without passion, it's ? - with passion it's!

Without passion it's...

• just another trip
• not a vacation
• food
• water
• a stranger

      With Passion            it's

• Memory's to last a life time
• relaxing, invigorating, sustaining
• a meal to share with everyone you meet
• elixer
• friends 

Add to this simple list

Longest Days are Hardest Days, try Google Earth

Do you have cabin fever? I think cabin fever is where you spend so much time indoors in the winter that you suffer from lack of sunlight or maybe vitamin D or something. For the last month, since we changed the clocks I've been taking naps and having a hard timing staying awake while reading. I finished the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Ring, then decided to quit reading because I spend so much time re-reading what I've slept through.
I discovered that you can use Google Earth Street Views to visit foreign countries, my daughter moved to Adra Spain, and I've been snooping in the neighborhood she moved to.  I have spotted the school where she teaches, the beach she walks to, and the little grocery where she shops. At the end of her block is a greenhouse business with graffiti on the wall. I don't feel the need to visit since I have already seen the city from the google car, and it was free.

San Juan Islands for First Timers

Parks, Parks, Parks

This a partial list of Island and parks I judged to be of value and worth a visit when cruising, resorts are not included;

James Island, Jones Island, Sucia, Matia, Patos, Stuart, Clark, Cypress, Saddlebag, Obstruction Pass, Spencer Spit, Odlin County Park, Doe Island, Deception Pass.

Suggested 80 mile Itinerary  (5-7 days)

Lets start this cruise in Bellingham at Squalicum Harbor

Day # 1 You arrive late in day and launch boat, then secure a space at the overnight dock, now park the trailer and drive into town (ten minutes) and shop for all those last minute provisions. (Costco, Walmart, Fred Meyer,. etc.) Eat dinner out or come back to boat for a Barbecue.

Day # 2  Cast off for Cypress Island, leave early or late it doesn't matter, (your now on Island time) Bellingham Bay should be good sailing, make your way to

How to get a discount on that vacation rental

This must be the best secret of all time, because few people take advantage of it.
The answer is simply "ASK"
If your not comfortable coming right out and asking for a deal, try asking if they give AAA discounts, or AARP, or how about suggesting a club discount if you refer the vacation rental to your group.

Here are  some obvious hints:

• a management company is less likely to give discounts (its not their house) ask the owner!
• ask for last minute discounts (a week before you go) the owner may be desperate
• if you book six months or more in advance, don't expect big discount
• don't start out by saying my regular place is full (that's saying your second choice)
• try to schedule your dates for off season and on weekdays for biggest discounts
• if you book a weekend, ask for Mon. and Tue. free (it cant hurt)

Red flags managers don't want to hear:

• we have issues with mold allergies, is your house clean?
• have dogs been there, how do you disinfect it?
• we are really clean people
• the last house we rented had problems
• we demanded  ------fill in the blank---------
• can we arrive early or stay late, after getting a discounted rent
• can we use the washer and dryer

Lastly, after your stay send the owner a note saying something nice, and don't say oh by the way (this and that need correcting) no owners want to hear your nit picking and would rather you not rent from them if you can't keep it to yourself.

"Vacation Homes" do you consider them?

Many family's consist of two parents and two children, with all the money coming from one budget.
A vacation home rental may cost as low as $75 night for a small bungalow without a view and a hefty walk to  town.  Or as much as $500 night for a huge , sleeps 20+ view palace with its own game room.  Lets divide that big place by our four person family and we get 5 family's, that's only $100  for each family.  Now some more math, the local Sate Park costs $30 to $50 a night for a maximum family of six. Multiply our five family's and we may be up to $250 and our vacation spot still has no roof and you share a pit toilet with the world.  Too Graphic?  The point is that a vacation home rental may be a lot better deal than you have suspected.  Let see some more plus points, electricity (big one), refrigerator (another big one), beds, bathrooms, parking, TV/internet, play yard, game room, oh yeah, a roof, furniture, view?, reservations, pictures on line.

Vacation home rentals are available all over the world in the most popular vacation areas, and some in some pretty obscure locations.  Do a online search, simply search for "vacation rental" in your selected area, "Oregon Coast" "Hawaii" "Tahiti" etc.

Destination "Timothy Lake" on Mt Hood (OK south a little from Hood)

We aren't sure how many years we have been coming to our favorite mountain lake, but our first time was before we had any children when Linda and I were dating. I feel pretty confident to state we have camped at Timothy for 35 years and not missed a single year.  So much for old people thoughts.  We have reservations for six days starting next Monday. The kids well make they way up on their own at different times of the week with most of the crowd around on Friday and Saturday.  Over the years we have brought an assortment of camping gear and toys reflecting our resources and interest from tents, bicycles, school buses, and a huge assortment of watercraft. This year we travel with our Self contained trailer, 3 small car topper Snark sailboats, Livingston dinghy with 7.5 hp Honda, bicycles of course, food for an army, chainsaw, generator, you get the picture I'm sure.

