Ed Bonham & Little Toot
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
9/28/05
It has been very difficult finding time to update this blog now that the RoVing Rods Crabfest has officially started. There are over 30 rigs here and many friends of ours not only from the RoVing Rods, but also the Boomers and Park Sierra. Luckily, the crabbing has been excellent. Many people have their boats in and have been getting their limits every day. During the days we have been busy catching crab, cooking crab, and picking crab. Each day there is a Happy Hour at 4pm where we can reconnect with old friends and meet the new attendees. Our friends Dave & LaVerne are the hosts of this event and have been doing an excellent job.
Today we had a potluck of wonderful dishes mostly made with crab, but also others which were just as tasty. To make the crab meat available to all for these dishes, this morning we had a community crab picking session. This was like an old-fashioned quilting bee as we all sat and picked crab together and chatted. Tomorrow there will be an odd ball sports day, with events like the frisbee tortilla toss, etc. Saturday there is a steak dinner, entertainment and dancing at the Eagles Club in Reedsport.
Padraic and Willie are here with their internet dish and happily, they have made the internet available for all of us. He has also been taking pictures and sharing them with me, so I will attach some of them to this blog for your perusal. We have been teaching him how to crab and helping him with the killing and cleaning of his crab. He has given us our best laughs with his funny insights into the whole process. One day on the way to the cleaning station, which he calls "the killing field", he told us that he wasn't going to look at the crab in his bucket because it was too hard to kill anything he has a relationship with.
Two more sets of friends have e-mailed us that they will be arriving Friday, so the fun continues. Hopefully, the crab will continue to be plentiful so we can have some waiting for them when they arrive.
It has been very difficult finding time to update this blog now that the RoVing Rods Crabfest has officially started. There are over 30 rigs here and many friends of ours not only from the RoVing Rods, but also the Boomers and Park Sierra. Luckily, the crabbing has been excellent. Many people have their boats in and have been getting their limits every day. During the days we have been busy catching crab, cooking crab, and picking crab. Each day there is a Happy Hour at 4pm where we can reconnect with old friends and meet the new attendees. Our friends Dave & LaVerne are the hosts of this event and have been doing an excellent job.
Today we had a potluck of wonderful dishes mostly made with crab, but also others which were just as tasty. To make the crab meat available to all for these dishes, this morning we had a community crab picking session. This was like an old-fashioned quilting bee as we all sat and picked crab together and chatted. Tomorrow there will be an odd ball sports day, with events like the frisbee tortilla toss, etc. Saturday there is a steak dinner, entertainment and dancing at the Eagles Club in Reedsport.
Padraic and Willie are here with their internet dish and happily, they have made the internet available for all of us. He has also been taking pictures and sharing them with me, so I will attach some of them to this blog for your perusal. We have been teaching him how to crab and helping him with the killing and cleaning of his crab. He has given us our best laughs with his funny insights into the whole process. One day on the way to the cleaning station, which he calls "the killing field", he told us that he wasn't going to look at the crab in his bucket because it was too hard to kill anything he has a relationship with.
Two more sets of friends have e-mailed us that they will be arriving Friday, so the fun continues. Hopefully, the crab will continue to be plentiful so we can have some waiting for them when they arrive.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Friday, September 16, 2005
9/16/05
Salmon Harbor Marina, site C-22, in Winchester Bay is still our temporary home. The crabs have been coming regularly enough that we haven't even bothered to set up our boat, since we get between 8 and 14 from the dock each day. More friends arrive daily and besides Happy Hour at 4, we have had a crab feast, a taco night at the Eagle's Club, and tonight will be Mexican food at Del Sol, Dave & LaVerne's favorite restaurant.
Besides catching and cleaning crab, we have been picking and canning some too. We also bought some albacore tuna from one of the bigger boats and brined, smoked and canned that as well. This is all a LOT of work - but fun too, and we will be enjoying the fruits of our labor for years to come.
