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Journal Archive 10/21 - 10/31 2006
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What Did We Do Today
Oct 21
This morning followed the pattern established as of late, up before dawn with time on the computer doing yesterdays daily journal. There was a difference this morning and that was the appearance of the ocean. As the sky began to lighten, the view out the front of the coach was different. The ocean was much sharper, more defined, the colors much brighter, more intense. The red pennant was flying from the Coast Guard tower indicating the wind was up, which, when combined with the rolling white line that marked the steady breakers advance up river reinforced the warning given by the subtle shaking of the coach. It was most definitely going to be a windy day.
As has become the norm for breakfast on the day following the latest attempt at popover baking, we had the Linda version of egg muffins. This morning she exceeded all her previous attempts at turning out the most delicious version possible of this gastronomic delight. There is just something special about a woman standing in front of the stove, humming to herself. You just know something good is happening, lol.
The proof though, is in the eating. However, it was the presentation that set the stage. Just look at the color of those scrambled eggs, the mottled appearance, the light airy texture. Then there are the accompanying pear quarters crowned with a walnut half. My mouth was watering long before I had my first taste. Think maybe I should just cut the description short and show you a picture, else I'm going to get hungry just writing this, lol.
By now you can guess what we did for the next few hours, I worked on the website while Linda worked on her Ebay things. One of the questions that comes up is, does the website really take that much time? It doesn't, but it is my hobby. It is also something I know about only because I have learned as I go, so to speak. Trust me, this is most definitely what I did not do in my former life. In fact it is about as far opposite the strenuous physical labor I engaged in as you can get, lol. The desire to learn something new, to just not see the result, but to understand how it was attained is what drives me to keep after it so. Plus there are all kinds on neat things you can do if you know what you're doing that can make the website a cut or two above the normal cookie cutter blog, smile. I really have to laugh at some blogs. The format is such that the column is so narrow they hardly write anything, but on the other hand, the images are so small you also can't see anything. Hopefully, with a lot of time and tweaking, I'll get this one to the state I'm trying to attain. Till then you'll just have to suffer, lol.
It was during this time that we noticed the waves coming up the river were incredibly beautiful. It just begged for a picture, so we got the camera and tripod out and set them up on the other side of the coach. It was funny because try as I might I could see what was happening through the viewfinder. Linda was trying to tell me when to take the photo and it just wasn't working. I finally just pointed it in the general direction of the triangle and started taking photo's, figuring some of them would tun out okay. Don't think that is how a professional photographer would do it, but then the way I put the web page together isn't like a professional would do it either, lol. Remember my comments about not being able to see any thing in the photo's, well..... That's just what appears to have happened here.
It is amazing that the waves were actually over topping the jetty. Even more amazing was the fact that by looking through binoculars we could see people walking out onto the jetty. Fortunately they were not going very far out, or there could have been a tragedy in the making. It wasn't long before our stomachs were once again calling to us and Linda made turkey wraps. As with breakfast, she was way above and beyond as far as my palate was concerned. Tomato wrap, sun dried tomato flavored turkey, plus she also put avacado slices on the wraps. Maybe we lived in California to long, but the concept of fusion cooking has been burned into our brains. This is what makes things better than good. it may be called experimentation or trying new things out, but whatever it is, it's the thing that put simply, makes things better. Served with some pita chips we bought at Walmart, they had a many cents of coupon on them, and some black grapes, it made for a delicious lunch. A Whopper at Burger King it is not. In far more ways than one, lol.
It was later in the afternoon when we realized that the breakers were still rolling up the river. Looking out the front window we could see the Coast Guard tower and the river beside the triangle. That was when it hit us. Why not walk down there. The other day Linda had driven up near the beach, so why not take the overland route. So that was what we did. Across the dunes in front of the coach, through the campground, cross country for a ways, down the road and out to to the Coast Guard tower. Nothing to it, lol. The view was entirely different from what we had seem from the coach. I'll let the photo's speak for themselves.
The waves were breaking to incredible heights along the jetty. It was not only the power of the water, it was also the sound. The crash and roar were incredible. This wave was almost a quarter mile out, but yet it seemed it was right on top of us, breaking over 30 feet in the air.
When we turned around, an incredible sight greeted our eyes. For almost 6 weeks I had been giving tours of the lighthouse without any idea of what it looked like from the sea. Suddenly I knew. It was built in front of a hill. It had a green background built in to its setting. My story would change slightly as I described the day mark of Umpqua River Lighthouse.
It was a long hike and we were both tired by the time we got back to the coach. After a rest on Linda's part. okay. okay, on both our parts, it was time to fix supper. Out came the turkey burgers and the butternut squash. I had to laugh about the squash. The one Linda had picked was a rather crooked one. So how to cook it? I managed to cut it while leaving it in its original shape. Probably something I can't repeat, but then, once is enough for some things, lol.
Talk about about a change. To say the least it was refreshing. The search for something new. The quest to discover the unknown. Our life, how different from the existence we had before. To live, that is the joy we share every day.
It was time for TV, the only problem was, it's Saturday night and there is nothing worth watching on TV. We end up spending more time on the computers, but I find that the walk down to the triangle has tuckered me out more than I thought. It is an early to bed night, but not before we had dessert. The only problem was we had no dessert. Not to worry because in a flash it was Linda to the rescue. Out came the ingredients to make the chocolate zucchini cake, but with a difference. Among the slight changes was the use of some mint chocolate baking cocoa.
Talk about about a change. To say the least it was refreshing. The search for something new. The quest to discover the unknown. Our life, how different from the existence we had before. To live, that is the joy we share every day.
Oct 22
Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny. When you think about it, a day named "Day of the Sun" should be sunny, shouldn't it? We had a pleasant drive over to Reedsport, what with the sun playing through the trees as we drove over the hill. We have come to really enjoy the Reedsport Church of God, feeling right at home as we walked in and looked for "our" pew. Ownership, you can exercise it whenever and wherever you want. After the service we spent time talking to one of the singers. It turns out he travels for a number of months in the winter, heading for a warmer climate. We really, really like the Winchester Bay/Reedsport area and when the day comes that we park the coach for the last time, this area would definitely be on our list of places to live. As always, the service was very good and we found out that many other people must also think so, as their church is growing significantly.
