8-30-13 Friday (The End)

Up at 6:00 am, buffet breakfast, sit around and kill time.  Our flight back to Seattle isn’t until 1pm.  Michael and Mark joined us for breakfast.  They live in Seattle and even offered for us to go home with them and relax before our flight.  We decided to just go to the airport… slowly.  We awaited our private car service for quite a while.  No problem.  We wandered through the airport.  We sat near outlets, plugged in our laptops, used the airport’s Wi-Fi and surfed the internet.  I even worked on the blog for a while.

Celebrity had a program called “Luggage Valet”.

“Luggage Valet is a convenient service that helps make your return travels as carefree as your cruise. On the final night of your cruise, you'll receive debarkation instructions, airline boarding passes, luggage tags and baggage claim checks. Simply place your tagged bags outside your stateroom door and we'll do the rest. Your luggage will be taken care of so the next time you see it will be at your final destination airport's baggage claim.” 

This was awesome.  As it says, they did the airline check-in for us, printed airline luggage tags, collected the luggage and the next time we saw them was Charlotte.  No loading and unloading into a cab/bus from the port to the airport.  It cost $20 a person.

In case you didn’t see each day’s entry or perhaps I didn’t make myself clear throughout, this was a fabulous vacation.  Alaska is wonderful.  If you just get off the boat and shop, you’re dumb.  Do the excursions.  They’re pricey but worth it.

Weather?  Some Augusta campground friends who went on the same cruise, same ship a few weeks prior to us said temps were warm and they wore shorts.  We checked the weather for each port constantly prior to packing and it was forecasted 60% chance rain and temps 40-60 so we back sweaters.  For the most part, the weather was t-shirt with a polo for me and pants.  For Jim, pants and a long sleeve shirt.  We had jackets.  The only time we had to bundle up was during our Tracy Arm Fjord glacier watching.

We never got to use the pool/hot tub.  The ship featured indoor and outdoor pools/hot tubs. 

The food overall was excellent.  Some was better than others. 

Entertainment was excellent, what little we saw.

Service was excellent most of the time.  There were a few hiccups here and there but it happens.

The ship is modern and in my opinion gorgeous… well isn’t it all my opinion?  There’s plenty of bars on board and always lots to do, even shopping.  We never hit the casino.  Usually we do. 

There’s plenty of photographers snapping photos all the time.  We didn’t have any photos taken.  Have you seen the size of us?  I’m not gonna pay for professional photos to show us we’re too wide.  Thanks.

No, there aren’t penguins in Alaska.

I think we had the perfect blend of adventure and relaxation.  Sigh.

8-23-13 Friday (Day 1, Travel Day)

Mom and Aunt Donna took us to the airport for our 9:30am flight. TSA was pretty quick.  We boarded the plane and unfortunately sat right across from the lavatory.  Several times, unpleasant odors emitted … OK, it friggin’ stunk at times.  The flight was 5 hours long.  Most of the time we entertained ourselves by playing Angry Birds.

After a safe and mighty fine landing, we made our way to the baggage claim.  Jim called a car service (for $45 + gratuity) which was awesome.  A towncar was waiting for us right outside the airport doors.  The ride to the port was probably 30 minutes.  We checked our luggage in with the porters and walked into the cruise terminal.  Using concierge priority check-in, we got through the security quickly… well almost.  Their scanners picked up an iron that Jim packed (I wasn’t aware). Irons and candles are no-no’s.  They confiscated the iron and gave us a receipt for it.  We have to pick it up at the end of the cruise.

Above: Claim Ticket of Shame.

The next stop was the cruise ship check-in. The line was long but with priority check-in we jumped the entire line and got right to an agent.  It was so awesome!

Once we boarded the ship we were greeted with a glass of champagne.  Gulp, gulp, gulp.  We stopped at some guess-the-price-of-a-painting-contest thingy... mostly because it was in our path.

Naturally with everyone boarding and using elevators, the wait time looked lengthy.  We found a different set to use at the other end of the ship.

Eventually we arrived at our cabin.  The size is typical for a veranda room but there’s storage galore.  We unpacked our knapsacks (laptops and CPAP) along with 2 carry-ons.  As for the 3 large suitcases, they’ll get delivered later. 

Above: On our veranda.

Here’s a room tour video.  It was taken several days into the cruise:

We freshened up a little and headed to find some food.  The Oceanview Café has numerous buffet stations.  We ate lite since it was already 3:00pm and we have dinner reservations at the specialty restaurant for 6pm.  Our lunch view was of the Space Needle.

Above: A fantastic lunch view.  The tint gave it a weird color for the photo.

Each evening, we get canapés for 2 in our room.  It was part of that concierge upgrade we got.  I don’t have photos of every night but I do have several.  Here’s our first night.

Above: Very small portions but perfect for a before dinner snack.  You can see the order form to the left of the plate.  This one was melon balls, humus (we started eating prior to the photo), olives and a light and flaky tortilla chip of some kind.

