Day 306: Coast-bound again

This morning, I found this note on the doughnut holes.  Our kids need to learn to share.  Or maybe I need to learn to share:

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Yesterday, my PPG companion Nick suggested we head to Sand Lake on the coast to do some flying.  We hitched up and said our farewells to Portland.  Heading West, we stopped at the dump station we used when we lived in Hillsboro (ah, the nostalgia!)  Next we stopped at Lowes, which I think occupies the former location of Griffith Polymers.  How’s that for progress?

We purchased the wall sections for the already built wall frame in the kids’ bedroom.  Having it cut here is a big time saver:

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I’ll install these while we’re at the beach.  They are white and smooth, so we’re hoping the kids can each have a dry erase wall in their room!

We drove over the coast range to Tillamook, then South a bit to Sand Lake.  Were staying at the West Dunes “campground”, which is just one large paved area adjacent to the dune field which is two miles long and about a quarter mile wide, and is adjacent to the beach at the South end where we’re staying.  When we arrived it was very windy, but tomorrow’s forecast looks better.  Hopefully I can get in the air!

Day 305: Gardening and Skating in Portland

Another sunny day in Portland, could this be a dream?  Truth is, summers here are the dry time of the year and very pleasant, it’s been in the 70s every day so far.  This morning I drove out to Sauvie Island to do some PPG flying.  I had an issue with the starter, and by the time I fixed it, Nick, my flying companion, told me it was pretty rough aloft, so I decided to get in some kiting practice instead and call it a day.

Trish and the kids drove to Southeast Portland to visit her high school friend Erica and her amazing backyard garden:

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Meanwhile I fabricated a sewer hose holder from a length of 5” vinyl fence post.  This gets the hose out of our basement where it was in the tub at left and stinking up the place:

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My childhood hangout, Skate World in Hillsboro, is going out of business after 33 years after being unable to renew their lease.  I had to go skating one last time:

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By the end of June, this place will be just a memory.

Day 293: Blackhawk Powered Paragliding Training, Day 3

Another beautiful day at Blackhawk:

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This morning we did more rope tows:

M found a dead squirrel to photograph:

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Tessellation work continued in math class:

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During the afternoons, when the wind is too strong, we have a break.  I cut and assembled the new bunkhouse wall using the 2x2s we brought with us to Blackhawk.  We used a sheet as a temporary divider:

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I also installed the locks that keep the fifth wheel in the bed of the truck:

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…And installed the kids new medicine cabinet:

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Yet another ranch dog showed up:

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This afternoon we practiced kiting with the motors on:

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Mark gives me some tips:

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Will out first flight be tomorrow?  Stay tuned!

Day 288: Carson City, Seat of Power

This morning I mounted the door handles on the new bathroom door:

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We drove to the Nevada State Museum, housed in the former federal mint in Carson City:

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The natural history wing was interesting:

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There was an extensive state history exhibit as well:

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Nevada is the Silver State.  So much Silver was discovered in Nevada that it devalued the metal to the point that several foreign governments abandoned the silver standard in favor of gold.  The silver service donated to the battleship USS Nevada by local silver mines was on display:

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In the old mint, a vault contained samples of the gold and silver coins minted here:

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M enjoyed the firearms exhibit:

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We walked a few blocks to the State Capitol building:

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The Senate chambers had been converted into a museum:

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We then walked over to the legislative building, built in the 70s to move the legislature out of the capitol building:

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The Senate and Assembly only sit for 120 days every 2 years, so both chambers were empty:

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After completing a couple errands we drove over the Sierras, around the Southern end of beautiful Lake Tahoe, and into the town of Placerville, California, where we’re overnighting at the Home Depot.  See the trip map for details.

Day 287: More bathroom work

Work continues on the “give kids separate bedrooms” project.  Here M pulls away the wall as I cut through from the bathroom:

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Now I just have to cut out that stud:

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And cut out the wall footer:

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Coming back from a home depot supply run:

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Here’s the installed new door from the dining room.  I then installed the new vanity:

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Here’s the new door from the living room.  We still have to add handles and a lock, and stain the door.  I temporarily pulled the trim off the door to the right to mount the door to the left.  The trim is on order, so I won’t be able to finalize that aspect of the project for another two weeks:

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We’ll stay here at Walmart one more night.