Of Motorcycles and Weddings

This weekend marked the 104^th Rhody Days in Florence (not that we count them). This is an annual event like most small towns across the US celebrate. Unlike many of them, ours can get a bit insane. We’re not talking about little blue haired women getting in snarky bitch out contests over who has the best rhubarb pie either.

For some odd reason, motorcycle enthusiasts of all types and sizes make Florence an annual destination. Attendees vary from the Yuppie weekend biker warriors to a handful of the extreme “outlaw” biker types. What this has to do with Rhododendrons, I have no idea. I will admit, Rhody days can be fun, the amount of bikers make it loud and entertaining.

The artistry, care, and love some of these men and women put into their bikes is astounding. Of course there are a few bad cases out there- but for the most part- peace is kept in order. We’ve never been to Sturgis – but I equate Rhody days to a mini-Sturgis event. It almost calls to my budding mid-life crisis! Harley Davidson here we come (can anyone say divorce court?)

As for those of us without motorcycles (or excessive facial hair), we have a carnival, queen/princess pageant, gun show, car show, cruise, and several other events that culminate with a great big parade on Sunday. The parade can last up to 2 ½ hours! Morgan played the tenor sax this year and marched the 3 mile route – and actually didn’t complain. I’m sorry to say, that we watched him walk by, clapped, and took some photos, and then went home. One can only see so many parades before they become old hat.

I managed to get out and do some photography on Saturday when the weather decided to cooperate briefly. Then Bridget and I went out to celebrate of 17^th wedding anniversary at the Wakonda Brewpub a few blocks from our house. It’s the first time we’ve been there, and it was interesting. Good beer and a couple of good bands were playing. The brewery is owned by a couple of people we know and it occupies a warehouse space in the light industrial district. As a friend put it – the place is a huge garage with a few couches and tables with a bar in the corner. It was actually quite different and enjoyable. No frills, but a bunch of people having fun.

We are planning new tattoo’s for our anniversary gift to one another. We are thinking about a Celtic knot bracelet on our wrists and are awaiting our tattoo artist to get back to us. More come there! It’s hard to fathom that we’ve been together for 20 years and married for 17, it seems like only a handful. But when we look at all we’ve accomplished and the growth of our kids, it’s amazing how fast life moves.

Now we move away from Rhody days, and look forward to the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Not sure what’s on the agenda there – but I’m sure it will be interesting…. Maybe a trip to the Harley store?

Are Things Better Upside Down?

This last weekend we tempted mother-nature and went camping and riding at the KOA just south of Hauser Oregon. We've been here many times in the past enjoying the sand dunes and the amenities of a full hook-up campground (gone are the days of tenting it on the ground). Mother-nature of course didn't cooperate (the biotch). It rained most of the time. I keep telling Bridgett that I haven't managed to be warm since we returned from Jamaica. I think secretly she thinks to herself "serves you right – I haven't been warm since we moved to Oregon!"

Anyway – this trip was different as we took Crixus. Great Danes, it turns out, are a bit high maintenance. We hadn't taken him camping before and our trailer isn't all that big. We actually haven't been out on the dunes since October (Morgan hasn't made it since September). Definitely not our usual riding schedule of at least one trip a month. Crixus did just fine, even though the space in the trailer was a bit cramped with the extra 150 pounds of get-in-the-way.

Crixus enjoyed the walks around the campground – but didn't like the resident horse (it was big and mean after all). He drug Bridgett all over trying to meet other dogs and didn't seem to mind the ATV's. We tried to walk him behind ours – but that didn't go over very well. We only managed to get in two rides between raindrops. Morgan did a great job and I think managed to get some of his 14 year-old frustrations out.

