Children's Museum

Today was apparently the only sunny day so far this year in Portland, since there were all these people ogling the unfamiliar yellow orb in the sky.  It reminded me of the sea birds standing with spread wings drying in the sun. 

We celebrated by going to the Children's Museum with Nina.  I know I have shown photos of it before but it really is a neat place.

 Looks like that is a bad break.

 We needed to call for a consult.

 Turns out that was the wrong X-ray; Kitty is fine

 Then we played in the water room.

Did a quick face paint.

 Rode the dinosaurs.

Then it was time to get back home to watch the Timbers and show Grandma Teri our pictures.

Louis is doing well, getting big and a personality.  Tomorrow some family photo time.

Spring is here right?

Mission Accomplished

Like the famous Dubya banner, there is still more to be done than has been accomplished.  But a milestone has been reached.

First, the sale of the Soldotna house proceeds well; most major hurdles behind us and we look like we'll make the projected closing on April 25th.  That means we'll have from the 10th to the 25th to pack the house.  Then we'll drive to Anchorage, put the car in the van and, after recovering for a few moments at the Teague B&B, fly back to Portland.

Then we get a quick grand child fix and back to Redmond to close on the house we just placed under contract.

Yeah, that is fresh snow for the second day in a row.

Address is 2866 NW 19th St in Redmond.  It was due to be listed in MLS today but our realtor got us a quick look yesterday and we had a signed contract by 7 PM.

Today we went back for a few photos, but I got sidetracked and didn't get very many.

Above is the dining area.

The kitchen, not to big but in good shape.

Here is the mostly concrete back yard.

 Viewed from the North

Viewed from the South.

And here is the new Hickory table we bought at the Amish store today for the dining area.

That should satisfy the need to spend for a while.

Off to Portland tomorrow.

Stay dry!

Whodathunk

Who would think that there would be a shortage of houses to pick from, anywhere in the USA right now.  Last week we had narrowed down the 30+ listings that our realtor had emailed us to 8 that we wanted to see when we got into town. By the time we were ready to go actually visit the prospects, we were down to 3.  The rest were under contract.

Right now we have one more to look at tomorrow, then we will have to revise our search criteria.  Meanwhile, we prowl the neighborhood and look for FSBO's or something otherwise not publicized.

Went to the Humane Society to walk dogs with Sara today.  Been cold; today it is in the 30's with convective storms blowing through dropping rain/corn snow with a strong north wind.

My favorite, Ella.

Sara's favorite, Sebastian.

Nobody's favorite, Sharla.
 
Nice facility.  Includes a public dog wash and RV storage lot.

Meanwhile..............

Back at the place Emil and Sara are watching for the winter, the porch light waits for it's chance to shine.

And the roof stays securely clamped down.

Tomorrow it is back to the search.

Staying optimistic, and trying to......

Stay warm.

Now The Work Begins

Plan B worked well, just as planned.  So we are safe and sound at Emil and Sara's and the next phase can begin.  I see that Sara has been cooking for at least a month, so the next week will not be the week to start eating sensibly.

Teri did well documenting the last three state borders.

Utah likes to decorate under the overpass.

She cheated on this one.  We stopped at the welcome center rest stop after she missed the sign on the road.

Looks like a tree full of large birds.

But it's just the worlds second largest shoe tree.  I'm not sure where the largest is.

Tomorrow we start the house hunting.  After the breakfast casserole, of course.  Stay tuned, I hope to have photos of the new house candidates soon. 

Looks like we picked the right day to get through the numerous small passes from Boise to Redmond; lots of rain/snow for the next few days.  It is hard to complain about winter hanging on too long when you have spent the last three months in Florida.  That doesn't stop us from complaining, it just makes it harder.  WAH!

Stay warm.

Plan B

We are wimps when it comes to towing in the snow.  This is what I wrote to our Redmond, OR friends this morning:

"Checking the current conditions,  I see that there is slight snow cover on the two summits that we must cross to get to Redmond.  Checking the forecast, it looks like the snow level will rise a little but still about 1000 ft below the summit.

"Tomorrow however, it looks like we will be in rain all the way with temps rising about 6-7 degrees on the whole route.  I realize that after spending 20 years of passing along National Weather Service lies to pilots I shouldn't put much faith in the forecast, but chaining up our rig for about 50 to 100 miles is something I'm doing all I can to avoid.

"So we will watch the weather today and hope to make it tomorrow before the next blast of cold temps hits."

