Meeting Blogger Betty - Wed., Sept. 25

Woke up at 10:00 a.m. Wow, guess I needed sleep. Had left-over breakfast burrito from Rose's Deli this morning along with a nice, sweet peach.

Mom and I went grocery shopping at New Seasons, where she buys all her organic food and fresh meats. After we got back to her place and put the food away, we decided to go for another Volksmarch in Sherwood on the path along the wetlands. Sherwood seems to be the go-to Volksmarch for Mom and me. Once again the weather was perfect for walking, about 65 degrees. It didn't rain until we were driving back to Mom's house.

Today, I got some different photos so you don't get bored looking at gorgeous Oregon...

Sherwood YMCA where the walk box is located.

Toadstools, twigs and pinecones.

English or Black Walnut Tree.

There's a lot of character in this photo.

New office building in downtown Sherwood.

Beautiful artwork on the mortuary.

Unusual pinecones on this tree.

Old Town Sherwood, Oregon.

Lavender Tea House is for sale.

Just a wild guess, but Sherwood may have been called Smockville long ago. On this street is the historic Smock House from 1868.

The Smock House.

Notice Robin Hood's hat at the top of the street sign?

If you recall from the blog on Monday, we saw grapes growing in someone's yard, Mom sampled them, then wanted to buy some. Today, as we were passing by the house, we saw a gentleman sitting on the front porch of the house with the grapes. We told him how much we admired his garden and talked to him about the grapes. Mom wondered why he wasn't using the grapes. He told us he had already taken many grapes off the plant and it was a bumper crop this year because he learned how to prune the vines correctly. We asked what kind of grapes. They are Concords. Anyway, Mom asked if we could buy some and he told us to help ourselves, no charge. Mom wanted to give him something, so she gave him two origami dollar bill shirts she carries around with her.

Mom picking Concord grapes.

Concord grapes - very juicy and sweet.

Once we picked a few bunches of grapes, we needed to carry them back to the car which was still 1-1/2 miles away. That was a trick in and of itself. We didn't have a plastic bag, but I did have a couple of flimsy napkins that we partially wrapped around them. The ones we didn't eat made it back to the car.

This evening, I had the pleasure of meeting Betty and Joe. I met them through Betty's blog, Joe and Betty's Adventures. Famous Dave's BBQ in Tualatin, Oregon was our suggested meeting place. Betty and Joe know their BBQ. I had never been to this restaurant before and it was very good.

Betty is a real firecracker and sure knows how to converse. Before long we were talking about our travels, how we met our spouses, where we had worked, where we plan to travel in the future, and when they might go on the road again. Then we got down to serious eating. Joe had a beef brisket dinner, Betty chose catfish, and I had cedar plank salmon. We were very happy with our food.

Our waitress pouring BBQ sauce samples.

Joe and Betty at Famous Dave's BBQ.

Ha!

Thanks Betty and Joe for being new friends. It's always fun to meet other bloggers.

Back at Mom's, I watched Survivor and CSI. Must head for bed now to get some sleep. We are leaving at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow to drive to Hood River. We will tour pear and apple orchards, maybe visit the alpaca farm, and have some ice cold apple cider. Stay tuned for the update.

Travel Bug out.

Out and About in Oregon - Tues., Sept. 24

A hodgepodge of activities today "heavily" canted toward eating out. Emphasis on heavily.

Shortly after being awakened by Mom this morning, we headed off to the community center for exercise class. I had time to eat a banana before we went. We spent an hour working out to music and I met some of her friends. We'll see if I'm sore tomorrow.

Once home, we changed our clothes and I had time to call Bob to see how he's doing. Bob is busy working. He had another atrial fibrillation episode; his cardiologist put him back on his medication. All is well on the home front.

Mom and I then headed to Wilsonville to have lunch with Kimmie, our adopted family member originally from Vietnam. Kimmie and Mom worked together for many years until Mom retired, but the Nguyens have remained close. We picked Kimmie up from work and went to lunch at Thai Village Kitchen in Wilsonville. Mom and I had Mango Paradise and Kimmie chose Pad Thai. Whenever we visit Oregon we always want to see Kimmie and Ky (if he's available). Our lunch visit was very nice, but too short. After an hour, we took Kimmie back at work.

Mom and Kimmie.

In the afternoon, Michael (my son) came over and we watched "The Illusionist." Or, I should say, Mike and Mom watched "The Illusionist," I used it as an excuse to take a nap. I had seen it before and I couldn't keep my eyes open.

When the movie ended, I took Mike to Red Robin for his birthday dinner. (His birthday was a month ago, but I wasn't here then.) We had a wonderful meal and enjoyed chatting with each other.

Mike deciding what to eat at Red Robin.

Back at Mom's house, the three of us played Rummikub for an hour or more. Today was a fun day...exercise, family, friends and food.

Tomorrow will be more relaxing. We'll sleep in, do a Volksmarch, and go grocery shopping at New Seasons.

Travel Bug out.