More Grants Pass musings

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Well, blow me - it's Friday night already and that's a week of our holiday gone. Scott, Lucy and the boys are at football training/conditioning every midweek night just now, so Jo and I are sitting here updating our respective blogs.

Tomorrow we head north to Eugene/Springfield for the Blues and Brews festival - http://www.wvbbf.org/ - we're staying overnight, so should be fun.

Lucy's been on holiday the last couple of days and from now until we travel back, but Scott still has to work - apart from this coming Monday, when we may golf again. He, Vic and I took part in a Scramble competition - just 9 holes - on Tuesday evening at Applegate. It was fun, but we were rubbish.

I tried Scott's bike the other day and, this morning, there were a few early morning clouds, so I thought I'd take the chance to head out again before the sun broke through properly and it got too hot. I rode downtown and went round a few book shops, then headed back through the parks, across the river:

While I was downtown, I came across this place:

Look closely!

There was also this:

Going back in time, yesterday was a lazy day at the Lesina ranch, which afforded me time to finish the latest John Grisham (The Confession) - it only took me just over 2 days. I've always liked his style, but, after a while, it becomes a little predictable. I hadn't read one of his books for a couple of years, so I thought I would try again, but perhaps it was a mistake. I'm now on to Gerald Seymour's The Dealer and the Dead.

Wednesday was, of course, Cade's 11th birthday proper and, with Jo and I in charge of proceedings, we headed south to the Family Fun Center in Medford. There were a few twists and turns but we got there in the end. Blink of an eye and $100 was gone - amazing! The go-karts were fun - Cade on his own, now that he's tall enough, and me with Braeden. I managed to lose my phone on the first ride - temporary panic, but soon resolved.

We all got thoroughly soaked on the Bumper Boats so I lay out on the grass and let the sun work its magic. We had arranged to meet Scott and Lucy in Applebee's for the birthday tea - and it was very nice. Good surroundings and we all sat at a high, circular table with footrests - lovely. As ever, the staff sang and clapped a birthday celebration as they presented Cade with cake:

So that's me up to date now. There have been a few minor changes at Delsie Drive since we were last here, not least of which is the lovely job Scott and his Dad and pal did on re-painting the entire outside of the house. One or two minor changes at the back as well - watch this video on the blog:

Grants Pass happenings

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

The day after the pre birthday party was fairly quiet. Jo and Lucy went to church early on Sunday morning and then we just hung around until late afternoon, when we headed down to Medford for a little bit of birthday shopping, followed by dinner at Kaleidoscope - our favourite pizza pub.

It was back to work this morning for Scott and Lucy, so we were on babysitting duties. We had a little bit of shopping to get as well, but the boys always complain when we have to drag them round in the car, so I said I would do the shopping - and soon - because I wanted to get a little bit of exercise and a quick cycle up to Albertston's before the heat of the day seemed like a good idea.

Scott's bike seemed ready, but when I made it to the shop, I realised it wasn't necessarily the best plan to leave the bike outside without a padlock. I darted round the store and was relieved to find the bike still there when I got out - both from the point of view of it not being nicked, but, more importantly to me at the time, the fact that I didn't have to walk all the way back with all the shopping on my back!

We had lunch and chilled out until the pool beckoned:

I finished my book - Keith Richards' Life - and will now leave it here for Kelly to read when she comes over to see Scott and Lucy next year.

This report comes to you courtesy of my new lightweight laptop and Lucy's new wireless signal, which has much better upload speeds than we get back in Banchory - are you listening, Ross?

Today is the day the painter arrives at Arbor Court - hope Ross helped him out OK - Davie is in his 70's now and it's a long haul down from Fraserburgh every day for him. Ross is also dog-sitting for the next 2 weeks, so he's going to be a full-time carer! (Hopefully some work too!)

USA travel

From http://ianrstewart.blogspot.com/

Our journey to Oregon was pretty uneventful - although it took a little longer than usual as we had decided to overnight in LA, as the timing of the flights to Medford would have meant a pretty late arrival on Thursday.

The Hilton at LAX was nice and we had a short dip in the pool and some sun-bathing before dinner. We walked along to the adjacent Marriott as their dining room was a bit more attractive than the Hilton's. Jo and I shared a shrimp starter then had salads to follow. It was now 7pm - or 3am in our body clock times - and it was a struggle to stay awake. We had promised ourselves that we would try and adjust to USA time quickly, but failed. As a result, I was up at midnight, then 2am, 3am and finally got up at 4am.

Plenty of time therefore to go through the formalities at the airport and we were on our way to Medford, via Portland. We had lunch and beer in Gustav's  in the delightful surroundings of Portland airport, which is bright and open, unlike many airports.

Scott, Lucy and the boys all came down to meet us at Medford and we drove back to Grants Pass for supper. The boys had football conditioning which gave Jo and I time to unpack and organise ourselves in the trailer. Here's Braeden in his torn top:

On Saturday morning Scott had organised golf for himself, Cade and I at Applegate. Here's Cade on the range:

Note the new Nike golf set he got for his 11th birthday (which is next Wednesday). Cade was pretty good - he hit some nice shots.

In the afternoon, Scott's Mum and Dad, plus Karen's sister, and Scott's sister and her husband and kids all came over for a family party and BBQ - a lovely afternoon.