May was the last month that we had yet to experience in Corvallis, and it did not disappoint. After all of the winter rain, spring brings it's A-game here in the Willamette Valley. Unfortunately, that means an epic level of grass pollen as well, but it is worth it.
This is the view from our front walkway. I was not prepared for the rhododendrons, the blue and red flowers on both sides. I didn't even know we had any until they started blooming like crazy.
May 4-20 were the dates of Georgie's first community theatre play, Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang. She had been rehearsing four nights per week since February, and opening night did not disappoint.
Georgie's entry in the playbill
Isaac showing just how excited he was for the play to start. Also, that hair. Good grief.
The first of Georgie's non-ensemble roles was as the assistant to the sweet factory receptionist, and although she didn't have a line, she had some excellent pantomime and expressive body movements. Her next was as an inventor in the country of Vulgaria. She had one line, "They have terrible tortures!", and did a dance routine with the other inventors. Her final role was as a server at the dance party for the king's birthday. She looked lovely with her hair done and all made up in costume.
Nann and Craig were disappointed that they couldn't make it, so they gave Ashley some money to buy flowers for Georgie. I was able to buy two different bouquets with it and Juliet was very excited to give them to her afterwards. My beard was over two months old at this point and only lasted a couple more weeks. Not a beard guy.
Here she is in her server costume after the play. She was almost 12 at this point but looked 16 or 17 on stage. We thought looking older would be a hindrance in her acting career, since looking younger is more advantageous, but with an abundance of kids and a dearth of adults trying out for community theatre, Georgie was able to fill multiple adult roles.
The bouquets on the dining table.
May 12 was Georgie's birthday, and Ashley had cooked up something special not just for breakfast, but also for her matinee performance that day.
Georgie made some really good friends at Cheldelin Middle School this past year, and Ashley had arranged for five of them to come to the play in secret. Georgie honestly had no idea.
Here are the girls waiting for the play to start.
When the play finished they all came over and rushed at Georgie, hugging her and congratulating her. It was a magic moment that I failed to capture because I was in "photo" rather than "video" mode. Dad fail.
Georgie normally hates taking pictures. She gives you a forced smile that is not the most photogenic. But this isn't acting. She was so happy and surprised to see her friends there. Great job, Mom!
The girls came over to our house afterwards, ran around playing on the property until the sun went down, and then hung out in the hot tub for a good long while. We capped off the night with cake and presents. I told Georgie that she was a young woman now, but she retorted, "Twelve is still a child." Fair enough. Seeing her running around playing with friends, she definitely still has a child within her. But her work ethic in school, her dedication to acting, her stage presence in the downtown theatre, and her deep, thoughtful mind belie her tender age. Love you, Georgie!
For Spring Break 2018 we headed south to see the Redwoods of Northern California. I had to work the first part of the week so we couldn't go anywhere too far. Thankfully, Jedediah Smith State Park is only about five hours south of us. We stopped in Grant's Pass for In 'n' Out (mandatory) and then headed west to the coast. We set up camp the first night at the state park and then the next morning headed into the forest.
We brought Naxi with us without realizing that dogs are not allowed on the trails. So before we ventured out we played and explored with her in the area right around the road.
Juliet at the base of a fallen redwood.
The way the wood comes apart it almost looks like planks of lumber.
Georgie on top of the stump with the trees overhead for some perspective.
Isaac and Naxi at one of the smaller trees (!)
Georgie on one of the fallen trees.
Isaac and Juliet at the base of one of the bigger trees. I think this one was actually a double tree, which a lot of the bigger trees were.
Walking across a fallen tree.
I love this shot of Isaac between two giants.
On the trail now. We hiked to the Boy Scout Tree, one of the oldest and largest redwoods in the world. I think it is called the Boy Scout Tree because it was an orienteering destination for scouts using their map and compass skills.
The tree itself.
Family picture just across from the Boy Scout tree.
Back at the campground, the girls shared the big tent with Ashley while Isaac and I were in the smaller tent. The campground was really fun. It was right on a river that the kids loved to explore and play around. There were paved road loops that they could ride their bikes on and just go exploring.
Cooking was a challenge. No wood collecting was allowed, so we bought some firewood at a gas station that ended up being very green and wet. Finally we broke down and bought charcoal. I felt stressed trying to get enough food cooked well enough to eat and fill everyone up.
The second day, we drove out to the coast and down south. This was the view from a widened area along the 101 shoulder. I of course was geeking out about the 2001 bike trip when we rode this very highway.
Naxi is full grown and still small enough to hold. I love that she is not a huge dog.
We then stopped at this beach which we randomly found. It was lovely, not crowded at all, and just gorgeous.
