Travel

The Start of the Southern Migration

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It’s time…the weather is changing…fall will quickly turn into winter in the PNW and so we begin our southern migration. Eventually we will end up in Palm Springs California at the Outdoor Resort where we own a lot. But the trip in between will be filled with visiting family and friends.

We left Anacortes with heavy fog bidding us farewell. Our destination, Portland Oregon where we planned to spend 5 nights at Pheasant Ridge RV Park in Wilsonville. Those five days were spent catching up with our long time Portland friends and family. We were well fed…really well fed!!! That’s one common thread with all our friends…they are all amazing cooks, one actually being a Cordon Blue trained chef and they all like good food and wine. We managed to get in a few good walks to try and counter balance all the eating.

Goodbye fog…

Hello Oregon!!!

Our next five days would be back to back driving – something we normally don’t like to do but we were on a mission to get to Sedona where we would be staying for three weeks. Now, that’s civilized!!! We were super excited to be meeting up with fellow RV full timer friends Sharon and Joe there. The route we chose to Sedona would be remote state roads or highways through eastern Oregon and Nevada allowing us to avoid major interstates as long as possible. Interstates in generally suck… One would think they would be the cats meow, well paved and well traveled. Not always and the well traveled part is sometimes no fun in a big ass coach. Back roads can be a risk too but with all the internet rver info, I can totally figure out which roads to avoid. That said, I am here to tell you google maps is not always your friend in an RV. Fastest route, well that’s great except when it sends you down switchbacks with a 15% grade. Nope, don’t trust it and ALWAYS double check the route it recommends.

Leaving Portland, we headed over Mt. Hood on Hwy 26 and it was raining so no great views of the beautiful mountain. This road is great for big rigs, even with the big pass to climb. Thanks to our auxiliary braking system and cruise control, Wally’s driving stress is minimal. Hee-Hee, easy for me to say from my comfy reclining passenger seat. Hey, my job is to plan our route, navigate, look for sightseeing opportunities and good restaurants. I honestly tell myself that me driving would most likely be more stressful for Wally than him driving. That’s my story and I am sticking to it!!!

Love my reclining navigators seat!!!

Our a first night was spent near Burns Oregon…got in late, didn’t even unhitch the car or level the coach as we planned an early departure the next morning. I try to keep our drive days under 300 miles and this leg of our drive was the longest at 305 miles.

The second day was a beautiful drive with little to no traffic to Winnemuca Nevada where we stayed at the New Frontier RV Park. This RV park was in a great location and had large, level pull through sites – perfect for our one night stay. Again, we didn’t unhitch the car or level the coach.  As it turned out, a friend I know from Palm Springs was also on the way to Winnemucca and was also staying at the same RV place. Small world right? Sue is an amazing photographer and I have been enjoying her Facebook posts over the summer. Of course, we had to meet for happy hour!! 

On the road again early the next morning, our third stop was in Ely Nevada where we stayed at the Ely KOA. Again convenient and very okay for one night. Good thing we wanted to unhitch the car that night because the pull through site was just long enough for the coach but would have never worked with the car attached.

I was desperate for some exercise by then and had found a state park nearby to explore, so after a late lunch, off we went to the Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park. I was intrigued by the charcoal ovens and wanted to take a look.

The 700-acre state park is a designated historic area and protects beehive-shaped charcoal ovens constructed in the latter half of the 19th century. Bonus points for having some flat hiking trails, a stream and cows to keep us company! Only saw one other couple there while we were exploring.

Our fourth day, again started early and was our last day on the awesome Nevada State Roads. The remote back roads gave way to the interstate near Las Vegas where we found ourselves back in traffic. EWWW DAVID!!!  Our destination for the night was Boulder City, where we stayed at the Lake Mead RV Village. I popped for a lake view site and it was worth the few extra dollars. This was the only stop along the way that I actually wished we had a few more days to explore. 

Lake Mead is huge but we only saw a small amount of it on this quick stopover.

Hoover Dam was closed to tourism but we had a great time at Hemenway Park in Boulder City. It was a Trip Advisor recommendation and boasted Big Horn Sheep that made frequent appearances. I was skeptical as we pulled in as it was in a fairly developed area but was quickly delighted to see a big herd of smelly sheep grazing happily on the luscious green park grass. Seriously, these sheep are no dummies…the area just outside the Park looked dry and barren. Not only were there sheep but sheep with a view. SCORE!!!

We also took a drive to the tiny historical downtown Boulder City where we enjoyed all the old neon signs and found an awesome brewpub with outdoor patio seating. The Road House tour guide had also scoped out a highly rated BBQ joint where we got take out and enjoyed a simple meal back at the RV Village overlooking the lake. Overall, the highlight so far of our pedal to the metal road trip.

The next morning we were up early again (okay don’t go getting all impressed… 7 am isn’t that early to some folks). For what ever reason, Sucia Kitty went on strike and hid under the couch. Apparently she doesn’t appreciate moving everyday either or getting up early!!! I had to use a broom to get her out… (not appreciated either) but managed to get her in her travel crate without much fuss. She is a bit of a timid kitty, so we always put her in a spacious travel crate with a litter pan when we are on the road. She is usually quite content to be in there and often just puts herself in it on mornings when she knows we are traveling. 

Our last leg of the trip was honestly the most stressful, kitty under the couch, a weird (am I going to Heaven) tunnel just out of the Lake Mead area, heavy traffic with road construction in Las Vegas, CRAPPY roads on I17 in AZ and more crappy traffic and road construction in Sedona. The final fun part was navigating five roundabouts in Sedona with the last one pushing us into some super tight areas where I almost had to get out and move the road construction signs. Traffic was backed up and we crawled along on 89a but finally made it to Rancho Sedona where we would put down the jacks, level up the coach and unhitch the car for three weeks – YAY!!!

