BIG NEWS!

As in the reality show "Big Brother", "Always expect the unexpected." you can indeed expect the unexpected with us..

 

So here is the BIG News...

 

To start with we were going to attend the reunion in Kelseyville, CA Labor Day weekend & stay at the Chalk's house.  They have over 14 acres & RV set-ups.  We went & as always it was a blast.  We also got to visit with old friends & go to the local Farmer's Market, etc.

 

Our computer died a very quick death, so we had to buy another one with Windows 8 which we will have to learn, but it is not so bad.

 

I know, the BIG News...well, Bob Chalk asked me if I wanted to be his Volunteer Coordinator  for his campaign for Lake County Sheriff.  He said we could stay on their property for the duration of the recall campaign & the campaign for November 2014 election.  Welllllllllllllll, guess what?  I/We said YES & we will be "living" here for the next year or so.

 

I actually have to say, coming in to the county from Ukiah for the reunion I became a little nostalgic & it is so beautiful here, but do not fret...our hearts belong to Oregon & we will be heading back after the election & looking again for a piece of property in Oregon, hopefully along the coast.

 

Good thing we had very little planned after Labor Day.  It is a very good thing.  Yeah, going to Nevada & Arizona was fun last year, but there was so little for Rod to do after we explored & going back this year we could do the same old same old, but here he has old friends, new friends, fishing, putzing around, just things to do in general.  Yeah!

 

Marsha (Bob's wife & long time friend) & I have plans for a lot of stuff & she has a Cricut.  We already have had one play day & went to Napa for an Arts & Crafts Festival, and went to the Wild Women Wine Fling. Her mother-in-law is an amazing Tole painter & is giving me lessons.  I will go with her to the Senior Center Wed. for painting group time.  The end of Sept. is the Pear Festival & the beginning of October is the Harvest Festival & of course fundraisers to help with & attend, etc.    It is going to be a jammed packed year for us!

 

We are just little social butterflies. We went to a Taco feed last Saturday & met lots of people.  We have a election committee meeting every Thursday night to plan.  I am going to a Lioness luncheon Thursday & will probably join for a year. 

 

I miss everyone though & you can bet your bottom dollar as soon as the election(s) are over we'll be back.  Right now we are waiting to see if there will be a recall of the current Sheriff.  We will know by Sept. 27 at the latest.  If so the recall election will probably be in Jan., so we have a lot to do before then, however, if the recall doesn't happen we will concentrate on the election next Nov. with the Primary in June.  There are so many variables right now.  Will keep you up to date.

 

Kilo is having a ball in his new home.  He can wander around the 14 acres, but he loves laying around between where we are parked & their house.  He is doing a lot of cute sighs of happiness.

 

More later...

 

Year 2

Yep, we have officially started Year 2 on the road.  We left Sutherlin after 3 days of visiting & lots & lots of errands & headed to Lakeside for 2 days.  It turned in to 3 days because Ken came over to fish for salmon.  Rod was only going to fish 2 days but we "talked" him in to another day of fishing.

He certainly was very HAPPY we did...he caught a 23.8 pound salmon.  We were worried it wouldn't fit in our RV freezer, but it did & we have enjoyed a couple of delicious meals.

Today we decided to try making Lox.  I found a real simple recipe online & Rod found the perfect rock to weigh the marinated salmon down in the refer.  Can't wait to taste it in a few days.

After Lakeside we headed to Brookings for a couple of nights & he tried surf fishing with no luck.  After Brookings, we stopped for one night at Benbow just south of Garberville, CA. It was expensive, but I always wanted to try it out.

Before we got to Garberville, we took a pit stop & ate lunch at the Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka, CA.  All we could get through was soup, salad, homemade bread & dessert.  We passed up beef short ribs in gravy, peas, baked beans & Spanish Rice.  Now, 20 years ago when we started stopping at Samoa Cookhouse for breakfast, lunch or dinner we were able to eat all that & sometimes more.  They give you refills.  Not anymore, but what we had was good.

The other place we checked out on the way to Garberville was Orick camping by the beach.  It has been on my bucket list like...forever.  Well, no camping there any more so scratch that off the list.  At least I scratched off Benbow.

We have a couple more stops before we get to Kelseyville for the reunion.  The lox is part of our contribution to the weekend.  I also picked up 4 bottles of wine to share since wine is so expensive in CA, I bought it before we left OR.  Smart, huh?

Update of the Update

Never, & I mean NEVER count your chickens before they are hatched!

 

The bank called with the news that the property we are buying is in a flood zone.  A "high risk" flood zone.  Then, the insurance company said we would have to get flood insurance through the government (FEMA) & we would need an engineer's elevation survey done. If we didn't get it done then insurance could be anywhere from $300 - $4,000 a year on EACH house.

 

So, we are not getting the property after all.  Can you say bummed out?

 

Oh well, wish our realtor had really looked into the flood zone when we voiced concerns 2 weeks ago.  Instead she went by the word of the seller.  A "really nice older man".  Live & learn.

 

So, we are back to Plan B.  Keep rollin on down the road, which is in fact OK.  For us anything we do is a win win situation. 

