October 2017

 One of my favorite months…..

We left Santa Maria and headed down the
coast toward LA and on to Indio.

We arrived…… and the resort is looking good
for so early in the season.

After a few days of work getting our lot set up,
we relaxed and enjoyed the warm weather.

Monday Night Football is a lot of fun.
I don’t really care about the football but I
do love the social aspect.
So great getting together with friends I
haven’t seen for several months.

The humming birds are happy that we are back.

Our dear friend Tom Kornmesser has announced
his engagement to Janet Johnson. 
We are so happy for both of them. 
A party was a great way to wish them the best!

A big birthday…..  I have turned 70.
Mike took me to Carlsbad, California to help me celebrate.
We stayed in a beautiful Bed and breakfast.

Pat and Rollie came over from
Golden Valley to share in my birthday!

We drove down the Pacific Coast Highway
to Torrey Pines…..  What a beautiful drive.

We also toured a beautiful, very old Spanish Mission

This mission is incredible and so full of history.

What a great Halloween Party at ORI.

I didn’t even recognize several friends!

I had a wonderful birthday.  70….. there is no turning back.

I am so lucky to have such special people in my life.

September 2017

Fall has arrived and we’re on the move……

While in Portland, Mike and I took advantage of Max for a ride into the city.

Did some shopping and took in the sights of Portland.

We also got to see a couple of Ben’s cross country meets.

He is taking after his dad and grandpa with the running.

Maria took part in the “Booties in Action”
(a women’s group of cross fit gals)

While Chuck and Eva were in Portland, we got together

with them and John and Sheri for a great day and dinner.

Marc and Maria have made a great addition to their patio with a

new outdoor area that includes a hot tub.

While Marc and Maria were out of town for their anniversary,

We took Camryn and Colby to “Top Golf” for a great afternoon.

We all had so much fun!

It’s time to head south,  Shasta Lake has suffered during last year’s drought,

But it looks like it has really recovered.  The lake was beautiful.

While in the Sacramento area, we were able to meet  up with

John & Sharon O’Connor.  We had lunch at “Al – the Wop’s”

It is a very eclectic bar built in an old Chinese town. 

Al the Wop’s is one of the few businesses that were open,

The buildings are slanted and look very much like they

might fall over with a good wind.

We spent a little over a week in Santa Maria, California.

While there, we did some sightseeing.  This was taken at

Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve.

We also went to Oso Flaco Lake…..  beautiful views.

Rancho Siosqoc Winery was up in the hills

and a beautiful place to visit.

We went up to San Luis Obispo and spent the afternoon

taking in the sights.

This is the San Luis Obispo Mission

We stopped at Pismo Beach – What a gorgeous day!

 The California coastline is beautiful.

We went to the Santa Maria Inn to see some of the

historic artifacts. 

We spent a day in Santa Barbara.  What a beautiful town.

We took a tour in this trolley.

This is the old Mission Santa Barbara.
So beautiful  ……. so much history.

Tomorrow, we leave for Indio.  Can’t wait!

August 2017

This has been a busy month for us.

We spent 10 days at Neskowin RV Park on the Oregon Coast.
While it was so hot in Portland, we enjoyed 60 to 70 degree weather.

Mike’s sister and brother-in-law (Sheri and John) and Mike and I rode on Rail Riders….a pedal powered type of open train car.  We went 12 miles and had a great time.

What a wonderful coincidence!  We accidently ran into old friends, Brian and Nancy Kelly from Hillsboro.  We got to spend time hashing over the good old times with them.

We were able to watch Marc, Maria and Colby in a Spartan Race!

What a tremendous amount of work……. 
They all did so good!

This was my attempt at taking a picture of the “Great Solar Eclipse”

The picture was a bust but the experience was definitely memorable.

Mike has been diligently looking for a new Mustang to replace our old one which was totaled last spring.  He finally found it.  It is a 2003 with only 21,000 miles on it.  It is as close to a new car as a 14 year old car can be.

We took off in the Mustang and headed south to Indio.  We took 3 days and really enjoyed the ride.  We drove down Highway 395 – my favorite drive.

After arriving in Indio, we put the Mustang in storage and flew back to Portland.

We ended the month with a fun day at the Oregon State Fair with John and Sheri.

The Belgian horses pranced around the arena so beautifully.

It was a beautiful day!
Warm but not too hot!

My favorite was the “Pig Races” 
Those little fellas are so much fun!

July 2017

What a great month!

July started with a visit to Central Oregon
by Brandon, Karen and family.

We took a hike up to Paulina Falls.

Brandon, Karen, Anna, Ben and Ben’s friend, Andrew.

Little Miss Anna appears to have an attitude.  :)

Kayaking on the Deschutes….  What a beautiful day.

We went to the annual 4^th of July Pet Parade in Bend.

What fun!

Mike and I traveled to Puerto Vallarta to celebrate our 50^th Anniversary.

50 Years……. We’re not getting old are we?

We stayed at Vallarta Torre. 
A small wonderful resort right on the beach.

On July 8^th (our anniversary) we enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the beach

We took a bus up to Lo De Marcos (a small town about an hour up the
coast from Puerto Vallarta)  The beach was empty and very beautiful. 
A totally Mexican town.  I loved it.

The second week of our stay, Pat and Rollie joined us in Vallarta.

We enjoyed having them there to see the sights with us.

We took a tour up into the mountains to visit a little
Mexican town that time seems to have forgotten. 
This beautiful church was the centerpiece of the town.

Another tour took us to an evening show and dinner
at Las Caletas…  Unfortunately it rained and we were drenched.

We took a Snorkeling trip and had a fabulous day.
Mike tried his hand at paddle boarding.

Dinner at a great Mexican restaurant….  Pepe’s!

I would recommend it to everyone visiting this great city.

This guy was kind of ugly but fascinating to see on the lawn.

Beautiful sunsets. 
We loved Puerto Vallarta and can’t wait to go back again.

We have packed all of our possessions and have moved  off our lot in Sunriver. 
It has been a great summer spot for many years…… but now we are moving
on to new adventures.

Linda Skov (Karen’s mom) treated me to an amazing evening
at the Moda Center in Portland to see Neil Diamond.
He was amazing!

He did look older (he’s 76) but his voice was phenomenal!
He sounded like he was 25 !!!

What a wonderful evening!