Rain and More Rain........

has been falling the last couple of days. I'm just about ready to get out of here but still one more Dr. appointment and Eye Exam to go.

Took the tow bar into Roadmaster, they have moved from Portland to Vancouver. Got a Freebie...........they replaced the broken bolt, replaced a bunch of others bolts and washers and cleaned and lubricated it! Didn't expect that since the tow bar is about 9 years old. So, you heard it from me.........Roadmaster is #1 in customer service! (at least as far as I'm concerned).

Between rain showers yesterday we managed to get to Costco, Yamaha shop and a couple of other places so "B" could get her shopping fix. Stopped at the Mall and while I sat and observed the scenery (not much scenery on weekdays though) while she was shopping. Window shopping I should say because all she bought was candy at Sees.

Got some Pepsi at Costco..........nice to be able to buy some Pepsi without having to pay a nickle for the damn can.

Woke up early, really early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep so figured I'd update this. Update done so will turn on the tube...........with a couple of hundred channels I outta be able to find something.

Later. W

Monday...........

and we spent most of the day yesterday at the Skate Board park in Woodland. Doug and Tami hosted a little get together for family and friends. Kids burned up the skateboard park and everyone else enjoyed food, drink and good conversation. The only problem for Becky and I..........it was COLD. At least we were, no rain and it was OK when the sun popped out from behind the clouds. Everyone except us were running around in shorts and T shirts............well at least most of them were.

Started raining this afternoon so don't know how long that might last. We had considered going to Sand Lake for some Rhino riding; but, now will have to keep an eye on the weather. I don't particularly relish heading that way in the rain so we'll just wait and see.

No geocaching yet.........everytime we drive past one (within 500 feet) the NUVI lets forth and big old alarm. Gotta find some before we head back.

Today was "see the Orthopedic Surgeon day". He checked xrays and talked to me for 15 or 20 minutes. He said he'd replace the right knee but had some concerns about replacing the left knee. He was also concerned about the left knee holding up during rehab on the right knee. This the leg where I have some nerve damage and it's already weakened with muscle atrophy. He told me the decision was mine on the right knee. I asked about time frame and he said if I made the decision today for replacement it would still be at least three months down the road before it could be done. I told him that I'd like to try and lose some pounds off my mid-section and do some strength building excercises for both legs. He thought that would be a good plan, gave me some exercises to do and information on before and after knee replacement. I'll give that plan a try and see what happens.

Actually, I think I'm just turning chicken shit! See my rheumatologist on Friday so can discuss some other options with her at that time.

For now........no knee replacement in the immediate future. Huummm..........maybe "medical maijuana" would help for knee pain?

All for now. W

Freezing Out Butts Off ........................

in Washington! Last night the little electric heater was giving me problems.........or should I say yesterday afternoon. Finally got it running and let 'er rip all night long. Temp inside the M/H was a comfortable 68 when I woke up. Guess the outside temps dropped in the 30s last night and tonight doesn't look any better. We spend the day at Doug and Tami's and it might have reached 56 today. While Tami, Becky and the kids went shopping I watched John and Doug as they were working on my Rhino. I picked up a new clutch at Dragon Fire Racing in Lake Havasu when we were driving back North, some HI headlights and a horn. Today was installation day. We got to Dug's about 0930 and he and John were already working away on the clutch. It installed without much of a problem as did the horn. Ran into problems with the high intensity head lights...........this is the second set I've got that wouldn't fit. Guess I'll have to find some 06 head light housings to make them work...............or, send the damn things back again. At this rate I'll have to float a loan just to pay for the postage.

Apparently the other halves had a nice day shopping............Becky came home with a bunch of bags anyway. Tomorrow Doug and Tami are hosting a get together at the skate board park in Woodland..........about 5 or 6 miles away and are expecting about 18 or more people to attend. Hope it warms up..........guess it's no big deal since Becky and I are the only ones freezing. Anyway Tami and Becky stocked up on food and they spent the afternoon making stuff for tomorrow. We called in an order for Pizza.......it was delivered and they made an error. Tami called them back and they sent out the correct Pizza..........so we had a "free" pizza as we didn't offer to give them back the mistake.

