JAKE THE ALLIGATOR MAN

If anyone regularly picks up the National Enquirer at your local supermarket, or if you think that any of those types of publications that seem to focus on alien abductions, are the gospel, then stop reading right now!  Located within Marsh's Free Museum/trinket store here in Long Beach, is a display that I'm sure some folks think is as real as those stories in the tabloids. 

Jake the alligator man has been on display inside Marsh's for decades, and the town actually celebrates this supposedly half man, half reptile's birthday in early August.  It's all "tongue in cheek" of course, unless you happen to fit in that tabloid box, and believe that if it's in print, it must be true.  The wall behind Jake's display case is filled with framed stories, all from those check out stand publications that focus on the unbelievable.  Nancy had never seen Jake, so Marsh's was one of our first stops yesterday.

We just missed the International Kite Festival, that takes place each year in August, in the sands of Long Beach.  There is however, a kite related attraction here in Long Beach, that we've never visited.
The World Kite Museum is located on one of the back streets, and it took me all of about 10 minutes to check it out.  Not a whole lot to see, probably because my interest level in kites is about -1 on a scale of 1-10.  There were a couple of displays about WWII kites that I did find interesting, but that was about it.

Next stop was the North Head Lighthouse, located on Cape Disappointment.  This lighthouse is no longer functional, but it served for many years, along with the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, as the two beacons that stood guard over the north entrance to the Columbia River.  Due to an all day foggy environment, the views of the ocean, and the Columbia River Bar were not as good as what we've been able to see in past visits.

From the lighthouse, we drove out to what was Fort Canby, a former military installation that protected the north entrance to the Columbia River with big cannons.  This site is now occupied by the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, that details the history of the Corps of Discovery's epic journey west.   The displays, the movie, and the historical descriptions of the journey are done exceptionally well, and worth the $5 admission fee.

This relief map of where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, is inside the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.

Patty and I caught the 4pm matinee at the local theater, where we enjoyed watching "The Butler", a movie based on a true story.  It's a pretty good movie about the real life of Eugene Allen, who served 8 presidents in the White House.  I wouldn't be surprised if this movie generates a few Oscar nominations.  

It's still foggy & dreary this morning, but the girls have a farmers market/artsy-fartsy thing on their radar, that takes place on Saturdays in Ilwaco.   Maybe there's a hardware or gun store nearby.  

 

LOTS OF WATER

 

The pictures show the aftermath of yesterdays rainstorm, that at times, was pretty intense.  It's been awhile since the water drums from the sky have beaten that loudly on the roof of the motor home.  The first picture also shows the goofy utility locations here at Long Beach Thousand Trails.  Four RV's have to share one area where the water & sewer connections are located.  It's not bad for 2 of the 4, but the other 2 (like us, & Nick & Terry at the top left), have to run the water & sewer hoses under the RV to reach the utility area.  If you don't have extensions to your hoses, you're out of luck.  The engineer who designed this park probably got his/her degree out of a cracker jack box.

My only venture out yesterday was a trip to the grocery store, where I picked up a pot roast that got an all day cook, with lots of other goodies, like potatoes, mushrooms, & carrots.  The girls braved the weather, for more you know what at the local quilt store, while I slaved over a hot crock pot all afternoon.  Actually, it was kind of cozy in the little house, listening to the rain with Gracie in my lap, as I caught up on some reading.

OYSTERS, & ROOS

I don't get it!  What's the big deal about oysters?  They're slimy, they're smelly, & they're typically harvested from tidal flat mud.  Some folks claim they're a natural aphrodisiac, but I think there are better ways to increase one's libido, instead of letting some slippery critter slither down your throat.

At the tip of the Long Beach Peninsula, there's not much left of the original town of Oysterville, which was our first destination yesterday.  There are 8 well maintained homes, a church, a schoolhouse, and the Oysterville Cannery, all part of the 80 acre National Historic District.  Driving through what's left of the town, gives one the feeling that you've either been transported back in time, or perhaps, you're on the back set of a movie lot.  The town was first settled in 1841, but it wasn't until after the CA Gold Rush, that the oysters of Willapa Bay became the main source of commerce.

