Photoessay #689 - 36 hours

I know, I know, yesterday there was no entry. I had no internet connection at all. When you read the rest of this in my exhausted state, you'll get an idea. But it's good, all good.

We may be old and feeble but Dennis and I did this in the last 36 hours.

After making arrangements for Naomi and Teddy, we left on our way to Eugene, 300 miles south. We did a side trip to Puyallup on the way down to deliver the bid tags to the LadyHawk auction. Then proceeded making a stop at the Kelso Burgerville. Note to self: do not order and drink an entire ice cream milkshake, what were you thinking?

Get to Eugene just at the start of the Oregon/ASU softball game. We asked too late to be on the pass list. Meanwhile, several phone calls with Pam Cook as there plans have changed. Alicia is JV coach at a Eugene high school but head coach is called away so Alicia is coaching varsity and Pam is coaching the JV. We don't quite catch on where they are play8ing. Ducks lose, they make 4 errors in the middle infield, it's pretty ugly . Figure out that the high school ball is at Thurston High School. We vaguely might now where that is. Find it just as I get a call from the Cooks that they are all done.

We start out to their place which is a rural home in some of the most beautiful country in the world. They have horses and cows and just everything out in the country. They get pizza and we finally get there in the dramatic wooded hills between the Willamette Valley and the Pacific Coast. Turns out they are doing respite foster care for a 13 year old boy and this is new to everyone. We eat pizza, make plans and go to bed. Lovely place and feeling. Pictured is the view from the front of their house, get it?

We get up early, Pam even earlier and we make cinimon rolls and prepare the fruit platter. Of we go to the tailgate (The outskirts of Eugene are 16 milers away, the university is on the other side of Eugene. Nice tailgate, we have way too many delivious cinammon rolls.

I chat with Judy of the Daisy Ducks. And I become a Daisy Duck! I don the apron, get the change and the bingo cards and I start selling. I sell $22 worth of bingo cards! It's senior day so very emotional. Ducks again lose to ASU. The outfield is very strong. Sam S pitches a very good game. But the Ducks don't hit well and the infield has it's usual problems.

Afterwards, Pam, their foster teen and I go look for the letterbox by Howe Field. Make the obligatory stop at Prince Pucklers Ice Cream (no trip to Egene is complete, ect). And start up the Willametter Valley.

We go BACK to Puyallup where the auction is now going on. Make it on time for dinner. Buy some random items which one usually does in the early tables. Talk to lots of other folks. The new venue at the Puyallup Fairground is a huge improvement. Wisely leave auction early, drive the last hour home.

All that in 36 hours. We've still got it.....