Island Hopping

Part of the reason for coming back to Whidbey Island was to visit our friends in Coupeville (Bob and Karen) and part of the reason was to visit friends (Gary and Karen) who live on Lopez Island (of the San Juan Islands fame).....I know, I was thinking the same thing.....we have a number of friends going by the name of Karen.  So, we had barely gotten set up on Bob and Karen's property when we headed north in the VW to pickup the ferry in Anacortes, WA that would deposit us on the shores of Lopez Island.  It was suggested by Karen (of Gary and Karen fame) that we make a reservation as the ferry can get quite full at times, so we had done this about a week ago.

The drive up from Coupeville to Anacortes takes about an hour and our ferry departure time was 1235 so we left Coupeville at 1100.  The drive was uneventful, and traffic was pretty light so we arrived at the ferry just as planned......slightly after 1200....I love it when a plan comes together.   As you may, or may not know, there are numerous islands in the San Juan chain, and Lopez Island is the first stop for the ferry as it makes its way to Friday Harbor.  When you buy a ticket to Lopez it is, unless you specify otherwise, a round trip ticket.....our price, which included a 'small' car discount was just $39 round trip.

 On the ferry....time for coffee

Gary and Karen returned to Lopez Island about 8 years ago after they inherited his parent's home, and have been living there since.  We connected with them at TLE's college reunion last February and were invited, if we found ourselves in the area, to come out to the island and spend a couple of days.....so there is the back story.

Originally we had planned to just take our bikes on the ferry and ride to Gary and Karen's home, but then the forecast was indicating rain later that night, and all day Wednesday, so what was the point?  Our decision to leave our bikes at home and drive the car was a good one as it began raining Tuesday night, and continues today as I write.

Karen had planned to take TLE and I on a tour of the island Tuesday afternoon, but as one might imagine we spent the entire afternoon talking non-stop.  Around 5 we headed into town for dinner at one of their favorite local restaurants.....The Galley gets four stars on 38 reviews, and we would have to agree.  Again we sat eating and talking for a couple of hours.  The restaurant is located on Fisherman Bay Road with a great view of the western sky, which meant we were able to take in a beautiful sunset, of which I neglected to take a picture as the battery on my cell phone had run down.

We spent the evening after we returned to their home watching the end of the Astro vs. Yankee one game playoff, then watched a documentary of Paul McCartney making a jazz album at Capitol Records entitled "Kisses on the Bottom" which was totally fascinating.

We were off to bed by 2200 with smiles on our faces......thanks for stopping by!

High and low

We decided Monday morning prior to leaving Vancouver that instead of driving north on I-5 past Seattle to the Mukilteo/Clinton Ferry to Whidbey Island we would take a different, for us, route leaving I-5 at Olympia, WA and taking US HWY 101 north to HWY 20 and the Port Townsend Ferry where we could make a reservation and guaranty, if we got there on time, we would arrive on Whidbey Island early in the afternoon.  Initially we thought we would try for the 1215 hour ferry, but TLE suggested we go for the 1315 hour ferry, giving us an extra hour in case of some unforeseen occurrence.....how prescient is my woman?

Our goal was to roll the wheels by 0800, and we were merging on the I-5 at 0758....not bad.  Unfortunately, just as we were settling into the day's drive the police cars with lights flashing, along with ambulances, and fire trucks began passing us at high rates of speed going north.  Within a few miles traffic came to a grinding hault....I mean stopped with engines off.......there had been a bad multi truck accident on the North Fork of the Lewis River bridge.......this unforeseen event delayed us 54 minutes, and there went our 1 hour buffer.j....we could afford no further delays.

Big truck accident on I-5 bridge over North Fork of Lewis River

The driver of the box truck was airlifted to the hospital....no fatalities

Traffic stopped at 0817 and we began to move again at 0913.......check in time for the 1315 hour ferry was 1245, so we still had 3.5 hours to cover the still remaining 183 miles before that time......the last 43 miles on a windy, twisty, very narrow, slow two lane highway, which included two construction zones.....we arrived at the ferry at precisely 1241, paid our fare and just drove to our waiting spot pictured below.....we were first in line, which meant we would be first off (after the walkers, bikers, and one motorcycle).  The one way cost was $79, which included a senior discount.  How we safely covered that 183 miles in that amount of time I have no idea......that was the 'high' of the day.

