Windseeker Travel Log with Joe and Libby

A little over a month after bringing her home, Taffy seems to be adapting well to life here in Vancouver. When she is not sharing the sofa with Corey, or in someone's lap, she is either at the window in the family room (right) watching for squirrels in the backyard, or she is hunting the backyard sniffing where the squirrels have been while she was napping. Corey has taken to her quite well and often goes outside too when he hears her go through the doggie door. Good to see the old boy getting a little more exercise these days. Here they are again, hard at play in the backyard.

For both dogs being purebred westies, these two could not be more different. Of course a big part of it is the age... Taffy is 14 months and Corey is 12 years. She is full of energy, he is just past it. Of course he can be enticed to play with her a bit, but can't come close to keeping up with her... She just runs circles around him as the video linked above indicates. But he's pretty good natured about it and mostly just sleeps through her antics or keeps one eye open to see what she is up to, occasionally letting out a growl if she pushes too hard. Here's Corey asleep in one of his favorite spots, the foot rest of my recliner, between my legs, while I am watching the news and Taffy is at the window watching for activity in the yard (above).

Well, as luck would have it, my oncologist gave us the all clear on Monday! Woohoo! Cancer free! I am officially now in remission... and if I can keep it that way for 5 years, they will call it 'cured'. We are going to celebrate and take a little trip down to southern Oregon. The Weather Gods are blessing us with fine fall weather... a true Indian summer. All of western Oregon looks superb for the next ten days, with temps approaching 80°. At the right is the forecast for Ashland, where we'll be spending 4 days and taking in a show at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Biding our time this weekend as I await results of my PET Scan done on Wednesday to determine the results after 6 chemo therapy treatments. With luck I will get an "all clear" report. We'll know Monday. With positive results we're planning a shakedown cruise beginning next Thursday to southern Oregon in the new coach. Meanwhile we are getting a little much needed rain right now and the clouds make for some picturesque sunsets and sunrises... this sunrise was featured on the morning local news today. That dark triangle to the upper right is an "inverted shadow" of Mt Hood, with the rising sun casting a shadow upward.

We got our dealer walkthrough this morning at Johnson RV in Sandy, Oregon on our new Forester coach. Pictured at the right is Libby standing by the "red carpet" in front of the coach at the dealership. All the features were patiently explained and demonstrated. Much is just the same as what we had in the Sunseeker, but there are some new features to become familiar with including the new digital touchpad control center, different make autoleveling systems with better features, etc.

After 7 months owning our Forest River Sunseeker, we agreed we need a little more space. So after much deliberation we traded the Sunseeker in on this splendid new 2019 Forest River Forester 3041DSF (right). This is a brand new model from Forest River for 2019. The interior of the Forester 3041DSF is quite spacious for a 32' coach. The coach features two slides, one large 15' slide for the entire main cabin cabin and bath, and one in the bedroom. The coach floorplan features a large U-Dinette and compact full kitchen on the driver's side, and the front cab has a queen-sized bed loft above. We removed the loveseat on the passenger side and replaced it with my kingsized Lazy Boy recliner creating a modified floorplan. We look forward to taking longer sojourns in this larger, more comfortable rig.

Back in a stable phase of my 3 week chemo treatment cycle, we have decided to take the Sunseeker and head down to Seven Feathers in southern Oregon just north of Grants Pass. We waited too long to book a spot in the popular Seven Feathers RV Resort, but we'll be staying just a few miles away at Tri City RV Park in Myrtle Creek, OR. We won't go to the casino, but there's a lot going on this weekend.... Saturday is the Tacotopia Tequila & Music Festival, and both Saturday & Sunday is the big Fall Rodeo. Unfortunately I forgot to pack a certain medication, one I couldn't skip, so we came back early and spent only three nights at Seven Feathers, and received a credit for the three nights we didn't use.

We took a little MG ride over to the Saturday Market in downtown Vancouver today and we very pleasantly surprised. This is a very large Saturday Market with an endless variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, food stands with many excellent choices for lunch, as well as the usual array of arts and crafts. We picked up some some fresh fruit and vegies, some baked goods and fresh cut flowers. We'll go back!

