Devil's Lake State Park - Lincoln City

After a full day of traveling (well ... a six hour day to us is full!), we arrived in Lincoln City at Devil's Lake State Park.  When I checked in at the booth I was greeted to cheers from the rangers on duty.  Seems they haven't had a maintenance host in months, and were working with only 1 of 2 campground hosts as well.  It's nice to be needed and appreciated.  We met the ranger, Janie, in charge of hosts, as we walked through the park a few minutes later.  I knew it was her by her friendly voice, which I'd experienced on the phone.  We arranged to meet with her for orientation the next day.

On that same walk, we met and visited with the hosts who have been on duty alone for the last month.  They were a couple in their early 70's from California, trying park hosting for the first time.  While physically they looked like they were in better condition than us, they were exhausted.  Seems they've been working very long days, doing most everything all month.  They were trying to finish cleaning yurts when we spotted them.  They weren't complaining at all, but just wanted us to be warned.  As I listened to their story, and asked questions, it was clear they just didn't feel they could speak up and say that the long hours were just too much.  They were aware of the huge need and just kept working.  I felt bad for them!  That's not the way a first experience at park hosting ought to be.  I'm certain the host coordinator had no idea they were feeling so overburdened.  She is too busy with her own load to even notice their long hours.  They hadn't yet turned in the time sheets either.  I decided to make certain I asked some good questions of our host coordinator before we began work to make expectations clear.  We are volunteers, after all!

This is a small park, in the middle of town, just a block off Hwy 101. I was sure we had checked this park out, but now realize I was completely mistaken. It's a beautiful little park, on a huge lake with boat launching areas (the park has boat slips for campers with boats).  I guess they are fishing for several kinds of fish including trout, catfish and perch.  We could see small catfish in the shallow water around the boat slips.

We worked our first day on Wednesday, August 1st.  Since we only have one day on before our official two days off this week, we groomed camp sites throughout the park as campers left.  We picked up litter around the boat slips and on the board walk - a path made of composite decking which leads to a "primitive boat launch" just south of the park.  There are several signs along the boardwalk explaining the bog habitat that it's built over.  Really quite interesting!

I think we're going to be happy here.  The expectations were clear - 5 days, 4 hours a day, unless we just wanted to work more.  Steve will be doing some lawn mowing and weed whacking and miscellaneous repairs as needed.  We've both had a list of safety modules to complete online in preparation for our work here.  Safety is a big thing in the Oregon Park systems, but sometimes the training comes after you've already been doing the work.  Naturally, much of it is common sense.  However, there are many issues it's good to be reminded of - how to lift appropriately, how to avoid "sticks" when dealing with litter, what to do if encountering a wild animal, or a pet dog!  The online modules are somewhat well done, and each is followed by a test on the information covered.  We're both close to "A" students.  It's a good test of our brain cells.

We met another fresh-in pair of hosts yesterday.  They are from Phoenix, and have a beautiful 40' Monaco motor coach, which they let us come in and see.  Very nice.  They are looking forward to coming to see our new beast as well.  It's always fun to see the choices others make.  It's like an RV show - always fun to look!

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We left Shelton, Washington only four days ago.  I can't believe how fast the time has passed.  The week of fun with cousin Steve & Desolee (love that name!) came to a peak last Saturday, when most the Kronschnabel and Bang family got together with a "mini reunion" at the Bang family lake house on Spencer Lake.

My Steve's Dad, Don, is 92 years old now.  Steve's Mom, Barb, passed away from Alzheimer's disease in February of 2005.  Cousin Steve's Dad and Mom, Ron and Evie, are something like 89 or 90.  I can't believe how good they all look and appear to be doing!  The parents hadn't seen each other since Barb left this world.  This would be, perhaps, the last chance for the parents to see each other in this world.

A few old photo albums of Steve's Dad where there to be enjoyed, as we were returning them after having had them for a few months.  Do I think it was a coincidence that we had them, and needed to return them this very week?  After all the other events that have fallen into place?  I don't think so!
I tried to get some good pictures, and Desolee was getting lots more.  It's good to have these professional photographers at family gatherings!

