October 2014

October 2014
Day Trip to Oakridge Oct 2014

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

If Ya Gotta Be Stranded, This is NOT a Bad Place to Be!!

Yup, we are STILL in Pendleton.  We are STILL waiting for the Fit to be fixed.  We are STILL getting the run around between the dealer and the insurance…but not to worry, it will all work out in the end I am sure.

We have had a great visit with Kim and Don and they are getting ready to pull out first thing in the morning to continue their journey home.  The guys sat outside some today and had a good chin-wag but Kim was busy getting ready for the border crossing and I woke up with a migraine from our night in the looney bin last night, so kinda laid low.

Monday we went out to breakfast with Kim and Don to our favorite little breakfast spot in Pendleton, the Main Street Diner.  Highly recommend this place if you are ever in Pendleton.

P1040977
Hey, where’s breakfast?  This is just an empty tray!


P1040978  Breakfast must have been good cuz those are some real empty plates.  Thanks Kim and Don for breakfast.

Later that evening, we combined resources and shared a great meal at our place.  I made beef stew in the crockpot, Kim and I both contributed to the salad, and Kim brought onion rolls, plus strawberry shortcake for dessert.  YUM!  No one went away hungry.
P1050004
The last two evenings, before the thunder showers start, we have sat out in the grass and watched deer, quail, and pheasant in the fields beyond the RV Park.  The pheasants are quite vocal and get rather upset when the thunder and lightning start.  But, if ya gotta be stranded, you couldn’t ask for a better view.

field

Those innocent looking clouds go from gentle to nasty in 6.53 seconds…
thunder
Oh yeah, storm’s coming now.

Our night in the looney bin last night was directly related to these clouds.  Poppy was doing okay, hunkered down on the bathroom floor – there’s only room for her and no more.  Russ sat down on the floor right outside the door to keep her company.  The wind was blowing pretty good and the coach had a little sway going on.  Then the BIG ONE hit.  It sounded like it was right on top of us and it seemed to go on forever.  Russ started yelling…”Poppy get off that toilet.”  AS IF she could understand him.  He’s on the floor in the doorway, I can’t get past him to get to Poppy.  He’s yelling at her, she’s making all kinds of scrabbling noises and when I am finally able to get Russ off the floor and out of the way, I find Poppy with one leg caught in the bathroom trash can (next to the toilet) while she is frantically trying to climb into the toilet or onto it and out the window I guess.  Her eyes are wild and bugging with sheer panic but I can’t help but see the humor in her pose.  I am able to grab her and pull her out of the trash can and off the toilet, all the while trying to calm her down and soothe her panic.  There is NO ROOM for two of us in that tiny bathroom but we manage to make it out finally.  Poppy is shaking and panting and all I can do is soothe her and do my best to calm her down.  Today we called the vet for anti-anxiety meds for her.  I hate to do that but if you could have seen her panic, you would understand.  The weather called for more thunder storms tonight and even the pharmacist was saying there would be more thunder.  So I gave her a pill, she is calm and relaxed and guess what – all is quiet on the eastern front (where the storms come from).  Oh well!  Maybe we will get some sleep tonight.


Here are a few pictures from around Pendleton.

P1040986 Main Street

P1040984 NOT typical!!
P1040993From downtown to a residential area.  It’s steeper than it looks here – there is another part to the steps that doesn’t show in this view.  WHEW!

P1140700Etched glass at the Dairy Queen!
P1140692 

P1140703 Another camper’s dog.

P1040996Wild Horse Entrance

19 comments:

  1. Donna, you bet you're stranded in a great place!

    Just a suggestion. Have you thought of giving Poppy Benedryl before a storm? You might want to try one when there is no storm just to see whether it relaxes her and it puts her to sleep.

    I used to give Lizzie one before taking her to the vet. She'd start to shake as soon as I turned down the street toward the office. She was a lot calmer once I gave her a Benedryl. The best part about it vs. a prescription is that it is available everywhere.

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  2. poor Poppy!..and the two of you, trapped in the bathroom trying to calm her nerves!..hope that tonight is better and the medication works!

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  3. Sorry to hear of Poppy's distress, hopefully the meds will do the trick. About the car home things get settled before you become 'fit' to be tied.

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  4. That was some unreal night you just experienced. I hope the weather is clearing up for all your sakes.

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  5. Great attitude about Fit. Main Streat Dinners looks a lot like Pop's Diner in Maysville, NC -our kinda place.

