Buying a Car II

This week-end we went to Portland. We were there to visit family and friends but an opportunity to check out cars in the metropolitan area. How did it compare to car shopping in Eugene? Actually, it was just more of the same.

Black Friday morning, while the girls were shopping, I called about a XB at a lot. "I want to come and see it. I will be there in a half-hour." "The boss's wife is driving it but it will be here when you get here." Guess what? It wasn't. I waited around for another half hour and still the "boss's wife" hadn't arrived and I was "outta there" never to return.

Another promising car was sold 15 minutes before I called about it. So nothing on Friday. NO shopping on Saturday. So today, Sunday, on the way home, we stopped to check out a Mini Cooper in Salem. Interesting,2002, bright blue with a white top, 90k miles, automatic, a little on the rough side, which means that it shows some wear. It is probably not fair to judge a car that is eight years old, but it has more wear for a 02 than my van does for a 03. Of course there is no owner's manual. I hate that. Why do all used car lots throw away any records from used cars? Finding out how to adjust the clock or what that button does when you move it.

So what does this car need? New tires ( three looked sorta good and one fair. How do you get four tires that way?) The seat belt light is lit. The oil is dirty. ( no big deal) The battery needed a jump to get started. ( Again no big deal) So what next? This car could be OK as a replacement for the Porsche if we choose to go that route. BUT, for that to happen, the dealer has to accept a low-ball price that I have in mind. It is the amount that I sold my Porsche. If it works out, I will have a fun driveable car that I can improve upon. So think positive thoughts. Tell that dealer that he needs to get rid of that car at a semi reasonable price of $7500.

I will let you know how it goes.

Selling a Car

I'm in the midst of selling my family car. I would much rather just trade it in but for two reasons; money and car dealers. Actually, they are basically the same reason. We would all have more money if we could avoid car dealers all together.

I sold my Porsche using craigslist with little or no hassle. But you have to admit that there is a big difference between a 78 911SC Targa and a 2003 Chevy Venture Van. And so the story begins.

I listed the van on Craigslist a week ago. Wrote a nice description, included four pictures just like I did with the Targa. Nothing. No response.

I have visited several dealerships checking out various cars that were on my "short list" as possible future members of my "fleet". We are looking at cars with an automatic transmission. My favorite so far is the Mini Cooper or "Mini" as it is known.

It was once a British car that is now owned by BMW. It is a small, nimble, sporty car that is cute and fun to drive but pretty much useless as a family car. As a second car, perfect. As the only car, not quite as perfect.

So moving on. What else is interesting?

PT Cruiser. No Doesn't seem to be well made. Built on Neon Chassis. Plastic interior. Seems cheap

HHR I don't think so. I like the looks but it is built on a Cobalt chassis. Plastic inside.

XB ---- Made by Scion. I like the looks, drives well, lots of goodies inside.

Prius Toyota Like the car but too expensive to buy new. Not sure about used battery

CRV

Forester

Rav4

Element

I will keep you posted on the hunt. The best so far is the XB. I like the looks of them especially thru 2007. The later ones are sleeker and bigger, but not as unique.

Voyager

I am a Trekkie. Have been since James Kirk fought his way across the galaxy. I have enjoyed all the Star Trek movies. The TV series; Generations, Deep Space Nine, Voyager.
Now, while we have been here on San Juan Island, I have had access to the entire collection, all seven years of Star Trek Voyager. Captain Janeway, Tuvok, Ensign Kim, Paris, and my favorite Seven of Nine.
If you are not a trekkie, or have forgatten, the starship Voyager has been thrown a gazillion light years away from home. Janeway and her crew are traveling through uncharted space encountering unknown aliens and un-thought-of situations along the way back home.
This morning as I was walking the girls, I came to the conclusion that R and I are a lot like Capt. Janeway and her crew. We spend a lot of time alone in a far away place, meeting new people, eating new food, visiting strange lands on our trips to and from our homeland.

We are fellow voyagers!

Live Long and Prosper!

Monday Oct 25, 2010

Our first Monday off duty.

The other volunteer couple, who were parked nearby, left the island Saturday. It’s lonesome around here. They took the early ferry to try to get the jump on the winter storm that was threatening NE Utah and southern Wyoming as they traveled I-84 and I-80 heading east to Michigan. Today should be their crux travel day. Because the elevation of the Interstate is over 6000 ft for the whole state, it the weather can play havoc on travel through that area from now until late spring. It is bad enough traveling in snow and ice, but doing it with a large trailer attached to you makes it even more interesting. Good luck, Bob and Mary.

The rainy weather is upon us. Saturday was actually quite nice, with lots of sun in the morning, almost warm but becoming mostly cloudy, cool, and windy in the afternoon. Listening to the weather forecast made us expect rain and wind for the whole day so when the forecast was wrong, nobody complained. The wind, however, did pick up during the night. It blew in about sunset and left before morning, but it made the darkness even darker with its ebbs and blows during the time in between.

