Trip to California

 The whole family was reunited in late August. Jonathan and Christopher left Seattle by train on August 28th. 

I flew down to Santa Ana the next day. I had a window seat and it was a sunny day. I had great views including this one of Mt. Rainier.

We stayed in an AirBnB (rented property) in the city of Whittier. I had planned to do some cooking for Alexander but we discovered that the house didn't have a kitchen. It is a duplex with the owners living in the other section. The photos on the website were a bit deceptive. They showed a dining room set, a fridge, a counter, but didn't  say they wasn't a sink or any way to cook. Other than that surprise, it was a good place to stay. Two bedrooms, a good bathroom, and a large living room. Located in a quiet neighbourhood. Little did we know that Alexander would spend time sleeping on the couch.  He got sick with a cold the day before I left for California. He called me, very upset about the situation. He stayed with us so he wouldn't get his roommate sick. He had originally planned to go sky diving to celebrate turning 21 but his sickness cancelled that. 

I picked up J and C from the train station in downtown LA driving A's Jeep. The rental car was a Mustang so that wasn't big enough to hold C's bags.

I got to see the house where A is living.

On Friday, the three of us (Me, J and C) went to the Richard Nixon Museum and Library in Yorba Linda which is a 30 minutes drive from Biola. We loved it. 

We spent about 2 hours there and we sped through some sections. There is plenty inside to see as well as a beautiful garden outside. I assumed there would be a café on the grounds but there wasn't. We had a very late lunch at BJ's restaurant in Brea. 

On Friday J and I had supper on the Biola campus. It was a welcome BBQ for freshmen and their parents but we crashed it. We sat with our church friends the Walshes who were there to move in their daughter.

That evening was a welcome event on campus. We walked over the big lawn where it was held. On a whim, I decided to look up A's boss to say hi. We introduced ourselves and took a photo with him. A was supposed to work that night but he was too sick.

I looked up his title and it is Assistant Director of Video Production and Digital Media Strategy.

On Saturday we helped C move into his dorm. He's in a new building - Horton. Here is his amazing view:

We met his new roommate and his mom. 

This was a first for me. I've never met the mom of any of my boy's roommates. She is super nice. She lives in Hawaii where her husband teaches drama at the university of Hawaii. We crowded into the Jeep and had lunch at Habit which is a nearby burger place. 

On Saturday afternoon, J and I drove to the Getty Museum. It was fantastic and has free admission. 

We had dinner there. I actually got emotional that night because I had hoped that all 4 of us would go to the Getty and get some family photos taken. It was so beautiful at sunset and I was sad about the missed opportunity due to Alexander's sickness.

I'll write a separate post about the Nixon Museum and the Getty Museum. I took a LOT of photos.

On Sunday, J and I went to C's church which is called Disciple Church. They were so welcoming. They have a potluck lunch every Sunday. This is a mural inside the church that a member painted:

We chatted with an elder and his wife. They had such nice things to say about C. On Sunday evening, we convinced A to come to a special dinner out to celebrate his birthday. 

We went to Summit House which is situated on top of a hill in Fullerton (the same city where A's church is located). A and I had seafood while J and C had red meat. We would've stayed for dessert but the sun was going down and I really wanted a photo of the 4 of us. A staff person took it for us. That's the photo at the beginning of this post.

On Monday, J and I were woken up early by a call from Amtrak saying that J's train was not running. There were some track problems north of Sacramento. He hoped to book the next day. He booked a night at the Holiday Inn near Biola. A agreed to drive him to the train on Tuesday morning since the rental car was being returned that day and I was leaving. J did get a reservation for the next day but was unable to get a sleeping berth.

Christopher and I did some shopping at the Brea Mall and WalMart. I said goodbye to my family.

This photo with A was taken on the roof of a building at Biola. 

He find the most interesting spots to work on campus. He had been working inside since it was a hot day. We just went outside fore better light. Here is me with the Mustang. I remembered at the last minute to take a photo. Jonathan really enjoyed driving it!

I'm already looking forward to Thanksgiving when I'll get C back. Maybe A will come if I talk him into it. 

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Oregon Shakespeare Festival

playbill

Jonathan and I have regularly attended the fundraising auction for Helping Hands. It is a local Christian charity and the development director is the mom of one of Christopher's friends. At the last auction, I bid on many items in the silent auction. I was the winning bidder for tickets to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Jonathan isn't really interested in Shakespeare but I love it. 

