PLAYING CATCHUP

Simple Pleasures

I know it’s been a while since I filled you all in on our activities; but it’s been a busy summer for us.  So here it is – a brief summary of the last two and a half months.

July:  Family Time

Jonah Patrick Blass (with his parents)

We arrived back on Colorado on June 30^th, almost a year to the day from when we arrived last year.  At that time, we were anticipating the birth of our first grandchild.  This year, on the 4^th of July, we celebrated his first birthday – what a fun year we’ve had being grandparents!  It’s nice coming back to a place you’re already familiar with because getting “the 5^th” parked and setup is easier and you already know where the grocery stores, gas stations, and good restaurants are located.

Star Spangled Banner baby turns 1

Jonah had a great birthday celebration.  In addition to his Oregon grandparents, his Florida grandparents and his aunt, uncle and cousin from Maryland, and his aunt and uncle from West Virginia came to join the party.

This guy knows how to eat birthday cake

He also celebrated with four of his friends and their parents.  All of the friends are “older women” so it seems he’s already got that part of life figured out at age one!

Jonah with one of his "older" women

The day was beautiful, the food was great, and the red, white, and blue cupcakes were a big hit.  Jonah had a great time.

We had some time to rest and relax before we took on the role of full-time babysitters for Jonah during the last week of our stay in Colorado.  Man, can that little guy keep two old grandparents busy!  Pat and I asked ourselves several times how we managed to work and take care of two little kids (I guess being younger had a lot to do with it!).  

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"Not to worry Granma, I've got this handled"

Jonah is a really happy little boy;  we had a wonderful week with him before we headed west to Oregon.

Jonah gets his first haircut

During this time, we also got exciting news from our daughter, Emily.  She became engaged to her boyfriend; Trevor.  She is, naturally, very excited and we are happy to be adding another son to our family.  No date has been set yet although she thinks it will be within the coming year (watch for updates to come).

Trevor and Emily

As planned we headed towards Oregon to spend the month of August.  On the way, we stopped in Missoula, Montana to visit Pat’s cousin, Anuhea, and her family.  They have a beautiful home that they built themselves with stunning views in all directions.  It is absolutely breath-taking and it was great to see her again and meet the rest of her family.

August:  Home…..where the heart is!

There really is no place like home!  After all the places we’ve been and all the things we’ve seen, we still think Oregon is the best place in the country.  In addition to time in Eugene, we managed to spend some time in Central Oregon attending a wedding and a few days on the Oregon Coast where we had both great weather and great food.

Our RV park on Seavy Loop Road

Deschutes River from Eagle Crest

Oregon coast south of Lincoln City

Wine Country near Salem

Columbia River as we headed back to Colorado

When we were in town, we had activities going on virtually every day; clearly, one month a year in Oregon is not enough!  We connected with friends and family; had numerous doctor, dentist, vision, hearing, auto, pickup, 5^th wheel appointments; and spent time helping my mother select a smaller apartment and begin the downsizing process.  It was a busy, wonderful time and we enjoyed every minute of it.  As usual, the thought of leaving was hard; but it was easier since we were heading back to Colorado for a couple of weeks (you know………the place with the adorable grandson!).

He loves guacamole

September:  The best made plans…………

Late on Friday afternoon before Labor Day Weekend as we prepared to leave Eugene and head for Colorado the next day (we’re watching Jonah for two weeks while his daycare provider is on vacation), we got an e-mail that caused us to seriously reconsider our long-term plans.  The renters of our townhouse in Tempe had broken the lease (which ran through March 2015) and vacated the house.  We could lease the house again for another year (through October 2015) or take possession of the house ourselves.

On the surface, this wasn’t the greatest news; however, once we got over the shock, we realized that we were in a good place to make whichever decision we wanted.  We hadn’t made any concrete plans after we left Colorado although we had discussed two different itineraries that interested us; but we hadn’t made any reservations, etc.

So we left Eugene undecided and took a round-about trip back to Colorado.  Went to Spokane and headed due north following the Columbia River to Trail, British Columbia.  Drove right along the river and actually saw a relatively fast moving, shallow part of the river unlike what we see in Oregon.

Crossing the Columbia in northern Washington

This area is really beautiful and we plan to return some summer and spend more time exploring the southern border area of British Columbia.  From Trail, we headed east across an amazingly high mountain pass and re-entered the USA in the eastern panhandle of Idaho, then headed east to the Flatiron Lake area of Montana (also a beautiful drive) and arrived back in Colorado just in time to assume our grandparent babysitting duties.

Sunrise in Wyoming

We’ve been here two weeks now and tomorrow is our last day with Sara, Drew, and Jonah.  During our time here, Jonah got two teeth, learned to stand unassisted for extended periods of time, and took several steps on his own.  He also spent hours and hours playing outside with his Grampa. Obviously, they are kindred spirits!  This is how Jonah and Grampa spend their days:

Go on wagon rides

They bounce in the new Bouncy House

Gampa pushes Jonah in his new swing

They play together in the sandbox

Spend time in the fort and on the slide

Enjoy the new Water Table

Try out the Hammock

And play endless games of catch the ball

During the trip here, we decided the time was right to move into our Tempe townhouse.  So, on Thursday, we leave here and head to Tempe for a new stage of our lives.  We plan to spend about a month doing some needed renovations before we move in.  Then we’ll head back to Oregon (probably in late October/early November) to figure out how to get all our furniture and household goods which currently occupy two fully packed storage units to Arizona…….I'll keep you posted

Coming Full Circle - One Year Later

Our Travels

Over the past year, I’ve been reminded how very lucky I am:

-I’ve shared the past 35 years with the nicest guy I know (and probably the only one that would put up with me!).

Pat discovered a love of lobster in Maine

 -I have two beautiful daughters:

-Sara:  a wife, mother, and attorney.  I’ve been awed by her magic since the day she was born; however, when I see her with Jonah, words can’t express my admiration for her as a mother.

Sara and Jonah

 -Emily:  devoted to her faith and just finished her first year as a high school English teacher.  She completed our family with her own wonderful magic, unique to her and so very special to me.  I am amazed that this little person (she’s not real tall and not real big) can manage classrooms full of high school students.  I could not do what she does.

Emily with Jonah

-I have a son-in-law, Drew that I respect, enjoy, and love.  He added his own special energy and humor to our family that is more appreciated than he knows.  And, he is a wonderful father to Jonah.

Drew and Jonah

 -I have a handsome, active, healthy, delightful grandson who has added wonder back into my life.

Jonah will turn 1 on the 4th of July

-I retired at a (fairly) young age from a job I loved; working with people I consider friends.

-I’ve spent the last year enjoying a lot of family time as well as traveling all over the United States.

-Really, I couldn’t ask for anything more!

On June 29, 2013, Pat and I set off for Denver and our 1^st great retirement adventure.  On June 30, 2014, almost exactly one year later, we pulled back into Denver once again.  During that time, we gained a grandson, lost a mother (Pat’s mom, Beth, passed away at the end of March), put 33,752 miles on "Bertha", 

"Bertha" at -15 degrees in Loveland, Colorado

stayed in 55 RV parks, ate all kinds of wonderful food, and saw, drove through, and/or visited a large part of our country (if you thought I was a numbers person, you’ve never met Pat, he’s the Type-A guy who tracked the number of miles and RV parks, not me!).

People ask me where my favorite place was and that’s very hard to answer.  There are really very few places we stayed longer than overnight that I haven’t liked.  However, I would say that I have two favorite places so far.  One is man-made and the other is a miracle of nature. First, I loved New York City. 

New York City

It was so busy and vibrant and alive; and I really enjoyed sharing it with our friends from home Connie and Addison.   There was so much to see and do that even though we saw tons of things, I would love to go back and take the time to go to the museums, a Broadway show, explore Central Park, etc. 

Celebrating Connie's Birthday

 The most awe inspiring place I saw was Niagara Falls.  It’s breath-taking, really words don’t do it justice.  And the fact that there are multiple waterfalls that you can view from so many different perspectives (including from below and within them) is wonderful.

Niagara Falls

Finally, some random thoughts - I never realized how very rural and small town our country is.  I guess I’ve always associated each state with their well-known cities…….big mistake.  The country is mostly made up of natural resources (mountains, lakes, wilderness, etc.), vast areas of agriculture, and numerous small towns (many of them quite charming).

Upstate New York

-There are dollar stores EVERYWHERE.  Big cities, large towns, small towns, the middle of nowhere.  Family Dollar, The Dollar Store, Dollar General (and there are others) populate the country!