My favorite photos are seeing my father-in-law back with his departed wife's Aunt & Uncle after all these years.  Also, the group photos of the grown kids, most of themselves grandparents now.


It was a great week we will always remember.  We are hoping to meet up again with Cousin Steve and Desolee in the not-so-distant future.  Perhaps even "on golden pond" again one day!

On Golden Pond ...

We've been in Shelton, Washington, at the Spencer Lake RV Resort since Monday afternoon.  To say it's been a wonderful time is an absolute understatement!  Cousin Steve and his wife Desolee have been absolutely the perfect hosts.  What a blessing to be welcomed and accepted so warmly.  Even though the cousins have not seen each other in 30 years, I'm told, we have felt accepted from the very first moments. We didn't know what to expect, except we really looked forward to meeting them (in my case) and getting reacquainted (in Steve's case).

This whole full-time RV thing came out of the enjoyment of being open to new things.  We want to continue on in that spirit.  We don't want to miss out on any of the new and exciting things God may have for us.  Staying in this RV Resort with Steve's cousin is so much a part of that plan, and we are truly enjoying it.

Tuesday evening, after a wonderful first afternoon of visiting, Steve & Desi hosted us at dinner over at the Spencer Lake Bar & Grill where I had a delicious Patty Melt - just the way they are supposed to be made, with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and on marbled rye bread.  It doesn't get much better!  We stayed afterward for a community game of Bingo, a free game night offered by the bar to bring in business and make life fun.  We're not sure when we last played Bingo, but it was really a fun evening.  It was a good chance to see the locals in action.  Everybody was extremely friendly.

The bar and grill is on the edge of Spencer Lake - a beautiful lake.  Many of the locals live in houses around the lake.  Cousin Steve's family has a "cabin" on the lake.  In our eyes it's a beautiful 6 bedroom home, beautifully landscaped to the edge of the dock.

Wednesday morning I woke up in pain from my lower back. It's been a problem through the sale of our home, and move to the motorhome.  I thought I'd have some time to rest up and give it time to settle down again, but it hasn't worked that way so much.  It is doing better, so I'm not completely laid up, for which I'm thankful.  However, this morning I was just so tired, and I couldn't sleep any longer because my back hurt so much.

Our new motorhome came with an upgrade to a sleep number kind of bed.  I was really hoping it would be a great mattress for my back.  It hasn't worked out that well.  I've been trying to get by for over two weeks now, and it just isn't helping me at all.  So, Cousin Steve decided to lead us into Olympia, where we went in search of a mattress pad that perhaps would help.  We eventually found a 3" thick memory foam topper at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  I used a 20% off coupon from my purse and they waived the Washington State Sales tax with my Oregon driver's license.  I slept nine hours last night and though my back was pretty stiff, I feel very hopeful.  Life is good.

While in Olympia, we also visited a car dealership.  Cousin Steve is looking for a new tow vehicle, and has definite ideas on what might work for us.  We want something a little cheaper and a little smaller than he's thinking, but it got us look for real and was really quite fun and informative.  Steve and I ended up taking a test drive in a GMC Terrain.  Nice car, good and zippy, and felt comfortable.  It was only our first time looking into possibilities, so we're not ready to take the plunge yet, but it was a very good thing being encouraged to look.  We've just been overwhelmed by all the things we don't know yet, and getting a tow vehicle and getting it ready to be towed is just another task on our list.  Seems like we ought to feel a bit more comfortable with the motorhome before added a "toad" behind us!

On the way back to the lake, we stopped and Desi bought a bag of fresh steamer clams.  What a treat!  They were a wonderful appetizer before our dinner.  Lake friends of Steve & Desi's invited us to join them for dinner that evening.  I swear I felt like I was living the "On Golden Pond" lifestyle.  We sat out on this wonderful deck, overlooking the lake.  We ate steamer clams, followed by a meal of tri-tip, mushroom rice, shrimp salad, corn and fresh rolls.  We were out on the deck as the sun was setting, and soaked in the fun and wonderful visit with Jackie, Tom, Bud and Steve & Desi, right up until the mosquitoes began to bite.  It was hard to believe I was thinking I'd want to get back to the RV early.  I think it was about 10pm before we left the cabin.  Steve & Desi stayed the night at the family cabin.  We've been so thankful to have GPS available to us in both the car (thanks, mom!) and the motorhome.  It's helped a lot since we've been up here on unfamiliar turf.