Juliet played in the sand and used the bleached, smoothed wood to build creations.
Here you can see me sitting on the left amongst the driftwood. There was a small stream that came down to the ocean and all these trunks had washed up into it, creating a roof over the stream.
This is the stream bank, which has been etched into a mini Grand Canyon.
We let Naxi run free and she loved it. I collected some of the dark sand for our collection.
This is the Babe the Blue Ox at the Trees of Mystery farther south. We stopped here because on the bike trip I stayed in the Motel Trees across the street and remember waking up in the morning to see the enormous Paul Bunyan and Babe across the highway.
This was our destination, the closest drive-through tree to our campground. There is something hokey about driving through a tree, but the kids loved it.
Our van fit through just fine (unlike some Italian roads), and we could even keep our box top carrier on because they have increased the height clearance. I wonder how long until this tree falls over.
We then headed back to camp and started the drive home, stopping again at In 'n' Out. Driving through Crescent City we saw this woman with her dog on the back of her motorcycle. Love those goggles!
I am pretty proud of how we raised our kids when it comes to snow skiing (the one athletic endeavor for which I can say that). They learned at the Canyons, Brighton, Brian Head, Piancavallo, Civetta, Bad Kleinkircheim, Nassfeld, and Monte Cervinio (aka the Matterhorn). But we missed the chance to spring ski on Monte Etna, the volcano that created the island of Sicily. So we were looking forward to skiing on a volcano for the first time after moving to Oregon in 2017. In January 2018, Isaac and I got that chance at Timberline on Mt Hood.
There are the man and the mountain. The snow was terrible, unfortunately, but we still had a blast flying down the groomers. This is at the top of the highest winter lift. The lift behind Isaac is only open in the summer when everything but the glacier has melted. You can take a snow cat to the top in winter but there was always a huge line the two days we were there.
We were there with Isaac's Scout troop and we stayed in a very affordable but very uncomfortable Scout refuge right off the highway on the way to Timberline. I came prepared with ear plugs after my experience at EMEDS in 2014, but the quality of sleep was still poor. Most of Isaac's troop couldn't ski or board well, so it was great for him to show off his skills and feel like the athletic one for once!
This is the Timberline Lodge. If you are a "Shining" fan like I am, then you will understand why I was geeking out all weekend. Kubrick built a set that looks like the Timberline in England where he shot the film, which was the biggest movie set created at the time, but the exterior shots from distance were of Timberline. We went inside, which looks nothing like the Overlook, but it was still fun to imagine Danny sneaking out of one of the windows with the snow piled up underneath. "Heeeeeeeere's Johnny!"
And of course I had to get a shot of Isaac with the lodge and Mt Hood. Just looking at this picture makes me want to watch the movie again. For some weird reason I always have some faint hope that THIS time Jack won't go crazy and try to axe his family to death.
We hit it hard for two days and by the end of the second day Isaac was keeping up with me fairly well on the screaming groomers. I tried to work on his carving technique with hime and he made great progress.
The snow finally came in March, and Isaac was out of school on a Thursday, which meant that we could ski for $20 each at our local resort, Hoodoo. The drive is two hours, which is a massive bummer, but at least doable in a day. I had heard mixed reviews, but I was definitely impressed.
Here is Isaac at the top of the mountain with Mt Washington in the background. The volcanoes in the Oregon Cascades are, from north to south: Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, Mt Washington, The Three Sisters, and Mt Bachelor. Hood is right between Jack and Washington, with great views of both on clear days. Washington reminded me of Monte Cervinio, the Italian side of the Matterhorn.
The snow that day was pretty good, maybe 10 inches of powder on top of old, crunchy stuff. We went back with the whole family later in March when the snow was amazing and bought season passes for '18-'19. I took Isaac on double blacks through the trees that day and he did a great job keeping up and improving his powder form. I'm planning on buying used gear for the kids next season and going every weekend or day off that we can. It's not the Alps or the Dolomites, but it's cheap and not crowded, so we'll take it!
For Thanksgiving 2017 we met up with the extended Merback family at the home of Aunt Laurie and Uncle Bob in Lafayette, CA. I hadn't been to their home for a long time, probably since Isaac was an infant. They had remodeled their kitchen and Bob had survived a brush with death from lymphoma in that time. They had visited us with Blair and Sue in May 2016, just before Bob's scare, and I was so glad that my kids had spent time with them and had a relationship with two very special people from my life.
We left right after I got out of work on Wednesday and drove until after 2:00 am. Thanksgiving morning the men took the kids to the park to be of some use to those preparing the feast. We met up with Dave, Jenny, the triplets, Morgan, Elizabeth, and their five kids for some serious touch football.
