Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #46 – Flying To Family (and Warmer Weather!)

 

Sunday, November 10^th., 2024…… We worked on cleaning up the house this morning. As I mentioned, Penny and Cherrelyn are staying here this week, starting tomorrow. We have our clothes packed and only have one or two items to add tomorrow morning. We are going to be flying to Mesa, driving to Glendale to our hotel, then Chris and Angie’s for the day. Tuesday, looks like we’ll be driving to Prescott, to see Ashley and family. Cathye has packed all of the sweatshirts she bought as well as the paint that she will use to ‘hug’ the grandkids. I think she has 4 more to go and only Felix in NH will be left. Probably will have to give that one to Terisa when she comes to visit next month.  

Boy, we seem to be sleeping a lot more lately. Pretty sure it’s the weather, but neither of us could go to sleep last night, even after some time in the spa! So, we slept in again. I walked the dogs then headed out to get breakfast while Cat showered and got going. She is still trying to catch up on her sleep. Today was spent straightening up the house and what was left on the back deck. I had our old pumpkins in the truckster and took them out to throw on the burnpile. We expect the animals to come pick through to get them. Better than garbage! Later, we went to our class. I had one badge to deliver and tried to do that! Jo wasn’t there tonight so I gave it to Charlotte to give to her on Tuesday. We decided to go to pizza tonight even though we will be up early tomorrow. Always fun to afterparty! Pizza Hut just doesn’t seem to want us there on Sunday nights! They said last week they didn’t have staff and this week they made us come to the counter and order and pickup. No one was happy so we are going to try the bowling alley next week. Since we had 28 there, they will be losing a lot of revenue! Later, we got home and went to bed. We have a full day tomorrow…     

Monday, November 11^th., 2024……  We were up at 6:00am this morning and on the road at 7:15am. Our flight today leaves out of Eugene so we had only 51 miles to drive. I let her off at the terminal and drove out to the long term parking area and walked back in. We got checked in and had a quick breakfast at one of the food eateries there in the terminal before we boarded for our 9:45am flight out. Cat booked us exit row seats and although the flight was only 2 hours, it was nice to have the legroom! Problem was, when she booked the outgoing flight, she chose row 15, which looked like an exit row on the diagram, but turned out it wasn’t!  So, we (ok, I) was cramped for the flight. But, no worries. Once we landed, we stopped at the counter and got our paperwork for our rental car (Mitsubishi Mirage) and then got our bags and walked just down the road and got the car. The drive from Mesa to Glendale took just over an hour. We drove toward The Holiday Inn Express in Glendale, but searched for a Cracker Barrel for lunch beforehand. Turns out it was next door to the hotel! Once we got unpacked, we headed over to spend the rest of the day/evening with the McCracken family. Besides Chris and Angie, they have their youngest son, Brandon, with wife Emily, and their sons Royal and Liam, and daughter Khali living there. Oh, yeah, Angie’s mom, Farrell lives there too. Since they have all of those family members living there, we opted for the hotel. We had a fun time. Oldest son, Dillon, came by and visited and we all played with the kids. Later, we went over to the boys’ soccer practice. 

                            Royal in yellow, Liam in red. Khali was off playing somewhere!

                                                                       There she is!

Brandon is head coach for Royal’s team and assistant coach for Liam’s. Their practice/scrimmages were about an hour apart but Angie stopped on the way and got 5-6 boxes of pizza and wings for everyone. We were still pretty full from lunch, but we ate a few anyway. With my years of coaching my boys, I really enjoyed seeing these kids play. They are two of the best on their teams and both definitely have skills! I’m sure Khali will be active as well. Emily is a gymnast and Khali has skills already, so maybe she will get into that!

We left after about 2 hours and went back to our hotel. A little tv and then bed – without the dogs!

Tuesday, November 12^th., 2024…… Even though the hotel has breakfast, we were up and out and on the road to Chris and Angie’s and got there before 9:00am. We went with them to breakfast at ‘Our Place’, a local spot. It was good. After that, we came back to the house and played with Khali a bit. A little later, we left with Chris, and he drove us 65 miles north, to Cordes Lake, just south of Prescott. That is where his daughter, Ashley lives. Hubby Caleb, was at work. We got to visit with her and her daughter Sophia, and newest baby, Olivia, who had just woke up and was a little crabby. Cathye had Ashley do her ‘hug’ sweatshirt while we were there.

