica Pier and the ball games at 7....Well seems like the pier is out of the question today because the traffic is mental it took us an hour and a half to get to the big 8 on sunset....its not the hilton but its a ten minute walk to Dodgers stadium...It accually is a twelve minute walk there this time up it is seriously all up hill....and 90 outside no shade....It has an entrance way like universal theater ......We had a fan picture taken ,what an awesome venue....I think this could be my favorite its an old school stadium, we walked all around and Rick bought us Margarita,s.....We stopped in the dodgers store, and took our seat on the second level right behind the plate....Overlooking the hollywood hills too cool....Jen Hirsh from American Idol sang the national anthem...play ball...Its Tommy Lasorta's 85 birthday today and they are honoring him, he is here.....Many if his players and team mates were there to play tribute to what an amazing man he was Don Rickles spoke too lol  We have good seats yet again we are in the second level right behind home plate, we meet three guys sitting in front of us locals who grew up here, they tell us todays ride should have taken 3 1/2 hours max lol Oh i forget when we were trying to enter the park you have to go to the access that is closest to your seat and they wont let you in any other one so we get there and Earl hands them our tickets well the guy looks at them looks at us laughs and calls his buddy over andsays look at this and his buddy is laughing too... We start to panic and Cheryl gives him hers and he says you too can go in but these are an Angels ticket and a padres ticket you should have seen Earls face he though he lost our tickets lol  Now we are sitting down and Earl decides he wants some peanuts so he calls the peanut guy over.....how much are the peanuts  he askes $6 he says Earl says thats bullshit i was just at angels stadium they were $4 the peanut guy tells Earl thats the price and sir we dont like that language in this park.....the guys we met cant help over hear all this and tell Earl that the peanut guy is Roger Owens he is a baseball legend he is 75 years old and has been selling peanuts for over 50 years...they fly him all over the US to do the world series and important games because he is the best....  He can toss it backwards,side ways he accually pitched for the dodgers way way back in Babe Ruth days...He is know as the Babe Ruth of peanuts selling lol lol Well Earl is besides himself now he has to find the guy and say sorry when he does find him Roger tells him no worrties Im just another guy lol I might have forgotten to mention that when ever Rick is chatting to people  they always seem to know he is a canadian.....he asks how did you know and they say "eh" next earl walks up saying Eh whats going on lol  Tony Orlando was there to sing Happy Birthday to Tommy along with the rest of the crowd...Eric from modern family is here too watching the game...Dodgers have great fans too Its the best seventh inning stretch ever...We sang it twice root root root for the Dodgers so cool......The poor canadian boy throwing had a sore neck dodgers win 8-0.....But thats not everything there is post game fireworks.......Really really cool theyn played two Frank sinatra songs Tommys favorite......They darkened the field, and allowed the fans on the grass on the diamond.... Just amazing nothing like the canadian fireworks  im speechless it was fantastic....Now we have the walk back to the hotel mostly downhill and not as bad an area that we were told...All is good we settle for a night cap and a discussion as to where to stay tomorrow and what to do...till tomorrow..

San Deigo here we come

• This morning we decide to have a later start as we were onlygoing for an hour and a half   drive to San Deigo...So we meet Spechts  at 9:30 for breakfast. Earl  and Rick loaded  the ,truck up  and we are on our way to San Deigo....Twelve lanes all the way....We passed San Juan Capistrano and arrive at the Hilton Gas Lamp quaters at about 11:30We decided to gostraight to the hotel try see if we could at least leave the truck there.Great news are rooms are ready ,the valet takes the truck and the bell boys take the luggage and we head to our rooms...High fives all around the rooms are great,we r in early,the ball park is two blocks away,liquor store across the street and is doesnt cost $75 to park the truck.....This is a nice hotel roof top pool with a hot tub surrounded by double sized loungers......good music is pioed through too..We get settled in look around and then head over to the Broken Yolk cafe...it has been on dumps,diners and dives...We meet a waitress there that gives us some great tips, the food is good too....Earl and Rick wont be eating the twelve egg omlette with fries beans and rice so we ordered off the menu....oh we shared an entree yes we all did lol.....Now we are goung to take a tour the old town trolley hop on hop off tour...We jumped on at the Marriot it was a 21/2 Hrs to do thewhole loop...We went to Horton Plaza,Gas lamp quarters,Coronada Island, Balloua Park and zoo, Little Itapy, old town market, san Deigo harbour,Seaport...It was good but ourbguide had marbles in her mouth...After thebtourvwe decide ti head to the Altitude bar it is located 23 stores on the roof top of the Marriit.It is overlooking Petco park.It has fire pits and comfy patio furniture,what a view the water,the huge bridge to Coronada.....the music is good....but the sun is hot hot so after a couple of drinks we head for some dinner...We decide to get the feel of the city and eat at the spagetti factorty right on the street, the food was good and people watching was good too.Cheryl and I check out a little store across the street while the boys go to the luquor store, we meet back at the rooms and decide to lounge around the lobby for a bit as the internet is free there..There are many chairs,couches,tv's lots of places to sit for awhile...Then we head for the hot tub and pool its a great night. We met a young guy 19 from the Marines chatted for a bit ...Now its off to bed...Till tomorrow.......

