Coyote

Today I finished the new TV antenna install. I had to wait for a sunny, warm day to put on the last silicon waterproofing. Debbie and I also put up our screen room.

Ty has discovered the squirrels during his walks. They love scolding him from 30 or 40 feet up in the tree. Ty stares at them intently and then starts judging the route up the tree. Several times now I have just caught him before he climbed out of reach.

Ty studies the habits of squirrels

Later while we were sitting outside, a coyote walked slowly down the center of our road. Ty was safely inside at the time. If the vet bill didn't reaffirm our commitment to keeping Ty an indoors cat, the coyote sighting certainly did!

Ty keeps a look out in the front yard

Another RV

Today we decided to travel down south of Seattle to look at a couple of 5th wheels. We have decided to get a trailer or 5th wheel to put on our first lot here at Port Susan, our original lot. Last year while sitting out enjoying libations our neighbor walked over and told us he was selling his lot. At first we weren't too interested in a second lot, but then we started to imagine all the possible new neighbors we might have and decided to buy it. The new lot is larger and easier to pull into that our first lot so we have been parking on the new lot. The new RV would be give us more room for projects, sewing and computers, a place for guests and our kids to stay and we could drive up without our motorhome if necessary.

The traffic was light as we started out around 11:30. The first 5th wheel in Tukwila was priced right and we realized we might have to spend more than we had originally planned. The entry steps were resting on cement blocks but still wobbled as you used them. Debbie was careful not to touch anything in the interior, it was pretty bad. Debbie had made sandwiches, now experienced with Seattle traffic she knows how to prepare, and we took moment to eat lunch. The next 5th wheel was located in an area called Lake Tapps and was like finding a Geo-cache. This one look pretty good but not perfect so we'll keep looking. On the way home we pass an RV sales lot and stopped to check it out. It turned out to be a consignment lot. If we thought the RV in Tukwila was bad, there were a couple here that even I wouldn't go in. They did have a couple of unit that were acceptable but were way over priced.

We started home and surprisingly, the traffic was not bad. As we approached our current home Ty, who had been such a good traveler all day, decided he had been in the car long enough. As soon as we parked the car he demanded to get out and go for a walk, not taking no for an answer.

Busy At Port Susan

Today started out overcast and this evening it's raining again. I decided to recap the time since we arrived here. I started trying to remember what we had done the past week and realized we have been here almost two weeks not one! I'll try to recount the highlights. Here is the current view out the front windshield. This explains why I am catching up on the blog!

Earlier today I went into town and picked up some pvc parts to set up an antenna. When I got back I assembled, connected the amplifier and the wireless router. The combination increased the signal by two bars but didn't bring in broadband. The internet speed is a lot better but, sadly, not broadband. Here is the temporary antenna setup. I didn't want to drill a hole in the roof until I found out if the antenna would work and of course not until it stops raining!

The white line is the pvc pole and on the top is a Wilson antenna that you can't see.

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

The great news for today is Ty had a BM. Tomorrow we would have been making a trip back to the vet's. All during his problems, which now seem to be completely over, Ty didn't act sick. He mostly acted normal.
Today UPS delivered an antenna and amplifier for the Verizon data card. My hope is that we can get a better signal for the internet.

Tonight was Daryl Moore's birthday dinner party. Great Mexican food and company. We met one of our neighbors, Jim, who lives a couple of spot down from us.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I finally got the old TV antenna plate off and the new one stuck on. Just in time because it started raining again.

Monday, August 25, 2008

The vet called again this morning to check on Ty's condition, which is the same, no bm. This evening Debbie made crab cakes from crabs the Novinger's and Morrison's had given us and we had them over for dinner.

Here Ty is taking Bev for a walk after dinner.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

There is a farmer's market today about 20 minutes away and Debbie and I picked up some produce. When we got back I continued to work on removing the mounting plate of the antenna, which is bonded to the roof with silicon caulk.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Because it stays light so late here and the overcast keeps it dark in the morning we have started staying up late and sleeping in. The cat is still on meds and hasn't had a bm last Thursday. I started the process of replacing the TV antenna on the motorhome. I drove with it up from Oroville to Marysville and going under a railroad bridge it finally hit and bent the shaft. It's worked for a while but now I can't crank it up.