 

After a fun visit, we headed back to Glendale and sat with C & A until the kids got home from school. Later, outside, Cathye rested in the sun and Chris made hot dogs and bacon burgers, which were tasty. Later, Cat had Brandon and Dillon do their hug sweatshirts with her. That takes care of six of the seven grandkids. Working on getting Felix done soon! Later, after fun and games and videos with the great grandkids, 

we said our goodbyes and came back to the hotel. The plan was to sit out in the spa for a bit – but we found out they only had a pool. So, we passed on that and walked over to Cracker Barrel to have dessert. Then it was back to our room where we watched Dancing With The Stars before calling it a night.    

Wednesday, November 13^th., 2024…… We got up around 7:30 or so and showered and packed our stuff, then headed down to the hotel’s breakfast. Even though they had a buffet with eggs, and sausage, and pancakes and such, it was typical and just ok. But it helped us get fed for the morning! We checked out and headed to Tucson. The plan was to meet up with Frances, who would meet us between her home health clients, on her lunch break. She chose Barro’s Pizza and we found it with no problem and went in. We were shocked when three littles came to greet us at the door - Hera, Cora, and Luke. They were on ½ day school and mama Tiffany works nights, so they all could be there to see Uncle T and Aunt Cat. Frances got there just after that, and we sat down to a good lunch. Just as we got our food, in came Kyle!  He works at Big O tires and took a lunch break to surprise us. It was nice to have all of my family there. Thanks, Frances for surprising us! 

                                                            Tiffany, Frances, and Kyle

Luke, Cora, and Hera

After a nice visit, they left and we went across the street to Kohl’s. Cat had a gift card and we had time to kill before meeting up with Cat’s sister Mary at 4:30pm at their American Legion Hall. We also had time to stop at a vintage store and roam around there for a while.  Later, we got to the Legion hall and found decorations were well underway. They are decorating for Mary’s husband, Jim, who turns 70 today. Once we were done, Mary left to go get him and we changed clothes and waited with the other guests for his arrival. Well, turns out he was sure surprised when she got him through the curtains into the room. 

Between the Legion, their church, their Benson rv park friends, Jim’s chiropractic family, and our family, there were probably 50 folks there. Jim’s band performed (without him tonight)

and were very good. We had a nice meal

and danced

and talked with everyone

and had a real fun night! After the band finished and we had cleaned everything up, we followed Jim and Mary back to their home. We got set up in their guest room and since we were all pretty tired, we called it a night.   

Thursday, November 14^th., 2024…… The plan today was to take them out to breakfast. They chose IHOP and then see what the day would bring. We decided to go to the Pima Air and Space Museum. AKA the ‘boneyard’. We read that they no longer take vehicle tours through that part of the base, but they have 400 aircraft on display, both inside and outside, so we were good!  Among all of the aircraft, 

   

we got a special treat today!  They have a separate bldg. inside the museum,  just for the B-17. When we went in, we were told that today was one of the days when 101 yr old retired USAF B-17 commander, Col. Richard Bushong, would be a guest speaker. He was commander of the 390^th squadron and he, and his 10-man crew, flew 28 missions on the B-17 during the war. He was very articulate and succinct and enamored us for over an hour with his stories of his time on those missions. He said he was very lucky not to have had any crashes or injuries during his career. He said he was in three wars – WWII, Korea and Vietnam  - and has flown 43 different aircraft. What a thrill to catch him there!

                                                                            POWs

                  Grant and John McCracken among pow - not sure if they are related to Cat's husband

                                             USAF B-17 commander, Col. Richard Bushong

We bought his book and he autographed it for me! Afterwards, when we finally left the museum, we headed back home and rested before heading out again!  This time we were driving to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We met up with Mary and Cathye’s aunt and uncle, Paul and Dolly. It was fun to sit with them and the food was excellent! Cat and I split a ribeye. After that, we came back home and visited (and played on our phones…

Before calling it an early bedtime.  Tomorrow we fly home.         

Friday, November 15^th., 2024……  We were up and going early. After showering and packing up, we followed Mary to breakfast. Jim had to stay home to meet up with a guy who was looking to buy his old golf cart. I had invited Frances to join us if she could get away, and she could. We went to Jethro’s today. It is a bar/grill that serves home style food. Jim joined us (sold the cart!) and both he and Mary got to meet and visit with Frances.  We left there and headed off to Mesa. I had to stop and put 4 gallons of gas in the car. We rented it prepay and just needed enough to get back to the airport. On the freeway we saw this guy...

a bike rack on a motorcycle!

