About Us

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Lebanon, Oregon, United States
We are Terry & Cathye Kinkelaar. If you've followed my blog in the past, you know that Lydia, my beautiful wife of 52 years, and I made the lifestyle choice to move to Oregon in 2017. You've seen my posts about losing her in May 2020 to cancer. Although I was left alone, I am pleased to say that I have found happiness again. In April 2021, I met Cathye, who also lost her longtime husband in 2020. Well, we fell in love and were married in April 2022. So, if folks are still interested, I will continue to post here as we move forward with our lives and adventures!

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #16 – Laundry, Quilt Stores, and Lawnmower Shopping

   

Tuesday, June 27th, 2017…..   We needed to do some laundry today so that took up some of the morning. Luckily, we have 5 washers and 6 dryers in this park and the one person in there was drying her stuff and was almost done. So we used all the washers and got this chore completed pretty quickly. Later, we went back to Mattress Firm to check on a request from Treasa. She is looking for a split queen adjustable bed. Turns out they are rare birds indeed!  Our guy knew about them but they don’t stock them and he’s never had a single request for one in the past. And queen split sheet sets are also hard to find.  Most folks get the regular split king. Lot of work to find and put together but maybe you will have good luck in Ohio! After that we drove into the downtown area and went to Fisherman’s Market for dinner.  We had been here before so we ordered and got out pretty quickly. While eating, we met a young family from Fresno who are looking at property in Corvallis.  Their kids had been in the car all day so they were a little wound up and very loud.  But we didn’t mind too much – they were cute kids! We made our way back home (we now know the side roads and can avoid the freeways if we want) and relaxed for the evening.


Wednesday, June 28th, 2017…..  Each day finds us looking for things to do.  We’re tired of driving around all day but we’re also tired of hanging around the campground too. I asked if Lydia had found any quilt stores in Eugene she wanted to go visit.  Of course she did so off we went. We stopped at Ye Olde Pancake House for breakfast and then hit four different quilt stores in Eugene and Springfield.  I got a text from Aimee saying that the owner has sold all four of my items.  Bummer! My fault because I should have contacted him weeks ago and didn’t. Oh well! So while she shopped I racked my brain remembering where we had priced mowers.  We even drove by a lawnmower repair shop in Springfield so I stopped there. He had a used Cub Cadet ($800) but it was a yard tractor and not a garden tractor (see, I am learning!). We went to Sears and looked at their stock. They have what I want but most everything is $2000-$3500 which is way out of my price range! On the way out we found a section of the store with returns and found one we liked.  I got the salesman over there and was told it was last year’s model and was either a demo or a return but it still has a new warranty. It was $1519.  I also got a call from Patti our new insurance agent.  She has both home and vehicle policies ready for us to review so we arranged to meet her at 3:00pm. So we went back home to rest for a bit then left again to see her.  In our research we found that insurance would be cheaper up here and we did find out that it was - but turns only slightly.  We upgraded both our policies so we ended up spending more. That task accomplished, we went back to lawnmower shopping so we headed to Lowe’s and Home Depot but they didn’t have anything that I liked.  We found a Husqvarna dealer but their prices were waaay too high ($3500-$6500)! Even their trade-ins were expensive. After the sticker shock we decided to head back home. On the way I stopped at Jerry’s Hardware but they have a sparse stock being prime mowing season. I also wanted to swing by Dick’s Sporting goods to check out their 4th of July tent sale - bought a ball cap.  We got home and chatted with our neighbors a bit before coming in to watch tv.  

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #15 – A New Week

                

Sunday, June 25th, 2017…..   Sundays are kick back days.  We just hang around the park doing nothing. Today was no exception.  We spoke with our realtor, Aimee, yesterday and she is having issues with the seller about septic maintenance/repairs on the septic system.  There’s $365. worth of work recommended but he says its working fine and he won’t pay anything.  I see his point as we went through that when we sold our house. We’re hoping to buy some of his items on the property and we’re wanting him in a good frame of mind right now so we’re not pushing the repair thing at this time.

So we just relaxed and watched tv and ate leftovers for dinner.  A typical Sunday for us at home!  

Monday, June 26th, 2017…..  This morning after my walk I got on the phone and called PODS to get our three storage containers shipped to Eugene. They were stored in SoCal waiting on my move order. Getting them close means we have no time issues and it’s only a 3 day wait to get them to the house once we get in.

That done, we hung out and cleaned up the rig a bit and then went out to buy our suitcase. We ended up choosing one at Ross. That done, we went to Mattress Firm to check out their sheets.  Same scenario – not many places stock Cal King split sheets – they didn’t have any.  We’ll wait to see what Walmart sends us as they are cheap enough to get more colors.  I had touched base with Aimee about getting money wired vs. a cashier’s check. We will arrange to sign closing docs and then have a wire transfer done on the same day. We also heard back from Aimee that the seller expects to be out sooner than arranged.  No date yet but we’re ready whenever he is!  I also sent her a request to pass on to the seller regarding four items to see if he has any interest in selling them to us: trailer, 4 wheeler utility vehicle, lawnmower, and table saw.  If he gives me a package deal I’m interested but he may want to take them all with him.  If we don’t get them it’s just more stuff to put on our shopping list! 

Saturday, June 24, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #14 – Traveling Around and then Kicking Back

     

Friday, June 23rd, 2017…..    Not much on the calendar for today. We need to meet with our insurance agent but she hasn’t quite got everything ready for us yet. So we decided to take a drive. We had wanted eventually to drive over to Bend. It’s up and over the Cascades east of us about 120 miles.  We’d been there before back in 2012 when we visited with our friends Daryl and Glenda on the start of our 3 month trip east. Plus we drove to Sisters back in 2013 when we did our 7 week Oregon trip. We missed their famous annual quilt show but we saw a lot of the area.  This time we took a different route (via McKenzie Hwy 126). This route follows the McKenzie River up and over the mountains. It also took us by the Leaburg house we had looked at and were interested in before.




The drive is pretty but it made us realize how isolated that place was out that busy road!  We crossed over the Cascades and right before we got to McKenzie Bridge, we ran into road paving.  We sat for over 10 minutes waiting for the escort to take us through! But no worries, we weren’t in a hurry.  We eventually got into Sisters first but just drove through.  We’ll stop on the way back.  We drove the remaining 11 miles and got into Bend and immediately got stuck in traffic! We spent 30 minutes going one mile so we decided to stop for lunch.  We chose El Rodeo a place Daryl took us to last time we were there. I remembered the food being excellent and it did not disappoint! Plus we got their luncheon prices!  After that we cruised the town and then hit the local Walmart for a few things. Then we went north up hwy 97 about 10 miles to Redmond.  We’d never been there before and wanted to see it. This city gets a lot of rv rallies from various organizations and I can see why. They have a ton of rv dealerships plus they have an expo center there that is very impressive and that will hold 500+ rv’s.  As a matter of fact, The Good Sam Rally will be held there in August and our new Camping Squares members, Jack and Jennifer, are planning on coming up (if you’re reading this blog guys – get with us and set up a visit to our home while you’re in the area!). We took the road from there and drove back over to Sisters and stopped at a gift shop we visited once before.  Lydia was hoping to find a decorative item we had seen before but didn’t buy. No luck. We also hit a Christmas Shop outside of Vida as well. No purchases there either. But the drive was pretty. We decided that since we had lunch out we didn’t need to stop for dinner.  When we got home I fixed grilled ham and cheese sandwiches as a light dinner. Pretty good. I walked the park (new folks coming in for the weekend) and then we watched taped programs and then called it a night.    
         

Saturday, June 24th, 2017…..  As I said before we don’t do much on the weekends.  We leave shopping and such to the folks who work during the week.  But today we did hit Target and Bed Bath & Beyond, looking for split king sheets for our new bed.  We are going back to the mattress place and get one set at ½ price but we wanted to see what other stores have.  We stopped at Firehouse Subs for lunch. This has been my favorite sub shop for a while so I’m happy to find them here in the area.  We got home and went onto the internet and ordered the sheets from Walmart.  We’ll still go check out Mattress Firm later for their sheets. We rested for the day and then Lydia heated up the rig by baking a chicken noodle casserole. It was worth it though! Extra cheesy and very yummy!  After that, we walked dinner off and then came back to watch tv until bedtime. 

