Windseeker RV Blog with Joe and Libby

Today is Thanksgiving and we are celebrating it quietly at home. Son Pat and his wife Linjia flew off to Dubai for a wedding yesterday, so we had already celebrated the holiday with them last weekend with a wonderful baked ham and all the trimmings. Today Libby and I are enjoying a modest little Turkey feast at home together. We have much to be thankful for. And we have now completed the planning for an extended holiday trip leaving next week for California. We're planning to leave next Wednesday and will be celebrating Christmas in San Diego with family. And I will be picking up my special Christmas present... my new blokart.

After our marvelous experience with a mexican dish called molcajete which we enjoyed so much when we were in Long Beach, we sought out the same dish nearer to home. 4 Caminos is an authentic little Mexican hole-in-the-wall over in downtown Vancouver. They had it on the menu and it was fabuloso. Molcajete is an authentic Mexican dish consisting of a veritable cornucopia of various strips of grilled meats including chicken, steak, prawns, special cheese, and even cactus served in a steaming hot mortar, carved of natural volcanic stone, which keeps the tomato sauce with bell peppers and onions hot to the last mouthful. Delicioso! Topped off with a couple margaritas. Maravilloso! Olè!

Well our travels are over for now... Taffy is happy to be back home and spends much of her time on her post. We'll enjoy spending some time at home, catching on home-based chores, doctors' appointments, car servicing, etc. And hopefully getting some regular exercise again. I have my wonderful recumbent exercycle, but I really kinda like the exercise routine shown at the right!

Today we had tickets to the matinee performance of "Poirot: Murder on the Links" at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland. Excellent Production, although the twists of complex plot were pretty hard to follow. Ashland Oregon just might be cultural capital of the state. Between the Shakespeare Festival, Oregon Cabaret and other arts venues, it is always an interesting place to go.

Today we went to the races... Grant's Pass Downs offers fall Thoroughbred Horse Racing and we went to the track today to watch them run and place a few bets for fun. Libby and I have both had lifelong love affairs with horses and are always excited to watch these majestic animals run. We lucked out with the weather which was gorgeous... sunny and clear made the track condition "good"... the horses and jockeys were happy, too.

Yesterday we drove down I-5 to bring our coach in to Henderson's Lineup, a highly respected service center that specializes in handling, suspension, steering and braking in RVs. We were invited to spend the night in their parking lot in Grants Pass so they could do the work first thing Monday morning. I have already previously installed their Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer. Henderson's will now be installing the Supersteer rear trac bar along with the Roadmaster heavy duty anti-sway bar. Together these suspension enhancements should significantly improve handling and tracking on the highway while towing our Dodge Durango. Our return drive home later this week should realize the benefits of these improvements.

Today we had tickets to the matinee performance of "The Odd Couple", the delightful comedy by Neil Simon currently appearing at the Lakewood Center for the Arts. The original feature film, you may recall, starred Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, and was so successful it spawned a hilarious TV series starring Jack Klugman and Toiny Randall. The Lakewood is a really terrific community theater in Lake Oswego, the city in Oregon where we lived for 20 years before we moved across the river and purchased our current home in Vancouver. We have attended many great productions at the Lakewood over the years... we had season tickets every season when we lived there. They put on very professional productions and we always enjoy the show.

Our journey concludes as we head back home after five full weeks on the road.... including scenic stops at La Pine, Cascade Locks, Woodland, Quinault, Forks, Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Townsend, Anacortes, Blaine, Seattle, Ocean Shores, and Long Beach, before heading back home to Vancouver. The Miramar will remain in our covered storage spot in Vancouver for the winter. We have have one more short sojourn planned to Ashland in southern Oregon in early November before we winterize it and put it away for the winter. And then we begin planning an exciting spring trip to a dozen of our splendid national parks that we're planning for the spring!

We pulled into Long Beach Monday and pulled into our campsite at Long Beach RV & Camping Resort / Thousand Trails. Well "Resort" is overstating it, but it's an ok campground, level gravel spaces, full hookups and about half the sites 50A. We managed to get one of the few sites with good satellite access. We drove down to the beach. We were here a few years ago for the annual Long Beach kite festival. Pretty quiet here in October. Tuesday rained most of the morning but it all cleared by afternoon. Today was warm and sunny so we took our bikes out on the paved Discovery Trail winding through the dunes along the endless beaches of the Peninsula.

Today I met with the dealer down at the beach at Ocean Shores to demo a blokart. He rents them for $25 an hour and by the time we got it all set up, using a rope tied to his pickup truck, I lowered myself in and got in about an hour of sailing. After starting out on a 4.0m sail, and getting the hang of it, I decided I needed more sail, and so he switched me to a 5.5 metre sail which was perfect. I spent about an hour zipping back and forth tacking and jibing the kart and getting the feel of it, trying to avoid capsizing and trying not to get too far away from the truck. I edited together some sailing video footage Libby took of me which you can watch on youtube. The whole experience exceeded my expectations and I intend to buy one soon. Just call me Joe Blow! Here I am turning after a bunch of horseback riders went by.

