Monday, April 4, 2016

We got up this morning with nowhere to go.  We were going to take a day off since we went to Oregon Caves yesterday.  It’s nice every once in a while to just have nothing to do and nowhere to go.

Sharon was up on her walk this morning and went around the two circles that encompass the park.

I spent the entire day typing my Journal into the computer.  I had been writing in freehand for the last 15 days until I got my word processor up and running.  And yesterday was the day to get it going again.  Unfortunately when I went to post it at my website I couldn’t cut and paste it in.  So I still have problems with the Journal on the web.  Hopefully I can get that fixed over the next few days.

Sharon decided that she was going to make pasties for Supper tonight and I certainly had no objection.  It’s and old family/business recipe of Meat, Potatoes, Onions, Salt and Pepper all rolled up in a crust and baked.  It’s one of our favorites, but they’re a hassle to make in the motorhome.  But they turned out absolutely fabulous.

After Supper we camped out again in front of the TV for the night.  Sharon had  taken a little nap this afternoon and apparently I saved it until tonight to take mine.  While one of our regular shows was on, I slipped off into oblivion.

For the rest of the night I just forced myself to keep my eyes open.  We watched a couple of re-runs and a couple of original shows and then some shows that were on the DVR taped.  We struggled to make it to 10 o’clock when we exited our positions in front of the box.  Why it seemed like we had a long day I’ll never know.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

We were up and at em this morning, and Breakfasted in plenty of time to make our date with our destination.

We left the campground this morning headed for Crater Lake National Park at a time when we thought the Sun would be at its highest so we would get some pictures with the greatest contrast.  Even though we left earlier than we thought we would, it took us longer to get there than we thought.  We did manage, however, to get to the park before our planned time.

We climbed to a viewing area at the rim of the lake but unfortunately the surface was partially frozen over so the colors were not as extreme as they should have been.  Even though it was only ice on the surface, it did ruin the color contrast of the view.  A Ranger told Sharon in the gift shop that it was good thing we weren’t here yesterday, because they had a blizzard and you couldn’t see the lake at all.  At least we got to see the lake.

It didn’t seem as long a trip back than it was to get there even though it was about 70 miles.  We found a Wal-Mart, thanks to the GPS, on the way home, and we stopped to pick up a few things, before going home.

After getting home I hooked up our utilities and dumped our gray water.  We also cleaned up the windshield of the bugs, and Sharon washed a couple of windows on the motorhome.  We were ready to leave tomorrow.

We had Country Ribs and Fried Potatoes for Supper tonight.  They had been cooking all day in the crock pot and were very good.  It had been a while since we had them.

TV was on the agenda along with a short nap during the evening.  We made it to 10:30 before we finally gave it all up for the night.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

We were up and ready to go this morning and we got on the road by 9 o’clock.  We left Rogue River State Park knowing that today was going to be a pure driving day.  We were on the road when Sharon thought about the location of Claude and Daphne Garrett who had settled in Oregon.  She quickly checked her facebook page and found them in Sutherlin.  It’s about 90 miles from Rogue River so we’ll get there about 11 o’clock this morning.

We arrived in Sutherlin ahead of schedule and Daphne picked us up in a parking lot where the business had closed. She took us back to their SKP(Escapee) Park where they were living in their 5th wheel.  The Park was very nice and right in town.  We had a great visit with them for about an hour or so.  It had been a few years since we had seen them so it was nice just to visit.

We were back on the road and heading toward the coast.  We always heard how beautiful the Oregon Coast was and we wanted to see it.  It was about a hundred miles to get over to the coastal highway.  Of course the roads are hilly and wind around sharp corners and in some cases are narrow.  There were construction vehicles that dotted the roads that we took to get there.

The views from the highway are spectacular to say the least.  They range from sea level to thousands of feet above the beach.  Much like the views that we experienced driving the California coast in 1990.  We had about 90 miles to go to get to our destination at Neskowin Creek Resort.  The office was closed but Sharon had called ahead to let them know that we’d be late but we were still coming.  We got the gate code and the site number and we were all set.

We settled into our site and relaxed with a couple of beers before Supper.  We were having the leftover ribs from last night’s supper in sandwiches tonight.  They were absolutely fabulous in the Bollillo Rolls that Sharon picked up.

We collapsed in front of the TV for the night and I managed a couple of naps before we finally went to bed at 10.  I was spent to say the least.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

We decided yesterday that today was going to be just a sit and relax day.  And we extended our stay here by a couple of days.

We left this morning for Lincoln City to find a place to have Breakfast and do some shopping.  We found the Pig and Pancake for Breakfast and found the road we’ll be taking out of here to get to Portland.  Our Breakfast was very good but a little pricey.  I don’t know why the food is expensive cause the gas is dirt cheap. $2.03 at the last fill-up in Eugene.

We’ll be driving up the coast tomorrow to get to Lewis and Clark National Park so we’ll get to see about 200 miles of the Oregon coast, in total.  We’ve always heard that it’s absolutely beautiful.  So far it’s just like driving the California Coast.  I guess cliffs and beaches are somewhat the same everywhere.

We also found a couple of stores for Sharon’s souvenirs but didn’t find a thing for a T-shirt for me.

We came back home and did what I do best....relax.  I guess we might be getting too old to be driving and sightseeing on the same days.

