All good things must end

It's raining this morning. That was forecast, and this time of year, expected in Oregon. Nevertheless, we will miss seeing the sun for the next few days.

Today is the last day of our little jaunt, and we are a little sad, but on the other hand, we have thoroughly enjoyed getting away for a change of scenery and some respite from day to day responsibilities.  Yes, even we retired folk have those.  Routines are good, but a break in the routine from time to time is healthy.

The trip home will be both better and worse than the trip down here.  It will be better, because we will not be racing the sun to an unknown destination, and it will be worse, because we won't even see the sun. I will try to avoid the miscues that we had on the way here and trace out the route that is the most efficient.  Our Bible study group is due at the house this evening, so we do need to get home in a timely manner.

The bottom line is that we always enjoy our travels with Sadie, and we will be planning the next one as soon as we get home and catch up with those pesky responsibilities!

Oh, dopey me!

Okay! If you read yesterday's post, you know that we are staying at Armitage park, near Eugene, OR.  You may also remember that I was concerned that I might not be able to post any photos, because I had forgotten the camera.  My hope was that I had remembered to bring the upload cable for my not-dumb phone (that is, it is not a smart phone, but it is capable of sending email and limited web-browsing). 

Well, of course, that was too much to hope for. No cable, no camera, what is a poor dopey blogger to do.  Aha! Why didn't I think of this before? I have a not-dumb phone. I can take pictures and email them to myself, open them on the computer and insert them in my blog! Voila! problem solved.

Not so fast there, Applebee. It is good to have a not-dumb phone that takes pictures (albeit, fuzzy ones) and can send email (albeit, slowly). Now, if only we had a not-dumb blogger. Let me begin from the beginning. 

Last evening, we enjoyed a reprise of Thanksgiving dinner, complete with a little two-buck Chuck.  We were tired and retired (um...tired and re-tired went over a bridge...oops, that's a rabbit trail) early. We awoke to fog and 37 degrees. Nevertheless, we were warm and cozy. Between the electric space heater which we left on low for the night, and Sadie's 40,000 btu furnace, there is no concern about a little chill in the air.

Jill took the girls out for their morning business, and we settled down to enjoy our morning coffee.  After breakfast, I figured out the idea of sending myself pictures for the blog.  I made a couple of test runs before I got it to work, but work it did.  We set out to explore Armitage park.  There are 36 lovely campsites, a picnic area, a boat launch, a beautiful river walk, and a nice, off-leash dog park, where the girls had a fine romp and tired themselves out.

Upon returning to Sadie, a bit chilled by the now 47 degree weather, it dawned on me that I had forgotten to TAKE any pictures to send to myself.  So, I went outside again and took a picture of Sadie, just so I could say that I had emailed myself a picture from my not-dumb phone and put it in my blog.
Here it is:

Of course I know where I'm going; I'm a guy!

We are on the road again. Well, truth to tell we are parked at Armitage park campground, a Lane County park, near Eugene, OR.  This is a beautiful park, and we look forward to exploring it tomorrow.  Our original plan was to leave yesterday after church and get here about 2:00 pm. 

Best laid plans, you know.  My mom had a fall last Sunday, which banged her up pretty good and left her feeling weak, unsteady, unconfident, and frightened. She was due to come to Dallas for a Thanksgiving visit on Wednesday, but after a hospital visit, she was feeling really ill at ease, so I took her home with me on Monday, expecting to take her back on Saturday.  Saturday, it was obvious she was not ready to stay alone, so I wrote my brother and told him I think we need to arrange for some help for Mom.

Good old, Charlie, he called on Saturday evening and said that he would drive to Portland on Monday and plan to stay with Mom all week.  I agreed that would be ideal, so this morning, I drove Mom to her home in Portland and had a changing of the guard with my brother. 

When it was time for me to go home, I called Jill and said, "I'll be home by 1:00, if you want to go camping."  So, she got busy and prepped Sadie for a two day trip, instead of the three days we had hoped for.

When I arrived home, I checked and adjusted tire pressures, checked the oil and water and made sure that Sadie was ready to travel.  We left the house about 2:30 pm and headed for Armitage park.  Now, neither of us had been here before, and we were only vaguely aware of its location.  I forgot to check the Mapquest map that I had made a couple of days ago, and the late Autumn sun was headed for the horizon at breakneck speed.

With only a couple of navigation errors, we managed to pull into the park just before dusk.  I got Sadie connected to the power, water and sewer; activated the satellite dish and connected to the wi-fi. Yes, there is wi-fi in this Lane county park! Once we felt at home, we walked the dogs up to the registration office and checked in. By then, that old sun had found the horizon, so we retired inside to the warmth and friendliness of Sadie's interior.

So far, the only downside to this trip has been that there was a certain amount of angst involved with heading to an unknown destination while racing the sun, and the park is not far from I-5, so there is a certain amount of traffic noise perceptible. Nevertheless, I expect to sleep really well.

Stay tuned for more info and some photos tomorrow, if I remembered to bring the transfer cable for my phone.  Don't hold your breath, because I did forget the real camera!

Eureka!

Yesterday afternoon, after we walked on the beach, we were ascending the bluff back to the RV resort. I noticed a trail and said, "Let's see where this goes." So we took a detour and walked 50 yards or so, before the trail kind of petered out.  At least, it became less manicured and more overgrown.  As we were turning around to head the other way, Jill said, "This is a huckleberry bush." There weren't a lot of berries, but this is what I got for breakfast this morning:

  

Today, the hunt was on: find Jill a swimsuit.  Well, fortune smiled on us. We looked on the internet for thrift shops, figuring that they would have less seasonal merchandise (i.e., swimsuits in October). After making our way to the Salvation Army store, we were disappointed to find that it was closed...but permanently. 

Next we found ourselves on Hurbert Street, which is where someone told us yesterday that we might find a Goodwill store.  I determined to drive it end to end. If there was a Goodwill store, it would not escape my notice.  About a block from where we turned onto Hurbert Street, I spied a women's resale shop called "Rags to Riches."  In we went, and out we came with a pretty swimsuit for my pretty bride.

OK; mission accomplished.  Now what will we do? That happened too quickly! We had planned to stop at Cafe Stephanie for a bowl of smoked salmon chowder, but it was before noon, and we were not yet hungry. We decided to make a drive to Agate Beach, where we know there is a little parking area and beach access.  It was a good place to take the dogs for a walk, and so we did.

 I couldn't resist this shot of some of God's sand sculpture.

My three girls on the beach. 

After walking a short distance along the shore, we realized that, with the strong wind that was blowing, none of us were having enough fun to continue, so we went back to the car.  We headed for Nye beach, where we parked on Beach Drive and made a tour of the Visual Arts Center. There are some talented artists in Lincoln County!

 Beach Drive is a fun, touristy area, right on the beach. 

Finally, we were hungry enough to enjoy our lunch at Cafe Stephanie.  It was worth the wait!  We followed up the lunch with visits to some local shops, and then headed back to Pacific Shores. 

 The building in the background houses the indoor pool, bathrooms and laundry.

The view along the bluff at Pacific Shores.

A beautiful day on the Oregon coast

Today, we were awakened at 6:30, when nature called Lulu.  I got up with her and we went outside where the full moon was reflecting off the ocean. The sky was filled with stars and the ocean was murmuring a hundred or so feet below us.  I took a picture, but it is not the best quality, due to the fact that my camera is a low cost snapshot camera. Take my word for it, it was gorgeous.

Later in the morning, we packed up the dogs and went into Newport to look for a swimsuit for Jill, so we can use the beautiful pool facilities. Have you ever tried to find a swimsuit in October, in Oregon?? We went out to lunch.

The Chowder Bowl is kind of hidden away on a narrow little lane called Beach Drive in the Nye Beach area.  It was recommended to us by friends, and they didn't exaggerate, when they said the clam chowder is outstanding.  Interestingly, the Chowder Bowl is about two blocks from the Cafe Stephanie, to which we were referred last year by Jill's brother for their smoked salmon chowder.  Nye Beach is fast becoming a destination for us, when we are in Newport.

Most of the pictures I took today are of the view from our front windows.  To wit:

 Last night's sunset, lens stopped down.

 Later, after the sun had dipped below the horizon.

 Lulu on alert...a dog or a person or a bird or a leaf just passed by.

 Yaquina Head lighthouse, at daybreak...

...and closer up.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

We are parked on the Oregon Coast with this view:

Don't ask what it cost us to stay at this primo space at the Pacific Shores RV Resort, and whatever you do, don't tell Jill! But the view is so spectacular, make that breathtaking, that I am just biting the bullet and enjoying every minute of it. 

This park was originally built by a company that marketed the sites to RV owners (make that RICH RV owners, among whom, alas, I do not number myself).  Eventually, the company went broke and failed to supply the advertised amenities, so the RICH RV owners sued, and finally were awarded ownership of the whole park. Now the sites are for sale at a fraction of their original price. 

We had no idea that we would have to pay what we are paying to stay in this beautiful spot.  There are other spaces available for about half the price, but they have no view.  But we are delighted, and since this trip is a bit of a make up for the vacation interruptus that we experienced when Sadie was longer at the Car Doctor than we expected, we are not complaining.

This park is near Newport, OR, one of our favorite coast towns and only 68 miles from home. Will we return? If we are feeling flush.  Are we enjoying ourselves?  Stay tuned and find out!

Kickin' back

We decided that, today, we will just take it easy, veg out, relax, kick back, be lazy...well, you get the picture. The day began with a walk along the river bank with the fur girls. They both love being on sand, and Lulu is definitely into water. To wit:

 As for Tom and Jill, we just love the scenery, and the beautiful weather and the feeling that, at least for today, the world is our oyster.

Papa couldn't resist the opportunity for some "artsy" photography, too.

And, when we returned to Sadie to relax, Lulu found her place in the sun.

Yep! It promises to be a great day.