Tacoma, WA

Hello Tacoma!

So here we are in Tacoma, all settled in our RV park.  Too bad I can't say we're settled in the RV itself yet.  Converting this from a bachelor rig to a couple's rig is taking some work.  I've been going through each storage area (at Larry's invitation and with his full blessing) from bedroom to living room and deciding what is valuable enough to store, what should be tossed, what needs to be shipped home and which space makes the most sense for the keeper stuff.  I'm glad to have a little time off to do that.

Before starting that project though, we took a couple "vacation days" before Larry started work on Monday.  Saturday we went to Vancouver, BC.  We had fond memories of the historic Gas Town area and wanted to go back.  We were sorely disappointed.  The street vendors were gone and the homeless had moved in.  The alleys stunk, the place was generally dirty and that greatly distracted from the architecture, shops and restaurants.  We left there and went to a wharf type area that was an improvement so the day ended on a positive note.  Overall there wasn't enough appeal to keep up overnight so we headed home - only 3 hours away.

Sunday, we decided to see what we could find in the way of a beach.  We went to Alki Beach which isn't far from Pike's Place as a crow flies, and really not far by car, but you can't see one place from the other.  The beach was almost as much gravel and rock as sand and the surf was full of pieces of seaweed which collected on the sand at high tide and swirled around our feet when we walked on the edge of the surf.  It was nice to get our feet wet and get well grounded in the wet earth.  If you want to sit through this nearly two minute YouTube video (that I found online) it's a very good synopsis of Alki Beach, including all the things people do here. It could have been filmed the day we were there except the sky was gray.  In fact, a thunderstorm rumbled through and that's when we headed to Pike Place.

This may be my 4th or 5th visit to Pike Place.  The stores are starting to become very familiar.  The flower section has Sweet Peas and I took a great big whiff!  Ah... they smell so very good.  I miss them as they are so near and dear to my heart from my childhood.  They grow well in cool climates and not at all in the SE.

Speaking of cool climates... that doesn't describe Tacoma/Seattle this week.  It's only 88 degrees today but for the NW (and for Sweet Peas) that's hot!  With the nice weather comes a great view of Mt. Rainer which dominates the horizon to the Southeast.  It's huge!!!   I took this photo from the car on the way back from Vancouver.

Tacoma streets, in some places, remind me of San Francisco with steep streets, big buildings, and lots of concrete.  There is no free parking anyway to be found downtown.  We'll have to pay for a monthly parking pass just to be able to park while working.  Larry was told there are a lot of car break-ins downtown.  That means we're going to have to find a place to stash all our adjuster gear for working in the field (ropes, harness, shoes, tools, etc).  Oh boy.  I'm not sure there is that much storage in this rig.

We do expect that I'll be employed soon though we're still waiting for an invitation.  No problem as I still have plenty to do.

From CA to Tacoma

The trip to Tacoma continues from Santa Cruz, to Santa Rosa, through the Redwoods, North through OR.,to arrive in Tacoma later today.

After leaving Santa Cruz on Saturday night, we were clever and spent the night just short of San Francisco and then drove through 19th Ave and over the Golden Gate bridge early Sunday morning when there was very little traffic.  It makes a difference when your vehicle is 8 1/2 ft wide!   As is typical, SF was foggy and cool.

We spent a few days in Santa Rosa visiting friends and family.  Larry happily played handball/racquetball (both maybe - he does both).  We left Santa Rosa Tuesday evening and headed North on 101.

Seeing the Redwoods is always a joy.  We took a couple hours in Cresent City to drive Howland Hill Rd in the Redwoods National Forest (in the Rav4, not the motorhome.)
 Look at the size of this tree next to our car; and the ones next to the pick-up truck in front of us in the photo below.

Yesterday, we left the rig in Eugene and drove East to visit Larry's brother in central OR.  Larry saw him about a year and a half ago but it's been many, many years since I've seen him.  He and his wife are thriving and it was so good to see them, however briefly.

Today we're in the Portland area.  First stop... Carmax.  You see, the Rav4 has developed a serious oil consumption problem.  Even though it's been towed the majority of the way across the US, Larry has put over 4K miles on it since he purchased it about 3 weeks ago.  In the last few hundred miles it has used 4 quarts of oil.  The mechanics at Carmax are looking at it now.

Santa Cruz

The last few days have been a whirlwind.  Last Wednesday, my assignment in Atlanta came to an end.  They walked me out about 2:30PM.  I drove straight home and unloaded my car, loaded what I needed in Larry's car and we headed for Dallas.  We took turns driving all night and arrived about 8:00 Thursday morning and the motorhome needed to be checked out of the RV space by Noon.  We left about 11:00 and drove from Dallas to a couple hours shy of El Paso.  The next day, Friday, we got as far as Tahachapi, CA.  After driving through 111 degrees of desert landscape, it was nice to sleep in 70 degree weather.
Saturday, we arrived in Salinas about 8:00 and left the rig at Walmart and took the car to Santa Cruz where we spent a good part of the day at the Boardwalk and ocean.

One of the things that strikes me during our travels is how the architecture changes.  These are some little cottages near the Boardwalk that are so indicative of the area, not so much in size but it style and color.