My friend Jill also likes Shakespeare. I asked her if she would be interested in going to Oregon with me and she agreed. There were several plays to choose from and we chose Macbeth in early August.

It is a long drive to Ashland, Oregon where the festival is located. Many years ago, Jonathan and I stopped in Ashland while on a trip to either Oregon or California. Ashland is in the southern end of Oregon and an 8 1/2 hour drive away. 

We left on Tuesday August 6th. We stayed two nights at the Best Western in Ashland. It was just fine. They had a free breakfast in the morning and an outdoor pool and hot tub that we used. 

It was quite hot when we visited. We explored the town the day of the play. We had lunch at Pony Espresso Coffee House and Café. Some stores that we liked:

    Paddington Station is a large gift store. Jill and I had fun exploring it. 

    Sew Creative. A sewing and quilting store

    Prize (French). Interesting gifts

    Bloomsbury Books

    Paddington Jewel Box - ladies clothing

I love buildings built in the Art Deco style and was pleased to find Ashland Springs Hotel. 

This is a stained glass window

On the outside of the building there are eagles.

If I went back to Ashland, I might like to stay in this hotel. We had dinner at  the first night at Greenleaf restaurant. We sat outside by the river and the second night we ate at Brick Room. Both were good.

On Thursday the performance started at 8 pm. Our seats were really good! 

I think it was the 4th row. The actors seemed very close. The acting was top rate. Photos aren't allowed during performances. I got this photo from the festival's website.

We came back in time for me to go to a dinner with Christopher's friends' parents and some of the boys. Some  had already left for college but their parents came anyway. 

Jill shared the driving with me. I was happy that her driving did not make me nervous. I'm not a very good passenger. We had a very pleasant time together. I'm thankful for good friends.

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Lovely Time in Lake Chelan

In July, J and I were offered a week's free stay at a condo in Lake Chelan by a former colleague of J's.

After rescheduling some of my appointments, we left on Monday July 15th. C was welcome to join us but he would have been bored without bringing a friend along. Maybe next summer we can convince A to come up here for a vacation. 

Chelan is about 3 1/2 hours away. We stopped at Stevens ski area for a bathroom break.

We had lunch in Leavenworth. It was a challenge finding parking and a place to eat. We ending up eating at Baren Haus and splitting a Rueben sandwich. The flowers along the main street of Leavenworth are beautiful.

We stayed three nights in Chelan at Spader Bay, a collection of condos and houses, a private community. There is a private beach, a pool, and a hot tub. We made our own breakfast but ate out for lunch and dinner. 

This was the view from the condo.

There is a pool which was nice to use to cool down after being in the sun. The temperature was around 95 most days. The condo has central air and almost every store and restaurant does as well. Jonathan took out a kayak for a short ride. I floated around the bay on an inflatable lounger. There was a pickle ball court that we could have used but it was too hot for something that strenuous.

One day we had lunch at a place that we had visited back in 2007. Blueberry Hills. They have a restaurant and a blueberry farm.

I had hoped to take a day long boat ride to the town of Stehekin at the top of Lake Chelan, however, there was too much smoke in the air (from nearby fires) for that to be enjoyable. That's on my list for next year. It is a very interesting place that is only accessible by hiking in or by boat. 

Here is what the smoke looks like.

We ate dinner the first night at Campbell's and the second night at Andante's. Campbell's was very busy and I found it annoying having waitresses and customers constantly going by our table. The food was good. The second night we ate at Andante's, a quiet Italian restaurant and we were pleasantly surprised at the prices and they had excellent service.

Some shops that we enjoyed in Chelan.

1. Bear Foods. Such a fun store. Interesting food items, coffee, teas, gifts. I wanted to buy some gifts but I couldn't decide since there were so many choices. 

2. Frenchie's - designer clothes and jewelry. I bought a necklace here.

3. The Variety Store - a good place for t shirts, towels, and all kinds of things for enjoying life on the water. 

4. Woody's Classic Man. Men's clothes.

5. Woven Threads (quilt shop). I stopped in and bought a 1/4 yard of fabric. 

6. Re Runs Thrift Store. I found a dust ruffle that I cut up to use in a quilt.

We visited two wineries. Tipsy Canyon Winery and Tsillan Cellars. Both were welcoming and great places to spend some time indoors enjoying some A/C and views of the lake. 

