LA CONNER TO STONERIDGE VIA LITTLE DIAMOND

August 26 – 31, 2010

Farewell to La Conner

We left La Conner after a pleasant week and headed south on I-5 but before we got very far it started to rain and got pretty nasty by the time we turned East on I-90. This is a winding section of freeway through a river valley canyon and now the wind kicked up as well making holding on to the coach a bit dicey, but finally we got to our destination for the night at Moses Lake, WA, at the Pier 4 Campground.

Not a nice day on Interstate 90

By this time the tow car was a complete mess, covered with mud and gunk from the roadway. Friday the sun came out and the wind died away making a good day for cleaning and catching up on all the “honey-do’s”. Checking the tires on the PT Cruiser I found the left rear tire pressure was down some 10 lbs.! We found a Discount Tire Co. in Spokane where we could have it fixed at no charge on Saturday; it helps to have an air compressor on the motorhome so the tire could be filled for the short trip to Spokane.

Saturday we made Spokane and I had the tire repaired (it was really the wheel) while Fran shopped at the Spokane Valley Mall. We then had lunch at “Wingers,” a chain restaurant that we like mostly for their terrific wings with their special sweet and spicy sauce, which they also sell by the bottle. They also have an awesome mushroom onion burger.

Welcome to Little Diamond

We had already made reservations at the StoneRidge Resort for a free week’s stay. We had received a gift certificate in the mail before we left Tempe but didn’t think much of it until Jerry and Gay Lacy had stayed there and told us how nice it was. So, since the price was right and we had the time, we decided to go there on the 28th and made reservations. However, we had forgotten about the Labor Day weekend coming up and we didn’t want to have to find another place to stay over that busy weekend, so we changed our reservation to the 31st for a week.

Little Diamond Lake

 We therefore decided to spend the intervening three days at the nearby TTN Little Diamond Preserve near Newport, WA, before going on to StoneRidge.

We had not been to Little Diamond in some 10 years and were surprised to find that there had been much work done to upgrade the huge facility. Thousand Trails has franchised out about half of the sites to KOA, and the employees now work for both companies; somewhat confusing, but they were all friendly and helpful.

Bears, Bears, Bears!

Since the weather was not the best, we explored the larger Diamond Lake area with homes built all around the lake. One home had an old dead tree stump in the front yard that had been carved with about five or six bears climbing up the 12 foot height. The tree had then been nicely finished and coated with a varnish - a really beautiful labor! (But why does everyone carve bears?) We then drove into Newport for lunch at a nice Mexican restaurant. Since it was the last week before Labor Day everything was winding down at the resort for the end of the season; people take these things seriously up here.

By Tuesday morning we were ready to leave Little Diamond and resume our trip to the StoneRidge Resort near Blanchard, ID. So much for now! ~~~~~~~~~Bye!

WE'RE AT TTN LA CONNER

August 20 – 26, 2010

On our first day in the Preserve we headed out to Anacortes, WA, to find an auto glass company to repair a chip we got in our coach windshield on our way through Oregon. We spotted a Novus Windshield company and made arrangements to have our windshield repaired at the Preserve on Monday by the boss, “Rocky Storm”. When we commented on his cool name he said, “You should meet my partner, his name is John McCain”. And he didn’t even know we were from Arizona!

Bob's Chowder Bar

Since Jerry and Gay Lacy had recommended
 “Bob’s Chowder Bar,” we stopped there for lunch and they were right on, it was really, really good.

One of the downsides of the area around the Preserve is the lack of any cell phone or aircard signals; so, we have to go into the Family Lodge to access their WiFi to receive and send email. It’s a very old system and extremely slow, due in part because of the number of people who access the system at all hours of the day and night. We have to comment on just how spoiled we have become when we don’t have cell phone or Internet service in our coach and, of course all the TV channels offered by Dish TV. 

A Mercury Outboard Mailbox!

It was only a few years ago when we would search every town for a Wi-Fi connection at the local library, Panera Bread store or other hot-spots. Before Wi-Fi we found connections via telephone hookups often at Kinko’s or again at libraries. My, how times have changed!

