Labor Day Weekend 2015

For years our famiy has gone camping "up the Clackamas River"over Labor Day weekend.  I can't remember when we started doing this, but for sure I remember looking at the entrance of our tent and seeing two year old Malcolm sitting at the entrance wanting to come out rather than going to bed.  That makes it at least 25 years.

For the longest time we went to Alder Flat which is a walk in campground which is about a one and a half mile hike to the campground.  That was fine until we got so many grand-kids that the logistics of carrying all the necessary gear became too great.  For two years we switched to River Ford Campground which was good except that the sites couldn't be reserved, and so to be assured that we'd get three spaces close together, someone had to go up on a Wednesday and "occupy" the sites.  This year we tried a different place, Riverside Campground, which has, along with traditional drive in sites, five walk in sites where you park and then walk just a short distance to the campsite.  It worked very well!  We reserved four sites that were adjacent and far enough from the car camping people that we didn't even know they were there.  We were really isolated - it was great, we could be as noisy as we wanted and knew that we were not annoying the car campers.  The best thing was that there was access to potable water from a hand pump.

We had a total of 27 people.

Dad and I

Jessica and family

Beverly and family

Travis and family

Warren - without Whitney....sniff

Malcolm and family - for one day

Katie Walsh and family

Dolores - for one day

Here is the big group smoreing,

Baby shots

Kids

Woodchopping

adults

Hammock games

water sports

Cooking Crew

We all had a get time, didn't we?  Yeah it rained but we had our trusty humongous green tarp which has served us well many times.  

Next year we can go to Riverside again or to Kingfisher.  Kingfisher has better access to a smaller river and really nice car camping sites.  But, we'd have to intermingle a bit with non family members.  I think we should go to Riverside again.  If you have an opinion.

Scotland 2015 - Day 18 - Sept 2, 2015

Our last day...sniff......and yet both of us will be glad to be home.  We love our home and family and miss all of the Lttles.

Breakfast - want to show you this neat little toast rack.  At home we just stack the toast on a plate.  Guess we're just not as neat and organzed as the Scotts.

First stop - the good ship Brittania.  It wasn't too far from our B&B (a mile and a half) so we decided to walk which gave us more opportunity to see more city sights and signs..

First the Sleeping Pod.  Hmmmmm.   Bag? Pod?  It does look much wider than mummy sleeping bag. But at $30 it can't possibyl be as warm as my bag.  I'll bet it makes a great kid slumber

party bag.

A moving truck advetisemnt for Warren

This mail box is safely embedded in the stone wall.  No truck will knock it over.

I get it now!!  It's about poo, not about poor playing skills on the football pitch.  And worded so persuasvely.

This photo was posted at a private park.  It was in a fancy area and the homeowners must own the park - like a homeowners association park.  Anyway this sign is to the point!  Nothing left to the imagination.

And this one is really different.  How does one calm traffic?  We didn't walk down the street to see how it is done because we didn't want to cause any excitement.  Perhaps playing soft music?  Or maybe the street is covered with arificial turf to muffle tire noise.

Finally we got to the pier and there was the Britannia.  The ship is too big and the pier too small to get a full picture of the ship

The Britannia is the former royal yacht of Queen Eliz and her family members.  It was commissioned in 1954 and decommissioned in 1997.  It was used for all sorts of trips and occasions - you know, for whatever a queen needs to do.  

Now it is a museum.  The tour was quite extensive; bridge, engine room, bedrooms, drawing room, galley, crew's quarters - everything that a queen would need in a mini palace.  When she and her retinue would come aboard they brought along 5 tons of baggage - definitley more than two bags and  carryon.  Her children also used it for their honeymoons.

"Full steam ahead"

The hull of the ship is a navy blue color chosen by the queen (not boring black as other ships) and the strip of gold is gold leaf (for a queen) and the ship's name is not on the side of the vessel.  I guess if you don't recognize the queen's ship, you don't need to know.

Then we headed back to the center of town returning to the museum.  It's a great museum.  In the industrial revolution section, there was a docent dressed in coveralls who was telling us everything about the development of steam engines.  I'l bet you didn't know that a Scotsman, James Watt, was the first to develop and patent a commercially useful steam engine that could move a  piston in a cotinuous rotary motion.  No I bet you didn't know that - or even care about it.  But we had a fun time lstening to his animated presentation.

These cat figurines in the museum gift shop are for Warren

These two famous quotations are on the walls of the museum.

"As long as only one hundred of us remain alive we will never on any condition be brought under English rule.   And......

"For we fight nor for glory nor riches nor honors, but for Freedom alone, which no good man gives up except with his life.

At closing time (5:00) we left to find food.  Rick Steeves had written about the Piemaker resturant and described the cherry pies.  I could hardly wait.  We got there and......"the fruit pies are out".  Such dissppointment!  We ordered these and got two cookies.

On our way back to the B&B we walked through the Princess Street Gardens.  This is where the orchestra was playing for the fireworks celebration.

These photos of succulents are for Bev

We sat on the benches in the park.....looking up at the castle.......

and decided it was time to go home.