015 Limos & Bikes

October 8 2008 – Wednesday

Redmond, OR

I woke up far too early today, around 730 am but it felt like it was at least 10!  It was, however, nice to wake up to the mountains right outside the window, in the distance, even if they were snow-covered.  My brother and I had some time to visit for a bit before I decided it was time to get showered & clean.  My Aunt Patty made a wonderful breakfast of sausage & cheese biscuits and an egg, so I had a fabulous start to the day.

My mom and I went shopping in Redmond to pick up a few things.  We stopped at a liquor store for some rum and then, bless the states where they have wine & beer in the grocery store, picked up some groceries, wine & 3 different six packs of local beer.  While out, I got a call from the guys (Uncle Lyle, Heath & Dad) who were anxious for us to return to the ranch so that we could go for a ride.  Since my brother flew out for a few days, Uncle Lyle let him borrow his Harley Sportster while Lyle rented a Harley for a few days.  My Mom & I hurried back to get geared up for the fairly cold-weather ride to the Dee Wright Observatory in Willamette National Forest.  
That was really pretty cool, with broken up lava beds everywhere, and the mountains, again…  And really, it was pretty cool; by the time we got there, I thought my fingers were going to fall off!  It’s time for new winter bike gloves, I guess.  To make it back home, I had to borrow a pair of thin leather gloves from my Uncle to put over my own regular bike gloves; at least they were a wind breaker!  The ride was beautiful, through the forest and around the area.  I fully admit that I love being around mountains.

When we got back from our super cool and very cold ride, we hopped into my Uncle’s limo to pick up my Grandpa & Mary for dinner.  Yup, they have a limo which they rent out for parties now and then.  So, my Mom, brother & I grabbed some beer and hung out together in the back of the limo while my Dad & Uncle rode up front.  After picking up Grandpa & Mary from Bend, we decided to stop at a Safeway to find my mom some popcorn that she wanted.  
And we thought it would be entertaining to stop at a Safeway for popcorn while we were in a limo…  Heath & I ended up getting two different kinds of popcorn, flowers for Aunt Patty, one large local beer and a six pack of hard cider for mom, since she kept insisting that she didn’t want more beer but yet seemed very protective over the one that was left from the first six pack.  It was humorous and we enjoyed ourselves.

When we got back to the ranch, everyone sat around and told stories for a while.  I learned quite a bit about some of my relatives!  Uncle Lyle used to be in the military, just as my Dad was.  He told of a time when he was actually mixing bombs with his bare hands, which is crazy.  I have a couple of other Uncles on my Dads side, one of them is named Lowell.  Apparently, he once egged Patty’s car without her knowing.  The next day when she found out, she brought it to the gas station where Lowell was working and told him that someone egged her car, would he please help her clean it…  Nice.  That’s what I call karma.

Then, on my Mom & Dad’s wedding day, a bunch of people were swimming right up until the ceremony.  Ok, that’s not too big of a deal; however, after the ceremony people were dropped off in random places, left to their own devices.  It was because of this that my Uncle Lyle, in his tuxedo, met some people with a boat and went water skiing with them, in his tux.  I wonder less and less about myself, the more I learn about the rest of my family and relatives.  I think we’re all just a little bit of crazy.

Anyway, dinner was great.  I helped clean up a bit while Lyle & Papa brought Grandpa & Mary back home.  Patty & Heath and I visited for a while and my Mom went to bed slightly snockered.  Overall, it was quite a day; exhausting but fabulous.