Today, Thursday, we're having a down-day.  I'm finally getting some laundry done again.  Also, I had thawed ground turkey than needed to be turned into meatloaf.  I also put on a crock-pot of pork country ribs.  We've invited Steve and Desi to join us for ribs tonight.  The meatloaf will keep for another simple meal, or some nice lunches.

The weather is beautiful, the breeze feels heavenly, and we are so enjoying this week with extended family.  It's so good to be where God wants us!

The way God leads us ...

It's Thursday, July 19th.  We enjoyed a lovely visit from Steve's brother, Charlie, who drove down from Hillsboro to come and see us and our new home before we leave the area.  It's so appreciated when company comes!  It gives us a "mental break" from trying to get settled into our home.  It really does help us almost "reset" our brains.

Prior to Chuck's visit, Steve and I were once again trying to get some plans in place as to where we go from here.  We HAVE to leave this RV Park on Monday, the 23rd.  We've checked - we simply cannot stay after that date.  That's 4 more nights and then we have no place to go!  Sure, we have things in the works, but no firm plans as of yet.  I've been asking God to please show us where we are to go, and yet it just hasn't been made clear yet.

During Chuck's visit, I checked my email.  I do that on auto-pilot.  There was the usual spam, and ... an email from Wallowa Lake State Park's host coordinator!  She confirmed our positions there for September and October, and said if we acted quickly, she could get us in for August.  We were so excited to get a confirmation!  I'm really looking forward to spending some time in that beautiful area, with all the wildlife.  However, even if we took the August opening, we still have nowhere to go to in 4 days....

Chuck left around 5pm, and Steve said it was really sinking in that we need to leave here in just a few days.  He decided to call Devil's Lake State Park again, as they had a July and August opening for a host.  The ranger won't be back until tomorrow afternoon!  Now what?  Do we keep waiting?  I said I would call again and check in at Champoeg.  That ranger was already gone for the day.  I decided I'd call him first thing in the morning.  Still, that position would be a possibility for August, not for the end of July...

We began to heat up our leftover clam chowder from last night's dinner, and grabbed the rest of the salad from the refrigerator.  That's when I remembered we had considered going up to visit family in Tacoma a couple days ago.  We'd hunted for some reasonable RV Parks in the area and were disappointed.  We eventually thought perhaps we could stay in Centralia at an RV Park we'd been to before.  At least we'd be within an hour of a few visits with Steve's family.  We haven't been able to visit them for some time now, and it seemed like this might be the time.  Somehow, we'd dropped the ball on that idea.  Time to pick it back up!

I suggested Steve call that park and find out if they had any openings.  If they didn't, we'd know we need to keep looking.  We were surprised when they answered the phone!  So many RV Park offices close early, it seems.  I was praying that if God wanted us to go up to visit the rest of our family, there would be an opening. Yes!!  They had an opening for us on Monday through he rest of the month!  Relief!

For me that was confirmation that we already knew what we ought to do -- go visit famly.  We just got hung up on the details.  It felt so good to finally know where we would go on Monday!

Then came God's little extra special something!  Steve decided to call his sister and let her know of our plans to be up that direction.  He said, just perhaps, his cousin, Steve Bang, might be in the area.  They are full time RVers also, in a 45 foot deluxe motorhome.  Steve's been in contact with them for a while now, and knew they were back in the Pacific NW somewhere after Wintering down south.  I suggested he ask his sister about a possible visit with them before contacting his cousin, since our priority was to visit with his sister and father.  I didn't want our limited time used up without having adequate time with his Sister and Father.  Judy said she'd love to be able to see their cousin.

