Whattaweek! (or two)

Woodburn was OK...just OK. The park had changed a lot since the last time we were there in 2004. A lot of long term residents seemed to be there now, and there were snooty little cliques. No friendly people like we are used to. But, it WAS a very short walk to the Outlet Malls, and since there is no sales tax in OR, we contributed to the local economy.


At the sneak-peek
On Thursday the 20th, we departed south for Junction City, for the big swap over on Friday. There are 3 lots at Country Coach - 1 with 11 full-hookups, 1 with 8 partial hookups (water & electric), and the final lot with about 10 electric only hookups. Because we were doing a trade-in with a move out/in, we ended up in the last lot. The first 2 lots are reserved for service customers. After checking in, we asked if we could see our new home. Alas, it was still over in detailing. Around 5:00pm, they told us it was in, and we could sneak a peek if we wanted. We did, and can remember saying WOW a lot!

On Friday, we met briefly with our Country Coach Sales Rep, signed all the paperwork, then began our walk-through. As we are motorhome neophytes, it took all day. About 5:00pm, they drove it over and parked it next to our 5th wheel. Now the real fun would begin. We did some bedroom transferring, then called it day. Some of our full-time friends recently moved from a 5th wheel to a motor home - their experience: it took much longer than they anticipated. Comparing our experience, we can say the same. Although the motor home is 43', a full 7' longer than the 5th wheel, the storage space is less. We had planned on leaving Monday for our shakedown trip, but postponed until Wednesday so we could get more organized.

Bright and early early Wednesday, we pulled out and headed for Florence, OR, about 65 miles west. Donna drove our pickup and tailed me, watching my driving. This worked out quite well, as we talked on our walkie-talkies during the drive. She gave me great advice on my road positioning and handling, which helped with my confidence level.


Lake Woahink

We ended up at Woahink RV Resort, which backs to the Oregon Sand Dunes. If you get a chance to visit this area, it is spectactular. The sand dunes are huge, and go for 50 miles or so along the coast. We took a drive down to Coos Bay on Thursday, and really enjoyed the coast scenery. Friday, we hung out and Donna went to a local quilt store that had been recommended to her. And Friday, it started raining...ah, Oregon in the fall!


Dunes looking South


Dunes looking North


Dunes looking West


Moonscape!

Saturday, we packed it up and headed back to Junction City with our list of fix-its. We've found that there are spaces open on Saturday, but it fills up quickly on Sunday. Tomorrow, we will hang out while the coach gets worked on. Hopefully, our list won't take too long, as we need to begin our trek back to Colorado.

Behind Again

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted since August 29! A lot has happened...here it is mid-September, and we are now are back in Oregon.

We had planned on spending 15 days in Colorado, but stretched it out so that I could visit the doctor one more time. We had our annual physicals, and both Donna and I passed with flying colors. However, I felt "something" coming on, so we elected to stay an extra day and get me checked out (some antibiotics fixed me right up!)

It was great seeing old friends at our home park. Eventually we hooked up with our friends Tom and Roe - we will be staying at the same park in Florida this winter. I took some time and visited my old work - had lunch with the boss and a former co-worker, and visited with everyone. Donna managed to get a quilt day in with her old quilt group, and had a great time. We even got some big-ticket items sold on www.craigslist.com

Of course the "call of the new rig" motivated us to hit the road again. We took our time coming back up, spending a few days in Wyoming, and a few more days in Idaho. We made some new friends in Caldwell, ID, and enjoyed talking and sipping wine in the evening. The next morning, we headed for Bend OR, where we thought we'd stay at Tumalo State Park. We were inside of the timeframe for online booking, but the park looked wide open. When we got there, however, we found that the park was very popular, and we couldn't get in. OK, things don't quiet down immediately after Labor Day. Grumbling, we headed down the road to La Pine, where we had stayed in July. The park is in our Coast to Coast network, so staying here is cheap, BUT...cell phone coverage sucks, Internet connections suck, and there are a zillion little flies to contend with. It's doubtful we'll be back there.

On our previous stay in Oregon, we met, by chance, Dave and Jeannie McKay, who developed the RV game Rally Ho! This game has just taken off, after several years in development. We met them at a restaurant McKay's Cottage, in Bend. The name is pure coincidence, as they are not affiliated with the restaurant. Anyway, we told them that if we got back in the area, we'd meet up at McKay's again for lunch. We did meet, and had a great long lunch. They invited us to stay at their home if we brought the new rig up to Bend. They are going through what we did last year - house for sale, hoping to full-time. We wish them success, both on their business venture, and getting the house sold!

We moved up to Woodburn, OR, for a week, to relax (?) and get the rig ready to turn in. We'll also do some sightseeing in the Portland area. Our current dilemma is getting our truck situation worked out. We are purchasing a new Jeep to tow behind the motor home. So, to get the truck home, we've either got to drive it (we are not going for this option - we want the new motor home to be a shared experience), tow it, or have it shipped back to Colorado. To tow it, I either have to find a rental unit that will tow a 3/4 ton truck, or buy the tow bar and hardware, then change (i.e., buy more hardware) the setup for the Jeep once we get back to Colorado. So once I talk to U-Haul, we'll crunch the numbers to see which option to go with.

Weather here has been cool, with intermittent rain. Yuck! We're hoping the weather will be perfect when we go down to Junction City on Thursday. We are very excited about seeing and taking ownership of the new motor home. We are not excited about moving - that will take a few days. Although we have much less to move that we did when the house sold, it's still a chore.