Week 3 - Oregon City, Oregon - January 10 - 16, 2022

Last year, during the awful ice storm, a humongous limb from Mr. Majestic, the maple tree, broke off.  With the help of Ivan and Malcolm and my trusty ATV, I pulled up many rounds - which Steve Smith, with his very big chain saw - had sawn into huge pieces up to the edge of the hay field where they have lain for a year.  On Monday we began to split those rounds into pieces, throw them into the basement, and then stack the pieces to use in two years time.  We showed our photos to Bev who said, "On the eighth day God created the log spitter."

Abby and Jude had chosen, for their Christmas Gift/Activity, to go Geocaching.  We did this on Monday.  Went to several spots in Oregon City and successfully found a bunch of geocaches.  Abby and Jude were the only grandchildren to choose geocaching as their Christmas Activityj.

We ended the activity by getting ice cream cones at the Minit Mart, which has a different name now.

I've started working on the living room windows.  We've lived here for 40 years and the teal colored paint is STILL on these windows.  I can stand it no longer.  It's a nasty job, certainly not easy, but there will be a beautiful reward.

In the woods I have found five rolls of fence wire that had, in the past, been left...by members of the Brunner family.... to just "be" there slowly rusting away.  I have removed three and this week I fought my way through the mess with clippers and wire cutters and pulled up a fourth.  It is waiting to be recycled.

Activity Day on Wednesday.  We are having Rosemary Southworth come and teach us some basic art techniques.  This day they made a nighttime scene/reflection in a river.  This is Jude's and Clara's

Went to a gymnastic event with UCLA.  Oregon State won!!!!!!!!  First time in years to beat Ucla.

This guy was a winner.

And so was Jade Carey who took first place in all four events and was the high scorer for the meet.  I think this photo is the same pose I posted a couple weeks ago.  It's also the same pose she used in her Olympic floor routine which took first in the Tokyo competition.

Dinner on Sunday at Jessica's.  Logan and Jude being happy for the moment.

Warren made his birthday cake to be representative of the Bird's Nest stadium at the Beijing Olympics in 2008

 Week 2-Oregon City, Oregon - January 10-17, 2022

We hiked Beacon rock on Tuesday.  I remember going there when I was a kid.  surprisingly, it is still as wonderful as it was 65 or so years ago. the only thing I noticed that has really changed is the top.  Not there is metal railing around the area whereas as a kid, we could mov around and explore. The tower was there, but now the only remanent of it are a few metal pilings in the ground.

Jessica and Dad below-

We celebrated Paul's birthday at Cheesecake Factory.  The most memorable remark was made by Bev, "Look, all of my siblings and we are sitting and conversing and not fighting.  Someday, I will sit with my children and they wont be fighting with each other."

Travis moved this week to their new house on Westling.  A whole bunch of us gathered to help with the move.  He an Ann had done a good job of preparing for the help.  They'd already moved the kitchen and most of their boxed up items.  What was left were last minute things and furniture.

We went to the gymnastic meet with OSU, WASH, and San Jose State/  It was amazing...why???because Gold Medalist Olympian, Jade Carey is a Beaver.  The term, "Olympian", really means something.  It means your are the best of the best.  She won each of the four events, had the top score for the meet, and, as of Saturday night, had the highest individual collegiate score in the US.  She has strength, speed, height, style, poise, finesse - everything.  When she did the uneven bars, it was like she was effortlessly floating between each bar.

Paul had his birthday cake on Sunday.

Likely the most notable event of the week is that I mapped the perimeter of the woods, the creeks, and the twelve bridges.  and, yes, I am happy

 Week 1 - Oregon City -January 1 to January 9, 2022

Warren, Holland, and I drove to Los Angeles the first week of this year.  The Purpose??  Well...there was going to be a Gymnastic Collegiate Challenge at the Anaheim Convention Center with six women's teams from UCLA, CAL, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State, and OSU.  And, Warren, being a rabid OSU Women's Gymnastics' fan, wanted to go.  Honestly, I was a bit worried about the Covid situation, but.....  Anyway, before we even left, UCLA had withdrawn because of covid protocols.  Then two days later CAL withdrew.  The next day OSU withdrew. And then the whole event was canceled.  So, that was a bummer.  We hadn't purchased tickets but we did get a California Get-Away.

Tuesday - we left, only about an hour and a half after our initial ETD.  We were prepared!

We stopped in Medford for lunch and for an opportunity to walk around a bit.

Stopped in Novato, CA for gas and dinner

Mill Valley, where Doron and Lisa live, was the  next stop.  They live on a hill with a steep winding road.  The house is on five levels - first level is the garage; second level is the living room, kitchen, dining room; third level is the game/fitness room, office, laundry room. fourth level has four bedrooms and two baths; fifth level is the back yard which does have a flat area.

