HagaFinn's Dance Floor and New RV

It has been an interesting week here in Oregon, with very good (but a bit warm) weather for home improvement projects and a trip down to Junction City, Oregon to look at a model of an RV that we have been looking at for a while.

Neil and Gordon Working on the Shed Foundation

Stage Two - 4x4 Foundation Beams

Final Foundation (or Dance Floor)

Neil and Gordon Kelly worked for several days to get the shed foundation laid out and Neil even got a coat of sealer down on it before we went down to Junction City to look at a Winnebago VIA that Guaranty RV had for sale.  We drove down with Seth and Cathy Finney on Sunday, and wound out making a deal to trade in our fifth wheel trailer and pickup truck on a Winnebago VIA 25T.  It is exactly the layout that we have been looking, built on a Mercedes Benz Sprinter chassis.  It is rated to get more than sixteen miles per gallon, and is a lot more maneuverable than our previous rig.

Pamela with Our New RV On Our Way to the Oregon Coast

We picked up the RV on Friday, and drove it over to the Oregon Coast.  We had a very nice drive from Junction City to Waldport, where we stayed at the KOA campground.  The RV is a dream to drive, and seems to be getting very good mileage.  Take a look at the blog sidebar for a layout of the coach.  

Neil at Seal Rock Wayside on the Oregon Coast

From Waldport, we drove up to Newport and stayed at the Port of Newport Campground and Marina.  It turned out a to be a great location right next to the Rogue Nation brewery and headquarters.  We walked over to the distillery for a tasting, walked the docks looking at boats, and then over to the brew house and pub where we had a great dinner, served by a young woman from our Bayview subdivision in Juneau.  Small world!

View from the Port of Newport RV Park

We had a good day in Newport, and ran into a US Forest Service colleague that Pamela and I worked with in Washington DC in the 1990's.  Chris and Lynn Holmes saw us as we parked our new Winnebago at the Newport Fred Meyer.  It turns out that they were in the same campground and we had a chance to visit each others RV and have a good visit.

Neil with His Rogue Beer

Weather turned out to be sunny and nice for the weekend, and we had a good visit and drive back to Molalla, where we picked up gear from our old fifth wheel and transported it all back to West Linn.  We were even able to park the new Winnebago next to the house where we used to park the pickup truck.

Anyway, we had a good week; got the RV of our dreams and made progress on our garden shed.  We hope that you had a good week as well, and thanks for visiting.

Neil and Pamela

Sunny Saturday at West Linn Old Time Fair

We had a busy day today as we invited family to join us at the West Linn Old Time Fair festivities and a BBQ at our place afterwards.  We did not make it down to the parade, but it was much like a Fourth of July Parade with lots of flags, floats, and marching bands (see web photo below).

The Parade We Missed--the Crowds, We Didn't

We made it down to the Willamette Park in time to see some dancing and music, get some "fair food" from the vendors (fry bread, hamburgers, corn dogs, etc.) and then we went over to the Willamette River where the Tualatin River joins it above Willamette Falls, to watch the water ski show.  It was pretty good, and the weather was perfect.  It was sunny and reached about 80 degrees.

Water Skiers on the Willamette

After that, Neil and Seth Finney wandered through the antique and special auto show.  There were a number of neat vehicles, including some Chevy's from the 1950's, a couple of Ford Mustangs, and one of the most unique was a VW Samba 21 window micro-bus like the one below.  

Designed as a Tour Bus in the Alps--Pretty Cool

We then came up the hill to the HagaFinn's, and enjoyed the sunshine in the garden and barbecued king salmon, London broil steak, pineapple, and corn on the cob.  It was a wonderful day and evening.  We hope that yours was too!

Tomorrow, we are driving down to Junction City, Oregon to take a look for a smaller RV to trade our fifth wheel trailer and pickup in on.  We hope to get something by the end of August, and are looking for a Diesel Sprinter chassis RV in the 25-foot range.  We have seen a few that will meet our criteria.

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Canterbury Renaissance Faire

Pamela with Knight's Armour

We have had a bit of a weather change, and it is not quite as warm as it was for the past week.  Neil was able to do some more pruning (two pickup truck's worth!) and get it to recycling, and is about ready to start laying out the foundation blocks for the garden shed.

We decided to take today off and take in some "local color".  So, we jumped on the I-205 freeway and drove down to Woodburn to Al's Garden Center to pick up a few plants and then on to the Canterbury Renaissance Faire near Silverton.  It was not as big and elaborate as the one we attended in Maryland years ago, but it was a nice afternoon watching jugglers, musicians, and a Punch and Judy show.

Punch and Judy Puppet Show

We managed to not spend any money on trinkets and found a good spot to watch the knights and jousting demonstration.  It was a good afternoon watching some talented actors and horses.  The black knight won, much to our dismay.

The Emcee Was the Sheriff on Horseback

The Evil Black Knight was Victorious

We Rooted for the Blue Knight

After the Faire, we drove back via Molalla and had dinner with Seth and Cathy Finney.  It was a good evening and we came back home at dusk.

Our weather is turning a bit cooler and wetter, which still feels pretty good to us.  We hope to get more garden work and house stuff done this coming week, and hope that you have a good week as well.  Thanks for visiting!

Neil and Pamela

A Triangle Trip to Astoria and Seattle

Astoria Column from the Bottom

We just returned tonight from a trip to Astoria, Oregon; Ocean Park, Washington; Seattle, Washington; and Silverdale, Washington. We escaped the heat of West Linn and found it to be a lot cooler and nice in Astoria. We got there on Sunday afternoon and climbed the Astoria Column (all 164 steps!) and had some great views of the Columbia River.

