It’s not just Beavers and Covered Wagons

Welcome to Camping Diva! This is my first official blog entry for Camping Diva and I have been looking forward to it for months. I am also the writer of A Girl Named Timi.

Camping Diva was created because of all the positive feedback and urges to write a blog dedicated to our Mobile Estate adventures from A Girl Named Timi readers and followers.  Well here it is folks!  Thank you for reading and encouraging me.

This last weekend The Hubs and I headed down to the Eugene Oregon area in our Mobile Estate to see family and do a little sight seeing. Being this is my first blog entry we wanted to make sure we got lots of information for you in case you’re planning a trip to the area.

We left on Wednesday night after The Hubs got off work. He drove as long as he could and then we just pulled over at a rest stop to sleep a little and get up early the next morning and get back on the road. This we have found works out well for us on long trips. It cuts down on the sitting in traffic time through the big cities and breaks up the long road trip. When we woke up the next morning we were surrounded by semi trucks hauling a carnival. How ironic since we are usually a traveling freak (The Nuckinfuts) show ourselves. The Hubs and I decided it was a good chuckle and totally blog worthy.

We stayed at Premier RV Resorts in Coburg Oregon. It’s easy access off the I-5 freeway, it’s also located about 3 miles from Belt Line Freeway which is a main artery in Eugene. Our primary destinations this weekend were going to be off Coburg Rd and Veneta both which are off the Belt Line HWY. So being right off the I-5 Freeway and close to Belt Line HWY worked out really well for us.

We made reservations at the Premier RV Resort about a month in advance. During football season it looks like home game weekends are pretty full. This RV park is close to Autzen Stadium and appears to be a favorite of game goers. I suggest making reservations well in advance.

Premier RV Resort is a fantastic place. We loved it and will stay again when visiting family. It was super convenient to everything. The Resort has full hook ups, cable TV, free wireless internet connection (it’s a pretty good signal if your fairly close to the club house), clubhouse, laundry, showers, pool, sauna, off leash fenced dog areas and a small pond. It’s quite a country setting and more of a 55 and older RV Resort. Now with all those fabulous things, I bet your thinking “WOW, I want to stay there” But wait! That’s not all; let me tell you the best part of this whole experience at Premier RV Resort. These people run a great establishment. It’s super clean, they were very personable, and made you feel very welcome. They gave us a layout of the resort, let us know that there would be a continental breakfast served every morning, a newspaper on my steps in the morning (except Sunday) and if there was anything we needed please do not hesitate to come ask. Now here is the best part……….the gentleman who was behind the counter got up out of his seat, came around the counter, extended his hand, introduced himself, shook our hands and said Thank you for coming. I almost cried, I was so touched by his sincerity and customer service. That gesture meant a lot to us and made the stay even more pleasant.

After we got settled in, I was looking through the brochure that the host had given us. I was impressed with the list of services they had put together. They had everything covered from cab service to RV cleaning services.

Premier RV Resorts also have locations in Redding CA, Lincoln City Oregon, Clarkston WA, Salem Or and Eugene Or. These folks will definitely be going on our list of Camping Diva Approved RV Resorts.

Above is our paper delivered each morning as promised

Below is cable TV working like a dream!  I was able to catch a little of Days of Our Lives

Thursday The Hubs and I did a little sightseeing before meeting up with the family. We ventured downtown to The 5^th Street  Market. This is great boutique shopping. If you love boutique shopping this is a must stop when in Eugene. There are also lots of great little boutique type stores all around the The 5^th Street Market that are worth exploring.

The Hubs and I wandered in to Hartwick’s kitchen store. What a great little find. They have so many kitchen gadgets, small appliances, pans, and anything kitchen. I had no idea I needed so many thing! My head was spinning when I left there. I did come home with this great little blade organizer for my Cuisinart. This is going to cut down on blades falling out of the cupboard every time I open it. Hartwick’s is a cook’s Disneyland. Next we went to the little deli next door to Hartwick’s which has some wonderful specialty items and a great wine selection. They have lots of pretty deserts that are a treat just looking at all of them. We ventured in to French Quarter which is a specialty fine linen boutique. Beautiful things. Final stop in this tour was Lexi Dog which had some great items for your spoiled rotten pooch. Ours is so spoiled he stinks, so we were in heaven looking at all the lastest and greatest in pet accessories. The sales person Donele was super nice and very knowledgeable about all the merchiandise. I started talking to her about our trip and what we were doing and she suggested some places that were must stops while in Eugene.