The gps took us off I-10 and zigzagged through residential areas on the way to Mesa Airport. That’s ok - we had time to stop and get a drink and kill some time anyway. Along the way, we found an interesting store that we just had to go see. It’s called The Potato Barn. It’s a furniture store – unlike anything we’ve ever seen! This place was huge! Room after room, area after area – packed with interesting and  unique items. Kinda pricey but fun to look at. If we lived close by, we might find something we couldn’t live without! Here are some pics….

Once we made our way to the airport, I dropped Cat off with the bags and headed over to turn in the car. I walked back and joined her and we checked in went through check-in and security with no issues. Cathye told me that since I was now 75, I didn’t have to take off my shoes. I’m not sure what else (belt, watch, etc.) that applies to but next time I will!  No worries there and we got seated in the waiting area before boarding and had time for a snack before boarding. We sat next to a lady who lives in Shedd, about 20 miles from us. She would have been in row 1 on the other side of us if they hadn’t moved our seats. She had a cat in a carrier and the agent came over and told her she needed to have a seat where the carrier could be stowed under the seat ahead for takeoff. She would be moved to another seat. In that conversation, she mentioned she also had moved seats to have a service dog in row 1 for the flight. So, of course I had to ask her, “What seats?”  Yep, those were ours! The dog needed a large place to lay down. No worries – we understood!  When we were prompted online to select new seats, I chose exit row for this trip. We were good! That made the flight seem shorter. 

We got in on time (4:59pm) and got our bags. It was cold enough for me to open the luggage and get my hooded sweatshirt out when I walked back to the lot to get the Honda!  We got home around 6:30pm and I got my bag unloaded. Cathye is leaving next week so she kept hers out so she can repack for that trip. After that, we were able to rest for the evening. It was a long day but we wanted to watch the finale of The Golden Bachelorette. Cathye’s Facebook had popped up a picture of Joan with Chock, so we already knew her choice. Bummer, but it was still fun to watch the show. A lot of folks thought it was kind of tame – no arguments, no fights, no drama with the guys. They even called it a ‘bromance’ for the fellows this season. But we enjoyed it.  Joan is a genuine person, and handled everything with class and fairness. Chock wasn’t our choice but he seems like a good fit for her. We read later that they haven’t set a wedding date yet, which is good. They both want to get to know each other better without all of the pomp and circumstance and tv cameras everywhere. Don’t blame them for that! It didn't work for last season's Golden Bachelor, Gerry - and Theresa to marry so soon! 

Saturday, November 16^th., 2024……  Today we slept in. I got up and walked the dogs. It was also the first day I broke out the gloves and earmuffs! Temp was 39°!  Since I was in 85° average this week, I was cold!  Later, the kids came over. Here’s a story!  Last week, Baylee unknowingly scribbled on mom and dad’s $300.00 cashier’s rent check! It was no longer cashable so they are making her pay back $100.00 of it. So, she called Grandma Cat to see if she had work for her to earn $.  Well, we scheduled that for today. The whole family came over and, even though the weather was really chilly, she and Corey worked on the tasks I found for them. They cleaned and raked out and weed-whacked the ditch, then cleaned up the island out front to the right side, which hasn’t been touched in years. All of it looks great!  Vikki and Brandyn stayed inside with us where it was warm. Later, Vikki showed us the latest sonagram of the twins.

 

Both A & B babies are doing well. They are planning a gender reveal when everything is confirmed. Maybe next week. After they left, I finished my blog through yesterday and then went to KFC to pick up dinner for us. Later, we left for our Club dance. We were both pretty tired, so neither of us danced a lot tonight. We left early and came home to bed.   

Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #45 – Fall (and Winter) is Now Among Us!

 

Sunday, November 3^rd., 2024…… I was up and going while Cat stayed in bed to catch up on her beauty sleep! I walked Rylee (Jama stayed in bed too!) and then went off to get breakfast and coffee. I also worked on some of the laundry we started yesterday, getting that task done. I started on getting last week’s blog posted, then spent the rest of the day watching tv. Until it was time to head off to class. But Cathye was pretty much in for the day. So, I decided to stay home too. We watched some of our taped programs. We have started watching The Summit, which we are now hooked on. We also like High Potential. She didn’t care for either 911 show, but now is watching both!  I like The Floor but that one doesn’t interest her. Spa and then bed.

Monday, November 4^th., 2024……  The weather is overcast and cold. Fall is slowly leaving us and winter is setting in!  Temps in the mornings are now in the mid-30s. As you can see from our walk, we still have color in the leavers that haven’t dropped yet.