Breakfast had been different this morning, shredded wheat, cold milk and cinnamon. If you guessed we were rushing so we could get to church on time, you would be right, smile. Lunch was a different story. One of the announcements at church was about a recipe book of the soups which had been served at a evening get together a few weeks past. Bet you can guess who took one home. When the lady gets it into her mind to cook, watch out, doesn't matter if you just ate a couple of hours ago, when it's time to cook, it's time. Plus that also means it is shortly thereafter time to eat. That last part is what I've always been good at, lol. I could tell from her body posture that the ingredients she needed where either not in the house, or they were not where she expected them to be. Taking the hint, I helped her find the elusive can of black beans she was hunting for. Getting no answer for my question about she was making, I went back to the computer and my newest programming tool. After about 20 minutes she asked for the stick blender, then, a few minutes later, announced lunch was ready. It was a creamed black bean soup served with cheese quesadilla's. Chopped onions, sour cream and cilantro topped the soup, which tasted great. I chuckled at the thought that it was no wonder we liked that church so much, they teach you how to feed yourself in more ways than one.
After lunch Linda headed down the hill to call the kids, while I struggled with my latest change in creating the website. I have always used a WYSIWYG editor to create the web page, but as I found out when I redid the index page for the RV Park Reviews, they generate an awful lot of extra code. So I am into trying to use a text editor. The one I picked is tsWebEditor. Like much of the open source software, documentation is not the strongest tool in the kit, smile. But then again, what is wrong with reaching beyond your comfort zone. If that was how we lived, always staying in our comfort zone, we would still be getting up every Monday morning and heading off to work, counting the years until we could retire. My efforts finally yielded results and the next time it will be considerably quicker.
The day sure goes by quickly when you are totally immersed in something. It seemed like we had just eaten lunch when the 4 o'clock alarm went off. The view of the river as it meets the ocean never ceases to amaze us. It is that special time we enjoy together each day. And those few days that either the weather or the circumstances conspire to prevent us from having our peanuts is a day which is just not complete. That ritual we started in Quartzsite, over nine months ago, has become ingrained in our lives. As the time flew by and it became time for dinner and tonight it was my turn to cook. Linda had picked the recipe, Tilapia in ginger sauce, brown rice, butternut squash and tossed salad. We both love ginger and garlic, so heavy on those two ingredients made for a divinely delicious dish. This recipe is straight out of the blue South Beach book, a phase 1 meal which we have continued to enjoy. The actual recipe calls for Orange Roughy, which we have never used. When a fish works as hard to survive and lives as long as an Orange Roughy, I think it deserves a better fate than ending up on my plate, smile.
Bet you can guess what I did after dinner. More work on the web page. It was evening before it all came together, but did I ever feel good about it. It wasn't perfect, but then the Roman Empire wasn't defeated in a day either. I know each of us is an individual, with our own pleasures, but I have to believe the satisfaction one gets from accomplishing a difficult task is universal. It was my time to feel good about myself. There were a couple of minor bugs in the web page, but I will wait to tomorrow to straighten them out. The day ended with a glass of warm chocolate milk and a piece of chocolate zucchini cake. A good day from start to finish.
Oct 23
There are days that are just like every other day and then there are special days. Not just because of the beauty of the day, nor due to what took place, no, sometimes it is because of what went on in our mind. I don't know what this day will bring, but as I watch the morning sky take shape out of the inky blackness of the night a song creeps into the corner of my mind and slowly spreads, just as the spreading sunlight begins the day.
The song was written back in the mid 50's and played over and over on the radio. it was written by Paul Webster and goes like this:
What is it that sparks these type of thoughts, what is it about us that lets us see things that aren't, that lets us create a world of our own? One who has not day dreamed has has not lived life. As those words to the song played over and over in my mind, I found they were beginning to take on their own meaning. They could certainly be taken literally, in which case. That we are happy goes without saying, fall is definitely here, even our tomato plant, which received all the love Linda could give a plant, is dropping it's last few leaves and preparing to die. But what if it was for some other reason this song 'just happened' to pop into my mind this morning, what if it was for a indistinctly, distinct purpose, one I know nothing about?
Perhaps it was reminding me that life has value far beyond anything we can comprehend, a life we treat so casually, thinking we will always be be young and carefree, and that the days will stretch before us forever. But I pause and think for a moment, does the world revolve around me? What a bit of contemplation does to a man's soul searching. Is it what the world does that makes me happy, our do I create my own happiness in my own world? Sure the winds of life, its trials and tribulations can blow me off my lofty perch, but the sun passes across the sky and returns anew each day. We awake, the day begins, we choose a path to walk, I choose to embrace the life I have. Life, what a many splendored thing. What is your 'many slendored thing' today?
Linda's breezy entrance into the front of the coach brought me back to the edge of reality, then her sharp, "somethings on fire", made me literally jump from my seat. Nothing like a little dose of reality to destroy the dreams of contemplation, lol. Turned out she wasn't talking about the coach, it was the forest down below us. Having just lept from an immediate problem to an immediate future problem, still doesn't sound to promising does it. Heck, maybe that was what the line in the song 'In the morning mist two lovers kissed and the world stood still' meant. Maybe the whole thing was a premonition. Checking out the situation, we decided it really wasn't the the forest that was on fire, it was only a pile of debris being burned by the construction crew building the campground down below us. As you can see from the photo, there was a lot of smoke, but we never did see any fire.
Day after day we have spent time in front of our computers and you might think we live a rather mundane life. After all, here we are, in a prime vacation area and we aren't vacationing. You are right, we are living, we live in a house that has wheels, one that moves from place to place, but that doesn't mean we have to operate in vacation mode. Others choose to live one way, we choose ours. If you live this life you will have to choose your own. None are right or wrong, each is just different and that is the true beauty of this life. Linda took a break and went over to Reedsport to mail some more Ebay packages, while I began to understand more and more of what all those little bits and pieces of jumbled programming language and html meant.
Lunch was turkey wraps, our long time standby, but with a kick'em up. Sundried tomato whole wheat wraps, sundried tomato sliced turkey, horseradish mustard, smashed avocado and cabbage strips made for one of the most delicious wraps we have ever made. And that is really saying something, since we have eaten, quite literally, hundreds of wraps. After lunch, Linda attacked our refrigerator. It was bugging her and she was determined to clean up this problem. All went well until she got to the the two glass shelves that provide protection for the top of the veggie keepers. She couldn't figure out how to remove them. I finally figured it out, but it was not easy because one mis-step and the glass would fall out. When they had been removed, cleaned and reinstalled we both felt a sense of relief.
