Pacific City, here we come!

Worship service was wonderful this morning, and my Sunday school class lesson went very well. When it was over, we went home, had lunch and loaded last minute items into Sadie.

We left home about 1:20 and headed out to highway 22. The weather was very cooperative. There was actually enough sunshine, when we left home, that we had to use our sunglasses. It was good to be on the road again. Jill was johnny-on-the-spot with the camera as we drove across the Willamette valley and into the coast range west of Dallas.

The sun lit up a hillside farm.

We have driven this route before, but it thrills us every time. There is so much to see.

Although it has been in decline for decades,
Oregon still has a forest products industry.

In winter, farmers plant their fields to reduce
erosion. I'm not sure what is planted in these fields.

We continued on past the valley and up into the Oregon Coast Range. I guess we were too entranced by the beauty of the rain forest to remember to take photos. The road is narrow and winds through the hills. Driving this stretch with and 8 foot wide vehicle requires a good deal of concentration. As we crested the summit of the pass, we began to encounter some mist, which became heavier, the closer we got to the coast.

At last, we arrived in Pacific City at the Cape Kiwanda RV Resort. We were assigned to space A22, and within minutes we were parked, leveled, hooked up, and had cable TV and wi-fi internet; all in time for the Super Bowl kick off. Jill made popcorn, and we settled in for the game. We both kept remarking how much fun it is to be back aboard Sadie, with some new scenery to enjoy.

While I was checking in with the park, Jill wandered over to the store area and purchased a fresh Dungeness crab for our dinner. Can you say, "Decadence?" Stay tuned. Tomorrow, we will explore the town and, we hope, the beach...weather permitting. Yet to come is using the hot tub, dining at the Doryland Pizza Parlor and the Pelican Brew Pub.

First RV trip of 2011

At long last, having moved into our new home on October 30, 2010, we are going on our first RV outing since the move. It's true we took Sadie out for a drive the other day, but that was just to exercise the engine and the generator. This time we are going to go to a destination and spend a few days.

Our destination is Cape Kiwanda RV Resort in Pacific City, OR, a whopping 45 miles from home! One thing I love about RVing is that you don't have to go far to have a fun adventure. We used to go 8 miles to Barton County Park, when we lived in Clackamas, and had some of our most memorable trips.

Yesterday and today have been given over to preparing Sadie for her outing. I am ashamed to say that amid all the details of moving into our home, I had not even washed her until yesterday. I might not even have done that, except that I got on a ladder the night before to change a light bulb in one of the marker lights. While I was up there, I could see that the roof was almost black with the "stuff" that had dropped from the oak trees under which we were parked all summer, while we were building the house. Do you have any idea how dirty oak trees are? Yuck.

After giving Sadie a well-deserved bath, I got busy repairing the damage I did to the garage door, getting her out. It seems the pull cord on the garage door opener latch snagged on the satellite dish on top of Sadie. That released the latch, and the door dropped down a couple of feet. I couldn't see that it had dropped, because it was still above the windshield. As I moved the coach forward, I heard a crunch. The good news is that, no matter how I abuse her from time to time, Sadie never lets me down. There was no damage to the coach, but the garage door panel bent just enough to pull the guide wheel out of the track. I had to straighten the panel and re-engage the wheel into the track.

Today, I checked the fluids, aired up the tires and airbags, and made sure the furnace and water heater are working. Finally, we began loading clothing, food and sundry gear aboard. We should be ready for departure shortly after church tomorrow. Can't wait to go!

Getting excited for the 2011 camping season

Early today, the sun was out, so I decided it was time to take Sadie out for some exercise. She fired right up; although, I am embarrassed to say, it has been since October 23rd that her engine last ran. There has just been so much to do, getting into our new home, that Sadie has been a bit neglected. She sits, cozy, in her garage; no need for winterizing, because the garage is insulated.

Part of my motivation was that we received a ten cents a gallon discount coupon for gas at Safeway. With Gas currently at $3.119 per gallon, ten cents off seemed like a good time to fill up. We disconnected Sadie's various umbilici, gingerly drove her out of the garage and down the hill to fill up. It turns out the discount is only good for the first 30 gallons, which means we saved $3.00; not a fortune, but enough for a caramel machiato, one of these days.

The gas station attendants were very kind and washed Sadie's dirty windshield while we were there. When we were finished (40.7 gallons later), we headed for the countryside to give the old girl some exercise. We had a lovely drive out to Perrydale, a little farming community a bit north of Dallas. The countryside was gorgeous, Sadie purred, and Jill and I reveled in being on the road. In fact, we determined it is time to plan the first camping trip of 2011.