On Saturday morning, we tried the weekend breakfast at the Family Lodge; and it was OK, not great, but just OK. After breakfast we attended the Manager’s Meeting by Nancy Geddes, a thirty-year veteran of the Thousand Trails system and she seems to be doing a great job of maintaining this Preserve. The Preserve is built entirely on Swinomish Indian Reservation lands, and came about in 1967 when the Thousand Trails Company negotiated a 50 year lease on the land with the Swinomish Tribe and built the adult and family lounges, hot tub, laundry, bath houses and many other supporting buildings as well as 260+ water and electric sites plus 50+ sewer sites, making quite a large facility. The Tribe, however, reserved the right to fish, clam and remove any items from the land. The one item that was left out, however, is a swimming pool which probably would help to attract a number of new members; and while building a pool has been discussed from time to time, there are now only 18 years left in the lease and no guarantees that the lease will be extended. All facilities may revert to the Tribe at the end of the lease, so they do not expect a pool to be added any time soon.

During the meeting, Nancy mentioned that there was a problem with a “minor” water leak in the campground which she hoped could be repaired with a minimum of fuss. As we returned to our coach after the meeting, we noticed the workmen had started to dig out a small hole at the end of our street. The water had been temporarily turned off to work on the piping. No big deal, we had some fresh water in our tank and didn’t think much of it.

"Homemade Ice Cream"

Saturday afternoon we were treated to “homemade ice cream and cake” but we didn’t realize that we would be making the ice cream. They provided all the ingredients – milk, cream, vanilla, sugar and salt - all poured into a quart-sized freezer bag; then we put crushed ice and rock salt in a large metal coffee can, added the plastic bag, then more ice and rock salt, taped the cover tight and started rolling the can back and forth for 20 to 25 minutes.

Almost Ready!

Some folks were rolling their cans on the lawn or down the walkway or, as we did, just rolled it back and forth on the table. When our time was up they helped us unload the bags and out came this really great ice cream; we added some syrup and with cake to go, we had a terrific dessert and fun to boot. Good job, folks!

Rainbow Bridge in La Conner 

With a little time left in the day, we went to the little town of La Conner that has become a shopping Mecca with cutesy shops and restaurants along the waterway.

 But this is only three miles from the Preserve so we would be back.

To our surprise, we were awakened in the middle of the night by a huge downpour of rain. It had been relatively cloudless all day and even with the forecast of a shower or two, no one believed it would happen.


By Sunday morning, the clouds and rain were all gone, so we went to the Northern Lights Indian Casino, another recommendation from Jerry and Gay Lacy, for their Sunday Brunch Buffet, which appealed to Fran because of the mounds of fresh Dungeness crab on the buffet; she just couldn’t stay away from the crab bar. From there we were off to Burlington to see the movie, “Eat, Pray Love” with Julia Roberts. A real chick flick and an okay movie, but not to my (George) taste, but then to each his (or her) own.

"Just a Minor Leak!"

 Oh, yes, and the campground maintenance guys were back at work, digging an even bigger hole to try and finish repairs on the water system. Still no water. A number of porta-potties appeared outside the bath houses.

Monday started out slowly; it was a little cool out so we didn’t venture out until noon. As we looked up the street, the maintenance guys had brought in a backhoe and were really going after it! Apparently, they had fixed the leak but overnight it had started to leak in another place further down the line. This time, they called in a plumbing contractor from town to help out. The water was still turned off. It wasn’t a problem for us, but there were a number of tent campers who hadn’t had access to water in three days, as well as a number of cabin renters.

Our Jetboat at Deception Pass

Tuesday we met Alan Miller and his wife Sandra Kramer who had driven from Everett, WA to spend the day with us. We started the day with an excellent seafood lunch on the deck of the Waterfront Café in La Conner overlooking the water and watching the boats going up and down the channel. After lunch we all drove to the Deception Pass boat dock for a ride on their aluminum catamaran jetboat. We arrived a few minutes after the departure time but thankfully, the boat was late in leaving and had plenty of room to accommodate us on the 40-seat boat.

Fran, Sandra and Alan

This was a one-hour cruise around the Deception Pass waterway and bridge complete with a running narrative of the area. The next group of passengers filled the boat, helping to make up for our lighter load.

Deception Pass Bridge

A stop in Oak Harbor for Starbuck’s coffee and then some antiquing put an end to our day and we dropped Alan and Sandra back in La Conner and headed back to our coach.

HEAT WAVE from TUCSON???

