Wet and Windy Days in Oregon

The weather has been pretty warm here in Oregon since Christmas, with temperatures in the high forties to mid fifties.  That is the good news--it has also been very wet and windy, but we will take that over a lot of snow.

The Fiver has been buffeted by the winds the last couple of days as these warm, wet storms have rolled in from the Pacific.  We are nice and warm and comfortable in the Fiver, and we are still working through change of address and other details of the move.

Tomorrow, Neil is going to have a the second stage of a dental implant done in Oregon City and so he will be on soft foods after that for a day or two.  We also plan to drive up to Silverdale, Washington to visit Neil's folks for a couple of days.

We are doing well and enjoying Oregon, and looking forward to next year.

Best Wishes,

Neil and Pamela

Merry Christmas to Everyone

We have had a couple of nice days here in Oregon for final things before Christmas.  We have been enjoying the sunshine and temperatures above freezing and are not missing a White Christmas on little bit.  We did watch the movie on TV recently and enjoyed it that way.

Our Humble Home for Christmas

We will be heading out to dinner and to look at Christmas lights tonight and will be spending time with the Finney Family on Christmas Day.  We hope that this holiday is full of joy and finds you all in good health and spirits.  We are enjoying the Christmas season, including the music, food, and family here in Oregon.

Finney Christmas Wreath

We will be working on our holiday newsletter soon, but it obviously won't be out for Christmas.  That is why we make it a Christmas and New Year holiday newslettter.  

Merry Christmas to You All,

Neil and Pamela

Oregon Sunshine and Getting Settled

We have been settling in to our new home here in Molalla, and dealing with some pretty basic stuff.  Things like keeping warm and making sure that our sewer system is working--like we said, pretty basic stuff.

We have been going through quite a bit of propane to keep the Fiver warm, for cooking and to heat water for the shower and sinks.  That, coupled with a failed switch over propane valve meant that Neil was having to unhook and fill the seven gallon propane tanks and switch them with the other bottle since it would not switch over automatically.  We found a great propane dealer on highway 213 in Mulino, Oregon and they were able to replace the switch over valve and lease us a 100 gallon  tank that will last us a long while.

Our New 100 Gallon Propane Tank Looks Like This

And It Will Filled by a Truck Like This

The other thing we did was solve our sewer problem.  Seth Finney was able to install a grey water drain field at his trailer pad, so we can drain all of the showers and sinks without any storage or problems, but the sewer (black water) was another  "kettle of fish".  We found that we could last a bit more than a week before we had to drain the black water tank, and that is a real hassle, since we do not want to move the Fiver every week.  So ....

Our Above Ground 250 Gallon Septic Tank

... we were able to rent an above ground septic tank that will fit mostly under the RV and will only have to be pumped every month or six weeks by a pumper truck.

OK--that is enough of that messy stuff.  We are getting ready for Christmas with some gift wrapping and other things.  We also braved the shopping mall yesterday to get a few final gifts and to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie.

We enjoyed the movie, in spite of the fact that it is very different from the other genres of Sherlock Holmes.  Today (Wednesday) was sunny, so Neil took Seth's pickup in to return some 4' x 8' sheets of foam insulation that we had hoped we could use for a hot tub cover, but it turned out we could not use them.

We have also been enjoying some of our favorite restaurants in this area.  Yesterday, we ate at Gustav's in Clackamas and had a wonderful lunch.  Neil says they have the best French Dip sandwich that he has found anywhere.

A Restaurant Worth Visiting Just Off I-205

Neil has some dental surgery during the week after Christmas, and we plan to drive up to Silverdale to visit his folks just after New Years.  All is well with us, and we are still enjoying the "relative warmth" of Oregon, compared to Alaska.

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Our First Week in Ory-Gun

Wow!  The time has just flown by as we look back and realize that we rolled in to Seth Finney's place here in Molalla, just a bit more than a week ago.  It has been a busy, but not frantic week, with some good visits with family and some time to relax to ourselves as well.

Soon after getting to Molalla, we went out to celebrate Pamela's nephew Skyler's twenty-third birthday at a restaurant in Oregon City.  We also had a chance last week to go to the movies and see "Hugo", which was a very good holiday type film.

We also just returned from the Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Rhond, Oregon to celebrate Skyler's wife Britnii's 21st birthday with family.  We didn't really do any gambling, but it was good to celebrate with Pamela's family and visit some place we have only driven by on the way to the Oregon Coast.

We are settled in here in Molalla with free WiFi internet, 30 amp electric service, fresh water (with heat tape to keep it from freezing), and a grey water drain field.  We are looking into getting a larger propane tank so that Neil doesn't have to refill the seven gallon propane tanks quite so often.  We don't know if we can rent a 100 pound tank and have it filled here at the campsite or not, but that is what we are looking into.  The other thing is a large blackwater holding tank that will be pumped every four to six weeks we figure, since it only will be blackwater and not grey water.