On our way to Long Beach

Just wanted to add a few things to Sundays blog....The girl that sang the national athem was from the Voice,Earl saw her later on in the game signing autographs ....It was a good game we all enjoyed it, it got exciting at the end....The giants blew a six game winning spree but clinched it the day before anyways. I found the field to be a tad dangerous as they have no net up, quite a few people get nailed one young lady right between the eyes...Now ps our days here are a bit mixed up as Tuesdays went up before Mondays so here we are Monday AA  This morning we were up really early as the boys have decided to go to Longbeach via the coast 1 all the way, now you might think that sounds great but we were scheduled to be in the car for 6 1/2 hrs this way will be 11hrs....So Earl is running around dodging the bell boys trying to load the truck and it seems like he has been driving down the taxi and bus lanes all the way threw SF...We headed to Twin Peaks this morning at 8am this has a spectacular view of all of SF which by the way apparently we has four earthquakes this morning...didnt feel a thing...another little bit of knowledge is its $800 per sq foot to rent or live in the downtown area..WOW eh...Anyways we are on to the Pacifica highway were off...Pampus grass everywhere growing wild....We stopped in Pacifica for a quick breakfast at a taco time breakfast burrittos , watching the surfers there must be at least 30 of them out here..Its awesome the waves are crashing in sun is shining.....We travel though Half Moon bay, then on to Santa Cruz... Tons of farmlands out here we stop at a local barn to buy some strawberrys' raspberrys, almonds, figs they were the best tasting strawberries i have ever tasted....We have the first moisture of our trip going threw Carmel by the Sea, it used to be Clints town i think...Next we go though Pebble beach, when we hit Big Sur the sun comes out again...You should see some of the homes on this coast unbelieveable mansions over hanging the water in the middle of no where....We pulled over and we couod see seals as far as the eyes could see some sleeping, some spooning and others playing and fighting..all beached apparently they dont smell so good...The roads up here are so narrow and windy and we have Mario Andretti at the wheel.....time for some real air I5 where r you....We arrived in San Luis Obispo around 3:30 and lunched at Carls jr, not good burgers although Rick seems to have enjoyed his pulled pork burger... They have a state prison here called a Mens Colony  that once housed Charles Mansen.....We pull into a picnic area that wants $5 to picnic here so we sneak in to pee and as Cheryl opens the door realizes its an outhouse filked with shit and flies, she decided to wait....'Now we are on the ventura highway heading threw Santa Barbara The roads and scenery are beautiful but this is just taking far to long...What a tiring day 12 hours in the car..Rick gets to drive in 12 lane traffic in the dark I think all our pakms were sweaty... We arrived at the Queen Mary just before 8...She is a neat old ship a queen in her day...The rooms are small the corridors narrow and apparently the ceiking low and Rick smashed his head on the exit sign...The floors are all uneven giving the elusion of sailing and the ship is haunted too...We went to the observation deck for a drink, the off to Chelseas chiwder house for a bowl of chowder..Micheal was our nice waiter thatbserved us and he even asked Cheryl which vodka she wanted grey goose of course...Our room is on the B deck no windows very dark at the back of the boat, although Rick says these king sized beds would be first class back in the day..Tomorrow we will tour the boat it has two resturants, two bars and a cafe and tea house..We eneded the night sitting outside on the promenade deck having a night cap, not a breeze on the water none of us had a sweater on either, beautiful view of long beach, a little embarrassing when the boys came walking down the deck carring the big blue cooler...But what an experience too cool...Till tomorrow.....

