While driving to Life on Wheels the trouble light came on the motorhome. Nothing seemed different about the way it was driving so we decided to take it to the same place we had been getting service from in Marysville, WA when we were back in Western Washington state. Diane took a class on Workhorse Chassis maintenance since we had a Workhorse Chassis and at the end of class she asked the instructor, who worked for Workhorse, about the light. He was very insistent we get it handled in as few miles as possible and recommended we reroute through Pasco, WA and take it to Russ Dean.
We used to live in Richland, WA, so Pasco was familiar territory and we had planned on visiting on our way east. We checked in for two days at Sandy Heights RV Park after 169 miles on July 19th. Russ Dean could not handle us till the 21st so we visited friends in the area. On the 21st we dropped the motorhome off and kept busy with Evita all day. The problem turned out to be a knock sensor and they ordered one so we had to come back on the 22nd when they could install it. We decided to try staying at Columbia Park, a public campground, for the night. We called up Lake Pleasant RV Resort and moved our reservation out. Here is our campsite at Columbia Park:
Those front wheels are way in the air. Around this time Evita had decided a walk was a daily thing, she demanded one when we came into a new campsite and every day. Diane limited her to 30 minutes per walk. To this day Evita has her daily walk.
On the 22nd the sensor was installed and we drove 246 miles to Lake Pleasant RV Resort, this time we stayed 10 nights. We sold the Subaru, we kept getting rid of stuff, we kept the house clean, Diane's aunts came and retrieved most of the gardening tools, we stayed very busy. We organized the motorhome for long term usage.
On July 31 we drove 105 miles back to Eagle Tree RV Park in Poulsbo and visited Nancie and Sandy. Eagle Tree gives a 15% discount for Escapees, so we took advantage of that discount. Here are some scenic shots of Puget Sound, including a momma and baby seal, a motorhome with a view and a great blue heron:
The Family Gathering was on the 2nd. Eating, talking and picture taking were the agenda:
On August 4th we drove 79 miles to Tumwater and parked in front of Bill's mother, Elena's, house:
We had internet again. The street and sidewalk are narrow enough we could not put out our slides while visiting Elena, but she has excellent 20AMP electric power. We said our goodbyes, it would be many months before we saw each other again.
Diane's parents had bought a membership in Western Horizons Resort, and their home park was Tall Chief in Fall City, WA, close to the Seattle area. Diane as their child could stay at Tall Chief three one week stays a year for free, so we took advantage of it and drove 87 miles to Tall Chief on the 5th. Here is our campsite:
(Bill was trying to get into the habit of taking pictures at every campsite. It wasn't until we really headed east that the habit stuck.)
Another thing we had been doing was dealing with doctors and it was Bill's summer for the doctor to find something. Turned out Bill had low thyroid function so he had to take thyroid supplements and needed to have a blood test every six weeks to see if the dose was right until the proper dose was found. What a difference taking thyroid supplement made for Bill, he had a lot more energy and until he figured it out he was more volatile in temperament. Bill figured out quickly that his father had the same problem, but it was never diagnosed since his father was allergic to doctors. His father had died in 1990, so not much could be done for his father. Bill had thought he was getting old and this contributed to his being willing to quit work, now his energy was back and we were having too much fun to go back to work.
Bill was also going nearsighted and glasses would be a good idea for driving. We had to wait for the glasses to be made and asked Tall Chief if we could stay eight days instead of only seven and they said "yes". A few days later we found that we needed to hang out a a bit longer and booked at Issaquah Highlands for five days. We got pumped out twice while at Tall Chief for $7 a pump out, since no sites had sewer, so it cost us $14 for eight nights. Bill had his glasses for driving and had to remember to use them. He was legal without them, but could see better with them on.
Diane's cousin Peggy and her husband Jim had their week at her family's Vashon Island place and we were invited over. Diane had been to the place many years earlier but Bill had never been to Vashon Island at all. The views on the ferry ride on August 12th were very nice:
The house/cabin had a wonderful view also:
We had a wonderful visit and dinner and got back to the motorhome very late.
We moved to Issaquah Highlands on the 13th, it was 14 miles. Evita had gone to bed expecting a normal travel day and suddenly we were setting up camp. She found this a bit strange. Here is our campsite:
Evita liked it at Issaquah Highlands:
Too many trees for internet, but a nice place to stay. Unfortunately a couple years later it was sold to a developer and is no longer a campground.
We no longer needed to be in the greater Seattle area, so we drove 212 miles to Sandy Heights RV Park in Pasco on the 18th. On the way the engine trouble light again came on so we called Russ Dean in Pasco for another appointment. (Bill forgot to get pictures of Sandy Heights.) Turns out the problem was the same knock sensor so the service writer had the technician figure out the real problem and it was a loose heat shield "knocking against the sensor". She, the service writer, said "it was knocking the sensor silly".
We visited friends and relatives and were ready to head east to see the fall colors in New England. Our real estate agent was ready to communicate via cell phone and faxes. He also knew what to do with our stuff. We were getting offers and sending our responses back via fax, we handled one while in Pasco. But we hadn't sold yet.