Because I have too many Facebook albums...
Friday night's Mariner's game...
With my sister and brother-in-law...
and Sunday's wild animal adventure at NW Trek...
and a few more...
and finally...
and a few more...
and finally...
Jp
Monday, August 30, 2010
Updating
I've been busy as heck these last few days... busy having way too much fun.And I suppose the Navy had some role in keeping me occupied on Friday (I passed the IFA - click the icon) and today with just a regular workout and some more Navy knowledge review with my recruiter.
But right after I got home from the Navy on Friday, my sister Andrea was over because they were having Mom & Dad look after the kids while they went to the Mariner game on free tickets from Nathan's work. She immediately asked if I wanted to come too, since they had an extra ticket. "Sure!" So I had a second free game to the Mariners this month! :) We took the bus from the Kingsgate P&R. I hadn't eaten much all day, so by the time we got in our right field seats I glommed down everything I brought with. After the National Anthem, I got Ivar's clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, and that took care of it.
The game itself did not go as well as the last. We lost 6-3, but we were playing the Twins, who are one of the best teams. Ichiro had a triple and ended up scoring, so that was neat. It was an awfully late night, but we had a fun time together.
Saturday I slept in, and then busied myself by organizing all my dvd's. This will help me (and my family) make sense of them when we want to watch one. I made a salad for dinner and watched one during chat.
Yesterday, Sunday the 29th, I spent with my friend Becky. I visited her church with her and then we took off for an excursion to North West Trek, an outdoor wildlife park an hour-and-a-half south of here. It's partly like a zoo in a woods, and then mostly an hour-long, open-air tram ride through five miles of wilderness. We saw caribou right away, deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, a herd of a dozen bison lazing away on a grassy plain, a bull moose! right outside my window about 10 feet away, and a little herd of bachelor elk sitting by a small lake. At one pond, we saw a mommy raccoon with three babies getting their paws wet.
In the zoo part, I especially loved the river otters and the beavers, since they were very active, putting on a show. And of course, because they were so cute.
Becky and I had a Mexican buffet for lunch and after the park went for a drive and a little walk in the park along Lake Washington in Renton. On the way back we stopped by Denny's for dinner. A perfect day, really!
Jp
Thursday, August 26, 2010
First Day Back
Unbelievably, I woke up at 7:30, so I fell back asleep and dreamed of waking up early. By 9 am, I was ready to wake up for real.
All morning long I busied myself by unpacking bags and putting things away. Between a home-cooked breakfast and sweeping the kitchen, this went pretty quickly. Had to open a lot of junk mail and find the four or five pieces out of more than a dozen that mattered, one being the "On the Air" episode from Rodney... "Thanks Rodney! Will try it out tomorrow!"
Since Mom was going up to Everett to visit my oldest sister today, I thought it'd be cool to carpool and then keep going north to the Navy base to use the pool. I've tried twice on weekends, and it has always been closed, but today I made it. Walked through the pouring rain to get to the "Commons" and found the fitness center. Ended up swimming two 500 yard distances in the 25 yd (eight lane) pool. First one in 12 minutes, second in roughly 11. Felt really good when I was done.
I laid down for a nap upon getting back around 4:30. Just leftovers for dinner, and then I fell to working on publishing the trip pictures. Took the dog for a walk... the first one for both of us in a long time. He was a happy little puppy. :) Had to wear a sweatshirt, it was getting so cold though. It was beautifully overcast the entire day. What a relief!
Jp
All morning long I busied myself by unpacking bags and putting things away. Between a home-cooked breakfast and sweeping the kitchen, this went pretty quickly. Had to open a lot of junk mail and find the four or five pieces out of more than a dozen that mattered, one being the "On the Air" episode from Rodney... "Thanks Rodney! Will try it out tomorrow!"
Since Mom was going up to Everett to visit my oldest sister today, I thought it'd be cool to carpool and then keep going north to the Navy base to use the pool. I've tried twice on weekends, and it has always been closed, but today I made it. Walked through the pouring rain to get to the "Commons" and found the fitness center. Ended up swimming two 500 yard distances in the 25 yd (eight lane) pool. First one in 12 minutes, second in roughly 11. Felt really good when I was done.
I laid down for a nap upon getting back around 4:30. Just leftovers for dinner, and then I fell to working on publishing the trip pictures. Took the dog for a walk... the first one for both of us in a long time. He was a happy little puppy. :) Had to wear a sweatshirt, it was getting so cold though. It was beautifully overcast the entire day. What a relief!
Jp
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Home!
Here I am, home again. We just made it back, and I didn't have to drive at all! Meg & Jason split up the day and I relaxed in the back seat, sleeping on and off.
Here are the numbers: (roughly) 45 hours of driving, 4,936 miles, & 12 states...
It's good to be back... we went swimming at the neighborhood pool after unpacking the car. Mom had a glorious spaghetti dinner for us and I took a very long nap before bed. :)
I am so blessed to be able to do what I've done! I feel as if it's helping me be ready to leave to have been away for so long. Yep, I'm back home, but I also know my time is short.
Thanks to the Lord for his provision, protection and blessings!
Jp
Here are the numbers: (roughly) 45 hours of driving, 4,936 miles, & 12 states...
It's good to be back... we went swimming at the neighborhood pool after unpacking the car. Mom had a glorious spaghetti dinner for us and I took a very long nap before bed. :)I am so blessed to be able to do what I've done! I feel as if it's helping me be ready to leave to have been away for so long. Yep, I'm back home, but I also know my time is short.
Thanks to the Lord for his provision, protection and blessings!
Jp
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Many Miles
Hello from the State Library of California in Sacramento. We're just spending time with some books before we meet Meg's friend for lunch. We struck it rich last night though! Jason's Aunt Dorthy lives just 30 miles east of here, so we stayed last night with her. She's a darling! A lovely old lady who really opened her arms to us. At breakfast this morning we were able to chat and get to know each other... her husband who has passed away was in the Navy during WWII, and applied and went to electronics school... after the war he went to UW Madison, like my Mom did... such a small world! It was a lovely time! We only asked to stay last night at the very last minute because we thought we'd only get as far as Fresno. But we arrived there at 5 pm, and we had a lot more drive left in us, so we pressed on into the moonlight. Got to drive a deserted highway and as we did I gazed at the meadows and trees with their moon-shadows.
But I haven't said anything since Norman!
We met Mike on Wednesday morning (the 18th) for a goodbye breakfast at IHOP. This was much happier then a late night goodbye would have been. I wore my OU t-shirt, and inspiration struck as Jason had a similar type UW shirt. After our lovely breakfast, Mike and Jason switched shirts in the gentleman's room for the picture in the last post. :) Saying goodbye was sad, of course, but we soon found reason to meet again after we left. Before getting on the freeway I remembered something we had forgotten to return to him, so we returned briefly to his house. Second goodbyes are always better!
I didn't drive much on our way back west that day. We went through a lot of boring country, but not before stopping at Elk City, OK, for the National Hwy 66 Museum. They had a very neat, 20 minute documentary about the evolution of transportation in America and the importance of Route 66. Back on the road, Jason drove all the way to Amarillo, TX, where we switched. I kept on until Albuquerque, NM, where Meg took over until we reached Grants, NM, nearer the AZ border.
On Thursday the 19th, we visited a privately owned "Meteor Crater" not too far into Arizona. The crater itself was very impressive, but the commercialism sickened me a little. I was sorry the US Parks couldn't take over this, as it's on private land. This day was full of cataclysmic holes in the ground... next stop was the Grand Canyon. We found a snack in Flagstaff and then took off on the long loop to the South Rim of the park. Before this day I had only seen the Canyon from 14,000 feet; when you're on the edge of it, it's incomparable. Magnificent. Outstanding. Breathtaking. Grand! We stopped at the tower, built at one overlook in the 1930's for the highest views. This was great! Along the highway, there were a few turnouts, and at the first we had a wonderful view. Meg and Jason spent their time getting as close to the edge as they dared. I stayed back a few feet more. :)
After looking at a few overlooks and the visitor's center, we headed south again, out of the park. Just outside the shops and motels started instantly. One good thing was the IMAX theater, playing a movie about the canyon. They had fun footage, flying down the river just inches from the water and sweeping scenes of rock that we almost ran into. I loved it when they flew right over the edge and straight down! :) But most of the film focused on the explorers and early people groups that lived in the canyon. The Spanish, the French and finally the Americans, one group in particular from 1869 that traveled the entire length for the first time. The re-enactment was outstanding... they actually took three canoes and filmed actors going down the rapids... wow! After this we made our way back to Flagstaff and stayed there for the night.
Oh, the Marines.
Friday the 20th we practically flew across Arizona. We left super early in the morning because we had heard from Zac the day before and found out he was getting off work at noon. And we made it there by noon. A lot of driving in the blazing sun. We did get to see Saguaro Cactus forests though, in the mountains between Flagstaff and Phoenix. I've always wanted to! But coming to Phoenix and to Yuma is nothing but flat nothing interrupted by a few low mountains.
But when we got there, he found out they were keeping him at work until his usual quitting time, even though he put in extra duty this week in order to get off. We were waiting to eat lunch with him, but that turned into a few snacks and then into dinner with him when he finally arrived at 4:30. It was great to see him, but darn it! they keep starting us off on the wrong foot! The bad thing about it is that it obviously bugs him a bunch. And the weather! Oh, the weather. 110+ when we arrived, and stayed that way throughout. Felt like walking inside an oven. We were able to enjoy his company for Friday evening, all day Saturday, and half of Sunday though. It was great to visit, even though anything outside was out of the question. We watched lots of movies, some at the theater and some in the motel room off his PlayStation, like Sherlock Holmes (I was very glad to finally see it!). We played cards, went shopping once and ate out a lot. Did In & Out Burger, Outback Steakhouse and Chili's (another first for me). And with all the time he had to be at his base we did a bit of relaxing as well (my poor brother!). I hope we encouraged him a little (I think we did... he was glad to see us).
Monday the 23rd we drove like mad from Yuma to half-way up California. We finished the Jasper Fforde book that Meg has been reading to us as we were pulling away from LA (a good ending! hurrah!). We filled the tank in El Centro (near Yuma) and didn't stop until just before LA (thankfully, we avoided the city). I drove all the way to Fresno, where we rearranged our plans (as I said above). So I have caught you up.
(Second half of this post brought to you from Medford, OR, where we have stopped for the night. We're "couch surfing" - how strange - at a very nice couple's home. Spent an hour and a half just visiting and chatting. We are their first guests! Oh, and we did meet Meg's friend for lunch... we had a very authentic Chinese meal. A very good time, really.)
Jp
But I haven't said anything since Norman!
We met Mike on Wednesday morning (the 18th) for a goodbye breakfast at IHOP. This was much happier then a late night goodbye would have been. I wore my OU t-shirt, and inspiration struck as Jason had a similar type UW shirt. After our lovely breakfast, Mike and Jason switched shirts in the gentleman's room for the picture in the last post. :) Saying goodbye was sad, of course, but we soon found reason to meet again after we left. Before getting on the freeway I remembered something we had forgotten to return to him, so we returned briefly to his house. Second goodbyes are always better!
I didn't drive much on our way back west that day. We went through a lot of boring country, but not before stopping at Elk City, OK, for the National Hwy 66 Museum. They had a very neat, 20 minute documentary about the evolution of transportation in America and the importance of Route 66. Back on the road, Jason drove all the way to Amarillo, TX, where we switched. I kept on until Albuquerque, NM, where Meg took over until we reached Grants, NM, nearer the AZ border.
On Thursday the 19th, we visited a privately owned "Meteor Crater" not too far into Arizona. The crater itself was very impressive, but the commercialism sickened me a little. I was sorry the US Parks couldn't take over this, as it's on private land. This day was full of cataclysmic holes in the ground... next stop was the Grand Canyon. We found a snack in Flagstaff and then took off on the long loop to the South Rim of the park. Before this day I had only seen the Canyon from 14,000 feet; when you're on the edge of it, it's incomparable. Magnificent. Outstanding. Breathtaking. Grand! We stopped at the tower, built at one overlook in the 1930's for the highest views. This was great! Along the highway, there were a few turnouts, and at the first we had a wonderful view. Meg and Jason spent their time getting as close to the edge as they dared. I stayed back a few feet more. :)
After looking at a few overlooks and the visitor's center, we headed south again, out of the park. Just outside the shops and motels started instantly. One good thing was the IMAX theater, playing a movie about the canyon. They had fun footage, flying down the river just inches from the water and sweeping scenes of rock that we almost ran into. I loved it when they flew right over the edge and straight down! :) But most of the film focused on the explorers and early people groups that lived in the canyon. The Spanish, the French and finally the Americans, one group in particular from 1869 that traveled the entire length for the first time. The re-enactment was outstanding... they actually took three canoes and filmed actors going down the rapids... wow! After this we made our way back to Flagstaff and stayed there for the night.Oh, the Marines.
Friday the 20th we practically flew across Arizona. We left super early in the morning because we had heard from Zac the day before and found out he was getting off work at noon. And we made it there by noon. A lot of driving in the blazing sun. We did get to see Saguaro Cactus forests though, in the mountains between Flagstaff and Phoenix. I've always wanted to! But coming to Phoenix and to Yuma is nothing but flat nothing interrupted by a few low mountains.
But when we got there, he found out they were keeping him at work until his usual quitting time, even though he put in extra duty this week in order to get off. We were waiting to eat lunch with him, but that turned into a few snacks and then into dinner with him when he finally arrived at 4:30. It was great to see him, but darn it! they keep starting us off on the wrong foot! The bad thing about it is that it obviously bugs him a bunch. And the weather! Oh, the weather. 110+ when we arrived, and stayed that way throughout. Felt like walking inside an oven. We were able to enjoy his company for Friday evening, all day Saturday, and half of Sunday though. It was great to visit, even though anything outside was out of the question. We watched lots of movies, some at the theater and some in the motel room off his PlayStation, like Sherlock Holmes (I was very glad to finally see it!). We played cards, went shopping once and ate out a lot. Did In & Out Burger, Outback Steakhouse and Chili's (another first for me). And with all the time he had to be at his base we did a bit of relaxing as well (my poor brother!). I hope we encouraged him a little (I think we did... he was glad to see us).
Monday the 23rd we drove like mad from Yuma to half-way up California. We finished the Jasper Fforde book that Meg has been reading to us as we were pulling away from LA (a good ending! hurrah!). We filled the tank in El Centro (near Yuma) and didn't stop until just before LA (thankfully, we avoided the city). I drove all the way to Fresno, where we rearranged our plans (as I said above). So I have caught you up.
(Second half of this post brought to you from Medford, OR, where we have stopped for the night. We're "couch surfing" - how strange - at a very nice couple's home. Spent an hour and a half just visiting and chatting. We are their first guests! Oh, and we did meet Meg's friend for lunch... we had a very authentic Chinese meal. A very good time, really.)
Jp
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Last Full Day
The plan was to meet after ten and go back to La Baguette for breakfast pastries. Except we slept in a little past that :) It was eleven-thirty by the time we got going... so our breakfast was more of a brunch. I tried an apple strudel and a ham & cheese croissant, very good of course. Meg wanted to take a look in the used book store next door in the little strip mall. So we went in and poked around. I found a big book of Bill Mauldin "Willie and Joe" comics, including a bunch not included in "Up Front".
Mike and I spent most of the day to ourselves again. After checking on Charlie and Patty, we went to the zoo, like last year, to see some of the things we missed. The petting zoo was completed, where there was a small parrot house. Moments after walking in, Mike had one sitting on his shoulder before it jumped on his head :) ...even though we didn't buy the little cups of nectar they sell to entice them to do so. Also got to see the gorillas this year, and they were very close up to the glass. Very cool. The zebras and giraffes were missed last year as well, due to their lack of any kind of shade. :) The weather was much cooler than it had been and it even sprinkled a bit, causing me to wear Mike's other ball hat instead of my straw hat; and thankfully he had an umbrella. Very pleasant, even though I was wearing a Yankees hat. :)
On the way back we meant to stop by the pond by the botanical gardens in OKC like last year, but sadly they had torn everything out in order to make "improvements" (I am skeptical). So while we were there in Bricktown, we thought it would be nice to try a new restaurant. Decided on the fondu place across the street from the spaghetti place. Wow! It was fancy! We had Swiss cheese and the waiter prepared it in front of us in the pot on the stove built into our table. The experience was completely unlike anything else I've ever done. And it was exactly what we wanted. Always wanted to try one and it was light enough to suit us. Dipped bread, apples and veggies in the pot with long poker forks. So cool!
On the way back we drove scenically through Moore and saw his first apartment and the little building where the newspaper was that he worked at. Back in Norman, we went shopping for dinner at Homeland and for some essentials at Walmart (I found a Sooners shirt).
Once Meg and Jason came over we boiled some water for *lots* of corn-on-the-cob, and Mike grilled a fillet of salmon for the four of us to share while we watched "The Thin Man Goes Home", our 2nd favorite Thin Man movie. And after that (and while Meg & Jason went back to the motel) we walked Charlie around the neighborhood for a nice long while, talking and deciding not to be sad yet about leaving the next day. The whole evening was simply perfect and I think I'll remember it, like this trip, forever.
Jp
Mike and I spent most of the day to ourselves again. After checking on Charlie and Patty, we went to the zoo, like last year, to see some of the things we missed. The petting zoo was completed, where there was a small parrot house. Moments after walking in, Mike had one sitting on his shoulder before it jumped on his head :) ...even though we didn't buy the little cups of nectar they sell to entice them to do so. Also got to see the gorillas this year, and they were very close up to the glass. Very cool. The zebras and giraffes were missed last year as well, due to their lack of any kind of shade. :) The weather was much cooler than it had been and it even sprinkled a bit, causing me to wear Mike's other ball hat instead of my straw hat; and thankfully he had an umbrella. Very pleasant, even though I was wearing a Yankees hat. :)
On the way back we meant to stop by the pond by the botanical gardens in OKC like last year, but sadly they had torn everything out in order to make "improvements" (I am skeptical). So while we were there in Bricktown, we thought it would be nice to try a new restaurant. Decided on the fondu place across the street from the spaghetti place. Wow! It was fancy! We had Swiss cheese and the waiter prepared it in front of us in the pot on the stove built into our table. The experience was completely unlike anything else I've ever done. And it was exactly what we wanted. Always wanted to try one and it was light enough to suit us. Dipped bread, apples and veggies in the pot with long poker forks. So cool!
On the way back we drove scenically through Moore and saw his first apartment and the little building where the newspaper was that he worked at. Back in Norman, we went shopping for dinner at Homeland and for some essentials at Walmart (I found a Sooners shirt).
Once Meg and Jason came over we boiled some water for *lots* of corn-on-the-cob, and Mike grilled a fillet of salmon for the four of us to share while we watched "The Thin Man Goes Home", our 2nd favorite Thin Man movie. And after that (and while Meg & Jason went back to the motel) we walked Charlie around the neighborhood for a nice long while, talking and deciding not to be sad yet about leaving the next day. The whole evening was simply perfect and I think I'll remember it, like this trip, forever.
Jp
Monday, August 16, 2010
Welcome to the Warren
Mike picked us up this morning (again, later because of a late night) and we all piled in Josephine for a drive to Bricktown and lunch at the Spaghetti Warehouse. Meg and Jason treated us to lunch... some very good meaty spaghetti... and then we went to see 'Despicable Me in 3D' at the Warren theater in Moore. This place is big and fancy. Decorated in a retro fashion with attendants in dress shirts and ties as they sold popcorn and took tickets. The movie itself was our *only* option :) and it was pretty fun. Made lots of fun of evil masterminds and had lots of funny cliches about them. Afterwords we had burgers and shakes at their authentically retro diner before going back to Mike's.
We watched The African Queen... which was very surprising at the end... :) and then a couple episodes of Remember WENN before we said goodnight... a nice relaxing day. :)
Jp
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Meet the Family
To start today we went to the duck pond just south of the football stadium for a picnic lunch. It's hard to describe sausage and cheese sandwiches as a brunch, but that's about what it was. :) We found a little shade under a big tree next to the water. A small stone platform had been built there, so we sat on the edges and called it a picnic. Lots of bread was handed out to the feathered beggars and their catfish friends. Jason attempted to catch one of the latter with his hands before he was distracted by a large frog. lol! With the beautiful setting, we took some pictures.
(Those I'll have to post later, as I am in Yuma tonight [8/21/10] and the Internet is extremely precarious - I'm on Jason's machine because mine doesn't recognize the weak signal - and I hope I'll be able to chat a little at least. We'll see.)
Mike and I went back to his place to take care of the animals before we left and Meg and Jason went and did their own stuff. They wanted some time alone anyway since on Aug. 15 last year we had just gotten home from the last trip here and they had first talked about being interested in each other (newlyweds... :). On the way home we stopped at Homeland for some lettuce for Patty Pig and then shared some presents when we returned. Memory gets hazy for some of this time, but we did look through a bit of that High School annual from Elkhart I had gotten off eBay last year. Am I silly or what!
Mike and I left early enough so we could make it down to Texas on I-44 and see the Red River, as well as cross into Texas and say I'd been there. Drove by Sheppard AFB to the outskirts of Wichita Falls. When we told Mike's sister & brother in law this, they looked rather surprised. I don't think many people think much about sightseeing down here... :) On the way back up to Lawton, we saw a wondrous thunderstorm off to our left as well as a dramatic rain shaft. I almost forgot! On the way down to Texas (past Lawton, I think) there was a pond off to our right... maybe 50 yards long... and there was a jet ski pulling a water-skier behind them! They'd probably get about five seconds one way before they'd have to stop and go the other way. It was so narrow, it was ridiculous! We had such a great time just driving. Listened to 1930's music as we cruised and got a chocolate shake half-way down in Chickasha.
We got to Judy & Dickie's house right on time, but we got to sit and visit for a while before going to dinner because some people were running late. And it was great! Dickie had a lot to say about his Army days in Germany and they were both very interested in what I'm doing. Mike's niece Tracy soon came as well bringing her little dog to add to the two already there. As with Charlie back at Mike's, I was covered with kisses. :) We decided on Red Lobster, and soon headed out together. Connie and her friend met us there. Everything was so natural, I felt like I was immediately part of the family. On the way back to the house they talked about the old days in Lawton (which I enjoyed very much) and when we all got back to the house we talked a bunch more. So very fun!
And Mike and I enjoyed a long conversation all the way back to Norman. Because saying goodnight was not an option yet, we picked up Meg & Jason from the motel and went back to Mike's house. Watched Galaxy Quest for a bunch of laughs and then around 2am he took us back to the motel. It saved us from getting a little lost on the way back again. Too many one-way streets around here. :)
(Those I'll have to post later, as I am in Yuma tonight [8/21/10] and the Internet is extremely precarious - I'm on Jason's machine because mine doesn't recognize the weak signal - and I hope I'll be able to chat a little at least. We'll see.)Mike and I went back to his place to take care of the animals before we left and Meg and Jason went and did their own stuff. They wanted some time alone anyway since on Aug. 15 last year we had just gotten home from the last trip here and they had first talked about being interested in each other (newlyweds... :). On the way home we stopped at Homeland for some lettuce for Patty Pig and then shared some presents when we returned. Memory gets hazy for some of this time, but we did look through a bit of that High School annual from Elkhart I had gotten off eBay last year. Am I silly or what!
We got to Judy & Dickie's house right on time, but we got to sit and visit for a while before going to dinner because some people were running late. And it was great! Dickie had a lot to say about his Army days in Germany and they were both very interested in what I'm doing. Mike's niece Tracy soon came as well bringing her little dog to add to the two already there. As with Charlie back at Mike's, I was covered with kisses. :) We decided on Red Lobster, and soon headed out together. Connie and her friend met us there. Everything was so natural, I felt like I was immediately part of the family. On the way back to the house they talked about the old days in Lawton (which I enjoyed very much) and when we all got back to the house we talked a bunch more. So very fun!
And Mike and I enjoyed a long conversation all the way back to Norman. Because saying goodnight was not an option yet, we picked up Meg & Jason from the motel and went back to Mike's house. Watched Galaxy Quest for a bunch of laughs and then around 2am he took us back to the motel. It saved us from getting a little lost on the way back again. Too many one-way streets around here. :)
Even though every day was fun, this was by far my favorite.
Jp
Jp
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Perfect Day #1
Because of the late night, a late morning followed. I think it was after 10 when we met up; Mike picked us up at the motel and we crossed the freeway to head to The Cracker Barrel for a bountiful breakfast. I was approached by a very cute little girl who admired my "Don't Tread on Me" t-shirt. She wanted to know where I got it, and I think she was disappointed when I told her 'Boston'. I got it for mere historical reasons when on my tour of New England, and I forgot that lots of people here are *big* fans of the Tea Party thing. :)
Meg and Jason had stuff they needed to do, so Mike and I dropped them back at the motel and we went back to his house to take care of the animals before we headed over to the Museum of Art on campus. Parked across the street at a garage, and the heat (around 110 in the shade) made us dash in as quick as possible. I've never really been an art gallery person, so I wondered how much I would appreciate it. There were a bunch of modern pieces at first, so much was lost on me... :) but then there was a French Impressionist collection that was stunning, along with eighteenth century furniture and decor to compliment it. I also enjoyed more of the European works... one in particular. A girl with a basket by a river in the morning. Can't remember the artist. Darn. We were nearly the only people in there, although it was free admission week. The museum guards outnumbered us and were sometimes helpful and once a little over-zealous: "please don't touch the wall". lol
Down the street from the art museum is the Museum of Natural History. Also on free admission day, this place was packed! And we bravely walked from the car to the AC relief inside. :) Much of the first exhibits were geared towards children, but I really loved the complete dinosaur skeletons. We could view the giant Apatosaurus in the face by taking a glass elevator to the next level. They also had the world's largest Triceratops skull. Wow! Obviously, they had a lot of Native American history, which was neat, and then we finished through the temporary exhibit focusing on chocolate. As Mike said, not too sure what that has to do with natural history, but it was interesting nonetheless.
At this point we were requiring rest and some food for sure. Picked up Meg & Jason for a nice lunch at one of Mike's favorites, La Baguette, a local bakery and cafe. Mmm... quiche. We relaxed so much here that by the time we were done it was close enough to time to get ready and leave for horseback riding. Thunderbird Stables, just east of Norman (and near Lake Thunderbird), let us four go out on the trail ourselves! It was nearly an hour's ride through shady trees and near ponds. We saw white-tailed deer and lots of wild turkeys. Speaking of wild, they gave me a horse that would lead, but also one that would *not* stop. I did everything in the book... reins, knees, slapping, yelling, speaking softly, patting the neck... and I've never felt more helpless in my life. The only time Buzz stopped was to eat grass whenever he wanted. After I relaxed and just rode with it, the horse did plenty of eating so that everyone could catch up. And Meg had the time of her life. :) She loved her horse and was able to do practically anything she wanted with her. Even though things were a little unexpected, I enjoyed myself heartily, and I think everyone else did too. It was a marvelous suggestion, Mike! :)
What a full day - and we weren't done yet! A brief attempted nap was undertaken before we headed of to dinner. We were treated to the cute little Italian place we enjoyed last year: "Othello's" at Campus Corner. As at lunch, Mike and I were on the same page and had the same thing. :) Simple and delicious, a perfect portion of meaty lasagna. Mmm... again.
And then, we headed over to the law school to log onto chat (using multiple computers). I love chatting in person! :) By log-off time, we were all bushed and went our separate ways.
Three days left?! Neat!