Here were her junkin must stops. Sadly we only got to go to one of them.

St. Vincent de Paul on 11^th street

St. Vincent de Paul on 11^th under the bookstore. It’s all furniture 

Puttin on the Ritz in downtown Eugene.

Ruthie B’s (which was on my list already to find)

With those suggestions I was off like a race horse! Who needs fancy boutique shopping when there are thrift stores a waitin! So we left that 5^th St Market.

Side Note*** I found that a lotof these antique store and junkin places in Eugene and surrounding area don’t have website or blogs. Asking the locals in shops where to go and what to do ended up being the best thing. Always ask the person working where ever your at, they usually know the area and have great suggestions. 

Dear, Second Hand and Antique Shop owners of Eugene…………..GET ONLINE! We want to hear about you and find you!

We headed out to find these thrift stores when we got all turned around and ended up over in Springfield. So we looked for Ruthie B’s. This came highly suggested from everyone in the area as well as my blog buddies Auntie Joy, A Thing For Roses, and Maison Douce. So we started looking and ended up driving right to it. This is a junker, antique shoppers dream! You cannot believe this place. All the pictures I’m going to show you don’t even begin to tell you how much stuff is really in that shop. When you walk in the door you say to yourself “HOLLY BAJESUES!” Then you try to start taking it all in.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Ruthie B’s is that all the little areas in the store are kind of color designated or theme designated. Each room has a big table and chairs in it so you can sit, have a little lunch out of the restaurant in the back and take it all in.  I had to make two or three passes through the store. Once to look down low, once to look at eye level and once to look up.

After we had wandered around for about a half hour or so (The Hubs says it was days) I walked by these two ladies sitting at a table looking at tea cups trying to decided which one to purchase. As I was walking by they said “have you ever eaten here?” I said “no, this is my first time here” The ladies began to tell me that I really need to have lunch here one day but if I couldn’t do that I must not leave here with out having the pumpkin dessert. It’s to die for. Well ok then! So I marched to the back of the store and ordered one to go.

It came all pretty and packaged up with a bow. What a great thing to take to a friend or Grandparent I thought.So I paid, asked if I could take pictures for my blog and we were off! It was time to go meet the family for dinner so my fact and artifact finding mission was over for the day.

We went back to the truck and The Hubs got on the phone with his sister for directions of where to meet them. While he was doing that I thought “I’m going to just have a little taste of that dessert.” Well dang if that wasn’t one of the best desserts I have ever had! The Hubs and I sat there right on the street in front of Ruthie B’s and ate the entire thing! I should have ran back in there to see if I could get the recipe but The Hubs said “no time, gotta go!” I’m going to see if I can’t get it. Stay tuned. I’ll post if it shows up in my Inbox.

So we are on our way to meet the family and The Hubs becomes like a drug addict looking for a fix as we were driving past Autzen Stadium. He just couldn’t take it, he had to make a stop at the Duck Store. I had never been to Autzen Stadium and he was show it to me. Land of the University of Oregon Ducks.

Just a little side information for you………….This Camping Diva couldn’t give a rip! That shade of green and gold aren’t my best colors, I don’t care that The Ducks are 5-2 this season, that they were playing UCLA Saturday night, it’s homecoming, and I’m seeing one of the most spectacular college football stadiums I’ve ever seen. This Camping Diva is all about shopping! Since The  Hubs pays the bills and he did mention Store, didn’t he? I’m all over it! So off we went to marvel at the stadium and do a little Duck Store shopping. Mind you HIS family is waiting on him for dinner. Like a drug addict the Duck Drug is making decisions.

Here is my Duck Store purchase. Is this not the cutest dang dog you have ever seen? He looks like a little jock in his new O sweatshirt.