This is our second time taking the Newell and trailer on this ferry, but the first time taking it from Port Townsend to Coupeville (Whidbey Island).  The surprising thing was the 1315 hour boat is the smaller of the two ferries that connect Port Townsend with Coupeville, and I was concerned that might be a problem as we had taken the large on the first time and it was pretty tight.....as it turned out they allowed us to straddle two lanes making our ingress and egress quite easy.....the large Kenworth to our left also straddled two lanes.....normally they park vehicles 3 abreast.

We arrived at our college friends' home (Bob and Karen) near Coupeville about 1415 hours......I had decided in advance to back down the short dead end street and drop the trailer in front of one of their houses, then drive back to the intersection and turn the coach around to drive it down to the lower level behind the main house.  We backed the trailer down the street and successfully dropped it, then I drove back down to the intersection to turn the coach around.....as I began to back around the corner to complete my three point turn I saw that the left rear dualies were going to cross the grass, but it just looked like a small dip in my mirrors, so I proceeded.....suddenly I felt the left rear plunge into the ditch driving the hitch into the pavement, and effectively I was stuck....I could not go forward, and backwards.  I still cannot believe I did that......I immediately called AAA, and within 30 minutes I received a call from Simmons Towing down in Clinton (about 30 miles distant) who asked a number of questions to be sure he could get me out with his tow truck......the really big tow trucks come out of Everett, WA which is about a two hour drive each way.  Based on my answers he felt he could do it.  He arrived about 1600 hours, and decided to winch me out from the street to the left of the coach in the picture below.....he felt trying to pull me out going uphill would be more than his truck could do, and I agreed.  

While I was waiting for the tow truck I installed the two large two large tow hooks I carry for just such an emergency as this, and Monday I was so glad I have them.....

 On this day I needed both hooks....it would not have worked with one

Gary, the tow truck operator, hooked up a winch cable to each hook, and told me to crank the front tires all the way to the right and when he gave me the signal to give it a little 'gas'.......at first nothing happened, but then he gave me the signal to give it gas, and we began to inch forward, and within a few seconds I was back on the street.

Without this wheel chock Gary put behind one of his tow truck wheels I don't think we would have been unsuccessful....you can see how it dug into the asphalt as the truck was being pulled backwards trying to extricate us from my mistake......

Out of the ditch!

Within a couple of minutes Gary was on his way, and I was driving down to the lower level of Bob and Karen's property to park the coach and set up for our 6 day stay.....

A few years ago I installed one of my 30 amp boxes in Bob's barn, so this will be the second time we have been able to use that box during our stay on his property.

I returned to the scene of the 'low' for yesterday to take these picture to add a little perspective to the the scene.......

 This picture does not really show how deep this ditch is.....it is about 24" to the bottom

Where the trailer is in relationship to coach while we are here in Coupeville....

By the time we were settled it was getting dark, so we called it a day and had dinner, and then watched a couple of our regular programs.  

Things could have turned out way worse than they did......if the hitch had not hit the asphalt and dug in there probably would have been damage to my city water plumbing, the exhaust, the oil pan, oil filter, etc.....as it was none of these things hit the ground because of the hitch......but it was only by a couple of inches.....the hitch saved my bacon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Oh my!

Sunday was the first time I have driven the Newell pulling the trailer any distance without TLE there in the passenger seat helping me with navigation, and providing a second set of eyes to watch for things I might be missing......I was ready to roll by 0645.....I had 120+ miles to drive up to Vancouver and wanted to be sure I was there when TLE arrived in Portland.  It doesn't get light until 0720-0730 right now, so it was effectively dark.  I don't like to drive in the dark when TLE is with me, let alone when she is not, but I started to roll anyway.

When I went to bed Saturday night my exit strategy from the parking lot was simple.....leave the way I entered......I 'assumed' it would be just the way I saw it as the sun set Saturday, however, as I approached my first right turn into the street that would lead me out of the mall parking lot I saw that a metal barrier had been placed across the exit.....wait, what?  I knew there was the annual Susan G. Komen breast cancer awareness event scheduled for that day, but had no idea this section of the lot would be blocked to traffic.  I reflexively began to steer to the right to drive up one of the parking isles, but within a few feet I realized I could not complete the turn without taking 5, or 6 vehicles with me so I stopped.  Wow, just 30 seconds into my day and I've managed to do something I have been able to avoid for 4 years now.....not get the Newell into a situation where I have to back up 100 feet to extricate myself.