Dinner at the Tuscan, a delicious Italian restaurant.  Mmmmm so good.  It was the first of three specialty restaurants we purchased in a package. The ship had already been in motion for about an hour.  We were seated at the windows which over looked the back of the ship.  We started with bread service, 3 types to choose from. The waiter presented an antipasto selection on a tray.  Prosciutto, mozzarella, artichokes, etc.  Our appetizer, braised ravioli was good.  Next up, French Onion soup, pretty good.  Salad was arugula with fried goat cheese balls.  Our main course was a delicious and perfectly cooked filet mignon accompanied by sautéed spinach (not that great) and a good macaroni and cheese.

As I said, the filet was great but we were warned at time of ordering that it would be cooked accurately but the light through the windows would make it appear well done.  He was right, even the juice on the place looked dark.

Above: Jim’s dessert plate.  The strawberry was coated in a hard sugar which had a long thin strand atop it. 

After that dining experience, we were thinking maybe we’d be spoiled for the remainder of the cruise.  Great service, yummy food, fantastic presentations and an awesome view.

The show for tonight was an introduction of sorts.  Some orchestra music and some dancers, nothing special.  Mostly it was all about meeting the cruise director and what we’d be experiencing for the week.

Miscellaneous:  Here’s some video tours of Lobby/Foyer areas:

 

 

 

 

 

12-17-08 Wednesday (Planes, Trains, Automobiles)

A 3 hour drive to Portland, Oregon became a 7 hour drive! We woke up at about 7am, and shortly thereafter, it began to snow. It stuck hard and fast. We kept the Jeep disconnected so that we could fit in the small gas station a few miles away. Our propane read empty last night. We still had enough for heat and the hot water but knew we'd need it asap. The gas station didn't sell propane so we figured we'd find it on the way. After we filled the fuel tank, we drove about a mile a way to hook up the Jeep.

The drive was terrible. The snowfall grew thicker and stuck easily. The interstate had unrecognizable lanes. Was it 2 or 3 lanes? Some lanes were unused and therefore completely covered. The 70mph speed limit was impossible and unsafe to achieve. Traffic moved at 30-35mph. I knew it was going to be a long day.

Everywhere we looked for propane was a disappointment. Either they didn't sell it or their hook up was impossible for us to get to. At another interstate exit, we searched 3-4 gas stations and no luck. We spotted an empty out of business Shell and decided that would be a good place to turn around. Funny thing is they had a propane tank, but as I said, out of business. This place was a little bit downhill. Know where this is going yet? So we decide to walk the dog and smoke a cigarette. Back into the RV we go, up this slight hill we go, or not. The wheels on the RV go round and round, round and.... Each time we get some momentum going, traffic passes and we have to wait. We never slid back down though. When traffic was clear, Jim floored it and up we barely went.

We're now getting close to the campground and stop at a gas station with propane. The propane filling station is of course where we can't fit. The man says his hose is only 10' long. I guess size is everything. We had that feeling like he didn't want to be bothered because it was cold and snowing. He told us of another gas station.

We venture on, find the gas station. It's basically a service station with 1 mechanic and this one guy. Nothing but fuel and propane. The one guy did everything. There was also a full service fuel lane. I haven't seen one of those in a long time. When we got there, the man was replacing someone's tire, then came over to us, 2 other people with tanks pulled up and a lady entered the full service lane. This guy was running around. He filled our tank, then was our cashier. We never asked how much propane was there. We figured out it was well overpriced at about $4.00 a gallon. Ouch. Even if we had known prior, we would have gotten it there anyway. At least the propane issue was finally resolved 7 hours later. It's been raining here, so we're out of the snow, but it's still cold at 34.

The next exit was for the RV park located at Jantzen Beach, on Hayden Island just north of Portland. This park is huge. It was dark when we arrived but from what we can see, it's very nice. We settled in (hooked up), and then decided to go to a nearby Dennys for dinner. We have a gift card afterall.

As we await our food, we over hear a local saying that he hoped the weatherman was wrong. We ask our server for clarification. She said they are expecting the temperatures to drop, and the rain will freeze all over. She said it hasn't happened since 1997. No, I'm not kidding. I apologized for the bad weather, blaming it on ourselves, explaining the weather we've encountered on our trip. I told her that when the weather clears up, it means we're gone. She smiled and nodded her head like a southern lady which means "well then, get the hell out, morons.... bless their heart." If only they had sweet tea......

By the way the Dennys server was a short older woman who reminded me of the psychic from Poltergeist. "Don't go into the light" was all I kept hearing.

Oh, an another by the way, we're located near a highway, I heard a train, and we're in an airport flight pattern. Luckily, it's hard to hear all that from in the RV.

12-16-08 Tuesday (Fries with that?)

