The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

This is another book that I wouldn't have read if it weren't chosen for my book group.

Turns out I really liked it a lot.

The idea for the book sprouted from a documentary that the author's son did about a family who lives in a garbage dump in Cambodia. That premise alone put me off about the book. But I'm glad I stuck with the book.

It's worth reading.

Hour Game by David Baldacci

Another thriller from the King and Maxwell series. (I'm disappointed that the TV program didn't get renewed).

It kept me on the edge of my seat. I don't know if I could have read it if Ray were out of town.

I'll get the next book in the series, but I'll wait a little bit. First I need my heart rate to slow down a little.

Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

I like Trigiani's books in general. I enjoyed this one, but about halfway through I was no longer driven to pick it up again. (Not a great sign in a book.) Then I committed the cardinal sin of reading--I turned to the back of the book and skimmed a few pages just to see if I thought it would be worth continuing.

In this case it worked in my favor. Or the book's favor, I should say. I was able to get back into it and I finished it. And, in the end, (like I said above) I enjoyed it. Enough that I've requested the sequel from the library already.  We'll see how that one holds up.

These days I've been so busy it's been hard to squeeze in reading. That tells you how busy I've been. A great solution has been reading while on the treadmill. I get a good chunk of reading and exercising in all at the same time.

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus

The advantage of belonging to a book group is that you read books that you may never have discovered on your own. The advantage of being in two book groups doubles the number of those books.

Heart of a Samurai is based on the true story of a Japanese boy (Manjiro) and his fishing mates who are stranded on an island during a storm in the mid-19th century. They are found and rescued by an American whaling ship.

The rest of the book is the story of Manjiro and his life. He goes back to America with the captain of the ship that rescues him. We learn of his life there. It is thought that Manjiro was the first Japanese person to live in the United States. Some of Manjiro's art is included in the book. I don't want to give away any more of the book.

This is a thought-provoking book, examining how it feels to be a stranger in a strange land. It also explores the thought that we can become what we desire, even if it seems impossible.

I recommend it!

2011 winner of the Newbery honor award.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I had forgotten how amazing this book is. We read it in our book group last month. The last time I read it was when Audrey was in 8th grade, about 18 years ago (!!)

The book is delightfully funny and witty, which I think is easy to forget amid the drama of the story that unfolds. Atticus, Jem and Scout Finch and of course Boo Radley leave a stamp on our minds that we can never fully remove. Good thing, because we should all remember the lessons so slyly taught within the covers of this book.

I need to go buy a new copy. My old one is falling apart. I believe I'd better start reading this book more often--if not every year, then every other year.

Here's how I will endorse this book: if you have read it, read it again. If you have never read it then get it immediately and read it. It's a life changer.

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

A friend of mine who is on Goodreads recommended this book to me. It's darling--both the story and the illustrations. It's the first Molly Lou Melon book I've read or seen.

Molly Lou is very short, and has some unusual physical attributes. Her grandmother always told her,"Stand tall, Molly Lou Melon". In this book Molly Lou moves to a new town and meets up with a boy who gives her a hard time. She stands tall, and gains a new friend. And I love the very end where we meet her grandmother.

I recommend it. I think my grandchildren will like it.

Oregon Coast Motorcycle Trip ~ September 2013 ~ Part Two

Lots more pictures here of our trip. I love looking at the pictures and reliving the trip.

Day 5 (Tuesday September 10) Florence, OR to Brookings, OR

We headed out of Florence for our last full day along the coast. We stopped in Bandon for lunch. What a pretty little town. My aunt and uncle moved there years ago, and my uncle still lives there. Unfortunately we didn't stop and see him. I just loved riding along the ocean. We need to go back and do this trip again. Our stop for the night was in Brookings. As usual our motel was right on the ocean. I looked out my window and saw a whale playing just a little way out in the water. I grabbed my phone (camera) and ran out on the beach. Gayle and I watched that whale cavort right in front of us for twenty or thirty minutes. If it had been warm we could have swam right out to that whale--it was that close. Instead we were wise and just took a bunch of pictures, hoping just one would turn out. 

