Friday, Aug 30

After morning coffee Jeanne and I headed into Virginia (a close town) for lunch at China Buffet and then to go to Mineview in the Sky.  It is a museum that Jeanne has passed by for years and was curious.  So we went to it and that is what it is - a view of the mine from the top of a hill.  Was a pretty view and they had some big mining equipment. 

gift shop and tourist information center

view from the hill

view of the mine which is hard to distinguish in this photo.

We went into Virginia so that I could take a picture of this giant loon in the lake.  Not sure what it is made of.  

We drove back to Ely and stopped at the Red Cabin for ice cream.  They have a different flavor every day.  Today was Georgia Peach.  yummy.  It is a custard ice cream. 

then home.  

Jay made a delicious fish and wild rice dinner.  Served with a Piesporter white wine.  Great.  The fish had an apricot sauce on it.

Jeanne and I finished out puzzle.  It was a fun one.

Thursday, Aug 29

On Wednesday, Aug 28, I flew to Duluth, MN where Jeanne met me and we drove to Ely.  We had a delicious steak dinner.  Yummy.  Nice relaxing evening.  Then in the morning Jeanne and I went on our morning walk.  We passed this mailbox on our walk.  

This is the view of the bay. 

We went in for morning coffee with Jeanne's coffee group.  It is fun seeing the same people each year.  Feel like my friends too. On our way home we drove by a new dam that they are building to replace the old one.  It is interesting the way they have the river held back with tarps and sand bags it looks like.

In the afternoon Jeanne volunteers as an exercise buddy.  So we drove to her client's place and Jeanne helped her do her exercises.  Went grocery shopping on our way home.  After dinner Jeanne and I started working on a puzzle.  We did that with a movie on the TV.  A nice relaxing day.

Saturday

Jeanne and I let the house about 6:15 am to get me to the airport.  We got to see a very nice sunrise.  The flight home was uneventful.  George meet me around 8:15 am.  I had time to do all my usual Saturday activities.  In the afternoon I could go to a memorial service of a friend.  I am glad that I could make it back for that.   Then late afternoon the driving portion of the group all made it back.  Their cars were at my place so I got to connect with them.  I guess that they had a great time without me.  Now I am home.  Rebecca and Nathan made it home about 10 pm last night.  

Friday

We had a reservation for the 9am tour of the Harry and David Factory in Medford.  That was interesting.

The only thing being produced this Friday was the Moose Munch.  Everyday there in something different.  Candy, Moose Munch, pears and peaches are all done here.

These are the big vats of caramel. 

Then they add the popcorn and whatever else in that batch.  This time it was nuts.

After stirring it was dumped out to go to the next area for packaging.

At the end of the tour we got little boxes of chocolates.  Our tour guide was enjoyable to listen to.  Learned a lot about Harry and David.  

Then we drove on to Ashland.  First stop - lunch.  The Greenleaf was fabulous.  

We then walked up to our theater to see the play "The 10th Muse".  Wow!! What a performance.  "In a lively 18th-century convent in colonial Mexico, young nuns and servants unearth a hidden play written by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a nun and famous intellectual who died 20 years earlier after falling out of favor with the church. At night, behind the back of the Mother Superior, they act out Sor Juana’s ribald farce, revealing her blazing, blasphemous talent...and discovering their own complex bonds of sisterhood. OSF is delighted to present this commission by a rising Mexican playwright"

After lunch we rambled around Ashland, poking into the shops.  Around 6pm we left.  We went to the grocery store to buy a roasted chicken for dinner.  We already had fresh corn and spinach.  Repeat meal from Wednesday night.  yummy.  The rest of the evening we relaxed.  Looked at pictures and yakked until the wee hours.  

Now it is bright and early Saturday morning and Jeanne will drive me to the airport.  This is a fun area.  Lots to do.

Explanations

For those of you not familiar with the area I am going to explain.  We were coming to Ashland to see several plays.  One a cabaret performance with dinner and the other a matinee "The 10th Muse".  The 10th Muse is part of the "Shakespearean Festival" so it is in one of the main theaters with all of the plays.  When we tried to find a house to rent we found that they were cheaper in Medford, a town about 20 minutes drive away.  So we did that.  The house is very nice.  I think we really lucked out.  Also in the area is a small quaint town of Jacksonville, which was famous back in the gold rush days.  Now even the new buildings have to be built in the same style. We spent most of yesterday rambling around Jacksonville.  The trolley ride was about 45 minutes. It was fun after lunch because as we were driving around if someone saw something they wanted to see we would immediately pull of an stop.  Very spontaneous touring.  We drove though the main cemetery and looked at a some of the gravestones.   If there had been an open house we probably would have done that as well.  Then when it was time, we drove directly to Ashland to our dinner theater.  Very fun show.  After dinner and before the show the "nuns" led us in a few rounds of bingo.  Marsha, one of our group, won all 3 rounds!!! If only we had been at a casino with Marsha's luck!! What a full day that was.  Friday we will spend more of the day in Ashland, after doing a Harry & David tour in the morning.  Saturday morning I will have to be up early.  Jeanne will get me to the airport and I will fly home (Nathan and Rebecca are visiting and I have a memorial service to get to).  Everyone else will be leisurely about heading home.

Jacksonville

We drove into Jacksonville and wandered around in and out some stores.  Then we took a trolley tour of Jacksonville.  What a cute town.  Great homes.

German Schoolhaus Brewhaus for lunch. Yummy

fun yard display

Manzanita trees in the cemetery.  We drove around this cemetery.  It had some very old gravestones.

Deer in the cemetery 

Evening show of Nunsensation in Vegas.  Dinner before hand was very delicious.

What a nice day.  Jacksonville is a great place, not far from Medford.

Off to Ashand

We gathered at my place about 9am and left pretty promptly.

We stopped for lunch at a fabulous restaurant in Azalea, OR.  Good home cookin'.  We had to buy a marionberry pie for dessert for dinner and stickie buns for the morning as well as our lunches.  yummy.  If it weren't so far away I would go there again in a heartbeat.

There are a lot of fires in the area so the air quality is pretty bad.  You can see how hazy it is.  That is not fog.

We stopped at Del Rio Winery.

 We arrived at the VRBO (vacation rental by owner) home.  What a nice comfortable house. 4 bedroom with bathrooms.

After unpacked and relaxed a bit we went grocery shopping for dinner.  Came back and sat on the patio for appetizers.  Then dinner was roasted chicken, spinach salad, fresh corn with marionberry pie for dessert with ice cream, of course.  I am not counting points. 

Ashland

Tomorrow, Aug 7, I will be heading off to Ashland, OR for a few days with Connie, Jeanne, Judy and Marsha.  We will see a couple of plays and to enjoy what the area has to offer.  There have been a lot of fires in the area and some plays have been canceled due to poor air quality.  But our plays are indoors so we should be okay.