Similar to many cases of over harvesting a natural resource, the oyster business dried up, and Oysterville exists today as a reminder of the past.  From the quaint, 100 year old buildings, we drove back south to Ocean Park, where Jack's Country Store is a place where there's something for everybody.
 

Jack's Country Store, is a full service grocery store, a hardware store, a fishing/camping store, and a whole lot more.  I always find a bunch of stuff that I either didn't know I needed, or, I simply just can't live without.  By the time we had perused all of the aisles, our baskets had mostly non grocery stuff that took all but a few bucks short of a "C" note.  All of that shopping created quite an appetite, so we had lunch just across the street at the Berry Patch.

 Back at the motor homes, a walk on the beach burned off a few calories from lunch.

At 5pm, we drove into Long Beach, where we had dinner with Nick & Terry Russell at the Lost Roo Restaurant.  Over the years, we've crossed paths with Nick & Terry a few times, and have attended several of their Gypsy Journal RV Rallies.  Just by coincidence, our travel plans put us all here at the Thousand Trails in Long Beach, at the same time, where we finally have the opportunity to spend some time together.  I don't know where the time went last night, but we visited, laughed, and shared our experiences for several hours.  When we saw the employees starting to stack the chairs on the tables, it was 10pm, and a more than subtle clue, that it might be time to call it an evening.  We had a great time, and discovered that we share a lot of the same thoughts and interests.

It's raining pretty good this morning, so whatever we decide to do today, it's most likely going to be an indoor activity. 

LIFEBOATS & A STREETCAR

It's about 20 miles from where we're parked near Long Beach, WA, across the big bridge into Astoria, OR.  Our destination yesterday was the Columbia River Maritime Museum on Astoria's riverfront.  This was probably our 3rd or 4th visit to one of the best themed museums anywhere!  The signature display is a retired Coast Guard rescue boat, that's set up to look like it's in the middle of rescuing a person adrift in some very turbulent water.

We wandered through the museum for an hour or so, before catching the waterfront trolly that runs for several miles along the Columbia River.  The 100 year old trolly takes about 45 minutes to make a round trip on the old railroad mainline, that used to bring lots of folks from the Portland area to the beach.

 When one of the two Coast Guard Cutters is in their home port of Astoria, they tie up in front of the Maritime Museum.

While riding the trolly, we checked out several eating places along the river front, and after getting off the streetcar, had lunch at the Bridgewater Bistro.  With my burger deficit being as low as I can ever remember, I had a pretty good cheeseburger, while the girls had their usual seafood.  After lunch, we drove back across the big bridge, returning to the motor homes about mid afternoon. 

When you were a kid, did anyone ever say to you "that money is going to burn a hole in your pocket"?  Upon returning to Long Beach, Patty said "Nancy & I are headed to the local quilt shop", knowing with almost 100% certainty, that I wouldn't be tagging along.  As they left, I couldn't help but think there was some sort of bizarre correlation between that hot money, and the endless list of quilt/fabric shops.   Shortly after they departed, Nick came by, and we solved all of the world's problems, in one short visit.  What the heck is wrong with all of these countries, and cultures that can't figure out how to stop killing each other?   Maybe if Nick and I got involved, we could have real world peace.  Naw, I kind of doubt it, we'd probably just make things worse!

 

Gracie was thinking " you guys fix the world, I've got better things to do".

OCEAN CITY, WA TO LONG BEACH, WA

Not sure if the above is totally accurate, but Long Beach is over 20 miles of uninterrupted sand.

 

The drive from the Ocean City/Ocean Shores area, down to Long Beach is a little under 100 miles, but much of the drive has lots of curves, and is slow going.  Just about the time we arrived at the Thousand Trails RV Park a little after noon, the rain started.  It continued off and on for the rest of the day, and into the evening. 

Before we retreated to the shelter of the motor homes, we said howdy to Nick Russell, who is parked a couple of spaces away.  Nick & Terry will be here for several more days, so we'll have plenty of time to visit before they leave.

