Bobby C's "RV Park"

We are still in Ephrata. Bobby has quite the set up here with full RV hookups,picnic table,chipping greens,and fresh tomatos and strawberries growing nearby. We were lucky to get this spot (any spot!) over Memorial Day weekend.  We did some errands today...groceries,car wash etc and then went into a local bar to watch the Indy 500 on big screen TV.  Had Jack's chicken fajitas and a bottle of Columbia Crest Cab for dinner.
We'll be leaving here on Tuesday for Crescent Bar. Jack's cousin Rick and wife Jana will be bringing their 5th wheel over for a week. We're looking forward to it.

Soap Box Derby and Grand Coulee Dam

One of the entriesSoap Box Derby RampBarbque smokin' at the finish lineCoulee DamAt Sun Lakes

Jack and I drove over to Soap Lake this morning to watch some of the Soap Box Derby. The first kid out of the chute  wobbled off the course and crashed into the crowd.

Afterward we drove along Banks Lake... Almost 30 miles long & around a mile wide.... it is over 12%

larger than Lake Washington... up to Coulee Dam.  There is also a little (very little) casino across from the dam where we had a great lunch for $6...both of us! We did okay at the slots.

We stopped on the way to check out Sun Lakes where we both camped with our families as kids. One of my fondest (?) recollections of Sun Lakes is arriving after the gates closed...my dad would never leave  Seattle early enough to make it...and driving back to Blue Lake to set up our tent for the night. Generally the wind would be gale force and the tent would collapse  on us during the night. The next morning we would load everything into our '61 Falcon and go back to Sun Lakes when the gates opened. I believe my dad would set up the tent and then he,my brother and I would take off to swim leaving my mom behind to do everything else. No wonder she hated camping.

The weather is improving. It is about 68 and scattered clouds.

Chuckroasts and License Tabs

Woke up this morning to howling wind, black skies and 50 degrees but no rain so far. These pictures taken yesterday show some sun at least during Happy Hour. Bobby has his own chipping greens which are as nice as any golf course around, but uses his golf cart for hunting down little varmints called Chuckroasts... they look like big prairie dogs.(Note the gun racks on the front of the golf cart)

Yesterday Jack and I went to renew our  vehicle tabs at the court house. This is our favorite spot to get this job done as there is never any wait and the people are actually friendly!

More Rain

I'd almost forgotten what it's like in Washington before summer begins on July 5....rain

But we're in EASTERN WA and it's suppose to be sunny. Headed for Ephrata (pronounced Eee fray tuh) after some breakfast..It's suppose to clear up for the weekend.

Wenatchee River County Park

We left Renton this morning and hitched up the 5th wheel...(thank you Gary and Suzy for letting us park it on your lot!)

Another thanks to Gary C. for room and board...excellent as usual.

We set out over rainy Snoqualmie Pass and arrived at Beebee Bridge in the early afternoon. All the spots were taken :(    Plan B has us at the Wenatchee River County Park between Wenatchee and Leavenworth on Hwy 2. It is a nice clean park right on the river. There are full hookups but ours is water and electric only. We can stay one night as all the spots are reserved over the weekend.  This campground actually has better amenities than Beebee Bridge...wifi for one . Plan C has us leaving in the morning for Ephrata and Bobby C's place. He has a huge yard with RV hookups.

Goodbye Seattle (for a few weeks)

Tomorrow we leave Renton ,hookup the 5th wheel,and head east toward Chelan. We hope to find a spot at Beebee Bridge  http://www.chelanpud.org/beebe-bridge-park.html and stay until after Memorial Day.  Predicted weather is rain and thunderstorms tomorrow and Friday, with gradual increasing sun and temp by Saturday. We're good on the rain and cold for awhile and ready for a break.

I had a great time at my daughter Katie's house. Madison,Katie, me and Jack met for an early dinner at Red Robin, Southcenter, before I headed back to their place for the night. This morning I russled up some eggs and  Madison made toast. I asked  her if she had a deck of cards and if she knew how to play Slap Jack. She had a horrified look on her face and said "Grandma thats not nice to slap Jack!"  Ha Turns out it's now a favorite card game of hers. She kinda cheats.... which we're working on.

 Random Madisonism:  She told us that cat's can't do much because they don't have "posable thumbs"



Gary is barbqueing hamburgers for dinner and the American Idol finale is on at 8. Livin' the dream.

Tuesday May 25

I'm getting ready to go out to Katie's to spend the night and have a "girl party" as Madison puts it. We'll watch American Idol and eat popcorn. Madison, Rufus and I will probably all sleep in her twin bed. (Rufus is their 25 pound cat)

We had a great barbque  here on Sunday with smoked ribs and chicken,salad,little smokies etc etc. Too bad Gary never has enough food... ha.. I'll post some pictures when I get back to our laptop. Gary's grandkids are getting so big and it's always good to see everyone.

