Red Bluff, California: DT and I were up early this morning, anxious to begin our trip south. He ran and I processed emergency Sunday book orders - worried that my wonderful customers would not receive their precious packages before Christmas. Speaking of The Camping Journal - I opened a new RV Log Book for our use Friday to record our 2010 travels. Good luck to us!
We followed I-5 south and felt we were in our own personal little Rose Parade. I can't count the number of travelers (all of them passing us on the freeway!) that honked and waved at us, flashed us an "O" sign or gave us thumbs-up or fist-pump of some-sort. I have developed a good parade wave! (I still feel people are very disappointed to not see Athletic Director Mike Bellotti - or some other famous Duck - behind the wheel.)
Anyway, not a lot of other excitement today - as we drove about 350 miles (at 55-60 mph), stopping only twice. My Driver is amazing. We did see a great Jimmy Buffett-inspired California license plate: FINZ RGT. Love that!
Here are a few photos - taken through the front windscreen of the Magna Peregrinus:
Mystic clouds hang in a valley just north of Grants Pass, Oregon. The view from the freeway into this valley is nearly almost stunning, but today - so pretty with foggy clouds cloaking the valley.
This area is richly historical and the place names are fascinating - Jump Off Joe Creek, Indian Mary Park, Merlin, Hugo and Umpqua Joe Trail. I think we need to explore this area more.
Goodbye, Dear Oregon.Goodbye smooth roads.
Goodbye No Sales Tax.
Goodbye to service station attendants.
Hello California.
At the California Agriculture Inspection Station, an agent boarded the Magna Peregrinus to look-over our lemons, limes and oranges. Mexican citrus is carrying scale these days, but we had the proper stickers on our fruit and were released without worrying about our cocktail garnishes.
Later, I snapped this photo of Mt. Shasta:
Really.Trust me.
There is a mountain under there somewhere.
And don't get me started on all the jokes I could write about a POT of gold at the end of a rainbow in Weed, okay?
Especially when the next billboard proclaims: ENJOY WEED.It's not even fair, is it?
It was dark when we pulled into a new RV Park in Red Bluff. Too late for photos, so check back tomorrow for my review - but trust me, the place is loaded with all the "amenities" we RVer's love and they gave us a site over 100-feet long, so we didn't even have to unhitch the Honda. Love that.
We settled-in for a quiet and early evening after such a long day on the road. I prepared a very easy and delicious dinner - using pre-made ricotta-parmesan tortellini. I boiled a half cup of sherry with a stem of fresh rosemary in a skillet until it was reduced by half and let it cool while we relaxed. Then I strained the sherry into a bowl and discarded the rosemary. In the same skillet I sautéed about a cup of sliced shitake mushrooms with two cloves of (organic, grown by a family friend) garlic and black pepper in olive oil. When the mushrooms were soft, I tossed-in the infused sherry, added about 4 Tablespoons of cream and poured the sauce over the boiled tortellini. I garnished the dish with freshly grated parmesan. Absolutely delicious - and RV gourmet all the way!
The accompanying salad had four ingredients: romaine lettuce, roma tomatoes, olive oil and black pepper.
You don't need to use sherry - white wine or chicken/veggie stock would be fine. Any mushroom would be fine. You don't need to infuse the wine/sherry with rosemary. I'm just telling you what I did for my Poor Old Driver tonight.Speaking of old... when we checked-in to the RV park tonight, the clerk, Debbie, asked if we could qualify for a discount by being a member of AAA or senior citizens. We are not members of AAA, so I asked how old you had to be to qualify as a senior citizen. Debbie never answered my question and was too unsure of my wrinkles and grey hair to actually ask for ID.
Saved $3.80.
Until my next update, I remain, your senior citizen correspondent.
RV Park: Durango RV Resort - Red Bluff, California. We have a full-service, 50-amp paved pull-through. The place looks amazing - though it is on the interstate. I will head out with my camera tomorrow, so check-back then for photos.