Friday, June 23, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #13 – Our Anniversary

         

Wednesday, June 21st, 2017…..   We must have had a good rest last night because we both got up earlier than usual this morning.  So we got ready and left to head north to spend the day in Salem.  We decided to drive through Lebanon on the way and even though we stayed away from the house, we wanted to find a good breakfast place close to the new house.  We found Appletree Restaurant about a mile down the road from Oak Creek Way.  It was really good and I liked their gravy. Afterward, we drove the 36 miles to Salem and located the shopping malls and larger box stores plus we found the emergency room/hospital for future reference.  We stopped at Kmart and then drove back through Lebanon to locate another rv park I found online.  It’s a smaller park, with only 21 sites and will be full from now through the holiday, but we made note of it as it’s only a few miles from our house. It’s called Gills Landing and it’s right on the Santiam River with nice sites and good rates.
          
Thursday, June 22nd, 2017…..  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US! 49 years! We didn’t do anything until late morning when we headed off to visit the Owen Rose Garden in Eugene. It was not very big nor was it well maintained (guess they don’t get enough volunteers) but it was pretty.




















After that we decided to go find the local square dance hall around Eugene.  It’s actually in Springfield but the two cities pretty much touch other. 




We might decide to go visit one night before we move north.  We looked into either a brewery or a nice Italian place for our anniversary dinner.  Lydia found Plank Town Brewing on the web and it had good reviews so we went there.  It was early so it wasn’t crowded.  We hadn’t eaten lunch but neither of us wanted a big dinner.  Lydia chose a cheeseburger and I had the Apple and Pork Dip sandwich w/apple and swiss cheese on ciabatta w/beer cheese jus. It was REALLY good! House beer was Plankster Pale Lager and I liked that as well.  Afterward, we made our way back home but we made a stop (more of a drive by) to a John Deere store to scope out the lawnmowers.  I’m still having dreams about mowing that property! Once we got home, Lydia called the kids and told them that we are putting money into Jeff’s checking account as our wedding gift to them.  That way they can plan out what they want to do with it. Later, we stayed up late and had a nice time together watching tv.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #12 – Dad’s Day & Shopping


Sunday, June 18th, 2017…..   Happy Father’s Day to all the dads! Saturdays and Sundays we always try to avoid shopping centers and big box stores (yes, even up here we have crowds!). So today we avoided the families out for dad’s day and just hung around the campground and cleaned up the rig a bit and then kicked back and rested.  Earlier this morning both Jeff and Randy called to wish me a happy father’s day. The weather has warmed up a bit like promised. It got up to 85 today. One thing I wish we had at this park was a pool/spa! Lydia set up the crockpot for a new meal – garlic parmesan chicken. It was very tasty and a definite keeper. Although we both decided she could cut down on the seasoning a bit next time.
     
Monday, June 19th, 2017…..  Tough sleeping for both of us last night.  We started out tired but neither of us could sleep.  I tossed and turned and Lydia got up to read for a while.  Then later she got up again with acid reflux.  So today since we had nothing planned we hung around the rig and napped for a few hours.  Later we took off to try a restaurant called The Kozy, about 3 miles back on the way into Eugene.  It was diner food.  Lydia had the roast beef and I tried the liver and onions.  Both were pretty good plus the price was good too. We left there and then went to the show.  We saw Cars 3 (in 3D which was neat). It was ok but I liked 1 & 2 better.  Afterward, we came back and had snacks and watched tv for awhile.   

Tuesday, June 20th, 2017…..  Happy Birthday Treasa! We called her this morning to wish her a happy day. They were on their way to celebrate on a luncheon cruise on the General Jackson in Nashville.  We did that and it’s a cool trip! 