Steve called his cousin Steve.  (I know.  Why so many Steve's in a single family?  I guess it's just a great name.)  To Steve's surprise, his cousin answered the phone.  When cousin Steve learned we were planning to stay in Centralia, he said we ought to join them at the RV Park they are staying at in Shelton, Washington?  He said there was going to be an opening in a few days right next to them!  He said if we had any problem getting the space to call him, as the park really likes them.  My Steve said, "You mean I can say I know somebody?"  Steve said he'd be renaming his cousin to "his favorite cousin, Steve!" 

We'll be even closer to Tacoma, and our other Tacoma family will get to see their cousin also!  I'm really looking forward to this time.  I'm looking forward to focusing a bit more on something other than getting settled.  I'm looking forward to just living in our Moby Homa.

Today, Sunday, we went through the slide out storage tray in the basement again.  This time I showed no mercy.  I was tossing things for the Goodwill right and left.  It was definitely a day clothed in reality, which made picking what to keep and what to lose somewhat easy.  By the time we finished, we had found a place for every bit of the car load we'd brought back from my parents, accept for a few small bins inside.  Progress!  We're ready to move on to something a bit more "settled".

Moby sees the "doctor" -- Now where?

We spent the day in the Hillsboro/Beaverton area last Tuesday.  We had an 8:30 a.m. appointment for "Moby" at the Camping World service department.  We hoped we'd get our motorhome back with at least the biggest, most important items completed, time permitting.  The biggest thing was to correct the leak under the bed room the master bath.  Fixing that would mean we could shower in our own shower, do laundry in our own "house" and brush our teeth in the main bathroom sink.  It really is the most simply things we take for granted that make life enjoyable.

Another big problem for us was the switch that raises the head of the bed.  It wasn't big for our own comfort, but it's a requirement for getting the motorhome ready to travel.  The bedroom slide cannot come in without the bed being pulled up!  This switch has worked only intermittently, and gave us great grief as we attempted to leave McMinnville for our appointment!

We got up early Tuesday, planning to leave McMinnville soon after 7 a.m.  It takes a good hour and more to get into Hillsboro from here.  I got up about 5:00, wanting to be awake by the time we leave.  I'm a bit slow at waking up...  I should add that this was our first time closing up the motorhome all by ourselves, and we were just a bit nervous.

Imagine our stress levels when we had 2 of the 3 slides pulled in, and found the bedroom slide didn't want to!  Eventually, Steve reach down over the top of the bed and was able to find the micro-switch.  He held something down - I don't have a clue what - and I pushed the button to pull in the final slide.  I've made it sound simple here, but it was not simple!  We were completely stressed!  When I finally got in the Buick with Parsley, I told myself to relax and not to have a heart attack.  I looked in the mirror and saw I was one big stress blotch.  We pulled away from our site at about 7:30, 30 minutes tardy ...

Steve drove the motorhome for the first time since we purchased it, and said it went very well.  I was a bit concerned for him, but he said he felt confident about driving it.  Naturally, he has much more experience driving RV's, even though he shares the responsibility with me.  However, being stressed out before he hit the road didn't sound like a good idea.  We didn't have any choice!

Camping World was able to get through more of our list than we expected, and we were able to pick up the motorhome again after 5pm.  Naturally, we wouldn't know whether the fixes were good until we were back living in it.

We got backed into our RV Park at about 6:30pm and quickly tried to get set up.  I don't know how, but my back was out again and Steve had to do most everything...  It's so discouraging to me to be laid up.  However, today I woke being spasm-free, and only a bit stiff.  Thanks, God!

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The next big issue for us is, "Where do we go from here?"  We've been checking out our options, with not a whole lot of success to date.  We'd really hoped for a miracle.  Champoeg State Park had a July/August campground host opening.  We would've loved to move in and fill that opening.  However, we didn't really want to leave McMinnville until closer to the 23rd, since we had service issues with Moby.  The host there says he might have something for us in August.  We haven't heard yet.

Wallowa Lake State Park needs campground hosts in September/October.  I spoke with them, and haven't yet received the information they promised.  I'm thinking none of the hosts coordinators understands (how could they?) that we feel a need to know where we are going.

