Tuesday, May 23, our take-Milton-and-Kay-to-the-beach day!

Beach? Awright! Let's go! Kay and Milton for sure wanted to see the Pacific. She walked out of the apartment without a jacket, surprising me when I saw her out on the sidewalk because it was cool in Portland and supposed to be cool and cloudy on the coast. When she felt the air outside, Kay headed for their truck and her newly acquired Eddie Bauer jacket--she found it at the Goodwill the afternoon before. Mama walked out holding Kay's turquoise jacket as well as another one for herself because she knew what we were in for. Folks in Portland layer, layer, layer, keeping lots of their layers in their backpacks or tote bags as the conditions change throughout the day. You can tell by the skeptical look on Kay's face that she's having a time reconciling her knowledge of the beach, taken from the Gulf Coast, and wearing jackets! And Milton wouldn't let me get away without a picture of me, too. I'm glad he did.




Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, our first stop! I found out online that it's a protected marine garden that stands 235 feet tall. We stayed there for quite a while, walking, looking, taking pictures, going all the way to the backside of the rock. Just before we made our way to the sand, the long-suffering group posed for yet another photo!



This is my favorite shot of the gulls and the waves.



Lindsay took this shot of Kay and me, walking and talking.








That's Tillamook Rock Lighthouse in the distance, north of Cannon Beach, Oregon.




These gulls are on that point of rock that you can see in the next picture, to the left of Haystack. The sun came out, thankfully, so that you can see the details.




As you're looking west, this is the view just to the south side of Haystack.



Here at the base of Haystack Rock, the group posed for me once again, pointing at starfish and anemones. I just couldn't get my camera up and focused quickly enough, so the cuties humored me.



Duncan's ready to go to the car and on to the next stop on our personal tour.



Hug Point rocks! Here's what I found out about it at the Oregon state parks site: Just south of Cannon Beach, this little wayside gives you easy access to the beach and a peek at some interesting history. Imagine travelling by stagecoach along the beach (before the highway was built, the beach was the only way to go). North of the parking area you can still walk along the original trail carved into the point by the stagecoaches. The wayside was named after this trail because it hugs the point. Looking further north, Haystack Rock—one of the most identifiable landmarks along the coastline—is easily visible.

Caution to visitors; be aware of the tide! It is possible to become stranded at high tide when exploring the point. Take a look at the stagecoach trail, the view of Haystack Rock and the two caves around the point, but have a plan.

Our plan was to get there around low tide (Lindsay looked it up the night before, so we had a time to aim for) and enjoy!

Cristina posed for me at the point where the rocky road emerged from the sand.





Look closely and you can see numerous starfish clinging to the rock, along with loads of sea anemones.




Here's how Leland and Lamont creatively made their way off the wagon road!





Lovebirds!



The shiny spot to the right in the darkness is actually a pool of water, trapped in the rock and reflecting the rock roof above it.



There's Cristina and Leland, and Lamont, just outside the entrance to the cave. Amazing. Thank goodness it was low tide, right?



Lindsay inside the cave--you can see how large it is. I don't even want to think about being there when the sea is there.



Milton and Lindsay walked Mama slowly down the steep slope towards the Cape Meares Lighthouse, our last stop of the day minus supper at Kyllos in Lincoln City. At 38 feet tall, Cape Meares is the shortest lighthouse on the West Coast. Situated atop a 200 foot tall headland, it provided aid to ships until 1963 when it was decommissioned.

I love these two pictures!




Milton got Mama situated on this bench where she could see this group of rocks with the hole.





On the walk down to the lighthouse, these huge, windswept rocks caught my eye.



This is the beach taken from the opposite side of the headland.








Here's a bit of the fauna and flora at Cape Meares.








Believe it or not, this is a Sitka Spruce, known far and wide as the Octopus Tree! It's up the cliff from the lighthouse, in a steep wooded area. You can tell how tall it is from Lindsay's photo of Lamont standing in front of it. Its base circumference, according to a great big sign beside the fence that encloses the tree, is about 50 feet. Here's a bit more I found at Salem-News.com. Since it still lives, no one knows its age, but some guess the Octopus Tree has been around since Jesus walked the earth. Indians who used to live in the area called it The Council Tree. Some think its limbs were shaped that way by Indians on purpose to hold canoes for their dead, based on findings of archaeologists.



