The next morning we drove out to Auburn and found Machado Orchards. A favourite of our friend BBL-Phyllis and had peach pie for breakfast. Then we wandered around the old town and poked in a few antique shops. Found a wonderful line of Halloween ornaments in the flavour of Willie Raye...I believe it's called Dixon. They had an Angel sitting in a crescent moon over a village with pumpkins below. Tempting but passed. Probably one of my regrets. Farther down the road we went into the Antique Emporium. I saw a great sewing cabinet with two drawers and a lift-up lid. The 4 handles were amber, again tempting, but how to get it home, yes it would have fit in the back seat, but where to put it? The price just wasn't tempting enough either. Found the Stitching Station in Roseville. The first time I found this store I got a great quilt pattern called holiday baskets. I've made the autumn version, it has 8 baskets and one jack o'latern. One of my favourite fall quilts. This time I found a set of pins for a pumpkin, cat, snowman and bunny person. Next stop was the capitol building in Sacramento, got out and walked around and looked at the historic district. Back to the hotel and had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. The next morning we drove out along I-80 towards Vacaville. Didn't find the quilt shop but wandered around the factory stores there. Then onto Napa Valley and enjoyed a wine tasting at my favourite winery V. Sattui's. They only sell wine at the winery, they do not do any distribution. If you want to buy a case and distribute it, okay, but they are not available in any liquor stores. Picked up some deli items and lemonade and had a nice picnic under the trees outside the winery. Had a brief stop in St. Helena to check out Vanderbilt and Company, one of my favourite stores. I always manage to find a little something, this time it was a chicken spoon rest designed by Susan Winget. I love her design style. We took a quick trip down the main street of Calistoga and then headed out to the coast. The redwoods in the northern part of California are an amazing sight if you've never seen them, their bark is a definite red colour and they stretch high into the sky. Around Willits we could see smoke billowing in the air. As we got closer we could see an helicopter with a bucket flying. There on the south bound side of the road was a grass fire in a gully. Several emergency vehicles were blocking one lane. Scary to see so close to a town. Made us think of the folks up in Kelowna and wonder if my cousin's home was still standing [yes it's still okay as of right now]. We spent the night in Eureka and the next morning found Scottie Dog Quilts. Very nice shop with a great classroom area. Next stop was Serendipity Quilts in McKinleyville. They had a couple of great quilts on display in their classroom that I wish I could have taken lessons on. One was curved pieced and the second was a whimsical house design. There may or may not be a shop in Crescent City, some folks lead me to believe it had or was closing and then when we crossed over into Brookings/Harbour they lead me to believe it was still open. The Brookings store closed about 9 months ago. Next onto Port Orford and Quilter's Corner. Last year I bought a mini wood quilt hoop from them and when I went to use it later in the day it broke. I mailed it back and they kindly replaced it without any problems. I thanked them for their prompt service. They have some great fabric and stencils and a wonderful sale corner. It's a must if you go along the Oregon coast. The scenery around this area of the coast is great. Up to Bandon by the Sea and stopped in at Forget me Knots. This is another wonderful shop to stop in and check out. The shop owner was giving an impromptu lesson to a couple of ladies passing through. They had a great sample of a stained glass fan that used a tie-dye fabric behind the black. Unfortunately it was much too early and too late to eat a meal at my favourite restaurant Bandon Boatworks. We chose to drive up to Coos Bay and go to Threads That Bind. If you ever get there, go into the back room, they have an amazing deer quilt that a former resident made that is wonderful. She now lives in Alaska. They have tried to get her to market the pattern without success. Up to Reedsport and doubled back towards the I-5 about 5 miles to see if we could see any elk in the protected area, but not today, has to be the first time we've not seen any elk. Last stop for the night was Florence where we had a great salmon dinner at Mo's. Informal dining, but very good food. Next, more of the Oregon coast and home, sweet home.
-- Sandi in New Westminster B.C.