Tonight, my hosts, Joan, and I went for dinner at Sushi Station on 5th. This is a revolving sushi place where you can sit at a bar in front of a conveyor belt and sushi comes by you on small plates. The plates are different colours, which represent the price. Half the fun is not knowing what you’re grabbing! We also ordered two à la carte items, in my case the Hawaiian roll which had tuna, salmon, mango, and masago. I also had some really good eel rolls (first time I’ve enjoyed eel), spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, salmon sashimi, and a host of other tasty unidentified morsels. Yu-um.
Oregon
Long Term Weather Forecasts
I spent several hours today plotting my itinerary from the Oregon Coast to Lethbridge, Alberta. It feels like such a long one, across the breadth of Washington and Idaho and up through Montana. And, yet, I’m looking at just 1,500km, just a little over two tanks of gas. At US prices, that’s only about $400 in fuel to get me back to Canada, and I won’t need to budget for RV parks once the solar panel is installed.
Oregon Walmarts are RV unfriendly, so I’ve had a job and a half looking up other sources for overnight stops, including Our Odyssey (first time using this blog as a reference!), Casino Camper, Free Campsites, and All Stays which has good information about Walmarts.
I don’t know how my internet access is going to be in the next few weeks, so having this reference of good overnight spots along the way is reassuring. I tried to find some places no more than a couple hundred kilometres apart so that I can mix up short and long days.
The long term weather forecasts for Idaho, Montana, and southern Alberta point to days above freezing and nights below. I can definitely handle that! Since so many of the places I’ve found to stay at allow multiple day stay overs, camping rather than just overnight parking, I am going to try very hard to pace myself and stretch out the journey so that I don’t arrive at the border before the third or fourth of April.
I’m just about ready to pull out of Eugene tomorrow morning, but I might be back to spend the night, depending on how long the installation takes. If I get out of AM Solar at or before noon, I’ll shoot straight for the coast, otherwise I can go to the Valley River Center (a giant mall) here in Eugene.
Why Eugene and Thinking Ahead
I’m in this general area of Oregon because Thursday morning I am having a 150 watt solar panel installed by the RV solar experts AM Solar. Even before I had a rig, I knew that I wanted my solar system to be installed by them. I didn’t want to say too much about this because of the number of kerfuffles since I left Abbotsford five weeks ago, but now I really do believe this project is a go!
Once I have the solar panel, I won’t need to plug in every few nights. Even in this soggy climate, I’m confident that with proper electrical management this solar panel will mean a great deal of freedom for me. It’s a lot of money at one time, but it will pay for itself quickly.
As to why I am in Eugene specifically, it’s that I have friends who were able to put me up with a 15A connection and access to a spigot to top off my fresh water tank. I am so grateful to them!
Climate notwithstanding, I am really enjoying Eugene. It reminds a lot of Ottawa, actually, and the neighbourhood where I’m staying is not unlike the grittier half of Sandy Hill and the Byward Market where I lived and worked during my university days in the late ’90’s. I can walk to all the services I need and the variety of restaurants is staggering.
Here are a few pictures that I’ve taken during my walks about the neighbourhood:
coloured houses
close up of the coloured houses
palm tree!
crocuses
daffodil
mallards
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard out for a walk
I like how they have an observation platform jutting out over the Willamette
Willamette River
Willamette River
cinema across the river
the murky Willamette
various fowl on the Willamette River
My appointment with AM Solar, located in nearby Springfield, is on Thursday, first thing, and not wanting to overstay my welcome, I will be heading out of town after. I’d like to do five to seven days on the Oregon coast, then start to work my way back to Canada. I’d have two weeks to get there, so there would be no rush.
Now that I’ve experienced life in the States, I cannot view my RVing life in the same manner as before. Everything has changed. I’ve crunched the numbers and I can do six months here for the cost of four months in Canada, and that includes health and vehicle insurance and an internet set up.
So, what does this mean? Well, I need to start earning more money in Canada and spending as little of it there as I can!
And I’ve decided not to return to Yukon this summer.