The Progressive Insurance Adjuster came out to the RV this morning. He took plenty of photos an as the previous guy did, climbed up on the roof. He had asked Jim the other day (by phone) to make sure the roof was clear of snow for inspection. Jim was ready to climb up there and I pretty much insisted that he didn't and that Progressive will have to make due. It's slippery up there! I told Jim to tell the guy the ladder was slippery, he's afraid of heights or whatever else he'd like to dream up. Jim wanted to put off the inspection until we reached California but the adjuster wouldn't take no for an answer. I think they wanted to see that prior repairs had been completed so that they're not paying on the same awning twice. Once the adjuster saw a new awning, laying in a pile, I think that was enough. No doubt, Progressive is weary of us, being we've only had insurance with them for a few months yet they've paid out 2 claims. I guess I can't blame them for trying to make sure things are on the up and up.

Jim mentioned a few times that he wanted to see the Museum of Mystery. Today however, after Progressive left (they'll email the claim), he decided to nap. I think the constant freezing temps have him down. We were also interested in seeing the rain forest but when he called, he was told they are expecting severe ice problems. It all goes back to our luck of things hardly ever happen until we've been there. You know, unseasonably hot, never snows, not usually this or that. It's humorous in some ways, I suppose. I'm just waiting to find the humor in it.

Tomorrow we "relocate" to Oregon. I think we're hitting 2 cities there, Portand being one of them. I forget the other one. Anyway, Portland's weather is forecasted for below freezing. If you remember, we extended our stay here, with tomorrow being a day of above freezing, until the evening. I'm so looking forward to California! Of course, we'll be in northern California for a while but at least it's in the late 40's right now. I'm sure when we get there, it will be unseasonably something. Hopefully, it will just be unseasoned fries.

Jim couldn't sleep so he's up and moving. I decided to update the digital picture frame. I added more pictures to it, up and including yesterday's photos. I have photos from a couple of Christmas' ago and several cruises in there. It's nice to see photos of friends and family pop up there (it's set to rotate the photos) and not just our adventures. So Glenn & Kevin, Carl & Tim, Bruce & Kevin, Mike & Dave, Laurie & Pearl, CB & Ryan, Chris & Jerry, Mark & Joel, Al & Jack, Ed & Walter ... you're all stuck in our frame, wearing silly Christmas hats I insisted you wear for photos.

It's been kinda gloomy all day. Yesterday, aside from the typical cold, was clear, sunny and bright. Not so much today. We're a little concerned about tomorrow. The forecast has changed and we're supposed to get more snow tonight. Argh.

Jim is finally in the shower, the day is almost over, but we're going to hop in the Jeep and "scout" for a suitable gas station for tomorrow's RV roadtrip. We scout each time, since the RV and Jeep in tow are monstrous. We don't really want to get to a small gas station or somewhere we can't fit and then have to detach the Jeep to get out of there.

I've thoroughly enjoyed Seattle. It's kinda sad to go but I'm looking forward to warmer weather anyway.

12-15-08 Monday (Tray Tables Up Please)

For today, we have the Boeing tour at 11am. We rescheduled yesterday after we found leaving the campground to be too risky. Everything is still frozen out there, with the lowest temperature so far to be 19. I'm a bit annoyed that the campground hasn't salted or sanded especially with such a hilly terrain. The grounds are about 80% ice. Walking Dasher was hazardous. I took "baby steps" and hoped I wouldn't wipe out. All I need is to break something. We 38 year olds have fragile bones. Got milk?

If my comment responses are nil or short, it's because of the busy week we've finally had. It's been a lot of work on the video montages and I need to get less fancy on them. I enjoy making them but they're taking up a lot of time.

Thanks to Liz at Eternal Lizdom. She made my day today. Before we left the house (RV) today, I commented on her blog entry about some gingerbread houses. I said maybe I'll find a gingerbread RV. She made another entry today and decided to find one, and post it for our benefit. Love ya Liz! Click here for the entry.

Months ago, Glenn had emailed me a trailer ornament. I can't find the email but when I Google for it, I come up with tons of them. We don't have one, some day we will. For now, it's one more thing to carry.

Earlier this month, another friend, Ken @ RV Birds of a Feather, had posted an RV Christmas Light show. I've inserted here.

OK, now I have to tell you all about the Boeing tour. The entire parking lot was an ice rink. I'm amazed such a large company would leave their lot as such. We noticed a lot of businesses were the same. Solid ice. We heard from the boat tour guide yesterday that it only snows twice a year in Seattle. Now of course we weren't in Seattle, so I'm not sure how far that general statement goes. Maybe the businesses aren't prepared for it?

Jim had read that no photos were permitted and they stuck with their rules. We had to check in our phones and camera. Phones had to be checked in because fear of remote detonation devices. It really made no sense since there were no metal detectors or such. It seemed to be more on an honor system of checking in your stuff.

We (group of about 30) were ushered into an auditorium and watched a 6 minute video. Next, onto a bus outside that took us across their property to the factory/assembly lines. We went down some stairs and into a tunnel. The tunnel is very long and houses pipes and wiring. Employees use it to roller blade and jog! Yeah, 2 joggers passed us while we walked to a freight elevator. Up to an observation deck we went. Employees rode bikes through the massive factory. Some quick facts per the tour guide: One of the buildings is the largest in the world by volume. They have 19 cafeterias, and many Tully's coffee shops. She mentioned that before they installed climate control, they actually had clouds inside and it rained, producing it's own weather pattern. Of course that wasn't a good thing, so the ventilation system was installed. Equipped with its own security force and fire department, a fully equipped medical clinic, a childcare centre, a water treatment plant, and its own electrical sub-stations.

