The Cat Is Out Of The Bag! Meet Freeda The Newest Member of Our Family

I haven't posted for a few days because I was afraid I might give away our secret and Joe asked me to not tell until it was in our driveway.

After we finished all the paper work, we were escorted out to where our rig was. This is what was on the little stand beside us.

Terrell  and Joe doing the walk around inspection

I had my heart set on a Sunseeker for a long, long time, but in the end,  we wound up with the Freelander and they both have some of the same features. And besides, they made us such a good deal.

This little box is the air compressor for our braking system.

When we stepped inside the coach, there was a beautiful gift box and this $100 gift certificate to spend in their Parts Department on anything we wanted.  If we would have used it today, we would have received an additional 10% discount also. But  we were both on overload for all the decisions we've made this week, and chose to wait a few days. I want a new patio rug to match the color of the awning.  But Joe has some wants to. We'll figure it all out.

The gift box



 Kristi, our sales counsultant Kevin's wife, has her own on line business. and this pretty box was just full of some of the things she makes. Scone Mixes, Bread mix, a nice candle, seasonings,  Lavender Linen Spray, and  Gourmet Carmel Corn. Her products can be seen at Kristi's

I wanted to sit behind the wheel.  I will eventually learn to drive it just so in case of an emergency I can. I very seldom drive if Joe is home. Hey, why should I......he's the professional driver  and he enjoys doing the driving. 

This is Kevin Kotrous our Sales Consultant  giving us the keys. I have to say, in the past, buying a car, or an RV, I haven't had good experiences. That is all in the past now because, Kevin was the ultimate in Sales! I don't think that man even knows how to be pushy. He made it very clear from the moment we walked in the door, he was there to SERVE us.  We knew what we wanted and he made it happen! If we had questions, he had answers and if he didn't he found someone who did. Well, it's been fun sharing our news with you. Nothing has changed in our lives. We are still caring for Joe's mom who is doing very well! The main reason we bought the Coachman now... Our Rexhall Aerbus was 17 years old. And every year we waited to trade it in, was that much less we would get. When all the dust was settled, we are only paying less than $50 a month more than we were paying on the Rexhall. And this one is a 2012.

I am going to have fun, making the inside  our get away home, and Joe?............I went out to give him a message and he was cleaning the wheels and grill etc.  He's happy. Joe's always happy when he has a spray bottle in one hand and a rag in the other.

 

 

My Urgent Prayer for Today

God, please be with the injured, the helpers, the grieving families of the travesty that has happened at the Boston Marathon.....

A Day Trip To Long Beach, Washington

I'd like to invite you to take a day trip with us to Long Beach, Washington. We'll be heading North on I-5 to Longview, then heading west on  Washington Highway 4  to Long Beach.

 

There were many logging trucks on the road today

I have never seen Willapa Bay this low. Today was a very low tide.

Kelly and Hoi and the kids limited out digging their clams early this morning before we got there.

We arrived in Long Beach at 10:30 AM and connected with Joe's daughter and husband, and the two grand kiddos at the Long Beach Bakery. If you are ever in Long Beach, and you have never tried the bakery.... it's a must. No problem how to find it. Just ask any of the locals. And there's no other bakery like it! I brought home a large loaf of my favorite, Black Rye.

 

Then it was a walk over to the park to exercise off some of those calories they just consumed at the bakery.

After a wonderful family time we had to say goodbye to them and head back to Portland. We drove South towards Seaside, with side trips into Astoria  and the Young's Bay area,Warrenton, and Gearhart so Joe could show us the old Greyhound routes back in the days when the buses still did local routes.



We had supper at Camp 18 Restaurant on highway 26

A warm fire greeted us inside

The very heavy doors into the restaurant

Playing a table game while waiting for my supper

This was Joe's Senior Roast beef.... if that was a small order he said he was sure glad he didn't order the regular.

And finally, This was a gift from my honey today. It has special meaning for us because we have traveled part of Route 66 and some day plan on  traveling the rest of it..... oh and special too because I'm Betty. Thank you for coming along with us today. I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as we did.

A Visit to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon

Today we made our annual Trek to the tulip fields in Woodburn. The sun peeked through the clouds off and on but as ominous as the clouds looked it didn't "rain on our parade" The following pictures speak for themselves. So the comments will be few.

 

Our friend Ruth went with us today

Benches are strategically placed through out the fields for that special Kodak moment

If you are wondering about the umbrella..... her husband, a photographer, was up on the viewing platform and he wanted her to pose with it.....I thought it was rather ...dumb.... do you see anyone else with umbrella's . Farm machinery is placed out in the fields too for that picture taking moment.

Look close in the upper left hand corner of this picture.  A Pink John Deere Tractor.

This building houses the gift shop, the bulb ordering store, and a food court. On weekends There are many vendors, entertainers, activities for the kids and way to big of a crowd for us. We always try to go on a Thursday.

Joe is finishing up our order for this years bulbs. He didn't get as many because he says we are running out "property" They are all so beautiful it's hard to make that decision of which ones to buy

This was my favorite moment of the day! A mommy and Daddy put their little sweetheart in one shoe and her best friend/ puppy in the other one. You should have heard all the "Oooooos ad Awh's" I asked her if I could take her picture, and then everyone around us started taking their pictures of her too. She was the sunshine along with the beautiful tulips on a cloudy day.
Tomorrow morning we are doing a day trip to Long Beach, Washington to meet  Joe's daughter, hubby and grandkiddos who are doing a quick "overnighter".  Its a Groupon deal. I'm going to have to look in to that.