I had noticed that the black water drain valve leaks a little so I bought a new valve and changed that out, too. I'm learning but have a long way to go.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Repairs and upgrades
While at the FMCA rally we picked up some new vents for the black and gray water tanks. Diana can smell some odor coming from the gray tank, we think. I smell it on occasion. I checked and all the drain lines have p-traps so there is no mechanical reason to be getting this odor. But it is there. So while at the rally, we found some vents that really sound like they will help. Even a guy who does not sell them but tests a lot of RV stuff suggested these vents. He does seminars on RV repair and maintenance and goes by the name "The RV Doctor". So we bought the vents and I changed them out.
I had noticed that the black water drain valve leaks a little so I bought a new valve and changed that out, too. I'm learning but have a long way to go.
I had noticed that the black water drain valve leaks a little so I bought a new valve and changed that out, too. I'm learning but have a long way to go.
Mt. St Helens
We drove from near Portland and went into Washington to see Mt. St. Helens. It was a long day since we drove around the entire mountain, or at least as much as you can. The mountain blew up in 1980 and you can still see flattened trees and destroyed landscape for miles around the north side. You can also see regrowth where it has been left as a memorial and very health trees that were planted stating in 1982. The history of the power of the blast is amazing.
We did all the normal touristy stuff but on the way home went around to and area that most people do not see.
We did all the normal touristy stuff but on the way home went around to and area that most people do not see.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Baseball
Today we worked hard. Cleaned the Jeep on the inside and washed it. Even checked the air pressure in the spare tire! Then we washed the RV. A very big job. A few days earlier we had heard about a baseball team in Portland area. So I checked it out online. The Hillsboro Hops are a single A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks and they were in town for the weekend. So Saturday evening we went to the game. They were hosting the Spokane Indians, a single A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. A great night for baseball, weather was sunny and warm.
We get to the stadium and walk up to the ticket window only to see a sign that says all reserved seating is sold out! But there are tickets for the outfield grass and we can sit on the hill side. So we stepped away to discuss this when someone gave us 2 tickets for the grassy area for free. Nice! So we went in and began looking around. What a nice stadium. Much nicer than the one the Richmond Flying Squirrels play in and they are AA. It is even nicer than some of the older spring training parks in Florida. We stood in the grass in foul territory of left field for awhile but it was in direct sun so we moved to some shade in the walkway on the 3rd base side but close to home plate. We noticed one of the ushers had a sign that read "STOP Hops at work" and he would not let fans enter the seating area while there was any action on the field. It was calls a "Hops sign" and ushers all over the stadium were enforcing the rule. I loved this, if you are wondering why check out a previous post called Major League Baseball and Bob's rules for watching baseball.
We soon learned that the Hops are not named for the ball bouncing on the field but rather for that special ingredient in beer! Gotta love that! And the mascot, who is in fact dressed like a hop flower, is named...Barley. So I love this team. They had a nice selection of local beer and as a minor league team the prices were very nice.
By the end of the 7th inning we found some shaded seats behind the 1st base dugout. The game went 11 innings and the home team won 5 - 4 on a single that scored the runner from third. There were 4,506 fans at the game. By the way, the guy that hit the walk off single is hitting .167! Baseball is a great game.
We get to the stadium and walk up to the ticket window only to see a sign that says all reserved seating is sold out! But there are tickets for the outfield grass and we can sit on the hill side. So we stepped away to discuss this when someone gave us 2 tickets for the grassy area for free. Nice! So we went in and began looking around. What a nice stadium. Much nicer than the one the Richmond Flying Squirrels play in and they are AA. It is even nicer than some of the older spring training parks in Florida. We stood in the grass in foul territory of left field for awhile but it was in direct sun so we moved to some shade in the walkway on the 3rd base side but close to home plate. We noticed one of the ushers had a sign that read "STOP Hops at work" and he would not let fans enter the seating area while there was any action on the field. It was calls a "Hops sign" and ushers all over the stadium were enforcing the rule. I loved this, if you are wondering why check out a previous post called Major League Baseball and Bob's rules for watching baseball.
