Day 17 - The hiccup gods will not be mocked

Apparently I spoke a skosh too soon about my triumph over the hiccups. They only reappeared once yesterday, but I'm pretty sure it was a warning to let me know that even though I may have won the battle, the war rages on.

In other bizarre health-related news: Guess who has pinkeye? Aw, don't be jealous. Since WebMD has become my new favorite website this week, here's what it has to say about my current predictament.

We had a lovely time last evening visiting with our family in western New York. Several of us gathered at our historic family cottage in Lily Dale (click the link if you want to know more from Wikipedia, 'cause I'm not going to go into it here.) "Our" cottage is the oldest one on the grounds, over a hundred years old, and does not have electricity. Remarkably, it's even more quaint than it is musty.

The outside of the cottage (not sure exactly what Alice is doing out front):



Cousins in the living/dining room area (that is 8-year-old Katie in the foreground). The lamps on the wall run on kerosene, hence the tubes leading to them.



The fridge and stove also run on kerosene, but you can't see either of them in this picture of the kitchen. If you look, however, you'll spot an honest-to-goodness washboard.



Laura, Ana Rose and yours truly. Guess which one of us is about to turn one year old!



Many among the assembled company, though sadly not all, went from Lily Dale to meet up with more of our family just off Lake Chautauqua, at a restaurant called the Hot Fish Shop. I kind of wish we'd gotten a picture of the sign or the menu so I could verify the fact of that stellar nominclature, but I'll trust that you'll believe I wouldn't make it up. It was awesome! Here we are having a good time.





Lest you wonder, my mom served as photographer for all of these shots, which is why she is not in any of them. But she was there, and we even let her eat and everything.

I believe a good time was had by all, or at least by me. And then, in the night, my eye started hurting and got all goopy. Ew. Well, such is the yin and yang of life. I spent most of today feeling pretty crappy and lying low, while Mom and Dad were out selling stuff out of the garage. If anyone else happened to watch those two movies on TNT this afternoon starring Noah Wyle, I want to assure you that they did *not* provide accurate depictions of life as a librarian.


Tomorrow I'll go to church for the first time in three weeks! I hope I remember how. In closing, to quote Dr. Dog, "Don't scratch your bum and suck your thumb." Or rub your eye, for that matter.


EDIT: It has been called to my attention that the lights and appliances at the Lily Dale cottage run on natural gas, and not kerosene. Whoops. It still smells kind of funny when the lights are running. Thanks to Mom for the correction!

Day 16 - Free at last (from the hiccups)

It can be slightly humorous to have the hiccups--for a while. Mine started yesterday while Mom and I were toodling around Corry, doing errands. Thing is, they would stop for a while, and then start again. I think I ended up having more than 10 separate hiccup episodes (or "hiccupisodes," if you will) over the course of the day. By 11 pm, *REALLY* not funny anymore.

In case you're wondering what causes hiccups (I was, particularly after yesterday), here's what WebMD has to say on the subject. It's actually less definitive than I would have expected, but better than the Wikipedia article.

Anywho, our first stop in Corry was the public library, to pick up their copy of Fanny Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I read this back in the early 90's, before the movie came out, and then started it again at P & G's for bedtime reading (thanks, Claudia!) Since it's written in little chunks, and I had read it previously, it seemed like a good choice to pick up and put down again before leaving Vancouver. However, I discovered that once I got into it again, I wanted to re-read the whole thing. God bless the public library!

Speaking of reading, FGTatWSC is my third book for this vacation. I finished Garlic and Sapphires in Sunriver (two enthusiastic thumbs up), and before I was able to get to the Corry Library, I also started and finished The Mozart Season, by Virginia Euwer Wolff. I have read and enjoyed several of her books in the past, most notably Make Lemonade. My Aunt Nanci, who until her retirement was an elementary school teacher and School Media Specialist (that's education-ese for "school librarian"), had thought it might interest me, since it takes place in Portland and that's where I just was. It was quite delightful. Plus, I love those juvenile fiction novels that have fewer than 300 pages and can be finished in a single day!

This afternoon, we are finishing up preparations for tomorrow's garage sale. We have been going through stuff for the past few days, and let me tell you, there are some real treasures available. And I mean that only semi-sarcastically. Seriously, there are some cool things, a few of which are coming back with me to Tennessee. If you happen to be in the area tomorrow morning/afternoon, you should stop by. I don't necessarily advocate making a long road trip or hopping a flight to get inthe area, but hey, I'm not the boss of you.