We're about ready to leave the lighthouse--aren't we lucky these two sweet and lovely young women are part of our party?



Truth be told, the same thing could be said about these handsome and industrious men.



And here's lucky me with my two grown sons!



To finish off this plethora of pictures of our great day, I've got alternating pix of the Hansons and their Frisbee! Lindsay took this first photo of Leland and the last one of Lamont. Thanks for sharing, Lindsay!




















For you, a visual definition of one tired puppy!

"Cavemen, this fall, on ABC," intoned the voice-over announcer.

I'm watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals. I hear something like, "This fall, evolution will be filmed." I look around in time to see someone's creative take on those evolution posters--you know those that show from monkey to man. Then I hear, "Cavemen, this fall, on ABC."

Oh, my. I need Google and right now! Here's what I found out. ABC has "Cavemen" on its fall schedule, Tuesdays at 8 p.m. There's short video clip, a cast list, and this:

"Over the last hundred thousand years, mankind has evolved from primitive creatures into the sophisticated beings we are today, with the exception of a small minority who unfortunately didn't physically evolve.

Meet Joel, his younger brother Jamie, and his best friend Nick, three cavemen living in modern-day Atlanta. These cavemen continually find themselves at odds with contemporary society as they struggle to overcome their physical appearance and the accompanying stereotypes.

Joel is content with his life while pursuing the American dream, and has recently become engaged to Kate, a lovely Southern Caucasian girl. However, he must constantly vie for the respect of her conservative parents. Joel's relationship with Kate and his personal contentment are constantly being put to the test by Nick and Jamie's emotional demands..

Basing the show on their popular GEICO "cavemen" commercials, Joe Lawson, Will Speck and Josh Gordon (Blades of Glory ) have created a hilarious and thought-provoking social commentary on race relations in today's America."

Wel-l-l-l-l, I just don't know. What do YOU think?

Neighborhood Flowers from Monday, May 21

First, I want to thank Marsha from my work for identifying the flowering tree from a couple of posts ago. It's a cornus kousa Chinese dogwood, she told us. I found some pictures on the Oregon State Web site that look practically like mine, plus it appears I should be on the watch for some interesting shaped berries at some point in time. I'll keep y'all posted--ha!

Now I want to give you a tour of flowering plants on Everett, Flanders and Glisan--remember, we live in the Alphabet District?

This is the bud I've posted earlier; it's on Everett. I don't remember any other rhododendrons doing this leaf thing.



Here's a view of the flowers on the same bush that have come out completely. Lovely, delicate.



Even all of this particular bush didn't do that leaf thing; I wonder if it has something to do with where the bud grows on the bush or with the amount of sunlight the bud gets?



I love this one!



This particular bush is on Flanders.




All of the rest of these are on Glisan, in one yard across the street from the William Temple Thrift Store.

A bit more about Saturday, May 19, and then on to Sunday and Monday, May 21-22

Kay walked down to Fred Meyer Saturday afternoon, after we got back to the apartment, while I stayed at Walgreen's with our photo cards. She planned to make home-made frajitas, so she knew just what she wanted. Were they ever delicious! Smelled great cooking, too. With NASCAR on TV and good food in the apartment, we felt like four blessed individuals. Well, Mama's not quite a NASCAR crazy as we three are, but she didn't care what was on TV 'cause she was with us!

Since we have four darling young people in our lives who now work at four different restaurants, Mama and I decided we'd begin our restaurant tour with the Sunday brunch at Newport Bay Tanasbourne where Cristina is a manager. With rain forecast off and on, we had decided the night before that we'd head for the Spirit Mountain Casino after brunch.