On Friday under clearing skies, we braved Seattle morning traffic and drove around 130 miles over to the Pacific coast... to Hoquiam, WA near Ocean Shores. We found a nice little campground, Hoquiam River RV Park, located right on the Little Hoquiam River. there's a REALLY nice wooded trail which goes for quite some distance along the river. We originally planned to stay at the Thousand Trails in Ocean Shores proper, but picked this one instead. I have an appointment on Saturday with the owner of Sand & Sails H2o who is a Blokart dealer, a land sailing cart they sail on the beach... a lot like windsurfing, my true love. I have been wanting to try one, so here we are!

Today we drove down from Blaine to our destination in the Seattle area. We stopped off in Mount Vernon, parked the coach at a Walmart, unhooked the car and drove over to Mount Vernon RV Campground and Grandy Creek RV Campground, both Thousand Trails parks north of Seattle. We just wanted to check them out to see if they might be places we would want to stay. They were ok campgrounds, but kind of remote, lousy cell reception, few full hookups sites and no chance of satellite. We arrived late afternoon at Lake Pleasant RV Park which is exactly what we like... fully paved roads and RV pads, level spaces with full hookups, and excellent cell and satellite reception. We'll be here 6 nights total, visiting friends and waiting out a rainy stretch before heading over to the coast. Yellow arrow marks our spot.

This afternoon after paying a visit to the Peace Arch Historical State Park right on the border between the U.S. and Canada, and nearby Blaine Marine Park, we returned to the Bordertown Mexican Grill in the same area and dined at their outdoor patio right across from the bay. I am pointing to their Carnitas Burrito Supreme shown in the inset. Lots more photos on our gallery page

Next day we drove around the area and out to Semiahmoo Bay Resort just to have a look. Virtually an island connected by a causeway to the mainland, Semiahmoo Bay Resort is a popular golfing and boating community in Blaine WA. The beautiful marina here opens out on to Drayton Harbor, a well protected harbor, roughly 2.5 x 4 miles in size inside Semiahmoo Bay. About the size of our beloved Fern Ridge Lake. Beautiful spot! I could imagine living here if we were younger and had money to burn!

Today we bid a fond farewell to Anacortes and drove an hour and half north to Blaine, WA and the little community of Birch Bay which is perched right on the border with British Columbia, Canada. This is about as far north as you can go in the western US before you cross into Canada... and the Canadian border is closed right now to Americans with the pandemic. We're staying at a Thousand Trails Campground here, the network we joined when we were in Bend the beginning of the month. So it costs us nothing to have a look around and check out the area. At the right is a cartoon mural of this little downtown nook of Birch Bay where we had dinner by the water.

Today with clear skies and warm weather, we toured around town. Taking suggestions from Tripadvisor we drove a loop starting with Mt Erie, then Washington Park right on the Puget Sound, and then over to Cap Sante Park. From the viewpoint atop Cap Sante one gets an excellent view of the snowcapped Mt Baker across Padilla Bay and about 50 miles to the WNW as the crow flies.

We caught the Washington State Ferry out of Port Townsend over to Coupeville and drove up the 30 miles up to the city of Anacortes on the edge of the San Juan Islands. We had reserved a space at Pioneer Trails RV Park in Anacortes, but when we arrived we found the space assigned was too unlevel and we could only get marginal cell reception and no satellite at all. So we bailed and moved over to Fidalgo Bay RV Resort just a few miles away, but right on the bay, with large open spaces, good satellite and cell reception and a view of the bay... and surprisingly less expensive as well! This is hands down the best place to stay in Anacortes. We'll be back!

The storm passed and the skies cleared. We were pleasantly surprised at what a cute quaint little port town Port Townsend is. I think it is our favorite stop of the trip thus far as an overall intriguing place to visit. Located at the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula, the city is known for its amazing architecture including the many Victorian buildings from its late 19th-century heyday. The Hastings Building, built in 1889, is an iconic Victorian 3-story structure that has been called "the most elegant building in the city". Another is the beautiful Ann Starrett House in "Uptown" Port Townsend. More photos on our gallery page.

We stayed at Point Hudson Marina & RV Park just down the eastern shore from the Point Wilson Lighthouse at the northeastern tip of the peninsula. The yellow arrow indicates our RV space, immediately adjacent to the marina. This is a stock photo of the place on a beautiful summers day and not under the stormy conditions like we had today, mostly cloudy and extremely windy. We awoke to gale force winds on Friday, gusting to 50 mph! But no rain! Port Townsend is actually much drier than the surrounding region due to being in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains, receiving only 19 inches of rain per year.