Lee & Susie Blattner arrived a few days ago, as well as Ron & Penny, Sid and Pam are back from Charleston, and Jeanne and Rodger, from Park Sierra arrived yesterday afternoon. Everyone is crabbing from the dock and doing well. Each day there is a 2 1/2 mile ladies walk, and today 4 of us drove to Coos Bay for garage sale shopping. There will be more activity as time gets closer to the official opening of the Crabfest on the 26th.
Our cell phone service is practically nil so all we can get are messages. Plus our cell phone battery is failing fast and there is no Verizon place nearby to replace it. So if you are trying to call us, leave a message and please be patient.
The weather has been very changeable but we have enjoyed lots of sunshine, off and on. When we look out over the water in the morning, it is like glass, and we even have a resident blue heron hanging around the shore near our rigs. With all the crabs, good times with friends, and fairly nice weather, it doesn't get much better than this!
Salmon Harbor Marina, site C-22, in Winchester Bay is still our temporary home. The crabs have been coming regularly enough that we haven't even bothered to set up our boat, since we get between 8 and 14 from the dock each day. More friends arrive daily and besides Happy Hour at 4, we have had a crab feast, a taco night at the Eagle's Club, and tonight will be Mexican food at Del Sol, Dave & LaVerne's favorite restaurant.
Besides catching and cleaning crab, we have been picking and canning some too. We also bought some albacore tuna from one of the bigger boats and brined, smoked and canned that as well. This is all a LOT of work - but fun too, and we will be enjoying the fruits of our labor for years to come.
Lee & Susie Blattner arrived a few days ago, as well as Ron & Penny, Sid and Pam are back from Charleston, and Jeanne and Rodger, from Park Sierra arrived yesterday afternoon. Everyone is crabbing from the dock and doing well. Each day there is a 2 1/2 mile ladies walk, and today 4 of us drove to Coos Bay for garage sale shopping. There will be more activity as time gets closer to the official opening of the Crabfest on the 26th.
Our cell phone service is practically nil so all we can get are messages. Plus our cell phone battery is failing fast and there is no Verizon place nearby to replace it. So if you are trying to call us, leave a message and please be patient.
The weather has been very changeable but we have enjoyed lots of sunshine, off and on. When we look out over the water in the morning, it is like glass, and we even have a resident blue heron hanging around the shore near our rigs. With all the crabs, good times with friends, and fairly nice weather, it doesn't get much better than this!
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
9/3/05
Happy Labor Day weekend! Three days off work was always pretty welcome, when we were employed, but now it just means that our favored haunts are impacted with weekenders…
Since our last posting, we have spent some time in Port Townsend and Chimicum, visiting with other RVing friends. Then we joined Lee & Susie Blattner, who were with us on our Europe trip earlier this year, at their place in Vancouver, WA. Their youngest son & his family have purchased their home and they were parked in the driveway. We got to park across the street at a neighbor’s. Aug. 29 was my birthday, and their family had a big dinner for me and Susie baked a German chocolate cake too. Yum. It was in honor of our joint trip to Germany. They showed us around the area and we visited all three of the bars and taverns that their son owns. Imagine us, bar-hopping!!
Leaving there before the big weekend seemed like a good idea. We stopped at some RV dealers in Junction City, OR hoping to see a 32 foot Allegro. The RV consumer ratings recommend either an Allegro or a Seabreeze for us, since we want one between 30 and 32 feet and these are the ones with the highest ratings. We have looked at several Seabreezes and a Seabreeze LX and really like them. Now we will wait for the high gas prices and the end of summer to cause people to put their RV’s on the market and then we will swoop in on a good deal. Mostly we are using the internet for our search. Our own RV is doing fine. We just want a little more room and a separate bedroom.
We are now situated in site C-12 in the Salmon Harbor Marina in Winchester Bay, OR, hoping to move to site C-22 (next to LaVerne & Dave) after the weekend. The monthly rate is good here and we will be here that long because the Crabfest for the RoVing Rods runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2. It is unusual for us to stay put for so long but with gas prices going through the roof, it seems best to hunker down until the situation gets under control. There are plenty of rig chores we can catch up on and once the weekend is over, we will inflate our boat and start crabbing.