Great action shot with Mt Diablo in the background, taken by K. R. Merbsbacher, as Bob calls him.
Front row, left to right: Dave, Grant, Ava, Ty, Will, Fiver, Stella, Isaac Harris, Morgan
Back row: Berkeley, Brandon, Rob, Travis, Jake, Cole, Joey, Luke, Isaac, Cooper, Tanner, Bob
We came home hungry and to a delicious meal prepared by our better halves. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, partly because of the amazing memories we made in Tuscany, partly because it is not religious, and partly because it is all about eating amazing food that I don't have to prepare! I try to do the dishes.
The big kids at their table. Ty is ready to be a frat boy with his Martinelli's.
This isn't the same table, but it is the same location as their old everyday dining table. A lot of great memories of sitting around that table, playing cards, eating Bob's famous waffles, mixing cereal types, discussing the finer points of Terminator 2 on Laserdisc, etc.
And some video:
The little kids at their table. Not pictured is Jade, who is adorable and a holy terror at the same time, much like her mom was.
And the biggest kids' table, also with Martinelli's, in the formal dining room. The meal was amazing but we spent the next few days trying to make our way through the mountain of stuffing and yams that were left over.
The redesigned kitchen at Leeward Glen.
On Friday we drove into San Francisco for the city experience. We first drove to Twin Peaks for a view and photo op.
The grandkids with the sun in their faces. On the right is Mt Diablo again.
Mimi and Poppop with the grandkids. Georgie is trying to hide from the sun behind Jade.
We then drove to the Sutro Bath ruins on the north coast and hung out on the rocks for awhile. Jake and Ashley realized that they had left their electronic key back at Twin Peaks and borrowed a car to head back. As they pulled up they saw a man holding their key and looking around. So fortunate that they found it!
We then set off from the Baths on the Coastal Trail that led to a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I love this candid shot of Cooper holding one of the twinner's hands. Can't tell them apart from behind, although based on the pigtails in the previous shot I think that this is Cate.
Couple selfie with the Golden Gate.
I love this family picture! Could have been our Christmas card picture but Ashley had proactively sent out Thanksgiving cards early with our new address.
We then headed to Fisherman's Wharf for clam chowder in a bread bowl, which wasn't as good as I remember and which left us with tons of leftover sourdough bread. We walked out onto the pier to see the old battleship and submarine and saw this cut-out of Rosie the Riveter.
On Saturday we drove to the cemetery where Sam Garff is buried. Laurie became pregnant in 1993 when Shaun, her youngest, was nine. That June Jake, Rob, and I drove to their house, by ourselves, after Jake's graduation and she told us the news while we were at Rocky's baseball game. We were sworn to secrecy until the family cruise that summer. Laurie told everyone on the cruise and we were all excited for the twentieth grandchild. On Jan 19, Bob called our house and told us about how the heartbeat was lost before birth and Sam was stillborn. I don't think his name would have been Sam if he had lived, but since he had passed they named him after Bob's beloved dog. Sam would have been 23 at this time had he lived.
We went to play mini-golf and arcade games afterward and then went to Szechuan Chinese food at the classic Laurie and Bob restaurant that night.
On Sunday we should have been driving home, but Mimi had been able to buy tickets for everyone to visit Alcatraz, so we decided to let the kids play hooky on Monday. Here is Georgie on the ferry with Coit Tower in the background.
Juliet soaked from the rain with Alcatraz in the background. I hadn't been there since my senior trip to see Phantom of the Opera in SF in 1995 with Ms. Taylor and Ms. Grabovoi, my favorite English teachers, and Lianne Ong, the girl who broke my heart in high school. The audio tour was excellent but I still fantasize about having Phil Hartman give me the insider's tour (R.I.P., John "Vicky" Johnson).
Crazy faces with Coit Tower. We walked from the pier to China Town to have specialty pastries and buy adult-themed fortune cookies. We then drove over to the Golden Gate bridge and walked about halfway across it on a very windy night. Crisis hotline placards and phones are everywhere and the first few hundred feet have chain link fence in front of the guard rail.
That night Laurie read us her talk from church that recapped the entire experience she had with Bob in the Bay Area and in Los Angeles, then her experience with the benign ovarian tumor that she had removed once Bob was fully recovered. It was a very touching experience, and although I don't share their beliefs and the how and why of Bob's recovery, I am still very grateful for a little more time with him.
The next morning Bob took the boys to get donuts in his Porsche for Fiver's birthday. It was then finally time to make the nine-hour drive back to Oregon. Thankfully there is an In-and-Out Burger in Grant's Pass about 3 hours south of us, as if we needed more food after that weekend. It was great to get the whole Merback clan together again and it made us very excited for the next July in Cancun!
