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 4^th 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!

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.    

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.

2017 Trip – Blog #4 – Meeting with Mary!

Monday, May 29th, 2017…..  Memorial Day – Hope everyone enjoys the day. But please be sure to take time out today to remember any of your family members and friends who have sacrificed for you in service to our country.

Even though it was a holiday we decided to head north and explore Salem.  It’s a nice day for me but not Lydia - not exactly cold but the sun hasn’t come out completely yet. But hey – that’s Oregon right! The 40 mile drive was nice and we enjoyed the day. We stopped in Albany at The Original Breakfast and had a nice meal. The sun did finally come out and it was a beautiful day! We had already marked a few homes we wanted to drive by but they all had things we didn’t care for.  Unappealing areas, way out of town and amenities, one was so far back in the woods we swear we could hear banjo music!   We headed back and did drive past the one house we found earlier in Lebanon.  It is SO nice we wanted to see it again.  After that we drove a minute or two to the local Walmart and bought a few things and headed home. After dropping off the frozen food at the rig, we went into Coburg for dinner.  Our realtor, Mary, had recommended a couple of places to eat there so we tried Coburg Pizza Company.  The pizza was very good and the salad was huge! Definitely on our list now! Afterward, we detoured past the house on Fir Butte in Eugene that we had toured in January.  THAT was our benchmark home! Perfect! It is now sold but looks like no one is taking care of the lawn!

Tuesday, May 30th, 2017…..  I got up early and showered and then walked down the road to the local coffee hut and got coffee while Lydia got ready. No hurry today, our meeting with Mary wasn’t until 11:30.  She is only a few minutes away.  She had prepared some listings, some of which we had seen before, so we picked the ones we wanted to see and we headed out.  The first was on Lake Trail Rd. in Veneta, very close to Pine Grove Reservoir. Lydia really liked this one!  It was a newer home and the owners were there working on the lawn. We liked the attention to detail and they have taken excellent care of the place. Nice quiet area, lots of trees, and flowering beds. Very well manicured.  Cons are the trees and the leaves to rake and the work on the lawn.  Also, there is no RV garage, nor a great place to build one.  But it is still on our list.  The next one was on Dukhobar Rd.  This place did have a nice big RV garage but the house was split level and reminded us of The Brady Bunch home. The place had zero curb appeal and more of a choppy look and poor layout.  Definitely off our list. Next up was Lake Drive Rd., just north of the lake.  This one is stuck down a long gravel drive so it is isolated and remote.  I liked the two main living spaces and the huge shop and RV room but there was no garage and the place was not well kept so this one is off the list. We headed back to Mary’s office and she said she would contact one of her agents in Albany who would arrange us to see the Lebanon home. She also needed to touch base with the daughter about her dad’s home in Leaburg. We went back to Coburg to Chiefs BBQ for ‘linner’ (late lunch – early dinner). Great bbq!  Later, back at the rig, both agents called.  We go Thursday to Leaburg and tomorrow we go to Lebanon.  Aimee, from ReMax Albany office, emailed me the CCRs and disclosures for the Lebanon Oak Creek Way property.  Not good for us – they have an HOA and even though there are no fees at all, there are a ton of restrictions.  So we’ll see tomorrow.  Afterward, it was relaxing and tv and then bedtime.

2017 Trip - Blog #3 - The Search Begins

Thursday, May 25th, 2017…..  Wow, it WAS nice sleeping last night!  We opened the windows in the bedroom and got a nice breeze.  It was actually cold when we got up so we had to turn on the small portable heater for a while!  We were at 3,100 ft at the base to Mt Shasta but we didn’t expect it to be that chilly. We hit the road about 8:30am and made the 250 mile trip to get to our destination, Eugene Kamping World RV Park.  We have been here before and it’s not the greatest park.  We are looking for a place in this area for a month or so to base out of while we look around. Early last week, we tried other parks in the area which couldn’t accommodate us monthly but we will check on another tomorrow that we couldn’t reach before.  Once set up, I cleaned the bugs off the windshield and we rested for the day.  Lydia made pork chops and augratin potatoes for dinner and we watched the last part of Survivor and then each of us caught up on shows we had taped before calling it a night. Nothing is on the plan for tomorrow except for that other park so we’ll get to sleep in.   

Friday, May 26th, 2017…..  Even though we decided to kick back today, we got restless and took a drive to Elmer’s for breakfast and then took off from there and looked at a few houses we had researched on the realtor sites.  Two in Veneta and one in Leaburg. Two have potential. The one in Leaburg is nice but it’s not supposed to hit the market until next week.  We’ll probably set up an appointment with our agent to see it then.  The other one is interesting but lacks curb appeal. We stopped at the market and got stuff for dinner for a few days and went back to eat and watch tv.  I did spot oil leaking from the rig so I investigated and found the dipstick had come unscrewed.  Didn’t leak much and I cleaned it up and fingers crossed I think I’m ok. 

