_Well I’m going to use this time and page for a little “catch-up”.  About 3 months ago we were sitting in the parking lot of the Snohomish Indian Casino.  This Casino is located just outside of North Bend, Washington or about 15 miles east of Seattle.  We were on our way to Infinity Coach in Sumner to have the coach serviced (oil, filter, etc…).  Just as we were pulling away from our spot at the casino we noticed a good sized oil glaze on top of the wet pavement.  I crawled under the coach to find that the fuel tank was leaking diesel fuel, drop by drop.  As luck would have it we had them pull the tank and take care of that while doing the service.  Then about a month ago I decided to get rid of the water filter that sat under our kitchen sink…it looked like it would only take a few minutes to remove and re-attach the two water lines to each other.  Well that was a mistaken thought, it took me about 2 hours of sweat blood and tears and it still leaked off and on.  Now it only leaks when it wants to surprise me…what the hell is that all about?  Just as I think things are all good, the hot water tank decides that it will only work on propane.  Well I grab the circuit tester and go to work checking all the switches, wires, and the electric element to see if any of those was the culprit.  Sure as heck I found that one of the switches had completely burned out so with a quick trip down and back from Lowes, I had it fixed in no time.  Today we finished up with our last on-going, and we hope won’t happen again, problem.  My debit card was compromised a couple of weeks ago and someone charged just under $3000 on it at Best Buy in New York.  Then Louise lost her purse and had to cancel our credit cards.  Well today we are happy to say that we are able to use our new CC and our debit cards again…Wheew…  Friday we leave Coeur d’Alene and head into Montana, Salt Lake City, and then Steamboat Springs, Colorado before heading into Mexico for our second winter there.

_Lake Chelan has always given us a warm welcome (or is it the family that lives there is doing that???) and this visit wasn’t any different.  We joined a full lot of RV’s that arrived at the Mill Bay Casino in Manson about the same time as we did.  Fortunately we were able to get one of their 50amp hook-ups and the opportunity to stay free for the week.   Louise did spend some time across the parking lot, but fortunes were with her.  She didn’t get rich but she did better than break even.  Sue and Dean made us feel right at home at their beautiful home high above the lake and fed us extremely well.  Dean and I made several trips down to Chelan each morning for coffee and then on one morning a drive to the top of Chelan Butte.  Sitting high above the lake with all the cell towers and looking down, way down, the lake was amazing.  It’s too bad that all who visit Lake Chelan don’t have the opportunity to make this drive.  Just after driving off the main roadway out of town we made a left up the hill and immediately found our roadway turning to dirt and mud…not bad, but not a super highway either.  Steep, oh ya…  Looking down over the lake also shows just how many orchards there are

_AND how many vineyards have grown over the last 10 or so years.

_With this in mind we thoroughly enjoyed a little “wine tasting”. 

_Every once in awhile I get mad as hell because I either left my camera behind or I just didn’t take the time to use it.  In taking a drive up to Fort Flagler to see Pug and Nancy Nickels (whom we first met at our 419 jamboree in Goshen, Indiana), I had so many opportunities to take a ton of great pictures, especially during the tour that Pug gave us of the fort but I didn’t put the camera up to my eye once, not even to get a picture of them...  Pug has been giving a guided tour through the grounds of the fort almost from the first day they arrived for their host position this last August.  He really made it a very interesting tour, not only to Louise and me, but to a group of young adults that we happened upon.  You should also know that Nancy just isn’t sitting back and doing nothing…being a teacher, she has put together some amazing programs for the kids that are camping at the fort with their family.  You’ve got to know that she’s quite an artist as well as a teacher.  Fort Flagler is lucky to have them…  I want to say at this point that visiting Fort Flagler State Park should be one of those “Must See” locations while visiting the state of Washington.  A real surprise to us was to watch one of our “mighty stalwarts of the sea” pass by as it headed out to sea.  While sitting in their coach and enjoying some great conversation and wonderful glass of wine, Pug noticed the sub being escorted out between two large Coast Guard tugs…what a sight !!! 

Pug, Nancy, thank you for all your hospitality…we had a great time, too short but great.