Thursday, July 16, 2015

Two Beautiful Sunny Days - And Cyborg Termites?


Sitting pretty at South Beach SP, hiding it's little secret
Tuesday morning we woke to a cloudless sky for the first time in weeks. A great day to take a drive. Several people had commented on how much they like Beverly Beach SP so we went to check it out.

With a very different feel from South Beach SP, the sites at Beverly Beach are all back in a very deep, tall, dark forest. It is beautiful and we would love it. Doubt it gets internet.

Access to the beach is under Hwy 101 over smooth basalt rocks. The wind was blowing very hard but Tessa hadn't had a good run in a couple days and really needed to burn off some energy. Watching her run in big circles and figure eights on a nearly empty beach just cracks me up!


Such a dork!
Beverly Beach, Newport, OR 
Because it was so dramatic under gray skies I really wanted to revisit Yaquina Head in the sunshine.



What a difference a day makes
Nye Beach is a fun and funky little area and Nana's Irish Pub has a nice patio and delicious food. I had to bring half of my shepherd's pie home for dinner. Stopped in a wonderful smelling shop that had a crystal singing bowl the size of our captain's chairs. As lovely as it sang, I decided it probably wasn't a rig-friendly choice :-) 

Another clear sky greeted us Wednesday morning, travel day. Took our time packing up after breakfast. We stick to the same routine and it was going smoothly until Bill yelled "Stop!" as I was pulling in the full-side slide.

I thought maybe a tree branch had dropped and got stuck in the top. I wish.

At the door he tells me that the heads of all the bolts along the bottom of the mechanism on the lower slide have sheared off. Say what?  How does that happen without some horrible noise?

It does it well apparently, because we never heard a thing and always stand outside to watch both out and in. I suspect cyborg termites.

He figures we'll try one time to get it in. While I pull it in he pushes against the side. I try not to think of crushing his hands......

Success. We're pulled in on all sides and safe to drive. Before we head out he notes that a couple of them have sheared off on the front side as well. Damn bugs.

We're only going to Tillamook and figure there will be a place we can get it fixed.

Like Carson Valley in Nevada, I am enchanted by Tillamook Valley. A large green expanse dotted with red barns and threaded with full rivers and streams, it is a serene and magical place. The forested mountains curve around on three sides, with the bay completing the circle.

This is another Harvest Host stop for us. We're staying at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company.

Although the parking lot is packed, there's room for us to pull off and I go check in. They suggest I park right where we are. Sweet.

Our hosts

Showing her good slides....
While I'm doing that Bill finds a repair place so we head over to see if they can take a look.

Of course! Bring it in first thing in the morning :-)

We find the Pelican Brewing Company and enjoy a couple of very good beers. The elk burger was delicious as well.



Dorymans Ale and Kiwanda Cream Ale
Meanwhile, back at the farm....





I show our appreciation for the free camping spot by purchasing cheese and other goodies for more than the price of a camping spot......but we're in Tillamook and we would have bought that stuff anyway so hey, I'm happy!

Sun and shop shutting down for the night






18 comments:

  1. WTH?! Damn bugs! I've heard of that happening to a couple other peoples rigs. Don't remember what caused it. I check on ours and give them a jiggle now and then to make sure they're still there and that they're tight. Sounds like an easy fix though. Nice farm spot. Oh, Tillamook is dangerous for us! So is the whole state of Wisconsin for that matter. We LOVE cheese. Tessa looked like she was in Heaven!

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    1. Oh good - you know how you always feel like you're the only one stuff happens to :-) We love cheese too, and I especially love really fresh soft cheeses so that place had to be a one night only!!

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  2. Thank goodness this repair should be under warranty! Every single time I put the slides in or out I have little jolts of concern that this time it might not work! There's just something about all that weight moving in and out and traveling over bumpy roads that doesn't seem like it is going to last forever!

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    1. Yep, me too! Especially our full-side slide with the residential frig and microwave - it's crazy heavy!

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  3. The coast and that deep blue sky sure to make for gorgeous photos! Tessa is a hoot with those ears standing up...great capture:) Good she had a chance to run off her energy.

    Any cheese shop/factory is always on my list. Nice spot to spend the night.

    Sure hope all goes well and quickly with your repairs! Keep us posted!

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    1. The look on her face when she's free to run at full speed is priceless! The little farm was pretty cute :-)

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  4. Will have to keep an eye on that re. the slide. We also have a Thor with the frigde and microwave in the slide. Most of the repairs have been done and fingers crossed nothing else will go wrong. Good luck and safe travels.

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    1. Things will go wrong. Just know that they get fixed too :-) Enjoy your travels - and your Thor!

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  5. Sure love your spot at South Beach State Park and the beautiful lighthouse and ocean pictures. Looks like Tessa loves it too. Thanks for the heads up on the bolts. I've never even heard of this before. Yikes! You do seem to be really able to roll with the punches. An excellent quality for the full timers life. Maybe I'd better look into this Harvest Hosts thing.

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    1. We've liked the two places we've stayed so far, although strangely both of them were the windiest places we've stopped :-( At $44/year membership it has paid for itself now and all the rest are free. Excited to check out the lavender farm in Washington next month!! Except for the stupid computer malfunction on launch day, we have found it easy to take the issues in stride so far. Although I am not challenging Murphy to change that!!!

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  6. Uh-oh. Hope your slide problem turns out to be an easy fix. You definitely have a great attitude. So does Tessa -- I love the photos of her cavorting on the beach! Blue Heron sounds like a wonderful place to stay. I've had their brie and it's fabulous!

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    1. Loved their brie too - still enjoying it :-) That Tessa is most happy with a beach to run on!!

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  7. I've heard that having a fridge on the slide isn't a good choice. That's one of my criteria for our rig-no fridge on a slide. That and being able to access the fridge and bathroom when the slides are in is a must. I've read your next post so I'm glad to know it was easily repaired :-)
    When we take Rufus to the dog park, he seeks out friends who like to run with him. Then watch out for your shins! I've been hit when he's at full speed and still have a slight bruise to prove it.

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    1. We looked for models with no frig on the slide as I too had heard of problems, and this may have been because of that extra weight, we may never know. And we made sure we could get to frig, bathroom and bed with slides in too - and have spent a couple nights with just the bed slide out with no problems. Tessa has gotten my shins a couple times too!! Crazy mutts!

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  8. OMG, I hold my breath each and every time I hit that button to bring in the big slide. And when it actually didn't come in that time in Texas, I was like, what?? I figure if I worry about it each time then I shouldn't be shocked, but I sure was! We found a welder and it was an $80 fix that's still holding 7 months later! Fingers crossed!

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    1. Me too! It is just so much to move I am relieved every time it comes all the way in. I'm so glad Bill caught the problem before we tried to pull it all the way in - validates having him watch from outside every time. Glad your fix did the trick :-))))

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  9. Oh how I love that Tillamook cheese. I too worry about pulling in the slides but don't have the luxury of an extra pair of eyes. Hope you've gotten this straightened out.

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    1. I always enjoyed traveling on my own, but with "all this" I'm so glad there's two of us just for things like this. I think you have it figured out pretty well though :-)

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