Saturday, May 27th, 2017….. We decided to head north today - about 25 miles northeast to Lebanon. There were two homes we had previously flagged that we wanted to check out.  We eliminated one immediately but the other looks really good!  Nice neighborhood just outside of town. We haven’t met with anyone yet to set up appointments to see any of these homes but these drive bys give us a lay of the land and what’s around.  Lebanon is a nice little town with amenities plus medical facilities. Definitely on the keep list!

After spending much of the day there, including re-finding the quilt store Lydia found a few years ago when we were here, we headed back to the rig and had dinner and settled in for the night.

Sunday, May 28th, 2017…..  Today we will hang out at the rig, maybe go to Walmart.  Just a kick back and rest day.  

2017 Trip - Blog #2 - The Drive North

(As mentioned, we will most likely stack up daily posts and publish when we can get an internet connection.)    

Monday, May 22nd, 2017…..  Our trip ‘officially’ began this morning when we prepped the motorhome and hooked up the car.  We had spent the last 8 night at the Garden Grove Elks Lodge (#1952) of which I am a 13 year member. Oddly, we knew very little about the rv’s and how it worked.  Like most Elk Lodges across the country, this one has rv sites with water and electric and a dump station.  We stayed here as the Pod was delivered to the house and was loaded.  Then we had to wait for Jeff’s van to get picked up for transport to Florida.  Turns out the pickup was done on Friday, the same day escrow closed.  We decided to leave on Monday so I set out to make travel plans for the trip to Eugene.  First stop was Bakersfield.  Only 155 miles but we wanted to stop to see Lydia’s brother Stan and his wife Joy before we headed out.  We checked in at the Bakersfield RV Resort and headed to their home.  Nice visit and we went to dinner afterward and then said our goodbyes. 

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017….. This morning we headed out about 7:30 (to try to beat the heat) and drove 254 miles to Flag City RV Resort in Lodi.  Once in camp and settled in, we rested a bit then headed out to dinner.  We had passed a Spaghetti Factory a few miles back (in Stockton) so we headed there and enjoyed a nice meal. We were given several (visa) gift cards from friends and family which we have been using so we thank you all for that!  Afterward, we went to Walmart and got a few items then went back to the rig.  Later, we went over and used the pool for a while.  It is 98° here today so the water was refreshing!  Afterward, we settled back in for a quiet night and prepped the rig for tomorrow’s travel. Oh yeah, we got a text from Jeff this afternoon that he received the van today with no issues.  Yaaay! 

Wednesday, May 24th, 2017….. We have a Flying J station just down the street from the campground so we stopped there on the way out to fuel up.  We have another 250 mile drive today to get to Mt Shasta RV Park.

Even though we left camp around 7:30 it was still warm. But it’s better than driving through the heat of the day!  We got into Abram’s Lake RV in Mt Shasta about 12:30 and got set up.  No one has been in the office but we knew the amount and self registered and paid.  We went into town and had lunch at Taco Bell and then stopped at the market to pick up some pork and potatoes for dinner.

We hung around the rig and rested for a while.  I took a walk around the campground and the hiking trail which was nice.  Then it was back to the rig to catch up on the DWTS finals that we taped yesterday.  Ok, we now saw who won.  I’m good with that.  He deserved it. The weather is a bit cooler here in the mountains so I bet it will be nice sleeping tonight!

  

2017 Trip - Blog #1 - The Adventure Begins!

Most of you know by now that we have decided to embark on a new adventure in our lives. We made the decision back in September last year to sell our Long Beach home and head to the Northwest!  We have traveled in our motorhome over the past 35 years and have seen a lot of our beautiful country.  We have asked ourselves along the way, 'Could I live here?'  For one reason or another for the most part the answer was no.  Although the desert is nice for a visit, we don't do brown.  Mountain life is not our style either and we don't want severe winters with snow we have to push around! The east coast and southeast and midwestern states are ok but humid in the summer. Back in 2012 we spent 7 weeks in Oregon and we liked what we saw!  Nice and green and clean air plus mild winters with little snow that doesn't stick around plus there is plenty of room to move around.   We couldn't get it out of our minds.  I spent a ton of time on the old interwebs checking on climate history and crime rate, real estate prices, taxes, cost of living, etc, etc.  So last September we went back and checked out properties.  It was then that we made our decision that we could do this!  Only one thing was in our way. We wanted to see winter in the area. So we headed back up in January and spent time in the cold and rain.  We could still do this! So we concentrated on the next steps.  We worked on getting our house ready to put on the market.  It took us a while but we listed it a few days before Easter and accepted an offer above asking just five days later.  So, now it's just a month later and we closed escrow and have the money in the bank! 

So what's next?  We are now homeless!  Ok, not really!  We have a nice big motorhome that we are living in.  Our plan is to head north next week and find a base camp in the Eugene area and start our search for a home in that area.  Our kids are ok with our decision.  Randy and Maryanne are in Westminster and will come visit often.  Jeff is in Florida with his fiance, Krista, and her kids.  My sister and Lydia's sister are local and will visit. My sis has plans to move up to our area as well and is waiting to see where we end up.

Ok, that's enough for now.  Stay tuned if you are interested and we'll post as we go along.

The adventure begins!