I just have to share this with you

While on Ebay I found a Red Cross Magazine for sale dated Sept 1918 and I thought it might me fun to read and see. Well, it was pretty much a lot of Red Cross propanganda, but I found some advertizements that were just so funny, particularly this one. "Your Boy Must Fight Cooties".

Tomorrow if I have time, I am going to post the best one, White Cross Electric Vibrator. Our outfit gives you the greatest curative agents - Vibration, Faradic and Galvanic electricity.

Hummm, we're getting the itch and it isn't even Spring

Some of you know I took a 6 week job just because I didn't have much else planned and I figured why not. Well, it took me a full week to get use to getting out of bed I still forget to turn on the alarm clock. While working is okay, and the money is nice to have, I just think, I like retirement better. I like it when its cold in the house and I can pretend I'm asleep and wait til hubby gets up to make the coffee and bump up the heat. Of course, some of the time, he out-waits me cause nature calls.
Anyway, I am so ready to get into the old RV and head out. Both Hubby and I are getting pulled in to things I really don't want to be pulled into. The Masons are asking more and more of him, and since he has nothing better to do, he does it, and the same with Red Cross. I love helping our troops and what I do, but I would sure like to be on the road.
And why not. I keep thinking we'll go in March, but whats wrong with January. The weather might be the pits but we have a heater and warm coats. If we get caught in a storm, well just park it.
So anyway, while March was looking good, January is looking better.

Bye, Ian

I heard about a death of a friend of mine. I have known this kid since he was a snot nose little bundle of joy with the widest grin on his face and a smile for everyone. We use to go hiking, and I was never sure that he really enjoyed the hikes (his brother didn't and would vocally complain) but not Ian, he would walk along and talk to me about just about anything and everything. As he grew up, hiking with the old folks just didn't have the same appeal and we saw less and and less of him, but he always came and said hello and we were always so comfortable together, even though we were a generation apart.
He was built like his dad, tall, broad shoulders, good looking. I never understood why some gal didn't snag him. He was shy around girls I guess. They could never compete with his Mom anyway. He adored her and his Dad also. Maybe he was trying to find someone who could cook better than his mom. That would make sense, that would be almost impossible.
He was artistic, and his mom would send us his cartoons. I never understood them, but it was again a generation thing I think. But I certainly was amazed at his talent, that was something you saw right away. And intellect. The boy was a genius.
I remember he use to take me to see his computer, and he'd tell me all about the new program and some awesome thing it could do. Damn, I never understood a word he was telling me, but that didn't matter to either of us. He was just a good kid and I was just the old lady and we were friends.
And he died. He shouldn't have died. He was to damn young. Us old folks are suppose to go first, we shouldn't have to bury our children. Its not fair. Not to him. Not to his family or to his friends. He's leaving to many of us behind.
But he will always live in our hearts. We will always remember that silly grin. We will always remember his talent, his art, and I guess as long as your loved, your still alive.
Will miss you Ian. We had more mountains to hike and you had more pictures to draw.

Easy Sunday

It's so cool to be retired. While most of the camp was packing up to go home, we still had another full day ahead of us to explore. There was only one beach that we hadn't been to and that was maybe a mile or so down the road.
Now, of course, my feet are covered with mole skin to protect the blisters but I am determined that I am not going to let my tired dogs keep me from seeing the world. The beach was beautiful and we spent about an hour watching some folks learn to kayak in the surf. One tipped over but came right back up. I think it would be fun to try, but Roy said that even in wet suits you get cold so I don't think I'm that interested.
Anyway, on the road back we met one of the park workers and we struck up a conversation. He was very nice and told us a little more about the park. Since most of the folks were now gone, the deer were out enjoying the lawn, and eagle flew overhead and an assortment of little critters darted about.
It was a leisurely day and our luck was holding with the weather.

27 Oct, More hiking, Oh my aching feet.

Surprisingly, I woke up feeling no pain after yesterdays 12 mile hike, (okay so Im exaggerating a mite)so after breakfast we decided to take the 2.8 mile hike to North Head Lighthouse, the one we saw from the beach yesterday. The sign said "moderated" but I would have added "to strenuous" at least for us old folk.
It started off pretty flat but we knew that couldn't last and soon we started to climb. The trail was really pretty, but it was so shady, most of it was mud and dead leaves and tree roots, all trying to trip me up. I had visions of landing on my butt and spending the day with a big old mudstain on me. There were many of these old growth trees but this one seemed to be one of the larger


The vistas were beautiful, but I didn't like looking most of the time



Up close the lighthouse looked a little sad. The white paint from afar was a dirty yellow up close, the paint was peeling and the plaster cracking. For $2.50 you could climb to the top, but they weren't getting many takers and you can bet I didn't feel the urge. It was a ladder up, not stairs
Not looking forward to the return trip on the muddy trail we took the road instead, which probably added a mile or so to the hike and my dogs were now complaining loudly. Also I felt a blister developing but it was worth the trip as I can add another lighthouse to my collection.
Tomato soup for lunch and maybe a little nap.Then we talked out to the beach and headed south toward the Jetty

26 October, Friday at the Beach

After a quick breakfast of pancakes that mostly stuck to the pan, and a leisurely cup of coffee, we walked out to Benson Beach (named for a ship that sank in the area) and to the right saw North Head Lighthouse sitting high on a bluff above. Roy thought there might be a trail up but I knew in my heart I wasn't going to try any trail that steep. As it turned out, there was no trail but we got some good pictures.

Speaking of pictures, the trail to the beach was lined with beautiful red mushrooms. I looked them up and they are called Amanita Muscaria or Fly Agaric and while they are poisonous, they are also hullucinogenic. Thats probably why we saw folks picking them even though there were big signs that it was a criminal offence to pick the mushrooms.

They werent the only muchroom we saw, but these didn't look as pretty.


From the beach we walked back through the closed part of the park and saw a cayote who stared at us as we stared at him.


We wanted to check out the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and the other near by lighthouse called Cape Disappointment but it took some doing finding the trail. Once we did it was rated moderate to strenuous but only .6 miles so we took it and started the climb up. What a treat,the vistas of the beach below were beautiful and I didn't have to get close enought to make my fear of heights kick in. We scared a young deer and actually I think she scared me more than I her and we were so high in the trees that a young woodpecker pecked away at an old growth just within feet of us.
The Interpretive Center was awesome, but the $5. charge per person was a little steep. We heard an interesting talk by a docent on the maritine industry and the lighthouse



The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was built to mark the entrance to the Columbia River and even with two lighthouses, since 1792 about 2000 ships have sunk in the area. ITs not surprizing, sand and silt clog the waterways, and shift around at will. Storms with up to 25 foot swells are common winter occurrances and fog is a year round hazard. One ship we read about the first mate kept hearing this strange noise, it sounded like a rooster, but according to the Captain they were 6 miles out to see. Unfortunately, it was a rooster and they were shortly joining him on the beach.
The trail from the Interpritive Center to the Lighthouse was closed as the Coasties were having live fire practice. I had been willing to try but I was secretly pleased as I didn't think my feet would make another mile and a half and we still had a couple mile jaunt back to camp. I know we ended up walking 5 miles, 6 would be more accurate.

25 October Off again

Truisms like the best-laid plans of mice and men go oft awry, could have applied to our Thursday. We planned to leave early but on Wednesday the cargo-haulers hired to deliver our new electric bikes called asking if they could deliver them some time on Thursday. They promised by noon, but we just knew that we'd be waiting until mid-afternoon. BUT much to our delight, they managed to make it before hoon and about 1pm we were off, destination Camp Disappointment State Park, WA, right on the southwest tip of the state.
We drove Hwy 6, a windy road with some very narrow bridges, but beautiful farm-scapes, forests and tiny towns with quaint names like Dryad, PeEll and Frances. Hwy 6 west ends at Hwy 101 which followed the contours of the Pacific and just before it turned east again, we jumped off near Long Beach and followed the signs to our new weekend home, Site 54. Cape Diappointment State Park.
The park is heavily forested with an easy jaunt to the beach. Sites are laid out in a circle so you have space and privacy between rigs. Bathrooms and showers were clean and staff was helpful and friendly.
And much to our delight, the weather looked promising.