Andy's Three F's...

Is it Fun, Family and Friends OR is it Food, Football and Fishing???

Preston has elected me to do this blog... the lazy butt ;).

A few weeks ago we did a tour of The Hearst Castle.  The last time I was there was in my late teens, so you all know how long ago that was!  After a little research I found out they do a night tour a few months out of the year and was highly recommended.  It incorporates all 3 of the daytime tours at half the price.  It was also a bonus, they had just put up all of the Christmas decorations.

The Castle was started in 1919 and work continued until 1947.  It was never completed. It was turned over to the State of California in 1958, with the promise that nothing would ever be changed from that date forward.

The outdoor swimming pool, empty at the moment being refurbished...HUGE!

Dinner anyone, or how about everyone!

The opulence of every room we saw was so over the top.  Mr. Hearst was involved in every aspect of the planning and decorating.  The weird thing was he just couldn't decide what his style was...Greek, Roman, Gothic...every room incorporated a variety of pieces from various periods.

The library was incredible.  The vases along the top are all very old, One of them dating back to 7 BC.  He loved anything European and OLD!  The costs of not only the castle but the items in them are mind boggling and priceless.

The night tour also has docents dressed up in 30's period costumes, which gave you a real feel for what it must have been like to be invited to his home for a weekend.  I loved the tour...Preston liked it OK ! Must be a girl thing lol!!

We headed down to Seal Beach Naval Weapon Station in Southern California mid November to spend time with family and friends.  The friend part ended up being a huge bonus for me. I found out my best friend from my childhood was going to be in the area visiting her family also.  Ilene is my longest time friend, I met her when we moved to California when I was 11.  She orchestrated a get together for her family and mine. We spent a lovely afternoon together.

As you can see my sister and brother joined in the families reunion

 I wish we had gotten a picture of everyone, as my mom and dad, and Ilene's mom and dad were also there. A big thank you to Ilene's sister in law and brother in law for opening up their home to us for the occasion.

Ilene, her husband Jim and their beautiful daughter Haley

Mom and dad drove all the way down from Vancouver in their motor home to spend Thanksgiving with us and my brothers Larry and Ernie.  Not to be left out of the occasion, my sister Tammy and her dog Bailey also made a road trip down to join in the festivities.  Preston was able to get mom and dad into Seal Beach Navel Weapon Station so we were neighbors the entire week they were here. Talk about Thanksgiving Blessings, this was huge and it was so wonderful to have the whole family together!

A whole family of Seahawk fans.  Mom and Dad helped bring them to victory on Thanksgiving!

We had a great week, just spending time together, driving by our old house where we grew up and visiting a few other haunts.  Most of the time was spent partying in our "home"!  Who knew 7 people and a dog could all fit comfortably in our RV.

No event in the Bombach household is complete with out food and wine

After mom and dad left on the Monday after Thanksgiving, we headed down to Camp Pendleton Marine Base, north of San Diego.

First things first, time to decorate for Christmas!

Camp Pendleton is one of my favorite places to stay.  We are right on the beach.  Water and warm weather make Andy a happy camper :)  The day this picture was taken not so sunny, but we are now back to sunny and low 70's!!!

I truly hate battling the crowds on my morning walk...oh wait.. not only are there no crowds but no one at all!!

Sunset on our beach

I was actually just holding the pole, lol, Preston got to do the fishing

You know your not in Oregon any longer!!

Bo Derek I'm NOT!!

Andy Surfing

We will be residing here until we fly home for Christmas, and then be back for another week.  Life is glorious!

Out on the road Again! Lassen Volcanic and Yosemite National Parks

We had a great summer with family and friends for the four months we were back home in Portland, Oregon, or technically Vancouver, WA.  I big thank you to Barbara and Otto for letting us once again reside at Camp Bombach.

I wish I could have spent more time with a lot of you...time just got the best of me. I wanted to visit many more, hopefully will, when I get back for the Christmas Season.

While we were in Portland, Andy "forced me" to do a lot of white water rafting.  She could just lay back and relax ....I on the other hand had to oar, dodge rocks and holes, and all the way down 12 miles of river.  Am I complaining. Nope...not a bit.  I love it !

Other great things we did included the Oregon coast, Deschutes River, Alaskan Cruise, taking our granddaughters to Tacoma, hunting and I'm sure other fun things I'm not recalling at the moment.

I would like to take this time to say thank you to Ryan and Briana for hosting our little going away get together the Sunday before we left. Thank you. We had a great time.

We are slowly working our way south by visiting some of the national parks like Lassen Volcanic National Park and Yosemite.  We hope to end up in the LA just before Thanksgiving to spend time with family and friends. Should be a great time for all.



We took a day drip, by car, to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park.  What a beautiful place even this time of the year!

I call this one "Self  Reflection of a Mountain"

 Sheila...I see snow too ! I can still hit you with a snowball !  Andy lets go..too cold here !!  Yes please note the shorts and sandals, lol. 