-When you’re on the road for miles, you really appreciate the states that have planted flowers along the roadside, in the freeway medians, on the exit ramps.  Their beauty really brightens up long drives.

Roadside wild flowers in Texas

So, we are settled here in Denver for about a month to relax, visit family, and celebrate Jonah’s birthday on the 4^th of July.  From here, we head to Eugene for the month of August.  I hope to see many of you then.  At the beginning of September, we start our 2^nd great retirement adventure.  I’ll keep you posted!

We still have a few more states to hit!

Catching Up

Luckenbach, Texas

OK, I know it’s been awhile since I updated this; but I’ve been busy!  My last post was from San Macros, Texas.  Since then, we moved to Fredericksburg, Texas where we explored the heart of Texas wine country and listened to live, local Texas music.

Wine tasting Texas style

New cowboy hat

Then we flew to Oregon for a long weekend of family events:  visiting my mother and brother, attending a celebration of life for Pat’s mother (Beth), and catching up with as many friends as possible.   

Jonah hitches a ride on GeeGee's (my mother's) walker

Ventura siblings (Jim, Pat, Susan, and Jennifer)

The day after we returned to Texas, we headed off to meet Sara, Drew, and Jonah in Des Moines, Iowa (stopping on the way in Wichita, Kansas to spread some of Beth’s ashes on the graves of her infant brother, mother, and grandparents).  We spent a fun Father’s Day weekend in Des Moines and then headed south to Stockton, Missouri for some genealogy research.   

The boys enjoy watching World Cup Soccer together

Pat is a child at heart (which makes him a wonderful grampa!)

On the way down the freeway, one of the tires on “the 5^th” blew, ripping off a tire skirt and part of the side trim.  We also thought the trailer brakes might have been impacted.  We managed to get to the next exit (travelling on tire rim); but, of course, it was an exit with NOTHING!  So we called roadside assistance, waited an hour, got the spare (which was almost flat) put on, and crawled to the nearest service station.  At that point, the spare tire was completely flat, so we added more air, and crawled our way to a tire store where we bought two new tires and then decided to head to Kansas City and have the rest of “the 5^th” checked out.  Good news, what we thought were destroyed brake cables were really just long threads left over from the tire explosion hanging from the undercarriage….so eventually, we made it to Stockton.  From there, we went east to the Ozark Mountains.  I have to say that Missouri is a really pretty state.  Very green and lots of nice pretty hills; but, that’s what they are……….hills.  The highest point in the state is in the Ozark “Mountains” and tops out at 1,772 feet……..that is a hill; not a mountain!

Trying to keep cool in Missouri

 Even though it’s a lovely state, it’s too humid and has too many tornados for us; so we headed northeast through the center of Illinois (which is EXTREMELY flat) to Portage, Indiana.  Portage is about a mile from Lake Michigan and about 35 miles from Chicago.  It’s also about 20 miles from where one side of my family headed off on the Oregon Trail in 1852; so we were, once again, exploring our family history.  This area is surprisingly hilly and the three county seats we visited were bustling, lively towns with numerous big trees, old homes, and historic downtown areas.   

Great Chicago Style pizza a cute little place

We took a slight side trip to drive through/around Notre Dame University and then we headed northwest to Galena, Illinois where we treated ourselves to a long weekend stay at a resort hotel.  This area is called the tri-state because Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin meet here.  Galena itself is the home of President U. S. Grant and the entire town is a designated historic area.  The area and the town are gorgeous.  Very hilly.  Although the highest point in Illinois, located near here, is only a little over 1,200 feet, the area looks and feels higher than it is because of all the hills.  

 

View from our room outside Galena, Illinois

In addition, there are numerous wineries (and wine tasting) in the area.  And, no surprise to anyone, I have ancestors from right across the Mississippi River in Iowa and right across the northern Illinois border in Wisconsin. 

Pat hits his 50th state.

 

Galena, Illinois

So, we have enjoyed beautiful scenery, an amazing historic town, great food and wine, and genealogy the last few days.  Tomorrow we start a two day, nine hundred mile trek across Iowa, Nebraska and to Colorado to celebrate Jonah’s 1^st birthday.

Too cool for words!

Jonah exploring in "the 5th"