Access to the Internet isn't any better than it was at the Oceana Thousand Trails.  At Oceana, we were on the Sprint network, but the connection was almost non-existent.  Here, the Internet signal is a little stronger, but because it's not on the Sprint network, & the roaming signal is extremely inconsistent, I have the same challenges.  I did manage to get the one picture loaded, even though it took quite awhile.  Due to the small lodge being in the middle of a remodel, I don't think we even have the option of WiFi in the building.  There probably won't be a lot of photos in the next week or so.

Congratulations to our oldest son Mike, & his wife Amy, who will be moving to a new house on a couple of acres just outside of Augusta, GA.  They plan to rent the house where they're currently living, and move into the new place sometime in October.  Hey Mike, keep a space available for the motor home!

Miles traveled - 94  Cumulative since leaving Tucson in late April - 8,631
Long Beach Thousand Trails - $0  Cumulative - $1,726.92

HOLDING DOWN THE CHAIR

Just in case my recliner chair had any thoughts about moving anywhere yesterday, Gracie and I made sure it stayed put, spending most of the day as chair potatoes.  With the NASCAR race completed on Saturday night, and no drag racing this weekend, I pulled a few pre-recorded things from the DVR archives, and spent most of the day doing absolutely nothing.  Well, I did keep the lap available for Gracie, but other than that, it was "do nothing day".  Patty & Nancy were gone for a good part of the day doing their thing, which surprisingly, I don't think had anything to do with quilts, or fabrics.

Before the girls took off, we got a surprise visit from Bob & Dottie Poole, who were the hosts of our recent Golden Spike Chapter RR Rally in Garibaldi.  They're staying at an RV park just north of us, and it was nice to re-visit with them before we go our separate ways.  When the girls returned, we finished Patty's home made chicken soup with home made zucchini bread, and we called it a day.

Today is moving day, about a 2 hour drive south to the Long Beach Thousand Trails, where our friends Nick & Terry Russell are parked.  They are the publishers of the Gypsy Journal, an RV travel newspaper, that we have been subscribers almost back to when they started the publication, over a decade ago. 

We're entering the home stretch of our 5 months of summer RV travel.  By the time we get back home around the 1st of October, we'll have driven pretty close to 10,000 miles, and closed another chapter of new adventures.  Does anyone have a longer life pill, so that we can keep doing this for another 20 or 30 years?

SLOWER THAN SLUDGE

I hate it when I can't fix something!  Maybe it's a "guy" thing, but whatever it is, it frustrates me to no end if I can't come up with a resolution to a problem.  When it comes to broken mechanical stuff, give me a wrench, a screwdriver, or perhaps even a big old hammer, and I can usually take care of business. 

Getting connected to the Internet when you're traveling around the country in an RV, is one of those somethings, that I often can't fix.  Most of the time, I can hook up to the web with my Sprint USB data device connected to the laptop.  When it barely works (like right now), an alternative has been Nancy's Sprint MiFi, which sometimes provides a stronger signal.  When neither of those options work very well when we're parked in an RV park, the office or lodge usually has a WiFi hot spot where it's possible to get on the Internet with a relatively fast connection.  In Alaska, we often used the local library  as a place where we could get on line.

I usually do my computer blogging, shopping, surfing, and/or researching early in the morning.  When the RV park office is closed, or I have to get dressed, take the computer to the Jeep, and drive to the office, I usually just stay in the motor home.  Yep, I admit it, I'm spoiled, and take a lot of things for granted. 

The current situation is that I'm able to get online with my Sprint data device, but it's slower than sludge.  For some reason, I can't connect through Nancy's Sprint network, and I'm too lazy to drive up to the office.  So, no pictures of yesterdays beach combing activities, or of our drive up the coast to Seabrooke, a really impressive planned residential community.  We finished the day with a pretty good meal at Bennett's seafood restaurant in Ocean Shores.  Today is our last here at the Oceana Thousand Trails.  Tomorrow, we move down the coast to Long Beach, where we have reservations for 2 weeks at the Thousand Trails, and I'm hoping that our Sprint signal is a lot stronger there.