We soon learned that the Hops are not named for the ball bouncing on the field but rather for that special ingredient in beer! Gotta love that! And the mascot, who is in fact dressed like a hop flower, is named...Barley. So I love this team. They had a nice selection of local beer and as a minor league team the prices were very nice.
By the end of the 7th inning we found some shaded seats behind the 1st base dugout. The game went 11 innings and the home team won 5 - 4 on a single that scored the runner from third. There were 4,506 fans at the game. By the way, the guy that hit the walk off single is hitting .167! Baseball is a great game.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
40
On August 18, 1974 Diana and I were married. The 40 year journey has been wonderful. There have been some difficult times and there have been some great times. We have shared both and been blessed to have had each other.
We were still tired from the FMCA rally so on our anniversary we slept late, fixed a nice breakfast then went to the pool at the RV park we are in. That evening we went out to a very nice dinner and had seating by the windows and looked out over the Columbia River near Portland, OR.
We are looking forward to being married a lot longer...but 40 mores year? I think not, we'd be over 100 years old!
We were still tired from the FMCA rally so on our anniversary we slept late, fixed a nice breakfast then went to the pool at the RV park we are in. That evening we went out to a very nice dinner and had seating by the windows and looked out over the Columbia River near Portland, OR.
We are looking forward to being married a lot longer...but 40 mores year? I think not, we'd be over 100 years old!
FMCA Rally
We attended the Family Motor Coach Association rally in Redmond, Oregon. The published dates for the rally were August 13 - 16. But as we read the schedule online we realized we were supposed to be there on Monday. Seems they always publish the dates as Wednesday thru Saturday but you really need to be there on Monday or Tuesday. This was not a problem since we were in Bend, OR just about 1 hour away. So we pulled into a large grassy parking area at the Deschutes County Fair ground on Monday afternoon. We had paid to have 30 amp electrical service but there would be no water or sewer. No problem as we came in with empty black and gray tanks and a full water tank. We were happy about having the electrical hook up as the temperature the day we pulled in was in the upper 80s.
We got in and I hooked up the power cord but there was no power! Turns out that FMCA had decided to turn on power Tuesday morning at 9. This would save them a lot of money. So we, along with everyone else that came in that day, ran our generators so we could have air conditioning.
The seminars were very informative and we met a lot of great folks. We had a fun reunion with our new friends from the Full Timers Chapter. And we spent a ton of money on stuff to fix up the RV, not that it was run down but we spent money on it anyway. Most days Diana would attend a few seminars and I would go to different ones. We'd meet up in the evening and talk about what we learned. Next day we do the same thing. As busy as we were we still found time to get to the venders building and buy stuff. We both attended a seminar on "Safe driving an RV". We learned a few things but found out we were already following most of the safety tips.
We were planning to leave on Saturday and drive to the Portland area. By Friday morning we realized we were so tired that there as no need to attend more seminars on Saturday morning then drive for 3 - 4 hours. So we attended the seminars we wanted on Saturday and left on Sunday. A wise decision. In the future we will plan on being at the rally from Monday to Sunday. Next rally is in March in Pomona, CA. If it is near our path we'll attend. It was a lot of fun.
We got in and I hooked up the power cord but there was no power! Turns out that FMCA had decided to turn on power Tuesday morning at 9. This would save them a lot of money. So we, along with everyone else that came in that day, ran our generators so we could have air conditioning.
The seminars were very informative and we met a lot of great folks. We had a fun reunion with our new friends from the Full Timers Chapter. And we spent a ton of money on stuff to fix up the RV, not that it was run down but we spent money on it anyway. Most days Diana would attend a few seminars and I would go to different ones. We'd meet up in the evening and talk about what we learned. Next day we do the same thing. As busy as we were we still found time to get to the venders building and buy stuff. We both attended a seminar on "Safe driving an RV". We learned a few things but found out we were already following most of the safety tips.
