Christmas Shopping

Last week Dale had Thursday and Friday off so right after work on Wednesday we headed down to Bellingham to do a little Christmas shopping. We chose our favorite place to stay of course - Silver Reef. We arrived about four’ish - just in time to get our $10. of free plays and then have dinner. We put our $5. each into slots and on first spins we got $15.10 and $21.70 so quickly cashed out! We ordered up a pizza and took it back to the rig to have with a couple of beers. It was cold, windy and rainy but we were all tucked up cozy and warm on the couch to watch TV. We headed to bed about 10:30 and by now the wind had really picked up. Dale was soon snoring but I couldn’t sleep because of the wind. It was really howling now and the rig shook and shuddered uncontrollably. A few times I thought we were going to blow over. I must have eventually fallen asleep because we woke about 8:00 AM.

Nothing like Pizza, Beer and spending time with a loved one!

 

We spent the day traipsing from store to store doing our Christmas shopping. I can’t really say what we bought because it would spoil the surprise but we got some really good bargains and some nice things. The only downer for the day was it was still windy and RAINED all day. About 5:00 PM we headed  back to the casino for the night. It was Seafood Buffet night and we both ate much more than we should have, played the tables a bit with no real luck so headed back to the RV. 

We had a hard time walking back to the rig because of the wind - it was unbelievable! We were soon tucked up warm and cozy but I was unable to sleep once again because of the shuddering and shaking. It made the night befores wind seem like a slight breeze! I thought we had some bad weather on the prairies last summer but there was definitely no wind like this! In the morning we packed up about 8:30 and headed for home. When we arrived back we learned that the whole entire West Coast had been hit by a major storm and that the wind had wreaked havoc all up and down from California to northern BC! This whole entire year has shown us how sturdy and weatherproof our little motorhome is - “It takes a licken and keeps on ticken”!

Camping World and Angel of the Winds.

Our new Coffee Mugs - they have lids on now - good for less spillage while traveling!

We had an appointment to have some new shocks installed at Camping World, Burlington on Monday A.M. so right after work on Sunday we headed south. We got to Camping World about 3:00ish planning to stay the night but apparently the parts were B/O until January so we headed over to Angel of the Winds Casino instead. We checked in - learning that now it is at the gas station instead of inside. We paid our $16. and got our $15. worth of free plays, an umbrella and new coffee cup each. We had a tasty fish and chip dinner for less than $5.00 combined and then spent a nice evening playing the tables. I cleaned up once more at Texas hold’em - tripling my money which made up for Dale’s loss.

My only shopping purchase - two shirts for Dillon!

The next day, with no installation to do, we did a little shopping and then decided to head over to 55+ day at Silver Reef for 1/2 price Buffet dinner. We collected our “free” $10. - $5. for the day and $5. because we were RVing in their parking lot, had a nice dinner and then a couple of hours playing Poker. Between the two of us we came out $75. ahead so a cheap, fun, time once again. A little cool out that night but we were toasty warm cuddled up inside even with no hook-ups. An early start to the morning and head off home once more.

Silver Reef Once More

After dance last Saturday we once again decided to head south to Silver Reef Casino. A quick email earlier in the AM to Allison had gotten the right response - "Meet you there"! Once again while waiting the fifteen minutes at the border they passed us in the Nexus lane. I really must get on to applying for our card. Pick up of a few refreshments and soon we were set up and enjoying "Happy Hour" again. We were so happy that in no time at all it had gone from 3:30 to 7:30 PM so off inside we went. Tony and Allison did not to bad on the slots and I did really well on Dale's game Texas Hold'em but poor Dale was done in no time and just wandered around from one to the other of us watching how we were doing. Finally about 10:30, we all went for a pizza and then Dale and I headed back to the rig for hot chocolate.

"Happy Hour"!

The next day we all slept in - especially long because of the time change. We went in and had Sunday Brunch and then we packed up and left - quickly for us because I had a Tupperware Fundraiser for the dance school to attend. We arrived at the border around noon and no one was in the 3 lanes so we drove right up and were through in less than a minute. We chuckled because I counted 17 cars lined up at the Nexus lane - maybe we don't need the card after all! Looking forward to our next "outing"!