 

Damn, I had colors picked out & a slew of projects for Rod to make in his workshop all pinned on my Colors & Around the House boards.  See what getting your hopes up does to you. 

 

We are staying on the coast until the middle of August, to Roseburg for 3 days & off CA for the policeman reunion.  We found out we can get a senior's discount to go to the fair in Lake County.  So going to take advantage of it.

 

We didn't get to do our 4, 4 for FREE going up the coast this Summer (Thank you Shannon), but we will try to do it next year. One thing we have learned this Summer is DO NOT plan more than a month ahead of your travels.

 

More later.

 

News from Camp Dewey

Grab a cup of coffee, it is a looooooooong blog post.

 

Gas prices have really put a kabash on our plans to travel across the USA.  It takes a lot of money to fill up & with a large truck & trailer, well you get the picture.

 

Since March we have looked at property in different areas of Nevada & Oregon.  Fell in love with Yerington, Carson City, & Verdi in Nevada & we have always dreamt about finding something on the coast of Oregon.  We love the ocean & fishing, crabbing, going for mussels & clams for Rod & anything that's around for me.

 

In April we found a house, actually it was two houses on a large lot in Lakeside, OR near Coos Bay to the south &  Florence to the north.  Obviously it is on a large lake, it's near the ocean & one of the houses we could rent & it would pay for the mortgage, property taxes & insurance while we have the other house.  Both have large yards & outbuildings.  They are in a small neighborhood, walking to everything in town, & of course lots of fishing in the lake for Rod.

 

It was hard for Rod last year travelling because in the desert there really wasn't anything for him to do & I know he really missed having a yard & garden & his workshop.

 

Soooooooo, when we contacted the realtor on this property in Lakeside in April he really wasn't interested in showing us the property or even contacting the owner.

 

Fast forward to 4th of July week.  Our friends have a second home across the street from this property & called us that the price had been reduced.  We contacted another realtor who just so happened to be looking at it to buy as an investment property.  Great realtor, by the way so when we contacted her she said, if we wanted it she would work it for us.

 

The next day our friends called us to tell us the owner was at the property mowing the lawn & get down there (we were in Florence & 35 minutes away) there to talk to him.

 

We did & on Monday we put in a very low ball offer, never imagining he would accept.  He did.  He was going through a divorce & was forced to sell even though he didn't want to because both the houses had been amazing rentals for him.

 

Since the 8th of July we have been going through everything you have to go through to buy a house, but in the case 2 houses.

 

We have jumped & cleared all the hurdles & now we are just waiting for the appraisal & closing.  It will close between Aug. 16 - Sept. 1.  After it closes we will do a few things with the big house we are renting, then get renters.

 

The cottage we are going to fix up & redo & eventually we will live in the big house which we will remodel & rent the cottage maybe for summer rentals for people who want to vacation on the coast.

 

Our heads are swimming & we are so excited we were able to find property like this for a smoking great price!  Whoo Hoo!

 

We can still travel, but not as far as we wanted, but along the coast & there are a lot of Thousand Trails & RPI places which are free or $10 a night.  We LOVE the coast so we win, win, win!

 

We had gone back & forth going south one more year or staying & we decided to stay at our new, old house.  Frankly I am so happy & I know Rod can't wait to fish, etc.  We have plans for the cottage.  It is so cute & we wanted a fixer upper to do & my head is spinning with ideas.  We will still live in the trailer for awhile until we redo the cottage, but that is OK.  Plenty of room & storage in both houses.

 

Anyway that's it for now.  We are staying between Coos Bay (The Mill RV Park), Lakeside (Osprey RV Park) & Florence (Port of Siuslaw RV Park & Marina).  All of them are really nice, have cable & in Florence we can walk to everything!

 

Can't wait to get started.

 

 

Where has June gone?

I blinked & June was gone.  One reason for the blackout, we have been in Internet hecky-poo.  In other words, the only real Internet we have had is on our phones or if we lug the computer to a building with the Internet.

After we left Florence we went to Roseburg & stayed at the Escapees RV Park in Sutherlin.  It is absolutely beautiful.  Lots of activities & an amazing lending library!  I went to a Craft afternoon & met some really nice people.

After a week we headed to Bend, Oregon & the Thousand Trails RV Park.  It is the one we signed up with TT many years ago.  Beautiful campground, NO TV, NO INTERNET (except in aforementioned outbuildings), lots of activities, craft selling every Sat. & Sun.(I sold cards 2 Sat.), lots of rain.  Rod fished - NO fish!  Watched lots of movies!

We wanted to go to Bend before the hot weather started, but we got almost 2 weeks of cold & rainy weather.  We were able to swim at TT 1 day when we took an water aerobics class together.

We did some exploring - Peterson's Rock Garden in Redmond, OR.  Rod went there as a little boy & wanted to go back.  It was really cool.  This man made scenes, bridges, houses, the Statue of Liberty, etc. all out of rocks & minerals.  The place had lots of peacocks & peahens.  Some of the peacocks had their feathers out completely shaking them at other peacocks & visitors.

