Elections

I had a free evening and spent it in the lounge of the hotel downloading pictures and answering emails. While sitting in the lobby I saw Sarah Palin walk in with her entourage. I was so startled to see her here. I think it would have been great if she could have spoken at our convention. No matter what someones political views are.  There was also a partial lunar eclipse last night also. It was at 3 in the morning and I did not wake up to photograph it. Sorry.. :)
I found out all the cookies that we have been eating for days, all Norwegian cookies, were made by the local lodges in the area. They were presented so beautifully and professionally. I thought they were from a bakery. Darn I did not get a picture of any of them. They had T-shirts for sale for Camp Norge, colored purple. The arts and crafts were fabulous. The quality of workmanship on these items was just outstanding. I should hope that showing the pictures to our lodge it will encourage members to send their work. The registration people kept us so supplied with snacks and beer and wine and Monster drinks (drink company out of San Francisco), donated case after case of drinks for the convention.
By sitting in the lounge I have met so many wonderful fellow Norwegians. Also met some from Colorado that I did not know.
The elections of officers went very smoothly and we now have new officers that will be installed at our dinner in a few hours. I have found that many of the people I have met are also in Eastern Star or Masons and had been in Rainbow Girls. Small world to me and seems to be getting smaller and smaller the more people I meet. I was going to try to run of the office of zone 8 director. But I found that I did not have the cash for the insurance that you must have in order to do this. Many people were pushing for me to run for this office. I did make the attempt but when I found out how much I had to spend and when I had to withdraw my bid. I will try again in 2 years at the next convention.

I have talked about my involvement with organizations with members, and also my business, gave out business cards also. We did include discussions about the band that I sing in also and I may have a new gig for them. With a lodge in Denver.
The weather here has been so nice. It has not been so hot I could not stand it. It has not rained and I could enjoy going for short walks.

This has been fun but I am ready to move on to the next adventure on my way homeward. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again soon.

Sons of Norway Convention

I am currently in Modesto, California. I came here to attend the Sons of Norway convention. I am the current secretary to the Stein Fjell Lodge 6-114. We are staying in the Doubletree hotel and the convention is in the hotel. I have a roommate of which I had never met before. We are getting along famously. She is from Arizona. I have met alot of really nice and fun loving Norwegians. There is a small amount of business to take care of so we had workshops in between sessions. Tons of coffee was served in between sessions and tons of Norwegian cookies. I of course tried all of them. They were great. One of our lunches was open faced sandwiches. Last night we had the bunad parade. All the members who had traditional Norwegian costumes were requested to wear them to dinner. After dinner they paraded around the room in their bunads. It was great to see so many bunads. One woman explained each of the bunads and where they came from in Norway. It was very educational. I took so many pictures and put them on my facebook page. There was one guy who dressed up as a Viking and talked partially in Norwegain and English. He had us in stitches most of the time.

Today was full of sessions and nominations. We got through most of our business so we were let go early. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. We did get together at a small party in Lyle's room. It was nice talking to so many people. But, it was hot and it was alot like putting as many people in one room as you can. Signing off until my next adventure...:)

Some examples of Norwegian folk art. There was Rosemaling and Hardanger embroidery and more.

There was a bunad parade also with everyone who ones one wore it. Seeing this was really educational.

Karrin's dress and so on...

