El Nino 1, Downeys 0

It has been an interesting and wet trip. The weather indicators are that the weather will continue to bse "less than favorable" for the areas we had intended to visit. We experienced the NW Pacific storms with the rain and winds. Not bad but enough is enough! I easily get cabin fever so it was not going to be all that pleasant cooped up in a 28' (or 90') RV for me or Lou. So, we decided to turn the bus around and return to Spokane where the weather has been mild and overall, much better than OR of CA.
On our return trip, we stopped at the Cape Lookout State Park for a night. The Oregon State Parks are really nice to visit. The surf was quite active, to say the least! The beach is very flat so you have to beware of the sneaky waves that can quietly run up on the sand all the way to the dunes. This is even at low tide. One minute there is 50-75 yards of sandy beach, the next you could be ankle deep in COLD water with no warning! Perhaps that's why it's called Cape Lookout:)
The pics attached are hopefully in order from stormy afternoon to quiet morning after.
On the return trip, Lou visited quilt shops in Newport and Tillamook plus the Latimer Quilt and Textile Museum in Tillamook. We took the Washington side of the Columbia River route rather than the I-84 on the Oregon side on the way back. A very different look to the Columbia Gorge and really very pretty and curvy too. All journeys end eventually. This one concluded quicker than planned but was safe and got us to places we had not been before. Therefore, it was a successful journey after all.

Still Standing

We survived the big blow last night. It was a beautiful storm with high winds plus Thunder and Lightning. Our location here in the park sheltered us pretty well from the winds so just a lot of little twigs, needles and branches scattered all over the rig and pickup. The attached pics were taken this AM to show an even more angry looking surf. Tomorrow we head down to Newport to get the distributor checked out. Hopefully, it is just the timing advance mechanism that is stuck and not a catalytic converter issue causing "pinging" of the valves under a load. We are hoping that will get us back on the road southward where there is even more rain:)

WET and WINDY!

We are still in the Devils Lake State Park and awaiting the arrival of the forecasted "heavy rain and high winds". 40MPH with gusts of 70 are expected from 5PM tonite to 6AM tomorrow. The attached pics were taken this afternoon along the coast between Lincoln City and Depoe Bay. The wave action will get significantly more active this evening but I won't be on the beach to take pix. Sorry about that:) Tomorrow, weather permitting, we'll head south towards CA with at least one more stop somewhere along the way on the Oregon coast.

Damp and Breezy

We made it all the way from Lafayette to Lincoln City. (All 55 miles of it) We were fortunate to get a very nice spot at the Devils Lake State Park with full hookups plus cable TV. Lots of light rain and moderate breezes so far although the forecast is for winds of 25-30 MPH with gusts to 50. We'll stay for at least one more day. Driving in gusty winds with a large "sail" is too exhilarating at times.
Today will be a good day to watch the waves roll in on the beach, watch some football (Dallas vs Minnesota right now), and maybe go wander around to see what else is in the area. We'll also "plan" our next step southward. Perhaps we can make it to Newport (25 miles) or even beyond! The weather prognosticators are talking high winds and rain all the way down the OR and CA coast so we'll just take it day by day. For now, we'll stay put at Devils Lake St. Pk. Maybe some pics with the next entry of the gray waves crashing on the beach with the gray skies:)

World's Largest Goose

We have ventured all the way from Hermiston to Lafeyette, OR where we are parked at an "OK" RV Park. At least it's quiet and inexpensive. We went up to Wilsonville last night to visit and have dinner with Kathleen.
Today, I went to the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville just a short hop away while Lou stayed in the RV and worked with the Wii Fit and updated our finances on the computer. The museum is really great with many different planes including, of course, the "Spruce Goose". Although it's made mostly of birch, the negative pundits of the day couldn't think of anything catchy to go with birch. It is a very large plane and takes up the entire hanger. It was moved in pieces from Long Beach, CA and reassembled in the hanger. Pics attached.
Did you know that it rains in Oregon? Steady light rain all day long and will continue for awhile. In spite of that, Lou and I wandered down to the downtown area of McMinnville and wandered around. Book stores, ice cream shops, coffee shops and LOOK! a quilt shop! Very pleasant and interesting shopping area for a small downtown.
Tomorrow, on towards the Oregon Coast. If it's going to rain, we may as well be at the source since that is where it will quit first. Right? How's that for optimistic thinking??

On the Road Again

Look out West Coast! The Downey's are at it again. After a Summer of sitting around and licking our wounds from last year's Winter adventures, we have decided to do it again. Hopefully without the "issues" we experienced last year. The RV is running good. It was a quick decision to "load and go" so we will be searching for all kinds of things in the rig after the quick packing job. Fortunately, Lou is a whiz at packing and stuffing so we should be in pretty good shape.
We are now in beautiful downtown (sort of) Hermiston, OR on the way to the Oregon Coast. Stay posted as the adventure continues once again.