Getting ready

We're taking off on Thursday morning for a 13 day trip down the Oregon coast. We're driving up to the top of Oregon; think Astoria, and then we will make our way down the coast, staying at 3 different houses along the way. My sister and brother in law are on their way to join us. They are driving from Arizona and once they make it to Sacramento they will park their car and pick up the Dodge van rental that we will use for the trip. We want to be comfortable on this trip. They will arrive at our house on Wednesday and we will make the first leg to Eugene in about 6.5 hours.

Back in the day...when I was young and stupid, I would drive for as long as I could. An 18 hour trip was normal for me. I would stop for gas and toilets and then back on the road. I'm surprised now that I wasn't served with divorce papers after a couple of those trips. But, she's still with me...

I was back in the balance lab today, doing workouts in the Balance Master. And they are workouts! The floor moves and walls slide back and forth and up and down while you try to keep an image, representing you, in the square center of the video screen in front of you. I'm actually getting better at it and that's encouraging. Even so, I bought a nice walking stick for our trip. Going through the crowd at the local farmers market a few weeks ago I suddenly felt 'tippy' because of the proximity of moving people all around me. The cane/walking stick is insurance for me.

The drought continues to take a toll. I've lost two birch trees so far and I have 4 more that are looking sad. The front lawn is slowly growing brown and by the end of summer it will be an exact copy of the  back lawn; already brown and lifeless. I'm really quite happy to see the lawns go as we have plans to landscape with plants that actually belong in this climate. Lawns (meadows) don't have a place here in the arid valley. Meadows (and birch trees) are found up in the high country, surrounded by big timber and not shopping centers.

Tomorrow I have to make sure I have enough sketch pads and watercolor paper for the trip. And I need to make sure I have an empty 'jump drive' for the photos I will be taking.

Ah, Oregon! Where it's green...