A Whirlwind Two Weeks (Monday, February 25 to Monday, March 11) - Monday, March 11, 2019

Life is tricky. We may want events in our lives to go a certain way and we work toward that end. However, changes happen, things come up, you have to make new decisions, and adjustments must be made. It's all a part of our personal evolution. 

On Monday, February 25, I flew to Portland, Oregon, to spend time with my family. My flight was delayed in Denver: first to wait for a flight attendant arriving on another flight which was delayed, and second, the plane's wings had to be de-iced. We were over an hour late leaving Denver. 

My son kept an eye on our progress and was at the airport to pick me up about 12:35 p.m. Portland had its own weather going on with temps expected to freeze. He got me to my sister's house and made it back to his place safely. Thank you, Michael. I really appreciate it especially because of the weather and you had to work the next day.

Tuesday it was time to pick up my rental car and my sister and I went to see mom. For dinner, Gustav's German restaurant sounded like a nice change from all of Mom and Jan's visits to PF Chang's. At Gustav's, we had their Peasant Trio Dinner which is a Caesar salad, two pieces of German cheese bread, and lentil or onion soup. For dessert, we had their excellent Creme Brulee (not included in the dinner). After dinner, the three of us played Rummikub for 2-1/2 hours.

Mom, Jan, and I went to PF Chang's for dinner on Wednesday. After dinner, I headed back to Jan's house and my sister went to church.

My sister, Jan, and my mom, Margaret.

Me, Jan, Mom at PF Chang's.

On Thursday, Jan, Mom and I went to see "The Green Book," followed by dinner at The Olive Garden. My son, Michael, met us there. We had an excellent time.

Me, Michael, Mom, and Jan at Olive Garden.

Friday, March 1, Mom and I went to see "The Upside." She loved it and so do I. I've seen it three times! Then I dropped her back at her apartment so she could be in time for dinner there.

Saturday, I took mom to the bank in the morning. In the afternoon, Michael and I played five games of Lasertag and then went to Killer Burger for dinner. Laser tag is so much fun. There is a really good laser tag arena at Wunderland in Gresham. At Killer Burger, all burgers come with a piece of bacon and fries. The burgers were good.

Laser tag suit up area.

Killer Burger mural.

After dinner, I played Rummikub with mom in her apartment. My sister was at her friend's house for game night.

Sunday, March 3, my brother & sister-in-law (Frank and Gina) met Mom, Michael, Jan, and I for breakfast at La Provence restaurant in Lake Grove. It's a great spot for breakfast with an awesome French bakery there as well. Yummy. My mom, sister, and I had mixed berry crepes. My son had a traditional breakfast which also looked excellent. He shared a couple of bites of his croissant with fresh raspberry jam with me. Mmm! Gina had a huge omelet which will make another meal as well. My brother ordered one of their specials, I believe it was tenderloins of beef served with steamed butternut squash cubes and a croissant. 

Me, Frank, Gina, Mom, Jan at
La Provence

After breakfast, Jan went to church. Frank and Gina headed home to watch the Portland Trailblazer game. In the afternoon, Michael, Frank, and I played four games of laser tag. The arena was full for all the games except the first one, so it was quite fun. Afterward, Frank headed home. Michael and I went to dinner at Red Robin.

Me in my laser tag vest with a laser gun.

Michael took a week of vacation so he could spend time with me and the family. What a wonderful son. I enjoyed being with him. Thank you, Michael.

Meanwhile, in San Antonio, Bob walked the Alamo Marathon. It took him over seven hours, but he did it and walked away with a great medal.

Congratulations, Bob!

On Monday, March 4, I wore mom out. We went for a ride in the country on the hills around Sherwood and Scholls. I made random turns and followed small, winding country roads where we saw horses, a winery, and a sweeping view of Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Adams totally covered in gleaming white snow. 

We had a cod lunch at Elmer's Pancake House, went to McCann's Pharmacy so she could buy some cards, the Discovery Shop Thrift Store, and Baskin Robbins for ice cream. We played Rummikub and chatted until it was time to meet Jan at The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Jan had been working all day so she was ready to eat. 

