Four wheels...1 Kings 7:32

We're back! The birds didn't miss us, but they sure did grow while we were gone.

We finally got going about 9:30 a.m. on the 5th. It took us a bit longer than usual to get up the mountain out of our little valley, but once over the hill and on the interstate the truck pulled the 5th wheel trailer pretty well. One thing we enjoy about our little valley is that everyone is so friendly. While driving, it is customary to wave at every vehicle you meet, whether you know the person driving the other vehicle or not. It is just the friendly thing to do.

Of course, we usually don't wave at every vehicle when we leave the valley. People would just think we're weird if we did that. Therefore, a few hours after we started our trip, we were a bit surprised when we met some very friendly, waving people on the interstate. They waved as they passed us...then the folks in the next vehicle waved...and pointed. They were friendly and helpful. Wow!

We slowed down and pulled off at the next exit. Sure enough, one of the tires on the trailer was no longer functioning as it should. We drove over to a nearby parking lot and The Man got out to change the tire. One nice thing about having a blog is that when things like that happen, instead of getting upset about a delay, I'm almost giddy with excitement. "Where's the camera?"
I got M involved also with the video camera. Pretty soon the spare was on and we got back on the interstate. The Man wasn't impressed with our spare so we got off at the very next exit and asked for directions to Les Schwab. They were more than helpful with getting us set up with four new tires (we bought the 5th wheel a few years ago and we really had no idea how old the tires were). The Man thought about asking them how long it would take to repair the old one (ha-ha) but decided just to replace them all.

While the boys waited in the store, Sacagawea and I wandered next door to do a bit of shopping. I've been in Goodwill stores before, and I've been in outlet stores before, but this is the first time I encountered a Goodwill Outlet. The first thing I saw inside the door was a table with books. Fifty cents each or three for a dollar. The first book I saw was one that I remembered my sister-in-law saying that she wanted. The binding needs a bit of TLC, but other than that I thought it was a pretty good bargain. I found 2 other books and Sacagawea picked out a small sewing box and a seat cushion. We handed over $2 and went back to the tire store. All the kids (including the big one) enjoyed playing with the "toy" there. They created all sorts of vehicles. It helped pass the time until our trailer was finished. We got back on the road and had a very uneventful trip to the camp meeting, where we finally arrived about 8:30.

A good time was had by all and we were back on the road by 11 a.m. Sunday morning. We went home by a different route to visit some friends who were visiting the area they are moving to soon. The kids enjoyed swimming in their hotel pool for a bit before we continued on our journey home. For supper, we stopped for some Chinese food. That's pretty fancy traveling food for us, but it was a special occasion. It was our 17th wedding anniversary. We were back home by 9:00 last night. Ahhhh.

OK, new pictures of the baby birds...

Aren't they sweet?

By this afternoon they were putting their heads over the edge of the nest.
I think this one is "Junior." Here is a picture of mom and dad. They are pretty perturbed with us.
This chicken keeps getting out of the orchard. Sacagawea loves catching her and returning her to the orchard. They do it several times a day. We suspected she was laying eggs somewhere special. Today The Man found 8 in his shop. Apparently she uses the doggie door on the shop door to go in and lay her eggs!