NOTE TO PATTY

Can you believe this? We had nothing but smoke and hot weather while Patty was visiting. Then when she left the days became truly Ashland. So, Patty, here are some snapshots from the walk through town that Ron and I took today. Is this not the Ashland you remember?

PATTY'S LAST DAY

Sunday was Patty's last full day with us. We decided to drive up to Howard Prairie, hoping to find some relief from the heat. We have great air conditioning but we wanted to be outside. It wasn't much cooler up in the mountains.

We revisited the campsite where we held last year's family reunion. We do miss getting everyone together.Ron is saying, "Where is everyone?" We hope to come up with a plan for next summer. Maybe Sunriver in June???

FRIDAY, SUNRIVER AND HOME

On Friday morning after a stroll with coffee along the Deschutes river we drove into Sunriver and checked it out. Ron and I showed Patty where we stay with friends every October. We had breakfast at Sintra's, a Portugese restaurant.

I believe Patty fell in love with the whole area. We started planning a possible family reunion for next summer. We looked into rental properties. It could be a lot of fun.

In the afternoon we drove on home to Ashland. Temperatures here have been in the triple digits for days.

THURSDAY IS DEPARTURE DAY

Each morning in Portland we go early for a walk for coffee. Ron and Amy have several favorite coffee shops in their neighborhood. Thursday morning we walked with Ron, Amy, Alice and Anthony for coffee. Then when Ron went to work we joined Rick, May, and Nico for a walk to a nice little coffee shop for breakfast. It was a chance to see Rick before we left. We also stopped by one last time to say "goodbye" to Alice, Anthony, Amy and Lisa. (Lisa is staying on awhile longer to look for work.)

We then left Portland to head home. Halfway home Ron had a spontaneous idea. Why not go to Sunriver? We have always wanted Patty to see the area. It seems like a place that she and Scott would love with all the rivers, mountains and lakes. So we drove east along the McKenzie River toward Bend and Sunriver.

We stopped at McKenzie Bridge's St. Benedict's Lodge. This is my own personal favorite place on earth. I want my ashes scattered there. To me it is heaven. Anyway we stayed over night in Bend at the Sugarloaf Mt. Motel. We had dinner at St. Francis's Brewery. We walked along the Deschutes River before retiring for the night.

It was such a delightful day. Serendipity!

WEDNESDAY, OUR LAST FULL DAY IN PORTLAND

Wednesday morning we all took a walk along the river in the city. (babies slung front and back and also bjorned). From there Ron and Patty went house hunting. I decided to opt out for lunch with Lisa, May, Nico and Sheila. Sheila is trying to help Lisa find a teaching job in the Portland area.

This evening we had Mexican dinner at Cha Cha Cha's. It is always a delicious and fun place to go. Amy and Ron even made a kind of date night out of it. They had a sitter for Alice and Anthony. We picked Rick up just before 9:00pm.

TUESDAY FUN

On Tuesday May took Patty and me to Nostrana, my favorite Italian restaurant for lunch. While there Nico enjoyed some cute little mesh rattle that you can put fruit in. This time it was pineapple. In the evening we returned to Ron and Amy's for dinner on the patio.Look at how those babies listen to their Nana. I went back with May to spend the night with her and Nico. I forgot to mention that Rick had to fly to Salt Lake City on business from Monday morning until Wednesday night. Back at Rick and May's Lisa jumped in the tub to help with Nico's bath. How cute is that?

MONDAY IN PORTLAND

Monday morning I woke up early to find Ronnie playing with Anthony in the playroom. I picked up Alice awhile and Poppi and I played with her also. Later that morning Anthony and
Alice played the piano for us. How they delighted in that! Monday night we had chicken barbecued in Amy and Ron's backyard.

ON TO PORTLAND AND GRANDBABIES

Early Sunday morning Ron, Patty, and I headed north to Portland. We began at Ron and Amy's new home. We met Rick, May and Nico at Pad Thai for dinner. Pad Thai is May and Rick's favorite Thai restaurant. What fun to see all of the kids and grandkids together! Another treat was for Patty to meet them for the first time. She does look as though she might eat Nico up.

HOME AGAIN IN ASHLAND

Wednesday we drove home. We had to stop by IN'N'OUt for Lisa. After two years in Italy she really missed those burgers and fries. Patty came to visit. We took a walk through Lithia Park with a brief stop at a picnic table. One night we got all dressed up and Lisa actually took Aunt Patty and me out for drinks. Other than that Ron made us yummy strawberry margaritas another night. It rained on us that night out on the deck. What fun!

TRAVELING TUESDAY

On Tuesday morning we left Los Osos. We stopped twice on our way to Placerville. One stop was to see Derrick in Los Gatos at his sports memorabilia store. (The stinky shoe belonged to Shaq. The other was to visit Aunt Dorothy in Milbrae. By the time we arrived at Carol's in Placerville it was 5:45pm.

It was wonderful to see Aunt Betty, Uncle Jack, Aunt Vivian, Uncle Ralph, John, Melodie, Bob, Kathy, Carol and James. Carol provided wine and dinner. Such a delightful day!

MONDAY WINE TASTING

What a special day! In the morning Patty, Lisa and I walked to a coffee shop on the Bay in Los Osos and shared a breakfast. At 1:00 the limousine picked us and Melissa and Kim up at the Dickson's. We went to two wineries. The first winery was so beautiful that it reminded me of Tuscany. At the second winery luncheon was served. From there we decided we wanted to ride out to toast Angie at Montana de Oro. That was probably my favorite part. It has been ten years since her death, but we all remember her and miss her so much.

We returned to Matt and Melissa's for "aperativo" as Lisa calls it. This consisted of shrimp and sausage. Matt also barbecued chicken and steak after watching four kids all afternoon. We are all grateful.