Well folks, today started out pretty badly… The water would not drain from the shower, indicating there was a clog somewhere… It took me about 4 hours to figure out the whole problem…

The water was not draining in the shower, so I started from there… I ran water down the bathroom sink right next to the shower and the water would over flow into the shower’s drain… So that indicated that there was a clog to the pipe that drains both the shower and the sink… So, I decided to check for the clog right after the drainage pipe to the sink, which is shared with the shower… I checked the kitchen sink and there was no indication of any clog there…

So, after singling out the problem, I tried to use pressure from the water going down the drain to force it free… Tracey would run the water down the bathroom sink, while I would hold my hand over the shower drain, forcing the water to hit the clog…

Well, this didn’t work at all… My next step was to get a #PlumbingSnake… There was a hole and cap on the pipe where you could run a snake through without having to go down the drain… This indicated to me that they put this hole and cap there for a reason… So I planned on running the snake down that hole away from the shower and sink… Hopefully this will find and wiggle the clog free…

Well, that took me a few hours to address… After a frustrating morning, Tracey and I took a nice peaceful walk to explore our temporary backyard for the day… We were relieved the problem was nearly solved but a little aggravated by the whole situation… The trip was a little burdening these past few days with all of the #rain and #RV problems we were having…

#WashingtonStateParkRestArea, which is oddly in #Oregon, was probably one of the most amazing #RestAreas I have stayed at… I can see why they don’t allow #OvernightVisitors because everyone would be staying here for a couple of days, its so gorgeous and peaceful…

We walked through these really interesting curvy trees, not knowing what was on the other side, they were so thick…

Then we walked down this bush formed path, which opens up to the gorgeous, vast #SeaSide…

You could see it had been #storming here for days… All kinds of debris and wood scattered everywhere…

All of these #DeadMussels ended up beached from the storm… They hadn’t been able to form their shells yet… there were just blue bellies laying everywhere…

For such a drastic deadly situation, it was quite beautiful and romantic… this gorgeous blue shimmered on the brown dull sand creating these waves of glowing aqua stretching across the beach…

I was told by a person passing by that this happens every year, during the storms…

You could see the lines in the skeleton and the bellies, indicating the formation of its outer shell that had been cut short by these #FerociousStorms…

Death can be quite beautiful, as long as you are the observer and not the victim…

Looking at the results of these #storms always reminds me of a story I was told when young…

A man walking along the beach one day, saw all of these star fish scattered along the shore… All dying or already dead… then he noticed God picking up these star fish and hurling them back into the sea as quickly as he could…

The man walked over and asked “What are you doing?”

God said “I’m trying to save these star fish by throwing them back into the sea…”

The man said “But that’s useless… most of them are dead and the ones who are still alive will probably not survive… So why waste your time?”

And God replied “If I just save one, then it was all worth it…”

I love that story because it puts life above everything else, as it should be… What seemed like a useless task to the average person was actually a very noble task because when you go through such an effort to save even the smallest of creatures with the tiniest chance of any survival, then you have chosen life over yourself… Not a bad philosophy to adopt…

There was barely anyone else around… We had the beach to ourselves… It felt like we were in the eye of a hurricane… I could see all of the dark clouds surrounding us but it was eerily very peaceful and quiet… There wasn’t much of a breeze… It was just dead and silent…

And if you got bored with the beach at this rest stop, it also had little trails through the bushes that separate the beach from the parking area…

There were little picnic tables scattered throughout the trails so you can enjoy a nice lunch… Some #ParkEngineer really put a lot of thought into this #RestArea… I could spend a good week here for a #vacation…

So, #TheTravelingMac had a long day ahead of him… I needed to address the drain problem and Tracey also had some neat things to go see in Oregon… We would just have to try to get it all done while addressing these problems along the way…

#TheMillenniumFalcon was acting up a little but I can’t blame her… At least they are minor issues, that can be dealt with as we #travel along… And if it doesn’t get fixed then we will have to just go with it… We could take showers at gyms or rest stops if need be… Or not take any at all…

It does make sense that the drain clogged though considering we were sitting in #DeathValley without moving much for 6 months… Tracey and I both have long hair, so I’m sure it accumulates in the drains and forms a clog… Then when you are finally moving, most of the time that clog probably dislodges free, with all of the movement… but this rare time it just moved and created a water damn in the pipe… I’m sure this problem was months or even years in the making…

But we didn’t let the problem hinder our plans to see our friendly local #SeaLions…

So we headed to #Newport,Oregon and what a show did we see… Wow!