Today we left Port Angeles heading for Port Townsend. We stopped in Sequim on the way (pronounced Skwim). We wanted to return to the Dungeness Spit, a long sand spit jutting out approximately 5 miles from the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula, into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is the longest natural sand spit in the U.S., and part of the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. We visited here 20 years ago with the kids and it made enough of an impression that we wanted to return. We hiked about 3/4 mile out a wooded trail to the viewpoint where we posed for this photo. (On longer hikes like this it helps for me to wear my elastic support belt.) More photos on our gallery page.

Our first day in Port Angeles was kind of overcast but we took a short drive up into the Olympic National Park just south of Highway 101 along the Elihwa River to the Madison Creek Trailhead where we took a short hike on a paved trail up to Madison Creek Falls. Taffy broke the rules and went along for the hike... no one seemed to mind! Picturesque little spot easily accessed from the parking lot.

Port Angeles sits on the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula just 20 miles due south across the Salish Sea from Victoria BC. We'll spend a few days here biking the Discovery Trail and taking in the sights. Enroute to Port Angeles we had perfect fall weather as we meandered up Highway 101 which winds for about 10 miles along the pristine waters of the deep, glacially carved Lake Crescent.

On our final day in Forks, we took a drive thru the Hoh Rainforest. Hoh Rainforest is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the U.S., located in the Olympic National Park, on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington state. It includes 24 miles of low elevation forest, 394 to 2,493 feet, all along the Hoh River. The Hoh River valley was formed thousands of years ago by glaciers and is a breathtaking beautiful place to hike through.

We drove out to La Push, a village on the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula just 12 miles west of Forks, WA, and was featured in the Twilight Saga film series. It lies at the mouth of the Quillayute River, surrounded by Olympic National Park. La Push has the westernmost ZIP Code in the contiguous United States, 98350. The largest community within the Quileute Indian Reservation, La Push is famous for its for wild Pacific beaches like scenic First Beach, known for its huge waves. This area gets a lot of rain, some 12 feet per year, and today was a typically rainy day.

Today we drove on to Forks, WA, the setting for the popular Twilight Saga series of films about Vampires and Werewolves. As is happens, it turns out this week is the Forever Twilight Festival in Forks, which draws thousands each year. Should be an entertaining weekend! We'll also pay a visit to the Hoh Rainforest which is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the U.S. and considered one of the seven wonders of Washington State.

After we left Kalama our next stop on this Odyssey up Washington's Olympic Penisula led us to the Quinault Rain Forest at beautiful Lake Quinault. We had reserved a spot at the lovely Rain Forest Resort Village campground in Quinault WA right by the lake. At the right is the view from the campground. We're tucked back in a nice quiet corner of the campground where we could see the lake and still get good satellite access to the southern sky. Almost right next to us is a well known landmark of this area, billed as the World's Largest Spruce Tree, a 1000 year old Sitka Spruce, 56' feet in circumference and 191' tall. The Redwoods and Giant Sequoia of California can grow much larger and much older, but this one is a sight to see, nevertheless. See more photos on our gallery page.

Today is our beloved Westie Corey's birthday. He would have been 15, but he crossed the Rainbow Bridge just about two years ago September 10, 2019. We sure miss that little guy. Taffy is a wonderful "dogter" but Corey was the original "Cartoon Dog" - he always made us laugh.

Since we enjoyed our stay at Bend-Sunriver RV Campground, a Thousand Trails campground in La Pine, we were reintroduced to the Thousand Trails network of campgrounds. Friends of ours are happy members, and after some study and discussion, we decided to sign up for a year with a Pacific Northwest membership plus adding the zone of the Pacific Southwest which includes California and Arizona. Our membership entitles us to stay in more than 60 locations in the Western US, and immediately to reserve a stay for 4 nights free in each of these campgrounds in the next month: Birch Bay RV Campground in Blaine, WA, Oceana RV & Camping Resort in Ocean City, WA, and Long Beach RV & Camping Resort in Seaview, WA. This one trip will pay for the entire membership for a year, so it is a no brainer.

Our space faces the river, and as the sun sets in the west right above the river, the view out our windshield provides some excellent sunsets. More photos on our gallery page.

Our first stop in Washington after leaving the Bend Area and a quick overnight in the Gorge is Columbia Riverfront Resort, a lovely spot right on the river in Woodland, Washington about an hour north of our home in Vancouver. The Columbia River is very special to us... the windsurfing property I owned in the Columbia River Gorge for 20+ years was a one of a kind spot which I was very fortunate to be a steward of from the mid 80's until 2010.