Neil and Pamela on Top of the Astoria Column

On Monday morning, we drove about 25 miles up to Ocean Park, Washington to meet Cindy and Natalie Carlson from Juneau. They were there to help Sam Carlson's Dad empty their family cabin and take some household goods up to Juneau. Sam told Cindy that she could take "one pickup load" up to the Alaska barge line, and Cindy made it count! We packed 1340 pounds into the pickup and piled it as high as we dared.

Cindy and Natalie Carlson with their Cabin Treasures

We drove north up the Washington Coast Scenic Byway to Olympia and then I-5 to the barge line in Seattle. We made it with just about 20 minutes to spare and got the pickup unloaded and packed for shipment to Juneau. We even made the ferry over to Bainbridge Island without too much wait. We were really tired after the long drive from Astoria, and after an interesting dinner at Hop Jacks (a restaurant with a theme around the people who harvested hops for making beer) and had an early evening.

The Seattle Ferris Wheel on the Waterfront from Ferry

After a short visit with Neil's Dad, we got on I-5 and headed south. We did stop at Cabela's and did some shopping and arrived home in West Linn around 1830. We had BBQ'd lamb steaks, and all is well with the world. 

 

Columbia Light Ship at the Astoria Maritime Museum

We have an arborist coming by tomorrow to trim some trees on the property, and Neil has a lot of work ahead to get the foundation laid for the garden shed and put down the floor. There are also a number of garden projects to fill in any gaps. The weather forecast is for it to be warm and dry for the next week, so we should have a good week! Thanks for visiting!

Neil and Pamela

Summer Has Arrived - Hot for Us Alaskans!

Yikes!  Summer is Here in Portland

Well, the summer heat has finally shown up here in Oregon. It was the the high 80's today and tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. Time to head to the beach. We have been working on getting the space cleared for the 10 x 14 garden shed, so Neil was working with rope and a come-along winch to yank some old and dead rhododendrons from the ground. It was hot work, but the space is clear of shrubs now, so he can work on getting the site leveled and graded and begin to lay the pier blocks for the foundation.

Our Garage Remote Control Is Now Working!

Neil was also able to get the remote control in the visor of the VW Passat programmed for our garage door opener, and also to get the keypad outside the garage door programmed. He had to take it down and go to the internet to download the instructions, but it worked. I guess that means that we are really "moved in".

Ocean Park, WA is on the Long Beach Peninsula

It is About 175 miles from Ocean Park to Seattle Barge Lines

Since we are getting ready to go to Astoria for a day and then to Ocean Park, Washington to take a load of household goods up to the Seattle barge line for friend Sam Carlson, we had to spend time figuring out the irrigation system for the garden, and to set up our programmable automatic watering timer to come on every night to water the plants on the deck. That way, we don't have to ask family or friends to come over and make sure that the heat does not bake our garden. It is going to be a very warm week.

We Have a Similar Water Timer Set to Water the Deck Plants

We are going to overnight in Astoria and then drive to Ocean Park, where Sam's wife Cindy and daughter Natalie are going to help load the pickup with what they are saving from the family cabin there that is getting ready to be sold. We will then drive up to the Seattle barge line and stop and see Neil's Dad on Tuesday morning before we head back home Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, we have the arborist coming to the house to trim some trees and make some room along the side of the house. We are planning a space for a future RV and also need to trim some overhanging large branches to let in some more sunshine. We both are finding that there are lots of things to keep us busy, and Neil's job list on his iPhone does not seem to be getting any smaller.

We are glad that we missed Juneau's wettest June on record, and also are really glad that we are not living in Virginia any longer. Washington, DC was 105 degrees today!

We hope that you are having a good summer where ever you are, and hope that you keep in touch with us. Thanks for visiting,
Neil and Pamela

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day - Flag Memorial in Molalla, Oregon

We have had a good week, ending with the Molalla Buckaroo Rodeo on July 3rd, and a Finney Family BBQ today, after the Molalla Fourth of July Parade.  Earlier in the week, Neil completed the addition of two additional cedar support posts under our wisteria arbor.  Since we moved in, we have been a bit worried about the lack of support at the house side of the arbor, so Neil put in two clear cedar posts, "just in case".

More Support Under Our Wisteria

We went to the Molalla Buckaroo on the afternoon of July 3rd, for the opening of the rodeo and watched all of the rodeo events and the fireworks afterwards.  It was Neil's first rodeo, and it was an enjoyable evening.

Bronco Busting at the Rodeo

The Rodeo Clown Actually Scared Some of the Horses!

We stayed over in Molalla in our Fiver, and the Molalla Fourth of July Parade was today.  It was a patriotic, rural, parade with lots of horses, tractors, and even log trucks.  

Big Logs as an Entry in the Parade

Molalla Buckaroo Queen

This week, Neil will continue to clear a plot for a new 10 x 14 foot garden shed on the east side of the house, and Pamela is on deadline for some of her Creative Memories projects.  On Sunday, we head to Astoria, Oregon for an overnight before we drive up to Ocean Park, Washington to load our pickup with some furniture for Sam Carlson and deliver it to the barge lines in Seattle.  We will stop and see Neil's Dad before we return that week, and may visit some Seattle attractions while we are there.

Anyway, we had a great holiday and hope that you did as well.  We have to admit that the 75 degree, sunny day was more than we could have expected in Juneau, but Juneau's fireworks are a lot better!

Have a great week, and thanks for visiting,

Fireworks at the Molalla Buckaroo on July 3rd

Neil and Pamela