Oregon Living 2021 – Blog #60 – On the Road to Home & Getting Back and Gearing Down!

  

Sunday, October 3^rd., 2021…… Today was getaway day! We weren’t the first to leave this morning. Most everyone got going while we went out to breakfast with Rick and Janie. Once we got back, I got everything going on the outside while Cathye worked on the inside. Right before we were ready, Mike Myers stopped me with a problem. He couldn’t get his slide to go in. I looked at it and discovered that the battery was too low to make it work. I had him start up the coach while I went ahead and moved mine out and drove out of the way around to the next row so we could hook up the car. By the time I got back to his coach, their slide was in, and I knew he would be okay, so we continued on our way. The trip today was 200 miles, back to the Bakersfield RV Resort. I had already made reservations with all three parks on the way home, so we were good. I think I counted 6 highways/freeways just to get to the I-5!  But traffic was pretty light on all of them on this Sunday morning, so we made pretty good time.  We got up the Grapevine with no issues and stopped for fuel at Flying J in Frazier Park, before heading on to Highway 99 and going on into the rv park. We got in early and had time to set up and relax. We get the member’s discount at the Crest Bar and Grill on site, so we walked over there and had a nice stroganoff dinner. It was delicious and we will save leftovers for dinner tomorrow. We walked the pups and then settled in and had a nice relaxing evening watching tv and went to bed early.    

Monday, October 4^th., 2021…… The drive today was 245 miles to Flag City RV in Lodi. From Bakersfield, I routed us back to the I-5 so we saw a little different scenery going back this way. It was a nice drive, but that interstate is beginning to show its age in some areas!  We timed it so we were in the park early in the afternoon. This park has a really nice area for the dogs to be off leash and run for a while. Once we had them worn out, we got back to the rig and changed into our suits and hit the spa. We had it to ourselves and enjoyed the time together! Later, we fed the dogs and then ate our leftovers and watched tv until going out for one last walk and then calling it a night.  

Tuesday, October 5^th., 2021……  We were up early and since I had to unhook the car to fit into our site, we decided to drive out and go try the Hollywood Diner again. The website showed it was still open for breakfast and lunch and I remember the chorizo and eggs being delicious, so we left the doggos and headed there. It was as I remembered it.

They weren’t busy so we had excellent service and were out of there and back to break camp in record time.  The drive to Friendly RV in Weed CA was 265 miles but the weather and the traffic were both excellent and we got there just after the 1:00pm check-in time.  Our site was ready, and we drove right in. No need to unhook the car

but I did need to connect up the water and sewer lines so I could do a good dump and flush tomorrow before we take it home and park it away. We spent the day being lazy and walked the dogs and then walked over to check out the Flying J/Pilot truck stop store. Nothing there of interest. We did see a tiny house parked there. 

It seemed almost too tall for the road. I sure wouldn’t want to have to tow that too far!  We ate a light meal and got rid of some of the food we had left in the fridge. Last night on the road!    

Wednesday, October 6^th., 2021…… Today’s drive home was 287 miles. We got up and got going early. This was the ONLY day on the whole trip that we had any kind of weather. It was misting when we got up and when we walked the dogs and when we were getting ready but stopped soon after that. But the roads were still wet as we climbed the Siskiyou Summit so the tow car got pretty dirty!  We got a call yesterday from daughter Maryanne, who was out in her motorhome with her friend Brighette, on a reconnaissance trip to Idaho, where Brighette is looking to move to soon. They were returning from there and were in Washington state and were heading back to our house and wanted to see us, so I convinced them to stay overnight (since I have rv parking!) and we’d see them whenever we got in today. Yaay!

