Be My Valentine

A unique set of days came together this year. Both presidents day and Valentines day landed on the same weekend. This meant a 3 day weekend and the chance to get away. Lori checked at work and was able to getFriday off as well. Where to go and what to do? After a few checks and compromises, we decided we would head south and stay at the Seven Feathers Casino and RV resort. This resort is rated very high and we stayed here last June.

Both of us were getting over the crud and not very ambitious, so we put off most of the packing till Thursday night when we got home from work. Lori was headed east about 3:30 and I was watching the clock tick away. I took off and we met for a Latte on the way home.

As we walked in the door at home, I was quickly reminded of how no matter what you envision, reality is waiting to show its ugly head. Walt was sick and pooped throughout the house. It was time to break out the carpet cleaner and get to it. Lori dodged the bad stuff and took stuff out to the trailer, while I gagged from the smell and worked on the living room and hallway. As I got near the couch, I was surprised by vomit on the couch from one of the cats. Ki Ki has been seeing how much she can eat in a setting and tries to get all of Daryls food before she starts on hers. Then she is so full, she yaks it awhile later. We have to feed them in separate rooms or she takes it all. So I clean that the carpet. I needed to send Shawn a couple of pics of the trailer and as I sit there, Walt walks in and Throws up all around the studio. What else...well, as I clean that, I find a spot the cats have been using as a cat box! 1.5 hours later, the house is really clean and Lori has the trailer loaded.

We were up and off just before nine. We were worried because Walt had been sick for a couple days and not feeling well. This meant frequent stops to make sure he was ok. He was drinking some water, but if he drank alot, he would throw it right back up. I gave him just a little and he had a problem the first time, but was okay after that. The trip south was about 335 miles of freeway, so little driving challenges except heavy traffic in Portland.

As we pulled into the park at about 4:30, there several rigs in front of us waiting to check in. This place is very busy for the middle of winter. It is such a nice park, I can understand why there are so many people here. Soon we were set up in a nice pull through site near the pool and hot tub. By the time I got set up, Lori had tacos cooking and we had a great dinner.

Off to the hot tub to soak. My ankle was acting up from the drive for some reason and we wanted to relax. On a good note, Walter was drinking more and more water and some snacks. He seems to be getting better.

After dinner, Lori wanted me to set up the satellite dish so she could check out her soaps. This was not to happen tonight. For some unknown reason, the setup would not change to this setup. I tried and tried and nothing. I gave up and we hooked up to cable to watch the opening of the Olympics.

The next morning, Walt was ore alert and ready for a walk. He was doing alot better today and we were hopeful he was ok. We headed out for a Latte after a great Lori breakfast. We drove around a bit and found a couple small towns in the area. Not alot down here, but a nice area.

We stopped for lunch at the truck stop at the base of the hill. Very good food and then back to the trailer. We goofed off and it was in the 50's here, so we took out the lawn chairs and watched the world go by.

This is when things go bad...when you get a little bored and start to goof off. I felt the desire for some reason to open the awning in order to dry it out. I unhooked and loosened, looking like a pro with years of experience, but the post near the door stuck. As I opened from the front side, some water came down. I went and tugged on the other post a couple times, and pop, it comes loose! A large amount of water cascades off the awning to completely drench me head to toe. My lovely wife offered her support by asking if I needed a towel. Of course this was between the hysterical laughter.

This triggered a most feared necessity in our lives. Loren used to travel alone with us on the bikes and at least once a trip, Gwen gets a phone call that starts out " I wanted to call you first, so (insert a name here, usually mine) and tell you the truth about what happened before you hear it from someone else!"

It was my turn to make that most distasteful call to Loren. Not alot of support on this call, as I soon found out I was on speaker phone! The unsupportive *&@$.

Around 3:30 we caught the shuttle and headed for the casino. We had found out last wek that Frankie Avalon was performing tonight here and I got us a couple tickets. I could only think about his performance at his age would include tricked out walkers, maybe a quick break to change an adult diaper and samples of ensure for the audience. What the heck, its valentines weekend and nothings too good for my bride!