off to see the Angels

Tuesday AA We slept in this morning, it was so very dark in our rooms on the ship you couldn't see nothing....We met with Rick and Cheryl at 10am and went to the Bakery on the promenade deck...Muffins,cinnamon rolls and chocolate croissant..... We finished looking around the ship and packed up our luggage....We called the valet to get the luggage and the boys went outside to the parking lot to see a strong man contest going on out there...We took a drive over to the city of Long Beach gassed up and the on to Huntington Beach....We had a bit of trouble finding our destination the GPS was OK but the person giving her the information wasn't on the ball...We found our destination and parked in the public parking lot and took a stroll up main street....One block up the boys decided to hit the local $2 Budweiser tavern and they were gone...Cheryl and I walked up three blocks and browsed threw all the local shops, then met them they were chatting up a young lady bar tended ,she told them Canadians and Chinese were the worse tippers...lol....We continued onto the beach to Dukes for lunch, had a drink in the bar then sat waterfront for lunch....Rick and Cheryl behaved again and shared the entree, we should remember to follow their exsample... ..We walked right down to the water, the sand was soft but hot it was 90 in Orange County today...Cheryl and I walked right into the water the waves were crashing in, the surfer's were good here they managed to stay up for a few waves, Cheryl wrote in the sand but the water washed it all away....Now we are onto Anehiem to see the Angels.. The GPS said 17 minutes but with traffic it took 37. We arrived at the Quality Inn and suites and got our rooms unfortunately ours had some one eles luggage in it so we had to change rooms, the boys backed all the luggage on the trolley as there is no valet here and they gave us rooms with two beds so Earl and Cheryl are pushing this loaded cart all over the hotel and parking lot....Rick is getting antsy as he wants to see BP today....We got checked in and had a beer, changed our clothes and headed for the ten minute walk to the stadium...I wonder why they always lie to us? 20 minutes later we arrive at the stadium with plenty of time today...Its such a pretty stadium with fountains,grass,flowers and trees...We walked all around the stadium, stopped in the team store and got settled in our seats. Great seats again right beside home plate twenty rows back...It si a beautiful night, Valerie bertinelli is here...The food here is very affordable $4.50 for a beer and the same for a hit dog probably the best prices in baseball good job Angels people...We had to walk all the way around the stadium for the Heavenly Natchos, they were massive...The game was good close I thought the Mariners were going to pull it off there I was in an Angels shirt cheering for the Mariners....but they lost 5-4.....Now we have to make our way back to the hotel, there must have been over 125 of us at the light when someone said let's just go lol then the officer let us go and everyone started cheering ....Very friendly people here I don't know if I have mensioned it before but Rick is a chatty Cathy chatting with everyone lol...Back at the hotel we sit for a quick night cap then head off to bed....San Diego tomorrow...Till then.......

Sunday AA .......when we checked in to this swanky hotel after they talked the boys into parking the truck they made a note the bumper was dinted........too bad... The Spechts hooked us up with a free breakfast in this fancy hotel so we had a bit of a lay in this morning and met at 9:45 to head for the restaurant.... It was very fancy $5.75 for a coffee free jam pots on the table, cast iron tea pots it was really lovely....They had butlers serving our every need orange juices constantly refilled...Thanks Rick and Cheryl....We got directions from the concierge Earl is still looking for him as the route he gave us took almost an hour way to long....AT and T stadium was very cool.It is 399 to center field smaller than I thought. It is surrounded by 24 palm trees, and a 24 foot brick wall in honour of the say hey kid Willie Mays. We sat in our seats met a really nice local lady who took our pictures and were so happy to have such good seat neighbours, she agreed to watch our stuff while we took a walk around the park which she suggested....the view from center field over the ocean was awesome, there was lots of boats out there and lots of floaters too......We stopped and had a fan photo taken too....when we returned to our seats the nice lady was there with our stuff I guess we were in the wrong section....So we moved over a section to even better seats 33 rows back right behind the plate on the aisle too....It was a tad pricey to eat in there cost Rick $18.50 for two pop and a water, the later $16 for a beer and a hot dog..wow.....Our new seat neighbours in front of us Myst have won the lottery because they had hit dogs, chowder,buns,burgers,natchos,chips,garlic fries,beer,pop,wine don't think those girls came for the game aww where's our nice lady.....The walk home was much better although we never ran into the S and M leather fair guess they packed it in early......San Francisco is such a diverse city they motto here is don't pass judgement We keep telling Rick and Earl this but as you well know they don't listen.We walked across the street to the Elephant and Castle for dinner Rick did his best to talk our poor waitress into putting the ball game in but football won out...We are now back in the room having a night cap looking at the Bay Bridge all lit up we feel we have seen so much of the city this visit walking from the fisherman's wharf to Embarkadaro,Union square, the financial district to At &T park area from pier 21 to pier 48......I think Rick and Earl have blisters.......Thanks San Francisco it was a blast...till tomorrow......