We did sleep in a bit, I guess to catch up on last night, and then ate breakfast and then went shopping. Lydia still needed shoes and I needed pants and a shirt.  We stopped at the Eugene Mall and found Payless where she found a couple of pairs of shoes then we walked to Kohl’s and Sears where I couldn’t find anything.  We drove to Nordstrom Rack just down the road and I bought both shirt and pants.  Now all we need is a suitcase which we are still looking for (probably end up at Ross). We went to Walmart for water and stuff for breakfasts and then went home and rested until dinner. We had pork loin with mashed potatoes and gravy and asparagus. Yummy!  We discussed tomorrow’s plans. We talked about going back up to Albany tomorrow and then to Salem just to look around.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #11 – Rainy days then Sunny and Nice!

     

Thursday, June 15th, 2017…..     Little bit of rain last night but just drizzles today. Watching the weather we can see it’s a whole lot cooler here than SoCal! Today was the water test day at the house. But when I called them yesterday to check on the time window they told me the homeowner had originally scheduled it for Friday.  No problem since we don’t need to be there for the 4 hour flow test but we did learn that they came out on Monday and have already taken water samples for that part of the test.  We’ll get both of the results in a few days. So that said, we had no place to go today so we hung around the coach. I paid for the next week’s camping and we just vegged out for the day. Around 5:00pm we drove the ½ mile into town. We wanted to try the other eating establishment in Coburg - Bronco Saloon - for dinner.  Nice place. Lydia had a wedge salad w/chicken and I tried their bbg wings. We both thought it was just ok. But the beer was nice and cold! Then it was back to the rig and tv.

Friday, June 16th, 2017…..   We slept in this morning and around 11:00am or so took off to Corvallis to go shopping.  Lydia wanted to check out the Dress Barn there plus we had to go to Albany anyway to pick up some prelim. title docs.  She found some things just for the wedding and then bought some more just for the trip!  I still need a dress shirt and pants but we have plenty of time. We went to Taco Bell for lunch, picked up the docs, and then stopped at Coastal Farm & Ranch on the way out of town to check out what they have for in the future. Nice store. We drove back home and rested for awhile.  Neither of us were hungry for dinner so we snacked a bit and then walked the park again.  It’s Friday so there are rigs coming in for the weekend. It’s always fun to see where they’re from and talk with folks a bit while we’re out. 


Saturday, June 17th, 2017…..  The rain left us yesterday.  We’re supposed to see sunny skies for the next week or so.  Should get up in the mid 80’s which we hear is a hot summer up here! (sorry SoCal!).  We ate breakfast in and hung around for a while and then walked to town.  It’s probably a mile total there and back so it was a nice walk.  Coburg is an historical town with no major amenities.  It’s mainly a one street town. There are three places to eat, a nursery, a flower shop, and a Dari Mart (like a larger 7/11). Mostly they are known for their antique shops (probably 6-7).  We walked through a couple of shops and then went to Dari Mart for water, and then walked home.  Later, we went south into Eugene (maybe 4 miles) to Newman’s Seafood. We were there back in Sept. and really enjoyed it.  We’ve now been to four seafood places in the area and Newman’s is our favorite.  This one is a small place where you order from a counter and the tables are outside under a patio. There’s another one downtown that we will go find later while we are here.  We stopped at Safeway on the way back and got a package of chicken for meals for next week.  When we got back to the rig our neighbor was out. I spoke to him a bit.  He’s still waiting for a space to open in a mobile home park down the road.  I told him about our home to be and he agrees that we’re crazy to have that much land!  He and his wife are in their mid 80’s and he says he doesn’t want to look at another lawn again!  Our plans tonight are to take another walk and then maybe sit out a while.   

Thursday, June 15, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #10 – Inspections Start

                                        

Tuesday, June 13th, 2017…..   Today the inspections start at the house.  Up today was the septic system.  We drove up and met with Lisette the inspector.  She gave me a lot of very helpful information about these systems including how it works and more importantly how to maintain it.  We have a pump that comes on whenever the level gets to 2/3 full.  It pumps waste out to the drainfield (which is waaay out to the right of the acreage!).  The owner (Walter) has never had any issues but the inspection showed a few items he needs to repair. But mostly good news. The other good news is that we also heard from Aimee that Walt said he now expects to be in his new house sooner so we can hope that happens and we can get in sooner. We left there and went into town and found a trial place for Lydia to get her nails done.  I have done both manis and pedis many times and love them. So I joined her and opted for the pedicure. She will try other places in Lebanon before she chooses one but she liked this one (I did too!).  We stopped at TacoTime for a quick lunch then made another stop at Walmart for water and toothpaste and then headed home for a few hours rest before making grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner.