In town we posed by this sign. 

We had a family photo taken here in 2007. Wow, we've changed!

I'd love to get back to Chelan next summer.

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Strong and Free

Jonathan and I went to a conference in June held at the Victoria Convention Centre. Reclaiming Canada Conference. We found out about it a bit late. We were very excited to attend. I especially wanted to meet Tamara Lich who was the co leader of the Canadian truckers convoy in January 2022.

We couldn't stay in our usual location (Marketa's) since June is a very busy month for tourists and it was already booked. We wanted to stay somewhere close to downtown so that we could walk to the convention. We stayed at Heathergate House and Suites. It wasn't a bed and breakfast but rather a rental with a small kitchen. The location was great. The price was too high. 

Here's the door to the rooms where we stayed.

I did appreciate the courtyard and we sat in the swing.

We spent Thursday and Friday helping my parents with various tasks. My mom gave me three jobs and we were able to accomplish two of them. Thursday night we ate at the Penny Farthing. I enjoy that place but eating inside (all that was available) isn't great when it is a hot evening. Friday night we ate at Milestones which is by the water (photo at the top).  Saturday was the first day of the conference.

Speakers were

- Dr. Peter McCullough (American). From his website:

        Dr. McCullough is an internist, cardiologist, epidemiologist holding degrees from Baylor University, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, University of Michigan, and Southern Methodist University. He manages common infectious diseases as well as the cardiovascular complications of both the viral infection and the injuries developing after the COVID-19 vaccine in Dallas TX, USA.

- Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (American) From his website:

    Prof. of Health Policy, Stanford Medicine. Health policy, infectious disease epidemiology, Scientific freedom. Co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration. 

- David Charalambous (British). An expert on behavior and communication.

- Ted Kuntz (Canadian). He created Vaccine Choice Canada. From his website:

    Ted Kuntz is a father, a medical choice activist, author and educator. Kuntz’s journey to examine the claims of the vaccine industry began after his son Joshua was neurologically injured by the diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus shot (DPT) in 1984.

Kuntz began a journey to understand what happened to his son. This journey revealed that the vaccine industry has been systematically and intentionally dishonest with health consumers on the safety, effectiveness and necessity of vaccinations.

- Clyde Do Something (Canadian). He is a current events commentator and auto mechanic based in BC.

- Martin Belanger(Canadian). He does a weekly podcast with Clyde Do Something. He is based in Alberta. 

- Steve Kirsch (American) From his website:

    I used to be a high tech serial entrepreneur before retiring at age 64. I write about COVID mitigation policies, vaccines, corruption, censorship, and early treatments. The data shows that vaccines are ruining the health of Americans and driving the epidemic in a variety of health conditions.

- Drea Humphrey. BC Bureau chief for Rebel News. She's in the centre of this photo

- Tamara Lich. Metis grandmother from Alberta who was the co leader of the trucker's convoy to Ottawa. She is currently on trial for mischief in an Ottawa courtroom. I bought her book and had it signed by her. I read it when I got home.

- Lauren Southern. An independent journalist and documentary filmmaker from BC. Formerly worked for Rebel News.

- Artur Pawlowski. Calgary pastor from Poland who spent 51 days in jail for preaching. 

- Eva Chipiuk. Canadian lawyer for the freedom convoy.

- Brian Peckford. The only surviving signatory of the Canadian Rights and Freedoms. Former premier of Newfoundland he now lives in Parkland, BC. Speaks out again lockdowns and vaccine mandates.

- Dr. Drew Pinsky. American physician who specializes in addiction. 

- Umar Sheikh. Victoria lawyer involved in medical freedom cases. 

- Chris Barber. Canadian trucking company owner who co lead the freedom convoy with Tamara Lich. From Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

- Bryce Wade. Canadian entrepreneur. He was a sponsor of the conference.

We thought every speaker was good. I think that is rare at a conference. It was so encouraging to be around like minded individuals. There was a social time on Friday night where we met a lady from North Vancouver. We plan on keeping in touch with her. We would've liked to meet more people.  We loved the conference! We hope to go again next year. 