Am I seeing the light????

Off to a weird, winding start just outside Lake Mead!!

We were all worn slick (a favorite Oklahoma saying I learned from my friend Joe) when we arrived at the Rancho Sedona RV Park but after lunch we rallied and later had a wonderful dinner and evening, sitting outside under the stars catching up with Joe and Sharon. Seems the Sedona vortex can heal even the most stressful drive days!!! 

Yep, worn slick!!!

Our Social Distancing Summer

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Who would have thunk that there would be a pandemic when we planned for our nomadic lifestyle. The buzz words “social distancing” had never been uttered, the concept of staying 6 feet away from other people and wearing a mask – utterly silly. Fast forward to the hell year known as 2020…never imagined our nomadic lifestyle would actually become the envy of people who found themselves locked in there homes, afraid to travel or venture out of their safe bubble. Ironically, RV’s and boats have sold at record pace this year as many people sought a way to stay safe while getting out and seeing the US. It’s not like the rest of the world is welcoming US travelers …okay, and with good reason. But I won’t digress into a political rant at this point!!!

We easily transition onto the boat from the coach, continuing our newly learned social distancing skills and honestly had a great summer in the San Juan Islands. This year we used our marina in Anacortes as base camp so no big provisioning like prior years. Anacortes felt super safe…all summer events (no stupid Sturgis like events were allowed to happen) were cancelled so tourism was much lower than normal. People in Anacortes were diligent about wearing masks and we frequented several restaurants that had outdoor dining. 

Our first outing of the season was buddy boating with our friends Kristen and John. We had great weather and had fun showing them some of our favorite anchorages and marinas in the San Juans.

Our big boat project this year was the flybridge remodel, which I must say turned out great. All new seating, a second helm chair, new carpet and vinyl covers for all the storage areas. The biggest chore was getting the old, heavy wood based furniture off the flybridge. This was made way easier by hiring two young, energetic dudes to assist Wally who mainly just had to oversee them. Anymore, we write checks for anything that will require us to go to the chiropractor more than once!

Of course there were the unexpected repairs …it’s a boat! Luckily, none of them cost a boat unit this time, just a bit of frustration and sweat equity. Yep, that is one of our macerator toilets in the picture below …on the dock … getting a huge clog removed. This may be way too much information but never flush a macerator toilet when your water pump is turned off – oops poops!!! We also had a window break mysteriously in the galley but luckily we were not underway.

Staying in the San Juans (not by choice) meant we could host more guests and spend more time with local boating friends. Not sure if it is our age or ??? but our friends have been uber careful as well and we all felt comfortable spending time together.  

Oysters and clams at the Wescott Bay Shell Fish Farm.
Big crab feed with friends Darryl and Randy from Manzanita Oregon.

Out on the water we had several floating happy hours with friends. Sometimes rafted to the back of our boat and some days rafted to other friends boats – how’s that for proper distancing! The San Juans are full of great places to hike and with the kayaks we could get plenty of exercise. Despite the exercise,  I am pretty sure I still may have consumed more calories at happy hour than I expended on shore. 

Wally tried paddle boarding for the first time…we may need to add a new toy to the
Beach House!

June was a bit gloomy but in July the weather turned 100% San Juan Summer. We had a great time boating with a group of friends from Anacortes and crabbing with long-time boating friends from Portland. I added some serious amounts of sea glass to my collection from Sucia and Patos Islands. I also added a new favorite cocktail to the rotation – (thanks Ted and Marsha).

Kraken rum and ginger beer… ridiculously delicious.

We had a staycation with our friends Steve and Donna who came up from Portland in August. The gale force winds kept us in port for most of their stay but we had a great time anyway. Before the windstorm descended, we got in a day cruise around Lummi Island and lunched on the hook at Eagle Harbor. A big drama unfolded as we all took a walk, in the wind, from our marina over to the point by the port marina, Cap Sante. What we saw, were huge waves tossing boats like corks in Fildalgo Bay and two boats washed up on the breakwater rocks.

That windstorm was particularly brutal, catching many boaters that were anchored in Fildalgo Bay by surprise. Several boats drug anchor and two that were unattended went on the rocks. As boaters, this was just heartbreaking to see.

We were all mesmerized so we stopped back later in the day to see how the rescues were going. That was when we met the owner of the partially submerged powerboat…His boat was a total loss and was signed over to a salvage company who eventually got it off the rocks outside the break water entrance of Cap Sante Marina. He was devastated as he loved that boat and had worked so hard to buy it. Luckily, the sailboat (which ironically, was his father-in-laws boat) was rescued. I think the keel saved it from sinking as it got lodged into the breakwater rock wall, keeping it mostly upright.

The calm after the storm…

Stuart island has been a long time favorite and this year we spent several days with friends Howard and Susan who own a home on the island. The Beach House was tied up to their mooring buoy in the bay which is just below their house. The views are stunning from both their deck and from the water. We enjoyed dinner al fresco on their deck one evening and had a huge crab feed on the boat one night – no surprise right!! But the real treat was the “mule” tour of their end of the island. We piled into the mule – aka an ATV and Howard motored us all around on the rustic roads. Stuart Island is only assessable by private boat or small airplane so it was great fun to actually see the island from land. There are no stores, no electricity (homes have solar and/or generator power) and all water is via a private well.

