Last Day in CC This Year

    Saturday yard sales, lots advertised. We started in Crescent City, found one in Smith River and only located a couple of the ones listed for Brookings. But by then we were hungry--Pancho's was ready for us. I managed to find seashells and sand dollars, fabric, a book and some embroidery floss. Oh, and a pair of polka-dot galoshes for next year at the lighthouse. Cary got the book, Alexander Hamilton, something that should keep him busy for several days, to say the least.

I got this picture in Smith River after going to the estate sale. It had been a bank and is now The Bank Tavern. 

And then I just had to take this, with thoughts of Shel Silverstein:

When suppertime came around, the folks who will be the RVers for September drove up and invited us to go out to eat with them. I was still full from lunch, but we wanted to visit. It was nice--I got a smoothie at Denny's--and except for some very noisy and obnoxious children (their parents spoke what sounded like German, but that can't be right), almost perfect. Later we drove around so Cary could show them the Brother Jonathan Memorial and then the road to the St. George Light lookout. They had lots of questions. But they are very experienced people (teachers, ranchers, pilots, she even delivered mail...), so they will be just fine. 

When we got back to the trailer we walked over to say Good-bye to Wally and Kathy, a couple we have gotten to know this year as we walked past them almost every evening as they enjoyed their wine at happy hour sitting outside their trailer. They have been married 65 years (as of Aug 28), have eight kids and 32 grandchildren. We exchanged emails and addresses and promised to see each other next year.

Tire Repair

A young man from Les Schwab came with tools to air up the trailer tire. It did not have to be taken off the trailer and only took about 20 minutes from start to finish. All he had to do was break the tire down and replace the rubber gasket on the bottom of the valve stem. Got it?

What a relief!

I wanted another day out by the ocean at "our" picnic table.

I was able to get this picture with my Snap-Ap (love Cary's expression!) and no wind to knock over the camera.

We changed tables to get some ocean in the next picture. You can see the clicker for the Snap-Ap in my right hand. 

After we ate we went over to the Pt. St. George Lookout, Cary with his binoculars. Lots of folks were out there already. It has been a string of gorgeous days. 

Last Day at the Lighthouse

We usually get to work about half an hour before we open to talk to Mia and Dave and figure things out. But this is what it looked like 30 minutes before opening today! We sat on a picnic bench for 20 minutes or so waiting for the water to subside enough to cross, made it with five minutes to spare before the official opening time.

More great tours including friends from the RV park and another guy and his daughter who are also staying in the park.

I did some laundry, got in some walking (was nearly knocked over by a little dog who got off its leash and ran into my knee)...dinner at Denny's after work.

After I finished this we had some company: the RVers for September stopped by. We spent a few hours filling them in, answering questions and hoping our enthusiasm didn't overwhelm them!

Wednesday, next to the last day of work

Monday and Tuesday we spent getting a few things done around the trailer, organizing and airing up tires...oops, one of the trailer tires lost air in the process so we made an appointment to have someone come over Friday to take it off, air it up and put it back on. Cary's days of doing that are over! We went to lunch at the Fisherman's Restaurant. Had not been there for several years.

While we were out walking in the RV park this morning we noticed one of the ladies was giving another woman a haircut; Cary asked if she would trim the back of his hair. She agreed (I think reluctantly, but he can be persuasive)! It looks good.

Today we didn't start till 3:00. Stopped at the post office to mail my 8th Etsy sale, a Kokopelli necklace of mixed metals to Asheville, North Carolina, and since we were still too early to cross over to the lighthouse we visited Sylvia's to look at books again.

Bigfoot is a big deal out here on the Pacific Northwest Coast. 

Neighbors from the RV park were among the first groups to take the tour. We had more great folks come through in the short amount of time that we were open. It is always so much more fun when you see faces light up and get interesting questions--sometimes questions that make us go back to the books to find out more!

When we got back to the RV park we were amazed to discover this huge RV and trailer parked across the way from us. Everyone was coming out of their RVs to take a peek and hope to see it opened up! The owner was thrilled to oblige!

The motor home is 45 feet long, the trailer is another 32. Total weight: 66,000 pounds!

A BMW and a Harley ride inside the trailer.

Because it is hard for the guy to get into the trailer to get into the car, there is a side entry door for that purpose. Believe it or not, they have taken this into Manhattan, NY!

Rain surprised us about 8:00 p.m.

Sunday

Here is the picture I promised. This brown Pendleton hat is just his style! It had a $25 price tag on it; but between us we didn't have that much so Cary offered $10. The guy took it! It is wool, so he won't get a lot of use out of it, but it sure looks good!

