The Last Hurrah #2 (2018)

Has it been over a year since we watched the eclipse from a meadow in the Cascade Mountains here in Oregon? I cannot believe it! It was a lifetime experience that we shared with some very special friends. (If you are not apart of this group or follow this blog read The Last Hurrah written on August 23, 2017.)

In the year since I wrote that story, not much has changed really for my husband and I. It is true that we are a year older so there is that. As for the others, children have graduated from college and high school. Some of the friends are retired or getting ready to retire. Oh, we also have a new baby, our great granddaughter. WOW!

As for my husband and I, we feel the consequences of aging but we just plug along, fighting through the less than perfect so we can revel in the awesome.

Awesome is what Labor Day Weekend has been about for my daughter and her friends for a very long time. They have gathered in a meadow near Elsie here in the state of Oregon where they played for three beautiful days.

The privilege of watching these people and their children grow up is a treasure that I hold near to my heart.

So this year when we were all gathered very soon after my husband and myself returned from Tucson, I asked if we could come for just one day and see what my daughter had been talking about all these years. We were invited.

Oh my goodness, it was so wonderful to be a fly on the wall (and buzzing around everyone). Not part of the generations gathered yet feeling so much at home.

There were Corn Holes boards (5 or 6 I think), an outhouse and, best of all, a Redneck Swimming Pool. (No river float down the Nehalem this year. Just the small creek that runs through the property where the dogs played.)

Dewey and Earl, aka Cribbage Champions

A Cribbage Tournament took up the best of the afternoon. My 80 year old husband, Earl, and Dewey, the 79 year old father-in-law of our hosts who along with his wife provide the meadow, beat all of us!

There was talk of large print cards and new hearing aid batteries for the really old guys...these young people should learn to not trash talk an old person. The old guys just shrugged and set out to beat them all. With a smile on their face they did just that. We have the prizes to prove it!

Mikaela (hair stylist) and Addie Jo 

Addie Jo, my great granddaughter, was passed around for two days. She loved that a lot.

Dan (Joann's husband) and
his redneck pool cooler!

Cutie Joann, 2nd grade teacher

Smiling, funny, baby lover
Lisa and Addie Jo

Ethan (grandson
just out of the Marines
and beginning
college this fall)
 and his wife Mikaela
are Addie Jo's parents.

Daughter, Addie's
Grandma Susan 

Lucas (Jill's son and the dog!
Oh, did I mention that
there are dogs...lots of dogs!
I think this is Cordelia.)

My friends from L to R.
Lisa (pre-K teacher), me,
Joann (2nd Grade teacher),
Kristine (physical therapist),
Jill (business owner),
Susan (retired State Police).
Kathy the librarian, Paula and
Jacquelyn the hospice nurse,
are missing from the picture.

Grandpa Doug (retired county
 Deputy Sheriff) with Addie Jo

I just poured myself a glass of wine and watched it all. The swim in the Redneck Swimming pool demanded an audience so we pulled up a chair. The outhouse in the background supplemented the "no nudity" sign.

Crowd watching the redneck
 swimming pool action. I am at the far end.

Pool and the outhouse

My good friend, Kristine,
in swimming gear
with Barbie towel!

 I visited with Marissa (Paula's daughter) who will be a senior at Oregon State majoring in Nutritional Studies. Sweet Katie is in her senior year at University of Portland and is majoring in nursing. Jack, Katy's brother, was there with his girl friends. He is at University of Portland in the ROTC program. AND he knows where Spray, Oregon is. I was impressed.

I met Miranda's (Lisa's daughter) fiance. They will be married in December and we will be home so we can attend. Miranda's mother, Lisa, ran Ethan's day-care. Miranda is Ethan's age. Lisa and I bonded over that experience. Ethan is 25 I think and he is my grandson.

Lovely Jacquelyn

Jacquelyn is a hospice nurse and her husband, Sean, is on the police force here in Hillsboro. They are all about traveling.

Susie and Dewey (my husband's Cribbage partner) host the party. Susie still works in the bakery at a local store/restaurant and is Lee's mom. Dewy is retired. They have built a covered bar/dance floor space and a cute little cabin with a composting toilet and bunk beds. A redneck swimming pool was added this year. Built with hay bales and lined with blue stuff, this pool was not easy task for the two of them.

The youngest in the group gets to sleep in the cabin. Addie Jo trumped everyone so she and her parents slept there. She is almost 8 months old.

Dear Sweet Jill

Kathy is the librarian at my grand children's school. Jill and her husband, Charlie, are in the nursery business.

And Kristine and Lee (Oregon State Police)...well they are the stars that everyone circles around. They provided the setting for both the Eclipse party and the yearly Labor Day gathering.