When we returned, we discovered that the water had been turned on, so George ran the outside spigot for about five minutes to wash out any sand or dirt that may have gotten into the system and then we reattached our water hose. We probably could have gone another day or two on our own tank water, but it was nice to have local water supply again. The hole, however, remains open for a few more days.

Birds at a Fish Swarm!

Wednesday started out as a rest and relaxation day but we did get into Anacortes for our last seafood lunch at Bob’s. Thursday morning we will be off to Moses Lake, a half way stop on our way to the Stoneridge Resort in Idaho. So that will be all for now ~~~~~~~ Bye!

TO LOUISE AND THE LA CONNER PRESERVE

Thursday - August 19, 2010

Leaving Chehalis on Thursday morning we found I-5 and headed north to the Tacoma Elks Lodge where we would meet with Fran’s long lost school chum from Fort Bragg, Louise Johnson and her husband Gordon Ebling, who both worked for the Boeing Aircraft Corp. As we drove into the large parking area we saw them immediately and it was a joyful reunion for the two girls after over 35 years had passed. Interestingly, while Fran and Louise are the same age, Gordon and I are also the same age although a generation older than the girls ----- small world!

Louise and Fran

As we entered the Lodge where we expected to have lunch and chat, we noticed that the usually crowded parking and RV areas were surprisingly empty, it was then that we were told that the Lodge was not serving lunches anymore and in fact had sold the property and the beautiful old building and would move across the street to their golf property by next year. This was quite a shocking revelation as it was only three years ago when George spent a week at the lodge taking advantage of their many facilities, such as the full sized swimming pool, the ten lane bowling alley, the beautiful dining room with bar and dance floor and many other items. The receptionist told us that the membership had fallen to a point where they could not afford to maintain the huge facility any longer, especially as they also had asbestos and other problems inherent in older buildings. Quite a shame and we are really disappointed.

Fran, Louise and Gordon

So we headed to “Dukes Seafood Restaurant” on the Tacoma waterfront with a really spectacular view of the water, boats and surrounding hills. Dukes had photos of all the people they could find with the name of Duke; included were Duke Ellington, John (Duke) Wayne, Duke of Windsor, Doris Duke, many other Dukes and also the owner of the restaurant who was also Duke something or other! We were finally able to spend a few hours trading stories and generally catching up on the intervening years. It was quite an occasion that we all enjoyed. Louise brought pictures of some of their former classmates and, interestingly, a book written by her high school boyfriend, Russell Jewett, called “Letters to Louise,” which detailed his years of military service during the Vietnam War and which included copies of his letters to Louise, who was still in high school at the time. Fran was so blown away by the book that she immediately looked it up on Amazon.com and plans to order it as soon as we know where we can have it sent.

As we returned to our coach we saw the motorhomes of Danny & Marcie Quarisa and Earl & Marie McPeak who had just arrived from where we left them at Vancouver, WA. Fortunately, this time we were able to visit for a while and say our proper goodbyes before heading back toward our destination of TTN La Conner. Although it was only 3 pm on Thursday we ran into a terrible traffic situation on I-5 as we passed northbound through Seattle and even for a good while beyond before we finally got to our destination where we were lucky enough to find a very nice site with good satellite reception. However, from the La Conner Preserve there is no cell-phone service so also no internet air-card capability, bummer. But it is a nice place to spend some time so we can put up with some hardships.

With all that behind us we will have to call it a day and see you later, folks!

OFF TO CHEHALIS, WA

August 17 – 19, 2010



We bid farewell to the Salits, the Lacys and to TTN Sunriver and headed North to the Portland area, retracing our route south except this time it was a beautiful, clear, sunny day with magnificent views of the surrounding mountains. We passed through Bend, Redmond and then Madras on the way but ahead was the south slope of Mt. Hood which we could now see clearly in all its magnificence.

Hwy 97 toward Mt. Hood

But, before we left Sunriver we received an email from Beau Speed who mentioned that they would be staying at a park in Troutdale, OR, with old friends from Mississippi who had flown out to join them for a couple weeks of travel. Since we planned to stay at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Wood Village nearby, we made plans to meet for dinner that evening.


By shopping at Fred Meyer’s stores, Fran had accumulated a coupon for 10 cents per gallon off of fuel purchased at a Fred Meyer gas station. Now, we seldom use supermarket gas stations since they are usually crowded and difficult to maneuver a motorhome, especially when towing a car behind. However, at $2.99 per gallon of diesel fuel less 10 cents less our 5% discount on our credit card, it all came to a deal we just couldn’t refuse. So although we did hold up a few cars while we filled our 100 gallon tank, people were more interested in chatting about the coach to get too annoyed.

Now that's Mt. Hood!

When we arrived at the Wal-Mart store in Wood Village we found a very unusual heat wave had the temperature up to 94 degrees, too hot to stay in the coach that night without air conditioning so after lunch at our Old Country Deli, we visited Gartner’s Meat Market again for a couple pounds of their famous marinated beef riblets and then the obligatory stop at the Camping World store and grocery shopping at Wal-Mart, it was off to the Elks Lodge in Vancouver again, complete with electricity to operate our A/C.

We made arrangements to meet the Speeds and their friends, Bobby and Marilyn Quinn, at the Edgefield Power Station Grill that evening. Edgefield was once an Old Folks Home for the County that had been converted into a hotel, restaurants, wine shop, and various artisan shops including a glass blowing shop and a blacksmith shop. It is an interesting place to spend the day or just a few hours. We certainly enjoyed meeting with the Speeds and Quinns and had a rollicking good time trading humor with our new “old south” friends.

Early Wednesday morning on our way out of the Elks Lodge campground we passed the motorhomes of Danny & Marcie Quarisa and Earl & Marie McPeak, also staying at the Elks Lodge. Danny is the past president of the CAT RV Club but it was a little early to be knocking on doors, so we continued on northbound to the Thousand Trails Preserve at Chehalis, WA. We would only stay there for one night but since we had not been there before we thought it would be interesting to look it over. The Preserve is like most others in the Northwest, very hilly and too heavily wooded, but it was well cared for and had a few sites with sewers. Although the friendly ranger at the gate said that our chances of getting a sewer site were slim to none, we managed to find a very nice clearing where we found a site with a sewer that allowed Fran to catch up on our laundry and housekeeping chores. No Satellite TV but we did get local TV and found out the local news.

Thursday morning we would be off to the Tacoma Elks Lodge to meet up with Fran’s Fort Bragg grammar and junior high school buddy, Louise, whom she hadn’t seen in many years. So, until then, that will be all for now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bye!

TTN BEND - SUNRIVER

August 11 – 17, 2010

Crooked River Chasm near Redmond

Still a bit down with our health problems we were on our way to the TTN Sunriver Preserve on Wednesday morning. Although we expected to see many motorhomes on the road as we passed Redmond and the Family Motor Coach Assocation Convention there weren’t nearly as many coaches as we expected to see. Jerry and Gay Lacy were waiting for us at the Preserve when we arrived so we parked the coach and joined them for a short trip back to Bend, OR, and a great hamburger luncheon at the Pilot Butte Drive-In. Pilot Butte has been a favorite of ours for some nine years now, almost an obsession. Their feature is an 18 oz. hamburger that will feed a whole family for $18.75. Looks mighty good but no, we haven’t tried one yet; usually, we just split a regular-sized burger.

The Sisters Mountains

Thursday we found a site a bit more to our liking and it turned out to be the same site we had used some six years before. Finding a site among the trees requires a lot of hunting and guessing to find an open site for the satellite dish to receive a signal. Since none of the sites at the Bend Sunriver Preserve have sewers we went on our best water-conservation mode. Not to save water but to save our holding tanks from filling up since we would be there for a week. Motorhoming does take some planning and Fran is very good at that. For more of our eating escapade, we went to Toomie’s Thai Restaurant in downtown Bend with the Lacys for a late lunch/early dinner.

On Friday we were feeling a little better so we drove up to the FMCA Convention and met the Wolfes and Speeds for a quick bite at lunch and then we were off to tour some of the supplier exhibits where we have gotten to know many of the exhibitors, kind of like “old times.” Later that day we met a gang of Revconeers at the Deschutes Brewery and Grill in Bend for a late lunch (or early dinner?). Harry and Susan Salit had found a site at Sunriver near our coach and so on Friday evening we examined his new Blue Ox aluminum tow bar which replaced his old bar before heading to Alaska next year.


