caracolina

On our way to Starbucks we stopped behind a car with a Pearl Harbor Survivor license plate. I’ve seen veterans plates before but had no idea there are several types. Made me curious enough to check it out online. There is the “plain” veterans plate, of course, but also specific ones, such as the Pear Harbor Survivor, Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, and Former P.O.W. plates. I had assumed, naively, that veterans get these as a token of gratitude from the state, but no! They cost extra, unless one is disabled and/or receiving financial aid. A portion of the fee goes to support other vets. And, family members of veterans can apply for vet license plates as well, who knew?

John is kicking the planning of our Summer trip with my mother into high gear. There is a moment when the vague notion of us going somewhere is turning into a concrete dates and he becomes a number/date/map cruncher. For about a week all he does is look at maps, event calendars, scenic byways, hotels, destinatons, museums, etc. on the Internet. The adventure begins in May with the three of us converging back East for our Historic America Tour which includes places like DC, Philadelphia, Williamsburg, Fredericksburg. After this trip we head back to AZ for a while, then celebrate 4th of July in New Mexico with a trip on the Cumbres Toltec Railroad.

Tonight was the company Christmas Party with the infamous white elephant game. We just found out about this a couple of days ago and I really don’t like this game. I would just prefer not to blow $20 on something “crazy” that people won’t care for. Secret Santa so much more my wavelength! So, after I agonized over what to get over dinner yesterday, John suggested I buy toilet paper and that’s what I did. Not just any toilet paper, but Charmin Ultra, the fluffy stuff I wouldn’t buy for myself!

I was a little nervous that people wouldn’t think it is funny (I wasn’t sure if it was funny or not, but, hey, it is a useful thing to have around), but I did score a big laugh. Key Learning: Put the TP rolls into a box so that people won’t know what it is when they touch the package.

What did I get? A DVD. Of a movie I didn’t find interesting when it came out in the theater. Actually, I would have preferred to get my TP. Oh, well.

Kirk and Rachel met us early in the morning for a walk on the beach where we saw wreck of the ship “Peter Iredale“. We also checked out some of the woodsy trails in the State Park and spotted a few mushrooms. Then the guys headed back to their hotel to check up on the kids while we toured Fort Stevens, which proved to be a study of decay. The climate had very nearly worn down so many metal hinges, doors, and rails that the patterns of rust and corrosion appeared like modern art. For lunch we met with the guys (and kids) in Astoria again, then we all drove out to Seaside and went shopping in a veritable Saltwater Taffy superstore (hundreds of flavors!!) South of Seaside our ways parted and our friends returned to Portland while we were on our own and ready to start our trip South. While we had enjoyed the company immensely, it was just as great to be alone together. And what could be a better place to celebrate a truly romantic moment than Tolovana Beach at sunset?

We checked into our yurt at Nehalem Bay State Park and got some firewood, but didn’t feel like cooking and decided to stop at Mo’s. Mo’s is a chain of small seafood restaurants and we’d seen their billboards for years so it was about time we give it a try and we left quite satisfied. On the way back to the yurt we stopped at a roadside and took photos of the coastal night sky.

We had breakfast at a Shari’s restaurant around the corner from our hotel, then hit the freeway to Portland. We were scheduled to meet our friends Kirk and Rachel at the Saturday Market around midday. As we entered the Portland downtown area, we needed some directions and John pulled over so that I could get the attention of a guy on the sidewalk. I realized too late he was blind but was equally embarrassed and elated to find out that he was able to give us excellent directions. Shame on me! We found the Market all right, and it took only about 5 minutes of circling until we managed to find a parking spot. The Saturday Market at Burnside Bridge is a hippie arts and crafts type fair. We saw a bunch of colorful handmade looking shirts and hats (so John and I were totally fitting in with our handknitted beanies). We only waited at Skidmore Fountain 5 or 10 minutes and then Rachel and Kirk arrived. We briefly circled the market, then decided to go eat at a nearby Middle Eastern restaurant. Lunch was followed up with a round of lattes at a coffeeshop around the corner, then Rachel and Kirk led us to a Whole Foods-type grocery store so that we could stock our cooler. We picked up bread, cheese, meat for John, and a bunch of vegetables. Afterwards they gave us a tour of Portland neighborhoods and a huge park. I have to say, except for what appears to be a large number of homeless people I really like it there.

