I will never get enough of hiking the Coastal Trail at Sunset Bay. It is so majestic and powerful, yet also serene and mystical. I will never tire of trying to capture the essence of it all. 
April 27, 2010
Shore Acres Botanical Garden
April 22, 2010
Today we went to Shore Acres to see the gardens. It was beautiful and here are pictures to prove it!
Today we went to Shore Acres to see the gardens. It was beautiful and here are pictures to prove it!
More New Things
Ever watch that movie where Robin Williams takes his family on an RV trip? Well, I'm beginning to identify!
For instance, I didn't know until today that you are supposed to leave the black tank valve closed while the motorhome is in use (ie: you're camping at the campground). I just thought that if you were hooked up to sewer you could leave your black and grey tank valves open and just "let er flow". Yeh...well....it doesn't quite work like that!
I quickly adjusted my valves and now I'm doing things the proper way! When I really thought about the mechanics of it all, I guess I could see why you would need the force of the "flow" to really flush things to where they need to be - I just hadn't thought about it much - until now!
When I break camp I will flush the tanks really well from the outside. (I have a hook up where I can do that) and hopefully that will take care of whatever may linger there! Oh, the joy of it all!
Will that day ever come when I'll just" know it all"??
For instance, I didn't know until today that you are supposed to leave the black tank valve closed while the motorhome is in use (ie: you're camping at the campground). I just thought that if you were hooked up to sewer you could leave your black and grey tank valves open and just "let er flow". Yeh...well....it doesn't quite work like that!
I quickly adjusted my valves and now I'm doing things the proper way! When I really thought about the mechanics of it all, I guess I could see why you would need the force of the "flow" to really flush things to where they need to be - I just hadn't thought about it much - until now!
When I break camp I will flush the tanks really well from the outside. (I have a hook up where I can do that) and hopefully that will take care of whatever may linger there! Oh, the joy of it all!
Will that day ever come when I'll just" know it all"??
Oregon Coast
April 18, 2010
I’ve always thought the Oregon Coast is one of the prettiest places on earth. I’m at one of the state parks in Charleston. Since we’re here in the off season (through the end of April), the rates are lower for full hookup sites. There are wonderful hiking opportunities and I’m hoping to get out today or tomorrow and take advantage of it. Yesterday it rained all day so I took advantage and finished my book. It was called “God Grew Tired Of Us” and was about the Lost Boys of Sudan. A very good book and makes me appreciate the wonderful country I live in and all the things in it that I take advantage of. I have the freedom to travel all over this country, as a woman, by myself. I have my family, my health, plenty of food to eat, a warm bed to sleep in at night. I don’t have fear of a terrorist enemy trying to kill me-and one from my own country no less.
Once I get home the motorhome goes back to the shop. I’ve been driving into town and emailing Gulfstream (the manufacturer) asking if my wing caps have shipped yet. Each time I receive a different story as to why they haven’t shipped. I’ve been promised that they will be at the shop by the time I get home. Hum….we’ll see…..to say I’m skeptical is an understatement at this point. I hope my dad and I can figure out why my water heater isn’t heating water. I’m hoping it’s just a simple problem. Today I just had to wash my hair so I stuck my head under the bathtub facet and washed it in cold water. I dried it and styled it and then went outside into the wind and misty rain. I wonder why I bothered! We all decided to drive into Reedsport today to go the bakery and bookstore – a tradition each time we’ve been here. I wasn’t going to get but one bakery item – I got six! I wasn’t going to buy any books – I bought four! I wonder how I’m going to stay on budget when I keep buying things I think I need! Before we left for Reedsport my parent’s Puggle got loose and ran all over the campground for about half an hour before someone finally caught her. She thinks playing keep-away is such an enjoyable game that she’ll come right up to you and then dash off. She has such a comical look on her face like she’s having the time of her life. I wonder what she thinks of our frustration in not being able to catch her. Does she think we’re enjoying the game as much as she is?
I decided to hike the Coastal Trail after we got home and set out around 2pm with day pack, camera, & dog! It’s a cool, windy, partly cloudy day – perfect hiking weather. I started out with my parents and their friends but we quickly separated and I went on without them. I walked the 2 miles from the campground to Shore Acres and then past that for about a mile. It was 3:30pm by then and rather than go on I turned back and retraced my steps back to camp. Tomorrow I’ll drive my car to Shore Acres and hike to Cape Arago – four miles round trip.
I don’t have internet service or cell service at this campground so I’m posting in Word and hoping to paste them into my blog later. I hope it works because I’ll probably do much of that while in Canada – unable to connect via my broadband and having to use WiFi when I can. I’m excited about my upcoming trip. I really hope to learn a lot about the mechanics of maintaining my motorhome. I’m not adapt at fixing things and therefore I tend not to – just hoping the problem will go away. I find that motorhomes need so much more maintenance than stick homes do and wonder whether I’ll adjust to the constant attention they require.
Here are some pictures of my hike today:
I’ve always thought the Oregon Coast is one of the prettiest places on earth. I’m at one of the state parks in Charleston. Since we’re here in the off season (through the end of April), the rates are lower for full hookup sites. There are wonderful hiking opportunities and I’m hoping to get out today or tomorrow and take advantage of it. Yesterday it rained all day so I took advantage and finished my book. It was called “God Grew Tired Of Us” and was about the Lost Boys of Sudan. A very good book and makes me appreciate the wonderful country I live in and all the things in it that I take advantage of. I have the freedom to travel all over this country, as a woman, by myself. I have my family, my health, plenty of food to eat, a warm bed to sleep in at night. I don’t have fear of a terrorist enemy trying to kill me-and one from my own country no less.
Once I get home the motorhome goes back to the shop. I’ve been driving into town and emailing Gulfstream (the manufacturer) asking if my wing caps have shipped yet. Each time I receive a different story as to why they haven’t shipped. I’ve been promised that they will be at the shop by the time I get home. Hum….we’ll see…..to say I’m skeptical is an understatement at this point. I hope my dad and I can figure out why my water heater isn’t heating water. I’m hoping it’s just a simple problem. Today I just had to wash my hair so I stuck my head under the bathtub facet and washed it in cold water. I dried it and styled it and then went outside into the wind and misty rain. I wonder why I bothered! We all decided to drive into Reedsport today to go the bakery and bookstore – a tradition each time we’ve been here. I wasn’t going to get but one bakery item – I got six! I wasn’t going to buy any books – I bought four! I wonder how I’m going to stay on budget when I keep buying things I think I need! Before we left for Reedsport my parent’s Puggle got loose and ran all over the campground for about half an hour before someone finally caught her. She thinks playing keep-away is such an enjoyable game that she’ll come right up to you and then dash off. She has such a comical look on her face like she’s having the time of her life. I wonder what she thinks of our frustration in not being able to catch her. Does she think we’re enjoying the game as much as she is?
I decided to hike the Coastal Trail after we got home and set out around 2pm with day pack, camera, & dog! It’s a cool, windy, partly cloudy day – perfect hiking weather. I started out with my parents and their friends but we quickly separated and I went on without them. I walked the 2 miles from the campground to Shore Acres and then past that for about a mile. It was 3:30pm by then and rather than go on I turned back and retraced my steps back to camp. Tomorrow I’ll drive my car to Shore Acres and hike to Cape Arago – four miles round trip.
I don’t have internet service or cell service at this campground so I’m posting in Word and hoping to paste them into my blog later. I hope it works because I’ll probably do much of that while in Canada – unable to connect via my broadband and having to use WiFi when I can. I’m excited about my upcoming trip. I really hope to learn a lot about the mechanics of maintaining my motorhome. I’m not adapt at fixing things and therefore I tend not to – just hoping the problem will go away. I find that motorhomes need so much more maintenance than stick homes do and wonder whether I’ll adjust to the constant attention they require.
Here are some pictures of my hike today:
New Things
Okay….I found out a few new things about my motorhome today. First – I DO have a bi-pass valve in my motorhome and that’s why my hot water heater wasn’t working. The water heater didn’t have any water in it! It took a new temperature sensor and a lot of time and effort on the part of my dad to figure it out. We finally found the bi-pass valve behind the drawer underneath the stove. I finally have hot water again! Second, I didn’t know that I could run the furnace when I’m boondocking (or NOT hooked up to shore power). I happen to have a catalytic heater so I thought it was that or nothing. Imagine my delight when I found out I could just get up and turn the furnace on whenever I’m not hooked up to shore power. If I’m warm, I’m a very happy camper!! Two wonderful new discoveries today!!
This afternoon dad and I took a two mile hike to Cape Arago. The sky cleared up around 1pm and it turned out to be a beautiful day.
