We’ve had some busy days since I last posted on Wednesday. It’s Saturday morning and I need to catch up.

Donna went out for a bike ride on Wednesday. She rode west on Marine Drive to Portland and followed the bike path along I-5 over the Columbia River. If she continued north on the path, she would cross the state line into Washington. Instead, she pulled off at Hayden Island. She rode there to visit her friend, Ramona Creel. Ramona is an organizing professional and full-time RVer.

Ramona was staying at the Jantzen Beach RV Park.  She has an Airstream travel trailer that she pulls with a Ford truck. She was stranded at the time due to engine trouble with her truck. An independent mechanic in Portland told her the engine had seized and would need replacement. His estimate for the repair was $6,000.

The truck ended up at a Ford dealer where they told her the engine wasn’t seized. The compressor was seized and wouldn’t allow the engine to turn over. Replacement of the compressor was $1,100.

Stories like this really frost me. The first mechanic condemned the engine without doing a proper diagnosis. He assumed the crankshaft was seized and never removed belts to confirm this. I don’t know if he was dishonest or incompetent, but people like that give the auto repair business a black eye.

Donna visited with Ramona for an hour or so before riding back. It was about a 30-mile round trip with a tailwind all the way home along the Columbia River.

While Donna was out, I washed our coach. I also treated the tire sidewalls with 303 Aerospace Protectant.

Around 4pm, we rode the scooter to the old downtown district of Troutdale and had an early dinner at a sushi restaurant. Downtown Troutdale is only a couple of blocks, but it has some cool shops.

Old downtown Troutdale

At the end of the road is a museum and park overlooking the Sandy River. They roll up the sidewalks at 5pm though, so the museum was closed by the time we got there.

Old Union Pacific rail car in front of museum

Thursday was a move day. We had to pack up and move from site 99 to site 28. We also had to drop our trailer. I walked up to office to check in for the move. Last Friday, the manager told me I would be dropping the trailer in site 2, 3 or 4 and I should check in before moving. The manager wasn’t there Thursday morning. The assistant manager, Debby, was on duty. I asked her which site I would be dropping the trailer in. She told me she didn’t have anything available, so I would have to leave it in the other end of the park by the pond!

I nearly lost it. I told her this was the second time they hadn’t come through. First of all, Debby had e-mailed me in April and said we would stay in the same site for our entire stay. That didn’t happen. Then the manager told me I would drop my trailer near our present site and now Debby was saying that wouldn’t happen either. After I pointed out to Debby how she had dropped the ball on me, she started looking through her reservations. She finally told me I could drop our trailer in site 6 as soon as the people there moved out, which would be by 11am. Site 28, where we had to move, was also currently occupied and should be available by 11am. I don’t understand all the juggling of sites. The people in site 28 weren’t leaving the park – they were being moved to another site as well!

At 11am, I dropped the trailer in site 6. Then we drove the coach down Sandy Boulevard a few miles west to a Union 76 station I had scouted. Their price for diesel fuel was $3.78/gallon. With my 5% Chase Freedom card cash back bonus, I filled up for less than $3.60/gallon.

Once we settled into our new site, the Alpine Coaches started rolling in. The Alpine Coach Association rally would officially kick off with cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres at 5pm.

Rows of Alpine Coaches

The hors doeuvres turned out to be dinner. There was plenty of food, wine tasting and a variety of beers. I sampled a few beers while Donna enjoyed the wine. We sat with Dave Hobden and his wife, Stilla. They’re originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Actually, Stilla is from Germany. They’re full-timers now that Dave has retired for the second time. First, he retired from the army, then went back to work for the government as a contractor. Now, he’s fully retired and enjoying life on the road. Dave and I corresponded online through the Alpine forum and he follows our blog. It was great to meet in person. Events like this and life on the road in general are all about the people we meet.

Dave, Stilla and Donna along with other ACA members

A tour of the Roadmaster facility, where RV parts and accessories are manufactured in Vancouver, Washington was on the agenda Friday morning. Donna and Stilla weren’t interested in going. Dave and I decided to travel together in Dave’s truck.

Donna hung out with a group of women after I left at 7:30pm. I came back to the coach to watch the Chargers pre-season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. For some reason, the NFL Network showed the TV coverage kicking off at 7:30pm. The actual kick-off was at 7pm, so I missed most of the first quarter. The Chargers look promising. I think it will be a good season.

I’ll post about Friday’s activity later and bring us up to date. Today, Donna and I are heading to Portland’s downtown area to kick around.