Next, we drove out to Fort Stevens State Park, our first yurt of this trip. Rachel and Kirk suggested we meet for dinner at Astoria so we left Portland right away while they headed to go home to collect Rachel’s kids and pack some quick bags. We took the scenic route along the Columbia and didn’t make very good time; daylight was gone before we reached Astoria. We drove out to the Fort Stevens State Park campsite and checked into our yurt, then headed back to Astoria for dinner at an Italian restaurant, where we met the guys and kids, Ian and Cassidy, who were very nice and well-behaved, although poor Ian was sick with a cold and threw up on the way back to the car, poor kid. All in all, we had a fun day although John didn’t take one photo.

Karen gave us a ride to the airport in the afternoon. For once we decided to check in almost all our bags because we were bringing the cooler (stuffed with bedding) and thus had too many items to carry them all on, so we decided to get rid of the heavy bags as well. Our flight was scheduled for departure at 8.30 PM but that didn’t work out since the plane we were supposed to take had a frozen lavatory, so we had to wait a few more hours for another plane to arrive.  While waiting, John was reading Replay and to take a break, got into a conversation with some fellow passengers. It turned out this one lady was big into conspiracy theories and the “new world order”. I expected her to drone on about illuminati next. Ack. John gave up talking to her pretty soon and she got into it with the other people, about religion. We were glad she didn’t try to sit next to us on the flight. We could still here her talking “at” one of the men as we got seated.

John was done with Replay an hour or so after takeoff and started with Midnight Children, but couldn’t get past Rushdie’s prose. I read and knitted the green baby blanket, which I had just started a few days ago. We landed in Sea-Tac around 11:30 PM, grabbed our bags and the cooler, then headed for the rental car shuttle stop. The Seattle airport has some cool design element, at least in the terminal we arrived in. There are metallic fish inlaid into the floor tiles which form a wavy trail to the exit and the water coolers make really loud bubbling sounds when used.

It was pretty cold and windy outside, waiting for the shuttle, but not so bad that I had to reach into a bag to drag out a sweater. Soon enough, we were at the Budget place and found out that for $7 a day more we could get a Prius. Now, we never upgrade our rentals but this one had us curious, so we decided to give it a go. Our friendly attendant gave John a quick tutorial on how to handle the vehicle and then we were off on our way – to our motel bed for the night. 

Today my sister called, which was very unusual. We had a nice, long conversation. In other news, I finished John’s photo gloves and hat, in time for our Oregon trip.

Sandy, Tom, and I had breakfast at the Raven Cafe in Prescott, then they took me for a drive through the Prescott area which was really pretty. We ended up on a scenic overlook with an awesome view over Skull Valley, but of course I had left my camera back at their house. We continued talking for a while and then it was time for me to head back home. For the return trip I chose to drive through Skull Valley which I thought was preferable to the hectic I-17. Which was true, however, the road down the mountains at Yarnell was a bit scary as well.

Just as I was pulling into the parking lot at home we had a powerful mini hail shower. I thought it might rain, but not like this! It was over within 5 minutes or so.

I left shortly after 8 am, filled the tank, and hit the I-17 north. Since I made good time in spite of getting lost in Prescott (forgot to bring my directions, go figure) I met up with Sandy at her house. We picked up Janie on the way to the center where the Prescott guild’s gallery and fashion show was held. It was nice to mingle and meet so many interesting women. By coincidence I ended up sitting next to Rowena Tank, whom my mom and I had got to know at Fibers Through Time 2008 in Tucson. She lives in Prescott and makes beads and pendants out of glass and creates very beautiful and interesting jewelry. She also speaks German very well since she married a German military pilot and lived in Germany for a number of years, so my mother and her really hit it off back in Tucson. After today’s luncheon, Rowena joined a number of women backstage to model some of the items in the fashion show. The Prescott guild sure has a number of very talented members! It seems that the Yavapai College also offers some excellent fiber arts classes.

After the show Sandy, Janie, and I attended a colloquium held by Gretchen, Janie’s daughter. Don was already there among the other attendees. The subject was nutrition and food marketing, interesting stuff. Afterwards, the Hoffmans took off to another college-related event and Sandy and I returned to her house to prep some salads and other munchies for dinner. I also met Sandy’s hubby Tom. He went and picked up a few take and bake type pizzas which we finished baking at home while Sandy and I prepped salad and other munchies. Janie, Don, Gretchen, and another friend arrived around 7 PM and we all had a great time talking and eating.

One more time I attended the Friday night get-together of the AZ Rhythm Connection at the Crescent Moon Yoga studio in North Scottsdale. This time, Footbear was there to lead the group along with Frank Thompson. He’s an amazing drummer with a completely different method of teaching than Frank. We went through some very challenging sequences before I took off home and the gang headed over to First Friday in Central Phoenix.