Later today, M & D & I will be heading north to western New York, to meet up for dinner with a bunch of cousins from all over. I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone--the occasion may even merit a few slow-dialup-upload-worthy photographs.

Finally, Zoe wins the prize for noticing in the race pictures that the gentleman with the number immediately before mine finished shortly before I did (see Sunday photos, below). To quote Kristen on the subject, "I guess when you are learning your numbers, you are on the look out for them."

Day 15 - Kristen is my blog hero

Thanks to Kristen, who very kindly uploaded the pictures from my last few days in Oregon directly to my Photobucket account, I can now recount for you (with illustrations!) our activities from the first part of this week.

So after the race on Sunday, we each grabbed a quick shower, and then we were off for parts west. We stopped in Madras for some tasty grub at the Black Bear Diner, and boy howdy, do they ever take their theme seriously.

We arrived at Papa and Gorgeous's around 4 pm, and just about had time to unpack the car and avail ourselves of the comfort facilities before heading back out to Uncle Eric and Aunt Dawn's, 15 minutes away in Portland. We were meeting up with them with the goal of collectively dining at Portland's Montage, which opens its doors at 6 pm to a line of waiting diners (but does not take reservations).

Once at the Montage, one of the first things we ordered were oyster shooters (I mean, how could I not?) Two each for Eric, Nick, Kristen and yours truly. Immediately upon our ordering, the waiter hollered to the kitchen, "EIGHT OYSTERS!" Boy, was he loud. But boy, were they ever good. I couldn't even control my enthusiasm long enough to pose for a proper photo. (Yes, I am still sporting the wristband from that morning's race.)


In spite of some order mix-ups, our food was very yummy. Zoe just had rice, but she liked it very well nevertheless.


One of the unique things about the Montage is that they wrap your leftovers in aluminum foil formed into the shape of animals. The remainder of Nick's amazing mac-n-cheese came in the shape of a squirrel. Then, when Z wanted her rice wrapped up, as well, the server who brought it back to the table remarked, "You know what eats squirrels? SNAKES." An epic battle ensued, much to the dismay of Uncle Eric.



Back at Eric and Dawn's, we enjoyed their lovely backyard. Zoe chased chickens and Uncle Eric built a fire for our comfort in the chilly evening air. Yes, that is a blowtorch he is using in the 2nd picture.



The next day was Monday, and while we got a bit of a late start, we were still able to hit some of Portland's hot spots. First stop was the carousel:


After a nice walk past some of P-town's interesting shops (one was a kids' clothing store called "Duck Duck Goose," which Z appreciated) and a yummy pizza lunch, we made our way to legendary Powell's Bookstore. The rumors are true--it does, indeed, take up an entire city block. Wow, that's a lot of books! There were lots of cool things to browse, but sadly, constraints of time, finances, and suitcase space limited my purchases. Kristen did snap this outside in front of one of the cool bookstack pillars, though.


Sometime in the last few weeks, a lovely little Siamese kitty gave birth to four adorable babies somewhere in the vicinity of Papa and Gorgeous's backyard, and all five are currently pleasantly ensconced in Ray's woodshed out back. There are two mostly-black kittens, and two lightish ones with dark markings. They are more cute than should be permissable by law. It is awesome to have these photos to remember their cuteness by, but sadly, no picture could really do them justice. There was much discussion about their possible relocation to Sunriver and/or Nashville--but for the moment, they are still at P & G's.



That sums up many of the highlights of the last part of my journey to the northwest! There are some things to report from today, but since this is already so long, I think I will hold off another day before reporting the latest from Sparty.

I will, however, take a moment to ask if anyone knows any reliable hiccup remedies? I've had them about eight times today, and not only is it no longer remotely comedic, but it's really starting to hurt.

Day 14 - Spartansburg, PA

Not too much to report today. I slept for about twelve hours before I got up this (barely) morning, and I can't say that I've done a whole lot since then.

Kristen sent me a whole bunch of pictures from my last few days in Oregon, but I think I'm going to need to wait to post them until I find someplace with wireless access. Which may not be for a while. Hmmmm. Until then, I guess you'll have to use your imagination.

It is very hot and humid in Pennsylvania compared with Oregon--but not, I gather, as bad as it's been in Nashville. Everything's relative.

Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back on a somewhat normal sleep schedule, and will have something to write. Until then, happy Wednesday!