Our last big hurrah was a week long buddy boat cruise in the smoke/fog/smog with friends Caety and Frank from Wyoming. Our mutual friend Jane was onboard the Beach House and it happened to be her birthday trip – can you say Jell-O shots!!!. Caety and Frank brought loads of food from their ranch and garden so boy, did we eat well. It was a bit of a surreal week as smoke from the Washington and Oregon wildfires blew into the islands. The combination of marine fog and smoke had us running the boats on radar when were were cruising from island to island. It did not stop us from crabbing and the guys dropped some lines for salmon too. The girls did a day trip in our boston whaler to Roche Harbor where we toured the sculpture garden.

The pets had a pretty darn good summer too. Crab is Sucia’s favorite food and she was always the first one at the table for a crab feed. She’s gotten to be such a PIA that we have had to lock her in our stateroom during dinner when we have friends onboard and are serving crab. Bad kitty….

Yep, she’s waiting…

Our 4 months in Anacortes flew by, in late September we had the Beach House hauled out for maintenance and we moved onto the Road House. Our last two weeks in Anacortes were spend closing up the boat for the winter, getting the coach ready to roll, doing routine doctors visits and yes, some happy hours and dinners with friends. We also got in a bit of local crabbing too before we pulled the boston whaler out for the winter. 

Despite COVID, summer 2020 was pretty darn enjoyable!!! Sedona, here we come…

Okay, a few more of my favorite pictures…

Pop Goes the Window…

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On a boat there are always planned projects like our recent flybridge remodel. Unfortunately, there seems to always be some sort of unplanned project too. Sometimes, they are major… like our recent galley window replacement.

The weird thing about this unplanned project was how the window actually broke. I mean all we were doing was drinking wine and playing cards with friends in the salon…its not like it was some wild party with dancing on the counter tops. Yep, that ship has sailed!!!

Then pop…a really loud pop… it sounded a bit like a shot was fired. I got off the counter, oops I mean I got up from the salon table and took a look around. Just in time to see the galley window cracking and see some glass on the countertop. Did a bird hit the window…nope. Well, what the hell???

It was sickly fascinating to watch the glass crack into this mosaic.

Not long before the big pop, I was in the galley prepping salmon for dinner and making a lemon, garlic yogurt sauce. So glad the glass didn’t end up all over my beautiful moroccan spiced salmon fillets.

All we can figure is that holes around the the slider latch got stressed and just gave way. Not wanting to slow down the raging party, Wally knocked all the fractured safety glass out, found some plastic, duct tape and patched the gaping whole that was the window up for the night.

The area where there is no glass is where the slider latch holes used to be.

The good news is that we were at our dock in Anacortes and not out on the water somewhere or underway. The other good news is that we actually had a spare window and frame(s) in our storage unit. I know, who the heck has a spare window and frame for the one window that mysterious blows out??? Well, thanks to the prior owner of the boat, we have all kinds of one off spare for the Beach House.

We had a local glass guy with boat experience come by with hopes it would be a simple glass replacement. Nope, of course not, it’s a boat. After taking look at the project, Mark from Quality Glass counseled Wally to replace the entire window and frame with the spare which was in great shape. He unfortunately couldn’t get to it for over a week so Mr. Handy Pants got out his tools and got to work.

Getting the screws out of the frame and taking the trim pieces off was a snap. But then the frustrating fun began, lots of tapping and pounding with a rubber mallet and putty knife ensued. Seems boat window frames are really well bonded in. The sound of the frame coming out of the fiberglass was a bit terrifying. According to Mr. Handy Pants, he was terrified periodically thru out the whole removal.

No spices were harmed during this unplanned project.

Several trips to the hardware store to get a new tool and then to West Marine to get some anti-bonding spray. Seriously, who know anti-bond spray was actually a thing. Guess Wally did and this miracle spray loosened up all the remaining bond That was left on the fiberglass so he could scrape the area clean.

At this point, I was really glad I married a handy guy and really glad I wasn’t expected to help. I chose to stay out of the way and just chime in occasionally with words of encouragement. I also learned about another magic product called Sikaflex. When Wally told me he need more Sikaflex, I got the giggles thinking maybe it was a wonder drug like the ones you hear about on TV. I had images of a couple sitting in bathtubs, holding hands as the sun goes down.

Turns out, I was way off base…Sikaflex is a fast cure adhesive/sealant – LOL!!!

Open air window …not a great concept for a boat!

Not sure if if would have been a 2 1/2 day project for Mark, but is sure was for Wally. Of course Marks bill would have been at least a boat unit (Boat stands for break out another thousand) and Mr. Handy Pants works for good food and wine, all of which I was happy to supply.

I disappeared for most of the afternoon today and came back to a swanky new window frame complete with glass in both sides. Being the good assistant that I am, wine was poured and the unplanned project completion was celebrated!

YAY… solid glass and a functional latch.

Green Bean, Potato and Egg Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing was served with a huge mound of fresh, Steamed Crab, Garlicky Focaccia Bread and a bottle of 2018 Domaine Gerbeaux Macon Villages Chardonnay.

Buddy Boating….

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Wally and I have cruised solo to some very isolated areas. We have enjoyed every minute of exploring these new areas and the peaceful, quiet anchorages. #our38ftliferocks, #our38ftlife

Beach House anchored near Greenway Sound in the Broughton Islands.

We also really enjoy cruising with friends and “buddy boating”. Our first cruise of the summer was with friends, Kristen and John who chartered a 36 foot motor yacht out of Anacortes. They had never operated a boat that large so we were totally up for the challenge of helping John learn how to handle a big boat and showing them the San Juan Islands.

