Chillin'

June 25- July 8, 2013 River's End RV Park, Chinook,WA

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RV LIFE:
Yep, just chillin. What's that mean?
From the Urban Dictionary: "1. relaxing doing nothing special.  2. To be in a state of prolonged satisfactory boredom. 3. A positive phase of being, not regarded as being bored, but not in the process of doing anything worth elaborating upon."  
But, elaborate I will. That's part of what my blog is about. Elaborating about daily activities or non-activities, so family, friends, acquaintances, or just nosy people can keep up with what & how we're doing. Read on...or not.
So, yes, I've been just chillin. Scott has been working. He's been doing some more wiring for our solar power. He's also still been researching about the proper set up. As he reads more and more, he realizes he's done a damn good job! He hasn't made mistakes that make you lose power from the panels through the wires to the batteries. We aren't really looking to boondock, but we like the option of being able to. For two weeks, all our lights (LED) have been working off the solar panels. Even though we're not paying for electric, it's nice to be able to use less.
As his reward, every morning and every night I've been...
           get your mind out of the gutter...
                     making his morning coffee for him & in the evening making a beautiful salad.
Not much, but it shows my appreciation of him and he enjoys my efforts.

We will be heading North to Port Townsend, WA. We'll be way up by Puget Sound and just a ferry ride into Canada. I have been planning and reserving our spots for the rest of the summer. I hate being committed, but I don't want to arrive and be turned away. Once we start heading South in October, we'll probably go back to our week to week plans instead of 2 months ahead planning. You can see at the bottom of the post the new places listed where we'll be.
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SIGHTS:
Just chillin. We haven't really taken the opportunity to look around the area much. We never made it to Cape Disappointment, which is only 5 miles up the road. We haven't walked the wonderful trails in the area. This is why I can't lose weight. I'm not exercising, just chillin.  Scott has been finding local geocaches, so he's getting some exercise.
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PETS:
Just chillin, beautiful weather and I've been hanging out with the doggies outside daily. The campground filled up for the holiday. The weekenders came and also brought their families, which means, eek! Children! There were 4 tents set up across the street from us with a large group 14 people and 3 dogs. I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet they were. Only one time, in the evening, did a 3 yr old go running down the road screaming and crying, which totally freaked poor Devin. During our morning walk a sweet 7 yr old girl was riding her bike round and round and round the park. She spotted us and started asking questions and decided to ride beside us. Devin just didn't know what to do. He gets excited over bicycles, but then there is a child on it. He would try to stay close to the bike, the then girl would try to pet him and he'd duck down and back to Momma. The exposure is good for him (well not the screaming kid), but well behaved calm kids.
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BUSINESS REVIEW:
Caton's Capers, Astoria Market, OR
My rating 4.5 out of 5
Great customer service. Beautiful, good quality collars. Would like the collars priced between $18.-$20. instead of $25.
We stopped at the Astoria Sunday Market again this week. We picked up a couple of martingale collars. I had one special made for Lyla, but ends up it looks better on Devin.  We ended up with a different new collar for Lyla. Julie of Caton's Capers has a greyhound. She makes and sells dog collars. Very nice woman and nice products. She has a nice variety of martingale collars which I swear by. Her collars sell for $25.00 each. We received a $5.00 discount for buying two.

From Wikipedia: "A martingale is a type of dog collar that provides more control over the animal without the choking effect of a slip collar.
Martingale dog collars are also known as greyhound, whippet or humane choke collars. The martingale dog collar was designed for sighthounds because their necks are larger than their heads and they can often slip out of buckle collars. These collars have gained popularity among other breed owners in the recent past with many trainers now recommending them instead of choke chains or buckle collars.
A martingale collar is made with two loops. The larger loop is slipped onto the dogs neck and a leash is then clipped to the smaller loop. When the dog tries to pull, the tension on the leash pulls the small loop taut, which makes the large loop smaller and tighter on the neck, thus preventing escape. Properly fitted, the collar will be comfortably loose when not in use."
Martingale collars don't allow a dog to slip out of his collar. I think all volunteer dog rescue transporters should use these for transporting. Scared dogs can easily slip out of regular collars but not martingale collars.
Here are a few varieties of martingale collars.

 http://www.stepaheadcollars.com/about-martingale-collars/

         

May be found in PetSmart

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Smoked Salmon Chowder Food Truck, Astoria, OR & Ilwaco, WA Markets
My rating 2 out of 5, Scott's rating 3 out of 5

It sounds delicious, it looks delicious, but...
I found it very bland. What few pieces of smoked salmon were in it, were very good, but the chowder was almost tasteless.
The chowder was nice and thick, but had no creamy or buttery taste. It seemed like it was just flour based. (In clam chowder, there is a slight clam taste throughout because clam juice is added.) I thought the green herb specks in the soup was dill. I LOVE dill. But it was only dried parsley which adds appearance, but no flavor. I DID eat the whole generous serving. But the only reason I ate it was because of the fresh veggies in the soup. The corn kernels were crisp, the shredded carrots added texture and the celery added some flavor.