I get flustered easily when it comes to driving 36,000 lbs. of metal and rubber, and boy was I flustered now......I thought I could see headlights in my side view mirrors, so I got out to check, and saw that the person was going around me, so I went back inside to begin to try and backup.  Right about then I saw a security guy from the event walk over, so I opened my window to see what he wanted.....he asked if he could help me back up......I immediately accepted his offer and with his patient help managed to back up the 100 feet so I could turn around and leave via a different unblocked route.  Whew, that worked out well.

So, I am finally out on the street waiting at a signal to cross the street to enter I-105, which would take me back to I-5 northbound, and Vancouver.  I notice the Delorme mapping program is telling me to turn left......right there!  It didn't seem right to me as the direction I wanted to go was to the right......just as I was passing through the intersection I realized that left turn was the entrance to the freeway......oh no!  Not again.....I haven't even gone a 16th of a mile and I've made another navigation mistake!  

The problem with missing a turn when you're 62 feet long is you have to turn around......finding a place wide enough to turn around is often problematic.  As I traversed the bridge over the freeway I should have already been on I did't want to turn right, or left at the next intersection as I didn't know what I would be getting into, and straight ahead the road was obviously narrowing significantly as it entered a residential area......I am sitting there kind of frozen in time not wanting to go straight, right, or left when I spy a parking lot across the next intersection for an elementary school.....I quickly size it up in the still semi darkness and decide it is big enough for me to turn around in......or at least I wanted it to be big enough.  I said a quick prayer and proceeded.....thankfully it was a Sunday and there were NO cars whatsoever in the tinnier than expected lot, and I was able to, with great temerity, navigate through the tiny lot and turn around.  Within a few minutes I was merging on to I-5 and on my way north.

About 10 miles up the Interstate I saw a sign for a Rest Area and I decided to take a 'Rest'.....I was only 10 minutes into my day and I needed a break....that's a record for me.  I pulled into the Rest Area, shut down the Detroit and sighed......and then sighed again.  So far I had done something twice I don't usually do.....ASSUME.....and got burned once, and barely escaped the second one.  Time to clear my head and start acting like I have been doing this successfully for 4 years now.  I took time to eat a bowl of Raisin Bran, brush my teeth, drink a cup of coffee, change into some warmer clothes (it was quite chilly) and then I was ready to continue my northward trek.

After that shaky start my day improved significantly....the sun came up, the Interstate was uncrowded, the skies were clear and I was just floating northward on a bed of air suspension and cruise control.....just as it should be....except that passenger seat was still empty.

I arrived at 99 RV Park (a Passport America park - $17/night) off exit 7 in Washington about 1015 hours.....TLE was scheduled to land in Portland at 1150.......all I had to do was set up, and wait for her loveliness to arrive thereby restoring order to my world.  Around 1148 I got a text from her advising she was exiting the plane, and should be 'home' by 1300.  Shortly after that I got another text from my brother-in-law, Glenn, who advised he and TLE's sister, Laureen, were in Portland visiting friends, and did we have time to get together?  I love serendipity......I answered quickly that we would love to see them, so we set plans for that evening about 1900 hours for them to drive over and spend a couple of hours together.

At precisely 1231 I got a text from TLE advising she had just arrived at the entrance to the park, and by the time I got outside she was parking the Beetle......life is good.

I spent the rest of the day watching NFL football, napping, and suddenly becoming aware it was getting hot.....I looked at my phone to see what the temp was and saw 81 degrees.....wait, what?  I had to go outside and put the window awnings on the passenger side of the coach out,and then turn on the 'attic' fan.....I didn't come to Oregon to sweat!

Glenn and Laureen arrived just after 1900, and we sat drinking brews, and talking for a couple of hours.......that is the thing about good friends......you can be apart for months at at time, but each time you reunite it is as if no time at all has passed.......a day that had a very shaky beginning had blossomed into an awesome day with an unexpected visit from lady serendipity.

Thanks for stopping by!

"Otherwise occupied...."

First of all, thank you very much for the 'unsolicited' Happy Birthday's yesterday.....I am now officially double six, although I still feel.....most days.....like I am still 19.....okay, well a few times a month....lol.  My daughter, Meredith, shares my birth date with me along with a number of famous and semi famous people such as Chubby Checker, Clive Owens, Gwen Stefani, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood-Mac fame....in fact Lindsay Buckingham was born on the same date and year as I....very cool!