Dinghy Sailing on Timothy Lake, Mt Hood National Forest

 We wont win any ecogreen awards and certainly don't expect  any minimalist hikers/campers to approve of our portable compound.  In our defense though, we will not be using plastic bottled water by the case, we will be cooking over campfires, and not using much propane, the sailboats don't pollute, I'm bringing the generator, but may not use it, Our adult children (about 10 are expected) will be tent camping.  We practice no trace camping, or as much as can be done at least in a National Forest Campground.
To reserve a campsite at Timothy Lake you must

Destination "Lake Chelan"

Our Aborted Lake Chelan  SailingTrip                                                                       

This was a much looked forward to but minimally planned sailing trip, We struck out from Portland in the mid morning hours with a six hour drive ahead of us. Faithfully following us was our 25 foot Sailboat safely perched on its trailer.   I wasn't in a hurry, all we planned for the first day was to arrive and we would spend the night at the dock, Spending the night at the dock was not an assumption, I actually read online that there was a dock for this purpose. Since being back I have reread the web site, and determined I made a mistake.

Jaiden and Sunshine at 25 mile State Park (as far uplake as we motored)

Before we left for Lake Chelan

Destination Lake Chelan, Washington

Here I go getting ahead of myself again, we haven't actually left yet, but I think we will leave next Sunday.  My lack of formal planning is running the show, at least the next trip, but I do have a method to my madness. First off the reason we are leaving next week is my son Jaiden just got back from Boy Scout summer camp and his mother thought he should have a week at home.  (not my idea at all) We're leaving on a Sunday because I think  Lake Chelan State Park will be less busy Sunday afternoon. I'm hopeful lots of people will be heading home.  We don't need a camp site but we do need to park our car and trailer at the boat ramp parking lot. My plan (ok I got a plan) is to drive for six hours rig the sailboat and plunk her in the water on Sunday. Hopefully there will be room at the dock if they allow dock parking, if not, a buoy, if no buoy's, we have anchors and a dinghy.  read more >>>

Destination "San Juan Islands"

In less than three days I'll be pulling the boat, We will have one day at home to load provisions and then Sunday hit the road for Bellingham Washington. Squalicum Harbor has free parking, so I've decided to launch there.  For a float plan I have only the first nights destination, (Eagle Harbor at Cyprus Island) after that we will decide as we go. Weather could easily (fog) make my choices for me. We have set aside up to two weeks although past trips have never exceeded one week.  I have a few stops that I'd like to include, a day visit to Olga on Orcas Island, plus a walk around the lake at Moran State Park on Orcas. Every year I want to spend the day in Haro Strait watching whales, maybe this year it will work out.  We could cross Haro and go to Butchart Gardens, but that means dealing with customs both ways and is a little bit of a negative. I really like the breakfast they put out at Roche Harbor, so food could sway me that direction. Roche also has good ice cream cones.  Just sitting and doing nothing at Jones Island could take two days; that reminds me, I need to pack some more books if I'm going to do nothing.  We are meeting some friends at Cyprus, and tentatively plan to meet up some more at Sucia and other stops.  I expect to try to motor as little as possible, using tidal currents and wind to get us around, last year we used almost nine gallons of fuel, this year I'm bringing three more gallons but will try to use less. We have just installed a new to me outboard, I've been experiencing some problems but I think I have everything under control. As usual the dinghy will be towed astern with it's 7.5 Honda clamped on the transom, we don't really need a motor

Destination, "Government Island"

The stars finally line up in my favor.  For weeks or months I have been threatening a overnighter on the sailboat. This weekend, my son is away at a scout outing and Linda says she’ll go with me. I think it helped that my daughter and her boy friend had announced they were going on their first kayak trip (around Government Island) since becoming kayak owners a week earlier. The boat is moored on the Columbia river and already has lots of gear on board, all we needed to gather was food and beverage, sleeping bags, books, cell phones, cameras and hit the road. 

Government Island is up river from Portland about five miles and is about seven miles long overall.  There are numerous

Do you let your schedule cause you to miss your vacation?

