Scratchin' that Hitch Itch

Cedar Creek Hatchery
Hebo, OR

After 3 full months of this beautiful view..

we are finally finished with our hatchery job!

The last few days have been spent preparing..

washing Harvey inside and out..

filling out our final paperwork, and turning in our keys..

and visiting a few of our favorite places.

Wednesday night we went into Pacific City to Doryland Pizza,

and yesterday before getting one more haircut, 

we stopped into Tillamook Cheese Factory to enjoy their grilled cheese sandwiches :-)

Today the hatchery boys (my name for them, not theirs!)

threw a little get together for us.

Lawrence made turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes..

Joe brought some different kinds of salad..

and Bob brought some smoked salmon and hors d' ouevres.

We all dug in, and stuffed ourselves..

No dinner tonight!

We have really enjoyed ourselves here.

The job was not too bad, and we would return again!

Tomorrow we head out, traveling south on I-5.

We'll be stopping overnight at a Flying J in Oakland, OR

as we make our way to California for a few days.

We are looking forward to seeing my parents again!

Plans in Jello

Cedar Creek Hatchery
Hebo, OR

Tomorrow is our last day of work at the hatchery.

We decided to work tomorrow instead of Friday,

so we have a string of days off to end our stint here.

Besides, Friday they're having a cookout for us :-)

George finished up some projects around the grounds here today,

and we took a walk to the top to look at the area one more time..

He also checked the torque and tire pressures in both the truck and Harvey..

Wednesday George is going to wash the RV and truck,

and I'll be cleaning the inside.

We have altered our plans a bit from the detailed post made the other day regarding our future travels.

George and I have decided to travel south to CA to spend some time with my parents,

and then continue with our plans east.

My Mother and Father will need us to be there later on in the year, so we all decided that would be best.

The nice thing about being full-timers is the flexibility and mobility we have to change our plans!

We are looking forward to leaving Oregon on Saturday. 

The rains are starting to come and there is a nip in the air, especially at night.

You can tell fall is around the corner!

News - good and otherwise

Cedar Creek Hatchery
Hebo, OR

Oh how I hate posting bad news on my blog.

As you all know, my Father had a biopsy done to determine

if the lesions they saw in a CT scan were cancerous.

Unfortunately the news was not as we had hoped..

he has Stage IV pancreatic cancer which has also spread to his liver.

This has hit me very hard, as it has come out of the blue.

My Dad is otherwise very healthy, and in his upper 70's, should not have to go through this.

They are now weighing out their options, which are not great I'm sure.

We are making our plans to go back to California to be near them.

If there is a bright spot in all of this, it's that we are mobile, and don't have to worry

about leaving jobs or houses to do so.

We're not sure how long we'll be there, but as long as needed.

In the meantime, there is some good news.

George does not have to see me looking like this:

where I spent the last few months working diligently for the 'company'.

The company I worked as President for the last 17 years has finally sold!

Woohoo!

I stuck it out, helped them through the transition, and now am free of daily spreadsheets :)

I will be helping out the new owner where I can, 

and for helping out 30 hours per month will get health insurance provided.

Nice :-)

Anything over and above he will pay me.

I won't be putting in near as many hours as I did before.

We are winding down our last week here, leaving the 31st.

There's rumor of a potluck in our future :-)

Here's a few pictures of some guests in our yard:

This little guy was found on the steps going to the office of the hatchery.

Lawrence (a hatchery worker) scooped him up in a bowl

and put him on the tree. We think he fell and was stunned.

Once on the tree, he made his way up about 10 feet, turned around and flew off.

I thought he was cute...

For a bat :-)

Future Plans

Cedar Creek Hatchery
Hebo, OR

Less than 2 weeks left in Oregon!

A bit of an update:

My Dad had a biopsy on Friday,

and he should get the results tomorrow.

The water company's closing is for sure tomorrow as well. (Yeah, right, I won't hold my breath!)

I had documents to sign, get notarized, and overnight to PA last week.

We're in a small town, so you can imagine what fun that was!

In the meantime, we are firming up our travel plans when we leave here.