We were planning to leave on Saturday and drive to the Portland area. By Friday morning we realized we were so tired that there as no need to attend more seminars on Saturday morning then drive for 3 - 4 hours. So we attended the seminars we wanted on Saturday and left on Sunday. A wise decision. In the future we will plan on being at the rally from Monday to Sunday. Next rally is in March in Pomona, CA. If it is near our path we'll attend. It was a lot of fun.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Full Timers rally
From July 27th to the 30th we attended an FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) Full Timers chapter rally. FMCA has a chapter for just about everything. They have state chapters, manufacturers chapters, left hander chapters. If you have a scar from cutting your left pinkie finger on a tin can, there is probably a chapter for that.
This rally in Canyonville, Oregon was held at the Seven Feathers resort and casino. A very nice RV park and a nice casino. There were 19 RVs at the rally which is 38 people (almost all RVs come with 2 people). We met some great folks and plan to see many of them again at an FMCA rally in Redmond, OR in August. We were quite humbled by the size and luxury of some of the rigs. Ours is a toy compared to most of the ones that were there. We were also humbled by how long some of these folks have been full timing. Ten to 15 years was common with a few couples on the road for over 20 years. That will put us in our early 80s! That would be amazing. Some of the folks are in good health others have some issues. But no one is giving up the life style they love.
Speaking of the casino...we don't gamble. Not because of any belief against it but more because when we have gambled we did not enjoy it...even when we won! So we don't generally gamble. I stopped at the casino gas station to fill up the Jeep. The attendant (I,ll get to the attendant thing in a minute) asked if I had a "Players Card". I did not and she told me if I had one I'd get 3 cents a gallon off. Since I knew I was filling the RV the next day I decided to go get the card. Diana and I took the shuttle (it picks you up and drops you off in front of your RV) to the casino and each got a card. They each come with $5 of house money. So we hit the slots. I won $5+ and Diana won $25+. When our house money was gone we cashed out and left. Neither of us really enjoyed it at all! But we took our winnings and jumped the shuttle back to the RV.
About the gas station attendant, in Oregon you can not pump your own gasoline. Diesel is OK to pump but not gas. I'm not sure why the state does not allow you to pump gas but that is one of the many things you learn as you travel the country.
This rally in Canyonville, Oregon was held at the Seven Feathers resort and casino. A very nice RV park and a nice casino. There were 19 RVs at the rally which is 38 people (almost all RVs come with 2 people). We met some great folks and plan to see many of them again at an FMCA rally in Redmond, OR in August. We were quite humbled by the size and luxury of some of the rigs. Ours is a toy compared to most of the ones that were there. We were also humbled by how long some of these folks have been full timing. Ten to 15 years was common with a few couples on the road for over 20 years. That will put us in our early 80s! That would be amazing. Some of the folks are in good health others have some issues. But no one is giving up the life style they love.
Speaking of the casino...we don't gamble. Not because of any belief against it but more because when we have gambled we did not enjoy it...even when we won! So we don't generally gamble. I stopped at the casino gas station to fill up the Jeep. The attendant (I,ll get to the attendant thing in a minute) asked if I had a "Players Card". I did not and she told me if I had one I'd get 3 cents a gallon off. Since I knew I was filling the RV the next day I decided to go get the card. Diana and I took the shuttle (it picks you up and drops you off in front of your RV) to the casino and each got a card. They each come with $5 of house money. So we hit the slots. I won $5+ and Diana won $25+. When our house money was gone we cashed out and left. Neither of us really enjoyed it at all! But we took our winnings and jumped the shuttle back to the RV.
About the gas station attendant, in Oregon you can not pump your own gasoline. Diesel is OK to pump but not gas. I'm not sure why the state does not allow you to pump gas but that is one of the many things you learn as you travel the country.
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