We’re back in Birch Bay, Washington

 

Sunday, July 10, 2011                                                                                                                                            Lorraine’s report

Hello again from Latitude 49. We got back here after a very nice trip into Oregon for shopping. Of course, coming back into Washington, it rained and was about 10 degrees cooler, so I guess it wouldn’t feel like home if it didn’t rain on us while returning home and was cold. Oh well, such is life.

Our friends from Canada, Rob and Norma and Barb and Dennis had come down for a holiday and to visit over Canada Day and through the fourth of July and after. They stayed over at Beachwood a few miles from us.

That first day the gals wanted to go shoe shopping, Barb had found a pair of flip flops that had built in arch supports, and Norma wanted some like Barb’s. I hadn’t seen them, so I wasn’t sure what they looked like, so I took them to down town Bellingham to Hiltons to see if they were there. While we didn’t find them that is not to say the gals didn’t find shoes; in fact, both found a pair each. We had lunch and went to several more stores. Good thing I was busy with them, since the fan in the bathroom and hall way went crazy again and wouldn’t work. Tim had talked with Chuck and came over to fix it again. That took the guys most of the day. Thanks Tim.

The next day, Joe and Alice came over for a visit; I invited them to stay for brunch, since it was mid morning and Chuck and I hadn’t eaten. We shared a nice meal. They stayed here for a meeting with an Insurance man, who was coming at 1 pm to give us information on Medicare.

I have to say that the whole Medicare system is a totally, extremely confusing system. I don’t know how anyone, especially older people, can figure it out. The agent was very helpful in explaining what it was and what we needed. Unfortunately, we were not eligible to buy from him since we are no longer Washington residents, but residents of South Dakota. Joe is also going to be eligible for Medicare this year and they both found him to be extremely helpful.

Chuck spent the next day on my phone calling agents in South Dakota. I don’t know how many people he talked to, but a good amount, I suspect. I had a hair appointment, which I kept.

Upon returning home, I fixed up my turkey salad to take over to Barb and Dennis’s for a Canada Day party. I never counted how many people showed up, but there was no shortage of food or fun. Dennis had a nice bon fire that evening, as he did most evenings they were down. We stayed until it started getting damp out and then headed home.

Saturday found us running errands until later on in the afternoon. Barb and Norma had to get Norma’s new puppy some chew toys, so when they were done with that, they came over to see where we were parked.

We were visiting and I mentioned that Saturday evening down at the Skagit Casino by Mt. Vernon, was Prime Rib and Dungeness Crab Buffet for about $16 per person. The gals liked that idea and called the guys, and before you knew it, we were on our way to dinner, with Chuck driving us all in our car. Everyone enjoyed a very nice buffet, with everyone getting what they liked. After dinner, we played for about an hour with Norma being the big winner. I forgot to mention that Saturday, July 2 was our 1^st 82 degree day of the year.

Sundays I like to go to the church just down the road. My friend, Gale, whom I met a couple of months ago, but had gone home to Seattle area, came that day. After church we visited for a while, catching up on each other’s lives.

Chuck and I spent a quiet afternoon and evening home.

Monday was the 4^th of July and our friends from Canada wanted to go to the small town parade in Blaine, and invited us along. We went and picked them up by 10:30 and found our spot to watch the parade. My goodness, there were a lot of people that had the same idea and were there early. After setting up the chairs, the gals and I walked a couple of blocks to where they had set up the food stands and such. We all got hot dogs and walked back for the start of the parade.

The Blaine parade was your normal small town parade, with one band, tons of cars, fire trucks and horses. I enjoyed myself. Afterwards, Chuck and I went home for a rest. Rob/Norma and Barb/Dennis headed back into the hundreds of people going to the booths.

Rob and Norma came over late afternoon for dinner. I cooked steak and potatoes, with apple pie for dessert. Chuck then took Norma and I to the fireworks in Bellingham, they were very nice, a fit ending to a wonderful day.

Tuesday found Chuck and I headed south to Mt. Vernon. Chuck had business to take care of.

