Maiden voyage completed. We returned today from 6 days of travel to and from the wine country in eastern Washington. The new motor home performed very well, and at this point we have a pretty short list for the service department. The air conditioners kept up with the desert heat in Prosser.

We stayed at a very new very nice RV park in Prosser called Wine Country RV. I highly recommend it. Easy access from I-84, grassy sites for all and concrete tracks with gravel between for the premium sites. They have an underground sprinkler system so the grass is green and there are no sprinkler surprises since the grass is watered from underground. Immaculate restrooms, pool, spa, and grounds and friendly staff. What more could you ask for? Wi-fi? Yes. Store? Yes.

We dutifully visited as many wineries as we could manage. Our vote for most fun was Piety Flats in Wapato, WA. My favorite tasting room was Chinook with a little cottage whose tasting room looked like someone's living/dining room. And L'ecole 41 near Walla Walla which is housed in an old restored schoolhouse. All of the above wines were also very good. I find the wines that get my highest reviews are those that are poured by friendly, talkative, knowledgeable folks. We added a couple of cases to our wine supply during the visits.

We visited with Bill & Sammie Bourn on Thursday and Friday nights. Sammie and I met the year I graduated from high school when we were working for United Pacific Insurance Company. I was a bridesmaid in their wedding in Metaline Falls in 1962. Bill is a retured school administrator. They have 2 children, Joy and Scott, and 6 grandchildren.
Yesterday we spent a couple of hours with my cousin Ellen Jean who is 83 years young and is adored by all of her kids and grandkids. She lives in a 'mother-in-law' apartment at the back of son Larry's house.

And this week end the fun begins. Brian and the boys will arrive Friday night. Brian will stay until Monday and we get to keep the boys until the following week end when we will meet up with Brian and Sheila in the Tri-Cities. We have a Rainiers game to attend on the 3rd, and Steilacoom does the 4th of July from morning to night.

It is back to work for me tomorrow, but the office is advertising for a permanent employee so I think I will soon be able to go back to the life of leisure I had been enjoying before I went back to work. We plan to visit our friends, the Ouseys, in Victoria this summer and the annual Kirkwood family reunion will be the first Sunday in August near Hopewell, OR. Plus whatever other fun things come along.

I just started reading "Cold Mountain".

Oh oh. I had no idea it had been so long since I last blogged. Well we have been busy making a decision and taking delivery of a new motor home. We stayed with Winnebago, the 2004 32' Brave. We are still in the process of 'moving in' and I continue to be amazed at how efficient and well-planned our little 24F was. This one has more space, but not laid out nearly as well as our old one. We plan to go to eastern Washington for some wine tasting the latter part of next week. And if the schedule works, Jeff and Bev Schuler will join us.

Colleen has completed her odyssey from New Jersey to Steilacoom with a stop in Colorado Springs. Bassim flew to the Springs and traveled the rest of the way with her. She is now settled into the guest room until she finds work, a place to live, etc.

We have had several days of very warm sunny weather with temperatures in the 80s. There have some been a few freakish storms in the area, but for the most part we have had great weather. Is this the extent of summer?

I have been reading a series of Alaskan mysteries with the protagonist being a woman in a motor home. Sue Henry is the author and they are very easy reading. I would say they would appeal to women more than men.

Keep on blogging.