Lorri & Sherry's Visit

On the 5th of August, we went to Portland Airport to pick up Sherry and Lorri.  It is close to 100 miles, but it seems so much farther than that.  There aren't too many freeways in this area only when you get to I-5.  The roads going inland are windy, up and down and no passing except in designated passing lanes. On our way we got behind a long line of backed up traffic.  When we got to the passing lane, this one car stayed in the left lane so everyone had to pass on the wrong side.  It looked like a young girl driving and it made me wonder if she was a new driver.  She had been going 40 MPH in a 55 MPH speed zone.  So frustrating to all the drivers behind her.

We were early at the airport, so we waited in the baggage area for Sherry and Lorri.  They ended up landing early and we were surprised to see them walking up to us.  They stayed with us five days and we were on the dead go.  Below are some of the fun things we did with them.  Sherry and Lorri went on some real long beach walks while they were here.  Lorri got up every morning and took a walk on the beach alone.

We went to a beach and did some Agate hunting.  Frank made his own Agate digger.  He found a strainer and bought a dowel and attached it to the strainer.  It is better than the cheesy one we saw in a rock store and his was a whole lot cheaper.  In the above picture Frank and Sherry are Agate hunting.  Frank walked clear down around the point, and the tide was coming up.  I got worried when I couldn't see him, but he was in a cove area.  He rolled up his pants and still got wet.

Lorri playing with some sea weed

Frank digging for Agates

Sherry and Lorri at the Whale Look out in Depot Bay

Sherry & Lorri Depot Bay

Getting ready for a beach ride Pacific City

Lorri mounting from the required steps 

Sherry all ready to go on the wild one he tried to buck her off twice

We were told where to go to take pictures of them on the beach

Lorri riding Bella right next to the ocean

Sherry enjoying the ride until her horse got wild.  Sherry told the workers that she was an experienced rider,  so they gave her the wild one.  We should have known as he broke through his corral when they were getting the riders ready.  No way was he going to be left behind

Pacific City Beach

Pacific City the view we had while waiting to take pictures It was beautiful there

Sherry had a real wild ride as her horse was trying to buck her off.  She finally had to get off from him and the daughter of the owner of the Beach Horseback Rides told her if she wasn't going to get back on him, she would have to take him and she did and  left Sherry there to walk back over a sandy dune.  Sherry and Lorri were both upset at how this girl acted and treated people on the ride.  In fact Lorri said something to a one of the workers and she said it was the snotty girl's last day.  She was arguing with one of the other workers, riding side saddle, and just not being friendly.  Sherry felt she should have traded horses with her when she saw how Sherry's horse was acting.  Then on top of it all Sherry had specified that she wanted a two hour ride when she called and made reservations.  It ended up being a one hour ride.  Lorri said that one way or another she was going to find a way to complain to the owners, especially about their daughter who made everyone miserable on the ride.  Not good for business. I felt bad for Sherry as she had been so excited about riding on the beach. Her ride was mainly trying to keep an out of control horse in control.  No riding by Lorri and enjoying the beach ride together.

More Vacation Photos

Lincoln City Beach two blocks from our rental

A walk on the beach - tide is out

Seagull looking for something to eat

This flock of birds fly over the beach every evening

A view from an over look close to Depot Bay

Waves splashing on the rocks

Waves rolling up to the beach

Close to Depoe Bay 

Oregon Vacation - Two Day Trip to Seaside

Years ago we started our journey of the hwy 101 Cost trip.  We took two different trips one starting on the California Coast, and then we went back where we left off and went as far as Crescent City, CA.  

When Frank retired, we took our fifth wheel and stayed in a beautiful state park called Bassendorf.  There we went back down on the hwy 101 to where we had left off several years before. When we headed home, we  went to Newport and spent two nights, and then headed inland to go home.

So on this trip we wanted to finish our hwy 101 so we decided to spend a couple of nights in Seaside, OR And explore on up the coast.  We took the scenic byway from Pacific City.  I have never hiked so much as we did on this trip.  The pictures below are some of the beautiful sights on our trip.

This was a view from a hike to Cape Meares Lighthouse

I had to stop and rest quite a few times, it was a steep hike

One of the views on our hike.  It was a little foggy

A monument for Cape Meares Lighthouse

Cape Meares Lighthouse

Reading the history of the Lighthouse

On our way to Washington we crossed Astoria Megler Bridge .  It is the highest bridge I have ever been  on

This was a very interesting stop.  History of Lewis & Clark

This is at the end of The Promenade in Seaside

A river walk in Seaside

The back side of the Moument  - End of the Promenade Seaside  Lewis & Clark

Our visit to Fort Canby

Fort Canby- Sacagawea

The Fort

Inside quarters of the solders

A demonstration of shooting a very old riffle

We had a lot of fun on our trip.  The hotel we stayed in was really nice and when we got ready to leave, we wanted to take the king pillow top bed with us, as where we are staying the bed is a very uncomfortable queen bed.  We had to buy two toppers and put on it before we could stand to sleep on it.