Bowpicker Fish & Chips, Astoria, OR
My rating 3 out of 5, Scott's rating 4 out of 5

We found out about Bowpicker from fellow bloggers rave reviews. It's probably become an Astoria "destination" because of it's unique "building" which is a Bowpicker (fishing boat) remodeled into a food truck type of place, but stays stationary.

The other unique thing is that their fish is albacore tuna, not cod. I wanted to try Bowpicker just because of the tuna. The tuna was good. Definitely a sturdier meat so it was very easy to pick up with my fingers and eat in the truck on the way home. I was surprised that it didn't have a stronger flavor. The steak fries were just average frozen thick cut fries. The fish was good, but would I wait in line for it? No. Scott also said he wouldn't wait in line, so that is why he gave 4 stars instead of 5.

This was a short line! About a dozen people and it took 1/2 to put in my order. Earlier in the day there were about 40 people in line. I would not be waiting for over an hour for average fish & chips, even if it is tuna.

Olebobs, Ilwaco, WA and Astoria Market, OR

Olebobs' storefront is right by the marina at Port Ilwaco. So it's worth stopping and enjoying the view also. I am not going to rate this one. I don't think we did it justice by just ordering fish & chips. I will say, that I prefer cod, which this place used. It may break apart more, but it is a sweeter flavored fish. I have found that fish & chips in this area are different than fish & chips on the East coast. I'm used to a heavier batter. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just different. The lighter batter is not as filling or greasy.

Olebobs has great reviews on Yelp. They all talk about the crab and how fresh it is. Scott was offered ice to keep his frozen crab cakes safe for the drive home. He hasn't tried them yet.

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CRAFTS: 

I reorganized my yarn stash...again. I made a spreadsheet and corresponding photos of the yarn I have and EXACTLY where it is stashed in the RV. I felt like I went shopping again. Some yarns I forgot about. I've really got to knit more.  I've got yarn in a suitcase, yarn in a laptop backpack, yarn behind the odd space under the stairs in the basement, yarn hanging from a towel holder in the basement, yarn in my craft cabinet...I cannot say I'm bored.

Hanging on towel rack

Under the stairwell

I did have one casualty, but I might still try to save it. It is a cone of acrylic chenille that was given to me, so really no loss if I need to throw it out.

Somehow it got wet even in a ziplock bag. It has some mold on parts of it. There must be 800 yards on this cone. I think it would make a nice sweater. I think I'll let it dry out a while and then test it out.

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AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:
Undead Sublet by Molly Harper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Teen vampire book. Vampires can live and get along with humans and there are even laws of behavior and rights of the vampires. Very cute short story.
Can you imagine a human chef trying to create recipes for vampires? Basic ingredient of course is blood. Then try to make that blood remind vampires of foods they ate as humans.
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WHERE WE'RE GOING:

July 9-17, 2013 Port. Hudson RV Park, Port Townsend, WA
July 18-20, 2013 Elwha Dam RV Park, Port Angeles, WA
July 21-27, 2013 Cape Motel & RV Park, Neah Bay, WA
July 28-Aug. 3, 2013 Riverview RV Park, Forks, WA
Aug. 4-10, 2013 Silver Cove RV Resort, Silver Lake, WA
Aug. 12-18, 2013 Coeur d'Alene RV Park, Post Falls, ID
Aug. 19-28, 2013 Jim & Mary's RV Park, Missoula, MT
Aug. 29-Sept. 2, 2013 Jennifer's Driveway Boondock, Bozeman, MT
Sept. 3-9, 2013 Mammoth Campground, Yellowstone, WY
Tentative
Sept. 10-16, 2013 Pete D's RV Park, Sheridan, WY (Tentative)
Sept. 19-Oct 2, 2013 Custer, SD

south for the Winter of 2013/214