In El Paso, we could see a hillside full of Adobe style homes (from the interstate) that, to me, was reminiscent of ancient cliff dwelling tribes.  I didn't think a photo would do it justice but I wish now that I had tried to get a photo.

Since then I've taken other photos from the picture window called our windshield.  I'll post more.

PS This post is rather delayed because Blogspot doesn't work so well from an iPad.  It behaves much better on a laptop and access to wifi on my laptop is limited during travels.

Time For A Change II

Larry made it to Chattanooga.  At least that's what my "Find My Friends" app says.  That's what he says too.  I choose to believe it. :-)  I'm being a little silly about it because I haven't seen him yet.   It's hard to believe he's only two hours away instead of 12 hours.

He has a few, very full days there and then plans to leave Tuesday for Dallas to pick up the motorhome and then make a cross country trip to Tacoma, WA.  

At least, that was the plan until about 4 hours ago.  That's when I learned that my last work day in Atlanta is Wednesday.  So, he's going to wait to leave and I'm going to rush home after they cut me loose on Wednesday, drop off my gear and then we will both take off together very shortly after I get home; like 30 minutes later.  We will bee-line it for Dallas, taking turns driving so we can get to the rig in time to get it out of its current RV space before the noon deadline.   It'll be close!  

I get to go home this Sunday so I can prep anything that needs prepping to make Wednesday easier.

I hate the idea of leaving the kids and grandkids, especially when I have no idea how long we'll be gone.  It can make me cry if I think about it more than a few minutes.  I'm going to miss my friends and the Master Gardeners too.  But, I have to say I am looking forward to living with my husband again after being apart for so long.  I don't have a job offer in Tacoma yet but we kind of, sort of, expect it to come.  We will see.

It looks like there is a lot to see and do in the NW so there should be some interesting posts in the future.  His work schedule is going to be 12 days on, 2 days off.  We can do a lot in two days.

Time For A Change

So it hasn't been that long since I posted about our new careers and where we are working.  Did I mention that things can changed with no warning?  It happened, though not with no warning.  I think it was Wednesday, maybe Thursday, that Larry learned he was being transferred.  Today was his last day in Dallas.  He will have three weeks off before reporting for work in Tacoma, WA.  There is no indication of how long that job will last.  It could be many months... again.  Who knows.  This is will be an office position again, doing pretty much what he's been doing for the last 8 months.

Part of those 3 weeks off will be spent driving the motorhome from Dallas to Tacoma.  He will come home first but not for long.

I'm still working in Atlanta getting those claims from the winter storms wrapped up.  Our headcount is going down and yet, I'm still there.  I think it's that rare NY adjuster's license that is keeping me employed.  I come home for one day visits on Sunday.  That means I'll get to see Larry next Sunday before he takes off again.

Tacoma is the home of Dale Chihuly, the famous glass artist.  There is a real mountain for a back-drop... nothing like Signal Mountain or Lookout Mountain.  In fact, nothing like anything you'll see East of the Rockies.  I think, after looking at desert for more than half a year, he might like looking at green trees, blue water, white mountains and colorful glass sculptures.

http://www.movoto.com/blog/opinions/photos-of-tacoma/

2012 Rav4

A year and a half ago, when we we still dreaming of being claims adjusters, we figured we needed a pick-up in order to be prepared to work.  So, we found a small, bottom-of-the-line model that could be towed wheels down behind an RV, even though we didn't have an RV at the time.  We ended up with a Nissan.  Larry was never really happy with it's turning radius and lack of agility in a crowded parking lot.  I was never crazy about the crank windows, lack of cruise control and other creature comforts.  Besides, we couldn't fit the grandkids in it with their carseats either.  But, we knew when we bought it we could upgrade if this claims adjusting thing actually worked out.  

Now that Larry has been driving the pick-up in Dallas for months and months he finally got fed up with it.  He did his homework and went back to Toyota for their high ratings.  He traded for a Toyota Rav 4 this week and plans to put a ladder rack on.  He choose a 2012 because that's the last year they made it with a side-swing door, which is important for not interfering with a ladder on top.  It can't be towed wheels down but it can be towed with a dolly.  He's already taken care of that so he's all set.

Now that he's all situated, it's my turn for a new car.  I've been stuck with the Corolla while Larry has had the truck... and the Corolla is, or was, Larry's car when we bought it.  He is very happy with it but I've never been crazy about.  It fits him way better than it fits me.   I can't remember the last time I got to pick out a car I want.  Now that I have the chance I can't figure out what I want.

It's a good thing I can take my time to figure this out because this is hard!  I told Larry that I need 3 cars.  First would be a sports car.  I don't care if it's powerful, as long as it is fun to drive.  Then, I need a "grandma" car that's roomy, quiet, and plush with all the tech toys like hands free talking (on the phone), a back-up camera, and other fun stuff.  You know, like the little old lady in the Cadillac type car. Finally, I need my cowgirl/gardener vehicle.., like a truck!  (Oops, we used to have one of those.)  If I could find a plush, quiet, roomy truck that hugged the road like a sports car, gets 30 mgh on the highway and comes in orange then I'd be in luck!  This may take a while.