When Linda had gone to the Post Office, she had stopped at Safeway and picked up some fixings for dinner which was going to be crab bisque. It was a very easy meal to fix since we still had cornbread in the refrigerator. Easy to fix made Linda happy, great taste made both of us happy. What could be better.
The day ended with a glass of warm chocolate milk and a piece of chocolate zucchini cake. A day when life was enjoyed, savored and lived. Inded, it had been a 'many splendored thing.'
Oct 24
This is going to be a popover day. Yesterday Linda spent time on the computer perusing different recipes and decided to go back to the basic popover recipe once again. I will confess to being virtually no help, since I don't have a clue as to what a properly baked popover is supposed to look and taste like. Guess I had a sheltered childhood, lol. The one thing I do have going for me is my scientific training; don't change more that one thing at a time. I took a quick look at the web as she was getting the ingredients out and found a Suzzane Summers recipe, of all things, for whole wheat popovers. Nothing earthshaking about it, but it did reinforce the basics. Popovers are nothing more than flour, milk, eggs, salt and butter. Of course, if they are so simple, why are they so difficult, smile.
Linda checked that recipe over and over. I chuckled to myself thinking she's searching the fine print to see if she can learn the secret of baking these little so and so's, smile. We worked together, double checking each step, then watched the golden brown puffs soar out of the silicon muffin tray, only to slowly deflate once they were removed from the oven. Using an analogy to a tire, the tread is very good, but the inner tube definitely has a few slow leaks. Well, at least there will be egg muffins again tomorrow and more popovers next week, lol.
Wasn't long until the scrambled eggs were cooked and the pears sliced and plated. We got out the homemade peach jam and throughly enjoyed a very good tasting meal. You will note just how good everything looks in the picture below. Turning the food to show only its good side and using the proper camera angle sure made a difference in the appearance of this meal. That's also why everything looks so good in the magazines, they have food stylists to 'spruce it up' for the photo's and you wonder why your meal doesn't turn out as good as their's. Magazines, TV, the movies, most young people don't know they are all fake. Can you believe, there are people who think that what takes place on Survivor hasn't been scripted and edited to get just the right effect.
Following breakfast we settled into our daily routine. I have set some ambitious goals for getting the website up to date, particularly with the RV park reviews. It is incredibly slow going and just proves that it is far easier to stay current than it is to catch up. I did make some progress, but not what I'd have liked to have gotten done, but there is always tomorrow, smile. Then on the other hand, all I have to do is glance up every once in a while to get the most awesome view of the ocean. Sometimes it can be very entertaining in and of itself. Yesterday, for example, the Coast Guard ships were doing training manuevers at the mouth of the river. The seas were very high and they would actually disappear in the rollers. They practiced slow speed and high speed runs, but the best part was when they would come to a full stop and and turn broadside to the waves. Would those ships ever roll then. Linda was wondering what it would be like on one of them. I reminded her that with her perchant for seasickness at the barest hint of a rocking motion, she probably wouldn't enjoy it, lol. But then she sometimes questions whether I enjoy what I do. Give me a soft seat, computer and a cup of tea and I'm good to go for the day.
We talked about taking an afternoon walk, but didn't, though Linda made one of her almost daily runs over to the Winchester Bay Post Office to mail out several more Ebay packages. She is not sure how much Ebay selling she is going to do once we get back to traveling, thinking she will stop for a while, then play it by ear. She knows she won't be selling when we go to Mexico, but Quartzsite may be a different story. Only time will tell. Speaking of time, almost before we knew it, it was time for our end of the year lighthouse get together. It was unfortunate that Fred and Shirley couldn't join us, but Gaylyn, Pat, Jim, Liz, Linda and I had a great time. There is something about pizzia and salad that brings back memories of a far away time and place.
The culinary highlight of the meal was the dessert, chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. Now before you say, sure, knowing how much you two love your desserts, any dessert would be a good dessert, take a look at this dessert.
It's just one more thing that makes Gaylyn such a special person. We are so glad we volunteered to work here and would reccommend it without hesitation to anyone else. If you're looking for a free spot to spend the winter along the Oregon coast, the lighthouse also needs a winter caretaker. Since this all took place before six o'clock, it meant we could still enjoy our regular late evening dessert, so the day ended with a glass of warm vanilla rasperry milk and a piece of chocolate zucchini cake. Just a routine day in our lives where no day is routine in the sense of how our lives used to be lived. Life, don't be afraid to choose the route to a different routine.
Oct 25
Getting up before dawn can put an entirely different perspective on the start of the day. It gives me a little time to surf the net before working on the daily journal. But even better, it lets me watch daylight come to the Umpqua. Talk about pretty, today was one of those really special times when things aappear to be almost surreal. It is one thing to talk about it or see it on TV, it is an entirely different experience to watch it happen before your very eyes. One moment it was dark, then light crept in and turning night to day. But it wasn't a normal day. It was a day where it was day, then it wasn't day, then it was day again. Confused? I was too as I watched it take place before my eyes. Maybe I should just let the photo's I took tell the story. First there was the night, then there was the day. But along with the day came the first appearance of fog. Then there was more fog. A lot of fog. The day dissappeared into the fog. Then the fog parted and the great tower appeared, the tower of the Guard. The symbolism was there, but what was the meaning. Some things are meant to never be known. Was this one of them?
Less than two minutes later it had enveloped the water and the the land.
Moments later the top of the Guard tower appeared from the mists, the silent sentinel watching over the scene.
Following all this, the sun came out and the day took form once again. It was also about the time Linda made her appearance and asked if I had noticed the crows. When I said I hadn't, she wondered aloud what I had been doing, up so early. As I attempted to explain the surreal, symbolistic secene I had witnessed, the crows provided a distraction. There were 20 or more perched on a small bush down below the coach. The bush heavily bowed under their weight, they would pluck a large berry or friut from the plant, then fly to a nearby tree and eat it, reurning once again to the bush for more food. It served to remind us that it was time for breakfast. I scrambled some eggs, onions and peppers, which, when combined with a slice of Canadian Bacon on one of yesterdays muffins, made for a delicious breakfast. The remainder of the morning was spent washing clothes (because of the small size of our washer, we do 3 to 4 loads a week) and of course, working at the computers. Linda has been doing a lot of research in preparation for our month in Mexico and has found some good information, plus, it also greatly alieviated her fears.
