Busy Week

It has been a busy week. I flew to Boise and stayed with Mom over the weekend to help her get Starlight's books straightened out. It was a nice visit but hard for me to travel with my feet the way they are. I made it and that's the good part.

I got to see a couple plays. The Scarlett Pimpernel and Thoroughly Modern Millie both of which I really enjoyed. When Cliff and Tony and I went through GV on our way home from our trip we saw the Wizard of Oz and it was really well done also. Ed has a very accomplished cast this year and it shows. Pimpernel was of course my favorite and Sterling Blackwell and Skye Davis played the leads. They were both brilliant and I had to hand it to my sister Jan who did the costuming with help from Mom and others. My hat is off to you sister, I would have died if I would have had to costume these particular shows, what an accomplishment. It was fabulous.

Came home and we have been taking Cheyenne swimming and she has been going skating and to the movies with her friends. Remember those kid summers when there was no care except that school would start too soon!! Almost every night Charlee brings Gabbi over and they swim in there little plastic blow up pool Big Daddy got them. It is about 10' X 6' and about 2 1/2 feet deep which is perfect from them they just jump and splash and have the best time. It is so cute.

So summer is rolling on and before we know it it will be fall. The temperature has been about 115 so we are all ready for the cool down that will come in about a month, For now we will enjoy the dog days of summer. I have learned to relish every morsel of it so bring it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

End of Our Trip

I decided I better get off my duff and finish our wonderful summer trip that we took with our grandson Tony aka The Sea Weasel. It was a fun trip and I can't tell you how much we enjoyed it. Yes it was a lot of driving but through the most beautiful scenery in the world. So here is the final installment of the trip.


Me and my handsome son in his living room in Portland. It was so good to see him and spend some time with him. The older they get the less time there is to really enjoy them cause they have their own lives, so this Mama realllllllly enjoyed this visit with her biggest baby

We took a river cruise and had lunch on the Portland Spirit River Cruise. It was very pleasant and we enjoyed ourselves. On the cruise up the river there was a boat with some girls who were flashing their boobs to the ship's passengers and Tony and Cliff both missed it (drats the luck). So Cliff and Tony were on the look out on the way back however, the coast guard had been alerted and had the girls boat pulled over and the officers were making the boob flashing perpetrators get off the river. Tony and Cliff thought it was a blatant case of "police brutality" but towards them not the girls (HA)

Us toasting our good fortune to be lucky enough to be enjoying a fine meal and cocktail's on a nice cruise boat. There was even a piano player taking requests and Tony wanted her to play some AC/DC but to no avail! He said "Some people just don't understand good music!" I agree

Me and my baby just floating down the river of love!!!!!!

The world traveled Sea Weasel enjoying his beverage as they would while dining at the Hoisington Estate (inside joke)

The Willamette River and our sweet ride

We took a tour of the Portland Underground (you know us always looking for ghosts) and this Wooden Indian was part of the tour. They told the story that the Shanghai Tunnels were famous for "shanghaiing men and selling them to the sea captains from just after the Civil War up until the early 1940's. This Indian was supposedly sold to a sea captain wrapped in a tarp. The captain was told that the Indian was "dead drunk" and would wake up far out to sea. The sea captain paid $75 dollars for him when the going rate was $50 because he was so big!!! When he found out it was not a real man they threw him over board and he washed back up on shore and was recovered. They say this is the real guy hummmmmmmmmmmmmm

Cell where the shanghaied men and women who were sold into white slavery were held

Captain Jack Tony ready to go into the Shanghai Tunnels . This may be his last adventure folks, will he come back alive or be "Shanghaied" and lost forever!!!

Tony and Toby playing guitars in Toby's music room

Tony's house in Beaverton. It was so nice and green with a really nice patio and back yard

The Sea Weasel and The Weak Sauce (Tony always has strange names for everyone) Below it's the Sea Weasel and The Weakness in the Shanghai Tunnels

These are kinda hard to see but they are sea lions in the sea lion cave pictured below. Tony wanted to get the paint ball guns out of the car and shoot them. He didn't want to hurt them just decorate them up a nit with color

Sea Lion Cave on the coast

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox

Giant Redwood that has a house made in it. Really it's a gift shop but it was kinda cool anyway.

