And then suddenly it was June 3rd and we had less than two weeks before Diana arrived and it was time for us to leave. The list (there is always a list) was actually pretty long. We had some major improvements to make to Nonnie’s Diner before we committed to a three month trip.
Rob had started the power overhaul, and as projects of that scale always go, we ran into an unexpected issue that we found when he plugged it into the shop to charge. I’ll save those details for a beer around the campfire, but let’s just say we were scrambling and made an emergency trip on the ferry back to Fisheries Supply where we had bought all the new equipment. It was resolved, but then we were running late on some other projects.
I wanted to make some cloth baskets for the new shelves in the clothes lockers, but Rob had to build those shelves first. We had been living with big open spaces, which had been annoying for our previous trips that only lasted up to three weeks. The lockers aren’t square, so I really had to have the shelves in place to know the measurements of each box. And in the end I couldn’t manage to get all the baskets to have the right fabric outside. But they hold clothes and make it easy to use, so there we are.
I also had lots of little projects, including a new bidet unit, a curved shower rod to add a little more space, some padeyes and shock cord to secure cabinets inside. Rob added a new storage tube to get the sewage hoses out of the inside storage, a new box where the old batteries used to be to hold the blocks for parking.
The 14th rolled around and we had almost all of the projects done and the trailer was getting packed. Diana showed up as scheduled, and Amelia went into hiding.
Happy to report she’s out of hiding already after only a few days, thanks to Diana!!!
We had reservations on the Port Townsend 2:00 boat, and camping reservations at Bay Side SP in the Skagit Valley. Tim & Cindy met us there for one night, then we went together to Rasar SP near Concrete the next day for a couple more nights. It was great to get to camp with our long time sailing buddies who have relocated to Orcas Island.
Bay Side was nice, and Rasar definitely held up to its reputation as one of the best state parks in NW Washington. We didn’t get down to the river, but definitely have in on our list for another visit.
We left Rasar and headed north to cross into BC at Sumas. Being old boaters with Nexus cards, we had the express line across the border. Two hours later we discovered the Provincial Park I had booked was up a steep rugged forest service road. But it was even more gorgeous than Rasar.
Unfortunately we still had a couple of chores to do on the trailer and didn’t get to play in that lovely park. The last chore was a leaky toilet, which we had the parts for. We thought we could knock a rebuild out real quick on Thursday morning while we waited for Jon & Peter to arrive. Eight long hours later, including two hour long round trips to Chilliwack, a new toilet, and a modified new toilet, we were done with trailer projects.
Today we left Hope and headed north. We had reservations at 10 Mile Lake Provincial Park, but that wasn’t meant to be. We’re happy to report the school bus crash that closed the highway did not result in any child fatalities. The bus that rolled down into the ravine is likely still being evacuated at this late hour, but we’re tucked into a different Provincial Park and looking at a very long drive tomorrow to make up for the time we missed today.
Pix from this leg are Here