Wednesday we went to Muir Woods which is a National Monument and then drove north on Hwy 1 to Point Reyes Lighthouse.  At Muir woods you have to have a pre-reserved parking reservation, which we didn't have.  But, no, you can't park without one.  Luckily we crossed the street where Warren had enough bars to get online and make the reservation.  The Muir Woods is a really small place (for a national monument) - 554 acres of which 240 acres are old growth coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens).   We really enjoyed our visit.  Big trees, indeed...bigger than the ones in the Manor Woods.

Holland applied for and received her Junior Ranger Badge

The Visitors Center/Gift Shop was closed (covid), but there was an open window - like at a drive up place - where there were some stuffed bunnies waiting for a new home.  So I bought one and named him John - for John Muir.

I couldn't stand it...there was a second rabbit still waiting for me, so I went back and bought Miwok who is named after the Miwok Indians who were living here when the first Spaniards came and displaced them.  Miwok is the angry looking one, on the left..because his "people" lost to the Spaniards. .

Then we headed north on Hwy 1 - indeed, it is a windy road, but it was fun.  The scenery was perfect with great views of the ocean.

and of the beach

We went to Bolinas which is a time capsule place from the past.  Old houses - one expensive gas station - a tiny library - timeless beach houses - a boat dock

This was a neat place.  Walking down to the water's edge you could actually see the water from the bay flowing out into the waves.  And a fishing boat came in while we were there and practically drove on to the shore on its way to the dock where they unloaded crab pots.

On to Point Reyes Lighthouse which turned out to be closed, but that really didn't matter because the fog was dense and nothing could be seen. I stayed in the car with Holland who was sleeping while Warren went to the place where the light should be - it was socked in.

The road was winding and beautiful.  There was enough clearing that I got a nice sunset.

Thursday - we headed south on our way to a Rodeway Inn in Glendale.  This is the Richmond Bridge.  

Dinner at a restaurant close to our motel.

Friday - we started our sightseeing activity by  visiting nostalgic places from my past.

Glendale High School burned down sometime ago, and now is TOTALLY different looking.

Wilson Junior High (now Wilson Middle School) looked the same.

The bus stop on Charing Cross to which I was forced to walk to and from each school day.

We waited at this very same driveway

The house at 3377 Tyrrell Place (you can see why I like my cell phone number).  The house was built on a hillside, but, of course, my mon didn't want stairs, so the hillside was leveled to make a flat place upon which the house was built. I'm standing in front of the corner of the house where my bedroom was

This is the awful and steep driveway.

The big canyon was pretty much cleaned up of brush. 

But the other side of the canyon is now filled up with cliff hugging houses, and the view.... which my mother cherished and for which she designed the house to take advantage of, is now "ruined" and is filled with modern  cliff dwellings.  We drove to Pasadena on the road which we used to watch after big games at the Rose Bowl......there was always a long stream of cars.

Sure enough, when we got to that road, this is all we could see of the house...through the bushes.  I'm sorry, Mom.

Over the mountain to Pasadena and to the rose Bowl, which is in the middle of a huge open area.  It's built in an arroyo and there is a golf course, walking paths, play structures etc.  Warren and I said we'd come back whenever Oregon State plays in a Rose Bowl game - the last time was in 1965 when we lost to the Wolverines 34-7.

There was a great play structure where Warren and Holland played.

Then we went to 2001 Garfias Pl where I lived during 5th grade and the first half of sixth grade.  It was a one story house at the time with a one car garage.

My brother told me (and he knows because a neighbor who was a cop for 30 years in Glendale told him) that lots of Armenians and another ethnic group that I don't remember, now live in Glendale.  And they do - lots of store fronts with Armenian words....which look similar to Georgian (the country) words.   We found this bakery and had a great time buying goodies for dessert for dinner with Breda and Jong Min.

 

We had pastries for lunch.

Warren wanted to visit the UCLA Campus....  On the way we passed a USC sign, but USC is a "closed" campus. - or so we thought.

The campus is beautiful but not more than OSU's campus, plus it is on a hill with lots of different levels and stairs.  Here are some buildings.

UCLA does have a great Bruin, suitable for climbing upon.  OSU needs a climbable Beaver.

On our way to Breda's we drove by the Temple - on top of a hill.

The Visitor's Center

And at the bottom of the hill, in the valley was.....

We had dinner at Breda's - Korean bar-b-que.  They have a nice condo (2 bedrooms) in a building with gated underground parking and a courtyard, with fountain,  where your can see the sky.  Good food,  Lively conversation.  Don't think I've seen Breda since maybe Christmas 1997 when she was fourteen.

Saturday - we left, but first...a quick trip to Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Pier.  I think I remember coming here when I was a kid....at least I went to an amusement park somewhere on a pier.

While Warren and Holland did the rides. I sat on a bench guarding the backpack carrying our laptops and had this lovely view.

Look for raised arms

After being driven away from my spot of reflection (by a very loud and annoying street preacher with a microphone and a big speaker) we headed north and spent the night in Williams CA in a Ramada Inn.

Sunday - uneventful trip back.  Great views of Mt Shasta (the mountain had been in the clouds on our way south).

Got home about 8 PM.  Warren and I were glad to be out of the car.  Holland was very glad to see her Mommy.