Our Vacation - The Begining June 28, 20012

 We bought a new camera to take on our trip.  Frank took a test picture of me.  I was taking a little nap as I was exhausted from packing, and getting our home ready for our extended vacation.  Believe me when I say both Frank & I are missing this bed. 

We headed out the next morning for Fallon, NV as I wanted to visit with Lani and Terry.  We hadn't seen them in quite a while.  Needless to say we were exhausted by the time we got to Fallon.  It is such a long boring trip and it seems a lot longer than it really is.  It was great to see Lani and Terry and get caught up on their lives.  Lani was going to leave the following Monday to go and stay with Jackie, her daughter who was going to have a baby girl soon.


Weed California

We left early the next morning and as we drove through Susanville, we enjoyed the scenery as the last time we were in this area, it was full of smoke and we couldn't see anything and wanted to get out of the area as fast as we could. I had made egg salad and had sandwich stuff so we stopped along the way to enjoy a picnic, and every time we stopped to eat I would say, " We just saved over $20.00."   It is so expensive to eat out.

Mt. Shasta

I had made reservations at a hotel in Weed California (what a name)  and I sure am glad I did as all hotels were full, and I heard the front desk clerk turning someone away because they were full.  Weed is just a short distance from Mt. Shasta.  In the picture above, Mt. Shasta is fogged in, but it was beautiful.

Mt. Shasta fogged in

We went for a walk up the street from our hotel and took some pictures.  It looked like someone had started to build a subdivision but went under as this street was a dead end to the beginnings of a subdivision.  It was so cool and nice to us, but the locals thought it was hot.  We headed out the next day for Lincoln City, Oregon our destination.

Getting Ready for our Trip

Busy Bees Again

 We have been super busy trying to get things done before we leave on our vacation.  I cleaned out my pantry Saturday and threw away stuff that had been in there way too long and then threw away a lot of things that would go bad.  The birds loved me and I couldn't believe how fast they ate all that I put out there for them.

There are some blackbirds that don't like crackers or dry cereal, so they take the food to the water I have out there for them, and dunk the pieces of food in the water.  One water dish looked like a bowl of mush.  Gross!!!!

We are going in to Vegas tomorrow and have a hair day with Renee.  That was on our to do list.  I know my hair will look horrible before we get back from our extended vacation.  I may have to at have it trimmed before we get back to Renee. I have tried to get a lot of things done early, like stopping the newspaper, making sure our laptop works, hiring someone to take care of our yard, putting things in our spare bedroom that I want to take with us, and making a list so I can check things off.  I know I will forget something, but I hope I remember the important stuff.  As it gets hotter, the more excited we get about going to Lincoln City, OR.  Our little rental is two blocks away from the ocean.  We will be wearing winter clothes again. 

Renee posted this picture on Facebook.  She and Rozlynn are getting ready to go swim in the pool in her subdivision.  I had to post this as it is so cute.  I will get to see Renee tomorrow but not Rozlynn.  I was able to see Roz last week when I went in to Vegas to get my pedicure and manicure.  We picked up Roz at Renee's beauty shop and took her to Grandma Sherry's condo.  I played with Roz until Sherry got home.  She never stopped talking.  We played make believe, going to the store, shopping for food and coming home and putting it in the fridge, and cupboards.  Roz would have to run to PaPa and tell him everything we were doing.  It was a lot of fun, and I can't believe how fast she is growing up.  Before I know it, she will be starting school as time seems to just fly by.  She is so smart, knows a lot of her colors, numbers, etc.  She will be more than ready for kindergarten when that time comes.  She learns a lot in her day care as it is very structured.

We took Bret and his family to Los Lupies last Saturday for a farewell dinner as we all will be going our separate ways this summer.  Sierra left on a jet plane early Sunday morning and is in Idaho with her other grandparents.  We will miss seeing her and the rest of my family.  Have a fun summer everyone.

Catch UP Time Again

A few weeks ago, my back started hurting like crazy, and it steadily got worse.  Thank Heaven for my son the Chiropractor.  It is finally showing much improvement, and I hope by the time we leave for our vacation to OR, I will be able to stand the long drive there.  So any way I haven't been able to sit at my computer very long and I have neglected my blog.  There have been quite a few events that have happened the past few weeks, so once again I am going to post some pictures and make comments.