So from now on this will be know as AA wish is trip after accident instead of BA before accident....So here we are AA in Petaluma Home of the world series finalists., they lost to Japan but Petaluma is proud of them.We shared a room last night at America,s best extended stay but decided not to extend our stay....as that was the dumpiest one yet...Today we are going to America,s best the Let Meridian .We had breakfast at McDonalds on the way to San Francisco this morning we were on the road at 8:11......We have arrived in SF before 10am...We stopped under the bridge and took some pictures....We parked the truck for $30 a day because the Spechts own an oversized vehicle after all....We walked alone the pier we saw silver men, gold men, sparkly man, we saw Jimmi,Jimmie who said Gimmie Gimmie so when Rick did he said hey Victoria give me Moral........Cheryl helped a magician do a card trick so we watched him for awhile...Then we went on the Ducks Tour it was fun we went in the water all around the ball park It was spectacular. It is an Amazing day here. We visited the Ghirardelli chocolates while Cheryl and I were shopping around we noticed the boys on the stools stuffing there faces with ice creams in waffle cones. We went to Tiernans Irish Pub for lunch ....Dr Childs will be proud of Rick and Cheryl today they shared an entree....Were heard San Fransisco is a beautiful city, where the girls are strong and the boys are pretty....We saw a guy urinating right on the street and it was Rick and Earl this time...So we pulled into the swanky hotel and Rick and Cheryl checked in while Earl tried to talk to bell boys into letting him pack his own luggage but wait the Spechts are having a slight problem with there oversized truck again an addition $25 on top of thev$51 to park it even though its now dented OK so don't tell Earl....Cause he won't let the guy park it....Alright so we ready 8 bags, three coolers,chips,cases of pop shopping bags and the bell boy says go ahead I'll meet u there...We have to go to Spechts vroom because ours isn't ready yet...Earls got his dirty black suitcase hoisted on Cheryl's white duvet and dumping his pockets on the other side guess he's trying to find a napkin to clean up his spills on the table...We moved to our room and we have a water front view so sleeping on that pull out last night at the Americas nit so best wasn't so bad...Earl forgot his wine in there room so Rick sends him over to get it, Five minutes later we r wondering if he is shitting over there or what he,s done... He finally shows up he got lost and smashed the red wine all over Spechts room floor and sopped it up with there lovely fluffy white bath towel which he is hiding....We change and head off to Jose crab shack via a $12 Cab ride to Union square which is quite cool and the grab a $24 cable car to the pier.. Cheryl and I are on the back of the trolley enjoying the ride and taking pictures when the bastard conductor pushes us inside with the other 50 people jammed worth than sardines.The Asian guy tramples Cheryl's feet and Rick and Earl have to pee again. Rick is convinced we r going the wrong way since we have been jammed in there for half an hour....What a great experience you'd think the boys would find a toilet bute in but oh no a parked car steps from the tram station has to do........The crab shack is packed we have a 35 minute wait so of course we head to the bar.....where we wait for Ricks booth.....Earl enjoyed his meal tore at it like a caveman flinging juices everywhere good thing Cheryl has a bib on......Dinners over and we have decided we better walk back to hotel as the rides tgerevwere costly so off we go Earl isn't happy about this as his feet hurt,he has a rash and he has to pee so he wined all the way there which accually was quite a bit further than we though a half an hour tittle those boys were sweating and Earl was bitching anyways we r having a night cap looking at the lighted bridge over the water Till tomorrow........l

