Thanksgiving 2010......

Not a typical Thanksgiving for us this year. The week before Thanksgiving I spent curled up in a ball writhing in pain with a kidney stone. After trying some internet remedies and taking one of my last pain pills, Lorelei laid her hands on me and prayed. I closed my eyes on that Friday night and figured that on Saturday I would have no choice but to check into the hospital. I awoke the next morning pain free and have been so since.

During the same week I got a call early one morning and my dad told me that my grandma had passed away during the night. It was not unexpected but it's always a blow to lose a loved one. My beautiful grandma was 95.

On Saturday the 21st my dad called to tell me the services for Grandma would be on Wed. in southern CA. My first thought was to drive so as not to be under the control of the TSA in case I had trouble with a kidney stone. But the weather for Oregon and northern CA was looking cold and icy so Lorelei went on the hunt for a deal to fly down.

So Tuesday morning we awoke to a frozen winter wonderland here in the northwest. Reports of icy roads on the radio prompted me to wake Lorelei earlier than anticipated in case we ran into trouble on the way to the airport. We loaded up and headed out before daylight. We actually made good time with only a few slow downs. We had plenty of time to relax at the airport and grab a bite to eat before boarding our plane.

Because of the storm there were some really cool cloud formations.

We flew into LAX, picked up a rental car and made our way through horrendous traffic to our hotel room in Orange CA. I still can't figure out where 6 stop and go lanes of people could possibly be going at 3:00 on a Tuesday afternoon?

On Wednesday morning we got up and drove to Laguna Hills to have breakfast with Lorelei's sister Penny.

The service for Grandma was Wednesday afternoon and what a wonderful service it was. Grandma was loved by all and there were many tears of joy and sorrow as we remembered her life. After the services we went to my aunt's for fellowship and dinner.
Below my aunt Cheryl and friends.

My aunt Jeanette and my cousin Mary Jo

Add Lorelei and I to the mix and you get the pic below.

Okay from L to R Lorelei, Glynn Jr., Cheryl, Bob, Jeanette, Glynn Sr., Franci and Mary Jo!

Mary Jo's husband Kevin was kind enough to take most of the pictures of all the family. Thanks Kevin!

Thanksgiving morning saw us roll out of bed early to make our way back to the airport. Our schedule was to fly out of LAX at around 12:30 to Seattle then a 3 hour layover and back to Portland arriving around 7:00 p.m! So our Thanksgiving meal this year was a pizza at the airport. We still stopped and said grace thanking the Lord for all that is ours. It wasn't the Thanksgiving that we had planned but we made the most of it and it was good to see family that we had not seen in some time.

At home we enjoyed the company of our three boys. Adam was home from Portland with his girlfriend Pam. We had missed Jon's birthday on Tuesday so we invited Jon's girlfriends parents and siblings over for dinner on Saturday night. Corina's mom and dad had all of our boys over for Thanksgiving and it was such a comfort knowing they were well taken care of in our absence. We had a great meal and good fellowship.

Glynn Jr.

Mt. Shasta?

Last Saturday Lorelei and I got in the Expedition and headed south not really sure where we were going to end up. I needed to pick some parts up from my dad and he was going to head north with them. We took off about noon. My dad and Franci didn't begin driving north until about 7:30 that evening. The plan was to meet somewhere halfway.

We stopped in Grants Pass for dinner and although Lorelei had seen a billboard earlier about an Applebees there, we were not able to find it so we settled for Denny's. We DO NOT recommend the Denny's in Grants Pass! Onward we went through the many curvy sections of I5 that take you through the mountainous southern part of our state. It was raining off and on but that's not unusual for November in Oregon!

Crossing the border and on into California, it was nearing 8:00 o-clock and the next big town would be Redding about an hour away. We had a bad hotel experience in Redding a few years back and Lorelei was not looking forward to that being our stopping point for the night. Just about that time we were passing the town of Mt. Shasta and the sign before the off ramp had a Best Western listed. I said "hey how about here" before I finished the sentence Lorelei said "Ok".

We checked in to a beautiful place with lodge type furnishings and a real log fire burning in the lobby. We decided to go for a walk so we put on an extra sweatshirt. We went across the street to a very nice little market that looked closed from the outside but once inside was bright and well stocked. I must have counted ten or twelve people working in this market and only one other customer at 9:00 o-clock on Saturday night. Lorelei got some lunch meat and some bread to make us some sandwiches for the next day. We walked around the small shopping center that included an auto parts, bank, Radio Shack, cinema and a hardware store that had fishing gear! I told Lorelei, you know you are in the right place when the hardware store has a huge fishing gear section.

We tried calling home but we had no cell service. We had talked to Cody earlier in the day and he was all set and Jon was going to be home after 8:00 from work so we were not too worried. I was a little worried however that I really needed to talk to my dad first thing in the morning to find out where they were and how far we needed to travel to meet up with them.