Wednesday, June 14th, 2017…..  Nothing on the calendar today but we did get some things set for the kids wedding in Vegas next month. Plus we’re still working on an insurance rider for the new home. Still waiting for quotes. We headed out later in the morning and hit the stores and did some looking around for dress clothes for the Vegas trip (since we didn’t pack anything suited for a wedding). We also need at least one suitcase as ours are stored away. We will continue looking as we get closer. Afterward, we went to the show.  We had gone to the Eugene Cinemark a week or so ago (and saw Pirates of the Caribbean) and both of us were VERY impressed with their reserved theater seating.  Now we realize that these places are also in SoCal, but the prices have always seemed too high so we’d never been.  Seats up here are $5.25.  You see a screen at the box office window and choose your seats.  Here’s what they look like:




Really comfortable even for my long legs!  This time we saw Guardians of the Galaxy which we both liked. Afterward, we went back home and each of us fixed our own dinners: Lydia had leftover steak and potatoes and I fixed tortellini and pasta sauce. Afterward, we took another walk around the campground and then came back and watched tv for a while and then called it a night. 

Monday, June 12, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #9 – Just Killin’ Time

      

Saturday, June 10th, 2017…..  It has been raining here the last few days - intermittent and not hard but since we have been traveling the 30 miles from Eugene to Albany/Lebanon on the Interstate every few days it is enough to go buy wiper blades for the Honda.  Today we had time to put them on. No plans today so we did a deep clean on the inside of the coach then relaxed for the rest of the day. We did leave for a quick trip down the street to Chiefs for another bbq linner.
    
Sunday, June 11th, 2017…..   Today was laundry day. Plus we had been knocking out the leftovers in the fridge so it was time to stock up on groceries again.  After getting the clothes back in the rig we headed off to Fred Meyer and bought stuff for the next week. If you haven’t seen one, Fred Meyer is a combo of a giant supermarket and a Target store. This one even had a beer and wine bar!



We unloaded all of the groceries and Lydia started dinner (yes, I did help!).  She fixed steak and potatoes and a veggie.  Very good.  After dinner I caught up on my races and Lydia watched her programs and after a walk around the campground we called it a night.      

Monday, June 12th, 2017…..   We have nothing to do again today so we set out to explore Crater Lake.  It’s about 145 miles from our campground but we have all day. We ate a lite breakfast and then stopped for coffee and tea at Starbucks and then headed out.  The drive was beautiful. We got into the park (used our Golden Access Passports so it was free!) and stopped at the visitor center to watch a 22 minute video.  

What we didn’t predict was the weather!  We first saw the snow in little bunches but as we got into the park it was all over!  


It snowed on us while we were there but didn’t stick.  BUT – when we drove the short distance up to the rim we were fogged out!  Couldn’t see 30 feet. 




That shot with the sign should be showing the lake in the background! Oh well – I guess we have something to look forward to the next time! We drove another route back and since we didn't have lunch we stopped at Elmer’s for linner and then came home to rest from the long drive.  

Friday, June 9, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #8 – Hanging Around

             

Wednesday, June 7th, 2017…..  Happy Birthday Lydia! We called to speak with Randy this morning.  He is battling with an ulcer so we wanted to offer some advice when Lydia had hers. The rest of the day was just spent lounging around and cleaning up the rig a bit.  We decided to go to McGrath’s for seafood for Lydia’s b-day.  It was a bit pricey but we used our gift card from the Lydia’s ‘lunch ladies’ (thanks ladies!).  The meal was very good. We’ll go back again.  

