Frustration In Seattle

We arrived in Seattle on a Wednesday afternoon.  We made reservations at the fairgrounds with plans of finding a more permanent place after we arrived.  The folks set out on Thursday to check out some campgrounds.  The KOA that is near Dad's work was their first stop.  It does not get the best reviews because the spaces are tight.  The reviews actually said that many accidents happen there due to the tight spaces.  The folks were shocked to find that they wanted $2,100 a month! We would cost them $90.  They decided to move on as we normally spend about $700 -$900.  That price includes electric which is normally charged when you stay a month.  On Friday, the folks set out to check out other RV parks.  They found that either the parks were booked up or they did not allow big dogs.  They found the same thing on Saturday.  They did find one park that looked like it might work, but one sign said it was a 55+ community. Could they pass for that age? Mama called and left a message as no one was there on Saturday and as of today, no return call has been made.  She heard from others that you have to fill out a credit application and you also have to pay to have the electric turned on in your name. Things are definitely different here.  Mama was really getting concerned because the fairgrounds were not meant for long term people.  She was very concerned that they would tell us to leave and we had no where to go.  ::::sigh:::

We are not sure why, but Scout is balancing her frosty treat container on her chest. Dad said he didn't put it there.

On Sunday, the folks planned on doing a little shopping and then resting. They shopped at Kohl's for Dad some new clothes.  That went surprisingly well.  When they got inside the Jeep, they noticed a strong gas odor. They thought it might just be the car next to them.  They drove to the grocery store.  Dad checked under the hood and didn't see anything leaking. They did their grocery shopping and when they entered the Jeep, it still smelled. They decided to get a rental car and take the car to the shop.  Avis was just down the street. They were told at Avis that they needed reservations and they had no cars.  The parking lot was full of cars, but the employee said he was not allowed to rent those out.  The folks asked if there was another Avis that could help them.  He seemed quite put out that he was being asked questions because after all it is not his fault that they did not have reservations.  I guess you should always have a reservation in case an emergency occurs.  They stood outside Avis trying to figure out what to do. No other rental places were open on Sunday.  Dad called Good Sam and asked for a tow truck.  He was told the closest place they would take the Jeep was Pep Boy's. The folks could see Pep Boy's from where they stood and wondered if they should just drive there.  No, they decided to wait for the tow truck.  They waited 45 minutes and then called Good Sam's back.  The first person said there was not a record of the call.  He then spoke to the person Dad had spoken to and was told that she couldn't find a tow truck.  :::sigh:::  Dad was very frustrated and told them to forget it. Mama went back into Avis and pleaded for a car.  No luck, no sympathy.  Guess who will not rent a car from Avis in the future?  BOL!  The most irritating thing was the attitude of the employee.  The folks decided to chance it and drive the Jeep to Pep Boy's.  The folks made it there.  They then called a cab so that Mama could get home with the groceries. While they were waiting for the cab, the tow truck went by and then called to ask where they were.  Dad told them he had canceled it. The cab arrived, but Dad stayed behind with hopes that the Jeep could be fixed that day.  It wasn't. Well, it could have been, but they said it would take them a few minutes after closing time and they didn't want to start on it.  Dad said he would pay them extra since he was going to have to take a cab to work if the Jeep wasn't fixed.  They declined.  He took a cab home.  He then had to take a cab to work. That was $88 with a tip.  I think they spent about $130 in cab fares. A neighbor here drove Mama to Pep Boy's to pick up the Jeep up on Monday. The fuel injector seals were leaking and she was told it was really bad with gasoline leaking on the exhaust.  The mechanic said they were very lucky that it didn't catch on fire. Mama drove it around for a while and it still really smelled. She took it back and they told her it was going to take a while for the smell to go away.  He checked it over to be sure that it was okay.  Mama then had to pick Dad up from work.  It is 20 miles, but took an hour.  It is not a bad drive. There are just a lot of lights that you have to go through.

Monday night, we were talking with the camp host.  She really likes us.  Mama told her our woes about not being able to find a place to stay.  She said they have never kicked anyone out, but they have threatened every year when the car shows start.  Mama felt a little better, but she was still worried.  Tuesday morning, the camp host came up to us and told Mama that she had talked with the office and told them of our situation. They said we could stay here!!!  They will not kick us out even if it gets crowded.  Mama paid our rent yesterday (you have to pay weekly) and the office lady confirmed that we could stay.  Mama is very relieved.  Things are finally looking up. The folks can finally relax and enjoy our time here.

I think my tongue is keeping me balanced on the couch.  BOL!