Wednesday found us headed south again, this time with Joe and Alice, and this time into south Seattle. We left at 9:30, went and dropped Misty off at Rob and Norma’s for them to watch for the day. The guys finished their business in a little over 15 minutes and we headed back north, before the traffic got too heavy. Chuck stopped at Northgate mall and Alice, Joe and I headed into Macys’ for a 30 minutes shopping break. Both Alice and I found a couple of things.

We stopped in Marysville for lunch at a Mexican place and enjoyed a nice lunch. We got home around 4:15, in time to rest a few minutes, and then head back out.

Our friends from when we lived on Barnes Road in Bellingham were having their 65^th wedding anniversary at the Moose Lodge in town. It’s hard to believe that Russ and Millie have been married 65 years, that’s as long as I will be on this earth next month on the 6^th. They had a great turnout, and even though Millie is starting to not know what was happening, Russ did and really enjoyed all the people in attendance.

Thursday was Rob/Norma and Barb/Dennis’s last day at Beachwood. They were leaving on Friday, Barb headed to her sister in law’s cabin and Norma headed home to by Pender Harbor. We went over in the afternoon, and were invited to go to Chinese Buffet in town for a last time together. We had another great meal with everyone and a lot of fun.

Friday found us taking the day off until about 5 pm, when Chuck took me into town for Bellingham’s Race for the Cure Walk. This walk made it my tenth walk since I got cancer. Richard and Sandy came by looking for me, but we didn’t hook up till we were leaving. They went to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries with us for dinner and we spent several hours catching up. It was so good to see them since their Vegas trip. They had a blast. Thanks Richard and Sandy for the Pink goodies. Love you both.

It was nice to spend a quiet day at home except for the run to the grocery store on Saturday. Chuck spent the day on the phone.

That’s if for me. We want to wish Crystal a Happy Birthday on the 16^th, Sandy a Happy Birthday on the 20^th and Richard a Happy Birthday on the 23^rd.

Until next time

Lorraine

7/10/11                                                                                                                                                                  Chuck’s report

Let’s see, last time we published our blog, we were in Woodburn, Oregon, doing some shopping and running some errands.  We spent two more days in Oregon when we moved to the Elks lodge a few miles down the highway.  We got all our “stuff” completed and headed back to our spot here in Birch Bay on Tuesday. 

Since we’ve been back, we’ve spent lots of time visiting with our friends from Canada who came down for a break, they stay at Beachwood resort just down the road from us.  Lorraine has gone shopping with the gals a couple of times, we’ve gone over there for campfire, gone out to eat a time or two and even stopped off at the local casino.  Both couples have returned back to their homes and we probably won’t see them until sometime in January when they are planning on coming down South to Arizona.  Have a good summer and hurry down South. 

Tim also came back to work on the wiring for out lights and fans in the bath once again.  They quit working back in February and he tied in a new ground wire and they were working fine once again.  This time it was the hot wire that wasn’t making good contact so he used a spare hot wire, tied it into a bundle and once again everything works good.  I will have the factory re-wire this mess once we get back to them, maybe sometimes next spring. 

Lorraine is turning 65 next month and will be eligible for Medicare.  We don’t know too much about how that works so Tim had his broker come by to help explain our options to us and our friend Joe.  It isn’t real straight forward as to what we need to do so I’ve been making calls, reading brochures and scouring the internet trying to get the right combination of insurance coverage for her.  We’re getting closer but still have a couple more plans being sent to us that I will need to review and then hopefully we can make an informed decision and get that step over. 

On the 4th of July our Canadian friends joined us in Blaine where we watched the parade.  There were probably more politicians than bands but at least the weather cooperated and it didn’t rain.  Rob and Norma came by our place later for a Bar-B-Q and more visiting.  Later, Lorraine wanted to go to Bellingham to see the fireworks over the bay so we took Norma and headed out.  We managed to get a spot along the shore close to where we used to live, made it safely through the crowds and back home.  

This past week it seems we been doing lots of traveling in the car, seeing my doctors or whatever.  I had an appointment in Mount Vernon on Tuesday, about 60 miles away.  Wednesday was a trip to South Seattle and back for another long car trip.  At least for this one Joe and Alice rode along with us.  Gas is too expensive to be doing these “Sunday drives” that often. 