During a portion of the tour, we became friends with Gregg and Tim, from Arizona. Gregg is a pilot for a major airline! Gregg and Tim have been friends for years. After the tour we chit-chatted for a while and we decided to have lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. After lunch, the 4 of us returned to Boeing for their "Future of Flight" interactive displays. I had my camera back at this point and was able to snap some photos. Gregg was an awesome personal tourguide. As we said our goodbyes, they invited us to dinner with their long time local friend, Merry.

Returning to the RV, we let the dog out, called them back and accepted their invitation. They were staying in the heart of Seattle at the W. We met them at the hotel. Hotel W. Really modern, hip, preppy kinda place. Love it. Their room had a view of the Space Needle!

A glass of wine later, we went (a 7 block walk) to a Greek Restaurant, called Lolas. It's not your typical Greek Restaurant. You won't find Gyros here. Click here to see the menu. We met up with Merry and had a great time! The menu was very intimidating. If you were to look at the menu, you'd never believe what I ordered! I had the goat (Jim had the lamb)! I just spotted that the online menu is different than the actual menu. Mine was "young goat, horseradish, root vegetable stew". After I made many a bahhhhh sound, I dove in. I was torn by it's flavor. It was OK. A few spots had more horseradish than others, which appeased me.

I loved Merry. She is a sophisticated, tell it like it is nurse. She's lived in Seattle for 20 plus years and never leaves the city. She loves Seattle.

After a long dinner (we all talked and talked and talked), Merry went home (she had to work the next day), while the remaining 4 of us went back to the W hotel and camped out in their swanky lobby sipping hot chocolate and talking some more. The lobby is very "hip" and comfortable. It was after midnight, and we finally closed the evening. We had such an awesome time!

12-14-08 Sunday (Ice Capades)

This morning we awoke to snow on the ground. Before bed last night, it wasn't sticking to the ground. There is a sheet of ice under the snow making it more treacherous. The patio chairs are frozen to the ground. After watching the news, we've decided to carefully drive to our 10am Boeing tour. I think the scariest about the trip will be the road out of here. Remember, we're up at the top of the hill here and have to be careful not to slide into someone's RV. That would be bad.

Jim took a test drive around the campground. It didn't go so well. Traction on the ice using 4X4 wasn't the issue; it was the braking - or lack thereof. The tires just slid as if they were in some graceful Ice Capades show. With the icy roads within the campground combined with the hilly neighborhood we'd have to drive through, it would probably be a bad situation all around. Besides, once we were ready, the GPS said we'd arrive at 10:04 to our 10am appointment. Of course, that time estimate doesn't account for the road conditions. We probably could have changed it to an 11am but again, too risky.

I did 3 loads of laundry today, and I might as well finish off even small loads today. Jim is reading our blog as I'm typing this one. Of course, he's found a few spelling errors. "Stare" for "starve", that sort of thing. I've corrected the one's he's pointed out so far. Now you'll have to go back and reread the entire blog. Go on, I'll wait.

Welcome back. What? You didn't reread everything? OK.

The mobile RV repair guy is here. He tightened up the A/C up on the roof and said it also needs to be serviced (cleaning/new gaskets) once we're in warmer climates. He also adjusted the slide and now it seems to come in and out correctly.

We spoke with a neighbor who said getting out of the park and neighborhood was fairly tricky but roads are clear. It was noon and we decided we could catch a 1pm 2 hour lake cruise in Seattle. We rushed out of the house and made it with 15 minutes to spare. This lake cruise was from the same company that provided the 1 hour tour the other day. Our ship cruised from Lake Union to Lake Washington. The highlight of the cruise for me was seeing the floating homes. Years ago having a floating home was a cheap way to have a house in downtown Seattle. These are different from house boats. Floating homes (as seen in Sleepless In Seattle) aren't designed to move under their own power and look like a regular house. Decades ago, to reduce pollution in the harbor, the city put forward restrictions on floating homes and even had many removed. What was once 2,000 or more became approximately 500. Eventually the homes became popular and heavily sought after which of course raised the value. They now run about $500,000 and up. Click here to see a floating homes association with a link to it's history. Wow, the sights/view these homes have! We also floated past Bill Gate's fulltime residence. A photo is included in the slide show.

