May 16 – 17, 2011 - A TRIP TO MARCI AND TIM’S
We were thinking of going to our grandsons’ baseball games. Since we had our one day of sunshine and it looked like rain for the next week, we thought it would be a good time to go to Redmond, Oregon and watch Noah (13) and Aaron (10) play baseball.
The thing of getting in the van and taking off just never seems to happen. Adjusting the ropes to put the boat on top of the van needed about a day to fix. Then you know you have to take it down to try it out. Ilene and I decided to try the fishing at Promitory Park. The boat ropes worked fine but trout fishing was closed for another 20 days. We did have a wonderful drive. Went home via McIver State Park and stopped at an overlook of the Clackamas River in the park.
On the way back home (somewhere around Oregon City) we smelled something. I discovered it was the brakes – they wouldn’t release so they got very hot and smelled very bad. Oh Joy! They had been completely rebuilt (I thought) about 2,000 miles ago – that being in Gunnison, Colorado 1300 miles away. It made it hard to take it back. I then bought new rebuilt calipers and put them on. Yes, another day preparing for the trip. I ended up putting them on in a rainstorm since our one day of sun was over.
When you put brakes on, you have to bleed them (take the air out of the system). Myran was complaining of the pedal going down in this process. I looked and there was a puddle of brake fluid on the ground. After taking the bolt off and on several times, I figured out it was the bolt and replaced it with an old one from the old brakes and it worked!
So, the van is fixed and ready to go. It is always fun to take it down to the gas station. It holds 37 gallons. I put in 30 gallons of gas at just under $4/gallon. Anyway, it was Monday, May 16th and we stopped off for coffee and breakfast with the “As the Shop Turns” group and then left for Redmond from there – about a 3 hour drive.
As we drove, the mountains were beautiful and covered in snow. The high desert was all green. It was threatening rain and about 50 degrees.
We got there in time for lunch with Marci and Tim. After lunch Marci and I picked up Noah after school (2:15) and went fishing at Lake Billy Chinook – about ½ hour drive from where they live. Tim went to work and Ilene waited for Aaron to get home from school around 3:40.
We put the boat in the lake. Noah caught one and I caught one and Marci drove the boat. It was a great day for fishing but too short.
We all met up at the baseball field for Aaron’s game at 5:00 p.m. Watching 10 year olds play baseball is a lot of fun. He was excited because he got one good hit. He plays right field and sometimes he pitches. He’s left handed. It was really fun to watch the game. The wind was strong and about 48 degrees. Sitting in a chair bundled up in a blanket made it a lot more fun to watch. After the game we went home to a nice bowl of hot home cooked tortilla soup. Tim and I played pool. Yes, I am very bad at it. Marci and Ilene looked at pictures of their trip to Hawaii. The kids went to bed – school tomorrow.
May 17 - The kids are off to school - time for Marci, Ilene and me to go fishing. Off we went to Billy Chinook. We launched the boat and started off from the dock with my spinner out. Fish on - Marci has fish on. Ilene hasn’t even got her line in the water yet. I thought “this will not take long.” Wrong! A few more bites and then it was boat all over the lake. We could see the fish jumping all over. I started to change the way I was fishing and said, “We can’t go home with just one fish in the boat.” I did this the day before and that is when we got our second fish. Three hours and bang I had a fish. It took out line. Ilene was slow in getting in and it tangled up in her line. Marci got that fixed. Then it went around the only fish on the stringer. Marci to the rescue again. It took a few more runs. The pole was in a U shape as it went under the boat. Marci was running back and forth in the boat and it was hard to keep on the seat. The net was finally in her hands. I was thinking that she had to take two swipes at the little fish I caught. I threatened her a lot. She got it with one good pass, but didn’t tell me that she had it. Just then the spinner came over the side of the boat. I thought, “Oh darn, it got away.” Marci had it in the net and the “Oh My Gosh” came out of her mouth a lot. The fish filled the net. Earlier she was asking why the net had such a long handle and was so big (six feet long).