Well good morning Coos Bay its a sunny day today. Up and at it early fabulous buffet breakfast......Rick and Earl were chatting up an elderly lady, she took their picture lol Earl is driving this morning and we are off at 8:35 WAIT he seems to be turning onto a four lane one way highway and it isn't going our way so he hits the breaks unfortunately for Cheryl she has just done up her seat belt and nearly losses her head...OK now we r going the right way. In the road again.. Today is our longest day we pass by Brandon by the sea and gas up at Port Orford.... We pass through Siskiyou National Forest, Gold beach where the fishing is plentiful we see about 40 boats out there. Earl gives up the wheel and Rick takes us threw Lake Earl and Fort Dick. Rick shows us the Pelican Bay Penitentiary we get stopped at the gate but they tell us you can tour the facility!!! Ricks mouth drops open unfortunately you have to do the paper work so that's a must for next year.We to pictures of Paul Bunyon at the Trees of Mystery...Next stop Target to get Earl a belt, hoody, razors, deodorant.....The boys want to eat in the parking lot but we think no let's have another picnic...Rick floors it as Cheryl is hooking up the GPS and almost takes her teeth out...We don't find any picnic tables in Eureka and its after 2 Earl is starving cause we never feed him so we are having lunch in the Avenue of Giants on the side of the road on the tailgate....kinda if like a stuff and run....then as usual just up the road is a sunny site with picnic tables....Now we r off to the Napa valley it is 30 Outside the truck and its getting to be about 5:30ish....We stop in Healburg we hit three hotels all full booked right up........Rick sweet talk the girls into calling the next town for us its $200 a night or all full up......Cheryl and I decide to ask the GPS for hotels she is smart, so I'm directing Rick and every time he turns she changes her mind ...I'm pointing and laughing he's twisting and turning the truck, I can't breath We are peeing our pants oh we laughed so hard but in the end she didn't help us at all...Eventually we get an Americas Best extended stay and have to share a room, there is a casino next door and its 7:30 so we r done for the night.....No elevators here so the boys pack all the bags upstairs.Rick decides he should move the truck to a safer spot so we head to the room .........I go downstairs to get some pillows and there is Rick he has backed up into a young guys work truck......Yep he did banged up his right side bumper hardly any damage to the truck but the guy just got the job so he wants to go by the book.....that means Paper work calling the cops and listening to a bit of bible thumping....All in all he took it well says he isn't going to wash it ever again...no point now lol So now its close to nine and Earl is bitching about food again so we r off to Applebys....No wifi at hotel so Earl packed the tablet over and stubbed his bare toe on a sprinkler and threw the tablet across the parking lit Cgeryl is peeing her pants again .....I think its time for bed...Till tomorrow....

So here we are in Kent .........it was a late night close to 1am before we got to sleep.....We ordered pizza only in America do you get garlic butter dip with your pizza oh but it was good...Anyways Earl wakes up 6:45 and clogs the toilet before he heads off for a swim.....So just so you know Earl didn't forget his wallet and he didn't hit a pole this mo;rning but here'sg the thing He forgot the lawn chairs, he forgot his belt, he forgot his deodorant........and he didn't bring a sweater or a coat....We had a good breakfast in the lobby and were on the road by 8:15.......We made a quick Starbucks stop in Long view Washington, it is chilly today, spitting a bit and foggy too...Earl is at the wheel this morning we have a tad of a are neck in the back seat here... Cheryl mentions she has to pee and Rick answers can you wait 55 miles...lol....and he made her....Earl figured out how to control the iPod from the steering wheel so needless to say we listened to his favorites loudly and skipped the ones he didn't like...He had an argument with the GPS and took his own route.....We arrived in Lincoln City just before 1oclock,the beaches here are beautiful, some of the neighbourhoods have homes with docks on them ...so cool...We stopped at a local beach for a picnic , it was chilly. Lunch was good the view was spectacular the waves crashing onto the sand was awesome...after lunch we walked down to the surf....not before Earl threw a crust onto the grass and several seagulls made a dive for it....so Cheryl threw a hand full of cheesies on the grass well you would have thought we were on the set of the birds must have been 20 of them......We passed threw Fogarty Creek State Park,Depoe Bay,Newport its really breath taking...We made a quick stop at Seal Rock and took some pictures you could hear the seals down in the caves...We also stopped for a quick picture on the road side where Earl unlike Cheryl decides to piss between the truck doors.......We arrived in Coos Bay just before 5 and got a great deal at the best western........We settled in and decided to walk four blocks to a local Mexican restaurant The food was simply delicious great and the waiter called us Senoia,s Mexican beer hot servacious it was a good night. We were so stuffed it was a rough walk home and Earl managed to bust a button on his shorts so without a belt he had to hold up his shorts on the walk home......So now we are in Rick and Cheryl's room having an night cap think we,all have an early night...Till tomorrow.....