Stopped at Home Depot to buy a new electric heater and even got 50 per cent off on it since it was left over from the winter season. Now we got a back up when the old heater decides to give it up for good.

That was about the extent of our day. More later. W&B

Friday Afternoon..............

and we made it to Vancouver, WA about 1300 today. Right now we're sitting in Paradise Point State Park north of Vancouver. A little far for runs into Vancouver; but, the price is right...........a freebie with water and electricity. Unfortunately no sewer hook ups so we always have to unhook and dump about the middle of our stay here. Can't complain too much as I said the price is right.

Got everything hooked up........my MTV and Becky's internet so now all we gotta do is figure out something for dinner. Kinda cool, at least for us, but the locals are running around in shorts and flimsy halter tops. Becky just plugged in the electric heater! At least there's no rain and there are no clouds in sight.

We spent last night near Roseburg at the Seven Feather's Casino in their parking lot. Bad mistake for a "free" parking spot. I shudda realized that it was going to be an expensive night the minute I pulled into the parking lot. I made a left turn to park and heard a loud "pop" just as I was stopping. Looked around a found a nut and washer laying on the ground. The bolt the nut was attached to sheared off and I found the remaining portion on my tow bar! The bolt holds the tow bar together and if it had happened while we were tooling down the road it coulda been nasty. Anyway, that was the start of our problems..............we had a nice late lunch/dinner and then the slot machines gave us a good spanking. Not believing that it could possibly happen again caused us to go back in for breakfast before we left. Wrong move........breakfast ended up costing a bit over $30.00.

Tow bar made by Roadmaster and they are located in Portland. Guess I'll drive over on Monday and see if parts are available for a repair and try to get a "freebie" from them. Probably won't work as the tow bar is probably 9 or 10 years old.

That's it for us. Later if something happens. W&B

Taking The Satellite Dish Down............

in about 15 minutes so no more internet for awhile........unless we find an open wifi signal someplace along the line. Becky isn't here so it seemed like a good time to dismantle the system. We've got a few more goodies to pack in the M/H and we should be ready to leave in the morning. I think we'll stop at Canyonville (Seven Feather's Casino) for an overnight. I've located a few geocaches around that area so if we get there early enough we'll probably hunt down a few and then stay in the casino parking lot. Should get things up and running sometime Friday afternoon/evening when we'll be at Paradise Point State Park north of Vancouver, WA. We'll be there until May 4 and then head back to Corning.

Got get started on this stuff as we're going to make a speed run down to Woodland to watch the kid play baseball later this afternoon and visit with Rhonda & family before we head North.

Later from down the road...........or is that "up" the road since we're heading north???? W&B

Somehow Made It To Tuesday............

and it's 0545..........woke up and didn't go back to sleep so just got up. This morning we're meeting Bob and Judy at the Old Folks Breakfast at the casino........still the best deal in town as you can get 1/2 price on a decent breakfast buffet. Went last week and at least the breakfast is consistent. Also tried the Friday Night Seafood Buffet and the dinner stuff has continued to go downhill............no dungeness crab, just snow crab that you have to really work for to get a bite. Hope to fix the crab situation as we're taking the M/H up north to WA for about 12 days. Nothing better than fresh Oregon/Washington dungeness crab!

Leaving on Thursday and should return to Corning around May 5th. Will be nice to get a little "cool down" as it's been in the 90s and expect it to continue so for a couple of more days. Aside from Dr. appointments we hope to get in a little geocaching while in WA unless rain slows us down.

Going to make a speed run down to Woodland for Brutus' baseball game on Wednesday so gotta get the M/H all packed up and ready to go in the next two days. I'm just about done with my stuff and then have the last minute things to pack up like computer goodies and satellite dish. Oh yeah, after spending about 3 hours on the phone I was finally able up to upgrade my Hughes modem. After trying to talk to three different people in India, and one roundeye in the U.S., I finally talked to a technician who determined that the problem I was having wasn't my problem after all................seems like Hughes was having a problem with one of their satellites. The technician told me I'd have to try to register my modem after their problem was resolved. Finally got back on line about 5 hours after I started! Maybe it's time I started looking for some other way to connect to the internet.

That's about it for now. More later if anything interesting happens. W&B

Income Tax Day......Have You Filed Yet???........

Well things have been a bit hectic the last week or so; but, hopefully we'll get back into our mundane routine, maybe grab a few caches and check my own in Corning to see if they're still shipshape. Weather shaping up here too, been cool to cold since we got back on April 5th; but, supposed to hit 80 by the end of this week. Normally, I'd be grumbling about HOT weather; however, I think I'll just enjoy it for awhile.

I made a speed run to Washington on Thursday, got some business taken care of, and arrived back in Corning yesterday afternoon in time to catch Old Folks Lunch at the casino. Lunch good.......gambling not so good.

Coming over the pass south of Roseburg, Oregon yesterday I ran into snow........not much; but, believe old mama winter was making a "last gasp" appearance. She can go into hibernation now as far as I'm concerned.

Didn't do any updates while I was in Washington.............my cheap son is still using dial-up for his computer; so, aside from checking email I wasn't doing much on the computer. Had nice visit while I was there. Gotta head back for an orthopedic appointment on the 27th to see what I can get done on my knees. The sooner I can get them worked on, the better.

We discovered a water leak, again........had one last year too....... so hopefully the fix-it dude will be able to take care of it before time to go back north.

Becky cleaned out the motorhome while I was gone..........or so she ses.........the exterior didn't look like she waxed it to me! Guess I can't complain too much as she was fighting the sniffles when I left..........better now so I'll give her a few more days before I turn her loose with the wax.

That's about it.................I received an upgrade modem for the satellite system........supposed to be faster and for an additional $10 bucks a month I get more mega bites per day. On the phone they said it's a piece of cake to switch over............I got a 74 page booklet full of instructions! If anyone doesn't hear from us for awhile it's because the "piece of cake" turned into a monster.

Later if I can get the new modem working. W&B

In California...............

We arrived in Woodland about 1300 today and are presently camped out in front of Steve and Rhonda's house until they come home from work.

We had intended to spend the day in Fallon, NV and hunt down some geocaches and then head for Woodland on Friday. I was watching the weather reports and got scared...........when we got to Fallon it was short-sleeve shirt weather; but, the forecast for tonight was 28 degrees with rain and snow coming in. Didn't want to travel over the mountains in that kind of weather so we abandoned Fallon and had a nice drive to Woodland in bright, sunny weather.

Birthday party this weekend for Becky's youngest grandson, Bryce, so we'll hang around and probably head for Corning Sunday afternoon.

Spent a good part of the day on Wednesday in Tonopah caching with la84fishn and we finally left there with 50 cache finds under out belt. Grabbed a few more alongside the road on the way to Fallon. We managed to visit the commissary and exchange while at NAS Fallon since we probably won't be seeing any other military facilities for quite awhile. Stocked up on some of those "cheaper" items while we were there.

Anyways, just wanted to let everyone know where we were and what our plans were. I got a doctor appointment in Chico on Monday and then I'll probably drive up to Washington sometime next week. I bought some goodies for my Rhino when I stopped in Lake Havasu City so will deliver them to Doug and John for installation. Got a "first" appointment with orthopedics in late April so will return to Washington for that. Need to get the old knee (or possibly knees) taken care of as soon as I can.

That's it for us..............now we're only about 95 miles from "stick house"! W&B