A little rant about the boat. There were only 11 of us. A man, woman and child took up the front of the boat where 2 tables surrounded by windows sat. They sprawled out at the 2 tables which I thought was rude. Sure, the boat can hold like 200 so there was plenty of room, but did they have to take up the entire best section? I wouldn't have sat next to them anyways with a toddler close at hand so I guess I'll shut up and tell you of other observations. Heat. Where was it? It was just as the first tour. Cold. 6 Asians went in and out of the doors constantly so perhaps that's why the heat sucked. I wondered if they spoke English since the entire time the tour guide spoke, they were chatting and not listening. Perhaps they didn't understand? A toddler out of their group tripped and fell at a doorway. Many boats have raised doorway saddles to prevent water from entering the inside. I had to love the bartender who told the toddler to watch their step. The toddler doesn't speak AND it's a little late to warn someone afterwards. Sure, lets let the kid touch a boiling pot and then tell him, "no, it's hot" after the scaulding. No, I'm not done. We didn't get to eat before we left since we made that mad dash out I spoke of. I went up to the bar and got coffee for me and some candy to snack on for us. He serves me the coffee, I ask for cream, he doesn't have any. Well, then I don't want it. I mean, duh! Maybe, like the last cruise bartender who asked, "cream and sugar?" would have been nice. I had hot chocolate. Last rant - they make an announcement about the bar featuring hot drinks, snacks and sandwiches. We go back to the bar (right behind us) and ask what type of sandwiches. "Oh, we don't have any." My joke of the day with Jim was sandwich related. After the cruise, we went to Subway.

Twice this week we had heard about the gorgeous view from Kerry park. Here you can see the Space Needle aligned with the city skyline along with the lake in the foreground. We ventured here and it was an awesome view.

As I was working on the video, the power in the park shut down. We spent an hour without and used our laptops until the batteries finally died. I had to resort to reading! It was terrible.

12-13-08 Saturday (Don't be Such a Drip)

It's going to be a disappointing week. I'm going to be upbeat about all of our bad luck lately.




Last night, during more rain, a small leak was found at the forward A/C intake. We suspected that the awning arm, probably hit the A/C unit on the roof. Being it was raining/snowing last night, the best we could do is put something under the intake vent to catch the water.





This morning, Jim went onto the roof to survey for more damage. The A/C unit itself looks OK, but the solar panel which sat on the unit is now missing.

Aside from the storm damage, there's a heavy winter storm rolling in. Of course it wasn't forecasted as such before we bought the GoSeattle card. The weather is expected to get bad later this afternoon. Freezing temps and snow. Parts of Washington and Oregon have been hit. At this point, they expect the roads to freeze and major travel issues later today. We've only used 2 days worth of our 5 day GoSeattle card. It expires 5 days from 1st use. Hopefully, we can safely get more sightseeing in Sunday or Monday.

We've planned out a menu to be sure we won't starve should we get snowed in. We're going to head to a Super Wal-Mart about 30 miles away and do some major grocery shopping. The RV repair guy can come at 2 and work on some issues we're having.

The shower seemed dry enough for us to use. Caulkenstein is dead. It will receive no ceremonious credit, no plaque, no words of silence, no dedications. Oh, and no photos either.

I'm having terrible leg/knee pains since I woke up this morning. I thought maybe it was just leg cramps but I may have twisted something yesterday during the underground tour. I stepped on some cobble stone awkwardly and it hurt for a moment then was OK. I think it stiffened up overnight and I'm paying for it today. It actually feels better after I move it around. OR it hurts more when I move it, so it feels "nice" when I stop? Who knows. I'd hate to do something stupid like have hurt my leg from a 2" fall or something. Boy, that would be dumb, huh?

We're back from our Wal-Mart trip. Diet Coke was only .88! We bought 25 2 liters. We encountered some heavy snow fall through a pass. The landscape was beautiful though. A little scary at times, but still beautiful.

We've extended our stay from Monday to Wednesday. We're gonna wait out some of this storm.

The RV repair guy came by while we were gone. He left us a note that he climbed up on the roof and checked the leak at the A/C unit and notes that it got moved a little. He'll have to move it back.

A little off topic, but you know me, just run my mouth without rhyme or reason. Jim and I watched TV today. It's rare that we do. Anyway, a commercial ran for mascara promising longer lashes. For those who don't know me personally, I've theorized about this long lash thing. For years, companies have advertised how they out do one another. Why aren't lashes a mile long by now? Or at least able to poke me in the eye if I'm speaking to a woman? Just a thought.

We vegged the rest of the evening. It's been snowing and sticking. I made lasagna that came out much better. I used different cheeses, and more sauce. This time, with Jim's recommendation, I made it in aluminum foil bread loaves - 4 of them. We baked 2, 1 for tonight and one for later this week. The other 2 are in the freezer. We watched two on-line episodes of Heroes, which we love. We're gonna go to bed soon; we have a Boeing tour at 10am.

12-12-08 Friday (Groundhogs)

Caulkenstein, prohibited the shower use today. I think it growled at me as I walked by this morning. At the public showers, Jim and I switched stalls so he could experience the pee water pressure. We have a big day planned so we drive into Seattle today for our next set of tours/excursions.

