Today was a day mostly for travel as we continued our tour to the last (and first) state, Washington. We will first be visiting Laurel's brother Ron at his new home in Spanaway, and then driving up to Oak Harbor for our last stop with Marian Hendrix tomorrow.
We started the day with a fantastic breakfast at a restaurant the Beyers frequent a short drive from their home. The place was very friendly, as well as good, so most of the customers appeared to be regulars.
The first part of the trip was up US101 from North Bend to Reedsport where we head east on O38 to connect to I5. This is a road we have driven a number of times. Early on, it passes by a wildlife refuge where there is a large heard of elk that is often visible from the road. Today, we saw two groups of about 20, but they were off in the distance next to the trees. The road mostly follows the Umpqua River into the coastal range of mountains, and then deviates into the hills through the town of Drain and onto I5. Traffic was relatively light until we approached the Portland area, but not too bad. We took I205 to avoid the downtown bridges.
Traffic again got heavier as we approached Olympia, but kept moving. We made it to Ron's new home about 4:00. It is a nice, 3 bedroom rancher on a corner lot with a porch and chain link fence. Turns out the previous owners, a retired couple, set it up for an RV beside the garage. There is water, sewer connection, and a 30A electrical outlet. Needless to say, we set up the trailer there. Anyway, it is a very nice house and should serve them well. It is only 4 years old.
We were going to take Ron, Audra and Audra's son Bill to dinner. We decided on Chinese, but, being new in the neighborhood, they didn't know where one was. We used Gretchen to find one. We left Gretchen and took the address and tried to find it. No luck. We then drove up and down Pacific Blvd and could not find a Chinese restaurant. Finally, we were within a mile of their previous home, so we went to a restaurant they knew by that location. It was good.
When we got back to the house, I went with Ron in his company van to meet Audra's son Jason and pick up an entertainment center that is to be a housewarming gift from Jason and his wife Missy. The furniture is up in Auburn, about a half hour's drive away. We met in front of a coffee shop when Jason informed us the guy selling the furniture would be another half hour, so we drove to a bar for a beer. The Patriots-Colts game was on TV, so we watched it for awhile while enjoying a local brew. We left with the Colts 13 points behind, and figured they would no longer be undefeated (for the sake of Bob, Noella, and other Patriots fans, I won't mention how the game finished.) Anyway, we picked up the furniture and put it in Ron's garage for the night.
We visited some more until calling it a day about 10. In the morning, I will start winterizing the trailer by flushing out the two waste water tanks. We plan to sleep in Marian's house when we get there tomorrow, so we won't need the trailer facilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment