Our summer is rapidly coming to a close. We have had a wonderful summer and today we get to spend time with my youngest son and his two boys, Cameron and Jonathan Jr. We met them in Titlow Park which is to the right after crossing the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Susannah couldn't make it as she wasn't feeling well. We missed her as this would be the last time we all could get together. Jonathan Jr. was so excited to see Grandpa as he was the first one he saw. I had walked to the child play field where I thought they would be but found out they hadn't gotten there yet so I was on my way back to the parking lot when they arrived. Jonathan Jr. did give me a hug and Cameron, still having separation issues from mom and dad, had to warm up to us. We walked the trail that was there and came upon some ducks in a pond. The boys enjoyed watching them.
Then we walked further and we were surprised that Cameron, with his little legs, was keeping up. We made it back to the grass area and they had some water and a snack and then Jon and I took the boys over to the swings and pushed them for a while. Then they were off climbing on all the play equipment. By this time Cameron was smiling and even coming up to me and Dave. Jonathan Jr. showed us how strong he is by moving some hefty rocks under a tree. Of course Cameron was right there trying to do what brother was doing and had a harder time at it but it was fun to watch.
It had turned out to be a warm day. There were fountains in one area
and Jonathan Jr. wanted to get wet but dad didn't bring a suit for him or a towel. After a little disappointment and disagreement with dad, Jonathan was ok with it but dad promised to fill water balloons when they got home and he could get wet then. So all was good again. After about 2 to 3 hours, the boys were showing signs of getting tired so we said goodbye and gave hugs and kisses all around.
We left the park and went back to the boat to just chill.
Today, the 8th is my nieces birthday along with our grandson, Dominick. We don't know where Dominick is as his mother has dropped off Facebook and we never hear from her anymore but he is still our grandson and he is growing up fast. He was born in 2005 so he is 11 today. Not even his dad knows where they are now. Sad.
My best girlfriend Judy and I went to lunch to celebrate her birthday. Her birthday isn't until the 28th but I won't be here so we are celebrating early. She chose Red Lobster so that is where we had a great lunch.
The 9th we drove to Marysville to watch Eian play in his second football game of the season for the Tomahawks at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. They won and Eian played a remarkable game. He came close to making a touchdown but got stopped about a yard or so from the goal line. It was a fun game and his girlfriend came up to us to say hi. She is such a sweetheart. She was wearing Eians' home game jersey.
Ernie had Conor in the shoulder carry harness so Conor could watch the game and when he heard the band play he was moving around to the music. Then when we cheered he did too and clapped. He was fun to watch as well.
This was the only game we could make it to before leaving so we are really glad we got a chance to watch him. We stayed overnight so we could see Brooke and Brody as they were at her Arlington High School game, coaching the cheer squad. We had a great evening when everyone got home. The next morning we said goodbye and gave everyone big hugs and kisses as this was the last time we would see them this year.
Sunday, the 11th, there was a memorial gathering for a friend of ours son at the Brownsville Yacht Club at the Brownsville marina. Steve Neuhauser lost his oldest son, Stevie, about 2 weeks before. He died of complications from alcoholism. It was very sad as he was young. The family had put together all the pictures of him they could find over the years and displayed them. It was really nicely done and people brought food and drinks. Then at dusk the family members and close friends launched lighted Japanese candles on the water at the marina. It was very beautiful and touching.
One of my other best girlfriends had invited us to the yearly celebration of Johnny Cash that her son Tom Cash puts on every year. We finally said we would go but that afternoon I wasn't feeling well and it felt like I was getting a bladder infection. Knowing I had a lot of car riding ahead of me I didn't want to wait and then have it be a problem. So I called Ginny and told her we couldn't make it and why and then Dave and I went to the urgent care of Group Health. It took a while to be seen but I had the specimen done and had to wait some more. Finally I get in to see the doctor and she tells me she couldn't see anything that indicated an infection. Well I was relieved and found out I needed to drink lots more water. It wasn't a wasted trip as I got my scheduled flu shot while I was there. Well by the time I got out of the clinic, it was too late to go to the celebration for Johnny Cash, so we will have to try and make it next year. Ginny had been trying to get me to go for about 3 years now. I am glad I went to the doctor and that I didn't put it off because I would not have had fun at the party.