First up was an Underground Tour. It was a good thing it was underground since it rained all day. I found this tour so amazing and utterly interesting! The tour guide, Heather, was humorous and armed with many a pun as she told stories. Anyway, the gist of it is that a lot of Seattle burned down in 1889. Due to many sewer, tide and saw dust based foundation issues, the city wanted to raise it all up. Business owners did not want to wait for the 10 year project to complete. Businesses rebuilt. The city built the sidewalks much higher than the businesses. People had to use ladders to "cross the streets". People and horses fell 18 feet into these pits. A deal was struck with the businesses to cap off the gaps from the sidewalk to their businesses. A business then had their 2nd floor become their 1st floor. Their 1st floor became basements. The sidewalks above were city owned, below, still the businesses. The underground areas were born. Drugs, murder, corruptions, etc occurred down there. Eventually the city passed a law forbidding clientele from entering or leaving from the underground. Businesses had to turn an above ground window into a door. I think I've got the basic story right. On their website, it explains the story in depth. If you have time, it's absolutely interesting to read. Click here for the full history. It's long reading, but worth it.

Oddly, Jim wasn't all that thrilled with the tour. I never read the whole history from the website. He did. Maybe he wasn't impressed because he had to hear it all again? I loved it!

After the tour, we shot over to Argosy Harbor Cruise for a 1 hour Elliott Bay cruise tour. There were only 13 passengers, since the weather has been rainy all day. It was also cold. All of us sat on the upper level. It was enclosed with plastic windows, and was cold even with their heaters. The tour guide pointed out many items along the bay, sometimes adding educational tidbits. All in all, I could have lived without this tour. Maybe because I was cold, and our views were obstructed by plastic with rain on it. I'm not sure.

We hoofed it over to the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center. It was a long, cold, rainy walk. This place was terrible. Way too many interactive displays didn't work or if they did, not very well. We didn't stay here long. I didn't even take any pictures of this crap.

It was almost 4pm. We braved the high speed winds back to where we started. A downtown Seattle (Pioneer Square) audio walking tour was the last thing to catch. They close at 5. At 4:30, it was closed. We weren't very happy. Just as well, since a walking tour in the wind and rain wasn't very promising. We departed Seattle.

On our return home, we entered the RV park. So many of the inflatables were laying on their side. I guess they got a lot of rain and wind here too.

Ah yes, this brings me to our nightly finally. As we drove up to the RV, our awning was blown off! The HEAVY roller and arm once on the passenger side were now relocated to the driver's side. The fabric was still semi-attached to the roof and hung in front of the door. Jim called the mobile RV guy who is several sites up the street. He and his wife came over, in the rain, and tore of the remaining awning, collected the hardware and climbed the roof to inspect for damage. All looks as good as it can be at this point. We'll have to inspect some more in the light of tomorrow. It looks like another insurance claim is coming. ARGH!

12-11-08 Thursday (Memory? I Forget)

Before I tell you about today's events, here are yesterday's photos.

Space Needle

Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe. Neat store, with lots of saleable junk.

The view from our table at Red Robin.

"Gateway to the Pacific". Interesting how there's homes up there, over the tunnel.

Jim set the alarm for 7am. At about 7:40 we arose. The alarm never sounded. I'm not sure what he screwed up. Caulkenstein was still dictating our lives so off to the communal showers we go.


Into Seattle we went, found a parking spot and ventured to a mall to pickup the GoSeattle cards. I wanted to snap a picture of the cable cars and then discovered my camera memory card was missing. It was still in the laptop from last night. I was trying to get the pictures into the blog, but got tired of formatting issues and was exhausted. So, now I need a memory card. I guess I'll get one at the mall. The mall was 4 stories and very pretty. It seemed that it was high end. It was interesting to see so much, so vertical. We picked up our cards, went to an electronics store where they had a used memory card for a little cheaper. I bought it, we went to a cute French cafe and had a junkfood breakfast. The camera card didn't work. I returned it and had to buy a new one.


A few blocks away we went to another horizontally challenged mall to catch the Monorail. It only runs to the Space Needle area and back. It's a 1 mile ride each way. It was still nice to be on it and see the city a little.


Within the Space Needle area, Jim had several places planned. He had the whole day very well planned, even with a time frame as when to go into the Needle. Checking weather, he had found the best clearest time would be 12-3 today. How about that for precision?

Our first stop was to the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. No photos permitted! I loved this place. Very well done, well displayed, well laid out. Well, it also helps to like Sci-Fi. 90% of the displays had authentic props. 10% were replicas. The sights and sounds were great. Life size robots, costumes, weapons, ship models, etc kept the senses busy.

Time to stop, and grab a beverage. We went to McDonald's and had a snack wrap and a drink. By the way, I had a Deluxe Hot Chocolate and I will tell you I was expecting much better. Oh well. Speaking of, there's some billboards in Seattle (Home of Starbuck's and Seattle's Best). It even made it into their local paper. Amusing.

On to the Experience Music Project. It was a museum about music, and it didn't thrill me. The most focus was put on musicians from the NorthWest. The most featured musician was Jimi Hendrix. A tall musical sculpture made of many instruments was very cool. Some of them played music on their own. We went through this museum fairly quickly.

