Heading to Newport

After the crazy sleep at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company (we were angled just right for those winds to rock the RV at 3 am) we got up and made our way down the 101 to Newport.

Our morning view from our way out in the open after a wind and rain storm:

It was actually a very nice spot out of the way and the people at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company were very friendly and we chatted for quite a while (Not being able to escape from their station helped lol).

But after having our coffee and breakfast we carried on down the road towards Newport, OR.

Once there we settled down at Walmart for the night. Picked up some supplies... Not sure if this parking lot thing is saving us or costing us by being right next to shopping! ;-P

We wandered down towards the ocean for a walk along the shore and lo! As we came around the corner we were presented by a beautiful rainbow! It was fully clear and all the bands were perfectly clear. And the amazing thing, to me at least, was how close we were to the base of the rainbow. I’ve never seen one so close!

The beach was a standard sand beach. Lots of broken shells and a few sand dollars (Cue neat factoids here) but nothing too exciting until the wind picked up and started shifting the sands. That was pretty cool.

Sands moving:

Classic cheesy silhouette of a random couple on a beach shot.

Afterwards we headed up to the Best Western for dinner. Which I broke the mold and had a salad which was surprisingly good and way better than mums mediocre seafood platter that was just sad. So we went home and made popcorn for dessert. Much better!

I’m going to end the post here and carry on tomorrow with our next jump. It feels like it’s been very eventful and lots of things happened and I just can’t put it all on here at once with our really slooooowwwwww wifi connection. I’ve been at this for ages and it’s been a game of patience with technology today. But I (well I think mum is too) am having a blast being a total bum packing around not really concerned with where we make it other than to the next spot at the end of the day!

Till tomorrow, g’night!

One heck of a storm

Tuesday morning and we are sitting at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company in Tillamook (http://www.blueheronoregon.com) in one heck of a storm.  Our first on the adventure.  Gusting winds up to 40mph (60kmph) and pelting rain.  Furgy (the RV) is rock’in and a roll’in.  Glad we are parked and not on the road trying to drive through this.  A little mishap with the vent for the overhead stove fan.  It keeps banging and letting water in as the air pressure changes.  We will have to work something out to stop that when the gales stop.

 

View outside our main window this morning.

I enjoyed Fort Stevens State Park although expensive with an extra $8.00 charge for booking on line.  The campground was tidy and good access to the beach about .75 miles away.  I am still a little surprised that the parks charge as much as they do.  $34.00 a night for us to stay……and you would think at least they would have warm showers with hot water.  But that was my only complaint. 

 

The cats really enjoyed the stay and the main window was a kitty tv for the 2 days. 

While we were there we did our 5km a day walk.  Once along Coffenbury Lake and another to the Fort Stevens Ship wreck and sand dunes.  I was glad the campground was sheltered from the ocean elements as it was cold and windy at the beach.Tyler taking a photo at the Ship WreckLeaving the park, we headed back up to Astoria Oregon to see if we could find the house that the movie ‘The Goonies’ was filmed in.  We didn’t find the actual home but wandered and sight seen a few others.  Stopped at a glass blower shop and bought a few ounces of fused glass pieces to wire wrap at some point.  We also ran across the Astoria Museum located in this beautify old home.

 

Astoria Museum

Then down the coast hwy 101 stopping here and there to do the touristy thing.  Met a mom and 2 sons from New York doing the same thing only in the other direction so did the neighbourly thing….we took their pictures for them and they took a few for us.  Nice family.

 

Tyler and Terry looking towards Bay City

Then we found this perfect little haven in the storm at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company.  Had a late lunch (they make awesome sandwiches) shared a Rogue Pumpkin Ale and headed back to Furgy.  I did purchase a few more titbits for Christmas like chocolate and sun-dried tomato and bacon cream cheese and crackers; but don’t tell Tyler. Lol

Walmart our new best friend...

   

Whew it’s been a great start! We stayed at the North Whidbey RV Park right across from Deception State park. As mum said last post it was an easy first stop. Heh, well except for the Fighter jets and bomber that spent the whole day buzzing around the park at near mach one. So loud! but they called it quits for dinner so we had two quiet nights.

The first day through we went for a walk along Cranberry Lake to the ocean. I tried to get a shot of the jets flying overhead but it’s really hard to hold your ears and take a picture at the same time! Needless to say I couldn’t get a good shot through the trees. 

The ocean side was beautiful with a few sand dunes and a gnarly old tree that has seen a lot of attention over the years!