My girlfriend, Carolyn invited me to go window shopping with her to Poulsbo today. I haven't been there in a couple of years so it sounded like fun. She picked me up at 10:00am and once parked in Poulsbo, we walked up and down the street, stopping for lunch and then getting Dave a donut from the best bakery around!!!! We were home by 3:00pm.
We spent the next couple of days unpacking the storage unit of all the things we had bought to take back to Mexico with us. We filled everything we could stuff things in and after the truck was packed we put little items here and there. It was so full we couldn't get any more in if we tried. The back seat will have our overnight stuff and computers and that kind of stuff. We are ready to go. I forgot to share a photo of the truck after the canopy so here it is.
Dave had a meeting with the Maritime Historical Society and then we finished up our packing from on the boat to leave early in the morning. After the meeting was over, my girlfriend, Carolyn, had many of our marina friends meet at a picnic table near the marina boat ramp to say goodbye. Everyone brought something to share and we had a fun time. One of our other friend bought us a packaged breakfast for our morning trip. She had 2 energy drinks, a huge gingerbread man maple donut, a couple cookies and a couple plums and peaches. That was so thoughtful and nice. Our friends are so cool!!!! It was dark when the party ended and Dave and I went back to the boat and got things ready for leaving in the morning. We want to get to my sister's house either the same day or day after.
Next morning we left early for my sisters. We would go as far as Dave wants as he is driving. It was late morning when we stopped at a rest area in Oregon to have some coffee and stretch our legs. There was a man standing with a sign outside of where you get free coffee, at this rest stop. He had run out of gas and his sign reflected that. Well no one had extra gas but I had gotten back to the truck before Dave watching as people gave him money or food. He could get all the coffee he wanted as long as it was being served. I had an idea of giving that man the big maple bar gingerbread donut and some of the fruit we had left. When Dave returned to the truck I told him of my idea and he said to save the peaches and I could give the man the donut and 2 plums. So I did just that. He said thank you and took it to his car and stowed it for later. We gave him the box with the lid so the donut wouldn't get too dried out. I felt good about doing that as I felt this man was being honest about his predicament. We left there knowing we at least helped him in some way. I sure hope he got gas as all the money in the world wouldn't help him if he couldn't drive his car. We ended up staying in Medford, Oregon that night and will be at my sisters tomorrow about 12:00pm.
We arrived in Ukiah, at my sisters house close to noon the next day, and met their new dog, Mo. He is a small dog with short hair and is cute. However, Mo doesn't like Hig, my brother-in-law, or anyone who gets too close to my sister. Mo was a rescue dog and my sister was the one who got him. Hig wasn't there so naturally, Mo took to his rescuer and protects her. It is unfortunate the way it turned out, but Hig keeps trying to make friends with him and he isn't too receptive. He nipped at me a couple of times when he thought I was too close to my sister and barked. Of course I told him NO! He just kind of looked at me to say------'oh yeah'!!!! Heheheheh. He does drive my sister crazy as Mo is always at her heels following her everywhere she goes. He gets stepped on accidentally, but she just tell him if he didn't stand so close she wouldn't step on him. Oh well. We had a nice visit with my sister and brother-in-law and we were able to go over family history stuff which was interesting!!! Here is a photo of 3 generations of kids.
We got to visit a while with my Niece as she stopped at my sisters on the way home from work. After 3 days with my sister and brother-in-law, we headed to Reno where Dave and I were going to have some fun. It took us about 4 hours to get to Reno from Ukiah and when we arrived in Reno we had trouble finding the street that would let us get to the Valet parking to Silver Legacy Casino, as some streets were blocked off. We finally found it and parked the truck and unloaded what we needed for our 3 day stay and checked in. After checking in, we asked that our luggage be delivered to our room. We were on the 27th floor and had a view of the city and mountains. It was pretty at night and fun to look out and see the cars and people going every which way on the streets during the day. We found out that a bunch of Harley Davidson motorcycles were coming into town in a couple days and that was why the streets were blocked off.