Thursday, June 8th, 2017…..  We woke up this morning with several texts from Maryanne. Late last night/early this morning she took Randy to the ER after he was up all night in pain.  They ran some tests and after many hours sent him home with an appointment to a GI specialist on Monday. We will be keeping in close contact with her as he progresses.

Today was meeting day with the property owner.  He asked to meet with us to answer our questions plus give us info on the house, his future plans, and timelines.  He is a very nice gentleman, 86 years old (but you wouldn’t guess that).  He gave us a ton of info on history, amenities, neighborhood, and property maintenance. We walked the house and then drove the property (7.8 acres). We got the grand tour plus. He and his fiancé (yep!) are waiting for their new house (in Redmond) to be finished. He’s downsizing so he may leave some items for us (which is ok and something we wanted to do to help him out). He’s hoping to get some pressure on the builders to get that house done asap but he can only wait. Us too!
  
We checked in with Maryanne on the way back. Randy is doing much better this afternoon. We got home and Lydia fixed tacos for dinner and we caught up on some more shows before going to bed.

Friday, June 9th, 2017…..  This morning, after breakfast we set out on a couple of errands. We have two of our four vehicles coming due for registration at the end of this month and the beginning of July so we wanted to stop by the DMV to see if there was anything we could do.  We have no ‘official’ permanent address but since we know what it will be, we wanted to check it out. Turns out that won’t really help.  Can’t register vehicles without residency. We need proof of address to get our OR driver’s licenses but nothing can be in our name until escrow closes. I suppose we could get a po box with an address like our friends in the campground did but then we would have to go back and have it all changed again in 40 days.  I won’t be able to register those vehicles here in July if they are not current in CA so I will have to get those taken care of beforehand. Bummer, but at least when everything is done the fees are every two years so that’s cool!       

We also stopped at Xfinity/Comcast to see about internet service.  They are like any other service – they want to bundle you with internet, home phone and tv.  We don’t need a landline but it’s free for a year and then $10.-15. a month after so we may do that.  There are other companies here we can go with so we still have to find out more about them.  The homeowner is currently with Century Link but our Aimee told us she recently went with Comcast to get faster internet.  Again, more choices to make but heck, we still have time to check everything out!

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #7 – Getting Things Done

    



Sunday, June 4th, 2017…..  Today we slept in, and then headed out to Albany and Lebanon and Foster Lake to check out campgrounds to possibly relocate to.  Knox Butte RV Resort and Blue Ox RV Park in Albany were possibilities but neither have room for us without relocating sites or having to leave altogether and then come back.  We then went to town (Albany) to Elmer’s for breakfast and then drove to Lebanon. We cruised by the house (yeah, it’s still there!) and then drove around the area.  This place is smaller than we thought but still good size for us.  Population is around 17,000.  To the north is the er/hospital (voted excellence in urgent care and staff). Continuing south, you then you go through old town.  They have divided the streets into one-ways through this section.  Leaving that area, you come to the newer developed section, where you find newer housing tracts (ours is out this way), Safeway, Walmart, Walgreens, etc.  No Home Depot or Lowes (bummer) but they have a good sized lumber store and two Ace Hardware’s. HD & Lowes are both in Albany. We drove around a bit and found other places to explore in the future! They have an Elks Lodge (I am a 13 yr Elk member) so I can transfer to this lodge in the future. We drove out to Foster Lake RV Park (office was closed) and then to Mallard Creek Golf and RV Resort.  This one is the closest but office was closed (it’s Sunday).  We’ll check it out and decide if and where we want to move.

We drove back to the rig and rested for the day.  Later, we ate leftover Chinese for dinner and after that I took a walk around the campground and then we settled in for the evening.    

Monday, June 5th, 2017…..   This morning we had nothing planned, so we stayed in bed and watched some taped shows. During this time, I went online and booked our flights/car for Jeff & Krista’s wedding in Vegas next month, so that’s done! Lydia fixed breakfast and then we took off for a few errands.  After going to the Lowes in west Eugene, we decided to just keep going west and drove the 50 mile scenic drive to Florence. Our plan was to have linner and then drive back. We saw a sign for Moe’s who claimed to have award winning clam chowder so we found it and parked.  It’s right on the Siuslaw River with a great view as the river runs into the ocean. The chowder was a 7 on a scale of 1-10 but the salmon (Lydia) and the combo plate (Terry) were both pretty good and the prices were fair.  Afterward, we walked through some of the gift shops a bit and saw things we might decorate with in the future.  They also told us about another seafood place that was a favorite of the locals. We drove up and down the coast and checked things out for our next visit. We came back to the rig and rested.