Friday while The Hubs took care of some family business I snuck off to Silverton to an antique sale. What a beautiful drive on a fall day. I learned about this antique sale through some other ladies I exchange blog comments with on my other blog A Girl Named Timi. I had to go meet them and see with my own eyes all the fabulousness this Wonder Woman named Joy had to offer. I spent most of my day up north of Coburg in the Silverton area. It’s about an hour drive from Coburg and there is lots to see on the way. I passed so many nurseries and farmers stands selling fall harvest veggies that I wanted to stop at all of them. This area is blog worthy but I’ll have to do it some time when I can spend more time there. If you would like to read about my Silverton Antique Sale adventure go to A Girl Named Timi where I’ll have more information.

 Friday afternoon when I got back I picked up The Hubs and we headed back to the RV Resort. Before going back we stopped at the Goodwill on River Road. This store is huge. Lots of items but super busy, very picked over and I didn’t find much there. The Hubs found some vintage U of O Duck seat cushions that he was thrilled with. Not sure what he’s going to do with them but when he gets in the state of Oregon he turns in a drug addict looking for a fix when it comes to Ducks junk. Fine by me! I’ll shop for anything!!!!!!

Later in the evening we met up with The Hubs Dad and his significant other for dinner. Now, normally we try not to patronize big chain restaurants and most of the time they aren’t even blog worthy. Camping Diva’s are all about trying to patronize the small business owner but The In-Laws wanted to go to Sizzler. So why am I mentioning it? Why did I think Sizzler of all places was blog worthy? Well, we don’t have Sizzler in our area so we didn’t know much about it. When we got there we couldn’t believe the great salad bar, soup bar, and dessert bar. Then there were the choices of steak, chicken or seafood. The Hubs and I had the special which was a huge meal of steak or shrimp skewers for $9.99 which included all you can eat salad bar and beverage. We each ordered one of each and split it when it came. This is a bargain! The Hubs and I were buying dinner that night and were shocked that one could feed 4 adults with steak, shrimp, salad, and dessert for $40! If your looking for a decent meal on a budget………Sizzler is it! We were kind of wishing we had one near us.

 Saturday morning The Hubs and I got up bright and early because we ( I ) wanted to go to the Piccadilly Flea Market at the Lane County Fair Grounds. I had heard it was a great little flea market and it only happens a few times a month. It just happen to be going on the weekend we were there so I needed to check it out. I also wanted to check out the antique stores in Historic Coburg which was right across the freeway from where we were staying.

 We decided to stop at Coburg first to see if any of those stores were open because it would probably be really late when we came back that way and if we didn’t do it now we probably wouldn’t get a chance. We drove through Coburg on Thursday evening and I spotted a store I thought I might NEED to stop at.

Well it was a little too early but the one store that I really wanted to stop at was open. Yeah! It must have been ment to be! There is was, a fabulous 1856 farm house all decked out in junk!

Primrose Lane Antiques owned by Janice Johnston is not only the most “draw you in” antique store on the street and bounus……… she is the nicest lady ever!

Janice had rooms packed full rooms of wonderful stuff and her prices were great! She’s there to move junk, she isn’t running a museum in that fantastic historical farm house.

Janice also has one of the best selections of vintage and new jewelry I have ever seen in an antique store. She’s running a close second behind Rhinestone Rosie on Queen Ann Hill in Seattle as far as selection, quality, and quantity.

Primrose Lane Antiques is definitely worth getting off the freeway and taking a look to see what is happen there. After talking with Janice for a little while (I’m like a religious person spreading the word of God when it comes to blogging, I think everyone should be doing it and living their life wondering if what they are doing that day is Blog Worthy) I’m hoping she gets her son to help her set up a blog and website. Janice……….you would be a huge asset to the blogging community as well as we all want to know when your sales are! Don’t be afraid, call your son and ………get to bloggin girlfriend!

Apparently Coburg has a fantastic antique sale in September that is a must attend event. Janice gave me a couple other leads on where to go in Eugene for good junk and lunch.

So off we went to the Piccadilly Flea Market at the Fair Grounds so we could move on to Janice’s suggestions.