Much to my surprise, Frankie at 79 performed as well as entertainers half his age or more. We were treated to 50's and 60's hits as well as tributes to many icons of that era. Well worth the price of admission and the only downside was no ensure samples or even geriatric vitamin samples!

We donated our money to the casino and came back to the trailer and watched Olympics till bed time. As I write this, we are finished with breakfast and headed for the hot tub. With one exception, a great weekend so far.

Later, we both returned to the casino and while I lost money, Lori did okay, winning about $80.00, We wanted to try the buffet and were surprised how mediocre it was. There were alot of places with no food, little choice and tastless food. Not all worth even half the $19.00 per person. I do have to say this was n the heels of one of their busiest nights ever and may have flat run out of food. Either way, we walked away disappointed. Back to the trailer and more Olympics for a quiet evening and off to bed. I had been worrying about my slideouts as when we set up, they would not go out very well. I was worried we would have trouble getting them closed and with a long drive, could be a problem.

I woke at 6 and soon we were up getting things ready to head out. Finally, it was time to close the slideouts...no problem, closed like normal. I did grease the tracks, so not sure if that helped.

It took nearly 8 hours to get home with traffic and stops. We had a good trip home, but freeways are not very scenic. The truck did great and trailer pulled well. We were greeted to heavy rain as we got close and had to unhook in a rain storm...typical. I went to open the slides and again they struggled to open. Not sure what is going on, but need to figure it out. It was a great weekend and we had fun. Lori already wants to go next weekend as the weather is calling for sun and highs near 60. We will see.

Vacation 2009

Greetings from somewhat sunny southern Oregon. Lori, Walt and I are having a great time so far. Things got off to a shaky start the other night (Thursday) when we found tornado like conditions just south of Longview. We missed the real bad weather, but found 30mph winds and heavy rain for over 30 miles. It was not a fun time, but the wind was on our tail so we got great gas mileage.

We finally made it to Woodburn RV park at about 10:30. I left the trailer hooked to the truck, dropped the front jacks and hooked up water and cable (Cant go without TV). Soon we were asleep and slept real well. I woke up once to steady rain, but the sounds seemed to make us sleep better. Friday morning, we had a great breakfast of french toast and soon were on the road again. It poured from Salem south quite a waqys, but we did fine. Around 1 pm, we decided to stop for lunch. This is no easy feat with a trailer. We stopped at a nice little cafe and was able to get and parked with minimal backing. I was pretty proud of myself as I continue to learn more and more about how the trailer handles.

We arrived in Canyonville about 3:30 and as we were checking in, a lady walked up and handed us our MOC rally ID tags, book and info packet, greeting us and welcoming us to the rally. We thought this was quite the feat until she told us we were one of two Mountaineers at the rally and the other one was already here! Oh well. What a beautiful park. I almost felt we should not be here as we were a little out of our trailer trash element!!!. Soon people were introducing themselves and making us feel at home. We have done a few activities, but are enjoying being on vacation more that being at a rally.

Saturday am, I woke up first and let Lori sleep. She had set out Cinnamon rolls the night before and I baked them filing the trailer with cinnamon smells. Soon she was awake and with a good cup of coffee, we were talking about how rough it is to be warm, dry, and have great food all at our fingertips.

We goofed off for awhile and later caught the shuttle to the casino. Very nice place and pretty big inside. We had some lunch and I hit the blackjack table only to die a slow death. Frustrated, I took the few dollars left and we walked around. There were only a couple people playing craps, but they seemed to be doing well. Soon I was playing and a seven was rarely seen. Lori got in on the action and when this one guy started rolling the dice things got interesting. He went on a 45 minute plus roll and some guys made over a thousand dollars in that short period of time. Lori and I made pretty good money (enough to pay for all our RV sites for the week)...life is good.

We came back to the RV park and bragged alot. I keep telling Lori I could double our money with one bet, but she wont budge...anyway, good times when your winning.

