Day 17-19

We awoke this morning (Thursday) knowing that we had hiked all over Seattle and were not as young as we used to be.  We knew that Kath and Tony were arriving around noon and would have lunch with us and that Kathleen and Earnie would arrive in the evening and have dinner.  It was our day of food in the trailer.  It was continuing to rain and the temperature was high so we were not driven to be outside.   We could spend the morning reading and waiting for Cassie to arrive (oh yeah, Kath and Tony also).  Tony brought a copy of the final CD of Yvonne's harp music that he and she made. Wow!!!  When Cassie got out of their car she was not sure what was happening.  Was she here to say goodbye and go home with the Beechers or what.  But when that was worked out she launched herself onto the couch and stayed there.  We spent lunch getting a update of Cassie's life at the Beechers and that she was a really good girl.  We again say to the Beechers THANK YOU. 

The Beechers headed out and we got a call from Kathleen that they were finished with their museum viewing in Tacoma and could they come a little earlier than planned.  Of course.  They arrive a little later and we spent the time catching up on the glass blowers that we had both seen and the tours we had been on.  It was a great afternoon and evening.  We eventually had dinner and they got back on the road and headed back to their little bungalow. 

On Friday we were off to Yakimi to visit with one of Yvonne's good friends from seminary, Judy Lebens.  We had called her on Thursday and she suggested that we take a little back road and a little higher pass so that we could see Mt. Rainier.  When we got up the sky was clear, no rain, so there was hope in seeing the mountain.  The GPS fought us most of the early part of the trip and we finally unplugged it.  While we were driving along we looked up and there it was, Mt. Rainier.  Yvonne began to take pictures from the moving car be cause we were sure that the clouds would blow in and we would never see it again. 

But that day was great.  We wound our way through little tiny towns and the up into the Mount Rainier National park.  We stopped to take pictures of little water falls and raging rivers but were sure that we would not see the mountain again as we were in the bottom of a canyon. 


We began to climb out of the canyon and came around the corner and there were a bunch of cars parked along the side of the road.  I almost drove off the road as right in front of us was the MOUNTAIN.  There is no way to get the photo so that you get the perspective of just how big it is and how it commands the surroundings. 

We had a nice young couple from Germany take our picture and had a discussion about the number of people that were climbing on the mountain today.  With the telephoto lens and the binoculars we could see no one but we are sure that they were there. 

We climbed back into the truck and headed up and up to Chinook pass and guess what, there was snow on the ground.  We just had to stop and introduce Cassie to that white stuff.  She has learned, on this trip, to put her front paws up on the low stone walls and look over.  I helped her up onto the wall so she could see the snow and climbed over myself.  I was just going to have her jump down off the wall (18") and then walk onto the snow.  Well she was having none of that.  She launched herself from the top of the wall into the snow and then pranced around because it was cold.  She was really ready to get back into the car and out of that wet and cold stuff. 

We came down into Yakima and were met at the campground by Judy.  We had some Shrimp Cocktail which came from Pikes Market in Seattle and got caught up with everyone's family and what we were all doing.  Judy then took us on a tour of Yakima.  She had been born and raised here and knew all of the really good dirt.  We had to stop and taste really good beer and had a great meal at a little Italian restaurant.  We left Cassie in the trailer for this trip as she will have a couple of times in the trip when she needs to be able to hang out in the trailer and just snooze.  Our neighbors said that there as about 2 minutes of barking and then they never heard her again.  But she was really happy to see us. 

Judy met
us again this morning (Saturday) and took us to a couple of fruit stands that were outstanding.  Yvonne and I just had to buy a cherry pie for tonight.  Cassie went along and was a great dog until she ate Judy's cookies but.... 

The cherries were amazing but we finally had to get on the road and we have come down to Pendleton (only 88 degrees).  On the trip down Judy told us how to get to several wineries so we just had to stop and have a couple of tastings.  We were in our spot by 5 with the air conditioner going having a beer and hanging out.  Tomorrow we are off to church and I do not know what else. 

Marathon Day in Seattle Day 16

 Because Cassie is staying with our good friends the Beechers, we felt that we needed to get on the road and see everything that we could in Seattle in one day.  We found out that parking in the city was $2/hour and that we could ride the rapid transit for about $2.75/person round trip.  No brainer there.  We started at 8:00 am standing on the street in a light rain with our rain gear on waiting for the bus.  It showed up only a few minutes late and we were on and headed for SeaTac Airport where we changed to a light rail mode of transportation. 