Friday, August 22, 2008

This morning the Vet called to check on Ty who is on pain killers. His eyes are dilated, completely black with just a very small ring of blue. Weird looking. His condition is still about the same but now he has stopped having a BM. Great! Probably due to the medication. look at him.

Later in the morning we drove up to Smoky Point Park to meet a group of friends for crabbing and a picnic . The park is on the beach with lawn, covered picnic tables, and BBQ's. There were about 12 people in the group when we arrived and the crab pots were out already out. The crabbers set out their pots early and then come back in and hang out until just before lunch when they go out and pull the pots up and if they are lucky, dump out crabs. Then they reset the pots and come back for lunch. Everyone had several crabs on the first set. After lunch and a rest they go back out and collect the pots and more crabs. The Morrison's invited us over for a crab feast and all I can say is there's nothing like fresh crab!

Thursday , August 21, 2008

We found a "cat only" vet hospital about 1/2 hour drive from us, down in Everett. They only had one opening at 10:30 am and we took it. Ty didn't like the vet and did a lot of growling and then threw up. He doesn't mind going to our vet at home so his upset state was a surprise to us. No, he didn't bite anyone!

They found crystals in his urine and took some x-rays to make sure his bladder wasn't obstructed by stones. It wasn't. Anyway he received a pain and anti-inflammatory shot and we received a $400 plus bill.

Ty loves to ride in the car and he was comfortable so while we were in Everett we looked for a Wii console and Wii fit. Blake and Stacey demo theirs before we left and it looks like it would be perfect for exercising in the motorhome. Especially if you attack the game like Stacie does. We found a Wii and the Fit and we also found a game Brad has been looking for, Mario Cart and picked it up for him.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

We went by the Morrion's to say hello. Rich was in town. Had a short visit with LesAnn. We then went by the Novinger's who weren't home. We stopped by later and caught them. Ty doesn't seem to be getting better and we decided to find a vet tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

We left for Port Susan this morning after deciding yesterday to stay another night (Mon). The weather on Monday was great. Overcast and cool after some lighting and thunder during the night. The drive was uneventful until we neared the 405 exit, Seattle bypass. There had been an accident which blocked all the lanes on 405 and traffic had backed up down the off ramp onto Hwy 5. About 45 minutes later we had managed to move out of the right hand lane and into the stop and go next lane over. Maybe an hour later we were past the log jam and started to move normally again, however instead of 3:30 pm we hit Seattle at 4:30 pm and what a mess. We finally made it to our lot in Port Susan about 8pm this evening. Ty our cat has been having some discomfort urinating and it looks like we will have to find a vet to take a look at him.

Seven Feathers RV Resort

We arrived at 7 Feathers around 8pm Sunday about dusk after a long drive. Going through northern California and southern Oregon we encountered very heavy smoke. Apparently from forrest fires still burning in the area. I didn't take a picture but it would have look like the Bodega Bay fog picture. I was looking forward to a soak in the hot tub all day when we arrived at the park but it was still around 90 degrees out, so I just sat outside and had a sauna instead.

Tried the Verizon data card here and found it worked well. Indicated it connected to broadband but I forgot to do a speed check before I quit using it because I found the free wifi at this park is OUTSTANDING, the signal is strong and the speed is fast. Contrary to what I said earlier about wifi in RV parks.

Today we decided to stay one more day. Had the breakfast special at the casino. Later we went up to Roseburg to look around. Debbie found a plastic case in a thrift shop that was full of zippers. About 50 zippers all different colors and sizes for $3. When we returned to the rig it was dinner time so we went back to the casino and had the Monday special, Steak and Lobster for $12.

Seven Feathers RV Resort is a deluxe campground. We paid $30 dollars a night here using a Good Sam card with a Seven Feathers Players club card. It's located up away from the freeway. There is also a dry camping area which allows up to a seven day stay free.

Wine and Cheese

Friday evening started out with a cheese and mystery wine tasting. Debbie covered six bottles of wine, 3 red and 3 white. She said all of the wine was less that $5 a bottle and was purchased from Trader Joe's. "Two Buck Chuck" was not included. Here Debbie is unveiling the wine.

Wine and cheese was followed by Clam Chowder and French Bread.

Ty wanted to join the group but he is complaining about being stuck in his cage so Blake and Stacey put on his harness and took him for a walk.

