Columbia River Maritime Museum

My good friend Robert from Olympia is visiting us for a few days. A chance for us to catch up, and for him to escape the unusual oppressive heat in Oly.

Today we visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria. This is a wonderful museum documenting the history of the Columbia river basin, known as the Graveyard of the Pacific for the many ships that have sunk there at the confluence of the mighty Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean, both powerful and stubborn waters.


Afterwards, we fished off the dock. I managed to catch us some dinner.

Bruce

Old Age Wiener Song

Astute news hawks no doubt snagged this story in the New York Times.
Wienermobile Finds Itself in Another Pickle

Which reminds me of a little ditty I wrote. Sung to...you know

Oh I'm glad I am an AARP senior,
That is what I truly like to be,
Cause since I am an AARP senior,
Everyone will give discounts to me.

Travel broadens the mind.

Bruce

For Jimi

I have only one burning desire,
Let me stand next to your fire.

The Song

Bruce

WWII Reenactment at Fort Stevens State Park

This weekend, WWII enthusiasts turned reenactors at the historic part of Fort Stevens State Park. They re-created battles, wearing period uniforms and using authentic armaments.

Here are some pictures of one of the battles, a re-creation of the Normandy invasion.

They also set up German and American camps, showing weapons, vehicles, and living quarters of the time. Lotsa men and women studying WWII. Sadly, the history of the human race centers around our military activities.

Adding to the poignancy was the fact that the Japanese fired on Fort Stevens in June 1942, the only attack on the continental United States. [Lest we forget, the Japanese attacked Hawaii, and the Germans sunk our merchant ships in the north Atlantic before declaring war.]

I overheard a WWII veteran talk about his service as a forward observer during the European landings. He said the reenactments were quite realistic, causing his heart to race.

We sold tickets at the entry booth.

Thoughts of Bruce's Jewish father, whom the Nazis imprisoned in a labor camp. He (and Bruce) lost almost his entire family when the Nazis destroyed his town. There are some wars worth fighting.

Thoughts of Jenna's father, who served in WWII and stormed the beaches at Normandy. He was captured and imprisoned by the Nazis.

Bruce

Not So Simple After All

In our last post, we said that we were forced to "rightsize" Clancy to a Chia pet. Unexpectedly, a howl went up from his fans on the Internet.

As a result, we have revised our plan. Clancy will remain a part of the household. We'll just throw out Jenna's last pairs of shoes and slacks instead. She goes out in public too much anyway.

Bruce

The Simpler Life

Jenna recently finished cleaning out her closet and now owns just two pairs of shoes and one pair of slacks. So we decided to reduce our "trailer footprint" by trading in our huge 350 square foot RV.



for something more modest.


Good news: We can now camp in any U.S. Post Office parking lot.
Bad news: We must trade in Clancy for a Chihuahua. A small Chihuahua. Actually just a Chia pet of a small Chihuahua, which also saves room on dogfood.

"Clancy, we all make sacrifices in this economy. It's not Downsizing, it's Rightsizing. See, right here in Wikipedia."

Bruce

In praise of Astoria

We've already said that we like Astoria.

We still like Astoria.

Here are some pics for those you who have not had the pleasure.

From the rooftop of the Elliot Hotel on July 4
[Doubleclick on any pic to enlarge.]

The Astoria Bridge - four miles to Washington state

Friends John and Maryanne, fellow hosts at Fort Stevens

Scott Cossu, playing for July 4th. Scott had several big hits in the 70s with his New Age music. Now he calls his work Heavy Mental. He lives in our former town of Olympia, where we had met him before at local concerts. Friends Doug and JoAnn, whom we met months earlier at Park Sierra. Now they show up at Fort Stevens. They may be the stalkers I mentioned in an earlier post. In addition to Method, They have Motive to steal Clancy's bones...they travel with a standard poodle.

Actually, Bill J, took this picture. We met Bill our first week on the road, at the Life on Wheels conference. We have corresponded with him through the Escapees forum. Two years later, Bill shows up at this restaurant when we are dining with Doug and JoAnn! Coincidence - I think not!! They all want a piece of poor Clancy's bone!!!

Clancy - stay alert!!

Bruce

Second Guessing

Today we drove to Portland for a second opinion on my lung condition. Funny, it sounded like the first opinion, which ain't too bad considering.

Rather than a stab in the chest for a sample of my innards, perhaps followed by another and another, with increasing impact on my vitality, we opted for a CAT scan in another five weeks to measure change in size of the two questionable nodes.

Old Chinese saying, "Trust in cats rather than scalpels."

Ronald Reagan, "Trust cats, but verify."

I still believe the suspicious findings come from my recent valley fever lung infection. But, "An RVer who treats himself has a fool for a patient." [No comments!]

Tune in mid-August for the next exciting chapter of, "As the Lung Turns."

And thanks to all who sent get well wishes. Don't forget the money envelopes! Haven't seen them since my Bar Mitzvah.

Stay at Fort Stevens in August

For the reader who has stalked us from campground to campground, hoping to snag a bone from Clancy's bowl, we reluctantly announce Fort Stevens has offered us an additional month of volunteer work. [Very good news, actually.] Same job, same campsite.

We are learning more and more about Astoria and environs, much to our delight. A surprising amount of culture, nice local museums. Ocean beaches, river estuaries. We already signed up for another term at Fort Stevens in Summer 2010!

We attribute the enthusiasm of the host coordinator, Barb, to Bruce's advanced college training.
He earned an MSW college degree - Master of Selling Wood.
And Jenna has an MS - Mistress of other Stuff.

Mom always said, "Get a good education and you will go places." Funny she never mentioned living in an RV.

Picture by JoAnn B

Bruce