Hi, everyone…
  What a week!  We met our goal date and were on the road the morning of June 2nd, eager to go, but knowing we're going to miss the people we leave behind, too.  It was definitely a torn-emotion time!  First night we got only as far as a truck stop in Corning, CA.  OK, so you may as well know… Lee violated the first rule of packing the RV in preparation for moving it.  For the non-Rvers in the crowd, that rule is: NO DISTRACTIONS WHILE CLOSING DOWN THE HOUSE!  I'll spare you the details.  Let it suffice to say, we spent an awful lot of time cleaning shards of our Corning Ware dishes and taco sauce out of the carpet, drawers, and cupboards.  Ugh.  That lesson won't be forgotten soon. Nope! Those cupboards will be so well packed, Lee could win a contest after that trick!  The up side of this story is that we found out we can sleep like babies nestled between two refrigerator trucks in the middle of a truck stop if we're tired enough.
  The remainder of the trip between Redwood City and Tri-Cities, WA was great.  Second night, Talent, OR, and then on to Salem, where we spent Friday & Saturday nights and had nice long visits with family and friends.  Sunday's short drive took us from Salem to our son Mike's house near Portland.  We had two days to get reacquainted with Christopher (10), Danielle (8), and Andy (6).  Now, every grandparent thinks his or her own grandkid is the best… we know ours are!  (I'll be including some pictures as soon as we tear into my computer & find out what happened to my 'A' drive… guess it shook loose, the only casualty other than the dishes and taco sauce.  That won't happen again, either… it'll be packed in foam next trip out).  Sunday was Papa Ken's birthday, and the kids made sure he got pampered appropriately.
  Monday we spent visiting Ken's sister & her bridegroom of 54 years, then back to Mike's house for the evening with the kids again.  Tuesday's drive to Tri-Cities was perfect… I've always loved driving 'the gorge' along the Columbia River which separates Oregon from Washington.  The day was perfect for the drive, with just a few sprinkles early in the trip, then sunny with high clouds.  Arrived at Jim's & Amy's home safe & sound, and wasted no time in getting close to Madalyn again and meeting her new sister, Jamie Allison.  Maddy is just sixteen months old, and it's so hard for me to see her as the 'big sister' that she is.  She's quite lovable towards Jamie, and I expect they'll be thick as thieves for all their lives.
  We'll be staying here until just after July 4th, and will have lots of time to spend with Maddy, Jamie and cousin Tucker, son of Kenny & Stacey.  We have some business to take care of while here, also, so we won't be only playing.  We think we'll stick around til it cools off in the midwest!