Once again, we managed to sneak away for a few days out to the Oregon coast... this time to Lincoln City which is about 2.5 hours from home. We secured a space at the Lincoln City KOA Campground, just across the road from the picturesque Devil's Lake, a rather pleasant spot with generous spaces and lots of trees. We didn't do too much, given my condition, but did go and hang out at Devil's Lake for a bit with Corey, cruised over to the beach for a little ocean air, and visited the justifiably popular Wildflower Grill. We returned home today. More photos on our gallery page.

Back from the coast, I had brunch this morning with an old pal Shad Meshad who is up visiting from LA for a wedding. Back home, I attacked a problem on the Sunseeker which cropped up on our recent trip. The former owner had installed a slideout step under the entry door, a nice idea, but the mechanism was really too low. Pulling into a parking lot on our trip, the Sunseeker highsided on the concrete and crunched this step. There was no salvaging it so I elected to remove it, which took some doing, especially in the midst of chemotherapy. I had to grind away some smashed parts, and pry them apart with my yellow crowbar, to access and remove 4 bolts which held the step in place. We put the damaged step in the recycle bin... this episode another fond iteration of our favorite cartoon mimicking Libby and me as young children.

On our last day camping at Long Beach, we drove a few miles south to Cape Disappointment State Park. So named in 1788 by British fur trader John Meares. There's a prominent lighthouse there on the point which makes for a good photo opp. There's also an informative Interpretive Center there which also offered some other photo opps which are included on our photo gallery along with some fun photos at the beach with the dog later in the afternoon.

I am in a good stretch in my chemotherapy cycle, with minimal discomfort, so we decided last minute to book 3 nights at Long Beach RV & Camping Resort in Seaview, WA just south of Long Beach on the SW Washington coast. Just a little over two hours from home, it's forecast to be 30 degrees cooler during this extreme hot spell. We wanted a little change of scenery for a few days and a quick visit to the ocean to breathe some fresh sea air.

Today marks the halfway point in my chemo treatments if all goes well. I am scheduled for 6 treatments total... today was the third. A CT Scan on Monday showed good progress in eliminating Lymphoma from my system. Today's treatment #3 went well as I whiled away a few hours in the chemo lounge this morning... The results of the scan were exactly where the doctor wanted them to be, showing a significant decline of affected lymph nodes as the chemo chemicals have been attacking them. So all good news. I'm on track to be cured by fall. And so I head into the third 3 week cycle now which, if the past 6 weeks are an indicator, means I an anticipating feeling ok now through the weekend thanks to oral prednisone followup, and then a slump in week two, and then hopefully feeling a bit better in the third week of the cycle.

We decided to take a short RV trip down to Eugene, Oregon, about 2.5 hours from home and a place we have been many times. We booked 3 nights at Richardson Park right outside Eugene on Fernridge Lake. We got a nice wooded campsite, an easy stroll down to the lake where we can sit under big shade trees watching sailboats come in and out of the marina, something we have done MANY times in our own sailboat in years past and hope to do again in coming years. We also made a short one-minute movie providing a panoramic view of the spot. We stayed 3 nights and enjoyed a little break from our home routine and taking a deep breath before I go in for chemotherapy session #2. This will be #2 of 6 on the schedule.

Well after having all the tests over the past month... Xrays, MRI, CAT Scan, PET Scan and myriad blood tests... I received confirmation that I do indeed have Lymphoma, a serious but very curable form of cancer. So today I started chemotherapy... intravenous infusions of the 'R-CHOP cocktail' of 5 standard cancer killing drugs. For all the warnings about possible this and that, I came thru with flying colors... feel perfect at days end.. even after starting the day at 8:00 am in the dentist's chair getting fitted for a new crown to replace one which had decay at the margins. That needed to be done BEFORE starting chemo. So a long day 8 am to 5 pm when chemo wrapped up. But as you can see the 'chemo lounge' is very comfortable.

We wanted to try the coach out after making a bunch of modifications. And this is our last opportunity before I start my chemotherapy next week. So we picked a place called Olde Stone Village RV Park in nearby McMinnville, Oregon, tucked into the rolling landscape of Yamhill County, in the heart of the Willamette Valley Wine Country. We only stayed a couple nights, as I have a doctor's appointment Monday afternoon. The trip was a success... a lot of tweaking and we identified a few issues that resulted from the modifications that were made and will need to be corrected.

