Well, here we are again, this time, off to Alaska. We left home on Tuesday, May 13th, and traveled to Lodi, CA, for a Holiday Rambler Rally. We're in Lodi until Sunday, May 18th, when we turn our noses north on I 5, heading toward Seattle and the Canadian border. We're traveling with Bob & Diane, good friends from our RV Club. We should be in Seattle on Tuesday, May 20th, where we'll meet up with LaVan & Louise, more good friends from the club. From that point, the three couples in their motorhomes will travel together to and through Alaska. We've met Dave & Suvina, friends of Bob & Diane, who live in Seattle, and will be traveling with us until they get home.
Getting ready to leave home was a real frenzy! We took the motorhome in for service on April 14th. The plan was to do engine and generator oil and filter changes, check and replace engine belts and replace the air cleaner. Whoops! They found a radiator leak which required replacing the radiator, and of course, the new radiator had to be shipped from Indiana and would take two weeks. All that accomplished, we brought the motorhome back home about 10 days before we were leaving on the trip. That would have been adequate time to get everything else done, except a contractor started painting our house that very day! We had a day or so to work on the motorhome before we had to move it to a neighbor's house to avoid it turning out the same color as the house. We finally moved it back home, had new tires installed all-around, and started loading for the trip. Once the house painting was finished, we also had to put all of the outdoor lights, watering systems and plants, and other attached goodies back. We really needed one more day to get things done before leaving on the trip, but we squeezed it all in and headed for Lodi.
We are really fortunate that we learned of friends in Santa Rosa, Ron & Ali, who needed a place to live while their home is being remodeled. They moved in to our house the day we left, and will be there until at least the end of July. Good for them, and good for us. We're a lot more comfortable knowing that the house will be occupied.
Meanwhile, the HR Rally is great fun, although the weather has been HOT!!! We're camped at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds, some 72 or 73 of us.
Fortunately, we have electrical and water hookups, so we can run our air conditioners. Daytime temps have been around 100 degrees, and the nights cool down to the low 70's. Sunday, which is get-away day, is supposed to be a bit cooler, and by Sunday night, we plan to be in Oregon, probably at the Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, between Grants Pass and Roseburg. Hopefully the triple digit temperatures will be behind us by then.
There are motorhomes and trailers (all Holiday Ramblers) from California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, South Dakota, Florida and Alaska.
It's a great big event with games,food and entertainment, but the major activity is socializing. Debbie's in charge of craft classes and a "gently used items" silent auction. 
Tom helps lead a morning walk each day and he also moderated a round table discussion on motorhome problems and solutions. A similar session was held for "towables", that is, trailers and fifth-wheels, moderated by a fifth-wheel owner.
While in Lodi, we had the chance to have dinner with our good friends, Nancy & Joel, who used to live in Santa Rosa. Debbie and Nancy worked together for several years before they moved away.
It's time for "Social Hour" now, so we'll close this post. More as we move along. We'll start to add pictures of the trip and a travel map shortly, but for now, the pictures and map are from our trip last fall to the southwest. If you want to check out that trip, you can select those earlier postings.
Getting ready to leave home was a real frenzy! We took the motorhome in for service on April 14th. The plan was to do engine and generator oil and filter changes, check and replace engine belts and replace the air cleaner. Whoops! They found a radiator leak which required replacing the radiator, and of course, the new radiator had to be shipped from Indiana and would take two weeks. All that accomplished, we brought the motorhome back home about 10 days before we were leaving on the trip. That would have been adequate time to get everything else done, except a contractor started painting our house that very day! We had a day or so to work on the motorhome before we had to move it to a neighbor's house to avoid it turning out the same color as the house. We finally moved it back home, had new tires installed all-around, and started loading for the trip. Once the house painting was finished, we also had to put all of the outdoor lights, watering systems and plants, and other attached goodies back. We really needed one more day to get things done before leaving on the trip, but we squeezed it all in and headed for Lodi.
We are really fortunate that we learned of friends in Santa Rosa, Ron & Ali, who needed a place to live while their home is being remodeled. They moved in to our house the day we left, and will be there until at least the end of July. Good for them, and good for us. We're a lot more comfortable knowing that the house will be occupied.
Meanwhile, the HR Rally is great fun, although the weather has been HOT!!! We're camped at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds, some 72 or 73 of us.
Fortunately, we have electrical and water hookups, so we can run our air conditioners. Daytime temps have been around 100 degrees, and the nights cool down to the low 70's. Sunday, which is get-away day, is supposed to be a bit cooler, and by Sunday night, we plan to be in Oregon, probably at the Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, between Grants Pass and Roseburg. Hopefully the triple digit temperatures will be behind us by then.There are motorhomes and trailers (all Holiday Ramblers) from California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, South Dakota, Florida and Alaska.
It's a great big event with games,food and entertainment, but the major activity is socializing. Debbie's in charge of craft classes and a "gently used items" silent auction. 
Tom helps lead a morning walk each day and he also moderated a round table discussion on motorhome problems and solutions. A similar session was held for "towables", that is, trailers and fifth-wheels, moderated by a fifth-wheel owner.While in Lodi, we had the chance to have dinner with our good friends, Nancy & Joel, who used to live in Santa Rosa. Debbie and Nancy worked together for several years before they moved away.
It's time for "Social Hour" now, so we'll close this post. More as we move along. We'll start to add pictures of the trip and a travel map shortly, but for now, the pictures and map are from our trip last fall to the southwest. If you want to check out that trip, you can select those earlier postings.
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