Tuesday, we planned to go to Cannon Beach for the day. Mom decided to take a day off. All of the rest of us thought it was too cold to spend the day at the beach. I had to return the rental car today and after that, Jan, Michael, and I saw "The Upside." For a late lunch which ended up also being dinner, we went to Sweet Tomatoes salad buffet. We were stuffed when we finished there! Who says you can't gain weight in a salad restaurant? You sure can when they also serve soup, baked potato bar, pasta, muffins, pizza cubes, and tapioca pudding.

On Wednesday, March 6, Mom, Jan, Michael, and I made another foray into PF Chang's for dinner. Fortune cookies came at the end of the meal. I jokingly asked if anyone wanted to trade fortunes with me. They all said no. When I opened mine, it said, "You will soon have a chance encounter with an old friend." 

As soon as I got the fortune, the former editor of the newspaper where I used to sell ads, Curt Kipp, and his wife Lexi, came in for her birthday dinner. We have dinner together occasionally when I'm visiting Oregon. I stopped by their table after our dinner and said hi and showed them the fortune. I wished Lexi a happy birthday. Curt took a picture of me holding the fortune.

Mom, Jan, me, and Michael
at PF Chang's

Me, Lexi, and Curt

After dinner, Jan went to church and Michael and I went to Mom's to play Rummikub and watch Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and Survivor. Jan stopped back at Mom's to pick me up to go back to her place. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jan's chocolate chip cookies. She kept the cookie jar full. Also, thank you to Jan who let me crash in her spare bedroom while I was in Oregon! You are a very gracious hostess.

Thursday, March 7: Jan made delicious smoothies for our breakfast. At 10:30 a.m., we picked up Mom, and Michael who met us at Marquis Assisted Living. Thai Village in Wilsonville is where we met Kimmie (our "adopted" sister) for lunch. Kimme's birthday was yesterday. A nice, relaxed lunch ensued. Thank you, Kimmie, for lunch! 

Me, Mom, Kimmie, and Jan.

Thai Village restaurant

After lunch, Jan, Michael, Mom, and I played Rummikub until it was time for them to take me to the airport. 

I flew home via Las Vegas, was delayed in Vegas, but still made it home 10 minutes early. Bob was waiting for me when I emerged with my luggage. Good timing! Thank you, Bob. l love you, and I missed you while I was away.

Friday, March 8: Bob worked his last day at his temporary job. I got a massage, had my hair done, and then Bonnie, a Rivard Report photographer, came to our place to take photos of us to go with the article I wrote on our unique living situation. The article will be published on an upcoming Saturday.

Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10: Do you remember the Tasmanian devil cartoons? If you do, picture Bob and I as those whirlwind marsupials while we packed our 5th wheel for our vacation. Back and forth, back and forth we went over two full days (AND Friday evening and Monday morning). 

Bob had signed us up for a class on how to back up our 5th wheel. From 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., both of us got to practice backing up, over and over again. We did straight backing, 90-degree backing, 45-degree backing, and 45-degree blind-side backing. This was excellent for us, we needed it. 

Our instructor, Duane.

"Pull forward."

"Spin the wheel."

Blind-side back in. "Pull forward."

Blind-side back in going well.

Our instructor was very patient and gave us lots of tips and help. We are very happy we took this class. It will be useful information many times over. Thanks, Bob, for setting this up!

We were still moving stuff until midnight on Sunday. We moved the cats over on Sunday, too. 

Monday, March 11: Because of severe weather alerts for our route on Tuesday and Wednesday, we moved our departure date from Tuesday to Monday. 
Monday morning, Bob and I ran last-minute errands: turning in the Spectrum Internet box, closing out a bank account, and eating lunch at IHOP. Our goal was to be on the road by 2:00 p.m. It took us an unusually long time at IHOP, so we revised our departure time to 3:00 p.m.

We hit the road at 3:00 p.m. and made it to Hilltop RV Resort in Ft. Stockton, Texas,  by 9:30 p.m. without any mishaps. We were exhausted.

Whew! What a couple of weeks that was. We are now officially on the road again.

Travel Bug out.