    Gorgeous cloud photo. Great job.

    Funny story about Poppy. Try fitting one of us plus Cody AND Qianna in the bathroom. Cody is our Golden Retriever and Qianna is our Standard Poodle. They like to be petted early in the morning when I get up. The petting normally takes place around the throne,

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  6. I feel your pain about Poppy. I had a siberian husky that was terrified if storms. One thunder woke me up..I couldnt move my head, panic set in..
    "somethings happened I'm paralyzed"
    then I felt hot breath on my neck. I used to have waist length hair and would pull it up and lay it across the top of bed...the storm had scared Misty and she had jumped up on the bed and was laying on my hair...thats why I couldnt move! Took forever reaching over my head and behind me to get her off the hair so I could hold her. Poor girl was so terrified
    Donna (didnt want you to think it was sam w/waist long hair)

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  7. Oh my goodness what an AWESOME photo of the clouds. I love it!
    Oh that poor Poppy. They are just like babies. They have no idea what is going on. You two are doing the right thing by giving her a pill. I am sure she is much happier. Don't feel badly...you are only giving it to her to help her.
    And what a cute little town you are in. If they have a Dairy Queen...I am in!

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  8. First off, I have no association with Thundershirt, but I know one dog that uses it. The dog would go absolutely insane with the sound of the first peal of thunder. Kim put the thundershirt on her dog and it slept through a terrible storm. Honest, that is what Kim said. Just sayin'.

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  9. As a kid, when a thunder storm would come up my Mom would herd us kids into the stair well and read to us... making it an adventure. I didn't know until I was an adult that she was terrified. She'd love to have held Poppy and talk kind words to her. They could have comforted each other. (All 3 of us kids love storms... the more crash-banging, the better!)

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  10. Looked like a fun visit with Kim and Don and a couple of nice meals to boot. Hope the medicine helps Poppy should you have anymore thunder. Pendleton looks like a nice area to spend some time in.

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  11. Etched glass at a Dairy Queen? Ritzy place you are stranded near!

    Poor Poppy but I have to say, it must have been a little amusing looking back on it.

    Those steps look to be quite the challenge.

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  12. Russ and Donna.. we have had the most wonderful time here visiting with you and Poppy. Storms and all! Just when Poppy was 'busy' in the bathroom, I was panicking next door wondering whether a tornado was coming! Ha! Poppy and I are much alike - can I have some of her drugs for next time?
    Hope all goes well with the car, and until next time... safe travels.

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  13. We came through Pendleton in a whiz. Duchess doesn't like storms either. We try to be right next to her when it thunders. She's scared to death of them. Of course, there are many times she's not scared and we are. The outlook from a dog's eye is definitely different.

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  14. When I was a kid oh so long ago, we lived in Portland and my aunt and uncle lived in Pendleton, so we spent a fair amount of time there. During Round Up one year, when I was about as tall as a parking meter, I saw my first real Indian(!) in full regalia. I was walking down the street looking at him and smashed face first into a parking meter ... and broke my glasses. Great memories of Pendleton!

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  15. Poor Poppy, my Sami, schnauzer, b4 Luci, was like that, NO way to calm her down at all!! It is so sad...
    Lived in Pendleton for 6 mos, those storms were terrible!!

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  16. I'm tired just looking at those stairs. I'm with Poppy, a night like that would make me want some drugs too. :)

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  17. Too bad about Poppy being panicked by those storms.

    Looks like you guys have been eating well with Kim and Don visiting - that's good.

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  18. Dave and I are spending some time in Long Beach, WA, staying at Cape Disappointment State Park with no cell service or wifi, so I'm commenting by using the wifi at one of the local libraries. I'm glad you are enjoying Pendleton and the Wildhorse Casino RV Park. Dave enjoys playing golf there. I hope you get some good news about the car soon!

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  19. What? That wasn't Poppy catching that frisbee? Bless her poor little heart... Glad to know the meds helped. It's hard to drug them, but I think it's better on them than all the stress on their organs and then there's the possibility of them hurting themselves in their paniced state. So I think you did the right thing!

    And I understand also about the cramped area... last year every morning when I got up Jasper and Mombi both had to come in there with me. Mombi would sit on my lap while I did my bizness and Mr. 20 lb. Jasper sat at my feet being totally p*$$ed that she was doing that. Now at home, Mombi still sits on my lap whenever I "go"... I think she feels its' a necessity..... =/

    Good Luck with that car and I'm so glad you're able to make the best of it!!!

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