What can I say? Our Thor Miramar Motorcoach, who we have named Miriami or Mimi for short. The gorgeous lacquer red full body paint looks splendid in the perfect afternoon sun... photo snapped today where we parked temporarily in a large open Walmart parking lot while we ran some errands before continuing on our road trip.

We drove up to the Gorge today, our old stomping grounds in the 80's. 90's and 2000's. We owned a spectacular piece of windsurfing vacation property located on the Columbia River right on the river in Rowena, between Hood River and The Dalles, for 25 years and finally sold it in 2010 for a hefty price and launched ourselves into retirement. We paid a visit to my old buddy Ted and his wife Leanne... fellow windsurfers and Rowenaites who still own a place there. Ted and I go way back and used to have a country band together in the 90's called The Raging River Band.

Pat and Linjia had rented a beautiful vacation home in La Pine for the week with several friends from Intel. We joined them for dinner tonite and were treated to a delicious Shrimp and Scallops Paella dish. Those kids love to cook!

We drove thru the Willamette National Forest past Dexter and O'Dell Lakes up and over the 5000' summit into the high desert and out to La Pine just south of Bend, Oregon. Patrick and Linjia are on a short vacation trip to Sunriver and La Pine and we decided to start our monthlong trip with a stop in La Pine. We had a space reserved in the Bend-Sunriver RV Campground, a pretty forested campground only a few miles from where the kids are staying with friends in a cabin. We found a nice quiet level 50A site for our two night stay. More photos on our gallery page.

Well, we bought the new Miramar coach in May and other than a short trip to the coast in July, we have not been able to use it. We had planned to take a major fall excursion to Idaho, Wyoming and Montanato see a number of major National Parks. But with all the wildfires and smoke, and the resurgence of COVID-19, we decided to leave it for next spring. So next week we head out from Veneta on September 1 to Washington's Olympic Peninsula, over near the coast where it will be cool with almost zero threat of wildfires. And we will not be too far from home should problems occur. We head up to Lake Quinault, Forks, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Anacortes, Bellingham, Seattle, Ocean Shores, Long Beach and back home to Veneta.

Today we had a new RF Mogul Satellite system installed by the local rep. This is the evolution of the Motosat System which was the satellite system of choice for high end coaches a dozen years ago. This is a self seeking satellite dish which can automatically lock on to the satellites in less than 3 minutes, much faster than Wineguard and other less expensive systems. But the major advantage is that RF Mogul will work with the Hopper 3 receiver which is infinitely superior to the portable Wally that we have always had to use on the road. We carry the Hopper 3 back and forth between home and Veneta, and now we can take it with us on the road as well. We can still use our portable Tailgater antenna and Wally in locations where the stationary dish is blocked by trees or whatever. Lots of options!

As I have explained before, Libby's oldest son Tim and wife and child live in SF and Lib flies down there periodically to visit her first grandson. Number two is due in October! Grammy is thoroughly enjoying grandmotherhood. Here she is reading to dear little Ollie who is now 17 months old. He uttered his first words during her brief visit... he said "Grammy"!!! She went down for a 3 day weekend and returns Tuesday.

As the drought continues well into August, we are all going to have to get serious about our raindances. The wildfires are just horrendous this summer. It isn't about sailing... that's over for the year. Today we received our "Fern Ridge Low Water Warning" from Lane County Parks. We were comfortably ahead of the curve and will be covering the boat and winterizing for next spring. Let's hope there's plenty of rain this winter.

With the boat out of the water we are now focused on winding up the summer and moving into the fall season - a couple months earlier than normal... than we did in 2019. And a full month earlier than last summer which we thought was way too early. But the drought is causing lake levels all over the west to drop and Fern Ridge is no exception. We have a big fall excursion planned for September in the Miramar. We are concerned that the nasty wildfire season caused by the drought in the west could pre-empt our travels to smoke choked states like Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. We are also hoping that the resurging COVID-19 pandemic will not block our trip. (Red and orange areas in the map at the right indicate explosive growth of the Delta Variant.)

Sad to say, but today was our last day of sailing for this season. Day number 25. We have been watching the Fernridge Lake Water level dropping on the USACE Chart. Last year we reached the last day with a lake elevation of 368.0'. We will be hitting that in a few days. So tomorrow, Monday, is our planned pullout day. We'll utilize the deeper launch ramp over at Orchard Point again as we did last year, and avail ourselves of their hoist to drop our mast. We'll bundle up our sails and then bring the Anne Marie back to Fern Ridge Shores for storage until next spring. We'll hope for a wetter year next year. In 2019, we were able to continue sailing until first week of October... last year it was August 27, and this year a full month earlier. This drought is nasty! Pray for Rain!

Today I went out sailing with neighbor Gene Lunneman on his Kent Ranger 26 sailboat which he has been working on since he moved into Fern Ridge Shores. The Ranger sails really nicely... with its shoal keel and raisable centerboard. The boat handles very well and has a very comfortable cabin for liveaboard. Gene is a very affable retired neighbor who has the travel trailer right behind us. He is very handy and has done wonders with the boat and with his trailer. I enjoyed the afternoon very much and look forward to saling with him more next season.

Today we drove about 2 miles down the road from Winchester Bay to Douglas County South Jetty Beach where there is easy beach access. There is an astonishing amount of huge driftwood here. We walked down the beach a ways... Taffy just loves the beach... she trotted happily alongside, occasionally stopping to roll and wriggle in the sand. The weather was reasonably warm for the Oregon Coast, upper 60's and the wind had died down a bit from the last few days of gale force winds. We also got in a bicycle ride along the bay side bike path today, getting our daily quotient of exercise and then some!

One of the nice things about Veneta and Fernridge Shores is that it is just an hour from the Oregon Coast and we have made multiple trips over there in the last few years. The closest spot is Florence, a nice little beach town where we have enjoyed many a bowl of their famed clam chowder. Today we finally were able to take our first trip... basically a trial run... in the new Miramar. We reserved a waterfront RV space at the beautiful Winchester Bay RV Resort, indicated with the yellow arrows. We are facing one of the marinas and any number of sailboats enhance the view. Our first time here and we are duly impressed. We're here for three nights this week and I am sure we will be back.

I also have a new hobby, visiting with my new buddy Floyd, a 23 yr old gelding whose paddock we pass by almost everyday. I bought some Alfalfa mint horse treats from the local feed and grain. Floyd LOVES em... this is the third time I visited him to say hi, only the second time with treats... you can see he is very appreciative! He comes right to the fence now when I pull up! Here's a video I posted on youtube, shot this morning. Floyd reminds me of Silver Charm, the great stallion who almost won the 1997 triple crown. We met and visited him in Lexington, KY in 2014 after he retired to Old Friends Racehorse Retirement Farm. Derby winner Silver Charm was ranked #63 in Blood-Horse Magazine's 'List of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century'.

Now that the historic heatwave has passed, followed by powerful and dangerous winds on the lake for a couple days, the weather cooled way down today and was mostly overcast with highs barely reaching 70 degrees. A most welcome change! The clouds did not deter typical late afternoon winds from materializing, however, although out of the west today rather than the prevailing northerly direction. With the distinct marine push cooling things down, we had steady 8-10 winds later afternoon under high clouds for our 17th day of sailing so far this season. The heavy cloud bank was readily visible all afternoon out toward the coastal range and beyond.

The Pacific Northwest is currently in the middle of a "heat dome" with temperatures well above normal for late June. Not quite as hot as it has been lately in the Southwest where temps in Phoenix have been as high as 118 lately. But we're supposed to hit 104 degrees in Eugene today, and the absolutely unbelievable record high of 114 degrees tomorrow, Sunday!!! Fortunately it only topped out at 106. Meanwhile temps at home in Vancouver are predicted to hit 115! Unheard of! If it hits those numbers, those will be the highest temperatures EVER recorded in the two cities. Naturally it spoils the sailing so we're relaxing indoors in our air conditioned Vilano which stays nice and cool with its three fully ducted roof air conditioners!

My friend and neighbor Gene Lunneman has been working on his Kent Ranger 26 for the past year. Today was the moment of truth. I helped him drop it in the lake over at nearby Richardson Park boat ramp adjacent to the marina where we keep our Anne Marie. The goal was simply to see if the engine pumps coolant, shaft seals are not leaking and sea cocks are all holding. I am happy to say it was a success. This unique looking sailboat from the mid 70's is a real eye catcher. Gene has an extended tonque to his trailer, making it a breeze to roll down the boat ramp into the water. After running various tests we pulled it back out and towed it back home for a few more projects, to get 'er ready for sailing the summer winds in a few weeks.

                                                                                                                        WORDS TO LIVE BY                                                                   

Yesterday we finally brought the new Miramar coach back to Veneta. We moved the Jayco travel trailer to our covered storage space that we rented in Eugene. This is a temporary situation while we make some minor modifications to the Miramar to make it better suit our needs. Libby and Taffy are sitting on the steps to the deck... and the MG looks proud to be in such high class company! A pretty pair indeed... yes Libby and Taffy, of course, but I was referring to the Vilano and the Miramar. I guess the moniker high class trailer trash no longer fits!

We got back out sailing today after a longer than hoped hiatus. Our last sailing day was May 15, due to a combination of unsuitable wind conditions, and an extended trip home to see Tim, Kristin and grandson Ollie. The kids have gone home, and summer winds are back so we got out there for a couple hours late this afternoon. Winds were excellent today and I really enjoyed trying out the brand new equipment upgrade I just added... a Harken carbo ratchet fiddle block w/ cam & becket.   We also had our appointment earlier in the afternoon for a walkthru of the new Miramar motorhome. Several issues were identified which resulted in us needing to leave the coach at the dealer for some further prep work, before we can take possession and bring it back to Veneta where we'll begin customizing it for our own purposes.

We paid a little visit home to spend some time with our son Tim and wife Kristin and of course with our adorable little grandson Ollie. Our dogwood tree in front of the house is in absolute peak bloom... this photo was taken in the late afternoon is just amazing! Here it is a bit closer up. We're headed back to Veneta on Thursday to catch up on our sailing and also to pick up our new Miramar Motorcoach from the dealer. We're excited! We're already starting to plan our first road trips in our new baby!

As noted below, after two years with our Forester Class C, we decided to sell it in January because of all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, vaccines, etc. Fast forward 4 months, and now it seems the virus is abating and we have both had our double Moderna Vaccine, we feel empowered to resume RV travels at least on a limited scale. And what better way to hit the road again than with this beautiful Miramar Class A motorhome, which is at the high end of RV manufacturer Thor's gas-powered motorized line. With the Miramar we're back in the luxury touring class with most of the comforts of a large Class A like our Tiffin, but without the headaches of a big diesel. For lots of great photos, see the large format Miramar photo gallery.

We had a 120 gallon propane tank delivered and set up today. A lot of residents here go with a large installed tank which saves having to carry propane bottles to the filling station on a regular business. It's still a bit chilly here at night so we're still using the furnace which burns propane. And then the stove and oven use propane as well. So for the long term, a large tank is very useful. I had promised to post another photo of our two RV's, the Vilano and the Jayco, in our space at Fern Ridge Shores as the trees leaf out and we move into spring. Today we returned from sailing on a perfect afternoon around 7:15 pm and I took this photo in the late day sun. [NOTE: We sold the Jayco trailer again after we purchased the Miramar motorhome pictured above.]

Ideal classic late afternoon sailing conditions on Fern Ridge Lake today. The dependable late afternoon steady breezes are what we love about this lake. A totally uncrowded Tuesday afternoon in early May. Winds were a steady 11-13 mph and we sailed until 7pm, sharing the lake with half a dozen other sailboats and nothing else... gotta love it! Libby snapped this wonderful late afternoon photo of me and Taffy at the helm!

Someone else at the park here has a sign with this verbiage. We found one on Amazon and now it adorns the front railing on our deck. Life really is better at the Lake. We had a great first week of sailing... sailed 4 days. Thursday I took a sailing neighbor, Don Barnett, out on the boat. We had an excellent afternoon of it. Don has an O'Day 24 at the marina (I had an O'Day 23 in Texas) and I'll look forward to sailing on his boat one day soon. We are headed home this weekend... We have 8-10 appointments next week and we'll return on the weekend to settle in for summer!

The wind came up late today... we got out on the lake about 5:30 and sailed for about an hour and a half in light winds for our very first sailing session of the season. We got the boat launched two weeks ago, but we had to deal with some things at home and returned this past weekend. Yesterday there was little or no wind, biut today the winds came up late and it was worth going out for a late session. Light but fun... and under full sail we did reach speeds of 6.1 mph more than once. We celebrated the first day of the season with margaritas and delicious Fajitas to go from our local Ixtapa Restaurant in Veneta.

We came back home to Vancouver today for several doctor and dentist appointments across the next week. Also Libby is planning to fly down to San Francisco to see the grandson for a few days. Then she'll return home, we'll take care of home business and return to Veneta and the lake around April 17.

At long last, the day arrived. The lake is open, the marina is open, and our boat was completely buffed and waxed and ready to go. We met Scott Coleman's launch team over at Orchard Point Marina (which has the deepest boat ramp) at about 10am. Notice the little white westie face in the car window! I then motored across to Richardson Park Marina where we once again have slip C-34 for the season. Libby drove the car and trailer around and met me there. We got the mainsail on and the mooring lines... we'll return in the morning to rig the jib sail and she will be sailing-ready! We were only the 9th boat in the marina and only the second one on C dock. The early bird catches the wind!

Yesterday we towed the new Jayco Whitehawk down to our RV park in Veneta... about a 2.5 hour drive. Weather was perfect when we left... we got in around 2, parked the trailer temporarily down by the marina and then pulled our boat out of the space and over to the back lot temporarily and then pulled the trailer over to our space and backed it in nice and tight in front of our car trailer and next to the 5th wheel. We put the slide out and we'll spend the next coupla days getting everything all set up for the season. It's still very early in the spring and most of the deciduous trees are still bare. I'll post another photo on a bright sunny spring day when everything is in full bloom!