As usual I woke up and looked at the clock and it was 4:30. I ran through the different scenarios in my head. How far had my dad and Franci drove. Do I need to just get up and drive south, meet them and then come back for Lorelei? Could I wait a couple of hours and then Lorelei and I both head south? I decided to go find cell service and try calling. I waited unit almost 5:30 before rolling out of bed and telling Lorelei the plan.

So I get this brilliant idea (sometimes I get these) maybe I could get some pictures of sunrise with Mt. Shasta in the foreground! Trouble is, I wasn't sure where Mt. Shasta was. Yes I was in the town by the same name but it was dark when we pulled in and it was still dark when I threw my camera gear in the truck and headed out. When I got to the main intersection it looked like heading east was at least going up hill and if I could get high enough I could get cell service. So east it was and yes it was going up! After about 10 miles the road began to look and feel different? Hmmm.....what's that on the road. About the same time I looked over at the side of the road and in the darkness there was snow on the ground, so what was on the road was ice! I slowed down and in the beginning glow of the morning I rounded a corner and realized where Mt. Shasta was. I was on it! Well so much for getting a picture of sunrise with Mt. Shasta in the foreground.

I finally found a spot where I had service and pulled over and called my dad. They were going by Lake Shasta! Wow they had driven all night with just a nap break. They met up with us at the hotel as we were finishing breakfast. Lorelei and I went back to the room and got ready to leave while my dad and Franci ate. We then loaded up the parts and let them use the room for the rest of the morning to get some much needed rest.

Lorelei and I headed out to do a little sightseeing and begin the drive back home. We drove up to the highest point we could on Mt. Shasta where they had the road closed. The peak of the mountain was shrouded in clouds so we didn't get a good picture of it.

We found this really cool old bridge near Rogue River and stopped to take some pictures.

We had a fun drive and got to see a few new sights!  A few more pictures are HERE

Glynn Jr.

Otis cafe and Cody's school pictures.......

Last Friday, Lorelei and I were over at the coast again fishing and having a great time. We loaded the boat at nearly dark and as usual it was time to figure out what to do about dinner. Usually we head south on 101 into Lincoln City and grab a bite, but I suggested to save some time that we could head for home and pick up something at Dairy Queen which is only about 20 minutes from our house. Lorelei agreed and we headed east right by the Otis Cafe just like we have done a hundred times in the past 16 years of living here. When we passed by I even said something about how good the food is supposed to be there. Well about 10 minutes down the road we saw sirens and lights....uh oh.....yep an accident and a bad one. We waited for a few minutes and someone came by and said that it would be a 2 hour delay! Wow....the only other way to get home would add about an hour to our normal one hour trip.

So I say to Lorelei, "we can turn around and eat at the Otis Cafe and wait for the wreck to clear". She says "Ok but how are you going to turn around with the boat on behind?". No problem says I as I crank the wheel to the left and gas it. Well the shoulder of the west bound lane was a little softer than I had figured (not a major miscalculation because of course I had a plan B). So as the right front tire of the truck begins to sink and slide off the road, Lorelei makes some sort of comment questioning my decision making. Not a problem says I as I reach down and put the truck into 4 wheel drive. I get back on the gas and thankfully I feel the tires grab and back up on the road we go. Hey I said " we are on an adventure right?". Sometimes I think Lorelei doesn't appreciate adventure like I do.

So back to the Otis Cafe . Now if you ever want to step back in time then this is the place for you. This place looks much like it did back in the 30's when it was built. Inside there are 4 booths and 2 tables plus seats at the bar. The food was great! The service was good and the company of my fishing partner was even better.
Lorelei got a burger and salad and I had the full breakfast with eggs, hash browns and homemade bread. Lorelei topped off her meal with homemade pumpkin pie and I had the fresh cinnamon roll. Wow was I stuffed. As we were finishing up we could see the line of cars coming from the east that signaled the wreck must be cleared. So we got in the rig and headed east with full bellies and another great memory.


 Then on Sunday between rain showers we convinced Cody (ok I think Lorelei bribed him) to dress up and let us take his school pictures. Below is one that I took.

Below is one of Lorelei's

You can see all of them HERE
That's about all for now.

Glynn Jr.

November already!

Wow....can't believe how the time is flying. The boys are all doing well. Adam is still living in Portland and we have not seen him for several weeks now. He works full time and is working hard at his music. Jon is going to school, working and is still very active with his church activities so even though he lives at home we don't see him much. He is traveling this Friday to Seattle Pacific University to sit in on some classes and to meet with the track coach. He is thinking about transferring there next year.

Cody is doing well in the 7th grade and working hard at music and chess. He has a concert tonight.

Lorelei and I spent Saturday over on the coast and we covered a lot of ground searching for salmon! We stopped at 4 different rivers and scouted. We fished two of the rivers with no luck. Although we did find this awesome fish and chips place in Lincoln City where we ate dinner after our long day of traveling. We will try again this week for the ever elusive salmon!

I will have more pictures next time. If you want to see all of the October pictures they are HERE

Glynn Jr.