November 19th

This morning we were up early so we could meet with our friends Brian & Rita for our trip to the Quilt Show in Portland.  They got here just after 8:00 AM and we were on our way.  It was about a 2 hour drive but the last 5 miles took us almost 30 minutes.  The traffic going over the bridge on I-5 to Portland was stop and go, we got to the Expo Center with no problems and the girl's were ready to go shopping.

Yes the two of them were ready to see what they could find here.  Brian and I were here to help carry things when they bought stuff.  They both seem to have a great day and see a lot of neat ideas.

Looking for patterns and getting ideas.

Cyndy said that this place was only half the size of the Puyallup Quilt show that she has been to.  After 4 hours Brian & I were about ready to go and the girls had seen everything.  So off we went heading to a early dinner at the Crab Pot just about 4 miles from here on the Washington side of the river.  We have never been here before but Brian & Rita like it a lot.

 I had Shrimp, Fish and Chips, it had a real light beer better and was real good.

Cyndy had Shrimp Alfredo and she said it had a lot of shrimp and was very good Alfredo sauce.  So all in all I would have to rate this as a strong 4 plus for stopping back here again.

As we were heading back home poor Rita was all tuckered out and need to take a short nap.

 It really turned out to be a great day as far as weather goes, here we are going back over the Columbia River from Longview, WA.

 I got a couple of pictures of the sun setting and the color was great.

 We all had a good day and tomorrow I take the truck to the shop here in Longview to find out why my belt is squealing so bad.  Hope it is an easy fix!!!!!  Then we will head out to Brian & Rita's and see what kind of trouble we can get into.

November 18th

What a morning, sun is out and no wind.  It was a beautiful dry morning and the boy's had a great walk this morning.  It has been hard to get them out the last few days with all the rain and wind.  But this morning it was time to explore this campground a little.  This morning we were heading out early because Cyndy need to go back over to Jo Ann's to get the right cords for her Rotary Cutting Machine.

 This should make her cutting out materiel for her quilts a lot easier.  This is the one that the guy gave her the wrong plug for.

This one she got yesterday with the one above, she saved over $60.00 because they are changing the packages on them.  We looked on Amazon and they were expensive, so thanks for saving us money.

Here is what one day can make in the view coing over the bridge.

 No white caps today.

 Today while coming down off the big bridge we could see the other side with no problem, yesterday we couldn't even see across this bridge.

No water spraying up and over the rocks today, just a beautiful view of the Columbia River pouring into the Pacific. 

After we came back across the bridge we headed out to Brian & Rita's.  Cyndy was going to help Rita cut out some material for another quilt.  So I know we will be making more trips out there, one thing nice it is only about 15 miles from the park we are staying at.

Here are the two girls cutting out stuff as I call it.

Cyndy is coaching Rita on how to get things done and get the most out of your material.

Notice who is doing the work and who is eating chips !!!!  I never could catch Rita eating but will work on that.  From what Cyndy told me they got two quilts cut out for Rita and one more for Cyndy, this one is the last of the three baby blankets she is making.  

Now Rita and Brian  have two Schnauzer named Bonny the older on and Gabby the young one.  So our boys had fun and it is neat watching them play.  Bonny is a lot older than the rest so she just watches a lot and barks at the other three.

Gabby and Spike had a great time playing, Turbo just kinds of watched them and plays a little bit.

There both racing back and forth from out side to in side.  They are both about the same size but Gabby is about 6 years younger than Spike and he is a little bit rounder too..  He got his little legs run off today.

We had a good time at Brian & Rita's and look forward to more visits in the future.  Tomorrow we are both going into Portland for the Quilting Expo, it should be fun for the girls and Brian and I will be along to carry things for them.  Maybe I should get a small cart to tow around.  Wait a minute I seen a wagon and Brians, maybe I can talk him into bring it along,