We rode into Pioneer Square and were there by 9:30 to get tickets on the 10:00 Seattle Underground tour.  We had a great tour guide (he went to the University of Oregon, go ducks).  The tour guide (Paul) gave us a short history of Seattle and the reason for the number of buildings with first floors that were underground.  (had to do with raising roads to get them out of the tide zone and a big fire).  Then the 20 or so of us headed out onto the streets to go down into the bowels of the earth to look at what was left of several buildings under the ground.  We spent an hour and one half tromping from one building to another and then going down, down, down.  There were great stories about the founding fathers and the number of people that they ripped off.  One of the founding fathers and first mayor did not want to pay his taxes so he would sue the city for his taxes and then as mayor settle the lawsuit in his favor.  There was a story of the city going bankrupt so they decide to have a sin tax and have the ladies who were "seamstresses" (the highest grossing businesses in the city) pay a tax.  One of the ladies was a very good business woman so she bought a bank and began to sit on the city council and give direction (in more ways than one) to the council members.  This was a great trip. 


We came out of the ground in front of one of Kollin's favorite places.  The Utilikilt company and Yvonne found a new guy to hang out with. 

We then hiked down to the water front to look at the ferry and a very active port and find some sea food.  We had been told that we should eat at Ivars Fish Bar which was established in 1938.  This was an open air fish bar like you would find on Fisherman's wharf.  We ordered clam chowder and some fish and chips.  The clam chowder was amazing. 

We were amused as people did not know that if you eat outside next to the ocean the seagulls will take your food.  We protected our scrumptious meal to the bitter end.  But to show the gulls that we still liked them Stan held a fry aloft and ....

Then it was off to climb 1000 steps up to the market place.  We were a little slow but we made it (I was going to trip that 60 year old guy that was running the steps but Yvonne would not let me.)  When we got to the top we entered the market right into a tea shop where we spent an hour with a lovely young lady tasting many different types of tea.  It was really fun and it allow us to get our breath and let our lunch resettle. 

One of the things I wanted to see in Seattle was Pike Place Fish Company.  They had made a video in the mid 80's about the right way to run a company.  It was a teaching tool that I had used for many years.  Yes they throw fish but customer service is number one and they have a good time doing it.  I wanted to see if this was really true or just for the video.  They were so much fun and careful with the customer.  They answered all the questions and helped each of us as if we were special.  Their way of doing business is good and not just of one video. 

We continued on through the market and came out in Post Alley.   We had been told about the wall of gum but did not believe it.  Well believe it.  "That is gross" as one young lady said and I think that Yvonne and I felt the same way but...  Art must be in the eye of the beholder.  There was gum for about 2 blocks up as far as one could reach. 

We continued along through the market as it was just pouring rain outside.  Enjoyed tasting different types of dipping sauces, looking out across the bay, and looking at all of the stuff that tourists will probably buy. 

The rain let up and our feet had had it.  We found the "Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory" and just had to go in and get a little chocolate and then went down to "Caffe Ladra" and talked the barista into making a "café con leche" (a coffee drink that we had in Spain) and he got really close.  We sat and watched the sun come out and drank our coffee and ate our chocolate.  When we had been reinforced we headed out to our third mode of transportation, the monorail and off to the Space Needle.  Of course it began to rain but we donned our rain coats and kept walking to the monorail.  No sooner did we get in the monorail it stopped raining. 

The Space Needle was amazing but we did not need to go to the top.  What we did instead was to go into the exhibit of glass by Chihuly a local and famous glass blower.  What a stunning show.  You go through an indoor exhibit that is an explosion of color and surrealism.  He had chandeliers of glass hanging from the ceiling which he made to hang in Venice over the canels and boats of glass floating on rivers of black.

You then move outside to a glass house that had fantasmagorical flowers floating in the ceiling.  When you looked you realized you could see the outside world including the Space Needle. 


From there you moved into a garden where glass and plants cohabite to form wonderful visions of fantasy.   All in all we are glad that we let this be the last stop on our day.  It was awe inspiring. 

We had two more things to do today.  One was to find dinner and the second was to get home.  After talking to a couple of locals we headed off to a Thai restaurant that was recommended but in the process got lost and just had to have dinner where I could get a good beer.  We found TS McHughes an Irish pub where I got a good IPA that was locally brewed and Yvonne had a local Hefeveizen.  After dinner we were back on the monorail, light rail, and bus to be back in our little casa by 8:30 pm.  What an fantastic day. 

Cassie comes home tomorrow.  Cannot wait to see the little furball. 



Day 11-15

Friday morning up and out in a leisurely manner.  We are on our way to Sequim Washington where our friends Kath and Tony Beecher live. 

Because we have a little time we thought that we would go by the Mima Mounds Park.  These were though to be burial mounds but have now been proven to be piles of rock left by glaciers as they melted.  It was quite an adventure to find these little babies.  We were following directions put out by AAA so felt that there should be no problems.  Well guess again.  What AAA did not tell us was that the name of the road changed three times and each time it changed we chose the wrong way.  We asked locals how to get to the Mima Mounds and got several different directions.  None of which added up to what we hand in the books (nothing on the GPS).  Finally mom went on her new phone and looked it up on the web.  Amazing, we found the directions and drove right to the mounds.  It was interesting to be out in the middle of nowhere and listening to the tweet of the birds and then to have world war III go off.  There is a gun club on the back  of the property which takes a way some of the  quiet. 

We finally arrived in Sequim Washington at the house of Kath and Tony Beecher.  Kath was my first student teacher at Valencia High School and has now retired after a full life of teaching.  She has moved up here to the Banana Belt of Washington to be with her husband, Tony a retired recording engineer.  Both have amazing hobbies.  Tony has taken an out building (what could have been a really good woodworking shop) and turned in into a train depot for model trains.  He has a really incredible set up that is in the early stages of development.  He has also joined a model railroad club and is turning them on their ear.  Kath has joined a quilting club and has taken over one whole bedroom assigned to that project.  Kath and Tony welcomed Cassie into their home but Doc and Bashful (two cats) were not so sure they wanted to be around Cassie. 

Saturday morning, Kath kept Cassie and Tony took us on a tour of the Olympic Forest.   Tony is a really accomplished photographer so we spent the day taking pictures and learning about my camera.  We started off at Crescent Lake.  This is a glacier lake that has two types of fish that are found no where else in the world than in this lake.  The day looks like it was cloudy but the sun was out most of the day and we were, for the first time without two jackets and long underwear. 

After hundreds of pictures we moved on to Solduk river and the falls.  Once again this was drive, stop, take a picture, talk about the picture and then go on to the next spot.  Yvonne and I hiked out to the falls.  Tony hung around the trail head taking pictures that he had taken in other seasons.  He is trying to take the same picture in all the different seasons as a study.  When we got to the falls it was interesting to find that though the falls were beautiful they were short compared to what we are familiar with CA.  We were lucky enough to be there when the sun was just right so that the rainbow jumped right at us. 

On Sunday we went St. Luke's Episcopal Church and were recruited to the choir.  They were very persuasive about us moving up there so that we could join the choir but....  It was a wonderful service and it was fun to just be in the pews and worship.

We came back to Kath and Tony's house.  One of the discussions about us visiting was that Tony and Kath had a few little projects that they wanted help with.  So we started on putting up shelves and  putting together a loom.  These projects  continued on to Monday but are all completed. 

Throughout the whole four days Kath cooked up a storm.  We had salmon, BBQ ribs, baked brie, apple dumplings, brownies, shrimp and rice, spaghetti, baked chicken and panzella salad.  It was like being on a cruise ship. 

Tony gave Yvonne quite a gift by recording some of her harp pieces.  It makes quite a difference to have someone who knows recording and has the right equipment making the recording.  We look forward to hearing the finished product when he sends us the CD. 

Tuesday, we're off to Kent Washington KOA.   We will use this as our base to see Seattle on Wednesday.  Kath and Tony offered to keep Cassie for us so that we can spend the day with out worrying about Cassie while we sight see in Seattle.  Cassie will hook back up with us on Thursday after being spoiled at the Beecher Doggie Resort.  

Day 8-10

 We are up on Tuesday and it was raining so we just had to sleep in and read.  We final crawled out of bed, had breakfast, and headed out to Tillamook to see the cheese factory then go on down the coast to see the "Three Capes."  It was amazing to see the factory in process.  They were making sharp cheddar that day.  We worked our way through multiple different kinds of cheeses and choose only 6 different ones to buy.  I found my favorite which is their "Trail Mix" (Smoked cheddar, summer sausage, sharp cheddar, peperoni stick and garlic cheddar). Nothing in it that I would turn away.  We came out of the factory with a little dog barking and raising hell and were so proud of Cassie when we found out it was the dog in the next car.  She was hanging out waiting for us to come back. 

