So uh, remember last update when I said that pesky medical follow-ups were keeping us in TX, but at least none were serious?
One got serious.
And that’s why we’re still here, but that’s not the BIG change. I’ll get to that.
It’s a little bit about me, and a lot about Tim and boats.
I won’t leave you guessing about the medical thing.
My doctors found that I have some precancerous endometrial lesions, and the treatment for someone my age and with my cancer history is a hysterectomy. I’m scheduled for the surgery in April, and we expect to begin our trek toward WA & AK in mid-May, assuming I get an all-clear from my medical team.
Quite honestly, it’s a relief — and also a good excuse for a heartfelt reminder to get your regular check-ups, and also your irregular ones, for symptoms and conditions that just don’t seem right. Don’t wait.
So yeah, other than a 10-day visit to Tim’s folks in Mexico, we’ve stayed put here on our friends’ property in Boerne, TX, and since I have no RV travels to report for this quarter, I’ll jump right into what’s happening later this year.
And now… for something completely different.
If you were paying attention last summer, you might have noticed my somewhat cryptic caption on the photo of Tim at the WoodenBoat School in Maine.
It was here, in July, that we started seriously discussing the “what ifs” and “just maybes” of that rekindled flame. (This is a screen cap of the slide show from the original post, not a new slide show, so don’t click the little arrow thingies because they don’t do anything.)
… we knew we’d be returning from Alaska to Washington in September of this year, making it an ideal time to start school there, but …
… Tim didn’t know what he’d do with the skills he’d learn and the degree he’d earn, so …
… after a lot of drive-time discussions and no small amount of soul searching, he decided to let those wood shavings fall where they may, because life is short, and it’s time to fulfill this dream. A post-graduation plan will eventually reveal itself.
Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tim applied in January, pretty much the second admissions opened for the 2023-24 school year, and – – – paperwork, interview, more paperwork – – – is now enrolled in their 12-month Boatbuilding AOS Degree program, starting in October!
It was in fact while we were living in WA 20 years ago that Tim built his first wooden boat, laying the keel after returning from a lengthy Navy deployment in 2003, and launching in 2004.
The 15’ solid wooden and fiberglass sailboat was based on Harold Payson’s Gypsy. Tim modified it in 2005, refurbished it in 2015, and sold it in 2016, shortly after we took to full-time RV living.
We have what feels like a shipyard’s worth of logistics to plan before school starts. Are we going to book an RV site for a year? Rent a furnished place? Sell or store Tex (5th wheel) or Road Island (truck camper)? What about the cargo trailer with all Tim’s tools in it? What am I going to do while Tim’s in class every weekday from 8-5 for a year? If I get a job, won’t we need a second vehicle? And oh yeah, there’s this summer’s trip to Alaska in Road Island, for which we don’t even have the bare minimum of dinghies in a row yet. Ack!
And then… there’s the weather. We’ve visited family in western Washington countless times, plus we lived in Bremerton for a 2-year tour of duty, and it was the longest, coldest, darkest, wettest 6 winters I’ve ever experienced. Please send a sun lamp and other mood lifters. I’ve already bought the wildest pair of rain boots I could find.
The father will follow in the son’s footsteps, right through the doors of the boat school, 10 years later. It’s kind of like a legacy admission, only… backwards? Plus, that boy of ours still lives in the area, and the prospect of more family time definitely puts some wind in this mama’s sails. (Photo taken at the school, the weekend our son graduated)
And if I knew where to find this old license plate frame, which I had custom made for Tim when he finished the sailboat in 2004, and is now buried in a box in our storage unit, I’d definitely give it a shine and put it on the BFT.
As we muddle our way from springtime surgery in Texas, through an Alaskan summer road trip, to settling into student life in Washington in the fall, check in with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for brief updates on how it’s all going. Until the next long post here, I’ll leave you with a joke.
Question: What’s the biggest advantage of going back to school as a retiree? Answer: If you cut classes, no one calls your parents.
We started full-timing in August of 2015, but I didn’t think to do an annual review until the end of 2016, and it was just a listing on Facebook of places we’d visited. After that, I started using a quarterly format.
Looks like we flung a couple of ramen noodles at a map, and then tried to follow them around the northwest this summer. Allow me to help unravel the squiggles.