 Our next stop was Yosemite National Park.  It was Veteran's Day and the park was free for everyone.

I am back in shorts..Yes ! Boo for Andy !

Andy showing off  her favorite branch of the military, one of these days I'll convert her! At least get her a new sweater !

This time of the year the rivers strop flowing so we didn't see any waterfalls to talk about. However, this place is just plain amazing even at this time of the year.  It's hard to tell from the pictures but the leaves had changed colors and was gorgeous.

The valley

I think it is called El Capitan Rock Formation

Love this picture..didn't even know the tree did this until i saw it later.

Andy's new friend has the same gnome??

Yep !  That's us !

We drove down to the south part of the park where the Sequoia Grove is.  We did a 2 mile hike to see some of these enormous trees.

The bachelor and the 3 Graces 

A perspective on the size of these trees. For you Kloee !

Barney Bender Man, I searched the entire forest for hours in search of wildlife. I looked behind every tree... under every rock... looking for any type of wildlife.  Finally, I looked inside a tree !

Barney as you said.  I found a fox !

The roots of a dead sequoia tree, 200 years old. Look closely it's is worth $25 for the first person that messages me about it !

We are currently at a military base in San Luis Obispo,California. We will be here until Saturday morning at which time we will continue to head south. We should be in Seal Beach, basically Long Beach, sometime early afternoon on Saturday. We invited Larry and Ernie for dinner. Of course Andy already has a plan for dinner.  I don't think I like her plan though !  It really doesn't sound good to me. Here is the  her plan !!!  I'm cooking !  Wish me luck !  No, wish them luck !!!!

Adventure returns to Alaska !

It has been on Barbara's, Andy's mom, bucket list to go to Alaska....so here we are heading off to the "Last Frontier".  We decided to take a 7 day cruise followed by a 3 day trip to Denali National Park and Preserve.  We flew out of Portland, Oregon and caught the ship in Vancouver, Canada.

I thought it was going to be a chore getting wheel chairs on and off the plane, cruise ship, trains and buses. It turned out to be fairly easy.  There were special lines for people with mobility issues...and their families.  We decided to take Barbara and Otto with us everywhere we go since it is sometimes easier...lol

Here we are; Andy's brother Larry, brother in-law Ernie, sister Tammy, mother Barbara, Dad Otto, and of course "Sir Preston the Greatest".  You know that was funny !

So off on a cruise we go!  The "Bombach Brigade" with us normal people, Ernie and I !  

Dang, we are looking good....I mean GREAT !

 He knew he was stuck with Andy, Tammy and Larry ! Might as well join them!

Oh no !  Is this what we will be doing for days.

Our first stop Ketchikan, Alaska, two nights and a day out of Vancouver, Canada.  Larry and Barbara enjoyed the day checking out the gardens in the area.  The rest of us were up for a little more of an adventure.  We decided to spend the day on the water so we rented a boat and the captain.  We did not book with the cruise ship company it would have been double.

Fishing crew..where is waldo..Oh you mean me !  Da ! "Dennis F" I am taking the picture silly man.

Can we eat him right now please...please... Sushi style. No you may not Tammy...we are still fishing !

Get him Ernie ! I know your arms are burning ! Stop crying about it! Don't give up now dude !

Yep !  Kicked Ernie's butt !

That's better sir ! Photo bombed you too ! Nice hat 

Just look at that smile..biggest fish of the day.  Had to use both hands for the photo shoot !

Really...no really ... I am holding him up ! He is 92.  He can't keep it up!  No, not that ... I mean !  Forget it !

Way to go Otto..nice fish. One of the best of the day!

Our fish in 4 hours..we even lost 6 fish !

We had a great day on the water fishing. The sun was shinning and the temperature was about 72 degrees with very light winds.  Captain Tater Bait did a hell of a job keeping us on the fish and entertained.  I just wish I knew his nickname while we were on the boat...I would have tortured him even more.

We got photo bombed by Captain Tater Bait !  

After a fun day of fishing we were back on the ship heading to Juneau, Alaska.  The next morning we arrived.  Again, the weather was great and in the low to mid 70's. We decide to all hang together so we ate a late breakfast on the ship and off we went to check out the sights of Juneau.

Our first stop was to catch a short tour bus ride to Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to view...da, the Mendenhall Glacier.

I am not so sure about this...

OK honey...it's safe 

Thank you sugar plum!  Do you like my horn !

Mendenhall Glacier is one of 38 large glaciers that flow from the 1,500 square mile expanse of snow and ice known as the Juneau Icefield.  Average annual snowfall on the Juneau Icefield exceeds 100 feet and the mild winters results in snow accumulation.  In the mid-1700's the Mendenhall Glacier reached to it's maximum point 2.5 miles down the valley from it's present position. Since then it has steadily been melting away.

Mendenhall Glacier

What a sight to see.  Look how little the people look.