Judy and Hal

Karen and Scott

Gayle and Fred (Bandon lighthouse)

Ray and Diane

Gayle and Tamara

Parked on the street in Bandon (Ray and Dave in the background by the house)

Diane and Ray

Judy, Karen, Tamara, Gayle, and Diane

 

The whale. Or at least its spout. (on the right)

Day 6 (Wednesday September 11) Brookings, OR to Shady Cove, OR

From Brookings we headed south into California. We stopped at Trees of Mystery - a great place to view some beautiful redwood trees.  From there back north, and into Oregon again. At this point we headed northeast, into the more central part of Oregon. We rode right along the Rogue River. Beautiful. We went from pretty chilly weather along the coast to 105 degrees by the time we got to Shady Cove. We were shedding layers like crazy. The first thing we did was get into the pool when we checked in for the night. We had a delicious dinner at the Rogue River Lodge. We sat outside right on the river. It was a lovely evening.

Riding among the redwoods

Our group in front of the Cathedral tree.
L to R: Gayle and Fred , Ray and Diane, Tamara and Dave, Judy and Hal , Scott and Karen.

Gayle and Fred riding the gondola up to the top. Gayle and I don't like heights. We rode together. 

Ray and Diane in the gondola.

Ray and Diane - overlooking the tops of VERY tall trees.

Day 7 (Thursday September 12) Shady Cove, OR to Sisters, OR

We did a lot of riding. It was beautiful country. We stopped at Crater Lake, which I'd never seen. (I'd never seen any part of this trip before besides a little bit of the ride in Washington). It was beautiful. We stopped for lunch at a diner out in the middle of nowhere. We had Mexican for dinner in Sisters. You could tell it was not the busy season there. Everything shut down by about 6:00 PM.

Diane at the parking lot of one of the viewpoints at Crater Lake

Diane and Ray with Crater Lake in the background

Day 8 (Friday September 13) Sisters, OR to Cascade Locks, OR

We rode some beautiful roads past Detroit Lake. We stopped and took a few pictures along the river. Then Ray and I cut out from the group while they did some more scenic riding and we went to see my niece Lucy and her family. It was the highlight of our day! Lucy is the same age as our daughter Audrey. A few years ago she lived with us during a rough patch in her life. It was an honor to have her with us. She feels like one of our own! She has a darling family and a very cute home. Now when I think of her I can see her in her own place in my mind's eye. I love that. 

We met up with the group at the Crown Point view of the Columbia river (barely 10 minutes away from Lucy). Then on to Multnomah Falls, from there to our stop in Cascade Locks.

L to R: Ray, Diane, Gayle, Fred, Karen, Judy, Hal, Tamara, Dave

Elna, Lucy, Diane

Ray. Columbia River in the background.

Dave, Ray, Scott, Fred, Hal

Diane and Ray at Multnomah Falls

Our group waving their arms. I elected to stay behind. That whole heights/bridge thing. 

Day 9 (Saturday September 14) Cascade Locks, OR to Boise, ID

It was hard to say goodbye to our friends in the morning. I cried. They rode back to Seattle, and we began our ride home. This was our least enjoyable ride - all freeway to Boise. We were like horses heading back to the barn at this point. The view for as long as we rode along the Columbia was stunning. And crossing the Blues Mountains was pretty too. It's just more rough when riding on the freeway with the buffeting from the cars and trucks around you. We arrived at Jeanie and Bob Peck's just in the nick of time. A big thunderstorm broke about 20 minutes after we got there.  We had a lovely evening and dinner in our home away from home.

Day 10 (Sunday September 15) Boise, ID to Sandy, UT

Big storms were predicted along our route, so we planned on getting an early start for home. Ray and I both woke up at about 3:00 AM and couldn't sleep. We decided to get going on our way. It was a cold but beautiful ride. There was almost no one on the freeway, so the ride was smooth. The sky was as clear as could be and filled with constellations. Ordinarily we don't choose to ride at night if we can help it, but this view was stunning. We made it home and never encountered any storm along the way. It felt good to be home again.

All in all I would say this was one of the best trips/vacations I've ever had. Great times with great friends--who could ask for more? It was very relaxing and believe me, that's just what I needed.

Oregon Coast Motorcycle Trip ~ September 2013 ~ Part One

This was maybe the best September of my life. Okay, second best, because it was the month of September when I started dating and fell in love with my husband. 

While I was spending time with Debra's family that first week in September, Ray stayed home and worked a couple of days then he drove the motorcycle up to Seattle. Scott Perry met him in LeGrande, Oregon and they rode the rest of the way to Seattle together, taking a lot of very fun back roads. 