Meredith and I a couple of years back

In my blog yesterday I mentioned TLE was 'otherwise occupied'.....I couldn't say anything at the time, or the surprise would have been ruined.  We are flying south in less than two weeks for the wedding of my daughter Kate, and yesterday was to be her bridal shower.  My amazing daughter Meredith insisted on flying TLE down for the shower to surprise Kate, and the surprise, as you can see, was complete.......

 Kate and TLE

.....TLE will rejoin me today, Sunday, up in Vancouver after her return flight lands in Portland.

So, what to do on your birthday when you have the whole day to yourself?  Well, there is Home Depot, a bike path that takes you all the way to the front door of Home Depot, as well as Starbucks and the local Goodwill all in the same small geographical area, so around 0900 I got on my Bad Boy and picked up the North Bank Trail going west, and just 3 short miles later I was walking in the door of Home Depot.  As you will recall I still need to install my new water pressure regulator, but needed a few more items from Home Depot to complete the task.  I quickly found what I needed and then headed a few hundred feet over to Starbucks for a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich (Double Smoked Bacon, Cheese and Egg) and sat outside enjoying the balmy morning air before heading over to what is probably one of the best Goodwills I have ever visited!  This is a very large store, and they have about 1500 square feet dedicated to used computers......it makes sense....we are in a college town after all.  Their clothing selection is four, or five times larger than any other store we have been in previously......as it turned out I found a few more shirts I couldn't live without....

 The view of the bike path and the Willamette River looking east

A very cool bike bridge over the freeway

.....just after returning back to the coach I realized I had forgotten one thing for my plumbing project.......no project is every complete without at least two trips to Home Depot.....so I got back on my bike and rode the 6 miles round trip once again to pick up the thing I forgot.  Now that I've got the parts I'll get the pressure regulator installed in the next few days.

I spent the rest of the day, and into the evening watching college football, whilst my solar panels recharged my batteries......

 One of many college games viewed on my birthday

Around 1300 I walked over to Subway to get my foot long club which would serve as my lunch and dinner on my birthday......no party hats, whistles, candles, or cake for me.  I was in bed, again, by 2100 hours dreaming of the return of TLE and our next adventure together!

I'll leave Valley River Center early Sunday to make the 120 mile drive up to Vancouver, WA.....thanks for stopping by!

Ducky.....

We were both up just after 0600 as we wanted to get our bill paid for the solar panel installation, and then get moved over to the River Valley Center by 1000......I know, 4 hours, right?  Well, we're older and slower than we used to be.....it takes us a while to get a little momentum built up.  I went into the AM Solar office around 0845 to settle up, and found that our final bill came out to $1,991......about $400 less than the original quote.....cool!  Of the total $716 was labor, and the rest was for all the 'stuff' they installed.  I have to say right here that our experience at AM Solar was '5 star'......the communication from the day we made our appointment back on March 24th right through to the minute we left was excellent. The attention to detail was superb.  As I write this blog entry at 0830 we are already putting power back into our batteries.......before when we only had two panels that would not start happening until around 1030-1100 hours.  Some might think the costs are a little high, and that may be, but I know these folks will be there for me whenever I need help.....their followup, and support is second to none.

By 0930 we had said our 'until next times' to Greg, Cody, Dave and the gang and were rolling our wheels out the gate and on to Mohawk Road.  Within 20 minutes we had found a spot to park the coach for the next two days in the parking lot along the Willamette River......as you can see in the picture below, the leaves are already beginning to turn here in Eugene....

......and within just a few minutes the mall security guard stopped by to have me fill out the paperwork to stay here for two days which I promptly displayed in the driver's side window as instructed......

Around 1130 hours I walked over to the mall to buy a foot long Subway Club for reasons I shall disclose at a slightly later date......on my way into the mall the first store I came across was, I guess, predictable.........

Shortly after 1200 I decided to get my Cannondale Bad Boy out and do a little exploring of the local bike trails.....we are just a few hundred feet from the North River Bank trail that runs along the north side of the Willamette River here in Eugene....

....TLE was otherwise occupied so I rode solo this day......in all I covered just over 17 miles, and on Saturday, my birthday, I plan to do some more exploring.....there must be over 100 miles of local bike paths, and trails in the Eugene area.

We should have a sunny day Saturday so we'll get to see how fast the batteries charge back up after drawing them down Friday night......I watched two college football games over about 5 hours starting at 1600 hours.....I was in bed by 2100 hours.....kind of early for me, but I was tired after the last 3 days.