Crixus like other animals I've noted likes to hang his head upside down. I remember doing that as a child, although I don't really know why. I didn't like being light headed, so I figure it must have something to do with the world looking better upside down. After thinking on it and listening to grumbling at work today from some staff members, I decided to give it a try. I leaned my chair way back and tipped my head back promptly banging it on the counter behind my desk. After adjusting the angle – I leaned back and looked out the door of my office into the hallway. At which point the CEO of the hospital walked by…. He didn't say a word, just smiled and walked through. He's kind of like that – he encourages out of the box thinking.

Regardless – I didn't have much of a view – but decided that going into the lobby wouldn't be the best idea either – I don't want referred for a mental health evaluation by the registration clerk (she's not as forward thinking as our CEO). I'll have to give it a try some other place and time and see if things really are better upside down – or I could just get a really good head rush and relive my college days!

Tsunami on the West Coast

NOTE: My opinions are my own – this is purely editorial commentary based on my own experiences:

Last Friday early in the morning, I was jarred awake by the sound of the tsunami siren. Looking at the clock it was a little after 3am, I shook Bridgett awake and work Morgan up quickly trying to figure out what was going on. Turning on the news we saw the devastation in Japan and quickly realized that what was happening there would soon effect us. We turned on the local radio station to listen for instructions and information – but were greeted by bad 70’s music for the first 5 minutes. The announcer was nonchalant “a tsunami warning is in effect for the entire west coast, it’s predicted to hit around 7:30am local time – and now we go to the Bee Gees - Stayin’ Alive.”

Ok then…. What should we do? Then the phone calls started from panicked friends who were running for the hills – literally. We didn’t get the pre-recorded reverse 911 phone call that told everyone in the tsunami zone to “evacuate immediately!!!!” although everyone seemed to. Apparently we aren’t in the ‘zone’ identified by experts and probably a panel of insurance adjusters.

After deciding that keeping everyone at home was the best thing to do – it’s not the water that kills you it’s the debris and the crowd of madly fleeing people that get you – I decided to run into work to see what I could do to help. One aspect of being in an emergency healthcare provider profession is a duty to act when disasters or emergencies arise.

Everyone at work was rather calm and nonchalant again. In fact I was told “it’s only a warning.” OK people – that may be and there may be nothing to do four hours before “T-time” – but someone should take it seriously. I took care of what I needed to do and kicked back and watched the news. I kept in touch with people via text (most of them sitting on hillsides) and kept in touch with Bridgett via text and waited.

It turned into a non-event for the most part. Only the southern part of the Oregon Coast had much effect and parts of the Northern California Coast. One dork died trying to take a photo (Darwin award?) in Northern California.

Now I’m listening to a few people grip and complain about how community leaders overreacted. Looking at the news feeds from Japan – I would say they have a reason to react the way they did. I for one agree that the response was very much justified and I would have liked to see a little more coordination and information from the moment the siren sounded. I believe that I’m in the middle of the road when it comes to reactions. I’m not going to panic – I’m a realist – what comes is what comes. I hope we will all be alive when it passes over us. We will be prepared for the aftermath – but one can never truly be ready for the event.

Today – I watched a supposed expert talk about magnetite, fish kills, electromagnetic forces, earth tides, full moons, and the likelihood of an earthquake off the coast of Oregon (according to him in the next 2-8 days). Yep – there will be a major earthquake along the coast. Will it be tomorrow or ten years from now? I don’t know and I don’t believe in hokey predictions either. I’m not making light of the situation, but aside from moving – what else will we do?

For me – right now – I send my thoughts and energy toward the people of Japan and the rescuers who are stemming the suffering, recovering the lost, exposing themselves to radiation risks, and doing all this with grace and dignity. I read a report today about the politeness of the Japanese and the way they are handling themselves and their own self-sacrifice. I only hope as a people we Americans can do the same when it’s our turn.

No Worries Mon!

So for the first time in 13 or so years, Bridgett and I took a real vacation. We’ve done several family related things over the years, but never just a trip for the two of us to really get away. We had the opportunity this year to travel to Jamaica and spend time with some friends of ours from Roseburg. I must say that it has been hard coming home and facing the reality of life once again.