This morning, Monday, as I said before is our first Monday off. Prior to this, we worked Sat, Sun, Mon, & Tues. and Bob & Mary worked Wed, Thurs Fri, & Sat. That way there was a volunteer couple at the VC to augment the ranger staff. Now that one couple is gone and we leave on the 31^st and the visitor count has dropped considerably, the winter schedule has been put into effect. The VC is closed Mon & Tues. and hours cut from 8:30-5:00 to 8:30-4:30. Wed. R and I start our last four day stint. It has been a good run.

We have learned a great deal. We had never been to the San Juan Islands and had not even heard of the Pig War or the politics of the time in this area. Learning the “story” and the history of the place is always stimulating. But the real fun comes in learning what Paul Harvey used to call “The rest of the story”. The pleasure was in the finding out about the small stories that occurred behind the scenes, the characters that were players in the drama, and the seemingly innocuous occurrences that changed everything or prevented a larger possibly disastrous event from happening.

Examples:

One of the rules of the joint occupancy was the limit of 100 soldiers from each country on the island at one time. So when the British Engineer came to English Camp to survey the site for the placement of buildings, he came in civilian clothes so he would not affect the count.

The arbitrator sent by President Buchanan, General Winfield Scott was selected because of his successes as a negotiator in previous actions. But the poor man was not fit to travel especially in those times. To travel from the East to the West meant a journey by ship down the east coast, a hurried 5 hour train trip across the Isthmus of Panama (hurried because of the fear of getting yellow fever), followed by another ship journey up the west coast. The trip took six weeks. Scott was a big man! He stood 6’5” and weighted 385 lbs. He suffered from gout, pleurisy and had broken his collarbone falling off a horse a short time before his trip west so he was probably not happy to be selected for the task. Because of his mobility issue, he never set foot on land while he was here and did all of his negotiations aboard ship. Going from one ship to another required climbing ladders which was not possible so he was lowered in a basket from one to another. Even with all his physical difficulties, General Scott was able to negotiate with British Admiral Baynes and James Douglas, Governor of Vancouver Island, to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. No war.

Fog

The word for today is fog. (The picture was taken on a better day.) It was a star filled sky when I walked the girls last night. The fog moved in overnight and was a thick as soup this morning for our walk. Morning fog is not unusual this time of year, but at 2 pm it was still thick enough to prevent us from seeing the nearby prairie, let alone the water. Watching the boats trolling back and forth along the coast is a what makes sitting at the breakfast table is a treat. Not today. I had to imagine that I could see even a tree.
I am writing this at 4:14 from the library and it is still foggy out there. No relief today. The weather is going to get wetter and windier through the week-end. Winter is getting closer.

A Fall Morning

The walk to work in mid October. The air is as still as a church on Monday morning. The birds are still having their morning coffee. The sun is drifting through the fog looking for the ground. It is going to be one of those days that you would like to bottle up and save for the middle of January.

Rosario

What is Rosario?

It is the name of the place, a resort on Orcas Island that dates from the early 1900’s. Robert Moran was a man who owned a ship building company in Seattle. He arrived in Seattle penniless and built a shipbuilding empire along with his two brothers. Moran become Mayor of Seattle in 1888, after the Great Fire had destroyed the downtown district. He dealt with the problems of the city while building his shipbuilding business. Through his outstanding efforts the city rebuilt better and stronger and he was easily re-elected. His company built all sorts of ships from fishing vessels to warships. The high point of his business career was when his shipyard built and launched the flagship of the Navy's "Great White Fleet", the USS Nebraska built in 1904 and used through WWI.

In 1904 Mr. Moran health was in danger. The doctors gave him only a few years to live, so he gave up the business life and moved from the city to Orcas Island where he started to complete his retirement home which he named Rosario. It was hub for visitors, congressmen and business alike. Rosario became known as a resort for the rich and influential. (Incidently, the island life was good for him because he lived until 1943).

Today it is still a resort. http://www.rosarioresort.com/ You can still stay at Rosario. You can get married there. 22 “rooms” are available. All of the accommodations are detached but close to the “house”. Some are motel suites. Others are individual home units. All have gorgeous views of Cascade Bay and the surrounding hills.

The main building houses the offices, meeting rooms, and a couple of restaurants on the main floor and a spa and pool in the lower level. The second floor has been left mostly like it was when Mr. Moran lived there. Stained glass is dispalyed in the windows and lighting. The woodwork is amazing! The floors, built-in drawers, even the doors with their unusual hinges reflect the attention to detail that is prevalent through out the structure. The second floor also contains an auditorium that contains a huge 1900 Steinway Grand Piano and an enormous pipe organ dating from 1913. Free concerts are held in this room at regular intervals that feature both instruments. During the fall the concerts are held at 4pm on Saturday. It would be a joy to attend.