Well we set off this afternoon about 2 o'clock and headed for the BC Ferries. We got aboard the three boat almost last on, tucked right in the corner Rick was happy that.The buffet was half price a light buffet....but the chocolate was plenty....we made the boarder in great time, shopped at the west coast duty free...Yep we got scotch for course, rum, gin, vodka and Kahlua.......we r on our way....and then we got picked for a random raping at the boarder...Rick was beside him self when they stripped his truck down,hoods up, luggage out, they asked us to come inside and proceeded to put rubber gloves on....you should have seen? the boys faces..... they gave us a good inquisition questions galore...then we got to sit the the Chinese people that don't speak English they finger printed them...Anyways we got to return to the truck with sweaty palms and pick up all our bags off the floor. America ain't it beautiful......So after Rick checked the truck for scratches we are on our way.....Fred Meyer is our next stop because after all we don't have any beer or wine.....Cheryl and I decide we better get some food to go alone with all the beverages.........So off we go on to Seattle ...we decided to go threw Seattle to Kent, Earl assured us this was a lovely area so we turned off and went searching for a hotel...well the King Arm, and West hotel didn't do it for us and after the Five police cars, ambulance and first response blocking the road we had a few choice words for Earl and did a u turn to the other side of town.....So here we sit in the Comfort Inn enjoying a beverage and waiting for a pizza great start ...the desk guy told us not to leave anything in the truck but we have rock star parking thanks to our little handicap sticker lol.......till tomorrow....

Trip Itinerary

2012 Specht/Ross Trip Itinerary Sept 19 Late Ferry, Buffet Onboard BC Ferry, hit the duty free onwards we go! Sept 20 (377 miles, 8 hrs) Heading to the Oregon Coast Sept 21 (434 miles 8.5 hrs) Heading to Santa Rosa California Sept 22 (55 miles, 1hr 10 mins) San Francisco here we come! Sept 23 Fan Appreciation Day at AT&T Park Giants vs Padres Sept 24 (405 miles, 6hrs 43 mins) Heading to Long Beach-Staying Onboard the Queen Mary Ship Sept 25 (21.7 miles, 35 mins) Anaheim Angels vs Mariners at Angels Stadium Sept 26 (95 miles, 1hr 35 mins) Off to San Diego Sept 27 Petco Park Dodgers vs Padres Sept 28 (128 miles 3hrs) Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium via the Coast Beaches Galore! Dodger’s vs Rockies Sept 29 Santa Monica Sept 30 LA Oct 1 (373 miles 6hrs 15mins) Oakland, A’s season final vs Texas Oct 2 Head for home via I5 Oct 3 Homeward Bound Oct 4 Arrive Home to our Beautiful Home… BC!

Well here we are Sunday before the trip. We were scheduled to leave on Thursdasy morning on the 6am Port Angeles but guess what summer is over and so is the summer schedule. So the boys dont want to wait till the 10:30 sailing so now we are going on wednesday afternoon..... There has been some serious and annoying discussions on this topic as Earl just pushes to get that 4 o clock Port Angeles ferry. Julie works till 3 but he keeps pushing never the less.lol We are going to take the BC ferry at 4pm Buffet it and hit up the good duty free at the truck stop..... Tonight I will get the approximate itinary up.....We havent booked all the hotels for this trip so it will be approximate....Till tomorrow...