On The Road

Finally, we are on the road. It took a lot of work, in all regards, but here we are.

Remember last time I said we were finally insured? Well, that fell through, of course. We've had to tell a white lie or it was going to be impossible or extortionate to insure. There is a fair amount of water damage, and we haven't mentioned that in our insurance policy. But we are honest people, so we have agreed with ourselves that we won't claim any damage caused by the pre-existing water damage. No insurance agency will take you on your word at that, so we lied. Score one for the Damy mission.

Then work wanted me to stay another week. Then they made me an offer to stay permanently. Both were turned down after very careful consideration, and it wasn't as easy a decision as we would have thought. The appeal of more money, doing the whole trip with a little more security, had its draw. But then where would the adventure be? So, we decided the amount of money we had would do us just fine. That, and my last 2 weeks of work were beyond stressful. Both Dave and I felt confident in our decision to leave - it may be the one decision we have made over the last year that we have no ounce of doubt in. We made the right one.

But now for the interesting stuff!

Our first RV site is on the beach. Well, the RV site said the beach was a 30 second walk away. I'm not a professional sprinter so it takes me more like a minute. But it's a walk through sprawling dunes and the beach is lovely. We haven't seen it in the sun yet - the closest we got yesterday was a brightening in the clouds. The sun did come out, it just waited until we had left the beach. It's a long, sandy beach punctuated by large pieces of driftwood which would sit nicely in an abstract artist's studio. As we walked along we noticed it seemed like a crab graveyard. There are literally hundreds of crabs in different states of decay and dismemberment all along the beach where the tide comes in and out. The birds are having a field day, and we even came across an eagle having a snack on what looked like the remnants of a baby seal.

The view from our window

Our first night was spent exploring the beach in between rain showers and glasses of champagne (obviously), and setting up home. When we left the apartment, we pretty much just stuffed things into boxes, and then stuffed these boxes into the RV anywhere they would fit. It took a little while - an evening and a day - but now everything is 'mise en place.' I have to say, I love our little RV (ok, not so little). It feels so homely with all of our stuff. It's only early days, but I'm happy as a pig in shit. We still have lots of projects to do - find out how big all the tanks are, a bit more sealing, and set up a herb garden. I bought Dave the makings for a herb garden that we could take on the road for his birthday, so hopefully we will have our own chives, rosemary, oregano and parsley.

Yesterday we busied ourselves by going into Long Beach town. It is getting to the end of the season now, so places are a little more quiet. We went to the supermarket to pick up a few things, and practically every employee in the store ( and a couple customers) greeted us with beaming smiles and welcoming hellos. Much different from the 'look at the feet and barge ahead' approach of Seattlites. We stopped into an Aussie themed bar for a pint to lubricate the walk home, only to discover it was run by a Scottish woman and a Seattle man who had met in Australia! We walked a bit further and tried to locate a beachside drinking establishment. Seattle seemed to have an aversion to putting pubs or bars in places with a view, so I was dubious about finding one. Luckily, we did. It wasn't oceanside, but it was a beautifully decorated restaurant on the 6th floor of a little hotel.

Our bedroom

The view was epic - the sky was moody with clouds and only accentuated by the rough seas of the pacific coast. We had a pint. Then another. Then food seemed like a good idea. As we ate our dinner, we noticed a never ending stream of birds flying across the water. It lasted the whole time we were there - about an hour and a half - and the trail of birds never waned. When we asked, we were told this happens every day at this time, we were just stunned! Well fooded and drinked, we got
back to the RV and took a beer down to the beach and watched the wind whip up the sand and fog which emanated from the ground. This is what it's all about. The freedom, not the beer (although the beer comes a close second).

One near setback we encountered when we checked our bank account. Someone had fraudulently used Dave's card to the tune of $80.99. We caught it as it was pending and no serious harm was done, but the card had to be cancelled and of course we no longer have a fixed address. That will be the next challenge. This is our biggest concern right now. Life is fucking good.

Next, we thought we were going to be in Oregon, but it turns out it's just on the border. So we are in Washington for Labour Day, then on to Oregon.

Our cozy home