After we got back from the walk, we fed the girls then headed out to hit the gym and then went on to Kevin’s for breakfast. We found they were closed for some equipment changes so we went to Appletree. After that, we stopped by Penny’s so I could change her clocks. We also stopped by the quicky-mart to pick up some milk for my Death By Chocolate dessert for tonight. We are having a New Year’s Committee meeting here. We are chairman this year and have a great committee. I set up the room and did handouts.  The meeting went well and we got a lot done. Later, when everyone went home, we settled in and watched a little tv then went out to the spa before bed. Temps at night are now in the 30s so it’s a bit nippy when we are coming and going. But it’s still very nice!

Tuesday, November 5^th., 2024…… ELECTION DAY !  We slept in a bit then got up and going. After we walked and fed the girls, we left to go to Albany. Oregon uses mail in/drop off ballots and has for many years. We filled ours out and then dropped them off at the ballot box on the way out of town. We stopped at Elmer’s for breakfast before going to Costco. We had a big list and that cost us because we stocked up. Once we got home and got everything put away, we headed off to our workshop. I delivered the new badges to those that were there. We always have fun there with the group. Once we got back home, we were in for the day.     

Wednesday, November 6^th., 2024…… Today was pretty quiet. We slept in again, then got going. Not much on our schedule today. Cathye had a meeting at Lynn and Judy’s complex that she wanted to attend later tonight. It was about affordable housing. With all of the building going on up here in town these days, we are wanting info on what type of homes will be built when it gets close to our area. The big housing project east of us is moving slowly but we’re now being told it might be low cost housing (apartments and condos). Cat went to hear from the officials about what may be planned for that and for our town.   

Thursday, November 7^th., 2024…… A few things to do today. We walked and fed the girls then headed off to the gym and breakfast. We hung around the house until it was time for me to go to my massage. Cathye went right after me and brought home teriyaki for dinner. Later, she drove over to Albany to the sleep clinic for her sleep study. She took her overnight bag so she had her jammies to wear. They hooked her up to all kinds of apparatus. Here is a picture they took of her before bed!...

She said she tried to sleep. You may not be able to see in the pic, but they also attached leads to her head! The night didn’t go well because the bed wasn’t comfortable, plus she knew they were observing her!  Also, they woke her up to have her move her feet and eyes back and forth. Not a great experience!

Friday, November 8^th., 2024……  When Cat got woke up at 5:30am, they removed everything and she was free to go. She stayed in her jammies and drove back home and came straight in and crawled into bed. I let her sleep and took the girls out and made my breakfast and coffee for later.   

Today we spent some $$$. We won’t be in town for next week’s property tax deadline, so we needed to get it done today. We headed off to Albany City Hall to get that done. We came straight home so Cat could have some time to relax and maybe sleep. Imagine that – having to sleep after a sleep study!  I spent the time working on a spreadsheet for food signups for the New Year’s dance. Also, I ordered a Father Time robe and wig. I also got some sashes for both myself and for Baby New Year to wear. This all happened at class on Tuesday when Cathye and Cheryl recruited Bill to be the baby and me as Father Time!     

Saturday, November 9^th., 2024…… The plan today was to clean up the back porch and cover the furniture and move the plants and stuff to the potting shed. Later, we dressed and went to the square dance in Sweet Home. It was fun. Cat only danced about half of it, which she was able to do.  We came back home and hit the spa before calling it a night. Penny and Cherrelyn will be here next week so while we sat out there, we planned on getting things ready tomorrow for them. We leave on Monday for our Arizona trip and they will be here to look after the dogs.    

 

Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #44 –  A  Wet Week and a Couple of Special Dances!

 one more pic  -  this one is from the outdoor dance at the outlet ...

Sunday, October 27^th., 2024…… We were up early and ready to leave camp by 9:30am. Earlier, when I took Rylee out, I noticed that we have water leak. It’s below the table in the slideout. Not sure if the slide was fully extended or not. If it was, we may have a seal leak. We headed back inland on US-26 and then I-217 to the I-5. It was certainly less windy and took a lot less time than the trip up. Once we got home, I pulled the motorhome into the rv pad outside so we could clean it out and wash it. I hooked it up to power so we could run the heater over the wet area. It’ll run all night tonight so I’ll have to check it after we get back from our class before we go to bed. Once we were done unloading, we were done for the day. We will look for a break in the weather (maybe tomorrow) so we can wash the motorhome. Tv and relaxation for the rest of the day until class. Turns out (besides Shaun and Lila who was teaching) we were the only one from our group there. The others stopped off at a casino rv park and stayed one more night. After class, we headed back home (no pizza party). I checked the rv and everything looks good, so I’ll let it run tonight. Spa and then bed.       