This morning we had yet another discussion regarding what we do when we are scheduled to leave here July 23rd...  We decided we need to quit just hoping things will fall together and get a bit more aggressive.  Steve called Devil's Lake State Park in Lincoln City, where they need a maintenance host for July and August.  The position is still unfilled!  But, the host coordinator is off today ... More waiting.  They are looking for a "maintenance host".  That's something Steve volunteered for.  Maintenance hosts can do special projects, fix things, mow lawns, etc.  With my back needing some TLC, I could let Steve work, and I would have a chance to do more home-making kinds of tasks as we continue to work at getting settled in our new home.

I admit we have been people who play things safe for the most part.  Imagine what a big stretch it is for us to not know where we can park our rig to live!  This experience is teaching us (kicking and screaming at times) patience, and to trust God for the future in a real way.  We know he's led us thus far, so we have to believe he will continue to do so.  However, it's a big stretch for both of us to just wait for his leading.  We're used to planning and figuring things out for ourselves.

So, here we are, six days from being out of a place to park our new home.  However, I can enjoy the fact that we are making some progress!  Steve just showered and says there were no leaks!  Even though I just did laundry at my parents' place while we used their home as our base yesterday, I can now use my stackable washer and dryer again!  I plan to get some bread baked in my micro-convection oven today.  Sure hope it works ...  We're looking forward to seeing how the rest of July turns out!

We're closing in on the end of week 1 ...

I can't believe it's Friday evening already.  This is the last day of our first week in our new Moby Homa!  It took me most of the week to get a blog post completed.  I've been trying hard to spend some time writing each day, but it's difficult to finish more than a thought or two before an interruption of one kind or another.  Also, it's almost impossible to write with a cat in my lap.  No place for the laptop!  Also, there are so many things to take care of, and much more interaction with Steve - not a bad thing!  Just doesn't leave a lot of time to be in my own head.

Thursday we had a welcomed visit from my brother and his wife.  They had kindly offered to put off their visit for a week while we tried to get settled, but next week we have an appointment for the motorhome at Camping World to get some of our problems solved.  It made more sense for them to come this week.  As it turned out, it was exactly what we needed!

We had a lovely visit, getting our minds off our unpacking and sorting.  Steve prepared for their visit by taking most the bins back out and storing them away in the basement.  That made us feel better too!  It felt like we were actually entertaining company - the family kind - and it felt great.

I fixed us a lunch of sandwiches and leftover pasta salad.  Let me stray off topic and say I've done two great new recipes this week.  The ideas came from lunch/dinners served to us at my parent's place last week.  One day for lunch my mother served us a really yummy pasta salad.  She used a Suddenly Salad boxed mix, Chipotle-Ranch variety, and doctored it with lots of added vegetables and black beans.  It was really good!  I determined I'd take a run at copying the recipe, without using a boxed mix.  It needs a little tweaking, but it was yummy!  That was the leftover pasta salad I served to Paul & Diana, my version of Chipotle-Ranch Pasta Salad.

The other copycat recipe attempt I made was inspired by some tilapia my Mom served us for dinner one night.  She purchased it, frozen & already seasoned, at Costco.  Our whole family enjoys fish, and she apologized she hadn't cooked more of it, as we ate every last bit.  Naturally, we didn't need more, but we'd have eaten it if it was there.  I had frozen orange roughy in my freezer here in the motorhome, and made a similar flavored fish.  This one was a real hit!  We'll be having it over and over - Lemon-Basil Orange Roughy.

I was able to share some of my over-stocked pantry with Paul & Diana.  I've learned that when you live in an motorhome, you don't need to have 2 Costco bottles of Worcestershire sauce.  I find it rather embarrassing on some level that I had such a well-stocked pantry at our former house.  This new life-style will afford us to live in a more just-in-time, simple manner.  We practiced this new lifestyle when we park hosted for 2+ months last Winter.  When I do my grocery shopping, I have to continually ask myself, "When will you serve this?"  A good buy is only good if you use it!  I will get better at this over time.  I now have the added motivation of limited storage space to inspire me.