When we arrived yesterday, Dave and LaVerne Markle, Sid Bowen & Pam Collins, Jack & Helena Vincent, and friends of LaVerne’s named Bud and Darlene were here already. So we had a raucous Happy Hour with them and then adjourned to the local Thai restaurant for dinner. The food was excellent, although the service was slow because the place was packed. Today we awoke to heavy fog, but that has lifted now and some sun is coming through. We are hoping for nice weather and good crabbing during the next month.
A friend has reported that the blog site didn’t allow her to post her comments. If this happens to you, just e-mail us directly. We would love to hear from you.
9/6/05
Unfortunately, we have crappy cell phone service at Winchester Bay and can’t access the internet there either. So we will be checking e-mail and updating this blog from the local library.
Today is a beautiful day and we will be setting up our boat and crab traps as soon as we return to camp. Yesterday, Ken and Carolyn Kimpton joined us for a few days and they are camped at the local county park where there are hookups. We have moved to site C-22 and will stay there until the Crabfest starts. Hoping to see many of you soon!
Happy Labor Day weekend! Three days off work was always pretty welcome, when we were employed, but now it just means that our favored haunts are impacted with weekenders…
Since our last posting, we have spent some time in Port Townsend and Chimicum, visiting with other RVing friends. Then we joined Lee & Susie Blattner, who were with us on our Europe trip earlier this year, at their place in Vancouver, WA. Their youngest son & his family have purchased their home and they were parked in the driveway. We got to park across the street at a neighbor’s. Aug. 29 was my birthday, and their family had a big dinner for me and Susie baked a German chocolate cake too. Yum. It was in honor of our joint trip to Germany. They showed us around the area and we visited all three of the bars and taverns that their son owns. Imagine us, bar-hopping!!
Leaving there before the big weekend seemed like a good idea. We stopped at some RV dealers in Junction City, OR hoping to see a 32 foot Allegro. The RV consumer ratings recommend either an Allegro or a Seabreeze for us, since we want one between 30 and 32 feet and these are the ones with the highest ratings. We have looked at several Seabreezes and a Seabreeze LX and really like them. Now we will wait for the high gas prices and the end of summer to cause people to put their RV’s on the market and then we will swoop in on a good deal. Mostly we are using the internet for our search. Our own RV is doing fine. We just want a little more room and a separate bedroom.
We are now situated in site C-12 in the Salmon Harbor Marina in Winchester Bay, OR, hoping to move to site C-22 (next to LaVerne & Dave) after the weekend. The monthly rate is good here and we will be here that long because the Crabfest for the RoVing Rods runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2. It is unusual for us to stay put for so long but with gas prices going through the roof, it seems best to hunker down until the situation gets under control. There are plenty of rig chores we can catch up on and once the weekend is over, we will inflate our boat and start crabbing.
When we arrived yesterday, Dave and LaVerne Markle, Sid Bowen & Pam Collins, Jack & Helena Vincent, and friends of LaVerne’s named Bud and Darlene were here already. So we had a raucous Happy Hour with them and then adjourned to the local Thai restaurant for dinner. The food was excellent, although the service was slow because the place was packed. Today we awoke to heavy fog, but that has lifted now and some sun is coming through. We are hoping for nice weather and good crabbing during the next month.
A friend has reported that the blog site didn’t allow her to post her comments. If this happens to you, just e-mail us directly. We would love to hear from you.
9/6/05
Unfortunately, we have crappy cell phone service at Winchester Bay and can’t access the internet there either. So we will be checking e-mail and updating this blog from the local library.
Today is a beautiful day and we will be setting up our boat and crab traps as soon as we return to camp. Yesterday, Ken and Carolyn Kimpton joined us for a few days and they are camped at the local county park where there are hookups. We have moved to site C-22 and will stay there until the Crabfest starts. Hoping to see many of you soon!
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