We started where we left off last quarter, in Coeur d’Alene, ID. From there, we traveled in WA to Yakima –> Ashford –> Port Townsend –> Cashmere before landing back in Coeur d’Alene again for a couple of weeks. Then we rolled allll the way over to Glacier NP in MT, and allll the way back to Soap Lake, WA. After that, we made our way to OR, for visits to the Tillamook and Bend areas. RV miles traveled this quarter: about 2370 (Map does not reflect exact routing.)
Why all the loopiness?
Our summer was a mashup of pre-planned events interspersed with family visits that had to be finagled where and when our family members were available, plus logical places to layover during the in-betweens, plus recalculations when not one, but two planned events were canceled with less than 2 weeks notice (one fell to COVID, one to wildfire smoke). So yeah, our brains ended up looking a little like twisted noodles too.
I’ll take you on a brief tour of each of our ten major stops. Ready?
Coeur d’Alene, ID ~ June 27 to July 18
It’s a home for us. Tim went to high school there, friends still live in the area, and his folks still visit about once a year. We were lucky to spend time with them both times we swung through this summer.
There was a friend with a dog …
… friends who needed help with home renovations …
… for which we accepted a 4th of July picnic and snuggles with their new grandbaby as perfectly adequate compensation.
And there was a farmer’s market within walking distance of our RV park.
Yakima, WA ~ July 18-22
It was just a 4-night stop to have some work done on the truck, but we scored on finding a quiet state park within bicycling distance of the repair shop. We celebrated our 29th anniversary at a downtown eatery on our first night, and the only other item of note was actually rather embarrassing.
Another score: a Harvest Hosts location only 5 miles from the SW entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. With host permission we stayed 3 nights, spent accordingly in their cafe, and were thus able to put in two unrushed hiking days, with gloriously sunny weather and clear views.
Great North American Snow Goobers
If you’ve got a craving for hearty Ukrainian specialties, visit our hosts, Paradise Village Hotel & Restaurant.
Port Townsend, WA ~ July 25 to August 3
Our boy! Our big boy lives in Port Townsend and we hadn’t seen him for 19 months. Oh… ummm… actually both of our boys are big, at 6’2″, but this one’s the first born. And we hadn’t seen him for 19 months. Did I say that already?
We looked at boats …
… worked on trucks …
… and that boy mixed for me one of the fanciest cocktails I’ve ever had. Absinthe. There was actual absinthe in it.
On our final day, we took a foggy ferry ride to Coupeville …
… to meet up with Tim’s middle sister. We weren’t sure we were going to get to see her this trip. So glad it worked out.
Cashmere, WA ~ August 3-10
This is an easy one. Already wrote about it! We celebrated 6 years on the road at the Escapees Cascade Mountains Hangout, during which we went on a scavenger hunt, and went hiking, and went tubing on the river, and had potlucks, and toured a candy factory, and went to a musical, and pretty much pretended we were kids at summer camp again.
We had two weeks to kill before our next event, and Cd’A was along the way, so it made sense to land amongst our people again.
Not fun: wildfire smoke. But we’d managed to avoid it until then, so 5 days worth wasn’t too bad.
Totally fun: helping Tim’s folks shop for a used truck camper. Tim did the roof check, among other important pre-purchase inspection items.
I couldn’t resist adding the subsequent “Gotcha Day” to the calendar.
Ta-daaa! And off they went…
Glacier National Park ~ August 24 to September 1
Time for our second round of “summer camp,” at the Escapees Glacier Country Hangout. The directors planned an incredibly varied slate of activities, and we saw more of the park than we would have on our own: west side, east side, trails, lakes, and guided tours. I cannot pick a favorite excursion or photo, and that’s why you get 12 in this slide show instead of only 4 or 5.
We arrived ready for fun.
The historic red bus tour of the park was a favorite. Book one.
You get to go topless to see all the wonders!
My dish for the potluck brunch was a french toast casserole made from doughnuts left over from the prior Hangout. From this Hangout, I took leftover bagels. Do you sense a tradition being born?
A hike to Avalanche Lake
Whitewater rafting on the Flathead River
A hike along the notorious Highline Trail was not as daunting as we were led to believe, but is definitely not for those afraid of heights.
Plus, there were critters. This is a curious Columbian Ground Squirrel. We also saw deer and mountain goats that day; foxes, a bear, and two moose on others.
It was on this boat tour of Lake McDonald that Tim spotted the moose on the shore — and I’ve now got a moose tattoo on my wrist as a memento.
Second boat tour: Two Medicine Lake on the east side of the park
That one included a guided hike.
