Hi all! We are back online. Sorry about not posting last night but we got into California's wine country rather late and after a few foibles, we realised we did not have a wifi connection. Mental note, when looking for a hotel late at night and you are supposed to be checking in with your big sister, be sure to get a hotel where the wifi is working. AArrgghh! Sorry big sister, but we are fine and taking a day off the road after two rather full days of travel.

Here is the update from yesterday. To make it up to you, I will be posting another blog tonight. Two in one day! Have to take advantage of the wifi when you have it.

Yesterday morning we left Woodburn, Oregon around 8:30 a.m. With coffee in hands we excitedly greeted the day of travel along the I-5 for the entire day.

I took the first shift of driving which took us into Northern Cali! I love California. You get such a variety of landscapes and altitudes. Throughout most of Oregon, we drove along beautiful flat lands and valleys. I almost felt like I was driving in Southern Ontario again minus the crazy, caffeine hyped drivers you find on the QEW or 401; sorry guys, but it is true!

As we started our elevation out of the valleys and into California, the road climbed to a number of different Passes with assorted elevations. It was quite entertaining to see the road signs that were posted to forewarn travellers about slippery conditions.  In Canada, to signify that a road is slippery in colder temperatures or when wet, you see a figure driving a car that is slipping of the road, and the little man's hat is ajar. In California, the sign says one simple word of warning; ICY. When you think of California, you usually think of warm temperatures, the surf and surfboards. Then again, on the Siskiyou Pass, we were surprised to see the elevation of 4,310'. That is pretty high up there for flat landers and we felt the warmth which had been gradually climbing dissipate with our ascent.

We had a quick stop for lunch and then were on our way to wine country. The trip was an interesting one and the area has changed greatly since we were down here last in 2003. The route along I-5 was filled with those caffeine hyped types (after all we are now in the original Lotus Land), who allow their speedometers to climb under the watchful eye of the State Police who seem to be lurking in every crook, crevice and cranny, and behind billboards. Behind the billboards makes you this of some of those cheesy 70's Smokey and the Bandit movies. LOL.

Something that really stood out to me today, was how real the water shortage is in California. As we drove past Lake Shasta, which is the main water reservoir for Northern California, it was devastating see the extremely low levels, to the tune of approximately 30-40' below level. It is incredible to see first hand what we have been hearing about on the news for the past few years. There were also controlled burns taking place in order to help mitigate the possibility of wildfires again this year. Being someone who has spent many summers in the Cariboo Regional District's Emergency Operations Centre as the Information Officer, I know too well the devastation that can wreaked on an area as a result of these conditions. As many other parts of the world that are facing drought-like conditions, something needs to happen and it was good to see these preventative steps happening to help with wildfires. I fear that California and its residents are in for some tough times ahead in this regard.

On a lighter note, we arrived around 8:30 p.m., at the site we were to be staying at which is a KOA campground with really cute cabins. We stayed at this campsite back in 2003 in our RV for two weeks of wine tasting over Christmas, and knew they had cabins. Here is another tip for today; be sure to reach the campground to check into the cute cabins, before the office closes. Oh well, we found another local hotel for the night and will be staying in the "Tiny House" tonight. But more on that in tonight's post.

Once we checked into our motel, my mind was whirling with fun witty things to post on my new blog. I sat down with my fingers poised to type up a storm to find that the wifi at our motel was not working. Really?! Oh well, off to bed at 11 p.m. It was a long day, but another fun one! More on our adventures later. Can't wait to tell you about the Tiny Houses. All on the Path to Roatan!