Here's our itinerary, written in Jello:

• August 31 - Hebo, OR to La Grande, OR - Flying J
• September 1 - La Grande, OR to Twin Falls, ID - Flying J
• September 2 - Twin Falls, ID to Provo, UT - Flying J
• September 3 - Provo, UT to Grand Junction, CO - Junction West RV Park
• September 4 - Grand Junction, CO to Golden, CO - Jefferson County Fairgrounds - getting our slide adjusted at Camping World, and visiting my son Austin in Denver
• September 6 - Golden, CO to Kearney, NE - Flying J
• September 7 - Kearney, NE to Des Moines, IA - Flying J
• September 8 - Des Moines, IA to Porter, IN - Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
• September 12 - Porter, IN to Ravenna, OH - West Branch State Park - visiting our friends Connie & Greg who we met while workamping in California
• September 16 - Ravenna, OH to Saylorsburg, PA - Silver Valley Campsites - visiting friends & family!
• September 30 - Saylorsburg, PA to Harrisonburg, VA - Flying J
• October 1 - Harrisonburg, VA to Franklin, NC - RV Dreams Fall Rally
• October 9 - Franklin, NC to Petersburg, GA - J. Strom Thurmond Lake, Petersburg Campground - know some RV dreamers who are workamping there :)
• October 23 - Petersburg, GA to Augusta, GA - Heritage RV Park
• October 28 - Augusta, GA to Murrells Inlet, SC - Huntington Beach State Park - Carolina Clan Reunion!

After the CC Reunion, we'll be heading to our next workamping gig in Florida.

Our job is maintenance for the Ocala National Forest. 

We'll be staying behind the Pittman Visitor's Center across from Lake Dorr Recreation Area.

George and I both think that our next workamping job won't be on opposite coasts next time!

If anyone is interested in workamping in Oregon, the hatchery is looking for someone anytime after we leave here starting in September. 20 hours for your site, maintain the grounds, and help occasionally with the fish.

Not a difficult job at all!

Mental health day

Cedar Creek Hatchery
Hebo, OR

Remember when we all had full-time jobs?

There were days that we took off for a 'mental health' day?

Today was one of those :-)

George and I do have the day off today from the hatchery.

As you know I've been tied up with the closing of the water company,

which, by the way, still has not happened :-(

Always a few details to be worked out!

Today after a very early conference call, we both decided to get away.

We didn't go far, just south to Lincoln City.

There we can get a few needed items at Dollar Tree,

I got a pedicure, and George got his coffee (not at Dollar Tree!).

On the way home, we stopped in Pacific City as it was a beautiful day.

The Pelican Pub is a great place for a beer, and sit outside and watch the waves.

It was cool watching the Dory boats come in..

They gun their motor and slide right up onto the beach,

where their truck and trailer are waiting.

Pretty cool!

There's a lot on my mind lately too, 

besides the final closing of the water company,

and the FEMA offer.

My Father, Ted, has been having some pains in his stomach.

The doctors have done all kinds of tests,

and finally found a spot on his pancreas.

He will be going for a biopsy to find out what it is.

We're hoping for good results.

George and I would appreciate good wishes and prayers at this time.

Thanks so much!

Tillamook County Fair

Cedar Creek Hatchery
Hebo, OR

Wow, over a week since you've heard from us.

We're still here :-)

The hatchery job is winding down, we leave 3 weeks from tomorrow.

My patience with working with the company in PA is paying off soon,

the closing for the sale of the company should be Monday.

We have our offer from FEMA, with a few details to be worked out.

Hallelujah!

Yesterday we got out for some fun!

The annual Tillamook County Fair runs August 7-10,

and Thursday is senior day..with only $6 admission each.

What a deal!

We got there shortly after 1 pm, and proceeded to walk around and see the sights (and smells).

There was the cow judging..

dog showing..

and of course flowers too!

Of course we had to have some good fair food. My favorite is the corn dog,

so we both got one of those.

While we ate that, we sat and watched some entertainment.

There was a comedy juggling act..

juggling...great...

comedy, not so much :-)

After they were through Joe Stoddard sang some great oldies..

We had some cotton candy, which is in bags now, not on a stick!

George and I wandered around the midway area, but neither one of us is into carnival rides.

We decided to go into the arena area. There were horse races..

 But the best part of the whole fair was this..

Pig-n-Ford races!

Men drive around a dirt track driving Model T Fords while holding a 20# piglet.

It's the funniest thing we ever watched!

They race 5 cars at a time..

The men start at the start of the gunshot,

and then race across the track to boxes where the pigs are held.

At this point they each grab a pig..

(we saw a few dropped and they had to chase them down!)

Then, pig in one arm, they crank their cars up to start them..

Then jump in the car and speed around the oval track.

They do this 3 times, each time they have to get a new pig.

First one back the third time is the winner!

They also have 5 more cars for the next round.

If you're ever in Oregon, in Tillamook, at fair time..

it is definitely a must see!