OUR TOP - and not so hot - FOURTEEN

Here they are, our personal Top 14 (of whatever) from our trip:

Best Seaside Resort: Ironically, it's SEASIDE, Oregon

For it's charming little village, extra-ordinary shops, fine beach, promenade and overall flair!

 Dumpiest RV Resort: SUNSET LAKE, Warrington, WA State

Best Detour: LOON LAKE, Oregon, off Hwy 101, 7 miles west of Reedsport

RV ground right next to the beach, quiet, quaint, a location straight from a Stephen King novel.

Most Amazing Nature: SAND DUNES off the Oregon coast . Here is the Wikipedia link

Second Best: REDWOODS, Northern California

Quietest Spot for a Good Night Sleep: Mill Hill, California right in the middle of the Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park

Most boring Boardwalk: EUREKA, northern California

Seriously, it's a dump. Approximately 300 meters of Nothing, no shops, no entertainment, no atmosphere.

Best Strawberry Ice-Cream: Funny enough, in EUREKA at LIVING THE DREAM!

They marinade their strawberries in balsamic vinegar for extra flavour extraction. You need to taste it to believe it! The best ever! ( I am a self proclaimed expert in this flavour- it has been my favourite since I can remember....).

Best Marketing Ploy: ASHLAND, Oregon
Ashland brings Shakespeare to the masses; they make it easy for all of us to understand, sit through and enjoy old English classics. In a nutshell, old English translated into common English!  
This town created their whole existence around Shakespeare , sort of! 
Let's be all honest here, only the most hard core of English literature fans can sit through a proper production of e.g. Hamlet -  It takes full concentration on your behalf to understand old English, patience and a soft cushion for your butt. This whole spectacle takes 4 hours! Yes, I 'suffered' through it. I had the privilege of watching one of England's finest live and in action: Mr. Kenneth Brennagh, Gods gift to the stage!  Therefore, I have to give this clever town my thumbs up!

Alfresco Live entertainment for the masses, lots of fun shops, a well designed park, plenty of parking and an easy going attitude towards arts! Well done Ashland!

Most adventurous, fun activity we did as a family: WILD WATER RAFTING down Rogue River in Cold Hill, Oregon

Coldest Water to swim in: The PACIFIC, brrrrr

Biggest Disappointment for Fish & Chips:

 In Newport at the highly acclaimed LOCAL OCEAN!
The presentation was fabulous, the chips were ok, the fish was fresh with no season, spice and / or taste! Oh how I dislike a chef who plays it safe! Put your finger into the pot of seasoning and show me what you stand for!

Best Shopping Deal: Adidas soccer cleats for $ 30.00 a pair for the boys at SEATTLE'S OUTLET VILLAGE!

Best Deals: OREGON! NO SALES TAX! The price you see is the price you pay! Hurrah!

Best people to hang out with:
Our own family! Yes, it can be done, 24/7 for 14 days straight!
 Apart from hanging out with the family, we met quite a few very nice RVers along the way. We had  a nice chat, exchanged information, shared stories - and waived good-bye. No obligation, no promises, none of the 'let's stay in touch, drop by when you are in the area" kind of talk.  Because we know by now this ain't going to happen anyway! Magic moments and fun memories, that what they are!

Overall Rating of the trip: 10 out of 10!

One Thousand Kilometers

further down the road and we are still in Oregon.
Our driver, fabulous husband extra-ordinaire Dominic, is doing a great job maneuvering this big 30 feet Beast along Hwy 101.

 So far he brought us from Trailer Trash Park (sorry, photos deleted)

via Newport

 

 to Loon Lake, (Reedsport)

to the magnificent Sand Dunes,

 all the way down to Gold Beach -  our last stop before we hit Cali.

 To put us in the right frame of mind, our boys make us listen to the Red Hot Chilly Pepper's Californication over and over again...

The views along the coast are magnificent,

 


the water of the Pacific is freezing cold

and the wind blows so hard it can take your breath away:

California, I hope you have less wind and more sun for us: 35 miles to go -

Childhood Memories, Nordseeinsel SYLT: Blessing or a Curse?

This awesome picture is my Past

Dear Island, You are responsible for shaping my early childhood memories.

I blame you for setting a high standard for every other island I visit.

You are the reason why for example I prefer eating shrimp fresh from the boat and not at a fancy restaurant.

Subconsciously you make me compare every beach I walk on. Every other one is too hard, too dark, too muddy or has too many pebbles.

My mother is convinced your wonderful, healthy air is responsible for my overall good health (North Sea air contains a high amount of salt- which in turns equals healing power!)

This is not your fault - I should blame my parents for dragging me to you, year after year. But even now, as a “mature” woman the love affair continues. I left Germany over two decades ago, today I live in Vancouver, but the memories remain!

It has to stop, right here and now!

Believe me:  Nothing compares to you- nothing compares to these wonderful Nordtfriesen islands up in the top left hand corner of Germany.  The Friesen-style houses only look good on the islands; sunsets look spectacular when you watch them from your Strandkorb with a glass of cooled white wine in your hand.

[caption id="attachment_138" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Friesen House[/caption]

You are the love of my life, always will be, but it’s time to give something else a chance to shine, to  be extra-ordinary!

The following is your lesson I have to learn from you:  If I want to fully appreciate the beauty of something else I have to stop comparing!   Sylt, you are not better, you are only different!

Sylt, I imagine we can form a harmonious partnership – but this may also be the reason why I never attempted to live with you! In my mind you are perfect- and I don’t want to be disappointed. I’d rather live with the illusion than be proven wrong by reality.

Instead of living with you permanently, I will enjoy you in short spurts whenever I return. And when I visit you it will be with another bottle of wine from “Gosch.”(The islands most popular fish and wine bar) It’s fun to watch the rich and beautiful (in Germany that is) strut their stuff.- Or shall I rephrase this: the many wanna - be rich and of average looks waddling past.  The idea of paying to walk along the beach is still unheard anywhere else in the world, but then, you have your reasons for charging us!

This was then, this is now:

Pender Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands, lining the coast of Vancouver.

Like the rest of Vancouver, Pender is understated. If Vancouver holds the trophy of one of the worst dressed city in the world, Pender Island needs an award for “Easy Going” and “Hippy Chic”!

These two islands are worlds apart – but oh so special in their own unique way!

On Sylt you are judged by the clothes you wear, the size of your wallet and the colour of your AMEX card.

On Pender you don’t show off, you are not here to shine with your new trophy wife - you come here to just be yourself!

Pender is a rough beauty, raggedness on an unprecedented level.

Nothing cries “chic” or “sophisticated” here. Nothing eludes arrogance. Everything is so nice and refreshingly normal on Pender. Let it be the local residents or the day visitors.  I have seen and tasted more organically produced fruit and veggies on Pender, I have noticed more hand produced - or - crafted items here than I have ever noticed on my childhood friend.

If Pender is the rare diamond found on water, then Sylt is the fine cut and polished sister. And I love them both!

Extra-Ordinary places are found around the world and yes, my heart is big enough to carry them all!