Looking out the window we saw the two Coast Guard ships were out in the river. Time to get some closeup views of what was happening. As before, we walked down, crossing the dune in front of the coach, cutting through the new campground and walking out the road to the tower. We sat on the rocks along the river and watched them maneuver directly in front of us.
One of the ships headed out towards the mouth of the river while the second ship remained in front of us. We watched as the second ship swung around and positioned itself to watch the first ship. Made for a geart photo. I have to believe the coast guardsmen were throughly enjoying themselves.
The highlight was when the rescue copter flew low over us at very high speed. We thought that they might also be participating in the drills, but soon disappeared to the south.
We had watched this take place thru the binoculars and it was neat seeing the ship disappear in the swells and reappear. Then a second object began appearing in the background. It had the appearance of a lighthouse and after watching for a bit, it finally dawned on me the obect was the red buoy that is off the mouth of the river. It sure was deceiving, looking at it through the binoculors. Walking over to the trinagle we got a great view of the difference between the violence of the river mouth to the right and the calm serenity behind the walls of the jetty on the left.
And that sea of tranquillity, the triangle was where we headed, leaving the deep roar of the Coast Guard ship's diesel engines behind. The view from inside the triangle was one to give truth to the statements about the power of the sea. As we looked over the top of the automobile sized rough blocks that formed the jetty, we could see the waves and breakers towering over them.
We walked along the sandy east shoreline of the triangle toward the south jetty. As we topped the sand barrier that divided the triangle from the ocean beach, once again we heard a roar, but it was a different roar than that of the ship's engines, it was the powerful roar of the ocean thundering upon the beach. We had fun chasing the reteating water across the sand, walking further and further out towards the breakers, till the water rose as an angry white, frothing mass before us. In the next second we had turned tail and were literally running before the rolling water. We made it, but just barely. I also must admit I was out of breathe. We waited and waited, but never again did the water reteat so far back toward the sea. It had been our old friend Sara N. Dippity once again, how let us enjoy ourselves. On the way back to the coach we saw the degree to which some things will go to survive. Just look at this berry vine, it is long past the berry season, yet here it is blooming, trying to set fruit. Wonders on land as well as on sea.
Oct 26
Each day is unique and today proved no exception. As I was doing a little web surfing prior to writing the journal, it seemed to be chillier than normal. After all, it is almost November and fall has most certainly arrived. A glance at the thermometer confirmed my suspicions. As you can see from the photo below, a move to a warmer climate is most definitely in the air, lol.
The breakast menu was decided upon when the egg carton was opened to reveal only three eggs. Linda informed me that we could either have eggs or oatmeal, but if we had eggs, then it would limit our choice of desserts. Seems like we ate the last of the chocolote zucchini cake for dessrt last night and if we wanted something baked then it would be oatmeal for breakfast. That made the choice easy, oatmeal. But beyond that, it demonstrated something far more important. Even when she is sleepy eyed fom first arising, Linda can still think of dessert before breakfast. Now, that is my kind of woman, lol.
There was one other major thing going on today, it's a back to work day. As we were getting ready, we laughed about how on our first day, back in early September, we were over at the lighthouse 20 minutes before we needed to open, now it's 10 minutes early the first of our three days, which is five minutes on our second day, decreasing to 3 minutes on our third day. Not a decrease in enthusiasm, just a decrease in the time need to open, smile. It was a sunny day and the lens was really extra pretty this morning. As usual, I communed with the light for a few minutes, then started back to the museum. My walk was interrupted by the sight I beheld as I walked by the parking lot. There were many more cars than usual parked there and most everyone was looking towards the river. It didn't take long before I joined them to find out what they were watching. It was the Coast Guard doing drills. But this morning they were taking their ships on training runs directly through the breakers. Of course, dumb me stood there and watched as the ships almost lept out of the water while all around me cameras recorded the action. Finally realizing the error of my way, I also started taking photo's. Of course, like the lone gigiantic wave of yesterday that chased us back from the beach. The lone gigantic wave had occured while I was watching. I got some decent photo's but nothing like the image captured only in my mind. Oh well, you can't have everything, but, jessh, two days in a row where I miss the once in a blue moon shot, come on, give me a break, smile.
For those who are curious about these Coast Guard vessels we have been watching over the past several days, they are 47' long, self righting and self bailing. I found several sources of information on these craft. Here is the link to the Coast Guard site on this craft. If you want to see what it is like to experience this boat in high, rough seas, take a look at the following video clip. Linda really laughs to hear him talk so calmly about how he has it all under control, then in the next moment.... See video clip.
Back at the museum, Linda had the computer set up and was reading a book that relates true accounts of life at a lighthouse as recorded through the eyes and words of children whose parents had been lighthouse keepers. Deciding to busy myself, I grabbed the windex, a few paper towels and headed back up to the lighthouse. The glass display case on the storage landing needed cleaning. As a walked back to the lighthouse once again, something new had appeared over the horizon. It turned out to be the Coast Guard buoy tender and they were working on the far buoy that marks the entrance to the river and also marks the outer limits of the whale highway. I tried to take a photo, unfortunately it was quite a distance out to sea.
Now why would anyone put such a poor image on their website? Maybe it is because we can, lol. This tender which was named the "Fir" is one of the 225' cutters designed with a Dynamic Positioning System which can hold the vessel within a 10 meter circle using the Global Positioning System allowing the crew to service and position floating aids to navigation in winds to 30 knots and 8 foot seas. Just to show you what a buoy tender actually looks like, here is a photo taken from the Coast Guard website.
The day actually passed more quickly than we thought it would when it began. We had a continuous succession of tours from about 11:30 till it was time to close. In fact, the last tour left at 3:45 so it made for another long, but very satisfying day. For dinner we had split pea soup and toasted cheese sandwiches. Linda asked me not to take a photo of dinner, so I didn't. Let's just say the toasted cheese was toasted considerably more on one side than on the other, smile. Once again the advantage of the east and west coast network feeds was apparent. We got to watch Letterman at 8:30. Was he ever in fine form. One of his guests was the exotic-food chairman of the New York Explorer's Club. We watched Dave eat:
You had to watch it to appreciate it, lol. We didn't even lose our appetite for dessert. Linda baked something new tonight. She took an apple cake recipe and modified it. Modified it a great deal actually. Our apple, zucchini, chocolote chip cake tasted realy great. May your day also have been, really great.