 This is a picture of Sierra getting ready to be in a play that she and her Mother directed.  the play was "A Fairy-Tale in Two Acts from A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was put on by the home schooled group. Sierra had a small part in the play.  She had just finished being in her high school play, so she was one busy girl.  The kids did a really good job of acting and there were many laughs.

 Sierra graduated from high school last Friday the 8th of June. She and her family came over to have us take some pictures.
The wind was blowing really hard and it still was at the graduation ceremony held on the football field at Moapa Valley High School.  The kids had to hang onto their caps.  The talks the graduates gave were really good, inspirational, and humorous. I can't believe that Sierra has graduated and wondered where the time went.  I still remember picking her up at pre-school.  It seems like yesterday.  Good luck Sierra go out into the world and make your mark.  A new chapter in life is starting for you.

 Another picture of Sierra with her family.  Merritt, Bret, and Laura.

 Renee came out to Logandale for the graduation ceremony and stayed with me. Her sister was graduating too.  Saturday morning Rozlynn came out of the bedroom after waiting patiently for me to get up.  She was awake at 6 A.M. and Renee made her stay in the bedroom until I got up at 7:30. I asked her if she wanted pancakes and she said yes.  I asked her how many, one or two, and she said two.  She took maybe two bites and then wanted to take the rest to the birds.  I found out later she had found the bag of crackers that Renee had for her and had eaten the whole bag in the bedroom.  No wonder she wasn't hungry.  We spent the whole morning playing with chalk on the patio, and carrying on the most interesting conversation.  She talks up a storm now and I enjoyed talking with her.  In the above picture she is looking at the little boy who is peeing in the yard and says just that "he's pee peeing in the yard."  We were in our PJ's all morning long.

 I should have put this picture before the graduation pictures.  My two granddaughters Sierra and Anna (great granddaughter) came over with their dates for the Prom and had us take some pictures of them.  They were beautiful in their prom dresses and the guys were handsome in the tuxes.  I hear that they had a wonderful time.

Another picture of Rozlynn exploring my back yard.  She is playing with the roadrunner's wing.  We had so much fun playing together that morning.

Feeling Sad Today

I had the most wonderful neighbors, a young couple with two children.  I will have to say they have been the best neighbors I have ever had.

I can still remember when we were moving in to our home and Wendy came over to see if she could help.  She was pregnant at the time and there was no way we were going to let her help.  This is just the kind of neighbor she and her husband were always there to give a helping hand.  When we left for the Summer Wendy watched our home like a hawk and we never worried about our home.

I will never forget when Frank ended up in the hospital and we were told he had a mass in his stomach.(It ended up that he didn't)  Wendy called me on my cell, and when she found out I was by myself, she left her family right in the middle of dinner, and drove 45 miles to be with me.  This is just the kind of person she is, never giving a second thought about helping a person in need.  They were our neighbors for almost eight years and we grew to love them like family. The kids called us Grandma and Grandpa and that thrilled us.  Wendy had us go to grandparents day a couple of times as the other grandparents lived too far away to be there.

When Frank had surgeries, Kyle would watch for us to come home and would be right there to help Frank out of the car and into the house.  I could go on and on about all the things they did for us.

Then the day came when Wendy came to my door in tears telling me that they had lost their home, and they were going to move.  We cried together.  Kyle had lost his job twice, and because of this, they got behind in their house payments and could never get caught up.  Another family caught up in the bad economy.  Wendy told me they were moving just a few minutes away from us and that we would still get to see each other, but I knew it wouldn't be the same as having them next door, and it hasn't been.

Frank went over to their place a few weeks ago to get our flat bed trailer from them, and Wendy broke the news that they were moving again, this time to Arizona. Kyle found a really good job there, and Frank and I agree you have to go where there is work. When Frank came home and told me, once again I felt sad knowing that they would be so far away.  They are moving this weekend.  I took the kids a travel bag of games to play in the car as a farewell gift, and I couldn't believe how much they have grown since they moved from our neighborhood.  As I left the kids gave me a hug and told me Goodbye and a thank you Grandma. Wow! I love being called Grandma.  A tear in my eye started to form, and I quickly said goodbye with a promise from Wendy they would come and see us as they will be coming back the next two weekends. Her brother lives two house away from us.

The house next door sits empty, but every time I look over there I remember the wonderful neighbors that lived there and sometimes I can see the kids playing and hear their laughter.  I sure hope someday soon I will be fortunate enough to have some new friendly neighbors move in, but I know that no one will compare to Wendy and Kyle.