I made a couple phone calls on Friday to State Parks with park hosting opportunities available.  I'd left a couple messages at Champoeg State Park, and hadn't heard back.  We have really been thinking it would be ideal to work a month or two at Champoeg, as it keeps us close enough to Camping World while we work out the bugs in our motorhome.  This call paid off with getting to talk with the ranger in charge of volunteer hosts - Mike Smith.  As might be expected of a ranger in charge of hosts, he was very personable.  I explained our situation, and he explained his.  He had two other hosts call in who might be able to come fill his July needs immediately.  If so, that would be his preference.  Another host currently working for him had some personal issues come up that might cause them to need to leave early, he'd heard.  He said he'd be speaking with them and if they did indeed need to leave, perhaps we could fill that position in August?  Either way, he'll be getting back to us.

Next I called Wallowa Lake State Park over in NE Oregon.  It's a gorgeous park, and we haven't been there for several years.  They have several openings posted for September and October.  I spoke with the ranger in charge of hosts, who's name I unfortunately didn't get.  She did an impromptu interview with me over the phone and said she'd be sending me information on their hosting program.

Each state park has unique needs from hosts.  Wallowa Lake has only 2 yurts, and no cabins.  They need campground hosts who assist campers and clean up the sites after campers leave.

We are anxious to figure out where we'll be living over the next few months.  We were only able to get a reservation here at the Old Stone Village RV Park until the 23rd of this month.  We may be scrambling for somewhere to stay until the end of July at least.  I reminded Steve he needs to be praying with me about where we go from here!  This is a new thing to get our heads around - we need to know where we can park our home to live each month!  I imagine, over time, we'll have our favorites.  It's a little precarious right now as July & August in Oregon are prime vacation months.  Openings are limited.  Stay tuned ...

Reality is setting in ...

I guess it's getting real now.  Not the full-time part, but the "we live in a motorhome" part.  Not in a bad way.  Just in a more real way.  I haven't had as much time to think, let alone write down my thoughts!

We have a lot of things yet to work through living in our new motorhome.  First, let me tell you that the huge amounts of storage aren't really that much, as it turns out.  It's all relative.  From my perspective, Steve keeps bringing in more bins of stuff that I don't have a place for.  That means clutter, not being able to find things, and frustration.  It's not his fault - he's just doing what he's supposed to do!  But many things get frustrating quick when you haven't had much sleep and are in a whole new set of circumstances with every move you make.

Our first morning, I tried to think of something a little special to make for breakfast for us.  I had eggs, I had a little ham to use up.  Ah!  Minced ham and scrambled eggs!  No bread.  How about baking a few biscuits in my new convection oven?  Sounds fun!  I get out the eggs and ham.  I find my cutting board, my non-stick fry pan.  I'm in business.  Wait.  I have no spatula.  All I have are stainless steel tableware.  I'm not going to ruin my pan.  And the biscuits?  I can't find baking powder.  Never mind.  I'm thankful we have cereal and milk.  We eat it gratefully.

Our first day didn't exactly live up to my dreams, but still I feel happy we've made this decision.  I spent a good part of the day trying to figure out where things were, and moving them to where it seemed they might belong.  Also, since we were expecting company later in the day, I wanted to try to de-clutter a bit.  We at least got the bins out of the main walk-thru.

At one point that day, Steve went outside to check in the large storage slide out to see if he could find any of the missing items I was longing for (and whining about).  He came back in and in an exasperated way told me he was so stupid.  He said all the bins they'd loaded from my parents garage were nothing more than "c--p"!  I had to laugh, and eventually he joined me. His statement was kind of true, but it was simply caused by the way that first moving day had been.  We honestly thought it was all going to fit!  We'd given away or sold all our furniture!  At least half our wardrobes had gone away.  We were brutal about it.  However, there were some items we kept just in case we decided they were worthy of storage.

Once we'd transferred what had been in the 5th wheel trailer to the motorhome at Camping World, Steve and Jim had started loading the items we'd stored for a week in my parents' garage.  When they began to load, whatever was closest went into the storage areas of the motorhome first.  When it became apparent that it wasn't going to fit, they had to quit.  What Steve had found in our storage bins this first morning were Christmas decorations, Winter clothing, photo albums needing to be scanned into the computer, picture frames we don't have anywhere to hang, etc.  Poor guy.  It really is pretty funny!  We couldn't find our underwear, but at least we could decorate for Christmas next December!