Monday, October 28^th., 2024…… We slept in this morning. It rained a little last night and more is expected today. After we got back with the dogs, I checked the motorhome and there was no additional water coming in. The heater has most of the carpet dried so far, so I think I can shut it off but will wait until later when the weather clears. We skipped the gym this morning and just headed straight to Kevin’s for breakfast. When we got back, it was still sprinkling so we stayed in most of the day and chilled.

Still waiting for the second batch of badges to come in. I waited until the mail came and then emailed the badge guy. I got back a note saying, “Never received. Please send again.” I did that and got back another email a little later. This one was tagged from the original - with my order attached! - that I sent saying he received it. Duuhh!  Hopefully he will expedite the order now! The rest of the day we both caught up on the programs we had taped during the week. After dinner, we watched Survivor and then hit the spa before calling it a night.     

Tuesday, October 29^th., 2024…… The weather still looks gloomy. But the forecast is for no rain and actually some clear sunny skies later today. We left later for our workshop. I had to explain the badge situation to those 12 waiting for them. After class, we came back home and got to work on the motorhome. It took about an hour to get the rv washed. The tires were the hardest, covered with road grime and oil. Cathye did those as well as the lower half while I worked on the top sections. Anyway, we got ‘er done!  I’ll wait until later and then put it back in the garage. We don’t have any plans for the rest of the year, so it will likely be in storage till spring. Oh, forgot - our neighbors Rich and Linda asked us if they could use it for their guests - coming for Thanksgiving – to use to sleep in. They originally thought I could just park it over in their driveway, but I have a few issues. I need to follow up to see if they have any rv hookups or just 110v. I’m concerned that they will need the heater and it will likely pop a breaker on 20 amps. They may just have their guests come here to sleep in it in our garage.  The weather held out and I left the rv out to dry.  Our new landscaper has been here twice already - last week and yesterday. He came back today and finished up the project. We had him clean up pretty much every area around the yard, including the blueberry cage. He said a few times that it was definitely more work than he bid on! Oops! His bad. But he wants to get on our list for regular work come spring so he kept it as agreed. Dinner and tv. We started in to get caught up on those shows that we taped last week. Then spa and bed.     

Wednesday, October 30^th., 2024……  The rains were coming again today. After we walked and fed the dogs, I went out and moved the rv into the garage. We didn’t have any plans today so we stayed in and watched the rain. The forecast is for intermittent rain for the next 7-8 days. Oh boy! Not!  It came down pretty hard but we were inside so we were good. Later in the evening we saw that our French drain was full and the rain ditch by the road was getting full! Some areas seem to puddle up and some drain pretty quickly. We know it’s the subsurface clay that makes for slow drainage. The wind is dropping more leaves but at least Trey and his crew got most of them in the cleanup. Next job is to go find some pine needles to lay over the raised bed. Cat says the light weight will help for drainage as well as help protect the bulbs and things for the season.    

Thursday, October 31^st., 2024…… HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  We had no plans to trick or treat or to even be home tonight. We have a special invite from one of our friends to attend his special 80^th birthday dance tonight. If you have ever square danced, then you will recognize the name Tony Oxendine!  Well, turns out Wendel knows Tony, and four years ago, made plans for this night and booked him to call and Rikki Lobato to cue for a special dance at his home club hall in Salem. It was free to those with invites. Because that hall is not the biggest around, we would tell no one – except he said we could invite another couple. We chose Shaun and Lila. I thought that Shaun, being a new caller, would love to see the best in the business at work!  He would not be disappointed!  Tony called a great dance and is the most entertaining performer on stage as well. Cat loved his calling and only had issues with his speed. Believe it or not – he held back for the night!  He said he will be in Milwaukie (OR) for The Royal Romp this weekend and he announced that it would be tough Plus and not for the faint hearted!  Cat doesn’t dance Plus level and we have our Club dance this Saturday so we would not be going. But I did get to dance a Plus tip and it was a blast!  I also got a chance to speak with Tony

and asked him if he remembered the Trail-In dance the Rustlers hosted the night before the 2001 National Convention kicked off in Anaheim. He did and mentioned that it was one of his biggest dances to date - and still is!  Ken and Sandie could verify but I think we had around 85-90 squares that night!  After the dance, we headed back home and were tired but happy for the opportunity to dance to the King!   

