Who says you can't go home again?

A couple of weeks ago, our daughter Barbara, looking forward to a four-day weekend, had the wild idea we should drive to La Grande.  Not only that, she got Denny and Joe to agree. Then she contacted Julie, who said she and Russell would come from Vancouver and meet us there.  Hey --a semi-family reunion, and a chance for all of us who hadn't seen returned -missionary Russell for two years to welcome him home.

So --
Denny, Joe and Emma left Draper on the 11th and drove as far as Boise.  They met us at the motel in La Grande Friday morning.

Barb and Dennis, with Grandma and Grandpa in the back seat, left Sandy around 10:30 a.m.Thursday.  Dennis bought a large drink and managed to nurse it all the way to La Grande.  We stopped in Twin Falls, Idaho, for lunch and got to La Grande around 7:30. (Time change from MST to PST).  They hung a couple of DVD players on the backs of the front seats to help entertain us.  We had everything from "The Sound of Music" to B westerns even I had never heard of.  I watched one episode of "The Dick Van Dyke" show.  Then Barb wanted to see how it worked, so we switched seats.  She and Grandma watched some of a  Victor Borge show.  (Whatever happened to counting red station wagons, or keeping track of out-of-state licenses?)

My memories of the many times we drove between La Grande and Salt Lake City over a span of 50 years consist mostly of potty stops and long, long hours crossing the Idaho desert.  But with Dennis doing all the driving and my napping much of the time, this trip was a breeze.  Thank you, Dennis, for a job well done.

Julie and Russell got into La Grande around 11:00 p.m. Wednesday night. It was so good to see Russell again.  He looked great.

After the "continental breakfast" at the motel, we all went to visit my niece, Carol Ann and her husband, Sunny, who live in the house where I was born and raised.  I was anxious to see how the house looked after they had added a bathroom off the front bedroom by enclosing some of the front porch.  They had done a very good job of making the change look like it had been there from the beginning.  Congratulations, Carol, for keeping the homestead looking good these past several years.

Our next stop was to visit a friend/college colleague of mine, Doyle Slater and wife Connie.  Those two have taught in several  countries (Turkey, Peru, China to name a few) since their retirement.  Doyle held our girls spellbound with his stories whle Connie had Emma intrigued with some educational toys.  Good to see them both and catch up on their seven children (three boys, then twin boys, then twin girls.)

Everyone went back to the suite Barb and Dennis had moved into to give us more room when we were all together.  Had lunch there. With all of us sitting around the table, Julie got Julia on the phone, who made an announcement that prompted everyone in the room to burst into cheers and clapping.  Even Emma got caught up in the excitement of the good news.

(Due date is June 27, 2011. I predict a girl.....)  (Yes, I cleared this with Julia before I wrote this.)

After short naps we set off again to make a couple of more visits. First to my "older cousin", Afton, who turned 86 on the 13th.  We gave her a special autographed copy of Tony's "I'm Not Perfect...." as a pre-birthday present.

Our final visit was to Bob and Joan Fredrickson, long-time friends and our home teachers for many years. Joan was not expecting to see anyone but the two of us and promptly broke into tears of joy and big hugs for everyone.  They even wanted to take us all to dinner but we talked them out of it.  Great visit.

Another break for brief naps and then we were off to one of the local pizza parlors for dinner. I've tasted better pizza, but it was so good to have so many of our family around the table.

After that, Julie and Russell had to return to Vancouver. Russell is working for the Vancouver Crew and needed to be back on the job Saturday morning.  Julie also had commitments.  We all gave them hugs and sent them on their way. 

On Saturday we made a quick tour of the college campus so Emma could see where Grandpa used to work. I found the back door of the new theatre building open so we managed to see the scene shop, the green room, and the foyer.  "Phantom of the Opera" sets were on stage, but it was too dark to see much.  Incidentally, Eastern Oregon University is the first college to get the rights to produce "Phantom".  They hired an equity actor to play the lead, but all others in the cast were local.  I asked Connie Slater how they handled the crash of the chandelier.  She said it came down over the heads of the audience, but rather slowly.  Hmmmm.
We drove around the old home town for one last look then we were off to Boise.  Stayed there Saturday night. On Sunday Dennis drove us around the neighborhood where he used to live, so we got a bit more nostalgia from our trip. 

On the way home Dennis and Barb stopped to see their friends, the Crippens, who, for the past 16 years, have lived  in a wonderful log home out in the middle of nowhere in Utah.  As Barb said, "This is their little bit of heaven."   Everywhere you looked you found fascinating decorative touches that fit perfectly with the log home.

For old times sake, we actually played two or three rounds of "Hang Man" while crossing Utah.  (Did you know "Hang Man" was the inspiration for "Wheel of Fortune"?
Dennis got us home around 4:00 that evening, dropping us off right by the ramp into our building.  Can't ask for better treatment than that.

It was a quick trip, but we're glad we went. It made us grateful we were able to make the move from La Grande to Sandy when we did. 

Thanks to all of you for this sentimental journey home.

Here are a few pictures of who's who.

With my niece, Carol Ann

She's my "little sister"; I'm her "big brother."

With the Slaters

Cousin Afton  --she's older by two weeks.

Still sharp as can be.

Bob and Joan

"American Gothic"

View from the top of the grand

stairway on the campus.

That's Mt. Emily in the background.

Denny and Barb at Ackerman, where our daughters attended grade school.

Touring the campus

We asked Emma to choose a bench to sit on; she chose the last one.

 (Click to enlarge and you might even see her.)

Barb found a "Phantom of the Opera" hat backstage in the theatre.

 "Let me entertain you..."

Emma and Russell really hit it off together.

  Practically inseparable much of the time.

Friday night pizza.

"Th..th..th...that's all, folks !"