One last, but very special note. Yesterday we recieved a very nice email from a reader named Leo who enjoys reading our journal. As always, Linda replied and low and behold, wonders of wonders, one email led to another and before we knew it, well, we knew each other. It turned out that Leo and his wife Barb had been our neighbors 30 years ago when we lived back in Ohio. If that doesn't fall under the small world heading I don't know what does. They even own a Holiday Rambler motorhome and winter in Texas. Nice people just have a way of turning up in our lives. We are blessed.
Oct 27
Sometimes we greet the day with less enthusiasum than usual, we are not bubbling effervescent fountains of joy, rather we seem to exist. If I don't wax poetic today, understand that this is one of those days for me. I think the reason is that another stage of our adventure is just about to come to a close. We have only two more days at the Umpqua River Lighthouse, then we will be journeying on. We could look at this as having our spirits down because we are giving up our routine and the sense of security that comes with it, journeying off to the unknown. While I might wander around tying to define my feelings, I think far wiser men than myself have stated it better than my poor efforts ever could. This quote, attributed to Anatole France, brings those feelings into focus. "All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."
Linda decided it would be an oatmeal morning, so soon we were enjoying a warm, creamy contoction of old fashioned oatmeal, steeel cut oats and wheat bran, topped with fresh pieces of peach. She has really been doing a great job with the oatmeal lately, as it has been much smoother and creamier than in the past. I am reluctant to ask what her secret is for fear of jinxing her. See, those thoughts regarding the reluctance to embrace change are creeping into everything I do, smile. Breakfast dishes done, we headed over to the museum. Looking up towards the overlook parking lot, there was only one vehicle in sight. It looked like it was going to be another slow day. While we weren't without visitors, we weren't inundated either. Whereas a couple of weeks ago it was unusual to have fewer than four people on a tour, now it is the norm. We did have our lively moments. Today was the boss's birthday, so Linda had made Gaylyn a card using several photo's I'd taken of the lighthouse and a also a verse I had written. One of the photo's was very special, in that it captured the hints of sky blue that are sometimes seen through the lens. A gift for both the givers and the recipient. Birthdays also mean pastries, which in this case, meant it was a decorated cream filled eclair. Linda talked about the eclair, but when I returned from giving a tour, this was all I saw. I wasn't going to ask what happened to the rest of it, lol.
While I was enjoying the eclair, the Christmas Cactus Gaylyn had recently brought out to the lobby caught my eye. While it may not be loaded with blooms, the ones that it does have are absolutely georgous. As is all to often the case, a photo just can't do justice to what the eye sees. But that doesn't prevent us from trying, smile.
The remainder of the day passed by quickly, as did the tours, which take far less time with only two or three people per tour. It's just that you can't get the same interaction as you can with six or eight people. But it is almost as if I am learning as much as I am giving. One gentleman, whom I took to be a retired college professor, had a great deal of knowledge about the origin and pronounciation of the words given to the local geographical locations. It was interesting listening to him point out that many of the names along the Oregon coast were based on the Native American word for the locality, yet, the pronounciation is usually based on the spanish pronounciation, which has often become the accepted pronounciation. What is there not to love about this job.
There were several brief breaks during the early afternoon which gave me time to eat my lunch and take a few photo's. The more time I spend up on the second floor of the museum, the more I learn. Questions about the river and its appearance in the 1890's can be answered by studying the old river charts. Aerial photo's taken during the 1920's show no vegetation on the sand below the lighthouse and a very narrow entrance to the river. Slowly the degree to which man has impacted this tiniest little corner of the world begins to come into a sharper focus. Whether for good or bad, I don't know. But then, could we not have said the same thing of ancient cities, virtually all traces of which nature has obliterated. So to will it be what we now see.
One thing which may change the coastline is hinted at in the blue signs which mark certain locations on the highways around here. There is one just outside the museum.
Dinner was different. Call it amalgamation, conglomeration, fusion food or whatever. What would you call meal of crab bisque, eggplant in tomato sauce and peanut butter on whole wheat bread. Here we are, back to change once again. It is everywhere in our lives.
Friday night means NUMB3RS and House, then dessert and rest. I will sign off for the day and leave you with one last thought on change: "We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance." Harrison Ford.
Oct 28
The day has finally arrived when we are going off to work for the last time, once again. It is another morning I can't seem to sleep and consequently I'm up early working on the daily journal. I was successful, since it was posted before 9 AM. Not that I get the site posted that early very often, but it sure makes for an easier day when I do. Watching Linda sit at my computer, doing the final edit on the journal, something was nagging at one of the far corners of my mind. As so often happens, there were the lyrics to a song floating around in my head. Finally, I realized I was wondering if Linda's refrain tomorrow would mirror these words:
From how she looks this morning, it is possible that is what she's going to be telling me tomorrow. On second thought, I don't think so, lol.
Breakfast was once again, Linda's creamy oatmeal and fresh peaches. While she was waiting for the oatmeal to cook she started a load of clothes in the washer. This was actually fitting because, after all, before we left on our adventure, Saturday morning was when we usually did the laundry. This being a work day in our current life, albeit the last one this year, we soon headed over to the museum for some rest. As we have approached closer and closer to the final days of this season, the crowds have become sparser and sparser. this morning we didn't have our first visitors until almost 11:30, so we got in some good computer time. The open source equivalent to Microsoft Office is OpenOffice.org, which I have downloaded and am trying out. I really like the spreadsheet and Linda likes the word processor. One thing she really appreciates is the ease of changing fonts where you can actually see an example of the new font as you select it. It's not perfect by any means, the presentation program will not let you synchronize music to the slides, but then you can't have everything. But for something that is free, it is better that grean. You can see from the photo of Linda, that we were definitely not overwhelmed by visitors.
However, once the first two visitors came through the door, the rush was one. It was nonstop tours for the rest of the day. We were so busy that one tour even had 10 people on it, a number virtually unheard of this time of the year. The highlight of the day was when a former Coast Guardsman took the tour. He was not just any former Coast Guardsman, it had been his job to clean the lens once a week when he had been stationed here in the early 80's. The tour group he was on was treated to some very special stories of his adventures around the lighthouse. It's things like this which makes volunteering at the Umpqua River Lighthouse such a pleasure.