Cliff and Tony in the giant redwoods

Happy Birthday to Big Daddy

Today is Cliff's 39th birthday and he is not having it!! He refuses to get older and says he "will NOT turn 40". Poor baby, he doesn't know how good it's about to get!! Happy Birthday Baby. Here is a picture of Cliff and Cheyenne eating oysters and Deer steak!!!

Happy Birthday Toby

My wonderful son is 34 years old today! I love you bubba!! This was taken during our recent visit. It was so nice to spend time with him. I hear he went camping for his birthday and it was only in the 70's instead of 119 like here.

Northern California

This is the star of the entire trip. We stopped for lunch on Tuesday in Healdsburg, Ca at a place called Willi's Raw Bar. Cliff just punched in seafood on the GPS and this place came up. It sounded like an informal seafood place so we decided to check it out. Well, we get there and it is a 4 star cafe that is classy,classy,classy. Everything was served "tapas" style. We ordered steamed clams, fish tacos, almond crusted sole with wilted spinach, sour dough bread, olives. OMG this food was out of this world. The steamed clams were the best I have ever had. We literally ate the broth and soaked the bread in it till it was gone. Tony even ate the fish tacos (red snapper). If you ever are in the area you MUST eat at this place it is so fun and soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!

The beautiful North coast

Tony eating crab like a little piggy My beautiful Grandson at the wharf in Arcia, Ca where we spent the night. The hotel desk suggested a fish place called Local Seafood on the water and they had wonderful food. More steamed clams(great put not perfect like the night before but really good) crab, and extras. It was so good

We saw a boat at this seaport called the Sea Weasel. So Tony became the Sea Weasel for the rest of the trip. It was so funny. He wanted to rent a boat and him and Cliff be Forrest Gump and go Shrimpin". Cliff just laughed and said all they would get was drowned if they even tried such a thing. We had such a good time and yes Tony did get tired of seafood so we broke down and got him pepperoni pizza for lunch two days in a row. He begged for McDonalds but we held out almost the whole trip beofre we broke down and ate that crap.

The Sea Weasel

Two of my favorite men who tomorrow will tackle the giant redwoods, Paul Bunyan and Babe, and worst of all Big Foot!!!!!!!

San Francsisco

Well on Sunday night we arrived in San Francsisco after a beautiful drive. We stayed at a hotel on the edge of the tenderloin district called The Opal. It was an old hotel that they had re- furbished. Kind of a dump in a way but kind of classy in a way also. The best thing is we were right down town and a two bedroom suite was on $109.00 a night. The registration clerk was gay as ever and very nice and helpful/ We had a great time talking about horoscopes, men, etc. He was a hoot. Anyway we got in our room and were going to take the bus over to the Castro (gay district) for dinner but decided we were just too tired so we ate a a fun place called Tommy's that we had seen on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. It was right across the street and was really good. The next morning we got up and caught the cable cars to Fishermans Wharf by the way of "the crookedest street in the world" pictured above.

We walked around down on the wharf for about two hours just taking in the view. We were going to take a tour of Alcatraz but couldn't get tickets on Sunday night at all then finally found some scalpers on the wharf that had them but not until late in the afternoon and we were sick of the parking /driving situation in the city so we decided to just take off and find a hotel some where north of the city on the coast that had a pool and hot tub and relax. We had been running around the city all day and were beat.

This is Tony and Cliff being funny. We were on the wharf just messing around We sent the picture of Cliff the Charlee to show Gorda and when Gabbi saw it she said, "bandage". HAHA

Had to drive by the Haight. I haven't been there since 1972 and things have really changed. It's more yippy.yuppy: hippy now. But it brings back fond memories to all us 60's rockers. That was the dream back then. Janis, Jimmy, The Fillmore, Grateful Dead.....................................

Alcataz island. Tony was really disappointed we didn't get to take the tour so we will have to take him back someday. I am actually glad we missed it, I hate prisons and all that they imply.

The view coming into the city over Golden Gate Bridge from Sausilito

Cliff and Tony standing up on the street car.
Our trusty street car that we rode

My sweetheart and I in San Francisco, Ca

We drove that night up to Salinas more tomorrow

California Coast

On Sunday the 20th we left Bakersfield and drove over to Pasa Robles and hit the coast highway. We drove all day thru the most beautiful scenery ever. It was so nice we just took our time and stopped every time we saw something interesting. Tony got a little bit car sick so we stopped and got some pills for him and I traded and rode in the backseat for awhile. I was surprised how comfortable it was.

We stopped in Big Sur for lunch and Cliff ordered the "captains plate" and it had the biggest fried shrimp I have ever seen. They were not butterflied but I bet they were 2 inches in circumference. We both couldn't believe it. Plus it had cod, clams, and calamari. Yummy. I had their clam chowder and it was sooo good. Tony of course had his usual cheeseburger. That started our orgy of sea food. The place we ate at was called "Gorda By the Sea". We had to eat there in honor of our baby girl Gorda.

The wild flowers were in bloom all up the coast and it was soooo green. I was surprised at how many farms there were along the highway. I have driven that way before but it was 25 years ago and I guess I had forgotten about all the farms. Teddi and I tried to go up the coast highway to a race in the late 90's but it had washed out at Big Sur so they had the road closed south at about Hurst's Castle. I remember being mad because we had to back track. Imagine being so dense you were mad that you had to drive that exquisite piece of road twice? What a dumb ass I was.

We stopped at this lighthouse and Cliff got a bunch of pictures he wants to make into black and white prints. It was just so amazing. The wind was blowing so it was chilly (but then when isn't it cold on the coast? ) It was nice just to relax and smell the ocean. I love that salty smell, the ocean is my favorite place , followed by the desert. Go figure but I love them both as different as they are. There is nothing as relaxing as the beach or the desert in the still of the morning. LOVE IT. It took us all day to make the drive up the coast and we stayed that night in San Fransisco.

That story will be for tomorrow.

Bakersfield, CA

I thought I better start talking about our trip. We left on Sat, June 19th after going to Oliva's dance recital. It was Tony, Cliff, and I. We left Vegas about 4:00 in the afternoon and drove to Bakersfield, Ca. It was a pretty drive especially thru Tehachipi. When we got to Bakersfield we got a room and then went over to Buck Owens, Crystal Palace for dinner. It was about 9:00 and the band was playing some good rock and roll/honkytonk country music. We got a seat for dinner down by the band so it was really nice. They had wonderful food and we had the only steak we ate on the trip. It was sea food from this point on. Tony had fun and we were proud to take him to his first honkytonk. I warned him not to let it get in his blood or he would never get it out (LMAO). I am afraid it's too late, he loves music like the rest of us so much and plays a mean guitar already. I love this shot of him with the neon "Crystal Place" guitar sign in the back ground.

Here is Cliff sitting with Minny Pearl in the lobby waiting to be seated and eat his big rib steak. They had a museum on all the walls of the place that displayed all Buck Owens clothes, posters, instruments plus a lot of other artists stuff. Really interesting to hard core country fans like us.

Me and Buck Owens aint that sumpthin

Olivia's Dance Recital

Had to post these darling pictures of Olivia's dance recital. She was so damn cute and did such a good job. In the above photo she is the second from the left. Her group were little mermaids and she knew every step. It was a really good show. They used the theatre at the Clark County Community College Cheyenne Campus and had really good staging, lights, and costuming. Yes, we start them young so they are comfortable in front of a crowd!!! I love it. Mima & Daddy Daddy love you sweet darling and are so proud of their oldest granddaughter!!!

Isn't she adorable

Look at her all in character and doing her little shoulder roles. Oh, I think she is so cute

Mama and her angel.