Monday, September 10, 2012

my oh my

Hmm, it's been awhile, huh? Sorry for the radio silence since I got the rv. What's been going on the last month or so? A lot! Let me tell you...

I'd had this great plan of selling my mobile home, moving into the rv and hanging out in Spokane while I worked on selling my Jeep. That didn't happen. Work, as usual, had other plans. lol The day I brought the rv home, a manager called asking if I could go to Oregon for a project. Why yes, that actually was a possibility! So, a little over 3 weeks ago, I handed over the keys to my mobile home (good riddance!), pared down my belongings to what I thought I couldn't live without (I need less than I thought, it turns out), packed the rest into storage, put my Jeep in storage and headed south in the rv.

Reilly's spot while in transit
Reilly rode very well in the rv. I put his bed between the front seats and he slept through most of the trip.

Heading for Oregon
Still in Washington here, but Oregon is right across the river!

Dinner time in the RV!
Dinner time in the rv. =^..^=

It's been a blast! I'm so glad things worked out they way they did, even if they did create a detour in my plan. I pulled myself off the road a year ago when I moved back to Spokane so adjusting to going to an office again every day was certainly a big adjustment. Ugh! The alarm clock is not my friend. lol But adjust, I did. And it was certainly worth the adjustment. There ended up being only five of us here including a lead who was here to train us on inpatient coding. It was such an amazing group. We all worked the same hospital the first week and I've never laughed so much at a job ever! The 2nd week, we split up to do reviews at smaller hospitals, but since we all had internet access, we all kept in touch throughout the day. Yes, this was an unusual group! It turned out to be only 2 and a half weeks of work and now everyone has flown home, leaving me alone here in Oregon. I can honestly say I've never been so sad to see a project come to an end.

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We were all staying about an hour from the coast and took day trips out both weekends. If you're ever near Corvallis, OR, be sure to check out Depoe Bay. It's a beautiful drive from Corvallis and a lovely little town. We hit the beach and walked through town, checking out plenty of the little shops along the way. A couple of the others took a whale-watching boat ride. I stayed on dry land with the rest of the group since I had the munchkin pup with me. Yes, Reilly got to see the ocean! He had a ball on the beach checking out the driftwood and piles of kelp washed up on shore. He's not a fan of getting wet so he stayed out of the water, but he came home a tired out pup. =)

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It's been a busy few weeks between work, fun and more work. I managed to put in some overtime along with having a ton of fun. The rv has been an adjustment too, of course... for all of us. I learned not to crank the a/c all day (it freezes over!) and the critters worked out an issue the first day I was gone all day (the cats won, evidenced by the bloody spot on Reilly's muzzle). Leaving the a/c on low and playing a radio helped, but Reilly is definitely happier now that I'm back working remotely again. He has a blanket on the seat next to me to curl up in and of course he insists on lots of breaks throughout the day to go sniff among the oak trees just outside our door. Corvallis is a beautiful place and the people seem very nice. While not as busy as Portland, there are still plenty of things to do as long as you're not expecting a big city. Along with our trips to the coast, we also went blueberry picking! And I discovered I'm less into the sweeter berries and prefer the ones with a bit more kick - Liberties rock! I haven't yet made it to the alpaca farm a few miles away or any of the local yarn shops. I brought yarn with me, but have been too busy to even pull it out. lol Now that things have slowed down, I expect I'll be starting a new project soon.

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With everyone gone, I finally had some time this weekend to really clean and start organizing things better in my rig. It's so much better now that it's not so cluttered. My first rv adventure has not been entirely without issues. I did discover (with some help from the park host) that my black water tank has TWO valves that must be opened in order to be drained - something the tech at the dealership didn't know apparently. And I have a cracked battery cable connection that needs to be fixed. Thankfully I discovered that when I had to move this weekend to make room for the football fans. Started up fine... then dead when I tried to start it again. The neighbor found the problem and temporarily fixed it with some tin foil. Really glad that didn't happen on the road somewhere. I do have roadside assistance, but really, this was a much better way to find out.=)

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So how is rv life? I love it so far! It was a pleasant change having my own space while working on the road. The others may have had more space, but I had a full kitchen and my furry kids. =) I love the flexibility this set of wheels brings me. I haven't yet decided where I'm headed next. So many possibilities... =)

3 comments:

  1. Wowza, you did go awol but sounds like you had a pretty good excuse! Glad to hear you are settling into the RV lifestyle.
    Anything you would do differently now that you've had this RV for a few good weeks?

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    1. Btw.....my super awesome niece & her GF are getting married (as much as Oregon law will allow) next year. Anyhoo, we will be in SoCal visiting my family & then heading to Portland then up to Seattle for a bit & hopefully even check out Vancouver.
      I'll be hitting you up for advice on where to eat & stay & what to do once we get word of the exact dates.

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    2. I'll address this one later today on the blog. And definitely, I'd be happy to share any great places I have come across in those areas. =)

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