I was extremely fortunate to find this marvelous vintage 'Sawyer of Napa' California Suede Shearling Sheepskin Marlboro Coat on ebay. I have wanted one of these all my life but have never found a high quality one in my big and tall size. Popular throughout the old west as a warm infinitely durable coat, the plush sheepskin pile on these coats keeps a man warm through the coldest winters. Handsome and cozy, these coats are like being wrapped in sheepskin seat covers. To find one in my size, a 48 X-long Big and Tall, made by the legendary coatmaker 'Sawyer of Napa' in the early 1970's under the Lakeland label, this was a true find and one I just could not pass up. For more photos of this legendary coat, see this special page.

Today started off with an unusual flap. I was supposed to have a DDS appt today and they have this new probably useless procedure that you take 4 antibiotics capsules before hand to reduce chance of infection. Libby marks the pill bottles on the cap with a marking pen to make it easy to see which is which - T8 8-hour tylenol, M was morphine, NP is Naproxen, D is Vitamin D, etc. So I got a scrip from the doctor for Ambien to try to help with sleep. Libby marked the bottle with a "A" and said nothing more except that I had to take 4 caps of Antibiotics before the dentist. Then she went to lay down for a nap. I saw the "A" on the Ambien bottle, thought it was antibiotics, took 4 pills, and within an hour I was unconscious. Libby called 911 and they whisked me away to the ER. Don't remember a thing. Wild ride... I guess I came close to an OD on Ambien by mistake. Fortunately after a few hours sleep in the hospital I don't seen to be much worse for wear but that was close! Our old friends from AMR were called and took me to the hospital. AMR or American Medical Response rents their Austin Texas Headquarters building from us forming what has become a cornerstone of our retirement income each month. We always cheer them on with "Go AMR!" This marks the first time we have cheered them on from the inside!

Well - health concerns are on temporary hold right now pending final pathology reports and Dr appointments. Feeling pretty good since Laminectomy back surgery a week ago, the current status Pathology report is online. So we are taking the new Sunseeker out for a brief 4 day shakedown cruise to a local RV Park, Fairview RV Park in Gresham just across the Columbia from Vancouver, where we have stayed before. We can familiarize ourselves with all systems... there's a Camping World and Walmart right there for supplies as we figure what we need, and we're just 20 minutes from home to retrieve all the stuff we will inevitably forget. Should be fun!

We had originally planned to drive across country to Missouri at the end of April to pick up the new Sunseeker and make a sightseeing trip out of the ride home passing thru New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah. But health concerns caused us to cancel that trip. As we were trying to figure out what do about the new coach, luck intervened and the owner's son Chase was just in the midst of buying a semi truck which is out here in Portland. So he and his friend Jonathan were happy to drive the Sunseeker out with us just paying for the gas. It worked out great. They arrived today and parked right in front of our house. They handed over the keys and are on their way to pick up their new truck and head back east. A quick cleanup by Juan's Detailing to clean off all the bugs and road grime and we got her shuffled off to our storage facility. Mission accomplished!

We loaded up the MG into its trailer and towed it down to Eugene with our new Durango. We toured around the back country on Wednesday afternoon in the MG, and did some more on Thursday after we dropped off both trailer and Durango at Hitch Pro and Tow, a great trailer hitch shop where we had work done before. We had them set up the Durango with an SMI Stay-IN-Play DUO auxiliary braking system for when it is being towed, and also with a Tekonsha Primus IQ Electronic Brake Controller that will actuate the trailer's electric brakes when it tows the trailer.

Today after our workout at the rec center near our home, we went across the street to the Kitchen Table Cafe, our favorite place for brunch, where we split our usual 'Joe's Scramble'. The cherry blossoms are out in bright array all over the Vancouver right now. We captured this photo right in the parking lot outside the restaurant. That is of course our new Dodge Durango in the foreground. Have a quick look at a page dedicated to local cherry blossoms which I created during the first spring we lived here back in 2014.

