Off to the Banana belt for the 4th

Sequim is a unique area in western WA. It is in whats called a rain shadow of the Olympic mountains and does not receive much rain throughout the year. After joining K&M we wanted to get out somewhere and relax for the weekend. After checking the resorts, we felt Diamond Point in Sequim would be just the place.

I got off work an hour early and it only took a few minutes to hook up and get on the road to 'beat the traffic'. As we headed east, the westbound traffic was very heavy and we thought this may have been a great idea to head north. As we rumbled up US 101 through Shelton and then along side Hood Canal, it became apparent that very few were on this road today. We made good time and soon were pulling into Diamond Point RV resort.

The park is layed out kind of different. The center is the entrance drive, you then can take a loop to the right or two roads to the left. We were on the loop and found our spott tucked up against the hillside. It was warm outside, but the afternoon sun was nicely shaded by the trees. A easy back in and set up. I was excited to get the new Winegard carry out set up and grabbed it and soon figured out where south was. I set it up and within minutes, the tv was on and Two and a Half Men were on. Life was now good, Lori was cooking dinner and I could relax and watch TV. A few moments later 'Pop' and we lost all 120 volt power. I had the air conditioner on and forgot to turn it off to use the microwave. We were on a 30 amp box, which should be fine for most appliances, but you have to be carful with the microwave.

I reset it and soon everything was coming back up. What's this, no satellite signal, out to check and reset, I could hear it, but whats wrong? I went in and went through the set up again. Crap, what is all this? The menu's were different, you could not find the zip code entry or even the dish type. When it loaded a few minutes earlier, the system did a software update. They made major changes to the setup menues and added several new options. I didnt care...my show was nearing the end and I had no TV. Panic was setting in as I struggled to keep a clean mouth (kids next door) but with the cost of this new contraption...no, it was not going to beat me, I would win or else...(side note, average time to erect old dish, find north, set and tune in was about ten minutes...we are nearing 45 minutes now and this piece of &^#)* still wont work. I had 18 or so combination's for the receiver to work through due to their timely software download. The instructions (which I left home as it was so easy to set up) told me to choose a two lnb oval dish for the carry out and it would work fine. With the new set up, I didn't have that choice. I had a few 3 lnb choices but none seemed to work. You were also given the option of a single switch or multi. After several combinations, I tried a 3 lnb multi switch 72.5% option and all of the sudden, data started to download. My new carry out unit designed for quick set up only took 1.5 hours...Damn now its bed time...

On the bright side, I unhooked several times and locked up the dome whenever we left and it was 30 seconds to tv time when we got back. How much hardship is one supposed to endure while 'roughing it'!

Its Friday morning and I made Lori watch tv with me for an hour or so...It was not going to beat me...no way...I have a strange twitch in my cheek again... Soon we off and the GPS was locked in on a Coffee place. This would make everything alright and it did. We enjoyed the sun and later found our friends from biking Bill and Barb. They invited us to the family lot for the afternoon. Walt saw the water and just walked straight out and started to swim. He fel better as it was pretty warm out. Bill and Barb followed us to the campground and we enjoyed a wonderful evening of talk, wine and a barbecue followedby a little more wine. We said our good byes and again made Lori stay up and watch tv. I was going to get my moneys worth!

Saturday was a lazy start. I had written in the Montana owners club forum about assisting a neighbor in the park with a hot water issue. Soon a couple wrote to aske where in Sequim we were at. They were in Diamond pont also and soon we were visiting and catching up on our activities since meeting in Oreagon a few weeks ago. Small world.

I called my brother Craig and was able to meet him and his son Jeff for lunch. Craig too followed us back to the RV and again, wine, talk barbecue (are you seeing a pattern) and some more wine. What a great visit and hope to have many more.

Well as I rose early to watch more tv, the reality of our festivities hit hard. My blood sugar went out of whack as expected and it was slow going for an hour or so as I got the levels back down. We putzed around and got all loaded up to head home. A very nice and quiet drive home but was there problems ahead? The westbound traffic headed away from the ocean was incredible. How could so many people pack into that area? I have to make a left across the hiway to get to our house and this may be a problem. As we approached the turn, there was a substantial break like the parting of the red sea! Across, around and a pro style backing job got us off the road quickly. What a great weekend, but not as we had planned. Talked to alot of people and enjoyed life.

