Tour Happenings
21/08/08 14:15
Back from the “Left Coast.” A beautiful place to
visit, but the weather was certainly cooler than my
familiar Florida heat. Not sure the beauty of it all
could make me hanker to move.
The West Clark County Relay For Life® event in Vancouver, Washington was absolutely AMAZING! I got there a few days earlier before the event and was blown away at all the hard work and coordination efforts that went into making this a successful fundraiser. Pam Dunnick, the Event Chairperson, worked tirelessly to manage all the details before, during, and after the event, and even put me up in her home and made me feel so welcomed. Thanks to Pam, Kay, and Angela for the opportunity to share my music and be a part of this wonderful event. My congratulations to all participants - you do make a difference!
The second part of my trip found me in Cornelius, Oregon to celebrate the 60th year of my friend, Chris Campbell. Talk about weird weather! Cold in the morning - about one hour out of the day you could go outside without a sweatshirt, then cooler again in the evening. Next day, sunny and warm. The day of the party however, it decided to be unseasonable cold and windy - for AUGUST!
I was put to task to help out in preparation for the big fiesta by mowing the yard on a tractor. I then hauled off all the grass clippings and other debris to the back 40 near the forest on the same tractor with a trailer. Had to make about 10 trips back and forth to dump it all. It was a big yard and a lot of manual labor, but what fun it was to play “Farmer Diane.”
Chris and Sandy live in a house that sits on 80 acres - of blueberries! Talk about yummy! Each day, we perused the fields in search for the biggest, fattest “Bolitas Azulos” - Blue balls. This is what the spanish speaking folks call them since there is no Spanish word for Blueberry. We ate blueberries until we were literally blue.
Everyday, my little hummingbird friends would dance around the yard - flitting hither and yon, periodically floating in mid-air right in front of me as if to show off their hovering skills and taunt me to take a picture of them. Try taking a picture of them sometime. I think I went through a roll and a half of film where all you saw was where the hummingbird was SUPPOSED to be! But I did capture a few shots.
When the rest of the friends and family arrived for the party, it was nonstop dancing, singing, laughing and pure joy. We built a fire and had a sing along (for those who stayed up that late!) In the morning, Chris’ friends Aaron and Christine made us all “Eggs In A Bag,” an old Boy Scout favorite way to make omelets. Curious? Just take all the fixin’ (bacon, cheese, veggies, etc.) toss them into a ZipLock baggie, crack open a few eggs into the bag, close ‘er up, mush it around, and then drop the baggie into a pot of boiling water! 10 minutes later, Omelets ala Boy Scouts!
I made some new friends and I celebrated with some old (no pun intended Chris!) So, this trip will get tucked away into my fondest memory bank to which I plan to visit often.
The West Clark County Relay For Life® event in Vancouver, Washington was absolutely AMAZING! I got there a few days earlier before the event and was blown away at all the hard work and coordination efforts that went into making this a successful fundraiser. Pam Dunnick, the Event Chairperson, worked tirelessly to manage all the details before, during, and after the event, and even put me up in her home and made me feel so welcomed. Thanks to Pam, Kay, and Angela for the opportunity to share my music and be a part of this wonderful event. My congratulations to all participants - you do make a difference!
The second part of my trip found me in Cornelius, Oregon to celebrate the 60th year of my friend, Chris Campbell. Talk about weird weather! Cold in the morning - about one hour out of the day you could go outside without a sweatshirt, then cooler again in the evening. Next day, sunny and warm. The day of the party however, it decided to be unseasonable cold and windy - for AUGUST!
I was put to task to help out in preparation for the big fiesta by mowing the yard on a tractor. I then hauled off all the grass clippings and other debris to the back 40 near the forest on the same tractor with a trailer. Had to make about 10 trips back and forth to dump it all. It was a big yard and a lot of manual labor, but what fun it was to play “Farmer Diane.”
Chris and Sandy live in a house that sits on 80 acres - of blueberries! Talk about yummy! Each day, we perused the fields in search for the biggest, fattest “Bolitas Azulos” - Blue balls. This is what the spanish speaking folks call them since there is no Spanish word for Blueberry. We ate blueberries until we were literally blue.
Everyday, my little hummingbird friends would dance around the yard - flitting hither and yon, periodically floating in mid-air right in front of me as if to show off their hovering skills and taunt me to take a picture of them. Try taking a picture of them sometime. I think I went through a roll and a half of film where all you saw was where the hummingbird was SUPPOSED to be! But I did capture a few shots.
When the rest of the friends and family arrived for the party, it was nonstop dancing, singing, laughing and pure joy. We built a fire and had a sing along (for those who stayed up that late!) In the morning, Chris’ friends Aaron and Christine made us all “Eggs In A Bag,” an old Boy Scout favorite way to make omelets. Curious? Just take all the fixin’ (bacon, cheese, veggies, etc.) toss them into a ZipLock baggie, crack open a few eggs into the bag, close ‘er up, mush it around, and then drop the baggie into a pot of boiling water! 10 minutes later, Omelets ala Boy Scouts!
I made some new friends and I celebrated with some old (no pun intended Chris!) So, this trip will get tucked away into my fondest memory bank to which I plan to visit often.
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