Thursday, September 30, 2010

TRAVELING IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

TT LAKE MINDEN, NICOLAUS, CA -

September 22 – 27 – After leaving Marti and Norm and Oregon, we decided to go inland, looking for the California sun!! We found plenty of sun at TT Lake Minden, Nicolaus, CA, northeast of Sacramento. But we found something else, too. Aphids!! Our car was parked under the maple trees that were full of aphids that were eating the leaves and depositing juices all over our car (Ken said it was urine – ugh!!). We felt like we were in a si-fi movie and covered with slime!! It was all over the car, the door handles, the ground, our shoes – everything!!

Usually we enjoy being at Lake Minden because we always run into some Pickleball players. This year there were no players; in fact, there were no nets on the courts and wild grass is beginning to take over. It was sad!!

So with no Pickleball, we spent most of our time looking for a new GPS. I had placed our Magellan Maestro 4040 on the RV dash and somehow it fell into the stair well and a part broke off. Magellan said they could not repair it and offered to replace it for $$ if I sent the broken one back; otherwise the cost would be 2 X $$!! We spent time looking at and trying other brands but ended up deciding the Magellan offer was as good as any; however it would be 10 days before we could get the new one.

We had to navigate without a GPS for 10 days!! Can’t believe we used to do that all that time.


TT MORGAN HILL, MORGAN HILL, CA

September 27 – 30 – Our next stop was at TT Morgan Hill, just outside of Gilroy, the Garlic Capital of the World!! We spent most of our brief time there washing and cleaning the vehicles. It felt sooo good not to have that gook all over us!!

No Pickleball players at Morgan Hill either, but it was too hot to play anyway.

We did not do any touring on these stops. We had already done a lot of touring when we were here six years ago and decided we will probably be back again next year to do the touring bit.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

KEN AND FAYE EWBANK PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT AT TT CHESAPEAKE BAY, VA

September 5 – Can you believe how thrilled we were to discover that the Labor Day weekend Pickleball Tournament at TT Chesapeake Bay was named for us this year – The Ken and Faye Ewbank Pickleball Tournament!!! Can you believe that!! We were unable to be there this year – we were out in La Conner, WA getting out butts beaten in the tournaments there!! Mike R. who ran the Chesapeake Bay tournament had asked us before we left if we would mind if they named the tournament after us, but we never believed it would actually happen. Thank you guys. That was such an honor!!

Here are the participants taken from the Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay Preserve Friends Facebook site.. We know most of the players, but there were several we have never met. Hope to do so sometime in the future.


Here some real live action from Son, Mike -- a "chip off the old block"!!

Here are the winners:
Tournament Champions - John and Paul. (Mike R. (left) presented the prizes.)

Runners Up Championship Bracket - Todd and Mike E.


Winners A Bracket - Fran and David.

Runners Up A Bracket - Jack and Diane.


Winners B Bracket - Jack and Bob.


Runners Up B Bracket - Debbie and Mike R.

Winners C Bracket - Cheryl and Frankie.

Runners Up C Bracket - Rob and Zach.

Congratulations to the Winners and to all of the participants!!

I sent our friend John a congratulatory e-mail on his winning the Championship. We received the following response. It made us laugh so we wanted to share it with you!! (Hope you don’t mind, John.).

Thanks!!! It was a great time and now I will have a very nice medal that says "Ken and Faye Ewbank Champion" on it for the rest of my life!! Mike Roberts and his wife did a great job and the tournament went very, very well.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

VISIT WITH FRIENDS MARTI AND NORM IN SPRINGFIELD, OR

September 20 – We left Portland this morning and stopped in Springfield, OR to visit with great Pickleball friends Norm and Marti. There is a vacant lot next to their development where we were able to park the motorhome overnight. That made it really convenient for us to visit.


Last year Norm and Marti bought a house in their hometown, Springfield, OR, right off I-5 heading south.
Here Marti is proudly showing off the well-stocked pantry. She called it their “tornado shelter”

Since it was not raining, we took a little drive along another part of the Willamette River. Marti pointed out it was the only River in the United States (?) that runs North, through Portland!!
We stopped at the Fish Hatchery but no fish today.


We stopped at the Historic Lowell Covered Bridge over the lake where Norm and Marti did a lot of water skiing some years ago.


Marti and I were practicing our photogenic pose. We need more practice! HA HA

After our drive, we joined them for delicious Fajitas and a few exciting games of Euchre. We said our good-byes after a really fun day with old friends. We look forward to seeing them again in Arizona.

September 21 – We left early Tuesday morning, heading for sunny California. As soon as we crossed the Oregon border into California, the sun came out!! Hallelujah!! Driving down I-5 in California, we passed Mt. Shasta. What a spectacular sight!!

Monday, September 20, 2010

A WEEKEND IN PORTLAND, OR - DAY 1

September 18-19 – We were so tired of the cloudy, rainy Oregon coast that we packed up and left Saturday morning. The plan was to head inland and south as far as we could get, but as we approached Portland, it was not raining and the sky was much brighter. Let’s stop in Portland for the weekend. We stayed at the Portland Elks about six miles east of the Willamette River on I-84.

By the time we were set up, a light rain started. We decided to do a little touring anyway. We were told the one thing we must do is see the International Rose Test Garden. It was beautiful, even in the rain.


A rose archway into the garden.

So many beautiful roses!

I got a little wet!!

Did you ever see soooo many petals on a rose?

These roses are so slick from the rain they don't even look like roses at all!!
I took a picture when we first arrived. This is the view we saw.