Tuesday, June 6th, 2017…..  We figure we have 40+ days left before was can get busy with things so we have to take it easy and just do bits and pieces each day. We gave the kids our mattress before we left so we want to check out the places here.  We looked up some of the stores and after breakfast we went to see what we could find. Eugene has all of the big box stores and will be 40 miles from our home. But Salem and Albany have them as well and are closer. We found one store that had a 4th of July sale but their Memorial Day sale was way better.  I talked them into giving us that discount so we saved almost $700 bucks! We chose a memory foam Serta Beauty Rest in a split cal king with an adjustable base.  It will allow Lydia to sit up and watch TV plus elevate her feet, and that’s important, so we didn’t skimp on this one – it should be our forever bed! We stopped again at Lowes and I bought some stainless screws to replace some on the rig that were old. We went back home and Lydia fixed dinner and we settled in to wait to watch America’s Got Talent and World of Dance.  I didn’t mention it before but since we are farther north the sun sets later in the evening.  It’s still light out at 9:00pm!  It will take some getting used to!

Sunday, June 4, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #6 – The Decision…

              



Saturday, June 3rd, 2017…..  Since we arrived here over a week ago, we hit the ground running, looking at houses each and every day.  Prior to even heading north, we had spent many, many hours on the realtor sites and we were receiving new listings each day.  We knew pretty much what would work for us and what wouldn’t so we were pretty picky when we saw a listing.  Only those that fit our criteria were the ones we gave a second look at.  We drove by all of these properties and checked out the surrounding areas and neighborhoods.  We looked at places in a 75 mile radius of Eugene.  Many homes were way out there and didn’t work for us.  After all of this we narrowed it down to two homes.  Ok – suspense over – we made an offer on the Lebanon property and it was accepted! I have included the realtor link here 

 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi5qLvfpaLUAhUB6WMKHW3pCcwQFgg5MAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.trulia.com%2Fproperty%2F3269925577-58-Oak-Creek-Way-Lebanon-OR-97355&usg=AFQjCNGOns4fFfkIYB0e_Dej3Q7BvLkTSQ&sig2=99eNH6aV91hk8hExUTukOw

but if it doesn’t open for you, here is a picture. Or you can go to Trulia and load in 58 Oak Creek Way 


The house was built in 2002 and is well constructed and is 3 bedroom 2 ½ bath plus an office, 2,441 sq ft. and is on 7 acres.  The acreage was an issue but we think we may be able to sell off a parcel in the future.  But either way it is flat land and mowable. It’s in a cul de sac and has nice homes around it. We know there is work to do but we expected that on everything we have seen to date.  This is the right home for us.  We paid less than asking so that’s a bonus.  We are so happy!  Escrow started yesterday but the owner (in his 80s) is still looking for a new home with his girlfriend so he’s asked for a 45 day escrow and we agreed. If he gets a place it may be sooner which would be nice. That puts us in around the middle of July. We plan to relocate the motorhome to an rv park closer to Lebanon.  For those of you not looking at a map, Lebanon is about 30 miles north of Eugene, 7 miles west of Albany, and 12 miles south of Salem.  The town is really nice and has hospital/medical, shopping, and entertainment. Bigger cities are easy to get to if needed. So, that said, we are working on the rest of the details. Our pods can be moved to Albany so they’re ready when needed so that’s to be done. Bunch of other stuff to do as well so we’ll be busy working on all of that. Also, got to go lawnmower shopping soon!