What does that mean? We have all done it, it's just part of being human and making decisions.  When planning a trip or vacation, we have some must see destinations, for instance, a special theme park, or a Broadway show, or Aunt Mollys condo on Maui.  But what about all the in between places that make a trip memorable and worthwhile, like the little roadside attraction that you knew nothing about.  Or a one hour stop  at the local gift shop.
A few years back we went to the beach for a weekend outing. I don't remember much of anything about the trip, except the Pelicans that hovered over the jetty, the craft fair with live music, and the restaurant where someone made a commotion.  My point is, the little unplanned things we do are sometimes very memorable and make the trip a success.   Recently my daughter traveled hundreds of miles on her way to a campground, and because she was worried about being late she skipped a number of short visits along the route.  She missed a wild animal park, numerous pull overs with fantastic views and much more. When I asked about her destination she responded, oh, it was OK, nothing special. Wow, I said, how many miles did you travel? About a thousand! Ouch.  Her next days major destination was closed for repairs when she arrived, I can only imagine what sights she missed trying to get to the closed important attraction.

My suggestion for planning schedules is to leave some room for adjustment, make sure when you come upon an unknown (and there will be many) activity you can stop for awhile. These short little stops may interrupt the schedule, but also could make the trip a huge success.
John

how-not-to-plan-for-your-next-trip   You may like this article about letting a trip happen day by day

Trailer Hauling Tricks and Secrets

Trailer Hauling Tricks and Secrets all Newbie’s Should Know

I tried to find a suitable article written by someone with first hand experience about pulling trailers, and all the ones I found were pretty worthless so I wrote an article myself.  I have many years hauling around construction equipment, boats and camp trailers.  I have never hauled a fifth wheel so I will not have much to say about them. Rather than try to put together something sensible I will just do Q&A thing. This article may entertain you old timers and help a few newbie’s.  If you disagree with something feel free to post comments.

·         First frequently asked question is “how much can my car/truck haul?  the answer requires more

Planning our trip to Yellowstone

Incremental-ism, The process by which one expands a trip to encompass something else.  Little steps add up.
Maybe she planned it, maybe she just let it happen, but all I said was sure, lets go to Yellowstone and the die was set.  We started making plans, surfing the net, discussed dates.  We knew which campgrounds we wanted at Craters of the Moon, The Tetons, and Yellowstone, we would make a round trip and make our way back to Oregon via Montana, Washington and find suitable camping along the way. Then one day she said, you know its not much further to Devils Tower, maybe we should consider including it as a side trip.  We probably will never be in the area again.  Wait a second I said, Devils Tower and Yellowstone are not in the same areas, Wyoming and some Dakotas separate them.  It's only 500 miles, "yeah one way, that's like driving all the way to San Diego"  OK, I'd like to go see Devils Tower too, lets find a campground nearby. You can guess that next it was Mt Rushmore, "you know right over here (pointing at a spot on the map) in the next state is Mt Rushmore, there's lots to see around there like Jewel Cave, and old west gold town type places, oh, oh and further over here is The Bad Lands.  And so it went until Incremental-ism had stolen my simple Yellowstone trip.

Here are some good points I think those of you planning a trip to these places might find helpful.

with green this and green that - save the earth - global warming/cooling

Can we go on a vacation like we want? should we be not flying in a jet plane across an ocean or continent?
What about a huge cruise boat, is it green to go on a cruise? Maybe we all should stay home. What if I stay home but you go on a plane ride, doesn't that mean you wasted my efforts.
The answer is yes, yes, yes, no, no, no.  Any thing you do  environmentally sound is a good thing, and should be applauded.  The point is to do something, that helps in the right direction.  Doing nothing is nothing. You may not save the earth, but you know you wont if you do nothing.
So take that cruise, fly across that ocean, and when you get a chance, recycle that trash and tune up your car.
Of course if you really want to get involved, you can book that cruise with a company that has a green reputation.
John

Its June and kids will be out of school soon Which means "times a wasting"

That's right, if you want to beat the crowds, you need to get going asap before all the noisy children clog the good places.  Many of our top destinations are seasonal around school schedules, Yellowstone, Disney places, Yosemite, you name it. 
Many people with kids are learning tricks, such as pulling the kids out of school a week early for travel, or starting school in the fall and then pulling them out for a trip once they get their homework lists.  So this means you cant wait until the last second, you need to out think the parents that are thinking like you.
Expect campgrounds to be booked in advance and not have room for you, try private camps, many will squeeze you in, and some places are cheaper than State Parks. Don't forget motels, some park prices are so high that motels offer competitive rates, plus some have a free breakfast.  We discovered boat camping 10 years ago.  We never need reservations, we always find room where we go.  Sometimes parking our trailer and car can be a pain, but with some creative thinking that problem is workable. With the economy sucking and gas prices so high, we are staying close to home and rediscovering our own locale.
What Ideas do you have?
John 6/6/11