We are very snug here in the Fiver with the DirecTV satellite set up and working well, and plenty of other things to keep us busy.  Neil is going to have some followup dental surgery to what he had done a year ago at the end of December, and we have several friends to reconnect with around Christmas.

We are still hoping to close on the house at the end of the month, but there seems to be a never ending flow of paperwork being required by the lender on the buyer's end.

Neil is using his Christmas present to type this Blog--he splurged at Fry's Electronics on the way home from the casino (Seth Finney was of no help in slowing down the purchase, says Pamela!)--and bought a 17-inch HP Pavilion dv7 "Entertainment Laptop".  So far, it has not been all that "entertaining" to download and install all of the software that he is used to, but it is a nice, fast laptop that will be great for viewing movies as well as the other less entertaining things.

So right now, we have four laptops in the Fiver, two iPhones, a Canon printer/scanner/copier, DirecTV our big TV and a few other miscellaneous items to keep us fully "entertained".  Neil plans to get the older laptop that he inherited from Pamela ready to donate to someone, but will probably keep the very small HP netbook laptop for travelling.

Neil's New Laptop

We are enjoying the new feeling of living in Oregon, and have even rented a mail box to get mail until we buy a house and have mail delivered there.  We decided to rent a small PO Box here in Molalla, so our current mailing address is PO Box 435, Molalla, OR  97038.  We will be trying to keep the Blog updated but probably not on a daily basis unless things get a lot more interesting than they currently are.  We hope that everyone reading this has a safe and enjoyable holiday season--that is what we plan to do!

Thanks for visiting, 

Neil and Pamela

Final Ferry Tales and Safe in Molalla

We are certainly glad that we did not have this kind of ferry ride for our exit from Alaska.  This picture was posted on the Matanuska, and we think that it was taken in Lynn Canal north of Juneau some years ago.  Pretty big waves for a round bottomed boat.  Our trip was smooth sailing--even the crossings of Dixon Entrance and Queen Charlotte Sound were pretty mild.  A little bit of rock and roll, but nothing like we have both experienced in the past.

Moon Over British Columbia

We had a long layover in Ketchikan (about six hours) and we took that time to do some computer work on our laptops with our MiFi wireless internet card.  It worked like a charm and we were able to get caught up on a few things.  We also did a lot of reading, playing of cards, and "resting".  A long ferry ride can be a good way to decompress if you let it.

This Canadian Lighthouse Is Near Bella Bella, British Columbia

As you can tell by the lighthouse and moon pictures above, the weather was very good for our trip down the Inside Passage.  There was a lot of scenic views, a few whales, and some great sunsets.  We really enjoyed the trip, but were happy when we got to Bellingham on Friday morning.  We arrived about sunrise, and it was a frosty day with a mix of fog and sunshine all the way down through Washington state to Oregon.  The roads were in good shape, but we did pass one accident where someone spun out on an icy stretch.  The GMC and Fiver behaved well and we had no issues.

Pamela's View for Most of the 291 Miles to Molalla, Oregon

There is an Alaska saying that "Unless you are the lead dog, your view is pretty much always the same".  And not all that pleasant, we expect.  Pamela had a rear view of the Fiver for the trip down I-5 and into Molalla, but she was able to play "blocking back" when Neil needed to move over a lane in traffic, so it worked out just great.  We made great time, with Neil getting behind some big trucks that were moving about five miles per hour over the speed limit and we probably averaged 60 mph for the trip.

Smokey Point Rest Area on I-5 on the Way South

We got through Seattle traffice without incident and just missed the start of rush hour in Portland as we pushed through on I-205 into Oregon City.  We pulled into Molalla around 1530, and had time to back the Fiver onto the new RV pad that Seth Finney built and get the utilities set up before dark.  We were even able to use the newly installed satellite TV mast that is mounted the the rear RV ladder.  

Our New Home for the Next Several Months

We had a great welcome dinner with Seth and Cathy Finney and their son Samuel and Lindsay at the Arrowhead.  Since Neil and Seth were not driving, they took advantage of the opportunity of some "social lubricant".  It was a great time.  We are still unpacking things in the Fiver and setting some things up, but we have TV, internet, and all the comforts of home--as we should since it is home.  Our cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses have not changed and we will keep them for the foreseeable future.  We would love to hear from you, as we have from some other Alaska friends recently.

Thanks for your interest and for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Chilling Out on the Ferry

We had a good last visit with friends Jim and Elaine at the ferry terminal on Monday night, in spite of the fact that they kicked our butts in Pinochle.  We enjoyed the Chinese food and had some champagne as well.  We also made some plans for some future trips together.

The moon came out that evening and we had sunshine the next day for our stop in Sitka.  It was a beautiful trip through Peril Straits into and out of Sitka, with both Mount Edgecumb and Mount Verstovia decked out in Christmas white.  We are having a good, relaxing trip on the ferry--it is sure nice not to have to worry about things with the house any more.