A Little Shopping and a Little Dancing.

Right after Dale got home last Wednesday we headed south for his next two days off. We picked up groceries and "refreshments" and then headed to Camping World in Burlington. We needed a few RV things and figured that was the best place to get them. We stayed the night there and then spent a few hours early the next day browsing the store. One of the two things we really needed was a Surge protector as our other one had been "fried" while camping at the Lynden Fairgrounds a few weeks back. We have already lost two TV's to power surges and didn't want to lose the new one we had replaced them with. We also needed a new plug "head" for our power cord - (sorry I don't know the technical term for it) because the other one was starting to fray. We hummed and hawed about which protector to buy and settled on a "pole" one because we didn't think the inline one would fit into our small power compartment - especially with the new plug we were buying. We went out to the Rig and Dale started to replace the plug and realized we had plenty of room to fit the inline one and wouldn't have to worry about the "Pole" one being stolen. We went back inside to exchange them and LUCKY US. They only had one inline one and it was on clearance from $279.99 to $49.99 so when they refunded us the $89.99 for the Pole one we got back $35.00 to boot!!!! It was almost like getting it free! It took Dale about a half hour to install it and then off to the Olive Garden for Lunch with the refund.
We spent the afternoon doing some more shopping including getting a new "pay as you go" for my iPhone. We have a US phone but it was really a cheap one and hard to hear most of the time. We would buy 90 day Tracphone cards for it but as we are only away 2-3 days, once or twice a month - we were paying for days we didn't use. With our new one it's $3 a day but only on the days you use it within 90 days and I can put the sim card in my iPhone and now I have all my contacts, emails etc. on hand all the time in the USA.
We headed over to Silver Reef once again to be joined by Kelly and the grandkids. She drove down in our car for Dale to take back Friday night for work on the weekend. The rest of us stayed down for a dance competition on Saturday. We took turns going into the casino and/or staying with the kids. Dale did well and so did Kelly - her $20. was soon up over $160! The two of them had a great time and had dinner together while Jacob & Ivy and I snacked and watched "Frozen" in the RV - finally I got to see the whole thing instead of snippets of it here and there. Needless to say, you can probably guess why I got to stay and watch the movie and the other two got to go for seafood buffet!

Everyone having "Fun" but me!

The next day we moved to The Cedars once again so we could have plugin for the rest of the weekend. Dale headed off home and we cozied up for some quiet time in the afternoon. What a surprise when we got up and went to play in the playground an hour later. Another Navion had come and parked beside us - not only that it was almost identical! What are the chances of that happening?

Am I seeing double?!?!?

A delicious dinner came next, followed by an early bedtime so we could be energized for the competition on Saturday.
The next day Kara, Gwynne and the rest of the family arrived at the "Reel Competition" held at the Community College in Bellingham. Kelly, Jake. and Gwynne joined the rest of Shannon's Dancers and showed how they could "Kick Butt"! Our little Primary dancer, Jacob, won 2 seconds and 2 thirds. Kelly who is Beginner Adult won a second,a third and a fourth  and Gwynnevere who is a new Beginner under 7 YO won a fifth in Lilt wearing the new Aboyne outfit I'd made for her - all making me very proud!

Gwynnevere in her new Aboyne outfit.

Jacob proudly showing me his medals

We did some grocery shopping in the afternoon and then had a fun evening watching TV back in the Rig at The Cedars, once again listening to the pouring, torrential rain outside! I love being cozy, warm and dry inside my little Navion!

How come I have a couple of little "Imps" in my bed?

 The next day we spent a lazy Sunday morning and then headed home around noon. Another fun little getaway.