Altering Karrin's bridesmaid dress was a major challenge.  I made it work and the dress fits her, Yeah! It took me 2 days of figuring and fitting and sewing and ripping out. Whew.  I has rouching around the bust area and I tried to copy this as best as I could with what little fabric I had to work with. All the while we are trying to get the dress done her dog is begging us to go outside and play with him. He is so cute. In between trying to get this dress done, we went downtown in Paso Robles and took pictures. We had lunch at "The Touch of Paso" restaurant where we used to go every weekend with Karrin's grandparents (who have both passed). Both of us sat there and just looked around. We had not been in the restaruant since her grandfather had passed. It was a bitter sweet experience. Neither of us was prepared for all the emotion that was running through our heads. We ate our lunch in silence and did not begin to talk again until I paid the bill. The owner of the place actually remembered me. He came out of the kitchen to greet me. That was so pleasent to be remembered after all these years.
While walking around town taking pictures I am sure I looked like a tourist. But, I was only taking pictures because the whole downtown area had changed so much since I moved away.  I like the way to town is changing. It has become quaint and not just another small town. It is not copying the look of San Luis Obispo either. They are keeping the old library and turned it into a museum. It is beautiful inside. They also rebuilt the clock tower building that was all but destroyed during the last earthquake. The water fountain in the park is waterless due to the drought. The local residents are on a rotation schedule for watering their lawns.
We decided to go to the coast again for more pictures. Our destination was Cambria but not the quick route. We drove highway 46 west to Santa Rosa Road. This is a back road through the mountains to the coast in Cambria. It is actually a very lovely drive. Parts of the street is lined with oak trees dripping in spanish moss. There were some newer cute homes along this route.

We enjoyed the long drive, stopping at a nice scenic stop and took pictures of the hills. Hehe mountians. Then the rest of the road was switchback turns until it got down the mountain. Along this route is Linn's Fruit Bin. We have been going here for about 20 years.

I took some pictures of the berry farm. Then on to Cambria to my favorite store, Hearts Ease. This is an herbal shop. They have the cutest garden in the back of the store. I took pictures of the garden to try to use some of the ideas in my own yard. We then drove over to Moonstone beach and took some pictures there also. They have some of the oddest looking trees there, wind blown but full of character.

Karrin's dress

Well, who knew that while on my road trip I would be altering a bride's maids dress. Karrin ordered a dress from a company in China at the request of the bride to be. When she got the dress, she can't zip it in the area of her ribs. So, now I am not only hemming this dress but have to take it apart and try to make it fit with what little fabric I have available to me. This will be a challenge to make it look like part of the design of the dress. I forgot to take a before picture but I will take an after picture to show. I forgot to take pictures of both before and after. I managed to get the dress back together and it fits her. I think I did a good job of making it look like it might have been part of the original design of the dress.

Changes

Let's see, some of the changes in Paso... They tore down the old Masonic Lodge and turned it into a medical facility. A&W drive in on Spring Street is not only gone, but the building is really completely gone. The auto repair shop next to the old Fox theater on Spring street is gone and replace with a nice new beautiful business building (empty). The clock tower that was leveled during the last huge earthquake is rebuilt. Almost all the stores and restaurants downtown I have never seen before. Then driving through old neighborhoods, they almost looked foreign to me. The trees that were once so small now are huge. There are bike lines that are red and white while the street is still black topped. There are currently so many wineries in the Paso Robles area. I got lost on one of the back roads coming into town because there were wineries on both sides of the road comming into town. They were not there when I left. It almost feels like a completely different town.

My daughter and I have been making decorations for her birthday party. We have been doing paper mache and painting for a couple of days. I am also altering a bridesmaid dress for her. We are having fun, driving around and seeing friends.

I have managed to meet up with several of my high school friends and had a great time with them all.
My daughter and I drove over to Morro Bay today and had our traditional fish and chips. We also walked on the embarcadero and did tons of window shopping and bought sea shells for the little ones back in Fort Collins and of course could not forget the salt water taffy. I took many pictures of the Morro Bay rock and the harbor and of sea gulls. But most of all I enjoyed just sitting at the beach and listening to the
pounding of the waves and the wind in my face and the smell of the ocean. I miss that very much. Again I will post some pictures as soon as I can.

