Wednesday, May 25, 2005

9:53 AM Wednesday May 25, 2005

Yesterday, our ride (137 miles) from Moses Lake, Washington to Post Falls, Idaho was pleasant and uneventful ... just the way we like them! We stopped and fixed lunch at one of Gloria and Les's membership parks north of Cheney so she could check it out. Her son, Walt (family members have access to their parks as well) is interested in spending a family vacation in this park so she will pass along what we found. As we drove through on I-90 east, the weather in Spokane was rainy and we were startled by a bolt of lightning off in the hills but thankfully, that was the only one. When we arrived, even though the sun was shining, it was cool and windy here in Post Falls. The forecast is for sunny weather so we're keeping our fingers crossed that today will be better (so far, so good). Phil and Les decided to pay for only three days because unknown to us, this park is alongside the freeway, hence it's very noisy not to mention they have quite a few RVs around us that are "permanently" set up with lots of comings and goings, small (noisy) children and barking dogs. Our satellite TV is locked on but we lost our Seattle (which equates to our network) channels (Boo hoo! No more Today Show, Oprah or Dr. Phil!). The signal from the satellite we use for the Internet is also very weak (it's at 62 and we need a minimum of 60 to connect and the higher the number, the better) so we may have to change satellites since we're so far north and will continue to be near or above this latitude for quite some time. Because we aren't sure exactly how that's done it means more research. Our potluck dinner included turkey tenderloin (for G & L, pork chops (for us), tossed green salad, frozen vegetables and rice. Delicious! After dinner, we piled into G & L's Saturn (puppies and all) and went exploring in Post Falls. We found lots of industry due to the lower cost of production in this area we're supposing. I will check it out ...

Sunday, May 22, 2005

11:29 AM Sunday May 22, 2005

Beautiful blue skies this morning as the temperature inches it way up the themometer to past 60 degrees. I can believe that if the breeze quieted down, it could get down-right hot here in Moses Lake. The fishing has been good according to Les and Phil ... it's the catching that isn't worth a darn, until last night when Phil caught hold of one nice trout. Fishing is sort of like playing golf or bowling: You swear it's not worth the effort after a string of bad shots or rolls then ... hit one on the sweet spot, roll a strike (or catch a nice fish) and you're back in the game with bells on!
Phil and I were busy taking care of some "to do's" yesterday which included going to the Moses Lake Farmer's Market (small but interesting), stopping at a few garage sales, getting our laundry done here at the park's laundromat and a visit with my first cousin, Byron's daughter, Brenda and her family. Brenda and her new husband, Patrick met last year and after a whirlwind romance, married and moved into their lovely, new home overlooking Moses Lake. Brenda, an elementary school teacher, continues to commute to Othello until the end of the school year. She hopes to find a position in Moses Lake for the 2005-2006 school year although she says the 30 minute commute isn't all that bad. Her daughter, Alyssa is in kindergarten and rides to school with her mom. We snacked on Brenda's delicious, freshly baked cookies. Thanks again Brenda!
Gloria and Lester got away early and managed to find about 35 garage sales to explore, in and around Moses Lake. They had a great time and found a few treasures (small-type) to bring home to their motorhome. Moses Lake is not very big (the population sign at the edge of town says 16,110) so in the course of our day out and about, we crossed each other's path twice! Oh, the many delights of a small town ... you can run but you can't hide!
Brenda and her adorable daughter, Alyssa with Alyssa's friend in the pink shorts. A nice peek at Moses Lake behind Brenda's new house that is even better from the deck in back.  Posted by Hello
My cousin, Brenda and her husband, Patrick at home in Moses Lake, WA.  Posted by Hello
Patrick and Phil comparing the ones that got away ;-)  Posted by Hello

Saturday, May 21, 2005

Arriving at the apple packaging plant in Quincy, WA for our tour that will be provided by Rex, my brother-in-law's brother. We had a great time! Posted by Hello
Apples, apples everywhere. The smell was delicious ... no pun intended! Posted by Hello
Phil, Les, Gloria following Rex along the tour. Posted by Hello
Culls going into a bin to be used for feed at the local bison farm down the road. Rex says they love it! Posted by Hello
Beautiful Fuji Apples coming into the packaging plant via a nice warm bath. Anyone want to bob for apples?  Posted by Hello
Employee, James controlling his section of the operation via his computer. Les, being a retired Systems Designer was especially interested. It was fascinating to see what this man can do from his desk right in the middle of the plant!  Posted by Hello
Joy and Gloria bagging up some "samples" as Rex critiques our technique ... we failed ;-) ... just too darn slow! Posted by Hello
Bearded Iris blooming everywhere in Quincy, WA! Posted by Hello