Thinking it over we decided it may be wise to replace our 13-year-old bar as well, but we did not opt for an aluminum bar as the steel bar has a new design which we prefer. This got Harry to reconsider his purchase so, together with Jerry Lacy, we guys were off on Saturday morning to the FMCA Convention, again to see the Blue Ox folks. But first we all had to try the Thousand Trails family breakfast at the lodge, not great but not bad either. That night Fran, Gay and Susan miraculously whipped up a fantastic dinner which we enjoyed under the trees on a beautiful summer evening. Fran’s new Off bug gadget actually kept the mosquitoes at bay.

Gay, Harry, Jerry, Susan and Fran last night dinner

Sunday we all again gathered at the TTN Family Lodge for breakfast and a chance to meet some fellow travelers as well as check out some of the items people had for sale. Except for a jaunt up to Pilot Butte with the others for one last hamburger, Fran and I stayed close to home still trying to recover from our ills.

Monday the Fran and Susan went on a shopping trip to the Sunriver Resort where Fran did manage to find a pair of shoes that she just couldn’t live without. The “guys” managed to find things to fix and correct on their coaches. Of course, this requires some discussion so we gathered our chairs around and enjoyed our favorite beverages. Later that day we were treated to another outdoor picnic dinner by the “ladies” under the beautiful blue skies of central Oregon. Even the mosquitoes stayed out of the way for a change. But tomorrow we will be off to Portland, planning to stay overnight at the Wal-Mart store parking lot in Troutdale so it was off to an early bedtime for an

early start.

Farewell to TTN Sunriver!

That’s all for this trip, folks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bye!

THE REVCONEER RALLY - MADRAS, OREGON

AUGUST 8 – 11, 2010

Sunday morning Fran’s back problems recurred and she was really hurting, so, together with my lung problem, we were a pretty sad couple; but we were determined to make the opening day of our Revconeer Rally. We left the Vancouver Elks lodge heading to Madras, OR, for the rally preceding the FMCA National Convention at Redmond, OR. Our route was over Hwy 26 passing over the southern slopes of the formidable Mt. Hood, one of the most beautiful mountains in the country, a perfectly-formed cone shape with perennial snows outlining the shape in white against an occasional blue sky.

Mount Hood

Unfortunately, on the way up the highway we hit occasional light rain squalls, just enough to mess up the newly washed coach and tow car but we made it into the KOA campground and were greeted by Rallymasters Alan Miller and Sandra Kramer. We had used this same site in 2007 and it was nice to see that it was still a very nice park.

5 pm was Happy Hour and we all gathered around to renew old acquaintances with drinks in hand to be followed by the first of three catered dinners, all excellent by an outstanding caterer.

Revconeers Happy Hour

Monday morning was time for our annual meeting which was to see the election of our new slate of officers and the relief of some old worn out ones who greeted their new-found freedom. Fran retained her position as Secretary for another year at least. In the afternoon, the ladies had a craft session making memory-wire bracelets. Tuesday after our catered breakfast, the guys had a “tech” session sharing problems and solutions to the ever-present glitches that go with motorhoming. Since some of our group are officers of the FMCA they would have to go into the Convention early and made plans to leave for Redmond that day. Others of the group were off to visit an Indian Casino which was in a beautiful part of Oregon; with our sad condition, Fran and I just stayed in the campground and rested.

Sandra Kramer, Alan Miller and Pres. Harry Salit

 Tuesday evening was our last night together with the fellows driving back from Redmond for a last evening together, dinner was the best yet with Lasagna and salad. There is something about eating in the outdoors under the trees with a group of friends, most of whom we have known for many years, which is very special. Afterwards, a local storyteller came, told stories and played her violin for us.

Since this would be about our 28th convention we decided to only attend for one day and head for the Thousand Trails Preserve at Sunriver where perhaps we could both recuperate. So we will end this chapter here and see y’all down the road! ~~~~~~~~ Bye.

A FAMILY REUNION AND THE BONNEVILLE DAM - VANCOUVER WA.

Hi gang, if this seems a bit late you’re right. A few weeks ago I came down with an infected lung and it has been pretty debilitating. Fortunately it is improving although slowly and I am about back on form. So here is our next adventure for you. We hope you enjoy it.

