Regal Jug is our 23 foot sailboat. It has been in the family since 1974. For many years we had an annual vacation somewhere in the San Juan Islands of Washington, or the Gulf Islands of Canada. The last couple years we have not done any major trips in Regal Jug.
This year Regal Jug was adopted by our son, Glen’s family. Two weeks ago they met us in Oregon and picked up the boat. They spent last weekend cleaning and updating the maintenance on the boat. This weekend we arrived in Gilroy and we formalized the adoption by going to a local lake and launching the boat and having an inaugural sail. Read More
An Adoption:
October 29, 2011
Time Warp
June 19, 2011
If you think we have a lock on wild scenic country in the west, think again. Here we are in the middle of Kentucky, a half days drive by freeway to places like Cincinnati, Louisville and Memphis . Yet we are caught in a time warp. Our campground in Mammoth Caves National Park has no electricity, no water, no cell phone coverage, no cable TV and no WiFi. Read More
Sedona-Three Tales
April 17, 2011
Yesterday we chose to drive Renee’s rental car to Sedona and back, a trip of about 250 miles. Our plan was to get an early start, take the scenic route and have lunch in Sedona. Return via Interstate 17 and Montezuma Well and Montezuma Castle National Monuments. Here is the story of the trip from three different points of view. Read More
Something New
January 29, 2011
In six years of travels we have never leased a lot for a whole month and stayed put. Oh yes we have stayed in one area for a month or longer, but always in places that limited our stay. We would have to move every couple weeks to go to the dump station, or to reset the clock. These locations always are close to our children’s families homes in Hillsboro, OR or Gilroy, CA. Read More
2010 in Review:
January 1, 2011
Here is a very brief summary of our 2010 travels. We have been traveling in Arcturus, our 2001 Alpine motor home since 2004. That is going on seven years now. 2010 is the lightest year of travels yet. We drove just over 6,000 miles, about half our normal rate.
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Frazier Lake Airport
December 4, 2010
Here is a story about one of the most unique airports I have ever seen. It is about five miles out of Gilroy, California where we have been staying for the past month. I have been volunteering again this fall at the Wings of History Air Museum. One of my fellow volunteers suggested that we should visit the Frazier Lake Airport open house this weekend.
Return to Gilroy:
November 5, 2010
One of the joys of living like vagabonds is the ability to change locations quickly. The weather in western Oregon was turning downright cold and damp. One morning recently I went to get something out of the shop trailer and I perchance looked at my lathe and behold it had taken on a distinct red hue. My tools are rusting away before my eyes; Oh the shame of it. A sheet of 600 grit sandpaper and some oil put things right, but it is time to seek a warmer and dryer climate. Read More
Family Legends 2:
October 8, 2010
This is the second in the Family Legends series. This is the infamous story about “The Gasoline Can.” Even in my youth I was a compulsive tinkerer and fixit person. This is a story that could have had a very different ending… Read More
Waltzing Mathilda:
September 11, 2010
At 2:42 A.M. Friday, September 10, 2010 Renee and Neil Tice welcomed sweet little Mathilda Starr Tice into the family. Judy and I were caring for Georgia Ann who is just one day short of her 4th birthday. We spent most of Friday at the birthing center in Portland.
When we left the center at seven p.m. everyone was doing just fine and Georgia elected to sleep in with Mommy, Daddy and Mathilda. You will find a photo of this precious little bundle on our website: Read More
Family Legends
September 1, 2010
In the big inning there was the typewriter and gelatin transfer mimeo. In that era Judy and I were the leaders of a square dance group called the “Sage Hoppers.” I produced the monthly news letter on “spirit transfer stencils” and a tray of transfer gelatin. Believe it or not, the product is still out there. I Googled it and was directed to a tattoo supply company. The product is used to transfer designs to the skin to guide the creation of the tattoo.
Next came the ham radio and QSL cards for spreading the words. I sold my ham radio intending to buy a better one but instead purchased a CompuColor II computer based on the intel 8080A CPU and 32 kilobytes of memory. With a 300 baud modem we could have posted notes on the popular bulletin boards of the day but that was not exciting to us. Glen and I were both learning to program in Basic and Assembly languages. We were computer geeks with a capital ‘G.’ Read More