By the by.....my birthday is Saturday, so birthday wishes will be expected, and welcomed........:-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Alternate Means

Just as we did Wednesday, we awoke to clear skies Thursday morning.  This was the day we have been aiming for since March 24th when I called AM Solar to make an appointment to have additional solar panels installed.  After our more extensive dry camping/boondocking this past winter and spring when we learned much more about our electrical needs, and recharging needs we decided we needed to double the number of solar panels on our roof from 2 to 4, and our wattage from 300 to 620 in order to recharge our batteries more quickly.  Part of our reason for working so many hours this summer was to raise money outside our regular monthly budget to add the panels.

Originally we had a mobile installer (Mike Sylvester) for AM Solar (AM stands for Alternate Means) install our original system down in SoCal as we had no plans to be in Oregon until late that summer.  Mike Sylvester and his wife Lisa (The RV Guy) did the installation (I wrote about that experience here and here) which involved the running of power cables, installation of a Blue Sky charge controller, a Blue Sky system monitor, a breaker, and the solar panels themselves.  Initially we went with two 150 watt panels because we were just not sure how much we would dry camp/boondock, but wanted to get into it at some point to keep our costs down.  

Just after our initial installation was completed

Finally in the winter/spring of 2014 we resolved to do some more extensive dry camping/boondocking in Arizona and Utah where there is a lot of sun that time of year.  We began to learn more about our system, and how to manage our electrical needs.  By that time I had converted our interior lighting to LED, and learned how to eliminate most of the parasitic loads every RV has.  Over the past two winters we learned that it was not only important to be in a place where sunny days are the norm, but it was also very important to situate your RV properly in relation to the sun, and even tilt the solar panels as needed to catch more sun.  It became obvious during the winter of 2014 that we would need more wattage on the roof to not only overcome the basic, necessary electrical draws in our coach, but to put more amps back into the batteries at the same time.  It would take us until late morning to overcome our normal, minimal electrical usage to begin returning power to the batteries.  With more wattage we can get to that point earlier in the day, thereby charging our batteries back to 100% more often.

Around 0900 Cody came out to let us know it was time to move our coach inside their massive shop so they could get to work.  After that was done he spent time going over what they would be doing, how I wanted the panels positioned on the roof, and all of the costs involved in what they would do.  We agreed upon the system upgrades to accommodate the two additional panels and while they got to work we got dressed and headed out for four hours to give them time to install the new charge controller inside the coach........

The new charge controller

....the first order of business for me was to get a haircut.....the last one I had was the third week in August and I was getting shaggy!  Amazingly there was a Supercuts just a few blocks from Am Solar.....we arrived just after 1000 hours and they were busy, so we made an appointment to return at 1130 for my haircut and set off to do some exploring.

We wanted to find a local dry camping spot where we can spend the next two days checking out our upgraded solar system to be sure everything is working properly, so if something came up we could easily return and have the problem fixed.  I don't anticipate that happening, but common sense dictates we take this course.  I checked Free Campsites.net to see what was available in the Springfield/Eugene area and what do you know....there was such a place just a few miles from here on the shores of the Willamette River at the Valley River Center.  The review I came across is located here, and not too surprisingly was written by a good friend of ours, Nina Fussing who writes a blog entitled 'Wheeling It'.  Since we had 90 minutes before my hair appointment we decided to drive over to the Mall to check out the free parking area.  As the review advises you can park there for two nights free of charge.

Free parking lot at Valley River Center courtesy Nina Fussing/Wheelingit

The access to the overflow parking area is quite easy even for big rigs such as ours, and will be perfect for our two day stay before we head north!  From there we headed over to a bakery called '100 Mile Bakery' to buy some sourdough bread.....the same sourdough bread that was on TLE's 'Brats and Sauerkraut' the night before.....it is really yummy.  We came away with two loaves, and then headed back to Supercuts where I got my ears lowered, then over to Fred Myers to fuel up the VW and do some grocery shopping, then back to Carl's Jr. to have lunch.  From there we wandered over to the local Goodwill on 30th Street in Springfield.....again not that far from AM Solar......to browse for a while.  I ended up with two additional t-shirts (long and short sleeve) and for TLE a pair of shorts, and a couple of T's.  This is a really nice Goodwill....check it out if you are in the area.

By the time we arrived back at AM Solar they had installed the new Blue Sky charge controller, connected it to the Blue Sky monitor, installed the new breaker and were just taking the two new solar panels up to the roof to install.