It didn't take long for the day to literally fly by and it was time to close. It was sad to close up the museum for the last time, but then again, it is only 10 months until we will be back again. Dinner was leftovers, split pea soup, eggplant with tomato sauce and whole wheat bread spread with peanut butter. You have to eat it to appreciate it, but actually, it is very good.
All the time we have been here, Linda has wanted to go up into the lighthouse at night. Figuring it was our last night here, so what could they do to us if we weren't supposed to be in it, we took a walk just as twilight was fading into night. The moon was out and the light beams were a thing of beauty. We tried to take some photo's from the outside, but the slow shutter speeds cause them to be a little less spectacular than what the eye saw. You can just make out the red and white beams coming from the light, but at least there are the beams playing off the trees to the sides.
But we were not done yet, walking up to the top of the tower, we saw the difference between how the lens looked during the day and during the night. it was, like, well it was like the difference between day and night. This is a photo taken of the inside of the lens this morning. Notice the reflection of yours truly in the center brass post and the beautiful red color of the lens.
Here is a photo taken from almost the same spot, but now it was after dark. What happened to the color of the light? During the day all the color is in the inside of the light. Once the sun goes down, all the color is outside the light. So many people on the tours comment about how beautiful it must be up here at night. As with all art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
One last look at the light at night taken from the watchroom floor.
As always the day ended with dessert, the best thing about it was Linda had already turned the clock back, so we got to eat it an hour early, smile.
Oct 29
It is Sunday morning and our world has offically changed as of today. But it didn't seem to make any difference as far as the weather was concerned. You'd have thought it would have been a glorious, sunny day, but that was not to be the case. We had to wear jackets when we left for church this morning, as a light mist was falling. Not heavy enought to be called called rain, but enough to definitely not be merely fog. Having gotten an extra hour of sleep last night, we arrived at church to find many more people than usual. Linda finally decided it was because of the time change, The people were up early and ready get on with the day, so why not just go to the early service rather than wait for the later one, smile. We are going to miss this church, it has become a special place to us. We walk in and they greet us by name, they've accepted us and we feel good about it. So that we could take a memory along, I took a photo of Wes, Peggy and Kristin, the trio who sing every service, at their best.
A light rain was still fallng when we returned to the coach, so it looked like it was going to be an inside day. We had leftovers once again for lunch, grilled tuna with peach salsa, Little Dumpling squash and tossed salad. Not a bad meal at all for leftovers. Linda had to laugh because it was not too many months ago, that she would never have put any uneaten fish in the refrigerator, let alone serve it as leftovers.
Afterwards Linda settled into the comfort of the couch and spent most of the afternoon resting. Of course there were the breaks she took from resting in order to wash two loads of clothes. Since we are not entirely sure if we will have a sewer hookup tomorrow night, she was a lady on a mission. Plus she also had time to put on a pot of bean soup, which then proceeded to fill the coach with an aroma to die for. We had one more thing to do before the day was done. Well, actually there were two things, but I'm not sure watching 'Desparate Housewives' counts, lol. We drove over to Reedsport to what is called the 5th Sunday Community Music Concert. There was everything from Harpists to a professional jazz singer to a balladeer to Classic Ballet, and evrything in between. Over twenty performers in all, each one of whom added something special to the evening. It was an amazing display of local talent and one of the best groups was the same trio who sang in church this morning. They did an awesome job with a song titled: "He's Coming Again So Soon".
Since it was our last night at the lighthouse, we took the tripod up to the parking lot and tried to capture the heart and soul of the last two months of our lives. Here are two of the photo's we took. I'll let you decide if this conveys the power, magnificance and stateliness of the grand old lady who stands watch every night over the Umpqua.
The photo above was taken at dusk, while the one below was taken much later in the evening. You can even see the red and white beams of light playing off the trees around the tower. With the low light levels the camera shutter is open longer and the light from the lens becomes blurred. Still it gives a glimpse into what we have seen each evening for the past two months. Pretty lady, we will miss you.
Of course by, the time we returned to the coach from taking our final photographs of the night, it was time for dessert. There is a story to dessert tonight, and it is about the dessert that was not. The reason we attended the community concert was for the music, but another part of such an event is the refreshments that are served. The concert had been held at the Presbyterian church, and as the ladies of churches all want to do, the Presbterian ladies volunteered to to serve dessert afterward. Homemade desserts. Little old lady, homemade desserts.
The same desserts many of them have been making for well over a half century. The desserts their children, grandchildren and possibly, even great grandchhildren have raved about. Looking at this mountain of sugary treats we were faced with a difficult choice. Approaching the tables, and they were tables, not just, a table, filled with enormous quantities of the best stuff ever made, we rationally discussed our choices. First off we had not yet eaten dinner and it was approaching eight o'click, which made our decision even harder, but in the end common sense won out and we turned left toward the door, rather than right toward the tables. A left being a right move if we ever made one, lol. May today, in your life, have also been a day when what was left was right.
Oct 30
Our last morning at the Umpqua River Lighthouse dawned clear and crisp. That is crisp, as in cold, and cold, as in 37 degrees cold, you know, cold-cold, lol. What a way to start the day. We, however, were in no hurry. To the contrary, we lazed around most of the morning, but eventually we faced the day and ate breakfast, then got on with the task of departing. I think both of us were sorry that this day had arrived, shades of our last day at Mountain Stream RV Park, where we workcamped this spring. Things did get accomplished. Linda drove over to Wichester Bay and mailed off a number of Ebay packages while I dumped the tanks. We were both successful, as my dumping of the tanks provided a bonus. Ever since day one, the gray water bypass for the SaniCon macerator pump system has not worked. Would you believe that today of all days, it decided to work. I didn't have to pump out the gray tank, it emptied itself, wahoo!!!! Will that ever make it easier when we are staying someplace were we do laundry.
When Linda returned from the trip to the Post Office, she checked on her Ebay items, then checked on what her sister back in Ohio had listed for sale. She had to laugh when she saw her sister had listed some items similar to what Linda had such success with. The only problem was they were not the same. Bob decided that until her sister has Bob and his magic eye for a real deal to do her purchasing for her, then Linda's sister is just going to be playing second fiddle to Linda's super sales, lol. Finally it became time to leave. We took one last photo of the view we have had for the past two months, courtesy of the job that pays no money, but has the million dollar benefit. What price would you put on a lot with a view like this.