The trip started off quite well, other than we chose to fly out of Portland airport at 11:59pm. While we moved quickly through security and the airport hoops, it was impossible to sleep in the “extra-spacious” seating that Continental airlines supplies to its economy travelers. We made a connection to Montego Bay in Houston after a 3 hour layover (no sleep there either). Once we arrived in Sunny and humid Jamaica we took at 90 min bus ride to Negril to the resort there. We promptly crashed….

Two days later we felt recovered enough to really start enjoying ourselves. I must say that if anyone has not stayed in an “all-inclusive” resort before – do so. Walking to the bar and dining room without concern for how much this time or packing cash around was fantastic. The amount of Rum that I consumed over 10 days more than reduced the price of the room to a few dollars a day!

The beach was warm, sunny, and relaxing. We spent most of our time there. I had to flip Bridgett once or twice to be certain she didn’t crisp too much on one side or the other. Evenings saw spectacular sunsets and dinner in either the resort restaurant or open dining room. The food was ok (better than we expected) and was available most times of the day. Breakfast was the only exception – if you slept later than 10am forget it! Nights were warm but breezy, the resort had great entertainers, and it was easy to lose yourself to the music and the dancing.

We had a catamaran tour of the Bay and surrounding area. I was surprised that Bridgett agreed (she doesn't swim and hates boats). The tour was 3 hours and we saw the sand caves that pirates used to use and the world famous Rick's Cafe where you can cliff dive into the sea. The water was vivid blue and as clear as a swimming pool!

We took a couple of days to travel around the western edge of the island (people told us to definitely avoid the Eastern/Kingston end of the island). We did some shopping in Negril with our friends and met some very interesting locals. Jamaicans are friendly, laid back, and genuinely happy. Even the hustlers weren’t that bad.

On another day we rented a taxi for the day ($200.00 US for four people) and went to the Appleton Rum Estate/Distillery and YS Falls. The distillery was a bit disappointing for the money they charged for entry, but a 1 liter bottle of extra premium dark rum was very cheap. Of course the free samples were great as well!

YS Falls was the highlight of the day. We ate good food here (we had already tried the curry goat at the resort and chose to go for the jerk chicken instead) and played in the various fall pools for a couple of hours.

Returning to Oregon was difficult but ultimately what we had to do. Besides, our bed is far more comfortable! We are already planning our next trip!

By the way - STAY AWAY from the Brownies!

1450's Year in Review - Part 2

Each year we start out planning what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. Well 2010 was no different than any other year. We start our strong in the first 2-3 months doing as much in our spare time as possible. By mid year we start to get bogged down and loose sight of our plans. However, we did make it to a few very fun things along the say.

In May we planned a trip with some friends to the South coast of Oregon and spent a long weekend in Bandon and Port Orford. It was relatively nice and we had a good time visiting, camping, and geocaching. We were introduced to “Frickles” (see a previous post) and continue to love making these deep fried wonders. We spent some time shopping at the Eugene Saturday market one weekend. For those that have never been there – it’s a eclectic (if not downright strange) collection of people selling crafts and local produce.

In June, the school year ended and we planned a riding trip to Milican with family and friends. Disaster struck for one of our riding/geocaching friends as he was laid off from his long standing job. I lost three employees and have struggled getting new staff trained all summer and fall. We did make our Milican trip with our family, but it was abbreviated (but very fun). We took some great pictures during the trip, rode some wonderfully dusty trails, and found a few geocahces in the high desert. Watching the parasailing from the butte was also very interesting.

July wiped by, the biggest event was the acquisition of our Great Dane Crixus. He has been a wonderful addition, but very high maininence. Getting used to an enormous puppy has been very stimulating and at times high tension! We took a quick unplanned trip to Crater Lake in August and took Crixus with us.