Here is the picture on the front of their brochure. This is how it should have looked – beautiful grounds, city skyline and Mt. Hood in the background!!

A WEEKEND IN PORTLAND, OR – DAY 2

September 19 – Between showers on Sunday afternoon, I talked Ken into driving me to the waterfront so I could take a walk along the Westside Riverwalk along the Willamette River. It was most amazing – the SUN was shining for about two minutes!!

We parked near the Salmon Street Springs.


Same fountain, different look.


There was some kind of Neptune Festival going on in the Waterfront Park.


The Hawthorne Bridge was in the raised position as I passed under.

The I-5 Bridge seemed to disappear into the tall buildings.

When I returned, going in the other direction, the Hawthorne Bridge was closed after letting this barge pass under.


Portland, the City of Roses.


The Portland Spirit has daily lunch and dinner cruises with magnificent views of the Portland skyline and bridges, but not on a day like today!!

I saw rowers on the river. They didn’t really look like a rowing team so I suspect it was a tourist thing.

There was a Run/Walk Race downtown on Saturday, and a Marathon on Sunday, so it was impossible to navigate the downtown streets this weekend.

The Portland Maritime Museum was an old paddlewheel boat. We would have loved to tour it, but by the time we got there, it had just closed.


The Portland Saturday Market was also open on Sunday, but it was closing time there, too.

The end of my walk was at the Burnside Bridge. How many bridges does Portland have??

I can’t believe it!! It didn’t rain at all for my 90 minute walk along the River!

Friday, September 17, 2010

TT LTR SEASIDE, OREGON

September 17 – We arrived at TT Seaside, OR on Friday, the 10th. We found several Pickleball players on Saturday morning. We have been playing every morning; however, yesterday (Thursday) it rained all day and has not stopped!

Here's the group (from left to right) -

Chuck from the TT La Conner Tournaments; Faye and Ken; Marty whom we met a couple of years ago at TT Chesapeake Bay; Julie and Phyllis from TT La Conner; Larry a new player; Dick whom we have known for years; and Peg another new player.


We have been to Seaside several times in the past and just love this area. However, this time around, it has been overcast every day, so we have not even been over to the Boardwalk along the Pacific. Today, between showers, I drove over to the turn-about and took a few pictures.

The End of the Trail for Lewis and Clark!

The mountain shrouded in fog!

Overlooking the great Pacific Ocean!!

LADIES PARTNER SWITCH TOURNAMENT AT TTN LA CONNER, WA (Correction)

Correcting previous article posted for -

Monday afternoon, August 30 – The Winners of the Ladies Partner Switch Tournament should have read:

Third Place: Julie
First Place: Ione
Second Place: Judy. I think Judy deserved to be First because she is the only one of the three who had to play with me, and still she was a winner!!
My apologies to the Ladies!!

Friday, September 10, 2010

HOW CAN WE FIND MY CHICKEN WINGS IN CHEHALIS, WA??

Thursday, September 9 – We left TT La Conner yesterday morning and spent the morning at Freightliner in Mt. Vernon, WA where we had our front air bags replaced on the motorhome. We finally left Freightliner at about 2 PM. That did not leave much time to drive to a place to stay, so it worked out perfectly for us to stop-over at TT Chehalis, only 150 mile south.

I particularly wanted to visit Chehalis again because, when we were last here in 2003, we happened to have lunch at a small, unpretentious Chinese Buffet in one of the little old towns in the area. I LOVED the chicken wings, baked crispy and heavily sprinkled with black pepper. I had never had them before or since. How could I remember chicken wings for seven years??? I don’t know, but I knew I had to try to find that Chinese Buffet again!! By the time we had set up and found satellite, it was too late to go out, so we extended our stay for another day.

We did not have a clue where to begin our search. My first thought was that it could not be in Chehalis because Chehalis was a big town (three exits on I-5). It must be one of the small towns nearby – but which one?? Then I remembered there was some kind of park or museum across the street!! Ken remembered there was a railroad track nearby! Then we remembered there was a packing house across the street, because they had been loading carrots by conveyor belt off the trucks!! So what did that tell us?? Nothing!! We’d have to go to the Visitor’s Center.

Then I saw this picture in the Thousand Trails handout!! “Ken, I think this is the museum that was across the street from the Buffet! That’s why we were down there!!”

We keyed the address into the GPS and set out to the museum. When we were within one-half mile we saw a big shopping area -- K-Mart, Wal-Mart, GroceryStore, Etc. This could not be the place!! But we continued following the GPS directions and came upon Old Town Chehalis. After a couple of blocks, Ken said, “Well, there are the conveyor belts!” They were packing corn this time.


A drive around the corner and there was the Lewis County Historical Museum from the picture! I had been following Lewis and Clark that year!

And across the street!! Royal Buffet, American Chinese Restaurant!!!

We went in and were greeted at the door by the Owner/Manager. He welcomed us and helped the waitress find us a booth near the window (so we watch the traffic and conveyor belt!!). I was impressed!! We told him we had come all the way from Virginia to eat their buffet. We had been there seven years ago and remembered the black pepper chicken wings. He said ownership had changed about three times since we were here but they still have the wings!

We discovered his name is Jin. Now where do I know another good-looking Asian whose name is Jin?? It was in LOST!! Of course.

We really did enjoy our lunch. I thought the chicken wings were good, but not quite memorable as before. We will probably eat here again -- not for the wings, but because of Jin!!