Jp
Meg and Jason had stuff they needed to do, so Mike and I dropped them back at the motel and we went back to his house to take care of the animals before we headed over to the Museum of Art on campus. Parked across the street at a garage, and the heat (around 110 in the shade) made us dash in as quick as possible. I've never really been an art gallery person, so I wondered how much I would appreciate it. There were a bunch of modern pieces at first, so much was lost on me... :) but then there was a French Impressionist collection that was stunning, along with eighteenth century furniture and decor to compliment it. I also enjoyed more of the European works... one in particular. A girl with a basket by a river in the morning. Can't remember the artist. Darn. We were nearly the only people in there, although it was free admission week. The museum guards outnumbered us and were sometimes helpful and once a little over-zealous: "please don't touch the wall". lol
Down the street from the art museum is the Museum of Natural History. Also on free admission day, this place was packed! And we bravely walked from the car to the AC relief inside. :) Much of the first exhibits were geared towards children, but I really loved the complete dinosaur skeletons. We could view the giant Apatosaurus in the face by taking a glass elevator to the next level. They also had the world's largest Triceratops skull. Wow! Obviously, they had a lot of Native American history, which was neat, and then we finished through the temporary exhibit focusing on chocolate. As Mike said, not too sure what that has to do with natural history, but it was interesting nonetheless.
At this point we were requiring rest and some food for sure. Picked up Meg & Jason for a nice lunch at one of Mike's favorites, La Baguette, a local bakery and cafe. Mmm... quiche. We relaxed so much here that by the time we were done it was close enough to time to get ready and leave for horseback riding. Thunderbird Stables, just east of Norman (and near Lake Thunderbird), let us four go out on the trail ourselves! It was nearly an hour's ride through shady trees and near ponds. We saw white-tailed deer and lots of wild turkeys. Speaking of wild, they gave me a horse that would lead, but also one that would *not* stop. I did everything in the book... reins, knees, slapping, yelling, speaking softly, patting the neck... and I've never felt more helpless in my life. The only time Buzz stopped was to eat grass whenever he wanted. After I relaxed and just rode with it, the horse did plenty of eating so that everyone could catch up. And Meg had the time of her life. :) She loved her horse and was able to do practically anything she wanted with her. Even though things were a little unexpected, I enjoyed myself heartily, and I think everyone else did too. It was a marvelous suggestion, Mike! :)
What a full day - and we weren't done yet! A brief attempted nap was undertaken before we headed of to dinner. We were treated to the cute little Italian place we enjoyed last year: "Othello's" at Campus Corner. As at lunch, Mike and I were on the same page and had the same thing. :) Simple and delicious, a perfect portion of meaty lasagna. Mmm... again.
And then, we headed over to the law school to log onto chat (using multiple computers). I love chatting in person! :) By log-off time, we were all bushed and went our separate ways.
Three days left?! Neat!
Jp
Friday, August 13, 2010
On to Oklahoma!
Today we drove and drove and drove! And I slept and rested on the backseat nearly the entire way. We got off relatively late, not leaving Ogallala until 10 or so after a quick hotel continental breakfast. Most of Nebraska that we drove through consisted entirely of cornfields. There were a few cows here and there, but it was mostly bright sun and empty fields. Not too long after getting on the road we stopped off at Gothenburg to see an original Pony Express Station that has been turned into a little museum. It was only a one-room building, but very neat to see the chip marks on the beams from constructing it and the little tidbits of history they had inside. I didn't know they had a saddle cover they could just slip off one saddle and throw across another...
Across the street was a museum of local history (with all sorts of random, neat stuff). And the town was so cute! Lots of tiny houses and white picket fences... very middle America.
We kept on along the North Platte River (along I-80) until we got to Hwy 81, which took us straight down the rest of Nebraska into Kansas (and straight through Kansas... and *lots* of corn) and into Oklahoma. We were hungry right when we crossed into Kansas, and tried the first town, but they really didn't have anything there for eateries (we decided the 100+ degree weather would be bad to sit out and have a picnic in - like we had in Wyoming) so we kept on to the next town.
Concordia, KS, was a great place to stop! Much larger, and had what we needed. It was Pizza Hut again, and they had a killer salad bar! I ate a little too much salad, I think. :) After we were stuffed, we turned around and went back to where we saw the turnoff for the Orphan Train Museum a few blocks away. This is something I had found out about only recently, within the last couple years, after my grandparents had told us about a documentary they saw on Netflix. It was a very intimate museum; they had lots of personal stories from kids that had made their new homes out west. It was simple, but well set up... and it was housed in the actual, old train station, and lots of it looked original. There were a good selection of pictures, and that is always a big hit with me. Loved how they told the story of how the orphan trains originated: big pictures and small signs! :)
It was so hot in Kansas! A real shocker, actually. Over 100 degrees and cooking. So we perspired as we walked a few yards back to the car and then we burned up the road, heading south as fast as my little Subaru Forrester could take us. Scenery was rather dull, and we counted the towns as we flew by. I took over in Newton, KS, which is just before Wichita and the OK border.
Expectations grew as we crossed. The sun was starting to go down after we passed the Payne County border within Oklahoma. :) We had a gorgeous sunset to our right... purples and oranges. Upon nearing OKC it was rather dark and I held on tight to the steering wheel as a state patrolman swerved around me and the other cars as we continued at a good pace. If he wasn't a cop I would have sworn he was a little drunk. Oh, well! As they say here in Oklahoma, "It's August."
We settled into our hotel in Norman first. It was already 10 pm, so we wanted to get that out of the way. Beautiful room too. It was just down the row of rooms from the one Meg & I had last year at the Days Inn. :) Very soon we were off to see Mike!
It was like coming home! After a warm round of greetings and lots of hugs we all went inside and relaxed for a bit, talking and catching up. The night was beautiful, so a little later on we walked Charlie on campus under bright stars and a sliver of the silver moon. While outside, we all realized we hadn't eaten any dinner yet, so we dropped Charlie off and tried out the Waffle House. It was hard deciding between breakfast and dinner, but I ended up with a BLT. We waited around a long time, talking about everything before the waitress showed us our ticket, sitting on the table all along. :) As always when with good friends, time slipped away very quickly. It was pretty late by the time we left for the motel.
Jp
Across the street was a museum of local history (with all sorts of random, neat stuff). And the town was so cute! Lots of tiny houses and white picket fences... very middle America.
We kept on along the North Platte River (along I-80) until we got to Hwy 81, which took us straight down the rest of Nebraska into Kansas (and straight through Kansas... and *lots* of corn) and into Oklahoma. We were hungry right when we crossed into Kansas, and tried the first town, but they really didn't have anything there for eateries (we decided the 100+ degree weather would be bad to sit out and have a picnic in - like we had in Wyoming) so we kept on to the next town.
Concordia, KS, was a great place to stop! Much larger, and had what we needed. It was Pizza Hut again, and they had a killer salad bar! I ate a little too much salad, I think. :) After we were stuffed, we turned around and went back to where we saw the turnoff for the Orphan Train Museum a few blocks away. This is something I had found out about only recently, within the last couple years, after my grandparents had told us about a documentary they saw on Netflix. It was a very intimate museum; they had lots of personal stories from kids that had made their new homes out west. It was simple, but well set up... and it was housed in the actual, old train station, and lots of it looked original. There were a good selection of pictures, and that is always a big hit with me. Loved how they told the story of how the orphan trains originated: big pictures and small signs! :)
It was so hot in Kansas! A real shocker, actually. Over 100 degrees and cooking. So we perspired as we walked a few yards back to the car and then we burned up the road, heading south as fast as my little Subaru Forrester could take us. Scenery was rather dull, and we counted the towns as we flew by. I took over in Newton, KS, which is just before Wichita and the OK border.
Expectations grew as we crossed. The sun was starting to go down after we passed the Payne County border within Oklahoma. :) We had a gorgeous sunset to our right... purples and oranges. Upon nearing OKC it was rather dark and I held on tight to the steering wheel as a state patrolman swerved around me and the other cars as we continued at a good pace. If he wasn't a cop I would have sworn he was a little drunk. Oh, well! As they say here in Oklahoma, "It's August."
We settled into our hotel in Norman first. It was already 10 pm, so we wanted to get that out of the way. Beautiful room too. It was just down the row of rooms from the one Meg & I had last year at the Days Inn. :) Very soon we were off to see Mike!
It was like coming home! After a warm round of greetings and lots of hugs we all went inside and relaxed for a bit, talking and catching up. The night was beautiful, so a little later on we walked Charlie on campus under bright stars and a sliver of the silver moon. While outside, we all realized we hadn't eaten any dinner yet, so we dropped Charlie off and tried out the Waffle House. It was hard deciding between breakfast and dinner, but I ended up with a BLT. We waited around a long time, talking about everything before the waitress showed us our ticket, sitting on the table all along. :) As always when with good friends, time slipped away very quickly. It was pretty late by the time we left for the motel.
Jp
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Nothing At All...
except two solid days of driving... and we're not there yet! :)
Gosh! There's so many things that I've wanted to mention on here... now that I'm writing it, how do I remember them all?
I drove all the way to Kellogg, ID, yesterday. Washington was pretty uneventful. Oh! But at I-90 after crossing the Colombia, we went up to the scenic overlook and hiked up to see the Wild Horse Statues. I've been by on the Interstate a bunch of times, but I don't think I've ever stopped! And that was after we had a brief breakfast in Ellensburg at 8 am. That's the earliest we've ever been there! But that's because we left home at 6:30 for an early beginning.
Jason took over driving at Kellogg and went all the way to Butte, where we ate dinner at Pizza Hut (salad bar!). I did some sleeping, but I was awake to see all the rain. And further into Montana, the thunderstorms and lightning. One bolt crashed down rather near to us. It was an immediate crash of thunder and it struck awe into all of us.
I took over after dinner and drove the Continental Divide at 6,000+ feet. The rocks apply named the mountains! So jagged and rough and gorgeous. Incredible to think of people crossing it in wagons! Our stay for the night was not too far away in Belgrade. Jason arranged for a free night's stay at this guy's house through an online service called "couchsurfing.org". I was rather skeptical, but it turned out just fine. Had a wonderful night's sleep.
As of today, we've come 730 miles (gosh!!!) and I ended up driving all of them. I'm taking a good, solid break from it tomorrow though! Our first stop was at The Little Bighorn National Monument... Custer's Last Stand. I'd been there eight years ago when our family last drove out to Minnesota. We saw bunches of different state license plates there, so we started keeping track. It's another good little diversion on a long road trip. Meg says we're only missing 19 or so. Wow, it was a lot of open road from there on! The freeway had a reddish color to it in Wyoming... and I'm pretty sure there were more cows there than people. :) We stopped for lunch at a "town" called Kaycee, where they had a rest stop. lol! Good thing we had lunch stuff in a cooler. There was a great picnic table in the shade and we made a marvelous meal of it. And then there was a lot more driving. At one stretch of road with construction, we were almost run over by a guy getting on. Thank the Lord, everything was fine. There were a few spots in WY that were pretty to look at, but they were few and far between. MT is much more interesting! :) I really enjoyed it when we got off the freeway a while after Casper and sailed along on a nice highway. We ran across an Army base in one *little* tiny town... and I shuddered at the thought of being stationed there.
Soon after we came to Fort Laramie. This was confusing, because we first missed the turnoff sign to the National Park. The town itself is about four blocks long with little businesses that were all closed. Thankfully, there was an outdoor map and we got turned the right way. The Fort itself was very interesting! They have the oldest known building in Wyoming, and a great little visitor center and gift shop. There are lots of buildings still standing and they've renovated the barracks (the oldest building) to be outfitted as if it was the late 1880's. Further down the road there is an old iron works bridge built in 1867 that we walked across and enjoyed.
Just across the boarder into Nebraska (wheee! we made it!) is Scott's Bluff, a landmark of the Oregon Trail and of the great pioneers. We saw it in the distance right away. It's very striking. Also made it to the center on time (before they closed), but after they had finished sending van tours up the bluff (you can't win them all). After looking inside (and getting a patch) we took a little walk between two walls of the bluff on the Oregon Trail. Just gorgeous! The sun was starting to go down and there were sunbeams streaming between the cliffs. Just perfect!
Another 20 miles east on the highway and we came upon Chimney Rock, another pioneer landmark and the setting of the Nebraska State Quarter. The visitor center there had long since closed, but we drove to the end of the road and found "Chimney Rock Rd", a dirt path getting us a little closer to the unbelievably skinny pile of rock. It really was an exceptional time to get there as the sunset in the west (behind the rock) had turned bright orange and purple under the dark blue cloud banks. Just stayed there and watched and listened to the quiet and the crickets in the soft breeze.
We decided to knock off a bit of tomorrow's drive, and kept going for quite a while in the dark. There were lightning storms all around us. While picturesque at Chimney Rock, all it was then was flashes of light in my rear-view mirrors and to my right far ahead. It was kind of a weary drive, but we made real progress. Tomorrow we're going to take it a bit easier and not be wiped out when we arrive... YAY!!!
Jp
Gosh! There's so many things that I've wanted to mention on here... now that I'm writing it, how do I remember them all?I drove all the way to Kellogg, ID, yesterday. Washington was pretty uneventful. Oh! But at I-90 after crossing the Colombia, we went up to the scenic overlook and hiked up to see the Wild Horse Statues. I've been by on the Interstate a bunch of times, but I don't think I've ever stopped! And that was after we had a brief breakfast in Ellensburg at 8 am. That's the earliest we've ever been there! But that's because we left home at 6:30 for an early beginning.
Jason took over driving at Kellogg and went all the way to Butte, where we ate dinner at Pizza Hut (salad bar!). I did some sleeping, but I was awake to see all the rain. And further into Montana, the thunderstorms and lightning. One bolt crashed down rather near to us. It was an immediate crash of thunder and it struck awe into all of us.
I took over after dinner and drove the Continental Divide at 6,000+ feet. The rocks apply named the mountains! So jagged and rough and gorgeous. Incredible to think of people crossing it in wagons! Our stay for the night was not too far away in Belgrade. Jason arranged for a free night's stay at this guy's house through an online service called "couchsurfing.org". I was rather skeptical, but it turned out just fine. Had a wonderful night's sleep.
As of today, we've come 730 miles (gosh!!!) and I ended up driving all of them. I'm taking a good, solid break from it tomorrow though! Our first stop was at The Little Bighorn National Monument... Custer's Last Stand. I'd been there eight years ago when our family last drove out to Minnesota. We saw bunches of different state license plates there, so we started keeping track. It's another good little diversion on a long road trip. Meg says we're only missing 19 or so. Wow, it was a lot of open road from there on! The freeway had a reddish color to it in Wyoming... and I'm pretty sure there were more cows there than people. :) We stopped for lunch at a "town" called Kaycee, where they had a rest stop. lol! Good thing we had lunch stuff in a cooler. There was a great picnic table in the shade and we made a marvelous meal of it. And then there was a lot more driving. At one stretch of road with construction, we were almost run over by a guy getting on. Thank the Lord, everything was fine. There were a few spots in WY that were pretty to look at, but they were few and far between. MT is much more interesting! :) I really enjoyed it when we got off the freeway a while after Casper and sailed along on a nice highway. We ran across an Army base in one *little* tiny town... and I shuddered at the thought of being stationed there.
Soon after we came to Fort Laramie. This was confusing, because we first missed the turnoff sign to the National Park. The town itself is about four blocks long with little businesses that were all closed. Thankfully, there was an outdoor map and we got turned the right way. The Fort itself was very interesting! They have the oldest known building in Wyoming, and a great little visitor center and gift shop. There are lots of buildings still standing and they've renovated the barracks (the oldest building) to be outfitted as if it was the late 1880's. Further down the road there is an old iron works bridge built in 1867 that we walked across and enjoyed.
Just across the boarder into Nebraska (wheee! we made it!) is Scott's Bluff, a landmark of the Oregon Trail and of the great pioneers. We saw it in the distance right away. It's very striking. Also made it to the center on time (before they closed), but after they had finished sending van tours up the bluff (you can't win them all). After looking inside (and getting a patch) we took a little walk between two walls of the bluff on the Oregon Trail. Just gorgeous! The sun was starting to go down and there were sunbeams streaming between the cliffs. Just perfect!
Another 20 miles east on the highway and we came upon Chimney Rock, another pioneer landmark and the setting of the Nebraska State Quarter. The visitor center there had long since closed, but we drove to the end of the road and found "Chimney Rock Rd", a dirt path getting us a little closer to the unbelievably skinny pile of rock. It really was an exceptional time to get there as the sunset in the west (behind the rock) had turned bright orange and purple under the dark blue cloud banks. Just stayed there and watched and listened to the quiet and the crickets in the soft breeze.
We decided to knock off a bit of tomorrow's drive, and kept going for quite a while in the dark. There were lightning storms all around us. While picturesque at Chimney Rock, all it was then was flashes of light in my rear-view mirrors and to my right far ahead. It was kind of a weary drive, but we made real progress. Tomorrow we're going to take it a bit easier and not be wiped out when we arrive... YAY!!!
Jp
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Still Less
Today I woke up a bit earlier... I think around 9 or so. Had time to do breakfast and a shower and a few other things before I met the ladies from my ex-work at Coho Cafe for another birthday! This time it was Jeanne, the boss. It's wonderful to see them again, again! Might not get another time before I head off, so it was great!
Then I mailed the last sets of pictures to family and then stopped by our sporting goods store for a few things... new shoes, new backpack... very needed.
But when I got home I went into a frenzy, cleaning out my room, going through lots of drawers and my closet to get rid of clothes and things I don't need. For instance, a bunch of my pants were size 14, but I'm between size 10 and 12 now. And I had way more than I could ever wear. And then it got to be way past dinner time, I was doing this so much, that Mom took me out to our favorite Mexican place for something good to eat.
And since returning, I've packed for a two-week trip! Wheeeeee!
Jp
Then I mailed the last sets of pictures to family and then stopped by our sporting goods store for a few things... new shoes, new backpack... very needed.
But when I got home I went into a frenzy, cleaning out my room, going through lots of drawers and my closet to get rid of clothes and things I don't need. For instance, a bunch of my pants were size 14, but I'm between size 10 and 12 now. And I had way more than I could ever wear. And then it got to be way past dinner time, I was doing this so much, that Mom took me out to our favorite Mexican place for something good to eat.
And since returning, I've packed for a two-week trip! Wheeeeee!
Jp
Not As Much
Monday was another Navy workout. Stayed up pretty late Sunday night, so I slept in... a little longer than planned, because I wanted to get copies of the wedding pictures made and sent out to family far away. Got just enough done before Dad came home for lunch and we played our games. He was going off on a business trip afterwords, so I won't see him til I get back from "The Super-Long Trip" or what I've come to call "The Western Tour" which lasts until Aug. 25th! Right after our games it was time for me to fly off to the workout.
We started out by running another mile with weights around the ball field and then a mile and a half more around the block. And *then* we worked out. I'm getting much better at flutter kicks! And my weight is still below 160! After I got my breath back from the run, and after my neck stopped hurting from all the crunches, I felt very good about my fitness! :)
Mom had found a neat recipe in the paper a while ago: zucchini "pasta" in a summer salsa. We made it together last night and really enjoyed all the spice. It's much lighter than real pasta, because it's all vegetable. Very tasty too! It had a diced tomato base richly garnished with feta cheese and lots of different spices. So good! We had grilled chicken and fresh cantaloupe as well.
After dinner I thought about going to bed early after walking the dog, but I stayed up until around midnight organizing pictures on my laptop. It's been months since I've sorted and backed them up, so it took quite a while. Really needed to be done before the trip though since I'm taking my laptop.
Jp
We started out by running another mile with weights around the ball field and then a mile and a half more around the block. And *then* we worked out. I'm getting much better at flutter kicks! And my weight is still below 160! After I got my breath back from the run, and after my neck stopped hurting from all the crunches, I felt very good about my fitness! :)
Mom had found a neat recipe in the paper a while ago: zucchini "pasta" in a summer salsa. We made it together last night and really enjoyed all the spice. It's much lighter than real pasta, because it's all vegetable. Very tasty too! It had a diced tomato base richly garnished with feta cheese and lots of different spices. So good! We had grilled chicken and fresh cantaloupe as well.
After dinner I thought about going to bed early after walking the dog, but I stayed up until around midnight organizing pictures on my laptop. It's been months since I've sorted and backed them up, so it took quite a while. Really needed to be done before the trip though since I'm taking my laptop.
Jp
Sunday, August 8, 2010
A Lot To Say
Would like to start out with a link I just saw from a friend on Facebook... Rural America in Color Photos, 1939-1943! Wow!
And as for yesterday, I started the day nice and slow: breakfast, dishes, showing the wedding pics to the wedded couple, watching "On the Air" again, just to refresh my memory (and to realize that, yes, indeed I have to show it at the meeting), Backgammon with Dad, and finally helping Mom a bit with my brother's room downstairs that needed cleaned (somebody from church is going to be staying over once in a while) before I took off for Everett to go workout.
I wanted to swim in the pool, but again, it was closed. So I did the 1.5 mile run instead. I have to say, running along the waterfront on the Navy base is a lot more interesting (and distracting, with things to look at) and motivating to run then 3 laps around my block or 6.5 laps around a ball field in Bellevue. It felt like no time at all. And then I went in the fitness center and did 5 minutes (1,000 meters) on the rowing machine and lots of push-ups. Back down in the locker room I found out I weighed only 158! This is *good* news! After then, for fun, I checked out the Navy Exchange on base and got workout shorts and a t-shirt (not official, so they won't be issued to me next month or anything :). On my way back through Everett, I checked out the "Vintage Cafe" that I saw on my way in. It's housed in an old saloon house, and I had a soup & salad at the bar. That night after a dinner of corn-on-the-cob, leftover pork steak and the first pasta I've had in months, we watched Netflix... which was "The Brave Little Toaster" (1987), strangely enough. This psychedelic, random and funny animated film would be too scary for little kids, I'd think. It seemed like a forerunner to Toy Story, with the crazy mean guy tearing apart appliances. Anyway, this we watched during most of chat.
But today! Goodness! What a set of plays! What a time I had with Mom!
We took off at 10:30, arrived at the Mukilteo Ferry just in the nick of time, driving on at 10:59 for an 11:00 departure! 20 minute ride, and then five miles to the town of Langley. Appropriately for the day, Mom and I listened to a disc of the Bible as we drove.
So we arrived in town right around noon. We drove a small circuit (very small) around the town to scope things out. And we ended up at a family dining place right on the corner near the waterfront... "Mike's Place Restaurant & Creamery". Wow, did they have a big selection! Breakfast all day, lots of salads and sandwiches and entrees for dinner. Had a chicken breast sandwich with mushrooms and melted Swiss. And we liked it so much that we returned after the play for dinner... had a breakfast plate with sausage and potatoes mixed up in scrambled egg with the nicest wheat toast. And then some chocolate ice cream to share for dessert.
We arrived at the Children's Theater an hour before the performance to pick up our tickets and wait for the doors to open. We had to wait for about a half-hour before lining up to get in, but the tickets were available right away. Good thing I called when I did: they said the shows sold out the day I called! They turned a few people away while we waited. And because Mom was paying attention, we were first in line at the door. Only had to stand there for a few minutes before they let us in. And it felt like waiting at a train station... we clearly heard train sounds being rehearsed inside. I was kinda surprised at how small the theater was. A low ceiling, and only four rows of seats, raised up behind each other. I think there were only about 80 seats. The sound effects table was near the entrance to our left, along with the small sound booth. The director sat on the far right, and there were six microphones on stage, with a keyboard and space for musicians just below stage right. There was a neat little set: three large, painted backdrops that could be turned to reveal different backgrounds. A train station or dirty street, and a few different scenes for inside nice houses. At stage left was a small desk with a little lamp in front of a white screen. Beforehand and during intermission they played old film from 1930's London.
It started with Agatha (played by the IMWF's Hilary Booth - Melinda Peterson) sitting at the desk and introducing us to herself, living in Nimrud, Iraq. A picture of the ancient ruins appeared on the screen behind her head. And she spoke of how she wanted to write an autobiography, but not in the normal sense. She wanted to "reach in and grab it with her hand" rather that set out a record with names and dates in chronological order. So she wrote "Butter in a Lordly Dish" on request from the BBC. This (as all were) was great. Amy Walker (Betty) played the murderess! And she ended up killing David Ossman (Mr. Eldridge)! LOL! When she killed him, the picture on the screen (which had changed to a country scene) turned red as the lights went out. It was about a young woman trapping the prosecuting attorney who had convinced a jury to convict her husband for murder. Very gripping!
And then we saw Agatha again, who told us about being asked to write a radio play by the BBC for Queen Mary's birthday (Mary was a fan). The result: "Three Blind Mice" which was later adapted into "The Mousetrap". Mom had seen "Mousetrap" before, so she knew the story. I was able to guess the truth right before it happened, although I love how Agatha spreads doubt on almost every character. :) In this one, Amy played a very naive, Betty-ish sort of role, with a completely different accent. :)
Here there was a short intermission: all four plays took about three hours together.
To open the next act, Agatha began at the planned epilogue of her autobiography. She said she was 75 years old in that year, 1965, and that she'd been working on this work for fifteen years, although she'd been writing stories for 54. After a pause in her speech about retiring, she said something like, "Are you kidding? There is always more to say!"
This segued into a "Personal Call". A rich American receives mysterious phone calls from his dead wife as he's preparing to go on a second honeymoon with his second wife (Amy). And yes, everything is very mysterious and dangerous. I won't let the cat out of the bag, but there was a red screen near the end.
Agatha started the next play by talking about how she started writing and what she thought she could write about... detectives seemed natural with all the various poisons she was around working at a hospital pharmacy (on Wikipedia, it says she did this later in life). So she thought about what sort of detective she should have and decided on modeling him after a Belgian she knew. A short, meticulous man named "Hercules". This later changed when she found a last name. :)
And here was the finale: "The Yellow Iris". This I have seen adapted into a film with David Suchet. And Phil Proctor (Mackie Bloom) did an exceptional job portraying him. Interestingly, at the end of Phil's bio in the program they list to his credit "...a thousand other voices" that he's currently doing with the Firesign Theater. Phil played a small role with a thick British accent in the first play, and a fluent Italian in the second. French, he had down pat. :) In this final play, Amy played a Spanish nightclub singer (and was perfect!). She sang a duet by Rupert Holmes (deja vu) with a local young man (Gabe Harshman), a funny and witty off-kilter love song (it was *very* like Rupert) called "You're the Thorn in My Side". Some of the lines: "you're the lint on my dress", "you're the crick in my neck"... and of course it fit together perfectly and the couple still couldn't live without each other at the end. :) This play was set at a cabaret show on the BBC, so there were several live numbers. The other Rupert wrote was called "From Time to Time". Gabe sang this alone and had a prominent clarinet accompaniment. Lyrics were about clocks tick-tocking and how he was always thinking of "you". Another neat twist to this one: Agatha was at the cabaret show as well, and at the end she spoke of how silly it was that her fans wanted Poirot and Miss Marple to meet... "he would feel out of place there"... and at the end, Poirot came up and asked her to dance. And the last line was about her reconsidering about Miss Marple.
A perfect delight, really.
We took our time at dinner and missed the 7:00 ferry by a minute. But it's only a 20 minute wait, so we were home by 8. And we had a beautiful sunset on the ride over.
Jp
I forgot to talk about the Foley artist... he looked much like the one from Owensboro, but the programs say different names. He came all the way from Indiana to do this and he was very good. David Ossman's son helped him out as well... and another son did some acting. They were all very good! Oh, and of course it was directed and produced by the same people who did WENN in 2008. We saw a lot of Judith before the play (as she was in charge of the tickets) and she spoke before and during intermission about how they want to do more of this, mentoring young, aspiring actors in new productions.