But before long we were back on the road again! We took the 20 south and across a ferry to Port Townsend. Our next stop was Dungeness County Park where we took a break from driving to hike through the woods to the ocean beach below.

From there we continued on until the Walmart in Port Angeles East. Here we stayed the night and took the bus into Port Angeles where we hung out at the Coyote bbq Pub. Which was a blast! Until it was time to head back to the RV. The bus ride was pretty quick and everyone was extremely helpful making sure we didn’t miss our stop!

The next morning we woke up and hopped into the drivers seats and made our way though the Olympic National Park. We were delayed by a road crew that was cleaning up a slide that took out part of the road. It was a short 30 min before we were moving again. Mind you it took longer to get down to Aberdeen than I thought it would. The driving song of the day had to go to: No Roots by Alice Merton

Along the way we parked on the side of the road just before leaving the park behind us. Street view And a view from the lake. ha street view looks like it was taken on the same day!

Managed to catch a rainbow just barely shining directly on a little island just off shore before the rain caught up with us and we carried on:

Once in Aberdeen we headed to the Walmart to grab a few more supplies. This Walmart was crazy busy compared to the one in Port Angeles East but just as friendly. I’m amazed at the contrast from Vancouver and so far most everyone will look back and return your smile or polite niceties for almost colliding with them in the isles. I am really impressed with Walmart actually. We’ve gotten everything from memory-foam mattress covers to groceries and even a case of beer all from the same place and everyone is courteous of each other. That and the free overnight parking is awesome! That night was a bit more eventful as just as we called it a night 3 sheriff squad cars pulled up in front of our RVs (We parked next to another RV that was already there) and proceeded to chase after someone in a truck. We decided to head out earlier than usual the next morning. Mostly because of the busy area and wanted to get a head start on the weekend traffic. ;-)

After about 4 days on propane for our furnace and light cooking we thought we should stop and refill just to make sure we weren’t getting low as the gauge is totally messed and just points down like a wet noodle. At some point we’ll have to stop and get it fixed but not today. Our first stop was at the Mobil gas station across from Walmart which had a huge propane tank outside but the old lady at the register wouldn’t help us so we headed out of town and found Ryann at chimneytechniques who was happy to help us out. And, which it turns out, we had only used about 4 Gallons (about 14 L) out of our 18 Gallon tank! So while mostly just taking up time she filled up our tank and gave us one of those magnetic fuel readers that you can stick on the outside that gives you a fuel level estimate. We were looking for a BBQ as the one we had wouldn’t fit so we had to give it away but all she had was a Big Green Egg. Which as we drove away were trying to figure out how we could get it here! They look awesome!

Finally we headed into Astoria, home of the Goonies! (Great adventure movie) Goodbye Washington, Hello Oregon!

We are currently parked in the Fort Stevens State Park. I spent an extra $8 to pay online which once we got here realized it was a total waste as the place is mostly empty. But now here we are for the next few days to relax and enjoy the area before deciding our next stop!

Whoa this was a long one today and I haven’t gotten all our pictures from along the way or of the view from our window this morning but my cellular connection is just barely one bar and bout to give up on me. It will have to wait for a better signal... have a great weekend!

We Made it out of Canada

Holy crow we finally made it out of the country yesterday. I took us 2 extra days living in the RV in the parking lot in New West in order to sort things out but we made it. And what a wild ride.... Had everything battened down I thought....lol not even close. Even Carl the black cat had to hide under the blankets to avoid the crash and bangs. A few broken things but luckily, I didn’t bring a lot of fine china. Sam (the black and white kitty) hid under Tyler’s feet in the passenger side as that was the safest and least bumpy ride. Going through the border took longer than I had thought it would, although it was a breeze for us. The guards asked where we going, how long, and did we have fruits or veggies (only a forgotten tomato I said). I had to laugh when he asked Tyler if he was retired too when he looked at Tyler’s passport and we were going for 3 months. We just said he was for the next 3 months and off we went. A quick stop at the local Walmart centre for mattress pads, food and a few casual shirts for Tyler (yay he says...no dress work shirts); then off to find a home for the night. But here we are sitting in a paid RV Park just outside Deception Pass State Park at 7am playing on the computers waiting for coffee to perk. The RV Park is North Whidbey RV park. Very nice host got us all settled in with electricity, water, sewer, and cable for $36.00us. I know we are going to try for the more rugged camping spots later but for now it is nice to have a all of the amenities. We had originally driven into Deception Pass State Park to stay but got instructed that the water was here, then drive to the sewage dump (that was closed) and then we could pick a spot from 330 to 365 at the Quarry pond. Which was still across the highway and away from the beach where I really wanted to go. So, we opted for a very convenient, everything included spot. Next to the showers and washrooms, a good choice for our first night on the road. We may stay here an extra day just to hike, relax and check things out.

