Tuesday, March 27, 2018 (Travel to Tulalip Resort Casino, Tulalip, WA)

After a peaceful night, we were up and on the road just before 8:00 this morning. We drove the short distance back to I-5 and headed north. There was a little blue sky to start the travel day off...

We crossed the McKenzie River...

About 10 miles up the I-5, we took the exit into Coburg. We thought we would stop at RV Glass Solutions to see if they could give us an estimate on the cost of fixing/replacing our dual pane trailer windows. After the 2012 RV Dreams Rally in Harrisburg, Howard and Linda had their windows done here. Many of ours are a in various degrees of fogging due to broken seals.

This facility is huge! A young lady came out to have a look at our rig, then worked up an estimate for us. We didn't have the time for an appointment to have a technician inspect and do a formal quote. Apparently if a window has had fogging for a long time they aren't repairable as the fogging has etched into the glass. Our largest window is also an emergency escape and has had fogging for 3 years now, but it's only visible in direct sunlight. The remainder started fogging in the last year.   If they are repairable there is only a 2 year warranty and they will eventually fog again. The other option she gave was replacing the windows with 7/16" laminate glass, same as a windshield and they have a lifetime warranty. Well we have 11 windows and her estimate to replace 9 windows with laminate glass that weren't emergency escape windows was $3430 plus up to another $1000 to replace the 2 escape windows with dual pane glass if they aren't repairable. Laminate glass cannot be used in emergency escape windows due to their weight. We are now in the unfortunate position where we have to make a decision...is it worth putting lots of money into our 8 year old rig or go new or almost new with a warranty. Just like a house, repairs and upgrades are necessary, however an old RV doesn't increase in value as it gets older like a house will. We also need to replace carpeting, we have a crack in our shower pan that Steve did a temporary repair using JB Weld, our graphic decals are cracked and fading, is our frame still structurally sound?, etc. Steve asked Howard at the RV Dreams Boon Docking Rally if he thought upgrading an older unit was worth it and he said he did as long as it's a sound unit.

After a short stop there, we were back on I-5 continuing north. Lots of beautiful lush countryside...

 As we approached Portland, for a change, we took I-205 that bypassed downtown Portland...wow! 100% better than staying on the I-5!

We crossed the Columbia River into Washington State...

We arrived at the Walmart in Battle Ground, WA at 11:00. Tyler from Tough Top Awnings was waiting for us and got right to work on replacing our torn slide topper...off with the old one! Unfortunately, it was raining...

On with the new one. Steve and Earl replaced this one 3 years ago, but they have a 5 year warranty. The only charge was $75 for the installation. Tyler proved this can be done with only one person but Steve wouldn't want to do it without another ladder and a set of hands!

In about a half hour Tyler had the topper replaced. It was only 11:30...too early to stop and stay here overnight...but still about another 3 1/2 hour drive to Tulalip. We decided to go into Red Robin, conveniently located across the parking lot, for a quick lunch...and then continue on.

We went through some major rain....

Tacoma Dome...

We took the I-405, the bypass around Seattle, going through Bellevue. This is where we decided it had not been such a great decision to go all of the way to Tulalip today. We should have picked a stop somewhere well before the greater Seattle area to spend the night. Driving through this area during rush hour is bad enough but with a number of traffic accidents too...well it was pure hell!

 Even back on the I-5 north of Seattle and into Everett was backed up!

We finally pulled into Tulalip Casino RV parking at 6:00...after 273 miles/437 km and an hour and a half later than the original ETA! We'll never, ever do that again!

There were only a couple of pull-through spots available...we pulled into one, got levelled off, slides out and then relaxed for a bit.

Then we walked across to the casino for a beer, before returning home and heating up left over pizza from our dinner last night.

Since we had basically arrived in Tulalip a day early...the original plan was to arrive Wednesday, spend 2 nights and then cross the border Friday...I contacted Peace Arch RV Park in Surrey to see if by chance our site would be available on Thursday. Well, it turned out that it was available starting at 1:00 tomorrow. So we're going to by-pass Cabela's and the Outlet Stores and head back into BC tomorrow.