Portland/Woodburn RV Park, Woodburn , Or

Saturday, February 26 - Finally left Tenino, WA and drove into Oregon. A little over 130 miles . This was our first medium long day of pulling the trailer, even though it was only around 3 hours of actual drive time. Not surprisingly, I was more than a little nervous. The first part of the drive was quite easy because we had about 15 miles on a two lane road, which surprisingly is easier than on an interstate. That gave us a chance to get used to towing again, a little bit. The first part on I-5 wasn't bad because there wasn't much traffic and the road was fairly smooth. There was a rest stop about 40 miles on, so we took the opportunity to stop for a couple minutes just to relax. Then about an hour later, we were both getting hungry, so started looking for a truck stop. Found a place called Rebel truck stop and had lunch. Huge burgers at a very reasonable price.

As we started getting closer to Vancouver, WA, the traffic started to get heavier, although still going highway speed, and the road got a lot more bumpy and with more curves. That, along with getting passed by more and more trucks made the driving more challenging. I like to drive with the cruise control on so that I don't have to fiddle with the gas so much. Anyway, there was one bridge we went over that had a long gradual curve and was quite bumpy. The trailer started swaying around some and we discovered that the truck has built in sway control. It canceled the cruise and slowed down to get under control.

Getting into and thru Portland was actually easier than expected because of some heavy traffic. I would have thought that would have been more difficult, but it wasn't because we were going slow again. After that, we only had about 15 miles to Woodburn. Got a nice pull-thru spot in the park which is next to an outlet mall. We spent a little over an hour getting set up again and then got to relax. We were both exhausted.

Sunday, February 27 -  rain, rain, rain and cold. Did a little shopping, but generally took it easy. Tomorrow, we'll probably go to the mall and look around. We plan on staying here for two weeks. Both Adam and Sue have birthdays in that time, so we'll be celebrating both.

M

Hello! Its been a while since i wrote anything....January was not very kind to us...once again we had set backs... came down with a bad cold and was snowed in for a couple of days. The weather this year has been a challenging, I guess leaving at this time of the year wasn't the best choice. But sometimes timing isn't always on your side. But, anyways, we have been in a little campsite just outside of Olympia for the last week and a half. Its called Offut Lake Resort, its on a lake with a descent restaurant called Lady of the Lakes. However, we had a bit of a problem with our Wifi and phone service. Which also means limited TV....well, a good thing is that I have learned to play Dominoes and Backgammon!! And we actually talk to each other!!! :-) We are hoping we can venture on this weekend, if weather permitting. Supposedly OR is facing some flooding. Wish us luck!! Another thing is if we had more miles under our belts we would feel more comfortable traveling..but hopefully that will happen soon. Come on Spring!! with all of this rain we have been having a little cabin fever, thank God our trailer is really comfortable and warm and cozy! Stay tuned for more blogs...over and out...hope this note finds everyone well!!

Annie <3

Offut Lake Resort, Tenino, Wa

Monday, February 13th -  Well, we've finally made it onto the road. On Monday, we left the safety and boredom of Larkspur Landing Hotel in Factoria, WA and headed for the RV dealer in Sumner. It took awhile to leave the hotel because we had managed to, somehow, collect even more stuff while there. Once we got it loaded into the truck, we were off. We arrive in Sumner a little before noon and prepped the trailer for departure. We got a little bit of help from the dealer, but not all that much. Anyway, after hooking up and getting a little bit of guidance from the dealer we headed out with only a little over 50 miles to go to Offutt Lake. We didn't get more than a couple miles when we found that the trailer was swaying all over the place. So, Sue called the dealer and got them to come and give us some roadside assistance. Turns out that a couple of bolts on the hitch assembly weren't tightened down. Got that fixed and off we went again. 

The drive to Tenino wasn't too bad, although, the traffic was heavier than I had hoped for on my first attempt pulling the new trailer. It's about 1500 pounds heavier than the old one and 4 feet longer. I could tell too because the truck was working a lot harder. I did find that pulling it wasn't all that bad, just had to start getting used to it. Like I saw in a YouTube video, it's a lot more comfortable driving on two lane highways than on the interstate. Less worry about changing lanes and merging traffic. Traffic circles, though, are not fun. The only place along the way that was a little scary was when we had to go under a narrow railroad bridge that was 12'6", while our trailer is 11'7". We made it under OK and only had a couple miles to go to the campground. Once we got here, the owners helped us get into our site which, fortunately, is a pullthru. It took a good hour to get the trailer in the right position,  leveled, stabilized, water, sewer and power hookups and finally, the truck disconnected. 

Leveling the trailer was more challenging than expected because the one side was a bit higher than the other. I managed to do it completely backwards the first time and had to do it again. Also, the campsite slopes slightly from front to back and I found that the tongue jack wasn't long enough to get disconnected from the truck. So, now I know why rv'ers carry big wooden blocks around with them. In the end it all worked out fine and we were actually stationed at the first of many campgrounds on our long trip to Florida. We plan to stay here for a least a week, maybe two, depending on the weather. All the comforts of home except no cell service, minimal WiFi and minimal TV. I think Sue is going through withdrawal. 

Tuesday, February 14th, valentine's day - spent the morning getting organized in the trailer. Trying to figure out where to put clothes, medicine, cooking supplies, making up the bed (which was a bit of a challenge due to the tight confines) and just figuring out how to work the appliances on the trailer and figuring out where the light switches are. Had valentine's dinner at Lady of the Lake restaurant next to the campground. Lobster for both of us, very well prepared, nice environment. We may go back on Wednesday because they have $5 fish and chips. Sounds like a good deal. 

Wednesday, February 15 - woke up to rain and light wind. I can't figure out how to use the awning when it's windy and raining. I'd like to have it out a bit to keep the rain off the kitchen slideout, but I'm a little concerned about the wind whipping it around. 

Getting closer to our departure....

Well, Monday, the 6th of Feb. is our launch day..pray to God everything goes smoothly. Tomorrow is signing papers for our new little home, and the walk through....just like buying a home again, except its smaller and on wheels! Still things to do, but it will be so nice not having to live in a hotel any longer, however, it has kind of prepared us for living in small spaces.. :-) Saturday we will also be selling our 2nd car (I'm going to miss it a little) but we only need one car now. So things are finally starting to fall into place. I am looking forward to traveling and seeing the country...stay tune for future blogs!!