November 17th

What a day, it started yesterday with trying to get everything picked up before this morning.  We have a appointment at Skipanon Marine & RV Supply to repack bearings and check out the brakes.  We got there at about 9:00 AM, and it was just blowing but not rain yet.  Went inside and asked were they wanted me to drop the trailer.  I parked it right by their big bay door and he (John) went right to work on it, they said it would take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. So after telling them everything I wanted them to do off we went to get something to eat and do some shopping before heading across the Astoria Bridge.
Our first stop was Jo Ann's Fabric store, Cyndy needed something and I don't ask what, I just keep smiling and say yes dear.  While she was inside I stayed out in the truck were I am a lot safer and keep the two boy's company.  After about a half hour here comes Cyndy with two big bags of things to make her sewing a lot easier.  Then it was of to Fred Meyers for some groceries that we needed.  This time I got to go in to the store to help her pick up things that we both need.  FOOD!!!!!!
We headed back to Skipanon at about noon and low and behold they were done with the trailer.  One bearing was bad but the rest were OK.  John said the brakes were better then 50% , they also found the short in the brake system and replaced the emergence brake away switch which had shorted out and started smoking on us as we pulled into the Seaside TTN Park.  So the trailer is ready to go again and off we headed.
One thing nice is that this park is only about 35 miles from Seaside TTN, after making it over the bridge.

 As you can guess it has started raining real hard and the wind is blowing from the south, so it is pushing us kind of across the bridge.

If you look real close you can see the Washington side of the bridge, just to let you know I wasn't complaining but happy to be across the bridge.

As we were heading along the Columbia River towards Longbeach you can tell the wind is really whipping up the water.

 After the tunnel the wind didn't seem to be to bad.  We made it to the park by 1:30 PM got set up in the rain.  Which has been a while since I have had to do that and really don't want to do it to much in the future.  The rest of the day we sat back and watched the weather go by.  Tomorrow we have to make a fast trip back over to Jo Ann's because something Cyndy bought didn't have all the right things in it and she found something else she needs.  Then we are heading over to Brian & Rita's, Cyndy is helping Rita with a project or something will let you know when I find out.
 

November 16th

Today I started getting things picked up before it starts raining again.  We are moving tomorrow over to Longbeach with a stop at the Marina RV Repair in Warrenton.  While come back up here I noticed the brakes on the trailer not working all that good.  So we have appointment at 9:30 AM for them to fix the brakes and repack the wheel bearings.  After that we do a short drive across the river to Longbeach TTN.
Yesterday we took a drive down into town to see how rough the Ocean waves are.  On the way out of the park we spotted the Gray Heron.

He was moving through the creek looking for something to eat.
We have not been down town to drive the loop yet and we have been here for almost two weeks.  It is amazing how time flies when you are having fun.

We like to drive this loop, it gives us a chance to see how things are at the Ocean.

As you can see it is pretty rough out there, we watched for a while and seen just a few people walking out there.
We have enjoyed our stay here at Seaside, and look forward to our trip over the bridge, it will be one of those short drives that I like.  The rest of today is suppose to be windy and raining.  So we are all nice and warm in our coach doing little things that need done.  Cyndy is busy sewing, in her new sewing room plus storage area.

Yep she is happy doing what she call relaxing, she even has a TV on out there to watch or listen too.  Another great day in retirement.

Spike is doing what he does best, sleeping in his favorite space.  

November 14th RAIN!!!!!

When we came back to the northwest I expected a little rain ,but after 2 plus days it would be nice to have one day that is not 100% RAIN.  Maybe tomorrow it will let up a little, it is only suppose to be 65% in the AM.  All in all they need some of the rain in the south so I hope they will get some of it.  It is heading to eastern Oregon where they really need it.
This morning we headed out for a drive over to see Brian & Rita.  As we were leaving the park we new it had been raining a lot but not this much.

It looks like some of the park is underwater.

 As you can tell the creek that goes by the road here has kind of backed up into this part of the camp ground.

 This guy has a boat for when the water gets to high around his rig.  As we were heading over to Longbeach we noticed a little bit of standing water. but not to bad.
When we got over to close to Brian & Rita's we get a call from them that they are heading our way because they have no water.  We told them we were just about 10 minutes away.  So we meet them at there house and visited with them, Josi & James had also showed up for the weekend.  We visited for a while then headed into town to have a late lunch early dinner at the local Pizza Chic's.  On the way there we just had to stop -------

 at Rita's & Cyndy's favorite fabric store in Longbeach.  Lucky for me they have these nice conformable chairs to sit in while they look around to see what they might need. After about a half hour they found what they really needed and off to Pizza we went.
Again we had good pizza and visited for a good long time and set up what we will be doing when we move over here next Tuesday.  We will be moving Tuesday to the Longbeach TTN for three weeks before heading up to Tacoma for Christmas.  Cyndy & Rita will get a lot of sewing done and Brian and I will find something to do if it is wrong.

