01-20-2026 Traveling South

Low Fog Over Grants Pass in January

Our journey to Southern California is a familiar one. I have written about it so many times that I cannot imagine there is much new to experience, either as a writer or a reader. We left without incident at exactly our scheduled departure time, no glitches, no last-minute items forgotten. The freezing fog warning as we leave is real, but after just ten miles heading south, the fog is no longer frozen, and bits of light emerge through the mist. The passes are clear. The roads are nearly empty in some sections.

Yes, I am excited to be on the road and out of the fog

The skies are clear as we pass Mt Shasta

We are pros at this one. It feels simple and familiar, even though it is a leisurely three-day journey. We stay in the same RV parks, familiar and affordable. Returning to Flag City in Lodi is like parking at home. We pay our Passport America half-price fee and slide into the familiar space. Nothing new here.

Mattie loves the green grass and warm sunshine at the rest area near Corning

Mattie knows exactly where we are. It amazes me how dogs can smell and remember a place. She is excited and wants to get outside to the dog park and the long stretch along the fence where she knows there will be lots of dog smells.

Supper is a meal I prepared and froze for traveling. Easy and delicious. There is one tiny glitch: the Tracker battery is dead. Mo cannot imagine what button got turned on while we were towing, maybe the radio. We discuss the options and decide it is something we can worry about tomorrow.

On this day of travel, we had fantastic conditions: a bit of sun, a bit of cloud, no snow, no rain, and very light traffic. I drove as far as Corning, where we fueled, and Mo took over the driving. I settled back in my seat to watch the birds in the valley refuges as we passed. I opened my phone and slipped into email and then Facebook.

That moment shifted the mood of the day.

Meeting Odel and Laurie for the first time in 2010

Mo and Laurie in 200

Laurie Brown had passed just two days earlier, and her sister announced it on Facebook. Long-time readers of my blog know all about Laurie and Odel. I met them through the blog, and Laurie and I started writing to each other in 2007. By 2010, we met in person on our way east, where they were camped in Minot, North Dakota.

Laurie and Odel visited us at home in Rocky Point in 2011

Laurie helped me understand the RV blogging community of the early 2010s. She helped me connect with other writers and discover that I wasn’t alone out there, writing about our travels.

I am heartbroken.

Lunch at Lefty's in Nevada City, where Laurie and Odel introduced us to Jimmy and Nickie

I called Nickie, whom I know only because Laurie suggested a lunch in Nevada City with Mo, me, Nickie and Jimmy, and Laurie and Odel. The friendships blossomed, with the six of us meeting for meals, hikes, and visits. I treasured her friendship. Nickie was devastated, but grateful to hear from a real phone call and not a Facebook post.

In 2022 we met again with Laurie and Odel and Jimmy and Nickie for a day of dining and hiking

We continued south along an almost empty interstate toward Sacramento. Memories flooded my heart as Mo nimbly navigated city traffic and we continued through the fog to our familiar home at Flag City RV Resort.

I will probably write a separate blog post honoring just Laurie, but for now, it was time to focus on the now.

Our next day of travel was uneventful accompanied by the fog hanging over the I-5 corridor south toward Highway 58

Site 9 at Mountain Valley Park

I write in the morning darkness at another familiar home, though not quite as familiar as Flag City. Mountain Valley RV Park in Tehachapi, where we have stayed only three or four times. Our old favorite, Orange Grove RV Park, is nothing like it used to be, and we decided the high prices weren’t worth the amenities.

Oranges from the Fruit Depot in Bakersfield

Yesterday, we drove past the park as we turned onto Edison Road for a ten-minute side trip to the Fruit Depot, once again to buy the sweetest oranges ever. I used to pick the oranges every year, but buying a bag for ten dollars is nice and quick—and a lot cheaper than paying park prices just because we like the oranges.

We stopped in Tehachapi to buy a new battery for the Tracker, and she started right up, just like the travel trooper she has been for seventeen years. While Mo dealt with the battery, I ripped into the bag of oranges and cut one into sections to eat right there.

It was like stepping into the sunshine of Southern California when I was a kid, when oranges were picked in yards and tasted like candy—so sweet and juicy. I breathed in the fragrance, cleaned the juice from my chin and fingers, and felt my body relax.

Ahh. The oranges are as perfect as always.

Ready for our last travel day to Desert Hot Springs

We will leave here at daylight, or shortly after, in clouds and predicted rain. The first view of the Mojave as we start down the pass overlooking the desert is never the same. Today is the day. The desert is there, waiting. And our home at Catalina RV Park, another home of ours for almost every winter since 2010, is waiting.

Ahhh.

 

12-31-2025 December

Always amazing to me when roses are still blooming in December

When I wrote the Christmas card to share on the blog, I knew that December would be just a tiny part of that story. There was much to share in this busy and full month, and I don’t want to lose track. As is often the case, this blog post is mainly for me, and I won’t be sending out an email or publicizing it. If you happen to still follow the blog via email or RSS, thank you.

I did steal this image from a facebook post about the fog burying the valley

December began as usual, wrapped in fog. For nearly two weeks, the valley stayed gray and heavy, the kind of weather that presses into a headache and slows everything down. With my strong attachment to decorating for most holidays, especially Christmas, I spent a few days pulling out the decorations anyway. 

Mo and I laughed about how uncentered the tree was based on one's point of view

I waited until the very last moment to put up the Christmas tree and gave myself three lazy days to add the ornaments.

