Oregon

If you tried the Instagram link and had problems with it, please try again. I’ve changed a setting that should make it easy to view the photos without having an account.

As a side note, the Instagram photos will generally be taken with my phone while the photos posted here will be from my camera, so there shouldn’t be much duplication.

Now, let’s get caught up.  After our trip to Long Beach, we headed south through Astoria to the Oregon coast. Along the road we pulled into a scenic overlook, while a smaller RV pulled in from the other direction, heading for the same parking space. Once we all had ourselves sorted, we got out to find that the other RV was being driven by someone who had worked seasonally in the Art Prep department. Small world! He gave us some recommendations for trails he had hiked along the coast, we exchanged travel stories, and went on our way.

View from the end of the Cape Lookout trail

Our first hike was the Cape Lookout trail, just under 5 miles round trip. It was a moderately easy trail that was made a little more challenging by a long section with mud pits, and the fact that I was wearing sandals, the only shoes that wouldn’t rub on the raw spots on my feet from clamming. Soggy wet feet and abrasive sand are not always the best combination.

I told Tom that I hoped a whale was waiting to greet us at the end of the trail, and while I meant that it should be on a bench with a welcome sign, the one swimming by was almost as good. After that, they came every 20 minutes or so, sometimes alone, sometimes a mother and calf. It was hard to tear ourselves away – just one more! – but eventually we headed back to the RV.

Pair of diving California grey whales

Unexpected Side Trip

That night we realized that the faint whiff from the fridge was ammonia, which is the death knell (or smell) of an RV fridge. We learned that like most things, they just don’t build them like they used to, and their lifespan can be relatively short. We were lucky enough to find a fridge repair specialist about an hour east of us, and while he didn’t hold out a lot of hope for a fast turnaround repair, he agreed to take a look at the fridge the next day. Because one of the side effects of a failing fridge is catastrophic fire, we turned it off and took ourselves to the nearest store for coolers.

The next day, Friday, we drove to Albany, Oregon to find out if we could get the fridge repaired, or if we would have to spring for a new one. Because a small RV fridge can cost more than a really nice home fridge, we had our fingers crossed. Our fridge expert had plans to leave on a trip of his own in a couple days, and usually didn’t attempt repairs without having several days, but one look at our pitiful faces and he agreed to give it a try.

Luckily, he had the right cooling unit in stock, and with Tom's help had the whole thing pulled out and disassembled in no time. I settled down at his desk to do some work of my own and stay out of the way. Four hours later we had a new, beefy cooling unit and after profuse thanks, were on our way. We still couldn’t use the fridge for a few days while the gasses redistributed themselves, but not having to deal with coolers for the next three months was worth it. What an amazing guy!

Next up, California.