Our Travel Blog
My mom, Audrey Inez MacKenzie, left this world for the next on January 12th. Her passing was peaceful and amongst loved ones. Fiercely independent, she wanted no fanfare. I am tiptoeing right up to the line of her wishes with this blog, but the past 3 months are as much a part of our trip as any other and she really enjoyed following the trip. We are very grateful we were able to spend the time.
The Wee Rover has been an amazing patient. Her old heart is out, the new motor is in and she is doing great under the excellent care of Dr. Fred! Now to fine tune her new bling 😁.
Well the wee Rover’s diesel conversion has us thinking it may be time for something different. So while we are in Florida we spent a little time looking at a few options.
Just kidding!
The wee Rover’s diesel conversion is well underway. We have a few pics to pass on as proof!
Sorry, these pics are a little out dated. We have been busy down here in Florida.
More to follow.
Hello All,
Contrary to the rumors that we fell off an Oregon cliff or are caught in a wildfire somewhere, we are actually on an unplanned hiatus. We dropped the Rover off to have her new engine installed and flew to Florida to deal with some familh business. We are not sure how long our hiatus will last, but you will be the first to know when we hit the road again.
We wish you all a very Happy Holidays!!
Peace,
Melissa and Darrin
The Duke, David Niven, Doris Day, Lauren Bacall and Bogart! We feel like we are walking with the legends from Hollywood’s golden age. The Rookery, our home for the next few days, as it turns out, was built by actress Ida Lupino as a getaway from the paparazzi of the era. It’s located outside Grants Pass, Oregon at the end of a long drive next to the Rogue River. It is part of a small number of cottages that were retained and restored. Ours is a nice little 2 room cabin with a fireplace, small kitchenette and a hot shower. The perfect place to layover during the Wee Rover’s heart transplant! Here’s lookin’ at you!
The time has come to say goodbye to the Oregon coast. We have had an amazing time walking on the beach, sitting by the fire and spending time with new friends. Ron and Karen, hosts extraordinaire, became good friends and made our extended stay even more special. Now the hard part of traveling…saying good-bye (or toodles as Karen would say).
Thanks for everything!
We will see you when we see you.
We were deputized for the weekend as junior park hosts, in training. Ron, host extraordinaire, had to run to the big city to pick up Karen from the airport. Per Ron, Buddha was technically in charge, but we would handle the money since he doesn’t have thumbs! Buddha then proceeded to try and delegate all of the jobs that didn’t revolve around swimming, and ball chasing to us. Checking the garbage cans, cleaning bathrooms, and his favorite, dog mess duty!
Like our souvenirs, we have been selective about the travel stickers we put on the Wee Rover. It’s a space thing and well, we are picky. While shopping at the Langlois (prounounced Langlass) Market the other day, we noticed a really beautiful local artist designed sticker of Oregon! Since our time living on the Oregon Coast has been so awesome, and Oregon being where the Wee Rover is getting her heart transplant, we decide it would fit nicely, and close out the right rear panel of our travels in the north from the Arctic Ocean, the Northwest Territory, the Yukon, British Columbia and Alaska down to the Oregon Coast! We will have to start a southern panel as we venture to Baja and points south.
The park has been quieting down over the past week or so with the cooler weather. The vacationers have fled back to their homes leaving the travelers to flow through on their way to their next adventure.
Despite the quiet, Ron, the camp host, continues his work maintaining the trails near the park, which includes clearing dead trees. The benefit of Ron’s tireless work is we often have an afternoon campfire. We barbecue, share road stories, enjoy each others company and the quiet solitude of the park.
The best part is Ron’s dog, Budha, gets to enjoy the freedom of the empty park, as well as a few well earned cookies!