Gorgeous scenery of the glacier and falls.  Smile Preston ! I am... you just can't tell.

Daddy-daughter glacier time!

Dang Larry, you are looking studly!  Stomach in ...chest out!  Breath... we can tell.   lol 

The hot spot in Juneau!  We went in to have lunch, but way too noisy for the old people!  We all decided we are elderly.

Hot mama with her ..you guessed right... water bottle.  Can you guess how many pictures she has had a water bottle in her hand.

So after a long, long, long, long deliberation. Decision was made ! I think Otto liked the girl on the sign.

A wonderful choice, the crab was outstanding !

Barbara your turn

After lunch Andy and I decided to dump the family for a few hours.  Not my idea guys...all hers ! What is that in her left hand...oh my.  There it is again !

I think she wanted fur !  So I told her to wear that fur swimming suit behind her right shoulder...she said HELL NO !   Dang !  

Next stop Skagway, Alaska.  Skagway is home to 850 year-round residents and encompasses 455sq. miles of land.  At the peak of the gold rush Skagway had a population of about 20,000.  The White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad and the gold rush is a huge part of the city history.

Gold Rush

Our cruise ship.

As you come into town you will see this "big thing" and wonder what is this?  It is a snow plow. Rotary Snowplow No.1 was built in 1898.  It was used to clear the snow, as much as 12 feet, off the railroad tracks up in White Pass.  It would be pushed up the mountains by two helper engines, the rotary 10 huge blades sent snow flying out to the side of the tracks by centrifugal force.

It was retired in 1965 but was run again in 2009 and 2011 to clear the rail between White Pass Summit and Lake Bennett.

Rotary snowplow No 1

Andy's parents, Otto and Barbara, and I decided to take a break from the kids.  They just wore us out ! Dang kids !  We decided to take a train ride up into the mountain to check out Canada and White Pass.

As the music plays...My cane is better than your cane...my cane is better than yours.  Just popped into my head

They have hands and cameras attached to the rail cars too.  They are everywhere !

Mile long tunnel...pretty dark in there...no lights!

Not one of Barbara favorite things.

Such beauty !

Just one of the glaciers we saw on the way up the pass

Half way up... looking back down towards Skagway.  

Ahhhh !  I caught him..this wasn't a pose. Love birds

Well, the real truth is !  Andy, Tammy, Ernie and Larry decided to take a strenuous hike up the side of a mountain and then raft down the river on the other side. Otto, Barbara and I are either too old or have too many injuries to do such a foolish thing.  They had a blast !

Looking like a professional hiker....oh, what is that in her hand ? 

Happy Happy Faces !

We were cruising on the ship for a couple of days to get close to many glaciers in Glacier Bay.  Up to this point I have never seen a glacier this close or magnificent.  I was amazed at the size and the colors. Andy has seen them before many years ago but still she was amazed as well.

We are so glad we opted for a balcony room as we could observe this magnificent view from the privacy of our very own space.

This glacier is called Reid Glacier.  It was the first glacier we saw that morning in Glacier Bay.
It is a lot bigger than it appears here.  This picture was taken from 3 miles away.

Reid Glacier

A close up ! I believe a mile away.

Some of the scenery in between viewing the glaciers were breathtaking and I have seen some very pretty places in my life.

This one is called, I believe, Lamplugh Glacier.

This glacier is called Margerie Glacier

Massive

What a sight to see!  The dark spot is where the rock was ground down by the ice

We are heading to the next one.  The girls were excited like little school girls

This one is called John Hopkins Glacier.  It is the only glacier in the area that is still growing since 1966.  There is nothing I can really say to express my thought of the beauty and the grand scale of these flowing rivers of ice.

The next day we were many miles north and so the weather was colder and wetter. This last Glacier we saw was the Hubbard Glacier.

Hubbard Glacier

After getting off the cruise ship we traveled over 6 hours north to Denali National Park and Preserve on a tour bus. Wow...what a long drive that was !

Here we are, the next day, on a 4 hour tour into Denali...

The fall colors...already ?  I guess we are in Alaska !  Beautiful place

A very big moose...the herd bull !

Native Alaskan Indian shared her story of the generations of her family.  Highlight of our Denali tour.

We took the train south out of Denali National Park and Preserve towards Anchorage.

Some highlights from the cruise:

We just had to get Otto and Barbara on the "Not so New Newlywed Game".  Their kids learned things about them they never wanted to know, lol!  It was hilarious!!

They were the crowd favorite and were very popular for the rest of the cruise.

Just had to take mom out for a whirl on the dance floor!  Told you I would !  We had them all in tears baby doll !

Dad and his daughter.  Smiles everywhere

Crazy White Night

All dressed up and ready to party

Tammy and Preston...She even won a drink for being so stylish.

Ernie and Larry.  Lets just say this...EVERYONE saw Larry !  FUN FUN !