I have one more day to take advantage of the beautiful weather and the coastal trail views. I was going to leave on Saturday and (maybe) take two days to get home but Charleston is having an oyster feed on Saturday from noon – 4pm – all you can eat local oysters! I’m very tempted to stay one more night and go chow down. Yummo!! I think I’ll go downtown tomorrow and see what it’s all about……
I have one more day to take advantage of the beautiful weather and the coastal trail views. I was going to leave on Saturday and (maybe) take two days to get home but Charleston is having an oyster feed on Saturday from noon – 4pm – all you can eat local oysters! I’m very tempted to stay one more night and go chow down. Yummo!! I think I’ll go downtown tomorrow and see what it’s all about……
Still Leaking
April 1, 2010
I had the motorhome back for one day - ONE DAY - and it rained - and the NEW roof leaked! I drove it back to the shop and they proceeded to screw a moulding strip over the Eternabond and caulk around it to prevent future leaks. The whole idea of getting the roof I did, with the Eternabond tape, was to do away with the moulding, which allows the water to pool in the upper corners of the motorhome instead of running off. When I got home, I contacted a rep at Eternabond and he said that it probably wasn't applied properly, which I'm sure is true, because I can see that debris was left under the tape from the old roofing material. The techs at the shop told the service manager that "they've never seen the Eternabond tape leak before." I'd fight to have them re-do the whole thing except for the fact that I'm leaving for Alaska soon and don't have the time, which I think they're acutely aware of.
To say I'm mad is an understatement. For once, I'd appreciate a service industry treating my belongings with respect. Along with the compromised new roofing job, they've scratched the sides of my motorhome with their scaffolding, they serviced the generator and it still won't start, the new vent has to be replaced because the seam is bad, my awning has roofing material on it that won't come off, they gouged the linoleum floor and that needs to be repaired. All of this takes more time that I don't have.
The wing caps, which are also being replaced, have been on back order for over a month now. Each time I call the manufacturer they promise a new delivery date, which comes and goes. The latest is that they shipped last Friday and the shop should have them by the end of this week. I'll drive the motorhome back into the shop and have them replace or repair everything on my list. I've also asked for a warranty on the new roof in the event that it continues to leak once I'm on the road. Although I certainly don't know what good a warranty will be when I'm 3000 miles away from the shop in question!
I'm taking the motorhome on a shakedown cruise to Eastern Oregon for a week and then to the Oregon Coast for another week. We'll see how the roof holds in the rain I'm sure to get on the coast.
I had the motorhome back for one day - ONE DAY - and it rained - and the NEW roof leaked! I drove it back to the shop and they proceeded to screw a moulding strip over the Eternabond and caulk around it to prevent future leaks. The whole idea of getting the roof I did, with the Eternabond tape, was to do away with the moulding, which allows the water to pool in the upper corners of the motorhome instead of running off. When I got home, I contacted a rep at Eternabond and he said that it probably wasn't applied properly, which I'm sure is true, because I can see that debris was left under the tape from the old roofing material. The techs at the shop told the service manager that "they've never seen the Eternabond tape leak before." I'd fight to have them re-do the whole thing except for the fact that I'm leaving for Alaska soon and don't have the time, which I think they're acutely aware of.
To say I'm mad is an understatement. For once, I'd appreciate a service industry treating my belongings with respect. Along with the compromised new roofing job, they've scratched the sides of my motorhome with their scaffolding, they serviced the generator and it still won't start, the new vent has to be replaced because the seam is bad, my awning has roofing material on it that won't come off, they gouged the linoleum floor and that needs to be repaired. All of this takes more time that I don't have.
The wing caps, which are also being replaced, have been on back order for over a month now. Each time I call the manufacturer they promise a new delivery date, which comes and goes. The latest is that they shipped last Friday and the shop should have them by the end of this week. I'll drive the motorhome back into the shop and have them replace or repair everything on my list. I've also asked for a warranty on the new roof in the event that it continues to leak once I'm on the road. Although I certainly don't know what good a warranty will be when I'm 3000 miles away from the shop in question!
I'm taking the motorhome on a shakedown cruise to Eastern Oregon for a week and then to the Oregon Coast for another week. We'll see how the roof holds in the rain I'm sure to get on the coast.
April 06, 2010
Home again - sorta
On Friday I retreived Ellie from the shop, where she's been for the past two months. She has a new roof, new cover for the air conditioner and refrigerator, new skylight and new chassis battery. More about the battery later.
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