So - we took our first EVER trip in our restored 74 Trillium,

We drove from Vancouver BC to Grayland Beach WA. it was a BLAST! the triler worked really well, and the bed was great. Several things we learned:

1. Do NOT, repeat DO NOT try to drive from Seattle to Oympia at 3 pm on a Friday.... OMG was the traffic bad....almost three hours. It took 1 hr 20mins coming home - Sunday at 11:30.

2. It IS possible to wash dishes with Old Spice Body wash...when one forgets dish soap.

3. While it IS sunny on Washington's west coast, it does help to have a jacket (in otehr words, I forgot my jacket at home).

4. The roof vent and the wondows need ot be open to vent the condensation at night.

5. OMG are motor-homes BIG...we were dwarfed beside these beheomoths!

6. Does anyone ACTUALLY cook inside their trailers? We cooked outside the whole trip, and I can really see using the stove inside leading to moisture problems etc.

The trip was really fun, and the campsite at Grayland Beach is terriffic...can anyone tell me if ALL washington state campsite / state parks are so well run? the site was clean, the showers and bathrooms were super-clean .. but I forgot to buy tokens beforehand...there I was, towel and dopp-kit in hand, and had to go back to the Trillium and get cash and walk to the ranger station, then back to shower.... it was beautiful sunny morning, so it was OK...

the beach was beautiful - it was strange to see cars on the beach - something you NEVER see in BC....

we had campsite #90 - which backes onto the dunes, and it was gorgeous - about 100 paces to the beach..

All in all it was a great first trip....

Barry

Does it get sunny on the Washington coast?

I cook in my trailer but just things like heating up a can of something or frying sausage (pre-cooked.) I don't do anything very messy. But the poptop means great ventilation over the stove area so that's a little different anyway.

Barry, thanks for the report on the campout.
ANY car lover would tell tell you to never, Never, NEVER run your vehicle on an ocean beach (no matter HOW tempted you might be) due to the salt water effects on your vehicle.... (just my 2 cents worth).

FUN FUN FUN We are going to that very place in June! I LOVE it and feel its one of the best run and kept place i go to..

As for cooking inside, i actually removed all my "cooking" "cooling" and "heating" items and the scamp is basicly a towable bed and storage. I feel im out in the world i should be out and COOK in the world right???

Sounds like you had a great time

Valerie

We almost always cook outside - that's one of the reasons we got the new awning (hey, did you ever get the one I gave you working?). During the summer we did use the burners inside because we had maxed out capacity on our 2 burner coleman and our bbq - we were cooking for 8 that night though =).

by the way - I fogot the most important part:

THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED US IN THE RESTORATION PROCESS!!

your tips and suggestions were awesome.

I hope next week to get some updated pictures posted.

Barry

Booker:

I think you are mixing me up with someone else - I have no awning.

Barry

Doh, I did, I was thinking of Dave who bought a 1976 that I was also looking at in white rock =).

Are all Washington state parks that well run? I would say yes, Washington State Parks are lovely, well run, and for the most part laid out very well with as much privacy as developed parks allow. If you like the park you visited let Washington Parks know, as they almost moth-balled many parks (as in closed down indefinitely) but are now going to try a $5 drivers license 'tax' which folks can opt out of if they want to see if they can raise enough money to keep the parks open. No long term promises, it is an experiment. They need to hear from folks who like the parks as to why keeping them open is important. We paid our $5 before it was even set up, when they tried a annual users fee a few years ago of $50 we paid that too but unfortunately not enough people did, $50 was too high a jump from 'free' for day use.

We cook outside also, but do enjoy the option of cooking inside on those days when wind, rain and cold are just too uncomfortable.

Penney