Steven Swenwold and his wife, Staci, came to visit us the evening of our first full day.  They brought us a lovely deli spread with meats/cheese and great crackers.  Also, Staci had made a beautiful, and delicious, fruit salad.  We shared the sparkling apple cider Steven had put in our refrigerator the day of the move, in the accompanying little plastic wine glasses.  We toasted to God and his goodness.

We were so happy that they'd offered to come down and visit, even though we were up to our ears in clutter and overwhelmed.  Steve was the one person who was truly knowledgeable about our new purchase!  We were so happy they were coming that first day!

While they were here, Steven wanted to help out as he could.  He took a look under the bed to find out why we had wet carpet on the side of the bed, behind the shower wall.  We'd taken late night showers at the end of moving day.  Hope that wasn't what leaked!  The panel behind the shower was dry.  So they looked under the bed.  Water!  Seems a connection from the master bathroom isn't holding.  A portion of the shower water, sink water and washing machine water may have ended up in our bedroom.  Though water inside an RV is never good, we were relieved and thankful that we are parked directly across the road from the laundry and shower facilities here at the park.  It could be worse.

Also, one of the three air conditioners appeared to be drawing way too much power, yet no longer starting.  No problem - just shut it down.  It's not that hot during the day.  We have two a.c. units left!  Most the rest of the list are little things - hardly worth bringing up.  But now we know we will have to take "Moby Homa" back in for service soon.  The idea that we could be ready to drive again anytime soon seems doubtful to me however.  I'd have to have everything put away!  I also feel like I need to have some rest before I'd be ready for that day.  We still are very short on sleep.

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Day 2 went a little better.  I slept a little more.  Not a lot, but a little more.  Time to consider breakfast.  Still no spatula or non metal utensils.  We decided we were especially thankful for our company the night before.  We had leftovers!  Meat, cheese & fruit salad is perfect for breakfast. 

There was just so much piled all around me inside the motor home!  I'm one of those people that can take clutter for a few days, if it's for a reason.  At some point, however, I can't take it.  It happened every time we'd go out in the 5th wheel.  After perhaps 3 days I'd have to just stop and put everything away and clear off the floor and counters (few that they were).  Well, I haven't changed.  It's no wonder I've always hated moving!  Clutter is a reality, and it doesn't go away in 3 days.

Here in the motorhome we have an extra problem:  There's no place to put the clutter except inside the motorhome!  If the basement and all the indoor storage are full, we have no garage to put the rest into.  We have the back end of our Buick Rendezvous, but that's it.

On Day 3, Wednesday, Steve thought he'd leave me back with Parsley, the cat, while he ran into Hillsboro to deal with some equipment issues at Camping World and Dish Network...technical stuff.  After that he'd go to my parents and sort through the garage and tell me what he saw.  I could tell him what I needed over the phone and what should just stay there for the time being.  Not only was I grateful that Steve would be taking care of all those details, but I was also grateful to have the chance to be quiet and think as I tried to re-sort and store things away in the motorhome.  I can't believe how fast that time went, even though the errands had taken Steve longer than he expected.  By the time he returned, the place looked worse than ever, but there were perhaps 4 overhead storage areas that were now neat and tidy!  Hope springs eternal.

Learning to Live Differently!

We're back in the RV Park, learning to live in our new Winnebago Journey 42E.  Just surviving yesterday feels like a real accomplishment!

We were up Saturday morning at 5:00.  Our long-haired alarm clock never fails.  Steve made us a lovely breakfast of oatmeal and toast, and even did the dishes.  We worked hard Friday night trying to get as much as we could from the trailer into the Buick, thinking we'd have less to unload from the 5th wheel to the motorhome.  The Buick was packed full!  Saturday morning was about getting ourselves ready, getting to Beaverton in time to drop off Parsley at her "grandparents" for the day, and getting to Camping world by 9:00.  Everything went smoothly!  We got in and back out of my parents' short street with culdesac.  Steve's the master at maneuvering the truck and 5th wheel without popping out the back window of the truck, were he to turn too sharply.  We made it to Camping World in Hillsboro with time to spare.