We were going to tell you about the Museum of Glass that the folks visited on Saturday, but this post went really long.  We will tell you about that tomorrow.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Happy That He Will Not Be Kicked Out On The Street

Abilene, KS to Seattle, WA - Part 3

We began our final day of travel with a stop at the gas station.

We gas up with the big boys.

 I forgot to mention that the rest areas that we stopped at in Oregon and Idaho did not have nice dog walking areas.  They were mainly rocks and weeds.  Mama saw a man pulling things out of his dog's paws, so she broke the rules and walked us on the grass. 

We finally arrived in Washington state.  You can tell we have been on the road for a while by the number of bugs on our windshield.  BOL

Grapes, we think.

Our app told us there would be a 6% road grade, but it didn't seem all that bad.

 Finally, we arrived at our campground.  Well, it is not really a campground.  We are staying at the fairgrounds.  This is the third time that we have stayed at a fairground. We have full hook-ups and a nice grassy area, so it is fine.

The circus is across the street from us.

The roller coaster is also across from us.  We thought it might run on weekends, but it doesn't.

We were here on the 4th of July and we had prime real estate for fireworks.  It was not a city show, but people shot off fireworks until midnight.  Luckily, Scout and I are not scared of fireworks. It was very loud.  Our neighbor said their dog is scared, so they drove around for three hours trying to find a quiet place so that their dog could calm down.

Oh no!  We have just been told that there is a problem with leaving comments on our blog.  We have made an adjustment, so hopefully that works. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Sleeping Fine In Seattle

Our Trip From Abilene, KS to Seattle, WA - Part 2

Our third day on the road started out with a problem. The retractable step cover that goes over our inside steps, got stuck open.  We had to stop at a rest area so that Dad could fix it.

We can't seem to find the photos from Idaho, so we will move on to Oregon.  BOL!  This was the first time that we had driven in the mountains with our motor home.  We only found out about this trip a few days before we had to leave and really didn't have time to do a lot of research.  We were quite surprised that Oregon had the worst mountains on our trip.  On the last day of our trip, Mama found that the app she uses for gas stations and rest areas also tells you the grade of hills/mountains, so that helped prepare us or maybe it made us worry more.  BOL!

Here we go!

This was a 6% grade for 6 miles.  It was the worst one that we experienced.

This is the runaway truck ramp.  If you loose your brakes, you are supposed to go up this hill so that you stop.

After the drive through the mountains, we were very happy to pull off the road for the night. We stayed at the Pilot RV Park.  The park was nice.  They only charge $275 a month.

To be continued....

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Thinks Mountains Are Fun

Our Trip From Abilene, KS to Seattle WA - Part 1

We had such a nice time in Abilene.  We found out that I was born in Kansas. Mama said she had dinner with a man who personally knows my first owner.  Mama was shocked. I guess you never know who you will meet in Abilene.

We left Abilene around 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday to begin our four day drive to Seattle.  It looked like we were going to hit some storms, but somehow we missed them all. 

Apparently, we didn't take many photos the first day. We were very tired on that first day of travel. We drove from Kansas to Colorado and crossed over to Wyoming where we spent the night.  Many of the photos were be taken through the windshield, so they are not the highest quality.

We stayed at the Terry Bison Ranch.  The ranch offers many things for visitors to do, but the RV park was pretty run down.

It is really a lump of concrete.

Our site

The roads were rough.

  

A burger from the restaurant from the ranch. Supposedly, Bobby Flay said it is the best burger in Wyoming.  Mama said it was okay.

There is an "amusement park" at the Terry Bison Ranch.

The exit.

Camel at the ranch.  Those are dead bugs on our windshield.  BOL!

 There were bison at the ranch, but no photos were taken.

Pretty scenery in Wyoming.

This statue of Lincoln is at a rest stop in Wyoming.  It was constructed to celebrate his 150th birthday.  It used to be along the Lincoln Hwy, but was moved here.

 

 This rest area was really neat because it had prairie dogs.  No photos of the "dogs" because Mama couldn't take photos with us being so excited.  Dad stayed in the RV during this stop.  Here we are watching:

A view from the rest area.

The second day of travel was very windy.  We made a lot of stops checking on our rig. We had trouble with our slide wanting to open up the day before, so Dad put straps on it.

The straps did the job and the slide didn't move.

A tunnel!

Weeeeee!

We thought the scenery in Utah was the prettiest on this trip.

We stayed in a Mom and Pop campground in Bringham City, UT.  The park was nice and clean.

This the end of the second day of our journey. Tomorrow, we will take you through Idaho.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is A Seasoned Traveler