Found an amazing stamp store in Bend.  It's called the Christmas Presence (spelled exactly that way).  So much stuff it was a little overwhelming, but fun.

Rod is obsessed with "Slap Yo Mama" hot sauce ever since he saw it on Redneck Vacation.  Well, they don't sell it anymore in Roseburg, so we started looking online.  Happened to see it was at World Market (aka Cost Plus) & drove by one in Redmond on the way to the rock garden.  We stopped on the way home & sure enough they had it as a sauce, spice & fish coating.  We bought it all & I have a very happy husband.  Amazon was charging as much to ship as it cost for the bottle of hot sauce.

Before heading to the coast we stayed 3 nights in LaPine, OR, 14 miles south of Bend at Cascade Meadows RV Park. (RPI)  The first really nice day we headed to Paulina Lake.  I sat under a tree with Kilo & Rod fished.  He caught 2 Rainbow trout!  Yeah!  Wish we could have gone there earlier because I guess everyone was having luck. It was so hot that day when we returned, we went swimming & in to the hot tub. 

The last week in June found us back at the Escapees RV Park.  Next, to the coast & not soon enough.  The hot weather has been brutal.  Can't wait for the coast & cooler weather.

Hello Again...

Been off the grid for awhile if you haven't noticed.  It was fun & very productive setting up in one spot for a month in Roseburg. 

Safari RV Park is A-MAZING!  So glad we got the last spot & decided to stay for a month.  Their laundry facilities were so cool.  All you needed was to put you credit card in the slot, push the button for what washer or dryer you wanted & BOOM!  you were washing & drying...so easy.  Only place we found that set-up.

Most of May has been getting ready for our last, yes, I can finally say it, LAST Scrapbook Fun Fest.  Bittersweet?  Somewhat.

After a month in Roseburg & one place, we both got the bug to travel again.  We made plans to go to our favorite camping place on the Thousand Trails list - Florence.  Sooooooooo, we get there & realized we are not camping with a tent trailer.  It was the perfect place for a small tent trailer 3 years ago, but not a 26" trailer with a truck.  Our favorite lady who cooked breakfasts & special dinners & candy bar Bingo, etc. left 3 years ago, no gift store & small supply store & it is very rundown.  Potholes galore, & really made the driving around hard.

We drive around & around trying to find a camp spot in the other parts (A,B & D) of the campground we have never even seen.  The spots were either too small, no sewer hook-ups, or really muddy.  It was very disappointing.  We decided that we needed to move on & tried another campground.  It was YECH!

Rod remembered there was a campground near the docks downtown - Port of Siuslaw Campground.  OMG!  It is amazing!  We have a view of the Siuslaw River, it is a short walk to Old Town Florence & all the antique stores.  LOVE IT!  We are staying here for the week.

It is a good thing we found this place because it poured & we had high winds that night.  We are snuggle buggely on a cement pad.

We got a surprise email from friends of ours from CA that moved to Idaho.  They met up with us today & staying until Saturday.  Fun!

Mo's restaurant in Florence is famous & there are others up the coast.  We have never gone there in all the years we have been coming to Florence.  We went there last night & tonight.  It is AMAZING & not expensive for a seafood restaurant.  It has the best Clam Chowder & they sell a clam chowder frozen base.  All you do is add milk.  We will be bringing some with us this Summer.

Enough rambling for now.  Later.

Home...

We are back in Roseburg & it was a little whirlwind coming home.

After Lake Topaz we stopped in Verdi, NV.  We were going to stay only a couple of days, but thanks to the "Weather Bug" App, we saw it was going to snow & snow it did.  One day hail, two days snow.  One morning we woke up to 1 inch on the ground.  We ended up in Verdi for a week before WB told us it was clear to go.

Next stop was in Likely, CA.  It is a very small town south of Alturas.  We stayed at a wonderful campground off the beaten path, but huge with a golf course & lots of sites.  It doesn't open until May 1, but they did have 10 sites open.  It turned out to be a Passport America campground so it was only $16.  Score!

Next, Merrill, OR.  We actually stayed at the Stateline RV Park for two nights which was in CA.  If you went across the road you were in Oregon.  Ate at Pappy Ganders twice.  It is sort of a tradition with us.  Met up with a friend from Clearlake who owns property in Merrill and had BBQ & went over old times & new gossip.

From Merrill, we ended up in Gold Hill for two nights at the Cypress Grove RV Park.  Highly recommend it.  It is just off Exit 45A on Hwy 5.  If you are a Good Sam member it was $25 a night.

Now we are in Douglas County, actually, Winston, OR at the Safari RV Park.  I never in all the 13 years we lived here knew about this park.  It is wonderful & evidently a lot of people know this because we got the last spot.  We were going to stay only a week, but looking at our calendar Rod made the brilliant decision to stay the month & the price is very reasonable so we are.  Yeah!

We have a beautiful spot under the trees & the weather so far has been warm.

Already met up with friends in the area & went by our old house today.  The new owner has made a lot of changes some good, some we question, but it is their house. 

Love being back!  It is the start of another adventure!