August 4 – 8, 2010



Wednesday morning we were about to head out to the Portland, OR, area where we had planned to park at the Elks Lodge in Portland, but Fran didn’t think too much of that Elks Lodge and suggested we consider the Elks Lodge in Vancouver, WA. instead. A quick check on the Google Earth site showed an excellent campsite and parking area there and besides our friends the Wolfes would be staying at the Roadmaster yard in Vancouver for a few days. BTW, driving through Portland in a motorhome is not for the faint of heart; with narrow lanes, many twists and turns and numerous on and off ramps, but we made it to the Vancouver Elks campground in good shape with no mishaps.

Our stay in the Portland area was primarily to visit with George’s sister Nancy Hyde and niece Robin Duke and her family. Robin had taken a job with the Corps of Engineers Bonneville Lock and Dam some forty miles upstream on the Columbia River from Portland and offered us a “behind the scenes” tour of the Dam and Power Houses on Friday, an offer we were quick to accept.


Meanwhile we visited the ROADMASTER facility where Brett would help Wayne Welles test a new system they have developed on his coach. We have known Wayne for some 12 years and followed his career as a development Engineer with IPD Corp. to his current position as development Engineer with Roadmaster, one of the major suppliers of motorhome appliances. Roadmaster had been based in Portland and when they looked into expanding their facility Vancouver offered many more incentives than Portland, so a few years ago they built three major buildings and moved their entire workforce across the river to Vancouver, WA. After work that evening Wayne took us all to his golf course clubhouse for dinner.


Thursday we found our favorite Old German Deli and after an excellent luncheon Fran bought some of their “Old Country” Lieberkase (Meat Loaf) and various fixin’s for “Rouladen,” rolled beef with spices; mmmm mmmm good! That evening Fran found a local Sushi restaurant on the internet that was celebrating their 20th anniversary and had reduced all sushi plates to only $1.00. Such a deal we couldn’t resist and yup, it was good.

Friday morning we met niece Robin Duke at the BONNEVILLE DAM AND LOCK and she soon had us signed in with badges and hard hats. After a cursory look at the Dam and Locks Robin introduced us to the Chief Maintenance Engineer, Buck Ober, who took us into the 75 year old No.1 power house with 10 huge water turbine powered generators.

Since one of the turbines was being rebuilt and had been dewatered he invited us to go down into the depths of the unit to see the actual turbine! Oh my God, we were going down 72 feet below the reservoir water level and even 3 feet below the water level of the Pacific Ocean!

This is an opportunity that only happens every 50+ years and we were very fortunate to be here at the right time. We all kept a straight face but I am sure we all wondered about the gates holding back all that water. A tiny temporary elevator soon had us down, one by one into the huge circular, and still wet, water chamber which led to the massive turbine vanes. Inside the turbine a man was working, checking the enormous bolts for the turbine wheel; somehow they had set up a temporary overhead crane to handle these very heavy bolts.

 I think he was glad to see us as it seemed to be a lonely place to work. Buck then asked if we would like to go further down into the draft tube below the turbine, an offer which we respectfully declined. Back up in the operating area we were taken into the control room and introduced to Brian, the chief operator who was all alone operating two power houses and many megawatts of power. If anything goes wrong, this is the man who has to handle the situation - plenty of responsibility for a young man.

After all this activity we retired to the Skamania Lodge in Washington for an excellent lunch on their outdoor deck overlooking the river on a beautiful day. (I guess not all days in Oregon are dismal and dank). After lunch we continued our tour through the fish ladder display where an employee counts the fish passing up and down the river and also separates them by species. We left Robin and Buck with many thanks for an exciting tour of the facility. Later that evening, in our coach back at the Elks Lodge, Robin and Buck joined us for one of Fran’s wonderful German dinners.

Saturday we were joined by our son Gordon who came to Portland for an Ice skating presentation and was staying at an airport hotel nearby. This was really a fortuitous happening as we enjoy seeing our son, especially so far from home.

We were off to breakfast (I know, eating again!) and then we were off to the JAPANESE GARDEN in Portland’s Mt. Washington Park;, however, since Robin had recommended a fantastic meat market on Killingsworth Blvd, we stopped by GARTNER’S MEAT MARKET on our way and were astounded at the size of the market and the crowds waiting to buy some of their beautiful looking meats and dozens of different kinds of sausages. There had to be 15 or more countermen and perhaps three dozen customers.