From there we heading down the road to visit the "Three Capes."  This trip is a loop that travels about 50 miles and visits three different capes below the town of Tillamook.    It continued to shower on and off so when we got to Cape Meares we were pleased to find it not raining and we hiked down to the light house.  This light house is one of the oldest on this coast and had the largest first order lens.  We had a great time talking to one of the docents and then hiked back out to the truck just in time to  avoid the next wave of rain.  We visited the other two capes.  To top off this tour of the three capes was a visit to the Pelican Pub and Brewing Company where we sampled two different beers.
 

The trip back up was wonderful for a different reason.  Along the route were sculptures that talked to the difference of those who live in Oregon rather that California.  The blue cow reading we found in front of a preschool.  The two chickens we found along a farmers field.  While taking the picture the highway patrol came up and asked me to move along as I was a danger to people traveling along the road.  We were concerned I was going to get a ticket but that did not happen and we moved along.  When we got to the next town what should we find but another chicken.  Yvonne made me stop so she could get a  picture.  I made sure to pull into a parking lot and she went back to get the picture.  I know that these sculptures are important to someone but they were sure fun and made our trip happier. 

As we were driving back late in the day we found these rocks covered in living plants back lit by the close of a day with the rain beginning to recede. 

We headed back to our little home after a full day.  Had a walk on the beach and watched the moon rise in sky.  It is most interesting to be up at 9:00 and have it still be light out.  It was wonderful to watch the stars to come out and play with Cassie and the ocean.  Then it was time to climb into bed and get ready for the next day. 

Wednesday we were out by 9:00 and headed up to Astoria  and then on to Iron Creek which is on the northeast side of Mount St. Helens.  On the Oregon coast there are a series of  light houses.  This one was probably the most difficult to build.  It took almost two years to construct.  There is almost no room on the rock for anything else other than the light house. 

We continued on up to Astoria where we went to Fort Clatsop, the final stopping point of Lewis and Clark on the Pacific Coast.   After traversing the continent from the St. Louis, surveying and writing reports for President Jefferson, Lewis and Clark ended their journey and built a small fort on a bluff  above a river near the mouth of the Columbia River.  They spent a cold, wet 4 winter months there before they planned to leave and travel by land back home.  A replica of the fort

has been built and the small rooms and open fire pits would not have been very comfortable.  The whole undertaking was amazing.  Yvonne read Stephen Ambrose's  Undaunted Courage recently and provided a running commentary on the adventure of these men. 

We went off across the state to Iron Creek.  We throught that this campground was going to be just off the freeway.  I know that maps work but for some reason I did not check this out.  Iron Creek is not on Google Maps or on our GPS but we have  traveled with maps for a long time so what could go wrong.....

57 miles later we stopped at the ranger station and asked for directions.  We were close (8 miles).  It is a wonder primeval forest on the shoulder of Mount St. Helens.  The rain stopped and waited for us to set up camp and take a small walk.  The rain then held off enough for us to barbeque dinner and sit outside around a campfire.  What a wonderful night.  This forest is an old growth forest and you might have seen thousands of years ago. 

Because the campground was all the way around Mount St Helen's on the back side we were up in the morning early (8:00)  on Thursday and out the door.  Drove around the mountain to see the volcano.  The rain came in and the clouds came down.  As you can see the mountain was hiding from us.  Maybe next time.  It was educational to read about what happened and to see the devastation in the valley. 

When we read and heard about in in the 80's I just through that it was a volcano erupting.  Somewhere I missed that there were three distinct acts that made up this particular eruption.  First there were earthquakes (5.+) that caused the largest landslide in the Americas.  This moved tons of earth off the side of the mountain and weakened the structure of the side of the mountains.  Second, there as a gas eruption that blew out the side of the mountain and spread fine ash and golf ball size balls for miles around.  Third there as a lava eruption that melted all of the snow on the mountain and cause the floods that we read about.  It was a perfect storm and no one could predict. 

As you can see Cassie also is interested in what Yvonne is reading to us from the plaque out of shot.  We packed it up and headed back around the mountain to our trailer.  It rained heavily all the way  so we had dinner in the trailer.  Curled up and hit the hay.    