Golly, I do love these people!

Did I overlook anyone? If I did, please know that I try but, as you all know, I am not to be held responsible because of my age. :)

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Central Oregon Vacation

This is a re-post. This had to be my favorite vacation with our motor home (sold). The baby here is 5 now and her big sister will be 10 in August.

Tadpole Pond
Lovingly named Lake Susan
after my daughter. She is
standing in the water with Amelia and Maddie.

This picture was snapped with my iphone. It is an image of Mt. Hood (called Mountain Hood by grandchildren), Oregon as we traveled down the beautiful road that lies at it's foot. Heading east on Highway 26 from Portland, Oregon to Central Oregon, we travels south of Bend to East/Pauline Lakes (East Lake Camp Ground) on the east side of La Pine. We traveled in out 35' Motor Home (for sale orencoopinions@gmail.com) and stayed in the East Lake Resort facilities.

The lakes are the result of volcanic activity and hot springs can be found in the area. Hikes include the opportunity to look in a volcanic caldera that is inactive at this time. Many of the mountains in this part of the world are still active and Mt St Helen's erupted late in the last century.

Bend is a resort community and short drives lead vacationers to beautiful lakes, skiing, white water rafting and camping. Oregon State Parks are some of the best appointed in the nation with large camp sites and small yurts or cabins. Reservation can be made online. Some spots are so popular that reservation need to be made far in advance. When you check those parks that are used the most you will find a winner for a vacation spot. National Park campgrounds are equally as beautiful and affordable. When traveling in a RV you will need to check on vehicle length requirements at the state and federal campgrounds and what services are available. There are a lot of RV resorts available throughout the state.

We have lived in this state all of our lives. I never quit taking picture of Mt. Hood and the central Oregon mountains. The resorts are beautiful, golfing is the best anywhere and families are welcome!

We would love to have you come and visit.

The List

Center of the Storm

Grandchildren

Ages 22 month to 16 years

1 boy

5 girls

4 families

6 Adults

One motor home

Three tents.

30 degree temperatures

Beautiful lake

Bend, Oregon

La Pine, Oregon

East Lake Resort, near La Pine

8000 ft. Elevation

Thin air

No sewer hook up

Dumped 3 times

(12 people pottying)

5.5 Hour Drive from Hillsboro, Oregon

7 People in RV

1 on a motorcycle

4 in a van

Twelve People

Food, Food, Food ($500+)

Sunset

East Lake

Water temperature 60 degree

120 ft deep

Volcanic Soil

High Mercury Content

La Pine, Oregon

Lots of Food

Grandpa

Grandma

Daughter,

Son,

Son-in-law

Daughter-in-law

Baby running

Children playing cards

Daughter/nieces hiking

Party barge boat ride

Sandy Beach

Happy Children

Busy Adults

Camp fires all day

(Very cold)

Sawing wood

Sparks and coals

Marshmallows

Fishing

Sunset

Love

Joy

Boat Ride

4 nights

Great Vacation

At the center of the storm.

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RV Travel...family fun at it's best!

RV set up with computer.
This is a 35 ft. 2002 Dolphin with
around 20,000 miles on it.
We are still trying to sell it but are
enjoying it in the mean time.
More information available at
orencoopinions@gmail.com

Camping with family is one of the finer things in life. All the wealth in the world will not replace time spent at a camp ground close to home with lots of children, tents and tons of food. I suppose that is why the "staycation" is becoming so popular. After all, fun is fun and whether it cost a lot doesn't matter especially to children.

My almost six granddaughter just kept saying over and over "I am having so much fun." Now this child has travels all over the world, stayed in the finest hotels and seen things you and I can never imagine. Her spring break was spent in Viet Nam this year. I rest my case.

I suppose pitching the tents provided the most amusement of all. How do you pitch a tent? Well you gather all you brothers, sisters, in-laws, neices and nephews together, lock Grandma in the RV (she's bossy) and proceed to laugh your way through 100 pieces of support, 75 bungee cords, 50 tent stakes and a tarp to cover it all.

Then there is matter of cutting the fire wood and getting the baby to sleep...all at the same time. You just gather a bunch of small logs while carrying the baby in the back pack, get somebody to saw and stand on the log while the baby is sleeping. Works every time.






There is no time for a beauty regimen while camping. It is just a whole week of "bad hair days". But when you can take Amelia for a run, what more do you need. Looks just are not important.

I love this about the retirement life style. We are free to enjoy those things we love the most and build our lives around our family's need for part of each year. Then, when winter comes, we head south, our family survives on their own and everyone is happy. It is just the right amount of everything for everybody.

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