Back in Redding, we picked up our car with a new transmission and a hefty bill. We high-tailed it out of town driving north past the magnificent Mt. Shasta and into Oregon where we immediately cut west through the rolling, forested hills to the coast - hitting the Pacific at Coos Bay, a working fishing and lumber town. From the moment we entered the Northern most part of California, the importance of the logging industry on the region is very apparent. We are co...

Well, our mechanic in West Sacramento didn't exude confidence when he recommended a complete 'soft overhaul' of the transmission... and then to replace any parts he found in need of repair. That, and his 3-5 day estimate sounded a bit disconcerning. Plus, the thought of being stranded in Sacramento for that long really sounded aweful. So we made the decision to drive up to Redding, a couple hours north and take it into a Ford dealership. The next day, Thursday, ...

Pin entry... see next post for pics and story.

So our plan was to head out of Gold Country today and continue north but, as luck would have it, we got delayed... Last night, Aili came down with a bit of a tooth ache and this morning it was even worse. We called a local dentist and were able to get a morning appointment. As it turns out, she needed a root canal! What a nice way to spend a vacation day! Well, the dentist was able to do it right away and Aili was numbed up, fixed up and out by noon! We filled th...

Based on a tip from our friends Ted & Kat, we decided to skip Lake Tahoe for now and head back west and north to California Gold Rush country! It seems there are several old-west style towns built during the gold rush of the 1850's and now several good wineries dot the area. We headed to Sonora to make our base and found a quaint (and cheap) bed and breakfast called Pesce's Garden. It didn't seem like much at first glance but we had an entire apartment with ...