Some rain and clouds but yesterday there were a few patches of sun too. Jack and I have had our fill of this weather however and we're ready to head east of the mountains to the Chelan area (along with the rest of Western Washington over Memorial Day weekend)...and hopefully some better weather.

Hip Hop Dance Recital

Me and KatieMadison Matches the Flowers

Jack and I went to Madison's Hip Hop Dance recital yesterday at PLU. Her group was 17th in the program and I have to hand it to Jack for hanging in there the whole time. "Madison was fantastic of course" (said Grandma), and she managed to dance as well as "direct" some of the other kids on what to do and where to go. Fun to watch her. She was so excited she got to wear MAKEUP!

Having a barbque tonight at Gary's with his kids and some friends. Hoping the rain will go away for a few hours.

Rainy Renton

We left Elma on Thursday and dropped off the 5th wheel at Gary L's shop at Lake Tapps. Packed up some clothes and we're spending a few days with Jack's brother. Last night the boys made oysters,chicken, salad and bread for a great dinner.

Today is Madison's dance recital so we're on our way out to Tacoma for that.

Fascinating Neighbors

It started raining hard around noon so we don't have much to do. We have been facinated  by our neighbor across the road. Actually she left in her car but we have been  watching the assortment of animals inside her motorhome as they crawl onto the dashboard for a peek outside at the world. So far we have counted three dogs and three cats. One of the dogs is a rather large Dalmation. Jack's comment was "I bet it stinks in there" I have to agree as I have not seen her walk her dogs outside at all!

I've spent another good portion of the day reading Bill Bryson's book " The Lost Continent, Travels in Small Town America" It is one of the few books I've read that has had me laughing out loud or as they say in "text language" ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing). As a child, his family took road trips that remind me of some of the trips my family took. I will have to let  my brother Randy read it and see if it revives the same memories.

Leaving in the morning for Renton and a few days with Jack's brother Gary.

Rainy Elma

RV PARK CLUBHOUSEJack under our "front porch"

We left Seaside this morning under cloudy skies and some drizzle. Set up in the Travelers RV Park in Elma WA...still  some drizzle.  Don't be fooled by the blue sky in these pictures.We set our chairs under the 5th wheel for protection from the rain.

This RV park has a nice club house but the pool is empty and the laundry facilities are closed for remodeling. Not much to do in Elma. Elma means "Land of many junk cars in front yard of run down houses"

Seaside Sunset and Boardwalk

Jack and I drove down to the beach last night to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful sunny day. There were a few light sprinkles of rain in the early morning.

I walked from the RV park into "downtown" Seaside and out to the beach turnaround which is close to 4 miles roundtrip. Seaside has all the t-shirt and candy stores you could ever want...including their famous Salt Water Taffy....no way I'll eat this...too many crowns at risk in this mouth, but I did sample some Peanut Butter and Chocolate fudge. On the Carousel you can ride cats,giraffes and bunnies as well as horses.

Azalea? Brilliant Orange!

I already sent this picture of the Squirrel underpants to many of you. The storekeeper said he sells most of them to Chihahua owners.

We leave in the morning for Elma (WA).

Clams and Another It's a Small World Story

Yesterday afternoon we were relaxing outside the 5th wheel and Jack overheard someone talking about clam digging. I got online and saw there were some minus tides this weekend. This started Jack thinking about a friend of his with a son who has a cabin in the area. He called him (Don B.) to see where the best clam digging spots are and found out Don is actually here in Seaside this weekend. We met Don at his son's place which is right down the street from the RV park and went out clamming this morning about 7AM. Hundreds of people on the beach. I have never seen so many Sand Dollars intact on a beach either so I collected a few of those for "the beach" at home. We didn't get the limit of 15 clams but dug enough to add to the Ciopinno Jack is making for dinner along with the fresh fish we bought in Garibaldi yesterday.

Seaside Oregon

  We made it to the Seaside  1000 Trails park around 1PM.  A short 100 miles or so from Neskowin.  Passed by beautiful Manzanita and Cannon Beach on Hwy 101.Seaside was named for its first hotel, the Seaside Inn, which was built in 1870 and created the tourism industry here. The automobile turnaround  at the beach dates back to the 1920s, with a bronze statue of Lewis & Clark. Because of their foraging for salt in this area,Seaside is considered to be the end of the Lewis and Clark trail.

This park is an easy 1/2 mile walk to the Outlet Mall where I will probably walk over tomorrow while Jack watches a NASCAR race. The Boardwalk and beach are about 2 miles away. We'll head down there on Monday.