THE BIG BRIDGE

 Fueling the motor homes in Tillamook for the first time since late July.

For reasons way above my pay grade, the Internet connection through Nancy's Sprint MiFi device is much faster this morning.  As a result, I was able to load some pictures of yesterdays drive from Pacific City, to our current location at the Oceana Thousand Trails Park in Ocean City.  The bridge pictured, is the structure across the Columbia River, from Astoria on the Oregon side, to Megler on the north side of the river in Washington.

Construction of the Astoria-Megler Bridge was started in 1962, and  opened to the public in 1966.  Prior to completion of the bridge, a 30 minute ferry was the only way across the 6+ mile wide Columbia River.  In 1993, the fee (toll) to cross the bridge was removed, as the original cost of the 24 million dollar bridge was paid for 2 years early.

Even though in some situations, I have a fear of heights, driving over tall bridges isn't something that triggers my acrophobia.  However, near the top of the bridge, because of a multi year sand blasting/painting project, traffic was alternated to one lane at a time, and we sat for awhile, way up above the river.  Not exactly where I would have chosen to park, but in a few minutes we were on our way.

 Using my side view mirror, two shots of Nancy waiting on the bridge behind us.

It was about 2:30pm when we pulled into the Oceana Thousand Trails, and even though the park is pretty full, we scored a couple of side by side parking spots.  Three years ago, this is the place where our cat got out, and we spent about 30 terror filled minutes searching for Gracie before I found her. 
Fast forward to her condition today, and it's somewhat positive.   She acts pretty normal, but she's still losing weight despite our efforts to feed her anything that she'll eat.  When we get home in a few weeks, another round of tests will give us a better idea of how she's doing.  

PACIFIC CITY, OR TO OCEAN CITY, WA

The drive today from Pacific City to Ocean City, was just under 200 miles.  Even though I took several pictures along the way, the Internet connection here at the Oceana Thousand Trails is marginal at best.  In fact, getting on line with my Sprint data device is not happening.  Because Nancy is parked right next to us, and her Sprint MiFi device seems to be a little stronger, I'm able to get on the Internet by connecting to her network.  Not sure if there's a hot spot in the clubhouse, so pictures may be out of the question for the next 3 days that we're here.

This particular Thousand Trails RV Park is located a short walk through the dunes from the beach.  Other than it's location, the park is average at best, with tight spaces, and mostly 30 amp electrical & water hookups.  The last time we stayed here, we had one of the full hookup spots near the front of the park.  This time, we're all the way in the back with water & electric connections.  We'll be here 3 nights before moving down the coast to Long Beach, WA, where we have reservations for 2 weeks.

Miles traveled - 186  Total cumulative miles - 8,537
Oceana Thousand Trails - $0  Total cumulative RV Park cost -  $1,726.92
Tillamook Cenex Diesel - 43.2 Gals. @ $3.86 = $166.80
MPG 6.0  Total Average MPG - 7.9

THE GIRLS WIN

If at all possible, when Patty & Nancy say they've found another quilt/fabric/yarn shop, I try and let them go off by themselves.  However, when we're already out and about, like yesterday, it's difficult for me to be the bad guy, and tell them they have to come back at a later time.  There's never a good ending to that scenario, as I either get the silent treatment, or even worse, I'm threatened with bodily harm.

Let me back up to our first adventure, where we drove down to, and onto the beach at Pacific City.  With the chairs in the sand, we watched the surfers, the folks walking past on the beach, and the hardy souls who climbed the sand mountain.  As the tide crept closer and closer to our chairs, and more importantly, the Jeep, we decided to get going while the going was still good.

We decided that our next stop was going to be the Fish Peddler in Bay City, where we've already had 2 great meals of fresh seafood.  Before leaving the area, one more stop at this local eatery was high on the priority list, even though it was about a 35 mile drive.

As we neared Hwy 101, we passed a sign that said BJ's Fabrics & Quilts - 1/4 mile.  I tried to pretend that I didn't see the sign, and hoped that 2 other people didn't see the sign, but that was too much to expect.  "Hey Dan, since we're so close, and we didn't have a chance to stop before, can we please stop for a quick look"?  Damn, I should have taken a different road into Tillamook.

When we got to the end of the 1/4 mile dirt road, we discovered that BJ's was in the basement of a residence.   I guess the quilting network must be stronger than I ever imagined, because this business is so far out in the boon tollies, you almost need a compass and a map to find it! 

 
After I took some time to rest my eyelids in the Jeep, the quilt sisters returned from their latest adventure into fabric land, and we were finally back on the road to the Fish Peddler in Bay City.
 

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I'm not one to recommend much of anything, particularly quality of food at restaurants.  Having said that, the clam chowder at the Fish Peddler is quite possibly the best that I've ever had!  We've been to this inauspicious seafood diner 3 times, and if you like seafood, I don't think it gets any better.  The place is always packed, as I'm sure the locals agree with my assessment.  Parking with a big RV is not convenient, but I'll go out on a limb, and say that if you have to park elsewhere, disconnect from your RV, and drive back to the Fish Peddler, you'll be glad you did.  Really, the clam chowder is that good.

One more day here at the Pacific City Thousand Trails, then we move a couple hundred miles north to the Oceana Thousand Trails on the Washington Coast.  The last time we were there, about 3 years ago, we weren't impressed with the condition of the park, but perhaps things have changed for the better. 

PACIFIC CITY BEACH

While the girls were doing their thing in Tillamook, I drove the short distance into Pacific City, where there is a popular beach.  One of the neat things about the Oregon Coast, is that the beaches are all open to the public.  There is no such things as private beaches, or fences that keep folks away from accessing all of the oceanfront.  That's not to say that you can walk through someones million dollar beachfront yard to gain access.  It just means that property owners can't put up fences on the beach, like they do in California. 

At Pacific City, you can drive your vehicle onto the beach, which I did, taking some pictures of the  sand dune, north of the beach vehicle entry point.  It seems that "sand surfing" is a popular activity on this very large, almost vertical beach.

Before returning to the motor home, I watched this very naive driver pull her front wheel drive car right into the soft sand. The result was almost instant wheel spin.   Fortunately for her, the car was small & didn't weigh very much, as several people pushed her back into the harder sand.  A few years ago, while staying at the Long Beach, WA Thousand Trails, we watched a 4 wheel drive vehicle get stuck in the sand, then watched a 4 wheel drive truck get stuck trying to pull it out.  Eventually, with a 3rd vehicle on harder ground, they all got out.  Just because a vehicle is 4WD, doesn't mean it's immune from getting buried in the sand.

Speaking of sand, I think the plan for today, is to load the chairs, a cooler, some food, and maybe even a plastic shovel & bucket into the Jeep.  Parking on the beach, is kind of cool, provided that you don't do what this gal did!  I might even build a sand castle.

TILLAMOOK, OR TO PACIFIC CITY, OR

Another grueling day behind the wheel!  I'm kinda gettin used to these 1/2 hour drive days, as we move around the Central Oregon coastal area.  Yesterday, after one day at the Tillamook Elks RV Park, we relocated to the Thousand Trails Park near Pacific City.

As members of the Thousand Trails (TT) system, we've learned that the ideal time to arrive at a TT park is between 10 and 11am.  The reason for checking in early is that you get to pick your own site from whatever is available.  By 11am, most folks that are departing have left, (checkout is noon), and that's when the maximum number of open sites are there for the picking.  Even though check in is also supposed to be noon, we've never had a park tell us to wait.

So it was yesterday, as we showed up at Pacific City around 10:30am.  One of the difficulties at the Pacific City TT, is that it's heavily treed, and finding an open site where the satellite antenna will lock onto the satellite, can be problematic.  Fortunately, we found 2 sites  right across from each other, and even though Nancy had to move her rig a little bit, we both have TV for the next few days.  Our Sprint data device doesn't work here, so the WiFi at the lodge is where we'll be able to access the Internet.

