Sunday, February 11th., 2024…… Today was our Valentine’s Day outing! We have tickets for the Champagne Brunch River Cruise on the Willamette River in Portland. But we still slept in from our late night last night. We walked and fed the dogs then headed out. We stopped at the Black Bear Diner for breakfast. That was my mistake!! I thought the brunch would be cheese and crackers and sliced meats and such. So, I wanted to eat a good breakfast. Boy, was I wrong! When we got parked we went down to the dock and checked out the boat.
When we boarded, we
saw the buffet.
One side was breakfast and the other was lunch. They even had a carving station! I snacked on sweet breads and tried their pepper bacon and had some fruit but Cat sampled the meats and salads. If we ever do this again we will know not to eat beforehand. Once on the ship, we went to our assigned table and they immediately brought over the OJ and champagne (they refilled our glasses frequently during the 2 hour cruise).
I downloaded apps on
our phones to allow us to hear the narrative on earphones as we cruised the
river. It took several steps to get it going but it was worth it! We learned
about the many residences on the river. This one was on old power plant that
was converted to a mansion!
We also saw and listened to audio
on 10 of the 12 bridges running across the river.
It was a fun, relaxing trip. We
left the ship and made the drive back home. We rested for a couple of hours
before it was time for Cat to head off to her new round dance class. She was
joining Judy for Waltz lessons. For those new to round dancing, they have
different types of moves – waltz is just one of the phases. I hung around the
house until it was time for me to leave. I was early for the new plus class
starting tonight. I would go to angel Lynn, who is interested in learning the
next square dance level. I was able to watch Cat and all the other new dancers
out there learning the steps. They all seemed to be having a good time and Cat
said later that she liked the instructor and was learning from her. After their
lessons ended, Charlotte set up and we got started and Lynn and I went out for
her first lesson. There are 30 calls on the square dance plus list. I don’t
know exactly how many weeks we will be there, but Charlotte taught 8 calls
tonight! I know that Lynn will be going
home and finding those calls on video to help her get them down. After the
class ended, Judy and Lynn went off to the pizza parlor and I went home. Both
Cat and I were tired from our day! We
hit the spa and then went to bed.
Monday, February 12th., 2024…… HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our Great Grandson BRANDYN! He is ten today! Hope you enjoy
your day! Another busy day for us. I
have a dentist appointment this morning and after that, we will drive to the
coast for two nights at the 3 Rivers Casino and Hotel. Our friends, Mike and
Cheryl are frequent flyers there and have free rooms and asked us if we wanted
to go with them. My gambling-addicted wife) just kidding sweetie!) was anxious
to go! It would also be another
Valentine’s day getaway. Kennedy is coming over later to stay here and take
care of the fur babies. I got back from my appointment a little after 10:00am
and shortly after, Mike and Cheryl got here and parked and loaded their luggage
in our car. We made the nice relaxing drive down to Eugene and Mike showed me an
alternate route to avoid going into the city. It was about 71 miles this way. We
got to the casino way too early to check in so we went into the restaurant for
lunch. They have excellent clam chowder! After that, we got our player’s cards
updated and went to the machines. Now you have to know I am the opposite of
Cathye when it comes to gambling. She loves to sit and gamble small amounts on
a machine. I won’t even go into her process – but it is what she loves to do. I
am the opposite. I can sit and gamble but I want to put in larger amounts and win
something worth my time. I just can’t sit there for hours like she can. So,
having a room is perfect for both of us! Mike and Cheryl are like us. Mike gambles a bit, then goes
back to their room to rest and Cheryl stays on the machines. Later in the day, we
got checked in and she headed back down. After that, we all got together for
dinner in the casino. After our meal, they all heard the machines calling them
and headed off for more hours of gambling. I went back to the room and was in
for the evening.
Tuesday, February 13th., 2024…… We got up early and went to breakfast by ourselves. Mike and Cheryl slept in and went down and got donuts. We met up with their friends, Jim and Bev. Turns out Penny also knows them - from her swimming sessions. Small world. We met up with them at Moe’s for lunch and then went to walk on the beach.
The weather was wonderful! The sun was shining and it was nice and warm.
Cat took off her shoes and waded into the ocean but quickly came out saying, “it
is freezing!” We got back to the hotel
and went back in to play the slots for a bit. We weren’t hungry so we waited
until later to go eat pizza. After that, we all went to the kiosk where they
told me about the slots called Deal or No Deal. I watched for a while and it
was just like the game. You have to spin the wheels and hit ‘Deal” to show the
next level. Depending on your wager, the prizes on the board go up
incrementally. Cathye got to the board and the largest prize was $60.00. You
have to choose your briefcase and then 6 more. Then the bank offers you a deal
based on the amounts left. You want to eliminate the little ones and then you
get a bigger offer. Cathye took the deal and got $40.00. I started playing the
machine next to hers. She hit it again and won another $40.00. I finally hit it
and kept saying no deal and only got out $25.00. There was a lady on the other
machine in that kiosk that was betting $3.00 a bet and her jackpot was
$2100.00. She quit and took the deal and won $451.00. Not too bad. But I was
done and went back to the room and rested and watched tv.
Wednesday, February 14th., 2024…… HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!! We were up and out of the room before 10:00am and the plan was to eat breakfast with the others
and then head home. We met up with everyone and
had a nice meal. It was hard but Cat (and Cheryl) walked by the machines and we
checked out and headed home. We drove north up the coast on Highway 101 all the
way to Newport before turning east to head home. It is 120 miles this way but
we got to see some nice scenery driving up the coast. We stopped by a Dairy Queen and had a snack and
got home around 2:30pm. It was a fun weekend. Neither of us won. Cheryl said
she was about even. Both Jim and Bev said they weren’t really gamblers and only
played a little while they were there. Mike
was losing until he turned into the big winner when he hit a slot yesterday
evening for $997.00! Not a bad payout! They
headed off to pick up their grandkids from school before heading back to their
home. A fun outing! We unpacked and relaxed for the rest of the day and caught
up on some of our taped shows before hitting the spa and then calling it a
night.
Thursday, February 15th., 2024…… Back to reality - and the rains! We went out and walked the girls anyway.
After we fed them, we headed off to the gym. We went to Kristi’s for our usual
breakfast and then came back home. An hour later, Cat left to drop the dogs off
at the groomer. Then it was my turn to leave. We had massage appointments today
and I went first. Cathye picked up the dogs and then went later. When she was
done, she went next door and picked up teriyaki for dinner. We relaxed and
enjoyed the evening and watched tv until spa and bed.
Friday, February 16th., 2024…… The rains let up this morning. That
was good because I had to be out on the road by 6:30am! Today was my appointment to have the satellite
dish on the motorhome worked on. I got coffee and headed out and moved the
coach out of the garage. I had some issues with the steps not closing but that’s
a job for another day. I got going and made the 40 mile drive down to Bish’s RV
in Junction City. Meanwhile, Cat walked and fed the dogs. She would be on the
road after that, heading down to meet up with me. I checked in and was only in
the waiting room for 2-3 minutes before she showed up. She was able to take the
shortest road to Bish’s where I took I5 to stay on the highways when I could.
We left there and drove 5 minutes to Prairie Schooner in Eugene for breakfast.
We had a nice relaxing meal and still hadn’t heard back from them so we went
over to St. Vincent Thrift store to kill some time. Cat dropped me off and went
home and I went back to the waiting room. A few minutes later, they came out
and said that my $300.00 part wasn’t needed!
They were still going to analyze some more and they would try a few
other things. When she came back out later, they told me it was an lnb
receiver! They had a used one and it
tested ok and they installed it with my permission. I was back in business! Of course I now have
an elevator motor that I don’t need. Maybe I can list it on eBay or find a
friend who wants to buy it. I got back home and parked the coach and we relaxed
for the day.
Saturday, February 17th., 2024…… We slept in a bit this morning. Once we walked and fed the dogs we headed out. The plan today was to stop and get coffee and breakfast then drive over to the Willamette River in Corvallis. Today was The Polar Plunge, a fund raiser for Special Olympics. We got there and parked and were shocked that they had such a large crowd! We ended up in the muddy gravel field and were lucky to find a place. They really did this up right. They had several sponsor tents with giveaways and items for sale for the cause. They had 20+ teams that ranged from 3 to 25 teammates. They lined up by team numbers and went in. They had a special area cordoned off and had three divers in the water to assist and make sure no one went into the crazy river current just beyond the swim area. They also had two rescue boats holding position on the river while all of this was going on. I think they said the water temp today was 45°! As the participants made their way into the icy water, we could tell it was a shock. Most all made it all the way in but some backed away really quickly.
He got in with some assistance and even dunked into the water with his face! They say he does this every year. The teams kept it coming and we waited until the friend we sponsored, Becky, got in and out of the river…
She does it every year and we were
glad to pledge to her and donate to help out the cause.
Once we got back home, we had time
to relax for the afternoon. Later, we would have a light dinner and then head
off to our Club’s dance. We got there early and set up the chairs and tables.
This was our first regular Club dance, so we didn’t know how well attended it
would be. We only had three squares but Charlotte called a fun dance! My longtime SoCal friend and caller Rob
Grigsby and his girlfriend Judy came to dance. Judy’s mom is ill and they have
been spending time with her and her dad. We got an update – not good, she was
put into hospice today – but wanted them to have a night to get away from that
for a bit. Charlotte knew he was a caller when he was at our anniversary dance
last week and asked him to call a tip. He did a great job and the folks were
enjoying his choreography. At the end of the night Charlotte called a plus tip
and I got to dance with him and Judy. It was the most fun! After the dance, we helped clean up then went
home to let the dogs out and play with them before heading off to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment