Tillamook, OR

Tillamook, OR

Well we finally made it back to Oregon. We decided to take a few days and go to the Tillamook Elks RV Park just south of town. A very nice park with FHU and strong WiFi for $20 a night! Took our second tour of the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory. Split a the house grilled cheese sandwich for lunch! Oh yum! Off to visit the Quilting and Textile Facility. Lots of very nice stuff there. Donna was in hog heaven. Then off to the beautiful beach and did the light house. The light house had reopened recently as some vandals took several shotgun blasts to the beautiful thing. Took out the much of the glass and the reflectors. Damn! This is the shortest light house in North America as it sits very high up on the coastline. We are in Portland doing our doctoring and enjoying our friends and activies in the park. Then we're off to our slow trip south to Texas. I can hear it now.....ON THE ROAD AGAIN!!!

Shelton and Bremerton, WA

After Hoaquim, WA, we went to Shelton, WA, and spent two nights in a casino rv park. It was a nice, fairly new park and had all the amenities. We enjoyed it very much. While we were staying there, we took a trip to Olympia, the state capital. We had a wonderful tour by a very knowledgeable guide. She had spent many years working in the capital building both as a administrative assistant and later as a lobbyist. The building is beautiful. It has been through 3 earthquakes and the last one actually moved the dome 6 inches. Consequently, the building was closed for about 5 years while repairs were made. We learned about some of the interesting history of Washington, including that the state was named after George Washington. Tom took many pictures which he shows a sample of on the blog. After leaving Shelton, we headed back to Bremerton and spent a week there exploring the area more thoroughly. We had only spent a couple of days there earlier this summer and wanted to check out more and also see our friends, Paul and Shar again before we left the state. We drove to Mt. Walker one afternoon and could see the skyline of Seattle from there. Wow! One day we went back to Bainbridge Island and walked around checking out some of the shops we hadn't seen on our previous trip. What a nice place to spend an afternoon. We also took the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle to return to Pike Market. The skyline from the ferry was breathtaking. Tom took pictures but they don't do it justice. The market is really a must see for anyone going to Seattle. It is full of flowers, meat and fish markets, produce, and various crafts. It is impossible to see the whole thing in one trip as it's so large. The flowers were gorgeous and very inexpensive. We wound up the week having dinner with Paul and Shar. Paul made his famous lasagna, homemade bread and a great salad. We took a couple gifts for them that Donna made - socks for Paul and a scarf for Shar. They were very appreciative. We also celebrated our 25th anniversary of when we met (Tom and I). It doesn't seem possible that we've known each other for 25 years, because it's gone so fast but it's true. Hope we make it another 25! We are now in Kelso and will be returning to Portland in about a week to complete our doctor appointments before heading to Texas to visit Tom's family and friends. Whew!!!!

La Push, Cape Flattery, and Hoh Rain Forest

Cape Flattery Neah Bay, WA





Hoh Rain Forest, WA

Here we are still on the road in Hoquiam, WA. It's kind of inland but near water (check the map I guess). We spent a week in Port Townsend, went to Whidbey Island, checked out the town, ate in a really questionable but delicious sea food place (Sea J's). I told Tom not to look too closely at anything, but he took pictures anyway. I wouldn't even look in the kitchen. We shared a table with "toothless Bob" who entertained us with stories of his time in Alaska (many years ago) and kept us laughing. Tom checked out the airplane museum and enjoyed it. It was small but well done. One day he went all the way back to Sequim (46 miles) to go to WalMart. He wanted to save money! We checked out the local hardware/general store in Port Angeles on the way west. There were a lot of things but we left with nothing but good memories. Our friends, Paul and Shar, came over to have dinner with us last Sunday. Tom made a great dinner of chicken picatta with pasta and everyone loved it. We were so glad to get to spend another day with them. We aren't going to let another 40 years go by without seeing each other again as we decided none of us will probably last that long! One day we went to Cape Flattery (the northern most point in the lower 48 states). We took a hike that was strenuous but I made it! It led us to a wild and beautiful shoreline. Some people said they had seen whales but we weren't so lucky. The next day we went to the Hoh Rain Forest and took another hike, longer but less strenuous. I am happy to note that the new knee is holding up very well. We've seen mountains, beaches and beautiful trees. I don't think Tom will ever get tired of seeing trees, mountains, beaches and strange things! My brain, however, is getting very confused. Along the way, I've managed to knit some things including a project for the yarn store in Redlands, CA. All in all, it's been an eventful time and there's yet more to come. . . .