Heading back across the Astoria Bridge it looked like we still have about another 4 feet before the bridge will be under water.  I have never heard of the bridge ever being under water, but there is a first time for everything.  Tomorrow is race day and Sunday night football, should be a great relaxing day of sports and watching it rain!!!!!  I know we headed north and I new it might be wet.

November 13th

Friday November 13th, if I am correct this is the 3rd Friday the 13th this year.  Today is just one of those lazy days.  Woke up to rain, been raining all day, and going to bed with rain.  A good day to stay inside and keep warm.  Well some of us stayed in side all day.  Turbo & Spike didn't get out of bed tell almost 10:00 AM.  They must not want to go out in the rain.  But with a little coaxing they both went out and you would of thought they were glued to the post.  Then it was right back into the coach, they don't like to get wet.

 As you can tell they didn't want anything o do with going out side.  I think they did nothing but sleep and eat just a little today.

Turbo was enjoying the fireplace and the heat from it.  It keeps the coach really pretty warm.  It has a pretty good electric heater in it.  We shut it off at night and set the furnace at 62 so that the coach stays cool and makes it easier to sleep.
Cyndy has been busy sewing today, she is working on a baby blanket for one of her girl friends daughters.

 Yes, it is for a little boy!!!

She almost has it done, just need to put a border around it then put the backing on it.  She is very creative with her ideas.  I think she only has one more to go and then all the baby's will be done for this year.
Myself today I worked on getting some presentations done for seminars at RV Shows.  I have been wanting to get them printed up and put into a book for when I do the slide show I can read my notes a little bit easier then looking at the computer all the time.  It makes it look like I know what I am doing ha ha.  Anyway I only have a couple of more to do then will have a pretty good agenda for RV Shows.
Well tomorrow it is suppose to be another 100% chance of rain, but we will take a ride over to Brian & Rita's to visit for a while. We haven't been to their house scene this spring.  It will be good to see the two of them.
Next Tuesday we move over to Longbeach for 3 weeks then head up to Tacoma for Christmas with the grand kids snd family.

November 11 Veterans Day

First off, I want to say I am proud to be a Veteran and want to stand up and say thanks to all of our Brothers and Sisters that have served in the military.  I hope the people that did not serve will thank a vet for serving their country today and anytime you see one.
This morning I was up early and heading to Kelso, WA to get the seats fixed. I arrived at Perfect Stitch Upholstery at 8:30 AM and they went right to work.  Andrew told me it would take most of the day. So I went for a walk around the area just to see what is in this area.  First I noticed a lot of fast food restaurants.  There seems to be a few shops around also, from furniture stores to Harbor Freight.  Yes Harbor Freight, so you know I had to check it out and see if there was anything that I might need.  It has been at least 6 months since the last time I was at one.  After walking up and down every isle I did find a couple of small things that I may need.
Then it was time for lunch and right across the street from Perfect Stitch  was this neat looking Hamburger place called Burgerville.  I had never eaten at one so had a bacon Hamburger with the works.  It was pretty good so if I find another one in the future I may eat there again.
About 2:00 PM Andrew and his crew had the seats done and I was ready to head back.  They did a great job and here are a couple of pictures.

 Looks good, drivers seat was the worst.

 Where my fingers are is all built back up and new material replacing what use to be a worn out material that you could see the foam.  It was all flat down to the plastic nob.  Now I don't feel like I am falling out the door while driving down the road.  

 Cyndy's seat just need a little bit of foam build up so it looks good.  If you need some Upholstery work done please see Perfect Stitch, their web site is http://www.perfectstitchup.com/.  They did a great job, and had the job done early.  Thanks guys.
I got back to the coach about 4:30 PM and was happy to see my lovely bride, we are together all the time now.  So when ever we are apart it is nice to be back together, IwWould be lost with out her.