A Quick Little Getaway

Dale had to work on the weekend so Kasey and I spent Saturday overnight at Cedars Resort in Ferndale at the last F.V.E. outing of the year. After a 48 minute wait at the border (I knew I should have taken Pacific Crossing and not Peace Arch!), a quick grocery & wine stop, and we arrived at 10:10 AM - just in time for the 10:30 meeting I mistakenly thought was 10:00 AM. Whew - not late! 
After the meeting, we got set up and then browsed the “Garage Sale” going on. We picked up a couple of storage cubes, jackets and free map books. Kasey insisted on the “Freebie” map books so I could do away with the one I had from “19 tickety-doo” but I like the atlas I have from early 90’s and I’m keeping it!
Kasey went for a nap (after all - I had woken her sooooo early on a Saturday)! I made up a Veggie Braid for "Happy Hour" and then Allison and Tony arrived soon after. They got set up and I joined them on their walk checking out the park. We had a little early “happy hour” of our own before joining the group one at 4:00 PM. 
I introduced Tony & Allison to the group at “Happy Hour” and they made the the rounds with Joyce, meeting other members one on one. We all browsed the wedding photo’s on display that had been brought by the attendee’s. Everyone was trying to guess who was who - some were easy and some took a lot of guessing. We went back to the rigs after a while to get ready for dinner at 6:00 PM.
Dinner was a Pot Luck dinner with some delicious food followed by everyone giving a quick version of how they met and married their spouse. There were some wonderful and some very funny stories. It made for a fun evening. I can't forget to mention the 50/50 draw. I should explain however that as I was making my way up to buy the tickets, Kasey snatched the $5. out of my hand and said “I’ll get them”, returned, tore the strip of tickets in half and gave me one half and kept the other half for herself. Low and behold didn’t her half contain the winning ticket!!!! She did give me back my $5. out of HER WIN of $50. - quite decent of her don’t you think? After the clean up of dinner there were a few rounds of “Right, Left and Center” where I had to sub her the 75 cents buy in because she had no change!
After a good nights sleep we joined the group for morning muffins, said good bye to Tony and Alison before heading off about 9:30 to hurry home for my granddaughter Dallyce’s Baptism at noon. Another short, sweet, but fun little getaway!

A rousing, cut-throat game of "Right, Left, and Center"!

Silver Reef Once More!

We woke up Saturday morning with not much on the agenda except taking Kasey to dance. I’d had a really bad cold and sore throat all week and I was feeling really in need of a vacation so we decided to head south to Silver Reef Casino. I quickly emailed Allison and Tony, our Navion friends that we’d met at Silver Reef a few weeks ago to let them know and then headed off to dance with Kasey. Dale “watered up” the rig while we were gone and as soon as I got back at 2:00 PM we headed to the border. Another quick crossing of only 10 minute wait, picked up some beer and wine at Rite-Aid and to the  casino we went. I hadn’t heard back from Allison BUT to our surprise who should we see waving us into the parking lot but Allison and Tony!!! They had come down the day before and were trying to decide if they should go home or stay another night - we soon changed their minds and a fun evening began. We went into the casino to make reservations for dinner at the Steakhouse for a nice meal instead of the Buffet. The earliest time for a dinner reservation available was 9:00 pm and seeing it was only 4:30 we returned to the rigs for “Happy Hour”.

Allison "Holding Down" the space right behind theirs for our RV!

They only had a few beers left and we hadn’t bought much wine as we were only coming down overnight so soon we were “Dry” and a run to the store became a necessity. One rig had to go to the store up at the highway and worried about getting a space in the rapidly filling parking lot on return, it was decided the boys would do the beer run in our RV and the girls would stay behind to hold the spot beside theirs. Mission accomplished and soon we were once more “Happy”!

We laughed and chatted until it was time to go for dinner - a delicious meal with some great company and then we hit the slots and/or tables. Lady Luck wasn’t with any of us that evening so around 12:30 we all decided to call it a night. A quick coffee/tea and chat with our friends in the morning and then off home once more.

This place is getting crazier and crazier every
week - you literally have to fight for a spot!

Rustic Roots Winery

This entry is not a "new" trip but one we did back in the Spring and I thought it should be added because it deserves a mention. Back in April we decided to have a quick getaway and so decided to go to the Okanagan for a few days. We decided to try out our recently joined Harvest Hosts program and we found Rustic Roots Winery as one of their members. We drove up to Cawston, BC and visited a wonderful little winery that I can't give enough praise to. It is run by Bruce and Kathy Hawker and it is a five generation (now raising the sixth!) dairy farm that has evolved into a winery. Bruce and Kathy were the most welcoming hosts.

The tasting room.