Today I did three loads of laundry, got in some reading, visiting with neighbors, some walking and a birthday party. The husband of the celebrant made bread pudding doused with apple flavored Crown Royal, served with vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

Saturday

We didn't report to work until noon so we had lots of time for yard sales. I found this stained glass decoration of Battery Point Lighthouse at one of them. There were a few other goodies, but our find of the day was a Pendleton cowboy hat. I will get a picture of it tomorrow.

Do you remember these very plain fabrics in the lighthouse bathrooom? I finally finished the replacements!

Aren't they much nicer? I was glad to make the contribution and now I am glad to have put my sewing machine away for the rest of the trip!

Ginger and Mark Come For A Visit

                                        Foggy Morning as we walked up to the lighthouse
   
Ginger and Mark arrived from Salem around noon on Wednesday, met us in the parking lot after we got off work at the lighthouse--along with some rain. We went for Mexican food then back to the trailer for a few hours since it was not a good day to go out to the beach! Later we met at Denny's for supper before saying good night and they settled into their motel (with hopes that the barking dog issue had settled itself). It managed to rain almost all day.

They met us Thursday before work and got a personal guided tour after meeting Mia and Dave. It seemed like a perfect day to take sandwiches out to a picnic table we like, so after I made coffee, we stopped at Subway. Boy, was I ever wrong about it being perfect. Perfectly windy, yes, but it was still enjoyable as long as we held on to everything! Back at the trailer we did sit out in the sun for about an hour before they decided it was time to head back to Salem. Short but sweet.

Why is it only my hair going crazy?!

Time for the ice cream social at the park--just what we needed! Banana splits, cookies and brownies--yum! And a couple of cute puppies for entertainment. 

 Merlin and his sister, Bunny, frolic in the grass.

I forgot I had my phone with me or I would have gotten pictures of the beautiful banana splits.

We had time to go buy the sheets I needed to finish the home improvement project at the lighthouse, so we did that next. I managed to get the fabric cut out for the skirt around the sink in the bathroom. Hard on my back! More tomorrow.

Tuesday

At the risk of sounding repetitious, another fun day at the lighthouse. Dottie and Dan filled in while Mia and Dave had a day off to shop. Our first group was from Hungary, followed by a couple from Amsterdam. Lots of interesting questions and comments from everyone. For the second time since we have been working, another lady asked to take a picture of Cary!

After lunch we went to Walmart so I could check out more fabric ideas and I think I found some sheets that will be perfect. I took pictures to share with Mia tomorrow. 

Around 8:00 p.m. we decided to take a drive to look for a sunset--not always visible with the early fog, but today seemed ideal. It was. Not like Tucson sunsets, but very nice. Especially with the ocean in the foreground and the sound of the waves for background music. 

Sunday and Monday

Sunday I was just too tired to write. We technically had the day off, but I had some finished sewing I wanted to take to the lighthouse so I let Dottie know we would be there in case she wanted an extra day of rest. She came out anyway, so there were six of us (Dan was there too). Cary chose to hang out in the radio room reading while the rest of us did the tours. It worked well. And we left in time to stay dry! We even found an estate sale on the way home, one we missed yesterday.

I made a minor adjustment to the cushion cover for a better fit.

And a curtain for one of the bathroom windows. I love this print! I had enough of it to make another curtain for the back of the bathroom door which no one sees...a shame...but it needed a curtain. So I had it done for Monday.

Mia and I picked out fabric for the other two projects before I found the above materials and now it just doesn't match! So the hunt is on for something that does coordinate with the two prints. Shopping is limited here in Crescent City. But I have not given up. 

This morning on the way to work we saw a raccoon scamper across the road, climb over a fence and run into someone's yard. When we got to the walkway leading down to the beach one of the tourists warned of two raccoons who had been on the walkway and were now in the nearby bushes. He had pictures.  I barely got a picture of anything by the time I got my phone out of my purse to shoot the one in the yard; luckily we did not see the ones in the bushes.

Tours went great; there were people in two separate groups from Germany--they didn't know each other. And we had lots of good questions.

We stopped at Subway again on our way home for sandwiches. Supper was rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies. I forgot to mention that Saturday night Cary made a delicious spinach omelet, one of his many specialties. 

Saturday

There were just two yard sales listed in the paper, which was good, since that was all we had time for. The pictures below are from just one of the sales. Lots there, but I just got two containers of sea shells and agates from the free box!

At the second sale Cary talked the guy into selling him a file we could take to the lighthouse with the hope that Dave could use it on the catch on the front door. It was a little big, but he might be able to make it work.

