Halibut, Clams, Garmin, Weddings and More

"I believe in an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out."

Thursday rolled around.  It meant a trip to Portland to drop Terry off at the airport.  He was on his way to Virginia for his niece's wedding.   We had to change his flights around at the last minute.  The plane he had figured he’d get on was all sold out!  We had to make fast changes for sure as there wasn’t a single empty seat on the plane that was going to Charlotte, NC.  When I dropped him off at the airport I was crossing my fingers that at least he’d get a seat on a flight to Philadelphia.  After all, he had a wedding in Virginia to attend and he had to get there some way.

For me it meant an excuse for another seafood meal.  The best time to do that is when Terry's not around since seafood is probably the last food he would want to eat.  Some people just don't know what's good for them.  Instead I drug Lee and Sabrina along and we stopped at Freddy's For The Halibut and that's just what I had --- halibut.  Well, the halibut was after the steamer clams  but it was all so very good .... good food and good folks to share it with. 

We had one more birthday celebration on Friday.  It was Lee’s birthday party and it meant more cake and ice cream.  This time of year we certainly have a good amount of that around.  However, Sabrina had that in mind when she made these tiny little personal size birthday cakes.  I could actually eat the whole thing!!  She had three of them for Lee with a Superman emblem on them.  She said he was her Superman.  Sweet, huh?

My DNA pool is getting bigger.  Terry took a kit to his mom in Virginia.  Plus .. Tammi, Robert and his dad also wanted their DNA tested.  I’ll tell you this DNA gift I got from Tammi for Christmas sure has cost me a lot of money!!! 

I’ve not only got kits for other relatives but I’ve tested myself on more than one site.  Without a doubt, I think 23andme is best.  Thus, that’s where I ordered the new kits from for them.

Am I obsessed?  I think so.

Once Terry gets back from Virginia we’ll have one day and then we’re on the road again.  We started getting ready before he left.  First thing and most important was getting the kayaks ready.  We bought cockpit covers for them.  Next will be to load the hundreds of items for the family reunion.  I’m just wondering where we’re going to put it all.

Our first stop will be about an hour north to get a leak fixed in the motorhome. At first we thought it was dripping from the hot water tank but we actually have no idea.  It’s leaking someplace and we need to get it fixed.  That's all we know.  Getting an appointment any place this time of year usually means quite a wait.  We were lucky to get the appointment when we did without the 3 week wait.  Some shops told us that that’s when they had their first available appointment.  When we want something done we usually want it done yesterday.  You know how that goes I’m sure.

It was also time to update our Garmin. Garmin came out with a new map update a few months ago.  I still remembered how long it took last year to update it.  It took hours and hours and hours.  Thus, I wasn’t looking forward to updating again.  However, we all know those maps are out-of-date even before you update them.  It needed to be done so I bit the bullet and got it done.   Here’s the blog I wrote about it last year.   It took just about as long this time too.  I knew better than to try updating on our air card.  Thank goodness we were able to use Lee’s DSL line.

I’ve blogged in the past about Powell’s Bookstore in Portland.  That was one of the destinations on Saturday with Tammi and Robert.  I made quite a haul and so did they.  I love that store.  There’s something for everybody at that place.  

• Powell's City of Books is a book lover's paradise, the largest used and new bookstore in the world. Located in downtown Portland, Oregon, and occupying an entire city block, the City stocks more than a million new and used books. Nine color coded rooms house over 3,500 different sections, offering something for every interest, including an incredible selection of out-of-print and hard-to-find titles.
  
  

Right across the street from Powell’s is another store that I loved.  It’s Sur la Table, a specialty store for chefs with kitchen supplies and even classes for regular folks like us.  It’s an amazing place. Needless to say, I didn’t walk out of that store empty handed either.

Next was a stop at the Habitat for Humanity store in Portland.  That put us past lunch time so Buffalo Wild Wings was on our list after that.  It was definitely a busy day..

Terry’s Adventure:  The wedding took place today.  It’s now behind him and tomorrow he starts on his trip back west just in time to head north for our family reunion.  However, he was busy doing more than just going to the wedding.   He was making plans with his brother for one more adventure to add to our already full calendar.  It seems we are now tacking on a trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina when we head to Virginia for Justin’s homecoming.  It just keeps getting busier and busier!!

‘Tis life on the road.