And So We Move Again...

Staying in the driveway -- or in this case, in the front yard -- of family is nice, but there is one major drawback. The lack of a sewer is a problem. We could have run a long hose and used the macerator pump, but that is literally a problem of its own and Forry does not like doing it at all.

So anyway, we had been checking around at the various RV parks in the Mount Vernon area and had found a place that had an opening starting today. Seems like a lot of SnowBirds like coming to this area in the summertime and most of the parks have been quite full.

Riverbend RV Park is located alongside of the dike on the bend of the Skagit River.

The park is full, and the sites are really close together!

The nice thing about the park is that Forry has satellite TV reception!

From the RV Park, you can actually see the I-5 Bridge that collapsed a couple of months ago.We'll be able to walk up on the dike over the next few days and watch the work on the new span they're building to replace the temporary one.

In contrast to the rainy, chilly day we had a couple of days ago, today was sunny and actually quite hot. We knew that the person who was in our site wasn't going to leave until this morning, so we didn't get in too big a hurry to leave Daughter MM's. There is not enough room in the gravel road in front of her house to turn around, so Forry had to back Auntie Violet up the road to the culdesac where he could turn. Since it was only about four miles over to the RV park, we didn't hook up Toad II. I just followed Auntie Violet over.

There was an nice Mercedes Class C rig in front of the line at the office, then another motorhome, then us. The Class C rig driver pulled into their assigned space, but the wife stayed in the office. In spite of the fellow on duty telling her that he had two more rigs to check in first, she insisted she had to make reservations for both Labor Day AND Thanksgiving right now! Guess if you drive a Mercedes, you have rights...

We Move to Sister Roxy's - Skagit River Bridge Collapses

Today was another rainy, drippy day. We emptied the grey and black water tanks and flushed them out well this morning in preparation for a few days without a sewer connection. We left the Travel Inn Resort in Elma about noon and headed for my sister and brother-in-law's home just outside of Olympia.

Brother-in-law Rich had gone to Home Depot and picked up a 30 amp box for his shop, so we have electric and water. It was interesting to maneuver through the gate into their place and park over by Rich's shop. (It's going to be even more interesting to back out and get turned around when we leave...) It was raining pretty hard while we were getting parked. By the time we got the jacks down, the slides out, and the electricity hooked up, I was drenched.

Sister Roxy had a cup of hot tea ready for me when I got to the house -- along with a towel to dry my hair! So good to get to visit with her and see all the treasures she has accumulated from their travels to Africa, Panama and Italy (all since the last time I had been here!). We spent most of the afternoon catching up on both activities and family. Roxy made a crock pot of white chicken green chili for supper. It hit the spot on this rainy chilly day.

While we were talking and sort of half watching the news after dinner, we saw the news about the collapse of the I-5 bridge across the Skagit River between Mount Vernon and Burlington. The news broadcast said there were cars and people in the water. So of course, I immediately got on the phone and called Daughter Mary Mae, who lives in Mount Vernon with her family. The house phone line was busy; her cell phone immediately went to voice mail; but I finally got through on Son-in-law Scott's cell phone. They were all at home and fine -- in fact, they hadn't even heard about the bridge collapse yet.

From later reports, it sounds like there were three people rescued from the collapsed bridge and two were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition. It also sounds like an oversize truck load may have hit the upper portion of the bridge.

Wanderin' Around

Today Daughter Mary Mae and Granddaughter Claire and Forry and I took a day trip to look at some possible areas for Auntie Violet to settle in when we decide we don't want to be traveling all the time. We drove up the Skagit River and looked at a piece of property we had seen advertised. That particular piece had been sold, but there was another further down the road that looked interesting --

 It has about a 100 feet of river front and is in a very pretty spot --

There is an old fishing cabin (trailer) on the property --

I liked the view of the mountains across the road --

The Skagit River is quite low right now, but it sure is clear --

It's a typically cold western river that comes out of the mountains, but Claire went wading anyway --

Then we drove on up to Blaine and looked at some places in Birch Bay. The beach there is very rocky at low tide.

MM and her father sitting on a log at the beach. You can sure tell the two of them are related!

The kids had a birthday party this evening and didn't get home until almost nine o'clock, but they still wanted to get in one last game of Hand and Foot. That's Claire and her father, Scott --

Grandson Varick doesn't seem too sure about whatever it is his Mom is saying...

I tried a new recipe tonight that was in the Simply in Season cookbook using some of the fresh apricots we picked up in Kittatas with chicken breasts, ginger and maple syrup. It was very good, but I think I would have liked it better with thighs (I do like dark meat!).