Well, we watched the weather and began packing the trailer for storage.  I plan to have it all winterized before we give up for the night.  Then we'll hit the road early tomorrow and go straight to the storage yard when we get to Redmond.  Note to Emil and Sara: hope to be there in time for dinner, will call with update as we leave hwy 84.

Maybe I'll have some photos by the next posting.

Cooling Off A Bit

We made it to the cold side of the front and it looks like it will be possible to make Boise before the next front.  If it works that way we'll be there by Saturday. 

We made it to just north of Kansas City last night.  The wind was brutal and we lost a few loose items in the truck bed but nothing important.  When we left St Joseph this morning it was 60 and still a bit windy.

Here's the quick tour of St Louis.

 First the arch as we entered town from Illinois.

 Within one minute we are past the Mississippi, Bush Stadium and continuing west.  Today we went through a bit of Iowa and up to North Platte.

Into Iowa still just ahead of the front.  Then into Nebraska.

 

 There were ducks, geese and cranes.  Lots of ducks, geese and cranes.  Looked like they were getting organized for a trip north.

 Being passed by what has to be one of the worlds largest propeller blade.

 Yet another scheme to separate the traveler from his money.

By the time we entered Nebraska it was in the 30's and the wind had switched from southwest to northeast.  Tonight's forecasted low here in North Platte is 19.  Tomorrow's low in Rawlins is supposed to be 9.

When we left Tallahasee seven days ago I had to change my sweat soaked T shirt after finishing up packing the fifth wheel for the road at 9 AM.

WE ARE NOT IN FLORIDA ANYMORE!

The Statelines Are Just A Blurr

Day two of the dash West is done.  We have made better distance than we'd expected.  We left Savannah just hours after a 18 hour downpour finally let up Sunday morning.  Our strategy has been to get to the west side of a major city by 4 PM and then stop for the day.  The end of the first day found us at the southern edge of Chattanooga, TN.  A lot further than we'd hoped for.  Teri tries to document our crossing of state lines but I'm not willing to do it again just because the photo didn't work out.  So, some of our crossings don't get recorded.  The weather has been cooperating and we only hit one brief traffic snarl.

Today we made it to  Whittington Woods, Illinois.  We were able to get a few shots of today's route.

 Downtown Nashville

 The Tennessee River

 One of several dredges working the river.

Apparently, the first thing you must do after entering the State of Tennessee is stock up on fireworks.

We just spent 89 miles getting across Kentucky.  Then it was into..........
 
Today we gave up around 3 PM and did laundry since we weren't going to get past St Louis before rush hour.

Tomorrow we hope to get past Kansas City and start north to pick up I 80 in Nebraska.  If the weather holds, we'll get west of North Platte before the next storm system hits.  Then we'll sit that one out and hopefully make Boise between systems.  After 20 years of passing NWS forecasts on to the flying public with a straight face, I know better that to make any serious plans based on them.

We are gradually getting out of the tornado producing sections of the storm systems and moving into the snowy part.  Oh joy!  At least we picked a good time to not be in Alaska. 

Be careful out there.

It's a Rainy Day in Georgia

First leg, from Tallahassee to Savannah, all went smoothly.  We had a few days of good weather then the storms that had ravaged the South finally hit today after noon.

We started with a quick lunch in Savannah then visiting some friends of the Washburne's (Dewey and Helen Morgan) where Jack and Dewey went up in Dewey's new plane.

We passed on the carriage tour.

 Jack and Dewey

Then we all went out to the family beach house estate for some really outstanding seafood gumbo (my first, but we all agreed, outstanding).

Today we went to see a friends boat.  The "Sticker", a De Fever 44, was parked at the Savannah Yacht Club.  Here are a few photos.

 The engine room.  Cleaner than many kitchens.

 Talk about first class, fleece covered bumpers!

The bridge looking aft.

Then the rain hit.

We ate at a restaurant that Jack and I used to frequent when we were in flight school back in '69.  They have local seafood and don't fry anything. 

Yes, that is streaks of rain.

We toured Historical Savannah and went to a cemetery that was like nothing I'd ever seen.  They said it was featured in the movie "In the Garden of Good and Evil".  Sue's family has a plot there so we visited her fathers grave and saw some of the scenery but could not really see it all due to the rain.

Tomorrow we try to make it past Atlanta as the dash West begins.

Hope the storms treated you well.