Since our truck and trailer were trade-ins, their people started checking things out quickly, while Steven, our salesman & new friend, introduced us to all the aspects of the motorhome, inside and out.  We'd heard much of it before, but there is so much to digest.  It's really quite overwhelming.  However, Steven has been very patient with us, and wonderful to work with.

Eventually we went in to meet with the finance guy, to sign papers and give him a check for the motorhome.  That only took perhaps 20 minutes, compared to a couple hours probably on the motorhome.  During all this, various folk were scrambling around trying to have everything ready for us.  A few things didn't happen.  Work orders didn't get written up, some communications didn't happened.  If this had been 2 days previous, I probably would have been really bugged and disappointed.  Funny thing was that none of that seemed so important all the sudden.  I decided it was the relief of getting through our house sale that let me relax - even with few hours of sleep over the past several days.

My hard-working, helpful brother-in-law, Jim, joined us at the dealership.  He'd volunteered to help us move from one RV to the other.  I truly don't know what we'd have done without him!  Having turned in our truck, we wouldn't even have had a vehicle to drive to get over to my parents for lunch without Jim.  My mom fixed us a nice lunch, and my brother was able to join us from Vancouver.  He'd wanted to help us with the move, but had to get back home to get his wife to work, as they were down to only one working vehicle at the time.

It turned into a very warm day by the time we got back to the dealership and found the motorhome and 5th wheel perfectly aligned next to each other, so we could transfer things from one to the other.  That's when the really hard work began.  Steve was in the 5th wheel and I was in the motorhome.  Jim was hopping from the 5th wheel with whatever Steve handed him, and up the steps into the motorhome, saving my back from lifting, where I tried to find a quick place for everything.  It was crazy.

When we were done, it was time to leave.  Our salesman popped in saying he needed to get going.  I swear I almost grabbed his leg and held on, begging him not to leave us.  At that moment I felt panic well up - I was certain we didn't know how to drive this huge monster!  I didn't even know where to begin in closing it up to move!  Steven calmly walked me through the various things to watch for before pulling in the slides.  We got them pulled in, and then he left.

We now had to drive away in the motorhome.  Steve had decided that I would drive.  Isn't he a saint?  I wanted to, and was scared to death at the same time.  I'd done the test drive out at Rooster Rock that once, but I hadn't had to do it alone, without the assurance of someone who knew.  Suddenly we were on our own.  I was so thankful to have my "other brain" sitting next to me.  I wasn't sure I could get out of the parking lot.  It seemed a very tight fit to get between the other RVs on the lot.  Steve helped encourage me through, and the world did not end.

Soon we were on TV Highway, heading to my parents house on the pre-planned route, picked for it's less than tight corners.  How strange to be pulling up next to my parents' place in that huge thing!  I couldn't believe I'd driven it there!  I'm not sure how I didn't hit anything... it just kind of happened to fall into place.

Once again, my faithful brother-in-law, Jim, worked his tail off along with Steve, getting bin after bin of our stuff loaded into the motorhome.  Long before they were finished, it became clear it wasn't going to fit.  After all that down-sizing, we still have too much stuff!  That's okay.  This time the McMinnville Goodwill will benefit!

I'm kind of amazed at the things we have too much of yet.  Cleaning products!  Lysol, degreaser, Windex, toilet bowl cleaner, disinfecting wipes, hand soap, dish soap, etc.  Suddenly, it all seems like so much over kill!  How many different kinds of cleaners do I need?  Really.  I can't wait to unload much of this stuff.  In an RV we need to be more careful about what goes down the drain - as it goes into our holding tanks.  We don't use Drain-O or harsh chemicals.  I actually look forward to unloading much of those items that I apparently treasured at the "big house".

When we got up this morning - 5:00 again - after getting to sleep well after mid-night, we enjoyed a cup of coffee (at least we could find that!), and pretty much just felt tired and overwhelmed, while being so thankful to finally be in our new home.