So do you remember all that weather we've been (and still are) having these past few weeks all along the coast? Well, right in the middle of it (what are we CRAzy?) we drove up to Oregon to see our dad (nearly 90) and new grand niece (2 months). In fact, the whole Santa Rosa family gang (sans Ted's mom), caravan-ed through rain (duh), sleet (yep), hail (uh-huh) and SNOW ... really ... SNOW along the Western coastline. Oh the magnificence of that unlikely powdery white stuff on pink blossoming fruit trees and coastal pines, deep-watering the soul on all levels...
Actually the weather in Oregon (notorious for being wet and grey most of the time), was, yes, wet and grey, but milder than the weather we had just come through. And the family? Well dad was in the most "present" state we'd seen him for some time. At nearly 90 (will be in June), he's still truckin', and still teasin' that he'll be around for a while ... he says with a twinkling eye and sideways smile, "... at least for another couple of days or so ... "
Top left: Our brother, Larry, with his granddaughter, Kaliyah. (Hey! Don't be chokin' dat baby G-Pa!) Larry doesn't want to be called Grandpa, so we call him and Puna, G-Pa and G-Ma. Baby Kaliyah has grandparents with Rap names ... somehow fitting.
Top right: Cousin Tifa holding her new daughter with her brother Talo.
Bottom family shot: My sister Joanne, nephew Rudy's shaved head above her, Tifa, Kaliyah, Dad on couch. Puna and Nayla on floor. Peg in chair.
In that family shot (above), we were watching a video about the Mr. Marshall (high school) competition that Talo won last June before graduation. Talo's a Jimi Hendrix-worthy guitar player (not just boasting ... really) and he just blew everyone away at the competition.
Above: Doin' The Nayla Dance
Top Row: Samantha & Tifa; "Big" Boppi & Kaliyah; Nayla and Rudy (Sadly we got very few shots of Rudy. I think he may have been the one taking most of these pictures.)
Bottom Row: "Big" Boppi & Kaliyah; Joanne (Nayla's Nana) and Nayla scarfin' up Oregon Smoked Salmon.
Top Row: Pinky teaching Nayla the royal hand waves (see her "crown").
Ray (Nayla's Boppi) and Ted with their Prince crowns at a jaunty rake, strangely reminiscent of "Mens On Film" from the TV show, "In Living Color." (Google it.)
Bottom Row: Samantha, Nayla and baby Kaliyah
On the way home, we stopped in Eureka. For as many times as we've driven through, we'd never explored their Old Town district and WoW look what we'd been missing! Fabuloso Victorians oozing gingerbread icing, along with Oyster Po'Boys and Humbolt County Grass Fed Hamburgers at Café Nooner. (You knew food had to appear in the blog SOMEwhere, right?)
So it was a great, albeit wet, trip and did us sweet good to see the new little life who has just come in, and the poignancy of spending time with the elder in his remaining "... couple of days or so" on earth ...