The Lane County Fair Grounds in Eugene is a huge place and not far from the downtown area. There is plenty of parking for the Piccadilly Flea Market and it’s all indoors. It appeared when we walked in the door it’s important to get there early (so the guy at the admission counter is still awake, he was half sleeping and listening to a game on the radio when we arrived and it took what seemed like a life time before he realized we were even there. Guess that’s what customer service you get for $1.50 admission!) because there were some fantastic things lined up at the door with SOLD signs on them. We breezed through the 3 buildings of vendors. There are a lot of antiques, junk and odd stuff all pretty reasonably priced. It was nice that it wasn’t all tools and tube socks at this flea market like a lot of them are now. I hope the organizers keep it that way. I did find a great vintage pink chenille bedspread for a bargain. You just never know what you are going to find. Worth the stop.

Next we were off to find Glory Days Antiques and The Back Yard Bistro which is owned and operated by Brad and Montana. Janice at Primrose Antiques referred us here and what a find it was! Brad and Montana have the back part of the antique store with the Back Yard Bistro in it. We had lunch at the Bristro and it was FREAKIN FABULOUS! One of the best French Dip Sandwiches I have ever had. The Hubs had a beef French Dip and I had the Turkey French Dip. Large sandwich, and a cup of soup for $8 what a bargain! We walked around and looked at all the fabulous antiques and chatted with Montana about their business. Brad and Montana use to have a successful antique/café business in Centralia Washington and sold it a year ago to move to Springfield and open this one. In the back of the Glory Days where Montana has her little store she has some great things as well as a little corner of salvaged doors, shelves, knobs, door handles, and other cool architectural stuff. I could have spent hours in this place and I can’t wait to go back. Thank you Brad and Montana for making us feel so welcome. We really enjoyed our vist. To the ladies working in the front of the antique store…………YOU ROCK! You ladies were so fun and nice. Again…….I could have hung out with them all day. As far as I’m concerned when you walk in to a place and they make you want to hang out there all day it’s a sign of a fantastic store!

 Next up…………………….Wine Tasting and Scones 

Next up was a trip out to Crow to the award winning Sweet Cheeks Winery. This is a beautiful place, the wine is fabulous, and……….well it’s another place you could just hang out at all day. We had a wine tasting afternoon picnic with The Hubs Mother, Step-Dad, and Sister. It was really nice and I suggest you put this on your list of places to visit while in the Eugene area.

Sweet Cheeks is located 10 miles south of Ventea. There are 2 other wineries out there so it’s a good day trip. The drive is beautiful and once you get out there you will get a breath taking view of some of the Willamette Valley. Sweet Cheeks sells some great little picnic packs of cheese, crackers, and meats. I highly suggest you grab a bottle of your favorite wine, a picnic pack (or bring your own picnic) and go sit outside, relax, visit with friends and family and enjoy the view. It was a beautiful fall afternoon when we were there and the grapes on the vines were spectacular.

I’m not much of a wine drinker, or wine tour person but after my afternoon at the Sweet Cheeks Winery it’s sparked a new interest for me. Sweet Cheeks is a winery that only makes enough for their wine tasting, wine club members and a couple stores in Venta. So stock up while your there!

Family photo.  The Hubs, Charlie, and Camping Diva

This pretty much wraps up our trip to Oregon. I do need to mention  Market of Choice in Eugene. This would be categorized as a Fancy Grocery Store in Camping Diva categories of grocery stores. It’s tidy, lots of selection, specialty foods, deli to die for and prices that are outrageous. The thing about Fancy Grocery Stores is that once you get in there and get all caught up in the beauty of it all you don’t care how much stuff is. The Hubs and I bought scones for $6 a box and let me tell you they were well worth it. The pumpkin chocolate chip and Marion berry were FABULOUS!

This would be a good place to go pick up something different and special to fix for dinner or say a…………picnic at a winery. Go in poke around and see what fabulousness you can come up with.

Please comment if you have anything to add to my tour of places to see in the Eugene area or if you have any suggestions where Camping Diva should go next.  This is my first posting so I’m still adding and updating daily. Put me on your list of blogs to follow so you don’t miss anything.