If you look closely, the Pacific Ocean is in the background, and we both have a slight ocean view!

This morning, I think the girls are off to Tillamook (29 miles), something to do with quilting, spinning, weaving, or some other "girl" thing that I don't know anything about.  I heard something about Nancy taking her newly purchased spinning wheel to a place in town, where they give lessons.  I guess Gracie and I will just have to suffer through all of today's peace and quiet.  Somehow, I think we'll make it!

Miles driven - 17  Cumulative - 8,384

Pacific City Thousand Trails - $0  Cumulative - $1,726.92

GARIBALDI, OR TO TILLAMOOK, OR

Back to the Elks RV Park, south of Tillamook for one night, while we wait to move into the Thousand Trails RV Park at Pacific City, starting today.  Originally, we wanted to extend our stay in Garibaldi by one night.  Evidently, the Old Mill RV Park where we were staying, didn't have any room, so the Elks was/is a good alternative.

We'll be spending the next 4 weeks here on the Oregon & Washington Coast, with stays of varying lengths at Pacific City, Ocean Shores, Long Beach, and Seaside.  In mid September, the plan is to travel south along the Oregon & California Coast, turning inland toward Reno, and continuing south through Nevada, and Arizona.  Hopefully, by the time we get back home around the 1st of October, the weather in the desert will have cooled a little. 

Miles traveled - 16  Cumulative - 8,367
Tillamook Elks RV Park - $20  Cumulative  $1,726.92

A BIG BUILDING, AIRCRAFT, & TRAINS

After another great breakfast, prepared by Betty Simon, we carpooled to the Tillamook Air Museum, located at the site of a WWII Blimp Naval Facility.  At the beginning of the war, the threat of enemy submarines off our respective coasts was a real threat.  At the time, one of the best ways to counter that threat, was coastal patrols by airships.  17 of these very large wooden blimp hanger buildings were constructed on the east, gulf, and west coasts.  The Tillamook facility originally had two large hangers but one burned to the ground in 1992.  All 17 were built exactly the same, with dimensions approx. 1,000 feet long, 300 feet wide, and 180 feet high.  It's worth the price of admission just to marvel at the inside of one of the largest wooden buildings in the world.

We spent a couple of hours checking out the aircraft, both inside, and outside of the building.  In addition to the collection of about 30 planes, there are videos, and other WWII era displays, including a theater movie about the history of Tillamook Naval Air Station.  As with most museums, there's also a gift shop, and a small restaurant.  We learned that sometime in the next few years, this museum is moving to the Central Oregon town of Madras.  The reason given is because that areas climate and weather is not as damaging (corrosion), and is better suited for the flying of the vintage aircraft.

 P-38 Lightning.

 B-17 Flying Fortress.

 P-51 Mustang.

After leaving the museum, we had another great meal at the Fish Peddler Restaurant in Bay City.  A few of our fellow Golden Spikers joined us, and we're still of the opinion that the food at this establishment is simply outstanding!

At 6:30, our dinner train pulled out of the Garibaldi station, with 26 Golden Spikers on board.  Pulled by a vintage diesel locomotive, in a little over 3 hours, we traveled north to Wheeler, and back to Garibaldi.  I didn't have high expectations for the meal, but my 4 course prime rib dinner was pretty darn good.  Patty, Nancy, and Bob each had salmon dinners.

 Bob & Dottie Poole were the organizers of this rally, and did a super great job!

 Kurt Simon is our chapter president, and he and his wife Betty assisted the Poole's, in putting on a great Golden Spike Rally.

Our pal Nancy, and Bob Tucker were our table mates on the dinner train.

Today, we've moving back to the Tillamook Elks for just one day, before we head over to the Pacific City Thousand Trails RV Park.  We'll be in the Tillamook area for about another week, before we spend a couple of weeks on the Washington Coast, near Ocean Shores, then Long Beach.

Old Mill RV Park - $30  Cumulative   $1,706.92