*** Update***

We are going razor clam digging in the morning with an old friend of Jack's from the fire dept. To be continued.....

Neskowin Death Camp

Slit Ear...R.I.P.Jack cracking crabSunny but cold

Jack and I are at the Neskowin RV Park near Lincoln City Oregon where we camped last year and met our favorite little bunny Slit Ear (picture from last year)and a thousand of his relatives. This year there are 3 bunnies. The lady in the office said that due to the mild winter the bunnies were all eaten by predators like coyotes and hawks. I call BULLSH*t!! I think the park personnel killed them all. How can a thousand rabbits vanish in a few months?

Anyway, yesterday while Jack and I were eating breakfast a man drove up in a truck with tanks of live crab in the back. Jack bought 4 of them for $5 each. They are big Dungeness crab from Washington. We'll be headed to Lincoln City this morning for groceries.

In Oregon

Mt Shasta7 Feathers RV ParkRainbow in Corning

We made it to Canyonville Oregon and the Seven Feathers RV Park    http://www.sevenfeathersrvresort.com/index.php after a cold (30 degrees) and rainy night in Corning. The 7 feathers RV park is beautiful with big landscaped spaces, a huge indoor pool  and shuttle service to the casino. Tomorrow we head for the Oregon Coast.

Coalinga CA

We got an early start this morning (7:30) and headed north on I-5 through Los Angeles and over the Grapevine. Traffic wasn't too heavy.  Stopped for a quick snack of chicken wings,yogurt,leftover pizza and string cheese at a rest area  this side of the Grapevine and pulled into this RV park (Sommerville Almond RV Park)  around 2:30. About 309 miles from San Diego.  It's a clean park with pull throughs so we are not unhooking the truck and 5th wheel. Just an overnight stop. It is rather cool...70, and we just had a slight shower. There is a pool here which I tested with my big toe and it is frrrreezing. Just down the street is a truck stop with diesel,a Baja Fresh restaurant and an AM PM Mini Mart so we can walk if necessary.Jack is napping and I am...on the internet of course!!

Hotel Del Coronado

House across from hotel

Jack,Gary and I visited the Hotel Del Coronado built in 1888. It is beautfiul and right on the beach.  Then we drove back to the Ferry Landing and ate lunch at the Little Piggy Rib place. Good ribs and sandwiches. Back to the 5th wheel and Gary has gone for a bike ride...Jack gone to wash the truck. I'm using the web while it is still active....probably won't have any more updates until Tuesday or Wednesday. Gary will be flying home tomorrow morning. We'll be heading north on Sunday morning going to Coalinga...to the Sommerville Almond RV Park   http://www.sommervillervpark.com/photos.php

Still sunny,slight breeze, around 74.

Torrey Pines Golf Course and State Park

We took a drive up to La Jolla ( pronounced La Hoya) to the Torrey Pines Golf Course which is famous for it's beautiful views up on the cliffs overlooking the ocean and for tournaments like the US Open. I could almost picture Tiger teeing off. We didn't play however... green fees are $175 for the North Course and $95 for the South Course. It was busy.

Afterward we drove through the Torrey Pines State Park and had a picnic on the beach until we were attacked by a giant squirrel and had to leave.

On the way back we stopped by Old Towne again so Gary could take a peek and do some shopping. Tomorrow we'll probably go over to the Hotel Del Coronado.

A beautiful day...low 70's,sun and slight breeze.

USS Midway

Jack,Gary and I hopped on the trolley and went down to the waterfront to tour the USS Midway. The Midway was commissioned in 1945 and saw duty in Vietnam as well as Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. It was decommissioned in 1992 in San Diego. In 1965 it shot down the first MiG of the Vietnam war..in 1975 led the evacuation of Saigon rescuing 3500 refugees in two days..

Some other interesting facts:

It had crew of 4,500 men
Used 100,000 gallons of fuel daily..260 gallons per mile
Served 13,500 meals daily with 200 cooks onboard
Has a 4 acre flight deck

It was interesting to see the different areas of the ship such as the radio rooms, flight deck control rooms and the over a dozen planes displayed on the flight deck.

Your Money's No Good Here Partner

Remember how I said we stockpile quarters for laundry on the road? I went into the laundry facility here this morning armed with quarters and a bag of dirty clothes and saw that there was no slot for quarters on the machines. A gentleman doing his laundry pointed out the machine where I needed to buy a "laundry card". The card itself is $5 and then you load it with more $$$ to do the wash! Worse than a slot machine! Dan and Terri, Dick and Sue...you have done more RV'ing than us...ever run across this type of contraption?