Getting around

Well, after living in Paso Robles for so many years I thought I could just go driving around and be fine. Much to my dismay, I got lost my first day running around town alone. I quickly discovered I had to totally rely on the names of the streets, all the landmarks had changed. I am getting better after driving around after a couple of days. There is still a very strong sulfer smell downtown since the earthquake of many years ago.. The earthquake opened a huge hole in the parking lot directly behind what is now a museum and it is still there. The building where the clock tower had been damaged has been retro-fitted and re-built. I will be taking pictures of the downtown area.
I drove to San Luis Obispo to enjoy the Farmer's Market and happily found that at least was still there. Much had changed in SLO also. But at least I could remember how to get around in SLO. I took a few pictures of Farmer's Market and the old Mission. This Farmer's Market has the usual fair of farm produce, but it also has vendors of all kinds, food vendors and musicians on every other block. The street is so packed it is like trying to get around in Disneyland. There are also almost as many lights lighting up the area.
Highway 101 is under construction again. It seems like no matter when I visit the area 101 is always under some kind of construction.
There is a bakery here called Cider Canyon Bakery and they make the best sandwiches and homemade breads. The room is painted in a light shade of green with what looks like pickled pine around the room. There is windows all around and you can see some hills with grape vines growing in a local vinyard. The patio has a fireplace and lot of plants, a very lovely place to sit and enjoy the views and eat and have a cup of coffee.
They tore down the building that was the high school that I went to on 24th and Main st. They rebuilt the school for elementary age and it looks like the original school that was built there after WWII.
I have managed to meet up with a couple of high school friends so far and will get together with a few more before I leave.

Paso Robles, CA

The wind in Las Vegas was horrendous. It jostled my car all over the freeway. It was interesting driving through Las Vegas and getting to see all the unusual buildings they create just for gambling. The weather was very hot when the wind quit blowing. The drive from Vegas to California is pretty boring. The only break in the drive is the sudden unexpected gambling spots in the middle of no where. In the open fields the wind was whipping up the dust into what looked like a brown fog rolling in over the hills. Surprisingly there was not a lot of traffic on my drive out until I got to Vegas and was heading to California. Then it was like driving on the 405 in L.A. Once I arrived in California it was very hot, tons of traffic and more long boring roads to look at while driving. I left the really green mountains in Colorado. The much smaller mountains in California are already all brown. Although I did get a glimpse of some left over spring flowers tucked away in some nooks and crannies along the way. I stopped in Baker, Ca. This town is extremely small and not much in it except a few restaurants and many gas stations. One restaurant stood out in particular. It was called the Mad Greek Restaurant. It looked so out of place in a dusty western town. First of all the building was painted a very bright white, with brilliant blue awnings. Followed by statues all around the outside of the place. It looked like a historical greek temple on crack. I wonder if the food was any good if they called it Mad Greek. Does that mean a Mad Greek is the cook, and or the designer of the restaurant. Next on my list was Barstow. In the interest of making travel easier for the driver, Barstow by passed the city by making you drive around it. So today's driver totally misses the whole point of a road trip. Driving through these relatively small towns is part of the joy and interest of driving on the roads in the first place. Didn't they watch the cartoon "Cars". They should bring back Route 66 and encourage people to drive those roads at least once in their life. You learn so much about the United States by stopping in the small towns and becoming a tourist. Between Barstow and Bakersfield there is a whole hillside filled with spinning propellers that create electricity. For me I found it fascinating seeing the hillside with those things spinning like crazy. It made me think of my childhood and those crazy paper pinwheels that spin when you blow on them. Now imagine the whole hillside filled with them. Drove right past Bakersfield. Now Hwy 46 has not changed much since I left California in 97. It is still two lanes, it is still dangerous, and who likes driving towards a setting sun?

I stopped along 46 just long enough to snap a picture of the James Dean memorial. Again, like many things, in the middle of no where. When I got close to Paso Robles I decided to turn left on Union Rd. Because it was a road I thought I knew. Hahaha well, the road is the same but I did not recognize anything. This particular road had wineries on both sides of the road. Wineries with names I had never heard of. When I finally got to Golden Hill Rd. I thought ah ha... I know where I am, NOT.... I did not recognize anything about Golden Hill Rd. The same for when I got on Creston Rd. I was beginning to think I had landed in a different city and someone was playing a practical joke on me. I did manage to remember the names of streets and where I thought they might be approximately. Somehow I muddled through it and found my way to my daughters house. Whew..

Today we drove through downtown Paso and it did not feel like the town I left so many years ago at all. I barely recognized anything. Then tonight we drove down to San Luis Obispo and it had changed but no where near as much as Paso Robles. And to my delight they still had the Farmer's Market. This market is the best one in the United States. I wish they would do the Farmer's Market like this one, in Fort Collins, CO. I walked through the streets with my daughter and took pictures of the market, the people and the buildings.

