Beautiful Clearlake in California

Beautiful Clearlake in California
Pacific Ocean/Mendocino Feb 2016
Update: March 6th, 2016.
After a very very long year of learning to live a new life with my most recent handicap. I am getting movement in my arm!! :) It started the end of August and has been progressing, slowly. My issues with paranioia and depression are also getting better. I am confident that things will continue to progress. However, loosing a whole YEAR of my life is devastating to say the least. However, keeping a positive attitude for the most part has been a huge challenge, but I do it. I am grateful to all my family and friends that have been so encouraging and helpful. Thank you..




Thursday, July 31, 2014

Back to CALI and Medicine Lake

We are back in Cali.. Smile We left Roseburg about 6am headed back to California. We wanted to beat the heat. We knew the days heat would bring high temps and wanted to get the climb out of Ashland over early before the heat index was too high. We reached Ashland about 830 or so. Got fueled up and we were on our way.. It was already 80 plus and we had an 8 mile mountain to climb with truck & trailer.. Just about a mile from the top we pulled off to let the truck cool down.. didn’t’ know we only had a mile to go.. but what the heck.. aww we made it.. Medicine lake here we come.
We made it to Medicine lake about 2pm.. Weather was considerably cooler than down below.. was about 79 degrees, a welcome change over the 100 degree temps we were in for the past few days!!

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We didn’t get our normal camp spot #14 next to the lake. Sad smile
too many people this time of the year! OMG by Friday night the campground was packed!! Never seen so many people here before.. but never been here in the summer before..
We took the kayaks out that evening.. The skies were filling with the smoke of the surrounding fires. One being the “Eiler fire” Hat Creek.. Ev and I ‘s most favorite place was on fire! And it is still burning only today 8/5 is it at 20% contained.. Sad smile
Friends Glorianne & Stan have evacuees from the “Sand” fire staying with them. Housing not only people with trailers but horses as well. So many fires!

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

African Safari/Winston, OR with Don & Gail

What a great day Gail planned for us!! OMG, never went on an African safari ever!! Wildlife African Safari..in Winston, OR.. Amazing, Incredible, and so many other adjectives that I can’t think of right this minute!! Both Ev & I thought it was amazing to say the least.
Don & Gail arrived to pick us up at the park where we were staying in the trailer about 11am.. We went straight to the park which was less than a mile from where we were staying. Gail got a deal on the passes for the day for all of us!! Smile
We arrived at the park about 11:30am or so.. we walked around the “walking part” of the grounds. We even took a little ride on the little train.. Smile 

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What an incredible day this was. I am not one for zoo’s.. don’t like to see animals that are wild in captivity.. however this was pretty darn good! however I would imagine the liability insurance this place carries must be EXPENSIVE! Not to mention the FOOD bill.. ok better not go there! Look at the pictures  Smile
After a fabulous drive through the park and seeing all the animals in somewhat of a natural habitat.. At least the animals that run pretty much FREE, have no predators.. Smile 
We had lunch under a wonderful tree after touring the grounds..

Still very HOT day! Seems like we just can’t escape the heat this trip..
Don & Gail dropped us off at our trailer about 3ish or so.. Took a much needed rest and then went over for yet another fantastic dinner at Gail & Don’s! At this point I am thinking we should have taken them to dinner.. but oh no, Gail was cooking salmon! And it was to die for! You two out did yourselves this time! WOW what a great time we had! Smile You are amazing! I am sure when we left you needed to rest for at least a week! Thank you for everything! A real wonderful experience all the way around! Next time I think Gail and I should get a pedicure and go shopping.. Don can go fishing and Ev can go play golf.. sounds like a plan.. it would be much more relaxing.. Love ya sweetie!

Oregon Bound/Gail & Don’s

We were up early, ready for a day’s drive to Roseburg, OR where our friends Gail & Don live. We made reservations at the Rising River RV park in Roseburg for the 3 nights we would be in Roseburg.
Gail & Don were ready for us when we arrived. We didn’t pull into the park till well after 5pm on Monday 7/28/14. Gail was

holding dinner till we could get set up. What a good friend she is..
We arrived at the house about 630pm and dinner was ready.. We enjoyed a nice rotisserie chicken from costco!! Smile Best dang chicken! She had made side dishes to go with it.. Everything tasted wonderful! It was a very HOT day, over a 100 degrees! We enjoyed their company for a few hours and then we were back at the trailer for the evening. We had  busy day on Tuesday planned.
Gail arrived at our trailer about 11am to take us out for a day of wine tasting.. We stopped at few different wineries in the Umpqua Valley. I particularly liked the first winery we went to,
Becker Vineyard. A very unique Winery. Their methods are different. First of all they are dry farmed vineyard. Which makes the grapes “stressed” for which it seems they make a better wine. ? I did like 2 of the wines. I really liked the Pinot Gris (white wine) and the red table Mud Dog was fabulous! None are cheap, but affordable.

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From here we went on to Reustle - Prayer Rock Vineyards, a very upscale winery. I wasn’t so impressed with the wines. However I did think their GrĂ¼ner Veltliner was nice. In CA when we buy a bottle of wine, they wave the tasting fees, not here, so beware. A $24 bottle of wine cost us $39!! a bit much..Maybe this is why I wasn’t so impressed?

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Moving right along we headed to the final stop Henry Estate Winery. By the time we had arrived here we were all a bit tired. So we sat outside and had our lunch that Gail bought for us from Subway Smile.. After lunch we were all feeling a bit more tired. We did go into the winery, but didn’t feel much like tasting, so we thought it was a good idea to go back and rest for awhile then come back over for dinner at Gail & Don’s..So that is what we did. It was another HOT day, over 100 again.. So getting out of the heat for a couple of hours and resting sounded really good before dinner..
Before we left for the day, Gail had put on a roast in the crock pot.. very good dinner once again.. We had a lovely day! Thank you Gail for making a very special day!

Ron & Suzi time… :)

After truly and amazing afternoon with Irene and her family, we had made plans for dinner with Ron & Suzi, Rod and Darin & Denice.
I picked up some stuff for salad, the bread and had a tri tip in the freezer. So as soon as we got back from Gig Harbor, went back to the trailer and made the salad, did a fruit tray, packed up the rest of food and headed over to brother Ron’s house. We had a most relaxing evening with family and friends. It was just the awesome day!

On Sunday we decided that night before as we were eating dinner that we should all go to the lake! Which lake was still in questions until we arrived on Sunday morning and we decided on Lake Tanawax..We had the kayaks and our chairs a cooler and a lunch.. We were ready. When we arrived at Ron & Suzi’s they too were ready for the day.. Off we went..
It was a beautiful day!! Temps were well into the 80’s making a great day at the lake. We brought the dogs and they were a handful, due to I couldn’t take them off their leashes.. Sad smile Totally sucked. Oh well we got through it.
After we arrived brother Ron says to me, “you wanna bet that Rod will show up”? I said no cause I was sure he would.. and he did! It a fun day to spend with my brothers that I don’t get to see as often as I would like to. Being that we live so far away, so there are limited time in visiting.. However this weekend with Ron & Suzi and Rod was fantastic!! Suzi is a wonderful friend! Just love her to death! We got to catch up while sitting there on the beach.. Another fantastic day! However it too was a sad day.. We would be leaving to head back toward home.. Saying Good bye is always sad.. Love you all so much!