The Scaparre

To charter a boat with out a licensed captain means that you need to have experience in a similar boat, understand the rules of the road, navigation and how to operate a big, heavy floating object with no brakes! Yep, there is a test and basically you have to be able to get the boat out of the slip, out of the marina and back in again, then dock the boat back in the slip. Ideally you don’t hit anything…yep, that will get you a big F. Sounds pretty straight forward right??? Well, toss in winds and currents and things can get hinky really fast.

John did great on his two training cruises with us on the Beach House. Wally ran him thru the paces, did some docking at a nearby marina with big open slips and took him to the marina that the charter boat was moored at. Once there he practiced maneuvering in and out of their breakwater.

Anacortes Marina…the breakwater exit (Gar left corner) is a tricky 90 degree turn. Remember, no brakes, wind and current…HINKY!!!

Ready, set, go…Saturday was D Day! I was a nervous wreck, hoping the wind didn’t pick up, hoping our training sessions were enough, hoping everything went well during the check out cruise. Like proud parents, we knew he would do just fine (but I was still a nervous wreck) and of course he aced his check out test. Now it was a mad rush for them to load the boat and get out on the water. We had plans to meet them outside our marina which is on the other side of Anacortes.

It was so exciting to get their text that they were underway and to see them out on the Guemes Channel headed our way. The sky was dark and a bit foreboding but that certainly didn’t dampen our enthusiasm to hit the marine highway.

Part of the fun of buddy boating is sharing meals and trip planning. Kristen and I planned menus and divided dinners, then shopped together to provision both boats. Since we live aboard all summer, our floating pantry is usually pretty well stocked which makes buddy boating easier too. Forgot something? Good chances are one of your buddy boats will have it.

I had put together a loose itinerary which included some of our favorite anchorages and a marina stop.

Our cruise route around the islands…

Weather and wind sometime dictate where we go and on this trip we mostly had ideal weather. We did make a few adjustments…especially when I found out our favorite seafood farm wasn’t open until Tuesday. I know, tough life right!!! But hey, fresh oysters, mussels and clams were part of the menu plan.

Our first night was spent anchored in Hunter Bay which is on the south end of Lopez Island. The Beach House was the anchored boat with Scaparre rafted to us. Rafting is essentially when one boat ties off the other. Typically, the heaviest boat anchors and in our case that was true plus we have years of experience anchoring. Anchoring can be tricky and is definitely a learned skill.

We had a relaxing evening In Hunter Bay after a stressful but exciting day. There was definitely some wine consumed and an easy dinner of pulled pork tacos, black beans and slaw on the Beach House was enjoyed by by all.

After a slow, relaxed morning we pulled anchor Sunday and cruised about 2.5 hours to Stuart Island where we found a great anchorage in Reid Harbor. Stuart Island Marine State Park is one of our favorites, with two great harbors for boaters, docks, mooring buoys and hiking. The rest of this 2.8 sq mi island which is only assessable by private boat or private plane is home to two communities of full and part-time residents, a state park, a one-room schoolhouse, and two airstrips. At the northern end is a beautifully restored light house which is 6.2 mile hike from the marine park.

The highlight of our two night stay there was watching a pair of Osprey’s fledge their chick. Those parents weren’t messing around either….despite juniors squawking and numerous attempts to get back in the nest, they had him flying like a champ by the end of the day.

Not only did we see ospreys, there were numerous eagle sightings, otters, kingfishers and we even saw a seal thermoregulating right near us for hours.

Beach House and Scaparre on the floating dock in Reid Harbor.

Our second day in Reid Harbor, we left the Beach House tied to a floating dock and took the Scaparre for a day cruise around Stuart Island. We anchored the boat in Prevost Harbor and had lunch, then continued the cruise around the island. It seemed fitting to have John cruise through John’s passage!

On Tuesday it was time to move on to Garrison Bay which is just a short 35 minute cruise from Reid Harbor

Garrison Bay has loads of history, some great hiking trails and the Wescott Bay Shellfish Company is just around the corner. Not only did we enjoy a great oyster happy hour there, freshly harvested mussels, clams and more oysters came back to the Beach House.

Seafood Paella anyone???

Our big excitement while we were anchored in Garrison Bay was seeing two Orca whales swim into the mouth of the bay. Hell yes, we stopped our happy hour on the flybridge of the Scarparre, jumped in our dingy and flew out there to check it out. We got close enough to see them surface a few times and head out through narrow Mosquito Pass. Orca sightings are very common on the southern side of San Juan Island but we have never seen Orcas come into Garrison Bay…what a thrill!!!

After two beautiful days in Garrison Bay it was time for a “city” fix! Roche Harbor Marina is the premier marina in the San Juan Islands and no cruise is complete without a stop-over there. Normally, Roche would be bustling with summer travelers but with Covid-19, the resort and marina were unusually quiet.

During our two day visit the resort and marina were operating at 50% occupancy as part of Washington’s phase 2 reopening plan. Even at that, we found plenty to keep us busy plus we had a birthday to celebrate.

We toured the sculpture garden, took a hike out to the creepy but historical mausoleum, had lunch at the outdoor cafe, checked out the historical Haro Hotel and its beautiful gardens, had a fun BD Happy Hour on the outdoor deck at the restaurant.

Happy Birthday Wally!!! John grilled some beautiful ribeye steaks which were served with a chimichurri sauce, baked potato and grilled asparagus. Kristen made the BD Boy a meyer lemon pie for dessert.

After two days in the big city we were ready to get back to the quiet outer islands. Sucia Island was our final destination and we found a unique way to raft/tie up there. The forecast was calling for a bit of wind that would blow into the bay so instead of anchoring we decided to use the mooring cans.

Tied on the mooring cans stern to stern so we could step back and forth between the boats.

So far Captain John had conquered rafting on an anchored boat (with and without wind), tying to a floating dock, docking the boat in a busy marina, navigating Mosquito Pass, anchoring the boat for a picnic lunch and now tying to the mooring cans.

We spent our last two days at the Sucia Island State Marine Park. This 814-acre marine park with 77,700 feet of shoreline, abundant camping and moorage is a boaters dream. The main island and several smaller islands comprise the “Sucia group.” There are no services on this island and no ferry service but loads of camping areas, hiking trails and hidden coves to explore. Despite only being assessable via private boat Sucia is always busy during the summer.

We like Sucia Island so much we named our cat after our favorite play ground.
Sucia at Sucia Island June 2017.

From Sucia Island we cruised back to Anacortes. John and Kristen got to experience a “lumpy” crossing on the top side of Rosario Strait, the wind and tides were causing the lumpiness (2-3 ft standing waves) from the eastern tip of Orcas Island to Sinclair Island. That toughens up all new boaters for sure!!!

We had a fabulous 10 days with our Buddy Boat Scaparre and the crew, John, Kristen and Duchess. Looking forward to our next adventure!!!

Time Flies…

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Oopsie doodle…how time flies and how lazy have my fingers been, no post, no updates, nothing… Sorry …time just got away from me but all is well here in Anacortes Washington where we spend our summers.

We spent our first week in the coach at Pioneer Trails RV Resort moving onto the Beach House. The boat is mostly equipped with kitchen equipment, bedding and household items but there always seems to be plenty to move. Cleaning out the RV fridge, freezer and pantry is always a chore. We don’t leave much clothing onboard the boat – despite the heaters and dehumidifier we have running in our absence, boat funk smell seems to permeate fabrics – EWWW David!!! I always pack all of our freshly laundered bedding in big plastic, air tight storage bags when we are gone. So, while it is a bit of a chore getting the Beach House “opened” up for the season, I am not complaining!!!

Love these blue crates for moving days!!

Then, with a day onboard we took a short 2 day shake down cruise, trying to remember how to operate the boat and all its complex systems after almost 8 months on land. The poor pets didn’t even have a chance to get settled in before the engines were fired up and off we went – tough love baby!!!

Sucia is cautiously checking out the reflections on the water. Don’t worry, we always keep the door closed when we aren’t onboard!

Bentie found his favorite place by the heater vent!!!

Good news is, we kinda sorta remembered how to run the boat, nothing serious was broken or not working. And that my friends is very good news!! We had a short cruise to James Island where we met friends who were already tied up to the state park dock there. The current at that dock is wicked and getting on the dock when it is pushing you off isn’t always smooth or pretty. Luckily we had plenty of help and despite our lack of grace, our friends still let us raft on them!!!

She’s looking good!!!
Rafted at James Island State Park with our sister boat Chardonnay.

We enjoyed our brief reintroduction to the water and then headed back to our marina to get ready for our next adventure – Buddy Boating!!! Stay tuned for that update.

The view from our slip in the marina is actually Mt. Baker and the Cascade Mountains.

Back at the marina, Wally had a project list to get cracking on cause it’s a boat. Boat stands for “Break Out Another Thousand” which honestly is true and not always that funny!!! In this case, it was more time than money. Our diesel heater needed to be serviced and Wally wanted to reroute a vent to our cockpit. YAY – heat on the back porch!!

We do get some amazing sunsets right from our slip in the marina. This is a completely untouched photo.

Our other big project for the season is a flybridge remodel. Stay tuned for more on that too!!! What is a flybridge you may be wondering???  It is an open deck on a cabin cruiser located above the bridge on the cabin roof and usually having a duplicate set of navigating equipment. In our case, the flybridge is covered with a bimini and isenglass/canvas. While we do have controls inside the cabin of the boat, we always drive Beach House from the flybridge. Why?? Because she has a long bow and visibility is much better from the flybridge. 360 degree view to be exact…you would be surprised how often we have to dodge floating logs and debris in the water when we are cruising.

Yep, its does rain when we are out on the boat. This photo was taken from the flybridge looking out over the bow of the boat. This why our flybridge is completely enclosed!

It’s great to be back in our sleepy little Anacortes. More sleepy than usually this year thanks to COVID. Anacortes is the hub for people who want to see the San Juans Islands. Ferry are operating and things are starting to reopen but people for the most part, are being cautious. The city has also been very cautious and cancelled all the big summer events that usually drawn thousand of people to this sleepy island. Of course, there are always the Aholes, that refuse to wear a mask or openly declare it‘s all bullshit. Don’t even get me started on that topic!!!

My latest mask… thanks Kristen. Perhaps my next mask should read – “Be considerate you AHOLE”!!!

It Was A Long Week…

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Our plan to stay a week in Bend morphed into three weeks… For no other reason than we just like it here! Plus, the weather up north in Anacortes still seem drippy so why not just stay put. Hiking, biking, and exploring the area have kept us busy. The Crown Villa RV Resort has been the perfect location with its easy access to the Old Mill District and Downtown. Great location, huge sites with brick pavers, patio sets and a storage shed certainly set this RV park apart from others we have stayed at. The other nice feature is that there is literally a grassy park behind all the RV sites and loads of mature ponderosa pine trees. Our only disappointment was that the pickleball court was closed due to COVID but I suspect it will be re-opening soon.

We have spent a lot of our time here in Bend just enjoying the outdoor life. Hiking, biking, walking and exploring the area have kept us plenty busy. There are no shortage of hiking trails nearby and we have especially enjoyed the extensive Deschutes River Trail system. Hiking along water – bonus points!!! Dillion Falls was one of our favorite hikes and the falls are just beautiful.

The bird watching on our hikes has been fun too. Colorful Western Tanagers, Black Headed Grosbeaks, copious amounts of Red Winged Black Birds, Finches of all kinds, Woodpeckers, loads of LBB’s, Nuthatches, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures, Ospreys and Hawks but our best sighting was a Great Blue Heron contemplating how to fish the turbulent waters at Dillon Falls. Herons take a bit of effort to take flight and seriously, one false move and this dude would have been swept into the water and over the falls.

Yesterday (Friday), we took a walk through Drake Park and Downtown Bend. Shops, bars and restaurants are starting to re-open but there wasn’t much foot traffic for the beginning of a long weekend. Much as I would like to plop myself down in a restaurant with white table clothes and gleaming stemware, a cold tap beer on a mostly deserted pub patio was a daring step out. Man, did it feel good to sit outside by a big fire table , overlooking Drake Park with a cold brew, sun on my back, yep…it felt normal.

While we aren’t partaking of newly opened restaurants yet that doesn’t mean we haven’t been eating well. There is a great produce stand just a few miles away and I even braved a trip to Trader Joe’s. The line was kinda long to get in as they were only letting 20 people in the store at a time, masks mandatory. So it was a thirty minute wait but once inside it was really nice not to be elbow to elbow like it always was pre-COVID. Not sure why the gal in front of me needed to bring her kids but at least they had masks on.

We have had a wide range of meals and I made a batch of triple chocolate brownies with toasted coconut which we have been feasting on for the last week. Tomorrow night the Uuni Pizza Oven is getting fired up…there is homemade pizza dough rising as I type.

We have a few more days to enjoy Bend before the Road House rolls on Tuesday. Tomorrow we are headed out to Tumalo State Park to take a hike and look for a family of owls that someone told us about. Hope you are all sane, healthy and enjoying a bit of normal…what ever that is!!!

Sheltering in Place – A Diary of Virusapocalypse: Day Eighteen

/ our38ftlife / 2 Comments

04/6/2020

The San Joaquin Mountains were socked in with dark, brooding clouds today. Rain was threatening all day but didn’t do more than mist us a few times. Tuesday and Wednesday look promising for a good down pour through out the day. Guess I will be looking for some indoor projects the next two days.

So here is how day eighteen of our sheltering in place went:

  • Wally and I slept in because, well we were just exhausted I guess. I think this stay at home order is turning us into cats but without the superior grooming habits.
  • I didn’t take any new pictures again today except the one of my buns… NO, I wouldn’t do that to you…Hamburger buns. So now that we have that cleared up…you are going to get some more random pictures that make me happy.


  • Used Zoom to call into a Board Meeting….yawn, maybe I should say bored meeting.



  • Donned my fancy face gaiter and took a bicycle ride with my friend Kristen. We rode about 8 miles which honestly didn’t burn the calories I consumed drinking wine tonight. I will just have to try harder tomorrow.


  • I had a hamburger craving but no hamburger buns. Normally, a quick trip to any number of nearby grocery stores or a visit to any number of great local restaurants would have solved that dilemma. Fast forward to the sci-fi movie life we are all living, I decided to just make the damn buns. I love to cook, a recipe is a suggestion of how something should be made, ingredients can be substituted, spices can be increased. Being unable to follow a recipe as it is written makes me a very poor baker. I decided that using some whole wheat flour would make these hamburger buns more healthy…OXYMORON.. hamburgers aren’t healthy what was I thinking! So what I ended up with were these anemic “buns” that look like a wasps nest. I even did an egg wash on the top…Well, I actually should have put it on when I put them in the oven, not in the last three minutes of baking. Yes, that is a glass of wine in the background.



  • There was no cocktail hour today…somehow the day got all monkey’ed up, I forgot to eat lunch so an early dinner was more important than a cocktail. But I did open another bottle of wine while I was getting everything ready sooo technically??? You decide.



  • Wally grilled burgers which I served on the anemic wasp nest looking buns. He should get husband of the year award, for many reasons but today it was for eating his delicious hamburger on a homemade bun with enthusiasm.
Now that my friends is a big-ass burger!!!


  • The fridge is full of possibilities, the cilantro is still viable so maybe some Baja Fish Tacos for dinner tomorrow… we’ll see!
  • Worked on this blog post and sifted through photos to find a few that brought a smile to my face.

Day eighteen was mellow and uneventful … we just stayed at home.

