Good Friends

Today we moved from Stan Hedwall Park to the Rowes' house in Olympia. We did some grocery shopping and stopped in at I-5 Uhlmanns RV to pick up a replacement bulb for the one that burned out under the sink. While we were at it we picked up some extras. The bulbs have an unusual cone shape.

We drove to Tom and Nanci's, where we got a warm welcome. We pulled the coach into position and unhooked (after testing to make sure the DirecTV dish could see the satellites). When Ken pressed the "autolevel" the system started behaving very strangely. It lifted the coach completely off the ground, but never leveled it. After trying this a couple of times, we called the tech again, and he said that it sounded like the system had lost its level point, so we had to calibrate it again. He walked us through the process, and then all was well. Thanks to Jim Armstrong at Quadra Manufacturing for his great assistance.

Now we could finish setting up in the Rowes' RV Park, using their 30 amp electrical outlet. Then we adjourned to the patio for some decompression time with mojitos mixed by Tom and lots of conversation with Tom and Nanci. Their back yard is such a beautiful and peaceful place, surrounded by trees and lovely landscaping, and the birds and squirrels that they feed provide a never ending show.

We gave them the grand tour of our new home. We love to show it off, and they were nicely appreciative. We also got a chance to see all of the new features in their lovely home, like Tom's woodwork over the windows and Nanci's curtains, and their new dining table and chairs.

Tom grilled salmon for dinner, with a butter sauce recipe similar to one his mother used to make--absolutely delicious with an interesting rice combo, broccoli, and slaw. We ate on the patio, watching the birds and squirrels. Later we had some wonderful local strawberries with ice cream.

Nanci seems to be doing very well, three weeks post surgery. She has a corset-style brace to protect her back and has to be careful not to bend over, so she uses here reachers (she has different styles). She has a couple of walkers borrowed from neighbors, but she doesn't use them in the house. Of course she's still healing. She tires easily and is taking pain pills, although fewer than at first. We're delighted to see her recovering.

We are very glad to be in one piece and to have suffered no significant damage. It was certainly scary to see our beautiful home sinking sideways into the muddy ground.

Today is Summer Solstice--the longest day of the year. We've been enjoying the long lazy summer evenings. Somehow it makes us put off dinner until nearly a continental hour sometimes!