And as for yesterday, I started the day nice and slow: breakfast, dishes, showing the wedding pics to the wedded couple, watching "On the Air" again, just to refresh my memory (and to realize that, yes, indeed I have to show it at the meeting), Backgammon with Dad, and finally helping Mom a bit with my brother's room downstairs that needed cleaned (somebody from church is going to be staying over once in a while) before I took off for Everett to go workout.
I wanted to swim in the pool, but again, it was closed. So I did the 1.5 mile run instead. I have to say, running along the waterfront on the Navy base is a lot more interesting (and distracting, with things to look at) and motivating to run then 3 laps around my block or 6.5 laps around a ball field in Bellevue. It felt like no time at all. And then I went in the fitness center and did 5 minutes (1,000 meters) on the rowing machine and lots of push-ups. Back down in the locker room I found out I weighed only 158! This is *good* news! After then, for fun, I checked out the Navy Exchange on base and got workout shorts and a t-shirt (not official, so they won't be issued to me next month or anything :). On my way back through Everett, I checked out the "Vintage Cafe" that I saw on my way in. It's housed in an old saloon house, and I had a soup & salad at the bar. That night after a dinner of corn-on-the-cob, leftover pork steak and the first pasta I've had in months, we watched Netflix... which was "The Brave Little Toaster" (1987), strangely enough. This psychedelic, random and funny animated film would be too scary for little kids, I'd think. It seemed like a forerunner to Toy Story, with the crazy mean guy tearing apart appliances. Anyway, this we watched during most of chat.
But today! Goodness! What a set of plays! What a time I had with Mom!
We took off at 10:30, arrived at the Mukilteo Ferry just in the nick of time, driving on at 10:59 for an 11:00 departure! 20 minute ride, and then five miles to the town of Langley. Appropriately for the day, Mom and I listened to a disc of the Bible as we drove.
So we arrived in town right around noon. We drove a small circuit (very small) around the town to scope things out. And we ended up at a family dining place right on the corner near the waterfront... "Mike's Place Restaurant & Creamery". Wow, did they have a big selection! Breakfast all day, lots of salads and sandwiches and entrees for dinner. Had a chicken breast sandwich with mushrooms and melted Swiss. And we liked it so much that we returned after the play for dinner... had a breakfast plate with sausage and potatoes mixed up in scrambled egg with the nicest wheat toast. And then some chocolate ice cream to share for dessert.
We arrived at the Children's Theater an hour before the performance to pick up our tickets and wait for the doors to open. We had to wait for about a half-hour before lining up to get in, but the tickets were available right away. Good thing I called when I did: they said the shows sold out the day I called! They turned a few people away while we waited. And because Mom was paying attention, we were first in line at the door. Only had to stand there for a few minutes before they let us in. And it felt like waiting at a train station... we clearly heard train sounds being rehearsed inside. I was kinda surprised at how small the theater was. A low ceiling, and only four rows of seats, raised up behind each other. I think there were only about 80 seats. The sound effects table was near the entrance to our left, along with the small sound booth. The director sat on the far right, and there were six microphones on stage, with a keyboard and space for musicians just below stage right. There was a neat little set: three large, painted backdrops that could be turned to reveal different backgrounds. A train station or dirty street, and a few different scenes for inside nice houses. At stage left was a small desk with a little lamp in front of a white screen. Beforehand and during intermission they played old film from 1930's London.
It started with Agatha (played by the IMWF's Hilary Booth - Melinda Peterson) sitting at the desk and introducing us to herself, living in Nimrud, Iraq. A picture of the ancient ruins appeared on the screen behind her head. And she spoke of how she wanted to write an autobiography, but not in the normal sense. She wanted to "reach in and grab it with her hand" rather that set out a record with names and dates in chronological order. So she wrote "Butter in a Lordly Dish" on request from the BBC. This (as all were) was great. Amy Walker (Betty) played the murderess! And she ended up killing David Ossman (Mr. Eldridge)! LOL! When she killed him, the picture on the screen (which had changed to a country scene) turned red as the lights went out. It was about a young woman trapping the prosecuting attorney who had convinced a jury to convict her husband for murder. Very gripping!
And then we saw Agatha again, who told us about being asked to write a radio play by the BBC for Queen Mary's birthday (Mary was a fan). The result: "Three Blind Mice" which was later adapted into "The Mousetrap". Mom had seen "Mousetrap" before, so she knew the story. I was able to guess the truth right before it happened, although I love how Agatha spreads doubt on almost every character. :) In this one, Amy played a very naive, Betty-ish sort of role, with a completely different accent. :)
Here there was a short intermission: all four plays took about three hours together.
To open the next act, Agatha began at the planned epilogue of her autobiography. She said she was 75 years old in that year, 1965, and that she'd been working on this work for fifteen years, although she'd been writing stories for 54. After a pause in her speech about retiring, she said something like, "Are you kidding? There is always more to say!"
This segued into a "Personal Call". A rich American receives mysterious phone calls from his dead wife as he's preparing to go on a second honeymoon with his second wife (Amy). And yes, everything is very mysterious and dangerous. I won't let the cat out of the bag, but there was a red screen near the end.
Agatha started the next play by talking about how she started writing and what she thought she could write about... detectives seemed natural with all the various poisons she was around working at a hospital pharmacy (on Wikipedia, it says she did this later in life). So she thought about what sort of detective she should have and decided on modeling him after a Belgian she knew. A short, meticulous man named "Hercules". This later changed when she found a last name. :)
And here was the finale: "The Yellow Iris". This I have seen adapted into a film with David Suchet. And Phil Proctor (Mackie Bloom) did an exceptional job portraying him. Interestingly, at the end of Phil's bio in the program they list to his credit "...a thousand other voices" that he's currently doing with the Firesign Theater. Phil played a small role with a thick British accent in the first play, and a fluent Italian in the second. French, he had down pat. :) In this final play, Amy played a Spanish nightclub singer (and was perfect!). She sang a duet by Rupert Holmes (deja vu) with a local young man (Gabe Harshman), a funny and witty off-kilter love song (it was *very* like Rupert) called "You're the Thorn in My Side". Some of the lines: "you're the lint on my dress", "you're the crick in my neck"... and of course it fit together perfectly and the couple still couldn't live without each other at the end. :) This play was set at a cabaret show on the BBC, so there were several live numbers. The other Rupert wrote was called "From Time to Time". Gabe sang this alone and had a prominent clarinet accompaniment. Lyrics were about clocks tick-tocking and how he was always thinking of "you". Another neat twist to this one: Agatha was at the cabaret show as well, and at the end she spoke of how silly it was that her fans wanted Poirot and Miss Marple to meet... "he would feel out of place there"... and at the end, Poirot came up and asked her to dance. And the last line was about her reconsidering about Miss Marple.
A perfect delight, really.
We took our time at dinner and missed the 7:00 ferry by a minute. But it's only a 20 minute wait, so we were home by 8. And we had a beautiful sunset on the ride over.
Jp
I forgot to talk about the Foley artist... he looked much like the one from Owensboro, but the programs say different names. He came all the way from Indiana to do this and he was very good. David Ossman's son helped him out as well... and another son did some acting. They were all very good! Oh, and of course it was directed and produced by the same people who did WENN in 2008. We saw a lot of Judith before the play (as she was in charge of the tickets) and she spoke before and during intermission about how they want to do more of this, mentoring young, aspiring actors in new productions.
Friday, August 6, 2010
A Day and Some
Well, yesterday I kept myself pretty busy. Woke up early, had a wonderful quiet time with the Lord... then worked out all my bills and got them mailed off... did the dishes, went to the bank, went to Safeway for some hummus... finally had more than some yogurt to eat (a chicken sandwich... with hummus, veggies, tomato & cheese!) and then decided to vacuum out the car. Pretty darn warm today... 85 degrees. So didn't really want to exercise. Only did a pushup pyramid at night. And I decided to watch the first episode of "The War" on Netflix, spur of the moment. Very well done... how horrible it was.
Today was much more interesting... (click here)
Jp
Today was much more interesting... (click here)
Jp
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Sea Legs and Sea Bass
Yesterday, Mom, Dad & I went to Westport, WA, on the coast for a little fun time together. It's only about a three-hour drive from home, so it was nothing quite so ambitious as the last one. It was a lovely time! We got there about noon-o'clock, checked into our regular motel early, went and had a bite at the "Fish House" on the waterfront... a new place. Had wonderful fish tacos and some amazing clam chowder along with a couple very tasty fries... the first I've had in a looong time.
Then we went and enjoyed a Northwest beach for a while. And by that, I mean one where you need a sweatshirt even though it's summer. It was rather chilly the whole time... cloudy and in the 60's. We lay down on the smooth little pebbles and rounded shell fragments for a nice little nap. Listened to the rolling surf and just relaxed.
Drove south a bit after that to see if we could get to the lighthouse, but that was closed off. Then made a pit stop at the motel for books and things as Dad wanted to try fishing off the docks. I started writing out what I'm going to say for the WENN presentation I'm giving... and then we went to dinner at a local steakhouse. I had a chicken dinner, sauteed in garlic butter with mushrooms, onions and walnuts. Wow! That was good!