Leaving Sitka through Whitestone Narrows

The ferry Matanuska was pretty much on time and we loaded on to the ferry around midnight.  Pamela and the VW Passat were loaded first, so she was able to get her stuff up to the cabin deck and then come down and help Neil with after he rolled aboard.  There were no problems rolling on through the front car deck door and we are facing aft so we can roll straight off in Bellingham on Friday morning.

Here is the 55-Feet of HagaFinn Fiver on the Car Deck (looking forward)

It was also sunny today for our visit to Ketchikan.  We have a long lay over here because of crew change, and so we took the time to fire up the MiFi wireless internet card and get caught up on a few things (like this Blog).  We leave here this afternoon and have two more nights aboard before we arrive in Bellingham around 0700 on Friday morning.

Gravina Island Airport near Ketchikan on Wednesday

Since we are entering Canada this afternoon, this is probably our last posting until we are settled in at Pamela's brother's place in Molalla, Oregon on Friday.  We hope all is well with you all,

Fair Winds and Calm Seas (so far),

Neil and Pamela

All Hands on Deck - Departing Juneau

We woke up this morning to the sounds of driving rain against the RV and knew that it would be a wet day to disconnect the Fiver. Neil got his rubber boots and raingear in and we got disconnected easily. The drive to the ferry terminal was uneventful and we are there. Ow waiting for friends to arrive with Chinese food and to play cards for a few hours while we wait for ferry late tonight. It was a good but busy last day in Juneau. Neil is posting this from his iPhone so excuse any typos.

Fair Winds and Calm Seas,

Neil and Pamela

Saturday Final Touches

Today was a good day!  Temperatures only in the forties, but not much rain.  All of the roads are clear of ice and snow, and we are just about packed.  So--Neil took the tire chains off the Fifth Wheel trailer so he does not have to do that on Monday on the way to the ferry terminal.  He tried using his 1 1/2 ton floor jack and found out that wasn't going to work very well (the trailer weighs in at about 11,000 pounds!), so he got his 8-ton  bottle jack out and that worked a lot better.  There was another reason to get the chains off--so he could get his money back from Les Schwab.  He cleaned them up and took them back to Les Schwab along with the second set of chains for the pickup that haven't even been out of the bag.  At $100 a set, it is good to get that money back.

Neil also loaded the Little Giant ladder on the back of the Fiver and bungied and locked it to the ladder back there, along with a couple of lawn chairs.  It will ride well back there next to the mounted DirecTV mast and dish that Pamela's cousin Gordon helped him mount this past summer.  Neil has set the dish to the azimuth for Molalla, Oregon already to make it easier to set up when we get there.  Both of us spent time today loading our respective vehicles, and while they will be full, there will probably be room to see out the windows--that is the plan anyway.

The house is completely empty except for a few bath towels, and we had a crew of four cleaners working there this afternoon, and they will come back to finish on Sunday.  It will be cleaner than it has been in a long time, since they are doing the really deep cleaning--things like removing the microwave and cleaning the shelf it sits on, and all of the fridge and freezer shelves.

Tonight we have dinner downtown with friends Jim and Elaine at the Hanger on the Wharf downtown.  They were the best man and matron of honor at our wedding in Tracy Arm back in 1984 and have been close friends ever since.  They are also going to bring us dinner at the ferry terminal on Monday night and play cards in the Fifth Wheel until we have to get ready to load the ferry late that night.

Tomorrow there are some final things to be done, like dumping the RV holding tanks and getting our bags ready for ferry travels.  We are really glad that when we built the house, we added a sewer clean out to the rear of the house, so by using three lengths of sewer hose, Neil can dump the grey and black water here without moving the Fiver.  We we taking plenty of snacks like smoked salmon, buffalo jerky, Bailey's Irish cream, wine, makings for Cosmopolitans, cheese and crackers.  Between that and the cafeteria and bar on the Matanuska ferry, we probably won't starve.

Fair Winds and Calm Seas,

Neil and Pamela

Prayers Answered--Lots of Rain and Earlier Departure

Well, we are all moved out of the house now.  The packers and movers finished up around 1830 on Tuesday and the house is empty except for some cleaning supplies.  Today, we had the carpets cleaned and we will have the house cleaners in on Saturday.

The weather has warmed up and most of the snow has melted away.  We even hit 42 degrees recently and have had winds and rain that have cleared the roads.  The long term forecast is for it to get colder again in a few weeks, so we decided to check and see if we could get an earlier ferry out of Juneau.  We not only got car deck space for our long vehicle, but also a stateroom to Bellingham.  So we will be leaving in just five days--departing Juneau on Tuesday, December 6 at 0100.  With this warmer weather, we probably won't have to have chains on the pickup or trailer, so that is a real blessing.

We are looking forward to getting on the ferry in warmer weather and getting down to Oregon a bit earlier.  We will be very busy for the next several days, and will take the trailer and truck out to the ferry terminal on Monday late morning.  It is a bittersweet time for us--leaving the home we have loved since 1995 and also looking forward to the move to Oregon and new adventures there.

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela