Rainy day in Port Orchard
What a difference a day makes with the weather. Woke up this morning to showers/rain and an expected high of 55. I actually got up before the twins today but they graced our breakfast table this morning and really wolfed down their Grammy’s banana nut cheerios.
Took the boys to their weekly gymnastic lessons. The instructor had her hands full with the 5 kids but they all had a great time. Karen gets really nervous when they start tumbling cause their necks are so vulnerable.
view photos of gymnastic lessons
It’s 8:30 PM and it’s pouring rain outside. There’s a reason why everything up here is so green and not golden yellow like the hills on California. 97 degrees back home today. There’s a lot to be said for cooler weather but you better not mind rain and clouds if you’re going to live up here. Rain or not it really is beautiful up here.
Day at Long Lake Park
Got a wake-up call from Jack this morning at about 6:45 AM. The twins appear to have the habit of waking up at the crack of dawn. Course we enjoyed the call and look forward to tomorrow’s call. When one twin arrives, the other one is just around the corner cause these guys are inseparable. The boys had breakfast in the fiver which is such a novel item for them. Had a relaxing day – we went to the park and it sure was nice to be able to sit on the bench watching the boys play and not have to act like a spotter in gymnastics. It’s a joy to have all 5 grandchildren at those ages when they can do things for themselves … within limits. The weather was beautiful, in the low 70s and we were able to go in short sleeve shirts and shorts. Course, if you don’t like the weather up here in Puget Sound then just wait an hour. The next 4 days have a 30% chance of rain. Time will tell. Spoiling grandchildren is what being a grandparent is all about. Got a chance to make some spaghetti tonight for dinner. Jack helped me make the sauce and it turned out great if I may say so myself. Course we built some great lego homes and we all enjoyed the 4 books I read the boys before bed.
view photos of Long Lake Park visit
Port Orchard, WA – Travel Day
Well, we made it to Eric’s house in Port Orchard, WA today. It was an easy drive getting here from Lincoln City, Oregon cause it was only about 300 miles. We left Lincoln City on Hwy 101 and took Hwy 18 in order to get to Portland, OR and Interstate 5. Took a while getting to I-5 cause Hwy 18 has plenty of small towns to go through and their speed limits sometimes got down to 30 mph. We got lucky going through Portland since we got there before noon and the traffic was rather light. Drove 65 mph on I-5 in Washington cause I haven’t figured out yet what vehicles towing something falls under. In CA I can only go 55 mph if I’m towing but in WA the speed limit is 70 mph but only 60 mph for trucks. I think I can legally go 70 but I chose to keep it safe and split the difference and go 65.
view photos of Portland Oregon
view photos of Tacoma Narrow Bridge Washington
To see a video of the original bridge collapse on November 7, 1940. It’s worth watching.
Got here OK and then the “fun” started. Last September it took me 2 1/2 hours to back in the driveway and level the 5th Wheel (fiver). I thought I had things figured out but alas, I was wrong. Anywho, got it done, setup things and all is fine. Now we get to spend a relaxing week visiting with our twin grandsons, our son, and daughter-in-law. Life is good. This is what retirement is all about. Got to play Legos with the twins and it sure brought back many fond memories of hours upon hours of building Legos with my two boys when they were this age and then some. Sure is amazing when things come full circle. Building with Legos is one of those treasures in life.
view photos of fiver parked at Eric’s house
Lincoln city, Oregon – Last day
Today we kind of relaxed and got a late start. It’s nice to be able to take your time getting ready, having breakfast, and just waiting for the sun to heat things up so that we can better enjoy the beach. Chinook Casino is run by one of those indian tribes and they not only have a casino but they also have a hotel, golf course, and RV park. This is actually the hotel we stayed at in August 2003 after Eric and Jeanne’s wedding. We really enjoyed the brief stay back then cause our room on the second floor overlooked the ocean and we slept with our window open listening to the waves all night. Anyway, we spent a few hours today just walking on the beach and enjoying the waves, wind, sun, etc. We didn’t want to do too many things today cause we’re going to Port Orchard, WA tomorrow and we’re going to get an early start. The drive to Port Orchard should be around 6 hours cause it’s a 300 mile drive. It’ll be be good to see Eric and Jeanne and the boys. I bet they’re really getting big these days. We haven’t seen them since last September. We did spend a few hours in the Casino today just like we did last night. As usual, we didn’t win anything but we played a long time on $20 playing the nickle video poker machines. You’re not going to get rich playing video poker but it’s fun. Yesterday, we learned how to play craps. We didn’t actually play craps but I think we both now understand the concept. Next time we visit a casino, I think we’re both going to actually play craps. We’ll see. So right now we’re relaxing in the 5th wheel watching the Amazing Race and then we’ll watch Celebrity Apprentice. Nothing like roughing it. We’ve put away most things and that should help in the morning. That’s it for tonight since this is the post on our new travel blog. I’m going to blog about our visit to the Avenue of the Giants, Ferndale, our horror story at the Newport RV park and our luck in getting into the park that we’re in. We paid $2.33 for diesel in Lincoln City.
view photos of Lincold City Beach
Newport, Nye Beach, Yaquina Head & Yaquina Bay Lighthouses
There are 9 Oregon Coast lighthouses. Today, we visited Yaquina Head and Yaquina Bay lighthouses. That now makes 4 for us. On our last trip up here, we visited the Umpqua River lighthouse.
The Yaquina Head lighthouse is 93 foot-high and is the tallest on the Oregon Coast. It stands 162 feet above sea level and was illuminated in 1873. We saw a pair of bald eagles and you see one in the Yaquina Head lighthouse photos below. It’s not everyday that you get to see a bald eagle in the wild.
view photos of Yaquina Head Lighthouse
The Yaquina Bay lighthouse is located at the north end of the Yaquina Bay bridge in Newport. Second oldest standing lighthouse structure on Oregon Coast. In original service only from 1871 to 1874 before the commissioning of the nearby brighter Yaquina Head lighthouse eliminated its necessity. The lens is 42 feet above ground level and 161 feet above sea level.
view photos of Yaquina Bay Lighthouse
Spent the rest of the day enjoying Nye Beach and Newport. Found a really interesting drift wood sculpture at Nye Beach. I can see why these beaches are such favorite summer destinations. Newport is a typical small fishing village with all the quaint shops, tourist traps, fishing/crabbing trips, and restaurants. After a 15 minute wait at Mo’s we got a window table which overlooked the bay and fishing fleet. Fishermen had just returned from a half day trip and 2 women were very adept at filleting the day’s catch. From what we saw, the fishermen got their money’s worth on this trip. Everyone says their clam chowder is the best in the world, etc. and being a chowder connoisseur, me thinks they need a new recipe. It has ham in it which overpowered the soup and Karen pointed out that it tastes more like my split pea soup than clam chowder. The rest of the meal was excellent.
I started eating clam chowder in 1966 and never pass up a chance for a bowl. To date, the best clam chowder I have ever eaten was at Lamies Inn in Hampton, New Hampshire.
view photos of Nye Beach and Newport Oregon