Ladies & Gentleman--the Postman has arrived!!!

Neither rain nor snow nor dark of night--etc.  Well that's what we went thru to get to Newport today.  Started out just as the sun was rising this morning in Twin Falls, Idaho.  We had a choice of going up to Portland or across the middle of the state on I-20 or I-26.  The route through Portland was 80 miles farther but 45 minutes shorter according to a program from Microsoft I use.  The ones on I-20 & I-26 are shorter but take more time as the speed is slower.  We chose I-20.  Well we hit big head winds, rain, sleet, hail, & finally snow with a bit of sun thrown in just for fun.  Still took us 12 hours to get here.  It was supposed to be a shorter day than yesterday but with all the fun driving, it was about two hours longer.  Oh well---at least we are here  now.

The kids are settling in.  Blue is still being a bit of a pistol but the boys are ignoring her for the most part--they stay out of her way.   Tracy is starting to unpack some of what we have taken to the boat.  REALLY glad we took a cart to haul the stuff down.  It's over three hundred yards from shore to get to our boat.  It is making it much easier.  Made taking the cats tall condo unit much easier.  Yes, you've seen them before--those tall poles with tubes and half tubes all over them.   That's right, we took the 6 foot tall kitty condo with us.  Got it down the main companionway but not sure if it can stay in it's current configuration.  Sure takes up a lot of space but the kitties are glad to see it.  Tracy wanted to make sure that no one was around when we hauled it to the boat.  Bet we are the only boat with a kitty condo on it.   

It has come to Tracy's realization that she packed to much for the boat.  Once she got inside, it dawned on her the reality of the limited space we really have here.  She figures Good Will will love us over the next few weeks and months.  Time will tell how much we keep and how much leaves.  We still have to have room for food!!!  I personally would miss that--a lot!!!

The car we left here had a flat tire, so I had to pump it up before we took off for dinner.  We had already found a great restaurant--Georgies--for dinner.  Tracy had Clam Chowder and I had a Chicken/Curry/Penne dinner.  Gee what a surprise!! Those of you that have seen me eat know I really LOVE curry.  Especially the really spicy stuff.  Neither  of us could finish our dinners as we had a BIG lunch at a "local" restaurant as we crossed Oregon.  I had a "Philly" sandwich and Tracy opted for a special Hamburger that included a slice of ham with it.   She said it was really good.  Plus she had a really thick chocolate milkshake just to wash it down.  AH--the joys of cross country travel.  Screw the diet!!!  We both figure we will be working a lot these next few months getting the boat ready for the trip.

I hope we find the box that has the bag of quarters I packed.  We need those to take showers.  75 cents for the showers here in Newport.  That gives you 5 minutes to get clean.  Good luck with that.

I should have more to report tomorrow--off to the post office to get a box, contact the mechanic and electrician to get them scheduled plus more that I don't want to think about.

Bill