Today was a rainy day in Portland, perfect for attending an indoor event like the Portland Metro RV Show held this week at the Portland Expo Center. We browsed through dozens of Class C motorhomes, plus a number of Class A's and Fifth Wheels. Some good discounts off list price at the show, but nothing nearly as good as the deal we got on our new Forest River Sunseeker. We came away feeling better than ever about our new coach.

We decided that to go along with our new RV we needed a new R/T... a Dodge Durango R/T SUV, that is. We have been towing the Chevy Suburban for 6 years behind our various motorhomes, and while it has served us extremely well, it was just time for a new one. The Durango is smaller and lighter than the Suburban yet more roomy up front in the driver and passenger seats where it counts. It has the same 2 speed transfer case, allowing it to be flat towed. With its 5.7L (350 ci) Hemi engine producing 360 HP and 395 ft lbs of torque, an 8-speed transmission, and optional Sport mode, the Durango offers a luxury ride with high performance acceleration and handling. And with its Class IV hitch, it has the brawny towing capacity of a full size truck. Read the Car and Driver road test. More photos on our photo gallery.

After taking a year off from RV travel, we decided to jump back into the scene buying a new 2018 Forest River Sunseeker 2500ts. Smaller and less luxurious than our Tiffin Bus, the Sunseeker nevertheless has a number of big advantages. Although the coach comes loaded with many deluxe features on a great floorplan, it represents a much lower investment. It is also much easier and less expensive to service on its Ford E450 Chassis, and it has two full years left on the Ford chassis warranty and 4 years on the engine and drivetrain. This Sunseeker 2500ts offers plenty of comfort and luxury at a modest price, and we look forward to a new chapter in our Recreational Vehicle experience. You can also watch this dealer's video tour of a similar Sunseeker 2500ts. We're planning our first extended trip in April, so stay tuned!

Our new 2018 Forest River Sunseeker 2500ts is a 27' Class C motorhome which sits on a Ford E450 Super Duty Chassis. While not as powerful as the 8.9L Cummins diesel engine in our Tiffin Allegro Bus, the Sunseeker has more power, pound for pound. It weighs less than 1/3 of what the Bus did, but the Ford 6.8L 2-Valve Triton V-10 engine still produces 305 horsepower, more than 70% of what the Bus had. And with 420 ft-lbs of torque, it provides 7500 lbs towing capacity, plenty to tow either our Chevy Suburban, our sailboat or our MGB carhauler trailer. And with three slides it offers a lot of living space for a 27' coach... the 3' rear bedroom slide actually brings the total interior length to 30'. Check out the Sunseeker brochure from Forest River. I've also created a large format Sunseeker photo gallery, inside and out.

Tis the season to be jolly! Wow... it's Christmas again, already. Hard to believe a whole year has gone by since we got back from our travels. Seven weeks after my second TKR surgery, my knee is doing great. I've been getting full revolutions for a month now on the exercycle, I have 125 degree flexion and have been back working out at the gym. I hope to be able to drive the MG again by January, maybe sooner if we have an early spring. We're having a quiet Christmas season at home this year. The house is decked out in holiday decor. And Santa is in his sleigh. Ho Ho Ho !!!

After knee replacement surgery on my right knee yesterday, I was released from the hospital late this morning after an overnight stay for observation... same as for my first knee surgery. Willamette Falls Hospital is a pretty nice place, had a private room with cable TV and the food is good... you order right off a full menu just like a restaurant! I'm not sure exactly why, but I am not nearly as immobilized this time. Last time I posted a video of me walking without a cane or walker one week after surgery which felt like a major accomplishment. Click on the image at the left to see me walking less than 24 hours after surgery! Ya just can't keep a good man down! But I will be using a walker at home for the next week and not going anywhere.

We made a difficult decision to close out our motorhome travels for now and have sold the Tiffin Allegro Bus which has been our grand road warrior or "rolling Taj Mahal" as some friends have called it. It was a bittersweet moment... letting go of our beloved coach and ending the continuous travel era was not an easy decision, but all things in their own time. And a really nice couple from Seattle (right) who are approaching retirement will start their own experience of a lifetime. We are moving on. We will spend this year at home in the beautiful house we bought a few years ago and have barely lived in. I need to have double Knee Replacement surgery, for one thing. And we have many things to attend to after years on the road. We have our sailboat, the Anne Marie, right down the street at Steamboat Landing Marina.