We're in the RV!

OMG we’re in an episode of Hoarders! 

 

Well it’s not really that bad.... 

 

As mum is clearly saying “Waaaaat?”

It’s taken us a little longer to actually move into the RV. There are still a couple of stragglers left in the condo for us to pick up on the way out. But we decided to take an extra day to clean up what we’ve moved in and downsize some more a bit as we have kind of, slightly overestimated how much stuff we have. I do have to say when the Salvation Army came on Friday to take all the furniture and majority of items they did an excellent job and were really good to work with! I was surprised when I got home from work to find a very empty apartment. But for all of the donations the motorhome (Fergy as she has been named) is much smaller than we had anticipated. Even though the things we have managed to sneak in here and squirrel away is really amazing! 

Mum and  I spent last night in our new home and slept surprisingly well. I even managed a full 12 hours without getting up! Today was a busy moving and cleaning of the condo day. It took me about 40 min round trip with my cart to ferry things from the condo to Fergy. That seems like a long time but it was actually pretty quick and oh man the looks I got packing all our worldly treasures down the street. ha! OOOoooooh and a special thanks to Jen and Priscilla for the sweets! Those nibs kept me zooming along all day! Heh but now I can hardly move. 

The kitties are still really freaked but have started to settle in and are taking well to their new environment. Like all cats it’ll take a few days for them to settle in. But of course Carl found the one closed door in the whole place and was very concerned about whats on the other side:

 

Of course opening the door got the attention of Sam who also had to see what was on the other side....

 

 It’s the bathroom! Holy cow! I have no idea what they saw up there that was so fascinating but they were intrigued.

It’s been a great start to our adventure and even though it’s a slow start and we haven’t left the parking lot I’m plum happy! Well time to tidy up and downsize a bit more, again, so we can zoom on our way!

PS. On a side note we’re taking down an inventory of what we have in our RV to register at Canada customs so that when we pass back into Canada in a few months we won’t have to declare those items. Like TV, Laptop, Hurricane Lamps, Artworks, and so on.

The Local Cart Lady

The looks you get walking your cart down the street are amazing.  Now I could get in the motor home and drive it up to the condo, find a parking spot (or not) and load the few boxes I have had ready each day.  Besides needing the exercise, I have rather enjoyed my dayly trip or two to the quay each day.

I think I may have even caught the eye of one of the old cart men that hangout near the skytrain station.  After 2 weeks of making trips, yesterday he perked right up, smiled and even grunted something at me.  I smiled and kept right on walking.  He was a little too perfume for my liking.  But it did make me smile.

     The last load I took to  Furgy.

Almost everything is in Furgy (that is the RV’s name) and ready to go.  We only have 4 days before we head out onto the road.  A little more cleaning, packing and out the door.  Tomorrow the Salvation Army comes and then that’s it.

I am really hoping that the fog we are having right now is gone by then.  I’ve always disliked driving in the fog and it is really hard to site see with it all socked in .

Crazy crazy crazy

This must be one of the hardest things I have had to do in a long time. Trying to make arrangements that are both affordable and convenient. After having a moving company come in to tell us that it was about $8.000.00 to have our things packed, stored and shipped to where-ever we land in 3+ months, we had to find alternative plans. We sat down and figured out what our furniture actually cost and decided we could just about replace everything for that amount. So, the purge continues and the decision to donate almost everything to the Salvation Army was made. They are coming on Friday to collect just about everything. I was a little saddened to make the decision that all the pictures, and personal trinkets had to go but on the other hand they are just that trinkets and pictures. All replaceable at some other date. It helped to know that most had been stored in the back closet for the last year and I had not missed them or even looked at them in the past 18 months. But then my brother cam to the rescue and is taking all the pictures home with him. He will sell most of them which is fine and I am glad that a little good will come of them. But things are coming along, the cats are registered and ready. The phones have a new number when we cross the border. Travel insurance has been purchased. The last of the condo will be cleaned on Saturday and technically we can be on the road Sunday. When we get to the first stop in Washington I am going to sleep and walk and relax for at least 3 days. ooffta