Not only did they give us the background on the winery along with a few other people that dropped by for wine tasting but after they closed up they encouraged us to walk around and check everything out.  After dinner we took Henry for a walk, touring the orchards and farm area (we never did find the donkey!). We ran into Bruce who asked us over to their private patio to chat and served us a special wine they were bottling for their daughters wedding in August. We spent a great evening sitting and chatting with them, and then a very peaceful night there. 

A beautiful setting!

I wish we would have had the time to come back during the summer months when everything would have been in season but I vow to return because they bottle some wonderful fruit wines!

A peaceful night - even though they're on the highway
there isn't much traffic after 8 or 9 o'clock.

Hillbilly/Trailertrash Dance and the Casino

Dinner was a catered affair on Saturday night followed by the “Hillbilly/Trailertrash” dance. There were some great costumes including my own “Ellie-May Clampett” - pictures to follow.

A couple of Hillbillies!

Unfortunately, Dale was really not feeling well and so went home early - actually Home to the house so he could soak in a hot bath and he took the whining shivering lump of fur ball with him. 
The next morning I cleaned the entire rig - not by choice but necessity  - Henry was vomiting and had runs most of the night - luckily all on the tile and not carpet thank goodness. Once I started cleaning there was no line to which I could clean to so I just kept going - every surface was wiped and disinfected - what a wonderful feeling to know it was clean.
I talked to Dale midmorning and he was feeling so much better after a long, hot soak and a good nights sleep. Because he had Monday off, we decided that he should come back down and join me to spend 55+ day at Silver Reef Casino. (55% off the Buffet and 5X the points on slots). I headed over there and he came down to join me.

Ahh - Paradise! Happy Hour on the "Patio" at Silver Reef Casino

Sunday afternoon was spent lazing in the sunshine at the Casino among the more than 25 other RV’s. This place is starting to get really busy for RV’s - we may have to start taking a number soon just to get parking LOL!  We had a Pizza for dinner - a really good one - from the Pizzaria and then spent some time at the tables. I don’t really know Texas Hold’em but Dale does so I joined him there and was glad I did. In a couple of hours my $100 was up to $350. and Dale had doubled his too so when they came to change the cards we decided to get out while the going was still good and we were still up. A little ME-TV - Columbo, and then off to bed - another great evening!

Monday morning we lazed around until it was time for the Lunch Buffet to start at 11:00 am. We did go a little early and I played the slots for a while but my $100. went up and down a few times so I finally cashed out at $100.32 - no loss - no gain. The luck just wasn’t with me so no use tempting it! We journeyed home sadly knowing there are no "Planned" outings for over a month now but remember followers - we're ready to go at the spur of the moment - just give us a call!

Washington State Rally

All set up on the Lynden Fairgrounds

I caravanned over to the Lynden Fairgrounds with the other FVE's and we all set up camp to enjoy the next three days. I spent some time wandering the fairgrounds with Bitsey and Henry (Yes - I took Miss Whiner - a big mistake) and then walked up the street to do some browsing through all the neat little shops they have in town. I love Lynden - it is such a quaint “Dutch” little town and the people are all so friendly in the shops. I bought some really “terrific”  things - a hose connector and a strap & screw for the couch handle at the hardware store. I lead such an exciting life - I can hardly contain myself sometimes!!!!
I had just got back to the rig when Dale arrived and it was almost time for “Happy Hour”. I quickly made up some Guacamole and Salsa in my Tupperware “Quick Chef” which I LOVE! (A plug for my consultant - my daughter Kelly). No really - I do love the great little chopper, whipper, mixer and serving bowl all in one - no electricity needed so great for boon docking - no Rig should be without one.
We didn’t join the group for dinner in town as we had plans for dinner. We then changed the plan to have Shepherds Pie by ourselves. As we were walking the dogs around the grounds, we passed the "San Juanderer's" group having their pot luck dinner. They insisted we join them even though we said we had dinner plans but of course Dale doesn't like to pass up a “Party” and so we joined them. I quickly whipped up a couple of Banana Cream Pies to take as dessert (good thing I bought those bananas the day before!). We had such a great evening with them and met a lot of nice people once again. WIT members are all so friendly and very inviting. We met another couple who have a “View” - sister to our Navion - and so spent the latter part of the evening chatting and comparing our rigs with Max and Anne. We got so caught up we didn’t have time for a campfire that we’d planned for later in the evening. The only down part of the evening is Dale was having sore back problems.