Day 13 - PDX > LAS

(That's a mathematical equation.)

Am back at the Portland airport, preparing to depart for parts east. This is a much nicer airport than Las Vegas, also featuring free WiFi, along with better shops, wider concourses, and nicer carpet.

It is still quite early local time (5:46 am PDT), so I don't have too much to say at this point. There are a whole bunch of photos to show you from the past couple of days, but Kristen and I decided it would be better to upload them over the Sunriver WiFi rather than Papa's dialup.

Here are a few more photos from Sunday. Nick and I before the race:


And Nick finishing. Notice that he finished significantly before I did.



One more thing I forgot to tell you about the excellence of the Portland airport--the restrooms feature these special commodes that have two different flush settings. To conserve water, you push the toilet handle up for #1 (liquid waste), or down for #2 (solid waste). My favorite part about this is that the explanatory signage actually uses the terms "#1" and "#2"! Hilarious *and* eco-friendly.

I'm finishing this entry from the free WiFi in the Phoenix airport. BNA, if you're reading this, you need to get on the ball.

More soon!

Day 11 - 43:58 (unofficial time)

Look, mom--I'm an athlete!

The race was lots of fun, and I didn't even want to die!

Only a few minutes to write this morning--we're getting all packed up and heading out of Sunriver, on our way to Papa and Gorgeous's. Not sure what Internet access will be like over the next few days, but I'm sure I will have more to report (including my *official* time) the next time I post.

Day 10 - Lazy Day

Not too much to report from today. We watched runners from a variety of today's events (full and half marathons, tri- and duathlons) pass by on the path behind the house just before they approached the finish line, but apart from going across the street for dinner ingredients at the grocery, didn't venture too far out.

I did finish the mini-poncho I've been working on for Z, out of yarn she picked out in Bend earlier this week--but we couldn't pursuade her to pose for a photo in it. Maybe tomorrow.

Nick and I are gearing up for the big race tomorrow--next time I write, it will be all over! As long as I finish, I'll be happy.

Tonight is my last night in Sunriver. The time certainly has flown by. I will be sad to leave, but am very excited (as are we all) about dinner at the Montage in Portland tomorrow night!

Day 9 - Kidstuff

The day opened with the inaugural use of the "real," 100% wool and thus very thermally-efficient Coffee Cozy (patent pending). It kept the coffee warm for about two hours after brewing. Order yours now!

Kristen had a hair appointment and Nick had a meeting this morning, so Z and I played games while they were out. Learning the rules to "Sizzling Sausages" was definitely a high point--I mean, how could a board game involving meat not be?

We ladies headed into Bend to McMenamin's for a very yummy lunch. If you're not familiar with McMenamin's, there are a bunch of them and they're pretty cool--they take old churches, schools, etc., and convert them into pubs and clubs. Check out their website if you're interested in finding out more. K and I ordered their Ruby Ale, which is made with a whole mess of raspberries (and looks like pink grapefruit juice), and I got carded! It was pretty exciting.

After lunch, we headed down the block to the main branch of the Deschutes Public Library. They have a really fun kids' section.

Please note that Z and I are the only ones wearing underwear, only I have socks, and there is nary a jammy nor glove among the lot of us.

K & N subscribe to Sirius satellite radio, and we listened to their "Kidstuff" channel in the car going to and from Bend. Speaking of ursine attire, we need to figure out a way to get that song on the radio, since it's way better than some of the stuff they're playing. But furthermore, I've been thinking a lot about what it might be like to pursue kids' music myself as a "next step," at least part time. One of my most favorite-ist things is singing with kids, and maybe someone would be willing to pay me to do it. After all, I'm the only one Zoe will let sing to her, so I figure that must count for something. Any thoughts or suggestions any of you have about this are extremely welcome--feel free to e-mail me with any feedback.

As I'm typing this, Kristen and I are enjoying some delicious Spanish Coffee. I won't go into the recipe here (Kristen is willing to e-mail it to any and all takers), but part of it involves fire! Life is very exciting here in the Beaver State. I'm trying to suck the marrow out of my last three days here.

Day 8 - What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Some photographic proof of today's extremely erudite pursuits:




I started seeing that photo of Paul McCartney at Starbucks promoting his new album several weeks ago. My first thought was, "What the heck were they thinking?" I mean, he looks so stupid. Don't get me wrong--I'm a huge Beatles fan. I'm even a big Paul fan--even though I think he's made some questionable choices in his personal life. But seriously, that picture is ridiculous. Thus prompting the plan Kristen and I hatched up. Ready your printers and double-sided tape.