New panels loaded on the lift

Our plan was to move the panel on the rear of the coach, which was centered on the roof in the original installation, to the driver's side, and then install one of the new panels to its right.  The second new panel was to be installed just behind the Winegard satellite dish, but offset to the driver's side to allow for operation of the dish, and that is exactly how it turned out.

The new panels in place just as we discussed

In all the work took just 6.5 hours, and we were back outside by 1800 hours.....just in time for me to watch Thursday night NFL football!  Friday we will move a few miles over to Valley River Center to test out our new setup.....YAY for us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Let 'er roll!

I was up just before 0600, and TLE a short time later......this was departure day!  For the past 5 months, except for our three travel days from SLT to Cape Blanco, we have been stationary.  I have driven the Newell so little I have forgotten a few things.....like releasing the air brake, or where the speedometer is located.....serious.  

We had planned to leave at 0900, but were ready to roll by 0800......we said 'what the hay', and I turned over the 6v92, then went outside to disconnect our shore power while the coach aired up.  We drove up to the large campground trash compactor to insert the VW (not the compactor....I know you were thinking that) in the trailer, and while TLE was driving the VW inside I noticed the right rear turn signal/flasher on the trailer and coach were not working.....rats!  I went through my basic troubleshooting 101 steps and after disconnecting and then reconnecting the wires that go to the turn signal relay the turn signals began working again.....okay, pretty easy.....and I resisted the temptation to think it was worse than it was.

Once the car was tied  down we buttoned up the trailer, I put the coach in gear, then went to release the air brake, but the big yellow button would not push in.....geeze, what is wrong now.....I kept looking at it trying to figure out what was wrong and then, much to my chagrine, realized it was already pushed in.....I had not set it when we stopped.  Once that non-problem was solved we began to roll down the road.....every time we have been sitting for a while I am always concerned that the speedometer will still be working, and at first glance it was not working.....or so I thought.  I told TLE it appeared the speedo was broken again, and then began thinking about how I would have to check it when we arrived at AM Solar later that day, but just about that time I looked down again and realized I was looking at the tachometer, which hasn't worked for a few years, and not the speedometer.......lol....the speedometer is just to the left of the tachometer....the speedometer was working just fine, which meant my cruise control would work just fine, too.  I need to drive more......

The 170 mile drive over and up to Springfield, OR was completely uneventful.....we headed north on HWY 101 to Reedsport, then picked up HWY 38 at the Umpqua River and followed it 50 mies eastward to I-5....by the time we hit I-5 we only had 30+ miles left and it was just after 1200 hours......we decided to stop at a rest stop to change into our street clothes before arriving at AM Solar, and then called them to confirm our directions.  We arrived just about 1300 hours and were quickly directed to park behind their building and plug into their shore power.....50 amps!

 Plugged in and ready for our October 1st appointment

It has been a long time since were in a place with strong broadband so we could watch videos online, and there were a couple of recent videos put out by our friends Chris Dunphy and Cherie Ve Ard of Technomadia fame that I wanted to watch, so once we were set up for the night I fired up my laptop and began watching their video tour of the renovation of their 1961 GM bus conversion (Zephyr), and then their 1 hour video discussion of why they did what they did.  It was great to see their smiling faces.....it's been a long time since we crossed paths.....

Chris and Cherie.....miss you guys!

By the time I was done watching their videos it was time for dinner....while I had been watching the videos TLE had been looking for a place to go for dinner.......we settled on a place called 'The Growler Underground' which had 4 stars on just 11 reviews.....it is a new place.  Based on those reviews we decided to give them a try, and we are glad we did.  They only serve appetizers, but outside food is welcome.  We ordered two appetizers from their menu and a couple of pints....for me the Georgian Porter and for TLE a Pumpkin Sout......both were stellar.  For apps I ordered their 'Pub Fries' and TLE the homemade 'Brat and Sauerkraut'.....both very yummy!

We were back at the coach before 1900 hours, and settled in to watch our first Netflix movie in a long time.....'Noah' (2014) starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly.  It was interesting, but I'm glad we didn't spend the money to see it on the big screen.  For someone like myself, that has a theology degree, I would have to say the script deviated significantly from the actual Biblical story.....I guess that is what is known as 'poetic license'.  Personally I thought the original story was just as interesting, if not more so.  After that we watched a recorded installment of this week's Survivor.

Thursday we get our additional solar panels installed.....YAY!  Thanks for stopping by!