We had a pretty nice Boeing ride from Anchorage to Portland. I had pre-ordered the yam and feta omelet, and it arrived miles off the ground and piping hot. I was puzzled why a yam omelet would come with potatoes on the side, but the bacon was delicious, as was the fruit and bread. A lot of carbs in that meal.
We hailed a cab for the ride to the storage yard. It seemed
expensive for the short distance but I was feeling so spry to be on the road
again I left my cane in the cab. I was
just going to buy another one, but my compadre called the cab company and negotiated
the return of the cane. At first the driver wanted $20.00, then $10, but my pal eventually charmed him
into delivering it for free. I ended up
giving him another $10.00 for his willing to return my cane, so with the tip
for the ride he made out pretty good pocketing $17.00 cash.
The vans battery was dead, but the storage had a jumper. I maybe
should not have used it as my hip guy
said not to jump, but I did it anyway, and the van Ice Gal roared back to life.
Our first mission on the ground was to head out to Camper
World and pick up a freshwater hose, as the replacement I had gotten was of
poor quality, and I wanted to replace it.
That errand done we
headed to the nearest Grocery and stocked up on provisions, for the week.
Our goal is to head north to Mount Vernon to see the tulips,
but because it is late in the day and I didn’t want to deal with Portland-Vancouver
traffic we decided to head east to Hood River, and a KOA camp there.
Little did I know that between us and Hood River was a tunnel
under construction, that did away with one lane of travel, and caused a huge
back-up of traffic that was far worse than anything that I have ever seen
between Portland and Vancouver.
It started raining about the time we arrived at the KOA, so we got to tie down and plug in, in the rain. We were almost done with getting settled in for the evening when we heard the train. It was getting louder as it neared, and soon it passed by pretty near our spot for the night. Good thing I like trains.
The trains didn’t bother my sleep as I am pure of heart
mostly, and a rail fan.
It was still wet in
the morning as we unhooked and got ready for our ride across the bridge of the gods.
The bridge is a toll bridge, because like all gods, he needs your money. Last time I crossed here
I was on a motorbike and was unprepared for the toll. It was only one dollar
for a bike, but all I could find in my pocket as I stood on all the oil and grease
at the toll booth was a $20.00. The gate keeper asked if I had anything smaller. I said a
quarter, so she took my twenty and gave me back 19, one-dollar bills.
Today I was ready with a one, but the toll for cars and trucks is three dollars. Luckily, I had exact change for this crossing.
The only way to go north here is to first go back west to Vancouver
then the dreaded ride on highway Cinco.
Washington highway 14 has lots less traffic than across the
river, so it was an enjoyable scenic drive, with no tunnel delays. By looking for a Costco gas station, we managed to not only skirt Vancouver on its
eastern flank but found the best priced fuel around.
We cruised up highway Cinco at highway speed, destroying my
good fuel economy.
Bypassing Seattle we arrived in Mount Vernon in plenty of time to enjoy the river walk. Find a nice RV park and go look for the tulips.
The tulips have not yet bloomed, for this year. We did see fields of daffodils, and some giant metal tulips along the river walk.
Your coffee pals imagined fields of blooming tulips. Good enough for us who are weary of black snow & ice this Alaska spring.
ReplyDeleteI know where to find cute canes if you lose yours again.