On Saturday night we were invited to spend some time with the parents of a former colleague of J's. They live in the Tri Cities area of Washington. They have a time share condo at Laurel Point. They were super friendly and hospitable to us. This is the view from the balcony.

The sunset was beautiful!

On Sunday we found a church to attend. We needed one with an early start time so that we could get to the conference which started at 11:30 am. We went to Lighthouse Church which meets at Tillicum mall's theatre. I've heard of churches using movie theatres for church but we've never been to one. Lighthouse is in the same denomination as our home church - Presbyterian Church of America. We had to leave before the service was over. Jonathan sent the pastor an e mail to let him know we were there, to be courteous and not be anonymous. 

We returned home on Monday. Jonathan had a work meeting in the morning so he asked the owner of the Heathergate property for permission to check out late so he could stay and be on the phone. I went over to see my parents. I cut my Dad's hair and then we posed for a photo.

Our trip back was pleasant. We caught the ferry we wanted and we had no border wait at all. I think that was a first for us. 

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Finally Farm Chicks

I've been wanting to go to Farm Chicks for many years. It is held on the first Saturday of June in Spokane and in the past I've had kids in school or someone graduating at that time. So, this year, I could finally go! Of course, Mary was my companion. We love to search for antique treasures together. 

We left for Spokane on Friday morning. We stopped in Moses Lake for lunch. We ate outside at Michael's. It was a good choice. We stayed at Tru By Hilton in Spokane Valley. They had these fun "egg chairs" in the lobby. Quite comfortable!

I appreciated the complimentary breakfast which included eggs and yogurt.

For dinner on Friday night, we went to the historic Davenport hotel in Downtown Spokane. This is the lobby.

After dinner we drove to Manito Park which is a favourite of mine. I was hoping to see lots of roses in their rose garden. This was quite a surprise!

No roses yet! I had already a few roses blooming at home. I suppose Spokane is behind Seattle since it is colder there in the winter. We did find some beautiful flowers in the perennial garden. I love this peony

Iris

Saturday was Farm Chicks. There were probably 300 - 400 booths. Just an estimate. It was held at the Spokane Fairgrounds. This was the chair that I really wanted to buy. It was at a great price. The problem is space. I actually want to rearrange the furniture in the living room. 

I enjoyed this display.

This photo is my attempt to show this one section. There were tables and tables full of old quilts, old blankets, yards of fabric, flags and other things. 

At Farm Chicks I ran into a gal that I worked with last year at the boys' school. She has now moved a few hours north of me to Sedro Wooley, too far to remain working in Bothell. I was delighted to see she is pregnant with her 2nd child.

Here's what I brought home.

I plan to make pillows from the fabric. I've already used the green and white fabric (small pattern) on the right for the quilt that I'm currently making. The rose painting now hangs in our bedroom.

Mary and I left at about 4 pm and drove home. It is about a 5 hour drive. The timing of the long days of June and this trip to Spokane worked in our favour. 

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Birthday Party in a Gravel Pit

Can you celebrate two birthdays in a gravel pit? Yes you can!

My hubby and my youngest son have birthdays that are one day apart. My hubby's birthday fell on Memorial Day this year which was convenient. C left the next day (his birthday) for his Europe trip so we had to celebrate the day before. 

J and I drove the hour or so to Sultan Basin Road where there is Department of Natural Resources land that is used for shooting. We stopped at the dollar store in Monroe where I bought the bunch of birthday balloons. There is plenty of space to choose from and even if there are other groups there, you can pick a spot of your own. 

J and I arrived first. It is quite a hike to get to the gravel pit area. J has a sturdy wagon which helps haul the gear up to the spot. I brought along 2 slices of cake with candles. 

I also made potato salad. I brought a chair to sit in but I didn't really use it. I kept moving it around!

Christopher and two of his friends came later. The day before Christopher made a temporary table out of some junk wood which was used to hold the cheap bottles of soda which were targets.

We all wore hearing protection while anyone was shooting. J tried shooting from a distance of 100 yards.

This is C shooting at the plastic soda bottles.

One funny thing was running into two guys that we know in this rather remote spot. One guy was an assistant coach on the Cedar Park soccer team. He took the group photo. Here's a serious pose except I was smiling. 

One reason that J likes this spot is that you can bring the soda bottles. You can't do that at a range.

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