We have just added a classic little 1980 MGB Roadster to our stable for backroads, top down fun this summer. A 'Recreational Vehicle' of a different type! And this one is a true gem. We have lots of fun road trips planned for this summer. I have had a lifelong love affair with British sports cars, having owned 3 MG's and a Jaguar. Pound for pound and dollar for dollar there is no more fun car to own and drive today than an MGB. I have created a special website for our MG Adventure logs.

Secretariat was arguably the greatest racehorse of all time. He was foaled at 12:10 am on March 30, 1970... so tonite at 9:10 pm is his birthday West Coast time. We fell in love with this legendary sports hero when we visited Lexington KY last year. As a three year old, he won the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, making him the first Triple Crown winner since Citation in 1948. He set records in each race, two of which still stand today! Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by a phenomenal 31 lengths, the greatest margin in the history of the race, which still stands today. This magnificent racehorse is pictured at the right in the Winner's Circle of the Kentucky Derby along with his jockey Ron Turcotte, his trainer Lucien Laurin, and his groom Eddie Sweat.

It was exactly four weeks ago on February 14, that I underwent Total Knee Replacement Surgery, performed by Dr Jon Greenleaf of Sports Medicine, Oregon who uses the minimally invasive technique. I was walking after one week. The staples came out two weeks after surgery and rehab began in earnest. I have a nice 7" scar across my knee cap which is healing nicely with little or no pain. Click on this youtube video link to see a short video of me riding my Tunturi exercycle today, a major accomplishment which requires about 110 degrees range of motion. Looks like full recovery is well within reach!

There has never been a better time to be home recovering from surgery. Plenty of time to rekindle my activism. I might not be able to get out and march and protest these days, but I can definitely put in time on the keyboard and on the phone. Thanks to technology it is now so easy!!! Just discovered 5CALLS.ORG... check this one out!!! The easiest way to call your reps yet... provides phone number for your specific senators and congressmen. This is useful whether you are conservative or progressive. They provide a list of popular agenda items like climate change and Russian interference investigation and specific scripts for each... should be something for just about everyone. Use the simple 5 CALLS web interface to make your voice heard on ANY item or get the smartphone app!

Here's one of the things we love about living in the Pacific Northwest. Majestic Mt Hood. The photo at the right is captured from the KPTV webcam at skibowl. We also get a beautiful view of this photogenic mountain as we pull off Highway 14 at 164th, right near our home. You don't get this in Florida, Phoenix, L.A. or Central Texas... all warm weather spots where we have spent extended winter stays. When we were still skiing as a family, the proximity to Mt. Hood Ski resorts was great. But even now, these breathtaking views are a major bonus to life in the Portland area.

This is our home here in Vancouver, WA during the amazing snowstorm of January 10-11, 2017. Weather stations were predicting less than one inch of snow and instead we got 9 inches! Most years, in this area we don't get any snow or maybe a dusting or two. This is probably the 4th time it has snowed already this season and this time it was a dusey. The entire area was blanketed in a beautiful white snowfall that brought the whole area to a standstill. We enjoyed it immensely! So quiet out there! More photos of Snowmageddon on our gallery page.

Here's hoping for a wonderful new year in 2017 for all of us. Some discouraging prospects out there, but we shall remain focused on the good. It will be hard for us to beat 2016 in our own lives, but if 2017 can even come close we will be grateful! And remember, if things are not going so well, "Life has no remote control, so wake up and change it!"

The Grand Tour has concluded in late November 2016. We left the Thousand Islands in upstate New York concluding the 2016 sailing season in late September and slowly made our way across country making a few extended stops along the way. We have finally arrived home (right). We will celebrate the holidays and catch up with things at home, and then in January, I'll begin making plans for knee surgery in early 2017 which will put a crimp on future travel plans, at least for a while. We'll put the coach in storage and decide what happens next by spring. For now, though, 'tis good to be home! I've posted some more holiday photos on our gallery page.