Once again the tours ran over I got wet going back to the truck. I am wearing an old crummy pair of Skechers that I should have thrown away years ago. Glad I didn't! The pair that got wet Thursday is finally dry.  

I spent a lot of time sewing. Here some of the things we hope to replace.

(yikes, what a blur)

Mia has the replacement fabric, a more cheerful blue, cut out and ready for me to pick up tomorrow. I did choose a contrasting print for the curtains. This is the cover I made for the chair cushion:

Friday, Another Walk Through the Water

Mia and Dave agreed to pose for me before work this morning.

Another big difference in the morning compared to yesterday at the same time. You can see the lighthouse! Mia was down on the beach collecting more driftwood for her projects.

This was another day we were supposed to be open just an hour. It looked like we could do another two tours. Probably one was more realistic. Cary got his galoshes, but I just waded through ten inches of water, trying to dodge or negotiate the rocks beneath me. Nerve wracking! Two pairs of shoes to dry out--I got yesterday's jeans out of the hamper to put on and my last pair of sneakers. No damage, but I do not like those kind of situations!

We dropped some money off at the museum, had lunch then went to Walmart for fabric so Mia and I can do a little redecorating in the lighthouse bathroom. Tonight I made a pillow cover and a cover for the toilet tank. I hope to take pictures when I have daylight before we go over for work tomorrow. Mia is going to cut up four yards of other material I purchased to get it ready for me to make curtains, a skirt for the sink and a vanity bench. 

August 15, Thursday

We were eager to get back to work today after a five-day vacation because of the tides. Great tours, interesting people, but our one hour of being open should have just been 40 minutes. We got wet on our way back to the parking lot--about 6 inches of my jeans are still damp and my shoes should be dry by day after tomorrow (I have spares).

Fog greeted us when we awoke and continued through our walk up to the lighthouse. But it cleared by 10:30 to become a beautiful day.

This 1954 Buick was parked in the Home Depot lot for sale for $8500. As we pulled in, a guy pulled out and told us he had just bought it! The sign mentioned it being an Arizona car.

Yesterday this guy in our RV park caught his second shark of the week, a 177 pounder! He already had it cut into steaks in that ice chest you see in the pickup bed. Wow! His shark the day before was a little one--only 70 pounds!

Tuesday

We are so spoiled with the run of gorgeous days we have been having (not that there have been any bad days)! But we didn't go anywhere--Cary did do a little research at the library and I caught up on some sewing, but we sat out and read and walked around the RV park for the most part. 

I am reading a mystery by Nick Petrie, wondering if we are related! Cary is reading a book I found at Bookman's several years ago, Going Back to Bisbee, by Richard Shelton. He had me order one from Amazon that he expects any day now on the Great Migration.

Monday, August 12

Beautiful day. Post office (my 6th Etsy sale), Dollar Tree, St. Vincent (found fabric), and the library to donate more books. They have a sign up that they are not taking any more books--only magazines and audio books--but Cary talked them into it! We also drove out by the lighthouse to check the water; the tide was in as expected. Since we were so close and we never had stopped, we decided to investigate the S.S. Emidio Historical Landmark.

Military history records show that the 6, 912-ton tanker was the first casualty attributed to the Imperial Japanese Navy's submarine activity on the California coast. It was attacked on December 20, 1941. 

Saturday night we watched a video called The Lightkeepers with Richard Dreyfuss. It was set in a lighthouse in Cape Cod and actually had some faithful representations of a lighthouse and keeper's duties. The banjo clock shown here doesn't look exactly like the one at Battery Point, but I am sure this is the real thing. It also showed a 4 order lens and the lightkeeper lighting it. Interestingly enough, it is not a Cape Cod style--the house is separate from the tower.

Saturday and Rain

Starting sometime after 1:00 a.m. I could hear the rain really pelting the trailer. The area really needs the moisture, but I was thinking of yard sales...it was still raining when we got up for breakfast. I got these pictures out two of the trailer windows.

Cary went for a newspaper to check for possible yard sales just in case. Only two were listed, but the rain had abated somewhat, so we headed out. The first was not only not ready for us, but we wouldn't have stopped there anyway. Pretty scuzzy looking. At the second I picked up a few things for our little girls.

Since we had lots of time and nothing else going on, we headed up to Smith River for more sales, then Harbor and Brookings. We each found a few odds and ends, but this was probably the highlight. The owner of the 1940 Ford insisted Cary sit in it and have me take his picture. He agreed!

Cary owned a '40 Ford when I met him.

By then we were hungry so we decided on Pancho's for lunch, stopped by Fred Meyer's for fuel and came home so Cary could work on the hot water heater. The rain stopped; the sky is blue. Very nice day.