On The Road Again

 

Kilometers are shorter than miles.  Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.

That’s right.  We did it.  We are definitely on the road again and on our way south.  We have no timetable.  We’ll get there when we get there.  However, we don’t really even know where “there” is.

Some reminders that fall is everywhere

We were a little later than we figured we would be pulling out of our mooch-docking spot at Lee and Bri’s place but not much.  By 9:00 we were on I-5 and heading south.  Our first stop was a short distance down the road.  After all, we needed fuel and desperately needed propane.  The propane tank in our motorhome was empty, empty, empty.  Even the little barbecue tank we haul with us was close to the empty mark.

View from RV lot

Our second stop was just about 70 miles from where we started.  It was the Camping World in Wilsonville, Oregon.  We had a 1:00 appointment to have the motorhome serviced.  We knew we were going to be really early but we also knew going through Portland, could be challenging and could be slow.  We had been over these roads many, many times.  We were very familiar with them but still waited until we figured the worst of work traffic was over.  Roads were still packed but we made it without a glitch.   

RV Parking above the casino

Arriving before schedule meant we also had time to wander on down the road a few miles in the Jeep to visit the Woodburn Outlet Mall.  They have a Bose outlet there and Terry wanted to replace the ear pads on his Bose headset.  We also had no choice but to visit Fry’s Electronics which is one of our favorite stores.  We weren’t on a mission to find anything special but it’s just one of those places you go when looking for something new that you didn’t know they had and you didn’t know you couldn’t live without until you see it.

With all our running around done around 12:30, we were back at Camping World before our scheduled appointment time only to discover the work we had requested was already finished.  Fantastic!  We were on the road earlier than planned and headed towards the Oregon coast with only about 75 miles ahead of us.

The road between I-5 and Hwy 101 at this cut-off location is an easy road.  It cuts through the Coastal Range but it’s not a big climb.  These mountains are nothing like the ones we normally cross over between Oregon and California on I-5,  The good thing is the weather was gorgeous and absolutely no snow was in the forecast.

Nummy, nummy 

The Wind River Casino has FREE RV parking in a lot sitting above the casino with gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean.  The tough thing about this can be trying to get your RV level on the slanted lot.  After trying a couple spots we finally moved into one that worked.  I think we’re now here until we get kicked out.  (I may be exaggerating that a bit.)

A short time after we arrived and got set up, we got a gentle knock on the door.  Toni and Doug were here!  We celebrated our arrival with dinner at the casino buffet.  This casino has a fantastic spread from cedar plank salmon, prime rib, fresh cod, shrimp to luscious salads and deserts.  Yes, we did pig out but it’s not an every day event.  It’s eat one day and starve the next .....  been there, done that.

We also signed up for the casino's player’s card and received $5 in free casino money.  I found a Texas Tea machine and spent most of my time on that.  That’s one my favorite little games and now that I know they have one will certainly spend more time feeding it.  However, this time I walked out with an extra $10 in my pocket.  So much for donating back to the casino.  Terry calls it a “stupid tax” because casinos weren’t built so people could win.  They were built and are maintained so people can lose.  However, normally with me it’s just an “entertainment” fee.

The Pacific Ocean

It will be interesting to see how well our solar panels can keep up with our electricity usage.  We’ve not put them to test in the Pacific NW.  In Arizona with the mostly sunny skies they do an amazing job.  We have no clue how much sun we’re going to be seeing over the next few days and especially while on the Oregon Coast.

The view out my window this morning is of Pacific Ocean.   Music is playing in the background .. seagulls.  What an awesome place we are at and it's all FREE.  Amazing!!


‘Tis life on the road.