Then there is bubble gum alley. Where everyone is encouraged to put a piece of chewed bubble gum up on the wall. It has since become a tourist attaction.

I also took pictures of the the San Luis Obispo mission...

It was just starting to get dark and lights were coming on downtown SLO.





















Then I went down to the SLO creek and took a few pictures.

Downtown SLO at night during the Farmer's Market.

Las Vegas

Well, my trip started out much like any other trip, fraught with mishaps before I even pulled out of my driveway. Could not find this, could not find that. You know the story... Best laid plans of mice and men... I even managed to get 10 minutes from the house and remembered yet another thing that I forgot. Had to turn around and retrieve it. Finally getting started on my drive I was happy that it was a sunny and warm day. There was not a tremendous amount of traffic which enhanced my enjoyment of the drive. I was excited to get to the mountains. I wanted to see if there was any snow left on them. We have been having flash flood warnings in the area because of the snow meltings on the Rockies. As I approached the base of the mountains I was amazed at the color of the mountains.

They are greener than I have ever seen them.  With all the water run off it is a wonderous site. I stopped in Idaho Springs to get my favorite drink of quad grande white mocha. I don't buy them very often any more. I make my own at home now. Then I proceeded to drive up to Dillion, Co. I stopped and took a couple of pictures. The mountains, some with snow, some without with a lake in front of them with a lone sailboat sailing. The air was crisp and with a slight breeze. It was so comforting just standing there watching the sailboat. Knowing that I had to get back on the road at some point I got back into the car to see what waited around the next corner. I got so side tracked looking at the mountains that I did not notice the time passing by so quickly. I even took a picture inside Eisenhower tunnel. I hope it turns out.
I stopped in Vail because I wanted to take pictures and nearly drove right by the whole town. It is quiet small. It is a very unique town. It looks like a European town possibly in the Swiss Alps. It is a strange town also. They kind of went crazy with the round abouts. There are so many at all the intersections that I actually got motion sickness, disoriented.. The drive through Vail Pass is beautiful also. The elevation is 10,665 feet. My ears were popping constantly.
The drive to Glenwood Springs through a pass in the mountains was breathtaking also. The Colorado River was to the point of over flowing. The roads we were driving on looked as though they had been gently placed there so as not to disturb the beauty of the pass. One of the roads looks like it is floating on the river. On my way home I will try to get a picture of that. I could not from the direction I was traveling. I arrived at Grand Junction and was looking for a gas station. This is where the trip was not so nice, I became ill. Oh well, a little excitement during the trip is ok I guess.  I got a phone call from my granddaughter Rylee. She wanted to know where I was and when I would be in the next state. So I started taking pictures of the state signs as I went into each state to show her. My other grandson is checking the map at home with the help of his grandpa.
I stopped off in Green River, Utah and topped off my gas. I did not want to get stranded in the middle of  no where in the middle of the night. By now it is dark out and I am watching the moon which is just a sliver. It was facinating to watch it go behind clouds and the mountains and change colors. It was my constant companion until I decided to stop and sleep for a few hours. I made it to about 20 miles short of St. George. I pulled into a rest stop and slept for a few hours. I put up the sun shades on all the windows to help me sleep.  It was a surprisingly quiet rest stop and there were many people there doing the same thing as I was.

I am now in Las Vegas. The outskirts of the town. I am a strange one as I have no real desire to go into Vegas, even to get pictures. It is very very windy today and warm. I think without the wind it would be very hot. I am sitting in the IHOP trying to charge up my computer and phone to get back on the road to get to my destination of Paso Robles, CA. ... until my next entry.. catch you on the flip flop.. ttfn

Start of this Blog

To celebrate starting this blog I am going to do a trip report of my drive from Fort Collins, Colorado to Paso Robles, California. I plan on taking pictures along the way to share. I start this 1200 mile (one way) journey in the morning. June 15th, 2010. So I hope you enjoy meandering with me across the states.