Just before we backed out of the site, we discovered I had not completely prepared the coach to leave. Do you see what I forgot in the photo below. Bad Bob.
After I backed the coach out of the site, we noticed a harbinger of winter in the parking area. To me it was just a wooly worm, but to my Appalachian hill girl wife, it was the story of the winter. Giving you the short version of the tale, the two black bands at each end of the critter told, suffice it to say, that it is very good that we are going south for the winter as it is going to be one really ferocious winter up here in western Oregon.
Then it was time to say good bye and head out. Our leave taking was delayed a few minutes as the lights on the Explorer wouldn't come on when the tailights, brakelights or turn signals in the coach were activated. The problem proved to be a corroded connector. By inserting and removing the connector several times, the contacts were cleaned enough to work and all was well. The trip south was uneventful and brief. We were only traveling 48 miles to Bullard's Beach State Park north of Bandon, so it was not long before we were already past the Coos Bay area and nearing the park. As we drove along we noticed the smoke from a forest fire of the the east. To far away to see anything but smoke, we had to take a photo anyway. It may look like there is a white cloud in the center of the picture, but unfortunately it is not, it is the rising pillar of smoke from the fire.
In short order we arrived at Bullards Beach State Park and that's when things became a test, or shall we say, a little testy, smile. As is so often the case, those incidents bring to mind something I once read. In this case, a poem by the great Scottish poet Robert Burns. Here is the link. If you've never read Burns, your either in for a real treat or about to read something that makes very little sense, with no in between. But I digress as I so often do, so, as Paul Harvey has been known to ocassionally say, and now for the rest of the story.
In hindsight we should have known some things would just not go right when our normally trustworthy GPS was directing us to turn left into the State Park when all the signs were pointing to the right. Now, there were no roads to the left, so we couldn't have turned if we had wanted to, and besides, having been to the campground before, we knew where it was. We drove back the entrance road, watching for the turnoff to the campground kisok, when Linda said, "You just drove past the campground road." As she is our navigator, it would have been more appropriate for her to have said, "We are approaching the turnoff, you'll need to turn to the right in just a little ways." When you are pulling a toad, the way is forward, not backwards, so on down the road we went. Now remember, we had been here before so we were familiar with the road which led out to the lighthouse. There are several areas to turn around in, it's just that they were designed for nothing larger than a VW Beetle and certainly not for 60 some feet of coach and toad. Finally a parking lot appeared that by driving over a low curb we managed to get headed in the correct direction.
After turning onto the road we should have turned onto in the first place, we found ourselves at the campground kisok. There were signs everywhere, a confusing array of signs that were about as unclear as could be disigned by the mind of man. It was most definitely an exemplry example of the government employee mind at work. Depending on your point of view you may see zero to three oxy-morons in that last sentence, smile. As we were trying to figure out what we were supposed to do, a Ranger drove by and stopped. After five minutes of discussion, we didn't know any more than we had before. So we set off in search of a suitable site. "B" loop was closed, "C" loop was closing, much of "A" loop was on the reservation system, but may not be reserved. We decided that we would find a suitable site and if they didn't like it, they might not be smart enough to find us, lol. We drove all the roads of "A" loop and saw several possibilities. The reason they were possibilities was due to the trees that grew in abundance throughout the campground. During our second pass through the section we stopped, and with compass in hand, did a quick survey. There were only two sites which held any promise of connecting to the satellite. We are not talking about an open site here, we are talking about a narrow gap in the trees.
Now it was time for the real fun to begin. The selected site sat at a slight angle, but was flanked by trees and bushes that extended almost out to the road. Not only that, but the road itself was quite narrow and was also also lined with bushes. The fun was about to begin. It took a while, time wise. It required shouting, lots of shouting. It did not include any threats of dissolution of marriage, but the possibility of intelligable sounds never again being uttered was raised several times. You know, the normal stuff that goes on all the time in campgrounds when someone attempts to fit a size 8 RV into a size 7 site, smile. After what seemed like an eternity, we actually got it parked where Linda wanted it. Then came the real test, would the Motosat find the satellite. We hit the switch and several minutes later we were online. Suddenly, the tension that had been boiling over during the difficulties we had encountered while parking the coach seemed to evaporate. This site was good to go for as long as we wanted to stay.
Ready to spend some time in Bandon, we drove into town. The crab dock was quickly located and almost as quickly left behind. The Winchester Bay crab dock it is not, and the Winchester Bay crab dock is nothing compared to the Winchester Bay crab pier where we had spent many wonderful hours crabbing. There was a little entertainment factor provided by two seals that were in the area. Unfortunately, the waves were spraying completely over the dock and the only crabber we saw, reported catching nothing. Besides being a lousy day weatherwise, it was a lousy day crab wise. Hope he also hadn't tried to park his RV in the same campground we were in. That would have been almost too much, lol.
Later we stopped at a Ray's market food store, which is a regional chain in this area, and stocked up on needed items. We do not eat potato chips, but some years ago we had a special time dring a vacation on the Oregon coast that help push us down the the road to where we are now. It was a simple snack of potato chips that lead to a conversation regarding the path our lives were taking and where we wanted to be in a few years. We are now at that place, both figuratively and literally, as this was the very store we had bought those chips at, so we plan to celebrate our new life with some of those chips. To know the link with the past. To experience the connection of being human. The joy of life. The spirit of individuality. The adventure goes on and on. While at the market we bought some fresh pears. Now a pear is a Bartlett pear, unless you happen to be in pear country, where we are now. Here they have the familiar Bartlett and Bosc pears, but they also have Danjou, Starkcrimson and Comice pears. Today we bought the familiar and the unknown, a Bosc and a Comice. Before we leave the area we hope to try all five types.
The sun was going down when we took a walk around the campground. Seeing one family, who were staying at a yurt, enjoying a meal of spaghetti, we headed back to the coach for our dinner which was also spaghetti. That it was good goes without saying, whole wheat spaghetti and sausage sauce, brocolli, eggplant with tomato sauce, accompanied with thin sliced Pain Rustique flat bread and garlic ICBINB. Granted we do not eat such bread often, but we spied it in the day old section, meaning it was going to be extra chewy and tough, just the way we used to love it. It was like we remembered, a wonderful treat.