Jim expected more of the Space Needle

The planned time frame for the Space Needle was upon us. It was accurate too. The skies were fairly clear (for Seattle) so we went to the Needle. There were no lines for it. It was awesome. We ate at a cafe at the very top. Well, we had a drink and cookies. Loved it. Lots of interactive displays up there. Did I say we loved it? The restaurant, which we didn't go to, sits one level below the observation deck. We had decided the cookie was good enough and we have more to see.

Onward to the Pacific Science Center. We spent a lot of time here. Here, almost every display is interactive. Live animals, Insect Village, Butterfly House, etc, were all a lot of fun. Some of the exhibits were child like but we played with them anyways.

We had left the RV park at about 9:30 and left Seattle at 5pm, so we had a FULL day. My feet hurt.

Tonight we went to Home Depot for some Caulkenstein reinforcement supplies. Jim also decided to repair another crack in the tub. Join us in 2010 when the tub will be available for use.


After Home Depot we stopped at a Fred Meyer. Basically, the same as a Super Wal-Mart only the prices weren't as good. They sold clothes, food, jewelry, electronics, hardware, etc. We priced some stuff out: $2.00 more on a 6 pack of breakfast sandwiches. Jim's Diet Coke at Wal-Mart = $1.25 2ltr. $1.75 at Fred Meyer. See, for those of you who don't know Jim personally, he drinks a lot of Diet Coke.... a lot. 16-20 2 liters a week so that adds up. Don't bother reprimanding him with all the bad things you've heard about drinking so much of that. He knows and he's heard it all before. Notice the giant cup he carries with him? That's usually a topic amongst personal friends.

12-10-08 Wednesday (Caulkenstein)

The shower floor isn't cured yet from the latest attempt to reseal it. We went to the campground showers. Apparently Jim's shower had good pressure while mine was less than a 5 year old's pee stream.


Naturally, it's raining, but is now at the 45 degree mark. Yay for somethings, I guess. We're going to drive into Seattle for the hell of it. We think, based on weather forecasts, tomorrow may be the best day for the Space Needle. I'd hate to go up there and not see anything because of the rain, clouds and fog, or combination thereof. I looked at the Space Needle restaurant menu online and it's VERY expensive. If you eat there, they pay for the $16 per person fee for the elevator ride. That brings down the price substantially. Check out their menu here.


We're back from a trip into Seattle. It's an interesting city. They have cable trams but they aren't on tracks. I guess they're actually steered. Interesting. Lots of old buildings mixed with new. We had lunch at a Red Robin (We'd never eaten at one before) which was located right on the water - Elliott Bay. The interstate was interesting. Several tunnels, some of which houses sat over, provided a "Gateway to the Pacific" as a carved sign above noted. So many bridges we drove under were lined with trees and rich overall with foliage. I'm not sure if it was for cars or pedestrians. There were so many of them. We spent a couple of hours walking around the water's edge before we made our way to the Space Needle. We just wanted to see it for now, knowing that eventually we'll be in it. Jim said it looked smaller than expected. When we got home he found it is 25 feet shorter than the St. Louis Arch.


Downtown Seattle is so rich with business. New apartment/condos/lofts are under construction. I'm amazed there's room to build these monstrosities. As best we can tell, they probably knock down the 1-2 story buildings.


There's a sightseeing pass, called a GoSeattle Card. A coupe of years back we used something similar for Las Vegas. Basically, pay 1 price, see as many of the supported attractions as possible within 1 day, 2 days, etc. depending on the number of days you purchase. We went to the place that sells them downtown, but their price was higher. The online has an awesome price. We'll buy it on line and then take the voucher to them as a "will call". Jim picked out all the things we want to do (there's a lot of neat stuff here), added the prices and discovered the card is quite the bargain.


I've made meatloaf. 3 small ones actually. They take a long time to bake; by the time we get to eat tonight it will probably be 9pm. A late start to dinner.


I've named the neverending tub repair "Caulkenstein". You see, Caulkenstein is still not dry. Caulkenstein has a life of its own. It dictates to us when, how, and where.


I have a few pictures from today, but it's bed time. We have a big day at the Space Needle and surrounding area.

12-9-08 Tuesday (Another Breakdown)

The shower still leaks. We're going to Camping World to buy something that will hopefully do the trick. The problem with sealers and such is they have to be flexible. The shower floor pan (tub) flexes while driving or when showering.

As for the slide, a mechanic is on site here at the RV park. We called to confirm that he could adjust it properly, but first Jim wants to take a crack at it. We'll try that later or tomorrow. Of course it's been raining all day so far (12:30pm).

Speaking of rain.... on the way here, several times we were blinded by the sun. Wow, sunny skies. We get here, and it's icky. I will say that the temperature last night was 42 and has been staying the same. Yay! Now, I've got to go walk the dog.... in the rain.

I'm back; luckily it's barely raining right now. I say luckily because he couldn't find a suitable spot to crap. In dog world, it's important that the surrounding area smell just right. Most of us have crapped in the same toilet for years.