Instead, I’m going to go into Alberta, even if it means facing the brutal dregs of winter. I simply cannot afford to set up residence in BC. I want to get over the border and find work as close to the Montana border as possible.
Up until a few months ago, I just didn’t see myself being able to work for someone else again, but now I would welcome a steady stream of income. I could get that in Yukon, of course, but it’ll cost $1,500 to get up there, money I’d rather spend exploring this part of the US that is new to me.
I’ve been growing increasingly bitter about Canadian rules that dictate how I can live and now I have something else to focus on: enthusiasm for learning what I can do to conform to US laws so as to be allowed the continued privilege of vacationing here.
Salem, Oregon
Today, I drove to Salem, capital of Oregon, to visit with Joan. She had an afternoon all planned out for us and I was happy to let a native guide take the lead!
First stop was a yummy lunch at Adam’s Rib Smokehouse. I had a BBQ pulled chicken sandwich with a side of hush puppies. The meat was very flavourful, with a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, and the bun was particularly tasty. Very nice sandwich, if not too healthy! I haven’t had hush puppies since I first discovered them in 2008 during my adventures south of the Mason-Dixon line so they were a real treat!
Next, Joan took me to a museum she’d always wanted to go to, the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village and Children’s Museum. A.C. Gilbert is the fellow who invented the Erector Set. This is the kind of place a grown up can’t really go alone without feeling silly. But as a pair? I haven’t played like that in a very long time! I even got on a swing. Joan and I just laughed and laughed and laughed. Such fun!
After the museum, she took me to the Salem Carousel. This beautiful carousel features hand carved horses, each with its own name and unique personality. I can’t remember the last time I was on a carousel. At $1.50 each for a ride, it’s an affordable outing.
Finally, we headed to the Sweet Papaya for dessert/a snack. This is a self-serve frozen yoghurt joint where you pay by the weight of your confection. You can mix together as many flavours of yoghurt as you want, then add candies, fresh fruit, sauces, mini cakes, and more. Yu-um.
Awesome day, Joan. Thank you!!!
state capitol
state capitol
Adam’s Rib
A.C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village
A.C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village
looking out over the gaming and music area; each table had a popular game like chess and snakes & ladders
staircase and stained glass
ahoy matey!
fun with shadows
China exhibit
bridge over a ‘river’
wasp nest
wasp nest
Joan by the BIG chair
Willamet River
Joan on a BIG chair!
the bubble master!
creating a giant bubble
giant bubble
entrance to a display looks like we’re going behind a waterfall
beautiful staircase
Joan got a kick out of the cow and insisted on a photo of me ‘milking’ it!
gorgeous stained glass
the chess set from The Chamber of Secrets?
mammoth dig
one of several giant xylophones
A.C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village
inside the Erector maze
Atomic energy lab set!
magic trick set
Erector sets
the Erector maze
Doing my best Dr. Horrible impression
A.C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village
Willamet River
the Salem carousel
the Salem carousel
I picked this horse because of the kitty!
each carousel horse had a name; this was mine
Sweet Papaya self-serve frozen yoghurt
3 kinds of yoghurt (pina colada, cheese cake, mango) with peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, brownie pieces, Oreo crumbs, pineapple, papaya, and some tasty little strawberry bubble things
Fisherman’s Market, Eugene
Joan took me out for dinner tonight. She was in the mood for fish, so she took me to the Fisherman’s Market, a working fish store that also serves meals.
I had the cod and chips. The cod was exceptionally good; one of the best fried fish meals I’ve ever had. I rarely eat more than 5% of fish & chip batter and I ate all of it tonight! The batter was crisp, non-greasy, and did not have that icky taste of old oil. The chips were what I call ‘waffle-types’ and very good, with the skin on them. The meal came with a creamy honey-poppy seed coleslaw that was disappointingly bland. I also had the choice of two tartar dipping sauces, but I don’t like mayo so I asked for lemon and was given a several slices of the fruit instead.
This restaurant is yet another case of being grateful for a local guide. Thanks for dinner, Joan!