Not A Rookie anymore…I think

My wife and I are celebrating our first year of the RV lifestyle in a 5^th wheel. This last weekend on our way home from camping, we talked about all we have been through over the last year. I must admit, it was a daunting task to learn the lingo, perform the checks and be safe while still managing to enjoy ourselves. We have driven the Oregon coast and conquered the mountain passes of Oregon and Washington.

I still vividly remember leaving the lot of Tacoma RV never having towed a 5vr. The terror and chipped teeth from clenching as we rounded that first corner, to the look of terror when I saw stop and go traffic on the freeway. This soon gave way to cautious optimism as I learned how the trailer pulled. Then the dreaded driveway backing job. I was so nervous, I couldn’t even talk.

Soon we were getting pretty good at setup and take down. Times were getting better. I do remember thinking I had made an expensive mistake, going into a 5vr and why would people do this to themselves. Once set up though, life was good.

As time went on, minor problems arose. With the expert opinions of fellow MOC’ers (Montana Owners Club) I was able to work through the problems. It also helped a lot that our friends had a sob 5vr and had been there done that. My friend Loren was able to assist me in most situations.

I have learned a lot. My terror has given way to enjoyment. Obstacles in backing have given way to challenges. I now can get her in the driveway on one shot, and tight campsites do not cause me to break out in terror related sweats.

I now look forward to hooking up and hitting the road. I have no reservations on our route. I have learned that as long as big rigs go that way, I can go that way. I only need to plan a little more on the route. On our bike, we avoided gravel roads and that was about it. With the trailer, we have to watch for low bridges and narrow roads. I need to plan my stops a little more as in lunch and make sure we have a spot for the night.

We have learned a lot in our short time and feel we are now “sophmores’ at the RV scene. Thanks to the MOC for your insight and guidance when asking those ‘important’ questions. We look forward to many more adventures down the road. I just wanted to pass this on in case any rookies were feeling the same as they go through the wide range of emotions during that first yea

Catching up on past trips

We have been on the go for several weeks. I finally have a chance to catch up on our blog and get up to date.

Over Memorial day weekend, Lori and I went to Lincoln City for five days. We stayed atthe Premier Resort there. It is a beautiful and well kept park. It was a little difficult getting in our spot as it is a narrow street. Once in, set up went quickly and we settled in for a fun and relaxing weekend...sort of.

First thing Lori see's is a couple people in recliner lounge chairs. Now she is whining about how she has to have one. We had decided to take a drive and end up at the casino at Spirit Mountain. This translated into driving 90 miles to Wilsonville, only to see some real nice recliners on sale and soon we were off with two new chairs/ We stopped a the casino and had a good late lunch as well as played a little.

Back at camp, it was time to break out the new chairs and blend in with the other beautiful people. We kind of goofed off all weekend and nvere could get on the beach as there was so many people. Lori even found a new wine opener in the gift shop and had to down several bottles in order to practice with the new opener. Seemed to get harder as she got to bottle three and four!!!

It was a nice clear weekend, but windy and cool. It finally made it to 60 degrees as we left town. We made the trip back up 101 towards home. Not sure if it was just early or what but traffic is very light. A good time and we will definately stay here again.

Enjoying K M Resort at Ocean Mist

Right before vacation, Lori and I stopped by to learn more about K&M resorts. I had been looking at them for some Time and was interested as it gave us a RV park close to Cheney, WA. We can RV it and see Mark and Aunt Sandy and the kids from here.

As the RV bug has us in its grips, we decided to check out Ocean Mist RV park in Ocean City. It is only about 25 miles from home and will be a great weekend escape location, but close enough for work.

Lori wanted to invite her parents out for the weekend of relaxing, beach coming and goofing off. We all got to the park around 4:30 pm. I had driven through this park and was not overly impressed at first glance. I payed little attention to the layout. As we pulled in, I went to check in and the very nice lady in the office handed us our packet. She asked if we were going to set up the satellite dish and I told her we were. She then changed us from 140 to 110, advising some trees may get in the way. What a nice tip. When handed the map, the park now made sense. It was layed out as essentially two different parks. One on the road which is nice, but not very appealing. They then built a new section by the beach. This is where we got to stay. I was handed alot of flyers for the park and when asked for the .25 cents spiel about the place, was soon overloaded with activities and food choices. Didnt expect that.