Friday morning, the 6th of September, we took off on a motorcycle trip with several of our friends. What a glorious trip. It was so beautiful and relaxing. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed it. 

We started out with six couples:

Doug and Denene Crandall

Dave and Tamara Badger

Scott and Karen Perry

Hal and Judy Hartzell

Ray and Diane

Fred and Gayle Mackenzie

Actually the Hartzells joined us on Monday. John and Tammy Jacobson (no picture) started out with us, but left to return home on Sunday morning. The Crandalls left to return home on Tuesday morning. 

This post has a lot of pictures. Some were taken with my phone, and many were taken with the little digital point and shoot camera that I wear around my neck while we ride. I just snap away and hope that a few will turn out in focus. It's easy to tell which camera I was using. If we are off the bikes, it's my phone. If we're riding, it was taken with my other camera. 

Day 1 (Friday September 6) Kirkland, WA to Cannon Beach, OR

We all met in Kirkland and rode to Edmonds to catch the ferry over to Kingston. It was raining, so once we were on the ferry we put on all our rain gear. The sun peeped out a couple of times during the day, but every time we took our gear off, we ended up having to put it on again.  We rode along Hood Canal a good portion of the time. We had lunch at a little burger stand along the canal. When we arrived at the Columbia River, we had to cross a long, tall bridge to get to Oregon. Bridges are not my favorite things, and we crossed a lot of them on this trip. I survived, but they made me nervous. We ended up in Cannon Beach and had dinner at the Lumberyard Rotisserie and Grill. Delicious food. I recommend it.

I took this picture while crossing the Columbia River.  On that long, tall bridge.

Putting on Rain Gear

Day 2 (Saturday September 7) Cannon Beach, OR to Lincoln City, OR

We took our time getting out of Cannon Beach in the morning. It gave us a great opportunity to walk the beach. Cannon Beach is one of the prettiest areas I've ever seen. We had breakfast at the Pig 'N Pancake, then off we went. We stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and did the self guided tour, had some great cheese curd samples, and ice cream. I don't need to stop there again. There was a pretty big crowd, and I think I would have rather kept going and bought some good Tillamook ice cream in a regular store. After the Cheese Factory we went to the Air Museum just outside Tillamook. It's one of the places they housed blimps during World War II. I learned some interesting things there. Then came the best part of the day. The Three Capes Scenic Drive. It took us through some state parks and we saw the Cape Meares lighthouse, which is very pretty. We finished up in Lincoln City. We had a hard time finding a place to eat that was close to where we were staying and still open. We ended up in a pizza place that was pretty good. We were able to catch the BYU game on TV while we were eating. 

Karen Perry and Diane in front of the famous Haystack rock

Out for a morning walk: Dave and Tamara Badger, Gayle and Fred Mackenzie, Karen and Scott Perry

Low tide!

Diane and Ray

One of our viewpoints along the way. Diane and Ray

Pizza for dinner. L to R: Scott and Karen Perry, Doug and Denene Crandall, Fred and Gayle Mackenzie, Tammy and John Jacobson, half of Tamara Badger

Day 3 (Sunday September 8) Lincoln City, OR to Florence, OR

We attended church first thing in the morning, then started on our next leg of the trip. We stopped in Depoe Bay for a few minutes and saw a few whales. They were easy to spot because the whale watching boats followed them around. We continued down the coast and had lunch in Newport. I can't remember the restaurant, but the food was great. We ended in Florence, right on the river.

The Badgers

The Crandalls

Another bridge! This one is in Newport.

We saw clouds like this all along the coast. It was fascinating.

Day 4 (Monday September 9) Florence, OR

We stayed in Florence for the day. Did a little laundry, relaxed, and went on a day trip on the bikes up the Umpqua River. We saw some elk, and the river is beautiful. We ate at the Noti (pronounced no tie) Pub. 

We saw these signs all over the place along the coast.

Tamara, Karen, Gayle, Diane

Along the Umpqua River

All along the way we marveled at what a beautiful world we live in. The view from a motorcycle is amazing - no confines. I love the ocean and can never get enough of looking at it, hearing it, and being near it. This trip was wonderful for that. We rode all along the coast for most of the trip. It was wonderful.

I'll post the second half of the trip in a couple of days.