The motor ran out of gas but we were able to tip the boat so we could get the last drops and it got us in. I poured in another pint. It takes a pint per four hours. Just Marci and I went out the second time. She got two real good bites. It was good that it slipped off the hook because the way she jerked the head would have been the only thing on the hook.
Marci was looking at the black sky and saying we should go back to the dock. I said the clouds will not go over us, but it was getting late so in we went. As we touched the bank, Ilene brought the van down to us, and it started to rain. By the time we took a picture and loaded the boat, the rain was white and the ground was white with hail. There was also lots of wind. I didn’t say it was cold. You really could not tell because every part of your body was numb.
Noah and I had been telling fish stories so when Marci called him on the phone and said we got a 25 inch one, he said, “Yea right!” So, I said, “Put your money where your mouth is. I bet a banana split.” He hung up. When he saw it in the pan, it was an “Oh My Gosh” just like his mother. I guess we know where he got that. It was less than 25 inches so he wanted me to buy him a banana split. I don’t think so! When you tell a fish story and say you got one bigger than you really did, when you do get a big one and lots of fish, everyone thinks it is just a fish story. There is a push to shove here.
When we got home, it was “what kind of trout did we get?” Yes, Tim on the internet found the answer. It was a Bull Trout aka Dolly Vardin.
It didn’t rain in Redman but the wind was there. The clouds all around us were REALLY black. Not a drop of rain or hail fell so we were able to see Noah play ball. His team was a lot better but they were older. It was a good game. He got a good hit too. It wasn’t easy playing the other team as their players were much larger and looked older. When he was not playing, Aaron and I played catch. He is trying to be a pitcher. You could see him get better every time I saw him. Then off to fast food, a milk shake, and home for the night. We got up at 5:00 a.m. so we could be at our preplanned locations in Milwaukie Wednesday morning.
It was a great two days and a great visit with our daughter, Marci, and family.
www.mrbontheside.blogspot.com
We were thinking of going to our grandsons’ baseball games. Since we had our one day of sunshine and it looked like rain for the next week, we thought it would be a good time to go to Redmond, Oregon and watch Noah (13) and Aaron (10) play baseball.
The thing of getting in the van and taking off just never seems to happen. Adjusting the ropes to put the boat on top of the van needed about a day to fix. Then you know you have to take it down to try it out. Ilene and I decided to try the fishing at Promitory Park. The boat ropes worked fine but trout fishing was closed for another 20 days. We did have a wonderful drive. Went home via McIver State Park and stopped at an overlook of the Clackamas River in the park.
On the way back home (somewhere around Oregon City) we smelled something. I discovered it was the brakes – they wouldn’t release so they got very hot and smelled very bad. Oh Joy! They had been completely rebuilt (I thought) about 2,000 miles ago – that being in Gunnison, Colorado 1300 miles away. It made it hard to take it back. I then bought new rebuilt calipers and put them on. Yes, another day preparing for the trip. I ended up putting them on in a rainstorm since our one day of sun was over.
When you put brakes on, you have to bleed them (take the air out of the system). Myran was complaining of the pedal going down in this process. I looked and there was a puddle of brake fluid on the ground. After taking the bolt off and on several times, I figured out it was the bolt and replaced it with an old one from the old brakes and it worked!
So, the van is fixed and ready to go. It is always fun to take it down to the gas station. It holds 37 gallons. I put in 30 gallons of gas at just under $4/gallon. Anyway, it was Monday, May 16th and we stopped off for coffee and breakfast with the “As the Shop Turns” group and then left for Redmond from there – about a 3 hour drive.
As we drove, the mountains were beautiful and covered in snow. The high desert was all green. It was threatening rain and about 50 degrees.
We got there in time for lunch with Marci and Tim. After lunch Marci and I picked up Noah after school (2:15) and went fishing at Lake Billy Chinook – about ½ hour drive from where they live. Tim went to work and Ilene waited for Aaron to get home from school around 3:40.
