Maiden Voyage

This my first blog entry about our big RV adventure. We set out in Priscilla, our 40' RV, from Yachats Oregon, bound for unspecific destinations somewhere in Canada. We're about a week into our adventure and so far, we've learned a lot more than I can write about in a reasonable number of paragraphs. It's been fun, but there's much to learn about Priscilla and much to learn about this style of travel. At times, we have been completely overwhelmed by our ignorance and mistakes as well as mechanical malfunctions and repairs.

As for this blog idea, I'm struggling to decide what direction to go with. I suspect it will either fizzle out or evolve with time. Among other things, I'm partially motivated by a desire to share the joys and frustrations of traveling with four big dogs. The dogs themselves have been almost nothing but a joy, but RV parks haven't been an all positive experience.

We've found so far that many places are not willing to accept four big dogs. And while most post their dog policy clearly, not all do. It seems that two big dogs is a nearly too generous limit at most parks. And after going through an exceptionally prying check in process at one park, we found that they had a limit of one big dog and one small dog. This after listing NO limitations or restrictions in their Good Sam listing or in their office. Paul had answered questions for 15 minutes before she got to the dog question and were unceremoniously booted out of the park. "No YOU CAN'T STAY HERE!".

We then moved on to another park, where we only volunteered that we had two dogs and they fortunately didn't ask their size or breed. We made it a point to only take two out at a time and to load them up into the Jeep as fast as humanly possible. In a way I'm glad we didn't end up in the first park. It seemed like a too tightly run ship, and I'm not ready to relive my days next to the neighbor from hell and their direct line to the HOA, days.

Tonight, we're in our third RV park. This one is smaller than the other two, and less fancy, but very clean. All of the parks seem to have full time residents, and this park seems to be mostly full time residents, but not at all shady looking. I met someone walking her dog wearing scrubs as we moved Priscilla into her parking slot. I imagined a traveling nurse, but I didn't ask.

As a general rule, people who walk dogs are friendly and nice. We exchanged dog owner niceties when she observed that Sookie had jumped up onto the dashboard, so she could see the other dog, and be seen by the other dog. Sookie sometimes mistakes herself for a cat or a small dog and behaves accordingly.

At this point, the dogs have had their dinner and are all sitting around in their usual zen like state of contentment. It's hard for me to accept that they aren't welcome in so many places. Then again, I have met lots of dogs who's people have failed them and who don't have any manners. And I have Sookie, who sometimes acts as if she doesn't have a clue. Although lately she's been doing so much better, I know not to expect too much from my "special ed" dog.

They all have their foibles, just like the rest of us.

The other important part of our trip is food. I'm an unrepentant foodie. Right now, I have pork ribs simmering in a slow cooker with kimchee from a terrific Asian market I shopped at in Tigard. I added a bottle of beer some onions and potatoes. I know the potatoes aren't as traditional sounding as rice, but it appealed to us, so there they are. A few drops of sesame oil, and rice vinegar to finish it off and I think we have a decent, though stinky, dinner. The broccoli steaming along with it isn't making it smell better either, but its a healthy enough offering. Lots of veg, a bit of meat and tons of flavor.

I expect we'll mostly do slow cooked foods on nights when we're in RV parks. We can save propane that way, so we have it for nights when we stay in more rustic campgrounds. We prefer the rustic ones, but they're not always accessible for Priscilla.