Still staying in the camper. Spent the last two nights in Olympia Wa visiting friends and getting my IRA/401K stuff cashed out.
I hate driving on the freeway especially in the rain.
I’m going over to the coast and take 101 down to Lincoln City before heading east to Salem from there.
I’ll find a place to camp about 1/2 way and split the drive in two
Made it from Olympia Wa to Astoria Or via hwy 101
Got to the campground right at dark and paid for a power water hookup site
Power is out throughout the campground due to the big wind storm last night
The camper is self contained and everything that needs to be full is full and everything that needs to be empty is empty
Dry out so enjoying my first campfire of the trip
I am at a state park, and that’s where I usually stay
Private parks can be nice but usually more than the $30-40 USD at the state ones with hookups
The nicest ones won’t allow my 25 yo rig
Saw one private one today that caught my fancy
In the middle of nowhere and it had a pub that was open
Too early in the day for this trip, I still had daylight and miles to go
I bought two bundles of campfire wood on the way down and lit it at 5pm just after dark
About 20 minutes left at 930
I’d burn more if I had it, I don’t have to get up early tomorrow
I can hear coyotes yipping in the forest
Each bundle of wood came with about ten pieces of kindling
I set them aside and used charcoal briquettes and fluid to start the big pieces on fire
Now that the big pieces are mostly gone the kindling is working well to give me another 20-30 minutes
Yesterday was gale force winds here in Astoria Or, I almost didn’t come this way today
Morning report showed chance of rain but no high wind advisory
Was dry and sunny all day
The Columbia River was flat and no wind on that giant bridge
Now at 1020 51F and I can see stars through some holes in the clouds
And the roar of the surf less than a kilometer away
The friends I stayed with in Olympia not only fed me well but I got to watch them decorate the tree and we put Yule Kitties on the TV
Cats and carols
They sent me off with a gift bundle including wine, premium snacks and most fortuitous a stocking cap with a built in rechargeable head lamp
I can’t find any of my headlamps plus it keeps my ears warm!
The power just came on
That means I can use my small electric heater instead of burning propane
Fire is almost out too!
I tended the fire down to the last smolders
The electric heat has been on for about an hour, time to go inside
Drove south for a few hours and found a spot at a private marina
The waves are lapping against a small sea wall 15 ft out my door
Their store has a crab shack out back cooking until 4
https://maps.apple.com/?ll=45.668753,-123.924990&q=Kelly%E2%80%99s%20Brighton%20Marina&t=m
Not enough signal for pictures right now though
We’ve got seals!
We’ve got Grebes!
Also: Herons, Cormorants, a few types of gulls, Bald Eagles and probably a few others I don’t remember
Sideways rain, whitecaps, winds up to 30mph from the south
My back door is pointing west so I’ve kept it open since it’s not blowing right into the camper
Also have the electric heater going
The whole truck bounces around!
I’m the only one here
No campers no employees and no houses within 1000 ft
I wish I had a loud stereo!
I only have a small cd boombox with 4 inch speakers and the little telescoping antenna
I have about 100 CDs when no radio is available
I need new Bluetooth speakers to listen to music from my phone
Often when camping streaming is not an option but saved music from phone to speakers works
Currently listening to 93.3 “The Rock” rocking Seaside and Astoria signal 4/5
I only recently got my totes of CDs out of storage and still in jewel cases
I need to find a couple of those binders with sleeves for my collection
We bought a lot up until about 2000
Probably 400 at home and 200 DVDs
No TV installed in the camper yet but a small disc player and I have room for a mid 20s inch TV would work
I have my Chromebook when WiFi is available
I finally thought to search for WiFi.
The park has no password unsecured connection. I’m getting 4/5 bars and pictures are back on the menu!
An overview of the empty lot and marina.
Very near the mouth of the Nehalem river
I enjoyed watching the river for a few hours today and I plan on doing it all day tomorrow too
I have no particular place to be until Christmas so why not
Great bird watching!
The store has a crab shack out back with outdoor seafood cooking and seating
The host mentioned crab and oysters, might be some clams and fish too
I didn’t go back there today but chances are all three meals of the day may be shack related
I haven’t used the camper since summer
I left everything in a jumble then. While taking inventory and organizing I found some freaky fungus I was gifted at a party
About 3/4 gram. I don’t like going full trip dose these days, but a slow roll munching a few caps throughout the day can lead to new insights
The wind and rain have eased up
I still have the door open
52F outside and 62 inside with the electric heater going
A sweater and a stocking cap is all you need to weather the storm
Here is the website for the marina/park now that I figured out how to log in to their WiFi!
It’s crabs, all the way down!
I got the tripod out now that the rain left
First shot is to the east where the the sky is partially clear
The second shot is to the west where the cloud cover shows light pollution from there
Not that bright to my eyes but the camera never lies
The friends I just visited gave me a gift box with premium snacks, a bottle of wine (just finished) and this stocking cap with a built in rechargeable headlamp
Now that I have WiFi I feel the urge to watch TV, but it’s just like smoking, once you quit for a week you are part way there
But
But
But
Star Trek is RIGHT THERE!
Now that it is 1 am, I wish I had some loud fireworks
Just to show the locals who’s boss
#CampingWithJeff
Tonight’s episode of #CampingWithJeff is singing off air at 01:48
Stay tuned for further hijinks
I’m up! It was a long night talking to you animals
Each of those posts equals about two cocktails so I’m glad I’m not driving anywhere today
Bufflehead!
Kingfisher!
Kayak man is towing a large inner tube with a big crab pot on it
Plop, there it goes, into the drink!
People on the dock are pulling up pots now too, I see crabs!
I’m just going to go to the cook shack for my crab needs
Got a day fire started even though it is almost 60F
Crab pot goes to the bottom with a rope tied to a floating buoy
Pull the rope up and voila a basket of crabs!🦀 #
@SecularJeffrey
We prefer the term "eccentric older people"...
😂
I’m waffling between codger and curmudgeon myself
They sell beer too!
I inherited my father’s 2001 Chevy pickup a few years ago just bought this 90s slide in camper for $1500
Never had any kind of RV or van before
Pretty fun way to start my retirement
Always a great resource, but I’m traveling in an RV for the first time, so one night, then time to go to the next town!
GentleMan Gef
Basha
Rafaelito 🦤
I TRIED TO TELL YOU
Kyozou
Goiterzan/Amygdalai Lama
Bobsee