Living on the Road

with Jim and Gayle

August, 2012

While in Sandpoint, Jim and I went ziplining at Schweitzer Mountain.  It was a very fast line with a very sudden (neck wrenching) stop at the end.

We went to Spokane Valley so that I could play in a small pickleball tournament.  Shirlene and I won gold in Women's doubles; Tim and I won silver in Mixed Doubles.

There's a funky museum in Spokane called Marvin Carr's One of a Kind in the World Museum.  It is the collection of a retired railroad guy who decided he wanted to open his own museum.

The Elks in Spokane, where we were staying, hosted a car show.  One of the workers backed into our coach, causing over $500 worth of damage (amazing how much a "little" scratch can cost to be repaired).  The guy gave Jim false insurance information.  Jim is working with our insurance and now the Elks to get this resolved.

Our friends, Mary Ellen (who is fighting lung cancer) and Ron, were able to leave Indio for about 6 weeks and come up to their RV lot at Stoneridge, near Spokane.  Our stay in Spokane overlapped one day so we were able to visit with them.

From Spokane, we headed to Boise for another pickleball tournament.  My Women's Doubles partner, Nancy, and I didn't do at all well.  However, Gordon and I won a tough-fought Silver medal.

I spent much of my childhood in the Boise area.  Jim and I drove by the two house where I once lived.  The one in Boise was not bad (house on left).  However, the house in Meridian (which my folks built) was really rundown (house on right).  It was sad to see the Meridian house and neighborhood as I have such good memories from that time.

After Boise, we went to Junction City, OR to have new tire pressure sensors put on the coach.  We were starting to get a spurious alarm from one sensor.  Since the batteries were five years old (they are mounted to the inside tire rim), it was time to change them all out.

We then visited Robin and Sharyl in Vancouver.  Sharyl works at her sister's blueberry farm.  We visited her there, and in about 10 minutes picked two wonderful buckets of berries.

We saw Jim's two daughters, Ginger and Michelle while in Vancouver.  Pictured are Drew (Ginger's son), Ginger, Michelle, Brittany (Michelle's daughter) and Cash and Bentley (Brittany's identical twins).  Yes, Jim is a greatgrandfather, though he will never admit it.  We also saw Michelle's son, Jack and Michelle's husband, John.

From Vancouver, we went to Bonney Lake (south of Seattle) to see my Mom.  She is doing Great!  It was so good to see how much progress she has made.  While there, I went with her when she got a haircut.  Her hair is now so delicate that she can't get a permanent so she needed a new hairdo.  I think it looks terrific.

From Seattle, we went to Desert Aire to clean up our lot.  Our neighbors had written to say that it was overrun by weeds.  We expected a lot of cheat grass.  We did not expect the  large numbers of huge Russian thistles (tumbleweeds).  We spent two days pulling them all up and burning them (fortunately there was not yet a burn ban on).

We are now in Richland, visiting Scott and Joan.  While here, we will get the boat out of storage and ready to fish next month.