Anne McEnerny-Ogle, the Democratic mayor of Vancouver WA where we live, gave a very fine virtual State of the City Address today which was posted on Youtube. Click on the link to watch the 40 minute vision of Vancouver's future... and you will see one of the reasons we chose to live here in this beautiful Tree City USA. She described in detail the city's ongoing evolution "from a residential suburb into an inclusive, livable world class riverfront city". The massive Riverfront development project (right) is well underway and will ultimately include 3,300 residential units, approx. 1 million sq ft of office space, parks, and retail space for restaurants, specialty shops and services. There is LOT that is planned in this fine city of ours. This city is NOT sitting still.

I am actually 1/4 Irish... me grandmother's name was Sweeney on me father's side... and Libby also has Irish blood on her mother's side. So we celebrate every year with some green beer and a toast to Irish Spring soap. Irish Spring soap was one of the more successful commercials I did many years back in 1979 while I was an actor in Hollywood in the 70's and 80's. You can watch the 30 second commercial on youtube... or watch a whole collection of my television commercials HERE.

We have been searching the Pacific Northwest for an appropriate travel trailer which could serve several purposes. First and foremost we wanted to have something where our kids and other guests can stay if they come to Veneta to go sailing with us. We had been using the Forester motorhome for that purpose, but it's not good for a motorhome to sit for long periods and we have not been taking trips due to COVID. Today we spotted this one-owner Jayco White Hawk 27DSRL online from a private party for a great price. This trailer is in prime condition and cost me 1/4 what I sold the Forester for. It can sit year round without moving it if we wish. We can also tow it behind our hemi-powered Dodge Durango if we want to take local short trips around Oregon and Washington. See the large format Jayco White Hawk photo gallery..

Like last summer we'll be spending most of this summer and the 2020 sailing season at Fern Ridge Shores RV Resort. in Veneta, Oregon, living in our 'summer cottage' which is actually a Vanleigh Vilano 375FL 5th Wheel Recreational Vehicle With its 6 slideouts this luxury RV is more spacious than many apartments or cottages and a very comfortable living quarters for us. See the large format Vanleigh Vilano photo gallery. Fern Ridge Shores is the only lakefront RV Park at Fern Ridge Lake, which is the premier sailing lake in the Pacific Northwest. We have a marvelous large RV space here with a wood deck, a small fenced backyard, and a small shed and workshop. I can see the lake from my deck and watch other sailboats in motion to decide when it is time to take our Catalina 22 sailboat out for the afternoon. We love this place!

Mother nature is teasing us with hints of spring all around us. The weather breaks 60 degrees here this week, and we should soon have the confidence to dewinterize our RV and start spending time in Veneta. We won't likely launch the sailboat until April after the marina has opened, but as the weather gets nicer it will be a welcome pleasure to start spending time by the lake, doing some spring chores and getting ready for spring. As COVID recedes this summer and more and more people have been vaccinated, we hope some of our friends will be able to join us this summer and come sailing with us down at Fern Ridge Lake.

Today, I was finally able to get my first dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine. After a slow initial rollout, Washington state finally began getting adequate supplies of the vaccine, and last week began an email campaign to residents to sign up online. I registered and was notified by Legacy Health here in Vancouver to schedule my vaccine, which I did immediately. Initially when the first vaccines were getting FDA approval, I was a little skeptical that the process had been rushed. But as time and news coverage has gone on, I began to feel it was very safe. Today was my scheduled day for Dose #1 and it was handle extremely efficiently at the Legacy Health Salmon Creek Hospital. No waiting, no lines outdoors, I was in and out in less than half an hour. Kudos to Clark County! [Had Vaccine #2 on 3/17 with no adverse reactions.]

Much of the country is being slammed by a massive winter storm bringing with it record low temps in some areas... dropping into mid 20's overnight here. We awoke this Saturday morning to about 7 or 8 inches of snow, less than forecast, but the depth of the snow was undoubtedly lessened by some freezing rain which battered down the light fluffy snow. The little black dots leading up to the front door are actually the very tops of the malibu lights along our front walkway. This mega storm with lots of freezing rain has left 200,000 Oregonians without power. We're fortunate here in Vancouver that we have underground power lines and not overhead power lines which are so subjec to disruption from falling trees.

Yesterday began the 15 day period known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival as it is celebrated in China. Our Chinese born daughter-in-law Linjia, son Patrick's wife, is not only smart and beautiful, she is a terrific cook! No wonder the boy married this girl! Linjia spent all afternoon cooking, and this evening we were treated to a classic Chinese New Year Feast which would rival anything found in a top tier Chinese restaurant. Clockwise from the top left are a tofu dish, a unique spinach preparation, a shrimp stir-fry dish, a thinly sliced beefsteak dish, and in the center a marvelous eggplant wrapped pork dish. Mmmmmmmm. the four of us really enjoyed this superb meal. Kudos to Linjia!