Friday, November 1^st., 2024……  Today was a sad day. A few days ago, we learned that our Club lost a new dancer!  Shawn and Sarah and daughter Gracie, were in Cat’s class last year. And this year they have been bringing their 12 year old son, Jaron to learn. Jaren came home from school last week complaining about his leg which he hurt in a fall. He went in to the er and they took x-rays and did other tests and sent him home. He complained about it the next day so they went back. His leg was swollen but still no definite diagnosis. Neither Cathye nor I can remember any more details other than things turned and he passed away. Needless to say, the family (and everyone else!) was devastated!   The Club started a Meal Train and then later, a GoFundMe page for the family. Today was our day to take them a meal. They have family in for the upcoming private service, so Cat made a large lasagna. Lynn made fresh bread and homemade butter for us to take over too. We saw and spoke (and comforted) Sarah briefly and then left the food so the family could gather to eat. We came home a little quiet – each of us lost in thoughts of losing a child. Prayers to the family….      

Saturday, November 2^nd., 2024…… The plan today was to wash Rhonda (the Honda). It still has cruddy windows from the salt and rain sludge from the trip to the coast. Even after I washed it at the self-wash! But first up was a trip to my church for their annual Christmas bazaar. I always try to buy stuff from there. Two years ago I got lucky and won $400.00 in their raffle. This year we bought tickets and also bought some for the baskets they had to raffle. Among a few items from the craft bazaar, we also bought a dozen tamales, which they have every year and which we both love!  We stopped at the car wash and got that done and came home and let the girls out and then had some tamales for lunch. Cat made egg salad sandwiches to take to the dance tonight and we each had a half before we left. The theme tonight is Circus Night. Last year I was the ringleader and Cathye was the lion. Turns out I can fit in the lion suit so we switched it up this year!

It was a fun dance! Afterward, we came back and I set the clocks back (ok, just the ones in the bedroom!) and then went to bed.

Oregon Living 2024 – Blog #43 – A Week of Camping and Dancing!

 

 

Sunday, October 20^th., 2024……  Today was wet! We were told it would be a solid week of off and on rain. The good thing was when we were walking the dogs, it was nice and dry! We spent some time getting the last minute items either packed in the motorhome or staged before the weather changed! I had the Dodger game taped later, but in the morning, I worked on the blog and watched Nascar and the Barrett Jackson auction. Sammy Hagar was the main character. He flew up from his concert in Cabo to sell his one-off LaFerrari as the highlight of the auction. It brought $4,500.00!  Wow! The guy (and his wife) who bought it got to go with him and his wife on their private jet back to Cabo to see him in concert. Later, we went off to our beginner’s class. We skipped the afterparty and came home to relax in the hot tub before bed.  

Monday, October 21^st., 2024…… The plan today was to be on the road around 8:00am. We loaded the last of our items in and I pulled the coach out and hooked up the car. We parked the trucks in the garages and we were off. A few minutes after 8:00am, I think. We drove south and stopped at Pioneer Village Truck Stop to fuel up. After that, I parked the rig and we went in to have breakfast. Frank and Marianne came in to eat just as we were leaving. Mike and Cheryl were about 8 minutes out. Once we all got together, we headed out in caravan and went southwest to Osprey Point RV Resort. We stopped once for a potty break and got into camp around 1:00pm.

Looking from our coach to Mike's.

Turns out the calls from the park about the water leak issues only hit us. We are in the inside ring in a pull through, while the rest are in back-ins around us. We parked there anyway without water. The water will be shut off for those of us inside until they can find and fix the problem. Certainly didn’t happen today. No problem. I have enough fresh water in our tanks and will hook up later in the week when they dig around and hopefully fix the problem.  The group so far today is our three rigs, and three others. There is one person who is staying in a yurt at the county campground about 2 miles from us. She drove over. The six of us decided to go out for seafood tonight, so we drove about 10 minutes to Winchester Bay and found Double D on the Rocks. Their website showed they were open but they were not! So, we walked just around the bay to Griff’s. Their food was ok. Cat had the cioppino and I had prawns and scallops plus clam chowder. I usually rate the clam chowder I try and this one was in the upper-upper ratings. Not the best but I would eat there again. When we got back, we walked over to the Pub for karaoke. But they didn’t start until 8:00pm and we were a little early. We had beer and rum and coke at the bar. The girls were there and I sat with them for a bit while Cathye tried her hand at one of the lottery machines. They are pretty much the same as in the casinos and are in almost every restaurant and lodge in Oregon. She came back in about 20 minutes $20.00 ahead!  We stayed there until the music got really loud and we left to go meet up with Mike and Cheryl and Frank and Marianne for cards. We played for a few hours then called it a night. I walked the girls and we watched a little tv before calling it a night.  

