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.
“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.
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| 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.
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| "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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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.
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| "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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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