Can't believe it! Just one more sleep and we're "ON THE ROAD AGAIN". Excited? You bet we are. Even Miss Sophie senses a change in the air (and I don't mean the cool nights and falling leaves.. boy can Garry Oaks ever shed!).
Rikki is loaded and Lucy's about to be. Today is the day for packing up our clothes for the two week road trip, loading the fridge and making sure we have all of Sophies paraphernalia. By the way... PS may be old (fourteenth birthday tomorrow) but she has passed all the Vets tests with flying colours. She's a little bit slower than she used to be. Life on one leg isn't all that easy. I tried jumping on one leg myself the other day... I won't tell you what happened. Go ahead and try it for yourself.
Anyway, we are packed. Arrangements for the house are complete. Everything's been done that could be done... and if we've forgotten something it will just have to sort itself out. We'll be on the road and travelling south. Speaking of the road trip, we're going to set up a side-bar blog called RV Sites. We'll keep an accounting in there of the sites we visit and our impression of them. Several of you have been asking about that and even I have to scroll back to double-check where we stayed and if we liked it. A side-blog will save us all time.
I'll be reporting in as we travel but just as an over-view (for those who like to know), our intended route is as follows. It's a short one, and you'll see why. Tomorrow (Monday, Sept. 14th) we plan to take the 1030 Coho ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles. Once safely landed on US soil, we pick up some things we've ordered from a receiving house in Port Angeles and then carry on to Bainbridge Island where we pick up our new anchor.
Short aside re: anchor: Rocna anchors are the current rage and they are fantastic. I spent some considerable time studying all the new fangled (and expensive) anchors as we wanted a really good 'second' anchor (we're very happy with our primary which is a Delta 35). Anyway, while Rocna is one of the very best you can get... for holding power, etc.... the Mantus did even better in the Practical Sailor (and other) tests. As well, this anchor can be disassembled and is, therefore, much easier to stow. So, contrary to my usual cautious and staid self... I have decided to purchase a Mantus and we pick it up tomorrow. Will let you know how it does when the time comes. Back to the route.
We will over-night about 1 1/2 hours south of Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island and have a reservation at the Little Creek Casino/Resort. It sounds pretty nice and it is a Passport America site which means our fee is 1/2 price... and we like that. So for $17.50 we shall enjoy a good site with a nearby/on site Bar & Grill. How good is that for the first night on the road? Tuesday, Sept. 15th we head south to Hayden Island, Vancouver, WA. where we pick up a few more things we've ordered and then we're free to carry on our journey.
This is where the plans gets shortened. If you've had occasion lately to check out a map of the wildfires burning in Washington and Oregon, you'll understand our dilemma. And so, our plan is to take a look at the map on Tuesday morning and decide whether to head east, following our path of last year, or south along the Oregon coast for a while. The map last night causes me to believe we'll be able to head east (which is the preferred route for us on the way down). We can do the Oregon coast on the way back. But we shall see, and make the final decision when we are sure we know where the fires are. For now, we will just take it one day at a time.
That's it for now. I must get back to packing. It's early o'clock on the day before "Adventure 2015" begins. To say we're excited is an under-statement... but we've still some things to do... so ta ta for now. Take good care of yourselves, enjoy the fall weather, and stay tuned. CJ