There were hundreds of sea lions scattered all over the #docks and rocks… As soon as we parked you could here them barking at each other…

It was all about real estate with these #OregonSeaLions… It was kind of comical to watch…

There would be a couple of Sea Lions who were still in the water, looking for a nice place to sun bathe… the problem was there wasn’t much room for any of them, especially on the docks…

And boy did they make a ruckus when some sea lion tried to hop up on their already flimsy, overcrowded dock… A lot of loud barking and snarling at each other… Sea Lions remind me a lot of dogs… The way they snarl and bark…

I actually followed this one guy who is making his way over to the docks, above…

They almost looked like sharks, bolting towards the dock they liked, with a flipper protruding out of the water, building up the needed momentum to stake their claim…

Then the water lion would launch out and clumsily leap himself onto the dock…

The dock would rock back and forth, alerting all of the relaxed lions, as they held on for dear life, hoping not to lose their valuable spot on the raft…

Then all of the residents would start barking at the intruder with the closest animals pushing him back off of the dock… Leaving the homeless sea lion searching elsewhere for another place to sleep…

It was the evening, so I think they were all preparing for a good nights sleep… Not a party you want to show up late to… that’s for sure…

But I tell you, this one sea lion would not give up on getting a hotel for the night…

He must have attempted the same task about five times…

Even sea lions from other docks were getting aggravated with this particular harasser…

But he eventually found a home for the night…

He was so obviously proud of himself, as the others on the dock finally calmed down and he tilted his head up to the almost nonexistent sun, in a sign of dominance and gratification…

The rocks were a much easier prospect for a home but I’m sure there is a reason they fight for these docks… Maybe they are warmer and better located… who knows… The boulders seem like they would suck the warmth out of you…

But I’m sure there is some sort of hierarchy system with the more dominant getting better location… Sea Lions are all about numbers and community… that’s how they protect themselves from predators and the ever unpredictable weather of the seas…

Tracey and I visited for a little while and then quickly headed back to the Millennium Falcon…

I had her parked on the road in front of a restaurant… I felt I was blocking the business, so I wanted to get out as quickly as I could…

And also, we had another place to visit before dusk set in… It’s the #World’sSmallestHarbor folks… but that’s not the reason #TheTravelingMac is so excited to visit this particular location…

This is the harbor from the movie #OneFlewOverTheCuckoo’sNest… My favorite movie of all time… It was released the year I was born in 1975…

You can see the little house with the red roof is still standing today, above… If you look at the movie still picture right below this text, you will see the top of the red roof in the lower right hand corner of the picture…

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is one of only three movies in the history of film to win the top five categories at the #Oscars…

It won #BestPicture, #BestActor, #BestActress, #BestScreenplay and #BestDirector… The only two other films to accomplish this feat was #ItHappenedOneNight, a #FrankCapra film from the 1930’s and #SilenceOfTheLambs…” Which was shocking considering it was a #horror film from the 1990’s…

In the movie still above you can see the Tower structure directly behind the actors which is apart of this bridge above…

And of course this film stars my favorite actor of all time, #JackNicholson… Unfortunately he has retired from film… It is rumored that he is losing his mind with old age and can’t remember the lines… It’s so sad seeing all of your heroes from childhood dying off… It really puts your own #mortality in perspective… For death doesn’t let anyone pass by untouched… No matter who you are or how famous or powerful you are, we all eventually meet the same demise… For now at least…

So, cherish your heroes and mentors folks… They will follow you throughout all of your life… All the way to their death…

Jack Nicholson is one of the main reasons I decided I wanted to be an actor…  ever since I was 9 years old, I worshiped this man and would show all of my girlfriends my favorite movie, even though it bored the majority of them…

For One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is far from a kid’s film but something about it captured my imagination as a child… Even though I didn’t fully understand the #film back then, it still inspired me to chase my dreams and was the start of a long challenging journey to make it in the #FilmBusiness…

And trust me folks, I haven’t given up on that dream… I’m just choosing to chase my dreams in a whole different, unorthodox way…

Remember, no expectations folks…