Day 4-7

Up early in the morning and off to Gold Hill.  Ron Danko and I work together to build Western Stage.  We both then moved into teaching Speech and then Ron moved to Oregon where he continues to teach speech and work in the Theater.  We have not seen each other for several years and Yvonne and I looked forward to some time with both he and Aurelie (his wife).  It took most of the day to drive from the Redwoods to Gold Hill.  We drove up along the coast an then through Crescent City and on into Oregon.  It was really clear that Crescent City is truly a crescent.  It was also amazing to see the high water marks along the road.  We then turned East through the Jedediah Smith Redwoods to see more amazing trees.   Then it was on to Oregon where I forgot and tried to pump my own gas.  The attendant was very nice but firm.  (It’s an Oregon law).  He would do the work for me.  

 We arrived at the KOA around 3 and set up.  Ron had suggested that we go down to Ashland and see a play (The Unfortunates).  While driving in we booked two tickets using our new Androids and we got two tickets.  It worked just great but we had not thought out the whole plan.  What do we do with Cassie?  Well we can leave her in the trailer and go see the show.  (now what is wrong with that picture?)  Finally, Yvonne stayed at the trailer with Cassie and practiced her harp and I went down to Ashland to see an incredible show.  No hope to describe the show as it is a musical that uses blues, rap, hip hop, and gospel to tell the story of prisoners in a German camp and what goes on in their head.  As weird as it sounds it was moving. 

We were up in the morning (Saturday) and down to Ron’s place for breakfast. He and his wife put on an  incredible spread during which we all showed pictures of our kids, talked about old times and where everyone was going or had been over the last several years.   Generally we caught up.  In all of the talking I did not take one picture.  We had a great time but Ron had a trick up his sleeve and we headed out on an adventure.  It turns out that Bob Butterbaugh and his wife Genie live just down the road and Bob has built the most amazing shop.  Basically a barn (three car garage with high ceilings), 220 to all tools, serious tools (drool), and storage for the lumber next to his home.  We got a tour, I got jealous and we spent more time catching up and hearing what the Butterbaugh’s were doing.  We were supposed to be back at the KOA by 12:00 to leave but it was closer to 2:00 before we got back. (Again no pictures)

We drove to Eugene and found our way to Dick and Ty Zeller’s house.  Set up the trailer and started talking again.  Dick and Ty were instrumental is helping us move to Eugene in 1985 and then moving to Resurrection Church, where for the year Yvonne was the Choir director.   They were a huge support for us in Eugene in so many ways.  We had a great meal (compared California and Oregon wines), lots of talking and then wandered their property and looked at their garden (more wine) and finally went to bed. 

The next morning (Sunday) we had a lazy morning and then off to Resurrection to sing with the choir and worship with a number of folks who were still in the parish from when we were there.  It brought back many wonderful memories.  Yvonne got to play their new organ   Dick and Ty had planned a dinner with folks from the church that remembered us and we remembered.  Two couples could come on Father’s Day Richard Heinzkill and his wife and Mike and Marin and again more stories and remembrances.  Also in attendance was Christine (Dick and Ty’s daughter) and her husband Bing and daughter Elizabeth Grace.  It was wonderful to talk with Christine.  She was about 7 when we left and now is a lawyer settling cases concerning radiation contamination of people working in the nuclear industry.

.

Today (Monday) we were up and said heartfelt thanks and challenges to get together more often and then we were off to the Oregon coast.   As usual this time of year the fog is in but we stopped at the Heceta Lighthouse   This coast is so different from Northern California.   We also stopped at the Visitors Center at Cape Perpetua to look at another amazing view of the Oregon coast and read about history of the area.

and all of us walked up to the lighthouse covered in fog. The only decent picture was of the lighthouse keeper’s house.

We are now set up in our campsite in Nehalem Bay.  We slid in just before it began to seriously rain and were set up and having a glass of wine watching the water sluice off the roof of the trailer.  Tomorrow may be a tour of the Tillamook cheese factory and out to see the three capes if it continues to rain.  If it clears up we may go for a hike as Oregon will allow dogs on leash to be on the trails.  Who knows?  We will report to you what we did when we have an internet connection again. 

Day 1-4

Well folks for those of you that wonder where we are, we have left the Roost and are on the road.  Yvonne and I are going to spend the next weeks checking back in with each other and learning how to travel with our new dog Cassie (Cassandra).  When we have internet we will post, which might not be to often but.....

We started our journey on Tuesday  the 11th, and yes David we got out by 8:00 even though we were not ready the night before when you called.   Our first stop was on the other side of the Golden Gate bridge to let Cassie find out what it was like to be in a crowd.  She did great.  She was most interested in seeing what was around the next corner. 

While we were standing there the folks next to us wondered about the  large sailboat out on the water.  One of the America's Cup 70 foot cats were practicing.   They are quite the boat.  I do not think the Cassie was interested but I hung around as long as I could watching this monster take off with almost no wind.

We packed back up and headed out through Petaluma on our way to Humboldt Redwood State Park and the Burlington campground.  This is a blast from the past as Yvonne and I been here early in our marriage.  We were trying to figure out when but you know these old minds.  The road had changed and it was not as we remember it.  It took until the next day for us to figure that they had added a freeway through this area and the road that we had traveled is now called the "Avenue of the Giants." We pulled in and set up.  Big trees everywhere.  We have thousands of shots of just trees.  They are quite amazing.  A simple meal of  chili and sausages to start the trip.

Next door to us was a  dad and two little kids.  He was camping with his kids (6 and 2 years old) because this was his vacation time and his wife was trying to complete her dissertation.   The two little kids immediately came over to play with Cassie and entertained us with their exploits and adventures. .  It turns out that he is an assistant Scout Master and was kind enough to offer dutch over cobbler because his kids were often in our camp. 

The next day (Wed) we slept in and then hung around camp and read.  Eventually, at the urging of Cassie we were off on our own adventures.    One of the problems of traveling with a dog is that you cannot take them on any trails in the National Parks so we went just outside of the park to take her through the forest and then introduced Cassie to a river.  She was besotted.  We are still not comfortable about letting her off the leash but the twenty foot line allowed her to get plenty wet.  One of us will have to get into the water before she will swim but......

We are now working on having her stay in the truck while we take short hikes into the woods to see the really big trees.  Sometimes she just curls up and goes to sleep and sometimes she lets us know that she is not happy.  While we were talking to one of the rangers, she suggested that we park the truck at the opening of some of the drive in sites and then walk Cassie along the road.  The rule is, if it is paved the dog and go there.  So off we went and had more adventures.  The ferns are amazing.  To see the amount of growth that comes out of a downed tree reminds you about how the forest sustains its self.

Back to camp for our first real dinner.  Prior to the trip I found a little Weber gas barbecue so we just had to try it out.  So BBQ chicken and weird sausages and salad.   While that was happening Yvonne decided to take her harp out and practice a little.  Immediately the kids were there to see this weird musical instrument.  We finished dinner and were off to bed.

The next day (Thursday) more sleeping in and reading under the trees.  We then decided to travel the length of the old Redwood Highway (now called the Avenue of the Giants) stopping often to see more big trees and try to find places that we remember from our first visit to the Redwoods almost 35 years ago.   It is hard to appreciate the size of some of these treas until you stand next to them.  This is the largest tree in the park and that little dot next to it is Yvonne.  We visited the two other campgrounds in the park and understood why we had chosen Burlington last time.  It is the nicest of the group and the oldest.  More room between sites.  What a great day of just lazing through he park. Back to the campsite where we grilled salmon  and had an amazing dinner.  A little harp practice and off to bed.

Up at 0-dark- hundred (Friday) as we need to be in Gold Hill Oregon early.  We had tickets to a show in Ashland (The Unfortunates).  Out of camp by 8 and on the road.  We traveled up through Crescent City.  Stopping often to look at the ocean and watching the folks launch their kayaks to go fishing.

Yvonne did make me stop to see the blue ox but I promise you that we did not go inside of this amusement park.  (check out the ox).  With a full day of travel behind us we arrived at the KOA in Gold Hill.  Plugged in and then decided that we had not spent enough time with Cassie so I went to the show and Yvonne stayed with Cassie.

What an wonderful presentation.  It was a little weird to go to the show without Yvonne but as the trip goes along Cassie will get better and when we are back in this area we will try to see another show where we both can go.

Today (Saturday), we will stop and have breakfast with Ron Danko and his wife and then head off to Eugene to be with our friends the Zeller's.

That gets you all caught up.  Will post more later in the week.