After getting settled in our room, we walked around finding where the pool and exercise room was and then scouted around outside of Silver Legacy to see where the best and cheapest places were to eat, and take in the sights of the three adjoining casinos. Later on we tried our hand at winning some money and it didn't go too badly. We made some, we lost some but we never went beyond what we could afford to lose. We had fun but noticed the machines had changed since we were there in 2005. Most are penny machines. Dave always gave me a bad time about playing them but that is what we ended up playing. He would play more money in some as you could play 5, 10 or 20 dollars in some. The main thing is we had fun. We did that a couple days in a row and then when the bikers came to town we noticed very few of the machines were putting out money like they were. So you think they have control of the slots?????? So it was time to quit and we just enjoyed the rest of our stay. We did go outside and walked around the area where the Harleys were and the booths that were set up. I visited the jacuzzi by the pool one day and that was wonderful. I was going to get a massage but the heat and whirlpool action of the jacuzzi was enough.
On the 23rd we left Reno and traveled back into California to June Lake to visit with some friends. We were able to stay a couple days with one of our friends that have a house in Bahia. Another couple that lives near them has a cabin and we got to visit them and then they took us on a road trip through Mammoth and some site seeing areas. It was a wonderful day. The people that have the cabin also have a house in Bahia. We left June Lake on the 24th and headed to our friends place in El Cajon, California, with an overnight stay north of Los Angeles. The traffic was getting bad and we found out that there was a concert in Las Vegas and people were heading home from that. So we decided to stop and then leave in the morning and be at our friends around noon on the 25th.
When we arrived at our friends house in El Cajon, we visited for a while and then got settled in their trailer as their extra bedroom was occupied by their granddaughter. We stayed with them for 3 days and then went to another Bahia friend's house and stayed a couple days there. We were trying to wait to cross the border on the 1st of October. Lynn and I took a walk one day and Dave ordered parts for our new solar system. We will have everything for our new solar system, after this order, except the solar panels and the frame they go in. It was a relief to finally be able to do that as the equipment that was there at the house is getting old and run down. It will really be nice when we have the new solar panels then we will have a lot of electricity. The friends we are staying with now are going to bring the equipment down in their truck to Bahia, when they arrive in another couple weeks. Another step closer to getting our house like we want it.
Tomorrow we leave San Diego and head for the border. We are anxious to get home now. It has been hot here in San Diego and we hear it is hot in Bahia. But we know it doesn't start cooling down there until mid to the end of October. So we will just deal with it for the short duration.
Then we walked further and we were surprised that Cameron, with his little legs, was keeping up. We made it back to the grass area and they had some water and a snack and then Jon and I took the boys over to the swings and pushed them for a while. Then they were off climbing on all the play equipment. By this time Cameron was smiling and even coming up to me and Dave. Jonathan Jr. showed us how strong he is by moving some hefty rocks under a tree. Of course Cameron was right there trying to do what brother was doing and had a harder time at it but it was fun to watch.
It had turned out to be a warm day. There were fountains in one area
and Jonathan Jr. wanted to get wet but dad didn't bring a suit for him or a towel. After a little disappointment and disagreement with dad, Jonathan was ok with it but dad promised to fill water balloons when they got home and he could get wet then. So all was good again. After about 2 to 3 hours, the boys were showing signs of getting tired so we said goodbye and gave hugs and kisses all around.
We left the park and went back to the boat to just chill.
Today, the 8th is my nieces birthday along with our grandson, Dominick. We don't know where Dominick is as his mother has dropped off Facebook and we never hear from her anymore but he is still our grandson and he is growing up fast. He was born in 2005 so he is 11 today. Not even his dad knows where they are now. Sad.
My best girlfriend Judy and I went to lunch to celebrate her birthday. Her birthday isn't until the 28th but I won't be here so we are celebrating early. She chose Red Lobster so that is where we had a great lunch.
The 9th we drove to Marysville to watch Eian play in his second football game of the season for the Tomahawks at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. They won and Eian played a remarkable game. He came close to making a touchdown but got stopped about a yard or so from the goal line. It was a fun game and his girlfriend came up to us to say hi. She is such a sweetheart. She was wearing Eians' home game jersey.
Ernie had Conor in the shoulder carry harness so Conor could watch the game and when he heard the band play he was moving around to the music. Then when we cheered he did too and clapped. He was fun to watch as well.
This was the only game we could make it to before leaving so we are really glad we got a chance to watch him. We stayed overnight so we could see Brooke and Brody as they were at her Arlington High School game, coaching the cheer squad. We had a great evening when everyone got home. The next morning we said goodbye and gave everyone big hugs and kisses as this was the last time we would see them this year.
Sunday, the 11th, there was a memorial gathering for a friend of ours son at the Brownsville Yacht Club at the Brownsville marina. Steve Neuhauser lost his oldest son, Stevie, about 2 weeks before. He died of complications from alcoholism. It was very sad as he was young. The family had put together all the pictures of him they could find over the years and displayed them. It was really nicely done and people brought food and drinks. Then at dusk the family members and close friends launched lighted Japanese candles on the water at the marina. It was very beautiful and touching.
One of my other best girlfriends had invited us to the yearly celebration of Johnny Cash that her son Tom Cash puts on every year. We finally said we would go but that afternoon I wasn't feeling well and it felt like I was getting a bladder infection. Knowing I had a lot of car riding ahead of me I didn't want to wait and then have it be a problem. So I called Ginny and told her we couldn't make it and why and then Dave and I went to the urgent care of Group Health. It took a while to be seen but I had the specimen done and had to wait some more. Finally I get in to see the doctor and she tells me she couldn't see anything that indicated an infection. Well I was relieved and found out I needed to drink lots more water. It wasn't a wasted trip as I got my scheduled flu shot while I was there. Well by the time I got out of the clinic, it was too late to go to the celebration for Johnny Cash, so we will have to try and make it next year. Ginny had been trying to get me to go for about 3 years now. I am glad I went to the doctor and that I didn't put it off because I would not have had fun at the party.
My girlfriend, Carolyn invited me to go window shopping with her to Poulsbo today. I haven't been there in a couple of years so it sounded like fun. She picked me up at 10:00am and once parked in Poulsbo, we walked up and down the street, stopping for lunch and then getting Dave a donut from the best bakery around!!!! We were home by 3:00pm.
We spent the next couple of days unpacking the storage unit of all the things we had bought to take back to Mexico with us. We filled everything we could stuff things in and after the truck was packed we put little items here and there. It was so full we couldn't get any more in if we tried. The back seat will have our overnight stuff and computers and that kind of stuff. We are ready to go. I forgot to share a photo of the truck after the canopy so here it is.
Dave had a meeting with the Maritime Historical Society and then we finished up our packing from on the boat to leave early in the morning. After the meeting was over, my girlfriend, Carolyn, had many of our marina friends meet at a picnic table near the marina boat ramp to say goodbye. Everyone brought something to share and we had a fun time. One of our other friend bought us a packaged breakfast for our morning trip. She had 2 energy drinks, a huge gingerbread man maple donut, a couple cookies and a couple plums and peaches. That was so thoughtful and nice. Our friends are so cool!!!! It was dark when the party ended and Dave and I went back to the boat and got things ready for leaving in the morning. We want to get to my sister's house either the same day or day after.
Next morning we left early for my sisters. We would go as far as Dave wants as he is driving. It was late morning when we stopped at a rest area in Oregon to have some coffee and stretch our legs. There was a man standing with a sign outside of where you get free coffee, at this rest stop. He had run out of gas and his sign reflected that. Well no one had extra gas but I had gotten back to the truck before Dave watching as people gave him money or food. He could get all the coffee he wanted as long as it was being served. I had an idea of giving that man the big maple bar gingerbread donut and some of the fruit we had left. When Dave returned to the truck I told him of my idea and he said to save the peaches and I could give the man the donut and 2 plums. So I did just that. He said thank you and took it to his car and stowed it for later. We gave him the box with the lid so the donut wouldn't get too dried out. I felt good about doing that as I felt this man was being honest about his predicament. We left there knowing we at least helped him in some way. I sure hope he got gas as all the money in the world wouldn't help him if he couldn't drive his car. We ended up staying in Medford, Oregon that night and will be at my sisters tomorrow about 12:00pm.
We arrived in Ukiah, at my sisters house close to noon the next day, and met their new dog, Mo. He is a small dog with short hair and is cute. However, Mo doesn't like Hig, my brother-in-law, or anyone who gets too close to my sister. Mo was a rescue dog and my sister was the one who got him. Hig wasn't there so naturally, Mo took to his rescuer and protects her. It is unfortunate the way it turned out, but Hig keeps trying to make friends with him and he isn't too receptive. He nipped at me a couple of times when he thought I was too close to my sister and barked. Of course I told him NO! He just kind of looked at me to say------'oh yeah'!!!! Heheheheh. He does drive my sister crazy as Mo is always at her heels following her everywhere she goes. He gets stepped on accidentally, but she just tell him if he didn't stand so close she wouldn't step on him. Oh well. We had a nice visit with my sister and brother-in-law and we were able to go over family history stuff which was interesting!!! Here is a photo of 3 generations of kids.
We got to visit a while with my Niece as she stopped at my sisters on the way home from work. After 3 days with my sister and brother-in-law, we headed to Reno where Dave and I were going to have some fun. It took us about 4 hours to get to Reno from Ukiah and when we arrived in Reno we had trouble finding the street that would let us get to the Valet parking to Silver Legacy Casino, as some streets were blocked off. We finally found it and parked the truck and unloaded what we needed for our 3 day stay and checked in. After checking in, we asked that our luggage be delivered to our room. We were on the 27th floor and had a view of the city and mountains. It was pretty at night and fun to look out and see the cars and people going every which way on the streets during the day. We found out that a bunch of Harley Davidson motorcycles were coming into town in a couple days and that was why the streets were blocked off.
After getting settled in our room, we walked around finding where the pool and exercise room was and then scouted around outside of Silver Legacy to see where the best and cheapest places were to eat, and take in the sights of the three adjoining casinos. Later on we tried our hand at winning some money and it didn't go too badly. We made some, we lost some but we never went beyond what we could afford to lose. We had fun but noticed the machines had changed since we were there in 2005. Most are penny machines. Dave always gave me a bad time about playing them but that is what we ended up playing. He would play more money in some as you could play 5, 10 or 20 dollars in some. The main thing is we had fun. We did that a couple days in a row and then when the bikers came to town we noticed very few of the machines were putting out money like they were. So you think they have control of the slots?????? So it was time to quit and we just enjoyed the rest of our stay. We did go outside and walked around the area where the Harleys were and the booths that were set up. I visited the jacuzzi by the pool one day and that was wonderful. I was going to get a massage but the heat and whirlpool action of the jacuzzi was enough.
On the 23rd we left Reno and traveled back into California to June Lake to visit with some friends. We were able to stay a couple days with one of our friends that have a house in Bahia. Another couple that lives near them has a cabin and we got to visit them and then they took us on a road trip through Mammoth and some site seeing areas. It was a wonderful day. The people that have the cabin also have a house in Bahia. We left June Lake on the 24th and headed to our friends place in El Cajon, California, with an overnight stay north of Los Angeles. The traffic was getting bad and we found out that there was a concert in Las Vegas and people were heading home from that. So we decided to stop and then leave in the morning and be at our friends around noon on the 25th.
When we arrived at our friends house in El Cajon, we visited for a while and then got settled in their trailer as their extra bedroom was occupied by their granddaughter. We stayed with them for 3 days and then went to another Bahia friend's house and stayed a couple days there. We were trying to wait to cross the border on the 1st of October. Lynn and I took a walk one day and Dave ordered parts for our new solar system. We will have everything for our new solar system, after this order, except the solar panels and the frame they go in. It was a relief to finally be able to do that as the equipment that was there at the house is getting old and run down. It will really be nice when we have the new solar panels then we will have a lot of electricity. The friends we are staying with now are going to bring the equipment down in their truck to Bahia, when they arrive in another couple weeks. Another step closer to getting our house like we want it.
Tomorrow we leave San Diego and head for the border. We are anxious to get home now. It has been hot here in San Diego and we hear it is hot in Bahia. But we know it doesn't start cooling down there until mid to the end of October. So we will just deal with it for the short duration.