The rest of the day was spent just goofing around.  But first we called the kids and sent them the link to the home.  They all commented that we now need a tractor! After that, we went to Camping World, Homegoods, and Jerry’s Home Improvement and bought stuff for the rig.  Then we went back to Coburg Pizza for takeout.  We really love their pizza plus we had a scratch off that got us a free dessert pizza.  We chose apple cinnamon which was the best!  Each of us caught up on some of our taped programs and then we went to bed. Personally, it took me a while to fall asleep. I know my mind was thinking about the future - both Jeff and Krista’s wedding and getting things ready for the move in.    


Saturday, June 3, 2017

2017 Trip – Blog #5 – More Houses!

                

Note:  I heard some folks were trying to make comments on the posts but were having trouble, so I went in and changed the settings. I think I fixed the problem so now you should be able to make comments if you wish.

Wednesday, May 31th, 2017…..  We slept in this morning and had breakfast in. We cleaned up the coach a bit and then drove north to meet with Aimee at the Oak Creek property in Lebanon.  The house was really nice!  Just what we were looking for. We spent extra time there really looking hard as this is a contender! They had an HOA and CC&Rs back in 2002 when the tract property was developed and the 5-6 homes were built. Aimee spoke with a couple of the neighbors and found out that the regs are no longer enforced.  There is no longer an association or board members or fees.  So that’s in our favor. We talked about it all the way home so we are definitely interested.  Later, Mary called and we firmed up our appointment for tomorrow for the Leaburg home. She also gave us a new listing in Harrisburg that we will drive by tomorrow morning and let her know our interest.    

Thursday, June 1st, 2017…..   We showered and prepped for the day and then drove out to Harrisburg to have breakfast at Molly’s Diner.  We drove by the newest listing (no interest) and headed to meet with Mary and drive out to Leaburg.  Now this home is nice!  Really cared for.  No RV garage but hookups for RV parking. The owner is an older gentleman who will soon be moving in with his daughter. They had tried selling before but had the house priced too high. Mary will be giving feedback and then will be getting a list price shortly but we think it will still be too high considering all factors.

Ok, she came back with a quesstimate price so we now have two contenders! 

After the Leaburg tour we headed home and wrote down the pros and cons of both places.  

Food for thought:  Leaburg is more remote and that’s a big factor.  We drove back to Thurston, and ‘civilization’, which is 15.1 miles.  We still have to check out the local medical facilities but at least we have the area figured out.  The Lebanon property is country living but is 1.2 miles from town and about 4 miles from local medical.  The Leaburg house is larger and has larger rooms and a huge kitchen but that will need work.  It has rv parking but I do not like it.  The driveway flares out in the backyard so there is room but the whole thing is on a side slope, more than is comfortable for rv’s.  There are two hookup locations, one with 50amp, and one with 30amp, and sewer cleanouts.  The Lebanon place has smaller rooms and a nice looking kitchen but Lydia says it needs work as well. There is good flat rv parking but no hookups that I could see. But the garage/workshop has plenty of power and there is a sewer cleanout. Neither homes have an rv garage but both have room to build them. There are more things to consider:  Leaburg has 120 trees kind of in a circle around the back of the property.  Lots of privacy and nice but a lot of maintenance.  It is also a more manicured lawn and flowerbeds.  Also more maintenance. Lebanon has nice curb appeal but has been set up as a minimalistic landscape – only a few trees and flowerbeds but they will need some tlc. Both are large properties so the upkeep is mixed. There are more things to consider when looking at these two properties so we have some thinking to do.      

We left again and drove to Albany and to meet with Aimee.  Afterward, we found Los Dos Amigos and had a nice meal and drove home, still talking about everything we have seen this past week.
 

Friday, June 2nd, 2017….. Lydia had a tough night and was up with acid reflux so today she will likely sleep while I drive.  We have to go to the bank and she wants to go find a place to get her hair cut.  We found out that Bank of America is only in Eugene and Corvallis so we may have to rethink our banking depending on where we end up. We needed to go back to see Aimee in Albany so we headed to Corvallis after that.  Next stop was the AAA office in Eugene and after that I dropped her off at Supercuts while I went back to the rig to pick up some insurance papers we needed which I dropped off.  Meanwhile Lydia was done and had walked over to Walmart where I met up with her and we shopped and then went back and made dinner and settled in for the night.