We put the boat in the lake. Noah caught one and I caught one and Marci drove the boat. It was a great day for fishing but too short.
We all met up at the baseball field for Aaron’s game at 5:00 p.m. Watching 10 year olds play baseball is a lot of fun. He was excited because he got one good hit. He plays right field and sometimes he pitches. He’s left handed. It was really fun to watch the game. The wind was strong and about 48 degrees. Sitting in a chair bundled up in a blanket made it a lot more fun to watch. After the game we went home to a nice bowl of hot home cooked tortilla soup. Tim and I played pool. Yes, I am very bad at it. Marci and Ilene looked at pictures of their trip to Hawaii. The kids went to bed – school tomorrow.
May 17 - The kids are off to school - time for Marci, Ilene and me to go fishing. Off we went to Billy Chinook. We launched the boat and started off from the dock with my spinner out. Fish on - Marci has fish on. Ilene hasn’t even got her line in the water yet. I thought “this will not take long.” Wrong! A few more bites and then it was boat all over the lake. We could see the fish jumping all over. I started to change the way I was fishing and said, “We can’t go home with just one fish in the boat.” I did this the day before and that is when we got our second fish. Three hours and bang I had a fish. It took out line. Ilene was slow in getting in and it tangled up in her line. Marci got that fixed. Then it went around the only fish on the stringer. Marci to the rescue again. It took a few more runs. The pole was in a U shape as it went under the boat. Marci was running back and forth in the boat and it was hard to keep on the seat. The net was finally in her hands. I was thinking that she had to take two swipes at the little fish I caught. I threatened her a lot. She got it with one good pass, but didn’t tell me that she had it. Just then the spinner came over the side of the boat. I thought, “Oh darn, it got away.” Marci had it in the net and the “Oh My Gosh” came out of her mouth a lot. The fish filled the net. Earlier she was asking why the net had such a long handle and was so big (six feet long).
The motor ran out of gas but we were able to tip the boat so we could get the last drops and it got us in. I poured in another pint. It takes a pint per four hours. Just Marci and I went out the second time. She got two real good bites. It was good that it slipped off the hook because the way she jerked the head would have been the only thing on the hook.
Marci was looking at the black sky and saying we should go back to the dock. I said the clouds will not go over us, but it was getting late so in we went. As we touched the bank, Ilene brought the van down to us, and it started to rain. By the time we took a picture and loaded the boat, the rain was white and the ground was white with hail. There was also lots of wind. I didn’t say it was cold. You really could not tell because every part of your body was numb.
Noah and I had been telling fish stories so when Marci called him on the phone and said we got a 25 inch one, he said, “Yea right!” So, I said, “Put your money where your mouth is. I bet a banana split.” He hung up. When he saw it in the pan, it was an “Oh My Gosh” just like his mother. I guess we know where he got that. It was less than 25 inches so he wanted me to buy him a banana split. I don’t think so! When you tell a fish story and say you got one bigger than you really did, when you do get a big one and lots of fish, everyone thinks it is just a fish story. There is a push to shove here.
When we got home, it was “what kind of trout did we get?” Yes, Tim on the internet found the answer. It was a Bull Trout aka Dolly Vardin.
It didn’t rain in Redman but the wind was there. The clouds all around us were REALLY black. Not a drop of rain or hail fell so we were able to see Noah play ball. His team was a lot better but they were older. It was a good game. He got a good hit too. It wasn’t easy playing the other team as their players were much larger and looked older. When he was not playing, Aaron and I played catch. He is trying to be a pitcher. You could see him get better every time I saw him. Then off to fast food, a milk shake, and home for the night. We got up at 5:00 a.m. so we could be at our preplanned locations in Milwaukie Wednesday morning.
It was a great two days and a great visit with our daughter, Marci, and family.
www.mrbontheside.blogspot.com
posted by Byran on the side at 7:33 PM
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