In any event I didn’t do anything for the rest of the day except watch TV.  Which was a mistake because we broke a drawer yesterday while we were  on the road.  I could have fixed that but I forgot about it.

We just enjoyed the nice weather all day with our door open in the coach until about 8 tonight.

We stayed awake until about 11 tonight before we finally hit the feathers.

Friday, April 8, 2016

We ate Breakfast at home this morning and then hit the road heading north up the coastal highway.  We had a little less than 100 miles to get to Ft. Clatsop which is part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.   It was a refurbished Fort which the explorers lived in during the winter.  On our way back to the highway the GPS sent us the wrong way and we were lost for about a half hour.

We had only eaten lightly when we were at home, and it had taken us a while to get here.  So it was about 2:30 by now and we were starved, and looking for a restaurant.  We found one that had a crab sandwich on the menu, and that’s what we ordered.  It was very good and loaded with crab.  The restaurant also provided a place to plug in the movie camera, which has a bad battery that needs charging more often than not.

After the restaurant we left and headed for the Lewis and Clark interpretive center which was on the peninsula in Washington.  By this time we had traveled well over our planned 200 miles total up the Oregon Coast.

We got lost again when we took a wrong turn to get to the center.  There were no National Park signs where we turned and ended up on the wrong road.  We quickly doubled back when we realized we were driving on the wrong road.

We got to the Interpretive Center at about 4:20 and almost too late to get in.  We luckily had stayed at Ft.Clatsop for both of their 20 minutes movies and knew about all the things in the Center.  There was also a movie halfway through the center that just re-iterated all we already had seen.  We were satisfied with our visit.

We got back on the highway expecting the busy Friday traffic going to the beach, but it didn’t happen.  The traffic was relatively mild all the way back to Neskowin.

We checked the bulleting board on the way into our site and found out the time for Breakfast tomorrow morning.

By the time we got back to the motorhome I just wanted to sit and watch TV for the rest of the night.  I got my wish and we settled in until 10 tonight having had a long day indeed.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

We adopted another “do nothing” day today since we’ve pretty much completed everything we intended to accomplish while we were here.

Although we went Breakfast at the clubhouse this morning and found out the Spruce Goose is just up the road about 40 miles.  We spoke to a gentleman who has been there and seen it in this Air Museum.  We’ve already decided that after Sharon gets back from church tomorrow  we’ll head out to see it.

After we got back home Sharon decided to do the laundry and I hooked up the utilities and drained our gray water and connected the faucet.  I filled the water tank so we would be ready to go on Monday.

The Breakfast at he clubhouse this morning was okay for a small donation.  We knew that when they started counting sausages that we could have, they were rationing the amount of food they were willing to dish out.  But the food we did have was good and  worth the amount we gave them.

Weatherwise this was going to be the last nice day we’ll have for the next week or so.  We will be encountering the Northwest rains starting tomorrow.  We’ve had three weeks of good weather for now, and maybe we can expect a break over the next three.

We spent the rest of our afternoon just relaxing in front of the TV.  By Dinnertime Sharon had decided that she wanted to out tonight.  So we researched a couple of restaurants in the area and decided on the Oar House Bar and Grill in Pacific City about 10 miles up the road.

We both ordered the Halibut Fish and Chips and it was absolutely fabulous.  We had never had Halibut before and we wanted to have it as long as we had the chance.  We weren’t disappointed in our choice.

We got back home and planted ourselves in front of the TV.  Although Sharon sat at the table and played solitaire for awhile.  We stayed up until 10:30 before we finally gave it up for the night.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

It’s Sunday today and supposedly a day of rest.  Sharon was off to church about  10 miles up the road and as soon as she gets back, we’ll be headed out to the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

She got back about 11 and we immediately started our trip 40 or so miles up the road.  The traffic headed toward Portland was horrendous.  It moved along quite nicely but it was bumper to bumper all the way to our destination.  Since both of us only had a light Breakfast this morning, we stopped at McDonald’s for a quick bite before we stopped at the museum.

The Evergreen Air Museum houses the Spruce Goose along with several hundred other planes and space vehicles.  I had a chance several years ago to see Howard Hughes’ plane but they had already moved it to Oregon at the time.  It cost us $23 apiece to get in, and when they couldn’t run the movie, only refunded us $5 apiece.  Obviously it wasn’t much of a movie.  We did, however, get to go inside the Spruce Goose.  We didn’t go through the Space building because we had already been to several space museums in the past, including the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

On the way home we found the Wal-Mart in McMinnville and picked up a few things before our trip back.  We did have trouble finding it and had to stop and ask for directions.  She forgets that I ALWAYS stop and get directions  when I have no clue where I’m going. Sometimes the person I have to ask is on her side of the car, but I don’t hesitate to stop.

The traffic on the way home was much better but on the other side of the highway it was still pretty much bumper to bumper.  I’m hoping that tomorrow we’ll have smooth sailing since the weekend will be over.

We thawed out some frozen pizza that we’ve been carrying since our stop at the Selma Wal-Mart on our second day on the road.  It was still delicious and was a good idea since Sharon didn’t want to cook tonight.

After Dinner we settled in front of the tube for our night’s entertainment.  The Masters Golf Tournament was on today so CBS’ was all screwed up tonight when the golf ran over.  So we surfed until CBS got back on track and even caught another episode of Lockup.  We were up until 11 tonight before we gave it all up.