The Amigas Head Home

It was a wonderful time, but we had to leave. Thanks to everyone who made our 10 days so great. One of the things I love about my family is that we welcome guests with open arms. I was so proud to be one of us as everyone opened hearts, homes, and wallets to make Sami feel at home and welcome Danae and me back into the fold. I wouldn't trade families with with anyone.

Mt. Shasta...the place where the soda springs flow!

Oceanside Pier Then and Now

I got these at www.sandiegohistory.org a GREAT site for those native to SD to see the transformations the city has undergone since the invention of photography. Cool, huh?

"Oh, We Belong in the Zoo, The San Diego Zoo"

Yes, I'm showing my age with this slightly modified title, but it's so true. Doug and crew once again accompanied us to see the the animals. (The hatless ones are usually the zoo residents, in case we are hard to distinguish.) I'll bet you've all seen the cute'n cuddlies as well as the slippery slimies before, so you'll mostly see us humans here. To see more just go to http://www.sandiegozoo.org/


...another one rides the bus



No. We never made it to my favorite place on the planet, Balboa Park. but I couldn't leave it out entirely. Here's California tower as seen from the zoo.

Yes. Sami actually pushed Doug around the park!

Crazy Hats and Carousels at Seaport Village

Melissa, Sean, Layla, Doug, Pam, Beth and the 3 A's spent a very fun day at Seaport Village handling objects we didn't plan to buy, being very noisy and generally making a nuisance of ourselves in stores. it was great!!


Everyone wants a ride in Sean's new baby!

Two cuties with Coronado Bridge behind.

A Spam Hat! Danae's ultimate desire in headcoverings.

The Amigas Visit Family and Friends

We had a wonderful time seeing friends and family. In fact, we were having such a good time, we forgot to take pics of important people like the McClellans, Linda Miller, Cheri & Fred, and other folks! Sorry guys.
G'ma & G'pa pose with us.

We wouldn't miss a chance to visit Aunt Edith

Cathy taught Danae and Sami the fine art of nose-picking.

Sami made a new friend
Still cute after all these years.
Kellie, Kailey, Iain & D'lainey
Emmanuel, Pam, Christian & Providencia
Gerardo & Francisca (Francisca, the pic of you and me at the coffee shop didn't show up. We need to get together for coffee soon! Come to Bend :)

Doug Joins the 3A's for a "Wild" Time

The 3 A's were lucky indeed to have the company of my brother Doug (who rivals the size of a silverback gorilla as shown below) at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Thanks to the generosity of Jane Baker (She donated her guest passes to our cause) we got in and on the tram for almost nothin'. We were looking forward to the big monorail ride and were disappointed to find it had been replaced with a crummy bus/tram kinda thing that uses gas or diesel and is really noisy and only shows you about 1/2 of the area that the monorail covered. Being lower, it also gives you a bird's eye view of feeding huts, block walls and chain link fences. They also seem to have dismanteled my favorite part--the "Where's Waldo" with mountain goats. Anyway, they have added cool new lion viewing areas and a balloon ride that soars 400 feet above the park . Only Sami and Doug were courageous enough for that. Danae and I sat in the shade and admired their bravery from the ground. We spent a long morning and afternoon there checking out the bird show, the open area enclosures, and enjoying the jungle ambience of the place.


Danae and Sami Fed nectar to lorikeets in an aviary filled with the colorful flutterers.
To find out more about the cool stuff at the SD Wild Animal Park click on this link http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html

Balloon Ride!!


Lions (Sami got the best lion pics) and tram with cool view of the balloon

The Amigas + G'ma Hit the Beach

After getting a good night's sleep we all decided we needed a day at the beach and a shake from Ruby's at the Oceanside pier. Check out the videos of the girls at the beach on your right.

3 A's Appetizer

Our first day of driving lasted 17 hours! As the only driver in the car mis amigas had to tolerate my griping and moaning about my sore butt and back. They were indulgent and as our reward we got to see the Las Vegas strip at night. (Yes, I drove from Bend all the way to Las Vegas the first day!) A new sight for Sami Who's really never seen the Southwest (She's a Bendite from birth). It was exciting, but crankiness ensued all around as we had to drag bags around Circus, Circus looking for rooms, then drag ourselves around looking for food at midnight. Sami was able to find her way around the hotel better than Danae and I. So, from that point on she became my trusted navigator in strange neighborhoods and out on the highway. She never failed me! As a reward, we ate Krispie Kremes for breakfast. We hit the road again caffeinated and sugared-up, to find our way to Glendale AZ, and The AZ Caviness Clan. They were waiting with open arms, great food, and music. We met up with Doug, Pam, Beth, Becky and Otra (Becky's boyfriend) at the party and shared the blues with the whole gang. Kudos to Mark and Neva Caviness who never fail to put on a fine party. We are looking forward to the Fifth Annual Blues Review. Besure to check my You Tube Video section for a taste of The Caviness Brothers Roadhouse Blues Band.

Along the way we managed to see Hoover Dam, the biggest Joshua trees I've ever seen, and bunches of saguaro cacti. The desert picture here pretty much sums up the view our first couple of days from inside the car. (You all know why dessert has 'ss' and desert has just one 's?' That's how it is with desert pics too. One goes a long way.) Party over---next stop Vista!

Las Tres Amigas Big Adventure

Whew! It was quite a trip! We loaded up My cute new little red Element and headed into (really alongside) the sunrise at 4:00 am on June 14th. The Amigas included me (Ginger), Danae, and our friend Sami (pictured on the left, all of us looking less than our best). Our goal was to do the entire Southwest in two weeks for under $100. Lofty, you say? Right you are. We fell short of our goal, but thanks to my new 4 cylinder car and lots of lovely people who gave us their freebie passes to the Zoo and Wild Animal Park, and those who graciously fed us, we managed to do it for less than you might think. Special thanks go out to Jane Baker, Melissa and Sean, Cathy and Richard, Doug and Pam, and the Arizona Cavinesses for guest pass tix, souvenir purchases, warm welcomes, great food, fun and fine music. My next few posts will be a multi-course banquet of our vacation cut into bite size chunks...eat up!

Stuff We've Done in Portland

Portland skyline with the Willamette River in view. (That's Will-lamb-et for all you south-westerners.)

The water fountains run continuously in Portland. Seeing that made me feel like I'd lived in the book Dune my first 46 years, seemed almost vulgar to me. I guess rivers are pretty decadent too - sending all that perfectly good fresh water to the ocean, unused.








Danae enjoyed doing a "weather report" at OMSI, The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. There was also a pretty cool Cold War era sub docked there in the river as a floating museum.

Mark seems unconcerned about the high voltage as Danae, oblivious to the danger, happily drives the sub.

This is the Rose Garden sports arena. We are standing at the cooling-off area out front. Water jets up out of the ground here and you can run around barefooted if you feel so inclined. It kinda freaked Danae out. But, I loved it!

This is our really cool suite where we had an awesome view of the Lipizzaner Stallions. Thanks to Mark's company and free tix.

Check them out at http://www.lipizzaner.com/