After the Hangout, we rolled around to the east side of the park to moochdock with friends who are working as caretakers at a guest ranch. We spent a month last year moochdocking on their property in WY, so it was like coming home again.
Soap Lake, WA ~ September 2-7
This stop was a last-minute addition. We learned that Tim’s other sister and her husband would be staying at Soap Lake in their new-to-them camper, and then Tim’s folks decided to join them in their new-to-them camper, so we grabbed a site at a campground right down the road, and voila! We had a plan for Labor Day Weekend.
Parking for two at Campground A (the beauty of being petite) …
… and parking for one right down the road at Campground B. Lakeside. With a gazebo and a swing set. And we knew which site to request because we’d read a review on Campendium — and friends of ours had written it!
Sunrise over Soap Lake, known for its high mineral content and rumored to have healing powers. I stuck my feet in a couple of times. Meh. No miracles.
Garibaldi & Tillamook, OR ~ September 8-19
When one door closes (like say, an event we’d registered to attend in WA that was COVID cancelled), another one opens (like say, a third Hangout with a spot available). And that’s how we ended up at the Escapees Oregon Coast Hangout: skidding in sideways at the comparative last minute. We were not at all sad about another week of fun in an area we’d not explored.
The star of the Oregon Coast Hangout was of course the coast itself.
There was also a neat-o tree.
And no visit to Tillamook would be complete without a tour of and treat from the Tillamook Creamery.
We did a group service project too, trimming vegetation and staining benches at the Kilchis Point Reserve.
And hey, remember I said I took leftover bagels from the prior Hangout? Turned them into pizza snacks for a potluck at this one. And then from this one, I took home leftover brownies, and yeah, you know what’s gonna happen.
Sisters & Bend, OR ~ September 19-30
We found a great place to boondock, and set off on several adventures from there. Mornings were chilly, but the sun came out and warmed up our days, making for perfect hiking and backpacking weather. We squeezed in a pretty wide variety of activities, and have more on our list for an eventual return visit.
We started with a tour of the Host camper factory — because even though we’re not looking, we’re always kind of looking.
Also spent some time strolling vibrant downtown Bend, with its pretty river views …
… quaint shops and multiple alcoholic beverage “-ies” (brewer, winer, and distiller) …
… and a tattoo parlor that takes walk-ins. Did you really think I’d leave you without a pic of my moose?
We made a day trip to Crater Lake NP, hiked its two most difficult trails …
… and plopped our toes in the clear, cold water.
Next up: a 2-night backpacking adventure around the 23-mile Three Fingered Jack Loop in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. Tim noticed my new patch right off the bat.
That’s Three Fingered Jack. The mountain, not my husband.
The final 10 miles were along this famous pathway.
On our last full day, we took a friend’s suggestion to visit Smith Rock State Park, and we were blown away by the landscape.
Where to next?
We’re now making our way to the Salt Lake City area, where Tim will savor some solo time while I fly to VA for Girl Time, and the fewer details I release about that, the better. Suffice it to say that since we canceled last year’s annual gathering (our 26th) because of the pandemic, we will likely make up for it with double the indulgences this year, and I cannot wait. I’ve even added nights on each end to spend even more time with more girlfriends from my Norfolk-based sisterhood. We were stationed there from 2004-2010, and I still miss the strong sense of community.
After I’ve recovered from the eatingdrinkinglaughingandhardlysleeping hangover, we roll to Hobbs, NM, for the 2-week Escapees Habitat for Humanity Hangout. It’ll feel good to get back to giving back, getting our hands dirty, and sharing the experience with other like-minded RVers. Plus, I’ll get a chance to pull those leftover brownies out of my freezer and upcycle them into something decadent for a potluck dessert.
From there, we’ll roll to Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo, TX, for about a week. It’s been on our list since before we even started RVing, and we’ve not managed to hit it right a single one of the umpteen times we’ve gone in and out of TX since 2015. This time, I made a reservation — at a highly uncharacteristic 6 months in advance!
After that, it’s back to homebase San Antonio for a few weeks of catching up with family & friends, routine annual medical and dental checks, and holy crap how are we this close to the holidays again already?
So ummm… happy new year? I’m sure I’ll post at least one fresh blog between now and then, and as ever, you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter for more frequent updates as we roll along.
We started full-timing in August of 2015, but I didn’t think to do an annual review until the end of 2016, and it was just a listing on Facebook of places we’d visited. After that, I started using a quarterly format.