Today, we headed for Medford and area for a nice day trip. We were headed for Harry and Davids. This was supposed to be a place where you can tour the facility and see how stuff is made. We got there to find a store and nursery. I was not a happy camper driving 80 miles for a damn store. Lori twitched and took off running screaming like a little girl...it is getting close for the home!.

We left town and headed on back roads heading towards Grants pass. Just outside Medford, we came across Jackson, OR. A town locked in the 19th century, old shops, people dressed in period costumes and lots to see greeted us. What an unexpected nice find. On up the road, we saw some beautiful scenery and hit a couple vineyards for wine tasting. It was a fun day and to top it off, we had put chicken in the crock pot when we left and had dinner waiting. Are you catching on about what makes a great vacation for us...wine and food and then some more food.

Tomorrow, we head north for a day trip to west of Eugene for a couple more vineyards, then back and start to break camp. We are leaving a day early in order to have an extra day in Spokane with Mark and Sandy.

Tuesday, we head for the Madras area, Wednesday to Tri Cities and Thursday into Ponderosa Falls RV outside Cheney. More later from the road.

Hi, We are back. Tuesday was another first for us and our RV. We had never pulled a mountain pass and I was looking forward to conquering another demon. As we hooked up the trailer, several people stopped by to say goodbye. It was fun and profitable to be here at seven Feathers this time.

We headed north and stopped for coffee. Walt didnt have a problem going right to sleep on his bed and slept most of the way across the pass. We hit the McKenzie Hiway and headed east. Soon the scenery was great and the truck was performing flawlessly. We got to the intersection by the McKenzie bridge and found the road was still closed due to snow. We headed north toward Santium pass and soon were pulling a good incline with a passing lane on our side. I was able to maintain 50 to 60 mph with little effort. Nice truck. Once at the top, a quick brake check and we were headed down. I turned on the engine brake and only needed to use the brakes a couple times. It worked very well coming down. Soon we were in Sisters and while gauking at the town, I missed my turn. rosie told me to make a left and I kept going straight. The reroute took us a long way out of the way and added quite a bit of time. I found a wide spot in the road and was able to make a U-turn with no problem. We turned and were back on track. Soon Rosie had us on back roads and when all seemed lost, we popped out on hwy 97. Soon we were setting up at the KOA in Madras, OR. looking at some very scary clouds. A few minutes later, a worker informed us of svere storm warnings and we locked down for the night. Most of the weather missed us but it rained all night and only stopped after we got soaked hooking up!

On the road up 97 to the interstae and then over to Tri Cities for the night. As we slumbered along the interstae with a good headwind, I checked mileage and found we were down to 8 miles to the gallon. Thats a head wind. Lori fell asleep and I quietly cleared Rosie of our intended route. As we exited the freeway in Pendleton, OR at the Wildhorse Casino, she awoke and I blamed her for the mix up. We got a nice spot in the RV park and off to the casino we went. Again, luck was on my side and we left winners. I love this RV park and Casino. Very well kept up and friendly staff.

It was off to A cross country trek and eventually hit hwy 395 which took us directly to Ponderosa Falls RV park in rural Cheney, WA. The person who assurred us he had made a reservation for us, didnt and although somewhat full, found us a spot. The clerk asked if I was OK backing up? I told her I was and we were off to our site. I pulled up and said to Lori that there was no way we were going to get in that spot. After calculations, conversing with neighbors and a deep breath, I backed down, into a pull through, turned around and then backed up the hill and was able to get right in the spot. Acted like I knew what I was doing!

We got set up and headed out for dinner with relatives who had also converged on Spokane. Mark, the oldest was getting his masters degree on Saturday and we were having a barbecue at his place after the graduation. It was a fast paced three days and soon it was time to say good bye and start for home.

We hit I 90 and traveled west to Lake Easton RV park for the night. The park was clean, but both the pool and hot tub were shut down, office closed shortly after we got there and trees prevented a satellite hookup. We watched a DVD and fell asleep early.

Monday, we hit the road. Not much conversation as we were headed home today. Soon we were backing in the driveway and the trailer was again clean and ready for our next adventure.