While we were on the road, I started the Onan generator for a little exercise and ran the electric heater in the coach. It ran like a top...the generator, that is...well, the heater did fine, too. We returned home, parked our venerable lady and went in to have lunch.

That's when the snow began to fall. I felt pretty smug. I got Sadie gassed up at a discount, gave her some exercise, enjoyed a drive in the country with my best girl, and got home before the snow began to fall.

It is odd how a particular day or occurrence affects one's soul. I told Jill after we got home that, somehow, taking Sadie out for a drive made me feel that we are finally settled at home in Dallas. She told me that, whenever she is feeling grumpy or having cravings, all I need to do is take her for a ride in Sadie...or give her some chocolate...or, ahem.

A new home for Sadie

Our new driveway is rather massive!

Sadie all tucked into her new home.

Well, after 4 months and 6 days at the Ash Creek RV Park in Independence, OR, we moved Sadie into her new home. We have been living aboard, while we build a new home in Dallas, OR. Yesterday, we were able to put Sadie in the new RV garage! The house is not finished, but the RV garage is, and we got in just in time to avoid the first big storm of the season.

So, we are currently living in our accustomed luxury aboard Sadie, but under cover! It was so quiet last night. We had no idea whether it was raining or windy. The only downside to this whole situation is that we can't use the automatic satellite dish on the roof of the coach. I set out the portable dish, but was unable to find satellite 119W, so we have three channels: PBS, ION, and an all Spanish channel! The good news is that our Cricket internet still works great.

We expect to be moving into the house within a week or so. Then Sadie can have a good, thorough cleaning, such as we are unable to give her while we are living aboard. Once we are living in a stationary home again, I am sure, we will soon want to take a trip in Sadie. Now that she will be at home and under cover, I can do all the maintenance quickly and easily, so she is ready to go at the drop of a hat. And with an insulated garage, I won't even need to worry about winterizing!

Hello! Anybody home?

It has been a while since I posted. That is because we haven't been traveling with Sadie. We have been living aboard full time... in one place... while we are building a new home. We have been living in the Ash Creek II RV park in Independence, OR since June. It is a whole different experience living in one place in an RV vs. going "camping."

For one thing, we have been able to meet some of the neighbors and share in their lives, rather than just say "hello." Most of the people in this park are either full time residents or they are summering in Independence and will head south when winter sets in. Soon, there will be students at the nearby Western Oregon University moving in for the new school year.

Our tenure here is due to end on October 17th, when our rent comes due. Our able contractor tells us the house will either be move in ready by then, or close enough that we can park Sadie in her new garage and live there until move in day.

So, travels with Sadie? Yes, there will be some coming up. We have been accepted to the SOWERs ministry. So, we will be able to go on the road in service to our Lord. Our first trip will probably be in the spring, after we are settled in our new home.

How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm...

We replanted the herb garden in a larger planter that we can put outside. I added a connection to the automatic watering system, and we are now farmers!

Double, double, toil and trouble...

Here's an update on our star-crossed vacation. On July 22nd, we got Sadie ready for the return trip (150 miles) to Portland, where we planned to spend the night at Mom's house and meet the next day with Julie from Russellville Park retirement community.

My brother, Charlie, delivered Mom to the RV park while I was busy airing up tires and doing final checks for the road trip. Jill was walking Pogo. Charlie's daughter Laura needed to use the bathroom at the park, but we had a little trouble with the code for the lock on the door. And of course there was a little concern about getting 94 year-old Mom aboard, given Sadie's tall entry steps. Finally, we got underway a little after 1 PM.

We stopped at the Scatter Creek rest area, about 10 miles north of Centralia, WA. While we were having our lunch, it occurred to me that I had never seen anyone load Mom's luggage aboard the coach. Indeed, it was not present. Nor was it in Daisy Mae.

I tried to call Charlie, but he wasn't answering his cell phone. I was able to reach his wife, Bev, and we decided that if we couldn't get hold of Charlie, who had the luggage in the trunk of his car, we would go on home and Bev would mail Mom's stuff to her. Finally, Charlie called and confirmed the plan.

Just as we pulled out onto the interstate, Charlie called again and said, "Turn around. I will meet you at the rest stop and bring the gear." There is no place to "turn around" between the rest area and Centralia, so we agreed to meet in Centralia at the outlet mall.

It took Charlie about an hour and ten minutes to catch up to us. The transfer was made, and we continued on home, arriving about 7:15 PM. I called Bev to let her know we were home, and she said Charlie hadn't returned yet. He probably was caught in rush-hour traffic in Olympia.

This was one vacation that left us happy to be home.