It's now 6:50pm, and we're back from today's activities. Camping World was a 45 minute drive. They didn't carry the Fleetwood wheel molding we need so they referred us elsewhere. The other place needs the VIN to look it up so we'll have to call them tomorrow.

Speaking of highways, oh I wasn't but just pretend, it will be best for both of us... speaking of highways, there are some odd signs here in Washington. "Litter and it will hurt" was interesting in a S&M sort of way. These signs are all over. I envision throwing something out of my window and suddenly a high powered laser slices off my hand. They're right; it would hurt. Another favorite is the NUMEROUS "No parking" signs along the interstate. Do they have a problem with people parking on the interstate and what, walking to work? Duh. I saw a cop either pulled someone over OR was giving him a ticket for parking. I'm not sure which.

I must admit I had a little break down in Camping World. The almost in tears sniffling kind of breakdown. Jim was looking at the self-leveling caulk they sell, but it's only available in white. Our tub is beige/almond/bisque (whatever fancy name they're using nowadays) and he had already used white during the first several repair attempts. He even caulked right over the chrome drain ring. Bountiful RV also used white. Anyway, he said, "they only have white". I replied, "I don't care if you use concrete." There were probably some expletives mixed in there. He looked at me strangely (his lazy eye does that (just kidding)), so I began the teary rant about how we moved from a beautiful home into a 97 RV that's falling apart. Customer and employees gathered around, joined hands and chanted weird stuff. I think it was something to make me leave. I remained in a quiet, saddened mood for about an hour. It took a long time for me to snap out of it and figure, who cares, we're seein' the country. Unfortunately, I really care though. I just want nice. I'm waiting for someone to pat me on the back and give words of endearment. crickets

We're going to skip adjusting the slide ourselves. We'll call a professional even though the last "professional" didn't do something right.

So Pearl commented on yesterday's entry, suggesting the use of Mobile Money Pit for the RV name. That's not a good acronym so it will stay as TURD for now until other suggestions roll in. Perhaps a contest? 1st prize, remaining portion of the wheel skirt with Dasher's paw print on it. 2nd prize, vial of water from leaking tub. 3rd place, you're a loser, you don't get shit, unless you want some from the bottom of Jim's shoe.

Here are the pictures of the RV park:

That's our RV.

Scooby reindeer

The ass-end of Scooby which faces our RV. It looks like he's in crap position, mocking our rolling TURD RV.

HUGE trees here. Jim says probably Redwoods?

I thought this was interesting all covered in green moss.

We're at the top of the hill. Here's a view down the hill.

Oh, and Washington's license plates read "The Evergeen State" and it is very true. It was nice to see green grass and trees this time of year.

12-8-08 Monday (Slide into Seattle)

Today was travel to Seattle day. We like to call it, "Travel to Seattle Day". Ingenious, no? Anyway, as we retracted the slide, it was jambing a little and stuck out about an inch. We couldn't get the slide to come in all the way. I even asked it nicely. Somehow, it managed to scrape some of the rubber coating into a ball on top of the slide roof. We put it back out. We trimmed what peeled and tried again. It's so out of whack we couldn't get it to go in all the way. I think some of the weatherstrip is damaged now from it coming in all crooked. We tried so many different things. In the meantime, Jim stepped in shit. Life just isn't complete without a little shit on the sneakers. Anyway, finally, he made some adjustments enough to get it closed all the way. We secured it with the tether straps and began the journey.

We're behind our schedule. We'll now arrive after dark. I hate that because we have to use lanterns and flashlights to setup. Sometimes it's so dark we can't see the site numbers.

We stop off at a rest area. Jim walks the dog and steps in shit. Yes, again. This time on his boots.

Next rest area stop, we decide to have lunch. As I get the food set up, Jim smokes a cigarette while walking around the RV and notices that on the driver's side, the wheel skirting is broken off. We can't find any impact damage. It looks like it came loose, and then broke in half. Now it's real attractive looking.

Why must we leave RV parts in different states? Why? We left paint at a gas station pump pole in Missouri. We left our awning in Arizona. We've left hydraulic jack fluid in many a state. Now, we've left our wheel skirt in Washington.

We've named the RV "Rolling T.U.R.D. (Torn Up Road Demon)".

Here's some photos from the day's drive.

In the photo above, the frost made everything pretty.

In the photo above: Should we pass? We did, successfully.

We arrived at "Blue Sky RV Park" in Issaquah, Washington (outside Seattle) in the dark. There's about 30 of those nylon inflatable Christmas things around the park. It's really nice to look at. You know, the ones with the fan running inside it, and they're lit up from within? Really impressive. It was too dark to take pictures of the park, I'll take some tomorrow. The park is also terraced so all of the sites are staggered up and down. The highway is very close but since the park is heavily wooded and up higher, we can barely hear it. Yay, a nice park so far.

We grabbed the lantern and it won't work. I recently replaced a bulb in it. One of the 8 batteries leaked. We'll deal with that later. We set up, and here I am. Sigh.