I did have enough fuel to get home, but I wanted to park the coach in the garage for the winter with a (near) full tank, so I stopped at the Flying J in Oakland OR. to top off. We got in around 2:30pm and got everything unhooked and parked safely away. It was nice to be home even though I now have the task of mowing the lawn to look forward to!  The weather has definitely changed since we left. Winter is hinting in the air. They have had several rain showers here and the grass is green and thick! But too wet to mow right away.  Maryanne and Brighette were here, and sis came by. Cherrelyn had been here while we were gone to stay and look after the place, but she went home last night or early this morning. Thanks, sweetie, for taking care of everything while we were gone! When we got finished unloading, the girls informed us that they had dinner plans already in place. They had gone shopping and – get this – bought bbq ribs, chicken, pulled pork, mashed potatoes, beans, corn on the cob, salad, and dessert and prepped everything for our large feast!  It was yummy!

We visited and Cathye did some laundry, and we had some wine and relaxed after that for the evening. We said our goodbyes tonight because they were planning on getting up and out on the road before 6:00am tomorrow. We went to bed early and had a nice sleep in our own home! 

Thursday, October 7^th., 2021…...  I was up with Rylee early in the morning but back in bed before 6. I did hear sounds and saw the lights as they backed out of the driveway. It was right at 6:00am!  She says they are planning on driving straight thru to Westminster (over 900 miles!) in one day!  Glad they are young because my days of doing that are way behind me now!!  We rolled out of bed and began our day. Cathye went over to check on her place, and I made the rounds around here. Everything was good except for that blasted grass! Showers and/or overcast skies mean that I can’t even think about it for a while! I cleaned up some more things in the coach. I was pleased as I could be that we had no major issues. The rv ran great and everything worked as it should. We did break a string on one of the pull up day/night shades in the bedroom, but that is an easy fix (but removal of the shade is tight!). I also want to change up a few things and we will be shopping for some different décor and more convenience items, including phone mounts, cords as well. No hurry on any of that though.  We ate leftover bbq and pork and such and just relaxed and planned what we need to do in the next couple of days.

Friday, October 8^th., 2021……  This morning I had to plan for my covid booster shot. I had made an appointment while we were traveling, and this morning, I had to drive to Walgreen’s in Albany to get the shot. I had also requested the first of two shingles shots at the same time. Cathye had the Moderna shots, so she was not eligible for the booster at this time. So, I headed out by myself and made it to Albany ahead of my 10:30 check-in time.  I was not impressed with how they handled the whole process at this particular location. Even though they had two separate lines for covid, they only had one person in the pharmacy for whatever you needed, and the person working was taking way too much time, so it backed up quickly. But I got through it and got the shots – one in each arm. I need to put a calendar reminder in my phone to schedule the second shingles shot for 2 months out. I got back home and didn’t have much planned for the day. I didn’t have a reaction to the two initial covid vaccines, but he said I might for the shingles shot. So, I took it easy for the rest of the day. Mild soreness in the shingles arm but nothing else.  Cathye and I had the last of the leftovers and went to bed early.

Saturday, October 9^th., 2021…… Ok, a minor reaction…. I had the chills last night and couldn’t get warm. I never took my temperature and she said I was not warm, so I didn’t take anything more than Tylenol. When I woke up this morning, I was fine and had no soreness at all. Go figure. Cathye’s friend, Lona, who is immunocompromised, was able to get the Moderna shot ahead of the general population. She got the vaccine last week and had a terrible reaction and is still not feeling well. I hope it goes better when Cathye is allowed to get hers!  We spent most of today working on getting Cathye moved into the trailer. The last guy (Randy) working there, has finished up her list, but she still needs an electrician to work on a few things. And someone to tackle the icemaker install. But she can still live there. I needed to get into the heater cabinet, but Randy made it a slide-in unit instead of putting the door on a hinge, so it took some disassembly to get to the thermostat that was laying on the unit. I got it open, and she set the temperature and we re-installed it and will meet with him later today to get it fixed. We ran some errands and got back to the trailer to meet up with Randy and to go over a few things. I think I’m going to repair the heater door myself. He will be installing the vent on the back side of the heater cabinet, and I will do the door. Cathye has decided to stay the night there. I will miss her, but I understand.  We came home and watched tv for a while, then she left to go home. It will be a quiet night tonight for sure!

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