Friday and Saturday were pretty low key. We did some visiting with the some of the members of our group and other groups. We checked out the dealer rigs onsite but still keep coming “home” to our own little Navion. The big rigs have a lot of room and handy little gadgets etc. but I really like our cozy little home. I wish we could think of a name for it - all our RV’s have had names but we’ve had this one over a year and it’s still nameless - any suggestions would be helpful!!!

I helped our new area Reps - Christy and Rick in the WIT store on Saturday AM - all that experience I had at GNR came in handy! We had “Happy Hours” and my “Vegetable Braid” was a big hit at one so I had to make another one the next day. We didn’t partake in any of the games because Dale was really suffering with his back so spent a lot of the weekend laying in bed.

Shopping, Wit Club and Casino - Fun Times!

Wednesday morning I awoke early, packed the few things that needed to be put back in the RV (all the clean laundry etc.) and set off just after 10 AM. There was a 40 minute wait at the PAC crossing so I quickly zipped over to Aldergrove and drove right through - no one in line! I headed down to Bellingham and spent the day wandering and shopping to my hearts content. It’s fun shopping with others but you can spend so much time tracking where they are instead of actually shopping. I went where I wanted, took my time, looked at what I wanted etc. - It was all about ME, ME, ME, for a change - BLISS!!! It felt sort of weird eating by myself so I just skipped lunch all together and had a snack in the RV later on. After I had browsed Value Village for my “Hillbilly” outfit, I picked up groceries and then headed over to Kelly & Darrin’s place (Friends from dance who live in Lynden) to spend the night. They fed me dinner - great homemade burgers and potato salad and I met some friends of their’s who were also visiting. It was a fun evening and a good sleep out front. Little “USA Meaghan” (her nickname at dance as opposed to teacher “Big Meghan”) came out to greet me about 8:00 in the morning and I went inside for TV and a good “natter” before I left at 10AM to join the FVE.

KOA With Teenagers

This weekend we're at the Lynden KOA with FOUR teenagers. So far this is morning of day 2 and everyone is still alive! Yesterday the teens did a little swimming, the boys rented a paddle boat for an hour on the lake, they all did a little schoolwork (schools are still on strike so I've taken to "Homeworking" them), we had dinner and then "S'mores" around the campfire before bed.

Hamburgers and Hot Dogs for dinner the first night

Sadly - At Home!

A long weekend and sadly the Navion is at home! Anyone want to go anywhere - we're ready to go at a moments notice?!?!

On the street hoping to go somewhere!

Silver Reef Again and The Cedars - Ferndale

After we left the Moonshadow Alpaca Farm we headed back to the Silver Reef Casino and we were joined there by my Mom & Dad. Monday it's Seniors Day (I mean 55+ day!) where the buffet is 55% off and 5X the points on slots - so who could resist? My parents had never been so they signed up for their point cards and got a $5 slot voucher each and my Mom had hers up to $15. in no time! They don't play table games so Dale used their $5. table vouchers on Texas Hold'em and soon he had it up to $50. Dad and I both lost - double for me because I treated everyone for lunch buffet!!!!

We went back to the RV for a break and "happy hour". Later on we went back for some more fun  - fun for some of us - I lost my $100. but Dale won over $300. - all in all it was a good stay.

The next morning we packed up once more and headed over to The Cedars in Ferndale. We spent the rest of the week relaxing and laying around the pool.

Nothing to do but relax...

...Eat...

...and do some more relaxing!

My parents spent one night with us and then had to go back home. However, Dale's sister Sue came and spent another night with us and our "Dance" friends Kelly and Darrin and their little ones Meaghan & Iain came and spent an afternoon and evening with us so we weren't too lonely. I should mention that the teens didn't go with us this time - I don't think they want to see the inside of the RV for a very long time! They preferred staying home - you know the one with TV, internet, their friends and sleeping until afternoon even if that meant that they had to be under the watchful eye of their tough, mean, big sister Kyla!

Sue came for dinner and stayed with us one night. 

Kelly and Darrin came for a swim and have dinner with us.

Moonshadow Alpaca Ranch

After spending the night at the Casino we started out on the next stop of our travels. Through Harvest Hosts we had arranged to stay at the  Moonshadow Alpaca Farm just outside of Bellingham. We arrived early in the afternoon and we were greeted by our friendly host Deb. She helped us get set up including running out an extension cord for us to have power - way beyond what she needed to do - such a great host!
Once we were all set up she took us on a tour of the barns and we got to meet a bunch (herd?, group?, pack?) - well, a whole lot of the cutest Alpacas! The most fantastic part of the visit was we got to see "Obsession" or "Mo" as they call her and her brand new five'ish hour old baby!!!! It (I think it was a she) was the fuzziest little thing already up and walking around within an hour of birth.

Mama and Baby

We met a whole bunch of "ladies" in another fan cooled indoor pen (Alpacas suffer from the heat coming from the high cold air of the South American mountains) and then went outside to meet "the Boys" who were in and out of the barn watching everything we did. Even seeing the 30 or so Alpacas not one of them looked alike - they each had their own look about them and have such "Character" faces including one I thought looked like a "Wookie". I loved running my hands over their supersoft fur. They get sheared in the spring and the fleece is sent out to be spun into skeins of such soft wool that is sold in the little "store" they have on the property as well as other items some made in South America that help South American families.

I think this one looks like a bunny!

Such inquisitive looks they gave us!

The "WOOKIE" called Magnum - my favourite!

We had a nice "happy hour" of wine and cheese under the shade trees being watched by a dozen inquisitive eyes of "the Boys" followed by a great dinner. We then took Henry & Bitsey (yes - we took the quivering, shivering, whining lump of fur with us this time) for a walk up the scenic rural road and then off to bed for a wonderful restful sleep.

Sleeping under the trees a few feet from
Alpacas is probably a once in a lifetime memory!

Silver Reef Casino

Saturday at 2:00 pm was the start of Dale's last week of holidays for the year so of course south we went! We spent the night at one of our favorite spots - The Silver Reef Casino. While waiting the eight minutes in line at the border we saw another Navion zip by through the Nexus lane and we commented on this - "wonder where they're going in such a hurry?". Off we went to Winco & Trader Joe's to pick up a few groceries and Rite-Aid for beer and wine and then on to Silver Reef.
As we pulled into the parking lot we saw the other Navion and they were waving us over to come and park by them! We went and joined them and met a friendly couple - Tony & Allison. We spent a wonderful evening socializing with them and also having coffee and banana bread with them before they left the next morning. We promised to keep in touch and spend some more time with them in the future.

Navion Central!

Whidbey Island

Kasey in her new Kilt Outfit - she looks stunning!

The Navion spent the past weekend at the Whidbey Island Highland Games at Greenbank Farm in Washington State. 

Kelly doing her made up Seann Triubhas!

My Daughters and Grandchildren - Kelly, Jacob, Ivy, Kara, Gwynnevere, Dallyce, and our friend Amanda joined Kasey and I for the weekend of dance competition. We stayed right on the grounds and had a great weekend watching the dancing and touring the farm and little boutique stores there. We also did a little browsing throughout the Celtic Vendors set up for the games weekend.

Jacob and Gwynne (both on the ends) are
 joined by their dance buddies Lizzie and Kelsey.

Kasey came away with a fourth, a fifth, and two sixth medals; Kelly 2 seconds and a third medals, Jacob a second and 3 thirds; and Gwynne 2 sixth medals so it was successful weekend for the Warcup Clan! 

Kasey doing her Earl of Errol for the first time in competition - she placed fourth!

Shannons School of Highland Dance represented about a third of all the dancers competing - 14 in total.

Shannon's School of Highland Dancers

On Sunday, we moved to The Cedars RV Resort for a little bit of fun and relaxation around a pool after the hot sunny weekend of hard work.

Welcome!

We had so much fun with our other blog Navigating the Navion that we've decided to keep it up! Keep checking in to see where and what the Navion has been up to!