Sometimes it takes a shoehorn

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With 170 miles behind us, we are now happily relaxing in Pasco, WA at the Sandy Heights RV Resort (now a KOA). The only difficult part of the journey was right at the beginning as we passed very near downtown Spokane on city streets…never something I enjoy!!

The weather for today’s drive wasn’t bad at all with temperatures into the mid 70’s and only a slight headwind along the I-90 segment and a bit of a cross wind on US 395 south to Pasco. We encountered a couple of light rain showers in the Spokane area and one very intense downpour after we set up our little home on wheels in Pasco. The sun is now out and the temperature is near 80.

Passing to the west of the evergreen belt in Washington, we drove through miles and miles of low scrub covered hill country and then into large wheat fields. That part of our journey was not the most scenic we have experienced recently but, as we approached Pasco, the view changed completely. The hills and valleys around the Tri-Cities area are covered with green growth…fruit trees (cherries?), wine grapes, hops and potato crops were the most obvious plant life. Set in valley surrounded by dry brown hills, the area looks like a small Eden.

We arrived at our latest destination at about 12:30 PM and were quickly checked in by a very friendly and helpful hostess. We have taken a space here for the Good Sam nightly rate of $31 that includes all the usual amenities. Because of excellent economic conditions in the Tri-Cities area of Washington, just about every space is filled with workers in this fairly large park. It’s good that we made reservations!!

I can’t tell you how the free WiFi works because I am using my (usually) faster AT&T air card. The cable TV, however, is excellent and loaded with content. All interior roads are paved and most spaces have “tire track” concrete surfaces…a few have complete concrete pads. Some of the older “tire track” pads are disintegrating and are slowly being replaced by the owners.

I was just joking about needing a shoehorn to get into our space…but not by much! Actually, the trees on both sides of our wheeled villa were more problematical, just touching the slides on each side. Getting our home level also required more effort than I like, but we got it done.

I initially left the front door open to allow fresh air passage but tire noise from nearby I-182 was over the top and we closed up just to hear ourselves think. Our little home has very good insulation, so the noise should be no problem during sleeping hours.

We have received several notes advising us that journal readers are planning on meeting with us during the next week or two. We are looking forward to seeing all of you!! ☺ Our journal “Itinerary” is up to date so you can see where we will best fit into your travel schedules.

After resting up from our day’s travels, we are looking forward to seeing some of the Tri-Cities area tomorrow……………………

Additional notes:

Just after I completed this entry, a knock on the door of our little wheeled home announced the arrival of journal readers Steve and Cherie from the Tri-Cities area.

They have been reading our journal for quite a while and sent a note several days ago advising that we confirm reservations for our visit to Pasco. As noted before, it’s good we did…this place is packed!!

As usual for such meetings, we had a conversation that was normal for old friends seeing each other again after only a short absence. As long time residents of the area, they had many suggestions of places to visit in both the local area and around the Pacific Northwest in general.

After a wonderful get acquainted session inside, we rode off with our new friends to Brick House Pizza in West Richland. Steve was aware of our desire to find the “perfect” pizza and took us to his #1 find in the area. On a scale of 1-10, our food at Brick House was a 10+!!! Steve and I shared a “Big Grizz” and the ladies put down an artichoke/garlic chicken pizza that left a smile on their faces. We will have to return!

Thank you Steve and Cherie for taking the time to meet with us and for giving us another stupendous pizza experience…………………….

Jun 19, 2009

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