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Jr High School School BFF

Irene and I got to meet up after not seeing one another after 35 years!! OMG! It was incredible to see her after all those years!
We went to Jr High School together, we were next door neighbors for nearly 3 years in the late 60’s. We lost tough in our mid 20’s..
Then about a year ago “Tiger” my great nephew found her for me..  Took him all of about 15 minutes and I had been looking for years! Thank you Tiger.. Smile

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So once I got her mailing address and her married name I wrote to her so that I wouldn’t shock her to badly.. She of course now had my email and she too was ecstatic! So we have been writing back and forth for about 2 years now.
When we figured out when we would be in the state of WA, I let her know and we starting trying to make plan.. But it seemed to be a very busy time for her as well as us.. Seemed her children were coming for a visit to see Irene and and her husband Steve.. Summertime fun with “Mom & Dad”.. 
Irene is a dream.. She made it work!! OMG it was wonderful!
We decided to meet in Gig Harbor Saturday July 26th for lunch. We were fortunate to meet her husband Steve of 32 years!! And one of her lovely daughters, Sarah (cutie pie) and boyfriend (Patrick). The kids didn’t stay and eat with us, they went on their own. It was nice that Irene and I could catch up while Ev and Steve talked about really important things like sailing, sports, etc.. Smile

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Our reunion was short lived. Irene and Steve were on their way to a funeral. Steve’s Uncle had passed away. Even though our meeting was short it was powerful..
It was an amazing day!!

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Wine Tasting with Ron/Suzi and Friends

Suzi made arrangements for us all to meet Friday night to go wine tasting at the new Rainier View Winery in Graham.
We arrived a bit late, however we were still able to sit and relax with Ron/Suzi and Darin/Denice. A good time was had by all. We tasted some very different wines. Joelle and Clay are the owners.. They explained to us that they made their wines the European way. Explaining that there aren't nearly the preservatives in their “fruit” wines and there is more fruit. These wines were not at all the traditional tastes we are used to here in the USA. They had a chardonnay and Malbec, again not the traditional tastes. However they were quite nice and very refreshing. There was also some fruity wines such as Blueberry and a lovely Strawberry as well as a Rasberry.. All were delightful. The owners Joelle and Clay were so kind and gave us lots of information about the way they make their wine. Due to us being late on arrival the owners were gracious and allowed us extra time past their closing hour of 7pm, this lovely Friday evening…
After our wine adventure, we ventured out to the Kapowsin Tavern in Kapowsin (imagine that one??), where we had some pizza and had a few glasses of beer. We all had a great time..
After dinner we drove over to see Ian’s (Denice’s son) new home. Very nice home and lots of room!! We didn’t stay long as we were so late in getting over there. Soon we were on our way home.
A great day!!

Today Rick & Lynn left for their long motorcycle ride to South Dakota to Mt Rushmore! Have a great ride and a wonderful adventure!!!

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Thursday, July 24, 2014

Day trip to Seattle/Lunch

Our plan for today is to meet Janelle for lunch in Seattle and visit Pikes Place Market.
Actually our day started out a bit stressful. As soon as Maddi and were in the “benz” the “flat tire light” came on..I called Rick and he directed me to a place in Sumner where they checked it out and then we were off. Next stop Seattle.. Or so I thought.. I should have used the rest room before I left the tire place, so looked for a place along the freeway and took an exit. When coming back to get on to the freeway I discovered I had been going “south” instead of “north” to Seattle.. 40 minutes out of our way.. dang it’s hell to get old! By the time we arrived at Pikes Market Place it was Noon and we would meet Janelle at 1 at the “gum wall”.
Maddi and tried to rush through the Market Place.. There were sooooooooooooo many people I had Maddi hold my hand so we wouldn’t get separated. It was horrible the amount of people.. Can’t really see too much or enjoy shopping when it is like that..
Soon Maddi and made our way to the “Gum Wall” on Post Alley. OMG, gross..
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We had a nice surprise when we landed at the “gum wall”, Janelle had invited her new “bow”, Eddie to join us. He didn’t work to far from where she was working.. Smile 

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Soon we were on our way to the Red Robbin for Lunch on the waterfront in Seattle..
We had a nice lunch over looking the sound.. The weather was still awful really.. Mostly overcast and a few drizzles here and there.
When Maddi and I arrived I parked the little red car in front of an antique store.. Sign was posted for Antique shoppers only.. So we did a little shopping.. When we came back from lunch little red car was gone!!! TOWED! I was so upset! But kept my cool..(if that is what you want to call it, this was the only way I could think). Let Janelle know I had been towed, she in turn called Eddie was just getting off work. He was so kind to come and get it and take us to the towing place! Bless his heart! He stayed with us during the whole process of trying to get the car back. Instead of going into all the damaging details, I will spare you this. However I will share with you that it is like a “brutal mugging” and it is legal!!! After 2 hours and bunch of “crap” and $305.00 later we were finally on our way. BTW the city of Seattle gets $130.00 of that money! A legal way to brutalize their tourists…Eddie stayed with us the whole time.. Smile Thank you so much!!
Due to the late hour we would now get stuck in a nightmare of traffic. We finally arrived back at Rick & Lynn’s about 7pm..
I guess I should have figured that the day didn’t start out too well, should have turned around after we found that there was something wrong with the tires.. Sad smile Sure took the wind out of my sails..

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Dinner with Brian & Joan 7/22/14

Impromptu dinner with friends. Known Brian for a quite a few years. Brian and Joan recently met online. A blooming new romance!! What a dear lady she is. Love that girl already!
Brian and Joan served up some very nice fish.. rockfish and cod.. yummy.. I brought the rice and salad…
Brian was serving up some Grey Goose martinis.. I had two and I am having a hard time to remember the whole evening.. YICKS! However I do remember that it took us about a half hour to get there and an hour and half to get home. Rick had brought his vehicle too and had to leave early to go do a bid on a job.. I had thought he would come back.. ? NOT..We again were driving the ‘benz’.. cute car.. Everett was driving..

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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Lunch with the girls.. 7/22/14

We planned a nice luncheon with the girls!! We met at “Bob’s Burgers” on Meridian in Puyallup, WA at noon..
I picked up Suzi, Kenzie and headed up to meet Season, Ang, and Lynn… We had nice lunch with the cute “mom to be” Season (due anytime with twin boys!)
.. It was wonderful to visit with everyone! Hadn’t seen Kenzie is sometime.. She and her Mom now live in Texas.. So she is here visiting her Dad and other family for the summer..

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Jesse & Teresa’s Dinner 7/21/14

We were invited to J & T’s for dinner Monday evening… I spent the morning cooking up a lemon meringue pie and some cupcakes for the kids.. uummmm.. It was quite a little drive from brother Rick’s to Jesse’s.. About 2 hours. We left about 3 and got there about 5.. We went the back way due to all the traffic that time of the day.. We had the little red car the m-benz..Smile with the top down and we were just a cruis’in.. Smile

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We just had a ball with all those kids! OMG there are so many can’t keep track of them all! Teresa’s sisters were also there with their children.. Seems like the kids are all pretty close in age.. They have so much fun! Teresa’s Mom and Dad also joined us. Everyone is so sweet and nice.. You all are so wonderful! And what a excellent dinner! Love it! Thank you so much!!

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Sunday, July 20, 2014

Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad 7/20/14

We were up bright and early on Sunday after a wonderful party the day before! Rick mentioned that we should do this train ride over in Elbe, WA about a 45 minute drive. So I booked the tickets there were 8 of us.. Janelle, Cadence, Maya, Rick, Lynn, Maddi, Evee and myself… Tickets were cheap enough.. We took the 1230pm ride. Train was cute, short ride to Mineral.. Not much to see really. We did stop in “Mineral” to view some of the other old trains.. Also an old logging camp.. Toured it for about 45 minutes.. It was fun to spend time with family..

In  the meantime Randy & Amy called and we invited them up for dinner.. So on the way home from the train we stopped at the store and picked up a few groceries..
Had a great visit over a nice dinner with friends..

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