We slept like logs last night! The beds were so comfy and we were so tired! Had to get up at 5:30 in order to get on the fishing boat. Made that just fine. At first, I was fine... Dad and I played a set of Backgammon (and I won) on the way out to sea, but suddenly my stomach was getting sick of going up and down. It was like the car-sickness effect... (have to see where I'm moving or I get an uneasy feeling) except it was coupled with my nearly empty stomach not used to being up so early in the morning. Dad had told a few people on board that I was joining the Navy, so there was *no* way I was going to let anybody know what I felt like. So I just sat and watched the waves and after a bit I stood up to roll with the movement and keep my stomach still and that made me feel a lot better. This was my first time out on open ocean... we went eight miles out in order to find good hunting grounds. After the first few spots I did really well, catching my limit of sea bass. It was a bunch of fun! One guy caught a huge salmon, and a few others some lingcod, and somebody a flounder. The guys running the boat kept everyone supplied with fresh bait (sardines), so we could just stand there and keep reeling them in! The seagulls followed us pretty closely the entire time. At one point they were getting pretty aggressive. I almost hooked one as I was letting my line down... and one guy actually did hook one (but it was let go alright). They would chomp down any dead sardine we through overboard, so it's sorta understandable. We sure caught plenty of bottom fish though! On the way back to Westport I watched the deck hand fillet and clean over 160 of the bass that our company caught in total. This distraction made me not even think about my stomach... and the ride in was rather smooth since it was a calm day.
I was pretty cold when we returned... it was cloudy and cool the entire trip. And ten hours on a boat in the wind will chill you right to the core! I slept soundly all the way home in the car, still in my sweatshirt and coat with beanie hat on and with my blanket over me. Back at home I had a sandwich while we watched a Netflix movie. I took a couple stomach tablets because it felt uneasy from not moving up and down. LOL! What an adventure!
Jp
Then we went and enjoyed a Northwest beach for a while. And by that, I mean one where you need a sweatshirt even though it's summer. It was rather chilly the whole time... cloudy and in the 60's. We lay down on the smooth little pebbles and rounded shell fragments for a nice little nap. Listened to the rolling surf and just relaxed.
Drove south a bit after that to see if we could get to the lighthouse, but that was closed off. Then made a pit stop at the motel for books and things as Dad wanted to try fishing off the docks. I started writing out what I'm going to say for the WENN presentation I'm giving... and then we went to dinner at a local steakhouse. I had a chicken dinner, sauteed in garlic butter with mushrooms, onions and walnuts. Wow! That was good!
We slept like logs last night! The beds were so comfy and we were so tired! Had to get up at 5:30 in order to get on the fishing boat. Made that just fine. At first, I was fine... Dad and I played a set of Backgammon (and I won) on the way out to sea, but suddenly my stomach was getting sick of going up and down. It was like the car-sickness effect... (have to see where I'm moving or I get an uneasy feeling) except it was coupled with my nearly empty stomach not used to being up so early in the morning. Dad had told a few people on board that I was joining the Navy, so there was *no* way I was going to let anybody know what I felt like. So I just sat and watched the waves and after a bit I stood up to roll with the movement and keep my stomach still and that made me feel a lot better. This was my first time out on open ocean... we went eight miles out in order to find good hunting grounds. After the first few spots I did really well, catching my limit of sea bass. It was a bunch of fun! One guy caught a huge salmon, and a few others some lingcod, and somebody a flounder. The guys running the boat kept everyone supplied with fresh bait (sardines), so we could just stand there and keep reeling them in! The seagulls followed us pretty closely the entire time. At one point they were getting pretty aggressive. I almost hooked one as I was letting my line down... and one guy actually did hook one (but it was let go alright). They would chomp down any dead sardine we through overboard, so it's sorta understandable. We sure caught plenty of bottom fish though! On the way back to Westport I watched the deck hand fillet and clean over 160 of the bass that our company caught in total. This distraction made me not even think about my stomach... and the ride in was rather smooth since it was a calm day.
I was pretty cold when we returned... it was cloudy and cool the entire trip. And ten hours on a boat in the wind will chill you right to the core! I slept soundly all the way home in the car, still in my sweatshirt and coat with beanie hat on and with my blanket over me. Back at home I had a sandwich while we watched a Netflix movie. I took a couple stomach tablets because it felt uneasy from not moving up and down. LOL! What an adventure!
Jp
Monday, August 2, 2010
Just Sleepin' and Runnin'
Woke up pretty late today, and then realized I was meeting the ladies from work in an hour and a half for lunch at a seafood place in downtown Kirkland (the Crab Cracker). And then I realized that it was going to be close getting to my Navy workout... (I ended up making it with 5 minutes to spare!). I had a crab & shrimp louie salad, which was delicious and light enough to eat right before a workout! :) Oh, it was so wonderful to see everyone again! We caught up a little and enjoyed each other's company for over an hour.
The Navy wore me out today! Thomason, the recruit leading the workout, had brought hand-weights, and we first ran a mile with them, and then a mile without them, and then we exercised with them... lunges, shoulder circuits, etc. And it lasted an hour & 45 min. Ouch!
Upon returning home I did a good bit of sleeping after a quick shower and dinner, and I have to say, I'm still pretty wiped out. :)
Jp
The Navy wore me out today! Thomason, the recruit leading the workout, had brought hand-weights, and we first ran a mile with them, and then a mile without them, and then we exercised with them... lunges, shoulder circuits, etc. And it lasted an hour & 45 min. Ouch!
Upon returning home I did a good bit of sleeping after a quick shower and dinner, and I have to say, I'm still pretty wiped out. :)
Jp
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Torchlit!
I took it easy yesterday morning... but I was still wiped out by the end of the day :)
Quickie breakfast, and then I got my things out, getting ready for the parade. I spent quite a while scrubbing my brown shoes until they turned their original white again. Found out about yesterday's poster right before it was time to leave. Ate a quick sandwich (somehow I forgot lunch) and then flew out the door. The automated sign on 405 said the bridge was way backed up because of an "incident"... but thankfully I knew a shortcut and saved about a half-hour's time. The problem was a car fire on the other side (causing a colossal backup coming the other way) right as I was getting on the bridge. It was so backed up on the other side people were out of their cars, trying to find out what was going on. One guy was standing amongst the parked cars playing his banjo. :)
I had such a good time with the band again. My friend Natalie (from the Oklahoma trip and China trip) was there and we were able to catch up. She's graduated and working (and had just been with the band to Switzerland and France) and she was very excited for my joining the Navy. So we left the UW at 5pm and got to the Seattle Center (Space Needle) closer to 6. Us Mellophones ate at a Greek place in the center and then gathered with the rest of the band around 7. For a while we were standing right next to the Army Band, the Navy Band and the 1st Marine Division Band... I have to say, the Army looked slightly outclassed, dressed in their camo, as opposed to the maritime branches in dress uniforms. :)
We waited for the usual two-plus hours before we stepped off around 9pm. So fun to be back in it! The sun was setting, lighting up the Space Needle above our heads in a colorful light orange. The fans lining the streets looked like they were enjoying themselves... and I sure was! It's amazing how fast marching and playing comes back to you! I haven't done this parade in over two years! Here's a YouTube video of last year... I'm not there (I was in NC), but they're playing and dancing exactly like we did yesterday. Parade was over just about 10pm, and I was home at 11.
Today, I slept in til 10:30... had some eggs, watched a sermon online from my pastor that taught my Bible study (it was very good) and then Mom, Dad and I watched "I Was A Male War Bride" (1949) and I thought it was great! But then I needed a nap... and when I woke up we had dinner. It's been a good day today! Then I felt rested enough to work on picking and uploading the wedding pictures (I promised my brother I'd do it today) and I succeeded.
Whew! Time for bed! :)
Jp
Quickie breakfast, and then I got my things out, getting ready for the parade. I spent quite a while scrubbing my brown shoes until they turned their original white again. Found out about yesterday's poster right before it was time to leave. Ate a quick sandwich (somehow I forgot lunch) and then flew out the door. The automated sign on 405 said the bridge was way backed up because of an "incident"... but thankfully I knew a shortcut and saved about a half-hour's time. The problem was a car fire on the other side (causing a colossal backup coming the other way) right as I was getting on the bridge. It was so backed up on the other side people were out of their cars, trying to find out what was going on. One guy was standing amongst the parked cars playing his banjo. :)
I had such a good time with the band again. My friend Natalie (from the Oklahoma trip and China trip) was there and we were able to catch up. She's graduated and working (and had just been with the band to Switzerland and France) and she was very excited for my joining the Navy. So we left the UW at 5pm and got to the Seattle Center (Space Needle) closer to 6. Us Mellophones ate at a Greek place in the center and then gathered with the rest of the band around 7. For a while we were standing right next to the Army Band, the Navy Band and the 1st Marine Division Band... I have to say, the Army looked slightly outclassed, dressed in their camo, as opposed to the maritime branches in dress uniforms. :)
We waited for the usual two-plus hours before we stepped off around 9pm. So fun to be back in it! The sun was setting, lighting up the Space Needle above our heads in a colorful light orange. The fans lining the streets looked like they were enjoying themselves... and I sure was! It's amazing how fast marching and playing comes back to you! I haven't done this parade in over two years! Here's a YouTube video of last year... I'm not there (I was in NC), but they're playing and dancing exactly like we did yesterday. Parade was over just about 10pm, and I was home at 11.
Today, I slept in til 10:30... had some eggs, watched a sermon online from my pastor that taught my Bible study (it was very good) and then Mom, Dad and I watched "I Was A Male War Bride" (1949) and I thought it was great! But then I needed a nap... and when I woke up we had dinner. It's been a good day today! Then I felt rested enough to work on picking and uploading the wedding pictures (I promised my brother I'd do it today) and I succeeded.
Whew! Time for bed! :)
Jp
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