 Fran was number 46 (when we walked in, they were serving number 22) but we don’t know where they started. One young customer said that he lived nearby and had been a customer for many years; he said this crowd was quite normal, every day except Monday, when they are closed. Have you seen a real meat market lately?

The Japanese Garden has been carved out of the hillside in Washington Park and is really inspiring with many meditation settings and restful paths among all the Japanese style trees and topiary.

Of course there are a number of Coastal Redwood trees mixed in which are not really Japanese but it is all a part of the beauty of the park.

Saturday evening Robin and sister Nancy Hyde met us at the very German Gustav’s Pub and Grill, where we enjoyed good food, good conversation and a grand reunion.

Sunday morning we will be off to the Revconeer Rally in Madras, OR, so that is all for now 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later, folks

Gordon and Robin

THE EVERGREEN AVIATION MUSEUM - McMINNVILLE, OR

August 1 – 4, 2010

Sunday morning we three coaches left Newport in a loose convoy heading North on Hwy 101 through the fog and mist hoping for a better clime at our destination. Some miles later we came upon HWY-18 taking us away from the coastal fogs and soon had us breaking into real sunshine, hooray! At the Evergreen Aviation facilities we came to the Olde Stone Village RV Park which turned out to be a beautiful campground with all modern facilities amid lush landscaping. They even had a special shuttle to the Museum from the park or for the hardier souls; there was a short walking path as well.

That afternoon the “girls” went off to the farmers markets for groceries while the “guys” fiddled with the coaches. Enjoying the beautiful weather, we set up the picnic tables and enjoyed a wonderful dinner prepared by the ladies. Fran made her pork tenderloin with Chimichurri sauce and Caribbean rice, Miss Kitty brought a delicious zucchini casserole, and we finished off Dianne’s Italian Cream Cake. We lingered over some dessert Muscat and talked until dusk, when several pesky mosquitoes chased us all back to the coaches for the night.

Tuesday we were off to the Museum 
where we were suitably impressed with the super high quality of the facility itself as well as the many aircraft on display. The western building featured mostly early aircraft from the Wright Flyer through WWI fighters to WWII piston engine aircraft and then to many of the American and Russian fighter jets from Korea to the present day.

Of course these were all eclipsed by the gargantuan Hughes HK-1 (Spruce Goose) Flying Boat which was shoe-horned into the hanger-like building which had been especially designed for it. After oohing and aahing sufficiently in the western building we went off to lunch before visiting the matching eastern building.

The eastern building contained the more modern space age missiles and aircraft featuring the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which is touted to be the world’s fastest jet-powered aircraft at more than 2200 mph. It is awesomely beautiful in its own brutal way. There were numerous rocket powered missiles including an original German V-2 rocket and an infamous “Buzz-bomb” that each wreaked so much havoc on England in the later years of WWII.

 Featured were many panels that told the history of rocket and missile flight both in the U. S. as well as in Russia. I was especially impressed by the fairness and completeness of these histories which did not attempt to belittle the accomplishments of the Russian rocketeers. The Russian teams were miles ahead of their American counterparts in the mid fifties when we were trying so desperately to catch up with the Russian “Sputnik” and suffered numerous embarrassing failures all open for the world to see before the Titan rocket delivered our men to the Moon and established American superiority in space. There was also a display of a Titan Nuclear Missile partly in its silo with the control room on a floor below ground level and then the bottom level with the outlets of the rocket motors and supporting structure.

Nestled between these two buildings is the IMAX Theater with continuous showings of aviation films. Further to the west is Evergreen’s latest addition; a water sports feature with a real 747 aircraft on the roof where kids (and maybe a few crazy adults) will be lifted into the nose of the 747 in an elevator and then start their slide down through the building through many twists and turns and ending in a splash pool. Some fun! There is also a plan to build a hotel adjacent to the museum as well.

Another evening gourmet meal of pasta and meat sauce, Beau’s famous antipasto salad, garlic toast and blueberry cobbler and ice cream on our shared picnic table in the gorgeous weather topped off the visit for the Wolfes and Speeds. We had a little excitement in the space across the street when an ambulance pulled up and transported a lady to the hospital after she fell and injured herself. Fran and I stayed over an extra day and did some exploring around McMinnville on our own before packing up and heading to the Portland area on Wednesday morning.

So much for now ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bye!