One of the very best things about our summer thus far is the number of new friends that we have made in our lighthouse experience! While we were at Cape Lookout we got to meet the Frost’s who are RVing folk from Oregon. Since we moved to Washburne park we have been able to meet the Kay’s, Sartwell’s, Webb’s, as well as all of the volunteer staff at each of the locations. We also got to reconnect with the Bennett’s who we spent time with in Missouri last summer before they sold their home there. We have been fortunate to also develop a great friendship with the Towner’s here and working with them at Hacate.

I have long believed that while the pictures, souvenirs, and memories that we collect as we travel by RV and through our volunteer work, the greatest treasure that we collect is the many friends that we have made along the way. We constantly marvel at the number of friends that we stay in touch with and the wide range of places they are from and diverse lives that they have led. How very fortunate we are to have been able to do what we do for so many years. This life is given us so many experience that we would only have dreamed of, had we not experienced life on the road!

I am sometimes totally amazed by how fortunate we are and by the blessed life that we seem to lead. As I look back to the poor farm family that I came from and yet we had so very much that has value far beyond money, I frequently thank my parents for having taught me to enjoy so much of nature and things which cost nothing at all. Dad was my inspiration for choosing this life and he instilled in me the courage to be different and to do things my way. My only regret is that he could not have lived a few more years to see us head out on the road, to live a lifestyle that he had long desired!

Today we traveled up to Newport, OR to do some touristy things. We took in two more lighthouses, since there are two that are quite unusual there. The first stop was at Yaquina Bay Light which was the first one there but it was too small to do the job and so was replaced by a much larger light out on the headlands after only three years of service. The lens is a 5^th order, the next to smallest of the fresnel lenses that were in common use.

Next we met some friends for lunch and then traveled four miles north to visit Yaquina Head Lighthouse. This lighthouse is opened to the public by the BLM and has RV volunteers who answer questions, dressed in period costume. One couple there are the folks who we replaced at Hecate Head. From there we drove into town to visit the old, historic waterfront. After a great day we returned to the park and home again. It was nice to visit a couple of lighthouses where we were the tourists!

On August 11 we had three days off and so drove up to Sequim, WA to our kids for the days as our son had invited me to go with his Boy Scout Troop for a tour of the submarine training facility and also of one of the submarines. Since I had not set foot on board a submarine since I left the service in 1968 it was too great an opportunity to let pass. We spent the morning touring the Trident Submarine Training Center and then had lunch in the mess area. After lunch we were taken by bus to the lower section if the sub base for a tour of the USS Kentucky.

Those who have earned the title "qualified in submarines" tend to remain a band of brothers for life, but one does wonder if things are still that way for us older guys, as far as the modern crews are concerned. I chose to wear a hat which displays the submarine emblem, and that turned out to be the key that opened many doors. It turned out to be the highlight of the trip in the manner in which this old vet was treated by the modern sub sailors. I could not be more pleased with the experience! I was constantly greeted by the officers and crew, as well as all other staff on the base as one of them. Best of all was the greeting of the Kentucky's "Chief of the Boat" when he was introduced to me by the public information officer who lead the tour. I will never forget his words.

"Welcome home, brother." That really said it all for me.

There were many other interesting things and great experiences in the day, but none will stay with me as long at this one greeting.

Most RV owners know how entertaining it can be to sit around and watch the new RV folks try to get their RV into the designated campsite, but staying in a state park we have a high percentage of families around us who are staying in tents. Even more fun than parking of RVs is the activity associated with putting up a tent for the first time, and best of all is cooking over a campfire!

Next to us at the moment is such a family. They really didn’t keep the show going all that long when putting up their two tents, although it will be more interesting if it should rain with the way that they are up, but cooking dinner last night was quite a show. As a former Scoutmaster who taught fire building, I am frequently fascinated by the complete lack of understanding about a fire for many who attempt to build one. I am sure that most of them have few mosquitoes from the smoking mess that they build. Now add to that, momma standing by watching with a skillet in hand and several hungry kids anxiously calling for food and you begin to get the idea! At the first sign of flames the skillet was put on the fire and some meat placed into it, a big can of beans was opened and set next to the skillet, and to hold off the mob, two big bags of chips were opened and fed to the kids!

There really isn’t room here to tell the entire story but consider that the cooking tools in evidence were a can opener, a long handled meat fork, a pair of kitchen tongs, and a meat thermometer. It seems that the cook determines when anything is done with that thermometer, which requires that she stand over the smoking fire and hold it unit she takes the food’s temperature! When the temperatures were not going up much, everyone began to blow into and fan the fire, which of course produced flames, and also blew ashes and dirt into the skillet and the bean can.

The entire event required well over an hour was far more entertaining than anything on TV. From the look of their camp this morning as I write this, it may get ever better when folks start to come out of their tents to discover that the food left out last night has been strewn about the campsite in the night by raccoons, ravens, and blue jays! I think that we may have a soap-opera in the making.