In October and November we worked and played with the dogs on the beach. Morgan grew leaps and bounds and is poised to move to High School this next year. As the year comes to a close we keep our eyes out for next year and are once again planning. I hope that we can be better about meeting our dreams and ideas. Seeing friends and family along the way and taking the slow road.

I wish you all a great end of 2010 and hope that all your dreams for 2011 come true…. Jamaica here we come!!!!

1450's Year in Review Part 1

2010 is starting to come to a close, in review of the year’s activity, it sometimes seems like it went far to fast and we didn’t do as much as we would have liked. In part that is true – we didn’t get out and do those enjoyable things as much as we would like. Both Bridgett and I have been dealing with difficult work situations this year that have been very time and energy consuming. Bridgett is moving into a new chapter in her life – her company sold to a larger conglomerate on the 23rd of December. I am still stuck in the same situation – but I think it will improve in the next couple of months.

While getting an update on my tattoo – the tattooist explained that he had a conversation with a friend that explained why life seems to move faster the older one gets. When we are younger, our daily lives are filled with new things constantly. However, as we get older we fall into routines that start to interfere with the “newness” we could be experiencing. In short – we drive the same route, we have the same meals, we see the same people, and get far too comfortable in our daily habits. Consequently life moves faster because nothing in our routines really excites us.

Imagination and creativity suffer as do our stress levels because we don’t have the same level of excitement for life and new experiences. When we do get the opportunity to experience something new – it moves like lightning and ends far to quickly.

What to do? Well – I suppose attempting to live life more randomly and force a change from the usual habits and actually follow-through with plans for adventure and excitement. Of course – when you’re a parent – keeping food on the table and a roof overhead are still important. Keeping a better balance is the tricky part.

For 2010 – we did a few things that fit the bill (not as much as we would like) – In January we took the trailer up to Astoria and Fort Stevens to go Geocaching and check out the old bunkers from the abandoned artillery base that protected the mouth of the Columbia River. It was a great trip, albeit a bit rainy (it was January in the Pacific Northwest after all). In March, Morgan and I did a couple of intensive photo trips around the coast. I switched camera systems later that month and really enjoy the new sharpness to digital images that I didn’t have before.

In April we did some more Geocaching and had a very nice ATV/camping trip at Winchester Bay. The weather was fantastic for the third year in a row for our annual group riding trip.

Enough for now – I’ll continue our “year in review” in a couple of days. Stay tuned!

"Yule" be Happy this Year

Something a little different for our blog this time given the closeness to the Holiday’s; after all we are “evil” pagans. This fact of course is nothing new to the few people who actually read our blog or our closest friends and family – we aren’t exactly in the broom closet so to speak. However, the holiday season is always a bit different for us. At least we do live in a liberal part of Oregon where people are somewhat tolerant of these differences. Having come from the ultra-conservative south central Idaho region – we can really appreciate the “weirdness” of western Oregon.

Of course like most spiritual people we do have our beliefs and ideas of what the holidays mean. The nice thing about Yule is that 90% of what the capitalistic and Christian world celebrates was stolen from the ancient pagans of Western Europe. Decorated trees, mistletoe, holly, gifts, carols, and even the idea of Santa Claus all have their roots in pre-Christian cultures. After all history was written by those who could write in vividly illuminated script . . . dang Monks.

For us, we light the Yule log, celebrate the rebirth of the male aspect of divinity, and generally have a good time like others would. We just look at things a bit more historically with the bent that modern neo-pagan wiccans ‘think’ is how our ancestors would have worshiped. No goat skin headdresses or leggings for us, and no we don’t go sky clad (nude) in the winter weather – if we lived in Arizona maybe… I can’t recall the last time we may have sacrificed anything but a nice bottle of mead and a prime rib. No Veronica, not all Wiccans are vegetarians.