Maryruth and Gerald always serve a lovely meal

Early in the month, we gathered with friends. Dinner with Maryruth and Gerald was a surprise treat when Maryruth called and said, “Can you come to dinner tonight? I have a recipe I want to share.” Maryruth loves to cook, and it is always a pleasure to share a meal in her home.

The book was Atmosphere, fiction about the early days of the space shuttle

Our book club continued our annual tradition of a Christmas party at Kristin’s. As always, it was a special day, with Kristin’s home warm and inviting. Her table décor was fantastic and reflected the book we read perfectly. I think most of us enjoyed the book, even though it wasn’t quite what we expected. It was fun to share the Christmas event with daughter Deborah for the first time since she joined the club last month.

Kristin on the left, then Robyn, Jennifer, Connie, Sue, and Deborah

The Sunday after Book Club, Deb treated Mo and me to a wonderful tour of the local Bear Hotel.  Evergreen Bank has a large facility where they store our summer art bears in winter and our beautiful Christmas panels and 8-foot-tall nutcrackers that line the downtown streets at Christmas time.  On this Saturday, it was the annual Christmas Tree Auction, and Deborah wanted us to see the tree that her workplace decorated and donated for the auction.  

Deb, Sue and Mo within the massive redwood trees at the Bear Hotel

It was a lovely visit, and we were so impressed.  I do hope we can get to the Bear Hotel sometime before summer when the bears are in residence.

We skipped the annual downtown tree lighting because of the fog, rain, and darkness. Seeing photos later on Facebook made us quite happy that we didn’t try to attend. The crowds were huge, and the rain was daunting. Later in the week, a rare break in the clouds brought “a bit of sun,” enough to notice and name, before the fog closed in again.

december morning fog

As I wrote in our Christmas card, December also carried a heavy weight with the news of Mo’s brother Dan’s passing, moments that quietly changed the texture of the days that followed as we adjusted to this sad loss.

Another tradition came mid-month as we turned west and spent a few days at Harris Beach State Park, tucked into our familiar site with a view of the ocean. We walked the beach, visited the holiday light show, ate seafood, and slipped easily into the slower rhythm that comes with salt air and tides. 

Christmas time in the MoHo is always fun, rain or shine

Mattie, as always, loved her beach time and climbed the rocks with all the strength and enthusiasm of a young puppy.

sunshine at Harris Beach in December

Mo and Mattie walking the beach in the sun

After the light show, we attempted to get an Irish coffee at the Fat Irish Pub near Harbor, just down the hill from Brookings. It was a bit of a disappointment, with several minutes of being ignored at the bar and then an Irish coffee served without whipped cream and barely lukewarm. We won’t have to try that place again. Our first time having supper at Khun Thai in Brookings was a completely different experience. A spotless restaurant, wonderful service, and fabulous food felt like a small celebration before heading home the next day.

Early morning at Sunset House on Solstice

The solstice arrived with bells rung at dawn, though there is a funny story about that one. I woke up early on what I thought was Solstice, ready to ring the bells and play the Jethro Tull video of Ring Solstice Bells at exactly 7:03 a.m. In the still-dark morning, shrouded in fog, I rang Mo’s antique dinner bell on the back deck, with it echoing all over the neighborhood. Returning to the house and settling into my morning rhythm, I looked at my calendar and, lo and behold, I was a day off on the bell ringing. I laughed a lot at that one. I should have paid more attention to the calendar notice I added last month. The promise that the light would now begin its slow return was worth celebrating, even if it was a day early.

One of Maryruths neighbors on the right with Deb, Sue and Mo admiring the menu

That afternoon, Maryruth and Gerald once again hosted a lovely Holiday party featuring her favorite appetizer recipes.  It is something she loves to do, but as with all of us, as we age, it is getting harder and harder to manage.  Her daughter-in-law, Gloria, was a tremendous help, and I am so glad she and Maryruth and Gerald's son Mike have relocated to Grants Pass to help their parents.  

After Christmas Eve Chowder with Mo, Sue, and Deb

Christmas itself was simple and good. Deb came to share Christmas Eve with our traditional clam chowder, which she proclaimed was the best ever. She spent the night, fulfilling this mama’s love of kids, young or old, sleeping overnight. 

Mattie loved her miniature lambie present after she figured out how to open it

Christmas Day was lovely as well, with an eggs Benedict brunch shared with Matthew later that morning. 

Matthew was very good at pouring Christmas Brunch champagne

We even had some presents under our tree, something that doesn’t always happen since we have eschewed trying to keep up with that particular tradition. But this year was different. Mo and I opened some truly wonderful surprises, including a framed photo Deb had purchased of the three girls at my birthday party last September. 

Sue and Deb on Christmas morning 

Melody and Robert sent us a beautiful basket full of goodies from our local Harry and David's store.  I have sweet memories of visiting Harry and David orchards when I lived with the kids in Medford in the early 70's 

Deanna sent a delightful electronic photo frame with software that lets each family member add photos for me to enjoy as they scroll by on a side table in the living room. I found that even though I can see photos anytime on my computer or phone, the random display of people I love in the background is so calming and lovely.

Christmas Day treated us to some much needed sunshine

December ended the way we like best: traditional Pennsylvania Dutch pork and kraut in the oven, watching New Year’s celebrations roll across the globe, then settling in to welcome the new year quietly from home. A month of fog and friendship, remembering loss and honoring memory, the light returning, a return to Harris Beach, and a quiet holiday.

One more day of sunshine in the bedroom before the January fog sets in again.

We are now readying for our annual trip south, and with the fog still hanging over our valley, our departure date cannot come soon enough. But that will be a new story in a new year, with a bit of hopefulness that our world might get a little less crazy and a little brighter.