We drove out to our site and quickly found it. It as all are back in sites, but very easy to get in. Soon we were set up and the hamburgers were grilling on the George Foreman. I finished setting up and set up the dish for tv. A shocking and disturbing feeling passed over me as I remembered the satellite box, but not the remote. I would be forced to endure the indignity of getting up out of my chair and manually changing channels on the box every time we wanted to watch something else! I took a deep breath as we are forced to watch standard definition TV while camping and now this...Is it time for a motel (with remote) or just pack up and go home! After several moments of reflection, I came up with a plan. Show Lori how to change the channels and "ask" her to change the channels. Ya that will work...in theory...after all. we are camping and sometimes a major hardship is a reality of "roughing it".

Grandpa and Grandma were enjoying themselves as usual. Onetime I caught Grandpa make a comment referring to the RV as "ours". He was quickly corrected and laughed at his phew paw. Saturday, we drove up to Seabrook for lunch. What a great view from the cafe. Then it was off to Aberdeen to watch "grandslam" Peyton in a must win T-ball game. It's always fun to watch the grandkids having fun. He is rather full of it when he puts on his game face!

Back to the RV and soon we finished making Spaghetti which had been simmering all day. I made a crock pot full of chicken wings and within minutes, we were picking our teeth and rubbing our stomachs. As in previous posts, food is not something we skimp on while roughing it in the RV.

Lori and I slept on the air bed in the couch. It is so comfortable, we sleep very well. Sunday, fathers day, we packed up and headed to the Quinault Casino for Sunday Brunch. Wow, was that some great grub. We were home by noon and withing an hour, the trailer was clean and ready for our next adventure. I think Grandma and Grandpa will eventually tone down the grin as they had while walking on the beach, playing with Walt and sharing great food with us. This RV life as bit us hard. It is so relaxing to find a little spot out of the way and just relax.

Oh, I forgot to mention, We pulled up and I was able to back the truck and trailer into the driveway on the first try. I was so impressed with myself. I looked around and only Walt saw me...he didnt seem impressed!!!

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.

Tip Toe Through The Tulips

Every year, the Skagit valley of Washington is host to a colorful and enjoyable treat. It is Tulip Festival time in the valley. Lori and I hooked up the fifth wheel and headed north. I was not looking forward to Seattle traffic and we waited till the morning traffic slowed, giving us a better chance. We made it through with little traffic and soon were set up in a nice spot at the Burlington KOA. Only minus for this park is very narrow roads, making getting in and out very close. We did ok and soon Lori's folks were there. We got all set up and set out to tour the fields for a preview. Nothing but dirt! The cold spring has delayed the bloom by a couple weeks, but a couple fields were in bloom and we were happy.

We relaxed at the trailer Friday night and picked our teeth after a great dinner. I had the heat up a little and didnt sleep well as it was warm in the trailer. In the morning, we feasted on another great Lori breakfast and as we were cleaning up, Mel, Lori's brother called and came up to hang with us. He found the campsite and after we ate, we piled in the car and headed for the fields. We stopped at Tulip Town, walked around and enjoyed the flowers. Later, we returned to the trailer, had dinner and watched a movie.

Sunday morning, we loaded up and headed south. Traffic was alot heavier going south, but we did ok and had a nice drive home. I felt the area was way too tourist oriented and everything from parking to going to the fields cost money. At Tulip town, we had to pay to get in for the privilage of purchasing things inside. Weird! Anyway, still a great weekend.

Indy for a Week

Couple weeks ago, I was fortunate to get to Indianapolis, Indiana for a week to train on a new video forensics system we have. It was a very busy week and at times a little overwhelming. I flew out of Portland Sunday Morning and the flight to Minneapolis was relaxing. As we made the connecting flight to Indy, the plane backed away from the gate and stopped. The captain announced we had to wait as severe storms were rolling through. We sat for about an hour and finally got out.

Once in Indy, I got settled and after a few brief hours of sleep, I was on a bus and off to school. On Tuesday, we had a surprise visit by the current Miss America who hails from Indy. She came in and talked, posed for pics and just talked for awhile. She was interested in talking to trainees who were from foreign counties. We had six countries represented. If you look close at the picture, the guy in the blue shirt is me! I was a little behind in our project so I was hard at work.

The flight home was interesting. Several interesting people on the flight and on the final leg, alot of kids. I was pleasantly surprised that most were well behaved. It was a fast paced, hard, but very rewarding week. I came home with cases waiting for me to apply new technology (to our area).