After our beautiful Golden Deodar Cedars were knocked down or loose by the big storm (see below), they had to be removed. I had hoped to find someone to come along and dig them, lift them out and replant them elsewhere. They were valuable trees, but no one came forth, so the only option was to have our gardener cut them up, dig out the roots and remove them so he could plant our replacements. As shown below we picked out three Steeplechase Arborvitae (Thuja Plicata) from Garden World Nursery in Hubbard, Oregon. These will only mature to 15-18 feet in height with a maximum 8 foot spread. So we bought three to fill the space. They will remain staked for several years and then hopefully the roots will take hold.

With COVID-19 raging all over the country we have ruled out any travel in the near future. So we decidedto sell the Forester and concentrate our RVing to summer at the lake, at least for the foreseeable future. We have been able to enjoy our summers at the lake even though the Coronavirus had turned the world upside down and people stopped traveling. Sailing is by nature a socially distanced sport, so we were unaffected, The photo at the right shows the happy new owner, Tonia, as we "bumped elbows" with our masks on. She plans to do some local trips with her dogs and her sister whom she lives with. We wish them all the best! If we decide to venture back out on the road, we'll probably go back up to a small Class A gas-powered motorcoach.

We have decided to sell our 2019 Forest River Forester 3041DSF. If you go back in the blogs, you'll see where we bought it in August 2018. We got a good deal on it and planned to continue our RV travels but on shorter jaunts. No more cross country odysseys. And that we did, including a couple fall and winter trips that winter to California. We then spent the entire summer in it at an RV park near Fern Ridge Lake in 2019. We enjoyed that summer sailing the lake so much we decided to purchase a large 5th wheel to stay in more comfortably while we sailed all summer from the marina. That went so well, that we traded in that 5th wheel on an even nicer one, the current Vanleigh Vilano 375FL. And so the time has come to let the Forester go.

Now that it is clear our beloved Golden Deodar Cedars have outgrown their space in our sideyard, we have had to find replacements. We wanted to stay with the same conical evergreen look. There are a number of options including Dwarf Golden Deodar Cedars but those only reach a mature height of 6 feet... too small for the space. We also considered Hinoki Cypress which are very nice looking and are available in smaller varieties, but they tend to brown out and lose their needles in the middle of their canopy. We found a lovely small tree called the Steeplechase Arborvitae (Thuja Plicata) which looks for all the world like a gorgeous little Western Red Cedar but only reaches a mature height of 18-20' - The Golden Deodar reaches a mature height of 25-35' that just created too large a sail in our unprotected side yard for a bushy tree with a shallow root system. The Steeplechase should make a really nice replacement.

We picked out a couple gorgeous Golden Deodar Cedar trees when we relandscaped our side yard at our new home in Vancouver back in 2014. We absolutely transformed the property along the south side. These beautiful trees thrived and grew to gorgeous proportions. Sadly we had a nasty winter storm this month that saturated the soil, and that, coupled with high winds, knocked over one of the Deodars and left the other leaning precariously. We were heartbroken. We felt like we had lost a child. I placed an ad on Craigslist as "free stuff" but unfortunately found noone to come and move the trees and transplant them on their property.

If you have not visited this blog recently, you might want to have a look back at our 2020 Travelogue which documents some major life changes as the COVID-19 pandemic really began to limit activities. The 2020 Travelogue features these and many more great photos. Left to right and top to bottom those thumbnail photos are Vilano 5th Wheel, son Pat's wedding, MG Adventures, Joe sailing, Anne Marie sailing, Libby & Taffy, MGB travels, Taffy + Poe, Libby and Grandson Ollie

Windseeker 2020 Northwest Travelogue

Previous Windseeker Travelogues 2012-2020:
Select another Windseeker page from the dropdown menu  :   2020:  Windseeker V  Forester - Western Travels 2020 2019:  Windseeker V  Forester - Western Travels 2019 2018:  Windseeker V  Forester - Western Travels 2017-18 2016:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - Eastern Tour - PART II 2016:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - Eastern Tour - PART I 2015:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - National Tour - PART II 2015:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - National Tour - PART I 2014:  Windseeker III  Allegro Bus - Western Tour 2013:  Windseeker II  Country Coach - Western Tour 2012:  Windseeker I  Gulf Stream - Northwest Tour 2011:  Windseeker I  Gulf Stream - Shakedown Cruise 2010:  our first RV - Ford F250 with Lance Camper ---------------------------------