Redmond Reunion 2013

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Thursday, February 14

Strawberry Mountain

     Valentine’s Day and we are on the road!  Departure around 7:45 after filling up with gas and coffee at the Maverick station.  Gas has gone up 24 cents a gallon in Baker City over the past two weeks!  Ouch!  It was as low as 3.15, now back up to 3.39.  That is still much cheaper than we anticipate on the west side.

South Sister

     It promises to be a gorgeous day to drive through the state!  The sun is shining and we have some blue skies with scattered clouds.  We get stellar vistas of the Elkhorns and the Strawberry Wilderness.  More clouds in the John Day valley, but still good mountain views.  I drove from the rest area past John Day to Mitchell, when I admitted to Rick I was fighting the nods abit.  I was hoping to get to Bandit.  Later in the day drove from Prineville to Sisters, and then Sweethome on in to Newport, so I made up for it! 

Middle and North Sister

Three Fingered Jack

     We saw wildlife!  Deer, nearly 50 head of antelope, wild turkeys, bald eagle, heron, geese, golden eagle, and assorted road kill.  I guess the latter doesn’t really count!  The Cascades Mts were glorious – Sisters, Mt. Washington, and Three Fingered Jack all put on great shows – covered with snow. 

     And GREEN!!!  Once past summit, the road is so green.  After two months of white on the ground and bare trees, it is a welcome sight!  (I even saw some daffodils ready to bloom on my mom’s front porch!)  Deep greens and the bright spring green of new growth grass.  Trees wearing a coat of thick fuzzy moss green.  Light colored lichens hanging from the alders. 

     We arrived in Newport circa 4pm, checked into our City Center Motel (nothing fancy, but basically clean.  We had a prime ‘corner’ unit with a private balcony and an ocean view – barely!  Bare essentials breakfast in morning, but total bill was $45, so who can complain!)  Rick showered and we were at Luke’s shortly after 5.  Kady not feeling well.  Run down and possible relapse of her flu. 

     We visited for awhile, then Rick and Luke ran out to get Kady a milk shake and bowl of Safeway soup.  The three of us then left Kady watching Planet Earth and we went down to the Chowder Bowl for dinner.  Fish tacos and chowder for me!  Great and plenty of it!  Just a good conversation time with Luke.  Back to house and Kady had gone to bed, so Luke went to motel with us and we got Turbo Tax set up on his computer and his files transferred.  Hopefully now he can complete his own taxes. 

     Into bed by 11, after checking again online for the status of Lindsey Bingham and her heart transplant.  What a story there.  Keep the prayers going.  George Neason has his cancer surgery tomorrow.  More prayers.  Read Jerry Rodger’s blog with Luke.  More prayers.  Busy night.   G’night. 

FRIDAY, February 15

Heceta Head Lighthouse

     Looks to be a gorgeous day to drive down the coast.  And warm!!!!  We are going to hit 60 degrees here! 

     Rick drives the whole way down, with stops in Coos Bay at the Walmart and Triple A and again in Bandon to pick up the ground beef for the spaghetti.  We arrive in Bandon  shortly before 1pm, ready to grab some lunch!!! 

Johnson Creek in front of Mom's is a real "river"!! 

My beach art during a late afternoon walk on Friday. 

     Good afternoon visiting with Mom, Rick taking a walk at one point, and later I take a stroll down on the beach.  Didn’t walk far, but had fun making a sign!  It was absolutely beautiful.  I was comfortable with just my long sleeve tshirt on.  Hardly any breeze and sunshine!!!! 

     Visit with next door neighbor Sabra before dinner and then we whip up a shrimp stir fry.  Good.  Mom and I play Quiddler and Spite and Malice and early to bed! 

SATURDAY, February 16

     Big day today for Baker City as Presbytery is meeting at the church and Jim Kauth is to be commissioned as a lay pastor!  Hope all goes well! 

Mom and Rick leaving the house in Bandon. 

Burned area near Santiam Pass

     Mom, Rick, and I pack up the car snugly and are on our way by 10am, bound for Redmond.  We intentionally didn’t leave too early as Liz was due to arrive much before 4pm!  It was a smooth drive, few light rain storms, and mountains are caught up in clouds.   We stopped at a Subway in Springfield for lunch, and then in Sisters to gas up.  Found a produce stand there where I bought two giant red peppers – just for snacking! 

     Liz wasn’t yet at Eagle Crest, so we killed some time in the quilt shop on Sisters’ Main Street!  Fun! 

'Penthouse' tub and shower! 

'Princess' Kaila with magic wand!

     We get to the condo #409 around 4:30 and unload the car!  Rick and I will spend the night here and then transfer to the hotel unit with Gretchen and Shawn Sunday evening.  So for tonight, we have the ‘penthouse’ room upstairs.  (I’ll post a picture of the hot tub/showder section with its beautiful windows and views.  I am typing Sunday am from inside the rather spacious but empty closet –the light won’t distract Rick this morning!)

     Kirsty, Erik, Kaila, and Erik’s mom, Lora, arrive around 5:45 with our PIZZA!!!  Kaila is a character and in good humor!  And very vocal.  She talks well for just 2 months past her second birthday. 

