Wild in Waldport

Here is the bridge on US 101 spanning the Alsea Bay on the north side of Waldport.

A view from the birdge of the peninsula that encloses the bay.

The old blogger driving Red Ryder as we crossed the bridge yesterday afternoon.

Another view of the bay  shore.

 
This little lake is a state park on the Alsea Highway between US101 and Chinook RV Park. This appears to be a favorite local fishing spot.










 [NOTE: this post was written on Monday, June 9th, but due to poor internet connectivity, I was not able to post it until today.]

As you know from my last post, we are in Waldport, OR enjoying a few days in Topper.  The weather has been typical for the Oregon coast in June.  Sunny, with temperatures in the sixties and rather windy.  The wind, however, has not held us back from having a good time. We took the girls for a walk this morning and let them do there morning business. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  We arrived at the Chinook RV Park yesterday, expecting to see Jillian and Mark, the owners who had been so accommodating and cordial when we were here in October.  Surprise! They have sold the park. The good news is that the new owners are equally as nice. Well, I should qualify that. So far we have only met Ben, who is delightful.  He and Becky left their home in Alaska (which they were assured was sold) and set out in their recently purchased motor home to see a bit of the country. Their plan was, eventually, to settle down in Washington or Oregon.

They traveled down the coast as far as California. Along the way, they learned that their home buyer had lost his job, and consequently his financing. The house was back on the market, and they were accumulating a pile of credit card bills that they were expecting to pay off with the  proceeds of the sale.  They decided to return to Oregon and look for a place to settle.  After six weeks in the Chinook RV Park, Ben and Becky learned that their house had sold, this time to a cash buyer. At precisely that time, Jillian and Mark approached them and said, "We have been quietly trying to sell this park for the past three years so we can retire and move closer to our grandchildren in California. Would you have any interest in buying it?"

The die was cast, and the park changed hands...and they didn't even consult us! We are delighted that the flavor of the park has not changed significantly, but the new owners have made some minor but welcome improvements.

So, this morning we left the park in capable hands and drove to Waldport proper, about 3 miles. Our first stop was at Radio Shack in search of a USB to Ethernet adapter. It seems my new MacBook Air has no ethernet port, so I can't communicate with our Wi-Fi repeater.  We use the repeater as a firewall and so that we can simply log on to our own local network, which is in turn connected to the park Wi-Fi network.  The problem is that before that connection can be made, the repeater needs to be programmed to the park Wi-Fi.  That requires an ethernet connection.  Bottom line: Radio Shack doesn't have the adapter.

No worries, we went next door to Ace Hardware, where we scored a butane fire lighter to replace the one I left at home.  We also found a nice little knife sharpener for our kitchen knives.
Next stop was our favorite in Waldport. It is a store called The Flea Market.  Although it is not really a flea market, most of the "stuff" in the store is on consignment and appears to be the things that the owners have found in their attics, barns, basements and under a rock. It is a fun place to poke around. We left empty-handed today; a first for Tom and Jill.

We went to the local drug store, which has a lot of gift shop items, too. Jill wanted to see their selection of Baggalini purses.  She didn't buy one, but she says she knows which one she would like to have now.

Next we hopped back into Red Ryder and drove south on US 101.  We stopped at a small state park that comprises a parking lot, restroom and beach access. We took the girls for a romp in the sand and were almost blown away by the northwest wind.

Back in the truck, we traveled a short distance to Beachside state park. It is aptly named and beautiful. The campsites are nicely treed and pretty private, thanks to the vegetation.  We drove through the campground and decided we will make a reservation for later this summer for space #63, which has the best beach view.

Continuing south to Yachats, Jill suggested we stop for a seafood lunch. We found Ona Restaurant and Lounge. A lovely little place with a view of the estuary. Jill had a crab and shrimp salad, and I ordered rock fish and chips.  The food was wonderful, and we accompanied it with an IPA. The meal hit the spot. We headed back to Chinook RV Park very satisfied. Along the way, we stopped at a little mom and pop store and picked up some Tin Roof Sundae ice cream.  Life is good.

Why do it the easy way...

...when there is a more convoluted alternative. Jill and I are out for our first outing in about three months. We settled in to our new home for the next several days in the Chinook RV Park in Waldport, OR. This is the first outing since doing several upgrades to the TC (about which I posted previously). To say we were excited to make this trip would be the rankest kind of understatement.

I set up the rig: water? check; electricity? check; Cable TV? check; wi-fi? check. I opened a cold hefeweizen and proceeded to relax. Then I remembered there was one more thing I needed to do. I flipped the switch for the water heater: red light? check...red light??...why isn't the red light going off? Why don't I hear the whoosh of the flame igniting?

I flipped off the switch...that is to say I shut it off; this had nothing to do with those digital messages that other drivers wave at me from time to time. Outside now, I opened the panel for the WH. I removed the heat shield, and of course I dropped one of the screws. After several minutes of searching, I found it in my open tool box, which was directly below my work space (just to make it more difficult to stand in front of the WH panel). I carefully stowed the two screws.

I had Jill turn on the switch. After a few seconds the igniter sparked, but no joy. I told Jill to shut it off. I removed the igniter and dropped that screw in the rust colored gravel. After about a 30 minute search, I actually found that one, too. I stowed it carefully before removing the burner pipe. I'll bet the burner nozzle is clogged, I told myself. I looked through the nozzle and saw daylight; I could blow through the nozzle. Seems clear to me.

I found a lot of loose rust in the combustion chamber. Aha! Now I am onto something. I carefully cleaned the combustion chamber. Next I reassembled everything except the heat shield. "Honey, flip the switch again." After a few seconds...spark but no flame. "OK," I said to myself, "what do you need to make fire? Air? check; ignition? check; fuel? Hmmm...maybe I should check that."

I went inside to try lighting the stove. "Maybe," I thought,"there is air in the line." Now where did I leave that fire stick? Oh, yeah, I borrowed it to do something in my shop. Must have forgotten to replace it in Topper. Hiked up to the office and scored a box of stick matches.

Back aboard, I struck a match and held it by the main stove burner. Funny, usually I have to be careful that the flow of air/gas doesn't blow out the match. This must be a super match. The flame stands up in spite of that air blowing out of the line. There...is...air blowing out of the line...isn't there. Gee...(insert light bulb here)...perhaps, the gas tank is empty.

I went out and switched tanks. That blew the match out. Got the stove started, and miracle of miracles, when I had Jill turn on the WH, it had magically cured itself.

I reinstalled the heat shield and came inside for a cold one!! I ask you, why do it the easy way...?