Thursday, May 19, 2005

9:17 AM Thursday May 19, 2005

As we begin this newest leg of our adventures, my first thoughts this morning are to say "thank you"--again--for all the kind words and encouragement from my readers through e-mails and comments on the blog. Of course, my most vocal reader, Margie in TN tops the list of new friends and I can't forget George, "Gloworm", Patty in CA, "Deb" and so many more over the past few months. Our immediate family, except for a few faithful readers of the blog that send e-mails (you know who you are), rarely share their comments online, relying for the most part on private communication to chastise me for not posting to the blog often enough. That's okay ... it lets me know they're watching our progress as we roll down the road (or don't whichever the case may be) , albeit silently. Again, thanks so much to all of you and keep those comments and e-mails coming ... we love them!
It's cool ( 56') and a bit windy here in Moses Lake this morning. Les and Phil have taken the boat to the lake for some fishing if they don't get blown off or swamped by the white caps. They have been anticipating this for months so I hope they catch something! We connected and locked on to both our satellites so we have TV and Internet. Les took their motorhome in to have the hot water tank repaired and had to replace some kind of switch. Phil followed him in and they went exploring in town while the work was done. His coach was repaired and back to the park after only a couple hours. While they were gone, Gloria and I went for a walk and enjoyed the opportunity to share some girl-talk.

Our plans are totally flexible with one exception, a 10 AM appointment tomorrow with Double Diamond Apple Orchards in Quincy for a tour of the packaging plant. Rex, the brother of my brother-in-law, Walt, is the semi-retired owner and he has agreed to give the four of us an inside look at the operation. Apple lovers all, we're looking forward to learning the process and maybe taking home a few samples ;-).

Canine Chronicles: Gloria and Lester's puppies, Zena and Wookie although a bit frightened by the traffic noise while riding in the coach down the freeway appear to be adapting well to their new lifestyle. Yesterday, while on their regular walks, the new sights, sounds and smells here at the RV park are stimulating and great fun to explore!
Les and Gloria leading the way at Vantage, WA as we cross the mighty Columbia River.  Posted by Hello
Little Zena getting her first look at the inside of her new home for the next year or so.  Posted by Hello
Almost ready to hit the road! Les and Gloria's coach is on the left and our Pace is on the right.  Posted by Hello
Gloria saying goodbye to her youngest son, David. Posted by Hello

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

11:00 AM Wednesday May 18, 2005

We are sorta settled in at Moses Lake. We left about 11 AM and arrived at 4:30 PM. We stopped for a half hour at the Fort Lewis weigh station and had lunch, provided by Gloria who had the forethought to cook a beef roast and some chicken the day before in her crock pot. The problem is that Les's hot water heater has decided to malfunction and they are unhooking now so it can be driven to the RV repair facility. Let's hope it's a quick fix

Monday, May 16, 2005

Our new Kargo Master and boat ... ready to travel.  Posted by Hello
My beautiful granddaughter, Megan with me beneath a magnificent Wysteria tree after a lovely dinner at Alderbook Inn. Posted by Hello

10:14 AM Monday May 16, 2005

All systems are nearly go and as of this minute, it appears tomorrow is THE day! Les and Gloria's motorhome is at the garage for some last minute tweaking (they think it's the alternator) and Phil is reloading the back of our Ranger. His new outboard motor is padlocked to the bed of the truck and his new 12' aluminum boat is padlocked to the Kargo Master on top of the truck. He's considering a padlock for the canopy door but there doesn't seem to be a way to do that without defacing the truck. I guess we can take as many precautions against thievery as possible and hope for the best beyond that. Our friends, Ardella and Don have been held up in Arizona but assure us they will catch up ... probably somewhere in Montana. Since we'll be moving very slowly it should be fairly easy for them to find us.

We feel much loved and our hearts are filled with joy from all the family gatherings and visits as we count down to this departure date for our next trip. As excited as we are about leaving, we can't help but think about how much we will miss everyone but we will stay in touch via cell phone and e-mail. Also, our family and friends can ride along and share our adventures via this website, "Backroad Chronicles", which is the primary reason for creating and maintaining the blog.

I'll do my best to write at least a couple times a week, more if I have time. Here we go ..........

Bob from HQ Electronics in Shelton installing our new "Dish" TV systerm. Posted by Hello
The Pace with her "ears" up ... "Dish" Satellite TV and Data Storm Satellite Internet. We are really connected now!  Posted by Hello
Camera shy (since when?) great granddaughter, Carly and her grandma, Bobbie (Joy's youngest daughter) came to visit at our motorhome. Posted by Hello
My great granddaughter, Carly and her "little grandma", my daughter, Bobbie.  Posted by Hello
Three generations: Joy's daughter, Bobbie, Bobbie's daughter, Auntie Sara (Class of 2005!) and Bobbie's son Joe's daughter, Carly (Joy's great granddaughter).  Posted by Hello
Joy's daughter, Bobbie and Bobbie's granddaughter, (my great-granddaughter ;-), Carly out to lunch at McDonalds. Posted by Hello

Friday, May 13, 2005

L-R: Joy's sisters, Dixie and Robin and Joy 5-12-05.  Posted by Hello
L-R: Joy's daughters, Bobbie and Violet; Joy's sister, Robin; Joy; Joy's sister, Dixie and Dixie's daughter, Tammy 5-12-05. Posted by Hello