For dinner Saturday night we had Chicken Marsala. Each chicken breast was individually wrapped in foil with mushrooms. You unwrapped the chicken and then covered it with Marsala sauce. Others members of the club brought vegetables, salads and desserts. Jeff unwraps his chicken.

Everyone enjoyed a great dinner. An unusual dish was brought by Betty, pickled zucchini from her garden. Boy they were good, as was everything on the dinner plate.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Seven Feathers RV Resort on our way to Port Susan.

Concord Caravaner's Outing Begins

Ho-ray, last night I was able to post to the blog with the Verizon usb 727 data card. It was the first time using this data card and it works great. I am very happy with it so far. It's so convenient not having to wait until we find a wifi signal and so many campground that offer free wifi are a disappointment.

This morning we moved the the opposite end of the RV park where the Concord Caravaner's group will congregate eat and party for the weekend. It's a small group of seven rigs as so many of the members are traveling around the country. The Hill's are back on the East Coast. The Novinger's left them a week or so ago and are heading back the the West Coast, specifically Port Susan, Washington where we are heading on Sunday.

This evening our son Blake and his lovely wife Stacey are coming up for the weekend. Our kids got too big to be forced on our weekend trips a long time ago, so its great when they voluntarily show up.

Debbie was busy yesterday evening and again today preparing food. I even helped by stirring the clam chowder a couple of times today.

Nice to have a couple of sinks in our rig, as sometimes one of them is occupied. Ty our Siamese cat makes himself comfortable.

Finally On Our Way

We left the house in Concord today around 2 o'clock and the temperature was about 100 degrees. Arrived at Bodega Bay on the coast a couple of hours later. Here on the coast it's about 68 degrees and foggy.

We're staying at Porto Bodega campground and our MH is nosed right up to the edge of the bay looking over the water. Here is a picture of our spot looking across the bay though the fog.

Tomorrow we'll move over to the a spot in the area we have reserved for the Concord Caravaners group, so we'll lose our great water view but will keep the cool weather.

I am going to try to post this using my new Verizon usb 727 data card. I purchased the card a few week ago and have only used it once to make sure it worked. Configuring and installing the software was simple and straight forward and it was up and running in no time at all. I have been to busy to use it since then so I hope it still works and I can still work it.

Here's is the data card plugged into the back of the laptop.

Gluing the Pieces Parts Back On!

Debbie and I are getting ready to start our fulltiming adventure. We had originally planned to leave earlier this summer, around June, and spend most of the summer in Washington, but instead of just a three month summer vacation, Debbie and I decided to lease our house, move into the Horizon and try fulltiming for awhile. It's taken longer than expected to pack up the house and try to stuff all the stuff we think we need into the Horizon. It seemed to have a lot more storage space when we were only going for the weekends.

We also had to get the house ready to lease. This job became a lot easier when the youngest son decided to move into the house. We left him most of our furniture to use including my HDTV I had just mounted over the fireplace in the living room. We moved the rest into a spare bedroom. He moved in the first of August and is going to take care of the yard and our mail. We have our fingers crossed.

This weekend we are hosting an outing at Bodega Bay with our RV club, the Concord Caravaner's. After a Continental breakfast Sunday morning we'll head to 7 Feather's RV Resort in Oregon. It will be a long day's drive but the park has a fantastic indoor spa which is great after a long drive. We plan to just be there one night and then on up to Port Susan where we have a camping lot. It will be a shorter drive and after taking time for breakfast in the 7 Feather's Casino and grabbing a couple of poor boy sandwiches from the deli for lunch on the way, we should reach Port Susan early afternoon.

It may come as no surprise to other Winnebago owners that some of the body parts of my coach are temporally glued on. Both the front and rear hood brackets came loose as well as a bracket glued to the lower right front cap. The lower front cap bracket allowed the bottom of the cap to move forward as you can see in this picture. I didn't remove the existing glue, I just roughed it up with a wire wheel. The metal bracket was also roughed up with a course flat grinding disk..

Front cap has moved forward as seen by the white paint line

This is the bracket re-glued on the inside of the cap

I also removed the the front hood so I could re-glue the fiberglass to the inside hood frame. There were some cracks in the glue joints but it hadn't fallen off yet. Here is a picture of the hood off and the back of the hood with the frame re-glued.

Front Hood Removed

Re-glued Frame to Hood

The rear engine hood bracket was also re-glued and the frame was re-glued without removing the hood. I only was able the glue the top and bottom of this hood frame.