October 2024 Seaside, OR

It’s been 13 years since we’ve been to this part of the Oregon Coast. Last time we were here, we rented a house south of here which turned out to smell like cat pee in every room & we drove into a rainy Seaside to escape the smell and wound up spending most of that day in the arcade with Eme who was tiny and portable in her BOB stroller.

It’s grown a bit and we are treated by and entire weekend of SUNSHINE on the Oregon coast. If you don’t live in the PNW you may not know that the coast, 12 months a year, is full of rain or wind or fog or rain and wind and fog.

It’s been a jam packed October both on a work and personal level in our family. Each of us has been going in every direction nearly every day this month. This is our last week of a ‘thing to do’ so now we can start to focus on put off chores and winter projects. We didn’t even get a chance to decorate for Halloween this year which is saying something for us if you’ve seen our house over the years.

We forgot some items this trip, including all of Eme’s clothes. We pulled in form lunch at the massive Chehalis Walmart and I hopped out to get Eme some weekend clothes. Pulling into the super busy Friday afternoon Walmart was not easy. Where I should have turned left, to skirt along the far end of the parking lot, was backed up 7 cars deep. I need all the lane space to turn the truck with the trailer on. So I decided to plod ahead down the straight and clear parking lane that led to the center of the store.

I’m pretty sure Tyler had a mini stroke, as he advised against the move after I initiated it. It seemed doable. I even joked at the Subaru Outback backing out of a front row spot that I should put on my blinker to wait for his spot. No one else found this amusing. I turned wide and left with no traffic and no issues and dropped myself off at the front door and left Tyler to park it.

We don’t have a Walmart nearby that people don’t get regularly shot at so I don’t go in to a Walmart unless we’re traveling. They have cute young girl clothes. Eme totally scored by us forgetting her stuff at home.

The new trailer tows like it is part of the truck compared to a ball and hitch tow behind. Why did we wait so long to get a 5th wheel? We stayed at our first ever Thousand Trails. It’s a membership based RV park, you don’t reserve your spot (at this one, at least), you just drive around and pick the one you want and pull in. That’s also a first for us.

Backing this thing is not something I’m attempting yet. I not oriented to it and it’s huge and heavy; I’m terrified of running something over. Thank goodness Tyler had mad skills at backing any manner of trailer.

We enjoyed a local craft show which also was hosting the “Seaside Sashay” Dance club. Pretty sure no one was under the age of 60 but Eme really enjoyed watching them. Had some Mo’s for lunch one of the days and walked along the Prom and on the beach. Dogs are totally allowed on Oregon beaches which is nice. It’s as windy despite the sun so Eme was not amused with the walking program, at all.

Our trailer sofa arrived the day before we left for the trip so we got to sort that out for the weekend. It’s nice to have more seating than one loveseat offered.

Our bed in the new rig is much higher than the old one. The cat requires a jumping point and has quickly taken to using one of the nearby drawers, if I leave it open, as a launch point for some kitty parkour.

The new trailer takes up 45.5′ of our 47′ driveway. Years ago we cut down one tree near the garage ourselves and a year after that the power company was thrilled to cut the large messy pine tree down near the street that was growing up through the power lines. We ground that stump down but it was a deep one and we could only go so deep. It made the side parking strip lumpy and uneven which was okay for the two behind but hooking up the 5th wheel needs a flatter, level surface so we had some local folks some in to grade and rock the area.

The trailer tires will be much happier parking on a drainable surface as well. This was done by ONE guy in 1/2 a day. Crazy amazing skill set.

Plans are mostly in place for summer 2024 with another Colorado route. We’ll check out if we want to acquire property in a particular area back there. I’m also working an angle to check out New Hampshire. I worry about be away from WATER and a coastal NE town sounds pretty amazing to me. I’ve been gone so long from the East Coast, it would be nice to have sea level with 4 seasons. I’m also worried the extreme dryness of Colorado will not be friendly to my lung issues.

Working on some spring trips. As expected, the size of the trailer lends itself to accommodation limitations at places. The old trailer at 39′ was no friend to all places either but many places tap out at 40′ which puts us in a new class of ‘big rig’ status. It’ll just take more planning. I had to rework the Colorado trip since it was already routed and booked (mostly) when we acquired the new rig.

Speaking of trailers… the old 2017 Highland Ridge left yesterday to a new family; ironically, just in West Seattle.

The puppy is growing fast. He is DEFINITELY not a mini, mini Australian Shepherd. Dixie, full grown was 34lbs. Revvy, 5 months old is 32lbs. He already is getting running training with Tyler and while he may nearly trip Tyler a dozen times, Revvy loves the running. He’ll be able to keep up with a bike next summer no problem.

Halloween in our neighborhood is a jam packed event. I’m talking hundreds of kids to each house. The kids love it. Tyler and I have often wondered if the concentrated blocks (we’re just a block off the main area) get a warning by a real estate agent when they buy the house about hoards of trick or treaters…

I’ll sign off for 2023. We’ll entertain you all in spring 2024!