Flexibility

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Well, all the fine weather that has followed us since our departure from Red Rock Park in Idaho has abandoned us…our travel plans have changed in response. If nothing else, we are certainly flexible.

We initially planned to spend tonight in Hoquiam, Washington to stage ourselves for a four-night stay at Grayland Beach State Park located just south of Westport on the Washington coast.

The first large Pacific storm of the season has changed all that. Due to very large ocean waves coming on top of high tides for the next two days and considerable amounts of rainfall emptying into streams and rivers, the low coastal areas are now under flood warnings. We don’t want salt water flowing around our little home on wheels so we diverted to Salem, Oregon instead.

We are relaxing at the Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort in Salem after a 322-mile drive from Anacortes. Our last visit to this decent park was in the spring of this year…nothing has changed since our review at that time.

Yesterday morning we spent some quality time with our Canadian friends attempting to locate a couple of geocaches on Fidalgo Island. We tried for three, but only found two. The last was apparently located in a forest of driftwood. We just couldn’t locate the small cache in all that wood.

Doug and Sue visited Mount Erie while we made departure preparations during the early afternoon and dropped in to say so long before returning to their cottage in Anacortes. We enjoyed our short visit with these good friends and look forward to seeing them again next summer along the Oregon coast.

Juanita and I drove to Seattle to spend the afternoon and evening with friends from Port Orford, Oregon. Darren and Devon are attending school in Seattle, and we easily found their apartment located on the north side of the city.

A city bus transported us to the Market Place near the waterfront and we spent an hour or so checking out the sights and sounds before looking for a place to eat. Unfortunately it was homecoming and hundreds of well-dressed high school age folks lined up at restaurants up and down the hilly streets.

A table was available at the Red Robin and we were seated just before the crowd arrived. The place wasn’t quite what I had in mind for a Seattle eatery, but we all enjoyed our dinner selections regardless. Watching the swarm of tux and gown dressed youngsters was an added bonus.

We enjoyed our evening conversation with Darren and Devon who seem to be adjusting well to their new lives away from family and friends in Port Orford. They are very enthusiastic about the future. I like that!

After returning to their apartment by bus we managed to get back home in Anacortes by about 10 PM after a 71-mile drive from Seattle. It was raining lightly, but there was little traffic.

We rose early for our long drive to the south today. Road conditions were not good and traffic was very heavy on the Seattle and Portland by-pass Interstate highways. Rain showers were frequently very heavy and water build up on the roadway caused low visibility much more than I like. And the crazy drivers…expletives deleted!!!

A couple of tired travelers for sure, we are trying to hold out for a couple of prime time TV shows. We probably won’t succeed. Fortunately the drive to Newport is slightly under a hundred miles, and we will be able to sleep in a bit before heading out tomorrow morning. We plan to stay in Newport for four or five nights before heading on down to Port Orford for our winter layover.

Check back with us tomorrow after we reach the beautiful Oregon coast……………………….

Oct 24, 2010

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