Wednesday, October 5

Well, we are now at home in Victoria after exactly 3 weeks of travelling and adventure. Last night we stayed just south of Bellingham, so it was an easy drive home today.

Thanks for tuning in to the blog. It will be a diary for us for our trip, and it provided some light entertainment besides.  All the best to all of you.

Monday, October 3

We had a nice day here in Lincoln City, walking on the beach and taking it easy. We will head for home Tuesday and get there tomorrow or Wednesday. I am posting photos below of the Napa Valley and Oregon Coast.

San Francisco and Golden Gate Bridge in the background

A vineyard somewhere along the Napa Valley

Castello di Amorosa, the castle I mentioned

before where we took the tour

Grapevine at the castle

The story about the castle

Dana on the drawbridge

Courtyard

The 'Grand Room' where only royalty and

nobility would be admitted. At this castle,

you can rent this for prvate functions

Part of their vineyards and view from the castle

Grapes being put into the crusher

Some of the red wine vats

Some of the casks

Dana getting a taste wine from our guide.

He gave a lesson on how to properl taste wine.

Everyone lined up to have some put into their glass.

I called it 'Jonestown'.

Wine tasting at the end of the tour

Oregon

One of the views along the coast

In front of our hotel

 

 

Sunday, October 2

Here we are in wonderful Lincoln City, Oregon. We are at a Best Western right on the beach, and I can hear the roar of the sea.

Yesterday we drove up the Napa Valley, and took a tour of Castillo di Amorosa, a real castle that is a winery. We took a fascinating tour, and at the end there was a wine tasting of 5 different wines. We took photos, but you can really see it better at www.castellodiamorosa.com . There are photos there, and a video. It is really interesting. It was built recently, but the fellow who owns it did it authentically. The bricks are hundreds of years old, and many of the other materials were brought from Italy, and again, are hundreds of years old. He was collecting things for about 30 years. What he could not find, they built the way it would have been built 700 years ago. It is 121,000 square feet, and on 8 levels. It was really interesting.

We drove the rest of the way up the valley to Geyserville, where we returned to 101 north. Last night we stayed in Crescent City, California and drove here to Lincoln City today. I expect we will be in Victoria by about Wednesday. Marg and Sandy are on the coast as well, and we think we will connect in Portland on Tuesday.

I will post some photos on Monday.

Saturday, October 1

Well, here we are in the Napa Valley, just about to leave Napa and head north on Hwy 29. We will then get back to 101 at Geyserville, California.

We had a nice time in San Francisco. We stayed on Fisherman's Wharf which was lovely, and yesterday Dana took a city tour before we left. It was just a short drive to get here.

So this morning we will take in a few wineries on the way. I cannot get over the fact that they charge for tasting their wine. At the visitor centre yesterday we heard that one place charges $40 for one glass for two people. They said the wine costs about $200 per bottle from this particular place. Evidently the average price at other wineries is $10 to $20. To taste their wine? Good grief!

Hoping to get to Eureka tonight, since there is not much in the way of services between Geyserville and there. We will post again from the Oregon Coast.

Wednesday, September 28

Santa Barbara

Tuesday, September 27

Sharon with Erin Sommerville, our oncology coach

(at La Casa de Maria, where the Simonton Cancer

Center program is held)

Karen Simonton, Sharon, Erin

Here we are again

The Simonton Cancer Center is running a program this week. It is the same week that Jenny and I were there last year. Erin is one of the facilitators as she was for our program. She also was our oncology coach from December to July and I am so grateful for the help she gave to us

Karen Simonton is the Executive Director, and she came to Santa Barbara yesterday to see me - how nice of her. So after all the greetings, Karen, Dana and I went to lunch, then Karen took us to the Santa Barbara Mission, which was built in the late 1700s.

It was a really interesting afternoon. And Karen got a candle for me to light for Jenny.

The parish chapel at the mission

An Australian fig tree at the mission in the

cemetery where there were several

above ground cement tombs

Some 'really old music'

My new vocation

After we left the mission we went for dinner at Moby Dick, the same restaurant we went to last year when we were there. I wondered how it would be, but it was fine - in terms of nastalgia.  

Then we went back to La Casa de Maria. I was in the cafeteria talking to Erin and the other facilitator, Patricia, when Karen came in and talked to Erin. Then they asked me if Dana and I would like to participate in the Power of Play part of the patient program, which was just about to start. This is facilitated by someone else, other than the Erin and Patricia.

Well, the bottom line is that I asked Dana, she said OK having no idea of what it was about, and Karen asked the program participants if it would be OK with them. It was.

The Power of Play is all about the how fun, laughter etc affects your health. You let down your guards and do some really fun and sometimes silly things. Jenny and I absolutley loved this last year.

So there I was back in the same room where we spent a week last year, taking part in the Power of Play which Jenny and I loved and had so much fun with. I could not believe this was happening. But I am so grateful that it did. It is very difficult for me to express the feelings I had being there, and with Karen and Erin, and participating in the Power of Play. All of it felt so comfortable, safe and good. I am so lucky to have had this experience, and it will all be an important part of my process.

Dana and I presenting our 'invention'

Wednesday, September 27

We arrived at Hearst Castle at about 1:30 today. We had originally thought we would go there tomorrow, but since we got there early we went ahead on the tour. It was very foggy at the entrance level (Hwy 1), which is right across from the ocean. You have to leave your car at the visitor center, and board a bus to take you the 5 miles to the top of the mountain. Lo and behold, it was clear and sunny up there.

Dana has wanted to go to the Hearst Castle since she was in her 20s (abou 10 years? - ahem). She kept saying, "I can't believe I'm here". Anyway, we really enjoyed the tour. I have been there before but I really like it each time.

When we went back down, it was still foggy. We had some dinner nearby then drove 3 miles down the road and found one of the only vacant rooms in the area. We seem to have a talent for trying to find a room when there is an event. At the Best Western at San Simeone there was a Corvette club, and I guess September is a popular time for 'kidless' people to travel.

One of several rooms where cocktails were served

before dinner, which was at 9 PM!

The dining room. William Randolph Hearst

would sit in the middle, and new guests next to him. As

guests would arrive, you would move down the

table. When you got near to the end, you

knew it was time to leave.

Another view of the dining room

Guests would wait in this rom for the movie to start.

The photo did not turn out, but there is a full

movie theatre in the castle.

Billiards room

Dana with the Neptune pool in the background

One of the guest houses

Indoor pool

The road down is unbelievabe. I prefer not to look.

Dana says what happens when the driver has a heart attack.

Always the nurse, she said she thought she would look

for the defibrillator. I suggested we would be better

served by a parachute - attached to the top of the bus.

Tomorrow, we will head for San Francisco, then to the Napa Valley, probably on Friday.

About William, Randolph Hearst, from Wikopedia:

William Randolph Hearst ( /ˈhərst/; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher.^[1] Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father. Moving to New York City, he acquired The New York Journal and engaged in a bitter circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer's New York World which led to the creation of yellow journalism—sensationalized stories of dubious veracity. Acquiring more newspapers, Hearst created a chain that numbered nearly 30 papers in major American cities at its peak. He later expanded to magazines, creating the largest newspaper and magazine business in the world.
He was twice elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives, but ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of New York City in 1905 and 1909, for Governor of New York in 1906, and for Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1910. Nonetheless, through his newspapers and magazines, he exercised enormous political influence, and is sometimes credited with pushing public opinion in the United States into a war with Spain in 1898.
His life story was a source of inspiration for the development of the lead character in Orson Welles' classic film Citizen Kane.^[2] His mansion, Hearst Castle, near San Simeon, California, on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, was donated by the Hearst Corporation to the state of California in 1957, and is now a State Historical Monument and a National Historic Landmark, open for public tours. Hearst formally named the estate La Cuesta Encantada ("The Enchanted Slope"), but he usually just called it "the ranch".



Tuesday, September 27

Universal Studios

Yesterday we spent the day at Universal Studios. It was really a great day. My leg was not so good again, so I was on the cane. Recommendation: Want to the front of the line? Take a cane!

They gave me a pass, so we were able to get into everything like VIPs! So when we got our tickets, the person there said to Dana, "take her over there and get a guest assistance pass", like I could not hear or something. It was the same when Jenny went in there on the cane. They spoke to me and said exactly the same thing! Being on a cane means you are deaf!

Anyway, we went on the tram which is about a one hour ride through the lot and there are lots of special effects as you go through, and the set from Fast and Fast and Furious (one of the car scenes) and King Kong, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future and lots more . We also saw the animal actors show and one of them was the yellow lab from Marlee and Me. Also, the Shrek 3D, and special effects show. Unfortunately we could not go down Wisteria Lane, but passed by the entrance and exit (Desperate Housewives).

So today we are in Santa Barbara. We will head out to Montecito soon to the retreat centre where the Simonton program is going on. It is a beautiful day here, and we are out of the insanity of the LA traffic.

There are a few photos posted below.

They call 'Jaws' Bruce. That was the name

of Steven Spielberg's assistant

Some of the props for King Kong

Mother's house in Psycho

Norman Bates came out to greet us

Plane crash from War of the Worlds. This was a

real de-commissioned 747 airplane. They paid only

$60,000 for it, but it cost about $200,000

to move it to Universal.

With the Apollo 13 crew

Motorcycle Mama

With Shrek. We went into the 3D movie.

It was so much fun. The seats moves, water sprayed

on us, and it seemed like things were right in front of you