Silver Gypsy: Enjoying and Good-bying!

 Reader Bill Boyce commented on my Livin’ Uptown blog entry the other day with: 

“Hi Charlie, Your Yooper-ness is showing. Out here in the Great Northwest that would be a “fork-ed horn” not a two point buck. Otherwise, great stories, great photos to go with them. Bill “

            Now although I would be honored to be a “Yooper,” I leave that distinction to those who were born in Michigan’s “Upper Peninsula.”  I was born and raised in the Lower.  Since I am not a hunter, but only a “Watch Out!” kind of deer expert, I would only say that in Michigan, we leave the “fork-ed horn(s)” to the cattle and the cars.  Hmmm.  Thanks for your message and kind words, Bill.

             With Lynn’s studio apartment filled with visiting friends, I boondocked a few nights in the Astro at Pt. Townsend State Park and in the Visitor Center parking lot.  I found a really nice day parking overlook near the lighthouse at Ft. Worden and though it was usually windy, I opened my side doors, set my one-burner propane stove just inside, and cooked a meal.  The crows eyed my activities, hoping for a crumb or two, but mostly they shivered in the fall wind and gave me a dirty look when I refused to feed them. 

             One Saturday, Grace and I attended a Mark Twain program at Ft. Flagler.  We didn’t read the publicity correctly and thought it was a MT impersonation.  Instead, it was an adaptation for the stage of The Diaries of Adam and Eve and very funny. 

            I moved back to Lynn’s apartment for one more week and set up my computer so I could actually get some work done.  Staying there has been so convenient for the constant flow of books and WIFI at the Jefferson County Public Library, a half block up the hill, as well as the theatre, the twice-a-week local market, and the Pres Church.  It was also fun to be so near the restaurants in town. 

             The Portside Deli had a good breakfast looking over the marina but what most impressed me were the clean windows through which I could actually watch the activity.  Boats of every size and configuration from enormous yachts to puddle jumpers and everything in between, moved in and out.  A “Marine Travel Lift” did its thing.  I would have called it a Marine Buggy but what does a Domestic Engineer turned Wordsmith know.  Anyway, it carried a small yacht to the water and eased it into the drink before removing the straps.  Back-packing bikers flew by, fast and confident in not holding on to the handlebars.  One biker sported a really long trailer behind him, perhaps all his worldly goods. 

             Watching also revealed the touristy shorts and colorful printed shirts, work uniforms, jeans or coveralls, long beards, short beards and those close shaven.  Girls wore mostly stages of very little, usually with a shape to carry it off.  One woman, my age (obviously young) wore an off-the-shoulder bunny suit, tight fitting and leaving nothing to the imagination as she walked along.  That took courage!  What can I say, it is a leisure town.  Basically, I’ve just been slurping up the waterfront before heading back to the cactus and coyotes.

             The night before I took my leave, Lynn and Grace produced a farewell dinner that included Lynn’s luscious blackberry cobbler for which they both collected berries.  It has been a great summer with great friends.  I’ll tell you the whole story on Pt. Townsend in a column later this winter, including their exciting Wooden Boat Festival.

             It’s mid September and the time to be heading south to North Ranch but first I stopped overnight to visit RVing friends, Carolyn and Bob, who have a tiny but delightful back yard in Leavenworth, just perfect for in-town living.  Listening to Carolyn at the Methodist Church choir practice, I realized the Christmas season has already begun!  Breakfast at The Blueberry Café with them the next morning was my first gift!

             Before I left town, I made a mad dash up Icicle Canyon, just long enough to see the reds and yellows and sniff the fragrance of fall, then proceeded to a few hugs from my kids.  I arrived in Creston yesterday afternoon late and enjoyed fresh vegetables from their garden.  Yummm!  God Bless until next time.

Web site:  www.full-time-rver.com

Sharlene Minshall - The Silver Gypsy

At 45, Widow Minshall began 20 years of solo full-time RVing throughout Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Sharlene canoed the Yukon, mushed sled dogs, worked a dude ranch, visited Hudson Bay polar bears, and lived six months on a Mexican beach. She lectured at Life on Wheels, published six RV-related books and wrote a novel, “Winter in the Wilderness.”