Today was going to be a long travel day for us and one that would require a fuel stop along the way. If you recall, we usually only travel around 2-3 hours but today was going to be a 5 hour drive. It was a pretty day for driving with lots of sunshine and no wind.
.JPG) |
| Pretty field of blue flowers, by the time I got the camera ready I only managed to capture the last little bit of them (to the center right of the picture) |
We stopped for fuel in Burns and managed to find a station where the 5er would fit and we could maneuver back out onto the highway. Whew, glad that's done......
We arrived at Crown Villa in Bend around 12:45 p.m. It felt good to be back in Bend. It was nice to be able to smell the pine and juniper in the air. When you live there all the time, you no longer can smell it. We didn't get our original site but we did get on the same row. It just felt so good to be back in Bend and familiar surroundings.
 |
| Site 435 |
Thursday
Rich took the truck in to get the oil changed and the transmission fluid changed. While we were out riding bikes we got a call from the dealer saying that some additional emmisions work was needed.....yikes we weren't expecting that. It was going to take a couple days to get the parts and get them installed so they gave us a loaner truck. It was a brand new Silverado, very nice inside, we've never had such a nice loaner vehicle before. I guess they thought it might ease the pain of the expense of the additional work the truck needed. Since the truck has to work to pull the 5er, we need to keep it in tip top shape which is why we went ahead with the repairs. Other than driving around Bend and checking out the town that was pretty much our day.
Friday
The schedule today was to take care of some medical appointments while we are in town. I dropped Rich off at his and then went on to mine. I do have to say, driving that smaller truck was a lot more relaxing than driving the dually. I'm always nervous that I'll scrape something.
After our appointments we did a little shopping and stopped to visit our old neighbors. It was fun to catch up on their news as well as see their new little baby boy. We also checked out the home we sold a year and a half ago. It still looks good. Boy have home prices gone up in Bend. I guess that's the gamble you take when you put your home up for sale.
We also ran into some other friends at Crown Villa, Gary and Ellen. Gary is actually doing some camp volunteering for Crown Villa. It was a surprise to find them still in town. One of the funerals that we attended in January was for Ellen's mom, Burla, our dear dear friend. When we spoke to them in January their plan was to head south to the warm beaches in California. I guess that's the joy of being retired and full time rving....you can change your destination/plans at any time.
Saturday
We had breakfast at Jakes this morning. Jakes used to be a truck stop on the south end of town but had to move their restaurant years ago. They are located on the north end of Bend and are no longer a truck stop, but serve a very hearty breakfast, you never leave hungry.
After breakfast we drove up to the Terrebonne and Redmond area to scope out some properties for sale. We are always on the look out for where we would like to settle when we are done traveling. We both really love the Bend area and the sunshine but with home prices so high in the area, may not be an area we can afford to come back too.
Sunday
We went to church at what we still consider our "home" church, Westside. It sure was good to be back. We really enjoyed the service.
After church we checked out some model homes in the Bend area, which is always fun for us. Other than that, we didn't really do too much. During a walk through the rv park, we saw another Mobile Suites so we stopped and chatted with the couple for a bit. They've been full timing for approximately 6 years and don't plan to stop anytime in the near future. We had fun comparing notes about our two different rigs.
Monday
Today we are suppose to get the truck back, yahoo. Rich ran a few errands in the morning and also stopped in at our old work place for a visit with folks. After he got back we just hung around the 5er until we got the call to come and pick it up. Luckily what they quoted us before they started the work is where the final bill ended up. That's always a relief that it's not more, I was hoping it would be less, a person can always hope. =)
After we got the truck back, we stopped by the used bookstore where we have a book credit and picked up some more books for the summer. I love books and always like to have a bunch on hand, can't run out of reading material. We also stopped at Adair Homes and picked up some material on their building process, which might be an option we look into someday.
Tuesday
Today is our last day in Bend as tomorrow we pull up stakes and head to my mom's for a couple weeks. Our plan after a visit with mom is to head to Washington to visit kids/grandkids before we return back to Oregon in mid July. We'll probably then be in Oregon until October unless things change.....you never know with us. So that being said, I probably won't be posting to the blog regularly during the summer months, so if you don't hear anything for awhile, it's only because we are staying put and visiting with family and helping out with chores, etc. etc.
We ran a few more errands and Rich got his haircut from his barber of 37 years. So far in this last year of travel, he's managed to make it back to Bend for his haircuts with the exception of the last several months.
In the afternoon we met our realtor in Redmond and toured two houses. One was a definite no, and the other was a maybe, it had an incredible view of the mountains and backed up to a farmers field but we'll have to check in with the city and see if they are going to expand in the area. (postscript - found out that yes, this is the next area that Redmond will be expanding into, so that knocks that house out of the running....)
We've really enjoyed our stay in Bend and find that we really miss the area, so who knows where we'll end up settling one day.
Until my next post.....enjoy the sunshine....when it shines...(I am missing that Arizona sunshine) and have a blessed summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment