Holiday Cheer and Shopping

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

Shopping with Tammi and Sandi at Woodburn Outlet Mall

I have had a little difficulty sitting down and writing a post.  No, I take that back.  I’ve had a lot of difficulty sitting down and writing a post. At the end of each full day, my brain has stopped functioning.   This is my attempt at keeping current.  After all, we just arrived back in Washington for the holidays and we’ve been running ever since.  We’ve been visiting.  We’ve also had to work on our Christmas shopping  AND we’ve had to wrap all the presents.  Actually, that’s the last two days in a nutshell and there’s only one word to describe that …. busy.

Do you think these need replacing?

Found a Merrell Outlet ... my new shoes

Our first two nights were spent at our son’s house.  We spent yesterday and today shopping, wrapping gifts and moving back to our daughter’s house for another two nights.  Our plan is to move back and forth between the two houses every other night.  That’s work but it’s a good type of work.

Gifts

With Christmas one week away we’ve been doing a lot of shopping.  Today was no exception.  We made a trip to the outlet mall in Woodburn which is south of Portland.  Then, a little stop at Fry’s Electronics and on to the FedEx Office to get supplies for shipping.  Then, back out again .... at yet another mall.  Shopping is work but someone has to do it.  It's not that we were really in a place to do much shopping before we got here.  Quartzsite doesn't have many malls.  Actually, Quartzsite doesn't have any malls!

Driving in the fog is no fun.

It’s been foggy in this area … really foggy.  I remember when we lived around here some 20 odd years ago that the fog was a dreaded thing during the winter because it often froze on the roads.  Ever drive in black ice?  That’s exactly what it can become.

In about nine days we’ll start our trek back to Arizona.  We’ve started watching the 10-day forecast.  Again, we’re certainly hoping that the weather forecasters are as right-on in their forecast as they were on our trip north.  At this point, roads look dry with no snow over the mountains.  Our fingers and toes are crossed that it just stays that way.

‘Tis a tad of a break from life on the road.

Mildly Spooky Cemetery Walk

 

The past is a ghost, the future a dream and all we ever have is now. 

Nothing says Halloween more than a nice walk … through a cemetery … after dark!  However, we've been known to walk through many cemeteries searching for gravestones of ancestors.   We’ve also been known to walk through cemeteries in search of ghosts!  This one was totally different.  The ghosts talked to us and shared their life story from the time they left the east coast and traveled across country to the Pacific Northwest.

A guide and lanterns illuminated the way through this mildly spooky historical presentation. We met some of the historic people from Clark County’s past, who are current residents of Vancouver’s Old City Cemetery.  Some knew exactly where they had been buried and others weren’t quite sure.  They just knew they belonged there and were in constant search of just exactly where.

We learned about the speed of the wagon trains taking 7 months to get their destination. That was a long trip but it was made in super fast speed – only 7 months.  We learned the wagon masters recommended the travelers take several pairs of shoes as they probably would wear them out walking.  They did!  Land grants were given away in this area but with the land grants came problems with the Hudson’s Bay Company, the French, the Indians and the weather.

We listened to the story of the only person to be “legally” hung but he was innocent.  Or, so he told us.  We  heard another story from a boy who had drowned and yet another from a soldier who was killed the day before Armistice. His body was brought back by his family to bury close to them.  

We learned of a grandson who searched for his grandmother and eventually discovered where she had been put.  She was moved next to her daughter and given a proper headstone.  The grandmother was a “nurse” who served in the Civil War.  However, she explained that she wasn’t really a nurse.  The nurses during that time period had to be older and plain so as not to tempt the men they were nursing.

In other words, we had a great time.  We met Tammi and her family at PANDA EXTRESS for a quick meal and then we were off to the cemetery.  The “ghosts” were in costumes and played their parts well.  What a fascinating way to teach history.  I bet if schools did it this way, the students would certainly be interested and remember more. 

We asked our RV neighbors, Steve and Carol to join us but they had other plans in the works.  Steve had some idea about installing a new gadget he had just received in the mail.  Carol was playing tennis.

We did discover a few things about dear ole’ Steve.  He was in Vietnam the same time Terry was.  He was also in Cam Ranh Bay the same time Terry was.  Carol and I sat around and listened to war stories of the many things they both remembered happening.  It was a fun and interesting evening.