Summer fun in 2011

Moving faster than the speed of sound. . . As in the sound of the keyboard. This summer’s travels have been short but often. Kinda like the spatter of shotgun shells. Little pellets all over the place. It is my goal to put into blog form a reader’s digest of this season of trapesing adventures. May – Minnesota – Work My bi-annual meeting with the boss and workmates. Did a scavenger hunt in the town of St. Paul, that was interesting. And a lake cruise on Lake Minnetonka, which doesn’t have a piece of bare property around the entire thing. (makes me appreciate Oregon lakes). Compared to past meetings in Minneapolis held in Oct, or Jan. this one was decidedly better, weather wise. May – Cinncinati & Kentucky – Work & Pleasure This was a double date with friends Steve & Darlene Mawdsley. Since Steve and I work together we signed up for a Retirement class sponsored by P&G. And we got to bring our spouses. WOW! The class was great and we learned a lot about growing old. But the best part was Kentucky, the state. We toured a Whiskey Distillery Buffalo Trace. Did the Hard hat tour and Learned the difference between Whiskey, Bourbon & Scotch. . . . .Nothing. Whiskey – is grain distilled liquor, as in Corn, Barley, Wheat or Rye Bourbon – Whiskey distilled in the county of Bourbon, Kentucky, mainly made of Corn, Legal issue with Bourbon made in Canada. Scotch – Whiskey made in Scotland. So there you have it. And here we have Steve (with Mary behind him) attempting to taste the mash. AFTER reading the first sign in the room, I knew he was going to try something. And of course Jerry had to taste it as well.
He says it tastes like cream of wheat cereal only cold. They make Vodka there too! You would think a vodka named RAIN would come from Oregon. They also make Bourbon Cream, like Irish cream. It definitely has a different taste, but not bad. DOD (Department of Defense) and Homeland Security are at work, never fear. This is the ONLY picture we have of Fort Knox. . .Why you ask? That’s cause Darlene was snapping pics as we drove up to the gate and the Marine there asked us to delete what pictures Darlene had already taken of the entrance, and turn around and leave. The public is not allowed to go into the Vault. And we can’t take pics of the security system (a gate with a marine at it.) Go figure. In the neighborhood was the Patton Museum. Normally I would yawn, BUT it was Memorial Day Weekend and there was a living history event goig on. The sidewalk leading up to the museum had military re-enactors from Revolutionary war up to I think Desert Storm. They even had a German group depicting WWII. Very detailed. And then there was the Amish couple, or at least they seemed Amish, or maybe they were Mennonite. It was very surreal to see them in the midst of this WAR display. I thought they were anti conflict. There was a Patton that drove up in a jeep and did a GIVE’EM HELL speech that was actually very good. And the guy who was a Rough Rider, no he wasn’t Teddy Roosevelt, but he looked good. I liked taking his pic next to the Tank. . . . The only thing in the museum that I liked was a donkey cart that was gifted to Patton in Italy. The artist in me LOVED the painting and I wanted to get all the around it but there were barriers. Sigh. CAVE TIME. . . . Would you believe that Kentucky has the largest Cave system in the US? Me neither. I could go into the history of it and such, but too boring for a blog. Just know that hiking around in Kentucky is different than Oregon. Except for one thing. TICKS. . . . Jerry is a Tick magnet, not a CHICK magnet. He got 3 of them on himself in 2 days. None of them bit him, just crawling on him and hiding in his clothes. Ewwww Learned about Lincoln, president that is. And then enjoyed the most off the wall entertainment ever. WE went to the JOEL RAY JAMBOREE. Complete with a gospel group singing out front of the place. No alcohol so it was a show that the Whole Family could enjoy. Inside the “Theater” had to be at least 50 years old. The seats reminded me of the old Canby High School theater that was built in 1920’s. Wood and squeaky. I swear I was the only dark haired person in the place. It was full of silver hair. The music would have made my mom & dad happy. I could only giggle.

Sorry about the video, I wasn't suppose to video inside the theater so I was trying to keep it low.
Joel Ray was on his last leg. . . he was dressed like Buck Owens and had a stroke just a few weeks previously so he was moving and speaking a little slow. But he was good at getting’ in the advertisements for the local home improvement stores and Sunday Services down at the Methodist church. Now onto June. Atlanta. . . yuck. . . that about sums up that work trip. I was not impressed with Atlanta at all. Looks like they have not cleaned the city since the Olympics were held there. And Rose Festival in Portland where Daughter Sarah competed in the Dragon Boat races. So proud of her. And a beautiful day for the whole race. Son-in-law David fell asleep under a tree during Sarah's race. . . .Dork!
At the end of June was the Fairy festival down in Eugene. Went with some of the grandkids.. I posted those pics in a previous blog.


July was not so busy but still rainy, wow did we lose a lot of chances to do outdoor stuff thanks to the horrible weather we got.
But Jerry and I did celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. . .yup. . .25 years, never thought it would have been possible. We went up into the Hoh rainforest and Port Angeles Beach we enjoyed a simple long weekend together. We would recommend the rainforest trip to everyone.




The different enviroments in one area is mind boggling.
There was a Fiddling Retreat in Port Townsend that we went to the final concert of. Again, awesome music, fun people, great weather.


Hiking in the olympic mountains let us see deer and elk up close.





and the beauty of the mountains and the beach in a one hour drive.



WE even met some Germans! And the weird thing was that they both worked for a company that P&G uses. Small world.

August had a Renaissance faire up in Washington which I took 3 of my friends (Kim/Shari/Kathy).



What fun to have a ladies trip together. A balloon event was also in August. Jerry was the safety officer for the Albany Balloon Rally.


No this is not computer enhanced, the sun was that bright! Was fun to touch base with our balloon friends. But we sure see how much money we save when we don’t spend it on a balloon.

September started with a Pirate festival out in St. Helens. Loved the new location. Our friend Barbara from Germany got a scholarship to go to Ashland SOU. She flew into Portland and I drove her to Ashland. Wonderful trip and it reminded me of my mother who also attended SOU back when it was known as SOC. And now we are almost caught up. Last weekend I did my first couch surfing adventure in California at the Northern Renaissance Faire. Here is a single photo. I will post more on the Nana blog. I would recommend Couch Surfing to all who like adventure. The person we stayed with was so kind and generous. It was well worth the possible risks. I have not lost faith in mankind. Around the corner will be more adventures but for now. . . .it is time to prepare the house for the winter, the rain is falling and the fire is lit. . . now where is my hot toddy. . .