Okay, so it's not highbrow. But we still think it would be hilarious if this word balloon started appearing on the front doors of Starbuckses all over the nation. The ball's in your court, America . . .

In other news, we had a great lunch at Cafe Sintra this afternoon. One of their specialties is gazpacho, and it is really, really good. Zoe didn't eat very much, but she had fun playing on the little hill just off the patio.


There are three big sporting events here at Sunriver this weekend: In addition to the Pacific Crest track event Nick and I are running in, there are also golf and tennis tournaments. It's already starting to get pretty crowded, but we're prepared to hunker down for the next few days. We've got plenty of canned goods, bottled water and WiFi, so we'll be just fine.

Day 7 - Frequently Asked Questions, Part II: OysterGirl

Q: So, what's with all this "OysterGirl" stuff, anyway?
A: When I was small, my grandfather worked for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania out of Harrisburg. Whenever we went to visit my grandparents at their apartment in nearby Camp Hill, we always ate at a restaurant called the Iron Kettle. My usual dinner was six oysters on the half shell, which I did not realize until many years later was not usual fare for a three-year old. On one visit, I ordered my usual dinner and was informed that they were out of oysters. This turn of events was completely incomprehensible to me--after all, the whole point of a restaurant is that you order what you want, and they bring it to you! I was apparently quite upset.

Upon our next visit to Camp Hill, my grandma called the restaurant in the afternoon to make sure that some oysters were kept in reserve for me. And as the story goes, the staff posted a sign in the kitchen reading, "Save some oysters for the Oyster Girl!"

In the name's more recent relevance, I have adopted it as the "label" for my knitting projects. Each piece has a pearl(-ish) bead knitted into it. Custom orders welcome!

After summer school today, we all headed up to Paulina Lake Lodge for lunch and a visit to the lovely surroundings. The lodge is pretty tiny and reminded us out of something from "Northern Exposure." It's known for the homemade cobbler, which did not disappoint (we had blueberry). Neither did the mountain or the lake.



We also stopped and looked over the scenery on our way down the mountain. "Wow" would be an appropriate term.

That's about it for today. Another great dinner prepared by Kristen and Nick. It's going to be hard to get used to cooking for myself again once I get home!

Has anyone seen that picture of Paul McCartney that's been up all over Starbucks for the past month or so, advertising his new album? Kristen and I have hatched up a plan around it, but I don't want to reveal the plan until I can share the photo itself. So if you can find the image online and e-mail it to me, I'll be ever so grateful!

Day 6 - Frequently Asked Questions, Part I: About my trip

Q: How long are you traveling?
A: I left Nashville on Thursday, June 14 for Oregon. On Tuesday the 26th I fly from Portland to Cleveland, where my parents will pick me up and bring me back to Pennsylvania. I return to Tennessee soil on Monday, July 9, assuming that Paul has successfully held it in place for me. (And not that you asked, but "Big Stuff Moving Day" is scheduled for the following Saturday, July 14!)

Q: How and why are you away from home for almost a month?
A: In a nutshell, my last day of employment at Midtown Fellowship was Tuesday, June 5. This turn of events was not one that had really been anticipated by me, and while adjusting to the change has not been easy, the change itself is both good and right. The situation is complicated and difficult to explain, particularly in writing into the void of cyberspace, but the upshot is that very little (maybe 15%) of my job at Midtown brought me joy, and that's not very much. And there were some parts that I really hated. Midtown and I both deserve better.

Anyway, when I was suddenly and unexpectedly unemployed, it seemed like a good time to go visit my good friends in Oregon, and my family in Pennsylvania. I had already planned to be at my parents' for the first week in July, so I just extended the trip forward about three weeks. In addition to spending time with loved ones who I've known and have known me for many years, this trip is an opportunity for some space and reflection, thinking and listening in order to answer the question What's next?

More answers to your questions tomorrow! And now, the news:

My "run" with Nick this morning was not as successful as I would have hoped--I mostly ended up walking, and had a little asthma trouble for the first time in many years. Nevertheless, I decided to go ahead and register for the Pacific Crest 5K on Sunday. The start is only a quarter mile from the front door here, so it's unlikely that I'll ever have a more convenient opportunity for a first running event--even if I don't do all that much running.

