Oregon Coast and the Spruce Goose

After the NW Area rally in Albany, we took advantage of our Thousand Trails membership to stay at a park called Whaler’s Rest on the Oregon Coast.  We always love the natural surroundings of most Thousand Trails parks and this was no exception.  The sites were beautiful and it was a short walk to the beach, BUT, we had no Internet.  That’s a problem for us since we run an Internet business. 

There was good Wi-Fi at the clubhouse, so anything we had to do we schlepped our computers up there.  We only planned to stay a few days, we could make it.  And, look at this great path to the beach!

Lynne came to visit, and we spent a wonderful day together. She came bearing gifts!  She sewed us a windshield cover for our old Honda that we used from 2004 to 2013.  Then we bought a new Honda … it has a much bigger windshield!  So she sewed us a new one!  And, I thought sewing was just for hemming pants!

 

When we left the coast, we made time for a stop in McMinnville at the Evergreen Museum that houses Howard Hughes’ gigantic airplane, the Spruce Goose.

That plane is definitely impressive, but the museum has a lot more to offer.  An Imax theatre, a World War II airplane collection, and a Space museum.  It’s 3 huge buildings.  Jim has always been a big fan of planes and especially space exploration.  I just love any kind of history.  I especially liked the story about Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler – 2 pilots in WWII.  Click the picture below to read the story.

And, check out these missiles.  Can you even see Jim?

Once we left the museum we got back on the road and traveled north thru Portland and the horrible traffic there.  Our destination was the Elks Lodge, just on the north side of the Columbia river.  We’re scheduled to get our slide serviced on Thursday.  Wish us luck.

Slideouts and the Oregon Coast

We’re in Tillamook, Oregon visiting with Lynne.  Luckily she's right next door to Tillamook RV Repair, because on our last night before driving here, our bedroom slide would not stow properly.  The rear of the slide was a good 6 inches away from the coach, while the front of the slide was flush.
So our stay can easily handle a dual purpose – spend time with Lynne, and get our slide fixed.  The first day here, our motorhome was in the shop all day.  They put the slide in and out, over and over and all they could tell us was … yep!  There’s a problem! Luckily, we can live in it with the slide closed, so they manually closed it up and we drove back to the RV park for the night.  The next day they worked on it some more and determined that they needed a ‘sensor.’  This needed to be ordered from the manufacturer – Power Gear – and it would take a week or maybe more. So we wait.
Meanwhile … we went out in Netarts Bay early one morning to catch crabs.  Lynne’s friends, Bill and Carol, go crabbing and fishing all the time.  What a treat to get a boat ride on the bay.  It was an overcast morning, but it didn’t rain. We dressed for the cold and had a great time. 

Bill and Lynne did all the work, while Carol, Jim and I were spectators. 

We could get up close and personal with a bunch of seals on a sandbar.

We also got out for a little walk on the sandspit that forms the barrier for the bay.

It was a fun morning, and it made for some delicious eating later that night!

Then, another day, we took a drive up the coast to look at the Thousand Trails park called Seaside.  We plan to stay there for a little while too.
We stopped and walked on the beach at the town of Cannon Beach, with the famous Haystack rocks.

And, also at a stop called Hug Point.  A hug sounded like a good idea!


All you can say is WOW

More pictures on our July photo album.

Across Oregon

Eastern Oregon is pretty bland until you reach the Columbia River.  Then WoW!

 

 

 

One of our favorite spots in all our travels is the replica of Stonehenge on the north side of the Columbia River.  We made sure to pay attention and snapped a shot of it as we drove by.  It looks so small from this distance – yet it’s quite impressive when you’re standing within it’s stones.  I can’t imagine how large those windmills are if you’re standing right under them.

 

We didn’t do much sightseeing or spend any time.  We were just on our way to Tillamook.

You can see lots more photos on our monthly web album.  Geeks’ Google+ Photos July 2013

Oregon Beer Hopping

Phil and Tracey, from Techno RV, had a booth here at the FMCA Convention.  The day after the rally, we both decided to stay an extra day for some R&R.  Phil finds breweries wherever they travel, and there are several to wet his whistle right here around Redmond and Bend, Oregon.  They invited us to come along as they did a day trip on the ‘Bend Ale Trail.’  I’ve enjoyed visiting micro-breweries before, but this is the first time I’ve experienced a true ‘Beer Tasting.’  What they do is pour a small (these are only about 5” high) glass of each of the different types of beer brewed, and you pay about $1 per glass.  We would pass each one around and discuss it’s merits – then order a glass of our favorites.  Notice that each glass is sitting on a piece of paper on a spot identifying that particular beer. 

We also made a stop to take in the sights in the picturesque town of Sisters.

Luckily, Tracey doesn’t like beer … so she drove.  What a fun day!

My favorite beer of the day was from 10 Barrel Brewing.  It was called Big Belgian Cabernet, and they poured it into a glass like a brandy snifter.  It is definitely beer – but it is aged in the same oak barrels that held Cabernet wine.  I *really* liked it!!  It was a refreshing beer, but with rich, mellowness from the cabernet that made you sip it like wine.

We spent all afternoon on the Ale Trail …. I think I still need another day to recover!