Sheltering in Place – A Diary of Virusapocalypse: Day Seventeen

/ our38ftlife / 3 Comments

04/5/2020

It was another warm, breezy day here in the Coachella Valley. Admittedly, I slept in later than usual after staying up until 1:30 am the night before. I will also admit to having not one but two edibles before I crawled in bed. As a long time sleep challenged person, I have found cannabis edibles to be just what I need for a good nights sleep. Wished these little gems had been legal in my working days when it was very common for me to lay in bed, wide awake but exhausted, my body desperately needing sleep but my brain unable to turn off. Not sure why I took the second one before I went to bed except I just didn’t want to think anymore. These were a new to me brand and I am here to tell you that I may have had a creepy dream and remember yelling NO to the person/thing that was pulling me under the bed. It’s hard to yell in your sleep but being an over achiever, I got out a really good NO… Wally confirmed that was so! Yelling woke me up and on the trip to the bathroom in those wee hours of the morning I also remember thinking I might have been a high as a kite. Only one gummie tonite…

So here is how day seventeen of our sheltering in place went:

  • Wally and I walked the resort but avoided the golf course today since my allergies have been relentless. I am so fortunate to be allergic to grass and palm tree pollen, go figure!
  • I didn’t take any new pictures today except one of our lunch so you are going to get some random picture that make me happy.
Sunset over the San Juan Islands

  • Shopped in the fridge and used the last of the rotisserie chicken to make a curried chicken salad for lunch. The recipe in the link is a good basic starter but I lightened the recipe by substituting non-fat greek yogurt, lemon juice and just a bit of light mayo for the heavy mayo and wine this recipe calls for. The curried chicken is served over a bed of lettuce. I also garnished with chopped cashews and a chiffonade of fresh basil.


  • We both puttered around outside. Wally worked on a few of his projects. Sunday is fertilizer day for all our new plants so I gave them their weekly dose of miracle grow. The only new plant that looks like hell is my had to have, Madagascar Palm. It looks terrible, like leafless spiny elephant trunks. It has new growth so I am hopeful but honestly don’t know if it needs more water, less water, a trip to the dump??? All of the leaves have fallen off and it doesn’t seem to like the wind…CRAPOLA…hoping it stops being such a prima donna and gets with the program.
It looked so beautiful back in January….

  • I used Instacart to arrange a Ralphs grocery store delivery for myself and Kristen on Wednesday and a Costco order for next Sunday. With my Paprika 3 App, menu planning and creating a shopping list for a week is a snap. Still on TP to be had here in the US…come on people really.
  • Had our cocktail on the patio…neighbors from across the golf course wandered over and we had a nice chat across the wall.

Killer bloodies with my gal pal Donna at Roche Harbor in 2017.

  • Wally fixed a five spice shrimp, broccoli and pepper stir fry served over rice ramen noodles. He is our stir fry chef…I just prepped the veggies and drank wine.
  • The fridge is full of possibilities but starting to thin out. I have a big burger craving and may make some hamburger buns tomorrow… we’ll see!
  • Worked on this blog post and sifted through photos to find a few that brought a smile to my face.
Hiking in Monterey Ca when freedom to travel was the norm.

Day seventeen was mellow And uneventful … we just stayed at home.

Sheltering in Place – A Diary of Virusapocalypse: Day Sixteen

/ our38ftlife / 5 Comments

04/4/2020

It was another warm, breezy day here in the Coachella Valley. No more earthquakes but the wind gusts were rocking the coach in the late evening as I sat, struggling to write this blog post. It wasn’t that we didn’t do anything, yep, we did more of the same from the last fifteen days. Honestly, I just can’t seem to find any good news that Mayes we think this is ending any time soon. As I sat, listening to music, toggling across multiple news channels looking for something that would lift my spirits this song by Train came on. The first verse was hauntingly poetic:

I need a sign to let me know you’re here
All of these lines are being crossed over the atmosphere
I need to know that things are gonna look up
‘Cause I feel us drowning in a sea spilled from a cup
When there is no place safe
And no safe place to put my head
When you feel the world shake
From the words that are said

The second verse kinda just summed up exactly how I was feeling.

I need a sign to let me know you’re here
‘Cause my TV set just keeps it all from being clear
I want a reason for the way things have to be
I need a hand to help build up
Some kind of hope inside of me

And the chorus…well, I am up for the challenge if all of you are?

And I’m calling all angels
And I’m calling all you angels
I won’t give up if you don’t give up
I won’t give up if you don’t give up
I won’t give up if you don’t give up
I won’t give up if you don’t give up

The other thing shaking our valley was the latest health order from Riverside County. I just can’t understand with all the facts and data pouring in from all over the WORLD…why so many people aren’t taking this seriously.

“In response to the rapidly rising number of COVID-19 cases, Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser today ordered that no gatherings of any number of people may take place outside of family members residing in the same home.
Dr. Kaiser also ordered everyone to wear a face covering when leaving home, including essential workers.
“While more and more Riverside County residents are getting COVID-19, not everybody’s getting the message,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County public health officer. “It started with staying home, social distance and covering your face. But now we change from saying that you should to saying that you must.”

So here is how day sixteen of our sheltering in place went:

  • Wally and I walked the resort and golf courses looking for Turtles. Yes…we have discovered there are turtles living in the pond on the back nine golf course. We have seen three total and actually were able to sneak up on two of them today and get pictures…not good pictures but evidence they exist and its not my red, allergy hazed eyes playing tricks on me. It’s hard sneaking up on turtles especially when they have two huge geese for body guards. They are actually big turtles so I have two think they have been living in that pond for quite awhile. They make me smile!!
  • Made a big batch of chimmchurri with some of the parsley I have growing in my big herb pot on the patio. This simple condiment is an essential part of Argentinean cuisine where a bowl of chimichurri can be found on practically every dinner table. Super tasty, traditional and incredibly easy to make, chimmchurri features fresh parsley, garlic and tangy vinegar. It gets an extra kick from oregano and crushed red pepper. Chimichurri is typically served with steak but it’s also great on lamb, smoky grilled fish and chicken.  Part of this batch was going to marinate some lamb chops with the rest going into a salad dressing for later in the week.
  • Wally went to Petsmart to pick up an online order that I had placed for cat litter. Since Sucia has given Arm an Hammer Cloud her four paw stamp of approval we decided to stock up. It was easy peasy, I placed the order online, Wally called Petsmart from the parking lot, gave them the order number, opened the back hatch of the car and someone brought out the bag of loot, put in in the trunk and off he went. No human contact – same thing repeated at Rubio’s where he picked up lunch. Sadly, this may be how things roll for a long time.
  • People all over the world are getting creative with social media to stay connected. My friend Kristen was feeling blue because she wasn’t able to be with her mother on her birthday today. They have a long history of traveling together on her mothers birthday so today their trip was done with Kristen on a golf cart, her mother Marilyn riding along side her on FaceTime. As they toured around the resort, they stopped and met friends who sang happy birthday or chatted with the birthday girl. So Sweet…Happy Birthday Marilyn!!!
  • Made that new drink, a Bourbon Smash for our outdoor cocktail date with friends. It was very tasty!!
Basil Bourbon Orange Smash
  • Fixed Chimmichuri marinated lamb chops and grilled asparagus for dinner.
  • The fridge is full of possibilities but not sure what I am cooking tomorrow.
  • Worked on this blog post wayyy to late …it was actually Sunday when I finished and went to bed.

Day sixteen was another day of extreme roller coaster emotions. We saw the Riverside County Health Order after our cocktail date. The more I researched and read, the more depressed I felt. The statistical model below is scary and geez…I hope they are wrong …I was hoping we would see this thing fizzle out in early May…but numbers usually don’t lie and humans are by nature non-complaint. I don’t know about you …but I am stayin home!

I won’t give up if you don’t give up
I won’t give up if you don’t give up
I won’t give up if you don’t give up

Sheltering in Place – A Diary of Virusapocalypse: Day Fifteen

/ our38ftlife / 3 Comments

04/3/2020

It was another warm, breezy day here in the Coachella Valley. Usually in early April our community would be starting to wind down, the winter season coming to an end, folks would be thinking about going home but it would still be teeming with activity. These days it is eerily quiet, only about a quarter of the 1,213 lots are occupied. Most morning we see walkers or people bicycling but after that its a ghost town.

So here is how day fifteen of our sheltering in place went:

  • Kristen and I walked the resort and golf courses looking for our duckling family. Turns out we now have three mallard families, with 8, 9 or 10 ducklings in each group. That explains why we though one was missing then miraculously reappeared. We found one family napping and grazing on the edge of the pond on the back nine golf course. One family was busy cruising on another pond, mother trying to keep all the little stinkers under control. They are all so adorable…
  • Successfully got my mothers prescription sent to a local CVS pharmacy near her apartment community. With the groovy CVS app I was able to set up an account for her which alerted me when the meds were ready for pick up. I was then able to pay for for it online through the app so the Support Services Manager from her community could go pick it up.
  • Wally actually left the resort today. Our good friends, John and Kristen who we are essentially sheltering in place with have a small plane, whose name is Valentina. John recently signed up with Angel Flight which is an nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization that arranges free, non-emergency air travel for children and adults with serious medical conditions and other compelling needs. Their network of 1,400+ pilots throughout the 13 western states donate their aircraft, piloting skills, and all flying costs to help families in need and they also fly missions that transport critical medical supplies, blood, plasma or donated organs to local hospitals. John needed help doing some maintenance work on plane wheels and landing gear, which is a project Wally was seriously up for! Wally has some flying experience and is excited to fly missions with John as needed. So cool!!! They took the plane up after completing the work and Wally got a few great pictures of nearby Painted Canyon which is an area we have been wanting to hike.
  • Checked in on my friend Pluto. She had some great advice for all they four-leggeds today. Loved the part about not worrying about the button pants!
  • I puttered around outside…it was really breezy again today and my allergies are STILL off the charts despite the daily allergy pills, nasal allergy spray and the allergy eye drops. Not sure why it is so bad this year but the wind is certainly not helping.
  • Got the juicer out and went to town! Put two quarts of clementine, orange and tangelo juice in the fridge as well as a quart of pink grapefruit juice.
  • Made a delicious bourbon drink with some of that fresh OJ and tangerine seltzer water. I want to try a Bourbon Smash tomorrow since I have a beautiful pot of basil growing on the patio.
Basil Bourbon Orange Smash
  • Saw the third mallard family napping near the pond on the green behind our lot while we were enjoying our cocktails on the patio. Wally got a few photos of them after their swim, marching their eight kids all home for bed! I love the shadows he captured in the photo. In the fourth photo, there is an uncle duck helping get the kids home safely. It takes a village!!!
  • Did loads of laundry…boring compared to flying.
  • There were a series of small earthquakes in California tonight … a 4.9 shook the coach pretty good. A friend in Palm Springs texted us and said it sounded like a freight train in their house. Being elevated on big, rubber wheels we didn’t hear anything but having lived in SoCal in the early 90’s we are no strangers to these shakers. That red splotch on the earthquake map is about where we are…eek!
  • Fixed Pork Carnitas Tacos with Hatch Green Chile Black Beans for dinner. Great way to use up the pork tenderloins we grilled the other night.
  • The fridge is full but not sure what I am cooking tomorrow. Maybe lamb chops…???
  • Worked on this blog post while some aftershock quakes rumbled.

Day fifteen was the most eventful day so far especially all the shake, rattle and rolling later in the evening. I think Mother Nature is extra cranky with all of us disrespectful humans messing up her planet or maybe she is reminding us to just stay the hell at home. Hoping she gives Florida and Louisiana a big shake too!