Tuesday, October 22^nd., 2024…… Pat made up a schedule for the 5 days we are here. Nothing yesterday. We have coffee in the lounge and then we are on our own until the potluck at 6:00pm. There are two or three more folks coming in today. One person is going kayaking and will fish as well. We are on the fence with the weather so iffy. They have 4 little motorboats and we certainly don’t want to pay for a day of rain! The three couples met in our rig for breakfast. Cathye made hashbrown casserole for us. Yummy! After we ate, we went down to meet the rest at the coffee bar. They told us they serve many kinds of gourmet coffees. It was a coffee bar but they didn’t have much more than a Keurig machine with different varieties. We met with our six were there but none of the others came by.  Cathye went with the others to The Mill Casino for a few hours of gambling. I stayed back with the dogs and worked on the blog. Later, I took the car up to Reedsport and ran it through a car wash. Boy, the rain and sludge and salty air sure made for a big mess!  Even with the car wash, the windows looked filmy. Maybe we can find a full service car wash when we get up to Seaside on Friday. When I got back, I decided to try a little fishing. I gathered up my gear and a chair and walked down to the water. I think I was out there maybe two hours or so and only had one bite. It it was on the first cast! I was fishing with power bait floating off the bottom so I always reel in after a minute to check the weeds /rocks/etc. in the area. When I was bringing the line in, I had a hit! That’s unusual. I fish with really small treble hooks so I wasn’t surprised when the fish spit it out. I only saw a glimpse of it flipping so I could only guess trout or bass. Yeah, I know – fish story! Later, they came by and said they had the water leak fixed so I went out and changed the hookups. 

Tonight was the group potluck. We met at Pat’s rig and met some more of our club members. They are ALL single ladies! (at least on this trip).

They had made plans for a group dune buggy trip up toward Florence, but one or two of the ladies wanted to go crabbing so they all decided to do that. After the dinner and fire, we headed to Mike and Cheryl’s trailer to play cards. After that, we came back home to watch some tv and then go to bed.      

Wednesday, October 23^rd., 2024……  Today is the day I have been waiting for! It’s time to drive the dunes! We walked and fed the dogs then ate breakfast. Cathye and I walked over to the clubhouse to meet up with the others for coffee. It was just Pat. She told us she was heading off later to go crabbing off the pier in Winchester Bay with the others.  We said goodbye and headed over to get ready for the dune buggies!  We had been to before so I knew the drive to Spinreel Dune Buggy Rentals would only take 5 minutes. I drove Mike and Cheryl and we checked in and signed all of the required paperwork. After watching the video and getting a personal review of what to expect and what dunes we should avoid, we got outfitted and got the buggy checked out. I reserved the turbo 4 seater, which we had last time. It has more power and a way better suspension than the standard model. I drove the first leg, with Mike in the front seat. I told Cathye and Cheryl to tap me on the shoulder if I was going too fast and scared them. Cheryl said she was terrified but didn’t tap or say anything, so I went up and down some of the bigger dunes. Mike was next and Cheryl got up front with him. As he was driving around, Cheryl kept motioning him to not go up or down the hills! But those he did take went well. He did a great job, but when he failed at one of the hills and was forced to slowly back down, Cheryl lost it and was just really scared. Mike ended up driving us back to the parking lot after the first hour, where we dropped her off. Frank and Marianne were out getting fuel for their pickup and stopped by so she was ok with them while we went back out. Cathye drove and had a lot of fun. She also knew the hills so she went up and down some of the larger ones and did great. I drove some more and was able to do a lot more without Cheryl. Mike drove again and took us back when our time got close. We were told to avoid the one large dune closest to the start. Both Mike and I passed it by a few times and later, we learned that each of us was tempted to try it! I think we would have been ok, but we followed their advice and didn’t try them!  Once we got back, they checked out the vehicle to make sure we hadn’t damaged it and we got out and turned in our helmets and goggles and cleaned up the sand in our clothes and hair. Riding the dunes isn’t for everyone, but I can say that, for me, that, under my helmet I had a smile on my face the whole time! It would turn out to be the highlight of my week! 

Since Frank and Marianne were already there, we decided to go out have lunch in North Bend. For the record, North Bend is NOT anywhere close to Bend!  They are clear across the state from one another! North Bend is only a mile or so north of Coos Bay. Not sure why the names are close… Anyway, we found Captain’s Choice and had lunch. More chowder! After that, we stopped at a thrift shop where we all found a few things. I snapped a pic there. This was Cheryl after Mike had scared her today!

 

After that, we came back home to rest. We ate leftovers in and then went over to Mike and Cheryl’s to play cards until bedtime.      

Thursday, October 24^th., 2024…… The agenda items for today were the Myrtlewood Factory in 101, and then dinner in Lakeside at The Stable later. We had called and found out it wasn’t a tour per say, but they had a video. Three of the girls joined the six of us there. We walked through the shop and then went in to see the video. We learned that Myrtlewood is only found in the southwestern part of Oregon. The video showed several craftsmen who made different items form the wood. Cathye bought some spatulas which we will use on her aluminum skillets. When we got back, we took the pups out for a nice walk, then got the bikes out for a nice ride. I had forgotten our helmets so we didn’t venture too far from camp. We did ride into town on the back road to find the restaurant for later. 

Mike and Cheryl went for a walk and then we sat with them at the big campfire area (which no one used all week!). Later, we drove over to The Stable. We had 13 for dinner. They were able to seat us in one area. 

I wish I could say the meal was good. I guess for some it was, but for the 4-5 of us who ordered the brisket special, we were disappointed! The meat was literally un-eatable! After I mentioned it to them, they gave each of us $5.00 off the meal. They did have ‘smashed potatoes’ which were outstanding so we did get to eat some. The others said their food was good. One of the ladies was in a cabin this trip, and it was her birthday. They were supposed to have a little party with cake and all, but we never did get the details. So later, we played cards and had dessert at the Berkeys, then, when we were walking the dogs, we found everyone was out at Pat’s fire ring so we went to visit for a minute and to say goodbye since we were planning an early departure tomorrow.     

Friday, October 25^th., 2024…… The plan was to get out of the campground early. Since we said goodbye last night, we didn’t see anyone out. The three of us were ready and on the round by 8:15am. The drive up the coast was uneventful. Just long and the roads were tiny and windy. We had to stop a few times to let Cat ‘get on solid ground’ for a few minutes. I think we drove for 5 hours!  We got to into Seaside and checked into the Thousand Trails Seaside RV Resort. It was only about 5 minutes from town, so that was nice. Even though we were told this was the ‘go-to’ campground and was very popular, the park wasn’t anything to write home about to us. All sites are first-come-first-served, so we made our through the park and I found a site where I could get a clear satellite signal and we set up. After a bit, we drove into town and checked out the convention center, where the weekend festival is being held. We went to lunch at one of Mike and Cheryl’s favorite places for seafood there. It is called Normans. Of course we had to have chowder. It was good. We got back to the campground and rested before getting dressed and heading back down. We chose to drive by ourselves because of the dogs. The night was a lot of fun! I have been around many, many callers in my years of dancing and I know what I like. Craig Abercrombie is semi-local to our area so we see him from time to time. An older caller but he is very good and so entertaining and creative. But, his partner for the weekend was new to us. Adam Christman. Not sure of his background, but he is as good a caller as I’ve ever danced to!  Very creative! They called together for the first tip and they had great harmony. But, they called super-fast and one tip wore Cathye out! She got a reprieve from Lila who was nearby and filled in for her so she could catch her breath. After that, we took it easy and only danced every other tip or so. When they called Plus, I was able to dance (w/Naomi) and we had a blast! As I mentioned, we had the dogs, so we left early to go home and take them out and then relax for the rest of the night.     

Saturday, October 26^th., 2024…… Today was full-schedule-Saturday They have a turnaround area that is really a roundabout for the main street. This one is right on the beach and is very popular. They close it off for the turnaround square dance. Problem was, it was raining so they went back to the convention center. We danced a bit then walked a ways to town and went back to Normans for lunch. We had 11 for that!

Then we headed back home to walk the dogs before heading over to the second special dance of the day. They always did a dance at the factory outlet in town. The organizers got goodie bags from the shopping center and handed those out. We got t-shirts, water bottles, etc. handed out to us after we danced there. All of the mornings festivities were casual. But next up after resting at the motorhome, was dinner and the evening dance. We tried a few places but no one in town takes reservations. We had 13 from our Club and we all wanted to meet for dinner together somewhere. We checked a few places and ended up at Sam’s Place. I had the steamed oyster special and Cat had coconut shrimp. We walked around town and found a fun center. This place was huge! I think they have every game ever invented! Cathye likes SkeeBall so we found that...

Then it was time to head back over to the center for the dance. Again, they were really quick for the first tip together. Cathye had another fill-in. We sat out a bit and then went to the balcony to watch an exhibition. Apparently, the local club here has a special team that does a horse show. As you can see from the pics, below, they dress up for it!  We were told that they lost a member so they did the dance with three couples. Some special choreography helped and it went well! They were fun to watch!

After the dance, we came back to the rig and crashed from the day. Tomorrow we will head home.