Before I sign off for the day, let me pass on this: butter pecan ice cream, lol.
Oct 31
This is one seriously cold morning. It was forecast to get down to freezing, but it was only 34 when I got up. I had forgotten to turn on the system heat last night, so it was out of bed and into the cold to turn it on this morning, smile. The system heat is a small heater that comes on automatically when the temperature in the service bay gets too cold. It's purpose is to keep those silent servants down below from ever freezing, which, if they did, would be not good, smile. Since it never got down to freezing I didn't need to worry, but it's a case of better safe than sorry. It was after Linda got up that we turned on the furnace. I thought I was doing good, not using it when it wasn't needed, she on the other hand, informed me that tomorrow I should turn it on when I get up so the coach will be warm for her when she gets up. I think the only response to a request like that is, "Yes dear."
The cold temperature must have affected her somewhat, because when she finished patting the huckleberry scone out on the baking pan she discovered the egg was still laying on the counter. It actually was not a disaster, it only made the scone a little more crumbly than usual. Served with sliced pears and scrambled eggs, it was just the thing for this chilly Halloween morning.
We had finished the breakfast dishes and returned to our respective computers when, looking up to formulate my thoughts prior to writing yesterday's journal, my eyes saw something new. Sitting up on the dash was what looked like a decorated pumpkin. I couldn't figure out where it had come from, since we hadn't bought one yesterday when we were in town, so I asked. Turned out Linda had used a felt tipped marker to draw a jack-o-lantern face on the little Gold Nugget squash we had bought at the grocery store. So we have a touch of Halloween in our home. Did I marry well or what, lol.
Since today was the last day the Coquille River Lighthouse was going to be open, we drove out for a visit. Talk about a waste of time, this was really bordering on that. The hosts had no interest in anyone who dared come into the lighthouse, even though there were three hosts. They were more interested in talking among themselves. There are a number of display panels that described the lighthouse and other intersting things relating to it, but that was all there was. Whoever those hosts were, sure took the State of Oregon for a ride. Got a free site for not doing anything, well they did do something, they completely turned off any visitors who were there. Maybe that is why so many people talked about how great everything was at Umpqua River Lighthouse. We actually greeted them and made them feel welcome. As we left, we overheard one of the volunteer hosts talking about where they were going next to volunteer. I could only feel sorry for the visitors to whatever park that might be.
You also had to feel sorry for the Coquille River Lighthouse, sitting out at the mouth of the river, built in 1896, then abandened to the vicious winter storms that assail the area. Stripped of everything worthwhille, yet still maintaining a dignified, if somewhat forlorn elegance of times gone by. Then, only to be embarrassed once again by the callous disregard for her worth by the people entrusted to impart her story to those who visited her.
Returning to the campground, we stopped at one of the beach parking areas and hiked over the dunes to the beach. The view was breathtaking.
As we walked along the beach picking up agates, okay, as we walked along the beach picking up rocks, at least one of which we hoped would be an agate, we saw a small object up the beach in the distance. As we walked it continued to increase in size. It was moving too fast to be someone running, but we could not make it out. Finally it got close enough to see. As you can see, you meet the the most interesting things when you take a walk on the beach.
After returning to the coach and eating a tuna wrap... Let me explain, when we went to the store yesterday, we took the shopping list, but not a pen to mark off what we bought. The result was, we got a few things which were not on the list and didn't buy two things which were on the list, fresh fruit and lunchmeat. You can guess the affect this has on our day. No oatmeal for breakfast and no turkey wraps for lunch. We may be nothing more than the derelict hulks of human beings by nightfall if we don't watch out, and on Halloween of all days, lol. We were also patiently waiting for the temperature to warm up so we could sort through all the boxes under the coach, to get out the things we wanted to take back with us when we head south to watch our grandchildren next week. As you can see, it never did warm up the entire day.
We checked the rocks we had found using the flashlight techique and discovered we had picked up more agate than we had thought. Deciding we better do our outside work before it started getting colder, we proceeded to clean out the bays. One of the boxes we pulled out had the bird feeder in it. Linda had been bird feed deprived all the time we were at the lighthouse as bird seed, mice and Gaylyn's house did not, a happy threesome, make. The feeder mounted and filled, the kid of the family just had to play in the open bays, crawling inside to investigate.
We followed up all this hard work with a walk around the park, finding some huckleberry bushes that had some decent berries on them. Having grazed to our hearts content, we got lucky on our way back to the RV and and found a great shortcut. Another bonus was that the trail from the campground to the beach starts just a few feet beyond the shortcut. I think there will be a beach walk from the coach in our plans for tomorrow. By the time we got back to the coach, we were hungry once again. Depriving us of both our favorite breakfast and our favorite lunch will do that, you know.
We had a special treat planned for dinner tonight, something that we had never fixed before. It was meatloaf, but a special meatloaf. Not too many people have cooked a meatloaf made from a mixture of ground turkey and ground buffalo. Yesterday at the market we bought a pound of each, so tonight they were mixed together with a chopped onion, green pepper, rolled oats, tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and an egg. No measuring, just dump and mix, that's what makes cooking fun. It also made for a decidedly delicious meatloaf. One that will certainly be made again. The neat thing about making as much meatloaf as we did, are the meatloaf sandwiches that we can now have for lunch. Like Linda said, "Who cares if we are out of turkey, we've got meatloaf." Served with steamed brocolli and baked potato topped with sour cream, then slather the meatloaf with horseradish and you've got a meal that some would call comfort food, while Linda and I would call it fit for royalty. Was it ever good or what. By the way, buffalo has only 7% fat, so besides being good tasting, it is also good for you. You never know what are missing until you reach out for something new.
After dinner we had a real treat. No, it wasn't dessert, though the low fat sugar free butter pecan ice cream and low fat sugar free apple chocolate chip cake made for a great dessert. No, the treat was a TV show, NCIS. Our favorite character, and "character" is an apt description for her if there ever was one, was the one member of the team who dressed in a Halloween costume. Abby was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, from the front and side Abby was Marilyn Monroe, Abby was Abby at her finest. It was rather comical to see me poised in front of the TV, camera at the ready, to get a shot of her. She even did the famous pirouette, sorry no photo, which made our day, so to speak. I just love the interaction between the characters and think the writing and directing is some of the best on prime time TV, your opinion may vary, but it is my journal, lol.
May your day have ended with as many smiles as ours did.
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