I got on MapQuest to get a set of directions that should shave several miles off our trip by eliminating any backtracking. The only problem was I couldn't remember exactly which business was in which town along 99W, until I remembered this little tavern just on the outer edge of Newberg, Someplace Else--not that Mama and I have stopped there--we're just taken with its name. I printed the info and put it on my desk, right beside the keys to the car. As we got ready to head for the car just before 9 a.m., Mama asked, "Have you got the map?" Thank goodness her brain was on high power, or my best laid plans would have gone awry and we'd have wasted some pricey gasoline!

When we walked into the restaurant, the hostess recognized our name as being Cristina's family--I love it! She led us to the booth where we had eaten our first meal at the restaurant, last year with Cristina's folks and Leland. Best of all, it was right beside the brunch buffet table.

Mounds of fruits, cheeses and baked goods filled the table, and not long after we were seated, a plate full of just-made beignets and honey butter was delivered. With all of that at our fingertips, plus the tempting menu, it wasn't long before all four of us had eaten our fill. Mama and Kay got Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, I decided on the classic scrambled eggs, sausage and potatoes, Milton had a plateful of breakfast goodies but I cannot remember exactly what it was called. He didn't leave a morsel, so I know it was good. All of us left completely satisfied and happy to have been with Cristina at that time of the morning, too, because she was able to stop by to check on us. Just before we got up to go, more and more people started coming into the restaurant--their Sunday brunch is popular. Thank goodness she had a minute to get into the group photo you see below!





Our short-cut path led us through parts of Portland we'd not yet seen and then into the countryside. Orchards and fields lined the roadway--possibly nut trees, but I don't know for sure. About an hour and a half later, we parked at the casino and went inside to play--the ladies headed for the penny slots and Milton found the black jack tables. It was fun even if Kay was the only one of us who won! Here's Milton walking Mama back to the car; she's got herself a cup of water to go.

Monday morning Mama woke up not feeling well at all, shivering and shivering. We bundled her up and put her back to bed, checking on her until she fell asleep again, Duncan curled up by her side. After she woke up a couple of hours later, she groggily assured us that she'd be OK, to go do what we wanted to do.

We knew that we needed to go to our rental company's office some point after 10 a.m. to pick up our new exterior door key, so the three of us walked over there first, to 20th and Glisan. Milton and Kay like bargains as much as I do, so at some point we made it to the Goodwill, one block south, and to another thrift store, two blocks north. I cannot remember the exact order of any of this. (Now you know why I love this neighborhood, right? I've been a pretty good girl, really and truly, staying out of them about 97% of the time.)

Then we got in the car and went to the Village Market, another fun thrift store, in the southeast, before heading over to the Fred Meyer at 39th and Hawthorne. It's a great big store, complete with clothing and hardware. I had copies of the new door key made for the kids and got two six-packs of Mirror Pond beer to take to supper. I had thought we'd ask the kids over for finger foods so that we could watch the last night of competition on "Dancing With the Stars," to which Mama and I happily admit addiction. However, Lamont thought we ought to come over to where he and Lindsay live, in southeast Portland, because they have much more room, plus he said he'd cook. Leland and Cristina had lots of errands to do during the day, but they'd be finished in time to come, too. (In fact, they ended up visiting with Mama that afternoon, which was so thoughtful.) Milton and Kay had brought a box of Franzia (I think it is) zinfandel, and we planned to take it, too. On the way home from Fred Meyer, we detoured a couple of blocks by the kids'place and left the beer with them since we didn't have any room in our fridge.

Here is one of the two cats that the kids are cat-sitting, which means three live with them 'cause Lindsay already had Zach. I love this shot of him on their deck wall when we had stopped to leave the beer. He's got Jawa eyes.



Lamont, Lindsay and Brodie have planted all sorts of greens and tomatoes. Lamont built the raised bed walls you see there in the shot with the tomato cages.




Lindsay went outside and picked the greens for the salad.



While Lamont manned the grill on the deck, Lindsay stirred the polenta.



Lamont quickly grabbed a bite of salad.



That's pork chops and asparagus on the grill--yummy.




Each of us had a plate like mine! I got so involved with some good wine and food that I forgot to take any other photos of people--shame on me!