Kristen, Zoe and I rode bikes (Z in the trailer) over to the Sunriver Nature Center this afternoon. It was a little bit of a struggle for me at first, as it was my first time on a bike in over twenty years (!), but I eventually got the hang of it and avoided causing injury to myself or anyone else.



The Nature Center has different indoor displays about the local wildlife, as well as indigenous animals and plants immediately outside the building. We went into the newly opened Bug Barn, but the only insects we saw were outside of it. We learned that the prairie dogs we had been seeing were actually ground squirrels (prairie dogs are much bigger), but weren't able to spot the disabled eagle that lives on the grounds.

Next, we biked back towards the house and stopped off at Goody's ice cream. Kristen had a root beer float, Zoe had a dish of vanilla, and I had a homemade cone of Almond Joy. OH MY GOSH, was it ever good.

It has been discovered that the French press cozy featured in yesterday's blog has additional uses:

In closing, I am borrowing and reading Kristen's copy of Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires this week. It is so great that the only reason I can put it down is out of sheer physical exhaustion. If you like good food and/or good books, I highly recommend it.

Day 5 - Summer School & Bend

Nick, Papa and I walked Zoe to her first day of summer school this morning, shortly before Papa and Gorgeous headed back home to Vancouver. Their departure is, of course, sad--however, we aren't despairing too much, since we'll see them again in less than a week.

While Z partied her brains out with the other preschoolers, I started my first Sunriver knitting project. Kristen had mentioned that her brother and sister-in-law have a "cozy" to go over their French press that keeps it warm for hours afterward, so I decided to use some of the yarn I brought with me to make up a prototype. Here's the finished product:



We picked Zoe up from school, and the four of us headed over to Bend for lunch and errands. First stop was a lovely knitting store called Juniper Fiberworks, with an equally lovely proprietress who for some reason thought I was a local. Hmm. She had a sign on the door advertising for knitting instructors, and while I don't think that would be a good enough reason to relocate, it did pique my interest for possible avenues to pursue in Nashvegas. We bought some lovely brown wool to make the actual French press cozy, as well as some sparkly pink for a purpose TBD (guess who picked that out?)

Our delightful lunch was at Longboard Louie's, which features two different kinds of fish tacos (halibut and salmon) as well as shrimp ones. Of course, if I were four and could get away with it, I might have only had a huge order of fries--but since I'm not and I can't, I tried the salmon taco with two giant sides of rice and beans. Yummy!



Back in Sunriver, I broke two fingernails pushing Zoe and some other kids on this giant cone-shaped merry-go-round thingy at the park--but it was totally worth the sacrifice. Z got to be pals with three-year old Kylie, who was very sweet and addressed me as "Zoe's mom" (to which Z responded, "Her name is MISS LYNN!")

Nick mapped out the route for this weekend's 5K for me today, and we're going to run it in the morning (Nick will run, and I will try to keep up). If it's not too horrifying, I'm planning on registering for the event itself. Wish me luck!

Day 4 - The Trout House/Quail Run Golf Course

Happy Father's Day to all, paternally-oriented or not! I did go out for a run this morning as planned--or, should I say, a "run-ish." My knees started to hurt, so I did more speed-walking than I did actual running. However, I still made it back to the house in about 45 minutes, so not too shabby. It was beautiful out, sunny and cool. The only slight hitch was the yahoo driving his car (!) on the pedestrian/bike path.

We had a lovely brunch at Sunriver's Trout House. It was tough to decide what to order off the menu, but I finally decided to live up to my name and get the pan-fried oysters. They were so delicious that I can't even think of anything remotely clever to say about them.



Poor Claudia left hungry after her teensy weensy Cobb salad.


And now we interrupt this blog for a brief quiz: How many gainfully employed individuals are pictured below?



Answer: Zero! Isn't that the happiest bunch of unemployed folks you've ever seen? (Although Zoe is apparently ashamed to be seen with us.)


Upon returning home I briefly considered passing out, but opted instead to accompany Papa Ray on his Father's Day golfing to Quail Run, about 15 minutes away from Sunriver. The course was much more sparsely populated than we had anticipated, which suited us just fine. I got to drive the cart!



Papa Ray is so even-tempered that he may tee off, but he never gets "teed off." Yuk yuk yuk.



Golf may be a "good walk spoiled," but it's hard to spoil a walk surrounded by these mountains.




We got behind a slower group, which was not a problem since we weren't in a hurry. Papa used some of the time to fish errant balls out of a water hazard.

Papa and I decided that a good way for us to spend our time would be to open up our own brewery (you following this, Davey B.?) Names current up for discussion are "L & R's", "Southpaw" (since like whining weenie Phil Mickelson, we both golf left-handed), and "Yar".

A slight correction to yesterday's entry: the supposed longest runway is not the one in Sunriver, but Redmond, OR. Although there is some skepticism about this factoid, but since it came from Papa Ray and we are now BFF (apologies to KG and Andy O.), far be it from me to refute it.

Lastly but certainly not leastly, thanks to everyone who's been reading and e-mailing me! I'm going to try and respond to your questions later this week.

Day 3 - Sunriver Sunfest Wine Festival

We couldn't have custom-ordered a more perfect day for today's wine festival here in Sunriver. Sunny and breezy, with low humidity, and samples of the wares from some of Oregon's finest vintners. What a delightful bunch of folks.

Of course, the day didn't start with us boozin' it up . . . um, I mean SAMPLING THE PRODUCTS OF LOCAL AGRICULTURE. Kristen and Nick took me on a walk around some of Sunriver, including along the nation's longest runway (according to Papa Ray) and through the elaborate Sunriver Lodge. I'm planning on getting up to go running for the first time in about a week tomorrow, so I wanted to scout out the trails ahead of time and minimize the chance of getting lost.

In other central Oregon trivia, the Apollo astronauts preparing for moon missions did field geology training in these parts. Who knew? (Well, Nick did--and now you and I do, too.)

Upon our return from touring the grounds, Zoe's imagination transformed herself and her duvet into a bear and its cave (respectively). Given this turn of events, I was forced to serenade her with "Bears" from Slugs, Bugs and Lullabies by Misters Goodgame and Peterson (do yourself a favor and check it out if you haven't already). Little was I, or any of the rest of us in the house, to know that would be the first out of four hundred repetitions of the song over the course of the day. Oh, well--could have been much worse. Still, after that, we were ready to trek the 80 yards out to the fermented grapes!

Here I am with Papa Ray. This is not the first sample of the day for either of us.

More fantastic food tonight, courtesy of Kristen, Gorgeous and Grillmaster Nick. I could get used to living like this.

Day 2 - Portland/Bend/Sunriver

One more airport reflection: Is there any surface on earth that is free from the blight of advertising? When I was a kid, I got used to seeing ads on grocery carts. In my young adulthood, I discovered them inside bathroom stalls at restaurants and bars. Surrounded at every turn, on cars driving down the highway or t-shirts walking the other way in the mall, I feel like I spend every day drowning in a flood of marketing.

Yesterday, for the first time, I was exposed to advertising in a place where I never thought I'd see it. You know those bins that you put laptops, shoes and jackets in to be scanned through airport security? Yup, they're putting ads in the bottom of those now. Score one for those geniuses on Madison Avenue--*evil* geniuses, that is.

I arrived in Oregon safe and sound yesterday afternoon, shaken but not stirred by the descent into Portland. The plane touched ground just in time, right after I'd reached for the turbulence-induced "comfort bag" (there's a euphemism if I ever heard one). Claudia and Ray were there to meet me at the airport, and brought me across the bridge, just north into lovely Vancouver, Washington.

After quick stops this morning at the two Joes' (farm stand and Trader), we set off on the 3+ hour drive to Sunriver, Oregon. The day started cool, got cooler and wetter as we ascended Mt. Hood, then got sunnier and hotter as we entered the central Oregon desert. We met up with Kristen, Nick and Zoe at the Deschutes Brewery in Bend for lunch, where the "Extra Special Burger" is not just hyberbole. After lunch, I got to ride in the red Beetle with Zoe and Nick (he drove), and Zoe showed me her volcano on the way to Sunriver.

There's a wine festival practically right outside the front door here this weekend, and we walked around to watch the set up in progress this afternoon. The inflatable kids' thing was already up and running, and after some initial complications (many thanks to 3½ year old Zane, who came to the rescue), Zoe had lots of fun climbing and sliding.



After which, Zoe and I had a raccoon vs. bear race (she won.)



Kristen and Claudia prepared us a wonderful dinner, served in the open air on the deck. Zoe demonstrated that raccoon racing is not the only thing she excels at.



She's pretty much my hero. If I were to spend every day between now and my return to Nashville exactly like today, I would feel like I had gotten more than my time's worth.