Now what?

Dave and I have been campers most of our lives.  Separately and together.  We've camped in all kinds of ways - backpacking, with tents, without tents, snow caves, teepees, with small camp trailers and these days in our home, a 34' fifth wheel.  So it didn't take long for us to switch gears from sailboat to rv.  Once we made the decision to sell the boat we moved out within one week.  And we moved into our beloved Booner.  As I mentioned in my last post, Simon was more comfortable immediately.  But so were we.

Dave and Simon getting reaquainted with reclining.

We spent a week at Pioneer Trails RV Park in Anacortes.  We had things to wrap up with getting the boat cleaned out and cleaned up, getting it listed with West Yachts and just taking a deep breath.  Pioneer Trails was the perfect spot to do that from.  And it's a nice park!  One of the nicest RV park-type-places we've been in.  For the non-RVer's out there - there are campgrounds and there are RV parks.  RV parks are generally privately owned parks that maybe geared toward a camp-type experience, or they may be located close to some kind of attraction, or they may just be a place to stop as you travel through an area, but they tend to have smaller sites situated close together.  They do offer full hook ups usually, so you enjoy everything from running water, electricity and sewer to cable tv and wifi.  They also typically have a laundromat.  Pioneer Trails had all of that in a really pleasant wooded setting.  It even had a short nature trail.

Simon approved.

We enjoyed the week there stretching out in the luxury of Booner.  To top it off we had a visit from our friends Art and MaryJo who took us out to lunch.  It was so good to see old friends and it just reaffirmed our decision to get back among the folks we know and love.  

So after a week, we were ready to start moving south!  We had excellent weather by Anacortes standards while we were there.  It was sunnier and warmer longer than usual.  That being said, it's still a tad cooler than our bodies expect in the summer.  So on Monday the 5th of August we slid onto I-5 and drove to Portland.  Which of course means we stayed at the Jantzen Beach RV Park.  This would be one of those RV parks you stay at as an overnighter.  Small close sites.  But it's not far from the interstate.  Or the airport. Or the railroad.  Or the Columbia River and the drawbridge.  All of which make noise.  But after staying here on numerous trips we are immune.  We can actually sleep through it all now.  Not so with the 6am garbage truck though.  That's okay, we wanted to get back on the road early any way.  And yes, we did get to go to the Island Cafe.  And by the way, it was 80 degrees.  Wonderful.

It was so nice to be back in the land of no sales tax and no self-serve fuel.  

However we do love Anacortes and hope to spend more time there in the future.  

Well that's enough for today.  I need to get out and smell some pine trees.  Tune in soon for the "No Reservations Tour" report.

Plan B

First, forgive me for not posting for so long.  There are a few reasons, but at the top of the list is poor internet connections.  I've had to rely on our cellular mobile hotspot and it's been a struggle.  Once we entered the month of August we noticed an increase in population, and not just on the weekends.  Reminds us of the campgrounds in Oregon.  All I can figure is that there are lots of folks "using up" the cellular signal.

When I last posted we were in Friday Harbor in late July.   Before I take you away from this lovely island, I should mention the showers at the marina.  I won't go into great detail, let's just say if you find yourself needing to take a shower there, remember a couple of pointers - 1) Arrange all of your dry items as far away from the shower curtain as possible, like on the outer door 2) Bring lots of quarters.  Although I've never been to prision, I imagine the showers to be quite similar to these.  After a couple of days in Friday Harbor we took off for another Washington State Park, Jones Island.  However there was "no room at the inn".  Jones Island has a real pretty little inlet which is popular for anchoring.  We pulled in but too many folks had beat us to the punch.  So we headed south and east.  Which means we traveled through the Wasp Islands.  This is a group of small islands that have a bit of a reputation for being a bit prickly to pass through.  Lots of rocks and such.  We made it through safely though and enjoyed some nice views.

Our fallback position was to return to Blind Bay.  We dropped the anchor farther back in the bay this time.  That means we took Simon for his walks on the beach on Shaw Island instead of tiny Blind Island.

It's a rocky beach rather than a sandy one.

But it's got a cool appearance

I'm thinking this might be a good wallpaper...

The next day was a long slog back to Anacortes, about five hours.  Kind of like driving to Portland.  On water.  Can't beat the scenery though.  And no pesky lines to keep the vehicle between.  

Meanwhile the eagles and gulls were still at odds with each other, our dock neighbor was still painting his boat and the usual crowd was at the Brown.

So what's "Plan B"?

Dave and I have decided to sell the boat.

WHAT????????

Yep.  There are several reasons but it can be summarized as - the rewards didn't warrant the prices we were paying in effort, discomfort, anxiety, money and time away from loved ones.  So we have listed the boat and moved it to the sales dock where it is highly visible.  We moved back into "Booner", our fifth wheel.  We spent a week in Anacortes at the Pioneer Trails RV park while we moved off of the boat and tied up loose ends.  Then last Monday, the 5th, we headed south.  I'll write more about the land based adventure soon.  But for now, know that the Chapples are happy and dry and back in Southern Oregon as of yesterday afternoon.  Simon is much happier, which as most of you know, is what rules the day.  

Thanks for all of your interest in our antics.  I'm not sure if our adventures going forward will seem as interesting, but we'll give it a try.