So what happened yesterday in Coos Bay?

A quiet start to the day yestrday.  Manny was off to Eugene for his doctor's appt and to have Connie's Lincoln MKX serviced.  Connie would ordinarily go with him but she is still not up to snuff.  Eric was off to the GMC dealer at 1pm to see if they could figure out what was going on with all the noise under the hood.  As I said earlier, the pulleys have all been replaced including the tensioner as well as replacing the already new serpentine belt.  After an hour waiting at GM in the waiting room the mechanic came out to talk to Eric and show him under the hood.  He said there was nothing wrong with the compressor and it was just belt noise.  Eric said he knew it was belt noise but where was it comiing from?  A discussion took place and Eric said he had to keep looking and figure it out...at this point another mechanic was listening and he came over to see what was up.  He said he'd get his mirror and take a look and the first guy disappeared after telling Eric he had to go back to the waiting room.  Some time later the second mechanic came out to talk to Eric.  Turns out that the power steering pulley had walked itself out of line and was causing all the belt noise.  He pulled off all the plastic housing above it so he could get a bolt in and tighten it up. Now quiet and Eric was beyond relieved.  Obviously this young very good mechanic had seen this before and it turns out to be a common problem.  They could tear it all apart and replace it to the tune of $300 but it could just happen again.  At least Eric now knows what he would have to do to fix it.  Eric then said I owe you a beer,  the mechanic said we accept beer and so Eric gave him an 18 pack because he was so happy it was fixed  Once again...never a dull moment. 

I hung out with Connie for the day and Mitzi entertained us. Dinner last night was ribs a la Manny and they were delicious.  An early night to bed. 

It's a bit warmer today and the wind isn't quite so cold. 

Today Eric is taking the truck to get a new set of tires which is really irritating him as the tires would last another few years at home but we are not driving into Mexico and having a flat tire.  It's only money...right!

A day in Coos Bay with Manny.

 No big early start today but we were eating breakfast around 9am.  Manny made us fresh biscuits and gravy.  This is not something we have ever had.  The gravy had ground beef and onions and it was darn tasty.  Connie was up and on her feet but she sounds worse today than yesterday.

 She did eat breakfast but decided she wasn't well enough to go a tour with us today.  We started off with a trip to the drugstore where Manny got medication and I picked up some Xyzal allergy pills for Eric.  These work better than anything else he's taken but you can't get them in Canada.  Go figure.  Then on to North Bend and the Walmart so I could pick up beer and a few groceries.

 At this point Manny took us on the tour of Coos Bay and the surrounding area.  All pictures today were taken on my Samsung S7 phone and it does a pretty darn good job.  Zooming out the window while we were travelling.

 Boats in the harbour.

 More boats in the harbour!

 and....more boats.

 Time for lunch.  Manny took us to a really nice fish pub and restaurant for lunch.

 Yummy cod tacos.  Great price at $7.95.

 Eric had Snapper and chips and he said it was delicious.

 Too big to eat as a taco so a fork it was.

 Nice little bar. We all had pop and water because it was too early in the day for us to drink beer.

 See...I was actually there.  I paid the bill and it was very reasonable for excellent food and great service.  Manny says there is a line up out the door here during the summer.  I believe it.

 After lunch we went for a drive along the shoreline and through the many lovely RV parks along the water.

 Pretty.

 I actually got out of the car here to take a picture.  Had my down vest on as the wind feels like it came from Canada...which it probably did!  Cold everywhere down here right now except for California which is burning up.  We will not be going down the coast to head south as there are too many fires.

 This is a long zoom photo on my phone and there are hundreds of sea lions or seals out there.  It sounded like a huge pack of barking dogs!

Really pretty scenery today and Manny was an excellent tour guide because he's lived here most of his life.

So...we were home by about 3pm and Eric and Manny had a listen to the noise under the hood.  It appears to be coming from the A/C that we had repaired this summer at home.  Maybe the clutch.  Now what?  Eric will try phoning our GMC dealer at home who did the repairs and see what they have to say.  It was expensive as the compressor, belt etc. were all replaced in July to the tune of $1750.00 and there should be some recourse.  Also along with that our tire saga continues.  The truck tires have plently of rubber but the last alignment that was done wasn't right and they are worn on the outside.  Another alignment was done but once a tire starts wearing funny ....it keeps wearing funny.  So ....probably a new set of tires for the truck along with another alignment.  This was never a problem with the previous two sets of Michelins but ...now it is.

Never a dull moment!  Tomorrow is another day.  Manny is off to Eugene for a specialist appointment and a car servicing and Eric and I will stay home.  Connie will likely be in bed. 

Manny's shop and cars.

 One of the reasons Eric wanted to come to Coos Bay was to see Manny's shop and his projects. 

 Manny worked on the model A for about 5 years and just finished it last year.  He bought it in Nashville, Tennessee and had it shipped to Coos Bay.  It was a complete rebuild.  How much did it cost ???? Manny doesn't want to add it up!

 It's a beauty!

 Just one of many cars and projects over the years.  A real work of art.

 1930  completely restored model A.

 Eric was impressed.

 1956 Thunderbird restored bumper to bumper.  How long did it take...well Manny's had it for 38 years.  You don't want to rush into these things!

 Original color and not finished yet.  All under cover and behind it is a full hydraulic lift.  Nice.

 You could eat off that engine.

 Two old guys with an old car.

Good friends!

Eric really wishes he had the shop...not likely to happen. 

Toppenish, Wa to Connie and Manny's in Coos Bay,Or

Up early yesterday and down to the breakfast room at the motel.  Pretty darn nice, waffles, eggs, sausages as well as toast, cereal fruit etc.  I struggled with the waffle maker but a nice young lady gave me a hand!  On the road by 7:30 am with 400 miles to go.  Above on our way out of town. 

Pretty day and up ahead you can see Mount Hood.

Those windmills are immense.

Coming down toward the Columbia River.

It's a freaking long way down and the temp was -3C when we started.  Darn cold.  Stayed that way until we got down to the Columbia but still not very warm. 

Up ahead the bridge over the Columbia where we'll head onto I80 to the Dalles.

I just love these bridges....can't you tell by how many times I take pictures.

Up ahead I 80 towards Portland.

Looks like velvet...don't you think?

That railroad bridge opens for the big boats.

94 miles to Portland but we'll cut off before we get there.

Pretty day and I love the rock formations.

Up ahead ....Mount Hood.

One of the many dams on the Columbia.

Getting to an area where the coniferous trees start to appear.

That is one large river.

Historic highway 30 on the left and it appeared to be a bicycle and hiking trail now.

As we drove along we hit many areas where the fog was really thick.

Still fall here and the maple trees are in full foliage.

Trucks to the left of us, trucks to the right of us ....stuck in the middle again!

Really pretty and lots of fir trees.  Felt like home.

We left I 80 at the 205 to miss Portland, south on I 5 and now we are on 38 heading west for Reedsport.  I didn't take pictures on 205 and I 5 as I was trying to get the GPS to behave.  In the end I discovered it had changed a setting to side roads only and didn't want us on interstates.  Well ...what the heck.  Got that sorted and now it's doing what it's supposed to.  My Navmii program on my phone decided we couldn't get onto I 5 from the 205 and it wouldn't co-operate either...these GPS programs aren't all they are cracked up to be and in the end I used a paper map.  Worked fine!

Big tunnel on 38 somewhere around Drain or Elkton.

Hmmm.....maybe Elkton?

Just plain pretty along the Umpqua River.

The trees were holding their arms over us.

Small town....U.S.A.

On the 101 heading for Coos Bay and the dunes appear.

Big bridge over Haynes Inlet.

Another beautiful old bridge.

North Bend that runs right into Coos Bay.

Downtown Coos Bay.

Big  old buildings.

We're here.  Got to Manny and Connie's at around 3pm after making great time today.  Only a couple of little glitches.  Missed the right turn off the highway to their house but sorted that out and here we are.  We'll stay here in their motorhome for a couple of days.

That's Mitzi and she is just fascinated with Eric.  Maybe his jeans smell like our grand dogs Chloe (a.k.a. Schmoopie) and Maple.  However she was just so excited to have company and entertained us all evening. 

She looks like a little bat!  We are missing Ramona whio was our all time favorite travel dog.  She passed away in April. 

We had a lovely evening with Connie and Manny.  Downside is that Connie is really sick with a cold that she picked up on the plane on her way home from Hawaii.  She'd gone over to visit her son and family and the same thing happened last year when she traveled there.  Poor thing! 

The other problem is that the squeak under the hood is back after spending $250 to change the serpentine belt and idler tensioner...dam!  Must be something else. 

It's cold here in Coos Bay and it went down to freezing last night.