     Evening of visiting, entertaining Kaila, and a round of Quiddler (Kirsty won!)  Tomorrow a huge crowd is expected….and Rick and I are ‘on’ for dinner! 

SUNDAY, February 17

     Good morning.  As I noted, I am in the closet!  Ready to come out shortly and head downstairs for some coffee! A relatively lazy morning....we opt not to go to the service at the Redmond Church - none of us were thrilled with their 'contemporary' service the past two years!  Instead, I get the soup made for lunch, catch up on drawing my scribble, and then walk down to the park where Kaila, Kirsten, Erik, are playing with Liz and Dave.  Rick takes off on an extended HIKE while we are gone.  

Quality family picture of Kirsten, Kaila, and Erik -
 at the park!

Down by the Deschutes on a walk

     Kate and Reinhart arrive around 11:30 and we lunch on leftover pizza and soup.  Then it is NAP time!  I take a walk down by the river and return to update things online while Erik has his SmartPhone internet hookup engaged.  

     A BEAUTIFUL afternoon.  Cool temps but clear skies and sunshine!  

Kaila in new tie dye, fairy wings, and ba!

Tucker in his Mountain Man garb

     I am in charge of dinner tonight, so I start the prep work after engaging in a few games with Mom Mac and Kate and Rinehart.  Salad made with Erik's assistance, sauce heating up, and Rick helps me think through how much spaghetti to cook for 14 people and how many pans as we much also keep Gretchen's separated, and Dave has an individual spaghetti sauce.
     Carolyn and Kacie, the wife and daughter of Erik's brother Christian (who is home sick) join us for dinner.  Gretchen, Shawn, and Tucker arrive around 5:15, fairly exhausted from a day of play with friends in Prineville.  We have PLENTY TO EAT!!!!   Less than half the salad is consumed, only 1 1/2 of the 3 loaves of bread, and a ton of leftover spaghetti and sauce - leftovers for lunch on Monday!!
     A dominoe game finally gets started around 9, after a few games of Qwerkle with Carolyn and Kacie.  Carolyn wantys me to send her the recipe for the sourdough tomato bread.  Lora, Erik's mom, wants some of my scribbles sent to her.  I gather email addresses!
     Back to the Lodge condos to meet up with Gretchen and Shawn again around 10.  They had left with Tucker circa 8:30 to head to bed!  Rick and I are on the couch bed in the living room.
   
MONDAY, February 18:

Kaila and her Grandma Kate

  Up around 6:30 to make coffee.  Shawn is up shortly afterward, and soon all.  We spend a fairly lazy morning watching Winnie the Pooh with Tucker, grabbing a little breakfast and drawing, showers, etc.  Around 9:30 I leave to walk down to the other condo.  Rick plans to read and relax in the quiet of the morning!  Gretch and company drive down.
     Time spent at the park playing today, playing with our make shift 'fort', castle, etc. in the condo (air mattress roof, blankets, tables, chair pads, etc.!)  naps, games with Mom and others.  A fairly lazy day!

Gretchen Tucker and Kaila playing TAG. 

The weather was better than expected - blue skies after some early clouds.  I even saw the Sisters and Mt. Jefferson again.

Impromptu sledding hill!

     Around 3 naps were over and Gretchen's friends A and Miles came with their little boy Jackson.  We babysat while the four of them went out for some adult time.  More fort construction!   Jackson is only 18 months, so a little more reserved than headstrong Kaila!

Our incredible 'castle, fort, house' made of tables, cushions,
and blankets!     Oh...plus an air mattress!  

     Also for dinner we were joined by Matt and Kim, the son and wife of Gearhart, Erik's oldest brother.  Really nice young couple.  They stayed to play Qwerkle after dinner, and Kim won with 7 Qwerkles out of 10 turns.  Amazing!  Not a good game day for me personally.  :(
     Stars bright and clear as Rick and I drive back up to condo around 9:30.  I run to the lobby and here I am using a little free internet to post my devotions and order our Bountiful Basket for Saturday.  Will wrap up all Redmond blog and post when we get back to Baker City tomorrow.

TUESDAY, February 19:
     It is now Thursday morning as I finish this from the comfort of my living room couch!  I realized I had neglected wrapping things up here and getting this post on it's way.  
     We drove back down to Liz's condo on Tuesday morning to say our goodbyes around 8:15.  Left at 9 heading east.  It is cold, yet seems to be clearing again from the early clouds.  In checking the roads, some EO communities got snow last night.  We should find some on the passes. 

Awesome clouds as we prepare to head over Dixie Summit

     Rick drove the entire way, but I put together all five Needlepoint Kings and we finished listening to our Clive Clusser book, LOST CITY.  Stopped in John Day at the Subway for lunch and home by 2pm, with stops to check the windshield at Ragsdales while I picked up the mail.  (We had one chip and received a couple more small ones as we passed a truck).  It was a beautiful drive.  Most peaks wrapped in clouds at the summits and icy spots and limited snow on the passes.  
     A quick trip, but quality time with Luke and Mom and Liz and family!!  Now to get the trailer into the driveway and prepare for a major departure next Tuesday!!!  

Note:  Not sure what blogger is doing with the weird spacing with the pictures, but....oh well!