The difficulty comes from those around us that can’t understand why we aren’t part of a mainstream religion. While most of the derisive snorting has gone away – we still have to deal with family and friends that think we are downright weird ourselves or in some minds committing great sins. The number one reason: I can’t abide intolerance. It really ticks me off (how is that for irony). We don’t subscribe to the whole “our religion is better than your religion” or the “God will smite you for doing insert whatever sounds fun here” mentality that mainstream brick and mortar religions have. How many people die in the name of any given mainstream religion each year?

Humans are fallible. The natural world is both ordered and chaotic. Spiritual sense is ours to define. Why do we need professional priests, churches, or temples to tell us what is right and wrong? Why would our higher powers give us a brain and not let us use it? Yes we will agree that there is evil in the world and there are good people of remarkable character – but the vast majority of the living and nonliving world is neither good nor evil– it simply is what it is.

Faith, spirituality, and self awareness are other key ingredients for us. Serving life and each other through moderation and making certain we do no harm to anyone (ourselves included) fits our ideals and morals quite well. Magic – well that is what you make of it. Literally, we define what is magic and make it happen through will power and strength of character.

Tolerance for belief (or disbelief) is the lifeblood of America. It’s why I ‘m proud to fly the Stars and Stripes outside my house year round. I’m not some anti-war hippy or mushy tree hugger, but I’m Wiccan and proud to not let anyone tread on me either.

Our good Atheist friend in Portland, my agnostic coworkers, my Christian family members, our even our mushy tree hugger friends; are all part of what makes up the cosmos. They are our religion and our faith. We are all part of it. No one way is better. After all - there is no scientific evidence to prove the existence of any divinity – but then again there is no scientific evidence to disprove it either.

So I say: each to his or her own belief this holiday season. Be surrounded by the love of your family and friends, help a stranger, give to a charity, drink and eat heartily, and keep the magic of celebration alive. But most of all have a happy holiday whatever you believe. An it harm none – do as thou will. Merry insert verse of your choice here everyone!

Crixus (at seven months)

Crixus is now seven months old and is growing leaps and bounds. Last weight was 110 pounds a couple of weeks ago. He still has a great deal of growing still to go! To date his destructiveness hasn’t been too terribly bad – he’s gnawed a leg on the coffee table, ripped a corner off the leather couch, dug a few holes, and leaves huge piles in the yard (if you know what I mean).

He continues to be a very loving dog and like most Great Danes he thinks he’s a lapdog. Of course now it hurts when he flops on someone. Due to his size he does get in more trouble than other dogs, but I think that is only because he’s more visible doing things.

He likes the beach and is getting to like water a bit more (he even cooperates when Bridgett gives him a bath now). It is a bit difficult getting used to another large body in the house along with the smaller Lasa Apso, and three cats… yes we have a few animals, but I don’t count the koi in the back yard pond.

It promises to be an interesting experience!

 Wow – time flies when you are having fun right? Well it also flies when you are so damn busy you can’t take time to think let alone enjoy life. Not to complain, but summer came and went in a blur of work. I’ve been on call quite a bit more than usual since July and we really haven’t had the opportunity to get out and do the things we love. The last time we Geocached was July when we came back from Idaho. We did a day ride with some friends on the dunes a couple of weekends ago – but that’s pretty much it. No camping or other trips. I bought a couple of new camera lenses this summer and I plan to do some portrait work this fall provided I can find space and some models. So should things work out we have a few things to do this fall. Unfortunately, I don’t see the call situation easing up anytime soon.

Bridgett and I were talked into taking a trip this winter to Jamaica – we are really looking forward to that. We’ve never really been outside of the US and it’s been over 10 years since our last non family vacation.

As for what we’ve been doing recently aside from my grumbling around work…. Crixus our Great Dane continues to grow. He is now 7 months old and over 90 pounds. He still has a great deal of growth yet. Morgan is in 8th grade and doing well so far. He’s growing about as fast as the dog. We take a few walks on the beach now and then and try to get out as much as time allows.

I look forward to slower days ahead!