Later Lorraine and I went back to Bellingham to the Moose Lodge where our friends, Russ and Millie Westhaver, were celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary.  They were married exactly one year to the day after my folks were married.  They had lots of family and friends in attendance, a pot luck dinner was served and a bad played music for dancing afterwards.  It was good to see them once again, we’ve known them since about 1973 or so. 

Thursday I spent most of the morning working on the computer and phone getting more information about Medicare while Lorraine paid some bills we got in our mail shipment a couple of days earlier.  We don’t get our mail very often, this time it was almost two months since our last mail delivery.  It’s amazing how little of the snail mail sent to us is really necessary, most of it is receipts for bills paid or monthly statements.  Still, we have to spend some time taking care of some of the issues that come with the mail, just like everyone who lives in a sticks and brick. 

Friday afternoon Lorraine attended the Cancer Walk in Bellingham.  This was the first one she ever attended and it’s been 10 years so she wanted to make this one again.  She walked the survivor’s lap plus a couple more and as we were leaving she got a phone call from our friends Richard and Sandy.  They had just gotten to the Cancer Walk and were looking for us.  It happened we were both parked in the same lot so we waited for them at the car.  We made plans to meet them at 5 Guys for a burger and fries where we continued our visit with them. 

This week we will be traveling down to LA Conner to attend a rally with one of the FMCA Chapters, Lewis and Clark, that we joined a couple of years ago.  They have stuff planned for Thursday thru Sunday, it will be good to see some of the friends we’ve made through that group too. It’s only about 50 miles South of here so it won’t be a big trip but still, it will be good to be on the road and doing something different.  We will be retuning back to our lot here in Birch Bay after the rally and may make one more short trip before we leave the area in in August to start our trip South. 

We plan on celebrating Lorraine’s birthday, her birthday is Aug. 6th, the day after with our friends by going to a buffet at the casino, sort of like what we did for mine.  Our daughter, Susy, and grand daughter, Kaitlyn, will be flying up to help us celebrate too, really looking forward to that.  That weekend is also the company picnic at the refinery so we will will probably attend some of the festivities with them too. 

Saturday I spent most of the day with a calendar, map, campground books and the computer trying to get a better handle on our plans for the remainder of the year and an rough idea of our itinerary for next year.  I think we’ve nailed down the next couple of months pretty well as we need to remain around the area for doctor visits and such until late August.

For our trip South this year we are planning on going through Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Southern Idaho,Utah and Nevada, a more circuitous route to California for sure but we will be covering some parts of the country we’ve not seen yet.  After all, that’s why we are living this lifestyle, to see and experience new areas of our great country.  I’ve heard some folks say that Utah has the best scenery in the US, guess we’ll find out. 

For our longer range plans, we are looking on being around our daughter and grand daughter for a couple weeks at a time for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas before we head East for the winter.  This winter we will probably be in Quartzsite for RV week, then stop at Yuma for a week or two before heading to South Texas for the remainder of the winter.  Next spring we will probably continue our journey to the East, stopping by the factory where our coach was built to get some work done on it.  We are thinking of traveling along the the Mississippi River from New Orleans to the head water in Minnesota with a couple of stops along the way of course.  But as I say, these are long range plans and they have a habit of changing a lot with our lifestyle.  And it’s always good to have a plan so we can change it too. 

Well, enough of that, how about a few pictures and then get this posted and get on with today? 

Chuck and Dennis visiting at his place.     Dennis putting Chuck in a straight jacket.

 

Blaine’s July 4th Color Guard                    Nice Horse

 

Flower basket in Blaine                             Nice flowers

 

Old fire truck                                           Tractor carrying American Flag       

  

Norma and Barb at the parade                  Lorraine by metal totem pole

 

Had a couple of wagons pulled by draft horses.  Pretty girls on a float. 

 

That’s Mt. Rainer in the center                a closer shot of Rainer

 

a close up of Rainer                                 Mt Baker, our mountain

 

Russ & Millie at their 65th wedding          Close up of Russ & Millie-they look good

anniversary

 

Lorraine’s bag at the 10 year cancer walk  Lorraine at the opening ceremonies

 

Vicky was crying over loosing her friend this past year.  Lorraine took

her arm and walked with her

 

Thanks   Chuck